Wizard's Blood [Part Two] (10 page)

As Ronoran hurried off, Jolan led the way out of the room to go upstairs. Morin wanted to have a look outside. He and Ingari had both been inside the Inner Court before, and once he looked outside and saw the large lake in the center area he was stunned.

“
I thought it was a trick,” he admitted. “This cannot be real. How in the name of Dragons is it done?”

“
I’ve no idea how it works,” said Jolan. “Even back home on Earth we have nothing to compare with this. It seems to be a composition of magic and some technology I’ve never seen.”

Jolan led them back inside and upstairs to the meeting room that had been set aside for the group discussions they were starting to have frequently. He left the others in the room and went to go get Dibon and Chancellor Vaen.

They spent a couple of hours going over the discovery. The extent of the system was explained by showing them Asari’s book of maps and the many sites for the portals. There was a great deal of discussion of who should be allowed to know about the system in Seret, agreeing that Queen Iril would have to know, and possibly one or two of her most trusted advisors. Morin would be the person responsible for guarding and watching over those coming and going through the portal in Seret, which for now would only be the one on Tomas’ property. Tomas had spare quarters where they could live not too far away. This would solve the relocation for his family, although none of the family were to be told exactly what Morin’s function was. He would simply be in the employ of Lord Tomas, a convenient opening that had developed as a result of his helping out Ronoran. This was especially true of his two nephews, just in case they decided to join the military. It would not do for them to go into the field knowing about the system and what it could do.

Tomas would serve as the official interface with the government there, and would probably make frequent trips back and forth. This fit naturally, as he had been taking up ever more of his father’s duties, and had been heavily involved in the telegraph communications efforts during the past months. No one on the other side would necessarily realize his function had grown.

By the time the meeting had concluded, all immediate issues had been resolved. Tomas would go back and inform the Queen later the same day. A bit later, Jolan, Asari, Ronoran, and Morin and his wife would return for a big party at Tomas’ estate.

After the party in Seret, Jolan planned to return to Cobalo for the night. He had a number of issues to resolve the next day, and knew that if he stayed with Tomas he would get a late start the next morning. Asari stayed on in Tomas’ guest quarters. He hadn’t had the time with Morin that Jolan had, and they had a lot to catch up on.

“
Dragons lad, but you’ve changed,” was the first comment Morin had made on seeing him.

It was true. Asari had developed into a full grown adult in the year and a half since he’d watched Morin and his family drive away in the wagons while he and Jolan turned their horses toward Carta. After making sure that Asari was fully recovered from the bullet wound, topics turned to stories of what had happened to each group since the parting. They were still talking when Jolan decided he needed to leave. After he made arrangements with Tomas, he headed out the back way toward the portal.

He was crossing the patio when Ronoran hurried out the door and headed his way.

“
I’m headed back also. I haven’t slept in my own bed for a long time. I’d like to see home.”

When they stepped into the portal room in Cobalo, Ronoran reached out and handed Jolan something. Holding out his hand, Jolan realized it was the ring he’d given Ronoran to try and cure Morin’s wife.

“
It really works well. It gives you a good feeling to help people.”

Jolan realized Ronoran was disappointed in having to give up the ring. It had given him a sense of importance, and now it was going to be taken away again. It was a tricky situation. Luzoke had offered the other ring back earlier when Jolan had seen him, and he’d told him to keep it, at least for now. The reasons he’d wanted Luzoke to have it remained valid, as he would be continuing to wander around in areas that could potentially bring him into contact with the enemy. That wasn’t the case with this ring. The task for which it had been lent was completed. Also, this ring had been a personal gift from Morin, whom he’d be seeing frequently. He wasn’t sure how his friend would react if he gave the ring to another. Reluctantly he nodded and slipped the ring back on his finger. He could see the disappointment on Ronoran’s face, but wasn’t certain what to do about it.

The next morning he had a long meeting with Chancellor Vaen and Wylan. Everyone was comfortable with the arrangements in Seret, especially since Tomas was going to make some changes so that the house was used as a travel center and the area around the portal would be isolated so that the few servants that remained would not have access to that area. The usual help would be relocating with Tomas to his own house, a short distance away on the same property. His father was away in the country anyway, so these changes would minimize the chances of someone stumbling onto the portal’s secrets. Over the next several weeks, selective construction would enclose the patio area, and a new entertainment area would be created. After this was done, Morin’s family would move into the house, which would make it easier for Morin to perform his duties as gatekeeper and host to travelers.

Vaen also agreed that if Jolan could get Altz to help with the search for Tilano and turn over the “keys” when needed, she would drop the College’s actions against him. He would never be welcomed back, but they would no longer have an active search and detain policy toward him. That gave Jolan something to offer the man, in addition to a chance to use the “key” he must have taken because he wanted to find the city.

A final matter for the morning was how to continue the search around the lake. Now that Asari had been healed by the ring, Jolan wanted to go back to the original plan and have Asari and Luzoke continue their search around the lake. Luzoke was strong enough to handle any wizard except perhaps Cheurt, and it was very unlikely he would suddenly appear at the lake. Keeping to the small team would limit the numbers aware of the portals until they had worked through their strategy for their ultimate use.

Meeting completed, Jolan went in search of Luzoke and found him and Ronoran together.

“
I’d like to go along with them,” Ronoran said when Jolan appeared.

“
I thought you were anxious to get home,” Jolan said.

