The great chamber was filled with half a dozen similar-sized pools, and Konrad and Serena followed Spirit quietly and quickly between them. Konrad didn’t know if the frozen figures inside would wake up, but he didn’t want to wait around to find out.

Another staircase led upward; this one was wider than the others. Corridors split off at intervals as they climbed higher and higher, and Konrad could see what looked like living quarters through the dark doorways.

Their ascent ended in front of the most magnificent set of doors Konrad had ever seen. They towered above him, made of black wood that was completely frosted over. The sparkling ice crystals gave life to the fine carvings, and he saw what looked to be the final fresco in the series they had seen down below. The images depicted a tall mountain with a great city lying at its feet. The city had innumerable towers and great arching bridges, far bigger and grander than even Tajar. At the top of the mountain stood an imposing figure bathed in light, and from his hands emanated a great power that swept down into the city.

The next fresco showed the same figure sitting on a great throne, receiving lines of worshipers who were tall and thin, with high brows and long hair.

"Snow elves," Serena said, peering at the fresco.

"I’ve never heard of them."

"There aren't many of them left, and most have intermingled with the other races, but at one time they built wonderful cities out of the ice itself. I don’t know who their deity was though."

Konrad thought he had a good idea who it was, remembering the sharp elven features of Casovan. Athir said that gods were made in the image of their worshipers after all.

"Do we go in there?" Konrad asked.

"I don’t think we have a choice. If this man has made a pact with the demonic entity I think he has, then there is nowhere he would rather sit than a throne."

Spirit appeared out of the darkness and bumped Konrad gently.

"She wants us to follow," Konrad said.

They moved to the right of the huge doors and down a narrow staircase that was almost hidden in an alcove. As soon as they started to descend, he noticed the air was slightly warmer and carried a terrible smell of warm, rotten meat.

"I think I would rather go into the throne room and face the demon," Konrad said, covering his nose.

Serena too looked as though she might be sick, but she wore an expression of grim determination. "We have to investigate; the air is warmer down here, can’t you feel it? We’ll need any advantage we can get if we have to fight that thing."

The stairwell got warmer and warmer until they emerged into a cavernous workshop that looked as though it had been abandoned for millennia. Tools and machinery sat against the walls, and huge anvils squatted in the middle.

Although the great furnaces stood empty, there was an ambient temperature in the room that had melted the ice. It had also melted the four snow elves that lay slumped on the floor; the decaying process had been unleashed, and the putrid smell was nauseating.

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"Who were they?" Konrad asked.

"Priests, Worshipers. I imagine they are the same as the poor souls that we encountered in the lower chambers. Something’s melted them though."

The witch inspected a set of pipes that hung over the ceiling, and when Konrad opened his mouth to ask another question, she hushed him with a gesture and beckoned him forward.

"What kind of legacy have I left?" The faint voice was carried through the pipes from another chamber.

"Renau?" Konrad mouthed, and Serena nodded.

"My father will be satisfied at least that I matched his paltry expectations."

"Fathers can be difficult, especially for younger sons," said another, deeper voice.

"Rolo!" Konrad hissed.

"The problem was that I never found the right woman, despite how they threw themselves at me. You saw that Serena was wildly attracted to me, but alas, she was a witch. Magic and Captain Renau are not a good mix."

Serena had a dark look on her face, and Konrad awkwardly turned his attention back to the conversation.

"She wasn’t so bad for a witch. She risked her life to save Konrad when the ship went down. But I guess she made the sacrifice for nothing," said Rolo.

"She didn’t send another message, so we have to assume that they're both dead now, along with poor old Briarstone, and better off than you and I. Stuck here with those fiends at the door. That’s the last of the wood; the fire's going to die soon, and then we’ll likely freeze."

"I’m not going out like that, and I won’t let you either," Rolo announced.

There was movement and a grunt.

"You’re going out there?"

"I am; I’d rather die on my feet."

"Then, as Theacles said to the Ghost of Thespia, 'It would be an honor to die beside you'."

Serena motioned them to the door, and they heard the sound of a makeshift barricade being dismantled on the other side.

"Watch this," Serena said with a mischievous glint in her eye as she pulled a pinch of fine silver powder from one of her pouches. "Your gods would not approve of this, I’m sure."

The motes of powder flashed and floated from her palm through the air, settling on the fallen zombies, who rose gracefully to their feet and faced the doorway.

Rolo and Renau charged into the chamber screaming their battle cries, and as the wild swipes of their weapons connected with the putrified flesh of the zombies, they exploded with a soft, wet sound.

"Ye gods!" yelled Rolos, rearing back covered in slime.

Renau turned and bent over, leaning on his sword and retching.

Rolos looked at Konrad and Serena as though he had seen a pair of ghosts, then he began to laugh heartily, pulling Konrad into a rib-grinding hug as Spirit jumped happily around them.

"You did this?" Renau exclaimed, gesturing to the putrid mess that covered him.

"Alas, I am a witch," Serena replied with a shrug and a coy smile.

"I knew you would make it, champion," Rolo said.

"Have you seen Briarstone?" Renau asked.

Konrad shook his head.

"The old fool will be okay; he’s survived worse than this. Probably floated back to the Rusted Compass and is already sodden in ale." Renau chuckled as he spoke, but Konrad sensed that the laughter was hollow and wondered if Briarstone himself had become a frozen statue like the two witches far below.

"We’ll find him," Konrad said.

"You must have quite a tale to tell, champion," Rolo said.

Konrad started to explain what had happened since the sinking of the Blue-Faced Booby, but the terrible voice once again invaded his thoughts.

"Laugh now, while you can, slave of Castovan, for you will never leave this mountain. Power I have shown you, but more power I will have when I deliver you to the abyss. Come to me in the throne room, or I will bring this very mountain down around you and drag you into the cold sea. Either way, I will have you in my grasp."

"You other fools hear this; deliver the champion to me, and I will give you such power that you have never dreamed of."

Konrad looked around at the shocked faces of his companions.

"This is the voice that you heard in the storm?" Rolo whispered.

Konrad nodded, and the northman hefted his axe. "Is there anyone who would like to take this monster up on his offer?"

Serena’s eyes were like chips of ice. "I’m here to end this thing."

Renau wiped his blade with a fine silk handkerchief. "I’m here for the Booby."