by Tom Larcombe
{Thank you Anguis, that will make my job much easier if I have the power from the other crystals to work with.}
Anguis launched himself to Merlin's shoulder and rubbed his head on the wizard's cheek.
* * *
Merlin headed for lunch. With the amount of magic he'd be using in the next few days, he needed all the fuel he could get, be it physical or magical. When he returned he paced for a while, reviewing what he knew and what he intended. As he thought through his plans he realized a gaping hole remained.
Gunter. What am I to do about him? If he stays and they know this is my doing, and how could they not, then what will happen to him? He's already under surveillance and he's expressed doubts about his superiors. I need to see if he wants to go with me. I think Dieter will but I don't know about Gunter.
Merlin settled into a chair and relaxed. He sent out a portion of his thoughts to try to locate Gunter.
Gunter was in the building he and Merlin stopped at before their first visit to the bar. Merlin was loathe to invade the man's privacy but time was short. The dreams would begin tonight.
{Gunter}
Merlin could tell that Gunter heard him and got the sense that Gunter was looking around to see who was calling him.
{Gunter, this is Merlin. I'm speaking to your mind.}
Gunter's mind raced and Merlin was loathe to step into his inner thoughts.
{Think your thoughts as though you were about to speak them. Then just don't speak. I'll hear you.}
{Merlin? What is this?}
{I'm speaking to you mind to mind. It's a matter of urgency or I wouldn't be doing so. I haven't tried to go any deeper than the surface of your thoughts which is why you need to frame them for me to hear them.}
{You're a frightening man sometimes Merlin. What's so urgent that you would invade my head?}
{Gunter, I will be leaving this place in several days. At my own behest. The facility is being turned over to the SS. Herr Schreiber himself informed me of that. I wanted to know if you would join me in my departure. As of yet, all I know is that I'll be traveling south.}
{South? Towards the enemy?}
{Whose enemy Gunter? The enemy of those people that you now doubt and fear? Are they still your enemy in that case? I simply know that I should travel south. Two sources have suggested that to me. I will listen to those recommendations, at least initially.}
{How can I leave? I made oaths to this army.}
Merlin's patience was wearing thin. There was much to do and convincing Gunter was not on his list.
{Gunter, what I am about to show you is from something in this facility. They are causing these things to happen. I cannot allow them to continue, and I cannot stay in a country that would do such things.}
Merlin sent, in a single heartbeat, all the memories he'd been subjected to from the crystal. He waited a few moments for Gunter to absorb them.
{That is what the army you made your oaths to is doing. Why would the dead lie to me? You can be sure that those whose memories you just experienced are dead. Their energies, and fragments of their lives, are stored in this facility to be used as some sort of weapon.}
Merlin could sense Gunter's nausea through the link. It was strong enough that it pushed all conscious thought out of the man for a moment. Merlin felt him regain control with an effort of will.
{You will swear to me that what you just showed me is true?}
{You can feel my thoughts Gunter, am I lying to you?}
{No, no you aren't.}
A feeling of dismay swept back through the link, followed closely by one of despair.
{This is what I've been bringing people to?}
{No, the ones you brought are probably still alive. There are thousands experiencing what I showed you. Some of them are no longer themselves and have no memories remaining. I fear that only the strong willed or those recently slain for their energies retain their memories.}
A slight feeling of relief ran through Gunter.
{I will consider it.}
{The next three nights will allow all those who work in the facility to experience what is going on there in their dreams. I hope that the innocent will flee because of that. Then you will need to give me a decision for I'll be leaving.}
Merlin could feel the curiosity engendered in Gunter from his statement. The man didn't ask about it though.
{You shall have my answer by then. How can I get word to you?}
{I shall contact you again tomorrow or at least at some point before I leave. If you wish to depart, we'll be leaving three nights hence.}
Even as he broke the link with Gunter, Merlin could feel him thinking about leaving. The thoughts were strong enough in Gunter's mind that they were almost projected in the same manner as their mental conversation.
Merlin napped until dinner. He'd be up all night scouring Nimue's journals for any more details included from Anguis' creation. Anguis would handle the dreams but Merlin felt that he should be available to the little dragon for a while, just in case something went wrong.
The guard woke Merlin just before dinner, as requested. When he did, he had a letter in his hand.
“This was delivered while you were asleep. I accepted it from the messenger and promised to give it to you as soon as you woke.”
He accepted the letter and placed it in his pocket.
“Thank you. I won't be going to the vault today at all, if you'd like to be on your way. Probably not tomorrow either as my efforts are focused on the piece I'm creating. Herr Schreiber asked if I could adjust the project in the basement. I need to test a few things out before I actually work on that project directly.”
“I must remain here.”
“I understand, I just thought I'd let you know. I'm off to dinner now, then I'll be back here to work on my tests.”
* * *
Chapter 15
Merlin tinkered on his creation until full darkness. Then he settled in to study Nimue's journals remotely. Even though he desperately wanted to know how her life had gone, he restricted himself to studying the technical entries regarding her creation of Anguis.
