The Wizardwar - Elaine Cunningham [27]
"I think you'd better tell me everything you know."
Andris nodded. "Years ago, before Akhlaur began his rise to power, three young wizards, friends from boyhood, created a powerful artifact. This artifact was a symbol of their friendship. It joined them, lending the strength of all to each. This they did in response to dangerous times, for all three were active in Halruaa's defense. In youthful arrogance they called themselves the Heart of Halruaa. The artifact would protect them and their descendants, creating a legacy of guardianship."
Matteo jolted as he recalled a conversation with Zalathorm in which the king had hinted of powerful magic protecting the "Heart of Halruaa."
Andris noted this response. "What is it?"
"Not long ago, Tzigone and I were attacked by thugs and taken to an icehouse. Between us, we dispatched most of the men. The dead and wounded simply faded away. King Zalathorm told me that when the Heart of Halruaa is concerned, either the threat or the threatened are removed from danger. A similar thing happened when clockwork monsters went amok in the queen's workshop."
The ghostly jordain's eyes went wide. Matteo lifted an inquiring brow, but Andris shook his head.
"Never mind-a fleeting and unformed thought, not worth speaking. I suspect you came here to ask me to help you retrace Kiva's steps, to determine what role she played in the queen's downfall."
"That is true."
"I’ll help you. In exchange, you must help me destroy the Cabal."
A burst of startled laughter escaped Matteo. "As if the two impossible tasks currently before me were not sufficient! Andris, I don't even know what the Cabal is!"
"I just told you."
Matteo sobered. "The artifact? The Heart of Halruaa?"
"Well, it's good to know that palace life hasn't made your wits less nimble,"
Andris said dryly.
"That does make a certain macabre sense," the jordain mused. "Yet all my life I've heard tales of a secret group of wizards who supported and controlled the Halruaan government in mysterious ways. You're saying there's no truth to these tales?"
Andris's faint smile held a world of bitterness. "Sometimes truth can be found only in layers of irony."
"If that's not a jordaini proverb, it should be," Matteo retorted. "How do you know these things?"
"I read Akhlaur's grimoire," he reminded Matteo. "I know why the artifact was created, and I know what it became. It must be destroyed."
Matteo regarded his friend for a long moment "Once, I would have taken any course of action on your word alone. Forgive me, but those days have passed."
The ghostly jordain nodded. "Fair enough. You saw how the laraken drained the life force-the magical essence-of all the elves it encountered."
Matteo averted his eyes from Andris's translucent form. "Yes."
"Where did that magic go?"
He blinked, then frowned. "I assumed the laraken consumed it, as we do food."
Andris shook his head. "The laraken was only a conduit. The stolen lifeforces are contained in the heart of an ancient, magic-storing gem."
"You're sure of this?" Matteo pressed.
"I saw a similar gem in the Khaerbaal Swamp. I brought it to Kiva. She shattered it. I saw the elven spirits, captive for centuries, released. Never have I seen such joy! Whenever following Kiva weighed heavily on me, I thought of that moment and my part in it."
Matteo nodded, understanding at last what had motivated his friend.
"Will you help me?" Andris pressed.
Still he hesitated. "You wish to destroy an artifact that supports King Zalathorm's reign."
"Why not? Wasn't it you who told me that no good can come of alliance with evil? You also spoke of conflict between a jordaini's three masters: truth, Halruaa, and the wizard-lords. It is time for the truth to be told, and you may have to choose between your patron and the good of Halruaa."
Perhaps this, Matteo mused, was what Zalathorm had intended. Perhaps this Cabal was the mysterious "what" that held Beatrix under enchantment.
"I will consider," he agreed. "In exchange, give me your word that you will not escape. Swear this upon your elven honor."