Telsa eyed the ranger.
The woman’s eyes took on a glazed look as if she were somewhere else.
“Something?” Telsa prodded. “What do you mean by something?”
Chancee’s eyes focused on Telsa. “It was a barrier, only it wasn’t a barrier. When I passed through, I looked behind me. The vampires were only a few strides away, but they weren’t moving. It was as if they were frozen solid. Only they weren’t frozen.” She glanced at Rembis before looking back at Telsa. “Both of you were with us at the Dragars’ spaceport. I’m sure you remember how their facility had a time-bubble around it that they used to raid the future. I think the time-bubble extended well below the ground and intersected the tunnel I was in.”
“Rick told us the Dragars’ time-bubble was destroyed along with the three spheres,” Telsa said. “Do you mean you found a new time-bubble.”
Rembis smiled. “I believe Rick used the easiest term to describe what happened at the spaceport. In actuality, a time-bubble can’t be destroyed since it exists in all time at the same time. The three spheres only had to create the time-bubble once. After that, the Dragars used the spheres to create access points into the time-bubble that they then used to transport their warships to the future. When the spheres were destroyed, the Dragars lost the capability to create new access points into their time-bubble.”
Telsa shook her head. “That can’t be. The Dragars are planning on using the time-bubble to teleport into the future when they are needed by the demons. They’ll need an access point to do that.” She tapped the tabletop with her fingers. “Plus, our allies in the UGA say the Dragars have been raiding the magic dimension after the Dragars’ temple was destroyed. That means they can create access points to another time-bubble somewhere.”
“Not necessarily,” said Rembis. “Truth be told, no one in the past can force their way into the future. Someone or something in the future must bring them there. I believe the demon Zenthra has been creating access points in the three time-bubbles to allow the Dragars to do their raids.”
“Rick said he killed Zenthra,” Telsa said.
Rembis shook his head. “Demons cannot be killed; at least they can’t be killed in our dimension. Rick destroyed Zenthra’s avatar. When he did, the demon was banished back to the demonic plane for a thousand years.”
When Telsa opened her mouth to speak, Rembis held up his hand. “But that doesn’t matter. We are a hundred thousand years in the past, give or take a couple of centuries. Zenthra’s avatar is alive and well in his hardened, underground fortress near Old Drepdenor. Plus, a future version of Zenthra or perhaps one of his brothers could make an access point for the Dragars in the past to join the fight in the future.”
Telsa’s head began to spin with all the talk of time-bubbles and time travel. It was enough to confuse anyone. She decided to get back to something more concrete and turned to Chancee. “All right, let’s say you did pass into a time-bubble. What happened then?”
The ranger visibly shuddered. “I ran smack dab into the lich. Apparently I’d stumbled through an access point he’d just created. I think he was using the time-bubble as a way to escape the dwarves. As soon as I entered the time-bubble, the lich attacked.” She raised her left hand and pointed at her neck. Two small scars resembling holes were barely visible above the collar of her chainmail. “You can see the results.”
The ranger drew her sword and placed it on the table. A blue gem the size of the ranger’s fingernail glowed from the weapon’s pommel.
Telsa sensed strong magic radiating from the blade. “My sword’s made from Holy Metal. I was able to stick it in the chest of the lich, but I missed his heart. I did succeed in hurting him enough to make him release his grip on me. When he did, I took off running deeper into the time-bubble. I ran for a long time. I tried to treat my bite wound, but I began growing fevered.”
Chancee looked down at the table before resuming her tale. “There were a lot of undead in the tunnels of the time-bubble, but they left me alone.” She shrugged. “I suppose they recognized me as one of their own, or that I soon would be. When my fever was at its peak, I spied a group of undead in the tattered remains of priest garb. I saw them cast a spell on one of the tunnel walls. The stone slid open, and they went inside. I was able to follow before the stone closed and found myself in a circular cavern the width of a bowshot. Inside was a yellow light. The light was alive. I sensed it was good.” She smiled, this time wide enough to show her fangs. “At least compared to me, the yellow light was good. Coils of magic energy bound the light to a boulder in the center of the room. The priests began chanting a spell. As they chanted, the magic coils binding the light grew more intense.”
