Post by Mysti on Jul 6, 2007 7:39:06 GMT -5
Voyage of Discovery-
-Part 6-
It had been a long while since Dayl had started his journey. And it seemed to him that he had not made much progress. Although he had started with the highest of hopes and a strong will to see this thing through, the journey seemed interminable. He had parted with his escort and had taken ship at the small port of Droog not far from the house of Rysapp. The biggest surprise of his journey so far ahd come on the day he was to set sail from Droog. Rysapp had appointed a teacher and travelling companion to accompany him. Thius was his name. Thius of Droog was a gnarled war veteran who had been with Rysapp on many of his campaigns. The two had a lot in common.
Since then they had made his way along the coast in small increments according to Rysapp's written instructions. The minor rural ports of Croth, Garl-Bortwith and Cheemin were well in the past. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Thius, following Rysapp's written instructions, had laid out a tough regimen of practice for Dayl on his journey. Sword play, healing, unarmed combat and meditation were all regular requirements. Rysapp had also included a set of mind exercises which he specifically demanded that Dayl should do. As Dayl knew that lack of practice on his part would get back to Rysapp through Thius. For his part, Thius had looked at the instructions and glanced appraisingly at Dayl with a knowing look. Dayl, determined to show Thius his worth, had practiced diligently for a week, then as no results appeared, somewhat less diliigently for another two weeks. By the fourth week he was beginning find it hard to concentrate. Thius seemed to know whatever he was thinking though and relentlessly drove him on. He, on the other hand, was unable to see single thought of Thius. It was exactly as it had been with Rysapp.
His first instruction had been "visualise a sky", then a noon sky, a stormy sky, and a night sky. Next had come the sea; a calm sea, a stormy sea, a blue sea, a green sea. These were not overly difficult exercises, as he was surrounded by both sea and sky in various states at all hours of the day! Then, just as he thought he was mastering it all, the exercises had changed focus to visualizing a hill, a field, a forest. Just as he was getting the hang of these things the exercises suddenly turned to more detail; first a tree, and then a branch, then leaves. Then a particular type of tree. Next came animals such as a worm, then a snake. He had progressed up through the animal kingdom and finally started on people. Rysapp, Thius, the ship's captain, fellow passengers; all were the unwitting victims of his sometimes faulty visualizations. He got better at it though. And as his grasp of shape became much better the exercises started to focus on colour and pattern, then even smaller details such as hair, eyes, teeth and nails, then they progressed to voice and animation.
Now though, he was getting bored with the endless repetitive visualisations. He was becoming morose and beginning to wish he had never set out. Sometimes he looked at the special blade Rysapp had given to him and even touched it, hoping that he would get more visions, as he had when he had touched the other. But there was nothing. The sword lay calm and silent under the scrutiny of his questing mind. Thius had taken one look at the blade and spat. "Put that thing away, lad! Believe me you don't want to touch it before you need to!" He had refused to engage in conversation with Dayl about his knowledge of the blade, save to say angrily "Rysapp was a fool to have picked it up in the first place." Dayl was startled at his vehemence, but then saw a suggestion of a tear in Thius' eye before he turned away and gruffly ordered Dayl to be ready for unarmed combat practice on deck in five minutes.
In unarmed combat, Thius was a master. "Come on Lad! Attack me," He would say. But try as he might, Dayl could come nowhere near touching Thius. Although he was bigger and maybe even stronger than Thius, whatever he tried, he would end up on the floor. It seemed that Thius would scarcely touch him but surely enough he would find himself at Thius' mercy looking up into his grinning face as he gained his wind or on his stomach pinned to the floor with scarcely more pressure than a touch of the master's finger on his back, and yet unable to rise!
