Into The Ruins

by Blink, Bob

  “We’re going along,” Kaler said.

  Daria nodded her agreement. Rigo looked at his two friends and without hesitating replied, “Of course.”

  Chapter 67

  The next morning the five of them returned to the Outpost in preparation for the return to Sedfair and the trip to the island off the coast along the northern shore of the country. Rigo and Jeen explained to Nycoh what they had in mind, and why they didn’t think a large force should accompany them. If, for some reason, they were late in returning, both Queen Rosul or her consort would be able to direct anyone who followed to the island. Then Rigo went in search of Ash’urn, who would need to take time out from what he was doing in order to provide translator duties in Sulen. When he arrived with Fen following along, Jeen and he were engaged in conversation.

  “I’ve almost got it, I think,” Ash’urn said with his characteristic grin showing through his beard. “It’s a tricky phrase, but with Fen’s help I think I can master it.”

  Rigo shot Ash’urn a questioning look.

  “The Bypass,” Ash’urn explained. “We dug up the required combination of runes and glyphs, and Fen thinks he knows the proper trigger, but neither of us has been able to make it work just yet. Something is a bit wrong we have yet to figure out, but before long, I’ll be able to jump around like the rest of you. Then I won’t need Jeen or anyone to transport me around.” His eyes twinkled at the thought. Rigo noted he carried the staff he’d been awarded, and that the beginnings of a new set of symbols was showing along the smooth section. It was a spell for something that Ash’urn had worked out and was confident he could control effectively. Rigo wondered what it was but knew the elder scholar liked his secrets and would explain them at the appropriate time.

  Daria and Kaler returned from their room in the far wing about the same time. Daria had needed to replace some of her knives, as they had left the altercation back in Nals before she’d had a chance to recover those she’d used. She kept a large supply of extras, which were normally in her pack when they traveled, but for the last trip she’d left them here at the Outpost. Rigo noted they’d both elected to bring along their bows, since the place they were visiting was outdoors. Daria’s small longbow rested across her back easily, and Rigo knew she could slip out of it effortlessly if she needed the agility of being unencumbered. Kaler’s larger and much heavier crossbow was strapped across his back, secured by a modified version of the harness he used for his two-handed sword that he frequently carried. Anyone not as broad and strong as Kaler would have found the clunky crossbow a burden, but he carried it effortlessly, and like Daria had mastered the technique of shedding it smoothly if he needed to do so.

  Mitty watched the preparations with interest, and despite her inability with the language she could pick up on nuances that passed between the group. She looked somewhat out of place as she still wore the clothing she’d arrived in. Unlike Queen Rosul and Kall, she’d escaped injury and her garments hadn’t been damaged. Rigo couldn’t help noticing how good she looked.

  “They are close friends aren’t they?” she said. “You interact almost as family.”

  Rigo smiled, and nodded. “We have been together for a long time. They were with me when I first discovered the hidden caves in the Ruins where Daim and I became one and he unlocked my full ability.” Rigo had told her some of his story the previous evening as they had sat alone by the fire in the common area adjacent to their rooms at the castle in Sulen. She now knew why he thought there was a chance he’d come from Sedfair, and how he’d acquired much of his knowledge about the ancient times, and how his magic had grown from a very limited ability to what he was now capable of. “I wouldn’t have survived without them. They are closer than family, and are more important to me than anyone in the world.”

  Mitty would provide the mental image of where they were to go, once they were closer to their destination. Burke would come along. No travel would be sensible with a single wizard. The risks of being stranded if something happened were too great. They would pass through the guarded oasis, then jump to the island, to a spot just on the edge of the somewhat hidden village near the center. Their arrival would be unannounced, and no one there would know of the Saltique’s treachery as yet.

  They stepped out of the Bypass onto the island, almost immediately drawing the attention of three of the islanders. The three men hurried toward them, their swords coming out as they did so. Kaler and Daria responded in kind, and as the armed islanders approached, Mitty told Rigo she didn’t know any of them. None of the three carried a staff, which indicated that magic wasn’t going to be an issue, so this should be easily contained.

