He found a place where they could climb in among a group of massive boulders and could at least have some relief from the driven sand and the worst of the dust. He was distressed to see that Kharendaen looked very tired and moved slowly and stiffly, having suffered her own injuries during their battle. Nevertheless, Thelvyn seemed to have taken the worst, discovering a yard-long tear in the sail of his right wing from his collision with the amber dragon. At least such damage would repair itself in a few days, even without magical healing.
"They knew about our gate," Kharendaen said, nestling close against his chest. "All they had to do was to wait for us to come to them."
"Fortunately they seemed to have underestimated lis once again," Thelvyn remarked. "Now we have to find another way
home."
"What choices do we have?" Kharendaen asked, turning her head to look up at him.
"We have a number of options, some better than others," he said, having already considered that question. "We could wait for a while and make another try at our own temporary gate, but I expect the Masters will guard it very closely as long as they know we are still in their world. I expect the old gate near Braastar is being watched at least as closely."
"If nothing else, we could simply fight our way through to one of their other gates," she suggested.
"That's something we could try as a last resort," he agreed. "The problem is that if we have to fight for access to a gate, they'll probably have time to close it first. We could return to their main stronghold and try to dart through that big gate before they can defend it, but I'm concerned that the Overlord will be aware of us if we come that close to his stronghold. That leaves us with the possibility of trying to open a completely new gate at a place of our own choosing."
Kharendaen laid back her ears. "Do you command the power necessary to accomplish such a thing?"
"I think I know how we could try," he said. "Remember the reason why you were told to accompany me. As his cleric, you might still provide some vague link to the Great One. If he could be made aware of our need, he might be able to reach out from his side to help us complete a worldgate."
"But I've been isolated from my clerical powers ever since we first came into this world," she protested. "How can I possibly contact the Great One?"
"In the usual manner, I would suppose. Try to commune with the Great One, reaching out to him across the void."
Kharendaen sat upright with her long tail looped tightly around her legs, closing her eyes so that she could concentrate. A moment later she was disturbed from her thoughts by a distant sound of something large moving through the fog of wind-blown dust, the slow, ponderous steps of some massive creature. She opened her eyes, and both of the dragons listened carefully for a moment.
"The metal warriors are coming," Thelvyn said softly. "The
Masters must have some idea of where to look for us."
"Do we flee now and try again later?" Kharendaen asked.
"No. We should have time for at least one try," Thelvyn decided quickly. "They won't find us quickly in this place. The Great One may have to direct the dragon sorcerers to open a gate for us. We should be as close to the place that corresponds to the source of the Radiance in our own world as we can be."
Kharendaen still looked concerned, and it took her a moment to regain the composure of a cleric. Once again she closed her eyes, and after a moment, her entire form began to glow with a soft blue light. Thelvyn waited patiently, certain that she must be having some success. Then he saw the form of a dragon slowly beginning to appear atop a large stone only a few yards from their hiding place. The image remained indistinct, pulsing into moments of clarity and then fading almost completely away. It was the image of his mother, Arbendael, not the Great One.
"The Great One hears you," she said, although her voice was very distant and blurred. "He cannot leave his own realms of influence to cross the void to this place, but I was able to come near enough that I may at least speak with you. What is your need?"
"We have to open a gateway back to our own world," Thelvyn explained. "All other gates are closed to us, and our enemies are at hand. But I doubt that I have the power to open a worldgate myself."
"I think you have that power," Arbendael told him. "What you lack is the means to find your way home across the void. Open your portal and pass within it. Just as Kharendaen has reached out to guide me to you, I will draw you back home again."
Now it was Thelvyn's turn to work his strongest magic. Standing at the opening leading into the cluster of great stones where the dragons had been hiding, he closed his eyes and opened himself to his own powers, seeking the means to open a worldgate. The spell revealed itself to him, but from the first, his greatest struggle was against himself, for he was in pain and his strength was failing. With great effort, he was able to command his full powers. Then he released the magic, tearing an opening in the continuum. But the substance of space and time resisted his efforts to force the tear to open into an actual passageway large enough for the dragons to use, and he needed great will and effort to slowly force his way in.
He succeeded just in time. Glancing to his right, he suddenly saw the dark form of one of the warriors approaching through the clouds of gray dust, slowing as it came within sight of the island of stone where the dragons were hiding. Thelvyn turned to Kharendaen and shook her back to awareness, and then they leapt one after the other into the tunnel of darkness that now stood open before them.
The dragons knew from the moment they entered the passage that something was very different about this gate, something that was not at all right. They realized they weren't moving through the passage but instead hung suspended between worlds, for there was nowhere for them to go. They could see no distant end to the tunnel, since the far end of the passage had not yet opened. In growing alarm, Thelvyn began to wonder if he had failed. He wondered what would happen if the passage collapsed, whether he and Kharendaen would be thrown back into the cold, desert world of the Overlord or if they would be forever stranded between worlds.
Then, just as he was preparing to reinforce his spell, the dragons began to feel themselves drawn forward along the length of the passage. Thelvyn could only hope that they were being drawn to their own world. Then the light opened before them at last to show them a distant, distorted view of fields of deep grass standing under a bright sun.
Thelvyn emerged from the worldgate moments later, moving quickly to one side to make room for Kharendaen. They were standing in the middle of a pasture bordered by stone walls, with more fields or small stands of woods beyond. A river flowed only a few hundred yards behind them, not the Aalban but the Areste, and the city of Braejr stood only a few miles to the southeast. A small group of farmers were rushing across the field, bearing axes and pitchforks, still too far away to see that the trespassers in their fields were gold dragons and not the Masters.
For the moment, Thelvyn had a more immediate concern. He moved well to one side of the worldgate, indicating for Kharendaen to follow him, and then quickly invoked the magic that would destroy the passage. The gate seemed almost to snap shut, drawing in upon itself in an instant until it became nothing more than a point of darkness standing in the air. A moment later that, too, vanished with a great flash of flames that leapt outward to singe the grass in a fan-shaped patch several yards long.