The Baldari (Book 3) (38 page)

Rigo was thinking through the implications.  Wizards could easily learn this.  Casters could not.  There was probably a spell, but it would have to be found and taught.  He’d need to show Ash’urn.  Sometimes knowing a thing existed and what to look for helped.  They would have to guide their search and see what could be located.  It was too bad that Koess wasn’t a Caster.  He might have learned that as well.

The light was slow to dawn.  At first the thought nagged at Rigo and he tried to push it away.  It refused to be treated in such a manner, and pushed back. Finally he took a look at it, and gasped.  Koess wasn’t a Caster.  Casting had been unknown when he had disappeared and he hadn’t had time to learn it since returning.  Unless he picked up that knowledge while in the Void as well.  But even then he didn’t have a staff or any kinds of symbols to aid him.  He had just triggered
Greenfire
in an attempt to breach Rigo’s shield around the vase. 
Greenfire
!  Only Casters with the appropriate string of glyphs could trigger it.  

“Your
Greenfire
,” Rigo asked Koess.  “It is based in inherent magic as well?”

“Of course,” Koess asked.  “I wondered why you use the Casting method, but assumed you must have a reason.  Yours was more powerful than mine and I thought that might be why.”

‘That’s probably attributable to individual ability,” Rigo said.  “Can you show me the inherent approach?”

“You don’t know that either?” Koess asked.

“No, none of us do,” Rigo responded. “I think we are going to need to sit down and see just what else you have picked up and think the rest of us know.”

Moments later, after the second melding of the day, Rigo was in control of both shields and inherent
Greenfire
. 

“Let’s go find Daim, Nycoh, and some of the others.  They need to learn of this immediately.”

A short time later the ability had been passed to a number of others.  Nycoh was the most introspective of the new ability, thinking she saw a means of expanding her ability of triggering multiple spells simultaneously using clues hidden in the shielding spell.  Already she could do something of the sort with casting and the interlocked spells on the staff, but with inherent magic she might be even more flexible.

“We will have to put a team to work testing the capabilities of this shield,” Daim said, immensely pleased with the new discovery.  “Jeen, Daria and Suline are experimenting with the
Ghost Doorway
to see what can be done.  I wish there were some way to pass that skill to others, but even Nycoh says she can’t duplicate it.  This spell is even more important.”  He grinned at Koess.  For the first time Daim was certain that Koess wasn’t somehow linked to the Brryn and slipped into their midst.

“
Ghost Doorway
?” Koess asked.

Rigo explained what Suline could do.

“Have you any knowledge of such a thing from the Void?” Rigo asked.

Koess shook his head.  “Nothing I encountered while there hinted at such a thing.  That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, and I may have simply missed it, but it is a new concept to me.”

“Maybe we have something even the Brryn don’t know about,” Daim said hopefully.  “We certainly surprised Shym with it.”

“Did you learn of anything that could defeat a shield?” Nycoh asked.

Koess nodded.  “There are such spells.  They were part of the magic that was beyond my ability to learn.  There is a triple helix beam, a very complex structure that will pass through the shield and cut it off.  There is also a strange spell that produces what looks almost like a dark black wave speckled with shimmering flares of color.  It will overcome the most powerful of protective spells.  I am of the impression that nothing can stand against it.”

Nycoh looked at Daim.  “That is not good news.  If the Brryn know of such spells, our newly acquired protection might not be so useful as we hope.”

“It is unfortunate that we have no access to this knowledge, but from what Koess has told us, we might not be able to exercise it even if we knew.  For the moment, we need to learn more about what we have just learned, and what else Koess might know that can help us.”

Rigo explained how the matter had come up, and Koess’s idea for shielding the Baldari.  If he were correct, they might have a means of keeping them alive long enough to learn something.

“Magic doesn’t work the same,” Jeen explained when Rigo found them testing Suline’s
Doorway
.  “On most
Bypass
, everyone has learned that magic won’t operate through it.  Send a bolt of
Brightfire
at an open portal, and the magic acts as if no
Bypass
is present, simply passing by and striking whatever is on the far side locally.  No one has ever succeeded in sending magic through a portal.  With the
Ghost
Doorway
, where one can see what’s on the far side, we had hoped it would be different.  It is, but not how we expected.  Instead of ignoring the
Doorway
as in all other cases, or passing through like Daria’s arrows, the magic appears to somehow dissipate at the interface, causing no harm either on this side or the far side.”

