by Jeff Inlo
"You do not believe he is controlling you in any way?"
"No, he retains a certain level of control over the magic, but he has not altered my conscience."
"Can you be certain?"
Shantree frowned, but then took a deep breath and examined the power within her. It was available for her use, but it remained separate from the small amount of magical energy that she contained as an elf. Like a storm cloud that took distinct shape in an otherwise blue sky, the energy from Ansas staked out a space of its own.
"Actually, yes, I am certain. It is not mixing with what I am. It is totally separate. I can sense that. It is almost as if it wants nothing to do with me, but it is there for me to use... to keep the camp alive. If it had evil intent, it would try to become part of me, and it is not. It is difficult to explain how I sense this, but I do."
Birk did not wish to be skeptical of the camp elder, but he could not dismiss his own responsibilities.
"That may be true, and it is not my desire to doubt you, but I must remain suspicious of the sorcerer and his intentions. If he has taken control of you, that is exactly what you might say in order to calm my fears."
"I understand... far better than you can imagine. I say hold to your fears, remain suspicious of me. If I do something that lacks reason, by all means, stop me... destroy me if you must."
"You mean kill you?"
"I do. It is also an order of your camp elder. Do not hesitate."
But it was an order that was not so easily followed. The duty of the elf guard was to protect the camp, and the elder above all else. Without a leader, the camp would fall into disarray. Killing the elder, even to protect the camp, was a contradiction in elf guard duty, and yet, the order was given by the elder herself. Birk struggled to find the proper response.
"To kill you would be to break my duty, my oath. That would be beyond my last resort."
"I do not believe it will be necessary, but I must insist you follow my directive. If you do not, then I hold no true authority. If you are an elf guard and desire to hold to your oath, you must respect my authority. "
"Very well," Birk agreed, but then turned quickly from the topic in hopes the situation would never arise. He revealed his concern as well as his curiosity over the elder's well-being. "How do you feel? I must admit, I have not seen you move with such youthful energy in many seasons."
"Youthful?" Shantree responded with obvious opposition. "No, far from youthful. I feel powerful but not rejuvenated. I know I am stronger, but if anything, I feel older. Just as the energy seems to fuel my physical abilities, it strangles my inner vitality. No, I do not feel young. I may not look it, but I am weary... on the inside."
"Is there anything that can be done?"
"I do not believe so. I tried to resist the flood of power. I could not. I can relinquish the energy by casting it for the camp's needs, but beyond that, I cannot dispel it any further."
"Perhaps some of the others might be able to remove it from you. If you allow them to probe the energy, they might be able to siphon..."
"No," Shantree interrupted. "I will not put others at risk. I also have no idea how much magic may be necessary to keep us alive. If we can use it for our own good, even if it matches the will of our captor, we must do so. To disperse it for selfish reasons would be beyond foolish. I will survive this."
Birk nodded in acceptance. He then looked over to the well and the water it produced just as he reviewed the invigorated plants yielding fruits and nuts. "At least, you have solved our temporary concerns. Despite the loss of magic on the ill-fated assault, we now have plenty of food and water, for a while at least."
"There is enough of his magic within me to ensure we do not starve. Of that, I'm sure. He wanted it that way."
Birk understood the deeper meaning behind the action. It was not out of simple kindness that the sorcerer offered his magic.
"So he is not done with us."
"No."
And while the elf guard captain held no doubts regarding Ansas' ill will, he was surprised at the elder's tone in her simple response.
"You seem sure."
"I am. It goes beyond what he said to me. Again, the desire is within the magic itself. It is available for me to utilize in order to keep the camp alive, but it goes even beyond that. As he said, if he wanted us dead, the task would already be done. I think we both would agree on that point."
Birk considered the sheer force of will and magic displayed by the human sorcerer. He could not argue the assertion.
"Do you have any idea of what he ultimately wants with us?"
Shantree frowned again. She also wanted to know Ansas' plans for the camp, to discover his intentions. She believed there might be some clue in the energy he bestowed within her, but if there was some hint hidden in the folds of magic, it repulsed any attempt to discover any such deeper meaning.
"The magic has intention," Shantree admitted, "but I am shielded from gaining any greater insight. It will not let me probe beyond its most apparent essence. I can use the magic to the benefit of the camp, but I think it would resist me if I tried to use it against the sorcerer, or even if I tried to direct it against the wall."
"Unfortunate, for that was going to be my next request." Birk shook his head in disgust as he looked to the translucent field of energy. "We accomplished so little. The barrier holds and we have lost our most proficient spell casters."
He thought of those that were taken, and he exclaimed what he believed was an obvious assumption.
"He spoke of two reasons for bringing us here. He has now taken fifteen of our elves, all of them adept in the ways of utilizing magic. We can no longer deny that fact. One of the reasons must relate to the abduction of those elves."
"He did not take them all," Shantree noted.
