Jazhara couldn’t help herself. She blurted, “You’d lose all contact with the gods!”
“More than that, we fear,” said the High Priest. “We believe that all magic would fade, as well. For it is by the grace of the gods that man is allowed to practice the arts of magic, and without divine intervention, we soon would be just as other men. Soon the existing Tear in our mother temple in Rillanon will fade, its shining blue light will go dark. If the new Tear is not in place before that happens, we will lose our link with the heavens.”
“Won’t there be another Tear in ten years?” asked James.
“Yes, but can you imagine ten years of darkness? Ten years in which man has no commune with the gods? Ten years in which no healing can be done? Ten years without prayers being answered? Ten years without any hope?”
James nodded. “A grim picture, Father. What can we do?”
Arutha said, “We do have the location of the sunken ship.”
Once again, a spark of hope appeared in the High Priest’s eyes. “You do?”
“Within a fairly confined area,” said James. “We have a map, and if the ship went straight down, we should be able to locate it.”
“We have magic arts that can do many things, sire,” said the High Priest. “But to enable a man to breathe underwater and search out the wreck is beyond our gifts. Is there another way?” He looked pointedly at Jazhara.
Arutha appreciated the gravity of the question; the temples, more than other institutions, were wary of magic they didn’t control. Jazhara would be an object of suspicion at the best of times; and this was hardly the best of times. The Prince said, “Do you know another way, Jazhara?”
She shook her head. “Regretfully, Highness, I do not. I know of those in Stardock who are capable of such feats, but few of them are what you might call robust men. For such a task you’d need a strong swimmer, and a source of light.”
James said, “That won’t work.”
Arutha raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
James grinned. “Highness, I’ve lived my life near the sea. I’ve heard what sailors say. Once you go below a certain depth the water weighs down upon you and even with a magic spell to help you breathe, withstanding such pressures would likely prove impossible. No, there’s another way.”
“Tell us,” said the High Priest.
“The Wreckers’ Guild,” said James. “It’s their trade to raise sunken ships. They can bring them up long enough to be salvaged. In some cases they can repair a breach and tow a once-sunken ship safely to port for refitting. I’ve seen it done more than once.”
“But they would have to be told of the Tear,” said the High Priest. “And we cannot tell anyone of this.”
James shook his head. “No, Father. All we need tell them is to raise the ship. Then someone trusted by the Crown goes into the ship, finds this artifact, and returns it here to Krondor.”
The High Priest indicated the silent warrior monk to his left. “Brother Solon here should be that person. There are mystic safeguards around the Tear, so even had this creature Bear reached the Tear, he might not have been able to retrieve it. Brother Solon will be able to remove the safeguards so that the Tear can be recovered.”
James looked at Arutha. “Sire, if this man Bear doesn’t know the exact whereabouts of the Tear, wouldn’t it be likely he’d be close by, looking for an Ishapian expedition heading for the wreck site? Logically he would wait until the artifact was recovered, then strike.”
The High Priest said, “We have means of defending the Tear.”
“No offense intended, Father, but from what Lucas told us of the pirate Knute’s account of things, Bear has some sort of powerful protection against your magic. Otherwise how could he have taken the ship to begin with?”
The High Priest looked troubled as Jazhara said, “An amulet, I believe he said, something with the power to shield the wearer against priestly magic.”
Arutha looked at James. “You advise stealth?”
“Yes, sire,” said James. “We must find a way to divert Bear’s attention. If we can distract him enough to keep him away from the site while we raise the ship, retrieve the artifact, then return here before he realizes he’s being distracted . . .” He shrugged. “We might have a chance.”
The High Priest said, “Highness, I would prefer a large armed force -”
The Prince held up his hand. “I realize the care of the Tear is the province of the Temple of Ishap, Father, but it was my jail that was destroyed, my wife’s orphanage that was burned to the ground, my constables who were slaughtered; that makes it the Crown’s business to ensure nothing like this occurs again.
“If, as is reported, Bear and his mercenaries are immune to your magic, it would seem force of arms may be needed to recover the Tear. How many fighting monks can you muster within a day?”