Richard Baker - The City of Ravens

"The phenomena has been observed only in Raven's Bluff, Jack," said Jelan. "Why here? Why is it that a small number of people living in this city are simply blessed with inexplicable magic? Something about Raven's Bluff instills magic in a small number of its citizens, apparently at random. And, in your case, the magic is quite versatile and strong."

"What does it all signify?" Illyth interrupted. "Where does this magic come from?"

"It comes from a device that I call the wild mythal," said Jelan. "Raven's Bluff is built on top of Sarbreen. Sarbreen was built on top of an older and deeper city, a drow stronghold thousands of years old. Here, in the deeps beneath us, the mightiest wizards of the drow once gathered to forge a mythal of their own, a font of power akin to those made by the most powerful elven wizards of centuries long past."

"A mythal?" Jack asked. He shook his head. "I don't understand."

"The mythals were the most powerful magics ever devised by the elven courts of old," Myth said, nodding. "At Myth Drannor, Evermeet, Calmaercor, and other places too, mythals were forged of elven high magic to serve the elven race. They guarded the elven realms against all harm and made possible works of wonder now forgotten."

"The dark elves did not overlook the potential of the mythal magic," Jelan added. "In their long war against the surface elves, the drow came to desire a similar device of their own, one with the power to bend or break the surface mythals. And so they toiled for many long years, forging their own mythal stone somewhere in the ancient city under Sarbreen, but their mythal failed. It gathered an enormous amount of magic, but it could not be tamed to their will. They abandoned the whole city, and the warped magic of their failed device has slowly seeped into the very earth and air and water of this place for centuries now. Raven's Bluff, by pure chance, was built upon a fountainhead of magic that is probably unique in all the world."

Jack looked at her with understanding. "That is why you raised your horde, my lady? To control the fountain-head of wildfire?"

Jelan nodded. "I had other reasons, too, but yes, that is the primary one. I intend for the wild mythal to be the keystone of my kingdom, a source of power that would make my conquest unassailable. There are dozens of cities in the Vast that might be easier to take or more easily pacified. Raven's Bluff, however, is unique in this regard, and the fools don't even know what they have."

"What of the Sarkonagael? Why did I steal it for you, if the wild mythal is your real target?"

"It contains spells that I needed Yu Wei to possess-"

"The shadow simulacra!" Jack interrupted. "You are the source of the shadow copies! Do you have any idea of the kind of trouble those constructs are causing in the city?"

The Warlord nodded. "A good idea, yes. You see, Jack, Raven's Bluff is also unusual in that it is home to a disproportionate number of powerful individuals: swordsmen of epic stature, knights of unsurpassed faithfulness and strength, mages and priests and other magic wielders of dire power. The city is a city of heroes, and while Hawk Knights and Wizard's Guilds and dozens of interfering bands of adventurers stand about keeping an eye open for trouble, I find it difficult to achieve my goals. Two years ago, my armies would have overrun the Ravenaar defenses with no trouble if it had not been for the heroes who flocked to the city's defense. This time, I have decided to strike at the heroes first. When the city's most powerful defenders are dead or discredited due to the actions of their simulacra, Raven's Bluff will fall with hardly a blow."

"I am perhaps more sentimental than I thought I was," Jack admitted, "since I find that I do not care for the idea of laying waste the city I grew up in."

"I do not intend to lay waste to the city, Jack. My quarrel lies against only a small fraction of the city's inhabitants, the handful of powerful nobles, guilders and so-called heroes who rule this place. When they are gone, I shall stay my hand. I have no interest in devastating the people I intend to rule wisely and well."

"Your horde of two years past indicates otherwise," Illyth remarked boldly. "Orcs, goblins, giants, and ogres, all eager to sack the city and carry off its population in their entirety. Your quarrel at that point would seem to include all within the city's walls."

The Warlord lost her composure for a moment. Her face, until this moment set in a faintly amused and indulgent smile, hardened into something sharper than a blade.

"Did you ever wonder," she said with acid, "why, two years past, the battle for Raven's Bluff turned when it did? I achieved my purpose without razing the city. When it suited me to do so, I allowed my army to be defeated. In fact, I contributed significantly to the security of my future conquest by bringing before its walls a generation of orc and ogre warriors, only to have them cut down in sight of their goal. It will be ten years at least before the tribes can muster another army like that one, and by then I intend to have made Raven's Bluff completely unassailable.

"Clearly, I succeeded in some goals and failed in others when I brought the horde against Raven's Bluff. That was a tool that was wieldy for the job at the time. Now I find that other, subtler tools are better suited to my purpose. And that is all you need to know."

"I still do not understand how I fit into your plans," Jack said.

"In three ways. First, I have taken you into my service. That in itself is sufficient. Second, I believe that through you I may take control of the wild mythal. Third, your talents are particularly well suited for some tasks I have ahead of me."

There was a knock at the door. The Nar swordsman-Kel Kelek-appeared in the doorway. "My lady, the landing is near."

"Excellent. I'll be up in a moment," Jelan said. She stood and buckled on her swordbelt again. "Jack, I am no fool. I have little reason to trust you, even though I believe it would be in your best interest to serve me willingly. I would have asked Yu Wei here simply to work a geas upon you, but he informs me that the results may be unpredictable given your talents, so I have resorted to a more simple security-Illyth. I have no wish to harm her without cause, but I will if I have to. Do not give me cause."

Jack frowned and carefully controlled his response. "I understand. I will cooperate, but you must promise that Illyth will not be harmed."

Illyth recoiled. "Jack, don't do it! Who knows what harm could come of her plots?"

"The Warlord honors her word to the letter," Jack admitted. "She will do exactly as she says. I don't have a choice."

"A wise decision." Jelan pulled leather gloves over her hands and strode past Jack, pushing her way past the Nar swordsman and climbing up the companionway. Then she turned on the stair, ducking a little to meet Jack's eyes. "Yu Wei recovered your weapons and magical devices from the prison's lockbox," she said. "Ready yourself for an expedition into Sarbreen."

The Warlord's party, Jack and Illyth included, entered the subterranean ruins of Sarbreen through a tunnel mouth excavated in the floor of an abandoned warehouse. The ancient dwarven city had few streets or thoroughfares. It was an endless series of chambers and halls and foundations, a lightless and directionless labyrinth that defied Jack's attempts to perceive the underlying symmetry. Smooth polished granite blocks covered the walls, almost untouched by the passage of seven hundred years since the city's destruction. Rainwater, run-off, and less pleasant waste dripped through the old dwarven hold from the human city above, turning some of the larger corridors into sewers.

"I've never been in this part of Sarbreen before," Jack said in a low voice to Jelan. "Where are we?"