Chapter 13
“Mark… Wake up, my dear. You’ve slept for ten hours. If you don’t get up you’ll feel overslept.”
Mark opened his eyes and smiled up at the lovely elven face that was smiling down at him from six inches distance. He slowly raised his head to kiss her, then at the last moment, gave her a quick peck on the tip of her nose. “Good morning, Dalia.” he laughed.
“Aww! How did you know it was me?” Dalia asked with a playful pout.
“Since the spell of Laylas chapel, I always know where Talia is. And right now, she’s hiding below the foot of the bed.
“Good morning Love.” he called down to her with a chuckle.
“I didn’t think you could sense my location so precisely.” Talia admitted with a blush as her pretty face popped up at the foot of the bed.
“Oh? And how long would you have let your little jest continue?”
“Just long enough to find out if you were fooled by our similarity.” Talia laughed as she bounced onto the bed.
“I see. I had to wonder, seeing as how Dalia here is completely naked. As are you, my lovely wife. Delightfully so. And I have to admit that the two of you are incredibly enticing. But I have to wonder what Bezedil thinks of you being here like this. Especially considering that beneath this sheet I’m equally naked.”
“I’ve noticed.” Dalia commented as she and Talia shared a giggle. “After all, we are cuddling you rather closely. And I’m here with Bezedil’s encouragement. You are about to fulfill the command of a goddess.”
“I am? How so?”
“You were instructed by Visinniria to allow her people to thank you in their own way, and I believe you agreed to it.”
“Ah, I see. And how do elves thank someone for whatever it is you’re thanking me for?”
“Don’t diminish what you’ve done for us, please. This is too important.” Talia told him, being pleasant but serious. “I will thank you for the life of my sister. You have returned her to me, and there is no greater service one can do for another than to save the life of a loved one. Accordingly, we elves believe that there could be no more appropriate way to express our gratitude for such an act than with the gift of love, as expressed in the most beautiful and direct manner possible. Thus, though we will always enjoy many occasions of love-making, this morning is my gift to you of my service in the acts of love, as my way of thanking you for returning my Dalia to me, for she is half my soul. And also, to thank you for saving me from the curse.”
“And I will gift you with the same, to thank you for the life of Bezedil, my destined love.” Dalia murmured with a naughty little smile. “And of course, for saving my own life.”
“I see. What time is it anyway? It looks like it’s still dark out.”
“It’s about two hours past midnight, local time. Late morning in The Nine Valleys.”
“Now we know you have some inhibitions in these matters, and so we’ve altered the traditions to make you more comfortable, and to deal with the sheer numbers of the thankful.” Talia explained with a matching smile. “Normally everyone who loves Dalia and Bezedil and who wished to thank you for their lives would be in here right now, and you could choose between them at your whim; males or females, or both at once, or everyone all together. As it is, Dalia will be with us for one hour, then Alilia will join us for one hour to thank you for Bezedil’s life, then Nemia to thank you for Dalia. I think three per morning should be about right. Mind you, there are many females who love Dalia and Bezedil and wish to express their gratitude, so if you should find that you are eager to continue after three hours per morning, we will certainly extend the activities. And I will be with you always, to lessen your fear that I may become jealous.
“Of course, we recognize that men like yourself prefer that love between males be expressed in friendship and camaraderie, and in the sharing of ‘manly’ activities. Accordingly, our males have arranged an occasion in your honor, to take place at your birthday party this afternoon.
“And by the way, happy seventeenth birthday, my love. I still find it amazing that you are so young, yet so mature and accomplished.
“Now then, you are of course under no obligation to do anything you’re uncomfortable with, since we are completely at your service. But we do intend to entice you, by exchanging kisses and caresses with one another. And should there be anything you wish of us, absolutely anything, you will find us willing and eager.”
“And we do mean anything.” Dalia added with a subtle leer.
“Well then, entice away!” Mark laughed. “Perhaps I’ll resist your enticements, and simply enjoy observing your performance!”
As it turned out, his resistance crumbled before four more minutes had passed.
When Alilia gently slid in among them an hour later, and soundly kissed him with a technique as advanced as her dancing, and murmured; “I thank you for the life of my son.” he saw no reason to send Dalia away. Nor did he see any reason to send either of them away when Nemia joined them, and thanked him for the life of her daughter. And when Nemia’s hour had passed, still none of them were ready for their activities to end, and so they continued for another two hours after that. At that time, Mark was lying on his back and fell asleep in mid-activity. When the ladies realized this, they decided that he more than deserved a nap for the fine quality of his performance, so they made some effort to keep from waking him as they rode his continuing rampancy for another twenty minutes in total, until they were all sated.
He dozed for more than ninety minutes, and awoke to the bright sunlight of a clear tropical morning streaming through the window. He opened one eye a bit, squinting at the brightness, but then the Optical Attenuator spell activated and reduced the glare to a comfortable level. He couldn’t help but chuckle at this as he got out of bed. He was going to wash up when he realized that he was perfectly clean, and guessed Nemia’s cleaning spell had been used on him as he slept. This gave him another chuckle as he got dressed and mentally called to his wife.
“Good morning, my loving husband!” she psionicly returned. “You’ve just missed the dawn, but it’s a beautiful day! We’ve been given our privacy for a while, and as you doubtless realize, I’m out here on the patio, where I’m making brunch.”
“That’s perfect my love, as I’m ravenous! What’re we having?” he asked, switching to vocal speech as he emerged from the cottage.
“Talia’s Special Omelet, grill cakes with maple syrup from Sweettower, cold mare’s milk and fruit juices, and hot willow tea with buckwheat honey.” Talia proudly reported. “All natural ingredients, with all magical preparation.”
Indeed, all the pots and pans floated before her in mid-air on magic flames, as if she were using an invisible stove. Beside her a table was set with simple stoneware, steel cutlery, and crystal pitchers glittering with condensation from their magically maintained chill.
He seated himself on a low retaining wall beside her and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, not wanting to break her concentration by giving a more thorough greeting. At that moment she was guiding the grill cakes as they turned themselves over.
“It smells delicious. And it really is a beautiful day.” he murmured affectionately.
He gazed downslope past the lawns and bare rock to the jungle that covered most of the island, the palm trees lightly swaying in the breeze, surrounded by black sand beaches. Reefs formed an irregular dotted line around the island a short distance out, acting as a natural breakwater, and marked by the foam of the sea waves crashing upon them.
“And this is a beautiful place, and you’re beautiful, and I love you.” he added.
“And you are beautiful, and I love you.” she giggled in return as she gently leaned against him without looking away from what she was doing. “This will be done in a minute.” she assured him, and when it was, she carefully served it onto their plates and poured the tea by Movement, then Translocated the pans to the kitchen.
; “All right, let’s eat!” she laughed as she relaxed from her efforts. “But first a proper kiss good morning!” She floated up and kissed him very pleasantly, which he returned most earnestly.
“Whew! That’s enough of that for now, or I’ll have to drag you back to bed!” Talia giggled. “And that wouldn’t do at all, since I feel half starved!”
“My feelings exactly.” he smirked as they seated themselves.
They ate without interruption, with the exception of a few heartfelt sighs of gastronomic appreciation, for it was a delicious meal.
“So my love? What shall we do today?” Talia brightly asked when she laid aside her utensils.
“I’m not sure.” Mark mused as he leaned his elbows on the table and considered. “What time will everyone get here for my birthday party?”
“At noon. It will be late for them and early for us, but I think it’s the best compromise. That’s about five hours from now. I expect the event to last three or four hours, five at the most, since that will be two hours past midnight in Finitra and The Nine Valleys.”
“Ah. Well. Until then we should work on some spellcraft. And I’d like to work on my conventional combat skills as well. Since I haven’t worked on them in over six months, I’m not sure I have enough of those skills left to avoid embarrassing myself.” He chuckled a bit before he continued.
“Sometime today I’d like to tour the constructions and see how they’re coming along, as well as getting reports from Sheramiv on the state of our holdings and from Somonik on the state of world affairs.”
“Don’t forget that the alliance meeting on diplomacy with Serminak will be held at four hours after midnight, Hilian time.” Talia reminded him.
“Right. And we need to make sure someone is working on the research into the nature of divinity, and how to achieve it.”
“That’s already taken care of.” Talia smiled as she floated around the table and settled into his lap. “Everyone who was there when our unexpected visitors arrived yesterday is spending some time on that, except us, Hilsith, and Kragorram. Dalia and Bezedil have taken it upon themselves to co-ordinate the research and to correlate the findings, and are working on it full-time.
“They feel they’ve returned to a very different world full of important happenings, and they wish to make a meaningful contribution to the cause of a secure and prosperous future, as they put it.”
“Ah. And how are they doing?” he asked as he lightly hugged her and enjoyed her affectionate cuddling.
“Very well, both as researchers and as new lovers who are recent victims of a trauma. Their love is helping them to deal with the horror of their memory of death, as is the distraction of the work. And as they are both highly trained, thoroughly educated, and very intelligent professionals, I doubt it will be more than a few days before they have neatly summarized all that is known on the subject. Of course it helps that they have the complete and discreet co-operation of The Just Alliance, which gives them unhindered access to any resource, including the surviving writings and priests of the religions that flourished before the gods withdrew. Though that was thirty thousand years ago, two clerics of the unicorn gods still live, as do most of the clerics of the dragon gods.”
“You’re right, that’s well taken care of.” he smiled and nodded. “So first, we might as well go to Focus Mountain, since I figure it’s past dawn there, and I’ll get a recharge. I don’t really need one, but it’s pleasant, and we should go there to work on battle magic anyway. Then, we should work on battle magics and physical combat skills at the same time. If we can combine the two arts effectively, we’ll be far more dangerous than we’d be if we tried to use just one or the other.”
“Good thinking.” Talia agreed. “And while it’s past dawn at Focus Mountain, we do have a bit of time before the sun shines down into the crater. So I’d like to go home to The Nine Valleys for a few minutes first. The wizard’s power field is strongest there, and I could use a recharge myself. Hilia’s stone is only of average quality that way.”
“That makes sense.” he nodded. “So let’s choose some weapons to practice with, and get to it!”
“Um, I have to admit I’ve lost track of things.” Talia admitted as she thought for a moment. “I know all our things have been brought here from The Living Palace. Here to Hilia, that is, but I don’t know exactly where.”
She cast a Speaking to their administrator with an effortless thought.
“Sheramiv, could you pass me our wedding album?”
“Certainly. Just one moment.” was the prompt reply, and then the book appeared on the table.
“Is there anything of significance to report?” Mark asked, sharing the Speaking through his Link with Talia.
“We are financially ahead of schedule, Your Highness.” Sheramiv replied, and chuckled. “You have already returned to profitability, and the rest of your planned constructions are fully paid for.
“Unfortunately, the fortifications and military emplacements for your properties are behind schedule, due to a shortage of certain military materiel. Since the Wards around Venak were raised, Yazadril has brought The Just Alliance to a state of military readiness for a large and extended conflict, and the Alliance forces have requisitioned much of what is needed for those projects. Of course, the Alliance’s improved defenses, which have caused the shortage, also make the fortification of your individual properties much less pertinent.
“All else is proceeding apace. Would you care to review anything in greater detail?”
“No, thanks.” Mark chuckled. “Just concentrate your fortification and armament efforts on here, The Queen of Waves, and Winghoof Estate. The rest can wait till the shortages end.”
“Understood.”
“Will you be at the party, Sheramiv?” Talia asked.
“I wouldn’t miss it!”
“We’ll see you there then.” Talia told her, and ended the Speaking.
“Now then, let me see...” she murmured as she opened the album and flipped ahead to the inventory pages. “Ah. Our stored possessions are in the Royal Hall of Hilia, which is, I’d guess, the cavern below the cottage where the wounded were treated.”
“Ah. If you’ll allow me, I’ll take us down there.”
“Give me a moment first.” Talia cast three spells with three quick glances. She cast a Preservation on the leftovers, cleaned the dishes with a spell that powdered the food and drink remnants and spread them on a nearby flower bed, and finally Sent it all to the kitchen.
“Remind me to thank Povon again, for her advice on holding my power continuously!” she laughed. “It’s really making a very big difference! That would have taken me five times as long a week ago!”
“It was well done! And I tell you, the thought of never having to wash dishes ever again impresses me as much as any use of magic I’ve seen!”
He let loose a mighty laugh of sheer youthful exuberance, stood with his tiny wife cuddled in his huge arms, and Translocated them to the bottom of the stairs in The Royal Hall.
At first glance, the place seemed to be a chaos of bedlam and cacophony, as some two hundred construction workers from every race in The Just Alliance were busily going about their tasks within the huge cavern. With a moment’s study, it was seen to be a smoothly coordinated bustle of activity, apparently directed by a gargoyle who steadily rotated while hovering twenty feet in the air above the center of the floor, keeping an eye on everything. The floor below him was marked with a glowing blue circle for incoming Translocations, wherein materials and tools for stone working appeared in a steady stream, sometimes accompanied by additional personnel.
When the hovering gargoyle spotted them, he bowed to them in mid-air, and loudly called out in a magically augmented gravely baritone; “All hail Prince Mark and Princess Talia, Monarchs of Hilia, Keys to The Just Alliance!”
Over the next four seconds everyone there stopped what they were doing and bowed to the newly
arrived royalty.
“Please, don’t bow to us. We’re not that kind of people.” Mark chuckled as he and Talia waved to the workers. Then he chuckled again when he realized that Talia had already cast Field Orders on both of them, and his voice easily reached everyone in the room.
“You people are doing some amazingly fast work, and it’s obvious how beautiful this room will be when you’re finished. We are honored by the quality of your artistry and your craftworks.” Talia told them as they straightened, and then they straightened a little more with pride at her words.
She waited a moment while some there who didn’t speak Trade Common received translations, some via spells, the rest from co-workers.
While the stone of the cavern had been left as it was; a huge natural bubble formed by gas trapped in hardening black lava with an artificially flattened and polished floor, it was being artistically re-enforced. Slim white marble fluted columns with delicate orange veining now ringed the room twenty feet in from the perimeter of the black obsidian hemisphere, placed every twenty feet. Atop the circle of marble columns was a ring of the same stone set tight against the dome, and atop that were six marble arches intersecting at top center, also placed tight against the underside of the obsidian dome. The need for this additional support was obvious, as six huge arched doorways had been built on the side of the room closest to the center of the volcano. From the number of workers who had been going to and from the corridors beyond those doorways, it was obvious that other large rooms had been excavated adjoining this one.
“Actually, we’re here because our inventory informs us that our personal goods have been brought to this chamber from our residence in First Valley.” Talia stated conversationally to the gargoyle supervisor. “If you could direct us to them, we’ll shortly be out of your way.
“Princess, most of your goods are there, beyond that stack of scaffolding, beneath those gray tarpaulins, which are used to protect them from the dust of constructions.” the gargoyle said as he pointed with an index finger. “Some of your possessions were moved only a moment before your arrival, into the rooms adjoining that corridor. May I inquire as to exactly what you are looking for?”
“We plan to get our exercise today by practicing with a few of our new weapons.” Mark told him with a smile.
“Tools of combat, that is; armors and armaments, remain in this chamber. They are scheduled for transport into your new armory adjoining your new gymnasium in eleven minutes. They are there.” The gargoyle said as he pointed, and caused one of the canvas mounds to glow blue by means of a spelled ring he wore.
“Thank you.” Mark nodded, and he and Talia made their way to the indicated place, where a black-haired man, a female gargoyle, a blond giant, and a white polar elf were carefully rolling back the huge tarps, revealing rows of weapons cabinets and armor stands.
“It is an honor to speak with you, and all of us were honored to be invited to take part in this wonderful work.” the supervisor stated. “We are proud to report that we are seventy-one percent ahead of schedule, and that we foresee achieving completion within four hours.”
“Excellent!” Mark grinned as they reached the armaments. “Would that be the completion of this room, or of this complex of rooms?”
“Uh, Prince, pardon my inaccurate speaking. I refer to the completion of all constructions and modifications on the island of Hilia that are planned at this time.”
“Wow! That’s amazing!” Mark laughed. “I wouldn’t have believed so much could be done in a little more than a day!”
“More than a million tradespersons from throughout the alliance volunteered for this work when the call came from The Atoning.” the supervisor proudly revealed. “Thousands of the most skilled and capable were chosen to take part, the greatest number that could participate without getting in each other’s way. We are determined that this will be an achievement of construction that will remain unequaled for eons to come!”
“Most excellent!” Mark responded as he looked around the huge room. “And to make sure that credit is given where it’s due, it should always be known whose achievement it was. If there isn’t something like this already planned, I’d like you to have a plaque made with the name and trade of everyone who’s worked on the improvements here on Hilia, and have it mounted on the wall by the stairwell there that leads up to the cottage.”
“Ah! That is most thoughtful of you, Prince! But you realize that for the name of every worker to be listed in lettering large enough to be easily discerned, it would need to be a very large plaque?”
“That’s all right, it’s a very big wall.” Mark chuckled.
“True enough. And of what material should the plaque be crafted? Brass perhaps?”
“No, make it a gold plaque. It wouldn’t do to have it tarnish.” Talia laughed, giving them all an infectiously bright smile.
“As you say. We are most honored.” The supervisor gave a toothy gray grin and bowed in mid-air again. “Shall the names be listed in order of seniority?”
“No, list them chronologically. Let the first name be that of the worker who first started the work here, and the last the person who finished the final task.”
“It shall be done.”
“Let’s have a cheer for Prince Mark and Princess Talia!” a male human-sounding voice called, and suddenly the huge room was loud with the strange sounding cheering of many races. They clapped and stamped and whistled and made every kind of vocalization imaginable.
