Into The Ruins

by Blink, Bob

  “We believe it will be safe enough. The person who triggers the sequence, will be triggering the delay spell, not the actual Bypass. That is triggered without an actual person. Just to be safe, we will use a long delay, and the person who triggers the spell will travel by Bypass to the far side of the Ruins.”

  “You believe it’s safe. You’re not sure?” Rigo said.

  “It hasn’t been tried. We can’t even be sure it will work as we hope, but with luck, it will wipe the Hoplani creation cells from existence when the backlash from the spell develops.”

  “What about the Duneriders?” Rigo asked.

  “That’s a concern,” Daim said. “We still can’t really communicate with them. I believe we can entice them out of the tunnel shortly before we trigger the spell. Most should be safe. We will only attempt the spell on the western side at first. If that works, we’ll have to access the plan to destroy the remainder of the farm.”

  “What happens to the Duneriders if we destroy all of the Hoplani and Morvane?” Rigo asked. “The creatures appear to be an integral part of their life cycle.”

  “If this works, we will have destroyed only part of the Hoplani production,” Ash’urn said. “There will still be more than they need. We can consider the implication, moral and otherwise, before we destroy the rest.”

  Rigo considered for a long moment. “Okay,” he said finally. “I’ll do it.”

  “Do what?” Daim asked.

  “I’ll trigger the spell. We don’t know what will happen, and if the initiator still gets annihilated, it should be me. I’ve gotten a lot of people killed with my attempts to stop the Hoplani.”

  Daim looked at Ash’urn.

  “Sorry, Rigo,” Ash’urn said finally. “I’ve seen how you do with the spoken spells. You simply aren’t qualified and we haven’t time to wait until you learn the language. Fen wants to do it, but we have overruled that. I’ll be the one who initiates the timer.”

  Rigo looked at Ash’urn carefully, but the elder scholar was well aware of the risk. “When can this be ready?” Rigo asked finally.

  “A day or two,” Daim said softly. “The Caster’s Foil arrived while we were in the Ruins.”

  Chapter 83

  It wasn’t as easy as that, of course. It took closer to five days to get everything ready. Since Ash’urn was going to be the one who initiated the spell, he had to be the prime crafter in producing the spells. Fen was a great help, and guided his efforts carefully. It helped a great deal that Ash’urn was a fair hand at drawing, but even so if it hadn’t been for the forgiving nature of the Crafting Foil, a complete set of properly formed and located runes and glyphs would probably never have been created. Finally, the time delay, the Doorway control, and the end point spells were all in place on the foil. As it was unraveled in the caves at the Hoplani Farms, a rune would have to be added every few paces to help define the path the Doorway was to follow. Fen assured them that the required rune was a duplicate of one already present, and could simply be copied, a technique unique to the foil. The glyphs that defined the endpoint would be slid along the surface as the foil was unrolled until they reached the actual end. Then the foil would be cut, and the appropriate symbols locked in place. They estimated that two-thirds of the roll would be required to traverse the full length of the western tunnel where the Hoplani that harassed the Three Kingdoms were formed.

  Once the crafting was complete, Fen had Ash’urn practice the triggering phrase, but that was relatively straightforward. Ash’urn was not only good with languages, but had learned enough of the spelling terms that he quickly put together the sequence required. Finally, Fen declared them ready. The five wizards and Casters, Kaler and Daria, for they still weren’t certain that Carif hadn’t targeted Rigo and could make an attempt at any time, and four strong guardsmen, made the transition into the Ruins to Oasis Four adjacent to the Hoplani Farms. The guardsmen were required simply to lift the heavy roll of foil, two on either side of a strong metal rod through the center core.

  While the team marched down the access tunnel to the breeding area below, the team of wizards on duty started locating the Duneriders, and urging them through sign language, gentle persuasion, and in a couple of cases physical restraint, to force them out of the tunnel of interest. Over the past couple of days a count of the Duneriders at the Farms had been attempted, and it was believed that eighty-seven of them resided at the Farms. The intent was to have all of them physically separated from the tunnel when the foil was activated.

