The Lost Library of Cormanthy - Mel Odom [117]
Cordyan Tsald and her men of the watch wore chain mail armor as well, but their tabards carried the Waterdhavian crests. They looked like an army, forty men strong, counting the recruits they'd picked up from among the crew of Tsunami Dancer. Some of the sailors wanted to try their hands at finding the library as well.
The monks of Candlekeep lined up on either side of the adventuring party. The robes ranged from mauve to black, and the faces betrayed their own excitement.
Baylee shifted his attention back to the Candlekeep wizard at the head of the party. The man walked carefully among the inscribed designs on the flagstones along the outer edge of the cliff overhanging the harbor letting out to the Sea of Swords. He inspected each drawing, apparently satisfied with them all.
Innesdav stood beside Baylee, one hand on the ranger's knee. "If you have any concerns," the old monk said, "now would be the time to voice them. Brother Darhakk's dimensional door will not settle properly over land."
"As long as it'll get us where we're going," Baylee said, "what more could we ask for?"
Brother Darhakk finished the last of his inspection and turned to face the assembled riders. "If the necessary alignments for such a long portage were more favorable, I could place the dimensional door wherever I wanted. This morning, at this time, the door you see before you is the only one that is possible to get you where you are going. Even so, I will not be able to keep it open long."
Cordyan shifted in her saddle, turning back to face all of the assembled men. "If there are any of you who do not want to ride over this cliff into that dimensional door, bow out gracefully now. For if you don't, and your cowardice later causes the death of anyone else, rest assured that I will hold you accountable."
No one moved.
"You have my talisman?" Innesdav asked.
Baylee touched the obsidian triangle on the leather thong around his neck.
"Good," the monk said. "With the scrying crystal I have access to, I should be able to see you at least part of the way of your journey." He reached up and clasped hands with the ranger.
Baylee felt the back of his throat grow tight. But the excitement kept the fires blazing in his stomach, feeding off the nervous energy filling his mount. "Keep a stew pot on, old friend. I'll be back before you know it."
Brother Darhakk called for their attention. Innesdav stepped away. Darhakk began chanting in a loud voice.
Attuned to the magic assembling around them, Baylee felt the strength of the spell as it built. Then the sky over the edge of the cliff turned a virulent shade of green.
"Ride!" Darhakk yelled.
Baylee put his heels to his horse, urging it for the cliff side. Xuxa released her hold on a nearby branch and swooped past the ranger, winging toward the dimensional door. Baylee concentrated on her, wondering if she would pass through the door entirely and end up flying over the sea where he would fall, or if she would just end up being rendered discorporate by the magic.
Xuxa disappeared.
At the last moment, as the cliff ended before Baylee, the horse tried to fight him. He pulled hard on the reins, guiding it through the ten-foot square. He heard the final click of the horse's hooves leaving the stone. Then there was a moment of free fall, a vision of Tsunami Dancer berthed in the harbor below- and he fell.
In the next instant, Baylee grew aware of the thick forest spread all around him. He tugged on the horse's reins to maneuver it from a collision with a towering, old-growth tree. Xuxa?
I am here.
Baylee swung around to gaze in all directions. Sunlight shafted through the trees, a muted yellow that lit up emerald green leaves and grasses. He was back in the Dalelands; he could smell the difference. Are we alone?
Except for the local flora and fauna, the azmyth bat replied, yes.
The ranger swung the horse around, his hand still resting on the hilt of the long sword at