by Bob Blink
“What about the city?” Jolan asked.
“Whoever decided to hide Tilano must have created some kind of shield to protect it from the water. It wouldn’t make sense to simply allow the water access. They might just as well have destroyed it in the first place and saved themselves a great deal of trouble.”
“Shields that lasted for a thousand years?”
“They were far more advanced then. But it is a worry, I admit. I doubt they expected to leave the city hidden so long. The effects of the war caused a greater collapse than anyone expected, and much was lost, or forgotten.”
The next morning they could see the wide ridge of land under the water that stretched from the island to the far shore. They could even see what appeared to be steps coming up from the ridge onto the land where the water had already drained away. The steps were barely discernable through the layer of mud and silt that had accumulated, but it could easily be cleared away with magic when they were ready to go.
By noon there was a fully exposed pathway to the far shore. A touch of magic and the wet soggy mass on the top of the rocky ridge was swept off into the water, and the last remaining wet areas dried to make for a non-slippery path. The group made their way on foot back to the lake shore, occasionally stopping to clear a bit more of the pathway ahead of them. Asari looked unhappily over the side of the walkway into the deep water when they were partway across, but there was no hope of finding his lost pistol in the still very deep water. When they arrived they could see a series of steps also were carved into the hillside down to the stone ridge. This had obviously been a pathway from the portal over to the “island” in days long past.
When they arrived at the shore, they found a small group waiting for them. Ronoran, Nerila, and Rifod were somewhat expected. Jolan hadn’t expected to see Chancellor Vaen out here in the wilds.
“It seems to be working,” Vaen remarked as they climbed the ancient steps back to where the others waited.
“Vaen,” Altz said uncertainly, obviously surprised to see the Chancellor here as well. He looked around, relieved to see there were no others. Jolan was sure he thought they’d planned on reneging on their deal, now that the “keys” had performed their function.
“The blood seems to have worked,” Vaen said, confusing Jolan. Altz, however, nodded in agreement, obviously understanding what she was referring to.
“Not too much longer though. I told you there would be an abrupt end for whoever used it.”
“How much longer?”
“Five years at the most. Two years more likely. I can already see the rate of aging taking hold. I never was able to figure out what gives you the continued rejuvenation.”
Jolan was starting to understand what they were talking about, but was surprised at the apparent closeness of the two. He had thought Altz an outcast, but there was more to the story than he realized.
“Can we go and talk?” Vaen asked.
Altz nodded and the two of them stepped into the portal and disappeared.
When Jolan and his friends appeared in the portal room, Ward was waiting. He asked where the Chancellor was. Since she hadn’t returned here, Jolan wondered if she and Altz had jumped off to the oasis for a private discussion. He simply told Ward that she and Altz were talking and would return later, then left and headed up to his room.
* * * *
Jolan and a varying assembly of the others made a trip to the lake each morning to observe the progress being made. The water levels continued to drop steadily, and after a week they could see a few indications of structures under the water closer in toward shore. One structure poked above the water further out in the lake. There was also a long stairway being revealed as the waters receded, that made its way down from the island into the water. Once the area was drained, they had a ready pathway that would take them down into the city.
Midway through the next week large portions of the city were revealed. It wasn’t an encouraging sight. The once white structures were now worn and crumbled, covered in layers of muck and debris that had built up over a long period underwater. Some areas were in somewhat better shape than others, and here and there they could see perfectly preserved structures glimmering behind the shields that still protected those isolated locations.
“The shields failed,” Altz said, voicing what everyone realized. “Whoever did this wasn’t up to the task of protecting the city so long. You can see where shields failed more recently, and a few still survive. But as a whole, the city is destroyed. Unless we are very lucky and the few surviving shielded structures contain what we seek, this has all been in vain.” Disgusted, he turned and walked back into the portal and disappeared.
Whatever had taken place between Vaen and Altz, he was now free to come and go on his own. Jolan knew he had rooms at the College, and had seen him headed over to the Council Building almost every day.
By the end of the week the water level had receded to the point they felt they could make their way down and see how bad it was going to be. Altz had a few tricks up his sleeve and, using a spell he had learned a long time ago, they were able to accelerate the drying of the mucky remains of the city. It was still damp as they walked but no longer slippery mud, although the insides of many buildings were still a bit of a mess.
Most of the buildings were a total loss. No effort had gone into protecting the contents since the shields were supposed to perform that function. Everything had rotted away and was totally unrecognizable except for various metal structures and objects. Historians might find bits and pieces of interest, but the kinds of things Jolan and Altz sought were lost. The structures that still had shields were in excellent shape, but were of no particular interest to them. They found a cafeteria, someone’s residence, a section of a scenic walkway, and similar structures. Ten in all had survived. None held anything they sought. It was beginning to look like Altz was right. It had all been a waste of time.
