"Richard Cypher, you are the true Seeker." "Good morning to you, sir." "What may I interest you in today?" "How about a rare map of the Thelusian Plains?" "Or perhaps an elixir known to restore stoutness to the aging gentleman?" " Hm?" " I'm not buying." "I'm selling." "These items are from my family's personal collection." "Then I'm sure they have sentimental value to you, sir, but they are of no interest to me." "Forgive me." "I should have introduced myself." "Thaddicus Zorander, son of the great Carracticus Zorander and brother of the only living Wizard of the First Order in all the Midlands," "Zeddicus Z'ul Zorander." "After you." "A Wizard demonstrates the full majesty of his powers and those dearest to him can't even manage an ooh or an ah?" "Thanks for moving the tree, Zedd." "Please, wait!" " Are you the Seeker?" " Yes." "Thank the Spirits." "The constable in Dewith told me you were headed this way." "It's all right." "Catch your breath." "Come on, sit down." " What happened?" "Two days ago, men kidnapped my husband." "They took other people from our village too." " Who were these men?" " I don't know." "We were in the field, bringing in the harvest." "They came with swords and clubs, grabbed as many as they could and rode off with them in a wagon." "Maybe you haven't heard, but the Seeker is on a quest." "Perhaps this constable of yours can help you." " Cara." "The constable can't help us." "He's got his hands full fighting the banelings." "Banelings?" "There seem to more of them in our valley every day." "Could banelings have abducted these people for some reason?" "Banelings don't kidnap people, they kill them." "Yes, but they have to do it every single day to stay alive." "Maybe they're stocking up on victims." "If you take us to where your husband was grabbed," " we can pick up the trail of the wagon." " That will take days." "We'll get back to the Stone of Tears." "Right now, this woman needs our help." "Worthless." "Rancid." "Shadow water." "Shadow water." "Shadow water." "Hm." "No." "No, the contents are worthless, but the bottle has a certain appeal." "Can always use a little cruet for my potions." "I can give you, say, 10 farthings." "If it was worthless, you wouldn't offer me even 10 farthings." "And my father wouldn't have saved so much of it." "Well, there's hardly two spoonfuls." "Do you think I'm a fool?" "I had a feeling this was the cream of the crop, so I only brought a sample." " There's more?" " My father saved 50 jars." " Where are they?" " First tell me why it's so valuable." "If I tell you, you might decide you don't need me anymore." " How much will you pay?" " One gold piece per jar." "Then you must think you can charge your customers considerably more." "All right." "Two gold pieces a jar." "I have a better idea." "We'll be partners." "Douse the fire." "It's time to go." "Are those the men?" "Yes." "But there's no one in the wagon." "Where's my husband?" "Stay here while we find out." "Stop right there." "What happened to the people who were in this wagon?" "Get rid of them." "Cara, the driver!" " Kahlan." " I'm all right." " Tell me what you did with the captives." " All right." "We handed them over to another driver." "He's taking them to a farmhouse on the old forest road in Gurdoone." "But they'll be dead long before anyone finds them." "Rahl." "Darken Rahl." "Cara." "How delightful." "I knew it was only a matter of time before your misguided loyalty to the Seeker got you killed." "I want the deal." "I beg your pardon?" "You heard me." "I'm willing to kill for you." "Make me a baneling." "So..." "You want to be a baneling." "Send me back and I'll serve the Keeper." "And to miss out on the pleasure of tormenting you for an eternity?" "I'm only one soul." "Think of all the others I could provide for you." "Yes, you always had a nose for blood, Cara." "But perhaps you're forgetting the fact that you betrayed me, that you helped the Seeker to kill me." "And now you want me to trust you to uphold your end of a bargain?" "If I don't honor the agreement, you can call me back here to face the Keeper's wrath." "True." "But if I give you a second life, you will just go back to helping Richard." "He and I aren't exactly on friendly terms." "You know I kill people to protect Richard." "Many." "What does it matter why I do it," " as long as I do it?" " Yes." "The Seeker and his merry band are some of the Keeper's finest suppliers of souls." "But you delude yourself into believing you're killing to defeat evil." "My banelings have to kill every day." "What happens when you run out of bad people?" "I don't think the Seeker would appreciate you killing the good ones." "That will be my problem." "It certainly will." "Do you understand the rules?" "If I keep killing, I stay alive." "Only living people." "No banelings." "Their souls already belong to the Keeper." " And you can't get ahead." " Ahead?" "I'm sure it's occurred to you that you could kill six or seven irredeemable miscreants and stay healthy for a week at a time." "But it doesn't work that