Gaelin noticed his own eyes had a tendency to wander that way, when he wasn’t paying attention – and sat down on a boulder, facing away from the hill. “Gaelin, what do you know about Bannier?” she asked.
He blinked. “Why, a fair amount, I guess. He was part of my father’s court for nearly as long as I remember. Fifteen years or more, I suppose. He’s intelligent and well-learned, but I’d expect that of a wizard.”
“Why did he serve your father?”
“The Mhor provided him with a stipend in exchange for his help – Bannier enjoyed both wealth and power as court wizard.”
Seriene smiled. “There are many forms of power, Gaelin.
I’m surprised a man like Bannier would have considered political influence to be worth his interest when real power, magical power, was his to command. Think, Gaelin – was there anything else Bannier did?”
Gaelin struggled to recall something useful. “I’ve heard Bannier was the only true mage in Mhoried. I recall the Mhor helped him to maintain his place by giving Bannier a free hand to discourage other wizards from settling in the kingdom.
Of course, there were dozens of magicians and illusionists who practiced lesser magic in the land, but Bannier was the only true mage.”
“Why would your father help him to keep other wizards away?”
“Back when my father was young, there were several wizards who competed for power in Mhoried. Bannier was one of these, and over the course of my father’s reign he defeated his rivals. Some of them were unsavory characters, so my father was glad to see them leave.” Gaelin laughed harshly.
“Until this year it seemed a wise policy.”
“So no other wizards draw upon Mhoried’s mebhaighl?”
“I wouldn’t know about that. But I do know Bannier is the only mage of any power in Mhoried and has been for many years.” He thought for a moment, and asked, “Would that be why he wanted no other wizards in Mhoried? So that he could control the land’s power, uncontested by any rivals?”
Seriene nodded. “It could very well be. What kind of spells did you see him cast?”
“He didn’t use his powers publicly, at least, not often. He knew what was happening all over Mhoried, and he could vanish and reappear hundreds of miles away in a matter of hours.”
Seriene frowned. “The halflings can do that by traversing the Shadow World. I wonder if Bannier has learned how to find his way through the Shadow?”
Gaelin blanched at her words. He’d heard of the Shadow World before – any one growing up heard the stories, of course – but Seriene’s earnestness terrified him. In legend, the Shadow World was a land that somehow paralleled Cerilia, existing alongside the daylight world. But it was a dark and dangerous realm, a land of spirits and ghosts, where things that couldn’t abide the sun lurked and preyed upon passersby.
Sometimes the Shadow was only a step away, the stories said, especially in places of great evil or suffering, and it was possible for someone with a bit of knowledge – or misfortune – to find a way into the realm of darkness. “Do you remember what Madislav said, as he was dying?” Gaelin replied. “He said that Bannier had imprisoned him in the Shadow World. He also said that Ilwyn was there.” He groaned in disappointment. “That could mean that we’re in the wrong place. Ilwyn could be anywhere!”
“Not necessarily, Gaelin. Look at this place – the Shadow World almost touches us. The walls between the worlds are thin here. If Bannier has learned to make use of the Shadow World, this is a place that would attract his interest.” Seriene looked away from the hilltop. “Is there anything else you can think of?”
“I studied under him for a time. He taught me a few cantrips, the barest start of the magician’s art, but he seemed to think I showed promise.” Gaelin shrugged. “He was a good advisor to my father for many years. I wonder what made him turn against House Mhoried.”
“It doesn’t matter now. It’s enough to know that he’s your enemy.” Seriene glanced back toward the campfire and stood up, brushing off the seat of her riding pants. “I should get some sleep, so I can study my spells in the morning. I’ll need them all soon, I think.” She threw Gaelin a sly look. “And besides, Erin might get jealous.”
“Erin?”
“It’s obvious, Gaelin. The way you’ve been looking at each other all day…” Her eyes flashed and her voice took on a sharp edge. “You know you can’t stay with her forever. She’s beneath your station.” Then she turned and went back to the camp. Gaelin looked after her, struggling with his feelings.
He glanced at the sky, seeking light, but the brooding menace of Caer Duirga returned all too quickly. As darkness fell, he went back to the camp.
That night, while the others slept, Erin came to him and silently led him away from the camp. There, out of sight and earshot, they made love again, fighting off the cold and the fear of the night. Before dawn, they rose and crept back into camp, masked by a simple illusion Erin wove softly under her breath. As they parted to return to their own sleeping rolls, Gaelin cupped her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly.
She shivered in his arms, and slipped away.
In the morning, Gaelin rose and donned his half-plate armor over a rust-stained aketon and a set of sturdy leather leggings. He left off his greaves and brassards, to save weight; he still wore forty pounds of iron, but he wouldn’t part with any more of his armor, even in the face of the morning’s climb. At one point, he glanced up and caught Erin watching him, while she tugged on her own long boots. He found himself remembering their encounter just a few short hours ago, and the mischievousness in her glance told him that she was remembering as well. He turned back to the business of dressing and arming himself, smiling until he glanced up and saw Seriene watching him. She closed her eyes and turned away, throwing herself into an intense examination of her spellbooks.
After everyone was dressed and armed, Gaelin set two guards to watch over the camp. The rest of the group started up the steep, slippery hillside in single file. Bull led the way; he was a skilled outdoorsman, and probably the best climber of them all. He chose a sideways path that curved around the slope of the mount, allowing them to more or less walk upright, although in several places they had to scramble on all fours. Seriene followed Bull, a distant expression on her face, as if she listened for a sound no one else could hear. Gaelin helped her along, while Erin, Boeric, and the remaining guardsmen brought up the rear.
The hillside was not a very difficult climb, but it was an arduous hike. By daylight, Gaelin could see more of Caer Duirga. It wasn’t a natural hill, or at least, it didn’t look like it belonged among the knife-edged ridges that surrounded it.
Caer Duirga was a mass of jagged stone that burst out of the surrounding hills, a titanic black claw emerging from a hidden grave. Tall pillars the size of castle turrets leaned drunkenly away from the main massif, hiding dark glens and chimneys in their shadows. In the lower reaches, impenetrable briars and stands of black, twisted trees made the going nearly impossible. Here and there, Gaelin thought he could make out the ruins of ancient walls, now fields of wreckage hard to distinguish from the mass of the hill itself.
Within an hour, they climbed two hundred feet while zigzagging two miles across the hillside. Despite the clammy mists that surrounded them, Gaelin was sweating profusely.
The view would have been impressive, if the day were clearer – but Gaelin suspected that there weren’t many sunny days around Caer Duirga.
After two hours’ difficult work, they neared the hill’s summit.
The hill grew steeper as it rose, and the relatively easy going of the lower slopes was now becoming a dangerous and time-consuming chore. Bull selected their path a few yards at a time, and they spent more time picking their way up with hands and feet. Gaelin could swear the hillside deliberately obstructed their way, as solid-looking handholds crumbled away in his grasp or his foot slipped suddenly on what seemed to be dry, sturdy stone. One of the guardsmen lost his grip, and a nasty slide deposited him fifty feet down the slope.