“I understand, my love,” Sir Marcus said, “but what our bright young scout means is this: Other than the location problem, if that were not so, if he could just reach out and touch Callie,” he pressed, “do you think he would help?”
“After a little chat from me, I'm almost sure he would. We get along really well, actually.”
“Then it seems to me that if the cleric won't make a house call, we must bring the patient to the temple.” Tanya concluded, cryptically.
This got Loric interested. “What are you proposing?” “When I was a lad,” Sir Marcus began, by way of answer, “I once saw a company of Knights convert a siege engine into a vehicle with which to carry a wounded warhorse hundreds of miles back to the barracks where they could tend to it and nurse it back to health. It was the damnedest thing I ever saw. If they showed such care and honour towards a horse - a noble beast to be sure, but still a beast - how can we not do the same for a sentient dragon? If it were an injured human or elf, we wouldn't hesitate to send a rescue party. We make these grandiose claims about the status of dragons in our Code. Well, it seems to me that this is a chance to prove that commitment.”
“You'd need a much larger rescue party for a dragon than you would for a human,” Loric pointed out.
The Supreme Commander agreed. “It will require no less than our entire Knighthood here present...but truth be told,” he spread his hands, “we really don't have much else to do.”
“Nothing else to do?” Bunny was incredulous. “Have you forgotten there's a war on? What about the alliance between the three Knighthoods...you do know about that, I presume...Sir?” Once again, the Knight steadfastly refused to take offence at either her tone or her delayed `sir`. “I'm fully aware of the Alliance, and I support it wholeheartedly, but my Knighthood is small. We rely on secrecy for protection until we can build our numbers. And being such a small force, we really wouldn't make much difference in the thick of the war. We would no doubt be treated with honour and respect by the other two orders, but ultimately it would be all too easy to ignore us. At best, we would simply be absorbed into the greater mass; then we would lose our unique identity and with it our unique strength. I will not allow that to happen. We will remain an autonomous group, striking with speed and precision, taking on key missions, leaving the main warfare to the Knights of Paladinia and Zhentilon.”
“And you believe this is a key mission?” Loric asked. “As a matter of fact I do. It may seem like a small thing, but…” he paused a moment to collect his thoughts before sharing them, “…but sometimes, the smallest things make the biggest difference. We'll leave the big things to the vast numbers of Light and Dark troops, while we do the small thing: rescue a single life. Even if no greater reward comes of this, it will be a task more than worthy of the Knights of Balance.”
“Just one problem,” the Elder Dragon pointed out. “Only Loric and I can enter the Realm of Fire. How will we get our Knights anywhere near Callie?”
It wasTanya who came up with the solution. “Couldn't you use come kind of dragon magic to transport her out into the normal world?”
“Probably, but my fiery counterpart will almost certainly object to the interference.” Tanya grinned. “But that's the beauty of it! He's already interfering by keeping her in his realm where, strictly speaking, she's got no right to be. With the right persuasion, he should be delighted to get rid of her!”
The Knight Lady grinned back. “Your logic is impeccable, my dear. Yes, I'm sure I can persuade him to see it that way.”
“Actually, Great Lady, there's a bigger problem,” Phaer insisted, cutting through the good cheer with a dire reminder: “The dragon predator!”
“That's why we need the entire company,” Sir Marcus replied. “If the creature is still there, we'll have to fight it!”
With almost Bunnylike irreverence, Phaer insisted, “That's ridiculous! Do you have any idea how dangerous that thing is?”
“-Sir,” Bunny added, helpfully. In her innocent eyes danced the light of mischief.
Great, Phaer thought, rolling his eyes. She thinks she's funny!
Apparently she wasn't the only one: Tanya Nightingale seemed to be having some trouble with `something in her eyes`, making them water, at the same time as trying to stifle a `coughing fit`.
“We are Knights!” Sir Marcus insisted. “We're trained to fight dragons, when necessary. How different could it be?”
“Sir,” Phaer replied, patiently, “It could be very different.”
“That's why you're coming with us.”
