The Aperture

Chapter 22

An Encounter with the Ephidians

Every step brought them closer to the snow-capped mountains that loomed in the distance. Connie walked at a brisk pace alongside her hanyak. Her body was responding to her rigorous training. A somber state overcame the party after Fandia’s death. No one spoke much. The levity returned only after a few days had passed.

By the afternoon of the second day, the forest of knotty trees had coagulated into a dense forest of larger trees. These were straighter and healthier-looking than the first. The ruins became less frequent, although no sign of recent civilized activity was apparent in these parts. For all the sickly, bleak terrain they traversed, this land had an abundance of unspoiled, unspoiled green areas. It seemed to her that although Chaos dominated the land, its pervasiveness was not as complete as Rahl and the others had at first believed.

At dinner, Rahl remarked to the party that, as of that evening, they had traveled further inland than he’d ever ventured himself. He suspected that the only humans to be found in the area would be those gathering nodes to sell at marketplaces in the distant civilized areas. Rahl stated that the nodes they would encounter there might very well be tainted and should therefore be taken with caution.

While making their way through the desert, Connie detected and took possession of three wood nodes, a water node in a small brook they crossed, and a fire node that appeared spontaneously within the night’s campfire. Snow allowed Connie to take possession of the nodes, even though both of them knew very well that Connie presently had no use for them.

On the morning of the third day, the morning light revealed that two of the ten hanyaks in the party were foaming at the mouth. The hanyaks were dead by dusk. A third hanyak fell ill later the next day. Through a combination of spells and herbal cures, Jalban and Theo were able to restore this hanyak to health.

The forest had thickened to the point where the mountains in the distance were no longer visible. They had been following a cobblestone road built a thousand years before when the land was civilized. Though overgrown, the road was still, for the most part, passable without undue difficulty. Eventually, however, the road decayed into a dirt clearing, then a path, and then it disappeared altogether. Now the going was very slow, as they had to hack a path through the thick vines and shrubs that impeded human passageway through the forest. Surprisingly, the sound of birds filled the trees, and insects were plentiful here. This was a good sign, for it meant that Chaos had spared this region for the time being.

Late in the afternoon, the forest parted to reveal the ruins of a large fortress sitting atop a broad hill in the distance. The party stood in a row as they surveyed the structure. The size of the fortress was immense, and the grandiosity of its design was undiminished by time and age. The conical roofs of its many citadels were made of what looked like a glossy, purple tile. Multicolored stones set into the walls created huge, watercolor-like swirling patterns. These patterns were still visible in the crumbling walls, even from the distance where the party stood. The battlements of this particular fortress were triangular-shaped as opposed to those found on European medieval castles. The serrated edges at the tops of the fortress walls gave the structure a decisively more forbidding appearance, though in truth, the serrated edges were probably less effective shelters against a marauding army than their rectangular counterparts. Just as at the Castle Maray, the remnants of a rude village lay huddled against the outer walls of the fortress.

Connie gasped on seeing the mountains beyond the castle. They were very close now. It would be perhaps only another day’s travel before they reached the foot of the rocky peaks.

They moved forward toward the fortress. The agricultural fields that surrounded the village so long ago had succumbed to vast fields of a strange type of prickly, yellow-leafed shrub. It struck Connie as odd that none of the larger trees of the forest encroached on this area. When Connie tapped Jalban’s immense herbal knowledge about this, he explained that the plant known as “Dead Man’s Jaw” that grew here poisoned the soil with an herbicide that made it impossible for other plants to grow. The shrubs that ran rampant here were considered a nuisance, even in the civilized lands. When Connie asked Jalban why the plant was called “Dead Man’s Jaw,” he explained that the seeds of the bush had the vague arch shape of a person’s mandible. Most notably, some of the deadliest of poisons were created from the root of this particular plant.

They began hacking and slashing their way across the field, moving closer to the fortress with every slash of the enchanted sword. They had traveled for about ten minutes when Jalban suddenly pointed to the sky and shouted.

“Look! Over there!”

All eyes of the party rose to the sky. Superimposed on the pale green afternoon sky was a telltale black plume of smoke trailing up into the heavens. The party stopped moving forward to watch the smoke. It seemed to originate from either inside or just beyond the fortress walls.

“What do you think?” Theo asked Rahl.

“The fortress has visitors,” Rahl answered as he gazed at the smoke.

“But it looks abandoned,” Jalban stated. “Who would be there?”

“Difficult to say,” Rahl replied. “Could be node poachers. They’re most likely human.”

“Shall we avoid them?” Maltokken asked.

Rahl weighed the blade of his enchanted weapon in his hand as he gazed out at the smoke. “At first it may seem prudent to avoid them, but it will be getting dark soon. We will not make much headway through the woods, not enough to escape detection from them if they forage for game or firewood.” Rahl looked at Maltokken. “They may be hostile. It is better that we first encounter them armed and prepared than while we sleep in our blankets.”

At those words, the party prepared their spells and weapons.

Jalban spoke up. “Shall I go forward to scout them?”

“No. We will stay together as a group, as that way strength will be greatest.”

Now armed and ready for action, the party continued through the bushes. Soon they had breached the ruined village. Most of these buildings, those made of the same stone as the fortress, were not as well constructed, and most of them had collapsed to a pile of rubble or were little more than odd rectangular foundations overgrown with scruffy weeds and Dead Man’s Jaw. There was very little free wood lying about. Most of it had long ago decayed or collapsed to dust from the weather. Farther up the broad slope of the hill, the main portal to the fortress stood bereft of gates and open like a large, toothless maw. Two octagon-shaped windows above and to either side of the gate, the serrated battlements at forehead level, and some clever stonework reinforced this illusion. Connie wondered if this was the intended effect.

They entered the fortress through the main gates. Just as was the village, the fortress was in utter ruin. Weather and age had broken down most of the walls and other structures within. From the precarious state of the masonry, she thought it was a marvel of engineering that most of the towers still stood despite the number of stones they had lost over the last thousand years. The steep angle of sunlight from the sinking sun to the west against the standing structures cast long shadows within the fortress.

