Crypt of the Shadowking

Cormik chuckled deeply. 'Don't despair, Mari Al'maren. I have ways of sowing problems among Cutter's men.' His one good eye gleamed wickedly. 'As a matter of fact, I suspect that even as we talk new reports are making their way to the tower, telling how the leaders behind the insurrection are in truth captains of Ravendas's own city guards. More than a few of Cutter's men who don't swear their complete loyalty quite fast enough will be swinging by their necks before morning.'

Caledan shook his head. 'You're a devious man, Cormik. Remind me never to get on your bad side.'

Cormik stared at Caledan flatly. 'You are on my bad side, Caledan.'

Mari laughed after Cormik had left. 'You know, I'm really beginning to like that man,' she commented.

'You would,' Caledan replied sourly.

It was late. The inn had closed for the night. Its shutters were drawn, giving Mari and Caledan the freedom to sit in the glow of the fire in the common room with Estah. Jolle was upstairs. He said he wanted to check on a leak in the roof. Mari didn't remind him there hadn't been a drop of rain in days. She knew the halfling was keeping watch.

'Despite Cormik's deceptions, it's still only a matter of time before Ravendas discovers us,' Caledan said in a low voice, gazing into the flames. He twirled a dagger absently in his hands.

Mari started to reply, but just then two pairs of small feet came thundering down the stairs. Pog and Nog burst into the common room and dashed to Estah, clinging to her desperately.

'My bonnies, what is it?' Estah asked them, hugging the two tightly. 'You should be long abed.' Nog tried to explain in whatever language it was that he spoke, but Pog interrupted.

'It's the shadows, Mother,' she said gravely, her brown eyes wide in her small, round face. 'The ones in the closet. I woke up and saw them moving, and Nog did, too. They want to eat us!'

Estah laughed, hugging her two children tightly. 'Why, that's nonsense! Even if the shadows could move, how in the world could they step off the wall to eat you? And if they did eat you, where in the world would they put you? Shadows are awfully thin, you know.' Pog's little forehead wrinkled a bit as she considered this information. She didn't seem entirely convinced.

'Well, if you're still worried,' Estah said, 'perhaps I could have your Uncle Caledan here speak with the shadows. He's a friend of theirs, you know.'

'You can talk to shadows, Uncle Caledan?' Pog asked. Mari looked at Caledan, raising an eyebrow. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

'It's just an old trick, nothing more,' he explained. 'I haven't done it in years.'

'An old trick?' Mari asked curiously.

'Oh, a bit more than that, I'd say,' Estah said, her brown eyes twinkling. 'Why, with the music of his reed pipes, Caledan can make the very shadows dance upon the wall.'

Pog's eyes lit up then, and Nog squealed in glee. 'Oh, please, Uncle Caledan. Make the shadows dance on the wall for us! Please?'

Caledan shook his head. 'I don't suppose I even remember how.' He turned to Mari in explanation. 'It was just an old parlor game-an odd talent that ran in the family.' He looked at Pog and Nog and grinned, tousling their straw-colored hair. He picked them up, one in each arm, much to their squeals of terror and delight, and headed up the stairs. 'I may not make them dance on the wall, but I will talk with them. Maybe I can convince them not to eat all of you. Perhaps just a few bites…' Pog and Nog squealed in horror and delight.

'Can he really do that, Estah?' Mari asked when they were alone. 'The trick with the shadows, I mean.'

'Indeed he can. Shadow magic, I always called it. He could make the shadows on the wall move and act as he pleased with the music of his reed pipes. Of course, he put little stock in it. He regarded it simply as a minor talent that ran in his family. But however small a thing it was, it was magic.' Estah's eyes glimmered in the firelight, then she sighed. 'Now, of course, he won't play a note of music at all, not for any reason.'

'Why, Estah? Why did Caledan forsake his music, and the Harpers?'

'You don't know, lass?' Estah asked softly. 'I thought you knew about Ravendas.'

Mari shrugged. 'Only that Caledan had met her before. That's all I know.'

