8

The transition from desert to oasis was abrupt. A sanctuary of lush vegetation amidst the harsh blazing sands. The companions moved nonstop across the sands, stopping to rest only within the oases that they came across. As it turned out, they didn't need to divert off their path to reach these places of respite. The thieves themselves traveled from oasis to oasis, and the company from Candlekeep only had to continue following their trail with Alisia's divining rod.

For over a tenday they traveled thus, stopping at three oases along the way. On the twelfth day since crossing into the Anauroch Desert, they came upon the largest oasis they had seen thus far. Still an island of life surrounded by barren desert, it dominated most of the horizon ahead.

The companions were still deep inside the Anauroch, so that was indeed an oasis ahead. It had even acquired a name. According to Alisia's map, it was called Ahman. Her divining rod led directly into the swath of green. They camped just inside the edge of the oasis—without plunging too far in—at Alisia's insistence, and Corwin agreed. They worked quickly to remove their saddles from their tired mounts. Albrec was just glad to have some shade from the burning sun.

The halfling set his saddle on the ground and began brushing his pony down. As he worked, he watched Alisia. With her saddle set aside, the elven ranger walked around the camp her divining rod loosely in her hands.

She looked up and saw Corwin unbuckle the straps that held his armor in place. She paused to watch him as he removed each piece separately, laying the pieces beside his saddle. Albrec still could not understand the elf maiden's fascination with the big, clumsy human.

Katla trotted up and nudged Corwin's side as he was bent over to unstrap his greaves. Off balance, he pitched over and fell on his side. Katla neighed in amusement.

"You find that funny, do you?" Corwin said, grabbing Katla's bit and tackle to help lift himself back to his feet.

Alisia's singsong peel of laughter graced the camp. The paladin looked toward the ranger.

"You too?" he said.

She only smiled at him.

He motioned to the artifact in Alisia's hand. "Do you have their direction yet?"

She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the rod in her hands. "It's strange. It's not giving a direction."

"What's it doing?"

"It's acting as if it's trying to reacquire the thieves' spore, but it can't. It lost track of them as soon as we entered the oasis..." She looked up sharply from the rod to the paladin.

Corwin wordlessly closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

His eyes snapped open. "Evil."

"Where?"

"All around us. This oasis must be the product of black magic."

"Do you think this is the thieves' destination? Where they wanted to take the Hearts of Knowledge?"

Corwin beckoned Kaegan. The half-orc monk set down the stack of kindling he'd gathered and walked over.

"Did Ulraunt or your grandfather tell you anything about the Hearts of Knowledge?" the paladin asked.

"Only what they told you," Kaegan said.

"You're a member of the Avowed, Kaegan. Did you overhear anything that may have been discussed in or near your presence?"

"I'm sorry, Corwin. If Ulraunt didn't want anyone to overhear his conversations, there was no overhearing his conversations."

"Anauroch was not always barren," Glannor said. "Only since the Netheril had fallen."

"That was a poor rhyme," Albrec remarked.

Glannor shrugged.

"The Netheril?" Alisia said. "Who are the Netheril?"

"An ancient empire of legends," Corwin said. "It's said they had become so dark and evil that the entire empire was swallowed up into the Plane of Shadows. Fairy tales."

"Not a legend, I insist," Glannor said. "The Netheril Empire did exist."

"The elders of Evereska told you nothing of Anauroch when they sent you on this mission?" Rorin questioned.

"No," Alisia said.

"Since Anauroch is near Evereska, I would think you and your people would know it's history."

"We had no idea the thieves would come this way," the ranger said. "If we'd had the power of foresight, I would have gathered up all the information the elders may have on Anauroch."

"But we don't have foresight," Corwin said, "so there was no way you'd know to do that. What do we—those of us here—know about Anauroch aside from what we'd already discussed?"

Alisia gazed upward at the canopy of foliage above her. "Look at the trees."

The others looked upward. "What about them?" Corwin asked.

"They are not the date trees that we saw at the other oases. These are the trees you would see in any forest in northern Faerun."

"I'll take your word for it. To me, a tree is a tree."

"Why are these trees here? In the middle of a desert."

"Magic."

"Yes, and you sensed it, Corwin, when you sensed the evil around us."

"This is evil magic then," Rorin said. "I never pictured evil magic fostering such a growth of life."

"Not fostering that growth," Alisia said. "Preserving what was already here."

