by David Yazel
For one agonizing moment he felt completely helpless, pinned to the hot, smoking dirt by the vast weight. He scrabbled about, desperately trying to gain enough leverage to flip himself over.
Suddenly there was a sizzling crack and the weight was gone. He levered himself up on one hand in time to see a dark figure disappear into the smoke.
"Did you see that! I nailed it square and it up and walks away!"
Tennison looked toward the voice and saw Braddok and Renna come jogging out of the smoke from the opposite direction. They were smudged and looked a little winded. They got to Tennison and stopped.
Tennison rolled over and got shakily to his feet. Renna and Braddok reached him and the three of them looked at each other for a moment.
"Ten, what is going on?" Braddok’s eyes never stopped scanning the area around him, looking for signs of that thing that had attacked Tennison. "What was that thing anyway?"
"I don’t know. I didn’t get a look at it." He felt around back and fingered the tattered remains of his jerkin, "I know where it came from though." He shuddered, "I’ll tell you all about it later."
Braddok looked worried, "For a second there I thought you were dead, Ten." He glanced over to Renna, but her face was inscrutable. "I hit that creature with a pretty strong force bolt and other than knocking it off you I don’t think it was fazed. It rolled over a couple of times and then took off."
All three of them looked around uneasily. The heavily shifting smoke made it impossible to see more than a few yards in any direction.
Tennison started limping toward a lump on the ground some feet away, Braddok and Renna followed behind. "I did find a survivor, although he’s in pretty bad shape."
The lump resolved itself into a blackened, burned figure. The men kneeled down and Renna continued to eye the surrounding area with a watchful gaze.
Braddok felt for a pulse. "He’s alive but in shock." He looked at Tennison, "He doesn’t have long to live, we need to get him to a healer right away."
"I’m tapped out," Tennison swiveled back on his haunches, "You are going to have to stabilize him before we transport.
Braddok looked concertedly at his friend and then down at the stranger. He shifted his sight and deeply scanned the body before him. He winced at the damage. No broken bones, but over a half of the skin was burned away, leaving an oozing mass of blisters and charred tissue. The already uneven heartbeat grew weaker even as he watched. Taking a deep breath he clenched his teeth and linked with the stranger’s nervous system.
Braddok’s body spasmed and twitched as the pain and shock flooded into him. He threw his head back and a raw, agonizing scream broke forth. He was swept away in a rising tide of conflicting senses and feelings as he tried to synchronize the other’s system to his. Bit by bit he brought them together, until their hearts beat as one. Then he paralyzed the pain centers in their brains and it was done.
Braddok sagged against Tennison, quivering with aftershock, breathing heavily. With every breath he took, the stranger’s chest rose and fell in unison.
Tennison pulled Braddok to his feet, "Let’s get out of here. I think Celicity would be our best bet to save this one."
Renna was staring intently out into the smoke filled air, "There is something out there." She turned and looked at Tennison, smiling for the first time. "I don’t think we are in any shape to fight whatever it is right now."
Ten grinned back, "I agree. Would you do the honors?"
Renna nodded and gestured fluidly, speaking aloud words of power. As they transported, Tennison caught sight of a dark shape rushing from the smoke. In that last instant he eyes met the creature’s and he could have sworn a keen, ruthless intelligence dwelt there.
They materialized in a cool, shaded courtyard far away in the city of Tillith, famed for their philosophy and healing.
Renna spoke in quiet whispers to the acolyte which rushed to their side while Tennison said to Braddok, "Did you see that? Right before we dematerialized?"
Braddok looked pale and was breathing quickly and shallowly, "No," he took a couple of breathes and tried to deepen them, "What did you see?"
Tennison took in Braddok’s condition, "Never mind, I’ll tell you later. We’ve got to get you off this link right away." He turned just as the acolyte was hurriedly joined by a women dressed in a white robe belted with a scintillating sash of green.
She dropped to her knees and examined the stranger, "Well Tennison," she spoke without wavering her attention from her patient, "It’s been a long time."
He looked uncomfortable, "Hello Celicity. I guess I have been pretty busy these last few.." he broke off.
"Years? Yes, its been over three years." For an instant she glanced up and he looked into beautiful blue eyes, filled with reproach.
