The Baldari (Book 3) (50 page)

As they approached the lower elevations, an updraft from the valley floor pushed them farther away from the edge of the valley, making the need for additional push-offs from the edges unnecessary.  They were actually a bit scattered now, as the random winds moved them whimsically around.  That was okay, so long as they didn’t get too far separated, or that none of them were blown somewhere they would be noticed.  They were low enough now that the chances of attracting attention were significant, and Rigo couldn’t help wishing for them to reach the bottom.

It wasn’t long before Rigo’s wish was granted, and he watched as Daria landed hard off to the side of the green patch they had been targeting.  It looked as if she had suddenly gained additional speed at the end of her drop.  She was apparently prepared, and landed with knees bent and transitioned automatically into a roll as she hit.  Rigo noted she had quickly shed her bow a short time from landing, so as not to break it or become tangled up in it.  The landing apparently hadn’t fazed her, as she was up in an instant, recovering her weapon even as she scanned the area for hostiles.

Kaler was just behind her, mimicking the landing approach, if not so gracefully, but equally successfully.  Kaler had strapped his sword to has back, and was carrying his crossbow in his hands for the descent, wanting to have the longer ranged weapon available upon landing.  Just as Daria had, Kaler tossed the bow aside as he approached the ground.  Rigo watched it land in a bush, and the act warned him something was amiss near the bottom.  They should be landing much more softly than they were.  Kaler hit on the green grassy area, and Rigo could visibly see his landing was easier.  Moments later he stood beside Daria holding the crossbow as they provided security for the landing of the others.

Nycoh’s landing wasn’t nearly as graceful, and she crashed against the ground, her left shoulder taking the brunt of the landing.  The landings were harder than Rigo had expected based on their testing and what he’d been told about the devices when he watched them in use in Sedfair.  Shortly after Nycoh came to a stop, he watched as Ash’urn slammed into a small bush, which helped break his descent.

Then it was Rigo’s turn.  He was approaching the ground at a comfortable rate, when suddenly it felt as if the forces that slowed him simply fell away.  He was dropping like a stone and he barely had time to adjust before he slammed into the ground.  He tried to copy the roll that Daria had executed, and tumbled head over heels until he came to a rest.  When he came to a stop, he lay there, the wind knocked out of him. 

After several moments he was able to roll over and saw that Daria and Kaler were helping the others.  Kaler was pulling Ash’urn out of the bush he’d landed in, and Daria was doing something to Nycoh’s arm.  Rigo suspected she had broken it.  He also knew that Nycoh wouldn’t be using her magical skills to heal it any time soon.  After all the time in the Ruins, Rigo knew what it felt like to be cut off from his magic.  There was something subtly different this time, but there was no doubt his magic was no longer available.  That was why they had landed so hard.  Some fifteen or twenty paces up, they had entered a region where the belts could no longer function.  He looked up at the peaks of the surrounding hills and had brief vision of what might have happened had the cutout been a lot higher up.

“What happened?” Rigo asked after hurrying over to where Daria and Nycoh knelt.

“Broke her arm,” Daria said as she tightened the band of cloth around the arm to hold it in place.  “She’ll be okay, but from what she says, there is no magic here.”

“I’ve noticed,” Rigo said.  “It is as we feared.  That means we will be at a major disadvantage.  It also means getting back out of this valley is going to be interesting.”

Ash’urn and Kaler walked over.  Ash’urn looked a bit shaken up, but none the worse for the experience.  He examined Nycoh.

“It’s going to hurt, but will be easily enough fixed if we can get back to where magic works.  Until then, she’ll just have to endure.”

Nycoh’s eyes were pinched against the pain, but she nodded and held out her good arm to be helped up.

“It looks as if we made it without being noticed,” she said.  “I probably better send a message back to our friends.  What do you think we should tell them?”

“There’s nothing more of them can do to help us,” Rigo said, automatically assuming the lead.  “Let them know we made it down, and that magic doesn’t work down here.”

