Into The Ruins (32 page)

Risos
!  The crystal was glowing.  It was becoming far too hot.  They were moving too swiftly and the ring was in danger of melting.

Jeen paused in their progression and watched as Nycoh brought a cooling air to surround the ring and withdraw the heat that was being generated.  It took a quarter glass before they felt they could proceed once again, this time more slowly and with the cooling air present under Nycoh’s control.  Twice more the small chambers burst when they tried to fill them with energy.  This time, adjacent structure was damaged as a result.  Jeen could sense Nycoh’s frustration, but Jeen also knew it wasn’t Nycoh’s fault.  The failures had been the result of weakened structure.  The ring hadn’t been meant to be exposed to this kind of refilling.  However Daim had done it originally had been far more elegant.

Finally they were done.  Jeen withdrew them from the crystal, and once they were well away, they slowly withdrew from the linkage. 

“Look outside,” Nycoh suggested once they were separate once again.

Jeen looked out the window behind her.  It was getting dark.  They had been at the task for at least seven glass.  No wonder she felt spent.

“I damaged it,” Nycoh said, taking blame on herself.

“It wasn’t designed for what we did,” Jeen said.  “The damage was small.  With luck, it won’t matter.”

“And if it fails?”

“Then it fails.  We have done our best.  There is no one who could have done better.”

“When do we try it?” Nycoh asked.  “Soon I would think.  The crystal did not feel strong.  I doubt it could be recharged again, and it could fail easily.”

“I’m spent, but I fear you are right,” Jeen said.  She looked at the ring on the table.  Outwardly it looked the same, but now she could detect the contained energy within.  When Rigo had first found the ring he hadn’t been elevated to a full wizard and his senses had been dull comparatively, otherwise he would have known immediately the ring had been charged and waiting.

“I’m going to send for Uona,” Nycoh said.  “We should speak to her before proceeding.  If she agrees, I suggest we make the attempt immediately.”

“I want to be there,” Uona said, after they explained what they planned to do to Brice.  Jeen had explained the risks, but also the potential benefits.

“You must realize if this goes wrong, we could be forced to destroy him,” Nycoh warned.  “There were minor problems charging the crystal, and that could result in unanticipated side effects.”

“Even if we are successful, it won’t be Brice who awakens,” Jeen cautioned Uona.  Jeen had been there when Rigo had woken up after putting on the ring, and the change had been very disconcerting.

“I understand,” Uona said softly.  She was a small woman, with short brown hair and a slim body.  “I am certain Brice would have wanted you to try, but I cannot agree and then let his body be used without being a part of it.  I know it won’t be him if this works, and I will have to let him go as you have explained how Daim is.  Do you understand how hard this is?”

Jeen smiled and nodded.  She knew how difficult this had to be for Uona.  “Let’s go then.  We don’t feel confident our patchwork on the ring will last.”

The three woman made their way to the room where Brice had been cared for these many weeks.  He looked pale and shrunken, despite the best efforts of magic to keep him alive and physically sound.

“He won’t be as strong as Daim was,” Jeen pointed out.  “Nor even as strong as he was when he shared Rigo’s body.  Brice was never as strong as Rigo, and after all this time, who knows what to expect.”

“We don’t need his magical strength,” Nycoh said.  “We need his knowledge and wisdom.”

“Who is going to place the ring?” Jeen asked.

“I will,” Uona said.  “I should be the one.”

Jeen handed the ring over to the young woman.

“I can’t tell you exactly what to expect,” Jeen said.  “When Rigo put on the ring, he collapsed for a short time.  Brice is already in a coma-like state, so we won’t see the difference.  It might also take longer.  We don’t know how Brice’s current state will affect the transfer, nor how effective our recharge will be.”

Uona nodded, then knelt beside Brice’s form.  She reached out and pushed a lock of hair from his face, a small tear trickling down her cheek.  She bent and planted a kiss on his lips, then taking a deep breath, lifted his left hand and carefully slipped the ring onto his finger.

At first nothing happened.  Uona stood up and stepped back to stand beside Jeen and Nycoh.

“Nothing appears to be happening,” Uona noted.

“It looked that way after Rigo collapsed,” Jeen said.  ‘We need to be patient.”

“That doesn’t look good,” Nycoh said, and pointed to the ring.  It was glowing brightly and the metal of the base was melting.  With a sharp flash the ring exploded, pieces dropping away.

