The Weaving of Wells (Osric's Wand, Book Four) (43 page)

“So, if you are altering that area of Archana in the past, wouldn’t that cause the area to be altered from that point in time forward? I don’t understand.” So stunned by the idea of Osric using magic that removed space from time, Pendres forgot to put one foot in front of the other and stopped walking. It sounded too much like the magic that had been used on him, severing his life from time and causing him to lose everyone and everything he had ever loved.

“That’s what we wondered originally, when we began the construction, but it is as if the old barracks and the new barracks are the same space existing simultaneously in two different times. We have only altered one, and the other remains unchanged, so we can only assume that the spell completely separates the new space from the old.”

“What happens if the spell fails?” Pendres sounded curious about how such a spell could work, and he didn’t seem to realize the implications of his simple question.

Osric hesitated to answer, but eventually he took a deep breath and spoke.

“From our past experience with this type of spell, we believe that the new space would disappear if the spell were no longer active. Then, only the original barracks would exist. That is part of the reason we are trying to learn more about the spell’s extent and effects, and why we are expanding the area beneath the barracks. We aren’t sure what would happen if the spell were to falter and people or objects were to exist in the same place in the old and the new space at the same time.”

“Oh, bloody blades, it could be an instantaneous massacre!” Pendres’s eyes were wide and he was silent for a while. Then he glanced at Osric with narrowed eyes. “You said from ‘past experience.’ What do you mean? You have used this spell before?”

Osric sighed, remembering his choice to use the protection spell around the Grove of the Unicorn to end the battle with Aron. He cringed at the recollection of the fear and anger he had caused the Maiden of the Unicorn and the other residents of the grove, including the desperate terror Bridgett had felt when she found out the grove had vanished.

“I modeled the spell on another, and that one is no longer there. We don’t know exactly how the spell failed, or if it could ever be erected again, but… it’s gone now.” Osric’s voice cracked and Pendres stayed silent, respecting the emotion bared in Osric’s tone and ceasing his questioning. Gareth had remained quiet throughout the whole exchange, and Pendres wondered if he knew what Osric had been remembering when he spoke of the spell. Pendres had forgotten how much pain a single lifetime could contain.

As they walked, Gareth pointed off to the hills that rolled across the open land to the north. A small stream trickled down between the mounds of earth, and large boulders broke through the hardy wild grasses and late-blooming flowers. A brown crust was the only evidence of the plush moss that had thrived on the broad stone backs of the mostly submerged rocks earlier in the year.

“Just beyond that hill there,” Gareth said, indicating the tallest of the hills that were closest to them, “is a small cave. Let’s go there and see if we can get this gift working for you.”

Osric and Pendres followed him through the knee-high grass, stirring up the fragrance of drying flowers and annoying small insects that flew up into their faces as the men disturbed the grass. Osric was very familiar with the area, including the cave that they were heading toward. He had often played there as a boy, and he liked the small shelter for hunting rabbits. The vegetation along the spring was tender and fragrant, and rabbits were well fed and plentiful in the area. Pendres, on the other hand, had ventured little from the busy populace of the Aranthian barracks within the protection spell. He had not had the pleasure of exploring the land that surrounded Stanton, and he was enjoying the soft rolling hills and the bright-green grasses and plants, so much more teeming with life and thriving than the rough terrain of Inasis, where he had been living before Stargon sought him out.

The cave was shallow, more an outcrop of stone where wind and water had carved away the soil than an actual cave. There was room for all three of them to stand comfortably a few paces under the rock ceiling, and the ashes of some hunter’s fire was lying in a cold circle of stones on the dirt floor. Gareth indicated that Osric should stand facing the back wall, and he placed his hand against the stone.

“When you look at a lake, you can see the reflection of the sky and the trees on the surface. Because of the light that reflects off the water, you have to focus your vision beyond that image in order to see the fish darting among the rocks down below. It’s a bit like that.” He waited for Osric to nod before continuing. “The stone that you can see is merely the surface, the part of the stone that the light reflects off of. To use the Stone-Sight, you must look beyond the surface. Instead of fish, you will see the various densities, flaws, cracks, and layers of the stone. It might be easier at first to try looking all the way through the stone, looking for the space beyond it as if you were looking for the bottom of the lake. Give it a try.”

