Temple 38

**Chapter 38**

Back to Zedd, who is grooving atop his wizard's rock. Hypocrite is trying to talk to him, but he ignores her as he tries to do a magical something-or-other. Suddenly, he us unable to draw upon any more magic, and his spell collapses.

Zedd curses - *"Bags, woman!"* - \~/ and demands to know why Hypocrite interefered. She says she was trying to warn him: her Force cut off seconds ago. Zedd tries a minor spell and confirms that, for whatever reason, he can no longer use magic.

Zedd speculates that this was caused by *"the red moons."* He claims that using the wizards' rock is *"not something I do lightly. I've only made contact with the spirit world a handful of times in the whole of my life,"* which contradicts how casual he was about it in Book 1, but whatever. Any time before, when he was unable to contact the spirit world, it was due to *"a disharmony,"* and he speculates that the red moons warned of some sort of disharmony.

Sadly, nothing so entertaining.

Zedd sprinkles some magic dust on the wind, and it doesn't even sparkle, which worries him greatly. Telling Hypocrite to leave the horses, he says he suspects they are in danger from the Nangtong, a local tribe/culture/whatever, and yet another on the long list of names that are better than "The Mud People." Zedd proceeds to infodump on the Nangtong for a while expositing that they have the ability to negate magic even in magical items, they are seminomadic, and they occasionally hunt people to sacrifice them. Oh, and he can't speak their language.

Hypocrite wants to know why the hell these people are allowed to exist, and Zedd says that they're *"always servile when a Confessor comes,"* since their antimagic power doesn't work on the Mindrapists because they have Minus Magic. The two of them argue for a bit - while trying to sneak away from the murderous, antimagic warriors, I'll note \~/ - with Hypocrite saying the Nangtong should have wiped out, and Zedd retorting that in America, they don't kill people just for being dangerous.

Zedd says *"Why haven't you killed Nathan, to elminate the threat he represents?"* Hypocrite dodges the question but promises to *"set him on the right path,"* that being, I assume, the path of mindless obedience.

Zedd's response?

*"Good."*

Fuck you, Zedd. \~/

They decide to stop arguing and focus on sneaking, and do just that for a page. Suddenly, two screams ring out and are abruptly cut off: the Nangtong have killed the horses. Why would they do that? Those were perfectly good beasts of burden. At minimum, why not lead or ride them back to the Nangtong's camp and *then* kill them? \~/

Zedd swears \~/ and Hypocrite brandishes her death dildo, which is now inert but is still pointy. They sneak along a bit, and suddenly, a Dramatic Shaft of Moonlight reveals about twenty Nangtong, standing in their path and patiently waiting for them. The Nangtong *"were nearly naked, wearing only a thong and a pouch of sorts that held their manhood."* They're covered in white ash, their faces painted like skulls, and they have fingerbone necklaces. So, they're basically Ye Savage Natives of Darkest Afryka. Lovely. \~/

The naked, painted savages also wield spears with *"barbed, steel points."* I guess they developed the technology to smelt steel - not iron, *steel* - but not the technology to make pants. \~/

The Nangtong capture Zedd and Hypocrite, tying their arms and marching them off to their *"mobile village"* of about thirty large, round tents and some animal pens. Zedd and Hypocrite are shoved into a pig pen, and one of the guards indicates that they'll be sacrificed, gesturing toward the moon. Zedd determines this to mean that the Nangtong were frightened by the red moon, and hope that a sacrifice will placate the spirits.

Drinks: 7

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