Chapter 15 Chapter 14 Capturing the Soul

Cadderly and Danica slept fairly late.Brennan didn't show up with Cadderly's breakfast, and Cadderly, who was shy, was rather pleased about that.He guessed that the innkeeper's son had come to the door, blushed at the sound from within, and hurried away.Thinking of this, Cadderly smiled to himself and didn't make any further associations. The lovers left the room shortly after noon to eat lunch together in the hall.Federja served them himself - Cadderly didn't think that was unusual until the innkeeper asked him if he had seen Brennan that morning. Still, Cadderly was so engrossed in Danica beside him that he didn't realize what the young man's disappearance might mean.He promised to keep an eye on Brennan when he and Danica went out.Federja nodded his thanks, but still looked very worried.

"Teens make mistakes," Cadderly explained to Danica, not too worried about the young man's safety.He thought Brennan was probably going out at night because he was courting some young woman, and maybe this time Brennan was successful.For Cadderly, who was going through an extremely painful struggle in his heart, the whole world seemed to have calmed down this morning, Danica returned to his side again, and at this moment, the young priest really couldn't have any dark or ominous thoughts in his heart . Together they left the hotel and walked across the broad streets of Lakeview Street down toward the sandy shore of Lake Impesque.The wind blows across the lake with strength, cool but not biting.Birds with rather long wings glide at incredible angles and fly around them in breathtaking fashion.The usual morning mist had cleared away, and they could see in the distance the isle where the rich people of Carradun lived, and the long arched stone bridge that connected it.Several multi-storey buildings protrude from the top of the trees, and a group of small fleets are fishing and fishing, wandering around the land.

"I think I might be able to get used to you with a beard," Danica said after staring quietly at the scene for a while.She moved over and tugged at a particularly long beard, "As long as you trim them well!" "And I love you," Cadderly replied, with a contented smile. "Will you stay with me?" "Are you sure you want me to stay?" Danica said teasingly, but there was apprehension lurking in her question. "Stay with me," Cadderly said again, more forcefully. Danica looked back at the lake, but didn't answer.The request seemed straightforward, but the woman knew there were many obstacles ahead.She had gone to the Moezhi Library to study the ancient tomes of Master Pampa Danm, the holiest, prophet, and founder of her sect.Only in the Mengzhi Library can she continue her research, which is very important to her and is her life goal.

Is it as important as Cadderly? Danica wasn't sure, but she knew that if she had given up her research and stayed with her lover, she would always look back on it and wonder what she could have accomplished, how high she could have reached. In addition, there is war.The past few days had been a little liberating time for the woman, who was quite tired from fighting—except for the attack she encountered on the way—but Danica knew that this period of peace was only temporary. .More battles would come, if not now, then in the spring, and Danica had long since decided she had to. Cadderly had fled the war, though, and the woman now wondered if he would change his mind.

That's why Danica didn't answer Cadderly's question, and he was smart enough to understand why she hesitated and her fear, so he didn't ask again.Day by day, he decided.They would spend day after day together and see what the wind across the lake could do. They walked quietly along the lake for a while, and Cadderly took Danica to one of his favorite spots.The shore of the lake juts out sharply into the water, forming a small tree-covered peninsula, the embankment rising only a foot above the surface of the lake.Only a path less than a foot wide leads to this dense forest, and finally reaches a small open space in the middle of the peninsula.Although they were only less than half a mile from the busy streets of Cala Raton, and less than half a mile from parts of the outlying island, to Cadderly and Danica, the world beyond these barriers of trees seemed to disappear.

Danica looked at Cadderly knowingly, suddenly wondering why he had brought her here. But Cadderly had other ideas.He led Danica down another narrow path to the tip of the peninsula.Whenever a large ship passes by, the waves form a small pond there.Cadderly pointed to a mossy stone and motioned for Danica to sit down. Cadderly walked along the small pond, whispering something that Danica couldn't make out.She soon discovered that the young priest was reciting a spell, possibly a spell. Cadderly stopped suddenly.His body swayed slowly, as if he had become a willow tree in the wind, and then his arms drew an elegant arc.Danica gazed at Cadderly's holy symbol, the eye and candle inlaid just in front of his wide-brimmed hat.She felt a surge of power in the badge, and it seemed to glow with some inner energy.

Cadderly's arms swung again, and he lowered them in front of him, then slowly swung them wide and out to the sides. Water answered his call.Bubbles popped suddenly and powerfully in the center of the pond, then rolled outward, and huge waves scattered outward to the edge of the pool.Danica pulled her feet back toward her, thinking she'd be splashed by the water, but the water didn't go over the edge of the pool.When the water wave reaches its peak, there is a loud hissing sound, and then the water evaporates and rises into the sky to form a gray cloud. More water evaporates into the air, and when the process is complete, only a few small puddles remain of the original pond.The cloud hangs there for a while, and then the wind blows it away without a trace.

