"The sphere has changed," Dzeb answered simply. "The Wizard War was a conflict of individuals, those that wanted the magic free and those that wanted the magic removed from the land. Such matters are not the concern of Godson, thus they are not the concern of cliff behemoths."
"But what of the taint?" Mappel persisted. "The taint was a threat to all."
"True, but the war was not about the poison in the air. Had it been, we might have joined. At first, the battle was about stopping Ingar. We watched closely at that point. The outcome would impact the land, but Ingar was defeated. After that, it became a battle over what to do with the sphere, individuals arguing over what should be done, arguing over a choice. We kept our distance."
"We argue over that now," Mappel said with an edge, and he glanced over his shoulder at Tun. "We are trying to decide what to do about the sphere and this threat."
"Has this one not told you what must be done?" Dzeb pointed to Stephen, his large finger cut the air like a giant spear.
"He has, but others still need to be convinced."
Dzeb merely shook his head as he dropped the accusing finger.
"Tell me what you believe is going on with the sphere now?" Mappel urged. "That may be what some need to hear in order to convince them of what we must do."
"It is challenging the will of Godson." For the first time Dzeb's words sounded almost harsh, but they soon returned to the soft tone which was their norm. "This can not be allowed."
"It is true then," Stephen blurted out with a half gasp. "How can this be possible?"
"All living things have the freedom of choice," Dzeb announced kindly. "That too is the will of Godson and perhaps the most important ingredient of life in this land. We all choose what path to follow, whether it is in the light of Godson or in the dark paths. The sphere has become conscious, and therefore it has the ability to choose. Usually the choice of one has little impact on the land. In rare cases, a choice of an individual can affect thousands of creatures. In this case, considering the power of the sphere, its choice affects us all."
"Then the sphere is alive?" Matthew asked, nearly dumbfounded by the possibility.
"I would say no." Dzeb spoke almost cautiously now. "It is my belief that only Godson can grant life. Awareness and consciousness is another matter. Dark forces have been known to grant such powers, but they can not create a soul. I know this is very confusing, but it is the best I can do to explain. It is told that such things will be made clear to us when we all finally meet Godson. The important matter is that the sphere is now conscious and aware of its surroundings. It wishes to destroy the land. For what reason, I do not know. It is our honor to stop this. I will accompany those you send to Sanctum and we shall deal with the sphere."
Mappel still struggled for greater detail from the cliff behemoth. "You keep saying that, but I don't understand what you mean. How do we deal with the sphere?"
"It must be destroyed."
Tun quickly raised a challenging voice. Even though Dzeb stood much more than twice his height, the dwarf looked at the giant with unrelenting defiance. "Of that I have still not been convinced."
Dzeb calmly eyed the antagonistic Tun for but a moment. "Now I understand." He slowly turned his head toward Ryson. "Give him your sword," the giant requested. "Let him hold the handle with the blade free of its sheath."
Ryson shrugged, but did not hesitate in obeying. He carefully guided the sword from its scabbard. As more of the blade became revealed, it glistened with greater brilliance. It soon magnified the candlelight surrounding it. Tun and Jon squinted only for a moment, but even their dwarf eyes soon grew accustomed to the silvery illumination. Ryson carefully gripped the blade at its center and extended the handle toward Tun.
At first, the dwarf remained frozen in place, his arms folded across his chest. Finally, he extended one hand and took hold of the handle. As he did, the gleaming light of the blade appeared mirrored in his face. The defiant expression softened, and he looked about the room as if seeing all for the first time.
"We must destroy the sphere," he said calmly.
Jon looked at his brother with both confusion and concern. "Are you sure, Tun?"
Tun released his grip on the handle as he let Ryson take hold of the blade once more. As the delver sheathed the sword, Tun's understanding remained.
"We have no choice. If we do not, we will all be destroyed."
"And what of the magic?" the younger dwarf pressed.
"We must learn to live with it. We have no choice."
"Then we also have the miracle we have been looking for," Mappel announced with renewed hope and excitement.
"Do not confuse miracles with enlightenment," Dzeb counseled. "We have been but shown the way. There is much yet to be done."
"Then let us be started," Mappel replied quickly. "Let us take advantage of what has happened here. Let us remember this moment as we set out to accomplish what we must do."
Heads nodded and turned about from one to another. Murmurs of conversation broke from nearly every direction. The chatter brimmed with hope as yet another difficulty was overcome by the apparent means of providence.
It was Ryson who called for attention and brought the focus of the meeting back upon those difficulties which yet remained.
"I don't mean to bring everyone down, but let's not forget what we still have to do. We still have to enter Sanctum. There are still the mysteries of the tiers, and there is still one we don't know. There is no one here that knows what the delvers placed in the mountain. It may take time to uncover that secret."
"I am afraid, young delver, that will not be possible," Dzeb said kindly yet firmly. "While the angels which spoke said it would be the decision of those here as to who would go, they made it clear when we must go. We must leave for Sanctum today, before the sun passes overhead."
The hush held. Sanctum now! No further delay. It was like a death sentence.
