by Bob Blink
“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.”
Jolan gave the man a long look, then turned and walked out of the shop. He headed back to the Pony to think.
He spent the afternoon in the room, half expecting Altz to suddenly appear. He suspected the clerk at the store was a filter that Altz used to protect himself, and once he had gotten the note he would know who Jolan was and come to see him. It didn’t happen. Taking his meal in the room, Jolan finally went to bed having come up with no idea how to go about finding the man. If he’d stayed out of sight of the college for more than sixty years, he wouldn’t have any trouble hiding from Jolan. He would have to be patient, and consider the possibility of going forward without the man’s help. They had no real indication the “keys”, whatever they were, would be needed. He had been reacting to the handwritten note that Nerila had found.
After waiting most of the next day, Jolan became frustrated, and returned to Tomas’ estate and then to Cobalo. He met with Buris who had made a survey of the library and declared it remarkably solid and secure. He didn’t see the need to make any changes. He’d also looked at the map book and, from the locations of the other portals in Ygooro, had decided there was one closer, but a quick check had shown no way clear to get to it. For now the matter had been shelved, and they would consider explorations and possible activation at a later date when more manpower could be safely brought to the matter.
That night he and Morin went out on the town in Carta. They had a grand time, and Jolan returned to his room in good spirits despite the lack of contact from Altz.
More than a week passed uneventfully and Jolan was becoming restless. They had no word from Asari and Luzoke, although that wasn’t unexpected, and he’d had no luck finding Altz. He’d returned to the shop to have another pointless discussion with the same man. He and Morin had been out frequently, but even that could no longer raise his spirits. Finally he started staying in Cobalo, although he kept the room in the Peaceful Pony in case Altz ever showed up. Each evening he stopped up at the lake to look for Asari, which was pointless because he’d have come back to Cobalo if he’d returned.
Finally, in the middle of the afternoon a week and a half after starting around the lake, a very tired looking three explorers appeared at Jolan’s room.
“Thank the gods!” Jolan exclaimed on seeing them
. “Sit. What did you find?”
After they stumbled into the room and found a seat, Asari shook his head.
“Getting around the lake is very difficult in some spots. The western edge is mostly sheer rock, so there are places we couldn’t check very closely. We found nothing that suggests a city, but we found four more of those odd tunnels at various points around the lake. Two of them are quite close together along the southern edge, a few miles beyond where you and I intersected the trail below the waterfall.”
“Any more idea what they are for?”
“They all seem to feed into valleys that could have once been rivers or large streams. I still think they look like some means of letting water out of the lake.”
They took an hour to summarize their trip, but nothing eventful had happened. They had seen no sign of the enemy and, other than a few wild animals, nothing of concern. Jolan sent them off to clean up and rest, indicating they would get together in the morning. He told them he hadn’t done any better, and that he still hadn’t heard from Altz.
The next morning they all stood along the shore of the lake searching for inspiration. It was possible that they had been falsely directed by the note Nerila had found, but Jolan didn’t think so. He had one idea, but he didn’t like where it led him. While they were talking, Nerila and Rifod suddenly appeared at the portal and walked over to where they were standing. Nerila was carrying a map. Jolan felt his pulse quicken, sensing something had happened.
“Ward said you’d probably be up here,” she said once she and Rifod had come close enough. “Did you find your city?”
Jolan shook his head. “No. Did you?”
“I think so,” she answered.
“Where?” asked Asari eagerly. “We went all around the lake without finding anything.”
“There,” she said, pointing at the water just south of the island off from shore. “I think it’s under there.”
“Under the lake?” Jolan asked, but he wasn’t as surprised as the others. He had been wondering if that was where it had been hidden when Asari told him of the additional drain caves.
“Look at this,” she said, and handed Jolan the map.
“What am I looking for?”
“Look at the lake.”
The others crowded around so they could see. The lake was shown, but it was considerably smaller than it appeared today. There was no island, and in fact the whole southern section was dry land, with a small dot that seemed to indicate a city, although there was no name.
“Have you found anything that supports your idea?”
“Nothing but this map. It was in the new section of the library, and it makes sense. Buris told me about the waterways Asari found. That must be how you drain the water.”
“Why would they flood it?” Asari asked. “No one could use it any longer.”
“Who knows, but after the War of Mages most of those with the power had been killed. Perhaps someone wanted to hide it away until the day returned when the secrets locked there could be safely retrieved. All we can do is guess. Maybe, if it is really there, we will find some answers.”
“If you are right, where are the controls to drain it?”
Jolan looked out at the lake, his eyes coming to rest on the island out in the water.
“There,” he said with certainty. “I think we have to go out there. And that’s why we need Altz’s “keys”.”
“It’s not safe to go on the lake,” warned Asari.
“Nonetheless, that’s where I think we have to go,” Jolan said with certainty. “But first I need to find Altz.”
