"I'm taking breakfast to Evelyn." "She's still down with that bad leg." " Will you be all right till I get back?" " I've got my accounts to finish." "That's not what I'm talking about, Conor." "I'm worried about you." "You should be worried." "For your own safety, as well." "Make sure you stay on the main roads today." "Don't you think it's possible you're overreacting to all this?" "There's two of us dead, Nella." "Well, I don't care if they looked like accidents." "Someone out there is targeting the resistance." "When Kahlan gets here, we'll find out who." " Kahlan is coming?" " I sent an urgent message." "She'll show you the truth of my words." "I don't need a Confessor to tell me I should believe in my husband." "You've decided where we're taking the box?" "The one place in all the Midlands where Rahl can't get into, neither by spell nor by force, is the Crypt of the Ancient Seeker at Tavol'Rang." "And that's where we're headed, with a detour to my hometown, to pick up the key." "Pack up." "We need to go now." "Agreed." "It's a day's walk to my house, and three more to Tavol'Rang." "We need to go by way of East Marwen." "This message found its way to me in the marketplace." "Some friends of mine are in trouble." "The entire Midlands is in trouble if we don't get this box locked away safe." "I know." "But the friend that sent that message is a leader in the resistance." "He and his wife risked their lives to hide me when I was running from Aydindril with The Book of Counted Shadows." "We'll just have to meet up after you get the key." "Wait, Kahlan." "You can't go alone." "He's right." "A Confessor can't travel without her Seeker, the Seeker can't travel without his Confessor." "But who would trouble themselves with an old man in a tattered cloak?" "Thank you, Zedd." "I'll meet you in East Marwen the day after tomorrow, with the key in my hand." "The box goes with me." "Too many D'Harans in these parts on the lookout for the Seeker." "Conor?" "Nella?" "Nella, what's wrong?" "I came as fast as I could." "Eternal darkness upon the soul of whoever did this." "This is Constable Declan." "I sent for him." "You can speak freely, he's one of us." "I'm Kahlan Amnell." "It's been a long time since we had a Confessor in East Marwen." "You've come when you're most needed." "I'm Richard Cypher." "It is an honor beyond words to meet the Seeker." "Though I wish we met under happier circumstances." " Do you have any idea...?" " No." "I can't bring Conor back, but I swear to you on my power as a Confessor," "I will bring whoever killed him to justice." "Conor knew he was in danger." "The message he sent to me said two of the men in your group were already dead." "Yes." "We believe they were murdered by traitors in league with the D'Harans." "One of the men appeared to have taken his own life, but there was no reason for him to have done that." "The other was crushed under his own wagon while he was fixing a wheel, but nobody saw it happen." "When was the last time you saw your husband?" "I left before breakfast." "The sun was just coming up." "I spent the morning with a friend, she's been sick, and when I came back the place was torn apart, and I..." "Was anything missing?" "Just his inkwell, the golden one his father gave him." "And a silver bowl he kept on his desk." "The sick friend you visited, does she live near a marsh?" "No, a meadow." "Why?" "It's just these seeds, they're still green, newly fallen, from a stalk of Kindon grass, and it only grows in marshes." "There's just one marsh around here." "I've never been to Conor's house in my life." " Are you sure about that, Niles?" " I'm sure." "I stay close to home." "So you wouldn't know anything about a mysterious highwayman who roams the roads at night, robbing travelers?" "A man like that might even be capable of murder." "No, I..." "I wouldn't know anything about that, constable." "Well, would you know anything about this?" "Kindon seeds." "They were found on the floor of Conor's home." "The only Kindon grass in East Marwen grows in the marsh next to your property." "Where were you this morning, Niles, around sunrise?" "Uh..." "I was in the woods." "Hunting." "You can't lie to a Confessor, Niles." "Never been to Conor's house, have you?" "Declan, what are you doing?" "I'm sorry, Luna." "Conor Greenleaf is dead." "By your brother's hand." "No." "Niles would never..." " Please, don't make this harder than it is." " My brother's not a murderer." "Let him go." "He won't