The supervisor let it continue for twelve seconds, then called a halt to it with a laugh and a loudly commanding tone. “All right, back to your tasks now! We’ve lost almost four minutes to the other crews, and I intend that we make it up!”
With laughter and banter, the workers returned to their tasks with gusto.
“Prince and Princess, with your permission I will share my memory of your visit with the other construction crews?” a tan unicorn carrying a load of tools in a freight saddle psionicly asked.
“Certainly, that is most considerate of you.” Talia replied, then spoke with Mark over their Link. “Now then, what weapons shall we practice with?”
“Well, we should use our regular swords so we become more accustomed to them. Beyond that, we should take shields, daggers, and bows. And arrows of course, and archer’s gauntlets. That’ll give us more than enough to work on today.”
Soon they had a number of items selected and set aside.
“Let’s take these upstairs and get Ria and GrimFang.” Mark suggested. “We’ll leave the rest there while we go to The Nine Valleys, then stop back here to get them on the way to Focus Mountain.”
“Agreed.” Talia nodded. She Translocated them back to their bedroom, where they strapped on their swords before she Translocated them again, catching him by surprise.
They appeared miles in the air above the center of Laylas Valley. The opening in the trees at the top of the chapel where they were married was barely visible below them.
“Now that was a very quick Translocation!” he chuckled as the cold wind whipped their hair around their heads and caused their clothes to flap like flags. “You almost gave me a heart cramp!”
“Thank you. It was somewhat spontaneous. But in a combat situation it would be a valuable skill to be able to Translocate with only a fraction of a second’s thought.
“Now, I was thinking that if the wizard’s power is radiated from the stone in a direction that is mostly perpendicular to the surface, there should be a point above the center of a hemispherical impact crater that intercepts most of the radiation, and is therefore analogous to the focus at Focus Mountain at high noon. I chose Laylas Valley because it’s the largest and has the strongest field. And I think I was right! Feel that! I’ve never felt the power so strongly before! This is likely the most powerful place for wizard’s power on the entire world of Kellaran!”
“Mmm, that does feel nice!” he agreed. “It was definitely smart
to come here. I was surprised we didn’t go to First Valley to see your family.”
“They are all at Hilia!” Talia laughed. “Dalia and Bezedil took the first completed hotel suite on the island, and my parents, Hilsith, Bezedil’s parents, and Balen are staying with them for the time being. And they absolutely insisted on paying full price for the rooms!
“Now we have to go, before I become overcharged. It’s starting to make me feel a bit dizzy.”
Suddenly they were back in their bedroom in the cottage at Hilia, then just as quickly they and their bundle of weapons were hovering over Focus Mountain.
“Obviously you cast a very fast Translocate as well, my fine husband.” Talia giggled, then hugged him and kissed his cheek.
“Thanks. And did you notice that neither of us had to cast Pure Breath, nor did we have to cast Levitate, either here or at Laylas. The Curse…”
“The Blessing.” Talia interrupted with a giggle.
“You’re right. The Blessing cast them automatically. I think it even Levitated our weapons.”
“It must have if you didn’t do it, for I didn’t either.”
“What are they doing down there?” he asked in a sudden change of subject as he noticed movement below the west rim. “That’s Gran, and Kragorram and Povon, but I don’t recognize the rest.”
“The blue farthest from the rim is one of The Ninety-Nine. I recognize him from the founding meeting of The Alliance. He was in the second group of nine to swear on the Truthstone.”
“You have a sharper eye than I do, my love, and a sharper memory as well.” he told her with a smile. “But I do remember him, now that you’ve mentioned it.”
He looked to the sun, well above the uneven horizon, then to the volcano that had been erupting the last time they’d visited. It still rumbled quietly and smoked tenuously, and its copious outflows of lava and ash had hardened, making it noticeably larger.
“Well the sun’s up, but it won’t shine down into the crater for a while yet. Let’s go say hello and see what they’re doing.”
“I’ll race you!” Talia challenged, and took off like an arrow.
Mark hurried after but had no chance of catching her, since she was very skilled and he had almost no flight experience. He almost failed to stop before slamming into the wall of the crater beside the circle of nine dragons who Levitated just above the slope, their wings making occasional small movements to hold them in place against the slight air currents.
“Whoa! That was close!” he laughed. “Talia, make a note; your husband needs flying lessons!”
“Duly noted!” Talia giggled.
“Greetings Gran, comrades, honored guests.” Mark smiled as they turned to their visitors and moved into the circle between the great gold and the sleek silver.
“Good day Mark, Talia.” Grakonexikaldoron rumbled pleasantly. “You arrived at a fortuitous time. We plan to re-shape four of the pieces of the obsidian that reflects your power. The question is whether that reflective quality is purely a product of the chemical constituents of the glass, or whether it’s crystalline structure or fine scale surface texture also plays a part. If the former is the case, we simply need to melt the surface of the crater a bit and smooth it as a whole. If the latter is the case, each piece will need to be re-shaped individually, and very carefully at that. The first test piece will simply be reshaped, the second will be re-shaped and its present fine-scale surface texture will be carefully duplicated, while the third will be reshaped and have its crystal structure duplicated. The fourth will be re-shaped, and both its present crystal structure and its surface texture will then be restored to it. We will ask you to take each piece, along with an unaltered piece for comparison purposes, beyond the edge of the crater and its reflection, and to try to ascertain any differences in their reflective qualities.
“I asked Kragorram for his assistance in this, since he is one of our most skilled at using his flame in the crafting of items, and of course Povon accompanied him. These six are astronomers I have worked with who still remember the crafting of large lenses, a skill which is unfortunately in decline since the advent of high-quality magnification spells.”
“There’s no use talking to them.” Povon laughed. “When Kragorram is crafting, the rest of the world might as well not exist. And the concentration of these astronomers is just as intense.”
“I take it they’re examining that piece in preparation for re-forming it?” Mark asked.
“Yes.” Gran nodded. “Kragorram will heat it until it softens just a bit, while the lens-crafters will re-shape it with Movement. It is delicate work, since the heating must be very uniform, and the shaping must be perfectly exact.”
A chunk of the dark blue volcanic glass floated in the center of the circle of dragons, slowly rotating in two directions. It was roughly hexagonal, four to five feet wide and about three feet thick, which was about the average size of the pieces that made up the fractured surface of the crater. The hole it had been excavated from gaped in the slope below it.
The blue dragon Talia remembered from the meeting said something in Draconian with a growling, hacking sound.
“He told Kragorram that the shapers are ready to begin.” Povon translated.
After another moment their huge crimson friend moved closer to the center of the circle, cupped his great clawed hands loosely around the rotating stone, drew a deep breath, puckered his lips, and blew a perfect cone of intense blue fire onto the chunk. The fire cone was nine feet wide when it reached the stone, and he expertly guided the excess onto the back of the stone with his hands, heating it evenly from all directions.
Even at a distance of thirty-eight yards from the stone, the ambient and radiant heat of the operation was intense enough to Mark and Talia that they quickly cast Battle Shield to block it. They watched for a minute, while Kragorram kept his flame absolutely consistent in shape and intensity.
“His skill is amazing.” Talia eventually commented, yelling to be heard over the roar of the fire.
“Yes.” Povon agreed with a smile and a loving sigh. “And his hands have become incredibly toughened from such work. Most dragons would burn themselves severely with a flame that hot, if they could even generate such intense fire, which most could not.”
“How long can he keep going like that before he has to take a breath?” Mark asked.
“He will need to take another breath about every eight minutes, but he can maintain the flame constantly for hours by holding the last of each exhale of fire in his mouth and squeezing it out with his cheeks, while inhaling through his nostrils.” Povon explained. “It’s incredibly difficult to maintain consistency while doing that. I tried it when he first told me about it, and it gave me the hiccups. I almost seared my lungs.”
“Ah. And how long will this take?”
“The first piece will be finished in about an hour.” Gran informed him. “The second will require about an hour and a half, the third two and a half hours, the fourth about three hours.”
“I see. Well in the meantime, we’re going down into the north valley for some practice with weapons and spells. How about you give us a call when the first piece is done, and I’ll do the comparison between it and an unaltered piece. If it reflects my power just as well, they won’t have to do the more difficult work on the other three pieces.”
“That is astute. I will call when it is ready.” Gran nodded.
“Thanks.”
“Let this short flight down to the firing range be a flight lesson, my love.” Talia giggled as they backed out of the circle. “Let me guide your flight while sharing my thoughts on doing so.”
Soon she had them swooping about in tight formation with their bundle of weapons, performing corkscrews across the crater, loops over the rim, and barrel rolls down into the north valley, then skimmed along the bottom, closely following it’s contours at a height of four feet.
“Wooohaa!!” Mark whooped in exhilaratio
n as they shot up the slope at the east end of the valley, then slowed, turned about and plunged back down before finally settling to a stop, hovering twenty feet above the bottom of the valley.
“There, you see how that was done?” she asked with a grin, somewhat breathlessly.
“Oh yes!” he laughed as he drew her into his arms. “That’s not to say I could duplicate the feat without practicing it, but it wouldn’t take much practice!”
“Good!” She concentrated for a moment, then Translocated their clothes twelve feet to her left. “Then if that’s out of the way, I think we are ready to try some vigorous aerial lovemaking! If it pleases you my prince, take me now, with all enthusiasm! Let us make the flight of passion!”
“What? Right here?” he chucked as he nuzzled her neck.
“My dear husband!” she declared in happy exasperation. “I remind you that this is one of the most isolated and private locations on this world! Those dragons up there are the only people within hundreds of miles of forbidding territory, and they could not care less what two humanoids do in this regard, even if they were willing to tear their attentions away from their project, which they would not!
“Besides, aerial combat requires one to be able to fly amidst huge distractions and while performing multiple other tasks, so this should be good practice!”
“Well, I’m convinced!!” he laughed.
Of course, in such an isolated location Grakonexikaldoron and Povon could not help but be aware of every unshielded thought within a dozen leagues as they observed the work on the reflective fragment.
“Ah, young newlyweds.” Gran sighed with a smile. “The joy of life positively radiates from them.”
To which Povon made the somewhat distracted reply; “I wish Kragorram could hurry up.”
Thirty minutes later Talia and Mark had repaired their appearances, and now they took up their swords.
“All right my love, show me what you can do.” Mark suggested with a smile as they descended to the uneven ground.
“I only took the basic fencing lessons that were a standard part of our curriculum at school.” she explained as she began working through her moves in the order she’d learned them. “So I only learned these standard strikes and parries, and the basics of tactics, mostly as it applies to duels. The swords we used were little more than foils, whereas Ria here is a light saber, but she hefts about the same. She feels very natural and light. Her magnificent quality is obvious. Certainly these moves are far more comfortable with her in my hand than with the swords at school.”
She finished her sequence and smoothly started again, moving faster this time.
“Your sword work definitely qualifies as fencing, which is the best method for dealing with foes who aren’t wearing armor, or who are very quick.” Mark nodded as she flowed to a halt. He drew GrimFang and demonstrated as he spoke. “I learned these same moves for those reasons. But I was also trained with these fuller motions required to use and to parry heavy weapons and to strike through armor. The decision to use one method or the other generally depends upon the weight of your weapon as compared to your strength. You can reverse the direction of a light weapon quickly, but as you move up to bigger weapons that becomes more difficult. With a heavy weapon abrupt changes in direction take too long, and you’re actually quicker if you conserve your momentum by swinging your weapon around with continuous, circular swings, where the follow-through of each swing becomes the beginning of the next. Axes, war hammers, and two-handed broadswords can only be wielded in this manner.”
“But realistically, those methods aren’t pertinent to these weapons,” Talia noted, “Since GrimFang can cut through any enemy’s weapons and armor with the slightest pressure, and is more than light enough to use with the fencing methods, despite its great size. And among the many ways that Ria could be used against heavier weapons is by her ability to cast a focused Concussion with every strike of her blade, capable of deflecting the heaviest blow. And she has a fearsome Cut spell that allows her to penetrate the toughest armor and Shielding, even if it’s not so fearsome as GrimFang’s.”
“True, I guess.” Mark nodded as he continued waving the great black sword around in experimentive patterns, trying to get comfortable with its unique feel.
“And now that you have warmed your muscles and made that realization, I think it’s time for some real work.” Ria stated as she appeared floating four feet above the surface. Along with her newly black tresses, her plain steel armor now appeared in pristine condition, and she appeared to be wearing a slight smile on her rigidly immobile face.
“Good morning Ria.” Mark grinned. “I must say that you’re looking as beautiful as an elf as you are as a sword.”
Ria’s face made an instantaneous transformation to a brighter smile, though her new expression remained as immobile as ever. “Thank you Mark. Visinniria’s recent gifts to me are constantly revealing new nuances. And I chose black for my hair to match the ebony grips on my hilt.” Her face regained the slight smile.
“Now, a few moments ago you almost realized that aerial combat is the rule when large mixed-race battles are fought. It was true in my time and it’s true now. Ground fighting is fine when dealing with magically unskilled humans or when fighting silly duels, as you two have trained to do. Also when working inside structures, in dense forest, or underground. But in the war we are facing now, victory will go to the force that controls the air above the battlefield. When you are above your opponent by more than fifty feet, any object weighing more than half a pound can be made to serve as a fearsome weapon, simply by dropping it. When you are below your opponent by that distance, only strong projectile weapons are effective. When your opponent’s altitude advantage is greater than four hundred feet, even those will not work, and you are helpless before them unless you can cast magical attacks over that distance. The extra mobility of flight prevents your being easily surrounded, or targeted by large, ponderous artillery pieces.
“Realize this, as well. The use of magic is so widespread now, that war will be greatly intensified compared to my day, and it was hellish enough then. Even completely non-magical soldiers are now commonly equipped with spelled or magically enhanced weapons and armor, spelled items, and castable spell scrolls. Almost every arrow will be magically accurate, and carry spells that enhance their effectiveness. Consider arrows that are explosive, or invisible, or magically poisonous, or have any combination of magic destructions imaginable. In Debivin, Kletiuk, and Felion such things are being manufactured by the millions. We cannot expect our enemies to do less. Translocation of provisions eliminates most of the cost, effort, and vulnerability of supply lines. Various spells eliminate most of the encumbrance of average soldiers, greatly increasing their mobility, and many will carry spelled items for Flight and Translocation as well. This is particularly true of elite forces.
“All of this is in addition to the vastly increased number of true spell-casters there are in the world today.
“Situational awareness and multitasking will be critical. You must be able to Fly, Translocate, communicate, wield weapons, and cast spells for both defense and attack, all simultaneously. Your power and weaponry make you elite personnel, so you will attract a lot of unwanted attention from your enemies in any large engagement. You must avoid being bogged down in it or distracted from the elimination of key targets.
“I’ve fought Sylvan and Dark Dragons, though they weren’t allied then, and it appears that one or both of those peoples may be our primary opponents. Of the two, I’d rather fight the dragons, for their awesome power is balanced by their being comparatively few in number, and by the fact that as individuals they are often set in their ways, and so are somewhat predictable in battle. The Sylvan are never predictable in any way, their languages have never had words for the concepts of fair or honorable combat, and they are as likely to impulsively run from battle as to throw themselves against impossible odds, just for the exc
itement of it. The most dangerous Sylvan is often the one who is the most bored. They may run or they may fight, but they never surrender. Their military organization ranges from mobs of rabble to elite forces. They are absolutely vicious, and they never neglect the psychological side of warfare. For instance, they routinely torture all of their prisoners to death within sight or hearing of their enemies if they can possibly arrange it.
“Now, in order to evaluate your abilities and your character, and to teach you a few things in the most direct manner possible, you will engage in a combat exercise, which I will direct. Talia, I will borrow a bit of your power, to cast Illusions of enemies for you to practice against. I will give their flesh and armaments solidity by casting Force that is roughly equivalent to their shape and position with your power, Mark, through my Link to Talia and her Link to you. I will power their spells myself. Since the recent gifts of my Lady, I believe that conducting the exercise in this manner will be challenging, but practicable.
“Although you can strike with great power in this place, since there is little here to damage, be sure to avoid striking each other with an errant blow or spell. And Mark, your power is so prodigious that you must have a care for your nine draconian guests in the crater, as well as the potential fragility of the reflective obsidian there. You have the power to destroy the entire facility with an error of spellcraft. Remember, you may soon fight among many allies, or above the cities of The Just Alliance. You must therefore target your offense as precisely as possible, and not waste energy on excessive or inappropriate attacks.”
“How do you mean by that last?” Talia asked.
“Mark, explain.” Ria instructed.
“She means you don’t try to swat mosquitoes with a sledgehammer, or hunt them with a crossbow, as my father would say.” he chuckled.
“Precisely. Bear in mind that while this exercise presents very little real danger for you, if you make a mistake, the results may well be extremely painful.
“Now, this first and only time I will give you a moment to prepare yourselves, and to be sure your Link is as deep and as secure as you think it should be for battle.”
The big young man and his petite elven wife considered for a moment how deeply they could Link without the thoughts and sensations of the other impeding their own efforts, and decided how much to share, then checked their psionic shields, and quickly reviewed and mentally rehearsed a few spells they thought would be most effective.
“You help guide my flight, and I’ll help guide your sword.” Mark thought as the old familiar excitement of competition rushed through him.
“Right. I’ll concentrate on defense, you concentrate on offense. Remember, Battle Shield is a one-way spell, so we can use it to block our opponents’ spells while still casting our own out through it. But if we use a Force Shield or Force Sphere to block physical attacks, we cannot physically strike out through it, and so those must be used with discretion. And we’ll each be ready to Translocate both of us whenever it becomes necessary.”
