Back at the inn they find James asleep in the bathtub. A single candle is all but burnt down to nothing on a nearby table. “Go ahead and get some sleep,” Jiron tells Jared. “I’ll take care of this.”
Grinning, Jared nods his head and backs out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Coming over to James, he can’t help but allow a chuckle to escape. At first he was going to startle him awake but changed his mind at the last moment. He places his hand upon James’ shoulder and gives it a gentle shake. “Wake up,” he says softly.
Startled out of sleep, James sits up abruptly in the tub, splashing some of the now cold water onto the floor. Looking behind him he sees Jiron standing there. “You’re back!” he exclaims.
“Here,” Jiron says as he hands him the towel that was sitting next to the tub.
“Thanks.” Taking the towel, he gets out of the tub and proceeds to dry himself off. “So what did you find out?”
“The mines are a couple hours from town,” Jiron explains. “It’s situated at the end of a box canyon.”
“A canyon?” he asks.
“Yeah. A wooden fence, similar to the one back on the island where we rescued Miko and Nate, blocks the entrance. There’s but a single gate and guards patrol the top.”
Nodding, James continues getting ready for bed. “Did you get a look inside?”
“No,” he replies shaking his head. “No chance for that. We waited and watched for awhile but nothing happened, then we came back.”
Finished getting ready for bed, he lies back on top of the covers and mulls over what Jiron just told him. “Tomorrow afternoon I’d like to go up there and have a look around if you think we can avoid being noticed?” he finally asks.
“The road winds through some barren hills before it reaches the box canyon,” Jiron explains. “Not much in the way of concealing cover but we’ll see what we can do.” Going over to the burning candle he snuffs it out and then crawls into his own bed. He plans on getting a good night’s sleep this night. After tomorrow things are likely to be a little lively.
Back in his tower, Kerith-Ayxt stares out at the moon rising in the distance. Exhausted from the two days of preparation, he pauses here by the window for a few minutes as he looks out over the Great Hall.
All the safeguards have been set and the way is prepared. The only thing left is the actual summoning of Aekion. When he told the Assembly of Masters his plan to summon Aekion, few knew what he was talking about. But those who did spoke out against it for they understood the risks involved with such a hazardous undertaking.
He allowed them to speak their minds then said they were to undertake this for the good of the Empire. At that they grew silent, none would speak against an action the High Lord Magus pronounced as good for the Empire. Things often happened to those who did.
During the sealing of the Great Hall, fifty slaves were drained of their life force to power the holding spells needed to contain Aekion. Once he is summoned, those holding spells will be all that will contain him until the spells of binding are put into effect.
Another hundred slaves were used in preparing the way for Aekion to pass from his plane to here. With but two of the three stages accomplished, they have less than half of their slaves remaining. He had no idea when he started that he would already have used so many already. With the most dangerous and magic consuming part before him, he prays he has enough. But once started, you can’t simply stop something like this.
Moving his gaze from the Great Hall, he looks out to the north where the army that took Korazan lies. Slowly but surely it’s moving inexorably toward Madoc. His mages have kept a constant eye on its progress and have reported that as they reach each town along the road, they free the town’s slaves and kill the slavers. At first they thought that odd until realization set in that they were arming them with arms taken from dead Empire soldiers they defeat in battle. Now they have twice the numbers they had when they left Korazan, although most are ill equipped and lack adequate training.
Armies are currently on the move from the south to deal with them, but whether they will arrive in time to prevent them from reaching Madoc is anyone’s guess. The best guess is, maybe. Not only that, but as they move they destroy every bridge they come to, no matter how small.
Still further to the north, Lord Pytherian with the help of the Alliance is beginning to push their remaining forces back toward the Empire. Some reports even state that Cardri forces have been sighted among the Alliance, though those reports have yet to be substantiated. Even if they were, the Empire is no longer in a position to do anything about it.
A month ago the Empire stood on the verge of taking the rest of Madoc. Now it’s in retreat back to its border. The army at Lythylla which had contained the bulk of its northern strength has been all but destroyed, an army roams at will in its northern provinces, and a mage is loose that no one seems to be able to find.
Sighing, he turns from the window and crosses the room to his bed. Tomorrow night at midnight they will summon forth Aekion and he will require all his strength for the ordeal. Lying down, the last thing that crosses his mind is the question of where the mage is and what he’s up to.
