The Baldari (Book 3) (17 page)

“Where are we?” Lyes asked when the bright light that had engulfed them faded.  It was immediately obvious they were no longer standing in the Ruins.

Meyter seemed startled by the change he had triggered.

Ash’urn looked around, hoping to see something that he recognized.  He immediately knew that was a forlorn hope.  “I have no idea,” he replied.

As a group, the four travelers looked around at their surroundings.  They were inside of some kind of structure.  It was a very large structure from what they could see.  The walls were of pure white stone, and rose high above them, at least two levels and maybe three.  They were in some form of lobby, and the ceiling here was far above.  A staircase made of the same white stone lead upwards from the base of the wall to their right.  The ceiling was transparent, as was the left wall.  Whatever material had been used, it was transparent with only minimal support, and extended from the floor all the way to the ceiling far above.  Outside, they could see a short stretch of tan sand spotted with fern trees.  Just beyond that was water.  Ash’urn surmised they were on the shore of a lake, and in the distance he could see the far side.  There was a large village that extended along the shore as far as he could see.

“I would guess we aren’t in the Ruins any longer,” he added after scanning the view.  He pointed to the lake outside.  That much water simply didn’t exist freely in the Ruins.

Almost as one, the four travelers turned and looked deeper into the building in which they found themselves.  A wide hallway led deeper into the structure.  A short distance in front of them a clear wall of the same material stretched across the width of the building, with an arched open doorway in the middle.  Beyond they could spot row after row of gray cases as far as the eye could see.  There were no people.  There were no signs anyone had been here recently.

“Let’s have a look,” Ash’urn said finally.  Part of him wished to leave and come back with additional support, but nothing was threatening them.  He walked forward, and examined the transparent wall as they passed through the doorway.  The material wasn’t glass, and was a full two-fingers thick.  “Remarkable,” he said.

As they passed into the cavernous chamber on the far side of the doorway, it became apparent that the cases contained thousands of scrolls.  Ash’urn examined the chamber.  If each case contained the same number of scrolls as the one he stood before, there were more books here than he’d seen in all the libraries he’d visited combined. 

“What is this place?” Fen asked softly.

Lyes shook his head.  Ash’urn didn’t hear the question.  He was intent on the case in front of him.  Eagerly, he reached out to take one of the scrolls, only to find his hand blocked by an invisible barrier before he could reach them. 

“Interesting,” Ash’urn said.  He tried again, with the same result.  He looked around the case to see if there was any obvious way to disable the barrier, and found nothing.  “It looks as if someone doesn’t want the materials here disturbed,” Ash’urn said.  He’d never heard of a barrier that obstructed access like this.  Even the barriers the Baldari used for protection could be penetrated by arrows.  They were driven off target, but they went through.  Ash’urn was certain that an arrow here would have no better luck than his hand had.

“Look at this,” Fen said from off to one side.

The other three men walked over where he stood before an odd looking enclosure.  There were more than a dozen of the booths arranged neatly around an oval area defined by a change in the color of the flooring.  When he looked, Ash’urn could see more of the enclosures scattered around the room.

“It has one of the scrolls in place,” Fen said, pointing to the small scroll that rested in a depression in the flat surface just forward of the seat that was integral to the enclosure.  When Fen reached for it, he found it too was protected somehow, and his fingers stopped short of actually touching the scroll.

Lyes examined the enclosure off to the right of the one Fen was in.  “This one looks different,” he said. 

Ash’urn could see what he meant.  The enclosure Fen had been examining was dull.  Ash’urn could think of no other word that fit.  The one where Lyes stood was brighter.  It was a subtle difference, but obvious when one looked carefully.  As he examined the other enclosure, Ash’urn could see that more than half were dull like the one in front of him.  When he looked back, Lyes had slipped into the seat of the enclosure he had chosen.

The others hurried over, concerned what might happen.  As they watched, the front panel changed from semi-transparent to opaque white and text appeared on the surface.  Somehow Ash’urn was certain the text came from the scroll in front of Lyes.  The runes and glyphs were familiar in shape, and a few Ash’urn recognized as part of certain spells he had learned.  Most were meaningless.  Then, as he watched, the screen blurred, and the text changed.  Ash’urn had learned enough of the written language of Sedfair to know that the text was now something Lyes could read.

