Sands of the Soul s-5

by Voronica Whitney-Robinson

"Farther in, closer to the warehouse proper," Fannah answered, "are the more precious and perishable items."

  "Let's keep moving," Tazi urged. "Even with the robes, I still feel a little exposed. Also, it should be harder for someone to overhear us in this throng if we're on the go."

  "Well, that's true," Steorf interjected, "as I can barely hear you myself."

  Tazi smiled at his quip but was concerned that he still was somewhat preoccupied with the open displays of sorcery.

  I'll deal with that later, she thought.

  "When I mentioned what Eb told us after his death, you told me you were familiar with the Skulking God," she reminded Fannah. "Is his temple here in Hook Ward, too?"

  "No, it isn't," she answered. Fannah ducked as a large basket of fruit passed rather quickly by her head. "On occasion, you might find some of his proselytes out in the wards, but there is no proper temple anywhere above in Calimport for the Lurker in Darkness."

  She reached out and plucked several pieces of fruit for Tazi, Steorf, and herself from that same basket and flipped a coin in the direction of the farmer. Tazi was impressed.

  "I could hear the basket whistling through the air," Fannah explained when her companions remained silent, "and I could smell the fruit within it."

  "But how did you know where the merchant was?" Steorf demanded.

  "Lucky guess," Fannah laughed. "I knew that someone within the bazaar would grab the tossed coin and if it wasn't the correct merchant, the rightful one would wrestle it back for himself."

  Tazi laughed at her friend's clever solution.

  Continuing out of the bazaar, the threesome passed through an archway into a most decadent area: the south end of Erare Sabban. On their left was an obvious festhall with a stone facade, a little rundown but still opulent. What made the roomy building stand out were the seven pillars in front of the structure. Each carved column depicted a woman in various stages of undress. Tazi watched as Steorf became uncomfortable and turned away only to be equally embarrassed by what was to his right. Even Tazi had to blush at that.

  "The building to your left is the Seven Dancing Jhasinas," Fannah explained. "The name obviously came from the carvings in front of the building. The structure on this side is the Festhall of Eternal Delight."

  "And the guests are obviously delighted to be there," Tazi managed to say.

  Steorf was speechless, and Fannah hurried the two past the sybaritic scene literally spilling out of the doorways in front of them. The patrons, much like the Seven Jhasinas, were nearly nude. Fannah stopped them once they were a few buildings distant.

  "That was rather a sight," Tazi exclaimed. "But you didn't have to run past so fast. I'm not that inexperienced."

  "That was the temple to Sharess," Fannah explained.

  "That was a temple, too?" Steorf blustered.

  "It is the greatest one to my goddess. I was afraid someone might recognize me if we lingered too long."

  "So that is the goddess you and your mother served," Tazi clarified.

  "Yes, it is. I'm sure you were shocked by what you both saw, even briefly. The most pious there are the staff, and they are all dedicated to hedonism in the name of Sharess. Even the jhasinas who modeled for the pillars became priestesses of Sharess after she came to them."

  "But it seemed so… disorganized," Steorf interrupted, trying hard to be diplomatic.

  "Unfortunately, many visitors to the temple do have less than holy thoughts when they arrive. They take our doctrine and use it as an excuse for all types of behavior."

  "We saw some of that," Tazi exclaimed.

  "What they don't understand, or choose not to," Fannah continued, "is that to worship Sharess is to explore and indulge in one's senses."

  Tazi saw that Fannah was becoming more animated than she had ever seen the blind woman before.

  "To serve Sharess is to recognize the beauty in the world. To be fully alive and immersed in who you are through sight, smell, and taste. It was here," she continued, "that I was taught how to use my other senses to compensate for my lack of sight."

  "Your mother was a priestess in this temple," Tazi remembered.

  "Yes," Fannah answered, "but that was when Sharess was still under the influence of Shar. After the Time of Troubles, Sharess regained herself and became the bright goddess once more. This building was erected to celebrate her."

