He led them past the statue to a small door between the base of the edifice and the first row of burning candles. He opened it and motioned for them to go through, then followed, closing the door behind.
The priest led them down a long hall and into a large room devoid of decoration. The only items in the room were four chairs and a simple wooden table. Ill inform the High Priest that you are here, he said.
At that moment, a door opposite the one through which they had entered opened, and an elderly man in a simple black cowled robe, entered the room. He already knows, he said. You may leave us, he instructed the priest.
He was tall, but starting to stoop a little with age, and he was slender to the point of gauntness; his hair was light grey, almost white, but his dark eyes were alert and keen and he had an engaging smile.
As the younger priest departed, the old prelate held out his hand to Pug and they shook. As if you could pop into my temple without me knowing it, he said. Then he added, Ah, Jim Dasher, or is it Baron James today?
Jim shook his hand as well and said, Today its Jim.
And who is this? asked the old man, waving at the three of them to sit.
Amirantha, Warlock of the Satumbria, said Pug.
The High Priests eyebrows rose. A warlock! He sat as soon as the others had taken their seats. Ive sent for wine and food, if youre hungry.
Jim nodded his approval.
Looking at Amirantha, the High Priest said, Leave the serious discussion until my servant has left us. Until then, let us become more acquainted. I thought the Satumbria were obliterated.
All but me, said Amirantha without emotion. We were always a small nation. Just a loose confederation of villages, really, scattered around the northern grasslands of Novindus. The Emerald Queens army ended our existence.
Ah, said the High Priest as his servant entered. All four men sat silently as food and wine was served; then the servant withdrew.
The High Priest looked at Pug and said, No matter how many years pass, you look no different. He turned to Amirantha and said, When I first met our friend here, I was a young priest, just ordained, and working in the temple at Krondor. While I was there, this fellow had several encounters with the High Priestess. He looked regretful. A wonderful woman, really, when you got to know her; she was my mentor. Its because of her that I had this impossible office thrust upon me.
He looked again at Amirantha. I suspect he will look the same years after Ive gone to meet our Lady.
Amirantha only nodded politely in response to the High Priests musing.
Then the old mans manner changed. Enough reminiscing. What brings you here at this late hour?
Pug said, I am not sure, myself. Amirantha, Jim?
The Warlock turned to Jim, You begin.
Jim had just bitten off a large hunk of bread and cheese, and was forced to wash it down with red wine; after almost choking a little, he said, Very well. Again he shared his experiences in the Jal-Pur desert, describing the scene of slaughter and self-sacrifice as best he could. Given his years of training in observing detail, the narrative lasted almost half an hour.
None of the others spoke until he was finished. Pug said, That is horrible, indeed. He looked at Amirantha, You demanded that we have an expert in death present. Now, what other than the obvious sickening detail, troubles you? What are we missing?
Amirantha had been preparing for this question since he had first heard Jims account. Nothing that Jim observed really makes sense. I will explain, but first let me ask the Holy Father, how much demon lore he understands?
Little, truth to tell, answered the old man. Here our concerns lie in preparing the faithful for their eventual journey to our Lady. We are put upon this world to help a fragile humanity understand that this life is but a part of a more profound journey; to let them know that if they live a just and honourable existence our mistress will place them upon a proper path towards ultimate enlightenment. Beyond that, our knowledge is gathered piecemeal; we share what we know with others, he acknowledged Pug with an inclination of his head, and have in turn been given the benefit of their wisdom. He laughed. Besides, I was told to work with Pug.
Amirantha looked surprised. Told to? By whom?
By Our Lady herself, said the old priest. It is rare to have a visitation, but it does occur. Usually its a revelation for the faithful and is proclaimed throughout the land, but in this case I was simply told to help Pug in whatever way I could and to keep my mouth shut about it. He laughed. I may be the only leader in the history of the temple to have had a personal revelation and be unable to boast of it.
Amirantha said, Then to understand what I must tell you, I shall have to tell you a story I have already shared with Pug and Jim.
