Wizard's Blood [Part Two] (13 page)

“
I figured we would be here a day or so. I brought some supplies. They are in the boat in that big black box. We can go back to shore if you prefer and watch from there, but I for one, would rather wait and see if we can avoid another boat ride in case those creatures haven’t disappeared as you postulate. From the measurements I made, we might just be able to walk back to shore in the morning.”

They had signaled Ronoran with the prearranged flag that meant all was okay and that they would be waiting here on the island for now. They could see him head back to the portal and disappear. While Jolan retrieved the Mage’s Box, Asari started a fire so they would have something to cook on later, and they all gathered near the shore where they had put a marker so they could watch and see how fast the water drained away.

Handing Altz a tankard of ale from the box, which had amused Altz no end when he’d seen the open drinks and other items neatly arranged inside, Jolan asked Altz, “What do you think we’ll find?”

“
Hopefully secrets that have been lost for over a thousand years. I hope there is something that explains the basis of magic there. Too much of what we do is based on simple memorization of something that has been passed down. They could create. I want to know how they did it.”

After an hour they made the first measurement. The water was dropping faster than Jolan had suspected it would, but not as fast as he had hoped. He’d hoped some kind of magic would be at work that would accelerate the pace even more, but then given the city had been underwater for a thousand years, whoever had designed the system probably figured a bit longer wouldn’t be important.

“
It’s down almost a two feet,” said Luzoke when he walked back from where he’d made his measurement.

“
That’s thirty-two feet a day, or three hundred feet a week. By this time tomorrow I think we’ll be able to walk across the stone bridge to shore, so I for one think waiting here overnight is prudent. Tomorrow we can go back to Cobalo or Carta, and by this time next week we should have some idea what’s down there. I don’t know how deep the lake is, so we’ll just have to wait and see before we know when we’ll be able to explore.”

The others agreed, and the team went to work to make a comfortable campground for the rest of the day and the coming night. It was fall now, and the weather was still nice, although there might be breezes here in the mountains. Enough wood for a comfortable fire would be nice, especially for Asari who wasn’t entirely immune to a little bit of weather.

By the end of the day they could see how far the water had receded. The far barriers that held back most of the lake stood out sharply from the lowered water level on this side. If they were to fail, a massive wall of water would be unleashed in their direction. They would have to hold for months, probably into the spring until the levels of the whole lake dropped enough to make the barriers unnecessary.

“
Where do you think the water is headed?” Altz asked Jolan as they wandered around the small island.

“
Most of the drains, and by far the largest, were along the southwest edges of the valley. It would seem reasonable to assume the water might flow into southern Angon eventually.”

Altz nodded. “I wonder if part of the reason that section of the country is desert is because the water has been held back from its natural course.”

“
I suppose it might be a factor, although the lake has been filled for many years. The flow of water from those areas should long ago have returned to normal, perhaps by another path. I wonder what destruction the unleashing of so much water suddenly is causing.”

They wandered back into the small room where they had triggered the changes to the lake. The four crystals remained bright behind their clear covers.

“
I don’t think they should be removed until the lake is drained, then it probably wouldn’t matter. I worry that removing the crystals would interrupt the water flows and cause the barriers to fail.” Altz looked at the crystals as he was talking. They continue to glow brightly, pulsing with the energies that they were controlling to accomplish the task they had been created for so long ago. “I know the spells to reactivate them, but it couldn’t be done here and they are clearly designed to recover the city. There is nothing that says how the original flooding was accomplished.”

“
What about the city?” Jolan asked.

“
Whoever decided to hide Tilano must have created some kind of shield to protect it from the water. It wouldn’t make sense to simply allow the water access. They might just as well have destroyed it in the first place and saved themselves a great deal of trouble.”

“
Shields that lasted for a thousand years?”

“
They were far more advanced then. But it is a worry, I admit. I doubt they expected to leave the city hidden so long. The effects of the war caused a greater collapse than anyone expected, and much was lost, or forgotten.”

The next morning they could see the wide ridge of land under the water that stretched from the island to the far shore. They could even see what appeared to be steps coming up from the ridge onto the land where the water had already drained away. The steps were barely discernable through the layer of mud and silt that had accumulated, but it could easily be cleared away with magic when they were ready to go.

By noon there was a fully exposed pathway to the far shore. A touch of magic and the wet soggy mass on the top of the rocky ridge was swept off into the water, and the last remaining wet areas dried to make for a non-slippery path. The group made their way on foot back to the lake shore, occasionally stopping to clear a bit more of the pathway ahead of them. Asari looked unhappily over the side of the walkway into the deep water when they were partway across, but there was no hope of finding his lost pistol in the still very deep water. When they arrived they could see a series of steps also were carved into the hillside down to the stone ridge. This had obviously been a pathway from the portal over to the “island” in days long past.

When they arrived at the shore, they found a small group waiting for them. Ronoran, Nerila, and Rifod were somewhat expected. Jolan hadn’t expected to see Chancellor Vaen out here in the wilds.

“
It seems to be working,” Vaen remarked as they climbed the ancient steps back to where the others waited.

“
Vaen,” Altz said uncertainly, obviously surprised to see the Chancellor here as well. He looked around, relieved to see there were no others. Jolan was sure he thought they’d planned on reneging on their deal, now that the “keys” had performed their function.

“
The blood seems to have worked,” Vaen said, confusing Jolan. Altz, however, nodded in agreement, obviously understanding what she was referring to.

