The Hollow: At The Edge (28 page)

“I’m sure he did,
but...” Kaitlin looked miserable. “I really didn’t think this
through properly. This was such a bad idea.”

“Listening to Tim’s
stories is always a bad idea,” agreed Justin.

“Not that. I mean...”
She waved her hands to indicate the camp. “This. Joining the
Legion. I don’t think I can handle much more of this.”

“We’ve haven’t done
anything,” said Justin. “We haven’t even seen an elf up close yet,
Astral. Compared to some people, we have it lucky.”

“I know. That’s what
I’m talking about. Things are going to go bad, and I don’t think
I’m going to be able to handle it.”

“Speaking from
experience,” Serrel said. “I don’t think anyone really knows how
they’re going to react. Then the time comes, and you won’t even
think about it.”

“But if you’re having
trouble, it does sometimes help to think about someone else,” said
Mouse. “Like... Justin.”

“Me?”

“Imagine that they’re
Justin. That will make it much easier.”

“That’s what I’m going
to do,” said Edgar with a determined smile.

“What did I ever do?”
complained Justin.

They looked at him.

“You have to ask?” said
Mouse.

“She’s joking,” said
Serrel. He looked at her expression. “At least... Let’s assume
she’s joking.”

Mouse patted Kaitlin on
the back. “You’ll be fine. We’ll all look out for you.”

“Sure, Katey,” agreed
Greasy Tim. “Where I come from, you look out for your gang.”

“Oh. Thanks,” said
Kaitlin.

Justin shook his head.
“On a completely non-creepy topic that involves no violence
inflicted on me whatsoever: Oh, look. There’s Bull.”

The missing member of
Pond Scum came up to their shelter, his uniform muddy and soaked.
His huge blank face lit up as Mouse emerged to meet him. He
embraced her in a huge hug and lifted her off the ground as though
she didn’t weigh anything. For the time ever, Mouse smiled and
laughed happily as he spun her around, and everyone let themselves
forget her previous, disconcerting comments.

When he saw Serrel,
Bull slapped him happily on the back and sent him sprawling on top
of Justin. The Kaitlin fussed over them all until Bull climbed
under the shelter and out of the rain, and with his size, forcing
Justin and Serrel back out.

Serrel didn’t care.
They were all alive and unharmed, and that was all that
mattered.

Brant appeared some
time later, looking for him.

“Fresh Meat? The, uh,
generals are looking for you?”

Pond Scum all looked at
Serrel.

“The generals?” asked
Justin. “Why are the generals looking for
you
?”

Brant thought about
that. “Commendation, court martial, promotion. Could be anything
really. Most likely it’s the suicide mission they’re about to send
him on. Best not keep them waiting then, eh?”

Serrel climbed
awkwardly out of the shelter. He glanced back at his friends.

“I’m glad I got to see
you all again,” he said lamely. “I guess I’ll see you all
later.”

“Sure,” said Kaitlin,
wearing an expression like she was watching him walk to the
gallows. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Look out for each
other, all right. Don’t do anything... stupid.”

“As if we would,” said
Greasy Tim.

Serrel gave them a
small smile, and then went off with Brant, back to the war.

There was a number of
people waiting expectantly for him in the tent. Dillaini stared
coldly at him, but Snow was there to give him a reassuring
smile.

Morton sat in the
corner, his face bruised and bloody, already swelling.

“Good of you to join
us, Caster,” said Dillaini.

Serrel stood to
attention. “Ma’am.”

“Going from information
given to us from the elf and from... that,” she glanced briefly at
Morton, who looked away. “I have decided to send in a small group
to locate and destroy this... Illudin. Apparently your help is
required.” She waved Dhulrael and the wizard forwards.

The wizard beamed at
Serrel happily. “It’s good to meet you, Caster Hawthorne. I don’t
think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is Arch-Magus
Augustus Grimm. I am in charge of our battlemage forces here in the
Legion.”

“Yes, Sir,” Serrel
replied.

“You don’t need to
“sir” me, Caster. I’m technically a civilian. I actually work as a
member of the faculty at the College of-”

“He doesn’t need your
life story, Grimm,” snapped Dillaini. “Get to the damn point.”

