The Baldari (Book 3) (66 page)

“I understand,” he said softly.  Rigo wondered if this was all she had to tell him.  If so, it had been unnecessary for him to travel here.

The Queen started speaking again, her eyes watching Rigo intently.  “You are seeking the Brryn, but it will be they who find you.  Hyndl will discover you, and initiate an attack.  You will be unable to best him in this encounter.”

“Are you saying I will be killed, or that I must flee?” Rigo asked.

“If you stand and fight, you will be killed,” Queen Mos’pera said.  Rigo could see in her eyes that she was being brutally honest.  “If you simply flee, an important opportunity will be lost and it will mean eventual failure, and the Brryn will win.”

“What are you saying I must do?” Rigo asked, now uncertain what the Queen was attempting to tell him.

“Somehow, you must make it so that Hyndl is the one who withdraws.  I cannot tell how that might be made to happen, but along that path is the only hope for eventual success.  Victory is not guaranteed, but it is the only way.”

Rigo was silent.  He didn’t know what to say.  He must engage Hyndl, and force the much stronger Brryn to withdraw from his attack.  It seemed an impossible task.  Rigo had assumed that if Hyndl found him, it would be a fight to the death for one of them.  If he and Nycoh found Hyndl, first they would plan how to proceed.  He looked at Queen Mos’pera, hoping for something more.

“I have told you more than I deem wise,” she said finally.  “In fact, I have told you all that I have seen.  Now it is for you to act.  This time, you cannot blame me and the outcome on my keeping something from you.”

“I understand,” Rigo said finally, but the truth was he didn’t understand at all.  He wished he could ask Mitty about this.  As a Seer herself, she might see a crack in the logic.

Jeen stayed behind with the Queen when Rigo left a short time later.  As he stepped into his private sanctuary in the Ruins and looked up at Mitty, he wondered if Mos’pera had truly told him everything.

A week passed without a major encounter, and with absolutely no progress finding where Hyndl might have settled in.  Frequent sightings of their target were reported, but nothing that led anywhere.  It was apparent that they were being sought in turn, and that Brryn tempers were growing short.  Twice, Hyndl had flamed a village when he didn’t find the cooperation he sought.  Once he was angered when the village wouldn’t produce Hagen, one of those on the Brryn list and being actively sought.  As a result he destroyed the community he felt was hiding him.  Rigo knew the village had not been holding back.  Hagen had been confirmed killed over three weeks earlier, but the Brryn hadn’t known that.  Usually the two Brryn were spotted together, but not always.  That offered Rigo a little encouragement, because he was not prepared to face them together.  Not only had Mos’pera warned against it, but he hadn’t thought of any means of dealing with them separately, let alone together.

Rigo was concerned that Kytra and Hyndl might attempt to set a trap for him.  Queen Mos’pera’s warning about the encounter had made him cautious, and he wondered each day whether this would be the one when it happened.  He had discussed it at length with his friends the obvious contradictions in Mos’pera’s warnings, and they had made plans as best they could.  Now Rigo would simply have to be alert and hopefully make the right choices which would supposedly assure his survival, but give the kingdoms a chance to prevail over the cursed Brryn.  He hoped Mos’pera had been up front with him.  He hated being a pawn.

It began suddenly and without warning.  Rigo stepped out of an inn in the small village of Torask in Northern Lopal where he’d been chasing down a rumor that Hyndl had been seen nearby several times.  As he stepped into the street, a man with lavender hair stepped into the street from a shop across the way.  There weren’t many with the color hair shared by Rigo and the Brryn.  They knew one another on sight.

Rigo didn’t want an exchange in the middle of the village.  He knew Hyndl would destroy the place without a thought.  Rigo also had to be mindful of Mos’pera’s warning.  He didn’t dare risk simply fleeing.  He needed Hyndl to follow. He needed to make this develop along the lines that would offer them hope.  He also wanted to feed the doubt that might yet exist in Hyndl’s mind whether he had any of the Brryn powers.  Therefore, he left, but he did so by stepping into a masked
Bypass
he created.  A
Bypass
he knew that Hyndl could follow.  Before he entered the arch, he carefully snapped the colored bracelet he wore around his left wrist.

The abandoned mine that Rigo exited into had been chosen with care.  The large bowl that had been excavated some years before was cut out of the hard, solid stone.  Around the rim of the bowl were many shafts that went back into the sides of the mountain where the miners had made test holes looking for more of the valuable ore.  There were multiple places to hide, places where Rigo had visited and could
Transfer
to in an instant.  Hiding, however, wasn’t going to resolve this matter.

