Chapter Nine

         They crawled their way up the mountainside like ants on a wall, saddlebags slung over their shoulders. Teris tried not to dwell on the sight that lay behind him, but every now and then he would glance over his should at the grim view. Little plums of smoke rose from the fires. He could only assume that those fires consumed towns and farms, the livelihoods of so many people going up in flames. Faella was right, he knew the grim truth now. This is what we have to stop. He only hoped that they would be able to stop the daemons.

         Looking up, he realized that they had nearly reached the entrance to the caverns. Good thing, it'll be too dark to see soon. Already the blackened land behind him was blending into the green land around it, and the fires shone like stars in the distance. The sickle moon hung overhead in the deepening twilight.

         Faella was the first to haul herself over the ledge and climb onto the flat ground in front of the cave. She turned and gave a hand to Guilyne, whose leg still bothered him from the slash in his thigh. Teris stood on the edge of the tiny plateau, looking out across the world. He fancied he could see the faint glimmer of the western ocean, far away past Balistraria. He'd never been so high up before, and the very size of what he saw boggled his mind.

         "Impressive, isn't it?" Guilyne walked over to stand beside Teris. "It's a long ten years since I was here. I never knew the world was so big, until I saw it from here. And once I saw it, I wanted to see it all up close."

         "Did you? See it all up close, I mean."

         "Most of it. All the best parts anyway. And then I got tired, and moved to the shack you and Faella found me in. But I can only stay in one spot for so long; I was already getting restless. This was as good an excuse as any to have one last fling. After this, I really will be too old for this sort of thing."

         "Pish!" Faella had been listening from where she sat on a nearby rock. She got up and joined them. "That's exactly what you said last time. You were too old for this sort of thing ten years ago."

         Guilyne grinned, his teeth flashing through his beard. "Ah, but I'm just too good to quit. You should know that by now."

         Faella shook her head wearily, as though she'd had this discussion before. "Just too stubborn, you mean. A more mule-headed man I've never met."

         Teris grinned as he left them to their good-natured bickering. Jaemy was sitting on the ground leaning against a rock, her head propped up on her arm. Teris joined her, sitting cross-legged on the dusty rock. She looked at him solemnly, her brown eyes wet and glistening.

         "Who did you lose?" she asked, her voice low.

         Teris frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

         "Only a person who's recently lost someone would know the pain I feel, as you so clearly do. Who did you lose?"

         Teris looked away, pain filling his voice as he said, "Everyone. Everyone and everything that mattered. My father, my uncle. Even my home."

         Jaemy nodded slowly, as if she'd expected as much. "Then we're not so different, are we? You and I, cast adrift in the world with no family or home to anchor us. No one to love, no one love us. And yet...we are different. Different backgrounds. Different choices we've made, different paths we've taken. Different secrets we've kept. So different, yet one small thing can make us feel connected, as though we've known each other all our lives." Her eyes met Teris' insistently, boring into his heart, his mind. "Do you feel it?"

         He nodded his head. "I do."

         "It is that connection, that need for connection, that drives us to seek companionship. That is the pull of family, the appeal of being surrounded by ones you know and love." She covered her eyes with her hand and turned away, her voice now harsh. "Ah, what does it matter! I had it, and now...it's gone. I've lost the only part of my heart that matters, that which belonged to my family."

         Teris reached a hand out to her, but something held him back. He gazed at her sadly in the deepening night. Shaking his head, he got up and started gathering what little wood he could find for a fire. There were a few bushes growing out of the rock, just enough for one fire. He was picking up an armful when Faella stopped him.

         "No fire tonight. From up here, even a small fire would be seen for miles. It would be a beacon for anyone nearby."

         Teris realized she was right and dropped the wood. Guess it's dry bread and cheese tonight. Wonderful...

*          *          *

         Teris woke before the sun rose, and sat facing the eastern sky as the darkness fled before the golden orb. The pastel pinks, roses, and oranges blossomed then faded as he watched. He heard the others rousing behind him, but sat still, transfixed by the show. Finally, as the colors disappeared from the sky leaving a brilliant blue behind, he sighed and turned. It struck him that he should take the time to watch the sunrise more often. We shouldn't ever get so busy that we forget what we're fighting for.

         He gathered his belongings and slung his saddlebag over his shoulder as the others did the same. Faella took out two torches from her pack and doused them with some oil from a metal flask. She struck a spark with her flint and lit the torches, handing one to Guilyne. Taking the other one, she led the way farther into the cave. At the rear of the cave there was a small opening, barely tall enough for a man to crawl through. On the other side of this though, the tunnel opened up enough for them to walk single-file without having to stoop.

