The Crimson Gold

by Voronica Whitney-Robinson

  The ruined mess of a creature simply lay there, and Justikar shoved at it with his foot. All of a sudden, though Tazi would’ve thought it was impossible, the creature disappeared down the passageway as though something larger had yanked it from the opposite side. Tazi sprang to her feet and grabbed her rapier, but Justikar waved for her to settle down.

  “Rock worm,” was all he said by way of an explanation.

  “What?” Tazi asked.

  The dwarf brushed at himself and sighed. “The thing’s known as a rock worm. I should’ve noticed it, but I guess I was distracted. They simply expand and adhere to the sides of tunnels and wait for prey to stumble in.”

  “Like we did,” Tazi interrupted.

  “Hmph,” Justikar grunted. “They lure their prey in and crush them in their stomachs. They’ve got two tentacles, one on each end,” he explained.

  “So that thing yanked itself away from us by using its other tentacle,” Tazi surmised.

  “So rather than wait around and see if it’s got a mate,” the dwarf added, “we should probably keep moving.”

  Tazi nodded, and the two of them maneuvered along their knees through a very low side tunnel. Suddenly, Justikar ripped the sleeve he had tucked into his belt into two wide bands.

  “Here,” he said to Tazi and passed one of them back to her. “Use it to cover your nose and mouth. The smell is going to get worse from here.”

  “Worse than how we smell now?” she joked. The dwarf snorted.

  When the tunnel widened into a larger vault, Tazi was aghast. She didn’t need the dwarf to point out the features to her. They had moved from the cook pit right into the fire. The room was aglow with a flickering red light. And she hastily donned the makeshift mask before the smell of sulfur overwhelmed her and seared her lungs. The entire chamber was filled with pools of bubbling magma, each one nearly as wide as Tazi was tall.

  “I think this is why we haven’t seen much besides that worm,” she told the dwarf, pointing to the boiling earth. “What could live down here?”

  “Remember those bones,” he reminded her. “Something does live down here,” he added. “Something does.”

  “Over there, see that opening?” Tazi asked him after scanning the vault.

  He nodded, and she said, “Looks like it’s more intentional than just a random fissure, don’t you think?”

  “Good eyes,” he complimented her. “Now let’s see if we can get there without burning.” And the dwarf, completely recovered from the creature’s attack, hopped like a rabbit along the narrow bits of rock that separated the pools. Tazi sheathed her sword and held her arms out for balance. She could feel the heat against their undersides and knew they would burn if she stayed down here too long. Sweat poured down her back and the crease of her chest under her leather vest. Her hair was lank with sweat and hung in stands plastered to her scalp and neck.

  She watched as Justikar jumped the last few feet over to the relative safety of the opening Tazi had spotted. The ground crumbled a little and she watched, horror struck, as Justikar pin wheeled his arms frantically to regain his footing. To make matters worse, a quake rocked the chamber at that exact moment. Tazi had to dodge a splash of lava that nearly engulfed her foot and couldn’t help the duergar in time. Justikar righted himself, though, and Tazi joined him soon enough on the ledge.

  “Let’s get this thing,” Tazi shouted over the noise of the quake, “and get out of here.”

  Sure enough, Tazi was right. The opening was not a natural occurrence, but had been hewn from the cave wall. She drew her sword again, and Justikar pulled his axe free, holding it high in front of him with both hands. He nodded to Tazi, and they moved into the room in unison. The place was lit only by the flickering of the lava pools from the other chamber. The glow revealed something had been in there recently before them. Tazi could see that torches were knocked askew, and a small dais had been overturned. There were papers thrown about everywhere, and there was an overwhelming stench, even stronger than the sulfur. She shook her head in bewilderment, not anticipating the chamber to look as it did.

  “Did someone beat us to it?” Justikar asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Tazi replied. “It looks too random, like someone or something just ransacked the place because it was here. And the smell,” she paused and reached for something to steady herself, “is overwhelming even with this rag on.”

