Free The Tyranny of Ghosts: Legacy of Dhakaan - Book 3 by Don Bassingthwaite Page A

grows and shrinks. Buildings fall in and out of common use.”
    Chetiin gestured for silence, then pointed up a flight of narrow stone stairs. They moved, the goblin as noiselessly asa shadow, hobgoblin and shifter as quietly as possible. Two floors up, Chetiin pointed around the corner of a landing into another corridor. Geth eased his head around the corner. Light shone around a door, and he could just make out voices. One of them might have been Tenquis’s, but he wasn’t sure. He mimed approaching the door to Chetiin, who nodded. Walking softly, Geth stepped into the corridor and slipped up to the door.
    It was Tenquis, speaking Goblin. From the cadence of his voice, it sounded like he was reading something. Geth gripped Wrath’s hilt, and the words became clear.
    “—rebellion among the nobles ultimately cost Saabak Puulta,
marhu
of Dhakaan, fifth lord of the Second Puulta dynasty, his life, but many of the nobility of the empire died along with him. Though Saabak Puulta’s successor, Giis Puulta, lavished favor on a chosen few, the empire would never be strong again. On the Stela of Rewards that he erected before his fortress of Zaal Piik, it is recorded that this was the time when
muut
was broken.” Tenquis paused, his voice thin with amazement. “Horns of Ohr Kaluun.”
    “Indeed,” answered another voice. “Records from the era of the Rebellion of Lords are sparse. It was a shameful time, but the Stelae of Rewards that emperors and generals of Dhakaan erected as memorials to those they deemed heroes are a rich source of information. Here is the final piece of the puzzle, though—and if you ever doubted your decision to approach me, then don’t, because I am the only one who could have brought you this.”
    The second voice was familiar. It belonged to a woman, probably a hobgoblin, and Geth had a feeling that with just a few more words, he would recognize her. Ekhaas, apparently, needed no time at all. Her ears went back flat. Her skin flushed dark. In three swift steps, she spun around Geth and kicked the door. It slammed open.
    From over a table covered in books and scrolls and loose pieces of age-darkened paper, two faces stared back at them in surprise. One was Tenquis. The other was—
    “Kitaas!” snarled Ekhaas. “What are you doing here?”
    For an instant, both the artificer and the archivist simply looked startled. Then Kitaas rose imperiously. “I, my sister, am recovering the heritage of Dhakaan while you seem intent on denying it!”
    Ekhaas bared her teeth. “What are you talking about?”
    Geth felt a whirl of confusion. After Kitaas’s greeting when they had arrived in Volaar Draal, he wouldn’t have expected that she and Tenquis would exchange polite words, let alone meet in secret. The only thing he could really understand was why Chetiin had insisted they see this for themselves. He wouldn’t have believed it.
    A scowl flitted across Tenquis’s face, and he stood as well. “Get out!” he said. “Just get out and leave us alone.”
    Ekhaas and Kitaas had locked eyes, however. “You travel with a store of knowledge you don’t even recognize,” said Kitaas. “This one understands the lore of the
daashor
better than our own smiths”—she pointed at Tenquis—“and archivists will record Kitaas as the one who bargained to bring it back.”
    “You called him
chaat’oor,”
Ekhaas said. “Which is he, then? A defiler of Dhakaan or a guardian of its lore?”
    Geth looked to Tenquis in surprise. The tiefling’s face was taut with frustration. “I traded some of my knowledge for access to records from the vault,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
    “Records from the vaults?” Ekhaas strode up to the table and snatched up a scroll. “Kitaas, you took records from the vaults?”
    Kitaas’s ears flicked. “Don’t question my
muut
. I am adjunct to the High Archivist. The secrets of the
daashor
are worth showing a few minor histories to