  Tazi could see that Fannah was troubled by thoughts of her mother. She remembered Fannah telling her once that the only reason her mother didn't kill her at birth was because her religion forbade it. Fannah had survived her childhood simply because of her mother's religious fervor, not because of her love. Tazi changed the subject, troubled by her friend's distress.

  "You mentioned a little while ago that there was no temple to the Skulking God," she asked. "How do we find him-or those who follow him?"

  Fannah perked up at the question. "I said he had no temples above in Calimport. We will have to travel to Calimport Muzad, below the city surface, to find an obscure sect of humans I know of who still worship him."

  "There aren't many followers left?" Steorf questioned. "I suppose that would explain why I knew nothing of him."

  "No, that's not entirely true," Fannah replied. "Ibrandul has many followers both here and in Waterdeep. In Calimport Below, most of his followers are skulks, but I have dealt with his human Children before. I believe they will help us."

  "Why are they below?" Tazi asked.

  "The Lord of the Dry Depths is an old god," Fannah made clear, using one of the many titles of Ibrandul. "His worship extend back to the prehistory of Calimshan, dating before the founding of the Shoon Empire."

  "And he's always been below the city?" Tazi inquired.

  "At one time," Fannah replied, "a tribe of humans was stolen from the Calim Desert by drow and forced to serve them for centuries. Finally, a monstrous lizard came to free them. Some of the humans stayed below in the Underdark, while others returned to the surface to spread the word of the Lurker in Darkness."

  "So Ibrandul protects those trapped below," Steorf deduced.

  "As far as I know, he does. He is supposed to keep safe any human who must travel through the dark regions, as well as keep safe and guide those who worship him. To some he appears as a red lizard, and to others he is seen as a chisel featured, bare-chested man with glowing eyes. And sometimes he is simply a wind in the tunnels below."

  "And that's all?" Tazi interrupted.

  "That is all I know," Fannah answered.

  Tazi clucked her tongue and frowned.

  "What is it?" Steorf asked her.

  "I just don't understand what Ciredor would have to do with Ibrandul. It doesn't make much sense," she responded.

  "Perhaps the followers of Ibrandul will be able to answer that," Steorf offered.

  "I hope so," Tazi agreed earnestly. "I certainly hope so. How much farther?" she asked Fannah.

  "We only need to pass through one more ward before we reach Crypt Ward. There, in the Forgotten Sabban, there is a passageway that will take us to the Muzhajaarnadah," Fannah told them.

  "And the darkness below," Tazi added quietly.

  *****

  "Which way?" Tazi asked Fannah.

  "Toward the east," Fannah replied.

  The three picked their way through Crypt Ward, carefully following Fannah's lead. Tazi had never seen such a large cemetery before, and some of the mausoleums were elegant in their ostentation. Scanning the ward, she was momentarily thoughtful.

  "What is it?" Steorf asked her quietly.

  "Look at that field to the east," she pointed.

  Steorf followed her gaze out past the mausoleums to an area that was walled off only by metal spear fences. There were no buildings within the area, a sharp contrast with the other sections of Calimport that Tazi and her companions had passed through. Within the sabban, there were only a few obelisks and fountains visible and the occasional plinths to mar the view. After the hustle and crowds of the other wards, it was
a peaceful change.

  "What are you two looking at?" Fannah asked.

  "I was just showing Steorf that park nearby," Tazi explained.

  "That is the Forgotten Sabban," Fannah informed them. "While it has always been used as one of the most popular parks of Calimport, it is, in actuality, the home for many, many mass burials."

  "It is also a cemetery?" Steorf remarked.

  "Since the Sixth Age of Calimshan," Fannah replied. "And within that sabban is one of the hidden passageways to the Muzad."

  "There are no real walls," Tazi observed, "and I don't see any of the typical sabban marks we've seen in the other drudachs."

  "This ward is unique in that it doesn't have any true walls and no marks. That's one of the reasons," Fannah added, "how the ward came by its name."