Estah sighed deeply. 'It's a long tale, but I think it's one you should hear. I suppose I should start by telling you about the Fellowship of the Dreaming Dragon.' She poured a cup of fragrant tea, scented with mint and camomile, for each of them. Mari leaned forward, listening intently.

'I'll never forget the first time I met Caledan.' Estah smiled with the memory. 'It must be more than a dozen years ago by now. He was a young man then, on his first mission for the Harpers. As it happened, his travels brought him to Iriaebor, to this very inn, which I had only just bought. Over the next year or so his journeys frequently brought him to the Dreaming Dragon, and we became friends. And then one day, before I really had a chance to consider what I was doing, he told me he had need of a healer, and the next thing I knew I was off on one of his missions with him!'

Estah shook her head and laughed. 'If I had known what adventuring was like, I doubt I would have ever left the warm comforts of the inn. But once enlisted, I knew I could ^never let Caledan go off on his journeys alone again. They were simply too dangerous. He needed a healer with him.'

'But you weren't the only one to journey with him, were you?' Man asked.

Estah nodded, sipping her tea. 'That's right. One by one, others that we met on our journeys joined the Fellowship to help Caledan. The first was Morhion, a mage of considerable power. After him came Ferret, who was always more rogue than hero. And then there was Tyveris, a great warrior but also a gentle soul. Over the years, and through our travels, we became almost like a family.' Estah smiled fondly. 'No, I think we were a family.' Her broad face grew solemn.

'Where are the others now?' Man asked gently.

'Last I heard, Tyveris lived north of Iriaebor,' Estah replied. 'As for the others, I'm not certain. No one could ever keep track of Ferret for long. Morhion may still live in the city, but if so I don't know where. I haven't heard from him since the day we went our separate ways. Even when we traveled together he was a strange, secretive man.'

'But you still haven't told me why Caledan left the Harpers, Estah, why the Fellowship disbanded.'

'Let me finish the tale,' Estah said with a sigh, setting down her teacup. 'I think you'll understand then. You see, there was one other who joined the Fellowship. Her name was Kera, and she was a Harper, too. I once heard it said about Kera that her hair made sunlight seem pale, and that compared to her eyes the morning sky was colorless. But it was her heart I remember most. She was a woman of true beauty, within and without.'

How lucky for her, Man almost found herself saying, but then she bit her tongue. Why should she care what Caldorien's old friends looked like?

'You should have seen Caledan in those days,' Estah said with a laugh. 'You wouldn't have recognized him. Mari. He was young and handsome, full of humor and hope. I think that was Kera's influence on him. Never have I seen two people more in love than Kera and he. They used to sing the most marvelous duets.'

Estah rose to put another piece of wood on the fire. She stirred the coals with a poker, and sparks flew up the chimney. She sat back down and gathered her thoughts for a moment before going on. 'It was seven years ago that Caledan and Kera finally decided to wed. They were going to take their vows in Twilight Hall in Berdusk itself, before all of the Harpers. But on the eve of our journey to Berdusk, word came from Twilight Hall that a Zhentarim lord was raising an army of goblinkin outside the walls of Hluthvar, a town some leagues to the north of Iriaebor. As it turned out, the Zhent's name was Ravendas.

'Caledan and Kera accepted the mission. The wedding was postponed.'

Mari edged forward on her chair, her tea forgotten, as Estah described how Caledan and the Fellowship managed to ruin Ravendas's plans to usurp the town.

'Goblins are clannish creatures,' Estah explained, 'and goblin tribes are constantly feuding with each other. We discovered that Ravendas's army was comprised of goblins from two different tribes. We managed to plant rumors among each of the tribes that the other tribe was planning to betray them. Driven nearly mad with suspicion, the leaders of the two tribes attacked each other. The rest of the goblins quickly followed suit. Ravendas's army actually destroyed itself. The town of Hluthvar was saved.

'In the chaos of the battle Caledan managed to capture Ravendas, and he threw her in chains,' Estah went on. However, when he was off routing a few straggling bands of goblins, Ravendas managed to escape.' 'But how?' Mari asked.