Danica blinked in surprise, then looked to Cadderly.He stood motionless, staring at the pond pit, now nothing but mud and puddles. "Your powers have grown," she commented after a moment, "for a man of no faith." Cadderly glared at her, but couldn't be bothered by her kind smile.Beneath his smile, however, Danica could see the young man's inner torment. "Maybe it's just another manifestation of the magician's magic, as you fear it," she said, "but maybe the powers do come from the god Denir. You seem to be too quick to dismiss other members of your sect. people--"

"My sect?" Cadderly interrupted quickly, his tone both sarcastic and disbelieving. "Your holy symbol vibrated with power," Danica replied. "I saw it with my own eyes." "It's a guide to energy, like the books on my desk," Cadderly answered Danica with unnecessary sharpness.He seemed to understand this, so when he continued to speak, his tone softened significantly. "Whenever I want to conjure magic, I just have to recall certain words in the book." "And that's the Book of Denir," Danica reasoned. Cadderly shook his head. "Do you know Belisari?" he asked.

"The magician who lives in the south tower?" Danica asked. Cadderly nodded. "Belisari has a similar book—a book of spells. If he named it after a god, would it be a holy book?" "That's two different things," Danica spat, frustrated. "I'm not sure," Cadderly said finally. Danica looked out over the lake, watching the waves gently lapping against the many small rocks at the front of the peninsula, and decided to change the subject.Then she looked at the horribly muddy pond pit. "How long will it take for it to be full again?" she asked, clearly dissatisfied with the results of Cadderly's magic. "Or does it have to wait until the next rain?"

