The Shattered Land_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [134]
“Right. The firebinders. This whole discussion was so fascinating, I almost forgot it had a point.” Daine sighed. “At the risk of another lecture, what are the firebinders trying to do?”
“My ancestors turned away from the brutal masters, but the firebinders served them faithfully. The Wrathful Night stripped the masters of their knowledge, but the slaves escaped the disaster. We turned to the voices of the wild, but others of their kind sought the knowledge of the mighty ones—the terrible secrets that have made them masters of flame.”
“You’re saying they work for giants?”
“No,” Lakashtai interjected, before Shen’kar could speak. “The giants are savages now, but they have reclaimed knowledge that the giants once had.” She glanced over at Shen’kar. “And this ‘gate’ of theirs? A path to greater knowledge?”
Shen’kar clicked his tongue. “The hidden vaults of the mighty are all around. We seek to reclaim the tools of our ancestors, but the secrets of the masters tore a moon from the sky and shattered this world. They should remain buried.” He gestured at his two companions. “We are scorpion wraiths, the champions of our tribe. We do not have the strength to face the firebinders in their burning city, but we slaughter them when they venture into the darkness beyond. When the season of fire is upon the land, we come in force, to ensure that they do not open their gate of flame.”
Season of Fire?
It must be a planar conjunction, Lakashtai thought. The outer planes are shadows of the world, orbiting like the moons, and when they come into alignment … well, strange things are possible. I think that Fernia is aligned with Eberron right now—that must be what they’re talking about. It should enhance all forms of fire magic.
Well, we certainly haven’t seen any of that.
“This gate of fire …” Lakashtai said. “This is the monolith of Karul’tash?”
“Karul’tash is its name in the language of the masters. It is surrounded by the invisible walls of which you speak, and none can approach it and live. Terrible powers lurk within, and the firebinders say there is a gate that will lead them to paradise.”
“So?” Daine said. “Why not let them go?”
“The legends say that those who pass through the gate will gain powers beyond those held by the ancient overlords and will return with an army of flame that will burn the world in their wake.”
“Oh.”
“So every cycle we come, to kill those who try to enter Karul’tash, slave and outlander alike.”
“Why not destroy it?” Lakashtai said.
“Such a thing would be impossible.”
Lakashtai shook her head. “Not at all. If there are gateways or magic—anything can be destroyed.” She looked at Daine. “We must get inside the monolith. My companion will be consumed by madness if we do not, and the forces first fought by the mighty will return.”
The drow glanced at Daine, shifting their grip on their weapons.
“Join us,” Lakashtai said. “Together we will find a way to destroy the forces hidden within Karul’tash and end your long vigil.”
Her voice was filled with passion and conviction, and Daine could feel the whisper at the back of his mind urging him to agree. Does she even know she’s doing that? He wondered.
Moments passed as the drow considered in silence. At last, Shen’kar clicked his tongue. “We may fight together, but to destroy Karul’tash, you must first enter it, and the firebinders have waited more than six thousand cycles for the coming of the opener.”
“We didn’t have much luck during our time in the maze,” Daine pointed out.
Lakashtai frowned. “Yes. I did not know about these defenses, but there must be a way …”
Her reflections were interrupted by motion in the trees. A shadow slipped out of the