Gasps sounded from the men. The ragged, bloody oval of the deep bite wound was surrounded by skin that looked purple and gangrenous.
'The bite's poisoned,' Baras said. 'Shite! What do we do?'
'Get his mouth open,' Nix said, and started rifling through his satchel. He soon found what he sought, a smooth, crimson-colored pebble of enspelled jasper, etched with a rune puissant against poison.
'I said we cannot remain here,' Rakon repeated.
'We heard you the first time,' Egil snapped.
Nix held the jasper pebble between forefinger and thumb. He'd been given it by a priestess of Orella after he'd performed a service for her church.
'What is that?' Baras asked.
'It should help,' Nix said. He spoke a word in the Language of Creation and the jasper glowed with a faint light.
'Is there no end to the contents of that bag?' Jyme asked, and thumped him on the back.
'Oh, there's an end, and it's getting light in there,' Nix said.
In truth, he had nothing magical left in it save his the crystal eye. He looked over to Egil, who watched intently. 'No comment on gewgaws?'
'Is that the only one you have?' Egil asked.
'Yes,' Nix said. 'Why?'
Egil ran his hand over Ebenor's eye. 'No reason. Go on. Give it to him.'
Nix nodded, placed the jasper under Derg's tongue, and pushed his jaw closed over it. The gem flared, the flash lighting Derg's face from the inside out.
'I see movement,' one of the guards watching the road behind called out. He crouched and peered off into the darkness.
'Me, too,' said another. 'There. I think.'
'Shite,' Baras said. Then to Nix, 'Did it work?'
Nix frowned, opened Derg's jaw, looked under his tongue. The jasper was gone, consumed by the magic. 'I… think it did.'
'You think?' Baras asked.
'Sometimes it's hard to tell…'
'Look at the wound,' Egil said, pointing.
At first Nix thought it was a play of the light, but it wasn't. The black and purple skin around the wound faded to pink as they watched.
'And sometimes it's not as hard to tell,' Nix said to Baras, and winked.
'Orella be praised,' one of the guards said.
'I also accept praises,' Nix said, standing.
'Well done,' Baras said.
'Agreed,' Egil said, gripping Nix by the shoulder. 'Now let's get out of here.'
Egil slung Derg over his shoulder, mail and all, and they all climbed back onto the carriage. The horses, shaking from being overstrained, nevertheless lowered their ears, threw their heads, and started moving.
Minnear shone fat and gibbous over the landscape. With Kulven now new, the Mages' Moon ruled the sky alone. The mountainous wall of rubble loomed before them, growing taller as they closed the distance, stretching off into the darkness.
The road cut through the wall of stones, the rubble rising high to either side. The walls were thick, more than a hundred paces, and for a time it was as if they walked through a tunnel. No one spoke and the clop of the horses' hooves sounded loud, bouncing off the ancient stone wall. When they emerged from the tunnel of ruins, Nix gasped in awe for the second time that day.
The walls of rubble formed a circle, ringing a circular expanse several acres in diameter. A shimmering sea of dark glass covered the expanse, its smooth finish reflecting the night sky. The vault of night was at their feet.
For a long while no one spoke. Everyone stared at the shimmering, glittering spectacle before them. Jyme broke the spell of silence with a whisper.
'Gods.'
'What is this place?' Nix asked.
Rakon threw open the carriage door and stepped onto the rock.
'It's a holy place,' Rakon said. 'The Vwynn will not come here. That's enough for now. Set camp, Baras. We'll remain here only a short time before continuing to Afirion.'
'A word, lord Adjunct,' Nix said to Rakon.
Rakon eyed him coolly, nodded. They moved to the side.
'What in the Pits happened back there?' Nix said. 'With your sister? With you?'
Rakon's hooded eyes narrowed, the thoughts visibly turning behind them. 'Did you… hear her? What did she say?'
'She said to kill you.'
Rakon was quiet for a time, then said, 'She won't do that again.'
'What was that you gave her? Drugs?'
'My sisters are dangerous,' Rakon said. 'I told you that. You have nothing more to fear. Leave me now. I have work I must see to.'
With that, he left Nix. As the guards set up the camp and tended the horses, Rakon walked out onto the glass sea, striding among the stars.
'I think I'd like to do that,' Nix said, watching Rakon.
They started a fire, placed Derg near it for warmth, ate a meal of cheese, bread, and dried meat, and washed it down with bitter coffee. Baras toasted the men they'd lost, spoke their names, told Egil and Nix of their lives. Rakon remained on the glass throughout. After they'd eaten and honored the fallen, Nix made up his mind.
'I'm going to go walk on it,' Nix said.
'I'll come,' Egil said, grunting as he rose.
'Is that… wise?' Baras asked.
'Probably not,' Nix said with a smile. 'But even so.'
He and Egil walked the short distance to the edge of the glass sea, shared a glance, and stepped onto it. Nix's feet tingled and the hairs on his body rose and stood on end.
'It's enspelled,' he said.
'I didn't need you to tell me that,' Egil said.
They walked gingerly across the glass, treading on stars, noting constellations and planets in reflection. Nix found it surreal.
'Maybe this is what it would be like to travel night's vault,' he said.
Egil only grunted.
The glass covered acres. They ranged far on it, though always keeping a good distance between themselves and Rakon. They discovered that other roads like the one they'd traveled cut through the ring of ruins and reached the glass from other directions.
'Like the cardinal points,' Egil said. The priest seemed winded.
'Aye. And all leading here. Curious.' Nix looked over at his friend. 'You all right?'
'I'm all right. Just winded.'
'Had enough, then?' Nix asked.
'Aye,' Egil said. The priest stumbled and nearly fell as they walked back.
'Mind the smooth surface there,' Nix chided with a chuckle.
They returned to the fire, and enjoyed more coffee with Baras, Jyme, and the other guards. The eunuch emerged from the carriage and took station outside its door, arms crossed over his chest.
Rakon remained on the glass, and as the night deepened, the sorcerer's voice carried across the mirror of stars, incanting in the Language of Creation. Flashes of green light accompanied his spellcasting. The guards seemed untroubled by the sorcery and fell asleep in their tents, while the eunuch stood forebodingly outside the carriage. Egil and Nix sat around the fire while Rakon continued his exploration of the glass sea.
'What do you think he's doing?' Nix asked.
