by Blink, Bob
The next time they jumped to a new location, Jeen spoke up. “Wait,” she yelled. “Hold off for a moment.”
“There’s no time,” one of the wizards objected.
“I think there’s another way,” Jeen yelled over the noise of the herd. Quickly she explained what she wanted them to do. While the linkage magic worked without intimate contact, they were all inexperienced, having only performed certain exercises that Rigo had given them as preparation for the tower activation later. None had really been too serious about the practice as the tower effort was well into the future. For that reason Jeen had them link by holding hands.
“Don’t attempt to perform any magic,” she directed. “Simply focus on linking to me and let my mind control your powers.”
Jeen was in the center of the group, with Burke at one end and Kela at the other. It was awkward at first. Jeen could feel a couple of the minds, but most were simply not present. Slowly the link started to form, driven mostly by the strong minds that Burke and Kela brought to the task. Just when Jeen thought they had it, the linkage broke down and they had to start over. One of the younger wizards in the middle was having trouble maintaining concentration, so they positioned him next to Burke. This time they did better, and within half the time it had taken the first time, Jeen could sense the combination of minds within her own. She was the link holding it altogether and therefore she would have to control the magic. She wished it could have been Burke. He was the strongest, but he didn’t have the knowledge that Rigo had given her, so he couldn’t do it.
Taking a breath she drew on the linked abilities that had not been added, but multiplied together. The blast of Brightfire she released was greater than anything that had been seen in the three kingdoms for thousands of years. It wasn’t a bolt, but a fan of such intense energy that it destroyed everything it touched instantly. The Hoplani it struck were reduced instantly to gray ash. Rigo’s most intense release of Brightfire was puny compared to that which Jeen now controlled. The Hoplani were being destroyed not by the score, but by the hundreds.
Controlling the beam, Jeen swung the arc of killing power through the herd, moving from her far right to her far left, mowing down the advancing Hoplani as she did so. By the time she had continued her sweep, more than three thousand had been destroyed. She waited as more of the beasts charged into the space she had created, then repeated the sweep, killing those as well. Twice more she repeated the attacks, until no more of the creatures were left to fill the ranks.
Almost reluctantly she released the Brightfire and broke the link that had merged them into one. She didn’t know at that time that she had tapped into one of the abilities that had resulted in the creation of the Ruins so long ago when hundreds of extremely powerful wizards had linked to bring unheard of powers against one another.
“Great Risos!” someone exclaimed. “That was beyond belief. How did you know to do that?”
Jeen shook her head. She wasn’t up to explaining and was certain she had revealed an ability that Rigo hadn’t wanted known. There hadn’t been a choice, she decided. Not if they were to stop the Hoplani. This way had also reduced the risk to the wizards. The losses they had already suffered would set back Rigo’s hopes for the towers unless they could discover new gifted faster than they had been.
“About half the herd had already passed,” Burke said looking into the distance.
Jeen nodded. “We need to get ahead of them. Then we’ll link again. We should be able to finish them the same way we did these.”
By the time the team returned to the Outpost, all were spent. Jeen told Ash’urn to stay at the Outpost and jumped back to the inn to check on Rigo. She was anxious to tell him about the linking and the impact on the Hoplani. Such power! She knew even Rigo didn’t normally command so much strength. She wondered if he could turn aside such a beam as he had with the attacks from Burke and the other wizards when he’d revealed himself. Jeen thought she now knew why Rigo was uncomfortable with giving the ability to link to the others. It could be turned into an awesome weapon.
Chapter 83
Several days after the incident with the Hoplani, a much improved Rigo walked into the village of the former Lamane It’oni. Rigo had been here before, usually remaining on the outskirts as he dropped off or picked up Elm’ad when they were making the trips to neutralize planned attacks into Branid and Kellmore. This time it would be a very different kind of visit. Rigo, Kaler and Daria had spent the previous days observing the village and they knew the routine and layout. They had discovered where Elm’ad had set up his own tents as he waited for the various tribal leaders to return as instructed for a Caucus to once again elect a new Lamane and plan for the future. Two of the leaders had already arrived, those that had been closest to this village. The others were presumably on the way. The wives and children of the former Lamane lived here, and Rigo had noted that Elm’ad was a frequent visitor to the former leader’s tents. A certain amount of planning must be taking place, and Rigo was certain that someone there had been involved in the attempt on his life.
Today as Rigo walked into the village he was accompanied by more than a dozen wizards from the Outpost. Today was not a day for subtlety. The group attracted the attention of many villagers as they marched purposefully toward the center of the village where Elm’ad was visiting It’oni’s former wives. The diverting of so many wizards from the Hoplani watch was unfortunate, especially given the incredible herd that Jeen and her group had been forced to destroy. Daim told him that such numbers were not uncommon in the past, but even he was surprised and dismayed at the existence of such numbers already. While Rigo was impressed with the originality and insight Jeen had displayed by using the linkage ability to magnify the power available and thereby succeed in eliminating the immediate threat, he was unhappy that the ability had been revealed at this time. But, what was done, was done. If more such herds were found, it would have to become a common practice, although the potential side effects worried him. Some implications of linking hadn’t been understood in Daim’s time, other than the poisoning of the Ruins had been one result.
