“You’re just finding out about this now?” Aiden asked.
“I knew of its existence. Finding it was another matter. One small caveat — the reliquary is most certainly guarded, but I believe I know the guard and will be able to ask for their help.”
“And this person is simply going to hand over their prized possessions?” Pacian inquired.
“There may be some persuading involved,” Terinus conceded. “We do share a common enemy in the sa’quaarin, and I hope this will be enough.”
“You’re not telling us the whole story, are you,” Nellise remarked. “Your language suggests this ‘individual’ isn’t exactly friendly.”
“You are as perceptive as ever,” Terinus replied with a slight bow of his head. “It is a long story, one you will understand better when you meet her. I have some more preparations to make before we can use this ancient portal, and we could all do with another night’s sleep before we embark first thing in the morning. Lucas will provide you with your evening’s meal and supplies for the journey.”
One by one they filed out of the lab toward their rooms. Aiden closed the door behind him and slumped onto the bed, unaware of just how tired he was until presented with an opportunity for rest. He dozed off briefly, awakened only when Lucas entered the room with a platter of food for his evening meal.
“Ow’s the ol’ body ‘angin together, mate?” he asked as Aiden sat up. “Saffy put together some nifty little ‘ealing potions if you still feel a bit banged up.”
“I’ll take whatever’s going,” Aiden mumbled, still feeling the bruises from the confrontation with Veronique. Lucas handed him a trio of tiny glass vials, which Aiden proceeded to uncork and drink without hesitation. The odd taste made him shudder, but the tingling in his wounds told him the tonics were working.
“And here’s something sweet to knock out that bloody awful taste,” Lucas chuckled, revealing a plum pudding, along with the evening meal of roast chicken.
“I see you’ve had these tonics before,” Aiden remarked to the butler’s ever-widening grin. He was reminded of something Veronique had said to Terinus on their first meeting — something about a plague. “Before you go,” Aiden said, “I wanted to ask you what your life was like before coming here.”
“Weren’t nothin’ special, just a cook at a local tavern in Brigham,” Lucas answered with a shrug. “But I don’t think you mean to ask about my boring old job, do ya?”
“I’m curious about this plague that hit your town,” Aiden admitted. “Do you have any idea how it started?”
“Vermin bringin’ in disease, most likely,” Lucas answered plainly. “I ‘aven’t really gone into it too much, even with all the years I’ve ‘ad on me ‘ands. It was a dark time, y’know? Not really somethin’ I want to reminisce about.”
“I don’t mean to stir up bad memories,” Aiden said apologetically, “Terinus rescued you, yes? Do you have any idea why?”
“Probably boundless generosity in ‘is part,” Lucas suggested dryly. “I did ask ‘im about it one day, decades ago. Says he just ‘appened to be in the area at the time, is all. Did what he could to help against the plague but there’s no stoppin’ some of these things.”
“No, I guess there isn’t,” Aiden nodded slowly. “I’m sorry to dredge that up. I was just curious. I’ll let you get back to work.”
“Yeah ‘cause I love it so much,” Lucas chortled, shrugging off the brief darkness that had passed over his eyes. “Eat up before your food gets cold.”
Aiden went about demolishing the platter of food after Lucas left the room, more ravenous than he thought he’d be when he was interrupted by a voice in his mind.
What was that about? Sayana inquired. Aiden glanced around, and even focused his vision to see if she was somewhere in the room, invisible to the unaided eye.
“Are you eavesdropping on me now?” he said to the apparently empty room.
Not intentionally, she answered, but I’m finding it difficult to shut things out. My hearing is exceptionally good.
“That’s an understatement,” Aiden remarked. “I was just following a line of thought with Lucas.”
You suspect Terinus unleashed that plague on the raelani?
“Maybe,” Aiden hedged, unwilling to condemn the man quite so quickly. “I was more interested in why he saved Lucas and Saffron. Guilt? Compassion? I don’t know, maybe it’s not even important.”
