Forge of the Mindslayers botf-2

by Tim Waggoner

  As Makala drew closer, she saw that Diran and the rest had stopped walking and huddled together against the cold, watching Yvka. The elf woman knelt before the stone wall and ran her hands across its rocky surface. Everyone was distracted, including Asenka. Makala folded her wings and dove toward the woman, imagining the sound of her screams as she careened down the mountainside, but at the last instant, Makala swerved away and angled upward, wings beating furiously. She didn't look back, but she had the feeling that Diran was watching her, and worse, that he sensed what she'd been about to do.

  As she rose toward the mountaintop, she debated winging eastward and returning to the lagoon where the Zephyr was anchored. She feared she couldn't maintain control over her more savage instincts-not where her feelings for Diran were concerned, at any rate-and she worried she might prove more of a hindrance than a help to him. While the night still had some hours left to it, she needed to be safely sealed in her resting place before the first rays of dawn touched the sky. She could always find temporary shelter here in the mountains. After all, there were numerous caves where she could spend the day in bat form if she wished, but she was reluctant to abandon the obsidian sarcophagus as it was her only way to safely travel across the sea.

  In the end, her decision came down to one simple fact: she couldn't leave Diran to face Cathmore alone.

  She'd been circling close to the peak of Mount Luster as she debated what to do, and she now saw what looked like seams carved into the mountain's stone surface. Curious, she flew down toward them, landed, and clung to the rock in bat form. Upon closer inspection, she realized that she'd found a set of shutters that had been disguised to appear as rock. This was a door or window of some kind, perhaps opening onto to a look-out station of some sort. She'd found her way inside.

  Makala transformed into mist and curled through the seam and into Mount Luster.

  "This is it… the place where we came out."

  Solus pointed at a portion of the mountain that looked no different than any of the surrounding rock. Wind rushed across the face of Mount Luster, cold and biting. Diran's facial muscles were numb, but he didn't care. He did, however, keep his hands inside his fur cloak so they'd remain limber. He had a feeling he'd be throwing a few daggers before long.

  "Are you sure?" Hinto asked. The halfling had ridden up the mountain trail atop the psi-forged's shoulders like a small child, and now Solus reached up, gently lifted the little pirate, and set him on the ground.

  "I…" Solus's tone was uncertain at first, but then his voice became firmer. "Yes, I am."

  Diran exchanged glances with Ghaji, and the priest knew his friend was thinking the same thing: if this was a trap, they were about to spring it.

  "Let me take a look," Tresslar said. "The entrance-assuming one is here-is obviously hidden and likely warded as well." The artificer pulled the dragonwand from his belt and held it out before him. He waved it through the air in a slow figure eight once, then reversed direction and did it again. There was no outside sign of magic at work, but when Tresslar lowered his dragonwand, he said, "There's an entrance here all right, a good-sized one, too. This is probably where they brought supplies and materials in. It's well warded, as you might imagine. Whoever was responsible for the spellwork did a good job… worthy of the artificers on Dreadhold."

  Diran's lips were too cold to form a smile. "High praise coming from you."

  Tresslar scowled at the priest. "I said good, not great. I'll get us in."

  The artificer stepped toward the craggy stone and touched the tip of his dragonwand to its surface. The red gems that formed the dragonhead's eyes burned with crimson light, and the stone surrounding the snout began to glow with pulsing green energy.

  "What's happening?" Asenka whispered in Diran's ear.

  Diran tried to ignore how good the warmth of her breath felt against his flesh. "Tresslar is using his dragonwand to absorb the magic of the wards on the entrance, nullifying them."

  "And he's done," Tresslar pronounced. The artificer stepped back, and the crimson glow in the dragonhead's eyes quickly faded. "All we have to do now is figure out the mechanism to open the door. It's not magical, that much I know."

  "Let me have a look," Yvka said. "After all, you're not the only one who knows a thing or two about hidden entrances."

  As an operative of the Shadow Network, she'd had to find her way into any number of places where intruders weren't wanted, Diran imagined. He'd undergone similar training in the Brotherhood of the Blade. If Yvka wasn't successful, he'd take a look.

