Pool of Twilight

1

The paladin stood before the shadowed archway, breathing air sharp and acrid with the stench of magic. The stone ruins about him were dark and strangely distorted. The walls of the dank chambers seemed to be undulating wildly, the leprous colonnades lurching at queer angles, as if the place had been designed by a madman.

The paladin gripped a heavy, combat-worn battle-hammer firmly in one gauntleted hand, and in his other he held a white crestless shield. Before being granted a symbol of honor, a paladin had to prove his worth. This was his test.

He stepped through the archway.

Immediately he sensed it. Evil. It lingered on the air, coating him as he passed, leaving what felt like a thin, noxious layer of rancid oil on his skin. The paladin did his best to ignore it as he journeyed into the blackness. His shield gave off a faint azure radiance, lighting his way.

Yesss… Come to me, Hammerseeker.

The bubbling voice seemed to ooze out of the darkness from all directions, shrill and inhuman.

"Who are you?" the paladin called into the murk. The beating of his heart echoed loudly inside his steel breastplate.

Your doom!

Without warning, a pulsing crimson glow burst apart the darkness with violent light, revealing a chamber of monstrous proportions. Ponderous stone vaults, as huge and misshapen as giants, supported a ceiling lost in the crimson miasma. The walls were formed of what seemed at first to be huge oblong bricks. It was only after a moment that the paladin realized what they really were: coffins.

There were hundreds of them. No, thousands. Coffins of beaten gold and worm-eaten wood, of rune-carved stone and rotting wicker. Many were cracked and broken, their denizens hanging out of them in a thousand different states of decay, all leering at him with the ceaseless grins of death.

Come, youngling! Bow to me, before I rend your limbs apart.

Shadows swirled in the lofty nave of the huge chamber. The paladin approached almost against his will. He barely noticed the heaps of treasure scattered around him. Beaten silver urns shone like enormous hearts in the pulsing crimson light. Gold coffers lay broken open, their jeweled contents spilling out of them like guts.

Closer, youngling. Come gaze upon what you have given your brief and pitiful life to seek.

Blue radiance burst into life high in the nave. The paladin caught a glimpse of something hovering at the center of the diamond-hard brilliance, an object of wondrous power. Then the shadows swirled, cloaking the blessed light

And now, Hammerseeker, you die!

Something moved with terrible swiftness in the darkness of the nave. The paladin barely managed to lift his shield in time to meet the blow. He cried out as pain coursed like lightning up his arm. The white shield shuddered, then burst asunder in a spray of twisted shards. The denizens of the coffin-walls jeered at him in a horrid cacophony of teeth clattering and bone snapping.

The paladin fought down the panic clawing at his chest. "I will stand firm, Tyr!" he shouted to his god. He swung his battlehammer in a whistling arc toward the darkness.

But his footing was not secure.

His heel skidded on coins scattered across the stone floor. His blow went wild, the hammer spinning off into the darkness as he fell to his knees. Shrill laughter bubbled from the alcove as the coffin-walls erupted in a new chorus of gleeful rattling. The paladin hung his head in defeat. He was no hero.

No, you are not, youngling. You are a fool. And now you will die a fool's death!

Midnight-dark claws slashed out of the darkness. They punched through the paladin's steel breastplate as if it were parchment. Four streaks of searing fire streaked across his chest. His body arched backward in agony. Hot blood spattered the dark stone floor. A scream ripped from his lungs.

"No! Tyr, help me! It wasn't supposed to end like this!"

There was no answer to his cry. His god had forsaken him. The shadow-shrouded being stirred again, readying its final blow.

"Kern, come back to us!"

A cry reached through the darkness. The voice was calm and reassuring, but faint, as if coming to him from across a vast distance.

"He can't hear you, Shal." This voice was deeper than the first, gruffer. Despite its faintness, there was a distinct edge of worry to it.

"Yes, he can. He can and will." The voice seemed to grow louder, cutting through the darkness. "You're having one of your dreams, Kern. Let it go. You have to come back to us."

