Elias nodded. “Something must have changed, or else this would have happened before. Maybe this is Mordum’s doing. Some arcane working with which we are unfamiliar.”
“Perhaps, but this isn’t the first time you’ve been struck by the paradoxical nature of time magic. Do you remember the Grimoire Infinitum? You learned its secrets and yet can remember none of the arcana because when you saved your princess and were cast from time you negated the impetus that drove you to master its lore.”
Elias swallowed a biting retort. He had thought of little else since finding himself in Illedium. A thought occurred to him as he remembered something that Leosis had told him: You were deceived, Wayfarer. “Yes, but there are other motives at work as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone wanted me to use the Grimoire, either Talinus or his Darkin masters, to create a portal between our realms. So, it had to have still happened, likely because someone wanted it to happen. If I negated my reason for going back in time, then I never would have, but that’s not what happened since I am here. There is another hand at work.”
Teah cocked her head to one side and her eyes narrowed. “So you’re suggesting that someone used some secret arcana to contain the paradox and to get rid of you at the same time?”
“It makes a kind of sense. It’s why I remember most everything except the Grimoire.”
“At least until Mordum began his meddling.”
Elias grunted his assent. “Let us not keep our old friend waiting.”
Enra and the Medicine Woman met up with Elias, Teah, and Malak, each party on their way to meet the other. The Wilder party was also joined by two men bearing bows and short-swords, both of whom had the look of seasoned veterans. Iatha wore a simple deer skin robe and bore a staff with a fist-sized smoky quartz fixed atop it. Enra’s face, throat, and arms were stained with an ochre paint. Two ancient but well-preserved daggers hung on each hip and her shortbow lay across her back.
“The Darkin use wolf-like beasts as scouts,” Iatha said. “Enra will serve as our scout. The paint will help dull her scent, so she’ll lead.”
“We’ve run into them before,” said Elias. “They also scent magic.”
Iatha nodded. “This is good. You best keep that thing sheathed then,” she said, indicating his sword with a tap from her staff.
“We don’t know how to repay your kindness,” Teah said.
“You can survive,” said Iatha, “and return to me with books.” Her teeth flashed in a quick grin. “Many books.”
“I’ll do a great deal more than that if we survive this,” Malak said with a wan smile.
Iatha let that cryptic comment go unaddressed. “Let’s be on. We’ll take you as far as the surface, but can go no further than that. The ruins are haunted by more than the spirits of the dead.”
“Lead on, Enra,” said Elias.
She gave him a toothy smile. “Just try to keep up, Outsider.”
As minutes turned into hours Elias wondered how long they would have wandered the earthen maze beneath Peidra if they had not happened upon the Wilder. For not the first time, he promised himself that he would have to explore the tunnels fully were he ever to return home.
Fortune favored them, for they had begun their ascent out of the earth toward the distant light of day without incident. Enra crept some twenty paces in front of the party, searching for any sign of trouble. Her pace slowed as they neared the surface.
Elias knew they must be close to the surface for the ambient light grew brighter and the temperature and quality of the air changed. A relief coupled with trepidation surged through him, but presently his thoughts darkened for the runes on his arm warmed. He held up his fist, which was the agreed upon signal for a full halt. Without taking the time to check if the party behind him heeded his signal, he rushed forward on his toes as fast as he dare.
Enra sensed his approach and spun about. She was already in a near crouch but now she sat upon her haunches with her back to the wall, darting looks both behind and up toward the light. She shot Elias a quizzical look.
Elias pointed to his eyes, signaling that he had detected something ahead. Enra frowned, tapped her ears and shrugged. Elias nodded—she hadn’t heard anything, and frankly nor had he, but he had learned to trust his instincts. The magic that bound him to his blade had never led him astray. He rolled up his sleeve and pointed to the runes on his forearm and then tapped the middle of his forehead.
