Nightlord: Orb Read Online Free PDF Page B

managed to find her, I doubt not she would be screaming in the dungeons even now.”
    “Ah.  Yes, I can sort of see that.  She isn’t the most tactful person.”
    “That’s not how I would put it.  At any rate, her songs are popular on the other side of the Eastrange, less so in Karvalen.  Nonetheless, there are those who dislike you.”
    “I’m not surprised.  Now, about this uprising?”
    “The Church of Light still exists.”
    “I thought I destroyed them.”
    “You destroyed the Hand, ” T’yl corrected, “or mostly.  The Church hierarchy continued to exist, albeit greatly weakened.  The structure may have toppled, but the religion remains.  Since they are actively persecuted on the western side of the Eastrange, many of them are here, in Karvalen.  Beltar thinks they know—somehow!—that the King may visit, and so are planning an attempt on your/his life.”
    “Seems reasonable.  I’ll want to know more about this.”
    “I understand, but we are on something of a schedule.”
    “Oh?”
    “Once our plan was set in motion, we cannot stop or go back.”
    “Fair enough.  Are we in a hurry right now?”
    “No.  We’re waiting for the next phase.”
    “So, while we wait, what have we got?”
    “First, the plan.  Tort has a method to vacate your body, empty it out.  If that works, you must be ready to listen to the Dragonsword.”
    “Whoa, hold it!  If the body is emptied of any animating spirit, it goes on autopilot—it becomes a soulless thing that operates according to the personality imprint in the brain.  Are you sure that’s wise?”
    “You would rather be plunged into spiritual combat with your own darker nature?” T’yl asked, sweetly.
    I had to admit, he had a point.  Not one I liked, you understand, but a point.
    “What’s the rest of the plan?” I asked, grudgingly.
    “Firebrand will be on his hip.  With your body emptied out, the Dragonsword should be able to guide you into possessing it.  Since it is yours, you should be able to take up occupancy again with no trouble.”
    “I hear more than one ‘should’ in there.”
    “It has never been done before in this manner,” T’yl admitted.  “You are the only—ha!—living expert at the transfer of souls.  Tort has never done it; it would have raised questions and suspicions for her to even try.  She has risked herself too often as it is to gain enough information and trust to formulate this plan.”
    “So, when Firebrand calls me, I go where it points?”
    “That’s the idea.”
    “What about Bronze?”
    “She must remain hidden.  If he knew she was here, he would destroy her, or so she seems to think.  No one can really understand her, but she can nod or tap a hoof in answer to questions.”
    “All right.  How long do we have to wait?”
    “Until after sunset—three or four bands of the candle, no more.  Tort will pretend to assist him in locating the source of the psychic penetration—when the Dragonsword opened the way for us to draw you out.  The story she will tell is that her mirror will show what happened during the psychic assault.  He will want to see.  Once his reflection is in the mirror, she will transfer the creature out of your body and into the reflection.  Then you will be free to retake your body while Tort keeps him trapped in the mirror.  Then you destroy the mirror.  Firebrand will guide you through it.”
    “And what are Tianna and Beltar doing?  And Seldar?  And where is my daughter?”
    “Amber is in Mochara, preparing to intercede with the Mother of Flame in the hope She will either aid us in this endeavor or, at the very least, fail to actively oppose it.”
    “Fair enough.”
    “Publicly, Seldar is in town to visit the Temple of Justice here.  He is actually looking into the Church of Light and attempting to discover more about their current organization and plans.  From what I’m told, you are known as a horrifying monster in Carrillon and as a savage