She looked back down to the patient. "He is very close to death." She said to Braddok, "You are in danger yourself, but I must ask you to keep the link a while yet, transferring it at this point would kill him."
He nodded grimly, "I can hold it."
She nodded sharply, "Good." Snapping orders to her assistant she stood and levitated the stranger to waist height, "..and get Heal Master Tovok over to the burn ward immediately."
She stalked off across the courtyard, the stranger floating smoothly in the air in front of her. They followed her and passed beneath a high stone arch into a smaller courtyard, filled with flowers and a tinkling fountain.
After a moment they came to door set in the stone courtyard wall, carved of oak and bound with brass. At their approach it opened silently and swung aside.
They entered. First the patient, then the healer and finally the mages. The room was bright and airy, filled with the scent of roses. The flowers grew from every niche and hugged the stone walls on a lattice work of some intricately carved word. A huge sleeping platform dominated the center of the room and it was on this that the healer lowered the injured stranger.
A door opened on the other side of the room and five men entered, one dressed in white and the others in a deep uniform red. Each of the four proceeded to a chair in the four corners of the room and set facing toward the patient.
There was a moment of silence and then Braddok gasped and stumbled slightly, Tennison grabbed his arm.
"Whew, that’s a relief," he gestured toward the red robed healers, "They took over the link so smoothly I bet he didn’t even notice." Color flooded into his face and his breathing steadied.
The white robed man had joined Celicity in the center of the room and was examining the patient. Tennison motioned to Renna and Braddok to join him outside.
"How are you feeling," he asked as soon as they were outside earshot of the healers.
"Me? I’m fine. You’re the one that looks half dead."
Tennison looked down at his once fine robes, now blackened with smoke and ripped to tatters. "I guess I do look a sight," he laughed and walked toward the fountain.
The sun was shining brightly and the sound of bird calls filled the air, at odd harmony with the steadily flowing water. It was hard to believe that minutes ago they had been in danger for their lives.
He was lost in reverie when a hand grabbed his arm and swung him around.
"What did you think you were doing, rushing in there alone?" Renna’s face was livid. "You could have been killed!"
"Ren, there wasn’t time to get anyone else." Tennison was taken aback by her anger.
"You mean you didn’t think about it. You are always charging in without thought to the consequences to you or anyone else."
Tennison felt blood rushing to his face, "Look, there wasn’t any time to loose, people could have been dying!"
"And you were going to single-handedly rescue them? You have no idea what you are dealing with here!" Renna was shouting now.
"And you do?" Tennison shouted back.
Renna abruptly sobered, "No, of course not." Her eyes shifted. "Its just that I was worried about you." She looked down at her feet. She leaned close to Tennison and whispered in his ear, "I don’t know what I would do without you."
Tennison pulled her to him with a fierce embrace, "Oh Renna," he whispered back, "I was so scared. I... I saw another world, a horrible world of evil." She stiffened in his arms and then relaxed, hugging him back. For a time he held her tight, savoring her closeness.
"Excuse me."
Tennison looked up and then disengaged from Renna. Celicity was standing there, an unreadable expression on her face. She looked steadily at Tennison for a moment and then tuned her attention to Renna and Braddok.
"Hello Renna," she flashed a tight little smile, "I hope you are well."
Renna smiled without warmth, "Yes Celicity, I am very well thank you."
Celicity turned to Braddok and her expression beamed, "Dear Braddok, you are looking fine as usual."
He swept a low bow in her direction, "And you are as lovely as ever, beautiful Celicity." He straightened, "How is our injured guest?"
She sighed, "Not well. Its going to be touch and go for the next few hours. I suggest you all take some time and refresh yourselves." She snapped her fingers and a red robed acolyte hurried to her side. "Roloph here will take you to some quarters where you can wash and change. We will be serving our evening meal at sundown in the main hall. You are welcome to join us."
The very thought of a hot soak turned Tennison’s legs to jelly, "Please let us know as soon as it is safe to talk to your patient. I have some important questions to put to him."
"I will let you know. Now if you will excuse me." She bowed and then walked back towards the patient’s room.