“It sounds a lot like using the Wand-Maker ability, but it isn’t the strands that I am trying to see just yet. What will it look like if I manage to see through to the other side?”

“Much like the land behind us, but lacking the distinct lines and color.” Gareth’s hand still rested against the stone, and his face was soft as he looked through the solid substance.

Osric gazed at the stone wall in the dim mid’day light that found its way to the back of the cave. His eyes could see the rough texture, the grey hue, and he tried to think of what he was seeing as merely a reflection on the surface. He stared harder, willing the rock to be transparent and allow his vision to penetrate deeper. At first, he just felt that he was making himself cross-eyed. His vision became less focused and he grew frustrated. Then, suddenly he could see shapes and lines in the stone that hadn’t been there before. He noticed a long crack about waist high, and it took a moment for the disorienting sense to pass before he could distinguish that the crack was several paces beyond the wall of stone he had been looking at. Again he refocused his eyes, seeking layers even deeper in the rock, and then his sight slowly sank through the rock until he could see the vague colorless image of waving grass.

Osric squeezed his eyes closed, the strain of focusing so hard causing a throbbing behind his eyes. When he opened them, once again he could only see the rough, grey surface of the cave wall. It took several more tries before he could control the speed and direction of the sight within the stone, but the sun was still high overhead by the time he felt he could use the ability with some modicum of control. Then, he tried using the Stone-Sight in combination with the Wand-Maker’s ability. If he couldn’t get the two gifts to work together, his whole plan would have to be discarded and he would be back where he started.

The first time he tried, he lost control of the Stone-Sight as soon as he tried to focus on the strands. Rather than the layers of stone deep beneath his feet, Osric found himself staring at the dirt in front of his boots. The second time, he had more success, but both abilities wavered and he couldn’t determine the density of the strands flowing through each layer of stone. It was as if the abilities both relied so much on the vision of his eyes that he could not use both of them simultaneously, but instead his eyes would prioritize one sight or the other to process.

Osric was encouraged by his ability to gain control of the Stone-Sight gift so quickly, and he worked tirelessly to bring the two gifts into harmony, rather than succumbing to the frustration of his failure. Most of the day had passed and the air was growing colder when something finally settled into place and the two gifts began to enhance each other, rather than fighting one another. Osric sighed audibly when he felt the abilities synchronize, and Gareth smiled, understanding that some crisis had passed, though he did not know what Osric had been battling with all evening. Finally, Osric could determine where the strands were flowing through the various layers of stone, and he grew even more determined to find a pattern.

“Gareth, can you tell me what I’m looking at here?” Osric didn’t take his eyes off of the stone in front of him. Pendres, though fascinated that Osric had acquired and was now learning to master an ability that he was not born with, stretched out on the fragrant grass outside the cave to wait. When he looked at the rock, he could see nothing but the stone wall, and he couldn’t offer any help to Osric. He remained alert and listened with interest to the conversation inside.

“On the surface, here, you can see the minute imperfections where the wind is eroding the rock. It isn’t smooth the way it appears when you look with your eyes. You see?”

“Yes, I see what you mean.”

“Then deeper, here, you see this crack? That is a weakness in the stone. When the cave erodes this far, this area will go faster, causing the crevices in the rock like this one over here. Then about four times further in, you see how the color is deeper, a darker shade of grey with the sight?”

“Yeah. Down there?”

“Yes, that rock is more dense and solid. It will erode slower and remain after the surrounding softer stone is gone. There, that area another five times deeper and to your left, where it looks foggy?”

“I see it.”

“That’s water. There is an underground spring. You can follow it and see where it disperses into small sinkholes. That water is forming a cave system deep below the ground. Do you see the areas that look white?”

