Into the Void

willed and required. At the far end of the corridor, though, he thought he could see a normal door, similar to the one he'd just passed through.

He counted his steps. Thirty-five strides, and Teldin knew that each of his strides was a little less than three feet long. His estimate of the corridor's length had been fairly accurate. Now he stood in front of another door. As he'd guessed, it was a twin to the door from the stairwell. He waited until the others had joined him, then reached out to open it, and again it swung open as if triggered by the proximity of his hand.

The view beyond the doorway literally took his breath away. The room-if you could call it that-was wide, perhaps fifty or sixty feet across. The doorway he stood in was almost exactly in the center of the long wall. Twenty or thirty feet in front of him was a wall of shiny silver-the first break in the otherwise-ubiquitous ivory material. Set into it were great windows, their curving lines evoking images of flames, of flower petals, or of leaves. Widest at about waist level, these windows narrowed to delicate tips some fifteen feet above the floor.

Teldin stood, transfixed. Before him, the distant stars wheeled slowly. That's right, he thought, the Nebulon is tumbling. The stars swung, silently, in a kind of stately procession, then something else moved into his field of view: something huge, blue-white…

He was looking down on the planet Toril. Down. He clenched his teeth, struggling to hold back a whimper of fear. His brain conjured a vivid image: his body plummeting down toward that blue-white sphere, bursting through the glass of those windows, and falling free-surrounded by glittering fragments-to the ground below. Logic told him that was impossible. He was in the grip of the Nebulon's own gravity, but how could logic stand up against the emotional impact of a view like that?

He heard a gasp from behind him. It was almost impossible to tear his eyes away from the spectacle before him, but somehow he turned. Aelfred was behind him, eyes wide in surprise. Almost instantly, however, he shook off the effect, and his expression returned to normal. He grasped Teldin's shoulder with his calloused hand and squeezed reassuringly.

As if his friend's touch were a healing spell, Teldin felt his terror melt away. He stepped farther into the gallery room. Now that his mind was free of the view's hypnotic spell, he saw other details of the room. There were two other doors in the wall, he noted, one on each side of the portal by which he'd entered.

Infinitely more important, he saw he wasn't alone in the great gallery. Toward the left-hand end of the room was a massive chair of purple crystal, almost like a throne. The Nebulon's helm? he asked himself. It was facing outward toward the void.

And the great chair was occupied. A blue-skinned giant sat motionless, gazing out at the wonders of the universe. For several heartbeats, Teldin didn't move, waiting for the giant to acknowledge his presence. He was about to clear his throat when the crystal throne turned silently as if on a well-oiled pivot. For the first time, Teldin could see the creature in the chair properly.

He was a tall, lanky humanoid with bluish-gray skin. His thin, almost spindly legs were crossed, and he leaned back in the chair in a posture that looked almost indecently relaxed and comfortable. Teldin regarded him with interest. Standing, he figured the creature would be about twelve feet tall, but much of that height would come from his long legs. His shoulders were narrow, and his chest appeared almost sunken in comparison with his height. He looks like a weakling, Teldin thought, then dismissed the idea. Don't underestimate him, he told himself, in any way.

Apart from the creature's blue skin, his narrow head could possibly be mistaken for a human's… in a thick fog at midnight. The arcane's bald skull showed a strange, double-domed structure that bulged slightly forward above his brow. His eyes were dark and very human-looking, but were sunk deep into his head and protected by protruding rings of bone. His cheeks were hollow, focusing attention on his small, almost pursed, mouth. The creature wore a flowing, shawllike robe of shimmering green-a perfect contrast with the dusty blue of his skin, Teldin had to admit. The arcane's hands were clasped comfortably in his lap and seemed to Teldin to have too many fingers.

'You will pardon my caution,' the arcane spoke without preamble. His voice was quiet, a reedlike piping much too high-pitched for a creature of his size. While he had no discernible accent, he seemed to exaggerate the sound of consonants, so that fricatives became sharp clicks, almost like bone on bone. Teldin assumed that might tell an expert something about the anatomy of his vocal apparatus, but it meant nothing to him.

