Into The Ruins (73 page)

“Let’s finish it,” Ash’urn said, eager to have it behind him.

Three separate teams placed the foil, but Fen checked each installation and approved it before they declared the installation ready.  The timers were staged, so Ash’urn and Fen could move between the three locations, then everyone could evacuate as before.  The three tunnels should all go up at nearly the same time, but no one, not even the
Duneriders
were there to watch.  Two glass later when they returned, they found the tunnels in the same state as the western one, along with a few of the tame and bewildered Hoplani the
Duneriders
had been forced to leave behind.

As the other wizards and Guardsmen returned, Rigo learned that the
Duneriders
had immediately set out on the long walk that would bring them back to the village.  It would take them almost two days.  It would have been nice to bring the entire force back to the Outpost, but the Oasis still had to be guarded against Carif’s people.  Rigo was starting to wonder if that too was a waste of effort.  She obviously had her own routes into the Three Kingdoms.  Guarding Oasis Four wasn’t accomplishing anything.  He’d have to speak with Nycoh about it.

As they left for the Oasis, Rigo looked back at the village.  He still wished he could fill the caves somehow, but he guessed that didn’t matter.  Now that he’d helped accomplish the goal he’d set out upon many years ago, he wished only to return to Sedfair and see Mitty.  Then, if they could somehow capture Carif, the worst of their problems would be behind them.

“It’s not about the two of you,” Queen Mos’pera said kindly, her voice sympathetic to the confusion Rigo had expressed.  They were seated alone in one of the plush rooms normally kept for meetings between various officials who visited the royal family.  It was finished in colored stone taken from quarries around Branid, and fitted by the finest craftsmen.  Scenic tapestries covered the walls, and a thick rug from the southern region partially covered the floor.  “She has explained to me some of what is between the two of you, and you should know she is pleased with the direction of your relationship, but fearful of what is taking place and how it might affect your future.”

Rigo was greatly relieved to learn that Mitty’s feelings had not shifted, but now he was even more worried about what might be bothering her.  “Can you tell me nothing of what is transpiring?” he asked.  “Anything that would help me understand, and support her.  Anything that doesn’t violate the confidence she bound you to?”

“We have known one another for a long time,” Queen Mos’pera said.  “Use your own knowledge and wisdom.  Who do you know that often is unable to voice matters that others would consider useful.  What have I told you in the past?”

For a moment, Rigo’s mind was thought-locked, unable to process the information at his fingertips.  Then he looked at Queen Mos’pera, who stared back expectantly, her own light hair glowing somewhat from the candles positioned behind her.  It was the hair that did it.  In some ways so similar to Mitty’s.

“She’s a Seer?” Rigo asked softly.  “She has visions like your own?”

Queen Mos’pera smiled knowingly.  “Something more, I believe.  My own powers required certain triggers to develop.  Mitty’s appear to have abilities that have existed since birth, although she has not always credited it.  From what she told me, I sense an unusual ability in her.  I have advised her against revealing certain matters until precise conditions are met.  Like my own visions, it is often unwise to make known matters lest the awareness force men along paths that shouldn’t be followed.”

“How can this be?  Wouldn’t those in her family have told her what to expect so she would be prepared?”

“This ability has not been seen in her family, or if it has it has been a number of generations and the fact of it held so secret that no one alive knows of it.  Even her hair and coloring haven’t been seen in her family for many generations.  It is possible that not all that resembled her had the rest of the gift.  Perhaps it takes a certain coming together of blood, or even more likely the conditions that made the ability important simply didn’t exist then.  I cannot say.  Only time will reveal what the true importance might be.  I have told her she may come to me at any time for advice, or to speak of what she has learned.  It is acceptable for those with this power to share among themselves.”

“What can I do?” Rigo asked.

“Support her.  She needs that.  She needs someone who will stand at her side, and not try and force from her those matters she senses are not to be revealed.  As she matures, she will know when and what to reveal.  You must accept that.”

Rigo had left both relieved and concerned.  He knew that Queen Mos’pera had carried secrets in the years long past, but hadn’t considered that she probably still saw visions that she didn’t share, even with King Rhory.  What a strange and horrible burden.

Rigo had stopped at the Outpost on his way back to speak with Jeen after going into Sulen to seek Queen Mos’pera, knowing that she had already been informed of the successful elimination of the Hoplani Farms.  Word would have been sent to Sedfair as well.

“You did it!” Jeen said enthusiastically when Rigo caught up with her.

“Not me,” he countered.  “I had nothing to do with it.  The credit goes to Fen, Daim, and Ash’urn.  They discovered the approach, did all the work, and took the risks.  I was simply an interested bystander this time.”

“Nevertheless, you have spent many years of your life, and taken great risks to see the end of the Hoplani threat.  This must be a time of great satisfaction for you.”

