Before Gellor could say anything to that, however, another voice spoke. 'Quite the contrary, Gord! We selected this place because Basiliv is unfit to participate, and we are under strenuous assault by the nether spheres!' Those words were from the bushy-browed archwizard Mordenkainen, come to fetch the arrivals.
'Almost misheard you, sir. I though you said that the Demiurge was ill,' Gord said, rising to follow the crusty old spell-binder.
'You have remarkably dull wits for one supposedly serving as champion, young fellow,' Mordenkainen snapped. 'I said that Basiliv is unfit. In truth, the man is a vegetable. Left all the responsibility to me, he did! Imagine! And Tenser and the Hierophants are blessed little help either….' He allowed his words to fade, for the three were already at the Vault of Veils. When Gellor and Gord both started to speak, the archwizard hushed them with a sharp gesture, saying, 'No time for chatter now. You must intelligence the Council, and then we will give instructions. Come along now.'
The assemblage was as expected. Basiliv the Demiurge was there too, seated next to Shadowking, but his face was blank, eyes empty, mouth slack. 'He has been struck by a most potent foe,' the ruler of shadows told the newcomers curtly. Then he launched into a session of questions and answers. The questions were put to Gord and Gellor, and they supplied the answers. Finally Gord and the troubador were asked to relate the whole of events from their own perspectives. The whole business took several hours. When it was finished, they had the strange, shadowy wine and cakes of the plane set before them and were surprised to discover that these offerings satisfied their thirst and hunger.
'Had one of the urgists mumble over the lot,' Mordenkainen said under his breath as he leaned near to Gellor. Gord overheard the words and thought that the aged wizard was perhaps a trifle less cantankerous and absentmindedly thoughtless than he had supposed. Then the Hierophants took over, enunciating in their fluted, speaking-as-one voice.
They explained that despite the severity of the blow struck to the enemy, rather than being weakened, Nerull and the forces who fought to free Tharizdun were suddenly strengthened. That infusion of dark force flows from deep, deep below,' the Hierophants noted rather offhandedly. 'It is the one of all evil who sends it forth. The nether spheres are mere beneficiaries of it.'
'Who is so potent? What power strives against us and succeeds with such ease?' Gord demanded. 'I have brought victory, made the sword a weapon of might against any malign being — any! Gravestone is lost to the evil ones forever. Gellor and I have done as you have requested — yet we hear only of defeat?'
'Peace, Gord.' It was Rexfelis.
'He has a right to be irate,' Shadowking said in admonition to the Lord of Cats. 'It is neither your fault nor ours, champion — and friend! Some new ally of the nether spheres has joined to discomfit us. Here in shadow is the only safe place for us all now. The evil has managed to penetrate into all the other places of Balance — or watches and guards them so carefully as to make our gathering there perilous in the extreme. We are as isolated fortresses besieged.'
'Then all is lost?' the bard said unbelievingly.
'By no means!' Mordenkainen interjected. 'You proved that when the two of you journeyed safely to the castle of young Tenser, there.' the archwizard noted, pointing at the lord-mage who had been of such status for a mere handful of decades or so. 'And being here demonstrates much, obviously.'
'Much?'
'Much, Gord,' Shadowking agreed. 'You are our mobile army.'
'Some army! The two of us-'
'Managed to beat the living shit out of Gravestone and his whole lot!' That from the rather earthy lord- wizard, who was being restrained in his comments.
There was a brief furor at that, and comments flew around the many-pointed table for several minutes before order was restored. Finally, the ruler of the shadowy sphere managed to silence the score of other Lords of the Balance and say so all could hear, 'I understand your feelings, champion. You have evened things, brought the murderer of your own parents to justice even as you struck a blow of utmost severity to the enemy.' He paused, and when there came a nod from Gord, Shadowking continued. There is but one true enemy, though. All the rest are but minor extensions of Tharizdun — even Infestix-Nerull. He would have no legions of devils at his side were it not for the one of ultimate darkness.'
There were murmurs of agreement. Cries of 'Hear, hear!' and 'Speak on!' came from various members of the assemblage.
The dark lord of Shadowrealm smiled. 'I only say that which we all know at heart. The loss of Basiliv is a terrible blow to us. It is by no means the loss of all, for we still have you, champion. The new, unknown enemy is a shocking setback to us, but even so great a setback as this one is not fatal… nor of great import.'
'No import?!'
'What balderdash!!'
'Horseshit!!' Tenser chimed in.
Gord rose and spoke to the clamor. Truth,' he said without heat. 'If the ultimate enemy is beaten, the allies of Hades are of no great interest at all.'
'We concur, champion,' the multitoned voices of the Hierophants chorused. 'Yet Tharizdun stirs and sends forth his strength to Evil. The end is near.'
'Why does that surprise any of you?' The one-eyed bard suddenly was on his feet beside his friend, his face set in hard lines. 'We all know that there is but one purpose for the champion, one reason why the power we have is his — our power and that of… elsewhere, too, as you know. It is to face and fight the greatest evil when —
Silence.
'We do not agree.' That from the Hierophants after a full minute had passed without any sound save breathing.
They have always been fools.' Mordenkainen quipped dryly. Tenser nodded and made a rude gesture in their direction.
That brought a flurry of name-calling, charges, counter-charges, and insults flying across the table. After quite some time, Shadowking managed to restore enough order to the conclave to make a call for adjournment.
The members of the council readily agreed to that. Immediately thereafter, over half of the lordly masters of Neutrality departed for their own places.
'What terrible disaster is now wrought?' Gord was sitting in dejection when he said that. With him were Rexfelis, Shadowking, Murlon, Heward, Lord Thomas, and Gellor, of course.
'Why, none!' the master of the shadowy sphere said happily. 'It went just as we'd planned. You were superb, both of you!'
'Superb? Planned? All I am doing is asking questions, and I am getting very tired of that.' Real anger was in his voice and his face.
'With evil so powerful, menacing us everywhere, we dared not keep so strong a force together, united. Now we appear weak, factious, disjoined, and plainly ineffective to contend against anything. Had you known, then there might have been a warning, and the foe might have discovered the ruse.'
'We are not traitors,' Gellor said with heat. 'You could have explained!'
'You are not, but some agency seems to be able to spy out our great meetings, learn what is decided in conclave. You would not have been so convincing, the quarrel would not have seemed so real, had you been forewarned.'
'We are safe enough now from intrusion,' Rexfelis said. 'Now you will learn all that we know.'
'Who has joined with the vile foes, we know not,' the Catlord said. 'Perhaps Basiliv could tell us, but he is as a shell. His body lives, but his life force is elsewhere. We must assume that there will be no return before the final confrontation occurs.'
That will come soon.' Shadowking inserted. Tour success, Gord and Gellor, was great. It dealt a massive blow to evil and made our force greater. The coming of the unknown ally to the cause of Tharizdun has not necessarily strengthened the nether spheres. It has certainly brought the matter of Tharizdun's awakening into imminence.'