  “I don’t understand, though,” the duergar said. “Naglatha made this out to be so much of a challenge, and other than a few pitfalls, this has been too easy.”

  “You’re right,” Tazi agreed. “If she had truly known how simple this was, she wouldn’t have risked bringing someone else into her confidence.” Tazi paused and looked around. “I think whatever is happening down here is more serious than any of those Red Wizards suspects. I think what’s happening down here might be killing everything in its path.”

  Before she could say more, the ground started to rumble again, only stronger than the last tremor. Tazi was tossed onto a bookcase that had tipped over, while the duergar braced himself in the entryway until the quake subsided.

  Tazi struggled to her feet and said, “Grab as many of the parchments and scrolls as you can, and let’s get out of here before we get trapped down here.”

  Together they raced around, stuffing papers and scrolls into their belts. Many of the pages had been ruined, and Tazi wondered again what had done this and where had they gone. She sorted through some papers when another quake struck.

  “Move!” the dwarf yelled at her.

  “But I think there’s more under the bookcase. If you give me a hand, we can—”

  “There’s no time. Trust me.”

  Tazi looked at him and nodded once. She staggered over to the entryway, while the ground moved and shifted under her. It was like trying to run while drunk, she thought to herself. She left the chamber with the duergar immediately in front of her. No sooner had they fled the chamber when a rending sound issued from the ceiling, and several large chunks of rocks tumbled down and sealed off the room with a deafening crash.

  “Let’s go back!” Tazi yelled, but the dwarf ignored her. He stormed past the now-sealed room to another passageway farther to the left. Tazi was confused by his actions as they had what they had come for, and the tunnel the dwarf was nearing looked like it continued farther underground. She raced over to him, dodging bits of the ceiling that continued to tumble free. When she finally caught up to him a short distance into the tunnel, a blast of heat stopped them both in their tracks. The dwarf moved slowly around the bend in the passageway and froze, his body as rigid as stone itself. Tazi peered around the corner and was forced to throw her hand in front of her eyes as a shield from the heat. Even still, she could not look away and was mesmerized by the sight in front of her.

  The tunnel had probably continued down much farther at one time, but there was no way it was possible to pass any longer. The path had been transected by what could only be described as a river—a river composed entirely of molten earth. It ran with surprising speed, bubbling and gurgling like some cheerful meadow stream. Colors of gold and crimson and near-white blended together hypnotically, twisting and turning, reshaping everything in its path. It was an unstoppable force.

  When Tazi was finally able to tear her eyes away from the amazing sight, she saw the dwarf continued to stare past the fiery death to what was no longer visible. His shoulders sagged as if in defeat, and Tazi cursed herself for not remembering that he was only here to find his brother and there was no chance of that now. In fact, she realized that their entire time down there, he must have been straining and hoping to find some sign of his kin, living or dead, to know his fate. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shared a moment of silence with him.

  “We have to go back now,” she finally said.

  “I’ll never know, will I?” he eventually asked.

  “Let’s go,” was all she could say, and they turned away from the red river.

/>   Tazi swung open the door to their chamber and saw Naglatha reclining comfortably on her bed. Unlike Tazi, who was slick with sweat and smelled of sulfur, Naglatha appeared fresh and rested. Tazi noted she had lost the flush to her cheeks and suspected that the Red Wizard had sobered up since they were gone. Tazi was too tired to even be startled when the door shut unexpectedly behind her. She and the duergar turned to see Heraclos and Milos now barring the exit.

  “I wondered when you boys would show up.” she quipped.

  Naglatha swung her legs onto the ground and regarded Tazi and the dwarf for a moment before she demanded, “Well?”

  Tazi ignored the threatening presence of her Thayan Knights and grabbed the scrolls Justikar collected and her own stash and thrust them at Naglatha, too tired and too trapped to bargain with her.

  “Choke on them,” she said tiredly.

  Naglatha took the tattered sheaf of parchment without saying a word. She turned to the dressing table and, clutching the precious spells against her breast with one hand, she swept the bottles and gewgaws onto the floor with the other. She spread the papers out and started to scan each and everyone one, her fingers racing over them. However, paper after paper was tossed ignominiously to the floor. Then she stopped and held one up. The woman’s hands trembled as though palsied.

