by Blink, Bob
No one seemed to notice them as they walked around the small marketplace and watched the castle. As near as Rigo could tell, it was a day like any other. There were no special precautions he could see, and the castle was open with the usual crowds making their way through the huge open gates that led into the busy interior courtyards.
“I’ll take us into the Queen’s private wing,” Rigo said finally. Burke wasn’t happy with this part. Just in case there were problems, he and Tara were to wait outside until Rigo or Jeen returned for them. If neither returned to fetch them within a glass, they were to return home. Nycoh and the reserve force she had standing by ready in case of need would return to deal with the situation.
Rigo, Jeen, Kaler and Daria stepped out of the bright sunshine into the more muted light of the inner castle. Rigo had chosen the large hallway that led to the Queens private quarters, knowing it would be well inside the private wing, but still not into the personal area of the Queen. Kaler and Daria were first, and as Rigo stepped into the cool stone hallway, he noted that the two had already disarmed the three guards who had reacted to their sudden appearance.
Rigo noted the rooms that he knew blocked magic from his previous visits, and quickly uttered the phrase as he’d been taught. While Jeen waited, he stepped into one of the rooms to verify his magic was still active. Grinning, he stepped back into the hallway. This time around he was in control.
“You will inform the Queen I wish to speak with her,” Rigo instructed the senior guardsman.
“More guardsmen are on the way,” the man informed Rigo, bravely shaking his head to indicate he wasn’t willing to comply. “You have no permission to be here. You will find it more difficult than you think to harm the Queen.”
“I can blast this place to rubble if need be,” Rigo said, forming a large glowing ball of fire that he held floating a finger’s width above his hand.
The guard gasped. He had never seen this kind of magic performed by someone without a staff. Rigo no longer carried the staff Jeen had given him upon his rescue. Like the other Three Kingdom wizards, he found the smaller talisman Daim created more convenient, especially since the staff served no other purpose. The guard been told the foreign Caster’s were different, but in all the times he’d seen this man in the castle, he’d never seen him perform any magic. He’d come to think of him as being like himself. Realizing his mistake, the guard looked at the other outsiders. If they all held such power . . .
“So you’ve come back,” said a voice he recognized behind him.
Rigo turned and watched as Mitty strolled confidently into the hallway from the room where the Queen lived. She did not appear at all intimidated by his display of power.
“I wondered if we would see you again.” She looked at Jeen as if evaluating a rival, and then to Daria and Kaler who stood with weapons drawn a short distance away.
Rigo saw the Queen step into the hallway behind her, followed by Kall with his own sword drawn, ready to defend the Queen with his life if need be. Rigo thought well of the man for his actions. He had to know if his guards had fallen so easily, there would be little he could do if it came to an altercation. He could see uncertainty in the Queen’s eyes as she evaluated him in a different light than before. He could tell she was fully aware he now controlled immense power, whereas before he’d been helpless against her guards.
“Please come in,” she said after a moment’s pause. “You must be here to talk.”
The foursome followed the Queen, Kall and Mitty into the room. Rigo could tell that this area hadn’t been blocked, and after establishing that no one else was inside, he nodded to Jeen, who quickly made a Bypass and went for Burke and Tara. Moments later they all reappeared
The Queen examined the newcomers. “I’ve never seen any of you before. Where are those who were with you before?”
“They are back home,” Rigo replied.
“And these are more like you?” she asked. Kall and Mitty watched and listened from a few steps behind her. Kall still had his sword, but it hung loosely by his side.
Rigo nodded. He didn’t think this was the time to explain that Kaler and Daria lacked the gift.
She smiled sadly. “So you lied to me after all. I had thought myself a better judge of character.” Rigo could tell she was nervous, but she was still the Queen and wasn’t going to be cowed by their obvious control.
“I didn’t lie to you,” Rigo objected.
“You said that no one from your homeland would be able to come here, and that you couldn’t go back. Obviously those claims were both untrue. I’d call that lying.”
Rigo nodded as acceptance of her claim. “Something happened that I would have thought impossible. The means of opening the Wastelands was rediscovered, and their arrival made possible. It also made it possible for me to return home.”
“The specifics of your departure has made matters difficult. You killed a great many guardsmen and Casters. Carif has made quite an issue of the danger your land represents to Sedfair.”
“The level of violence was dictated by the Guild. They attempted to prevent our departure, and would have killed us had they had the chance. There was no other choice.”
“And so you escaped. Why are you back? Are there a great many of you and are you planning to invade my country? Was Carif right after all?”
“It was you who attacked us,” Rigo replied angrily. “Your Casters came and destroyed the barrier that has long protected the Three Kingdoms from the Hoplani, the Chulls, as you refer to them.”
Queen Rosul wasn’t prepared for the surprising accusation, nor for the venom in Rigo’s statement. It took her a moment to realize the implications.
“You must be mistaken,” she said lamely. “I have told you we have no means of crossing the Wastelands. That was why we were so surprised at your unexpected appearance before.”