“But weapons do?” Rigo asked.

“Anything material can be passed through,” Jeen agreed.  “We have thrown rocks, shot arrows, tossed spears, heaved boiling caustic. And they all go through as one would expect.  The real benefit is that one can see what is on the far side and target it as though it was here with us.”

“What about swords and knives?”

“If thrown, they will pass through, but if attached to a person, the entire entity must be on this side or the other.  There is no reaching through and swinging a sword at something while staying on this side.  Too far away, and nothing appears on the far side.  Too close, and both sword and swordsman go through to the other side.”

“It is remarkable to watch,” Jeen said.  “We have tested with the exit only a short distance away.  The arrows shot seem to simply materialize in the air.  It would have to be startling to someone who wasn’t expecting it.  We could use the effect even with normal
Doorway
s, although many arrows would have to be fired simultaneously in hopes of scoring a hit.”

“One added advantage is that no one can fire back,” Daria said.  “Like any other
Doorway
, it is one way, except for those who have passed through.  The
Ghost Doorway
allows travelers to pull themselves back with merely a wish, very unlike the standard
Doorway
.”

Rigo smiled.  “I think it is about time to take this war to the enemy,” he said softly.

The protective barriers, or shields, were more versatile than one might have expected.  They were also easier to use.  Koess had been correct.  A shield around the Baldari allowed them to live once the sedation was removed.  Whoever or whatever controlled them normally appeared to be unaware of their state, and as a result they continued to survive.  That had been the positive step.  Beyond that, any attempt at interrogation was useless.  There was no common language that would allow the interrogators to communicate with the Baldari, and after the first few minutes, the Baldari lost any interest in the proceedings.  They returned to the back of the cell, where they squatted and sat together, pointedly ignoring the people who were trying to talk with them.  What was surprising to all, was the complete lack of hostility they showed toward their captors, a complete switch from the normal reaction expected.  Some thought it was because they were unarmed and helpless, but others thought the matter went deeper.

An attempt at a Reading also went poorly.  The Baldari were very different than normal humans, and the means by which they communicated so foreign, that little of use was obtained.  The Baldari appeared to know little of where they were, what had brought them here, and who was controlling them.  Confusion was the most common result of one of the Reading sessions.  The seven Baldari they had captured appeared to be simple fighters, or perhaps farmers turned fighter.  The only common thread, they appeared to come from several different villages, was a mental picture of an older, somewhat scarred Baldari, who they considered their leader.  Perhaps if they had his mind to probe, more might be learned.  In the meantime, they had to decide what to do with seven Baldari prisoners.  For now they left them together in a large, protected cell, fed them regularly, and watched for any change in status.

The wizards had already learned a great deal about the protective barrier of the shield.  Once Koess was set to thinking on what he’d learned, he was able to dredge up considerable background.  The shields could obviously be used for personal protection, and when used as such were able to not only block all tested forms of magic, but would stop arrows and spears as well.  Anyone wrapped in such a shield was able to operate normally, and could “lock” the shield in place and essentially ignore it until he wished to drop it.

Others could be shielded as well.  This was most effective if they were included in a shield that encompassed the entire group.  That made the barrier somewhat cumbersome and restricted movement.  With a little experimentation the wizards learned to make the shield larger than the party being protected, which allowed for more freedom of individual movement.  Unfortunately, as the shield grew in size, its ability to block physical items dropped off, and given a large enough barrier, arrows were able to make it through, although their direction of flight was disturbed.

More importantly, a wizard could shield others by enclosing him, her, or them inside a barrier independent of his own.  The second shield required constant attention, however, limiting the wizard’s ability to perform other tasks.  There was something else at work they didn’t understand, because Nycoh was able to shield a separate group, and still operate her other magic unimpaired.  She was thus far alone in this ability.

