Magician's Gambit

by David Eddings

  It was an artful little speech, and on the whole Ce'Nedra was rather proud of it. To her surprise, however, the Gorim was not satisfied to accept a vague expression of interest and let it go at that. "Tell your sisters that the core of our faith is to be found in The Book of Ulgo, " he told her seriously.

  "The Book of Ulgo, " she repeated. "I must remember that. As soon as I return to Tol Honeth, I'll obtain a copy and deliver it to the Wood of the Dryads personally." That, she thought, should satisfy him.

  "I'm afraid that such copies as you'd find in Tol Honeth would be much corrupted," the Gorim told her. "The tongue of my people is not easily understood by strangers, and translations are difficult."

  Ce'Nedra definitely felt that the dear old man was becoming just a bit tiresome about the whole thing.

  "As is so often the case with scriptures," he was saying, "our Holy Book is bound up in our history. The wisdom of the Gods is such that their instruction is concealed within stories. Our minds delight in the stories, and the messages of the Gods are implanted thus. All unaware, we are instructed even as we are entertained."

  Ce'Nedra was familiar with the theory. Master Jeebers, her tutor, had lectured her tediously concerning it. She cast about rather desperately, trying to find some graceful way to change the subject.

  "Our story is very old," the Gorim continued inexorably. "Would you like to hear it?"

  Caught by her own cleverness, Ce'Nedra could only nod helplessly. And so the Gorim began: "At the Beginning of Days when the World was spun out of darkness by the wayward Gods, there dwelt in the silences of the heavens a spirit known only as UL."

  In utter dismay, Ce'Nedra realized that he fully intended to recite the entire book to her. After a few moments of chagrin, however, she began to feel the strangely compelling quality of his story. More than she would have cared to admit, she was moved by the first Gorim's appeal to the indifferent spirit that appeared to him at Prolgu. What manner of man would thus dare to accuse a God?

  As she listened, a faint flicker seemed to tug at the corner of her eye. She glanced toward it and saw a soft glow somewhere deep within the massive rocks that formed one of the walls of the chamber. The glow was peculiarly different from the dim light of the hanging crystal globes.

  "Then the heart of Gorim was made glad," the old man continued his recitation, "and he called the name of the high place where all this had come to pass Prolgu, which is Holy Place. And he departed from Prolgu and returned unto-"

  "Ya! Garach tek, Gorim!" The words were spat out in the snarling Ulgo language, and the harsh voice that spoke them was filled with outrage.

  Ce'Nedra jerked her head around to look at the intruder. Like all Ulgos, he was short, but his arms and shoulders were so massively developed that he seemed almost deformed. His colorless hair was tangled and unkempt. He wore a hooded leather smock, stained and smeared with some kind of mud, and his large black eyes burned with fanaticism. Crowded behind him were a dozen or more other Ulgos, their faces set in expressions of shock and righteous indignation. The fanatic in the leather smock continued his stream of crackling vituperation.

  The Gorim's face set, but he endured the abuse from the wild-eyed man at the door patiently. Finally, when the fanatic paused for breath, the frail old man turned to Belgarath. "This is Relg," he said a bit apologetically. "You see what I mean about him? Trying to convince him of anything is impossible."

  "What use would he be to us?" Barak demanded, obviously irritated by the newcomer's attitude. "He can't even speak a civilized tongue."

  Relg glared at him. "I speak your language, foreigner," he said with towering contempt, "but I choose not to defile the holy caverns with its unsanctified mouthings." He turned back to Gorim. "Who gave you the right to speak the words of the Holy Book to unbelieving foreigners?" he demanded.

  The gentle old Gorim's eyes hardened slightly. "I think that's about enough, Relg," he said firmly. "Whatever idiocies you babble in out-of the-way galleries to those gullible enough to listen is your concern, but what you say to me in my house is mine. I am still Gorim in Ulgo, whatever you may think, and I am not required to answer to you." He looked past Relg at the shocked faces of the zealot's followers. "This is not a general audience," he informed Relg. "You were summoned here; they were not. Send them away."

  "They came to be sure you intended me no harm," Relg replied stiffly. "I have spoken the truth about you, and powerful men fear the truth."

