Into The Ruins (71 page)

“A Reading,” Suline said softly.

“That’s right,” Nycoh agreed.  “I’m told a cooperative Reading is not supposed to be dangerous, and you would be unable to hide any deceit from the testers.”

“I had hoped that what I revealed to you would be enough,” Suline said.  After a moment she added, “Okay.  I’ll do the Reading.  Hopefully then you will know I can be trusted.”

Two days later the monitoring group informed Rigo that Bonn, one of Carif’s remaining Eight, had arrived at the camp.  Suline had kept a continuous
Ghost Doorway
open to the camp and they had been able to follow the conversations of various members of the group.  Several in the camp had been part of the group that had attacked the towers that produced the barrier in the Three Kingdoms, and others had been among those who had driven the Chulls into Nals. 

Ready to leave at a moment’s notice, Rigo, Ardra, Nycoh, and more than thirty wizards, most from the Three Kingdoms, but a handful of Lyes former islanders, including his brother, made the jump through a pair of masked
Doorways
to the positions they had marked off for their attack.  Lyes was back in the Three Kingdoms.  Daim had asked him to visit, and Jeen was still there watching the Outpost in Nycoh’s absence.  Rigo made one
Bypass
and Burke the other. Burke commanded the second group.  Daria and Kaler, as usual, were close beside Rigo.  Both had their bows today.  This wouldn’t be a battle where knives and swords would be of much use.

Positioned, with their actions already carefully planned, Rigo waited with the others.  They couldn’t see as much as they would like since the meeting was taking place inside a large tent.  Even Suline couldn’t make the
Ghost Doorway
required, as she had never been inside the tent.  There were limitations to what she could do.

Then one of the Casters came hurrying out of the tent.  She immediately made a
Doorway
and stepped into it.  Suline named the village where she had gone, and opened a following
Doorway
to the same location.  A pair of the Sedfair wizards stepped through.  They would follow the woman and learn as much as they could.  It was unfortunate that Suline couldn’t go along, as they might move on from where they had gone, but it was more important she was here to follow the leaders if possible. 

It wasn’t much longer when Bonn stepped out of the tent with several of the other Casters.  They were still talking as she walked forward and opened a
Doorway
of her own.  Rigo recognized the woman from the days she had been one of his watchers. 

“Masked,” Suline muttered softly beside him.

Bonn finished talking and started walking toward the open arch.  They wanted her alive if possible.  They couldn’t allow her to step into the opening and disappear.  Obtaining her staff was one of their high priorities.  Even the staff without the Specialist was desirable.

Rigo was close enough to hear the release of the heavy crossbow bolt.  It crossed the distance quickly and buried itself in Bonn’s right shoulder, pinning her to the tree she had been walking past.  As usual, Kaler’s shot had been right on target.  They had opted for the crossbow because most magic was destructive and hard to limit.  Many had been healed after major sword and arrow wounds, but those struck forcefully with magic were often much harder to save.  The hope had been that the arrow would cause Bonn sufficient pain she would drop her staff, and thereby be unable to respond, and would hold her anchored where she fell.  Daria was ready with her own bow should another shot be required to keep her from escaping.

Bonn appeared to be made of stauncher stuff than Rigo had believed.  Not only did she retain the all-important staff, but she hollered out a warning even as she released one of the deadly green beams directly back at the source of the attack.  There was no way that Kaler, and Daria right beside him, could avoid being cremated by the magical blast of energy.  Then something happened that Rigo couldn’t explain.  He knew that Nycoh was responsible, but he didn’t know what she did.  The air around them shimmered oddly, causing the view of the camp to blur momentarily.  The green beam struck the region where the shimmer had appeared.  While it was not stopped or terminated, the beam of killing energy was bent, Rigo could think of no other description, so that the beam missed Kaler and Daria by two hand widths and struck a large rocky hillside well behind them, throwing up an explosion of rock and broken trees.

He sensed that Bonn was about to release another attack.  Rigo didn’t know if Nycoh would be able to repeat her miraculous turning of the energy beam.  He could see the Specialist’s lips moving and he decided they had been fortunate once, but too many were exposed to allow her to attempt another attack.  The staff wasn’t worth more deaths, especially those of his friends.  With barely a thought, he sent his own beam of energy toward the impaled Caster.  Somehow she sensed the approaching energy and was able to direct it away from herself and toward the staff.  Bonn hadn’t expected anything nearly as powerful as Rigo was capable of creating.  The energy was far too strong for what she intended, and both the staff and Bonn were caught in the intense beam, and both were wiped from existence almost instantly. 

