Chapter 27

It was a week since Prostana left but the colcha were well known for their laid back approach to life. Prostana would come back when he was good and ready. We made a lot of designs and then flew into the foothills three hundred klicks away to do some testing.

We picked out a flat area with a prominent rock about ten klicks away. I painted a dozen large rocks and put numbers on each of them. Sonya had finished setting the missiles up by the time I got back.

She said, "You shoot one first."

"Sonya, I will shoot the second. You deserve the first and besides, you thought of it." She smiled at me because I guess she did want to go first after all.

Sonya looked in the distance and set the spell to the number on the rock. We were behind the plane when the rocket took off. It started slow and picked up speed. It struck the rock or near it so I flew down range. The missile fell short. Besides I figured it was too slow. A mage could move or transport himself not to mention have the chance to put up a substantial shield.

I set up my own shield and got Sonya to fire the second missile. This one was too short too. "We need more power. I still think they are too slow."

"Slow! Well I will see what I can do. Just wait there."

"Yes, dear."

A half hour later, I heard, "You ready?"

"Fire away."

I watched the missile come much more quickly this time. It missed the target though and hit above it. "More speed and I will paint a silhouette of a man on target number one. It will be life size with a one on its chest."

You paint them and I will see if I can hit them."

I went back to the rocks and now painted a white silhouette of a man on each of the rocks then went back and painted the numbers on the chest like I promised. When I was well back, Sonya launched her latest version. This one went straight for the target and hit it just as I would have hoped it would.

"That was great. It was dead on."

"You do some now."

I hurried back and looked at what the current design was. Sonya had made some long crystals. She used force to represent the crystals and then used a thin sheet of paper that was turned to tar.

I said, "If the crystals run cooler, we should be able to bundle them directly."

"That's a good idea."

Sonya and I stayed here for four days varying the design. Some thin rods of crystals flew with just the spell for guidance. They were very fast and they would kill by kinetic energy or stun a mage if there was any power left in the crystal. A mage would not do this because he did not have the power to waste. Crystals were difficult to make and very expensive to just destroy.

When our supplies of crystals and power got low, we flew back to see Prostana and his mates. Soon after we landed, we found that he still had not come back yet. Sonya and I made a small launcher under the plane as well as two double barrel devices to launch the missiles by hand.

After two weeks, we were starting to get worried. We had talked to some of the more sympathetic colcha about this and they felt it was natural. They figured we should get worried only after a year or so.

Sonya and I made love and studied for another week then we decided to go out looking ourselves. We left a message for Prostana to tell him where we were going. We said our goodbyes and then formed the need once more. We followed the course and must have travelled all the way across Saranam. The need was across the ocean and toward Fassie.

Sonya said, "Do you think Prostana flew across the ocean? He is pretty spry now but he is not old."

"I don't think many could fly that distance unless they had a chance to rest and I don't remember seeing any islands."

"I think he is less likely to have done that because he has his mates with him."

"I agree. You want to fly at night or wait for daylight?"

"I'd rather wait."

I was frightened but tried to hide it. We charged up the engines and then slept holding tightly to each other.

The next day we found one reason then another to go slow. We got into the air near nine o'clock. We flew high this time so we could go faster in the thinner air. We each kept our own council. I knew that Sonya was worried too.

Around three o'clock we found that the need had depressed significantly. We flew for another twenty minutes then cut the engines. We coasted again but we were near a hundred thousand metres and for all intents and purposes, in space. We were not suited for this environment and it took some fancy fiddling to get the rockets to slow us down and then push us toward the planet and some air.

We coasted over a mountain range but the need was still ahead. It was not far. I put out my insubstantial hands and we slowed even more in the thin air. It took another hour to circle a tall mountain at eight thousand metres. We could go supersonic now but we kept our speed down because of the sonic boom.

Prostana seemed to be in a lush valley with lots of large predators. I called to him but he didn't answer. I banked and flew back the way we had come but came in much lower. Sonya said, "I looked where the need was coming from. There was no sign of even a small colcha. In fact that area was clear except for two large trees. Could he be in a camouflaged cave or in another colcha home that is hidden?"