“
Not too much longer though. I told you there would be an abrupt end for whoever used it.”

“
How much longer?”

“
Five years at the most. Two years more likely. I can already see the rate of aging taking hold. I never was able to figure out what gives you the continued rejuvenation.”

Jolan was starting to understand what they were talking about, but was surprised at the apparent closeness of the two. He had thought Altz an outcast, but there was more to the story than he realized.

“
Can we go and talk?” Vaen asked.

Altz nodded and the two of them stepped into the portal and disappeared.

When Jolan and his friends appeared in the portal room, Ward was waiting. He asked where the Chancellor was. Since she hadn’t returned here, Jolan wondered if she and Altz had jumped off to the oasis for a private discussion. He simply told Ward that she and Altz were talking and would return later, then left and headed up to his room.

* * * *

Jolan and a varying assembly of the others made a trip to the lake each morning to observe the progress being made. The water levels continued to drop steadily, and after a week they could see a few indications of structures under the water closer in toward shore. One structure poked above the water further out in the lake. There was also a long stairway being revealed as the waters receded, that made its way down from the island into the water. Once the area was drained, they had a ready pathway that would take them down into the city.

Midway through the next week large portions of the city were revealed. It wasn’t an encouraging sight. The once white structures were now worn and crumbled, covered in layers of muck and debris that had built up over a long period underwater. Some areas were in somewhat better shape than others, and here and there they could see perfectly preserved structures glimmering behind the shields that still protected those isolated locations.

“
The shields failed,” Altz said, voicing what everyone realized. “Whoever did this wasn’t up to the task of protecting the city so long. You can see where shields failed more recently, and a few still survive. But as a whole, the city is destroyed. Unless we are very lucky and the few surviving shielded structures contain what we seek, this has all been in vain.” Disgusted, he turned and walked back into the portal and disappeared.

Whatever had taken place between Vaen and Altz, he was now free to come and go on his own. Jolan knew he had rooms at the College, and had seen him headed over to the Council Building almost every day.

By the end of the week the water level had receded to the point they felt they could make their way down and see how bad it was going to be. Altz had a few tricks up his sleeve and, using a spell he had learned a long time ago, they were able to accelerate the drying of the mucky remains of the city. It was still damp as they walked but no longer slippery mud, although the insides of many buildings were still a bit of a mess.

Most of the buildings were a total loss. No effort had gone into protecting the contents since the shields were supposed to perform that function. Everything had rotted away and was totally unrecognizable except for various metal structures and objects. Historians might find bits and pieces of interest, but the kinds of things Jolan and Altz sought were lost. The structures that still had shields were in excellent shape, but were of no particular interest to them. They found a cafeteria, someone’s residence, a section of a scenic walkway, and similar structures. Ten in all had survived. None held anything they sought. It was beginning to look like Altz was right. It had all been a waste of time.

They couldn’t know for certain until they searched the entire city, but that would take weeks at best, and probably months. With winter coming, they would have to interrupt the task and finish in the spring. Jolan still had a tugging at the back of his mind, so he couldn’t dismiss the effort as easily as Altz and the others. They had only checked those areas closest to them since working their way through the remains of the city was difficult. Jolan and Asari had walked along the shore one day to observe as much of the city as they could from above, but it looked a uniform mess. Nothing stood out.

* * * *

“
I have a suggestion,” Vaen said after getting the latest status report from Jolan and Altz.

“
Anything,” Jolan said. “We need some original thought on the problem. We have become buried in the depressing sight of the place.”

“
You Jolan, might relate to this. We have someone who has displayed an interesting talent. Like you, she gets these feelings about places. She can sense which areas of a place are important. We’ve tested her on a couple of locations where we already know what’s important. We even took her to Ygooro. Yes, I know,” Vaen said when Jolan looked up. “We let another know about the portals. I decided it was worth the risk. I trust this person, and I wondered if she might be of use when I first learned what you had found up there. She was able to point to the library from above ground without being prompted. We think she has also identified the location of another portal there. Buris is investigating as his time permits.”

“
Who is she?”

“
She’s relatively new, but like you has advanced very quickly. She is already a five, and we don’t know where she is going to end up. For reasons we don’t understand, she doesn’t register any longer with the standard testing.”

“
When can we meet her?” Jolan asked. “I’m willing to try. We’ve got nothing to lose, and as you pointed out, I’ve been running on hunches for quite some time.”

Vaen smiled, but there was a hint of something extra showing in her face. “I thought you might feel that way. She’s waiting outside. Just a minute and I’ll bring her in.”

Vaen stood and walked briskly to her door. Jolan couldn’t believe how good she looked these days. Moments later she returned escorting a child. It was the snooty ten-year old that had given Jolan such troubles when he first started at the College.

“
Him,” was the first word the girl uttered on being ushered into the room. “I don’t. . . .” she started to say, but then closed her mouth in a tight thin line.

“
You don’t what?” asked Vaen annoyed, but the girl only shook her head.

“
Tishe,” scolded Vaen. “I told you this is important. It hasn’t anything to do with whether you like someone or not. Jolan probably harbors similar feeling about you from what I know about your history. But I need your help. That should be enough for you.”

The girl looked at Vaen, then nodded and hung her head.

“
Tishe, I need your help,” Jolan said, deciding he didn’t need a lecture from Vaen. He knew the difficulties earlier with the girl had been a result of his own frustration and jealousy. “We have found something, but don’t know how to proceed. If you can tell us anything that would help it might make all the difference. Please.”