"I have sinned, Stark. I have stolen a holy thing. You're an outlander, you would not know of Ban Cruach, and the talisman that he left when he went away forever beyond the Gates of Death." Camar flung aside the blankets and sat up, his voice gaining a febrile strength. "I was born and bred in the Thieves' Quarter under the Wall. I was proud of my skill. And the talisman was a challenge. It was a treasured thing--so treasured that hardly a man has touched it since the days of Ban Cruach who made it. And that was in the days when men still had the lustre on them, before they forgot that they were gods. "'Guard well the Gates of Death,' he said, 'that is the city's trust. And keep the talisman always, for the day may come when you will need its strength. Who holds Kushat holds Mars--and the talisman will keep the city safe.' "I was a thief, and proud. And I stole the talisman." His hands went to his girdle, a belt of worn leather with a boss of battered steel. But his fingers were already numb. "Take it, Stark. Open the boss--there, on the side, where the beast's head is carved...." * * * * * Stark took the belt from Camar and found the hidden spring. The rounded top of the boss came free. Inside it was something wrapped in a scrap of silk. "I had to leave Kushat," Camar whispered. "I could never go back. But it was enough--to have taken that." He watched, shaken between awe and pride and remorse, as Stark unwrapped the bit of silk. Stark had discounted most of Camar's talk as superstition, but even so he had expected something more spectacular than the object he held in his palm. It was a lens, some four inches across--man-made, and made with great skill, but still only a bit of crystal. Turning it about, Stark saw that it was not a simple lens, but an intricate interlocking of many facets. Incredibly complicated, hypnotic if one looked at it too long. "What is its use?" he asked of Camar. "We are as children. We have forgotten. But there is a legend, a belief--that Ban Cruach himself made the talisman as a sign that he would not forget us, and would come back when Kushat is threatened. Back through the Gates of Death, to teach us again the power that was his!" "I do not understand," said Stark. "What are the Gates of Death?" Camar answered, "It is a pass that opens into the black mountains beyond Kushat. The city stands guard before it--why, no man remembers, except that it is a great trust." His gaze feasted on the talisman. Stark said, "You wish me to take this to Kushat?" "Yes. Yes! And yet...." Camar looked at Stark, his eyes filling suddenly with tears. "No. The North is not used to strangers. With me, you might have been safe. But alone.... No, Stark. You have risked too much already. Go back, out of the Norlands, while you can." He lay back on the blankets. Stark saw that a bluish pallor had come into the hollows of his cheeks. "Camar," he said. And again, "Camar!" "Yes?"