Nycoh nodded solemnly, then looked up and sent the thoughts on the way.  Far above, S’erom grinned as he felt the mind of the Tall named Nycoh.  He held out one finger to Jeen, who smiled as she acknowledged the team was down safely.  When S’erom held up three fingers, Jeen frowned.  Magic was cut off.  That was not good.  There would be no
Bypass
out.  Their shields would be inoperable, as would the magic that might stand up to the Brryn assuming they were really there.  She couldn’t imagine how they would be able to accomplish their mission.  She also knew that sending more of them down would be of little use.  She would have liked to send some of the guardsmen they had brought so Rigo and his team would have more weapons support, but that call was for the group below to make.  For now, she passed the word to the others and then stared helplessly at the valley far below.  All of her closest friends were down there, at great risk.  All she could do was wait and hope.

The trip down had given each of them plenty of time to fix the layout of the area in their minds.  It was time to scout the area and see if they could find the chamber where the Brryn were hiding.  There was no point in scouting the village where the Baldari lived.  Any Baldari they encountered were going to be a problem.  Nycoh might be able to communicate with them, but almost certainly they would be under the control of the Brryn, and would attack without thought.  Even if they weren’t being controlled at the moment, they had little reason to react favorably to a Tall who could speak with them.  Perhaps they could pass as one of the captured wizards, but Rigo doubted it.  That meant, any encounter would result in a fight.  Rigo passed a silent apology to S’erom, but it was likely more of his people would be killed before this day was over.  Rigo had hoped to be able to stun them, but that was no longer an option.  Even trying to have S’erom speak with them wasn’t an option.  He would have to shed his own protective barrier to speak with Baldari who weren’t linked via one of the crystals, and that would expose him to the Brryn.

They examined their weapons.  Kaler had his crossbow and his sword.  He would be a match for any number of Baldari, especially if these came at him with swords rather than their own bows.  Daria had recovered her own bow.  She also had her knives, augmented today by a visible external belt that held an additional ten blades.  She had known that re-supply would be a problem, and that there was no need for concealment.  Rigo had his own sword, as did Nycoh.  She wasn’t going to be an effective fighter with her broken arm, however.  Ash’urn had only his staff and a small belt knife.  At his age he was robust enough, but he wasn’t really a fighter.  Quite obviously, they were going to have to hope that stealth served their needs.

Moving carefully through the trees, they moved toward the two structures, one of which Rigo was certain was the long sought after Brryn chamber.  Already he could see the way the light reflected off the surface of the exterior.  Several times they had to slip back into concealment as a couple of Baldari women made their way past, hurrying off on one task or another.  Happily, thus far they had seen none of the warriors.

The first of the buildings was large with several windows.  Daria insisted on checking it first so they would know what other forces might be nearby when they made their move on the more important Brryn building nearby.  A number of the Baldari women were carrying food and water into the structure.  No one else was seen.  Daria, moving as only she could, approached the building from the east side which afforded the most cover.  The remaining four waited nervously until she returned.

“The place is filled with the wizards and Casters that have been taken,” she whispered.  “I recognized a couple of them.”

“Burke?” Rigo asked hopefully.  He would like to be able to rescue his friend.

“I didn’t see Burke, but it was difficult to see very much.  They act strange, as if half asleep.  I think something has been done to them to keep them under control.”

Rigo nodded.  It was reassuring to know where they were.  Unfortunately, there was nothing to be done for them until the Brryn could be dealt with, and the rest of the team could get down here.

“Let’s look at the other structure,” Rigo said softly.  “That’s got to be the one that Mitty has been seeing all this time.”

The second structure was larger than the first, with an odd fuzziness around the outer walls, suggesting the presence of a protective shield.  There were no windows, and they soon stood in front of the door that S’erom had described.  Rigo was certain it would be no easy feat forcing their way inside, and their presence would be quickly detected.

“It’s too obvious,” Daria warned.

“What choice do we have?” Rigo asked.  “We have to get inside.”

“Let’s see if there is another way,” Daria said.  She pointed along the backside of the structure.

Ash’urn nodded and started moving.  “Let’s go,” he said softly.

