Dungeons & Dragons: Dragons - Worlds Afire by R. A. Salvatore Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman Keith Baker Scott McGough

Author:R. A. Salvatore, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, Keith Baker, Scott McGough [Salvatore, R. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-7869-4976-2
Publisher: Fanversion Publishing
Published: 2017-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

“You’re lucky to be alive.”

Recognition of Tolar’s voice—the realization that she was alive—was drowned out by the agony that had been dulled by unconsciousness. Each breath brought a wave of pain, the air tearing at her burned lungs.

“Drink.”

She didn’t want to open her mouth, but the first drop of thick fluid brought a wonderful cooling sensation. She could feel it healing her blackened tongue. She let the potion flow down her throat. The pain slowly receded, and she felt her strength returning.

Zaehr opened her eyes.

She was lying on hard stone. She could see the burns fading from her snow-white skin as the healing potion worked its magic, but she was covered with ash. The smell of smoke clung to her clothes and made it difficult to tell what other scents were in the air, but she saw a black column of smoke rising to the east.

“Is that—?” Her throat was still parched, and her voice cracked.

“Yes,” Tolar said. He was sitting on the ground next to her, sifting through a leather satchel. He produced a skin of water and held it to Zaehr’s lips. “The building was beyond salvation.”

“So she’s talking now, is she?” The voice was cold and hard, for all its high timbre. The speaker was barely three feet tall, and Zaehr had the immediate sense that he enjoyed being able to look down at someone. Despite his size, he was no child. He was a gnome, with sharp features and a carefully waxed black heard. “I do so look forward to hearing her explanation.”

“If your guards had responded more swiftly, you might have caught the arsonists and saved the building, lieutenant.” Tolar said.

Zaehr squinted at the gnome, taking in his green-and-black uniform and the presence of a few larger members of the Sharn Watch standing nearby.

“Yes, well. At least we’ve done one of those things, yes?”

“You caught them?” Zaehr said. Her thoughts were still thick and muddled, her head filled with wet sand.

“Well, that’s original,” the gnome said. “I suppose you had nothing to do with this? You happened to break in and were prowling around the professor’s house when a passing wizard flung a fireball through an open window?”

“Lieutenant,” Tolar said quietly, “both my associate and myself are professional inquisitives, fully bonded by House Tharashk. I sent her here in pursuit of an investigation. If you wish, I can establish a truthtelling zone to prove her innocence in this matter.”

“Or you’ll say you’re truthtelling,” the gnome said with a sneer, “and let her lie to her heart’s content.”

“Of course not. I’ll establish a zone of veracity, which forces all those within its bounds to speak the truth. If you stand next to her, we can easily prove the power of the spell with a few questions about your recent income and commitment to the cause of justice. But perhaps there are more pleasant ways to test the truth of that.” He produced a small pouch, which clinked as he flexed his fingers.

The gnome smiled. “When you put it that way…” He took the pouch and glanced inside.

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