Into The Abyss (Demons of Astlan) (56 page)

"We're doomed!"  Gastropé exclaimed.  "Doomed, there is no way we're going to get through this alive."

"Don't be so optimistic," snapped Jenn sarcastically.  "We've been through
worse; we're not going to let a little more adversity stop us."

Edwyrd wasn't so sure about that.  They'd spent the last hour discussing their options and trying to come up with a plan.  They had yet to formulate one.  Things did not look good.  According to Maelen these Rod people were major witch hunters, or at least demon and other assorted evil hunters.  It seemed they had a rather black and white view of the world.  Their solution to the problem of evil was simple
: eliminate it.  Slay it first and ask questions later.

It used to make pretty good sense back in Harding
, Edwyrd reflected, everyone in fantasy novels and games always strove to abolish evil wherever they found it.  Tom had even thought it a pretty good policy at the time.  Unfortunately, he never planned on being the evil needing eliminating.  If, as seemed pretty clear to Maelen, the Rod was after them due to their actions in Gizzor Del, which undeniably involved demonic activity, and if, as Maelen maintained was the Rod's view, demonic activity was undeniably evil, then they, as conspirators with evil, were undeniably evil as well, and therefore undeniably must die.  With a grim grin, Edwyrd decided the logic was undeniable.

Maelen assured them in no uncertain terms
, that if the Rod did catch them, and if identified, there would be only one outcome.  Given that Maelen had recognized Verigas among the Rod, identification seemed highly probable, if they were captured.  Assuming they accepted what Maelen told them, and they had no reason not to, there was no choice in the matter.  They could not afford to be caught.

This choice
, Edwyrd thought to himself,
while simple, was not so easy to implement.
  The Rod was mounted and assuming nothing changed between now and then, the Rod would overtake them in the morning before they could even reach Yorkton.  It had been suggested they just go perpendicular to the road and avoid the Rod.  Unfortunately, as Maelen pointed out, if they wanted to get to Freehold, which was in a large mountain valley, they'd have to take the pass that Yorkton was the base of.  From Hoggensforth, there was no other way to Freehold that wouldn't take an additional month of travel.  They didn't have the money to buy supplies for a month.

Jenn had pointed out that they could just go off the road for a day or so, then follow the Rod to Freehold.  Maelen, ever the voice of cold water, had pointed out that if the Rod reached Freehold, and couldn't find them, they'd double back down the road to Hoggensforth.  Further, being incredibly thorough, they'd probably place checkpoints on the path behind them anyway, prepared for just such an occurrence.  Maelen's cold logic was becoming rather annoying Edwyrd
thought; the man dashed all their hopes as fast as they could come up with them.  Despite this, he was more than happy they'd brought the animage.  He didn't know what would have happened without the man.

Edwyrd looked around at his comrades, all sitting quietly lost in rather despondent thoughts.  Actually, Edwyrd wasn't quite as depressed as the three humans.  He knew, that if worse came to worst, he'd just change back into a demon, as could Rupert.  Given that, they could just grab the humans and fly extremely fast.  However, that was not his preferred option.  He'd gone to all the work of creating the Edwyrd persona, and he hated to just abandon it so quickly.  Oh, certainly, he'd love to abandon it and change back into himself, what he didn't want, was to destroy the illusion that was Edwyrd in the eyes of the others.

Over the last day of traveling, he'd had a chance to actually talk with both Gastropé and Jenn, talk in a more relaxed manner than ever before.  He'd learned a lot about them.  As he got to know them, and their pasts, he realized they weren't the nutso wizards he'd wanted to believe they were.  They were just normal people, like himself.  Or rather like he'd been and Edwyrd pretended to be.  When they weren't on the defensive against him, thinking he was a demon, they were actually pretty nice people.  He hated to have to destroy the start of a friendship by suddenly revealing himself to be the demon again.  As he'd realized when he thought Rupert dead, he needed friends.

Thus while he wanted very much to turn back into himself, he didn't want to have to do it where Jenn or Gastrop
é or Maelen, for that matter, could see him.  It was really a rather strange situation to be in, he supposed.  Therefore, they'd have to come up with some other option.

