Aglanthol 3 - The Castle of Saelethiel (The Law Cannot Be Shaken) - 11. Chapter 11

Ogol was sitting in the shelter of a rock. Night had meanwhile fallen. He was pondering. The guardians of the castle had put up an additional ward and they had not concealed it. His first impulse had been to intrude into the castle. But he meanwhile had refrained from this plan.

The guardians were many and they were powerful and they had access to the ancient magic. Ogol would not stand a chance. He would not be able to enter the castle. However, he did not intend to give up. And so he pondered on what the guardians would do if he did not turn and leave the place. Ogol mused. The guardians would not be able to sustain the mighty ward for a very long time. He could just wait until the energy field weakened. Ogol knew, however, this would not happen in the near future. And he did not have enough provisions in order to survive a very long time. Ogol had tried to materialize food, but he had found that this magic did not work here. The energy field prohibited it.

The guardians were powerful magicians, but they were not warriors. Ogol was certain they would not attack him. The energy field served a different purpose. But so far, he had not yet figured it out.

Ogol leaned back against the cold rock. He closed his eyes. He would not retreat and the guardians would not attack. So they had probably summoned someone to find and stop him. Ogol took the magic orb out of his pocket and activated it. The violet spot of light moved inside. But this time Ogol did not just check. He watched the movements for a long time and then he recognized a pattern.

"Like I thought," Ogol said grimly. "What a fool I was. I watched the movements of an energy clone."

He gazed into the night. It was all so obvious now. Neldor was after him. The old magician had learned of his plans. The wizard had seen through him and had fooled him around. Or had the brethren summoned him? Ogol wondered if the man had already reached the Western Mountains.

"I suspect he’s close," he said into the night. "Only one step behind or two."

Ogol shook his head at his stupidity. He gnashed his teeth and frowned into the night.

"They summoned an old man. Does this mean an old man is the only one who could stop me?"

Ogol narrowed his eyes.

"This will never happen. Never," he grunted.

Ogol grimaced and gave a dry laugh.

"I now know what to do. I must confuse Neldor and make him seize the tool. Then the guardians will turn against him. I must be clever and act cautiously. Then I can find a way to take the tool from the old man. It won’t be easy," he said in a resigned voice. "By no means easy. I need to be one step ahead always."

His musings were flawed. But Ogol did not notice. He was driven by hatred and vengeance. He looked up at the nightly sky. The moon shed a pale light. Ogol gazed at the moon for a while. Something disturbed him about it. Had the moon not been almost full a couple of days ago? Why did the crescent still look the same? Ogol shook his head and shook off the thought. The crescent of the moon was by no means his primary problem.

~~**~~

The guardians of the Castle of Saelethiel still sat in deep mediation. They had finished materialization and now sustained their created world. With their inner eyes they watched the energy of four men moving through the mighty energy field. The guardians knew exactly where the men were located. But the brethren did not interfere. They just watched the men’s movements.

The guardians of the castle had created the world according to the instructions of the early magicians. The brethren had woven the ancient magic. They had woven a magic web that would only let those men escape who were worthy. Two of the four men were summoned to undergo a trial. The world itself would challenge the men. The brethren only watched out and enforced the law.

When his time has come, man has to face the truth. He is summoned to look into the abyss of his soul. But only those who are ready are summoned. These men have to undergo a trial. No man can avoid his destiny. This law is valid for all times. This law cannot be shaken.

The brethren sat in deep meditation and their web hung like a trap in a cage.

~~**~~

Qildor had found a sheltered place for the night. They had prepared their camp between two big rocks. Qildor and Magath sat next to each other. Neldor had left the place and stood alone in the night. He tried to identify the energies. He tried to track his opponent.

Magath leaned in to Qildor. Qildor placed his arm around Magath’s shoulders.

"Will we ever find a way out of here?" Magath asked.

"I have no doubt of this," Qildor replied. "As soon as this is over, we’ll return to Tanmil."

Magath gave a laugh.

"Why are you laughing?" Qildor asked in confusion.

"Because I know what you are thinking," Magath replied. "You think of Tanmil as an idyllic place. But Tanmil was never such a place. Life is hard there. We have to work from morning to night. The climate is harsh, although not as harsh as it is farther north. That’s why the Khalindash attack the Aglanthol villages. Tanmil was also attacked once. The Khalindash stole food and cattle."

