“Not a thing,” I denied easily. “I stayed at home and kept Xiaolang from overdoing it. He’s really not a good patient.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Chatta…” I hesitated, trying to phrase this right. “Are the rumors about us really that bad?”
She patted my arm and smiled at me reassuringly. “Don’t worry about it, Garth.”
Somehow, that didn’t answer my question.
~*~
After some discussion, Xiaolang chose to take the earth path as far as the border of Chahir, and then surface and travel on horseback the rest of the way. There were a few reasons for this decision. One was that I wanted to drop by the area of the attack and check to see if there was anything more that I could do to help find clues of what had really happened there. Another was that I wasn’t really that comfortable with Chahir yet. I hadn’t traveled it like I had Hain. And there were a
lot
more ley lines in Chahir to trip over. I brought us up on the site where everyone was attacked. As I rose through the strata, I was startled to realize that things had
definitely
changed since I had been here last.
The land was recovering.
Even normal eyesight could confirm that for me. I looked around, seeing that the earth was a normal brown color again, and the plants were beginning to both revive and sprout as they should. The ley line nearby was no longer struggling to just exist, but was nearly back at half-strength. As I closed my eyes and focused on it, I realized that I could actually sense it improving, healing, bit by bit.
“Wow, Garth, what you did was pretty effective!” Shad complimented me with a nod toward our surroundings. “You did better than you thought.”
I immediately shook my head. “Nothing I did could bring about results like this. A Gardener has been here,” I stated with certainty.
“Well, that’s a relief,” Hazard observed, looking at the area through narrowed eyes. “At least we know the damage can be reversed and repaired. We also know the Gardeners are pretty quick to detect areas that get damaged like this. It’s reassuring; if we miss something, they won’t! I still hope you can think of a way to block anyone from tapping into a ley line again, though.”
I wasn’t at all sure that was possible, but I was definitely thinking of different ways to protect the ley lines. “I think a sure way of doing that would be to consult with the Gardeners. If anyone would know how to protect and defend them, they would.”
“I wish we knew how to contact them,” Eagle sighed.
The whole group nodded in agreement.
“Well, apparently we can’t do anything here,” Xiaolang observed after a moment. “Let’s move on.”
~*~
We didn’t take nearly the precautions that we normally did to be circumspect. As Xiaolang had pointed out to me yesterday, there was no need. Our mission in Chahir was like a badly kept secret. Practically everyone had heard about us at this point. Some of the rumors were outlandish, (more outlandish than the ones in Del’Hain, according to Val Haben’s report, and that takes some doing) and some were very close to the truth. It was the latter category that I worried about. I can’t begin to describe how strange it was, riding through Chahir, knowing that a good majority of the population knew that I was a magician. I felt about as comfortable as a canary, in a room full of hungry cats, with the door to my cage wide open.
After Saroya had spent several weeks tracking us down the first time, a new way of getting in contact was established through mirror broach. We carried it strictly for emergency situations and nothing more. I prudently made Chatta carry it, as she’s the least likely person to accidentally break it. She wore it openly on her right jacket lapel, which initially worried Xiaolang until she wryly pointed out that only another magician would be able to detect it as anything more than a piece of jewelry.
We were barely still inside Choi Providence’s borders when the mirror started alive with Raile’s voice. “
Garth? Chatta? Anyone there?”
Chatta quickly tilted the mirror up toward her face. “Raile?”
“
Chatta,
” he breathed, tone clearly relieved. “
Excellent. Is Garth with you?”
I nudged Night around so that his flank pressed against Chatta’s mare. “I’m right here, Raile.”
“
Garth, something is very wrong. Don has seen several fights break out in Chahir between the Star Order Priests and Chahiran soldiers in the past two days. What is going on over there?”
It didn’t take my any time to put the pieces together. The Star Order had managed to wait a whole week before retaliating against Vonlorisen’s actions. Honestly, I was surprised they had waited that long. I suppressed the urge to swear or find a nice, sturdy tree trunk to beat my head against. “Raile, are you aware that Vonlorisen has disbanded the Star Order?”