Finally, after a few days of this, he begged Thius to teach him the secret. All Thius said then was "Breathe properly!" He demonstrated what he meant, a long and steady breath through the nose and a long steady breath out through the mouth. "Breathing keeps you relaxed, and when you are relaxed you are powerful." Was his next lesson. He showed Dayl how relaxation was more powerful than physical strength and made him practice relaxing and breathing until Dayl could casually brush a light hand along the shoulder of a burly crew member and cause him, to sink to the floor. "Now try to do it with physical strength." He told Dayl. Dayl stepped up and tried to make the man fall by dragging the man down to the floor. The huge sailor merely grinned and with a huge meaty hand pushed Dayl to the floor in one shove! Somewhat crestfallen Dayl stood up. "But what use is it when someone like this is so huge and strong!" He complained. Thius snorted with disdain. "Pfaw. You are not listening, lad. Relaxation is stronger than physical strength. Come over here and push me to the floor." He ordered the sailor. Obligingly the sailor put his hands on Thius shoulders and pushed down. Then he grunted in surprise. "Like a bloody rock! He gasped. Try as he might he could not budge Thius. He changed tactics and with a roar gripped Thius in a bear hug attempting to lift him up and throw him to the ground. But Thius was like a rock. He grinned at the panting sailor. Suddenly, he shifted his hips, and then, with lightening speed he escaped from the grasp of the sailor coming up lightly behind him. Suddenly, with a crash the sailor was gasping and panting on the deck! Thius on the other hand looked as though he had just been relaxing all day. There was nothing that showed any exertion in his breathing or his stance. "Breathe properly and relax" He repeated. "And strength and size are of no consequence."
Dayl had to agree with him after what he had just seen. He earnestly practiced after that, paying attention to his breathing and his relaxation. Soon he was seeing results. His movements became lighter, and less panicked and he could begin to predict when and where Thius would move. The sailor had also become interested in Thius' method and sometimes joined them, giving Dayl a chance to practice with another beginner under Thius' supervision. Like Dayl the sailor made good progress, and once, Dayl even saw what he thought was a glint of approval in Thius' face, though he was careful not to say anything about it
Dayl also began to feel that his mind power was developing again. Now he was practicing how to influence physical movement. He had had no success until one day when he was practicing unarmed contact with Thius. Thius was saying, "One way to floor your opponent without even touching him is to lead his mind." When Dayl gave him a puzzled look. Thius produced a Donivar gold piece from his pouch. "Take this gold piece from me and you can have it as your own!" As Dayl had never possessed as much as a bronze pepel in his life he was immediately interested.
Thius held it out in his hand. "Here, take it!" He said with deceptive mildness. Dayl knew that there was some trick at hand. " I won't touch you," said Thius. Dayl looked in Thius eyes but saw only a softness. Was Thius going to let him have the money? Feeling a great warmth and happiness, he stepped forward, arm stretching out to take the gold piece, eyes on his prize, mind filled with the prospect of having so much money. But maddeningly as he approached he could somehow not get close enough to take it. And suddenly the money was no longer in front of him and he was on the floor. He looked up at Thius, who grinned and put the gold piece back in his pouch. "That's what I mean by leading the mind, lad. Always guard against it!" He showed Dayl how to make an opponent overbalance when reaching out to take something and how to apply that to the unarmed combat moves he had taught earlier. Soon, Dayl understood that indeed it was possible to influence an opponent's mind without even touching him. He began to have a great respect for Thius and his skills, but he also began to understand that somewhere there was an answer to the problem of how to influence physical movement in a non combat situation using only his mind from a distance. Although he didn't know it yet, Thius also held the knowledge to answer that problem.
-end of part 6-
Part 7-
Agst, with its towering grey walls capped by battlements, was much larger than the other ports he had yet visited. With its only entrance from the sea flanked by cliffs from which menacing fortresses looked down, it was impregnable to attack from the sea. The town was reached by a straight path which was cut at an upward incline straight through the cliffs from the harbour.
Dayl climbed this path by himself. He was sweating, for it was a steady climb, and the sun was rising to its height. Thius had ordered him to go to the Golden Raven, an inn where accommodation was already reserved for them. Although the town was busy, the Golden Raven was not a difficult place to find. Thius said it was a place carved out of rock in market square of the port. "Carved out of rock!" Dayl thought to himself, "What kind of place is this?" It was funny thought Dayl to himself, but hardly anybody seemed to be climbing the hill with him. He had heard that in some southern cities people went inside and slept during the midday heat of the sun and wondered if this were the case.
Something else made him wonder too. On each side of the road there were grooves cut into the floor. On one side of the road, two parallel grooves, maybe half the height of his body across ran all the way from the harbour at the bottom and appeared to continue up to the city at the top. A third, groove ran along the center between the two grooves. He looked at the other side of the road and saw the same type of grooves. He wondered what they could possibly be for. "Perhaps they are drains to carry water down the hill when it rains" he concluded, and continued to trudge up the hill.