Sleeping in late, James and the others don’t leave the inn until well past noon. As they make their way through the inn, James puts on a grim expression like he’s mulling over some unpleasant thought. One worker doesn’t see them coming until they’re almost upon him. When he turns and realizes how close he is to ‘his lordship’, his face turns pale and makes a hasty withdrawal out of their way.
Leaving the inn, Jiron leads them through town toward the road that leads up into the mountains and to the mine. Word must have spread about his being in town for as they make their way through town, those who take notice of their party quickly put distance between them.
Before they turn onto the road that leads up to the mine, Jiron notices from the corner of his eye an officious looking man exit a building on the far side of the street. When the man moves to cross to their side and looks to be heading directly for them, Jiron quickly turns into an alley between two buildings.
“What are we doing in here?” Jared asks.
Jiron gestures with his head to the man coming up behind them. Stopping, they turn to face him.
As the man nears, Jared moves in front of the others and waits for the man to speak first.
Ignoring Jared, the man looks directly at James and says a brief sentence. From the tone of his voice it sounded like a question.
Jared attempts to respond but the man barks a command and holds up his hand. Face growing grim, he glances to Jiron and raises his left hand to scratch behind his ear.
Seeing the signal, Jiron lashes out with his fist and connects with the side of the man’s head knocking him unconscious. As the man begins to fall, Jiron grabs him and quickly pulls him to the side of the alley.
James scans the alley for anyone who may have witnessed it and finds the alley empty. He then looks to Jared for an explanation.
Taking his eyes from the unconscious man on the ground, he looks at James and says, “He asked what business you had here in Ki and why he wasn’t told of your coming. When I tried to respond, he stopped me. He wanted to hear it from you.”
“You did the right thing,” states Jiron. “Now, what are we to do with him?” He glances to James and asks, “Kill him?”
“Must we?” responds James. “After tonight they’ll know where I am anyway.”
“If he’s discovered it’s what he may do before tonight that I’m worried about,” argues Jiron.
“He’s right,” adds Jared. “He’s the enemy and I think is of some importance.”
Jiron begins going through his pockets and pulls out a rolled letter secured with a piece of string. Removing the string he opens it up and after a brief glance hands it to James.
James takes the letter. Unable to decipher the writing, he scans to the bottom and to the symbol inscribed there, three dots forming a pyramid with lines running between them yet not touching them.
Sighing, he hands the letter to Jared and asks, “Can you read this?”
Taking the letter, Jared looks at it and shakes his head. “No, I can only speak the language,” he replies. Then his eyes widen when he see the symbol at the bottom. Looking up at James he says, “This…”
“Is the symbol of the warrior priest,” he finishes. Pointing to the man on the ground he adds, “Whoever that is either is one, or works for one.”
“Most likely an agent,” guesses Jiron. “Never would have taken an actual warrior priest out so easily.” Pulling a knife, he looks to James. He can see the warring emotions play across his face at the thought of killing the defenseless man.
James turns his back on Jiron and begins walking down the alley away from them. He takes four steps before hearing the man grunt as Jiron’s knife sinks into his chest, puncturing his heart.
Jared helps Jiron to hide the body in a trash heap further into the alley. With any luck the body won’t be discovered until they have done what they came here for and are long gone. When they are satisfied it’s hidden as well as they can make it, they hurry to catch up with James.
As they reach him, Jiron pats him on the shoulder. He knows how hard it is for him when something like that has to happen, even though he understands the necessity. “Let’s get to the mine and have a look around,” he says. James gives him a nod and then they reach the end of the alleyway. Turning onto the street, they walk a short distance before reaching the road that will take them up into the mountains.
The road is deserted. Just as Jiron had said, there isn’t much more than scrub brush and small trees, nothing in which to conceal themselves should someone approach.
“It’s only about two miles or so,” Jared tells him. They follow the road as it winds its way through the hills until the wall of the mine complex comes into view.
On either side of the mine, the mountains rise sheer and tall. Unlikely that anyone, especially James, would be able to scale them to enter. Off to one side lies a pile of stone from where the mountain had given away at some point in the past. James points over to it and says, “Those rocks would give us some cover while we’re here.” Moving over to them, they settle in behind.
