Into The Ruins (42 page)

“We’ll find him,” Kaler said positively.  “When can we get started?”

“A couple of days,” Jeen said.  “Can we go to the Outpost and finalize our plans?  You can also meet Daim while you are there.  After hearing about the adventures of our group, he is anxious to meet you?”

“He’s not coming along?”

“He wants to, but there are reasons not to allow it.  He has knowledge that shouldn’t be risked.  There are problems beyond Rigo that remain unsolved, and he might be able to help in ways that none other could.  The decision has yet to be made.”

The group gathered at the Outpost later that same day.  Now that the means of making the trip into the far reaches of the Ruins where Rigo and his party had gone was available, every effort was being made to move swiftly.  The predictions from Queen Mos’pera had made everyone nervous, especially the previously unheard of mention of encounters with armed invaders wearing unknown uniforms. 

Nycoh looked at the assembled group.  She intended to set down strict guidelines for the trip.  With the exception of Burke and Tara, none of the people involved had been a party to the difficulties and hardships associated with making the push into unknown territory between the safe zones.  While all had made trips to the Hoplani Farms, they had done so the easy way, jumping between the Outpost and the Farms via the oasis.  That didn’t prepare one for what they would soon be encountering.  While Rigo and his team had explored the area they were preparing to venture into, what had been learned in the last days of their trip was unknown since they had not returned to share what had been learned.  That meant much would have to be relearned.  Even the last several oases would have to be found again, since no one besides Rigo’s team had visited them and therefore the ability to make a
Bypass
to them was lost.

Jeen would head the team.  Although far from being the senior member, she was the strongest of those who would be going and was recognized as Nycoh’s second in command.  Daria and Kaler would go, despite being ungifted in magic.  Burke and Tara had specifically asked to be allowed to go.  They had traveled with Rigo on the first trip years ago, and Burke felt he’d let Rigo down by not going along.  Now he hoped to make up for it by being part of the team that helped free him.  That left the three remaining members, two men and a woman.  The woman was Shara.  Shara was nearly sixty years of age and had come to the Outpost after the revival of magic had been announced.  Now graying, she was a stubborn and determined woman, and many had come to think of her as Ash’urn’s girlfriend.  The two had clearly become close over the last decade, although Nycoh had no idea whether there was more to the relationship than friendship.  She knew that Shara had shown an interest, but whether Ash’urn had reciprocated was unclear.

Shara was short, with powerful skills in fire spells and healing, she was one of the limited number of wizards who was skilled at linking as well, which might become important.  Jeen and Burke had that ability as well, so half of the team would be able to initiate a Link to combine their combat magic into a formidable weapon.  Although Shara was nearly sixty, she had the same unyielding stamina that characterized Ash’urn. 

The two men who had been chosen to go, Kirl and Diny were both young and strong, and very proficient with
Brightfire
, the most powerful of the spells if an altercation were to break out.  Kirl, the older at twenty-five, was strong in most areas.  Kirl had very white-blond hair that he wore short.  He had pale blue eyes and was as tall as Kaler.  He and Kaler also shared an interest in blades, and while he was a wizard, he was unusually competent with his sword.

Diny, at eighteen, was able to command the most raw power in his
Brightfire
.  He was much shorter than Kirl, reaching a height more than a hand’s width less than him.  He was thin, lanky, with reddish-brown hair and green eyes.  Despite his young age, he had shown a maturity beyond his years with his magic.

Both of the wizards had known Rigo well, having worked with him on the second barrier, and both had volunteered for the task ahead.  Both had been exposed to the Ruins frequently, including time at the Hoplani Farms. 

Despite his protests, Daim would not be going along.  Nycoh had been quite adamant about his staying at the Outpost.  Daim represented a resource that couldn’t be risked, and while the others sought Rigo, Nycoh wanted Daim to continue looking for solutions to both the possible destruction of the Hoplani Farms and the completion of the second barrier.  He was still the only wizard who had successfully been able to make the amulets that each team member wore around their necks.  Others had tried.  Even Jeen, Nycoh and Burke linked together with the knowledge Nycoh had extracted from the efforts with Daim that had produced the original versions of the devices, had been unable to produce a working amulet.   That alone was reason to keep him safe.  Nycoh had hopes that Daim could improve upon the device and create a version that would allow magic to function in the caverns where the Hoplani were formed.  If that were possible, then their magic could be used to destroy the Farms.  Of course, they couldn’t know for certain that only the one Farm existed.  They would deal with them as they were discovered.

