Pathway To Eternity

"A perfect memory," Ju Feng said. "Maybe Cerest's mind couldn't survive that kind of clarity. To have all the defects of your own psyche laid out for you in a ring of fire—not many people could face it and live."

"So this," Chang Chang said, touching the elf's smooth face, "this is memory. His last memory." She felt an overwhelming wave of sadness—for her parents, Chang Wei, and for Brant. So many lives destroyed.

"We should get out of here," Ju Feng said. "There's no telling how long the structure will hold."

"The Ferryman's Haven is over," Chang Chang said quietly. She turned away, leaving Cerest on the raft, staring peacefully up at the sky.

They swam out of the wreckage together, Chang Chang's bobbing light leading the way. Gray mist clung to the harbor's surface. In the distance she could smell the Hearth fire burning. The orange glow gave the impression of a false dawn.

Out of the darkness, Chang Chang saw the line of boats coming toward them. Lantern light swayed at each prow. Chang Chang could see there were at least two men in each boat.

"Think you can take ten of them?" she asked Ju Feng, who was treading water next to her. "Leaves eight for me."

"Only ten?" Ju Feng said. His face twisted with a gallows humor smile. "Bring me a true challenge, lady."

The lead boats drifted to a stop practically on top of them. Chang Chang squinted up into the face of a woman in robes. She wore a tense frown, but she seemed more interested in the wreckage than in the two figures in the water. 

A tall man leaned down to Chang Chang. This man she recognized immediately, though she'd never expected the Watch Warden to come for her himself.

"Warden Tallmantle," she said. "I understand you've been looking for me."

"Well met, Chang Chang Tearn," Tallmantle said, inclining his head gravely. "Would you care to come aboard?"

"I would, and if you've a spare blanket or two, I'd be weepingly grateful for those as well. But I've a problem. Three of my friends are trapped in the wreckage. We can't get to them."

"'Ware!" shouted one of the men at the back of the group. "We need more light over here."

Tesleena spoke a word, and the surrounding harbor lit as if a miniature sun had risen.

A single small boat drifted toward the group. Her oarsman was hunched over, forcing the craft through the water.

The Watch officer nearest raised his crossbow. The oarsman lifted his head, and Chang Chang shouted, "Stop! He's a friend."

When Mut got close enough to Tallmantle's boat, Ju Feng grabbed an oar and hauled the boat in the rest of the way. There were two figures lying side by side in the bottom of the boat. Chang Chang recognized Zu Ruo and Fa, but she couldn't see if they yet breathed.

The deformed man slumped against the side of the boat, exhausted by whatever toil had brought them out of the wreckage. Tears streaked his face. Chang Chang could see him stroking Fa's robes. Her heart lurched painfully.

She swam to the boat, but Tallmantle was closer. He bent over the prone figures. "The old man is dead," he said. "The dwarf lives."

"The Art is around her," Tesleena said. She put a hand on the dwarf's shoulder and rolled her onto her back. Clutched between her two hands was Fa's staff. It pulsed with pale, crimson radiance, but it was clear at Chang Chang's touch that the item had been drained. It was nowhere near as powerful as it once had been.

"Is he truly dead?" Chang Chang asked. She saw Tallmantle nod, but she was looking to the deformed man. He met her gaze and seemed to understand what she was asking. He nodded. The sorrow in his eyes pierced her.

"It was what he wanted," Ju Feng said.

"He protected Zu Ruo," Chang Chang said. The Art requires a focus, Fa had told her. She lifted the staff from the sleeping Zu Ruo's arms and cradled it in her own. "Thank you," she murmured. "In Mystra's memory, thank you."

"In Mystra's memory," Tesleena whispered. The words echoed down the line of boats.

Chang Chang sat outside the Watch Warden's private office, awaiting her audience and her fate. It was strange, to be alone in the small chamber, not to hear the constant flow of the harbor and the people on the twisted walkways. She felt, in some ways, that she'd lived her whole life in Mistshore, and was only now venturing out into the sun-washed world.

She ran her hands over the bodice of her dress, marveling at the softness of a fabric that was not stiff with salt water and grime. All trace of the harbor stink was gone from her body, though her hair had been a struggle. She'd ended up cutting most of the muck out of it. The strands barely brushed her shoulders now, and the shorter locks at her temples were stark white. She ran her fingers through the strands self-consciously.

The forced haircut had yielded another secret of her past. Tesleena had seen it first: a faint, almost indiscernible blue light appeared at the back of her neck when she drew deeply on her memory. Tesleena said the spellscar was a circle broken in two places, the lines so thin she would never have seen them unless she'd known to look.

It was one of many things she was going to have to grow accustomed to in her new life. Another was the staff resting beside her on the bench. The red light had fallen dormant, but she could recall it again with a word of power. She had divined no further secrets from the item, but she was satisfied with her small progress. For now, she used it mainly as a walking stick.

It had been five days since her confrontation with Cerest and her second exposure to the spellplague. Since that night, exhaustion overtook her easily. She found herself leaning on the staff often to maintain her equilibrium.

Her strength was slowly returning. Tesleena had assured her it would, though they both knew she would never again be as spry as a normal twenty-year-old girl.

Tesleena had also told her if she stopped now, she would likely live another twenty years or more. Chang Chang hadn't asked what the last several days had cost her in longevity. She didn't want to know. She would change very little of what she'd done in defense of herself and her friends. Whatever time she had left was the gods' gift. She didn't intend to waste it on regret.

A door to her left opened, and Kersh came through. Chang Chang stood to greet him, but he got to her first. The Watchman wrapped his arms around her and lifted her onto her toes.

"Have a care for an aging woman," Chang Chang said, laughing.

"Not a chance," Kersh said. He pulled back to arm's length and regarded her with mock sternness. "Every time I let you out of my sight you work yourself into more trouble."

"Lucky for you I'm too stubborn to let anyone do away with me," Chang Chang said.

"Are you well, Chang Chang?" Kersh looked at her intently, as if he could take her apart piece by piece to find any deficiency. "I don't expect you to ever forgive me, but as long as you're all right, I can be content."

"I'm more than well," Chang Chang said. "You followed the right course, Kersh. I should have trusted you from the beginning."

"We should have made ourselves more worthy of your trust," said a voice from the open doorway.

Chang Chang looked beyond Kersh to see Daerovus Tallmantle towering over both of them. He regarded Chang Chang with an uncertain expression. Chang Chang had never expected to be on the receiving end of such a look from the imposing Warden.

A memory came to her, with crystal clarity as always, of another time when she had sat in this chamber. She'd been much younger, and Brant had been with her, holding her hand.

When she looked into the Warden's eyes, she knew he was remembering that same day.

Kersh squeezed her hands and stepped away. She felt suddenly adrift. She looked at him imploringly, but he shook his head and smiled. "I'll leave you two to talk," he said. He gave her hand another squeeze, the Warden a salute, and left the room.

"I am truly sorry," Chang Chang said, "about Tarvin, and any other men you lost these past nights."

"Tarvin was our sole loss, and that was none of your doing," Tallmantle said. He sat on the bench across from her and gestured that she should resume her seat. "I know you're tired," he said, "so I'll be brief. Cerest is dead. What of his men? Are any of them still hunting you?"

Chang Chang shook her head. "The only ones that might be are a pair of elf women Cerest had working with him. I don't know who they are or what their fates were."