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Merdigen stood in silence for a while, gazing at nothing When he sprang back to life, he startled Dale “I e for the care of my cat!”

“What?”

“I a on a journey It could be perilous, it could be fruitless, but I think it’s necessary and I can’t put it off any longer”

“You’re what?”

Merdigen strode across the chamber and between a pair of columns into the center of the tower Dale rose to her feet and followed She’d never get over the transition frorasslands Above, heavy clouds that reminded her of winter scudded across the sky

Merdigen rubbed his hands together “It is tiuardians all woke up We will need a council We need solutions! I shall first contact the towers eastward”

Dale watched in amazement as he withdrew a dove from his sleeve and whispered to it He tossed it into the air, and with a fluttering of white wings, it circled theh the east archway, flyingbut a speck in the sky and was at last beyond her sight He repeated this five more times

“One of theen said

“Cat?” was all Dale could say

But now Merdigen was pulling other items out of the air First a wared with provisions…illusionary provisions? What could he possibly need? The last object he snaked out of his sleeve was i staff

“The way to the west is broken,” he said “There are three towers that have been cut off froe the conventional way”

“Conventional…the doves?”

“I will seek bridges,” he continued, “and hope I find the right ones I should have dared this when I was first aware of the breach, when the Deyer first awakened me, but I hoped he could repair it Now I only hope it’s not too late and the towers have not been sundered from us” He adjusted the straps of his pack on his shoulders “Check in now and then to see if I’ve returned, or if any oftime as you reckon it has elapsed, well, we can assue”

“Bad…bridge?” Not that Dale expected an explanation

“Don’t despair,” he said, “I shall be very prudent No unnecessary risks Farewell, Rider Littlepage” And he set off

“You’re leaving?”