tell me anything." "We need to know the full truth of his crimes, so the people know justice has been done." "Will you Confess him?" "What if you're wrong, and he's innocent?" "He'll lose his mind, his will, for nothing." "I can tell he's lying." "In Westland, we have judges and counsels, we make sure somebody is guilty before we punish them." "Counsels, no matter how wise, make mistakes." "Confessors don't." "It's three murders, Richard." "We owe it to Conor, and we owe it to the resistance." "No!" "No!" "No." "No." "No." "I got you." "Tell me what happened when Conor was killed." "It was the morning." "Early in the morning." "I went to his house..." "I'm sorry I lied to you, Confessor." "I killed him, and I took the bowl and the inkwell." "Do you know anything about the deaths of Conor's two friends?" "No." "Did anyone help you?" "Are you working with the D'Harans?" "Nobody helped me." "Please, don't hate me." "Please." "Go with them peacefully." "Accept your fate with dignity." "Yes, Confessor." "Under the power of a Confessor," "Niles Braggindor has admitted" " to taking the life of Conor Greenleaf." "Murderer!" "He will be punished in accordance with the laws of the Midlands and East Marwen." "We're lucky you came when you did." "Justice isn't easy to come by these days." "I'm sorry for your loss." "I loved Conor like a brother." "I know you did too." "Thank you for helping me bring his killer to justice." "This town is lucky to have you." "Conor risked his life thousands of times fighting for freedom, and then he dies in a common robbery." "It still doesn't explain the other two deaths." "Constable!" "I've been robbed." "Help." "Sit down, I'll find you a healer." "I don't need to sit," "I need to find the thief who stole everything I own." " Where did this happen?" " Two-hours' ride north of here." "Just after sunrise, a highwayman put a blade to my throat." "I tried to fight him off, but he was too strong." "Why don't you come into my chambers, and you can describe him?" "I don't need to describe him." "He's right in front of me." "That's impossible." "Niles was here in East Marwen at sunup, taking the life of another man." "I'm telling you, he's the one who robbed me." "If that's true, we just executed an innocent man." "Thaddicus." " Good day to you." " Thaddicus, it's me, Zedd." "Course it is." "It's only been 23 years, how could I forget?" "There was no way for me to send word." "I was on the other side of the Boundary, in the Westland." "I'm sure you had magical business of earth-shattering importance there." "Yes, I did." "Thaddicus, is Mother, uh?" "Here?" "Course she is." "Where else would she be?" "Come, she'll be overjoyed to see you." "When?" "Five years ago." "Your name on her lips." ""Where's my Zeddicus?" "Why didn't my Zeddicus ever come home?"" "You look like something the dog rolled around in." "Come in and have something to eat." "And a bath." "A highwayman had a knife to your throat." "You were frightened." "Of course I was frightened." "But I know what I saw." "I know, I know." "Identical beard, similar clothes." "Don't forget his eyes." "Oh, yeah." "His eyes." "You were looking into his eyes." "Just like you've been looking into mine for the past quarter hour." "So, what color are they?" "My eyes?" "Ah!" "Um..." "Gray." "Blue, actually." "It's amazing how the mind plays tricks under pressure, isn't it?" "Or someone paid you to come here and say all this." " And stab me?" " A warning, of what they might do if you don't play along." "That man robbed me." "Kahlan." "When you Confess someone they fall in love with you." "Are you sure that once Niles was Confessed, he didn't just tell you what he thought you wanted to hear?" "The confessed can't lie to a Confessor, ever, for any reason." "What did they take from you?" "A bag of silver, all my tools, and a bracelet I was bringing to my wife." "Green stones in a gold circlet, with rubies along the edge." "You're lying." "What are you going to do, Confess me so you can prove that?" "Apparently your confessions aren't all that reliable." "Did you say green stones in a gold circlet?" "What about them?" "That's it." "That's my bracelet." "Where did you get that?" "My brother gave it to me." " When?" " This morning." "Right after he stole it from me." "He stole it from you this morning?" "Around sunrise?" "Yes." "Then he couldn't have killed Conor." "My brother may have been a thief, but he was no murderer." "You killed him." "He didn't have