"If we can get to the general and warn him Jagang's army is coming," Cara offered, "then we could get his messengers sent off to D'Hara to call reinforcements."

"And to Kelton, Jara, and Grennidon, among others," Kahlan said. "We have a number of lands with standing armies already on our side."

Richard nodded. "That makes sense. We'll know where they're needed, at least. I just wish we could get to Aydindril faster."

"Are we sure it really even makes any difference, now?" Kahlan asked. "Remember, it's the chimes, not the Lurk."

"What Zedd asked us to do may not help," Richard said, "but then again, we don't know that for sure, do we? He might have been telling us the truth about the urgency of what we need to do, but simply cloaked it with the name Lurk instead of chimes."

"We could lose to Jagang before the chimes can get us. Dead is dead." Kahlan let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know Zedd's game, but the truth would have served us in better stead."

"We must get to Aydindril," Richard said with finality. "That's all there is to it."

His sword was in Aydindril.

In much the same way Cara could sense him by her bond, and Du Chaillu could tell where he was, Richard had been named Seeker and was connected to the Sword of Truth. He was bonded to the blade. He felt as if something inside him was missing without it.

"Du Chaillu," Richard asked, "when this great army went past you on its way north-"

"I never said they went north."

Richard blinked. "But… that's where they would have to be going. They're coming up into the Midlands-or else D'Hara. They have to come north for either."

Du Chaillu shook her head emphatically. "No. They are not going north. They went past our land on our south side, staying near the shore-turning with it, and now go west."

Richard stared dumbfounded. "West?"

Kahlan sank to her knees beside him. "Du Chaillu, are you sure?"

"Yes. We shadowed them. We had men scout in all directions, because my visions warned me these men were a great danger to the Caharin. Some of the men of rank we captured knew the name 'Richard Rahl. That is why I had to come to warn you. This army knows you by name.

"You have dealt them blows and frustrated their plans. They have great hate for you. Their men told us these things."

"Could your visions of me and fire really be the fire of hatred these men have in their hearts for me?"

Du Chaillu mulled over his question. "You understand visions, my husband. It could be as you say. A vision does not always mean what it shows. It sometimes means only this thing is possible and a danger that must be watched, and it sometimes is as you say, a vision of an impression of an idea, not an event."

Kahlan reached out and snatched Du Chaillu's sleeve. "But where are they going? Somewhere they will turn north into the Midlands. Lives are at stake. Did you find out where? We must know where they will turn to the north." "No," Du Chaillu said, looking befuddled by their surprise. "They plan on following the shoreline with the great water."

"The ocean?" Kahlan asked.

"Yes, that was their name for it. They intend to follow the great water and go to the west. The men did not know what the place they go is called, only that they are to go far to the west, to a land that has, as you said, vast supplies of food."

Kahlan let go of the woman's sleeve. "Dear spirits," she whispered, "we are in trouble."

"I'd say so," Richard said as he clenched a fist. "General Reibisch is far off to the east, and running in the wrong direction."

"Worse," Kahlan said as she turned to look southwest, as if she could see where the Order was headed.

"Of course," Richard breathed. "That's the land Zedd was talking about, near that Nareef Valley place, the isolated land to the southwest of here that grows so much grain. Right?"

"Yes," Kahlan said, still staring off to the horizon. "Jagang is headed for the breadbasket of the Midlands."

"Toscla," Richard said, remembering what Zedd had called it.

Kahlan turned back to him, nodding in resigned frustration.

"It looks that way," she said. "I never thought Jagang would go that far out of the way. I would have expected him to strike quickly into the New World, so as not to allow us time to gather our forces."

"That's what I was expecting. General Reibisch thought so, too; he's racing to guard a gate Jagang isn't going to use."

Richard tapped a finger against his knee as he considered their options. "At least it may buy us time-and now we know where the Imperial Order is going. Toscla."

Kahlan shook her head, she, too, seeming to be considering the options. "Zedd knew the place by an old name. The name of that land has changed over time. It's been known as Vengren, Vendice, and Turslan, among others. It hasn't been known as Toscla for quite some time."

"Oh," Richard said, not really listening as he started making a mental list of things they had to weigh. "So, what's it called, now?"

"Now, it's Anderith," she said.

Richard's head came up. He felt a tingling icy wave ripple up through his thighs. "Anderith? Why? Why is it called Anderith?"

Kahlan's brow twitched at the look on his face. "It was named after one of their ancient founders. His name was Arider."

The tingling sensation raced the rest of the way up Richard's arms and back.

"Ander." He blinked at her. "Joseph Ander?"

"How do you know that?"

"The wizard called 'the Mountain'? The one Kolo said they sent to deal with the chimes?" Kahlan nodded. "That was his cognomen-what everyone called him. His real name was Joseph Ander."

Richard felt as if his thoughts were going to war in his head. At the same time that he groped for solutions to the spectral threat, he was assailed by the image of endless enemy soldiers pouring up from the Old World.

"All right," he said, holding his hand out to stop everyone from talking at once. "All right. Slow down. Let's just reason this out."

"The whole world might be dead from the chimes before Jagang can conquer the Midlands," Kahlan said. "We need to address the chimes above all else-you're the one who convinced me of that. It's not just that the world of life might very well need magic to survive, but we need magic to counter Jagang. He would like nothing better than for us to have to battle him by sword alone.

"We must get to Aydindril. As you yourself said, what if Zedd was telling the truth about what we need to do at the Wizard's Keep-with that bottle? If we fail to carry out our charge, we may aid the chimes in taking over the world of life. If we don't act soon enough, it may forever be too late."

"And I need my Agiel to work again," Cara said with painful impatience, "or I can't protect you both as I need to. I say we must go to Aydindril and stop the chimes."

Richard looked from one woman to the other. "Fine. But how are we going to stop the chimes if Zedd's task is only a fool's journey to keep us out of his way? What if he's just worried and wants us out of harm's way while he tries to deal with the problem himself?

"You know, like a father, when he sees a suspicious stranger approaching, might tell his children to run into the house because he needs them to count the sticks of firewood in the bin."

Richard watched both their faces sour with frustration. "I mean, it's a good piece of information that Joseph Ander was the one sent to stop the chimes, and he's the same one who founded this land of Anderith. Maybe it means something, and maybe Zedd wasn't aware of it.

"I'm not saying we should go to Anderith. The spirits know I want to get to Aydindril, too. I just want not to overlook something important." Richard pressed his fingers to his temples. "I don't know what to do."