"I have a bad feeling. There is a base in there and Prostana is in it."

"But who..."

"Yes, them or at least one of them."

"What are we going to do?"

"If it is a base, then the animals around are to keep out trespassers and should have some resistance to magic like the way the colcha have. This rules out knocking on his door."

"The need must come through the link to this world. There is a crystal there that sprouted the base. Let's knock?"

"I hate to say it but I think you are right. A mage will come out to fight if he figures we can destroy the crystal supporting his base. If the crystal is destroyed, then it will kill everybody inside and make another explosion similar to a nuclear explosion."

"I think we better aim close but not too close."

We flew up and down the valley putting a time stop spell and everything we could see and lots we did not. A time spell was difficult to handle and perhaps the mage would not have produced a defence from it. This activity took almost until it was dark. We landed nearby the need in a small side valley. We had our double barrelled guns as well as six extra rounds of ammunition each. I had one grenade and so did Sonya.

We followed the need and narrowed it down to an area twenty metres in diameter. I started to place the grenade and Sonya said, "Put it a few metres away for me. I do not want to end suddenly as small packets of mass and energy."

I moved over and she smiled. This time I dug deep into the loose rock then I pulled the pin. We ran like hell and got behind a solid rock as a blast was felt. It was like tonnes of explosives going off and out heads hurt. I was not very good but I managed to cast a spell on Sonya then on myself. She did the same in return. In a moment we did the same thing again.

The need had not moved and we were still alive so I guess we were lucky. Sonya ran off to one side and I moved too so we could cover each other. We both erected a shield that Erasmus would have taught us. We also had another one ready that came from the books we had just studied. We had our spells out to warn us.

It took nearly a half hour me to get a feeling. I quickly raised my arm and threw the second grenade close to where the other one had been. At the same time I raised the other shield. The timer had been adjusted and seven seconds later the grenade exploded with mental energy. I felt pain and I knew that it was not Sonya. I healed myself three times.

There were a dozen Plugga. They were on the ground now and probably unconscious if not dead. I cast a time stop spell once more and laid it on the guards.

It was nearly ten minutes later that I saw a man in silk robes standing perhaps a hundred metres away from his base.

The mage threw Wizard Fire at me and I ran to one side as if trying to get away from it. I actually heard him laugh as he threw another then one more.

I heard in Fassie, "Come out and fight. Cowards rarely gain anything but death."

I stood for a moment and the mage threw another bolt. I had ducked down behind a rock and held my shield tight to me. The power of the blasts could still get through and the mage was not throwing weak bolts.

There was another large rock nearby and I was going to spring for it when I felt a double blast of physic energy. My head hurt and I guess I just blacked out.

I woke up to a bright sky. Sonya was cradling my head in her arms. I was able to see her face. There were tear stains. I was able to say, "I'm not too bad now." Then I think I went back to sleep once more.

It was now overcast when I woke up. I felt the best I had in a long time. Sonya was not near but she was close. I knew that she had used a lot of her energy to heal me. "Sonya, I am awake and feel like a million bucks."

"That is good to hear, Adam." I could feel her relief.

I asked, "What happened?"

"Holds on."

Sonya came to me and absently wiped some loose strands of hair from her face. She was walking fast and I guess I was too. I slowed down enough to gather the woman I loved so much in my arms. We just hugged for a few minutes and I could see how hurt she was.

Sonya brought me over to a fire that she was tending and got me to sit. Some pieces of meat were being cooked on some coals. She now gave me an expression saying that she was pissed off.

"Ok, I did wrong. Now what happened?"

"You baited Caroshe and he almost killed you. That's what."

"Did you get him?"

"Yes."

"Well tell me why you are upset?"

"You almost died again."

"Tell me how we could have done it better?"

Sonya didn't speak now. In a moment she said, "He saw you as the major threat, not me. He saw our equipment and must have thought it was just crystals for power. I fired away from Caroshe then fired right at him. The two missiles homed in on him at about the same time. I knocked him through a loop. He has a time spell on him now like the Plugga."

