The results were as swift as they were remarkable. The ease with which the two managed to link pleased Uldyssian, who had, in truth, feared complete failure.
There was only one trouble with the link and that was the incredible closeness it created between Uldyssian and Serenthia. To prevent any stirring of his feelings, he quickly guided her mind out in the direction he wished to survey.
However, even after the two of them completed what he felt a thorough search, Uldyssian came away with nothing. He did not even detect what had earlier disturbed him and knew that neither had Serenthia. After a few more minutes of futile hunting, Uldyssian ceased the effort.
“I was wrong,” he muttered. “Merely my imagination.”
“That’s better than another threat, isn’t it?”
Uldyssian nodded. “Just so long as I don’t start seeing shadows everywhere. It’ll become that much harder to tell when a real danger rears its head…”
The edyrem progressed. Uldyssian watched as Istani became an actual city, not merely a few structures above the treetops. He drew in his scouts, wanting no one cut off from the rest. That left only Rashim and his party, who he knew would catch up while Uldyssian was dealing with the local temple.
But to his surprise, before he and his followers could reach the city gates, a contingent from Istani rode out to meet them. There were twenty-five in all, most of them guards. A handful of officials led by a middle-aged, plump figure in rich blue and green silk robes confronted the son of Diomedes.
“We have come to speak with the leader of this army,” the plump man said. He wore an elaborate silver nose ring that itself was encrusted with tiny rubies.
Uldyssian strode forward. He did not care that the Istanian, being mounted, had the advantage in terms of eye level; the official would soon learn who truly held the power in this conversation, especially if he sought to protect the Triune.
“I’m who you seek,” he told the rider. “I am Uldyssian ul-Diomed.” As the official started to speak again, Uldyssian raised his hand. “And I have only one thing to say. You and yours have nothing to fear from us. It’s only the Triune. Stand out of our way and the evil truth about them will be revealed soon enough.”
The rider fidgeted throughout his speech. Finally, the moment that Uldyssian stopped, he blurted, “But that is why we have come to you, Master Uldyssian! There is no need to enter Instani! The Triune…they have fled!”
As Uldyssian stared at the man in disbelief, excited voices broke out among the edyrem.
“What do you mean by that?” he demanded. “When?”
There was that in Uldyssian’s tone that evidently cowed the official further. He bent low in the saddle, hastily explaining, “It was but two days ago, Master Uldyssian! Without word, the priests, the guards—all within the temple—they did vanish during the night! It was noticed by the sentries and the people the next day, and when we went inside to seek the high priest, we found his chamber empty, too!”
“Do you think they’re lying?” murmured Serenthia, a step behind him.
Uldyssian did not answer, for he had already begun finding out on his own the answer to that question. He sensed no guile on the part of the Istanians—in fact, they were afraid of angering him with this news. Satisfied as to them, Uldyssian then reached out to the city itself, seeking the taint of the Triune.
He found traces, but nothing more. The temple was, as the official had insisted, entirely abandoned. Uldyssian’s mind swept over the three-towered edifice, searching for any clue, but the priests had been very thorough in clearing out their rooms.
Seeking their trail, he located, as in Hashir, a secondary city gate near the temple. There were only a few guards manning it and it did not take the son of Diomedes much guesswork to assume that those sentries had been mystically blinded to the departure.
Once into the jungle, the trail quickly faded, the priests having strived hard to avoid detection. However, what little was evident indicated a route heading directly toward the supreme temple.
While Uldyssian had been doing all this, the Istanians had grown more and more anxious. They could not know what the foreigner was doing standing there as if asleep. The lead official kept glancing back at his counterparts, likely begging for some advice. However, they remained silent, none wishing to be drawn into the talks. Clearly, if there proved to be any violence, the blame would all fall upon the spokesman, who likely had been chosen for this task against his liking.
Withdrawing from his search, Uldyssian exhaled, then met the first rider’s wide-eyed gaze. “You speak the truth.”
This brought renewed excitement from the edyrem. Their master’s enemies were running scared. Victory was surely at hand…
Uldyssian dared not get his own hopes up. Still, this reprieve meant that less time would be lost in this area. If they left in the morning, they could reach the supreme temple two days earlier than planned.
“You speak the truth,” he repeated, “and so there remains only one thing for us before we leave your domain.”
The Istani leaders all looked sick. They no doubt expected either some reprisal or some great demand for riches.
“We’ve need of some food and fresh water. In addition, we must make camp nearby. Any of your people are welcome to trade with us, to learn about us.” Because of the shortness of time, Uldyssian could not enter Istani and preach to the locals. That would come later, supposing that he survived his confrontation with Lilith.
A hint of relief spread through the locals. The lead official nodded several times. “Food and water can be provided, yes, Master Uldyssian! There are those who will trade with you also, yes!” He leaned back. “Barenji! See to it, yes?”
One of the other officials nodded once, then turned his horse around and rode off as if on fire.
Uldyssian indicated his gratitude. “That’s all, then. If any of you have other questions, I’ll answer them; if not, then I wish the wise people of Instani good health and thank them for their efforts.”
It was not exactly the formal greeting that he had learned for Hashir, but it was satisfactory. With many bows, the contingent turned and rode back to the city.
“Can they be trusted with the food and water?” asked Timeon. “They may seek to poison it…”
That was highly doubtful to Uldyssian, but he had already considered what to do. “Nothing’ll be distributed until I’ve looked it over.”
His answer was, of course, enough to satisfy the others. They had full trust in him, which Uldyssian appreciated. He prayed that he would not let them down.
With the guidance of those among the edyrem who understood the territory best, Uldyssian chose a place to camp for the night. Even before his followers had settled down, the Istani began to bring foodstuff for them. The articles came in wagons drawn by both oxen and more of the huge beasts used in the lowlands. Saron called them pachyshon, which meant “long-nosed brothers.” The pachyshon made delivering the food a quicker operation, for they used their flexible snouts to reach baskets down to where Uldyssian awaited. Once he made certain that there was no poison or other threat, Saron, Timeon, and others began passing the supplies around.
The Istanians treated them with the utmost regard, almost falling over themselves to please. Uldyssian did not expect any of the locals to come to hear about the edyrem, but a large handful did.
He welcomed them and spoke to all as he had times previous. Some of the Istani departed after his speech, but more stayed. To the latter, Uldyssian offered to reveal their own gifts.
This time, he did one other thing as he stirred the latent powers to life. Within each, Uldyssian sought out as best he could any kernel of darkness that he could find and crushed it utterly. There would be no repeat of Lilith’s foul work with Romus and the other unfortunates.