It seemed sensible to leave the overgrown road they were on, even if it didn’t look much travelled, so they rode off under the trees until the road was comfortably behind them. Shiri silently communicated with Rancid, explaining what she wanted the mule to do. By the time the situation had been conveyed to Rancid and he’d passed it on to Duran and the horses had been unsaddled, the sun was almost ready to set. The three companions decided to cold camp for the night and start the rescue mission the following morning. They took turns at standing watch during the night, each of them spotting occasional lights flickering from the direction of the citadel.
Daylight started to grey the horizon as Kuiran and Shiri quietly arose. Cringle had taken the last watch and was ready to leave but sat waiting silently as the other two packed up their blankets and ate sparingly of some dried fruit and nuts. Finished, Kuiran and Shiri picked up their water bottles and checked they were full before passing the straps over their shoulders. Cringle checked all his knives and blades, Shiri retrieved her bow and quiver full of arrows from her pack and Kuiran merely swung his staff.
Cringle handed Shiri the little wooden box with the magic artefact in it and winked at her with a smile on his face.
Shiri looked at her comrades.
“Remember I’m out front, don’t walk too quickly.”
Kuiran spoke solemnly.
“The Arm is ready,” looking from one to the other as he offered his huge right hand, palm down before him.
“The Shield is ready,” came Shiri’s response as she placed her small hand on Kuiran’s.
Cringles brown, wiry hand was placed on top, completing the trio as he intoned.
“The Servant is ready.”
Then the three in unison.
“For Arwhon, Fate be with us.”
17. The Puzzle of Fate.
Arwhon was deeply weary. His suspended animation had not lasted very long as the continual attacks on his protective wards by the collected Q’Herindam Mages didn’t allow for it. The protective shell of energy had to be reinforced at regular intervals to keep it strong but that wasn’t what tired him. It was being where he was which wearied him. He couldn’t rest properly, the attacks on him were kept up continually by one Mage or another day and night. He wasn’t ill or starving, as the Power he drew from deep within the earth kept his body in adequate shape but he was mentally suffering.
The Q’Herindam Mages had outsmarted him. Arwhon had thought of them as being similar to the M’Herindar, who they had broken away from all those years ago, relying mainly on Earthmagic. It was not so, the Q’Herindam had amassed a huge amount of lore on all types of magic, including Firemagic. Although the Q’Herindam practitioners were not well accomplished in its use, they were still able to turn up the heat. His own mistake, he now realised, was in being too cocky and underestimating the ability of the Q’Herindam. He should have known it wasn’t going to be easy to defeat them and really, he should have brought Shiri and Cringle with him but Cringle had no protection against magic and Shiri would have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of Q’Herindam Mages.
What a predicament.
His protective shell shuddered, the Q’Herindam were at it again. Arwhon concentrated on maintaining the status quo. Even the Firemagic he inherited from Durhain had not been enough to overcome the collective strength of the Q’Herindam. Now he was unsure as to how long he could hold out for and began to wonder if he should in fact destroy everything rather than have evil run riot.
Maybe another week.
Maybe not.
Kuiran and Cringle were about two hundred yards from the front gates of the Fortress when the first spell came at them. It seemed as though magically hurling big rocks or huge lumps of earth was the easiest Earthmagic to accomplish and therefore the most commonly used. It was Kuiran who spotted the flying objects first and alerted Cringle, who blew them off course with a huge gust of wind as he and Kuiran walked steadily forward on course for the gates. There was no attempt to hide their position as they wanted the Q’Herindam to engage them and not look elsewhere, as it was possible one of the Mages may see through the invisibility spell around Shiri. Fire streamed toward them, blown by a magical wind and travelling at speed. Kuiran raised his staff, the magical alloy at the end of it directing his spell to the target and doused the fire with ease, all available water in the area condensing into a torrential spray at the merest tapping of his finger. Cringle merely absorbed the energy from the wind of its passage.