"No, he did not," Birk agreed as he looked upon the elves that waited for further direction. "Flower remains with us, and she is powerful with crimson magic. He did take Haven and Scheff, two of the more gifted elves, but he also took elves that were talented in transferring their energy to others. Why take some and not others?"
"I wish I could say."
Birk then revealed one conclusion that seemed obvious.
"The sorcerer also spoke of an elf with which he had previous contact. At the time, I could not be certain, but it can only be one."
"Holli Brances," Shantree announced before Birk could reveal the name.
"It is obvious, is it not?" Birk agreed. "Who else could it be? Every elf of our camp has been brought to this place, even scouts and guards that were quite a distance away at the instant of our abduction. There is no one missing, yet none could identify the sorcerer. He spoke of an elf that was once a member of this camp. There are only a meager few possibilities. The previous camp leaders before your ascension are still alive. One was turned over to the dwarves of Dunop and the other accepted self-imposed banishment. They, however, are both males, and the sorcerer proclaimed the elf was a 'she.' Since Holli left our camp, she has been in the service of Enin and faced battles with other wizards. It seems the likely answer."
"Which only brings us to the question of why the sorcerer would want to gain the attention of an elf guard that serves the most powerful wizard in all of Uton?"
Before considering the question, Birk noticed the fading spirits of the elves around them. Nearly every elf stood confused and downhearted, uncertain of what to do next. The monitors at the barrier made no call to resume the assault. They had lost their most gifted spell casters. If another attempt was to be made, the command would have to come from Birk or Shantree, and they would have to restructure the spell casting as well as the pool of casters.
The growing level of indecision and lack of direction worried the elf captain and he decided the issue needed to be addressed before they speculated further about the sorcerer's ultimate intentions.
"We can discuss that in short time and in private. For now, I would like to tend to our most immediate needs. With your consent, I will redeploy th
e guards and set the monitors back to studying the barrier. We will attempt no further spells, for a while at least, and I will have the remaining spell casters recharge with what energy they can coax from this realm."
Shantree offered a weary smile.
"It is really all we can do," she agreed. "That and hope that someone of necessary power might yet still find us."
Chapter 13
Scheff Rutlan stood beside his fellow elf magic casters in the modest study of a seemingly small house. He had been transported to that spot against his will, as had the others. A cloud of ebony magic fell upon them, dissolved their presence from under the barrier in the dark realm. There was no pain, no sensation of being broken apart. They saw blackness for but a moment, and then found themselves in new surroundings. Reality reformed around them in the contour of an ordinary room with no windows and one door that remained mostly open.
As they peered through the doorway, they noted a common hall. The passage was simple and without decoration. They saw three other doors similar in nature to the one that marked the entrance to the study where they stood. These were all closed, as was a fourth larger door, the apparent main entrance that waited at the far end of the hallway.
Both the study and the hall were of simple construction. The walls and floors appeared to be formed out of sturdy wood slats with no elaborate designs or exotic architecture. An ordinary desk with a plain and empty chair stood as the only welcoming elements, but everything around them lacked warmth or character. There were several shelves along the walls, but they held only a few books. Numerous stacks of paper with lines and lines of handwritten notes filled most of the open spaces.
Scheff, feeling no ill effects himself, looked to the other elves.
"Is everyone alright?"
They all nodded, but their confusion was obvious.
Only one aspect of their dilemma seemed apparent, and possibly advantageous. They had been removed from under the barrier that held them hostage in the dark realm, taken from the other elves of their camp. In essence, they had achieved their goal, but not by their own doing. Still, if obtaining freedom from the barrier was the initial stage of their escape, perhaps their current condition offered them the opportunity to complete their plans.
Scheff almost called to the magic within him, actually began forming the spell in his mind to create a path back home. While constructing the spell, however, he was immediately forced to cancel it. Opening a portal or creating a path for teleportation required two points of focus; a destination was obvious, but he also needed a point of departure. How could he open a portal back to Dark Spruce Forest if he couldn't be sure of his location?
As far as the magic was concerned, no path could be traced. He didn't have to know his exact position, but he needed at least some tangible point of origin. Without even knowing what realm he occupied, the path could collapse upon itself due to the instability, like trying to dig a tunnel through water. Opening a portal under such circumstances would be risky at best, but more likely devastatingly foolish. Bridging dimensions with a guess might send a magic caster hurling through an endless void.
While Scheff considered their plight, Haven Wellseed, the elf gifted in casting yellow magic, found the dim light of the room much too gloomy for her liking. With a casual thought, her own body began to glow, casting a much needed radiance on the space around them.
"What happened to us?" Haven asked of Scheff.
"I am not sure," Scheff admitted. "The spell was unique. I could not tell if it was complete teleportation or if some type of abstract portal was infused into the incantation. We might still be in the dark realm, or we might be in between dimensions."
"This room seems real enough," one of the other elves offered.
Scheff agreed as he placed his hands on the surface of the desk and felt the hard wood. He then asked the question that was on all of their lips.
"Can anyone tell exactly where we are?" Scheff asked.
There were nine of them all together, but none of the elves could place their position in any absolute point of existence.
