Read Skein of Shadows Online

Authors: Marsheila Rockwell

Skein of Shadows

BOOK: Skein of Shadows
5.92Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
WELCOME TO TARATH MARAD

Xujil led them over the stone bridge and toward the back of the cavern where there were no buildings and no everbright lanterns to light their path. A forest of thick white and yellow stalagmites sprouted up from the cavern floor here, some of them reaching up to join thinner stalactites that dripped from the ceiling. The twisting formations obscured the back wall of the cave from view until they came to a gaping hole in the stalagmite thicket. Shattered rock littered the ground here, and it was obvious that the opening had been created by an explosion of some sort. The debris had been moved aside by the explorers who came after, so it was impossible to tell the directionality of the blast from their pattern or the scorch marks that remained in the surrounding stone pillars.

The drow paused and turned toward them. With the blackness of the entrance to the depths behind him, and framed as he was by the jagged remains of both stalagmites and stalactites, it looked for a moment as if the earth itself had opened up to swallow the guide. The illusion was fleeting, but powerful, and Sabira shivered. She hoped it wasn’t an omen.

“Shall we proceed, Marshal?”

Sabira nodded at him.

“Lead on.”

Xujil turned and led the way through the yawning mouth of the quake-spawned cavern. As Sabira stepped from the cave that housed the bulk of Trent’s Well into the narrower, cooler passage, the drow’s voice echoed eerily back to her through the darkness, disembodied and alien.

“Welcome to Tarath Marad.”

A
LSO BY
M
ARSHEILA
R
OCKWELL

Legacy of Wolves
Inquisitives Book 3

The Shard Axe

SKEIN OF SHADOWS

©2012 Wizards of the Coast LLC.

All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast LLC.

E
BERRON
, W
IZARDS OF THE
C
OAST
, D
UNGEONS
& D
RAGONS
O
NLINE
, E
BERRON
U
NLIMITED
, D&D, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries.

All Wizards of the Coast characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Cover art by: Eric L. Williams

eISBN: 978-0-7869-6139-9
640-49791000-001-EN

For customer service, contact:

U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific, & Latin America: Wizards of the Coast LLC, P.O. Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, +1-800-324-6496,
www.wizards.com/customerservice

U.K., Eire, & South Africa: Wizards of the Coast LLC, c/o Hasbro UK Ltd., P.O. Box 43, Newport, NP19 4YD, UK, Tel: +08457 12 55 99, Email:
[email protected]

Europe: Wizards of the Coast p/a Hasbro Belgium NV/SA, Industrialaan 1, 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden, Belgium, Tel: +32.70.233.277, Email:
[email protected]

Visit our websites at
www.wizards.com

www.DungeonsandDragons.com

v3.1

F
or generations, all the world of Eberron knew was war. The five nations—Aundair, Cyre, Breland, Karrnath, and Thrane—clashed long after the warring heirs of Galifar had died, allying and attacking as the tides of battle shifted. Then the Mourning—an atrocity no nation claimed—wiped Cyre from the face of Eberron.

THE TREATY OF GALIFAR
ENDED THE LAST WAR
.

Though the war is over, the world abounds with reminders of a magical arms race, the spectacular technology born of magic and ambition. The influential dragonmarked houses ply their magical skills in trade instead of weapons. The warforged, a race of living constructs, strive to find a place in a world that resents them. The lightning rail and the elemental airships that once sped weapons across Khorvaire now haul goods and travelers.

THE TREATY OF GALIFAR REDREW BORDERS

Where once a sprawling empire claimed the continent, disparate nations now clutter the landscape. Only four of the Five Nations still stand. Warrior elves defend their ancestral lands in Valenar. Goblins and monsters have established kingdoms of their own and demand recognition. Rebels take old grievances to the streets, and the dragonmarked houses gather power in secret. And no one has forgotten the old hatreds.

