The vanquisher turned his gaze back on Nellis. “Is it so?”

The envoy took a breath. “Essentially. As Sir Medrash says, my people have no great seafaring tradition. Nevertheless, we laid plans to defend ourselves from the war hero’s pirates. Then, however, enormous worms and other creatures started attacking from the Plains of Purple Dust. We’ve always had some trouble with them, but in times past the Giant’s Belt and Dragonsword ranges served as natural barriers to hold most of them back. Suddenly that didn’t seem to be true any longer. Which meant we had to counter multiple threats, not just one. It was at that point that emissaries from Murghom came to us with a proposal.”

“Murghom,” Tarhun said. His disgust was plain, and mirrored in the expressions of other dragonborn in the hall.

“Yes,” Nellis said. To his credit, his voice remained steady despite the dragonborn’s sudden hostility. “As you’d expect, not all of it, but several of the principalities allied for a common enterprise. They offered to see to our naval defense in exchange for gold, free access to the Alamber, and certain trading concessions.”

Khouryn had never visited High Imaskar-or Murghom either-but he visualized the map of the East he carried in his head, and then he understood. If they chose, the Imaskari plainly could deny the merchant vessels of Murghom passage down the Rauthenflow to the sea, or charge them a toll to traverse the river.

“I understand your need,” Tarhun said, “but it still sickens me that your empress would strike a bargain with dragons. I thought better of your people.”

“Majesty, I’m sorry if we’ve lost your good opinion. But we needed help, and neither you nor… anyone else who claimed to be our friend would join us in a fight against Chessenta. We took aid where we could get it. And earlier, I alluded to feuds and prejudices that persist even after they stop making any kind of sense. I respectfully suggest you consider the fact that the dragon princes of Murghom aren’t the same wyrms who oppressed your ancestors in the faraway land where you once lived. They’re a different group of dragons altogether.”

“A dragon is a dragon,” Tarhun replied. “Your people will learn that eventually, and I hope you don’t pay too high a price for the lesson. Now, since your people have helped to poison Tymanther’s relationship with Chessenta-”

“Majesty, as I already made clear, that isn’t so. There can’t be dragonborn on those warships, because dragonborn only come from Tymanther. If a significant number of them had traveled to Murghom to take service with the dragon princes, surely you’d know.”

Tarhun faltered, no doubt because Nellis had made a sensible argument. Assuming it was valid, it also explained why unidentified dragonborn shouldn’t be committing outrages in Luthcheq and Akanul either. Even though Khouryn had come face to face with the former and was starting to believe in the existence of the latter.

The vanquisher started again. “Be that as it may, milord, High Imaskar professes friendship for Tymanther. Will you stand with us if Chessenta attacks?”

Nellis shifted his gleaming black orb from the crook of one arm to the other. “Majesty, we’re already fighting Chessenta on the sea, and I’m confident that will continue. I can’t commit land troops to Tymanther’s defense without consulting the empress. I know she’d want to send them, but it might not be possible until we counter the threat from the Purple Dust.”

“Will she also want to send them if Shala Karanok grants passage to a genasi army?”

Now it was Nellis’s turn to hesitate.

“I’ll spare Lord Nellis the awkwardness of answering that question,” Perra said. “Toward the end of my time in Luthcheq, it came to light that Akanul and High Imaskar have sealed an alliance.”

“That’s an… overstatement,” Nellis said. “Naturally, we Imaskari want to trade with as many-”

“Dragons and genasi?” Tarhun snarled. “Get out, milord. I’ll send for you again when I feel sure of my ability to give you the courtesy due an ambassador.”

The Imaskari bowed and withdrew.

Light rippling on his emerald scales, the vanquisher turned to Khouryn, Medrash, and Balasar. “Sirs, I excuse you as well. No doubt you’d like to refresh yourselves after your journey. Perra, my deputies, and I have a long palaver ahead of us.”

Gaedynn woke in absolute darkness. For a moment, he was confused, and then memory flooded back.

The last thing he recalled was flying tied to the blue dragon’s back. His wounds throbbed and made him weak. The ropes cut off his circulation. The high air chilled him. At some point it had all been too much, and he passed out.

And ended up lying on hard stone. Thanks to the wyrmkeeper’s magic, his wounds only hurt a little now. But he was parched and stiff, and when he sat up, he felt the shackles around his wrists and the weight of the rattling chains attached to them.

“Gaedynn?” asked Jhesrhi, somewhere to his left.

He swallowed away some of the dryness in his throat. “Yes.”

“Are you all right?”

“More or less, as best I can judge. You?”

“Yes.”

“Well, now that I’m awake, I recommend you rid us of our chains, strike a light, and lead me to safety. While slaughtering any foes we meet along the way.”

“I can’t. Someone enchanted the shackles to inhibit spellcasting. If I had my staff, I might be able to overcome the effect, but I don’t.”

He sighed. “That’s inconvenient. Do you know where we are?”

“A cave inside Mount Thulbane.”

He winced. The volcano was the lair of Jaxanaedegor, the vampiric green dragon who was the Great Bone Wyrm’s principal lieutenant. “I have to say, I’m a little offended we don’t rate the hospitality of Alasklerbanbastos himself.”

“Is there anything you can do?”

“At the moment? Just wait for a chance to present itself. Well, that and divert you with witty and erudite conversation. I referred to Alasklerbanbastos as ‘himself,’ but in your opinion is that accurate? I understand he started out male, but supposedly there’s nothing left of him but a skeleton. Is a fellow still a fellow if his manliest parts have rotted away?”

Jhesrhi didn’t answer.

“I suppose we could pose the same question about Szass Tam,” Gaedynn continued. “The last time Aoth saw him, he was nothing but bone and flame. Although he probably looks more lifelike now. That’s one of the advantages of being a lich and a necromancer, isn’t it? If you need a patch job, you just find or make a fresh corpse and cut-”

“I didn’t freeze,” she said.

He hesitated. “What?”

“Fighting in the street. The enemy didn’t overwhelm us and take you prisoner because I wasn’t doing my part.”

“I know that,” he said. “It happened because we were outnumbered and Lady Luck was busy elsewhere.”

She was quiet for several heartbeats, then said, “I thought you might think it was my fault because of what happened with the kobolds. And the way I’ve been since we arrived in Luthcheq.”

“I have wondered and worried about you. So has Khouryn.”

“What about Aoth?”

“Well, I could tell he’s not puzzled. He knows what’s bothering you, although much to my annoyance he kept your secret. But he was concerned. I think it’s one reason he wished we had somewhere to go besides Chessenta.”

Another silence. Finally she said, “I was born in Luthcheq. I started showing signs of having a talent for wizardry from an early age.”

“Were your parents mages?”

“No. They were respectable merchants who shared the general prejudice against wizards. They were afraid I was going to draw demons into their home or grow up to commit horrible crimes. Most of all they worried that other people would find out I was an abomination, and that would damage their own reputations. So they forbade me to use my gift and prayed to Chauntea to take it away.”