Guessing the answer, Mar asked, "Who won?"
"No one. They exterminated themselves and crushed the last dregs of high magic civilization." Llylquaendt shrugged. "The war between the Remnants was the end of us too. For better than a year, we returned to work. We built a canal to drain away the melt water --"
Aelwyrd nodded. "The underground river!"
"Yes. We had some vague plan to use it to ferry manufactured goods from the bunker to the sea, to perhaps establish a colony there. But at that point, we were simply going through the motions. We had lost heart. What was the point? The world had changed forever and the few of us could not change that. The decision was finally made to evacuate the bunker and to establish a new settlement beyond the desert. A fresh start seemed preferable to any further attempt to resurrect this dead city."
"You did not go with the others," Mar stated.
"No, I was young. I thought that stasis would allow me to see a better future."
"Has it?"
Llylquaendt lowered his eyes. "No. Naively, I believed that in a hundred years the savages would rediscover magic and that civilization would rise again. As I'm sure that you know, it did not. I emerged from my coffin to find a world with few inhabitants and no magic, so I entered stasis again, setting the timer for three centuries. When I awoke that time, I explored the world for a decade, searching for a place where civilization might develop again, but I never found one. Eventually, I realized the terrible fact: men no longer had the capacity to perform magic. They had the wrong genes. Oh, there were a few who could still manipulate the ethereal fields, here and there, but their abilities were stunted and their spells worse than parlor tricks. In disappointment, I returned here."
"Since then, I have come out once every century or three to check on the condition of the world. Always it was the same, a difficult, laborious, and contrary place. The last time I went in, I set no timer at all."
"Why not?" Aelwyrd asked.
"Stasis is not immortality. Every moment that I had spent outside of my coffin was one that had counted against me. I had lived my entire life in episodes, some short, some long, and I had grown old exploring a world that was different but depressingly the same each time I saw it anew. The diagnostics told me that I was over a hundred and might have three years of life left. I decided to close my eyes and save what little I had for a future like the past that I had lost. To awaken me again would take the skills of very powerful magenfolk, and I incorrectly concluded that such could only exist in an era of high magic civilization."
A chime echoed across the cavern. Llylquaendt smiled, instantly dispelling his own melancholy. "Well, enough of that. Your other giant is ready."
The mists cleared from the autodoc, showing a patently restored Lord Hhrahld. His injuries, large and small, had vanished. Even his armor and garments had been repaired. Though his eyes remained closed, the old pirate's chest now rose and fell with a natural regularity.
"When will he wake?" Eishtren asked.
"In a moment or two. The magics are designed to bring him around slowly to make the adjustment easier," Llylquaendt told them.
After a short time, when the Lord-Protector's eyes did open, he lay still for barely a second before suddenly springing up with a growl and bounding over their heads, his great leap carrying him far out into the cavern. When he landed, his eyes darted back and forth as his hands grasped at his scabbard for his missing sword.
"That was ... impressive," Llylquaendt said, eyes round.
Mar flew over to face the pirate. "How do you feel?"
Lord Hhrahld relaxed and responded courteously, "Well, my lord king, and you?" The big man's hands brushed tentatively across his chest, feeling the curved perfection of his breastplate where before there had been a great rent. "I was dead, was I not?"
"Yes."
"Your magic, my lord king?"
"No. It was some of the magic of this place. Are you fit for service?" Rigid discipline seemed the right track to take with a man who had been dead but was now alive.
The Gaaelfharenii braced. "Always, my lord king!"
"Then let's go back to the others."
At the group, the old pirate considered Wilhm for a moment, then stepped forward and embraced him, as a father would a son, the first such display that Mar had ever seen the Gaaelfharenii make.
For his part, Wilhm only smiled slowly, as if all were again right with the world.
While Eishtren succinctly informed the Lord-Protector of all that had occurred during his demise, Mar spoke to Llylquaendt.
"Do you intend to return to your coffin now?"
"No. Or, at least, not immediately. I might as well take a look at this world of yours. Perhaps, I will stay around to see what you will make of it and to have one final taste of life. I'm afraid that I have despaired of ever seeing a world like mine again. I'll not follow you back to your war, though, but will seek a place of peace, some quiet locale that worries only about its own affairs."
"That may be hard to find."
Llylquaendt smiled. "Somewhere on the margin, then. A place out of the direct line of fire, if nothing else."
"That might be here, unless there is another way out. I had to collapse the tunnel leading in. Your mechanisms attacked us."
"The automatons do not, in point of fact, belong to me, but are integral to the bunker installation. I don't have the skills to change their protocols and have never worked with them. The techs and the engineers did that. I would imagine that they attacked because of the giants. Their presence would have caused the automatons to automatically go into defend-at-all-costs mode. Regardless, the tunnel is not a problem. There are two emergency exits. One has a lift, but the other is just a stairwell. Both are in separate, isolated shafts. If the lift isn't working -- and I think I vaguely remember that it had malfunctioned -- I'm afraid that we'll have to walk all the way to the surface."
"We'll manage," Mar told him. "Let's go."
"Right. The shafts are at the other end of this level."