Cadderly bent down, smiling, and scooped up what little water was left with his palm.He put his hands on his chest and whispered a few words again. "As graceful rain must fall!" he said the final incantation, and he threw his hands out in front of him, throwing the water over the muddy pit.A little cloud appeared, swirling and churning in the air, and a moment later a steady stream of water poured down into the mud. Before Danica's first wave of laughter was over, the pond was back to normal, just as full as she'd seen it in the first place. "You think that's funny?" Cadderly asked, his gray eyes narrowed, and he put his fists on his hips in an exaggerated look of damaged dignity. "I think you're funny," Danica retorted, and Cadderly's expression showed that he was really hurt. "With all the evidence right in front of you," Danica explained, "much more than most ordinary people know, and yet you're so full of doubts. My poor Cadderly, by my own clever mind The endless questions that come out make me so distressed!" Cadderly looked at the pond he'd spelled away and refilled, and chuckled at the irony of the whole thing.Danica took his hand and led him back to the small clearing in the middle of the peninsula.Cadderly thought they were going to go on, through another path back to the wider shore, but Danica held his hand tightly and made him turn around. They were alone in the sun and the breeze, and the whole world seemed so peaceful.Danica smiled mischievously, her almond-shaped eyes telling Cadderly in no uncertain terms that it was not time to leave yet. ※※※ It was nearly dusk when Cadderly and Danica walked back toward the Dragon's Fig Leaf.Far down at the bottom of Lakeview Street, Evan was watching their progress from a distance.The dwarf was feeling lighter now, and the fact that Cadderly and Danica had returned safely made him think he might have been wrong, that he might be acting as stupid as a hen. But after a while, a beggar came to the end of the alley next to the "Dragon's Fig Leaf", and seemed to be staring at the young couple as closely as Ivan.Is this another coincidence? Ivan sensed that the man seemed to be following them, and the dwarf began to walk slowly up the street.He didn't carry a big ax with him—it seemed inappropriate to stand on the streets of Caladon with such a conspicuous weapon—but he wore a helmet with antlers on his head.If the beggar did anything to Cadderly, Ivan would give him a good stab at him. Cadderly and Danica turned and walked into the inn, while the beggar leaned comfortably against the wall.Ivan paused, overwhelmed and feeling stupid.He looked around as if expecting everyone on the street to stop and point and laugh at him, but no one seemed to notice anything odd about his stalking behavior. "Stupid dwarf," he murmured, "why are you nervous? It's just a poor boy wanting some coins." Ivan paused, and as he looked back down the alley, he curiously grabbed yellow beard. That person is gone. ※※※ Danica giggled, but Cadderly wasn't at all happy to hear the knock on the door—especially at a time like this. "Oh, go and open the door," Danica whispered to him. "Maybe that's the innkeeper's son. You've been worrying about him all day?" "I don't want to," Cadderly replied, pursing his lips like a child.This made Danica laugh again, and she pulled the sheet up around her neck. Moaning helplessly all the way, Cadderly managed to get out of bed, and slowly moved to the door, picking up the coat that had been thrown on the floor and putting it on. "Rufo?" he asked as he opened the door a crack.The corridor is dark, the candles in the chandelier above the stairs have long been extinguished, only a little light is emitted from the stove in the hall.Still, Cadderly could make out Rufo's sideways stance. "Hello," the thin man replied, "and sorry to bother you." Cadderly's face flushed, and the thin man clearly enjoyed the sight. "What are you doing?" "You need to go to the Great Hall," Rufo explained, "as soon as possible." "No." The answer seemed simple enough, and Cadderly moved to close the door, but Rufo put a foot against it. "Master Alfoy is coming with a delegation from the Irmatites," Rufo lied, knowing that Dean Alfoy was snoring contentedly in their room. Cadderly looked back to the balcony door of the room, and saw the dark night sky. "What time is it?" he asked. "It's late," Rufo admitted. "The priests of Ilmat want to do it privately. They want to know about the death of their priests when the Chaos Curse took control of the Moezhi Library." "I've written my testimony—" "Alfoy wants you to come," Rufo pressed. "He doesn't ask much of you, definitely less of me." The thin man's tone of voice clearly echoed resentment, "And you can at least do it for me." He did it, brazen Cadderly, because the Master has done so much for you." This argument seems to be quite strong.Cadderly groaned helplessly again, then nodded. "Wait for me ten minutes," he said. Once the door closed, Danica's giggles came again. "I won't be going for long," Cadderly promised as he dressed. "Never mind," Danica replied softly. "I'll be falling asleep soon anyway." She stretched wearily, then turned sideways, and Cadderly, cursing his luck, walked away. room. He must have been pretty sleepy, too, because he didn't even notice, a weasel-like man—was that a person? —was hiding behind a slightly ajar door, watching him go. ※※※ "Cadderly?" Danica opened the question, but it sounded like someone else was speaking to her.A smell of exotic flowers filled the room. In a remote corner of her mind, she was surprised that she had fallen asleep so quickly.Or was she really asleep?How long had Cadderly been gone?she wondered.And what's that smell like? "Cadderly?" she asked again. "It's not." Those words should have sounded like a warning to the woman - she knew she should open her eyes and figure out what the hell was going on...but she couldn't. She felt a thumb—what she believed to be a gloved hand—press against her eyelids, and her eyes were forced open, only a slit.Danica tried to concentrate—why was she so sleepy? In a blur, she saw herself reflected in a small mirror.She knew that the mirror was hanging around someone's neck. whose neck? "Cadderly?" The laughter in response to her question filled her with terror, and her eyes opened wide against the drowsiness that was creeping into her, suddenly alert. She only saw the ghost for a moment, not long enough for her to attack, or even scream.Then she fell back into her own thoughts, suddenly into the darkness of her own mind, and felt every inch of her body burn with pain. Danica didn't understand what was going on, but she didn't feel right.She felt like she was floating away, but knew her body wasn't moving at all. Another darkness loomed some distance away, across a gray expanse, and Danica felt herself being pulled in its direction, forced to sink into it.The previous darkness, that is, her original body, was left behind, far behind. In this continent of Faerun, few people can understand the current situation, but few people are as proficient in meditation as Danica. her ego! Someone is stealing her ego! "No!" Danica tried to yell, but at this point she couldn't control the sound of her original body, so the volume of her voice was just a series of unintelligible whimpers. Danica mustered her willpower