The elemental agrees, and, after an almost excruciating eternity, or so it seems, he can feel himself, swelling with life energy, the elemental's pure power suffusing him.<br/><br/>The ghostly cloud rises from the locket, an inky blackness in the pure, white plane.<em>Indeed. The contracts are complete, and the knowledge is yours.</em><br/><br/>Three tiny spurts of Beyonder energy fill him, and, along with them, the knowledge, in answer to his three questions. The previous owner was one of the nobility of the land, who requested an army of dangerous constructs, similar enough to Draiss' to get people to assume they were his, to cut down the citizens of the town. He forgot to not include himself, on that list. Verdelet's ritual was one designed to open a portal to the Beyonder's realm, and usher in enough energy to destabilize the plane, making it inhabitable for mortals... and habitable for them. In exchange, she would gain immense power, herself. The third question is answered with a single, simple word: Entropy.