Now, after waking up, she found herself staring at the obelisk again. The shadow beneath was hypnotizing. It drew her attention; the swirling undulation was warm and inviting. She did not know what would happen or what she was supposed to do, but Amoroth seemed to think she should know intuitively. She stood and looked down at it, then took a few hesitant steps. As she walked toward the obelisk, the shadow seemed to gain an inky depth like an ocean . . . no, like a deep river. The gray swirls took on the shape of eddies and foam from rapids.
Entranced, she slowly knelt down in front of it. She thought she saw vague faces floating by, mouths open in speech or perhaps silent screams. The faces were too faint and blurred to tell what they might be saying, but whispers started at the
