Sebastian

his polishing. "Well now, most folks have no trouble crossing that bridge, and the road will take you all the way to Kendall, which is a fair-sized town on the coast. But there's some wild country between here and there, and it's said that if a man's heart isn't in the right place, he can cross paths with one of the waterhorses that live in that part of the land."
    Koltak took a step toward the bar. "Waterhorses?"

    The barman nodded. "Beautiful black horses. They'll come right up to you, as tame as some spoiled darling of a pet. But they're demons, the waterhorses are, and if you give in to the urge to take a ride on one of them… Well, you'll get a sweet ride, so I've heard. They run like the wind and move so smooth you think you're skating over ice . But as soon as you get on one of them, it's got you caught in its magic, and you can't get off. So they run as they please, with you helpless to do anything but go with them. And then, when they come to one of the small lakes or ponds that are all over the land there, they'll run straight into it, run right down to the bottom. Doesn't bother the waterhorse any, so they stay down on the bottom while the person who was foolish enough to take a ride struggles and flails… and drowns."
    The barman shook his head. "Some say they release the magic then and let the body float to the surface to be found by any who come looking for him. And some say the waterhorses take those drowned men back to the edge of the lake and feed on the flesh."
    Koltak felt a surge of excitement. Waterhorses! A demon landscape. He'd seen those black horses but hadn't recognized them as demons. That didn't mean this particular dark landscape was connected to the Den, but Sebastian had come to Wizard City and slipped away again, so it seemed likely that any dark landscape that had a bridge connecting it to Wizard City would also have some connection to the dark landscapes that were closer to home.
    "Thank you for the information," Koltak said, now eager to be on his way. If the Guardians and Guides were watching over his journey, he might be on his way back to Wizard City by this evening.
    As Koltak opened the door, the barman said, "Travel lightly."
    Anger flared hot, turning excitement to ash. He turned and stared at the barman. "What did you say?"
    Had this all been some bold scheme to play a trick on a wizard? Had they understood what he was all along and pretended ignorance?
    Looking uncomfortable, the barman shrugged. "It's sorry I am if it offends you, but it's just a saying.
    Traveler's Blessing, we call it. Been said around these parts for as long as anyone can remember, but I doubt there's a soul living—or dead back five generations, come to that—who can tell you what it means."
    No, they hadn't pretended ignorance, Koltak decided as the anger trickled away. They were ignorant.
    Perhaps when the threat to Ephemera was ended, he would recommend to the Wizards' Council that a more substantial bridge be made to connect this landscape with Wizard City. The people here deserved to be educated about their world—and he would be happy to oversee their education.
    He left the tavern, found his horse waiting in the stable yard behind the building, and rode away, retracing his path from the previous day.
    He saw the bridge and focused his mind on what he needed to find on the other side: taverns, gambling houses, whores of both sexes.
    Certain he would find what he sought, he banged his heels against the horse's side and sent the animal clattering over the bridge… and several lengths down the road before he managed to rein it in.
    There had been no road in the dark landscape he'd wandered through the day before. So this must be the road to Kendall, a town on the coast where, no doubt, he'd find the kinds of places that catered to men who spent their lives on the sea—taverns, gambling houses, and brothels.
    But he wouldn't find the Den of Iniquity by following this road. He wouldn't find Sebastian.

    So he turned the horse and went over the bridge and up the road a little ways toward Dunberry. Then he returned to the bridge, which was his only way to find his ungrateful whelp of a son who would finally, finally, finally do something right for his father. He crossed the bridge… and found the road to Kendall.
    And found the road on his next attempt. And the one after that.
    Travel lightly.
    Either the Guardians of the Light had abandoned him or the Dark Guides were playing with him. No