Mappel broke the silence with a steady voice. "Listen all of you. We have been led through these most important times so far and have accomplished much. We have done so without the help of ancient prophecies. In every case, we have accepted the circumstances dictated to us. We must continue to do so, and we must do so without hesitancy. If those that enter Sanctum must face a tier without knowing of the danger, we must hope that some way, some how, they will overcome the obstacle as other obstacles have been overcome. It will be enough to reveal those secrets we do know. We have four of the five parts. Let us tell them now. I will begin and state what the elves have ..."
Stephen Clarin cut him off abruptly. His voice was full of force.
"No!" The sharp, near angry retort caught the elder elf unprepared, but Stephen continued to speak with forceful determination. "This isn't the time! I have told you before that we will know when the time has come. The only way it would make sense to reveal them now would be if they could all be revealed together. We are missing the one secret for a reason. The secrets should remain just that. They should only be revealed in Sanctum, to those who face the danger."
"That is an unnecessary risk," Mappel argued.
"But it is a risk we must take. You have put faith in my visions. If that is to remain, you must accept everything I see. We can't pick and choose. We can not say I accept this, but not that. I know that it would be a grave mistake to announce the secrets now. If we leave on this day, we leave without revealing what we know. Otherwise, you might as well refute everything I've told you. There is only one way we can proceed at this point. Everyone that must enter Sanctum must know their portion and must be prepared. I know what the humans have placed in Sanctum. I will keep that knowledge to myself. When the ten, of which I am included, face the human tier, I will direct them as to how to proceed. The same will remain true for the dwarves, the algors, and the elves."
"I agree," Tun replied sharply. "I will feel safer if I do not know of these secrets until absolutely necessary."
Mappel could not accept the arrangement. If som
ething had happened to the party of ten, there would be no way to regain the information. If the secrets were brought into Sanctum, they could be easily lost, perhaps forever. How much time would be forfeited in finding the other human with the proper knowledge, or finding algors willing for another siege upon the legendary monument? He spoke of such fears to press his point.
"And what if a mishap falls upon one of the party and the secret becomes buried in an untimely death. I loath to speak of such things, but you are entering Sanctum. If something should happen to you, Stephen Clarin, how would we continue our struggle? The risk is high. We must do whatever is necessary to reduce the risk. Remember, you yourself can not foretell the success or failure of this mission. Should you fail, the rest of us will still strive to destroy the sphere. If we speak of the secrets now, openly, we allow for hope in such a case."
The interpreter made no indication of backing away from his proposal. It was part of his vision, and thus part of the word of Godson. "If such a thing may happen, and Godson willing it won't, we will face the unknown tier as we will face the delver tier, prepared for the worst but determined to overcome what might await."
"He is right," Lauren added as she looked toward the staircase with renewed distress. "There are other considerations as well. This is no longer the place to discuss such secrets. There are now ears above us, waiting for answers." Her anguish grew, her alarm more evident than ever. Her mouth hung open, ever so slightly. She stared beyond the ceiling, beyond the walls of the church. She saw into the streets. Her own vision, magical sight, spread like a falcon taking wing. After moments of silent staring, she blinked repetitively. Her voice wavered as she stood with near consuming trepidation. "There is also danger growing outside. We must decide quickly!"
The algors finally spoke up, and as was their norm, the ten spoke in unison.
"We agree with the interpreter. We will hold our secret, but there is one more thing to be determined. In order to match the vision of the interpreter, there is only to be two of us which must go. The rest will stay here. The delver will choose which will go and which will stay."
"Again?" Ryson heaved a heavy sigh. "You can't keep asking me to make these decisions. Let Stephen decide which of you best match his vision."
"I can not distinguish between them," the interpreter said sadly. "I only know that two should go. I don't know which two. Which of them knows what is hidden in Sanctum?"
"We all know," the algors responded in chorus.
Suddenly the algors began speaking separately, one after another, sometimes at the same time.
"We are a community of individuals, but none knows more than another."
"You can not ask us to pick among ourselves."
"We all wish to go."
"We all understand if we have to stay."
"There is none of here which will assume to make such a decision."
"If you say that only two may go, then you must tell us which two."
"The delver has picked wisely before, let him pick again."
The cacophony of opinions continued until Lauren made a distressed plea. "We don't have time for this. I feel as if these walls might soon become our prison."
"Very well, very well," Mappel urged. "Ryson make your choice. Do not dwell upon it and do not torture yourself. Simply choose and let us be off."
Ryson closed his eyes as his body became filled with tension. "I don't like this," he mumbled to himself. "I have no idea of knowing." With shoulders slouched, he opened his eyes and pointed to two, hoping to be as random as possible.
"It is done," Mappel stated as if punctuating the selection. "I do not believe, however, the remaining algors should stay here. If danger is closing as Lauren sees it, we must all leave together. Those algors not chosen may remain with myself and Matthew outside Sanctum as the others make their journey into its midst, unless of course there is an objection."
At first Mappel looked toward Tun, wondering how he would respond to the accompaniment of algors that would far outnumber any other race. He said nothing, his face still softened from his experience with the Sword of Decree.