At last massive stone gates on rollers lay open before his eyes. Profusely sweating in the humid noon day sun Darl looked forward to a cup of ale on his arrival at the inn. Then, something caught his eye. It seemed that a piece of stone had detached itself from the gates. It started sliding down the hill towards him. As it came nearer Dayl was startled to see what appeared to be people on the stone. The sound of its rumbling grew nearer and nearer. The people at the front of the stone were gesturing at him, and he heard faint voices. The stone appeared to be moving on a straight course, along the edge of the road, so Dayl stepped aside. Then Dayl noticed with even more surprise that the stone had wheels which were running along the grooves he had seen earlier. The heavy cart made a rumbling clanging sound. Dayl put good distance between himself as it passed. He saw that, close up, the contraption was not a stone but kind of cart with what looked like stone wheels. It passed him by, making a slow controlled descent. The people on the cart looked at Dayl curiously and one pretty girl seemed to snigger behind her hand at Dayl who was walking...obviously an unsophisticated lout from the outer lands. Dayl turned and watched the cart as it continued down the hill. He was just turning away to continue up the hill when something caught his eye. It appeared the cart was coming back. This time up the other side of the hill. It came nearer and nearer moving at the same speed as it had down the hill. Dayl marvelled at this miracle. Now Dayl had to step across to the other side of the road to avoid the cart as it passed him by. Then, with a shock, Dayl saw that it was full of people from the boat. Soon the cart had passed him by and was nearing the gates at the top of the hill. Now Dayl finally understood why there had been nobody on the road. They had all been waiting for one of these strange contraptions to take them, either up or down the hill. He wished Thius had told him. Dayl arrived at the gates a good ten minutes after the cart. It was standing at a kind of platform cut into the stone of the walls. The passengers had gone now and men were unloading boxes and bales from it and stacking them neatly on the platform
While waiting for Thius, Dayl decided to go exploring by himself. Getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the quayside he let himself follow the flow of people away from the portside.
He had a little fun dipping into the minds of passers by to see what they were thinking. Few of the thoughts were amusing though and after one particularly unpleasant encounter he quickly gave up and started practicing the mind shielding exercises Rysapp had instructed him in briefly before his departure. Little did Dayl realise though, he had been noticed, and now was being followed by another who had mastered the art of mind shielding. Unknown to him, the word quickly spread to the Brotherhood of the Blight, a group dedicated to the Spider God of Agst. Now his life was in deep danger.
But he knew little of this and was enjoying the sweet ale of Agst while strolling around a carnival in the market place.
In Agst, the fair dawn dance
Don't take a chance
But a glance does no harm
Heart needs to be warm
Gay dolterool what fools ye be
Scoffing and sneering at what you see
The man in the hat with the strange animal
Doing tricks at this odd carnival
Speaks an old man in the bazaar
Hear of the secret of Donivar
Riches never dreamed of, more
To the lucky one who opens the door
Gliding around with cup in hand
Awash with the town's best heady ale
Head so light and out of hand
Careful of your mind young Dayl
One follows with his eyes
And orders out his spies
Seen you he has in his mind
And is not far behind
For he knows ye slightly
Though not enough to blight thee
Cold you suddenly are
As cold as a star in the blackness
To where ye descend
Now ye have the need of friends
And none to see your plight
Did you lose the fight ere it began?
Swimming you are through gales and strands of grey
Yet never far away you see behind you
The mind is locked to thine
The leechy creature hanging on
Taking power and returning none
Soon ye will be drained
And then empty brained
Cast back you will be
But not in your entirety
By the fellowhood of Blight
Tis surely harmed you will be
They cart you off secretly
Down the deep and silent stair
To temple hidden
This is their lair
Like their spider god they will drain ye now
Thy psychic power is a tasty morsel for them
But thy master, so much wiser than thee
Has foreseen this possibility
And sent along before you there
A message to one who will see to your care
That very person is close by now
Save you she can, and will by her vow
Wise is she, well versed in her art
Yet not so farseeing that she yet knows her part
As it will stand in your life
Nor in hers
With potent crystal amulet in hand
She sends to thee a silent strand
"Wake now. For tis time to leave"
Her voice whispers through the space of thy mind
And slowly you come to
Sustained by this marvelous power
Now you awake
Though where you be and at this dark hour
You cannot tell
Lying on a stone slab in candlelit room
Transfixed in a web of evil light
Surrounded by dark cloaked forms still and silent
Working their spell to bind you
And give up your power
Weaker you've grown hour by hour
Though bound and chained you are not
You cannot move
Once more the voice whispers inside you
It is kind and warm
And entwines with you lovingly
"Almost too late I have come" thinks she
"Soon he will be gone
And I alone to carry on
Surely this should never be.
