by Bob Blink
One thing she couldn’t put off. She wanted to see what the wizards were doing in her valley. Kytra worried they might have found a way to overcome the shielding of the chamber, and might be pillaging the stored items kept there. That was something they couldn’t be allowed to do. Too much could be learned from certain items kept there. She had ordered the halfmen out, and believed that any inside would be trapped and those outside would fail to discover a way in, but they had already surprised her a couple of times. She wouldn’t rest comfortably until she was certain everything was secure until she was ready to return.
She Transferred to one of the nearby peaks where she could hopefully watch any activity unobserved. That’s when she discovered the extent of the disaster. The valley was filled to a great depth with rock shaved off the surrounding mountains. Her Baldari, helot, and halfmen were either gone or killed. She could sense none of them. She would be unable to attempt entry into the chamber, assuming it was still intact under the debris, until she could clear a path to it. Even worse, she couldn’t sense the amplifier at all. Even disabled, she should be able to perceive its presence. This close, that would normally have been easy. That suggested the cursed wizards had either managed to destroy it, not a simple task, or had taken it with them. Given the built-in protections against moving it, she doubted that was the case. That left her with the uncomfortable suspicion that the amplifier was no longer recoverable. Worse, she didn’t know how to create another. Only a few Brryn had had that skill even in her time. She would have to continue on without it. She would also have to re-examine her understanding of the capability of the wizards. They continued to surprise her.
Angrier than she could remember being in a very long time, Kytra returned to the island to convey what she had learned.
Chapter 70
Rigo stood at the edge of the Great Chasm in the western Ruins, staring angrily at the darkened depths so far below. He hadn’t chosen this place consciously, but it was appropriate. It was the scene of one of his great errors in judgement. His mind still raged at what he had learned. He had been so set on confronting Mos’pera. But now he knew that Mitty, his own consort, had known what was going to happen and she not only hadn’t acted, but she had kept it secret from him, taking away his chance to decide his own fate.
Mitty claimed she had to choose between him and Ash’urn. That, and choose if the kingdoms were to fall because of his death, had she been willing to let him choose. It couldn’t be that simple! If he had known, maybe none of them would have gone into the valley. Perhaps another way could have been found. There was almost always more than one way to proceed. Of course, both Mitty and Queen Mos’pera said it couldn’t be. The descent into the stronghold of the Brryn had been their only opportunity. Were they right? Had the few accomplishments he could see as a result of their sacrifices have changed their chances?
He had to understand Mitty had been forced to choose between his living and dying. He tried to imagine how he would act if he knew Mitty was going to die unless he followed an onerous path. Even as angry as he was at the moment, he had to confess he could never let anything happen to her. No matter what the consequences to others might be. That had been the choice Mitty had been presented.
As upset as he was, Rigo knew deep down in his heart he wished all of this to pass. He wanted it over. He wanted things to be as they had been with Mitty. He felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him. If only it could never have happened. He wanted the ache inside gone, and to be reunited with her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure that could happen. She had known! She had known that Ash’urn was going to die. How to get past that? Rigo couldn’t help recalling the hug Mitty had given Ash’urn on the mountaintop shortly before the descent into the valley had begun. At the time he had thought it was because she feared for him as much as she did for Rigo. In those first days in Sedfair when he and Ash’urn had been prisoners, Mitty had become close to the inquisitive scholar. Now Rigo knew she had been saying farewell. He couldn’t believe she had kept the secret and let him go. She was harder than he’d ever imagined.
Still fuming, he recalled the times that Queen Mos’pera had revealed less of what she had seen than Rigo had considered useful. He had accepted her refusal to tell all she knew then, probably because he wasn’t so personally involved. Many times she had held back, claiming a worse situation could result if she were to reveal the future her dreams showed her. That was true even when Rhory went off to battle and ended up being captured. She had allowed that to happen. Of course, Rigo couldn’t be certain she had known what her silence would lead to.
