by P. G. Thomas
“How long before they attack?” asked John.
Panry spit over the ledge, “They are large and will move slow. The distance is still great though I am surprised to see them on the south bank.”
“Most of those insects are dead now. The larger animals have small brains, so they’ve most likely forgotten the song she sang to them, but how long before you think they’ll attack?” replied John.
Panry shook his head, “One, maybe two weeks before they will attack. Not all need to arrive before they can begin. Those that arrive late shall be reinforcements.”
“No, it’ll be more like a month,” answered Eric.
Panry looked up, “What do you mean?”
“He thinks they wait for a sign of some kind,” Eric said as he tapped the sword.
“That sign, what does it be?” asked Panry.
“A sign. That’s all I know.”
Looking over the cliff edge, John saw the shadows on the ground. When he raised his hand in the air, it failed to create the three shadows he was accustomed to seeing. There was just one large blurry, dark shadow, and he looked up at the suns, shielding his eyes with his hands. Seeing this, the others did the same, noticing how close the suns were, “Is that the sign they look for?” asked John, “Three celestial bodies joining as one?”
The ominous answer came from Eric, “Yes.”
“We need to get back to town. I need to work this out,” and then John raced down the stairs.
*******
The next day, Eric asked Ryan to join him as he went to the war council where he explained the issue with the pass. They agreed with him but were uncertain how to deal with it. He had them assemble wagons: one with lumber, the other with a crew from the army carpentry unit. Eric and Ryan brought forth the magic steeds, which they hitched to the wagons. With Ryan driving the one filled with lumber, Eric would guide the other. When they were outside the town, Eric turned around, advising the men to tie themselves to the wagon, because in eight hours they would be at the end of the pass. Later that day, as Eric waited for the carpenters to get their land legs back, he examined the wall of Iron Wood trees.
Ryan walked over, “I understand what you said to the war council, that the pass is blocked too well, but isn’t that a good thing?”
“No. If they cannot attack here, they’ll search for other routes. Then we’ll have to fight the battle on multiple fronts. Alron is the source of their grief, as they know Earth Mother is there. Since the other towns present no threat to them, we need to be able to meet their attack, and those trees will prevent it. Here we can contain them. If the river fails to slow them down enough, the pass will funnel them into a larger trap.”
“Those are Iron Wood trees. Saws and axes can’t hurt them, not even fire,” advised Ryan.
Eric nodded, “I know.” Dropping his shoulder, the scabbard fell into his hand, and with his long reach, he extracted the mighty sword, pointing it at the trees. A huge lightning bolt exploded from it, hitting the base of a tree, and it started to lean back. In quick succession, Eric let loose seven more bolts, and one by one, each tree crashed to the ground.
“How?” asked Ryan.
“This isn’t Mother’s forest. While they maybe Iron Wood trees, there’s no magic here to sustain them, and nobody ever said anything about lightning not hurting them. They’re too big for these men to move, so help me roll them out of the way.” Following Eric to the large opening, they began to move the massive trees.
Eric returned to the carpenters, “Build a ramp over the stumps. Their roots are too deep to remove. Build a solid gate, but be quick about it.” Through the opening, all could see the huge dust cloud in the distance, “Reinforcements will be out within the week to help.” Then Eric and Ryan walked over to the wagons, unhitched the horses, and rode back into town.
Chapter 25
Days later, not only had the army continued to grow, but also they had started to heard the shield of innocents to the front. All of the fast horses had been reassigned from the post to the army messenger unit, and Gayne received a commission to make more, but it would take time, time they might not have. While news from the south and north would be slow, it would fail in comparison to the news from the east.
Since the recent events disturbed Eric, he went up to Lauren’s room. When he knocked on her door, she never answered. “Lauren, I’m coming in.” Opening the door, as he entered, a candleholder bounced off his armor.
“Leave me alone.”
“An army has been spotted on the south bank. Midlander, elf, and dwarf are with them.”