While Jiron keeps an eye on the gate leading into the compound, James pulls out his mirror and brings the view of the other side of the wall into focus. Guards patrol the wall as well as the inner compound. Slaves move to and fro as they go about their duties. Many buildings, similar to those found in the complex where they rescued Miko are positioned off to one side.
At the base of the mountain at the end of the box canyon lays the mine entrance. A hundred feet wide, there are two sets of ore cart tracks upon which mule drawn ore carts are brought out of the mine. From the looks of it, one is for ore carts coming out and the other is for them to return.
The contents of one ore cart are currently being transferred by slaves into a waiting wagon. Several other empty wagons wait in line for their turn. While the ore cart is being unloaded, the mules are unhitched and then rehitched to the other side. Once the cart is empty, a switch is thrown and the tracks shift allowing the mules to pull the cart to the other track, the one upon which the carts return to the mine. Once past, the switch is thrown again and the next cart waiting in line is pulled forward.
James works the image to move into the mine but is unable to see clearly due to the lack of sufficient light. Having seen all he needs to, he puts away his mirror.
“So,” begins Jiron, “will we need to get in there?”
Shaking his head, James replies, “I don’t think so. Give me a minute while I check out something.” Jiron nods his head as James’ eyes close.
“What’s he doing now?” Jared whispers to Jiron.
“I don’t know,” he replies. “Maybe taking a look inside the mine.”
Just then the gate begins to swing open and four ore filled wagons roll through. When the last wagon passes through the gate, it again swings shut. Each wagon has a driver and a guard, neither look to be too worried about attack. By the time the wagons have rolled out of sight down the road, James comes back to them.
“There are fissures all in that mountain,” he tells them. “We’ll come back tonight and collapse the mine.”
“Why not do it now?” Jared asks.
Before James has a chance to answer, Jiron says, “Because the mine is full of slaves and they would all be killed. At night they are taken out, makes them last longer.”
“Right,” agrees James.
Moving quickly they return to the road and in no time are on the outskirts of Ki. Wary at first in case the dead man has been discovered, they approach the town slowly. But when they see the people moving about in a normal manner, they relax. Going directly to the inn, they are soon back in their rooms.
“We’ll leave shortly before midnight,” James tells them. “Get what rest you can for it may be the last for awhile.” They have a quick lunch before they turn in for a nap. James sits on the side of his bed as he gazes down at the sack of crystals he brought. Within are several more of the power crystals as well as others that have a more specific purpose. He wonders if the power stored within will be enough to enable him to maintain the spell that prevents anyone from finding him magically. When the mine goes, they’ll know precisely where he is and all their power will come to bear until they find him.
Dong…Dong…Dong…
The tolling of the bell announces it’s time for the Assembly of Masters to gather in the Great Hall. Kerith-Ayxt sits at the table in the secret room going over for the last time the spells needed to bind Aekion to his will. A day’s rest has restored much of his strength, he will need it for what is to come.
When the bell tolls for the last time he closes the book and comes to his feet. As he leaves the secret room he says the word of power and the wall once again seals shut. He dons his ceremonial robe and then leaves his room.
Aezyl, Mage of the Third Circle, awaits him outside and walks with him as he takes the stairs down to the bottom. “Everything is ready milord,” he says.
“Excellent Aezyl,” he replies. In the courtyard outside the Tower of the Magi, all those not included within the Assembly of Masters have gathered, even the novices who have yet to achieve the rank of the First Circle.
As he exits the tower the assembled mages part for him, creating a way to the Great Hall. A hushed murmur runs through them as he makes his way through their ranks, for though they may not know exactly what will happen, they know it’s something monumental.
Upon reaching the Great Hall he begins to climb the fourteen steps to the ornate double doors at the top. Upon reaching the tenth step, two Mages of the Second Circle who are standing before the doors open them for the Lord High Magus. Once he and Aezyl pass through the doors, the Seconds close them with a resounding thud.
All the mages gathered within the Great Hall are dressed in ceremonial robes similar to his. Light from hundreds of candles illuminates the Great Hall. In the center of the rotunda lies the Great Seal of Power, upon which a pentagram glows darkly with power.
Moving to his place at the apex of the pentagram, Kerith-Ayxt readies himself. Coming to a stop, he faces the assembled mages and says, “Let us begin.”
