Page 112 of A Tale of Ice and Ash
Onyx nodded. “It occurred to me that I never remembered any of the sunstones needing to be replaced during my lifetime down here. There must have been some way of re-energising them I wasn’t familiar with. According to that book, the stones can be powered with the ‘blood of a king’.”
“Right,” said Wren. “Do we know any?”
“Well,” Onyx stroked his beard, “I’m hoping that mine might work. Technically Iwasfirst in line.”
“I don’t know, brother,” said Merry. “This is all very magical. Dwarves aren’t really–”
“Sunstones are, though, right?” interrupted Cole. “It’s the stone that’s magical, not you. In the same way that you can still make potions, right? Or wield certain magical items when the effect is on the item, not you?”
A wry smile snaked out of Onyx’s lips. “You’ve been learning.”
Cole scratched the back of his neck, and tried not to glance in Eirwen’s direction. Was she pleased, too?
Merry paused for a moment. “Does it require any kind of ceremony?”
“None that I can decipher,” Onyx said, shaking his head. “The blood touching the stone should be enough. The difficulty lies inreachingthe stone. The steps have come away in places… possibly not accidentally, if there’s any of Jasper left in thatthing.”
“And luring the majority of the shades into the cavern?” added Eirwen.
Onyx nodded. “It cannot be done safely.”
“We could come back with an army?” Cole suggested. “We could contact Hammersmith, or Marie, see if they could send us any more men–”
Onyx shook his head, a gravelly sigh grating in his throat. “No. More men, more risk. If… if we’re willing, we should try and come up with something, just the seven of us, although maybe Eirwen–”
“Can speak for herself and isn’t letting you do this alone, no matter how valuable an asset she might be for the country?” Eirwen said promptly.
A smile ghosted Onyx’s lips. “Aye. That’s about right.”
“I’ll go with you to the sunstone. That’s the least dangerous part, right? You said the steps had come apart, but I’m a great jumper. If we can get a ladder or something–”
“We’ll work something out.”
Oakley looked up from the fireplace. “This thing is almost done. We should rest for tonight. Tomorrow morning we’ll scout the area and start working on a plan.”
“A plan for a plan.” Wren clapped her hands together. “And it involves food and drink. Where’s that barrel we rolled in earlier?”