         The flickering light from the torches danced along the walls. The gloom seemed to have a physical presence, like a beast about to strike. To break the ominous silence, Teris asked Faella, "What will this shard look like?"

         Faella answered without turning back, her voice echoing down the passageway. "I'm not sure exactly, but from what the Mages have been able to reassemble, it will be roughly pyramidal in shape, with one face covered in runes. The mages have listened to the resonance the shard makes, and believe it to be somewhere near the middle of the mountain, but they can't be sure. This whole place gives off a resonance, probably because dragons lived here for so long. Races like dragons, elves, and other magical peoples give off a resonance all of our own."

         Teris cocked his head. He'd never heard of this resonance before. "Do humans give off a resonance?"

         Faella laughed. "Nah, just a smell. No, humans, dwarves, and trolls have no resonance. Theologians believe that's because humans, dwarves, and trolls have less of the original elemental blood in them than the other races. Which is also why humans and dwarves aren't exactly known for their magical abilities, although there anomolies."

         "What about trolls?" Guilyne asked.

         "No one really knows. They are so secretive and secluded that no one's ever been able to find out. We can only assume that, since they have no resonance either, then they must be much the same as humans and dwarves. I've certainly never heard any stories of great troll mages!"

         Their voices faded away as they continued on. The tunnel started sloping downward, and by sighting a line down one wall Teris was able to tell that it was curving, too, spiraling in toward the center. They walked for hours, the tunnel seeming to stay the same. Teris was wondering what would happen if the torches went out when the tunnel took a sharp turn inward and they came to a small chamber hollowed from the rock. The tunnel split into three paths, each one marked by a sigil next to the opening. Faella peered at each marking, studying them minutely. Teris heard her mumbling to herself as she traced the lines carved long ago in the granite. Jaemy also looked at them closely. At first he thought she was just curious, but he realized that she seemed to be studying them just as seriously as Faella. After several minutes Faella stepped back and said, "I think it's this one," pointing to the center tunnel. Once again she took the lead, and the others followed, with Guilyne taking up the rear with the second torch.

         Teris wondered what she'd gathered from the sigils. He hadn't been able to make head nor tail of them. Of course, I've never studied dragon lore, and I'm sure she has. He also wondered if Jaemy had some knowledge of dragons and sigils, for she seemed very interested in them. Just another oddity to add to the pile.

         The tunnel turned a corner and they found themselves confronted by a pile of rubble blocking their path. After gazing despondently at it for a few seconds, Faella turned and gestured for them to go back. She sighed as they trudged the way they had come. "I was counting on this tunnel leading us to it. This would have taken us to the main hall. I can only assume that the shard will be someplace special, somewhere with a high resonance. We'll try the left tunnel."

         Guilyne looked over his shoulder. "Where does that one go?"

         "It should take us to the athenaeum, where they kept their vast stores of books and written documents. I imagine they took all that with them when they left, they held knowledge to be the most valuable thing in the world."

         They returned to the small chamber and took the left-hand tunnel. This one was smaller, the walls narrowing in on them until Teris wondered how a dragon could fit through them. His curiosity bubbled over and he broke the silence. "How did the dragons move through the mountain? These tunnels aren't large enough for a dragon."

         Faella chuckled. "That's because these aren't the tunnels the dragons used. Most of the dragon homes were created by the dwarves, as they are the most skilled stone-workers in the world. They also have a tendency to build secret entrances, back ways that only they know about. That's what these tunnels are. The dragons used a gate, said to be nearly twenty paces tall and twice that wide. They used illusion to conceal it, so that they could come and go with ease. However, that has long since collapsed. This is now the only way into the mountain.

         He was just beginning to think that they would never reach their destination when the tunnel came to an abrupt end. They walked the last few feet of the tunnel, and found themselves in a massive chamber the likes of which Teris had never seen. The room was shaped like a giant dome, and the walls where covered in intricate carvings of extreme complexity. Alcoves were carved from the rock all around the edge of the room, filled with statues.

         But what caught Teris eye was at the far side of the chamber. There, on plinths and giant slabs of rock, in chests and overflowing on the floor, was a huge stockpile of wealth. Gold and silver gleamed from the torchlight, and gems of all kinds twinkled away like stars. This must have been the dragons' treasure vault, all the wealth that the dragon lords had accumulated over centuries. What could have made them abandon this treasure trove? And why would they store this in the athenaeum?

