The Howling Delve - Jaleigh Johnson [75]
The dwarf fell silent. Kali took an unsteady breath. Indeed a thousand questions swirled in his thoughts, but he forced his lungs to work instead. He addressed the messenger. "Can you speak?"
The ghost seemed to focus on him for the first time, but he said nothing.
"Who are you?" Kail asked.
The ghost lowered his battle-axe. Kail got a good look at his hands and realized the dwarf had lost parts of multiple fingers. They flexed against the wooden handle.
"I have given my warning," the dwarf said simply. "By Dumathoin's command."
"Wait!" Kali cried, but the ghost had already gone. With him went the brilliant light, and as the clouds of swirling dust began to settle, the full extent of the damage to the tower was revealed.
The ceiling was obliterated. Boards and blocks of broken stone litteted the floot. Most of Dantane's equipment was destroyed.
Cesira had her hands over a deep wound in the wizatd's throat. She mutmuted a prayer, and soft, yellow light spooled from her fingers. The physical manifestation of the spell coveted Dantane's bloody gash, closing and mending the tender flesh.
"Is he going to live?" asked Kail, when she'd finished.
A dry wheeze answered him as Dantane spat a clump of dirt and blood on the stones. He coughed again, and Kail realized the wizard was laughing. The humor looked ghastly on his bloodstained lips.
"This house… is a tragedy-a treasure. You are cursed, Morel." Dantane hacked more blood, shuddered, and began to breathe normally. "I've explored Netherese ruins and never encountered such a clash of the Art. Mystra in her humor leads me to power in the most magic-barren country in Faeriin. I shall never doubt the Lady again."
Cesira helped Dantane to a sitting position. It appears you've given him an epiphany, my lord, she said.
"Wonderful," said Kali. "I'm delighted someone's enjoying this."
Do you think it's genuine? Cesira asked.
"The message? Yes. And if Balram's involved…"
"So you'll be going after her?"
These last words were from Dantane. Kail looked at the wizard, at his torn robes, and the shambles of the room. "Why should that concern you?" he asked. "I would have thought you'd be lamenting the loss of your workshop and demanding restitution from me."
"Oh, I'll get to that," Dantane assured him. "But if you're going into the Delve, I'm coming with you." Before Kali could protest, he said, "Consider that the beginning of yout restitution."
"Why?" Kali wanted to know. "Is it just for the power you smell, Dantane? Pity you didn't learn a lesson just now, when it nearly killed you."
"You're hardly in a position to judge me, Morel. Kindly refrain." Dantane wiped the blood from his mouth, but his gaze never left Kail's. "The magic tempts me greatly. I don't deny what I am, the power I want. But there's something else-and this will interest you both." He sifted through the rubble until he uncovered his ruined magic circle. "The incoming message disrupted my spell, so I could not identify young Chadossa's magic item, but it hardly matters anymore. The Art is identical. The spells came from the same source. They collided and became wild magic. If you find your sorcer-ous friend, you'll find the cause of Chadossa's death."
"The Shadow Thieves," said Kail. "Balram." And Aazen.
Kail remembered his friend's words as Aazen watched the lute player sing his last song. Can you believe I may have found other companions? Kali never dreamed Aazen would number the Shadow Thieves among his friends.
"Now we know the reason the Chadossas didn't pursue a murder investigation," said Dantane. "The family has been dealing in dangerous magics through the Shadow Thieves. Chadossa can't have that information known to the general public. For myself, I want to find the source of the power I felt, and I would be more than willing to help you take it from the Shadow Thieves."
Kail wondered in whose hands the