Chapter 11

Gwidian and Cretin approached the elden temple by the same route as Jorm.
They were aware of Jorms presence by the tethered horses. Gwidian was about
to put a foot on the steps leading to the doorway when a voice called him
to a halt.

'Welcome Gwidian, I trust your quest went well?'

Gwidian turned to face Miowni. Despite his fatigue a large smile crossed
his face. He walked the few paces towards her and clasped her by the
shoulders. 'You are a welcome sight.'

Miowni also smiled. 'Am I really hearing this from the lips of Gwidian?'
She stared for a moment at the dirty, weathered and bearded face; then with
a concerned brow she said, 'Where is Morgain?'

Gwidians face sank. 'He rests at a homestead. Our journey has been thwart
with hazards - enemies at every turn. He was hurt badly by a winged demon.
We were lucky to survive.'

'We got the shieldy,' croaked Gwidians partner. 'Where are Jorm and Giyorn?'

Miowni turned her head slightly so she could see Cretin. 'Jorm speaks with
the keeper, the sage, of this temple. He is a wise man and they have spent
much time in conversation... of Giyorn... I do not know.'

Gwidian looked at the slight figure of Miowni. A sadness had come over her
and she bowed her head to stare at the ground. He could see the journey had
taken its toll on her and in the weak morning sunlight she looked no more
than a wisp of a girl, even the staunch darkness of her hair seemed to be
fading. 'He is alive?' prompted Gwidian.

Miowni raised her eyes. 'I honestly do not know. We encountered a
shade... Giyorn simply vanished.'

Gwidian did not press on with his questioning. The fearful look in Miownies
eyes told him that he had said enough.

'Disappearing Giyorn,' chuckled Cretin. 'He is still alive. Shades have not
the power to make peoples disappear forever. He is probably stood where you
left him.'

'They can kill,' said Miowni in a distraught voice.

Cretin fell silent.

                                    *

The four sat around the table. It had been a day since Gwidians arrival and
the tales of their journeys had been told.

Cretin paced up and down. He would cast his eyes from one face to the other
as they spoke, occasionally adding comments of his own.

'Giyorn will follow if he is able,' said Jorm. 'I feel sure he will make
his way straight to the spire.'

'You seem very sure that Nomarn will be awaiting us there,' said Gwidian.

The keeper or sage as they now called him looked at Gwidian and
intervened. 'Nomarn will be there, of that you can be certain, but he will
be wary. Since you encountered Palanzarr he has learned the secret of the
helvstone -  the elden called themselves helvs. The helvstone was indeed a
stone helv; an elden who was turned to stone by the Master Wizard, Myrov.
Nomarn knows the power of this elden, Palanzarr and he will be cautious.
But he must destroy the Queen, Miriel. He no longer has the power to
control her for there are only six shades.'

The sages words caused a few murmurs.

'And he expects the Queen to arrive with us at the spire?' said Miowni.

'You will not defeat Nomarn without her. You may have the shield to defend
yourself and the sword with which to slay, but the shades are powerful and
you are men and weapons short.'

'I have the Kreth,' said Gwidian.

'Remember Palanzarr is only one. The wraiths are six,' warned the sage.

'The Queen will be there,' said Jorm assuringly.

Cretin nodded his head.

'How can you be so sure?' queried Miowni.

Jorm shook his head. 'I wish I could tell you, but my lips are sealed. The
Queen ensures I do not speak; my mind is locked. Nomarn must not know of
her whereabouts, he must not sense her power.'

'I feel we walk into a trap,' said Miowni. 'Confronting all six shades is
suicide. Could not we and the Queen destroy them one at a time?'

'If we could find them. No, it would not work. Nomarn will wait at a place
of strength, the place where my father fell. He knows I will return there.
It is our chance to rid the world of all of these evil beings and we must
take it.'

'It is also Nomarns chance to rid the world of us,' said Gwidian.

'He could have destroyed us long ago,' said Jorm. 'He has spared us to
bring the Queen to him - and so we shall.'

'Had not Nomarn tried to steal the Queens powers in the first place he
would have already won the battle. The Queen would still dwell in her own
lands,' said Miowni.

'That is true,' said the sage, 'but remember his power is the power of the
mind. He can kill with a thought, but in reality he cannot lift a pebble
from the beach. If he conjures a dagger from thin air and sticks it in your
neck, you will die, though it is only an illusion, a perfect illusion of
sound, sight and of course feeling; yet he craves for immortal reality. The
Queens powers coupled with his own could have given him this. He had to
try.'

'Are we not forgetting one thing?' said Gwidian. 'I understand a fallen
shade will walk the corridors of Greyfar. Could not Nomarn lure her there?'

'He needs the power of the spire - the circle of fire. Reality has been
denied him, but vengeance and mastery of the world are still within his
grasp.'

'We must leave tomorrow,' said Jorm. 'The more we delay the more havoc is
caused by these demons which roam the countryside. All our lands are
falling into ruin. If we do not put an end to this evil soon we will have
no lands to rule; the northlands are already desolate. The people have
suffered enough.'

'To the spire of Darklore,' hissed Cretin.

They all turned towards him.

'What is it about that creature?' said Gwidian. 'The more I travel with
him, the less I seem to know him. He has saved our skins more than once,
yet sometimes I feel he could be a greater enemy than Nomarn himself. He
knows too much and he is unnatural... even for a demon.'

Cretin gave what seemed to be an impression of a smile. 'True, loyal Cretin.'

'If I were you I should get some rest,' said the sage looking at Gwidian.
'You need all the strength you can gather.'

'We all do,' confirmed Jorm.

They all rose from the table. The sage mentioned Jorm to one side.

'You require something?' said Jorm.

'You do not intend taking Miowni to the spire.'

Jorm shook his head. 'I have grown too fond of her to risk her life, though
it means breaking my oath to her stepfather. Strange really, I knew the old
man for years but it was only a season since I learned he had a
stepdaughter; three days before he died in a riding accident,' Jorm paused
for a few moments. 'Tell me, do you know the outcome of our venture?'

The sage pondered a moment, 'Know you that matters are as destiny demands;
know you also that the name Miriel means Queen.'
