Into The Ruins

by Blink, Bob

  Ardra was looking out her small window seeking a target when she happened to see a small figure appear in the open a short distance behind one of Carif’s Casters. They couldn’t be separated by more than a dozen paces. The Caster must have heard something, surprising given the level of noise, but she turned and launched a green beam directly at the individual who had materialized behind her. Even as the beam was forming, Ardra realized the figure was Nycoh, the lead wizard from the Three Kingdoms. Shouting a warning was pointless. It would be over before Ardra could form the words.

  As the beam erupted from the Caster, Yathi, Ardra now realized who it was, a wavy distortion formed between the two women. Ardra wasn’t sure what happened, but the beam wasn’t deflected or eliminated, but seemed to turn back upon itself. It struck Yathi solidly in the chest. One moment the woman was there, and then she wasn’t. The woman, her staff, everything, was gone in the blink of an eye. Even as the beam was reflected, Nycoh was on the move, diving into an opened Bypass she’d created on the far side of the statue Yathi had been using for cover. Ardra had no idea where she’d relocated to.

  Carif must have seen where she’d gone. She shouted something to Ensay, and the two of them directed green fire toward a spot that Ardra couldn’t see. She shot her own beam of Brightfire at Ensay’s position, but the woman was well protected and was able to hunker down and continue her attack unabated.

  Ardra had been too intent on what was happening outside, and would have been killed by the blast that Shym sent into the window that Ardra had just fired from if Suline hadn’t dived at her and dragged her into a corner away from the opening. The blast that shook the building caused a section ten paces in width to fall away, exposing the innards of the building to the open air. The two women crawled quickly into the hallway and down the stairs to a lower level. The upper floors were all but gone, and were entirely indefensible.

  Carif had seen the crumbling of the upper floor out of the corner of her eye as she continued to direct fire toward the spot where the wizard named Nycoh had taken cover. It wouldn’t be long now. Nycoh was pinned down, unable to make a Doorway while under attack from herself and Ensay. Carif didn’t know how the wizard was able to turn the beams of energy. It shouldn’t be possible, but whatever magic the woman used, seemed to be able to adapt to the incoming beams and drive them off in random directions. The surrounding hillsides were taking quite a beating from the deflected magic. At least she wasn’t able to direct the energy back at the Caster as she’d done with Yathi. Carif suspected if only one of them had been attacking, she might have had more control.

  Another beam of Brightfire struck the edge of the fountain which provided Carif cover from the building. She’d have to move before long, but if either she or Ensay broke off, the other might be killed by the cursed woman. At least the defenders were now shooting from lower floors, making their angle less effective in reaching her position.

  Suddenly Carif realized that she was in danger from a new direction. It was coming fast, but nowhere near as quickly as magic. An arrow! Someone had fired a crossbow bolt at her. She rolled aside and momentarily dropped her attack against Nycoh as she used her magic to push the bolt to one side. She could sense the resistance to her attempt. The bolt was spelled against magical interference, but she was stronger than most. With a supreme effort of will she was able to force it to one side. It glanced off the stone edge of her cover a mere hands width away. Even as she sighed in relief, the arrow she hadn’t detected because of her concentration on the bolt, flew true toward her chest. With only a moment to act, Carif exerted her magic and was able to push the lighter shaft aside. Unfortunately, not far enough to miss. The arrow struck her in the hip, the pain making her scream as the tip buried itself deep into the bone.

  Carif didn’t waste time searching for the archers. She realized that Ensay had already fled, knowing she needed to do so as well before Nycoh could recover from defense to attack. Carif saw a familiar face sending a powerful beam of energy at her remaining Caster. There was little time. She would be targeted in seconds. Grimacing and clenching her teeth, Carif opened the Doorway and crawled through just before the beam of energy obliterated the side of the fountain where she had been hiding.

