The contents of the "Chairman's" black box were a crystal-clear, deep crimson gemstone. Numerous dense, pale-blue runes formed mysterious chains across its round surface, intertwining and coiling around one another. Abundant energy faintly radiated from the gem, and its brilliant luster appeared exceptionally beautiful against the pitch-black case.
At first glance, such a beautiful gem looked as dazzling as a fine piece of jewelry. But after the "Chairman" solemnly spoke a familiar name, everyone present knew exactly what this rune-covered stone was.
It was a Soul Stone, and imprisoned within it was none other than the soul of Archmage Owen. After an unknown length of time and by some unknown miraculous means, the "Chairman" had actually repaired the shattered soul of the "Rune Sage"!
"Come, tell us about Mestur's plan. Tell everyone what that 'Archmage' did."
Manipulating the seal on the red Soul Stone and opening a gap in it, the "Chairman," who apparently had already spoken with Owen, calmly yielded the stage to the unfortunate old mage.
Almost the instant the gemstone's seal was loosened, that familiar mental fluctuation—aged, exaggerated, and hysterical—came flooding out of the stone all at once:
"By the River of Fate, let the Judgment Eye bear witness! Everything I did was forced upon me! If I had known that Mestur—that reckless, unforgivable, damned, utterly wicked bastard—was planning something like this, I never would have come to the Faerun plane! So we're actually on the same side, aren't we? This is all a misunderstanding, every bit of it is a misunderstanding..."
"Enough. Whether it was a 'misunderstanding' is not so easily decided. What I need you to answer now is this—what was Mestur's purpose in creating so many 'oases' as part of the Life's Praise plan?"
Decisively cutting off the old mage's wailing protestations of innocence,