They worked their way to the back, noting the complete lack of windows and other entrances.  They had circled around the backside and were almost a third of the way back toward the front of the structure when Rigo heard the arrow strike.  That was followed almost simultaneously by Nycoh’s cry, “Ash’urn!” and the realization the elder scholar had dropped the power staff he carried so proudly.  Rigo turned and was shocked to see a Baldari arrow was buried deep into Ash’urn’s side.  The Baldari bows were nowhere near as powerful as that of Kaler, and the arrow had not gone all the way through.  Even so, Rigo could see immediately the strike was through vital areas and was a mortal strike unless they could repair the damage immediately.  That would require magic, which they didn’t have access to.

Kaler had already charged off in the direction of the small group of Baldari warriors that had fired the arrow.  Daria had released two of her own arrows, taking out a pair of the attackers.  As Kaler charged into the group, she dropped her bow and ran in that direction, withdrawing a pair of knives as she ran.

“Do something!” Nycoh urged as she knelt by the downed scholar.  Tears were running down her cheeks as she stared at the man who had been closer to her than anyone and her most trusted confidant.

Rigo checked to see that they were in no immediate danger.  Kaler and Daria were dealing with the attackers, and Rigo had no doubt of the outcome there.  Unfortunately, the altercation wasn’t quiet.  The fight was certain to alert others, which meant this area would be swarming with additional enemy before long.  He knelt beside Ash’urn, and confirmed what he had already known.  Moving him wasn’t an option.  Any attempt to do so would end the arrow’s work.  There wasn’t much blood, at least on the outside, but Rigo was certain it was a different story on the inside.  His own throat constricted as he realized Ash’urn was going to die.  There was absolutely nothing they could do for him.  He should never have allowed the scholar to come along.  Not until they had been certain of the area, anyway.

Nycoh looked up at the rim far above, as if hoping for help.

“It would take them a quarter glass to get here,” Rigo said.  “By then it would be too late.  Even if they could be here immediately, they wouldn’t have access to magic either.  Without it, there isn’t much we can do.”

Nycoh looked stricken, then turned to their fallen friend as he choked out his first words since being hit.

“Bad eye,” he said.  “Didn’t see it coming.”

Rigo knew it wouldn’t have mattered whether the eye had been normal or not.  None of them had seen the Baldari warriors.  Not even Daria, and that meant they had planned their ambush carefully.  Any ambush that Daria didn’t see right off was too good for Ash’urn to have spotted no matter how many good eyes he might have had.

“Ash’urn,” Rigo managed to choke out.

“You need to go on,” Ash’urn whispered between clenched teeth.  “I’m finished.”

“We won’t leave you,” Nycoh argued.

Ash’urn slowly turned his head so he could look upon her.  “I’m sorry.  This is hard for you.  You must see to the Brryn.  That is what matters now.  You can’t help me.  If you delay, she will become aware of you.  Then this will all be for nothing.”

Something in Ash’urn’s words raised a question in Rigo’s mind.

“You speak as if you knew this would happen,” he said.

Somehow Ash’urn managed a grin, despite his pain.  “I knew one of us would die.  Mos’pera told King Rhory as much.  Never mind how I know that.  She didn’t say who, but she made it clear the task must be pursued, and that one wouldn’t return.  I had hoped it would be me.  That is why I forced myself on this trip.  That and I have information that might be crucial.”

“Why?” Nycoh asked.

“My time was up anyway,” Ash’urn said.  “The accident with the rods was never fully cured.  I could feel it inside.  I knew it was only a matter of time.”

“You can’t know that,” Nycoh argued.  “Your skills are great, but you have never been a healer.  Casters are never that strong in such things.”

“I had it confirmed,” Ash’urn said.  “Shara helped me.  She is the only one who knew, and that’s why she agreed to my coming along.  She doesn’t expect to see me again.  We have said our good-byes just in case.  She took me to a friend of hers.  Someone far from Sulen who is quite well versed with healing magic.  Half a year tops, she told us.  This way I had a chance of helping.  Also, if I were to fall, that means the rest of you should live, assuming Mos’pera’s vision is correct.  It also means Jeen doesn’t have to know the rods would have killed me.  The accident wasn’t her fault, but she has never forgiven herself.  Please, I ask you, don’t ever let her know.  She doesn’t deserve that burden.”