by Phil Stern
Five menlars later the priestess returned with a pot of greasy salve. By now Caylee had changed into her standard jeans, shirt, and boots, the equines contentedly munching on some breakfast. The tigers were still missing, an increasingly nervous Caylee resisting the urge to go out and find them.
Sitting before the young sorceress on a bale of hay, Ayla gently spread the salve over her face and arms. She then tended to Lewn’s wing, who surprisingly accepted the priestess’ care without question.
“It takes a lot for a battle hawk to trust you.” Caylee smiled at the older woman as she gave Lewn a final head stroke and then climbed backwards down the small ladder to the floor again. “That’s saying something.”
“Oh, my dear, I’ve been tending wounded animals long before you were born.” Again settling down on a bale opposite the Haven witch, Ayla sighed. “And while our world can be quite violent, there is also plenty of potent healing magic. One cancels the other out, I suppose, at least to some degree.”
Our world? An oddly sophisticated concept for such a basic society, Caylee privately noted. “About the tigers,” she carefully began, deliberately changing the subject. “Is Pend really a princess?”
“Pend?”
“The female cub.” Already, Caylee felt her burns soothing and healing completely. “That’s my nickname for her.”
“Oh.” Clearly, Ayla felt that nicknames were mildly inappropriate, but let it go. “Indeed she is. Pend, as you call her, is the seventh child and third daughter of Rexarous, the tiger king.”
“Wow. I’d like to meet him.”
“Perhaps,” she allowed. “As you might imagine, Rexarous is one of the most important personages in Lysandy. He doesn’t meet with just anybody.”
“Of course.” Hesitating, she brushed back some stray blonde hair. “And your village is friendly with the tigers? They don’t, uh, prey on you?”
“Just the opposite, in fact. The tigers protect our little village. Without them, we’d be quite defenseless.”
From outside the barn Caylee heard people begin walking about, mothers calling out to their children. Obviously, the day here was taking shape. “That’s an interesting arrangement.”
“Perhaps it is,” Ayla carefully agreed. “But Caylee, I must ask you. Why have you come here? I doubt our little village holds much appeal on it’s own.”
“Well, it is a nice place.” Mildly taken aback, the young sorceress hesitantly shrugged. “But, you’re right. I do have a mission here.”
“And what mission is that?”
“One of our birds, like Lewn there…” Caylee awkwardly motioned up at the battle hawk. “Well, he found an, uh, artifact here, you might say. Something that we think doesn’t belong in Lysandy. At least, not normally.”
“You found an artifact that doesn’t belong here,” the priestess musingly repeated. “And so you’re trying to put it back where it came from?”
“Not necessarily. But we are curious how it came to be here.”
“Can I see this artifact?”
“Oh, sure.” The young sorceress reached down, behind the hay bale, and took the gauge out of her magical travel bag. As far as Ayla could tell, she’d simply taken the device from the floor, rather than having it seemingly appear out of thin air. “As you can see, you don’t normally find stuff like this around here.”
Ayla lightly took the proffered item, inspecting it from several different angles. Oddly enough, this leader of a pre-iron age society didn’t seem fazed by a device manufactured from metal and glass. “And you’re saying that this object is the cause of your quest here in Lysandy?”
“Well, quest might be overstating things a bit. But yeah, that’s the general idea.”
“I see.” Gingerly placing the gauge on a third bale of hay to one side, the older woman then focused her full attention back on Caylee. “My dear, I’m sorry to disappoint you. But things such as this are quite common here.”
“Common?” Frowning, she glanced down at the gauge and then back at her hostess. “Really?”
“Indeed.” Ayla considered a moment. “Well, perhaps common isn’t the right word. But these types of relics are found from time to time.”
“Relics?” Intrigued, Caylee crossed her legs underneath herself on the bale of hay. “Why do you call them that?”
“My dear, you see us here, a small isolated village in the midst of a large wilderness, and obviously think us quite alone.” The priestess sat back. “But the god Balen watches over my people every day. He gives us the moon and the stars, the sun and the wind. He provides the very fire that cooks our food, the hay that you sit on even now. It is Balen that gives us the great tigers for protection! It is even He that guided you here last night, and is the very reason we’re talking here right now.”