  "Relg," the Gorim said in an icy voice, "I don't think you could even begin to realize how indifferent I am to anything you might have said about me. Now send them away - or would you rather have me do it?"

  "They won't obey you," Relg sneered. "I am their leader."

  The Gorim's eyes narrowed, and he rose to his feet. Then he spoke in the Ulgo tongue directly to Relg's adherents. Ce'Nedra could not understand his words, but she did not really need to. She recognized the tone of authority instantly, and she was a bit startled at how absolutely the saintly old Gorim used it. Not even her father would have dared speak in that tone.

  The men crowded behind Relg looked nervously at each other and began to back away, their faces frightened. The Gorim barked one final command, and Relg's followers turned and fled.

  Relg scowled after them and seemed for a moment on the verge of raising his voice to call them back, but apparently thought better of it. "You go too far, Gorim," he accused. "That authority is not meant to be used in worldly matters."

  "That authority is mine, Relg," the Gorim replied, "and it's up to me to decide when it's required. You've chosen to confront me on theological ground, therefore I needed to remind your followers - and you just who I am."

  "Why have you summoned me here?" Relg demanded. "The presence of these unsanctified ones is an affront to my purity."

  "I require your service, Relg," the Gorim told him. "These strangers go to battle against our Ancient Foe, the one accursed above all others. The fate of the world hangs upon their quest, and your aid is needed."

  "What do I care about the world?" Relg's voice was filled with contempt. "And what do I care about maimed Torak? I am safe within the hand of UL. He has need of me here, and I will not go from the holy caverns to risk defilement in the lewd company of unbelievers and monsters."

  "The entire world will be defiled if Torak gains dominion over it," Belgarath pointed out, "and if we fail, Torak will become king of the world."

  "He will not reign in Ulgo," Relg retorted.

  "How little you know him," Polgara murmured.

  "I will not leave the caves," Relg insisted. "The coming of the child is at hand, and I have been chosen to reveal him to Ulgo and to guide and instruct him until he is ready to become Gorim."

  "How interesting," the Gorim observed dryly. "Just who was it who advised you of your election?"

  "UL spoke to me," Relg declared.

  "Odd. The caverns respond universally to the voice of UL. All Ulgo would have heard his voice."

  "He spoke to me in my heart," Relg replied quickly.

  "What a curious thing for him to do," the Gorim answered mildly.

  "All of this is beside the point," Belgarath said brusquely. "I'd prefer to have you join us willingly, Relg; but willing or not, you will join us. A power greater than any of us commands it. You can argue and resist as much as you like, but when we leave here, you'll be going with us."

  Relg spat. "Never! I will remain here in the service of UL and of the child who will become Gorim of Ulgo. And if you try to compel me, my followers will not permit it."

  "Why do we need this blind mole, Beigarath?" Barak asked. "He's just going to be an aggravation to us. I've noticed that men who spend all their time congratulating themselves on their sanctity tend to be very poor companions, and what can this one do that I can't?"

  Relg looked at the red-bearded giant with disdain. "Big men with big mouths seldom have big brains," he said. "Watch closely, hairy one." He walked over to the sloping wall of the chamber. "Can you d
o this?" he asked and slowly pushed his hand directly into the rock as if he were sinking it into water.

  Silk whistled with amazement and moved quickly over to the wall beside the fanatic. As Relg pulled his hand out of the rock, Silk reached out to put his own hand on the precise spot. "How did you do that?" he demanded, shoving at the stones.

  Relg laughed harshly and turned his back.

  "That's the ability that makes him useful to us, Silk," Belgarath explained. "Relg's a diviner. He finds caves, and we need to locate the caves under Rak Cthol. If necessary, Relg can walk through solid rock to find them for us."

  "How could anyone do that?" Silk asked, still staring at the spot where Relg had sunk his hand into the wall.

  "It has to do with the nature of matter," the sorcerer replied. "What we see as solid isn't really all that impenetrable."

  "Either something's solid or it's not," Silk insisted, his face baffled.

