‘‘You did well,’’ said James. ‘‘Go get something to eat and some rest. We’re going to have a busy morning.’’
James went looking for Locklear, whom he had placed in charge of stores and weapons. When James found him, Locklear was in the middle of one of the storerooms looking disgusted at what he had found inside a barrel.
‘‘What is it, Locky?’’
‘‘The meat’s full of maggots. I think those Nighthawks got down here and did some mischief before they set about killing the officers. They didn’t want the men to have a lot of reason for staying here, I think.’’
‘‘How bad is it?’’
‘‘All of the stored meat is bad. Most of the flour has bugs.
We can sift those out, I guess, but I wouldn’t want to be eating the bread unless I was starving. The hard bread looks all right, and most of the dried fruit is still edible. We can last a while.’’
‘‘I don’t think food is our worry.’’
Locklear looked at James. ‘‘They’re coming?’’
‘‘Tomorrow.’’
‘‘Then we’d better be ready.’’
James nodded. He knew that he could expect the best of the men; they were all veterans of the border wars, but none of them had been tested in a full-blown defense of the castle. He knew the theory, he had studied with Prince Arutha, and he knew the reality, he had fought at Armengar and Highcastle, and he knew that the attackers needed ten men for each of his defenders on the wall. What had James fretting was his concern about what would happen if Delekhan brought more than ten to one against his position.
Owyn carried the cup to stand before the column. He touched it to the crystal spire.
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Dhatsavan’s voice sounded in his head: You have returned with the cup. That is good.
‘‘Why do you need this?’’ asked Owyn.
I do not need it. I needed to keep it out of the hands of the Panath-Tiandn.
‘‘Why?’’
It is many things, an item of immense power, but one of its uses is that of a key. It allows access to other worlds. The abandoned children of Alma-Lodaka will be confined to this world for the time being. They are by themselves nothing more than a nuisance. Under the guidance of their Pantathian cousins, they are a dangerous tool.
Eventually someone may fetch them from our blasted world, but for now the rest of the universe is safe from them. Take the cup with you and keep it safe.
‘‘Pug’s welfare is our concern. We have fetched this cup for you from the other side of the island. Where is Pug?’’
He is safe within a structure constructed by the Panath-Tiandn.
The protective barriers that keep him isolated within that structure will be removed once you locate him. He misapprehended the scope of the cup’s powers. When he awakened its powers to seek the mind of his lost daughter, it overwhelmed him and reduced him to little more than a helpless child.
‘‘You imprisoned him to protect him?’’
The former god’s reply was tinged with amusement, though Owyn wondered if human terms did justice to what he felt.
As an individual he is of little interest to us, but he was useful in preventing the Panath-Tiandn from possessing the cup for a while.
They had been involved in a long process of unraveling the mystery of the cup and were close to understanding it. Pug interrupted that process and set them back years. That alone warranted our thanks.
Now that you are here, we can see the cup gone from this world, and as payment for your service, we shall grant your friend’s freedom.
Pug has regained most of his identity and memory, but his abilities will yet be impaired for many days to come. Go to a hut to the west of the one in which you found the cup; there you will find Pug.
‘‘How will we return home?’’ asked Owyn.
The way is now opened to a place in the mountains, caves that lead to a cavern in which the Valheru dwelled. Take Pug from the hut and to the north you will find an entrance in the mountains; 296
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there you will find artifacts that will aid you in returning home.
Use the cup to teach Pug what you know and take the cup with you for safekeeping. Suddenly the knowledge of how to use the cup came to Owyn. Then seek his daughter in a place near the mountains, where the Panath-Tiandn guard her, thinking she is an omen from Alma-Lodaka. Free her and return to your own world. But do not tarry, for I can only keep the gate to your world open for a limited time. My powers are not what they once were.
Go now.
‘‘Thank you,’’ said Owyn, and he motioned for Gorath to accompany him.
‘‘Where now?’’ asked the dark elf.
