Magician’s End (45 page)

Pug said, ‘So you’re saying the City is a mathematical construct?’

Macros pointed at Pug. ‘Exactly, but a mathematics beyond any scrawl of numbers across a board or parchment. It’s a multi-dimensional equation a billion times more complex than the most complex apothecary’s formula, or the most precise engineering used by a shipwright to calculate the stresses a mast can endure or how much water a hull displaces. It is the mathematics of creation.’

‘All right,’ said Miranda. ‘I’m impressed with the concept, and this place is far more unnerving than anywhere I’ve been, even in the Fifth Circle of Hell, but where is this taking us?’

‘It is taking you to a place where perhaps you’ll be able to do what needs to be done to save … everything,’ said Macros. ‘Be patient. You’re ready for your next lesson.’

He waved his hand and they vanished.

Ruffio awoke to find Sandreena sleeping nearby, as well as several other magicians from Stardock. The morning light was cutting through the trees from the east. He stood up and looked around. What had begun as a small cooking station a short distance away had turned into a full-scale military field kitchen. He found that he was hungry. He walked over, casting a glance down the hillside and saw that the ruby shell seemed completely intact.

Tanderae was overseeing the general care of the wounded and exhausted and saw Ruffio approach. ‘We have stabilized the dome,’ he said. ‘Without your aid, we would have been lost. We are in your debt.’

‘Your quick actions may have saved all of us,’ Ruffio said. ‘Perhaps neither of us is indebted. Perhaps we simply needed each other.’

‘For my people, that is a difficult concept,’ conceded Tanderae. ‘We have been taught since birth that we are the only highly evolved people in the universe.’ He lowered his voice. ‘Don’t even ask what we think of dwarves, let alone goblins and their ilk.’

‘If it comes to a stand-up fight, those dwarves to your south in the Grey Towers are very handy to have on your side.’

‘We’ve been polite to our neighbours to the south,’ was all Tanderae said. ‘At this point the dome is holding, and some of our ’mancers are resting. This energy we control is as alien to us as it is to you, but we’ll attempt to learn more of it.’

‘I wish two of my fellow magicians, Pug and his son Magnus, were here,’ said Ruffio. ‘They understand more about the energies of magic than anyone I know. Pug has even taken the time to learn what he can about elven magic up in Elvandar.’

‘Four of their Spellweavers arrived while you were sleeping,’ said Tanderae. ‘They have been very helpful, as their magic isn’t as alien to our own as human magic can be.’

‘If we manage to get through this, I’d like an opportunity in the future to learn more of your arts,’ said Ruffio.

Tanderae smiled. ‘Not long ago I would have been accused of treason even to suggest we allow a human to study our arts. How could I say no after what you’ve done for us? Of course. I will make sure of it, should we survive all this.’

The feeling of collegiality was short-lived, for an elf warrior ran up to Tanderae and said, ‘Please come, my lord.’

Ruffio invited himself along and found a pair of elven magicians resting nearby. One looked up at the Loremaster of the Clan of the Seven Stars and said, ‘The pressure is increasing.’

‘What do you mean?’ asked Tanderae.

‘The best way I can explain it, my lord, is to say that something is trying to get out of a hole, and we’re trying to push it back down. We managed not only to repair the tears and the dome, but actually to increase the pressure on the forces inside.’

The other magician added, ‘But the pressure inside is increasing. It’s building up like steam in a kettle.’

‘How much time before it starts rupturing again?’ asked Ruffio.

The magicians glanced at Tanderae and the first answered, ‘Some time, I think. We have a week or two if we harbour our resources, and the rate of increase doesn’t accelerate. If your human magicians can learn to directly bolster the dome, we may be able to push whatever’s coming through that breach inside and seal it off.’

‘We’re doing what we can to learn,’ said Ruffio.

Tanderae motioned for Ruffio to walk back with him. ‘You’ve mentioned others who might be able to understand our magic.’

‘Yes, but only the gods know where they are now.’

•
CHAPTER TWENTY
•

Plans

H
AL HELD UP HIS HAND.

The column of soldiers behind him reined in and he motioned for Martin, Ty, and the Earl of LaMut – Hokada Venlo – to ride forward. The four ranking officers were positioned atop a rise looking down into a rolling valley in which lay the ruins of an abandoned city.

‘Sethanon,’ said Hal. He surveyed the countryside, noting features and landmarks. ‘Opinions, gentlemen?’