Religion, of course, was a very sensitive topic throughout the universe. There was almost always an inverse relationship between “faith” and technology, with the more primitive societies leaning heavily on fables and deities for existential grounding. Indeed, in many advanced cultures, religion was considered nothing more than stunted, divisive mythology.
“I understand.” Smiling tightly, Caylee tried to appear sympathetic to this view. “So, you’re saying the great god Balen brought this relic to you?”
“Indeed.”
“Is there any, um, reason He might do that?”
“It is not for us to question these things, my dear.” Drawing herself up, Ayla seemed to stare down at her. “We simply accept His will in all matters.”
“Yes, of course.” Solemnly nodding, the enchantress thought quickly. “Is there a certain place that He puts these relics for you to find?”
“There is.” Standing, the priestess regally indicated the barn door. “Let us go there now.”
*****
Exiting the barn, the two women walked past several huts out the back of the village. Tornado tagged along, with Saja and Lewn remaining behind. The people they passed bowed reverently at their priestess and hastily backed out of the way. For her part, Ayla nodded pleasantly in reply.
Strolling past the last small structure, they found themselves at the edge of a short field, which in turn led to the base of the heavily wooded mountain. Pend was sprawled out on the grass, soaking in the sun, surrounded by her royal entourage. The three bigger cats sat back on their haunches, facing outward in a vague triangle formation.
Picking her head up at their approach, Pend stood and stretched. Then, bounding over to the humans, the tiger princess half-barreled into Caylee’s legs, peremptorily calling for more tuna fish.
“Maybe later,” Caylee replied. “Right now, the priestess is going to show us where that gauge came from.”
Yawning, Pend sat back and announced that she wasn’t terribly interested in that. But she did want some tuna.
“Oh do you now?” Bending down, the sorceress playfully pushed the cub onto her side, then thoroughly scratched her belly. “Maybe for dinner, you, but not now.”
Easily distracted, Pend swiped at Caylee’s hands, then curled around her forearm for a spontaneous cat hug.
Arms folded, Ayla watched this exchange with a raised eyebrow. “You seem to be very familiar with the princess.”
“We get along.” Rising to her full height again, Caylee’s earth stone let out a soft pulse. “All kinds of creatures have always liked me.”
“So I see.” Bemused, Ayla now watched as Tornado wandered up and affectionately nibbled on his sorceress’ hair. “I’m not sure your unicorn will be able to accompany us up the mountain, though.”
Shading her eyes, Caylee studied the slope more closely. “It’s rough?”
“Indeed. Lots of roots and rocks. A few gullies and deep streams. I’m afraid he’d get hurt.”
“Oh.” Disentangling her hair, Caylee then stepped back and patted the equine on the neck. “I’m sorry, Tornado. You can’t go.”
Blinking his eyes in disappointment, the unicorn pointedly looked away.
> “Don’t be such a sour puss.” Sighing, the witch patted him on the side. “Just relax and graze about here for a while. We’ll be back soon.”
Momentarily forgotten, Pend snuck up on Tornado’s flank. Wide-eyed and quivering, she then sprung up onto the unicorn’s back. Playfully batting him on the ear, she then effortlessly teleported off to one side. Bugling in amazement, Tornado nearly knocked Caylee over as he spun about the confront the tiger princess. Crouching low in the grass, the cub was clearly ready for an extended play.
“But let’s take the cats with us,” Caylee suggested, quickly interposing herself between Pend and the instantly aggrieved unicorn.
“A good idea,” Ayla agreed. “For everyone’s sake.”
By now Jarob had swooped down to say hello. Inviting the battle hawk to come along, Caylee urged the four felines across the short expanse of grass and into the heavy tree cover. Two of the tigers bounded up the slope ahead of them as scouts, while Pend and her other bodyguard padded beside Caylee and Ayla.
Turning about to one final time, the sorceress duly noted her unicorn morosely standing in the middle of the field, clearly feeling abandoned. Still, with the village spread out behind him and the clear sky above, it all made for an amazing mental picture.
