The Aperture

Chapter 26

Across the Wilderness

Connie fell into the frothy water of the river with a heavy splash. The water was icy cold. It stung her skin like a million needles. Immediately, her body tensed up from the shock of the cold. She held on tightly to Theo’s arm. Now the current began to do its dirty work on her. It spun her around forcefully. She began to swim upwards. Then an intensely strong downward current caught her and thrust her forcefully into a submerged rock on the stony bed of the river. She fought the intense pain this brought. As she recovered from the blow, she realized that Theo was no longer in her grasp. She opened her eyes and saw the murky light above, but she could not see him in the foamy water. The current seemed intent on pinning her down to the bottom. Only after several attempts was she able to find a relatively calm eddy where she could swim upward.

Once at the surface, Connie spotted a large flat rock where three of her fellow party members were already waiting, dripping wet, pulling Yalden out of the water. She looked for Theo while clutching a rock. He was nowhere to be found. Reluctantly, Connie swam away from the whirlpool where she’d lost him. Finally, she reached the wide, flat rock. Rahl and Jalban dragged her, sopping wet and shivering from the icy water. Her eyes returned to the river. There was no sign of Theo or Tristana. Everyone else was accounted for. She checked her belt. Thankfully, the Threshibian bag was still there.

No one said a word while they scanned the water for the two missing party members. As they did so, Rahl mentioned he’d seen Tristana jump in right after Connie and Theo. After a minute, they still did not appear. Connie looked up the bank where they had jumped. Incredibly, it appeared that a huge gray pane of glass sat affixed to the bank. This effect of the Wall of Chaos Death extended up three stories or so, where it blended into the pea-green sky. Thankfully, Rahl was correct that the Chaos Death would not follow them across the swiftly moving river.

“The currents are dangerous out there,” Connie said, shivering and exhausted from the cold. “I had him in my grasp, then he was yanked away.”

“I will venture to guess that Tristana pulled him under,” Snow said.

“I hope not,” Connie said, shivering from the cold.

“Theo was not strong enough to control her.”

“Maybe not, but I think she had taken a liking to him.”

“How do you know?”

“Tristana and I had a woman-to-woman talk the other day,” Connie replied.

Snow laughed. “How could you have any kind of talk with her? Tristana does not speak.”

“Then I should say we communicated.”

“It is a moot point, ladies. They are dead,” Yalden interjected, evidently tiring of the banter.

Connie sat up. “I will have to jump back in to look for them.”

Rahl grasped her by the shoulder. “No, Connie. They are most certainly dead by now. We cannot allow you to risk your life for the sake of recovering their bodies here. We will look for them downstream.”

Before Connie could reply, Maltokken shouted. “Look!”

All eyes turned to the water to see Tristana slowly swimming toward the rock where the party was resting. Only her head was visible. Her long, black hair nearly covered her face. Everyone got to their feet. Rahl and Yalden drew their swords. Once she reached a shallow area near the rock, she rose out of the water. Cradled in her arms was Theo. The spirit mage hung limp and unmoving in her arms, his skin pale and his mouth agape. A few of the party members rushed into the water and took him from her. They carried him to the flat rock and laid him out. Rahl checked him for breathing.

“He no longer breathes. He is dead.”

On hearing this, Connie pushed her way through to Theo. “Let me see.”

Connie verified his lack of breathing. She felt for a pulse in his neck on the assumption that the people of this world possessed carotid arteries or similar blood vessels just as they did on Earth. She felt around his neck. To her surprise, she found his heartbeat very quick and weak.

“We might be able to save him,” Connie said.

She took a deep breath, put her mouth to his, and blew three quick puffs of air into his lungs.

“What are you doing?” Yalden asked. “He’s dead.”

“Hush,” Snow said, observing Connie.

Realizing he had water in his lungs, Connie turned Theo on his side. She embraced him from behind, then squeezed his abdomen with all her strength. A trickle of water dripped from Theo’s nose and mouth. She squeezed again. More water trickled from his mouth. Now Connie rolled Theo on his back. She pinched his nose and blew air into his lungs. The party stood around Connie as she performed the mysterious ritual on the spirit mage.

“What is she doing?” Maltokken asked.

No one in the party answered him, being too focused on what Connie was doing to answer. Connie continued blowing air into Theo’s lungs while the party washed. Then, after a few minutes, Theo’s chest heaved. He began choking. A trickle of water dripped from his mouth. Connie patted his back. He choked some more. Now he breathed. Gasps of wonder issued from the party at the miracle they had just witnessed. Theo opened his eyes. Connie bid him to sit up and encouraged him to expel the water in his lungs. Now the pallor of his skin gradually faded to white with a healthy greenish tinge.

“By the gods! The kiss of life!” Jalban said.

Connie wiped Theo’s saliva from her mouth. “No, it’s called—(!)” Connie could not find on her tongue the equivalent Cerinyan words to say Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation; however, she was able to create the acronym CPR, using the phonetically similar letters of the Cerinavian alphabet that had English equivalents. “It’s called CPR, but don’t ask what it means. I cannot tell my thoughts in this language.”

“What kind of spell is that? Is that an Air spell?” Jalban asked.

“It wasn’t a spell,” Snow answered for Connie. “First, she removed the water from his lungs, then she kissed him, and he awoke.”

Connie smiled at Snow’s apparent naiveté. “No, I didn’t kiss him. I breathed into his lungs.”

Snow, in turn, now smiled at Connie’s. “No, you kissed him. And it was a very romantic kiss at that.” She addressed the other, predominantly male, members of the party. “Didn’t she kiss Theo? Would any of you like to show Connie how Cerinavians kiss?”

At this, most of the male members of the party looked away, obviously feeling awkward. Connie stared at Snow, not quite understanding her motives. It seemed to Connie that Snow would go to any length to prove her point.

“You must teach us CPR,” Rahl said to Connie.

“Teaching you CPR would be a pleasure, Rahl,” she replied, winking at him. “But I’d have thought you all had an equivalent spell for CPR.”

Snow shook her head.

“I haven’t seen that before,” Jalban said.