“It’s like the book we found in Carif’s hideout,” Lyes said.  It adapts to your language. 

“Let me try,” Ash’urn said eagerly.  He was the only one of them who was from the Three Kingdoms and he wanted to see if it would change to the language he was most familiar with.

Ash’urn replaced Lyes in the seat, and within moments the writing displayed on the screen had shifted once again.  Now it showed the written language of the Three Kingdoms. 

“It’s a teaching aid,” he said after he read the words displayed.  Somehow it knew when he finished, and the text rolled up to show him more of the material held in the scroll.  “It’s intended to show one how to use the readers.  I’ll bet it will show us how to access the scrolls here as well.”

As much as Ash’urn wished to continue reading, he realized this place represented years of effort, and was not something to be tackled in a day.  Reluctantly, he stepped away from the reader, and followed the others deeper into the library.  The readers deeper in the open area were without scrolls, which supported Ash’urn’s belief that scrolls from the shelves were meant to be placed in the slots for viewing.  Some were duller, and they believed those no longer worked.  It appeared this place had been left unwatched for a long time.

None of the scrolls could be accessed.  They walked up the stairs to the upper level, and found more of the same.  The third level was far smaller, and they found no more of the scrolls or readers.  It looked more like a lounge with dozens of comfortable chairs sitting unused.  They were padded and comfortable, and somehow appeared to have survived without decaying for unknown years.

“We need to get home,” Lyes said finally.  “We must figure out where this place is and how to return.”

“Let’s go outside,” Fen suggested.  “Maybe we will recognize something.”

They returned to the lobby area where they had first appeared, and discovered there was indeed a door that led onto the beach.  With Lyes in the lead, they pushed through the door out onto the sands beyond. Once outside, they could hear the light lapping of the water against the small pebbles along the water’s edge.

“I can’t get back inside,” Meyter said a moment later.  He was trying to reach the handle of the door through which they had just passed, but like the shelves of scrolls, a barrier now existed between himself and the handle.

“I can’t make a
Doorway
back inside either,” Lyes said.

“Let’s try to go to the village over there,” Ash’urn suggested.  They could see that they were on a small island in the center of the large lake.  The village appeared to wrap around the lake on all sides, but surprisingly there didn’t seem to be many boats on the water.

Moments later they stepped through a
Doorway
that had opened without difficulty onto the shore of the village.  Within moments of their exiting onto the sands of the beach, a trio of adults headed their way.

“Let’s hope we can speak the same language,” Ash’urn said as the men approached.  He couldn’t help recalling his original arrival in Sedfair.

Much to his surprise and satisfaction, they spoke the language of the Three Kingdoms easily, although with a bit of an accent.  They were able to speak the language because of the frequent contact with the Three Kingdoms as a result of the ships that traveled to the mainland.  Contact with Sedfair had been lost centuries ago and as a result, so had any familiarity with the language.  The three men all had dark red hair.  It wasn’t the bright coppery-red like Ardra’s, but a duller and deeper red.  Ash’urn realized he had seen hair like that before.  He looked at the mountain in the distance, and suddenly they looked vaguely familiar.  If this was where he thought, he’d visited here once long ago.

“This is Kal’ran,” he said suddenly.

One of the men nodded vigorously, obviously pleased at Ash’urn’s recognition.

“It is indeed,” the man said.  “Welcome.”

Kal’ran, Ash’urn thought.  They had traveled an incredible distance.  The artifact had taken them completely across the Ruins, something that up to now had taken a couple of jumps, and then across the Three Kingdoms, and well out into the Great Western Ocean.  They were in the islands.  This was the home of Rigo’s adopted mother.  He and Rigo had talked about it once.

He had no more time to think about the implications.  One of the other men was speaking.

“You have arrived at long last.  We have waited for a very long time.”

“We?” Ash’urn asked.

“We.  The Caretakers,” the man said.  “Our people, the entire village has been tasked with watching over the Repository.  None are allowed to go there, except those that come from within.  You arrived as was specified.  You are welcome to come and go as you wish.”

“You mean the library in the lake,” Meyter said, pointing in the direction of the island, except when he turned and looked, there was no island, and no library.  All he could see was the far shore of the lake.  He looked back sharply at the red-haired man in surprise.

“An illusion,” the man said understandingly.  “For all who look, there is nothing there.”

