by Blink, Bob
“What are you saying?” Ash’urn asked pointedly.
“As strange as it seems, both Daim and Burke’s friends have goals that are not too different from our own. We might wish to approach the solution somewhat differently, but the goal has to be to protect the lands from being overrun by those creatures. Burke and friends have focused on destroying the beasts and have chosen to ignore the issues and war among the population. Their approach is doomed to failure. Daim wants to reestablish the towers, but there are problems there, and he will need the people until some of those can be resolved. Since we are from the three countries, we would like to see the wars stopped for other reasons as well.”
“So we have some common goals. What of it?” Kaler asked.
“What I am saying is that should you find Daim in control tomorrow morning, you need to work with him. He, and therefore I, are the only two individuals in the world today who have any chance of stopping the creatures. It is essential that you do not let your dislike of him prevent your aiding him in whatever way possible to accomplish his goals.”
Rigo’s statements created a jumble of loudly voiced objections. It took some time before he could settle his friends down.
“You are certain this is the right thing to do?” Ash’urn finally asked in a relatively calm voice, although it was clear he was not at all comfortable with the idea.
“There is no other choice,” Rigo said forcefully. “Burke and his friends would fail. I know that without reservation. If Daim regains control he will go to them and force them to follow his plan, but there is much to be done and the chances of success are far greater if he had your help. If you resist him, he will simply abandon you, which will mean he has more to do himself. Time is running out.”
“If Daim is so powerful, why doesn’t he simply go and activate the towers on his own?” Daria asked. “Why does he need us?”
“For one thing, each of the towers needs to be checked. They have been idle for more than two thousand years, and repairs might be required. That will take time, and can be performed faster with a number of trained wizards. Further, to activate the full link, a wizard with certain skills must be present at each of the towers simultaneously. From what Burke said the other day, there are not that many wizards in their group, let alone wizards who might be able to be raised to the required skill level. In short, there is no way at present for the fence to be reestablished. More with the ability must be found, and quickly. The approach that Burke and his friends are following is too slow in locating those with the gift. While that search is ongoing, the rest must be made aware of the danger and trained how to deal with the Hoplani. Singly and in pairs it is sometimes possible to defeat them without magic. That might be required as the wizards are likely to be too busy to respond to every breach into the populated lands.”
“You paint a grim picture,” Ash’urn said slowly. “Is there any hope?”
“Only if Daim or I can assume control over Burke’s people and raise them from their current novice level of magic to something approaching a fully trained wizard.”
“How can that be done?” Jeen asked.
“Either Daim or I know how to activate all of the nodes in each of Burke’s people. That will allow them to grow into their full potential. It usually takes from two to four months for a wizard to reach full potential. Transfer of skills is faster, and can be done almost immediately. Normally the full set of magic is passed, but here I agree with Daim and that only a certain subset should be passed at this time. This is not a time to have a group of new wizards distracted by all that they can do, nor would it be wise to give them the skills that would allow for resistance. Some will object to my taking over. Wizards are no different than anyone else and have their pride and personal agendas.”
“What kinds of skills would you give them?” Jeen asked.
“The full range of ability with Brightfire and normal fire magic to be sure,” Rigo said. Brightfire is by far the most effective weapon against the Hoplani and there will be battles of the type Burke envisions before the towers are back on line. Healing will be important as well. With it, one can heal others as well as oneself, if one has the talent. Finally they will need the skills associated with activation of the towers, and a linkage skill. I hesitate with the last because of certain features it offers, but it is essential to bring the towers up together.”
“You trust them with such power?” Daria asked. “If I understand you, they will all be far more powerful than Burke is at present.”
“That is true, but there is no choice. Normally they would be raised to such levels over time where they could mature with their growing power. The situation does not allow for such luxury. I will hold back any knowledge of how to overcome those spells, so they will not be able to do to me as I did to Burke.”
Rigo then looked at Jeen. Her eyes widened nervously.
“I would like to activate you as well,” Rigo said softly. “Except in your case I would propose to give you the full set of skills. By doing so, with the natural ability I sense in you, you would be the most powerful wizard next to me. Perhaps you will grow to be even stronger. My abilities fall well short of what Daim had wished for.”
Jeen was suddenly nervous. “I don’t know Rigo. Is it safe?”
Rigo knew part of her discomfort was based in the ingrained feeling that magic was unnatural. She had been raised that way all her life. With Rigo and his friends she had grown past that to some degree, but now he was asking her to openly embrace what she could become. Also, there was some uncertainty whether this was Rigo or perhaps a Daim manipulated Rigo.
“It is entirely safe. It is part of the natural development of one gifted such as yourself. Your having these skills will be important for us to go forward. It also will mean that none of Burke’s people will be able to control you in any way. Only Daim would have skills stronger than yours, and then only until you have fully grown into your ability.”
“It scares me,” she admitted.
