CHAPTER 5

Until now.

"Hello, Elleena," Jarrick said, standing straight and proud, even though he was facing a massive Red Dragon.

"I told you never to come back, Jarrick!" Elleena said. "I should have Blaze fry all of you where you stand." The Red blew a puff of smoke through his nostrils, to emphasize her meaning.

Though the heat from that was intense, Jarrick did not back down. "You could. But, then you'd never see what I've brought you!"

"You have nothing that would interest me," she responded. "Leave now, while I still have the patience to let you."

"Fine. We'll leave." Jarrick said, slowly turning his horse around. The others started to follow suit. "I just thought you would like to get a first-hand look at the Eye of the Oracle!" he said over his shoulder.

"Wait." Elleena signaled to Blaze what she wanted, and he lowered his head, allowing her to dismount. She came over to stand before Jarrick as he and the others turned back around again. "Show me."

"Not until we're safely inside the mansion," Jarrick said. "Then I'll show you, and explain why we're here."

"You had better not be bluffing, Jarrick," said Elleena. "I don't feed Blaze as well as I should, and you and your friends would make a tasty treat for him!"

"I'm not bluffing," Jarrick said.

"Then, you won't mind if I ride with you," she said, mounting Jarrick's horse and settling in behind him. "Blaze, check the area to see if they are alone."

"It's just the six of us," Jarrick told her.

"It had better be. I like my privacy," she replied. "If he's telling the truth, come back and bring the Firedrake to the mansion, but don't hurt it," she told the Red. "If he's lying, kill it." The Red just smiled, and then took off with a powerful jump into the air, disappearing in the fog.

It took them about five minutes to reach the outer edge of the grounds to the mansion, guided by Elleena's directions, even though Jarrick needed no assistance to find the mansion. Along the way, Elleena had put her arms around Jarrick's waist, though she must have known that he wouldn't let her fall. She gripped him tightly, pressing herself against his back, her hot breath caressing his cheek as they rode.

Jarrick knew what she was doing. She was reminding him of what he had left behind when he had chosen to leave her. He still loved her, even now, some twelve years later. He had never been with another woman in all that time. Why, he did not know. He harbored no illusions that there would ever be a chance to be with her again. She had made that plain enough then.

Still, it was difficult to ignore what she was doing, especially since she kept shifting her weight to allow herself to rub up and down his back with her body. He was glad when they finally reached the mansion, and she slid off the backside of his horse.

The grounds hadn't changed much over the years, save for the huge statue of the robed man with the young girl at his side, which stood at the center of the front courtyard. There was something about that statue that disturbed him, as though he should know who it was, but his thoughts were interrupted when she spoke again.

"This way, gentlemen," she said, stressing the last word with obvious sarcasm.

She led them up the red granite steps, past the white marble columns that held up the roof over the porch, through the front entrance and the foyer, to the main room on the lower floor.

Again, it didn't seem much had changed, other than the mirror hanging in the foyer, instead of gathering dust in that room containing the urn downstairs. There were a few more paintings on the walls, it seemed, and there was now a couch, also red, up against the far wall, and another on the opposite wall, but that was all that had changed in the room.

Elleena led them over to the couch closest to them, indicating with a wave of her arm that they should sit. The couch was long enough to accommodate all of them, but Jarrick chose to remain standing.

Elleena stood in front of the couch, facing Jarrick. "Well?" she prompted.

Jarrick reached into the leather pouch tied to his waist, pulling out a two-inch long, jagged-edged shard of what looked like stained glass, and handing it to Elleena.

"What is this?" she asked, her anger evident in her voice.

"Look at it," Jarrick said. "You've studied the known facts and the descriptions of the Eye of the Oracle. What do you see?"

She looked at Jarrick for a moment more, and then down at the shard in her hands, turning it, letting the light from the chandelier overhead play on it. After a few minutes, she looked back up at Jarrick, a hopeful look on her face as she asked, "Do you have the rest?"

Jarrick stepped closer, holding the pouch open for her to see.

"What do you want?" she asked, looking Jarrick in the eyes.

"We need your help," he replied. Then, he filled her in on the murder of the King, and the kidnapping of the Princess.

"And you think I can help, how?"

He told her about the ransom note, and the three items.

"We have the Eye of the Oracle," he said.

"And I have the Staff of Agamimnar," she said, filling in the obvious. "And the Crown of Xandar? What about that?"

"We have a few clues that point to a location on the island of Dremen, a city named Gimlar," he told her. "So, we need you to repair the Eye, so it can point us to the Crown's exact location."

She stared at Jarrick for a moment, and then started pacing in front of the couch. "Let me get this straight," she said, "You want me to hand over an artifact from my family's past, and to repair another artifact, which, by the way, will be very difficult, but possible. My question is; what do I get out of it?" She stopped pacing, and faced Jarrick.

"You get to keep The Eye of the Oracle," Jarrick answered.

Thel, who had been listening to the exchange between Jarrick and this woman from his past, Elleena, along with the rest of the group. He was content to let the two of them work it out. With, or without her, they were all committed to fulfilling the ransom demands and saving Princess Arrielle. But when he heard Jarrick offer his heritage to Elleena, he rose to his feet and objected. "You can't do that, Jarrick," he said. "That belongs to me and my family!"

"Sit down, Thel," said Oryn.

"What? Don't tell me you're going to agree to this?" he asked.

"If it will help to save the Princess," Oryn replied, "I'm willing to give up an artifact that has brought nothing but death and sorrow to our family."

That last comment made Thel think, and after a few second, he sat back down.

Jarrick caught his eyes for a moment, giving him a silent 'Thank You'. Then, he turned back to Elleena, and asked, "Do we have a deal?"

"I also get to keep the Staff," she said. It wasn't a question.

Jarrick answered just the same. "Of course," he said.

Then we have a deal!" she replied.

"Wait," Thel said, "I guess I'm willing to let her have the Eye, if she helps us, but why should she get to keep the Staff? Come to think of it, how is it she even has the Staff?"

"Because," answered Elleena, "Agamimnar was my great-great-grandfather."

