by Des Pensable
‘I don’t know, perhaps they’re not working any more, or the Yith didn’t know how to work them.’
‘Reasonable answers, but worth checking, wouldn’t you say?’
‘Why? Will it bring Zephira back?’
‘No, but it might give us a clue as to why they were here in the first place and why and perhaps even where they took her and Alpha.’
‘They wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave that type of information around.’
‘Who said they were stupid?. Perhaps they took Alpha and Zephira so that we would follow them? If that’s the case then they may have left us a clue. That’s what I want to check out. The answer will probably be in the only place we haven’t found yet, the defence control room. Look at the temple now and tell me where you would put it.’
Miranda was surprised at what Tain had said. Sometimes they just didn’t think on the same level, then again he was a mind wizard and they seemed to think differently from everyone else.
‘I guess I would put the control room where it had a view. Somewhere near the top of the pyramid. Just below the golden ball that has now disappeared.’
‘Very good Mandy. That’s where I would put it and that’s where it will be. The only question is how do we get into it? I suspect that they have a teleport circle that transports people to the control room, but that could be hidden anywhere. The one problem with having a remote room up there is that it needs ventilation, otherwise people in there would suffocate. So if we can find the ventilation vents we can get in.’
‘Tain, would you mind very much if I left you to explore this place by yourself? I have a few questions about the little people and this temple, and I think my mother might have some answers.’
‘Do you think that she will talk to you?’ asked Aquitain curiously.
‘I’m sure she will. She is always sticking her nose in everyone’s business. She won’t be able to resist finding out what happened here, and it will give me a good opportunity to trade some information. Where and when should we meet?’
They agreed to meet at Quab’s sanctuary in about four hours' time. Miranda intended to fly as an eagle to her mother’s place to conserve the teleport ring. It would also give her a chance to unwind from all the stresses of the day. She gave him a hug, told him how much she loved him, wished him luck, changed to her eagle form and flew off. He changed to his giant newman form and went exploring around the temple.
It took him about an hour to examine the outside of the temple and find what he was after: the rainwater drainage system. He figured that the best way to hide the air vents to the control room was by putting them inside the rainwater drainage system. So after mentally mapping the drains he changed to his Logicon form and slithered into the drain just below the base of the pyramid section of the temple. It took him another half hour to find the vent, then he slithered all the way to the control room and reformed into his bear shape inside it.
The circular stone room was about seven paces in diameter. The wall was smooth and coated with white plaster and held a 360 degree diorama of the temple and its surrounds. There were also thin vertical arrow-slit like windows that could be used for direct viewing outside. In the centre of the room was a circular console containing an array of levers that protruded from its side. The knobs on the levers were colour-coded and words inscribed in ancient Draconic told of their purpose.
On the flat topside of the console was a map of the temple and its surroundings, with ten-pace pace concentric range circles from the pyramid apex. As Aquitain had surmised, the range circles went well beyond the direct environs of the temple. He checked the inscriptions on the levers and found one that created a shield around the temple, and a second that varied its power. There were also control levers to activate an internal defence, but only on the first level. Presumably the place was considered lost if anyone got further than that.
There were two small tables and several chairs in the room, a teleport circle, and a straw filled mattress on the floor. The tables held food scraps, which were quite fresh. The most important finds were sitting under the mattress out of sight. A magic scroll with a note attached and a very fancy and expensive weapon called a Rod of Majestic Might. After he had read the note written in ancient Draconic, he was very excited, but wary. The note said.
A.G.
Here is the Elendari Champion’s Rod that you asked me to steal from the Crin Queen. Our friends should look upon your proposal quite favourably if you give it to them. I have also managed to get the Yith scroll that will allow Aquitain to change his bear body to a newman body. That should please his girlfriend.
Alin Amber.
It plainly stated what Xentos had told them. Alin Amber had stolen the weapon from the Crin, but on the orders of AG. Perhaps the scroll was stolen as well. What a temptation? A scroll that could change his body to newman form again. That would be wonderful. He could hug and kiss Miranda, but it could also be incredibly frustrating, as they could still do no more than that.
If he told Miranda about the rod she would want to give it back to her friend the Crin queen. What if the scroll had come from there? Would Miranda want to give that back as well? What a dilemma, he couldn’t decide what to do. The note said that the rod belonged to the Elendari Champion. Who was that? Did the Crin steal it from him? He had no special reason to be kind to the Crin Queen; after all she had banished him from her domain. Perhaps it should be returned to the Elendari Champion as his father was intending but, who and where was this person?
He felt a little guilty hiding this stuff from Miranda but strictly speaking this could be considered loot from a successful battle. Perhaps he could negotiate the return of the rod for the scroll as a reward. He decided to keep quiet about his find until he could discover a little more about the rod’s true owner, the origin of the scroll and whether it could really change him to a newman. Then he would be in a better position to decide what to do about them.
