***
The oracle's lair was located in the back of a potion and herb shop called the Black Teapot. The shop had plenty of curiosities, from shrunken heads and demonic-looking skulls to Gald totems and jars containing spectral slime from worms. Kelden found himself wanting to browse a bit and perhaps talk to a pretty female shopkeeper who kept smiling at him. He'd never been in a store like this, and it fascinated him, with new and interesting treasures everywhere he looked.
But after conferring with the young shopkeeper, Renstad led the company straight to the back behind a door, where Ellistar the oracle was sitting in a stone chair with serpent arms and with crimson torches burning on either side. The walls and pillars in the room were carved with strange runes and adorned with hanging plants. Incense burned in the corners, greenish wisps of vapor snaking about the room. Ellistar still retained the look of a Thelaran keeper, right down to her yellow skin. She was silver-haired and hard-faced, with a jagged scar on her cheek and a tight, sour expression on her lips. Her scrawny body was adorned with a dark blue robe with silver trim.
"You've been expecting us," Renstad said.
Ellistar shook her head. "Actually, I was expecting someone else. You dropped by uninvited--and brought evil into my lair no less."
Renstad stroked his beard, frowning. "Would you like us to come back later? Must I remind you that your business is not legal in this city and is tolerated only because I've benefited from your services? So...shall we depart?"
"No," she said. "I will see you now. The other shall be turned away. You seek healing for the cursed one. Take him there." She pointed at a door. "Renstad, you should escort him and stay with him, as your strength might be needed to help restrain him. You others shall remain."
Renstad nodded and led Thayan beyond the door. Thayan smiled at Ellistar as they walked past, and she gazed back with a look that might have been a mix of contempt and concern until the door slammed shut.
She turned her gaze on Kelden. Her eyes widened. "What terrible burdens do you bear? What unthinkable secrets are you guarding?"
Dameon cleared his throat. "Kelden and the rest of us seek--"
"Silence, former seer!" Ellistar hissed. "You're in my lair and subject to my laws. You'll speak only when I ask you to."
"I'll speak when I'm good and ready, Ellistar!" Dameon growled back. "Save your antics for the frightened masses. I don't respond to such theatrics. You know I'm above that. Or have you forgotten me?"
"I remember," Ellistar said, her tone calmer. "But I'm not the woman who once fell for your tricks, Dameon. I've advanced beyond anything your mind can comprehend. The future is known to me with a clarity the greatest seers cannot match."
"I have no doubt about that," said Dameon. "Nor could they possibly match your ego, it appears. Now shall I explain why we've come?"
She raised her hand in a gesture of warning. "I asked the young man a question. He has failed to answer me. Until I get my answer, I will speak no more."
Kelden glanced at Dameon, and Dameon nodded. "Tell her."
"I..." Kelden trailed off hesitantly. "I bear the..." His throat went dry. He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"He bears the demon Credesar within him," Dameon said.
Ellistar rose quickly. "The presence I feel is Jarvin's link? The Paltos fiend who once ravaged the land and forced his terrible will onto my sisters? As far as I'm concerned, Credesar is the devil himself. Yet you dare bring him into my lair? This is a holy place, blessed by the eternal spirit of my mistress Gresepha, who gave me free will and independence from the Order of Thelaran."
"Credesar isn't evil," said Dameon. "He has changed somehow, freed his mind from the grasp of darkness. He seeks Jarvin's destruction."
"What did you hope to learn by coming here?" said Ellistar, sitting down again, her face tense in the torchlight.
"We need to know which path to take," said Dameon. "Should we go to Frindagan, or Iragantheos first?" Dameon went on to explain the situation in detail.
"I believe your story," Ellistar said. "I will consult with my mistress and try to obtain the answers you seek. But I have a price, and it must be paid. What gifts do you offer me in return?"
Dameon's eyes widened. "Knowing what is at stake, you would still ask for payment? I expected better of you, Ellistar."
She stood up, her bony fists knotting in anger. "You speak in ignorance, Dameon. I'm prepared to offer what aid I can. But I must present your gifts to my mistress Gresepha, to show that you honor her."
Dameon sighed and extended his mace. "Gresepha is a goddess. Why not call her what she is? And the gods always demand tribute."
"Do not speak ill of my mistress!" Ellistar snarled. "How dare you call her a goddess? She was born of mortal parents. She demands tribute because that is her way. Who are we to question it?"
