by Kate Novak
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay?" she asked, her eyes still fixed on Joel. "Certain," Jedidiah replied.
"I wasn't addressing you, old man," the priestess snapped.
Jedidiah transformed his expression into the comically crestfallen look worn by mimes in Westgate. Joel was unable to keep himself from chuckling.
Jedidiah patted Joel on the back. "It's up to you," he said with a shrug. Then he whispered, "But I'd have another look at those teeth if I were you."
Joel met Walinda's gaze. The priestess smiled, showing her teeth. They were small, white, and perfect. They reminded Joel of doll teeth… unnatural. The bard shuddered. "I have to go," he said. He made a hasty bow and joined the others at the ship's rail.
From her chair, Walinda called out, "Four days, old man. Don't keep me waiting."
"Cat's Gate. I'll be there," the old priest called back. Beneath his breath he muttered, "Nag, nag, nag."
Holly giggled and even Jas smiled. The paladin unrolled a rope ladder down the side of the ship and began to climb down. Jedidiah followed as Jas fluttered into the air and settled near Holly. Joel climbed on the railing and looked back at Walinda. The priestess still sat in her chair, facing forward, soon to be left alone on a ship piloted by an undead priest of a dead god. "Do you ever get lonely?" Joel asked. Walinda turned her head to face the Rebel Bard. " know you will return to me, Poppin," she answered. Joel scrambled down the ladder. The moment the bard's feet were on the ground, the great ship rose into the sky and disappeared behind the mountain. "Worst inn I've ever slept in," Jedidiah said. "Can't think why Volo would recommend it."
"I can still sense the banelich," Holly said. "They're not too far off."
"No doubt they'll try to follow us from the air," Jedidiah said. "It won't do them any good." He turned to Joel and explained. "For reasons of their own, Holly and Jas have agreed to accompany us to the vale."
"Oh," Joel said. He could understand Holly wanting to see the vale. To her mind, it was another dale, a possible ally, a secret to take back to Randal Morn. The young bard wondered about Jas's reasons, however. He remembered the long conversation Jedidiah had with the winged woman the night before. He couldn't begin to guess what agreement she'd reached with Jedidiah.
Jedidiah knelt down on the ground and spread his cloak out before him. He sang a simple grace, and the air above the cloak shimmered blue. When the old priest had finished, two fat loaves of bread lay on his cloak. Jedidiah held out his arms, inviting the others to join him.
When they'd finished their breakfast of Jedidiah's bread, plus cold, refreshing water from the stream, Jedidiah said, "Time, I think, to go. Do you need to pull out the map?"
Joel shook his head. He'd studied the map so often on his trip north he had large portions of his route memorized… especially the route through the waterfall.
Joel stepped into the stream. The water was cold but bearable. He began to walk toward the waterfall.
"Why do I have a sinking feeling we're going to get all wet?" Jas groused. "I hate getting my feathers damp."
"Pretend you're a duck," Jedidiah teased.
"Are we going behind the waterfall?" Holly asked with delight, chasing Joel into the stream. "No wonder Lord Randal's men couldn't discover how to get into your vale."
Jedidiah and Jas followed the bard and the paladin up the stream. The streambed was slick with small, rounded rocks. Closer to the waterfall, Joel discovered a chain beneath the water and picked it up. It was fastened to something behind the waterfall. The bard handed the end to Holly, and they used it to steady themselves as they pulled their way through the strong current until they came to the curtain of water.
The bard and paladin stood just behind the falls, looking out, as Jedidiah and Jas came through.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Holly asked, pointing back at the sunshine rippling through the waterfall. "Very," Joel agreed.
Jedidiah picked up a rock and sang a quick scale, imbuing the stone with a luminous glow.
Behind the waterfall was a cavern. The floor was covered with sand. Footprints ran from the back of the cavern to the waterfall. One set was booted; the other was unlike any print Joel had ever seen before-shaped like a dragon's, but smaller than a human's. "Whose tracks are these?" Holly asked. "The swordswoman Alias and one of the saurials," Jedidiah said.