“Neither have I,” Maltokken said.

Connie felt like a celebrity on hearing that.

“I’ll be happy to teach you all. But I should add that there’s more to CPR than what you saw just now. Sometimes you need to restart the heart, and it has to be done right or it won’t work.”

Theo had stopped choking and was now breathing easier. Rahl knelt next to him. “What happened, Theo?” he asked, his sword in his lap, glancing up at Tristana.

“Connie was holding my arm. We were twisted around. I thought I felt her let go of me. The last I remembered, I was pinned to the bottom of the river. I ran out of air.” He looked up at Connie. “I owe you for rescuing me from the bottom of the river.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank Tristana. She carried you out. If not for her, you’d still be at the bottom of the river.”

He coughed and choked up more water from his lungs. “Tristana?”

All eyes turned to Tristana, who was sitting on a rock by herself behind the party, dripping wet. Her long hair still partially obscured her face. She sat up slightly and cleared away some of her hair when she saw the party’s attention had turned to her. Connie noted she was still strikingly beautiful, full of poise, even when she was soaking wet.

Rahl and Jalban helped Theo to his feet. He shakily walked over to Tristana, kneeling in front of her.

Tristana gazed down at Theo with a bemused expression. “You knew I was drowning, yet you helped me. Didn’t you?”

Tristana responded by giving Theo an inquisitive look, as if she had a question of her own for him. He grasped her by her forearms. She did not visibly respond to his touching her. She merely regarded him with her usual coolness. He gazed into her black eyes.

“Tristana!” the spirit mage shouted at her suddenly to her face.

Water from his soaking wet hair dripped down his face as he said her name. Then he started chuckling at her. She smiled winsomely in return. His chuckling turned to laughter. Connie and the rest of the party looked to each other perplexed while Maltokken joined in the strange mirth. Maniacal laughter took possession of Theo, and now his laughter echoed off the stone banks of the river above the sound of rushing water.

After resting and taking some time to dry off, the party made its way downstream. Once the bank was low enough, they scaled it and climbed to the top. The imposing mountains that towered in the distance were now easily through the trees. A slight chilly breeze blew from the north. Everyone felt it. Rahl told the party that this was most likely the result of winter’s approach, and now that they no longer had the hanyaks, they had best pick up the pace if they were to beat the fierce storms that were to follow.

They made camp at the base of one of the peaks. The sun peeked through the pea green clouds at the final rays of dusk. Rahl gazed at an ancient map fragment beside his enchanted compass. He estimated that they would reach the mountain pass in two days, if the map was even remotely correct.

The night passed uneventfully. Connie and Yalden took the first watch. Connie didn’t often speak to Yalden, so the both of them minded their own business; he spent his time polishing his sword, helmet, and breastplate while Connie thumbed through her spell books. During the latter part of the watch, Snow woke up complaining that she couldn’t sleep. She took on the remainder of Yalden’s watch. She sat beside Connie, and, by the firelight, together they reviewed the elemental spells detailed in Connie’s books.

Near the end of their watch, it began to drizzle. Snow had regained most of her power, so she cast a special celestial spell into the air to predict the weather. The forecast was rain for the next twenty hours. They awoke the party and set up the small tents they were able to save from the hanyak’s packs. Sure enough, the rain began. This was a cold rain. Winter was definitely on its way.

After her watch was over, Connie sat pensively alone in the darkness of the tent that used to belong to Fandia. She listened to the rain drum on its wax-impregnated canvas. She pondered the nature of the liquid that actually dripped on the canvas from the dark green clouds above. If Professor Layton had told her the truth, this was not water at all, but hydrochloric acid. That idea never ceased to amaze her.

She wrapped herself more tightly in her blanket as she pondered the chemistry of this strange world. Although she’d taken a few chemistry courses in college while getting her degree, it was not her forte. Still, she knew enough about the elements and stoichiometry to realize there were a slew of unexplained chemical reactions. For example, what was the chlorine cycle? What gas did the chlorine-breathing creature exhale? Certainly not carbon dioxide. This was not a carbon cycle as on Earth, but something much more complicated, perhaps even driven by magic. With these thoughts, Connie turned over and let sleep overcome her.

The next morning, after breakfast, Connie performed her calisthenics in the rain, then she practiced casting a few of her metal spells. First she cast a Keenness spell on her dagger. Next, she cast a Levity spell on the dagger to make it light. With a one-power node casting, the spells lasted for about five minutes. Next, she cast the same spells with a two-power node. This doubled the duration of the spells to about ten minutes. Now, she cast the Keenness again after first doing a mental chaining of the two-power node to the one-power. This resulted in the spell lasting only a little over ten minutes. Now, to see what would happen, she chained the nodes again, this time seeking to increase the intensity of the spell. Immediately, the two-power node expired. Nevertheless, the metal of the dagger acquired a faint bluish tinge. On a lark, she stabbed the trunk of a tree. To her surprise, the dagger plunged into the thick wood trunk as if it were a watermelon. This astounded her. Connie was delighted with the effect until she tried to withdraw her dagger. It was stuck solid. The weight of the tree trunk had compressed around the blade. She put her foot on the tree and pulled harder. The blade snapped off at the hilt. Connie stared at the broken end of the useless hilt, then tossed it aside. She cursed to herself. She should have cast Temper on the dagger before pulling on it.

Maltokken noticed what had happened. After berating for her for not respecting her weapon, he gave her a spare dagger he carried as a replacement.

The party spent a greater part of the afternoon making their way through a forest of scrawny trees that blanketed the lower slopes of the mountains. Although they no longer had their hanyaks, the Threshibian more than made up for the loss, and they were able to carry most of their supplies, provided they could make them fit through the opening of the bag. However, despite the fact that they were lightly burdened, the going was slow for the most part.

Jalban, the most portly member of the party, constantly lingered behind the others, forcing the others to stop occasionally while he caught up. On two occasions, Connie stopped the party so that she might retrieve the water nodes she sensed in the puddles they passed. The rain continued incessantly, turning the packed soil into mud. In some places, the water ran down the mountain slope in torrents, creating small streams and miniature gullies in the sparsely vegetated soil. Lunch was served soggy and cold. Everyone was soaked to the skin.