Hyndl had followed him.  Rigo saw the Brryn appear suddenly a couple of hundred paces away. He was being cautious, and had wanted to see where Rigo had taken them before jumping into the unknown.  He must have been satisfied, because a moment later he appeared a mere twenty paces away, facing Rigo, his shields clearly in place.  Rigo couldn’t have missed the telltale fuzzy band that surrounded the Brryn.

“Finally we meet,” Hyndl said, his speech clear and without accent.  “You are the one called Rigo, I believe.  I see the stories are true.  You obviously have a great deal of Brryn blood.  The question remains, am I correct in assuming you have somehow learned our magic as well?”

Rigo had thought of what he would say if they were ever face-to-face, but he didn’t get a chance to answer.  Hyndl triggered one of the helix beams almost before he had finished speaking.  The colors were almost blindingly bright as they intertwined in the separate helixes flashing toward him.  He no longer needed any proof that Hyndl was stronger than Tryll had been.  Fortunately, the encounter with Tryll had taught Rigo something.  He had also matured somewhat as well.  He couldn’t say why, but use of his power had somehow allowed his own abilities to grow.  He was far better prepared for this encounter than he would have been if he hadn’t fought with Tryll.  It was a good thing too.  Instinctively he adjusted the shield to provide most of its blocking in the front where he faced his adversary.

“So, you have learned how to shield yourself,” Hyndl shouted as the beam struck. 

The magic rocked Rigo with its power when it hit.  He felt the shield flex under the attack.  He was forced to step back a step, and even as he did so he suspected Hyndl was holding back.  He was certain the other wanted to see what else Rigo might have learned.  Hyndl didn’t want to kill him right off.  He wanted to see if Rigo could attack using the advanced magic.  Rigo knew it was time to show him what he wanted.  There was no way he could chase Hyndl away using the older magic, and if Mos’pera was to be believed, that was the task set for him in this encounter.  He didn’t forget that the Queen had told him he would likely lose in a direct encounter.

Rigo triggered his own identical beam, which flashed toward the other.  Far less intense than that of Hyndl, it was nonetheless, stronger than the beam that Tryll had been capable of the other day.  Rigo almost flushed with pleasure at how his power had grown in the last few days.  He had sensed the change, and had practiced each morning to see what gains he had made.  He knew it wouldn’t rock the other as he had been, but it would show that he wasn’t going down easily.

Hyndl grinned as he saw his belief confirmed.  The cursed rebels had acquired Brryn magic.  He had expected as much when he had seen Rigo’s hair.  How many had inherited the characteristics?  He would have thought over the thousands of years the Brryn had been inactive the trait would have been less likely.  Perhaps this was the only one.  Briefly he thought of the missing Nyk and wondered if he had fathered a group of bastards who had somehow gained control.  As Rigo’s beam struck, he pushed it away effortlessly.  If that was the most he had to contend with this wouldn’t last long.

Rigo was already launching another beam, this one much like the first.  Hyndl wondered if he should play with him a bit more to see what else he had learned, but then decided there was little point.  He was out here alone, and it would be best to eliminate this wizard.  Hyndl could tell Kytra they had enough of the magic to have surprised Tryll.  Playing with this one wouldn’t tell him anything about how many there might be, and he didn’t want to risk more showing up to join forces against him.  He was strong, but enough of those with the power working together would represent a risk he didn’t wish to deal with.  Kill this one now, and hunt down the others.

Just as Hyndl prepared to launch an even more intense beam that should overload the protective barrier, he was jolted by a blast from the rear.  His own barrier was weaker in that area as he hadn’t been expecting an attack originating behind him.  The beam he triggered went wide, missing the one called Rigo as Hyndl attempted to see who was behind him.  He was rattled as another of Rigo’s beams hit, and then again as something else struck him.  Strengthening his barrier, he scanned around and tried to understand what was happening.  He saw a woman with long lavender hair who must have fired the magic that had surprised him.  Before he could trigger a response, she vanished as she
Transferred
somewhere else.  He discovered where when he was struck again from the side, and then once again by Rigo. 

Hyndl grinned.  They had tried to ambush him, but it wouldn’t matter.  Now he could deal with the two of them.  While he had been surprised, he was easily strong enough to absorb the magic they were pummeling him with and still fight back.  He tried to locate Rigo first.  He would kill that one, then deal with the woman.

