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<title>The Shadowmaster - Chapter 11</title>
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<h1>
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11
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</h1>
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<p>
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"Now is the time to tell you more," Megrin said. "So you know what you might be up against."
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</p>
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<p>
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The morning was bright and clear as Jack, Kerry and Corriwen listened intently. The four travellers had shared the bread and meat and drank clear water
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from an ice-cold rivulet, sitting around the hearth stones.
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</p>
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<p>
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"My brother Bodron was once a good man," Megrin said. "And as adept a spellbinder as I ever knew. He was a leader among the council of enchanters, the <em>Geasan-eril. </em>But if he had a flaw, it was that he wanted <em>more.</em>"
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</p>
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<p>
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"He was always seeking new ways, always wanting to be perfect, to be the <em>best.</em> As if being a <em>Geasan </em>is a contest, like wresting and
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racing. Nobody knows on whom the Sky Queen will bestow her gifts, nor why. The <em>Geasan </em>are what we are, and we do what we do.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Ambition can become a <em>thin place </em>for the dark to break through, and I am afraid my brother Bodron's ambition developed a crack that grew ever
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wider under the force of dark tides. Through that fissure a shadow power slipped through to Uaine.
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</p>
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<p>
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"As I told you, the Copperplates, the one and twenty spells, were hidden after the great binding spell was complete. Together, made Uaine the summerland of
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peace and tranquillity. But for every good, there is an evil.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Bodron kept secret his quest for the Copperplates, but he them out all across Uaine.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I don't get it," Kerry interrupted. "If these spells made everything good, why would they have to be hidden. Wouldn't they make things better now?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"So you might think," Megrin agreed. "But if I were to make a mixture of henbane and milkwort and a few other things, then it might help a woman who wants
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a child. Yet if I mix the ingredients in a different way, then I could make a poison that would kill a man dead. It is all in the <em>weave. </em>That's
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the way with great enchantments. Each has to fit with the other in the right way. Bring them together in other ways, and bad things can happen. And we of
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the <em>Geasan</em> fear the worst."
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</p>
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<p>
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"What would be the worst?" Corriwen asked.
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</p>
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<p>
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"The worst would be if the Copperplate spells were woven in such a way that they would undo all the good they have done and open a way for dark forces to
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break through and cast an evil shadow over Uaine."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I saw shadows last night," Jack said. "They were <em>alive.</em>"
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</p>
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<p>
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"They are just manifestations of the dark forces," Megrin said. "What we fear is that what created them might break through. Something very old and very
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evil."
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</p>
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<p>
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Her face was suddenly filled with concern and sadness.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I fear my brother has opened the <em>Dark Way</em>."
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</p>
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<p>
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"The Dark Way to where?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"To the lands of the lost. The underworld. The realm of the damned."
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</p>
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<p class="break">
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***
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</p>
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<p>
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From the slope of the final hill, the great circle below them was impressive, even at a distance. Despite the sunshine, far in the west, the purple smudge
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on the horizon still swelled and contracted like a vast heart.
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</p>
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<p>
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It was the circle, however, that grabbed their attention. It sat on a flat, green plain, like an arena that dominated the landscape. Jack shaded his eyes
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and studied it. Small figures moved close to great pillars, which gave him an idea of its size.
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</p>
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<p>
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It had not been there when they breasted the rise. Jack knew that for certain. The plain had stretched away unbroken towards a far ridge. At first, the
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dark tide in the distance had held his attention, but as they began to descend something shimmered in Jack's peripheral vision.
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</p>
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<p>
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When he looked directly at it, he saw nothing at all. He half turned and again, the shimmering was there, in peripheral vision, like a sliver of glass
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catching the light.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen noticed it too. She kept turning her head, pausing, then looking back.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Something's there," she whispered. "But it eludes me."
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</p>
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<p>
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But further they descended, the more solid the image became, condensing, it seemed from the very air until finally they were close enough for a shape to
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materialise, like a mirage, in the middle of the plain where no shape had been before.
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</p>
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<p>
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Tall brown pillars were set in a wide circle, roofed in what looked, from their vantage point, like thick turf. By the time they were half-way down the
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hill, the apparition seemed solid, rooted in the earth, as if it had stood there a long time.