"We're out of ideas.  There doesn't seem to be anything to do, but get caught, or not go to Freehold at all.  If we don't go to Freehold, we starve."  Jenn said tiredly.

"You know," Rupert suddenly spoke up.  He'd been quite for most of the discussion.  His few ideas had been shot down as much as anyone’s had.  "There is--one other option to us."

"What?"  Gastrope' asked, Maelen looked on, not convinced.

"Well, you're not going to like it."  He stared right at Jenn.

She grimaced in frustration.  "Rupert, spill it.  If you have an idea just say it so Maelen can tear it apart."  Maelen gave her a sour look.

"Well--we summon Tom."  He carefully avoided looking at Edwyrd.  Before anyone could object, as both Gastropé and Jenn were preparing to do, he went on.  "We summon Tom and have him transport us all to the Abyss."

"NO!" Jenn shouted.  "Absolutely not.  I knew it, your hair wasn't the only thing curled by the lightning bolt.  Your brain got fried too!"

"Now listen Jenn."  Rupert went on insistently.  "We traveled through the Abyss once safely, we can do it again."

"Do you have any concept of what you are saying
, child?"  Jenn asked intently.  "We nearly lost our souls in that place.  I have no idea why that demon let us go, but it did.  I will not tempt fate a second time!"

Edwyrd shook his head.  While it wasn't the worst idea they'd heard, there were certainly problems with it.  "Rupert
?"  Edwyrd asked; the boy looked over to him.  "Didn't you say this Tom fellow," he paused, hoping Rupert would take the hint, "had to be elsewhere?  If he's busy doing something else, I doubt he could be in two places at once.  I know I couldn't."  Rupert frowned at this, apparently he hadn't thought of that.  For Tom to appear, Edwyrd would need to disappear, they'd never explain that one.

"Besides," Gastrop
é entered the discussion, "even if he wasn't busy.  Last time we ended up in Gizzor Del.  If he can't control where he opens his gates, we could end up farther away than ever."

"No! Not if Tizzy flies ahead to Freehold and summons Tom from there!  If Tizzy were to do that, be our inside man so to speak, we could do it!"  Rupert exclaimed, this one he'd thought of.

"Tizzy?"  Jenn asked incredulously.  "You're going to trust that crackpot?"

"Hey!  My pot's no more cracked
than any other four thousand year old vase that's been through the mill a few times!"  Tizzy, who spoke for the first time, stated with mock indignity.  "Further, I'm as trustworthy as the tides!"  He crossed a couple arms on his chest and pretended to pout.

Jenn shook her head.  "No."

"Well," Gastropé said thoughtfully.  "I don't trust that big demon, at all.  However, the basic concept is sound.  If only we didn't have to rely on any demons."

Jenn looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.  "Are you as crazy as Tizzy?  How else would we get there if not via demon?  Besides, last time we nearly died of the heat!  If you hadn't come up with that variant of the cool cantrip, we'd have been roasted."  Jenn paused for a moment, tilted her head as if remembering something she'd forgotten.  "Just exactly how did you come up with that, anyway?" 
She asked suspiciously. 

Gastrop
é bent his head, licking his lips somewhat nervously. He didn't say anything for a moment as Jenn glared at him, demanding an answer.  He looked at the others from under his brows, then said softly, almost casually, "Well, I'd been there before."

"Oh."  Jenn said, her brow furrowed. "What exactly do you mean, you'
d been there before?  How did you get there? And what were you doing there?"  She said suspiciously.

Gastrop
é coughed then looked back and forth between Rupert and Jenn.  Edwyrd was quite curious about this one. "On the way," Gastrope' began, "to Lenamare's castle.  We took a detour through the Abyss."

"You took," Jenn shook her head slightly, "a detour through the Abyss?"  She just shook her head.  "Who takes a detour through the Abyss when marching on a castle with an army?"

"Exador," Gastropé said as if that explained everything.  "And I suppose technically it wasn't a detour since it was faster than marching over land.  That's how he was able to get the army there so fast.

