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Sir Valdemar shook his head sadly. "I don't know," he said quietly, heading down the hall once more. "I honestly cannot say. It is possible that the ranch can continue to exist as it has for decades ... untouched by the world around them ... but it is equally possible that the morgawr will first head there, for it is drawn to power, and there is none whose power rivals that of Lord Aldrich."

He sighed. "I fear, Lin, as I have not feared in Ages. And I fear for Lord Aldrich ... he is the greatest of us all ... but who knows how powerful the morgawr may have become in twenty five thousand years since it was last seen?"

Sir Valdemar nodded.

"Two reasons," he said quietly. "First, because knowing you, you are full of questions, and in this case I think it wise for you to have your questions answered as soon as possible, and as accurately as possible. Secondly, because I need your help."

He looked down at Lin intently. "You are going to help me figure out a way to tell Lord Aldrich what we have done, and why, so that he will not turn his anger on me."

Sir Valdemar smiled at Lin. "You are correct," he murmured, "my Lord would already know. Nevertheless, I have betrayed his confidence and broken my oath ... as have you. I can only hope he will forgive us."

He began to lead her up the stairs. "And now for your questions - as I am sure you must have many."

Sir Valdemar grimaced. "The very first question you ask me is one that I wish I knew the answer to, myself," he sighed. "I have ... an idea, but nothing more. Do you remember the druids that you saw? The room in which they were holding their meeting when they were destroyed?"

He looked down at Lin, his eyes weary.

Sir Valdemar nodded. "That was one of the rooms at Altak-Bet Ainúl, the fortress where the druids studied. Twenty five thousand years ago, the entire fortress vanished, just when we had begun to fear that the entire world would be destroyed by the morgawr. It was discovered only less than a century ago that Achaar, the last surviving druid, had taken the fortress into a place out of time and space, to protect the land ... he had been under attack at the time, and only his spell saved him, and us."

He looked ahead of them as they walked down the hall towards his study once more. "It is my belief," he murmured, "that when the fortress was restored to our world, so were those who were trapped within ... the High Druid, Achaar ... the man who searched for them ... and the morgawr."

Sir Valdemar shrugged one shoulder, the book weighing down his other arm too much for him to shrug both of them.

"It has been seventy four years since the fortress has returned," he said quietly. "I have no idea what might have kept it quiet until now. Perhaps it had to regain strength. Perhaps it had to relearn its powers. Perhaps it was simply trapped beneath the rubble of its own destruction. I have no idea. I know little of the creature itself ... all that I know, I learned only afterwards. I was fortunate enough never to run across the creature."

"Ancient magic," Sir Valdemar replied reverently, "recalled for one further use, and then forgotten once again ... by most."

He smiled at Lin and decided to be a bit more explicit.

"Near the beginning of the Age," he murmured, "two elves came here, searching for their father ... he had gone in search of the fortress years before, and so their only clue was to search for the fortress themselves. Somehow, they found it and brought it back into existence ... along with Achaar and their father, both of whom died. And it would seem that the morgawr returned along with them ..."