by Blink, Bob
Even though he wasn’t ready to go down there, he attempted to open a Bypass to the closest spot he could see that looked somewhat flat. Nothing. The portal wouldn’t open. He would have believed they were in a dead zone if it weren’t for the Bypass opening that suddenly appeared off to his left.
“Where does that go?” he asked.
Tara pointed into the distance off to her left. “Over there. I thought it would be interesting to see if it remained like this.”
Deciding it was worth a look, Rigo joined the others as they stepped over to the spot that would have been a horseback ride almost a half glass in duration. When they stepped out from the Bypass, which opened well back from the lip of the abyss Rigo noted, they were greeted with a view not unlike the one they had just left behind.
“Pretty much the same,” Koess noted as he peered farther in the direction they had just traveled.
Rigo had come to the same conclusion. The walls were just as steep here, and there seemed no way down short of simply jumping off the edge, which, of course, would have been fatal.
A couple of more jumps in the same direction, then a return to where they had started followed by similar exploration in the opposite direction made it clear that there was no way down anywhere nearby. That meant no way back out either.
“Somewhere there has to be a cave that leads down there,” Rigo said. “I can’t think of any other way the Hoplani could cross this.”
“Maybe they don’t,” Tara suggested. “Maybe we passed where they come from. We could go back and look.”
Burke shook his head. He pointed across the canyon to the far side almost lost in the distance. “They come from over there somewhere,” he said.
“How can you know that?” Tara asked.
“I sense it. I’m absolutely certain of it.”
Rigo was too, but he couldn’t have explained why.
“So, do we go back and start looking for how they get down there?” Tara asked. “It could take a long time.”
Indeed it could. Rigo remembered how long it had taken a large group of mounted riders to seek out the single tunnel that had allowed the Hoplani to escape under the barrier last year. They could spend months looking. Without a doubt they would have to bring horses here, with all the complications that would entail.
Given the extent of the chasm and how many days back from the edge the caves could conceivably discharge the beasts, it could literally take years to try and locate the tunnel openings. Even then, Rigo’s instincts warned him that they wouldn’t be able to use the tunnels to cross the chasm anyway.
Burke was shaking his head. “No, we’ve got to go across.”
“What do you mean?” Tara asked.
“I mean, I don’t want to go in any more caves or underground tunnels. I don’t like having all that dirt over my head. I feel like I’m buried. Besides, if we can’t open a Bypass to the bottom, there must be a reason. I don’t think it would be healthy for us down there even if we could find a way down.”
“So what do you suggest?” Koess asked.
“We cross it. We can see the far side. We can make a Bypass to a point over there that we can see.”
“Just jump over there and gamble we aren’t going to end up in trouble?” Tara asked. “Can we even do that?”
“It can be done,” Rigo said doubtfully. “I’ve made Bypass portals to places I could see that were more distant that this. It was in the mountains, and more importantly it wasn’t in the Ruins. What if we get over there and can’t come back. There may be a dead zone over there.”
“We’ve seen that the dead zones don’t extend that far. If there’s one near the edge, we just keep moving until we work our way out of it. Then we can come back if we want. Distance doesn’t matter for portals, remember.”
“It does sometimes in the Ruins,” Rigo reminded him. “Remember down in the Hoplani caves? We could only make limited range jumps when we were there.”
“That was different,” Burke said confidently. “We haven’t seen that kind of restriction in all the weeks we have been in the Ruins. We have seen those problems don’t exist above ground. After so many weeks out here, we know just what to expect. I vote we go.”
Rigo looked at Tara. “What do you think?”
Tara hesitated, then shrugged her shoulders. “We go. Burke seems pretty certain about it.”
Rigo looked at Koess. He was nervous and his face showed it. “Nope,” he said. “I think we should go back to the Outpost and think about it.”
Burke cursed. “There’s no one there who’s going to have anything to help us decide. If we don’t go, then what have we gained by all the time spent walking through these lands? It’s time to take a chance. We have to go.”
Rigo thought about it. The final vote was his. If he voted with Burke and Tara, it would be three to one. If he voted with Koess, which seemed the more prudent thing to do, they would be tied. Going back would give them a chance to think about this in a more rational environment. But Rigo agreed with Burke. Dare they throw away the weeks for nothing? Besides, he kept remembering that Lady Mos’pera had never been wrong about one of her visions. That helped him decide. It would be all right. A final factor was Rigo’s certainty that Burke would go on alone if the others backed out.
“We go,” he said, almost surprising himself.
“You’ve made this kind of Bypass before,” Burke said. “Perhaps it’s better if you do it.”
Rigo studied the distant rim, finally choosing a spot that looked flat and wide. He envisioned the Bypass exit aligned away from the chasm, something to give him a fixed perspective, and created the portal. He wouldn’t have been surprised had it failed to appear, but it did.
“I told you,” Burke said feeling justified. “Let’s go see what’s over there.”
