with soap bubbles floating on it.
When he finished, he combed out his hair and beard then started in on his clothes. As he splashed the water to clean out the dirt, he spotted Chisul, still scrubbing his arms, waist deep in the water. The dwarf had broad shoulders and a muscular back from all the work he’d done in his father’s shop. The only blemish on him seemed to be a small gray birthmark on his upper back.
Rose’s warning about Chisul returned briefly to Bradok’s thoughts, but he was in too good a mood and went back to his cleaning. An hour later he flung his damp clothes over a clothesline that Tal had strung between two stalagmites and sat down heavily in the sand. Chisul and the other dwarves had changed back into their damp clothes, knowing their body heat would dry them fast enough. The human, Perin, however, kept his cloak dry and shivered under it in the perpetual cool of underground.
Bradok watched the children playing in the wet sand of the beach. Little Teal, clutching her new rag doll, ran down to the water, dipped her toes in, then retreated, squealing as the next wave came in. Omer ran with her, dancing and laughing.
Grinning as he watched, Bradok pulled the compass from his pocket and checked it almost absently. The image of the Seer pointed unwaveringly on. Normally when they reached a good spot to stop, she would lower her spear and give them a rest.
He knew without even checking that no one would want to leave the beautiful mushroom garden and sleep in the dreary tunnels again.
Still, he had to tell everybody what the compass indicated. Maybe they should move on. The last time they’d ignored the magical compass, they’d been attacked by the strange mushroom men.
He put on his clothes and turned to go and find Rose and Tal, only to spot them bearing down him.
“I’ve been looking for you,” she said quickly. “I think there’s a problem-”
“I know,” Bradok said, cutting her off. “Look at this.” He held out the compass.
“I warned you about that happening,” Tal said.
“I’m talking about a different problem,” Rose said.
Rose opened her hand. She held one of the glowstones from their lanterns. It glowed dimly in the bright light, illuminating the cavern. Bradok looked at Rose, not understanding.
“Its light is fading,” she said. “I thought I noticed it yesterday, and I’ve been watching the lights more closely today. The stones are dimmer here now than they were when we started.”
“I thought these things were good for years and years,” Bradok said, searching his memory in vain to recall the last time he’d had to replace the glowstones in his house.
“They are supposed to be,” Rose said, “and Chisul told me these are new.”
“What is happening, then?” Bradok asked, holding up the stone.
“They must be blessed by a priest,” Tal said. “Remember how that fellow from the city council told us that all the priests had disappeared?”
“Jon Bladehook,” Bradok said, wincing at his name.
“What if Reorx took all the priests away for some reason?” Tal said. “What if priestly magic is beginning to vanish?”
The memory stabbed at Bradok: the grizzled dwarf with the red painted sign.
Was it true, then? Had the gods forsaken them? The prospect sent chills up Bradok’s spine.
“Wait a minute,” he said, pulling out the compass. “What about this? If divine magic is fading, why does this still work?”
“But how long it will keep working?” Tal asked, exchanging a worried look with Rose.
“I think we need to get going as soon as possible,” Rose said.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Chisul said when Rose related the crisis to the rest of the dwarves-the survivors and the Daergar. “The glowstones are dimming, so you want us to panic?”
“It might be safer to sleep in the tunnels,” suggested Bradok.
“Nothing can sneak up on us here,” Chisul countered. “We should rest in this place as long as we can. I propose we put three guards on the beach tonight, just in case.”
He turned to the rest of the group. “What say you, my friends?” Chisul asked. “Do we follow the councilman and sleep in the tunnels tonight, or do we fortify ourselves here?”
“Here!” the crowd shouted as one.
“You see, Councilman. The people have spoken,” Chisul said with a smug smile.
The people cheered, and the beaming Chisul nodded at them as if he’d just been proclaimed their emperor.
“That young man is full of himself,” Corin said from behind Bradok.
“Yeah,” Rose said, agreeing with the Daergar.
“Full of hot air is more like it,” Bradok said lightly but without a trace of humor. “I’m worried about staying here in the open.”
“You think it’s dangerous?” Corin asked.
“I’m sure of it,” Bradok said.
“Then some of us should go into the tunnels,” Rose insisted.
“That isn’t a good idea,” Corin said. “We’d be abandoning our friends. And if something bad did happen, they’d be right to blame us for deserting them when they needed us the most.”
“Corin’s right. We shouldn’t go,” Bradok said finally.
“What do we do, then?” asked Rose.
Bradok took out his hunting knife and passed it to Corin. “We stay armed and alert for trouble,” he said. “It’s all we can do.” He turned to Corin. “Warn Much, Kellik, Tal, Dallon, and some of the others. Tell them to have their knives ready. Make sure at least one of them we can trust is on guard duty all the time.”
Corin nodded and left.
Bradok turned to Rose. “Keep your people close tonight and be ready for anything.”
“All right,” Rose said after a long hesitation. “Tonight I’ll do as you ask, but tomorrow you’re going to do me a favor. There’s something I want to discuss with you.” With that she turned brusquely and walked away.
Bradok wondered only fleetingly what she wanted to talk about. Right then “tomorrow” seemed like a long time away.
He sighed and walked over to where he had spread out his cloak for a bed. There were still several hours before it was time to go to sleep, but he felt so weary, he just had to lie down.
CHAPTER 14
Bradok hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He knew he had, though, because he was dreaming. He found himself walking through the deserted and silent streets of Ironroot. He tried to force himself to wake up, but the dream only worsened. Apart from the confusion of being in a place he knew no longer existed, he couldn’t seem to remember why he wanted to wake up. It nagged at him, like the pain of a molar that needed removing.
As he walked around the statue of Argus Gingerbeard, he realized that he had developed a limp. He didn’t remember hurting his leg and, in fact, his leg didn’t seem to be in any pain; it just didn’t work as it should. Figuring it might have fallen asleep, he tried shaking and rubbing it to no avail.
When he looked up from his exertions, he discovered the cooper, Silas, standing at the base of the statue, regarding him.
“Silas,” Bradok stammered.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Silas told him sadly. “You need to be strong. Others will need your strength.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Bradok said.
Silas shook his head. “You must do better than that,” he warned. “Trust yourself and have faith.”