“Curse Risos!” Jeen swore.  “We must have damaged the ring more than I believed when we charged it.  Something failed and it couldn’t contain the energies.”  She looked at the few pieces scattered around the floor next to the bed and the burn on Brice’s finger.  “We won’t be able to try again.”

“Jeen,” Nycoh said softly.

“What?” Jeen asked sharply, her sense of failure strong.  She’d been so certain.  Then she saw where Nycoh was looking.  A pair of deep blue eyes looked back at her from Brice’s body.  There was intelligence there once again, something that had been missing for so long.  But the eyes looked old and knowing.  Jeen had seen them before.

Daim opened his eyes with a start.  He noted the three women who were standing next to him.  That was unexpected.  So was the place in which he found himself.  It took only moments to verify it wasn’t his own.  A transfer had taken place as he’d hoped, but this wasn’t his hideaway.  He didn’t recognize this place at all.  He monitored the body he’d been given for strength.  The nodes were all activated, not what he’d expected to find, but the abilities were horribly weak. Weaker even than two of the women next to him.  Had the staff failed him somehow? It was to have chosen a wizard with more capability than he appeared to have.  Even one of the women would have been better, and the staff had not been precluded from selecting the opposite sex, as strange as that would have been.  No, something else was at work here.

“Where am I?” he asked, finding the voice scratchy as though it hadn’t been used in a long time.

“Master Daim,” Jeen said formally.  “Welcome back.  You are at a place you helped build on the edge of the Ruins.” 

He found the words a bit strange, as if the language had been altered by the passage of time, but he could make them out.  “You know my name?” He asked caught off guard.  “How can that be, and why am I not where I expected?”  His voice remained ragged, and to the women his words were oddly accented.

One of the women, a young brown haired girl who had tears in her eyes, handed him a skin filled with water.  He found he needed help sitting up, and his arms felt weak from disuse as he reached hesitantly for the liquid.  He was not yet fully in control of the body nor fully adjusted to the realization the transfer of his memories had worked.

“There is much you need to know,” Jeen continued.  “Much has changed and a great deal will surprise you.  To begin, this is not the first time you have returned to this world.  This is the second time you have been transferred into a body.”

“The second time,” Daim parroted.  “That is nonsense.  The ring was designed for a single use.”  Already his mind was sensing the change in the language and adapting.  He could feel himself becoming more lucid.

“We were able to recharge it,” Nycoh said.  “A need has arisen for your help, and we brought you back.  How do you feel.  Do you feel as you would expect?  Are your memories intact?”

Daim looked at the dark haired woman.  She was young as well, even younger than the one who had given him the water.  She was also quite beautiful.  She was strong with magic.  He could sense the power in her.  The other was only marginally weaker, but had skills even the strong one didn’t possess.

“Why am I so weak?” Daim asked.  “And what are your names?  It would make it easier to converse if I knew who you were.”

Nycoh introduced them and explained who they were.  She also explained that the body in which he found himself had been damaged in a fight with the Hoplani, and had been appropriated for this attempt to bring him back.  Now that someone occupied the body, it would be a matter of a little food and some healing magic and he would rapidly regain his strength.

Daim listened to Nycoh’s explanation somewhat impatiently.  He had never been a patient man, and there was much that needed to be done.  Of course, if this woman was telling him the truth, perhaps it had already happened.

“If you are telling the truth and this is the second time I’ve come back via the ring, where is the other version of myself?  You said this body was harmed by the Hoplani.  Has that battle not been won?”

“You originally came back later than you expected,” Jeen said.  “I was there when it happened.  As you expected, that took place in your secret hideaway in the Ruins.  The first of your staffs failed for some reason, and the second also didn’t perform exactly as planned.  The body selected failed to be transported to your intended location, and it was almost ten years later when the wizard that had grown into that body found his way to where the ring waited.  After he placed it on his finger, you and he shared the body for a time.”

“What a disaster,” Daim moaned, and lay back on the pillow.  Then he peered at Jeen with Brice’s eyes.  “What about the Hoplani.  Did we activate the barrier?”

“That task was successful, but it took a very long time.  There were far too few of us with the gift.  It has now been more than ten years since the barrier was brought back to full operation.”

Daim seemed to relax somewhat.  “Thank the gods!” he said softly.  Then he looked at the women.  “The other version of myself is gone now, of course.”