  “She got away!” Rigo cursed angrily. They had also failed once again to capture one of the staffs they sought. All those with the ability they wanted had fled. He had been distracted by one of the Casters who had attempted to attack Kaler and Daria after they had shot their arrows. Otherwise he’d have taken down the former Saltique before she’d made the Bypass.

  “I hit her,” Daria said with great satisfaction.

  Rigo hadn’t seen the hit, but Kaler nodded agreement. “It took her in the hip,” he confirmed.

  “Too bad it wasn’t in a spot to anchor her,” Rigo mused sadly.

  “She detected the arrows and acted on them. She’s very competent to have done so with everything else that was going on,” Kaler said. “I would have expected her to have forgotten to pay attention to such things.”

  “She’s not going far,” Daria said with satisfaction.

  Rigo looked at her. “What do you mean?”

  “Unless she is better than the other healers around here, she’s not going to last long. I coated the tip with poison.”

  “What kind of poison,” Rigo asked.

  “The same stuff I used on the Duke some years ago. She isn’t going to be an immediate problem.”

  Nycoh took that moment to arrive. “We need to get back to the castle,” she said. “They are still fighting there.”

  Rigo looked back toward the castle on the far side of the hill. A large section of the side facing them had crumbled. His heart jumped to his throat. That was the wing where Mitty had her rooms. Hopefully she was long gone.

  He made his Bypass and hurried into it with Kaler and Daria right behind him. Nycoh had already left, her arch fading as Rigo’s was formed.

  They stepped onto the wall on the far side of the castle. Fire was still being exchanged between the castle defenders and a group of Casters bunched together behind a sturdy stone bridge below. They had learned the tactic that the castle defenders were using, and had grouped together so they could watch one another’s back. Five thick beams of Brightfire lashed out at the wall to Rigo’s right as he watched. Fortunately, none of these Casters appeared to be skillful with the destructive beam favored by Carif and her senior people.

  Rigo sent his own beam at the bridge, ripping out a few stones, but unable to penetrate. Maybe if he linked, he could gain the level needed to blast through.

  As he watched, Nycoh stood up to the edge of the wall and held up her staff horizontally. Rigo found it odd that she would bother with the staff, as their magic didn’t require such assists. Suddenly several hundred fireballs came into existence and blasted toward the bridge. Each was somehow denser and brighter than any Rigo had seen before. He’d seen a skilled wizard launch a half dozen or so, but never anything like Nycoh was doing. The balls struck in and around the bridge, ripping the stone and pounding through the thick surface the attackers had been relying on for protection. He saw several struck by the fire and flash into nothingness. Panic was apparent, with several running into the open where they were cut down by the wizards defending the castle. Rigo saw a Doorway form, and was certain a couple of the attackers stepped into it before the entire area suddenly turned bright red and a fireball fifty paces wide engulfed the spot where the defenders had hidden.

  The silence that followed was total. After a few minutes, one of the defenders walked over and said. “I think that’s the last of them.”

  Rigo looked at Nycoh. “I’d like to know how you managed some of that.”

  “I’ve learned a bit,” she admitted. “My power is growing. Beyond what I can explain.”

  Lyes and Ardra suddenly appeared. “The Headquarters is a loss. We lost more than a dozen of our people.” Rigo could see the anguish and anger in her eyes. “I’m told that Carif escaped
.”

  “Perhaps not,” Rigo said. He told her of the poisoned arrow. Ardra looked at Daria with approval.

  “There is no cure?”

  “Some of our healers have magic that could cure it,” Daria said. “Nothing else I’ve ever heard of. I don’t think the healing ability of the Casters will be sufficient.”

  “What of the Queen?” Nycoh asked.

  “She was supposed to go into the command center,” Rigo replied, suddenly anxious to know about Mitty. “Let’s go and see.”

  Queen Rosul was found healthy and fretting in the lower levels. They provided her a summary of the battle and asked that she stay put a while longer until it was certain all of the renegade Casters had been killed or had fled. Rigo was anxious to go in search of Mitty, who had never come to the room.

