They, along with the man who would later become Duke James of Krondor, had managed to thwart Varen and his agents in their attempt to steal the Tear of the Gods the artefact that allowed the temples to communicate with their deity.
Nakor continued. We will never fully know some aspects of that story. From what we do know, the man called The Bear was acting on his own. He had ceased taking instructions from Varen, and thats one hallmark of those serving the Nameless One; they are often mad and go off at whim and wreak havoc even among their own allies.
Thats one of our few advantages; the Conclave are united and even those who view us with some suspicion such as the temples or the magicians at Stardock dont interfere with what were doing.
They dont know what we are doing, offered Magnus.
Pug laughed indulgently. Do not underestimate them, son, nor attach too great an importance to ourselves. The temples and monarchs have a very good idea what we are about, else they might be less cooperative than they have been.
Nakor laughed as well. When the day comes that we must confront the agents of the Nameless One, we may have great need of these people you disdain.
Magnus had the good grace to look crestfallen.
Nakor continued. What troubles me is that these manifestations of godpower, these dreams and echoes and memories, are now appearing with more frequency. At least a dozen strange incidents that our agents have reported since the Serpentwar lead me to believe this is so.
What do you think it means? asked Miranda.
That something is coming. Something that is tied to the slumbering enemy.
Pug looked at Nakor. The Dasati?
It was the Nameless One who influenced the Pantathians to bring the Saaur through the rift to our world. We know it was a ruse to loose demons here.
Destruction and chaos are the Nameless Ones allies. He has no cares for the short-term effects on this world, so long as horrors and evil are visited on people and his powers rise. I can only guess, said Nakor, but I think he dreams of supremacy, else why try to establish Zaltais on a throne, instead of the Emerald Queen? He needed his surrogate, his dream being, in control, so he could hasten his return to this reality. He seeks to put himself above the other Controller Gods before they can return the balance.
Madness, said Magnus.
By its nature, evil is madness, replied Nakor. Hence the Days of the Mad Gods Rage.
The Chaos Wars, said Pug.
Magnus said, So we must struggle and die and our children are to struggle and die after us?
Perhaps, said Nakor. We may never know a moment of transcendent triumph, a time when we can say, the day is ours! and know the struggle has passed forever.
Think of us as ants, if you will. We must topple a mighty citadel, a monstrous thing of stone and mortar, and we have only our naked bodies to spend in the effort.
So we labour for years, centuries, millennia, even epochs; scraping away at stone with our tiny jaws. Thousands, tens of thousands, millions of us die, and slowly the stones begin to crumble.
But, if we have a design, and possess knowledge, we can choose where to bite. We will not trouble all the stones, merely the keystone upon which all the others rest. And then we may wear away at the mortar around that stone, so that at last, the stone can be pushed aside, and once that is accomplished the massive stones above begin to move, and over time, fall.
No, we may never see an end to this struggle, but in time the Good Goddess and the Nameless One may return, and the balance would be restored.
What sort of world would that be? wondered Magnus.
One with less strife, I hope, said Miranda.
Perhaps, said Nakor. But even if it is not, the strife will be far more prosaic. What we do now is contest with worlds hanging in the balance.
Magnus looked down at his younger brother. And the price of defeat is too grim to contemplate.
Pug looked at his two sons and his wife, then said, As well I know.
No one needed to say more, they all knew that Pugs first two children had died during the Serpentwar and that the loss was still bitter to him.
Nakor stood and said, We should go. Ill send messages to our agents in the region to see if the attack on Caleb was part of a greater design or merely an unhappy accident.
Wait a moment, Nakor, asked Pug, as Miranda and Magnus left. McGrudder was right we should move him?
No, said Pug. I think we leave him in place. If these are bandits alone, then no harm has been done. If those who attacked Caleb are Varens agents, let them believe they gulled us into thinking the attack was by mere bandits. If McGrudder comes under scrutiny, it should not be hard to discern in so small a place; we can always dispatch a watcher to watch the watchers.
