by Bob Blink
Ferd nodded and surveyed the two Wanderers. “I knew nothing of the caravan until news came of the massacre,” he said. “They did not stop to speak with me. I only learned of it afterwards, when I sent word through the message channels. Some of your people came after that.”
Daria watched the young shopkeeper as he told his lies. She could read people better than most, and was certain he wasn’t being truthful. Nadine had been right about him.
Kaler, who was taking the lead, nodded. “I can understand why that might have been. The items they were carrying were believed to be something the wizards would be eager to see, and Jurde probably wanted to deliver them as soon as possible. And now they are lost, along with the lives of our friends. Is there a way you can arrange for shipment, quietly of course, of those items we are carrying?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Ferd replied. “The shop often sends items to outlying farms, and sometimes to nearby villages. Another few packages would go unnoticed. What will you do?”
“We are staying at the inn near the edge of town. The one across from the small lake. We will begin the journey back to our caravan tomorrow, back out the east road. Both of us will feel better to be away from here. There is nothing we can do.”
At Ferd’s direction, they pulled the wagon around back. He claimed that he wished to unload out of sight, thereby minimizing any chance that someone might realize there were more of the artifacts. Daria was certain he didn’t want anyone to know for other reasons. It didn’t take long for the boxes to be unloaded, and Daria made certain that Ferd spotted one of the gold encrusted tablets when she accidentally let a box slip. After paying Ferd his requested shipping fee and providing the destination address, they left Ferd and the shop to return to the inn.
“Tonight we will see,” Daria said as they rode away. “He won’t make a move until after dark.”
“What if he isn’t the one?” Kaler asked, although he also believed the young man to be involved.
“He is,” Daria said positively.
That night Kaler stood watch in the alley across the street from the shop. Daria was already on top of the roof, having located a spot where she could hide unseen and listen to anything that transpired below. A short time earlier, four rough looking men had ridden up and left their horses behind the shop. Kaler waited impatiently wondering what was taking place. Tonight he had his crossbow, and his sword, two items he hadn’t carried earlier in the day. Both he and Daria no longer wore the bright Wanderer clothing, and while he knew she had not been discovered, he was impatient for this to be over.
Finally the four men reappeared on their mounts from behind the shop. They hadn’t ridden very far when Daria suddenly appeared beside him. He had been watching to see if he could spot her leaving the roof, but had seen nothing.
“Let’s go,” she said softly, her eyes hard in the moonlight. “It’s them.”
Kaler led the way to their own mounts, which they climbed aboard and started after the retreating visitors. They stayed well back and in the shadows. No action was planned tonight. Even if Daria had established these were among those responsible, killing them outright would not help them find either the missing girls or the stolen items. It would simply alert the others involved, making it harder to find and deal with them. Tonight they just wanted to simply see where they went and then they could plan.
The foursome rode out of town and headed west. Following was easy enough. The men were mostly concerned of what was behind them. Daria chose protected spots to create Doorways that allowed them to move ahead of the group. From concealment, they watched as the group approached and moved on. By leaping ahead this way, they were not where the men were focused, and they easily followed them to the farmhouse where they lived.
“A dozen horses in the corral,” Kaler noted once the foursome had gone inside. “There might be more in the barn. That’s enough to make it interesting.”
Daria smiled. Kaler was joking, of course. There was no plan to take action tonight. As good as they were, with men like these, twelve was too many. Also, the situation was uncontrolled. They needed to know who was in charge, and they wanted to thin out his men, and then have a productive discussion with him. Now they knew where the men were. They would have to return to the inn, and then play out the role they had begun. She signaled Kaler, and they slid back behind one of the small hills before Daria made the portal back to the inn.
“They went through the boxes with young Ferd,” Daria explained when they were back in the inn. “They were very happy with what they saw.”
“They should be,” Kaler said. “You spent a lot of golds to gather that stuff.”
“It’s only money,” Daria reminded him. “Besides, we’ll get it back. Their plan is to leave it with Ferd just in case we come back, but to follow us down the trail as we leave, and hopefully make us disappear. Then they can make off with the packages and Ferd will simply play dumb. We never left him anything, and as far as he knows we asked about those who were killed and then planned to go home. Works for them, but also for us.”
Kaler knew what she meant. They had clearly linked Ferd to the bandits and they now knew where the group hid. In the morning, some of their number would be sent in pursuit with the intent to kill Daria and himself. He couldn’t see the entire band coming, so that would split the number they had to deal with. Knowing the men were coming would mean those trailing them were in for a surprise. Once they eliminated the prospective killers, the force back at the hideaway would be more manageable.
“What time do we leave in the morning?” he asked.
“Earlier than they expect. They will be waiting for us up the trail. I want them to discover we are already ahead of them.”
