The Baldari (Book 3) (69 page)

Then he turned to face Rigo.  The confidence that Hyndl displayed was almost humorous given what Rigo knew and he didn’t.  Rigo wondered how the Brryn would have reacted if Rigo told him that his partner was dead, and that he was on his own.  It wasn’t something Rigo had any intention of doing.  News like that might have triggered flight, and Rigo wanted the Brryn confident and focused on winning the upcoming flight.  Once he was gone, who knew when or if they would get another chance at him.

Almost immediately Hyndl targeted Rigo with a bright helix beam.  The swirling colors of the inter-linked helixes flashed across the space between them, rocking Rigo as it struck.  Rigo had stepped forward and in front of Nycoh just before Hyndl released his attack, and the beam struck Rigo’s protective barrier full on, in the region where he had strengthened it.  The strength of the attack was impressive, but Rigo felt it less than he had the other day.  Hyndl was testing him for some reason.

Rigo was stronger than before.  He still didn’t know why, but he could feel it.  He had also learned a great deal about control in the previous encounter, and knew how to vary the position and strength of his shield and attack magic.  He had asked Nycoh about herself, and she had been surprised at his claim he was gaining strength.  She could sense no change in her own.  She also hadn’t been aware of the control that Rigo demonstrated to her.  That had surprised Rigo more than anything.  Nycoh was usually the first to discover such things.  When they had tested their abilities, Rigo’s magic shone with a brightness she couldn’t match, whereas they had been nearly equal before.

With the first attack pushed aside, Rigo sent his own beam of magic back at Hyndl.  He carefully measured the strength, and made sure it was no more powerful than the magic he had displayed the other day.  He was now capable of considerably more power, but not enough to overcome the Brryn’s shields, at least not unless he was stupid enough to simply stand there and let Rigo hammer at them until they failed.  For the same reasons Rigo wouldn’t have alerted Hyndl to the loss of his partner, Rigo didn’t want the Brryn concerned and thinking about the strength of Rigo’s attack.  Rigo wanted him confident he was in control as he’d been the other day before Fen and the other Casters had altered the situation.

Hyndl launched another attack, and Rigo moved to shield Nycoh and let his shield seem to falter, before he recovered.  The grin on Hyndl’s face was easy to spot even this far apart.  Now was the time.  They didn’t want Hyndl to start wondering why Nycoh hadn’t joined in the battle.  Rigo sent another modest attack toward Hyndl, who brushed it away effortlessly.

As the last exchange was taking place, Nycoh
Transferred
to a point a half pace behind the distracted Brryn.  This was the real Nycoh, not the one Hyndl was seeing next to Rigo.  Lyes was who Hyndl was seeing, the illusion he’d created working as well against the dangerous ancient as it had against the Saltique some time ago.  Hyndl was focused on the only two wizards he felt worthy of concern.  Because he believed they were both in front of him, he had neglected to keep his attention on what lesser wizards might be doing behind him.  They were too weak to represent a true danger.

The real Nycoh quickly released one of the shimmering clouds immediately behind Hyndl.  One of the difficulties with the cloud magic was the relatively slow pace at which it moved.  While it could overcome any shield, an individual could easily move away before it struck if he was aware of it.  By releasing the deadly magic a mere pace behind Hyndl, the slow rate of motion was overcome.  Already the magic was within a hair’s breath of contacting the shields that protected the Brryn.  Once contact was made, there was no way to escape the deadly cloud.  Even the ability to
Transfer
was momentarily neutralized. 

Nycoh had quickly moved to relocate upon releasing the cloud, although her own release posed no threat to her.  She wanted to be away from Hyndl, who could still trigger dangerous magic, and her shields were not so strong as Rigo’s.  Rigo had been able to spread his shield to protect both himself and Lyes, and still relatively easily deflect Hyndl’s attacks.