Amirantha detailed his childhood, describing his existence on the fringes of Satumbria society, his mothers role as witch and her being tolerated by the villagers because of her skill with potions and unguents. She was also very beautiful, and as a result, she bore three children by three fathers, none of whom would claim us.
He went on to compare his brothers, explaining how the eldest, Sidi, had murdered their mother for pleasure. He painted the next eldest, Belasco, as a man obsessed with surpassing his brothers in any endeavour, spurred into rage by the mere thought of being bested, and as someone who had, for reasons Amirantha only vaguely understood, been trying to kill his younger brother for the last fifty years.
I cant even begin to guess which slight, real or imagined, set Belasco on his quest for my death, but it hardly matters. He paused to sip some wine to ease his dry throat.
You possess a most interesting family, certainly, the High Priest observed. But Im failing to see how any of it is connected to Jims report.
Im getting there, Holy Father, said Amirantha. I recount my history so that youll understand fully what it is that I believe to be behind that murderous exercise in Jal-Pur. He paused, gathering his thoughts. My eldest brother Sidi, whom you may also know by the name Leso Varen, was mad even as a child, and only got more insane as he grew. By the time he killed our mother he had become a remorseless monster with no sense of humanity. His obsession was death magic.
The old priest nodded. I recognize the name Leso Varen; he was a necromancer of prodigious art and from all reports, a font of evil.
Whatever you have read would not have done the man justice, said Amirantha as Pug nodded his agreement. If there ever existed a shred of humanity in his being, it was extinguished long before he became a player in this monstrous game we find ourselves in.
But Belasco was different; he was consumed by envy and rage, jealous of any feat completed or skill attained by my brother or I. But unlike either of us, he had real talents, although he often neglected them in order to best our achievements. I can well imagine him dabbling in necromancy or demon lore, but the murderous scene that Jim described isIts not something he would normally be party to. Nor is playing servant to a demon, no matter how powerful it is.
Why? asked Pug.
Sipping his wine again, Amirantha said, Because Belasco would choose death before he would willingly serve anyone or anything.
Theres more, said the High Priest, and it wasnt a question.
Belasco would also refrain from using this sort of death magic. Heres the conundrum: death magic is not used by those who consort with demons.
Pug suddenly became very interested, and looked as if he wished to say something or ask a question, but instead he said, Go on.
Holy Father, asked Amirantha, what use has death magic?
Pug realized Amirantha had asked the question in order to clarify a point he was about to make.
Its an abomination, said the prelate. Death magic and necromancy are misnomers, for the foulest form of life magic. At the moment of death, when life leaves the empty shell of our bodies, an energy is released. That energy, called theanima by some, and soul by others, is the fundamental core of being. Our bodies are transitory and will fail eventually, but the life force is eternal. He held up a finger for emphasis, Unlesssomething prevents that energy from translating to Our Mistresss hall.
Amirantha appeared impatient. Im sorry to interrupt, Holy Father, but the heart of my question is what can be done with that energy if its trapped, bound, or intercepted somehow?
The High Priest was silent for a moment, then he said, An excellent question, but one beyond my knowledge.
What little information we have on necromancy had been gathered during our extensive efforts to stamp it out; preventing a soul from returning for judgment is an abomination against our Mistress. He turned in his chair and shouted, Gregori!
A moment later his servant appeared, and he said, Ask Sister Makela to join us, please.
Gregori bowed and left, and the High Priest said, Makela is our Archive Keeper. If she doesnt know something, she always knows where to find out about it.
I have already searched the archives of the Ishapian abbey at That Which Was Sarth. Amirantha insisted.
The old prelate smiled and shook his head. The Ishapians are a noble order, and we venerate them, but despite their authority and knowledge, they tend to vanity from time to time. Their library is prodigious, but hardly exhaustive. Not every tome finds its way into their library.
But they have into yours? observed Jim.
Smiling even more broadly, the High Priest said, We all exercise our prerogatives. Our discoveries remain ours unless we choose to share them. Then his mood turned sombre. And much of the knowledge we choose not to share surrounds the area of which we now discuss; some matters are best kept secret or at least closely guarded by those who understand it best. He turned to Amirantha. While we wait, why dont you continue with the other points you wished to make?