  "Solidity's an illusion," Belgarath told him. "Relg can slip the bits and pieces that make up his substance through the spaces that exist between the bits and pieces that make up the substance of the rock."

  "Can you do it?" Silk demanded skeptically.

  Belgarath shrugged. "I don't know. I've never had occasion to try. Anyway, Relg can smell caves, and he goes straight to them. He probably doesn't know himself how he does it."

  "I am led by my sanctity," Relg declared arrogantly.

  "Perhaps that's it," the sorcerer agreed with a tolerant smile.

  "The holiness of the caves draws me, since I am drawn to all holy things," Relg rasped on, "and for me to leave the caverns of Ulgo would be to turn my back on holiness and move toward defilement."

  "We'll see," Belgarath told him.

  The glow in the rock wall which Ce'Nedra had noticed before began to shimmer and pulsate, and the princess seemed to see a dim shape within the rocks. Then, as if the stones were only air, the shape became distinct and stepped out into the chamber. For just a moment, it seemed that the figure was an old man, bearded and robed like the Gorim, although much more robust. Then Ce'Nedra was struck by an overpowering sense of something more than human. With an awed shudder, she realized that she was in the presence of divinity.

  Relg gaped at the bearded figure, and he began to tremble violently. With a strangled cry he prostrated himself.

  The figure looked calmly at the groveling zealot. "Rise, Relg," it said in a soft voice that seemed to carry all the echoes of eternity in it, and the caverns outside rang with the sound of that voice. "Rise, Relg, and serve thy God."

  Chapter Eighteen

  CE'NEDRA HAD RECElVED an exquisite education. She had been so thoroughly trained that she knew instinctively all the niceties of etiquette and all the proper forms to be observed upon coming into the presence of an emperor or a king, but the physical presence of a God still baffled and even frightened her. She felt awkward, even gauche, like some ignorant farm girl. She found herself trembling and, for one of the few times in her life, she hadn't the faintest idea what to do.

  UL was still looking directly into Relg's awe-struck face. "Thy mind hath twisted what I told thee, my son," the God said gravely. "Thou hast turned my words to make them conform to thy desire, rather than to my will."

  Relg flinched, and his eyes were stricken.

  "I told thee that the child who will be Gorim will come to Ulgo through thee," UL continued, "and that thou must prepare thyself to nurture him and see to his rearing. Did I tell thee to exalt thyself by reason of this?"

  Relg began to shake violently.

  "Did I tell thee to preach sedition? Or to stir Ulgo against the Gorim whom I have chosen to guide them?"

  Relg collapsed. "Forgive me, O my God," he begged, groveling again on the floor.

  "Rise, Relg," UL told him sternly. "I am not pleased with thee, and throe obeisance offends me, for thy heart is filled with pride. I will bend thee to my will, Relg, or I will break thee. I will purge thee of this overweening esteem thou hast for thyself. Only then wilt thou be worthy of the task to which I have set thee."

  Relg stumbled to his feet, his face filled with remorse. "O my God-" He choked.

  "Hearken unto my words, Relg, and obey me utterly. It is my command that thou accompany Belgarath, Disciple of Aldur, and render unto him all aid within thy power. Thou wilt obey him even as if he were speaking in my voice. Dost thou understand this?"

  "Yes, O my God," Relg replied humbly.

  "And wilt thou obey?"

  "I will do as thou hast commanded me. O my God - though it cost me my life."

  "It shall not cost thee thy life, Relg, for I have need of thee. Thy reward for this shall be beyond thy imagining."

  Relg bowed in mute acceptance.

  The God then turned to the Gorim. "Abide yet a while, my son," he said, "though the years press heavily upon thee. It shall not be long until thy burden shall be lifted. Know that I am pleased with thee."

  The Gorim bowed in acceptance.

  "Belgarath," UL greeted the sorcerer. "I have watched thee at thy task, and I share thy Master's pride in thee. The prophecy moves through thee and Polgara thy daughter toward that moment we have all awaited."

  Belgarath also bowed. "It's been a long time, Most Holy," he replied, "and there were twists and turns to it that none of us could see at the beginning."

  "Truly," UL agreed. "It hath surprised us all upon occasion. Hath Aldur's gift to the world come into his birthright as yet?"

