Chapter 10

Kaligmar hobbled into the clearing and made his way for the lift. Upon seeing the conjuror, Nampag pulled on the bell rope, signaling the slaves operating the lift to begin its ascension.

"Get on!" Nampag yelled as the lift creaked, dust sifting through the boards, and slowly left the floor.

Clearly exhausted, Kaligmar groaned as he made it onto the landing and he threw himself onto the base of the lift with his legs still dangling off the side. He reached out to Nampag who took his arm, pulling him close. Nampag's geomancy stone suddenly appeared at Kaligmar's neck.

"Tell me something that only you would know," he growled, electricity buzzing at his fingertips. "Make it fast or I'll throw you from the lift."

"What are you doing?" Talloran cried.

"Making sure that this isn't Neriah," Nampag replied, pressing the stone harder against the conjuror's neck.

Kaligmar looked into Nampag's wild eyes and then down at the drop below that was steadily increasing. At this height he would surely break his legs. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of what impact his words would have on the Geomancer.

"You ... you were going to get married," he said slowly.

Nampag's face paled and he felt weak. Kaligmar began to slip from Nampag's grasp, but Talloran leapt forward, gripping his wrists tightly and pulled him up onto the safety of the lift. Nampag sat on his knees, staring at Kaligmar in disbelief.

"W-we never told anyone that," he said. "How could you have possibly known?"

"I was the only one she ever told," Kaligmar said calmly. "She trusted me, Nampag. You should've seen her face that day when she came running to tell me the good news. It was going to be a surprise. That evening you two were supposed to announce your engagement to the entire monastery, but then the accident ruined everything."

"Stop!" Nampag shouted, his anger flaring. Tears had formed at the rims of his eyes. "I've heard enough. I don't need to be reminded of this. It's been bad enough having to live every day of my life with that awful memory stuck inside my head. That accident ... it ruined my life!"

"You must put what happened behind you," Kaligmar said. "Times have changed, Nampag. You may not know it, but a lot of people actually forgave you for what you did."

"How does that make any difference!" Nampag hissed back. "Everybody else thought that I should rot in hell! You weren't there Kaligmar. You can't even comprehend the shock, no, the horror that I had caused. I used to be a man of respect, and look at me now! I'm a damned outcast! I couldn't even bear to face her after what happened. I knew that she would be resenting my very existence from that day on, and for her to face me again would be the death of her."

"Enough with this ridiculous ignorance," Kaligmar sighed. "You know better than this. Be the man that I remember. Be the man that she loved, and still loves."

"What?" Nampag said, his bottom lip quivering. "S-Still loves?"

"Just be quiet and pay attention for one second," Kaligmar said. "You'd expect a girl as pretty as her to be able to find any man, Nampag, but let me tell you that over the past three years she hasn't let a single, living, breathing soul get so close as to touch her. She won't easily admit it, but it's no secret that she thinks of you every single day. The way you just ran off, leaving her alone to deal with the death of her brother almost destroyed her, but she has still been forever faithful to you, and that's no lie."

"What have I been doing down here?" Nampag moaned. "My life has been wasted."

Kaligmar reached over and squeezed Nampag's shoulder. "For once in your life you need to stop punishing yourself," he said. "She needs you, Nampag. It's time for you to finally face her. Let's get up there and find Zaedra, the woman you were destined to marry."

Overseer Claust was waiting for them when they arrived at the surface. His massive ape-like arms were folded across his broad chest and his teeth were grinding noisily together. For the past few hours he had not been able to get the Master Illusionist off his mind. Ever since his encounter with her in Kaligmar's study, he had been unable to stop himself from reliving the moment over and over in his mind, his body buzzing with excitement from the way she had teased him with her unbelievable figure, and more importantly, how she had promised to reward him for his undivided loyalty.

"Where is she?" he demanded. "Where's Neriah?"

"Under no circumstances will you lower that lift," Kaligmar said as the three of them stepped off the platform. "Not for anyone! Do I make myself clear?"