When Rigo went into the Ruins so long ago, she had warned of a great sorrow, but she had not said a word about the danger Inge was in. Inge had died because Rigo wasn’t there. Had Mos’pera known of this? Even then was she manipulating and trading lives? Had Rigo not gone into the Ruins seeking answers, the world they knew would be a very different place now. It is quite probable, the Hoplani would have overrun the Three Kingdoms.
When she had foretold of the fall of the barrier and the towers, she hadn’t said what would be the cause. Somehow he doubted she had known it wouldn’t be the Hoplani, but he couldn’t be certain. And now this. Daim’s old memories rose unbidden to the surface. They were mostly buried deep in his mind, and he didn’t think about them much, but the remnants of the days they shared his mind were still there if he looked. Daim had known many Seers in his time. From what Rigo could recall, even in those long ago times, the Seers had been very circumspect in what they revealed. Daim had considered them wise. Frustrating, but wise. He even seemed to agree that they withheld as much as they did.
Perhaps this was just the nature of being a Seer? Perhaps they weren’t blessed with this foresight, but in a way were cursed? Perhaps he was wrong to be so angry.
No, he decided harshly before he could go very far with that train of thought. He didn’t want Ash’urn to be dead. He might have accepted the loss of others, but not Ash’urn. Not one of those who had been part of his life for so long. Even as he had the thought he felt guilty. Why was one individual more important than another? He knew it shouldn’t be so, but he also knew that was the way it was. Rigo wasn’t certain how he would be able to continue with the incisive thoughts of the scholar, and he needed someone to blame. They should have told him. He didn’t know if he could forgive them for failing to do so.
Even in his anger he struggled with his concern that Mitty be safe. The Brryn were free now, and no one could predict what they would do. Their chamber was destroyed, and Mitty had said the Brryn woman had disappeared. She didn’t know where she had gone. Perhaps that meant Mitty was no longer a danger to the woman, and she would forget about Mitty. Rigo fretted that that might not be the case. The actions of the Brryn up to now suggested that she would not forget a slight. Rigo hoped Jeen and Nycoh would see to Mitty. Rigo was confident they would, but even so, he felt he was letting her down. On the other hand, he knew he would become even more upset if he were to return just now. He would have to hope he could get past the ache inside soon. Daim was probably right. It most likely wouldn’t be very long before they would discover just how bad it was going to get.
Almost two glass later, Rigo was calmer, but still stubbornly unwilling to bend or forgive what he saw as betrayal. Needing to speak with someone, he set off for Sedfair, where he found Ardra and Lyes. They had already been informed of events by Debi, who had returned from the valley much earlier. Even though they had heard of Rigo’s transformation, seeing him with his lavender hair was quite a shock for them.
“Does Nycoh look like you?” Lyes asked.
“You mean the hair?” Rigo asked. “Pretty much. We still don’t know exactly what it means or why it happened so suddenly.” Rigo knew that Nycoh had informed Lyes of what had been happening to her over the past weeks.
“Does it bother her?” Lyes asked, the concern evident in his voice. She had, after all, tried to mask the presence of the lavender hairs before.
&
nbsp; “Not anymore, but how you react when she returns will be important to her,” Rigo said.
“I thought she would be back by now,” Lyes said. “When Debi returned, I expected Nycoh to follow soon. Is something wrong?”
“I left her at the Outpost with a bit of a problem,” Rigo said. Then he explained what he, Mitty, and Queen Mos’pera had known and how he had stormed off.
“It sounds like they had no choice,” Ardra said softly, trying to console Rigo.
Rigo wanted to lash out and shout there was always a choice, but he simply nodded.
“We need to tell Fen,” he said to Lyes, knowing the youth should hear about Ash’urn from them. “He’s going to take this badly.”
When Rigo left Sedfair a couple of glass later, Lyes and Ardra were trying to implement their emergency plans. There was a great deal of fear in the Guild members about what the three escaped Brryn might do. The extent of their powers was unknown, but there was little doubt they were stronger than any of the wizards or Casters. The ease with which the one Brryn had slipped off the blocking bands was all the proof they needed.