Alas! Great Good One aid me!"
Surprised by the strength of her feelings
For this young one who knows not her
Nor her secret dealings
And whose face she has hardly seen
Indeed tis only his mind she knows
Yet this makes it more intimate and close
Than e'er a falling for a face could be
I have lain in fields of dew and sweet grass
with my love
And this has been true all these ages
Breathing in the scent of the heather
And sweet sages
I have spoken to thee in tender tones
As we rest, one in one
At home in each other's homes
Love we have found
And yet knew it not
As our hearts beat slowly in time
And our thoughts lie in each other's entwined
It is never ending then,
And we will meet forever 'neath the stars of our love
And nothing shall call down from above
As we walk softly 'tween the scented trees
And savour the scents of passion
As they float down on gentle breeze
Not a person shall lift their hand against us
Nor raise their voice in doubt
For this is as was always meant to be
Never far away
Ready to come in an instant
To be together once more
Heart in heart
As it was before
And will be forever more
Still, minds clouded over with feeling make poor tools
She reminds herself
What a fool I be
Jolted thus from her reverie
She starts to send instruction
Dayl has heard Rysapp but listened not says she
Told you, didn't he to keep your mind guarded
And with reason good
Now do as I say
Close your mind, and draw on the power of my amulet
stop the outward flow
"Calay ma throog tifet ni pas
Jigas edatifen calyo ma tho!"
Eyes closed she incants the words
which fly like birds of freedom into the room
and swirl around the man in swoon upon the slab
They weave a net of fine mesh
Dayl begins his resistance
The fight
He slowly climbs through pain up the stair
To wakefulness
Aware of a mind that he has seen before
Yet only in a faint dream of long ago
The amulets cocoon wrapped around him
helps him resist
And slowly though they know it not quite yet
The flow of power stops
Sour notes clash through the air
The drugging incense smoke turns from cloying scent to black smoke
Dayl rises
Without thinking
He takes the whole of the power of the amulet
And dashes it at the forms in black just as they begin to stir
It is a lashing out of anger
Scattered they are
Blown over
The leader comes to fight
Though sad mistake that be
Dayl with scarce a thought
Blasts his mind
Face crumples in red
Collapses into skull
Psychic shock resounds like thunderclap
Breaking open pillars and tearing stones from walls
The room is shrieking hell
If Dayl does not escape, he will die as well
What is the voice in his mind
The tiny voice that helped
when he was weak and blind
directing him away
Run now Dayl
Or never see another day!
He breaks and dashes through a doorway
Following the thought
Like a stream of pure water
Upwards climbs and exits into dark mist
On the riverside
"Over here! Quickly!"
A voice cried. He saw her then. A slight girl with long black hair tied back with a circlet. Wearing a short creamy coloured tunic with geometrical designs in black on the breast. Around her neck was a shining stone suspended by a glittering chain. Her soft brown eyes glowed with warmth and intelligence.
He knew who she was without speaking to her. His mind brushed hers almost naturally and encountered her there.
"Tis I, Saytha, the caller of the wind!"
"Aye, Tis thee, sweet bird of chance."
Tis all in the past
And all in the future at a glance
Eternal friend, and more at times
Forever intertwined
In this time, her name was Saytha. The Caller of the Wind. Fully alert now Dayl looked at her.
Her soft brown eyes regarded him for a short moment. And then she smiled.
"I am Saytha. And you are Dayl. Rysapp asked me to look after you. I can see he was right. You need it. Oh, and by the way," she said with a mischievious grin. "You left all your clothes in there!"
Dayl, who had been falling into Saytha's eyes suddenly realised his nakedness with a shock!
"Don't worry about it," said Saytha. "Here I brought a cloak for you!"
Dayl, embarrassed, donned the cloak.
"Come quickly now" she said urgently. The underground temple is collapsing. It is not safe here!"
The ground started to shake and rumble and cracks appeared. Plumes of dust puffed up. Muffled noises of crashing masonry filtered up. The couple turned and ran.
"Follow me" she yelled over her shoulder as the noise of the rumbling increased
Looking back over his shoulder Dayl saw the ground collapse behind him falling into a pit. The river began rushing into the hole that opened up.