“Or even advisable!” Mark avidly agreed.
Ria tipped forward a bit, as if in eagerness for the game. “You are thinking this through more effectively than I would have expected. I think that I will have to introduce a factor to localize the exercise, or it may become a running battle that soon takes us beyond the boundaries of this property.” She rotated on her axis and selected a boulder that was the size of a small room, about two-thirds buried in scree and smaller boulders. She cast an Illusion on it to make it glow blue. “This stone shall be the objective of the exercise. You must defend it. If you lose the stone to your enemies, you lose the exercise. It will take one dragon or twelve Sylvan about one minute to dig out the stone. Of course, you also lose if my players succeed in a blow or spell that would kill or disable you if the exercise was real combat.”
She gave them the brighter smile as she faded from view. “We begin.”
Suddenly a black dragon appeared a hundred and fifty feet above them and to the left and flying down at them as fast as a stooping falcon, already emitting an ear-splitting roar and a blast of yellow fire. Talia cast Battle Shield around both of them even as she flew them out of the way of the fire with wrenching acceleration. It banked sharply and grabbed at them with both massive clawed feet. Talia dodged but not enough, and Mark slashed at the closest foot with GrimFang, cutting half of it off, then seized the dragon with Movement and slammed it into the ground with a huge crash, raising a great cloud of dust and ash.
Talia continued flying them at high speed in a spiraling, weaving pattern, keeping them back to back and about three feet apart to prevent blind spots, and this evasive action prevented them from being skewered by the arrows of a squad of six Sylvan who had appeared on the ground below. She yelped a bit as one passed close to her face, then Mark cast a Concussion in the midst of the squad, and the deafening blast left little more than a three foot crater in the gravel. Another black dragon appeared sixty feet away and directly in their path, spewing fire and casting some kind of spell, and with a quick thought to Mark, Talia Translocated.
They reappeared ten feet in front of the dragon, still flying at a pace that would cover more than two miles in a minute, and Mark was already swinging his sword at its neck on the way by, cutting it more than halfway through and cleaving the spine.
A flight of twenty Sylvan, half with drawn bows, the rest casting red bolts of Force, appeared over the west end of the valley. They accelerated towards the objective stone even as the archers loosed. The Force bolts came on almost too fast to see, and Mark and Talia both poured power into their Battle Shield, which took the bolts with no ill effect other than a shower of red sparks. Then Mark swept the arrows aside with a wedge of Force before casting Movement on them and sending them back at their archers. The Sylvan wizards hurriedly cast, failed to re-take control of their projectiles, and in a panic were forced to incinerate their own speeding arrows rather than be struck by them.
Mark noticed a squadron of nine dragons swoop over the ridge to the east, recognized that they were a greater threat than twenty Sylvan, and cast an immense Concussion right in front of them. It blasted the closest three of them aside, but the Shields of the rest held, and they cast various spells. Two spells impacted while Mark buttressed their Battle Shield before Talia Translocated them behind the oncoming dragons and facing their backs.
As they re-appeared they could see that the twenty Sylvan had reached the objective stone, and that half of them were already starting to dig it out, while the other half assumed a defensive formation before it.
Mark’s heart was pounding in his ears and he knew he only had a moment before the six dragons turned on them. He blasted them with Force bolts, throwing power into the spell with desperate determination. The dragons’ Shields were completely overwhelmed, and the incredible power of Mark’s attack tore their bodies asunder.
Meanwhile Talia had cast Movement on a huge amount of loose rock around the objective stone, raising it up in a circular wave around the Sylvan and sending it crashing down on them, burying the objective stone and everything around it under six feet of rubble. Some of the Sylvan platoon must have raised Force Shields or cast counter-Movements, for the pile shifted and a boulder flew off. Mark quickly buried it under a mound ten times as big, then viciously crushed the pile down to two-thirds it’s size with the strongest Movement he could muster.
An aerial army appeared all around them, filling the valley, over two hundred dragons interspersed with a thousand Sylvan, as many as could fly there without getting in each other’s way. An instant later Talia and their Battle Shield shuddered under the impact of a constant barrage of hundreds of spells, and Mark barely got a Force Sphere up in time to block hundreds of spelled arrows and javelins. The light released was almost blinding, the noise painfully loud.
“NOW JUST A DAMN MINUTE!!!” Mark yelled at the top of his lungs, and a battle rage lit in him at the unfairness of th
e two of them being assailed by such a huge force in their first combat exercise. “Talia, cast this on the Battle Shield!” he barked as he passed her a very complex compound spell, then as the inferno of incoming spells roared around them he threw his own power into their defenses for the seconds it took her to grasp what she had been given. When she cast it, their Battle Shield became impregnable, many of the spells and missiles sent at them began to miss, and many of the others were changed and sent back at their attackers. She threw everything she had into this new shield, relieving Mark of the strain of their defense, and he attacked with Lightning. He screamed in rage as the bolt lanced in an instant from his fists, along GrimFang, out through their shields and into their simulated opponents in a constant, writhing, blinding and deafening inferno of electricity.
The blessing he had made from the curse was quicker than he was, protecting their hearing and Talia’s vision before they could be damaged, while his own Optical Attenuator spell was pushed to its limits.
He roared his fury and defiance as he blasted through their opponents with his hellish spell, pouring his rage and his magic into the continuously blazing bolt in a reckless use of power. Eighteen seconds later he was almost completely spent, but he had cleared the skies of the simulated dragons and Sylvan.
“That is more than enough of that for now.” Ria dryly stated as she appeared before Talia. She wasn’t smiling in the slightest. “This exercise is over.”
“Good.” Talia nodded exhaustedly, and let the shields dissolve as she and Mark floated gingerly down to the blasted ground, keeping only the blessing’s Pure Breath spell active, since the valley was now filled with clouds of disturbed ash.
“Dammit Ria, you have a lot of gall to seem as miffed as you do!” Mark growled as he sheathed GrimFang and sat slumped in the gravel and ash. “We passed your damn test, and it seems like you’re upset that you couldn’t make us fail! What the hell were you thinking, throwing all that at us the first time?! What were we supposed to learn from that?!!”
“Instructors are entitled to appear miffed when the exercises they conduct do not proceed as they had planned. And it is standard practice to test the mettle of new recruits on their first combat exercise by facing them against ever-increasing opposition until they either choose a wise retreat or are overwhelmed. I was not capable of doing that. Please excuse me if I seem displeased with you, for I am not, your performance was so spectacular that I have no words to properly describe the magnitude of your achievement. We learned a great deal about your capabilities with this exercise. Your efforts were bold, basic, and without subtlety, but that is more than compensated for by the magnitude of your powers, the effectiveness of your weapons, and the perfection of your Link. I think there has never been a pair that fought as one being as effectively as you two do, and that is truly your greatest strength. Linked as you were, you were ten times as effective as either of you could have been alone.
“But I cannot help but feel like I am failing you as your instructor. Or rather, that you may not truly need my instruction. I have centuries of bitterly won experience in war as the sword of Visinniria, yet I do not see how you could have fought much better than you did. There is much I could teach each of you as individuals, but as a team, you need none of it. As a team, on your first day as complete warriors, you are a match for the Visinniria that was until the last eighteen years of her mortality.
“I… I worry that you may set me aside, as Visinniria did when she grew beyond the use of a sword, even a sword such as I. I am sorry. I am being maudlin. I should be congratulating you.”
“I will never set you aside, Ria.” Talia told her tiredly as she relaxed in Mark’s arms and recovered her breath, uncaring of the drifting ash that was settling on their skin and sticking to their sweat.
“You cannot say that with any assurance, since none of us know what the future will hold.” Ria insisted.
“I can say it with assurance, since I’m promising you that I will never set you aside, and I’ll swear it on the Truthstone of Falgaroth if that’s what it takes to convince you.” Talia told her tiredly. “Besides, you’re our friend and we love you.” She smiled a bit and kissed Ria’s blade, then cuddled the hilt to her bosom. “Even if you are a bit moody.” she giggled.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you, Ria.” Mark chuckled. “I’m not used to swords having feelings. But look on the bright side. If we’re going to be moving on to the next stage of our training, that’s true weapons training with the Eldest, and when we do that you’ll be part of our team instead of running the opposition. I think we’ll need every bit of help you can give us to deal with whatever Quewanak will throw at us. And I’m very aware that we’re much less experienced than Visinniria was when she made you, so we need your guidance much more than she did. Besides that, since you received her recent gifts, you’re far more capable and complete than you were then, both as a weapon and as a person.”
Ria tipped toward them until she was nearly horizontal, a deep and respectful bow, for her. “Thank you.” she said, and began to fade from view.
“Now don’t go yet, I still want to ask you a few things!” Mark told her. “Like how did you do all that? I mean, I know your mind is copied from Visinniria’s, and that she must have had amazing mental capacity and capability, but still, it seems amazing that you could maintain and control so many simulated enemies, plus all their spells and weapons!”
“It was not as complex as I made it seem.” Ria told him as she regained full visual solidity and her vertical position. “I kept you too busy to notice that all the dragons were identical, and that all the Sylvan were identical. Each simulation in a group performed identical motions, offset a bit in time, position and angle. Only four of them made any sound at any given time, and that sound was also illusory; you didn’t truly hear it, I passed it to your minds through the Link. Most of the spells were done that way as well. I didn’t bother showing the blood and guts that would have resulted from real combat, and once you had defeated an enemy and turned your attention away from it, I stopped maintaining it and it faded. That last attack wave was as much as I could maintain, and it was not enough.”
“Ya, that’s right, now that I think about it.” Mark stated as he reviewed his memory of the exercise. “Even so, it was an incredible display of multitasking.”
Now Ria regained her slight smile. “Thank you.”
“You know, we truly learned a lot.” Talia realized. “If we repeated the exercise right now, we’d do much better. I realize now that the defensive spell set that Mark passed me is the Wards of The Nine Valleys, complete with invisibility, Illusions, distractions, force barriers, transmuting counter-attacks, all of it. As they are Wards that are keyed to us, we can strike through them as well as cast through them. I’d use that at the first sign of danger from now on.”
“Yah, I got that from Yazadril.” Mark nodded. “And I’d use the Force Shield all the time, except for the actual moment I’m swinging my sword at an enemy. And I’d also cast the elven Wards on the objective stone to make it harder for them to take it.
“So, how representative of a real battle was the exercise? I mean, real dragons and Sylvan must be harder to beat than that, right?”
“Not necessarily, for I did not skimp on realism in that regard, not in the slightest. To be sure, I based the simulations on average dragons and average Sylvan of sixty thousand years ago, and both races are likely more capable today. At least so far as their potential is concerned, if not their experience and skill. As for opponents who are not average? You two could win over any three of the highly exceptional dragons working in the crater right now, and might survive against five, but that circle of nine would still obliterate you in a moment. The Sylvan will have their champions as well, some as fearsome as Alilia or Osbald or Emeroth. And for a humanoid race, sixty thousand years is a long time. Who knows how the Sylvan have changed in that time? I believe Yazadril
has the most up to date information on that race, but I do not know it.
“On the other hand, average is average, and for every Sylvan who is as exceptional as Alilia, there is one who is just as extremely substandard. Even the Sylvan have bootlicking toadies who survive by fawning at the egos of the mighty. And for every exceptional Draconian like Kragorram, there is a slinking, skulking, lazy brute of a dragon who survives by scavenging and by bullying lesser predators from their kills.
“If you were facing the most substandard of your enemies, there is no number of them who could prevail against you. Though they be dragons and Sylvan, they could come at you in their millions, and you would blow them aside like chaff in the wind until you tired of it.”
“Orders of magnitude.” Mark murmured thoughtfully.
“Just so.” Ria agreed.
“Thanks Ria.” Suddenly Mark got a huge grin. “Now that the shock of it is wearing off a bit, I’m thinking that the exercise was a lot of fun! Sweet Mother above, it was exhilarating!”
“Now that you mention it, I think I’m starting to feel more than a bit triumphant!” Talia laughed. “We did do rather well, didn’t we? I think that arrow was the only close call, really.
“Yes, I’ll definitely join Mark in sincerely thanking you, Ria. I’m looking forward to the next exercise. Just not today!”
“You are most welcome.” Ria smiled with genuine warmth in her tone, and faded from view.
“How long do we have until they’re finished reshaping that chunk?” Mark asked as he rubbed his eyes and face.
“A bit less than ten minutes, by their estimate. And we’re spent. Should we just go back up there early and wait until they’re finished with it?”
“No, we’ll do what we’d do if we were in this shape with fighting left to do. We’ll shoot some arrows. We have enough time to test out those four bows and see which ones we like.”
“All right.” she smiled, and with a wave she retrieved their bundle of weapons from where they’d left it; floating twenty feet above the bottom of the valley. She untied it and unrolled the oiled leather wrap, Levitating it level and horizontal at her waist’s height to display the weapons. “This big laminated longbow is obviously meant for you. It’s only a medium bow for you, actually. The next smaller one would be a longbow for me or a short cavalry bow for you. This elven jungle bow from Dakrin Cliffs is probably too small for you to use. And we’ll have to test the pull on this spider bow to see if it’s meant for you or me. We should have brought the cards that came with these. We do know the Atoning rated these as our four most dangerous projectile weapons.”
“A spider bow, you called it?” Mark asked as he picked up the strange weapon, which was about three and a half feet in length, and was varnished a dull green. “I’ve never heard of anything like it! And though I wouldn’t have guessed it, it’s obvious that it’s meant for me, because the grip is big enough to fit my hand!”
“Yes I see. They’re also called six wheel bows, for obvious reasons, but they’re called spider bows because the way the bowstring weaves back and forth between the wheels kind of looks like a spider’s web, and because the lamination layer on the outside of the curve of the limbs is made from pre-stretched spider silk, as is the bowstring. I’ve never used one, but apparently the extra long bowstring passing through all the wheels adds leverage to the draw. It also allows you to shoot very long arrows with a compact bow.”
The center of the black bowstring where the arrow was meant to be nocked was marked with an extra wrap of white thread, and he hooked three fingers there and drew the bow three feet. “Wow! This thing really has some heft, though the limbs hardly bend at all!” he gritted in surprise.
“Pull it back farther.” Talia advised, and he did, achieving over five feet of draw at his maximum.
“I sure see the point of it now!” he panted as he gradually released the draw, then pulled it again. “It’s tough to get the draw at the beginning, but it doesn’t really get any harder to pull it the rest of the way!”
“Interesting. Let’s do some shooting! We have a wide variety of arrows, so we’ll want a variety of targets.”
“All right, let’s start with a one-yard-wide bulls eye at about thirty yards. I’ll cast it as an Illusion and give it a bit of soft Force to catch the arrows.
“There, that didn’t take much, even as drained as I am.”
“The archery range at school is twenty-five yards, can we start at that distance?” Talia asked as she filled a small quiver and selected an archery gauntlet.
“Sure.” Mark nodded as he brought the target closer, then turned to select his arrows and gauntlet. By the time he’d done that, Talia had already put six arrows into the target, all close to center.
“The elven longbow and the jungle bow are both fitted to my hand. “ she announced as she turned to watch him shoot. “The longbow is spelled for accuracy, so there’s no use in practicing with it. The jungle bow’s arrows are spelled for accuracy as well, but I can remove it from them easily enough and replace it later, whereas the spell on the longbow is a tricky piece of work. The short arrows simply go wherever you were looking when they were released, whereas the longbow guides its arrows to their intended target as long as it’s within range and its location is accurately known, even if it moves after the shot or is hidden behind something.”
“Nice!” Mark commented as he drew the fletching of a huge, five foot long war arrow to his ear with the spider bow, then let fly. He struck the target dead center, and the tremendous force of the impact was obvious. “This is a wonderful bow! It’s wasted at this distance though, ‘cause it’s a marksman’s bow as sure as I’m standing, meant for distant, difficult targets.”
He created a second target a hundred yards down the valley, and sent it flying gently up the slope as he pulled another arrow to full draw, tracked ahead of the target for a moment and let fly. It struck in the third of five rings on the bulls eye.
Talia gave him a happy little clap as she floated up to give him a quick kiss. “Congratulations Mark! That was a wonderful shot!
“Personally, I’ve never practiced on moving targets, and I could never shoot such a distance without magic, and I’m not even that accurate at twenty-five yards.” she admitted as she chose six more arrows and stuck them into the gravel in front of her in a neat row, then readied her bow and reached for another arrow.
“I do have one good attribute as an archer though.” she said as she nocked, drew, and released her arrow in a single smooth, quick motion, reached for the next without looking away from her target, quick-fired it as well, and the next. She hit near the center of the target with all seven arrows in less time than it would take Mark to shoot two, even if he was in a hurry. Her grouping was almost as small as that of her first six. “I can maintain a pretty fast rate of fire.” she finished, a trifle smugly.
“And an impressive attribute it is, my love!” he chuckled as he gave her a one-armed hug. “Quite valuable for close city fighting; attempted coups in the throne room, that kind of thing.”
“A development we don’t need to worry about anyway, since every visitor or immigrant to Hilia will have sworn a binding vow of justice!” she giggled. “Still, with comments like that, you’re starting to sound like you grew up as royalty!”
Mark grinned as he nocked another arrow, and had opened his mouth to offer a playful retort, when Grakonexikaldoron Spoke.
“They have finished altering the piece.” she informed them.
“We’ll be right up.” Talia told her.