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</p>
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<p>
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As they descended, the more solid the image became, as if condensing out of the air.
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</p>
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<p>
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"What is that?" Kerry asked.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Our destination…for today," Megrin said. She had declined to elaborate any further on what she had said in the morning about her brother and the
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Dark Way. They had covered a lot of ground, not stopping to rest at the other <em>Bor-dion</em> shelters they had passed on their travels, and as they
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moved ever westwards, the heartstone's beat gathered strength. That told Jack they were getting closer to danger, but he didn't need the heartstone to tell
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him that. They all knew it.
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</p>
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<p>
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They just didn't know exactly <em>what</em> the danger would be.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I thought it might be," Kerry said. "But what <em>is</em> it?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's where the <em>Geasan-Eril </em>sits."
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen nodded. "The Council of Enchanters."
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</p>
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<p>
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"So that's what the Book meant," Jack said. "<em>The Road now leads to ring of power.</em>"
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</p>
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<p>
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"You mean that place is full of wizards and warlocks and the like?" Kerry seemed to like that idea.
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</p>
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<p>
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Megrin laughed. "Wait and find out, Kerry Malone. This is the first time the <em>Geasan-Eril </em>have met for a long time. What they - and we - decide
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will determine the future of Uaine. And yours."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I could have guessed that," Jack said under his breath. Corriwen took his hand and held it tight as they walked towards the circle, not knowing what to
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expect or what they were supposed to do.
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</p>
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<p class="break">
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***
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack could feel pure power radiate from the place. The heartstone now shivered against him-. The hilt of the great sword tingled in his grip. The hairs on
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his arms stood on end and goose-bumps tickled up and down his spine.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Do you feel it?" Corriwen asked.
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's like electric pylons," Kerry said. Corriwen looked at him for an explanation, but she had come to except there were things in their world she could
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never understand. "When you walk under them on a wet day you can hear them sizzle. It's making my skin crawl. And one of my fillings is giving me
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toothache."
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</p>
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<p>
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"It is magic," she said. "Real magic."
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</p>
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<p>
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"Hey Jack, remember that big Vandergraf generator in school? The one that made your hair stand up….?"
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack wasn't listening. His eyes followed Megrin. She seemed to glide over the grass of the plain and her ragged shawl and coat were changing again,
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lightening in the sunshine. A half-smile played on her lips and her attention was focussed so completely on what was ahead of them that she seemed unaware
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of anything else.
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</p>
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<p>
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"The power." Corriwen pointed to the vast pillared circle. "It's coming from there. And from Megrin too."
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</p>
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<p>
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It was only when they were within a few hundred yards that they saw this was no edifice, enchanted or otherwise, standing on the plain. It was indeed a
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ring, a ring of ancient trees, straight and tall, with bark as red as Scots pine and muscular roots dug deep into the earth. Branches high overhead tangled
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and twisted together so thickly that they formed an almost solid roof, save for a few places where shafts of sunlight speared through.
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</p>
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<p>
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Between the great trunks, at first glance, it looked as if the roof were suspended on a scaffold of pure light.
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</p>
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<p>
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They stopped to marvel.
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's like Stonehenge," Jack said. "Except it's been planted."
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</p>
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<p>
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They paused in front of two giant trees. Their bark was gnarled with thick burrs which formed strange shapes like carvings, and protrusions that in some
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places looked like faces eroded by years.
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's like the ring in Cromwath Blackwood," Kerry said, impressed. "But bigger. Much bigger."
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</p>
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<p>
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Corriwen reached to lay a hand on a buttressed root. Jack saw the bark flex and ripple and Corrie jerked her hand back as if she'd been burned.
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</p>
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<p>
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She turned wide eyes on them. "It's alive," she said. "Like Sappeling Wood."
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</p>
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<p>
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For a second, Jack expected to see one of the face-shapes turn towards him and for great brown eyes to creak open and regard him, the way the Leprechauns
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had in the deep forest of Temair. The trunk swelled almost imperceptibly, then subsided, as if the tree had taken a long, slow breath.
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</p>
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<p>
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The heartstone sang a pure, high note and he stopped dead, unable to take another step.
