Mistress Kerghyd
by John Calvin"Who is it?" Jyrdri Kerghyd's eyes darted across the workshop. Someone was there, she knew it. She could hear it. Her breathing heavy, the mistress of Kerghyd Estate put down her tools and walked away from the crystal ball glowing a dim blue-green, and began to poke her nose in every nook and cranny in the workshop. "Once a year... Once a year... Is that too much to ask? When I find you I'll skin you!" Jyrdri was furious. Once a year the Gate of Light opened. Once a year it granted access to an unlimited supply of the radiance. Once a year Jyrdri had the opportunity to collect as much of that power as she could before the Gate closed again. "Where are you!" she shouted, knocking over a stack of dusty parchments with a shrivelled left hand.
"From the kitchen? I hear you!" she screamed and ran toward the door flinging it open. She would skin them all... especially that useless gnome Ellrini. But there was no one there. The kitchen was empty. Quiet. The dim blue glow called back to her. "My work... must finish." She glanced around the kitchen once again before returning to the pedestal in the centre of he workshop. The copper and marble pedestal consisted of a two foot high column with a large bowl attached at the top. Sitting in the bowl, now pulsing with a faint green light was a large crystal sphere four feet in diameter. Copper pipes ran from the globe, through the pedestal, and into the floor, only to re-emerge along one of the walls of the chamber. Knobs, dials and levers of all shapes and sizes adorned the pedestal, and as Jyrdri Kerghyd turned and flipped them the pace of the pulsing light slowed.
Sighing, she patted the crystal globe on the side sending ripples throughout its surface. What should have been solid crystal wavered and danced like a glob of gelatine. "What! Again?" her head shot up and her eyes shone daggers across the room. "Ahhh..." she said, her shoulders slumping as she caressed the globe once more. "It's only you."
"...if it's only me, then I must be dreaming."
"Aye," she replied, and brought her head closer to the globe.
"It's close. It's very close."
"Aye, what's close then? Hmmm? What?"
"What you've been looking for. I've found it. ...Durgyr, you know I'm not to be disturbed! You had better have a good explanation, or both you and Ellrini will suffer! ...I've found it, Mistress. It's close. It's very close. ...I've found it."
"What in the name...?" Jyrdri spun out of her reverie, her eyes immediately locked onto the far corner of the ceiling. Something black and amorphous hung there, shimmered for just a moment, and then vanished before re-coalescing at the periphery of her vision. Someone was here! Someone was scrying on her! The Mistress of Kerghyd cursed herself even as she threw up a defence. With her good hand firmly placed on the radiance globe, she extended her crippled arm from beneath the folds of her robe and shouted out words of warding. A crackling blue shockwave burst from her hand, driving the shadow out of her presence. "How much do they know?"
"I've found it, Mistress. ...but there is a problem..."