"They probably weren't."
"You don't trust these women?"
"They're overwomen, actually, despite their name, and I am not sure whether I trust them or not."
"Perhaps you should go and speak with them again, and settle the matter once and for all. They might know how you can be freed of the sword."
"They might, at that. They are, however, in Ordunin, where I am now an outlaw."
"Do you know of any other oracles?"
"I'm not sure; I once met a seer, of sorts and of course there is the Forgotten King, who knows more than he should. There was also a priest in Dыsarra who was said to have special knowledge. None of these are even as trustworthy as the Wise Women."
"I would say, then, that you would be well-advised to return to Ordunin, outlaw or not, and speak with your oracle. If you travel by night and stay clear of the city, can you not manage it?"
"Probably. I will think about it."
He did think about it and by morning he had resolved to make the attempt.
Unfortunately, by morning the winter snows had begun, blowing down from the northern hills. This storm was wholly natural, but fierce enough that he decided travel would be foolhardy. He would wait it out, he told himself.
It was only after two days of tedium, sitting in the King's Inn worrying about the warbeasts' food supply-five of eleven, including Koros, had stayed in Skelleth when the others had returned to Ordunin-that it occurred to him that, if the sword could create storms, it might be able to control natural ones as well.
It could. He ripped the storm into tattered shreds of cloud and sputtering gusts of wind in ten minutes of concentration.
A foot of wet snow lay on the ground, but he thought Koros could handle that without undue difficulty. He set about gathering supplies.
With the ground under snow, game would be scarce along the way, and foraging difficult; furthermore, he did not dare to visit his home, which meant that he needed supplies for a round trip. Saram was reluctant to part with so much of the village's meager provisions.
Garth also wanted another sword, a more ordinary blade that he could use without worrying about whether he was controlling it or it was controlling him, a knife for skinning and dressing whatever game he might find, an axe to cut firewood, and various other tools that were in short supply in Skelleth. His friendship with Saram did not provide unlimited credit, and he found himself spending part of the Aghadite gold to purchase what he needed.
It took another two days before he felt himself properly equipped; but at last, one morning, he mounted his warbeast and rode out the North Gate toward the hills that marked the border of the Northern Waste.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The party sent to Ur-Dormulk consisted of Deriam, since he knew his own city better than anyone else; Shandiph, since he alone could use the spell that would show them the way to the crypt that held what they sought; Karag, who insisted upon accompanying them; and Thetheru of Amag, who refused to remain behind if Karag went. The four rode the finest horses in the High King's stable; Chalkara, with the aid of a subtle spell, acquired retroactive approval for this from the King an hour or so after the quartet had slipped quietly out.
The stealth was considered necessary because of the presence of the Baron of Sland. He had already protested the existence of secret meetings of wizards in the High King's castle and tried to force Karag to tell him what was under discussion. Only the presence of the other wizards had kept him from resorting to violence.
Two of his six soldiers had vanished since their arrival, and Karag suspected that the Baron was keeping his own secrets. His men did not desert; they did not dare.
Therefore, the four wizards had begun their journey an hour before dawn, while the Baron and his men slept. A simple spell of drowsiness kept the gatekeeper from noticing their departure.
Once out of the castle, they rode night and day, using invigorating spells to keep their horses alive and moving. Such travel was hard on the older two, Shandiph and Deriam, but did not seem to bother Karag at all-and Thetheru concealed his own fatigue rather than admit that Karag was more fit. Ordinarily, each would have avoided the use of so much magic so quickly, but with such a threat hanging over them and such a promise of greater power before them, it seemed foolish to worry about conserving relatively trivial resources.
They were slowed by the necessity of crossing the Great River, which they reached early in the second day, but they nevertheless managed to arrive at the gates of Ur-Dormulk by the sunset following their ferry ride.
It then became necessary to conceal their haste, and they struggled to appear as if nothing unusual were taking place-as if the four of them had decided on a casual visit to Deriam's home. They received curious glances from pedestrians as they made their way through the streets, while Karag and Thetheru displayed their own curiosity in studying the city around them. Shandiph and Deriam were both natives of Ur-Dormulk, though Shandiph had left it as a child to become a wanderer, and they were accustomed to its peculiarities; but the other two had never before seen it.
The entire city was built of stone and was so ancient that the stone had been worn and weathered on even the newest buildings. The older structures did not have a single sharp corner remaining, and some resembled mounds or natural rock formations as much as they resembled anything man-made. The streets were all paved with great slabs of stone, yet there were grooves worn in them where countless cart wheels had passed, and wider, shallower depressions where the majority of the foot traffic had gone.
Deriam's home was a tall, narrow house on a busy avenue, of no special distinction save that there were gaps in its ancient granite walls where softer stones used as trim had been weathered away completely.
"We'll have to hide the horses," Deriam said as he dismounted at his door.
"Why?" Karag asked.
"There are no horses in Ur-Dormulk," Shandiph replied. "It was probably a mistake even riding them past the gate."
"What will happen if we just leave them here?" Thetheru asked.
"I don't know," Shandiph said.
"They'll probably be stolen," Deriam said.
"Then put a warding spell on them," Karag suggested. "Shandiph, you're good at that."
"I'm tired, Karag."
"It's a good thought," Deriam said.
"Then you do it," Shandiph replied.
Thetheru objected. "I think we should just hide them."
"We're wasting time," Deriam said. "Shandiph, put a ward on them and let's get on with it. You're outvoted, Thetheru."
Wearily, Shandiph assented, and cast a simple ward on the horses. The four then left them tied to the door handle while they entered the house.
"If we're in such a hurry," Thetheru asked, "why are we here instead of going directly to the crypts?"
"We are going directly to the crypts," Deriam said. "They can be reached through my cellars. There are easily a hundred entrances, and this is the one I know best. The crypts of Ur-Dormulk are a true marvel, you see; they extend..."
"Shut up, Deriam, we haven't got time for that," Shandiph said, made irritable by fatigue.
Offended, Deriam made no reply, but instead pulled a bell rope and called for his servants.
"You do well for yourself," Karag remarked. "I have no servants to wait on me."
"Ur-Dormulk is a rich city," Deriam replied. "And besides, I was not so foolish as to become a servant myself. I do not work for the Overlord here, but on my own behalf."