Word of Traitors_ Legacy of Dhakaan - Don Bassingthwaite [116]
Ahead of them, the great red stone arch cast a long shadow on the road as the sun, chased by clouds, set behind it. Tenquis’s steps slowed. “Check Wrath,” he said.
The sword pointed through the arch.
Geth didn’t put Wrath away. They walked up to the arch in silence and stole into its shadow. Geth paid no more attention to the carvings within than he had the first time he’d passed through. A tall iron gate closed the far end of the arch, but it wasn’t locked. It opened at a touch with something like a soft sigh and they slipped through. Geth walked with Wrath extended before him. The road ended and they paced through long, dry grass. Twilight was settling over the ridge of weathered rock that Haruuc had intended to be the graveyard of kings.
The great lhesh, a young warlord again, glared down at them from the heavy door of his tomb.
Wrath didn’t waver. It pointed at the ridge below the outer structure of the tomb. Geth climbed the steep stairs up to the carved door and felt the sword dip in his hands. He walked around the tomb, just to be certain. Wrath moved like an iron needle drawn to a lodestone and what he felt was so far beyond amazement that it left him stunned.
“It’s inside,” he said. “The Rod of Kings is inside Haruuc’s tomb.”
Tenquis joined him and ran dark fingers around the seam of the door. “It hasn’t been opened.”
“It can’t be opened,” said Geth. “The pivots were meant to crumble once the door was closed.” He stared into Haruuc’s stone face. “Grandfather Rat, how did Chetiin manage to get it inside?”
“Magic,” Tenquis suggested. “Or just another entrance. Hobgoblins prefer to bury their dead in caves. The underground portion of the tomb was originally a cave, wasn’t it?”
Geth nodded and the tiefling stepped back, dusting off his hands and nodding around them at the folds and cracks of the ridge.
“It won’t be the only one. The builders would likely have walled off any connections, but a goblin wouldn’t need much space to wiggle through.”
Geth looked around at the ridge as well. “It would take days to find the entrance and a connection.”
“Then that leaves magic.” Tenquis patted the door. “I might be able to open this. Not now—I’d need to prepare—but I have an idea how it could be done.” He met Geth’s eyes. “If you think it’s necessary.”
“What do you mean ‘if I think it’s necessary?’” Geth asked. “Of course it’s necessary!”
Tenquis held up his hands. “Think about it,” he said. “We only found it because we have Wrath. No one else is going to think to look here, are they? The tomb is sealed. Unless we open it, no one is going to have any reason even bothering to try and look inside. The rod is safe with Haruuc. Maybe that’s what Chetiin intended.”
“Then why steal it from me?” Geth demanded. “We could have worked together. Maybe Chetiin just wanted to hide the rod somewhere safe for a while. I don’t know. I can’t even guess what he’s up to anymore.” He pulled his lips back in a snarl. “And where one goblin can go, so can others. No tomb is unlootable—and there’s a lot of loot in Haruuc’s tomb. Anyone who breaks in looking for treasure isn’t going to present much of a challenge to the rod if they pick it up by mistake.”
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. “How long will it take you to get what you need ready?”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
28 Sypheros
In the afternoons at Khaar Mbar’ost, many of the warlords, councilors, and courtiers could be found walking and talking in the hall of honor. The hall occupied the full length of one of the fortress’s upper floors. Statues of dar heroes stood against the walls, and stained glass windows depicting scenes of famous battles dominated the distant ends. The air in the hall was generally soft with murmured conversation, though a few times Ashi had heard it ring with the sound of steel on steel as conversation erupted into argument and a brief duel.
Today it was quiet. The curse