Life After Death
After my experience with Sir Tyrion's living sword, Covenant's remark did not take me by surprise. But of course I was as eager as my friends to learn how my wife and her traveling companions had returned to life.
When we had been escorted to a private chamber in the temple and been joined once again by Garrett, Covenant said, "It does not seem that long since we saw you last", to which Liadan answered quickly, "Yes it does."
Havin Wayfinder asked, "Where are Phaele and Sandrue? Are they well?" Liadan and Nekaya-Re explained the departures of our two friends, and Baran then remarked, "Much has happened in the world since you left us." Covenant then observed that he could see we had traveled a great deal since he saw us last. Even as absorbed as I was in my joyful reunion with my wife, I could not restrain my laughter at that comment, nor could any of my friends.
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Devo: "Those of you who have a sense of humor laugh at that." (looks at Jubilee)
Jubilee: "Nekaya has a sense of humor!"
sniffles: "It's right next to her sense of evil."
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Seeing our amusement, Covenant said, "Who would like to begin the storytelling, then?", to which Liadan quickly responded, "You do."
My wife and I settled on cushions on the floor so that we could sit nearer to one another. I think that I could be comfortable unprotected on the Plane of Fire were I only able to grasp her hand in both of mine as I did at that moment.
"I think that we made the right decision in asking you to remain," Covenant told us, "for things were more difficult than we expected. But perhaps I should begin with who Ssurathrax really is."
"He was once a lord of the Abyss," Nekaya-Re interjected. "Madu has explained some of his story to us," she added. "We've seen Osaze as well."
"How is Osaze?" Covenant asked. "I need to see him." To this it was explained that Osaze was presently in the City of Brass, which roused concern in Covenant, for as he said, "Osaze seems fated to be in the right place at the right time."
"Why did you need to see Osaze?" asked Liadan, to which her father answered that his journal was missing and he had come to retrieve the copy from Osaze. Liadan then presented him with the copy she had removed from Osaze's room at Madu's residence. This elicited some surprise from Covenant. "You have met Osaze?" he asked.
"That is why we came to Calimport," Nekaya-Re explained. "We sought to retrace your steps."
It was then explained to Covenant and his companions that we had only just returned from the desert after visiting Osaze in the City of Brass.
"You went to the City of Brass?" Covenant exclaimed incredulously. "That's part of our story. Let us hear yours," Liadan quickly retorted. "I am more interested in your story," Covenant replied, eliciting more laughter from all of our company.
Covenant then resumed his tale. Their party had sought Ssurathrax to acquire the Gauntlet of Dawn, which Jastra's research had indicated lay in the dragon's hoard. As they entered his lair, they found signs that other beings had made incursions into his territory. It appeared that various forces had been attempting entry there over a long period of time. Covenant mentioned certain objects left by the dragon to warn away intruders. Though he did not elaborate in detail what he meant by warnings, I sensed that they were items too gruesome to describe.
"I made the mistake of trusting to his nature that he would want to speak with us and ignored the warnings," Covenant continued. The dragon's lair was filled with traps, and being partially bound to Ssurathrax's former home in the Abyss, it was also filled with other things most unpleasant and dangerous. Our friends' features reflected a little of the horrors they had faced there as he spoke, and Erendis's grasp on my hands grew tighter.
They had failed to have any kind of reasonable discourse with the dragon, and Ssurathrax had made good on his promise to slay any foolish enough to intrude on his privacy. The battle had been a long and difficult one, though Covenant once more did not go into detail other than to say that it was he who had been the last to fall. My wife had wisely prepared a blessing of Corellon Larethian that would revive at least a portion of their number should the meet their demise. But they had not anticipated that among the dragon's acquisitions was an object capable of ensnaring souls. Covenant described it as a tall black spire of twisted stone, filled with a vast number of disembodied souls.
When they fell, their own souls were captured within this object. But only a day and a half prior to our reunion, Covenant had suddenly found himself back among the living. Ssurathrax was dead. Though they could not fully determine what had slain the dragon, evidence in his lair showed that the wizard Gadron may have been involved. They had found the remnants of Gadron's broken staff, and Covenant had realized that the glowstone they had intended to exchange for the Gauntlet was missing, as was his journal.
"What of the Gauntlet?" asked Nekaya-Re. Covenant then displayed a pendant he wore upon a chain, a crude amulet of a fist grasping a yellow stone. We had already come to suspect that the Gauntlet was not in fact an actual gauntlet, but the simplicity of this device took me somewhat by surprise.