Youre perceptive, Holy Father. Discounting my ignorance of the nature and purpose of death magic, or as you called it, the stealing of life force, I have never found any connection with it and the demon realm in my studies.
Pug said, There is something about my past that should be mentioned now. He looked at the three other men and said, When the Emerald Queens host sailed across the ocean from Novindus to invade the Kingdom of the Isles and sack Krondor many years ago, their regent had been replaced. A demon named Jakan was wearing their queens guise.
Amirantha tilted his head slightly, pondering Pugs words.
What remains unknown to all but the few of us who were there, is He hesitated for a moment as he realized that his late wife, Miranda, had been among those present during the events he was about to describe, and he felt a pang. I was about to say, it was not simply about conquest, but rather a massive assault designed to reach the city of Sethanon.
Jims brow furrowed. Why? Sethanon had been abandoned since the end of the Great Uprising. There was nothing there.
Pug said, Even your Kingdom annals were not privy to what took place at that time, below the old city, after the Battle of Nightmare Ridge.
During the Chaos Wars, the Dragon Lords fashioned a mighty artifact, called the Lifestone. I never had the opportunity to study it properly, it was deemed too dangerous, so we left it He considered the wisdom of revealing the exact whereabouts of the Oracle of Aal, and decided to not burden his companions with the information, hidden, in a deep cavern below the city. He looked at the High Father and said, But, I believe the Lifestone was constructed from captured life force, as you have described.
The High Priest snorted. Ishapians! I knew they were keeping something from us. Long have we been curious about what happened at Sethanon, at the end of the Great Uprising, and why King Lyam never attempted to rebuild that city. The official reason only stated that it was no longer an important trade route stop, and rumour said it was cursed. He shook his head and sighed.
The Ishapians knew only what we told them, confessed Pug. And we only knew the Lifestone to be a vessel of great power, one that the demon Jakan was determined to reach.
But why? asked Amirantha. What use would a demon have for such an artifact, no matter how powerful it is?
If we could deduce that, said High Priest Marluke, then we might understand why your mad brother is so interested in slaughter and death magic, and what that has to do with this demon he seems to serve.
Amirantha sat back and sighed. Perhaps, but I dont think so.
Why? asked Pug.
Let me ponder it a while longer before I offer any more speculation, answered the Warlock.
Cant weI mean, youstudy the Lifestone now? asked Jim.
Pug shook his head in the negative. It was destroyed before the demon could reach it.
The High Priests face took on an expression of distress. Destroyed?
Pug raised his hand in a placating gesture. Perhaps thats the wrong word. The elf queens son, Calis, managed to unbind the confining magic and the trapped life energy within was set free.
The High Priest appeared delighted at that news. A blessing! The souls were freed to resume their journey to Our Mistress! He looked eagerly at Pug. What was it like?
It was difficult to describe, Holy Father. The Lifestone looked like a crystal, one that pulsed with green energies, but when it wasunravelleda flurry of tiny green flames floated away, in all directions.
The High Priest sat back and said, Throughout our temples history, no such manifestation of the actual act of translation has been documented. The best we have are occasional reports that one of our priests, priestesses, or lay brothers and sisters might have glimpsed a tiny green flash. He sighed in resignation. There are so few overt signs of what we do. Those of us who have been blessed by a visitation from our goddess He looked into his wine cup and took a sip. At times, it is difficult to convince the faithful. So few actually have experienced the divine.
Pug resisted the urge to remark that he had experienced more than his fill of the divine. Several encounters with both the death goddess, Lims-Kragma, and Banath, the God of Thieves, Liars, and a host of other malfeasances had made it clear to him that the gods were as real as the chair upon which he sat; his faith was never an issue, but he certainly felt like their creature at times, and that thought left a sour taste in his mouth if he dwelled upon it too long.
The door opened and an elderly woman dressed in the garb of a priestess entered, followed by a younger woman in similar attire. You called for me, Holy Father?