Chapter 8: Of Lands Afar Pt2

SOUTH-EAST PILLAR: DHATSAVAN - WITH CUP

Owyn touched Dhatsavan's column.
Feeling the familiar presence stir within, he waited patiently for the entity to
respond to his mental call.
	'You have returned with the Cup, the voice said calmly. That is well.
The abandoned progeny of the Pantathians will now be denied access to the Hall.
We can be assured they will never again hear from their Midkemian mistress,
though their reestablished contact with their brethren holds dire consequences
for the future of your world. But, for now, you have no need of concern. The
cup's powers may now be subdued until the time it is needed again.'
	"Pug's welfare still remains," Owyn said firmly. "We have run to the
limits of this island for you, now we wish to know where you have kept him."
	'He is safe within a structure constructed by the Panath Tiandn. The
protective barrier that kept him within the structure will be removed once you
locate him. He misapprehended the scope of the cup's powers. When he wakened 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 so you could protect him?" Owyn guessed. "To save
his life?"
	An amused quality lent itself to the god's mental reply, though Owyn
felt certain such feelings were beyond a god. 'As an individual he is of little
interest to us, but we saved his life in honor of a kindness done for the last
survivor of our world's holocaust by one known as Macros. He knew of these
events and asked that the one known as Pug be sheltered until you returned here
with the cup. Already he has regained most of his identity and memory, but his
abilities will yet be impaired for some months. You will also find that the way
is open to a place that would have gained you your deaths if you had gone there,
the ancient lands once occupied by the Valheru during their wars here. There are
artifacts there that may be of help to you in your battles. You may now leave,
but take the cup with you. With it you may teach Pug any of the spells you
know.'

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  				    PUG'S PRISON

There was motion in the tent.

Pushing back the strangely woven doorflap of the tent, a short man stepped
forward and squinted at them. Unassuming in most respects, he walked casually
forward, as if it were not at all unexpected that he would find humans in the
strange desert world.

PUG:
Where is Tomas? It is important I speak with him.

OWYN:
He was unable to come and he sent us after you. He gave us the spell which you
left to him...

PUG:
Unable to come? Why? What has happened to him?

OWYN:
He was injured during an attack on Elvandar by the Moredhel. Queen Aglaranna
assures us that he will be alright...

PUG:
I can't believe that Makala's plans would be served by sending you here, so for
the moment I will have to trust your word... In looking at you, it occurs to me
your face is familiar. Are you the magician boy who came into Krondor with
Seigneur Locklear a few months ago?

OWYN:
Yes, and you remember Gorath?

PUG:
His face has been hard for me to forget these last few nights. He was the first
tool of Makala's in this grand scheme...

GORATH:
You accuse us of being liars and spies?

PUG:
I'm not implying you were a willing participant, Gorath. You were as
unknowing in your part as I must assume Delekhan is in his. When you said he had
raised the war banners of Murmandamus over Sar-Sargoth, I became somewhat
alarmed.

PUG:
Having seen Murmandamus' death with my own eyes, I had no reason to believe he
still lived, but forces acting in his name caused the calamity at Sethanon and I
thought it possible the Pantathians were once again responsible. After some
investigation I found they were indeed interfering with affairs in the Kingdom,
but were acting through a band of magical thieves searching for various magical
items - trinkets - in no way directly responsible for what was happening in the
Northlands or posing immediate threat to Midkemia... With the issue resolved, I
believed then Delekhan was merely exploiting the reputation of his predecessor
to gain power...

OWYN:
So then what did Gorath tell you that was so important?

PUG:
It was only after Makala tricked me into coming here that Gorath's testimony to
Prince Arutha took on any significance. In passing, he had mentioned Delekhan
wearing a helm of black, shaped like a dragon. Murmandamus wore such a helm and
had it with him when Prince Arutha cut him down... Whoever had given Delekhan
Murmandamus' helm had to have had been inside the caverns beneath Sethanon.

