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at his disposal magic that helped guard Candlekeep from an often hostile outside world. "Never in my life."
"Gorion was alive then," the half-elf woman said, and Beuros's heart skipped a beat. "He was in there to let you in."
So Gorion was dead. Beuros wanted to weep at the loss but held back the tears with a great sniff and cleared his
throat. Beuros wondered if maybe it was true what was said about Abdel when he was a child that Gorion had
adopted him as some kind of changeling. Rumors abounded about the young Abdel, that he was some kind of demon
spawn, a cambion or an alu-fiend, or the son of some evil wizard, maybe descended from a long line of corrupt
Netherese archwizards. It was hard for Beuros and his friends to believe this since demonology was a part of their
regular studies, and Abdel failed to exhibit any of the powers normally associated with the infernal, but still. Abdel
grew to enormous proportions and exhibited both a strength and a thirst for violence that didn't seem entirely human,
at least not to the mild-tempered monks of Candlekeep. It certainly crossed Beuros's mind that Abdel had perhaps
killed Gorion himself, and the gate guard could think of no greater offense to the law and will of Candlekeep.
The name Tethtoril came immediately to Beuros's mind, and he quickly made use of one more of the minor magic
items available to him. He spoke Tethtoril's name into a cone of golden foil and trusted the device to convey the
message to the aging monk. In the meantime, he had to try to stall Abdel, though he doubted it would have been easy
to get rid of the man even if he tried. Abdel and the woman were still outside the gate, conversing quietly. Beuros
opened the peephole.
"Give me a book," he said, obviously startling the woman, who jumped. They looked up at the little window.
"Beuros " Abdel started to say.
"Ah," Beuros interrupted, "a book, or a scroll, or a tablet, or a ... something with writing on it. Give me something of
use to Candlekeep, and you can come in."
The sellsword furrowed his brow in confusion and frustration. Beuros wasn't at all surprised that Abdel didn't have
any form of written record with him. It wouldn't have surprised the man to hear that Abdel had forgotten how to read.
"Why this all of a sudden, Beuros? What's going on in there?" the sellsword asked.
"The business of Candlekeep," Beuros answered directly. "The business of learnedness."
The woman smiled evilly and said, "That's not even a word, you little "
"A book!" Beuros insisted, insulted that this half-elf by-blow would question his learnedness.
"I don't have " Abdel started to say, then stopped, a look of dumb realization coming over his face.
"Give us a few minutes, Captain Steadfast," the woman said sarcastically, making a dismissive brushing away hand
gesture in Beuros's general direction. The guard ignored her and closed the shutter.
Beuros wiped sweat from his brow and wondered what he was doing, and what was keeping Tethtoril. Abdel and the
woman were talking again, and Beuros had a dreadful feeling in the pit of his stomach. What if Abdel managed to call
his bluff? He heard the woman call his name, and brimming with apprehension, he opened the shutter once more.
"A book?" Beuros asked.
He saw then what Abdel was holding in his big, callused hand. It was a book all right, and the sight of it set Beuros's
heart racing. It was bound, no less, in human skin, and bore on it a symbol he hadn't seen in a long time, a symbol
crafted from a human skull. Whatever this tome was, it was unusual to say the least. Evil, no doubt, but certainly a
subject worthy of study from a purely detached perspective. If it was some dark text, Faerun would certainly be better
for having it kept safe within the walls of Candlekeep.
"Well, well..." Beuros started to say.
"Let us in first," the woman interrupted.
Beuros laughed and said, "Not on your life, missy. Tell him to slide it through the slot."
Beuros activated the trigger for the secret panel that would open the more accessible slot in the gate while the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]