“We believe that during our escape we lost one of the special talismans that allow us to make the crossing. It is likely it fell into the hands of your Guild leader, and using this and the memories of my friend whom they killed when I was incarcerated here, made the crossing and launched an attack.”
“I know nothing of this,” she stammered. “If true, that is an act of war. She had no right to take such action.”
Rigo had been watching the Queen closely as she spoke. He could detect no sign of deceit. His eyes found Mitty’s, which were wide with surprise and shock. Rigo looked at Jeen and explained what had been said. She shook her head. She didn’t believe they were lying either. Even though she was unable to understand the language, the body language had been quite obvious.
“You didn’t know?” Rigo asked, his voice calmer and less accusing now.
“Nothing,” Rosul said obviously shaken. She walked over and sat into a large chair. “What is the consequence of the loss of these towers of yours. I recall you mentioned them, but we never pursued the matter very far.”
“Tens of thousands of the Chulls are marching westward toward the Three Kingdoms. It is likely that thousands of people will die as a result. There are too many and they are too widely scattered to be able to stop them all before they can destroy any number of villages. It is unknown what will be required to rebuild the damaged towers and reestablish the barrier. It could take years, during which time the Chulls will have free access to the Kingdoms. The death toll could be very large.”
“This is unconscionable,” Rosul said softly. “Does that mean you have declared war upon Sedfair. Is that why you are here?”
“We came to understand if this was truly an act of war or the actions of a single entity,” Jeen said, speaking for the first time. Once again Rigo had to translate her words. “I am an official emissary selected by the leaders of the Three Kingdoms to investigated if a diplomatic solution with Sedfair seems feasible. It appears the rightful rulers were not a party to this attack. That means there is a chance for some kind of agreement, but this Guild and its leaders will need to be held accountable.”
/> “That will not be so easy,” Queen Rosul said. “They hold power similar to your own, and if it comes to a confrontation, we have no means to constrain them.”
“We have the ability to deal with them,” Rigo said.
“They will know you are here,” Mitty said. “As you haven’t brought a large force, you will be badly outnumbered.”
“How can they know we are here?” Rigo asked.
“There has been a lot of talk about you, especially since you left. It is said you don’t know or don’t bother to hide your Doorways. They can sense the arrival, they monitor all Doorways in Nals, and can tell from where they originate. If you came from the Wastelands, they will know. Also, they can tell approximately how many passed through. They will know you are few in number.”
Rigo explained to the others what Mitty had just told him.
“Are they likely to attack here in the castle?” Rigo asked. “I would have guessed not,” Rosul said, “but given what you have told me, I cannot say for certain. Politically it would be unwise, but who knows what Carif might do.”
Rigo turned to Tara. “Go back to the Outpost. Have Nycoh send the additional force. We might need the strength to prevent being taken.”
Tara made a Bypass and quickly disappeared after a meaningful look at Burke.
“We are going to need to discuss how to proceed,” Rigo said.
“I have people who might be able to help,” Queen Rosul explained.
“Lyes,” Rigo said, looking at Mitty.
“Him, and others,” Rosul agreed. “He has spent years inside the Guild’s University and will have information that will be helpful. He might also be able to show you how to mask your Doorways. He has that ability.”
“How do we join up with this Lyes?” Rigo asked. He had met the young man before and wanted to check out his inherent abilities more closely now that he could do so freely. He also wanted to know if the Queen had more like him stashed away. If she was willing to reveal their existence, that said a great deal about her willingness to cooperate with them.
“It will be tricky,” Queen Rosul said. “They are many days travel away from here using conventional means, and if you make a Doorway to where they are, Carif will know where you went. That would expose a place I’d rather keep secret.”
“I can take him out of town,” Mitty offered. “We can get far enough away the Doorway won’t be detected.”
“That would work,” Kall agreed. “A half day’s ride should be sufficient.”
“Why not simply jump back to the Ruins, and then to where you want to go?” Kaler asked, after Rigo explained to the others what was being suggested. “I don’t like the idea of us being split up. We are too small a force as it is.”
“Theoretically they could follow our jump into the Ruins, and then to wherever we went,” Jeen explained. “We need to be able to make the Bypass without them being aware we did so.”
A convoluted conversation ensued as the group considered their options, with Rigo caught in the middle as the translator, being the only one who understood both languages.
Daria was the first to hear the shouts and clang of steel upon steel. “There’s fighting in the hallway,” she warned, withdrawing a pair of knives from her special vest.
The others could hear the fighting as well. “Would Carif attack the castle?” Rigo asked Mitty.
“Not openly,” Mitty replied, her eyes wide at the sounds coming from the far side of the door. “An attack from the outside would be too public and bring attention to the division between the Crown and the Guild. But inside, where it wouldn’t be obvious, she might.”
