Keith Baker - The Shattered Land

Daine frowned. “You don’t think it’s …”

“Devoured his mind? Consumed his spirit?” Lei shrugged, watching Pierce up ahead. “He still seems like Pierce to me, and when I touched it … I don’t know. It was distant, hard to read, but I wouldn’t say it was evil.”

“Curious,” Lakashtai said. “If only there was more time, I should like to study it.”

Daine watched Pierce. If anything, the warforged seemed more content than he’d been on the frozen shore. He seemed … serene. Just watch , he thought. Make sure he’s safe .

An hour later the travelers reached the edge of the forest. A barren waste lay before them, and across a thousand feet of scorched earth, a spire of crimson stone rose up to touch the sky.

“Karul’tash,” Shen’kar sang. “Cursed and deadly, avoided by the wise.”

Daine studied the structure. It was roughly conical, with a wide base surrounding a single tower. It seemed to have been carved from a single piece of stone, but that was impossible; not even giants could quarry such a block. This was the work of magic.

“Think of it,” Lakashtai said. “This spire has seen the passage of tens of thousands of years. When its gates were last opened, this was a kingdom of giants. Your ancestors were likely still struggling to make fire.”

“Don’t you mean our ancestors?” Lei said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes … of course,” Lakashtai said, still watching the tower. “Sometimes it is easy to forget my bond to humanity.”

Daine looked at Shen’kar. “So what’s waiting out there?”

“Death,” the drow said. He pointed. “The gate is there, burning at the base. Invisible fire fills the plain, and none can cross it and live.”

“I can,” Pierce said. “The orb will guide me.”

“We haven’t had much luck with guides recently,” Daine said. “Are sure you can trust this one?”

“No.”

Daine sighed. “Right. One way to find out, I guess. Lead the way.”

“I cannot,” Pierce replied. “The walls are in constant motion. Anyone following me could be caught in the flux.”

“You’re not going alone.”

Pierce considered this, then turned to Lei. “My lady,” he said, “It is possible that your talents will prove useful in opening the gate. If you are willing, I could carry you through the field.”

Lei looked at Pierce and glanced down at her bandaged hand. She’d wiped away her burns and scrapes with the healing wand, but the magic of the rod wasn’t powerful enough to restore her severed finger. For a moment she said nothing. Finally she nodded.

Daine opened his mouth, then bit back the complaint. “Fine,” he said. “Just … be careful. I just got you both back. I don’t want to lose you again.”

Pierce held out his bow. “I will need my hands. Will you hold this for me, captain?”

For a moment Daine hesitated, then he took the bow. Pierce gently picked up Lei, and Daine remembered the night they’d arrived in Sharn. “Good luck,” he said at last.

Pierce set out across the field.

North. Northeast. Northwest . Pierce ran across the blasted ground, jerking to the left and right.

“Can you see it?” Lei said, hanging onto his neck.

“It is not that simple, my lady.” Pierce had no trouble speaking while he ran; his legs seemed to know where to go. “I just … know when to turn and how far I can go.”

East. North. East .

“‘My lady,’” Lei mused. “You haven’t called me that in months.”

“I have not,” Pierce said. “For a time … I thought it was demeaning.”

North. Northwest. North .

“What changed?”

What had changed? “I am not your servant. Daine is no longer my commander, but you are still my lady, and he is my captain. I know the meaning of these words, and I do not care what others think.”

He saw Lei smile in his peripheral vision. “Thank you, brother,” she said quietly. He felt a sense of satisfaction-the calm serenity that he usually could only find in the heat of battle.

West. North. Northwest . Pierce ran in silence, and Lei leaned against his shoulder.

We are within the perimeter of the wards. Your companion will be safe moving under her own power .

“It is safe now,” Pierce said, slowly setting Lei down on the ground.

“Does it talk to you?” Lei said, looking at the dragonshard gem gleaming on Pierce’s chest.

Pierce could feel Shira looking through his eyes, studying Lei. The mark on the back of her neck resembles an archaic form of the Draconic language . Ghostly fingers were sifting through his memories, drawing out facts and collating them with knowledge held within the orb. Dragonmarks. Sigils that convey mystical power. Hereditary .

“It is … present,” Pierce said.

Shira continued to draw connections in the back of Pierce’s mind. Lei grew up in isolation, surrounded by warforged. Her mark manifested at an unprecedented early age, in response to an injury suffered by a warforged companion. Her mark has not grown in size, but she has proven to be an artificer of exceptional skill .

“What do you mean? Is it listening to us right now?” Lei grinned. “Is it talking about me?”

An artificer of exceptional skill can duplicate the magical abilities granted by the Mark of Making. Therefore, there is no way to verify that she truly possesses the mark .

“It is aware of you,” Pierce said.

At last, the gate of Karul’tash stood before them. The base of the spire was taller than the trees of the jungle and easily hundreds of feet in diameter. The stone walls were deep red, polished to a reflective finish and completely smooth; there were no signs of wear or age. The gate itself was a block of obsidian, three times Pierce’s height and nearly as wide.

“What now?” Lei asked.

Guided by newfound instinct, Pierce stepped up to the door and slammed his hand against it, striking as hard as he could.

“Dak ru’sen Karul’tash. Hasken ul tul’kas.” The voice was deep and resonant, and Pierce could feel the vibration in his skin. It seemed to emanate from the door itself. You have come to Karul’tash. Provide words of passage .

Countermeasures will be activated unless the words are given quickly and in the proper voice. You must let me speak for you .

Pierce could feel Shira trying to form words, but she was still a passive presence. He hesitated. So far she had acted within him-but he had never allowed her to control him. If he let go … could she maintain control? Could she force his consciousness into the sphere?

There is no time. You must let me speak .

The temperature in the area was beginning to rise. Pierce let go, and Shira rushed in to fill the void.

“Talkos. Han’tal. Isk.” Pierce heard himself speak with a strange, alien voice, deep and rasping. “Archshaper Kastoruk has come to Karul’tash, bringing slaves and supplies. Open the gate and let fall the wards.”

As the echoes died away, Pierce felt Shira disappear into the shadows of his mind. His voice was his again. The gate melted, obsidian liquefying and flowing in to line the long dark corridor on the other side. For a split second, the invisible labyrinth flashed into view, a complex maze formed of walls of red energy-and slowly, the walls faded away.

“That was … strange,” Lei said. “Is it safe now?”

“Yes. Stay here, and I will signal Daine.” Pierce sprinted across the field, moving at his top speed. Traveling in a straight line, it took him less than twenty seconds to reach the middle of the field and catch the party’s attention. He waved, and they began to move across the field.