The ranger’s bloodshot eyes took on a glazed look again.
Everyone at the table remained silent for several seconds.
Rembis was the first to break the silence. “You said the coils grew more intense,” he said. “What did you do then?”
Chancee’s eyes came back into focus. “Then?” She smiled and patted her sword. “I stuck this in each of the priests and cut their heads off for good measure. I tried freeing the yellow light, but I couldn’t do it.” She shrugged again. “I’m no mage and have never claimed to be. The yellow light touched me. He, I think it was a he, cured me.” She opened her mouth and tapped one of her long, pointed fangs with the tip of her finger. “Sorta, that is. The fever broke. My mind was my own, but the bite of the lich left a few side effects as you’ve probably noticed.”
Telsa drummed her fingers on the table. She wasn’t sure how this fit in with her mission, but the fact that the light was yellow and they needed a yellow gem to close the gate under the Tree of Light in Silverton was too coincidental to let the matter lie. “You said you couldn’t free the yellow light? By any chance could you communicate with it?”
Chancee nodded. “A little. We didn’t actually talk, but the light did give me a vision. It showed me a scene of a great battle between the forces of good and evil. The yellow light was wounded and taken prisoner. Part of him was left on the battlefield. Another part of him was removed and taken somewhere else. What remained of him was too weak to resist his captors. They built a cell for him. It was a time-bubble surrounded by three more time-bubbles holding sources of energy to keep him captive. I sensed blue, red, and yellow energy from the three time-bubbles. The time-bubble that was his cell and the three time-bubbles that were the locks to his prison were all contained in a larger time-bubble energized by the four time-bubbles inside. I believe that larger time-bubble is the one the Dragars use to raid the future.”
Glancing at Queen Emerald, Telsa said, “What do you think all of this means?”
The dwarf queen shrugged. “I am not sure, but when we finally destroyed the last of the vampires under Old Drepdenor, General Fenmar found Chancee wandering around inside the tunnels.”
“It’s lucky I was the one who found her,” said the old general. “She was a vampire. If I hadn’t recognized her, I would’ve cut her head off first and asked questions later. As it was, I put her under guard and took her to the queen.”
Queen Emerald placed her hand on Chancee’s arm. “I’ll admit it took me a while to trust my old friend again, but she has proved her worth many times since that fateful day. The yellow light cured her enough to remain our companion and ally. I trust her with my life.”
The ranger’s bloodshot eyes turned shiny. “I…” She looked down at the table for several heartbeats. When she raised her head, her eyes no longer shined. “Although I couldn’t free the yellow light, I got the impression his cell had been weakened at some point time. That is, if you can reference time within a time-bubble where time doesn’t exist. The vision I was given showed a silver-haired elf and a man in a battle suit like yours removing blue, red, and yellow energy spheres from the time-bubbles that composed the locks on the yellow light’s cell. I got the impression that after the energy sources were removed, the priests are forced to renew the magic on
the light’s bonds every so often to keep him imprisoned.”
Telsa looked at Rembis before turning back to Chancee. “A silver-haired elf and a man in a battle suit, you say. Do you know who they were?”
Chancee shrugged. “The elf? No. The man in black armor? Yes. He was our friend Rick, or his exact twin, one or the other.”
Drumming her fingers on the table once more, Telsa had an epiphany. She removed her battle helmet and placed it on the table. “All right, Raj. Out with it. You know more than you’re telling us, and even if you don’t, I’m sure ‘the One’ does. So I recommend either you or he get those nanosecond brains of yours working and spit it out. I want to know what’s going on.”
The external speaker of the battle helmet crackled. “Whatever happened to the cheerful wizard scout I used to know? I calculate you are becoming somewhat of a grouch lately.”