  “This is it,” she whispered, and the color returned to her cheeks like twin flames.

  Tazi looked at Justikar and stepped forward. The bodyguards were watching them closely.

  “We’re done now,” she told Naglatha, uncertain if the woman even heard her words, as enraptured as she was with her prize. “We’ve kept our end of the bargain, and we are quit of you.”

  Tazi turned back to Justikar and added, “Let’s get out of this cursed place.” The duergar nodded, and they walked to the door. Heraclos and Milos, however, remained as impassive and immoveable as stone.

  Tazi whipped around. “We struck a bargain, and we’ve met our part.”

  The Red Wizard tore her obsidian eyes from the parchment to meet Tazi’s sea-green ones. “And you have succeeded beyond my wildest hopes. A bargain is a bargain,” she admitted, and Tazi had a fleeting expectation that Naglatha might actually release them. “But,” Naglatha continued, “I would not think of denying you the glory of watching what is about to transpire next. It is only fitting that you witness first hand what your actions have wrought.”

  Tazi reached for her sword with lightning speed, and she saw from the corner of her eye that Justikar had started to unsheathe his war axe, too. But before either of them could proceed any farther, Naglatha pointed at her and the dwarf with two of her fingers, and Tazi felt her body stiffen. She was suddenly unable to move even her smallest finger, and it was as though she had been turned to stone. From the corner of her eye, Tazi saw that Justikar appeared to be affected in a similar fashion. She remained frozen while Naglatha padded over to them on jeweled sandals.

  “Now it is time to write history,” she whispered gleefully to her captives. She marched past them, and her Thayan Knights opened the door for her. She looked around at the backs of Tazi and Justikar and added, “Don’t keep me waiting.”

  Tazi suddenly felt her legs move of their own accord, and she turned like some clockwork toy to trail woodenly after the Red Wizard. The duergar marched stiffly alongside her. Though Tazi couldn’t turn her head, she heard the heavy steps of the bodyguards bringing up the rear.

  They advanced past the corridor that led to the banquet chamber and continued in a direction Tazi had not ventured to before. She struggled against Naglatha’s enchantment but, try as she might, she could not wrest back control of her body. She had no choice but to trail obediently, if stiffly, behind the Red Wizard as though she were a faithful hound. The dwarf was in the same predicament, and when he occasionally appeared in her peripheral vision, she could see his brow knotted in effort as he tried to unsuccessfully fight his way free of her control as well.

  Turning a corner, Tazi felt herself grow chilly, and gooseflesh appeared on her exposed arms. Somewhere, there was a draft of air that had passed over her sweat-covered skin, cooling her. But Tazi could not see the source of the draft, only the back of Naglatha’s head and a pair of smooth, double doors a few feet ahead of them.

  Must be the council room, she thought.

  Of course, the dwarf replied.

  Justikar? she wondered.

  Who else? he replied. Now what do we do?

  I think we watch hell break loose, Tazi answered.

  Comforting.

  Naglatha flung open the doors and strode into the room. Tazi could see that she was reveling in the sensation she was causing amongst the other wizards who had already gathered there. Though she could not turn her head, Tazi did have a fairly good view of the table, and the wizards already seated at it. After a quick inventory, Tazi realized that almost everyone from the night before was in attendance. And there was also someone unknown to Tazi with the others. He looked fairly young, but Tazi now knew that could have been a simple illusion of vanity. Out of everyone in the room, he was the only one with a shock of red hair. He sat slumped in his chair, with his head resting wearily in his hands. And he was the only one who didn’t look up when Naglatha burst into the chamber.

  He doesn’t look well, she thought vaguely. He must be the tharchion who didn’t attend last night. He must be Pyras Autorian.

  The only person missing now, as far as Tazi could see, was Szass Tam. Naglatha, however, didn’t feel compelled to wait for his appearance.

