“Fitting, aye.” Darnak took another drink. “I just hope you’re not trying to mine more than you can haul. Dragons are a tricky lot, and a dragon with magic at his command is doubly dangerous.”

“He must pay,” he snapped. “You told me once that Earthmaker requires his followers to avenge themselves upon their enemies.”

“Not precisely.” Darnak picked his next words carefully. “Earthmaker teaches us to maintain balance and justice. In a case like this, where your brother went off in search of his own doom, I’d be hard pressed to lay the blame entirely at Straum’s feet.”

“My brother was a greedy, shortsighted fool.” Jig shook his head at the blind irony as Barius continued. “But Straum will still pay for what he did.”

Ryslind led them to the shore of the lake, where he killed several lizard-fish with bolts of fire. “Perhaps you will change your mind, brother? As a mage, I can use the rod far more easily than you, and its power will make our path easier.”

Barius tightened his fingers until the knuckles went white. “I think not. Tell me what I must do to use it.”

Ryslind absently sent another lizard-fish to a crispy, smoldering death, and said, “The user must impose his will on that of the rod. You must imagine precisely what you want, in perfect detail. If the rod works like most magical artifacts, you will feel a strong tug. The rod will seem to pull you forward as it tries to draw power from you. You must resist. Brace yourself and force the rod to draw on its own stored energy. Do not lose control, no matter how much it pains you.”

“Very well.” Barius stepped closer to the shore and raised the rod. “Be sure these creatures do not endanger me while I work.”

Darnak and Ryslind took positions on either side, guarding him from the lizard-fish.

“I suggest a tunnel,” Ryslind said. “The lake bed is obsidian. Envision the tunnel as a long bubble rising from that stone. Be certain it is waterproof, and large enough for us to move about.”

Jig stood behind the prince and watched as he pointed the end of the rod at the ground. It was hard to split his concentration between the lizard-fish and Barius, but he wanted to see the rod work. They had all nearly died many times over to find this stick, after all. At last Jig would see Ellnorein’s legendary artifact in action.

Compared to the other things he had seen in the past week, the rod was spectacularly boring. There was no burst of light, no sparks or smoke, nothing but a slight humming sound that any tone-deaf child could have duplicated.

“Be careful,” Ryslind said. “Work slowly.”

A tiny bulge appeared in the rock by the shore. As Jig watched, it grew taller and wider. A dark hole formed at the center.

“Jig,” Riana snapped.