  Down in the cavern, Fen directed the positioning of the starting point for the foil. Once it was anchored, the team moved down the tunnel, unrolling the foil as they progressed, positioning it carefully on the floor of the cavern. Fen guided the runes that had to be shifted to the end, and together with Ash’urn, created the linking rune as required every dozen paces.

  The process would have been impossible with any medium other than the super strong Caster’s Foil. Any parchment would have torn repeatedly, rendering it useless. As it was, they had to be very careful to lay it out smoothly as they progressed, and twice they had to gently push away one of the Duneriders who passed by and became curious. Fortunately, the Duneriders were used to the humans, and allowed them to do anything they wished. They also seemed to have some kind of short-range communication between individuals, because very quickly they all were aware that the humans didn’t want them disturbing the strange metallic foil. It also helped that the Duneriders were being cleared from the tunnel, and soon they didn’t encounter any more.

  A far greater worry were the Hoplani that were nearing completion. Any of those released from their cavities would be disruptive to say the least, especially without any of the Duneriders to control and guide them out of the tunnel. To eliminate any chance of one of the beasts becoming loose at an inopportune time, Rigo and Kaler each carried one of the special swords, and dispatched any of the Hoplani nearing release as they were held by the cavities where they were formed. It took several glass to manhandle the foil and lay it properly in place, but finally they reached the end of the tunnel.

  “We can cut the foil here,” Fen said, holding the end which he wished trimmed. Daria quickly and smoothly sliced the end from the roll, which the two guardsmen carried away, back out of the tunnel. Fen and Ash’urn positioned the free end, anchoring it carefully until Fen was satisfied.

  “We’re ready,” Ash’urn declared finally.

  As a group, they walked back down the tunnel until they could climb to the surface through one of the access ramps. There they established that the Duneriders were almost all accounted for. Two seemed to be missing, and the decision was made to go ahead. Waiting much longer could risk something happening to the foil. All of the wizards would relocate to Oasis Three for the triggering event. Rigo would have liked to stay and watch, but he wasn’t certain what kind of chain reaction might be triggered, so reluctantly he agreed to go with Ash’urn. Fen and Lyes left with Daim for Oasis Three. That left just Rigo and Ash’urn, along with Daria and Kaler.

  “Are you ready?” Rigo asked, when they were back at the start of the foil run. The symbols were dark against the shiny surface of the foil.

  “Nervous,” Ash’urn admitted.

  “Daim believes it will be alright,” Rigo said to reassure his friend, but in truth, he wondered how much even the ancient wizard knew of what they were about to attempt.

  Gathering his courage, Ash’urn stepped up to the foil, and uttered the complicated phrase that Fen said would start the timer. They had a quarter glass once it was started to vacate the area. Once the phrase was finished, he could see the small circles that marked the progress of the countdown start to disappear as Fen said they would.

  “It’s started,” Ash’urn said. “There’s no easy way to stop it now. Even if we cut the foil, the spell will create a Bypass with a very short separation between the start and end. Both would be in blocked zones, so all the fireworks would be expected anyway. We should get out of here
.”

  The quarter glass delay had been chosen to allow them time to exit the tunnel, make their way back to the Oasis, and then make a Bypass to one of the oases in the cluster near Oasis Six. That was far enough away to keep them from any affects of the spell. At least, they hoped so. With several minutes to spare, they were grouped far away, looking in the direction of the Hoplani Farms, but knowing, and hoping, the distance was too great to see anything.

  “I hope the Duneriders stayed out of the tunnel,” Rigo said. He was uncomfortable with leaving them there, and wondered just how much risk they were exposing them to. There was argument among the wizards at the Outpost whether the Duneriders were really alive, since they were created much like the Hoplani, but Rigo knew he owed them his life, and felt a strong obligation to them. He didn’t know what their function would be if the Hoplani were truly destroyed.

