Realms of Infamy - James Lowder [104]
"Ravendas!" she heard Marnok's panicked cry. "There's a dragon to my left-it's turning toward me."
"It's all right-" she started to shout, but then she realized that was not so. The rope had slipped around her waist in the fall. She was too low. She could see another dragon head rising from the wall a dozen feet above her, turning to send its fiery gaze in Marnok's direction.
Ravendas threw her body up the wall, her salve-covered fingers digging furrows into the ancient stone. She couldn't let the foolish mage die. She needed him to reach the top. Just as the dragon opened its eyes, she gripped the wall with one hand and thrust the other upward to block the monster's gaze. She clenched her teeth in effort. Then, after what seemed a lifetime, the dragon shut its eyes and melted back into the stone. With a gasp, Ravendas dug a second hand into the wall, clinging tightly.
"Marnok?" she called out.
The wind whistled as it whipped past the fortress. Finally she heard his voice. "I'm… I'm all right."
Ravendas squeezed her eyes shut. "You'd better be, you bastard," she whispered. "After that, you'd better be."
* * * * *
The sun was just setting as warrior and mage trod where no other had in a thousand years. Like the spokes of a great wheel, eight bridges led from the top of the wall to Gurthang's central tower, arching over the murky abyss below. Despite their grueling climb, Ravendas and Marnok moved swiftly across the northeast span. They reached a portal hewn of dark, gold-flecked marble. Quickly they discovered it was locked. However, there was a small scraping of magical salve left at the bottom of Marnok's jar. He spread the last of it on his hand. Then, with a grunt, he plunged his entire fist into the door. His brow furrowed in concentration as he moved his fingers inside the thick stone.
Ravendas heard a faint click.
Marnok grinned at her, pulling out his hand. "I think that should do it."
She leaned hard against the marble slab. There was a hiss of cold, dry air, and the door swung inward. The two stepped inside. An acrid tinge stung her nose, the smell of old magic. Marnok conjured a purple sphere of magelight in his hand. After a few dozen paces, Ravendas realized the passage was tracing a spiral, leading them gradually toward the center of the tower.
"The spiral is a symbol of power," Marnok said softly as they went.
"How so?" Ravendas whispered back.
"The labyrinthine shape of the spiral attracts magic, even as it entraps it," the mage explained.
"Entraps it?" She did not like the sound of that.
Marnok nodded. "Yes. And the stronger the magic, the stronger the spiral's bonds become." His eyes glowed strangely in the eerie light. "Power can be a prison, Ravendas."
"You're wrong, mage," she countered harshly. "Power is what sets one free."
Marnok gave her a curious, almost sorrowful look, but said nothing.
Abruptly the corridor ended. The two found themselves standing on the edge of a circular shaft. A staircase hovered in the middle of the shaft without any apparent means of support, spiraling up into the shadows above. The intruders paused, sitting for a moment to gather their strength before the final ascent.
"So, mage, why the Zhentarim?" Ravendas asked then.
He looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"Isn't it obvious? We're both going to a great deal of trouble to join the Zhentarim. You know my reasons. But it occurred to me that I don't know yours. And I think you owe me that by now."
He licked his lips slowly. "Power," he said quickly. Almost too quickly. "What other reason is there?"
Ravendas frowned. "Somehow that isn't the answer I would have expected from you, mage. I would have thought that you-" Abruptly she halted. She could see it clearly in his green eyes. He was lying. "Bloody abyss," she swore