There was a moment of strained silence before Raile choked out, “
W-what?!”
This time, I did swear under my breath. With all of the communication about magic that Hain and Coven Ordan exchanged, why didn’t current events get passed along too? “I was there in the court when he announced it. I rather wish he had waited a few more days. I didn’t think he should actually act until you came up with an answer on how to subdue a Priest’s power.”
“
He shouldn’t have,”
Raile growled, mostly in exasperation.
“I still don’t have a good answer to that question. Don, Griff and I have been researching extensively but we do not know where the Order is drawing most of its power from. If we could find that main power source, we could halt them in their tracks.”
That…was not the answer I wanted to hear. “For now, I think I’d better head over to Vonlorisen.”
“
When you have a better grasp of the situation, contact me immediately. We might be able to send over some help. Several of our younger magicians have volunteered to go.”
“That’s good to know, Raile. I will update you as soon as I can.” I turned to Xiaolang as the link on the mirror faded. He caught my eyes, saw the question in them, and waved a hand. “Go.”
“I don’t want to leave you here, unprotected,” I protested.
“Then we’ll go with you to the capitol, but not further. Vonlorisen trusts you, not us, and you are the one he designated as his advisor.”
Xiaolang certainly had a respect for authority and the chain of command that goes with it. I could respect the order and the reason behind it. Vonlorisen would not take it well if a foreign mercenary captain tried to advise him. It’s best if I go alone. Actually, on second thought…
“Shad needs to go in with me. He had valuable input on the last conversation, and I think Vonlorisen respects his opinion. Besides, he’s the only real expert we have on fighting Star Order Priests.”
Xiaolang cast a quick, questioning glance at Shad. The other captain gave him a casual shrug and cocky smile in response.
“Very well,” Xiaolang accepted. “Let’s go to Alvacon, then.”
“Earth path?” I asked, almost redundantly, as I half-knew the answer.
“If you would.”
~*~
I brought us up in the middle of the Hainian Embassy’s main courtyard. There are few places in Alvacon that is safe for me to use, and at least here, I wouldn’t have to worry about rogue Star Order Priests. The Star Order had a difficult enough situation dealing with Chahir—they wouldn’t dare start a double-sided war by attacking Hain as well.
Only Shad and I left the embassy and braved the city streets. The Star Order’s headquarters is not more than a stone’s throw from the palace here in Alvacon—that fact made me distinctly nervous. I kept my guard up as we rode at a quick walk toward the center of the city.
I wasn’t the only one on alert, either. The city bulged at the seams with military and Protectors. For the first time in living memory, the inner city wall—what was originally the protecting wall around Alvacon before the city outgrew it and another wall built—had its gate closed and pedestrians went through a security check to reach the inner core of the capitol. I had not anticipated this, although I should have. Would they let me through?
Shad leaned sideways in his saddle with a creak of leather, coming close enough to have a low conversation. “Can we get through there?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I suppose we could bypass the wall entirely and go directly to Vonlorisen, wherever he is, by earth path.”
“No,” Shad disagreed with a thoughtful study of the gate. “Let’s try this first. Vonlorisen called you his magical advisor—let’s see how seriously he meant that.”
How seriously
did
he mean that? I turned to look at the gate with a different perspective. If Vonlorisen truly meant it, surely he would have advised everyone that I was to be let through to him at all times.
If
he meant it…I did not know the man well enough to make assumptions about him. I thought he did trust me that much but I wasn’t above putting it to the test.
So Shad and Night and I rode directly to the inner gate and joined the short line waiting to be cleared. All in all, the whole procedure was remarkably efficient. They reached us within minutes and not one Protector looked bored. Out of the group of dark green Protector uniforms, one man in military black stood out and it was obvious from the way he acted that he was the one who actually ran this check point. I kept a weather eye on him, not sure what this mixture of police and military personnel meant.
A Protector in his late twenties looked up, a clipboard in one hand. “And you are, sir?”