Enra seemed to deduce his message, for she nodded, nocked an arrow and drew her bow. Elias held up a splayed hand over his head, signaling the party to prepare for combat formation. The remainder of the party took up an inverse arrow formation, with the Wilder huntsmen in the front ranks on both ends and Iatha in the center with Malak and Teah on either side of her.
Elias cleared his sword from the scabbard and eased it free, careful to minimize the ringing of steel on steel. With a nod to Enra and a reassuring wink, the pair stole down the corridor.
The tunnel opened into a makeshift cavern created by the collapse of a ruined building, with open sky beyond. A stomach-turning odor hung in the air—a foul amalgam of the putrescence of decay and the bitter scent of urine. Elias’s heart sank as he realized they had come upon a Lichlor den.
Elias sorely wished that he had some magic stored in his blade. He would have to rely upon his own wits and power to get him through the encounter. Even as he steeled his mind for battle he knew that survival was not the only goal. The Dark Fey used the Lichlor as their scouts, and they could ill afford to have that dread enemy alerted to their presence. If his skirmish with Mordum was any indication, the Darkin were not foes to be trifled with.
With their superior senses Elias knew that sneaking up on the Lichlor would be nigh impossible. Perhaps he could lure them into a trap, but he feared that at the first sign of intrusion they would alert their masters. Still, the corridor would be the best choice for a battleground. On open ground the Lichlor’s superior speed would give them advantage, and among the debris of the cave they could strike from cover. The corridor, however, would serve to channel their attack and thus see to it that they faced the beasts on a single front.
Yet the question remained how to lure them into the passageway? The answer came to him at once, for he remembered well the Lichlor’s uncanny ability to sense magic. All he need do was give them something to investigate.
Praying that the Lichlor had not already sensed them, Elias nudged Enra and signaled her to retreat.
They stole back toward the remainder of their party. Elias pressed an index finger to his lips and motioned for them to retreat down the tunnel. When they were at what he deemed a safe distance, he gathered the party into a loose huddle. “There are Lichlor ahead. We don’t stand much of a chance against them in the cave where they can flank us. We have to draw them into the tunnel.”
“But how?” asked Malak.
“We lay a trap using magic,” Elias replied. “When they come to investigate we strike.”
“What do you have in mind?” asked Teah.
Elias looked over his shoulder, anxious that the Lichlor had already sensed their intrusion. He looked back to Teah. “You know the Arcanum you tried to teach me to hide myself from view?”
“What of it?” asked Teah.
“Can you create such a shield over the entire party?”
Teah’s expression didn’t betray her, but Elias could sense her doubt. “I don’t know. It would drain a tremendous amount of my power. I don’t know how long I could hold it in place, and it would leave me unable to defend you, or myself.”
“If you can hold the shield in place long enough to draw them out, we can handle the rest. I’ve seen Enra with a bow. Assuming her fellows are as good as she, they can take down three Lichlor before they even know where we are. I can handle the rest.”
“Fear not,” said Enra, “if we have a clean shot, three will die. Amar and Grik are among the best bows we have.”
“I
will be ready to target another from cover as well,” said Iatha.
“As will I,” said Malak.
Elias looked to Teah. “What do you think?”
Teah returned Elias’s gaze without flinching. “It is a sound plan. Let’s do it.”
They reassumed a battle formation, but this time Teah led, flanked by Elias and Malak, with the Wilder in the outer ranks. As they neared the exit Teah looked to Elias and he nodded.
Teah took a deep, steadying breath and extended a hand, her palm flat and aimed ahead. As she focused the air in the tunnel became charged. Fine blond hairs separated from her flaxen braid and stood straight up, haloing her head in a soft and golden glow. The density of the energy continued to mount until Elias felt the hairs on his forearms stand to attention as well.
A shimmering, concave disk of energy formed before her palm, rippling like water, and just as diaphanous. Yet Elias knew that Teah was bending the light around them, and those on the other side of the disk would behold quite a different sight. Teah’s skin grew shiny with sweat and her breath quickened. The disk fanned out, increasing in diameter inch by inch until it enveloped them all.