  He headed first to her quarters, and searched the rubble. Had she been there she would have died. No one could have lived through the destruction that had taken place there. He asked everyone he saw if they had seen her, but no one could recall seeing her since well before the attack. Heart tight in his chest, Rigo continued the search, Daria and Kaler aiding him. The word started to spread, with the guardsmen now looking as well. Rigo thought they had looked everywhere, when Daria appeared, signaling him to come.

  “She’s in the medical room,” she said. Before Rigo could ask, the fear clear in his face, Daria added. “She’s been helping the wounded. There are hundreds of people who have been burned or struck by flying rock. Many have broken bones or crushed limbs. She’s been here the whole time. We need to get some of our healers here.”

  “Tell Nycoh,” Rigo said, as he hurried toward the makeshift hospital.

  It was several days before the extent of the losses were fully known. More than five hundred had died as a result of the combined Hoplani and Caster attack. Most had been the innocents outside the Castle, but over thirty of the Queen’s wizards had fallen, as had another dozen of the Guild’s loyal Casters. Kall had been killed. The Chulls hadn’t gotten him. One of Carif’s Casters had recognized him as he led the guardsmen against the Chulls, and had killed him outright with a burst of magic. More than fifty guardsmen had died fighting the beasts. The numbers would have been far higher had it not been for the healing performed by the Outposts healers.

  Queen Rosul had almost collapsed upon learning of Kall’s death. She demanded to be taken to the body, and spent the night alone in the small room where they had placed his body at her direction. The emptiness in her eyes the following morning was plain for all to see, and tears rolled down her face that evening when his body was consumed by the bonfire that released his spirit.

  The Guild Headquarters was a loss as Ardra had said. That probably wasn’t a bad thing. The building was a symbol of something that needed changing. The castle was severely damaged, but in time could be repaired. Queen Rosul was in no hurry, and was considering a much different kind of place as a replacement. That was something to be decided later.

  Carif had escaped, maybe. Rigo would have liked a body, but they simply didn’t know her fate. Two of her Specialists were also missing. Ensay who had been helping her against Nycoh was gone, and the older Shym was also not among the bodies. Of course, some were burned beyond recognition, so there was a small chance she had been killed. How many rebel Casters were still out there was also unknown. It wasn’t many, maybe a handful. No more large scale attacks would be possible, but they would have to remain vigilant. The former Saltique and her supporters had shown themselves to be a vengeful lot.

  Chapter 87

  Winter came suddenly. It was colder than it had been in many years, and the severity of the snows, while covering much of the damage inflicted by the battles, delayed any serious rebuilding. Plans were made however, and come the spring, a new and different plan for the seat of Sedfair’s government would be presented to the people. Instead of a protective castle, a series of buildings housing the various functions of state would be proposed. The royal family would live in one of the newly designed buildings. Extensive use would be made of the land that connected the University and the former castle. In addition to the seat of government, an open park would be created, and the once separate Guild would become just one of the branches of government.

  Of course, at this point it was merely a proposal. Queen Rosul had already announced the planned elections come the following summer. Rosul had proposed a modification of the voting rules. Each of Sedfair’s recognized nobles would be allowed one vote. The people of each village were also allowed to vote. The individual votes wouldn’t count for as much as one of the noble’s votes. Instead, each village was allocated a total number of counting votes based on population. Then based on votes actually cast, a percentage of the allocation would be validated and would be counted in the selection of the new ruler. If half the people voted, then half of the allocated votes would be activated.

  The rules governing who could run were much more open, and posted so all could see. Already, more than twenty candidates had declared themselves, and were actively pursuing support in their respective cities. Many were not qualified, and would fall out of the competition rather quickly, but Rosul was reassured to see that a number were potentially good leaders, and the ideas they were putting forth were diverse and in some cases novel. One man had also declared himself a candidate. While most scoffed at the idea, Rosul would be interested in seeing how he performed. However it worked out, come the end of summer she would no longer be responsible. With the loss of most of her family, and in particular Kall, she was eager to pass the reigns of governing to someone else.