“I do. Are those the hollow spaces, the caves?”

“They are. It’s a fairly small system. There is a much larger one near the barracks. We have almost reached it, but we need to make sure we approach it properly in order to keep it as stable as possible. Once we are in, it should provide about three times the space you currently have in the existing structure. Do you see that pale stone near the largest cave, where the water is accumulating?”

“It’s difficult to distinguish the stone from the water there.”

“Yeah, it is. It gets easier with experience. That area will likely crumble sometime in the next few months and cause a rockslide that will connect those two caves. The water is eating away at it quickly. Those types of areas are what we must avoid, and we are taking the proper steps to reinforce and circumvent any that we locate. A few more days and we should have our first access point to the caves.”

“That’s fantastic, Gareth. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you were able to devise and execute this plan to ensure the safety of the Aranthians.”

“Thank you, sir.” Gareth cleared his throat. “So, can you tell me what you are seeing, in addition to what I can show you?”

“Well, there is very little distinction in the amount of strands moving through this stone. It is slightly more than what flows through the soil on the surface. But that area where you pointed to the denser stone, that area has a little higher concentration of strands. There are essentially no strands at all in the water and the hollow space of the caves.” Osric was silent for a moment. “There. Ten times further down than the cave or so, that band of dark stone that snakes off to the north, there is a much denser flow of strands there. What type of rock is that?”

“Ten times further than the caves? Are you sure?” Gareth sounded concerned, and Pendres got up and returned to Osric’s side.

“Yes, well, it is difficult for me to judge distance, so I cannot be completely confident in my assessment. It’s possible that I do not have sufficient control over the ability to know for sure. However, I have sought out the area with the Stone-Sight several times and my calculations have been consistent. Each time, it is about ten times further down than the caves, straight down. Why?”

Pendres cast a questioning look at Gareth as the Stone-Sight stared open-mouthed at Osric. It took him a moment to reply.

“Osric, I cannot see the band of stone you are referring to.” Gareth was gazing at Osric with wide eyes, and Osric withdrew his sight from the stone and turned to look at the older man. “I can’t see even half that far, and I can see further than most. Not even Dorim can see nearly that far, and his distance is why I chose him for the project. Your power, considering you only became a Stone-Sight today, is baffling. I am awed by you, sir.” Gareth gave an awkward bow and Osric had to stifle his laughter.

“Gareth, my power is worthless without men like you to guide my learning of its use. You have been incredibly helpful, and I believe we have been successful here today. If you can continue teaching me, particularly in reading your charts, I think I can strengthen our position against Dredek significantly.”

“Of course, sir. I would be honored. Perhaps we can evaluate some of the stone in the lower levels as well? You may be able to see something that we wouldn’t see until it is too late to avoid without altering all of our construction plans. Your ability can ensure that we select the best route for the greatest amount of space and stability in the cave system.”

“I would be happy to help. Anything to make the Aranthian headquarters a safer place to live and work. Thank you, Gareth.”

Osric spent the rest of the evening surveying the stone around the large chamber where he had first found Gareth and poring over Gareth’s maps to try to identify the various types of rock that they charted. Osric was able to locate two small sections of the same dark stone that had high concentrations of strands close enough to the area for Dorim to see, and he confirmed that it was the hardest type of rock in the region. As far as Osric could tell, the denser the stone, the denser the flow of strands, but he wanted to research it further instead of just relying on his theory.

The next day, Gareth continued to instruct him in identifying the various layers within the stone. Osric found areas where there were higher concentrations of strands, and then Osric and Gareth would work together to identify the corresponding stone and locate it on Gareth’s charts. Throughout the morning, Osric became more confident that he was correct, and after the mid’day meal he retired to his office with the maps. It was nearly morning again when he finished, but he emerged with red, tired eyes and a victorious grin. He was certain he could track the flow of magic across most of Archana, easily identifying potential sites for the smaller wells that they may not have already located, and he had a plan for using the information to thwart Dredek’s use of the Well of Strands to raise his army of the dead.