As Nycoh withdrew, Rigo pounded Hyndl with another blast of magic.  Then the cloud made itself known.  When one small corner of the cloud touched a section of the Brryn’s shield, the black shimmering haze acted as if it were wicked, and flowed almost instantaneously to enfold the whole of the protective barrier.  Crackling snaps were heard as white fingers of lightning flashed all around Hyndl.  His shield glowed a dull red as the disruptive magic ate away at his protection.  Even though Nycoh had attempted to move away, the touch of the cloud triggered an instinctive reaction from Hyndl, who shot the most powerful beam of the day behind him, where he struck Nycoh squarely in the chest.  She was blasted across the courtyard as her shield flickered and failed.  Lyes had attempted to break free when he’d seen her hit, but Rigo had restrained him, warning that Hyndl was still capable of killing him

Hyndl had a couple of major problems.  He couldn’t
Transfer
, and escape the situation.  He couldn’t rebuild his shield until this one was consumed and the cloud magic dissipated.  Any attempt to rebuild would result in the cloud attacking that as well.  He had two choices.  He could choose to attack, and hope he could overcome his adversaries, now three in his mind, before his shield degenerated to the point they could target him and kill him, or he could shed the shield completely, and try and rebuild a new one before his attackers could respond.  Most likely they knew when his shield would fail, and were waiting for that moment.  It would only take a second or two to shed the current shield and rebuild a new one.  He would be exposed for only that long.  These rebels weren’t experienced enough to be able to respond so quickly.  Once his shield was back, he would
Transfer
away from here.  He had realized that Kytra had not yet arrived to support him.  There was more to this encounter than he understood.

Boldly he dropped his shield.  Unfortunately for him, Rigo had anticipated the move.  As the cloud faded away, Rigo unleashed his strongest beam of
Greenfire
he was able at Hyndl.  The
Greenfire
wasn’t able to counter shields, but for the brief period open to him, there were no shields.  The power of the
Greenfire
beam far exceeded that of the helix in terms of shear destructive potential.  Rigo’s beam struck within the small window of time when Hyndl was exposed.  Nycoh was supposed to have done the same, but she was still down across the way.  Rigo’s magic was more than enough, however, and the Brryn was instantly transformed into a greasy ash which exploded in all directions from where he had been standing. 

With Hyndl eliminated, Rigo released Lyes and let him run to Nycoh.  Rigo delayed only long enough to take a quick scan of the area, then ran over to check on her as well.

Six Month’s Later

They had won!  The Brryn were gone, all of them defeated and destroyed.  Through trickery and the use of an anomalous
Doorway
that no one other than Suline had ever been able to create, they had separated the two remaining Brryn, and preyed upon their respective weaknesses.  That, and a great bit of luck.  Mostly luck.  Their chances hadn't been good. 

Meanwhile, Mitty remained trapped inside the strange cage of magic in which the Brryn had imprisoned her.  Rigo had hoped, irrationally probably, that with the death of the Brryn, the magic would have dissipated and freed her.  That hadn’t happened, of course.  He still didn’t know if she was dead or alive in there.  The cylinder had been moved here to the recently opened, although still under construction, College of Magic, located in Sulen, not too far from where the royal castle had once stood.  The combined knowledge of the surviving wizards and Casters was being applied to finding a way to unlock the magic that held Mitty prisoner.  Rigo no longer held out much hope of success.

More than once Rigo had considered a return to the Ruins to see if something had been missed there that might shed light on her situation.  In his heart he knew it was a useless hope.  There was magic they hadn’t acquired, but he had checked carefully when he and Koess had been in the Void and found nothing that applied.  Going back would have been foolish.  It would be great to bring back the other magic contained in the crystals, but that would require weeks or months in the horrid place.  If it were possible to bring the walls of crystal back, the pace of transfer could be accelerated, but realistically there was no way to do that.  They couldn’t be moved intact, and breaking them could well destroy the very thing he hoped to acquire.  It didn’t matter anyway.  Koess had made it very clear he could see no reason that would motivate him to return, and without him it would be more than foolhardy for anyone to make such an attempt.  Since all other avenues were mostly lost, the Repository destroyed with most of their ancient texts, Rigo was gradually coming to accept he had lost Mitty forever.

His friends felt far apart as well, which didn’t help his general outlook.  The events of the past few years had certainly taken their toll.  Daria and Kaler had returned to the Orphanage, and seldom left these days.  Rigo had been dismayed when he had returned after defeating Hyndl to discover what had happened to his friend.  Kaler had nearly died and it had taken the medical experts considerable effort to bring him back.  He had lost so much blood that they hadn’t been certain he could be saved.  A combination of superb skill and Kaler’s inherent stamina had saved the day.  Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done for his arm.  Had it merely been severed, they could have rejoined the damaged parts and restored it, probably with virtually no loss of function.  But it had been consumed by the magic that had taken it, and even the most skilled among them couldn’t re-grow it.

