The men stood as Na'Shee came to the doorway. 'It's the mind flayers and the elves. They've started fighting, too.'
CassaRoc said, 'Alert our men. Have them stand ready.'
'For anything,' Teldin added.
Na'Shee nodded once, then turned as the shouting increased in the hallway. They all heard the distant sound of metal clashing with metal.
'The war is escalating rapidly, Estriss,' the Cloakmaster said. 'We have trouble enough on the Spelljammer alone, and there is a score of ships closing on us from the flow. I need answers now.'
What can I do? the illithid asked.
'Cwelanas is being held in the warrens by Master Coh and, I think, the Fool. I need to know how to get down there and rescue her.'
Estriss shook his head slowly. His opaque eyes seemed j moist, thoughtful. / do not think I can help you, Cloakmaster. J My research has uncovered mentions of the warrens on the j Spelljammer, but I have not run across locations for entrances.
I would guess that some have been sealed in the towers, for fear of what lurks there.
'There must be at least one open entrance,' Teldin said, frustrated. 'Coh had to find one somewhere.'
Then Teldin spun around, his eyes wide. 'What?'
CassaRoc looked at him, questioningly. 'Cloakmaster? Are you all right?'
'I heard-' Teldin started. 'I thought I heard-'
Then it came again, a whisper in his ears like the crashing of waves.
Only you can hear me, the voice of Gaye Goldring said softly to Teldin. / am weak and have little time to speak.
'Gaye. It's Gaye,' Teldin said. 'She's speaking to me.'
Teldin, you are in more danger than you know. The Fool desires your cloak and your death. His goals are mad, and he wants the Spelljammer, only so he can take it to its death. He will do anything to achieve his goals. Even now he has Cwe-lanas.
'Cwelanas?' he said. 'How?'
Coh is taking her to the Fool. The stakes have been raised.
He stood in wonderment at Gaye's seemingly magical abilities to discover hidden knowledge, to help protect him. 'Gaye, how are you doing this? Where did you get these powers?'
She was silent for a moment, then an image sprang into his mind, of a sunlit day in Herdspace. Here, she said.
His head jerked back as his mind was washed with a series of images: of Gaye staying behind as Teldin sailed away from Herdspace; of fal One Six Nine accepting her as his student, and her beginning as a psionicist. He saw her first failed experiments in the psionic arts, then watched her steadily progress into a master psionicist. He saw the first time she used her clairvoyant abilities, and as she discovered that Teldin had finally reached the Spelljammer. And would need her help.
He saw this all in a single instant.
It took him a few seconds to interpret her message. Her voice grew weaker. / must go now. Answer the call, Teldin. Do not delay.
He blinked and called out to her, 'You can't go! How do I get down into the warrens? How do you know-'
Her voice was a whisper, fading away like her form. He made out one word as her voice trailed away: library.
He stood silently, surrounded by his warriors.
'You were talking to your friend Gaye?' CassaRoc asked.
'Yes.' Teldin stared away for a moment, then turned to look Estriss and CassaRoc in the eyes. 'Something is calling me, though it may not be the adytum of which Estriss has told us. Gaye mentioned it just now, as you did earlier, CassaRoc. And if I've learned anything on this quest, it is to follow my hunches and trust in fate.'
Teldin looked at Na'Shee. 'Perhaps you should come, too. I think we'll need all the help we can get.'
'Where are we going?' Na'Shee said.
'The library,' Teldin said.
In the eternal darkness that was the warrens, Cwelanas struggled against the behemoth that clasped her tightly within its massive arms.
They had taken her dagger and her mail back in the neogi tower, and now Cwelanas was helpless against the walking horrors that held her captive.
The neogi was huge, the largest she had ever seen. Master Coh was resplendent to his race, tattooed and painted in a spectrum of colors that covered his body. On his forehead was his trademark, a symbol made of interlocked circles that signified his name, his status, and was the brand on his slaves.
The umber hulk that held Cwelanas wore Coh's brand on his forehead as well. Orik was proud to be Master Coh's personal slave, even going so far as to try to learn the Common tongue to please his master. His attempts were barely successful, sounding more like the guttural grunts of apes, but he frequently managed to make relatively clear sentences.
'Silent be!' Orik commanded her. He would have said 'Be quiet,' but he always had trouble with the 'Q' sound, and long ago he had given up even trying to sound it out.
Master Coh was a neogi with an inborn magical talent. In the lead, he concentrated steadily, finding their path using his magical senses to blaze a trail through the darkness. His sharp claws clacked against the floor as they made their way deeper into the warrens, toward his ally, the Fool.
Here, he knew he would receive asylum. Here, the ransom for the meat would be made and the Cloak of the First Pilot would be his. His friend, the Fool, would, of course, choose him. Did not the next one have to be a magician such as he? Would not the Fool reward him for bringing victory to the neogi?
He laughed to himself. The elf would be his key to succession.
He led them down a narrow tunnel, then into another, even tighter and darker. Orik had to crouch as he walked through the tunnel, dragging Cwelanas behind him.
The air grew colder, and the walls around them gradually opened into a chamber, swirling with a black mist that reeked of something rotten. Coh grinned. Venom dripped off his long fangs. He could feel the Fool's dark presence in the chamber around them.
A blue glow appeared. Coh blinked at the light, forming at the end of the Fool's wand of conjuration, then he grinned. The light blossomed, and the shrouded form of the Fool appeared. His piercing eyes watched Coh, almost burning into his brain.
'Fool,' Coh said, 'it is I, Coh, master of the neogi.'
'Yes,' said the Fool.
'Fool, I have a hostage. With this meat, my claim to the Spelljammer will be assured, if only you will-'
The blue light suddenly burst from the Fool's wand and flared out, encircling Orik's neck like a living thing, a twisting rope of glowing ectoplasm. The umber hulk's head erupted with an azure glow, and he reached up to grab his head.
Cwelanas fell heavily to the floor, scrabbled away, and huddled in a corner. Orik clawed at his face as the blue light quickly spread to engulf his body. He screamed once and spun in pain, searching for the master he knew would protect him. 'Maaaa-ster…'
Coh turned his narrowed eyes toward the Fool. 'What have you done? Are we not allies? Have I not-'
The Fool reached within his cloak of blackness and pulled a broadsword from an ancient, jeweled scabbard. Its sharp blade was serrated wickedly, and the metal was dark, pockmarked with age and corruption. The Fool whispered a single word that seemed to vibrate within the walls of its lair.
With a low chuckle, he flipped the sword effortlessly into the air. At once, the blade came alive, twisted in midair, and aimed its black point at the heart of Master Coh.
Coh backed away, raising his claws in defense. But the blade sliced through them effortlessly and sank deep into his chest, drinking deeply the life force from his black heart.
The neogi collapsed to the floor, side by side with the charred corpse of his faithful servant.