Before they set out for the mine, James takes out his map of targets within the Empire that Lord Pytherian had supplied him with. Laying it out upon the table he indicates a town to the southwest. “Here is our next target. This town is used as a supply depot for the army,” he explains. “Food, goods and weapons are brought here from all over before being sent to the armies at the front. If we can take out the storehouses and goods, it could take them some time before supplies can be sent to the front.”
“Those will definitely be guarded,” Jared states.
“I realize that,” he says. “We’ll deal with that when we get there.” He then moves his finger along the road leaving that town to the west. “From there we high tail it west and cross the river here at Inziala.” He stops his finger over the river town. “Once across the river we work our way north until we rejoin Illan and the others.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Jiron says. Jared gives him an odd look and he only grins in reply.
“Now, let’s go down to the stable and get going,” he says. “Bring everything. I seriously doubt if we will be coming back here.”
“You got that right,” agrees Jiron.
Leaving their room, they make it down to the stables. Outside is quite dark, the sun has been down for several hours now. Despite their attempt at being quiet, the stableboy wakes up and comes to help them in getting their horses ready for travel. When all is ready, James flips the boy another copper before they mount.
They leave the inn’s courtyard and make their way through town to the road leading up to the mine. The streets are dark with only the moon overhead lighting their way. Once on the road leading to the mine, they waste no time in hurrying along.
A cool wind blowing off the mountain feels good after the heat of the day. The sound of their horses’ hooves reverberates in the quiet as they proceed further up the mountain.
It doesn’t seem all that long before the wall enclosing the mine complex appears before them. Torches are spaced at twenty foot intervals along the top of the wall and several guards are visible in the light.
“That’s dumb,” comments Jiron.
“What?” James asks.
“With those torches up there they won’t be able to see much of what’s on the outside,” he explains. “Will ruin their night vision.”
“I doubt if their greatest concern is what’s on the outside,” James replies.
Jiron nods in agreement.
They pull off the road a ways and leave Jared with the horses while Jiron and James work their way closer to the wall. In the darkness they are able to come fairly close without fear of the guards seeing them.
“I think this will be close enough,” James says as he comes to a stop. The place he stops is a dozen or so yards from the wall and twice that from the gate. He settles down on the ground and Jiron comes to stand next to him.
At his belt is the pouch containing power crystals, similar to the ones he used when the enemy tried to locate him. He takes a few deep breaths to settle his nerves and then glances up to Jiron standing next to him. “Get me out of here if things go bad,” he says.
Jiron grins. He knows what he means by bad. “Don’t worry, I will,” he assures him. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s had to carry an unconscious James to safety after he expended himself doing magic. Fortunately though, those times are becoming fewer and fewer.
Closing his eyes, James brings forth the magic and sends his senses into the mine. The mine is on a single level that extends deep within the mountain. A moment’s hesitation comes when he finds slaves still within the mine, but not nearly the number that would be there during the day.
Jiron hears him sigh and asks, “What’s wrong?”
“There are still slaves within the mine,” he tells him.
“A lot?” he asks.
“No, just about a dozen or so,” he replies.
“That going to be a problem?” he asks, afraid of the answer.
James shakes his head and then returns to what he came for. He takes his time in examining the stone encompassing the mine. What he’s looking for are points where he can take advantage of unstable sections of rocks to collapse the mine.
As he searches, his mind keeps returning to the slaves still within the mine. It doesn’t look as if they are doing anything, might be sleeping. From what Miko had told him of his time as a mine slave, these slaves may be undergoing punishment for one thing or another and that’s why they are still in there.
Then an idea comes to him. Searching for just the right spot, he begins weakening support beams and widening cracks in an area further into the mine than where the slaves are. If he creates a cave-in, they may just run out.
After a few minutes, he can feel the rock above the tunnel shift and begin to rumble. Then suddenly, rock begins falling as the ceiling caves in. Moving his senses to the slaves, he’s relived to discover they are now further toward the entrance.
When Jiron initially had returned and described the box canyon, he thought about bringing the side of the mountain down to block the mine. But then when he came and saw the complex in his mirror, he realized that if he did it would bury the entire place and kill everyone. Sometimes he wishes he was a bit less concerned with the welfare of others, sure would make life easier. But he is, so now he’s trying to bring it down from the inside.
