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Yet again, Shayed screamed with fury. "Release me, Ingar! Do not be a
fool!"
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He stood as if he could not hear her. He looked down the face
ofSanctumMountain . "Perhaps a rock slide. That might stop them. Ah, but the
delver is quick, both of sense and of foot. He will warn them. At best, I
might catch a few at random. The elves are also very quick. They might save
those that are slower, and cliff behemoths have been known to stop landslides
single-handedly. It is not a good plan.
"Another choice is to eliminate a selected few. It would be within my
power by then to kill the elves and the humans. To be rid of them would
certainly hinder them. Their secrets would die with them, the others would
never pass what awaits them."
Again he paused before shaking his head. "Then again, they may yet
succeed. A cliff behemoth is a surprising creature. He might overcome what can
not be revealed, and there is something of the delver that still concerns me.
If he is with them, they will always have a chance."
Trying not to struggle against chains which tightened with every reflex,
Shayed made one last attempt to gain the wizard's attention. "Ingar, listen to
me. You don't know what you're doing. If you will not release me, at least
listen to what I have to say. I know what is happening here."
Ingar did finally turn from his lofty perch and moved back to the
flattened ground where Shayed remained imprisoned. He studied her carefully.
"You do know what is going on, don't you? Perhaps that information can be
useful to me."
Shayed discounted the expression of animosity that ruled the wizard's
face. Instead, she focused her will, directed it through the barrier of her
prison and directly at Ingar. "It will be useful for you to let those that
come complete their mission unimpeded."
"And why is that?" the wizard demanded with a sly reproach.
"Because the sphere threatens the land with obliteration."
"I am aware of that, that is why I am here," Ingar said simply. He did
not need to hear the idle ravings of this sorceress. She did not see the
sphere as he did. However, she might have different insights on the party of
would-be invaders. She might know more of their intentions, more of their
weaknesses which he might exploit. "What is it you believe will happen here
and how will your followers strive to carry out your bidding?"
Shayed fought not against the chains that held her, but against the
insanity, the cold uncaring which gripped Ingar. "They're not carrying out my
bidding, they're doing what is necessary to save themselves and the land. I do
not know how it came to pass that you were able to come here, but you must
release me. If you stop those that come, you will cause the end of everything
in the land. The struggle will end and you will crumble as well."
"That is not completely the case," Ingar stated plainly. "Indeed the land
will be altered. That which was, will no longer be. That is the price for a
glorious new beginning. The power of the sphere will bring a new order. True,
those that lived will die, but they will be replaced. An end will come to the
misdirected way of the land. Obliteration will not be a curse, but a blessing,
as the new power will remove this futile struggle between external forces."
The idea was beyond evil, perhaps beyond insanity. What could anyone gain
by the obliteration of all things? Shayed replied with an attempt to reveal
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his folly. "And what of you? Will you not be removed as well? Will you allow
yourself to be destroyed to carry out this absurd idea?"
"I will not be destroyed," Ingar replied callously. "The power of the
sphere will protect me. The rest will not be so fortunate, even you. I will
remain to become lord and master of this new order."
"You don't honestly believe that? There won't be any new order. You're
being controlled, manipulated by the sphere, just as you were upon your last
mortal days. Can you not see this?"
The wizard spoke dryly, void of emotion. Any anger or hostility dried in
his words of arrogance. "Your tricks are useless against me, sorceress. I am
enlightened by the sphere. I will not fall to such chicanery. Give up your
delusions and tell me of those that are to arrive here."
Shayed responded in frustration. She growled with intensity, a stark
contrast to Ingar's carefully measured words. "I will only tell you of what
you already know. They come to stop the sphere, to destroy it. And I don't
believe you can stop them."
"Quite sure of yourself aren't you?" he said mockingly.
She glared at him behind her red prison, but said nothing.
Making no reply of his own, he turned back toward the east. His red form
floated deftly in the growing winds. As the sun fled behind dark clouds for
the first time that morning, the scarlet hue of his being glowed hotter in the
wake of a darker sky. He peered down the side of the mountain and his eyes
passed over the fissure in its side. He sensed the barrier which protected the
gap, but allowed the magic to flow freely from within.
"That way is closed to them; perhaps I might close the other entrance."
With a twist, he floated passed Shayed and towards a patch of ground seemingly
no different than that which surrounded it. "This is the opening which will
lead to the first tier. If I seal this with my own power they will not find a
way inside. They will have to dig. Even with an army of dwarves, it will take
too much time. I will grow in strength as they weaken, and I will obliterate
them before they reach their goal."
He began to raise an arm, but it stopped as if it hit an unseen barrier.
His head snapped up in attention as yet again he looked to the east, towards
Connel. Anger and frustration filled his blood colored eyes. "A sorceress
walks with them. It is not you I sense, elf. It is a human. She is weak, but
unpredictable. She might find the words to break my barrier. Much would be
lost if such a thing occurred. Creating this barrier would weaken me and alert
them to my presence. That will not do at all. The rock slide would be a better
choice."
"Allowing them free passage is the only choice!" Shayed screamed.
Ingar seemed to ignore her. "If I could just get closer to the sphere, I
could drink in the power, but I am as locked to this place as you. Wait a
minute, what was it you said?"
Shayed went silent, unnerved by his curious expression.
"You said to let them pass," he answered his own question. "That may just
be the answer. I will let them pass. I will let them enter Sanctum and
overcome the tiers. I will let them bring the sphere out of Sanctum and right
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to me."
"They will never do such a thing!" Shayed gasped. "They will destroy it
on the spot."
"Not if they are convinced such a thing will bring them harm."
He gave no further explanation. In a moment, Shayed would understand all
too well his intentions. Terror rose within her as he circled her again. This
time, however, he inspected her closely and not the chains.
He raised his hands, and within the passing of a strong gust of wind,
Ingar appeared just as Shayed. His face was as hers, his body was as hers. His
red tint was gone, replaced by a white which closely resembled her untouched
shade. His hue was not as pure, the white ever so slightly dingy, but in the
growing darkness of the storm, it would not be noticed.
Shayed gasped with both fear and anger. "You can not do this!"
"Oh, but I can. The fools believe in you. They will do whatever you say,
or in this case, whatever I say. They will either die in Sanctum or they will
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