Jeen watched as the twin beams struck Hyndl.  He appeared startled, but not really harmed.  Drawing on the power given her by the linkage to ten of the most powerful wizards who had survived the hunt for them, she launched an intense beam of
Brightfire
from the mouth of the small cave where she was hidden.  The air crackled as the beam transitioned across the open pit and struck the shields of the distracted Brryn.  He hadn’t been expecting that.  As she stepped through the
Ghost Doorway
that Suline had been holding open, she saw another attack being launched by both Rigo and Nycoh.  Moments later she was preparing to fire again from another of the cave mouths.

They had planned this after Rigo’s meeting with Queen Mos’pera.  He had known he couldn’t face Hyndl alone, and even wondered if he and Nycoh had a chance.  Mos’pera hadn’t said he needed to deal with Hyndl alone, and a little experimentation showed that the Linked
Brightfire
, especially as powerful as Jeen could be with it, could help weaken the Brryn shields, especially those already being battered by others with the Brryn helix.  They had chosen this place for the attack.  With Suline able to move Jeen between sheltered caves, and Rigo and Nycoh able to use the
Transfer
magic to jump to new locations without revealing their intent, they had a chance to battle Hyndl from three directions.  Hopefully it would be enough.

Jeen’s second blast of enhanced magic lashed out at Hyndl.  This time she used
Greenfire
multiplied by the force of those she was
Linked
with.  She thought she saw a flare around the point where she struck.  Beams from Rigo and Nycoh impacted at the same time.  She turned and stepped into the
Doorway
that Suline had waiting.

Hyndl launched a beam of bright green magic at the cave where the
Greenfire
had originated.  Unlike the standard
Greenfire
, this was a broad beam that appeared to pulse and change intensity as it flowed across the bowl of the mine.  It struck and the mountain erupted as if it were a volcano.  Rock and debris flew high into the sky.  Fortunately, Suline had built the
Doorway
to take the team of wizards around to the far side.

The blast was still echoing in the distance when Hyndl was struck again by three almost simultaneous beams of magic.  He probably should have fled in the respite a moment ago, but he was annoyed at the sudden change of circumstances.  He wasn’t certain how they were creating the
Greenfire
with such intensity, but it was nearly effective enough to disrupt his shields even without the added influence of the helix beams being thrown at him.  As he adjusted the shields, and sensed them regain full strength, he
Transferred
to a spot he saw across the floor of the bowl, expecting it to give him a fresh perspective for his attack.  It should take them a few moments to relocate him.

He didn’t know that Rigo and Nycoh had mapped out the area carefully before the battle, and had identified likely places their quarry might move to.  When he disappeared, they were ready to target the places they expected him to appear, and he no sooner appeared than he was peppered by two more beams of intense magic.  He slid behind a large bolder for additional protection.  That was blasted into powder by Jeen’s next shot of
Greenfire
, but Hyndl had already relocated again. 

Hyndl struck Rigo squarely with a carefully aimed beam of helix magic.  His second shift in position had bought him a few moments to survey his surroundings.  He watched happily as the protective barrier around the wizard collapsed, and prepared to send the deciding beam that would end his involvement in this attack.  Before he could follow-through, he was struck simultaneously by a beam from the lavender haired woman and whoever was creating the fierce
Greenfire
from the caves around the perimeter of the mine.  Both struck him at nearly the same place, and he sensed a breach in his own shield which he needed to attend to.  As he remedied the fault, he saw that Rigo had somehow managed to resurrect his own protective barrier and had
Transferred
out of sight.  A missed opportunity.  Quickly he scrambled behind a rock to get out of view of those attacking him while he searched to see where Rigo had gone.

If he could simply eliminate the wizard producing the
Greenfire
, the situation would change significantly.  He guessed correctly that whoever it was didn’t have the ability to create a powerful shield, which would make him or her an easy target if they would just stay put.  With that individual gone, Hyndl was certain he could handle the two remaining wizards despite their ability with Brryn magic.  Then he realized it might be enough to simply eliminate the cover they were using, by destroying the various caves they were using.  It would take a while, but it might be enough.

He wished he had Kytra here with him.  If she had been here to back him up, this would be over already.  Unfortunately there was no way to contact her as far away as she liked to stay without the amplifier these bastards had destroyed.  When he had spotted Rigo this morning he’d had a choice of going for help or following Rigo.  He had believed he could handle the situation alone.  He probably still could, but this was turning out to be more of a battle than he’d expected.

Hyndl triggered another release of the powerful green magic and blasted the set of caves at the far left end into rubble.  An impact against his shields required his attention and he turned and shot one of the helix beams toward the woman.  She was gone almost as soon as she’d fired and his beam struck the stone behind where she had been standing.