He changed to his Logicon form, slithered out of the temple control room through one of the arrow-slit widows carefully closing it behind him, and reformed as a bear outside and teleporting to Featherdown’s tower hid the rod and the scroll in the workshop, and went up to visit Featherdown.
Chapter 39 What am I?
Featherdown was in a panicky state. He was getting reports from all over Mudrun of strange occurrences. He had most of his young wizards out checking on them and getting statements from injured victims, survivors and eyewitnesses. He had a large map of the world hung on the wall and was mapping the locations of the problems to see if there were any trends, and it looked like there were. He was very short tempered when he saw Aquitain.
‘What in damnation do you think that you’re doing, taking twenty of my guards to look for lost lizard children? I’ve got chaos all around the world at the moment. I need all the guards here in case we have to quell a riot. I’m not quite sure whether it’s the rebel druids or Yith druids called Yithmardu. Either way I’ve got more trouble than people to deal with it.
‘From what I hear from off world, there’s been a lot of Yith activity in the last few weeks. My agents think that they’re up to something. I might add they do this sort of thing before an attack to unsettle people. In a way, I’m hoping it’s the rebel faction but I can’t be sure until I catch one of them in the act and that’s near impossible.
‘What happened at the temple? I’m hearing about all sorts of crazy heroics from you, but it seems that you suffered a lot of casualties for meagre results?’
Aquitain gave him a quick rundown on what had happened, but said nothing about his belief that Alin Amber and AG were involved, as other than the note attached to the scroll he had no proof. The only good thing from Featherdown’s perspective was that he confirmed that there were Yith involved, which to him suggested that maybe the Yith were planning an attack. He was also pleased that the Mask had been dealt with, as that was one less problem he had to worry about.
‘I’m sorry about the outcome of
the Curbut trial. I’ll get the bastard if he comes anywhere near here. There are major troubles in the Druid Council at the moment. The word is that there will soon be a challenge to the Council leadership. If the current High Druid won’t quit then they will decide who is High Druid by single combat, most likely to the death of one of them. I wouldn’t put it past either one of them to try to have the other assassinated. Perhaps that’s why the rebel faction wanted Curbut released. Whichever way it goes, we’re likely to have problems.’
Aquitain asked him whether he would have time to scry for Alpha and Zephira. He said he didn’t, but added that he could get a message to Granddad, who would. However, evidently that Granddad had problems as well.
‘Something odd has happening in Panmagica. There is great tension at the moment between the Wizard’s Guild and the Unity of Wisdom. I’ve heard that they are cracking down on all sorts of wizard activities. The black market has had to go underground and it’s very dangerous to sell illegal magical items. Several merchant wizards have already been jailed.’
‘Do you think these problems are related to Alin Amber’s prophecy?’ asked Aquitain.
‘Who knows! I don’t like prophecies, as too many power hungry idiots get it in their mind that they can benefit by trying to make them come true.’
‘Get some rest. I’m sure something major is going to happen soon, and I could use your help. Your successful skirmish this morning seems to have improved morale among the guards and it seems the townspeople are pleased that we’ve been able to bring the culprits who attacked the town to justice so quickly.’
Aquitain left a short message for Featherdown to send to his grandfather and asked if he could use the commercial teleporter to visit the Jeti village. Featherdown vanished for a minute and returned with a scroll and a box big enough to house a pair of shoes.
‘Here, take these. The scroll gives you permission to use the commercial teleporter whenever you need to travel on official purposes. It’s a privilege I extend to my Wizard officers. Don’t abuse it. The box contains some special equipment on issue to Wizard Hounds and Druid Hounds. It should be useful.’
Aquitain opened the box and found two small leg pouches like the one that Miranda used, only these had some magical property.
‘They’re small dimensional bags,’ said Featherdown. ‘They hold about as much as a backpack. The interesting thing is that they have a localised camouflage effect permanently embedded. Use the activation word and they change their colour and texture to match the background, which is your leg, of course. They seem to be reasonably waterproof as well. Should be useful for the two of you changing form continually.’
Aquitain thanked Featherdown and left in his giant newman form to visit Quab at the sanctuary. Before he left he retrieved the rod and the scroll from the workshop and placed them in his new dimension bag. Halfway there he was spotted by some of the guards from the temple skirmish and dragged down to the Ugly Bear for an ale, which in Aquitain’s case meant half a barrel. Morale was certainly high, as the whole town seemed to be partying.
He was credited with personally killing dozens of Yith, and at one stage having his head chopped off. Eyewitnesses said they saw him feel around with his hands until he found his head, then re-attach it. Others said that the Lady had incarnated him as her personal agent on Mudrun to deal quick justice to any Yith that wanted to cause trouble. After a while it got too embarrassing, and he went to the sanctuary for some peace and to wait for Miranda to arrive.
Quab had heard some of the rumours and was keen to hear Aquitain’s version of the events, and after hearing the story was quite relieved.