Shiri, the little artefact held in her hand and hopefully invisible to all, approached the gates to the Fortress. They appeared to be brand new, the thick, steel-bound wood still fresh from being worked and the iron of the hinges clean and black with shiny bolt heads.
It seemed as though the magic of Old Karti’s artefact was working. There had been no spells sent against her and the alarm had not been raised. The two gates towering over her were massive and held to the walls by huge hinges top and bottom while just the steel lock itself dwarfed her slender M’Herindar frame. Shiri squatted up against the gate, considering her options. Kuiran and Cringle were slowly approaching the Q’Herindam citadel, fighting off more and stronger magical attacks as they advanced. The gate needed to be broached.
Now.
Shiri drew Power from the earth at her feet, feeling the heat as she loaded as much into herself as she could without damaging her body. She sent gentle probes into the stone of the gate pillars but they were warded against magic. It was no good trying to attack them. The ground beneath the gate was covered with huge slabs of stone, making a pavement for traffic. She felt beneath the surface with her abilities and was gratified to feel raw earth below, not protected in any fashion from Earthmagic.
Kuiran and Cringle were drawing even closer, it was now or never.
Shiri exerted Earthmagic, backed by fully charged Power, as she stepped away from the gates. The ground beneath them did nothing for a moment then seemed to buckle and rise in a large dome, inexorably pushing upward. The gates resisted the pressure from below for what seemed an eternity to Shiri, as groaning and slowly twisting they absorbed the force of her magic. For a moment it appeared as though Shiri’s magic was not going to be strong enough but she bent to the task and added more Power to the force of her spell. The two gates could hold no longer and with a mighty splintering crash they were torn off their hinges, one falling into the Fortress and the other falling outward.
Magic sprayed across the opening, huge rocks firing through, accompanied by gouts of red hot flame borne on fierce winds. Anyone standing in that opening would have been killed immediately. Shiri could not help but marvel at Arwhon’s ability to have held off the combined might of the Q’Herindam Mages for so long. It was not going to be easy to gain entrance to the now open courtyard but they had to try.
“Split up,” she yelled at Kuiran and Cringle who approached the fallen gates together. “It will make it more difficult for them to hit us.”
Her two companions must have heard her for they rapidly parted company and continued advancing, now with more space between them. Shiri didn’t wait and taking advantage of her invisibility, scurried through the gateway during a short lull in the barrage of magic firing through the opening. Inside she saw the courtyard was shredded and not only the courtyard but also the buildings surrounding it. Chunks of stone had been torn from the facades of walls and corners of buildings were missing, melted away. There had been a mighty battle here but now no other sign was visible of Arwhon. She could feel him though, somehow. Dark crusted, molten rock pooled in the centre of the ruined expanse of the courtyard in front of her and Shiri could feel the perturbations in the red hot liquid rock. She paused, out of the way of most of the magic aimed at the opening where the destroyed gates hung and looked for cover. A small archway to her right seemed opportune and she moved over to it, stepping into the shadows. Earthmagic once more allowed her a subsurface look into the molten pool as she examined the anomaly in its centre.
There. A sphere of energy, impenetrable, deflecting everything thrown against it. Shiri knew Arwhon was in there, even if she couldn’t see, hear or feel him. There was nothing she could do for the occupant of the sphere right now but join with Kuiran and Cringle to battle the Q’Herindam. Looking out from her position of cover, Shiri chose her attack. She didn’t need force for this, just accuracy and surprise. The Q’Herindam Mages were busy coping with Kuiran and Cringle who were proving a formidable team. Tiny shards of ice formed in the air and were blown toward the Q’Herindam like hundreds of sharp knives as Kuiran and Cringle concentrated on combining their abilities to best effect. Some ice shards met their target and another Q’Herindam Mage fell with slashed and bleeding flesh but the attacking magic from the Q’Herindam was unrelenting. No quarter was given, the Mages had numbers on their side making it difficult for Kuiran and Cringle to launch offensives. A stalemate was quickly developing with Kuiran and Cringle stuck in the gateway and neither side able to gain the upper hand.