“Risos,” cursed Rigo, as he saw what had happened.

Around the camp, the other Casters were reacting in panic.  A number of fighting beams were sent toward Rigo’s wizards, but the energy being released was of a kind they could handle.  Rigo blocked the beam of deadly
Brightfire
sent toward a pair of younger wizards, and followed up by wrapping the Casters in swirling sheets of bright red fire. 
Doorways
were starting to appear around the camp as panicked Casters tried to flee.  They didn’t have a chance.  They hadn’t been thinking of a battle, and were a little too slow to react.  Multiple forms of energy blasted out from the protected locations around the camp, and within a very short time, no one below remained alive.  It was unfortunate, as they’d wanted someone to question, but Rigo hadn’t been willing to risk more deaths among his people.

“Where’s Suline?” Ardra asked.  She had been momentarily focused on the fight, and had lost track of her.

“There” Daria said, pointing into the trees. 

Suline was walking their way, holding a pair of staffs and marching someone towards them.  When they got closer Rigo noted the large lump on the woman’s head.

“I thumped her with a rock,” Suline said.  “I can throw them accurately with my magic, and I figured that way we could get her alive.  She was trying to sneak off without being seen, rather than use her magic to try and escape.”

Ardra smiled as she clicked the bands into place.  She accepted the staff from Suline, and handed the prisoner over to one of her Casters to be taken back to the Guild’s holding area.  After a careful check of the camp, with no further living Casters located, the attack force returned to Nals.  They discovered the woman who had fled earlier had met someone in one of the inns, before being joined by another Caster and disappearing though another portal.  They knew that city was being used as a meeting place.  It would be a place to watch.  Soon, their one prisoner would be subjected to a Reading to see what she knew.  It wouldn’t be anywhere near as gentle as the one Suline had experienced just days before.

Their prisoner had not exactly been a wealth of information.  Even the rather thorough and unrelenting Reading that had been performed yielded very little they could actually use.  She had provided the name of the town where the group usually made contact with other members of the rebel Casters.  It was called Kelb, which was the same town that they had already tracked the one escapee to.  That had given them confirmation that she was giving them decent information, but whether the town would continue to be used after word spread of the attack and loss of the camp was anyone’s guess.  Odds were greatly against it.  Even so, Ardra planted a couple of watchers to keep an eye on the place just in case.  The woman had known nothing about the location of Carif or the remaining members of the Eight.

Bonn had been in the camp to provide the group the instructions for the next assignment.  Carif had wanted them to cross the Wastelands and attempt an assassination of Branid’s leaders.  Apparently another group was already in the Three Kingdoms with the same instructions regarding Kellmore’s King.  They would have departed later in the day.  The woman who had left was to meet their guide who would have escorted them across the desert.  Their guide not only knew the way, but would have had the required amulets to see them there, and back when the task was completed.  If nothing else, the information confirmed what Rigo and Nycoh already believed.  Carif had found alternate paths across the Ruins.

While the Reading was being performed, Rigo tried to question Nycoh about the unexpected and life saving display of power she had performed by pushing aside Bonn’s magical beam.  Nycoh explained that she had been studying the Sedfair approach to magic, and in the process had sensed her own abilities growing.  Her knowledge of the symbols added something, but whatever was happening to her was more than just the sum of the two branches of magic.  Each was part of a greater whole.  She could sense the change, but as yet couldn’t explain how she had managed what she did.  She’d anticipated the attack, and felt the need to repel the killing beam.  The rest just happened.  Unlike the rest of their magic, she couldn’t simply pass along the new skill, which was unfortunate because it was the first time they’d had any defense against the greenish beams.  If Rigo wished to spend a few weeks following her learning path, they could see if the same transition occurred for him. 

Unfortunately, his attempt at learning the new skills would have to wait.  “Daim wishes you to return to the Outpost,” Nycoh had told him.  “He has an idea he wishes to pass by you.  You can also carry word to Jeen and King Rhory about the planned attack.  We have thwarted it for now, but it would be unlike Carif to simply let the matter drop. 

After they received the results of the Reading, Rigo went in search of Mitty.  She was supposedly back from her unexplained trip with Jeen to the Three Kingdoms.  Jeen had remained behind, temporarily overseeing the activities at the Outpost, and acting as usual as the royal interface to the wizard community.  When he finally located Mitty and explained it was his turn to leave, he sensed that she was almost relieved that he would be going.  That wasn’t the greeting he expected, and it left him unsettled.