-End of Part 7-
-Part 6-
It had been a long while since Dayl had started his journey. And it seemed to him that he had not made much progress. Although he had started with the highest of hopes and a strong will to see this thing through, the journey seemed interminable. He had parted with his escort and had taken ship at the small port of Droog not far from the house of Rysapp. The biggest surprise of his journey so far ahd come on the day he was to set sail from Droog. Rysapp had appointed a teacher and travelling companion to accompany him. Thius was his name. Thius of Droog was a gnarled war veteran who had been with Rysapp on many of his campaigns. The two had a lot in common.
Since then they had made his way along the coast in small increments according to Rysapp's written instructions. The minor rural ports of Croth, Garl-Bortwith and Cheemin were well in the past. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Thius, following Rysapp's written instructions, had laid out a tough regimen of practice for Dayl on his journey. Sword play, healing, unarmed combat and meditation were all regular requirements. Rysapp had also included a set of mind exercises which he specifically demanded that Dayl should do. As Dayl knew that lack of practice on his part would get back to Rysapp through Thius. For his part, Thius had looked at the instructions and glanced appraisingly at Dayl with a knowing look. Dayl, determined to show Thius his worth, had practiced diligently for a week, then as no results appeared, somewhat less diliigently for another two weeks. By the fourth week he was beginning find it hard to concentrate. Thius seemed to know whatever he was thinking though and relentlessly drove him on. He, on the other hand, was unable to see single thought of Thius. It was exactly as it had been with Rysapp.
His first instruction had been "visualise a sky", then a noon sky, a stormy sky, and a night sky. Next had come the sea; a calm sea, a stormy sea, a blue sea, a green sea. These were not overly difficult exercises, as he was surrounded by both sea and sky in various states at all hours of the day! Then, just as he thought he was mastering it all, the exercises had changed focus to visualizing a hill, a field, a forest. Just as he was getting the hang of these things the exercises suddenly turned to more detail; first a tree, and then a branch, then leaves. Then a particular type of tree. Next came animals such as a worm, then a snake. He had progressed up through the animal kingdom and finally started on people. Rysapp, Thius, the ship's captain, fellow passengers; all were the unwitting victims of his sometimes faulty visualizations. He got better at it though. And as his grasp of shape became much better the exercises started to focus on colour and pattern, then even smaller details such as hair, eyes, teeth and nails, then they progressed to voice and animation.
Now though, he was getting bored with the endless repetitive visualisations. He was becoming morose and beginning to wish he had never set out. Sometimes he looked at the special blade Rysapp had given to him and even touched it, hoping that he would get more visions, as he had when he had touched the other. But there was nothing. The sword lay calm and silent under the scrutiny of his questing mind. Thius had taken one look at the blade and spat. "Put that thing away, lad! Believe me you don't want to touch it before you need to!" He had refused to engage in conversation with Dayl about his knowledge of the blade, save to say angrily "Rysapp was a fool to have picked it up in the first place." Dayl was startled at his vehemence, but then saw a suggestion of a tear in Thius' eye before he turned away and gruffly ordered Dayl to be ready for unarmed combat practice on deck in five minutes.
In unarmed combat, Thius was a master. "Come on Lad! Attack me," He would say. But try as he might, Dayl could come nowhere near touching Thius. Although he was bigger and maybe even stronger than Thius, whatever he tried, he would end up on the floor. It seemed that Thius would scarcely touch him but surely enough he would find himself at Thius' mercy looking up into his grinning face as he gained his wind or on his stomach pinned to the floor with scarcely more pressure than a touch of the master's finger on his back, and yet unable to rise!