against the lingering smell—she now thought it might be some kind of sleeping pill.She located the approaching darkness and pushed it away with all her psychic strength, because she knew that if she entered it it would be over. After a while, she felt another thing coming out of her body as well. Her mind protested against it a thousand times, but it didn't respond, just kept moving toward the darkness Danica had just left. ※※※ "Where are they?" Cadderly asked impatiently when he entered the hall.The fire was dying out, and the hall was empty except for him and Rufo.Rufo sat nervously at a table in the far corner. "What the hell?" Cadderly snarled as he walked over to sit opposite the gaunt man. "Be patient," Rufo replied, "it won't be long." Cadderly leaned back in his chair, throwing one arm over the back of the chair.As far as he was concerned, the wait had been too long.He looked at Rufo again, noticing a lurking tension in the thin man.Cadderly pushed the feeling away, and the questions it raised, telling himself that Zilkhan Rufo was always on edge. The young priest closed his eyes and waited for the time to pass, allowing his thoughts to drift back to Danica and the joy and meaning that this day brought.He will never leave her again, he can be sure of that. Cadderly's eyes snapped open. "What's wrong?" he heard Rufo ask aloud.Cadderly looked at the man and saw Rufo blinking. He heard Rufo blink! The crackle and crackle of the fire was so loud that Cadderly thought the entire wall was probably ablaze.But when he turned his head to look at the fireplace, he found that the remaining embers in the furnace were only a little spark glowing. A fly flies across the bar.God!Cadderly thought, the creature was probably the size of a pony! But there he didn't see anything. Then he became aware of the song again, singing softly in his head.Instead of trying to rationalize what was going on, Cadderly chose wisely to let himself feel it. There was something—some danger? — made him alert, and he subconsciously recalled a page in the book, casting a spell to sharpen his hearing. "What's going on?" Rufo asked him again, more urgently this time.Cadderly didn't look at him, just held up a hand for him to be quiet. Breathing. Cadderly heard a steady inhalation and exhalation a few tables away, and he looked there, but saw nothing. But there was something there, it was supposed to be someone!Cadderly turned his detection direction, feeling the power of the magic. "What are you talking about?" he heard Rufo ask, and then he realized his lips were moving, speaking another page from the Book of Universal Harmony. Cadderly saw the silvery silhouette of a young man, and made out ropes of hair hanging down the side of the invisible intruder's head. Rufo shook him roughly, forcing him to turn his attention. "What's going on?" the thin man demanded. Cadderly started to scold him, but stopped, and fixed his eyes on Rufo instead. ※※※ Danica calmed her thoughts as she had to drive the other soul out of her mind space.She turned her spirit back, commanded her heart to stay behind her, the little part that was left fully connected -- the little part that made her lips make that pathetic sound.Then she became aware that another spirit was approaching the darkness, almost entering her body. She felt a burning sensation. Danica sees so many things in the next moment that it's impossible to figure out what they are.What she could see most clearly were scenes of murder, lots of murder.She saw the "Mask of Night". "Night Mask"! It was this assassination group, the source of chaos in the Ximen area, that killed her parents.She saw a group of giants through the eyes of a giant. She saw other giants die at the hands of her own giant. She saw Cadderly, walking on the road to Caladon, curled up on his desk reading a book on Universal Harmony, and ducking behind the protection of the half-open door. Much to Danica's horror, she learns that she is evoking another person's memory, that she has access to a small piece of what another spirit left behind in order to occupy her body!And whoever this person was, he had already approached Cadderly several times. "Night Mask"! let me out!her mind cried in protest. Another soul burst into a cry of anger, pain and disbelief at her.She didn't hear any of the words, but she was able to understand exactly what it meant, that her focused rage could push herself back into the body where she was supposed to be. let me out! Danica mustered all her psychic strength to push against the alien darkness, calling together years of psychic training and the anger of this moment.The burning grew stronger, then lessened, and Danica felt herself in a body again—her own. The smell came back, and Danica felt a cloth press against her face.She let her warrior instincts guide her, curling her fingers firmly into a chisel shape, and delivered an upward blow with her arm. She fell heavily to the floor, but she didn't realize it. ※※※ Shadows, demons, and scourges roared over the lean man's shoulders, clearly hostile to Cadderly.Rufo reached across the little table to touch Cadderly again, but the young priest slapped his hand away. "Cadlier!" Rufo responded, but the young priest was well aware that the concern on the man's face was an illusion.Before Rufo could move, Cadderly pushed the table, slamming the other side into the thin man's belly. Cadderly really didn't know what to do, whether what he saw was a warning or misleading. "Tell Avery that he can come back in the morning if he wants to find me," the young priest said, then stood up and turned to scan the hall.He felt that the invisible magician had long since disappeared. "Alfoy won't be happy," he heard Rufo say, but he heard more clearly the sound of something heavy falling from upstairs in what he knew intuitively was his own room. Danica! Cadderly jumped up and rushed across the hall to the stairs, but then his movements slowed, as if walking in a dream, his feet so heavy that he could barely move forward. Songs sang in his head; he intuitively pictured a page of that great book, which spoke of concentrated magical powers, and how to unravel this maliciously assembled magic. After a while he was able to move at normal speed again, unrestricted by the magical bondage that had just been imposed on him.The door to his room was closed just as he had left it, and everything seemed quite normal. But Cadderly rushed through the door anyway, and found Danica sprawled on the floor, tangled in a pile of blankets beside the bed.When Cadderly held her in his arms, he found that she was alive and not seriously injured. The young priest surveyed the room.Now, the notes of the song seem to sound more distant, and everything seems fairly peaceful.Still, the young priest wondered if someone had broken into the room while he was away. "Cadderly?" Danica gasped, regaining consciousness suddenly. She looked around, confused for a moment, then pulled the blanket up and drew her arms closer to her body—a move that Cadderly found rather unusual. "I had a nightmare," Danica tried to explain. Cadderly kissed her forehead lightly, telling her she was all right now.He put his cheek against the top of Danica's head, rocking her gently in his arms, the smile on his face widening with growing security. Danica was not injured.It was just a dream.