The arcane fixed Teldin with a sharp gaze. 'You implied to my representative that we have met.' His voice was totally devoid of emotion. 'We have not.'

Teldin stepped forward and inclined his head, a shallow bow of respect. 'I apologize,' he said. 'I needed to speak to you, but Barrab wasn't going to allow it.'

'He was doing his job,' T'k'Pek pointed out flatly.

'I realize that, but I had to speak with you, so I tricked him.'

'You played on his fear,' the arcane stated. His voice remained emotionless. 'Barrab has much fear.' The creature was silent for a moment, then went on, 'I assume from your actions that you wish to see me on other than a normal business matter. I also assume that your companions are thus more than business assistants.' The blue- skinned giant's gaze flicked to Aelfred and Estriss.

'I didn't mean to be rude,' Teldin said. 'These are my friends, Aelfred Silverhorn and… Bale Estriss. I am…'

The arcane cut him off. 'In many cultures it is an insult to appear at a meeting in a false guise.' Even though the words themselves were sharp, the creature's tone was still utterly indifferent. 'Is it your intention to insult me?'

'Of course not,' Teldin said quickly. He took a deep breath, calming himself in preparation for dropping the face of 'Aldyn Brewer,' but then he hesitated. The arcane's gaze wasn't on him; it was fixed unwaveringly on Estriss.

The disguised illithid hesitated for a moment, then hissed a word under his breath. His features shifted like water, quickly resolving themselves into the mind flayer's familiar tentacled face. With a red-tinged hand, Estriss removed a small felt hat from his head. His featureless eyes were on the arcane.

'Interesting,' T'k'Pek remarked, though his flat tone belied the word. 'An illithid in the company of humans.' He turned his dark eyes to Teldin. 'We may proceed.'

Teldin was silent for a moment. There was something not right about this. He wanted to look back at Estriss, to ask the illithid for guidance, but knew that was impossible. He debated for a moment whether to drop his own magical disguise-which T'k'Pek hadn't seen through! he stressed to himself-then decided against it. 'Yes,' he said, 'we may.'

'What is the business for which you must see me?' the arcane asked.

As the dragonfly had made its final maneuvers to land on the Nebulon, Teldin had taken the time to prepare his answer to this question. He spoke now without hesitation. 'There's a particular item- you might call it an artifact-that's come into my possession,' he said smoothly. 'I need you to tell me the background, the origin of that item.'

T'k'Pek's deep-set eyes opened a touch wider at the word 'artifact,' but his voice reflected none of his apparent attention. 'Interesting,' he said again. 'Why would you think I might know this?'

'Two reasons,' Teldin answered. 'First, it's well known that the arcane are the premiere dealers of powerful magic in the universe. A good salesperson must be able to evaluate potential sales goods, isn't that so?' Teldin had gambled that even a creature such as the arcane would have a streak of vanity and that it couldn't hurt to play on it. When the blue giant hooded his eyes complacently, Teldin knew he'd guessed right.

'That is correct,' T'k'Pek confirmed. 'And second?'

'Second, I have reason to believe that the item is of arcane manufacture.'

'Oh?' Despite the creature's even tone, there was definitely the spark of serious interest in his eyes. 'You have the item with you, I trust?'

'I do.'

'Well?' the arcane prompted.

Teldin walked over to the arcane, sprawled in his throne. He looked up into the blue-skinned giant's eyes. 'The cloak,' he said simply.

T'k'Pek held out a hand-five fingers and a thumb, Teldin noticed-waiting for Teldin to hand over the cloak. When Teldin didn't, the arcane made no comment, just leaned down and took the cloth between his fingers. He examined the weave, turned the cloth over to view the lining, then released the cloak and resumed his relaxed, almost bored, posture.

'Yes,' T'k'Pek said, 'the cloak was created by my race.'