         Guilyne was the first to move. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" At that, they all made haste toward the treasure, forgetting for a moment the reason they'd came. A fever seemed to come over them, as they sifted through the gold coins with their hands like leaves. Guilyne started stuffing a sack full of precious stones, and Teris copied him, knowing he could carry more wealth that way.

         As their frenzy abated, Teris began looking around him at the other treasures. Bejeweled statuettes were tossed willy-nilly across the floor, urns and vases wrought from silver and gold lay among crystal platters and bowls.

         Teris found a long, thin wooden chest a little away from the main pile, and curiosity got the better of him. He walked toward it, his footsteps echoing on the polished stone floor. The voices and and cries of exuberance from the others seemed to fade away as he approached, but he thought nothing of it. He knelt down and slowly raised the lid, his anticipation rising as well. His eyes pierced the darkened depths of the chest and beheld a magnificent sword, its scabbard incrusted with gems. His hand reached out and grasped the hilt and withdrew the weapon from its wooden prison. Drawing the sword Teris was amazed at the intricate runes engraved on the straight, sharp blade. He peered at the runes closer, and they seemed to writhe under his eyes. A rustling sounded in his ears and he realized they were voices, calling out to him in glad and excited tones. He felt as though he was under water, drowning in a sea of whispers. The voices grew more insistent, and though he could not tell what they said he felt they wanted him to use the sword.

         The runes moved swifter now, and as he watched they formed a series of images, visions of power. Teris saw himself riding to war against the daemons at the head of a vast army. He saw himself as king, raising his famous sword above another victorious battlefield. He saw himself at the head of a council chamber, raining judgments down upon the common folk like lightening. All the while those voices whispered seductively, seeming to say, 'all this could be yours, if you just take me up and use me the way you know you should.'

         Teris tried to resist, tried to shake his head no, but it was as though he was simply an observer in his own body. he heard voices calling his name, voices he knew, but they were so far away, so distant. Then he felt a sharp pain in his head, so agonizing it felt like his head was splitting apart. He threw his head back and screamed, a terrible roar that shook the chamber. His voice teemed with the voices of thousands as they fought for hold on his mind. With one final effort Teris wrenched his hand away from the sword let it clatter to the floor, its runes still once more. Faraway rumbles sounded in the depths of the mountain as the echoes died away. His breath heaved in his chest as he tried to forget the terrible scenes he'd seen. Tried to forget the terrible temptation he'd felt.

         He realized that Jaemy held her hands to his head, and he turned and moved them away gently. He looked at her troubled face and said, "It's okay...it's me. Thanks to you."

         She smiled shakily at him, though her eyes still searched his face. "You're lucky. A few seconds more and I would have been too late."

         Teris glanced behind him at the sword, not quite looking at it directly. "What was that?"

         Faella answered, her eyes hooded as she faced him. "The runes on that sword were the runes of Grye-Davea. Legend has it that there were only five artifacts ever made with that set of runes, and they were all destroyed. Apparently there was one more."

         Guilyne wanted to know, "What is...Grye-Davea?"

         Jaemy replied before Faella could answer. "Grye-Davea was a human, a mage of extraordinary power. It's rare for a human to be so powerful, he was one of those 'anomalies' Faella talked about. He hated the dragons with a fierce will, and bent his entire being toward their destruction. No one knows why." Jaemy turned away and began pacing, her hands gesturing as she spoke. Her usually stoic face became animated as she elucidated on the history of the runes. "These runes were his final gambit toward the destruction of the dragons. Fortunately, he was stopped and the artifacts carrying the runes were completely destroyed. But apparently Grye-Davea made at least one more than was previously thought. We have thankfully lost the knowledge to create these runes, for they are so powerful that, if used, could have corrupted the whole world. Scholars believe that the runes Grye-Davea created were unique in that they worked on a specific principle. The runes will work for anybody with the will to control them, but they will only work against those with measurable amounts of elemental blood, effectively rendering the human race immune to its powers. The dragons have the highest levels of elemental blood of any race. No one really knows how the runes work, how they would carry out their mission of destruction. And we really don't want to find out." She turned to face them again, and was halted by the frozen expressions on Faella, Guilyne, and Teris was sure, his own face.

         Faella was the first to react. "Excellent, most excellent. But I must ask, how does someone like you come to have such knowledge?"

         Jaemy blushed, and smiled almost apologetically. "I had a rather unusual childhood. I lost my mother at an early age, and my father was not prepared to handle my voracious appetite for knowledge alone. So he sent me off to a local scholar for education, mainly as a defensive measure I'm sure. Unknown to him, the elderly scholar was an old mage, retired from the politics of the Order. He taught me much about history, politics, geography, and many other things that most would consider useless. But I loved it all."