Terinus has all but admitted his responsibility for atrocities in the past, Sayana pointed out. I would not put it past him to have tested out a plague as a method of culling a population. Forgive my callousness, but that has been his task for centuries.
“Yet he strives to undo the damage and take a stab at his masters, the ones pulling the strings,” Aiden remarked. “Perhaps you should give him the benefit of the doubt.” Sayana did not answer, leading him to believe his observation had hit home. “Anyway, you should get some rest. We’ll be relying on you a lot in the coming days.”
Goodnight, Aiden, Sayana replied. I’ll try not to spy on your dreams.
“That’s comforting,” he answered sarcastically as he stripped off his clothes and climbed into bed, wondering how things were going for Criosa and feeling somewhat guilty he wasn’t by her side. His thoughts drifted to the journey he would undertake tomorrow, and lacking details, his mind filled in the blanks with worrisome images.
* * *
Aiden was roused by the chattering of voices, but when he rolled over and opened his eyes, he saw only the empty room. If he dreamt, he recalled nothing of it once again. It was a little disturbing, particularly after years of vivid dreams permeating his sleep.
He went about his morning ritual, and emerged shortly thereafter in his travelling gear, ready to go at a moment’s notice. The others had already gathered at the laboratory, similarly dressed for whatever the day would bring. Nellise and Robert wore quality clothing but were forced to leave their heavily damaged armour behind. Sayana watched him curiously, hovering above the floor once more as she drifted over.
We need to speak for a moment, she said softly within his mind, lightly touching his arm and moving him in the direction of the door he just came through.
“Is it important?” Aiden inquired curiously, drawing a shrug from Nellise who watched their interaction from afar.
I watched your dreams last night, Aiden, Sayana confessed. I’m sorry — I really tried not to but I didn’t sleep at all and it just sort of happened.
“Maybe that’s what I heard?” Aiden pondered, not overly concerned about the breach of privacy. “I awoke to the sound of voices but there was nobody there.”
This isn’t the first time, is it?
“The last few nights have been like this, ever since Fairloch. Look, don’t worry about it. I can’t even recall what I dreamed about.”
That’s just it, Aiden. I don’t know either. Your mind was a blank, as if you weren’t even there at all.
“Should I be concerned?” Aiden asked, slightly worried.
It’s certainly not normal, she confided. Robert’s mind was quite active as he slept and I had no trouble reading him. It was… interesting. This ability is completely new to me, and although I can see many things, I’m not entirely sure how to interpret them. How do you feel?
“As normal as ever,” Aiden answered with a shrug, glancing at his clawed hand. “Aside from the obvious of course.”
“Is there a problem?” Terinus rasped from just behind them, giving Aiden a start.
“Nope, everything’s brilliant,” he drawled, wiggling his taloned fingers. “Are we ready to go? I’m kind of eager to have done with this entire business.” The wizard’s ancient eyes scrutinized him, and then with one sweep of his arm he gestured for them to proceed into the lab.
Aiden gave Sayana a reassuring wink as he passed by, before joining the rest of them. Terinus headed straight for the portal’s controls and began entering a sequence of sigils, oblivious to their communication. A dull h
um filled the room as the device came to life, a sound which brought back all sorts of memories.
“I don’t like to be influenced by the past,” Nellise said, “but I find myself reluctant to step through that thing.” The wall of the room, visible through empty space in the centre of the twisted metal, began to fade, replaced by shifting violet light as the humming sound grew in strength.
“The transition to another world is perfectly safe,” Terinus assured her. “What happens on the other side depends on us. To reach the reliquary, we will have to travel through the Aether. Our destination will bear some similarity to this world, so you will not experience discomfort for too long.”
“You know the way?” Nellise inquired absently, her golden eyes entranced by the display of colour.
