unearthed

lost in Oliber

lost in Oliber should still have fair potency in trained hands. I suppose Laestarp would have succeeded in setting himself up somewhere as a . . . a . . . what is that word for a speaker among worshippers?"
"You mean a priest?"
"That's the word. Laestarp probably saw himself as a sort of super-priest, demi-magician, taking control of some backward region, and perhaps going on from there. Many such will arise during the coming centuries, as talismans are accidentally unearthed here and there and put to clumsy use. Most such discoveries will be destroyed, however. The worshipers and god-warriors seem intent on leaving no trace of the Age of Magic in existence, either on or under the earth."
"I know," said Basdon. "I did my share of smashing as a god-warrior."
"Don't let your past deeds prey on your spirit," the magician admonished. "A man who has fought, within himself, the power of the universal geas and won a partial victory deserves praise rather than blame."
"A partial victory, indeed," said Basdon, recalling the nightmares that had troubled his nap in the bed nook.


3
The journey resumed the following morning, this time with Basdon in front, leading a somewhat aged mare which had belonged to the sorceress Haslil and now ridden by her granddaughter Eanna. Jonker followed with the packhorse tied to his saddle.
It was well, Basdon mused, that there was a separate mount for the child. Though she was no more than six years old, she was exceedingly fat. Jonker murmured something to Basdon about "compulsive eating" as a symptom of the girl's affliction, and it was easy to see she was afflicted by the worshipper curse.
She had become slightly hysterical when Basdon made to lift her onto her mount. "Don't touch me!" she had squalled. This reminded the swordsman strongly of Belissa who also, more often than not, reacted badly to the touch of a man.
Then, to add to the absurdity of it all, she allowed Jonker to lift her aboard with no fuss. Evidently his