There wasn’t time to pursue the matter as Mitty was involved in something with Queen Rosul, and Nycoh had urged him to leave as soon as possible, but Rigo couldn’t help wondering if Mitty regretted the night they had spent together just before she had left with Jeen.  They hadn’t had any time to talk since then, and while Rigo had believed at the time Mitty had been more instrumental in what had happened between them than himself, he certainly had no regrets.  In fact, he had hopes of moving their relationship along.  Now he was uncertain.  They’d both had a little too much wine at the party, and perhaps Mitty believed he had taken some kind of advantage.  Whatever was bothering her, he was mystified and restless as he stepped into the
Bypass
with Kaler and Daria that would take them back to the Outpost.

Back home, his mind still stewing over the atypical treatment from Mitty, Rigo went in search of Jeen.  Nycoh wanted him to report to her, and she would in turn alert King Rhory to the planned assassination attempt that had been at least temporarily aborted.  He also wanted to discuss with her their plan to raise Suline to wizard status.  The spark she carried was one of the weakest he had encountered.  That meant the hopes for her eventual growth weren’t great, but her abilities with the
Ghost Doorway
, as well as her detection skills might be linked to her inherent magic, and if those could be passed as Lyes’ ability with masking the
Doorways
had been, it would be extremely valuable.  On a personal level, maybe Jeen could tell him what was bothering Mitty.  The two women had become close friends, and appeared to share secrets.  Of course, she might be unwilling to tell him anything if Mitty had asked her not to.  As it turned out, Jeen was unwilling to shed any light on the situation.  She said Mitty had been quite happy when they’d traveled together.  She’d taken her to see Queen Mos’pera as she’d asked.  When Rigo asked what they’d discussed, Jeen shook her head as if she didn’t know.  That’s when Rigo realized she wasn’t going to reveal anything.  She had to know.  Mitty wasn’t fluent enough with the local language to converse with the Queen alone.  That meant Jeen had translated and knew the subject.  She’d been persuaded to act dumb.  Rigo could see the truth in Jeen’s eyes, but she wouldn’t budge or even admit she knew anything.  Perhaps that was because she knew Rigo wouldn’t let up if she admitted to even be aware of the discussion.

Rigo decided he’d make a point of visiting Queen Mos’pera before he returned to Nals.  It was clear to him that something had happened while Mitty was here.  He was encouraged that Mitty had been in a good mood when she’d left Nals, so maybe the problem wasn’t related to their night together.  It would have to wait, as Daim had heard he was at the Outpost, and was waiting for him when he left Jeen.

A short time later he was in one of the large workrooms with Daim, Ash’urn, Lyes, and young Fen.

“The Hoplani remain the most significant problem,” Daim said.  “Alone, with the barrier down, they require most of the resources we have at our command.  Even then, we can’t stop them all.  With Carif and her group using them as a weapon, dropping them randomly anywhere she pleases, the situation is completely out of control.  If we can find a way to stop them, we significantly restrict the damage she is able to do.”

“Have you found something in the Guild’s libraries that might be of use?” Rigo asked hopefully.  He knew that Ash’urn, Daim, and a group of the Guild’s scholars had been searching the materials for anything that might be helpful.  The fact Daim had wished him back might be an indication they had found something.

“Not really,” Daim said, crushing that hope.

“Perhaps we should use a
Bypass
to relocate the molten lava we found in the Ruins and fill the Hoplani Farms’ tunnels,” Rigo said.  “That should shut down production.”  It was an ill-formed idea that he’d been wondering about for some time.

Ash’urn regarded him seriously.  “Too many unknowns,” he replied.  “The
Bypass
would have to be created under the surface of the lava, something I don’t think anyone knows how to do.  It might even have to be moved to scoop up the lava, or perhaps made horizontal. Both are abilities I’ve never heard of.  Similarly the exit end.  Those are always fixed, and any lava that passed through would cool enough quickly to become a plug.  I doubt that any more than a small section could be filled before the process was stopped.”

Rigo sighed.  He’d had similar thoughts himself, but to have Ash’urn so quickly poke holes in the idea was disappointing.  The elder scholar usually had ideas how to proceed, not thoughts why something wasn’t possible. 

“There’s an even greater problem with your idea,” Daim said.  “Both of the endpoints of such a
Bypass
would be located in dead zones within the Ruins.”

“I know we’ve speculated that such a thing wouldn’t be a good idea,” Rigo said, “but are we really certain that it would be a problem?”

“I believe we are now,” Daim replied. 