to die!" "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay." "Calm down, Luna." "Calm down." "Are you proud of yourself, Confessor?" "You murdered my brother as sure as you drove a stake into his heart!" "I'm sorry, Nella." "Niles didn't kill Conor." "He was robbing a man when your husband died." "You Confessed him, Kahlan." "He said he did it." "I don't understand." "Neither do I." "If Niles was innocent, then why were Conor's things in his house?" "And how did those seeds get on my floor?" "We're searching for answers." "We don't have them yet." "Maybe we do." "Unless a man can be in two places at once, then the whole thing is crazy." "And every time something crazy happens in the Midlands, there's always one thing behind it:" "Magic." " Richard..." " No, I'm right about this." "Is there anyone in East Marwen who has magic?" "There's a man up in the caves who claims to be a sorcerer." "An innocent man is dead because of me." "It's not your fault, okay?" "It couldn't be." "Maybe somebody's doing something to you." " Maybe it's Darken Rahl, maybe it's..." " No!" "Nobody, not even a Wizard of the First Order, has magic powerful enough to work against a Confessor." "There's something wrong with me." "Hey, listen." "There is an explanation for all of this and we'll find it." "I know you." "And who you are is more than some magical power you have." "Go!" "He's getting away." "I'm going to pull it out." " You have to go." "Now." " I'm not leaving you." "I'll go into town, I'll get Declan." "You have to catch him." "Go." "I can walk." "Now." "Luna?" "You're a fine cook, Thaddicus." " Don't patronize me." " I'm not patronizing you." "You always had a gift in the kitchen." "Your vegetables, so fresh and crisp." "As opposed to..." "May the Spirits forgive me." " Mother's." "Remember those carrots?" " Paste." " I gagged every time." "Twenty-three years, Zedd." "Twenty-three years." "Your room's just as you left it." "I go in every now and then, make sure the mice haven't brought the place to ruin." "Just passing through, is it?" "I came for something very important." "Oh!" "What a surprise." "Zeddicus shows up because he needs something." "And what is it this time?" "Night Stones?" "Sorcerer's Sand?" "Well, you're too late." "I sold it all years ago." "You didn't sell what I came for." "The key to the Crypt of Tavol'Rang." "That was the first thing to go." "Have any idea what you've done?" "Our family always protected that key." "It was a sacred vow our ancestors made to the First Order of Wizards." "Well, here's the truth of the situation, brother:" "I'm not a Wizard." "As you never, for one second, let me forget." "You know as well as I do that not every child inherits the power." "I'm not going to apologize for the ways of fate." "So the way you lorded over me, that was fate?" "The way you left me to do the kitchen chores because you were meant for greater things?" "The way it was always, "Run off and play, Thaddicus,"" "while Father gave his precious time to the training of the great Zeddicus?" "Memories are slippery things, but the crack of Father's stick across my knuckles is hard to forget." "You need the key?" "Why don't you use your mystical powers to conjure it?" "You always did love showing off your magic to your poor, powerless brother." "You know it doesn't work that way." "Wherever you went, you should have stayed there." "That key was not yours to sell!" "You were always like that." "No thought of anything beyond the next penny in your pocket." "I'll bet all the jewels in Tamarang that whatever you sold it for went straight to the gaming tables." "Be sure to bolt the door on your way out." "See who it was?" "He was just a cloak in a shadow." "Are you sure it was a he?" "Luna's out of her mind with rage, most of it directed at you." "Her father made his living as a hunter, just like Niles." "The girl knows how to use a crossbow." " We need to go her cabin." " I don't think you're ready..." "I've had worse." "We're going." "Now." "Richard." "Richard?" "Richard?" "What happened?" "I killed her." "I tracked Luna to the house." "I mean, I knew it was Luna when I saw the cloak and crossbow." "And then..." "And then what?" "You saw the crossbow?" "I heard a noise." "It was Luna." "She attacked me, so I defended myself." "She scratched at my neck." "She was defenseless." "I didn't have to hurt her." "Please, don't hurt me." "But I killed her anyway." "I don't believe that you killed that woman." "Look at