Havin also displayed for us the remains of Gadron's staff, which we all recognized from its distinctive design. It appeared that Gadron had challenged Ssurathrax, perhaps seeking to recover the glowstone which he had been so reluctant to give up. There were also indications that Gadron may have brought a force of trolls to aid him. Covenant theorized that Gadron might have immediately followed them into the dragon's lair after their initial departure from us.
"No," replied Liadan, "because he was there at Camber during the winter and still had his staff in his possession."
Covenant absorbed this information and continued his tale. It seemed that Gadron may not have slain the dragon, but might have damaged him badly enough that the trolls could then complete the deed. Gadron then may have returned to the lair seeking the glowstone.
Garrett then interjected that he was still convinced that Gadron had visited the lair quite recently, and Havin concurred with him. Covenant, however, was unwilling to think ill of someone he considered a friend. Nekaya-Re could not refrain from expressing some of her distaste for the wizard, but did not elaborate on our experiences with him at that point in the exchange.
Having completed his description of what had befallen their group, Covenant paused, and Nekaya-Re gave him a brief explanation of what we had learned of the Gauntlet of Dawn in our researches. "But perhaps we should tell our story in the order in which it occurred," she added.
Liadan and Nekaya-Re then launched into the story of our adventures, occasionally aided by the rest of our company. "We start our story with a scream in the night, and that was Califax," Liadan began.
She told them of Califax's reaction to their deaths, and of how he had survived to lead us to Gadron. She explained how we had wintered in Camber, and of the orcish invasion and Micah's mysterious blue gauntlet that we had first taken for a possible Gauntlet of Dawn. Our mood grew somber as she spoke of that town that had been our home for so many months and we all remembered the terrible destruction we had witnessed.
Jastra was quite interested in mention of Micah's gauntlet and described it to us in detail. When I confirmed that it indeed fit the description she gave, she suddenly produced its mate from her bag and told us it had come from Ssurathrax's hoard! Naturally we were startled to see it in her possession. "There is a long story behind this, but I'm sure you're not interested," she said. "We are, but perhaps now is not the time," I replied.
The recounting of our adventures continued, though it was not possible to do so precisely in the sequence in which the events occurred, for the story was frequently interrupted by questions or recollections of additional details. Our newly returned companions were greatly interested in many of the incidents we described. In particular, Havin showed concern when we told of the terrible destruction of Camber. When we mentioned that we had met an elder of Halruua there, he asked, "Which one?" "Furnael," I answered sourly. Havin was familiar with the man, at least by reputation. When Nekaya-Re went on to explain that Furnael and his confederates had been responsible for the massacre in Camber, Havin was both amazed and deeply saddened.
Havin was also taken aback when our storytellers went on to explain how we had come to visit the solar barque of Re-Horakhty. He was unaware of the presence of the fiery sphere in his tower; his laboratory had contained only the crown of a long-dead pharaoh of Mulhorand, which he had been examining. This pharaoh, it transpired, had been an ancestor of Anukhileal, the pharaoh whose priests had sent us to the solar barque. I suspect that it was Nekaya-Re’s presence that somehow triggered this crown to create the fiery sphere.
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J: "As I recall Havin’s tower opened to Nekaya."
Dan: "That's because Nekaya thinks the whole world revolves around her."
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Our brief sojourn in the divine realm of the sun was impressive to my wife’s company. Sadly Liadan had then to tell her father of Califax’s demise, but he did not appear to find this news shocking, for he had expected his steed to have fallen at the time of his own demise in the dragon’s lair.
Our arrival on the temple spire was a source of amusement for everyone; it is customary for those who can transport themselves by magic to use familiar temples as a destination, just as Jastra had done, but the top of a temple spire is not a typical location for such arrivals.
It was then explained how we had gone into the desert seeking Osaze because we desired access to the copy of Covenant’s journal. We described what we had observed there, including how the caliph had shown off his military preparations and appeared to have no concern that we would report such activities to others.
We were able to convince Covenant that it seemed to us likely that the efreet army would come soon unless the caliph should be persuaded to take his army to the Plane of Fire instead. Osaze’s presence there also led Covenant to think the attack imminent; for as he had remarked earlier, Osaze seems able to be in the right place at the right time.
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patv: "Our next stop was Ssurathrax."
Hedrin: "So you saved us a trip."
Devo: "Glad to be of service."
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sniffles: "We needed Osaze to open the compartment, so we decided to go to the City of Brass and see Osaze."
Zora: "Yeah, we decided it wasn't hot enough in Calimport, so we had to go into the heart of the desert to a city full of fire creatures."