“Yes, Nycoh said.  “How did you know?”

“That would have to be the case.  If the body was already occupied with an intellect, the two would have fought and eventually gone mad, or if the other was extremely strong, then my overlaid personality would have surrendered and eventually faded away.”

That’s what happened,” Jeen said.  “One day Rigo said you simply weren’t there any longer.”

“Rigo?” Daim asked.

“Rigo was the wizard who owned the body that your staff selected,” Jeen told him.

“Where is this Rigo now?” Daim asked.  “I want to speak with him.”  Daim spoke suddenly with some of the self assurance that Jeen remembered.

“That will be a bit of a problem,” Nycoh said.

“Part of the reason that you felt it necessary to bring me back?” Daim guessed.

“One part,” Nycoh agreed.  “Much has happened.  The Hoplani, and their larger cousin, the Morvane, have been destroying the towers.  Rigo has been taken prisoner far across the Ruins, and we have no way to help him.  The Three Kingdoms are going to fall unless you are able to help us.”

“Morvane?  Across the Ruins?  Woman, this is going to require a great deal more explanation, but I am not up to it at the moment.  I feel a strong need to rest.  I also am hungry.  Is there something that can be done about that?  Perhaps this conversation should be held after I have regained some strength?”

Uona offered to see to food and to look after Daim.  Jeen and Nycoh agreed to a full explanation of events after he had rested.

“He’s different than before,” Jeen said as they walked away from the room after Uona had returned with a bowl of broth.  “He’s less forceful and less demanding.”

“That could be the result of a lot of things,” Nycoh suggested.  “The body he finds himself in is less fit at the moment than Rigo was at the time Daim took him over.  He also finds himself in a place and a situation much different than he expected.  Finally, we might have damaged him.  We know that some areas of the crystal were disrupted.”

“I pray he has retained enough of himself to be able to help,” Jeen said hopefully.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Nycoh replied.  “But we have more hope than we did a mere day ago.”

Nals, Capital of Sedfair

“What did you learn from the Reading?” Carif asked.  She and Kimm were alone in her quarters.  The Specialist had been sent to oversee the probing of the woman the Saltique had chosen to be subjected to the Reading magic.  That probing allowed one to examine a person’s deepest thoughts and memories.  Kimm was a no nonsense woman, who had little sense of humor and had been very effective in her position, having been responsible for such probings more than once in the past.

“The woman had a strong mind,” Kimm replied.  “Ultimately that was why we lost her before we had finished.  She didn’t submit and we had to force our way past every barrier.  The strain was too great and she died.”

“Hopefully you learned something of value,” the Saltique asked, concerned they may have sacrificed one of the strangers with little to show for it.

“Of course,” Kimm replied, unruffled.  “We were able to extract a large number of images, many of them very interesting.  The woman traveled frequently and widely.  There is no doubt that she was gifted, and one of those who was capable of making
Doorways
.  The land from which she comes is varied, and appears to be somewhat larger than Sedfair.  I only wish she had spoken our language.  Because of her inability to do so, we have to try and interpret the images.  They are accompanied with a background of useless sounds.”

“Do you believe she and the others traveled here alone?” Carif asked.

“From what we have seen I would say that was the case.  They appeared to be searching through the Wastelands for something.  That search brought them here.  There were others, but none approached the island of untainted land in the Ruins where we captured the woman.”

That, at least, was reassuring.  Carif had wondered whether a full-scale invasion might be at hand.  She could back off on the effort to watch for more of the strangers, and allocate her people to the much more persistent threat caused by the Baldari.  She had been running out of excuses to feed the Queen why the border troops were not getting the full support that had been requested. She had hoped to keep the presence of the four strangers a secret until after the Queen had been replaced, now not that many weeks away.

“We also learned there is no doubt their magic has some differences from our own.  The use of prepared symbols, and the frequent use of staffs to support their Casting is not required.  Somehow, they are able to initiate spells without needing to resort to such preparations.  Unlike those who can trigger spoken magic, thereby producing weak parallels to our full spells, the magic of the strangers is strong and effective.  Much of their efforts seem to exceed our own.”

“Is there anything to tell us where they come from?” Carif asked.

“From the west, I am certain,” Kimm replied.