They couldn’t know for certain until they searched the entire city, but that would take weeks at best, and probably months. With winter coming, they would have to interrupt the task and finish in the spring. Jolan still had a tugging at the back of his mind, so he couldn’t dismiss the effort as easily as Altz and the others. They had only checked those areas closest to them since working their way through the remains of the city was difficult. Jolan and Asari had walked along the shore one day to observe as much of the city as they could from above, but it looked a uniform mess. Nothing stood out.
* * * *
“I have a suggestion,” Vaen said after getting the latest status report from Jolan and Altz.
“Anything,” Jolan said. “We need some original thought on the problem. We have become buried in the depressing sight of the place.”
“You Jolan, might relate to this. We have someone who has displayed an interesting talent. Like you, she gets these feelings about places. She can sense which areas of a place are important. We’ve tested her on a couple of locations where we already know what’s important. We even took her to Ygooro. Yes, I know,” Vaen said when Jolan looked up. “We let another know about the portals. I decided it was worth the risk. I trust this person, and I wondered if she might be of use when I first learned what you had found up there. She was able to point to the library from above ground without being prompted. We think she has also identified the location of another portal there. Buris is investigating as his time permits.”
“Who is she?”
“She’s relatively new, but like you has advanced very quickly. She is already a five, and we don’t know where she is going to end up. For reasons we don’t understand, she doesn’t register any longer with the standard testing.”
“When can we meet her?” Jolan asked. “I’m willing to try. We’ve got nothing to lose, and as you pointed out, I’ve been running on hunches for quite some time.”
Vaen smiled, but there was a hint of something extra showing in her face. “I thought you might feel that way. She’s waiting outside. Just a minute
and I’ll bring her in.”
Vaen stood and walked briskly to her door. Jolan couldn’t believe how good she looked these days. Moments later she returned escorting a child. It was the snooty ten-year old that had given Jolan such troubles when he first started at the College.
“Him,” was the first word the girl uttered on being ushered into the room. “I don’t. . . .” she started to say, but then closed her mouth in a tight thin line.
“You don’t what?” asked Vaen annoyed, but the girl only shook her head.
“Tishe,” scolded Vaen. “I told you this is important. It hasn’t anything to do with whether you like someone or not. Jolan probably harbors similar feeling about you from what I know about your history. But I need your help. That should be enough for you.”
The girl looked at Vaen, then nodded and hung her head.
“Tishe, I need your help,” Jolan said, deciding he didn’t need a lecture from Vaen. He knew the difficulties earlier with the girl had been a result of his own frustration and jealousy. “We have found something, but don’t know how to proceed. If you can tell us anything that would help it might make all the difference. Please.”
Slowly she looked up at Jolan, and then walked over to him. “Show me,” she said.
Behind where the girl couldn’t see, Vaen smiled and nodded to Jolan. Jolan, Tishe and Altz headed out of the office and down to the portal where they jumped immediately up to the ruined city of Tilano.
“Yuk,” she said, looking at the muddy and collapsed buildings stretching out into the lake.
“This was once an important place, for reasons we don’t understand. We don’t even know for sure what we are looking for. Do any places here stand out to you as locations we should search?”
Tishe looked at the city, then asked to walk along the edge of what had been the lakeshore and was now a bit of a valley. After they had walked a quarter of a mile she stopped and pointed.
“Three places,” she said. “There, there, and up against the mountain over there.”
The first location they had already visited. It was a total ruin and they had found nothing. It might have once been important, but would be of no use to them now. The other two locations they could search.
“Thank you,” Jolan said, and started back toward the portal.
“I want to come with you,” Tishe said suddenly.
“It’s smelly and dirty down there,” Jolan said, hoping to discourage the girl.
She looked at him with her unwavering gaze.
“Okay,” Jolan said finally. “Let’s go have a look.”
It took a couple of hours to make their way down into the city and start their way across the city to the locations Tishe had pointed out. Part way to the first of the areas she had selected she suddenly stopped and shook her head.
“It’s not that one,” she said “You can check it later, but it’s not important. Let’s go to the last one.”
The third location was considerably farther away, but Jolan was inclined to indulge the girl. Something told him she was real, and so they backtracked and turned south and continued on their way. When they arrived they found a very large, ornate looking building that had been subjected to years of underwater abuse. The back side of the building seemed to butt into the hillside rock, which rose almost vertically for hundreds of feet. This was one of the areas Asari had had to find a way around when he’d circled the lake weeks before. Uncertain what they would find, Jolan led the others inside for a look.