“Apologies, dear Jadia.
I do sometimes go on, deary me, yes,” Grimm said, still smiling and
ignoring the glare Dillaini shot his way. “Now, Caster, when we,
and by “we” I mean
you,
go into Vollumir, you are going to
have to find the Illudin. Unfortunately, it’s quite a big city. But
there may be a way to track it down, and for that, we will need
you.”

“Yes, Sir. What do I
have to do?”

“Good lad. You see
you... Actually,” Grimm turned to Dhulrael. “Do you want to
explain?”

“No,” Dhulrael replied
depreciatingly. “Go on.”

“No please, be my
guess.”

“I couldn’t.”

“But it was your idea,
and a fine one, I must say...”

“If one of you doesn’t
start talking, I’m going to have you both flayed alive,” stated
Dillaini.

“Really, Jadia. So
uncouth. My dear, Caster,” Grimm went on. “Have you ever performed
any scrying before?”

“No, Sir. I’m afraid my
training was cut short.”

“Well, in that case
first things first. You know that the ether flows into and around
all things, and that it can, over time, shape and distort the world
around it?”

“I have heard that,
Sir.”

“Well, as it happens,
that works both ways. As the ether changes the world around it, its
current environment changes it as well.”

Serrel thought about
that. “Like the primordial ether?”

“Exactly. But also, the
energy inside a mage is shaped by the mage it inhabits. Scrying
allows us to track a mage, or this case a magical object, by using
a sample of the ether that has been... shall we say,
recoloured
by them.”

“I think I understand,
Sir. The energy in the Illudin, it was different from the way the
ether normally is. It was changed from being trapped in the
Illudin. It was... wilder, I suppose you could say.” He mulled this
over. “And I absorbed some of that energy.”

“Exactly!” Grimm said
happily. “And barely half a day ago. With any luck, the energy has
not yet reformed itself to your body, and may still have the unique
signature of the Illudin. With a small sample, I can use a seeking
crystal to point you to the location of the Illudin inside
Vollumir.” Grimm smiled proudly, then ruined the moment by adding,
“Most likely.”

“How can I help,
Sir?”

Grimm held up a small
shard of clear, glassy crystal. “Can you transfer a small portion
of your energy into this? A small amount, as pure energy, not
weaved. Just as you would transfer energy into another mage.”

Serrel took the shard
and held it in his hand. Using basic techniques, he willed a small
portion of energy into the crystal, which sucked it up greedily.
The clear shard quickly took on a bright red colour.

“Excellent,” commented
Dhulrael. “The energy has not been altered much.”

“This should be
perfect,” said Grimm, taking the shard from Serrel.

He went to the table,
which was now covered in a layer of maps, the most dominant of
which showed a layout of Vollumir. Grimm gently laid the shard on
the table, then patted himself down, trying to find something
hidden in his robes. Eventually he pulled out a small leather
flask, which he unstoppered, and before anyone could stop him,
poured the contents all over the map.

“Grimm!” Dillaini
hissed in irritation.

“No need to fret, I
know what I’m doing,” said Grimm undaunted.

The fluid was shiny and
metallic, like quicksilver. It flowed across the map until it was
almost completely covered. Then Grimm took his staff, a huge dark
brown length of wood carved with runes and lined with gems of many
colours, and held it over the mess, uttering words of power under
his breath.

The pool of quicksilver
began to ripple, and then before their eyes began to shrink
backwards into the centre of the map. The pool arranged itself so
that its borders corresponded to the outline of the city beneath
it. Grimm uttered a few more words of power, and the silvery liquid
began to bubble upwards. Small bumps expanded on its surface, and
then reformed themselves into strange blocky shapes, the biggest of
which lay in the very center, and soon sprouted a tall spike from
its surface.

It took Serrel a moment
to realise he was looking at a three dimensional map of the city
formed out of the metallic liquid, complete with streets and
buildings, with the huge fortress and its foreboding tower right in
the middle.

“How did you do that?”
he couldn’t help but ask.

Grimm looked pleased
with himself. “Wasn’t easy, let me tell you. It’s much easier to do
here than in the Empire, thanks to all the ambient energy. Anyway,
let’s see where this mysterious Illudin is...”

