Chapter 16

Valkron carefully parted the slanting books and inserted the one he was carrying into the gap. He made sure its spine was in line with the rest before going to another spot along the vast bookshelves and repeating the same procedure. He had respect for books. Although he hadn't had the time to read when he was younger, he knew how much the oblong, paper, glue bound objects were worth.

Besides, the Juno librarian was a vulture. When he had dropped one by accident in an obscure, dust-filled corner she had swooped onto him and given him a lecture. Apparently she assumed that only wizards and sages read and the others were ignorant idiots. Her assistant was a complete dullard, on the contrary, and he didn't know from left to right. Valkron was sure of this. There wouldn't be the letters L and R on the backs of his gloves (and wrongly placed at that) if he had been a little more conscious.

He wandered back to the table where the rest were either sitting or standing, poring over ancient books that made them cough every time one was opened. It was a wonder that no one got sick.

'It says here that portals are considerably threatening, but it depends on what nature they are,' said Nocturne, turning over a page. 'I never knew there were so many different kinds.'

'Wizards are trained to summon them all,' said Iruna, reading aloud. Her blindfold was slung around her neck. 'That's odd. I've never seen any summoning done by wizards before.'

'Hey, whatever you think there's rules for magic too, you know,' said Emeth indignantly, his voice echoing through the empty recesses of the place. No one was around except for them and the librarians.

'Yeah, well, I thought wizards should know something about them,' said Samaroh. 'I don't even know half of this stuff we're looking up, and they say that priests have the same level of education in magic along with the wizards.'

'Who's "they"?' asked Valkron, intrigued despite himself.

'They. You know. Them.'

The knight regarded this for a minute and then said, 'Oh yes, them. The ones who say knights should be guardians of the world and chivalrous, and assassins are murderous.'

'That's what I was talking about.'

'You guys,' said Emeth heavily, 'are given the responsibility of helping people by protecting and healing them. We do the same thing except it's more on the offensive side. Attacking, y'know? So we learn different things. What "they" meant was the standard of our--'

'Yes, all right, you don't have to go on and on about it,' said the priest, flapping a hand at him. Emeth glared at him before turning back to his book.

'People scribble in the margins too much,' said Khan, who was flipping through a book titled The Science of the Many Wondrous Entities of the Magical World. 'Some kind of respect they have for knowledge. We want to find out the magic that's threatening our world, not the fact that someone is an idiot. What kind of person enjoys writing "Hi I aM a pOriNg" in a magic book?'

'Idiots,' said Emeth dully, without looking up from his book.

Valkron shut the book in his hand, causing dust to billow out from between its pages and resulting in a bout of coughing from Eni. The knight hastily used his cloak to fan the cloud away.

'Sorry,' he said. 'But I just wanted to know if we're actually achieving what we want, and I'm getting tired of looking through a book that makes me sneeze every time I turn a page. Anyone got any clues as to where the portal might possibly be and how to close it permanently?'

'Closing it properly is actually an easy process,' said Emeth, before anyone could say anything. He looked up from his book. Although everyone had the books they were reading on the table, he had his back to it and had placed the book on his stomach. He was the only one who looked as if he was really enjoying himself.

'And how do we go about it?' said Samaroh, in a sarcastic tone.

'Look for the source of the portal and destroy it. Most of the time the source of the portal is the creator of it, so since the creator moves about there's sure to be crystals sustaining it. Some portals use "threads" - a power from which the energy of the portal is derived, like desire.' The wizard put his leaf into his mouth. 'That's pretty much it.'

'And what if this source is very powerful?' said the priest, still using the same tone.

'Then we'll see what we can do with it. There are other ways of closing a portal as well.' Emeth gave him a look. 'And stop using that tone with me.'

'Okay, okay, we've got the closing part done,' said Valkron quickly before Samaroh could respond. 'Now all we need to know is where it is.'

'If we can find the source of the portal we wouldn't need to go to where it is, am I right?' said Eni, closing a book carefully.

'Yes,' said Emeth, scanning the pages of the book he was holding. 'Unfortunately we don't know where the source is, either.'

As one everyone looked at Samaroh, who looked up from his book at the sudden silence.

