The City of Towers: The Dreaming Dark - Book I (11 page)

For a moment Daine thought that Lei was going to attack the old man, then she stepped back and looked down at the ground. “Why have I been cast out of our house, Lord Jura?”

“The last year has brought many changes to House Cannith, girl,” Jura replied. “The high council of the house was destroyed along with Cyre, and over the last month the barons have been fighting to establish a new order. Baron Merrix of Sharn is now the ultimate power in the south, and he personally ordered your excoriation.”

“I’ve never even
met
Merrix! I’ve only been in Sharn once before. What have I done?”

“The council may be dissolved, but Merrix would still need to justify his action to the surviving elders. You know the possibilities as well as I do. Treason, conduct bringing shame upon the house, and of course, miscegenation.” He cast a speculative glance at Jode. “You really don’t know?”

“No!” said Lei. “I’ve done nothing to warrant this!”

“Then perhaps it’s all a mistake.”

“Will you speak for me, uncle? Plead my case to the baron?”

“Talk sense, girl! I am as much an outcast as you are. I may have made contacts in the house over the years, but the baron would never speak to me, let alone listen to my words. And even if I could get an audience, I wouldn’t waste what good will I have built up on you. I have my own interests to look after. Now that my wife is gone, I hope to return to the house myself. Merrix needs powerful supporters, and gold I have to spare.”

Jode jumped in again. “I see! So while you cannot speak
on behalf of the Lady Lei, you summoned us here to provide material assistance, yes?”

“You amuse me, halfling. No, I have no intention of wasting my coin on such a useless investment.”

“Then if I may ask, my lord, why did you grant us this audience at all?”

Jura smiled. “I have been an exile for many years, Jorasco. Perhaps it amused me to see someone in a worse position than my own.”

Daine’s hand tightened on the hilt of his dagger, and even Jode seemed close to anger. Lei put her hands on their shoulders, holding them back. “Then I believe our business here is concluded, uncle.”

“Not entirely,” Jura said, rising to his feet. “In truth, I agreed to see you at the request of an old … associate, who wanted me to set up a meeting on her behalf. If you want to speak with her, go to the broken church in Malleon’s Gate. Tell the keeper that you’re looking for the wind. And when she arrives, you’ll need to give her this.” He tossed the dark staff to Lei, who winced as if it burned her hands.

“Who—?” Daine began.

“I have said all I intend to say,” Jura snapped. “Now leave my house. Darkhart Woods is no place for unwelcome guests.”

Daine turned to ask Lei’s opinion, but she was already halfway down the path to the gate.

Night was falling as they made their way back to Dassi’s inn. Pierce led the way through the streets, his eyes ever watching for trouble. Jode tagged behind, lost in his own thoughts. Lei, walking next to Daine, held the dark staff as if it was covered with poison spines, and her expression was grim.

“Time to explain, Lei.” said Daine, scowling. “You didn’t tell us that Uncle Jura was another outcast. What did he do to get thrown out of Cannith? What are you afraid of?”

“Jura … always loved plants. He traveled to the jungles of Aerenal, the Eldeen Reaches, the forests of Karrnath. He met his wife in Aerenal.”

“So? Don’t tell me that expelled him for marrying an elf?”

“Actually, she was a dryad. He had her relocated to Sharn. As if the miscegenation wasn’t trouble enough, after the wedding his behavior became … questionable. His parties were infamous. The stories say that he made most of his current fortune selling poisons and prohibited substances—dreamlily and the like.”

“Because of a dryad? But in all the stories I’ve heard—”

“A
darkwood
dryad.”

“Ah.”

“Yes. Apparently, in his bid to be restored to the house, he’s claiming that his wife ensorcelled him, that he wasn’t responsible for his behavior. Whether or not that’s true … he’s not the man I knew as a child.”

“Darkwood, hmm?” Daine reflected for a moment. “How did she die?”

“How do dryads ever die?”

Daine reflected on the wooden throne in the indoor grove, carved from the stump of a darkwood tree. He glanced over at the black staff. The top was carved to resemble the head of a beautiful woman, with long tresses running down the shaft. “So … that’s …?”

“Dark heart? Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Charming.”

The walked the rest of the way in silence.

L
ittle sunlight reached the streets of High Walls, and the filthy windows of the Manticore might just as well have been made of stone for all of the light they let through. Alina’s parchments were scattered across the floor of the small room. Lei had woven an illuminating enchantment into a small crystal she’d been carrying, and she was using this light to read the documents. Daine paced back and forth and Jode sat on the floor, while Pierce remained as silent and impassive as a statue.

“Time is of the essence,” Daine said. “For all we know, Rasial has already sold the shards. It’s possible they will be smuggled out of the city before we can find them. If this is the case, Alina will at least expect us to find out who is in possession of the goods. Whatever happens, we need to find Rasial fast.”

The fourth bell rang, pure tones echoing throughout the vast well of Tavick’s Landing.

“We have a dinner invitation, if we want it,” Daine continued. “Jode and I met Teral ir’Soras, an old councilor from the Cyran court. It may be a waste of time. He’s a politician, so he may just be currying favor. But if he knows the residents of this district he could be a useful contact, especially if we’re going to be here for a while. What else do we have to work with?”

Jode spoke up. “Rasial Tann served in the Sharn Watch for five years, serving with the Gold Wing guards for the last three
years of his career. During that time he lived in the Daggerwatch district of Upper Dura. Most of the guardsmen are based there. Hopefully, our friend from the lift isn’t going to pursue the matter, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be asking questions in a garrison right about now, Daine.”