“
I was, but I can see what it’s going to be like around here with all of you gone. Rifod and Nerila have gone back to the new library, and the rest of you will be off exploring. I don’t want to sit around here doing the same things I have for years.”

Jolan couldn’t see any reason why not, in fact the more eyes available the better. “Glad you feel that way,” he said. “Grab your stuff and let’s go. You might want to plan on a couple of weeks to make it all the way around the lake. You won’t be able to pop back and forth between there and here every night.”

After everyone was ready they made the transfer to Seret, and found a sleepy Asari and Morin having breakfast. Tomas had already left for the morning, and Morin’s wife was going to hire a carriage to take her back to Slipi to make arrangements to move the family. Morin was certain his two nephews would not be moving in, so it would just be Yashy and her youngest brother. A bit later, the five of them made the transfer up to the lake.

“
I never knew how pretty it was up here,” noted Morin as he looked out over the waters of the huge lake. I’ve passed through Trailways dozens of times, but never even considered coming back here, especially given some of the tales about the place.”

Jolan could see why a city might be located here, especially with the portals as the primary means of coming and going. All the restrictions that would normally make this an undesirable location would be removed by being able to instantly relocate.

“
You think you can do this in two weeks?” Jolan wanted to be sure that they wouldn’t be out of contact any longer than necessary.

“
I think it will be less than that,” said Asari. “It’s going to depend on how rough the path is on the western side. The lake butts right up against the hills there, and we may have some rough climbing to get around.”

“
I wish we had some radios,” Jolan said. “I could pop in and we could check in each day.” Another thing he’d add to the list if he ever got home.

Morin and Jolan watched as the three friends started off down the path to the south. For the first couple of days they would be following the same route, although in the opposite direction, that Asari and Jolan had walked. Once they reached the intersection, they would continue around the lake rather than make the climb up to the falls.

“
You’re coming back to Seret?” Morin asked as their friends disappeared around the first bend in the trail.

“
I’ve got to locate Altz so we have whatever he took once we find the city. Carta’s the last place I saw him, and that was a long time ago. I hope he hasn’t moved.”

“
Good. You can stay at the house.”

“
I don’t think so. I’m going to take a room at the same place Asari and I stayed before. If Altz is still there in Carta, he might be suspicious of me now that I’ve been at the College for a while. I don’t want him to wonder why I’m staying at the estate of a member of the local government.”

“
Well, we can at least have a few drinks at the local tavern. You should know all the good ones after staying there so long. I know a couple of good ones in Cobalo we might visit as well.” With that he turned and walked into the portal and blinked out of existence. Jolan couldn’t help smiling at the fact it had taken less than three days for Morin to become fully at ease with instantaneous travel.

* * * *

The
Peaceful Pony Inn
hadn’t changed. All sorts of memories came flooding back when he stepped into the lobby of his former home. Even the proprietor was the same, and recognized him immediately, offering him his old room back and welcoming him enthusiastically.

“
Where’s your friend?” he asked.

“
Asari has business elsewhere, I’m afraid. He won’t be able to make it this time.”

Jolan was actually kind of glad Asari wasn’t here this time. He wasn’t certain if Asari would want to seek out Ashreye, but doing so would be a complication. It might be hard to keep her from wondering how they were able to come and go so quickly, and she might want to bring along Sindra. He’d really liked Sindra, but given his relationship with Shyar, especially with her missing, seeing Sindra right now would be awkward at best. Being here alone simply bypassed the whole issue.

After going up to his room and dropping off his bag, he headed back downstairs and down into the streets. There was no point in waiting. He might just as well see if finding Altz was going to be simple. It was very likely the man had disappeared, and he had no idea where to start looking if he had.

Staff in hand, Jolan walked the streets he had come to know while living here. He liked Carta, even though it seemed a bit backward after living in Cobalo. Despite being told the city had geared up for the potential war, this part of the city seemed unchanged as he walked back to the little shop where he’d first found the errant mage. The store was at least still there with the same sign on the window.

“
I’m Altz,” said the middle-aged man that had come to the counter. He had dark black hair and was a bit portly. “How can I help you?”

Jolan looked at the man carefully. He could detect no sign of the power being used, so unless he knew some special tricks, this wasn’t Altz using a bit of glamour to confuse the situation.

“
I want the other Altz,” he said. “The Altz I am looking for is considerably older, with just a bit of gray hair.”

The man looked at him questioningly. “There is no other Altz. This is my shop and I have been here for many years.”

“
I was here last year,” Jolan said. “When I came here I met another man who claimed to be Altz. He helped me with a number of matters, and I visited him on a number of occasions.”

“
You must have gone somewhere else. It’s been a while. Perhaps you forgot your way and when you saw the name you mistakenly thought this was the place you visited.”

“
I walked directly to this shop,” Jolan objected. “Do you know of another mage named Altz in Carta?”

The man shook his head. “No, I don’t. There are not many of us here, you see.”

This wasn’t getting him anywhere. He could tell the man was a mage, although his senses told him he was a very low level one. The man was lying, because Jolan knew this was the right place. In a way he was encouraged, because the lie suggested Altz was somewhere around, although being cautious. Until he could think of some other approach, Jolan took the only action he could think of. Taking a scrap of paper out of his pocket, he wrote his name and location at the
Peaceful Pony
and the name Tilano, then handed it to the man.

“
This is where I’m staying. I know there is another Altz. When you see him, please give him this.”

“
There is no point,” the man objected. “I do not know of the person you are seeking.”