Wishing he had the courage to ask Jedidiah these questions, the bard finally fell into a restless sleep.
Late the next morning, after a large brunch, Jas took again to air to soar with the flyers. Holly set out with Handful to visit a shrine to Lathander in the mountains to the east of the vale. When both women had gone, Jedidiah led Joel back up to the Singing Cave. There the god taught his follower how to call on him for several other magical spells. First they worked on the spells Joel had witnessed in the past few days: a spell to heat metal and a command spell like the ones Walinda had used on Jas, faerie fire like the one cast on the stone marking the entrance to Giant's Craw Valley, and a spell to create food and water the way Jedidiah had done during their journey through the mountains. Jedidiah threw in a spell to locate objects, in case, the god joked, Joel mislaid his birdpipes again.
"Why are the forms so rigid?" Joel asked while he was struggling with the wording of the prayer to locate objects.
"If it comes in the right form," Jedidiah explained, "the power siphons from me without my having to think about it. That way I can keep concentrating on whatever I'm doing when you call for the spell. If you called for something with the wrong wording, I'd have to stop and think about it for a moment. For a god with hundreds of priests, that could get pretty complicated, and he may well end up ignoring them."
"If you were watching me and concentrating, could you grant me something I hadn't learned?" Joel asked.
"It sounds possible," Jedidiah said. "But I'm not sure what the consequences might be. I think that's an experiment we should table for a while."
There was a commotion outside the temple, and Joel heard the sound of saurials twittering. Copperbloom came in and said something to Jedidiah that Joel couldn't hear.
"Let's go see," Jedidiah murmured.
Joel followed his god out of the Singing Cave. In the garden, saurials were watching the sky intently. Joel and Jedidiah looked up.
A few saurial flyers circled the vale lazily. At the party the previous night, Jas had told Joel that most of the flyers hunted for small creatures and birds, but some were scouts on watch for approaching outsiders. Jedidiah pointed to the east. High over the mountain peaks at the eastern edge of the vale flew the spelljammer temple to Bane. The ship flew southward, beyond the southern peaks of the vale, then turned back to the east.
"A square spiral search pattern," Jedidiah said. "Very methodical, your Walinda. I guess she took me literally when I told her she could try to search for the vale."
"But she hasn't seen past the illusion," Joel noted. "Did you cast the spell?" he asked.
Jedidiah shook his head. "That magic was here before I was even born."
"What does it look like from up there?" Joel asked.
"As if the vale is rocky and barren," Jedidiah replied.
"Suppose they fly lower?" he asked.
"They can try," Jedidiah muttered with a sly gin. "Now, what's that?" he asked suddenly, pointing to a speck flying behind the spelljammer.
Joel shrugged. "I can hardly see it."
Jas landed beside the two men. "Did you see?" she asked angrily, whatever calm she achieved disturbed by the sight of her stolen craft.
Jedidiah nodded. "Jas, if you please, would you fly up and ask one of the flyers to see if she can tell what that speck is that's following the ship?"
The winged woman nodded.
Jedidiah held her back for a moment. "Don't try to follow it yourself," he warned. "If they spot a flying saurial, they might mistake it for a bird, but you, on the other hand…"
"Yeah, I know. I stand out like a festhall girl at a funeral," Jas said. She took to the sky, heading to intercept one of the saurial flyers to the east.
"Why are they looking for us?" Joel asked. "We said we'd meet them."
"Because a valeful of hostage saurials would be even more leverage for the banelich to use to ensure I brought him the Hand of Bane," Jedidiah said. "In case the finder's stone isn't enough, or in case he wants to keep the finder's stone for himself."
Jedidiah motioned for Joel to follow him back into the temple. When they'd once more settled in the Singing Cave, the god began to teach Joel a new song. It was an unusual piece of music. The lyrics were about a tulip's cycle of life, and the tune switched from a major chord to a minor halfway through.
Joel couldn't really think of any occasion when he would want to sing the song, and he had trouble committing it to memory. His mind kept straying to thoughts of Bane and Jedidiah's agreement to help the banelich.
After Joel's third failed attempt to master the fourth verse of the song, Jedidiah called a halt to the work. "Let's get some air," he suggested.
They strolled through the gardens side by side for several minutes without speaking. Finally Jedidiah asked, "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"
Joel took a deep breath. All in a rush, he spoke of all the worries that had dogged his sleep the night before. When he finished, he looked down at the flowers, unable to meet Jedidiah's unwavering gaze.
Jedidiah sighed. "Yes," he said. "I could forget the finder's stone. I know several acquaintances who would tell me that was the proper course. Of course, it would also be the fool's course," he said.
Joel flushed with anger, and he found the courage to look back up at his god.
"Joel, think of the consequences of that action. Do you think Walinda and the banelich will abandon their quest because I choose not to help them?"
A new blush rose to Joel's face, this one of embarrassment. "No," he admitted softly, feeling like a complete idiot.
"Naturally my help will make the quest easier for Walinda," Jedidiah said, "saving her a great deal of time and keeping her from a good deal of danger. If she were lost, the banelich would have to find another worshiper of Bane capable of succeeding her, which wouldn't be easy."
Joel looked startled. "You weren't thinking of-"
"Killing Walinda?" Jedidiah finished Joel's question, "Not really. I'm trying to avoid making the banelich angry. Remember, I don't want to risk him crushing the finder's stone under his armored foot just to get even with me. Besides it would only delay the inevitable. He's going to get someone to retrieve the Hand of Bane regardless. I want it to be us. It gives us time to learn more about him and Walinda, their weaknesses and strengths. It gives us leverage. It gives us options. I'm not sure which option I'll choose, but I want to have them."
Joel nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry," he said.
"For what?" Jedidiah asked. "Being a good person with the courage to question a god? That's one of the reasons I chose you for a priest. Of course," Jedidiah added, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "this is the point where my good friend Olive Ruskettle would point out that I always have some justification for my actions, whether I'm right or wrong."
Jas landed beside them in the garden. "You'll never guess," she said excitedly.
"What?" Joel asked.
"The figure following the spelljammer," the winged woman said. "The flyers said it's a human, all deformed by magic so that it's arms have become wings. Guess what it's wearing?"
Joel shook his head, completely clueless.
"An eye patch," Jas announced.
Joel gasped. "Bear?" he asked incredulously.
"That would be my guess," the winged woman replied.
"Now he's chasing the banelich's power," Jedidiah said with a grin.