Shiri smiled grimly. The games she used to play in the Darkwood with her peers were excellent training for such as this. She stayed in the shadow of the doorway and drew Power, reaching with her mind to pick up a small, solid rock and hurl it with mental ferocity at a Mage she had picked out. However, instead of just sending the rock on its trajectory and relying on luck for it to hit the subject, she stayed with it, using magical tweaks to adjust its course.
The Mage she aimed at never saw the rock coming, as the projectile was a lot smaller than the rest of the debris currently flying through the air. It struck him on the side of the head with massive force and he dropped instantly. Lifeless. At least Shiri hoped so. Immediately, Earthmagic came back at her, the watching Q’Herindam Mages guarding others of their number must have picked up the trace of her magic. If she hadn’t warded herself she would have been killed.
Muttering an unladylike curse Shiri turned and ran along the arcade until she was a couple of archways away from the position she had occupied previously. Needing both her hands free now, Shiri tucked the magical artefact into an empty pocket of her Darkwood cloak, hoping she didn’t have to hold on to it for the thing to work.
No more magic lashed at her wards, so believing herself still invisible to others, Shiri unlimbered her bow and nocked an arrow. The next target she chose was a Mage who seemed to be paying more attention to the pool of red hot stone in the centre of the courtyard than to Kuiran and Cringle, who were battling for all their worth. The arrow winged its way to the target she had chosen and Shiri had the satisfaction of seeing the Q’Herindam Mage drop as the arrow buried into his right eye.
The air filled with flying debris and Shiri had to help Kuiran and Cringle deal with the attack they were under by pinning down those Mages who were using magic against them. Arrow after arrow left her bow in quick succession, each one finding and killing its target. The Q’Herindam Mages ran around the galleries above like ants, more appearing by the minute. Word must have gone out and off duty or sleeping Mages woken to join in the battle which raged ever more fiercely. How Arwhon had coped on his own was a source of wonder. His magical abilities must be amazing.
Inside the sphere of energy, Arwhon suddenly came to full awareness. He felt disoriented for a moment until he recognised the dynamics of the magic around him had shifted. His protective sphere was under less magical pressure than it had been. In fact, he now had spare magical power to use.
Arwhon made more heat below the energy sphere and the convection waves in the molten rock slowly raised his protective force field to the surface. From the inside he could see what was happening around him now. Looking toward the remains of the gates where the Q’Herindam Mages were now directing their magic, Arwhon spotted Kuiran and Cringle but not the Kuiran and Cringle he once knew. The pair of them were wielding magic, working together as a team. It seemed Kuiran had found his Watermagic and that Cringle had somehow acquired Airmagic. Of course! The Sapphire which was Escarion’s; Shiri must have successfully used it on Cringle.
The thought of Shiri caused a minor lack of concentration and it was a good job he held his defences automatically as Arwhon failed to notice the spell which came roaring in to strike his protective sphere, now floating on the molten pool, shaking it with the force levelled at him. He looked around, trying to locate his love and unable to, assumed she was outside the walls. It seemed as though Kuiran and Cringle were not making any headway. It was time to come out of defensive mode and join in battle with the Q’Herindam again.
Shiri saw the floating sphere gradually thin and lose its radiance until the occupant inside became visible. There stood Arwhon, helm on his head, chain mail gleaming and sword strapped to his back. It wasn’t there long as Arwhon drew it over his shoulder and stood regarding the pattern etched into the blade. The magic coming at him was deflected automatically, like rain off glass, as he looked around the scene of the battle.
Another of Shiri’s arrows found its home, a Q’Herindam Mage falling to the feathered shaft as yet another Mage was lined up. Her targets were busy and unable to track where the single arrows were coming from. Arwhon waved toward Kuiran and Cringle and gave a thumbs up sign to let them know he was alright before turning back to assess targets. Shiri had been unacknowledged by Arwhon and felt a little sorry for herself until she realised the artefact in her pocket rendered the bearer invisible and Arwhon had simply not seen her.