way." "Every time you kill, the clock begins to tick again." "And don't think because you're a Mord-Sith, you will have a special advantage." "As a baneling, you will no longer have the Breath of Life." "You won't be able to kill someone only to revive them." "I understand." "Now send me back." "Patience never was one of your strong suits, Cara." "Do we have a deal or not?" "You couldn't at least stay alive long enough for me to come back and kill you." " Why do you have to burn them?" " You destroy their bodies, they can't become banelings." "Cara, are you all right?" " I'm fine." "Why wouldn't I be?" " Your neck." "It's the driver's blood." "I had to kill him." "But not before he told me where the kidnapped people were taken." "Farmhouse near Gurdoone." " Did he say why?" " No." "Just said they wouldn't survive long." "My banelings have to kill every day." "What about him?" "I confessed him." "He was only paid to help round up the captives and they were loaded into another wagon." "He didn't know where they were going or why." "Then he's of no use to us." " I'll kill him." "Cara." "We won't execute him." "The driver said we wouldn't find the captives alive." "If that's true, he helped kill them." "He deserves to die for that." "Go home." "Find honest work." "And never take up arms again unless it's to protect an innocent life." "Yes, mistress." "Now let's find out what's happening in Gurdoone." " Who's next?" " I am." "Please, hurry." "I don't have much time before the Keeper calls me back." "You should've come to me sooner." "It took all day to get the money." "She's weak." "Get her a small one." "No." "No." "Please." "No." "Please, don't." "May the Creator forgive me." "No." "Please, don't." "Only living people, Cara." "No banelings." "Their souls already belong to the Keeper." "Richard, behind you." "Quickly." "Let's get these people out of here." " Thank you." "Come on." "What were all you banelings doing here?" "Buying people to kill." "She'll be a rotting corpse soon." "Take her away so these people don't have to see any more death." "Gavin." "Bless you, Seeker." "How long do you think you can fool your friends?" "I tried to hide it too." "But you can't stop the skin from rotting." "Or ignore the hunger." " Quiet." " Or what, you'll kill me?" "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me." "After all, you're one of us." "I'm nothing like you." "I took the Keeper's bargain because there was no one else to care for my sick daughter." "Why did you do it?" "Everybody has a reason." "And when you have to kill, it's good to remind yourself why you're doing it." "Tell me." "I did it to stay alive to protect the Seeker." "There might be a way you don't have to keep killing." "What way?" "Only ten gold pieces buys you a soul-saving sip of the remarkable remedy, the complete cure, the magical malady-destroying mouthful which will ever after eradicate the appalling affliction which perennially plagues you, you, you and you." "Get out of the way." "Give me one." "Give me one." "Please." "We're gonna be rich, partner." "There's a rumor that a magic peddler in South Caston has been selling a cure for a few days now." "It's not far." "I can take her." " We'll all go." "Richard, if this magic peddler is who I think it is, we've dealt with him before." "He's not to be trusted." "Maybe we shouldn't delay the search for the Stone based on a rumor." "If this cure is real and we can get it to the banelings, they won't have to kill anymore." "We don't know how long it'll take to find the Stone, but we'd be saving a lot of lives in the meantime." " Let's go." " It's too late for me." "I've only got a few heartbeats left." "I'm glad it's over." "If you hadn't come along, I never would have stopped killing." "But an eternity in the Underworld, it's better than living like this." " Please, please, just be patient." "Where's the cure?" "You know what I want." "Yes, of course, sir." "Right away." "I'll just be a moment." " We're running out of Shadow water." "Stop pushing me." "No, we're not." "How did you...?" " Simple." "Added a little plain water." " Tripled our supply." " But..." "We were getting four doses a jar." "Now we're getting 12." "What if the cure doesn't work?" "The banelings won't be happy." "Of course it'll work." "It's still glowing, isn't it?" "Get out there." " You know who I was before I died?" " No, sir." "Captain of a D'Haran squadron." "You don't make a man like me wait." "Time's precious when you work for the Keeper." "We are terribly sorry, sir." "Here you are." "I'll tell my friends about this." "Please." "Why are we stopping?" "We've been on the road less than two hours." "It's dark." "Even the Seeker needs his sleep." "You don't look well, Cara." "You could do with some rest too." "I'm just hungry." " I'm going hunting." "Now?" "We've got some apples." "I want meat." "Okay, I'll come with you." "No." "Zedd's right." "You need some rest." "Besides, I'm a better hunter on my own anyway." "Is somebody there?" "I don't have anything for you tonight." "Come