“I do” he confirmed, pausing to gaze briefly at each of them in turn. They stood in nonchalant poses, appearing to be experienced veterans about to conduct another expedition, yet all of them were lacking something intangible. “I am sensing a degree of trepidation from you,” Terinus rasped. “Though we are about to travel to distant places nobody from this world has looked upon in aeons, it is not beyond you.”
“I’m just gonna speak for myself here,” Robert drawled. “This is what we in the business call ‘mission creep’. You recruited us to help kill your masters, but now we’re going to be gallivanting around God-knows-where. The Aether? I know I project an image of handsome confidence, but do I really strike you as the sort of person accustomed to wandering through the planes of existence? What happens if this doesn’t pan out? Where to next? This isn’t what I signed on for.”
“I’m not entirely enthusiastic myself,” Pacian added, “though I do see the need for it.”
“Has the threat of obliteration not convinced you of the urgency of this quest?” Nellise inquired.
“What threat?” Robert countered. “All we have to go on is the word of a mass murderer. Given what happened between you and that mad woman Veronique, I have to wonder if we’ve been duped into settling some personal vendettas of yours, ‘Terry’.”
“Do you think I am bluffing?” Terinus asked, locking eyes with the mercenary. “Do you think I lie to achieve my own ends? Perhaps you are right — perhaps my word is not enough. You need to see with your own eyes.” With that, he slammed the base of his staff into the floor and a brilliant light engulfed the room. Aiden shielded his eyes for a moment, and when he was able to see once more the laboratory had vanished.
They stood upon a verdant plain with long grass swaying in the warm breeze which stirred the air. In the distance, the sounds of a thriving city could be heard. Aiden saw tall, graceful spires reaching to the sky, surrounded by buildings of a more solid design. The city was magnificent, making Fairloch look like a cluster of hovels by comparison.
“Is this some sort of trick?” Robert spat, glaring at Terinus.
It is a vision, but it was real, once, Sayana answered. It is a living image of a place long since vanished.
“Sohcareb,” Terinus confirmed. “The capital of the Kingdom of Hocarum. We stand on what you know of as the Hocarum Desert, right before the great tragedy struck. These were the final moments of its existence, recorded here for posterity. For decades, they had been creating advanced science and magic, which was soon to become a threat to the sa’quaarin. They had tried lesser measures to curtail the advance of civilisation, but in the end, resorted to this solution.”
As Terinus finished speaking, a lance of fire shot down from the heavens and burned the city in a blaze the likes of which Aiden had never imagined. Buildings were torn apart and evaporated in the inferno, sending up a swirl of dust and debris which began to obscure the view. A blast of hot air swept over Aiden and the others but he barely felt it. The effect reminded Aiden of the original Battle of Highmarch he had witnessed over and over in his dreams.
The distant screams of the dying population were cut off as the entire area, including the land beneath Aiden’s feet was scorched and turned to silt. As the conflagration spread, Terinus waved his staff once more and the image vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving them standing wide-eyed and agape within the quiet of the laboratory.
“This tower would be the primary target of this weapon they call the ‘orbital lance’. The devastation would lay waste to most of Aielund, should we fail to stop it,” the wizard rasped soberly. “Your presence is not required, as such. Only Aiden need journey with me, should the rest of you wish to withdraw from this endeavour. I would have your answer — do I have your support?”
The silence in the lab was deafening. Aiden wasn’t the only one to be shaken to the core by the sight of that once magnificent city being obliterated from on high. It took a moment for the others to compose themselves and answer.
“I would give my life before I allow that to happen to my beloved country,” Nellise uttered with a shaking voice. “I am with you.”
“The sight of an entire city dying puts my crimes in perspective,” Pacian growled, his gloves creaking as he tightened his grip on the scythe. “Maybe if I help you kill them, I might yet find redemption.”
I certainly didn’t undergo this transformation to sit idly by while monsters of this magnitude threaten the lives of people I have come to care about, Sayana added to the growing chorus. Take me to them, and I shall burn them from existence.
