"That is not possible," said Sanval.

"Even I know that empire was dust long before the first Tsurlagol was built," added Ivy, just to stay in the conversation.

"The empire disappeared long before Tsurlagol was built," agreed Mumchance. "But that doesn't mean all their magic disappeared overnight. Dig deep enough and you run into strange things in the Vast-artifacts, toys, bits of spellbooks that those mad sorcerers left behind. They were human, after all-that meant they bred like rabbits and ran like deer when the disaster finally overtook them."

"Mumchance," said Ivy in gentle reproof. "Both Sanval and I would like to think our race has a few redeeming qualities."

"Many and many," said the dwarf. "You humans are usually nice to dogs and other small furry creatures. But the best of all is that you know when to run to survive. Dwarves can be too stubborn sometimes." He fingered the old scars on his face and shook his head at memories of the mine fire that had destroyed his family. He shrugged and continued the discussion of Netheril, because ancient history was always more pleasant than his own memories. "When the shining cities fell, not everyone died. Some carried mighty magic into exile. There have always been rumors about a fantastic treasure buried beneath Tsurlagol. The story goes that the first time Tsurlagol fell into dust and ruin, it was because of a great magic that men could not control. That sounds like Netheril to me. Then later they started that mad fire that they had to bury under the earth. That was fairly recent history for a dwarf, not much before my grandfather's father's time. And they used some fancy artifact to bury the city, something like what would have come out of Netheril."

"But is there information here that can help us?" said Ivy, glancing around the shadowed bath.

"The dwarf is right, my dears. These symbols are not well made, but they do bear great resemblance to those used by Netheril and its sorcerers," said Kid, circling back to peer over Mumchance's shoulder. He pursed his lips. "These are copies of copies, made by men who could only draw what they saw, but could not read."

"And how do you know that, young thief?" asked Mumchance.

"Because I had a master once," said Kid, very softly. Ivy, who had only paid mild attention to Mumchance's lecture on ancient history, was caught by Kid's depressed tone. He never spoke of his past, and this was the first time that she had heard him mention a master. "He was not a good man. But he was fond of old things, very old magic. Spellbooks with runes like these and worse."

"Worse?" asked Ivy. Kid ignored her and trotted away, his nose down to examine the footprints in the dust.

"So when fire consumed the city, they used a magic jewel to bury it," said Gunderal, still discussing the mosaic with Mumchance, pointing at the burning walls before the cloaked wizard.

"Just one wizard with a fancy gem? Doesn't seem likely," said Ivy.

Sanval wrinkled his brow. "I was never that fond of history lessons, but I always heard that it was an earthquake sent by the gods in answer to the people's prayers."

"I doubt it was the gods. That wizard must have caused the earthquake with a spell, maybe something stored in that jewel that he is holding, like we store Dry Boots in our ring," said Gunderal, on her knees at the edge of the bath, still staring at the mosaic. "Why show a spellcaster with a gem if you don't have a gem in the tale? It must have been a wonderful spell. I told you that I could still feel echoes of weird old magic in that hall."

"Fascinating, all of it, but we are not here to go treasure hunting. In fact, if someone is looking for that magic rock, I would rather avoid them," said Ivy. "Kid, which way did they go? Our party of five less one?"

"They came from the east, my dear," said Kid, trotting to the edge of the bath and flipping himself easily to a handstand on the rim, giving a quick click of his hooves at the top of his handstand, and then somersaulting to a dark archway across the room. "And they left to the north, through that wide arch there."

"Is he always like this?" asked Sanval.

"No," said Ivy. "He's tired, or he would have done a couple of extra cartwheels. We've thought about selling him to a faire once or twice." But Kid's actions disturbed her. In more recent years, Kid only did such extravagant show-off gestures when he was in one of his black moods.

"But we've never found a faire," grunted Mumchance. "Come on, girl, give the short guy a hand up." The last was said over his shoulder to Zuzzara, who grabbed his belt with one hand and easily lifted him over the edge. Zuzzara followed with a little hop. She wandered back over to where the bugbear lay, to pick up the extra torch left by the body.

"So we go east," Ivy decided. "That group came from Tsurlagol. I'm sure of it."

"If we go north, we will learn why they came here," said Sanval in polite disagreement, obviously deciding that now was not the time to defer to her status as Captain of the Siegebreakers.

Ivy sighed. She knew being in charge without opposition would not last that long-it never did with her friends, and why should Sanval be any different-but she was willing to try. "Do we care why they are here? They're deserters or treasure hunters or lost fools," said Ivy.

"What if they are planning an ambush?" Sanval asked.

"Well, jolly good luck to the Thultyrl, then," said Ivy, "but I'm not his bodyguard. I'm here to bring down a wall, and to do that we need to go east, not north." Sanval still looked troubled. "That sounded a bit crude. Most assuredly, we wish the Thultyrl a long life and much happiness," Ivy added.

"Until we get paid," muttered Mumchance and winced when Ivy's elbow connected with his ear.

Zuzzara gave a shout. She'd been poking around the bugbear's body, muttering about the smell of moss getting stronger. Suddenly, the half-orc yelped with pain. She spun around, flailing at the air. "Something is here," she screamed. "It bit me!"

CHAPTER SEVEN

Zuzzara stumbled back toward them, one leg angled oddly out in the air, shouting that she could not shake her attacker off her leg. The only problem was that nobody could see anything.

Gunderal told Zuzzara to stop playing stupid jokes.

Zuzzara screamed, "Half-orcs never play practical jokes!"

She slammed her shovel down on the space near her leg. The shovel hit something with a sickening thud. The smell of rotting mushrooms filled the room. Zuzzara and her invisible attacker tumbled into the empty bath.

"Look at that!" said Mumchance, pointing at the dusty tiles of the bath.

The group could clearly see the signs of four big round feet being dragged after Zuzzara as the half-orc stumbled in circles and continued to beat down with her shovel. Each stroke of the shovel thwacked into something solid that stopped it at the level of Zuzzara's knee. Each stroke also released more fungal stench into the air, so that even Kid was choking a little and covering his nose with one ruddy hand. But Zuzzara's efforts seemed to have no effect on her attacker.

Ivy and Sanval leaped into the bath. Both swung their swords at the same time, cutting through the air near Zuzzara.

Ivy felt her blade hit something solid and sticky. When she pulled back on the stroke, she could see a gelatinous shimmer drip down her blade.

Closer to Zuzzara, the stench was overpowering and reminiscent of the strange mossy smell that had clung to the dead bugbear's corpse. Ivy gagged and staggered back. She concentrated on breathing through her mouth and sawing away at whatever was attacking Zuzzara.

Kid's two stilettos went whistling past Ivy, and thankfully missed Zuzzara. One struck and seemed to stick in whatever was attached to the half-orc's leg. The little stiletto bobbing in the air gave them another reference point for their attacks.