me." "The Richard I know risks his life every day for others." "You wouldn't kill a defenseless woman, I know you." "I did it, Kahlan." "I remember it." "Just like Niles remembered killing Conor." "Maybe his memories weren't real, and neither are yours." "You said that magic had to be behind all of this." "Well, now I'm starting to agree." "We need to go find that sorcerer." " Well, I hope you're right." "Yeah." "Because right now, I don't trust myself." " What if I do something like that again?" " You won't." "Because I'll be with you." "Every second." "What have you come back for, another magical treasure for one of your schemes?" "Well, go away." "I lost them all at cards." "No more waiting, Zorander." "One hundred gold pieces." "You only won 70 off me." "The extra 30 is the price of my patience." "I haven't got any." "I can't pay you." "Oh, you're gonna pay." "Slowly." "If I can't get my money, then I'll just have to have some fun with you instead." "If you ever dare show your face to my brother, ever, you'll wish I had burnt you to cinders." "Now get out!" "Why'd you come back?" "I got about a league from here when my temper cooled and I realized..." "The task that calls me away is a grave one, Thaddicus." "The chance that I will not return alive is..." "Is great." "I didn't wanna go to the Shadows knowing that my last words to the only brother I have in all the world were unkind and unfair." "Now, let's get you cleaned up." "You look like one of Mother's turnips after an hour in the pot." "Besides," "I always did love showing off my powers." "You're the only sorcerer anywhere near this village." "Do you know anything about these murders?" "Were they your doing?" "No." "He's telling the truth." "And I'm really more of a sorcerer-in-training, anyway." "I've been studying magic books my whole life," "I've learned a few minor tricks, things you can do with powders and potions." "You don't have any powers?" "But that doesn't mean I can't help you." "My knowledge in the field is quite extensive." "You say these victims believe they did something they didn't?" "They don't just believe, they actually see themselves doing it in their heads." "Shared visions." "Memory magic." "I've read something about that in here." "There are accounts of an ancient device that produces the effect you speak of." "Here we go." "Azzallel's Orb." "Azzallel was a fantastically gifted wizard." "His wife gave birth to a blind daughter." "Now, Azzallel tried but failed to manifest new eyes for his baby girl." "So instead, he created a way of plucking visions from his head and placing them inside hers." "Azzallel's Orb was stolen 200 years ago and believed to be lost forever." "Hello, Bosin." "Still stealing money from old ladies?" "I found something." "When we were searching Luna's cabin, one of my men pulled this scorched paper from her fireplace." "There's handwriting there, but I can't make it out." "Maybe you'll have better luck." "Ah, ah." "No luck required." "This I can help you with." "May I?" "Dust of a Shadrin's thighbone." "Like I said, a few minor tricks." ""Dearest Luna, I can't meet you tonight." "I think my wife knows." "Missing you desperately, Conor. "" "Conor and Luna were lovers?" "If Nella knew about that, she'd have a good reason to kill her husband and Luna." "My husband is dead." "Why are you doing this to me?" "Nella." "Oh, Nella." "Did you kill Conor and Luna?" "Yes." "And then gave the memories of what you did to Niles?" "And me." "I'm sorry." "Where is it, Nella?" "Where is the orb?" "I told Conor I was leaving to take breakfast to a sick friend." "But I didn't make it very far." "After I killed Conor, I gathered seeds from the grasses near Niles' cabin, then scattered them around the body." "Then I ransacked my house and hid our possessions in Niles' cabin." "All that was left was to put the visions of what I did into Niles' head." "And the memories Richard has of murdering Luna?" "Right after I killed her," "Richard came running into the cabin from the woods." "How could I have done such a thing?" "It's time to go, Nella." "And lemon cake, my own creation." "You know, you could make a living at this." "An honest one." "Patronize me again, you'll get a pack full of sand." "Where to now?" "The less you know about where I'm going, and why, the better for your own sake." "I know I'm guilty of occasional self-importance, but in this case, the fate of the world actually may depend on the success of the errand that