'Don't look at me,' he said disgruntledly. 'I know Emeth said I could detect dark magic, but right now I'm not inclined to expose myself. Dark magic does a lot of things to you, and one of them is making you go funny in the head. I'm sure you don't want that.'

'If you did that's one less trouble we have to deal with,' said the wizard.

'Will you stop it, both of you?' said Iruna irritably, looking up from the book Nocturne was showing her. 'A woman can't hear herself think with this entire ruckus. We'll have the librarian at our necks if you don't stop.'

'Like she cares,' said Samaroh, shrugging.

There was a sound of a sword sliding from its scabbard. After a few minutes Samaroh, who was in danger of toppling backwards as he leaned away from the point of the sword, said, 'Okay, I'll stop.'

'I like a fast learner,' said Valkron, withdrawing his sword and sheathing it. 'Get on with the reading. I want you to teleport us down to Geffen later on. Yes, you, Samaroh. Don't give me that look.'

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent in silence. Valkron kept an eye on Emeth and Samaroh, but there were no further conflicts from them.

Late afternoon saw them emerging from the library, shaking their clothes of dust and wiping their faces. The librarian seemed glad to see them go, except for Emeth.

'Everybody loves you,' muttered Valkron to him, as the librarian waved cheerily at the wizard.

'Well, she's stuck in there, poor thing,' said Emeth sympathetically. 'But that doesn't mean I'm inclined to stay with her for the rest of my life. I've got a future to take care of, thank you very much.'

'The book you had said that portals are normally found in hidden, forgotten places,' said Iruna, who had returned the blindfold to her eyes. 'Why is that?'

'The book said that? But one of mine suggested that portals were found where there is a wrinkle in time,' said Nocturne, looking surprised.

'Well, a book I read recorded a portal where "time does not exist",' said Khan.

'Oh yeah? Where does time not exist?'

'Samaroh, I'll be onto you in a minute if you don't watch your tone,' warned Valkron.

'How should I know? I'm not a wizard!'

'You don't have to be a wizard to know these things, am I right?'

'That's not true,' said Nocturne.

'I'm not a wizard and I know these things--'

'WILL YOU ALL STOP?!' bellowed Valkron, causing passers-by to hurry away from them. 'The next thing I'm going to do is get my peco to run over all of you! We have a wizard here, why don't you ask him instead of arguing between yourselves? And this time Samaroh stays quiet. I don't even want to hear a peep from you.'

Emeth seemed to have heard all the proposals. He was considering them as they turned to him. Samaroh turned away, clearly sulking.

'We can't rule any of the theories out,' he said at length. 'But then again to narrow down our search we've got to choose the most likely theory. Mind you, they're all hypotheses. The last recorded portal that remained in existence for a period of time occurred about a thousand years ago.'

'What do you mean, last recorded portal?' said Eni.

'Portals open up everywhere at any time. But they can hardly survive the magical field here, so they collapse within minutes of formation.' The wizard rubbed the tip of his nose thoughtfully. 'This one, though - it's surviving because there's a thread holding it together, and its source is very powerful. By the way, a wrinkle in time is just another way of describing a place where time doesn't exist.'

'So it could be a hidden forgotten place where time doesn't exist?' said Nocturne.

'Could be. Then again, magic isn't an exact science so I can't say for sure.'

'You could be a teacher in the Academy with all your knowledge,' said Khan in an admiring tone.

'What, and be called a wizzie for the rest of my life? No thanks.' Emeth took out his leaf, looked at it and then put it back. 'I think we should move further down south so Samaroh can reach Geffen easier--'

'Excuse me?'

The party, except for Samaroh, turned to see a monk looking apprehensively at them. He had a shock of black hair and nervous golden-brown eyes. Valkron recognised him as the monk who had spoken to them about the poster outside Prontera. It wasn't easy to forget a paintbrush hairstyle with goggles at its base.

'Yes?' said Valkron politely.

'Um...I heard you talking about the portal thing and I was just wondering if you knew more,' he said. 'Because someone I know gave me a clue as to its whereabouts.'

'Hey, weren't you the fellow standing outside Prontera and telling us the threat was a load of balderdash?' said Nocturne innocently.