Chapter 16
Ash’urn leaned back into the padded chair he had placed next to his worktable. He was in his workspace at the Outpost trying for the thousandth time to make some real headway into understanding the strange glyphs that were etched into the staff of the former Saltique. Similar runes and glyphs could be found in the scrolls and objects that were spread around the old and scratched table in front of him. Some they now understood, but three symbols, a complicated glyph and a pair of unusual runes still eluded them. In the art of magic, knowing only some of the symbols was as useless as not understanding any. Unless the full string could be assembled and the triggering phrases mastered, the spell would not be activated. Sometimes he envied his friends who relied on their inherent abilities and didn’t have to understand the nature of the magic they controlled.
He sighed heavily. His mind wasn’t as sharp as he’d have liked, and as he stared at the mystery in front of him, he had little inspiration how to proceed. He felt like he had a head cold, but this one had persisted for a number of weeks, and he could tell it was affecting more than his mental acuity. His limbs felt heavy and he knew he looked and felt suddenly older. He’d quietly asked Jeen a few days earlier to use her magic and have a look at him. She’d found nothing that would point to the source of his problems. His organs all were operating at reduced levels, but that came with age, and Jeen sadly warned him that he was reaching that time when he simply couldn’t maintain the pace he’d become used to over the years. Perhaps that was it, but it had come upon him far too swiftly. Just the last year he had endured the rigors of the Ruins with Rigo, and he hadn’t found that overwhelming. Perhaps the stress of that adventure was at the root of his troubles. For a time he’d worried that his condition was the result of a backlash from the spell he’d executed to eliminate the Hoplani cavern, but he’d checked with those who had eliminated the other caverns in a similar manner, and none had similar symptoms.
Perhaps it was the pressure of knowing how important his research might be, and knowing they were not making the kind of progress he was used to. The accelerated attacks by the Baldari, and their growing use of magic, including the protective barrier that none had been able to penetrate was a major concern. If he could unravel the secret of the destru
ctive greenish energy that Carif and her supporters had used, they might have a weapon that would turn the situation around. He had the best help he could wish for. Nycoh was a frequent participant in his efforts, as were several of the Guild’s top scholars. Perhaps the most persistent and insightful helper he’d had was young Fen. Fen was supposed to be buried in his University studies, but he’d found the formality and pace unchallenging after working with Ash’urn and the other wizards at the Outpost. He also had an eye for symbols bested by none. He could spot similarities and links to current symbols that went unnoticed until he pointed out the common threads. He also had a memory that latched onto everything he learned and forgot nothing. Much of their current progress could be traced to the young Caster.
The workspace that surrounded Ash’urn was cluttered and overly crowded with objects and papers, the result of past studies and his current efforts. He liked it that way. He knew where almost everything in the room was, and what it related to. Every journal he had ever written was now gathered in the workroom. It had taken time to retrieve them all, but now he had them close at hand in case he wished to refer to something he’d encountered decades in the past. Scrolls from the Guild library filled numbered slots in his holding wall, and all of the artifacts that Jeen had wisely recovered from Ald-del more than a year earlier found a spot somewhere in this room. A number of ancient texts had been found among the Ald-del artifacts and for the most part they were in better shape than the book of Carif’s. Unfortunately, they didn’t have what he sought. Some of the recovered items from Ald-del were on the table in front of him. Those were items that displayed some of the same maddening symbols that frustrated him. Several of the texts were liberally filled with symbols that they didn’t understand. Those were something for a future study, but since the three symbols that he needed were to be found, he’d brought them over where they were close at hand.
Several objects whose purpose he didn’t understand also sat or lay on the old table. In front of him was a plate, whose inner surface was covered with the ancient runes, and to his left was a sturdy black rod that had tiny versions of the old fashioned symbols snaking around the surface. It reminded him somewhat of the staff that Nycoh carried these days. The color was similar, and the runes wound around the staff in a similar manner, the runes and glyphs of different spells crossing over one another where they shared a symbol. It was another thing that Ash’urn had to speak to her about at some point, but he knew that much of her current focus was using the symbolic magic to somehow augment and boost her inherent ability. It was an area where Ash’urn couldn’t follow. His magic was bound to those spells that Casters could access. Both of these objects had been stored out of view in the dungeon of Ald-del for more than a thousand years.
Sitting on the floor behind him were the four viewing monitors they had recovered. One was the one that had led Jeen to where Rigo and he had been held prisoner, the remaining three had been found in the Guild Headquarters. The three in the Guild Headquarters had been damaged during the attacks there, one with a section blasted away. Ash’urn had hopes of learning their secrets as well, maybe being able to activate them once again. So much to do.
Ash’urn also had the unique staffs that had been taken from Carif and the Caster Mande, along with the book that they had found in her hideaway. These had gotten them started, but too many gaps existed in the book to complete the phrase they sought. Even the old books that Daim had provided and which lay scattered around the desk hadn’t been enough.