Silence followed.

Finally, Jarrick spoke. "So, we all agree?" He looked at each in turn, first Krombie, who had been unusually silent during all this, nodded agreement. Then Dexter, who seemed to be infatuated with Elleena, also agreed. As did Oryn. Finally, Jarrick turned to Thel, who was always playing Devil's Advocate. Reluctantly, the Elf nodded.

"Then I need to get to work," Elleena said, holding her hand out to Jarrick, who gave her the leather pouch containing the multiple broken pieces of the Eye of the Oracle. "Make yourselves at home. This will take a while."

Thel started to get up from the couch, not trusting her to be alone with his ancestral heritage, but her next words stopped him.

"I could use your help, Jarrick," she said.

That seemed to quell any objections he might have had. At least he knew someone would be watching over her.

* * *

This was more than he could hope for. For months, he had been manipulating the woman; getting her to do things he wanted her to do. At first, it was hard. He would push his anger to the surface, then, channel it into his connection with Elleena. Doing this, he was able to get her to pick up an object, or to walk to a certain part of the mansion. Through his connection with her, he was able to 'see' through her eyes, from her perspective. It wasn't as unsettling as the first time a couple of months ago, but it was still weird.

But, it got easier each time: easier to make the connection, easier to handle the strange sensations that came with it, and easier to get her to do things.

Now, almost two months into it, he was able to take over completely, pushing her mind to the side. He now had full command over her movements and even her voice. He had gotten her to move the urn upstairs, to the mantle over the new fireplace in her bedroom, and, just for fun, he got her to sing an old kids song, while she hopped around on one foot and rubbed her hand in circles over her stomach, and patting her head with her other hand. And she didn't remember anything after he freed her mind. It was always as if she had awakened from a bad dream. She would shake her head to try to clear it, and then resume what she had been doing before he took over.

He took over more frequently now, enjoying the sensation too much to relinquish control until it was absolutely necessary, when his strength would fail him and he would have to return to his resting place within the urn.

He had gotten her to move it to her room one day, so he would be closer when he wanted to take control. The closeness of the urn made it easier to slip into her mind. She thought she had brought it up from the basement for some foolish sentimental reason, to be closer to her ancestor.

He had also gotten her to believe the house was too drab and depressing, and had her bring up some of her old furniture from the basement as well, the red couches, a table and chairs in the kitchen, and silver-plated torch sconces to hang on the walls to brighten the place up a bit. He had even made her bring up more paintings, placing them in different spots to contrast the dull portraits of the women that hung everywhere. For some reason, he had been unable to get her to take those down, but he would eventually.

All in good time. At least his new home was starting to take on a less womanly look, his additions adding a distinctively male flavor to the mansion. Especially on the second floor. The two rooms to the left of Elleena's bedroom, and the two to the right, had all been changed to suit his needs.

The one to the right that was closest to her room had been converted to a library, which he had convinced her to fill with scrolls and spell books he had sent her into the surrounding cities to gather for him. Those would come in handy later.

The farthest room to the right had been turned into a laboratory. On many nights, he would take her there to work on spells and potions he would need if he were going to return to the material plane.

The room closest to her room on the left had been converted to a sacrificial chamber, where he would perform ancient rituals necessary for his dark magic.

And the last room, the one farthest from her room on the left, had become a combination meditation/divination chamber. He would need both aspects to learn things he would have to know in order to carry out his plans of revenge, such as where his enemies now lived, or their descendants, if they were dead. Either would suit his purpose.

He had learned to control her every action by now, and ironically, the only thing that had been able to displace him, had, been the very thing that had allowed him to establish control in the first place, strong emotions. This was not limited to just anger. Sadness, loneliness, fear, he had experienced all those and more, through his connection with her, and when she felt them deeply enough, the sudden outpouring of emotion had been enough to force his spirit out.

Now, today, while he was busy testing the potency of a shrinking potion he had made her create on a large pig she had bought at the market, he was interrupted by the low growl of that beast of hers, Blaze. He had to postpone the experiment until he could see what the Red wanted, and then, get rid of it. He had already developed a spell that would bind the great creature, for a few moments anyway, but more than enough time to use the shrinking potion on it. Once it was a smaller size, it would be easy enough to get rid of.

The Dragon was about to give another loud growl, but stopped when he saw Elleena appear in the doorway.

"What is it, Blaze?" he had asked, through her.

"Intruders, mistress," he had said.

That would be no good. He had too much work to do to be interrupted now. So, he allowed her to climb onto the Wyrm's back, withdrawing enough so that the Red would not sense him through its bond with the woman, but close enough to influence her some. He had already trained her to take the urn with her when she went with the Dragon, preventing their contact from being interrupted by distance.

Blaze took them out over the grounds, headed toward the wrought-iron gate on the western side of the mansion, then, straight into the grey thickness of the fog. Though she could not see more than a few feet in front of them, the Red's vision was much more acute, and the fog was no more than an annoyance to him.

He slowed his pace with a few backbeats of his powerful wings, and then glided down to land on the burned-out ground without a sound. Elleena knew better than to speak, lest it give warning to the intruders of their impending doom. She waited patiently, knowing the Red would have landed them directly in the intruder's path.

A minute passed, then two, and she heard in the distance the sound of hooves thumping lightly on the ground in front of them. From the sounds, it seemed there was at least three riders, possibly four or five. Then, she heard a sound that no horse could ever make, a low, rumbling growl, getting closer by the second.

She was surprised when she saw the Firedrake emerge from the thick fog, its wings fully extended to give the illusion of greater size. It apparently had not expected a Dragon of Blaze's size when it lunged headlong into an attack. Its growls turned to a whining moan, and Elleena was tempted to let Blaze crush the beast beneath his huge front paw, but she instead gave a silent signal with her hand on his neck, and Blaze lifted his leg just enough that its great weight wouldn't kill the Drake, but not enough to allow it to escape. She was interested in finding out who would travel with a Firedrake, on horseback, into The Darklands.