“I’ve been working with battle computers too much,” Telsa said. “They’d irritate anyone, given time.”
“Well, you are not that easy to get along with either on certain occasions,” said Raj. “You have no idea what I have to put up with. Why just the other nanosecond, I had to—”
Despite the situation, Queen Emerald burst out laughing. “The two of you sound like an old married couple. I thought Nickelo was the only battle computer that got emotional.”
“Apparently times are changing,” said Raj. “I calculate some of us battle computers are being emotionally contaminated by our continued association with Nickelo, Margery, Danny, and Jonathan. I calculate they have had close contact with Wizard Scout Shepard one time too many. So have I. There is a seventy-six percent probability we are now contaminating other battle computers.”
“Well, regardless,” Telsa said in an attempt to get the conversation back on track. “I want to find out what you know about Chancee’s encounter with that yellow light. Does it have something to do with finding another yellow gem?”
“Hmmm,” said Raj. “Strangely enough, some information on the subject just appeared in my databanks.”
“Yeah,” Telsa said. “Imagine that. So are you going to spit it out, or do I have to drag it out of you?”
“I will leave the spitting to physical beings,” said Raj. “As to the information you desire, ‘the One’ calculates there is a ninety-one percent probability the time-bubble the ranger stumbled into under Old Drepdenor is the same time-bubble Wizard Scout Shepard was teleported to during his first mission for ‘the One.’”
Telsa nodded. “I suspected as much. That’s when he helped High Priestess Shandristiathoraxen retrieve the three seed parts. The only problem is, that was a hundred thousand years ago. The high priestess merged the seed parts and planted them as soon as she returned. They grew into the Tree of Light.”
Rembis smiled. “Actually, you’re forgetting that we are a hundred thousand years in the past now. I suspect High Priestess Shandristiathoraxen is even now living in a sleepy little village called Silver, attending to a young sapling that is the Tree of Light. It was not so long ago that Rick and the high priestess rescued the seed parts.”
Queen Emerald walked from one side of the room to the other before sitting back down. “Time is our enemy. It does not exist in a time-bubble. If we were to enter Chancee’s time-bubble now through the access point created by the lich, we could find ourselves at a point in the time-bubble before, during, or after the seed parts have been rescued by Rick and High Priestess Shandristiathoraxen.”
“It would be after,” said Raj.
The fact that her battle computer did not include a probability told Telsa his statement was a fact.
“The time-bubbles the ranger told us about were the repositories for the three seed parts,” said Raj. “According to the information now in my databanks, when Rick and the high priestess removed the three spheres, I calculate the lock on the yellow light’s cell began deteriorating. I also calculate the ranger is correct in that the magic binding the light has to be renewed by the priests. Since the ranger destroyed the priests, the lock may now be weak enough to break.”
“What is this yellow light?” asked Rembis. “Is it the gem we need to close the gate under the Tree of Light? Or is it another seed part?”
“That information is not in my databanks,” said Raj. “I can tell you this. I calculate the success of the battle in the future depends on the rescue of the yellow light. Otherwise, the demon armies will overwhelm the three galaxies and all will be lost.”
Queen Emerald looked at Telsa. “We have fought side by side before, my friend. It looks like we shall do so again.” She drew her battle axe from her belt and set it on the table. “General Fenmar, I want you to send riders to the coast. Have Admiral Mequenst prepare our ships for sea. Tell our people to gather their things. We will be returning to Old Drepdenor.”
“Who shall go?” asked the general.
“Everyone,” said Emerald. “Rick needs us in the future. The only way to get an army there is through a time-bubble. If the Dragars can use their time-bubble at Old Drepdenor to raid the future, we may be able to use it to help our friends.” She turned to Telsa. “While my people prepare for travel, we will take an advance team to Old Drepdenor and free this yellow light that your battle computer thinks is so important. Then we will go to the future and help Rick fight his rebellion the way he helped us against the Dragars. There is only one problem.”
