When the three could eat no more, the platters were cleared. Vhok ordered a servant to remove the tablecloth, revealing dark, polished wood beneath. The cambion waved his hand over the surface of the table and uttered a phrase. The image of a large, detailed map formed there, glowing softly. Myshik gasped in delight, then he and Zasian leaned close to peer at the chart, which had been rendered in delicate lines.
Some of the features seemed familiar to the half-dragon. Mountains and lakes, flat plains and cities all appeared in abundance. Other things looked odd and out of place, or were missing altogether. Myshik saw what appeared to be geysers marked on the map, but he saw no forests. The half-dragon found the text indecipherable.
'We arrived here,' Vhok said, pointing to a chain of mountains running along the left side of the drawing. 'The City of Brass is here.' The cambion slid his finger to a spot near the center. 'Kurkle told us in the beginning it would take five days to get there if we remained on land the whole time. But that means going around this,' and he pointed to what looked like a small sea inlet jutting down from the top of the map. 'The Infernals. We can reduce our time by a day, possible a day and a half, if we gain passage across it, but the going is much more dangerous.'
'What manner of boat can remain afloat without going up in flames and sinking in the fires?' Myshik asked, fascinated.
'The kind that is protected by the same magic as that in the ring I loaned you,' Vhok replied, tapping the gem-studded jewelry on the half-dragon's hand. 'Most of the trading vessels stay close to shore. Convincing one to head straight across may be difficult.'
'Or expensive,' Zasian said.
'But perhaps necessary,' Vhok said, then turned to the priest. 'Or not. Is there a reason to hurry?' he asked. 'Should we consider the quicker route, though it may prove more deadly?'
Zasian frowned in thought. 'Hard to say. Time flows differently in different places in the cosmos, and there is a certain element of vagueness to our plan that makes it difficult to determine how quickly Aliisza will be in position. I could attempt some divinations tonight before retiring, if you like. Answers may be forthcoming on the wisest route to take based on our assumptions about what is happening in the House of the Triad. Though I cannot guarantee that the choice we divine eliminates unforeseeable complications.'
Vhok nodded. 'Yes, delve into it tonight and let us converse again at breakfast.'
Afterward, the three spent a while in discussion of various topics of interest. Before long, the cambion suggested that they retire and gain sufficient rest, as he knew their travels the next day would be arduous. Myshik returned to his quarters accompanied by his three attendants and was soon asleep, thoroughly sated from his evening meal.
The next morning, the trio gathered at breakfast. The meal was just as sumptuous and extravagant as the previous evening. Myshik gorged himself as much for the delicious tastes as to make certain he would feel healthy and energized for the day's trek.
As they ate, Zasian revealed what he had learned the night before from his divinations. 'It was a bit troubling,' he said between mouthfuls of poached eggs bathed in a creamy cheese sauce. 'The auguries I conducted hinted that time was of the essence, but it all felt somehow… wrong.'
'What does that mean?' Vhok asked with a frown. He held a slice of hot bread slathered with fruit compote. He was about to dip it into a bowl of clotted cream, but his hand hovered over the dish, forgotten in his concern at Zasian's news.
'I don't know how to explain it,' the priest replied. 'It's almost as though the quicker we go, the further from our goal we'll be, but delaying only means diminished hope of success. I can't be any clearer than that. I don't really understand it myself.'
The cambion's eyes blazed in anger, but Myshik sensed that Vhok's fury was directed at something distant, rather than at the human sharing his table. The half-dragon wondered what was behind the journey they undertook. Thus far, Vhok and the priest had been unwilling to enlighten him.
'I don't like how this is playing out. If she never reaches the gate or doesn't know what to do, we will be trapped in the City of Brass with no way to get home again.'
'Not entirely true,' Zasian countered. 'There are other portals available, other ways of traveling between the planes. We might have to pay dearly, in either gold or service, to make use of one, but it is possible to find our way back by another route should our plan not come to fruition.'
Vhok thought for a few moments longer. 'What do you mean when you say 'the further away we'll be'? Aren't we going in the right direction?'
'Yes, yes,' Zasian answered, 'it's not so much a question of direction as one of… time. It's entirely possible that I've received two different possible answers, based on two different ways of completing the task. Divinations are notoriously vague and confusing, you know.'
Vhok snorted. 'You do not have to remind me of that, priest. I've attempted to divine more than my share of shrewd courses to take in my lifetime. I'm sometimes convinced the very act of learning a thing causes direr consequences than remaining ignorant and acting on judgment and intuition.' The cambion sighed. 'My gut tells me to hurry. Since we're no closer to an answer after your efforts, I'm inclined to listen to my gut. So we cross the Infernals.'
Zasian nodded. 'I expected such would be your decision. Based on your map, we will reach the shores of the Infernals after half a day of travel on foot. I might, however, find a more expedient means of getting there. I must spend a while in prayer, so I will tailor my divine inspirations to suit our journey and perhaps smooth the way before us.'
At that, the priest withdrew to his chambers, leaving Myshik and Vhok alone. The cambion didn't seem in a mood for conversation, so the half-dragon finished his repast and returned to his quarters to gather his things. Vhok had instructed his servants to prepare food suitable for eating while traveling, so Myshik stuffed plenty of dried meat and waterskins into his pack.
Later, the three of them gathered in the foyer of the magical abode, and stepped through the shimmering curtain into the heat-blasted landscape of the elemental plane.
Aliisza became aware.
She lay on a bed.
Her bed, within her quarters, within the Court.
It was night.
I don't want this bed, this room!
Slowly, she sat up, trying to remember what had happened to her.
There was falling, she remembered, a great plummet into the endless clouds. She let herself fall, never slowing her descent at all. It had gone on and on, growing darker as night seemed to settle and the air whistled past her. She sobbed for a long while, knowing she was destined to live out her year of captivity in that fashion, just as the celestial judges had ordained. She had agreed to it. She had been foolish, thinking that she had to choose life-any sort of life-over death, for the sake of her child. So that she could be its mother, she had thought.
Oh, how foolish she had been to let them trick her that way. But she had, indeed, let them.
Somewhere during that melancholy catharsis, she had slipped into some kind of a trance, a half-waking daze.
She didn't remember returning to her room, to her bed. She wondered how she wound up there.
A faint light, the glow of the moon, perhaps, shone through the window of the balcony. Aliisza arose from the bed, naked, and padded to the window. She peered out and saw the same horizon that had been there before. A sea of clouds stretched forever. The moon had indeed risen and shone down upon that eerie vista, casting a silvery glow everywhere. The alu listened, but the only sound she heard came from the fountain, gurgling as it trickled into the pool on the far side of the room.
Aliisza turned back and saw her clothing, her armor and weapons, laid carefully upon a chair. She dressed and donned her gear, then moved toward the door. She opened it a crack and peered into the courtyard. The soft glow of several lamps, set low on either side of the paths, bathed them in their honey-colored shine.
No one was there.
Am I to live here alone? she wondered. Is this what they intend? To drive me mad with isolation in this vast