He struggled to break free, but the darkness was too heavy. It pressed down upon him. He couldn't breathe. It was no use.

"Kern Miltiades Desanea, come back this instant!"

With all his might he struggled upward, toward a faint light that shone brighter and brighter as he rose. Just when he was about to give up, he broke through the surface, and a ragged, shuddering breath filled his lungs.

"Mother… Father…" His voice croaked like an old frog's from a throat as dry as bone dust. "It was the dream again."

He was lying in his bed in the comfortingly familiar chamber in Denlor's Tower where he had slept every night of his twenty-two years. A beautiful middle-aged woman smiled down at him. Her hair formed a flame-colored corona around her face, and her green eyes were so bright as to put emeralds to shame. An aura of magic seemed to shimmer about her. But then, she was a sorceress.

"It's all right now, Kern," Shal said, smoothing his hair-red hair, just like hers-from his forehead. "You're back with us now."

He nodded and smiled, the expression suddenly turning into a grimace of pain.

"Shal, what is it?" Tarl asked in concern. A hale, broad-shouldered man, Kern's father was still in his prime despite his snow-white hair. His sightless eyes stared blankly into the air as he reached out to lay a hand on his son.

Kern cried out in pain.

Shal's brow furrowed as she threw back the woolen blanket that covered her son. A gasp escaped her lips.

"Kern, you're wounded!"

Kern stared in astonishment. Four long gashes marked his white nightshirt. Crimson blood soaked the garment. His chest quivered as he drew shallow, painful breaths. The nightmare replayed itself in his mind. He remembered the shadow-filled nave. Something had lurked there, lashing out at him with midnight-dark talons.

"But… it was just a dream!" Kern protested. Instantly he regretted his shout as blood oozed from the gashes.

"How can this be?" Tarl asked. Gently, expertly, his fingers explored his son's injury. Tarl had been a cleric of Tyr for over three decades and had seen and healed more wounds on the battlefield than he could ever have counted. "You've had the dream a dozen times, Kern, yet this has never happened before."

Shal laid a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Can you heal him, beloved?" Her voice was calm and controlled, but urgency shone in her green eyes.

Tarl nodded, laying both of his strong hands on Kern's chest. Briefly, the cleric shut his unseeing eyes. A prayer tumbled from his lips. "May Tyr grant me power in this time of need," he finished. A sapphire nimbus sprang to life around his hands and spread over Kern's wounds, radiating healing power.

Suddenly the magical glow vanished. Blue cobwebs drifted down in its place, covering Kern and the bed in a sticky web.

Shal frowned, glancing at her husband. "When was the last time one of your healing spells went awry?"

Tarl was dumbfounded. "When I was a neophyte, about thirty years ago. I don't understand what happened. The spell was working fine, then something seemed to suck the magic right out of it." Tarl pressed his hands against the four gashes on Kern's chest, slowing the bleeding.

Kern gritted his teeth. Pain was nothing to a paladin, he reminded himself. But then, he wasn't a true paladin yet.

"What's going on?" a clear, crystalline voice asked.

A delicate young woman stood in the doorway of Kern's chamber. Between her forest green tunic and short dark hair she looked almost like a pretty but mischievous boy. Listle, Shal's apprentice, grinned impishly. "I heard something that sounded like an ogre's courting call down here and thought I'd better investigate."

She moved toward the others with a swift, smooth grace that belied her gray elven blood. Her ears were daintily pointed, her eyes silvery. Lamplight glimmered off a ruby pendant hanging from a silver chain around her throat She halted when she saw the blood oozing between Tarl's fingers. "Kern! What happened?"

"Listle," Shal said in her steady voice, "there's a purple jar on the highest shelf in my spellcasting chamber. You'll recognize it by the star-rune on the seal. It's an ointment of healing. I want you to get it for me. Now!"

Listle nodded, her eyes wide. She spoke a few fluid words of magic, and silver sparks crackled around her feet The elf dashed out of the chamber so swiftly her outline seemed to blur.

