Choice

by Gary Stringer

  She ran to the stricken dragon's side, Sir Quentin hot on her heels. This simple rescue had suddenly got a lot more complicated. A group of warriors a dozen strong, ran out of the tower towards them, brandishing some of the finest swords either Knight had ever seen. By the way they all moved with confidence and skill, Tanya and Quentin both knew to take their threat very seriously indeed.

  The Knights went for their weapons as one, but at that moment, a rather handsome man - a mage in steel grey robes - emerged at a dead run, some kind of wand in one hand, while with the other he held the hand of a strikingly beautiful Catalyst with piercing blue eyes, long blonde hair flying out behind her as she moved with strength and purpose. Both Knights knew: forget the warriors - these two were the real power here. The way the others adjusted their positions to shield them confirmed it. That made them primary targets.

  “Surrender or die,” said the mage. “You choose!” The Knights' swords rang out in response - a sound that all Knights thought of as the song of death. That was the true purpose of a sword, after all: to bring death. When a Knight drew a sword, he or she was committed to bringing death to the enemy. A Knight of any order did not draw a sword as a mere threat. They carried other, lesser weapons for that. A Knight did not draw a sword unless the intent was to kill. Quentin and Tanya were committed. They had chosen sides - to defend the dragon. The new objective was to rescue the dragon, not the settlers. Threatening the life of a Knight was a terminal pastime. Their lives were the most valuable things they would ever own - they would never have another. Therefore they would fight to preserve their lives. All other considerations were secondary, all other orders rescinded. Only one thing mattered now: Kill.

  The two Knights charged forward, looking to drive a wedge through the warriors and get to the mages beyond, but the warriors were used to being the wall of steel around Michael and Suzanne. They were not hired mercenaries, but highly trained fighters who believed in the cause for which their Lord and Lady were striving. They were loyal protectors who would fall to the last before they allowed any harm to come to Michael and Suzanne.

  The Knights fought hard with every ounce of strength and skill they possessed. A combination of their armour, shield and prowess with a blade protected them from harm, but whenever they manoeuvred an enemy soldier to the point where they could deliver a killing blow, his comrades would pull him or her out of the way and the dance would begin again. It was incredibly frustrating. Finally, however, their training paid off. Analysing the pattern, they caught each other's eyes, and while they were of different orders, they were both Knights and they had an understanding even without words. Timing was critical. They had to act as one. Two halves of one whole. A sharp nod was the signal to begin.

  They pressed as before, but when their quarry was replaced, the two Knights pulled back suddenly, allowing the warriors to push forward. This sudden change caused their lines to stretch, creating gaps. At the exact same moment, Tanya and Quentin used their enemies' own momentum against them, spinning apart, allowing the warriors to surge forward between them, thereby widening the gaps even more. Charging at full speed, they dodged and weaved through the gaps and suddenly they were clear. Quentin targeted the mage, while the Catalyst was Tanya's, but Michael calmly raised his wand and the Knights' swords flew from their gauntleted hands.

  It was a shock, but they knew better than to let that faze them. They had other weapons, after all. Without breaking their stride, Quentin reached for a battle axe, while Tanya favoured the mace. The mage was equally unperturbed, simply swapping the wand for another device in his volumous pockets. The Knights were only a few yards away, but Michael had all the time in the world. He concentrated, channelling his Life through the device, as Suzanne Granted Life to both the device and her husband. Granting Life to inanimate objects had been a strange experience the first time she'd tried it. It still felt a little odd now. But she understood the value of Techmagic and appreciated the endless inventiveness of past Masters of that misunderstood Life Secret.

  The device activated as they unlocked its power, causing a powerful force to slam into the Knights, knocking them into the air and back over the heads of the warriors they had worked so hard to fight their way past.

  By the time they got their feet, they were surrounded. Still their first instinct was to continue the fight, but then Quentin spotted something reflected in Tanya's silver armour. He discretely drew her attention and she had to work hard to school her expression as she saw a figure in golden armour, hidden behind a snowdrift. She could not be seen directly - only by her reflection.