They followed the footprints back to a staircase cut into the rock. It was a long climb up the stairs. They had to pause to rest twice. At the top of the stairs, they came out into a cave looking out over a valley. "Is that the vale?" Jas asked. Jedidiah laughed. "We've miles and miles to go yet." The cave contained a little shrine to Tyr, god of justice. Bits of ash from burned paper dusted the tiny altar before the god's statue.
They rested again before they followed the path that led from the cave down the opposite side of the mountain. The path stayed beneath the trees, skirting the edge of any clearings, or, if the trees thinned on an especially rocky slope, the trail passed through tunnels cut into the mountainside.
Jas smiled with satisfaction. "I hope that witch wastes lots of time trying to spot us from the air," she said.
They traveled along the path all morning, stopping only once to pick raspberries. By noon, they'd reached their goal: Finder's harp symbol, carved into the gray rock of a cliffside and painted white with a solution of lime. Etched into the cliffside just below the symbol of Finder was the outline of an archway. Jas knocked, pushed, pried, and tapped all about the outline of the archway but could discover no opening.
"It's solid rock," the winged woman insisted.
Joel nodded. He warmed up his voice with a scale, then, with a nod from Jedidiah, he began to sing a marching song the old priest had taught him. The song described the trail so far and asked Finder to unravel an easier path for the rest of the journey. It had two verses and a refrain. Jedidiah joined in on the refrain.
Joel closed his eyes and smiled as he sang the second verse. The weariness of the past few days seemed to drain away. He felt calm, as if he and Jedidiah were singing a drinking song in a tavern in Berdusk. The sounds reverberated from the cliffside, amplifying their voices until they rang throughout the mountains.
Joel repeated the refrain alone, adding a little dance step, which never failed to amuse Jedidiah. Holly applauded.
Jas looked expectantly at the wall, but nothing happened. "Well?" she asked. "What's the problem? Were you off-key or something?"
Jedidiah snorted. "You may no longer be a groundling, my dear, but you are a barbarian. Off-key indeed!" And with that, the bard walked straight into the cliff face, disappearing into the rock like water into sand. He poked his head back out. "Don't dawdle. The door won't last forever."
Jas, Holly, and Joel plunged through the stone. When they emerged from the rock, they found themselves surrounded by fog. Jedidiah's light stone lit only a tiny area around them. Holly, off to one side of the others, stumbled and nearly fell in the thick fog. Jedidiah pulled her back toward the light. "Stick to the path," he said, indicating the trail marked by lines of glowing yellow stones. "No telling what might happen if you wander off."
Joel started off down the path, eager now to reach hi” destination. Behind him, Jas muttered a dark curse. Joel turned around. Jas's wings had transformed. In place of the pink-feathered, eaglelike appendages were four planes of clear membranes like a dragonfly's wings. They glowed softly.
"Jas, your wings… they've-"
"— changed. Yeah, big deal," Jas muttered. She glared at Jedidiah. "We aren't underground at all, are we? You didn't tell me this would take us into another plane,' she complained.
"We're in another plane?" Holly asked, awestruck.
"The borderland of the ethereal plane," Jedidiah explained. "One of the saurials, a wizard named Grypht, created the gates and the path. Do your wings transform every time you travel to a different plane?" the old priest asked Jas curiously.
"Yeah. Now can we get on with it?" Jas insisted.
The
way was smooth, but the lack of scenery made the walk tiresome. After a while, Joel and Jedidiah began singing to break the monotony. Holly joined in occasionally. Jas remained silent, occupied with her own thoughts.
Joel asked Jedidiah if Alias knew the song to open the ethereal path.
"Oh, yes," the old priest said. "She has quite a remarkable voice."
"Is she a priestess of Finder?" Joel asked.
Jedidiah laughed and shook his head. "She's more like Jas. Avoids the gods if she can help it."
They lost all track of time during their trek in the murky grayness. They walked until they were exhausted, then rested. When they awoke, they ate another meal created by Jedidiah, then walked some more. Some time after their third rest, the path ended at another gate-a glittering yellow monolith of amber, engraved with Finder's symbol beneath the carving of an archway.
Joel repeated the marching song. This time he was the first to step through the gate.
