"Children? Me?"
"Tarrin found you, so that makes you his bond-child. Say hello to your new daddy."
Jula gaped at him.
"I'll teach you what you need to know," he said bluntly. "I'll help you keep your sanity. All you have to do is be honest with me. When I'm satisfied you're going to obey our laws and you won't go mad again, I'll release you. But don't ever think that I'm going to enjoy doing it," he hissed. "I still hate you, Jula. I'm only doing this because it's my duty, not because I want to." He glared down at her. "And one more thing. If you even think of betraying me, or going back to Kravon, I'll kill you. You know you don't stand a chance against me, and now that I have your bond, there's nowhere you can run. I'll track you down, and I'll finish you. Don't forget that."
"That, that's not going to be a problem," she said, lowering her eyes. "Kravon chained me up and kept me like a pet. He used me for his own entertainment. When I was no more use to him as an agent, I became his experimental rat." She sat up slowly. "They sent me here and let me loose, hoping that I'd cause you trouble. Just to slow you down. Or that we'd meet, and I'd kill you. They didn't care about what happened to me afterward. They never cared about what happened to me. I was just an animal to them. They never tried to help me keep my mind. Kravon studied me as I went mad, just so he could learn about the process." To his surprise, Jula began to cry, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "It was terrible. I was trapped in a living nightmare, and they made it even worse."
"Now you know how it feels to be betrayed," Tarrin told her. She looked up at him, and her eyes fixated on the scarred manacles locked around Tarrin's wrists. Manacles she had seen placed there. "I won't offer you pleasantries or an easy life, woman. You may find me as harsh as Kravon, but at least you'll know where you stand with me. And that I'll do what's best for you, even if I don't like it. That's my burden to bear."
"I, believe you," she said hesitantly, looking up at him. "So, if you'll let me off the floor and give me something to eat, I'll tell you anything you want to know." She looked down and blushed slightly. "And could I impose on someone for a robe?"
Sarraya conjured forth a plain robe, and Camara Tal poked her head out of the tent and barked at someone to bring food. Jula put on the simple, undyed wool robe, then took a seat at the small table Renoit kept in his tent. Just looking at her caused a storm of conflicting emotions inside him. Anger, fury, but also duty and a strange protectiveness. He had taken her as his own child, and he felt the need to nurture her, to raise her properly, just as he felt the need to wring her neck for what she did to him in the past. She was very meek and submissive any time she looked at him. She could smell his seething emotions, he knew she could. She knew better than to do anything to make him mad. "I appreciate this, Faerie," Jula said, picking at the robe. "It's a bit itchy, but I was starting to feel a noticable draft."
"I could have made it out of itchweed," Sarraya teased.
"These two, who are they? I don't remember any reports about them," Jula asked, pointing at Camara Tal.
"Friends," Tarrin replied shortly. "Camara Tal, and that one is Sarraya."
"An Amazon and a Faerie. You have exotic friends."
"I'm not normal. Neither are you anymore. Don't forget that."
"It's not something I forget easily," she said quietly, holding up her black-furred paw and looking at it. "It was the worst mistake I ever made."
"That's a negative attitude," Sarraya chided her. "If you're not going to accept help, then don't waste our time."
"I'm not a quitter, Faerie. I'm a survivor. If I have to go on like this, then I'll learn how to go on. But I'm not going to go mad again," she declared adamantly. "I'll kill myself first."
"That's more like it," Sarraya smiled, landing on the table.
A bowl of stew arrived, and Jula attacked it before someone could hand her a spoon. She dribbled stew on her chin as she drank greedily from the bowl, nearly choking as she gorged on the thick ham stew Deward had made for breakfast. Tarrin and the others watched on quietly as she ate ravenously. After most of it was gone, she lowered the bowl and wiped her chin with the back of her furred paw. "I never thought I'd eat something cooked again," she sighed. "Now then, where do you want to start?"
"Let us start simply," Dolanna replied. "What is ki'zadun, and what is its goal?"
"That's simple enough, Dolanna," Jula said. "They're a group of people who intend to take over the world. That's the ultimate objective."
"Who leads them?"
"It's changed over the years," she replied. "At first, it was Val. After he was imprisoned by Spyder, the leadership has traded hands between the Witch-Kings of Stygia and the Zakkite Imperium several times. But about five hundred years ago, they found the prison holding Val, and he's been commanding the organization since then. That's why they're after you, Tarrin. The Firestaff can restore his powers and free him from his prison. That's why they want it. Kravon commands the network's operations here in the West. He answers directly to Val."
"Val? The Fallen God?" Camara Tal asked sharply.
Jula nodded. "Val's lost his power, but not his worshippers. They still worship him, working for the day when he'll reward them for their loyalty." She took another long drink from the bowl, reaching in and plucking out a large chunk of ham. "Everything they do is aimed around taking over the entire world. The plan is three-pronged. One part is to restore Val to power. Another is to raise an army for him to command, and the third is to plant agents throughout the governments of the Known World to upset things when Val moves to conquer the world."
"A strange plan, since the Gods will simply cast him down again, if he returns to his power," Dolanna noted.
"We-They," she corrected, "don't think that's an issue. To do that would create a war between the gods, and it's doubtful that the Elder Gods would permit the destruction of the world."
"They will," Tarrin said grimly. "I've already been told that. If someone uses the Firestaff, the Elder Gods will directly intervene. I was told that the result would be the destruction of most of Sennadar."
"That's been considered, but even that's not a serious drawback. The thinking is that the Black Network would be in the best position to pick up the pieces after such a catastrophe, because they have many secret lairs well away from civilization, people and equipment that would survive the cataclysm. Either way, they win. It just changes the number of people they'll control."
"That's monstrous," Sarraya said sharply.
"World domination is not a neat and pretty venture, Faerie," Jula said mildly. "It can't be done without sacrifices."
"And you've become one of them," Tarrin told her flatly.
Jula lowered her head. "I knew what I was getting into when I joined them," she said honestly. "I knew what kind of people they were."
"Why did you do it, Jula?" Dolanna said with sudden emotion. "Why did you turn your back on the Goddess? Why did you serve such a dark cause?"
"Power," she replied simply, looking at the small Sharadite woman. "I had power in the ki'zadun. I was important, respected."
"And look what it got you," Tarrin snapped at her. "A chain around your neck. When you play with snakes, don't be surprised when you get bitten." He loomed over her. "Speaking of snakes, the last time we talked, you offered to tell me who the traitor was in the Tower. Who is it?"
Jula stared at him for a long time, then bowed her head. "Her name is Adrenne," she said meekly. "She's one of the older Sorcerers. She's been at the Tower a long time. She's highly respected."