Finally, objects could be shielded.  The same kind of shield that could be used to protect a separate group of individuals could be applied to an object or a structure.  However, for a structure, the shield could be locked in place, and it would last for an extended period with the continued attention of the wizard who had created it.  If a group of wizards
Linked
, they could shield a large area, with a far stronger barrier than any one was able to create.  A shield created by such a
Linkage
appeared to be extremely long lasting, and needed only infrequent boosts to keep it in place.  The boost could be supplied by any of the wizards who had participated in the
Linking
that had created it.

Another task that Daim had initiated after the attack was a careful search for all members of the wizard community.  Based on the reports for those who had been in Pagner, far more wizards and Casters had been controlled by the Brryn woman than they had anticipated.  That suggested others had disappeared without their being aware of the fact.  This was confirmed, when the wizards in small villages and far-flung areas were found to have disappeared.  The Brryn had been searching them out, probably using the knowledge gained from those she had initially captured.  To ensure this didn’t happen again, all were encouraged to return to the Outpost where closer accounting of their numbers was possible.  Based on the number that couldn’t be accounted for, the Brryn had more in reserve than they had feared.

Daim selected Jeen and Nycoh to travel to Sedfair to meet with the leadership there.  Jeen would meet with Queen Jusay, both to formally carry the thanks from King Rhory for her support of Pagner, and to inform her of recent developments.  Nycoh’s task was to meet with Ardra and Lyes of the Guild.  The recent discoveries needed to be passed to the wizard portion of the Sedfair gifted.  As their most powerful mage, a term becoming more common for those who demonstrated both inherent and symbolic magic, and as a frequent resident of both lands, Nycoh was seen as the best representative for this task.  Rigo and Mitty knew the specific individuals better, but they were clearly being targeted, and Daim felt that Mitty would be far safer at the Outpost than anywhere in Sedfair.  The Guild was nowhere as secure as the Outpost, especially now that the protective barrier had been erected into the very stone that formed the outer shell.

In addition to the newly learned magic, Nycoh carried word of what else they had learned.  That included the location of the staging area, the death of Shym – something that would be very well received by Sedfair’s leadership - and the concern that more wizards and Casters than realized were being taken by their common enemy.  Sedfair would need to perform the same kind of checks that Daim had initiated in the Three Kingdoms. 

Finally, Nycoh was to inform the Guild that a plan was being formulated to send a large force into the jungle starting at the staging area that Suline had discovered.  The force would include a large number of wizards. No Casters would be sent because as yet they were unable to erect their own protective shields.  Each of the wizards would have to be strong in
Greenfire
as well.  Daim wanted Sedfair to know his intentions, and allow them to send along some of their own wizards if they wished.  Now that they had the ability to be protected from any magic that had been thus far displayed, Daim wanted to seek out and discover the location of the Brryn woman and the strange pod which Mitty saw her in.  From the revelations Koess had provided, there was potentially a real concern if the woman, and possibly those encapsulated with her, were able to get free to operate more directly.  Using the captured gifted, she was limited in what magic could be brought to bear, but if she controlled some of the magic that Koess had described, they might find themselves at a disadvantage once again.  They had an opportunity to act, and needed to do so before their situation deteriorated.  Especially worrisome was that Mitty had reported that despite efforts to block her visions, she was certain at least one other of the Brryn in the chamber was regaining consciousness.

“It’s unfortunate that this Koess wasn’t able to bring back the other magic he described,” Ardra said, after Nycoh had finished explaining all they had learned and how.

“There is much he might have sought to learn had he any idea he might some day be rescued.  One can easily forgive his lack of diligence.  He was left there, completely alone for more than a dozen years.  It’s a wonder he remained sane, let alone brought back what he has.  Besides, he claims much of the magic he was too unskilled to learn.”

“I’m not sure what that means,” Lyes said.

Nycoh glanced at her former lover.  There was still a distance between them, and she could tell that he was anxious to learn the new skills she brought.  That had been the source of most of the tension between them.  He had wanted to match her in every skill. She remembered how gleeful he had been when he had discovered
Greenfire
with Fen when so many had failed for so long.  Briefly she wondered about his girlfriend, Novi, but then pushed the thought aside.  She was tired of the games, and truthfully wished they could mend what had been torn, but she had other secrets she wasn’t ready to share, even if he’d been willing.  She sensed he might be, but didn’t wish to pursue it.