Yalden and Maltokken, who had in the last few days formed somewhat of a friendship, made jokes about who in the party was the most pathetic-looking. Even Tristana, with her nominally graceful elegance, looked a bit waterlogged. This was duly noted by them. Maltokken jokingly offered Connie a rezni piece if she could shrink him so that he could carry her inside the dryness of the Threshibian bag. On overhearing this offer, Theo advised against it, as Threshibian bags had a nasty tendency of draining away the life force of living things carried inside. On hearing that, Connie joked with Maltokken that she’d be happy to carry him in the bag for half price.

After resting for a bit and quickly tiring of Yalden and Maltokken jesting, the party slogged onward. The rain tapered off by the end of the day. The sun remained hidden behind the clouds as the cloak of darkness fell upon the land. They set up camp in a relatively level area that, while not dry, did not offer the threat of being caught in a mudslide.

The evening was relatively uneventful. The rain had ceased. It was replaced by a cold wind that blew from the mountains that lined their north. Connie and Yalden took the second watch. Connie and the two spent most of their watch time tending the small, heat-less fire that kept getting blown out by gusts of wind. Connie noticed a few of the party members tossing and turning. Those who slept most soundly shivered in their blankets. Connie decided to be a good Samaritan. Gathering up a few low-power nodes, she cast Warmth spells on their bedding to make their rest easier.

By morning, the wind has blown away the canopy of clouds. The sun arose to a clear, green sky. They feasted on a quick cold breakfast somewhat mollified by Jalban’s hot aceralla root heated with Connie’s Heat spells. While they ate breakfast, Connie noted that the elevation of the snow on the mountains had dropped dramatically to the point where nearly half of the mountains were now covered in ice. The party picked up their gear and moved on. About an hour later, the party discovered the pass Rahl had described on his map just outside the rubble of a ruined hamlet. The pass appeared as a broad valley that cut through the mountains as if a giant finger had gently raked through the rugged range.

As they entered the pass, they noticed long, flat blocks of stones scattered here and there. Rahl explained that these stones were the remnants of a royal paved road that wended through the mountains when the area was civilized before the time of Chaos.

Their trip through the pass was uneventful. Though the pass cut deeply into the mountain range, it gradually elevated to where patches of snow lay in the shadows here and there. As the pass narrowed, the forest also thinned. Wildlife sightings became less frequent. Though the sun burned brightly, it did not seem to radiate heat through the chilly mountain air. Just after lunch, the party broke out their furs.

They passed a clearing on the mountainside. Here, they saw a cave heading into the mountain. The cave was artificial in origin. It appeared to be an ancient mineshaft of some sort. Rahl explained that someone was probably mining for iridium or, possibly, metal nodes. The stench of rotting meat filled the air around the opening of the mine. As they passed by the mine, they noticed a lot of bones scattered among the rubble just outside the gaping passage. Many of the bones were covered in deep scraps as if they’d been gnawed on by a large cat, bear, or other toothy creature. A few still had rancid bits of flesh on them. No human skulls were visible in the number of bones. No one ventured to guess what might occupy the cave. They gingerly moved past the opening of the mineshaft, lest they find out.

The party endured another slow-going league up the steep incline of the pass. After that, the pass leveled off and then dropped off sharply into a large ravine. The ancient road that ran in fits up to that point ended abruptly. The road continued on the other side of the ravine at a slightly higher elevation. At the bottom of the ravine was a shallow, wide river flowing over a stony bed of oval boulders. The edges of the river were frozen into a fine sheet of ice.

Connie, Rahl, and the other members of the party peered over the edge of the rugged ravine.

“There must have been a bridge here at one time,” Rahl stated.

“It must have been made of wood, or we’d have seen some sign of it,” Jalban said, wheezing as he sat on a nearby outcropping of rocks to catch his breath. “It has rotted away over time.”

Rahl nodded in agreement, as did most of the others in the party.

“I am not eager to climb down there and ford that river,” Theo said. “Not with that ice.”

“We don’t have to,” Snow said. “I can get us across very easily.”

“That would save us time if you can, Snow,” Rahl said.

Snow stepped the edge of the ravine and scanned the other side with a contemplative expression. She licked her finger and held it up to gauge the direction of the breeze. To Connie, it didn’t seem like there was much of a breeze at all. She wondered what the sorceress had in mind.

“There is not much of a breeze.” She looked to Connie, who stood next to her. “Here’s a chance to use your spells. We will need four Push spells. You will find the spell in your Air book.”

“I’ve already memorized the spell,” Connie said.

Snow raised an eyebrow. “Did you?”

“Of course. What do you think I do when I volunteer for the watch every night? I’ve committed a lot of my spells to memory. Wasn’t it you who said I should?”

“Impressive, Connie,” Snow said with a slight smile on her lips.

The sorceress rarely complimented Connie, so she was pleased to hear her say this. Moreover, Snow’s advice to her had been correct; the more spells she memorized, the easier they were to memorize. The spell-learning ability left behind by Alyndia was something Connie actually found useful for change.

“Do you know how to use Push as a ranged spell?” Snow asked Connie

“Yes.”

“Good. We will use your elemental spell to augment my celestial spell.” She addressed the party. “Everyone listen to me. I’m going to cast a spell. Pair-up. Make sure it is with someone you like.”

Yalden stepped up to the celestial sorceress. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to get us over the ravine. What do you think I’m going to do, Yalden?”

“How?”

“We’re going to fly across it.”

“I forbid you to cast a spell on me.”

“I am not going to cast a spell on you—I am going to cast a spell around you. It won’t hurt. I promise. You might even enjoy the effect.”

“Do not cast a spell on or around me,” he reiterated in his characteristic rebellious tone.

“Here we go again,” Jalban said from the rock.

Rahl put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Yalden, we must allow Snow to cast the spell. You know she would never harm us.”