Nakor nodded with a grin. This was the sort of underhanded plotting that appealed to him.
There is another matter, said Pug.
What is it?
I received a message yesterday and I am greatly concerned about it. Will you give me your thoughts?
Always.
Pug produced a scroll from inside the folds of his robe and Nakor glanced at it.
Pug said. Its not the first. They have been appearing on my desk from time to time for years now.
How long?
Since before we met. The first one gave me the instruction to tell Jimmy to say to you
There is no magic, finished Nakor. I know. When I heard that, and from a magician no less, I knew I had to come to Stardock. He looked at the scroll again. Where are they coming from?
Not where, but when. These are from our future.
Nakor nodded, then his eyes widened as he read it again. This is from you! he said, and for the first time since Pug had met him, the small Isalani was speechless.
Tad lay on the bed with his arm behind his head as Zane paced the floor. Youre going to wear a groove in the stone if you keep that up, he said.
I cant help it. Someone brings us our food this morning, and were told to wait. Then lunch. Then someone comes to fetch the chamber pot and bring us a clean one, and now its almost suppertime and still no one has come to tell us what were doing here.
Its obvious what were doing here, said Tad. Were waiting. What we dont know is what were waiting for.
Zanes expression darkened, and Tad sat up on the bed. He knew that look. Zane was a thin excuse away from taking out his bad mood on his foster brother.
Just as Tad sat up, anticipating Zanes pre-emptive attack, Nakor appeared at the door and said, You two, come with me.
He left so abruptly that Tad almost unbalanced himself trying to hurry after him. He caught up with Zane and the Isalani halfway down the hall and thought it odd how fast the little man walked.
Dont stare, Nakor said.
A moment later, Tad hit a doorjamb. He had just walked past a large open door that led into a courtyard dominated by a huge pool. At the edge of the pool and in the water was a group of young women. Tads attention was diverted in equal measure by the fact that all the girls were remarkably beautiful, completely naked, and their skin was a pale green and their hair the colour of bronze wire.
Tad suffered another injury as he stepped backwards only to be knocked down as Zane turned around and came flying back to the doorway to verify if he had indeed witnessed the same scene.
The girls turned to stare at them and both boys realized that they had no irises and their eyes were pearl-white in colour.
Nakor helped Tad to his feet with one hand, and waved to the girls with the other. I told you not to stare, he said, as Tad touched his nose to see if it was bleeding. Come along.
Tad said, Ah
Nakor said, They are six sisters of the Pithirendar. They dont care for clothing much and they spend a great deal of time in water. They are not entirely human. Though they are human enough to get you boys into trouble, so stay away from them or Ill give you even more to think about.
Not human Zane muttered, trying to convince himself that his eyes hadnt betrayed him. Tad reached out and half-dragged him away from the door as they both followed Nakor.
They turned a corner and Nakor motioned them to stand to one side. A thing for lack of a better word came lumbering down the corridor towards them. It was half the height of the boys and twice as wide. It looked like a table with a black cloth hanging over it and it moved on legs that resembled a crabs. It also made an odd murmuring sound as it approached.
As it passed, Nakor said, Good morning, and the thing answered in a surprisingly normal-sounding female voice.
After she had moved around the corner, Tad whispered, What was that?
A visitor, Nakor replied. He led them to a room where Pug sat waiting behind a desk.
The short magician rose and motioned for them to sit in a pair of chairs that were opposite his own.
They did so and Pug returned to his seat. Nakor stood by a window to Pugs left. Looking at the two young men, Pug said, Were at something of a loss about what to do with you.
Tads face drained of colour and Zane flushed. He said, What do you mean, do with you, sir?
Pug smiled. No harm will come to you, if thats what concerns you. He sat back and regarded the pair. You may have already concluded that this community is unlike any others.
Zane just nodded, while Tad said, Yes, sir.
Nakor laughed. You seem to be handling it well.
Zane shrugged. Im not exactly sure what to think, but Caleb has always been good to our mother and to Tad and me, so if youre his family, then I suppose well, I think were safe here.
