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Ullar to map out the company's best route of approach. But their observations were of limited
scope, and therefore limited value. Magisters were used to shape changing—it was a
cornerstone of their art—and they could refine the flesh they wore into a fine-tuned creation
that suited their needs exactly. Morati were not nearly so comfortable in animal form and
sometimes did not adjust well to seeing the world through an animal's senses.
Kamala had other things to do here, private things, and so she had offered to back up their
efforts with her own observations, once they got within range of the tower.
High overhead she soared now, until the trees were mere pinpoints beneath her. The land here
was not like the forests surrounding Ethanus' mountain retreat, where she had first practiced
shapechanging. That was a lush, green place where only the steepest cliffs and tallest peaks
revealed any expanse of dirt or stone. This region was far less inviting. Trees were few and far
between, and the kind of thick brush that her companions would have liked to use for cover
was next to nonexistent near the Citadel itself.
Ramirus had cast a spell upon the company that would theoretically aid them in approaching
the enemy's haven unseen ... assuming it worked at all. And assuming it did not backfire. It
was a subtle sorcery, which would not render them invisible per se, but would rather
encourage any men who saw them to overlook their presence. Guards along the road would
believe them to be fellow guards, unremarkable and uninteresting. And if someone spotted
them while they were climbing the tower, in theory they would be mistaken for someone or
something that would normally be hanging from the side of a tower. Kamala had her doubts
about how well all that would work, but she understood the need for subtlety. If such a spell
were scrambled by the Wrath, it was unlikely the result would threaten their mission. A spell
of true invisibility that backfired, however, could become a beacon that drew the attention of
every living being within miles. Better by far to play it safe and tread lightly in matters
metaphysical than to risk some more dramatic failure.
Which meant that they all had to look like guards and act like guards in order to support
Ramirus' sorcery. The less work there was for the spell to do, he had explained to them, the
more likely it was to work. What he did not say—and what no one dared suggest—was that if
the Wrath cancelled out his sorcery, or changed its effect entirely, their lives might well
depend upon the quality of their subterfuge. A spell that kept
them from being noticed, if warped by the Wrath, might draw attention to them instead.
With so few places in the area where they could take shelter, that was not a happy prospect.
Flying high over the desolate countryside, Kamala practiced speaking. It was harder than she
had expected it to be. Normally when one took on an animal form one had an innate sense of
how to control the body, but apparently that did not extend to such fine motor control as bird
speech required. She had taken the precaution of transforming herself into a type of bird that
was capable of imitating human speech—Ethanus had conjured one for her to study early in
her apprenticeship—but without lips, teeth, or anything like a human tongue, it took her a
while to figure out how to make it work. When she finally succeeded, the resulting speech
was odd and screechy, with a quality not unlike fingernails on slate. Comprehensible, but far
from pleasing.
She doubted her companions would care about aesthetics.
When she finally arrived at the Citadel she slowly circled above it a few times to see if
anyone noticed her. No one did. It was hardly definitive proof that Ramirus' sorcery was
operative, but given how rare large birds were in this region, it was a promising sign. Then,
coming in behind the monument, where the Citadel's guards would be unable to see her, she
flew in closer to the great rock to get a better look at it.
The morati scouts had focused upon the outer structure of the third Sis-ter, collecting the kind
of details that climbers would need to ascend to the top, making note of a few large openings
that appeared to give access to an interior space. Uncomfortable in their borrowed avian flesh,
however, they had deemed it too dangerous to risk going inside. But Kamala was more
practiced in transformation, and was ready to do so. She had designed her leathers to be a
perfect match to the weathered stone, so even if Ramirus' spell was not working, though such
a disguise would not guarantee her safety, it brought the level of risk down to an acceptable
level.
Which is what? she wondered. Was she really risking her life for someone else's cause?
I am risking my life for knowledge, she told herself sternly, and the things that knowledge can
hay. Nothing more.
Landing on a narrow ledge beside one of larger openings near the
top, she waited a few minutes to see if anyone noticed her there—no one did—and then eased
her way inside the structure. The window was naturally formed, a deep crack in the
monument's surface that time and wind had widened, but the interior of the tower had clearly
been carved out by a human hand. Probably by a sorcerer's hand, given the polished
perfection of the work. That was only to be expected. Until recently the Wrath's effect had not
reached this far south, so all things had been possible, including hollowing out a natural
monument and outfitting it for human purposes.
The chamber she entered was round—perfectly round—and beams of sunlight poured in
through the irregular openings about its circumference. Most of those natural windows were
too narrow to admit a grown man, but she took note of several that might allow it. She also
noted that the room as a whole offered a complete view of the land on the far side of the
monument. That was not good news. Anukyat had not built an observational tower on this
side of the Citadel because he'd had no need for one; the monument itself was his guard
tower.
Not used very often, she thought, making note of the thick layer of dust on the floor. A line of
scuff marks led from the staircase to the nearest window and from there around the outside of
the chamber, but they were old enough that fresh dust and dried leaves had begun to cover
them up again. Clearly this place was not part of the Citadel's normal sentry rounds.
A stone spiral staircase came up through the floor in the center of the chamber. It was so
narrow that only one man at a time would be able to ascend it while those defending the
chamber could easily spread out and surround him. Kamala could see spears affixed to braces
on the wall, awaiting the need for such action. Under normal circumstances that would not be
good news for Kierdwyn's company, but in this case it could be turned to their advantage; if
they could get control of this chamber themselves, it would be next to impossible for
Anukyat's men to dislodge them.
Overhead there was a trap door leading upward with a ladder set beside it. Realizing that she
would not be able to push the door open from below in her current body, Kamala slipped out
the window again and sought access to the next level of the monument. There were natural
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