The situation that these people believed themselves to be in revealed a lot about what they did not know, and could not do. Perhaps they had never tried to get back, becoming over-comfortable in this reality that had healed all of their ills. “You only believe yourself to be isolated,” he countered. Obrett raised his stone and concentrated. Finding the spot in the stone that he had used before, he noticed that it was now a lot easier to cross the threshold. He poured his consciousness through the crystal matrix once more and found himself in the dark. The sand had reappeared beneath his feet, and in the darkness, the only building that loomed near was the ruined tower. Satisfied that all was right, Obrett focussed with his old stone, the stone that helped him subvert the focus in Raessa and consequently escape. “Are you there, my friend?” He sent out the thought as a test.
“Are you back there?” Came the ghostly voice of Brendan.
“I am. The focus works just fine. What did it look like?”
Obrett felt a sense of amusement mixed with wonder directed across the focus. “You became a blaze of crystalline light. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I am standing by you right now, though you would never see me. Endarius says that I can watch you by seeking out your life force, at least he said that after he recovered.”
“Try it, the process might help us.” Obrett waited in the dark, and if there was anything to indicate that he was suddenly being watched in a way that he could not conceive, all that he felt was the fluttering whisper of a breeze.
“I can see you. You have never looked more impressive, my friend. You are a figure of bright green light.”
Obrett chuckled in the silence of darkness. “I certainly don't feel like it. Bright green would be preferable to absolute darkness. Even so, this might well be able to help us a bit further afield.” Obrett broke off the contact and entered the tower, pushing on the huge iron door with all of his ebbing strength. Once inside, he made his way through the darkness into the storage room where they had left their packs, and gathered all that they had stored there. Fumbling in his pack, he produced a lantern that he lit with flint and steel taken from the stables back in Raessa. Taking another look around he moved up into the first floor of the tower, finding himself looking out of the windows into the dark beyond. The darkness was absolute beyond the limit of his meagre light, and if there was any light from the very distant city, then he could not see it. A tingling began to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he looked around, trying to locate the source.
“Obrett, get back here now. The Golem is seeking you out!”
The voice was Endarius, and now Obrett understood the strange feeling. Remembering back to more painful days, he could recall the overpowering sense of evil that emanated from the dread creature to the point that it made his skin itch. That was what the tingling was now, the far-off presence of the creature, increasing rapidly as it sped towards him. Wasting no more time on bad memories, Obrett shouldered the packs knowing that they would not make the trip should he not be carrying them. He picked up the stone he had used and as he became more familiar with the focus, he found it a lot easier to make the transition. His mind slipped through the crystal fragments of the stone and the air shimmered. He found himself in the middle of the tower, and gasped at the view. Raessa's focus was magnified through great sheets of crystal that filled many of the windows, and the resulting beams of intense blue were reflected around the tower in a network. Beneath them various sets of apparatus littered tables, and shelves contained yet more scrolls and books. The room was a veritable workshop. Everybody else had been waiting for him as he materialised, but now their attention was diverted. Irmgard was staring through one of the sheets that appeared to be a normal window, watching as something dark grew larger and larger as it sought out prey.
“How long?” Called Endarius.
“Moments,” Irmgard replied without turning. “If you had shown any more lassitude, Law wizard, you would not be here in my auspicious company.” Irmgard flashed a grin towards Obrett, and then looked back at the window. “Here it comes. Brace yourselves; try and hold onto something.”
Obrett hardly had time to drop the packs before the tower went dark. The tables jumped, the cupboards shuddered, and the very walls shrieked out in protest at the invasion of a force that seemed able to rend mountains to rubble. The tower endured though, and after a moment of pure agony where evil more primal than any force they had encountered had sought to dominate them, the darkness moved on.
“That was the closest yet,” Irmgard commented as he checked the walls for cracks.
“There are few ways that we could have gone when escaping from Raessa,” Brendan said as he helped right a strange metallic structure that was twisted in impossible directions and housed a crystal in its midst. “The Witch Finder will know that, and direct searches likewise if he considers us to be enough of a prize.”
“It seems that he does,” Endarius observed. “He will not be able to take you, not as long as you remain in this place, and this reality.”
Obrett frowned. “We have commitments, and people we need to inform. There are people dear to us that need to know of the danger they risk.”
“If you go back, you only place yourselves in danger,” Endarius replied. “Why not stay here with us? There is plenty that you can do from within this tower. You can find anybody from here, and observe their doings. You can also contact anybody. You have proven that you have skills we lack. Perhaps there are other things that we can learn from each other?”
Obrett leaned back against a table, putting his hands behind him for cushioning. “You do have a point. Let me try something.”
“Jacob and Ispen?” Brendan asked.
“Exactly.”
“Remember, the focus is a focus without a focus,” Endarius cautioned, and both men looked up at him in confusion. “It is the same thing but without a stone.” He explained. “Just be sure not to do anything different.”
Obrett closed his eyes and cleared his mind, seeking two familiar souls moving towards the East. He tried to interpret Endarius' advice as literally as he could, but it was hard to focus without a stone to pass his thoughts through. He stretched out with his mind, and felt a pleasant wash of surprise to find that he had but to think a thing and it was possible.