With supreme effort Teah held the spell in place and took a shaky step toward the den of the Lichlor.
Chapter 40
Lichlor Den
The party moved with Teah, one painstaking step after another. She shook under the stress of holding the spell in place and Elias feared that she would crumble under the pressure, but there were few that could boast Teah’s resilience, or force of will.
Fortunately, Teah did not have to test the bounds of her strength much further, for presently the scrape of claws on granite echoed down the corridor and the black and ragged forms of the Lichlor appeared from amidst the rubble. Teah stopped her forward press. Elias held up a hand, signaling the Wilder to hold fast.
The lead Lichlor, the alpha if size were any indication, paused and scented at the air. A low growl rumbled in his chest. His red eyes narrowed. The strangely human gesture chilled Elias to his marrow. Whatever the secret of these creature’s creation, they were possessed of an uncanny intelligence.
The alpha padded a couple of more steps toward them, before halting again. His head dropped toward the floor and his hackles shot up from the nape of his neck to his tail. Four of his brethren, hitherto indistinct shapes, materialized from the shadows and took up position behind him.
Elias judged they were all within range, though he feared more may lie yet in wait, but he knew that Teah couldn’t hold her spell much longer. He drew his sword. On queue the Wilder let fly their arrows, which were followed by a spear of white light from Iatha and bolt of orange flame from Malak.
The arrows all struck true, but only one of the Lichlor fell outright. Two of the arrowed Lichlor, including the Alpha, remained afoot. The alpha had taken the arrow in his heavily muscled chest and seemed largely unfazed, while the other was shot in the crease between chest and shoulder and immediately favored that leg.
Of the two Lichlor in the back rank that felt the sting of the arcane, the one who tasted of Malak’s spell caught fire and, maddened, charged. The other who was targeted by Iatha’s more ethereal spell appeared to have absorbed the arcane energy and was none the worse for it. Elias was at once shocked and dismayed that the Lichlor were possessed of some immunity to arcane forces, but he pushed the thought from his mind as he rushed to join the battle.
He met the aflame Lichlor first. The enraged beast charged at him headlong and pounced without breaking stride. Elias pulled up his own charge and slid on his boots, throwing the momentum of his dash into an arcing swing of his blade. He poured all of his focus into the strike, a sudden surge of fury boiling over from a dam secreted deep away within his slumbering mind where all his dark emotions lay suppressed.
Time dilated beneath the heat of his black rage and he keenly felt the passing of every second as his feet slid into the fighting stance his father had taught him a lifetime ago. He felt the braided leather of the hilt bite into his palms. He felt the heaviness in the air from the sudden discharge of arcane energies. He felt the heat of the Lichlor’s fetid breath.
His sword passed cleanly through the fell creature’s neck with nary a drop of blood, for his blade had channeled the fury of his emotions and the enchanted steel had grown as hot as nigh molten ore, crackling with blue ripples of energy which cauterized the Lichlor’s wound even as he decapitated it.
Elias spun with the momentum of the blow and then continued with his charge. With what seemed like an audible clap, time resumed its normal flow, and indeed felt to Elias a good deal faster. Without a conscious plan he next targeted the Lichlor with the wounded foreleg. The snarling beast went low to take a snap at his leg, but Elias kicked him under the chin and then promptly severed his good foreleg.
The doubly wounded Lichlor crashed onto his belly and Elias ran up its back and leapt off it with his sword raised over his head in both hands. His sword descended with all the force of his landing and cleaved another Lichlor along its spine, taking it down with a single blow.
Sensing the other Lichlor close at hand, he ripped his blade free and spun about in a wild circle as he channeled his power through his sword. A cyclone of blue fire burst from him, throwing the two remaining Lichlor back. By the time the singed beasts recovered their equilibrium, they were peppered with a volley of arrows and magic missiles.