As they collected the others and started across the cavern, Llylquaendt commented, "I must say, though, it seems more than passing strange that you came down here just to awaken me."
"We didn't. We came looking for something else and stumbled upon you instead."
"Oh! You must be -- wait a minute!" Llylquaendt walked quickly back to a shelf next to the autodoc, squatted, rummaged through a clutter of various odds and ends, and pulled out a brass cylinder.
"Perhaps this is for you? An old fellow gave it to me on one of my expeditions, it must be two or three emergences ago, and asked that I bring it home with me. He said that a king with no legs would come looking for it one day. I was so intrigued that I kept up with it."
FORTY-SEVEN
Now that they were well clear of the morass -- Llylquaendt's dead zone -- the rowboats cruised along at a normal clip. Mar did not attempt to make his top speed, as the driving wind would have made the flight chillingly unpleasant in the small craft and also have prevented normal conversation.
"We'll reach the marsh and the lake before dark," Mar told the quaestor and the recruit. He sat with his back to the starboard gunwale so that he could glance back at the following rowboat and forward to watch his course, steering once more by the line of vents.
On this leg of the return journey, the medic, desiring to question the Gaaelfharenii concerning the bounds of their physical abilities, had elected to ride in the cramped second rowboat with Wilhm and Lord Hhrahld. His own testimony had suggested that he would hold up well during the trek back from the bunker to the grounded craft, and he had indeed done so, seeming thoroughly adapted to the harsh physical conditions of travel in the Waste.
"If we camp tonight at the lake, we'll be back aboard Number One by mid-afternoon tomorrow," Mar added.
"Do you know how long we have been gone, my lord king?" the quaestor asked. Eishtren sat on the next bench back, facing opposite of Mar so that he could see where the king could not. Secu
red in its cover, his bow, as always, lay in the thwart next to him. "I failed to keep track of the days."
"I didn't keep track either, but I'd guess it wasn't more than a fortnight."
"I counted the days, my lord king," Aelwyrd said with a grin. He picked up one of the empty quivers and showed them scratches on the hard leather of the base. "It was thirteen days to find Master Llylquaendt and it's been twelve days coming back." Aelwyrd sighed. "It'll be nice to get a hot meal."
"I must admit that sleeping in a proper bunk will be a welcome change," Eishtren said.
Mar quirked his lips in a half grin. "Me, I'm looking forward to a bath."
With one stop to stretch their legs, they reached the marsh by supper time and cruised on up to the lake. Just before they reached its shore, the sight of rising columns of smoke alerted them that the Gheddessii cantonment was now occupied. In view of this development, Mar decided to spend the night in the rowboats high above the lake. The Gaaelfharenii, Eishtren, and Llylquaendt accepted the decision without comment, but Aelwyrd allowed a low groan to escape. Sleeping in the confined boats would no doubt be disagreeable.
However, as Mar steered across the lake, he found his course veering unaccountably toward the northern shore.
"Are we going to overfly the camp, my lord king?" the quaestor asked, showing concern.
"No, I didn't intend to, but for some unknown reason I can't seem to hold my course."
Mar halted the rowboats and studied his spells. Almost immediately, he found a foreign flux modulation attached like a leech to his driving sound-color. From this a thin twine of grinding-purple snaked through the ether toward the Gheddessii's cantonment. Though he was able to repeatedly sweep the invading spell from the boats, it always instantly reformed.
He cursed S'lskaigho, Protector of Forgotten Things. "The seer!"
Eishtren raised his eyebrows. "Who is that, my lord king?"
Mar gave the quaestor and Aelwyrd a short summary while he warped the other rowboat forward alongside, and then recounted the incident at length to the full group.
"He's put a geis on you," Llylquaendt said right away. "It's an extremely powerful spell because it will adapt and grow in strength to compel obedience to your oath.
We had numerous laws regulating their specific usage as contractual surety in commercial transactions. In all other cases, especially those of interpersonal relations, they were unlawful in Pyra."
"I only made a promise," Mar objected. "I did not swear."
The medic shrugged. "In this case, apparently there is no distinction."
"Is it possible to disrupt a geis?"
"Not that I am aware. They are ethereally persistent and automatically regenerate themselves. Save for the unlikely existence of a flaw in the protocol that might allow the perpetrator to escape the stipulations, they are unbreakable."
"Can we back up out of its range and go around it?"
"I think, good magician, that if you investigate further, you will find the true source of the spell to be yourself. In almost all cases, the protocols are tied directly to the perpetrator. The trace that you described likely just allows the geis to have a location reference to its goal, and the spell itself will remain an integral part of your person until it is discharged. What was it again that you promised to do?"
"To bring him the 'magic maker' from the mountain."
"That's not a designation that we would have used. You have no idea what it is?"
"No. I haven't actually thought about it at all, until now."
Llylquaendt looked thoughtful. "From what I know of such spells, it seems to me that the geis would have prevented you from leaving the bunker until you had acquired the target item. Logically, therefore, it must not have been there in the first place. I'd think that you have fulfilled the stipulations simply by making the trip and returning empty-handed, but you will, of course, have to return to the origin to see the geis discharged."
