Invasion (21 page)

Chapter 23

A Second Gate

Decker had never seen a port having spent most of his life around Arthea. The ships were much larger than he imagined and the water lapping against their hulls much louder.

The sun had barely crested the horizon and the morning was the coolest so far this season. The crowded docks swarmed with workers rushing to load supplies and wares on the many ships.

The Harbourmaster pointed them in the right direction. The Silver Spring was a small ship set in between two much larger ones. The Captain, a heavyset man with black curly hair and a long bushy beard, stood near the ship. Like most of the men Decker had seen in Foxcoast his skin appeared dark and leathery from long exposure to the sun. He wore a dirty white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and tight fitting black pants. A typical white sailor’s cap with high turned up edges sat on his head.

“Ay I thought ye must’ve bin changin’ ya mind. Sleep in, did we?” The Captain’s voice sounded rough and harsh.

“Decker here had some clothes he needed to collect first and an enthusiastic barmaid to detach.” Reibeck chuckled and winked at the Captain.

“Say no more, laddie. The lovin’ of a fine woman afore settin’ sail is wha’ every sailor be needin’.”

“It’s not what you think—” Decker tried to explain.

“Nothin’ to be ashamed o’ boy, now we’ve wasted enough time as it is, so let’s be gettin’ this horse loaded up and be settin’ sail.”

Decker shook his head at Reibeck and brought Ciara to the ramp. The crowds made her very nervous and it took all of Decker’s will and a little of his magic to keep her calm. As she reached the gangplank, she bucked and whinnied. Decker tried to calm her but it didn’t work, she darted off. A little way along the wharf she stopped, turned around, dipped her head and moved it in a forward motion a number of times. Then she turned and galloped away causing mayhem on the docks wherever she went.

“I think she’s telling me to go on without her and she’ll make her own way across,” said Decker.

“Do ye have rocks in ya head boy? No way across ‘xcept by boat unless ye horse be a good swimmer.”

“You might be surprised.” Decker turned and walked across the gangplank.

“Has the boy lost his wits?” said the Captain to Reibeck.

“He’s smarter than you might believe.” Reibeck shuffled past the Captain and over the gangplank. The Captain followed soon after.

Within minutes the ship pulled away from the wharf and headed out to sea. Decker watched in fascination as the sailors went about their jobs and followed the Captain’s orders to the letter.

“Not sure as I introduced meself before. I’m Captain Tobias Gribble and Grand Master Reibeck tells me you’re a mighty shot with that bow o’ yours.”

The Captain had startled him. He’d been so busy watching the men work he hadn’t noticed him sneak up from behind — a rare occurrence for the keen-sensed Ranger.

“I’m Decker and yes I am a fair aim.”

“Ah a modest one ye be then? The Wizard tells me ya never miss ya target.” Captain Tobias slapped him hard on the back.

“I’ve been shooting the bow since I was old enough to hold one and have had to rely on my aim to feed myself many times so one does become quite accurate under those circumstances.” Decker held onto a rope firmly as he tried to become accustomed with the sway of the ship.

“Well ye might prove handy should we come by any pirates. Until then ye’ll find a bucket and a scrubbing brush below deck. I want me decks sparklin’, ye hear?”

“Did you say pirates? Surely there are no pirates across the Strait?”

“Wherever there be merchant ships there be pirate ships lad, but don’t ye worry they are rare and we be well equipped for’em. Now get to work.” Captain Tobias walked off and shouted at a sailor.

Decker decided he’d better do as instructed or the Captain would no doubt throw him overboard so he went below deck in search of the bucket and scrubbing brush.

Sylestra came by the cage at the first sign of light as she had promised. She moved with more ease this morning — Pilk assumed she nursed some kind of injury yesterday and had his suspicions about what the cause had been. She pulled a wand from her belt, pointed it at the cage and whispered a few words. An opening developed in the bars.

“Rest assured that any escape attempt will result in instant death. Guards will have constant physical contact, crossbows will be trained on you and shamans will be assigned to sense any unauthorised magic. All of which have orders to kill you both at the first sign of treachery. Do you understand this?”

“Understood,” said Pilk in unison with O’tukka.

“If you doubt my words little Pilk, just ask my son about how I follow through with my threats.”

“No need, I assure you. I have a good sense of your character.”

Sylestra laughed. “Oh you do, do you? Well I’m glad to hear that.” She turned to her guards. “Get them out and keep a firm hold on them.”

Four guards came into their small cage; two grabbed hold of O’tukka and two gripped Pilk firmly. They pulled him from the cage. Pilk scanned his surroundings and sure enough there were orcs with crossbows levelled in their direction and a number of shamans.

Behind the walls of Fort Dega was a hive of activity. Not construction works so much but more like the army preparing to march. When he came into view of the Gate it increased his suspicions as a continual stream of warriors emerged. Pilk wondered where they were planning to attack but it didn’t bode well wherever it was.

“You will create the new gate right alongside this one.” Sylestra pointed to the chosen spot while looking at O’tukka. “All the shamans that helped you create the first gate are at your disposal. Begin at once.”

O’tukka barely acknowledged her as she walked away. They had both been studying hard since getting all the books and discussed at length the highest likelihood of establishing a gate connection with Aleri. If their calculations were correct the three worlds, 'Aleri, Ki’arantha and Ka’ton, formed an equilateral triangle which would mean that if O’tukka conducted the spell as he did previously, the new gate would no doubt form on Aleri since a connection already existed between the other two.