That told Carif nothing new.  The sketches in the older travelers journals suggested as much.  Somewhere to the west, beyond the Wastelands was obvious from the sketches, even if they couldn’t read the annotations.

“How did they manage to cross the Wastelands?” Carif asked.

“They traveled slowly, working their way between the regions of untainted land.  Between those, they were able to make
Doorways
to rapidly return home for supplies, and to continue their journey.”

“There are more of the patches where magic works then?”

“Many, from the images we gathered.”

“Do you think that is how the Baldari get to us?” Carif asked.  “They have found a series of these protected zones and use them to span the Wastelands?”

“I cannot say, Saltique,” Kimm replied.  “As far as we know, they lack the magic to make the distance spanning jumps.  They would have to make the journey the slow and arduous way.  The green zones would provide water and rest, but wouldn’t overcome the rigors of the journey as it has for our strangers.”

“What about the land they came from?” Carif asked.  “Can you tell much without being able to hear her thoughts?”

“As I’ve indicated, it appears larger than Sedfair. It also appears to be split into multiple kingdoms.  I cannot say from what we saw whether that makes them stronger or weaker or how closely they are aligned in their thinking.  There are signs they have problems with the Chulls as well.”

“Explain,” Carif urged.

“Originally we thought they might have been behind the Chulls.  They visited an incredibly large place where strange beings oversee the creation of the Chulls.  There were images showing the strangers riding upon the normally aggressive beasts.  They used them to traverse long stretches of the wilderness.

At first we took this to indicate the strangers might be the masters of these creatures, but further sorting through the woman’s memories suggests otherwise.  There are memories of her killing vast numbers with her magic.  Her memories show fierce battles, with magic beyond any I have seen, being unleashed to kill the creatures.  It is difficult to reconcile the two sets of images.

“They also appear to have some form of magical barrier that restricts the Chulls from moving inland against their country.  It is only partially effective, but it is better than our approach of sending squads of soldiers to try and stop the creatures.  It looks as if far more of the Chulls are present in their lands than we have become accustomed to here in Sedfair.”

“Would it be possible for us to make our way to this production area?  How about back to their lands?”

“I can see no reason why not,” Kimm replied.  “The images have been captured and are stored and available for any who wish to acquire them.  Once the locations are integrated into ones own memories, they should be accessible for making
Doorways
no differently than one’s true memories.” 

“That is good.  I think we need to see for ourselves what is out there.  For the first time we might have been handed a means of crossing those miserable sands.  It might give us a way to bring the battles to the Baldari as well.”

“We might know a great deal more if you would allow us to probe the dark-haired one,” Kimm asked hopefully.  “It has been noted that he is becoming familiar with our language, so anything we looked at would be explained in a manner we could understand.  Under the influence of the Reading, he could be questioned extensively and he wouldn’t be able to resist as effectively.”

“The idea has merit,” Carif agreed.  “For now, however, I wish to wait.  Let’s see what the information extracted from the woman can tell us.  I don’t want to risk the male since he might be our access to someone who can speak.”

“I’ve been told that he is teaching the old one some of the language,” Kimm informed the Saltique.  “Perhaps given some time, we might have two who can communicate.”

“That would indeed be helpful.  All the more reason to leave the dark-haired one alone for now.”

“As you wish,” Kimm replied, but Carif could tell she was disappointed.  Sometimes she thought Kimm enjoyed her work too much.

“Have the image crystals sent to me,” Carif ordered.  “Also, have Kirin go to the border and fetch the Caster named Suline.  They both already know of the intruders, and they can be useful in following back the trail to see if it is indeed possible to visit the lands of these people.”

“Of course,” Kimm said, and stood to leave.

Carif watched as her Specialist left, then making sure the doors were closed, she walked deeper into her quarters and opened a room that she never allowed others to visit.  Her predecessor had warned her this place should be held close, and Carif had followed her advice.

The three objects set into supports against the far wall displayed their usual images.  She had never known them to be dark, and could not detect how they worked or where they received the magic that must power them.  They were old, far older than the recorded history of the Guild.  The scenes they displayed were not from Sedfair.  One showed a view of a vast sea, an ocean Carif was certain.  What was important was that the sun set into this ocean instead of rising from it.  Another showed a vast river, with a number of watercraft moving along it.  There was no river as large in Sedfair.  Finally, the last showed a mountain scene, somewhere along the border of the Wastelands.  Sometimes she thought she could see small movements which she believed to be people in this one, which gave her an idea of the scale.  She had seen powerful magic unleashed in that one some years before.  Magic powerful enough to give her chills. 

