The Land Set Aflame

Chapter 82: The Strategy

Leofric had run his locator ritual, and the little ember had settled on the makeshift map somewhere within a deep, rugged ravine that cut into the side of the mountains.

The chill of autumn had settled in, and a cold wind cut through the ravine, but as they neared the place, they felt an aura of warmth radiating from it. Smoke poured from dozens of locations in the surrounding landscape as wildfires burned everywhere.

Callyndia had never been to the Mountains of Ylvas before, and her whole body was trembling with anxiety. There was a majestic-looking ruin hugging the edge of the ancient ravine, the rudiments of a few stone towers still reaching towards the sky like the arthritic fingers of a mangled corpse. The main body of the castle had been scooped out from between the towers and deposited in a diarticulated smear of rumble that ran down the side of the ravine and pooled at its floor. Left behind atop the ride was a flat platform of stone, and it seemed like some new construction was underway, and there were several figures moving about in the area.

"That's ominous," Callyndia said quietly.

"I don't suppose there's any chance that Mr Moon isn't being held there?" Leofric said, "I hadn't anticipated that Master Garrafey would have so many followers. What hope do the four of us have in infiltrating that place and finding Mr Moon?"

"You said 'four'," Lulie replied, "But I'm not going in there, am I? Twillies can't really fight, you know."

"You're still a great assistant, though," Callyndia said to her.

"I could probably handle a bunch of people at once," Kithana said, "But this is surely too many for me, especially if they have protections from fire. And you know Master Garrafey will have the dust."

"Your whiteflames may be our best weapon," Leofric said, "Unfortunately we are, none of us, warriors or tacticians, and we know nothing of the area or the size of the force we're facing. I've no idea how one goes about planning such an attack."

Callyndia began pushing tendrils of magic out away from her, trying to explore the surrounding area as far as she could. There was a mild resistance in the air that took some effort for her to penetrate, but she was able to press through it.

But even as her magic glided up the ravine walls and explored the area, she knew it wasn't going to do much to mitigate their lack of tactical expertise. But at least she could see who was up there. Several minds became visible to her magic, but they felt strange: neither human nor fairy nor elemental, but something between.

Then, when her magic reached the platform high above, she found a familiar mind: Svenden. He was exhausted, hurt and embarrassed. Her heart leapt a little went she felt him, and it took a moment of careful breathing to calm her worries.

"He's definitely up there," she said, turning to look at Leofric, "Alive, at least. We have to get to him, Leofric!"

"I agree, Lady Sablesong," he said, "But I'm at a loss as to how. I could perhaps cast a wind spell to push them around a little, and Kithana's whiteflames would be useful... But what do we do? The three of us against this many?"

Callyndia laid a hand reassuringly on his shoulder and smiled with a confidence she didn't really feel. "Well, I can sense their minds up there," she said, "Which means they don't have those protective talismans that Abdus and Ilyssia have. So, perhaps I can charm my way past them."

Leofric's eyebrows suggested skepticism. "I suppose so," he said, "But that's awfully risky, isn't it?"

"We're going to have to take some risks, Leofric," she said, "There's no way around that. You've seen me charm an elemental before: I'll simply do the same here, and distract them long enough for you and Kithana to slip past."

"And what then?" Leofric asked, "Kithana and I will go find Master Garrafey and Mr Moon, while you delay and distract out here?"

"Master Garrafey might be willing to talk," Callyndia said, "I think I'll request an audience. Maybe I can finally learn, once and for all, what they've been up to this whole time. And you and Kithana can scout around and find an opportunity to attack."

Leofric seemed less than convinced. He shook his head with uncertainty. "Alright," he said, "I don't like it, but I suppose it's the best plan we've got. I certainly can't think of a better one. I supposed I'd better get my spells ready."

He sat down and began rummaging through his satchel, sorting out his ingredient packets and selecting which ones to bring to the forefront.

"Princess?" the little voice of Lulie said from behind Callyndia.

She had given up on telling the twilly not to call her that.

"What is it, Lulie?" she asked.

"What do you want me to do while you're doing all of that?" she asked, "I could hide in your quiver, and then if they use shadow magic, I could glow for you. That would be helpful, right?"

Callyndia smiled again. "Of course, it would," she said, "But I don't want to put you in danger. Maybe you should stay out here and keep watch for us."

"But, watching isn't helping," the twilly said, "I'm going to go with you."

"You are the bravest little twilly I've ever met," Callyndia said to her, "Alright, you can come. But, you have to stay hidden, alright? Can you turn off your glow entirely?"

"Not entirely," Lulie replied, "But I can be really dim!" The little fairy's glow suddenly began to fade until she was barely glowing at all. "See?"

"Alright, keep doing that," Callyndia said. She turned back to Leofric and Kithana as Lulie flitted up and ducked into her quiver.

Leofric was clutching the bamboo slat in one hand, and held a packet of herbal ingredients in the other. Callyndia dispatched some magical fingers back into her hair, loosening the braid and letting her wavy hair bounce alluringly around her face. "Well, are we ready?"

"Not really," Kithana said flatly.