The party stood by quietly with their weapons ready. Theo stood out front of the party, moving his staff before him in a broad arc in an attempt to detect the presence of life (or recent death) within the fortress. Rahl did likewise with his sword in an effort of divination for concentrations of Chaos.

Rahl spoke first, “Chaos is here, but it is subdued.”

Everyone now waited for Theo. “The visitors are within the walls of the fortress,” he reported. “They reside further toward the center.”

“How many are there?” Yalden asked.

“I think perhaps ten or so. Also, I detect the presence of enchantments or perhaps nodes. Maybe both. I am not sure.”

Snow broke in. “There are nodes.”

Rahl, Theo, and Yalden turned to her. None of them knew that she was also doing a divination.

“This is not good,” Rahl said.

“Why so?” Connie asked.

Snow flipped her hair back over her shoulders and began tying it with a ribbon. “There are probably spellcasters in their number.”

Yalden laughed. “Ah! I will slay the spellcasters with my own sword! They will be the first to die!”

“I would not endeavor to fight spellcasters unprotected,” Maltokken said.

Rahl looked to Snow and Theo. “Maltokken has a point. We will need protection against spells if they prove themselves hostile. How many protection spells do we have?”

“I have two—not counting the one for myself,” Theo answered. “They should ward off spirit magic attacks.”

“I can cast three verses elemental,” Snow said. “If there are celestial spells, you all are on your own.”

Rahl did a quick tally of the protection spells. “Without Fandia’s contribution, we do not have enough protection spells to go around. Two of our number must stay out of sight until we greet them.” He turned to Jalban and Connie. “You two will be the ones to stay behind and tend the hanyaks. Also, Jalban, we will need your healing powers if we are injured.”

Jalban responded with a solemn nod while clutching the wooden shaft of his morning star tightly in his fist.

Connie spoke up. “I don’t need a protection spell. I can come with you.”

“You must have a protection spell, or you may be harmed,” Snow told her. “And if that happens, we’ll have to waste healing spells on you. That is, if you survive.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Connie said, smiling. “I have protection.”

“Ha! What protection?” Snow said in a dismissive tone. “Will you run? Is that your protection?”

Yalden and Psi’el laughed loudly at Snow’s witticism at Connie’s expense. Snow, then Maltokken, joined in the laughter. Connie scowled at them. She reached into her robe and pulled out the ankh-shaped amulet Calicus had given her. With its gold chain pulled taut at her neck, she held it out for all to see.

“This is my protection,” Connie said.

Snow’s eyes widened the second she laid eyes on the amulet. First surprise, then a look of anger crossed her face. The party stopped laughing at seeing her reaction. Connie immediately realized it was a bad idea to have shown it to her. Snow walked up to Connie and took the amulet in her hands to have a closer look at it.

“Where did you get this?”

“Calicus gave it to me.”

“Calicus?” She turned the amulet over in her hand so that she could read the back. Elenglea Vanexay, it read. Her eyes widened with anger.

“What troubles you, Snow?” Rahl asked.

“This cretin has my amulet of protection.” She glared at Connie contemptuously. “Calicus told me this was lost when I was still a young apprentice.”

“Maybe he took it from you when you didn’t need it anymore,” Connie said. “Maybe he took it so that you would not rely on it and enhance your powers instead. He only kept it to give to his next apprentice.”

Connie was pleased with the way that came out. It made sense and probably was the truth from what she knew of the kindly Calicus and his subtle mentoring. But Snow did not pause to consider this.

“No. He would never have given it to you. You are not worthy.”

Snow pulled harder on the chain. Connie had to lean forward to keep the chain from cutting into the back of her neck.

Snow continued. “This is mine. Do you see this?” She pointed to the engraving. “This is my name.” She yanked on the amulet in order to break it free, but the stout chain around Connie’s neck would not break.

Connie had had enough of this rough treatment. “Get your hands off of it!” she shouted as she pried Snow’s hand from the amulet. Once Snow had released it, she pushed the sorceress away from her.

“Back off!”

Snow glared at Connie, her mouth slightly agape, seemingly unable to believe she would do such a thing as shove her back. Then, with her eyes locked firmly on Connie, she started muttering something. Rahl seemed to know what she was doing. He quickly grabbed Snow by the shoulders and shook her, breaking her concentration.

“Rahl! Why did you do that?” Snow asked him, scowling.

“A snake must never bite its own tail. You must not attack Connie. She is with one of us on this quest.”

“But she has my amulet. She is a thief!” Snow directed these words more to Connie than to the swordbearer.

Snow’s accusation incensed Connie. “How dare you call me a thief!” Connie shot back at her. “I may be many things, but a thief I am not!”

“You are not worthy enough to wear my amulet,” Snow said. “Thief!”

“Go to the devil, Snow.”

“Connie!” Rahl shouted at her.

Snow again fixed her eyes on Connie and began chatting something under her breath. Once again, Rahl quickly shoved her aside, this time with enough force to knock her to the ground.

“Rahl—stop it!” Snow shouted to him from the ground. “Why do you do this?

“We do not know if Connie is a thief. If it turns out she is, she will be punished. Either way, we will sort this out after our encounter with the strangers.”

Snow did not respond to this. Rahl held out his hand to the sorceress of celestial magic, which he had impudently knocked to the ground. A pouting, unrepentant Snow stared up at his outstretched hand with a look that betrayed awkward embarrassment. After thinking it over for a few seconds, she took Rahl’s hand, and he pulled her to her feet.

Connie realized at that moment that no one else in the party, or perhaps in the world, could have done what Rahl had just done—and live to tell about it. The terrible lightning bolt Snow fired at the Chaos creature still awed her. As Connie’s anger at Snow subsided and the adrenaline dropped, she began to tremble slightly, realizing that Rahl had probably just saved her life.