She heard someone call out, into the grey, for the beast, who's name turned out to be Skorch. The beast had a rope tied about its neck; apparently leading whomever it was back there, through the fog with the rope. At her signal, Blaze gave a tug on the rope. She could hear the sounds of someone falling off their horse, and bid the Red to pull on the rope again. Again, she heard noises, and someone called out again for the Drake.

Blaze's sharp claws severed the rope then, and Elleena saw it disappear back into the grey, apparently being pulled in by whoever was on the other end. Then she heard voices again, closer now. One of them sounded strangely familiar, and she nudged Blaze forward. He moved quickly, dragging the Drake along by his tail. Out of the fog, there appeared five riders, no longer on horseback, but walking their mounts slowly. The leader gave them a signal to halt, and that was when Blaze stepped forward so they could see him. He wanted them to experience fear at seeing him, before he destroyed them with his breath.

He savored those few moments, as they got a look at his immense body, with his wings spread, much the same way the Drake had done. He watched as fear spread over the faces of all but the leader, who stood his ground defiantly.

Let him stand defiant as he burned with fire from Blaze's belly, then. The Red reared up on its back legs, rising to over sixty feet in height, and prepared to loose its breath on the unlucky group.

But, Elleena stopped him when she recognized the leader. Several emotions washed over her, hurt, longing, love, betrayal, and loneliness. It was an overload powerful enough to expel the mind of Agamimnar from her own. He could only watch from a distance as she conversed with the leader of the group, a Human, then invited him and his group back to the mansion.

Her emotions kept his spirit at bay while she discussed things with the man, while his friends, two Elves, a Dwarf, and a Halfling, looked on.

What was it about this man, that was enough to evoke such strong emotions in the woman? What was he to her? A friend? No, that wouldn't explain the wide range of emotions that were tearing through her while they spoke.

A past lover? That would explain much. Yes. That must be what it was. But why would he come to her? It must be of some import, or he would not have risked the journey through The Darklands.

He listened impatiently to the conversation, while the man, Jarrick? While Jarrick explained why they were all there.

The King had been assassinated? So what. His daughter, the Princess, had been kidnapped? Boring. There were ransom demands? Who cares?

Then, he heard those demands, heard the three items being named off, one after another. The Crown of that damned Dwarf Xandar, the very heart of the revenge he sought. The Staff, his Staff, which she still had after all this time. And the Eye of the Oracle, an item he had searched for centuries to find, with no results. And this fool, Jarrick, had brought it right to him!

What a surprising turn of luck this was! His plans would be fulfilled much sooner, and much easier, than he had first thought.

Soon, Agamimnar The Dark would live again!

When Jarrick handed her the pouch containing the remaining pieces of the lost artifact, a shiver went up her spine. The Eye of the Oracle was a thing of legend. The great Elven Mage, Ophaelius, had crafted it over eight hundred years ago. It was meant to help the future Kings of Arrigan to see their enemies before they struck, which it did, several times.

But, some years after the disappearance of Ophaelius, the Eye was stolen. The thief took the Eye to the city of Tyrn, south of Trinity, and sold it to a Nobleman by the name of Olye Delorynz. The man tried to use its power for personal gain, but it backfired. Instead of warning him of the threat of danger, as it had been designed to do, it stayed silent while assassins broke in and stole it again.

For over three hundred years after that, the Eye disappeared. It was found, by chance, along a trail deep in Elven territory, by a young Elf named Ossilyck, who thought it nothing more than a pretty bauble, until it warned him ahead of time that a tree was about to fall where he was standing. It had glowed a bright green, getting his attention. Then he saw the surface of the orb shift and change, until it finally cleared.

He saw within it an image of himself, walking down a trail very much like the one he was walking on then. As he watched, mesmerized, he saw his doppelganger walk past a strand of wild mulberry vines. While his double was stopped on the trail eating some of the fruit, an old tree, as wide as four men, crumbled at the roots from old age and decay, and fell right on top of him, crushing him under its great bulk.

Ossilyck was shocked by what he'd seen, and didn't know exactly what it meant. He put the Eye in a spare coin purse he kept in his pack, and ran back home to tell his twin brother what he had seen. But, as he neared his home in Briarwood, he noticed a large group of people gathered around a large tree that had fallen across the trail. He did not have to look to know that the body they were dragging out from beneath the tree was that of his sibling.

Aching with pain over his loss, he ran through the woods, finally stopping when he reached the Blue River, just west of the edge of the forest. He took the pouch out of his pack and removed the Eye from within.

He was about to throw it into the river, when it started glowing again. It showed him an image of a group of horses rushing down the trail, their riders too busy to notice the young Elf standing next to the trail, by the river. The horses trampled the Elf as they rode by in such a hurry.

He didn't care what it showed him. He had seen his own brother die before his very eyes through the orb, and wanted nothing more to do with it. He was about to throw it in the river, when he heard the horses coming toward him. He looked up just in time to dive out of the way, into the river.

The orb hadn't just been showing him his brother's death, it had been warning him of it, just as it had warned him of the horses moments ago.

For nearly two centuries, Ossilyck used the orb as a warning device, avoiding death many times.

Then, during a two month long struggle with invading Orcs, the Eye had shown him another future scene. He saw himself holding a large boulder over the orb, preparing to smash it. While he hesitated, the Orcs overran the forest and wiped out everyone within eighty miles. All of his family and friends perished before his eyes.

He knew what the orb was telling him. If he wanted to avoid that fate, he must not hesitate. The orb must be destroyed immediately. He looked around, and sure enough, just five feet away from him was the boulder in the vision. He laid the Eye on a nearby rock, retrieved the boulder, and without a moment's hesitation, struck the Eye as hard as he could.

The explosion caused by the Eye's energies being released, was enough to almost completely wipe out the Orc Army. What few were left, fell under the blades of the Elf Army.

By sacrificing himself, Ossilyck had saved his homeland from destruction. He had died a hero.

Now, five centuries later, Elleena was attempting to restore the Eye and fill it with power once again. All of the spells she had used before were nothing, compared to a spell of gathering.