They wrapped up their bows and arrows after retrieving the ones they’d shot, then flew back to the crater at a relaxed pace.
As they arrived back at the group of dragons, Kragorram and two of the astronomers were carefully removing a second chunk of obsidian from the wall of the crater near the hole from which they’d removed the first one.
“Ah, friendz Mark and Talia, I am zorry we
could not greet you properly earlier, though we would have been prepared to do zo if we had known you were coming.” Kragorram called. “Mind you, it iz lucky for uz that you have come, particularly if you can zhow that theze two piezez reflect your power with equal effectivenezz. As you zay, that will zave uz a great deal of work.”
“Glad to be of service, Kragorram.” Mark smiled with a wave. “I’m just glad we had a chance to see you at work, for it was a wondrous display of control and craft!”
“Thank you, but I muzt zay that the craft of my co-workerz here waz more wondrouz, though it iz not even vizible to the unaided eye, for they have zhaped thiz pieze to a perfect zpheric zeczhion with an accurazy that iz about equal to one ten-thouzandth of the thicknezz of your zkin.”
“That is impressive!” Talia marveled.
“If in fact the unique surface texture and crystalline structure are not key to the reflective quality of the stone,” the blue draconian astronomer commented in a throbbing, somewhat sardonic growl, “then the altered piece should not only equal the reflectivity of the unaltered piece, but significantly surpass it, for not only is the sphericity of its shape now perfect, which will allow the many pieces to focus together on a single point, its surface texture is now perfectly smooth, which should vastly reduce scattering of the reflection.
“I must admit to being consumed by impatience to learn the result of the experiment. My gratitude would be unbounded if we could perform the test with no further delay. Furthermore, I would request that we be allowed to share your sensations while we do so.”
“Certainly.” Mark nodded. “Povon, would you be so kind as to set up a Link between myself and these fine astronomers?”
“Certainly.” Povon nodded, and Mark had to struggle to keep from laughing as he realized that Povon was playfully mimicking him.
“Excellent. Now, If you’d be so kind as to instruct me as to the exact procedure you wish us to perform?”
“Certainly.” The blue drake nodded, obviously completely unaware of the by-play between Mark and Povon, and so as equally unaware of the unintended hilarity of his response. Talia and Povon had to laugh aloud, though they tried to stifle it, and the astronomer completely disregarded that as well. “You will go beyond and below the rim of the crater to the south, where you will be within direct sunlight, but where we will be assured that you are well removed from the reflection from within the crater. You will position yourself so that the sun is directly behind you, and I will cast a spell similar to your Battle Shield that conforms to your silhouette between you and the sun, blocking the direct rays of the sun from you, and hopefully this will make the sensations you feel from the rays reflected onto you by the two samples more apparent. In order to maximize the sensations and the contrasts between the sensations caused by the reflection of the two pieces, I will Translocate one of the pieces directly in front of you and just above you, positioned and angled so that the sunlight and your power are reflected directly onto your face, head and torso. I will then perform substitutions, one piece for the other. That is to say, I will Translocate the first piece out of position while you are concentrating on the sensations you perceive from it’s reflection, preferably with your eyes closed to aid your concentration, and a very short time later I will Translocate the second piece into position. So far as your senses will be able to detect, the substitution should be instantaneous, which should also make any contrasts you perceive between the two pieces’ reflectivity as apparent as possible. These two pieces, as well as the other three we may yet need to reshape, were chosen because their surface areas are exactly equal, so that will not be a factor.”
“Got it.” Mark nodded, and Talia Translocated the two of them to the appointed place before she lost control and laughed aloud at the blue dragon’s somewhat pompous long-windedness with an enthusiasm that may have been taken as disrespectful.
A moment later the blue elder cast his blocking spell.
“Interesting.” Talia commented. “It’s like you have a pure black shadow floating in mid-air three feet behind you, staying directly between you and the sun.”
Mark glanced back at it. “I could tell it was there right away, not only because it blocked the heat of the sun, but because it blocks the power I get from it. It’s pretty noticeable when it’s sudden like that.”
“Thank you. That is valuable commentary.” the blue psionicly told them. “We begin.”
The first piece appeared in front of and above Mark, and he closed his eyes to concentrate. “I can definitely feel the reflection, even though this piece is such a small fraction of the crater. I wasn’t sure if I would.” he commented.
Three seconds later the second piece was substituted for the first, and the process was repeated eight more times.
“It is done. And I believe the results are happily conclusive.”
“I agree.” Mark nodded as he Translocated himself and Talia back to the nine dragons. “I thought so at the first substitution, and I’m sure now. Their reflections are pretty much the same. If anything, the second piece reflected a tiny bit better.”
“Some zero point one seven percent better, actually, which is completely consistent with the theory that the properties of this stone that allow it to reflect the source of your power are entirely the product of the material makeup of the stone.” The blue commented as the two pieces were replaced in their holes. “Thus we will be able to heat and reshape the surfaces of the rest of the pieces of the lining of the crater in a single, simultaneous operation. We will take our leave now, for with this knowledge we can commence the final planning for the operation. This will require two to three days.”
And with that the six astronomers Translocated out on with a single flawlessly silent spell.
“Huh. He’s a different sort, isn’t he?” Mark chuckled. “They didn’t even bother to be introduced.”
“Believe me, those six seldom spend any thought on anything not directly related to their intellectual pursuits.” Povon told him with a huge toothy smile. “I hope you’ll forgive my teasing, but Zeverkin’s manner is so academic, and your own manner of speaking changes with your perception of the formality of the situation. It just struck me as funny, and I’m very out of practice in controlling my reaction to that emotion.”
“That’s okay.” Mark grinned. “If I wasn’t the one who had to do the talking, I’d have probably laughed when you and Talia did.”
“Zeverkin would not have cared if you had, since he has no real understanding of humor and is fully aware of his lack in that regard, and so he consistently ignores it as irrelevant.” Gran chuckled. “Still, it was wise that you did not, since three of those who worked with him are more emotional than he. As it is, they will be mildly miffed with Povon and Talia for a time that may range from a year to an eon. In their minds, you girls have shown yourselves to be… How would it be said in this language precisely? Ah. Incorrigibly precocious adolescents. They will not seek to have you barred from positions of authority, because Mark and Kragorram’s behavior was exemplary, and so they will be considered to be mature adults who are in charge of you girls as your guardian custodians.”
“I see.” Povon nodded, still smiling and completely unabashed as she sidled up to Kragorram and tucked herself under his wing. “And I would be upset at that assessment, except that I think it is not too far from the truth!”
“Not far?” Talia laughed as she hugged Mark’s thigh. “I think it represents the situation exactly!”
“I… I believe I am… Mildly embarrazzed? A bit abazhed, zertainly.” Kragorram declared with a puzzled head shake. He gave Povon an absent-minded cuddle, which she obviously relished. “It iz ludicrouz to think that I would be conzidered to be in authority over anyone az intelligent, zkilled, and powerful as Povon! Bezidez that, she has twize my yearz of life!”
“But I have half your life experience, my love, particularly when it comes to dealing with others.” Povon af
fectionately declared. “I have been solitary while you have been out in the world, doing things. So, since you’re the mature one in our mating, I’m your responsibility. Anything stupid I do will be considered to be your fault by those astronomers and others like them, since you will have obviously failed to supervise me correctly. It’s a very freeing realization, now that I think about it!”
This left Kragorram so flabbergasted he could only gape.
“That’s silly, and it’s even more silly in our case, since Talia has almost twice the life experience I do, no matter how it’s measured.” Mark stated with a grin.
“Perhaps, but I’m definitely riding on your greatness, my love.” Talia told him with a sincere smile. “Besides, I’m inspired by your wisdom, and we’ve already agreed that I’ve accepted your leadership. So anything I do wrong is your fault. You boys can punish us for our failings, but they’re still your responsibility.”
“Punizh Povon?!! I could never conzider zuch a thing!” Kragorram protested, now completely taken aback.
“Relax, my friend.” Mark laughed. “They’re just teasing us.”
“Oh. Zo, what they zaid was not truly meant?”
“Oh they meant it all right, but that doesn’t mean they judge us to be the kind of mates who would ever truly punish them, nor will they make any less effort to behave in a manner that would make us proud of them.”
“Oooh, that was masterfully done!” Talia teased, but addressing Povon. “Suddenly we’ve gone from not having to feel responsible for our own behavior, to feeling it’s our moral duty to be as exemplary as they are!”
“Which only proves our point, doesn’t it?” Povon pointed out, and they all got a laugh from that.
“My love,” Kragorram chuckled, “I am glad we do not engage in theze little conteztz of wit while we are alone together, for without Mark’z zupport, I think I would be inztantly overwhelmed.”
“True, but then we have far better things to do when we are alone together, don’t we my love?” Povon laughed as she gave him another sensuous cuddle.
“Why Kragorram, I do believe that you are blushing!” Gran observed, laughing aloud with delight.
“Blushing? How could you tell?” Mark was baffled. “I mean, he’s a crimson dragon!”
“Well of course, I use the word ‘blushing’ because it’s closest in meaning to the Draconian term for the set of physical symptoms produced by extreme embarrassment or chagrin, but in dragons it causes a certain tightening of the skin on the neck and facial area that results in the scales standing up a bit. It’s hard to see on Kragorram because his scales are so small, but you can see where they are not laying as flat against his skin, producing a slightly different visual texture.”
“Crags and Scarps!” Povon muttered, and sinuously licked her lips as a mischievous smile grew on her countenance. “Uh, Talia, Gran, we’ll meet as planned. Kragorram and I have something we must do right now.” she announced without looking away from her mate. With an abrupt wave and a throbbing growl, they were gone.
“Ah, young love.” Gran sighed, and smiled.
“Am I right in thinking that Kragorram was mortified, and that Povon found that to be erotic?” Talia giggled.
“You are.” Gran nodded.
“How is it that dragons smile in the same way as humans?” Mark asked. “I mean, it just struck me as amazing that when you smile, it’s in such a human manner that I’ve been taking it for granted; even the tiniest nuances seem natural. It seems impossible that two such different peoples could have developed exactly the same manner of showing such subtle emotions.”
“We did not, for dragons do not smile. Most of our physical expression of emotion is conveyed by subtle movements and positions of the head, neck, wings and tail. In order to communicate effectively in Draconian to a dragon, you would need to simulate those motions by means of an advanced inter-species translation spell that reads your facial expression, tone of voice, and body language. As the spell translates the sound of your words into Draconian, it also translates those more subtle human emotional signals into those of dragons, and conveys them by means of a small Illusion of a simplified dragon figure. The Draconian translation spell for Human Trade Common casts the Illusion of smiling on my face, because my facial muscles are not capable of forming the expression, but it also provides me with the meaning and use of various voluntary physical signals, such as shrugging and nodding. Devising such spells is fiendishly complex and requires the cumulative effort of thousands of researchers. They are constantly improved and revised, and those of us who use them often bestow gifts upon the researchers to show our gratitude.”
“Interesting.” Mark nodded. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now I will take my leave, so that I may finalize arrangements for the construction of the research facility on the north rim, which will begin tomorrow. I will see you later today at Hilia.”
“Fare well till then.” Talia called with a wave, and then she was again alone with her husband.
“Well, let’s get you into the focus.” she smiled as she took his hand, or rather his index finger.
“Ya, there’s enough sun shining into the crater now to be worthwhile, and I could sure use the energy.” He agreed as they rose and moved to the center of the great bowl. “Ahhh. That sure feels nice.”
“We still have about three hours before we should get ready for the party.” Talia said as they slowed, drifted back down a bit, then stopped as Mark found the focus by the intensity of the reflected power. “Should we do some more weapons practice?”
“We could, but I’d really like to see some of the world. Just some quick visits in the time we have. I’ve got all of Yazadril and Alilia’s Translocation references, so we can go almost anywhere in the alliance. I’d love to see Felion and Kletiuk, and the Xervian capitol.”
“I’ve always wanted to see Latrel. And we could visit Joseth Narr and see how his recovery in progressing.”
“We should. It would be the decent thing to do.” Mark nodded. “But I’m nervous about going back to Debivin. Strange to think that of all the peoples in the alliance, I feel least secure among humans. Winghoof is just outside Latrel, and the last time we were there you were killed, and I barely brought you back. We’re harder to kill now, but you can bet whoever did it knows we’re still alive, and their next attempt will be a lot more powerful. And remember the crowd outside our place in Thon? That was a bit scary too.”
“Those are good points. But my father is a master of disguise, and so I’m conversant with the fundamentals of the art. Even as distinctive as we are, we can pass unnoticed.”
“True.” Mark grinned. “What do you suggest?”
“First, the Unseen spell, which will prevent people from focusing their attention on us if they’re closer than a hundred paces. My paces, that is. And second, for those who see us from beyond the range of that spell, we will alter our appearance with Disguise illusions. I suggest we keep them simple. If I appear a foot taller and you appear a foot shorter, and we adopt each other’s hair coloring, we will be practically unrecognizable even if we change no other details. It would be easiest if we cast them on each other.”
“You’d look like a native Smingan plains elf, and I’d look like I came from northern Iktra or Luffan.” Mark smiled. “All right, that shouldn’t be too hard. Would you step back and pose for me please, Princess?”
“Certainly.” she giggled as she floated off a few feet.
He cast an Illusion of her four feet to her left, then gradually expanded it until the image was a foot taller. “Uh, I don’t have anything that casts a mirror.” He admitted after a moment of thought. “Can you do that?”
“Sort of.” She cast Summon, and the retrieving Translocate produced a five by two foot mirror, its dark wood frame ornately carved in the shapes of flowers. “It’s from my room in my parents’ oak.” she giggled.
“Thanks.” He stu
died his own reflection, and changed the coloring of the Illusion’s hair to match. “This is harder than I thought. It’s one of the first spells I’ve cast where I’m not just copying what someone else did. Now I’ll fix it to you by guiding it with my sense of your location.”
The image moved over and turned until it overlaid Talia, hiding her within it.
“That’s very well done, but it’s really the hard way of going about it.” Talia laughed. “Look, I just look at you and picture the differences I want, and I cast this version of Illusion on you, the same way I would if I were attacking you with it.”
“Ah. Except I’m already doing it this way, so I might as well hang onto it for now.” He grinned as he inspected his altered appearance in the mirror. “Besides, I don’t have the talent to just picture something I haven’t seen with perfect realism like that. I have to see something to get that kind of detail all at once.”
She stood beside him in mid-air and put an arm around his waist as they studied their reflections, hers five feet, four inches tall and black haired with light blue eyes, his seven feet three, light blond, with dark blue eyes.
“I’d say we’re quite unrecognizable, if no less exotic in appearance.” she laughed. “But remember, you’d have to alter the Illusion to account for our actions. Right now the Illusion of me is centered upon me, and it’s larger than me, so if I stand on a floor, it will look like my feet extend below the floor. And if I remove your Illusion… There you see, it seems like my body is intersecting yours.” She restored his Illusion. “Now, my Illusion of you is altering itself, so that when we hug, it conforms properly to your Illusion of me. I’ll take care of physical interactions between us, so we won’t try to compensate for each other’s compensations.
“Here, I’ll cast a square yard of Force to stand on and color it brown with another Illusion.” She released her Levitation and fell three inches to land comfortably on her artificial surface. Sure enough, It looked to him like she was standing in brown liquid that came up to her ankles.
“I see.” He laughed. He moved the Illusion up till it was standing on the floor.
“Ah, but if I draw my sword and hold it over my head, its position is not consistent with the Illusion’s hand.” Talia demonstrated, and it looked like the hilt passed through her forearm. “The Disguise Illusion I’m casting follows the surface of your hands and the soles of your feet, and compensates for size differences by altering the Illusion’s posture and limb positions accordingly, and if necessary, it changes the apparent position of any object you’re touching or holding. Remember, an Illusion is a psionic spell, not a colored light spell. Illusions affect the mind, not the eye.”
“True.” he chuckled as he drew his sword, then sheathed it again as he dismissed his spell. “You’ve completely convinced me, but when I was getting spells from Alilia and your parents I mostly took the general version of each spell, and didn’t bother with any variations whose purpose I didn’t recognize, and I didn’t get that one. So if you’ll just pass it to me… Thanks. Now that I’ve seen the Illusion I had, I can picture it well enough to use this. Much better.” he nodded, seeing the taller dark-haired Talia properly holding her sword.
He caressed her with both hands as she sheathed it, and kissed her neck. “You know, with this meager sunlight, and as depleted as my power is, I should float here for at least twenty minutes…” he chuckled.
“My love, you are most admirably insatiable!” she laughed as she turned into his embrace.
“Let’s be gentle, all right?” he murmured. “Making love while flying this high is intense enough, and the pleasure of absorbing power here will be getting pretty strong in a while. I worry that if it’s too intense when we reach ecstasy with each other, on top of all that, we’ll overload our brains somehow.”
“Ha! Not only will I attempt to bring you to the most intense ecstasy imaginable, my huge but cautious love, I will endeavor to experience the same at the same moment! And, I will hold the Link wide open when we do, so that we will each experience all of that pleasure and we will each experience all of that pleasure in the other at the same time!” She was sensuously undressing him and nuzzling his body as she delivered this revelation.
“I… see.” Mark eyebrows rose and his jaw dropped as he considered her declaration. “And what do you think will happen then?”
“There are five possibilities.” She giggled as she opened his kilt. “One is that the Blessing will save us, perhaps by Translocating us out of the focus while dousing us with the psionic equivalent of cold water.
“The second is that our wedding spells will act directly on our brains to prevent them from being damaged.