Elias rushed the Alpha, his sword cocked to deliver a killing blow, but the leader of the Lichlor had fallen. He turned to face the cave, half expecting another wave. He thrust his senses into the cavern, sweeping for any sign of life but he felt nothing. Still, he focused on the cave, scanning and listening for any sign that any Lichlor remained to run off and warn their masters.
“It’s over, Wayfarer. They’re all gone.”
Elias turned to find Teah looking at him intently. He realized his sword was still naked in his hand and crackling with raw arcane energy. He sheathed the blade and extinguished the magical radiance, but Teah continued to study him, her features drawn. “What is it?” he asked.
“You did it. Sloppily, albeit, but you did it.”
Elias felt suddenly defensive, despite himself. “Did what?”
“Used time magic, after a fashion.”
“I did no such thing.”
“When you faced the Lichlor you phased in and out and moved faster than you had any right to.”
Curiosity overwhelmed Elias’s sense of apprehension around the subject. “As you were trying to teach me in Illedium? But I wasn’t even able to master the obfuscation shield. How was I able to do it now?”
Teah tapped a finger on her head. “This is your problem. You think too much. Your mind is far too busy. Fortunately for you, you seem to make up for it with sheer willpower and instinct. That, or this could be another side effect of the warping. I don’t know.”
“How could this possibly be an effect of the warping?”
Malak approached. “It is possible that you may be slipping in time.”
Teah nodded. “You harnessed the Grimoire Infinitum’s power once, though you have lost it, or so it seems.”
“Mordum may be altering the timeline even as we speak,” said Malak, “so your memories of things may be changed though you don’t know it. Strange memories or thoughts may appear as the past is changed.”
“I still don’t see how that has any bearing on this conversation,” said Elias.
“If your consciousness is being altered fluidly and repeatedly by time magic, the laws of time may be bending around you.” Teah shrugged. “The fact that you’re even here makes you a kind of living paradox.”
“Shiny,” said Elias, suddenly weary of the conversation. “Let’s clear the area and move on.”
Elias turned from the Enkilder to find the Wilder huddled by the mouth of the tunnel. They eyed him warily, as one who espies a volatile creature of prey from a distance. Elias approached with an easy stride, tucking his sword beneath hi
s cloak. “The area is clear. We’re safe. For now.”
Iatha grunted. “I’m not sure it was us that had anything to fear. It is the dark that should fear you.”
“The dark never has the sense to be afraid,” said Elias, at once uneasy by the double-edged praise. “It’s one of their most exploitable weaknesses.”
“Perhaps,” said Iatha. “For my part, I’m glad that my Enra decided not to engage you when she happened on your camp. I didn’t think humans were capable of such feats.”
Elias made a concerted effort not to fidget under Iatha’s gaze. “My father used to tell me that we are only limited by our own minds.”
Iatha smiled. “He was a wise man, then, but most of us are not so lucky. Nature or else fate has limited the greater number of us.”
Teah and Malak joined them. “The immediate vicinity outside is clear,” said Teah. “It seems our skirmish hasn’t attracted any attention. Yet.”
“I suppose we should get a move on then,” said Elias.
Iatha gave him a warm smile. “This is where we part ways, Elias Duana.”
Elias returned the gesture, though it did not touch his heart. He was loathe to part with the Wilder. He had grown fond of the stalwart tribe in the short time he had known them, and beyond that, he knew that they might well be the last human faces he would ever see.
“We can’t thank you enough for your help,” said Elias.
“It is nothing less than you would do,” Iatha said, “and we are on the same side. I will pass the story of you onto our children. It is my hope that it is a tale not yet finished. Good luck.”
Enra stepped up to Elias and looked up at him. For once, Elias thought, she looked her age and he realized how young she was. As if on impulse she leaned in and hugged him. “Come this way again, if you can,” she said. She didn’t meet his eye as she peeled away from him.
With no more fanfare than that the stoic Wilder party turned and returned to the belly of the earth.
Wayfarer (The Empyrean Chronicle) Page 33