‘Mandy, we’ve got to becareful with these spirit rituals. We were lucky with the one inthe shrine, but we can’t expect to be lucky all the time. I knowyou like helping people, but we can’t help them from the otherside. How do we know that the Barra people don’t have some giantfish spirit like Jacintra that will show up at the ritual? We couldbe swallowed like worms on a hook, or I could be possessed again,and we might end up with another mask running around creating anuisance.’
‘Don’t worry Tain. Wecan do it. I will ask Kami how the ritual goes, and you can workout any problems. The spirits can’t be upset with us for helpingtheir people pass on to them. It’s a part of my duty as a druidanyway. The Lady will be pleased.’
Aquitain wasn’t sopleased. It was one thing getting out of trouble when theyblundered into it, but a different thing altogether running aroundlooking for it. It seemed Miranda was getting a taste for adventureand risk taking. Maybe Alpha was right. After they fixed theproblem with the mask he would insist that they returned to theirsearch for Alin Amber and his father. Only then would he be able tofind out what was really going on.
Miranda showed him themessage from the dead and he didn’t seem overly perturbed.
‘Seems pretty straightforward,’ he said. ‘The Lizard skin is hiding a beast within. Thatwould mean that the mask was the Thunder Lizard. You and Zephiraalready guessed that. It’s chaos is yearning to haunt the maze.That just means the mask wants to be a nuisance. Answers are lyingwhere power decays. That means the mask is hiding in some oldtemple or ruin. To restore balance, seek T’kwala’s twin. This one’sa bit trickier. Who’s T’Kwala?’
‘What,’ said Miranda.‘I thought he said K’wala! It’s the bear spirit. Chantalot musthave copied it incorrectly.’
‘Alpha, do we have anyknowledge of the word T’Kwala?’
‘The word T’Kwala meansthe enlightened one in the Orcish language,’ replied Alpha. ‘Itrefers to a chaotic bear spirit worshipped by the Orcs.’
‘That could mean you,’said Miranda.
‘Please Miranda,Aquitain may be smart but he’s hardly enlightened,’ said Alpha.
‘I didn’t ask for rudecomments Alpha. I’m just trying to work out what this message issaying,’ said Aquitain. ‘Besides, it sounds good. Aquitain theEnlightened One.’
‘I think that you’reenlightened,’ Miranda offered helpfully.
‘Why do I bother?’ saidAlpha. ‘You make a perfect couple. You’re both deluded.’
Both Aquitain andMiranda chose to ignore that comment.
When Miranda told Kamiwhat they intended to do he was quite surprised at first, thensuggested that it might not be a good idea. When Miranda asked himwhy he came right to the point.
‘You are being myfriend, Miranda. I am liking your bear friend Aquitain, but I amnot being convinced he is being a spirit bear. If he is attemptingthe Barra passing ritual, I am being sure he will be dying. It isbeing much more complex than the Jeti ritual. I have beenwitnessing it on several times, and have been continually amazedeach time by what I was seeing. My friend the Barra shaman only letme be knowing a little of the secret magic they are using, anddutifully confided to me that it was being incredibly dangerous andhe was being worried every time he was conducting theceremony.’
Miranda was not put offin the least.
‘We are going aheadwith the ceremony Kami. We need your knowledge. Will you help us?’she said.
‘This is being madnessMiranda. Are you to be wanting your friend to be dying?’
‘He may die unless youhelp us,’ she replied.
Kami threw up his handsin disgust and said a few words that Miranda had never heard beforeand guessed weren’t polite. Then he told them what happened in theritual.
‘This sounds verydangerous Mandy,’ said Aquitain. ‘There are too many unknowns.’
‘Nonsense,’ she said.‘You can do it.’
‘Why are you so sure?’he said suddenly a bit suspicious.
‘Because I saw you in adream and you were still alive.’
‘What? A dream!’ heexclaimed. ‘Dreams don’t always come true. Often they are thingswe’d like to have come true, but they don’t have to.’
‘Tain, if you trust methen trust me now,’ she pleaded.
What could he do? Hehad said the same thing to her a couple of times.
‘All right! All right!Let’s do it!’ he said, and Kami asked if he might come along towatch. They agreed, and the three of them teleported to Goth.
On their arrival one ofthe green-scaled Barra people started banging on a drum, since manyof the folk had scattered and were occupied in cleaning up orremembering lost friends. They all hurried back at once, gatheringbehind Loma with fearful looks on their faces. Most had never seena bear, let alone been so close to one. He looked so big and sofrightful that most of them were ready to run at a moment’snotice.
Miranda stood byAquitain’s shoulder with the natives spread out in front of them,and realized that this was the image she had seen of herself andAquitain in her dream. She reached over and stroked his shoulder.‘This is the right thing,’ she said through their mindlink. ‘Thiswas meant to happen.’
Kami helped by assuringthem that the spirit bear was here to help and would not harm themin any way. The presence of the purple-scaled Jeti shaman wasuncertain. Some felt that the Jeti must have been involved in theattack, but others weren’t so sure. Regardless, the Jeti shamanapologized profusely for the bad behaviour of the cats and offeredto have Barra people stay with the Jeti until such time that theycould meet up with another wandering Barra tribe. They agreed toconsider it after the passing of the spirits ritual wascomplete.
Zephira and her grouparrived and Aquitain could see the shock on their faces as well. Hewas a big bear, and looked like he could be a dangerous one if hehad a mind to. Zephira gave him the family sign to mindlink and hecreated one and sent her the feeling of a big hug, which shereturned.
‘By the PowersAquitain, you’re a big brute now. When Miranda