As they entered the portal to head back to Cobalo to plan, Nerila grabbed Jolan by the arm and said. “Rifod just became a five.” She was beaming happily as she delivered this good news.
“I thought he wasn’t supposed to go beyond a four?”
“Sometimes they are wrong,” Rifod said overhearing the conversation. Jolan could tell he was also mightily pleased by the development.
“I think it’s more than that,” said Nerila, but she let the matter drop as they made the jump to Cobalo.
Chapter 100
Altz looked exactly the same as he had the last time Jolan had last seen him. He made no attempt at a disguise, and sat down at the table in the inn as if he’d been invited to dinner with Jolan, Asari, and Morin.
“I’m not comfortable when people come looking for me,” he said as he waved his hand to catch the attention of the serving girl.
“So I understand,” replied Jolan realizing his search had just ended. “There are people at the College that would like very much to find you.”
“Are you searching after me for them? I gather you have been admitted into the College. You look well, and show confidence I didn’t see the last time we were together.”
“I’ve been admitted, but no, I’m not searching for them. In fact, it was only recently that your name even came up.”
“I wondered why you talked about me knowing I wasn’t in favor there. Just why did my name come up?”
“Tilano,” Jolan answered simply.
“So you know I was looking for Tilano. I even thought I found it long ago, but I was wrong. My big mistake. So what?”
“We found it,” Jolan told him.
“Dragonpiss!” said Altz. “I don’t believe you. I expected better from you.”
“We also found Ygooro,” replied Jolan unfazed by the outburst. “That’s where we found the lead to Tilano.”
“You found Ygooro?” Altz whispered, almost afraid to believe. “What shape is it in? Did you find the library?”
“The city is badly damaged and mostly buried, but the two libraries we found are in fair shape. We are trying to see just what is there even now.”
“Where did you find Ygooro?”
“In the south. Past the mountains on the edge of the desert.”
“That’s the right area,” agreed Altz his head nodding as he spoke. “So where is Tilano, and why do you only think you found it?”
“It’s up in the Land of Giants,” said Jolan remaining vague and misstating the location slightly. He was giving away a lot of information, but he needed the man’s cooperation.
“That’s in the area I thought as well. No one else agreed. It’s too far away from everything. It would have isolated them from everyone else.”
“Nonetheless, that’s where it is. We intend to go to the city. It would be easier with your help.”
“That’s what this is about. You want something from me.”
“The “keys” that you stole. They are going to be important. In fact, I think we will find a need for them in a day or so.”
“It comes back to that. You want the same thing as the Council. Why should I trust you?”
“Because you know me and you can be part of this. I have an agreement with Chancellor Vaen that she will drop all matters against you if you help. She’s not about to welcome you back, but she’d let matters drop. That’s how important this could be.”
“Vaen’s still in charge? After all these years? She’s never gonna let that position go. How is she holding up?”
“An attempt was made to kill her, but she survived. It even triggered something that has made her younger. She has a few years to go.”
Altz laughed. “That’ll probably drive some of those around her wild. They’ve been frustrated for decades that she won’t let go of the helm. But she’s a smart one. Good for the place. Even though she’s mad at me, I respect her. She really gave her word?”
“She did, but you’re going to have to trust us on a lot. There are things you will become aware of that we can’t reveal unless we have your word to go along. Once you’re part of this, you can’t walk away until this war is over.”
“I have people outside. If you try to coerce me, there will be trouble. I don’t know if we can overcome that staff, but since Jolan is the only mage here and I have four outside, I suspect we would win.”
“I suspected you were protec
ted,” admitted Jolan. “But here’s the deal. You come along, bring the “keys”, and you get a release from the College. You will also learn something that will astonish you, and you might get to be part of opening up Tilano after a thousand years of being lost. But it has to be you alone. The others can’t be part of this.”
“And if I walk with the “keys” you want so badly?”
“Then we’ll just have to find another way.”
Altz studied Jolan for a long moment. “If you give me your word, I think I’d trust it. But first a question.”
Jolan nodded.
“What difference does all this make. If the city is up in the Land of Giants, it’s under Ale’ald control. There’s no way we can get there, so none of this matters for now. I don’t understand your saying you will need the “keys” in a couple of days.”
“That’s part of what you will learn. I give you my word that what we have said is true. Are you willing to join us? I promise you some interesting times.”
Altz looked at them for a long moment. “I need to think on this. If I’m interested, I’ll look you up in two days.”
“We’ll be at the Peaceful Pony,” Jolan said, “but come without the others.”
“If I come, I’ll meet you at that estate you all seem to be staying at,” Altz said, just to let them know he’d done his homework as well.
Chapter 101
Jolan had gone ahead and was watching as Altz stepped out of the portal onto the beach at the great lake. A look of utter amazement passed across his face when he realized what had happened, and he walked over to Jolan with a grin splitting his face.