back tomorrow and I might have a fresh supply." "I can't wait till tomorrow." "You deserve worse than this." "Every time you kill, the clock begins to tick again." " I was about to come looking for you." " Took me a while to find some prey." "Well, even without sleep, you look much better this morning." "Just needed a good meal." "Hey." " What are you doing?" " Closing up." "We've only got a few drops left, not enough to keep watering it down." "Then we'll mix plain water with something else." "Sorcerer's gypsum will make it glow." "But it won't cure anybody." "Then we'll just tell them it takes a few days to work." "And when they realize?" "By the time anybody's the wiser, we'll be long gone, with a fortune in our pockets." "But it doesn't seem right." "We'd be cheating people." "Well, they're not people, really." "Banelings." "You swindled me." "You said I'd be cured, but after half a day, the hunger was back." "And look at my face!" "Sir, the dose we gave you was watered down." "But we have a few drops of the pure liquid left." "It will cure you permanently." "You can have it." "No charge." "I'll take my cure the old way." "By sending your soul to the Keeper!" " Aah!" "Let him go." "Hello, Sebastian." "Wizard." "When I heard a magic peddler in South Caston was selling a remedy for banelings, I knew it had to be you." "By the looks of them, I see I was also right that your so-called cure is a sham." "No." "No, I assure you, the cure is quite real." "But it wasn't my idea." "I was helping out a friend." "Hello, brother." "Lord Rahl." "I'm puzzled I didn't see you sooner, Eagan." "Yesterday you failed to deliver me a soul." "You broke the covenant." "And yet somehow you managed to remain among the living." "How, I wonder." "I..." "I bought a cure." "A cure?" "For being a baneling." "They call it Shadow water." "But it didn't last." "The secret of the source of Shadow water died decades ago, along with the Wizard Carracticus Zorander." "It didn't work anyway, My Lord." "Oh, it worked." "You're not the only baneling who's stopped killing for the Keeper in the past few days." "But tell me." "How is it that you come to be dead again?" "The Seeker ran me through." "The Seeker?" "Where?" "In the shop where they were selling the cure." "Then the Seeker knows of its existence." "Tell me, the Mord-Sith who is with him, did she drink it?" "I don't think they have any left." "If not, then the Seeker will be searching for the source." "And he travels with a son of Carracticus." "They will find it." "Send me back again, My Lord, and I'll stop them." "I'm afraid it's much too late for you, Eagan." "Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't incinerate you too." "Who are you to question me?" "You said you would come back after Darken Rahl was defeated, but you didn't." "Maybe you haven't heard, but the Keeper of the Underworld is waging war on the land of the living." "I know all about it." "And I was trying to do my part by curing banelings." "Where did you find this cure anyway?" "I was planting a new row of squash in the back garden." "My spade struck the crate." "Father must have buried it there a long time ago." "Father." "Was it Shadow water?" "You knew about it?" "There was a rumor when I was training to be a Wizard that Father had found the source and was experimenting with it." "Using it to bring the dead back to life." "That kind of dark magic is taboo for a Wizard." "I was upset." "I went to him." "He said it was a lie concocted by his enemies to discredit him." "And I believed him." "Is there more?" "Only a few drops." "I don't know if there's even enough to cure anyone." " Can you make more?" " Can't be conjured." "Only found." "If I remember correctly, you have an apparatus that makes magical maps." "I was making a map a few months ago and suddenly it jammed." "Hasn't worked since." "It's not broken, it's spelled." "No doubt by a dissatisfied customer." "Harlan." "I warned him that map would take him through the Forest of the Greel Mites." "Blamed me for the rash." "Spiteful old conjurer." "Good as new." "The source." " We should be able to get there in two days, maybe three." "Three days?" "We got lucky." "Could have been a lot farther." "I wanna go with you." "So you can bottle the water and sell it?" "You're right, Zedd, I've been selfish and short-sighted, but this cure could make a big difference." "You already have a quest." "You don't have time to pass out Shadow water to banelings across the Midlands, but I do." "Please, brother." "Give me a chance to do something good and maybe the world will remember both sons of the great Carracticus Zorander." "I don't want any." "Having an early breakfast, I see." " What do you want?" " I'm hungry." "We don't feed beggars." "Your mother must have neglected to teach you manners." "Or maybe she didn't have any herself." "I'm gonna enjoy killing you." "Unfortunately for you," "I'm already dead." "She's a baneling!" "Now throw his body on that fire or I'll kill you too." "Hello, Cara." "How are you enjoying working