“You have the power to make an illusion of such magnitude?” Lyes asked.  He knew what it took to normally make an illusion.

“Not us.  That was created by the makers a long time ago.  We have no magic, other than that which we were given to be able to sense when someone authorized arrives.  The only way into the Repository is by the special towers.  We have never seen one, but were told that was the way of it.  If you take a boat into the lake, and try to approach the center, you will find yourself suddenly on the far side.  We allow no one to go onto the lake.  That is why the village surrounds it.  It is the task of the Caretakers to keep the secret.  We have done so proudly for a very long time.”

“How often does someone come here?” Ash’urn asked.  He wondered if perhaps those behind the attacks might have access.

One of the other men thought for a time.  “It has been a considerable time.  Not in my lifetime.”

Suddenly Ash’urn wondered if this might be much older than he’d realized.  “When was the last time you know of?”

The men talked among themselves.  Finally the leader looked at Ash’urn.  “The stories have been passed down to each new generation of Caretakers.  We cannot be certain, but it has been at least three hundred generations since anyone entered the Repository.  We are honored you came in our lifetime.”

It was still dark when Daria and Kaler left the inn the next morning.  They told the proprietor, who was up preparing fresh bread for the day, that they were anxious to get a good start and get well away from Fontin as soon as possible.  None of that was true.  In fact, they wanted the men they were certain would be watching for them to be caught off guard.  It was very unlikely they would expect them to depart in the middle of the night.  They would almost certainly be watching somewhere close by, but most likely wouldn’t be in position until after sunrise.  If Daria and Kaler were wrong, and the men were already in place, they had a back up plan they could use.

Daria had fallen to sleep almost immediately after they had returned to the inn the previous night.  With their plans in place and action to start in the morning, she had been content.  Kaler had lain awake for almost half a glass considering how easy it would be to simply have their friend Rigo come and handle matters.  The bandits appeared to all be located in one spot, and a little magic should end the matter.  The fact that Rigo was far across the Ruins in Sedfair was no longer the issue it once would have been.  With her newfound Casting ability, Daria could have had them there in no time.  Kaler knew, however, that was not a subject to be broached.  This was a blood debt.  When Daria was acting as the
KalaBhoot
, she didn’t appreciate interference.  That was true in all cases.  That her Wanderer family, and in this case her stepfather, had been the recipients of the attacks this time meant she would not forgive those responsible nor allow anyone else, other than the two of them, to punish those who were guilty. 

They rode in the Wanderer wagon, heading south out of town as they had told young Ferd.  More than one shopkeeper saw them leave.  Once they had passed well beyond the outskirts of the village and they were certain they wouldn’t be seen Daria made a
Doorway
that took them to a spot well up the trail.  It would take a number of glass for any followers to get to that spot.  They unhooked the horses and carefully positioned the wagon.  It appeared as if the owners had made camp.  That’s what they wanted it to look like.  This was where they would most likely deal with the men who had been sent to kill them.  The plan could always change since they hadn’t yet seen what they were up against, but if so, they could be here well ahead of the others.

After the sun was up along the trail, they took their horses and jumped back to a spot where they could wait and watch to see who exactly would be looking for them this morning.  They were well off to the side of the valley that wound through the mountains to the south of Fontin, sitting up the side of one slope in a spot they had checked out the day before.  They could easily see the trail below and anyone who would be traveling along it, but were effectively concealed to anyone passing below.  The fact a traveler would have to look back toward the village as they rode to be able to see around the large rock in the side of the hill that hid them behind the trees also helped.  Anyone after them would have their eyes focused on the trail headed away from the village.

The wait was longer than Daria had expected, but suddenly Kaler nudged her in the side.  His position gave him more of a view back toward town, and he was the first to see the horses moving faster than would be usual for this type of terrain.  Only her head moved as she focused on the trail below.  There were six of them.  They looked the type, wearing rough clothes and unkempt hair.  Obviously the leader hadn’t felt it necessary to send his entire team, which worked out exactly as Daria had hoped.  She could hear one of the men swearing as the path narrowed and they had to stretch out as they crossed the stream that crossed the trail below.  The bandits had been riding three abreast, but the sudden narrowing and sharp turn had forced them to lose their rhythm.

They were far too noisy for the task they had planned.  Had Daria and Kaler been riding in the wagon as these men thought, they would have been alerted long before the men rode into view.  They were obviously confident, and were aware that the trail was lightly traveled, especially this time of day. 

