The knights had been riding for what seemed like days.
But for all their efforts they had been unable to make up any distance.
Soth and his horse seemed to be creatures possessed of an otherworldly sort of power that would not forsake them until they reached their destination.
Suddenly, Caradoc's horse faltered, this time plowing into the ground with all its weight.
Dead weight.
Caradoc gathered himself up.
Kern and Farold noticed Caradoc had fallen behind and circled back toward him.
'Ride with me,' offered Farold, patting his horse's sweat-soaked haunches.
Caradoc shook his head. 'Thank you, but'-his voice broke as he struggled to catch his breath-'even if I had a fresh horse, it would matter not. We are pursuing a demon we will never catch. Soth is utterly possessed by a jealous rage. Even if we could catch him, I seriously doubt we could ever stop him.'
Farold's horse snorted, as if in agreement.
'I believe you are correct,' said Farold, his voice followed by a long sigh of defeat.
'This is a matter that is out of our hands,' agreed Kern.
The two knights dismounted, took their horses by the reins and, along with Caradoc, took up the chase again, this time on foot.
Night was falling, but Soth continued to ride.
As Farold, Caradoc and Kern struggled to make their way through the Khalkist Mountains, they could just make him out in the distance-a faint silhouette against the pale red and white light of the moons.
Chapter 31
The tremors shook the ground for hours.
All through the city of Istar, screams could be heard.
Men, women and children cried out in agony and terror as cracks opened beneath their feet, swallowing them where they stood.
No one was safe.
Nowhere was safe.
The land itself was opening up, devouring entire families, entire homes, whole rows of houses, like some angry maw that was as insatiable as it was terrifying.
The sky had gone from blue to black, and was now tinged with red as it rained fire and destruction onto what was left of one of the greatest cities on the face of Krynn.
In the temple, the Kingpriest refused to concede defeat, refused to admit that his own righteous pride had brought on the wrath of the gods.
Like a madman, he still held out hope that the gods would come to their senses and plead for him to ascend to the heavens and take his rightful place alongside them.
'Is this the sign?' he shouted over the noise and rumble of the absolute chaos going on around him. 'Is this the prelude to my ascension?'
He had hardly finished uttering the words when a ball of flame as big as a mountain streaked across the sky.
Chapter 32
The keep's guards had been warned of Soth's approach long in advance of his arrival. When he rode over the drawbridge, the portcullis was raised and waiting for him to enter.
Soth looked around, surprised at the expressions on the faces of those who had come to greet him. They all looked as if they were seeing a ghost.
Of course, such a reaction was understandable because Soth was to have never returned from his quest, but he saw it somewhat differently.
To his mind, they were all looking at him in this way because he had come back early and caught Isolde in the middle of an infidelity. The thought renewed the anger within him, making his blood run even hotter.
Soth dismounted. The people around him said nothing.
The inside of the keep was filled only with the sound of his horse, which was snorting harshly while doing its best to remain standing after the long, hard ride. Soth walked among the people gathered in the entrance area, his boots and armor clanking with each step.
'Where is my wife?' he bellowed.
'Sh-she is in her chambers, milord,' said Parry Roslin, captain of the guards.
'With whom?' he said, placing a strong right hand around Roslin's throat.
'She is with your son, I believe.'
Soth pushed Roslin roughly aside. Some of the guards moved hesitantly to Roslin's aid.
'Here I am, here I am,' came a voice from somewhere on the upper levels of the keep.
Soth heard that voice and the madness swirling within his mind intensified twofold.
'My lord, what brings you back so soon?' she said, coming into the entrance area with Peradur in her arms.
'Glad that I have returned, I see,' Soth said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Isolde seemed confused by this. 'Of course I am glad to see you, but what of the quest?'
'The quest,' he smiled. 'You mean, what of my death?'
'I do not understand,' she said, shaking her head.
'Of course you don't. You don't understand how I've come to see the light- But now I know how you've been unfaithful to me… since the beginning.'
'What are you talking about?' Isolde's voice was broken and disjointed with fear. Her eyes were glassy, on the verge of tears.
'Oh, how well you play the innocent,' Soth said mockingly, his voice sounding hollow and chilling, as if it had already been touched by death. 'Even now as I confront your unfaithfulness.'
'What?' she said, truly surprised. 'I've never been unfaithful to you.'
Soth said nothing, his mind too clouded by rage to hear anything other than the taunting words of the elf- maids that had been echoing in his ears ever since he had returned to the keep:
She sees every man as her lover… And she loves every man she sees…
Lord Loren Soth, Knight of the Rose, Lord Cuckold of Dargaard Keep.
'I've never been unfaithful to you,' Isolde repeated, her voice begging him to believe her. She began to move away from him, stepping backward into one of the keep's larger halls.
Soth rushed forward. 'Liar!' he cried, placing a hand on her shoulder and pushing her heavily to the floor.
Isolde fell backward, clutching Peradur close to her breast. When she came to a stop, she looked up at Soth with wide eyes that were filled with terror and disbelief.
A loud roar could be heard outside the keep, shaking it roughly as it thundered past. In seconds the tremendous sound faded, replaced by the pungent smell of burnt wood and leaves, and other things that could not be named. The sky dimmed as the light from the sun was blocked by a layer of smoke.
Soth and Isolde paid little attention to the event as they were too involved in what was happening within the keep to care.
'What is the matter with you?' she asked, her voice edged with as much anger as terror. 'I am your wife! I bore you a son!'
'A son, you say. Not my son! How are you so sure the child is mine?' asked Soth, towering over the fallen woman, forcing her to crawl awkwardly backward with a single hand just to keep her distance.
