He would go dreamwalking again tonight and see what was really believed. And then tomorrow he would teleport North, create illusions of troll raiders to bolster fear, and therefore encourage haste. The tug was a surprise that drew him from revery. He quickly excused himself from the hall and ran to the dreamseat in his chambers.

Holding the Disk up to his face, Damus peered through the eye. The same stocky, earnest-faced who identified himself as Manto peered back. Another figure stands next to him, but this person's face seems to be obscured somehow -- all that is visible is the hood of a cloak around an indistinct blur.

Manto speaks: "Hello?"

"I am here Manto, who stands behind you?" replies Damalanthas.

"An... ally. He puts himself at great risk by being here, and dare not reveal his identity. You have my word that he can be trusted. I have told him that you are a friend to the Resistance."

The hooded figure speaks. Its voice has a musical lilt, and less of an accent than Manto's. "Greetings friend. I do not choose to hide myself from you, but I fear that a greater mind than mine may be watching, and I cannot risk revealing my identity. How it is that you come to own the Disk you now hold?"

Before Damalanthas can reply, he senses a slight brush against his mind, as if the gentlest wind were whispering against unseen flesh. The masked strange gasps.

"You bear their mark! We are fortunate indeed Manto, perhaps not all is lost after all. Know this, distant ally -- you have been given a powerful gift, but it also marks you clearly. You must be careful to confront our mutual enemies only when you are sure of victory, or they will spare no effort of will to strike you down."

Manto speaks up "Co..." he pauses for an instant as if he were about to say something different and then continues "could we make haste... we must keep our conversation short, lest we be sensed."

The hooded figure raises a hand in acknowledgement, and then speaks again. "What news do you have of the slime-brethren's plans? We understand that their efforts to establish the crystal lattice have suffered a set-back."

"You speak of the tentacled illithid, replies Damalanthas. "We have fought them off at great cost, and the lattice is broken. I do not think we can totally destroy their work, but I will hear their discordant harmonies should the lattice reform. A much greater threat comes to us from the troll kingdom to the north."

The bard sees Manto glance almost imperceptibly at his companion at this point, but he continues without revealing that he has noticed anything untoward.

"They have almost broken through our barriers and will begin teleporting to our lands soon. We are not ready, and the costs of the battles to come will be terrible. We seek to help you, but need help also. We do not understand how these mind powers work. If you show me where you are, a detailed image, I can come to you. There is much we must talk about."

"It would be too dangerous for you to travel to us," speaks the hooded figure, "the Overmind might sense your travels, and then all would be lost. It is also vital that you do not destroy the crystal lattice -- it may indeed be both our people's only hope against the creatures you call trolls. The lattice was designed by the Empire's ruling Council as a defence against the trolls. Unfortunately the same Council has made a foolish pact with the slime-creatures. They view your people as an unnecessary pestilence on the land. There are more moderate forces within the Resistance who do not trust the slime-creatures. We believe that the path to our salvation is to work with you against the trolls."

"Tell me -- how is it that you have been able to create a barrier against the Troll King's Gate?"

Damalanthas replies "servants of the Earth Goddess have gathered their power to create a barrier that bars the trolls' entry. It will not hold much longer. How is it that the lattice can keep them out? And how can we use it, or get it away from the illithid, who try and pervert its power?"

There is surprise in the musical tone of the cowled figure. "Who is this Earth Goddess and why does does she aid you? The lattice is designed to amplify what you call 'mind powers'. There are several ways to use the lattice, but the il...illithid will most likely use the Principle of Harmony. They have a Soul-Crystal, attuned to a major lattice frequency."

"Tell me -- who amongst your people had the skill to reprogram the Soul- Crystal? Who is your Pactmaker?"

Damus answers: "Pactmaker? What is a pactmaker? I discerned the discordant harmonies of the crystal and opened it, and my companion, who serves the Earth Goddess, stepped within the crystal and made it resonate with the harmonies of nature. It was a great battle and an incredible feat. Can you tell me more of these Soul-Crystals?"

Once again the hooded figure replies, "Like the stones of the crystal lattice and the mind crystals manufactured by the Dagari, the Soul-Crystal is made from a substance we call 'deep-rock'. Deep-rock crystal can be used to store energy needed for our 'mind powers'."