  The time for the event to trigger passed uneventfully for the four friends standing alone in the oasis. At least Ash’urn didn’t appear to be at risk from his triggering of the timer, which hopefully had completed its countdown and open the Doorway.

  It was unfortunate in a way that none of them had stayed at the oasis to watch. For the smallest increment of time after the timer completed its countdown, everything appeared normal. Above the cavern, at the surface, nothing seemed to change. Then a large Doorway formed, and as before, when the two Casters had attempted to link two points within the blocked zones, the magical energies of the Ruins took over. A flash of purple light traveled quickly down the foil, tracking the twists and turns of the underground tunnel. The endpoint was found, and the exit portal formed. Then the entire length of the tunnel was bathed in a bright purple light that grew in intensity beyond all reason.

  A purple shaft of light flashed out of the many ramps that led down to the tunnel. Even in the bright daylight of the Ruins they were distinct and intense beyond anything else around. The ground rumbled as the energies being tapped ripped through stone and crystal, wiping the walls clear of the small cells where the Hoplani were formed. In place of the walls with thousands of the small crystals, a smooth, glowing surface of melted glass was all that remained. In most places the most intense light was contained underground, but in several locations where the tunnel flexed slightly upward toward the surface, the floor of the Ruins was blasted skyward as the roof of the tunnel was blasted into thousands of pieces of rock and sand, which were thrown high into the sky. The flickering display of purple light was clear to any who could have looked down into the ranging energies that had been unleashed.

  The display seemed to go on forever, but in fact it lasted a relatively short time. Almost before one could put a thought together to react, the light was already dimming. Below ground, the tunnel was now arch shaped from beginning to end, any sign of the former function lost. The walls still glowed from the captured heat of the magical energies released, but even that heat was quickly dissipating. Several Duneriders ventured partway down the ramps to investigate, but all quickly returned to the surface. For now, the aftermath was too much even for them.

  A full glass later, per agreement, the wizards started to return to the oasis. Rigo and Ash’urn were among the first, and they gazed across the Dunerider village at the surface signs that something had happened. Several large rents in the surface showed where the roof had blown free. Otherwise, if it hadn’t been for the uncharacteristic milling about of the Duneriders, it would have been hard to tell that anything had just taken place.

  “Do you think it worked?” Ash’urn asked. Rigo thought he could detect a bit of relief in Ash’urn’s voice. The elder scholar must still be thinking of what might have happened if the triggering had somehow linked him to the Doorway.

  “Let’s have a look,” Rigo said, and started walking away from the oasis toward one of the ramps. Much like the Duneriders who had tried to go down toward the tunnels earlier, they quickly decided that it was too soon to venture underground. Instead, they hiked over toward the closest break in the surface where the Ruins had been blasted away.

  “Remarkable,” Daim said. He had caught up with them as they’d climbed out of the ramp and started toward the rent in the surface.

  “If it’s all like that, we accomplished our goal,” Rigo said, looking down on the glowing walls and floor that appeared mirror smooth without any sign of the former structure that produced the beasts. “How long do you think it will take before we can go down and check it out?”

  “At least a day,” Daim said. “That’ll give us time to prepare the foils we need for the rest of the facility.”

  Three separate foils would be needed to trigger the same kinds of explosions in the remaining tunnels. The eastern side of the Hoplani tunnel had collapsed and created two separate smaller chambers, and the Morvane chamber was a separate facility. Everyone agreed that the factory where the Duneriders were produced should be left alone, and Rigo even pushed for leaving a small section of the Hoplani tunnel intact. A few hundred Hoplani a year being produced would not be a threat to either Sedfair or the Three Kingdoms, and Rigo wasn’t certain if the Duneriders would survive without the Hoplani. Knowing the technique, they could always return in the future and finish the place off if the need arose.

