increasing but nothing that would suggest a manifestation by dozens of such powerful daemons across Ulthuan.’
‘Do any of the places attacked have anything in common?’ Belthania asked.
‘We are looking into that. At a guess I would say they are all close to waystones,’ said Eltharik.
‘The pins that hold the Vortex together?’ Belthania looked thoughtful and not a little worried. ‘That could be very dangerous.’
‘The Keepers of the Stones have not reported any tampering with the Great Pattern. There have been no attempts to unmake it, only some strange surges of energy within it and those happen from time to time.’
‘Do they?’ Urian asked.
‘The winds of magic blow softer or stronger. Sometimes there are storms of magic, sometimes absolute calms. The Vortex and the Pattern are intended to channel the energy of the winds so sometimes there must be fluctuations as the levels of ambient magic change.’
Urian considered this. ‘The daemons are not attacking the Vortex though?’
‘As far as we know, no. There has only been one broken waystone found and it seems to have been the result of a lightning strike. There were traces of dark magic visible nearby though and an aura of great evil such as you might find near where daemons have manifested.’
‘Was there an attack near that waystone?’ Korhien asked.
‘Yes,’ said Eltharik. ‘There was.’
‘And it was probably among the first, wasn’t it?’
‘Too early to say yet, Korhien, but it is possible.’
‘But it is definite the daemons are not attacking the waystones.’ Belthania said. ‘They are attacking towns and killing elves.’
‘It is strange,’ said Malene. ‘But who can fathom the thinking of daemons?’
‘I thought someone had to summon them,’ said Urian ‘That’s what all the chronicles say. Some mighty sorcerer raises them for his own purposes.’
‘They can enter the world through the Chaos Wastes when the winds of magic blow at their strongest and most corrupt,’ Eltharik said.
‘But they are not doing so now. You said that yourself.’
Eltharik nodded.
Malene said, ‘Who would do this? Who would summon them? The druchii? The Witch King?’
Urian considered the possibility. He had heard nothing of any such plan. Of course, his master rarely saw fit to keep him informed about such things.
‘If any wizard living has the power to do so, he has,’ said Eltharik. ‘No dark elf armies or fleets are attacking us though, and surely there would be if this was part of one of his plans?’
‘It does not sound like Malekith,’ said Urian. ‘It is not his way. Too random. Too messy.’ He saw a number of those present including Korhien nod their heads at that.
‘A renegade wizard then? A Chaos cultist?’ Lady Malene asked.
‘Perhaps. But the attacks are too wildly spaced to be the work of one mage summoning. The reports are coming in from all across the continent.’
‘Could an army of Chaos worshippers have gathered in secret and unleashed their attacks all at once?’ Finubar asked.
‘The attacks did begin just after the full moon,’ said Eltharik. ‘That is a time of great mystical significance.’
‘Yes,’ said Lady Malene. ‘I was at sea about that time and there was a strange storm. I thought it was tainted with dark magical energy.’
‘Was that before or after the attacks began?’ Belthania asked. She looked even more troubled.
‘It would have been just before, I suspect.’
‘Where were you?’ Belthania toyed with her long black hair. It was still very dark. Urian wondered if the rumours were true about her dyeing it.
‘Off the coast of Yvresse,’ said Malene. ‘Near where the waystone was smashed.’
‘It might well have been in the storm’s path.’
‘It is possible these things were connected. The storm broke the waystone. The daemons attacked there or manifested there.’ Malene knew it sounded weak even as she said it. Urian could tell from her expression. ‘Perhaps they came out of the Vortex. It was weakened at that point.’
‘Daemons in the Vortex? That seems unlikely as well.’ Belthania was emphatic. She did not seem to even want to consider the possibility that it might be so. Urian could sympathise – it was a most unsettling prospect. Still, it was one that they might need to face up to.
‘Perhaps the place was picked by cultists for a ritual? Perhaps the storm was merely a coincidence? Perhaps it provided them with the power they needed to summon the daemons?’ Malene said.
Belthania pursed her lips. ‘That is a lot of perhapses. We need to find out concrete facts. We need to know who is behind these attacks. We need to know how strong our foes are