Коллектив авторов - The Realms of the Elves

Speaking of Twilight speaking, she did so, explaining a fair amount about the Deep Coven over tea. It seemed they operated from beneath the House of Coins, which wouldn't be holding services this day. From her calm reassurance, it was almost as though she had already planned to steal the Bracer before she'd ever met the sun elves.

"Are you sure about going there by day?" Yldar asked, reiterating Cythara's concern of the previous day. He looked out the window, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

"The cultists are probably sleeping off a ritual as we speak," Twilight said. "Light's always on your side, as a rule, when dealing with demons."

Yldar recognized that she could mean herself by "'Light," but kept his witticism to himself. He looked at his sister. "Cyth, you've been rather quiet. Are you well?"

Cythara stared straight ahead, as though she had not heard him. When he touched her arm, she flinched. Yldar felt far from her.

"Oh yes," she said in Elvish. She concealed her smile. "Yes. I was merely… thinking." She looked at Twilight. "When do we begin?"

"Right now," Twilight said. She took another sip of her tea and smiled through the steam. "Well, soon enough."

When they had finished their meal, paid, and left, Twilight and Yldar's flirtation only continued, much to Cythara's extreme consternation and Yldar's frustrated enjoyment. The moon elf had led them on a twisting route through the streets-to avoid any trails, she had explained-that seemed hopelessly complex and time consuming. From her glower, Cythara suspected that it was only for the sake of continuing her repartee with Yldar, which the latter found himself hoping was indeed the case.

As the midday sun rose overhead, Twilight led them down a dark alleyway beside the House of Coins on

Temple Hill. As Yldar shifted uncomfortably and Cythara flitted about in an unusual surplus of energy, Twilight examined the wall closely.

"Are you sure this is it?" Yldar asked for the eleventh time in about as many breaths.

"Silence, Shiny," Twilight hissed. "Let a lass work."

With a little growl, the treasure hunter fidgeted, unhappy to be standing in such a filthy place, doing nothing. It made him terribly self-conscious.

Yldar had never liked standing still-he had a fundamental lack of patience that had interfered with his myriad studies. According to his masters on Evermeet, he lacked the attention and focus wizardry demands, and could learn only paltry spells. For someone who-in his own mind, at least-had been destined to wield high magic, it had been quite a blow. Then, when he hadn't been admitted to the bladesinger order for the same reason, Yldar had abandoned his elf teachers. Not that humans-or any other race, for that matter-were any better, he had found.

Cythara was no help. She paced back and forth, cast spells-divinations, he guessed-and Yldar had the presence of mind to realize that she only did so when it was least likely Twilight would notice.

After a moment, he asked again. "Are you sure-?"

"Yes, Brother," Cythara said softly. She spoke in Common, which Yldar marked as unusual. "Magic abounds from that wall. There is almost assuredly a door."

Twilight narrowed her eyes at Cythara distrustfully. Then she shrugged. "My thanks, Your Highness. Almost there…" Her fingers found a groove, then an indentation, and she clicked her tongue in victory. "Got it." Her right hand dipped down to her belt and obtained a pair of wire lockpicks from a hidden pocket. "Now…"

In a breath or three, the door gave a shudder and the stones began to shift. Twilight leaned back, admiring her handiwork. The bricks rippled and spun and a portal yawned in the wall, like a demonic maw lit from within by strange, dull flames-torches, Ylar hoped. The scent of rotting flesh and congealed blood came from below.

How appropriate, Yldar thought, fighting the nausea.

"Now remember," Twilight warned. "These cultists worship a demon who stands for seduction, betrayal, and perversion for the sake of dark power. Quite the vilest people you can conceive. If they catch you, it'll be worse than death-much worse, I would imagine."

The hairs on the back of Yldar's neck rose. "Cheerful. What precautions do we take?"

Twilight shrugged. "Don't get caught."

They descended into the darkness, Twilight leading the way and searching for pitfalls and guards, then Cythara with her spells of detection, followed by Yldar with a hand on his sword hilt.

The temperature slowly increased as they descended, so much that, even with the elves' resistance to extremes of temperature, a thin sheen of sweat broke out on their foreheads. Twilight made her way down the steps slowly, cautiously, searching the walls with sensitive eyes and the tips of her fingers.

Several times, she motioned to Cythara and Yldar to avoid a certain step, or move away from the wall at a certain point. Sometimes she fiddled with a mechanism Yldar hadn't noticed, disarming a trap or removing a ward he could hardly sense even with seven decades of magical training. She had a remarkable facility with magical traps, which often eluded his largely self-taught thieving skills. He made a mental note to ask about her technique later.

After fifty steps, the stairs ended in a rounded anteroom with half a dozen identical sets of reinforced oak double doors. Yldar immediately began the overwhelming task of deciding which one to investigate first, but Twilight did not hesitate.

"No lead on these doors," she murmured. "Unlocked, too. I should lodge a complaint."

She went immediately to the door that was second from the right and listened at it. After a breath, she nodded and motioned Cythara and Yldar forward.

"How do you know where to go?" Yldar arched an eyebrow.

Cythara studied Twilight silently.

"I… well… it would take some explaining. Suffice to say-I can sense this Bracer. Call it a gift. Shows me exactly where to go. Like magic." She snapped her fingers. When the others did not join in her smile, she laughed nervously. "Only not."

"I'm familiar with that spell," Cythara said. "As is my brother. In order to find something unique, as Ynloeth's Bracer is, you must know it firsthand. Is this not true?"

"I didn't knowyow knew any Art," Twilight said shortly to Yldar, ignoring his sister.

"We're elves," he said quickly, trying to deflect her accusatory tone. "It comes second nature to us."

"Well, not to me," said Twilight coldly. "Never been comfortable around mages."

Yldar's face flushed and he cursed his sister for including him in those ranks, which lowered him in Twilight's eyes. He didn't know why that upset him so, but it did.

"So, answer my question," Cythara said. "How do you know where the Bracer is?"

"I'll explain later," said Twilight. "Let's make haste. I don't know if you find this place comfortable, but I really don't. Reminds me of the Abyss-but I guess that's appropriate, since it is Graz'zt's temple…"

"Agreed," Yldar said. He glanced at Cythara, who bit her lip, and let the matter go for the moment. He stepped to the door and opened it slowly.

Within was the altar chamber of Graz'zt. Torches smoldered in wall sconces about the place and put off a hazy purplish light, producing a strange, surreal atmosphere. Musk and blood mingled in the air. Crude murals defaced the walls, depicting disgusting, horrifying demons and acts of violence and lust. A huge obsidian altar dominated the room, piled all around with skulls and bones. Something metallic glinted from it, and Yldar's eyes lit up.

"The Bracer!" he exclaimed despite himself. He would have continued had not Twilight slapped a hand over his mouth to silence him.

"Easy there, Goldie," she said, gesturing around the room with her sharp nose.

Indeed, though they had not seen them before in the dim haze, black-robed bodies lay scattered about the chamber, all breathing shallowly. Most of them were half-unclad and entwined with one another. Cowls and shadows obscured the faces, but the elves were certain they were sleeping. Yldar could only imagine what their ritual had involved, and his gorge rose.