“What?” Phaer demanded.
“You did volunteer,” Bunny reminded him, sweetly. “To observe and advise in a swift surprise strike by Superdragon here, sure,” he indicated Loric. “Preferably in a covert, hopefully-it-won't-notice-me kind of way. But transporting a dragon is going to be a slow business and I don't want to be caught in the middle of it when it all blows up in our collective faces!”
He promptly sat down and hid his head in his arms. The half-elf was no coward, but as a ranger he was used to assessing when he was in over his head and it was time to quit. The trouble was he knew his people; he knew what they were capable of and, by inference, what their `greatest creation` would be capable of. That made it all too... real somehow.
“We need you,” said the Knight Lady, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He shook his head.
“You're the closest thing we've got to an expert,” Sir Marcus added.
Once more, he shook his head.
“You can do this; you're better and braver than you think,” Tanya encouraged.
No, flattery wasn't going to work.
“You'll go with them or you'll go with me, but one way or another-”
For some reason the ranger could not see, Loric never finished his warning. It didn't matter: threats weren't going to work, either.
“Well,” Bunny scoffed, “if you're going to sit there and sulk, you might as well be running Callie through with your sword! At least that would be quick.”
Phaer looked up through his hair. “That was a cheap shot,” he accused her.
“I know,” she agreed, smugly, looking immeasurably pleased with herself.
“Oh very well!” he groaned, getting to his feet. “Let's go. Now. Before I come to my senses again. After you, Bernice.” “Oh no,” she refused, with a shake of her head. “Not a chance. You're the expert, not me and you've just said my magic's worse than useless. No, while you're off playing Knights and Dragons, I'm going to be doing something much more important. You'll agree I'm sure, that it's time we caught up with Eilidh and the others. While we've been stuck out here, Niltsiar could have invaded the capital and we'd not know a thing about it!”
At that, Lady Tanya Nightingale snapped to attention and formally addressed her Supreme Commander, requesting permission to be placed on detached duty. “It's only right that our guest should have an escort,” she said, “and I can represent the interests of the Knights of Balance in whatever action we take against Niltsiar. All we need are a few provisions and a pair of trusty steeds.”
Sir Marcus readily agreed and wished her well.
With an exchange of salutes, as the two dragons took to the skies, Tanya walked away, the sumorityl by her side.
“A horse!” Bunny exclaimed, excitedly. “Finally! My very own horse! It's about time someone spared a thought for my poor feet!”
Tanya smiled. She was going to enjoy this trip.
* * * * * Strangely, with the dark elf gone, Eilidh's stalled mind chose that moment to restart. The situation was subtly different now, she realised. The only serious threats were a Dark Knight and a warlock: bad enough, to be sure, but if she could find a way to get them off-balance, they might have a chance to get out of the main temple chamber. After that, who knew what they might be able to do?
The young woman quoted one of her favourite mantras in her mind: You are never without tools or weapons as long as you use your head.
So, seein
g no other alternative, Eilidh attempted something completely alien to her nature, something new and frightening: she made an effort to be social.
She knew something about Dark Knights, so she focussed on him. “Sir Leonis,” she began. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Please, speakest thou freely,” he responded. “It wouldst hardly be honourable to cause a captive unnecessary distress.” “That's kind of what I wanted to ask you. Why would a man of honour such as yourself, work for a dark elf? You heard her, `all humans look alike` and so on. You know what she represents, yet you take orders from her. Why?”
“Z'rcona's political views are of no moment to me. I hath been assigned to serve as second in command of her tactical unit, so I shall do my duty.”
“Duty and loyalty to Niltsiar you mean.”
“Her Divine Excellency, yes.” “But that's another thing: Dark Knights are supposed to recognise, worship and serve only one divine being: the goddess Mortress, Mistress of Death. So how can you also serve Her `Divine` Excellency Niltsiar? They are in conflict.”
“There is no conflict because they are one and the same.”
Eilidh was stunned. “What?”
“Niltsiar is the manifestation of Divine Mortress.”