“Only one?” Telsa asked. “Somehow I think that’s understating it a little. What specific problem are you talking about?”
Chancee gave the answer. “After the yellow light freed me, it was somehow able to get me out of the time-bubble and back into the regular tunnels underneath Old Drepdenor. Queen Emerald and I later retraced my steps in the lower tunnels. We were unable to find the access point created by the lich. I believe he closed it off and is hiding somewhere inside the time-bubble.”
“So let me see if I understand what you’re saying,” said Rembis. “We can’t get into the time-bubble where the yellow light is located. Is that what you’re saying?”
Queen Emerald picked her battle axe up off the table. “Not exactly. What I think Chancee means is that we won’t be able to use the same access point she used. We will need someone who can create an access point for us.”
Telsa glanced from the dwarf to the ranger and back. “All right, I give up. Who can we get to create us another access point?”
Smiling, Queen Emerald said, “We will need an elf high priestess to do it.”
“Then we’re in big trouble,” Telsa said. “Jeehana’s the only high priestess I know, and she’s not here.”
Both Queen Emerald and Chancee laughed. So did General Fenmar and the other dwarves.
The dwarf-queen looked at Telsa. “The high priestess you know won’t be born for another hundred thousand years. Fortunately, our time has one of its own in a small village called Silver. We will stop there and fetch her on the way to the coast.”
Telsa didn’t need to ask the name of the high priestess. The answer came to her in a single thought. Shandria.
Chapter 23 – Dwarves’ March
_____________________
It took the better part of the week for Queen Emerald to get her people organized and ready to move. Finally, the dwarf queen was ready to leave for Old Drepdenor with her advance party. They gathered at the foot of the mountain near the river. The largest part of their group was a company of cavalry mounted on stout mountain ponies and led by Major Nekash. Each soldier was equipped with armor and weapons made out of the dwarves’ Holy Metal. In addition to Nekash’s fighters, the party included General Fenmar, Rembis, Telsa, and, of course, the vampire-ranger Chancee and Queen Emerald.
Telsa sat on the horse Nekash had provided for her. She assumed she looked out of place wearing her battle suit, but she didn’t care. They’d be leaving soon to complete her mission. That was the only thing that was important. With nothing else to do but wait, she watched Nekash’s soldiers load the last of the suppl
ies and equipment on the half-a-hundred pack animals.
Rembis sat nearby on his pony watching, seeming as bored as her.
A squad of the dwarves’ soldiers came up with three carts and began strapping extra armor and weapons made out of Holy Metal onto several of the pack ponies.
Touching the gnome mage’s arm, Telsa nodded at the soldiers. “Why are they loading so much extra armor and weapons? There’s enough to equip another platoon from the looks of it. Won’t it just slow us down? It’s already going to take us a long time to get to Old Drepdenor.”
The gnome mage laughed.
Telsa liked his laugh. She always had.
“That it will, Wizard Scout. We’ll be lucky to get there before winter hits. Since we’re taking a detour to the village of Silver, it’ll take us a good two months to get to the port city of New Hope. From there, we’ll be on our ships for two or three more weeks. Then we’ll have half a month of cross-country travel to reach Old Drepdenor.”
Telsa frowned. She’d known it was going to take a long time but hadn’t realized how long.
“Humph,” said Raj in her shared space. “If you had bothered to ask, I could have told you.”
Ignoring her battle computer, Telsa pointed at the extra military gear. “So why all the weapons and armor?”
Rembis shrugged. “All I know is that a messenger arrived from the Oracle last night to see the queen. Shortly thereafter, she had Major Nekash start gathering the extra equipment.”
At that moment, two dwarves came walking past carrying a metal chest bound by chains. The chains fairly reeked of strong magic. After strapping the chest onto the back of one of the pack animals, the dwarves took up positions on either side of the beast.
Wizard Gigantic (Intergalactic Wizard Scout Chronicles Book 9) Page 22