At the compliment, the corners of Durwyn's mouth twisted in a self-conscious half-smile. He appeared unused to praise. "Now that it's thawed, how do you suppose it works?"

As in the room they'd entered earlier, the far wall of this chamber held a carving of four diamonds stacked right on top of each other, with a small gem-an opal-in the bottom-most point. Kestrel, Ghleanna, and Corran studied the pattern, while Jarial, Durwyn, and Nottle examined the floating golden sphere and the lights.

"Four diamonds, four dungeon levels," Ghleanna said finally. "I'm guessing the gem in that pattern indicates the current position of the Rohnglyn. The bottom diamond is the bottom level of the dungeon, and so on. Perhaps it's simply a matter of moving the gem to the level we want to reach."

"That tells it where we want to travel," Corran said, "but how do we activate the device?"

"I think that's what this sphere is for," Jarial said, poking at the globe. "Maybe once the opal is repositioned, we push or rotate the sphere."

"We'll never figure it out just standing here. Let's give it a try." Kestrel pulled the gem out of the wall and moved it up to the next vertex. "If Ghleanna's theory is correct, we should wind up one level above, in the room we entered before."

They all entered the dancing lights and moved to the center of the rune. Jarial reached toward the globe. "Ready?"

The moment he touched the golden sphere, the lights spun wildly about the perimeter of the rune, circling a half dozen times before returning to their usual state. The party waited expectantly, but nothing more happened.

"Maybe it's not as easy as we thought," Durwyn said.

Kestrel went back to study the diamond pattern again. She frowned in concentration. "Perhaps we need to do more than merely reposition the ruby."

"Ruby?" Ghleanna said. "It was an opal, was it not?"

Kestrel glanced at the sorceress in surprise. "You're right-the ruby was in the first room." She turned back to the pattern, now noticing the tiny scratch marks at the bottom of the pattern. "Here are the marks I made trying to pry it out."

Corran walked to the doorway and peered into the corridor. "Sure enough. We're back on the third level."

"Ha! That's a pretty good trick," Nottle said. "Gettin' around the dungeons will be a piece o'cake now." The halfling fairly skipped toward the door. "I'm gonna check on my wagon. See you folks later." He nearly exited before turning around once more. "Oh-if ye ever git tired o' toting around Borea's Blood, ye know where t'find me."

They watched him depart. "Let's get back to the House of Gems," Corran said.

Kestrel plucked the ruby out of the wall and inserted it in the topmost vertex. She reentered the dancing lights and nodded at Jarial. "Go ahead."

The wizard touched the golden sphere. This time the lights raced so quickly and flashed so brightly that Kestrel squeezed her eyes shut. She opened them a moment later, expecting to find herself in another identical room.

Not in the belly of a dragon.

The unpredictable Rohnglyn had landed them in an enormous oval-shaped hall. Elaborate murals and mosaics of dragons covered the walls, some studded with precious stones to depict gem dragons. Small round windows served as the dragons' eyes, allowing the first sunlight they'd seen in days to spill into the room. The hall's beams and columns were intricately carved in the same motif. Blue, red, green, and black dragon tails spiraled white pillars, while silver dragon claws cradled glowing orbs at fixed intervals along the walls. On the ceiling, two great wyrms-one red, one gold-were locked in eternal combat

Corran fixed Kestrel with an annoyed glare. "This isn't the entrance to the House of Gems. What in blazes did you do?"

"Nothing! I just moved the gem to the top-I'm hardly an expert on this Rohnglyn thing, you know," she retorted.

"Obviously."

Durwyn turned in a slow circle, taking in their surprising new surroundings. "Where are we?"

Good question, Kestrel thought. Woven among all the dragon images were mysterious-looking runes and intricate knotwork patterns. The gilded railing along a second-floor balcony featured the most elaborate of these patterns. Similar designs were also set into the floor. Two rows of statues flanked the main walkway. These depicted sorcerers-some human, some elven, some of other races-all of whom appeared powerful, wise, and formidable.

"Wherever we are, this is a place of great magic," Ghleanna murmured. "Can you feel it surround us?"

After witnessing Emmeric's brutal death, magic was the last thing Kestrel wished to be surrounded by.

"Clearly, we've left the dungeons and are now above ground," Jarial said. "I wonder if we have stumbled into the Speculum-the old wizards' guildhall. When Ozama and I first came to Myth Drannor we saw the building perched near the castle in the city's Heights. It is shaped like a giant dragon curled around an egg. The hall we now stand in is large enough to constitute most of the dragon's body."

"It's so-still," Kestrel said quietly. Something about the room inhibited speech, making her reluctant to use any but muted tones.

"I imagine the protective magics cast in and around this hall long ago have kept it safe from the desecration overtaking other parts of the city," Jarial responded.

Durwyn stepped off the Rohnglyn rune. "As long as we're here, let's look around. Maybe the wizards left something behind that can help us."

Kestrel let the others advance well into the room before she left the security of the Rohnglyn, not needing to look at the familiar scar on her wrist to recall the nasty surprises sorcerers could leave lying in wait. The injury in her thigh served as ample reminder of magical treachery, though the pain had subsided enough that she no longer favored the leg.

Once she started exploring the hall, however, she became caught up in the striking architecture and detailed renderings of dragon and sorcerer alike. Each depicted wizard appeared frozen in the process of casting a spell. An image crossed her mind of all the statues suddenly coming to life and the sorcery that would be unleashed. She shuddered. Thank the Lord of Shadows, they were all just sculptures.

At the end of the hall stood an empty pedestal, apparently still waiting patiently for the statue it would never receive. It stood about three feet high and had a wider base than the others, with recesses curling around its side that looked almost like steps. Curious about the view the elevated height would afford, she used the footholds to climb up.

The moment her foot touched the top of the pedestal, a series of chimes sounded. The musical notes so startled her that she nearly toppled off, but she caught her balance just as a wavering image appeared before her. The image solidified into a large two-dimensional floating oval mirror. Kestrel wrinkled her brow as her reflection came into focus. She looked like someone who'd spent the past several days traipsing through dusty old dungeons and fighting for survival. What she wouldn't give for a bath!

Corran, Durwyn, Jarial, and Ghleanna all hastened to the pedestal. "How did you do that?" Durwyn asked.

Kestrel glanced down at the warrior. "I don't know-I just climbed up on the pedestal and this mirror appeared."

When she looked back at the mirror, she found her reflection fading until the surface became completely black. "Hey, what-"

A new image appeared, this one an unfamiliar face. It was a woman's visage: piercing ice-blue eyes set under perfectly sculpted brows, angular cheekbones, and blood-red lips. Her honey-colored tresses were wound into a towering coil studded with gems. Her neck and shoulders were bare.