“Most of your fellow Knights don't see it that way - they're fighting against her. What evidence do you have that you are right and they are wrong?”
“What need have I of evidence? My faith tells me what is true, and those who fail to fall before her in worship shall be punished for their lack of faith.”
Blind faith. Of course. It would have to be, Eilidh thought. There was no reasoning her way around that one. As it turned out, she was out of time anyway: Z'rcona had returned. "Well, human," she said, “I have been in contact with Her Divine Excellency and you are to be taken to her at once. There is an old, disused Corridor entrance near here, just to the Southeast, we will use that. We mustn’t forget what we came here for in the first place, though. Bring me the key,” she ordered.
Eilidh had no choice but to obey. She retrieved the key from where she had dropped it and slowly, carefully, walked over to Niltsiar's agent, placing it in her hand. No sooner had she done so, however, than she heard an ethereal voice in her mind.
Du y Kharia, it said. Is it thy will that this individual shouldst remove the Great Key from this place?
No, of course it isn't, she thought back, but what choice do I have?
You are the Du y Kharia, insisted the voice.
What does that mean in practical terms? What can I do? Tell me, please.
We canst help thee, if thou doth choose.
Then by all means do so!
We awaiteth only thy command.
Consider it given. What are you waiting for? Life, Du y Kharia. We must have Life. Life to restore the balance.
At last, Eilidh understood. This place, the symbol created by the corridors and rooms, the balance. Taking a deep breath, she declared, “I am the Du y Kharia...and I bring Life!” She accessed her Life Store and created a conduit connecting with the Great Key. Granting Life to an inanimate object was the realm of Techmagic, and she had only limited experience of that, but she found it little different to Granting Life to a person. It felt a little odd and she had to draw the Life entirely from herself, since the key could provide none, but the point was it worked.
The key glowed and the room sprang into Life. Bright white light filled the chamber, magic flowed all around the room and beyond, and she could feel it. The whole temple was now active, including its defences, and she could feel it. Nine spectres shimmered into existence once more and headed straight for Z'rcona and her followers, and she could feel it. She could feel everything. This place was alive. It was a temple to Spirit magic, necromancy, the Dead Secret and she had restored it to Life. It felt…exhilarating!
Sir Linarceo drew his broadsword, enhanced with blue dragonscales, and the warlock began casting powerful spells, his Catalyst furiously trying to keep up with his Life requirements. All doors in the temple were now opened, both physical and ethereal, allowing Skeletons and lichs, ghosts and spectres to pour into the chamber, adding to the general melee.
Z'rcona activated her orb device and disappeared in an instant, unconcerned about leaving her companions to their fate. Eilidh, too, wasted no time, but she was concerned for her friends. She needed to get them out. With a single thought, she redirected the flow of Life, and in a moment they been freed of all of Z'rcona's magical constraints.
“Let’s get out of here!” she yelled. They didn't need telling twice.
Chapter 23
The party's exit was unimpeded as Eilidh and the others rushed headlong back into open air. That was quite a shock to the system as it was just a little after midday and it apparently got quite hot around that time. They didn't let that slow their progress, however.
Granite drew Eilidh’s attention to the glow of a strong vein of magic running through what remained of the village.
“Well spotted,” Eilidh commended him, though shecould scarcely have missed it. “Judging by the flow pattern, I suspect this vein will lead us to the Corridor entrance Z'rcona mentioned.”
“What, dat glowin’ fing, Miss Eilidh?” Jayne asked.
The others stopped so suddenly, they almost crashed into one another.
“Ye can see that, lassie?” Granite asked.
“Well o’ course I can!”
“Remind me, lass. What are you -Life Potential?”
“That’s right.”
“Just barely,” Eilidh confirmed, taking a reading.
“Yeah? So what?”
“That means this an exceptionally pure vein,” Eilidh explained.
“I donnae know about you, Eilidh,” the dwarf told her, one Catalyst to another, “but I'm gettin' a definite sense of déjàvu here.”