  Several days later, the foils were complete. The team, along with several hundred guardsmen made the transition to the Oasis. Wizards at the Oasis had indicated the Duneriders showed signs of agitation since the destruction of the tunnel, and it would be important they couldn’t interfere. No one had ever seen the Duneriders with any weapon beyond the knives, and they had never acted aggressively toward the humans, but given what was planned, it was decided to open a Bypass to a location several days travel away, and have the guardsmen forcibly relocate the Duneriders. Then the Caster’s Foil would be placed, and the remainder of the facility destroyed.

  While the Duneriders were being relocated, Rigo and the others ventured down into the western tunnel, which was now cool and barren. The walls were mirror smooth as they had appeared from above, and along the entire length all sign of what had once been here was gone.

  “It seems too easy,” Daim said. “After centuries of dealing with the beasts, and everything that was tried, to be able to eliminate them once and for all with a common spell. I find it hard to fathom. Is it really over?”

  “We aren’t done yet,” Ash’urn reminded him.

  “We will be shortly. There is no reason for the spells to work any less effectively on the other side. Then we will have truly seen the end of this threat.”

  “There are thousands of them still out in the Ruins we will have to hunt down,” Rigo said. Carif will be able to continue her terror for a while, but this will remove her greatest weapon.”

  “Let’s finish it,” Ash’urn said, eager to have it behind him.

  Three separate teams placed the foil, but Fen checked each installation and approved it before they declared the installation ready. The timers were staged, so Ash’urn and Fen could move between the three locations, then everyone could evacuate as before. The three tunnels should all go up at nearly the same time, but no one, not even the Duneriders were there to watch. Two glass later when they returned, they found the tunnels in the same state as the western one, along with a few of the tame and bewildered Hoplani the Duneriders had been forced to leave behind.

  As the other wizards and Guardsmen returned, Rigo learned that the Duneriders had immediately set out on the long walk that would bring them back to the village. It would take them almost two days. It would have been nice to bring the entire force back to the Outpost, but the Oasis still had to be guarded against Carif’s people. Rigo was starting to wonder if that too was a waste of effort. She obviously had her own routes into the Three Kingdoms. Guarding Oasis Four wasn’t accomplishing anything. He’d have to speak with Nycoh about it.

  As they left for the Oasis, Rigo looked back at the village. He still wished he could fill the caves somehow, but he guessed that didn’t matter. Now that he’d h
elped accomplish the goal he’d set out upon many years ago, he wished only to return to Sedfair and see Mitty. Then, if they could somehow capture Carif, the worst of their problems would be behind them.

  Chapter 84

  “It’s not about the two of you,” Queen Mos’pera said kindly, her voice sympathetic to the confusion Rigo had expressed. They were seated alone in one of the plush rooms normally kept for meetings between various officials who visited the royal family. It was finished in colored stone taken from quarries around Branid, and fitted by the finest craftsmen. Scenic tapestries covered the walls, and a thick rug from the southern region partially covered the floor. “She has explained to me some of what is between the two of you, and you should know she is pleased with the direction of your relationship, but fearful of what is taking place and how it might affect your future.”

  Rigo was greatly relieved to learn that Mitty’s feelings had not shifted, but now he was even more worried about what might be bothering her. “Can you tell me nothing of what is transpiring?” he asked. “Anything that would help me understand, and support her. Anything that doesn’t violate the confidence she bound you to?”

  “We have known one another for a long time,” Queen Mos’pera said. “Use your own knowledge and wisdom. Who do you know that often is unable to voice matters that others would consider useful. What have I told you in the past?”

  For a moment, Rigo’s mind was thought-locked, unable to process the information at his fingertips. Then he looked at Queen Mos’pera, who stared back expectantly, her own light hair glowing somewhat from the candles positioned behind her. It was the hair that did it. In some ways so similar to Mitty’s.

  “She’s a Seer?” Rigo asked softly. “She has visions like your own?”