“The third is that we will indeed die from pleasure that is too powerful to withstand, and while dying would be most regrettable, that does seem like the most preferable possible demise.
“The fourth is that we will become brain damaged, and while the results of that do include the tiny possibility that we would no longer be capable of experiencing pleasure, they also include the tiny possibility that our brains will become stuck in the experience, and we would spend the rest of our long lives trapped in a moment of absolute bliss.
“The fifth possibility is that it will not prove to be harmful in the slightest, and we will enjoy the absolute ultimate in pleasure, which may well prove to be a transcendent experience that will change us in some fundamental way. Perhaps we will realize the nature of divinity at that moment, and achieve godhood. It seems as likely a method for doing so as any other.
“And personally, I’m willing to take the chance.”
By this time she had removed all of their clothing, which floated about in the breeze, for she only spent the attention to make sure their swords remained within arm’s reach. Mark’s constant caresses had failed to distract her from her task. Now she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hungrily.
“I suppose I don’t get a vote on this issue?” he chuckled a moment later.
“No. You do not.”
Thus it was that twenty minutes later, while they had taken the time to again restore their appearances and to drop off their extra weapons at Hilia, they were still a bit dazed as they appeared in the early evening on the street in front of the guard house at the north entrance to the walled grounds of The Imperial Palace of Sming, in Latrel.
They were immediately immobilized by bands of Force and surrounded by a spell-damping field, then a fraction of a second later they were surrounded by four humans and six elves wearing the gray livery of Emperor Kevim’s personal guards, all aiming swords or crossbows at them, and then beyond them appeared the mixed-race force of a local detachment of The Military of The Just Alliance, all with spells or weapons at the ready. The people on the street quickly moved back out of the way as the soldiers established a perimeter, then stood to spectate the events.
“Halt!” one of the guards barked. His command was completely redundant, since Mark and Talia were immobilized, and beyond that were so stunned with surprise they could only gape. From his more ornate insignia, Mark judged him to be an officer of some considerable rank. “You have performed an unannounced and unauthorized Translocation into a controlled area from beyond the sovereignty of the Empire of Sming! And it appears you have done so while cloaked in Unseen and Illusion spells of surpassing power! Explain yourselves immediately, or be destroyed!”
“Uh, sorry.” Mark stammered as he and Talia dismissed their spells. “It’s us. We just came to do some sight-seeing, and to visit an injured friend, and didn’t want to draw attention.”
“We’ve never been here before, so we didn’t realize the significance of the reference location.” Talia added. “Again, we offer our most sincere apologies. We’re…”
“Prince Mark and Princess Talia of Hilia, Keys to The Just Alliance!” one of the elves exclaimed, and immediately bowed. Many of the others also bowed, and many began exclaiming excitedly to one an
other in Smingan and other languages.
“You’re on duty!” the human officer angrily yelled.
Unsure how to respond to this, some of the soldiers snapped to attention, while others brought their weapons back to bear on Mark and Talia.
“Bah!” the officer exclaimed in exasperation. “At ease! Back to your posts, all except my squad! Dismissed!”
As the weapons were put up, the Just Alliance detachment Translocated out, and the bands of Force on Mark and Talia were released, the officer turned to them.
“Your Highnesses.” he said with a nod, obviously controlling his anger. “I can understand your intention to remain unnoticed here, considering what happened the last time you visited Sming, but you’ve chosen a poor way of going about it. It may be different in the elvenlands, but here, less than ten persons in a million can Translocate themselves. We keep an eye on such things, since we’re on the verge of war.
“Let it be officially noted that you bear the recognized Markings of the vow of justice, that you are therefore welcome within The Empire of Sming, that you have been officially reprimanded for entering The Empire without giving prior notification to The Chancellery of Immigration And Tourism, and that you have been formally warned that any repetition of these actions would result in your prosecution, if you did not enjoy diplomatic immunity. Thus my duty is discharged.
“Now, if you would be so kind as to accompany us, the Emperor wishes to speak with you.”
With that he turned on his heel, and led the way through the arch, beneath the wall, and onto the palace grounds.
“You’ll have to excuse Colonel Rekanam’s brusqueness.” The elf who’d announced their names told them with a smile, obviously delighted to be in their company. “We’ve all been on edge since the attempt on the Emperor’s life only three weeks ago, and the recent events have been of no help in that regard. The formation of The Just Alliance and the changes it’s making among the people are wondrous, but the sudden military reorganization has been wrenching to us who’ve been affected by it. We do become a bit attached to our routines, and cannot help but dislike their being disrupted. There’s the business of the conspiracy, and Venak, and the attempt on your lives outside the city two days ago.
“And of course Colonel Riana here is affected more than most, since when he is off-duty, he is Prince Rekanam, brother to His Excellency Emperor Kevim The Sixth.”
“For all the good it does me!” Rekanam grumbled. He had led them across a cobblestone marshaling yard to the steps that led up to the grand entrance of the palace itself. “We’re wasting valuable time! We know that all the conspirators and criminals are holed up in Venak, and that King Renem’s a murderous bastard who’s in it up to his neck! We should blast that barrier down and arrest or kill every damn one of them! They know we’ll be coming for them sooner or later, and with every second that passes before we do, they’ll be that much more prepared for us! We have the power of this great military alliance, but Kevim and the rulers refuse to use it now, while it’s still likely to be effective! Our soldiers will end up paying for this indecision with their blood!”
“If it comes to that, I’m afraid they will.” Mark nodded.
“Damn, I’m glad you agree!” the colonel cursed, and shook his graying head. “Maybe you can talk some sense into them! I’m Prince of the Realm and Commander of both the Palace Guard and the City Guard of Latrel, but they damn sure won’t listen to me!”
“There are other factors to contend with beyond those in Venak, as you must know, Prince Rekanam.” Mark patiently told him. “Battle must be our last choice, for if we attack when open war can be avoided, or while lacking critical tactical information, soldiers and citizens on both sides will pay the price. First we must try persuasion.”
“Persuasion?! Persuade them of what?!” Rekanam snorted derisively. “The best you can hope for is to persuade them to keep the peace that they’ve already broken, and we’d be fools to trust them to keep their word on it! You’ll never persuade them to give up the guilty! Sure, the greater good is served if we restore peace without battle, but I doubt it’s possible. Decent folk could go back to the routine of their lives and all that, but if the guilty escape punishment for their crimes, where’s our fine vow of justice then? What’s to stop them from trying it all again, and again and again, until they finally succeed in seizing power and making life hell for everyone?”
They’d reached the deep columned portico at the top of the broad flight of marble stairs, and realized that Emperor Kevin and four of his attendants waited for them there, attired as any well-to-do merchants might be, their clothing finely tailored but not ostentatious.
“Good day Prince Mark, Princess Talia.” Kevim offered with a smile and a nod. “Welcome to Sming. Would you care to join me for a few moments?”
“Certainly, Emperor.” Talia accepted with the same smile and nod.
He led them into the entrance hall of the palace, and across it at an angle to a large, well appointed office.
“Please, make yourselves comfortable.” Kevim waved to a circle of various seating furniture. “Before we speak of other things, Prince Mark, I must admit that I could hear your conversation as you ascended the steps, and I’m consumed with curiosity to know how you would answer my brother.”
“All right.” Mark nodded. “If it comes to open warfare, a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt, no matter how much we try to avoid it. So, we can only initiate a military attack if we’re sure that doing so is the only way to prevent an even larger number of innocents from being hurt. If they don’t start it, we won’t start it. Sure, they’re getting ready for us with every second that passes, but I’m willing to bet that we’re getting ready for them even faster. We must concentrate our military effort on being ready to defend our people from a military attack by the enemy.
“Remember, the original intent of the formation of The Just Alliance was to prevent war. We thought that someone was trying to instigate a war among us, and we all joined it so that we could assure each other that we weren’t preparing to attack.
“Now I’m not involved in the military planning of The Just Alliance right now, but as far as I can see, the best case scenario goes like this: We bring them to the peace table with the bait and the cudgel. Emphasize the benefits of peace and trade with The Just Alliance, versus the costs of their being crushed in a conflict with us. Once we’ve restored diplomacy and trade and opened the borders, we have access to them. We use that access to learn the identities of the guilty as individuals; those who actually took part in crimes and those who ordered it done, and to know them with certainty. At that point we appeal to everyone who has any power in Venak but who did not participate in crimes to give up the guilty, in return for our backing them as they assume the positions of the guilty who were in power, and join The Just Alliance. And we appeal to the citizens of Venak to support us in this.
“If we don’t get the guilty that way, we’ll hunt them. We’ll offer huge rewards for their capture, or for information that leads to their capture, and we’ll send teams of specialists to capture them if possible, and to kill them if not. Right now the number of people who’ve been directly hurt by the insidious conspiracy is very tiny compared to the number who’d be hurt in a war. If we can keep it that way, and stabilize the situation, we can afford to send a thousand professional hunters after every one of the guilty. We’ll hunt them relentlessly, and we’ll never stop hunting them. Death is their only escape from us.”
There was a long silence as his words were considered.
“I can accept that. Well said.” Rekanam admitted with grudging admiration.
Kevim sat back and gave a huge sigh of relief. “There it is then. If you’ve convinced him with that policy, it will convince the rest of those who think as he does. Prince Mark, I would be most pleased if you would submit the words you have just spoken as an official suggestion of the Key to The Just Alliance
.”
“All right. Prince Rekanam, with your permission, I’d like to send our entire conversation. You made a very strong case for a decisive first strike, and if we learn with certainty that the enemy intends an attack on us, that may be what we have to do. I just want to make sure that what I’ve said is taken in context.”
“By all means.” Rekanam nodded.
“I’ll end it right there.” Mark nodded, and took a Reading of his own memory, then cast a Speaking. “Somonik, I’m here in Sming with Emperor Kevim and Prince Rekanam, and I have a suggestion as Key to The Just Alliance. I’ll send you a Reading of our recent conversation.”
“I am ready to receive it.” Somonik Spoke clearly and formally in the minds of all who were present. “I have it. Brilliantly spoken. I am forwarding it to the heads of state of The Just Alliance. It is done. Discussion of this suggestion will be added to the agenda of this evening’s meeting of The Assembly of The Just Alliance. I personally expect it will be adopted as policy shortly thereafter.”
“Thank you Somonik. We’ll see you at the party later?” Talia asked.
“Of course.”
Mark ended the spell.
“I’m still on duty.” Rekanam declared as he stood, then offered his hand to Mark with a sudden grin. “I’m damn glad to have met you, Prince Mark. You’ve given me some real faith in The Just Alliance, and in your leadership as well. And I’ll be training hard in my off duty time to qualify for the hunting parties.”
“Pleased to meet you as well, Colonel Rekanam.” Mark grinned in return as they shook hands.
“Princess Talia, it’s been a pleasure meeting you.” Rekanam declared with a suddenly courtly manner and a flourishing bow.
“For me also, Prince of Sming.” Talia smiled with a slight curtsy, and Rekanam let himself out.
“Thank you.” The emperor smiled. “I think you’ve restored peace to my family’s dinner table for the first time in three weeks.
“Now, I understand you wish to see the sights of Latrel, and to visit a friend who is injured. I would surmise that to be Joseth Narr, recently made Colonel of the newly-formed Hilian Cavalry, and Commander of the Academy of Cavalry of the Hilian University of The Just Alliance, as your First Minister Sheramiv recently informed me when she formally requested my permission for the establishment of that facility within The Empire of Sming. Permission which was immediately granted, I might add. Jo’s a fine man, and his Healers have given him permission to commence with planning for his new charge, though they insist he do so while remaining in bed. He and the wizards who are still recovering from the attack on you are under the care of my Imperial Healers, in another building within this palace complex.
“If you would tell me which sites you wish to see, I will assign you a very capable guide who will respect your wish to remain anonymous as you enjoy our fine city.”
“I’ve always wanted to see Latrel, ever since my father visited here when I was a child and told me about it.” Talia shyly revealed. “We don’t have much time today, but I’d like to see more of your palace, and Prince Gotimin’s palace as well, and the North High Aqueduct, and The Architect’s Garden of Falling Water.”
“Myself, I’m wholly unfamiliar with your city, so I’m glad Talia has some sights in mind.” Mark grinned. “I’m just looking forward to being among the people as just another person, to talk to them and hear what they’re saying first hand, about how the alliance is doing and the threat of war and life in general.”
“I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!” Kevim chuckled. “I’ve sent for my grandson Reen. He’s still officially a squire at court here, but he has no patience with the ways of the aristocracy in general, and tends to spend as much of his time as possible out carousing among the folk of the city. Still, he’s a slippery little whip with a good nose for trouble, and he knows every back way, alley, and hidden passage in the city. I’m not supposed to know about it, but he’s been training with Covert Services for a few months, and doing well. Furthermore, I think some time in your company can only benefit the lad.
“And by the way, I’m sure you have no wish to receive a similar reception the next time you travel to Sming. Luckily we now have a convenient way to avoid it. Not an hour before you arrived here I received delivery of several thousand of these items from the Grand Council of Xervia. Your First Minister will have received a few as well.” He retrieved a small oval sheet of blue glass about six inches by four. “It Reads the look and magical aura of the Marking of The Just Alliance with such detail that each one is recognized as unique. That unique Marking is then registered with the agencies in each nation that deal with international travelers. Registered citizens of The Just Alliance are recognized as being allowed passage over borders by the Wards and Warders of each nation, and can pass freely without needing to be individually examined to ascertain their identity. It streamlines the use of the Marking as a passport, and when it’s used in this manner as a diplomatic passport, only the diplomatic services of the nations whose borders are being crossed need to be informed of the identity of the traveler.
“Since you are reigning monarchs, you will be registered as diplomatic travelers. Then you will be able to Translocate into Sming while concealing your identities and your presence from all but the highest levels of our government, without risking arrest, for the Marking of a registered diplomat will be all our sentries need to identify you as friendly and trusted.
“However, until the threat of war is past, we are asking all those who travel by Translocation to register their movements with the involved authorities. Many of our soldiers are young and jumpy, so it’s best that they have at least a full minute’s warning before someone Translocates into their vicinity.”
“I understand completely.” Mark nodded as he took the glass from Kevim. “Sorry about the disruption we caused earlier.
“How exactly does this work?”
“Simply center it over your Marking, press it firmly into contact, and state your full name and rank.”
They did so, and as Talia was finishing there was a knock on the door. Squire Reen let himself in, closed the door, and bowed to his grandfather. He was in his mid-teens and shared a strong family resemblance, being dark and slight with a quick manner, and was dressed in a simple green silk tunic with matching leggings and sandals.
“Good day, Squire.” Kevim nodded. “Be at ease. I imagine you recognize my guests?”
“I do! I’m honored, greatly honored indeed, to share your presence!” Reen babbled with a grin and another bow. “Prince Mark, Princess Talia, Keys to The Just Alliance, and heroes to humans and elves and smart people everywhere! I really couldn’t be more honored than I am right now!”
“They wish to see some of the wonders of Latrel, to read the mood of the people first-hand, and to take the pulse of public opinion, while remaining unrecognized. And they prefer an informal atmosphere, so don’t fawn over them.”
“Of course! You’re just like I thought you’d be, and that’s just the kind of thing I’d expect you to be likely to be doing! And I’m just the man for the job, too! I can guarantee you a lively time in Latrel! How long will you be here?”
“Only an hour of two.” Talia told him with a giggle at his exuberance. “We’ll likely come back and see more soon, but we have a busy day scheduled. We just wanted to go out and relax for a few hours, and we’d like to see something of the other continents as well, before we return to our agenda.”
“Ah. That isn’t a great deal of time. To make the most of it, I suggest you view Latrel’s more spectacular wonders from the air, then take refreshment at a public house for a few minutes. Do you fly?”
“We do.” Mark smiled.
“Then you’ll not only be able to see the sights, you’ll get a look at the city-scape in between, and see the great rebuilding!”
“That sounds perfect.” Talia told him, and turned to the Emperor. “Thank you for yo
ur kindness. We’ll see you at the meeting later?”
“I’ll be attending, though we may not have a chance to speak together there, beyond official discussion in council.” Kevim smiled. “So accept my gratitude for your visit and your suggestion, and my best wishes for all that you do, until our next chance to speak on personal matters. I hope you enjoy your time in our proud nation. I welcome your return at any time, to my country or to my home, with a minute’s notice.”
“Thanks. You’re always welcome at Hilia, Your Majesty.” Talia smiled. She and Mark bowed ornately, resumed their disguises without the Unseen spells, then followed Reen out into the entrance hall.
“By the way, do you have a translation spell for Smingan?” Reen asked. “A lot of people can speak Trade Common here, but they don’t tend to do so in casual conversation.”
“I’ve got the elven Tongues spell for Smingan into Elvish, and the one for Elvish into Common.” Mark mused. “I could use both of them like that I suppose, but if you know one for Smingan to Common, it would be easier if you’d let me Read it from you.”
“Oh no, I could never learn such a complex spell!” Reen laughed as they paused outside the doors, and he dug into his tunic pockets. “I’m no sort of wizard, really, I’m simply well equipped! My Flight spell is contained in my belt, and I have a Translation medallion for Smingan and Trade Common. They’re common and reliable, manufactured by the wizard’s guild for the Chancellery of Immigration and Tourism. I don’t need it, since I learned Common the hard way.”
He handed Mark a brass disk as big as his thumbnail strung on a white string, stamped on one side with the arms of the Empire of Sming, and on the other with the marking of the Tradeguild of Wizardry.
Mark tied the string around his neck.
“You can keep that, courtesy of the empire, and I’m sure one of the palace workers will have an extra one for you, Princess Talia.”