  Fortunately, with the snows had come a great quiet. Nothing had been heard from Carif or her fellow rebel Casters. No one knew whether she lived or had perished from the arrow that Daria had shot into her hip. While most hoped for her death, hopefully an agonizing one, there were those that would have felt better to have a body to substantiate the rumors she had passed. The Hoplani herds had been thinned to the point only random creatures were seen, and those easily dispatched. The threat that had pointed to the destruction of the Three Kingdoms and a continuous battle for Sedfair, appeared to be past. Even Daim was impressed with what Rigo’s often troubled adventures into the Ruins had accomplished.

  Even the Baldari appeared to have disappeared. There hadn’t been an attack in many months. While the respite was most likely due to the severity of the winter, many couldn’t help but hope they had finally given up, and wouldn’t be a problem come the spring. Others predicted renewed attacks once the weather improved.

  In the Three Kingdoms, the scars resulting from Carif’s attacks with the Hoplani were slowly healing. The dead had been buried, and while many still grieved, and more than one village no longer existed because of the reign of terror, the survivors now felt confident that the sudden, gut wrenching appearance of the fearsome Hoplani was a thing of the past. With the herds eliminated, and Carif and her followers all dead, or so reduced in number to be ineffective, life could return to normal. In Lopal, a new Lamane had been chosen. Hopefully, this one would endure longer than the more recent leaders. Lopal had not known such a turnover in leadership in hundreds of years.

  Nycoh had resigned as leader of the wizards. She had tired of administrative duties and wished to pursue her own path. She was changing, and she explained she felt a new strength within that she wished to explore. Some of her new abilities she had attempted to share, but unlike the other powers shared by the wizards, the transfer of her new abilities was not so simple. She suggested that those who wished to gain her skills study the runes and glyphs, and the symbolic magic of Sedfair. That was where she had found the key to growth. A few tried, but thus far none had matured as she had.

  She traveled often between Sedfair and the Outpost. She and Ash’urn studied the texts that had been recovered from the Guild’s Headquarters. Frequently they met with scholars from the Guild’s University. For them, it was almost like the days when Nycoh was a youth, and they had poured through
the library of the Outpost.

  Nycoh had persuaded Daim to consider leadership of the Outpost. He had a maturity and vision of history broader than anyone. While he had the wisdom of age, he was young, and even after a few years as the Outpost’s leader, he would still be young enough to be able to pursue his own interests.

  Rigo spent most of his time in Sedfair. He was convinced that it was the land of his birth, and that was where Mitty was. Daria and Kaler had finally decided he was safe enough, and returned home. More than once, Mitty and Rigo had visited them, and she was now one of their close little group. Jeen, of course, was Mitty’s first and closest friend from the Three Kingdoms. Fortunately, Mitty’s nightmares had become less frequent, although occasionally she would wake at night and clutch Rigo close, her body shivering. Rigo never pressed for an explanation, but he wished the time when Mitty felt she could reveal what it was that she was seeing would come soon. As it was, he felt more than a little helpless.

  The oases in the Ruins were no longer manned. The protective netting had been removed, and the oases were open. Carif, if she survived, had few followers, and they had shown they didn’t need the oases that the Three Kingdoms had protected to make the crossing. It was an unprofitable use of manpower to attempt to block the passageways any longer. Oasis Four, which had long overlooked the Dunerider village was deserted. Rigo had passed through the village two months earlier, and was surprised to see that the Duneriders had disappeared. They had returned after the farms had been destroyed, and had been there when the wizards had left the oasis, but now were nowhere to be seen. Rigo had ventured down into the tunnel where the Duneriders were manufactured, and none were being created. The tunnel was bare and empty.