The Gem Lords

The Abduction - Part 3

     When he came to, he was lying on a hard bunk in a cell with stone walls. There was a metal door with a grill at head height on the other side of which would be a guard. Barl sneered at the thought that he could be imprisoned. He only had to kill the body he was wearing and his soul would return to his soul gem, safely back in the Realms. He would be in a new body within minutes, and free.

     He began to formulate the mental command to stop his heart, but then stopped. How long had he been unconscious? Hours, possibly. Lan would be well on the way back to his umbilicus, and there was no way they could put anything in his path to stop him. It was down to the remaining members of his flight. If they couldn't stop him and rescue the demi shae, nothing else could. There was no pressing need for him to leave, therefore, and he had men who were also prisoners. He had to try to secure their release.

     He rose from his bunk, therefore, and crossed to the door. "I want to talk to Seskip Tonn," he told the guard wp."

     "And they would not have succeeded in taking her if you hadn't distracted her defenders. What do they want with her?"

     "To blackmail her husband, whom they believe is still alive. Lord Opal is determined to die, and will do anything to foil our plans to save the world. Where are my men? I want to see them."

     Seskip ignored the demand and scrutinised the Gem Lord carefully. "If Thomas Gown is dead, why would you go to such an effort, risk so many lives, to save his wife? I can understand why you'd do it if he was still alive, but what do you care what happens to the widow of a dead man?"

     Barl saw there was no hiding the truth from this man. "He's still alive," he said, "or at least, a rak. He altered the demi shae's memories, made her think he was dead, to stop you from finding out. He's waiting for her back in Haven, waiting to restore her real memories, so that he can live with her for the rest of her natural life. Then he will return to the Realms to be one of us."

     The Head Proctor's eyes narrowed. "Did Gown undertake the transformation willingly?"

     "No. We were hoping to persuade him of the necessity, but an assassination attempt left us with no alternative but to transform him. It was the only way to stop him from dying completely."

     "Then you should have let him die!" hissed the Head Proctor. "You have created a monster that may destroy us all!" He stared at the Gem Lord for a few moments, absorbing the information, and it was some time before he spoke again. "Have you considered that he might choose not to return to the Realms but remain to Tharia, to further develop his conventional magical powers? What if he decides not to save the world but create an empire of evil? Even if the world was going to end and he knew it, any sufficiently powerful wizard can leave the world by walking the planes when the end draws near. Gown is a talented wizard, with enormous potential and in possession of all the University training we could give him. He could become the most dangerous creature in the world."

     "You're crazy!" replied Barl angrily. "In the Realms he will have a living, human body and the power of a God. Why would he swap that for a shrunken, undead body here on Tharia, bereft of all the pleasures of a normal life? He will come back to us, I assure you. If necessary, we'll make sure of it. Now tell me about my men. How many of them are still alive?"

     Seskip stared silently at him for a few moments longer before speaking. "Three," he said. "The first to arrive, whom we captured just before Lord Opal attacked, and two others. They had serious injuries but are now fully healed."

     "Then I ask you to let us leave. We have to stop Lord Opal before he reaches his Realm. I still believe we have a chance to save the demi shae."