Exile's Return: Conclave of Shadows: Book Three

by Raymond E. Feist

  “Many more Valheru died as we fled, and so fearful were we of the Dasati, that we closed the rift by destroying Riska.”

  “You destroyed an entire world?” asked Kaspar.

  “We had the power. We used our strength to shred the mantle of the planet, causing great upheavals and earthquakes. We vented our rage upon that world in order to destroy the rift, and it literally shook itself apart.”

  “How did the thing get here?” asked Pug, pointing to the Talnoy.

  Tomas said, “I do not know. Perhaps one of my brethren seized one as a trophy…though I can hardly believe it. We had to flee for our lives.”

  “No,” said Pug. “It was someone else.”

  “But how; and more to the point, who?” asked Tomas. “Only Macros the Black knew enough of rift-magic to do this, and no matter how convoluted his plots were, I can’t see him doing anything this dangerous.”

  Pug smiled. “Oh, I can. It’s been a long time since I inherited Macros’s island, and I must confess that because of the Serpentwar, the cataloguing and filing of his vast library has been sorely neglected.” Pug sighed. “Perhaps I grew vain and believed there was nothing more to learn from his works. In any event, I will have some of my brightest students begin searching for some mention of this thing at once.”

  “Macros’s chief fear was the return of the Dragon Host. He may have held that creature as security against the possibility.” Tomas’s expression changed to one of alarm. “One Talnoy would only annoy the Dragon Host, however an army of them—”

  “You think there are more?” asked Pug. “How could there be, and why has no one discovered them?”

  Kaspar said, “When my friends found the Talnoy, it had been buried inside solid rock. The vault had been exposed only because of an earthquake. Many wards had been placed around it, too.”

  Pug said, “That sounds like Macros.” To Kaspar, he said, “Do you know where they found it?”

  “I have an idea. Flynn did tell me where they discovered their treasures, and the name of the town close to that place. From what he said, it should only take a little gold to get the locals to show us the exact spot.”

  Pug said, “Good. We must find it as soon as possible.”

  “Forgive me,” said Kaspar, “but I think you’re overlooking the main threat here. The Talnoy isn’t a danger at present. Rifts keep opening between our world and the realm of the Dasati. You should have seen the thing from the Dasati ocean that tried to get through one during my voyage home! These rifts will open more often, and stay open for longer unless you do something about it!”

  “Creatures from the Second Circle have appeared here upon rare occasions in ages past,” said Acaila. “The Eldar were first among the servants of the Valheru, and we still keep their lore.

  “Even the smallest creature from that realm is potentially deadly and difficult to kill. A host of such beings would pose a threat too impossible to contemplate.”

  Tomas said, “Do I don my armor again?”

  “It is not just Elvandar that is threatened,” old Tathar said slowly, “but the entire world in which we live.”

  Kaspar said, “Forgive my asking, for I know little of magic and, to be honest, even that little is more than I would like.”

  Pug nodded, realizing he was speaking of Leso Varen’s necromancy.

  “But you’ve whisked us all over the world. Can’t you just send this thing away like that?”

  “It must have a specific destination.”

  “How about the sun?” offered Kaspar. “Can you send it that far?”

  Pug laughed. “Perhaps, but I can only send it to a place I know, or one which is described to me in great detail. It works best by line of sight. I suppose I could look at the sun for a moment, then try to go there, but I’d rather not risk it.” He sat back. “Though I think I have a solution for the short term: I will take the Talnoy out of Midkemia.”

  “Where?” asked Tomas.

  “To the Assembly, upon Kelewan. The magicians there may have the means to understand this thing, and they are more numerous than my students at Sorcerer’s Isle. Certainly, they can establish powerful enough wards to hide it again.”

  Kaspar said, “What of Stardock? My friends had thought to sell it to the magicians there.”

  Pug smiled. “I founded the Academy at Stardock. Trust me when I say that most of the real magical ability in Midkemia is on my island, and even when combined, Stardock and my students on Sorcerer’s Isle lack the experience and ability of the Assembly.

