Hi, On Morrolan being at the top of the falls with Zerika in Taltos, I was perfectly fine with thinking the reason was that Vlad's memories had been messed with. But now...I wonder... What if Zerika made a second descent and Morrolan was there then? If she took the Orb with her, she could leave with it. Maybe she needed to retrieve something from a dead body and simply climbed back up. Maybe she needed to talk or argue with the Lords of Judgment about something. Morrolan does not actually mention that the descent was during the Interregnum. Morrolan says speaking of brigands, "There are fewer now than during the Interregnum, Vlad. I wouldn't worry. Those were wilder times." Book of Taltos, Taltos, Chapter 9, page 96. He is talking about brigands then and not necessarily about Zerika's descent. She would have to have a real good reason to do this or maybe a deeply personal reason. *********************************** Spoiler space for Paths of the Dead *********************************** The Orb was inert when it was in the Paths and Land of the Dead, but what if an Empress/Emperor and Orb came there together. Maybe the Orb needs an Empress/Emperor to function properly. I think Zerika would not reenter the Paths if it would cut everyone off from sorcery. Maybe people would still have access to Orb assisted sorcery even though Zerika returned to the Paths because of the special link between the Empress/Emperor and the Orb. Maybe the Empress/Emperor has to give a State of the Empire report to the Lords of Judgment every Great Cycle or so. Just some wild speculation. Bye. Linda G.