Into The Ruins (21 page)

Rigo looked at Ash’urn, then fixed the location of this place in his mind.  If they had to jump back, this is where he would come.  It would put them within range of the oasis.  Then they climbed onto the back of one of the Hoplani.  The Dunerider, seeing that the others would no longer accompany them, climbed onto the back of the animal he had been riding when they first saw him.  Rigo was somewhat amused that he could now distinguish the individual beasts from one another.  Then they headed off once again.

Two days later they were still traveling, and Rigo had had plenty of time to wonder and worry whether he had been foolish once again.  Before much longer they would have no choice.  They would have to gamble on making the return to the oasis.  Their food was getting low, as was their water.  From this point they could get back with a single double dead zone jump, but if they waited much longer, two of the jumps that Ash’urn feared would be required to get within reach of the oasis, now many days walking behind them.

It was nearing midday when their guide let out a series of loud screeches and as they crested a small hilly dune, they were relieved to see they had reached their destination.  In the distance they could see a number of small rounded structures with many
Duneriders
working in and around them.  Hoplani, and even a few Morvane, could be seen in the village ahead, all acting docile like the ones they were riding.  Off to their right, in the distance, Rigo could see a large herd of at least a thousand Hoplani heading off toward the west, probably beginning the long journey that would eventually bring them to the Three Kingdoms.  More importantly, not too far ahead and to the left, was a welcoming green patch that signified another oasis.  It was nowhere near as large as Oasis Three they had left behind, but if conditions proved as they had come to expect, they now had a safe route back to the other oasis, or back to the Outpost which was more important.  Rigo looked at Ash’urn and grinned.  He was met by the relieved smile of the other in return.

Instead of angling toward the oasis, their guide led them directly into the middle of the small village.  Their arrival was met with more of the odd speech, and Rigo sensed not everyone was as comfortable with their presence as their guide had been.  Nonetheless, no one took any action, each individual returning to whatever task he had been pursuing as they passed.  Rigo noted that all of the inhabitants looked much the same.  All looked to be male, although he had to admit he wouldn’t know how to distinguish a female unless there were obvious differences, but he also noted there were no children in evidence.  He finally decided the women and children must be underground, as the structure he had taken for homes were clearly too small and were entrances to what had to be underground dwellings.  They finally stopped in front of one of the huts, which appeared no different to Rigo’s eyes than any of the others.  One of the
Duneriders
came out, looked them over, and engaged their guide in a long exchange.  Apparently satisfied, he gave them another look, and walked back inside.  Their guide, then turned them around, and led them back to the small oasis, where he dropped them off with their supplies, before wandering off to whatever tasks he had waiting.

“There is very little water here,” Ash’urn said after they had explored the extent of the small oasis.  “Clearly there is not enough for this many individuals.”

They had guestimated that fifty of the males were present, and assumed an equal number of females must be around somewhere, with an unknown number of children.

“They don’t use much water,” Rigo reminded Ash’urn. 

“How can that be?” the scholar replied, but admitting he had never witnessed the
Dunerider
having taken a drink.

“I don’t know,” Rigo replied, but he was starting to wonder if the reason the Dunerider had been at the other oasis was because he needed the water to treat the bones and there simply wasn’t enough here.

“Do we look around, or go back and report first?” Ash’urn asked.

“I think we need to report back first.  We can bring some of the others here to help, and to make sure that they know of this place so they can come directly here.  I doubt anyone will be able to duplicate our journey again.”

Rigo prepared to make the
Bypass
back to the Outpost, when he frowned.  “That’s odd,” he said.

“What’s odd?” Ash’urn said, having picked up on Rigo’s comment.

“I can’t make a
Bypass
back to the Outpost.”

“What about back to Oasis Three?” Ash’urn asked, suddenly concerned.

“That works,” Rigo answered.  “We can get home, but it’ll have to be a double hop.  Something has changed.  We’ve always been able to jump back to the Outpost from any of the oases we found.  Not here.”

Rigo opened the
Bypass
, and they returned to the earlier oasis that had been their home for a while, and then opened a second
Bypass
that took them home to the Outpost.  There they looked up Nycoh, to find her and a very worried Jeen deep in discussion. 

“What in Riso’s name is the matter with you?” Nycoh stormed after the initial shock of seeing Rigo and Ash’urn suddenly appear in her office. 

Rigo could sense relief mixed with anger in her voice.

“We had no choice,” he replied lamely.

“We were beginning to suspect you were lost once again.  Wasn’t the first time enough for you?”

“There were options for getting back,” Rigo said defensively.  “I decided the risk was worth it.”

