by Tom Larcombe
Anselm turned into the darkness and walked over to join Vadoma. He looked back once, to wave to Merlin, and then sent Rein up into the night sky to scout. Vadoma, Besnik, and Anselm got the freed prisoners underway and vanished into the night.
Merlin joined the remains of his party. Gunter, Nimue, and Verruckt were waiting for him.
“Anselm was definitely right about one thing,” Merlin said. “Darkness is wasting and we want to be gone from this place before dawn. Lead on Nimue.”
* * *
Dawn caught Merlin and his companions in the midst of a hilly forest. They discussed where to make camp when the sky first began to lighten. When no suitable area presented itself and the sun was coming over the horizon, Verruckt stopped.
“If you'll let me provide, I can give us a secure campsite for the daytime hours.”
“How so?” Merlin asked.
“So long as none of you have a fear of tight spaces, I'll simply create one out of the hillside for us to stay in.”
Merlin looked at Nimue, who shook her head.
“No such fear for me,” she said.
He glanced at Gunter, who simply shrugged.
“Go ahead Verruckt, let's see what you're planning.”
The Dverger approached a rock outcropping on the nearest hill. He placed his hands on the rock and went utterly still. The stone began to move away from his hands, tiny waves of it cresting away in slow motion. Within ten minutes he cleared out an area about six feet by eight feet.
“There we are, plenty of room for all of us, if we're friendly. Once we're in I'll close the hole with a thin layer of stone. Take care of any necessities now though, we won't want to open up again until dark.”
Merlin stepped inside the miniature cave.
“Very impressive Verruckt, and fast also.”
“Bah, it's just part of the way we mine. Much easier to preserve the things we want if we aren't beating on them with pickaxes like cretins.”
“Nevertheless, well done. I think this will do fine for staying out of sight during the daylight.”
Verruckt didn't quite beam at the compliment, but he did appear pleased.
“Plus, I'll get to have some sleep surrounded by stone again. All that open air makes me jittery,” he said.
It was several minutes before they were ready to be sealed in but the procedure took only another minute once they were ready.
The day passed slowly. Verruckt insisted that no watch was necessary and slept straight through. The others each stood a watch, splitting the day three ways. Merlin didn't begrudge Verruckt the sleep. Despite his claims, creating the cave seemed to have tired him out. The only drawback was the discovery that Verruckt snored loudly when he was exhausted.
The next night they exited the cave. Verruckt stoned it over again to cover their trail when they were ready to leave. As they walked through the night, the sound of patrols searching occasionally echoed through the woods.
“They're searching for us, or something,” Gunter said.
“Knowing what we're here to do, I'd guess it's us,” Merlin said. “Although I might be mistaken and they may just be looking for whoever raided their mine. It's heartening that they're here though, that suggests that Anselm and the others may have gotten away clean.”
“Only you could find the bright side in being hunted by enemy patrols,” Gunter replied.
Merlin shrugged.
“Are they really a threat to us? Even if they find us, what can they do? We can all create a shield that will protect us from bullets and even partially from grenades. You've your storm rifle and the other three of us have offensive spells. I don't believe we're in danger. Being caught would be an inconvenience at best.”
“This assumes that we see them, that they don't fire from behind us without warning, and a host of other things,” Gunter said. “I'm uncomfortable with the situation.”
Merlin used his Sight to check Gunter. This time the discomfort was for real and not the results of the demon in the knife.
As a matter of fact, Merlin thought, we haven't seen any activity from that one since I put the sun crystal in the pouch. I guess that's an effective deterrent for it.
“What do you suggest then Gunter?”
“Ambush a search party, use their belongings and your illusions to appear as them. Then we can travel by day and make better speed. Plus if we're discovered we would most likely be face to face with those who discover us and better able to defend ourselves.”
“Do you mean to kill them? I've been trying to avoid bloodshed, thinking that the pursuit would be less enthusiastic that way,” Merlin said.
“Merlin, I gave a poison gas grenade to one of the prisoners staying behind. If he did what he wanted, there have been deaths already.”
“Plus,” Verruckt added, “if the SS went into that mine at all, there will have been more deaths still.”
“Nimue, how close are we?” Merlin asked.
“Three nights if we keep traveling at night. If we could travel during the day, probably just one day.”
Gunter looked at Merlin expectantly. Merlin sighed and shrugged.
“Alright, we'll do it your way. We'll use this clearing and lure them in. Nimue, can you conceal the three of you outside of it? I'll build a fire and sit here waiting, shields up. When they come in, take them.”
Gunter looked satisfied. He didn't even want to modify the plan very much.
Merlin gathered some dead wood and sat on a log. He started the wood burning with a minor spell and then raised his shields and waited, staring into the fire.
The wait was short and Gunter was correct. The first sign of a patrol approaching was when they fired at Merlin. The bullets bounced off his shield but Merlin allowed himself to be knocked to the ground by the impact, then he remained still.
He heard shouted commands out in the woods.
“Spread out, search the area. There's supposed to be more than one.”