Pointing back the way they had come, Owyn said, ‘‘From where we found this cup, we head west, and there we will find Pug. And when he is free, we find our way home.’’
Gorath said, ‘‘Then let us hurry. I tire of this harsh and desolate land.’’
Owyn agreed.
James raced up the steps to the wall as the bugles sounded.
Drums thundered outside the walls, and he heard the sound of crossbows and short bows being fired before he crested the battlements. Locklear shouted, ‘‘They’re coming up from the north face!’’
James nodded and glanced eastward and saw the large siege towers being rolled up the road. He hurried to the north wall and saw goblins climbing up the slope of the hillside below the wall, all of them carrying coils of rope and grappling hooks. Slightly smaller than humans, the goblins were almost comic figures when they weren’t trying to kill you, James thought. Black hair formed a heavy thatch above thick brow-ridges. Their skin was blue-tinged, as if a fair-skinned human had been lightly stained with dye, and their eyes were black irises on yellow. They carried small buckler shields on their arms and short swords on their hips.
Defenders began shooting at the goblins, who started moving in shifts. Crawl a few feet upward, raise the small shields over their heads, then as soon as a shield was struck they scampered a few more feet upward.
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James shouted, ‘‘Bring rocks!’’
Immediately soldiers came pulling shallow wagons on wooden wheels that carried large stones, ranging from the size of a man’s fist to the size of huge melons. Soldiers slid poles under the carts and levered the carts upward, with one holding a large rope handle on the side of the cart.
The contents of the cart spilled over the wall, showering the goblins with stones, effectively scraping them off the cliff face.
Screams from below showed the efficacy of the defenders’
response.
‘‘This is a diversion,’’ James said. ‘‘Locky, check the other two walls while I go to the gatehouse.’’
Locklear hurried off, and James ran along the palisades toward the gatehouse. He knew it was going to be a long battle, one without quarter. If we can just make them retreat, he said silently to himself as he hurried to the gates.
Gorath approached the hut with caution. They had been attacked by three of the Panath-Tiandn en route, and Owyn had depleted the crystal staff. He had been forced to hold one at bay by clubbing it while Gorath killed the other two, then dispatched the last.
Gorath yanked back the sword with a grimace of pain.
‘‘What?’’
‘‘There’s a barrier at the door. As soon as I touched it with my sword I felt a shock shoot up my arm.’’
Owyn hesitated a moment, then removed the Cup of Rlynn Skrr from his belt pouch and tentatively touched it to the door.
He felt power surge into the cup and saw it flicker a moment, as if illuminated, then nothing. He pushed aside the curtain and entered.
Pug stood in the middle of the room, looking disoriented.
He blinked at the light, and asked, ‘‘Tomas?’’ He tried to rise, with the aid of a crystal staff, the twin of Owyn’s, but sat back down after a fe
eble effort.
‘‘No,’’ said Owyn as he entered, with Gorath behind.
‘‘Tomas was injured in an attack on Elvandar. He recovers from a poisoned wound. We came in his stead.’’
‘‘Who are you?’’ asked Pug. Then his eyes narrowed. ‘‘Wait, 298
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I remember you. You’re the boy who came to Krondor with Squire Locklear, months ago.’’
‘‘Yes, and do you remember Gorath?’’
Pug nodded. ‘‘The moredhel my daughter tried to read.’’ Suddenly his eyes widened. ‘‘Gamina! I must find my daughter.’’
‘‘We know where she is,’’ said Owyn. Lowering his voice he said, ‘‘More or less.’’
Pug seemed disoriented. ‘‘I am weak, but my memory has been returning.’’ He looked at his right hand, which Owyn noticed bore a nasty old scar across the palm. ‘‘But my powers have fled, and I remember almost nothing.’’ He looked at Owyn and Gorath. ‘‘You claim you come in Tomas’s stead, but how can I be sure you’re not here on behalf of our enemies?’’
Gorath looked incensed. ‘‘You accuse us of being false? You think us spies?’’
Pug said, ‘‘I only know you were the first tool of Makala.’’