Rahl took Snow aside, and they had a talk. As they spoke in hushed tones out of earshot, Jalban walked up to her. “Did Calicus really give you that amulet?” he asked her in a hushed tone.

“Yes.”

“For your sake, Connie, I hope you are telling the truth.”

“Obviously, Jalban, the truth doesn’t matter to Snow. She knows I’m not lying, and yet she carries on that way.”

Theo and Snow cast their protection spells on those who did not have enchanted objects to keep them safe from magical attacks. Connie furtively stuffed the amulet back beneath the folds of her robe against her skin. Theo saw her do this. He walked up to her and, without intimating his intentions, reached his hand down the front of her robe, where he pulled the amulet out from between her breasts to let it fall outside of her robe. Connie was too startled by Theo’s sudden action to stop him, so she stood there mutely while he did this.

“What do you think you’re doing, reaching into my robe like that?” Connie said after the initial shock of what he did had passed.

“You won’t want the amulet against your skin if you are attacked,” he replied without elaborating.

Theo then walked away to cast a protection spell on Yalden. Connie stood where she was, aghast, unsure whether to be angry or thankful.

With all protection spells cast, the group headed toward the source of life and magic while Jalban led the hanyaks and their supplies away from the fortress to the edge of the forest from where they came. Rahl and Theo led the party deeper into the fortress, with Snow and Yalden close behind. Psi’el and Maltokken held up the rear. Connie stayed close to Jalban and Tristana and her enchanted axe at the center of the group. They passed through the passages of the castle. They made their way through the ruins of barracks, a stable, an ancient smithy, and other centers of medieval craft. The wood roofs of most of the buildings were long gone, so each building appeared more as mysteriously walled courtyards with only scant clues remaining as to their functions hundreds of years ago.

The trail of smoke grew closer, then closer still as they wended their way through the labyrinth of ancient rubble-strewn corridors, stairs, and great halls. Theo stopped suddenly, holding out his staff before himself. A puzzled look crossed his face. Rahl waited for his direction on which way to proceed next. The direction never came.

“Where to next, Theo?” Rahl asked.

“The life source,” he stated enigmatically, continuing to slowly wave the staff in front of him in a wide arc.

“What is the trouble?”

“I can no longer detect the life source—it has vanished. It is like a curtain has been drawn.”

“How can that be?”

“I detect that a spell has just been cast,” Snow spoke up from behind the two. “It may have been a spell of cloaking.”

Theo looked to Rahl. “Could they seek to ambush us?”

Rahl thought this over. “Either that, or they have sensed our presence and are serving to protect themselves,” he ruminated.

“What shall we do, then?”

“We must give first give them the benefit of the doubt,” Rahl stated decisively.

They followed the trail of smoke until they reached a large courtyard that was most likely a theater or auditorium of some sort. At the far end of the wide, clamshell-shaped area was an elevated stone stage at the narrow end. Here, they found the source of the smoke: a small campfire burned near the stage. Something was roasting on a spit over the fire. Scattered around the fire and on the stage were blankets, packs, clothes, and other traveling gear. Theo waved his staff around the area. All life and magic remained undetectable.

“Looks like they left in a hurry,” Snow said to Rahl, noting the cooking meal.

Rahl scanned the area. There were several exits from the theater, particularly behind the stage. “Theo?”

“Nothing,” Theo responded in a tone of vexation, finally ceasing to wave his staff. “It is as if the ruins were devoid of life.”

“Perhaps we should turn back,” Maltokken said to Rahl from behind Snow.

“We have no choice but to proceed,” Rahl said. “They now know of our presence as we know of theirs. We must seek them out.” He addressed the party in a subdued voice. “Sheathe your weapons to show them we mean no harm. But keep your spells ready. I will parley with them.”

Rahl and Theo, with the party close behind two abreast, descended toward the stage and the hastily abandoned camp. All eyes were on the exits from the open-air theater and the uneven tops of the rough walls that overlooked the expanse of the theater. When they had reached the camp, Rahl stopped. The party did likewise behind him. He then called out to whoever might be listening.

“Greetings! We have come in peace! You may show yourselves. We mean you no harm!”

Rahl waited for a response. On hearing none, he restated his greeting. Again, there was no response.

“Brother, maybe we should fan out to search for them,” Yalden said.

Before Rahl could answer, a bearded man wearing plate armor appeared at one of the arched openings behind the stage. The man held a long sword. On his other arm was a buckler. Connie casually observed the long sword had the blue glow of some sort of powerful enchantment. The man said nothing. He moved to the edge of the stage. Partially obscured by the billowing black smoke of the fire, he stood there saying nothing as he glowered at the party. It became apparent that his skin was pale white, like that of an albino. Suddenly, Connie had a bad feeling about this. At that moment, she direly wished she had something more effective than the dagger she carried at her belt.

The man reached into his belt and tossed a box on the ground before them. The box opened up and radiated a faint, multi-colored fan light.

“What is that?” Connie asked Theo.

“Box of the Tongues. It is an artifact that translates languages.”

“Oh,” Connie said simply, recalling that Professor Layton mentioned that he and Alyndia had used one to communicate with each other.

“Greetings! Rahl said to the man. “I am Rahl of Dyandil. These are my companions. We are on a quest to restore the magic of the Atranox.”

“What is the Atranox?” the man asked without giving the customary name and settlement of origin. His voice sounded gruff but natural. To Connie’s surprise, his voice did not emanate from the box. She wondered if the box were even necessary.

“We seek to destroy Chaos.”

The man laughed at this remark. “Nonsense. You are on a fool’s quest. Chaos is never destroyed. It only changes form.”

“We have been sent by Calicus of Roggentine.”

“I know not this Calicus of Roggentine,” the man stated bluntly. “Who is he?”

“He is a great wizard and my mentor,” Snow shouted to him from behind Rahl and Theo.