“It would be, if the problem was ended, but sadly that is not the case.  There are thousands of the beasts still roaming freely in the Ruins.  We know it can take up to half a decade for a Hoplani to die, and that means many more will reach the border before that happens.  More importantly, Carif’s Casters still are free to scout the Ruins and locate herds they can send into villages at random.  Until we can seek out and destroy the herds that currently exist, and hopefully locate and kill the rebel Casters that are responsible for so many deaths, we cannot relax our vigil.”

“We can change the focus of many wizards,” Jeen suggested.  “They can stop worrying about repairing the barrier, and focus on the current threat.”

“I wonder if we should look for the oases that are being used by Carif’s people to cross the Ruins,” Rigo mused.  “They are most likely in the vicinity of Oasis Three or Four.  Those have been the bottleneck, and the fact that one group killed themselves nearby and gave us the solution to the Hoplani, suggests they might have been looking there.”

“That is a matter to discuss with Nycoh,” Jeen said.  “It would require a great number of wizards to be thorough, and I wonder if it is worth the diversion of resources.”

Rigo shook his head.  He didn’t know, and his mind was more focused on getting back to Sedfair and seeing Mitty.  It was late in the day here, so it would be the middle of the night back in Sedfair.  He’d tell Kaler and Daria his plans were to return very early in the morning, then see to dinner and turning in early.

A brisk wind blew outside the castle when Rigo arrived with his friends late the following morning.  He made the necessary stop to see Nycoh, where he learned that a number of Casters had turned themselves in while he was gone.  They claimed innocence to Carif’s schemes, and that they had been directed to stay in hiding until directed otherwise by Carif.  They had been told that the Three Kingdoms were attacking Sedfair, and the Guild specifically.  As a result, they would be sent into the Three Kingdoms to disrupt their efforts.  Contrary to instructions, one of the Casters had sneaked away from the camp and gone home, wanting to see family before being sent across the Wastelands, possibly never to return.  She had learned the true situation that Queen Rosul was alive and well, and Carif was the one being sought for treason.  Bravely, the young Caster had returned to camp, which had resulted in a great many of the Casters returning to Nals, where they turned themselves in.  All were currently banded and being held in the dungeon.  Each had to pass a freely agreed to Reading if they wished to be cleared.  Even cleared, none would regain the staff until Carif was located and captured.  Based on the Casters who were now being held, Carif could have no more than forty rebel Casters at her command, if the records were to be believed.  Most believed the number would be closer to half of that.

Having satisfied his official duties, Rigo went in search of Mitty.  According to Nycoh, she was in the castle somewhere.  Queen Rosul had been keeping her pretty busy, but Nycoh hinted that she believed Mitty would be happy to see him back.  She had asked about him more than once since he had headed back to work with Daim on the Hoplani problem. 

Rigo finally found her directing a group of young nobles who were charged with taking the Queen’s weekly directives to other parts of the kingdom.  Mitty was confident, and in control of the meeting, which consisted of eleven nobles, mostly women, but with a couple of men mixed in the group.  It was amazing how quickly the Queen’s efforts to break the female stranglehold on responsibilities was taking hold, and how well it was being received.  When Mitty finished, and the men flowed out of the room, she sensed that someone was standing there.  She turned, and her eyes widened when she saw him.

She started toward him, then her eyes became guarded, and she stopped herself.  Rigo sensed she wished to run to him, but the wariness he had seen in her eyes before he’d left was suddenly back, and her somewhat gaunt features showed she was conflicted.  “When did you get back?” she asked, almost formally.  It tore at Rigo’s heart to sense the barrier between them, even though he now knew more why it was there.  He wasn’t sure how to proceed.  He wanted to run over and embrace her, but sensed that it wouldn’t be the best approach.  She’d have to make the first move in that direction.

Finally, he said, “I spoke with Queen Mos’pera.”

Mitty’s eyes widened.  “She told you?” she asked uncertainly.

“Not very much.  Just enough.  I understand what is bothering you, but not the specifics.  She said you were like her, but a little different.  I’m not sure what that means?”

Mitty frowned.  So Mos’pera hadn’t told him what she’d warned her about.  “What you see is different than what I can perceive,” the Queen had said.  “I usually sense generalities, unless it is someone close to me.  You have seen very specific individuals, and most interestingly, complete strangers.  From the description, they are from a place and are of a race unknown to us.  That’s disturbing enough.  What’s more, they appear to be aware of you seeing them.  That suggests they are real, and what you are seeing is not the future, but something that is happening now.  My gift is to sense what will be.  Yours is something else.  From what you have described, they are aware of you and they can sense your scrutiny.  You can’t tell where they are, and hopefully they are as yet unaware where you are.  I would be careful.  If they discover your location it might be bad.  I suspect they consider you a threat, which means they might wish to harm you.  Most certainly, they are not pleased by your ability to observe them.”