“Koess is a wizard, but has no background in symbolic magic.  You and I have learned that the result of mastering both disciplines is more than the sum of the pair.  I suspect that one must be at least skilled in both, and perhaps even something else, before some of the magic he encountered can be learned.  It is only a guess, but from what he had explained, that appears likely.”

“And this woman, a Brryn he calls her, might have such skills?”

Nycoh shifted her gaze back to Ardra.  She knew that Ardra would be interested in the shields, and disappointed that as a Caster she wouldn’t be able to create them.  But Ardra was pragmatic, and she would use the knowledge in a manner that would be most productive.

“We believe it is likely.  From the history Koess learned, the Brryn were the most powerful sorcerers of their time.  They were true mages, and even more, and if the magic existed, it would be unreasonable to assume they weren’t masters of it.”

“When will the force be leaving the Three Kingdoms?” Ardra asked.

“Three days from now.  I’m to transfer the new magic to Lyes so you can distribute it to your corps of wizards.  I also am to ask that at least five of your people join us, at least for the jump to the staging area that Suline found.  It is up to you whether any become part of the force.  Those five are intended to see the area, fix it in their minds, and provide a resource in the event you need or wish to visit the location.  It was hard won information and needs to be shared.”

“We will certainly participate,” Lyes said.  “The number we can send will need to be carefully considered.  We have fewer wizards than the Three Kingdoms, and given the escalation, will need to consider how to protect key locations and people.  Some kind of fallback, a hardened bunker protected by these shields seems be called for.”

After working through a few more details, the conversation shifted to a more personal subject.

“Ash’urn seems to be recovering,” Lyes said.  “I talked briefly with him at the Repository the other day.”

Nycoh nodded.  “He is unhappy about progress there however.  He and Fen have been spending long days, too long actually, and finding little.  There has been no luck with the viewing monitors, nor with the rods that were supposedly used to trigger the Ruins.  Neither yielded more than a few basic instructions and nothing that allowed them to be understood and used in any way.”

“Our progress has been far less than initially hoped,” Lyes agreed.  “I’m told we have almost exhausted everything we have that might benefit from translation, and gained very little beyond a better understanding of the history.  We are no closer to getting into the documents there, and the Caretakers have been unable or unwilling to provide any insight into how we might proceed.”

Nycoh hesitated.  She had an idea, but she might need Lyes to help her with it.

“I have an idea,” she said finally.  “With our newly gained ability with the shields, there might be a link to what is protecting the files.  Perhaps we can look at the problem together.  There are certain aspects of the problem I think you might understand better than me.”

A brief smile flashed across Lyes face.  “Of course,” he said softly.

Three days later, a combined force of fifty-two wizards from the Three Kingdoms and Sedfair stepped through a
Doorway
that Suline created into the clearing that formed the staging area that only she had thus far visited.  They couldn’t use any of the mental images obtained from the captured Baldari to make
Doorways
.  For some reason, the images obtained from the Reading were tainted, and simply didn’t work.  That had been a major disappointment as they had hoped at least to be able to locate the villages of the captured warriors that way.

After today, there would be many who could make a portal to this place.  Tara was in charge, insisting she be part of any effort that might locate her estranged consort.  They exited close to the spot where Shym had been killed, but other than a darkened stain in the dirt floor under the canopy of high trees, there was no sign of her.  The area appeared tired and deserted.  That wasn’t unexpected.  Suline had kept a close watch on the area, scanning it several times each day with her
Ghost Doorway
.  She had wanted to come along, but she was denied the opportunity for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, she was basically a Caster, and had not learned to make a protective barrier, and she had what remained a unique ability that no one was willing to risk.  Daim had obtained special permission from Ardra to keep her on hand at the Outpost for the foreseeable future.  Therefore she had made the
Doorway
for the others, but had remained far away at the Outpost.

More than a glass was spent checking the area, but it was obvious that no one had been here for a couple of days.  It had rained three days earlier, and the ground showed no sign of anyone passing through since that time.  The Brryn may have abandoned the location, but it was the closest they had come to where the Baldari gathered.  Once it was apparent nothing more could be learned here, the group headed out, moving in the direction Suline had seen some of the Baldari heading when she’d been here before.