"Should we check the other doors?" another elf asked.
"Not until we have a better idea of where we are," Scheff warned.
"But what could it hurt?" Haven asked.
Scheff wondered that himself.
"We seem to be alone here," Haven continued. "This may be our chance to escape."
Her words echoed Scheff's previous sentiments, but just as he chose to cancel his spell, another consideration raised his resistance against any optimism.
"That is exactly why I would be reluctant to try. Think of how we got here, who sent us. You saw what the sorcerer could do. Do you really think he would send us to a place where we could escape so easily?"
That consideration shattered any hope of returning to Dark Spruce Forest like a hammer falling on glass.
"No," Haven confessed.
Scheff exposed another fact.
"Without windows, we have no idea what is beyond these walls. If we open a door not knowing what is on the outside, we risk letting anything inside."
"Do we just stand here and wait?" another elf questioned.
Scheff looked about the room. The desk had no drawers, nothing to search, but the papers about the room seemed available for their attention, almost as an open invitation.
"Perhaps we may still learn something of importance. Let us see what these papers reveal."
Scheff walked over to the nearest wall and took hold of one of the piles. He began to read through the writings as he flipped through one page after another.
The other elves followed suit. They were all engrossed in their reading when the sorcerer walked through the half open door. They were never sure exactly how he entered the small house.
"I hope you find my personal musings interesting," Ansas announced as he moved past the elves and took a seat in the chair before his desk. His muscular frame barely fit into the confines of the seat. It appeared made to fit him exactly, with little room to spare.
The elves looked up in surprise, but said nothing. Most returned the stacks of paper to their previous spots on the shelves. A few, however, continued to hold on to what they had taken.
Scheff, with papers still in hand, finally broke the silence.
"Will you tell us where we are?"
"You're still in the dark realm, I assure you."
"And what is this place?"
"It is my home," Ansas replied freely as he looked deeper into the elf and noticed obvious surprise.
"What did you expect?" the sorcerer questioned with a bit of an amused tone. "Some dark, foreboding castle with grand spires rising up into the shadows? Or maybe some palace of pure marble shining so brightly it rivals the stars that do not even exist in this realm? Totally unnecessary. I simply need a space of my own where I can rest and study without interruptions. This fills my needs, but that surprises you. Why?"
"You are a sorcerer of great power," Scheff replied.
"And you think I need to make some display of my home to prove my ability?"
"I doubt anyone that knows you would doubt your ability. You cast black magic in a perfect circle."
"Yet you are surprised by my home."
"And you seem obsessed by my surprise."
"Because I am trying to understand you."
"Why is that necessary for someone like you?"
Ansas expression of mild amusement turned to a scowl of disappointment.
"Let me warn you, my patience has a limit. You are here at my will. For some reason, I often have to explain myself to others that can't see the rationale for my actions. I allow that because I understand your limitations, but only within reason. Now, for the last time, why are you surprised by my home?"
Scheff, not truly wanting to cooperate, didn't want to anger the sorcerer, either. He found no harm in revealing the truth about his expectations.
"You are right. I expected more. I would have thought you would have surround
ed yourself with a sanctuary befitting the power of your magic. A king does not live in a hut. An emperor does not call a meager cottage a home."
"Foolish," Ansas replied with a shake of his head. "I expected more from you."
"I am sorry I disappointed you."
The sorcerer's eyes narrowed and his disappointment soured more toward hostility.
"Just as I do not like evasive answers, I also do not appreciate sarcasm. Do not test me. I assure you, despite the credit I freely give to your skills, you are nothing to me."
Scheff almost replied with even greater sarcasm, but something in the sorcerer's words caught his attention. He believed he had actually been complimented by the sorcerer, and he further believed that such an offering was rare indeed.
"Now, to the six of you," Ansas declared with authority as he abruptly ended his discussion with Scheff and addressed the six elves that stood off to his left. "You aided the other spell casters by channeling energy into them. I wish to know how each of you approached the process."
None of the elves responded.
"I don't care which one of you goes first," Ansas proclaimed, "but one of you better begin."
The six elves remained quiet.
Ansas did not sigh or shake his head, nor did he grumble in frustration. He understood that, for the most part, the elves within his study were leaderless. Scheff had assumed some measure of authority, for his skill with magic was unmatched by the other elves, except for maybe Haven. And while Haven remained cautious, neither she nor Scheff would presume to speak for the entire group.
The other elves had no one to look to for guidance. There was no elf guard to take control, no elf from the council to direct them, and no elder to assume command. The six elves he questioned became rigid in their unwillingness to aid the sorcerer.
Ansas could persuade them with his magic, punish and torture them, but that would be both a waste of his time and energy. It annoyed him to deal with such petty concerns, but certain irritations seemed unavoidable.
Ansas stood up from his chair and walked to one of the shelves. He snatched a stack of papers and quickly paged through them. Finding the one he wanted, he handed it to one of the elves that was responsible for channeling magic to the other spell casters.