Rigo turned to Koess. “You can go back to the Outpost if you wish. We’ll make this jump, and then come back ourselves. This needs to be reported. I want Ash’urn to check in the library for any record of this thing.”
Koess was clearly considering the offer, but then shook his head. “I’m going with you.”
Burke nodded in approval. “I’ll go first. Then Tara, Koess, with Rigo bringing up the rear.”
It didn’t matter to Rigo, and Burke was clearly feeling adventurous. Rigo shrugged. Burke grinned and headed for the opening. As he disappeared, Tara stepped in after him. Koess hesitated for the briefest moment, then he too stepped out of sight. With a final look around, Rigo walked up and stepped into the portal opening.
Rigo stepped out onto a flat plain not unlike the one he had just left, except the canyon was now at his back. He looked over his shoulder. Clearly they were now on the far side. He felt the Bypass close behind him as he turned to the others. He looked at Tara and Burke grinning back at him, and asked, “Where’s Koess?”
“I assumed he changed his mind,” Burke said, looking confused.
Rigo shook his head. “He stepped into the Bypass right behind Tara. He should be here.”
“He didn’t come through,” Burke said, now suddenly worried. “Are you certain?”
“I watched him go,” Rigo said. “I took a last look around, then stepped through myself.”
“Maybe he’s still back on the other side?” Tara suggested.
Rigo couldn’t see how, but they needed to know. He built a mental picture of the spot they had just left and attempted to open a Bypass going back. Nothing happened.
Tara looked at him. “Dead zone,” Rigo informed them.
“Risos be damned!” Burke said sharply. “I can’t make Brightfire here either. This is a bad one.”
Rigo stared at his two companions. Koess was gone, in a way he’d never known to happen before. The Bypass had always been reliable and safe. Now they were on the far side of an impassable canyon in a dead zone where none of their magic worked. This was very bad.
All of them were aware of how grim their situation had suddenly become. Koess had to be considered d
ead, by a means none of them understood. Rigo knew he’d never be as confident stepping into a Bypass portal again. He’d come to view the travel technique as completely safe. Now he knew better. At least here in the Ruins there was a risk they didn’t know how to evaluate. Was it simply a random quirk, or something that would happen frequently?
Up to now they had been confident that any trouble from dead zones could be worked around, with the worst case scenario a long walk back into an area where their magic worked normally. This time there was no way back to the safe zone. They had to hope another lay ahead, and close enough they could reach it before their meager supplies ran short. Fortunately they had made the jump early in the day. None of them had tapped into their water reserves. They had enough for two days, unless they started rationing in an attempt to conserve it. Rigo had learned a bit more about desert hiking, and trying to conserve water was actually less productive than drinking it, being hydrated and strong, and not have to carry the weight. Rationally he could understand that. Subconsciously he wanted to hold as much as possible in reserve. Already he felt himself unnecessarily thirsty. Knowing that water wasn’t available had made him aware of his desire for a drink. They hadn’t seen free water in the Ruins for weeks.
“Bad idea,” Burke said softly, taking the blame for their situation. “My eagerness got Kloess killed.”
“We all voted,” Rigo reminded him. Even though he sought to comfort Burke, Rigo felt what had happened was really his own fault. He had cast the deciding vote, when his intincts had warned him they should be cautious and go back to the Outpost and consider their path. It was too late now. “We better get moving. With luck we will find this dead zone is no wider than those we’ve been walking through the past couple of weeks.”
“I don’t think so,” Tara said negatively. “This somehow feels different.”
Rigo had similar thoughts, but hadn’t wanted to voice them. He grimaced and pointed away from the canyon. Time was their enemy, at least one of them, and they had better get started.
The topography on this side of the canyon was more hilly than it had been where they had come from. None of the hills were very high, but they required extra effort as the trio walked up one side and down the other. In the unnatural heat of the sun in the Ruins, they felt the drain of their reserves, conscious that time was against them now.
By early afternoon they hadn’t found the end of the dead zone. Each time Burke attempted the simplest of magic, they were disappointed to find that nothing worked. They had come farther than any dead zone they had previously encountered. It appeared their fears were being validated. A glass later they came to a field of the sharp spikes that extended as far as the eye could see, in all directions. There was no point in going back. There was nothing there for them. Moving forward would have been easy with their magic to sweep the deadly spikes away, but under the current conditions they had a difficult situation on their hands.
“The swords will cut them,” Rigo said, “but the effort will drain us quickly. We’re going to need to walk very carefully and step between them. Hopefully they don’t extend too far.”
“We better hope we find the far side before dark,” Tara said. “There is no way to sit or lie down in the middle of these things. If it gets dark while we are still in the middle we won’t be able to see and I don’t think I can stand in place all night.”
“If that happens we can clear a small space with the swords,” Burke suggested. “We might as well get started.” Without another word he led the way into the field of spikes, carefully fitting his boot between the sharp crystal lest he impale himself.