The man seemed startled by Snow as if he had just realized her appearance there. “Ah, lady flesh! We have not partaken of lady flesh in months!” Now the warrior scanned the rest of the party. Connie felt the man’s eyes rest momentarily on her. “We would like to share in the company of your three women, Rahl. Perhaps we can make a trade.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Khardak of Eritaria,” the man said in a haughty tone.

At that announcement, Connie heard Psi’el utter a vicious epithet.

“I knew it.”

“What is wrong?” she asked him.

“The Ephidians are a tribe of warrior-mages in the territories north of Cerinya. They are fierce fighters and our worst enemies.”

“We will defeat them,” Yalden said, “just as we did at the Shores of Mezmadia.”

“But they possess the spell of the golems,” Maltokken added.

“There are no golems here. You quake in your boots in vain, Maltokken.”

“Our women are not for sale,” Rahl said to Khardak. “Farewell, Khardak, we shall leave you in peace.”

The party began moving toward the exit of the theater.

“Halt!” Khardak commanded. “If you will not release your women to us, you shall give all of the humors and elemental nodes you carry before you leave.”

“We shall not!” Rahl said. He then addressed the party without taking his eyes off of Khardak. “Let us go now. Quickly.”

“Why?” Yalden asked. “There is only one of them!”

“Fool!” Snow said to him. “Did you count the number of blankets around the fire?”

“Halt!” the man shouted again.

Presently, the rest of the Ephidians appeared at the tops of the walls and at the exits to the theater, including the party’s point of entrance. There were fourteen total. These men were similarly equipped as their leader with armor and glowing weapons, amulets. The party was outnumbered.

The party stopped moving toward the exit and looked to Rahl for the next course of action. Rahl addressed the leader again.

“We carry nodes and humors for our use,” Rahl said to Khardak. “We need them for our quest. Do you not have spares of your own?”

“You will give to us what you have,” the Ephidian said.

“We shall not.”

“Very well. We shall take them by force.”

“We are not seeking bloodshed. Allow me to discuss this matter with my party,” Rahl said. He looked to his remaining spellcasters, Snow and Theo. “Speak low so that the box cannot hear you. What shall we do?”

Theo spoke first. “I say we give them our elemental nodes. Fandia is dead, and none of us can use them now.”

“What about your humors?” Rahl asked him.

“I can unbind the ones I’ve brought with me. I have others in the hanyak packs.”

“But you won’t be able to cast any spells against them if you give up the ones you carry,” Snow said. “It is risky.”

“We have your celestial spells, Snow. Surely, you can compensate for that.”

The beginnings of a smile formed on Snow’s lips on hearing this from a fellow spellcaster. “It’s kind of you say that, Theo, but I cannot defend against all of at once and from all sides.”

Yalden broke in. “The only trustworthy Ephidian is a dead Ephidian. I say we just attack them.”

“I agree with Yalden for a change,” Snow said to Rahl. “We cannot throw ourselves at their mercy. We must rely on our wits.”

“But they already outnumber us,” Theo said.

Rahl cocked his head as he assessed the situation. “We will give them our extra nodes and humors. But we will not give all so that we will be helpless. Then we will seek to leave.” Rahl then stared deeply into his spellcaster’s eyes with a grim expression. “If this does not work, you know what needs to be done.” Both spellcasters nodded to him somberly. Rahl turned to Khardak. “We have decided to give you our nodes and humors.”

The leader gave Rahl a toothy smile. “Wise decision, Cerinavian.”

Khardak shouted to a couple of his warriors surrounding the party. “Jastroch. Skulgath!”

He gave them an order in a rough, guttural language Connie could not understand but thought it sounded vaguely like Russian, a language the CIA had taught her to speak.

The two leaders sheathed their weapons in response. As the Ephidians approached the party to collect the spell components, one of them held out what appeared to Connie as a puffy, leopard skin sack. Connie noticed the mouth of the sack emitted a faint, violet glow as if it contained a low-wattage black light.

“What’s in the bag?” Connie asked Theo.

“Extra-dimensional space,” he replied. He unfastened from his belt the mummified human and animal organs he carried.

“What did you say?” she asked, not sure if she heard Theo correctly.

“That is called a Threshibian bag,” Theo said. “It is a moveable pocket of extradimensional space created by Ephidian sorcerers. A bag like that is capable of holding the same equipment as several pack animals. It’s wonderful to have.”

Connie frowned. “Then how come we don’t have one?”

“They are extremely difficult to come by in Cerinavia and other parts of the world. The spell that creates a Threshibian bag is a closely guarded secret known only by powerful Ephidian mages. Cerinavian sorcerers have never been able to duplicate the spell.”

“Sounds like some espionage is in order,” Connie quipped.

“Or murder,” Theo said, eyeing the leopard-skin bag rapaciously.

Connie shot Theo a look of surprise. “Didn’t you tell me you don’t murder humans?”

“Yes, but Ephidian dogs are another matter.”

The Ephidian warrior brought the bag around. Theo, Snow, and Connie placed what available spell components they had into his Threshibian bag. The spell components were collected, and the Ephidians waited for orders from their leader. The other men still watched them from the exits of the auditorium.

The leader pointed to one of the walls. “All of you. Place your weapons on the ground.”

“You said we could leave once we gave you our nodes and humors,” Snow said.

“Hold your tongue, Cerinavian whore! Do as I say or all of you will die.”

Once again, Snow looked to Rahl, as did the other party members. Rahl nodded once.

The party began withdrew their weapons and lowered them to the ground.

Snow chaffed at Rahl’s suggestion. “You cannot be serious. We’re not really going to surrender to them, are we?”

“We must submit to them or we will be killed,” Rahl stated in a grim tone. “And that means you too, Yalden,” he said, addressing his brother, who still clutched his long sword in his hand.

Yalden cautiously, reluctantly laid down his weapon as his brother ordered.

At that, the men converged and surrounded the party with their weapons drawn. Most of them were now within spitting distance. The men were large, well seasoned fighters. Connie shook her head. Her party did have a chance. They were at the mercy of this motley group. Movement in Connie’s peripheral vision brought her attention to yet two more men on the walls. Archers.