for me again?" "I serve Richard." "What a hard-headed girl you always were." "But your first obligation is to me now." "And I believe you still owe me a soul for today." "I know the rules." "Then why are you just sitting here by the fire when your time is nearly running out?" "Don't tell me you've given up on being a baneling already." "It's harder than you thought it would be, isn't it?" "You were lucky to find a nasty D'Haran to kill last night." "But now here you are, leagues from the nearest town with nobody to kill." "Except them." "Well, I knew this would happen." "I am prepared to offer you a way out." "Tell me where the Shadow water source is and you will never have to kill again." "I don't have to tell you anything." "That's not part of our agreement." "Very well." "But you are going to have to kill one of them." "Really should give old Thaddicus a thought." "He hasn't amounted to much in life." "He never was any good to anyone." "Thaddicus." "Help me get some firewood." "But it's not even light yet." "It will be soon and the others will want breakfast." "We're going to get some more wood." "That dry birch will burn well." "He never was any good to anyone." "Give me a chance to do something good." "Maybe the world will remember both sons of the great Carracticus Zorander." "What's wrong?" "You..." "Help, Zedd." "Help." "Help." "I'm not going to hurt you." " What happened?" "She's a baneling." "Cara." " When?" " Three days ago." "I've already killed twice." "You died in the fight with that driver." "Rahl offered you the deal." "I asked him to make me a baneling." "Why?" "I had to get back, to tell you where the kidnappers had taken the captives." "And I had to protect you." "You, Richard." "But I'm no use to you like this." "I almost killed Thaddicus." "I was looking at the map." "There's a faster way to the source." "A canyon pass." "We'll get you the Shadow water." "Even if it was only a thousand paces, I won't make it." "Please, go." "I don't want you to see me like this." "Is there anything you can do?" "Banelings are created with dark magic." "I have no power to help you." "I'm sorry." "May the Creator watch over you." "Thank you." "For what?" "You could have killed me to save yourself, but you didn't." "Unh." " No." "Thaddicus." "Thaddicus, why?" "Give him the Breath of Life." "I lost that power when I became a baneling." "If you drank from the source, maybe you'd get that power back." " Stands to reason." " Cara and I will run." "You follow with Thaddicus as fast as you can." "Welcome to your eternal reward, Thaddicus." "I'll take the deal." "Make me a baneling." "So that you can find the Shadow water, cure yourself and cheat me?" "Don't know what you're talking about." "You think I don't know you've been traveling with the Seeker, searching for the source?" "Tell me where it is, Thaddicus." "I don't know." "Oh, but I think you do." "And I think you will tell me." "Come on." "It should be on the other side of this ridge." "Tell me where the source is before I do my worst." "In the grove." "In the Valley of Echoes." "May the Creator forgive me." "Oh, I'm afraid the Creator can't do you any good here, Thaddicus." "There it is." "No!" "I'm almost there." "I got some." "There you go." "I don't know how much longer we can drag him." "He's growing colder." "If too much time passes, the Breath of Life won't work." "I'm here." "Thank the Spirits." "How?" "You saved Cara's life, so she returned the favor." " You should have let me stay dead." " What are you talking about?" "I told Darken Rahl the location of the source." "I was too weak." "I couldn't stand the pain." "Few could withstand the torments of the Underworld, Thaddicus." "But even fewer would sacrifice their life for another." "Why did you?" "I nearly killed you." "But you didn't." "And when I saw you dying, I realized I'm just an old man." "Never done anything for anyone but myself." "But you're important." "You help people." "You protect the Seeker." "Your life is much more valuable than mine." "Thaddicus, your life is valuable to me, brother." "I'm grateful to both of you for helping me save Thaddicus." "It wasn't just Thaddicus we wanted to save." "Still, you must think I'm a monster." "For taking the deal." "If I was faced with the same choice, eternity in the Underworld or come back, help Richard, be with him," "I might have made the same decision." "I guess this is where we part company." "After we've found the Stone of Tears, I'll come see you." "I promise." "Thank you." "Wonder what he'll do now." "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, and purchase a jar of genuine soil from the hallowed and enchanted ground that once bordered the renowned source of Shadow water." "This unrivalled and efficacious loam has been known to cure boils and warts, snuff out colds and, yes, it will even re-grow hair." "You, sir, for a mere five shillings can reclaim the flowing locks of your youth." "Allow me to demonstrate." "Ah." "Just give it a couple of days." "You'll be astounded by the results."