For a moment Alex didn’t realize what he was seeing, but when he did, he was quick to act.
“Depart from her,” Alex commanded, moving his hand in front of Kat’s eyes. “Leave her, and do not return.”
“What is this?” Thrang questioned, looking from Alex to Kat and back again.
Kat was still for a moment, staring at Alex without speaking. Suddenly she dropped to the ground as if someone had struck her from behind. The others rushed forward to see what was wrong.
“She will recover,” said Alex, watching as Nellus and Barnabus helped Kat to her feet. “Darkness clouded her mind for a moment, and our enemy seized his chance to get a good look at us all.”
“The necromancer used her?” Thrang questioned, his voice shaking slightly.
“Yes, but he will not be able to do so again,” said Alex. “I have blocked the darkness from her mind so he cannot return.”
“And the rest of us?” Arconn asked.
“Kat is the only one he could use from a distance,” said Alex. “He would have to make eye contact with the rest of us to gain power over us.”
“I . . . What happened?” Kat questioned, her voice weak and confused.
“A moment of darkness,” said Alex. “It will not return.”
“I don’t remember,” said Kat.
“I have blocked it from your mind. When you are ready, and when the danger has passed, I will remove the blinders,” Alex explained.
“We should move on,” Arconn said after a short silence.
“Yes, yes, we should,” agreed Thrang, and he started marching down the road once more.
Alex felt certain they would find the city of Neplee before dark, but he didn’t know what kind of welcome they would find when they arrived. He didn’t have to wait long before the answer to that question appeared. A few hours later, the air rang with a sudden whistle and the soft thud of an arrow striking the ground. Thrang stopped in his tracks.
“Not as friendly as I’d hoped for,” Thrang said in a soft voice.
“Who are you, and why do you come here?” a voice called.
“Thrang Silversmith and company,” answered Thrang as he looked around for the source of the voice. “We are adventurers, and have come here by chance.”
“Go back the way you came, Master Silversmith,” the voice called out. “There is nothing here for you but sorrow and woe. This place is cursed. You must leave before the curse falls upon your party as well.”
“I will end the curse,” Alex called out as he stepped forward to stand at Thrang’s side. “I will end the suffering of Neplee.”
“Others have tried before and failed,” the voice said, though it was not quite as commanding as it had been.
“I must try, even if you will not willingly assist me in the attempt,” said Alex.
There was a long pause, as if the person who had called out to them was considering Alex’s words.
“What are you doing?” Thrang questioned Alex in a whisper.
“What I must,” answered Alex. “We can’t go back and we need help to go on. I must face this evil sooner or later. What other path is open to us?”
“Advance and be recognized,” the voice commanded, interrupting Thrang’s next question.
Alex and his friends moved forward.
When they approached a small grove of trees, the voice called out, “Hold.”
Alex and the others stopped and waited. For several minutes nothing happened, and then an old-looking dwarf stepped out of the trees and moved toward them.
“So, young man,” said the old dwarf, looking at Alex. “You say you will end the evil and remove the curse from this city.”
“I will if I can,” answered Alex.
“A wise answer.” The old dwarf laughed grimly, and then turned to Thrang. “We welcome you, Master Silversmith, and your company. We will do what we can for you, and aid you however possible. Lord Turlock will wish to meet with you when we enter the city, and question you further about your adventure.”
“We will be pleased to meet Lord Turlock and answer any questions we can,” said Thrang with a bow.
The old dwarf did not return Thrang’s bow, but simply looked at them all for a moment, and then motioned for them to follow as he started back toward the trees.
Neplee, as it turned out, was extremely well hidden, and Alex saw Thrang stare in surprise and wonder at the great stone doors carved into the mountainside.
“They were made with ancient magic,” the old dwarf said. “In a time before darkness came to Neplee.”
“Such art has long been lost,” said Thrang. “If it has been found again, word should have been sent to King Thorgood.”
“Yes, it should have,” the old dwarf agreed but said nothing more.
Alex and his companions entered a vast hall, its ceiling supported by dozens of stone pillars that looked like giant gray trees. The hall was empty except for a single chair placed near a large fireplace at the far end of the hall. A troubled-looking dwarf sat in the chair, staring into the low-burning fire. As the company approached, he looked up and quickly stood to greet them.
“Master Silversmith, I am Lord Turlock. I know of you, though we have never met,” said the dwarf, bowing to Thrang. “I ask that you forgive our less than generous welcome, but as I’m sure you’ve seen, these are not happy times in Neplee.”
“We have seen some of your troubles,” said Thrang, returning the bow. “But tell us, Lord Turlock, what has happened here? Why have you not sent word to Kazad-Syn, or even Benorg? I’m sure King Thorgood would have sent all the aid he could.”
“Yes, I’m sure he would have,” said Turlock. “But his help would have done us no good, and more of our people would be under the curse that holds us here. But I am forgetting my manners, please, Master Silversmith, introduce your company to me.”
Thrang quickly introduced the company to Turlock. Turlock bowed to each of them in turn and then called for chairs to be brought for them all. Once his guests were seated, Turlock returned to his own chair, his eyes returning to the fire as if he were alone and deep in thought.
“I am sorry you have been caught up in this,” said Turlock after a long silence. “I am sorry that we did not see this trouble coming long ago and put an end to it when we had the chance.”
“You speak of the necromancer,” said Alex.
“Yes,” said Turlock, his eyes fixing on Alex’s. “We should have guessed, but at the time there was no way to know. He did so much good for the city, we never thought he could become so evil.”
“You knew him? Before?” Alex questioned.
“I knew him when he was Nethrom,” Turlock answered in a weak voice, his eyes returning to the fire. “He was gifted in learning, and he had some magical abilities. It was he who learned the ancient magic that hides our city gate. The libraries of Neplee are large, and some of the books in it are very old.”
“And this Nethrom learned his magic from those books?” Thrang asked in a puzzled tone. “Magical books are uncommon in dwarf libraries, and few dwarfs have ever been able to read what is written in them.”
“He learned some things in the library here,” answered Turlock, sounding tired. “Including the existence of a hidden cave in the high mountains beyond the city. The cave was supposed to be guarded by ghosts, or magic, or maybe both. Nethrom became obsessed with the story of the cave, and he spent years looking for it. We became used to seeing him go into the mountains for weeks at a time. He always returned in a dark and unhappy mood.”
“But he eventually found the cave,” Alex coaxed, trying to understand what Nethrom had gone through in his years of searching.
“Yes, he must have,” said Turlock. “It was summer when he went into the mountains, as he always did. When he came back, he was full of happiness. We knew he had found the cave, but we never guessed what was inside of it, and Nethrom never said.”
“At first, Nethrom put his powers to good use,” said Kat suddenly, and Turlock’s head jerked up to look at her. “He learned much about healing and the old dwarf magic, and he used this knowledge to help his people and protect the city of Neplee.”