Progress was painfully slow. They followed one after another, placing their feet in the locations that Burke had picked out. After a glass and a half they crested the small hill, only to see the spikes extended at least to the top of the next bluff, a distance greater than that they had already covered.
“My legs are quivering,” Tara protested. “I’d give anything to be able to sit and rest.”
“Let’s see if we can go another half glass,” Rigo urged. “Then we can clear a space and take a short breather.”
Tara nodded, and they continued on. It seemed like they would never reach the far hill, but by the time the half glass had passed they were almost half way there.
Rigo and Burke started chopping away at the spikes, and soon had a small area where it was safe enough to sit. Gratefully the three wizards sat and stretched their legs. Each took a long drink from their waterskins.
“I hope these things don’t extend much beyond the top of the next hill,” Rigo said as he eyed the sun in the sky. They had less than three glass left before the sun would set.
“Rigo,” Burke said sharply.
Rigo reacted to the sound of Burke’s voice and looked up quickly. He turned to look where his friend was pointing.
“Great Risos!” exclaimed Tara as she suddenly stood up.
The area they had cleared was half what it had been. The spikes were reappearing, pushing up out of the soil even as they watched. Before long the entire space would be back the way it had been. If they remained on the ground, they would be impaled on the sharp points as the crystals pushed through the surface. It was obvious they wouldn’t be able to clear a space and spend the night. They would die in their sleep. With no way to make wizard’s light, they would be unable to see to know where to place their feet.
“We’ve got to hurry!” Rigo said, starting off once again, this time taking the lead.
They tried to move faster, knowing how desperate their situation was. The need to move swiftly, yet carefully was taxing, and sweat rolled down Rigo’s face and his shirt was soaked from the effort. A glass and a half later, with the sky visibly darkening, they could see the end of the field of spikes.
“Oh, Thank Risos!” Tara cried as they redoubled their efforts seeing the end in sight.
When Rigo stepped clear of the spikes he felt as if he had fought a great battle. Moments later Burke and Tara stood beside him, as they looked back the way they had come.
“They’re still moving,” Tara said pointing at the edge of the field of crystals.
Burke and Rigo could see what she meant. More of the deadly spikes were pushing up through the ground, moving toward where they stood.
“It senses us,” Rigo said. “We need to get farther away quickly.”
Tara needed no encouragement, and the three wizards nearly ran up the side of the next hill.
Burke pointed to a rocky outcropping some distance ahead. “I think we can stay there tonight,” he said. “Even if the spikes follow us, they won’t be able to push up through the rocks.”
They reached the outcropping just as the sun slipped below the horizon. The dark came swiftly. After a meager meal and a few sips of water, they agreed on the watch rotation. One of them would have to remain alert at all times. Who knew what other dangers lurked in this place?
The next morning came suddenly. The sun was barely over the horizon when the temperatures rose to their normal uncomfortable daytime levels. A quick check showed the spikes had not followed them here. The ground around the rocks was open and clear.
“Which way” Burke asked, as they prepared to set off.
It was a reasonable question. They had been pushing due east all the time in an attempt to cut through the dead zone. Who knew if another direction was better. They only knew that going back wasn’t an option.
Rigo looked at the land around them. There was nothing to give an indication which path might be best. He was about to point along the path they had been following, when he heard the odd squawking of several of the birds they had seen infrequently. They were passing overhead, on a path that took them slightly north of due east.
“Follow the birds,” Rigo said making a sudden decision. The cursed things must need water also. It was a better choice than randomly heading off into the wilderness.
By nightfall they had found nothing, and they were still inside the zone wher
e none of their magic would function. They had seen two other small flocks of the birds as they walked, once seeing one of the feathered creatures dive suddenly out of the sky and return to the air carrying some kind of squirming creature in its beak. It was too far to tell what it had caught, and when they reached the spot that appeared to be where it had caught whatever it was, they found a cluster of the dart firing blossoms.
The following morning found them tired and low on supplies. Today would decide the matter. They had a bit of food, but all of their waterskins were pitifully low. Dejectedly, they headed out along the path they had followed to no avail the previous day. By early afternoon they were parched, and Tara had stumbled and fallen several times. When she collapsed and couldn’t get up again, Burke tossed aside his pack and picked her up.
“Let’s go,” he told Rigo, and the two set off. Rigo knew that Tara’s weight would quickly sap Burke’s strength, and before long it was obvious Burke was struggling.
“Let me carry her for a while,” Rigo offered, and for a time they switched off, carrying the unconscious woman until they couldn’t do so any longer. The periods each could carry her rapidly became shorter and shorter, until Burke finally stumbled and couldn’t get up. Rigo might have made an attempt, but he couldn’t carry them both.
Rigo scanned the horizon in all directions. At first he thought he saw nothing different than they had been seeing for the past few days, but then his eyes locked onto a color he hadn’t seen in the Ruins ever before. Green!
“Burke!” he said excitedly. “I think there is something green over there.” He pointed where he could see the welcoming color that usually meant water. “It’s not that much farther.”