“I won’t need one.” Talia smiled. “I can use the one Mark is wearing.”
“Impressive! And handy!
“We can fly from here, so long as we keep to a polite pace.” Reen grinned as he rose off the floor, settled into an invisible seat, and led them up to a fifth floor balcony, floated through the open doors to a lounge with games tables, and then through a pair of glassed doors that led onto an outside balcony. “We’ll gain some height, and get you oriented.” he told them as he quickened the climb, then slowed and settled some two thousand six hundred feet above the ground.
“All right, you can see the palace complex covers almost a square mile on the western edge of the city. That complex beyond the palace wall is the army base, home of The Empire’s Own First Legion. All the land behind that is theirs too, beyond the city wall to the other side of the peninsula, and you can see some of them training there with their guests; the Latrel contingent of The Military of The Just Alliance.”
“The palace is lovely! And I can see the aqueduct from here!” Talia marveled.
“What’re those people doing?” Mark asked as he pointed to a huge crowd snaking back and forth in a thick queue across a courtyard on the south side of the palace grounds.
“That’s the public entrance to the palace. Most of those are waiting to swear Osbald’s Oath on the crown of the empire. Many have already sworn on lesser items at any of several government offices throughout the city, so they could get the Marking. But to a Smingan, it really means something to swear on the crown, even if they have to wait. Grandfather joked with me this morning, saying he was glad that he didn’t have to wear the crown to activate its power! Most of those will get to swear on it today, and there’ll be another fifty thousand there tomorrow morning.”
“Ah. And what’s that over there? It’s shining with enough power to make me squint!”
“That is the palace of Prince Gotimin of The Elven Principality of Sming!” Reen proudly explained. “Everyone we have with any magic is contributing power there, even if they can barely light a candle, by Imperial Decree! I was there this morning myself with eight of my friends. We were an hour giving power to an elf who was charging Translocation Plates. He was taking power from some four hundred people at once! The plates were big enough to hold eighty men! Mind you, it’s effortless to give power once the spell’s working; I spent the hour chatting with girls. Anyone good enough to be a journeyman in the wizard’s guild is working twelve-hour shifts over there. Much of the effort goes into Flight and Translocation medallions for the military, and of course spelling arms and armor takes a lot too.”
“How far away is that?” Talia asked as she used their Link to view the glow through Mark’s eyes.
“About twelve miles.”
“Twelve miles! By the source!” she marveled as she began to realize how much magic was gathered there.
“Yup. It’s the same over at the Healers’ guildhall, there. Everybody working like mad, stockpiling Healer’s spells and supplies. And as you can see, the great rebuilding is going on all over the city. As it’s going on, of course, all over The Just Alliance.”
“What are they rebuilding, exactly?” Mark asked as they began flying around the palace and descending to a hundred feet above it’s rooftops. “And why?”
“Many of our poorer neighborhoods are being razed to the ground and rebuilt from scratch, block by block, so that the buildings are taller and of high quality, designed from the outset to be permanent and disaster-proof, the streets are wider and safer, the piping for water and sewer is up to code, everything is better. Other, more prosperous properties are being enlarged, or re-enforced, or fireproofed, or fortified to assist in the defense of the city, or altered to be usable by people of other races, or simply renovated or redecorated for their owners’ pleasure and utility, or all of those at once. And of course we build what you suggested for the common good; libraries and schools and parks and whatnot.”
“Amazing!” Talia stated. “I understand the fortifications and helping the poor, but I’m surprised the rest of it is being done at the same time! It must be a great strain on the construction trades and their supply of materials!”
“I suppose it is, but no one’s complaining!” Reen laughed. “The builders least of all, for their fortunes are being made with every hour! And much of the material is being imported from all over Kellaran, newly available on the market since the founding of the alliance! This is the greatest burst of prosperity the world has ever seen! And that’s saying something, because before all this started, we were already doing better than we ever had before!”
“And this burst of prosperity was caused by the formation of The Just Alliance?”
“Kind of. It’s caused by almost all the criminals having left, and by almost everyone who remains having sworn Osbald’s Oath and gotten the Marking. I have the Marking, so I could go to any moneylender in the empire, and they would loan me money because the Marking proves I’ll repay it, as is just. I’d loan my own money to anyone with the Marking, and offer them help if they needed it. People feel safe, so they can wear their jewelry and show their homes without inviting thievery. They can gamble their savings on the business they’ve always wanted to start, knowing that even if it fails disastrously, poverty would not have them for very long before someone helped them rebuild. I mean, it’s such a hugely profound thing that suddenly everyone knows who’s trustworthy and who’s not, and almost everyone is! I tell you, it’s great! Suddenly everyone’s smiling and friendly and open! Especially pretty girls!”
“And they’re not worried about the possibility of there being a war in the near future?” Talia asked as they continued their leisurely viewing of the palace complex, flying slowly above the towers. “Particularly since your nation’s borders have no Wards? Or are they even aware of the extent of the danger, that Venak has declared war on Thon and therefore on The Just Alliance, and could attack at any moment?”
“Oh they know it all right. But they’re not worried about it. Ever
yone takes part in the civic safety drills, and everyone knows what to do if an attack comes. Our defenses and preparation improve with every hour, and besides, with only Venak and Serminak outside The Just Alliance, how could they hope to prevail against us? As was said at the founding, the forces of justice are fully united now, and it can only be a matter of time before our victory is complete, and all the evildoers are brought to justice! That will be the greatest day in the history of the world, as my grandfather says, the beginning of an unending age of paradise!”
“May it be so, quickly and easily.” Mark chuckled. “Though I somehow doubt the conspirators plan to make it easy for us.”
“They will if they know what’s good for them!” Reen happily declared. “Would you like to see the more interesting places inside the palace, or would you prefer to move along to another place of interest?”
“Actually, we’re told that an injured friend of ours is recovering here, and we’d like to visit him for a few minutes. He is Joseth Narr, who runs our ranch outside the city.”
“I’ll ask the chamberlain’s staff where we might find him. Excuse me a moment.” He slowed to a hover and closed his eyes for half a minute.
“His Healer says he’s sleeping right now. She requests that you postpone your visit, unless it’s a matter of importance.”
“Please tell her that it’s not.” Talia told him. “And we would appreciate it if a short message could be given to him when he wakes, telling him that we were here, and are thinking of him, and will speak with him soon, and that we wish him a short and pleasant recovery.”
“It will be done.” Reen nodded. A moment later he opened his eyes. “So, do you want to see inside the palace?”
“Another time, I think. Right now, let’s take a close look at the North High Aqueduct and The Architect’s Garden of Falling Water.”
“Always a favorite of visitors to Latrel!” Reen laughed as they gained some altitude and speed for the quick flight there.
They spent fifty minutes touring the sights, over half of it walking, to enjoy the close perspective.
Then Reen led them back to the neighborhood of the palace. “The public house I frequent is called Norka’s Palace of Refreshments. It’s a good place to hear public opinion. Due to it’s location, it’s popular with soldiers and junior officers, palace staff, civil servants and others who work for the empire, fine leatherworkers, warehousemen, and merchants of from modest to moderate means. A good cross-section of the populace, I think. I warn you, it’s a loud and cheerful and boisterous place, or at least it is where I like to sit, but if you like that kind of atmosphere as I do, there’s no finer establishment to be found!”
“It sounds like fun!” Mark chuckled as they landed before their destination, a huge gray stone building with large windows, crowned by a huge and ornately carved wooden sign lettered in Smingan. Clinks and clatters of dishware and the blended sound of numerous conversations drifted from the open windows. The street was moderately busy, and two boys paused to watch them land, but other than that no one paid them any particular attention.
“If you want to remain anonymous, let me do the talking.” Reen laughed as he led them to the doors. “Your voices are well known, and yours is very distinct, Prince Mark.”
He grinned as he led them within.
“Squire Prince! Welcome as always!” the greeter boomed over the loudness of the bustle within. He was a heavy man, with a bushy red beard and eyebrows to match, bald except for a red fringe, attired in a black floor-length silk coat with gold trim, and he grinned as he and Reen gripped each other’s left shoulders with their right hands. “Who are your new friends?”
“That’s Prince Squire to you, Citizen Norka!” Reen teased. “Here on official business of the empire, you see. It’s a top-secret operation, though. I’m afraid you’re not cleared for the details.” He embellished that with a huge wink.
“Of course, of course.” Norka nodded with a deep chuckle. “And your mission just happened to bring you to my fine establishment at almost exactly the same time you regularly arrive here!”
“You understand exactly! Bring us three specials to my usual table, would you please? I’m afraid they’ll be crucial to our mission’s accomplishment.”
“I’m afraid your mission may be in jeopardy then, for your usual table is already fully occupied by Nek and her group. We have a small one available by the badra wall, if that would be acceptable?”
“Oh, I’m sure Nek will make room for us.” Reen tossed over his shoulder as he led the way into the huge room.
The refreshments room was almost filled to capacity. The tables and chairs near the front door were artistic and delicate, set with fine linen and silver, and were occupied by formally dressed citizens who engaged in relatively quiet and dignified conversation. As they moved toward the rear of the huge establishment, the furniture and settings were simpler and more robust, the clientele more gregarious and generally younger. Most of the six hundred or so customers were human, about a tenth were elves, and four dwarfs were among those taking part in a game being held along the right wall.
Mark watched as a young brunette woman rolled two eight-sided dice onto a small table, then took careful aim at eight numbered round holes in the wall five paces distant from the line on the floor she carefully toed. The holes were of graduated size from two to eight inches wide in a vertical line, with the smallest hole at the top numbered eight down to the largest numbered one at the bottom. She tossed a small white ball through the two hole, accepted a cheer from her companions, then missed with a shot at the four hole. The balls emerged from a slot at the bottom of the wall, and rolled down a shallow inclined chute on the floor back to the throwing area. There were enough dice tables and sets of holes along the wall for twelve games to be played simultaneously.
“I take it that that game is badra, and the playing area is called the badra wall?” Mark asked as they made their way toward a rear corner, keeping his voice just loud enough to be heard by Reen.
“That it is. A popular pastime in socializing establishments all over the plains.”
“And what’s the special?” Talia asked.
“Norka’s Special is green and cold and refreshing and mildly intoxicating, and delicious. Other than that, only Norka knows, for he keeps his recipe secret and mixes it himself in huge batches. Of course the public inspectors know what’s in it, so they can certify it as fit for public consumption, but he has the right to his trade secret, so the inspectors are no more likely to reveal it than Norka is. It may even be spelled, and when you drink a few of them you really start to feel pretty great about everything. You have to be certified for it to drink more than one of them, by the new safety laws, but they have staff here who are qualified to certify you for it.”
They stopped at a huge rectangular table in the left rear corner that would normally have seated eight along each side and three at each end, but there were at least thirty-five young humans casually gathered there. Two young females who appeared to be fourteen to sixteen years old and wearing green military fatigues with short swords sat cross-legged over a game board in the middle of the table, each with a fistful of coins they used to make fast and furious wagers as they quickly exchanged moves in their complex and indiscernible game. They seemed oblivious to the nine spectators seated and standing around them, cheering and offering advice, who also wagered with each other on the outcome. Extra chairs had been brought and arranged in semi-circles along the side closest to the corner of the room, a few young females sat on their boyfriend’s laps, and there were small groups who stood around the periphery, holding their drinks and chatting with those who were seated there. Most wore various uniforms, or parts of them with various items of civilian apparel.
At the far end of the table, room had been made for a stuffed armchair, and within it lounged a young tropical woman with dark skin and short black hair, wearing a dazzling white military dress unif
orm. She was of average build and had a short, turned up nose, and was the center of attention for those around her. She favored Reen with a supremely confident and friendly smile. “Hey Squire, you shiftless vagabond! Good to see you! All right, make some room for the Prince and his guests!” she called, directing that last at those around her as she stood up to offer Reen a friendly embrace.
An unused hassock was appropriated from a nearby table, and the semi-circle at the end of their huge table was enlarged to make room for it. Mark sat, and Talia perched on his left thigh.
“You can sit with me.” the dark girl laughed as she playfully tossed Reen into her armchair with a deft twist, then curled up in his lap.
“My pleasure!” Reen grinned as she settled herself comfortably, then he turned to Mark and Talia. “This is Junior Lieutenant Nek Sibook, from the south coast, the shining star and darling of the first year class of The Officers’ Training Chancellery of The Armies of The Empire of Sming. She’s gone undefeated so far this year, achieving the highest score on every test she’s taken, and placing first in every competition she’s entered. She’s really quite a prodigy.” he stated proudly.
“Nah, I’m too old now to be a prodigy.” Nek chuckled as she sipped her drink. “Now I’m just a genius.
“So, how are you enjoying your time in Sming, your Highnesses?” she asked Mark and Talia.
“Uh, fine, it’s been fine.” Mark told her, somewhat caught off guard.
“How is it that you know who we are?” Talia asked.
“You arrived earlier wearing these same disguises and were greeted by a squad of Imperial guards and a company of Alliance soldiers, then you dropped your disguises and stated your identities, which was also observed by several citizens who happened to be on the street at the time. Since then you’ve been carefully watched over by wizards from every branch of the military in the city, who are all on high alert, in order to prevent another assassination attempt against you while you’re in Sming. Word gets around fast, especially among soldiers. And even if that were not so, I’ve been trained to recognize when someone I’m observing is disguised, and to recognize the person beneath it if I’ve ever seen them before. All in all, it’s somewhat obvious.”
“I think you’re overstating the case.” Reen grinned, and spoke to those gathered around. “Just because you figured it out doesn’t mean everyone else will. How many here knew who my guests were before Nek spoke? A show of hands, please.”
One slim fellow in an all black uniform who stood leaning against the back wall casually raised his hand, with a small smile.
“And how many have figured it out, given the clues Nek provided?” Reen continued.
Three more hands were raised, all by those who sat close to Nek.
“There. I think my point is proved.” Reen nodded. “I estimate that it will be another full hour before their presence in the city is common knowledge, and at least that long again before the enemy could pinpoint their location to mount a practical attack upon them. By which time they’ll be gone.”
“True, but that’s still a dangerous gamble to take.” Nek insisted. “They’d be smarter to go with completely metamorphosing disguises, or better yet, complete indetectability.”
“Shape-shifting is exceedingly difficult and dangerous,” Reen countered, “And indetectability would have hampered their enjoyment of social interaction with some of the fine citizens of Latrel, which was part of their objective in coming here. I’ll agree it would have been wise for them to change their disguises before we left the palace, but I think it’s a minor point, as I’m aware of the precautions being taken to prevent any danger. If you think that Uncle Rekanam would allow any risk that they’d be attacked within the very capital of the empire, after the loss of face we suffered at the last attempt, your brilliant brain must have slipped a bit.”
“Now be nice.” Nek smiled, and tapped him on the nose with a fingertip hard enough to make his eyes water. “I believe in being thorough. It’s an attitude that hasn’t let me down yet.”
“You are both right, so far as your arguments go.” A quietly intense voice interjected, and all eyes turned to the black clad male who slouched against the wall. He had light reddish-blond hair, blue eyes and ruddy skin, and appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. “Unfortunately, your actions defeat your purpose. Due to the clues you two have thrown into the room in your eagerness to display your intellectual prowess, almost everyone at this table has by now realized who our guests are. Thus you have compromised their security by arguing about it.”
“Ah. Your point is well taken, and I am abashed.” Nek nodded. “And who might you be, stealthy one?”
“My name’s Rayn.” He told her, just loud enough to be heard by those at their end of the table. He glanced around, and cast a Speaking that included those who were following their conversation.
“Zone Inspector Rayn, Royal Investigator to King Dren in Belinhome, Finitra, presently assigned to the Anti-Conspiracy Brigade of The Just Alliance.”
At that point a waitress arrived, pulling a narrow cart bearing the food and drinks that had been ordered by those around the table. She efficiently passed them to their intended recipients, jotted down several new orders as they were called out, and was gone again in less than a minute.
“I appreciate that you have the courage to remain uncowed by the conspiracy, and thus are willing to travel about with only a few sensible precautions.” Inspector Rayn said to Mark and Talia as he saluted them with his glass. “I almost hope that the conspiracy gives us the opportunity to apprehend a few of them, by attempting a strike at you here.”
“That is to say, if we insist on acting like bait, you won’t pass up the opportunity to set a trap?” Talia giggled as she sipped from the white ceramic tankard she’d been handed.
“Just so.” Rayn nodded and grinned. “Odds are slight that I’ll catch anyone today, but I’m not so valuable to my superiors that they’d begrudge me the time to make the attempt. And really, no more should be said about it.
“I’ve cast a sound distorting field around this group and given everyone near a quick psi-scan. We can speak freely.”
“So what brings you to Latrel?” Nek asked Mark and Talia, with a slight nod to Rayn.
“We thought to take an hour or two to see the sights and to get a feel for the mood of the people.” Talia answered. “We were especially interested in what people really think of The Just Alliance and what it’s done, including the recent activities at Hilia. And I admit I was curious as to how our own activities are viewed.”
Nek’s eyebrows rose. “And your conclusions?”
Talia smiled. “Opinion seems quite favorable. We’d been told that was the case, by Reen here among others, but it means more when you overhear it in every third conversation on a busy street.”
She giggled. “The moment that made the strongest impression was when we were at the water gardens, and overheard five human children trying to convince a young elven girl to play with them. It seems the five were pretending to be us and our companions of the Six of Hilia, but they had no one to play Equemev, and so they had offered the part to a handy elf child. She was eager to play, but refused to do so unless given the part of me, which she thought was only natural since she was an elf. The girl who already had my part refused to give it up, and she was supported by those who were pretending to be dragons and a unicorn, who maintained that race was irrelevant since they were just pretending anyway. It was a pleasant but very earnest discussion, and we left before it was resolved. And even those children proudly bore the Marking of the vow of justice.”