"Before Anauroch became a desert," Kaegan said. "The tales say that Anauroch was a lush land before it became a desert. Glannor just mentioned it. So this oasis may have been an important site within the Netheril Empire."

"Whatever it was, it is now a source of powerful magic," the elf said. "I feel it's no coincidence that the thieves came here."

"They had a head start of several tendays," Corwin said. "They would be long gone by now."

"Perhaps," Kaegan said. "However, if this was a destination of theirs, then we must find what they sought within this oasis. It may give us a further clue to their intentions."

"Or they may still be here," Alisia said. "The thieves needed the Hearts of Knowledge, presumably, to perform a magical rite. Many powerful rites require it to be a certain time of year to perform—phases of the moon, equinoxes, solstices."

"Last night was the height of the full moon," Corwin said.

"Then we must find the center of the oasis."

"Why the center?" Albrec asked.

"A magical effect radiates outward from its source. The oasis is the effect."

"So the source of the magic would be at the center of the oasis."

"Yes."

"Let me put my armor on, and we'll go find the center," Corwin said.

"No," Alisia said. "I go alone. I intend to scout the location in stealth, so as not to alert anyone who may still be there."

"I don't intend to stay behind while you go into potential danger."

"My dear paladin, you are not trained or suited for stealth. This is the forest; it's my element as both an elf and a ranger."

"I can't let you go alone."

She laid a palm on his cheek. "I'll be fine."

"Because I'm going with you," Albrec said. "I'm a trained scout for the Waterdeep army. I know how to move quietly."

"Very well," Corwin relented. "I still don't like it, though. If you don't return by twilight, I'll come searching for you two."

The pair left the camp, plunging deeper into the thick foliage. Alisia was right, this oasis was different than the other oases they had seen since entering the desert. The vegetation was so lush that Albrec almost forgot they were deep in the Anauroch Desert.

"How far do you think we are from the center of the oasis?" he asked.

"From the size of the perimeter," Alisia said, "I would think a mile from our camp."

They walked in silence for a few paces.

"The human seems obsessed with you," Albrec said.

Alisia shot him a look. "I think the obsession comes from another, little one."

His neck burned. "I haven't met many halflings during my career in the Waterdhavian army. A lot of humans and elves and dwarves, but few halflings. Most of my kin prefer small villages in halfling shires to the big cities." He cast his gaze downward. "I get lonely."

Alisia laid a hand on his shoulder. "I understand."

A tingling sensation spread up his spine and into his neck at her touch. "Alisia—"

"Shh." She took her hand off his shoulder, much to his chagrin. "We must be quiet from here on."

Albrec nodded. They slowed their pace, careful to avoid jostling any vegetation or stepping on fallen debris. Alisia disappeared from his sight more than once as they maneuvered around wide tree trunks or thick underbrush.

The foliage thinned out, indicating they were nearing either an edge of the oasis or a clearing. They had not traveled far enough to reach the other side, so they must be approaching the center where the source of the magical effect was supposed to be located. Alisia now led the way, slowing her pace.

Alisia stopped and laid a palm on a tree trunk. Albrec moved to stand beside her.

"Do you smell that?" she whispered.

Albrec sniffed the air. Smoke.

"Aye," he whispered. "There's a fire nearby."

She inhaled deeply. "A cookfire."

He sniffed again. Indeed, he smelled the aroma of roasting meat. Someone had camped.

Alisia crept ahead, and Albrec followed in her footprints. She crouched low, to move closer to a thick hedge. He stood beside her, yet he still barely peeked over the hedge.

They hid at the edge of a clearing, at the center of which was a large granite structure covered in foliage. The stone door in the middle of the facade was wide open, its gaping maw leading into inky blackness.

A covered wagon stood in front of the building. A campfire crackled near the wagon, three spitted fowls roasting over the orange flames. The spit turned on its own, by magic, to ensure the meat was cooked evenly. Oddly, an empty cage that looked barely tall enough to accommodate someone of Albrec's height sat near the cage, its door open ajar.

"I think we found our thieves," Alisia whispered. "They must be inside the building. We should get the others."

"I'll wait here and observe them in case they come back out."

Alisia nodded and slipped away. Albrec watched her go, his gaze fixated on her supple legs. When she was out of sight, he turned his attention back to the empty camp.