Pausing to take it all in for a moment, Caylee then blew Tornado a reassuring kiss before spinning about and striding up the quickly steepening incline.
*****
It was very dark and gloomy beneath the thick trees. Sharp rocks littered the hillside, often sticking out between muddy holes and tangled roots. Muscular vines swayed about, almost as if they wanted to swing out and grab someone about the neck.
Indeed, the entire area seemed alive in some vaguely sinister fashion, patiently waiting for the optimal moment to strike. Early on, Caylee casually popped her earth stone underneath her shirt, the better to inconspicuously keep a modicum of power gathered and readily available.
“Don’t get spooked, my dear.” Almost as if reading her mind, Ayla cast her a long, sidelong glance. “These mountains just take a little getting used to, that’s all.”
“Oh, I’m all right,” the young sorceress confidently replied, even while yanking her boot yet again from another strange rut in the ground. “I’ve been through worse.”
Jarob was predictably irritated by the lack of ready wing room, awkwardly flapping from limb to limb with a ready scowl. Even the royal guard was a bit spooked, often teleporting around the backs of trees and aggressively swatting at larger piles of leaves. After a full seventy menlars of the laborious uphill hike, everyone was tired and on edge.
Of course, nothing could shake Pend’s equilibrium. Loping about with soft pounces here and there, she was soon scrambling up several tall trunks to chase squirrels. At one point she unwisely dashed out on a perilously thin branch, the delicate limb breaking with a loud crack. Paws flailing, the young princess found herself tumbling down from the very top of the forest.
Jarob instantly swung into action, swooping down to grab the cub midair. Caylee’s power also surged out to form an invisible, soft cushion on the ground, which would have broken Pend’s fall.
But the tiger’s own innate instincts were quicker. Flashing from view halfway down, the cub magically appeared in a panicked ball of squirming fur, whiskers, and tail right at Caylee’s feet. Indeed, the sorceress narrowly avoided catching Pend with a booted foot, awkwardly hopping out of the way just in time.
Clearly, the cub had a nasty fright. Whimpering and whining, the enchantress had to hug and pet her for nearly a menlar before they could get on their way. After that, the adolescent tiger stayed much closer to the two humans, even brushing against the side of Caylee’s legs from time to time.
As their climb continued, the young witch wondered how much Ayla understood of her own kind. By this point, Caylee realized the priestess possessed some type of subtle ability. Not magic, per se, but perhaps a vague extra-sensory enhancement. It seemed to be entirely passive, allowing Ayla to see, hear, and process a great deal, yet without any outward projections of energy or force. Perhaps it was this inherent talent that qualified her to be the “priestess” in the first place.
Which meant that Ayla surely had some inclination of Caylee’s potent magic, while surely lacking detailed knowledge of it’s full range and scope. Somehow, the sorceress preferred that her hostess remain somewhat in the dark.
With long, powerful strides, the enchantress finally crested the steep slope, exiting the tree cover onto a narrow, grassy plateau. This flat, quasi-path extended about three-quarters of the way around the summit, almost like a vibrant green horseshoe. Just beyond this narrow sanctuary, the ground obviously dropped away again into some secret valley within the heart of the mountain.
After the somber forest trek, it was all very bright and pretty. Indeed, the blue sky stretched unblemished to the horizon, with colorful birds wheeling about. Even the pine treetops poking up from the opposite, descending hillside seemed rather cheery, especially compared to somber, gnarled oak through which they’d been slogging.
Yet even while admiring the natural splendor, Caylee gratefully reached down to massage her exhausted thighs. If she never walked uphill ever again it would be too soon. Indeed, no matter what anyone else said, she promised herself at least a few indolent days in Haven when this was all over.
A moment later the priestess regally strode up to stand beside her. “We’re here,” Ayla almost reverently announced, spreading her arms out to encompass the valley within the mountain. “Lord Balen’s Bastion, our most sacred place.” In contrast to her much-younger companion, the older woman didn’t seem the slightest bit tired.