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</p>
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<p>
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It was as if he'd walked into a soft, yet impenetrable barrier. Electricity seemed to crackle all around him.
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</p>
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<p>
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A voice whispered in his mind.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Who enters, traveller?" It sounded as if it sang, as soft as a breeze. "And what do you seek?"
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</p>
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<p>
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He felt as if he was gently pushed backwards. Kerry was still walking forward and crashed into him. He reeled back, holding his nose. Corriwen caught him
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before he fell.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's hand was on the heartstone. It was warm now, almost hot to the touch, as if the power in the air was somehow charging it up.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Jack…" he said without speaking, unable to prevent himself. "Jack Flint."
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</p>
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<p>
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The warm voice embraced him again. "You are known here….. Journeyman."
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</p>
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<p>
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The great tree nearest him shuddered, and a stream of scented pine needles showered down in a green blizzard. Megrin turned, now dressed in her white
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cloak, her staff straight once more and intricately carved. She smiled at him, then beckoned him forward.
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</p>
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<p>
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There was a gentle sound, like wet fabric tearing, and a strange rubbery sensation as whatever invisible barrier had held him now gave way.
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</p>
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<p>
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He walked in to the vast living arena with Corriwen and Kerry close behind.
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</p>
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<p>
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Megrin was ahead of them, now walking slowly, beyond the opening space. Jack took two strides to follow her. She held her hand out to Jack and clasped his
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fingers.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You feel the power," she said. "It called to me. This is home to me and mine. It welcomes you with kindness."
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</p>
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<p>
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"It's like Cromwath Blackwood," Jack whispered. "Much bigger when you're inside."
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</p>
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<p>
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Yet despite the tingling on his skin, Jack felt none of the kind of threat they had sensed inside the walled forest back home, when they had first run from
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the creeping dark and found themselves inside the ring of stones.
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</p>
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<p>
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The heartstone was singing its soft note, but it seemed to resonate in harmony with this place, as if it too, had found a home.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I heard it," Jack said. "It spoke inside my head."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I never heard anything," Kerry said, both hands clapped his face. "I nearly busted my nose on the back of your head. I'm still seeing stars!"
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</p>
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<p>
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Megrin winked at him, touched his nose with one finger. Kerry jerked back as if he'd been stung, then a big smile spread across his face.
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</p>
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<p>
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"All better now?"
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry dabbed gingerly, then rubbed at where his nose had taken a knock`. "Much better."
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</p>
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<p>
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There was not a breath of wind inside this magical amphitheatre, yet the heady fragrance of summer blossom hung in the air. And it was like a vast pillared
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hall. From outside, it was just a ring of trees. Inside, the forest seemed to stretch forever.
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</p>
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<p>
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They followed Megrin past gleaming pillars of light that sparkled with pollen, and straight trunks that reached for a canopy that was now hidden from view.
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A clear crystal stream burbled past as they crossed a fairy bridge until at last they came to a second ring of trees and Megrin stopped.
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</p>
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<p>
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Beyond her, Jack saw the circle of shivering aspens, silver leaves dancing in unison.
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</p>
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<p>
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And inside the circle, gauzy shapes drifted like phantoms, as if they floated in mist.
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</p>
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<p>
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"I must leave you here now," Megrin said. "I can't take you further unless the <em>Eril </em>decides."
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</p>
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<p>
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She pointed to the stream and to the red and purple berries that swelled on a low shrub overhanging the water.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Eat and drink," she said. "Get your strength back. You might need it."
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</p>
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<p>
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With that she turned and walked towards the aspen circle, passed between two silver trunks and faded from sight.
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</p>
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<p>
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Kerry knelt down beside the little brook, lowered his head to drink.
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</p>
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<p>
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The Jack and Corriwen watched in amazement as a little pillar of water rose up from the surface like a fountain. Kerry paused, then bent to drink from it
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and when he was done, the fountain subsided as if it had never been.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Oh, man," he said. "You have to taste this stuff," He grinned delightedly as he wiped his lips.
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</p>
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<p>
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Corrie plucked a juicy berry from the bush. Jack heard it pop softly between her teeth and she closed her eyes and sighed with pure delight.
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</p>
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