PUG:
There are only four magicians I can think of who might have had the wiles to
slip inside the first perimeter of defenses that have been placed there. One is
Macros, but since he was instrumental in averting catastrophe there, I cannot
believe he would be responsible. Another is a magician whom Macros once told me
of, named Nakor the Isalani; but again, I have reason to believe the Northlands
would hold little interest for him. The only others who would be capable are
Elghar and Makala, but Elghar has been quite busy with his students at
Stardock...

OWYN:
Leaving your only suspect as Makala. But why is he doing all of this? Why would
he be pushing Delekhan into a war with the Kingdom?

PUG:
If he was ingenious enough to get within the caverns, he would still need
considerable help achieving his final objective - a chamber containing an
artifact of unbelievable destructive power about which he has been indefatigably
interested. I left behind a dragon to guard it, and even my powers would be
sorely taxed in a single battle against a dragon her age, let alone one with the
special capabilities of the one who sleeps under Sethanon. Once she is alarmed,
she will no doubt summon help from a secret garrison of soldiers which King Lyam
ordered to remain in the region of Sethanon, soldiers whom Makala surely would
have detected on his first visit and intends to counter with Delekhan's Moredhel
troops...

OWYN:
But that's why Prince Arutha sent us to find you! He's afraid that Delekhan is
going to have magicians working at the siege at Northwarden! Maybe if we can
stop them there...

PUG:
Unfortunately, I'm of no use to anyone at the moment, let alone Prince Arutha.
In my blind haste to find Gamina, I used a magical artifact that would have best
been left alone...

OWYN:
We already know something about it. You said before that you were going to have
to trust us, so you'll have to trust me now when I tell you I think I can help.
I hope for all our sakes that I'm not wrong about this...

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

				DHATSAVAN: PUG'S VISIT

Pug studied the column.

When he had visited the site at Karzeen previously, he had sensed the sentience
that radiated from them, but had been unaware of the true nature of the beings
who inhabited them. Stepping forward, he made a slight bow.
"Greetings, cousins of the Aal," he said. "I regret that I did not recognize you
on my first visit. My apologies. It was only during the time I was in the tent
that something the Oracle spoke of once occurred to me."
	'Apologies are unneeded for such as we, savani, but we accept your
tribute. Your safety was greatly prized by Macros.'
	Pug nodded. "He has been a true friend to me, only as one other has ever
been. It is an honor that he prized me so highly. I sometimes wonder that he
will ever stop protecting me."
	'You have not come to us to waste thanks on us, one called Pug. What do
you wish from the gods of Timirianya?'
	"I came here in search of my daughter, Gamina. A magician, a savani by
your terms, brought her here against her will. It is important that I find her
and return to my home to avert a possible catastrophe. Forces are gathering to
tamper with the Lifestone."
	For a moment there was silence, the only motion in the air made by the
rasp of the sands moving in the deserts. Then, quite abruptly, Dhatsavan's voice
returned.
	'Your daughter is caged by Panath-Tiandn. They believe her an omen that
Alma-Lodka has heard their pleas and is preparing the way for her return.'
	"Is she in any danger?" Pug asked. "Is there something you may do for
her?"
	'No,' Dhatsavan replied. 'Such as my powers once were, they are limited,
part of the price we paid for continued existence.'
	"You exhausted your essence when you crystalized the manna to drive off
the Valheru. When their magical abilities seemingly began to wane, they assumed
they had tapped the manna of the planet dry and moved on."
	'Your speculations are deft, savani. But the gods of Timirianya are not
yet dead. We will abide until the time comes when we either sleep or until we
can be reborn through these children of the holocaust. Perhaps once they have
forgotten Alma-Lodka and the rest of the Valheru, they can mature in their own
ways.'
	Pug accepted the information calmly and began to turn to leave, then
halted. "Has Makala placed any special spells around her? I am very limited in
my abilities at present... "
	'Seek the old hordes of the Valheru. There may be something there to
assist you. Farewell, Pug. Dhatsavan shall speak no more.'
	Pug waited.
	When at last it became clear that Dhatsavan was beyond reaching, he
removed his hand from the crystalline pillar. "He is gone," Pug said. From now
on, we must help ourselves."