Kaler and Daria were among those who walked beside Rigo as they headed toward the hut where earlier they had spotted Elm’ad headed as usual. Rigo felt today was one of magic and they didn’t need to be here, but there would have been no way to discourage them. As his friend, they had every intention of seeing those behind the attempt on his life repaid.
Word had spread ahead of them as they walked, and surprisingly Elm’ad was waiting outside a sturdy wooden structure in the center of the village when they walked up. Rigo assumed he needed to show bravery in the face of his enemies since he was most likely politicking to be chosen the new Lamane, not that it would have mattered had he elected to escape. He would have found getting out of the village somewhat more difficult than he might think.
“I expected some of your kind to drop in sooner or later,” Elm’ad said as Rigo walked up where he waited, “but I’ll be honest I never expected you to be one of them.”
“Kind of makes it more difficult to lie about what really happened, doesn’t it?” Rigo asked coming to a halt a dozen paces from the leader.
Elm’ad nodded. “However did you survive them arrows?”
“I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be distracted in the first place, but we are harder to kill than you expected. Thanks to our healing magic, it’s as though it never happened.”
“So now what?” Elm’ad asked, and this time Rigo could sense a touch of nervousness in the man’s voice.
“A little instruction. I told you what would happen to any who resisted my demands. The people of Lopal must understand what we are and what we can do. There is no time for further nonsense.” As he spoke, Rigo used a touch of his power to lift and slam Elm’ad unceremoniously against the wall of the structure he’d been standing in front of. Only the smallest effort was required to hold him there, pinned against the wall more than two hands off the ground.
; Almost as if it had been a signal, a large number of arrows were launched from hidden archers around the village. It seemed that Elm’ad had planned for a repeat of the attack that he had thought had worked against Rigo should anyone come calling. He hadn’t expected Rigo, believing whoever might come would be less capable wizards based on the intelligence he had gathered from the healers. There had been no means of changing his orders when he discovered himself face to face with Rigo.
The attack had been expected, and the result would be part of the lesson. Simultaneously all of the arrows briefly froze in flight, hanging motionless in the air. Gasps of surprise escaped many villagers, and then the arrows magically inverted, the arrowheads switching places with the fletching, then sped away back along the path they had originated. This all happened in a matter of seconds, and the archers who had released the arrows had no time to react to the sudden change. Each was impaled with the very arrow they had released, the tips which had been treated with a fast acting poison this time, doing their work and killing each where he stood. Within moments of the meaty sounds of the arrows striking home, several other archers, men who had been put in place as a second wave, found themselves flung unceremoniously into the square, their broken bows scattered around them. Moments later Burke, Kela and Tana stepped into the square behind the formerly hidden assassins, their invisibility dropping away to the amazement of the watching visitors.
“Such treachery against the community of wizards will not be tolerated,” Rigo announced loudly to the assembled crowd. Daim had told him that this point had been made in the distant past until all realized the consequences. Even if it hadn’t been for Daim’s urging, Rigo realized that any sign of mercy would be viewed by the people of Lopal as a sign of weakness. They expected a certain response, and failure to provide it would result in even more incidents in the future.
While Kaler, Daria and a pair of wizards set off to clear the tents where Elm’ad had set up his temporary camp, the rest of the team that had accompanied Rigo into town herded the remaining villagers who had been hiding into the square. Rigo turned to the former wives of It’oni. He could see in the angry eyes of the eldest that she had been aware of the plotting.
“You were part of Elm’ad’s plan,” he said rather than asked.
“You killed my husband,” Realen-ia replied, uncowed by the power he possessed.
“He killed himself,” Rigo responded. “He refused to consider a path that didn’t involve war.”
“So you will kill me as well for my attempted revenge?”
“No. Not this time. Your response was reasonable. What wife of a tribal leader would not act so. But you and your people must understand this ends here. You have not seen the power we can bring. Soon, those who were at the battle will return. They can tell everyone else of the ease by which hundreds of your warriors were swept away. That was a controlled effort. The entire army could have just as easily been destroyed.”
“And what of Elm’ad?” she asked.
“Elm’ad’s village will have to choose another leader to join the Caucus. He witnessed the battle and was told the consequences of failing to heed my words. He must pay the price of his stupidity.”
“It’s clear,” Kaler said as he and Daria returned with the wizards from clearing the tents.
“No one inside?”
“No longer,” Kaler said. A couple resisted our demands, most left at our warning.
“Those who resisted?”
Kaler shrugged. “They are no longer a problem.”
Rigo nodded and turned toward Elm’ad. Words weren’t important here. A demonstration of what would happen to those who plotted against the community of wizards was what mattered. With barely a flick of his hand, Rigo unleashed a large ball of energy that consumed both Elm’ad and the structure he had been pinned against. One moment he was there, the next the spot was barren, all sign of the man and building gone. A second release took the tents and all sign of Elm’ad’s presence in the village disappeared.