Finally, after a few days of this, he begged Thius to teach him the secret. All Thius said then was "Breathe properly!" He demonstrated what he meant, a long and steady breath through the nose and a long steady breath out through the mouth. "Breathing keeps you relaxed, and when you are relaxed you are powerful." Was his next lesson. He showed Dayl how relaxation was more powerful than physical strength and made him practice relaxing and breathing until Dayl could casually brush a light hand along the shoulder of a burly crew member and cause him, to sink to the floor. "Now try to do it with physical strength." He told Dayl. Dayl stepped up and tried to make the man fall by dragging the man down to the floor. The huge sailor merely grinned and with a huge meaty hand pushed Dayl to the floor in one shove! Somewhat crestfallen Dayl stood up. "But what use is it when someone like this is so huge and strong!" He complained. Thius snorted with disdain. "Pfaw. You are not listening, lad. Relaxation is stronger than physical strength. Come over here and push me to the floor." He ordered the sailor. Obligingly the sailor put his hands on Thius shoulders and pushed down. Then he grunted in surprise. "Like a bloody rock! He gasped. Try as he might he could not budge Thius. He changed tactics and with a roar gripped Thius in a bear hug attempting to lift him up and throw him to the ground. But Thius was like a rock. He grinned at the panting sailor. Suddenly, he shifted his hips, and then, with lightening speed he escaped from the grasp of the sailor coming up lightly behind him. Suddenly, with a crash the sailor was gasping and panting on the deck! Thius on the other hand looked as though he had just been relaxing all day. There was nothing that showed any exertion in his breathing or his stance. "Breathe properly and relax" He repeated. "And strength and size are of no consequence."
Dayl had to agree with him after what he had just seen. He earnestly practiced after that, paying attention to his breathing and his relaxation. Soon he was seeing results. His movements became lighter, and less panicked and he could begin to predict when and where Thius would move. The sailor had also become interested in Thius' method and sometimes joined them, giving Dayl a chance to practice with another beginner under Thius' supervision. Like Dayl the sailor made good progress, and once, Dayl even saw what he thought was a glint of approval in Thius' face, though he was careful not to say anything about it
Dayl also began to feel that his mind power was developing again. Now he was practicing how to influence physical movement. He had had no success until one day when he was practicing unarmed contact with Thius. Thius was saying, "One way to floor your opponent without even touching him is to lead his mind." When Dayl gave him a puzzled look. Thius produced a Donivar gold piece from his pouch. "Take this gold piece from me and you can have it as your own!" As Dayl had never possessed as much as a bronze pepel in his life he was immediately interested.
Thius held it out in his hand. "Here, take it!" He said with deceptive mildness. Dayl knew that there was some trick at hand. " I won't touch you," said Thius. Dayl looked in Thius eyes but saw only a softness. Was Thius going to let him have the money? Feeling a great warmth and happiness, he stepped forward, arm stretching out to take the gold piece, eyes on his prize, mind filled with the prospect of having so much money. But maddeningly as he approached he could somehow not get close enough to take it. And suddenly the money was no longer in front of him and he was on the floor. He looked up at Thius, who grinned and put the gold piece back in his pouch. "That's what I mean by leading the mind, lad. Always guard against it!" He showed Dayl how to make an opponent overbalance when reaching out to take something and how to apply that to the unarmed combat moves he had taught earlier. Soon, Dayl understood that indeed it was possible to influence an opponent's mind without even touching him. He began to have a great respect for Thius and his skills, but he also began to understand that somewhere there was an answer to the problem of how to influence physical movement in a non combat situation using only his mind from a distance. Although he didn't know it yet, Thius also held the knowledge to answer that problem.
-end of part 6-
Part 7-
Agst, with its towering grey walls capped by battlements, was much larger than the other ports he had yet visited. With its only entrance from the sea flanked by cliffs from which menacing fortresses looked down, it was impregnable to attack from the sea. The town was reached by a straight path which was cut at an upward incline straight through the cliffs from the harbour.
Dayl climbed this path by himself. He was sweating, for it was a steady climb, and the sun was rising to its height. Thius had ordered him to go to the Golden Raven, an inn where accommodation was already reserved for them. Although the town was busy, the Golden Raven was not a difficult place to find. Thius said it was a place carved out of rock in market square of the port. "Carved out of rock!" Dayl thought to himself, "What kind of place is this?" It was funny thought Dayl to himself, but hardly anybody seemed to be climbing the hill with him. He had heard that in some southern cities people went inside and slept during the midday heat of the sun and wondered if this were the case.
Something else made him wonder too. On each side of the road there were grooves cut into the floor. On one side of the road, two parallel grooves, maybe half the height of his body across ran all the way from the harbour at the bottom and appeared to continue up to the city at the top. A third, groove ran along the center between the two grooves. He looked at the other side of the road and saw the same type of grooves. He wondered what they could possibly be for. "Perhaps they are drains to carry water down the hill when it rains" he concluded, and continued to trudge up the hill.