He still wasn't tired when he was done, his earlier nap was long enough that he was still wide awake. Anguis was ready to start his task so Merlin withdrew one of the crystals from his pocket. The letter he received earlier came out with it. He placed the crystal on the table and Anguis hopped up onto it, his claws wrapping around it as though it were perch.
{Anguis, here is what must be in their dreams.}
Merlin sent a stream of pictures and emotions to the little dragon. They started with the research facility as seen from the outside. As the facility drew closer, a feeling of unease surfaced and grew. The visual portion of the dream moved inside the research facility and the sense of unease grew to one of madness.
Merlin guided Anguis' efforts so that certain areas of the castle showed in the dream. Feelings of cruelty, madness, and pain were associated with the visuals. The room the crystal was in figured prominently, shown from the outside. The area that was warded with magic heavily contaminated by the mad dragon was shown, also from the outside.
The dream moved away from the facility and the negative feelings faded. Once the research facility was out of sight, a pleasant sense of relief pervaded the dream.
{Now Anguis, do you remember the whole thing?}
The little dragon nodded.
{Send it out over and over until daybreak.}
Merlin found himself still holding the letter. He glanced down at it and noticed that the handwriting was Herr Schreiber's. He opened it and read.
'Merlin:
By the time you receive this, my wife and I will be gone. I must offer my thanks again and my good wishes for your own continued health.
The students that attacked you are locked up but I doubt they will stay that way after I am gone. Beware of them, they'll be on good behavior until they think they can best you.
In return for the things you've done for me, I will
impart some information to you. You are, I'm sure, aware that the facility holds the journals of both you and your student, Nimue. What you may not know is that they are more extensive than your students have been made aware of by the transcripts. If you can somehow manage to find the journals, and I think you're fully capable of that, then look for the most recent ones. Read them thoroughly and check the dates.
Sincerely...
Erhard Schreiber...'
Merlin reread the message a second time and then, with a thought, ignited it. He tossed the burning letter into the fireplace and pondered the information.
He obviously regarded the information he was giving me to be of great importance. He thought it was something I'd find valuable. I'll go and look again tomorrow night. I have two more nights to scan the journals, if I work quickly I can make it through all of them.
Merlin checked with Anguis but the little dragon was performing perfectly.
{I'm going to sleep, Anguis. If you need me for whatever reason, go ahead and wake me.}
Merlin settled into bed but it took him a while to fall asleep. He was already used to Anguis soothing his emotions when he tried to rest and the little dragon's task this evening prevented him from doing so.
* * *
Tempers were short the next morning. Anyone who was quartered in the research facility seemed to be on a short fuse. Those who lived in buildings nearby weren't as bad but still seemed to have received part of the dreams. The few who lived in the nearby town but worked in the facility were fine.
After breakfast Merlin spoke to Anguis, who remained on the table.
{Well done Anguis. Do you need to rest?}
A picture of the little dragon flying about and playing with children flashed through Merlin's mind.
{Go ahead then. I just don't want you to wear yourself out.}
The dragon made an audible snort and launched itself through the door when Merlin opened it for him.
Merlin sat down and began to build the construct for Plamen. It wouldn't have to last long so he could make his in a day where Nimue had spent a year or more constructing Anguis. Since the construct would be destroyed shortly he simply needed to make sure it was functional. His pride ensured that it would also be well made but he wouldn't waste the effort to make it more durable than necessary.
The essence of the construct was to mimic a person on a smaller scale. He used one of the crystals filled with death magic for the torso, that would provide any energies needed for the construct. The limbs were all made from materials that were alive. A small enchantment kept the materials living for a week or more despite being severed from their roots. That was longer than the construct needed to exist, so it should be safe.
The final spell would infuse the construct with the essence of a wizard, ensuring that Plamen would be able to manipulate magical energies from within it. That essence would be provided by Merlin's own blood, which would be added immediately before Plamen took up residence within the construct.
By mid-afternoon the construct was finished and ready to go. There was one more class with his students tonight. While he was there, he and Dieter would finalize their plans for escape. He hoped the budding wizard used the mental shields Merlin taught him to prevent himself from suffering through last night's dream. But if not Merlin would make sure that he did so this evening.
He rested until dinner, mentally sorting through what he would take with him. There wasn't much that he needed and the entire list would easily fit into the large satchel they provided as part of his kit. He wondered if Dieter owned anything of the sort. He'd never seen Dieter with very much in the way of possessions. He made a mental note to take Dieter to the quartermaster tomorrow morning and get him kitted out. Better they have more than they need and leave some behind than to have their escape fail because they were missing something.
Dinner arrived and Merlin was first in line. He ate quickly and then headed for the student's quarters. When he arrived, only three students were there. Dieter, Anselm, and Ernst greeted him as he entered.
“Alright, I guess I'll be starting with you three. Are the others still locked up?”