  Tanya had an idea. She just hoped it wasn't too radical for her Dark Knight comrade to follow:

  She dropped her weapon and held up her hands.

  “I give up!” she cried out, rather louder than necessary. “Just stop using that magic! Please!” she begged.

  Quentin made a show of putting his weapon down, too.

  “Hold!” the mage commanded his protectors. “Let them speak!”

  “Oh! Thank you!” Tanya sighed in relief.

  “Do you swear to come in peacefully? No tricks?” The Catalyst demanded. “Sorry?” Tanya yelled. “Can you speak up a bit? That explosion thing you did - I hate loud bangs and I think I landed on my head just now, too! Can't hear a thing! I guess that's why I'm only a squire - never could make the grade as a Knight! Never got the hang of the language, either!” She pulled a face. “Oh, and I tend to run off at the mouth when I get nervous! Dead giveaway!”

  Quentin chose that moment to interject. “Silence, squire!” he ordered. “Thou art sorely out of line!” “I'm sorry, Sir Knight,” Tanya replied, sounding perfectly contrite and cowed. Inside, she was mightily relieved. She needed him to play along if this was going to work, but she wasn't sure if playacting was a Dark Knight skill.

  It wasn't, but he caught on quickly. “My squire is, much as I doth hate to admit it, quite correct, however,” he addressed their `captors`. “We art surely outmatched and 'tis no dishonour to lose to a superior opponent. Therefore we must needs surrender ourselves into thy mercy.” He added a courtly bow, which made Tanya cringe slightly.

  Don't overdo it! she pleaded, silently.

  “As my wife says,” Michael responded. “Come in peacefully with no tricks and you have my word that you won't be harmed.”

  Tanya acted like she was straining to hear, but dared not speak up when her Knight Master had ordered her to remain silent.

  Quentin rolled his eyes and yelled at her. “He didst say we must needs surrender ourselves quietly and peacefully!”

  Tanya nodded. “Yes, Sir! Peaceful as the setting sun!”

  Suzanne narrowed her eyes, suspiciously. “What does that mean?”

  Tanya mentally crossed her fingers.

  “'Tis a Knight’s code meaning unconditional surrender,” Sir Quentin answered.

  Well done, Tanya approved. “Sometimes a Knight may say he doth surrender when it is merely a ruse,” Quentin said, choosing his words carefully. “Only if a Knight doth swear on their Oath can the victor be assured of a Knight’s good faith.”

  “I'm curious,” said Michael. “Why that particular expression? Why those specific words, `as the setting sun`?”

  Quentin shrugged. “'Tis of Paladinian origin, sir. Like much else, my order hath adopted the practice, but I am afraid I amunsure as to its more ancient origins.”

  “That makes sense,” Suzanne allowed.

  Michael was inclined to agree and waved the two Knights forward. “Michael, look out!” gasped one of the warriors, in warning.

  Tanya's heart missed a beat - had her plan been discovered? Both Knights had been very careful not

  to swear on their Oath. They had even warned their `captors` that a Knight might surrender as a ruse. They had told no lies. Honour was satisfied. The phrase `As the setting sun` was in fact a covert command for a Knight to circle round to the West to come at the enemy from behind, but Hannah couldn't possibly have made it all t
he way around so quickly. Had she been spotted part way?

  But no. The warning related to something else entirely. A lizard-like chaos creature had just shimmered into view behind the two magic users and was heading at speed for the Catalyst, intent on ripping out her throat.

  Michael spun to face it and activated his Techmagic device. He only had time for one shot, but one shot would be all he needed. He let his Life Gift flow into the device and Suzanne split hers into two streams as before, and then...

  ...nothing happened. It was an annoying feature of magic, that no matter how skilful and experienced a mage was, no matter how perfectly the spell was apparently cast, there was still a chance, however small, that the magic would randomly fail or `fizzle` as it was technically known. Magicologists believed that this was due to a gap in people's current understanding of the true essence of magic. It was hypothesised that if one had a complete understanding of how magic really worked, one would be able to guarantee perfect casting every time. It was a reasonable assumption, with which Michael was inclined to agree, but it didn't help him at that moment.

  Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the awful truth hit him with all the inevitability of the grave. He tried to put his body between the lizard thing and his beloved Suzanne, but he knew it was futile. He knew about these creatures. They were invisible most of the time, appearing only when they had picked a target. Once that happened, nothing short of death would stop them. They could not be distracted or diverted. They would completely ignore everyone else, focussing exclusively on their target, no matter what injuries it might sustain. This one had chosen Suzanne and if Michael stood in the way, it would simply go around him. It would not harm him, unless it first killed Suzanne and picked him as its next target - though there was no guarantee of that, just because he was closest. These lizards attacked seemingly at random, often crossing the entire battlefield again and again to kill when there were any number of other possible targets, easier targets, more logical targets. Logic was irrelevant. This was a true creature of chaos and its nature was to behave chaotically. Perhaps in its world, its actions were eminently sensible and this world was chaos to its senses. A fascinating idea, but once again it couldn’t help him. Nothing could. He had other weapons, but he didn't have time to grab one and activate it. Not nearly enough time. His Suzanne, his beloved wife was about to be taken from him. Her life, everything she was, was about to come to an end.

  It was hopeless.

  Chapter 18

  ...When Toli came around, the first thing she saw was Granite's face. She couldn't help it - she screamed.

  “Hey, hey, lassie, it's just me,” he soothed, helping her up. “I'm sorry. I didnae mean tae scare ye.” Toli shook her head, trying to compose herself. “No, no, it's OK. I just...” she trailed off as looked around, seeing noone else for as far as the eye could see, which was quite a distance without the fog. “I just thought I saw Jayne.”

  “Is that right?” Granite wondered. “That's interestin'.”

  “Well, of course, I realise now it was just my imagination, probably due to stress.”

  “So ye dinnae see her now, then?”

  “No! How could I? I mean she's-Oh, of course, you don't know!”

  “Know what, lassie?” The hobbit clutched at the dwarf's arm as if clinging t o life itself. “Granite, we've got to get out of here - get back to Eilidh. Something terrible's happened! Jayne and-- and-Bunny,” she stammered. “They-they're-well, they're dead!”

  “Dead?”

  “Z'rcona - she was here - and she had this list, and it's all done. She's finished her mission, Granite!”

  “What mission? What are ye talking about, lass?” He turned away and shouted at the air. “Will ye two both just shut up!” He snapped, irritably.

  “Granite?” Toli began. “Why are you yelling at-?”

  “Don't!” Granite yelled at her. “I know what yer gonna ask but I've had enough of that from these two!” He gestured behind him. “Just slow down, start from the beginning and tell me what’s happened.”

  Toli shook her head, “I don't know what's up with you, but I haven't got time, I’m sorry. I've got to get back to Eilidh! Come or stay, it's up to you, but I'm going.”

  She moved to leave, but Granite stepped in her path and grabbed her firmly, preventing her escape.

  “Forget it!” he roared. “Yer going nowhere!” Toli wa s scared. She couldn’t understand why the dwarf was behaving like this. For a moment she thought he was going to hit her, or worse, but he just forced her roughly to the ground without actually hurting her.

  “Sit and stay!” he commanded as if training a disobedient dog. “And the same goes for you!” he pointed to an area behind him to his left - curiously enough the spot where she had imagined seeing Jayne standing, “and you!” Again, he pointed behind him, but this time on his right hand side. “Thank you,” he said, apparently satisfied.

  “Now then, there's somethin’ goin' on here I dinnae like and none of us is going anywhere until I figure out what it is and what tae do about it.” Hearing no dissent, he relaxed a little, but Toli entertained no notions of trying to rush past him. The mood he was in she'd most likely end up with his battle axe stuck in her back...and that would really hurt.

  “OK,” he said, “introduction time. What I'm about tae say is gonna sound crazy, but it's the truth: In front of me now is Toli, to my left is Jayne, alive and well, and to my right is Calandra who is also alive and well. Now then, Toli has a story to tell us. Toli will tell me and then I'll relay it tae ye two behind me. I am a bard, after all, and good stories are my stockin trade.”