  "Not entirely, Most Holy," Polgara answered gravely. "He's touched the edges of it, however, and what he's shown us so far gives us hope for his success."

  "Hail then, Belgarion," UL said to the startled young man. "Take my blessing with thee and know that I will join with Aldur to be with thee when thy great task begins."

  Garion bowed - rather awkwardly, Ce'Nedra noticed. She decided that soon - very soon-she'd have to give him some schooling in such matters. He'd resist, naturally - he was impossibly stubborn - but she knew that if she nagged and badgered him enough, he'd eventually come around. And it was for his own good, after all.

  UL seemed to be still looking at Garion, but there was a subtle difference in his expression. It seemed to Ce'Nedra that he was communicating wordlessly to some other presence - something that was a part of Garion and yet not a part of him. He nodded gravely then, and turned his gaze directly upon the princess herself.

  "She seems but a child," he observed to Polgara.

  "She's of a suitable age, Most Holy," Polgara replied. "She's a Dryad, and they're all quite small."

  UL smiled gently at the princess, and she felt herself suddenly glowing in the warmth of that smile. "She is like a flower, is she not?" he said.

  "She still has a few thorns, Most Holy," Belgarath replied wryly, "and a bit of bramble in her nature."

  "We will value her all the more for that, Belgarath. The time wilt come when her fire and her brambles will serve our cause far more than her beauty." UL glanced once at Garion, and a strange, knowing smile crossed his face. For some reason, Ce'Nedra felt herself beginning to blush, then lifted her chin as if daring the blush to go any further.

  "It is to speak with thee that I have come, my daughter," UL said directly to her then, and his tone and face grew serious. "Thou must abide here when thy companions depart. Do not venture into the kingdom of the Murgos, for if it should come to pass that thou makest this journey unto Rak Cthol, thou shalt surely die, and without thee the struggle against the darkness must fail. Abide here in the safety of Ulgo until thy companions return."

  This was the kind of thing Ce'Nedra completely understood. As a princess, she knew the need for instant submission to authority. Though she had wheedled, coaxed, and teased her father all her life to get her own way, she had seldom directly rebelled. She bowed her head. "I will do as thou hast commanded, Most Holy," she replied without even thinking of the implications of the God's words.

  UL nodded with satisfaction. "Thus is the prophecy protected," he declared.
"Each of you hath his appointed tasks in this work of ours - and I have mine as well. I will delay you no longer, my children. Fare you all well in this. We will meet again." Then he vanished.

  The sounds of his last words echoed in the caverns of Ulgo. After a moment of stunned silence, the hymn of adoration burst forth again in a mighty chorus, as every Ulgo raised his voice in ecstasy at this divine visitation.

  "Belar!" Barak breathed explosively. "Did you feel it?"

  "UL has a commanding presence," Belgarath agreed. He turned to look at Relg, one eyebrow cocked rather whimsically. "I take it you've had a change of heart," he observed.

  Relg's face had gone ashen, and he was still trembling violently. "I will obey my God," he vowed. "Where he has commanded me, I will go.

  "I'm glad that's been settled," Belgarath told him. "At the moment he wants you to go to Rak Cthol. He may have other plans for you later, but right now Rak Cthol's enough to worry about."

  "I will obey you without question," the fanatic declared, "even as my God has commanded me."

  "Good," Belgarath replied, and then he went directly to the point. "Is there a way to avoid the weather and the difficulties above?"

  "I know a way," Relg answered. "It's difficult and long, but it will lead us to the foothills above the land of the horse people."

  "You see," Silk observed to Barak, "he's proving useful already." Barak grunted, still not looking entirely convinced.

  "May I know why we must go to Rak Cthol?" Relg asked, his entire manner changed by his meeting with his God.

  "We have to reclaim the Orb of Aldur," Belgarath told him.

  "I've heard of it," Relg admitted.

  Silk was frowning. "Are you sure you'll be able to find the caves under Rak Cthol?" he asked Relg. "Those caves won't be the caverns of UL, you know, and in Cthol Murgos they're not likely to be holy - quite the opposite, most probably."