Stardeep_ The Dungeons - Bruce R. Cordell [89]
"A sign we draw close to Sildeyuir's edge, where the realm is not stable. Such intrusions have become prevalent since the nilshai's arrival."
The sorcerer said, "You're saying that the mist is… what? A crack in existence?"
"Perhaps. One you don't want to fall into." So saying, she turned and walked away from the road and up the side of a hill. Raidon supported the sorcerer, whose spell noticeably weakened him.
But the initial misty streamer, easily bypassed, was a herald of more sightings, occasionally in the distance, other times as barriers thrown across their path. Sometimes long misty arms twisted through the trees to their left or right, paralleling their path like a hungry predator. Other times they were forced to backtrack when their route was cut off by broad swaths of the gray miasma.
Finally the forest thinned and they moved into clear land. A barren, rocky plain sloped down to a flat expanse, as if to the sea. But what lay beyond the stagnant coast was not watet. It was a shoreless ocean of gray mist, cold and perfect.
Alone on the beach stood a lean figure. They approached and saw it was a tall, lordly star elf dressed in black robes on which was emblazoned the symbol of a white tree on a field of blue. Raidon recognized a fellow initiate of focus and self-discipline in the man's ramrod straight posture, though he suspected the elf's mastery lay over magic instead of the physical arts. The elf had eyes of milk white, with no hint of an iris, and his graceful features were graven with the weight of long care. A platinum circlet clamped his shaved skull. Without hair, his elven ears seemed more sinister than fey.
A circle of dead nilshai lay about the elf's feet. Blood smudged his face and hands, and dirt stained his clothing. But he was unbowed. He watched calmly as they picked their way down the cruel slope. Raidon nearly carried Adrik when they joined the figure before the silent ocean where reality frayed to nothing.
"Edgewarden," said Kiril, her back straightening. Raidon understood she must hold great respect for this man. "I hoped you'd still be here, guarding Stardeep's flank."
He studied her without speaking for a moment, then he said, "It has been a long time since a Keeper last came to visit me here at the end of the world. But the Keepers of the Cerulean Sign are an old, dusty order, eh? I wondered if perhaps I were the last."
"Hells and blood! No aberration born or grown has yet been able to best me, and I wield the Blade Cerulean. I, at least, remain. There are Knights still in Stardeep-or there were several days ago. My companions and I must press into Stardeep to determine their fate, and the status of the Traitor."
The bald elf said, "These creatures"-he gestured at the dead nilshai-"who've thrice found me here at the edge as I walked the periphery-do their attacks have anything to do with your desire to enter Stardeep? I guess they must have sympathies for the conspirator who lingers in Stardeep's deepest dungeon."
Kiril swallowed. "You have the right of it. The gods-damned nilshai were agents of the aboleths all along. They and the Traitor serve the same abominable masters. I go to discover if the Traitor remains penned; I fear he's escaped, or is on the cusp of doing so. Angul and I will try to put things right."
The elf nodded, and Kiril continued. "Edgewarden, if I may-have you had any communication from Stardeep of late? Has news perchance reached you of a former Keeper named Nangulis?"
The man shrugged. "No one comes this way. Except for the nilshai, I haven't seen anyone before you in seven years."
Kiril dropped her eyes, glumly nodding.
The Edgewarden looked at Raidon and Adrik. "Are these Keepers I haven't yet met?" His eyes lingered on Adrik and he frowned. Raidon guessed Adrik would not normally be allowed entry to the hidden realm.
"No-"
The bald elf moved to Adrik, who lay glassy-eyed on the beach. "What ails him?"
Raidon looked up. "He was poisoned by a nilshai. Can you help?"
The Edgewarden bent and ran his fingers