Resurgence of Ancient Darkness (37 page)

“
If I recall my survival training right, where there’s good shelter, there’s bound to be something else using it,
” I sent.

“
Yeah, the mountains are filled with caves, and some will definitely be in use. I lived in a different region, far from here, so I don’t know what we will find up there. All I know is that there were no ancient master sorcerers where I lived, so it’s not worth checking there,
” she sent.

“
I still wish we could fly or that we had brought some transportation instead of having to walk all this way
,” I sent.

“
Dusty, we have been over this already. Any expenditure of energy like that would stand out here and draw attention that we don’t want
,” she sent.

We had reached the foothills and would soon be at the base of the mountains. “
So far we have seen nothing but natives. Maybe this area is empty?
” I suggested.

“Not likely. We can travel freely through this realm, but most physical beings are not welcome. Any living people here would be in places they can make secure, such as those caves up there,
” she said.

I thought about that for a bit. It seemed to make sense except for one detail. “
Why would those people live here?
”

“
Some are banished here, some traveled here and were trapped, some are in hiding; and there are many other different explanations. Each has his own reason, and no one ever asks,”
she sent.

We walked a little bit farther while I thought that over. Eventually we reached the base of the mountains. They were tall and steep, but had many different trails cut into them, which I thought should make exploring them much easier. “
Do we just pick a trail and climb
?”

“
No, let’s follow the base for a while and see if we notice anything from down here,”
she replied.

As we walked, scanning the mountain, I wondered what it would be like to live here. There was no daytime, and it was eerily quiet. There were no stars or moon in the sky. All you could see when you looked up was the same unremarkable grayness that could be seen in any direction in which you had a clear view. Anything that had color was very bland and drab.

We walked on for days and found nothing of interest. The natives would sometimes fly by and follow us, but they soon got bored and moved on. I lost track of time after a while, but the unending mountains continued to roll on. It was very peaceful and, in an odd way, relaxing.

“
You sure we shouldn’t climb one of these trails?
” I sent.

“
If the table was as close as the top of the mountain we should be able to spot it. It’s faster and safer to stay down here,
” she sent.

As she sent that, I head a faint rustle. I touched her arm and sent, “
Hold.”
One thought was running through my mind as I spun towards the sound:
Natives don't make sounds when they move.

I could see nothing, so I pulled darkness around us and guided Spectra back to where I had heard the sound. As we slipped around, two dog-like creatures came into view. They were frantically sniffing the air, trying to locate our scent. My cloaking spells were complete, and there was no way they would be able to find us by smell alone.

“
Dusty, those are usually employed as scouts. We should kill them and get out of here,”
she sent.

“
We can slip away. They will never be able to find us
,” I sent. “
We should turn back and travel to the last trail we saw going up, then go over the mountain and continue our search on the other side.
”

She hesitated there for a moment as I tried to lead her away, then she seemed to shake herself. “
Okay, but we need to move fast. Their master may already be on the way.”

“
It doesn’t matter. They won’t find us either, but we are losing search time,
” I sent back.

As we worked our way back down the trail we came across a human magus holding his staff up high and chanting. With my magical awareness spell I could see power flowing all around him. “
Go wide, just to be safe,
” I sent.

“
Wait; we should talk to him and ask if he has seen the sorcerers,
” she sent.

“
Isn’t that really dangerous?
” I asked.

“
Yes, so only I will show myself. If things go bad, then you can cloak me and we’ll leave,
” she sent.

“
If it’s an active fight, I might not be able to hide you in time
,” I sent.

“
Don’t worry. I’m sure we can take him if need be
,” she sent and then stepped out of my cloak. “Greetings, I come in peace …”

“I don’t!” he said and pointed a wand at Spectra.

Before I could react a mage bolt was flying towards her, but she calmly blocked it with her staff. “I will only warn you once: stand down,” she said. “
Stay hidden in case he has friends,
” she sent to me.

He did not respond. Instead, he began casting, and as a wall of fire appeared between them, he pushed it towards us. I had to move from my position to prevent being hit, but Spectra stood her ground. As the wall approached she called out a command word and swung her staff in an upward arc. Power leaped from it and slammed into the wall of fire, breaking it apart. She then moved forward quickly and snapped out a sidekick.

The magus fell back and threw up his staff to block the blow, but was too slow. The kick caught him squarely in the chest, sending him sprawling across the ground. He tried to get up but cried out in pain and fell back.

“Now, all I wanted to do was ask you some questions. Are you ready to talk?” she asked.

He rolled over and drew two wands. He fired them together at Spectra, who blocked them on her staff. He kept firing, hoping to catch her off balance and slip in a shot, but Spectra was too experienced for that.

She waited until he had to catch his breath from calling out the command words so fast, then she sent her own mage bolt back at him. It slammed into his chest, and he fell back a few feet.

I couldn’t see what happened next because the two dog creatures came charging in to the clearing and leapt for Spectra’s back. I used my staff to fire multiple mage bolts into each of them, blasting them off course and sending them skidding across the ground.

“Are you all right?
” I sent.

“
Yeah, they’re dead. We’d better get out of here fast. All this casting will draw the wrong kind of company,”
she sent.

I wrapped us back up in shadows, and we headed up the trail into the mountains. From behind us where we’d left the bodies came the sounds of fighting and brilliant flashes of power.

“
Scavengers are fighting over the remains. Keep moving,”
she sent.

We continued to travel up the mountain until we reached a place where the path separated. One way appeared to lead down the other side, and one continued upwards.

