Wizard's Blood [Part Two] (89 page)

The dragon rumbled his deep laugh. “That was one of the modifications we just made. We limited the range of the devices. Being able to monitor all of Gaea is not necessary for the task at hand and would be a distraction. Besides, as I said to you once before, the exploration of one’s world is something that should be an adventure, not handed over so easily.”

Kavel and Buris had come up with changes they would like to see in the weapons and, with one small change, Den-Orok agreed the stocks could be cut away in the desired areas without impacting the function of the devices. Buris was about to have one of his assistants make the modifications on the first weapon, when Den-Orok smiled and shook his head.

“
You will find the material very difficult to cut,” he warned. “Wait until I bring something from our quarters. I meant to bring it here with me, but was distracted.”

While Den-Orok was gone, Buris tried to cut the material himself using several different techniques. The dragon had been right. Whatever the weapons were made from, it defied being more than lightly marked by the sharpest and strongest of the tools Buris had available to him. The device Den-Orok brought back interacted with the material somehow and made it soften, which in turn allowed the laser-like cutter to slice through it with little difficulty. The first weapon was modified to their satisfaction within an hour, and once they had the design and technique down, the others went far faster.

The task of training pilots went a bit slower, and while Iach-Iss worked with Kavel’s men training them on the new weapon, Den-Orok and Asari trained the first group of pilots. By the end of the week enough men understood the weapons and the skimmers that the dragons could be freed of the task and were finally available to pursue other items that Jolan and Vaen felt needed attention.

Jolan looked out the window as the wind gusted, shaking the trees outside the Council building and blowing dead and dried leaves across the grass that surrounded the building. Clouds were building in the distance, and it was likely they would get rain before the day was out. It wasn’t cold enough yet for snow, but that couldn’t be very far behind. They were well into fall, and in a sense had been lucky. The colder weather was behind schedule, which had left them free to pursue important matters, but gave the enemy more time to prepare as well. It might be best if the snow would settle in giving them the winter with the dragons to properly prepare.

He turned and headed back down the hall to the conference room where the others were gathering. Today was the day they would return to Tilano, but this time they would travel by the scout ships which Cheurt’s forces would be unable to track. That would allow them to slip into the area and complete their searches without giving away the location of the city. Yesterday Asari and Den-Orok had over flown the area and mapped the city to be sure there was a landing spot they could use for the scouts under the glamour. With the coordinates of that spot locked into the scouts, the team was ready except for a final meeting to be sure everyone was in agreement with the plan.

It was quite early, and most of the palace guard were still in their beds or just getting up to start their day. The people who were aware of this plan were being kept to a minimum. It wouldn’t do for Ale’ald to learn what could be done with the portals, or that they were even attempting such a bold approach. Both Jolan and Vaen felt the dragons had been too visible of late, and wanted to reduce the level of their exposure.

“
We all agree that we would like to turn off all of the portals in Ale’ald proper,” Wylan said to the circle.

Heads nodded in agreement. If they later wanted selected portals in the country activated, the dragons had assured them they could be reactivated from the full dead state easily enough. The fact the dragons had brought lists of the portals with their actual co-ordinates and maps that allowed those co-ordinates to be displayed was an incredible boon. The old maps that were partially complete and somewhat vague no longer had to be relied upon. The dragon’s map was a recent download of the Settled Lands from their satellites and located the portals against the current configuration of the continent rather than a view of the place from over a thousand years in the past. Now they really knew where the portals were located. In addition to locations, all of the portals on the lists were labeled with the names that would be selected to access them.

“
What about Kimlelm?” Vaen asked. “The country is essentially fully controlled by Ale’ald forces at the moment. Is there any reason to allow them access to any portals there?”

“
We’ve identified three portals we don’t think they are aware of and that are useful to us. Otherwise we would like to shut down everything else in the country.”

“
It’s going to come as a shock to them when they learn they no longer have access,” Jolan warned. “They will have to know we, and that most likely means the dragons, were responsible somehow. We should be prepared against some kind of reaction strike. They would most likely try to make an attempt on the dragons themselves.”

“
I doubt they would have much opportunity,” objected Major Wylan. “The quarters we have assigned to the dragons are as secure as the Queen’s own, and the dragons have added their own layer of protection on top of ours.”

Asari mumbled something about getting over confident which Jolan had to agree with. “Just be forewarned, this could trigger some kind of response.”

“
Who will be going?” Vaen asked.

“
Probably a larger group than is needed. Other than Iach-Iss and Den-Orok, myself, Asari, Shyar, Buris and Gene.”

“
Why so many?”

“
Buris and Gene represent our best chance of getting someone other than the dragons up to speed on using the system. Iach-Iss and I are a scout team, as are Asari and Den-Orok. We have been practicing with the scouts and the weapons. Should we encounter some of the enemy, we are more effective that way. Shyar goes where I go, and is as powerful a mage as we have should it come to needing support.”

“
We’re sure the enemy hasn’t discovered our secret there? They could be there in greater numbers than we might expect.”

This was the first time Jolan had ever caught Vaen unprepared. She hadn’t yet become fully familiar with the new equipment the dragons had given them.

“
The satellite monitors have allowed us to examine the area in detail, even through Tishe’s glamour. There is no sign of anyone around the lake or inside Tilano. Also, the portals have never been activated since we last left them. We are certain no one is there.”

Vaen shook her head at her own oversight, and nodded. “Let’s get this done. If this can be done, it will be a significant step in slowing Ale’ald. They will be reduced to much slower means of travel. We will have the advantage of the new airforce to make rapid inroads into their territory.”

