all moving slightly relative to each other.
“What is this place?” he asked Ususi.
Ususi motioned him forward. He realized he continued to hold Henri’s reigns, though Ash was still on the other side of the door. He carefully led his and Ususi’s mount, and Henri, through the discontinuity, moving to stand near Ususi. Elowen and Gunggari followed.
Finally Ususi said, “This is an ancient space, a half-space, where forgotten things litter the void. If not for the Mucklestones, I doubt it could still even be accessed.”
From behind, Gunggari said, “It seems unnatural.”
“It is,” replied Ususi. “It is an artificial space created many thousands of years ago by a race known as the Imaskar. They used it to store their secrets, their refuse, and their… mistakes. The Mucklestones can create paths through it, shortcutting real world leagues.”
“Imaskar?” asked Marrec.
“Mistakes?” said Elowen simultaneously.
Ususi said, “The Imaskar are… were a vanished race of wizards. They accomplished great things in their time, but they are gone from the face of Faerun. Sometimes even mighty wizards can make dangerous mistakes.” Marrec thought she would say more, but she turned and said, “We’d best get moving. We’ll see enough of the Celestial Nadir to suit uswe’ve still got several hours of walking. I’d suggest riding, but I’m afraid the horses would spook off the path. I’ve never risked it.”
“Hold on,” said Marrec. “I’m not sure I like this talk of mistakes and danger. We’ve got Ash with us, after all. Perhaps we should go the long way around?”
Ususi paused then said with an impatient strain to her voice, “In fact, I doubt the mistakes of the ancient days survive today. I spoke of danger, but in the past tense. In all my studies of the Mucklestones, I’ve never run across anything especially threatening. Briartan scarcely used the stones, ‘tis true, but he also never faced a real threat. I don’t think Gameliel had access long enough to further taint this space.”
Elowen noted, “If all things were equal, we would go by natural paths, but I think the risks are higher were we to take the ‘long’ way around. There are more blightlords than Gameliel. The Rotting Man is after Ash, it’s clear. He’s set up ambushes before. If we can get to Yeshelmaar through this hidden route, and quickly, we may be better off.”
“I agree with the elf,” threw in Gunggari.
Marrec made a dismissive gesture with the hand not holding the leads, saying, “Fine, fine, I can see when I’m outnumbered.” He grinned. “Really, I’d hate to give up a chance to walk through an artificial, hidden dimension created by a vanished race.”
Ususi allowed a smile to play on her lips. “You won’t be disappointed. Come. There are also wondrous things to see here.”
They began to walk along the path. Straight as a ruler the path appeared before them, revealed by the advancing light of the Keystone held aloft by Ususi. Behind them, the discontinuity closed like an eyelid closing.
The air was sharp, chill like morning air, but not damp. A faint odor hung in the air, but Marrec couldn’t place it. It reminded him of the smell in the air after a thunder storm. Sometimes, a light breeze would blow up out of the void and play through his hair. Marrec was worried the breeze’s intensity would increase, but Ususi told him not to worry on that account.
To the left and right, above and below, objects floated in and out of view. Most of the objects were free- floating islands of earth, rough and crumbling below, but flat on top, except for some ruin of disintegrating construction so far degraded that it was impossible to tell what purpose they once served. It was as if some great hand had scooped up these sites from the natural world and set them adrift in the void. Marrec mentally labeled the floating islands ‘earthbergs.’
He saw a few perfect cubes, each face a mirror, tumbling through the darkness. When he saw his third he asked Ususi about them.
She said, “You really are interested in the Imaskar mistakes, aren’t you? Those are them, safely ensconced in those time-starved cubes. If you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.”
Marrec considered, then said, “You’ve learned a lot about the Imaskar people since you began to study the Mucklestones. They seem an interesting people.”
Ususi continued walking ahead of him, so he couldn’t see her face. She didn’t say anything for a while then said, “Perhaps one day I will tell you more about the Imaskari, but today is not that day.”
Marrec glanced back at Gunggari, whom he could barely pick out in the periphery of the light. They shared a look; the woman was as stiff as the day they’d met, stiffer actually.
A little while later Ususi glanced up then raised her hand. “Stop here a moment.”
Marrec followed the mage’s gaze upward. A great globule of liquid hung in the void, the glints of distant lights reflected in its shimmering, fluctuating surface. He could actually hear the sounds of waves lapping on the surface of the globe. It was floating slowly toward contact with the stone path ahead of them. At first Marrec couldn’t gauge the globule’s size. As it continued to move closer and closer without actually touching, its size became clear. It was a few hundred yards in diameter.
“What’s this?” asked Marrec.
Ususi said, “Just more random debrisprobably collected humidity, but I don’t want to get wet.”
Finally the wavering globe of liquid intersected the disconnected stone path ahead with an audible slap. Marrec tensed, expecting the sphere to pop like a giant bubble, but nothing of the sort occurred. Instead, the liquid mass merely continued on its way, barely affected by the long stone column sweeping through its interior. Finally, over a minute later, contact fell away, and the globule continued its lonely journey through the void.
Marrec continued to watch. Behind the meniscus of water, a humanoid form showed itself to Marrec, its eyes flaring in the light of the Keystone. “Hey!” he yelled, but even as he gestured, it was gone.
“What?” sighed Ususi.
“I thought I saw something, a creature, inside that globule. It had big eyes, like plates.”
Ususi shrugged, “Perhaps you did. Another reason to stay clear of the wandering lakes.”
Ahead, the stone path was wet, and residual water pooled in shallow cavities of the rock. A few tiny forms flipped up and fell back to the stone with wet smacks. Fish. A few flipped themselves off the path. Without the floating water, they fell quickly into the emptiness.
Ususi studied the remaining creatures then said, “We can proceed. Careful; the stone will be slick until the water dries.”
They moved on. Marrec studied the struggling fish as they edged across the damp portion of the path. They were eyeless, like some varieties of cave fish he’d heard about. They’d obviously been there a long time, through many generations.
He wanted to catch up to Ususi, but he had three mounts to see to, including Henri on which Ash rode. If he couldn’t be discreet, he’d have to be crass.
“Come on, Ususi,” he finally called ahead. “If we’ve got hours on this path, give a little. This place is amazing. Tell us more about it.”
When the mage continued to walk quietly, he pressed, “At least tell me what I saw in that ‘wandering lake.’”
Another sigh came from the wizard. “Very well. Keep in mind I do not know too terribly much more than you.
“The Imaskari, extremely powerful and haughty wizards who worked great wonders with magic and created portals to many worlds, established one of the earliest human empires in Faerun. They were eventually brought down by slaves they’d kidnapped from other worlds; those people are now the folk of Mulhorand and Unther.”
“Portals… you mean like the Mucklestones?” wondered Marrec.
“Yes. They preferred a buffer between their portal endpoints, just in case. The Celestial Nadir was created to be that buffer. Originally, it was a small space, but after its creation, it slowly grew over the centuries, becoming a demiplane in its own right.”
Ususi continued speaking, warming to her topic, “More and more with the passage of time, the artificial plane served the Imaskari as a dumping ground for defeated enemies, objects stolen from other planes too dangerous to deal with immediately, and as a safehouse for valuables. However, even after the fall of the Imaskar empire, the Nadir continued to grow. It is my belief that in the thousands of years since then and now, the space has impinged