  “Taking it to Kelewan will remove the Talnoy from Midkemia, and reduce the likelihood of new rifts forming. Over time they may begin again, but as I said, the Great Ones may be able to duplicate the wards and give us all some time to study it.”

  Tathar said, “We shall examine the thing before you go. Perhaps we may discover something.”

  “You shall be our guests tonight,” Tomas said, leading Kaspar and Pug to a room. “Rest here for the afternoon. Pug, when you have a moment, please?”

  Pug nodded. “I will join you shortly.” He turned to Kaspar who was sitting upon a down-filled mattress laid across a wooden bed. “My friend and I have much to discuss. Will you be all right here alone?”

  “My head is swimming from all that I’ve seen and heard, Pug. Some time to rest and reflect will be very welcome.”

  Pug departed, and Kaspar lay down and let his mind drift. Images of the past few months flashed before him; Jojanna and Jorgen, Flynn and the others, the chess matches with the General, and the sea voyage. Then something struck him.

  He stood up and left the room. Heading back toward the Queen’s court, he crossed over a bridge and saw Pug and Tomas speaking quietly on a platform below. “Pug!” he called.

  Pug and Tomas looked up. “What?”

  “I just thought of something.” Kaspar looked around. “How do I get down there?”

  Pug pointed. “The stairs are over there.”

  Kaspar hurried to join them.

  “What is it?” asked Pug.

  “Find out who put the geas on the Talnoy, and you’ll know who buried it under the cliffs ages ago.”

  “Geas?” asked Tomas.

  Kaspar explained. “When I met Flynn and the others they were the only survivors of a trade expedition to Novindus. They were under a geas. Everything else was secondary to getting the Talnoy to the Pavilion of the Gods—they even abandoned a fortune to do it. Someone wanted it called to the gods’ attention very much.”

  Pug said, “I can’t find fault with your reasoning.”

  “I didn’t realize until just now, but since leaving the Pavilion I’ve had no strong desire to go anywhere. The geas seems to have gone.”

  “Fulfilled,” said Tomas.

  “Or it was removed by Kalkin! Is there any way to discern who might have been the author of that geas?”

  Pug said, “Possibly. Magic is as much art as it is logic, and often a magician leaves…a signature, for lack of a better word.” He looked at Kaspar. “If it had been your friend Leso Varen, I’d have sniffed it out in minutes. It wasn’t.”

  “What about his belongings at the citadel?” asked Kaspar. “Did you find anything there that might tie him to this?”

  “No,” said Pug. “But Varen was trying to create a new type of rift—”

  Tomas said, “New type? How do you mean?”

  Pug sighed. “This is very complicated, so if I get too convoluted for you, ask me to stop and explain. Rifts are tears in the fabric of space. They require special knowledge and a great amount of energy to create. The energy that Varen was using is something that I’d never encountered before. But it reminded me of something I can’t quite put my finger on.”

  “How is it different?” asked Kaspar.

  “Varen used life energy, leeched from his victims during horrible torture and murder—much as Murmandamus gathered life energies when he tried to unlock the Lifestone.”

  Kaspar looked lost at these reference
s, but Tomas said, “The Pantathians?”

  Pug nodded. “Perhaps. Though we believed them finished, and have seen no sign of the Serpent Priests since the end of the Serpent War, but yes, it’s possible. Let me go examine the Talnoy.”

  Pug vanished suddenly, and Kaspar stood looking at Tomas. “Forgive my ignorance, but you speak of things that are unknown to me.”

  Tomas grinned, and for a moment looked boyish. “My friend Pug can be abrupt when it comes to such things. Come with me and we’ll fill in those gaps in your knowledge over a cup or two of good dwarven ale.”

  Kaspar nodded. “I’d enjoy that.”

  They moved away from the platform and Kaspar followed Tomas to what appeared to be family quarters. For royalty, it was modest, Kaspar decided. Yet there was something regal in the manner and bearing of these people, so he assumed that they didn’t need to be surrounded by the trappings of wealth to remind others of their importance.

