As soon as she did so, she could feel the vibrations of the energy around her increase. She closed her eyes, focusing for a moment, and the device in front of her faintly hummed. She adjusted the orientation of the sphere, aligning its fibers with the rest of the crystals, tuning the hum until it matched the energy around her and faded into it.
“Alright,” she said. “This one is ready.” Gently, she reached into the stone underneath her and pulled up a cylinder around the device, raising it until it was twice as tall as the silver and crystal structure, then used her hands to form it closed over the top.
Rasul threw some fallen limbs over the stone to hide it from easy view. “All right. Two more to go, then we can collect the ones we put in a fortnight ago.”
“I still don't know why Giriraj can't survey the energy himself,” Amethyst grumbled. “It would be simple enough, really.”
“Well, this way, we can deliver the crystals to him, and if there are any major changes in the balance of elements, then he will have proof of it to confront whichever Master might be meddling in his domain,” said Rasul. “If he were to just come by himself, it would be his word against theirs.” He lifted the remaining two stakes, putting the mallet back on a loop at his hip. On his other hip, he wore a long, broad-bladed sword with a single edge and a slight curve. He had used it to cut some low hanging branches from the trees around them to disguise the stone that hid the device. If a tracker or hunter came through, they might be able to find it, but at least it would be less likely to be seen by someone with an untrained eye.
Rasul scratched out an octagram large enough for both Amethyst and him to stand inside on a patch of bare dirt. Once she had taken her place, Rasul dumped a small pile of herbs in the center and struck a spark to it with flint and steel. It ignited readily, sending a thick plume of smoke into the air.
“Are you ready?”
Amethyst nodded, and they were transported through the maelstrom, appearing in another clearing in the blink of an eye. Amethyst caught herself before she stumbled and surveyed her surroundings. High, craggy mountains rose to the north, their peaks covered in a layer of snow, even though midsummer was just under a month away. To the east, in the distance, the towers of a castle rose above the trees.
Rasul pointed to the structure. “That would be Tiefuhr, the seat of the northernmost province of the Northlands. Historically, it's held the northern border against the Burning Sands. It also sits along the border of the Far North.” He dropped his hand and shook his head. “It's been almost constantly at war with Valtheim, except for the last fifty or sixty years.”
“Well, then let's get this over with quickly. I don't feel like being caught in the woods with my hands full,” Amethyst said, stepping out into the forest. They walked until they found a tiny clearing, and Rasul dropped the stakes on the ground, pulling the hammer from his belt.
“This seems like as good a place as any,” he said. “Secluded, in range of Tiefuhr...” He set the point of the stake against the ground. “And not a solid sheet of rock.”
As he drove the post into the ground, Amethyst stood watch, keeping an eye out for any attention that the noise might bring. Luckily, the spring snow melts had softened the ground considerably, so it didn't take long for Rasul to hammer the stake down to an acceptable level.
Amethyst went to work setting up the crystals. “So,” she said to Rasul, “You never told me how you came to serve Giriraj. You're not his apprentice, and you claim to not be a wizard yourself, but you are more skilled at magic than I am.”
The man sat on a stump, drinking from a waterskin. He wiped off his mouth and pushed the cork back in, tying it off. “Well, I was once a Hopeful, like you were. I competed for the position of apprentice, oh, twenty years ago? Thirty? I was young.”
Amethyst arranged the crystals on the stand. “But you didn't win? Why did he keep you near?”
“The young man that beat me to the altar was a stronger wizard than I was,” he said, shrugging. “That's all there was to it. He was better at sensing the energies, better at manipulating them, plus he had an innate sense for the other elements, even if he couldn't control them.”
Rasul set the waterskin down. “Giriraj kept me around, I think, because what I could do, I could do very well. I was good at focusing the energy, I was good at seeing it in others, and I already knew how to travel through the ether. Even though the boy that beat me was stronger, he was less refined, less skilled. There's a striking difference between skill and potential.”
