“It's soaked. Oh well, that shouldn't do any harm to it, I suppose.”
She sat down again and Annia watched, intrigued, as Mel unwrapped the object.
“This is a gift,” she said as she removed the cloth. “From my father and Larin to you. We may need to react quickly in the future as our battle with Corbin heats up, and the old way of sending messengers along the deep roads is too slow and too dangerous now. So we will be using these instead.”
Mel dropped the damp cloth on to the desk and revealed what it had been protecting. It was a cloudy oval crystal, highly polished and reflecting the light around it. It was no larger than the egg of a tunnel snake, small enough to be hidden in Mel's hand when she wrapped her fingers around it.
“It's quite pretty,” Annia told her. “And you can thank your father and the mage for me, but I'm not one for baubles and such.”
Mel smiled widely.
“It isn't just a bauble, Annia. This is called a lodestone. Mages used to make them in the distant past to communicate with each other over long distances. They come in pairs and when someone focuses their will on one of them, its mate will glow in response.”
“So they are signaling devices?” Annia asked her. “That's very clever.”
“I agree. And when the other stone glows, and it is held by a mage, that person can then use a spell to speak with whomever holds the first lodestone.”
She offered the crystal to Annia, who accepted it cautiously.
“Since you say you need magical help, and since Larin is the one who is in possession of the stone that matches this one, perhaps now would be a good time to get in contact with him and explain what's been going on here in Cindercore,” Mel told her.
“You mean, just like that?”
“Certainly. Don't worry, Larin is a very nice person and he is loyal to the crown. He gave me this stone before I set out on my trip because he knows how dire the situation is. I'm sure that he'll be pleased to hear from you.”
Annia looked dubious.
“What if I wake him up or something?” she asked nervously as she rolled the stone between her fingers. “I've heard a lot of old tales about mages and the things that they would do to people who disturbed them.”
“Children's bedtime stories,” Mel assured her. “All of the mages that I've met so far have been ordinary people. They just happen to have an affinity for magic, that's all. You'll be fine.”
“So what do I do to make this blasted thing work?”
“Just stare at it. Focus your will on it. Try to see beneath its cloudy exterior, as if you were looking for something buried within. That's really all there is to it.”
Annia took a deep breath. She held the lodestone on her palm and stared down at it.
“Okay then,” she said, tight-lipped. “Here goes.”
The master stared narrowly at the crystal, as if daring it to do something. Mel sat back and watched, impressed by the dwarf's fortitude. The population had spent countless years hearing stories about the dangers of mages and magic and yet Annia had barely hesitated to use the stone.
She's a remarkable person, Mel thought. And we'll need more like her if we are going to save the empire.
Annia gasped.
“It's... It's starting to glow!” she exclaimed. “There's a tiny spark inside of it, pulsing like a heart. Is that supposed to happen?”
“Absolutely,” Mel reassured her. “The pulsating light is meant to get the attention of the person who holds the second stone. They also become warm to the touch, just in case the stone is in someone's pocket.”
“Ah, that's why it's beginning to heat up. I was worried about that for a moment.”
“You're fine.”
The lodestone became as bright as the lamp on Annia's desk and it throbbed with a slow beat, flashing every few seconds.
“So now what?” Annia asked as she looked at Mel.
“Now we wait. Larin might have to find a private spot to contact us. I have no idea if he is on duty watching over the king at the moment. So let's give him some time to respond.”
Annia set the lodestone down on the desk and sat back, staring at it. It continued its pulses and she smiled at it slightly.
“It is quite pretty when it does that. So Mel, is Larin going to be sending these things to the leaders of all of the guild-houses across the empire?”
“It's already happening. Father was sending messages to all of our people but, before they left, Larin suggested that they each take a lodestone with them and give it to the other masters. Father was delighted by the idea.”
“So this mage is going to be carrying a dozen or more of these stones in his pockets at all times?” Annia asked, chuckling. “Sounds uncomfortable.”
Mel laughed as well.
“No, each of the mages assigned to guard Shandon will take possession of two or three stones and they will be responsible for communicating with the other masters. Larin may be powerful, but he can't do everything himself.”
“I thank you for the compliment, my friend. And you're quite right. I may want to do more, but I do have to sleep sometime.”
Annia gasped and looked around the room. The male voice had seemingly come from all directions at once.
Mel motioned for her to remain calm.
“We've apparently made contact,” she told Annia. “That is Larin's voice.”
She looked down at the pulsing lodestone.
“Good morning, Larin,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for responding so quickly.”
“Good day, Mel. And you are welcome. I've been hoping to hear from you for the last day or two. The journey took longer than anticipated?”
“Unfortunately,” she replied, glancing down at her shrunken leathers. “I won't bore you with the details right now. Please allow me to introduce the master of Cindercore's guild-house. This is Annia Murdle. Annia, I know that you can't see him, but may I introduce Larin Dunnor, the leader of the Kingstone mages.”
“It is a great pleasure to meet you, Master Annia,” Larin said politely. “Hallic has told me many good things about you.”