  Diran sensed movement off to his right, and he looked up in time to see a shadowy shape swoop upward, gaining altitude as it soared away. His hands emerged from the folds of his cloak holding daggers made of silver, but he didn't hurl the blades at the retreating dark shape.

  "Looks like your friend has decided to join us," Asenka said. She too gazed up into the night sky, watching the bat as it flew toward the summit of Mount Luster.

  "I'm sure she was just letting us know she's here," Diran said.

  "Right," Asenka said, "which is why she nearly hit me… and why you have a pair of daggers in your hands."

  Diran didn't respond. He couldn't.

  "Found it!" Yvka said.

  Diran was grateful for the interruption. He turned with the others to look at Yvka. The elf woman pressed her palm against a part of the wall that looked no different than any other, but there was a soft click and a stone lever slid out of the rock next to Yvka's hand. She took hold of the lever and pulled downward. There was a second click, the wall shuddered, a grinding sound filled the air, and a large section of stone began to rise before them. They were in!

  "Wait!" Solus cried out. "Something is wrong! I sense great power… the stone masked it from me, but now that the door is opening, I can feel it! Psionic energy, far stronger than anything I've ever known. We have to-"

  Galharath reached out, took hold of their minds, and they were lost.

  Diran found himself standing in a chamber that he hadn't seen for decades, though it felt as if he'd been here only yesterday. Long room, high ceiling, wooden floors, empty save for a large mahogany chest with double doors… He was back at Emon Gorsedd's academy, inside the Proving Room.

  "Welcome home, Diran."

  Though he'd been alone an instant before, Aldarik Cathmore now stood before Diran. The man appeared just as Diran remembered him: lean, handsome, looking like he was in his late thirties. Cathmore wore the same outfit he always did for sessions in the Proving Room-long-sleeved light brown shirt, tan pants and boots.

  Diran didn't know what magic was at work here, and he didn't care. He reached for a pair of daggers sheathed at his belt, but his hands brushed only soft cloth. He looked down and saw that he wore the gray tunic of a new student at the academy. He felt around for his cloak and found he wasn't wearing it. No belt sheathes and no cloak meant no daggers. He was unarmed.

  Cathmore smiled. "Missing something?"

  Diran realized then that he wasn't just dressed as a student; his body was that of a much younger man… a boy. Though he retained his adult memories, his physical form had regressed to the age he'd been when he'd first entered the academy, or at least, it seemed that way. Diran remembered Solus's warning as the entrance to Mount Luster started to open. I can feel it! Psionic energy, far stronger than anything I've ever known! Somehow the kalashtar working with Cathmore had to be responsible for this.

  "This isn't real," Diran said.

  "That depends entirely on one's definition of reality," Cathmore countered. "You are real, I am real, and the power that gives shape to all this-" the master assassin gestured at the room surrounding them-"is real. If you die here, I'm afraid that will be real, too."

  "That's a two-edged sword, isn't it? If I can die here, then so can you."

  Cathmore laughed. "Your mind is as sharp as I remember, Diran. I'm tempted to offer you a chance to join me. Together, the two of us could destroy my half-brother and his vaunt
ed Brotherhood. Then by using the power of this facility, we could create an army of psi-forged even stronger than Solus-mindslayers who would obey our every command. We could establish our own Brotherhood, one far more powerful than anything Emon could ever dream of!" Cathmore paused then sighed. "But I won't bother. I know the spineless followers of the Silver Flame have warped your mind with their foolish beliefs. Everything we taught you, Emon and I… wasted." He shook his head. "It's enough to make me weep."

  "Where are my friends?" Diran demanded.

  "Oh, they're around, but you shouldn't worry about them. You have problems enough of your own to deal with. Do you remember our first session here?"

  "How could I forget? I only wish I'd been smart enough to slit your throat instead of hitting you in the shoulder with that dagger."

  Cathmore's eyes glittered with cold anger. "Indeed, and if you'll recall, there was a third party present."