“According to my calculations the three worlds form an isosceles triangle with Aleri being at the furthest point from the other two worlds,” O’tukka lied. “This means that when I channel the energy to begin creating the gate I will need to direct a substantial amount more to increase our chances of targeting Aleri.”

If they were right then doing it this way would overshoot Aleri and target some other unknown world. Pilk hoped that this world didn’t contain some other threat.

“How much more will merely be a guess. The other problem is, as I’m sure you are all aware, I scarcely controlled the energy last time. To get around that, Master Pilk and I will need to link together in mind, body and spirit so that together we can have the required control of the forming energy.”

“Why Master Pilk?” shouted a shaman.

“Because he is the only one I trust.” O’tukka stared down the shaman and Pilk was once again reminded of the unnatural power in the Great Shaman’s eyes. “When I give the command I want you all to feed your power into us at a slow and controlled rate. Once the new gate is formed, begin feeding your power into it to strengthen the connection.”

Without waiting for a response, O’tukka linked arms with Pilk, forcing the guards to hold them both from the shoulders, and recited his spell. Pilk relaxed his mind and let the conjured magic flow through him. It penetrated every inch of his body. Pilk felt so exposed and vulnerable. It was not easy for him to let down his guard in such a way but he had little choice and he was excited to see what happened.

In return O’tukka had to let down his guard and the shaman’s thoughts and feelings flowed through Pilk’s mind. He saw O’tukka as a young orc being commanded by Sylestra, his mother, teaching him about the Black Skull — their customs, history, god, magic and particularly about the creation of the Great Gates. It was to become his life, she told him, his mission and he was to report all that he discovered to her.

Pilk experienced first-hand O’tukka’s emotions and feelings of betrayal as he was dragged away from his mother and given over to a strange family. He grew up with that family, constantly being bullied and taunted by his older siblings due to his smaller size. He soon learned that retaliation was futile and so he often hid away and threw himself into his studies believing that if he learnt enough to please his mother then she would take him back.

As a teenager O’tukka had more control over his Gaze of Hopelessness and his weak-minded siblings left him alone, not wanting to be paralysed with fear. However, while practising his magic he heard them conspiring to kill him. They spoke of luring him to the edge of Black Rock Canyon and pushing him over the edge.

The scene played out in his own mind as clear as if it were a memory of his own life. O’tukka wiped tears out of his eyes as he neared the edge of the canyon and peered down. He whispered the words to his spell and picked out his location. When he heard the rushing footsteps behind him, he didn’t even bother to turn around. He whispered the release word through trembling lips and a gate formed behind him. He watched the far edge of the canyon where the exit to his gate formed as the bodies of his three siblings went tumbling down the rock face to their deaths — blood curdling screams coming to a sudden end as they impacted with the bottom of the canyon.

O’tukka dispelled his gates and sat on the edge of the cliff, staring at the lifeless forms of his foster brothers and sister and let the tears flow for the first time in his life. Pilk became almost overwhelmed with the strong emotions flooding through him as the scene unfolded.

A hand tapped the young O’tukka on the shoulder and startled him. A Lightning Bolt spell tipped his lips as he turned around in a hurry. When he noticed the coloured ribbons of the General he cancelled his spell. The two mighty falchions hanging from the belt of this massive orc gave away his identity before O’tukka even noticed his face.

“You did what you had to do.” General Krak’too offered O’tukka his hand. O’tukka reluctantly gripped it and the General pulled him to his feet. “It was either them or you. Would you like to learn how to deal with the pain?”

O’tukka nodded.

“If you could please focus, Master Pilk.” Great Shaman O’tukka’s shrill voice brought Master Pilk back to the matter at hand. The many shamans were feeding all their power into the united pair. The immense power flowed through him and he tried to harness it as quickly and as densely as his little body would allow. He sensed O’tukka doing likewise.

They both shook as the power threatened to overtake them and burst forth from their mortal bodies. Pilk’s hair stood on end, first on his arms, then the rest of his body and finally on his head.

O’tukka held his spell.

Master Pilk thought the shaman must have been going out of his mind. Pilk’s knees knocked together and his teeth chattered as more power streamed into them.

Still O’tukka did not cast.

Pilk turned his head toward O’tukka to make sure he was still conscious. The Great Shaman’s eyes were open and focused but his body shook as much as Pilk’s.

O’tukka lifted up his free arm and pointed to a spot to the right of the existing Gate. Power surged out of them, exiting from O’tukka’s pointed finger. A stream of dark purple energy, almost black, shot forth from it and formed into a swirling circle which hung in thin air. A loud crackling noise rent the air as bright white bolts exploded among the forming gate.

Pilk slowly regained control of his body. The shaking stopped and his hair settled. Fatigue overtook him and if it hadn’t been for the orc guards holding onto him and O’tukka’s arm linked around his, he would have collapsed.

Finally all of the pent-up energy was gone. Pilk watched through bleary eyes as the surrounding shamans continued to pour their magic into the still forming Gate.

“Now we must separate.” O’tukka turned his head toward Pilk and uttered a cantrip. All the thoughts, feelings and memories that Pilk had experienced earlier rushed out of him and he once again became one being.

“Is it ready to use?” Pilk had not even heard Sylestra come up behind them.

“No. It needs strengthening at this point. Its connection is currently as fragile as one strand of string. It will take an hour or more and almost every ounce of energy from the shamans to make the connection secure.” O’tukka’s eyes were half closed, his shoulders slumped and he didn’t even turn to regard his mother.