Feeling slightly miffed, the blonde traveler carefully shuffled forward for a better view. Indeed, they now stood on the precipice of a stadium-like bowl within the heart of the mountain. It was wondrous panorama, with thinly wooded slopes running down to a narrow river flowing along the bottom of the chasm. To her left, at the far end of the ravine, where the peaks abruptly dropped down to the valley floor, the river exited the bowl completely.
However, within the Balen’s Bastion itself, the main feature was a raging waterfall pouring from a rocky fissure underneath a small grassy ledge. This was located about a quarter-way down and around to Caylee’s right. The waterfall plunged into a round pool some hundred feet below on the basin floor, which in turn fed the swiftly moving river. Ragged banks bordered the waterway on either side before more forest took over.
“This is the center of Lysandy itself,” Ayla intoned, robes blowing about in the strong wind. “From here, our Lord Balen calls to us and sanctifies us.”
“How does He do that?”
“If we are deemed worthy, Lord Balen will purify our souls for all eternity. The holy waters are His vessel and His instrument. Through this place, all my people must submit themselves to His will.”
While pondering this, Caylee felt Jarob’s bulk soar past her shoulder out into the bowl. Along the way, the battle hawk told her that this valley was indeed where he’d found the gauge during the Coven’s last trip to Lysandy. Shading her eyes, she watched the graceful predator indolently wheel about as the local birds hastily zoomed off.
Only now did Caylee feel raw, concentrated magical power flowing up from mountain bowl. Even from a distance she could sense it’s source, the energy obviously pulsing in uneven waves from the violently churning pool underneath the waterfall. Indeed, the entire valley seemed to be saturated in this crude magical might, no doubt lending to it’s almost sparkling sheen.
Wow! So there was indeed something here worth investigating! Feeling a surge of excitement, Caylee took another step forward, right up to the very edge.
Padding up beside her, Pend sat back on her haunches with a tired yawn. She’d walked quite far enough, the tiger princess announced, especially after yesterday’s hard run. Until further notice, teleportation would now be the preferred means of travel.
“Is that so?” Caylee soft
ly answered, resting a hand on the cub’s head. This reminded her of a question she’d been meaning to ask anyway. “By the way, how far can you teleport in one shot?”
The tiger seemed sure of her answer, yet the jumble of both spacial and physical concepts meant nothing to Caylee. Clearly, these types of things weren’t easily communicated.
“Could you teleport directly to the bottom of the ravine?” Pointing down, she indicated where she meant. “By the side of the river there?”
Cautiously leaning forward, Pend’s nose worked overtime analyzing all the various scents from the valley. During this prolonged contemplation, the other tigers wandered up, staring diffidently about. They were clearly accustomed to waiting on the pleasure of their princess.
No, the cub finally offered, tiredly licking a paw that in turn washed her own face. That would be a bit dangerous, especially since she hadn’t directly smelled there yet.
“Fair enough.” So olfactory input was the key to teleportation? Interesting. “Ayla, is there an easy way of getting down there?”
“Indeed. But let us rest a few moments more.” The priestess nodded at two of the adult tigers, who by now had flopped down on their sides. “The sun is warm here. Let us all enjoy it before continuing on our journey.”
*****
Sometime well after one in the afternoon, the Haven sorceress finally found herself on the banks of the river down below. The swollen, turbulent water gushed past Caylee and on down the valley, undulating and foaming with magic. Indeed, the river’s edge seemed to nearly sizzle into the sandy banks, tiny grains of rock occasionally bursting into pink and yellow sparks. Fine mist soaked the entire area, tingling with potent energy.
Without a doubt the pool now upstream from where she stood, which fed the river cutting through the gorge itself, was the nexus of some continuous magical outburst. Tumbling down from high above, the waterfall pouring from a gash in the almost sheer rock wall violently impacted the pool. Huge bubbles regularly broke the roiling, churning surface, releasing intense bursts of pure, unadulterated energy. Arcs of energy flickered over the seemingly tortured liquid, with larger lightning bolts occasionally flaring up to scorch the surrounding rocks. Though Caylee had kept a safe distance, the blazing heat and energy formed a nearly unbroken, uncontrollable explosion.