"Why not?" Claust said, infuriated by the fact that they had even the slightest intention of leaving Neriah stranded in the Deep-Strike cavern.

"Those caves are now strictly off-limits for everybody's safety," Kaligmar told him. "The roof collapsed and Neriah is believed to have met a most unfortunate death. We only just made it out alive. I want this hole sealed by you and your men immediately."

Claust said nothing. He was looking at Nampag, his face twisted with contempt. Steeling himself away, he snatched a burning torch from the wall, his eyes almost as hot as the flame before him. He shot Talloran a quick glance, barely noticing the knapsack hiding the Chameleon by his side.

"Don't you worry," he said, returning his gaze to Kaligmar. "You'll have your hole sealed. But first I'll need some time to rally some men."

Satisfied, Kaligmar turned to the Geomancer and gave him a slight nod. "Lead the way, Nampag. And Talloran, stick close."

Claust's eyes narrowed as he watched the three men disappear into the tunnels. Kaligmar was lying through his front teeth. Neriah wasn't that careless. It would take much more than a cave-in to stop someone like her. If Kaligmar and Nampag had done something to prevent her return to the surface, then maybe she was in need of help. How would she react if she found him coming to her aid? She would reward him handsomely no doubt. She would reward him in ways in that Kaligmar could not. She would give him what he desired most of all.

Seeing that Kaligmar and the others were now completely out of sight, he turned his attention back to the slaves operating the lift.

"Right then," he said coldly, his whip in hand, uncoiled and splayed loosely along the ground. "Lower that lift now! And that's an order!"

"But what of Master Conjuror's orders?" one of the slaves said. "He said that accessing the Deep-Strike cavern was forbidden!" The other slaves around him nodded in agreement.

Claust's whip cracked and a scream pierced the air. "Lower that lift or I'll flay you all for disobeying my orders. Now get to work!"

The whip cracked again and the slaves scattered to do his bidding. In less than a minute, the overseer was on the lift and being lowered down into the Deep-Strike cavern. With his torch in one hand and his head over the rail, he peered down into the eerie depths below. Somewhere down there he would find Neriah and finally claim his reward.

After several minutes the lift touched solid ground and Claust stepped off, swinging his torch around in the darkness. He remembered the cave-ins that Kaligmar had mentioned but found no evidence of anything anywhere within the area. Kaligmar had been lying!

Pressing further, he came to the needle-like maze of stalagmites and began to weave through them, keeping a keen ear out for any sound which could resemble a cry for help. The pattering sound of footsteps could soon be distinguished from the drops of water that frequently fell from above, and he quickly came to realize that they were not his own.

"Neriah..." he whispered.

"I knew you would come for me," he heard a silky female voice say, and the beautiful Illusionist stepped out from the shadows, her silver hair sparkling in the glow of Claust's torch. Placing one foot in front of the other, she slowly moved forwards until her face was completely illuminated by the firelight.

Claust's heart skipped several beats. "Neriah ... I..."

Her eyes gripped him, her beauty overwhelming him. "Kaligmar has betrayed us and cannot be trusted," she said. "But you saw through his deceit and came to find me, didn't you? And for that, Claust, you shall be rewarded. That is what you want, is it not?"

Claust's heart throbbed. Her voice so perfect and beautiful like a choir of angels all singing in harmony. No words could describe what he was hearing. Such perfection should not exist.

"Pucker up, big boy" she said with a sultry smile. "I know that you've been dying for this."

For a brief moment Claust experienced pure bliss as she cradled his head with her hands and pressed her lips against his. But just as his excitement hit its peak, his blood suddenly ran ice cold and he felt a huge wave of nausea and dizziness pass over him. His desire for Neriah had mysteriously vanished, conquered by an overwhelming sensation of dread and fear that completely took his breath away.

