Mirisgroth

Mirwen pointed through the trees at the edge of the forest. "There is Misigroth," she said.

When I saw it, less than a mile across the choppy water, a terrible chill swept over my body.
The images of the vision, the exotic forest, the unusual creatures, the forboding rock, could
still have been merely a dream. Even my glimpse of the dark jewel was so brief that it could
have been a nightmare. But when I gazed at the fortress, the reality before me and the image
in my vision suddenly snapped together. The danger that we were in, that all the world was in,
felt like a cold, tangible hand reaching out from that rock to squeeze the life from me. For a
moment, I was certain that Ardana watched me, even across the distance and through the
trees.

The old Dimrod would have turned and run. He would have found a deep hole as far away
from that rock as possible, and tried very hard to wish it away. But the old Dimrod was dead,
buried in a thousand places along the last two years' journey. After a moment of silence, the
cold finally passed through me with a shiver and I kicked my pony on after Mirwen.

Mirwen knew from her experience in the area that a chain of small rocks extended
souththward from Misigroth toward a small fishing village. As we rode in that direction, she
concentrated on the ring that would direct her to the entrance, and she was rewarded by mid-
afternoon with a gentle tingle that urged her forward and a little to seaward. In only another
hour, we were standing on the beach with Mirwen pointing to an insignificant crag barely
higher than the tide marks on it.

That night we camped outside the village, and though every noise seemed to stir me into new
alertness, I was quite asleep when the watch shook me awake at the blush of dawn. The
soldiers took money into the village and bought a small dory that would carry us out to the
little rock which Mirwen's ring said concealed the entrance to the secret passage. We hid the
horses with the soldiers, and Mirwen and I set forth along the chain of little rocks toward our
goal.

Mirwen showed her one of her many talents when she took charge of the dory's little sail and
made our way smartly. Though we kept as close to the rocks as we dared, which, with
Mirwen's skill, was quite close indeed, as we approached Misigroth again I felt as exposed as
an ant upon a griddle. I expected at any moment to be smitten by a flash of lightning, a
terrible wave, or a giant seamonster that would rise up from the water and turn our tiny craft
into kindling. But as the great fortress rose slowly over the horizon, nothing happened, and I
began to wonder if we would survive after all.

The wind was favorable and it was well before mid-day when we reached our goal. We pulled
the dory up on the rock and hid its outline as best we could with some flotsam that had
washed up there. Then, with Mirwen's ring as our guide, we climbed a short way up the rock
to a cleft that was hidden from all angles. Mirwen spoke the word of command and a crack
split noiselessly, revealing a dark passage that stank of old seaweed. Once we stepped inside
and made a light, we saw rough-hewn steps leading downward. Closing the entrance behind
us and going down, we found a small shelf of rock overhanging a pool in which the sea
surged in and out through some sub-surface opening. A ghostly green light filtered from the
daylight outside up through the water.
Floating next to the rough dock was the most remarkable boat I've ever seen, outside of the
skeleton of the white ship under construction at [cirdon's place], and that was only because I
knew the white ship's destination. It was glittering gold, and it stood quietly and stationary
next to the rock with no line or mooring. As we approached, our light showed writing
engraved on the gunwale: "[directions to use.]" Mirwen seemed to accept this as normal, and
I, having long since lost my ability to distinguish reasonable from fantastic, followed her lead.
Although the Elementals' access ways were supposed to be undetectable, we decided not to
tempt fate any more than necessary, and to wait until nightfall to proceed. I made a pillow of
my pack and leaned back to listen to the water slapping gently against the rocks and the hull
of the boat.

An instant later, Mirwen shook me awake. The glow in the water had died away and the only
light in the chamber came from her little torch. We settled ourselves, she extinguished the
torch, and spoke the words of command to the boat. Unable to see in the darkness, I felt a cool
breeze and smooth movement from the boat, and suddenly we were outside with a moonlit
sky around us.

For almost three hours we sailed in darkness. The boat moved magically, without sail or oar,
and without noise save for the occasional splash against the hull. The weather was good, and
the sea was no rougher than it should be between many small rocks and the shore. That is to
say, it was rough enough to give the boat a queer lurching movement at times, but not rough
enough to make me sick. In fact, I was almost ready to fall asleep again when Mirwen pointed
ahead.

Above us loomed the dark shape of Misigroth. The moon illuminated the rocky sides of the
fortress in cold light, and the top was marked here and there by the glow of fire. As we sailed
directly toward the cliff, it seemed impossible that the guards would not look down and see us
clearly. But we heard no alarm as we drew near, and the boat guided itself into a small cleft in
the rock. The boat drew up to a small rock shelf similar to the one it had departed from, and
stopped.

From there it was all rather straightforward, if a little exciting at times. Leading up from the
dock was a tunnel similar to that in Naurlindol, with a door at the end that similarly opened to
Mirwen's commands. I entered, chose a direction, and began my reconnaissance. The tunnels
were more populated than I would have chosen, and more than once I was glad of the poor
lighting that afforded me so many good shadows to hid in. In less than an hour, I was certain
that I could draw enough of the tunnels to allow Valcrist to tell where the tunnel entered the
fortress.

I didn't return quite soon enough, however. At the end of one of the tunnels, in a dank and
reeking cell, I found slaves. Humans, men, of many races, caged like animals with their own
filth. This should convince even those elves who believed they should rule the humans of
Ardana's wickedness, I thought. No one who would cage people in that way could have a true
heart. With a sick feeling in my stomach, I returned to the secret entrance, and Mirwen and I
returned the way we came.