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In the back of his mind he senses the presence of an age old enemy, but so engrossed in the ritual is he that it is soon pushed to the back of his mind and is lost. Once more bending the power to his will, he signals the Gygnai that it is time.

As the Gygnai begin absorbing the life of the slaves each holds, the symbols surrounding them begin to writhe. Then the symbols flare with a purplish radiance and the bodies of the Gygnai start to shift and waver as they in turn are absorbed by the symbols surrounding them.

The union of the life forces from this world and that of the plane which Dmon-Li calls home will now enable Ozgirath to create a gateway that will allow his lord to cross over and claim this world for his own. Enormous power is being sent to the crystal, which in turn is taken by Ozgirath. Bending the magic to his will, the High Lord of Dmon-Li invokes the final spell to create the gate.

Where the six Gygnai had stood are now six areas of shifting and pulsating darkness. With the power coming from the crystal, Ozgirath causes the areas of darkness to move toward the crystal. One by one, the darkness envelopes the crystal until it can no longer be seen. Then, the crystal ceases to be as the darkness completely consumes it.

At the point when the crystal ceases to be, the darkness latches onto the tendrils of power being sent from the temples and begins absorbing the magic directly. Coalescing into a large sphere, it slowly grows under the guidance of Ozgirath until it swells to fill the entire area within the circle of six where the Gygnai had stood in a domelike formation.

A dark redness appears deep within the blackness. As the dome absorbs the magic coming from the temples, the redness grows. Rapture fills Ozgirath as the way for his lord begins to come into being. His yellow eyes watch the redness as it consumes the blackness as more and more of it makes way for the gate.

When the redness has all but replaced the blackness, Ozgirath moves to stand before the gate. From the other side, he can feel the presence of his lord. Now, to stabilize the gate and make it permanent so his lord may cross over.

Bring them now.

At his command, four of the warrior priests who have been standing behind him motionless, turn as one and move toward the cell holding Tinok and the other three prisoners.

After leaving the Hall of Despair and the battling creatures, they follow the floating sphere along dark corridors. Several of the ‘Little Brothers’ accompany them. James takes note of their presence and asks, “I thought they were shy?”

“Little Brothers are normally very shy,” replies Brother Willim. “But I am here and they are hoping I will lead them to more Hikuli.”

James keeps glancing to them and their number constantly seems to change. First there were four, then seven, then two, and so forth. The most he saw at any one time was fourteen.

They steadily work their way deeper into the depths of the temple, all the while continuing to keep the sphere in sight ahead of them. Aside from the Hikuli they initially encountered, the corridors have been empty. James concludes that those who call this place home must be below where the magic is originating from. He maintains his orb in his hand to give them some light with which to see. Miko had replaced the Star back in his pouch once the threat of the Hikuli was past. The brilliant light the Star gave out here in Ith-Zirul was far too conspicuous and might have given them away.

Having just come down their third flight of stairs, they come across several cells that had at one time held people. “Someone was here not too long ago?” announces Jiron after he makes a quick inspection of one. “Less than a day.”

“What makes you say that?” asks Miko.

Jiron indicates the slop bucket. “What’s in there hasn’t been in there very long,” he explains. Looking around, he says, “He must have been held here.”

“You sure?” Miko asks.

“Yes,” he replies. “Unless you would like to come over and examine it for yourself?”

Shaking his head a