He looked next to the algors. They also remained silent.
"Please let us go!" Lauren cried, near begging.
"Get the algors their cloaks," Mappel instructed both Lief and Holli. "It is mid-morning with many around. I dislike leaving at such a time. We must at least make an attempt to avoid attention."
Holli and Lief moved with swiftness.
The dwarves kept coats by their sides and gathered them around their shoulders. If they kept their hoods up and hid their beards, they would appear as nothing more than powerful youths, not yet done growing.
"What about Dzeb?" Ryson asked. "How are we going to hide him?"
"You can't hide him," Lauren stated, still beseeching the others to move quickly. "Many saw him enter the town. They know he's here. That's what brought so much attention on us in the first place."
"Then I will leave as I entered," Dzeb said firmly.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Matthew stated with a hint of sadness. "Many humans will hate you simply based on how you look. With what is going on in the land, they might attack based on nothing more."
"I will trust in Godson to protect me."
"We couldn't hide him if we wanted to," Mappel said with finality. "His height and size would make any attempt foolish."
Lief and Holli had returned and the algors were quickly fastening their cloaks. The party gathered together near the stairs, but Mappel stopped them for one last moment.
"Alone we face uncertainty, but together you can overcome the mysteries of Sanctum and the threat that burdens the land. Forget now of what you don't know, and bring to mind that what you do. I ask of each of you that will enter Sanctum to consider what you know of what lies ahead and if you have the means to deal with it. Keeping our secrets does not mean denying the ability of the party to overcome the obstacles. I will tell you now that although what awaits you in the elfin tier will not be easily passed, it can be done with what you now possess. What of the rest of you?"
Tun answered first. "The dwarf tier is first. My brother and I are prepared with the proper knowledge. If those that follow us will follow our instructions, we will succeed in getting through the first tier."
"The human tier is next," Stephen followed. "Lauren is the key to our success there."
"And what of the algors?" Mappel looked to the entire group, but only the two selected responded.
"We shall pass," they said together, with greater confidence than either the dwarves or Stephen.
"Then there is nothing left to do but go forward."
Chapter 22
At Sanctum's peak, the spirit of the elfin sorceress Shayed peered to the east. Her translucent face revealed neither joy nor desperation. Growing winds from the west passed harmlessly through her transparent form. Even as small amounts of dust and debris swirled about the ground, she floated unaffected by the gusts. The growing clouds in the far west seemed of even less concern to her. The air remained dry, though the temperature had fallen from its unseasonable highs.
"They are together. They know what they must do, and they will soon be here," she murmured to herself with a nod. Again, it was impossible to read any emotion from the spirit. It was as if she simply acknowledged the inevitable, as if she never doubted this moment would arrive.
She could see them, although seeing would not truly describe the basis of her awareness. It was more like understanding, or the completion of a thought. It was as much like searching for an elusive word or melody that escapes until it finally comes free in voice or in song. It took no special sorceress power for her to reach this point of comprehension. Simply being a spirit allowed her greater awareness then when she had walked upon the land as a mortal. That awareness grew sharper, crisper when it centered upon all things connected with the sphere.
Such was her link with the talisman. What was of importance to the orb was important to h
er. The two intertwined so tenaciously, her very presence upon this plane of existence was attributable solely to the peril created by the sphere. Anything relevant to the matter became as clear to her as stars on a cold, crystal evening.
Shayed could sense each of them. Even at this moment, she knew they remained gathered in the basement of the ancient church, although they hastened to leave. There were none missing. All that were required, all that were needed, were there. Each now intended to help save the land; that was now clear to her as well. The doubts had been lifted, and nothing was left to obscure the cause.
The image of the church remained crisp in her mind. It brought with it echoes of Connel. Memories of her last living days in Uton flooded back to her. Even now, she could still remember the great conflict between the forces she aligned and the magic casters. The stone church, where people prayed when the Wizard War reached its fury, served as sanctuary for many during the last terrible night of pitched battle. With the knowledge obtained upon her own death, she now knew how important those prayers were. Beyond the steps of the church, she could sense the ancient wall. She could almost feel the solid, powerful stones the dwarves labored to build around Connel. To this day, it remained mostly intact, just as the church stood upon its very same foundation. The image of the church and the wall allowed her a moment of confidence. If they again served in some way to aid those that battled the sphere, so much the better.
Her resolve to defeat the sphere never waned, even in these moments of reflection upon the past, even as she realized how much of her life, how much of her essence, was intertwined with this horrible device. It was during these moments of self inspection, however, that she accepted the link between herself and Ingar's sphere.
It gave her purpose in life, and again in death. It brought her fame and a place in the legends during her mortal existence. Now, it allowed her to return to the land, even as a spirit. Such moments in history were rare in themselves, reserved for angels and messengers of greater power, but again she found herself at the forefront of a battle where all life hung in the balance. Again, her link with the sphere made her very existence as important as any in the land.
Delver Magic Book I: Sanctum's Breach Page 36
