The Spectral Blaze

“Maybe I won’t need them,” Aoth replied.

Brimstone nodded to Ananta. “Good-bye, my lady. I hope I wasn’t too troublesome a guest.” He turned, paced back into the tu

“Well,” Gaedy

“Don’t pay any heed to his insinuations or his threats either,” Medrash said. “He just wanted to salvage his pride and leech the joy from our victory. And it is a victory. We accomplished everything we set out to do.”

“Which means we can go home,” Balasar said.

“Then I guess this time really is farewell,” Khouryn said. He and the dragonborn climbed off their bats for a round of handshakes. “If you see them, give my best to our comrades from the Platinum Cadre.”

“Oh, we’ll see them,” Balasar said. “Torm told Medrash to appoint himself their protector.”

Medrash scowled as if his clan brother had revealed something embarrassing. “No, he didn’t. And ‘protector’ is an exaggeration. But as time passes, those who scorned the Cadre before may forget how well they fought against the giants. They may need someone who’s not a dragon worshiper to speak up for them.”

“Whereas I,” Balasar said, “intend to sink into a life of idleness and debauchery.” Biri snorted and he gri

There was a final round of good-byes. Then the dragonborn climbed back onto their bats, the one that had survived the battle against Tchazzar and the two they’d borrowed when Perra reached Luthcheq, and the animals fluttered up into the air.

Everyone else watched the Tymantherans vanish into the gloom. Then, her dark garments somehow all but invisible even to a dwarf’s eyes, her pale face floating disembodied like a ghost’s, Meralaine said, “It’s fu

“What is?” Oraxes asked.

“We never will know if Brimstone was really using us as his weapons. And we don’t know there aren’t other games of xorvintaal going on across the world right now. Even if Brimstone believes he rediscovered a secret that everyone else had lost, that doesn’t necessarily make it so. So ultimately, how can anybody ever know if he’s making his own choices for his own reasons or if he’s just a pawn on a lanceboard?”

Khouryn glowered at Oraxes. “For the Dancer’s sake, give the girl a kiss. Or a drink. Anything to shut her up.”