"You see, he used this spell called Abyssal Switch.  It relocates a part of Astlan with a different part of the Abyss.  The area isn't that big, but you can switch an area big enough to move a few hundred people or so at a time.  He switched an area with soldiers to the Abyss, had us wizards put cool spells on the soldiers and then moved them off the switched land, and then he switched it back.  He then did the spell in reverse, switching the part of the Abyss the soldiers were on with a new location in Astlan.  It took a while, because we had to move several groups, but we were able to cover a great distance a lot faster."  Gastrop
é shrugged: it hadn't been his doing; he'd just followed orders.

Maelen rubbed his chin.  "Hmm, rather impressive actually," the animage murmured.

Jenn appeared at a loss for words.  She didn't seem to know what to say.  She just shook her head.  Edwyrd was also impressed, it was certainly an impressive trick this Exador had performed.  No wonder the man was so good at pissing off Lenamare. 

Rupert spoke up, almost craftily this time.  No one but Edwyrd seemed to notice his cunning smile, "So, Gastrop
é, if we could get to the Abyss without needing the greater demon, you'd go along with it?"

Gastrop
é shrugged, "I suppose, we'd have to go in someplace cool, for the Abyss anyway. In the main regions, the trick with the cool spell wouldn't be sufficient.  However, we don't have a way to go there other than Tom.  I certainly can't do an Abyssal Switch, not by a long shot.  Further, we would also still have the problem of knowing the spot to exit to. In other words, Gizzor Del all over."

Rupert nodded.  "Well--Tizzy?" The demon smiled at Rupert.  "Can we trust you to fly to Freehold and be a focal point?  Do a summons sort of thing."  Rupert looked into Tizzy's eyes.

The octopod shrugged, "Of course.  I always do well by my friends, like you and Tom."  Tizzy said pointedly.

Jenn was just shaking her head.  "It doesn't matter whether we can trust him," she pointed at Tizzy. "I will not go with that fourth order demon again, even if we could summon him.  I'll burn at the stake first."

"It won't come to that," Rupert assured her.  "At least I don't think it should."  He turned his attention to Edwyrd.  Edwyrd was beginning to get an idea of what the boy wanted.  "Lord Edwyrd," Rupert smiled, "as the Rod calls you," Edwyrd nodded, "You're our resident awe-inspiring animage.  No offense, Maelen."  The healer just nodded, staring at the boy to see what he was getting at.  "Do you think you, Edwyrd, could open up a small gate to the Abyss?  One we could all get through.  Then if Tizzy was to provide a focal point, could you pull us out again?'

Jenn was just shaking her head, knowing it was impossible.  Edwyrd didn't know however, certainly with Tizzy's assistance he could do it as Tom.  He'd already done it once.  The only question was whether he could do it and maintain his Edwyrd form.  He thought for a moment.

"Rupert, give it up.  Edwyrd can't do that."  Jenn said.  "No one can."

"Actually," Maelen spoke up, "that's not entirely true."  He was gazing most speculatively at Edwyrd as he said this.  "A truly skilled Spatiomaster or Astramaster could."  He was clearly trying to discern the limits of Edwyrd's abilities and talents.  "I already can tell that our friend Edwyrd knows some
astramastery."

Edwyrd glanced out of the side of his eye at the healer-seer.  He wasn't sure exactly what the man meant, or what he was up to.  He didn't know anything about
astramastery or spatiomastery or whatever it was called.  All he knew were his demonic powers, and not even most of them.  He finally spoke up. 

"Well, if I knew where to go that would be cool enough, something I can presumably get from Rupert," he was making this up as he went.  Bluffing, sort of. While he was
sure he could really do it, he had to make it look as if he were doing it as an animage.  That made it tricky because he still wasn't sure how an animage would do this stuff.  "Plus if I can arrange some sort of link with Tizzy," meaning get Tizzy to summon him in Freehold, "I might just be able to do it."  Maelen nodded as if what Edwyrd had just said made sense.  Edwyrd was glad it made sense to someone.

Jenn shook again.  "No.  It's too dangerous.  Can't do it.  Not worth the risk."

"Jenn," Rupert said tiredly, "it won't involve the big demon."  He grimaced at his stretching of the truth.  "So, you have nothing to worry about.  My cousin is very competent.  He brought me back, and he helped you guys destroy the pirates."  Maelen glanced at the boy as if to correct him on the pirates, clearly, Maelen knew what really happened, but the seer just shook his head slightly and let it pass.  Jenn was still shaking her head.