“It’s a big river, go make it red.”
“Why do those conquered march with their enemies?”
“Go ask them.”
“It’s time for you to get up, Mother’s children need you.”
“Earth Mother has left the building. You will call me Lauren.”
“I had a bad day. You told Eric, suck it up, and get over it. You don’t quit playing, because of one bad day. You, the same should do, Earth Mother.”
“You had a bad day? It was a bath compared to mine. They tortured every inch of me. Bad day? Leave me alone!”
“Earth Mother, we need you.”
“YOU WILL CALL ME LAUREN!”
Dwarves fled the house.
“No. Earth Mother you are. You tamed me. Taught me. Fought my enemies. Lauren is nothing. Earth Mother is victory.”
Lauren threw a glass at Eric, “The west has an army. The sword and champion are named. Her job is done. You’ll call me Lauren.”
The emotion in Tranquil Fury boiled over, “NO!”
“I won the first battle against you! I can do it again! You’ll call me Lauren!”
While his sentences were short, there were also tears in his eyes, “Then fight me. Prove you can. Prove you care. Prove you are worthy. Be Earth Mother.”
“YOU WILL CALL ME LAUREN!”
“Yes, fight me. Tame me. Bend me to your will.”
She rolled over, whimpered, “You’ll leave me alone. Go. I can’t help you. I won’t help you,” and she went quiet.
Even though the fire still burned, the objective was lost. Eric wiped the tears from his eye, turned, and left the room. He went down to the backyard where Panry and the Earth Mothers sat.
“How is Earth Mother?” asked Panry.
“Her aim improves. The armor is undamaged.”
“Is that all?” asked Brook.
Walking over, he sat down, and poured himself a drink, “She asked me to go shopping for her.”
While all were surprised, Panry asked, “What does she want?”
Eric finished his drink, “Answers. I need to find my brothers. We’re going shopping.”
“Not any shops are open,” replied Brook.
“The one across the river is open. We need to know why the east mingles with those who invaded them, and those answers are across the river.”
Panry smiled, “She asked you to get prisoners?”
“No, but we need answers. She’ll be less mad when she comes around, and we have those answers. I need to find my brothers.”
It was dark when the four wagons stopped. Three were loaded with dwarves, totaling three dozen in all, and the last wagon was empty. With the sky being cloudy, it obscured the dwarves, as they silently crossed the odd bridge, which was now twenty feet wide. The dwarves, with their superior night vision, crept through the dark. Finding their first prisoners, they knocked them unconscious, tied and gagged them, and then carried them back to the bridge. The remaining dwarves sought out midlanders from the shield of innocents. All returned with sixteen guests: eight black-clad soldiers and eight from the east. Then they pointed the fast horses back to Alron.
*******
When Eric had headed out the night before, John was in his room. The discussion he heard between Lauren and Eric disturbed him, but he focused on the problem at hand: the alignment of the suns. He sat at his desk, staring at his cell phone, as the scientific cal
culator app quickly drained the battery, and he was going through paper quicker than everybody was losing hope. With a computer, it would have taken him an hour. Without a telescope, he was estimating, trying to hedge his equations to find the median. Distance, speed, size, gravitational pull, if any one of the equations was too wrong, it would all mean nothing. When he was done, he rechecked his calculations three times, and the last time, with a little bit of battery life left, pulling out his ear buds, he used music to distract his mind.
Within the month, the three suns would line up: the large one in the middle, the smaller one in front, and the other behind. The gravitational pull from the large one would cause huge solar flares to erupt from the farthest sun. That energy would be pulled down, wrapping around the huge sun, and then both types of radiation would leap forward into space, embracing the gravity of the closest one. That much energy would most likely create significant solar flares from the last sun, which would jettison the energy towards this planet, and the night sky would light up like it was the day, causing the radiation storm to be intense. John’s best guess was four days at the earliest, eight or nine days at the latest, once the suns aligned before the magic arrived.