         Faella cocked her head and asked, "Did he teach you any magic?"

         Jaemy replied, though it seemed to Teris that she hesitated for a short second first. "No, that was one of his greatest disappointments. I was never able to learn magic, though he did teach me the principles and theories governing magic."

         Teris searched Jaemy's face closely as he wondered, Why did she lie? What is she trying to hide?

         Teris noticed Faella also studying Jaemy, but she must have dismissed any suspicions because she then said, "Well, we can't leave that sword laying here. We'll need to carry it with us so that it can be destroyed. The dragons can do that for us. They'll be glad to." They carefully set the sword back in its chest and closed the clasp. Teris resolved to never open the thing again.

*          *          *

         The excitement over for the moment and the treasure fever forgotten, they spread out to search for the shard of the Runestone. They couldn't imagine that it would be anywhere else. Teris searched near the edge of the pile, looking for anything out of place. He figured that the shard would most likely be on top of the pile, since he doubted the mound of gold and silver had moved any for hundreds of years until they'd arrived.

         His gaze was caught by something that definitely didn't fit, although it wasn't what he was looking for. Two swords stood on a polished wooden stand near a golden statue of the Lady of Mercy. They stood out from their surroundings because they were largely unadorned, save for the fact that their hilts were slightly unusual. They were identical except that the hilt of one was silver, and the other was bronze. The crossguards were twisted and upswept slightly. The blades, or at least the scabbards, were curved a bit, and looked to be about three feet long. He drew closer and picked up one hesitantly, his experience with the last sword he'd picked up all too clear in his mind. But nothing untoward happened when his hand closed around the hilt. He picked the sword up and drew the blade in one smooth flashing motion. He was stunned when he saw the engraving on the ricasso, an eagle perching among rose briars. His family's symbol. He looked closer and saw that the blossoms were in the form of flames, flickering in strange and beautiful patterns. Sheathing the sword and picking up the other one, he saw that it had the same engraving. How did a pair of swords with the symbol of my family come to be here. These must be hundreds of years old.

         At that moment he heard an excited shout from Faella off to his side, and he quickly gathered the swords in his arms and ran to where she was crouching by the edge of the pile of treasure. She was holding a small box in her hands, and as he and the others arrived at her side she opened it. Inside lay the shard, just as Faella had described it. Pyramidal, one side polished and covered with runes, the other sides rough and jagged. Teris looked at the runes nervously, but to his relief they didn't move under his gaze. I'm going to be scarred for life, aren't I? he thought ironically.

         Faella stood up, her face awash with delight. "This is it! This is what we came for. With this we might stand a chance against the daemons." She saw the swords under Teris' arm, and frowned. "What are those? Not another evil weapon, I hope."

         Teris grinned sheepishly. "I don't think so. At least, they haven't tried to take over my mind. I saw them and they seemed so odd, these plain swords sitting there among the gold and gems. But see here, look!" he said, showing the engraving to Faella. "Look at that! That's my family's symbol, or close enough. What would that be doing on a pair of swords here?"

         Faella frowned and shook her head. "I'm not sure. It's probably nothing to do with your family, after all it's not exactly the same. Besides, they must be hundreds of years old, it could mean anything."

         Teris shrugged, his enthusiasm fading in front of her pessimism. "You're most likely right. But I still like them. Besides, I've been needing a new blade or two."

         Faella turned to the others. "All right, let's move. We've got what we came for. Pick up your stuff and let's be on our...Guilyne! Put that bag away! If you stuff that bag full of gold you'll break Arhlasyn's back. That's a poor way of rewarding him after all these years."

         Guilyne looked regretfully at the bag he was filling with treasure, and then at the large mound that they'd hardly dented. He sighed and said, "Well, I suppose I could always come back. You're right, Faella. I can't take it all."

         Teris returned to the wooden stand where he'd found his new swords and looked for a sword belt. Instead, he found a backhanger harness similar to Jaemy's with the eagle and flaming roses stamped into the leather. He slung the swords onto his back and joined the others near the entrance to the chamber. Faella took two torches from a sconce near the tunnel entrance and lit them with the dwindling torches they'd brought. She took one last look around the awe-inspiring chamber then turned and walked into the tunnel. Teris followed her and Jaemy, and Guilyne looked longingly at the treasure he was leaving behind. Teris heard him mutter to himself, "I've got to come back here. With a packhorse...no, two packhorses, maybe even three..." Teris smiled as he patted his pockets, bulging nicely from gems. Those would be more than enough, at least for a while.