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(7) After the celebration, many of the lords and ladies returned to their towns throughout the land, and the gnomish royal court to their kingdom in the northwest, and the dwarven ambassadors to their home near the mountains in the northeast. Then Armadyl and Ikov consulted with those nobles who remained, and they learned more of the kingdom that had welcomed them. The humans lived in towns and villages spread between the massive Galarpos Mountains in the west and the shores of the sea in the east. To the north were swamps, lakes, the coasts of the northern sea, and Fremennik lands. To the south lay open fields, all unsettled, and beyond them hills inhabited by a civilization of peaceful creatures called skavids. Legends told of elves beyond the western mountains, but they had not been heard from for an age. Legends also told of the worldgate in the northwest, near Eagles' Peak, whence they themselves had come millennia before.

(8) The nobles also spoke of their history. Humans and gnomes had ruled those lands from time immemorial. Only legend spoke of their coming from another world, as well as of the god Guthix who brought them there - a god well remembered only by the gnomes. But much of the remembered history was fraught with violence. In the last century the nobles had come together to make peace among themselves and to put an end to their petty conflicts. Since that time they met regularly in the capital, as equals, to discuss the affairs of their people.

(9) They intended to maintain this custom, with Ikov as the first among them - styled the lord of the palace of the capital. Despite the progress of the preceding century, threats to their harmonious state remained. Competition among the nobility, and unwise ambitions in the most talented of their rank, threatened to end the peace. When they had heard of Armadyl's quest, they looked forward to his coming, for he especially would make clear the demands of justice.

(10) Most recently, exactly one year before, a spirit had appeared in the mountains to the west, a shadow taking a form unknown to them - the form of a dragon. Some nobles took it as an omen favorable to their tyrannical ambitions, and others as heralding the end of peace. Thenceforth the nation looked to Armadyl and Ikov to guide them.

(11) Armadyl counseled them not to worry about the ominous spirit. He promised to provide them with laws fitting for their customs and their government, laws which would maintain peace in their country and with their neighbors. He also spoke to them of his people, the Aviantese, and of his desire to bring them to this world to settle upon the mountaintops in the west and upon islands in the sky. Finally, he spoke of leaving for a time, to journey to the portal in the northwest and through it back to his people; he would return with them to establish laws for both humans and Aviantese, as well as gnomes according to their desire, and he would remain there with his combined people forevermore. All were comforted by his words.

(12) After their meetings with the nobles in the capital, Armadyl spoke with Ikov privately. He said, "Ikov, I see that you are restless. This spirit in the west is greatest enemy you will face: it's the shadow that fled from the mount of Kathekontos upon your approach; it's the spirit that stirred the earthen giant for me to fight. This spirit is greater even than that one, but only a man can defeat it. You will have to face it on your own, but do not be afraid. You have time to rest, and you will be ready when the time comes."

(13) Armadyl paused, and then said, "Of course you know this already: when I met you two years ago you were a skilled sorcerer, but now your skill has exceeded even mine. I know you won't find peace here. After you drive this spirit out, survey for me all the spirits of the land, and then you are freed from my service: follow the spirits whithersoever they lead you. Rest now, and when I go, you go also, to fulfill these tasks and then to find your way. You go with my blessing and my friendship." Ikov left Armadyl's presence happy, but also with much to ponder in his heart. For three more months, Armadyl and Ikov remained at the capital, listening and giving counsel to the people; they spent much time together, but often in silence. Then, at the start of autumn, Armadyl departed for the worldgate.

Part 9: Dragon

(1) After Armadyl departed from the capital, to journey back to Abbinah, Ikov also prepared to depart. He set out to the north to visit all the towns and villages along the west bank of the Dougne. Everywhere he went he asked to be allowed to come and go without fanfare so that he might move quickly and have more time to speak with the people. He listened to their stories, and sought out any effects of the spirit of which he had been warned. He discovered little, but encouraged all who spoke with him, and thanked them for their time.

(2) For two weeks, he followed the river north, until he came to the end of the human settlements and the southern border of gnomish land. Then he set out west toward the mountains. There the towns and villages were more spread out, so some nights he spent camped alone in the countryside. He had time to think and to rest and to feel more deeply about the land for the spirit there. One night, as he approached the mountains, he had a vivid dream. He saw a beautiful sword, smithed from steal. The hilt was made from a scaly hide, one layer of thick, black scales, tough and bone-like; another layer of delicate scales of gold wrapped about the grip, guard, and pommel; on closer inspection he could see a very fine pattern in the golden scales: thin curving lines of green and tiny squares of red with convex sides. He woke and wondered what the dream could mean.