  If the magician was of any mind to object, the murderous look in the dwarf's eyes stifled it. So she just swallowed nervously and told her tale. Granite, true to his word, repeated the story to his unseen audience. It was quite impressive, Toli had to admit.

  “If Eilidh were here, givin' ye a magicology lesson, ye'd listen,” Granite said. “Well it just so happens that I'm a Catalyst, too, and I know more about magic than the three of you, so I'm asking ye to grant me the same courtesy ye would give her.”

  “Are you going to tell me what's going on now, then?” Toli asked, boldly.

  Granite actually smiled. “In all three ears at once,” he remarked. “I guess that means I've got yer attention.”

  “Three ears?” Toli wondered. Granite dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. “Och, just a figure of speech, lass. If one is mono and two is stereo, I wonder what three is,” he mused. Shrugging, he put it from his mind. “As a matter of fact, aye, I am gonna tell ye what's going on. With special thanks tae Z'rcona fer having the answer conveniently written down for us.”

  “Written down?” His three companions asked at once. Granite winced. “I really wish ye'd all stop doin' that,” he complained under his breath. Aloud, he answered them in two words.“Temporal Trap,” he stated. “Somethin' chronomagi used tae play with before the Tech Wars,” he elaborated. “They dinnae have the expertise anymore, but back then, they created these things - the gods know why probably just tae amuse themselves, I shouldn’t wonder. Och, and by the way, Toli, I'm afraid ye get only half marks fer yer magicology. Yer quite right: a mist cannae obscure the flow of magic. Aye that's true, but ye then failed tae draw the correct conclusion from that fact.”

  “Which is?” Toli prompted.

  “It was never mist at all.”

  Toli was beginning to see what he meant. “Only a magical phenomenon could hide the flow of magic.”

  “Exactly, and in just the same way that we perceive magic as colours - not unlike a rainbow - our brains interpreted the veil as a fog rollin' in to hide that rainbow.”

  “OK, but what exactly does a Temporal Trap do?” Toli asked. Granite didn't answer immediately, but the magician could tell he was searching for the best words to use. She respected that and waited patiently. She was still itching to run back to Eilidh, but she knew that her friend would admonish her for such an attitude. “Us
e your head, Toli,” she'd say, and probably bonk her on the head with her staff. “Think! That's the most important thing you can do.”

  I hear you, my friend, she said silently. “Think of it like this,” Granite began. “The future is nae set in stone, it is nae predetermined, it is nae laid out in front of us like it’s the only road in existence, or the river leading to Death's Door. The past, however, is the past and cannae be changed. The present, then, is in a constant state of flux, changing the course of the future with every decision that is made.”

  Toli nodded. She knew that already, but a good explanation of something new should always be rooted in first principles that were known fact. “What do ye do when making a decision?” He asked. It was a rhetorical question. “Well, hopefully, ye think it through. Using yer experience of the past, ye extrapolate a future path for each possibility ye think of. With me so far?”

  Again Toli nodded. “You might even try tae visualise these potential futures in yer head, tae aid in yer decision,” Granite continued. “One of the uses of Time magic is tae project these visualisations for others tae see, when an important decision has to be made. It's used by governments across Mythallen; it's used by the Council of Magic. They're called simulations. Now, a Temporal Trap causes anyone who enters and triggers it, tae see a number of such simulations played out, but unless yer a chronomagus, ye probably won't know they’re simulations. They'll seem real. The mind’s an amazing thing, though. It knows ye cannae handle that much information at once, and so it filters the simulations, so ye only experience one at a time, but that perception can jump simulation tracks, causing disjoined lines of experience.”

  Granite could tell his audience was struggling with the last bit, so he gave some examples. “In one simulation, we had gone into the fog, quickly found the Life Eddy together and narrowly missed a close encounter with Z'rcona when she blew away the clouds. We only got separated on the way out. In another, we were all separated immediately upon entering and I eventually met Jayne who led me to the Life Eddy.”