Rangers magic 2, p.29
Ranger's Magic 2, page 29
And there was the strength in her; he saw that strength clearly as it flowed into her, new strength born of the lack of options. New strength that she had not known she was capable of.
Strength that allowed her to still hold on to a last bit of hope.
She was human, and not as resilient as elves or half-elves. Lana was also tired and had fought and been soaked and frozen in the icy water, but she was still bright-eyed and alert. Ralnor himself felt tired, but he knew he had great reserves of physical strength left if it were needed.
Sena had no elven blood, and Ralnor had to remember that.
“Very well,” Sena said, and even managed a small laugh. “We will carry on. We will swim this terrible underground river and look for the way out.”
“Lana?” Ralnor asked.
Lana nodded slowly. “I see no other option,” she said simply. “We must go on. Perhaps it is our fate to do so.”
They opened their packs and emptied out all the supplies they had. They’d set out with only a few provisions each, since they had not expected to be out for more than a few hours at most. Ralnor’s belly rumbled as he remembered the fires in the Dernwaith village, and the smell of stew rich with vegetables and mutton.
Then he banished that thought and focused on the task at hand.
They had little enough, but what they had they shared out equally among the three of them and ate it all, acknowledging silently as they did so that this might be their last meal together. Then they emptied their packs and belt pouches of everything they did not need.
To Ralnor’s surprise and delight, the map the stranger had given him was undamaged from its soaking in the river. He realized as he peered at it in the light of the fire that it was coated with some kind of pliable varnish that kept the water from the vellum. That was a remarkable technique, and he wished that he knew the secret of it. Any other map would have been irretrievably ruined by the soaking this map had taken.
After another look at the Red River and the Forbidden City, he tucked the map carefully back into his pack.
They took the long rope that Ralnor had around his belt and attached it loosely to each of their belts in a line; Ralnor first, Sena in the middle, and Lana at the back. This way, they would not lose each other even if something unexpected happened. They did not say it, but Ralnor and Lana were both preparing against the possibility that Sena, in her exhaustion, might lose consciousness on the way.
Eventually, they were as ready as they would ever be. They waited until the last embers of their little fire had burned out, and then they plunged back into the icy water.
They kept close to the wall, calling out to each other regularly as they went, and doing their best not to use too much energy in swimming. The water carried them along, and at regular intervals either Ralnor or Sena would send a flash of light up to illuminate their surroundings.
Nothing changed. The ceiling did not lower, the walls did not narrow, and the river did not change direction. They kept going, trying to keep their breathing steady, and calling out to each other regularly to keep their spirits up.
The cold seeped into Ralnor’s bones, and the endless hiss of the water around him seemed to slip into his mind and run along with his soul. Sena’s calls became weaker and weaker, and Lana got closer to her, supporting her with an arm so that they were eventually floating along together. Ralnor flashed flame out from his hand more and more often, looking for some change, clinging to the desperate hope that there would be some opening, some tunnel upward that they could perhaps try to escape through.
There was nothing.
He had no idea how long they had been going when they eventually got to the lake. Ralnor had lost all sense of time and of distance traveled in the endless dark, when suddenly he was aware of the enormous space around him. The sound of the river changed. He held up his right hand and flashed a bit of exhausted flame into the darkness. There was no sign of the walls or ceiling anymore.
He looked behind him, seeing the outlet from which they had just come - a great yawning gap through which water was still flowing. Above it, there was a vague suggestion of a high, soaring stone wall, but it vanished quickly in his feeble light.
“By the gods, Lana,” he croaked. “What is this?”
“We need to get to the edge, we need to find shore, or some way out,” she said. “Sena is almost finished. She can’t take much more of this.”
Ralnor looked at the two women in the light of his flame. Sena was slumped on Lana’s shoulder. Lana was holding her up with her left arm, her right arm moving in the water to keep them both afloat. Sena’s head was resting on Lana’s shoulder, her eyes closed, her mouth hanging loosely open.
