break our fast. With the passwords in hand, the high mages are likely to have the phaerimm destroyed by midmorn, and 1 don't want you facing the Hill Elders on an empty stomach.'
CHAPTER FIVE
23 Nightal, the Year of the Unstrung Harp
The high mages did not have the Sharn Wall patched by highsun of the twenty-first They did not have it repaired by dusk, nor even deepnight. Grateful for Melegaunt's earlier aid, Lord Duirsar kept the Nihmedus informed via his bird messengers. Kiinyon lost a company of tomb guards when they bypassed Melegaunt's second trap and surprised a pair of phaerimm. The high mages slew the two monsters in a flurry of lightning and fire, but the battle left them so exhausted they had to retire to the surface.
Melegaunt sent word to avoid attacking the phaerimm directly, as they could often absorb magic and fling it back at the caster, or use its energy to heal themselves. Lord Duirsar thanked him for the advice and said he would pass it along. By the time more high mages and another company of tomb guards teleported from Evereska, half a dozen phaerimm had slipped into the dwarven workings and vanished. Two more companies of tomb guards were teleported in from the Greycloak Hills to track these down. One company was never heard from again. The survivors of the other returned with the good news that they had wounded one of the creatures.
Melegaunt offered to bring Vala and her men and join the battle. Lord Duirsar thanked him for his interest, but said it would be better for them to remain in Evereska. All Evereskan tomb guards were told to report to the College of Magic and Arms. Galaeron was not included in the alert, and Takari had already left for the High Forest. Ehamond and the others were attached to someone else's patrol.
Kiinyon Colbathin reached the Sharn Wall with ten tomb guards and two of his three high mages. After examining the hole, the mages concluded they needed a third to repair it. Kiinyon, who understood the intricacies of high magic no better than any non-mage, flew into a rage. While he screamed, two phaerimm emerged from beneath Anauroch. During the battle, Kiinyon stumbled across a darksword and used it to slay both phaerimm, freezing his hand but saving one high mage. Before retreating, he had the four survivors of his patrol search the tunnel for more darkswords. They recovered sixteen, which Vala requested be returned to her, as they were family heirlooms passed down for five generations.
Unimpressed by the pedigree, Lord Duirsar nevertheless promised to return the weapons after the battle. Until then, he hoped she would not mind if Tomb Master Colbathin put them to use-and was there anyway to keep the hilts from freezing the hands of those who wielded them? Sadly, there was not The magic was attuned to the family that owned it Melegaunt offered again to join the battle with Vala and her men. Lord Duirsar thanked him for the offer and noted he had suggested the same thing to Kiinyon and the Highest Mage, whose name was never revealed to a human. After much discussion, it was agreed they would keep the offer in mind, though for now they feared a mixture of fighting methods would cause more problems than it cured. The Vale Guard, the Feather Cavalry, and the Army of Evereska were all placed on alert. All tomb guards capable of teleporting themselves were ordered to report to the Vyshaan cairn at once, and the remainder were ordered to ride for it. There were no longer enough wizards to transport them by spell.
Galaeron tried to relieve his frustration by taking Vala and her humans on walks through Evereska. They visited the Floating Gardens of Aerdrie Faenya, the Groaning Cave, the Tower Higher than Eastpeak-from the top of which they could see the Vyshaan cairn and the elf army encamped around it, or so they fancied. Finding Vala much more open around him, Galaeron asked again where her home was and what her relationship to Melegaunt was. She went so far as reassuring him that his people had nothing to fear from hers. The Granite Tower was far, far away and hardly strong enough to pose a threat to Evereska-and that was all she was going to say on the matter while she remained a prisoner. Galaeron decided it would have to be enough.
By highsun of the twenty-first, Galaeron began to notice as many glares directed at him as at the humans. By dusk, people were rebuking him for endangering Evereska through his poor judgment. For one elf to be the object of so much public scorn was unheard of. Galaeron fell into a depression and no longer wished to leave Treetop. Vala told him to get over it. She wanted to see the statue of Hanali Celanil.
