Pool of Radiance_ Ruins of Myth Drannor - Carrie Bebris [42]
They watched him depart. “Let’s get back to the House of Gems,” Corran said.
Kestrel plucked the ruby out of the wall and inserted it in the topmost vertex. She reentered the dancing lights and nodded at Jarial. “Go ahead.”
The wizard touched the golden sphere. This time the lights raced so quickly and flashed so brightly that Kestrel squeezed her eyes shut. She opened them a moment later, expecting to find herself in another identical room.
Not in the belly of a dragon.
CHAPTER SIX
The unpredictable Rohnglyn had landed them in an enormous oval-shaped hall. Elaborate murals and mosaics of dragons covered the walls, some studded with precious stones to depict gem dragons. Small round windows served as the dragons’ eyes, allowing the first sunlight they’d seen in days to spill into the room. The hall’s beams and columns were intricately carved in the same motif. Blue, red, green, and black dragon tails spiraled white pillars, while silver dragon claws cradled glowing orbs at fixed intervals along the walls. On the ceiling, two great wyrms-one red, one gold-were locked in eternal combat.
Corran fixed Kestrel with an annoyed glare. “This isn’t the entrance to the House of Gems. What in blazes did you do?”
“Nothing! I just moved the gem to the top-I’m hardly an expert on this Rohnglyn thing, you know,” she retorted.
“Obviously.”
Durwyn turned in a slow circle, taking in their surprising new surroundings. “Where are we?”
Good question, Kestrel thought. Woven among all the dragon images were mysterious-looking runes and intricate knotwork patterns. The gilded railing along a second-floor balcony featured the most elaborate of these patterns. Similar designs were also set into the floor. Two rows of statues flanked the main walkway. These depicted sorcerers-some human, some elven, some of other races-all of whom appeared powerful, wise, and formidable.
“Wherever we are, this is a place of great magic,” Ghleanna murmured. “Can you feel it surround us?”
After witnessing Emmeric’s brutal death, magic was the last thing Kestrel wished to be surrounded by.
“Clearly, we’ve left the dungeons and are now above ground,” Jarial said. “I wonder if we have stumbled into the Speculum-the old wizards’ guildhall. When Ozama and I first came to Myth Drannor we saw the building perched near the castle in the city’s Heights. It is shaped like a giant dragon curled around an egg. The hall we now stand in is large enough to constitute most of the dragon’s body.”
“It’s so-still,” Kestrel said quietly. Something about the room inhibited speech, making her reluctant to use any but muted tones.
“I imagine the protective magics cast in and around this hall long ago have kept it safe from the desecration overtaking other parts of the city,” Jarial responded.
Durwyn stepped off the Rohnglyn rune. “As long as we’re here, let’s look around. Maybe the wizards left something behind that can help us.”
Kestrel let the others advance well into the room before she left the security of the Rohnglyn, not needing to look at the familiar scar on her wrist to recall the nasty surprises sorcerers could leave lying in wait. The injury in her thigh served as ample reminder of magical treachery, though the pain had subsided enough that she no longer favored the leg.
Once she started exploring the hall, however, she became caught up in the striking architecture and detailed renderings of dragon and sorcerer alike. Each depicted wizard appeared frozen in the process of casting a spell. An image crossed her mind of all the statues suddenly coming to life and the sorcery that would be unleashed. She shuddered. Thank the Lord of Shadows, they were all just sculptures.
At the end of the hall stood an empty pedestal, apparently still waiting patiently for the statue it would never receive. It stood about three feet high and had a wider base than the others, with recesses curling around its side that looked almost like steps.