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dangerous to the five of you, but it
could kill me or render me insane. If anything goes wrong, I guarantee the
result will be disaster.
"If no creatures approach overnight, the ward that I place around this camp
will still be in place in the morn-ing. Do not enter or leave the clearing or
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you will be fried to a cinder before you know what has hit you. I require this
safeguard because I can't have monsters wandering into camp in the middle of
the spell.
"Ordinarily, I must build a fire and purify it. The bra-zier will allow me to
skip that step and conserve some of my energy.
"Once I begin casting, I cannot have any distractions. You must not speak and
you must not walk around. If my concentration is broken, we'll all be sorry.
"I will be gazing into a crystal for the greater portion of the spell. My body
and brain will be present, but my mind's eye will be elsewhere. Even if you
think I'm in trouble, do not disturb me. Follow Gamaliel's lead if you think I
need help. He has seen me cast the spell dozens of times."
The barbarian nodded grimly, and the others silently noted their agreement.
"When the spell ends," the sorceress continued, "the crystal will shatter, but
I won't be injured. Gamaliel will take over from there. Follow his
instructions; my life will depend on him.
"I will be nearly unconscious all day following the spell. Don't think you can
wake me, throw me on a horse, and hit the road. I will have almost no powers,
and you'll put us all in danger if you drag me along. All you can do is let me
sleep and regain my strength. We can start out again the second morning. Any
questions?"
Andoralson snickered. "Can you write down the in-structions for this spell so
I can try it sometime?"
Talen-thia's elbow landed squarely in her cousin's ribs.
Evaine's green eyes blazed at the druid. "I know you command some magic, but
if you were to try this spell you would spend the rest of your natural life in
a coma or hopelessly insane. Your brain would be plagued by monsters of your
imagination so horrible that you could do nothing but scream and writhe in
your bed. You would die a thousand horrible deaths in your mind and you would
be so tortured that you'd wish for death. But you couldn't even ask to be put
out of your misery." She scowled, almost daring the druid to ask another snide
question.
Andoralson looked sheepish. Miltiades had hung on her every word. Despite her
original feelings about the paladin, Evaine had the feeling she was going to
appreci-ate having Miltiades around.
"Ren, I'm going to need you awake and alert during the spell," Evaine said
after a moment. "I need you to concen-trate on the pool with every ounce of
energy you have. It will help me make contact and get a solid fix on its
whereabouts." Ren nodded his cooperation, and the sor-ceress felt somewhat
relieved. "I
know I can depend on you with the lives of your friends at stake."
Evaine stood and paced the perimeter of the clearing. An emerald mist followed
her, dissipating quickly.
With the ward in place, the sorceress sat down to study. A few hours later,
all the companions were in their bedrolls and sleeping fitfully.
Gamaliel awoke Evaine just before dawn. Miltiades sto-ically stood guard over
the camp as she retrieved the brazier from its miniature bag and removed the
plati-num cap. To her relief, a bright flame sprang forth.
The sorceress spent nearly half an hour clearing her mind with meditation
exercises. When she was ready, she signaled Gamaliel to awaken Ren and the
others. The barbarian led the ranger to a position near the brazier, and
whispered to the others to keep their distance.
Evaine drew a large crystal from a pocket and per-formed the same ritual she
had used at the campfire a few days earlier. After the crystal was heated by
the magical flame, she laid the stone in her lap and began to concentrate.
"Hey, what's that roc " Andoralson blurted out.
Gamaliel was sailing through the air at the druid be-fore he could finish his
sentence. The barbarian knocked him to the ground, pinning his chest, and
clamped an enormous hand over Andoralson's mouth.
"Keep your mouth shut or I'll shut it for you!" Gamaliel whispered with a
snarl. His tone was so menacing that the druid didn't so much as blink. Ren,
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Talenthia, and Miltiades sat motionless.
Thanks to Gamaliel, Evaine hadn't noticed the inter-ruption. Her mind now
sailed up over the treetops and toward the pool. Her breathing was rapid and
regular, her body was engulfed in a pale green mist. All the oth-ers could do
was wait.
Gamaliel eventually allowed Andoralson to sit up. But he sat glowering at the
druid throughout the rest of the spell.
After what felt like hours, the crystal in Evaine's lap shattered into dust.
Gamaliel leaped to her side. She was breathing hard, drenched in sweat, but
otherwise healthy. Gamaliel collected the crystal dust, helped his mistress to
her bedroll, and saw that she was safely asleep.
Talenthia was the first to whisper to the barbarian. "Is she alright? Is there
anything I can do?"
Gamaliel responded calmly. "She'll be fine. All we can do now is wait for her
to awaken. We won't know the outcome of the spell until she's ready to tell
us. In the meantime, you can do as you like. She's sound asleep, so you're not
likely to awaken her." The barbarian seated himself near the sorceress's side
with a waterskin, a tin cup, Evaine's herbal mixture, and several clean cloths
close at hand.
Around midnight, the sorceress stirred. Gamaliel was still at her side,
watching every move. Evaine opened her eyes abruptly and was relieved to see
the barbari-an's face peering down at her. "What day is it?" she whis-pered.
"It's the middle of the night, the same day you cast the spell. You've been
asleep, oh, about seventeen hours." The barbarian dabbed her face with a wet
cloth.
"Good. That's not very long. I should be ready to hit the trail in the
morning. I feel strong. I think the magical brazier made a difference. And
Ren's presence allowed me to focus on the pool quickly."
Although the pair whispered in the dark, Talenthia and Ren awakened.
Andoralson snored in his bedroll, but his cousin shook him awake. Miltiades
watched si-lently, but stoked up the campfire, expecting that
Evaine would be telling her story very soon.
Gamaliel raked aside some hot coals and set out a cup of water to boil. The
others dragged themselves and their blankets close to the fire. The night air
was damp and chill, and the flames were a welcome relief.
Evaine propped herself up and sipped some water. The others looked on, not
speaking, waiting for her report. Finally, the sorceress spoke.
"I know you're all eager to hear what happened, but I must warn you, I think [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]