"I thought those missiles would kill him."

"I did too. Caroshe is just too old and experienced to be killed easily."

"What do you want to do now since you have had time to consider this?"

We have a lot of power tied up in our missiles but I want to save it. Caroshe is in pretty bad shape at the moment. I want to copy his memories. We then know how to get into his base safely. I would not trust him to help us. This sort of thing must have happened a lot over the centuries and he has to have a way of destroying us if we try."

"Ok, so we need a way of generating a lot of power. Prostana must be inside the base so he is out. That leaves the people in Redac."

"Exactly."

We had enough power for a transport spell that would carry Sonya, the mage and myself. Redac was the closest we had to a base so we came in expecting the worst. We were pleasantly surprised to find nobody wanting to immediately kill us.

There were some children near and as soon as they recognised us we were mobbed. That was until they saw Caroshe. The mage could not be transported while still under a time spell but we did make him unable to fight us. As soon as the transport spell was complete, he went back into a time spell.

It took a few hours to round up those we had gathered before. There were a lot of extras in the group but none of those that had been on the ship. Sonya and I had heard of them but they were scattered to the wind when the Lady disappeared.

It took a long time to get everyone settled down. We had tonnes of crystal material here and it just needed to be processed. We talked about our travels. We did not mention our plane or the effect a colcha had on our grasp of magic. We did praise Prostana and other colcha for being ethical. The people could understand us manipulating magic but not the fact that the large beings were intelligent as humans and even more ethical. Caroshe was just a bad man and his name was not mentioned.

Sonya got a circle formed and she was the first I made love too. This group was not as educated and some had no experience at all. We charged up our depleted crystals then rested before going into fabricating the amulet to store the mage's memories.

When the amulet was completed, we had a break. I told the story of Calldas and how he had to die so I could get his memories from behind his shields. I talked about Caroshe again but still did not give his name. I wanted to set the stage for a possible execution but look like it only came close. I did not want people to know about revivification because of all the problems it would bring. Lying was easier. If Sonya's knife could be used to almost kill then the process may work. At least this time I knew what was probably going to happen.

Caroshe was layed out in the centre of our ring. Healing spells were ready as well as the one to bring the man back to life. It was the amulet that was the most important now.

Like Calldas, I built a very strong shield and Sonya assisted greatly. It was me that used her knife to kill Caroshe. Again I had to wait for him to really die. This was tricky for different portions of a body died at different rates. The automatic spells to heal had to be factored in but eventually the man was dead enough for our purposes. The spells governing the shields around the man and his brain had ceased to exist.

Sonya and I cast very strong healing spells on the body. She would continue with this as I brought the amulet close with my PK and chanted the spell. It was not working well. I was getting the memories but Caroshe was breaking down. He used spells for a great many years to hold time at bay. I assisted Sonya now and used the revivification spell. This was touch and go for a while.

It took over an hour but Caroshe began to breathe on his own. We were tired and the crystals depleted. Sonya and I cast a time spell on the man and relaxed.

When I was able to stand I stretched to get out the kinks and then talked to the ladies of the circle. "We removed the spells and the shields from the man in the centre. We are going to have to make another amulet but the gathering of his memories will be easier now. Lets get up and have a break and start over again in half of an hour."

Sonya and I were weak now. It was not from the physical act of making love but from the mental acts of casting so many spells. The half hour turned out to be an hour and a half. We had another good meal before going back to our task. Sonya was on my left so she was saying she wanted a break. The girl in front of me was eager for her turn and it was fun for me too.

We charged all the crystals then built another amulet. This time I made more so they would be ready when needed.

The time spell was removed from Caroshe and the amulet brought close. I chanted the spell and Sonya stayed close to my mind to make sure it was done right. There certainly was a lot of data here but it was easier to retrieve than any time before. After some additional thinking, I copied the amulet into one of the other empty crystals.