Toli gasped, “You mean this could lead to a Life Eddy, like the one in Avidon? That's amazing!” “We'll see,” Eilidh said, cautiously. “Jayne,” she said to the half -orc warrior, “you're the fittest and fastest of our group. Run on ahead, following this vein as fast as you can. Find the Corridor entrance if possible, but more importantly, if you see something that looks like...er...” she struggled to find an adequate description.
“Like a giant fountain of dazzling light and shimmering colour, reaching high up into the heavens,” Toli supplied, helpfully.
Eilidh grinned. “Very good,” she commended her friend, who smiled back, appreciatively.
“So yes, Jayne, if you see something like that, run back to us and tell us immediately, whether you've found the Corridor or not. Got it?”
“Got it,” she affirmed, before sprinting into the trees ahead. The others followed at a steadier pace. “Well,” Toli sighed with relief. “Thank the gods that's over! I'm not exactly sure what you did, mind, but whatever you did, it was inspired! For a while there I thought we were done for and we'd never escape!”
“Actually,” Eilidh replied, “I'm not exactly sure that we did.”
“What?!” The others demanded. “Escape, I mean,” clarified the Catalyst. “For me, the whole scene changed the moment Z'rcona got back from communicating with `Her Divine Excellency`. She immediately told us about the Corridor entrance and where to find it. Why? In fact, why would she need to take us to Niltsiar by Corridor anyway? Quite apart from the fact that I seriously doubt Niltsiar chose to build her base of operations at a mouth of the Corridor network, why would they need it? They've got those teleportation devices - we saw them before at Marina Fells, and they clearly work just as well for a group as for an individual, so long asthey’re in physical contact. Yet, despite telling me how important and valuable I was, when Z'rcona teleported away, she didn't make any attempt to take me with her. She made sure she got the Great Key, but she forgot about me. I was standing right in front of her, for heaven's sake! All she had to do was reach out and grab my arm and that's it,” Eilidh snapped her fingers. “I'm gone to Niltsiar.”
Toli, for once, was speechless. “But-- But-”
“Yer makin' no sense at all, lassie,” Granite objected. “On th e contrary, it makes perfect sense and there's only one reasonable conclusion: Z'rcona was ordered to let me go. Don't you see? We didn't escape at all! We got out because `She` wanted us to get out.”
“But-- But-But why would she do that?”
“Well, I’m convinced it’s connected to this Du y Khariabusiness.”
“Connected how?”
“I wish I knew.”
Jayne returned just then, forestalling any further debate, saying she’d found both the fountain and Corridor entrance.
“Come on, Miss Eilidh,” she said, “there ain’t no danger. Nothin’ ‘ere at all, besides a few lazy Great Kij vines.”
Eilidh grabbed her arm, tight, and looked intently into her eyes. “What did you say?” she demanded.
Startled, Jayne asked what the problem was.
Toli giggled. “Don't worry about it - our friend Eilidh's just got a bit of a phobia about Kij vines after one tried to eat her on the way to Shakaran.”
It was the hobbit's turn to be startled when the Catalyst shushed her, irritably.
“Jayne,” she insisted, “tell me again what you said.”
“I said there ain’t nothin’ ‘ere besides a few lazy Great Kij vines. Why?”
“Show me.” When they reached the place Jayne led them to, Toli and Granite found their breath quite taken away by the sight of the immense Life Eddy, smaller than the one they had seen in Avidon, but growing before their eyes. Eilidh, however, seemed to completely ignore it. Her eyes fixed on the sprawling green vines and half hidden heads of Kij vine plants.
Toli was wide-eyed at Eilidh's reaction. She had never seen her friend like this before. She was beyond intense or irritated; she was angry. In fact, judging by the way the Catalyst's face was flushing an increasingly deep shade of red, she was livid. At who or what, the magician had no idea.
Eilidh growled in frustration and seemed like she wanted to lay her hands on someone and throttle them.
“So stupid!” she cried. “The arrogance!” She shook her head. “I am the Du y Kharia!” she said in a selfmocking voice. “Stupid!”
Consequences (Majaos Book 2) Page 24