"No. I suppose not." Garion looked around. The gallery in which they stood suddenly seemed very dark now that UL was gone. Garion knew the way back, but the idea which he had just grasped seemed to require some kind of affirmation. He turned his head and spoke directly to the Orb riding on the pommel of his great sword. "Could you give us a bit of light?" he asked it.
The Orb responded by igniting into blue fire and at the same time filling Garion's mind with its crystal song. Garion looked at Eriond. "Shall we go back now? Aunt Pol was sort of worried when she couldn't find you."
As they turned and followed the deserted gallery back along the way they had come, Garion laid his arm affectionately across his young friend's shoulders. For some reason they seemed very close just now.
They emerged from the gallery at the brink of the dim abyss where pale lights dotted the sheer walls and the murmur of a waterfall far below came whispering up to them.
Garion suddenly remembered something that had happened the day before. "What is it about you and water that concerns Aunt Pol so much?" he asked curiously.
Eriond laughed. "Oh, that. When I was little—just after we moved into Poledra's cottage in the Vale—I used to fall into the river fairly often."
Garion grinned. "That seems like a perfectly natural thing to me."
"It hasn't happened for a long time now, but I think that Polgara feels that maybe I'm saving it up for a special occasion of some sort."
Garion laughed, and they entered the cubicle-lined corridor that led toward the Gorim's cavern. The Ulgos who lived and worked there threw startled glances in their direction as they passed.
"Uh—Belgarion," Eriond said, "the Orb is still glowing."
"Oh," Garion replied, "I'd forgotten about that." He looked back over his shoulder at the cheerfully burning stone. "It's all right now," he told it. "You can stop." The Orb's final flicker seemed faintly disappointed. The others were gathered at breakfast in the central room of the Gorim's house. Polgara looked up as the two of them entered. "Where have you—" she began, then stopped as she looked into Eriond's eyes more closely. "Something's happened, hasn't it?" she asked instead.
Eriond nodded. "Yes," he replied. "UL wanted to talk with us. There were some things we needed to know."
Belgarath pushed aside his plate, his face becoming intent. "I think you'd better tell us about this," he said to them. "Take your time and don't skip over anything."
Garion crossed to the table and sat down beside Ce'Nedra. He described the meeting with the Father of the Gods carefully, trying as best he could to repeat UL's exact words. "And then he said that Eriond and I shared the same spirit and that we were supposed to aid and sustain each other," he concluded.
"Was that all he said?" Belgarath asked.
"Pretty much, yes."
"Except that he told us he was with us," Eriond added.
"He didn't say anything more specific about this certain time when everything has to be completed?" the old man demanded with a slightly worried expression.
Garion shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, Grandfather. I'm afraid not."
Belgarath's expression suddenly became exasperated. "I hate working to a schedule I haven't seen," he muttered. "I can't tell if I'm ahead or behind."
Ce'Nedra had been clinging to Garion, her face filled with both concern and relief. "Are you really sure he said that our baby is all right?" she demanded.
"He said that he is well," Eriond assured her. "He told us that the one who holds him will see to his needs and that for the moment he's in no danger."
"For the moment?" Ce'Nedra exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"He didn't get any more specific, Ce'Nedra," Garion said.
"Why didn't you ask UL where he is?"
"Because I'm sure he wouldn't have told me. Finding Geran and Zandramas is my job, and I don't think they're going to let me evade it by getting somebody else to do it for me."
"They? Who are they?"
"The Prophecies—both of them. They're playing a game, and we all have to follow the rules—even if we don't know what they are."
"That's nonsense."
"Go tell them. It wasn't my idea."
Aunt Pol was looking oddly at Eriond. "Have you known?" she asked him. "About your name, I mean?"
"I knew I had another name. When you called me Errand, it didn't seem quite right, for some reason. Do you mind very much, Polgara?"
She rose with a smile, came around the table, and embraced him warmly. "No, Eriond," she told him, "I don't mind at all."
"Just exactly what is the task UL set for you?" Belgarath asked.
"He said that I'd recognize it when I came to it."
"Is that all he said about it?"
"He said that it was very important and that it was going to change me."
Belgarath shook his head. "Why does everything always have to be in riddles?" he complained.
"It's another one of those rules Garion mentioned," Silk told him, refilling his goblet from one of the flagons. "Well, what next, old man?"
Belgarath thought about it, tugging at an earlobe and looking up at one of the faintly glowing lamps. "I think it's fairly safe to say that this meeting was the thing that was supposed to happen here at Prolgu," he said, "so I expect that it's time for us to move along. It might not hurt for us to get where we're going a little early, but I'm positive that it's going to be a disaster if we get there late." He rose from his seat and put his hand on the Gorim's frail shoulder. "I'll try to get word to you from time to time," he promised. "Could you ask some of your people to lead us through the caves to Arendia? I want to get out into the open as soon as possible."
"Of course, my old friend," the Gorim replied, "and may UL guide your steps."
"I hope somebody does," Silk murmured.
Belgarath gave him a hard look.
"It's all right, Belgarath," Silk said expansively. "The fact that you get lost all the time doesn't diminish our respect for you in the slightest. I'm sure it's just a bad habit you picked up somewhere—probably because your mind was on weightier matters."
Belgarath looked at Garion. "Did we really have to bring him along.?"
"Yes, Grandfather, we really did."
It was shortly after sunrise two days later when they reached the irregularly shaped cave mouth that opened out into a birch forest. The white trees lifted their bare limbs toward an intensely blue sky, and fallen leaves covered the ground with a carpet of gold. The Ulgos who had guided them through the caves winced visibly and drew back from the sunlight. They murmured a few words to Belgarath, he thanked them, and then they retreated back into the protective darkness.