“We’ve been foolish,” Jeen said, suddenly seeing the ploy. “They are aware we are here just as the Queen said, and they are talking advantage of the situation. They can attack, when the Queen gets killed in the process, part of their plan obviously, it will be the fault of a force from the Three Kingdoms. The Guild will sadly explain that they attempted to save her, but were unable to do so.”
Chapter 64
Alone in her office, Carif was attempting to decide the most expedient way to move forward. The last week had seen an unusually large number of changes, and many required her personal approval for any meaningful action to occur. The names of the candidates wishing to be the next Queen were now formally released. The five candidates were currently being escorted around Sedfair by a pair of the Guild’s Senior Casters, where they were making their individual pitches to the leaders of the major villages. It was all very proper, and meant nothing at all. The winner was already selected. It was simply a matter of going through the formal process to have the votes cast and counted. Carif knew how that would come out. Another two weeks and she would be rid of the bothersome Rosul. At least officially. There remained several issues that would require follow-up.
Carif was still smarting from the humiliation dealt the Guild by the escape of the three outsiders who she had ultimately been responsible for guarding. The very public defeat of her guardsmen and Casters was equally upsetting. Fortunately the most significant losses had occurred far from the public eye, so few were aware just how many people had been lost in the escape. She still couldn’t believe that so few had been able to overcome the large numbers that had been sent in pursuit. It was also worrisome not knowing exactly what had happened to those that had disappeared. At least she had been able to use the violent escape against the reigning Queen, which had kept the woman quiet for the moment.
Sedfair had a large number of Casters risen to the staff. Nearly eight hundred at the last accounting. Of course, many of those were village Casters or those assigned to the Army. Far fewer were Senior Casters capable of exchanging magic with the trained wizards from the west. Since Nals was the nations capital and the location of the Guild and the associated University for Magic, an unusually large number of Seniors Casters were always located here. Carif has been even more fortunate that the Queen’s constant pressure to have a force on hand in Nals against Baldari attacks around the country had provided a large base to draw from when the escape had taken place. After that, as her own plans against the west and concerns about retaliation developed, she’d drawn even more of the experienced Casters away from their assignments around Sedfair so they would be available at short notice.
Carif fingered the amulet that she now wore around her neck. It had been returned to her after Suline and the two other women had come back from their successful exploration into the Three Kingdoms. The success of that attempt had been the first bit of good luck associated with this entire affair. With the return of the three women and their descriptions of what they had found, Carif had chosen a bold course. She needed to put those in that far away land to the west off balance. After the successful rescue of their countrymen, Carif could imagine them returning in force to avenge the treatment they had been subjected to. Given the damage they had shown themselves capable of, Carif wasn’t ready for such an encounter.
Suline had described in great detail what she had learned about travel within the Wastelands, even with the special amulet. From what she had learned, it was possible to envision how the outsiders had made their way across the vast desert, discovering the random patches of normal land scattered throughout the Wastelands. The key to making their way into the Three Kingdoms had been the two oases somewhere near the middle of the vast desert. Suline had explained how those patches were the only paths known that would allow crossing over. She also explained how easy it would be to fortify the small oases and thereby prevent their side from using them. Suline’s bold move of building a Doorway into the Wastelands near the oasis and then sneaking in unobserved so she could complete the trip into the Three Kingdoms had shown the woman’s determination. Unfortunately, the arrangement revealed how easily Sedfair could be cut off. Carif could imagine a major battle to gain possession of one or both of the two patches of land.
There almost had to be more of the oases. The explorers from the Three Kingdoms had found many. Unfortunately
the Reading of the woman had revealed no awareness of any others. That just meant these were the only ones she had visited. The outsiders who discovered the route had to know of others. The woman simply hadn’t been part of that group. At least, that was what Carif believed.
Fearful that the oases would be quickly blocked, Carif had elected to strike. She reasoned that the strike she had planned would serve several important purposes. The huge towers that protected the Kingdoms from the Chulls were vulnerable to their magic and she was convinced the system could be made to fail. That would allow the dangerous creatures to move west causing untold destruction and death. The wizards would be hard put to deal with the sudden migration of so many of the creatures. From Suline’s reports and what she had seen from the memories extracted from the Reading, the western lands were under siege by a far greater number than Sedfair had ever been required to deal with.
With the wizards occupied with trying to contain the attacking creatures and restore their barrier, they hopefully wouldn’t have the resources to bother with Sedfair and the Guild. The images from the woman named Orna had revealed the approximate strength of the wizard community there. Sedfair had a greater number of Casters, but they were less capable overall. Carif had discussed the matter at great length with her remaining Specialists. What they intended was clearly an act of war, and would result in the deaths of untold numbers of innocents, but it would buy them needed time.
They had finally decided to send a strong force of Casters. No guardsmen would make the trip. Care would be required to be able to sneak past the bottleneck oasis and into the Three Kingdoms. The larger the number, the more difficult the task would become. The risks were great, and there was the unsettling chance that the team would be detected and wiped out. That would have not only cost them more of their most talented Casters, but also the amulet which was their only means of making the crossing.
