The sands beneath his feet were as black as coal. Karliege climbed the crest of another dune in the moonless darkness, as cold unchanging stars stared down upon him. The air was still and dry, there was no wind or rain here. There never would be. In this place time had no meaning, and the night would go on until all creation fell back in onto itself and into the void. How long had been walking here? He could not tell, but it felt like he had been here forever. No... not forever, there had been a time before this place, how else would he know that there was such a thing as days and nights otherwise? But it had been a long time, such a long time, since he had seen the sun.

He looked out across the rolling desert and saw something in the distance. It was a church. He frowned. Karliege knew of churches, and he felt like this was not a place where they were found. He did not like churches either, but he couldn't remember why. He cast his eyes around him across the shadowed lands, there was nothing else for miles, except the outline of range of jagged mountains rising far off upon the horizon. He must he either go to this church, or wander the desert. He chose the church, maybe there would be an answer there. 

And so he went onward, limping across the dark sands. Sometimes he rested upon them and wished for a fire to warm himself from cold, or water to quench his terrible thirst. But there was nothing that would burn here, and there was no water to be conjured from beneath the ground. He walked for days, or was it weeks? But finally he found himself at the foot of the church.

He recognised it now. It was his church. He had been a deacon here once. A flight of broad steps led up to the great wooden doors, on either side rose two spires that reached up into the midnight sky and the eerie unblinking pinpricks of light above. What was his church doing here? It should be... It should be... Karliege could not remember where it should be. He did not want to walk up those stairs, and open those doors. But he knew he must, and he couldn't seem to stop himself from moving forward.

The doors opened with a slow creak. Karliege realised it was the first sound he had heard in this strange and silent place. It was pitch black inside. No light came through the heavy leaded glass of the windows. So Karliege raised his hand commanded the light to come to him with a whisper. The air above his fingers glowed blue-white at the sound of his voice. It looked unearthly and unnatural, it was Mage-light. 

He could now see the inside of his church. It was as he remembered it. The long stone flagged aisle flanked by columns that lead down to the apse with its high semi-circular painted dome. That was where the altar was. Karliege began to walk towards it, the mage light bobbing along behind him. There was something different there. The statue had changed. There should be a statue of... of who? He couldn't remember, but it shouldn't this. The statue was of a figure that barely resembled a human. It was made of teeth and fire and cloaked in shadows. Karliege knew what this was. It was a demon.

"Why have you brought me here?" He whispered to the figure. It slowly turned its head to him and spoke.

"Worship me and my power shall be yours." Its voice sounded like steel drawn against stone, and echoed with distant screaming. 

"I have no need of your power." Karliege answered in defiance.

"Worship me and I shall make you richer than any man alive."

"I have no need of your riches"

"Worship me and you shall live forever in youth and beauty." 

"I have no need of youth and beauty."

"Worship me and I shall release you from this place" There was roar in the demon's voice, it was angry.

"I shall not worship you or anything else demon! Now be gone!" He brought his staff down upon the flagged floor and the statue vanished before his eyes. Karliege was alone inside of the church once again, the werelight trembling above his head. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to leave. 

The doors slammed open and a mob poured in. They carried burning irons and torches and pitchforks. They were screaming and baying for blood. An inquisitor lead them who held a length of rope in his hands. When he saw Karliege he pointed at him and bellowed for them to seize him. Karliege raised his staff to drive them off, but his words turned to dust as he tried to speak them. His magic and power was gone and he was helpless before them. He turned to run and as he did so he saw that the altar was gone.

A pyre was raised up in its place.

Hands seized him for all sides pulling and tugging at him. He smelt his flesh roasting as a branding iron was put to his face. They were stripping of his clothes and beating him. The inquisitor sat upon his chest and pressed him into the floor. The rope was around his neck. Tighter and tighter and tighter! He gasped for air, choking. Tighter and tighter! Until it all went black.

[hr]
Karliege awoke with a start. He tried to suck down air but couldn't. The chain the chain of his amulet was wrapped around his neck. His bad right arm was pulling it as tight could! With his left arm he tried to prise it from his neck and throw it off. WAIT NO! That was what it wanted him to do! He seized his bad right arm instead and wrenched it down. Pain exploded in the limb and blood began to seep through the bandages between his fingers. It spasmed and twisted in his grip until he threw himself on his side and pinned it beneath him.

For a few minutes he lay there panting on the marshy ground he had camped upon. His neck hurt and his arm was in agony. But he was alive, and he had won. Karliege began to laugh. It was an unhinged laugh that would have sounded more like a scream to anyone that had been listened. And someone was.

"Hah! Not tonight Sarcen! I win again! You can't kill me and you can't trick me! I win again, demon!"

Above him was the faint outline of a shadowy figure. It was looking down at the cackling sorcerer with an air of venomous hate. Then the sun began to rise. And it was gone.

[hr]
Ozgad's folly loomed in the distance above the salt marsh and the silted huts. It had been four years since he had been here, but Karliege did not think it had changed much. Though it was a pirate fortress and hive of scum now, it had once been a very different place. One of the royal cities of Daigon's ancient Kingdom. He would begin his search here. Most of Daigon's great domains were inhabited by much more dangerous creatures than mere men. He doubted he would find much here, anything of great value or power would have been taken long ago. But perhaps amongst the oldest parts of the city there would be knowledge he could use. Anything... anything to help him achieve his goal. 

But before that, Karliege knew he must eat. Last night's exertions had taken much of his strength, and he hadn't eaten real food in what felt like weeks. Actually... perhaps it had been weeks? His sense of time was all muddled since he had acquired the amulet. Self consciously he reached beneath his cloak to check it still hung there. The great blue stone was cold to the touch. Soon he would unlock its full potential and begin to collect more like it. Soon. But food first.

There was a shack at the side of road which seemed to be some kind of tavern or ale house. He hadn't drunk any ale in years. Perhaps he would have some of that as well. Ah... but food and ale cost money didn't they. He had forgotten about that. He frowned and bent down to pick through the dirt. It took him a few seconds but eventually he had gathered a decent handful of pebbles and silt. That should be enough. 

He held the stones in his left hand and gingerly placed his right over it. He brought them together to his mouth and began to whisper the words into the space between his two palms. He told the stones to pretend to be something they weren't. He coaxed them with spells of change and illusion. He bent shadows and light around them, until they resembled something quite different. A waft of pale smoke drifted out between his closed fingers. Went he opened his hands, it was a pile of silver coins sitting amongst the silt instead of pebbles.

Of course it was just an illusion, and a temporary one at that. Not his finest work, but enough to trick and ale wife into feeding him for free. What was the saying? Worthless as wizard's coin? He should really get his hands of some real money, he shouldn't be wasting his magic on frivolities like this. He picked up his staff again and limped into the tavern.

There were a few people in the gloomy interior. A bard was playing music. How nice. He hadn't heard music since before his time in Colndil's house. He sat at the counter next to a young woman wearing armour. Karliege cast an appraising eye over her. She was rich, he could tell by here clothes. His father had been a wool merchant and draper, he knew good cloth when he saw it. 

He let the pile of silver coins that had only minutes ago been pebbles fall onto the counter. 

"Bring me bread, grule and ale. Meat if you have any."

He turned to watch bard and frowned as he did so. Something was off. The veil of reality was full of ripples in this place. He could feel magic other than his own. It was powerful and it was close. It almost seemed... familiar? Maybe there was something worth his time in Ozgad's folly after all.