"If you would follow me?" Roloph turned and walked in the opposite direction. They turned as one and started wearily after him.
An hour later Tennison was feeling immensely better. The servants had drawn a hot bath with oils and mineral steeped water. He sat in the stone pool and rested his head on a cushion, idly running his hand through the gently swirling water. He didn’t know what to make of this whole situation. In fact, he didn’t really have any idea what the next step was. He could only hope that the strange mage could shed some light on the subject.
The mage’s shield had been odd. There was definitely some sort of shifting harmonic which had allowed for it to survive the interference between this world and the next. He could think of no reason why someone would develop such a thing... unless they had known that they would be facing something like the portal.
Tennison slapped the water in exasperation. There was no use in trying to figure it out until they had gotten what they could from the unknown mage.
Then he had an idea. With a few curt gestures he opened a connection with the university. "Yes, may I help you Mage Holyoak?" spoke the soft melodious voice.
"Yes, connect me with Mage Tilak in admissions."
"One moment."
There was a short pause. "Yes?" The disembodied voice took on the gruffer and deeper tone of his old friend. "Ten, you old devil, it has been ages! What have you been up to?"
Tennison winced at the demonic reference. "I’ve been fine old man. Look, I’m in a bit of a hurry and thought you might be able to help me out."
"I’m beginning the think that the only time you call is when you need something." Tennison could almost see the grizzled head shaking back and forth. "What is it this time, you have a promising new student you want me to meet?"
Tennison chuckled, "No, not this time. Actually I’m interested in finding information on someone who may have attended the university some years ago."
"What’s the name?"
"I don’t have a name, but it would be a male about forty years old."
"Hmmm, that would put him the class of thirty-three or around thereabouts. That narrows it down to a few hundred, assuming he entered at the standard age. Do you have any more information?"
Tennison replied, "He probably would have come from Small Haven, a town to the east. And I don’t think he would have a full Mastery, probably a Junior Master level at best."
"Say, this doesn’t have anything to do with this emergency state, would it? Things are crazy around here. The council is running around and rumors are flying. Something about Small Haven being burned down."
Tennison could hear the consternation in Telik’s voice. "It might," he paused, "Look, I am going to have to ask you to keep this quiet. I am hoping that this information will shed some light on what happened. "
"Sure. You can count on me. You have to promise me that you’ll come by for a drink and tell me the whole story when you have the time."
"No problem. I really appreciate this, Telik." Tennison continued with a nostalgic half-smile, "Seems like I keep coming back to my old teachers for help."
"Hey, not I’m not so old as all that. Besides, you young folk have all the fun nowadays. I’m glad to be of service. Give me some time to set up the search spell parameters and do some research and I’ll get back to you."
Telik disconnected with a click.
Tennison stepped out of the bubbling water, letting it sluice off him in warm, steaming rivulets. He had escaped remarkably unscathed from his experience. His ribs were slightly bruised from the weight of the creature which had attacked him, but it could have been far worse. Thank goodness for chain mail.
He dried himself off and walked over to where the servants had laid out a new set of clothes. A deep blue robe with tasteful gold silk trim has been provided and he wondered if Celicity had picked it out. He put it on and belted it firmly. It suited him nicely.
It was almost dusk when Braddok joined him. Braddok had cleaned the leather of his jerkin and his cotton shirt looked freshly laundered.
"Looks like we have a short while until dinner." He took a handmade cigar from the case at his side and smelled it slowly from end to end.
There was a sharp rap on the door and Renna made her appearance. She had changed from her smoke damaged clothes to a beautiful damask gown, secured at the throat with a silver clasp. She gave a disapproving look at Braddok who was trimming the end off the cigar with his belt knife.
Braddok grinned at her and with a snap of his fingers created a marble sized ball of flame which hovered of the end of his cigar. Several puffs later he dismissed the flame and leaned back with a contented smile. Renna tossed her hair and pointedly ignored him.
"So give. What happened after you teleported to Small Haven?" Braddok blew a lingering smoke ring toward the ceiling. "Let’s have all the details."
Tennison started pacing slowly, "I penetrated to the center of the pillar and found that the firestorm was being caused by what appeared to me to be an interdimensional rift."