  Before any of the approaching swordsmen could speak, Mitty stepped forward and said. “We have come to speak with Lyes. My name is Mitty. He knows me. Have someone inform him that I am here.”

  The leader of the approaching group looked at her distrustfully. “I don’t know any Lyes. How did you get onto this island? I didn’t see any ships.” His eyes quickly scanned those with her.

  “You know how we had to arrive. We came through a Doorway. Now go and get Lyes.”

  The man scanned them uncertainly. He didn’t see a staff, but asked anyway. “Are you one of the Guild’s Casters?”

  Mitty scoffed. “I am one of Queen Rosul’s trusted friends, and these are visitors from across the Wastelands. I know about the island and those of you who the Queen has hidden here. I know about your hidden magic talent. She is the reason we are here. Now get Lyes. He knows me, and has seen Rigo before. He’ll understand.”

  The three men looked uncertain in light of how much Mitty obviously knew.

  “Lay down your weapons,” the leader said finally. “Then we will escort you to someone you can talk with.”

  Rigo quickly translated for Kaler.

  “That’s not going to happen,” Kaler said knowing that the man wouldn’t understand, as he spun his sword, displaying it in a manner that showed his superb control of the weapon and said what his words wouldn’t convey.

  The leader of the group uncertainly started to advance, his sword raised in preparation for a fight, when Rigo decided it was time for a little magic. Burke looked as if he was about to take action, and Rigo wished to avoid any fighting. These people would hopefully be on their side. He created a spectacular display consisting of a huge ball of flashing bolts of colored lightning that floated in the air and grew in size until it was much larger than a man. The effect was startling, and the three men drew back in surprise. Rigo had always liked this particular manifestation, even though it was all but useless and he’d never quite figured out what it was good for.

  The leader turned to one of his companions and shouted. “Go get Shas. Tell her what is happening. She’ll know what to do.” He watched as the man followed his instructions and broke for the village, and then he turned back, determined to stand his ground.

  Rigo was impressed. Most would have turned and run when faced with something that was clearly beyond their ability, but this man appeared determined to stay and fight, even if he couldn’t hope to win. Rigo snuffed the flashing display, and smiled at the nervous swordsman. “We’ll wait for your friends,” he said.

  It didn’t take long. Within a very short time, the swordsman returned, a number of additional fighters and three men carrying staffs with him. In the lead was Lyes. The other two staff carriers Rigo didn’t recognize. Neither apparently did Mitty. That didn’t matter. Lyes was here, and that’s what counted.

  “Mitty,” Lyes said seeing her standing there. He’d been told that was the name that a woman had used, but he didn’t see how she could have come here. Now he saw it was true. His eyes shifted naturally to the man standing calmly next to her. “You!” he said, realizing who it was. He checked quickly and saw that the bands the outsider had worn when they had last met were gone. He must have the powers that the Queen had told him about. He recalled this one had sensed his own abilities.

  “The Queen sent us,” Mitt
y said quickly, before any misunderstanding could develop.

  “Queen Rosul?” Lyes said, looking toward Mitty. “What has happened?”

  Briefly, Mitty summarized what had happened at the castle the previous day. She explained how Rigo and his friends, a larger group than were here today, had come to visit the Queen. While Rigo and his friends were at the castle in Nals, Carif had launched an attack, clearly intending to kill the Queen and blame the outsiders. All had been taken to safety, and Queen Rosul was currently staying with one of the royal families in the Three Kingdoms. She finally explained how Carif had attacked the western lands.

  “Across the Wastelands?” Lyes asked unbelieving.

  Mitty nodded. “Your young friend Fen is there as well. He is making quite a name for himself. Rosul wishes you to come to her. That is why we have come. Carif is going to be actively seeking this group, and now she has nothing to restrain her. She can claim she is seeking the outsiders, who she has surely blamed for kidnapping the Queen or perhaps even killing her. We have only days to react.”