On the twenty-third day of Nightal, the phaerimm claimed the dwarven working, forcing Kiinyon and his last tomb guards to the surface. Reports circulated of strange monsters appearing in remote locations. Galaeron snapped at Keya, then realized she and Vala had become good friends indeed when Vala drew her dagger and threatened to geld him. He apologized, and the giant eagles of the Feather Cavalry darkened the skies for a quarter hour as they departed to reconnoiter the phaerimm breakout
Melegaunt suggested to Lord Duirsar that the Hill Elders command Kiinyon and the unnamed Highest Mage to accept his help. Lord Duirsar responded rather tersely that the Hill Elders had no more right to interfere with the field commanders than a human had to interfere with the governing of Evereska. After that, no more messages came for a while, though Aubric Nihmedu learned from other sources that the Army of Evereska was being dispatched to all corners of the Sharaedim, the Vale Guard had been ordered to establish a perimeter in the mountains around the vale, and the senior regiforms of both academies of the College of Magic and Arms had been ordered to stand ready. Melegaunt approached Galaeron to broach the idea of joining the battle without permission, and Galaeron was so frightened he almost agreed.
It was late that day when Vala came to Galaeron with puffy cheeks and tears in her eyes. At first, he thought Melegaunt had broken his word and left, but he dismissed that notion when she took his hands and held them to her lips. 'Galaeron, I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you.'
Tell me what?' Galaeron could not imagine anything that would make Vala cry 'Have the phaerimm broken through?' She shook her head. 'It's Aubric.'
'My father?' Galaeron did not understand. He had seen no sign that his father was preparing to journey west. 'There's nothing wrong with my father.' 'No.' Tears spilled down Vala's cheeks. 'No longer.'
Pulling Galaeron by the hand, she entered the contemplation, where Aubric Nihmedu lay on the marble reverie couch, his eyes open wide and a tome spread across his chest. He looked happier than Galaeron had seen him in decades, his lips curled into a slight smile and the furrows gone from his forehead.
No longer puzzled, Galaeron folded his hands over Vala's and backed into the great room. When he judged they would not be overheard, he whispered, Thank you.' Vala frowned. 'Is that all? Don't elves cry?' 'When there is cause.' 'A father's death isn't cause?'
'Dying?' The statement was so absurd that Galaeron guffawed, drawing a startled cry from the other room.
Vala glanced through the arch and grew as pale as a moon elf. 'He's back!'
'Back?' Galaeron's father appeared in the archway 'Where was I?'
'D-d-dead!' Vala's knees buckled, and Galaeron caught her. 'Dead?'
Aubric looked to Galaeron for an explanation, but Galaeron was laughing too hard to explain.
'Tour eyes were open,' Vala said. 'I thought you were… gone.'
'Gone?' Finally, Aubric seemed to understand. 'Oh, the eyes. You thought I was-' 'Dead,' Vala confirmed. 'You weren't moving.'
'The Reverie,' Galaeron said, still laughing. 'Haven't you wondered why we have no beds? Elves don't sleep.' Vala looked wary. 'Everyone sleeps.'
'Not everyone,' said Aubric. 'Though I suppose the Reverie could be considered a kind of sleep.'
'A little, perhaps.' Galaeron did not want to confuse the poor human. 'It's a waking dream?' Vala asked.
'Not a dream, exactly,' Galaeron said. 'We revisit the events in our lives.' 'Or we join with the community,' his father added. Vala looked confused. 'To share our feelings,' said Galaeron. 'It's restful.' Vala narrowed her eyes. 'You all thought-speak?'
'It's not speech, but we share.' Galaeron tried to think of how he could describe the Reverie. 'You must have a family.' Vala frowned, insulted. 'Do I look like I was spawned?'
'Do you ever feel what they feel? Do you ever know what they need without asking them, or experience their pain from afar?'
Vala's eyes lit. 'Sometimes with my son. You feel that with all elves?'