Slowly, Mitty walked toward him.  Rigo could tell she wanted to tell him, but was guided by what she knew she couldn’t do and the words of caution from the Queen.

“I know you can’t reveal what you have sensed,” Rigo said.  “It doesn’t matter.  The time will come.  I will stand beside you regardless.  You can be certain that I’ll be there if you need me.”

It sounded trite, but Rigo meant every word.  He hadn’t realized just how much Mitty had come to mean to him.  The thought that something threatened her, or disturbed her in some way was unacceptable to him.

When she reached him, she quietly placed her head on his shoulder.  “It’s so unexpected,” she said.  “I thought having some special ability would be fun.  This isn’t.”

That night he held her close afterwards, and stroked her hair as she thrashed to her private nightmare.  Whatever was bothering her, whatever she was seeing, was something that clearly frightened her, and Mitty was not one to frighten easily. 

There was no dramatic change as a result of the destruction of the Hoplani Farms.  There were countless thousands of the creatures roaming free in the Ruins, headed both toward the Three Kingdoms and toward Sedfair.  They continued to cross out of the desert into the borderlands on both sides of the Wastelands, but now those culling them knew that it was only a matter of time and there would be no more.  For some time Carif and her supporters had no way of knowing what had happened.  They were unable to visit the Farms themselves, and therefore it took time for the word to reach them.  During that time another pair of villages was attacked and nearly wiped out by the Hoplani that were sent through
Doorways
into selected locations in Kellmore. 

In the end, it was word of mouth in Sedfair that revealed the end of the Chulls to Carif.  One of her Casters had picked up on the discussion in one of the border villages where the Chulls were often battled.  She returned with the story, which Carif had others investigate.  The story was widespread and appeared to be true.  She sent word across the Wastelands to the team near the Three Kingdoms to step up their actions.  Unable to speak the language, they had not learned of the destruction of the facility that produced the beasts themselves.  It would only be a matter of time before the herds thinned to the point it would no longer be an effective means of disrupting life within the lands that Carif wanted destroyed.

All along the border of Lopal, teams of wizards sought the Hoplani.  Massive herds were now attacked and eliminated.  With the added manpower, the impact of the culling actions became apparent.  Slowly, the teams advanced deeper into the Ruins, seeking the creatures that were even farther out.  Along the border, the Patrols that had been bearing the brunt of the invasion, became less challenged, and their efforts became more like they had been many years ago, when they chased down the small groups that had somehow slipped through the screens of the wizards.

“There’s someone out there,” Burke said to Tara.  Like everyone else, they were doing their part to find and eliminate the Hoplani.  The sooner the herds were wiped out, the sooner Carif’s terror would end. 

Tara stared intently into the bright glare of the Ruins.  Her eyesight was better than Burke’s.  “They have staffs,” she said finally.  “I think we have found some of the terrorists.”

It made sense, and Burke had almost hoped it would happen.  They were deep in the Ruins following along a path that was well known to be a major artery for the Hoplani as they made their way from the great chasm toward the west.  A reasonably sized herd could be seen in the distance, and the Casters were following along, probably looking for a spot where they could channel a portion of the beasts into one of the
Doorways
.  Burke had considered for many days how he might ambush a group of the renegade Casters if he was fortunate to encounter them.

“Pull back,” he ordered his team, a group of five men and three women wizards.

They rode back behind the small range of hills that would hide them from the approaching Casters.

“Does everyone remember how we are going to do this?” Burke asked.  The team had been together for two weeks now, and had planned for this situation.  All heads nodded.

Burke and Caleb would make
Bypass
portals to bring them closer to the Casters.  He doubted anyone of the renegades driving the Hoplani had the ability to detect the
Bypass
, but he couldn’t be certain.  Unfortunately, they couldn’t afford to wait in hopes the Casters would ride all the way to where they now hid without finding an opportunity of transporting the beasts they trailed into the Three Kingdoms.  As much as Burke wanted to surprise these renegades, he also wanted to prevent any further destruction back home.  He couldn’t risk the delay.

Burke looked at Caleb.  “Did you see where the Ruins dip down into the canyon?” he asked.

Caleb nodded.  “We want to wait just before there.  I’ll take my half of the team and set up to the right side of the trail.  You cover the left.”

Burke looked at his fellow wizards.  “Remember, if you can destroy their staffs, you have effectively disarmed them.  They will still have weak Casting ability, but depending on their skill level, it won’t be much.  They have become too dependent on the symbols.  Don’t take any chances.  When in doubt, burn them out of existence.  They are not deserving of any sympathy.”

The spot that Burke had selected wasn’t particularly different than the surrounding area.  It was flat and open, and devoid of any real place to hide.  That didn’t matter.  To begin with, the Casters had been freely riding the Ruins for some time, and didn’t expect to encounter any wizards.  The Ruins were simply too large for there to be much chance of that happening.  Importantly, this was an unblocked region of the Ruins.

