And the worry that his work on the objects would be strong enough for Val to find him.
"Hello!" Jesmind said imaptiently, waving her paw in his face. He blinked and looked at her. "What's the matter with you?"
"I was thinking," he told her. "What did you say?"
"I asked if you were serious," she repeated.
"Very serious," he replied. "I can make something that will let us walk on top of the snow, and I can also fix it so it casts an Illusion over us that will make virtually impossible to find."
"Virtually?"
"It won't hide our eyes," he told her. "So unless they look directly at us and they have very good eyesight, they won't see anything."
"That will make the going alot faster," she said after a moment. "No more slogging through snow."
"That's what I was thinking. The only bad part is that I'll have to create permanent magical objects. That takes alot of time and alot of effort. A lot of effort. I won't even be able to sleep while I'm doing it."
"How long?"
"I'll have to make two objects, one for each of us, and each will take two days. If I don't stop to rest between them, it will take four days."
"You'll need to rest," she admonished. "At least a day, so you can catch up on your sleep."
"Probably," he grunted. "So let's call it five days. The problem is that that's all our available free time. So if I do do this, we'll have to move quickly to make up time."
"We'll do that easy if we can run on top of the snow," she told him. "We could clear the mountains in fifteen days instead of twenty, and still have plenty of time to get across the tundra."
"That's what I was thinking," he agreed. "If I do this, Jesmind, I'll have to lower the Wards. Their magic will interfere with what I'm doing. That means that you'll have to defend the chamber by yourself. I won't be able to help you. I may never notice that anything happened. I'll be completely out of it."
"Just leave me enough food, my mate," she told him. "I won't let anything hurt you. That's a guarantee."
"So, you like the idea?"
"I don't relish the idea of being a living snowball, my mate," she grinned. "I really like the idea of being able to walk on top of the snow without us having to plow through it."
"Alright then," he said, standing up. "Let's get this started."
"Now?" she asked, standing up with him.
"Why not?"
"Shouldn't you get a little rest before you start?"
"Maybe, but I also need to ask the Goddess a few things. I'm going to be vulnerable while I'm doing this, and I'm worried that the magic I'm expending will let our enemies find us. I need to make sure that won't happen."
"How can she do that?"
"She said she'd help me in any way she could," he told her. "Maybe she can hide me while I'm making the objects."
You've already been hidden, my kitten, her whimsical chuckle came to him. Why do you think Val's mind has yet to find you?
"Mother!" he said in surprise. "Is that why he can't find me? Are you doing it?"
No. You're deep in the heart of the earth, and that is Darian's domain. Darian was the name of the Elder God of earth, and it was one of the peculiarities that both Darian and Ahiriya were also the names of two of the humans on the Council. Ahiriya had been named for the goddess of fire since the day she was born, to honor the goddess of fire to give her name to a child with flame-red hair, but Darian may not have been the name of the Earth seat. Men sometimes changed their names, and it was possible that the Earth seat may have changed his to honor the Elder god whose element he represented on the Council. The Sorcerers worshipped Niami, the Goddess of Magic, as their patron, but they also ackowledged and revered the other Elder gods as representatives of the natural forces that Sorcery represented. Darian agreed to hide you from Val while you were within his realm. Remember this, my kitten; any time you need to hide, just put earth over your head. Darian will protect you from being found so long as you are surrounded by earth and rock.
"I'll remember, Mother. Could you find Spyder for me? I need to ask her how she hides herself in the Weave."
You've already stumbled across that trick, kitten, she answered. Remember when you let the Weave flow through you to keep you warm? That is how she does it. When you let the Weave flow through you, the effect you have on it is significantly reduced. Jenna was almost in a panic when you first started doing it, because she couldn't keep track of you anymore. I had to calm her down.
"How are things going on that side?"
Busy. I've finished making the arrangements, so now everyone is scrambling to have their forces in place before Gods' Day. Shiika is in Suld along with General Kang. He and Darvon are going to be the tacticians responsible for the plan of attack.
"Good choices."
I certainly agree. Kang is a thorough professional, and Darvon's credentials are already well known and respected. She chuckled. Kang got quite a nasty shock when he met Sapphire.
"Have the dragons met and discussed it?"
They have. There will be some three hundred dragons participating in the attack. The rest won't fight in the battle, but they will participate in the defense of Sennadar if we fail to stop them at Gora Umadar. I think that's a wise choice.
"Why not commit them all?"
Because if we fail, there won't be any more dragons left to fight, she answered. The dragons are the reason we won the Blood War, kitten. When they committed to the cause, we started winning the war. Their power is tremendous, more than even you can imagine. Three hundred dragons may be all we need to help battle a force the size of the army that Val has collected.
"Even more reason to commit all of them to this battle," he said stubbornly. "Put an overwhelming force on the field."
Yes, and put them all within Val's striking distance, she said pointedly.
"Oh. I forgot about that," he said sheepishly.
I rather thought you did, she answered. I must go now, kitten. Remember what I told you. Whenever you must hide from Val, simply surround yourself with earth and rock. Darian will protect you.
"What was that about?" Jesmind asked as the Goddess withdrew from him.
He told her quickly. "As long as we stay underground, the Elder god of the earth will hide us from Val," he concluded. "So we'll be safe until we leave the caves."
"Too bad we can't take caves all the way there," she fretted.
"I know, but since when are things ever that easy for us?"
She laughed. "No doubt there." Then she frowned deeply, glancing at him. "If the Goddess is worried about this Val frying the dragons in the army, what's going to stop him from frying the army?" she asked. "Are the other gods going to protect them?"
"They won't interfere directly," he said grimly. "They're too afraid."
"Then who's going to stop Val from killing our army?"
"The gods won't interfere directly," he told her. "They won't attack. But as long as Val doesn't directly attack them, they will defend the army against his power. They can do that much without inciting a direct confrontation. You know, one of those things that may destroy the world."