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.They used it to store their secrets, their refuse, and their.mistakes."Iahn leaned forward, waiting for her to continue."The ancient Imaskari used their artificial demiplane to conduct their most hazardous arcane experiments.They also used it to store the fruits thereof, hidden safely behind the walls of the world.""Has one of these walls weakened? Has someone liberated one of these 'mistakes,' seeking to use it against us?"Ususi nodded slowly.The creature Iahn had faced had seemed to hint along those lines."That's a possible scenario.Also, the lord apprehender's message seems to imply as much.My research shows that thousands of years without maintenance weakened the once strong boundaries of the Celestial Nadir.Contiguous planes bled together, and pseudo-reality gave the realm a permanence, and unpredictability, never intended.""Can you identify our attacker? Is it an entity from the Celestial Nadir with which you are familiar?""Not at present, but I need to learn more.To be honest, for all my research, the Celestial Nadir is a project of many lifetimes.All I can currently say with any certainty is that whoever or whatever our foe is, it seems capable of using the fabric of the Celestial Nadir against us.This crystal"— Ususi pointed to her satchel—"is a manifestation of the Celestial Nadir's existence.It seems to have been somehow.corrupted."With these words spoken, she decided the time was right.The travel coach was clean enough.She would see what she could see with the clues at hand.Ususi retrieved the three pendants and placed them on the ground.From the coach, she fetched a yellowish vial from a cupboard where several more glass containers were neatly snugged into a wooden rack.Many of the little vials had been smashed by the intruders, but enough remained for her to seek answers.She seated herself next to the pendants.Iahn didn't move from his position.She removed the cap from the vial and drank down the citrus-flavored elixir.Ususi didn't believe in brewing foul-tasting potions.Her lips tingled, her eyes sparked, and her mind quickened.The sky above became a portent of the day and night to come.Odors wafting on the air revealed landforms for many miles in every direction—the scent of a thousand things normally too subtle for human notice.The menhirs on the distant bluff were revealed as the warning markers they'd been constructed to be, meant to scare away intruders, not draw them.The wheels of her travel coach were a history of every rock, every sand pit, and every cool river crossing they had endured since each had been fitted to the axle.Connections between herself and the vengeance taker she had not previously realized suddenly crystallized, and she feared him less—and more.Iahn's eyes were so much like a cloud-scrubbed sky in the dead of winter—but were they capable of reflecting the sun?Ususi shook her head—the elixir lasted only moments.She concentrated on the three crystals.At first the pendants seemed mute, scrubbed of all history.But then each revealed that it was not of this world.Instead, they were brought in from a mine—a mundane mine? The crystals had been mined in the Celestial Nadir.How had they come into this world? Vague hints and half-remembered clues gelled in the wizard's mind as she examined the crystals.They spoke of a distance, but compared to how far she'd come, it was negligible.South and east.most recently from a city on the edge of a great sea.Assur, she wondered?No.The signs were clear.It was Vaelan.The mine was not in Vaelan, but those who mined the crystal could be found in that city.Vaelan was where she and Iahn would go.CHAPTER TEN"Wake up, Warian! Lost your wits since you left? I asked you what you've got against my squad?"Warian blinked again.His assessment of the situation in Eined's apartment shifted.It was painful making the mental adjustment to reflect his uncle's appearance."Zel? What're you doing here? Are these your men, ransacking Eined's place? I thought they were burglars.""Eined's missing, Nephew! These fellows are looking for anything we can use to figure out what happened to her.The family thinks she's been kidnapped.""Kidnapped! By whom?""Don't know.Some bastard hoping to claim a ransom.Like I told you, if I knew, I wouldn't be tearing apart your sister's apartment."Warian took a deep breath.His strength was trickling back.Calling on his arm's hidden reserve was apparently something he shouldn't do lightly.He said, "Sorry.I didn't know what they were doing here.It looked like something I should break up.You have to admit—stumbling upon it, it wouldn't look good."Zel just grinned his crazy Zel grin.Truth to tell, Warian had never quite trusted his Uncle Zeltaebar.If the Datharathi family had a truism, it was that Zel never told the whole truth.His uncle scratched his ear."So, what are you doing back? Did you get some sort of message from Eined? What'd it say?"Warian realized how his presence must look.He raised his real hand."No, Uncle, I received no message.I just got into town today, and thought I'd go see Eined.She's my favorite sister."Zel snorted."Your only living sister, you mean?""Always the sensitive one, Uncle.""Seems a little strange that you'd come back just when Eined goes missing, though, doesn't it?" Zel fixed Warian with a penetrating stare."And the suspicious one.You think I'd hurt my own sister? I want to know what's happened to her, too! You think I know something you don't?""I don't think it, I know it.You wouldn't be here otherwise.And I don't mean here in Eined's home.I mean back in Vaelan.You swore you'd never return.Something's made you decide otherwise.What gives, Nephew?"Warian considered telling his uncle about his arm, but since Zel hadn't mentioned the method by which his nephew had just decimated his crew."I'd like to call a family meeting—I'll tell everyone at the same time."Zel whistled.He said, "You don't have the authority to call a meeting [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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