Daria could tell Kaler was examining the men as they passed, using his knowledge of swordsmen and fighting to perform a preliminary analysis of the prowess of the men.  The way they carried their weapons and the way they sat in the saddle were clues to how they would fight.

Four of the men carried their swords in scabbards across their backs.  That had advantages when one was on horseback, keeping the weapon from banging against the thigh all day, and keeping it readily at hand should one need to draw while still in the saddle.  The remaining two had their swords in more traditional belt scabbards, carrying instead longbows across their backs.  The bows were larger than the one carried by Daria, but nothing compared to the heavy crossbow that Kaler lugged around, seemingly effortlessly.  The men with bows would be their first targets.  Eliminate them and the others would have to come within sword range to attempt to capture them.  At that range, a handful of ruffians were hardly a match.

They watched as the men rode out of view.  They had obviously been caught off guard and had gone back to the inn to discover that the wagon they were watching for was gone and that Daria and Kaler had left several glass earlier.  They were now trying to make up the lost time, hurrying down the trail, hoping to catch up before too late in the day.  The bandits knew there was little chance of losing the wagon, since the trail wound through the narrow valley without any real options for turning off, at least until the second day of travel.  They could be confident they would catch up, and by the time they did they would be far enough from the village that any action they took would go unnoticed.  Once the men had rounded the bend in the trail, Daria’s portal allowed Kaler and herself to rejoin the trail behind the men.  Their attention would be focused on what was ahead, and they wouldn’t be likely to notice a couple of careful riders behind them.  They were looking for a wagon, and they were certain it had gotten a substantial head start on them.

The trail through the thick woods offered multiple opportunities for ambushes, but none were quite right for what Kaler and Daria had in mind.  They didn’t want to pick off a couple of the bandits, and have the others able to find cover in the woods, and possibly even slip away.  Their plan called for elimination of this group, leaving no one to go back and warn those at the small farm they had scouted the night before.  That was where the spot they had left the wagon came in.  The bandits would see the wagon in the small clearing as they came over the hill, and want to sneak up on their suspected victims.  Two options presented themselves for making a concealed approach to the camp where the wagon was parked.  Either would work for what Daria and Kaler planned. 

As midday approached it was clear the bandits would soon ‘discover’ the camp.  She made a
Doorway
back to the wagon, and they left the horses in the small clearing where they could graze.  Then they jumped to the point they had selected to wait for the bandits.  The spot was well back from the camp where the wagon and horses now waited, and would allow them to follow behind the men whichever route they selected to approach the camp.  Hopefully they wouldn’t split up, which would make it more difficult.

It was apparent the men had spotted the wagon as expected.  They were suddenly quieter, and intent on the task at hand.  They rode silently into the clearing as Kaler had suggested they would, and dismounted, tying their horse’s reins to the thick brush along the back of the small clearing.  The approach plan must have been discussed as they rode toward the clearing, and as a group the six men started down the path on the right.  Four drew their broadswords, while the remaining two slipped their bows off their shoulders, pulling arrows from their quivers.  Bows and arrows were held loosely, but could be brought into action relatively swiftly should the need rise.

Kaler and Daria agreed on their targets, and set off behind the disappearing men.  They could move much quicker and quieter than the men they followed, and quickly closed the gap.  They knew where they wished the encounter to take place.  Before long the gaps in the brush showed the backs of the men ahead.  They were almost to the spot selected.  Kaler had already cocked the crossbow, and now he slipped a bolt in place as he walked.  Daria slipped an arrow out of her quiver, and placed the end in the bowstring.  She would draw the string just before she was ready to shoot.

Daria and Kaler stopped just before they stepped into the clearing.  They had timed it well.  The six men were fanned out, making their way across the opening.  At the far side of the small clearing, a final stand of trees separated the men from the wagon.  Because of the bright colors, it could be seen faintly beyond the trees.  The men were scanning the trees and the area ahead, their entire attention on where their victims might be.  They had seen the wagon and spotted the grazing horses, but as yet hadn’t seen the man and woman they had come to kill.

