The Nomad - By Simon Hawke Page 0,79

write down what I know.”

“So the game is an attempt to draw them out so they can be identified,” said Sorak.

“More than that,” said Kara. “There is no adventurer who can resist the lure of Salt View’s entertainments. And “The Lost Treasure of Bodach’ is played in each of Salt View’s gaming houses. Who would not be tempted, if that was what they came to seek? And by the way they play, the gamemasters can evaluate their responses. You would be surprised how much can be learned about an individual by watching how they play.”

“And what did you learn about us from the way we played?” Sorak asked. “I assume that word had somehow reached you concerning us long before we reached the apothecary shop.”

“Indeed,” she said. “I had been told to expect you long before you arrived in Salt View, but I needed to be sure you were the ones. I did not wish to expose Kallis to unnecessary risk.”

“You care for the old man,” Ryana said with a smile.

“Of course. He is my husband.”

“Your husband?” Ryana was shocked. “Do not be deceived by appearance,” Kara said. “Remember that I am far older than he is, but I am pyreen, while he is human.”

“Then, that would mean that the manager of the Desert Palace is your son?” Ryana asked.

“No. Kivrin is the son of Kallis and his first wife, who died in giving birth to him. But he is my adopted son, and has taken the vows of a preserver.”

“Why marry a human?” Sorak asked. “Why even live in Salt View? I have always thought pyreens avoided humans.”

“Most pyreens do,” she replied. “There are not many of us left. And while we are strong and long-lived and have abilities superior to those of humans, we are not invulnerable. We do not take unnecessary chances, but each of us has a purpose to which we devote our lives. Mine requires that I live in Salt View.”

“Why?”

“You will soon learn that for yourselves,” she answered enigmatically. “And Kallis?” asked Ryana. “Even a pyreen can get lonely,” Kara said. “Kallis is a good man, and his heart is pure. His wife’s death left a great void within his life. I have done my best to fill it.”

Sorak stopped suddenly before an old building that somehow looked familiar, even though he had never before seen it. And then he realized what it was. “The stone tavern,” he said.

Kara smiled. “Yes. But unlike the game scenario, we will not seek shelter here.”

They continued on. “And there is the walled home of the aristocrat,” Ryana said, as they turned a bend in the street.

“Filled with the undead?” asked Sorak.

“Perhaps,” said Kara. “They do move around, you know.”

They bypassed it and continued on.

“There is one thing I have been wondering,” said Sorak as they walked down the twisting, sand-blown street. “Why did you come to Bodach in the first place? What use would a pyreen have for treasure?”

“None,” Kara replied.

“Then… why?”

“I came seeking something else,” she said. “The true lost treasure of the ancients.”

“The true lost treasure?” Sorak said, puzzled. “That would seem to imply that there is a false one.”

“Yes,” Kara said, enigmatically. “It would, indeed.”

“Why do I feel suddenly as if I am back in the Desert Palace, playing the same game?” asked Sorak.

“Every game is a test,” said Kara. “A test of skill, of luck, of perspicacity. Some games are merely more difficult than others.”

“So this is a test, then?” Sorak said.

“Did you not know that when you came?”

“Whose test? Yours? Or the Sage’s?”

“It is your test,” Kara said, looking at him.

“And what if I should fail?”

“You mean you did not consider that before?” she asked.

Sorak said, “I have considered it at length.”

“Good. One should always give considerations to one’s actions.”

“Is there a purpose to these riddles?” asked Ryana irritably.

“There is a purpose to everything,” said Kara. “We must turn right here.”

They proceeded down another street, deeper into the heart of the ruined city. Sorak asked no more questions. Kara had made it clear that he would discover the answers for himself in due time. She was here to provide guidance, not answers. So be it, he thought. He had come this far, there was no turning back now.

As they walked down the narrow, twisting, turning streets, Sorak recognized many scenes from the game he had played back at the Desert Palace. It was almost as if he could hear the voice of the gamemaster describing them in detail..

“You come to a juncture