“No, they came back earlier today. They're just not back from dinner yet. We ate quickly so we could be here when you arrived,” Dieter said.
“Eager students, what more could a teacher ask for? Let's see what progress you've made.”
Merlin looked to Ernst first and his jaw dropped when he saw the student hovering at knee height above the floor.
“You've made some enormous progress in just a few days.”
“I discovered something that brightened my outlook on life. It cheered me up immensely. Once that happened I was able to do lots more than I was before.”
“I'll get back to you shortly. Anselm?”
“One moment,” Anselm said, opening the window.
It was approaching dusk, but still light out, and Merlin wondered what Anselm was doing. A moment later the student turned around, the owl perched on his wrist.
“How did you get him to willingly wake before dark?”
“I asked. I told him I'd save some food for him and he could have it if he was willing to wake a bit early.”
“You've established full communication with him?”
“Yes.”
“What's going on here? My two students who seemed the least enthusiastic and least powerful are now advancing by leaps and bounds.”
Merlin looked from one to the other but they were looking at Dieter. When Merlin turned his gaze to Dieter, he was looking at the floor, shamefaced. He still replied though.
“They were both much happier, and showed a resultant boost in power levels, when I told them that they might get to go free.”
“What?” Merlin said.
“I told you that there were several of us here against our will. Anselm and Ernst are the other two that had no choice. They want to be here about as much as I do. I told them I was leaving and that they could go with me. We don't need to go with you if you'd rather we didn't.”
Merlin was ashamed. He remembered Dieter telling him that and then he'd made no plans to aid these two in leaving. If they were still using their mental shields at night, they wouldn't have received any warning beforehand either.
“No Dieter, you did right. I should have included them or offered them assistance in leaving myself. I've been so busy planning that they slipped my mind. My apologies to you Ernst and Anselm. You two are welcome to leave with me if you like. Dieter, I take it you decided to accompany me?”
“Yes, whether you leave or do something else here first. What did you find when you looked at the storage device?”
“If you truly want to know, you'll have to let down your mental shields and I'll send you what it showed me. You don't have to though; I've decided that it needs to be destroyed. A small bonus will be that it contains enough energy to destroy the entire research facility. All that energy needs to be used and I can't think of a better use for it than that one.”
“Is it that bad?” Dieter asked.
“Yes, it is. I'm taking steps to get anyone innocent to leave the castle. Part of those steps is to show them what the crystal showed me. I think that part alone will be enough to get most of the innocents out. Which is why I said with all my planning I forgot Ernst and Anselm. With mind shields up, the nightmares I'm sending the warnings in wouldn't get to them.”
“Show me,” Dieter said.
Anselm and Ernst both added their request to be shown.
“I warn you, it's unpleasant. I find that I now think of the SS as evil.”
“I could've told you that before,” Ernst said
The three students dropped their mental shields and, as he did with Gunter, Merlin projected the series of memories from the crystal into their minds.
When he was done, Dieter looked at him.
“If you said you were leaving without doing something about this, I wouldn't have gone with you. I would have stayed and tried to dest
roy it myself.”
“It's well guarded, both by SS troops and by the crystal itself. I have an ally though. The older wizard from the memories has retained a portion of his identity and is going to assist me in its destruction.”
“He's going to destroy himself?” Anselm asked.
“He's dead. He knows he's dead but when death magic is captured it also captures a portion of the person it comes from. So a portion of his self is trapped in a half life inside of the crystal. Unable to live, unable to work magic. Would you want to go on that way?”
Anselm shook his head.
“So he's agreed to help me destroy the crystal and the research facility at the same time.”
“When are we leaving?” Dieter asked.
“The day after tomorrow. Tomorrow morning I'm going to bring you down to the supply section and get you equipped. Decide what you'll want to bring from that and have it packed and ready tomorrow night. It should be as easy to talk them into equipping three of you as it would be one, easier maybe.”
I hope so anyway, Merlin thought
“I'll get the three of you out on some pretense tomorrow evening and you'll stay in my cottage overnight. We'll leave the following day. There's one other man who'll be joining us, I think. He's regular army but he's discovered what's going on here and wants no part of it.”
“Are you sure of him?” Dieter asked.
“Gunter has been replaced by an SS officer, his command taken from him, and he's been kept here with no duties. It eats at him. I showed him the same thing I showed you and I'm sure he'll want out.”
“Is this the Gunter who was in charge of acquiring talents?” Ernst asked.
“Yes, that was his job. Since he found me he's been stripped of command and replaced.”
“He brought me in also. I'd already been informed that I could either volunteer for this place or be branded an Undesirable so his part in it wasn't against my will. He acted decently enough while he brought me here,” Ernst said.
“If you trust him, I guess we'll have to,” Dieter said.
“I trust him enough to have asked him if he wanted to leave,” Merlin said.
“That'll have to be good enough. I hope it wasn't misplaced.”