He stood on another mountainside, just above the timberline, his back to another cliff engraved with Finder's symbol. The world below was already in twilight, the wooded slopes shadowed by the mountains to the west. Just down the path was a small open-sided shelter built of wood, shingled with slate to match the hillside.
When Jas popped out of the mountainside, her wings were once again pink feathers. Holly and Jedidiah came out a moment later.
"It's not far from here now," Jedidiah said, "but the trail is narrow and steep. We should wait until light to continue."
They walked down to the shelter. It was engraved with symbols of Finder, Tyr, Tymora, Chauntea, and others that Joel did not recognize. An assortment of wind chimes hung under the shelter's eaves-deep-toned tubes of copper, tinkling tinny silver bells, clacking reeds. Herbs and dried flowers hung from the ceiling. Benches surrounded a small round table. The high mountain air was chill, but the shelter was comfortably warmed by some enchantment. The party sat and ate one final meal of Jedidiah's magically created bread.
"Nothing personal, but I'll be glad to eat real food again," Jas said.
"So will I," Jedidiah agreed.
Assured by Jedidiah that there was no need to keep a watch as long as they slept in the safety of the shelter, they were all soon asleep on the wooden floor. The wind chimes in the eaves played a lullaby for the weary adventurers.
Joel woke before sunrise, when the birds were just beginning to stir. He lay awake, unable to fall back to sleep. Soon he would be in the Lost Vale, in the Singing Cave, the only temple to Finder. He would meet the temple's priestess, Copperbloom. Jedidiah had told Joel that if he made the pilgrimage to the Lost Vale he would understand more about Finder and his church. He wanted to believe Jedidiah with all his heart, yet Walinda's threat had poisoned that belief. What if he got there and still didn't understand his purpose, still felt useless? The uncertainty was unbearable.
The Rebel Bard sat up. Holly and Jas lay sleeping in a corner, but Jedidiah stood outside the shelter, motionless. Joel rose and joined him. Jedidiah smiled and whispered good morning.
"Trouble sleeping?" Joel asked.
"Just troubled period," Jedidiah replied. "Are you anxious to get there?" he asked.
Joel nodded with a sheepish grin. "It's kind of like the morning before Highharvestide. I'm too excited to sleep.”
Jedidiah nodded with an understanding smile. "lie sky's lightening," he noted. "Why don't you start down the path? I'll wait here until the ladies wake, then well follow you."
Joel looked down the trail eagerly, but then he turned back to Jedidiah and asked uncertainly, "Do you want me to go alone?"
"I only came north to be sure you escaped the priests of Xvim," Jedidiah explained.
"I wouldn't have made it here without you," Joel said, realizing that without Jedidiah's help, he would never have completed his pilgrimage.
Jedidiah shook his head. He put his hands on the young man's shoulders. "Joel, journeying to the Lost Vale isn't some silly test of your survival skills. It's a measure of your desire to be part of Finder's church. It's a demonstration that you want to understand more about your god."
"And will I?" Joel asked in a whisper.
Jedidiah lowered his head, then raised it again. He wore a wry grin. "Maybe more than you were meant to,' he replied. "This is going to be a trying time for our church and for our god."
"Because we lost the finder's stone?" Joel asked.
"No. Because I lost the finder's stone," Jedidiah corrected. He pointed down the path with one hand and slapped Joel on the back with the other hand. "Go," he ordered jovially. "Tell Copperbloom I'll be along later."
"I will," Joel said.
"Remember what I told you," Jedidiah said. "She can understand you just fine even if she can't speak our language."
Joel nodded as he began striding down the path. It curved around the mountain, leading downward.
The peaks of the surrounding mountains were still snow-covered, but the air grew warmer as he descended the peak. The boulders and low-growing junipers gave way to pine and spruce trees. Still farther down, stands of birch and aspen broke the solid line of evergreens. Below him, the path left the mountain slope and traveled along a saddle to the next slope. Rhododendrons bloomed in such profusion along the saddle that the land seemed to be covered by a purple haze.