Yalden threw off his brother’s hand. “I don’t trust any magic. Magic is used only by the lazy, the sneaky, and the weak. We shall walk across the ravine.”

“Stop your foolish talk,” Theo broke in. “It will take us an extra day to cross it, and it will be perilous because of its steep walls.”

“I don’t like people casting spells on me,” Maltokken said to Yalden, “but I prefer the Snow’s spell to walking across the ravine.”

Snow scowled at Yalden. “I say if this imbecile wants to walk across the ravine, we ought to let him do as he wishes. Really, it’s all the same with me, whatever happens to him.”

“Please,” Rahl implored his brother. “Trust Snow. She will not harm you.”

At those words, Yalden turned away from the group and sat down on the rock next to Jalban. “No. I shall not.”

“Now what are we going to do?” Snow asked Rahl.

“Perhaps we can camp here for the evening.”

“This is not a good place. It is too open. I would prefer one of the many caves we’ve passed, or perhaps, those yet undiscovered on the other side of the ravine.”

While Rahl and Snow discussed the options, Connie noticed Theo whispering something into Yalden’s ear. Yalden’s expression remained fixed and impassive while Theo spoke. Then Theo withdrew. Yalden looked up at him. Theo nodded once. Then, to Connie’s surprise, Yalden got up from the rock and approached Snow and Rahl. “I’m ready,” he said. “Cast your spell.”

Rahl and Snow stared at Yalden, shocked at his sudden capitulation.

He frowned at the both of them. “Don’t stand there gawking at me—just cast it! Get it over with before I change my mind.”

Snow looked to Rahl. “Very well. I shall.”

Snow gathered up the party members in pairs at the edge of the ravine except for Connie, who had to remain behind to cast her spell. Snow briefly explained to Connie how she would be needed to cast the Push spell.

“Do you think you can manage it, Connie?”

“I think I have enough Air nodes to cast Levitate on each party member. Can’t you let me do it?”

“It’s risky to do it that way.”

“But my spell should work.”

Snow shook her head. “The ravine is deep. A fall from that height would be fatal if we happen to encounter a sink-well out there.”

“A what?”

“I’ll explain it later. I’ll just say that celestial spells are more resistant to their effects than elemental spells.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Snow checked the direction of the air one more time, and then she pulled out her fairy wand, the one with the star at the end. Connie couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at the sight of the wand.

“What are you laughing at?” she asked Connie.

“Nothing.”

Snow turned her attention to the party. “Are all of you ready?”

The group nodded in response.

“Now when I say the word, you and your partner hop up in unison. Connie and I will do the rest.”

Snow walked up behind Rahl and Yalden.

“Jump!” she said to them.

Rahl and Yalden did as they were told. In the split second their feet left the ground, Snow waved their wand. Without a sound, a giant, clear bubble appeared around the two. The bubble enveloped them. Both of them tumbled inside, until they sat uneasily, awkwardly, within each other’s legs at the bottom of the crystal sphere. The bubble now wavered aimlessly at the edge of the ravine, wafting gently upward in the mild breeze.

“Now, Connie,” Snow said.

Connie cast her Push spell with the other side of the ravine in mind. Instantly, the bubble began floating over the ravine, with Rahl and Yalden watching them from the inside.

Snow and Connie did the same for Tristana and Theo, and Jalban and Maltokken. Now only the two women spellcasters remained. Snow turned to Connie. “Now it is our turn.” In sync, the two spellcasters jumped into the air. Snow deftly waved her wand around. Before their feet reached the ground, they were encapsulated in the crystal sphere. The two of them tumbled to the bottom. They arranged themselves until they were nestled comfortably within the sphere. Connie cast her spell, and the bubble carrying them began moving slowly over the ravine.

Connie felt the resilient, clear walls of the bubble as they moved. The walls were slippery, like latex rubber coated in soap. “Snow! This is wonderful!” Connie said in awe as she ran a hand along the inner wall of the bubble.

“It’s just a trifle,” Snow said.

“It’s more than that. You have to teach me this!”

“It’s a celestial spell.”

“I want to learn celestial spells. Can you teach me? Can you teach me to do this?”

“But you’ve barely mastered elemental spells. Celestial spells can be dangerous. Let me think about it.”

The bubble floated to the far side of the ravine. Just as it breached the other side, it abruptly vanished. Snow and Connie fell about five feet to the ground. The rest of the party has already assembled and was standing nearby, waiting for them. Rahl and Maltokken helped the two spellcasters to their feet.

Snow looked at Yalden and said, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Yalden grunted at her and walked off.

“Don’t let him fool you, Snow. He liked it,” Rahl said.

Theo stood nearby, straightening his robe. Connie turned to him amazed. “What did you say to him, Theo? What did you say to Yalden to get him to let Snow cast a spell on him?”

Theo gave Connie a sardonic look. “Simply, I told him Tristana would give him a back rub every night for the next week if he’d let Snow cast the spell.”

Connie smiled at Theo’s good thinking. “Not bad.” Connie wanted to say something to the effect that it’s easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar, but with the absence of both honey and vinegar, she just let the moment slide.

The party continued up the pass for the remainder of the afternoon. The travel was much more onerous for some than others. Jalban perpetually lingered behind. When he fell too far behind, the party waited until he caught up.

While they were walking, Connie asked Snow about the meaning of the sink-wells.

“They are random areas where magic does not work.” Snow explained. “If an object or person affected by a spell passes over a well, the spell quits working. They also stop enchanted items from working. Wells can be quite a nuisance to elemental spellcasters like you.”

“I suppose that’s why we aren’t flying to the Atranox instead of going on foot.”

“That’s right. Flying is great until you pass over some random sink-well and your spell suddenly stops working.”

“How long do sink-wells last?”

“It varies. Some of them last for only a few minutes. Others last for hundreds of years. Where we live, all the known ones are mapped, and the local mages know where they are. In this uncharted territory, they can be hidden anywhere, and by their nature, they are nearly impossible to detect beforehand with magic. The only indication that a sink-well exists is your spell not working.”

“None of us fell into the ravine, so I guess we didn’t pass over one.”