“You will jump to the area that Ash’urn recorded in his journal as Oasis Six,” Nycoh said.  “That’s as far as anyone other than the missing team had visited.  Ela, who will go along to open the
Bypass
was one of those who helped them with their supplies and visited there.  From that point onward you will be operating much as Rigo’s team.  You will work your way into the Ruins, returning each night to the oasis to camp.  The following day you will use a
Bypass
to return to the area where you had stopped the previous day.  We will return to the policy that we unfortunately discontinued with Rigo.  Every night, with no exceptions, someone will return to the Farms and report progress and what was found.  Word will be brought back to me by those at the Farms who come home each night.  Anytime a new oasis is located, someone from the Farms will be taken there.  That way we will have the ability to expand our range without having to repeat the effort you will have expended finding the new safe zones.” 

Nycoh didn’t have to explain that there was a chance something could happen to all of them.  This time the effort would not be lost even if they were.  This would not be a quick exercise.  Realistically, it could take many weeks to find where Rigo had gone.  They would have to look for signs of the lost team or they could end up searching in the wrong areas.  They knew where Rigo had indicated he was heading, but they couldn’t know for certain he had stuck to the plan.

“None of you were participants in the explorations that required the staffs,” Nycoh continued.  “Frequently it will be tempting to advance by creating a
Bypass
to a location seen in the distance ahead.  This is a means of travel we have all used frequently.  You are not to travel that way unless you are already in an unblocked area.  If you are in a region where the staff is required to execute magic, you must not attempt a
Bypass
into a region that might also be blocked.  We are very concerned about what might result if a
Bypass
is attempted with both ends in a blocked zone.”

“You’re afraid we might have another case like the one that resulted in Koess being lost?” Diny asked.  

“That was different,” Burke said.  “No staff was being used when that
Bypass
was created.”  He’d been there and still recalled the shock when Koess hadn’t stepped through the
Bypass
with the rest of them.

“Yeah,” Diny agreed.  “But I thought the amulet offset the blocking to create a similar condition.”

“Actually, the situation is more complex than that,” Daim said softly.  “The situation that cost Koess his life had happened before, long ago.  Using the offset in the staff, or in your case, the amulet, would be very different.  I do not think a situation where using the resulting
Bypass
would be risky is the concern.  I am not certain, but I believe that the risk would be to the wizard who attempts such an action.  I anticipate a very violent disruption would occur if such a
Bypass
were to be created.  A disruption that would certainly annihilate the individual attempting the spell, and quite possibly anyone nearby as well.”

That gave them something to think about. 

“Rigo never attempted it?” Shara asked.

“Not that we know of,” Nycoh said.  “He told me they had considered it as a last resort, but had never done so.”

“Perhaps they did the last time out, and it opened some kind of pathway to wherever they are now,” Kirl suggested.

“If that is so, we will never find them,” Jeen said, “but I am certain that didn’t happen.  Rigo knew it was risky, and I cannot imagine a condition he would have violated the decision not to attempt it.”

They talked for an additional half a glass, agreeing on the direction and basic plan for the expedition.  Any significant changes would require an agreement between Jeen and Nycoh back here at the Outpost.

“You’ll be leaving in the morning,” Nycoh said.  “Is everything you need in place?”

Kaler nodded.  “Jeen sent a couple of wizards back to the compound for the horses and supplies that Daria and I prepared for our own trip.  They should be at the staging area by now.”  There were eight travelers, and they were taking twenty-four horses.  That gave each of them two to ride, and a third to carry supplies.  By switching off as a horse became tired, they could hopefully make better time.

Kaler looked almost unchanged from the tough fighter he’d been years ago when he and Rigo had traveled together.  He carried the same Kellmore Serang on his hip, and the larger, two-handed sword across his back.  A small belt knife was positioned at his hip.  On his horse he carried the heavy crossbow that Jeen had spotted back at the institution.  He was rigged so that it could be carried across his back in place of the two-handed sword he usually carried there.  He looked almost as deadly as he was.  His resolve shone in his eyes. 