"I wish she wouldn't do that," Shal said with annoyance. "A swiftness spell takes a year off your life every time it's cast. True, elven lifespans are long, but not so long that Listle should squander a year every time she has the whim."

"Hush, wife," Tarl said gently. "She is only trying to help Kern."

"I'll be all right" Kern said weakly. "Really."

"You be quiet!" Shal snapped.

Kern meekly clamped his mouth shut. The room was beginning to swim around him.

Moments later, Listle burst into the room like a silver comet "I'm sorry I took so long," the elf gasped breathlessly. Her shiny hair was a raven-dark tangle, sticking out wildly in every direction. "You have a confusing variety of jars and vials, Shal."

"Did you find the ointment?"

Listle nodded, handing Shal a small purple jar. The sorceress took it breaking the runic seal with a single word of magic.

"Now, Kern, I need you to listen to me very carefully," Shal said. Her voice was stern but reassuringly calm. "I need you to open yourself to the power of the healing ointment. Imagine that you're surrounded by a shining wall of white light, a wall that blocked your father's spell."

The young man closed his eyes and did his best to picture a shimmering wall enclosing him.

"All right, Kern, now I want you to lower the wall. Slowly. Don't rush it. Let it drop, inch by inch, until it's just a shining ring at your feet."

Kern gritted his teeth with effort. It was hard, but gradually his will won out and the imaginary wall began to shrink. It dropped to his chest, then to his knees, and finally became nothing more than a glowing circle down around his feet.

"Is it gone?"

Kern nodded, not daring to speak for fear of breaking his concentration.

"Now, beloved," Shal said to Tarl, placing the jar of ointment into the cleric's hands. With deft, practiced fingers, Tarl spread a thin layer of the clear ointment over Kern's oozing wounds. The pungent healing balm smelled of mint and juniper. Tarl set down the empty jar.

Nothing happened.

"Concentrate on the wall, Kern," Shal warned.

With a groan of effort, he held the wall down. Suddenly he felt a cool tingling in his chest Then he could bear it no longer. He relinquished his willpower, and felt the imaginary wall spring back into place around him. But the pain in his chest was gone.

"You can open your eyes now, Son."

Kern could hear the relief in his mother's voice. Slowly he opened his eyes. He was almost surprised to see that, in truth, there was no wall of white light encasing him. He ran a hand over his chest. His bloodstained nightshirt was still in tatters, but the skin beneath was smooth and unbroken. The ointment had healed him.

He grinned weakly. "Thank you, Mother, Father," he whispered hoarsely. "You too, Listle."

The elf winked at him, beaming, but he didn't notice. In the blink of an eye, Kern had fallen asleep.

"I just don't understand it, Tarl!" Shal said, clenching her hand into a fist. The sorceress and her husband were alone in the main chamber of Denlor's Tower. A fire burned in a vast marble fireplace. Kern was still sleeping upstairs, and the sorceress had sent Listle to her spell-casting chamber with a broom, hoping to keep her precocious apprentice occupied for a time.

"How, by all the gods, could he be hurt by a dream?" Now that she and Tarl were alone, Shal's voice was trembling. She leaned her head against her husband's broad chest, and he held her in his strong arms. She was a statuesque woman, taller even than Tarl-the result of an inadvertent use of a wishing ring years ago-but right now she felt small and afraid.

"All I can say is that it must be a very powerful creature that stalks his dreams," Tarl said softly.

"You think it's the warder of Tyr's hammer, don't you?"

Tarl nodded slowly. "Nothing else makes sense. Whoever plagues Kern's dreams knows that it's his destiny to find the lost hammer."

Shal sighed. Twenty-two years ago, she and Tarl had confronted a magical pool of darkness with the help of several others-including the ranger Ren o' the Blade, the sorceress Evaine, and an undead paladin named Miltiades, raised from the grave by Tyr for the purpose of the quest. Shal shivered. Even after all these years, the memory of the ordeal was still clear in her mind.