They all moved to the back yard, where the rest of the group sat down on the ground, forming a square, each taking up one corner, where Elleena directed them. Oryn sat at the north, and Thel at the south, while Krombie sat at the east, and Dexter sat at the west. They were representing the four corners of the world, witnesses to what was about to happen. Jarrick explained to them that there would be massive amounts of energy dancing around them, but they would not be harmed. He reminded them of when he had healed Skorch, saying that this would be similar, but on a much higher scale. He also told them not to move, no matter what.

She would be calling forth lightning from above, and fire from below, and mixing the two with the very air around them. Jarrick would be channeling life, borrowed from every living thing around them, and adding that to the rest.

Such a spell had never before been attempted. But Elleena was the most powerful Mage of her time, and Jarrick the most powerful of the Mystics. If it could be done, only their combined powers could do it.

But, to channel power of that kind, she would first have to build wards of protection to shield them from harm, yet allow them to feel the energies. Only by feeling it, could she control it. And only by controlling it, would the spells work.

First, she would build the wards. She had gathered rubies, sapphires, emeralds and onyx, diamonds, gold, and silver for the spell. She drew a four-foot circle around the two of them with an ivory horn, warning Jarrick not to step over the almost invisible line. Then, she laid the jewels out in a specific order on the circle, careful to space them just right. When she placed the last jewel, a multi-colored circle of light suddenly surrounded them. Again, she warned Jarrick not to cross the line, or touch the light, no matter what. He nodded in understanding.

Next, she placed an octagonal block of wood on the ground, telling Jarrick where to stand on it. She placed herself directly across from him, this way, they would share the energies, and funnel it between them, into a bowl holding the many hundreds of shards of the Eye of the Oracle, which she now place in the center of the octagonal board they stood on. Then, she put her hands out, toward Jarrick, palms up, instructing him to do the same, but palms down, directly over hers, but not touching.

Already, Jarrick could feel the energies building within him, combining with hers as she spoke the archaic words of the gathering spell.

He could feel the energy rising, as he saw bright flashes of lightning dancing in the circle of light, the first of the energies to be summoned. Then, Elleena moved on to the next spell, and Jarrick saw red fire mix with the lightning, the second of the energies to be summoned. Elleena moved on to the next spell, summoning the third force of energy, the wind. Jarrick felt himself being lifted off the ground, rising with the wind on the octagonal platform.

Elleena looked at him then, giving him the signal to begin. Jarrick closed his eyes, concentrating on the grass, the trees, the flowers and all of the creatures, both big, and small, in the area. As he drew on each, he felt their life force adding to the spells. So, he reached deeper, this time focusing on the group below, and added their borrowed energy to the rest.

Elleena and Jarrick's hands began to glow, turning first red, then blue, then yellow, and finally white as Elleena spoke the words of the final spell, the spell of binding, directing the combined energies down to the bowl full of shards below them. Jarrick felt, rather than saw, the Eye of the Oracle re-form itself, greedily sucking up the energies of the spells, until, with a bright flash, and a loud clap of thunder, everyone was knocked flat on the ground.

Jarrick was the first to recover, and immediately went to Elleena's aide. She was dizzy, but otherwise unharmed. Oryn was in the same condition, but recovered quickly. Thel, Krombie, and Dexter were all unconscious. Jarrick checked them each out, finding them just starting to come around. They waited for them to come around, before moving back inside the mansion, along with the newly restored Eye of the Oracle.

They reconvened in the main room, all of them taking a seat on the couch.

"That was interesting!" Krombie said.

"Yeah," Thel said, rubbing the back of his neck, "you could've warned us."

"He did," said Oryn. "Did it work, Jarrick?"

"I believe it did, yes," Jarrick replied. "What do you think, Elleena?"

When no answer came, Jarrick realized that Elleena was not in the room. So did Thel. "I knew it," he said, "she's ran out on us!"

"I don't think so," Jarrick said. "Wait here." With that, he turned and headed upstairs. She wasn't in her bedroom, or in either of the rooms to the right of her room. And she wasn't in the first room to the left of her bedroom.

He found her in the farthest room to the left. She was sitting in the middle of the room, on her knees, reading a page from a very thick, leather-bound book. "What is it, Elleena?" he asked.

She raised her hand to silence him, not looking up until she had finished the page. When she did, her eyes were watery. She had been crying.

"Elleena, what's going on?" he asked.

She didn't answer, standing up and grabbing his hand, leading him out of the room. She headed down the stairs, moving fast enough that Jarrick nearly fell keeping up with her. The others stood when they saw the pair coming down the stairs. Thel started to follow them as the headed toward the kitchen, but Jarrick signaled him to wait. Reluctantly, he did.

Elleena led him to the locked door by the pantry, the same door that he had used to reach the basement fifteen years earlier. She waved her hand, and the lock vanished. With another wave of her hand, the door swung open, and she headed down the stairs, dragging Jarrick behind her.

When the reached the bottom, she turned left, not needing a torch to see where she was going. She went straight for the door in the middle of the hall - the only door Jarrick had not had a chance to open back then.

The room was dark, until Elleena cast a simple spell that let the two torches on either side of an eight-foot tall, fifteen-foot long, glass window. But, they were underground, and in a room where there should be no windows, surrounded by brick walls.

Yet, there it was, dark as night, framed by a gold and silver border. It took a few moments, and then Jarrick noticed that the glass, if it was glass, didn't reflect anything, not the light from the torches, and not them, even standing right in front of it.

Jarred was going to ask what it was, but instead, stood to the side when she softly nudged him aside. He stood there, silent, as she pushed on a brick in the wall, and a panel slid back just below it, revealing a silver plate about one foot square. The silver panel in the wall had a hole in its center, about five inches wide.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this," she said.

"Waited for what, Elleena?" Jarrick asked. "What is this?"

She didn't answer, but reached into a pocket in her red cloak and removed the Eye of the Oracle. Then she reached over and placed in the hole in the silver plate. It fit perfectly. Right away, the Eye began to glow.

"Elleena?