  Steorf moved behind Fannah, but Tazi stood a moment longer. Whether it was because she was overwhelmed by the realization that the land contained perhaps thousands of dead or because the vast expanse of green was like an oasis in the midst of the turmoil of humanity, Tazi was awed. She inhaled deeply, watched the setting sun turn the very air pink, and breathed in the smell of dust and grass. Shadows reached across the deep green with greedy fingers, and strange insects hummed softly. She felt as though she was momentarily caught up in someone else's dream.

  "Coming?" Steorf called.

  Tazi roused herself and trotted along to catch up with her companions. Fannah had reached one of the few markhouts in view, already obscured by the evening's growing darkness. She gently trailed her fingers along the sides of the mausoleum with her sensitive touch. When her hands recognized one of the carved phrases, she tilted her head like a curious bird.

  "Someone you know?" Tazi asked, concerned that a friend or relative of Fannah's might be buried there.

  Fannah smiled as she corrected her Sembian companion. "Not someone but something I know."

  With a few deft moves of her fingers, Fannah tripped the door and it slowly swung open.

  "In here," Fannah directed them.

  Tazi looked around briefly but despite Fannah's insistence that the Forgotten Ward was a favorite commons, she saw no one nearby. She did have to admit to herself that the long shadows of the evening probably hid more than she could imagine, so she couldn't be sure just who or what might be watching. She hoped they remained undetected in this strange city.

  She nodded to Steorf, and they entered the tomb after Fannah.

  Inside, Tazi was surprised to find it empty. She had been prepared for a pocket of stale air laced with decay but found the markhout cool and almost refreshing. As she and Steorf glanced around, they both realized that the small edifice held no other occupants but Fannah.

  "Not all of the mausoleums within Crypt Ward are quite what they seem, which is one of the reasons why the ward has become so popular," Fannah explained. "This is not the only one that leads to the Muzad," she continued, "but it is the only one I know of that will take us to the Temple of Ibrandul."

  Fannah turned and keyed open another door. This one was clearly a passageway down into the tunnels beneath Calimport, with its uninviting, dark depths.

  Tazi took the lead with Steorf subtly illuminating a few feet around them. She debated about having him quench the light but decided to let it go. She was still unsure how to deal with Steorf at times, and that awkwardness made her hesitant. Part of her wanted and needed to trust him again. However, there was still that voice of doubt in the back of her mind.

  Watch and learn, she told herself.

  The inner doorway of the mausoleum opened up to a gently sloping tunnel that was cool, dry, and apparently empty. Once they passed the threshold, Tazi and Steorf discovered that not only was it wide enough for the three to walk abreast but also that his glow spell was unnecessary.

  Every ten feet or so Tazi could see naturally occurring recesses in the rock wall, like sconces, that held small, shimmering spheres that did an adequate job illuminating the passage.

  "Does this only lead to the temple?" Tazi asked Fannah quietly.

  "If memory serves me right," Fannah replied, "I don't think there are any major forks until we get to the temple proper. That shouldn't be more than a short walk."

  "Good," Tazi answered and firmly planted herself in the lead.

  Steorf moved up just beside and slightly behind her, and Fannah trailed just behind the two of them.

  Tazi was on guard and looked from side to side. She realized that the farther they traveled down the tunnel, the deeper underground they were descending. Just as the crowded streets of Calimport had gotten to her, the passageway was beginning to play on her nerves. She found herself turning at every noise, real or imagined. She saw from the corner of her eye that Steorf looked at her a few times, and she wasn't sure of the meaning behind the glances.

  Does he know how wound up I am, she wondered, or is he just looking to me for leadership?

  The tunnel snaked around to the left, and Tazi no longer had a clear view of what lay ahead. She dropped her hands so that they rested on the hilts of her blades, convinced that the direction of the tunnel was intentionally meant to obscure something. She could see that Steorf also grew sterner and more alert.

  "Wait," Fannah warned them softly.

  I knew it, thought Tazi.

  Aloud, she whispered, "What is it?"

  "I smell something, though it is only a faint trace. I smell something burnt and charred."

  "A torch maybe," Steorf offered, "or some sort of residual magic, perhaps?"

  Fannah disagreed. "I don't think that it's any of those things. While this temple has never had one in the past, I have heard that many of Ibrandul's temples have guardians."