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Covenant, being a native of Calimshan, was naturally concerned that his homeland was threatened, and was interested in our description of the object that could reportedly release thousands of devils and consume the City of Brass. But he showed greater concern when told of the affairs of the rest of the world as Liadan and Baran had learned of them through their sendings.
It seems likely that the Shadows that have appeared to plague many parts of the world are the great evil Covenant sought to defeat by acquiring the Gauntlet and Sword. Erendis’s grasp on my hand tightened when I described how these Shadows had emerged from the wastes of Anauroch to endanger the Hidden Hills. She listened with consternation when I told her of Ruathar’s mission to seek her and of how he had been captured and enslaved in Calimport. She knew that the need must be very great for him to have left our homeland. Baran then spoke up and informed us that Ruathar was on his way to the temple.
But my beloved realized as I did that, however much we desired to return to Evereska and defend it against the Shadows, our path lay still beside Covenant.
In the course of our long discussion, we had reflected on the Sword and how we had come to believe that it might not be an actual sword at all, based upon the tale Osaze had told us. Covenant was not entirely convinced, for the mention of it as the “dread not-sword” had come only once, whereas it was referred to in many places as the Sword of the Dreadnaught.
He was aware that the Gauntlet could be charged with the energy of the sun, though even he and Nekaya-Re combined could not generate a sufficient quantity of such energy to refill the vast reservoir the tiny amulet contained. But he suggested that perhaps the enchanted glowstone Gadron had taken might hold enough of such energy. Therefore, it was his proposal that we should next seek out Gadron’s stronghold and make contact with the wizard to learn what he knew.
Nekaya-Re explained to him our need to depart the city unseen, so as not to rouse the Sultan’s ire. She and Erim then described what they had learned of the workings of the portal within Elishar’s temple. Using said portal, we should be able to return to the Cloven Mountains. But if they are correct, we cannot do so until dusk. Jastra, who has made a study of such devices, has confirmed the accuracy of their conjectures.
Our conversation continued all through the hours of the night and contained far more information than I have detailed here. When at last we retired to our lodgings, dawn had arrived.
At some point after my wife and I repaired to my room at the inn, Ruathar arrived at the temple. When we appeared in the common room the next day, he greeted us. It is touching to see his affection for Erendis – I might almost describe it as worshipful. He has appointed himself her protector and is determined to see that she is able to return there as soon as possible when we have completed our quest for the sword. But he has yet to recover his own ancestral blade. He continues to decline aid from those not of the Tel’Quessir. With aid from Corellon provided by my wife, he intends to complete that task before we depart.
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Jubilee: “I don’t know if he’d accept half-elven help, but I wouldn’t help him steal a sword anyway.”
Devo: “It’s not stealing it – it’s killing people and looting it.”
Jubilee: “Oh, well, in that case…”
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Sniffles: “They did a good job of inserting that stick when Nekaya went to paladin school.”
Jubilee: “She didn’t finish paladin school.”
Zora: “So you have an unfinished stick?”
Sniffles: “But they didn’t let her leave until she had her stick inserted.”
Jubilee: “That’s the first thing they do when you start paladin school!”
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Zora announces something that Rock says into his ring of communication for Ruathar’s benefit.
Jubilee: “Rock’s been announcing what he’s doing out loud a lot lately.”
Zora: “I’m taking a whiz now.”
Devo: “I hope nobody’s sneaking up on me, because I’m taking a whiz.”
Zora; “There’s no rules for that, so I don’t know how long it will take.”
Patv: “I think it’s a move action.”
Zora: “Sometimes a swift.”
Patv: “Sometimes there’s an immediate need…”
sniffles: “Depends on if you’re a man or a woman. If you’re a woman it’s a standard action.”
Patv: “But you have to take a move action to get through the line to get to the bathroom.”
Devo: “Isn’t it more of a sitting action than a move action?”
Hedrin: “But does it provoke an attack of opportunity when you stand up?”
Jubilee: “That’s why we go in those stalls.”
Hedrin: “And you take other women with you.”
Patv: “You may gossip as a free action, but you have to do makeup as a standard action.”
Zora: “No, that’s a full round action. Sometimes a minute per level.”
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Baran and Nekaya-Re have arranged to take our mounts to the temple of Elishar a few at a time during the night, so that we may make our way there unnoticed. It is unfortunate that we no longer have the mounts of our returned companions in our possession, but Jastra’s magic can also provide them with transportation after we arrive in Sespech.
I look forward to continuing our adventures now in the company of my beloved wife. Corellon has blessed me more than I can ever show sufficient gratitude for by returning her to me. I hereby dedicate my life to protecting her and the service she does in his name.