(3) Once Ikov reached the foothills in the west, he turned south and traveled through many more towns and villages. They were older settlements, poorer settlements. The land was less fertile there. The lords and ladies lived in ancient fortresses, built upon hills, outcrops of rock, or at the base of the mountains - all defensible locations. From those positions, powerful families had once ruled over larger swaths of land in the east, but for a century the nobles had remained within their smaller fiefs. Ikov could sense dissatisfaction among the people there, resentment at their lot. Some of the nobles too were less welcoming of their new peer: in a few he could sense the tyrannical ambitions of which he'd been warned. For a month, Ikov journeyed south along the edge of the range. Still he could not sense the spirit, though he twice spotted the fleeting shadow in the mountains. His foe would not yet reveal itself.

(4) Upon reaching the southernmost villages, Ikov turned east across the plain. There he found the mood lifted among the people. The people there were proud to live on the southern frontier and to till the unsettled land; they were joyous and adventurous and especially hospitable to their guest. Their settlements were sparse, so Ikov once again spent many days and nights alone in the fields. Somtimes he wandered farther south in the day, but he would come nearer the southern border to camp at night. At the start of winter, he forded the river. Then Ikov could sense then that the spirit had followed him from the mountains. It would appear as a large shadow, gliding across the open field, as if from a bird of prey high above. He knew it would not yet strike, not yet reveal itself to him.

(5) After a month, he reached the shore of the sea, and then followed the coast north, visiting the villages and towns of farmers and fishermen. All welcomed him. They were peaceful people, though some were anxious about the spirit in the west. One day while Ikov was among them the spirit appeared in the sky, no longer as a shadow but as a dragon - eighteen feet in length from head to tail; all saw its jaws and teeth, its strong legs and clawed feet, and its scales that glinted red or turned dull black in the sun - it swept down low in the sky so that many could see its migth, and then disappeared in the clouds.

(6) The sight triggered panic in several villages, but Ikov went quickly to each of them to quell their fears. He explained that the beast would not attack them but sought first to destroy the sorcerer who had come against it. He counseled them to continue with their ways in peace and to endure the threats with patience. Many were calmed, but Ikov knew that they waited intently for his victory.

(7) After many more weeks, leaving the last coastal village, Ikov turned inland and walked along the nation's northeastern border. He soon found himself walking across a dusty field, full of rocks, scattered about an ancient oak. Not far from him, he spotted a slab of rock jutting out at a shallow angle from the earth. To its underside clung a bush; its roots wrapped around the edges of the slab to reach the soil above.

(8) "This bush conceals something from me," Ikov said to himself. He walked over to it, grasped it, and pulled it away from the slab of rock. In its place he saw a metal disk, secured at its center to metal within the slab above. He wondered whether it could be dwarven technology, of which he had heard among the Fremennik. He grasped the disk in his hands and turned it clockwise. It turned with resistance at first but then gave way and turned with ease; he heard the clanking of metal gears turning within the rock.

(9) Suddenly Ikov heard a sound behind him. He turned about. Next to the trunk of the oak tree, a large, flat, circular stone, partially hidden in the ground and partially exposed, had begun to turn - around an axle under the ground. He continued to turn the disk in his hands, and the large stone behind him also turned, increasing in speed. Then the large stone came to a halt with a thud. And a chasm opened in the trunk of the tree. Ikov approached it. The trunk was hollow; winding stairs led downward beneath the earth, through a shaft only three shoulder-widths wide. He entered the tree and walked carefully down the stairs. After one turn around the stone staircase, Ikov had to bend low, for the passage was not tall enough for him. The shaft was dark and the air dusty. But Ikov was not moved by fear as he descended a depth of three stories underground.