Fear cut through Ralnor’s heart, and that fear gave him a sudden rush of strength. He looked about himself, then drew more spirit down to power his fire magic. With a sudden rush of magic, powered partly by his own fear and partly by his desperation, he sent a huge gout of flame blasting upward from his right hand.
“There!” Lana said, “Off to the right. I think I saw a bit of shore!”
They struck out in that direction, Ralnor stopping every now and then to send up more fire to light their way.
The blast of fire had revealed the scale of the space that they were in. It was an enormous still lake, held in a huge cave with a lofty roof that hid in shadows many feet above their heads. Ralnor came and put Sena’s arm over his shoulders, and between them Lana and Ralnor supported the fainted human on the long swim toward the edge.
And then, at last, as they approached the edge of the cave and the little bit of shore that was there, he saw something.
“Lana,” he gasped, his voice cracking with the effort of speaking. “Lana, look there, look. A light!”
“A light? What do you…Oh, oh I see it!” her voice rose with excitement and sudden hope.
Under the water, off to their left, there was a glimmer of blue light. It was unmistakable. It was the clear blue light of day.
“There must be an outlet,” Ralnor said. “Of course, there must be. This lake would fill right up if there was not. Perhaps there are several outlets from this lake, but that one there must be leading to the outside.”
“Oh, Ralnor,” Lana groaned. “I almost dare not hope…”
“Take this rope,” Ralnor ordered. “It’s tied round my waist. I’m going to dive down and have a closer look. There’s likely to be a powerful current pulling through the tunnel, and I don’t want to get sucked into it—I want to look and then come back. If you feel the rope go tight, pull me up with all your strength.”
“Very well,” Lana said.
New strength filled Ralnor’s body at this sign of hope. He took a deep breath and dived downward, his eyes open, looking for the light. And there it was. The outlet was about twelve feet under the surface of the lake, a big, rough hole in the wall of the cavern about six feet across. Ralnor pulled himself upright, his eyes open under the water. There was no doubt that the underwater tunnel led straight out to daylight, but the light was wavering. It was not clear how far they would have to travel through the tunnel to the light, but it surely could not be that far?
He turned and kicked for the surface.
When he reported what he’d seen to Lana, she looked grim. “It’s our only chance,” she said, “but I don’t think Sena can make the journey. She’s barely with us. Can she dive twelve feet and then hold her breath through an underwater tunnel for gods only know how long? Ral, she’ll die.”
“Give her this,” Ralnor said. He fumbled at his belt pouch under the water and came up with a little glowing blue bottle. “This is one of Akhen’s health potions,” he said. “The effect is pretty powerful, but it’s short-lived, and it leaves the user exhausted afterward.”
Sena woke a little and blinked at him when Ralnor waved the uncorked bottle under her nose. The rich smell of aniseed filled the air, and even just the scent of the potion gave Sena a lift.
“What’s that?” she said in a slur.
“A potion that will give you a short burst of strength,” Ralnor replied. “We have to dive and go through a tunnel, but on the other side is daylight. We will be able to get out of the dark if you can only get through the tunnel.”
“All right,” she said, pulling herself together with an immense show of strength. “Give me the potion.”
As she took it in her shaking hand, she saw the daylight under the water. Her eyes went wide, and Ralnor saw new strength come into her with the hope of escape. She lifted the bottle and drank the liquid inside.
Blue light crackled around her, and her skin glowed with blue. Her eyes widened, and a smile came onto her face. Ralnor remembered the reckless strength the potion had given him back in the tomb of the undead, and he also remembered how short-lived it had been. She had already been exhausted when she had taken the potion. How long would the effect last?
“We need to go now,” he said firmly. “Right now. Good luck, you two. Let’s go.”
Sena laughed exultantly, took a huge breath, and then dived. Lana met Ralnor’s eyes for a moment, and then they both dived down, following their companion.