“
Do such meetings always take so long?” Iach-Iss questioned Jolan as they made their way down to the tunnels that led to the scout ships. “Telepathy makes for much more efficient agreement on such matters.”

“
This was actually a relatively short meeting, as these things go,” Jolan said. “The more people involved, the longer they generally take. Vaen is usually very good about ensuring the meetings stay on track and limiting the attendance to only those who should be there.”

The dragon shook his head, but by then they were at the scouts and the time for idle talk was past. Asari and Den-Orok headed to their scout with Gene and Buris in tow. Iach-Iss, Jolan and Shyar turned to the other one. They could have fit into one, but there wouldn’t have been enough seats, and Jolan agreed with Iach-Iss that having the redundant scout on site was a wise approach.

After a few minutes to get everyone secured in their seats, they lifted off smoothly and ascended high into the air. Once they passed ten thousand feet, Iach-Iss headed west, inland and away from populated areas. It probably didn’t matter, but if anyone was watching they would soon lose sight of the scouts, which would turn south. The course they were on could be back to the Lost Territories, but they would come into the lake from the western side, and descend quickly from altitude.

Despite some very stiff winds at this altitude, the scouts moved smoothly through the air with very little of the turbulence that Jolan would have received had he been flying the Cessna. Since this was Shyar and Buris’ first experience with flying, the relative smoothness contributed to their comfort. Shyar was completely fascinated with the scouts and the view of the countryside far below. Jolan wished he could show her the view of the city from a lower altitude, and maybe they could do so on their return. For now, he pointed out sights as they traveled. He couldn’t help but remember how he had traveled when he first arrived on Gaea a few years back and compare that to the portal system and now the ships of a species that had traveled the stars. He wished their starship was still functional. He would have liked to travel between suns at least once.

They were moving quickly and it only took an hour for them to reach the lake by their roundabout path. It was raining in the mountains around the lake and that would work in their favor, reducing visibility and driving any potential observers inside. In response to the dragon’s directions, the ships flew to the designated coordinates and then swiftly dropped from above, passing through the glamour barrier and moments later settling onto the flat courtyard that had been selected as their landing spot. The scouts took care of themselves, and a few minutes later the full group was assembled on the spotted and dirty marble of the courtyard outside the ships. For the moment the rain had stopped, but the ground was still wet, and much of the dirt that remained had turned back to mud.

Shyar was fascinated by the city. She had seen some of the pictures they had taken, but had never been here herself. Iach-Iss looked sad.

“
This was once a jewel of this land,” he rumbled. “It survived the wars. I wonder who decided to hide it so, and what miscalculations they made that allowed it to come to this. This more than anything makes me realize how far things have fallen.”

Den-Orok was already leading the way toward the opening that would take them into the mountain. He knew the way as well as any of them, having been part of the crew that had seen to construction of the tunnel and installation of the Nexus module. Asari walked at his side, followed by Iach-Iss. Gene and Buris were next, and were engaged in their own conversation, with Jolan and Shyar bringing up the rear.

Since the ships had been brought down a quarter of a mile from the Tilano portal, they had a bit of a walk through the ruins of the city. Shyar’s eyes darted everywhere, and Jolan could see Iach-Iss frequently shake his head as he stared at something he remembered from the past. Soon enough they reached the pristine platform that surrounded the portal, and without a word, Den-Orok triggered the release that opened up the mountain to reveal the entrance to the tunnel.

“
I can’t believe you found all of this,” Shyar said as she continued to look at the wonders being revealed.

“
It was a great deal of luck and the efforts of a lot of people,” Jolan said truthfully.

Inside was the dedicated portal that would take them back into the mountain to the site of the Nexus. They had turned off all the lights in the back, so the face of the portal showed nothing of what lay beyond. Den-Orok walked up to the device, and reached up with one clawed hand to touch something near the top. It was an easy reach for him, but would have required a ladder or stool for one of the humans. As Den-Orok removed his hand, the lights at the far end came on, and they could see into the Nexus room from the display now showing on the face of the portal. Everything appeared as they had last left it, the dome of coppered materials gleaming in the distance.

Without any further delay, Den-Orok stepped into the portal and disappeared, followed by Asari and Iach-Iss. The others followed in series, with Shyar and Jolan bringing up the rear again. Jolan could sense the excitement in Shyar, who had heard of the adventures centered here, but hadn’t been able to explore it herself. Moments later they gathered in the Nexus control room.

“
I am a bit surprised that your copper shield worked as well as it has,” Iach-Iss said in his characteristic rumble as he walked around the cover, observing what had been done. “At the same time, I’m a bit surprised Cheurt and others were able to make the trip to Earth using the field leakage from far above. Something in the device must have degraded since we last checked it.”

Den-Orok was over at the racks of equipment taking readings. After a bit he looked back at Iach-Iss, and Jolan was certain something passed between them. He wondered if they were checking for possible messages from their home, since that had been the original intent of the device. Whatever the exchange had been, Iach-Iss nodded minutely and mumbled something to himself.

Shyar slid up beside Jolan and said quietly. “Earth is just on the other side of that platform?”

He smiled and remembered his promise to take her there. Events had prevented their going together when the Nexus had been discovered, and after her return they hadn’t wanted to use the portals, up to now the only realistic means of getting here, so there had been no opportunity. Perhaps now, using the flyers, he could find the time to take her to Earth. A honeymoon might be fitting. It would give him a chance to introduce her to Janie. It had also been long enough he doubted anyone on Earth would be actively seeking him.