  Lyes was clearly uncertain. “We must speak with Shas,” he said. “You must come and tell this tale to her. She will decide what is to be done.”

  Nothing more was said about leaving weapons behind, and as a group they headed into the secluded village. Lyes and Mitty lead the way, with the westerners sandwiched between them and the remaining islanders who followed along behind.

  Once they met with the Elders, the story was told again.

  “Why did you come to Sedfair?” she asked Rigo.

  “Because of the Hoplani,” he answered truthfully. “You call them Chulls. There are more of them in our land, and they are becoming a growing problem. Now, because of the actions of your Saltique, thousands in my land are threatened. Many will die, and we don’t know if we can rebuild what she has destroyed.”

  “Why did you come here to the island today?”

  “We came at the request of your Queen. She sees a chance to break the traitorous grasp of the Guild. We have a common goal. The Three Kingdoms sees this Carif as a threat that must be dealt with.”

  Shas was rightfully concerned about developments, and after some consideration selected Lyes’s brother Stev and another novice named Arnad to go along. She indicated if they hadn’t returned in two days, or if any indication the island had been discovered surfaced, she would have the village residents dispersed to the backup sites. Only because Lyes knew Mitty well enough did Shas trust what she was being told. Even so, she intended to be careful.

  Rigo looked at Stev with interest. He rivaled Kaler in size, with arms that might have even been larger, and had the same broad shoulders and narrow waist. He looked more like a fighter, but Rigo sensed the same spark of inherent magic as he’d detected in Lyes those many weeks ago. Scanning the village, Rigo sensed over a hundred with the spark. All were at the novice level, but there were more potential wizards here in the camp than had been at the Outpost the first time he’d visited there so long ago. That suggested that Sedfair most likely had a large number of additional gifted scattered throughout the land, most unaware of the ability they carried within. Rigo suspected that within the Guild there would be some, and they probably attributed their magic solely to their ability with the symbols, not realizing what they really were.

  “You can really perform your magic without the symbols?” Lyes asked as the group assembled to leave. “I can do basic things, but nothing on a grand scale, and certainly I’m not able to make a Doorway without them.”

  “That’s because your abilities have not been fully unlocked, nor have you been passed the knowledge of inherent magic. That can be changed. We might be able to share. You are said to know some things that we would like to learn. It’s something to discuss back in the Three Kingdoms.”

  Rigo made a Bypass to the village of Slipi. It took them some time, but soon enough they were able to locate Fen’s family, and with Mitty’s help make them understand he was well and where he wanted to be. Fen’s father, Olar, elected to come with them and see for himself. From Slipi, Rigo opened the Bypass that would take them deep into the Ruins to the oasis. A short time later they stepped into the common area of the castle, where Lyes spotted Fen speaking with an older man he didn’t recognize. Fen screamed out a greeting, and ran to his father. The sound of their arrival brought Queen Rosul out of her room.

  Because of the time difference, it was still early afternoon in Sulen, and by the time evening arrived, Rigo had made a trip to the Outpost to speak privately with Nycoh. He already had Jeen’s agreement, and so when he returned to the castle, he was able to offer Lyes something he’d never dreamed possible.

  “You are able to release my full potential?” he asked excitedly.

  “It will take some amount of time before everything settles down, but you will notice a significant increase in strength by morning. I will also be able to pass you much of the knowledge required to perform magic in the manner we do.” Rigo intended to hold back certain abilities until they were certain of this group, but he suspected that was a caution that would prove unnecessary. A short time later, Lyes, Stev, and Arnad submitted to the short procedure. They would be the first capable wizards Sedfair had known in thousands of years.