"Unlike my people, the slime-creatures do not need the deep-rock for their powers. We believe that the slime which coats them has similar properties to the deep-rock and that it acts as a natural storage mechanism. However, unlike this slime, the deep-rock crystal can be worked and... taught certain things. In order to be able to control the crystal lattice, the illithid manufactured the Soul-Crystal."

The two figures Damalanthas can see through the Disk of the Far-sight flicker for a moment, almost as if the Disk's Eye had blinked. Then the image clears once more.

"Friend, there is much I can teach you about psionics and the life crystals, but time grows short," says the hooded speaker. "I can attempt to transfer this knowledge directly into your mind, but the process is dangerous unless I have your co-operation. Will you allow me to do this?"

Damus thinks for a brief moment on this. He is disturbed by the flicker in the Eye. Could someone have intercepted the link, or were they just communicating with each other? He knows too little about these mind-powers. If he survives this he would have to go dreaming with a mindwalker. That could be fun.

As Damus mulls over his options, he feels a moment of one-ness with the Disk of the Far-Sight itself. In a flash, he is suddenly aware of the full meaning of what he is about to do and how much danger he is putting himself in by opening his mind. Damus struggles to absorb the information he has just been fed by the disk. He cannot help wondering if the disk chose this moment to give him this knowledge, or if it was simply a fortunate co-incidence. Through the eye, the hooded figure still waits for the bard's decision...

Damus weighs the choices, but with his back against the wall he has not much to weigh. Time is runing out for everyone, he had to put faith in the mechanisms of the Goddess. Saying a silent prayer to Rotan, Damus sighs and as he does so opens his mind. He raises his head and stares at the hooded figure.

"Begin."

As soon as Damus opens his mind, he becomes aware that someone (or something!) is listening in on his surface thoughts. He is not able to tell if this is part of the normal process of mental communication or something more sinister. He is also not able to tell if he would usually be able to sense this "listening" or if the Disk of the Far-Sight is boosting his senses in some way.

Having used discern thoughts several times Damus is not too worried yet. Feeling less doubtful he lets the following thought surface:

"What happens from here?"

After a moment's hesitation, a strange voice -- unlike any the bard has ever heard before -- speaks in his mind. The voice has many facets and nuances and to Damus, it sounds as if dozens of voices are all saying the same words, nearly but not quite synchronised with each other.

"I sense a desire within you to unleash your own latent psionic powers. There is a strong talent there, which I can help you to develop. And yet there is a block, perhaps placed there against your will. This block can, with care, be removed."

At this point, Damus hears a loud knocking sound. After a moment of confusion, he realises that the sound is a real one. Someone is knocking on the doors to his chambers. Damus tries to ignore the knocking and focus on the voice. He lets his thoughts float to the surface again.

"I have trusted you this far, it is time to return the trust. Who are you? Will you be able to lend us aid?"

The murmuring voice replies, "I can tell you about the slime-brethren. I know their greatest weakness. I can tell you about the trolls. I know their greatest weakness. I can tell you about the baku. I know their greatest fear. Open your mind to me and I will teach you all this."

As the bard's thoughts float freely, the voices quiet. Somewhere distant, the knocking stops and a vaguely familiar voice speaks, "Damus, I have a message". The murmuring voices begin to pull away, tugging gently on Damus, as if to take him with them.

The bard disregards the voice at the door without really giving it much weight in his mind. The knowledge that is offered is essential to the survival of the nations. Not really sure how to do it, Damus 'reaches' for the retreating voices, squeezing the disk harder, and tries to follow them. The voices, still retreating, wind whispy tendrils around Damalanthas' mind. As he begins to drift away, the shouts and thumping on the door fade away. For a few pleasant moments, Damus drifts freely.

Suddenly and alarmingly his mind is filled with a vivid image of a giant coral-like structure. It is suspended in a translucent liquid, inside an enormous tank. This image is replaced with darkness and a strange dizziness. Damus feels a coolness spreading over his body.

Outside the bard's chambers, the knocking on the door has changed to a pounding. Voices are shouting warnings. Inside, Damalanthas' body -- unseeing, unfeeling -- is surrounded by faint whisps. They grow more substantial and then, as a broad-shoulder Rotan guardsman forces the door open, the tentacles, and the encased body of the bard both vanish.

In the doorway, behind the guard, Sepyt watches in horror as Lord Quithas disappears. His eyes track the Disk of the Far-Sight as it drops to the floor...

"No," the elderly priest says in a hollow voice, "I am too late..."