Krissi had joined in the fighting now, having found her link with Arwhon again. She flew along the Q’Herindam galleries in front of the Mages, trying to grab any Mage leaning out and disrupting their spells, which slid off her harmlessly while the return spells from those below inflicted more and more damage.
Arwhon pointed his sword at one of the galleries running around the courtyard. His Arm and Servant and, unbeknown to him, his Shield were keeping the Q’Herindam Mages busy, too busy to deal with what he now unleashed from the tip of his sword, especially made for him by Chalc, his previous Servant. The shaft of white hot fire spouting from the tip of Arwhon’s blade cut into the stone of the galleries surrounding the courtyard, taking the Q’Herindam by surprise. As chunks of walkway fell away from the galleries, along with clinging evil Mages, confusion spread among the Q’Herindam.
The situation was deteriorating for those defending the Fortress, defeat now seemed a possibility, until at the top of the highest tower, a figure dressed all in white appeared and got down on his knees, arms raised to the heavens in supplication.
The sky darkened above and a surreal quiet descended, all magic faltering then finally ceasing as those on both sides stopped casting spells to observe the phenomenon. All around the Fortress an opaque wall formed, totally enclosing the space inside. Arwhon lowered his sword, its fire extinguished and made his way over to Kuiran and Cringle. Shiri thought about putting the artefact of invisibility away in its box and rushing over to Arwhon but being cautious by nature, she decided to remain cloaked in invisibility.
As Arwhon reached his Servant and Arm, a giant shape started to coalesce in the centre of the courtyard. It floated above the ground and was tall enough to see over the walls. Arwhon made himself ready for whatever was about to come but could never prepare for what he saw when the figure finally solidified.
Mehgrin!
It must be Mehgrin. The figure was the same as all descriptions of her but she was supposed to have been killed alongside Durhain all those millennia ago, under the mountain range named after her and now she seemed to be right here. The apparition spoke in a booming voice.
“Why have you called me from my rest? Has the entire race of Man finally been killed off?”
The bearded man in the white robes on the top of the tower rose to his feet.
“Lady Mehgrin. There are those opposing us who have strong magics. They are here, in the courtyard of the Fortress and we cannot defeat them. I woke you to ask for your help in dealing with these Men.”
“Man. It’s still my ambition to wipe them from the plan
et. Durhain would never allow it but he’s gone.” She looked down. “Are these the ones causing problems? One of the Men and the girl look like M’Herindar to me.”
Shiri realised that the device she was using to cloak her did not stop this large being seeing her so she put it back in its box. As soon as she let it go and stepped out of the doorway, Arwhon and the others were able to see her. Arwhon called out anxiously and waved. Shiri signalled back then looked up at the figure, waiting. The apparition spoke again.
“I was mistaken, only one M’Herindar and a Man with M’Herindar eyes. So, all but the M’Herindar are to die. Are you happy with that Priest?”
The Q’Herindam supplicant in white bowed deeply.
“We ask only your help mighty Mehgrin. Whatever you deem necessary.”
The giant female form nodded and turned to look down and regard Arwhon far below her.
“There is something familiar about this one. I don’t know what it is but I will start with him.”
A glow surrounded Arwhon, intensifying moment by moment. A look of consternation passed over the giant Mehgrin’s face and she appeared to redouble her efforts to lay a spell on him. Shiri was aghast. She had just found Arwhon again and now, once more, he was being harmed. That was Shiri’s last thought as everything inside the opaque wall around the Fortress stopped dead, all motion stilled as time froze. The figure of Mehgrin shrank rapidly until she stood in front of Arwhon, who now spoke in a voice not his own, breaking the enveloping silence.
“Ah, Mehgrin. I always wondered if I had completely rid the world of you or if an Avatar of yours was still abroad. This body I occupy is suffused with all my magic but is not aware I was resurrected in him. It appears we still disagree on whether we were here for us or the world’s inhabitants. It’s time to consult our makers.”
The Q'Herindam Page 34