"I do not see why it would not," Holli offered. "It would just require patience and concentration. I would suggest that the rest of us stay here. When you find him, you can teleport us to your position. That way you won't be distracted and Ryson can concentrate on the sorcerer's scent."
"It's probably the best plan," Jure agreed. "I can keep watch over everyone here. I can even protect Linda from any new arasaps. They would have to physically touch her. The best…"
Ryson thought of the arasaps and instantly cut Jure off.
"Don't say anything else!"
Jure obeyed the order without hesitation but looked immediately toward the delver for an explanation.
"I think Ansas is using the arasaps to watch us," Ryson explained. "I think he knew we were coming. That's why he took off."
"They shouldn't be able to see us," Jure contradicted, "or hear us. Linda's magical immunity would create a barrier."
"Ansas left right before we showed up," Ryson countered. "And then he just flew away. Why would he do that? He knew we were coming. I can tell."
"But it shouldn't be possible," Jure maintained, but only for a moment, "…unless the arasaps have managed to tap into Linda's senses as well as her emotions. Perhaps they see what she sees, hears what she hears."
"That would explain a great deal," Holli agreed.
Enin said nothing but quickly cast a spell. He could not cast it directly upon Linda, or even on the arasaps within her, but he could focus on the space surrounding Ryson's wife.
The others could not ignore the wizard's actions, especially the delver. Ryson knew his wife was immune to magic, and couldn't understand why Enin would direct a spell towards her.
"What did you do?!" Ryson demanded.
"I placed a… think of it as a curtain… around your wife. You can't see it, but it is there. She can no longer hear or see us, which means the arasaps and Ansas can no longer see us or hear us."
"So she thinks we're gone?!" Ryson stated with his alarm growing.
"I understand your concern, but in her state, she does not mind. She cannot see or hear anyone of us, save Dzeb. I thought it would be best if he looked after her. The curtain does not block him out."
"So she thinks I've left her?!" Ryson was about to demand Enin remove the spell, but Holli affirmed the wisdom of the move.
"We need you to help us find and defeat Ansas," the elf intervened. "If you wish to help Linda, you must accept this."
"Of course I want to help her!" the delver roared. "But not like this!"
"It seems we have little choice. You yourself demanded Jure to remain quiet. How can we communicate?"
Ryson was becoming frustrated at having his words and actions used against him, and they were no closer to reaching the sorcerer.
"But if Enin just cut us all off from Linda, then Ansas knows we're aware he was listening."
"If he is watching us, then he already did," Holli noted. "You just said as much only a moment ago. This may be difficult, but we need you to find him."
Despite how it would affect the delver, Jure decided to expose yet another flaw in their plan.
"We have another problem. If Ansas was listening to us-which he probably was-then he knows how we're going to try to follow him."
Enin saw where the elder wizard was going.
"And he now knows to mask his scent from the delver."
"So he's going to get away?!" Ryson groaned.
"No," Jure said with certainty.
Holli recognized the elder wizard's tone.
"You have an idea?"
"I do. I believe I can find him, but you have to take me back to the elf camp."
Chapter 26
Without hesitation or even asking for further explanation from Jure, Enin teleported the group through a portal once more, and they emerged just outside the borders of the elf camp in Dark Spruce Forest. He did not know why Jure needed to speak to the elves, but the magic that flowed through his consciousness seemed to approve of the decision. He could never quite explain it to anyone else-as there was no one in Uton that could control the energy with the same proficiency-but the magic would often open his awareness to events of great consequence. He felt the lines of energy converging around them, almost guiding them to where they needed to go.
The sudden appearance of uninvited guests alarmed the elf guards on patrol and they called for the new arrivals to halt. The outer perimeter of sentries did not openly confront Enin's party with threats, but they remained on high alert and were extremely cautious involving any magical portals. Each elf remained in position as the elf captain rushed to the scene.
Birk Grund, recognizing most of them as allies, addressed them all with a level of respect, but he also insisted they reveal their purpose.
"Why have you come here in such a manner?"
Jure knew the answer, but he allowed Holli to speak for them all.
"We are in search of Ansas," the elf replied.
"Is he near?" the captain demanded.
Holli did not sense the sorcerer, but as of yet, she was uncertain why Jure wished to return to the elf camp. She bid the elder wizard to finally explain his intentions.
"No, he's not here," Jure explained. "He's still in the dark realm, but there are now two links to him that I can follow. One is with us." The wizard nodded to Linda. "The wife of Ryson Acumen is harboring four arasaps with a portion of Ansas' black magic. That is one point. The other is within Shantree Wispon."
None of the others, save Enin, could understand Jure's intentions. It was Holli who pressed for further explanation.
"But the links only create a path back to where the last spell was cast," Holli asserted. "The link to the arasaps led back to Ansas' study. The link to the elf elder will only lead us back to the area in the dark realm where the elves were taken after abduction, the ground that was under Ansas' barrier. Do you believe that is where he is hiding?"
"I doubt it, but I won't be following the links of a spell. I will seize upon the similarities within the two points of magic-the one in Linda and the one in Shantree. Ansas left part of himself in both, and I should be able to find the commonality between the two distinct portions, separate out the differences, and draw a direct path back to his unique power. That will lead us right to him… wherever he is."
Ryson didn't understand the magical implications, really didn't care about them. He wanted nothing more than to get to Ansas as quickly as possible, but he also considered the need to act with greater care. His impatience and carelessness had already led to one setback. He despised the thought of any delay, but he wouldn't make the same mistake twice. There was no way he would allow Ansas to escape again.
"How are you going to block out Shantree?" the delver asked. "We can't let Ansas know what we're going to do. If he was able to use Linda's senses, he can probably use Shantree's. Is Enin going to cast another spell around her?"
Birk immediately responded with a harsh rebuke.
"No one is going to cast a spell on anyone in this camp without discussing it with me, the council… and especially the camp elder!"
"But if we tell her what the plan is, then Ansas will be warned," Ryson responded with growing frustration, unsympathetic to the elf's concerns.
"Warned of what?" Birk demanded.
"We are going after him," Holli explained in the most diplomatic tone she could muster. "He has used arasaps to penetrate Linda Acumen. We must free her of the parasites."
"She has my sympathy, but you do not have my authorization to cast a spell on the camp elder. Ansas has already abducted us once and any action against him must be considered by the council, or at least the camp elder herself."
Ryson finally boiled over. He stepped up to the elf captain in a blur of motion and gazed defiantly into Birk's eyes.
"Do you know how many times I've saved this camp? If you think I'm going to let your idiotic rules interfere with what we have to do, you're sadly mistaken."