‘‘Makala?’’ Owyn’s expression was confused. ‘‘The Tsurani magician?’’
‘‘This was his plan,’’ said Pug. ‘‘I’m not saying Gorath is a willing tool, but he was as much a part of Makala’s plan as Delekhan is.’’
‘‘Delekhan is also a tool of this Makala?’’ asked Gorath.
‘‘I believe so. When you first brought word of Delekhan raising the war banner of Murmandamus over Sar-Sargoth, I became alarmed. Having seen Murmandamus’s dead body with my own eyes, I knew he no longer lived. But I thought it possible the Pantathians were responsible, using a rumor of Murmandamus’s survival as a goad to once again rally the moredhel to try to seize Sethanon.
‘‘I used my abilities to get what information I could, as did agents of the Prince, and between our efforts we realized there was no link between the Pantathians and Delekhan. I then judged Delekhan but a simple warlord seeking to seize power for himself under the guise of seeking to free Murmandamus.’’
Pug looked weak, and Owyn said, ‘‘We have water and some food.’’ He offered water to Pug, who drank deeply.
Pug waved away the food. ‘‘Later. Something Gorath said when speaking to my daughter nagged at me, and now I real-299
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ize there was a link before me that had been apparent had I but the wits to notice.’’
‘‘What was that?’’ asked Gorath.
‘‘You said that Delekhan had displayed the helm of Murmandamus as proof he still lived.’’
‘‘Yes, the dragon helm, black with lowered wings on both sides of the head.’’
‘‘But last I saw that helm, it lay in a basement below the keep of Sethanon in an ancient stone hall,’’ said Pug. ‘‘By no arts I know could Delekhan have reached the place where that helm lay. Someone else had to fetch it and return it to him.
‘‘There are only four I can think of who might have the powers to discern the location of that chamber, and be able to find a way within: Macros the Black, myself, Elgohar of the Assembly, and Makala. Macros has been missing since the end of the Riftwar, Elgohar has served me well and has been busy with students at Stardock, leaving only one other.’’
‘‘Makala,’’ said Owyn. ‘‘But why is he doing this? I mean it explains one part of this puzzle that had frustrated Squire James, the part played by Tsurani in all this—’’
‘‘That was what alerted me,’’ said Pug. He finally stood, shaking a little. ‘‘When nothing tangible is apparently being gained in a transaction, one must assume something intangible is being exchanged.’’
‘‘Information,’’ said Gorath.
‘‘And service,’’ said Pug. ‘‘I am now certain The Six you have spoken of are Tsurani Great Ones under Makala’s direction. He admitted as much.’’
Owyn asked, ‘‘But why is Makala pushing Delekhan into a war with the Kingdom? Is it revenge over the Riftwar?’’
Pug was silent a minute while he framed his answer. ‘‘What I tell you touches upon some of the most vital interests of Midkemia, not just the Kingdom.
‘‘When the battle of Sethanon raged, Tsurani soldiers came to help, as did two friends of mine from the Assembly on Kelewan, Hochopepa and Shimone, and it’s obvious that despite the usual Tsurani reticence, gossip of the final events of that battle reached certain ears on Kelewan.’’
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he didn’t have. ‘‘Deep under the City of Sethanon lies an ancient chamber.’’ He put one hand around his other balled fist to demonstrate. ‘‘But it is really two chambers in one space, one out of time with the other.’’
Owyn’s eyes widened. ‘‘Shifted in time? Only the most powerful of magicians could even conceive of attempting to reach it.’’
Pug nodded. ‘‘The first chamber, in our time, is where Murmandamus died, and there Makala would have found the helm he gave Delekhan.
‘‘The other chamber, however, the one that is always seconds ahead in time, is his real goal. It contains an artifact of immense power, a thing so dangerous it could spell the end of all life on the world of Midkemia. A mortal could stand in that chamber until the end of eternity and never ‘catch up’ with the objects placed in the time shift; he would always be a few seconds too late to see the artifact. And that is what this war is about; it’s a diversion on a massive scale to allow Makala to establish the spell he needs to shift time to get into that chamber.’’