“You do not have to if you would rather not,” Rigo said. “This is something that you must choose for yourself.”
“What about the books you brought?” Ash’urn asked suddenly to change the subject and give Jeen a chance to consider Rigo’s proposal.
“Those have all the information required to build, maintain and activate the towers,” Rigo said, turning his attention to the elder scholar.
“They are written in a language that none can read,” Ash’urn said. He had taken a look at the volumes earlier in the day.
“I can. But then I already know everything that is in them. I have not figured out what to do with them, but sense they will be important. I am concerned that only I, and that means Daim or myself, the inhabitants of this body, know what must be done. If anything happens to me, the knowledge is lost. Wizards are not invulnerable, and therefore I must be careful that my actions do not result in something that causes loss of that knowledge. Unlike the knowledge of magic, this kind of knowledge cannot be passed so easily. If you could read the books, then I could use magic to accelerate the transfer the knowledge that is in them and circumvent your need to spend weeks studying them. But without that ability, I cannot pass along the information.”
“Will it help if Jeen becomes a full wizard like yourself?” Kaler asked.
Rigo shook his head. “She lacks the ability to read the ancient scripts, so no.”
“What about the rest of us?” Daria asked. “You, and possibly Jeen, can go and deal with Burke’s wizard friends, but what would we do?”
“I had hoped to form two teams,” Rigo explained. “One would be made up of you, Kaler and Jeen. Your first task would be to learn what you could about what has transpired in Sulen and how we would approach the throne in an attempt to end this war. We can bring magic to bear as needed, but that is going to be something that will not be as easy as one might think. Unlike our group, magic remains a thing of folklore, and something to be feared. Officially it is banned even though no
one knows it exists. With Jeen properly activated, she could create the Bypass to take the three of you to and from Sulen. We would meet back here each day, or every couple of days. There would be no one capable of following us or guessing where we might be.”
“I assume you and Ash’urn would form the other team?” Kaler asked.
Rigo nodded. “We would go and visit Burke and his band. Ash’urn has long dreamed of meeting them, and with his background knowledge I feel he will be of more use with me.”
Kaler nodded. He had agreed to the split more easily than Rigo had predicted. He had been certain that Kaler would want to come with him.
“I’ll do it,” Jeen said softly.
Rigo looked at her. “Are you certain?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. But if I don’t you won’t be able to split us up like you explained. You would have to keep moving back and forth to move us from place to place. I need to do my part.”
Rigo smiled encouragingly. “You will be happy you made the transformation.”
“What do I do?” she asked nervously.
“Really nothing. Just sit there.”
Rigo slid his chair over beside her and placed his hands on either side of her temples.
“Close your eyes,” he said.
If any of them expected an impressive display of lights and energy, they were disappointed. After a few moments Rigo gently removed his hands.
“That’s it?” Jeen asked.
“That’s all,” Rigo said. “You’ll have a heavy head tonight, but by morning you will sense the increased strength in your magic. All of your nodes are now active. It will take time, unpredictable really, for all of your skills to manifest themselves, but certain abilities will be almost immediate.”
“What kinds of things will be immediate?”
“Well, given your ability with healing, I expect you will be able to heal others almost immediately. That is something I have never had much luck with, but you are a natural. Another skill you will have will be the ability to make the Bypass doorway. It’s really an easy skill. The only restriction is you must be going somewhere you, or one of those with you has been before. We’ll try it in the morning.”
“When will you be going to visit Burke?” Daria asked when Rigo leaned back, his task with Jeen complete.
“Just as soon as you are comfortably in Sulen,” Rigo replied. “Sometime tomorrow I’d guess.”
Chapter 69
To everyone’s immense relief, Rigo was still in control the next morning. Daim had not been able or had not chosen to reassert himself in the hours of darkness and sleep. No one was more relieved than Rigo by the situation. Daim, normally a buzz in the back of his mind, was surprisingly silent this morning. Rigo could sense he was still there, however. It was as if he had elected to wait and watch. The fact that Rigo was himself meant they could proceed, at least for the moment, as they had planned the previous day.
Jeen was clearly nervous knowing that Rigo expected her to demonstrate her advanced skill this morning. She had acknowledged that she could feel the changes that Rigo had warned her to expect when they’d first assembled after waking.
“Are you ready to try this?” Rigo asked her once they were all back in the meeting room.
“I guess,” she replied. “I’m uncomfortable that I can know so many new things that just yesterday I was entirely unaware of.”
Rigo smiled. “I understand. When Daim took over my mind I was suddenly aware of all the magic he knew, and I was virtually instantly raised to a new level of power. You must feel stronger in magic, but will slowly grow in power over the coming weeks. Yours will be the more typical growth, and no one can predict how quickly that will advance.”
“What if I do something wrong?” she asked.
“It doesn’t work that way. You either know how to perform the magic, or you don’t. It would simply fail if you did something improperly.”