He tried to push her back but there was not an ounce of strength left within him. His face paled and his eyes started to roll, veins rising heavily to the surface of his skin. His legs buckled and failed, but Neriah held him tight, her lips still pressed to his, sucking the color and life from his body in short, greedy bursts.

Claust finally sagged, completely devoid of life, and Neriah threw him aside like a broken doll, watching as he helplessly collapsed into an unrecognizable heap. Wiping a smear of saliva from her smiling lips, she found herself startled by how refreshing that had been.

Making her way to the lift, she stepped onto the platform and reached up, ringing the bell three times.

Within minutes Namapg had lead Kaligmar and Talloran into the central shaft, following a rusted mine cart track that would lead them to the surface. The tunnel was beginning to darken for the illusionists who normally made the hovering lights on the ceiling had not renewed them. Nampag estimated that within three hours, the entire mine would be plunged into darkness save for the few areas which had the luxury of wall torches. A few miners were scattered around the area. Some were mining the walls of the central shaft while others could be seen coming and going from the tunnels that branched off to the side like tiny capillaries. The mine was operating as usual, still with no apparent knowledge of the chaotic battle above them.

"So far so good," Nampag said. "If Foreman Cenn saw me on this level off the mine he'd have my head."

"Well you're fresh out of luck, boy," Kaligmar said. "He's coming this way."

Nampag's heart lurched in his stomach and he leapt back, pointlessly trying to hide behind the old conjuror's thin figure. "Where?" he hissed.

Five men had appeared from one of the side tunnels ahead and were making their way towards them. The man leading them was an absolute giant. He was so tall that his head almost scraped the ceiling.

"Don't run, I'll handle this," Kaligmar said to Nampag and Talloran. "And keep that stone hidden!"

Foreman Cenn approached Kaligmar, standing nearly two heads taller, while his five guards spread around them, boxing them in. Cenn squinted at Kaligmar through the strong light of his lantern.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kaligmar demanded. "If you don't mind, Foreman, we are in a hurry."

"Hold your tongue," Cenn said sharply.

Kaligmar stepped forward to challenge him. "As part of the Azure Council I believe that I outrank you, Foreman."

"Don't test me, Kaligmar," Cenn sneered. "Neriah controls the operations of this dig, so I only answer to her. Know your place, conjuror. Down here I outrank you."

"This is a matter of most importance," Kaligmar said. "We need not get Grandmaster Anwyn involved."

Cenn gave him a devilish smile. "It's too bad that Anwyn's away with the Indigo mancers at Nilhaileth. It looks like she'll have to wait."

"Very well then," Kaligmar said. "Go about your business and let us be on our way."

Cenn steered his gaze to Nampag and then to Talloran. "But these slaves are my business, Kaligmar. You're trying to move them around my mine without my permission. Someone might think that you're up to something, perhaps a little something to do with the Ceruleans. Neriah told me to keep my eye on you, and it looks like she was right to do so."

Nampag laughed out loud. "Us? Ceruleans? Are you insane?"

Cenn's whip flashed, drawing blood from Nampag's cheek with expert precision. "Don't talk out of line, slave!" He turned back to Kaligmar. "I'm arresting you all until I get to the bottom of this. Nampag was condemned to live the rest of his miserable life in these mines - a punishment that he decided for himself and signed in his own blood. Under no circumstances is he allowed to leave these mines without express permission from Grandmaster Anwyn, which makes this act of helping him escape a violation of the Miner's Code. You will be escorted to the detention cells until Neriah can come to sort you out. I don't give a damn that you're a master Kaligmar. If you even try lifting one finger to resist, I will personally make sure that Grandmaster Anwyn has your head."

"Is there anyone in this mine that Neriah hasn't managed to bewitch?" Nampag muttered under his breath.

Kaligmar was remaining as passive as ever. "You are making a grave mistake, Foreman," he said.

Cenn snorted a laugh and waved his lantern at Talloran who was looking a little too overprotective of the knapsack by his side. "And you, slave. Your presence makes me wonder. Show me what you have in that knapsack!"