The leader jumped down from the stage. He scooped up the Box of the Tongues and carried it with him to the party. He spoke again. Now up close, Connie noticed that when the man spoke, the movement of his lips did not match the annunciation of his words. Watching his lips as he spoke made her feel like she was watching a poorly dubbed Italian movie.

The leader pointed to the wall. “I want all of the women to walk over to the wall. The men stay where they are.”

Snow looked to the leader with a wistful expression. “Rahl?”

“Do what you need to do,” he said to her.

Snow took a step away toward the wall. Suddenly, she raised her hands above her head and shouted a quick incantation. Immediately, the Ephidians surrounding the party shouted and raised their weapons to attack. Then they froze in motion as if caught in a snapshot.

“Rearm yourselves! Quickly!” Rahl shouted to the party as she reached for his own weapon on the ground.

The party dove for their weapons. A few of the quicker members poised their weapons in front of their attackers. Connie quickly snatched up her dagger.

“What did Snow do?” she asked Theo.

“Stopped time,” he answered quickly.

“What did she do?”

As soon as these words left her lips, their attackers became animate again, but the party had prepared in the half-dozen seconds Snow’s spell had given them. With the clatter of metal on metal and the meaty, sickening sound of swords burying themselves into flesh, five bewildered attackers fell mortally wounded to the ground, one of them beheaded cleanly by Tristana’s axe. Now the odds were nearly even.

Rahl had two Ephidians on him. Yalden had two more. Tristana had one, Maltokken parried two, Psi’el dodged another, and Jalban had yet another, this one over a foot taller than he was. The battle was on with the clatter of armor and weapons. Theo quickly moved behind the fighters, taking Connie into his grasp.

Now, there were crackling and screeching sounds and bright flashes of light in the auditorium lit by the twilight sky as Snow and the leader engaged in a battle of spells. Snow stood on a rock within a pale green bubble. The leader stood by the stage within his own bubble, this one red. Connie watched the two of them in fascination as each quickly cast spells at the other. These deadly spells took the form of lightning bolts and something like flaming arrows. Sometimes they would cast other spells that seemed to have no visual effect, but Connie suspected these were deadly just the same.

The archers fired next. Both shot arrows at Snow. The arrows bounced harmlessly off her sphere of protection.

Theo began the incantations to cast a spell on one of the archers, but they quickly ducked out of sight before he could finish it. Rahl’s opponents. The warrior, heavily armored, went crazy and began wildly attacking his partner in arm. His fellow warrior, not expecting the attack, turned to defend himself. Rahl took advantage of the opening and ran his sword through the second warrior’s neck. The warrior fell to the ground with a bloody gurgle. Incredibly, the second man continued hacking on his dead fellow warrior with his battle axe. Rahl dispatched the confused warrior quickly.

Yalden was having a more difficult time. Though he had ruined the shield of one of his opponents, he had already sustained deep gashes in on his arms and on his face. Theo directed a spell on the larger of his two foes. The spell reflected back and forth between both the protected caster and the protected target. It produced a loud squeal like an over-amplified microphone makes in an auditorium. Theo cast the spell again. This time, the man went blind. He fell away from Yalden. This allowed Yalden to vanquish his weaker foe.

Psi’el went into battle with only a whip in one arm and a short sword in the other. In an amazing show of dexterity, Psi’el swung the whip while thrusting his sword at his opponent. His opponent dodged the blow, but the whip wrapped around his neck. Psi’el yanked the man forward, thrusting the man’s belly into the point of his sword. The man let out a scream and fell to the ground in agony. Psi’el then kicked off the warrior’s helmet and ran his weapon through his head.

Maltokken was dealing damage and receiving damage himself. One of his foes struck him hard over the shoulder with a mace, putting Maltokken at a disadvantage. He called out for help.

Jalban’s faster foe was getting the best of him too. The faster warrior had worn Jalban down quickly by deftly dodging his blows. Now Jalban was down to parrying the heavy battle axe blows.

Tristana beheaded her second opponent with aplomb after he had tried casting a few ineffectual spells on her enchanted axe. She naturally jumped in on Jalban’s battle.

While Theo prepared his next spell, Connie looked up to the archers—both of them had their missiles trained on Theo and her.

“Theo! The archers!” Connie shouted, pointing to the two on the wall.

Theo immediately looked up as the archers were setting their sights on him. He set off the spell intended for one of Maltokken’s opponents. This archer released his arrow wildly into the sky. He clutched his throat and fell off the wall to the ground. The other archer set off the arrow. It sailed quickly, piercing Theo’s upper arm. The spirit mage let out a string of curses. When he looked back up at the wall, the archer was out of sight again. “Ephidian dog!” Theo shouted. A few moments later, he stumbled over and dropped unconscious. Connie caught him just before he fell. “Theo!” she called out. Then she noticed what looked like mustard mixed with Theo’s blood at the end of the arrow—poison.

The battle between Snow and the Ephidian leader raged on. The air was filled with the smell of sulfur. Both spellcasters looked frazzled. Their spheres of protection were becoming weaker, dimmer, and less substantial. Now the leader hit Snow with bursts of white energy. Each burst of white energy against her weakened sphere of protection shoved her back a few feet. Almost against the wall, Snow retaliated by casting a bright prismatic ray of light from her fingers. She kept the ray steadily focused on the leader’s sphere, causing a sizzling sound to issue from the invisible barrier. The leader began to look worried. He stopped casting the bursts of white energy at Snow, then quickly clutched a huge gold amulet that hung from his neck and began a chant. Snow persisted in burning a hole in his circle of protection. Then, just before the circle collapsed, the leader vanished.

Yalden continued battling the two before him. Eventually, he dealt a grievous, bloody wound on the sword arm of one of the warriors. The warrior dropped his weapon and stumbled away to the exit of the theater with a trail of blood. The other warrior cast three spells on Yalden, but the protection Snow had cast on him still held.