He felt himself flying over the landscape, searching for his two friends. It was easy to find them for they were but leagues from the tower, riding through a series of deep gullies that scarred the landscape. Jacob was leading, and Ispen was close behind him.
Obrett had no time to be subtle, so he just tried to get through to them. “Hide.” It had an instant reaction.
“What in blazes was that?” Jacob exclaimed, pulling his horse to a stop. Ispen almost rode into him, and threw curses to the empty horizon.
“Don't ask questions, you fools. HIDE!” Obrett threw the words like a series of punches, emphasising the last. He could feel the darkness approaching from behind him. “The Golem will be onto you within moments if you do not hide.”
“Obrett?” Jacob asked to the empty air.
“Let's do what he says, wherever he is he can't help us much more,” Ispen decided. The two men scurried under a jutting cliff, where once a river had eroded its way into weak rock underneath. They disappeared from view into the cave, and Obrett watched as the darkness flew past him and onwards to the East.
“It is I. We have discovered something at the tower. Wait there until we have decided what to do. At the very least you will be safe.”
“Obrett? What do you mean? We need to get to our guilds to warn them.” Jacob sounded confused.
Obrett tried to purvey a sense of calm and confidence. “There may be a faster way. Hold fast and I will get word to you. If you need me or Brendan, just focus your thoughts towards us.”
“So we just wait in there? In this cave?” Ispen was clearly nonplussed by the whole thing.
“Trust me,” Obrett thought with the mental equivalent
of a grin. “I can see you even if you can't see me. You are going to love this.” Leaving the glowing figures, Obrett pulled his consciousness back. He opened his eyes and found that only Endarius and Brendan were with him. The others had gone back to whatever chores filled their lives of contemplation. Obrett grinned, feeling glory in success. “They are safe, but they would be safer if we brought them back here. The Golem passed right by them.”
Brendan looked visibly relieved. “Thank the Gods for small mercies.”
“What will you do now?” Asked Endarius.
“I am going on a hunt. I have somebody that I have needed to speak to for a very long time.” With a nod to his friends, Obrett closed his eyes, and concentrated on three men that had grown in skill and power under his tutelage. They had all developed a keen interest in their chosen vocations within the Guild of Law, and despite the political machinations of the Guild masters had prospered. He thought about their faces, and stepped into a focus to seek their bodies. He sent his mind out as far as he could, and then tried to go further yet. He found himself flying over mountains, speeding faster than any bird in existence. He crossed massive plains following their trails, and hovered over a city by the sea that was full of life, the glowing entities that represented the citizens bright as stars in a moonless sky. Their trail led across water, and even from this point he could sense them specifically. A surge of hope led him to speed faster, to a ship that was way out in the middle of the ocean, heading towards the great island that lay in the vastness beyond. The ship was teeming with life, for it was a busy vessel, but on the deck amidst them, were two of the three forms that he sought. He closed in on one that he knew well beyond all normal means, and spoke the name of the glowing entity next to him.
“Keldron.”
Chapter Fifteen
Raoul peered into the distance seeking any sign of the land that was so elusive, yet so temptingly close now. He had stopped using his focus stone to peer long distances as each time that he did he became violently sick. This would have been nothing new, for seeing a landlubber heaving over the ship's rails was not unusual. He had spent most of his time in the crow's nest, and raining sick tended to result in unpleasantness from his crewmates. Since he had to live with them he had to keep his stomach under control, and the stones had been put regretfully away. So he had gained his sea legs relatively quickly, much more quickly than many of the tribesmen. The watch from the nest was one that not many of the sailors preferred, and they were happy to share the watches with him. He ignored the compounded swaying that resulted from being at the most extreme point of the ship's rigging and looked to the distant horizon where blue sky dwindled to grey as it met with the dark expanse of the ocean. It was also the most peaceful place to be on the ship, for Raoul preferred isolation to the constant press of humanity that had nowhere to go. He was accompanied by the occasional gull that chose to perch on the spars of the mast and chatter away at him, but aside from that he had the groan of wood and the grind of tautening ropes for company. It was most peaceful.
“Raoul, get down here!”
Raoul let out a yelp and grabbed for the line that secured him, looking around for whomever had just spoken. There was nobody there. Some sort of commotion was occurring on the deck far below, but from his vantage point he could not quite see what it was.
“Ahoy there, seagull!” called a voice from below his feet.
Raoul looked out over the side of the platform he stood upon. A sailor was climbing up to join him. “Hey there Jenkins,” he replied amiably to the sailor that often shared the watch with him.
The stocky sailor flashed a grin underneath the mop of dark hair that constantly strayed loose from the tied-back mass that hung down his back behind the rather smart blue uniform the officers wore. Jenkins was a very junior officer hence the distasteful watches the man often drew. He was good-natured despite this, and took it all in his stride. He accepted it as another rung on the ladder of his career, a necessary duty. The man was good company too, always full of jokes and tales and always willing to debate the Old Law with him. He had a unique perspective for these people; He was once the son of a farmer and steeped in the traditions of the Old Law, but he had joined the crew of the Grotesque on a whim and had remained there ever since.
