The Tomb of the Dark Paladin by Tom Bielawski Page B

behind him, and ripped open a hole in the very fabric of energy that surrounded Llars. A bright swirling light appeared behind him and he felt the force of strong winds buffeting him. He grabbed the knight's coat, dragging him backward and into the opening, as the confusion about him diminished and the thunder and lightning abated. Bart searched the courtyard vainly for some sign that the hurkin's spell had been broken, then the portal closed and he left the Tower of the Hand far behind.
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    The ride back to the Tower was long and colder after night fell. Carym thought about all the lives lost while he continued his quest for the Everpool and the Tomb of the Dark Paladin. While his respite in Myrnwell had been fairly pleasant, he had to acknowledge that it was just a respite. Soon the journey would begin again and men would begin to die once more for Carym of Hyrum. A cool breeze sent a shiver down his spine. Gennevera gripped him tightly from behind.
    Carym's horse ambled along the muddy road that meandered through a small community known simply as Tower City. Tower City was a community that had always existed near the Tower, more a castle with a great spire, but had grown exponentially along with the growth of the Hand of Zuhr. As men flocked to the new standard that would fly atop the lances of the knights and men-at-arms devoted to Zuhr, the trades that would support them came too. The town's population grew with the influx of makers of arms and armor, makers of siege weapons, dealers of cavalry mounts, carpenters who built barracks for troops, tailors and seamstresses, makers of bows and crossbows and arrows and traders of all kinds. The town was not as big as Obyn, but it was an impressive place.
    Tower City was a very safe place, patrolled solely by the forces of the Hand. The troops of the Rhi of Myrnwell busied themselves elsewhere, knowing they were not needed. There were criminals in Tower City, naturally, but the overwhelming presence of the Hand of Zuhr and their swift dispensation of justice had been able to curb all but the most petty of criminals. Tower City lacked the organized gangs and crime families that plagued most large cities. 
    Carym and Genn arrived at the gates of the Tower and wearily dropped from their horse. There were no guards visible on the parapet; no one stood watch at the closed gate. There was a commotion of some sort going on inside but Carym could not hear well enough beyond the thick outer walls of the Tower. Genn looked at him questioningly, but he remained silent.
    He closed his eyes and opened himself up to the Tides, and as he did so he was overwhelmed by the collective forces of all the Tides at once. It was as though the Tides had come alive and were trying to strangle him. After a panic-ridden moment, the sensation passed and he was left with one that he had become all too familiar with. The dread of the Shadow Sigil lingered still, it wrenched his gut and made him want to flee.
    He knew that this was the effect of the tremendous power of the Sigilstones. Each was connected to the Tides of his discipline through a supernatural means which he could not comprehend. But he knew that the more he used the stones, the more the stones tried to control him. The worst among them was the oily black stone that controlled the Shadowtides: the Shadowstone. Its ways were subtle and tempting, and Carym found it was the hardest to defend against.
    It was the Shadowstone that was trying to distract him now and he was able to isolate its flow and remove it from his conscious mind. Then he reached out to the Tidal flow that was controlled by the Sigil of Flames and allowed his mind to drift along its winding paths. As he let his mind wander, he felt as though he were traveling down a river made entirely of flames. Varying colors represented the differing eddies and flows of the river and the longer he watched the river flow, the more he felt he understood of its mysterious nature. All along the