Tantras

Tymon nodded. 'Though I'm afraid to find out what the mage has in mind, I think we should at least hear what she has to say.'

Varden frowned. 'All right. Go ahead,' the thief said, defeated.

'It's a spell of invisibility,' Midnight stated, a smile creeping back onto her lips. It casts a cloak of invisibility for ten feet in all directions. If it works, we should stay invisible unless we attack somebody. And since we would plan on avoiding any attack, we should remain invisible for the entire time we make our way through the town.'

'I still feel — ,' Varden began.

'Enough!' Wulstan snapped, standing up and moving to Midnight's side. 'The matter is no longer up for debate. I'm no more anxious than any of you to die, but it we can possibly be safe and still follow our orders, then I say we should give the mage her chance.'

Midnight's smile grew broader, and Tymon, Gratus, and Adon nodded in agreement with Wulstan. Only Varden looked away from the mage, deep concern lining his face. 'Fine. We should leave by the butcher shop entrance immediately,' the raven-haired mage said. 'And we probably should inform Barth of our plan.' The heroes crossed the tunnel to the Sembian's quarters.

The Sembian leader looked shocked when Midnight explained their plan. 'At least give me a few minutes to clear the guards from the basement entrance before you begin your sorceries,' the burly fighter mumbled. 'A good thing we have another exit.'

After Barth recalled the guard from the small basement of the butcher shop, the heroes crawled through the tunnel and prepared to leave the Sembians' haven. At the bottom of the stairs, Midnight gathered the components for her spell. From her pocket, she removed a small piece of gum arabic, which she carried especially for this spell. Then she collected a single eyelash from each of the heroes. Finally the mage encased the eyelashes in the gum and began her chant.

Gratus and Varden exchanged nervous glances. The soldiers from Hillsfar trained their attention at the wall beyond the mage and forced themselves to think about anything but what might happen. Adon, however, stood before his friend, smiling serenely. From the cleric's expression, it seemed he would welcome even death itself if the spell went awry and killed them all.

Steadying her nerves, Midnight finished the incantation. Unable to think of a single spell that had worked properly for her since the escape from Shadowdale, the mage prayed that this one would work — for Kelemvor's sake. Soon a blue-white glow began to surround Midnight. The heroes gasped and shielded their eyes as the light intensified, filled the room, then faded.

Gratus looked around the basement at his companions. 'Nothing happened!' the old man said, much relieved. 'And we're still alive!'

At the same moment, Midnight saw Barth poke his head out of the crawlspace between the basement and the tunnels. A look of amazement filled his face. The burly man's lips moved silently, and the mage laughed.

'What's wrong with you?' Wulstan said as he approached Midnight. 'I can still see you. Your spell didn't work. Why should you be laughing?'

Adon pointed toward Barth, and the heroes turned to see the Sembian staring into the room. 'I–I can hear you,' he whispered, 'so the spell must have worked. But I still can't see you. You are there, aren't you?'

'We're just testing the effectiveness of the spell,' Midnight said, and the burly fighter started slightly, bumping his head on the top of the crawlspace. 'Let's go, then,' the mage said, and the heroes left the hiding place.

As Midnight and her allies journeyed across the city, Gratus stopped from time to time to point out various safe houses whose residents were likely to admit them should the need arise. 'Lashan had friends in the city,' Gratus noted softly as the heroes passed one such house. 'And many of them do not approve of Scardale’s declared neutrality.'

'I've been curious about something, Gratus,' Midnight said softly. 'Exactly what is it you do in Scardale? You aren't a mage, a fighter, or a thief. How do you make ends meet?'

Varden laughed. 'I'm not so sure he isn't a thief.'

Gratus leaned close to Midnight. 'I was Lashan's Minister of Propaganda,' he whispered. 'The city pensioned me off, but they refused to turn me over to the likes of these two boobs from Hillsfar on the condition that I keep my mouth shut about Lashan's possible return. Now I sell boots.'

Wulstan overheard parts of what the old merchant said and quickly moved to Gratus's side. 'You'd better watch what you're saying, old man, if you know what's good for you,' the fighter growled.

Gratus replied mockingly, 'So the rumor is true… people from Hillsfar have no sense of humor whatsoever.'

Wulstan reached for his sword, hut his partner quickly raised his hand. 'Stay your arm!' Tymon warned. 'We can't afford to have our invisible shield fade. The moment we attack something… anything… we will become visible.'

Adon stepped between Gratus and Wulstan and looked at the mage. 'If only one of us attacks something, will the spell be canceled for us all?' the cleric asked quietly.

Varden took Gratus by the arm and pushed him in front of Midnight. 'The way magic works nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised if we are never visible again,' the thief said with a grin.

Midnight's flesh paled. She had not even considered the possibility that the spell might work too well.

'Imagine the fortune that could be amassed in this town by a thief gifted with invisibility,' the thief went on, apparently happy for the first time in hours.

The Hall of Records, where Midnight and Adon had met Gratus earlier in the day, came up on the left. The building looked the same as it had earlier in the day, although a lone Zhentilar stood guard at the doors.

'I was worried they'd burn the place down,' Gratus whispered as they passed the guard. 'There are some very interesting papers I'd like to retrieve from there.'

They continued on to the end of the block, then took a sharp right. Immediately the heroes spotted the warehouse where the assassins had landed and the Zhentish garrison beyond that. As expected, the sounds of revelry floated through the streets from the garrison. A token number of guards were posted outside the fort, and the entire building that served as the Zhentish headquarters was brightly lit.

'Bane must be allowing his soldiers to celebrate with a victory party,' Midnight said softly as she led the heroes into an alley next to the warehouse.

'How very different from the way he drove his troops in the Battle of Shadowdale,' Adon observed. 'I wonder if the Black Lord's defeat has humbled him in some way…'

'I doubt it,' Midnight replied. 'Perhaps he's simply learned to recognize the value of his troops. In any case, we might just be able to turn his lenience against him.'

'You mean you've solved the problem of how we get in?' Varden asked, running his hand through his blond hair.

'We need to check out the warehouse before we worry about the garrison itself,' Midnight said as she turned to Varden. 'We should circle around the building and see if there are any other doors.'

The heroes slowly moved around the outside of the warehouse, staying as close to the side of the building as possible. Twice groups of Zhentish soldiers passed them, singing bawdy songs and telling off-color jokes, but they never even suspected that six intruders were only a few yards away.

At the rear of the warehouse, Varden discovered another door, though this one was locked. The thief quickly took out his lockpicks, and in a moment the door was open. He opened it slowly and peered inside.

'We couldn't have come at a better time,' Varden whispered as he turned to Midnight. 'The warehouse looks empty. We should be able to move around freely.' The heroes silently filed into the building, with Midnight in the middle so that no one would stray outside the invisibility spell's area of effect.

'Close the door,' Midnight hissed when they were all inside.

Wulstan started to follow Midnight's order, then paused and looked at the door's lock. 'It looks like it locks both ways,' the fighter said, motioning for Midnight to examine the door.

Midnight nodded and removed a piece of the gum that she had left over from her incantation and handed it to the soldier. 'Put this in the lock first. The door will shut, but it won't lock. Then we won't be trapped if we need to make a quick exit.'

Wulstan and Varden both looked at the mage with surprised expressions.