Chapter 34

Kyllos took his time as he strolled down the corridors of the Imperial Palace and reflected on how empty the place seemed. While no fewer people serviced the Palace, many were Cohorts who traveled only when necessary. The favorite haunts of the former staff were deserted, as Cohorts tended not to gather until late evening for devotions at the Inonni Temple which had been erected in the center of the gardens.

Inonni centers of government were never built so huge. They were designed more for practicality than ostentation, and thus felt far more cozy than the expansive and drafty passages of the palace. Yet Kyllos could not deny the attraction to such displays of wealth and prestige; he wondered if perhaps such thoughts had been the catalyst of his brethren's disgraceful quest for power.

Despite his troubled thoughts, he was smiling when he entered the Portal chamber. The portly form of an Inonni Mage turned and bowed his head, and they exchanged the traditional greeting.

"Your Cohorts are a somewhat stubborn bunch, I must say!" the Mage said in a jovial voice. "They insisted on waiting until you were here to send me off."

Behind the Mage, Yonlas and another Cohort stood shoulder-to-shoulder before the Portal chamber. "But is it indeed my duty to ensure you arrive safely, Honored Mage Rellenu," said Kyllos.

Rellenu chuckled. "It is quite all right. I am told your agents are still in the process of settling in anyway."

"This was something of a last candlemark affair, yes," said Kyllos, folding his hands before him. "I was somewhat surprised to find as many agents as I did who could get to the site in only a day without using a Portal." Kyllos, too, realized how distastefully easy the lies could roll from his tongue. He knew Iridus had likely moved the agents into position before he had confronted Kyllos. "You will be transported to a location about a league distant from the Oceanus Portal. The land drops off somewhat, so it will act as additional concealment. It would be best to remain quiet when you first appear and take direction from the agents who have been alerted of your imminent arrival."

Rellenu started nodding his head in the middle of Kyllos' statement, and the movement had become quite vigorous by the end. Kyllos did not let his mild annoyance show on his face. "I understand what I need to do already," Rellenu boomed. "I have been most thoroughly briefed. I need only the Portal opened."

"Very well." Kyllos leaned to one side and nodded once to the Cohorts.

Before Rellenu turned around, the Cohorts spun in place and faced the chamber, still shoulder-to-shoulder. They gestured, and with only a slight hum and a faint crackle, the Portal energized and opened. They stepped aside once the long, silvery tunnel had opened into the distance.

Rellenu glanced back at Kyllos. "I will send a report as soon as I have had a chance to take some readings."

"I will be looking forward to it, Honored Mage."

Rellenu stepped into the Portal. His dark silhouette hovered for a moment within the coruscating energies, then raced off into the distance and was gone.

The surface of the energy sphere shuddered, its humming rhythm interrupted for a moment, then settled. The Cohorts paused another breath before they gestured again. The Portal collapsed into a point of light which winked out a moment later.

"It is done," said Kyllos in a tired voice. "May the gods bless the Wanderer's journey."

Rellenu stepped into a small clearing in a forest, his footfalls padded by the soft, springy earth and the lingering blanket of fallen flower petals from the spring blossoms. The air was cool and crisp, and dew dripped from the leaves. Wispy clouds glowed sunrise gold.

He frowned when he saw no one come to greet him. From behind, he heard a scrabbling against rock, and then a rustling noise. He spun around, but saw only the energy of the still-open Portal. Before he could ponder why it had yet to close, it did so.

He looked towards the thicker forest. The ground dropped off sharply just ahead, like a small ridge lined with rocks and old, dead roots. He sighed and shook his head, then headed in the other direction. After only a few steps, he spotted a lithe and dark-clad Inonni race towards him. "There you are, Honored Mage," the agent said. "We thought the Portal was to form closer to our camp."

"As did I," Rellenu snapped. "Just between you and me, I find Kyllos to be a bit sloppy in his whole approach. It is little wonder his Portal drifted."

The agent could only bow his head and say nothing. It was not his place to pass judgment on his superiors.

"Nevertheless, I am here. Have you anything to report thus far?"

"We have only just set up our observation post. Spying on Mages of any caliber is always tricky work. They have set up many wards to guard against close approach."

"I will help you neutralize them without being discovered."

"If I may say so, I suspect your arrival may have already alerted them to your presence. Perhaps that is why Master Kyllos opened the Portal further away, as a means of--"

"The Portal would be detected regardless of whether it was opened here or leagues away! No, this was simply a lack of competence. I can assure you such things will not happen while I am here." Rellenu reached into his robe and extracted a blue pearl. "Nor do I intend to have my reports become lost or delayed going through Kyllos. This Farviewing pearl is tied to Holy Elder Iridus. Neither of us intend to waste our time waiting for Kyllos to act."