Rahl stepped over to where the blinded Ephidian stumbled away from the party. The warrior sensed Rahl’s presence next to him. He began swinging his mace wildly around him while screaming something fearsome in Ephidian. Rahl dodged these wild blows until he found his opening, then he ran his enchanted sword through the warrior’s metal breastplate and through his heart. The warrior let out a heavy gasp, then fell to the stony floor of the theater, dead before he struck the ground.

This opponent of Jalban’s was extremely agile, and he avoided being struck while dealing Jalban numerous bloody wounds with his sword enveloped in a strange red haze. When Tristana joined in the battle, the man jumped back and cast a quick spell from the sword. Immediately, his appearance blurred. Now he continued in his attacks on the both of them, giving both numerous small wounds that bled copiously.

Maltokken was holding his own against his two attackers, but in a miscalculation, he let his guard down. He took a heavy blow to the head with his foe’s mace. He collapsed to the ground. Psi’el saw this. He swung the whip to disarm the mace wielder, but he was not quick enough, and the warrior brought a crushing blow down on Maltokken’s face with a sickening crunch. Psi’el jumped into the battle against his warrior. The second warrior, in a moment of respite from the battle, set off a spell against Psi’el. With the muted snap of bone, Psi’el collapsed to the ground with a fractured leg. Instantly, the second warrior began pounding on Psi’el’s ribs and back with the mace while Psi’el tried in vain to parry with his sword.

Connie looked up to see that Tristana had broken with the warrior she fought, leaving Jalban to fend for himself. She fixed her eyes on unconscious Theo in Connie’s arms. Her face bore an inscrutable expression.

Snow ran over to Connie, who held up Theo in her arms. “What happened to him?” Snow asked quickly.

“Poisoned arrow, I think,” Connie replied.

Snow responded by waving her hand over Theo with a quick incantation. Theo immediately began to stir. “Get him to where he will be safe,” Snow ordered. “And don’t let Tristana near him in this state,” she whispered, glancing up at the conjuration.

Meanwhile, the archer on the wall had another arrow in his bow. He fired off the arrow. The arrow grazed Snow’s leg. She quickly looked up at the wall. The archer ducked behind the stony barrier before she could direct a spell at him. Vexed, she scanned the party for those who might need her help.

Jalban was covered with blood from the wounds, as were the stones on the ground where he fought. He began to weaken and become sloppy in his attacks. The Ephidian warrior’s attacks became bolder as he moved in for the kill. Snow directed a spell against this warrior. The spell was reflected back toward her. Her protection in turn reflected the spell back again. This resulted in a piercing screech. Immediately, Snow directed another spell at the warrior, pounding a prostrate and unconscious Psi’el with a mace. The spell cast, and the warrior flew backward twenty paces until he struck a wall with a thud. The warrior fell to the ground. A few seconds later, he got to his feet, his mace still in hand. Snow immediately cast another spell at the wall. A low rumble filled the air, and the section of wall collapsed on the warrior, crushing him beneath a heap of stone.

Weakened by blood loss, Jalban swooned and fell to his knees. The Ephidian was about to run him through with the sword when Connie shouted at him. When he looked up, she threw her dagger at him. Although the weapon was thrown well, it merely bounced off his breastplate. Now the warrior pointed his magic sword at her while speaking an incantation. Connie moved away from him quickly while dragging a dazed, weakly protesting Theo toward one of the exits of the theater. All of a sudden, Connie felt an electric charge on her skin, as if she were standing next to a huge electrostatic charge. She felt the amulet at her breast suddenly become very hot. She felt its heat through the chain around her neck, and the part of the robe contacting the amulet began to smoke. A strange instinct caused her to look up at the warrior, who pointed the red sword at her, grinning.

Seeing this, Rahl ran for the warrior-mage who had attempted to cast a spell on Connie, and the two engaged in a heated sword battle.

Yalden still fought his foe. Realizing that the leader had vanished and most of his companions had been slaughtered, the warrior began a gradual retreat. Finally, he spun around and began running for the exit. Yalden lunged for the warrior, catching him by his feet. Now the two wrestled hand-to-hand on the rubble. One of the two produced a knife.

The archer appeared at the top of the wall again. Connie and Snow saw him there. The Ephidian archer leveled his bow at Rahl, who fought the warrior. He pulled back on the bow. Snow cast a spell at the archer. The top of the wall exploded in a puff of smoke and fire. Rocks flew in all directions. Snow held her hand to her brow as the smoke cleared to see if she had gotten the archer.

Connie noticed Tristana still staring at Theo, her battle axe held in one hand by the shaft close to the bladed head. Theo’s eyes were closed, and he was mumbling something incoherently to himself. From Tristana's expression it, it was unclear whether she was concerned for him or wanted to slay him.

“He’s fine, Tristana. Really.”

Tristana disregarded Connie’s words and continued staring at her scarcely conscious master.

Connie grasped Theo by the arms to drag him from the theater, when suddenly she looked up and saw the leader warrior soundlessly fade into view a few paces behind Snow. Clutched in his hands was a glowing red sword. He raised the sword high above his head to bring down on Snow, who was now watching Rahl battle the warrior, concentrating on a spell for his defense.

“Snow!”

Connie dropped Theo and began running toward Snow. Snow looked at Connie, furious at her for disrupting the casting of her spell. The leader, momentarily distracted from his blow, took aim at her skull and resumed the swing. Using the martial arts training she had begun to recover, Connie leaped from the ground and, using the momentum of her body, landed a heavy kick against the leader just as the red weapon went into motion. The kick struck him in the ribs. He fell away, the force of the blow knocking the weapon to the ground. Snow turned and saw the leader on the ground behind her. She was too stunned at his proximity to move. He quickly grasped his weapon.