She believed, as had her predecessors, that the scenes shown were real.  She’d never had any idea where, but had feared that the day might come where the lands were discovered, and their own existence revealed.  The Queen’s insistence on finding other populated lands had been a worry to Carif for years.  Now, perhaps, she had a means of learning if the images shown in the ancient objects were indeed real, and possibly the home of the four strangers.

Carif examined the two women in front of her.  Kirin was a known quantity.  Strong, determined, and reliable, Carif had trusted her with important tasks before.  The other woman she was less certain about.  Suline had done well, showing good instincts and performing well under pressure when she’d seen to the capture of the invaders.  Still, she had a history.  Delril had reminded the Saltique of her being sent to the border region as a result.  She was ambitious, and one that didn’t always do as told.  On the other hand, she obviously wished to return to Nals, and performing well a personal task set by the Saltique could be considered her best chance of achieving that goal.  She had reason to do her best.  Carif didn’t want to entrust this effort to a single Caster, nor did she want to bring additional people into awareness of what they had learned.  Knowledge was power, and these two had already explored farther into the Wastelands than any others in Sedfair.  They would have to do.

Sending just the two of them, however powerful they might be, would have been foolish, of course.  Who knew what waited out in the Wastelands, despite the assurances of Kimm, who had a tendency to be overconfident.  Fifteen of the Carif’s personal guard would go along.  These men were part of the contingent that guarded the cells, and could be counted on to hold their tongues.  If she ordered them not to speak of what they did or saw, no word would circulate through the ranks.

“Do you understand what I wish done?” Carif asked the two women.

Kirin nodded instantly, and Suline somewhat slowly, but no less positively.  Carif liked that.  Kirin aimed to please, but Suline was a thinker.  Carif could tell she thought through the consequences of any action or task before proceeding.  That thoughtfulness could prove useful out there.

“Both of you have been deeper into the Wastelands than any of us.  I wish you to go farther.  All the way to the homeland of the four that you captured.”

“I understand,” Kirin said although she hadn’t been asked.

“It will probably be dangerous,” Carif continued, ignoring Kirin’s comments.  “There is the possibility that others are waiting out there.  Do not engage unless you are certain to be victorious.  I would rather you flee and come back immediately to inform us of what you learned.  If you can eliminate any that you encounter, do so.  It would be better they go missing than report that we are following them back home.”

“Is the primary purpose to explore each of these safe zones you just told us about, or to find a way to the outsider’s homeland?” Suline asked.

“Both,” Carif replied.  “I want to know what is to be found at each way point.  Are there signs that the four camped there, or perhaps even more than four?  What are the Wastelands like at each location, and do they block the use of magic once outside the safe zone?  Also, is there any sign of the Baldari?  Is it possible the strangers are somehow in league with them?  We need to know what we might be up against.”

Suline nodded as she listened to each instruction.

“Remember, surviving and returning is the most important part of your mission.  If it comes to it, one of you should defend the other’s escape.  The intelligence you gather is more important than anything else.”

“Do you wish periodic reports, or shall we attempt to go all the way before returning with what we have found?” Kirin asked.

“A reasonable question.  Do not continue more than a week without returning with what you have found.  More than that and the concern that something unfortunate had happened to you would become foremost in my mind.  If it is possible to send back one of the soldiers from where you are, that would suffice, however, I suspect that won’t be possible.”

“Specialist Kimm has the imprints for the mental images of where we are to go?” Kirin asked.

“That is correct,” Carif said.  “She has selected the important images from all that were harvested from the Reading.  At this time you will not need the complete set as you aren’t to venture into the homeland if you reach it.  That will be for a follow-on team, which would be far larger.  See her and she will implant the images in your memories so you can use them.  Any questions?”

Carif was certain they had many, but neither raised them.

“The guardsmen who will travel with you are waiting outside the medical office where Kimm is waiting for you.  Once the memories are transferred, make a
Doorway
from inside the Guild there, and travel to the edge of the Wastelands.  From there, you should travel back to the place where the woman and old man were captured.  Have another look to ensure no one has been there since you last explored the area.  If so, return here immediately.  Otherwise, continue on.  Good luck.  May the Guild guide you.”