There was an embarrassed silence, which was broken by Emeth coughing. 'How did you suddenly believe in its existence, pray?' he said, bending down.

The monk took a step back. Being spoken to by a six-foot wizard was certainly unnerving for him. 'Uh...because the wizards in Geffen started complaining about fluctuations in the magical field, and then the Geffen Dungeons just...collapsed.'

'What?' said Amaru, who had been silent up till now.

'Yeah, well, there was a stampede because the monsters raged through Geffen. It took two days for the sages and wizards to clean it up. Prontera sent some of its Emergency Division knights over to deal with the remaining creatures.' The monk visibly relaxed. 'I heard about it, and then about a portal that was sending people mad.'

'Ah,' said Valkron.

'So what's it to you?' said Nocturne.

'Well, since you seemed to know so much about it--'

'Unfortunately mercenary parties can't release information they've gathered,' interrupted Valkron. 'I don't know how much you heard, but I'm sure if you spill any of it this sword of mine will be after your neck no matter where you go, mark my words.'

The monk put up his hands nervously. 'Sorry for eavesdropping. But actually I was wondering - could you take me along with you?'

Valkron looked back at his party. 'Why?'

'I don't have a party. Seriously,' the monk added, catching Valkron's look. 'I just need one, temporary like.'

'We're full,' replied the knight. 'Eight people are already in this party.'

'Look, I don't want to be caught by the Prontera knights for not having a party. That's all.'

Valkron rolled his eyes. 'My dear monk,' he said, looking at the man in the eye, 'I am a Prontera Chivalry knight. Can't you recognise Chivalry-forged armour when you see it?' He held up his right arm, where the outline of a two-headed eagle had been emblazoned onto his forearm guard.

The monk gazed at it. 'Uh. Okay, I think I'll scoot.'

'Wait, wait, not so fast,' said Emeth, stepping forward. 'Valkron, give this fellow a chance, will you? I know there's the laws and everything, but you've got to relax a bit.'

'I'm not the kind of knight to forget about my duties, Emeth,' said Valkron a little severely.

'This isn't about forgetting duties, it's more like...' The wizard gestured half-heartedly as if trying to shape his thoughts into a more coherent form. '...giving way for a little while. He said it was temporary. Let him, why don't you?'

The knight looked up at him, at the monk and then at his party. Then he threw his hands into the air and said explosively, 'Fine! But if you cause any trouble you are out. Understand?'

'Definitely,' answered the monk hastily.

Valkron walked off, muttering to himself. Emeth grinned apologetically at the monk. 'He's like that at first, but when you get to know him he's actually a nice person. What's your name? We can't keep calling you "the monk" every time, you know.'

'Oh yeah, sorry. You can call me Aldev.'

'What's the name we can't call you?' said Nocturne curiously.

'Believe me, you don't want to know,' said Aldev darkly.

'I'm Emeth, that hunter's Nocturne - lay off the questioning, Nocturne, you're embarrassing us - the crusader's Iruna, that's Khan, the alchemist and the blacksmith next to him is Eni and Amaru, and the sulking spiky-haired guy at the back is our resident priest, Samaroh.' Emeth turned away without even waiting for a reply and shouted, 'Oi, Valkron! Wait up, will you?'

The Raulus party had to hurry after the knight, who was stridng quite fast to where his peco was waiting. Iruna detached herself from the group and hurriedly went to untie hers. Both led the birds away from the drinking trough and mounted them at the same time.

When they had reached the southern end of Juno, Valkron looked back at Samaroh.

'Get your magic, Samaroh,' he said, reining in his peco. 'We're going to Geffen. Hope you can get us there.'

'Yeah, whatever,' said the priest. Rings of light were already surrounding him as he held out his hands in front of him.

'Hey, I can teleport as well,' said Aldev. 'Here, I'll help out so your priest can take a break.'

Valkron looked around at the party. 'Then I'll go with you.'

'Include me,' said Emeth.

'Both of us as well. Your teleport can take five people with you, right?' said Khan, while Amaru made sure his cart was covered properly.

'Yeah sure, no problem there.' Aldev concentrated, and light surrounded them.

'See you at Geffen!' shouted Nocturne as both groups disappeared. Dust whirled in the draught they had created, and the wind blew through the street.

