Chapter 2
A/N: Here is the second chapter, feel free to comment/review (please review). Hope you like it.
Disclaimer: Me no own, Tamora Pierce owns
In the stables, Daine found the hostler Stefan saddling Numair's Spots. She arched an eyebrow, and went to prepare her own mare, Copper. Cloud had become too old to be haring off in the middle of the night to some distant destination or other. So Copper had eagerly volunteered to go in her stead. It had taken a while for the irritable old pony to accept the young frolicsome mare, but in the end she had acquiesced and taught Copper the tricks of living with two frequently traveling mages.
The mare stood in her stall, head high and ears pricked.
Up for a midnight ride, girl? Daine scratched her ears as she unclipped her halter and led her out.
Copper butted her friend and frisked to the side, When am I not? Personally I think I'm going nocturnal with all the midnight rides.
Daine laughed and slid on blanket, saddle, and bridle with the ease of long practice. Soft footsteps behind her announced the arrival of Numair. He was dressed in soft, black traveling breeches, black boots, and a grey tunic over a white linen shirt. His cloak was thrown back over one shoulder to prevent tangling with the saddlebags he held under his arm. The long, thick black tresses were held back with a leather tie. He stopped in surprise at seeing Spots ready and waiting.
Stephan grinned and said, "When the animals get res'less, I know it be you two that are going out. This'll save you time."
"Thanks, I'll admit you are a lot faster than me, though I'm sorry that you'll be losing sleep over it."
"Nah, this way you'll get on th' road fast'r, and I'll be getting' back to me bed sooner."
Daine struggled to repress her snort. The tall mage glared at her again. "Well then, I'd thought my horsemanship had been improving," he muttered. Stephan and Daine laughed. Numair harrumphed and busied himself with his saddlebags, checking to see all needed supplies were accounted for. Still chortling Daine attached her own, making sure all straps were secure and nothing would worry the mare.
In a minute both stood ready. In unison Daine and Numair swung up into the saddle, Numair less gracefully, and bid good-bye to the hostler. Daine spent another few minutes reviewing instructions with the local animals, telling them what to do in case an emergency was to occur. They took the instructions with a hint of amused exasperation; they have been reviewed (and used) often enough.
She sighed, smiled, and urged Copper into a trot.
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Dawn found the pair deep in Tortal's eastern hills. The brisk canter had been replaced with an easy trot, though one that still devoured the distance. Tacitly they decided to eat breakfast on horseback, each digging out a roll and a skin of cold tea packed the previous night.
"Where are we headed exactly?"
Numair unrolled the map from his pocket and examined it, "Well, it seems that they lost contact when the Company was camped a few miles north-west of Goldenlake. They were headed north to the City of the Gods when they disappeared."
Daine frowned, "But doesn't the City's aura tend to hide anything magical around it? That's why we didn't know about Dunlath 'til we walked into it."
"Yes, it would normally cover such magic. But the spell that causes the effects mentioned in the reports require a different and quite a bit stronger piece of magic. It has been found that certain portsalm spells create…"
"Port-what?" Daine had never been able to keep up when he began one of his complex lectures
Numair smiled, "Portsalm. Gateway spells. They provide an easier way to transport things and people from one place to another. Although they are rather impractical as they require a lot of magic and precise execution of the spell. Portsalm spells also require powerful anchors or else it will fade very quickly. However, they are extremely useful, especially in rapid evacuation of populated places. One such instance occurred in Armahir 2300 years ago. Their city was besieged and about to fall, the king had his mages construct a portsalm spell to the other end of the country. However, the spell was so powerful it irrevocably altered the local environment."
Sounds like a risky thing to do. What if they got lost? How did they know where to go? Copper flicked her ears back and shook her head.
Daine repeated her question.
"Well, that's the price of such a powerful spell. It becomes harder to control. If the spell was not anchored correctly or if the summoning deviated, the results could vary from catastrophic collapse of the gate, or just a mile deviation of the destination. And it is possible, especially if there is a weak anchor, that the passenger might get lost within the gate. Theories about the structure and existence of such gates say that they create a portal to another plane and from there another to the desired destination. The spell then provides a form of guide to direct people correctly through the portals. But these are just theories. Any reliable record has long since disappeared, and no one has dared attempt the spell for fear of lasting consequences."
"Have you ever thought of trying it?" Daine looked fascinated with the concept of being able to travel leagues in the blink of an eye.
"Did you even hear me just tell you of lasting consequences?" Numair said exasperatedly.
"Yes I heard. I meant have you ever imagined yourself doing the spell? Just imagining, without any desire to actually do it," she paused while Spots snorted, "Oh, and Spots wants you to take up the reins again, and stop sliding to the left, you're going to fall off."
He narrowed his eyes at Spot's bobbing ears. Receiving only a shake of the head, he sighed, stared up at the branches in a long suffering expression, and took up the reins.
"To answer your question, yes, I did entertain notions of performing the spell. The first time I found it in Ozorne's library. It seemed such a wonderful spell. I'd thought of doing it again to escape Carthak, before I realized the attempt would leave me incapacitated for an indefinite period in an unfamiliar land."
Daine smiled at the image of a young Numair buried among ancient texts and dreaming of performing the powerful spell.
"Do you think it could be a portsalm spell that made the Company vanish? Is it even possible to walk into one without knowing?"
"I'm not sure. The accounts I've read disagree on that point. Some describe the portal as a shadow in the air, while others claim to see a landscape. Though I doubt that the spell we're dealing with is a portsalm spell. The palace mages certainly could detect no trace of it. And the real spell would give off quite the aura."
They plodded on in silence, each contemplating the significance of the new and recalled information. Daine stopped at midday to tend to a doe's sprained foreleg. Then, after a quick meal, she slipped into the form of a golden eagle to scout the path ahead.
The warm air currents caressed her feathers and lifted her to greater heights. She peered around, searching for any sign of trouble. Keeping one eye peeled Daine circled lazily, thinking about what she'd just learned. If such spells were so powerful and so helpful, why didn't mages attempt to fix the spell so the consequences are less severe? But Numair said the spells become harder to control the more power they required. And if I assume correctly only a black robe mage would have barely the amount of power needed for the working. Yet couldn't someone have found some way to alter the spell without so it doesn't drain? Or where mages just more powerful in the past? The eagle paused in its thought to mark her location. Realizing she was already several miles away, she circled back, then made a sudden decision and dove for the forest canopy.
Before she could hit the ground, she shifted, and landed on wolf paws. Daine relished the new senses her wolf shape gave her. A movement made her freeze. Carefully she stared around, her ears swiveled to catch the tiniest sound. Nothing but the swaying branches of the trees. With a last look she shook out her thick fur and bounded away.
The shadows shifted as the wolf was lost among the trees, two points of darkness glinted maliciously as they stared at the retreating figure.