  Cathmore did nothing that Diran could see, but now there was a body lying on the floor nearby. Male, naked, bronze-skinned, concentric tattoo on the top of his bald head, a droopy black mustache on his lip. The man's eyes were swollen and black-tinged, as were his lips. Diran recognized Bruk: one of the raiders responsible for killing his parents, and the man he'd poisoned in the Proving Room so many years ago.

  Diran whispered the raider's name, and as if the word were a signal of some sort, the dead raider's eyes snapped open. The eyes were white and filmy, with no sign of iris or pupil. Bruk's swollen lips parted in a grotesque parody of a smile, revealing discolored teeth that were sharper than they should've been. Moving with slow, spastic motions, Bruk maneuvered himself into a sitting position and then rose to his feet.

  Diran reached for his silver arrowhead charm, but it was gone, along with his daggers. No matter. The arrowhead was merely a symbol. The true power came from the Silver Flame itself. Diran raised his hand and opened his mind and soul. Silver flame ignited in the palm of his hand to form a blazing arrowhead shape. Argent light washed over the undead creature that had been Bruk, but instead of being repelled, the raider simply stood and grinned at Diran.

  Diran allowed the silver light he held to dim and wink out.

  "I make the rules here," Cathmore said. "Your parlor tricks will have no effect unless I say they do." He turned to the undead raider. "Now I believe Bruk has a score he'd like to settle with you."

  Still grinning, the zombie reached out with hands that looked more like animal claws and started toward Diran.

  It was still night, but it was no longer cold, and the rocky terrain of Mount Luster had been replaced by grass and trees. Ghaji looked around, confused.

  "Where am I?" he said.

  "You mean, where are we."

  He turned to see Yvka standing by his side, which was odd because he could've sworn she hadn't been there an instant ago. Nevertheless, he was relieved to see her.

  "Weren't we about to enter the mountain?" he asked. "What happened to everyone else?"

  "I think we are inside Mount Luster," Yvka said. "We just can't see it. We're trapped inside some kind of illusion. The others are probably here too, but we can't see them because whatever is causing this illusion won't let us." She reached up and stroked his left cheek. "You look younger, too. There's no gray in your hair."

  Ghaji ignored her comment about his hair. An illusion? Everything seemed so real-the cool breeze, the birds' night-songs, the rustling of leaves… And if he were truly his younger self, why did he still carry his elemental axe? "Do you think Solus went crazy again?"

  Yvka shook her head. "I doubt it. It's more likely this is Cathmore's doing… or rather the kalashtar he's working with."

  Ghaji frowned. "Something just occurred to me. If everything around us is an illusion, how do I know that you're real? How do you know I am?"

  Yvka smiled, stepped forward, and kissed him long and slow. When she stepped back, Ghaji grinned. "All right, you're real. So… how do we get break free of the illusion?"

  Yvka shrugged. "I don't know. I've had occasion to use certain devices during my career that can create illusions, but never anything like on this scale. I wouldn't know where to begin. Too bad Tresslar isn't here."

  Ghaji felt that there was a reason the artificer-or any of their other companions-wasn't present, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. There was something familiar about this place… and then it hit him.

  "I've been here before! During my early days in the Last War, I served with a mercenary group led by Chagai. This valley was the site of the last raid I went on with them before I left the group."

  "Before you betrayed us with your weakness, you mean."

  Ghaji and Yvka spun around to see Chagai standing several yards away-not Chagai as he was now, but rather as he had been when Ghaji had served under him: younger, stronger, in his prime. Ghaji was certain the orc warrior hadn't been present before, and neither had the cottage that the mercenary leader stood in front of. It was a cottage that Ghaji had visited only once but had seen many times since in his dreams.

  "I see you brought a friend with you," Chagai said, "and she's an elf." The orc wrinkled his noise in disgust. "Is she your woman, Ghaji? I can smell her stink on you."

  Ghaji snarled and drew his elemental axe. He willed the weapon's flame to activate, but nothing happened.