"Jarrick, have you ever heard of the Window to the World?" asked Elleena.

"No, why?"

Again, she didn't answer. Walking over to stand next to the 'Window'. "Show me my waiting room, right now."

The wall flashed white for a moment, and then a crisp, clear picture of the waiting room appeared. Jarrick could see Thel pacing the floor in front of the red couch. Krombie was wandering around the room, studying the paintings on the walls, Dexter was staring up at the chandelier, and Oryn sat on the couch with his arms crossed, waiting patiently.

Jarrick was immediately intrigued. "How is this possible?" he asked

"I'm not exactly sure of that. It was only by chance that I came upon the Window during a trip to Calliden, two years ago. I had read about it in the journals my family kept in our library upstairs. It was supposed to allow the user to directly see what he wanted to see, any time, any place, anyone."

"May I?" Jarrick asked.

"Of course," she replied, stepping out of his way. "But, be specific!"

"Show me the Golden Spoon tavern, in Trinity, four days ago, just after lunch time, inside the first room on the left of the stairs, on the second floor." The wall went black for a moment, then showed Jarrick, Thel, Krombie, Oryn, Amos, and Len, talking about the Crown of Xandar, and planning how they would go about saving Princess Arrielle.

"This is amazing!" Jarrick said. "Those are exact images of us, four days ago. Again, how is this possible?"

"All I know is that it was built for use with the Eye. Somehow, its magic is what powers the 'Window'. I knew that the Eye was what would power it when I first laid eyes on the hole in the wall panel," she said. It has the power to show you the past, the present, and the future," she told him. "Try it again."

Jarrick turned to the window, playing on a thought that had just crossed his mind, "Show me the Golden Spoon tavern, in Trinity, four days ago, an hour before noon, in the far left side room, on the second floor." He watched as the 'window' went black, and then turned a fuzzy grey. There were dark shapes moving on the screen, but one was indistinguishable from the others. They could have been anybody.

"What's wrong?" Jarrick asked Elleena. "Why isn't it working?"

"I'm not certain. I know very little about how the 'window' works," answered Elleena. "I would guess that someone has cast a spell of some sort to prevent scrying. The 'window' works on the same principles as scrying, say, with a crystal ball. So, a web spell would probably work on it. I'm just guessing, though."

"What's a web spell?

"A web spell," she answered, "is designed to prevent someone being tracked, but it could be modified to also prevent the person, or persons, from being seen. I could do it. It's a low level spell."

"So our kidnappers are mages?

"I doubt it," she said. "But they have a mage helping them, I'm sure."

"Ok, that didn't work," Jarrick said. "What else can we try?

"I've got one you can try!" Thel said, coming up behind them, followed by Oryn, Krombie, Dexter, and a healthy looking Skorch.

"You were supposed to wait downstairs!" Elleena said.

"What? Don't wanna share your little toy?" asked Thel.

"That's not what I was saying," Elleena replied. "The 'Window' is not a toy! It's not something everyone should see."

"Why is that?" Krombie asked.

"Imagine that you have an enemy, someone Evil, and he has this available to him, there would be nowhere you could hide," she said. "Let me demonstrate my point." She turned back to the still fuzzy 'window', and said, "Show me one day from now, the Halfling, Krombie Swift."

The screen shifted back to black, then showed Krombie riding his horse behind Jarrick, Thel, Oryn, Dexter, and Elleena. He was wearing an orange vest over a green shirt now, instead of his usual purple vest over an orange shirt.

"Ha! I don=t have a green shirt," Krombie remarked.

"Yes you do," Elleena replied, waving her hand, just enough that Jarrick noticed. "Look again."

The Halfling looked down, and sure enough, he was wearing a green shirt, under an orange vest. "What? Give me back my other clothes," he asked.

"No. I was trying to make a point," Elleena said. "If I hadn't changed the color of your clothes just now, what would have happened?"

"We would have seen him riding his horse in his old clothes," said Dexter, catching on. "You just changed the future."

"Yes. But only in a very minor way," she said. "What if a person's enemies had this device, and used it to find out where that person would be at a certain time. Then, the person's enemy could take him out before he ever knew what happened."

"I see your point, Elleena. But, not everyone would use it in such a way, Thel said. "This thing can tell us our future."

"Yes, but much more than that, it can change our future," Jarrick added.

"Now you've lost me!" Dexter said.

"I get it," Thel said. Jarrick let him continue, "What if I was to try to see my future, and the screen stayed blank? That would mean I don't have a future, or that I die before the time period I was wanting to see."

"Correct," Jarrick said.

"But, there is another aspect," added Elleena, "Take, for example, what I did with Krombie. I saw him, in the future, wearing a different outfit than usual, one that he didn't have, until I changed his clothes to match what I had seen."

"There you go again," Dexter said, "I'm lost."

"She's saying, if I understand her correctly," Thel said, "that what we see in the future, effects what we do in the past, changing the future."

Elleena smiled, "Now you're getting it," she said. "But let's try something even more confusing."

"It gets worse?" Dexter and Krombie asked in unison.

"Much worse," she continued, "What if I saw someone else die in the future, and acted to prevent that death before it happened? Now, let's say that the person I save accidentally kills someone else, someone who should not have died." She waited a few moments, to let them grasp what that would mean. "Now, let's say that the person who died, was in line to be King, and would have ruled wisely and fairly for two hundred years. Someone else would rise to power in his place, and might become a tyrant, causing many other deaths."

"So, saving that one person, would effect everyone else he met later on, people he wouldn't have met if he was allowed to die?" Thel asked.

"Exactly," Jarrick said.

"That, is why I didn't want all of you to see this," Elleena said. "It has a dangerous potential for misuse."

"Ok, we all get that. Don't mess with the future," Thel said. "But what about the present, or the past?

"How you gonna mess up the past?" Krombie asked.

"Go ahead, Thel," Jarrick said. "What were you thinking?

Thel stepped up to the 'window', then glanced in Elleena's direction. She nodded for him to proceed. "Show me the final battle on the Plains of Dawn, between Xandar's army and Agamimnar' army," he said to the 'window', "Show me that whole day."