“
Let’s head to the peak and see what we can see from up there,
” I sent.

“
As long as you keep your cloak up, sure,
” she sent. “
It would be best if no one knew we were here.
”

“
Absolutely,”
I replied.

As we continued up the trail, we saw more and more indications that the area was inhabited. There were various piles of trash and cleared areas that had been used to prepare food.

“
Messy folk,”
I commented.

“
People come out here away to cook and clean away from wherever they’re hiding their homes so that they don’t draw attention back to where they sleep,”
sent Spectra.

“
How many people do you think are up here?”
I asked.

“
It’s hard to say, but not too many, judging by the number of cooking fires. Maybe a dozen
,” she sent.

“
How come we haven’t seen any of them?”
I asked.

She gestured down the way we had come. “
Our little interruption down there will have brought out some of the more dangerous types, so it’s likely that everyone will stay in hiding till they feel the danger has passed.”

“
Why did he attack you?
” I asked.

“
There is no industry here of any kind. You can’t farm, nor are there animals to hunt, so the only supply of fresh materials, such as clothing, for those trapped here is to kill other people who have it and take it from them,
” she sent.

“
I see
,” I sent. “
So he died trying to steal your clothes?”

“
Yes; a pointless death,
” she sent in disgust.

Eventually we reached the peak of the mountain, and from there we could see for a great distance in all directions. On a normal planet back in the physical realm this might have been a breathtaking view, but here it was just gray. The mountain range stretched as far as I could see without a break, and at its base there was that same bland forest stretching out in all directions.

As I swept my eyes over the area I saw something, briefly, “
There! Did you see that?
”

“
No, what?”
she asked.

“
Three peaks away, a glow of power, wait … there it is! It’s on the third peak, about halfway up.”
I remembered then that she could not cast magical awareness, since that was a concealment line spell. “
For me to see it from this distance, its power must be massive.
”

“
Could that be our table?
” she sent.

“
The power is steady. If it were a fight, or merely someone practicing, it would spike and fade. Since this is constant, it’s a permanently enchanted object or place,”
I replied.

“
Three peaks? We will never make it in time,
” she said.

“
I can conceal a feather fall from here so that we can glide most of the way undetected,
” I sent. “
It won’t be enough to make it all the way, but we can get pretty close.”

“
Are you sure? If we make a mistake it could bring the entire realm down on us,
” she sent.

“
Yes, let’s go,”
I sent. I was not absolutely sure that I could keep up this level of cloak for that long, but I felt great. I felt like I had more power than ever before. I could get used to this place. It seemed that all my powers were better and stronger here. It was beginning to feel a little like home, even if it was bland.

We leapt from the top of the mountain and used only the most basic magic to slow our fall as we traveled towards the third mountain. I didn’t understand it, but it seemed as if I couldn’t run out of magic. I kept my cloak up all the way until we landed, which was many hours later. The only odd thing was that the charm of protection Shea had given me kept getting warmer. It never reached the point of pain, but it was mightily uncomfortable.

She had given it to me shortly after operation Show of Force. She simply said
, “I foresee a time when this charm around your neck could very well save your life.” I’d worn it ever since.

Once we’d landed, I looked down at myself and I could see black energy flowing into me from the ground and air around me. It was continually feeding my cloaking spell. I looked over at Spectra, and she had no power flowing into her, but she was not casting. I began to shake with fear.

“
Dusty, what’s wrong?”
she asked.

“
What’s going on?”
I asked as I sent her an image of what I saw.

“
Cancel your spells! All of them!
” she sent with urgency.

“
What’s happening to me?
” I asked as I obeyed.

“
I didn’t expect you to be so far along. I’m sorry. I should have guessed from the way things went the last time we were here. When I fought that magus, did you notice how I used the power in my staff only?”
she asked.

“
Yes, but why?
” I sent.

“
So that I wouldn’t use up my magic stores. The realm here will feed us all the power we could ever want, but it’s pure evil power. You must refrain from casting for a while and let your body recover naturally,”
she sent.

“
What will this do to me?
” I asked.

She turned her back to me and hesitated for a while. Finally she sent, “
It will make you just like me.
”

I put my hand on her shoulder and gently turned her back to face me. “
What do you mean?”

“
Dusty, I wanted to kill those dog creatures because it would be fun. I couldn’t help but think of how I would relish their screams of pain as I tore them apart and the intoxicating scent of their blood,”
she sent. “
If it wasn’t for you pulling me back, I would’ve done it. I have given in to my dark side in the past …”
She let that thought trail off. Her shoulders were slumped and she looked completely defeated.

Before I said anything, I pulled her to me and hugged her. I held her body tightly against mine. She was my wife and I would do whatever it took to help her, but I needed some time to process what she had said. After a long while, I sent, “
So the power from this realm changes us?
”

“
It can, and it does for most. That is why almost everyone you meet here is evil. They may not have started out that way, but living here does that to you. It does that to anyone, Spiritualist or not. Only those like us can feed off the power, but anyone who lives here becomes tainted over time. I resisted it for years, or so I thought. It gets into you, twists things around, and you start seeing ways to justify evil actions,
” she sent. She shivered. “
And even learn to desire them.
”

I continued to hold her for a while as she cried into my shoulder. “
You probably hate me now,”
she sent.

“
No, I don’t. But as soon as we get back, we are going to Shea for help with this. I know she can help,”
I sent.

“
How do you know?”
she asked.

“
It’s hard for me to admit, but I have had my share of darkness too
,” I sent.