Michael came to.  At first, he thought he was blind, as the room he was in was completely dark.  After a few frantic moments, he realized that there was simply no light.  And he wasn't in a room either - the floor beneath him was stone and so was the wall he was leaning against.  He was in a cavern of some sort.  But the only place there was likely a cavern was the mountains to the south of Plinth - and those had seemed at least two days' travel from where he had been overtaken.  How long had he been out?  There must have been some pretty powerful poison in that arrow.
    Michael tried to stand, finding himself dizzy at the effort.  He also discovered that it was nearly impossible to balance, as his hands were tied up behind him.  Carefully, he sat back down, ignoring the pain and stiffness in his muscles.  First things first - his hands needed to be freed.  Working his way around the room, it did not take him long to discover a small outcropping of rock.  Methodically, he started to rub the ropes binding him against it.  At least it gave him something to do besides worry.  And he had much to worry about.  For one thing, his sword was gone, and that sword was the only thing that could fend off Stinnett.  Once Donovan got to Stinnett and told him about this, Michael's life, his quest, and most likely, his universe, would be gone.
    But Donovan had said he didn't work for Stinnett.  He didn't even know about Stinnett. Donovan, if he was to be believed, served "The Great Old One".  Whoever that was.  All Michael knew was that he had to get out of here, and fast.  Briefly, he found himself wondering on the fate of Eve.  Strange, but he hadn't even notice her go.  Maybe one of Donovan's men had grabbed her before she could cry out.  Or maybe she knew what was coming and had got out of the way.   Whatever the case, she was missing.  Michael continued concentrating on cutting through the ropes.
    "Hmm... you're not supposed to be awake yet." Donovan's voice echoed from somewhere in the cavern.  Michael jumped involuntarily.  A searing light made him squint, until he realized that it was just a lantern that the man was holding.
    "Well, I am.  What do you want?"    Michael said, summoning his courage.
    Donovan merely looked amused.  "I'm here to check in on you.  I'm surprised you're awake!"  he waved the wand he held about carelessly.  "But you seem a strong man.  At any rate, the Great Old One has taken an interest in you.  This means that you don't have to die!"  He said this enthusiastically, as though he didn't really want to run Michael through with a spear.  "But it does mean that you need to sleep for a little longer."  With that, Donovan began waving the wand in a more deliberate manner.  Michael decided to make his move.  Lunging ahead, he pulled against his restraints as hard as he could, his intention to throttle the man before he could be affected by the wand.
    He fell flat on his face.  Donovan smirked.  "The ropes are a little tougher than you thought, aren't they?  We make them special, just to give our prisoners false hope."  With that, he incanted something and waved the wand.  Michael was asleep once more.

    "Psst!"  was the first thing that he heard.  Michael's eyes fluttered open, to be greeted with the same darkness that had surrounded him since he arrived.  No, that wasn't quite true... there was a vague outline of someone.
    "Michael!  Wake up!" Eve hissed.  Michael sat up, blinking.
    "Eve?"  He said, looking around for the source of the light.  He couldn't quite tell where it was coming from, but there was an opening to the cavern he hadn't noticed before.
    "Yes, it's me!  Michael, we've got to get out of here!"  with that, she pulled out a small knife and cut Michael's ropes.
    Michael stumbled to his feet, his aching muscles protesting the sudden movement.  Eve grabbed ahold of his arm and started pulling him toward the opening.  "We've got to get out of here before they notice me!"
    Michael didn't say anything.  He forced himself to ignore his soreness and followed Eve through the cave he found himself in.  One thought ran through his mind.  He had escaped!
    The light source seemed to be coming from the other end of the tunnel, though how far away that was, he couldn't quite tell.  At least it made it easy for his eyes to adjust.  Eve kept running ahead, urging him to go faster.  A door opened up to his right, and a quick glance inside revealed that the room was empty.
    Michael stopped in his tracks.  It hadn't been empty!  Or had it?  He walked back to where the door was and stared into the room.
