The Lord of Knights came down the steps and walked over to the minotaur. He clasped Kaz on the shoulders. “It is you. I’m certain of it! More lies! All he ever spoke were lies!”

Kaz cocked an eyebrow. “Argaen Ravenshadow?”

A puzzled look crossed the elder knight’s face. “The elf? Is he still here? I ordered him ousted from the libraries shortly after he came here. No, friend Kaz, I fear the one I speak of is none other than the mortal consort of Takhisis herself, that scaly-faced renegade mage, Galan Dracos!”

“Dracos!” Kaz shook his head, remembering the dreadwolves outside.

“Dracos indeed! Who are your companions, Kaz the Minotaur?”

“I am Tesela,” the healer said.

“A brave friend,” Kaz added.

“Milord.” Darius was down on one knee. “Darius, from a keep in Westia.”

“The province that Kharolis claims but leaves to the knighthood to defend? Where are your brethren? I was told to expect emissaries from most of the southern keeps.”

“They… milord, I’m afraid they are dead. A dragon, so I believe.”

“A dragon?” Oswal looked at the three. “Surely another of the renegade’s lies! He could not have the power to enslave a dragon, let alone drag one from Paladine knows where! All the dragons are gone!”

“None of us have seen the dragon in good light, Grand Master,” Kaz replied hastily. “It may be something else- a rare griffon, perhaps. Be that as it may, I think that you have been duped in yet another manner.” He paused at the brief annoyed look on Lord Oswal’s face. Kaz forced himself to be more delicate with his choice of words. “Argaen Ravenshadow never departed Vingaard Keep. In fact, he’s about the only one left in Vingaard besides yourself and-and a few of your most loyal men.”

“All this time, I thought I was keeping a clear head,” Oswal muttered. “Instead, I’ve been living a delusion. What more?”

“Why was Ravenshadow to be sent away?”

“His interest in the works of Galan Dracos was too intense. I saw in him one who treaded a thin line between red and black robes.” The Grand Master’s eyes lit up with partial understanding. “But if Ravenshadow has been here all this time- Paladine! No wonder he pressed for the secrets of the vaults! The elf does not have the magical skills necessary to ferret them out, but that is something Dracos would not need to worry about!”

Kaz sighed in relief. “You understand the situation now. Good, because we fear that this attack, an illusion like all the rest, is a diversion created by Ravenshadow. He may even now down be in the vaults, working his way through your safeguards at last.”

“Impossible! Argaen might be able to bypass the magical safeguards, which I doubt, but he could never weave through the networks of traps and false locks.” The elder knight tapped the side of his head. “Only I know those secrets, and I have not faltered there.”

The minotaur grimaced. “Lord Oswal, I fear that I’ve brought a kender with me. Another companion, if you can believe that.”

“A kender?” Oswal asked, a quizzical look on his face. “A kender?” The Grand Master shook his head. “A kender!”

“His name’s Delbin, and I think, judging by Argaen’s ability to manipulate people’s minds, he’s helping the elf break open the vaults.”

“By the Triumvirate!”

“How do we reach the vaults, milord?” asked Darius quickly, for Oswal was simply staring out into space, dumbfounded, no doubt picturing the elf plundering armloads of magical treasures-evil treasures.

“What?… Yes, of course. This way!” The Grand Master led them up the dais to the throne. He touched something on one of the arms, and the chair and the floor below it slid to one side. There was a stairway leading down into the earth.

“Get a torch, Darius, will you?”

“At once, Grand Master.”

“I could light the way with this.” Tesela held up her medallion.

Oswal shook his head. “I would not risk that yet. Argaen might feel our presence if we make use of the gifts the gods have bestowed upon us. I want to surprise the elf before he even realizes we are coming.”

As Darius returned with the torch, Kaz looked around for some weapon. He wished now that he had not left his own axe behind. To have it in his hands now…

“I thought you left that behind,” Tesela commented in mild surprise.

Kaz gazed down at his hands. His visage was reflected back by the mirrorlike finish of the head of Honor’s Face. He almost dropped it, thinking it just another illusion. It felt real, however. Somehow, it had materialized in his hands just when he needed it. Was it some minor miracle performed by Paladine, or had Sardal Crystalthorn given him a magical weapon?

“Are you coming, minotaur?” Lord Oswal called from the steps.

Kaz hefted the axe once and, feeling the good, solid weight of the weapon, shrugged. All that really mattered at the moment, he decided, was that now he had the axe. “Coming.”

They descended into the cool earth.

“Lord Oswal,” Darius whispered, “is there more than one entrance to the vaults?”

“There is. There is one in the chamber where he who commands the Order of the Rose-my nephew, Bennett, holds that position-speaks before his men.”

“Where is Bennett now?” Kaz asked sourly. He still was not certain just what to think about Huma’s former rival.

The Grand Master paused, trying to collect his thoughts. “I seem to recall… to recall sending him off to fight… to fight Paladine! But what else have I done these past few years that I do not recall? What have I done to beloved Solamnia?”

The minotaur put a hand on the elder’s shoulder. “The elf is responsible-the elf and something left behind by Dracos. You’ve got a lot of wounds to heal, Grand Master, but none of them are really your fault.”

“You say that even though I almost had you killed?”

“Whose doing was that?”

Lord Oswal shook his head dazedly. “I seem to recall asking, or being asked, who might have knowledge concerning Galan Dracos. Ravenshadow asked me to list those who had been there!”

Kaz snorted. “Perhaps the elf thought to eliminate any who knew about the renegade’s magic. We can ask him if we get the chance.”

They moved in silence now, not so much out of a fear that someone might hear but because each of them wondered what they might soon face. Through the trek down the long, winding steps, they battled their own imaginations.

A sound from below caught their attention. Lord Oswal signaled for a halt. A voice, barely recognizable as the elf’s, echoed upward. What he was saying, they could not understand, except that Argaen was tense, excited.

The Grand Master turned to Darius and indicated that he should give the torch to Tesela and that she should stay to the rear. The cleric wanted to say something, slightly annoyed at being relegated to a “safe” position, but decided against it. This was, after all, Oswal’s domain.

Ever so slowly, they continued their descent. They stopped for a second time when they heard a new, higher-pitched voice. Kaz could not help smiling, for the voice was that of his kender companion. Delbin was not only alive, but he was also his usual self, much to Argaen’s dismay, no doubt.

“How did you first get inside? How long did it take you to learn? The knights must really not want people to get in here, because I never saw such complicated locks! My uncle would’ve loved this place. He’s the best, you know, though he taught me a lot, and I bet he would’ve gotten inside by this time, though maybe this one darn screwy lock would’ve given him some trouble…”

“Be silent, kender!” Argaen Ravenshadow hissed. “I have to concentrate, or I might miss something! If I do, we may both wind up dead! What would your minotaur friend do without you then?”

“I wish Kaz was here. He’s always so much fun. You know, I’m getting kind of hungry. Do you have any more of that bread? I like bread, especially with lots of honey on-”