A moment later the dark prints of a pair of shoes faded from the cobbles.

It must have been sheer misfortune that Aldev's portal fell short of where it was supposed to go. Valkron vaguely remembered blurred scenery before he was suddenly wet. He wasn't the only one.

'Aldev, are you really an accomplished monk?' said Emeth, wading out of the river. Dark stains reached up to his knees. 'Seriously, Samaroh does better than you.'

'It does go awry sometimes,' said the monk apologetically, wringing water out of his robes. 'But it's never been this inaccurate.'

'Well, now it is,' said Khan, wiping his face.

Valkron looked down at himself. He too had waded out of the river as soon as he had felt the water although his head had been spinning from the after-effects of the teleport. It was that or soak for a few minutes longer. Even so he could feel water sloshing around his feet in his shoes.

'Get a fire going,' he said, looking up at Emeth. 'I'm not going to walk around leaking water everywhere and leaving a trail of water wherever I go.'

They got the fire started quickly enough and were soon standing around it. Aldev had removed his coat and had hung it on a handy branch. Emeth had done the same with his cloak, and Khan had taken off his shoes. Valkron had been forced to remove the armour below the knees. Amaru was still busy emptying water from his cart.

'Stop laughing behind your hand, Emeth,' said the knight. 'Don't pretend you weren't. I know I look odd without my shin guards, all right? You don't have to remind me.'

'Well, this is a nice thing,' said Khan, warming his hands by the fire. 'We don't even know where we are.'

'I'm not sure but we're close by, don't you worry,' said Aldev. He pointed. 'Look over there.'

The other four followed the length of his arm right up to the end of his finger. Aldev was right. The great marble, steel-tipped Geffen Tower rose majestically out of the forest, moonlight reflecting on its smooth conical surface. Even though they were probably quite far off Valkron could see the spiralling yellow dots on the tower. People - most likely wizards - were up and studying in there.

'That's heartening,' said Emeth dryly. 'If only we were there.'

'No chance of that happening tonight,' said Amaru, emptying his shoes of water. He took out a cigarette packet and took one. 'Got a light, Emeth? My matches are useless.'

The wizard sighed. 'Use the fire.'

'No thanks, it's too big.'

Emeth wordlessly leaned forward and snapped his fingers under the tip of the cigarette. Flame sparked from them and lit the cigarette.

'Nice,' remarked Amaru, inhaling.

'I still don't understand why it went wrong,' said Aldev, clearly distressed about his teleportation. 'I concentrated hard enough, and yet--'

'Stow it, Aldev,' said Khan. 'We're worried enough as it is. Don't waste your energy thinking about it - if it's done it's done.'

Valkron, who had been watching with a sceptic look on his face, sniffed and walked off towards a darker part of the clearing they were in.

'We might as well turn in for the night,' he said, sitting down on the grass. 'It'll be a long walk tomorrow. Anyone who doesn't want to sleep, don't make a sound. The person who does will be a dead man.'

With that the knight leaned against the tree behind them and resolutely shut his eyes. Aldev gave him a look of horrified fascination before picking a spot that was quite far from the fire. After exchanging meaningful looks Emeth and Khan settled down too, and Amaru followed suit shortly after.

Valkron wasn't so sure if he had been that tired, but he had dropped to sleep almost immediately after he had closed his eyes. Even after that he still wasn't too certain if he had been completely asleep, because he heard voices whispering like the wind. He was irritated by it, but somehow no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't get his eyes open to see who it was. He couldn't move at all.

It was early morning when he rose. The sun was just appearing over the horizon, illuminating the ashes of the fire. Valkron frowned. Emeth's fires did not die out easily and could last a whole night if the weather was good.

He was fastening on his metal shoes when Emeth got up. The sleepy wizard blinked several times and then said, 'Why is it so damn cold? Did it rain last night?'

'No,' said Valkron. It was true, though. For some reason he had felt cold when he had got up, although there had been no rain. It was late spring, and there would be no heavy storm for a few months.

'Hmph. Ah, whatever.' Emeth got to his feet. 'My tongue feels like it's been boiled in glue. I'm going to go wash my face, so don't leave without me.'