“Magus Rhebengarthen. My companion is Captain Riicshaden.”
Every person within earshot froze. The Protector with the clipboard was in danger of losing his teeth, his jaw was dangling so badly.
While this extreme reaction
was
rather entertaining, I didn’t have half the afternoon for them to gather their scattered wits together. Hoping to prod their minds back into motion, I added, “I need to speak with Vonlorisen, urgently.”
The military officer walked to us, giving a polite half-bow. “My Lord Magus, I have been directed to escort you directly to the King. Please follow me.”
Oh-ho! So Vonlorisen had indeed meant it. The tension around my chest eased with this revelation. “Thank you, we will.”
The officer took barely a few seconds to unhitch a nearby horse and swing up into the saddle. Shad and I fell into step directly behind him.
I had never in my life gone to the palace in such a quick or direct manner. Even the time I’d snuck in to retrieve Nolan, Saroya had taken us through an indirect connection of hallways to avoid the regular evening traffic. We gathered many a strange look, leaving dozens of people in our wake that whispered behind their hands, but no one tried to stop us.
Within an astoundingly short amount of time, we arrived at Vonlorisen’s private study. Our escort gave a single rap against the door before opening it. “Magus Rhebengarthen and Captain Riicshaden to see you, sire.”
“Excellent, bring them in,” Vonlorisen’s light baritone rang clear with relief.
I went through the door with Shad on my heels. Vonlorisen looked more harried than I’d ever seen him. Dark circles stood out prominently on wax-paper skin, a three-day beard adding a darker shadow to his jaw. His clothes had more wrinkles than seemed possible. In front of him, I couldn’t even verify that there was a top to his desk, it was so cluttered from books and parchment.
“Gentlemen,” he greeted, waving us to the chairs with a silent invitation, “Your arrival couldn’t be more timely. Have you heard of the retaliation of the Star Order Priests?”
“Just now,” Shad confirmed. “Wizard Raile Blackover informed us.”
Vonlorisen blinked at us in confusion. “How did he know?”
“Coven Ordan has been keeping an eye on Chahir through a very large scrying pool,” I explained.
“Ah.” Whether he truly understood this or not, Vonlorisen shook his head and continued with his original thought. “I fear the problem might be more complex than I originally thought. I revoked the Order’s authority and ordered them disbanded, so on paper they are illegal. However, the lack of response indicates to me that I overlooked something vital.”
Shad and I shared a frown of bemusement before he asked, “
Lack
of response?”
“Oh, the younger members of the Order are starting fights and wreaking havoc,” Vonlorisen responded with a weary sigh, shoulders slumping. He leaned against the edge of his desk with a tired grunt. “
That
, I expected. But the upper echelons haven’t done a single thing. Haven’t left the city, haven’t gone into hiding, haven’t even made a single protest.”
Alarms started going off in the back of my head. Powerful men that had a two-hundred-year-old Order disbanded overnight didn’t react? That’s just not possible. “Are they doing political maneuvering behind the scenes?”
Vonlorisen shook his head grimly. “No. I double checked that. Magus, I need you to investigate this. I need confirmation that they won’t launch a magical attack. My men are ill-suited to ward off anything magical.”
That was a vast understatement. “I will do so, Your Majesty.”
“Good.”
~*~
Even though I said that I would investigate, I didn’t think it wise to depend on just me. For one thing, I didn’t know enough about blood magic to even really understand what I was looking at. I could certainly keep my eyes and ears open as we traveled, and perhaps double check things in person, but the people most suited to investigate this were already doing so in Coven Ordan.
When we got back to the embassy I borrowed the mirror broach long enough to update Raile on what was happening here. He started swearing (in ancient Chahirese, which I didn’t take for a good sign) and promised that he would set every available person on it. I assured him that if there was anything I could do from my end, I would.
The whole team had been unabashedly listening in during this conversation, so I thankfully didn’t have to repeat myself. We were all concerned by this turn of events, but without knowing what the prominent members of the Order were up to, there was little that we could do.