At last massive stone gates on rollers lay open before his eyes. Profusely sweating in the humid noon day sun Darl looked forward to a cup of ale on his arrival at the inn. Then, something caught his eye. It seemed that a piece of stone had detached itself from the gates. It started sliding down the hill towards him. As it came nearer Dayl was startled to see what appeared to be people on the stone. The sound of its rumbling grew nearer and nearer. The people at the front of the stone were gesturing at him, and he heard faint voices. The stone appeared to be moving on a straight course, along the edge of the road, so Dayl stepped aside. Then Dayl noticed with even more surprise that the stone had wheels which were running along the grooves he had seen earlier. The heavy cart made a rumbling clanging sound. Dayl put good distance between himself as it passed. He saw that, close up, the contraption was not a stone but kind of cart with what looked like stone wheels. It passed him by, making a slow controlled descent. The people on the cart looked at Dayl curiously and one pretty girl seemed to snigger behind her hand at Dayl who was walking...obviously an unsophisticated lout from the outer lands. Dayl turned and watched the cart as it continued down the hill. He was just turning away to continue up the hill when something caught his eye. It appeared the cart was coming back. This time up the other side of the hill. It came nearer and nearer moving at the same speed as it had down the hill. Dayl marvelled at this miracle. Now Dayl had to step across to the other side of the road to avoid the cart as it passed him by. Then, with a shock, Dayl saw that it was full of people from the boat. Soon the cart had passed him by and was nearing the gates at the top of the hill. Now Dayl finally understood why there had been nobody on the road. They had all been waiting for one of these strange contraptions to take them, either up or down the hill. He wished Thius had told him. Dayl arrived at the gates a good ten minutes after the cart. It was standing at a kind of platform cut into the stone of the walls. The passengers had gone now and men were unloading boxes and bales from it and stacking them neatly on the platform
While waiting for Thius, Dayl decided to go exploring by himself. Getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the quayside he let himself follow the flow of people away from the portside.
He had a little fun dipping into the minds of passers by to see what they were thinking. Few of the thoughts were amusing though and after one particularly unpleasant encounter he quickly gave up and started practicing the mind shielding exercises Rysapp had instructed him in briefly before his departure. Little did Dayl realise though, he had been noticed, and now was being followed by another who had mastered the art of mind shielding. Unknown to him, the word quickly spread to the Brotherhood of the Blight, a group dedicated to the Spider God of Agst. Now his life was in deep danger.
But he knew little of this and was enjoying the sweet ale of Agst while strolling around a carnival in the market place.
In Agst, the fair dawn dance
Don't take a chance
But a glance does no harm
Heart needs to be warm
Gay dolterool what fools ye be
Scoffing and sneering at what you see
The man in the hat with the strange animal
Doing tricks at this odd carnival
Speaks an old man in the bazaar
Hear of the secret of Donivar
Riches never dreamed of, more
To the lucky one who opens the door
Gliding around with cup in hand
Awash with the town's best heady ale
Head so light and out of hand
Careful of your mind young Dayl
One follows with his eyes
And orders out his spies
Seen you he has in his mind
And is not far behind
For he knows ye slightly
Though not enough to blight thee
Cold you suddenly are
As cold as a star in the blackness
To where ye descend
Now ye have the need of friends
And none to see your plight
Did you lose the fight ere it began?
Swimming you are through gales and strands of grey
Yet never far away you see behind you
The mind is locked to thine
The leechy creature hanging on
Taking power and returning none
Soon ye will be drained
And then empty brained
Cast back you will be
But not in your entirety
By the fellowhood of Blight
Tis surely harmed you will be
They cart you off secretly
Down the deep and silent stair
To temple hidden
This is their lair
Like their spider god they will drain ye now
Thy psychic power is a tasty morsel for them
But thy master, so much wiser than thee
Has foreseen this possibility
And sent along before you there
A message to one who will see to your care
That very person is close by now
Save you she can, and will by her vow
Wise is she, well versed in her art
Yet not so farseeing that she yet knows her part
As it will stand in your life
Nor in hers
With potent crystal amulet in hand
She sends to thee a silent strand
"Wake now. For tis time to leave"
Her voice whispers through the space of thy mind
And slowly you come to
Sustained by this marvelous power
Now you awake
Though where you be and at this dark hour
You cannot tell
Lying on a stone slab in candlelit room
Transfixed in a web of evil light
Surrounded by dark cloaked forms still and silent
Working their spell to bind you
And give up your power
Weaker you've grown hour by hour
Though bound and chained you are not
You cannot move
Once more the voice whispers inside you
It is kind and warm
And entwines with you lovingly
"Almost too late I have come" thinks she
"Soon he will be gone
And I alone to carry on
Surely this should never be.