Valkron watched the wizard disappear in the direction of the river they had landed in, and then heard a yawn from another side. Khan was getting up.

The sun was well up when the five of them set off towards the tower, shining in the distance. Valkron's peco was with them - it had got out of the river without any fuss - and now he was riding it. They moved through the forest swiftly enough, occasionally encountering a rocker or two.

After a while they encountered people. These ranged from the usual novices swiping away at their first porings to magicians tormenting dumplings to the odd wizard or sage observing nature. The latter they avoided as much as they could afford to, even Emeth, because anything that was worse than a rampaging nightmare or a stampeding mob of kobolds would be an enraged wizard or sage.

'Ah, there it is,' said Emeth, stopping to admire. 'My second home.'

They halted looked up at the white tower that graced the centre of Geffen. Valkron felt as if it had been a long time since they had come here, even though he knew they had just recently been in the city of magic.

'If Geffen is the City of Magic,' said Khan at that moment, 'then what is Juno known as?'

'City in the Air. Or City of Knowledge, if you like,' said Emeth. 'Let's go, the others are probably worried sick over us by now.'

'I highly doubt it,' said Valkron, shaking his head as he jerked the reins. His peco gave a honk as they moved on.

They took very little time to descend the steps into Geffen. Once there they looked around for any sign of the other half of the Raulus party. However, they didn't have to.

'Hey, over here!'

Valkron turned his head in the direction of the sound. Eni was jumping out and down energetically, while her lunatic happily hopped in circles around her. As one man the party drew back, clearly in horror at the similarity.

Iruna poked her head out of a nearby door, probably to see what the ruckus was all about. She lifted the corner of her blindfold and then waved, before turning to Eni and saying something which made the alchemist stop. Then she emerged from the door and walked towards them, her metal heels clinking against the cobbles underneath.

'What happened?' she asked, when she was near enough. 'Took a detour?'

'Aldev's teleport had some misdirection problems,' supplied Khan helpfully. The monk shot him a look, but he didn't see it.

'We landed in a river not far from here,' said Valkron, glancing at the assassin. 'Explains why we didn't immediately come to Geffen so we could spend the previous night here.'

'Fortunately for all of you, we booked rooms.' Iruna took hold of Valkron's arm and yanked him towards her so suddenly he nearly fell. 'Sorry, but someone needs to pass. All the inns are fully booked.'

'You could have said,' muttered the knight, rubbing his arm. A novice walked past behind him, giving him a curious look.

'Why?' said Khan, looking around. 'The place doesn't seem to be crowded. There isn't a carnival, is there?'

'No,' replied the crusader. 'But the king's ordered a massive guild raid on the Geffen Dungeons. Ten guilds are gathering in the city, and at midnight they'll be launching a united assault on the inhabitants.'

'You've got to be kidding me,' said Emeth, turning to stare at the white tower. 'What about the resident wizards and blacksmiths?'

'Most of them have moved to Prontera, though there's a few who have chosen to go to Morroc. A wise decision. We won't know how infuriated the Geffen monsters will be.' Iruna turned towards the inn. 'Come on, the others are waiting for you.'

'I say we get out of here before nightfall, then,' said Aldev, running to catch up with them.

'Go where?' retorted Iruna. 'These ancient monsters seek life force. If they sense any heading for the capital they'll try to break out of Geffen and come after it. We'll be blamed for bringing the monsters to Prontera.'

'Then why are we here? We should get out of Geffen now!'

'Wait.' Valkron stopped so suddenly that Aldev ran into his back. 'Sorry. If the monsters of Geffen desire so much to emerge from their home, won't they be heading for something similar to life force...?'

The others gazed at him. At length Emeth said, 'In Odin's name, I never thought of that.'

'Thought of what?' said Aldev.

'You're right, Valkron,' said Khan, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. 'It could most likely be.'

'What if it isn't?' said Iruna.

Valkron shrugged. 'Just taking the risk.'

'What? What? What are you all talking about?' said the monk.

Emeth turned to him. 'Valkron's referring to the fact that dark magic is similar to life force, in that it's a form of power. Since the monsters want power, they'll charge straight for the portal--'

'--which will give us the location of the portal itself if we follow them,' finished Iruna.

