The hand gripping Hythlodaeus' shirt shakes him slightly. "You did nothing wrong," he says hoarsely. "I approved the means to save our people. I helped make Elidibus into the heart of our new god. The responsibility for our people's salvation...falls to me. To all of us that were in the Convocation then."

Wracked by quiet weeping, he clutches Hythlodaeus like a lifeline. "I would not wish this burden on anyone, least of all you. Given the choice...I would rather you have never known the cost."