*******
That night Nur waited outside of Lauren’s door for her to fall asleep. If Lauren failed to start receiving proper nourishment, her body would have insufficient energy to heal, and infection or worse could set in. She had borrowed a pair of Earth Guard boots to ensure her footsteps were quiet. Being afraid that Lauren may have been sleeping on her front, she breathed a sigh of relief to see her sleeping on her side. Pulling two bottles from her pocket, she let several drops from each fall into Lauren’s open mouth. While the first was to provide her with sustenance, the second was for the dreams, hoping it would settle them down.
Eric updated Panry the next morning about the new guest that now stayed in Alron, but the most disturbing news was the odd bridge was now twenty feet wide. Being curious about the midlander guests, Panry and John went to the building, guarded by town watch and Earth Scouts, where the guests currently stayed. The two groups were very different; the black-clad soldiers were extremely upset, as the chains and gags that bound them reinforced the fact that they were now prisoners. The eight from the east never moved or said anything, just stood in place, but each one had a gold coin attached to some part of their body: a coin that Panry was unable to remove. The most shocking fact, two of the midlanders were dead, yet still stood.
As John returned to the house, he thought about the shield of innocents, and the gold coins glued to the silent captives: it has to be magic. Going into the backyard, he saw the cloak still attached to the kite cables. It would be two weeks before the mithril kites and cloak would show up, and he was uncertain if it would be in time. Unplugging his cloak, he slowly extended his arms through the sleeves. At least it looks cool. It was always heavier than he expected, as the black material hid the heavy gold patterns sewn inside of it. He sat down, “Gayne had said they had changed lead to gold. The only way to do that is at the atomic level, so you have to increase the number of protons, electrons, and neutrons.” Pulling a gold coin out of his pocket, he started to rub it between his fingers. “So we know gold, pure gold, has magic. The amulets that Mirtza and Gayne created prove that. Platinum even has magic in it, which the pegasus amulet proves. Those elements are side by side in the periodic table. Eric and Ryan proved there was magic in the air, but titanium or mithril attracted that magic. That’s number 22 on the periodic table, which is at the opposite end compared to gold. So, we must have two types of magic: a light and heavy magic. The heavy magic most likely falls to the ground quicker, but when it gets concentrated underground, with the pressure and heat, there is sufficient energy to do magic. The energy that Ryan attracts is different, being much more dynamic, which is probably the same magic that Logan uses. While lead is close to gold on the table, its atomic number is 82. To change lead to gold, you would have to subtract the necessary protons, electrons, and neutrons from each lead atom. To change gold to lead, you would have to add the same. Ryan and Logan use the same magic.” John stopped. “Ryan and Logan use the same magic!” Pulling off the heavy cloak, he ran upstairs and banged on Ryan’s door. “I want you to go hold hands with Logan. I think you both use the same magic. You’re filled with it, and I’m hoping some of it’ll bleed off of you and into Logan to help him to wake up.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Just trust me and go sit beside Logan, maintaining body contact.”
John then went to Fodu’s door, “I need you to get me a mithril rod. Something about two feet long and make both ends sharp enough to pierce the skin.”
When Fodu closed the door, he looked at Fen, “Brother’s spells, worse they grow.”
*******
When John woke the next morning, he saw Gingaar exiting out of Lauren’s room, wiping tears from her eyes. “Her sleep is not restful, and her pain is still great. Toss and turn, the dreams wake her not, but leave her they do not either.”
Going downstairs to the backyard, he saw his cloak on the ground covered in dew. Picking it up to hang over one of the chairs, he heard the coin hit the ground. Bending down, he picked up the lead coin and stopped. How the hell did I do that? He was still sitting in the backyard, trying to think of what he had done the previous day when Fodu came over with a titanium rod. They went up to Logan’s room where Ryan was sitting beside him, holding his hand as he talked to him.
“It’s not working, John. Nothing has changed.”