Rather than let his plan be disrupted Merlin placed an enchantment on the fire. Any of the patrol that looked at it would be drawn to it, their unconscious minds bringing them closer to it with each step.
Before long the seven men of the patrol were all in the clearing. The leader shook his head.
“What are you doing here? I told you to fan out and search the woods!”
The patrol turned to move back out into the woods but the fire had stolen their night vision. When Gunter opened up with his storm rifle, they started dropping.
The leader strode over to Merlin and pointed his pistol at him.
“Whoever you are, I make sure he's dead if you don't stop.”
{Gunter, I'm shielded. Keep firing.} Merlin sent.
When Gunter's gun fired again, the leader pulled the trigger. The bullet struck Merlin's shield and ricocheted back off, striking the leader in the lower leg. He looked shocked and began to speak.
“What's this? What's going—”
The pain stopped him in the middle of his sentence. Gunter's rifle ensured that he would never complete it.
The patrol was down, all of them. Lack of night vision and a prepared ambush had taken them completely by surprise. Gunter moved back into the clearing with Verruckt and Nimue following.
“What happened there Merlin? I saw him fire and then he just stood still.”
“The bullet ricocheted from my shield and struck him in the leg. Your shot took him moments later.”
“I didn't realize a shield could do that.”
“The bullet would have to strike at exactly the right angle to ricochet directly back at him. Most of the time they ricochet off at a lesser angle and lose some momentum.”
Gunter nodded, filing that bit of information away for future reference.
“Well then, I think we should get to it. We'll use their gear to look like them. Then we can camp for the rest of the night and strike out at dawn. If Nimue's right we'll make it to our objective before nightfall,” he said.
The group went
through the patrol's belongings and appropriated those items necessary to impersonate an SS patrol. They traded off watches until first light and, with each member having gotten a bit of rest, set off at a brisk pace come dawn.
* * *
Chapter 20
Throughout the day they saw several other patrols at a distance. Each time they continued on, drawing little or no attention to themselves. An hour before dusk they came to the crest of another hill.
“This is it,” Nimue said.
“It looks to be a pleasant and peaceful place,” Merlin replied.
“So's a graveyard.” Gunter said.
As Merlin tried to cross the top of the hill, he found himself walking sideways along the crest.
What's going on? This isn't where I intended to go, he thought.
He concentrated on stepping down off of the crest and found himself turned sideways again. He used his Sight and found that there was an aversion ward surrounding the valley, preventing entry.
Merlin raised a shield against magic and tried to step down onto the slope again. As he descended into the valley he reflected that Gunter was probably closer to the mark than he was. Each step set his skin to crawling. He looked intently into the valley and saw no movement. There was no birdsong either, and the air was clammy and still.
“You'll need to shield against magic to actually enter,” he called back to his companions. “There's an aversion ward along the crest of the hill.”
Merlin heard Nimue shielding Gunter and herself. Verruckt just grumbled and walked right through the ward.
On the far side of the valley stood a manor and barn. Even from a distance it was obvious that they were in poor condition, nearly collapsed. Merlin steeled himself against the results of walking into the valley and headed for them. The group followed but there were several complaints from Gunter and Nimue who felt the same things Merlin did.
Merlin used his Sight again, this time to scan the area. Small wisps of magic, looking like fog on a misty morning, covered the whole valley. He strengthened his shield against magic and the unsettling feelings faded.
“If you strengthen your shield, then the rest of the feelings go away. It'll be a problem to hold it at that strength for very long but maybe we can find the source and remove it,” he said.
“Merlin, I can't make both Gunter's and my own shield that strong,” Nimue replied.
“Let's step back out of the valley and I'll add a shield against magic to Gunter's crystal. It shouldn't take long since the crystal is already prepared to hold shields. Then we can each hold our own while we search for the source.”
They went back over the crest and dropped their shields. Without tapping his crystals or the scale Merlin thought he could probably hold a shield that strong for about a day. Nimue could probably do half that and Verruckt seemed unaffected by the magic.
He's probably unconsciously draining it, Merlin thought.
Merlin settled in to improve Gunter's crystal but by the time he was done, it was dark.
“We make a cold camp tonight. Tomorrow we'll search the valley for the source of those feelings and remove it if possible. If we can we should remove those but leave the aversion ward. That will ensure we're undisturbed while we work,” he said.
In the morning Merlin decided that there was a better way to search.
“Rather than wasting energy by holding shields while we search, why don't we see if we can find the general area the spells are set in by walking the crest and trying to Sense areas with a higher than normal amount of magic. The spells that are causing the unease looked like wisps of fog to me, they'll probably look the same to you Nimue. I'm sorry Verruckt but I don't know how you Sense.”
“It's hard to explain. I Sense the continuity of things, most Dverger do to one degree or another. It makes it easier for us to mine when we know where things start and end.”
“I'm afraid I don't quite understand, so you'll need to determine a way to use that to help search if you can.”
“It should be easy. I should be able to spot where magic is most heavily concentrated by the breaks in continuity. Although I won't be of much use until we're down in the valley. My range is rather limited compared to what you were describing.”