“It’s hard to say. If you strongly overdrive a celestial spell like I did, you can sometimes overcome the effects of the weaker wells. The spell won’t last as long, but it may last long enough to do what you need it to do.”

“Do wells affect anything else besides magic?”

“Not that I know of. In fact, we’ve probably walked over hundreds of them over the last few weeks without even noticing them.”

At around sunset, they chanced upon an uninhabited cave suitably deep enough to provide ample shelter for the night. After dinner, the party fell into a somber silence. Connie took it upon herself to occupy the evening by teaching the party the basic elements of CPR. The mouth-to-mouth resuscitation demonstration between the men and the women of the party caused an uproar. Snow would not allow anyone to practice with her but Rahl, Connie, and, very reluctantly, Theo. Jalban and Yalden were her best students. Theo and Maltokken were the poorest. Rahl and Snow fell somewhere in between. Tristana was not asked to participate in the lesson, as Theo warned it was dangerous, claiming she would literally suck the life force out of anyone who would practice CPR with her. Snow concurred with Theo on this.

Connie found that overcoming the attitudes of the party was the most difficult part of the instruction. In this society, as opposed to those of North America, the genders were quite separate in their codes of conduct, and there was no shortage of homophobia. No approximation of the word “unisex” resided within the Cerinyan vocabulary. Although no one ventured to tell her so, she felt certain that many Cerinyan codes of conduct were broken that night. Connie also discovered that drawing the warm, exhaled air from the lungs of a lover, then holding it inside for a spell, was considered a common, albeit passionate, Cerinyan kiss. In poetic terms, it was a metaphor for sharing the energy of the soul. A similar, even more erotic form of kissing was accomplished with drinks and food. By the end of the evening, there was no wonder left in Connie why CPR remained unknown in this world.

The next morning, the air was chilly. There was a slippery blanket of frost on the rocks outside the cave and no chlorine haze. Connie and some of the others awoke with slight headaches. Theo told them this was probably due to the thinning atmosphere. Connie noted the headaches coincided with the absence of the green haze of chlorine that covered the ground since they entered the mountainous region. Connie thought that apparently the gas was too heavy to pool on the mountainside in the morning.

The going was slow for a while until the sun rose high enough in the sky to melt the frost. A few hours after they started, they came to a place where the pass had been blocked by a huge avalanche that appeared to have occurred years earlier. It took the party a few, ankle-twisting hours to cross over the rubble of avalanche.

Near the end of the day, Connie looked back on the distance they had traveled. The plains they had traveled now stretched into the distance covered by a greenish haze. This gave her the perspective that the party was now hundreds of stories in elevation. Now she turned her eyes to the east and west. The jagged peaks seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance. And somewhere beyond the mountain range they were not passing through awaited the two artifacts that would see to the continuation of civilization. For all the time and distance involved, the completion of the quest seemed an impossible goal.

Connie’s headaches were more intense on rising the next morning. Everyone had one except for Tristana. (At least she didn’t complain about having one.) Jalban distributed the Ajasafas bark extract dissolved in a small quantity of water to ease the headaches. To Connie, the stuff smelled and tasted terrible—like rotten Belgian Limburger cheese—but it did the trick in under ten minutes. Connie set herself to doing her usual morning routine of calisthenics and stretching exercise but stopped after only five minutes due to feeling utterly exhausted due to the thinning air.

Shortly after the breakfast, the party started resumed its uphill plodding across the mountainous terrain. Around midday, the view of the plain was obscured by the first rank of mountains they crossed. This was a fortunate day for both the party and for Connie. Connie found two crystal nodes, a metal node, and a high power wind node. Just before sundown, they chanced upon a herd of animals called jule that looked to Connie like a huge mountain goat with gray sheep’s wool. Theo felled one of the animals from a distance with a spell that rendered it the jule unable to walk. Rahl, Yalden, and Maltokken had the honor of climbing up the mountainside to retrieve the animal. That night, the party feasted on the roasted jule.

Leftovers from the animal were given to Jalban so that he could prevent their spoilage with some special spices. Connie was also able to prevent the spoilage of a leg of the jule with a spell she’d found in her Wood book called, quite aptly, Preserve. She cast the spell with enough power to last for a week, even though it probably would be consumed before then.

Over the next few days, the last tenuous traces of the pass and the ancient road had altogether vanished beneath the boulders, avalanches, and shifting topography. They followed the fairy path of the pass by divination, speculation, and some old-fashioned guesswork. The further they continued, the more the ice covered the ground in small sheets. This worried Rahl. He told the party that when the snow came, they would have to hole up for the winter until the spring thaw.

That afternoon, when the clouds came from the north with a bone chilling wind, the party found shelter beneath a pile of boulders. Snow stood on a tall rock, held her hands to the sky, and cast another Predict Weather spell. To the party’s relief, for the angry look of the sky, no precipitation would result from the clouds for at least a few days.

The next morning, the party crossed over a ridge that bordered along a shallow valley. This valley was surrounded by tall trees that Connie thought were reminiscent of Ponderosa Pine. The trees were a welcome sight, as the vegetation up to this point had become scraggy and scarce. To their surprise, on the other side of the valley on the mountain slope were the stone structures of an ancient village. Theo cast a Hawkeyes spell on himself and on Rahl. From a distance, the village appeared empty, although remarkably, some of the structures remained in good shape. Rahl surmised that they’d be able to reach the village by sunset the next day. This would be a good thing in case the weather had a turnabout.

The sky remained gloomy and the wind chilly. The party made haste down the mountainside into the valley so that they could take shelter from the wind that threatened to freeze them to death. They camped out on the sandy floor of the valley. Connie thought the valley was probably consumed as a broad, shallow lake in the spring when the frost melted from the mountains and pooled in the valley.

At sunrise, they headed up the mountain slope to the village. Just as Theo had indicated, the village was abandoned, although most of the stone buildings were in good shape, albeit missing their ancient wood roofs, which had long ago rotted and fallen away.