“Oh, that Hallic,” Annia said with a grin. “Lying again. But thank you, sir mage. And I am pleased to meet you as well. Mel has explained the situation in Kingstone to me, and the danger from Corbin and this witch of his. She recommended that I contact you immediately because we seem to be having magical problems of our own.”
“Indeed?”
Larin's tone changed sharply.
“Please, tell me everything.”
Chapter 14
Once Mel and Annia had filled Larin in on the situation in Cindercore, the mage asked Annia's permission to travel to the guild-house in person.
“I need to see these creatures that you are speaking of for myself,” he told her. “Cindra's powers have taken an even darker turn than I had feared. She seems to have slid down a slippery slope and is now entirely evil. The daemon that Hallic fought in the guild headquarters should have convinced me, but I had rather hoped that there was another explanation. Apparently there is not.”
“Wait a moment,” Annia said with a frown as she looked at Mel. “You never mentioned this fight. What is a daemon?”
Mel could only shrug.
“I have no idea. My father seemed to know what it was, but I had never heard of them. It was lying in wait outside of Darlheim's quarters. Frankly, I've never seen anything like it before. It was...”
Mel groped for a way to describe what she'd seen.
“Supernatural is the only word that comes to mind,” she told Annia. “The thing, daemon or whatever, seemed to be able to appear and disappear at will. Fortunately, my father was able to kill it in the end, so at least it was mortal.”
“That is the one weakness of those beings,” Larin told the rogues. “To interact with our world, they must assume corporeal form and that makes them vulnerable. But make no mistake; they are very powerful and some of them can control magic much like we mages do.”
Annia looked down at the flashing lodestone.
“Larin, you asked if you could join us. Did you mean that you can use your powers to come here immediately?”
“I can, yes,” the mage replied. “I can Gate to your location and we can speak face to face, if you will permit it.”
“Then please do. I'm rather tired of speaking to a disembodied voice.”
The two women heard Larin chuckle.
“I understand. Please stay seated. I will join you shortly.”
The lodestone's light faded abruptly and it became just another piece of crystal. Annia picked it up and stared at it for a moment before opening a drawer in her desk and putting the stone away.
“How long does this Gate thing take?” she asked Mel.
“From what little I've seen of it, the spell works very quickly, once a mage has a definite target,” she replied as she turned in her chair to stare at the center of the room. “I'm guessing that Larin wanted us to stay seated so that he would have a clear space to Gate to. I have no idea what would happen in a mage transported himself into a wall or, gods forbid, another person.”
Annia shuddered at the thought.
“Something horrible would be my guess,” she said. “Seems like a bloody dangerous way to travel.”
“Yes, but it is certainly a lot faster than plodding along the deep roads for days at a time.”
There was a crackle of sound, like the buzz of electricity, and then a sudden flash of light appeared that left both rogues blinking, trying to clear their vision. When they were able to focus again, they saw a robed figure standing in the center of the office.
“Sorry about that,” Larin said with a slight bow. “Gating displaces air so quickly that it often flashes for a moment. Quite out of my control, I'm afraid.”
Annia rubbed her eyes and then stood up. She walked around her desk and extended her hand as she approached the mage.
“Don't worry about it,” she told Larin. “Welcome to the Cindercore guild-house, sir mage.”
Larin shook her hand warmly, smiling in apparent delight at her greeting.
“Thank you, Master Annia. It is a pleasure to be here. And please, call me Larin.”
“Only if you drop the 'master' and call me Annia,” the rogue replied with a smile.
“I would be honored.”
Larin looked past her at Mel, who nodded from where she was sitting.
“Morning, Larin,” she said. “It's good to see you again.”
“And you. I'm relieved that you made it past those watchers in one piece.”
Annia asked the mage to sit down next to Mel and then returned to her own seat.
Larin looked around the room and smiled at the many books and rolls of parchment stacked on shelves behind Annia's desk. The rest of the office was comfortably furnished with a brown leather sofa and two matching chairs. Multi-colored rugs were scattered about, adding a homey touch. Except for the desk and shelves, the master seemed to use the office more as a sitting room than a place of business.
Annia was sizing up the mage as he scanned the room and she seemed to like what she saw. Larin's plain gray robe and neatly-trimmed red beard made him appear rather unassuming and certainly not threatening.
“You aren't exactly what I was expecting,” she told him after a moment.
Larin smiled at her across the desk.
“Really? What were you expecting?”
“I don't know. Someone more...imposing, perhaps? You look rather ordinary, if you don't mind me saying so.”
Larin chuckled at her comment, as did Mel as she sat back and let Annia and the mage get to know each other.
“I don't mind at all,” he said. “My people have centuries of misinformation to correct going forward, especially now that magic has returned to the world. We've learned not to draw attention to ourselves unnecessarily, being the descendants of magic-users. Just because we have the power at our command once again does not mean that we will change. In fact as a group, we've decided to continue to try to look as 'ordinary' as possible. Hopefully, in time, the population will learn to accept us for who and what we are. But prejudice runs deep and change often comes slowly.”