"If I understand you correctly, all I have to do is land, tell them it doesn't exist, and we can go on our way?"
"That would be my guess, yes."
"Lord Hhrahld, Eishtren, opinions?"
The old pirate displayed an eager, anticipatory grin. "Wilhm, I, and the quaestor's bow can dissuade them from attempting any unpleasantness, my lord king."
"I concur, my lord king," Eishtren said. "If all that needs to be done is to inform this seer that what he wants does not exist, then that sounds like the simplest thing to do."
Seeing no error in the quaestor's logic, Mar agreed.
At the cantonment, he brought the rowboats down in a clear space between a group of the now canvas-roofed buildings, choosing a location a significant distance from the seer's trap. The appearance of the flying craft sent goats, chickens, dogs, and children scattering in all directions. While Eishtren stayed aboard, standing with bow drawn, both Gaaelfharenii hopped lightly to the ground brandishing their swords. Aelwyrd faithfully took his assigned place at the quaestor's side, though his quivers remained woefully empty. After Mar disembarked, Llylquaendt, displaying evident curiosity, climbed down as well.
Within seconds, a wide circle of hard eyed warriors, their jhuhngt'n in place, had surrounded them, though none had drawn weapons. Certain that the Gheddessii seer would quickly make an appearance, Mar simply waited.
Llylquaendt, displaying no apprehension, walked around a bit, examining the nomads and peering at the simple buildings.
"I think I recognize these people. I might have come across their ancestors on one of my past expeditions. You said that they are called Gheddessii? You know, that's quite similar to a Pyrai word, xedesi, which means wanderers."
The medic rattled off a few phrases in his own tongue at the nearest tribesman, but elicited no discernable response. "Did you see her eyes tighten? I think that she understood but is just ignoring me."
Within another tense moment or two, the seer passed amongst those watching and approached, his jhuhngt'n hanging free to show a grin full of black stained teeth. He made a looping gesture with the two longest fingers of his left hand. "Good. Magic maker."
Mar shook his head. "I couldn't find your magic maker. It wasn't under the mountain."
"T’egh e’. Magic maker."
"No, you don't understand. The magic maker wasn't there."
The seer shook his head and gestured at Llylquaendt. "He make magic." Impatiently, he added a long, elaborative sentence in his own language.
"Good magician," Llylquaendt offered suddenly, "I might be able to help clear this up. Their language sounds like a close derivative of my own. If you will permit me?"
At a loss, Mar nodded.
Llylquaendt spoke to the seer at length and the Gheddessii expounded earnestly in reply for all of ten minutes. Though, to Mar's ears at least, there were obvious differences in the two languages, apparently these were not sufficient to forestall communication. Something the Gheddessii said about midway through caused the elderly Pyrai to become flustered and he begin to shake his head repeatedly and say, "Jghe!"
"What is it, Llylquaendt?" Mar demanded. "What does he want to do with you?"
"Why, this old reprobate intends to put me out to stud, like some champion race horse! He wants me to espouse a large number of females of child bearing age from this village and also, if I understood his protestations correctly, from several neighboring encampments belonging to his clan. His express purpose is to breed an entire generation of sorcerers!"
Aelwyrd snickered. "So that's what magic maker means!"
Lord Hhrahld, with a burst of uproarious laughter, doubled over with mirth. Wilhm looked slightly confused.
"Well, Master Llylquaendt," Eishtren said diplomatically, clearly attempting to hide a rare smile, "you have said that you wished to taste a bit of what life has to offer. Perhaps, you should consider sojourning here for a time?"
The Pyrai presented them all with a withering glare. "Don't be ridiculous. Even were I to submit to this indignity, you must underst
and that it will not work as he expects. It's true that any descendants of mine would inherit what magical affinity I have, but I was a medic precisely because my magical abilities are no more than average. I fall squarely in the normal range. None of my kin were ever sorcerers or wizards or even what you would call witches. They were tradesmen, clerks, middle grade professionals, and the like. Why, the very idea is ludicrous."
Mar waved his hand and stump placating. "You don't have to stay, Llylquaendt. I can tell that the geis is gone. I promised to bring you here, not leave you. We'll just board and take off. My magic is at full force here and there's enough wood and leather about so that I can turn this whole place upside down if necessary."
Somewhat mollified, the old man nodded.
Mar looked to the seer. From the man's expression, it seemed as if he had understood parts of what Mar had said.
"Wait!" the old Gheddessii insisted. "Is message to magic maker!"
Without waiting for a reply, the Gheddessii launched into a long and complicated song in his own tongue.
The effect of this on Llylquaendt was dramatic. At first his eyes went wide in shock, then his shoulders slumped and he began, amazingly, to weep.
"What is he saying, Llylquaendt?" Mar demanded.
Retrieving his composure, the old Pyra wiped his eyes and blew his nose noisily into the sleeve of his garment. "It's a personal message addressed to me by name from my commander's wife when she was very old. They must have passed this down through a hundred generations. She asks me to use my skills to help this people, who she calls her children, to minister to them and ease their pain and sickness where I can."
Mar considered this and found that he had no objection. "Is that what you want to do?"
Key to Magic 04 Emperor Page 28