Above the semi-level slope of the mountain on which the village rested was a steep, stony ridge. Most party members were winded from the climb up the mountain slope to the village. They made camp there, taking shelter in the relative comfort of a roofless cottage. There was still an afternoon of travel ahead. After lunch, Yalden and Maltokken decided to scout out to the ridge and have a look over the top to see how much more of the mountain range there was to go. They arrived back at camp just before sundown. Both of them had a dour, perplexed countenance.

“Rahl, it is not good,” Yalden said, panting from running down the slope in the thin air. The party gathered around Yalden and Maltokken on hearing these words.

“What is it? What did you see?” Rahl asked, obviously concerned by his brother’s demeanor.

Yalden described a huge chasm just to the other side of the ridge that was perhaps a league across and as deep and wide as the eye could see. Rahl listened to his brother with a look of concern.

“It doesn’t sound impassable to me,” Snow said. “Of course, a small amount of prestidigitation might be in order.”

“You must see it to appreciate its size. It is quite large, a canyon,” Maltokken chimed in.

“How deep is it?” Rahl asked.

“It’s impossible to say. The bottom is shrouded in fog.”

Rahl frowned. “I do not recall on the map the canyon you describe, Rahl said as he adjusted the greave over his left leg. Tomorrow, soon enough, we shall see.”

The party spent the night inside the relative protection of a roofless cottage. Connie realized the valley was significantly warmer than the surrounding mountain terrain. She thought that perhaps the valley trapped the air that the sun warmed during the day in much the same way the mountains surrounding Mexico City prevented the smog from leaving.

Not long after sunrise, the party broke camp and ascended the steep, tree-covered slope above the ancient village to the jagged ridge high above. The further up they climbed, the more intense the winds blew. Connie and Yalden were the first to breach the apex of the ridge, followed a few minutes later by most of the others. A wheezing Jalban and, incredibly, Tristana, lingered behind to catch their breath on the steep incline. Connie thought it peculiar that Tristana was tired. Connie had never known that Tristana was never tired from their mountainous travels. Something was odd.

Connie stopped to take in the sight once they reached the top. Just beyond the ridge, the mountain simply fell away. Just as Yalden and Maltokken described, it was a canyon of national monument proportions. The canyon’s width was at least two leagues across. The huge chasm stretched in both directions as far as the eye could see. From the angle where she stood, she was unable to see what lay at the bottom. Connie made her way to the edge of the canyon so that she could look down. The sharp wall of the canyon fell downward into an impenetrably thick, green mist that began at least one hundred stories down. It appeared a huge finger had scraped across the mountainous land, leaving the chasm they now saw.

“By the gods,” Rahl uttered, these words followed by curses nearly lost in the blustery winds that whipped around the ridge.

Connie looked over at Rahl. He didn’t often curse like that. Snow stood beside Rahl, her eyes gazing steely across the vastness of the canyon.

“What do you think, Snow?” he asked.

“I do not believe we shall have much of a problem in crossing this.”

“Bubbles?”

“Probably not,” Snow replied. “It is awfully windy up here. A simple Push spell will not be adequate.”

“I’d like to see how you intend to cross this,” Connie said as she stared out across the daunting distance. She walked back to where the rest of the party stood.

“What are we going to do?” Jalban asked.

“Some other spell,” Connie replied.

Theo walked up to Connie. “We have a problem,” he told her.

Connie raised an eyebrow to Theo. In response, he pointed to Tristana, who sat dozing soundly against the rock.

“Is she sleeping?” he asked.

He nodded.

“She’s almost never tired. What is wrong with her?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps a magical poisoning.”

“Are you saying you think someone poisoned her?”

“No, not someone—something. There is something strange about this place we’re at. I have a theory.” He picked up a fist-sized stone. He tossed it in the air a few times like a baseball to gauge its weight, then he held it out to Connie. “Do you have any spells that will work on this stone?”

Connie flipped through the pages of the spells that were imprinted on her mind. “Like what? I have lots of them.”

“Any spell. Not dangerous,” he corrected quickly. “Cast a spell on this stone.” He held the stone in the palm of his hand.

Connie decided to crack the stone. In her hand, she clutched a crystal container that held a one-power node. She directed a Crumble spell on the rock. To her surprise, nothing happened. She looked up at Theo. She attempted to cast the spell again. Just as before, the spell had no effect. She pulled out one of her two precious five-power Crystal nodes and cast the spell again. The stone remained unchanged in Theo’s hand.

“I don’t understand. I cast Crumble with a five-power node,” Connie said. “That stone should have shattered into dust. Did you cast some kind of protection on it?”

“You know I do not have spells that affect stone as you do.”

“What’s the problem, then? Why won’t my spell work on it?”

“That chasm is the cause.”

He threw the rock over the edge of the chasm. Snow and Rahl looked back at Connie and Theo when the stone flew over their heads. The swordbearer and the sorceress headed away from the precipice to rejoin the party.

“I have a spell I want to cast,” Snow announced to the group.

“Wait,” Theo said as he approached the sorceress. His black fur coat ruffled in the biting cold wind as he approached the precipice.

Snow turned to Theo with a look of impatience. “What is it? And make it quick.”

“There is some sort of anomaly with this area,” he said. “It appears to block the effects of spells.”

“Is there a sink-well close by?”

“I don’t know, but there is definitely something. Connie’s spells don’t work.”

“Hers won’t, but not mine will. I can sometimes overcome sink-wells.”

Theo still appeared concerned. “Respectfully, Snow, I suggest you trial your spell first before casting it upon us. Look.” He pointed up to Tristana, who still slept soundly against the rock despite the wind that roared around them. Snow gazed at Tristana blankly, not seeming to believe what she saw.

“She sleeps,” Rahl broke, having been following their conversation.

“Indeed, she does,” Theo replied. “Something taps her spirit.”

While Theo spoke, Connie saw Snow cast some sort of spell on herself while looking at Tristana. Moments later, Snow appeared acutely alarmed. She turned to the great chasm that stretched below them. She pulled out her wand, the one Connie had come to call her “fairy” wand, the one with the star at the end. She picked up a rock. In a deft move, she tossed the rock in the air while waving the wand at it. Immediately, a translucent bubble appeared around the rock. The rock sat inside the bubble, resisting the wind, held steady by an invisible ray of control that emanated from the tip of the wand.