  Tomas poured two cups of cool ale and handed one to Kaspar. He motioned for the former Duke of Olasko to sit down and said, “My story is long and involved, and intertwined with many of the questions you’re asking. If you wish to know of the Serpent Priests and the role they played in the Riftwar and the Great Uprising, then it truly begins when Pug and I were boys, working for my father in the kitchen at Castle Crydee…”

  By the time Tomas had finished his tale, they had drunk several cups of ale and the candle beside Kaspar’s chair had been lit. The Elf Queen entered the room, and Kaspar rose.

  “Here you are,” she said with a smile.

  Kaspar bowed. “Majesty.”

  “Are you comfortable, Lord Kaspar?”

  “Lord no longer, Majesty, but yes, I am more than comfortable. Your home is most restorative. I feel more content than I have in years.”

  Tomas smiled. “It is one of the benefits of living with elves.”

  “Your husband has just finished telling me an astonishing tale of his boyhood, the Riftwar and the Lifestone.”

  “The Lifestone was one of the most closely-guarded secrets of our time; only now that it no longer exists may we speak freely of it.”

  “When Tomas told me of your son, and how his alien nature—combining human, Dragon Lord, and elf—proved to be the key to unlocking the Lifestone…well, I had an idea. I think I should speak with Pug about it.”

  Aglaranna stepped out of the doorway and said, “They are in the room which leads off the library, Kaspar.”

  “Come, I’ll show you,” said Tomas.

  Kaspar bid goodbye to the Elf Queen and followed her consort along the tree-paths and branch-ways of Elvandar until he reached a tree of epic proportions. Of all the boles he had seen, this was easily the largest. It was seventy-five or eighty feet across, and in the middle of it stood an open doorway.

  Tomas led Kaspar into the tree. Inside, Kaspar was astonished to see level after level of floors, with a central well that had a ladder running its entire depth. “This is our library,” said Tomas. “It’s unlike human libraries in that we keep a great deal more than books and tomes. It is also the place where we keep artifacts and other items of interest.”

  “Fascinating,” said Kaspar. They circled around the central well and exited via a doorway opposite the one by which they had entered. Kaspar saw a large clearing on top of a nest of branches. Beyond it lay another room, and inside it Kaspar found Pug and the two elder elves examining the Talnoy.

  Tomas said, “Kaspar has an idea, Pug.”

  Pug looked up. “We’d welcome one.”

  “If I understand what Tomas just told me, the Lifestone was created by the Dragon Lords to use against the gods, yes?”

  “Yes,” said Tomas. “That was its purpose, to take all the life energies on the world to use as a weapon against the gods.”

  “How?” asked Kaspar.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, after Tomas’s son unlocked the Lifestone, freeing the captive life force within, your wife was able to conceive again, correct?”

  “Yes,” said Pug. “Though I don’t see the relevance.”

  “Indulge me,” asked Kaspar. “Now, allowing people to be born doesn’t particularly strike me as the purpose of a weapon; nor does healing wounds, or all the other things which apparently happened to those who were exposed to it at the time.”

  Pun nodded.

  “So, my point is, how was…Murmandamus?” He looked at Tomas.

  “Yes, that was his name.”

  “How was Murmandamus going to utilize all the lives he took to command the Lifestone, and how were the Dragon Lords going to use it against the gods?”

  Pug looked at Tomas, who said, “If the stone had been activated it would have swallowed up all the life force in the world. Everything from the largest dragon to the tiniest blade of grass would have withered. The gods would have lost their worshippers and their identity at the same time. The Valheru were convinced they could raid other planets and repopulate Midkemia.”

  “Madness,” said Kaspar. “Keeper Samas instructed me a little in the nature of evil, and the conclusion he reached is that evil is pure madness.”

  “We agree,” said Tomas. “We have seen the influence of evil, even here among the elves.”

  “So, then, the Pantathians sought to destroy all life on this world, including their own?”

