Tak

The Gem Lords - Part 2

     "Well, here we all are," said Barl, who looked considerably older to Tak, as though he'd undergone some stressful ordeal since they'd last met. Of course, as the only one of them who lived in the palace with the rak King, he had to be in considerably more danger than any of the others. Tak could hardly imagine what it must be like to be always under the eyes of that dreadful creature, especially now that Gal-Gowan's powers were starting to fail and Barl had had to take on many of his duties.

     "You all know why we're here," the redhead continued. "Tak, you said you had some important information for us. Why don't you start by telling us everything you know."

     Tak nodded and told of his expeditions into the heartlands, his unexpected luck at being hired by a young rak and what he'd learned while living in his mansion. He told them precisely how rak transformation was accomplished and all the benefits it conferred, as well as the sacrifices it required. "The greatest benefit, however, is also the greatest danger," he told them. "Rak transformation requires that the wizard places his soul in a container of his own manufacture. An ark. His soul remains there while his body undergoes the transformation, prevented from being sucked away to the afterlife, and when the transformation is complete the power of the ark forces his soul back into his body, an undead container that would otherwise be incapable of holding a living soul. So long as this ark exists, the rak cannot die. If his body is destroyed, the ark sucks his soul back in and holds it until the body reforms, a few days later. We all remember our last disastrous attempt to kill Khalkedon."

     They winced at the memory. The punishments they'd suffered and the murder of Ehr Laing, who would undoubtedly still be their leader if she were still alive.

     "However," continued Tak, "if that ark is destroyed, the rak is destroyed. Completely and irrevocably. The power that holds his soul in the mortal world is removed and it's sucked away to the afterlife and the judgement of the Gods. I saw it happen, although in my case it was accidental. He rather foolishly startled me while I was holding it and it broke when I dropped it. He literally disintegrated. It was like looking at years of decay taking place in the space of a few seconds. That is how we will destroy Khalkedon. Destroy his ark and we destroy him."

     "You are absolutely certain that Gannlow did not reform?" asked Lan Del-Tora doubtfully.

     "Absolutely," confirmed Tak. "I remained in his mansion for a further year and a half, and I never saw any sign of him. I kept the fragments of his ark and examined them periodically for any sign of activity, but there was none. He died. Believe it."

     "All right," said Enna Mael, fingering her white hair thoughtfully. "How do we find his ark? If it's that important to him, you can bet he's got it well hidden, and protected as well as the absolute ruler of a city can possibly make it."

     "I may be able to help there," said Barl. "I've been exploring the forbidden areas of the palace, carefully, as you can imagine. I've been caught a couple of times..." He fell silent for a moment, wincing at the memory of some terrible punishment, but then he shrugged and continued. "There's one underground tunnel leading from his private chambers, protected better than any other part of the palace. I've seen the door, and I once managed to open it to see the passage leading away, but I've never dared enter it. Something told me that if Khalkedon caught me there, he would simply destroy me without a thought, but I'm willing to bet my life his ark's down there. It's got to be."

     "Sounds plausible," agreed Sheena. "So what's the plan?"

     "Same as before," suggested Talpha-Ja. "Distract those loyal to him, blast him and then find and destroy his ark before he can reform. It took him two days last time. We'll have that long to figure a way past his traps and snares."