“You might have come back and discussed your decision before going on,” Nycoh said angrily.  “You not only risked your own lives, but one of the only two staffs that can allow exploration in the Ruins.  Perhaps I would have selected a more studied approach.  And you,” she snapped, looking at Ash’urn.  “I thought you were smarter than this.”

“Perhaps it was a rash choice,” Rigo said softly hoping to defuse the situation and Nycoh’s anger, which he suspected was fueled mostly by her fear for their well being.  “I assume Orna and Lorl briefed you about the
Duneriders
.  I think we have found their home, and maybe the source of the Hoplani as well.”

“
Duneriders
,” Jeen said from her chair off to one side.  “That’s what you have named the people that once saved you.  Orna and Lorl told us they were real.  We spent a full day listening to their story.  You found more of them?”

“We were taken to a small community.  We could never have crossed the Ruins through such a wide dead zone without the
Dunerider’s
help.  We saw half a hundred of them living in a small village.  A small oasis is nearby, but they live in the Ruins instead.  We believe they live underground, so cannot accurately judge their total numbers.  We also saw hundreds of Hoplani nearby.  We didn’t take time to explore, believing it best to come back here, and bring along others.”

“That’s about the only smart thing you’ve done of late,” Nycoh snapped, unwilling to let her annoyance go just yet.

“They are able to control the Hoplani,” Rigo said, ignoring Nycoh’s rebuke, sensing she was already cooling off.  “We saw a Morvane in their camp as well.  They seem to be able to control them as well.  They use them like we use horses.”

“So we were told,” Nycoh said in a calmer voice.  “Do you think these
Duneriders
as you call them, are responsible for sending the Hoplani after us?  Is there a chance of negotiating with them and making them stop the creatures?”

“I have no idea,” Rigo said.  “We haven’t had time to investigate.  Communication is also a problem.  Ash’urn has been able to communicate a few basic ideas with gestures, but their speech is unlike anything we have encountered before.”

“They know about us somehow,” Ash’urn added.

Jeen looked at the scholar.  “What do you mean?”

“They saved Rigo once before, knowing he needed food and water and to be in one of the green zones.  The one we encountered was surprised to see us, but it was surprise we were there, not that we existed.  He wasn’t surprised by our magic.  That suggests he somehow had knowledge of us.”

“What do you think our next steps should be?” Jeen asked. 

“After a bath and some sleep, I think we need to send a team back there, and see what we can learn.  Perhaps not all at once, but it will take a number of people to examine this place in a reasonable time.  We’ll have to see how the
Duneriders
react to a larger number of us.  I have no idea if this is the only village, or whether there are many such groups in the Ruins.  They are totally adapted to the place, and don’t seem to need much food or water.  We still don’t know where the Hoplani come from. They might be raising them.  I don’t know how we would even start, but it would be very useful to find a way to communicate with them.”

Nycoh had more questions, but finally dismissed them, instructing them there would be a special meeting first thing in the morning to discuss how to proceed.  Rigo and Ash’urn left for their respective quarters, eager to relax in familiar surroundings again after so long in the Ruins.

Ten of them returned to investigate the
Dunerider
village.  Rigo and Ash’urn led the team.  Lorl and Orna joined them once again, Orna a little miffed that she hadn’t been with them when the discovery was made.  Even Nycoh came along, after bringing Jeen back to the Outpost and making her familiar with all of the details of the discovery.  Jeen would be in charge of the Outpost while Nycoh was away, and would send word if something important developed.  An eleventh wizard had made the jumps to the village and returned, so there was someone at the Outpost who was familiar with how to make a
Bypass
back to there. 

“The effect of the Ruins is stronger here,” Nycoh noted shortly after they arrived in Oasis Four.

Rigo had become so accustomed to the feel of the Ruins that he hadn’t really noticed.  Their slow travel across the orange colored sands had been gradual, so the distinction was not so apparent, but given the fact that a single jump back to the Outpost was no longer possible, it was a fairly obvious observation.

“I don’t know if that means we are near the center of whatever caused the Ruins, or whether it will continue to get stronger if one continues east,” he replied honestly.  “Perhaps there will be no need to find out.”

The group stood in the small grassy enclosure and looked south toward the assembly of huts and the many
Duneriders
moving about in the Ruins.  As usual, none of them had any kind of hat to protect them from the fierce rays of the sun, nor did any wear any kind of protection on their feet.  The usual Hoplani and a couple of Morvane could be seen, waiting docilely where they had been ordered to stay.  Several of the closer
Duneriders
noted the group of wizards standing in the shade of the trees in the oasis, but none did more than look for a few moments before returning to whatever task they were engaged in.

