After the sun sank beneath the sea of clouds, night descended over the boundless open sky. Scattered lights glimmered from the towers on the summit, where spellcasters remained absorbed in their late-night studies, oblivious to everything beyond their windows. The mountain forests beneath the heavens were utterly still.
The Silver Tree's crown remained brilliant and unmistakable, resembling cosmic branches where countless stars had come to rest. However, those scattered Lights Inside the Skull were intangible flames that provided almost no illumination, creating only dim light within a hundred feet of the tree.
Skylrael had no sheriffs and no City Watch.
Consequently, the invisible figures who secretly approached the Silver Tree that night encountered no resistance.
Elminster had encouraged Andrei to conduct a thorough investigation of the flying enclave's absolute core and uncover the truth about Skylrael. Was this place an isolated paradise in the heavens, or a cancer in the sky where some terrible conspiracy was taking shape?
To the native inhabitants of Faerûn, any large organization or powerful figure that appeared without warning deserved to be viewed with the darkest possible suspicions.
On twenty-first-century Earth, people did not panic whenever a company suddenly rose to prominence. Everyone knew the company wanted to make money, to rake in a few dollars. No matter how dirty or underhanded its business practices might be, people were rarely terrified of it because it still respected the rules of modern society.
In Faerûn and other worlds shaped by supernatural powers, however, the appearance of an intelligence organization such as the Shadow Thieves, the Harpers, or the Zhentarim could cause genuine upheaval. Such organizations shattered ordinary lives and hurled people into the whirlpool of fate, where they either rose to brilliant glory or struck the bottom as a bloody smear.
Most ordinary people ended up as disposable casualties. Their flesh was turned into undead servants by liches, while their souls descended into Hell and became larvae. Their homes were destroyed, beautiful wilderness burned, and their families, friends, and loved ones met with disaster.
The illusion called life was torn apart, and the meaning of their existence was put to the test. The pain inflicted by such a catastrophe was difficult to describe.
Those were the fears troubling Andrei. His only sister had been swept into Skylrael. He would rather die in her place than allow that little bird to be harmed. He had to uncover the truth and confirm that Livia was safe. That was his responsibility as her older brother.
He contacted a soldier and priest from the Church of Tyr and explained that he intended to investigate the Silver Tree that very night. Perhaps they would discover some useful evidence.
The righteous followers of Tyr were always willing to devote themselves to a just cause. Most were passionate idealists. They accepted Andrei's proposal, although the priest made one request.
"We must do our best not to anger the rulers of this city. The Maimed God's guidance was vague, but I have a strange feeling that hostility will only drive us farther from the truth. Besides, there are very few of us."
Andrei nodded. Once he had calmed down and carefully reconsidered everything he had experienced, he began to feel something similar.
His dear sister Livia had always been intelligent. Of course, intelligent people could still make mistakes, just as paladins could be tempted by devils. Yet his Livvy was exceptionally perceptive. What she had told him might very well be true, and the future she described was undeniably enticing.
Training a spellcaster was extraordinarily difficult. Part of the problem was the fragmented and inadequate system of magical education. The rest was caused by the monopolization of knowledge.
That monopoly formed an invisible but impenetrable barrier. An ordinary person might live and die without ever encountering genuine magical theory.
Should Livia's claims prove true and Skylrael truly intended to spread knowledge among the general public, then this city was performing a magnificent service. The organization deserved to be recorded in history and honored for generations.
His fear was that poison might be concealed beneath its beautiful exterior.
Evil hiding within righteousness was a hundred times more frightening than an enemy who came openly with a blade.
Andrei, the priest, and the paladin now stood before the lake surrounding the Silver Tree, concealed beneath Elminster's invisibility magic.
The dragon had not yet noticed them.
The old mage began erecting a soundproofing ward. An invisible dome silently settled over the lake, ensuring that no sound produced within the area could escape for the next hour.
Before they set out, Elminster had also cast [Rary's Telepathic Bond], connecting the minds of his three companions and allowing them to communicate telepathically with ease.
"Look," Elminster said through the bond, his mental voice grave. "Study the tree's reflection on the lake. Do you notice anything unusual?"
"Unusual in what way?"
Andrei and the others carefully examined it.
The reflection of the Silver Tree appeared just as serene and sacred as the real one. Against the darkness of the night, it stood out as clearly as a streak of frost across a black canvas.
"The flames seem... different," Andrei said uncertainly. "They're gray. Could that simply be because it's dark?"
"No. I examined the reflection during the day, and the flames were gray then as well. That is clearly abnormal."
Rather than speaking in riddles and forcing them to guess, Elminster immediately shared his theory.
"I believe this lake is connected to an extradimensional space. The shadow beneath the Silver Tree, and perhaps the truth of this flying enclave, may be found there. At the very least, we should discover part of it."
The dragon beneath the tree suddenly raised its head.
"We've been discovered!"
"Reveal yourselves..." the dragon commanded. Its speech carried an ancient, solemn cadence, causing the surrounding air to tremble faintly.
Elminster was still considering how to respond when the sahuagin priestess squeezed out of empty air and appeared a short distance behind them.
"She's been following us this entire time."
"What is she planning?"
The cunning sahuagin bowed toward the dragon and shouted, "Honored dragon, Bomogani is at your service! I came specifically to report these invisible intruders and their sinister intentions."
Bomogani waved her shark-bone staff, scattering silvery Dust of Appearance through the surrounding air.
"You shameless traitor!"
Every invisible creature nearby was forcibly revealed. Elminster's party was not alone. A merfolk general and a naga warlord were also present.
Everyone looked at one another and exchanged awkward but courteous smiles.
The dragon released a laugh like rolling thunder.
"You dare attempt to bring shame upon Kruziik! By the King's command, I guard Skylrael. Vermin who seek to lay their hands upon the Silver Tree, are you prepared to face my Thu'um?"
Its words were so stern and imposing that everyone's hair stood on end.
Bomogani was the first to surrender. She loudly praised the dragon and insisted she had merely been passing by. As a concerned and responsible visitor, she had taken the opportunity to report a group of criminals. She had never harbored any designs upon the Silver Tree.
"You idiotic shark-head!" the naga warlord cursed.
Then it surrendered as well, declaring that it was willing to assist the honored dragon in dealing with the thieves.
Elminster shook his head inwardly. A group divided against itself would never accomplish anything.
Then he called out, "This is a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! We mean you no harm, Lord Kruziik. This old man did not actually come here because of the tree. I came specifically to visit you."
The three companions beside him, who had already prepared themselves for a desperate battle, stared at him with wide eyes.
You looked like such an honest, respectable old man. How could you switch sides too?
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