This drew a gasp from Elleena. She had not expected the Elf to ask for something like that. There was nothing she could do about it now, as the screen went black again. She was about to see the defeat of her ancestor, Agamimnar the Dark!

The screen came alive with color, most of it red, as blood spilled from the many wounded Dwarves, Elf's, and Humans on the battlefield, mixed with the green blood of the Demon army, and the black, silver, bronze, and steel of the two army's weaponry and armor.

At first, the entire scene was too chaotic to make out individuals on the field. But, as the battle raged on, and more and more soldiers from both sides fell, it became easier to distinguish the Demons from the Dwarves, Elves, and Humans. Even a few Halflings had joined the Xandar and his army in fighting the thousands of Demons at Agamimnar' command.

As the day wore on, it became obvious that the Dwarf Prince's army would fall to the greater numbers of Demons. But, Xandar's army pushed on, pressing the enemy back just a little. The scene was distressing to watch, even though they all knew what was going to happen.

They saw the huge, muscular Demon General break through the ranks of Xandar's army, scattering soldiers from both sides out of his way as he fought to reach his quarry, the Dwarf Prince himself. His guards fought bravely, but they were unable to keep the unholy beast at bay. With one mighty swing of his battleaxe, the Demon General struck Xandar down.

There was a collective gasp in the room, as they watched the Dwarf Prince fall, then silence, while they waited for what they knew would happen next.

The light of the sun broke over the horizon, its bathing glow spreading slowly over the bloody battlefield, until it reached the body of the fallen Prince. It seemed to linger there, for a moment, and then they saw the miracle unfold. They watched as Xandar stood up, and upon his head, there was a Crown of gold, weaved from his very blood, shining brightly in the light of the sun for all to see.

They saw a newfound energy take hold of the Dwarf Prince's army as they witnessed his rise from death. They watched as the blades of his army rose in salute to the Prince, and the army began chanting his name, over and over.

They watched as that very army, most of whom were injured, turned on their enemies, the Demon army, who outnumbered them five to one, and charged them, chanting, 'Xandar, Xandar', over and over. The Dwarf Prince's army tore through the Demons, fighting to reach their master, Agamimnar the Dark.

They watched as Agamimnar brought his twelve remaining Demon Generals to his side, and an instant later, flung them out over the crowd with a spell.

They watched in horror, as the Demon Generals landed, exploding as Agamimnar spoke the last word of that spell.

Fires swept over the battlefield, destroying everything in their path.

They watched as Agamimnar let out a gloating laugh at the carnage he had just caused, and then fell silent, as he saw the Dwarf Prince rise from the ashes, followed by his entire army.

And Agamimnar just stood there, as he was surrounded by Xandar's men, and taken into custody.

The trial of Agamimnar the Dark was swift, and the execution of Agamimnar followed that same day.

They watched as the Lead Council from his trial, read aloud his sentence, 'death by decapitation', and Agamimnar just smiled.

And they watched as the black-hooded executioner raised his axe, and paused, and they listened as Agamimnar the Dark spoke his final words; 'This victory I give to Thee. The next will be mine!'

And finally, they watched as the axe fell.

Then, the screen went black again.

The room was very still. Nobody made a sound. Yet, they could still hear the last words of Agamimnar the Dark echoing off the walls.

Finally, Krombie broke the silence. "Well, that was something you don't see every day!" he said. "Thanks, Thel. Just what I wanted, nightmares that'll keep me awake forever. Thanks, buddy!"

"Everyone stop staring at me," Thel said. "I was curious. Sorry!"

Then Jarrick, who had been silent through the whole thing, spoke up. What he said, surprised everyone, "Show me that same battle, but start just before the Demon General strikes down Xandar, then freeze right after the Dwarf rises again."

"What?" Thel asked. "Why would you want to see that again?

Jarrick was silent, waiting to see if they noticed it as well.

The screen went black and flashed again, and the horrific battle scene was repeated. They saw the assassin tear through the Princes defenses, and they saw the Prince fall. Two minutes later, the Prince rose again, lifting his weapon, a battlehammer, into the air.

The scene froze on that moment, showing the Dwarf from behind, surrounded by his followers.

"Care to share the point of this?" asked Thel.

"Watch the screen," Jarrick said. Then he turned back to the 'window', and gave it more instructions, "show me this scene, but from the other side, from the Demon army's point of view. Start twenty seconds before the Dwarf Prince is struck down, and proceed slowly to two minutes after, then freeze and await further instructions."

"What did you see, Jarrick?" asked Oryn.

Jarrick didn't answer, but continued to stare at the 'window'.

The gruesome scene played out once more. But, as Jarrick had instructed, showed the events from the Demon army's point of view. They watched as the large, black and green figure of the Demon assassin tore through Xandar's defenses, scattering soldiers in every direction. But, from this point of view, the Demon's huge body prevented them from seeing the Dwarf Prince until after he was struck down and the Demon destroyed. Just after the sun fell on the Prince, and he stood up again, the image froze.

"What the Hell?" Thel asked.

"I see now why you wanted to see it again," said Elleena.

"So do I," Oryn stated.

"Well, it explains a lot!" said Krombie.

They all turned to look at Dexter, who stared with his mouth open at the image frozen on the screen.

Watching the scene play out the first time, Jarrick had noticed some things that were shocking, at the very least. He had asked the 'window' to show him that one scene again, just to be sure, and in doing so, had confirmed that he had seen what he thought he had seen the first time.

But even after seeing it a second time, the others had not noticed. He took a chance that the 'window' could show things from different angles, and different points of view, and instructed the 'mirror to play out the scene for the third time.

Jarrick did not watch the screen this time - instead, he watched his friend's reactions to what they were seeing. When the screen froze, all eyes were fixed upon the image it now showed.

Xandar, Dwarf Prince of Arrigan, had lost his helm when struck by the Demon's weapon. In its place was a crown of golden light. But, what stood out the most about the Prince was not the 'Crown' he now wore, but his face.