“You are needed down below, my friend. There is some sort of unholy commotion going on with one of your companions on the deck. I will relieve you for a half-watch, but remember you owe me.”
Raoul grinned at the sailor. They all knew that he would stand more than his allotted time in the nest on any given watch, and were already in his debt. It had become a running joke between a few of them to see just how much they could extort from him in deeds and favours. Raoul took it all in his stride, a thing he would once have never done. “Did you just shout up at me, telling me to get down there?”
Jenkins looked back down below him, as if trying to remember any incident where he might have shouted up. “Nope. Wasn't me.” The sailor hoisted himself over the wooden guards that were designed to hold a man in rough seas, not really needed in the clement weather they had enjoyed ever since leaving Leallyra. “You had better get down there matey. They were a-clamouring for you enough to send me up here, so you had better join them.”
Raoul nodded his thanks, and hoisted himself out into the rigging, continually amazed at the fact that he was okay this high up in the web of ropes and spars that helped keep the ship moving. He had developed the skills of a born-climber since being on board, and the time spent in the crow's nest had led him to develop a method to master what were often irrational fears. He understood now that it was not the fear of something that dogged his spirit, trying to drag him down. Rather it was the fear of being afraid that confronted him. Once he was in a situation where he had been forced to face a fear, he had conquered it. Thus climbing down ropes and wood no longer held any challenge for him. Quite the reverse, it had been a benefit. He had a wiry strength to his skinny limbs for the first time in his life, and the pallor was fading from his skin, replaced by a tan. Even his dark hair had flecks of sun-bleached yellow in it. He had taken to wearing sailors' garb, and had carefully stowed his cloak and dark clothes. He was quite at home on this ship. So hand over hand he descended the ladders and ropes that separated the crow's nest from the deck, and he even slid part of the way down, slowing before his hands began to chafe and burn. Dropping to the deck with light feet, he made his way towards Belyn, who was bent over something. “You called?” Raoul asked innocently, not willing to let anything cloud his day.
“Belyn turned to regard him, and from the look on his bearded friend's face he could see that something important was happening. “A breakthrough?”
“Of sorts,” Belyn replied, and tossed a stone towards him.
Raoul caught the stone with reflexes made quick by the strength he had gained, and looked at it. It was his stone from the village, the very same stone they had used to see the spirits.
“Focus and look around you on the deck.” Belyn got his own stone out as he was saying this and made ready to do the same. Raoul spared a look for Keldron, and saw that his friend was already concentrating on the stone in front of him. It had been a while, but Raoul would never forget what he had seen in the village, so the focussing was easy. He concentrated, and then used the focus to look around at the people on the deck. They glowed as they moved, and as Raoul looked around the deck, he noticed a figure that had not been there before. He approached the glowing being, and from the outline deduced that this was a man much older than himself, one wise and learned in the lore of focussing. “Obrett?” He thought out loud.
“Greetings, Raoul Za, the Law Wizard,” the shape replied, “you have been busy since last we met.”
Raoul dropped to his knees in shock. “Master, how are you doing this? What happened to you after we left? Were you injured in the explosion?”
The glowing figure of Obrett exuded a sense of calm reassurance. “I am well, my student. A lot has happen
ed to me since we parted.”
“No doubt,” agreed Belyn with the mental equivalent of a broad grin on his face. “The fact that you are doing something that has only been dreamed about for generations tells us that much. Where in blazes are you? And how did you get there?”
Obrett relayed the events that had thrown his life into turmoil since he had last seen his students. The cell, the focussing, the Golem and the Witch finder all featured heavily. The subliminal messages and the escape to the tower were explained only slightly less so. The three of them expressed outright disgust but little surprise at the fact that their entire guild had turned to Garias Gibden with their loyalty. They had never been favourites at the guild, and the feeling was reciprocated. His fellow wizards quickly agreed Raoul's thought that they should go rot in their own stench. Lastly Obrett covered the discovery at the tower, and the secret that lay behind all focussing.
“So this world that exists behind ours, is it what we are seeing now?” Keldron had kept quiet, so relieved was he to hear from his mentor that he had been overcome by all the good news.
“Not quite in the detail I can see it. What it does give me the chance to explore is the possibility that I can create spells here and help you discover their focus equivalents. The people we have encountered at this tower are not highly skilled in the art, but they are steeped in lore. We dare not leave here for the Golem is trying to track us. It almost got two of my companions just now. I thought it best to warn you that it might come after you.”
“I don't think we have ever encountered this Golem you speak of,” Belyn thought to the rest of them. “How would we know it?”
“It is a creature of unspeakable evil, though probably not of its own making. You would probably know it from the sense of fear it emits from the aura that surrounds it.” They all felt the worry that washed out from Keldron like water through a sieve. It occurred as soon as Obrett mentioned the aura. “Keldron, are you ill?”
The Path of Dreams (The Tome of Law Book 2) Page 46