They begin to hear noise coming from the other side of the wall as the cave-in is reported. He realizes he has to work fast before more slaves and workers are sent in to clear it. Again sending his senses deep within the mountain, he works on reducing the strength of the stone.
Crews begin rushing into the mountain to begin clearing the cave-in as more tremors shake the mountain. James begins to sense sections of the mine beginning to collapse as the mountain gives out with a groan. The men who had so recently entered the mine to shore it up are now running back out.
Then what he had tried to avoid happens. A massive rumble courses through the earth as the side of the mountain gives way. With a roar like a thousand giants going into battle, rocks and trees begin to slide down the side.
Recognizing the sound from the last time James had brought the mountain down on the trail back from Saragon, he grabs him by the shoulder and jerks him to his feet. “Come on!” he yells. Propelling him before him, he gets him moving quickly back to where Jared waits with the horses.
“What’s going on?” Jared yells when he sees them running toward him.
“Avalanche!” James hollers over the roar. “We got to get out of here.”
Mounting quickly, they turn their horses toward the road leading down the mountain and ride like their lives depend on it.
From behind them, a belch of dust envelopes them and blinds them to the road. Coughing from the dust clouding the air, they continue racing blind down the road. A sudden flare of light and James’ orb appears overhead to help them keep to the road.
When the roar of the mountain falling behind them finally grinds to a halt, they slow only slightly to prevent an accidental misstep by their horses. “Go!” James yells when Jared begins slowing down even further. “We’ve got to get out of here, they know where I am and will be coming.”
Jared nods and then picks up speed again. The dust cloud diminishes the further away from the mine they go.
Lights appear out of the darkness ahead as citizens of Ki come to investigate what happened. Hundreds of people are hurrying up the road, those on horseback leaving those on foot behind in their haste to reach the mine. James cancels his orb and plunges them back into darkness.
“Don’t stop for anything,” Jiron yells to the others as the riders come near. The lead rider slows down at their approach and starts speaking to them as they fly by. The man yells something but then is left behind. Moving to the edge of the road, Jiron takes the lead as they race past worried and fearful townsfolk.
As James rides past, he can’t help but see the worry and fear on the faces of many women. He knows they aren’t likely to find their men alive when they get there. Sadness comes over him a moment then he swallows it down and tries to concentrate solely on keeping his horse behind Jiron and not on what he just did to these people. Riding fast in the night, they soon leave Ki behind as they race westward.
Sweat streaming down his face, Kerith-Ayxt faces Aekion where he’s bound within the pentagram. Twice the height of a man, Aekion towers over the High Mage. Wreathed in flame, the heat coming from him is almost to the point of being unbearable. He can feel Aekion working against the spells holding him.
Tendrils of power come to him from the other mages within the Great Hall. Several have already fainted away from the exertion despite the power being taken from the slaves. They started with a hundred and twenty two slaves, now only forty four remain with a couple dropping every minute. And the spells that are to bind Aekion to hunt for the mage have yet to be completed.
Aekion’s form shifts as he stands within the pentagram. First the shape of a man aflame, then that of a wildfire and then something even more bizarre. But Aekion always returns to the humanoid form.
Kerith-Ayxt wrestles to place spell after spell upon the creature before him. Another mage sags to the floor, and then another. This is taking more than I thought. The errant thought comes to him, disrupting his concentration for a split second before he banishes it. Concentrating on the task at hand, he steadily works to bind the creature.
When all but the final spell has been laid upon the creature, the power coming to him begins to diminish. Casting a glance toward where the slaves are being held, he finds there are no longer any left to supply power. Panic begins to ensue as he realizes he’s not going to have the power to finish what he began.
Out of desperation, he yells to the mage who had been draining the slaves, “The Novices!”
Nodding understanding, the mage rushes from the Great Hall and shortly afterwards, the flow of power is restored.
Returning to the flaming creature before him, The High Magus completes the task at hand and lays the final spell of binding upon the creature. When at last it is complete, the glow of the pentagram fades and Aekion stands free before him. If any of the spells he laid this night was not done with perfection, the creature will kill him.
What would you have of me, master?
“A mage walks the Empire,” he tells it. Between them a shimmering image begins to form and then solidifies into an exact replication of the rogue mage. “Find this man and kill him.”
Yes master.
The flames wreathing his body suddenly flare to twice their brilliance and then Aekion is gone. Thus begins the hunt.