(10) At last he arrived at a small doorway, half his height and just as wide. He crawled through into a larger chamber where he stood up straight and allowed his eyes to adjust to the dim light coming from the outside somewhere high above. He took a few steps away from the hooded doorway and found himself within a vast chamber: the room was circular, bounded by high stone walls - the far wall was too distant for him to see clearly in the dim light. High above he beheld an immense stone dome, around the rim of which he could see small openings which let in pale beams of daylight. Immediately he knew that there was magic at work: he had not descended as far from the dusty plain as the dome was high.

(11) Fearing a trap, he turned to look at the doorway through which he had come: a green light shone there. He sensed the presence of a spirit, blocking his way, but the spirit was not malevolent. It encouraged him silently to explore. He walked a little farther into the chamber, through a stone arch. Soon he noticed that he stood within a circular ring of stone arches, two dozen paces smaller in its diameter than the circular wall of the chamber.

(12) Beyond the arches he saw along the entire wall of the chamber, beginning a short distance from either side of the doorway, a ring of altars set side by side. Each was cut from stone, but every one was cut differently, and from a different sort of stone, and bore different emblems and decorations of stones and gems and metals. And at the far end, directly opposite the door, the ring of arches broke, and beyond it Ikov saw the largest altar, slightly elevated above the others, cut from white stone, and adorned on its front with a star made from eight long and pointed sapphires. Before it and at the ends of the ring of arches stood a tall, stone pulpit on the left and a stone table on the right.

(13) "These altars were erected in my honor by two hundred fifty families of the dwarves," said the spirit in the light behind him, "so in gratitude I have preserved this place in secret." Ikov waited for the spirit to say more, but he heard nothing further in his mind.

(14) He walked toward the main altar, between the pulpit and table. He noticed upon the table a short, jagged knife, made from stone. The ominous object seemed to wait for him. He grasped the knife. Immediately he saw on the far side of the table the shadowy figure of a man. The man also grasped a weapon upon the table, a many-headed flail. Ikov sensed malice in the man, and ducked as the man swung the flail toward Ikov's head. With the knife in hand, Ikov ran toward the center of the chamber, and then turned to face the figure fast approaching. He had no time to draw his sword but fought with the knife he held, slashing at the man and dodging the swings of the flail. The man was quick, too quick for Ikov to harm him, so Ikov again turned to run. The man followed. Again, Ikov engaged, but neither could injure the other.

(15) Ikov continued to engage and retreat, with the intention of exhausting his opponent. Soon Ikov began to tire and to be afraid, but the shadowy figure appeared to tire too. Ikov felt a spirit in the figure, but he could not discern its source, what caused its malice, or why it sought to hurt him. As the pair fought, they made their way from the center of the chamber, to the doorway, and then along the left wall between the altars and arches. Then Ikov understood: the spirit and he shared thoughts; neither could harm the other. The spirit tired exactly as he himself tired; neither could outdo the other. Neither desired to continue the fight, but neither would risk giving it up.

(16) Running between the altars and arches, Ikov approached the backside of the pulpit. He ran up its stairs and then lept off its front. He rolled onto the ground, caught himself, turned on one knee to see the spirit atop the pulpit ready to leap upon him. In that moment, he threw his knife to the ground, and lifted up his arms to catch his attacker; the figure lept and vanished in the air.

(17) Ikov let his arms down, and waited there on one knee to catch his breath. Then he heard the benevolent spirit speak strange words: "Justly, you sought to kill you. In mercy, you did not. Remember this before the dragon."

(18) Then there was silence; the benevolent spirit had departed. Ikov looked about him; in the wall on the right side of the main altar he saw a doorway, as tall and as wide as humans make them. He walked through it and entered a dark passageway and climbed its stairs which rose in a gentle arc, clockwise in the stone wall around the chamber. Halfway around, he emerged onto a balcony at the base of the dome. All about him white light streamed through the windows; he could not see what lay beyond them. He walked clockwise around the rim until he reached another doorway, far above the main altar. The passage was short, leading steeply upwards to daylight. He ascended and emerged from a crevice in a large rock, a short distance from the oak tree upon the dusty plain.

(19) Ikov continued his journey along the northeastern border. For several days he saw no one, and constantly he puzzled over the meaning of what had happened in the chamber. One afternoon he saw across the plain a courtyard of stone, and stone archways built upon it. It was the monument erected where Armadyl and he had entered the land. Next to it he could see a long, wooden cabin, where those assigned to guard the monument lived. He looked forward to dining and resting there, and set out across the plain.