The loss of the arm had not stopped Kaler.  He still practiced daily, perhaps even more seriously than ever before.  Once perhaps the best bladesman to be found, he remained so skilled that few would want to go against him.  An expert fighter, however, could take advantage of Kaler’s “blind” side, and might have been able to best him.  The ability to switch a blade between hands in the middle of an exchange was no longer an option, nor was the use of one of the larger two-handed blades.  Similarly, the use of any kind of bow was lost.  In short, his fighting days were finished.

Kaler appeared to have accepted the future the fates had given him, but Rigo felt responsible and therefore somewhat uncomfortable whenever he visited.  Daria and Kaler had saved him more times than he could count, and yet he had allowed them to go into a situation that he’d known was less than optimum.  The outcome had caused some friction between himself and Nycoh.  There had been words which had left a lingering anger which still existed between them.  She had pushed allowing the Baldari to lead the attack against Kytra.  Rigo knew, as did Daria and Kaler, that had his friends been the first through the
Ghost Doorway
, Kytra would have been incapacitated and Kaler wouldn’t have lost his arm.  They might have even taken her alive, and the resulting questioning might have freed Mitty.  This was another reason Rigo had been so unhappy with Nycoh’s decision. 

Daria remained by Kaler’s side, and they focused primarily on expanding their Orphanage.  The loss of so many wizards, and the disruption of the governments of the various kingdoms, had spawned a growth in crime that hadn’t been known in many years.  As a result, Daria had quietly taken on a small group of carefully selected trainees.  Those she selected, if they passed her private tutelage, were sent into the world to follow the path of the
KalaBhoot
.  Stories were already starting to circulate of the return of the famed assassin, and those who might have committed crimes against others were given reason to consider carefully.

During the battle with Hyndl, Nycoh had been nearly killed when he punched through her shield with his frantic response to the release of the cloud that ripped apart his protective barrier.  The burn had been repaired, but she had felt disoriented for many weeks afterwards.  She and Lyes had relocated to Sedfair, and withdrawn from active participation in the wizard community so she could fully recover and pursue the relationship that had seen troubled times of its own the past year.  Rigo knew she had regained her former strength, but their friendship had remained strained.  Rigo hadn’t found a way to mend the break, perhaps because of his own losses.

Once again, the kingdoms sought to rebuild.  The numbers lost were actually less than the periodic plagues had typically caused, and the recovery was moving along more quickly than Rigo would have thought possible.  As time passed, the gifted who had gone into hiding to escape the wrath of the Brryn had started to return, and the powers of magic were brought to the task of rebuilding.  King Rhory and Queen Mos’pera had just moved into the partially completed castle built across town from where the old one had once stood, that land having been set aside for the establishment of the new College of Magic.  Jeen still worked with the royal family, and was kept remarkably busy as she provided an interface between the wizard community and the royalty of all three kingdoms as each sought to recover from the damage done by the Brryn.

Lopal had chosen a new Lamane once again, and Kellmore was raising its own castle, while the temporary leadership had called for the selection of a new royal family to assume leadership there.  In far off Sedfair, the people had pressured former Queen Rosul to retake the reins of power.  Under her leadership the country had enjoyed many decades of prosperity, and now the people wanted someone familiar to be guiding the way.  She had agreed to a temporary term, but had made it clear she wanted to be allowed to retire once again once stability returned.

The Baldari had all returned to their home to the south.  While limited contact had been pursued, Rigo knew they had friends in the Baldari now, and the small group who worked with them to learn a shared language so that more normal communication could be established, had reported certain successes.  Rigo knew he needed to approach Nycoh again and urge her to participate. She was the only one among them who had the ability to communicate fully with the Baldari, and she could aid the process if she would consent to spending some time with them.  S’erom had asked about her more than once.

Rigo stood and walked over to the window of his office and stared at the construction that continued outside.  It wouldn’t be until the following spring that classes began at the College.  The Guild was no more, and by mutual agreement of wizards and Casters, the College of Magic would be home to both disciplines.  Some had wanted Rigo, who was clearly the most powerful wizard in the land, to take on the responsibility of leading the new organization, but he had declined.  His powers had continued to mature over the past months, but he didn’t want the position, and more importantly, given his physical resemblance to the Brryn, he felt it unwise for the general populace to see him in charge of those with magic.  He was not unaware of the stares, sometimes hostile, which he received when he traveled to villages outside of Sulen.  For her own reasons, Nycoh had not wanted to resurrect her former leadership either, and had turned down any early requests.  Instead, Suline had been elected to lead the college and the Counsel of Mages, which oversaw the magic community as a whole. She had become a national hero of Sedfair, and was known equally well throughout the Three Kingdoms.  Her part in the elimination of the tyrannical Brryn was the subject of many tales, each of which grew in the telling.