He carefully examined
the simmering map of Vollumir, muttering under his breath things
like, “Where are you now? Come out, come out...”

“You see,” Dhulrael
said to Serrel is his usual lecturing voice, “the ether has been
seeping into the city for centuries. Small traces of its energy can
be found in the buildings, and in the streets. It leaves a
particular pattern in the environment. What the Arch-Magus has done
is recreate this pattern in miniature.”

“It’s impressive, I’ll
give him that,” agreed Serrel. “But how does that help him find the
Illudin?”

“The Illudin does not
have the same energy as the city. It will not appear in the
recreation. He is not so much looking
for
the Illudin, as
much as the
absence
of it.”

“There!” Grimm declared
suddenly. “That’s where it is.”

The others gathered
around and followed his pointed finger.

“Where?” asked
Dillaini.

“Right there,” said
Grimm proudly. “See?”

“I see the best map we
have of Vollumir ruined by your inane spellcasting.”

“It’s mercury, it comes
right off... Although you may want to avoid inhaling too deeply,
General, they say it can be slightly poisonous.”

Dillaini practically
leapt backwards, scowling at the wizard.

“Is that what you
mean?” Serrel asked. He pointed to the spot Grimm had indicated,
where the perfect lines of the tiny buildings was distorted,
curving inwards away from the street where they should have been
straight. The tiny street had an almost imperceptible dip in its
surface.

“That?” asked Dillaini.
“That’s what you want to go on? How do you know that’s not a
mistake in your spell?”

“Oh, Jadia,” said Grimm
with a hurt expression. “A little faith. Besides...” He picked up
the shard Serrel had charged with energy, and held it in the air.
He waved it back and forth a few times, slowly turning in a circle.
Then he smiled, and pointed in one direction. “Yes, it is
definitely that way.”

Dillaini exhaled
sharply. “You mean in the direction of the city.”

“Oh, yes. I am
positive.”

“A little model, and
broken piece of crystal you’ve waved in the air. That’s all you
have for me? Seriously?”

“You need more?” asked
Grimm in confusion.

“I don’t know about
you, Captain, but I’m sold,” said Snow in a surprisingly happy tone
as he examined the map.

Jurgen nodded slowly.
“It isn’t in the fortress,” he commented.

“No, that’s in the
outer city,” said Dhulrael. “At the intersection of two main
roads... Interesting. From there the Ferine can move it quickly to
any side of the city, and relocate it to whichever of the gates you
attack.”

“
If
that’s where
it is,” said Dillaini. “You don’t know for certain.”

“This seeking crystal
will point in its direction,” put in Grimm. “Even if it moves, you
should be close enough to follow.”

Snow looked at
Dillaini. “I’ve gone into worse places with less. General, Ma’am,
permission to do something stupid.”

Dillaini sighed. “Very
well. This is what is going to happen. The Legion is going to
launch its attack on that city at daybreak. Before then, Jurgen and
Snow along with a small force of their men will infiltrate the city
and take out that Illudin. The Patrician will lead you through the
tunnels. If it can do what you all claim, then you have to destroy
it before our attack starts. If you succeed in that, then you are
to move through the city, and seize control of the south gates. If
you can get the gates open, then Legion can enter the city, and
then there will be nothing to stop us from taking control.”

“I agree that the
Illudin is the priority,” said Jurgen. “But after we’ve removed it
from the equation, my Nightblades and I should move on the
fortress. With the elf’s help, we can gain entrance, track down
Vharaes and take care of him once and for all.”

“He might not be
there,” said General Roth.

“All of our
intelligence suggest that Vharaes does not lead from the
front-lines. He’ll be in the fortress, hiding. Once the Legion
makes its entrance, he’ll run. We can’t take the chance that we’ll
lose him in the chaos of the battle. We need to strike at the first
opportunity.”

“No,” said Dillaini
flatly. “When we gain control of the city, we can hunt him down.
The Patrician has given us the locations of several escape tunnels.
We’ll have them all blocked. He will not get away.”

“With all due respect,
General, this may be our-”

“I’ve already told you
what the plan is, Captain. Under no circumstances are you to go off
on your own to play hero. I want Vharaes captured alive. Do you
understand me?”