Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [33]
Elowen squeezed the druid's hand "The world needs you here, Briartan. The blightlord is defeated. Stay with us, won't you?"
The druid found the elfs eyes as she leaned over his prostrate form. He said softly, "I will answer your questions, that you may have some aid of me, but more than that I cannot promise."
Elowen stifled a gasp, looking for confirmation from Marrec and found it in the'cleric's sad nod. The elfs eyes began to shimmer with retained tears. She squeezed Briartan's hand all the tighter.
Marrec began to phrase his questions internally, but Ususi moved in, undeterred by Marrec's need or Briartan's fragile-state.
She said, "What did Gameliel want here? How did he overcome your defenses of the Mucklestones?"
Briartan gave a weak chuckle. "Ususi, I knew I'd see you before the end. Too bad you couldn't have arrived earlier. What does anyone want with the Mucklestones? Control. The kind of control one might gain if he had quick access to all corners of Faerun." Briartan ended with a cough.
"How did Gameliel overcomeyou?" repeated Ususi.
"Why, he surprised me. He sent the sickened pine folk to me. I thought they were seeking a cure. I labored for days on reversing the rot which afflicted them, before I realized the truth; they would never be cured. What I didn't realize was that their sickness was aimed like an arrow at me and my hospitality. By letting them breach the circle, I also allowed in Gameliel. He overcame me and wrested from me control over the Keystone."
Ususi started, then rose from her haunches. She moved toward where Gameliel had last stood.
"Briartan?" Elowen breathed. "Are you in too much pain?"
The druid turned his head so that his gaze could rest more easily on the hunter. "Ah, Elowen, don't be sad. I am so glad that you are here, that you are here to see me off. Please, explain my fate to the Nentyarch who sits-in-exile in Yeshelmaar. The Nentyarch must know what has happened here:"
"Yeshelmaar?" she blurted.
"You've been away from the fold for quite some time, then, Elowen?" ventured Briartan. He continued, "Yes, seek both the Council of Lethyr and the Nentyarch in Yeshelmaar. Bring him the Keystone."
Marrec wanted to ask his own questions, but Elowen needed a moment with her friend. He glanced up to see what Ususi was doing. The mage was crouched, studying the scattered debris of the blightlord's possessions.
Elowen, trying to keep the druid engaged, said, "I'd hoped that the Nentyarch was still in the Rawlinswood. If he's taken a seat in Yeshelmaar, it must mean the Rotting Man was too strong for even the Nentyarch. When I left on my mission, Yeshelmaar was being prepared as a possible seat-in-exile. I hoped it would not come to pass." She bit her lip then asked, "Briartan, was Gameliel acting as an emissary of the Rotting Man?"
"You know he was, and he is but the least of the blightlords who give their allegiance to the Talontyr. Anammelech's unnatural tread causes the forest to shiver, and Damanda is nearly a power in her own right, yet she has the ear of the Rotting Man." The conversation was fast sapping the druid's last reserves of strength. Briartan's eyes began to stray upward, attempting to focus on vistas invisible to the living.
"Briartan," Marrec jumped in, realizing the druid was close to departing, "I have traveled far seeking answers. The goddess Lurue, who you may know, is losing contact with many of her servants, me included. My quest is to renew that connection. My quest has led me first to this strange child, who we call Ash, and also the Child of Light, and now to you. It seems that, for reasons I don't understand the Rotting Man wants the girl. More than that, I need to know who this girl is, and why she is important to Lurue. Do you have any answers for me, great druid?"
Briartan considered Marrec's speech a moment before responding. Then he said, "I know of Lurue, the Unicorn Queen. She may have quieted her connection to you, but if she has, it is most assuredly for a good reason. It is strange, though-I do not sense that all connections of the