“And you think she’s forgotten about you? You only stuck a knife through her knee.”

Jode shrugged. “Subtlety is my strength. I won’t be recognized.”

Daine scowled, but nodded. Jode was far better at digging up information than Lei or Pierce, and this might take a delicate touch. “As you wish. What else?”

“It seems that Rasial has a particular gift for handling hippogriffs. That’s why he was recruited by the Gold Wings. But in his free time, he spent a great deal of time racing. Hareth’s Folly in Middle Dura seems to be a center for windchasing and other aerial sports. Alina’s notes provide the locations of a few arenas and gambling halls.”

“But he’s not racing anymore?”

“No. The largest race in Sharn is called the Race of Eight Winds. It happens once a year. Two years ago, Rasial won the race on behalf of Daggerwatch and the Hippogriff. Last year he rode for the Hippogriff again, but there was some sort of accident and he was almost killed. After that, he dropped off the horizon. Quit the guard. Stopped racing. And that’s what we have to work with.”

“What about the shards?” said Daine, looking to Lei. If she’d heard him, she gave no sign. “Lei? Lei!”

Lei looked up from the parchment she was studying. She had been distant since they’d returned from Darkhart Woods, and her voice was cool and emotionless. “Dragonshards are magically active minerals. Common Eberron dragonshards store and focus magical energy. These form the basis of many of the conveniences we take for granted, such as the everbright lantern. Sky shards fall from the Ring of Siberys. These amplify the natural powers of a dragonmark. Sivis message stones, Jorasco altars of healing … these all rely on sky shards.”

“So what are we dealing with?”

“Khyber shards. These are found in veins deep below the earth and are said to be the dried blood of the dark progenitor wyrm. Just as the first fiends are said to be bound by the blood of Khyber, deep dragonshards are used to bind spirits and elemental energies. The lightning rail, airships, bonded sails … these are all made possible by Khyber dragonshards.” Lei stood up and begin to pace, unconsciously echoing Daine’s earlier movements. “But these are only the broadest categories. Purity, color, size … all of these things can play a factor in the value and use of a particular shard.” She pointed at the page. “Your friend is trying to acquire a very unusual form of Khyber shard. It appears to resonate with dragonmark energy, much like a Siberys shard.”

“So …?”

“Siberys shards amplify energy, but Khyber shards bind it.”

“I’m still not following. What can it do?”

Lei shrugged. “If this material truly can bind dragonmarked energies, you might be able to use it to create some sort of shield against dragonmarked effects. Or a manacle that could prevent a prisoner from using his dragonmark. But it’s impossible to say. These notes are purely theoretical.”

“How did Alina learn of the shards,” asked Daine, “and who she was dealing with to obtain them?”

“I was hoping you’d tell me. My … family are the finest artificers of this or any age.” For a moment her eyes went distant. “Yet I’ve never heard of these shards before. I can’t begin to imagine what your friend would have to pay to find them, let alone to buy them. Who is this Alina? And why would she be interested in these shards?”

Jode spoke before Daine could come up with an answer. “I met Alina Lyrris in Metrol eight years ago, shortly after I’d begun fighting for Cyre. She was dealing in contraband goods, and I heard that she was selling secrets to the Cyran court. I am sure of three things. Alina is deadly, cunning, and has more wealth than you can imagine. She claims her fortune comes from gem mines in the Seawall Mountains, but don’t
believe it. From what I’ve heard, there are few things she hasn’t tried—businesses and otherwise.”

“So what does she want?”

“Control: knowledge, secrets, personal power. I don’t think that she cares about money. It’s all a game she plays with other people’s lives.”

“And now she’s the new boss,” Daine said with a scowl.

Lei looked at Daine for a moment, perhaps wondering how he had come into contact with Alina, what fueled his bitterness. But her own sorrow weighed heavily on her shoulders, and she said nothing. Daine took a deep breath and turned back to the matter at hand.

“So the shards are unusual. Can we use that? Could you track them, Lei?”

She considered. “I can craft a temporary divining rod easily enough, but it will only have a range of around a thousand feet. And the enchantment will only last for a few minutes after it’s activated. So you won’t want to use it unless you’re pretty sure of yourself.”

“It’s better than nothing. Do it. Then we’ve got the matter of your Uncle Jura, and ‘visiting the wind.’ What was that?”

Lei shrugged. “I don’t know.” She glanced over at the darkwood staff, which was leaning against a corner of the room. “That staff is magical, but so far I haven’t been able to discern its function. Unless it’s cursed.”

“Not something we should rule out,” Jode said.

Lei continued. “It seems unlikely Jura would give away a powerful item as part of a fool’s errand. Even if it was cursed, what would be his motive for giving it to us?”

“I don’t know,” Jode said, studying a fingernail. “Perhaps he thinks getting rid of you will buy him favor in the house? Maybe he’s trapped a banshee in the staff, and at the stroke of midnight it will kill us all with its horrible wail.”

Lei just stared at him.

“Yeah, that seems likely,” Daine said.

“Look,” Lei said, “I don’t know if I trust Jura. He’s not the man I knew. But I … I don’t think he’d try to harm me. Whatever’s happened, we’re still family. I think this could help us.”

Daine scowled. “We should check it out quickly, then. What do you know about Malleon’s Gate?”

“One of the most dangerous districts in Sharn—at least for humans. Most of the goblins and their kin live there, and I’ve heard that stranger creatures have been drifting east from Droaam.”