Braddok’s face wore a puzzled frown, "What’s an interdimensional rift?"
"I’ve read about it in some of our more ancient lore books, but never really gave it any credence until now." He stopped pacing and sat down in a large wingbacked chair facing them. He leaned forward and steepled his fingers. "The passages I’m talking about state that there are many worlds beside this one, each in their own dimension. Each dimension is separated by a barrier of time and energy."
Renna was staring at him intensely, "What did you find at the center?"
"I found what appeared to be a hole in the ground, opening onto another world. It was a horrible place, filled with heat and monstrous beings." He looked at Braddok, "The creature you chased off probably came from there. Who knows how many more of these things there might be."
"Well it was sure a tough little bastard," Braddok puffed reflectively on his cigar, "But I didn’t get a very good look at him."
"Things from this other world are probably resistant to our magic. It depends if they can completely phase with our world. With the rift closed they are going to have nowhere to go."
Renna spoke slowly, "So you closed the rift?"
"Sure did." Tennison slapped his leg and stood up. "Wasn’t easy either. I created a disharmonious tertiary field which canceled out the phase shift between the dimensions." He laughed, "At least that was what I was trying to do."
"Looks like it worked." Braddok smiled, "I don’t know why you look so worried. The emergency is over."
"Because I don’t know how this happened. Because this could happen again for all we know. And next time it could be worse. It could open up right in the middle of a city. I am probably the only one who could close one of these things."
"What about the guy we rescued?", Braddok said.
"He could be the key to unlock this puzzle. He’s a mage, school trained. I recognized the construction of his shield. I don’t know who he is yet. I’m working on that. I’m wondering if he had something to do with the rupture. His shield spell had been modified so it could withstand the energies of the rift. It was really quite clever, using the energies unleashed in the rift to power the primary matrix."
They were all silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.
Renna glanced outside, "It looks like the sun is down, lets head over to the main hall."
"Good idea, I’m famished." Braddok jumped up and swirled his cloak over one shoulder. "I wonder if that cook is still here. She makes an excellent meal." He grinned broadly.
Tennison rolled his eyes, "I’m sure its her cooking you’re interested in."
"Well, its always good to test that old Braddok charm, " he said and walked out into the courtyard.
Tennison started to follow. "Ten," Renna said and put her hand on his arm. He turned to look at her.
"Do you think you could open the portal again?" Her dark eyes seemed large to him, deep and unfathomable.
"Open it?" he looked at her in question. "Why would I want to do that?"
"Well," she hesitated, "If we knew how they worked it would aid in controlling them"
He thought about it for a minute, "I think I could," his brow wrinkled, "probably better then whoever opened this one. You see, there was no attempt made to make this portal stable or safe. That might be accomplished using a local containment field and some fail safe triggers. I would have to give it some thought," he mused.
She smiled brilliantly, her whole face lightening up. Renna grabbed his face and kissed him fiercely, leaving him breathless. "I bet you could. You can do anything you put your mind to, Ten."
She turned abruptly and hurried off after Braddok. He followed slowly, his mind awash with the technical problems of portal construction.
They arrived at the hall a few minutes later. A huge fireplace dominated the room, blazing with the heat of several blazing logs. Several pigs rotated sedately on spits, turned by young servants. There were dozens of long tables, covered with fruits and salted meats. Serving girls moved from table to table dispensing wine and ale to the patrons. Braddok snatched a mug of ale from the tray of a passing girl and swatted her ample behind. She flashed him a coy smile over her shoulder as she passed and wiggled her hips suggestively before disappearing into the crowd.
"Yep, I hope we are going to be here a few days, Ten. I could sure use some time away from the musty old halls of the university." He turned and set off in the girl’s wake, negotiating his way through the milling crowd. "I’ll find you guys later," he said over his shoulder and then he too was lost to Tennison’s sight.
Renna took Tennison’s arm and maneuvered him to a more secluded table in the corner, "For all his faults, and there are plenty, he is a loyal friend to you." They sat down and she poured him some wine. "You should have seen him come blasting into my rooms," she shook her head in amusement, "I thought I was going to have to turn him into a roach. Not that it wouldn’t be an appropriate form." She told him what had transpired with the council, "We left them in quite a state, those conservative little rodents. They would have hung you out to dry if Kurl had his way." She looked at him steadily, sipping her wine, "You know he is consolidating his position on the council. You are going to have to confront him soon or it will be too late."