Back at the Outpost, Rigo was torn when he learned that Jeen had taken Mitty into Sulen to the castle to stay with her. He had missed Nycoh in crossing the Ruins. Daim said she had gone to Sedfair to be with Lyes. Not willing to swallow his anger, Rigo refused to go in search of Mitty, and instead went with Daim to the infirmary to see what the medical wizards had learned about the rescued wizards and Casters.
“They all have one of the embedded crystals,” Ashli explained. “We decided we simply are unable to remove them without permanently damaging their minds. Our healing magic would not be up to the task of repairing any damage. They would be mindless afterwards, assuming they lived at all.”
“There’s nothing that can be done for them?” Daim asked. “As long as those crystals are in place, we have to assume the Brryn can establish control of them again.”
Ashli nodded. “We took one of the victims to the old Dunerider village. As Rigo suggested the Duneriders understood what we wanted, even given the limited communication, and one of them removed the crystal from the victim we had brought to them. I assume we can get them to do the same to the rest.”
“How did the removal go?” Rigo asked hopefully.
“It is too early to be certain. I think we are going to find some residual damage. The mindless stare is gone, and the victim can communicate, but he is not as sharp as before. Perhaps his condition will improve in time. I also wonder if the removal can be successful in all cases. If we proceed along that path, we could lose a number of those we have the Duneriders operate on. Those who survive are likely not to be the same as before they were taken. We have to be prepared for that.”
“They are as good as dead as they are,” Daim said. “We need to take that chance. We cannot have them as potential tools of the Brryn.”
“That’s what Tara said earlier,” Ashli agreed. “She asked that Burke be the next one we have the Duneriders act on. I wanted to get your approval before proceeding.”
“See to it as soon as possible,” Daim commanded. “There are only the three Duneriders, and we cannot know if the Brryn will somehow take control of them as well.”
Ashli nodded her understanding.
As Daim and Rigo walked back toward the upper levels, Daim said, “You should go to Mitty. She was very upset by your departure a while ago.”
Rigo nodded, and they went their separate directions. Rigo made a Bypass, but instead of going into Sulen and the castle where he would find Mitty, he headed into Kellmore to the Orphanage where he would find Kaler and Daria. The wound was too raw. He wasn’t yet ready to face Mitty.
Chapter 71
The ceremony they held for Ash’urn was much smaller than they wished, and far from what he deserved. Per his wishes, he had been cremated. The formal ceremony was held at the castle in Sulen by order of the King and Queen, with only a small inner circle aware that it was planned. Given the uncertainty of attack since the escape of the three Brryn, it had been deemed unwise to circulate the plan and form a large gathering. That might present altogether too tempting a target for the Brryn woman and her two companions. Ash’urn’s longtime friends and traveling companions were there, of course. Rigo, Jeen, Nycoh, Daria, and Kaler lead the list. Daim also came, as did a half dozen of Ash’urn’s fellow scholars who were asked to come to an unplanned meeting. They didn’t know what was going on until they arrived.
From across the Ruins came Ardra, Lyes, and Fen. In addition, much to Rigo’s surprise, was the former Queen of Sedfair, their old friend Rosul. Mitty joined with her countrymen who stood on the opposite side of the aisle. Rigo was with Shara, who was having a hard time of it, despite having almost expected this to happen when Ash’urn had last left her. Only Nycoh and Rigo knew her secret. Jeen had no idea that Ash’urn had already been dying, a secret Rigo had promised to keep but which Nycoh felt he should share with Mitty. She explained that Mitty was taking this hard as well, especially since she had allowed it to happen. Part of Rigo wished to comfort her, while part of him felt her discomfort was just.