“I was already on board,” Aiden said quietly, “but now I’m in it, heart, mind and soul. What about you, Robert? Convinced?”
“This sword of yours is the finest I’ve ever seen,” Robert said to Terinus thoughtfully, “but we’re going to need something bigger. What good are swords against the sort of power you just showed us? Get me a real weapon and I’ll jam it down their throats.”
“That is precisely our purpose here today,” Terinus nodded, satisfied. “Steel yourselves for the journey to come, and we will be successful, I promise. Stay close to me, as the realm we are about to enter is without limit, and it would be a shame if you became lost. Come.” With that, Terinus stepped through the arch and vanished into the swirling curtain of light. One by one they followed, with Aiden the last to pass through.
It reminded him of the time he had walked through the Aether near Feybourne to bypass an impenetrable barrier. A swirling mass of colour and form not dissimilar to water pervaded his senses. They moved with ease, drifting through a mirror of the real world. Trees from the forest surrounding the Black Tower could be seen through the fog, and the ground in which he had stood was now far below Aiden’s feet.
Ahead, Terinus gestured for them to follow. The others drifted forward, slowly becoming used to the fluid medium. Speech was not possible in this realm, but Sayana had a way around that.
I can easily convey your thoughts to the others, she explained softly in their minds.
“This is so strange,” Robert grumbled in their minds as he floated awkwardly in the Aether.
“It’s not unlike the teleport incantation which took us to the desert on our escape from Fairloch,” Nellise remarked, “without the bone-shaking terror of course.”
Pacian seemed to be getting the hang of it though, for he glided about with remarkable precision, earning a glowering stare from Robert in the process.
“Enough play,” Terinus chastised them. “We have quite a journey ahead of us, so please focus.” Dismissing their curiosity, the rest of the group followed the wizard as he increased his speed. The ground beneath them faded into the mist and the colours slowly deepened towards dark blue and purple. Aiden’s eyes began to play tricks on him as they travelled, giving him the impression of both a thick, encircling fog and the deepest vista imaginable at the same time.
It was a far cry from their last visit to this strange realm. As Nellise had pointed out, their flight through the Aether had been a terrifying experience, but it had been the wild magic which flung them about so readily, not the Aether itself. This was a tranquil, almost serene experience which seemed to go on for hours.
&nb
sp; There was little sign of life here, though it was by no means barren. Aiden was startled as something immense obscured the ambient light cascading through the Aether for a moment, but if it noticed the tiny mortals passing through its home, it paid them no heed. Still, Aiden breathed easier once it had receded into the mist once more.
From amidst the swirling mass, a tiny sparkle of light could be seen, a point of solid matter they were gradually moving towards. As they closed in, Aiden recognized the object as another portal, much like the one they had stepped through to come here. It floated on a chunk of flat rock torn from the ground, drifting silently ahead.
Though it lay dormant, Terinus quickly brought the portal to life by tracing the obscure sigils on its control surface. A curtain of white light sprang into existence in the centre of the arch, and the wizard drifted through to whatever lay on the other side. Aiden followed, and once he passed through the curtain of light his eyes took in the scene.
It was dark, but flickering torches ensconced along a wall of crumbling stone provided enough light to see by. The air was thin, as if they had climbed to a great altitude. A wide-open space, much like a courtyard, opened up before them, and the portal they had just come through rested on the edge of ancient flagstones. Looking back as the others came through, Aiden felt a sudden sense of vertigo as he stared at a maelstrom of violet light, which was practically within arm’s reach. They stood on an island of reality in the eye of a storm within the Aether.
“What is this place?” Nellise breathed in awe.
“Another sa’quaarin vault, didn’t you say?” Aiden asked in a small voice.
“A reliquary,” Terinus corrected as he began to walk across the open expanse, the click of his staff echoing along the empty walls. “And not sa’quaarin, but acadian. My people were cautious, hiding away their most prized relics in a place nobody would ever find. Though their cities may have crumbled away, this edifice continues on in a place without time.”
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