It was the same as Dexter's, right down to the cropped beard, the short, pudgy nose, the thick eyebrows, and the sky-blue eyes. The resemblance was unmistakable. If they had not known that they were seeing a picture of events that had taken place nine centuries earlier, they would have thought it was Dexter they were looking at.

"I don't understand, Jarrick," Thel said.

There's more," Jarrick said.

"More?" asked Oryn.

"Yes," Jarrick replied, "watch."

He instructed the 'window' to zoom out, allowing them to see the people closest to Xandar.

To his left stood two Elves, both wearing chain mail. The larger one carried a longsword, while the other had in his hand a smaller sword, black as night. Again, the resemblance was unmistakable. They were looking at Thel and Oryn, or, to be more accurate, their doubles from nine hundred years before.

To Xandar's right, stood a Halfling, dressed head to toe in dark brown leather, with a four foot long sling in his left hand. He even had a goatee, and his topknot bore the same streak of silver in it that Krombie's did.

Standing behind the Halfling was a Human male, with a six-foot long staff in his hand. He was an exact double of Jarrick, right down to the white robe.

All that was missing from the scene, were replicas of Elleena and Skorch.

"There is more at play here than a simple assassination and kidnapping," said Elleena. "It's as if time is repeating itself."

"I agree," Jarrick said. "But, what happened in that time period is what led to the formation of the Darklands."

"What if we are being given a chance to reverse what happened?" Elleena asked. "Fate brought the five of you together for a reason. What else could it be for?"

"We can't be certain what is going on, Elleena," Jarrick answered.

"Yeah! I mean, Dexter, a Prince? Come on," Thel said.

"Or you and Oryn, Generals?" Dexter responded, a little hurt by Thel's remark. "Does that really seem that likely, either?"

"I can picture myself as a General," Krombie said, smiling.

Thel whacked him on the back of the head. "Shut up, Krombie," he said.

"You shut up," returned the Halfling. "I'll use my sling on you, you big, ugly lunk!"

"You don't have a sling, stupid!" Thel responded.

"Yeah, well . . . " Krombie said, pausing to think about his next words, "if I did, you'd be sorry."

"Stop it, you two," Jarrick said. "The last thing we need is to be fighting amongst ourselves."

"Ok, Jarrick. Sorry," Krombie said.

"Yeah, sorry," added Thel.

"So, where do we go from here?" Oryn asked.

"That's exactly what we need to know, Oryn. Thanks for reminding me," Jarrick said. He turned back to the 'window', where the visage of Xandar/Dexter was still frozen in time, and said, "Before we plan anything, we need to know where the 'Crown' is at. Show me the Crown of Xandar, in its present location."

The screen went black again, then stayed that way.

"I don't understand," Dexter said. "Why isn't it working?"

"What are we missing?" Oryn asked.

"Let Dexter ask it," Krombie said.

"How's that gonna help, idiot?" Thel asked. "You think it'll listen to him, instead of Jarrick?"

The Halfling ignored the Elf, repeating, "Let Dexter ask it, Jarrick."

Jarrick tilted his head, suddenly remembering. "Yes," he said, smiling at the Halfling. "Good thinking, Krombie."

"What? You've got to --"

"Shut up, Thel," they all said in unison.

Thel started to open his mouth and object again, but one look from Jarrick, made him decide not to. He didn't exactly know why he always listened to Jarrick, whether it was out of friendship, loyalty, respect, or fear. It was then that he realized that he really didn't know his Human friend that well, and the fact that he'd seen Jarrick do some amazing things over the years, things he didn't appear able to do, only added to the mystery. Whatever it was, Thel shut up.

"Go ahead, Dexter," Jarrick said, moving out of the young Dwarf's way.

"But, Jarrick, I don't know," said the Dwarf.

"Krombie remembered something which I had forgotten," Jarrick told Dexter, "In the legend of the Crown, it was said, that the King's Wizard, Ophaelius, cast a spell that would let only a truly righteous-hearted man take the Crown unto himself, and only this man would be able to find it."

Dexter pointed a finger at his own chest. Jarrick nodded, placing his hand on Dexter's shoulder. "Go ahead," he said.

The Dwarf's shoulders straightened, and he seemed to grow a couple of inches. He stepped in front of the Window to the World, trying to think of what he should ask for, in the end, settling for just two words, "Show me."

The screen exploded with colors, shifting from red, to blue, to green to yellow, and all the colors in between, all in the space of a heartbeat. It was almost blindingly bright, but beautiful. All eyes in the room were transfixed by it. The colors seemed to swirl, becoming dimmer and dimmer with each revolution, until only a few sparkles remained; sparkles of sunlight, reflecting off a beautiful circlet of gold.

The Crown was sitting on a round pedestal made of glass, about eight inches across, and three feet tall. Just the right height for a mature Dwarf to reach it. It lay in a deep cavern, with a hole in the ceiling to allow sunlight to fall upon it.

The view kept moving further and further out, until they could see the hole, on the very tip of a snow-capped mountain peak, nearly invisible if you didn't know it was there.

Then they saw a city, just south of the cave. The city was not very big, and could easily be mistaken for any other small city, save for one fact; at the north side of the city, there was a grouping of rocks that formed a perfect arrow, pointing up to the hole. The rocks were at least ten feet tall, making it nearly impossible that they could have formed naturally in just such a way. Only magic could have aligned them so, and only a Mage of Ophaelius' power, could have done it.

The scene moved out even further, until the city was little more than a speck amidst the green blanket of grass, and the white-tipped mountains north of it. The view panned east, and they could see a smoking volcano in the distance, about twenty miles out, and in the ocean. The volcano was directly east of the city. The view pulled back one last time, and they could see the ocean, from above, with the volcano, and the mountainous land west of it, at the bottom left of the screen, and the wooded southwestern coastline of the Kingdom of Dandar at the top right.

Then the screen went black again.

The entire experience had been very exciting, almost as if they were birds, flying high above the land on the winds.

They now knew where to find the Crown. The Window had responded to Dexter's two little words, knowing exactly what he wanted.