“Do you see the individual who helped you get here?” Nycoh asked, when none of the locals showed an interest in approaching them.

“I don’t know that I would recognize him if he were to appear here in front of us.  I have yet to see what distinguishes them.”  Rigo thought he might be able to pick out the Hoplani that had carried them here if he saw it.  He had come to recognize the specific beast, but it was either too far away or not here any longer.

“The oasis and the village are built upon a plateau,” Orna said after studying the scene for some time. 

Rigo and Ash’urn had approached from the north and he hadn’t really noticed the fact the land dropped away on either side to the south.  Once Orna had pointed it out, the difference in elevation was readily apparent.

They broke into two teams.  Rigo, Ash’urn, Nycoh and two other wizards in one.  The rest were assigned to the second team.  Each team carried a staff, which allowed someone in the team access to magic once they walked out of the oasis.  The wizards who hadn’t been in a dead zone before were startled by the sudden sense of loss as they were cut off from their power.  They suddenly had more appreciation for the situation that Rigo and his team had been forced to endure for long periods of time. 

As before, the
Duneriders
were not startled by their appearance, and paid them little attention other than a brief look before going about their business.  No one tried to prevent them from going anywhere, except it was clear that the Duneriders were not comfortable with any attempt to enter one of the small residences.  When they found one unmanned, a brief peek inside showed they didn’t go very far into the ground, with only a small seat carved out of rock in a back corner.  Clearly, these were not entrances to underground homes as Rigo had surmised.

Despite initial discomfort of the wizards that hadn’t been this close to Hoplani other than in a combat environment, the local beasts paid them little attention, and after a while they all became accustomed to walking near the creatures without fear.  They had been exploring nearly a glass, with no success with any attempt to engage one of the
Duneriders
in conversation when Nycoh pointed off to the east. 

“Great Risos!” she exclaimed.  “There goes a whole herd of them.”

Rigo looked where she was pointing.  A large herd of Hoplani were headed off to the east, moving across the desert following a lone Morvane.  It was impossible to see where they had come from, the edge of the plateau blocking the desert below where the herd originated.  Rigo recalled seeing a similarly sized group heading west the other day when he and Ash’urn had first arrived.

“We need to get off the plateau and see what is down on the flats,” he said.  He was about to lead the group over toward the eastern edge, when Orna called to him from the second group which was headed their way.  He waited for her to approach.

“You need to come have a look,” Orna said when she was closer.  “We found a large tunnel that heads into the ground.  A lot of
Duneriders
seem to be coming and going from down there.  I think we should have a look.”

Orna led the way to the entrance.  It appeared to be a very large cave that sloped gently into the ground.  The floor was packed solid from thousands of feet having walked in the entrance over many years.  After some discussion, the groups were reformed.  Rigo and his team of four won the right to explore.  Nycoh remained with the rest topside.  Orna handed her the second staff, and then followed after Rigo as they descended into the dark. 

He was about to call on wizard’s light, when they saw the walls were providing a weak light that hadn’t been noticeable while they were close to the bright light of the sun outside.  As their eyes adapted, they discovered it was possible to see well enough to proceed, and they followed the gently sloping floor that took them below the surface. 

“The influence of the Ruins feels stronger here,” Orna observed as they descended. 

At first Rigo thought she might be reacting to the loss of her staff, but when he concentrated, he could sense it as well.  He checked with his staff, and found that his magic was being affected by the tunnel.  He could still call
Brightfire
, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as before.  He wondered if he would lose all ability with magic soon, even with the staff in hand.  He told the others what was happening.

They passed a pair of
Duneriders
walking up the tunnel, who looked curiously at them, but made no move to restrict their entry.  Finally, the floor leveled out, and the cave opened into a vast cavern that disappeared into the distance.  The cavern wasn’t straight, and it was impossible to see how far it extended from where they stood.  The glow produced by the walls of the cavern caused the embedded crystals to glitter with a faint purplish light.  Rigo wasn’t certain, but to him they looked the same as the crystals they found in each of the Hoplani they had killed.

“This is remarkable,” Ash’urn observed.  “Tens of thousands of the
Duneriders
could live down here.”

“Could, but I don’t think they do,” Rigo said, pointing off to their left at one of the walls.  He had been examining the area carefully as they had entered the vast chamber and had caught sight of something that immediately earned his attention.  Taking the lead, he walked closer to what he had seen.

“By the gods!” cursed Lorl.  “They grow them here!”

That’s certainly what it looked like, Rigo agreed.  There was a large depression in the wall, and standing in the depression was a full-sized, yet clearly undeveloped Hoplani.  It was stationary, and even as he watched, Rigo could see that definition was being added to the creature.