calls me." "In that case, you'll need this." "The key to the Crypt of Tavol'Rang." " You had it all along?" " Of course." "Mother would've come back from the grave swinging that iron skillet of hers if I'd let it out of my sight for a second." "How could you put me through such a thing?" "I was angry that you came home for something you needed, and not to see me." "I needed to see you too." " How are you feeling?" " Like I killed an innocent woman." "I still keep seeing her die." "Hearing her screams." "Feeling her blood on my hands." "I loved Conor and Nella." "They would've given their lives for me." "They almost did." "To lose them over this?" "Over jealousy and anger?" "You don't have to watch." "The other two who died, I'd like to talk to their families, see if there's anything you didn't find." "I'll take you to them, after." "Don't worry." "Conor's work will go on here, no matter what." "Are you all right?" "Richard, when you described Luna's attack, you said she was scratching you, right?" "She went for my face..." "Well, Nella's face." "She scratched me right here." "Hurt like a stinging nettle." "I just saw three deep scratches in that exact spot on Declan's neck." " What are you saying?" " It's no coincidence." "Luna scratched her attacker." "And whoever attacked her committed all the murders." "Nella Greenleaf will now be consigned to the Shadows, in accordance with the laws of the Midlands and East Marwen." " Wait!" " Stop!" " Lower the door." " He killed Conor!" " He killed them all!" " Now!" "No." "I'm not with the resistance." "I've been killing off the resistance." "Why?" "I believed in Darken Rahl." "That he would protect us." "You had to know that killing Conor would draw attention." "I had no choice." "Conor was growing suspicious of me." "When he told me he sent for your help, I had to act quickly." "The hard part was making the murder look like Niles did it." "Where did you get Azzallel's Orb?" "From my father." "It's belonged to my family for hundreds of years." "Oh, it's a wonderful device, really." "All you have to do is think of what you want the other person to remember and the orb does the rest." "Everything was perfect, until the man Niles robbed on the road showed up after Niles was hanged." "And then you kept asking questions." "With a Confessor around, I knew I'd never be safe." "So I tried to kill you." "And with the Seeker tracking me, I knew I had to cover my tracks." "I ran straight to Luna's." "Don't hurt me." "So you're the one who knocked me out." "I put the memory of Luna's murder into your head." "It seemed like the best plan at the time." "What I didn't count on was the Confessor fighting for your innocence." "That's when I gave Nella the memories of everything I did." "To make her the mastermind." "So Conor and Luna were never lovers?" "I wrote that letter myself." "I knew the hermit had the power to restore burned objects." "It's a trick he performs at children's parties." "Did you kill the other two?" "The suicide and the accident?" "Yes." "Both of them." "I see the error of my ways now, Confessor." "I only hope you allow me to atone by serving your will for the rest of my days." "My will is that you die by nightfall." "Yes, Confessor." "But by then you'd better be a long way from here." "I sent word to the D'Harans that the Seeker was in East Marwen." "They're on their way from Fort Naramond, to take the Seeker." "They'll be here by sundown." "We should go." "There's still one thing I need to do." "It wasn't your fault, Kahlan." "Declan had us all fooled." "I should have suspected him sooner." "At least you got justice for my husband." "Anything you need." "Whenever you need it." "A remarkable story." "And a very powerful piece of magic." "I remember killing that woman as clearly as I'm looking at you now." "No one should have to live with a memory like that, except a real killer." "If you like, I could use Azzallel's magic here to pluck it from your mind." "I'd be very grateful." "Although Richard's probably not the one who needs it most." " Would you?" " Absolutely not." "No?" "What I did really happened." "I'm not as infallible as I thought, and it cost a man's life." "I don't ever wanna forget that." "Things were never this complicated in Westland." "You could always go back." "Not a chance." "On to new pressing matters." "The magical key to the Crypt of Tavol'Rang." "You got it." "How was the visit with your family?" "It was a visit with family." "Are you ready?"