Before Rigo could question what Daim meant, the ancient wizard turned to a different topic.

“Young Fen here has been quite diligent in his private studies,” Daim said.  “Lyes taught him how to make a
Doorway
, and having learned the basics, Fen started digging into the texts he brought to see what else he could learn.  I’ll bet he knows more of what is in those references than any typical student.  Lyes says they were always too busy in class to spend much time with the references, except to look up specific items as directed in class.”

“I assume he found something?” Rigo asked.

“Ash’urn grinned.  “Of course he has.  Look over here.”

Ash’urn led them to a table at the far end of the workroom.  There was a long table, perhaps five paces long, with a strip of drawing parchment heavily covered in runes and glyphs stretched across the table, anchored at each end.  Ash’urn pointed to Fen, who explained what they had.

“The Crafting is in two parts,” he said proudly.  “The first is a delayed activation, in this case the matter of a few seconds, but it could be any time we choose.  The rest is a simplified
Doorway
spell.  It will open a
Doorway
between the two ends of the Crafting paper you see stretched across the table.  Master Daim asked me to make an extra wide opening, so the size of the arch will be larger than normal.”

“I don’t . . .” Rigo started to say, but Daim held up his hand.

“Demonstration first,” he said.  “Go ahead Fen,” he said to the young Caster.

Smiling, Fen uttered the triggering spell to the delay.  As Rigo watched, nothing happened at first, then, suddenly a very large arch appeared.  Fen picked up a ball and threw it into the opening, and watched as it appeared out of the air at the other end of the table.  After a few moments, the arch faded away.

“Interesting,” Rigo said, “but I don’t understand the point.”

“There are several,” Ash’urn said.  “It all seemed an interesting exercise at first, but then something we found in the Ruins suggested it might be more.  The first key is that the
Bypass
, or
Doorway
if you prefer, is created entirely by the crafting.  It can be done in two ways, either by the crafting material itself, which defines the start and end point, or by appropriate illustrations that define them.  The key is that no wizard or Caster with a mental image of the endpoint is involved.  The other important aspect is that the spell is triggered by the special delay glyphs.  Those are triggered by a wizard or Caster, but that is thought to be acceptable.”

“I must be slow, but I don’t see where this is leading,” Rigo said.

“That’s because you haven’t seen one important aspect,” Daim said.  “Come, we have to return to the Ruins so you can see something for yourself.”

A glass later, Daim, Ash’urn, Rigo, Kaler, and Daria stood in the Ruins a little more than a day’s hike from one of the oases.  Daim was showing them the glass smooth and polished trench that was cut into the floor of the desert.  It was more than a man height deep at this end, and slightly wider than a typical
Bypass
arch.  The arrow straight cut into the floor of the Ruins disappeared into the distance.

“It ends about five day’s hike from here,” Daim said.  “We’ll go to the far end in a moment, but can you imagine the power that was required to cut something like this?  It goes straight and undeterred the entire way.  It cut through a small mountain like slicing cheese.”

“You’ve examined the length of it?” Rigo asked, surprised.

“No, but we had a team of wizards do so.  When they discovered it, it was still glowing from the heat of formation.”

“What do you think caused it?” Rigo asked, although he was starting to guess.

“We know that Carif has found alternate means of crossing into the Three Kingdoms.  That means she has located at least one oasis we don’t know about.  That suggests she had to send out teams to search for it.  The evidence strongly suggests that one team of her search became desperate, and tried to make a
Bypass
from where they had reached when their supplies ran out, back toward the oasis we occupy.  This was as far as they could go in a single jump.  As you can see, both ends were in the dead zone, and what we have proposed might be the result, appears to have been demonstrated.  The attempt to create the
Bypass
unleashed energies beyond anything I’ve ever seen, and cut the slot between the two ends, as well as destroying the Caster at the other end.  You will be able to see where she stood when we visit there.”

Rigo stared at the smooth polished cut in the orange sands of the Ruins.  “You hope to harness this energy against the Hoplani somehow?” he asked.

Daim nodded.  “We do indeed.”

Back at the Outpost, they returned to the workroom where Fen had demonstrated the unusual
Bypass
earlier.  Ash’urn drew on a marking board.

“The problem with the tunnels at the Hoplani Farms, is that they curve around underground.  If a simple
Bypass
were to be made starting at one end and ending at the other, the resulting path would be mostly through the underground rock, and miss most of the area we wish destroyed.  We need to have the path of the
Bypass
directed, so it follows the twists and turns of the tunnel.”