He gestured to Amethyst as she finished tuning the device. “You saw that yourself during your choosing. You were more powerful than any of the others, but both Tika and Fredrick were more skilled. They were raised in places that didn't necessarily frown upon the arcane, so they were exposed to it more. In Lonwick, as you know, the priests do their best to quell any sort of... competition, as it were.”
Amethyst furrowed her brow as she concentrated, pulling the stone out of the ground for the shroud that would cover the device. “It was made clear to us that only one of us would be chosen.”
“Well, Giriraj already has a messenger. No need for another.”
“That makes sense, I suppose,” she said, pushing the top of the stone over the crystals. She dusted her hands off, the smears of stone that clung to her fingers crumbling away. “What happened to Giriraj's previous apprentice?”
Rasul spread his hands, shrugging. “I'm not entirely sure. He seemed to fall ill about ten years ago, and just never got better. Giriraj did everything he could to keep him healthy, including taking him to the Master of Creation for treatment, but nothing helped for very long. He died in his sleep five years ago.”
Amethyst frowned. “That's terrible.”
Nodding his head, Rasul arched his brows and sighed. “It wasn't pleasant, that's for sure.”
Amethyst rolled up the leather, stowing it in her pack. “Alright. The last one is going near Steinhalt.”
Standing up, Rasul arched his back, making it pop audibly. “That's correct. We should be able to put that in place and return to the mountain by the time the sun sets.”
“At least it's warmer here than it is up there.”
They made their way back to the clearing where they had appeared, and once more, Rasul scratched out the diagram and lit the herbs. The world rushed in around them, and the same roaring surge of winds buffeted her. She braced herself, and after a moment the noise and pressure died. She opened her eyes and looked around to get her bearings. They stood near the edge of a forest, looking out over a broad, stony plan that extended to the north, following a well-traveled road to the south, east of their position.
Rasul hefted his last stake. “Alright, this way,” he said as he moved west, staying well inside the treeline. Through the trees, Amethyst caught a glimpse of a massive stone walled city.
“That is Steinhalt, I am assuming?”
“It is, Your Grace.”
“My father sacked that city once, a very long time ago.”
“Trust me,” said Rasul. “They remember. It is best that we stay out of sight, partially for that reason. Elves are not generally well thought of in the farther reaches of the Northlands. Valtheim might tolerate the presence of one or two, but the rest of the country is significantly less accepting.”
“I will definitely keep that in mind.”
They picked their way through the underbrush as the land sloped steadily down, until they had walked quite a bit east of Steinhalt. Behind the city was a massive, ancient quarry, with huge blocks of stone laying out, ready to be worked. The natural lay of the land on either side of the stoneworks had been smoothed into wide roads, on which Amethyst could see carts loaded with blocks being pulled by long teams of horses. Hundreds of men moved around the floor of the rock pit, either hauling gravel and smaller stones into different piles, or chiseling larger blocks into shape.
“Hold!” hissed Rasul, holding up his hand. “Look!”
He pointed to t
he southern wall of the city. A gate had opened, and horsemen were pouring out in an endless stream. Hundreds, thousands of soldiers came out of the gate as they watched, assembling in front of the city. Though she couldn't hear anything, her sharp eyes could see several other horsemen, who she assumed were commanders, riding back and forth in front of the horsemen. Behind the cavalry, thousands more men left the city on foot, forming ranks nearby.
“What's happening?” whispered Amethyst.
“I don't know why, but it looks like Steinhalt is preparing for war.”
“With Lonwick? But why?”
Rasul shook his head. “I couldn't say. War between a single province of the Northlands and Lonwick would be suicide. If they were preparing for war, it would be wisest if all of the provinces were united, and we have heard or seen no such movement since King Brynjar fell ill.”
Amethyst watched the men from the safety of the treeline. It wasn't long before they fell into formation and started marching and riding east.
