Myrmeen waited until she was once again alone in her chambers before she let out a wide smile at the words of the roguish guard. But her smile faded as quickly as it had formed when she thought of the trio who had perhaps betrayed her, and the measures she would take to ascertain if this was so.
Half an hour later, in the planning room, Myrmeen related all the information she had been given to Evon Stralana, a thin, dark-haired man with a pallid complexion. Stralana nodded gravely.
'Then I fear that worm, Gelzunduth, was telling the truth,' Stralana said.
'You knew about this?' Myrmeen screamed.
'This morning, one of our men succeeded in gaining the evidence needed to arrest the forger, Gelzunduth.'
'Go on.'
Stralana took a breath. 'Last night, Adon arrived at Gelzunduth's, and paid the forger for false identifications for men who sound suspiciously like Kelemvor and Cyric. He purchased a false charter, too. Gelzunduth knew at once what he was dealing with, and went along as cordially as he could.
'When Gelzunduth was first interrogated, he hinted that he could expose corruption in the guards. Gelzunduth felt he could use the information to bargain for his freedom or a lesser sentence. It took until a few hours ago before the pig broke and he told everything.'
Myrmeen stared at the tiny flame from the lone candle that sat between Stralana and herself. When she raised her gaze, her fury over what she had been told was evident in her eyes.
'I want to know who was guarding the gates when Kelemvor and the others left Arabel. I want them brought here, and questioned. We'll deal with their punishment once we figure out which gate they left through.'
Stralana nodded. 'Yes, milady.'
Myrmeen's hands were balled into white-knuckled fists and pressed together. She forced her hands to relax as she spoke. 'Then we shall deal with Kelemvor and his party.'
V
Cyric, last to take the watch, gazed at the beautiful pastel pink of the early morning sky. Gentle strokes of ochre seemed to set fire to the pure white clouds that rose over the horizon. However, the thief soon noticed a wealth of heat soaking his neck. He turned, and found a second sunrise that mimicked the first to total perfection.
Off to the north and the south, other suns were rising with visible speed. Illusions or no, the effects were disconcerting. The sweltering heat from the blinding orbs caused the tiny pockets of mud in the road to dry and harden, and the earth itself began to smoke with a foul odor. Cyric roused the others before the full effect of the tremendous heat became apparent.
Kelemvor, still groggy from a miserable night's sleep, went in search of their sole tent, then cursed himself as he remembered it had been destroyed when the packhorses were killed by the creatures the day before. He ordered the others to fetch any blankets or cloaks and cover themselves at once, as the flatlands that surrounded the heroes offered little protection from the suns.
'Midnight!' Kelemvor called. 'If you have any more miraculous spells to aid us, now is the time!'
Midnight ignored the sarcastic tone of Kelemvor's voice.
'Bring everyone together!' Midnight cried. 'The horses as well. Then gather our water in one place.'
Midnight's requests were met, and a heavy fog filled the air as the dark-haired magic-user released a minor cantrip to dampen the area. A second cantrip chilled their drinking water, ensuring it wouldn't evaporate in the heat. The blankets cloaked the adventurers in darkness and helped to decrease the intense heat from the suns. Midnight was thankful that her spells had not gone awry. She saw tiny streaks of lightning play across the surface of the pendant and felt a chill, even in the intense heat of the rising suns.
In the darkness under a blanket, Adon remembered a simple spell he knew that would allow him to endure the effects of the intense heat without injury. He wished he could pray for the spell, but he knew there would he no effect. Before and after his watch, he had prayed to Sune and attempted spells; his efforts were failures, just as they had been since the time of Arrival.
Midnight could see the suns, even through the fabric of her cloak. She watched in fascination as they converged in a dazzling array of light directly overhead. Then they were one and the heat dwindled to normal levels almost immediately. The crisis was seemingly at an end.
The heat had its effect on the adventurers, however, and even as they prepared to leave, arguments broke out over which of the suns had been real, and which direction they wanted to travel. At length they surrendered to Cyric's unfailing instincts and a semblance of normalcy was restored to the journey.
After a time, the flatlands gave way to lush, rolling hills to the east, and the imposing spires of the mountains of Gnoll Pass in the far distance. The heroes left the main road and were pleasantly surprised to find the ruins of a colonnade encircling a sparkling pool of fresh water, which Adon tested and pronounced pure. They drank greedily and replenished their canteens.
The idea of bathing had no sooner occurred to the sweat-drenched adventurers when Adon, quite unabashed, began to strip.
'Adon!' Kelemvor shouted, and the cleric froze in place, balanced on one leg, hands clutching his boot. 'A woman and child are present!'
Adon lowered his foot before he fell over. 'Oh. Sorry.'
Midnight shook her head. The idea of bathing and refreshing herself before the final leg of their journey was not without merit, but other arrangements would have to be made.
'If the three of you wish to bathe, then I will take Caitlan and wait for you at the other end of the pool — with our backs turned,' the magic-user said.
'Ah. Then we will do the same for you,' said Kelemvor, already taking off his shirt.
'Aye, except you will be over the next ridge before we enter the water.' Midnight took Caitlan by the hand and led her away.
Once Midnight and Caitlan were at the other end of the colonnade, Adon stripped completely and gently folded his clothing into neat piles before he made a running start and leaped into the crystalline water. He splashed about and whooped like a child as Kelemvor laughed 'Well met, lad!' and stripped as well. Even Cyric entered the pool, although he seemed quite self-conscious in comparison to the others.
Midnight was surprised by Caitlan's silence as they waited for the men to finish. She enjoyed talking to the girl, yet even as she gently prodded at Caitlan for a few words, the girl remained completely silent, gazing at the horizon.
'Midnight!'
Without turning, Midnight responded. 'Yes, Kelemvor?'
'Something I must tell you.'
Midnight frowned, noting the playful tone in Kelemvor's voice. 'It can wait.'
'I might forget,' Kelemvor said. 'Don't worry, we're in the water.'
Midnight's shoulders dropped and she looked to Caitlan. 'Wait here,' she said. Caitlan nodded.
Midnight rose and found Kelemvor close to her side of the pool. Adon and Cyric remained at the far end.
Midnight's occasional imaginings about Kelemvor's unclad physique turned out to be not all that far from the truth: the sight of Kelemvor's water-soaked, glistening body caused Midnight to shiver, despite herself. She could not remember the last time hands such as his touched her. Kelemvor shocked Midnight from her thoughts with a healthy splash of water as he swam up close, playfully taunting her to join him.
'You'd like that, wouldn't you?' Midnight said, folding her arms over her chest.
'Aye,' Kelemvor said, a mischievous, boyish glint in his eyes.
'That's why my clothing is remaining firmly in place until the lot of you are safely over that hill,' she said, kicking at the pool and sending a splatter of water at the handsome face of the fighter. He grabbed at her ankle and missed, fell forward and struck his head on the stone edge of the pool with a heavy thud. The fighter's arms