By now, Connie had recovered from her flying kick. She raised her foot once again and deftly kicked the weapon from the warrior’s hand, and then she landed a solid punch on his mouth. He fell back, a fountain of dark blood issuing from his mouth. Before he could recover his senses, she kicked him again in the head and then kicked him again for good measure. Snow picked up the red sword and, using both hands, ran it through his armored chest. The sword passed through the metal plate as if it were made of paper. Snow let go of the weapon and jumped back. The leader’s back arched tensely. Eyes shut tightly, he flailed violently at the sword buried to its hilt in his chest. This continued for ten seconds or so. Connie feared she might have to give him a few more kicks or run him through with the sword again to put him out of his misery. Finally, a watery, gurgling sound issued from his mouth, followed by a trickle of blood, and then his body went limp. Snow looked up at Connie; both women were panting heavily. Then Snow’s eyes focused on something behind Connie.

“Tristana!”

Connie turned to see Tristana crouched over Theo. She got to her feet and felt a sharp pain in her right ankle. She realized she must have sprained it in one of her kicks. She quickly limped over to Theo and Tristana, who stared down at the spellcaster, her axe held in one hand. Although Tristana had warmed up to Theo somewhat over the last few weeks, Connie didn’t want to take any chances, knowing she could kill or cause him grievous injury with the mere flick of her wrist. Unable to drag Theo any further with her sprained ankle, Connie gently nudged Tristana away while keeping an eye on Theo.

“We’ll take care of him,” Connie said to her.

Now the warrior Rahl fought realized he was outnumbered. He turned and darted from the auditorium. Rahl chased him for twenty paces or so, but then decided to let him go. Yalden still struggled with one of the warriors on the ground. Now the Ephidian had Yalden immobilized in a bear hug. But with all his limbs and strength consumed in immobilizing the muscular Yalden, the warrior could do no more.

Rahl ran up to them. He pulled out a dagger and held it to the Ephidian warrior’s throat.

“Release him,” Rahl ordered.

The warrior, seeing he had no choice, eased his hold on Yalden, then he let go.

Suddenly, there came a low rumble in the ground. Then one of the walls surrounding the theater fell over. Standing there, over a story tall, was a huge Ephidian warrior made of stone. Its face bore a grim expression of hatred. Worst of all, it carried a great stone sword three yards long. It turned its head mechanically, then it let out a low, heavy growl that sounded like two huge stones being ground together.

“A golem!” Yalden shouted as he clamored to his feet.

The warrior stared up at the golem from the ground with a look of terror on his face, then he said something fearfully to Rahl in a language Connie didn’t understand. To Connie’s surprise, Rahl answered in Ephidian. Rahl let the warrior go. The warrior ran from the theater, leaving the party alone with the monster. The golem glared at the party and began advancing toward the party, first knocking down another section of wall with its fist.

“The leader has been killed. It is out of control,” Rahl said to the party. “Let us depart now. Quickly.”

Rahl, Snow, and Yalden went over to where Psi’el lay. The fighter was dead, his head and upper body battered and bloody. Connie hobbled between the bodies of their foes as the ugly animate statue slowly ambled toward her. She quickly located the Threshibian bag and snatched it from the arms of the corpse that still clutched it. She rejoined the party. Those who could move of their own accord helped those who could not. They left the theater courtyard and made haste through the fortress and its myriad of passages. Soon, they were safely outside the fortress, away from the golem, which continued mindlessly destroyed the walls of the abandoned castle until it too fell into a heap of rubble. They met up with Jalban in the forest just as the last rays of green light fell away from the horizon.

Now the party sat around a small campfire. Using a combination of spells and Jalban’s healing potions, the party recovered most of their strength. Theo recovered completely from the poisoning and the arrow wound to his arm. Maltokken, though healed, was left horribly disfigured and permanently blind in one eye. All the other wounds sustained by other party members were dutifully treated. Jalban wrapped a special bandage around Connie’s ankle, telling her to leave it on for a few hours. Then, in the quiet of the evening, everyone sat around the fire discussing the events of the battle and Psi’el’s death. A decision was made to return to the auditorium the next morning to retrieve Psi’el’s body along with the Box of Tongues, Theo’s staff, and anything else left behind of value—if they were still there.

Rahl and Yalden spent a better part of the evening sorting through the Threshibian bag. Inside of it, along with the nodes and humors that were taken from them, they found several pounds of dried meat, cheese, and deliciously roasted isha nuts (grown only in Ephidia). They also found weapons (of mostly inferior workmanship), two jars of healing salve, and a few low-power Crystal, Wind and Water nodes. Connie was allowed to keep the Threshibian bag for her quick thinking in retrieving it. Snow got the nodes, Jalban got the healing salves, and Theo was entrusted with the enchanted box.

Connie sat by herself, toying with the Threshibian bag. It amazed her that no matter what she put inside the artifact, the weight of the bag did not increase. To unburden the hanyak that Jalban had given her, she placed the contents of the packs it carried inside the bag. While she did this, she casually noticed Snow sitting quietly alone at the edge of the camp, just within the periphery of the fire. Occasionally, Connie caught Snow studying her with a most enigmatic expression. Connie then remembered Snow’s amulet that she wore. Not wishing to stir up animosity, she walked over to Snow, who looked up at Connie with a cool, pensive expression. Connie removed the amulet from around her neck and presented it to the sorceress.

“I thought you might still want this back.”

On seeing the amulet, Snow’s expression changed. Her eyes followed the amulet swinging from its gold chain as if she were easing into a hypnotic trance. Then slowly, her eyes rose to Connie’s face as if she hadn’t, until that moment, realized who stood before her. Slowly, almost mechanically, Snow took the amulet from Connie’s outstretched hand. Then, she merely looked away from Connie while clutching the amulet absently in her hands. Connie found herself unable to decode what the celestial sorceress might be thinking, all the while sensing that something had definitely shifted in their relationship.