The Casters from Sedfair knew about invisibility, at least many of them did.  However, they knew of the kind that Ash’urn had first demonstrated so many years ago.  The Caster had to remain motionless to remain hidden.  It wasn’t a spell that was considered very useful, and most had long since forgotten about it.  They knew nothing of the invisibility that a true wizard could command.  Burke and his fellow wizards all could make themselves invisible and move freely as they watched and waited for the Casters to close the last hundred paces to where they waited.

There were five of the Casters, all carrying the now familiar staffs with the power crystal on top.  It was a small number considering how much grief they had caused.  Of course, this might be only one of several groups.  That was one reason Burke hoped to take at least one of the Casters alive.  He had questions to ask, and would make certain he obtained answers.

It was about time.  They had chosen a discolored spot along the trail to mark the point the attack would begin.  They were fortunate to have arrived when they did, as Burke could hear them yelling.  They were about to use the narrowing of the trail as the Hoplani bunched in preparation for the path that led down into the small ravine.  His people would have to shed their invisibility in order to attack, but that wouldn’t matter.  Unlike the Casters, their spells could be executed extremely quickly, and they outnumbered the enemy.  Burke had already picked out the leader, and it was understood that he and Tara would focus on her, hoping to take her alive.

As the horse of the lead rider stepped into the colored patch, eight wizards appeared almost simultaneously.  Intense flashes of
Brightfire
took three of the Casters squarely in the chest.  One of the Casters had been targeted by two of Burke’s team members.  Each Caster barely had time to realize they were being attacked before they were killed.  The two remaining Casters screamed as the bright beams of magical energy struck their staffs.  Burke’s beam had precisely targeted and destroyed the staff cleanly, leaving the Caster with burns on her hands, but no other damage.  The wizard that blasted the staff from the remaining Caster didn’t take nearly the care, and the staff and the arm that had been holding it were burnt into ash as one.  The Caster screamed in pain, falling from her horse where she thrashed in agony.  Her screams as well as the suddenness of the attack, caught the leader off guard.  Before she could react and attempt to fight back with whatever magic she could control without the staff, Tara suddenly appeared at her side, shedding the cloak of invisibility and snapping one of the bracelets on the wrist of the unprepared woman.  That quickly, it was over.  Five Casters were neutralized.

Burke’s eyes met those of the woman who had moments before been in charge.  “You are finished here,” he said simply.

Undeterred, she stared back.  “You have not stopped it.  there are others.  They will continue until your land surrenders.”

“You obviously haven’t learned that the Hoplani will soon be no more.  Besides, you will tell us where the others are located.”

“I will not.”

“We’ll see.  Within a glass you will be in Sedfair.  There are those who will perform a Reading and drain everything you know.  We’ll see if you lack the information I seek.”

The Caster paled at his words, but sat stiff and straight on her horse.

“What of her,” she asked, looking at her former companion, still moaning in agony, her remaining arm now wearing one of the special blocking bands.  “I am told you can heal.  Can you not help her?”

Burke looked at the Caster, her eyes dulled with pain.  He shrugged.  “I could, but I won’t.  After what you and your friends have done, I can see no reason for sympathy.  We will leave her here.  We’ll take her horse and supplies.  She won’t be able to move quickly.  Maybe one of the Hoplani will finish her.  Maybe she can hide from them.  This is right on the trail they like to follow.  If for some reason you don’t provide the answers we seek, she will be easy enough to find.  I’m certain we won’t need to come back, so she can spend her last hours considering what she has been doing the last few weeks and deciding if it was worth the fate it earned her.

Burke signaled and his team quickly rounded up the horses and all supplies.  He took the reins of the lead Caster’s horse, and led the way into the
Bypass
Tara had created.  Within moments, the surviving Caster was alone in the Ruins.  She had nothing left but her pain.

Needless to say, the Caster’s brave claim that she wouldn’t reveal anything was all talk.  Under the Reading she had no choice, and no one was being particularly gentle.  Within a few glass of her going in the room, a complete understanding of what she’d done and where the others in her group were located was passed to Nycoh, who in turn made sure it made it back to Burke and Jeen at the Outpost.

A large group of wizards descended on the campground where the renegades had been revealed to be hiding.  They’d been there, but it didn’t take long to see that the camp was deserted.  They had moved quickly.  When the squad hadn’t returned, they must have gone looking and discovered the remains of those who had been killed.  Burke wondered if they had found the wounded woman.  It didn’t matter.  Given the level of their medicine and healing skills, she wasn’t going to survive anyway.

The question remained whether they had fled to another location, or whether they had returned to Sedfair to report to Carif.  Burke and his team would keep looking as they continued to thin out the Hoplani, but he had the feeling that this group had left the Three Kingdoms.