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The Wizardwar :: Каннингем Элейн
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"Monsters from Chult-I'd almost forgotten that spell! Bringing them here was difficult but worthwhile. The wild elves had never seen such creatures before. Quite amusing."
"No doubt," Kiva said flatly. She pointed toward the opposite bank. "That way."
The necromancer eyed the apparently impenetrable forest wall. "It did not look so when last I came through. There were terraced gardens amid the trees."
"Two hundred years," the elf reminded him. "The jungle covers all and forgets nothing."
He sent her a sharp glance. "That sounds suspiciously like a warning, little Kiva."
"A proverb," she said mildly, "of a sort often spoken by the jordaini. During your exile, these sayings have infested the Halruaa language like gnats upon overripe fruit."
"So much for my gift to Halruaa," Akhlaur observed. "It is said that no good deed goes unpunished!"
Several responses came to Kiva's mind, all of which were almost guaranteed to kindle the necromancer's rage. She acknowledged his ironic proverb with a nod, then led the way across the log bridge. They crawled through the rib cage of Akhlaur's creature and passed into the forest. The wizard followed her down long-forgotten elven paths that no human, magically gifted or not, could ever see.
Night fell, and the path traced a steeply sloping hill. They skirted several ravines and pits-all that remained of the elves outer defenses. Finally they stood within the crumbling walls of the ancient elven city.
Moonlight filled the courtyard, lingering on the blackened, vine-covered ruins.
Akhlaur looked about in dismay. "What happened here? Pillage I could understand, had it been widely known that elves lived in this part of Halruaa! But this was a hidden city. Certainly a few learned wizards suspected its existence, but sages and looters seldom drink from the same bottle."
"Not looters, Lord Akhlaur, but time. Time and Halruaa herself conspired in this destruction."
"I am not one for riddles," he warned.
She took a moment to choose her words. "The destruction of Halruaa's elves could not have been accomplished by one wizard, not even one as powerful as you. During your rise to power, all of Halruaa looked the other way and pretended not to know."
The necromancer looked at her as if she'd stated that most of the trees were green. "You are just now discovering the nature of humankind? Even those who consider themselves virtuous see only what they wish to see.
"Monsters from Chult-I'd almost forgotten that spell! Bringing them here was difficult but worthwhile. The wild elves had never seen such creatures before. Quite amusing."
"No doubt," Kiva said flatly. She pointed toward the opposite bank. "That way."
The necromancer eyed the apparently impenetrable forest wall. "It did not look so when last I came through. There were terraced gardens amid the trees."
"Two hundred years," the elf reminded him. "The jungle covers all and forgets nothing."
He sent her a sharp glance. "That sounds suspiciously like a warning, little Kiva."
"A proverb," she said mildly, "of a sort often spoken by the jordaini. During your exile, these sayings have infested the Halruaa language like gnats upon overripe fruit."
"So much for my gift to Halruaa," Akhlaur observed. "It is said that no good deed goes unpunished!"
Several responses came to Kiva's mind, all of which were almost guaranteed to kindle the necromancer's rage. She acknowledged his ironic proverb with a nod, then led the way across the log bridge. They crawled through the rib cage of Akhlaur's creature and passed into the forest. The wizard followed her down long-forgotten elven paths that no human, magically gifted or not, could ever see.
Night fell, and the path traced a steeply sloping hill. They skirted several ravines and pits-all that remained of the elves outer defenses. Finally they stood within the crumbling walls of the ancient elven city.
Moonlight filled the courtyard, lingering on the blackened, vine-covered ruins.
Akhlaur looked about in dismay. "What happened here? Pillage I could understand, had it been widely known that elves lived in this part of Halruaa! But this was a hidden city. Certainly a few learned wizards suspected its existence, but sages and looters seldom drink from the same bottle."
"Not looters, Lord Akhlaur, but time. Time and Halruaa herself conspired in this destruction."
"I am not one for riddles," he warned.
She took a moment to choose her words. "The destruction of Halruaa's elves could not have been accomplished by one wizard, not even one as powerful as you. During your rise to power, all of Halruaa looked the other way and pretended not to know."
The necromancer looked at her as if she'd stated that most of the trees were green. "You are just now discovering the nature of humankind? Even those who consider themselves virtuous see only what they wish to see.