Terry Goodkind - Temple of the Winds

The woman rose up. “Good to see you, Richard.”

“Ann? You’re alive too!”

She smiled. “No thanks to your fool grandfather.” Her knowing eyes turned to Kahlan. “And this could be none other than the Mother Confessor herself.”

Richard hugged her before the introductions. Zedd took a bite of a rice cake while he watched.

Richard brought Cara forward.

She spoke before he had a chance. “I am Lord Rahl’s bodyguard.”

Richard looked to her eyes. “This is Cara, and she is more than a guard. She is our friend. Cara, this is my grandfather, Zedd, and Annalina Aldurren, Prelate of the Sisters of the Light.”

“Retired Prelate,” Ann said. “Pleased to meet a friend of Richard.”

Richard turned back to Zedd. “I can’t believe you’re here. This is the best surprise we could possibly have. But what’s this about you knowing we were coming to get married?”

Zedd spoke with his mouth full. “Read it. Read all about it.”

“Read it? Where?”

“In the Jocopo Treasure.”

Kahlan leaned in. “There’s writing on all that gold?”

Zedd waved the rice cake. “No, no, not the gold—the Jocopo Treasure. The prophecies. All those scrolls. They were the Jocopo Treasure. We burned them to keep them out of the hands of the Imperial Order. I read a few, before I destroyed them. That’s where I read the prophecy about you two being married. Ann figured out the day. She’s quite knowledgeable about prophecy.”

“Well, it wasn’t a difficult prophecy,” Ann said. “None of them were. That was why they were so dangerous, if Jagang had captured them. He nearly did.”

“So, you two came to destroy the prophecies?” Richard asked.

“Yes.” Zedd threw up his hands with a huff, “Oh, but a terrible time of it we’ve had, though.”

“Yes, just terrible,” Ann confirmed.

Zedd shook a sticklike finger at Richard. “While you’ve been larking about in Aydindril, we’ve had real trouble.”

“Trouble? What sort of trouble?”

“Awful trouble,” Ann said.

“Yes,” Zedd agreed. “We were captured, and held in the most horrid of conditions. It was awful. Simply awful. We barely got away with our lives.”

“Who captured you?”

“The Nangtong.”

Kahlan cleared her throat. “The Nangtong? Why would the Nangtong capture you?”

Zedd tugged his robes straight. “They were going to sacrifice us. Human sacrifices, we almost were. We were in mortal danger the entire time.”

Kahlan squinted skeptically. “The Nangtong are daring to engage in their forbidden rites?”

“Something about red moons,” Zedd offered. “They feared the worst, and were only trying to protect themselves.”

Kahlan cocked her head. “Nonetheless, I will have to pay them a visit and see to this.”

“You could have been killed,” Richard said.

“Piffle. A wizard and a sorceress are smarter than a wandering band of Nangtong. Aren’t we, Ann?”

Ann blinked. “Well—”

“Well, yes, as Ann says, it was more complicated than that.” Zedd turned away from her. “But it was just awful, I can assure you. And then we were sold into slavery.”

Richard’s brow lifted. “Slavery!”

“Indeed. To the Si Doak. We were forced to labor as slaves. But the Si Doak didn’t like us, for some reason, something about Ann being unsatisfactory, and they decided to sell us to cannibals.”

Richard’s jaw dropped. “Cannibals?”

Zedd grinned. “Fortunately, the cannibals turned out to be the Mud People. Chandalen was the one they approached. He knew me, of course, from when we were together before, so he played along, and bought us to get us away from our bondage to the Si Doak.”

“And why couldn’t you get away from the Si Doak?” Kahlan asked. “You’re a wizard. Ann is a sorceress.”

Zedd pointed at his bare wrists. “They put magic wristbands on us. We were helpless.” He looked up. “Quite helpless. It was terrible. We were helpless slaves under the lash.”

“That sounds dreadful,” Richard said. “Then how did you get the bands off?”

Zedd threw his arms up. “We couldn’t.”

Richard pressed one hand to his forehead and held the other up. “Well, they’re off now.”

Zedd scratched his chin. “Well, now they are. The bands are held on with magic. I—we—were smart enough to know better than to try to use magic. That would have bound them on even harder. We just had to wait, without using magic, until they lost their power. Once we were away from the Si Doak, and were burning the scrolls, they came undone, and fell off.”

“So, that was your plan all along?”

“Of course it was!”

Ann nodded. “Trust in the Creator to reveal His plan.”

Zedd shook a finger up at Richard. “Magic is dangerous, Richard. As you will learn, someday, the hardest part of being a wizard is knowing when not to use magic. This was one of those times.

“We had to find the Jocopo Treasure. With all the currents of trouble about, I knew our best chance would be to do it without magic.” He folded his arms. “And it worked, too, thus proving my point.”

Chandalen stepped forward. “Many soldiers came toward us.” He pointed off toward the southeast. “A large scouting party of men came to get these things that Zedd burned. While he and Ann were burning them, my men and I fought off the enemy.

“A great battle was fought to the west, against the main force of the enemy. This army of the Order was destroyed.

“I went and spoke with a man called Reibisch, and he said that one named Nathan had sent him to destroy our enemy.”

Richard shook his head. “This is all very confusing.”

Zedd flicked a hand. “Ah, well, you’ll learn, someday, Richard. This wizard business is very complicated. Someday, when you decide to do something with your gift, other than sit around with your intended while I’m out risking my neck, then you will see. By the way, what have you been up to, while all the important work has been going on?”

“What have I been up to?” Kahlan smiled as she put a hand on his shoulder while Richard tried to think how to begin. “Ah, well, I’m the Lord Rahl, now, and all.”

Zedd grunted and flopped down on the wooden platform. “Lord Rahl, indeed.” He scooped up a roasted pepper. “The paperwork must be grueling.”

Richard scratched his head while Ann sat down. “Zedd, can you answer something for me? Why are the books in the First Wizard’s private enclave stacked up in wobbly columns?”

“It’s a telltale, of sorts. I remember how they’re stacked, so that if anyone has touched them, I’ll know it.” Zedd’s hazel eyes opened wide. “What? Bags, Richard, what were you doing in there? That’s a dangerous place! And how did you get in there?” Zedd pointed at Richard’s chest. “That amulet! It’s from in there. How did you get in there? Bags, Richard! Where’s the Sword of Truth? I entrusted the sword to you! You weren’t foolish enough to give it to someone?”

“Uh, well . . . I couldn’t travel in the sliph with it, so I had to leave it in the First Wizard’s enclave, so no one could get at it.”

“Sliph? What’s a sliph? Richard, you’re the Seeker. You have to have your sword—it’s your weapon. You can’t just leave it lying about places.”

“When you gave it to me, you told me that the sword was just a tool, and that it is the Seeker that is the true weapon.”

“So I did. But I didn’t think you were listening.” Zedd peered up at him. “You didn’t mess with the books, I hope. You don’t know enough to be allowed to read any of them.”

“Just one. Tagenricht ost fuer Mosst Verlaschendreck nich Greschlechten .”