“By the stars above!” one of the game players sitting in the middle of the table squealed. “You’re…”
At which point her companion slapped a hand over her mouth. “And you’re pretty slow. Are you gonna yell it out to the whole place and cause a mob scene?” she giggled.
The muffled one shook
her head, her eyes wide.
“Good. Try to keep in mind that we’re students of the most elite corps, and our reputation requires that we maintain a demeanor of calm confidence in the face of overwhelming excitement.” her companion advised with a grin, then removed her hand.
“I’ll try!” the other grinned.
“Well said!” Nek laughed, adding her chuckles to the many that had gone around at the exchange.
She returned her attention to Mark and Talia. “You should know that the public bulletins and proclamations carry constant updates on all your public activities since your wedding, including posted Readings taken from witnesses to the events, and a few are available at the new public Illusions displays that the dwarves are setting up in practically every neighborhood. Very industrious about it as well, the dwarves, and their Revealings are cheaper and more practical than Readings.
“My point is that everyone, including myself and all of my friends here, have been following your exploits with great interest. Your wedding, the founding meeting of the alliance, the tour of your properties, the attack at Winghoof. Mark, the particular spells you cast to save Talia’s life, and to shield yourself from the death-bolt, have both been classified as military secrets, but we all know you did cast them. One of the elves who serve you, one of the Devoted, has released a Reading of her observations of you at Hilia after the attack, and while she was never close enough to discern your personal conversation, your speech after the dinner outside your cottage was well communicated. We saw the elves and humans and the group of Healers from almost every race become Hilian citizens, including a copper dragon. And though it’s not officially acknowledged, it’s well known that you went to The Nine Valleys after that, and somehow brought two dead elves back to life, Princess Dalia of The High People and Prince Bezedil of The People of Life.
“It’s recognized that your wedding united the elves and led them to issue the warning, which triggered Osbald to swear the oath and to form The Just Alliance. Your words have defined it. Your position as its leader is unassailable, particularly since your insistence on the informality of your position assures everyone that you’ve no interest in gaining power for its own sake. You are our leader, even more so than Emperor Kevim, since he’s publicly stated that he believes in your wisdom, and will likely follow it in almost any circumstance.
“To add to your knowledge of the opinions and feelings of the people, know that any of us here would proudly brave hell and holocaust without a blink if you say we should, just as Overlord Senchak said at the founding. The formation of The Just Alliance and your role in it are not only the best things that have ever happened on Kellaran, they’re the best things that possibly could happen, and we believe that with all our hearts. And, if all that hadn’t happened, the whole world would soon have been taken over and dominated by the insidious conspiracy.
“We feel we know you pretty well, and you seem like such well-grounded and friendly sorts, very easy to talk to, and I have the iron discipline of an Officer of the Empire. So, I can sit and chat with you like this. But otherwise I’d be squealing with excitement and wetting my small clothes like a schoolgirl meeting the empress.
“I expect this will be one of my very proudest and most treasured memories. I’ll sit and tell my great-grandchildren; sure, I met Prince Mark and Princess Talia, the Keys to The Just Alliance. I sat and had a drink with them, and spent five minutes blowing hot air about how great they were.”
She sat back with a grin, and took a long drink from her frosted crystal goblet.
“Thanks, but you’re wrong about three things.” Mark chuckled. “The elves were already firmly united before our wedding, we just got them all together in one place. And our wedding didn’t trigger everything that’s happened, the conspiracy sowed the seeds of their own destruction with the attack on my home valley and the curse against the children of Yazadril and Alilia. That’s what led to me meeting Talia, and to our marrying, which led to the rest. We simply reacted to the situation the best we could, and were lucky enough to fall in love.”
“Very lucky, enough to fall deeply and madly in love!” Talia giggled, and kissed him with enthusiasm, which lasted half a minute while he blushed and the rest chuckled.
She sat back and they grinned into each other’s eyes for a moment.
“And on that very pleasant note, I think we’ll be going.” Mark announced. “Or at least start getting ready to go.” he amended as he noticed that he still had most of his drink remaining. “How long do we have left before we have to start getting ready for the gathering?”
“About an hour and ten minutes.” Talia told him. “Let’s go to Kletiuk! I’ve always wanted to go there, and we’ve enough time to make it worthwhile.”
“All right, but we won’t drop in unannounced this time!” Mark laughed.
“Right.” Talia smiled.
“A word of advice.” Rayn interjected. “If you will announce your arrival, and you can manage the spell, you should psionicly scan the area where you intend to arrive, just before you go. Your Speaking is very powerful, which unfortunately makes it much easier to detect and intercept. Still a very difficult thing, but possible. We can’t afford to lose you, and you might get lucky with your scan, and catch the conspiracy by surprise. Who do you know in Kletiuk?”
“Overlord Senchak.” Talia grinned.
“Whom you met at the founding of the Alliance.” Rayn nodded. “His security details are skilled. Still, with your permission, I’ll alert my colleagues there. While Senchak’s forces concentrate on your protection, the Brigade will concentrate on apprehending any conspirators who show themselves by striking at you.”
“You know, I find the idea of setting a trap for those who attacked us to be very appealing.” Mark stated grimly. “I imagine your Brigade would be most qualified to leak the information that we’ll be going to Kletiuk in such a way that the conspiracy is likely to hear about it, without it becoming common knowledge. Could you do that? In say, fifteen minutes?”
“We could!” Rayn grinned.
“Do so then.” Mark nodded, and initiated a momentary Link with the investigator. “Here’s the Translocation reference of our destination, the courtyard of the Hall of Government, but don’t deploy there, or the conspiracy may detect the trap. If they take the bait, we’ll know that you and your brigade have done your part. We’ll take care of catching any assassins who show up. You just be ready to question them when we do. That is, if any of them survive. We’ll try to take them alive, but it may not be possible without risking ourselves to a foolish extent.”
“Right. Excuse me a moment.” Rayn said with eager excitement, and cast a Speaking.
Mark and Talia conferred over their Link, and Talia laid a hand on her hilt to bring Ria into it. They did that for twelve minutes, then they cast their own brief Speaking.
“All right, we’ve told Senchak to say that we’re coming for a short and personal visit, and he’ll have cleared the courtyard of unnecessary citizens and personnel, in order to protect our privacy. Thus we’ve got a plausible reason for removing innocent bystanders from harm’s way. He knows what we plan, and he’s agreed to take no action in support of it, in order to protect the secret of the trap.”
“I’m worried for you.” Nek confided. “It stands to reason that since the last attack on you failed, the next one will be even more deadly. And if the conspiracy is to have a chance to topple The Just Alliance, they must begin with your deaths. They will be desperate to kill you.”
“Don’t worry.” Talia assured her. “We won’t be in any real danger. And the conspiracy may not even make the attempt.”
“She’s right.” Mark added. “You can trust us on this. Of course there’s a small chance something could go wrong, but I think we’ve covered almost all the possibilities.”
“I will.” Nek nodded. “Trust you on that, that is.
“And by the way, what was the third thi
ng I was wrong about?”
“Oh. Dalia and Bezedil weren’t dead, though the curse that struck them did a good job of making them seem like they were.
“And you’re wrong about another thing, and that’s your attitude of obedience towards me. It’s nice that you trust my judgment, but it bothers me that a lot of people seem to be ready to go along with anything I say like a herd of blind sheep. It’s not my role as Key to be obeyed, and it’s especially not my role to be obeyed without question, as if I were a King or something. Unless there’s obviously a huge and sudden emergency that requires instant action, and I say that I have some special knowledge of how to deal with it, the people should only do as I suggest because it makes sense. They should only follow the suggestions of the Key to the Just Alliance if they honestly believe that what I’m saying is consistent with the best available evidence, and that it’s the best advice available at the time.
“This is important because I was chosen for the role by seers and leaders of nations, and not by the rest of the people whose lives are affected by what I suggest. There’s going to come a time when I’ll choose to step down from the role and the responsibility, and I don’t know if the Alliance will choose to appoint another to the post. If they do, there could be a long line of Keys to The Just Alliance, and if we allow the initiation of a tradition of obedience to the Key, eventually one of them may become the worst tyrant this world has ever seen.”
“Impossible!” one of the cadets exclaimed.
“Ya, what about Osbald’s Oath and The Truthstone of Falgaroth?!” another added. “They’d never let someone be Key who hadn’t sworn to justice on the stone!”
“Nothing’s impossible.” Mark calmly insisted. “Just very, very difficult or unlikely. Falgaroth’s stone is almost infinitely effective due to the skill and the colossal power he put into it’s crafting, but remember that the amount of power that’s active in the world grows every day, and forever is long enough for anything to happen. In a million years a Key may find a way to fake having sworn the oath. I’m taking no chances. I’m the first Key, and I figure it’s my responsibility to make sure the post is never abused.”
“Damn. That’s such good thinking.” Nek nodded admiringly. “But you’re also Prince of Hilia, monarch by right of legal ownership and sovereignty, and as such you must be considered an Officer of The Just Alliance, with a rank equal to that held by Emperor Kevim, who’s our commander in chief. Since we’re military cadets in the Alliance’s forces, we’d obey you with the same alacrity we would him, unless his order contradicted yours.”
This took Mark back a bit, then he grinned. “Nice try. You almost had me for a moment. But as Prince of Hilia, I’m not in your chain of command. Under military law as it’s practiced in Finitra, as a member of an allied military you have no obligation to obey me unless Kevim specifically authorized me to issue you commands, or we were in an emergency or combat situation where you couldn’t contact your superiors, or you were within the sovereign territory of Hilia. And as I understand it from my training as a Ranger, those military laws are pretty much the same all over the continent, including here.”
“That is correct.” Inspector Rayn nodded.
“Ah. Then I do stand corrected.” Nek grinned, and raised her glass. “Here’s to the fine quality of human military training in Debivin. You’re proof that it works.”
“I’ll drink to that!” Mark laughed, and a toast was drunk all around.
“We have to go.” Talia quietly informed Mark. She had one more satisfying swallow of her delicious green beverage and set her mug on the table, while Mark finished his, and stood.
“Missing gods above and below, they’re going into battle right now!” one of the cadets quietly exclaimed as the full realization of the moment struck him.
“We are.” Mark calmly agreed, as he and Talia deepened their Link as they had during the exercise earlier. “It was nice meeting all of you, and I’m sorry I didn’t get all of your names. I’ve enjoyed it here, and we intend to return when we feel like visiting a tavern for socializing. Whatever happens in Kletiuk will probably be available in a Reading in a few minutes. And I think a few of the points I’ve made here are worth sharing with the people, but if you take a Reading of our visit, just be sure to wait until you’ve heard that events in Kletiuk are concluded before you share it.”
“One way or another, it’ll likely be over very quickly.” Rayn pointed out. “My comrades and I should join you after about ten seconds, to either help out or mop up.”
“Make it five.” Mark grinned.
“Right.” Rayn nodded, and cast a Speaking.
“We’ll see you all soon.” Talia smiled to the group around the table.
“All right. One more moment to be sure we have everything ready.” Mark quietly rumbled as his concentration sharpened. “Then we drop the disguises and go.”
He and Talia turned their backs to each other as she floated up three feet in the air. They closed their eyes and paused for five seconds, then drew their swords as they resumed their normal appearances. They quickly cast a series of spells that drew the attention of every Master Wizard in the city, as well as half the journeymen and a few of the apprentices. Then they were gone, their Translocation perfectly displaced and silent.
Precisely five seconds later Rayn Translocated with a slight pop.
“Quick, Nek, take my Reading!” the cadet to her left pleaded as soon as the investigator was gone. “I don’t want to forget one second of that!”
“Right after I finish taking my own Reading!” Nek told him as she hurriedly cast the spell.
It would have taken her six minutes to complete the process, but only one and a half minutes later one of the dwarves playing badra yelled at the top of his lungs in Trade Common and ran toward the center of the room.
“Fresh tidings from Kletiuk! A victory over the insidious conspiracy!” he bellowed as he withdrew a small, round, red stone mounted to a thin gold chain from the neck of his hauberk. Reaching the center of the room, he dropped the necklace onto a table, heedless of the surprised stares of the occupants, and a dwarven Revealing illusion appeared over it. It was like looking through an eight foot wide square window into elsewhere, and like all dwarven Revealings, it had the practical property of appearing the same from any direction. Displayed within it and filling most of the picture was Overlord Senchak, who was obviously ecstatic, and nearly overcome with happy excitement.
“Great news! Great news for The Just Alliance!” Senchak gruffly cried with boundless enthusiasm, shaking his fist and his axe overhead and bouncing on his toes. “I be Senchak, Overlord of Kletiuk, and it is my great honor to announce that just moments ago, over my own Hall of Government and within its very courtyard, did the Six of Hilia defeat some ninety assassins of the insidious conspiracy! The counter-attack of the Six was so swift and so devastating that I was unable to discern what happened in any detail, but as you can see here, great energies were exchanged!”
He stepped to the side and half out of the picture as he turned and waved at the destruction behind him. A crater over twenty feet wide and ten feet deep had been blasted out of the center of the courtyard, the great paving stones shattered and tossed about like children’s blocks, smoke still rising from the hole. The perimeter of the walled courtyard was packed with jubilant people; most of them dwarves, and the air above was dense with flyers of every race in the Alliance’s forces.
“Eleven of my Clansmen suffered injuries during the attack, but they have already been set right by our Healers!” Senchak continued. “I now give you Lipcha, Commander of the Spell-Mongers of Overclan Beijur, who will present our analysis of the battle!”
“Greetings.” stated a silver-haired dwarf whose long and flowing beard was brushed smoothly down over the chest of his iron chain-link shirt, as he stepped into the picture. “It’s obvious that the Keys have found a way to spy out the inner workings of the conspiracy,
for they were clearly expecting this assassination attempt, and were fully prepared for it. I have reconstructed the battle from hundreds of observations taken by our Sentries and Warders, including many that detected magical and psionic activity, and this report has been approved for release to the citizens of The Just Alliance.
“Understand that the entire duration of the battle was two and four-fifths seconds. It is doubtful that any other battle was ever fought with such decisive speed.”
The illusion changed to the show a still aerial view of the Hall of Government and the surrounding area, while the voice of Lipcha continued his description.
“I will advance the Revealing very slowly, and in stages.
“The first occurrence was the appearance of two decoys at the center of the courtyard. The decoys were made from the meat and bone of a ganth; a large herbivore from the moors of Xervia and popular prey for dragons, so we suspect they were crafted by Sir Kragorram from one of his kills. They were animated by spells cast remotely by hundreds of elves in Hilia; they were cloaked in Illusions to appear as Prince Mark and Princess Talia, and they were very heavily Shielded, but with two-way shielding.
“Perhaps one-fiftieth of a second later, the first wave of assassins arrived. Six renegade Kleti spell-mongers and six human wizards from Venak appeared in a circle around the decoys, and twelve more humans appeared in four groups of three scattered about the sky a few hundred feet up. All of them were already spell-casting as they Translocated, and somehow they managed to cast a spell of great destruction that manifested within the incredibly dense Shielding that protected the two decoys. That two-way Shielding contained almost all of the blast’s power, or the destruction here would have been much greater, and surely some of our clan would have died.
“The assassins acted with the greatest possible speed, but they failed to reckon with the incredible psionic sensitivity of Lady Povon, who was central to the counter-attack of the Six of Hilia. From a distant location, she was able to detect the assassins projecting their consciousnesses to their intended Translocation destinations a fraction of a second before those Translocations were affected. Another crucial factor is that the Six are all capable of casting Translocations very, very quickly, certainly more quickly than any of the foes they faced. Thus the Six were able to arrive almost simultaneously with the assassins. Just as the assassins appeared and blasted the decoys, the Six appeared above and behind them, deeply Linked through Lady Povon, and they also were striking with blows and spells in the instant of their arrival.
“This segment occurred over a span of two-thirds of a second, and I will reveal it at one-fifth speed, replaying it for each clash within the battle. Here the incoming Translocations of the assassins and the Six. The assassins cast their spell at the decoys, while here Lady Povon casts spells at this trio and this trio, catching them off guard and encasing them in silver energies, incapacitating them.” That section of the battle was momentarily indicated by a blue wand that appeared and pointed, then disappeared as Lipcha continued speaking. “They start to fall to the ground, but she Translocates them elsewhere, capturing them for interrogation by The Just Alliance.
“Here Sir Kragorram swings his mighty sword at this trio from behind, and while his blow does not penetrate their Force Sphere, it is knocked across the sky with such impact and speed that the three assassins within are severely injured and rendered unconscious. Their Shields then fail, and Sir Silaran transports that trio elsewhere as well.
“Lady Equemev here is casting this unidentified red sphere around this trio of assassins. It does not form in time to prevent their part of the attack upon the decoys, but it is firmly fixed an instant later. One of them attempts to cast a spell at her, but the sphere contains it, and the resulting magical backlash fells all three within. Lady Equemev Sends her sphere and its contents elsewhere, though it is unknown whether those three will survive their injuries to be questioned.
“Here Prince Mark and Princess Talia combine to cast a simple Sleep spell on the twelve assassins on the ground within the courtyard. Though it is a simple spell, they cast it with such overwhelming power that the Shields of the twelve cannot fully resist it, and enough of it quickly penetrates to render unconsciousness. It was cast with such accuracy that it did not affect any of the Overlord’s guards within the courtyard. The Keys Translocate the dozen sleeping assassins away before they can finish falling, but not before one of them is severely injured by a piece of paving stone flung by the blast at the center of the courtyard, as are eleven of my brethren.”