The front area was reminiscent of other buildings they had searched in the city, but towards the back after passing through a large set of doors they found a surprise.. The room here was huge, and, while much of it showed the same mess and damage as the rest of the building, off to the back wall was an area that was free of damage. The shields that had protected this building had failed, but the protection provided by the portal that stood there had not. A large hemisphere of pristine building surrounded the structure, including a small building that was obviously a display for something.
Jolan, Altz, and Tishe walked over to the portal and looked. It appeared totally undamaged. Before attempting to activate it, Jolan wanted to see what else was here. He walked over to the display area, which was completely open in front and saved by the portal magic, and found a miniature version of the area they were standing in. In addition to the room and the portal, the display showed a section of the hillside that was open, with a long tunnel into the hillside. Well inside the hill the model showed a large room with some kind of platform. On the wall next to the display was a metal plate with a series of symbols carved into it. The mage’s language, Jolan realized immediately.
“Dragons preserve us!” Altz exclaimed suddenly. “The Nexus.”
Chapter 103
Jolan looked over at Altz with hope in his eyes. “The Nexus? You’re sure?”
“It’s one of the things I hoped to find a long time ago. I recognize the symbols for it. This display seems to indicate that the Nexus is buried deep inside the mountains here, with a tunnel that leads from this platform back to the core.”
“That can’t be right. I saw where Cheurt makes the transition. It’s in the forest, not buried deep inside any mountain.”
“That might explain some of the difficulties you have told me that he seems to have with the transition. I had never heard of these problems when I studied some of the old records. He might not actually have found the Nexus, but is operating on a fringe of the device, greatly limiting his capability.”
“Do these spells look at all familiar?” Jolan was pointing to the two groups of text in the mage’s language that formed vertical columns of characters on either side of the plaque.
“I’d guess those are basic spells for the operation of the device. We need to bring this back to the College and have some of Vaen’s experts have a look at it.”
While the two men had been examining the plaque with fierce interest, Tishe had been wandering around the rest of the platform, looking at each area that had survived the harshness of being underwater for centuries.
“Here,” she said, calling for their attention.
Jolan and Altz walked over to where she stood. Directly in front of her was a vast expanse of stone mountain, carved with symbols in the ancient language. At first it looked simply like more of the display with some kind of description, but upon closer examination, they located an almost invisible semicircular crack that passed through some of the text and outlined a large opening. All attempts to move the stone failed.
“It’s bound with some kind of ward,” guessed Altz. “I have never seen the like. We are going to need some kind of expert to open this passage. I think from the display, this is where the tunnel that leads to the Nexus core is located.”
“You and Tishe see about getting the plaque. I want to bring that back with us. While you’re doing that, I want to look and see if the portal is operational.”
While the two of them went inside, Jolan walked over to the stone monument. He had violated one of Wylan’s directives and had brought one of the activator crystals along with him. He’d known there was supposed to be another portal in the city some from Asari’s maps. While he could easily enough activate the portal directly, with Altz and later Tishe along, he didn’t want to use the spells where others could observe. They were trying to keep that knowledge spread as thinly as possible for now, and even though he should be able to mask the spell, he never fully trusted that ability. He walked over and plugged the crystal into the slot and allowed it to run the sequence. Moments later he withdrew the discharged crystal and verified the portal was now activated. The string of possible destinations was growing. He wished he could read the symbols, rather than just memorize the shapes and memorize the associated location.
Moments later Tishe and Altz came walking back, with Altz carrying the large plaque under his arm.
“Let’s go see what we can learn from this,” Jolan said, and the three stepped into the portal
and returned to Cobalo.
* * * *
After meeting with Vaen, who promised to put her best people to work on the spells, they went in search of Ronoran. He was in the cafeteria with Asari and Luzoke. Since no one was nearby, they explained what had been discovered, which raised the level of excitement and the three pushed aside their lunch, eager to go and have a look. Since Jolan had already explained to Vaen that he was going to have Ronoran take a look at the ward, they went immediately to the portal room and made the transition to the new portal in the system.
Ronoran looked at the wall for long minutes. Jolan didn’t know how his friend worked, or what triggered his understanding of these things, but after a bit he reached out and touched three of the symbols among the many of the text. Each one he touched glowed gold, and after touching the fourth symbol the wall simply melted away leaving a dark opening in front of them.
Ronoran turned back to them grinning. “It wasn’t meant to be very hard. This was simply a closure for when the pathway wasn’t being used. I’ve seen the same kind of ward elsewhere a few times.”
The six of them looked at the dark opening. It seemed to Jolan that Rifod and Nerila should be here, but they were at the large library far to the south, and he was anxious to have a look. Altz and Tishe were new to the group, but they had been caught up in the excitement and were every bit as anxious as the others.