  "What kind of guardians?" Tazi asked.

  "There is a kind of lizard, called an ibrandlin, which makes its lairs out of the temples. These lizards have the ability to breathe fire," Fannah explained.

  "Steorf, keep an eye on Fannah, and I'll duck ahead to see what I can," Tazi told Steorf.

  "Careful," he warned her.

  She winked at him and replied, "Always."

  Tazi moved away from her friends and slid flat against the side of the tunnel. She took a parting look at Steorf and Fannah before rounding the bend and losing sight of her friends. She cautiously stepped around some of the smaller piles of rocks and was careful not to knock a single stone loose. With her breath held, she reached around the second turn in the tunnel and felt a more noticeable breeze on her arm.

  It must open up here, she thought.

  She peered around the corner just enough to take a quick glance, but that was more than enough.

  Fannah was right, she acknowledged to herself. There is definitely a guard.

  Curled in front of a carved double doorway was a lizard, just as Fannah had suspected. From where she was hidden, Tazi estimated that the creature was nearly thirty feet long. Silvery-gray in color, the beast looked as if it was asleep. Folded over itself as it was, Tazi found it hard to be sure, but thought it had four legs as well as a serpentine tail. She could see a glimmer from one of its deadly claws.

  And it breathes fire as well, she thought morosely.

  Tazi stole one more glance at the beast and confirmed that there was no obvious way around the creature. If she and her friends wanted to enter the temple, they were going to have to deal with the ibrandlin, one way or the other. She eased her way away from the opening in the tunnel and just as carefully picked her way back to Fannah and Steorf.

  When she returned, Steorf asked, "Was it there, like Fannah suspected?"

  "That's the largest lizard I've ever seen," she informed them and detailed the creature's size further for Steorf.

  After hearing the particulars, Steorf said to Tazi, "Between you and me, I think we should be able to kill it."

  "That was my first thought, too, but I took it a little further," she replied.

  "What do you mean?" Steorf asked.

  "We need to enlist the followers of Ibrandul's aid. Just h
ow are we going to look to them if we, as strangers, slaughter their watch lizard to get in to see them?"

  Steorf was silent for a moment.

  "I see what you mean," he agreed slowly, "but considering the beast's size, I'm not sure my spells could keep it at bay long enough for you two to get in without someone getting injured."

  Tazi pursed her lips, frustrated by their dilemma.

  "Fannah," she asked, "do you know how smart these lizards are? Could we trick one of them?"

  "I'm sorry, but I don't know much about the ibrandlin," she apologized. "From what I've heard, they are not supposed to possess much intelligence."

  "That'll help," Tazi said.

  "They are smart enough to recognize worshipers of Ibrandul and obey their commands," Fannah added.

  "What kinds of colors do the followers of Ibrandul wear?" Steorf asked.

  "Typical wear is normally purple and black, though the clothing style is not specific. Higher-ranking members sport purple cloaks with a kind of circular design," she explained.

  "Purple it is," Steorf stated and reached out to touch both Tazi and Fannah.

  Tazi looked down at Steorf's hand on her shoulder. A purple stain began to spread from under his fingers to seep across the blue-and-white-striped shift she wore over her leathers. Soon the whole outer garment was stained a deep amethyst color. She let out a small gasp as she glanced up and saw that both Steorf and Fannah's clothing had changed as well to shades of purple and black. On Steorf's violet cloak, small circles covered the length of the garment.

  "It's not permanent," he answered Tazi's unasked question, "but it should last long enough to fool the lizard ahead."

  "This just might do it," she complimented him. "There's only one way to be sure, though."

  Tazi led her friends around the sharp turns and stopped just before the tunnel opened up.

  "If what you said is right," Tazi addressed Fannah, "then we should be able to just walk past this thing."

  "That's what I have heard," Fannah affirmed.

  The three stepped around the corner and started to cross the twenty feet that separated them from what must have been the main entrance to the temple. They hadn't even gone five feet when the gray lizard's eyes flew open. It flicked its head from left to right and unfurled its limbs to slowly rise on its tail, nearly twenty feet straight up.