  Chagai grinned, displaying a mouthful of sharp orc teeth. "You're not in control here, Ghaji. I am. You participated in the raid on the shifter's cottage, but your heart wasn't in it. You're a coward and a weakling, Ghaji, a halfbreed ruined by the taint of human blood running through your veins. You never should have been born, and that's a mistake I intend to rectify now."

  The cottage door burst open and a male shifter stepped outside, features transformed into his full bestial aspect. The man's eyes were completely white, his forehead split open. Blood from the ghastly wound trickled down the sides of his face, and Ghaji remembered that it had been he who dealt that killing wound so long ago. This was Ruelo, the wood-wright the orcs had been sent to kill, and whose entire family they had slaughtered.

  As Ruelo's animated corpse came charging toward Ghaji and Yvka, three other figures emerged from the cottage, and Ghaji knew the wood-wright wasn't the only shifter looking for revenge.

  As soon as the sensation of vertigo hit him, Tresslar understood what was happening. Of course, Solus's warning helped, too. They were being subjected to a psionic assault of some sort, and while Tresslar was hardly a psionicist, he knew enough to attempt to mount a defense against such an attack-and he still had hold of the dragonwand. It all came down to speed now. If he could cast a spell before the psionic attack fully took hold of his mind…

  The momentary dizziness passed, and Tresslar found himself standing within a cavern before the dead body of a large green dragon.

  "Damn," the artificer muttered.

  He'd been too slow. He looked down at his hand and saw that it was empty, and more startlingly, that it had become the hand of a far younger man, one in his early twenties. It seemed that not only did he find himself inhabiting a memory, he was-outwardly at least-the same age he'd been then. He knew he was still a man in his seventies, and he still held the dragonwand, but as long as this illusion had a grip on him, he would be unable to draw upon the wand's magic. If only he'd been faster…

  A coughing-gagging sound came from his right, and he turned to see Asenka standing next to him. The woman's eyes were wide with alarm, and she had her hand to her throat as she struggled to breathe.

  Tresslar felt the pebble under his tongue, and he realized what was happening. The air in the cavern had been tainted by the dragon's toxic breath, and Asenka didn't have an enchanted pebble to help her breathe. It didn't matter that they weren't really here, and that the air wasn't really filled with deadly gas. Their minds had been made to believe it, and their bodies would react accordingly. If Tresslar didn't do something to help her, she would die.

  Tresslar quickly reached into his backpack and withdr
ew a pebble. He took hold of Asenka's face with one hand and slipped the pebble beneath her tongue with the other.

  "You'll be all right now," he told her. "Just try to breathe normally."

  It took several moments for Asenka's panic to subside, but eventually she got hold of herself enough to ask, "What's happening?" She frowned at him. "Who are you?"

  That's right, Tresslar thought. Though her appearance hasn't changed, I look like a young lad to her. "Do you remember the story I told you aboard the Zephyr, about how I came to find the dragonhead on my wand?"

  Asenka frowned. "Tresslar?"

  The artificer nodded. "We've become trapped within that memory. Though why you should be here too, I'm not certain. Perhaps it's simply because I told the story to you recently. At any rate, here we are."

  Asenka looked around the cavern, grimacing as she saw the bloody remains of the dead dragon. "We're actually inside one of your memories?"

  "Technically, this memory has been used to create a psionic illusion to ensnare our minds. I assume the same thing has happened to our companions."

  "Why?"

  "We came to Mount Luster to prevent Cathmore from using the psi-forge. I imagine he's trying to stop us."

  "You think you're smart." The voice boomed through the cavern, echoing off the walls, and seeming to vibrate through their very bones.

  They turned to see that the dragon-Paganus, Tresslar recalled-had raised his head and was glaring at them with a single milky-white eye.

  "If you're so damned clever, how come you never learned what the Amahau was or why I had it? How come you've never taken the time to fully investigate the Amahau and discover its true power? Is it because you're not as intelligent as you like to others to think-or is that you've been afraid all these years? Afraid of finding out what it was that you stole from me?"