The light rain that had darkened the skies for the last several days continued to fall.  He watched as the drops fell, the puddles growing in size where the open earth had yet to be replanted following the construction.  He had two windows, one that looked out of the side toward the dormitory which was still under construction, and another that looked out toward the entrance where the two large statues now stood.  A lot of consideration had gone into the statues, and Rigo was surprised by what the community had wanted.  He still felt uncomfortable walking by the stone resemblance of Ash’urn, feeling the loss of his friend each time.  He hoped in time he would come to mark the statues as a reminder that he still carried much of the former scholar around inside him.  Ash’urn would have been honored to know that he, a non-wizard and late developing Caster, had been a unanimous choice to guard the entrance to the College.  Ash’urn’s heritage was an inspiration to them all.  The other statue was a rendering of Daim, at least as best Rigo had been able to provide to the artist.  It wasn’t the Daim they all knew in recent years, but what Rigo could recall the ancient wizard had looked like in his own time.  From the shared memories that still lingered, he had helped the artist sketch out the face that none living had ever seen in person.

It was getting late, and Rigo decided it was time to leave.  He walked down the hall toward the workroom where Mitty was kept, planning to say goodbye as usual, before going to his far too silent room across town.  As he stepped into the room, he saw that others were still busy.  The room was huge, nearly a hundred paces from one end to the other, with a variety of projects underway.  He could see Burke in the distance, moving slowly as he tended to do these days.  He was back, but had never fully recovered.  Rigo suspected the old Burke was still trapped in there somewhere, trying to reassert himself.

Rigo looked at the image of Mitty, so perfectly preserved inside the clear cylinder.  It sat on the floor, so she was almost at eye level.  He peered into her eyes as he did every evening, always hoping for some sign she knew he was there, but as always, there was nothing.

“She is unaware of her surroundings,” said someone behind him.

Rigo turned toward the unfamiliar voice, wondering who it might be.  The man he saw was unknown to him.  He was old, very old.  He stood half a hand shorter than Rigo, with pale skin.  His bald head was ringed with just a thin strip of short gray hair just above the ears that ran around the back of his head.  He stood erect despite his age, and looked at the cage that held Mitty rather than at Rigo.  Rigo was certain he had never seen the man before, and wondered how he had come to be in this part of the College workrooms.  It wasn’t open to the public, yet the stranger acted as if he fully belonged.

“Have we met?” Rigo asked, as he tried to think of who this might be.

“Not until now,” the man said. 

He turned and looked directly at Rigo.  As the man’s eyes met his own, Rigo felt a sudden chill climb up his back.  The hairs on Rigo’s arm stood up as if he’d encountered a ghost.  The old man’s hair had gone white with age, which had hidden who he had to be, but the lavender eyes told Rigo he was dealing with a Brryn.  The man smiled.

“I see you understand,” he said softly.

“Who?” Rigo asked, wondering how he should respond.  He waited to see what would develop, but sensed that as strong as he had become, he would fall short of being a match for this quiet old man.  Hyndl had been stronger than Rigo, and while Rigo now thought he would have been a match for the Brryn, neither would have been the equal of this old wizard.

“I’m Nyk,” the man said softly, and waited to watch Rigo’s reaction.

Nyk
.  Rigo knew immediately who he was.  Jeen had learned the names of all of those who had been in the chamber when she had
Linked
with the Brryn in the valley.  Nyk was the one who had been missing.  But Nyk was supposed to have been the same age as the others in the chamber, not this old withered man.  They had thought him dead.  How could he have appeared so long after the removal of the others?

“I see you know of me.  That is good.  Then you must be aware that I am stronger than you.  Stronger than any of you.”

“I don’t understand,” Rigo said.  “Where . . ?”

“Where have I been?” Nyk finished for him.  “That’s a very long story.  I had my own plans, and made arrangements to exit the chamber you destroyed only a few hundred years after entering.  I had centuries to rule and experiment.  I found ways to greatly enhance my abilities.”

“You kept the others locked away?”

“I did.  They would have contested my rule.  I knew that when we entered the chamber, but I thought they could be useful, so I brought them along.”

Rigo had a sudden thought.  “You created the Ruins.  You are the one who made the Hoplani.”