"That was cool!" Krombie exclaimed.

"Not bad, Dexter," came a deep voice from behind them.

They all turned around to see Skorch sitting just inside the doorway. Krombie ran over to the Drake, throwing his short arms around the beast, giving him a big hug. Then he pulled away, a little embarrassed by his sudden outburst. "Glad to see you're ok, Skorch," he said, backing up a little.

"How long have you been watching?" Jarrick asked.

"Since the second time you watched that one scene."

"So, you know about the connections with all of us and the past?" Oryn asked.

"Yes," the Drake answered. "And I have a question,"

"What is it, Skorch?" Jarrick asked.

"Why didn't you get a better look at Agamimnar with the Window?"

Jarrick exchanged glances with Elleena. "Have you seen the statue in the courtyard?" she asked.

"That doesn't give us much, because he has his hood up on the statue. We need a live picture of him," the Drake said.

"Why, Skorch? What are you thinking?" Jarrick asked the Drake.

"It just struck me that everyone has a duplicate in the past, except for me, Elleena, and Agamimnar," Skorch answered. "I'm just curious, is all."

"I don't see why we can't look," Thel said, eyeing Elleena suspiciously.

She didn't seem disturbed by his scrutiny. "I agree with Thel," she said.

Jarrick watched the exchange with interest, wondering where it would go between the two. Walking back to stand in front of the Window, he said, "Show me Agamimnar the Dark, the day of his trial and execution, in the city of Arrigan, now known as Balifor, at the time he was standing before the Council of Elders for judgment. Then freeze on his image."

The screen flashed once, and then showed a round auditorium, surrounded by arched, white walls that rose nearly forty feet high, forming a dome overhead. The room was immense, capable of holding thousands of people at a time.

There were seats twenty levels high, circling the center area, which was about two hundred feet wide. The auditorium had originally been built to showcase gladiator combat - a preferred form of entertainment at the time, but now frowned upon. The arena was now used as a theatre, showing weekly plays.

There was a ten-foot high wall circling the center area, the floor of which was covered with white sand. In the center of the arena, a round stage had been built, rising ten feet above the sandy floor. On it, twelve cushioned seats had been placed in a semi-circle for the Council of Elders, facing a center podium where the accused would stand and face judgment. The twelve seats were white, as was the podium.

The stage had thirteen ten-foot high torch holders, one behind each seat, and one five feet behind the podium. Together, they would provide enough light so that all who gathered would be able to see the proceedings.

Agamimnar had been stripped of all his possessions, and wore a simple black robe, as a symbol of defiance of the Council, who all wore white. His hands were bound behind his back with iron cuffs, and his feet were shackled in iron. Both were connected to a long chain, held by a large, mean-looking man, dressed in black, and wearing a black hood. If need be, the man was strong enough, that a single yank on the chain would be enough to sweep the Mage off his feet.

He stood before his judges with his head held high, his shoulders squared, and a smile on his face. The screen froze on that image.

The group stared at the image for several long moments, before turning and facing Elleena.

She could just as easily have been mistaken for Agamimnar's twin sister, instead of his great great-granddaughter.

"Wait a minute, everybody," Elleena said. "I am not like my ancestor!"

"We don't think that you are," Jarrick told her.

"Then, why do I feel like I'm being judged right now?"

"She's right, guys," Thel said, surprising Jarrick and Elleena. Both of them thought he would be the first to condemn her for her ancestor's crimes. But he stepped forward, extending his hand to Elleena, saying, "Please, accept my apology. We all know you aren't anything like Agamimnar, or Jarrick would not have come here seeking your help."

She took his hand in hers. "Thank you, Thel. You don't know what that means to me. I've been judged by Agamimnar's actions before, and it hurt deeply. All my life, I've tried to atone for his evil."

"Nobody says you have to do that, Elleena," Oryn said.

"Yeah, we all know that you didn't do all those horrible things he did," Krombie added. "None of us blames you."

"You don't understand what it's been like," Elleena said, turning away from them to dab at her eyes with the sleeve of her robe, "My whole family, all the way back to my great-grandmother, Arrinonna, his own daughter, has tried to make amends for what he did."

"This mansion, and the surrounding grounds, are a result of hundreds of years of spell research, trying to return the Darklands to what it was before, a lush, fertile plain. And, even after all these years, we have only been able to restore this small piece of land. And, only magic has kept that terrible fog at bay for so long. That is why I live here, to keep the magic going, until I, or one of my descendants, find a way to reverse the spell he used that day. The spell that caused so much damage. The spell that led to the creation of the Darklands."

"So, you see," she continued, "even though each of you might not want to blame me, a part of you still holds my family, my bloodline, to blame."

"Elleena," Jarrick said, "I didn't know."

"How could you have known?" Elleena said, taking his hands in hers, "I'm so sorry I pushed you away. I've regretted it ever since. I still love you!"

"I'm sorry too," Jarrick said. "Sorry that I didn't try to work things out with you that day, instead of leaving. Sorry, that I didn't come back, even though you told me not to. I wanted to. I thought of you, every day! I still love you, too!"

They stood there for a few moments, staring into each other's watery eyes, while the others stood huddled together in one corner of the room, giving them their privacy.

Finally, after a couple minutes of silence, Krombie turned to see what was going on, and caught Jarrick and Elleena kissing. The Halfling smiled, happy to see his friend happy.

"Ahem.." Thel said, breaking the magic of the moment. Krombie frowned at the Elf, who ignored him, saying, "Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but we still have a Princess to save!"

"You're right, of course," Jarrick said, moving a few inches back, and wiping a tear off her cheek, while she reached up and did the same to him. Turning back to the others, holding hands with Elleena, he said, "Let's get started, shall we?"

They gathered back in the main room upstairs, Elleena carrying the Eye in the leather pouch Jarrick had brought it to her in, and all but Skorch and Thel took a seat on the couch.

"So, where do we start?" Thel asked.

"We start," Jarrick answered, "with you and Oryn arranging transportation, through your contacts in Dandar, for the seven of us. We're going to Dremen."