They swam three abreast down to the entrance of the underwater tunnel. Sena glowed all over with blue light, the effect of the potion visible in her strong strokes as she pulled herself toward the tunnel. Ralnor and Lana stuck close to her, but she outpaced them.
Once they were on a level with the tunnel entrance, they all struck out toward it, but quickly Ralnor felt the pressure of the water flooding from the lake into the tunnel, and he let that pressure carry him along.
For a moment, he hung outside the tunnel, and then the pressure pulled him in. The three companions were dragged through the stone tunnel like leaves on a snowmelt current. The power of the water flowing through the tunnel was immense, and Ralnor saw the smooth walls of the tunnel rushing past him on either side. He banged against the wall of the tunnel at one point and felt a moment of gratitude that the walls were smooth. Through the rushing of the bubbles and the pounding of the blood in his ears, he kept aware of his two companions by his side, Sena still glowing blue from the potion, and Lana doing her best to keep from smacking into the tunnel walls.
They were carried along at an incredible speed, and the light was getting closer. Ralnor’s breath had been knocked out of him by the impact with the tunnel wall, and he felt blackness closing in on him despite his efforts to stay conscious. How long could this tunnel be? Surely, they would come out soon?
His mind drifted. He felt his body relaxing, saw flashes of bright light in the darkness. And then, a brighter light than all of them was all around him. He felt himself propelled like a cork from a bottle out into bright light, but he was still underwater.
Ralnor turned, unable to get his bearings. He saw his friends floating in the water nearby him and then, without knowing how it happened, he burst out through the surface of the water. Up above, the blue sky was flecked with clouds and the sun was shining down.
He coughed, turning over, his consciousness returning as he hauled in an enormous breath. In the water on either side of him, his companions were floating. They were both unconscious, and Lana floated face down in the water.
Ralnor kicked toward her and heaved her over so her face was upward, and then he looked around. He was on the surface of a river, and the bank was nearby. Trusting the rope to haul his companions along, he used the last of his strength to kick for the bank. A moment later, he had his hands on dry land. The shore came right down to the edge of the water here, and he hauled himself up onto the warm, sunlit grass. Then he turned and pulled on the rope, dragging his companions onto the grass as well.
He sat up, blinked around himself at the peaceful, green sward around him, and then toppled backward onto the grass, unconscious.
Chapter 19
When he woke, the first thing Ralnor was aware of was the warm weight on his chest. He breathed deep, feeling warm and comfortable. For a moment, he just lay there. He had no memory of everything he’d just been through; nothing clouded the perfect peace and comfort of the moment.
Then, with a lurch, it all came back to him. He sat up.
His light leather Ranger armor was wet, and his underclothes were still soaked, but his head felt clear, and his body felt good. The incongruity of it baffled him for a moment, but then the explanation struck him as he noticed again the warm, solid weight at his chest.
The Amulet of Shem. It had been recharged in the encounter with the stranger, and now, as he’d lain unconscious on the grass, it had healed him of all his hurts.
He stood, pulling the amulet off his neck and moving to where Sena and Lana lay side-by-side on the grass. Lana was asleep, her mouth open, but there was color in her cheeks, and she did not look unwell.
Sena, on the other hand, looked close to death. Her skin was as white as parchment, and it had a gray, undernourished look. Her lips were tinged with blue, and her eyelids were half-closed, showing a white slip of ball underneath. She was breathing shallowly, and her pulse, when Ralnor placed a hand on her neck, was thready and faint.
Ralnor glanced at the sun. I can’t have been unconscious for more than a few minutes, he thought. Just long enough for the amulet to do its work. That’s just as well. If I’d fallen asleep for longer, Sena might have been dead by the time I woke up.
He lifted Sena’s head and placed the amulet’s chain over her. As he raised her head, he slipped the amulet itself down the front of her light leather armor to contact her skin.
Her eyes flickered, and she coughed. “Oh, Ralnor,” she moaned in a voice so faint it was almost a whisper. “I don’t feel good. Did we make it out?”