"With all due respect, Honored Mage," the agent began in a slow, polite voice, "Master Kyllos insisted we make our reports directly to him."

"Oh, we will! We will indeed! Kyllos will be given the first chance to react. But we will not suffer for his unwillingness to take the appropriate action."

"Is that not for Master Kyllos to--"

"Enough!" Rellenu thundered, thrusting the pearl back into his pocket. "I am most senior here, and thus I am in charge. Is that understood?"

The agent bowed his head. "Understood, Honored Mage."

"Now show me to your camp. We must begin at once."

"Of course. This way, please."

From where he lay huddled, the edge of the rocky ledge a little over a man's height above him, Jollis remained stone-still until he no longer heard the footfalls of the Mage. He let out a slow sigh and looked around. Nothing but thick forest further on, and one flank of the brief ridge was concealed by the thick trunk of a tree. Fallen branches covered the other approach. Only its distance from the camp, further than he would have preferred, prevented it from being the perfect base of operations. Yet it would have to do.

He detached a satchel from his waist and tucked it into the space between two large roots of the tree. It carried his rations of food and water, but only three days worth. He did not believe he would need all of it once the Oceanus Mages knew they were being watched.

He frowned. Holy Elder Iridus was foolish; he knew nothing about conducting such operations. Kyllos would have sent only one agent with the proper magic sensitive powers to take his own readings of the Portal, not this small army which could be too easily discovered.

Jollis looked up at the sky. He had a whole day to wait as he could not emerge until he had the cover of darkness. Then he would find where the Mage was located in the camp and discover the best and quickest way to kill him.

Jollis took a deep, quavering breath. He was grateful for the feeling of remorse his thoughts had engendered. He would never want to be so callous about human life that killing came easy. He did not want to throw away men's lives as willingly as the Holy Order.

Gold-crimson light bathed Katla's face, masking its paleness. Despite the coolness of the morning, perspiration tricked down her forehead. She forced herself to breathe at a normal rhythm despite her pounding heart.

She slowly manipulated a large crystal gripped in her raised hand very close to the side of the Portal device. Energy pulsed and throbbed in a manner no normal Portal should ever see. Her body buzzed with the thrum of the unbalanced energies flowing unimpeded through her bare feet.

She felt the vibrations become more erratic. She twisted the crystal in her hand to no apparent effect. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye, but whipped out her free hand and barked, "No!"

The Journeyman froze, reluctantly.

"This is a practice run," Katla said as she slowly turned the crystal the other way. The energies returned to the rhythm she wanted. "I have to do this myself. We're not in danger."

"Yet," the Journeyman muttered, just barely audible above the thrumming.

"I heard that." Katla turned her head slightly the other way. "I need a reading."

Another young Mage stepped forward, his eyes cast upon a small device like a miniature abacus, but with glowing gems instead of beads. "Energy is more steady now."

"But is it growing, Ganno? Is it exuding from the Portal into the continuum?"

Ganno consulted his device for another moment and shook his head. "Not yet."

Katla let out a slow sigh and steeled herself. She manipulated the crystal in her hands and brought it even closer to the device.

The Journeyman's eyes widened in alarm. "Be careful you do not breach--!"

"Shhh!"

A tense silence followed. Her breathing became labored despite her efforts, though her arm and hand remained rock-steady. Her feet ached from the intensity of the vibrations.

The gems on Ganno's device slowly slid along their strings and glowed brighter. "There! I can see it now."

"It's not stable," the Journeyman said.

"It need not be," Ganno fired back. "It needs only to maintain a margin of safety."

"Stop debating and pay attention to your duties!" Katla snapped. "Tell me when the energies are just short of breaching the continuum."

Ganno's gaze dropped to his device. "Almost there. Just a little further."

Katla continued to turn the crystal. The light from the Portal device flared, and flashes of blue-white appeared inside the gold and red.

"Energy blowback!" cried the Journeyman.

"I know what it is, thank you," Katla hissed through clenched teeth.

"Almost..." Ganno murmured. "Just a little more..."

Katla swallowed. Now her arm and fingers started to ache. She altered the angle of the crystal, but the blue-white flashes grew worse. The thrumming rose to an ominous pitch.

The Journeyman took a trembling step backwards. "Master Q'yoona, you must stop and--"

"There!" shouted Ganno, some of the gems of his device glowing brilliant red. "Right there! You're just short of a true breach! You--!"

"Blowback!"

