Chapter 9 Chapter 8 The Campfire

"What do you see?" Danica asked Xuelin as she moved to the edge of the camp, where the elf girl was standing quietly. Xuelin raised a slender arm and pointed to the place where the light flickered at the far end of the mountain path.Danica's heart skipped a beat as she thought she was finally seeing the Moezhi Library for the first time in a long time. "It was a campfire," Xuelin explained, seeing the expectant look on the monk's face. "A group of emissaries or merchants going to the library from Caladon, or a group of priests going to the city. Spring has come, and the mountain paths are awakened by the voice of travelers."

"And you thought this spring would be full of war cries," Dorigen reminded Xuelin, walking over to join the two. Danica eyed Dorigen curiously, wondering why the woman had reminded Xuelin of the Simista massacre, and her fear that an army—Dorigen's army—would soon return to the The state of the forest, what do you want. "It is possible." Xuelin replied quickly, staring at the magician coldly. "We're not sure if the orcs sent back to the mountains will run back to Simista once the trails are open." Danica made a judgment, the magician didn't want anything.Duo Ruizhen is just continuing to bear her own sins.

Duo Ruizhen did not flinch from Xuelin's accusing expression. "If they do come back," she said, jaw lifted. "I will ask to fight on the side of the elves as part of my atonement." Well said, Danica thought. "If the elves are willing to let you join," the monk cut in quickly, and before the suspicious elf could reply, attention was drawn to her benign smile. "We'd be fools to say no," Xuelin replied.She looked back at the quiet night and the distant flickering light. "The orcs will probably enlist the help of the trolls." In his own way, for the first time, the elf agreed with the decision to bring Dorigen back to the library and fight for a positive disposition rather than punishment.

Xuelin hadn't taken any hostile action against Dorigen since her surrender at Walled Trinity, but she hadn't shown any kindness to her either.After all, Simista was home to the Elves, and Dorigen had played a part in the destruction of the northern part of the forest. Behind Xuelin, Dorigen and Danica nodded hopefully at each other.If King Albereth and the other elves had forgiven Dorigen for her crimes, the library's accusations against her would have been of little consequence. "If the time was earlier, I would suggest that everyone go to the firelight together." Danica commented. "I'd love to have some good food and maybe some wine."

"I want ale." Dorigen said, and Xuelin turned around immediately after hearing this, and gave the magician a blank look. "Red wine is right." The elf agreed, and for Dorigen and Danica, it seemed that the atmosphere of the whole camp suddenly changed and became lighter, as if Xuelin had accepted Dorigen's past, and now Really be an ally.So the two women retired to their bunks to relax, knowing that this watchful spirit was watching over them all. Xuelin stayed where she was, standing quietly watching the campfire flickering in the distance.Her second guess as to where the group had come from was correct, a group of priests was on their way to Caladon—a group of Oghma priests, sent by Headmaster Thobex.

Like Danica, Xuelin hoped it wasn't that late, that they might have walked a few more miles to join the group. But if they had done so, Zirkan Rufo, who was approaching the flickering fire from another trail, would have had a rather unexpected surprise. ※※※ He dreamed that the towering spire stretched three hundred feet into the air.He dreamed that all the inhabitants of Caladon and all the elves of Simista were assembled in front of the cathedral, admiring the great works of art in its windows and walls, and was moved. Church atriums dwarf individuals.Vaulted ceilings hover a hundred feet above the stone floor.Numerous cloisters line elegant walls, housing statues of deceased and venerable Denierian and Oghma priests.Avery Shear was there, Pertelope, who had always been there, and at the end of the elevated walkway, an empty pedestal awaited the statue best suited to this offering to the god Denir.

Statue of Cadderly. He dreamed that he was directing a service in that cathedral, and that the tenor echoed through the elegant walls like a direct Songs from heaven. Then Cadderly saw himself, wearing the sash of the headmaster of the library, presiding over the ritual, with Danica sitting proudly beside him. He was a hundred years old, haggard, tired, and dying. The shocking sight jolted Cadderly out of his deep sleep, his eyes wide open to see the sky full of stars.He quickly closed his eyes, trying to catch the last glimpse, wondering why it shocked him so much.Cadderly could only hope that the new library would be finished before he was a hundred years old, even if the work had begun in full swing this summer, and Ivan and Pikel had sent a thousand dwarves to assist in the work.

Cadderly, so full of divine faith, certainly had no fear of his own death.So why did he wake up, and why was his brow covered with cold sweat? He recalled the dream, trying to force the image to linger.Even though it was obvious, it took Cadderly a while to figure out what was wrong. It was himself, an elderly library dean.He looked as if he had lived for more than a century, but beside him Danica looked no older than she was now, in her twenties. Cadderly let the surreal vision pass, looking up at the stars, reminding himself that it was only a dream.The Stoneshoulders' wild snoring—Ivan's snoring and Pikel's echoing scream— somehow calmed him down, telling him it was business as usual.

