Arvin touched the crystal at his throat. "I worship Tymora."
When it suits you.
"That's as much as most mortals can say."
That is true, but the fact remains: you are not a cleric. You will have no protection in Smaragd.
It took Arvin a moment to realize what Ts'ikil had just said. Hope surged through him. "You… you're going to let me do it, aren't you? Enter Smaragd." He tilted his head. "What changed your mind?"
I have not changed my mind. The Circled Serpent must be destroyed. A key that can release Dendar-that can bring about the destruction of this world-can not be permitted to remain in existence. She lifted her unbroken wing. Feathers hung from it in tatters. I am injured; my part in this has diminished.
She lowered her wing. Fortunately, so has Sibyl's. She was equally weakened by ourbattle, and she does not know thal Zelia's seed has the key.
It has come down to a race between yourself and the Dmelrio-seed. If he reaches the door first and opens it, I fully expect that you will follow him inside. You must, if you are to save Karrell's life.
"That much is obvious," Arvin said.
Yes, but the course of action you must pursue is not. You will be tempted to rush to find Karrell first. Don't. Once the seed enters Smaragd, he will hurry to Sseth's side. You must concentrate on stopping him from reaching the god instead. If he succeeds in freeing Sseth, Karrell will be the first to die. She
immediately-where she is within his realm. With a thought, he will destroy her.
Despite the sticky heat, Arvin shivered. "What if
I manage to take the Circled Serpent from the seed and open the door with it?"
If you did, you would open a way for any who wished to follow.
"Couldn't I close the door behind me?" Arvin asked.
Not from inside Smaragd. The door can only be opened-or closed-from this plane.
Arvin thought for a moment. "I could leave the Circled Serpent outside with someone else, someone who could close the door behind me and open it again once I've gotten Karrell."
The couatl's laughter trilled softly through his mind. With me, perhaps? Assumi ng I let you use the door and closed it after you, how would you let me know when it is time to open it?
Arvin opened his mouth then closed it again. He already knew his lapis lazuli wasn't capable of penetrating Smaragd. It probably wouldn't allow him to do a sending from within that layer of the Abyss, either. Once inside, he'd be on his own.
"Can the key be carried into Smaragd then out again?"
To Arvin's surprise, the couatl answered. It can, but if it is lost there, we would lose the opportunity to destroy it, and the gate would remain open. Ts'ikil paused-long enough for Arvin to silently acknowledge what she meant by "lost." His death. One of Sseth's faithful would eventually free him, and the key would fall into Sseth's coils. The god of serpents will be sorely tempted to release Dendar. The Night Serpent would readily agree to feed on the faithful of othergods until only Sseth's worshipers remain.
Without worshipers to sustain them, the gods themselves would fade, Ts'ikil continued. Only Sseth would remain. She paused. Is the life of one woman-however precious that life might be-worth such a risk?
Arvin squeezed his eyes shut. It was-to him-but who was he to make that decision? He shook his head at the irony. He had hoped to persuade Ts'ikil into supporting a rescue attempt. Instead she was coming close to talking him into abandoning it and without, as far as he could tell, the use of so much as a simple charm spell.
"What if Sseth's faithful can't free him?" Arvin asked. "I'm no cleric, but I do know that only a god is powerful enough to bind another god. That binding is going to be hard to break."
That is true, but one of Sseth's mortal worshipers could accomplish it, if his faith was strong enough.
Arvin brightened at that. "Zelia's only a lay worshiper; she's no cleric," he told Ts'ikil. "If her seed's faith isn't strong enough to do the job, there's little danger in letting him open the door."
What if it is strong enough? Are you really willing to take so large a gamble, when it is souls that you are wagering with?
Arvin hesitated. The soul that mattered most to him was Karrell's.
Her future is assured, continued the couatl She is one of Ubtao's faithful, and hersoul will be lifted to his domain from the Fugue Plain after she dies. Knowing that, you must ask yourself if rescuing the body that holds that soul is an act of love… or selfishness.
"And our children?" Arvin said. "Would Ubtao accept their souls as well? Or would they be condemned to the torments of the Fugue Plain forever?"
The couatl said nothing for several moments. It was answer enough. She stared at Arvin's crystal.
Their fate is in Tymora's hands, she said at last, because, in the end, it will all come down to a toss of hercoin-to whether the Dmetrio-seed reaches the door before you. If it is open when you arrive, and you can
stop him from freeing Sseth, you will get an opportunity to rescue Karrell. She held up a cautioning wingtip. Before you start praying to Tymora, you had better weigh the dangers and decide ifone woman's life is worth the terrible consequences should you fail.
Arvin closed his eyes. His heart tipped the balance heavily in one direction, his head another. Logic warred with emotion. He wasn't sure which would triumph-the human passion that surged in him whenever he thought about Karrell and the chlldren he had fathered with her, or the cold, hard logic of the serpent that coiled around his family tree.
Only one thing was clear: he needed to find out where the door was. One way to do that would be to sleep, dream, and hope that one of his nightmares might contain a message from Sseth. He was so worked up by his conversation with Ts'ikil, however, he was pacing. Sleep would be almost impossible. He thought of the dog-man and his ability to render others unconscious and halted abruptly.
"Can you do that?" he asked Ts'ikil. "Put me to sleep with magic?"
The couatl gave him a sad smile. I could, but your sleep would be deep and dreamless.
Arvin paused. "I just realized something. If the Dmetrio-seed uses osssra-"
Ts'ikil looked grim. He will entera dream state more swiftly, and his dreams will be clearer than yours.
"I don't suppose you're carrying any osssra. by any chance?" Arvin asked.
The couatl shook her head. I came unprepared. Unlike you, I am not a psion.
That made Arvin pause. Ts'ikil had used the right word-most people called him a "mind merge"-but had made the usual incorrect assumption. Not all psions could see the future. Arvin could catch glimpses, in a limited fashion. From Tanju, he had learned how to
choose the better of two possible courses of action-to gain a psionic inkling of the immediate future, events no more than a heartbeat or two distant.
Ts'ikil had reminded him of one thing, however- his meditations. By using them, he could still h is mind and force it into a state between waking and sleep. He could listen to his dreams, perhaps even seek out the ones Sseth was sending.
"You know," he said aloud. "That just might work."
Without explaining-the couatl could continue to read his mind, if she wanted to know what he was doing-Arvin lay down on his stomach on the ledge. Its stone was rough, so hot it felt as though it would burn right through the fabric of his trousers, but he paid it no heed. He was used to meditating in worse conditions, and had long since learned to block such trivial discomforts from his mind. He assumed the bhujang asana, arching his upper torso and head back like a rearing cobra. In a small corner of his mind, he smiled. No wonder he'd preferred that asana to the cross-legged position his mother used for meditation. He, unlike her, had serpent blood flowing in his veins.
And he was about to find out if it was enough to hear what Sseth had to say.