"And all the fruit spoils," Auri said, but thankfully too low for Lieutenant Meniar to possibly have that image enter his intent. Then she added: "That was a different noise."
"Part of one of the doors has given way, I think," Sukata agreed.
The Kellian girl moved so she was standing closer to the central statue, where Lieutenant Meniar was now cutting a deep x across one of his palms with a piece of glass. Letting the blood well freely and drip from his fingers, he made a splattery circle around the statue, crossing all four of the root-filled channels. Then came the critical act of the casting: he took a single leaf of ivy and placed it over the bleeding wound like a bandage, commanding it to make his hand whole. An enormous outflow of power roared away from him, following the ivy roots through the whole of the garden.
"They’re coming," Auri whispered. "Just the little ones, I think."
With a glance at Lieutenant Meniar, Darian Faille stepped out of the room, leaving Tesin standing uncertain. After a moment’s consultation, Lord Surclere put Duchess Surclere on her unshaky feet and strode quickly after his mother, Tesin trotting at his heels. Sukata stayed where she was.
"I thought we were going to use a shield?" Auri said.
"If only the smaller constructs are coming, then we might be able to forego the need for a shield," Sukata replied. Her gaze rested briefly on Kendall, and she added: "It is best to reserve our options."
"I could help," Auri offered eagerly. "I’m very strong."
"We are the second line of defence," Sukata said calmly, but the whole of her body was tense, and she twitched at a ring of steel on glass.
"How long does this stupid spell take to cast?" Kendall asked, shifting from foot to foot in that silence that followed that single, shattering sound.
"Impossible to say," Fallon told her. "Thirty subjects over quite a large area, and—" He couldn’t help but flinch at further noise, and cast a worried glance at Lieutenant Meniar, who was holding his hand directly above his head now, palm turned to the sky.
Sukata whirled and leaped upward—a streak impossible to track until she was on the downward arc, hurling something as she landed. It shattered against the wall, and Tesin, who had been chasing it, reversed course and returned to the corridor, only to reappear a moment later with Lord Surclere and Darian Faille.
"The rest are still trying to get out," Auri said. "Is the casting even progressing?"
"Look at the walls," Tesin said.
A tinge of rust. There were far fewer leaves in the central courtyard, so the shift had probably been more noticeable out in the corridor. All the leaves had dark rims, and even as Fallon peered more closely the colour spread, flushing darker and darker until it seemed the room dripped with blood.
"Sounds like a whole door’s gone now!" Auri gasped, and Lord Surclere gave the Duchess a nod to indicate it was time for the shield.
She turned, but even as she looked toward her Sigillic, Lieutenant Meniar let out a loud gasp, and crumpled in a heap, the now red-black leaf falling to the ground. Immediately, Duchess Surclere limped to the tight cluster of sigils she’d marked on the statue itself, and filled them with power.
"Lots of them coming, fast," Auri said, her hand closing painfully on Fallon’s shoulder.
"And how long is this one going to take?" Kendall asked, but the answer to that was no time at all, as the chained woman, the swirling vortex, and the thing of barbs and teeth swam back into visible existence, only to become painful to look at as the bright chains flared, then shattered. The statue tilted forward.
Duchess Surclere hopped hastily back, stumbled, and was caught by Sukata, who bounded clear. Darian Faille blurred to snatch Lieutenant Meniar out of the throat of a roaring gale. Fallen leaves, pieces of glass, and dropped bits of chalk slid forward to be swallowed by nothingness, and Fallon hastily put his foot on Kendall’s coat before it and its collection of focuses followed.
For the briefest moment, Fallon thought he saw the woman again. The fragment of an Elder Mage, a creation of the gods themselves, tasked to shepherd the world in their stead. She stood tall and free, unmarked by chains or the creeping blight of the Eferum-Get. Possibly she nodded. And then she, too, was gone.
As if a door had slammed shut, all the noise went away. Even, Kendall noticed with immense relief, the endless pulsing of the shield and the too-clever-by-half ivy. No more spell.
Unlike everything lying about loose, and the muggy warmth of the room, the vine hadn’t vanished, but most of its leaves had fallen, and it looked withered and dry.
"Are the bugs still coming?" she asked.
"The casting should have removed much of their motive power," Rennyn said. "But there may be a remnant."
They all listened intently, and then Fallon’s sister said: "I can hear noise, but I don’t think it’s bugs."
"Thirty mages." Lord Surclere crossed to take Rennyn from Sukata.
"Thirty confused, dirty, scared, cross mages," Kendall predicted.
"Hungry, too, I expect," Aurienne said. "And most of them weren’t dressed for the cold, and some didn’t have shoes."
They shared a mutual glance of what a headache, which became very odd for Kendall thanks to the Imperial Smugness' insufferable face getting in the way.
"How is Lieutenant Meniar?" Rennyn asked.
"Breathing," Darian Faille said.
"That was closer to his limit than I care to think about." Rennyn shut her eyes, but seemingly out of relief, not tiredness.
"Look at his hand," the Pest said, and then lifted Lieutenant Meniar’s hand so that they could see the cut he’d given himself, neatly healed, and surrounded by a deep imprint of an ivy leaf.
"Thirty cross mages with leaves for hair," Aurienne said, brightly.
That made Rennyn laugh. "I hope not. As for the other concerns…I am going to attempt to reverse Nameen’s Walk. It’s a very energy-hungry casting, and I don’t understand it enough to change the departure or destination points, but I think I can hold it for the amount of time it apparently took me to walk here in the first place." She glanced up at Captain Faille. "I think it’s the best choice in the circumstances."
All Captain Faille did was nod, but there was no doubt he didn’t like the idea. Not because he didn’t trust Rennyn’s casting, but because she was injured, sick, and a really big spell was guaranteed to lay her out. Though that was probably the exact same reason he didn’t object. Back at Aurai’s Rest there would be all the Sentene mages and the other Kellian to deal with whatever problems came up. The longer they stayed here, the less time and energy could be devoted to making sure Rennyn woke up tomorrow.
"They will find us frightening," Captain Faille said, frankly. "Fallon and Aurienne, do you feel you can act as less unnerving intermediaries?"
"Of course!" Aurienne said, and shot at her brother: "My Kolan’s not that bad."
"Do you wish them brought to the entrance, or here?" Captain Faille asked Rennyn.
"I came out at the entrance, but I think this is the origin point. Perhaps the shield interfered? Anyway, yes, here would be best."
Kendall had never been more pleased not to know any Kolan than when she and Sukata were told to stay and look after Rennyn and Lieutenant Meniar, while everyone else went to herd mages. Since Rennyn simply sat herself before the wall where this Walk was supposedly written down, Kendall turned to the little matter of broken golems. The one Sukata had smashed had vanished, but the south-facing corridor was all over glass.