The scene froze.
“Thus the Six of Hilia claim complete victory over an attacking force of twenty-four spell casters, capturing every one alive, with no loss of life on either side thus far. But, that was only the first wave of assassins. I think the Six were less prepared for the rest of the attack, for they were harder pressed and made no attempt to spare the lives of the assassins’ second wave. Those who may be distressed by this may choose to not observe further.”
He began advancing the Illusion again, even more slowly this time.
“You can tell here that Lady Povon detects additional incoming Translocations, for she turns here, and a sixteenth of a second later the rest of the Six begin to move as well. She casts these fourteen bolts of blue magic, of a type we do not recognize, while Prince Mark and Sir Kragorram swing their swords, Sir Silaran lowers his head and begins a charge, and Princess Talia and Lady Equemev prepare spells. One tenth of a second later Sirs Kragorram and Silaran Translocate, as does Prince Mark with Princess Talia, and Lady Povon casts another spell. Their Translocations are of such short distance that the transition is practically instantaneous, and an undetectably short time later several things happen simultaneously.
“I stop the Revealing as close to that instant as possible. Sixty-four more assassins have Translocated in; four flights of twelve soldiers equipped with various spelled weapons and armor, and one team of sixteen wizards. All wear medallions bearing the coat of arms of Venak, and these medallions are charged with high-quality spells of Flight, Translocation, and Shielding. But the Six are striking before they even arrive.
“Here twelve renegade gargoyles are appearing just as Lady Povon’s fourteen mystical bolts reach that location, and you see that the twelve are struck before the material of their bodies has even finished manifesting, and they are completely destroyed. No piece of them or their possessions larger than my fingernail has been recovered, and of the two who were struck by two bolts each, no trace can be found.
“The four of the Six who Translocated appear close enough to their targets to touch and moving at high speed, weapons already swinging.
“Here Sir Kragorram’s great sword is already halfway through its swing when he appears at the proper distance from the group of sixteen wizards to strike them at its apex. This human wizard at the leading edge of the group is eight inches from the colossal blade’s incredibly fast-moving edge when they appear, and he has no chance. The blade is charged with lethal energies that Kragorram did not use against the first wave, and it disrupts their Shields on contact. They are eight human Venaks and eight renegade Bojudai, and the gnomes are much quicker than the humans. Four human wizards are killed and two injured by the first swing of Kragorram’s sword through the group, and even as he swings, he hoses them with his fire breath. This kills three more humans, including the two sword-injured, and two Bojudai. The remaining human and six Bojudai wizards scatter. The human and four Bojudai all cast spells at Sir Kragorram; Force bolts, Pain, Concentrated Cold, and two instances of Cut. None penetrate his Shields. Watch his work here, for such skill cannot be gained without millennia of training. With two flicks of his wrist he fells two Bojudai with his sword, while he takes the human and another Bojudai with his fire. He flicks thrice more and blasts another breath in pursuit of this Bojudai, who flies some incredibly talented evasive maneuvers before the blade neatly cleaves him. That is the most magnifi
cent grace I have ever witnessed displayed in battle. Moreso, when it is revealed that his sword absorbed so much energy from disrupting the Shields of his foes that its hilt melted the scales and skin of the hand that grasped it, and adhered. He bravely betrayed no sign that he was in any way affected by what must have been the incredible pain of this injury, and it was the only injury suffered by the Six during the battle.
“The two Bojudai wizards who have not attacked Sir Kragorram now realize that Lady Povon is concentrating all of her power on reinforcing Kragorram’s Shields. In fact, at this point all three females of the Six are concentrating solely on their mates’ defenses. The two gnomes launch attack spells at Lady Povon, but they do not realize that while Ladies Povon and Equemev are floating almost stationary and appear vulnerable, their Shields are being bolstered by thousands of elven wizards, all casting remotely, most of them from Hilia, and those Shields easily hold against the attacks of the two Bojudai. A moment later one of the two flees by Translocation, and the other is destroyed by Prince Mark’s focused Concussion spell.
“Sir Silaran is flying at twice the speed of a stooping hawk as he manifests in his gleaming barding within a hand’s breadth of the leading edge of this flight of twelve renegade Shiganzhu warriors, his head down to present his blade as he charges, with most of his power being channeled through his horn and into that blade to shatter the Shields of his foes. In the way of Morning Warriors, he gallops upon invisible ground as he flies an erratic line through the midst of them. He strikes four of the conspiracy’s giants with his blade on this pass, breaks the hip of this one with his shoulder, and the ribs of this one with a front-right kick. The four he cuts are mortally wounded and fall to the distant ground, while the one with broken ribs flees back to where he came from, presumably Venak. Lady Equemev holds Sir Silaran’s Shielding tight to him and conforming to his shape as he moves, blocking the impacts of two heavily spelled giant swords, two arrows, and a similarly treated pole-axe.
“Now look at this. Prince Mark and Princess Talia also manifest while flying very quickly and erratically in close formation as they appear within the very midst of this flight of twelve enemy Kleti. But note this person; Ria, the Spirit of the Sword of the Youth of Visinniria, which Princess Talia wields. As quick as Mark and Talia fly, she is able to fly complex maneuvers around them interspersed with instantaneous Translocations, since she is completely immaterial, all the while casting unidentifiable spells of staggering power. Talia is watching behind Mark and casting a constantly shifting series of defensive spells and Shields designed to protect them while being uninhibiting to Mark’s attack. He strikes with his sword in a way that seems too quick to be possible, given it’s great size and length, slicing through Shields, weapons, armor, and foes like an axe through water, while he casts a series of attack spells in such quick succession that they cannot be individually identified. They devastate all twelve renegade Kleti during this single pass. Then Ria casts a huge inverted Battle Shield around this entire flight of twelve human Venaks, while Mark casts a Fireball of incredible power within it, and it’s heat is all the more devastating for being contained within her Battle Shield. The dozen humans are instantly incinerated, relieving their futile attack against Lady Equemev, and that is when Mark casts Concussion with a quick glance at the gnome attacking Lady Povon.
“Now Sir Silaran is closely pressed by the seven remaining giants, who have gained the initiative against him. The one with the broken hip and two more have been injured by Silaran at this point. Though less effective, they still attack him, though they cannot break his Shields. The rest of the Six of Hilia now realize that only these seven enemy Shiganzhu remain, and the Six attack as one. Sir Silaran kills this one with his blade, Sir Kragorram kills this one with his fire, but for these four it is difficult to judge which of the several spells that struck them truly killed them. This one flees by Translocation, but not before she loses a leg to Mark’s Lightning spell.
“That ends the battle. Of eighty-eight total attackers, three escaped, two of whom were seriously injured. Twenty-four were captured, and seven of those were seriously injured. Fifty-one were slain. In order to truly illustrate the magnitude of this achievement, I will now show the entire battle at one-third speed.
“Now, I will show the entire two and four-fifths seconds of it at real speed. You see why no single observer of the battle was able to discern the details as it happened.”
Overlord Senchak continued the narrative as the Illusion played on for another five seconds. “I had agreed with Prince Mark’s request to refrain from deploying our forces in order to maintain the secrecy of the ambush, but at this point I worried that the conspiracy may send an even larger third wave of assassins, and so I deployed.”
The illusion showed the appearance of thousands of squads of Kleti, all over the sky and on the streets and rooftops below, most of whom were then obscured by further arrivals.
“A tenth of a second later we were joined by some twenty thousand of The Fast Response Force of The Just Alliance, and two seconds after that several hundred members of The Anti-Conspiracy Brigade of The Just Alliance arrived as well, but they were all to be disappointed, for we’d already seen the last of the attack. Thus the vast host you see all about us now, most of whom will be leaving shortly.
“Presently, the Six of Hilia are with several Healers, who are treating Sir Kragorram’s wound. I’m told that they needed to peel and pry his burned hand away from the hilt of his sword before they could begin treating it, and that his only response to this was a sharp intake of breath.
“Prince Mark has agreed to speak on the battle, and I should be hearing from him momentarily AH!”
Mark appeared an arm’s length from Senchak, Talia cuddled in his left arm, surprising the Overlord so severely that his battle-axe was drawn and poised almost instantly. The great dwarf laughed uproariously at his own jumpiness as he re-slung his axe on his back.
“Sorry to startle you there, Senchak.” Mark told him with a little smile.
“Aw, not a bother!” Senchak guffawed as he gave the big youth a friendly slap on the back. “Having you around keeps me sharp, it seems!
“Now, what are your thoughts on the battle, my boy?”
Mark slowly looked around the courtyard, taking in the jubilant faces, the smoking crater, the puddles and spatters of blood on the paving stones. His countenance was a bit grim as he turned back to Senchak. “We did all right, but only because we were very, very lucky. We should have done a lot better, and the fault for not doing so is entirely mine.”
“Done better?!!” Senchak exclaimed, flabbergasted. “How could you have possibly done better?! You achieved total victory! Only one of eighty-eight attackers escaped unscathed, while not one life was lost among your forces or mine!”
Mark took a moment to think before he replied, then nodded. “We got lucky. We beat the assassins all right, but that’s not the point. They never had a chance. They brought a knife to a sword fight. The incredible courage, skill, and power of our companions, combined with the wizardry of all the elves who’ve sworn to me, was more than the assassins expected, and more than they could hope to deal with.
“But we should have waited. I was so taken with the thought that to catch the conspiracy off guard, it was best to strike as soon after I got the idea as possible, and to tell as few as possible of what we planned. And though I didn’t admit it to myself, I still had a lot of anger over the attack on us at Winghoof, when Talia was almost killed and our friends were injured. I really wanted to be able to hit them back, to seek vengeance, more so than justice.
“Because of all that, I disregarded many important things, including the facts that Talia and Equemev are not yet fully trained warriors, that Talia and I have had only one combat practice session together, and that we hadn’t done any training at all yet with the others of the Six or with the elves who helped us. I… I was so overcome with the urge for this
battle that I had us break our promise to our mentor to avoid battle at all costs, until our training is complete.
“Thus, we underestimated the conspiracy again. We thought the decoys were Shielded so heavily that any attack on them would be completely contained. We were wrong, and it was a miracle that none of the eleven Kleti who were injured were killed.
“I feel unworthy of the incredible bravery and faith that you and your guards showed, in standing unshielded within this courtyard, knowing that an attack was likely, without protecting yourselves because I asked you not to, and trusting us to keep you safe, because I said we would. That was by far the bravest thing I’ve ever seen. We didn’t protect you, eleven were hurt, and many could’ve been killed.
“Kragorram was severely burned, and though he’s healed now, I know that could’ve been prevented as well, if we’d had more training together.
“We allowed the remains of several dead enemies to fall on your city below. Luckily your buildings are all sturdily constructed of stone and most of their space is underground, so property damage was minimal, but a young Kleti was narrowly missed by the partially burnt body of a giant that crashed to the ground beside her. She could’ve been killed, and as it was she was scared out of her wits and will likely have nightmares about it for months.
“And finally, we killed fifty-one attackers, when we had planned to catch them all alive. The first bunch of attackers were about what we expected, and we were prepared for as many as two hundred, but we thought they’d all come at once, to maximize the advantage of their numbers. But our foes were trickier than that, hoping to kill us with the first group, but holding the rest in reserve; completely ready to strike the instant they knew the initial attack may have failed. Only Povon’s incredible sensitivity allowed us to prevail. We were already starting to feel victorious and to let our concentration slip when she detected the number, locations, and timing of the imminent incoming Translocations. When we knew their numbers, we decided that we couldn’t risk trying to take them prisoner since we were no longer prepared enough for that. And so we struck at them without holding back.
“I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to kill anyone. I’ve never killed anyone before, or even been in a serious fistfight, nor has Talia, nor I think has Equemev or Silaran. I don’t know if Povon or Kragorram have, but no one should have to take the life of another person. And those fifty-one will have families and friends who will suffer from their deaths, and who may be completely innocent of any evil actions or knowledge.
“All in all, we did acceptably well, but if there’s a next time, we’ll do a lot better.”
Senchak harrumphed his exasperation. “Take it from one who’s a far more experienced leader and warrior; you’re being far too noble for your own good, and far too hard on yourself! You’ll learn with experience that no battle goes exactly as we hope it will, and any that succeeds as well as this one did today is a great and proud victory indeed! Be thankful when luck is on your side, as chance will favor your opponents when you least expect it! They certainly had things going their way in Shinosa Valley and elsewhere, until the Battle of Osbald’s Assembly! And remember above all; they attacked you, as they tried for the second time to murder your new wife and yourself! You were defending yourselves, and your mentor can hardly blame you for fighting then, can he?!”
“He can and should, since we could easily have simply avoided this attack.” Mark quietly insisted.
“Enough, husband.” Talia quietly told him with a smile. “You’ve made your point.”
Mark looked at her with surprise, his eyebrows raised, then grinned. “Yes Dear.” he responded with exaggerated humility.
“Mark is of course completely correct about the courage and skill of our companions.” Talia said to Senchak, her voice ringing with pride. “They were magnificent, and we’re very proud of them. We’re just as proud of the elves of Hilia, who did a wonderful job of assisting us, and who were disappointed at not being asked to fight at our side. It was unfair to them that they didn’t get to participate directly, and the only reason they did not is that we’re not yet skilled enough to co-ordinate that many fighters.
“As he said, we’re all amazed and humbled by the courage shown by yourself and your folk, in waiting in this courtyard with no special protections, so that the conspiracy could have no clue that we expected their attack. From what I know of your culture, I think the eleven injured among them will bear the scars they’ve gained this day with great and justified pride, and that the rest will envy them for having been honorably wounded in the service of The Just Alliance.
“Mark’s also right in his criticisms of our efforts, though the rest of us consider them to be very minor points when compared to the positive aspects of the outcome. And he’s completely correct in that if there is a next time, we’ll all be fully trained together, and we’ll do a lot better.
“The only thing he’s completely wrong about is him being solely to blame for those minor failings. He is our leader, but we all participated in discussing and planning the battle’s tactics and strategy, we all approved it, and we all were at least as eager as he was to implement it!
“As for our broken promise to our mentor to refrain from battle, well, I am sorry about that. I honor him and the reasons he asked it of us, but that promise was made before the conspiracy decided to blast us with a death-bolt two days ago, which changes things considerably, in my mind! I think it more important to show the conspiracy that they can’t just attack us with impunity whenever they wish! They can consider themselves lucky that we were fair-minded about it, so twenty-seven of them survived today, for it was well within our power to prevent any of them from escaping, and to slay them all out of hand!”
Senchak grinned and clapped his hands. “Now that was a victory speech! You listen to your wife, Prince Mark! Better yet, next time I’ll just ask her first!”
“Now now, Overlord, he can’t help being too noble for his own good, and we do love him for it.” Talia giggled, and gave Mark a kiss on the cheek.
“We do!” Senchak laughed. “I salute you all; the Six of Hilia, the elves of Hilia, who have together given The Just Alliance a major victory over the insidious conspiracy, and saved you from being assassinated to boot!”
He grasped the shaft of his axe with both hands, slapped the huge double-bladed weapon flat on his own chest while he bowed his great shaggy head, then raised his weapon high while he gave a mighty shout; “KAI-AH-RAH KAAAAAH-JEE!!!”
Every Kleti in the courtyard repeated the salute after him, as did almost every Kleti on the continent, since almost all of them were watching the Revealing. The entire world shook a bit from the power of their millions of voices, or so it seemed to Mark and Talia.
“Thank you. We are honored.” Talia grinned.
“You are, since the words translate as ‘honor to your clan’.” Senchak grinned as he slung his axe. “They have a double meaning, both ‘We honor your clan’, and ‘You bring honor to your clan.”
“And we are honored that you and the Kleti people have allowed us to strike at the conspiracy from within Kletiuk.” she responded. “Now I think we need to go home and relax after the battle. It would have been nice to stay longer and see more of your wonderful land, but we’ll return for that soon. Will we see you at the party later?”
“All the blackhearts in Venak could not keep me away!” the Overlord laughed.
“Then we’ll see you there.” she smiled. “Till then, farewell.”
And as suddenly as they’d arrived, they were gone.
“Huh.” Senchak chuckled, then faced the illusion’s viewpoint. “I swear that this Revealing be a true record! Let it stand to show the future how it was on the fourth day of The Age of The Just Alliance, at The Battle of Beijur Courtyard!
“Now on other matters, we’ve a hole to fix and trash to burn, and then I will have the great honor to attend a fine tournament which will be held on Hi
lia in honor of Prince Mark’s seventeenth birthday! In a spirit of friendly and honorable competition, there will be contests of skill at arms and magic, and the finest young adults from every nation will display their talents!
“We of the Kleti continue to proudly gift the world with public true Revealings of great events, available where people gather, all over Kellaran! For private, commercial Revealings available in your own home, speak with a licensed Kleti Spell-Monger in any major city! Farewell and good fortune!”
In Latrel, at Norka’s Palace of Refreshments, the Kleti grinned as he retrieved his Revealing stone from the table top amidst total silence, then the room erupted with hundreds of loud and amazed conversations.
In the corner, Nek dismissed her interrupted Reading and began casting it anew. “I’ll want to remember that too, for certain and sure.” she murmured to herself.
In the center of the room, four grinning Kleti Spell-Mongers were taking orders for private Revealings as fast as they could Impress them into their memories.