  “Always one for an entrance, eh Naglatha?” chuckled the handsome Lauzoril. “Last night you were first, and today you are almost the last.”

  Naglatha smiled and stood in front of the gathered assembly. She placed her hands on the table and leaned forward, taking them all in with a glance. “I have within my means the ability to remove Szass Tam from his seat of power permanently,” she stated simply. A few of the zulkirs and tharchions laughed quietly, but Tazi could see one or two prick up their ears and regard Naglatha with a shrewd gleam in their eyes.

  “Better not let the Zulkir of Necromancy hear you speak like that,” warned Pyras weakly, “even in jest.” He then lowered his head back into his hands, squeezing his eyes shut tight.

  “It is no jest, my dear, weak-willed Pyras,” she replied, “and I am not afraid of him like you and so many of the others are.” Naglatha nodded to her Knights. Heraclos and Milos moved to separate ends of the table, their robes parting enough to reveal their impressive scimitars. Tazi and Justikar had no choice but to move along with them, still under her influence.

  “Enough is enough,” shouted Azhir Kren rising to her feet. Tazi could tell the tharchioness kept a watchful eye on their position as she challenged Naglatha. “What nonsense are you speaking of?”

  Naglatha did not back down. “I know you hate Rashemen, former general. Well, I say you have reason to hate them. We should take that country and any other that stands in our way!”

  “And how to you propose garnering support for that?” she asked, but even from where Tazi stood riveted, she could see the other woman was intrigued as well. Naglatha had struck a nerve with more than just one of the guests within the walls of the Citadel.

  “With this,” Naglatha told them proudly, and she removed the stolen parchment from the concealment of her long robe. “With this one spell, all our dreams can come true. Thay can take its rightful place as the true power of Faerûn. And we will claim that right through blood,” she informed them, “not through petty commerce. People will say our names in hushed whispers and fear us as they should, not think of us as common merchants. We shall be terror itself.”

  Tazi could see some of the other wizards were starting to get agitated. But none of the others in attendance had brought any slaves with them for this gathering, and they were well aware that Naglatha’s servants were all armed, even though they didn’t know two were unwilling.

  “And what will that do?” asked the black-eye
d Zulkir Aznar Thrul.

  “Watch as I call forth all the atrocities that live beneath the Citadel and the Thaymount. With these beasts under my control, I will finally rid this land of that undead lich once and for all. His end will be permanent with no hope of resurrection. And with him gone, we shall guide Thay into the future.”

  Naglatha held the parchment in one hand and gestured for silence with the other. Slowly, she began to read the ancient spell. Tazi heard uncertainty in her voice as she tripped over some of the words written in an ancient hand. But as she progressed through the spell, her confidence grew. A mild tremor shook the building, and the other wizards looked to the floor and each other in some confusion. The Zulkir Mythrell’aa, small as she was, was even thrown to the floor by its force.

  Suddenly, from the other side of the room, a cracked voice cried out in anger.

  “Stop!”

  And Tazi found she could turn her head ever so slightly. She believed that Naglatha was so focused on her spell that she must have had difficulty maintaining her other enchantments, or she had simply lost interest in them. She turned her head farther, saw that the duergar had some mobility as well, and beheld a fearsome sight beyond him.

  From a corridor opposite the one Tazi had used, Szass Tam appeared. But it was not the visage that had charmed Tazi the night before. The lich was so enraged by Naglatha’s impudence that he had entered the chamber wearing his true form. Gone were the healthy features of silky black hair and beard, the full cheeks and the coal eyes. Only his luxurious robes remained unchanged, though they now hung off of a skeletal frame and were frayed at the edges. He floated into the room, with his robes fluttering behind him like some winged beast of prey, and Tazi could see his eyes were burning points of red light in his skull, skin stretched paper thin across it. He held out one bony arm toward Naglatha and screamed again, but she ignored his skeletal claw and finished her heinous chant before the lich could stop her. As the last words left her lips, she raised her head to meet the lich’s frightening stare and smiled in absolute triumph, the ground trembling beneath her feet.