Hours later, however, Cadderly fell asleep again, and the vision of an old, dying priest presiding in the cathedral followed him into dreams. ※※※ Two of the five Oghma priests sat up, chatting quietly, watching the dark trees that surrounded the camp, the darkest hours of the night passing.In the mountains so far to the south, no one in the whole group was really afraid of trouble.The mountain trails between Kaladon and the Moezhi Library are often traveled by people, and they are powerful priests-the strongest of the Oghma sect in the library, under Bron Terman.They had placed defensive magic around the camp's borders, which not only warned them of monsters, but also sent lightning bolts at them, likely destroying them before they even entered the camp.

So the two Priests of Oghma were more awake enjoying the night than guarding the camp, and their eyes were often on each other or the campfire, and less on the dark and ominous trees. Among those trees was Zirkan Rufo, who, with Druzil, watched the priests in action and listened to the regular snoring of the other three sleeping members.Rufo nodded and began to approach the camp steadily, but Druzil was still in many ways the wiser of the two, scanning the edges of the camp, looking for signs of magic emanating with discerning eyes. After kicking off the ground, it flapped its wings and landed heavily on Rufo's shoulder. "The camp is defended," it whispered into the vampire's ear. "It's all over the place."

Rufo nodded again, as if knowing what to do.It jerked suddenly and violently, knocking Druzil off its shoulders and sending the black robe flying high into the air all around.When the cloths were lowered, Rufo's body seemed to disappear as well.Rufo turned into a bat and flew powerfully to the top of the tree, with Druzil at his heels. "Would they think of defending the sky?" the vampire-bat asked the imp, his voice so high-pitched that Druzil's ears ached, though it thought Rufo was speaking so loudly that the men on the ground wouldn't listen. Not to this sound. The two of them descended carefully through the treetops.Rufo noticed that Druzil had become his usual invisibility, but the vampire was rather surprised - and quite pleased to be so - to find he could still see the imp's vague outline.This, Rufo decided, was another benefit of the undead state.One of many benefits.A moment later, the vampire was hanging upside down from the lowest branch above the camp, within fifteen feet of the two seated vigilantes.Rufo was about to swoop down on them, but paused, thinking he might be able to get some good information by eavesdropping on their conversation. "Bron Terman will be surprised we walked into Carraton unannounced," one of them was saying. "That's his own fault," replied the other. "Even if he's high in rank, he doesn't have the privilege of rewriting the rules of the Cult of Oghma without consulting the other leaders." Rufo was quite amazed at how clever Dean Thobicus was, a liar.So many things were going wrong that the Oghma priests were already on the alert in the library.It was because the head of the house hinted that something was really wrong, rather than just telling them that everything was fine, that they were sent out here. "If that's really what Bron Terman is doing in Calaton," the first priest commented, his voice full of doubt. The other nodded in agreement. "I don't believe the words of Dean Thobicus," the first priest continued. "Even his motives are the same. He's afraid of Cadderly coming back—I agree with Bron Terman on that." "Do you believe that Master Thobex wants all priests of Oghma to get out of the library so we don't interfere with his plans for his sect?" asked another, the first priest He just shrugged. Rufo almost screamed at the irony of the question.If only these two knew the truth about the "sect" they inadvertently mentioned! Their ruse had worked, and the vampire could now confirm it.All the leading priests of the Denirian Cult were dead or undead monsters under his control, and now the Cult of Oghma was divided and defenseless. One of the priests yawned loudly, although he had seemed quite alert a moment ago.Another priest did the same, overwhelmed by a sudden desire to lie down and sleep. "Tough nights," said the first priest, and before he even moved toward the bunk, he slipped to the ground and closed his eyes. The other priest found the gesture a little amusing, until he was struck by the suspiciousness of his companion falling asleep so quickly.He resists the urge, the small voice in the back of his head that lulls him to sleep.He opened his eyes wide and shook his head vigorously.He even reached down, took out a leather bag containing water, and poured the water on his face. The man threw his head back to get his face wet again, but stopped when he saw a man in a black robe standing on a branch fifteen feet above his head. Rufo landed on his head with feline grace.He opened his mouth to scream, but the vampire grabbed him by the chin and the hair on the back of his head with such force that his head rolled back all over his shoulders, making a sickly neck-bone snap. After succeeding, the vampire straightened up and looked at the other four sleeping people.It would wake one at a time, giving them the chance to abandon their god and fall at the feet of him, the incarnation of Tuando Chiro Mianche.