Daria also had transformed herself.  No longer a simple nanny responsible for hundreds of children, she wore a variation of the special clothing she’d used as the
KalaBhoot
, this set colored to repel some of the harshness of the Ruins and treated with magic by Jeen for ruggedness.  She had her old harness strapped underneath with the blades she’d kept sharp and ready all these years in their holders instantly accessible.  Spare blades were carried in a special box she had in a pack she could wear on her back or transport on the pack animal.  If anything, she somehow appeared more deadly than Kaler.  Neither could call enough magic to create the tiniest spark, but no one in their party doubted that those who held Rigo were in mortal danger if either of these two friends could get close to them.

Daria had a bow of her own.  Hers was a long bow, more suited to her slighter frame.  She had several quivers filled with arrows.  They had different colored fletching, which Jeen was certain had some significance.  Jeen had no doubt that both Kaler and Daria would be skilled with the long-range weapons.  They would have practiced until they could hit what they shot at with uncanny regularity.  Daria had explained that her days as the
KalaBhoot
had not required a weapon that operated at a distance, nor had Kaler seen the need when he served as a swordsman.  Their travels with Rigo in the past had revealed numerous situations where they had been at a distinct disadvantage without a long-range capability, and they had chosen to remedy the situation.

Kaler’s crossbow had greater range and penetration, but was far slower for repeat shots than Daria’s longbow.  The crossbow had a short rope attached to a pair of hooks that could be used to grab the bowstring, and provide purchase for the hands, and thus aid in cocking the bowstring.  With Kaler’s great strength, this was not a problem.  It wasn’t as powerful as those that used the winch, but it was faster.  Once cocked with the bolt in place, it was a simple matter to wait with the crossbow ready to fire, even for long times, until the shot was exactly as desired.  With the longbow, Daria would not be able to hold the bow drawn nearly as long.  Between the two weapons they had an excellent combination of speed, power, agility, and accuracy. 

“It appears we are ready to go,” Nycoh said.  “I will be at the staging area in the morning to see you off.  “Do not doubt this is more than just to rescue our friends.  There is something we don’t understand out there and it might hold the salvation of the Three Kingdoms.  Most important, bring them safely home,” she added softly.  “All of them!”

Even with Daim’s new amulets with the increased resistance to the Ruins it wasn’t possible to create a
Bypass
directly from the Outpost all the way to Oasis Six where they were headed.  Whereas before one had to be at the Hoplani Farms to make the jump to Oasis Six, they could now do so from either the Farms or from Oasis Three.  Because a team was always present at the Farms, and because that was where Ela was waiting, they made that their first stop.  Then, for the first time since Rigo’s team had disappeared, his friends made the transition over the long dead zone.  They skipped over Oasis Five where Rigo had been carried by the
Dunerider
and his tame Hoplani, and stepped out of the opening onto Oasis Six.

Oasis Six immediately became a concern.  There were the obvious signs that Rigo’s team had been here.  Ela showed them where the team had set up their camp which served as a base while they explored deeper into the Ruins.  But there was more.

“Others have been here,” Ela said, pointing to the large number of footprints still present around the small pond.  The oasis was usually spared the effects of weather and sandstorms by some quirk of the magic associated with their existence, and the inner regions were further protected by the trees and bushes that grew providing a barrier.  The footprints were not only numerous, but showed an imprint pattern unlike anything any of them had seen.  They had stepped into this part of the Ruins already in an alert status, not knowing where Rigo and his team had been captured.  Now, seeing the prints and knowing that someone had come this close to the Hoplani Farms, which were a
Bypass
from the Three Kingdoms, they heightened their awareness of everything around them.  Kaler drew his Kellmore Serang silently from its scabbard, and Daria drew a pair of knives so that she would be ready to release quickly.  Jeen formed a Link with Tara and Shara, while Burke, Diny, and Kirl spread out, their
Brightfire
a mere thought away. 

All of them expected to encounter opposition before they were finished, but none had expected a confrontation the moment they stepped into this part of the Ruins.  Jeen formed a
Bypass
back to the Hoplani Farms, just to have it ready should they need to fight and run quickly.  Then they made a careful search of the oasis.

“No one’s here,” Burke said finally after they had checked every possible hiding place. 

Jeen had triggered a spell that would have revealed any hiding behind an invisibility spell, something that few could do, and even she was only capable of while Linked to others.

“We go back,” she declared.  “This is too important.  Nycoh has to know, and we might want support before going on.”

In pairs, they stepped through the
Bypass
she had created, going back to Oasis Four and the Hoplani Farms where their mounts still waited.  They had made the jump to Oasis Six without the animals, wanting to see what waited there before dealing with the nervous beasts.  From the Farms, they jumped back to the Outpost, surprising Nycoh and Daim with their sudden return.  Quickly the situation was explained. 