THE TREATY OF GALIFAR SPURRED DIPLOMACY

In the shadows of the cities and on the frontiers of the fledgling nations, a new kind of hero arises. They are veterans of the Last War, looking for closure. They are spies tasked with protecting their realm from new threats and old. They are inquisitives investigating crimes, trying to make a living while avoiding the state’s attention. They all want to forget the Last War …

BUT THE LAST WAR
WON’T FORGET THEM
.

THE NEXT WAR IS BREWING
.

For my father, who gave me roots, and my mother, who gave me wings. And for my big brother, who first introduced me to D&D
®
and taught me never to crease the spine of a book—this one’s for you, Pin
.

Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No novel is produced in a vacuum (possibly because in space, no one can hear you scream, but I digress). Many people played a part in bringing this book to life, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t offer them my heartfelt gratitude. To Wizards of the Coast and Turbine, who created and brought to life the world that spawned Sabira—thank you. To my editors, Erin Evans, Liz Mills, and Nina Hess, who helped shape Saba’s story to make it the best that it could be—thank you. To my friends and fellow authors, Jeff LaSala, Don Bassingthwaite, Keith Baker, Sig & Anne Trent, and especially Erin M. Hartshorn and Rebecca S. DeMoss, who helped me pull a rabbit out of my,
er
, hat—more than once—thank you. To my husband and children, who supported and encouraged me throughout and who I know must be
really
tired of pizza—thank you, thank you, thank you. And, as always, to Catherine, because—
gratias tibi ago
.

PROLOGUE
Wir, Lharvion 11, 998 YK
Somewhere beneath the Menechtarun Desert, Xen’drik
.

D
onathilde ir’Thul stepped over another fissure in the tunnel floor, cursing. She’d already twisted her ankle in one such fungus-covered chasm, and had had to slow down what was left of her small group while she performed a brief healing spell; she wasn’t about to let that happen again. The fragment of the draconic Prophecy that Baron Breven had given her spoke of a night when “the Anvil next is silent, the Book is closed, the Warder dreams.” It had to be referring to when three of Eberron’s twelve moons were dark—Vult, Rhaan, and Eyre. By her calculations, tonight was the last night when that condition would be met for at least another four years, and the next alignment wouldn’t be perfect like this one, as Rhaan would just be moving out of the dark phase while Vult moved into it. If she didn’t find what she was looking for now, this whole expedition and the deaths of her men would be for nothing.

There were only three of them left, after entering Tarath Marad with a contingent of thirty. House Deneith had
paid only cursory attention when the vast caverns beneath Xen’drik’s Menechtarun Desert and the jutting peaks of the Skyraker Claws had been discovered earlier this year. They became much more interested when powerful artifacts started appearing in the Stormreach Marketplace, and in Khorvaire itself. Determined to beat the other twelve dragonmarked Houses to the loot, they’d sent in Tilde, a former instructor at Arcanix and a draconic Prophecy hobbyist. With her had come thirty Blademarks, some of whom had served with her brother, Leoned. Now, only one of Ned’s former comrades-at-arms remained, the others having fallen to the perils of this deep, dark place.

“I don’t like this, my lady,” Harûn said, eyeing the close tunnel walls warily, his long sword out and ready. Though there was nothing unusual about that—they’d learned early on that one did not sheathe one’s weapon in Tarath Marad, not even while sleeping.

“Is there anything you
do
like, Rûn?” Tilde rejoined halfheartedly as she stroked the fur of the small bat on her shoulder. She was tired of the Blademark’s constant grousing, but in truth, she didn’t like it much herself, and judging from her familiar’s restlessness, neither did he. Though that was no great surprise—there was nothing in this Hostforsaken pit
to
like.

BOOK: Skein of Shadows
5.92Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Golem of Hollywood by Jonathan Kellerman
The Law of Attraction by Kristi Gold
Wolf Blood by N. M. Browne
Blackbird by Tom Wright
Desolation Boulevard by Mark Gordon
Courting the Clown by Cathy Quinn