“And what about the orcrest?” Linden asked him. “The Sunstone? How did you find it?”
In a general sense, she knew the answer. What you need is in the Aumbrie. You’ll know what you’re looking for when you touch it. But she wanted Liand’s confirmation. She could not imagine why Covenant had urged him to go in search of power.
And she had never seen the Aumbrie of the Clave. She only knew that Vain had found the iron heels of Berek’s Staff there while she was a prisoner in Revelstone.
But Stave intervened before Liand could reply. “Chosen, I belittle neither Liand nor orcrest in saying that they do not outweigh our need for your tale. In the name of all that we have dreaded, I ask this of you. Speak to us, that we may know the truth of our peril.”
Linden did not glance away from Liand. “Just this one, Stave.” To her own ears, she sounded as inflexible as the Haruchai. “Please. I’m still trying to pull myself together. Hearing you talk-all of you-helps me.”
Their voices, and her concern, reminded her of the woman she had once been.
Stave glanced at Mahrtiir. When the Manethrall assented, Stave said stiffly, “Be brief, Stonedownor.”
Pahni continued to hold Liand’s shoulder; but she lowered her eyes as though she sought to mask the fact that where he felt excitement she knew only trepidation.
Abruptly Liand seated himself near Linden. Bracing his elbows on his knees, he leaned toward her; held his piece of orcrest like an offering or demonstration between them. His concern for her crowded against the surface of his attention. But his desire to speak of the Sunstone temporarily took precedence.
“In this matter, Linden, I am not formed for brevity. At your side, I have been mazed by marvels which surpassed all conception. But until I placed my hand upon this stone, and felt my spirit answer to its astonishment, I had not imagined that I, too, might find myself exalted.”
In life, Sunder had wielded his piece of Sunstone skilfully. But he had been educated by the Clave’s Rede. Liand had no such instruction; no lore of any kind. Only the inborn resources of his Stonedownor blood might enable him to make use of orcrest.
You must comprehend,” he explained earnestly, “that we were distraught to the depths of our hearts. The Unbeliever and your son had rent you from us, promising salvation. Yet the ur-viles opposed them-and were in turn opposed by Esmer, whose disturbed loyalties appear to shift at every occasion. Also a voice had spoken to us through Anele, foretelling obscure needs and burdens. And the Demondim battered Revelstone heinously. The Masters responded valorously, but their losses were grave, and none knew how long they might deny the horde.
“It is your word that you have endured events which defy description. Our consternation also exceeded telling.”
Pahni’s fingers dug into Liand’s shoulder; but she would not meet Linden’s gaze.
Liand continued to search Linden’s face for an answer to his underlying apprehension. “Galled by helplessness, we endeavoured to busy ourselves. Daily we bathed in Glimmermere to banish the bale of Kevin’s Dirt. The Ramen tended the mounts of the Masters. And Stave-as he later informed us-laboured to acquire the secret of silencing his thoughts. But Anele and I were without purpose or relief.
“He remained as he was, compliant and mumbling incoherently. Of him I knew only that he misliked the nearness of the Masters. I, however-” Liand shrugged at the memory. “I had no place in the defence of Lord’s Keep. My presence merely hindered the Masters. The Ramen sought a use for my aid, but their skills eluded me, though I have cared for horses since boyhood. I could discover no trace or trail of the Demondim-spawn. And Stave declined to guide me to the Aumbrie, declaring that the Masters would permit no approach to implements of Earthpower.
“Linden, the thought that I was barred from that which I had been advised to seek became anguish. In your company, I have encountered the greatness and import of the Land. But in your absence, I was no more than a foolish Stonedownor, superfluous and ignorant. Even the benison of Glimmermere gave me no solace. Were it not for Pahni’s attentiveness and generosity”- he smiled quickly at the young Cord- “I might have flung myself against the Demondim merely to relieve my futility.”
With an aborted snore, Anele raised his head, peered blindly around the room. Then he appeared to catch the scent of food. Muttering, “Anele is hungry,” he braced himself on Bhapa’s prompt support, climbed to his feet, and went at once to sit near the tray so that he could resume his interrupted meal.
If his temporary lucidity had left any aftereffects, they lay beyond the reach of Linden’s senses.
“Briefly, Liand,” muttered Mahrtiir in a low voice. “The Ringthane’s heart is sufficiently fraught. Do not dwell upon griefs which have passed.”
At once, Pahni turned to the Manethrall, apparently intending to defend Liand. But Mahrtiir silenced her with a frown, and she ducked her head again.
“I crave your pardon,” Liand said to Linden. The Manethrall speaks sooth. Your sorrows indeed defy utterance, for the fate of the Land rests with you. It is plain that the Unbeliever’s purpose has failed, and your son is lost to you. I speak of my plight only so that you may comprehend my transformation”- again he looked at the Ramen girl- “and Pahni’s dread.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Linden’s tone resembled Stave’s stoicism. “It’s going to be a long night, and there isn’t much that we can do until morning.” She might not be able to leave Revelstone until she found a way to help the Masters defeat the Demondim. “We don’t need to hurry.”
Liand’s countenance revealed his gratitude-as well as his alarm at her manner-as he resumed his explanation.
“On the fourth day from your disappearance, Stave approached me to announce that the time had come. He had learned to conceal his thoughts from the Masters. And the Masters themselves were heavily engaged by the Demondim. He conceived that we might therefore approach the Aumbrie without opposition. His kinsmen were too few to guard us closely.
“I accepted at once, though Pahni protested. I required some task or deed which might offer meaning to my days.
“Leaving Anele with the Ramen, we descended into the depths of Revelstone, where no lamps burned except that which Stave bore, and the neglected dust of many and many years had gathered heavily. There we entered a passage which appeared to serve no purpose, for it ended in blank stone. Glimmermere had refreshed my discernment, however, and when I had studied the wall for a time, I perceived a faint residue of glamour or theurgy.
“Though it was veiled from simple sight, a tracing of red outlined the shape of a portal. I have no knowledge of such matters, as you are aware. Yet to my senses, the tracing flowed toward a place of accentuation in the centre of the lintel. Testing me, perhaps, Stave offered no counsel. Nonetheless I dared to set my hand upon that accentuation. And when I had done so, a door became evident within the pattern of the lines.”
Linden listened closely, trying to prepare herself; bracing her resolve on Liand’s story. Some of its details begged for examination. Surely the Masters knew that he now held a piece of Sunstone? And they must have sensed Liand’s entrance into the Aumbrie. Why had they not taken the orcrest from him as soon as he found it?
His tone intensified as he continued. “Moved by an ancient magic beyond my ken, the door opened of its own accord, admitting us to corridors thick with dust and dank air. Thereafter Stave resumed his guidance, for the passages gave no hint of their design or intent. Soon the air grew nigh too foul to breathe, and Stave’s lamp faltered. Ere it failed, however, we came upon an iron door, heavy and dark, lying discarded upon the floor. And from the chamber which the door had once sealed shone the lumination of the moon at its full. Also I discerned an aura of eldritch vitality as poignant as Glimmermere’s, but immeasurably more complex. Indeed, I recognised nothing except that the atmosphere was compounded of Earthpower in a multitude of forms.