Sonya and I now worked diligently on Caroshe to make him our slave. With his knowledge and drive we had to be very careful. We wanted his memories undamaged. We tamed his anger but the difficult part was bringing his sanity back. He was a warped individual that may or may not have been sane at one time. Now he would have his conscience guide him while it had never done before. This process took a long time and by the end of it I had gone around the ring and finished off with Sonya.

Caroshe was again put in a time spell and we relaxed.

We had a party then. It lasted long into the night but those were the kind that were good. It was well into the morning of the next day that Sonya and I went back to work.

I took one of the amulets and put it on. Like before I could bypass all the evil and look at the memories alone. Sonya was given the copy and I saw her shake. She was a hard woman when she wanted to be but all the deaths and suffering the man caused were hard on anyone.

It was much later in the day that we revived Caroshe. He immediately got on his knees and said, "Masters! What may your lowly slave do for you?"

Since he was now linked to us we searched his mind. The worse parts of the man were now gone. He still had to be effective as a mage though.

Sonya said, "You captured a colcha. We wish to go to your base and inspect this being. He is one of our allies. He should not have been harmed but you did not know at the time."

Caroshe was very worried about displeasing Sonya and relaxed a bit when she seemed to have forgiven him.

We constructed a transport spell once again and we soon found ourselves near the Plugga that were still in the time spell.

Caroshe told us all about his security. We came safely into his base and he proceeded to give us the freedom of it as his equal. I was sure that this had never happened to him since he gained the status of a mage.

We were taken to Prostana right away. He had been wounded with Wizard Fire and then healed even though he was resistant. He also looked in a sorry state. The room he was in was high but not enough for him to even sit up. He raised his head as I came into the room. Sonya stayed out of site with Caroshe.

"Friend Adam, I was hoping you would not be captured too."

I walked over to him and touched his scaled arm and said, "I was not captured friend Prostana. I came to get you out of this place."

"Did you kill that evil man?"

"Let's talk after. You need a bit of healing. Will you allow this?"

He looked at me for a moment and I could feel his resistance fade. I fed power from the base and into Prostana. I kept the process slow enough to promote good healing. When I paused I said, "Friend Prostana, do you remember me talking about following a need. It led me to a little girl's family and this time it led me to you. A very evil mage held you here and we defeated him. We gathered his memories and made the evil man only slightly bad."

I could feel Prostana's anger so I said, "The man is valuable to us. There is still Kaffra and Samphic out there someplace."

"He killed Beena and captured my other two mates. He has to die."

This was not news. It was in the memories I now had. "Is it not better to regain your mates? Your people are not really familiar with slaves but the man now is almost harmless to us. He will help us fight the other two mages. If you kill him then your other two mates may die or worse, be used against us."

Prostana did a lot of thinking and I went back to healing my friend. It was aq half hour later that he said, "I agree with you friend Adam. My mates are important but I want to kill this man when we are done."

"I understand what you feel like. My family was taken from me too. The fact is that the man is already dead. His body moves around now. It has the old memories and skills but the personality is not of the man that killed Beena. He is gone forever."

"This is hard to understand. I feel only pain and a wish to destroy my enemies."

"This I understand well. Will you eat now? You have to regain your strength."

It took a few moments until Prostana said, "I will eat."

"Let me put the food into your mouth like we did before. It reminds me of happier times and my son Dylan."

"I remember your son well. I hope he is safe."

I directed the base to put meat into Prostana's mouth. After only a tonne or so I brought water in a long hose that I had to request from the base.

When Prostana was fed enough I altered the dimensions of the room. I even produced some branches so that he could sleep. He said, "Why are you doing this? I need to get our of here."

"Friend Prostana, you are tired and need a rest. There are a lot of slaves here that are in worse shape than you were when I came. They need to be cared for. I need to generate a great deal of energy when that is all done we can discuss how to recover your mates. We cannot fight now because we do not know where your mates are."

"You are right friend Adam."

I did some thinking to Sonya and in a moment I said to Prostana, "You can command this base now. When you want food it will come. Let me show you."