"Gresepha's origin is debated," said Theodus. "Many believe she was never a flesh and blood entity. If she allows herself to be worshiped by paid tribute, she is defined as a goddess--which in turn would make her a false god as defined by the Legaran seers, since there are no true gods that began their existence as sorcerers or demons. And furthermore--"
Kelden clamped his hand over Theodus' mouth.
Ellistar glowered at the Dar fiend.
Before she could say anything, Dameon tossed his mace at her feet. "This is a Mezzelt weapon--a fiend bound with a spirit creature, and my lifelong link. It's my most prized possession. Take it if you must."
Kelden grabbed his arm. "You can't give away your mace! I'll give her the items the seers lent me, the food and water makers and whatever else I still have."
"That would be foolish," said Dameon. "Those are priceless gifts. Do you know how much those items are worth?"
"We need your mace," said Kelden. "I haven't used those items in a long time, and the blood potion of shielding is gone. But you need your link if we're to have any chance of survival. I've seen what it can do in your hands."
Dameon nodded. "I suppose you're right."
Kelden took out his remaining items and showed them to Ellistar. "Will you accept these instead? They're probably worth as much as the mace."
"Perhaps," she said, her eyes shining. "But they're clearly not as important to you as that war club is to Dameon."
"We won't give you that," Kelden said defiantly. "No matter what."
Ellistar's piercing gaze fell upon Kelden, but he refused to yield. Finally she swiped the items from his hands. "It may not be enough, but we'll see. It's your loss if Gresepha will not guide me."
"If she won't," said Kelden, "I expect those items returned."
"Of course!" Ellistar snapped. "Do you think I'm a common thief?"
"No...no I don't," Kelden said, his face reddening.
She turned away angrily, muttering to herself, and disappeared behind the door that Renstad had led Thayan through.
They waited in silence.
About an hour later, Ellistar returned and seated herself in the chair. "Gresepha has accepted your gifts, and she has guided me. Are you prepared to hear the truth?"
"Get on with it," said Dameon.
"You shall go to Iragantheos," said Ellistar, "and not to Frindagan. The mind soothe does indeed exist there, but it will never leave the tower. Dameon, you shall walk a painful path until the end of your days. Theodus, you must do your duty to the fullest, and trust Kelden even in the darkest moments. And Kelden, you cannot defeat Jarvin. He will crush you. Yet you must eventually face him alone. And you'll never reach Frindagan Tower. I have no more to tell you."
The two men and the Dar fiend exchanged stunned looks. "Jarvin will kill me?" Kelden said. "Is that what you're saying? And that future cannot be avoided?"
"The future can be altered," Ellistar said. "But it's a tricky business."
"My master will not die!" said Theodus.
Ellistar smirked. "And how will you stop it, Dar fiend?"
Theodus gazed at the floor, unable to respond.
> Dameon nodded. "I will walk a painful path." He pulled up his trousers, to reveal purple spots and sores on his skin "So this cannot be cured?"
"Even Gresepha knows of no cure," said Ellistar. "An ordinary man would have lost his ability to walk already. Being a former seer, you may always walk to some degree, but never without pain. The evil that lurks under your skin is impervious to medicine or magic."
"Why did Gresepha tell you of my disease?" said Dameon.
She smiled sadly. "I saw you limp. I remembered when we were once close to each other, and I felt the need to know for your sake. It wasn't the answer I was hoping for. Gresepha sees much from beyond the grave. Her sight rivals that of Thelaran, or, dare I speak it, even the shade of Kuran Darkender. Believe me when I tell you there is little hope you will ever be free of this ailment."
Dameon returned her smile. "Even though my legs can never heal, my heart already has. And for me, that's more than enough."
Her face hardened again. "Gresepha has spoken, and my heart belongs only to her. You will go now and never return without fair payment and a worthy cause. The things Gresepha has seen are to be taken very seriously--but no vision of the future is set in stone. In this realm of ours, any road can take an unforeseen turn."
"What of Thayan?" said Kelden. "Has he been healed?"
Her face was grim. "You will go--and wait for him. He requires more time."
"Tell us of his destiny," said Dameon. "What will become of him?"
"He will walk a path into shadow," Ellistar said, "where none of you can follow. His curse is both a reward and a punishment--though it was not made clear to me who would be rewarded and who would be punished. There is still good in him that can save him from a life of evil, but it is only a flicker of hope at this point."
Dameon nodded. "Goodbye, Ellistar. I won't forget you, even if I live another hundred years. I remember you as you once were."
The oracle did not reply.