Gorath said, ‘‘What is the need? Why send thousands to needless death to reach this second chamber if it is in the same place as the first? If he is a magician of such mighty arts, why not use his skills and slip into this other time using stealth?’’
Pug said, ‘‘I have studied this object for nearly ten years and have only begun to gain an inkling of knowledge as to its nature and purpose. In the wrong hands, it could wreak havoc undreamed of in our worst nightmares.
‘‘Because it is so vital that no one reach this artifact, I erected additional defenses around it. As I said, it is shifted in time, an act of the Valheru that I have left in place.
‘‘And,’’ said Pug, ‘‘secreted within the vast cavern is an ancient dragon, a guardian oracle of special abilities. Even my powers would be sorely taxed to best this remarkable creature, and if any agency should threaten this dragon, she would call to the King, who has placed a special garrison near Sethanon, stationed in the Dimwood against just such a risk. I am certain someone of Makala’s intelligence has discovered that force, and I believe he intends to use Delekhan’s forces to attack that garrison so he can gain entrance to the lower chamber without 301
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soldiers coming to the dragon’s aid. Even if the dragon is vanquished, Makala and his confederates will have their hands full in reaching the time-shifted chamber. They could not hope to do so while Kingdom soldiers were attacking them. They need many hours preparation once they best the dragon.’’
‘‘The dragon!’’ said Owyn. ‘‘It’s the one I spoke with at Malac’s Cross!’’
‘‘Yes,’’ said Pug. ‘‘The old statue is used to contact the oracle, so that any who might come looking for her will be led astray.
If you spoke with her, your mind was at Sethanon.’’
Owyn looked at Gorath. ‘‘Then that would be why she said you would play a critical role in this.’’ Looking at Pug, he said,
‘‘And it also explains Delekhan’s plan! Prince Arutha sent us to find you because he fears Delekhan will employ magic in his attack on Northwarden. James thinks once they’ve come through Northwarden, Delekhan’s army will use boats to go downriver to Romney, then overland to Sethanon. Can you stop them?’’
‘‘In my present state, no,’’ said Pug. ‘‘Even as we speak I am regaining memories, and some of my physical strength is returning, but I fear it will be some time before all my powers return. In my blind haste to find my daughter, I used a magical artifact that promised to impart knowledge. But I would have been better served to have avoided it.’’
Owyn nodded. He reached into his pouch and again extracted the Cup of Rlynn Skrr. He held it out before Pug. ‘‘The being who called himself Dhatsavan said that this which robbed you of your ability could return it, but that I must aid you.’’
Pug reached out and tentatively touched the cup held by Owyn. Owyn felt a tingling in his fingers. Images, feelings, unfamiliar memories, a sense of power—all rushed into his mind. Softly Pug said, ‘‘This is a risk, Owyn, and in days to come you may find you have undertaken a burden you didn’t anticipate. But for the moment, it will aid me greatly.’’
Then Pug and Owyn slipped into darkness.
Owyn and Pug both roused at the same time as if from a deep trance, and found Gorath sitting next to them. ‘‘I had begun to fear you would never awake,’’ he said as he helped them both to sit up.
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‘‘How long were we out?’’ asked Owyn.
‘‘Two days,’’ said Gorath. ‘‘You were in a trance, and if I put food or water to your lips you ate and drank, but you otherwise sat immobile holding the cup.’’
Owyn blinked and felt images and ideas swimming around in his head. If he focused on an object in the hut or concentrated on a subject, they faded, but if he tried to relax, the fragments of thought again swirled through his brain. He stood and felt dizzy.
Pug stood and took the crystal staff. He stared at his hand, and a flame erupted from the palm. ‘‘Interesting. I could never do that before.’’
Owyn said, ‘‘It’s a trick I learned from a magician named Patrus.’’
Pug said, ‘‘I seem to have abilities new to me, while those that should be familiar are just outside my grasp.’’
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