The light seemed to come from the very walls, with no obvious source. The two men and the revenant descended only for a short way before the passage levelled out. Melovar felt both trepidation and anticipation. The battle for Seranthia was inconsequential now; it was what happened here that would determine the fate of Merralya.

At the base of the stairway there was a short corridor, tall enough that Barden didn't have to stoop and wide enough to enable the two men to walk side by side behind the revenant. The corridor was made of the same white marble as the Sentinel, smooth to touch and unblemished by runes or artwork.

"I don't know how they built this," Barden said. "Look at the walls. Those aren't blocks of marble; it's all of one piece. It doesn't even look like the floor is made of a separate piece from the walls."

"There are chambers within Stonewater like this," Melovar said, "but nothing on this scale."

Ahead, the corridor ended in another set of stairs, spiralling upwards this time. Once more, Barden sent the revenant ahead, but these twisting stairs didn't appear to be warded.

"One of the legs," the Dain said as they climbed the interminable steps, eyes carefully watching the draug ahead of them. "We'll soon be in the body. I suppose it might open up then. Why build inside a statue?"

"The Evermen work in mysterious ways," the Primate said.

"Save me your cant," Barden said. "We're somewhere ordinary men may have never set foot. The last who came this way could have been the Evermen themselves. You must be burning to know what it is."

"And wondering whether what we'll find is something that can be shared?" the Primate asked, glancing sideways at the Dain.

"You need me, Primate," Dain Barden said. "If there's another of those traps only my draug will find it."

"Just as you need me," the Primate said. "I have the knowledge, and I am the representative of the Evermen in this world. The Evermen will not allow harm to come to me."

Barden grunted as he put one foot in front of the other; the spiral stone staircase went on and on. Melovar knew that without the elixir coursing through his veins, he himself would never be able to ascend as quickly as he was. The burning fire in his blood gave him strength. The pain told him he was alive.

At the top of the stairway a steady blue light revealed a chamber beyond. The revenant emerged without pausing, while the two men followed more cautiously.