“What Amirantha has brought to our attention”—he pointed to a massive volume lying on the table before him—“is still being closely examined, and maybe will give us a far more fundamental understanding of our enemy’s nature and purpose.”

He paused, then said, “But what is most imperative, what demands our first consideration is the information that has come to us from Lord James”—he nodded toward Jim Dasher, who had chosen to stand in a far corner—“and Sandreena.” He inclined his head toward the Knight-Sergeant of the Order of the Shield of the Weak, who sat on the other side of Magnus at the table, just to his father’s right.

“This construction in Kesh, in what is known as the Valley of Lost Men, is something I personally plan on investigating within a few days. Its nature and purpose must be determined.

“The dwarf Keandar, who came to us with Sandreena, was only partially able to help us understand what is taking place down there. He was a hunter, herdsman, and warrior, and was quickly made a sentry and given a patrol. All of his people who were smiths, engineers, miners, or with other like skills, they were taken away to someplace deep within the construction, and apparently were aiding the invaders in building the device.”

From deep in the shadowed corner a voice said, “It’s a trap.”

Those at the table turned to see Lord James step out slightly and he said, “They made it too easy to find that festival of slaughter. The more I think on that the more it was them not caring if they were seen or them wanting to be seen.”

Sandreena studied the way he moved and concluded it was likely he was the Kingdom agent wearing Jal-Pul desertman dress who had handed her the message she had delivered to Creegan. There was something about him that made her go on edge, but she couldn’t quite decide what it was. She thought she had seen him before, but she had so little contact with the nobility she was certain that had she met him she would vividly remember where and when.

Pug said, “From what Sandreena reported, it’s guarded.”

Sandreena’s attention was pulled back to the situation before them and she said, “He may be right. I had little trouble getting close and it was only fatigue and careless-ness that caused Keandar to discover me. Had I not torn off the magic token that kept him under control, I think I would have killed him; he’s sturdy enough and a skilled fighter, but they’re not feeding their prisoners well or resting them, and he was weakened.