Free The City of Towers: The Dreaming Dark - Book I by Keith Baker Page B

the morning, they were drinking water.
    It wasn’t long before Pierce and Lei returned. “Was your mission successful, Captain?” Pierce inquired. Lei seemed lost in thought.
    Jode answered for him. “Aside from Daine being a murderer and getting robbed by a little girl? I’d say so. We need to track down a smuggler, return some stolen goods, and if we succeed we’re looking at more money than you’d have made in another thirty years in the army.”
    “I wasn’t paid for my service.”
    “Proving my point. How about you? Any news?”
    Pierce looked to Lei. When she said nothing, he continued. “The accusation was true. Lei has been outcast. No member of House Cannith will speak to her. However …”
    “There is someone,” Lei said quietly. “An uncle. Jura. I haven’t spoken to him since I was a child. But now … he may be able to tell me what’s going on or get a message to Hadran for me. I haven’t seen Jura for a long time. He’s …” She paused, but couldn’t seem to find the right words. Finally, she looked up at Daine. “I’d appreciate it if you’d come with me.”
    Daine stood up. “All right, but if you don’t mind, let’s avoid the area around the Den’iyas lift.”

Y our Cannith lords may be brilliant artificers, but I can’t say much for their taste in architecture,” said Daine, examining the mansion. Built from black granite with walls carved to resemble a dense thicket of trees, Jura’s manor was named Darkhart Woods.
    Lei said nothing.
    At the gate to the mansion a warforged servant met them and led them inside without a word. Where Hadran’s servant was an imposing, bejeweled figure, this construct was a spindly assembly of wood and leather that seemed on the verge of falling apart. It smelled of mildew, and clicked and clattered with every motion.
    Entering the manor was like walking into a swamp. The air was unnaturally warm and moist, and the smell of rotting vegetation filled their nostrils. Glistening ivy covered the walls, and woven rushes were spread in place of carpets. Globes of mystical energy lit the halls, but these were shuttered and the ambience was dark and wet.
    “The man likes his plants,” Daine muttered. Why a man would spend good gold to grow weeds
inside
his house was beyond his understanding.
    “Oh, Uncle Jura loves … plants,” Lei said absently. Her thoughts seemed far away.
    After leading them through a green maze of hallways, thewarforged guide paused at a large pair of double doors and rapped sharply. The doors slowly swung open, propelled by invisible hands. A wall of mist hid the chamber beyond. Daine glanced at Lei, but she just shrugged. More Cannith tricks, he thought.
    The warforged turned to them and bowed. “Lord Jura awaits you,” it said, its voice a raspy rustle.

    The fog concealed a forest. When Daine stepped through the mist, his boot sank into muddy earth. A dense grove of trees spread out before him. Tendrils of mist drifted across the ground, and he could hear the sounds of insects and the rustle of birds and rodents all around.
    “What is this?” he whispered, his dagger already in his hand.
    “Don’t worry,” Lei said as she came through the mist behind him. “Uncle Jura?” she called, peering into the woods.
    “Over here, girl.” The deep voice came from somewhere in the center of the grove. “Just follow the path. I’ll give you more light.”
    With that, the sun came up—at least, the sky brightened to the color of full daylight. Studying the sky, Daine spotted a stone seam. They were standing in a vast chamber. The high domed ceiling was painted with a perfect illusion of a cloudy sky. Still, the mud seemed real enough.
    Jode whistled. “Now, I’ve seen some fine shadow-work in my time, but this … do you know how much he must have spent just on the moisture? Do you think he can make it rain in here?”
    Lei dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “Hush. And don’t mention the trees. I’ll explain