“Sit up,” he said. “I need you to sit up, Sena. I’m putting the Amulet of Shem on you. Can you feel it?”
She lifted a hand to her chest and then nodded. “I feel it,” she said. “It’s working on me, but I…ugh…”
Suddenly, her head snapped back, and her eyes rolled up. She stopped speaking, and her head began to jerk from side to side. Her arms flailed and her legs kicked.
“What’s wrong with her?” Lana croaked as she woke up and looked at them. “What’s happening?”
“She’s having some kind of fit,” Ralnor said. “I put the amulet on her, but I don’t know if she can access it…”
At that moment, however, he felt the power of the amulet taking effect. The blue light of the healing power shone brightly out from the gaps in Sena’s armor, and the light gleamed over her skin, rippling across it like sunlight through trees skipping over water.
She gave one last great jerk and then lay still, her breathing deepening. The blue light retreated from her skin, leaving in its wake a much better color. Her skin looked ruddy and healthy now, and Ralnor carefully laid her down.
“Now you,” he said, pulling the amulet off Sena’s neck and handing it to Lana. “There must be enough charge left in it for you, I think.”
Lana did not object. She took the glowing amulet from his hand and slipped its chain over her own neck. The magical item glowed brightly, and Ralnor heard Lana gasp as the powerful effect washed over her. Then the magic had passed, and she was taking the now-darkened amulet off and handing it back to Ralnor.
“You should keep hold of it,” she said.
“How do you feel?” he asked, putting the darkened amulet back around his neck. The weight and warmth had left it now. The charge had been used up.
“Better,” Lana replied. “Much better, in fact. I feel like I’ve had a long sleep. But I’m hungry!”
She stood, a little shakily, then more confidently once she realized that her body was back to full strength. She looked around, and then Ralnor saw her eyes go wide with shock and amazement.
“What is it?” he said, looking at her. He laid Sena gently on the ground to sleep, and then stood beside Lana and turned to look where she was looking.
There, not ten miles off, was the Forbidden City.
There was no mistaking it. The enormous city that had once been called Highbough sat at the end of a gray mountain range that stretched away on their right, to the east. The city itself was a single monstrously large tree. Ralnor had never imagined a tree so vast. It was the size of a small mountain.
From the base, where the buttress roots stretched like hills out into the plain, to the dark pinnacle at the top, the whole tree-city was made in proportions that were hard to accept as real. If a mountain had been made of wood, this was the way it would look.
The vast bulk of the tree-city crouched over the plain like a monstrous toad ready to spring. Shadow cloaked it like a cloud from the highest pinnacle to the farthest flung root-tip. Countless blank windows stared out like dead eyes from the hoary surface of the mountainous tree’s surface, where the elves of the olden days had burrowed through the mighty tree’s body to make their ancient city.
Back then, it might have been beautiful. Perhaps green leaves had carpeted it in springtime, making a mesmerizing display. Perhaps a million birds had nested in its branches in springtime, and the fall turned it into a riot of gold and crimson to celebrate the end of the year.
No more. Now the city was dead, the wood black, the windows bare, and the shadow of fear hung visible, a black pall laid over every inch of its corpse.
And on the highest pinnacle of the enormous tree-mountain there stood a castle of black stone with a single high, pointed tower. In the tower there was a window, and in the window, a single, menacing blue light burned like an eye.
Ralnor remembered with a start the sensation from his vision; the feeling that the presence in the tower was patting the ground, searching for him, feeling for his presence. But there was no such feeling now. The single, unnatural blue light burned from the high tower, but all else was still.
Ralnor turned a slow circle, looking around at his surroundings properly for the first time since he’d arrived here. Around them was a grassy plain dotted with clumps of trees. The river, wide and deep and slow, ran past them to the west, on their left. Behind them, southward and back upriver, perhaps five miles off, the land rose in a single sharp cliff that ran in an unbroken line from west to east.
