“A black thing?” asked Miranda. “Could you be a little more specific?”
“I don’t know what to call it,” said Nakor. “It’s energy, perhaps a spirit of some sort. Maybe by now some of the other clerics from the different temples have figured out what it is. But it’s something very bad. Maybe it’s left over from the demon. I don’t know, but I think it was in place so that something could happen in Krondor, later.”
“Later?” asked Miranda, then she looked at Pug, who shrugged.
Tomas said, “I have just been telling Pug that Captain Subai of the Pathfinders reached Elvandar. It seems Greylock’s army is stalled south of Quester’s View. And from what Subai reported, there is dark power being used again.”
Nakor said, “Yes, that makes a great deal of sense.” He was about to say something, then hesitated. “A moment.” He made a broad gesture with his hands and waved over his head, then the.room crackled with energy.
Tomas smiled. “Don’t lower the barrier prematurely this time.”
Nakor grinned in embarrassment. The last time he had used this mystic shield to protect them, he had lowered it too soon and the demon Jakan had located them. “I put the field around the room. I’ll just leave it up permanently. No agency of Nalar’s will ever be able to spy on this room. Now we can talk without falling under his sway.”
At the mention of Nalar’s name, Pug felt a prickling sensation in his head for a moment, and suddenly barriers to his memory were lowered. Images and voices swam in his consciousness, and things he had placed apart in his mind were now accessible to him. “We must assume the Nameless One has more servants.”
“Obviously,” said Tomas. “The human sacrifices and other slaughter are means for gathering power.”
“What fascinates me,” said Nakor, “is what is happening in Krondor.”
Pug smiled at his occasional companion. “Obviously this new faith of yours is having a direct effect.”
“Yes, but that’s what I find odd and fascinating.” He pulled a section from his orange and ate it. “I am no expert on issues of faith, but I had the distinct impression it would take a few centuries or longer for our new temple to have any effect.”
Miranda said, “Don’t give yourself too much credit, Nakor. It may be the power was already there, and your little temple just happened to be the convenient conduit.”
“That makes more sense,” agreed Nakor. “In any event, we have this issue to discuss. When we fought the demon, we mistakenly thought we had defeated the Nameless One’s agents. What we did was destroy their most current weapons, nothing more.”
Nakor waved out the window past Miranda. “Out there,” he said, “is at least one more evil agency doing very bad things, and it is gathering power.
“That is who we must defeat.”
Tomas said, “Subai leads me to think that Elvandar will soon be at risk if we do not stop this army now.”
Nakor leaped out of his chair. “No! You are not listening.” He stopped, then said, “Or I am not saying this right. We are not trying to save Elvandar, or Krondor, or the Kingdom.” He looked from face to face. “We are trying to save this world.”
Ryana said, “Very well, Nakor. You now have my undivided attention. These petty human wars are nothing to dragonkind, but we share this world with you. What is the threat to us all?”
“This Mad God, this Nalar, whose very name is a danger, he is the threat. When you look at everything that has occurred since the Chaos Wars, remember this. When you once again forget the very conversation we have this hour, when your memories are locked away to prevent you from falling under Nalar’s sway, remember this much: there is always something deeper behind what you see on the surface.”
“All right,” said Pug. “So what we see on the surface, the invasion and the conquest by Fadawah, they hide a deeper truth.”
“Yes, Fadawah is a dupe. He was before and he is still. He is just the next to be placed at the head of this murderous army. We must identify whoever it is that stands behind him, in the shadow. There is something evil growing in Krondor. It is there against the time Fadawah’s army arrives. Whoever is behind Fadawah—an advisor, or servant, or a member of his guard—must be destroyed. Somewhere is a being who was there when the my old wife, Jorma, became Lady Clovis, when she was controlling Dhakon, and when she sat the Emerald Throne. He was there when the demon ruled, and now when Fadawah is the leader. This creature, man, or spirit, this thing is the agent of Nalar who is orchestrating the war. It is this being who seeks no conquest, but rather destruction. This is the creature who doesn’t wish to see one side or the other win, but rather seeks to let the suffering linger, let innocents die. This is the creature we must find.”