As beautiful as Alisia was, she was out of his reach, in more ways than one. Elves rarely romance outside their own kind, and those who do invariably looked to humans. He could see why Alisia was drawn to Corwin. The paladin was an honorable man, almost to a fault. Albrec could see that Alisia was not typical to most elves or rangers he'd known in his stint in the Waterdhavian army. Particularly, her views on law and order most closely matched those of the paladin. Albrec himself was not above bending a law or two for the greater good of his mission, as long as his actions didn't hurt the undeserving.

An orange light appeared in the open door, and Albrec instinctively hunkered down behind the hedge. He moved enough of the brush to peer through the green. A human walked out of the stone building. He wore dull armor comprised of a cuirass, greaves, and arm braces fastened on over a suit of chain mail. His bared head revealed a shock of unruly brown hair, and he wore an eyepatch over his right eye. On his plated chest, hung from a silver chain, sparkled a large glowing sapphire. It had to be the Sapphire of Humankind.

He carried a small form under his arm, a wriggling figure in a plain homespun dress. Albrec's fists clenched around the hedge's branches as he saw the young halfling woman being bodily carried by that foul-looking human. She was beautiful beyond measure. Even more so, in his personal opinion, than Alisia. A pendant hung from her neck, a large glowing topaz suspended on a fine silver chain—the Topaz of Halflingkind.

It was obvious to Albrec that the halfling thief was not a willing accomplice. But where were the other thieves? Lagging behind in the building?

Albrec looked over his shoulder. Where were Alisia and the others?

He itched to swoop in and rescue the halfling woman. He wanted to take her away from the grubby human. He had to tell himself, though, that the wizard needed her to carry the Topaz of Halflingkind. The human would dare not harm her.

The human laid the halfling on her back on top of the cage. Even as she struggled, he held her down and hiked the skirt of her dress above her waist. He unbuckled his sword belt and let it drop to the ground. He reached down and started fumbling with the straps and buckles of his armor.

He might not harm her, but he was trying to ravish her.

Albrec steeled himself and crept out of hiding, careful not to make a sound. He inched closer, willing himself to keep his stealthy pace no matter his desire to rush in quickly. The human's armor proved difficult for him to remove with one hand, so Albrec had time.

Albrec drew his swords. At the steely slithers of the blades leaving their scabbards, the human craned his head around to look over his shoulder. His one good eye widened, and he let go of the halfling woman to grope for the sword he'd dropped on the ground. Albrec charged the last span of ground between himself and the human. The one-eyed warrior tugged his blade free and swung it in a wide arc.

Albrec parried the blow with his right sword, thrusting his left sword into the back of the human's thigh. The human grunted and dropped to one knee. Albrec sheathed his left sword and pulled the halfling woman off the cage. He pulled her toward the edge of the clearing.

She resisted.

"Come on!" Albrec urged.

"If I escape the wizard will kill not only my village, but all the halfling villages in my shire," she pleaded.

Albrec snatched the Topaz of Halflingking off her neck and looped the chain around his own. The woman screamed as the human swordsman closed on the two halflings with raised sword. Albrec pulled his second weapon from its scabbard and turned to face the advancing human.

An arrow shaft whistled above Albrec's head and plunged into the human's shoulder. No longer able to support the weight of his sword with his injury, the human dropped his weapon.

Albrec looked toward the edge of the clearing and was relieved to see Alisia standing there with her bow in hand. She'd already nocked another arrow.

She was not alone, however. Corwin, astride Katla, crashed through the underbrush out onto the clearing.

Alisia let her arrow fly. Midway through its flight, the shaft deflected off an unseen barrier and tumbled away.

The halfling woman screamed in terror. The one-eyed humans companions had come out of the structure, including the hooded wizard. The mage had erected a spell to protect him and his minions from arrow fire.

Albrec shoved the halfling woman toward the others. She did so reluctantly, but at least she fled. Corwin met the running halfling halfway and dismounted to heft the small woman onto Katla's back. With an order from the paladin, the mare galloped away with her new rider.

Albrec suddenly found himself faced by an orc with a long spear. The halfling batted the thrusting spear aside, then he whirled around and cut the orc's left hand off at the wrist. The orc cried out, stumbling away as he tried to stave off the blood pumping from his stump.

The one-eyed human had somehow recovered from his wounds, and before Albrec could react he had the human's sword thrust through his belly. He felt the cold steel emerge from his back.

Albrec slid off the blade and fell on his back, his arms and legs limp. Breathing became difficult, and blood bubbled out of his mouth.