Pug sat back. I dont pry in the lives of my children, but tell me something about your mother.
Tad spoke up as Marie was his real mother, though she treated Zane as his equal. He started off with the usual praise that she was a good cook and kept the poor hut that served as home as clean as could be but after a moment it was clear to everyone that the boy not only loved his mother, but respected her too. It was hard after Papa died. He glanced at Zane. But she took Zane in because he was my best friend and had no one else, when others in town looked the other way. She made do, and kept us both out of trouble.
Zane added, Ive known her longer than I knew my real ma, so I suppose that makes her my real ma, if you understand, sir. She never took sides with Tad against me and she held me when I was a little boy. She loved me like I was her own.
Pug sighed. Even without meeting her, I can understand why my son cares for your mother, boys, and I can see why he cares about you. You acted bravely going back to the wagon.
Nakor said, Foolishly, from what you told me. Didnt Caleb tell you to make your way to the village if you eluded the bandits?
Yes, said Tad. Thats true, but we had killed two of them already, and thought maybe Caleb could use some help. We had gained two swords by then.
Pug shook his head. And I for one am glad you disobeyed, and admire your resolve, for had you not done so, Id have lost my youngest child. His eyes grew unfocused for a minute as he looked away, seeing something in the distance, and he said, Its something I dread more than you can ever imagine. He then turned to face the boys again and asked, So, then, what shall we do with you?
Caleb was taking us to Kesh to become apprentices, or on to Krondor, for theres no work at home, said Zane. If you need any apprentices, were willing.
Are you willing, Tad? asked Pug.
Yes, sir, he said, nodding his head.
We do have need for apprentices, said Pug. But first we shall see if youre up to such a calling.
Pug stood and so the boys did as well. He pointed to his friend and said, Nakor shall see to your instruction for a few days while my son heals, then I have other work for him, and then we shall have others test you. Now, I have work to do, so be off with you.
They left, and Tad grinned at his friend. Their fears were now replaced with hope, for they had taken Nakors intimation that they might be killed for what they knew seriously.
As they walked down the hallway, Tad asked, Nakor, what trade are we going to apprentice to?
That remains to be seen, my young friend, said Nakor. Im not sure we have a name for what you might do. Lets say that youll be apprentice workers.
What sort of work? asked Zane.
All manner and type. Things you cannot even imagine. For if you are to become workers for the Conclave of Shadows, it is more than just a trade. With a suddenly serious expression he said, Its a lifelong commitment.
Both boys were unsure what that meant, but Nakors expression told them they were not going to be happy about finding out.
CHAPTER SIX
Apprentices
ZANES FACE WAS FLUSHED WITH ANGER.
I wont do it! he said, defiance reverberating in his voice.
Tad said, You have to. If you dont, youll get into more trouble than you can imagine.
Its stupid, Zane insisted. If I havent learnt by now, I never will.
Youve lived on the shore of a lake for your entire life and youve never learnt to swim, said Tad, his voice rising in frustration. Thats stupid! he shouted. Now, Nakor says you have to learn how to swim.
The boys were standing near a tree at the edge of the courtyard lake. Other students were splashing in the shallows, and a few were swimming in the deeper water. Tad had always been a decent swimmer, but Zane had never learned. It took this recalcitrance to remind Tad that he had never seen his foster brother swim.
Just then the six sisters of the Pithirendar came over the hill, speaking softly in their alien language. Both boys had become accustomed to the strange nature of many of those residing on what they now knew to be Sorcerers Island. While the inhabitants included a number of very strange aliens, the majority were human, including a few human girls with whom the boys had become friendly. But for some reason the six sisters caused a reaction in most of the young males on the island, Tad and Zane being no exception.
Four of the girls were nude as was their preference while the other two wore simple white shifts, which they discarded when they reached the shore. The six of them slipped effortlessly into the water, as Tad said, All right, then. Stay here if you want, but Im going swimming!