Jeen took a deep breath and asked, “Where do you want me to take us? I don’t know anything about Sulen. I’ve never been there.”
“Let’s see if we can return to our camp where Burke and his three wizard friends found us.”
“Why there? It’s a long way. Shouldn’t we try someplace closer?”
“The distance has little to do with the difficulty. What’s more important is being familiar with the place one wishes to go. The more clearly a wizard can visualize the end point, the easier the task becomes. An experienced and very powerful wizard can project a Bypass to a place he picks from a map, but he could well end up a day’s ride from his intended destination. It is also taxing. We spent enough time there that it should be very clear in your mind. It is also a quiet place without people, making it familiar and yet private. You can mentally select the direction you wish the Bypass to face on the exit.”
Jeen nodded and concentrated for a moment. Suddenly one of the arches appeared in the cleared space at the far end of their war room.
“It’s smaller than yours,” she said unhappily.
“That’s because you are still growing in power. At the moment I am stronger than you are and therefore able to open a larger Bypass. As you become practiced and your own abilities with magic grow, you will be able to control the size of the opening you create. Come, let’s have a look at how you’ve done. Before we leave, take a moment to fix this room carefully in your mind, especially the location of the furniture and where you want the Bypass to open for our return.”
Jeen looked around and when she was satisfied, Rigo stepped through the opening, followed by Jeen and then the others.
“It worked!” Jeen said excitedly when they were all once again on the edge of the Ruins.
“I told you that it would. That is the advantage of the technique used to pass magical abilities. You gain the new skills immediately. There is no long arduous training period.” Without saying anything, Rigo was also relieved to see that he had been able to pass the abilities to Jeen. It had been important to know that the technique that Daim and his peers had used so long ago was still a workable approach. Had he not been able to pass the magical abilities in this manner, there would be little hope of creating the force of wizards that was going to be needed very shortly.
The wind was blowing today at the edge of the Ruins and throwing bits of sand making it unpleasant to be there.
“Can we go back now?” Jeen asked excitedly, wanting to demonstrate her skill again.
Rigo nodded, and this time she created the Bypass much quicker. Moments later they were all back in the rooms at the inn.
“The other abilities that you sense will work as easily. We will have to spend some time experimenting, but if you feel the need for one of the abilities that you sense, be assured it will work. As with the Bypass, your power will grow with time.”
“It was easy,” Jeen said with apparent pride. “I cannot believe I can do such a thing. But how will I be able to open a Bypass into Sulen. As I said, I’ve never been there.”
“There are two approaches. I could take us there. You would then be able to familiarize yourself with the location, and after that would always be able to return. The other method, and one I want to try, is for you to link with another, and use their memories to define the spot. It is a skill that will serve you well in the future.”
“How do I do that?”
Rigo held out his hand. “I will focus my thoughts on where we are to go. You simply open the Bypass, but tap into what I am visualizing to do so. You will find it is easier to do than explain.”
Jeen was slower this time than she’d been on opening the path back to the inn, but soon enough another of the arches was present. The group stepped through single file and they found themselves in an alley off one of the smaller markets in Sulen.
“While you are checking around the town, keep an eye open for places that would be useful for later trips,” Rigo instructed. “I thought this was a good enough place to arrive unnoticed. For now, it would be best not to startle people by app
earing out of thin air. While we are used to magic, the general populace remain ignorant of its existence.”
Daria was looking around and getting her bearings. “I know where this is,” she said. “I have spent a number of weeks close to here two years ago.”
“You and Kaler both know Sulen, so I’ll leave it to you to learn what you can. If there is any trouble, have Jeen take you back to the inn. When I activated Jeen’s mind last night, I also added the link so I can sense if she needs me and generally where you are. She will be able to do the same for me, although it’s subtle, so it might take a day or two before she realizes what she is feeling.”
“You and Ash’urn are going on to this Outpost of Burke’s?” Kaler asked.
Rigo nodded. “It’s important that I show up as I promised Burke. I need to make them aware of the situation and start converting them. The Hoplani are already on the move. We are years behind where Daim expected us to be.”
“What if you don’t return to the inn tonight?” Kaler asked.
“That would imply something didn’t go as planned. I fully intend to return, and I sense that Daim would as well. He is interested in what you might learn today. But if I don’t, there would be no point in seeking me. If I can’t handle them, there is no way you would be able to do so. I leave it up to you to decide how best to proceed, but would recommend hiding until Jeen’s abilities fully mature. She will be stronger than any of them. I also sense that Burke is open to reason. Perhaps you might seek him out in the future. I cannot see there being a problem, however, so don’t worry too much.”
“Come, let’s get started,” Daria said, eager to begin.
Rigo watched them head down the alley and step into the open market. He turned to Ash’urn. “Are you sure you are ready for this? You can go with the others if you wish, but I suspect you will be useful where I’m going.”