“You were there several times,” Nycoh asked Ela.  “There was never any trouble before?”

“None,” Ela agreed.  “But I never saw all those prints before either.  We left supplies, and there were only a few footprints in the dirt then.”

It was decided a stronger team would go with them when they went back.  Nycoh called up two of the squads chartered with eliminating Hoplani that broke through.  They would return to the oasis, check again for any sign of who made the prints, and then check Oasis Five, which was one jump closer to the Farms.  They knew that a number of smaller oases were scattered around Oasis Six.  Rigo had reported a cluster in that area, but they had no one who had visited any of them available, so it would be an extended effort to search them out and check for potential enemies.

The return to Oasis Six showed nothing new, so the group cautiously jumped back to Oasis Five, making four different
Bypass
openings, and sending through wizards alert and ready to release powerful bolts of
Brightfire
if required.  Like Oasis Six, there were clear signs of the strangers, but no one was present.  Footprints could be seen all around the oasis, almost as if the place had been searched, much in the manner they were doing themselves.  After a careful, unproductive search, everyone returned to the Outpost.

“Whoever was there, seems to be familiar with the area,” Burke said when the group was assembled in a meeting area.

“At least they seem to know about the places Rigo’s team visited,” Jeen noted.  “Perhaps they followed them or had some way of backtracking where they had been.  It’s too bad we can’t tell if they’ve visited other of the oases out there.”

“It appears that they have come no farther than Oasis Five,” Nycoh noted.  “Either that or we haven’t seen them.”

“They could have easily visited The Hoplani Farms,” Ela said.  She had spent more time there than any of those in attendance.  “The place is big enough that one could stay hidden if he wished.  The
Duneriders
wouldn’t have made any notice or communicated their presence.  That’s assuming they react to these strangers like they do us.”

“It would be good to know,” Nycoh said.  “It’s possible they haven’t visited because they can’t make the jump between Oasis Five or Six and the Farms.  That is what had us stopped without Daim’s amulets.  They might have the same problem, which means we have some protection.  There could be enough of the normal zones out there they can move from wherever they live out to Oasis Five by jumping between them.  That’s basically how Rigo’s team moved around.”

After much discussion, it was decided the team would return to the farther oasis and begin its search out into the Ruins.  Nothing changed the fact they needed to find Rigo, and also find where these strangers originated.  At the moment, it appeared they had the advantage.  Some consideration was given to increasing the size of the team, but the logistics issues and the chance of discovery became more severe as the team size grew.  Nycoh indicated she would have a separate team search out the reportedly close oases in the vicinity of Oasis Six.  Rigo had reported they were only a day or so apart, and with the maps Ash’urn had made, they could find a number easily and see if they had been visited.  If Jeen’s team encountered the enemy, they were to run for home and report.

It was late enough the team elected to start the following day.  They returned to the Hoplani Farms to spend the night.  Their supplies and horses were waiting there, and it would expedite an early departure the following morning.  Later that night Jeen stood at the edge of the oasis and looked down across the
Dunerider
village.  She wore the rugged traveling clothes, so much different from the silken robes she had become used to in the Royal Court.  Her hair was tightly braided and hung straight down her back.  There was danger ahead.  She could sense it.  It was closer to them than she’d thought.  All had been surprised to find signs of the strangers so soon.  Somehow she’d envisioned days, perhaps weeks, of travel before uncovering the first sign of those who had taken her friends.  She turned and looked back at the camp.  The others were sitting around the fire talking.  A good group, she thought.  All had reacted well to the surprise afforded them upon stepping into the oasis.  Daria and Kaler she knew, and they moved as automatically in the presence of danger as she remembered.  The others had performed nearly as well.  Even Shara, older and slower, had been ready for a fight had it come to that.

The orange sun was just breaking over the horizon when they were up and ready to move.  As a group they made a quick jump to see if conditions had changed at Oasis Six, and found it unchanged. They went back for the horses.  Each person rode one and led two others through the
Bypass
.  The horses didn’t like the
Bypass
, but followed through with a minimum of complaint this morning.  The team carried over a week’s supply of food, with waterskins for a couple of days.  More if they didn’t share with the animals.  Water would be available at the oasis, and they would recharge their skins at the end of each day.  Nycoh’s resupply team, now expanded against any surprise by the strangers, would make sure regular drops of food and any other requested items were left at Oasis Six.  Everyone believed the chances of encountering the enemy was far more likely at an oasis than it was in the open stretches of the Ruins between the normal zones. 