Snow turned back to Theo while she suspended the bubble in midair above her. “Do you see this? Theodan?” she said, chiding the spirit mage who watched her incredulous. “Nothing can overcome celestial magic.”

“Show me, then,” Theo said.

The sorceress lowered the star of the wand toward the chasm. The bubble slowly followed as if being held by remote control. The bubble barely breached the precipice when it unexpectedly burst. The stone fell. Snow gasped.

Theo stepped up to Snow. “Do you believe me now?”

“Let me try again. The enchantment on this wand has always been unreliable.”

“Nothing is the matter with your wand. It is the chasm. It appears to have some peculiar quality that drains our magic. Our spells cannot work here.”

“You think that the chasm is one big sink-well?” She shook her head. “It cannot be. Sink-wells are never that large.”

“Yet, it appears to be.” Theo turned to Rahl. “What shall we do?”

“We must either find another way around the chasm, or we must cross it on foot,” he stated, running his hand through his black beard.

Maltokken spoke up from behind Connie. For all the howling of the wind, she did not hear his approach.

“You are not going to lower me into that chasm,” he barked. “I’d rather find a way around it first.” He gazed warily over the edge. “Besides, we have no idea what evil waits for us in that fog down there.”

Yalden broke in. “I concur with Maltokken.”

“Very well then,” Rahl capitulated as he stared at the chasm. “First we shall find a way around the chasm. If we are unable to find a way around, then we will explore other options. For now, we should return to the village on the other side of the ridge.”

Rahl walked away from the chasm and up to where Jalban rested next to a somnolent Tristana. Theo bid Yalden to take Tristana. He hefted the sleeping conjuration over his muscular shoulders and began carrying her back up to the crest of the ridge. Connie felt hungry and, strangely, somewhat drowsy, like someone had slipped her a mickey. She reached into the Threshibian bag to sneak some of Jalban’s stock of aceralla root. She found that chewing on the raw root made her feel energetic like a double-shot latte. She reached inside the bag. To her horror, the bag was now a normal leather sack, albeit an empty one. At this moment, she also realized that its blue glow had entirely vanished. She glanced up at the party to see if anyone suspected what had happened. No one seemed to, but Snow now approached her. Connie quickly put the bag away. She fought the urge to panic, direly hoping the bag would work again once they left the proximity of the chasm. If it didn’t, most of their possessions would be lost forever in the extradimensional space. Connie believed, at the very least, that the party would string her from a tree, for it was on her recommendation that they use the bag to carry their possessions.

“How are you feeling?” Snow asked as they made their way back up the rough, stony ridge.

Connie wondered if Snow noticed how pale she looked at the malfunction of the Threshibian bag. “I feel fine. Why do you ask?”

“This is a good thing,” Snow replied. “If your spirit were not binding to your new body, you would have ended up like Tristana. Your spirit would have slipped out of your body, and you would have collapsed. Do you feel sleepy?”

“Yes, a little.”

“I expected that,” Snow said. “There is still a bit of magic yet to fade that flows between your spirit and your body, though this must only be a trivial amount. What you are feeling is the loss of this magic. By the way, my apprentice, your master would like some water. May I have some?”

This mundane request from Snow sent a chill down Connie’s spine. Snow was referring to the water skins they’d stuffed into the Threshibian bag.

“Doesn’t Jalban have any water?”

“He is speaking with Rahl. Besides, the water tastes better to me when you handle the skin that holds it.”

Snow looked at Connie as they walked, waiting for Connie to produce a water skin from the bag.

Connie became worried. She didn’t want to tell Snow the bag wasn’t working anymore. She had to think fast. “You shouldn’t be drinking water while you’re on an uphill climb.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’ll get cramps.”

“Why will I get cramps?”

“Because you’re climbing a steep incline,” Connie responded with circular logic.

Snow frowned at Connie as she thought this over. “I’ve drunk water on uphill climbs and never gotten cramps.”

“But you’ve probably never drank water on an uphill climb at this altitude.”

“This is true. But I’m awfully thirsty. Give me some water.”

“You should at least wait until we cross over the ridge and begin descending again.”

“I want some water,” the sorceress insisted.

Connie stopped walking and removed the strap of the shopping bag-sized leather pouch from around her shoulder. “Whatever you say, Snow. And when you are doubled over with cramps on the rocks, remember that I gave you my best mountain climbing advice, and you didn’t heed me.”

Connie unfastened the leather cord that held the bag shut while Snow watched. Snow spoke up just as Connie began reaching inside. “Very well, Connie,” she said, resigned. “I can wait for the water.”

“Wise move, Snow,” Connie said, secretly relieved as she removed her hand from the bag. “You won’t have any regrets.”

“Except that I’m thirsty,” she said, stumbling upward.

A short while after the party began their descent toward the village on the other side of the ridge, the drowsiness she felt on the other side fell away. Soon, Tristana began to stir in Yalden’s arms. When she did so, he stopped and gently lowered her to the ground. Connie furtively checked the Threshibian bag while everyone’s attention was focused on Tristana. To her great relief, the party’s goods were accessible once again. Connie used the abeyance to give Snow the water she sought earlier, telling her it was now safe to drink. Less than an hour later, the party was back at the abandoned village. By that time, it was past noon. The valley was a sanctuary of quiet and calm compared to the windy ridge.

The party started a fire early. Everyone lay about on their blankets contemplating the newly discovered barrier that stood between them and the completion of their quest. Rahl, Theo, and Snow spent a greater part of the afternoon discussing magical and non-magical proposals on how to most quickly get across the chasm. The weather had been relatively kind to them so far. None speculated how long their good fortune would last before the furious bane of winter struck.