    Eve noticed that he had stopped running and turned around.  "What's wrong with you, do you want to get killed or something?"  Michael ignored her.  There had been something in this room, of that he was certain.  Eve took his arm and pulled.  As Michael turned away, he spotted a glint out of the corner of his eyes.  There was something in there!  Managing to pull himself away from Eve, he walked into the room.  That, apparently, was enough to break whatever spell had been cast on it.  Because the room was no longer empty.  Lying atop a stone pillar was his sword.  Nearly smiling, Michael picked it up.  It was warm, and radiated a pale light.  No doubt - something evil was nearby.  Michael turned to Eve.
    "Now we can go."
    Eve looked nervous, but did not argue the point.  She began hurrying down the tunnel once more, with Michael following after her, his sword clutched in his right hand.  The light ahead grew more distinct - it seemed artificial, but that didn't matter.  There would probably be torches he could take with him.  Eve burst through the opening, followed by Michael.
    His first sight was of a city - a stronghold really, drab gray and covered with dust.  The light was emanating from a sphere high above this place.  His second sight was of Donovan.
    "Well done Eve.  You will be allowed to live." he said, smiling.
    Michael whirled to face Eve, but she was already backing away.  "Michael, I'm sorry, they made me do it!"
    "She's right, you know.  We did make her do it.  We figured that you might not come along had I tried to escort you here, and we didn't want to forcibly bring you - the Great Old One wanted you unharmed, and awake.  You really shouldn't blame her."  Michael turned to Donovan, some part of his mind registering the noise of Eve running away back down the tunnel he had just exited.
    "You.  Just what sort of sick game is this?"  Michael demanded, holding his sword out in front of him.  The sword was humming with power now, power that seemed to beg to be released.
    "This is not a game.  This is a meeting."  Donovan gestured to a collapsing structure in the middle of the stronghold, directly under the huge sphere.  "A very important meeting."
    It was then that the Great Old One emerged from the building.

    "I cannot believe that Thavirat is such a fool!"  Lord Calavan said, looking down from his vantage points in one of the towers.  "He doesn't have half the men we do!"
    Dabiri sat in silence at the other side of the room.  "He does.  He has twice the men, actually.  They simply have not arrived here yet.  What you see from this tower is his cavalry.  The footmen and the archers will arrive within the week.  Soon after, the siege equipment will have made its journey here.  And it is then, I fear, that we may be overtaken."
    Lord Calavan shook his head.  "I have faith in my men.  We will not be overtaken, but it will be a bloody battle.  Doesn't Thavirat see that?  Why would he attack us upon the flimsiest of excuses?  He knows it's false!"
    Dabiri was silent for a moment.  "Thavirat is controlled by Stinnett.  In such a state, he does not need a good excuse.  I'm surprised that Stinnett gave him any.  The demon is what we must worry about here, for I and those clerics of mine that remain are the only ones that can deal with what he might concieve."
    Calavan smiled.  "Dabiri, you've underestimated me.  There is a great magicians' guild to the west of us, you know.  I've recruited wizards from there for quite a long time.  Before Ethanac fell, in fact."
    Dabiri seemed a little surprised.  "You suspected that this might happen?"
    "I thought that it might.  It seemed a rather remote possibility, as I did not consider Thavirat to be so clumsy as to try to attack us.  But I wished to be prepared anyway."  he resumed looking out the window.
    There was silence once more, for a time.  Then Dabiri spoke up again.  "Were our people evacuated safely?"  He was referring to the people in the outlying towns that Thavirat had threatened to slaughter.
    Calavan nodded.  "We managed to get most of them evacuated into the city gates before too much damage was done.  There were a few battles between our men and Thavirat's."  A sly smile crossed his face.  "We won all four without a single loss."
    Dabiri nodded.  "That is heartening news."
    There was silence once more, and Calavan was the first to break it.  "Father Dabiri, what happened of the two that you sent away?  Sir Morhaime and the cleric?"
    Dabiri shook his head.  "I do not know.  I have not been able to keep track of their location as well as I had hoped - someone, no doubt Stinnett, is blocking me.  I only hope that they still live."  He looked at Calavan meaningfully.  "The fate of this world is in their hands."
    Calavan shrugged.  "I think my men can beat this army.  I appreciate your gesture, whatever it was, but we will be victorious here, with or without a successful quest."
    Dabiri sighed.  Calavan had completely misunderstood.  The loss of one battle would not stop Stinnett.  There was only one thing that would do that, and the people who could get it were lost somewhere, in the underground ruins of the lost city of the Jewels.