Once he'd reached the saddle, Joel discovered side trails that branched off from the main path. He was nearing inhabited land. Far above him, something cried out, causing him to jump. Among the pine trees, Joel had seen and heard innumerable blue jays, but this cry was like none he'd ever heard. He looked up. Something circled high overhead, like a hawk, but its silhouette looked more like a giant bat than any bird.
When he had crossed the saddle, the path began winding around the next mountain, but now it began to climb the slope. On the southeastern face of the mountain, Joel got his first glimpse of the Lost Vale.
On the northern face of a mountain, across the vale, stood a stone tower. Innumerable small cottages, surrounded by gardens and fields, dotted the floor of the vale. Tiny figures moved about among the buildings; others headed into the mountains and hills.
A magnificent staircase climbed from the vale straight up the southern slope of the mountain on which the bard stood. Joel's path led through a rose garden to a landing midway up the staircase. The bard hurried forward until he stepped onto the landing. There he paused to take in the view.
The staircase was wide enough for eight men to wall abreast. On either side, amazing gardens clung to the slopes. The flowers and shrubbery and trees and vines sometimes grew over the stairs. Many of the plants were so exotic Joel could not even put a name to them. A stream trickled through the gardens, cascading over rocks. In one place, it flowed over the staircase, forcing the climber to use little stepping stones. Pieces of statuary, great and small, decorated the gardens. Some pieces represented wild creatures-frogs, birds, turtles, cats. Other carvings were more abstract in nature. Lanterns of stone, wood, metal, even glass, hung from trees or rested on boulders. After every sixteen steps, there was a landing. Each landing was decorated with huge banners hanging from tall posts. The banners were woven, embroidered, or painted with a design, some intricate, others simple and bold. A hundred chimes sounded with every breeze.
There could be no doubt in the mind of anyone climbing the staircase that it led to someplace special. Joel looked upward. Far above, he could just make out a black hole in the mountainside… the entrance to the Singing Cave. Above the entrance, Finder's symbol had been carved into the mountain. To either side, huge banners of gray silk bearing the same harp symbol fluttered in the wind.
A figure stepped out of the gardens onto the landing just above Joel. The bard put his hand to the hilt of his sword, then, feeling rather foolish, he withdrew it. The figure had to be a saurial. A female, Joel assumed, because she carried a basket of flowers. She wore along white robe, but everything else about her was inhuman.
Though she walked on her hin
d legs, she leaned forward at her hips, balanced by the massive tail that swayed behind her. She was covered with tiny, pebbly scales in copper and green that made her hide look like very expensive beadwork. She had a long snout and sharp teeth, but no lips. Her eyes were yellow like a snake's. A shark-like fin rose from her brow and traversed the ridge of her head. She was much shorter than the bard.
Joel considered stepping off the stairs to hide, in order to savor his solitude a bit longer, but it was too late. The saurial had spotted him. She made a series of clicks with her tongue.
"Good day," Joel said, bowing low.
The saurial bowed back.
"I've come to see the temple," Joel said, feeling rather foolish, since his intent was obvious.
A vanilla scent rose from the creature. Jedidiah had once explained that saurials emitted a variety of odors that indicated their emotions. Joel wished he had thought to ask Jedidiah more about which emotions were indicated by which scents. The creature began trilling. At first Joel shifted nervously, since he couldn't understand her, but then he recognized she was singing the tune that had opened the magic gate to the ethereal borderland. Joel realized she was trying to ascertain how he'd gotten there.
Joel began singing along with her, his tenor voice blending well with her alto trilling. The music attracted other saurials. A mottled green and brown saurial a foot taller than Joel, with razorlike plates running down its back and spikes on its tail, stepped out of the garden, and two little flyers, no bigger than halflings, with black, batlike wings, landed beside him. All three stood on the stairs to listen. Joel began to elaborate on the tune, finishing with a flourish.
The small audience applauded.
"Yes, I came by the gate," Joel said, answering what he presumed had been his fellow performer's question. "I'm Joel. Jedidiah of Finder sent me here on a pilgrimage."
The creature held her basket of flowers at arm's length, revealing Finder's symbol embroidered on her robe.
"You must be Copperbloom," he said.
The saurial nodded. She shooed the spectators away and motioned for the bard to accompany her up the stairs.
