The Rings of Salammis

The First Visitor

At almost exactly the same moment that the felisian was leaving the valley, someone else was arriving. A flying carpet was weaving its way carefully between the high, frozen peaks of the Blue Mountains, following the tortuously winding valleys and skimming low over the occasional high ridge, in places passing just a few feet above their crowns of wind sculpted snow before dropping gratefully down into the next valley, out of the howling gales that overtopped them.

Its passenger hugged thick layers of furry clothing around him and gave a grateful sigh as he finally saw the land opening up before him. A small oasis of warmth and greenery lost amidst the frozen, blizzard swept nightmare that surrounded it. The carpet slowed as it dropped towards the woodlands that covered much of the western half of Lexandria Valley, and its rider swept his eyes across the valley walls, searching out the castles and mansions of retired wizards perched on their vertiginous slopes. Looking for any sign that he'd been seen.

He guided his carpet carefully down through the tangled forest canopy, past leafy branches filled with twittering birds and suspiciously staring squirrels, until it reached the shaded open spaces below and landed gently on the leaf covered forest floor. There, he stripped off his furs, revealing the gown of an apprentice wizard beneath; a disguise that would, hopefully, allow him to move freely around the valley. He dug a shallow hole in the thin soil and buried the carpet, rolled up in his robes for protection, hoping that its magical aura wouldn't attract the attention of any of the valley's wizards or students.

All this accomplished, he stripped off his dirty gloves revealing long fingered hands that he'd spent some time staining with acids and potions to give them the proper apprentice look, suggesting months or years of study and hard work. An apprentice with clean fingers would have been spotted almost immediately, with all the paranoia regarding the sabotage incidents, and his mission was far too important to take a risk like that. He then set off at a brisk walk, his path taking him through the Bellwoods and startling a small herd of unicorns that had been grazing contentedly on the toflowers. They cantered a few yards, then paused, staring at him suspiciously with their large brown eyes.

He was a handsome young man with shoulder length dark hair, a narrow nose and the beginnings of a stubbly beard. He held a small flute in his left hand. The kind of instrument that was currently fashionable in Clarnia and Kenestra and that, according to his researches, several apprentices from that part of the world liked to practice on as a form of relaxation during their brief moments of personal time. It was an ideal disguise for a sophisticated magical artifact, and it had been carefully designed to leak as little magic as possible. Even a senior wizard, standing right next to him, probably wouldn't have been able to sense anything, and he didn't intend to let any get that close in any case. The discovery of its true nature would raise questions he couldn't answer, and with most of his powers left behind in the Realms it might well mean his having to abandon his mission, maybe even his body as his soul was forced to abandon it and return naked to the Ruby Keep. Another covert attempt to gain access to Thomas Gown would then be much more difficult, maybe even impossible, and the whole project would be in danger. He refused to even contemplate that possibility. He would succeed. He wouldn't let anything stop him.

The entire western half of the valley was covered with woodland. Thicker and denser at the entrances to the four dead end passes leading away into the mountains, thinner in between where steep sided ridges pressed inwards. If he were careful he ought to be able to make it all the way to the shaewoods without being seen from the University buildings and perhaps bringing a proctor, demanding to know what he was doing away from his classes. He had a list of excuses all prepared, just in case, but it would be far better if he didn't need to use them.

Reaching a small gurgling stream, Jasper climbed down the bank it had carved through the stony soil to examine his reflection in a pool of still water that had formed to one side. He was relieved to see that his eyes were still brown. Perhaps just a shade lighter than they'd been when he'd transferred his soul into this new body but brown nevertheless. A safe, ordinary colour. It was impossible to predict how long it would take for his spell augmented soul to turn his eyes red, the colour of the Gem Lord whom he served, and the change had sometimes been known to take place over an amazingly brief period. Only a couple of hours in some cases. Glowing red eyes would be sure to attract the attention of anyone he might happen to meet, which was why he'd taken a new body for this mission. A body straight out of the gestation tanks.