in the form of a Phoenix, with huge stone wings rising up on either side of its gate. The wings curved and became turrets. In the center of the building there were huge double doors that had been left unattended, and Elminster rapped at them impatiently. A window opened three stories up, and a handsome, square-jawed man with wavy hair looked out.
'Elminster!' the cleric said in awe.
'I might still be by the time ye get thyself down here and open this door!'
The window snapped shut, and Elminster wandered away from the heavy doors. Midnight continued to harangue him about the temple, and the role she and Adon were to play in the battle.
'Simply remember what I taught ye and do as I've said!' Elminster said wearily.
'You're treating us like children!' Midnight snapped. 'After all we've been through, a simple explanation should not be out the question.'
Elminster sighed. 'Ye wouldn't mind if an old man rests his sorry frame while ye pound at him, would ye?'
Elminster sat down. It wasn't until Midnight was halfway through her argument about the Tablets of Fate that she noticed he was sitting in midair and the air about him crackled with mystical energies.
Midnight stopped.
'A Celestial Stairway,' she said.
'Aye, like the one your lady Mystra used in her bid to regain the Planes.'
Midnight backed away in horror. 'Then Bane…'
'He doesn't want the dale,' Elminster said. 'He wants the Planes.'
'But Helm will stop him, possibly slay him — '
'And Shadowdale will be reduced to a smoking pit, a black mark on the maps of travelers for all time.'
Adon ran his hands over his face. 'Just like Castle Kilgrave. But what can we do?'
Elminster tapped at the air beside him. 'Destroy the Celestial Stairway, of course!' He reached out to Midnight. 'Help me up!'
Midnight assisted the sage to his feet. 'How can we destroy that which the gods created?'
'Perhaps ye will tell me,' Elminster said. The door to the temple opened and the blond-haired man appeared. He was dressed in bright red robes with thick bands of gold trim.
'Elminster!' the man said. 'I had not realized the time. You are expected, of course.'
Rhaymon gestured for the old sage to come inside. 'Would you like me to give your assistants a tour before I go?'
'That will not be necessary,' Elminster said.
Rhaymon was halfway to the door when Adon stopped the priest.
'I don't understand,' Adon said. 'Where are you going?'
'To join my fellow priests and the faithful who worshiped here,' Rhaymon said. 'To the last man they will be joining forces with the army of Shadowdale, preparing to lay down their lives in defense of the Dales.'
Adon took the man's hand. 'Make them pay for what they did to the worshipers of Tymora.'
Rhaymon nodded and was gone.
'Let's get inside,' Midnight said as she gently touched Adon's arm and guided him from the doorway, then closed and locked the doors to the temple behind her.
It was night, and memories plagued Ronglath Knightsbridge. The soldier had not learned of the death of Tempus Blackthorne until after his arrival at Voonlar. The wizard Sememmon had laughed as he informed Knightsbridge of the emissary's fate.
'Have no worries,' Sememmon said. 'You will be joining him soon enough. You will lead the first battalion against the dalesmen.'
Knightsbridge had said nothing.
The journey from the Citadel of the Raven to Teshwave had been trying. The soldiers he had commanded were openly hostile and rebellious. The mercenaries who had joined them in the ruins of Teshwave knew nothing of the failure of Knightsbridge in Arabel, and cared only about the gold they had been given to report on time and prepared for the march. Knightsbridge had not been in Voonlar for more than a few days before the order came from Lord Bane to gather the men and ride out.
There had been no attacks on their supply wagons on either the first or second day of their journey, and this made Knightsbridge particularly suspicious. Either the defenders of Shadowdale had not perceived the greatest weakness of Bane's five-thousand-man army, or they did not have the manpower to spare to even make the attempt on the food supply. For every ten miles of road they conquered, almost fifty men had been left behind to protect the road against attackers. Though Bane might not approve, Knightsbridge would not leave their rear unguarded, even if it used up a quarter of his troops to do so.
Knightsbridge was surprised again when the army reached the forest northeast of the dale. He expected the woods to have been set ablaze. It seemed the people of Shadowdale would not die quietly after all. They wanted to fight.
As night fell, Knightsbridge expected to camp at the outskirts of the forest, but Lord Bane sent up orders to the contrary. They would march into the forest under the cover of night, where presumably they would have the advantage of surprise if they were to meet any resistance.
They would not be allowed torches.
Bane's magic-users had been given strict orders not to use magic under any circumstances, as the art had become unstable and could easily backfire upon them. That meant there would be no spells cast to enhance the night vision of the soldiers as they stomped noisily through the woods.
As Knightsbridge led his frightened men into the forest, it became clear that at least a few shared his opinion of Bane's strategy. The oldest and most experienced, Mordant DeCruew, rode beside Knightsbridge. Leetym and Rusch rode beside him.
'This is suicide,' Leetym said.
Much to the shock of the other officers, Knightsbridge nodded.
Rusch raised his sword. 'Our lord and god has given us a commandment.'
'Which he has made impossible for us to keep!' Leetym protested. 'He has driven us like livestock before the slaughter house. I am among those who has seen our 'god' eat and drink like a human. As a temple guardian, I have seen him cry like a simpering child. He has lied to us from the beginning!'
'We shall win this day,' Rusch said, gesturing with his weapon.
'Stay your sword,' Mordant said. 'Our enemies will not expect us to move against the forest until the morning. They will not expect us in Shadowdale until late the following day. We will take them by surprise.'
'Mordant is correct,' Knightsbridge said. 'Our fight is not with each other. The true battle lies ahead. If death is our destiny we will meet it like men, not like cowering animals. If the pair of you cannot accept that, I'll gut you right now.'
The troops were silent as they rode deeper into the woods.
Connel Greylore, the first of Shadowdale's archers to hear the approach of the soldiers, took a moment to question his senses. He had climbed into position in the trees to take the watch for his fellows. Five hundred yards behind him, another archer had done the same. The pattern continued all the way back to Krag Pool. Each of the sentry archers had chosen a position where a clear beam from their signal lanterns could be seen by the next sentry, closer to the town. This way, they could signal the sentry behind them without revealing their position to the approaching enemy.
The noises came again. This time it was accompanied by an unmistakable cry of pain.
Connel raised his lantern so quickly that it slipped from his sweaty hands. He nearly fell from the heavy branch that supported him as he grabbed at the lantern. His heart was thundering as he felt the surface of the cold metal and forced his hand to relax.
The archer looked ahead. He could see the Zhentilar now as they struggled in the net of twisted branches that covered the width of the road. The trees had been made to fall in three directions, allowing the aggressors to
