Keith Baker - The Shattered Land

“I do not know, Lei. All I know is that Harmattan was doing the bidding of another. Perhaps if we follow his path, we can learn the identity of this hidden master.”

Lei nodded, and she crossed the clearing and retrieved her staff. “What do we know about Harmattan’s plans?”

“He was searching for this.” Pierce produced the silver sphere, and it glittered in the sunlight. “He called it a prisoner. He said it would ‘unlock the gates of Karul’tash.’”

“Karul’tash?” Lei frowned. “Karul’tash. The Monolith of Karul’tash. That’s where we were going. That’s where Lakashtai said we could find what we needed to help Daine.”

“Then if we only had Daine, I would call this a sign of destiny.”

“Let me see that,” Lei said. “It seems familiar, but I just can’t place it. A sphere … Xen’drik …” She took the orb from Pierce’s hands and almost dropped it in surprise.

It recognized her.

The instant she touched the orb, she felt a wave of thought pass over her-a sense of identity, almost like looking at a human face. It was distant, faint, but she knew that there was a consciousness within the sphere … and that it was aware of her. The sense of recognition was not strong. It wasn’t the feeling she’d get from seeing a friend, but rather one of seeing a man in a familiar uniform, of knowing that’s a member of the Sharn Watch .

“Hello?” she said cautiously.

“Greetings?” Pierce replied.

Lei shook her head and pointed at the orb. “I was … did you feel anything when you were holding it?”

Pierce shook his head.

Lei turned her attention back to the orb. She could sense that it was aware of her, but there was something … in the way. It was like looking at a lantern covered by a blanket. Reaching into her backpack, she produced a pearl; she’d found these stones to be an effective focus for divinatory energies. Touching the pearl to the silver sphere, she reached out with her mind, studying the orb.

It was beautiful.

Seen through the lens of magic, it was an intricate web of golden threads, burning with pulses of light. “It’s an … information matrix,” she said, wonderingly. “I think it’s alive-not quite alive as you, but self-aware. Conscious. Just imagine-this must have seen the civilization of the giants!”

“How can we communicate with it?” Pierce said.

“That’s the strangest part. I think … it looks like it’s designed to interface with a warforged, to attach to your essence node, but it must be tens of thousands of years old.”

“So it seems that Cannith didn’t create the warforged after all.”

“I’m not sure I’d go that far,” Lei said. “It may be that Cannith explorers adapted a few design elements from Xen’drik golems, and the essence node was one of them.”

“There is only one way to be certain. Attach it to me.”

“We have no idea what it might do to you!”

“Harmattan said it was the key.”

“He also said it was a prisoner!” Lei exclaimed. “It could be a demon, a monster-who knows what?”

“Study it further. Do you think there’s a danger of it seizing control of my body?”

Lei closed her eyes, reaching out through the pearl. “I … I don’t think so, but it’s difficult to say. The design is like nothing I’ve seen before.”

“Attach it to me. If it can lead us to this Karul’tash, perhaps we can find Daine and the others. Lakashtai said nothing about a key, so she may not know it is necessary. It could be our only chance to find them.”

Lei grimaced, but eventually nodded. She examined his torso, and Pierce released the metal disk he had attached earlier.

“What’s this?” she said, pulling it loose.

“Harmattan gave it to me-it is the key that opened the gates of this vault.”

“Interesting,” she said, tucking it in a pouch. “Now … here it goes.”

She pressed the orb against his socket in his chest. As she watched, the node shifted shape; metal softened and flowed in to surround the sphere. After a few moments had passed, the orb had been almost fully absorbed into Pierce’s body-only a single red dragonshard could be seen from the outside.

“What do you feel?” she said.

“I … I do not know,” Pierce replied. There is a … presence, but it is distant. I cannot reach it.”

Lei frowned. “I felt the same thing. Stand still.” She placed a finger on the dragonshard. A moment later she could feel the presence once more, and the barrier between them. “I think that it’s-damaged, somehow. I’m going to try to repair it.”

“How?”

“I can’t explain it. I just … I think I know what to do.”

She closed her eyes again, and let her perception flow into the orb, spreading out along the many threads. Here and there she could feel where a connection had broken, where something had snapped, and she found she could weave new threads to bridge these gaps. It seemed to take hours, as her thoughts flowed along one brilliant path after another, but at long last it was done. The curtain was ripped away, and she felt the presence truly come to life.

And in that moment, the ground next to her exploded.

A wave of concussive force threw Lei to the side, and her face slammed against the soil. As her vision cleared, she saw a cloud of black smoke rising up from patch of burning grass.

“ Do not move!”

The words were in Elvish; it had been some time since Lei had studied the language, and the speaker was talking quickly, flowing his words together. Turning toward the sound, Lei was amazed by the sight of the firesled. She knew they were in danger, and she had no idea what to make of these strange elves with their jet-black skin and orange and red tattoos, but looking at the sleigh with its ring of fire, her first thought was how can they keep something so small in the air?

Pierce had no intention of standing still; as far as Lei knew, he didn’t even speak Elvish. His bowstring sang, and a feathered shaft struck the shoulder of the elf standing in front of the burning wheel. She cried out but held on to her fixed staff; an instant later she responded with another burst of flame, forcing Lei to leap away from Pierce.

As she rolled to the side, Lei heard her staff whispering-a quiet song, warning of malevolent motion. “A little late,” she muttered. Now shapes were moving all around her, shadows slipping through the foliage. An instant later two elven warriors darted out of the jungle. They were armored in leather and bronze scales, and their short spears were leveled at her heart.

“Surrender!” one cried in fluid Elvish.

Not likely . Lei ran her fingers along her staff, whispering softly and weaving magic with her thoughts. She quickly planted a battle-bane in the staff: a furious hatred of elves that would guide Lei’s hands and amplify the force of her blows when fighting this vile foe.

As quick as she was, one of the elves saw her flickering fingers and must have guessed that magic was afoot. He lunged forward, but he was too late. Lei had completed her work. The staff seemed to move of its own accord, pulling her with it; she swept the spear aside, then smashed him in the face with the butt of the staff. The other soldier darted in as his companion staggered back, and Lei leapt out of his reach. For a moment they circled each other, trading tentative jabs, but Lei still had the enchantments she had prepared to fight Pierce woven into her boots and armor-and one of these was supernatural speed. It took only a thought to activate this power, and her foes seemed to slow to a crawl. Within seconds, both elves had fallen beneath her furious blows, and Lei permitted herself a smile.

The smile was a mistake. The battle on the ground had drawn her attention away from the threat in the air, and the next thing she knew she was surrounded by flame. The heat seared across her skin, and the force of the explosion slammed her to the ground. Her ears were ringing, and the world was drifting in and out of focus-just staying conscious was a battle. Healing wand , she thought, but even as she struggled to reach her belt, the point of a sword appeared before her eyes-a sword wreathed in flame.