Ash’urn hadn’t been a man who cared much for formality, but he would have been pleased with the words spoken about him by his friends. The situation, and nature of the ceremony didn’t provide much opportunity for words between the guests, however, and Rigo and Mitty exchanged only a brief cool greeting. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the ashes which had been divided into two containers were given to Rigo and Shara, and to Lyes and Fen. They would be spread in each of the two lands. Ash’urn had made an impression in both regions. When Lyes and the others left for Sedfair, Mitty went with them. When Rigo tried to object, Mitty stared him down and indicated her safety was her concern, not his. All of a sudden he realized the situation between himself and Mitty had gotten a whole lot worse. Now he wondered if his anger had taken him too far. What if something happened to her and he wasn’t there to help?
As the others left, both Daim and Jeen approached Rigo once again with the need for him to reconcile this matter with Mitty. He had been thinking along those same lines, but being pushed simply caused him to shrug, and said he would think about it.
“Rigo, you must stop this,” Jeen insisted. “Ash’urn meant as much to the rest of us, even Mitty. You know that. She was placed in an impossible situation. She had no choice. You are making her suffer even more than she already has.”
Rigo couldn’t decide if Jeen’s harsh tone was the result of the constant headache she’d claimed to have since attempting the Linking with the Brryn wizard, or whether it was because she thought him to be in the wrong and had sided with Mitty. He expected the latter. They had been friends for some time now, and he wasn’t surprised she would defend her.
“She has to apologize and swear never to hold back such information from me ever again,” Rigo insisted. “Then maybe we can talk.”
“She is among other things, a Seer,” Daim said. “You must accept that is simply not an option open to her. Seers are cursed with seeing the implications of such revelations. Often what we would want to know and believe they should reveal, will result in even more disastrous outcomes. You have dealt with Queen Mos’pera often enough to understand this.”
Rigo didn’t know how to respond. He understood everything that was being said, but he couldn’t deny his feelings either.
“I promised Shara I’d go with her,” he finally said, and turned away.
Two days later a small group gathered once again to consider their situation. Daim and Rigo were present. Nycoh and Lyes had come from Sedfair where they had been together. Jeen was supposed to be at the meeting, but was late. They elected to begin without her. Fear was the foremost topic that needed to be discussed. Wizards and Casters alike were planning to flee and go into hiding. A great many already had, a large number of them to places undisclosed. Most expected an attack from the three Brryn who had escaped, and that the attack would unveil powers for which t
hey had no defense.
The leadership of the Guild and the Outpost was actually supportive of the wide dispersal of their members. Until they knew what they were facing, it was prudent to limit how many were gathered in a single place. One of the topics planned for this meeting was whether they should continue to use the Outpost for such meetings. While they could flee quickly via a Bypass should the need arise, the place was certainly a target for the Brryn, and they couldn’t be confident the Brryn couldn’t follow even a masked Bypass.
As had been done in the past, the old tracking bracelets had been brought into service so those in hiding could be contacted as needed. Five different bracelets had been distributed. One was a call to battle, urging the far-flung wizards to return to the location of the triggering signal to support an ongoing battle. Another was a clear signal to flee and hide, warning of an attack that was disastrous and which they would be unable to stand against. Another was intended to alert those in hiding that the Outpost or Guild had fallen, while the remaining two were set aside for selected contact of key individuals. It was important to approach the problem this way, because they could not be certain what information the Brryn might be able to extract from any prisoners they took. Recent experience had shown they learned a great deal from probing the minds of their captives.
Daim summarized the results of the crystal removal from the brains of the wizards and Casters who had been recovered from the jungle valley. The Duneriders had been left undisturbed, which had allowed them to carefully attempt removal of the crystals from all of the former captives. Twenty-six had died in the process of removal. All but two of the remaining individuals were recovering. Two had emerged with the minds of retarded children, and did not appear to be improving. The rest showed varying states of their former selves. Burke was among those recovering. He was better than many, but clearly not his former self. He tended to become confused, and would forget who certain people were. At the moment, he was somewhere with Tara who was looking after him. The medical team had doubts any of them would be very useful in the future. In the best case scenario, a long recovery period was expected.