  Chapter 68

  After activating the nodes of the three novice wizards from Sedfair the previous evening, the group had divided up. Jeen would stay at the castle, which was her home. Mitty, along with the Queen and King of Sedfair would remain as well, although it was obvious that Mitty would have liked to stay closer to Rigo. The rest, including the new wizards they had brought from the island, all returned to the Outpost. There were more facilities there, and there was much to show them. Since Ash’urn, Fen, and Fen’s father Olar, were returning as well, that left no one who spoke the language of Sedfair in Sulen, but Rigo planned to return in the morning.

  At the Outpost, Rigo had provided the newcomers with a tour, but soon enough it was clear that Fen was enjoying his status as the first from Sedfair to have come to the Three Kingdoms, and he was openly proud to be carrying a staff just like the others. Fen and Ash’urn took over the duties of showing everyone around, and soon Rigo excused himself after agreeing to meet them first thing in the morning. Burke would return Fen’s father to Sedfair a bit later, with a more extended visit with the whole family expected before too long.

  “That’s remarkable,” Lyes said early the next morning after he had made his first Doorway without use of the staff or any other Casting symbols. Rigo had each of the newly activated wizards attempt the same feat, each making a Doorway between the test area outside the Outpost and the castle grounds they had visited the evening before. Those were the only two locations in the Three Kingdoms they had visited thus far, so options were limited. Then he walked them through several other magical skills to show what they could do.

  “Your strength will continue to grow over the next couple of weeks,” Rigo explained. “Your ultimate capability will depend on your inherent ability, and we have no way to be certain just what that will mean. You will each also have areas where you are stronger, and some where you are weaker. I am very limited with healing skills, and more capable with combat magic.”

  “We won’t be needing the staffs much longer?” Stev asked.

  “Unless the staff allows you access to magical spells that your inherent magic doesn’t,” Rigo replied. “We haven’t learned much about the staff, so we don’t know just how it might augment our own magic.”

  Rigo took the opportunity offered by the discussion of alternate magic to question Lyes about his ability to mask the endpoints of his Doorways. Lyes knew what he did when he created the Doorway the old way, but when it came to using his inherent magic, he knew he was able to do so, but couldn’t explain how. He was still overwhelmed with his new ability, and didn’t really understand how he was able to do any of what he did. He was too used to being required to link with the triggering symbols, and simply wishing the magic into existence
was foreign to him. Unfortunately, no one present was even able to verify he was successfully creating the masked end points because none of them, Lyes included, had the important skill of being able to detect the unmasked end points. Like masking, that was a skill that was relatively rare even among Casters back in Sedfair. The one bit of help that Lyes was able to provide was to show Ash’urn what he had been doing wrong in his attempts to trigger the Doorway spell. He and Fen had made a couple of missteps, and he had to retrace his efforts and relearn a modified triggering phrase. Lyes warned him that even getting it right was no guarantee. Unlike wizards with inherent magic, where all found the making of Doorways straightforward, only a fraction of the Casters were ever able to learn that particular capability.

  When they returned inside, they encountered Jeen who had just arrived from Sulen. She was going to see Nycoh. The two women would be going to Kellmore and Lopal to escort the leaders of those two countries to the castle in Sulen. The formal meetings would be held today between the leaders of the Three Kingdoms and the leaders of Sedfair. A lot depended on the outcome, and Rigo would be spending the day in Sulen to facilitate the translation. He wished there was another way, but dealing with a vastly different language was a problem none of them had ever encountered before. Fen was picking up a few words, and Mitty had shown she was quick to learn the local words, but neither was anywhere near capable of making themselves understood as yet. Certainly neither could support the intense discussions that would be required for the royal negotiations.

  Turning the group over to Ash’urn and Fen, Rigo left for Sulen, spending a glass speaking privately with King Rhory and Queen Mos’pera. He provided them with as much background as possible on Sedfair, and gave them his personal feelings about the path that would most benefit the Three Kingdoms. He emphasized that there wasn’t the time usually available in such situations. If anything was to be gained, it must be before a new Queen was installed. After that, Rosul would have little official power, despite being well liked by her people. The traditions there were deeply rooted, and once her power was passed on, it would be impossible to gain it back.