As Connie returned to her customary place on the opposite side of the camp from where Snow sat, she remembered Theo’s mentioning that Snow’s celestial powers were currently diminished after her spell battle today. Just the same, Connie didn’t want to take any chances with the temperamental sorceress. Still, she wondered about Snow’s minimal response when she gave back the amulet. Maybe the sorceress was simply too worn out from casting spells during the battle to care about it.

After the blankets were laid out for the night, Connie sat on the trunk of a fallen tree while Jalban knelt at her feet, unwrapping the enchanted bandage of healing from around her sprained ankle. Though she’d become accustomed to the use of magic on this planet, she was still astounded when she saw it in action. The fight between Snow and Kirak the Ephidian burned brightly in her mind. Never could she have believed this sort of thing could exist in her universe.

“There,” Jalban said as he removed the last section of bandage. “Better now.”

Connie looked at her ankle. Sure enough, the swelling and the deep green color her sprain had taken and had entirely vanished. She moved her foot around in a circular motion to test the joint. Good as new. “Amazing, Jalban,” Connie said, delighted with the result of his ministration. “Where did you learn to do that?”

“My father, or should I say Alyndia’s grandfather, was an herbalist all his years. He was very good.”

“You learned from him?”

“To say I learned from him would be an insult to the man,” he stated in response. “I could never equal his depth of knowledge and skill.”

“You don’t do badly,” she said.

A pained look crossed Jalban’s face. Connie noticed this.

“Is there something wrong?”

Jalban sighed, gazing into the blue campfire. “There is something on my mind, something that has been troubling me.”

She waited for him to elaborate, but he did not. “What is it?” she asked finally.

“I’ve been thinking about the other day, by the river, when I struck you.”

“Yes, I remember that.”

He looked away from the fire and into her eyes. “I didn’t know that you weren’t my niece. Not that what I did was right.”

“Yes, I know. So?”

Jalban seemed at a loss for words. Connie sensed he was indeed feeling contrite about the matter.

“What I want to say, Connie, is that I am sorry for what I did. I was wrong for striking you.”

“Strike me, you say? You beat hell out of me, Jalban.”

“I know. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Connie.”

“I forgive you, Jalban. Actually, I’ve already forgotten about it. There were a lot of things I didn’t understand back then.”

At those words, his eyes returned to the fire. She thought she saw tears in his eyes glinting in the light. “But what I did was wrong. It was also uncharacteristic of me.”

Connie smiled at Jalban, touched by his apology. “Come here,” she said.

He looked up at her, suddenly confused by her request. She patted a place on the log next to her. Reluctantly, he got to his feet and took a place next to her on the log. With that, she gave his rotund figure a hug.

“Thank you, Jalban. Your apology means a lot to me.”

“I’m grateful that you accept it.”

“Nothing to it. Just remember, I don’t always forgive.” She gazed into the fire. “There are those in my life, Jalban, that I can never forgive. Take your niece, Alyndia, for example.”

“A very sad child she was,” he said.

“You said her grandfather was an herbalist?”

He nodded. “Yes, a famous one at that.”

Jalban’s mention of Alyndia’s grandfather had raised her curiosity about her lineage. “So tell me of Alyndia’s father, Jalban. What was he like?”

“Zalbeth was his name. He was older than I was by three years. He did not enjoy the genteel life of the herbalist, so he joined the local garrison when he turned fifteen. He was an excellent warrior, highly skilled in the use of five weapons. He rose through the ranks until he became the division commander of a cavalry out of Samzrin. He met Alitrea when his garrison was sent to Roggentine to defend against the invading Ephidians.” Jalban shook his head as he remembered the time so many years ago. “Those were awful days. The Ephidians had landed on the shores of Kinnstaria. It was a surprise attack. They landed from ships cloaked in a magical shield so that we could not detect them only after their soldiers set foot on our soil.”

“Did they ever Zalbeth and Alitrea marry?”

Jalban shook his head. “They had planned to, but there was no time. He led his garrison as a spearhead in the push to drive the Ephidians back to the Peredian Sea. As the story goes, they were nearing the sea when he and his men were cornered by an Ephidian golem in a ravine from which there was no exit. With no way out and the golem closing fast, he made the fateful decision to hold off the golem single-handed while his men slipped by to safety. His men escaped, but the golem managed to slay him.” Jalban gazed at Alyndia. “My brother, your father, is widely regarded as a hero in Cerinavia.”

Connie nodded slowly.

“Alitrea gave birth to you some time later. She loved you dearly.”

“What happened to her?”

“She was devastated by the death of your father. The pain she felt was matched only by her hatred of the Ephidians. When you were only five, she joined the Shamm. These are the league of spellcasters who support the infantry that defends our fair country against barbarians from the south and the Ephidians to the north. She too was killed by the Ephidians in an infamous spell battle at the Emerald City of Insarra, our home city, that took many of our greatest sorcerers. It was said that she killed many of the enemy’s sorcerers before she was finally taken down. Before she left to defend Insarra, she left Alyndia in my care in the event that she did not return.” Jalban sighed heavily. “I wish I had done a better job of raising Alyndia.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She was a very reclusive child. Very sensitive. She cried easily. I regret mightily what she did in leaving our world.”

“Me too,” Connie said.

Jalban tore pieces of rotten bark from the log they sat on. “What is it like in your world?”

“Nothing like this world.”

“Can you describe it?”

Connie gazed up at the stars. There was the Big Dipper. “The sky is a deep blue, Jalban. And the clouds are fluffy white.”

“I can’t imagine a blue sky,” Jalban said. “What are the people like?”

Connie smiled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say we were more the same than different.”

She proceeded to explain some of her world to Jalban, but it seemed that every statement she made only led to more questions. At one point, she noticed that the party had nodded off, and by default, she and Jalban were now on the first watch.

Soon, the fire was getting low. She and Jalban added more wood to the fire. As the night wore on, the air became chilly. Connie felt this cold on her skin. She began to shiver. Jalban seemed to notice this. He picked up his cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“The snow will be coming soon,” he whispered.