Crystal Gorge. David Eddings

now are preparing to assault this precious land with evil intent, and though we would all joyfully die in her defense, beloved Aracia has most wisely chosen a different course, and you, oh mighty warriors, have generously agreed to stand in our stead and to wreak destruction unimaginable upon our foes. Welcome then, one and all, to the holy Domain of Divine Aracia, and at her command I have come here to advise you that she eagerly awaits your coming that you may speak with her of diverse crucial matters in preparation for the coming conflict.’

      Padan turned rather abruptly and hurried over to the other side of the Victory, and Andar heard his muffled laughter.

      ‘You may advise Holy Aracia that we shall come forthwith, revered sir,’ Narasan accepted the invitation with no hint of a smile.

      ‘Most kind are you, mighty warrior,’ the fat native replied, ‘and I shall most quickly return to Holy Aracia’s temple to advise her of your coming.’ He signaled the men holding paddles, and the hollowed-out log boat turned awkwardly around and went back toward the beach.

      ‘Not a sound!’ Commander Narasan hissed sharply. ‘I don’t want to hear so much as a giggle – at least not until that pompous fool gets out of earshot.’

      ‘Is it my imagination, or does it look to you like this town was built on some sort of mound?’ Brigadier Danal asked Andar as they started up from the beach.

      ‘It does seem to be a bit higher than the rest of this coast,’ Andar agreed. ‘It’s probably just a hill of some kind.’

      ‘You don’t see too many hills this close to a beach in flat country,’ Danal reminded his friend. ‘I hate to say this, but isn’t it possible that it’s man-made?’

      Andar looked around, and his mind shuddered back from an ugly possibility. ‘Something like that would have taken centuries, Danal, and what purpose would it have served?’

      ‘A temple built on high ground would be a bit more impressive than one on flat, coastal ground, and impressing people is very important to Veltan’s older sister, I’ve noticed.’

      ‘I think you gentlemen may be overlooking something,’ Padan said then. ‘If Lady Aracia wants something to happen, it probably will happen. All she’d have had to do would have been to say, “Rise up”, and the ground would have been tickled to death to obey her.’

      ‘Maybe,’ Danal said a bit dubiously, ‘but if some of the things I’ve heard came even close to being the truth, fully half of the people in this part of the Land of Dhrall are priests, and taking on a project like building a mound that’s several miles across would have given them something to do in their spare time.’

      ‘Close up, gentlemen,’ Commander Narasan told them. ‘Let’s at least try to look military.’

      So far as Andar could tell, the town that appeared to have grown up around Aracia’s temple was the closest thing to a city in the entire land of Dhrall. The buildings had white-plastered walls and red tile roofs, and the streets were paved.

      The temple rose up from the top of the mound, of course, and there were tall spires – probably decorative – reaching high up into the air. It seemed grossly overdone to Andar, but he realized that Aracia needed something like this. There had been more than a few hints during the campaign in Veltan’s Domain that Aracia deeply resented her older brother’s status as the highest-ranking god in the Land of Dhrall, and her ostentatious temple here was little more than a form of self-aggrandizement. It was rather sad, but not really all that uncommon.

      The steps leading up to the temple were wide, and the massive doors were sheathed with what appeared to be gold. That took ostentation out to the far end, Andar concluded.

      The stout orator who’d spoken to them in the harbor was waiting at the door, and he unleashed his vocabulary again as he greeted them.

      Andar chose not to listen.

      It took them quite some time to reach the central room of the temple, which did not even remotely resemble a Trogite convenium, since the central feature was a throne rather than an altar. That was one advantage the Dhralls had that the Trogites did not. They knew what their gods looked like, since they were usually present in the immediate vicinity.

      Andar was fairly sure that neither Zelana nor Veltan would have enjoyed all the adoration Aracia’s priesthood kept shoveling all over their goddess, but Aracia seemed to revel in the long, tiresome speeches.

      Commander Narasan nudged Andar, and the two of them drifted on to the back of the ornate throne-room. ‘I’d say that they’re just getting warmed up,’ Narasan said quietly, ‘so this will probably take most of the day. Why don’t you and Danal go drift around this town and take a look at things? What we really need to know is whether this place is at all defensible. I’m having some serious doubts about that. Why would anybody in his – or her – right mind build a city and then neglect to build a wall?’

      ‘I wouldn’t say that “right mind” is an applicable term, Commander,’ Andar replied. ‘It looks to me like our esteemed employer doesn’t have a very firm grip on reality. I’ll have a look around, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high, Commander. These people probably don’t even know what the word “war” means.’

      ‘You could be right, Andar,’ Narasan conceded, ‘but go have a look, and talk with the locals. We need to know if the people of Aracia’s Domain have anything at all resembling an army. If the bug-people do decide to come this way, we’re going to have to hold them off – at least until Sorgan can get here, and that might take a while.’

      ‘I’ll see what I can find out, Commander, but I’m not very optimistic.’

       3

      Andar and Brigadier Danal quietly left Aracia’s throne-room and went on out of the temple. ‘That fat one who makes long, windy speeches is called the “Takal of Aracia”,’ Danal advised his friend.

      ‘How did you find that out?’

      Danal shrugged. ‘I asked a young fellow who was off to one side,’ he replied. ‘He told me that he only recently joined the priesthood, and he was trying his best to impress me. You know how novices are. They’ll talk forever if you give them half a chance. Anyway, if I understood him correctly, “Takal” is something on the order of what the Trogite church calls “the Naos”, – except that he has four wives, and that would send the Amarite priesthood right up the walls.’

      ‘It would disturb them a bit, I’d imagine,’ Andar agreed. ‘Did the young fellow give you that high-priest’s name?’

      ‘Bersla, I think was the name he mentioned. The young fellow was talking so fast that I had a little trouble keeping up with him. He told me that the fat one was rich, but I’m not sure just how a man can be “rich” in a land without money. For all I know, it could be a reference to the size of his belly.’

      They split up after they’d left the temple grounds, and Andar went on out to the western edge of the city. His uniform drew many puzzled looks, and the natives tried to avoid him for some reason. He did manage to get a few answers from a couple of them though, but the answers weren’t very clear. When he said ‘wall,’ the local people seemed to think he meant the side of a house. It was quite obvious that the concept of a protective wall surrounding the city was completely alien to them, and most of them, it appeared, had never heard the word ‘war’ before.

      He methodically went on around the outskirts of the town, asking each native willing to speak with him the same questions. When he reached the beach again, Danal was waiting for him. ‘There’s not one tavern in the entire town,’ Danal complained. ‘When I asked them where I should go if I wanted something to drink, they kept pointing at the wells. Evidently, water’s the only thing they drink.’

      ‘Their religion might