At the gasps from the crowd, Rigo said, “Your entire village could just as easily be wiped from existence. The war is over, and those who fail to accept this will be dealt with accordingly. Lopal faces a different enemy, along with all of mankind. You need to direct your energies and angers eastward.”
“What is this enemy of which you speak?” Realen-ia asked, undaunted by the incineration of Elm’ad. She had seen dead before, and had half expected to meet it herself when she saw the wizards calmly walking into her village. The death dealt to Elm’ad had been painless and quick. She would like to strip the skin from this one, a single layer at a time.
“I have decided a demonstration might help,” Rigo replied. “This is where you will gather to consider the path Lopal will take moving forward. Those who are deciding might choose more wisely if they had personally witnessed what is coming. Select a dozen of your best archers and swordsmen,” Rigo demanded. Have them arrange themselves around the corral over there.”
Realen-ia looked at him oddly, but did as requested. When the men were assembled and armed, Rigo spoke to the crowd. “In a few moments we will be transporting one of the beasts of which I have spoken into the corral. Just one. Your men are to attempt to kill it by whatever means they can. A warning, to both the fighters and those watching. The small horns on the head of these creatures, called Hoplani by the way, can emit magical energies. To be struck by these energies can often be fatal. A double strike almost always is, so guard against being in front of the thing.”
Rigo turned to Burke. “Go and get it,” he said.
Burke open a Bypass, which further shocked those who had never seen one. It took a tenth of a glass. Burke had someone watching a small group of the creatures, but herding it through an opened Bypass took some doing. Suddenly a Hoplani appeared out of thin air and angrily charged toward the first fighter he saw. Arrows released by the archers bounced harmlessly off the skin of the beast, and the swordsmen who were able to strike blows found their heavy swords completely ineffective. The beast roared and emitted blasts of energy, one of which caught a swordsman in the leg, horribly burning the calf and foot, causing the man to crash to the ground. One of the bystanders pulled him from the corral while the remaining fighters distracted the beast. After several passes it was obvious to all that despite their determined efforts, the creature had not even been wounded. Not wanting anymore to be hurt, and his point made, Rigo stepped up and with a focused release of magic, decapitated the beast, which collapsed to the ground.
Jeen hurried over and healed the wounded fighter as Rigo addressed the crowd.
“This is a single one of these animals. You just witnessed how little effect your warriors had against it. These are headed in mass toward Lopal, and have already started crossing your eastern border. They must be stopped and your people must learn what can be done and be prepared to move out of the creature’s way when needed. To further give you a sense of the problem ahead, understand that Jeen and this team destroyed a herd of nearly ten thousand of them just a few days ago. What would you do against such an attack?”
Rigo knew they would also think about the kind of power that would have been necessary to destroy ten thousand of the resilient beasts and what it could do if it turned against them. Not everyone was so easily convinced, however.
“How do we know that this thing wasn’t something you created yourself using your powers?” Ton’er, Leader of the Guardians, asked. He had watching events unfold without speaking up to now.
“Magic gives us immense power but it does not allow us to create life,” Rigo replied, “although there is no way I can prove that to your satisfaction. This is the battle that we are fighting ourselves, and even with all the powers granted us, it remains to be seen if we will triumph. The strength and number of these creatures is why we have no time to be distracted by your desire to conquer your neighbors.”
“Suppose a new Lamane is elected and he does not wish to follow the lead of your wizards? Lopal h
as been free and might wish to remain so,” Realen-ia snarled.
“Then you are far dumber than your people deserve. It wouldn’t be the first time that people have chosen their leaders poorly. But if that is your wish, we will leave you to fight your own battle. But understand this, war will not be tolerated. All who cross the Great River and continue hostilities against Branid or Kellmore will simply be destroyed. We have no time or patience to deal with your foolishness any longer. This is your last warning. Hopefully you are wise enough to understand that. The threat from the Hoplani has grown faster than expected, and our energies must be directed accordingly. I suggest you choose wisely.”
Realen-ia glared at Rigo, then abruptly spun and turned away. Ton’er followed after her, speaking quietly in her ear. Rigo walked over to the corral where Burke was showing several of the fighters the only weak spots the creatures had and the small half a closed fist sized area alongside the ears where a normal weapon might bring the creature down. Usually multiple hits in that area were required, especially difficult since after a single hit the angered beast was prone to charge and toss its head around. As Rigo watched, one of the tribal leaders he had met while making the rounds with Elm’ad walked up beside him.
Rigo had noticed the man approaching, having learned his own lesson regarding awareness of his surroundings. He was ready to use his magic if needed, but sensed the man wanted to talk rather than fight.
“Can you find I’Vorris?” the man asked softly.
“Your former Lamane?” Rigo asked. He had already planned to go in search of the man if time permitted.