Alas! Great Good One aid me!"
Surprised by the strength of her feelings
For this young one who knows not her
Nor her secret dealings
And whose face she has hardly seen
Indeed tis only his mind she knows
Yet this makes it more intimate and close
Than e'er a falling for a face could be
I have lain in fields of dew and sweet grass
with my love
And this has been true all these ages
Breathing in the scent of the heather
And sweet sages
I have spoken to thee in tender tones
As we rest, one in one
At home in each other's homes
Love we have found
And yet knew it not
As our hearts beat slowly in time
And our thoughts lie in each other's entwined
It is never ending then,
And we will meet forever 'neath the stars of our love
And nothing shall call down from above
As we walk softly 'tween the scented trees
And savour the scents of passion
As they float down on gentle breeze
Not a person shall lift their hand against us
Nor raise their voice in doubt
For this is as was always meant to be
Never far away
Ready to come in an instant
To be together once more
Heart in heart
As it was before
And will be forever more
Still, minds clouded over with feeling make poor tools
She reminds herself
What a fool I be
Jolted thus from her reverie
She starts to send instruction
Dayl has heard Rysapp but listened not says she
Told you, didn't he to keep your mind guarded
And with reason good
Now do as I say
Close your mind, and draw on the power of my amulet
stop the outward flow
"Calay ma throog tifet ni pas
Jigas edatifen calyo ma tho!"
Eyes closed she incants the words
which fly like birds of freedom into the room
and swirl around the man in swoon upon the slab
They weave a net of fine mesh
Dayl begins his resistance
The fight
He slowly climbs through pain up the stair
To wakefulness
Aware of a mind that he has seen before
Yet only in a faint dream of long ago
The amulets cocoon wrapped around him
helps him resist
And slowly though they know it not quite yet
The flow of power stops
Sour notes clash through the air
The drugging incense smoke turns from cloying scent to black smoke
Dayl rises
Without thinking
He takes the whole of the power of the amulet
And dashes it at the forms in black just as they begin to stir
It is a lashing out of anger
Scattered they are
Blown over
The leader comes to fight
Though sad mistake that be
Dayl with scarce a thought
Blasts his mind
Face crumples in red
Collapses into skull
Psychic shock resounds like thunderclap
Breaking open pillars and tearing stones from walls
The room is shrieking hell
If Dayl does not escape, he will die as well
What is the voice in his mind
The tiny voice that helped
when he was weak and blind
directing him away
Run now Dayl
Or never see another day!
He breaks and dashes through a doorway
Following the thought
Like a stream of pure water
Upwards climbs and exits into dark mist
On the riverside
"Over here! Quickly!"
A voice cried. He saw her then. A slight girl with long black hair tied back with a circlet. Wearing a short creamy coloured tunic with geometrical designs in black on the breast. Around her neck was a shining stone suspended by a glittering chain. Her soft brown eyes glowed with warmth and intelligence.
He knew who she was without speaking to her. His mind brushed hers almost naturally and encountered her there.
"Tis I, Saytha, the caller of the wind!"
"Aye, Tis thee, sweet bird of chance."
Tis all in the past
And all in the future at a glance
Eternal friend, and more at times
Forever intertwined
In this time, her name was Saytha. The Caller of the Wind. Fully alert now Dayl looked at her.
Her soft brown eyes regarded him for a short moment. And then she smiled.
"I am Saytha. And you are Dayl. Rysapp asked me to look after you. I can see he was right. You need it. Oh, and by the way," she said with a mischievious grin. "You left all your clothes in there!"
Dayl, who had been falling into Saytha's eyes suddenly realised his nakedness with a shock!
"Don't worry about it," said Saytha. "Here I brought a cloak for you!"
Dayl, embarrassed, donned the cloak.
"Come quickly now" she said urgently. The underground temple is collapsing. It is not safe here!"
The ground started to shake and rumble and cracks appeared. Plumes of dust puffed up. Muffled noises of crashing masonry filtered up. The couple turned and ran.
"Follow me" she yelled over her shoulder as the noise of the rumbling increased
Looking back over his shoulder Dayl saw the ground collapse behind him falling into a pit. The river began rushing into the hole that opened up.
-End of Part 7-