Earl Hokada was a stocky, thick-necked man, but despite being a head shorter than the others, his reputation as a brawler as a youth, and a soldier as an adult made him a man not to be underestimated. He was reputed to be among the best horsemen and archers in LaMut. ‘Chadwick will march down that road.’ He indicated the faint track of the loggers’ highway from the Dimwood in the distance beyond the city. ‘He’s a traditional man, so he’ll march his infantry on his left, with his cavalry providing a screen between his infantry and the forest.’

‘But the forest ends miles north of here,’ said Martin.

Hokada nodded. ‘But he’ll see no compelling reason to move them to the other side. So that’s how he’ll present, infantry in a double column to our left, cavalry double column to our right.’

‘I agree,’ said Hal. ‘So, what else?’

Ty said, ‘He’ll assume the city is deserted, as it has been for a century, but he’ll send scouts anyway.’

‘How do we deal with the scouts?’ asked Hal.

All were quiet for a moment, then the Earl of LaMut said, ‘If they ride through, we know their instructions are to report back only if they spot the enemy. If one or both turn back, they are reporting the city is safe to pass. That’s my best guess, my lord.’

Hal was still getting used to older, more experienced soldiers addressing him as ‘my lord’. He looked at Martin and Ty who both nodded agreement. ‘So, if we want to lure Chadwick into a bad position in the city, he needs to think it’s deserted.’ He stood in his stirrups to get a better look at the surrounding countryside. ‘We have a few days before he gets here, perhaps more. Let’s be exacting in scouting this terrain and preparing the ground for battle. My lord,’ he nodded to the earl. ‘See to your cavalry. We’ll camp over there—’ He pointed to a clearing less than a quarter of a mile farther back down the trail with a small creek running along its west side. ‘And send scouts into the city at first light tomorrow. I want a trap here which will grab Chadwick of Ran by the tail and not turn him loose until we’re ready to see him go.’

‘Yes, my lord,’ said Hokada. He turned his mount and started back down the road.

‘What have you in mind, Hal?’ asked his brother.

‘I don’t have a specific plan yet, but I do have an idea. We’ll let Chadwick’s scouts pass, then have him come into Sethanon, but make him pay with blood to get out of the city.’

‘I like the idea,’ said Ty.

‘Good,’ said Hal, ‘because I’m going to give you a particularly difficult role to play.’

‘Why doesn’t that surprise me?’ said Ty with a grin.

‘Let’s get some rest and start plotting,’ said Hal.

‘Good,’ said Martin. ‘I’m hungry.’

‘You’re always hungry,’ returned Hal, laughing. For as long as they lived, these two would always revert to acting like brothers, no matter what else occurred.

Sundown the next day found Ty, Martin, and the earl in Hal’s tent listening to the reports from the scouts Hal had sent into the deserted city of Sethanon. Common lore said it was a cursed city, and its history seemed to support that myth. A large blank parchment had been unrolled and Martin was drawing in details as they were described to him. ‘I don’t know why you’re having me do this,’ he muttered.

‘You were always the best artist, remember,’ said Hal.

‘Just because I said I was, doesn’t make it so.’

They laughed.

‘My father used to say,’ observed Hal, ‘that if your men were staunch and wouldn’t break, then preparation was nine-tenths of the way to winning a battle. We just need to be better prepared than Chadwick.’

Martin, concentrating on drawing in a fine detail pointed out by the scout, said, ‘He also made the point that once you came into contact with the enemy, all your plans went to hell.’

Hal gave him a brotherly smack on the back of his head. ‘But that’s true for both sides, and the side that’s better prepared prevails.’ To Lord Hokada, he said, ‘If you were Chadwick of Ran and you suspected an ambush here in Sethanon, how would you prepare?’

The Earl of LaMut considered the map. ‘There are several ways, my lord, but which one is optimal? The original keep is an obvious choice as a garrison point, for in the case of need, your forces can retreat inside and the old portcullis can be dropped. That would delay an enemy, should they decide to stay and root you out, but in the end you’d lose your position. Moreover, if his goal is to reinforce Oliver, then he leaves a small force to keep you from sallying from the keep, and quickly moves the rest of his forces south. Here,’ he pointed on the map, ‘and here, in those buildings, a squad of archers could hold back any sally as Chadwick marches past.’ He looked at Hal. ‘If they send scouts into the city to explore, I would leave the keep deserted. Then should you choose to fortify, move them quickly in after the scouts leave.’