“I was afraid of that, so I want to try a different approach.” He handed Ryan the mithril rod.
“Stick one end into the outside of your forearm. It’ll bleed, but Fodu will apply a dressing. We’ll then stick the other end into Logan. I think you’re positively charged with energy or magic, and that Logan is negatively charged. I’m hoping this rod will attract the magic in your body, transferring it to Logan, like a blood transfusion but for magic.”
“Do you think it’ll help?”
“Your magic comes from the air, and so does the magic that Logan uses. It’s worth a try.”
Grabbing the rod, Ryan jabbed it deep into his forearm, holding back the scream.
After Fodu had dressed both arms, they went down to the backyard where the Earth Mothers were, and he explained about Logan and Ryan, assuring them they would both be fine. Grabbing his cloak, he went to visit the prisoners. Panry was there, engaging one of the black-clad soldiers in a conversation. While Panry was enjoying it, the black-clad soldier was not.
John pulled two coins out of his pocket. The lead one he found with his cloak, and a fresh gold one from the vault. He walked up to one of the dead midlanders in the other room. I know the gold can read minds, which the food boxes prove. It can interpret thoughts, adept. The pegasus proves that. The amulet had wings, but horses don’t yet it flew. Standing in front of the walking dead midlander, he closed his eyes. Rubbing the gold coin in one hand, he concentrated on the lead coin in the other. In his mind, he kept repeating, gold to lead. At the same time, he envisioned the atomic structures, altering the gold to be lead, and two hours later, he screamed with joy.
Panry came running in, finding the walking dead midlander lying on the floor with a large red spot on his forehead, marking where the gold coin had been attached, and a lead coin was spinning on the floor. “Friend John, what have you done?”
“I’ll let you know tomorrow because I need to test it.”
*******
Panry waited for John outside his room in the morning, as he wanted to understand whatever John was going to do. Going to the vault first, he struggled to carry a bag of gold out, so Panry signaled the Dawnfalcons to lend a hand. After John had thanked them, all four headed to the front of the house, taking to their mounts. When they were far enough outside of town, John had the Dawnfalcons cut four hundred sticks. Then he and Panry started placing them in the ground seventy feet apart. After placing the last, he t
old them to put a gold coin on the top of each. As the Dawnfalcons worked their way down the long line, completing the odd task, he wrapped the cloak around himself. Standing in line with the sticks, he pulled the last gold coin out of his pocket. With ten sticks behind him, three hundred and ninety were in front, and the farthest coin was four and a half miles away. Retrieving the lead coin, he formed an image in his mind of the field in front of him, converting it into a three-dimensional representation. As he started rubbing the two coins, he pictured the atomic structures of the two metals in his head, concentrating on rearranging the protons, electrons, and neutrons. Calling to the gold magic, he sent the image from his mind into the void of the cloak, hoping the magic would understand and then brought it forward, sending it out to the coins.
It was an hour later when he heard one of the Dawnfalcons curse, should have warned them. He kept concentrating, trying to imagine the magic spreading out over the field, finding gold, transforming it. Panry, watching, was uncertain of what was happening. The Dawnfalcons kept moving from coin to coin, and when one changed to lead, they would leapfrog their brother, going to the next. It took over four hours, but finally, one of the Dawnfalcons was at the last, and they raised their hand to signal that it had changed.
“What do you plan to do with this trick?” asked Panry.
John walked back to the sticks behind him, seeing half of the gold coins were lead. He was glad he came out to the open field, as Lauren would be upset if he changed her war chest to lead.
Reaching into his pocket, Panry swore, throwing the worthless lead to the ground, “Please, explain this.”
“Not right now. I have to work out the rest of the details, but we’ll need to come out here each day. I need to practice because it took too long.” Running back to his horse, he took to the saddle, racing back to town.
Babartin and Careel walked up beside Panry, “Yes, I shall reimburse you for your lost gold.”
Careel asked, “Panry, what has happened?”