Rasul furrowed his brow, squinting at the mass of soldiers. “They're riding towards Valtheim. It would make sense if they were rallying there in preparation for marching south, but with Brynjar bedridden...”
“Maybe they're marching on Valtheim?” Amethyst suggested.
“No, that wouldn't make sense either. Brynjar has three sons, the oldest of which, Brandt, is more than capable of ruling in his stead. He's also got his queen, Eira.”
She shook her head. As curious as the situation was, she couldn't let herself get caught up in it. She had a job to do, and right now, she wasn't doing it. “So where are we going to put the final set of crystals?”
Rasul pointed further along the woodline. “This way. I'm looking for somewhere out of sight. We're too close to the city to hide it under a few branches – someone would be sure to see it.”
Amethyst spotted a pile of boulders. “I have an idea. Follow me.”
She led the way to the rock pile and walked around it, searching for an appropriate cavity. She found a small hole, formed by one large rock bridging over two others, that would suit her purposes. She took the stake from Rasul and lowered herself into the hole. Once she had her feet under her, she set the point against the stone and pushed, focusing on the ground under the tip.
It softened like clay, and she managed to push the wooden stake down almost to the top. Rasul lowered her pack down to her, and she quickly set up the silver frame. Adding the crystals was the work of a moment, but tuning the sphere on top to the right frequency took more time.
“You've disturbed the balance of energies in this area by performing elemental magic,” said Rasul, shaking his head. “It's going to be harder to find the perfect alignment.”
“Don't underestimate me,” she muttered, narrowing her eyes as she turned the selenite carefully, focusing on the hum in the energies around her. It took her a moment, but she got it as close as she could, then stepped back.
“All right, I think that's good. Let's go.”
She handed her pack to Rasul then took his hand as he helped her climb out. They retraced their tracks through the forest until they neared the clearing, but drew up short when they heard voices.
Rasul held out his hand, signaling to Amethyst, but she was already dropping to a crouch. They kept their distance, listening for anything they could make out from the clearing ahead.
Three Northmen stood in the tiny meadow, each wearing the gray and blue of Steinhalt's warriors. They poked at the ground with their swords, talking amongst themselves. Though they were too far away, it was plain they were referencing the marks on the ground formed by Amethyst and Rasul's travel.
“Let's hang back here,” Rasul whispered to her. “Maybe they'll get spooked and leave.”
They waited in the underbrush for a while, and the soldiers showed no signs of leaving. Instead, they became more and more agitated, seeming to argue over what to do next. One of them kept pointing back at the nearby city, while the other two pointed at the ground and then to the south.
“I think they're blaming Lonwick,” said Rasul, keeping his voice low. “Many Northmen still hold foolish superstitions about elves as sorcerers.”
Amethyst deadpanned at Rasul, arching one eyebrow.
“Well,” he said, rolling his eyes, “mostly foolish.”
“I have another idea,” said Amethyst. “Get your herbs ready.” She crept through the underbrush towards the clearing.
“Amethyst, what are you doing?” Rasul hissed. “We should wait for them to leave!”
She ignored him, all but crawling along the ground as she closed the distance between her and the Northmen. When she had gotten within thirty or so feet of the meadow, she reached out with her hands and closed her eyes. The stone was shallow here and easy to reach. She focused on an area between two of the Northmen and sent a spike shooting out of the ground, as long as the soldiers were tall.
The Northmen cried out and stumbled back. She sent another spike up, and another, each one narrowly missing the Northmen in the clearing.
“Devils!” one of them shouted. “I'm not dying for this shit!”
As he bolted from the clearing, Amethyst sent another spike out of the ground, nearly grazing one of the remaining soldiers. He and his companion took the hint and ran from the meadow, beating a retreat that was hot on the heels of the first man.
“That was reckless,” said Rasul, obviously annoyed with her. “What if you had been spotted? What if they had instead fled towards us through the forest?”