‘Noted,’ said Hal. ‘What else?’

‘Luring them into house-to-house fighting might provide a temporary advantage, and it would neutralize any advantage they might have in cavalry, but the same holds true for our cavalry.’

Martin said, ‘Your horse archers can do more damage than their cavalry, though – correct?’

‘If they can keep some range, yes,’ said the earl. ‘But you turn a corner and find yourself sword to sword to a heavily armed rider, and you don’t have the advantage in speed. I don’t like the odds.’

‘Point taken,’ said Martin. He looked at the scout, ‘How’s that?’

‘Good,’ said the horseman from LaMut. ‘And there’s another wall here, about four feet high – looks like it might have been used to wall off a garden behind an inn.’

‘I’m beginning to think you don’t like the idea of being in the city, my lord,’ Hal said to his sub-commander.

The earl smiled. ‘My great-grandfather was one of those Tsurani children who fell in love with horses, my lord. I’ve been riding since before I could walk. The idea of finding myself in any place where a horse becomes a liability in combat is alien to me. My first company are horse archers, not mounted infantry. I lead that company personally.’

‘What about your second company?’ asked Ty.

‘Mounted infantry, and as tough a bunch as you’ll find in Prince Edward’s army.’

‘Well, let’s leave your first company to do what they do best.’

‘What are you thinking, brother?’ asked Martin.

‘I’m thinking Earl Hokada and I both like where we sit right now better than being in that empty city.’

Martin sat back with an exaggerated blow of exasperation. ‘Which means I’ve been drawing all day for naught?’

‘Oh, this will come in handy,’ said Hal, putting his fingers on the map.

‘But you want them charging uphill against this ridge-line?’ asked Ty.

‘Only if I can get them to do it on my terms.’

Martin grinned. ‘Now, that sounds like fun.’

‘Let’s step outside, gentlemen,’ said Hal.

They followed him from the command tent up to the crest where Hal pointed to a heavy patch of thorn bushes dominating the hillside to his right, between the road and a sharply rising scarp on the other side. ‘If we extend the gorse and thorn by dragging plants from nearby and digging them in, say for a quarter of a mile down this road, to make it look like natural growth, Chadwick will either compress his columns so he can march up over this ridge on the road, or he’ll hold back his infantry and let his cavalry go first.’

‘The second, I should think,’ said the earl. ‘It’s the most logical if he gets surprised coming over the rise.’

Hal stood motionless for a long time, surveying the ground, and after a while said, ‘I think I have a plan.’

‘The Enemy has a plan,’ said Macros. ‘Or as close to a plan as can be imagined when dealing with an alien consciousness.’

They stood in the midst of a vast plaza in the City Forever, where strange lights danced above them, moving like a flock of starlings on the wing in an endless dance.

‘We’re speaking of the Dread,’ said Pug. ‘A Dreadlord appeared in Sethanon when first we battled over the Lifestone, and another was masquerading as the Dasati Lord of Death when that world was almost destroyed.’

‘Dread?’ said Macros. ‘In a manner of speaking. It’s as convenient a name as “the Darkness”, or “the Enemy”.’

Pug’s expression turned questioning. ‘Are you speaking of the Enemy in Tsurani lore? That was the essence of the Valheru, and they were banished or destroyed when we closed the rift into Sethanon.’

‘I wish it was that simple,’ said Macros. ‘Come, it’s time for you to see some more things and learn more truth.’

‘Truth is always welcome, but a rarity with you,’ Miranda said.

‘I have had my reasons for everything I’ve done,’ he replied. His expression became regretful. ‘But I’ll concede my reasons at times haven’t always been for the best.’

They were approaching a massive black building that dominated this central part of the city. ‘The false prison,’ said Pug. ‘This is where Tomas and I first came to find you.’

‘And what was waiting for you?’

‘A lord of the Dread.’

‘Let’s go and see him,’ said the Black Sorcerer.

‘He’s still there?’ asked Pug.

‘Follow.’ Macros hurried through the massive door and led them down the central passage, one which Pug remembered vividly. The Dread, or whoever was behind them, had engineered an elaborate trap to lure Pug and Tomas into confrontation with a Dreadlord. Pug and Tomas had easily bested the creature, but they had accounted for that by assuming the Dread had underestimated them. That assumption had lasted until they had found Macros and sprung the time trap that had carried them back into the past.