Pathway To Eternity

"The Arcane Script Sphere." 

King Laggarma said to Ju Feng. He looked into the far distance and let out a soft breath. He shook his head and continued to mutter.

"It's the artifact. I knew it was calling out, trying to free itself. It wants to move on to other wizards, but its purpose was established before Mystra's limbo. Now that she's gone, I thought by keeping it I was keeping it safe, preserving a part of her. Instead the artifact hid itself from me, and I've brought doom upon Myria because of it. And there's Gallazza."

"It always comes back to that yaomo, Gallazza. What is his part in all this?"

Ju Feng asked.

"I don't know, but it could be his part in the scheme is the most dangerous of all." 

King Laggarma said to a frown from Ju Feng.

"That's suitably cryptic. Have you considered the possibility that he's also merely a distraction?"

Mith Barak waved a hand dismissively. He looked Ruen over, and his gaze softened.

"Call me a fool if you want, but I've felt the touch of their goddess on Zollgarza. He came to the city to kill me, but he has a purpose beyond that, and until I know what that is, I mark him a threat to my city greater than ten drow armies. You should head back to the city. The girl will be wanting to see you."

Ju Feng abruptly realized how long he'd been gone and quickly asked. 

"Chang Chang hasn't found the sphere yet?"

"Talk to her about it. She's stopped looking for it."

***

He's gone." said the weaponmaster when Chang chang entered the ball. But the ing never left his audience chamber. 

"Where is he?"

"He went to supervise the digging. We've got a narrow passage cleared into the Cavern of Forgotten of Souls. The king went to see the first of the survivors through. Said he had to be there. No one expected it, but he insisted. I haven't seen him so afire since …" 

The weaponmaster shook her head. Pride shone in her gray eyes.

  "It's been a long time," she said thickly.

Chang Chang could only nod. Her thoughts were a disconnected jumble. 

"Thank you for telling me," she murmured.

"You're welcome, and oh, I almost forgot to tell you who was asking for you. She's at the Mystra's temple." 

The dwarf woman clapped Chang Chang on the shoulder and hurried away, leaving her alone in the great hall. Chang Chang went back out to the open cavern, wandering aimlessly as the wedding preparations went on side by side with preparations for war. It was the most incongruous sight Chang Chang had ever beheld. War banners and white silk—the latter covering a raised dais where Ongara and Arngam would stand to face their loved ones during the ceremony and gift exchange. After that, a feast and celebration—a revelry to end all revelries, judging by the amount of wine on hand.

On the next day, they would go to war.

In the midst of all this, there had been no word from Ju Feng. Whether he was alive or dead, Chang Chang had already decided that she would fight with the dwarves. She told herself it was not out of revenge, though she did feel that need burning inside her. It was pointless to lie to herself about that. She would also fight for the Yellowhorn family, and even for the king. She would unleash the most powerful Art within her, regardless of the consequences.

Chang Chang made her way to Mystra's temple. Within the thick walls, silence reigned. Though the wounded dwarves—some of them came from the Cavern of Lost Souls—still recovered here, the stone soaked up much of the sound, and the muted light coming from the silver lichen hanging near the ceiling created many dark corners and lonely alcoves.

Lonely—that was the word for this place, Chang Chang thought. Not abandoned or neglected, but sadness lingered in the absence of their divine who'd once gathered her flock here through her avatar. She found Druya standing in front of an icon of the divine Mystra which stood clearly visible to all who entered. The stone sculpture depicted her with her hand raised as if in salute to those she welcomed to her house.

Druya turned when she approached. Her distant expression made Chang Chang hesitate who then asked. 

"Am I disturbing you?" 

"Not at all. I was just meditating." 

Druya said, laying her hand companionably on Chang Chang's arm. A glint of light at Druya's b.r.e.a.s.tbone caught Chang Chang's attention. The holy symbol of Xian Xia hung there. Chang Chang glanced between symbol and statue, but she bit back the question that rose to her tongue.

Druya must have seen it, for she smiled. 

"You wonder why I wear Xian Xia's symbol, yet I walk in Mystra's path?"

"I think I understand." 

Chang Chang said. 

"Sometimes I pray to Mystra too, though I know your dwarven divine can't hear. What I wonder is, does Xian Xia mind that you stay here, instead of walking the halls of her temple?"

"Your blood divine and I have an understanding." 

Druya said, her gaze lingering on the statue even as she gripped Xian Xia's holy symbol in her fist. 

"I put my faith and trust in Mystra, the divine dwarf, to guide me and my people, but what kind of servant would I be if I were so easily able to cast aside our ancestral divine after she entered limbo. Although most of us dwarven folk gained the gifts of oracle through Xian Xia, she understands, even if that lasts for millennia. The loss of Mystra is a weight on ours heart that can never truly be removed."

"I'm sorry," Chang Chang said. "We don't have to speak of it."

"It's all right."

Druya said, smiling.

  "Speaking Mystra's name keeps the divine's memory alive." 

She steered Chang Chang to an antechamber off the main hall. White orbs lit the interior, their sconces situated beneath red windows. Cut in the shape of anvils, the ruby-colored glass cast red glows all around the room that mimicked the light of the forge. Stone benches filled the room, but someone had stacked these against the adjacent walls, leaving the middle of the floor empty but for pools of red light.

"This is your chamber, isn't it? It's lovely." 

Chang Chang said as Druya led her to the center of the room. She looked up at the ceiling and found herself tilting her head far back to stare at a dome lit by small cl.u.s.ters of lichen affixed to the interior like stars. 

"The anvils of the forge symbolize our home beneath the earth. But the constellations mimic the world of Wujin above. Between the two stand the people of Mystra. In answer to your question, it is a room for all, but I am the only one who comes here now. I thought it appropriate to bring you here. I have news to share."

"What news?" Chang Chang asked, her heart thudding against her ribs. "Is it Feng?"

"Word came not long ago of the first of the survivors. He is among them. He and the others, including the wounded, are on their way back to the city even as we speak."

Chang Chang closed her eyes and swayed on her feet. Druya's strong arm on hers kept her upright. 

"Heaven's tears," she breathed. "What of your family—your father and Orban?"

"They live, Chang. His comrades say Orban is having the heavenly oracle touch now—whether that heralds a miracle or the end of all things, they cannot say, but clearly there's a tale to tell of what they went through in the battle."

"Thank you for telling me." 

Chang Chang said, her throat tightening around the words.

"Are you all right? I thought this news would make you happy, yet your face is so full of sorrow. What's wrong?"

Druya asked, looking suddenly concerned. 

"It's nothing. I think I'll go for a walk, if you don't mind my leaving you."

"Not at all. Go out the rear door of the temple and circle around the waterfall. There is a hidden garden attached to the temple. Few go there, especially now. It is a good place to be alone with your thoughts."

"Thank you." 

Chang Chang passed out of the red-lit chamber and exited the temple. She did not look around her or pay attention to the people she passed. Ju Feng was safe. Unspeakable relief washed over her, making her dizzy, but coldness had settled in her stomach. Ruen would return, and she'd have to tell him that she intended to stop searching for a cure for her bloodscar.

What would he think of her? What would happen to her in regards to the prophecies foretold? What would be her fate? Chang Chang thought as she walked around the outside of the temple until she saw the waterfall Druya had mentioned. It enclosed the garden on three sides, creating a private little space accessed by a walkway.