‘The stories all around are starting to paint you as some sort of supernatural creature. That’s good for local morale but dangerous for you. Half the Druid’s Council already believes that you are the problem behind all the reports of strange incidents. Featherdown’s got his wizards and many of the guards out getting firsthand accounts of the problems to prove that you weren’t involved. However, the Councillors are not interested in proof. They believe whatever’s convenient at the time. There will be a challenge to the current High Druid soon, and let’s hope he wins.’
‘Do you think that the druids in this rebel faction are causing the problems?’ asked Aquitain.
‘I thought they might be, but your sighting of the Yith makes me uncertain. The Yith have always claimed this world. I’m not sure why they haven’t tried to invade it before now. Perhaps because the Druid’s Council has always claimed that we are neutral territory. The real problem is that the rebel faction is very friendly with the Unity of Wisdom. If they take power then I think they will allow Unity priests here, and that will likely change our neutral status and provoke the Yith to come here in force. Perhaps the Yith you fought at the temple were here as spies to watch for any signs of Unity priests.’
‘Do think that Alin Amber’s prophecy is coming true?’ asked Aquitain.
‘It’s not what I think but what all the ordinary people think. If they all think that the prophecy is coming true then I guess it is,’ replied Quab.
‘I agree with you about that,’ said Aquitain. ‘Tell me what are the rules of booty applied within the guards?’
‘Why, did you find some at the temple?’
‘I was thinking that if I keep working for Featherdown I’m bound to find some sooner or later.’
‘Featherdown applies the booty rules from his war wizard days. Half of all booty by value goes to the commander and the other half is divided equally between the members of the commander’s troop. If anyone died then their share goes to any surviving family. The commander always has first choice of any items found but they would count against his share. What did you find?’
Aquitain decided to tell Quab about the control room and the items he found there, but kept quiet about the note attached to the scroll. Quab had never seen the rod before or ever even heard of it, but when shown the scroll was immediately interested. He took it into his hut, unrolled it and laid it out on his table, anchoring its edges with various objects. He sang a prayer then examined the text.
‘This scroll was stolen from the High Druid two days ago. It was the cause of a great argument in the Druid’s Council yesterday. The High Druid accused the rebel faction of stealing it. They of course denied it and accused him of faking its disappearance.’
‘I know it’s powerful but I can’t read it. It’s a druid scroll isn’t it? What does it do?’
‘You’re right. It is a druid scroll. It’s the most powerful scroll in this world. It asks the goddess Lithgala for divine intervention. It requests a miracle. It was found here on Mudrun in the ruins of a temple a few years ago and has been kept for a moment of great need. The High Druid told me that if ever the Yith invaded he would use it. Perhaps they knew about and stole it but I can’t begin to guess why they would leave it lying around when they left.’
‘Who is this goddess Lithgala?’ asked Aquitain.
‘She is a nature goddess with followers on other worlds. Some believe she is the Lady known by another name. Others believe she is a friend and ally of the Lady. She has followers on Mudrun,’ Quab replied.
‘By the merciful grace of the Lady, now I know why you were keen to know about the booty rules. Strictly speaking, since you were alone when you found it then it could be argued that it’s yours. However, if anyone on the Druid Council hears that you have it they will descend on you like a plague of locusts. It might be a good idea to give it back to the High Druid as a gesture of good faith.’
‘Could you cast it?’ asked Aquitain.
‘It’s complicated and would take a bit of preparation, but I suppose I could. However, I would only ever do it for the benefit of Mudrun, and only after praying to the Lady for her guidance,’ replied Quab.
‘I still haven’t decided what to do about either this or the rod. I’ll have to talk to Miranda and Featherdown and perhaps others, first. Can I count on you to say nothing about it for a while?’<
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‘Of course, but don’t take too long and be very careful who you tell about it,’ replied Quab.
They heard Miranda’s voice calling their names and both went out of the hut to meet her.
‘This should be interesting.’ said Aquitain. ‘She’s been to see her mother.’
She gave the hand sign to mindlink as she hurried over to Aquitain and hugged him around the neck, and then greeted Quab with a fleeting smile.
‘Can you lock down the wards please Quab? I have some serious news!’ and while he was engaged in that she asked Aquitain through their mindlink whether he'd found the control room at the temple. He quickly told her about the control room and what he had found there. She was really excited and wanted to see the items. So he took her inside Quab’s hut and showed them to her. She sang a prayer and viewed the scroll.
‘Merciful Lady, this is the most powerful scroll I’ve ever seen. It’s written in very old druidic, but readable. Quab is right. It begs the Goddess Lithgala for a miracle, but uses the Yith name for the goddess rather than our name. Lithgala is supposed to be a close friend of the Lady. Alin Amber is also right - this could change you back to newman again or even lift my tattoo, assuming the Lady was agreeable. We’ll certainly have to think about what to do with it.’
When she saw the rod she immediately recognised it.
‘That used to belong to my mother. I remember she showed it to me a couple of times. She said it had belonged to a king and she had captured it from him in a battle. She never mentioned giving it to Queen Beatrix. I wonder why she had it?’