The Heavenly Host

Maelen twisted his mouth around a bit, thinking. “Yes, I got the feeling of demons, but not connected to the Rod directly, at least not in those scenes. But again, there were lots of demons, perhaps an army. However, they were more like thought than reality. It was rather tenuous. Perhaps a side possibility?” He shook his head in frustration. “It was very odd, extremely intense. And lots of anger. Actually, that might be part of what struck me; the sheer fury associated with the images.”

Maelen looked thoughtfully at Elrose. “What did it spur in your memory?”

“In my original scrying, she had been there as a background figure. Her presence did seem to get stronger in some visions after Lenamare summoned the greater demon. As did images, or rather symbols, of the various Etonian gods.”

“Symbols or images?” Maelen asked, puzzled.

Elrose shrugged. “Not clear. Whenever I deal with the actions of the gods or get close to them, I seem to see their key symbols or flashes of pictures I’ve seen from paintings of their exploits and teachings. I never seem to get a direct lock on a deity in the way I would a person, or even a demon. It’s very hazy and inexact.”

Maelen nodded. “I typically see various colored clouds with a strong sense or feeling of the deity, and it’s as if the deity is blurry or cloudy.”

“I suppose one wouldn’t want to actually look upon the face of a god.” Elrose took a good swallow of wine.

Maelen frowned at this and picked up his glass, taking a large sip himself before nodding in agreement. He sighed as he set his wine glass down again. “I think it’s beyond time that you and I go over what you’ve seen in detail, and I’ll fill you in on what some of our seers have seen as well.”

“Agreed. I also think we should make some enquiries of Trevin tomorrow about this Bastet person.”

“Agreed.” Maelen nodded.

“While I have never heard of her, Trevin says she’s from Natoor. As you may know, my family came to Norelon from there a few generations back. My first instructor in sorcery, his father was from Natoor. Thankfully he’s still alive, albeit quite old; he might be of some assistance on this as well,” Elrose told Maelen.

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

“Who could that be?” Elrose asked puzzled, getting up.

“It seems a bit late for surprise visitors,” Maelen greed.

Elrose opened the door to find the Councilor Trevin D’Vils standing in the hall. Elrose blinked. “Well, speaking of the enchantress...” Elrose said to Maelen.

“Master Elrose, and is that our guest from the Society that I see in there?” Trevin asked.

“Councilor, please come in.” Elrose stepped aside and gestured for her to enter.

“Sorry to intrude so late, but a little bird noticed Maelen heading this way, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to speak with both of you together!”

Elrose stared at Maelen from behind the councilor, giving him a very puzzled glance. He had only met the councilor on a few occasions, mostly formal, and she had never met Maelen before, but here she was.

Trevin entered with a smile. “I know it’s odd, but I was so struck by both of your expressions when I mentioned Bastet’s name that I felt it important to speak with you while things were still fresh in your minds.”

Maelen nodded and gave her a pleasant smile. “That is often the best course with visions.”

“Would you like some wine?” Elrose asked the councilor.

“That would be so kind of you!” Trevin said as Maelen gestured to the nearby sofa.

Trevin moved to the sofa. “So my sources tell me that you, Dr. Serenanus, came to Freehold to discuss visions that both you and Master Elrose have been privy to?”

“Indeed, My Lady Councilor,” Maelen agreed with a polite nod.

“Well, good then, I would love to hear all about both the prior visions you two have had and the ones you had today,” Trevin said.

Maelen glanced at Elrose, who was behind Trevin at this point. The sorcerer shrugged. The woman was clearly determined, and they’d planned to talk with her about this in any event.

∼

Bess arrived in a flash of light on the telepad outside the main gates.

Jeshbella approached, smelling her and looking at her with her True Sight. She finally nodded and smiled. “Greetings, mistress! I was not expecting you to return to New Nyjyr so soon.” The sphinx gave Bess a concerned look.

Bess sighed, shaking her head. “My precious, you know me only too well.” She placed her right hand on Jeshbella’s shoulder. “We have a slight complication; a new player, in fact. The dynamics on the ground are changing rapidly, and our plans may get accelerated.”

Jeshbella shook her head in dismay and moved forward to rest her head on Bess’s shoulder to comfort her mistress. Bess hugged the sphinx and purred in rhythm with her. After a few moments, Bess pulled back and smiled. “I need to discuss this with Anup. Is he in his quarters?”

Jeshbella stared off into the dark, star-filled sky above the horizon behind Bess. “He is. Shall I let him know you are coming?”

“Thank you, my dear,” Bess replied.