  Tomas said, “They were a twisted race, fashioned by one of the Valheru to worship her; Alma-Lodaka, whom they believed to be a goddess. In their mindless adherence to that faith they thought that upon her return she would exalt them to the rank of demigods, at her side. It was a sad and twisted perversion, an even more evil use of the Valheru’s very essence,” said Tomas.

  “So here’s my point. Why are you trying to find a logical answer for this thing being here when a mad one makes so much more sense?”

  Pug looked at Tomas, and after a moment they both laughed. “Kaspar,” said Pug, “do you have something specific in mind?”

  “You say you’ve faced Leso Varen before, but he lived in my citadel for years. I dined with the man. I stood and watched him do things to people…madness is the only way to describe it. But while there may have been some sort of insane logic to what he did, how do we know it was logical from anyone else’s point of view?”

  “Go on,” said Tomas.

  “Where did the Pantathians live?”

  “In the foothills of the Ratn’gary Mountains, south of the Necropolis,” answered Tomas.

  “Could it be, then, that the geas wasn’t part of some clever plan for someone to find the Talnoy and take it to the gods, but rather, it was something that the Pantathians created to transport the creature to where they lived?”

  “Why?” said Pug.

  “Why?” repeated Kaspar, “Because they are mad! Somehow, one of these things got into this world. Perhaps it came through the rift with the Dragon Lords. Maybe one snatched it as booty and dropped it somewhere. But at some point it got buried and the Pantathians put wards around it to hide it. From whom, I have no idea. But perhaps they left the insurance that if anyone did accidentally discover it, it would try to get back to their home anyway.”

  “Why bury it there?” asked Tathar.

  “I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t want someone else to find it, and hiding it was preferable to carrying it across the continent,” said Kaspar. “Maybe their goddess told them to, but whatever the reason, perhaps there is no more design in this than Flynn and his friends stumbling across something that was no more than an ancient booby-trap.”

  “If so, then the Pantathians’ madness has served us,” said Acaila. “For had the geas not been invoked, this thing would have stayed in that vault undisturbed, and when rifts began appearing no one would have the slightest inkling as to why they were happening.”

  “Until an army of Talnoy descended upon us,” said Kaspar.

  “I will have Magnus take it to Kelewan,” said Pug. “I think I will try to seek where the Talnoy came from in Novin
dus.” He turned to Kaspar, “Will you help me locate the cave from which it was taken?”

  Kaspar shrugged. “I will do what I can.”

  Pug said, “Now, there is one other concern.”

  “The Nighthawks,” said Tomas. “Yes, that worries me.”

  Kaspar said, “Can Leso Varen be back in power, so quickly? Talwin Hawkins broke his neck.”

  Pug said, “I have faced him several times and over the years I have gathered other testimonies to his handiwork. For example, years past, a baron of Land’s End died trying to conjure a horror in a failed attempt to save his dying wife, and the son of a noble in Aranor tried to murder his entire family on the night of his betrothal. Also a lord of Kesh freely betrayed state secrets to the Kingdom of Roldem for no reason whatsoever before taking his own life.

  “Yes, if he possesses the power I think he does, he could be back within a year of his ‘death,’ and sending those in his employ on their dark missions once more.” Pug looked at Kaspar. “There’s a particularly dangerous and repellent spell whereby a magician can trap his own soul in a vessel, bottle, or any sealed container. As long as the vessel is kept intact, it doesn’t matter what happens to the body. If another body is close to the vessel at the time the previous body dies, the soul of the magician takes that body over.

  “Varen could look like anyone now. He could be a young boy, or a beautiful woman. He could mask his identity from any but myself—I have faced him too many times not to recognize him within minutes.”

  Kaspar said, “You’ve got to find that jar.”

  “Some day I will,” said Pug.

  Tomas sighed, “Then let us dine, my friends, and tomorrow you may set about whatever unhappy tasks you must face; but until then ease your minds and hearts.”

  Kaspar and Pug exchanged glances. Both knew that while the night would be enjoyable, neither would be able to relax.

  TWENTY-ONE

  CONFLAGRATION

  Kaspar waited patiently.