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meaning, which was, You have to do something! She s going to get us all killed!
Rhys considered this was quite likely, but as for preventing it, he had no idea what to do. An ordinary
six-year-old who misbehaved could be swatted or sent to bed without her supper. The idea of swatting
Mina who, as Nightshade had said, could drop a mountain on their heads, was ludicrous. And, to be
honest, Mina hadn t misbehaved. She hadn t deliberately tried to drown them. She d made a simple
mistake. Since she could breathe water as easily as air, she had assumed they could, too.
Mina swam underwater as though she d been born to it, darting around them like a minnow, urging
them to hurry. Rhys had learned to swim in the monastery, but he was hampered by his robes and by his
staff, which he did not want to leave behind, and by his concern for Nightshade.
The kender had never learned to swim. He had never wanted to learn to swim. Now, given no choice
in the matter, he thrashed about wildly, making no progress in any direction. He was about to give
swimming up as hopeless when Atta passed him, churning the water with her front paws. Nightshade
watched the dog and decided to emulate her. Not having paws, he used his hands and arms to paddle, and
soon was able to keep up with the rest.
Mina swam excitedly on ahead, motioning for them to hurry. When they reached her, she was floating
in the water, making small swirling motions with her hands, hovering above what appeared to be a child s
sand castle.
Simple in design, the castle was constructed of four walls four feet in height and four feet long, with a
tall tower at each corner. There were no windows and only one door, though that door was a marvel.
Three feet tall and not very wide, the door was made of myriad pearls that shimmered with a purple
luster. A single rune carved out of a large emerald glowed in the center.
Mina motioned to Rhys, and as he swam awkwardly near her, pushing the staff ahead of him. She
gestured at the sand castle and eagerly nodded.
The Hall of Sacrilege, she mouthed.
Rhys stared in astonishment.
The infamous Hall of Sacrilege a child s sand castle. Rhys shook his head. Mina frowned at him
and, reaching out, she grabbed hold of his staff and pulled him through the water. She pointed to the
emerald rune embedded in the door. Rhys swam closer and caught a watery breath in awe. Carved into
the rune was a figure 8 turned on its side, a symbol with no ending and no beginning, the symbol of
eternity.
Rhys propelled himself backward. Mina regarded him, puzzled. She pointed at the door.
Open it! she commanded in a flurry of bubbles.
Rhys shook his head. This was the Solio Febalas, repository of some of the most holy artifacts ever
created by gods and man, and the door was shut and the door was sealed. He was not meant to enter. No
mortal was meant to enter. Perhaps not even the gods themselves were meant to enter this sacred place.
Mina tugged at him, urging him. Rhys shook his head emphatically, and drew back. He wished he
could explain to her, but he could not. He turned and started to swim off.
She swam after him and grabbed hold of him again. Childlike, she was determined to have her way.
Rhys had the feeling that if they d been on dry land, she would have stamped her foot.
Rhys would have continued to refuse, but at that moment, the decision was taken away from him.
Even deep below the sea, he could hear the one single word dreaded throughout Krynn by anyone
traveling with a kender.
Oops!
* * *
Hey! Caele cried, alarmed. Where did they go?
The two Black Robes, intent on killing each other, had been muttering arcane words and fumbling
about in their pouches for spell components when they realized they were alone. Kender, kid, dog, and
monk had disappeared.
Damn their eyeballs! Caele swore, seething. They ve found a way inside!
The half-elf dashed down the stairs, skidding to a halt when he reached the bottom. The shards of
broken glass were still there, sticking up out of the sand.
If you hadn t been so eager to slit my throat, we d be in there helping ourselves to the riches. Basalt
shook his fist at the half-elf.
You re right, of course, Basalt, said Caele with sudden meekness. You re always right. Give the
Master my regards.
The half-elf raised his hand in a flourish and vanished.
Huh? Basalt blinked. What
The dwarf suddenly understood. He sucked in a huge breath and let it out in a roar. He s gone after
them!
Basalt did a quick mental run-through of his spell catalog and began a feverish rummage through his
pouches of spell components to see what he had on hand. He d come prepared to do battle, not for
traveling to an unknown destination across a sea bottom covered with broken glass. He wondered what
magic Caele had used, decided most likely the half-elf had cast a spell known as Dimension Door, a
favorite of Caele s, for it required only spoken words, no spell components. Caele disliked casting spells
that used components, mainly because he was too lazy to gather them.
Basalt was familiar with the Dimension Door spell himself, but it had one drawback. In order to cast
the spell, the wizard had to know where he was going, for he had to visualize the location. Basalt had no
idea where the Hall of Sacrilege was or what it looked like. He had never been inside the water-filled
globe that protected it.
Caele, on the other hand, had been inside the globe. He had been sent under duress to the dragon,
Midori, to collect a small amount of her blood which Nuitari had used in the Dragon-sight bowl, allowing
him to spy on his enemies. Caele had never mentioned seeing the Hall, but the half-elf was a sneaking,
cunning, lying bastard, and Basalt guessed that Caele had done some snooping about while he was down
there and simply not mentioned it.
Picturing Caele in the Hall, scooping up treasures right and left, Basalt gnashed his teeth in anger. He
glared irately at the broken glass blocking his way and thought wistfully about how wonderful it would be
if he could just float over it, and that brought a spell to mind.
Basalt didn t have the requisite pure components on hand, but he could make do. The spell required
gauze; he tore the bandage from his forehead and, using his knife, cut off a piece. He generally carried a
bit of candle with him, for flame or wax always came in handy. The candle was beeswax, one he d made
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