Magician's Gambit

Cthol, thou shalt surely die, and without thee the struggle against the darkness must fail. Abide here in the safety of Ulgo until thy companions return."
    This was the kind of thing Ce'Nedra completely understood. As a princess, she knew the need for instant submission to authority. Though she had wheedled, coaxed, and teased her father all her life to get her own way, she had seldom directly rebelled. She bowed her head. "I will do as thou hast commanded, Most Holy," she replied without even thinking of the implications of the God's words.
    UL nodded with satisfaction. "Thus is the prophecy protected," he declared. "Each of you hath his appointed tasks in this work of ours - and I have mine as well. I will delay you no longer, my children. Fare you all well in this. We will meet again." Then he vanished.
    The sounds of his last words echoed in the caverns of Ulgo. After a moment of stunned silence, the hymn of adoration burst forth again in a mighty chorus, as every Ulgo raised his voice in ecstasy at this divine visitation.
    "Belar!" Barak breathed explosively. "Did you feel it?"
    "UL has a commanding presence," Belgarath agreed. He turned to look at Relg, one eyebrow cocked rather whimsically. "I take it you've had a change of heart," he observed.
    Relg's face had gone ashen, and he was still trembling violently. "I will obey my God," he vowed. "Where he has commanded me, I will go.
    "I'm glad that's been settled," Belgarath told him. "At the moment he wants you to go to Rak Cthol. He may have other plans for you later, but right now Rak Cthol's enough to worry about."
    "I will obey you without question," the fanatic declared, "even as my God has commanded me."
    "Good," Belgarath replied, and then he went directly to the point. "Is there a way to avoid the weather and the difficulties above?"
    "I know a way," Relg answered. "It's difficult and long, but it will lead us to the foothills above the land of the horse people."
    "You see," Silk observed to Barak, "he's proving useful already." Barak grunted, still not looking entirely convinced.
    "May I know why we must go to Rak Cthol?" Relg asked, his entire manner changed by his meeting with his God.
    "We have to reclaim the Orb of Aldur," Belgarath told him.
    "I've heard of it," Relg admitted.
    Silk was frowning. "Are you sure you'll be able to find the caves under Rak Cthol?" he asked Relg. "Those caves won't be the caverns of UL, you know, and in Cthol Murgos they're not likely to be holy - quite the opposite, most probably."
    "I can find any cave - anywhere," Relg stated confidently.
    "All right then," Belgarath continued. "Assuming that all goes well, we'll go up through the caves and enter the city unobserved. We'll find Ctuchik and take the Orb away from him."
    "Won't he try to fight?" Durnik asked.
    "I certainly hope so," Belgarath replied fervently.
    Barak laughed shortly. "You're starting to sound like an Alorn, Belgarath."
    "That's not necessarily a virtue," Polgara pointed out.
    "I'll deal with the magician of Rak Cthol when the time comes," the sorcerer said grimly. "At any rate, once we've recovered the Orb, we'll go back down through the caves and make a run for it."
    "With all of Cthol Murgos hot on our heels," Silk added. "I've had dealings occasionally with Murgos. They're a persistent sort of people."
    "That could be a problem," Belgarath admitted. "We don't want their pursuit gaining too much momentum. If any army of Murgos inadvertently follows us into the West, it will be viewed as an invasion, and that will start a war we aren't ready for yet. Any ideas?" He looked around.
    "Turn them all into frogs," Barak suggested with a shrug. Belgarath gave him a withering look.
    "It was just a thought," Barak said defensively.
    "Why not just stay in the caves under the city until they give up the search?" Durnik offered.
    Polgara shook her head firmly. "No," she said. "There's a place we have to be at a certain time. We'll barely make it there as it is. We can't afford to lose a month or more hiding in some cave in Cthol Murgos."
    "Where do we have to be, Aunt Pol?" Garion asked her.
    "I'll explain later," she evaded, throwing a quick glance at Ce'Nedra. The princess perceived immediately that the appointment the Lady spoke of concerned her, and curiosity began to gnaw at her. .
    Mandorallen, his face thoughtful and his fingers lightly touching the ribs that had been cracked in his encounter with Grul, cleared his throat. "Does there perchance happen to