Merlin nodded.
“Here's what we'll do then. Gunter and Verruckt, you two stand physical guard and watch for patrols. Nimue and I will walk the crest of the hill, without crossing over, and look for heavier concentrations of the magic causing the unease. It will probably be thickest right near the source.”
Nimue and Merlin walked in different directions along the crest of the hill. When they moved beyond the area that contained the magic causing the unease, they turned back. Then they traded ends and each walked the route the other one took the first time. When they returned again their observations were very similar.
“It's strongest near that old abandoned manor house, at least that's how it looks to me,” Nimue said.
Merlin nodded.
“We're in agreement then. I think it's coming out of the ground floor or maybe the cellar, if it has one.”
Merlin called in Verruckt and Gunter. He informed them what he and Nimue discovered and told them to get their shields set. He and Nimue raised their own shields and the group entered the valley again.
Once they were near to the manor house, Verruckt stopped for a moment.
“There,” he said, pointing at an area near the middle of the wall, “down a few feet also. There's a cellar or some sort of hollowed out area down there. That's where the spell is coming from.”
Merlin glanced at the house. He wasn't willing to try entering through the front door since the whole thing looked like it could fall down at any moment.
“I'm going to walk around the house and see if there's a direct cellar entrance,” he said.
On the other side of the house a set of angled doors led to a staircase down. Merlin opened them cautiously, finding that they were still sound and in much better condition than the rest of the house. He started to walk down the steps before turning back to get the rest of the group.
“Verruckt, Nimue, I'm not entirely convinced that there isn't some sort of trap here. If we found this so easily then whoever set it up might have anticipated that and left some surprises for us. I'd like the two of you to come down with me and scan for magical traps. Gunter, I think if there's anything waiting it will be magical, not physical. You can relax for a while, the patrols won't be entering the valley with the aversion ward on it.”
Gunter nodded and wandered over to look at the remains of a small garden situated between the house and barn.
Merlin led the way down the steps. When he got to the lower doors he examined them with his Sight before opening them.
Light flooded into the cellar. It illuminated the central area while leaving the corners in darkness. Merlin edged into the room, staying in the lighted area. He scanned the room with his Sight and immediately found the spell creating the unease. Despite the heavier shield he was using, his skin felt as though it were covered in insects and he was struck with the desire to turn around and leave.
Verruckt and Nimue came into the room behind him. They both immediately noted the source of the unease and then began to scan the rest of the room.
“Merlin, there's some sort of artifact in the corner here. Very faint signs but it looks like it's tied to the spell we're after,” Nimue said.
“She's right, there's a potential break in continuity that will be created if the spell causing the unease is stopped. Don't know exactly what it'll do, but I'm sure it's unpleasant.”
“We need more light in here,” Merlin said, “then maybe we can see that artifact and do something about it.”
Nimue drew out a sun crystal and illuminated the room. Merlin looked around and shuddered.
“Gunter was closer than he thought comparing this place to a graveyard.”
The spell creating the unease came from a long-rotted corpse. The only parts rem
aining were a skeleton with leathery bits hanging off of it, and the spell inscribed directly into its bones.
In the corner opposite the skeleton stood a scarecrow in chain mail armor. A crossbow and broadsword hung from the belt that held the bottom of the armor in place.
“I can guess what happens if the spell is interrupted,” Verruckt said.
“True, but a good wizard would have a shield up when disarming the spell, so let's investigate a bit more before we do anything. I can't believe that whoever set this up wouldn't have thought of that,” Nimue replied.
They examined the scarecrow and found nothing special about it that would threaten a shielded wizard. Merlin thought to examine the weaponry itself; the weapons were enchanted to keep them in good condition but when he looked at the bolts for the crossbow, the mystery was solved.
“Don't touch them, but look at the tips on these crossbow bolts. Am I mistaken or are they enchanted to dispel magic?”
Verruckt leaned in close to peer at the bolts.
“Yes, that's a standard, if very old, enchantment to dispel magic.”
“That's what I thought. So, here's the guard for the spell we want to disarm. Do we try the easy way or spend more time examining it first? I suspect there are more traps we've not found yet.”
“Back off for a moment, would you?” Verruckt said.
Merlin and Nimue backed up to the stairs. Verruckt reached out and took the quiver of crossbow bolts off the belt.
He turned and tossed it to Merlin.
“The easy way would seem to work,” he said.
“Not as well as you think, move!” Merlin replied.
The scarecrow was beginning to shift. Its limbs moved slowly at the start but they picked up speed quickly. It knocked the crossbow off its belt and drew the sword.
All three of the wizards put up physical shields as the scarecrow stepped towards Verruckt. The sword came crashing down and stopped a few inches from Verruckt's head.
“Well, you might be right about that,” Verruckt said, “now what?”
“Fire, burn it up.”
Merlin suited action to words, He created a small ball of fire and tossed it at the scarecrow. The straw caught immediately but after burning for a moment, it smoldered and went out. The burnt straw flaked away and revealed a writhing mass of fungus.