The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [72]
"What did he offer you in exchange for your silence on the matter?" asked Dantane.
Kali looked away. "A substantial loan-enough to cover my remaining debts-with next to no interest attached. He was most… generous."
Dantane looked impressed. "Then your worries are over. You can reestablish your father's business in a season. Many blemishes on your name will be forgotten in the wake of such a feat."
Kail shot the wizard a withering glance. "I will keep my silence, but I didn't take the deal, as you knew I wouldn't."
"How would I know?" countered the wizard, appearing genuinely surprised. "Any merchant family in Amn would welcome Chadossa's offer, and if I'm not mistaken, your goal is to count yourself among their elite. I know nothing of your motives or character, nor do I care to learn. If you wish to impress someone with your nobility, seek out your lady. Oh, but I forget," Dantane said, sneering, "She only pretends to be yours, as part of your ruse. Go to the friends who watch over you, then, if you can root them out from their hiding places."
Kali bristled. "You speak outside your experience, Dantane. Tread lightly where my friends are concerned."
"Of course, Lord Morel." Dantane offered a mocking half-bow. "Perhaps, if you feel the need to prove something, you should avenge the boy's death yourself. You obviously want to, since Chadossa will not. My only interest in the matter is how long you can continue to pay my salary, and since you refused Chadossa's offer, the answer to that is clear. Fortunately for you, this"-he rustled the ashes of the lute player's bane-"interests me gteatly. Its age alone makes it worth a fortune Dynon Chadossa could not have hoped to have lying about."
"How old?" asked Kali, setting aside his anger for the moment.
Dantane held up the tendril he'd been examining. "I was wrong. These aren't roots. They're threads. The ones which remained intact after the burning are made of some type of ore.
The item is not plant-based, and no wondei. I'm only estimating, but some of the components appear to be over a thousand years old." His voice rose excitedly. "But there's more. There are layers here, magic from multiple casters who may or may not have lived in the same centuiy. It's as if I'm unraveling a tapestry put together by different weavers. I'm going to attempt to identify the layers. If I can do that, I might be able to determine where the magic malfunctioned, turning the boy from a woman to a monster." He gestured for Kali to move aside. "You'll want to observe from a safe distance. If whatever affected Chadossa's son tries to attack me as well…"
Kail's sword hissed from its scabbard. "You'll have a quick death," he said.
"I was going to say I'll need your aid to break free," Dantane said sourly, "but I've just now reconsidered. Stand back."
Reluctantly, Kali moved to the far side of the room and stood near the window. He rested his sword point down in front of him and leaned against the wall, waiting.
Dantane knelt on the floor, placing the remnants of the item in a prepared circle of symbols drawn in chalk lines on the floor. His fingers moved, stiffly at first, gradually gaining speed and dexterity. Steepling his thumbs, the wizard pressed the backs of his fingers tightly together in a tough imitation of one of the symbols on the floor. The corresponding mark burst into a blue radiance. The wizard continued to gesture, and each of the symbols in tutn lit to join a sttange, pulsating dance around the charred item.
Kail raised a hand against the sting of the blinding light. If Dantane succeeded, he wondered, then what? Chadossa's own family didn't cate what had caused Dynon's demise. Why did he? Was it simply because he'd had a taste of Dynon's life- because he'd known the father who gave nothing of himself, except his name, to his son?
He'd never known Dhairr, not ttuly, Kail admitted. As a boy, he'd