Tennison winced, Kurl was arrogant and secure in his power. He had the backing of several old and venerated ruling families in the Six Lands and had ill used his influence to broker deals with many council members. He shook his head, dealing with Kurl would have to wait until he had seen this business through.
"I know, I know," he said and sliced them both some meat from the tray freshly delivered from the kitchen, "But first we need to think about the safety of the land."
"But while you are saving the world, Kurl is using the time to undermine you. You should have seen them, arguing over details while you were in danger." Her voice grew impassioned, "They would have let you die!"
He smiled at her, "You would never let that happen, my little wren." He reached across the table and stroked her alabaster skin.
She smiled slowly and then laughed, "I should have known you would be all right, you are the mightiest mage in the land."
Tennison blushed, "An opinion shared only by you, my dear." The looked into each others eyes, oblivious to the rising noise of the dinner guests.
They were interrupted by the sound of a clearing throat. They looked up into the face of a haggard looking Celicity.
"Our nameless guest has pulled through." She sat down heavily and poured herself some wine, "We’ve been keeping him unconscious until now, but we are about to revive him. I thought you would want to be there when he wakes up."
Tennison said, "Maybe not so nameless, let me check on something. Excuse me." He swiftly built a privacy barrier around himself, and then opened a channel to Tavik.
"I was just about to call you, Ten." Tavik’s voice boomed, audible to him only. "The only one I could find that matched your description is Thom of Small Haven. And you were right, he attained a Junior Mastery only. I spoke with some of his old instructors, the ones that remembered spoke highly of him. They said he had an intuitive knack for the biology magics, but was ill-suited to the discipline of the higher orders. I am sure I can get you some more information in a couple of days. There was one thing though, he has a note here in his file. He communicated about three months ago with Mage Kendral asking for advice on two matters. One was a request for a treatment for a crop blight his town was having and the other was about some recurring dreams his son was having. I don’t have any details and I can’t reach Kendral, but I guess he was given some instruction in the crop problem. I don’t know about the other problem."
"Tavik, you’re the best. Let me know if you find out anything else."
"Anytime, Ten. I’ll be expecting that visit from you sometime soon." His voice lowered, "We’re rooting for you down here in research, Ten. If you need anything else, let me know."
"OK Tavik, thanks again." Tennison disconnected and dropped the privacy shield. The tumult of the busy room smote at him and he winced.
Both of the women were looking at him with questions on their faces. He smiled and rose to his feet. "Let’s go and meet this mystery man," he said and walked toward the door. The two women rose as one and hurried after him.
When they got to the courtyard, Celicity led the way and soon they were at the door to the healing room. Celicity turned and spoke in a whisper, "It was touch and go for a time and he has sustained a considerable shock to his system. Try to not strain him overmuch. He should be much stronger in a few days if you need to have a extended conversation with him."
With that she opened the door and ushered them into the room.
The man was lying on his back amidst white linens. His chest rose and fell in steady breathes. His burned skin was covered with a translucent film, protecting it from the air and aiding in its regrowth.
They stepped up to the bed and Celicity nodded to the white robed healer. He made a few liquid passes over the patient and then stepped back.
For a moment nothing happened and then the man’s eyes fluttered and opened. He gazed blindly upward and his mouth worked. Tennison leaned forward to catch the man’s words.
"Fire... burning...", his head shook back and forth as if in denial, "Demons of darkness!" The man convulsed and spittle ran down his chin. The healer placed a hand on his chest and spoke rapidly. After a moment the patient calmed and his breathing steadied once again.
Tennison leaned forward and whispered in the man’s ear. "Thom, its OK. You’re safe here, the demons are gone." At the sound of the name, the man’s head turned and for the first time Tennison saw his eyes. The pupils were a disconcerting shade of bright red, as if lit from some inner fire. The man’s eyes fixed on Tennison with blazing intensity. He spoke and Tennison leaned forward to catch his words.
"Where.. is.. my.. son?"