By midday the oasis was far behind them.  The group had naturally fallen into a pattern of four groups of two.  Daria and Kaler rode side by side, leading the team into the unknown.  Their position was readily accepted by the rest of the group.  The two longtime friends of Rigo had been eager to go for weeks, and now that they were here, they couldn’t be restrained.  Jeen and Shara had matched up, and followed immediately behind them.  Jeen had the map that had been carefully drawn from the sketches and notes from Ash’urn’s journals, at least as far as the books he’d left at the Outpost allowed.  They had one of Ash’urn’s pointing devices, and used the notations to follow the directions Rigo’s team had taken.  That luxury would be lost to them before long.  The journals Ash’urn had left at the Outpost stopped with the discovery of the large symbol covered artifact in the Ruins a few days ahead.  Behind Jeen and Shara rode Burke and Tara, and bringing up the rear were Kirl and Diny. 

They made good time the first day, and when they returned to the oasis that night, were well ahead of the point Rigo had been after a day of walking.  One thing they had already begun to realize was the value of the animals was far over rated.  While the horses would have been essential for the trip that Daria and Kaler had been planning with a still unrevealed group of friends, they were more trouble than they were worth given the presence of the wizards.  The pack animals were sent back to the Hoplani Farms with Shara who made the day’s report.  They could leave everything they couldn’t carry on the animal they rode at the oasis, and make a
Bypass
back if something was needed.  They also decided to leave the spare riding horses at the oasis each day, jumping back at midday to switch animals.  Even unattended, the animals weren’t going to wander off into the Ruins, and not having to lead them made the travel far easier.  For now, riding was better than walking, but Jeen wondered if they might elect to go on entirely on foot at some point.

Twice they encountered herds of Hoplani heading east.  In both cases one of the larger Morvane was leading the beasts.  It was easy enough to give the creatures a wide berth.  The fields of spiky crystals were a different matter.  Some of the fields extended as far as the eye could see, and they had to burn their way through them to stay on the intended heading.  Seeing them firsthand covering the Ruins in all directions was far different than hearing Rigo talk about them.  The horses hated the spikes, even after a wide path had been cleared by magical fire.  They skittered and pranced all the time they were moving through the extensive fields.  Once they came upon a large burnt cluster of Twinklers, the plague inducing flowers, indicating this might be the way Rigo’s group had passed. 

After more than two days of travel, they had seen no further sign of whoever had made the footprints, and entered the zone of normalcy, indicating the large artifact was less than a day ahead.  When they finally came upon it, they found the sand had partially covered the object, and without the directions in the journal they might have missed it entirely.  Shara used magic to push the sands away from the object, revealing its full length to the sun once again.  Partially to explain the finding, and partially because Daim had insisted he wanted to examine the find, they returned to the oasis, and Jeen went back to report and get Daim.

With Daim and an additional squad of wizards, they made the jump to the artifact.  This would provide additional protection in case someone else was to appear, and served also to create a large number who now knew how to make a
Bypass
to this point.  Nycoh had insisted that key waypoints be known to a large number of wizards.

After careful examination, Daim said.  “Ash’urn is very thorough in his sketches.  This is indeed like several artifacts known in my day, although this is considerably larger.  I have seen most of the text before, but never on a single artifact like this.  I’m also certain that the single line of symbols that scroll around the base are related to magic in some way.  They clearly match those on the viewer that shows Rigo.  The metal from which it is made is also something I’ve seen before.  However it is made, it resists everything.  I would like to know its secret.”

They returned to the oasis for the night.  Daim and his support squad returned to the Outpost.  The next day, the eight explorers returned to the artifact with the intent of pressing onward, now more on their own as Ash’urn’s journals that recorded the missing team’s travels from this point had been with the elder scholar when he’d disappeared.  They arrived to find a large dust storm brewing.  This area appeared to have more issues with the weather than much of the Ruins they had seen.  The object had been almost covered when they’d found it, indicating other storms had passed since Rigo’s visit, and now another was forming.  Burke voiced the opinion that magic wasn’t blocked in this part of the Ruins.  Perhaps whatever blocked their magic had some effect on the weather as well.  The Ruins back home where their magic worked had often shown violent dust storms as well.