The black stone block that filled the passage rippled like water and did not reflect the light of our torches. Wurk touched it. His hand went into it as if it was made of water. He said it was cold. He tried to walk into it but couldn't. He took out the orb that Shah'vashak lived in and then set it aside and went into the block.
Jaryan followed him into the block. Collan and I went next. I don't know what happened to the others after that as I couldn't see them anymore, though later they said they had visions that were not the same as mine.
I was in a different place, not the temple. I saw the Crimson Bat flying over the land where many warriors fought. Where it flew everyone died. I was more frightened than I have ever been. I crouched down hugging my knees and tears rolled out of my eyes without ceasing. My belly hurt from sobbing. Everything was destroyed. My people were gone. I grieved for them without end.
I fell into nothingness. There was nothing to see, no light, no sound. The sorrow left me and I felt contentment of a life lived as best I could. Then I was inside a room, like a palace, though then I had never seen a palace. There was a mosaic on the floor, but it wasn't real. A shape like a big platter, surrounded by wavess. There was writing I couldn't read, and something that might have been a map. The ceiling was curved up above. It looked like a night sky, but there was no Red Moon. The lights of the Dragon were brighter, made of little stones that sparkled. Orlanth's Ring had too many stars in it, a hand of fingers plus one more, instead of four fingers of each hand. There were columns around this place, and a stand with a crystal on it that was the size of water jar. This crystal glowed with light like a fire. The others were there with me. Shah'vashak gave something to Wurk.
There was a small room of shelves for scrolls like we'd seen before and Wurk went to look. He touched a thing and the outside crumbled away. It was a book, not a scroll. Its pages were made of very thin bronze. Shav'ashak told him to take this to Starbrow. There was another book with pictures of people who had some parts like dragons. We looked at the glowing thing on the stand. It was a cylinder with end caps made of metal. The light inside it was green and blue and seemed to move the way water does when you swish your hand in it.
We left the temple then. Down below Starbrow and her people were very upset. They told us we had been gone for three days! Starbrow wanted to know if we had found the thing called Breath of the Dragon. Wurk showed her the bronze book. She was not happy. This wasn't what she expected to find. Shav'ashak came out with a sound of tinkling bells and a gentle breeze. Orlaront started laughing. He said that the wyter, Shav'ashak, was what Starbrow had sought. Shav'ashak told Starbrow he was not hers to command, which made her frown. He said she could gather the other parts of his spirit. Starbrow was proud and she was not pleased that the wyter hadn't come to her.
An icy rain was falling then on the mountainside. It was on its way down toward the Vale with us as we went back. Even Insterid Fire-Eye couldn't see well in that rain. She drew her blade. All around us were archers. A woman's voice called out to Starbrow. I knew it was the woman who had come before to demand the tax. Starbrow would not surrender. The woman told the archers to fire, but she was interrupted when our people attacked the bowmen. Starbrow fought along with them. My friends and I fought too. We took no captives for ransom.
Later Orlaront wanted to talk to us. He wanted to study the strange light Wurk had brought out of the temple. When he spoke the Wyrm's tongue to it the light flickered but nothing else happened. He offered to exchange things with us to have the light. He had a copper cauldron that could make porridge with a spell of silence in it, and a leather bag with a sylph in it but after it was let out it would go away. He also had a feather that could make a sunspear, but that also could be used once only, and a tiny gargoyle that would bring a small earth elemental just once. I liked a ball with rings on it that looked like an eye that he showed us would grant a disruption spell. It did not go away after being used so I took that one. Wurk took a white stone like the green one I had but it would let him lift up things. Collan took as his prize an axe with a bladesharp spell in it. Jaryan had black stone that could detect Chaos. When we had chosen our rewards Wurk let Orlaront have the light.
Gordangar and Starbrow spoke together and I saw that Gordangar looked tired. But he encouraged Starbrow. He said that the women and children should go into hiding and the men should go to join the Deer Folk, because killing the tax collector would not go unnoticed and soon more fighting men would be sent to kill us. Wurk spoke up and said that our people should hide not fight, because he'd had a vision in the black block of seeing our whole clan wiped out. I remembered what I saw and said I had seen the same, though it made my knees shake to speak to the Ring without being asked.
Morganeth did not want to leave. She feared the Riddle would be desecrated and the urnfield would be dug up and our ancestors' bones scattered. Then Shah'vashak came out of the orb and said he could hide the urnfield and the Riddle so no one could harm them.
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