'You've got to be mad to follow them, though,' said Khan darkly.

'True,' said Valkron, resuming his walk. 'But other mercenaries think we're mad already, so it's not going to hurt our reputation any further.'

He did not see the ludicrous looks they gave him, but they didn't see the grin on his face either.

By midday, however, they were staying in the inn for longer periods of time. People were streaming out of the gates in a sort of organized panic. The same declarations of the guild raid were put up everywhere.

'"The gates of Geffen will be closed by six",' Nocturne read out from the one posted in the lobby of the inn. '"All those who seek safety should move to the other cities before the time stated above. Prontera will gladly welcome the immigrants."'

'Makes it sound like we're at war,' said Khan, who was perched on the arm of an armchair near the hearth. Amaru was sitting in the same chair and gazing thoughtfully into the fire. A thin wisp of smoke was rising from the cigarette between his lips.

'We are at war.' Emeth turned away from the window, where he had been watching the residents leave. 'At war with the portal.'

'Aw, man, why can't we leave like the others are doing?' Aldev almost wailed in despair. 'I don't want to know what'll happen!'

'If I recall,' said Samaroh in his accented tone, 'you said you needed a party down to Geffen. You said you wanted to know more about the portal. If you don't want to stay with us, you're welcome to leave.'

'Stop picking arguments with everyone, Samaroh,' said Iruna, who had taken off her blindfold and was now sewing a tear in her cloak. 'It's not his fault. He didn't want to get dragged into this.'

Valkron stood at the window and watched through the glass. Kafra employees were going along with the crowd. The cloaked, helmeted Geffen guards were herding everyone out, but he could see the fear on their faces. By six, he thought, the ten guilds would be here. By midnight the war will take place. Six hours for them to prepare themselves.

'What are the names of the ten guilds, Nocturne?' he said, still watching.

'Uh, hang on...' Nocturne looked further down the poster. 'the Seven Eyes, the Black Cross, Apocalypse Ultima, the Guardians of Geffen, the Legionnaires, Defenders of Prontera, the Exodus Faction, Exorcisma, The El Midor and the Odyssey.'

'The Odyssey?' said Valkron, frowning. Something else was nudging his mind, but he was too preoccupied with the name. 'Sagna's guild? It must be that good now.'

'It says here that these are the ten highest ranking guilds in Rune-Midgard,' continued Nocturne. 'Experienced veteran warriors and the like.'

'Hm. I've heard of all of the guilds,' said the knight. Whatever it was that was trying to get his attention was attempting to push his brain, but he ignored it. 'Especially The Seven Eyes guild. I know the leader of the Exodus Faction.'

'Good name,' said Emeth, inspecting his gloves. 'Has the right ring to it.'

'If I wanted to join a guild, I'd choose one with a name like that,' said Nocturne.

'Mm.' Now it was really kicking his brain.

Suddenly Valkron realised what it was. He had been so close to the glass of the window that his nose was barely a few centimetres from it. And he could see his breath fogging up the glass. The air right in front of his nose was like a permanent mist.

At the same time he became aware of a crackling sound. It was not the crackling of the fire, which was blazing cheerily in the fireplace. It was whitish-blue frost, running along the frame of the glass like cracks, right in front of his eyes.

Valkron stared at it, watching as the frost spread out its icy fingers over the glass. Then he straightened up and turned around, but before he could say anything the innkeeper emerged from the backroom, where he had been packing.

'Sorry, but I've got to go,' he said apologetically. 'You still sure you want to stay? It might become a bloodbath.'

'We've seen a lot,' answered Emeth calmly, fitting on his gloves. 'This one won't make a difference.'

The innkeeper raised an eyebrow. 'Well, I won't be staying here. Better Prontera than here, I say. Anywhere, actually, than Geffen.' He heaved his rucksack onto his shoulder and promptly left. Everyone watched him go.

'Emeth?' said Valkron.

'Yes?'

'If the portal has complete control of the magic in this world, will it disrupt the weather?'

'It's possible, yes.' Emeth looked surprise. 'Why do you ask?'

Valkron turned his head back to the window. It was now completely covered in frost. He could feel the cold radiating off it.

'Because it's doing it right now.'

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refer to chapter 6.