Ash’urn let his eyes wander across the scattered items hoping for inspiration to strike. He wondered how Fen was doing with the idea he’d indicated had come to him, but which he didn’t want to explain until he’d had a chance to do some research. He was back across the Ruins, digging in the stacks of the University library. He hoped the youth had latched onto something. He hated to think that Carif and her small group of misfits had been able to discover a secret that he was unable to unravel.
His hand reached out and grabbed the stained journal that he’d placed away from the other items. This was one of the journals he’d taken with him into the Ruins the previous season. It was open to the first of several pages of sketches that showed the large metal artifact they had found in the middle of nowhere. He’d done far better in his efforts to understand the strange object. Piecing together bits of information extracted from the four sets of symbols, which he assumed carried the same message in different languages, he now believed the object was some kind of a Bypass generator. If he was right, it was intended to take someone from the artifact to a pre-assigned location when activated.
There was much he didn’t understand. First was why such a device might be needed. If so many had ability with magic in those ancient times, why would they require such a device? Perhaps he had misunderstood the translation. He’d toyed with the idea it was intended to transport those without magical abilities to the selected location. Perhaps it was meant to carry even those with the ability to a place they didn’t know, and therefore couldn’t form their own Bypass. He believed that it had been one of a number of such devices, there were hints that pointed to where others might be found in the text, but nothing suggested where the ultimate destination might be. The runes that encircled the base were almost certainly the magic that was required to activate the device. He wondered if it would still function. It had appeared in pristine condition, but once again, they lacked the knowledge required to make any attempt. There was nothing to suggest whether the user had to utter the triggering phrase to activate the device, or whether once it was activated, one needed only place his hands on the trigger plate that was obvious on the one side.
He was about to give up any attempt at working, when he heard soft footsteps off to the right where the doorway was located. He looked up, and smiled when he saw Nycoh step into his workroom.
“I thought you were in Nals,” Ash’urn said as she approached.
“I just made the trip back,” she replied. She studied Ash’urn carefully. He did look older and tired. Rigo had mentioned his own observations to her, and asked her to have a look. Nycoh had abilities that none of the others possessed, and perhaps she could sense something that had been missed.
“Has something happened there?” Ash’urn asked, suddenly concerned. “Another attack? Is there word from one of the expeditions?”
Nycoh shook her head. “It has been very quiet, almost disconcertingly so. The Baldari have not been seen in any of the kingdoms, and neither Debi nor Burke have reported any sign of them in the regions they have passed through.” She hesitated. “You need to get out of here more often. You are starting to look pale and tired. I think you respond better to more active pursuits these days.” Nycoh had covertly scanned her old friend. Many were the days the two of them had huddled together in this very room as they dug through the texts that no one had understood before them. She could find nothing beyond the signs of degradation common to one who is aging.
Ash’urn waived his hands at the table with the objects showing the frustrating symbols. “The answer has to be there. We need to know about the weapon used by Carif, and I keep hoping there is an answer to the barrier. If we could generate a similar protective barrier, think of the lives that could be saved.”
“The answer to Carif’s weapon is there somewhere, but I doubt very much that you will uncover anything that will help with the barrier.”
Ash’urn looked at her questioningly.
“My own shields, as weak as they are, are not generated via runes and glyphs.”
Ash’urn looked at the dark staff she carried. It was so different from his own.
Nycoh caught the glance, but shook her head. “There is much there, but nothing that helps with the protective spells. Those are more like other inherent magic, but are different in a way I have yet to be able to understand. I can call upon them, but it is almost instinctual rather than conscious. Many of the abilities I am growing into are more like that. I wish I understood what
is triggering them, because I have been unsuccessful in passing them to anyone else, and I can’t point to a path where others can follow to gain them as well.”
Ash’urn knew that she was gaining in power, and that others had hoped to be given the abilities she had discovered. “Is Lyes still unable to duplicate any of your abilities?” He knew that Lyes had been frustrated by the fact Nycoh could learn anything he could do, but it didn’t work in reverse. Since they were both accomplished Casters as well as strong in inherent magic, he felt he should be able to duplicate her gains.
“I haven’t seen much of Lyes lately,” Nycoh said softly. “He’s got a girlfriend.”
“Is that so?” Ash’urn said carefully, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Wisely, he didn’t press the matter. It wasn’t his business, and he was astute enough to sense it wasn’t a matter Nycoh wished to pursue. He returned to the matter of the barrier. “You don’t believe we can learn about their barrier? I had hopes of someone capturing one of the torches the Baldari riders carry.”
“I am certain you would find it devoid of any symbols,” Nycoh said, happy to be on less personal ground.
“Why would the torch be required then? And what is the function of the power crystal?”
