Chapter 9: Mad God's Rage

Locklear's eyes hardened.

At some level he wanted to believe he'd seen something in the instant of the
gate's collapse. It was irrational, no doubt a vision he had conjured for
himself to soften the blow of Patrus' death. As a man who had stood against many
armies, Locklear knew all too well about last second visions seen on the
battlefield. There was absolutely no chance that Patrus could have survived the
blast. None.
	By some agency beyond his control, he turned back the melancholy that
threatened to overtake him, rationality brooking his grief for the lost
magician. There was still an army to contend with, still Moredhel to slay, still
a Kingdom to defend. There would be time for grieving when it was finished.
	"Such a dumb way to die," Locklear said, biting off the words bitterly.
	Seigneur James nodded. "He died a good death, Locky. I wouldn't have
wished for him to go, but he died to save others."
	"You say that all the time, James, but there's no good way to die.
They're all bad."
	James stared at his old friend and saw the coldness that glimmered in
Locklear's gaze. He had come to know that look over the years, an expression
that had first manifested itself at the Battle of Armengar years before when
Locklear's girlfriend, Bronwynn, had been slain by a troll. A bit of Locky had
died then and in that place had grown the seed that had bloomed into a deadly
and superior knight. But in all that time, he had never forgiven himself for
letting the girl die.
	"You're not mad Patrus is dead," James said finally. "You're angry that
you didn't die in his place.
	Locklear's eyes flashed protest, but suddenly he reached for his sword
as three flashes appeared in the woods...
	"Spellweavers!" Locklear shouted.
	Disliking the fact that they would be at a disadvantage against a
magical opponent without Patrus, James steeled himself as he grabbed for his
weapon...

PUG:
Stay your swords, Seigneurs. I believe it is still considered rude in the
Kingdom to skewer your friends.

JAMES:
Duke Pug! Never have I been half so relieved to see a friendly face. We were
expecting Moredhel magicians...

PUG:
Tsurani magicians, James, or rather magicians trained by a Tsurani. No Moredhel
witch would have the capability to make a rift machine nor would they chance
going into battle with such poor odds of success.

PUG:
I still should like to know how exactly it was that Delekhan managed to make
contact with Makala? I had hoped that the Moredhel would be wary of another such
attack following the defeat of Murmandamus ten years ago.

JAMES:
Prince Arutha said they hope to find Murmandamus and free him. The Moredhel are
convinced we've been holding him captive all these long years.

PUG:
So Gorath has told me. Doubtless Makala exploited that belief to his advantage.
That at least explains one wrinkle. The Moredhel have never forgiven us for that
loss.

JAMES:
But why is Makala doing all of this? Obviously he isn't in this to rescue a dead
Moredhel leader.

PUG:
For the moment I believe I know, but I don't wish to say until I have taken a
better look at something. This last problem I will have to unravel myself, with
some assistance from Gorath and Owyn.

PUG:
From here I think we will be able to teleport into the caverns beneath Sethanon.
It is there our objective lies.

JAMES:
What of Locklear and myself?

PUG:
Once Prince Arutha arrives with his reinforcements, deliver my assurance that he
will not face anything magical from the Moredhel. If Makala indeed has
assistants, they will be uninterested in the Prince.

PUG:
They will be waiting for me.

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

				ENTERING SETHANON

PUG:
Before we move any further, I am of a mind to prepare you for what we are going
to encounter. Located in these chambers is an artifact known as the Lifestone,
crafted by the ancient Valheru. It has powers beyond even my comprehension, but
we know that it was crafted for the purpose of great destruction. It was this
that the false Murmandamus sought to achieve during the Great Uprising.

OWYN:
False Murmandamus? What do you mean?

PUG:
He was not truly Moredhel. He was a Pantathian who took on the semblance of a
Moredhel so he could achieve his goal. The point is irrelevant. What he sought
was to activate the Lifestone. If that had happened, the devastation of
Timirianya would seem a garden compared to what would be left of Midkemia.

OWYN:
If the Valheru are dead, what does it matter? If no one knows how to use it,
then it can't be of any danger to us.

PUG:
Not so. The souls of the Valheru are bound to the stone and it may be that
tampering with it may allow them to emerge once more, perhaps even to inhabit a
living body. Even in a symbiotic state, we have no certain way of knowing what
destruction they would be capable of.

OWYN:
So Makala wants to destroy everything?

PUG:
He is not mad, but his curiosity may lead to more trouble than he imagines.
Hopefully, we can find and stop him before he can do anything catastrophic.

OWYN:
But why tell us about any of this? I'm a squire from Tiburn and Gorath is a
renegade from the Northlands. Isn't that dangerous?

PUG:
Your stations are unimportant. I was once a kitchen boy in the court of Crydee.
I trust you because apparently Macros prefigured your involvement in this and
did nothing to warn me before he left Midkemia. For whatever reason, I think he
believes it necessary you be involved in these events and he invariably acts for
the greater good, however mysterious his reasons may be.

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

A spellweaver awaited them.

"We were told to expect you, Milamber," the spellweaver said, raising his staff.
"And we were instructed you were not to pass into the Lifestone Chamber."
	"You cannot win," Pug bluffed, not entirely certain he could match the
Great One's power in his present state.
	From somewhere, the Tsurani magician found the resolve to continue. "We
shall discover the truth of it!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

			The Oracle of Aal

ORACLE:
I called for you but was unable to reach your mind. The magician wields an
amulet which renders this body feeble and he is in the process of disabling the
last of the defenses which ring the Lifestone.

PUG:
Makala is reckless, but I do not think he will have crippled you permanently. He
must have unearthed some Valheru artifact, likely a product of Lyron-Baktos, the
Master of Dragons. While he would be incapable of ruling your mind, he could
still command your dragon's flesh.

ORACLE:
My inability to know my own future blinded us to the possibility.

PUG:
It's something we will have to attend to later... Gorath, I wish you to stay
here and guard the Oracle.

ORACLE:
Thank you. It pains me that protection is necessary.

GORATH:
Pug, you may require my strength when you reach the Tsurani magician...

ORACLE:
You will have a difficult time in the Lifestone chamber.

PUG:
No, Gorath. You have already given too much to this quest, and seen what should
have been seen by no one other than myself. You would never so much as scratch
Makala's skin before he burned you to cinders. He will be more respectful in the
presence of magicians and less likely to do anything rash. For now, you have a
responsibility to guard the Oracle.