“There are hundreds of them,” Orna said in a whisper as she looked around. 

Rigo and Ash’urn looked where she was pointing.  Now that their eyes knew what to look for, they could see the walls, as far as they could see, were lined with the little depressions, most filled with more of the partially formed creatures.

“They make them somehow,” Ash’urn said in surprise.  “They aren’t born as we would have expected.  They are manufactured.”

“Magic,” Lorl said, voicing the thought Rigo hadn’t expressed.

“Whose magic?” he asked finally.  He hadn’t seen any sign that the
Duneriders
possessed magical skills, and thus far they seemed to ignore the creatures being formed here. 

“How many are down here?” Orna asked.

“I have no idea, but a lot,” Rigo said.  Then he saw something else that caught his attention.  He walked over toward a small chest sitting along the wall and extracted a short sword much like the one their
Dunerider
had used to kill the Hoplani back at Oasis Three. 

“If we are going to explore down here, we better each carry one of these,” he said, handing them out.  “Our swords have no effect on the Hoplani, and the staff is no longer blocking the effects of the Ruins.  I cannot access
Brightfire
at all. 

With that sobering thought, the four explorers made their way carefully deeper into the vast cavern.  They walked for half a glass, finding ever more of the stations were Hoplani were created.  They saw several break free of their enclosures and wander down the cavern, only to be intercepted by one of the
Duneriders
and somehow directed toward large holding areas they found farther down the cavern.  After a while, Rigo called a halt. 

“There is no doubt this is where the Hoplani come from,” Rigo said finally.

“At least one of the places” Ash’urn added.  “There may be others.”

“Let’s go back and tell the others,” Rigo said.  “I don’t know what we can do about this place, but it almost certainly needs to be destroyed.”

“The
Duneriders
are growing the Hoplani?” Nycoh asked when they had assembled back at the Outpost the next day to review their findings.

“That appears to be the case,” Rigo agreed.  “Except I don’t believe they are responsible for the creation of the cavern.  Nothing we have seen has shown they have any ability with magic, and they have shown no hostility toward any of us.  I think they are completing a task, without knowing why, and have no idea how the creatures will be used.”

“Then who created the caverns and who is responsible for the Hoplani?” Burke asked.  He had been invited to the closed session meeting as well.

“I don’t know,” Rigo admitted.

“The Hoplani and the caverns might be something left over from the ancient wars,” Ash’urn said softly from his chair where he’d been listening quietly.  “Some of the very old texts suggest the ability to create lifelike creatures was being pursued in those times.”

“And the factory has been running for untold thousands of years untended?” Orna asked.  “That seems unlikely.  And what about the
Duneriders
?  What is their role in this?  And what were the Hoplani created for, anyway?”

“Good questions,” Ash’urn agreed.  “The Hoplani might have been a weapon, and they have been left half finished without anyone to properly direct them.  As for the
Duneriders
, I have a theory about them.  We need to investigate further.”

“How do we get more of those swords?” Burke asked.  He had examined one before the meeting after being told how easily they would cut the Hoplani flesh.

“They are made from the bones of the Hoplani,” Lorl said, anxious to display his experience and knowledge.  “We haven’t learned yet how they melt away the flesh, nor how they re-harden the material after it is formed into weapons, but once we do, we can make as many as we desire.”

“These are all we have at the moment?” Burke asked.

Lorl nodded.  “We stole a dozen that were laying around when we were in the cavern.”

“Get as many as you can,” Burke instructed him. 

They returned to the
Dunerider
village and spent the next couple of weeks exploring the vast underground Hoplani factory.  Nycoh was no longer with them, but sent as many wizards as she could spare on any given day.  They learned that there were two sets of Hoplani caverns, one on the eastside and one on the westside of the village.  There was also a much smaller, independent cavern where the Morvane were manufactured in a similar manner.  Much like the eastern Hoplani cavern, the Morvane cavern showed signs of cave-ins.  In fact, it looked as if much more had been damaged and dug out and perhaps repaired by the
Duneriders
at some point in the past.  Further exploration revealed that the caverns deployed the creatures they formed out special tunnels that headed exclusively toward the east or west.  A little observation showed the released Hoplani were lead by a Morvane which took them into the distance both directions.

Why east
? Rigo wondered as he watched yet another herd thunder off into the distance. 
What is out that way
?  They had learned that the factory on the east side had been damaged some time in the past.  Several large selections in the cavern had collapsed, destroying the enclosures where Hoplani were formed in those areas.  As a result, roughly half the number of Hoplani were formed on that side of the “factory”.

“Rigo, you need to see this,” Kela said, interrupting his thoughts.