It all began when, with the help of the evil god Bane, the Red Wizard Marcus stole the entire city of Phlan, transporting it to a subterranean cavern beneath his tower. There he intended to feed the life-forces of Phlan's people to a pool of darkness in an attempt to gain enough power to become a dark deity. But Shal, Tarl, and the others had different ideas, and after they had defeated the Red Wizard, Tarl cast the legendary Hammer of Tyr into the pool, destroying the dark waters forever.

But something went awry. Before the holy relic could magically return to Tarl's hand, as it always had before, the hammer was stolen by Bane. The dark god hid it where he thought none would ever find it. Before he was summoned back to the halls of Tyr, the undead paladin, Miltiades, made a prophecy. One day, he foretold, it would be the fate of Shal and Tarl's newborn child to lead a quest for the lost hammer. Knowledge of this prophecy they had thus far kept from their beloved son.

"By Tyr, I would go myself," Tarl said through clenched teeth. "But how can I when… when…" His broad shoulders slumped in despair as he sank down to a chair covered in gryphon leather. He buried his face in his hands. "What have I become? I cannot even protect my son in his time of need." His voice was anguished. "What good is a blind hero, Shal?"

"Enough!" Shal said sharply. "Get all of that nonsense out of your system. Self-pity does not become you, cleric of Tyr."

A look of surprise crossed Tarl's face. "You're right, of course," he said huskily. "I suppose I should be thankful I'm alive at all. So many of the temple's clerics have perished these last years. I have no right to complain."

The last five years had been hard ones for the good clerics of Phlan. When the hammer was first stolen by Bane, few had realized how dire the consequences would truly be. The hammer had been the heart of the temple's power, and, without the holy relic, the temple's protective aura had gradually diminished. The warding spells woven about its walls were no longer reliable proof against the scourges of unholy magic sent by enemies of the God of Justice. The clerics of Tyr were dying, one by one. A year ago, Tarl himself had nearly succumbed. It was only a great strength, and an even greater faith in his god, that had preserved him. But he did not escape unscarred-he was struck blind. Tarl knew that it was only a matter of time before the temple's defenses would fail altogether, and on that day all the clerics of Tyr would perish.

Unless Tyr's hammer was returned.

"Never forget, husband," Shal said softly, "you are the same man you always were. Nothing has changed that."

He found her face with his hands and kissed her soundly. "What good could I possibly have done in my life to deserve you, Shal?"

"Oh, I can think of a thing or two," she said with a devilish smile.

Kern groaned as he dragged himself out of bed.

"How do you ever expect to fight real monsters, Kern, if dream ones can knock the stuffing out of you so easily?"

Kern shot Listle a withering glance. Between his mother's healing ointment and a night's dreamless rest, he was almost as good as new. Put the emphasis on almost, he thought with a wince as he shrugged on a tunic the color of mist. His chest was so sore he felt as if he had been hugged by an over-friendly owlbear.

"By the way, your mother wants to see you."

"About what?" Kern asked. He grimaced as he pulled on his boots.

The elf did a poor job of stifling a giggle. "How should I know?" she asked.

"It's funny," Kern grumbled, "but I always thought elves were supposed to be stately, regal, polite beings."

"Well, thinking never was your strong point," Listle retorted.

With a glare, Kern brushed past her and headed for his mother's chamber. As he trudged up the tower's central staircase, he wondered why Shal wanted to see him. She didn't usually invite him into her spellcasting chamber. In fact, her private laboratory was generally off-limits to everyone except Listle. She probably wanted to talk about his recurring nightmares, he thought.

He had dreamed about the beast in the darkness a number of times before, and each time the dream had been a little clearer and lasted a little longer. He tried to recall the details of yesterday's nightmare, but already it seemed foggy. He remembered a shadowed nave and a terrible creature. The beast had called him something. What was it? A title of some sort… Kern shook his head. The memory was too clouded.