Daria nodded to Kaler and he lifted the heavy crossbow.  As he did, she swiftly raised her own bow and drew the string back to her ear, the fingers finding their familiar resting spot alongside her cheek.  The shot would be easy.  The men were only thirty-five paces away, moving slow and unaware of the danger.  Daria felt no discomfort in the manner by which the first men would die.  Animals like these deserved no consideration.  They had plans to butcher herself and Kaler, and would without a second thought if they had been whom the men thought.  Even as the thought passed through the back of her mind, the tip of her arrow settled on the target.  Smoothly she released her shaft, hearing the soft twang of Kaler’s release at nearly the same time.  Both arrows flew true over the short distance, and the two men carrying bows of their own grunted and collapsed as the shafts struck home.

There was no way the remaining four bandits could miss the distinctive sound of their fellows being struck.  They turned as the two men were falling, quickly scanning the forest to locate the source of danger.  They had already been starting to move toward the cover of the closest trees when they spotted Daria and Kaler.  Both Kaler and Daria had laid down their bows after the arrows had been released, and now were armed with edged weapons.  Both had known there wouldn’t be time for second shots before the men would be upon them.  Daria might have been able to get off a second shot, but didn’t see the need to try.  Kaler had drawn the Kellmore blade, and Daria held one of her fighting knives, this time one of those with a small, but serviceable handle. 

Seeing Daria and Kaler standing behind them, and making the connection that these were probably the two individuals they sought, the four bandits stopped moving for cover, and almost as quickly charged toward them.  The bows that had been used to kill their friends were visible on the ground.  Now the situation was more straightforward.  These two had been lucky and had been able to kill their friends from cover, but they would have no chance to do so again.  The odds were very much in the bandits’ favor.  Four to two.  Four to one actually.  None of them gave the slight woman much thought.  She was small and had just a small hand knife for a weapon. 

Daria and Kaler stepped out to meet the oncoming fighters, moving apart from one another to give each room to maneuver.  Predictably, only one of the men made for Daria, the remaining three focused on Kaler’s large frame and flashing sword.  The man making for Daria was suddenly surprised as a second blade appeared in the air, thrown by the woman’s left hand.  The blade flashed toward him, and if not for his practiced reflexes, would have struck him in the face.  He jerked his head to one side to avoid the knife, and felt it graze his cheek as it passed.  As he recovered from the thrown blade, he snarled and looked for the small figure that had thrown it, intent on teaching her a thing or two.  He was surprised to discover that she was no longer standing where she’d been, and as he scanned to see where she might have gone, he became aware of a cold discomfort in his gut.  He glanced quickly down, and was appalled to see his innards were sliding out of his stomach and coiling around his feet.  He bellowed his distress, which caught the attention of one of those converging on Kaler.

Kaler had already decided his first moves.  He could tell as the men approached, they were only marginally skilled at this kind of thing.  Kaler had fought professionals who better knew how to use their superior numbers against an enemy.  The one with the light colored beard seemed to be the most capable.  He would go down first, Kaler decided.  As the men closed on him, one suddenly veered off.  Kaler realized he had gone to deal with Daria, which must mean she had already dispatched the one who had been making for her.  She usually drew blood before Kaler.  He grinned.  It was now two against one.  Hardly fair.  These men weren’t trained well enough to take him without more help.

The man who had turned toward Daria approached her far more warily than his now dead friend had done.  He realized that there was more to this couple than they had assumed.  Half of their number were now dead, and they had yet to draw blood.  The young woman stood waiting, not appearing at all intimidated by his superior weapon and reach.  The calm way she observed him made him suddenly nervous.  He decided his reach would be his salvation, and came to a stop a few paces away.  He moved in slowly, and when he was close enough to see the contempt in her eyes, he snapped his blade sharply, knowing the cut would take her by surprise.  Except she wasn’t there when the blade passed through the space she’d been occupying a heartbeat before.  He sensed movement off to his side, and forced the heavy blade around to counter what might be coming his way.  At first he assumed there was a third member of their group, but then, as fire burned across his wrist, he saw it was just the woman.  Her blade had cut deeply into the forearm of his sword hand, and he found he couldn’t hold the weapon properly.  He watched aghast as the weapon slipped from his hand, which was now slippery with blood.  His eyes shifted upward, away from the fallen sword to see a blur of motion, and then felt the cold steel as it cut across his throat.  Suddenly the woman was standing several paces away, watching as his vision faded and he dropped first to his knees, and then fell on his face.  It wasn’t supposed to happen this way, he thought briefly before everything went black.