Just as Katla wrenched the crystal away, an explosion of light burst from the Portal device. The ground came out from under Katla's feet, and she wheezed as if a giant hand had suddenly crushed the air from her lungs. She was still gasping for breath when she struck the ground, her fall partially cushioned by two more alert young Mages.

"Are you all right, Master Q'yoona?!" she heard an older voice cry, sounding as if spoken through gauze. Everything around her appeared surrounded by a thick haze. She blinked a few times and only then realized she was sitting on the ground. Her heart clenched, then relaxed when her vision had cleared and revealed that the Portal device was intact, three Mages taming its wild energies.

Katla looked towards the source of the voice and motioned to the others to help her up. "I'm fine, Master Q'kollan."

"No, you are not," said Q'kollan in a stern voice. "But I suppose I cannot say anything to convince you otherwise."

"It was a successful test."

"If you consider being blown backwards several man-heights a success."

"A success in that we achieved the proper energy levels to perform a breach of the continuum. With that we can channel the transdimensional energies to the other Overlord Portals."

"It's true, Master Q'kollan," said Ganno as he ran to them, holding up his device.

"How many times did the energy fork?" Katla demanded.

"Eight. That's the best we've ever achieved."

"We'll need ten. That's how many Portals we need to destroy. But we're almost there. We just need to boost the energy a little more. And I've proven one person can keep the Portal stable."

"A blowback like that is not what I would call stable," Q'kollan said.

Katla handed the control crystal to Ganno and rubbed her aching arms. "Nevertheless, we will figure out how to stabilize it further." She winced and rubbed her temples. "All we need is more time."

Q'kollan's face became somber. "That is something you unfortunately no longer have in abundance."

Katla tried to ignore her growing headache. "What are you talking about?"

"That is why I am here, since none of you are responding to Farview summons."

"Of course we're not responding! Not while we're trying to concentrate on ... wait..." Katla's eyes widened. "You opened a Portal here while we were trying to work? You realize how badly that could interact with--!"

"Easy, Mage Q'yoona! It was opened some distance from here. We are not stupid back at the Mage Guild, you know."

Katla sighed and closed her eyes, covering her head with her hands as the pain spread. "Sorry."

"Do you want something for that headache, Master Q'yoona?" asked one of the other Mages.

Katla shook her head. The headache was caused by the Portal energy which had surged through her body. Nothing would ease it except time and limited exposure to more Portal energy. She looked at Q'kollan. "So what was so important that you had to come here?"

"To warn you. You are being watched."

Katla stared. The other Mages stopped what they were doing and wandered over as well.

"I would suggest not congregating in one place, as it may hint that we know," Q'kollan said in an even voice, leveling his gaze at the others.

Reluctantly, the others drifted away. Katla remained and stepped closer. "What are you talking about?"

"The Guild Hall detected an Inonni Portal opening nearby."

Katla looked around, as if expecting to see hordes of Inonni warriors pouring into the camp.

"I doubt they intend to move against us right now," said Q'kollan. "Or they would have done so already."

"Then why haven't they?"

"Likely because they still don't know quite what we're doing. Surely you realized you could not keep this work secret forever?"

"Yes, I know. Why should they suspect anything? They only care about whether we learn their technology. What little of their knowledge we are applying here is not something they can easily detect."

"Unless they have a Mage with them."

Katla's eyes again darted towards the forest. "We can't stop now. Not when we're this close."

"I am not asking you to stop, nor is the Guildmaster."

Katla narrowed her eyes. "He better not."

Q'kollan smiled slightly. "He apparently is wise enough not to try."

Katla sighed. "All right. We're just going to have to work faster and harder."

"And if I may suggest, I would recommend keeping side chatter about the project to a minimum. Inonni agents have proven to be very resourceful in the past. They may try to get close enough to eavesdrop. We cannot afford even the smallest hint of what we are doing to--"

"Yes, I know, I know. Thank you for letting me know, and I'm sorry I was so short with you."

Q'kollan nodded. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I would not mind a few Mages skilled in concealment and stealth spells. And combat magic. Just in case."

"I will see what I can do," said Q'kollan in a grim voice.

Tarras lifted his hood and tugged the edges to conceal his face from the sides. Frenon loaded a fresh bolt into his crossbow and held the loaded weapon at waist height, his eyes surveying the edge of the forest along the side of the road. He lowered it when a merchant cart ambled by and gave the driver a wave and a respectful nod of his head. Tarras did the latter, but did not show his face. The merchant scrutinized them for a moment, then waved back.

"Lord Rennis should make haste," said Frenon when his voice could be heard over the wheels grinding against the dry earth.