"Who sees to your field?" Qildor asked.

"One of my neighbours, a good man. However, he expects me to be back in two or three weeks. That’s what I told him. I was being naive," Magath said.

Qildor patted Magath’s shoulder.

"It might work out," he said in a reassuring voice. "We’ve been away for a week now. We need one week to travel back. This means we have one week to fight the evil."

"Fight the evil according to schedule," Magath said with another laugh that sounded sarcastic. "Look, Qildor, so far we have not even found a trace of the man."

"Neldor is working on it," Qildor said. "And tomorrow I will set out and scout and look out for the man. He may have put up a ward and therefore is invisible to us. But he must have left a trace. Broken twigs perhaps, something he dropped maybe. I’ll find him, I promise."

"He could find us first," Magath said. "He is using magic."

"I’m not sure magic works within this energy field," Qildor said slowly. "I watched Neldor. But I did not see him using magic. He is at a loss like we are. Honestly, I think he has no clue of what is going on."

"Perhaps his abilities are useless here," Magath mused. "How can he then fight the man?"

They looked into the darkness for a while.

"I must find the man," Qildor said in a determined voice. "We must find out if his magic works or if it does not. I must know if my opponent is superior. I must know how he fights. I need to know his motives and goals. Then I can trap him like in a conventional war."

"He had five companions," Magath said. "That’s what Dran said. He saw six riders. Dran heard that their leader wanted to discard them when they had reached the mountains. Did he do so? Are we following one man or six men?"

Qildor straightened.

"I’ll be leaving early in the morning. Distract Neldor. I do not want you to move on. Pick up a quarrel or whatever. Just stop him from doing anything," he said.

They exchanged a look.

"It is time we act and do not simply react," Qildor said.

Magath nodded.

"I’ll distract him. All right," he replied.

They fell silent when a figure approached. Neldor returned to the camp. He sat down and let out a resigned sigh.

"I cannot track him. All I sense is Saelethiel’s energy field. It either absorbs his energy, or the man knows how to perfectly hide himself," he said.

"Are you sure his magic works within the castle’s energy field?" Qildor asked.

Neldor made a dismissive gesture with his hand.

"You are right, Qildor. I have noticed it already. It seems my magic doesn’t work properly. I tested various magical techniques. Some do work and some do not. And the techniques that work, do not work all the time. But I have not yet figured out the pattern," the wizard said.

"Do you think the man is having the same problems?" Magath asked.

"I think so, yes," Neldor replied. "But like I said, some techniques work, albeit not always."

"Which ones work?" Magath asked.

"Mind focusing techniques seem to work now and then, yet no simple magic like spells or the like, starting a fire with a snap, for instance," Neldor said.

"With a snap?" Magath asked. He gaped at the wizard.

"A snap, yes," Neldor said. "A very useful technique sometimes. Materialization of concrete things does not work either. I tried to materialize some food – you see, we’ll run out of supplies in a few days – but unfortunately it didn’t work out."

"What can you do with mind focusing techniques?" Magath asked curiously.

"The most difficult I ever did was turning back time," Neldor said.

"Can’t you just do this now?" Magath asked enthusiastically. "You could take us back to Tanmil."

Neldor made a defensive gesture with his hand.

"It would not solve the problem. I could not stop the man with it, unless I prevented his very birth. I cannot do this," he said.

Silence fell.

"You could do it, but you won’t do it," Magath said finally, looking at the wizard.

"It would definitely be the wrong step. Don’t you feel this yourself, good man?" Neldor asked, returning to his grumpy attitude.

Magath refrained from further inquiring the wizard. But he looked at the man with new curiosity. Starting a fire with a snap. This fascinated Magath. If ever they got out of here, he would ask Neldor to teach him this – how had he called it – simple technique.

They finally stretched on their blankets. Neldor and Qildor fell asleep. Magath, however, looked up at the nightly sky and pondered on magic and mind focusing techniques.

~~**~~

Not far from them, Ogol sat and leaned against a rock. He had also tried in vain to track his follower. And he had also found out that only certain magical techniques worked out well. He looked at the moon in the sky. Something about the crescent disturbed him. But his thoughts soon distracted him. Ogol schemed and planned.

~~**~~