Everyone except Jalban, Yalden, and Connie had fallen asleep early that evening. Connie was getting weary from studying her spell books and considering turning in herself for the night when Snow suddenly awoke with a start. She sat up and looked around. Then her eyes fixated on a point in the thin air just before the blanket, as if someone were standing there. Connie, Jalban, and Yalden saw her do this. The three of them looked to each other, perplexed. Snow had never done this before. To Connie, it looked like Snow was about to start sleepwalking.

“Calicus!” Snow shouted into the air.

The three stared into the air, where Snow gazed. They saw nothing in the darkness in the feeble light of their modest fire. Not even a shimmer of anything unusual. They looked back at Snow. Now she seemed to be listening to something, as if the phantom of Calicus were speaking to her.

“Yes,” she said. Then she nodded her head. She slipped out of her blanket and put on her footwear and coat. “I have to leave for a moment,” she said to the three of them. “Calicus requests that I speak to him in private.”

“I don’t see anything,” Yalden told Connie and Jalban.

“Neither do I,” Jalban said.

“Best not to disturb her,” Connie added.

Once Snow had dressed, she wandered beyond the light of the campfire and disappeared into the chilly darkness of the surrounding woods.

After Snow had been gone for a half-hour or so, the three began feeling uneasy. Yalden spoke of going out to look for her. Jalban insisted that they awaken Rahl first before they did such a thing. Connie gazed into the darkness, waiting for her return. Before the discussion could go too far, Snow stepped back into the camp. Without a word, she returned to her blanket and began removing her coat.

“We were worried about you,” Jalban said to Snow as she draped her fur coat over her blanket for its additional warmth.

“You should not worry about me, Jalban. You should worry about yourself while I am away,” she said in her usual icy tone.

“Did you really talk to Calicus?” he asked.

“Yes, his shade appeared to me.”

“What did he say?” Connie asked.

“As you know, Chaos has breached the Calphous Well. Roggentine still stands. The army is holding its own. They are depending on us. That is all I will tell you.”

“What about my son? What did he tell you about my son?” Jalban asked, alarmed.

“He said nothing about your son. But he spoke of many things. He also spoke of Connie.”

“Of Connie?” Yalden asked.

All eyes fell upon the woman in question.

“What did he say about me?” Connie asked.

“Remember what I told you today, that your spirit is binding to Alyndia’s body?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve learned that Alyndia is alive and well in your world. She inhabits your body. As with you, her spirit deepens its binding with each passing day. Very soon, your tangled silver cords will snap, and you two will separate forever. That means neither of you will ever be able to return to your worlds, at least not to your respective bodies. Calicus believes we should try to send you back to your world as soon as possible. By sending you back, we will get Alyndia in return.” Snow slipped back into her blanket. “Now that we have lost Fandia, it is imperative that we gain another competent spellcaster such as Alyndia.”

“But I’m a competent spellcaster.”

“Indeed, Connie, you have already proven yourself quite competent in elemental magic. Surprisingly, so for the short amount of time you have practiced. But we need one skilled in the art of celestial magic. This is a skill you have not yet acquired. Alyndia has evidently achieved some competency in it, notwithstanding the fact that you perverted her spell, which brought you here.”

“I can learn celestial magic if you’ll teach me.”

“It would take you years to master celestial magic. We have not the time.”

“If Alyndia had competency, then I should too, just as it was the elemental magic,” Connie said. “It would be just as it was when I went to learn elemental spells. It was effortless once I began.”

“Connie!” Snow said in a scolding tone. “Listen to yourself. Don’t you want to go back to your world?”

These words caused a pause in Connie. She thought this over. Snow was right. What was she saying? She didn’t belong in Cerinya. This was Alyndia’s world—and this was her quest. Connie already had a life on Earth. Although she wanted to avenge the death of Sind’s brother, the battle against Chaos was ultimately not hers.

“When would you send me back?”

“Tomorrow morning, if I can locate the spells in my books.”

Connie was almost dismayed at this. She could not understand her own feelings. She gazed into slumbering Rahl’s face illuminated by the fire as though he could offer her an answer. She thought he appeared as an angel when he slept.

Snow looked at Connie with a steely expression. “I don’t know why you should want to stay here when you can go back to that wonderful, strange world you’ve told us about. There, you don’t have to worry about getting zapped by spells and fighting Chaos monsters.”

“I just don’t like giving up on things. I thought I could finish this quest first.” She realized her voice sounded edgier than she intended. “I’m not a quitter.”

Snow smiled slightly. “Connie, Connie. Perhaps it will ease your conscience to know you don’t have a choice in this matter.”

“Doesn’t Calicus have anything better to do than figure out what happened to me? You said Chaos is on its way to take over Roggentine. Couldn’t he spend his energies wisely, like trying to defeat Chaos?

“He is. That is why he wants Alyndia back.”

Connie gave Snow a look to show she obviously didn’t understand her logic. Snow sighed before she elaborated on her thoughts.

“Connie, the answer to your question has already risen from your tongue. Calicus is a great wizard, but there is only so much any wizard can do to slow the advance of Chaos. He knows Roggentine, and the rest of Cerinya’s salvation lies in our success, not in the defense of Roggentine. To put his energies into helping to defend the city would serve only to forestall the inevitable. With us lies the only chance of real, permanent victory. That is why Calicus has chosen to focus on our cause, and in this case, yours in particular.”

Connie ruminated over this explanation. She turned to Jalban, who had been oddly quiet after hearing the news that his niece would soon return.

“I suppose you will be delighted to have your niece back,” she said to him bitterly.

“Alyndia chose to abandon her life and responsibilities here,” Jalban replied tonelessly. “Why should I care if she returns?”

Connie stared at him, unable to believe she’d heard him correctly. Apparently, he’d been doing some thinking, as his attitudes had changed since the last time she spoke to him about the matter.

Snow wrapped her blanket more tightly around herself to keep in the warmth. “Just between us, I think you would ultimately make a better celestial mage than would Alyndia. I don’t think she has what it takes. But I am not he who dictates who stays or who we get in return. Now I beseech you to get your rest, Connie. Let the others take watch. Tomorrow, I will send you on the long journey back from whence you came and undo this mess that you and Alyndia have made for yourselves.”