Annia looked at him sympathetically.
“I can relate, I think, as can Mel. Rogues are hardly trusted by our fellow dwarves and we go out of our way to avoid drawing attention to ourselves. Maybe we have more in common than I thought.”
“Maybe so,” Larin agreed. “It sounds like something we should talk about, but some other time perhaps.”
He turned to look at Mel.
“Please tell me as much as you can about these watchers you ran into. What you saw, what you heard. Anything that might help us figure out a way to deal with them.”
She nodded and again began to relate everything that she'd gone through since arriving in Cindercore. She even told Larin about her hasty retreat into the canals, feeling slightly embarrassed as she did so.
“Wisest thing you could have done,” the mage said firmly. “When facing an unknown enemy, especially one that may be supernatural, the best response is to get away and work out a strategy for dealing with that threat later.”
“Which is why you are here,” Annia told him.
“Precisely. Please continue, Mel.”
“There really isn't much more to tell,” she said with a shrug. “I crept through the warehouse district and circled around the city until I returned here. I never saw those watchers again, so either I managed to lose them or they gave up and left the area after being discovered. I simply don't know.”
A knock on the door interrupted them.
“Yes?” Annia called out.
The door opened and an old dwarf stuck his head into the room. His large hooked nose waggled a bit as he stared, wide-eyed, at the group.
“Good morning, Master,” he said, his voice wavering nervously. “I was just about to wake you. I'm sorry, but I didn't realize that you had visitors.”
“Ah, Stade. Good morning. No need to apologize. Would you ask someone in the kitchen to send us some refreshment, please? Tea and some sandwiches would do nicely.”
Shade nodded his heavy head, his white beard and nose shaking in unison.
“I will do that, Master.”
Old though he was, the dwarf's eyes seemed to be quite keen and he gave Mel a long look.
“Would your guest like me to fetch her a change of clothing? She seems to have had a bit of an accident.”
Annia looked at Mel, who grinned in embarrassment.
“That would be greatly appreciated,” she told Annia. “I think these damned leathers are still shrinking. They're becoming quite uncomfortable.”
“Please do that, Stade,” Annia told the old dwarf. “Do you need her size?”
Stade snorted at her.
“Nay, Master. My old eyes aren't that poor just yet. I will fetch the proper garments.”
He withdrew his head and closed the door. Annia laughed fondly as he disappeared.
“Stade is a treasure,” she told her guests. “He's been here since I was a child, always serving the master of the house. I never dreamed that one day I would end up being that master or that he would still be around to serve me. If there's anyone here that knows more than me about Cindercore and what goes on below the surface in this city, it's him.”
“It's good to have people you can trust,” Mel agreed.
“In our business, it's essential. Unfortunately it is also rare. Now, before he returns, let's move on. Larin, do you have any thoughts about what we can do to protect ourselves from those watchers, whatever they are?”
The mage fiddled with his sash as he frowned in thought.
“Yes, I think so. With all due respect, Mel, I do not think that the watchers left the city just because you managed to elude them. If they are indeed daemons, then they are following orders set down by their summoner, who I assume is Cindra. They would not have the freedom to choose to give up their posts. No,
they are still out there. Invisible, perhaps, but still watching the guild.”
“They aren't just watching anymore,” Annia said sharply. “Now they have actually attacked one of us, and that is something that I will not abide. Not in my own city. They have to be eradicated at once. It will make us more secure and send a message to Corbin and his witch that the rogues guild is not to be taken lightly.”
Mel nodded in approval.
“I agree,” she stated. “Larin, if we allow those things to remain, we are showing weakness at a time when we must display only strength. Just tell me what to do, and I'll take care of them myself.”
“Not alone,” Annia disagreed. “This is my responsibility, Mel. I welcome your aid, but Cindercore's guild must be involved. This is our city, after all.”
Larin watched as the two rogues stared coolly at each other. He quickly held up his hands and interrupted them before someone said something foolish.
“We are all in this together,” he reminded them. “Mel, you are here as a representative of your father and the entire guild, but this is Annia's home town. She is the leader of all the rogues in the city unless the guildmaster himself is present. Is that not correct?”
It only took Mel a moment to answer as she smiled apologetically at Annia.
“Forgive my presumption,” she told her. “I have a tendency to lash out at those who threaten me, and those watchers are now at the top of that list. You are the senior member of the guild here, however, and I will follow your lead.”
Annia appeared to be relieved at Mel's words.
“I appreciate that,” she said. “And I do want you with me when we face those things. From what I've heard, your skills are second only to your father's and that is no small thing.”
“I doubt that is actually true, but thank you for the compliment. So what can we do, Larin?”
The mage stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“If you are willing to take on those watchers directly, then I think I know of a way. First I will find them. Then I can use a clever little spell that I know to bind them to this world temporarily. Once that is done, Annia, you and Mel and whomever else you enlist will be able to do battle with them. But just remember, daemons are extremely fast and dangerous. It will be a risky thing to do.”
The Dwarven Rebellion Page 18