The young man had a feeling that his mother and father knew something about the nightmare that they weren't telling him. They seemed ill at ease every time he told them he had dreamed the same dream. Were they trying to protect him from something?

He sighed. It wasn't easy being the only son of two of the city of Phlan's greatest heroes. Once, with the help of Kern's honorary Uncle Ren, Tarl and Shal had defeated an evil dragon that tyrannized half the city, which in those days was rife with monsters and ruins. And another time, they had helped to rescue Phlan from an evil Red Wizard named Marcus, who had stolen the city and sealed it in a cavern beneath his tower. Kern didn't know how he could ever live up to the examples set by parents like that.

"There you are," Shal said as her son stepped into the circular chamber where she studied and practiced her magical skills. Once the chamber had been used by a powerful wizard named Denlor, a friend of Shal's old master, but after his death Shal had taken it over. While Shal insisted that the rest of the tower be spotless, this room was always cluttered. Shelves lined the walls, sagging under their load of leather-bound books and rune-sealed jars. Countless tables were strewn with crisp rolls of parchment, bright purple quill pens, and crystal pots of invisible ink. Bunches of dried herbs hung from the rafters, lending the air a sweet, dusty scent.

"Sit," Shal said briskly. Kern did as ordered. His mother approached him with a clear crystal in hand, her violet robe whispering against the stone floor.

"What is that?" Kern asked, eyeing the crystal warily. He was more than a little suspicious of his mother's magic powers. He had seen her cast a spell and engulf entire bands of attacking orcs in searing flame. It was generally a good idea to avoid being on the receiving end of her incantations.

"It's a test. I want to find out why your father's spell failed to heal you. Now stop squirming and hold still."

She spoke several strange words. Suddenly the crystal glowed with a crimson radiance. The scarlet glow reached out to envelop a heavy spellbook on a nearby table. The sorceress nodded in satisfaction.

"Does it detect magic?" Kern asked tentatively.

"That's right," Shal said. "Now it's your turn." She brought the crystal closer to Kern. The scarlet glow reached out for him, probing. But as soon as the radiance touched his chest, it abruptly vanished. The crystal went dark, disintegrating into a fine gray powder that trickled from Shal's hand.

She raised an eyebrow, gazing speculatively at her son.

"What?" Kern asked defensively. "What is it?"

"This is a problem," Shal said. She took a troubled breath. "Oh, I've suspected it for some time now. Why do you think I always tell you to stay away from my chamber when I'm working on a spell?" She dusted the remnants of the crystal from her hands. "This confirms everything."

"Confirms what?" Kern asked in utter desperation.

"You are unmagic, Kern." Her face grew serious. "It's my fault, of course. I cast a number of powerful spells while I was pregnant with you. I would have rather not cast them but was forced to in order to save your father, as well as the city of Phlan. Now it seems they have affected you, though I'm not yet sure if the effect is permanent, or even if it will be consistent from one day to the next."

Kern's head was spinning. "Affected me in what way?"

"Magic doesn't work on you, Kern. Now, this might not actually be all bad. It means you're immune to harmful spells. But it also means you're immune to magical healing as well, like the spell your father tried to cast on you after your strange nightmare,"

Kern groaned in dismay. "Isn't there something you can do to fix things?"

"Well, we can help you practice lowering your magical guard." Shal smiled reassuringly at her son. "It won't solve the problem, but it may help."

Before Kern could reply, Listle burst into the room. A flurry of silver sparks followed in her wake. Shal scowled at the elf's flagrant use of her swiftness spell.

The elf grinned sheepishly. "I know I wasn't supposed to cast another one," Listle said excitedly, "but I thought this was too important to wait"

"What is it, Listle?" Kern asked.

Her silvery eyes were positively glowing. "It's the clerics at the temple," she exclaimed. "They've solved Bane's riddle!"

Kern stared at the elf uncomprehendingly.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Don't you see, you ogre-brained oaf? They've discovered where the Hammer of Tyr is hidden!"