She shrugged. “I would have blocked them from reaching us with more stone.” She shook her head. “It's irrelevant anyway. They fled, and they're no longer a problem.”
“And what if they bring someone back?”
“We'll be gone by then,” she said, dropping the spikes back into the ground. “All they'll find will be some strange marks on the ground. They'll be written off as easily spooked, and nothing will come of it.”
“I think you greatly underestimate the superstition of the Northmen,” Rasul grumbled.
Rasul poured out the herbs and struck a spark to them, and they were off once more, returning to Mount Stromgard just as the sun sank below the horizon.
~~~
Amethyst sat upright in Giriraj's chair, a large sphere of clear crystal held on an ornate stand in front of her. The stand was made to resemble three muscular men with their heads bowed and their hands linked as if they shared the load of the crystal together.
She could clearly see Giriraj through the crystal. This method of communication was still novel to her; in the storybooks she had read as a child, old nomadic wise women from the mountains north of the Burning Sands had used such crystal balls to tell fortunes. Giriraj dismissed that as rubbish and fantasy, instead showing her how they worked for communicating over long distances.
“Are all of the collectors set?” he asked as he wrote in a tome with a long feather quill, not looking at his crystal. As usual, he was otherwise occupied; the man was seldom without his nose in a book.
“Yes, Master,” she said. “Rasul and I placed them all today. The only one that posed any challenge was the one near Steinhalt.”
Giriraj glanced up at her. “What sort of challenge?”
“The area around Steinhalt was very active,” she said. “We had to take extra pains to go without notice. While we were there, a large force of soldiers left the southern gate and rode east. There were thousands of them... I was unable to get a good count, but they numbered easily in the thousands, both horsemen and footmen.”
Giriraj frowned. “They were wearing blue and gray?”
“The three that I got close to were. They were searching the clearing that Rasul took us to. I frightened them away so that we could return to Mount Stromgard in peace.”
He furrowed his brow. “How did you frighten them away?”
She spread her hands. “I used simple stone manipulation. I brought spears from the ground, narrowly missing them. They thought
the area was under attack by devils and fled. When they were gone, I sent the spears back into the ground. The turf covered any holes they made.”
Giriraj scowled. “Rash, brazen, but effective. You should have waited for them to leave. In the future, you will not do such a thing.”
Amethyst nodded. “Yes, Master Giriraj.”
He sighed and returned his attention to his writing. “In any case. These soldiers. Did you happen to see if they took the north fork of the road or the east fork?”
“I did not see, no. They headed directly east from Steinhalt, and we did not follow them.”
Giriraj's frown deepened. “Either they are preparing to march on Valtheim in the hour of Brynjar's passing, or they are joining with Valtheim for an excursion south. Attacking Lonwick would be foolish, but not unlike their kind. Keep an eye on Brynjar's city, and inform me if anything changes.”
Amethyst raised an eyebrow. “How should I do that, Master Giriraj? Entering Valtheim would be difficult, to say the least, as would be going unnoticed.”
“Use the terrain to your advantage, girl,” he said, his tone almost snappish. “Valtheim is in a valley surrounded by ridges. Pick one and watch. That will give the crystals the time they need to sample the energies in the area for any fluctuations.” He looked up at her from the book. “If Steinhalt is marching on Valtheim, no doubt at least Eisberg and Tiefuhr have allied with them.” He shrugged. “Or them with Tiefuhr. In the end, it makes no difference which wolf leads the pack.”
“Yes, Master,” said Amethyst, internally groaning at her new assignment. She felt more like a glorified housekeeper and scout, and less like an apprentice with each passing day.
“You are doing the things that I would be doing if I were there,” he said, glancing up at her. “There is no reason to feel as though it is beneath you.” He flourished the quill at the bottom of the page and set the book aside. “Information is a precious commodity, and it is a commodity that many people seek to dilute with mistruths. It is always preferable to witness things for yourself.” He gestured to the crystal ball. “In my absence, I have you.”
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