Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

"What do you think you can accomplish?" the sorceress asked. "Even if I give to you all of the power within me, you can't match Enin. How can you succeed where he failed?"

"I do not know if he failed or not. And neither do you."

"But he's gone, I know he is."

"And I sense the same thing. We assume he is dead, but perhaps the slink ghoul has also died."

"I didn't think of that," Heteera confessed.

"An important detail, and if true, one that could turn the tide to our advantage. Wouldn't you agree?"

Heteera nodded.

"The truth is that we are unsure of what happened. We are unsure of many things, but there is one certainty. We are bound to carry out Enin's will, and it was his wish to save the land. We will make our stand in Pinesway. We will defend the path to Connel and the eastern plains. Even if Enin has passed to a new existence, even if Baannat still lives, it does not change this. If the creatures of nightmare come into this land, we will fight them."

"What is it you intend to do?"

Holli would not try to conceal her intentions. She needed the sorceress to open herself completely. There could be no doubt-no mistrust-between them.

"I'm going to probe the energies, but I need to reach beyond the emerald power of nature. I need access to all magic, and so I need help. I need to know how many spell casters have already sensed what has happened and how they might respond. I also need to reach out toward the portal and determine if our foes are advancing. Only when I know the true strength of our position and the nature of our challenge will I be able to determine what to do next."

Heteera remained uncertain, but as Holli only appeared to seek information about their situation, she eventually submitted.

"I will do as you ask."

"Cast no spell of your own," Holli advised. "Do not attempt to alter the magic in anyway. I will create the link and then utilize that which is within you. Throw up no barriers-no restrictions and no alterations."

Heteera nodded and cleared her mind. The sorceress closed her eyes and let the darkness swallow her thoughts. She focused on the emptiness of a dreamless sleep, the nothingness of a forgetful pause, and the utter void of complete indifference.

Holli had become well versed in creating the link she now needed. She had done so many times with Enin. He had taught her the way, and though this link would not be as intimate as the wizard allowed, it would enable the elf to connect to power far beyond her own natural reserves.

As the energy surged into the elf, she quickly felt the dramatic increase in power. At first, it was almost frightening. It did not match the depth that she experienced from Enin, but it was raw and almost bubbling with ferocity. The untamed fury almost shattered the link before it was even complete, but Holli fought against the billowing flood. She managed to control the tide as it coursed into her being, and she placed limits on the flow so that it would not overwhelm her.

With a conduit to a power source of immeasurable reserves, Holli focused on her main concerns. Remaining as inconspicuous as a candle flame held up in front of a roaring bonfire, Holli's consciousness probed the various magical waves to all of the spell casters throughout Pinesway. She did not wish to invade their conscious thoughts or unconscious desires, but she probed for an awareness that would be impossible to hide. If any of the sorcerers knew of Enin's fate, it would be through a perception of these very same magical waves.

It was clear that only one had perceived the loss. She would deal with that later. She needed to move her consciousness further out of Pinesway. She needed to determine the extent of the threat at the portal.

The rift itself would serve as the anchor point. Enin had cast the spell to create a new portal, and she was very familiar with his energy. Though her link to the wizard was lost, she could ride the waves of energy to his spell and utilize her past links with Enin to gain the focus required.

As she reached out toward the badlands before the Lacobian, she grasped echoes of the wizard's magic, except they were stronger than she expected, as if they were more than memories. She attributed this to Enin's strength. Though she very much wanted to linger in the familiar strands of her mentor's power, she kept following the trail to her ultimate goal.

She quickly located the portal with her mind's eye and the sight did little to alleviate her fears.

The rift had expanded far beyond the edges of Enin's barrier that once sealed it. The obstruction hung in the center, but it only served to block half the opening. Dark creatures flowed out of the elongated portal like a never ending swarm of angry bees exiting a hive of limitless size. They rushed out into two groupings; one headed southwest toward the desert and the other moved to the trees of Dark Spruce. The barrier served only to slow their progress, not stop it.

With her main objectives met, Holli almost broke off the connection, but the vibrations of Enin's magic kept her attention. With the aid of Heteera's power, the elf reached beyond the portal, probed into the dark lands until she reconnected once more with Enin's power.

And it was Enin. She was certain of it, but a mystery remained. She followed the strands right to Enin's body, but it was somehow… empty. It was more than the wizard simply being asleep, or even separated from his consciousness in order to explore some distant dimension. It was as if the magical energy remained in his body, but the essence of his soul had been completely removed.

Still, she now had hope. Enin's spirit was somehow absent, separated in some strange way she could not conceive, but he was not dead. Of this, she was now sure.

The revelation traveled through the link to Heteera's energy and it caught the sorceress' attention. She drew the same conclusion. While Enin's link to the magic of this land was somehow severed, he was not dead. Unwittingly, she joyously reached out through the magic to more closely inspect the body of the wizard.

Once more, her lack of control forced unintended consequences. The power surged through Holli and the elf fought to contain the heaving rush. In pure desperation, she pulled her focus away from the dark lands and placed it once more on the anchor of the portal.

Holli's spell of reaching sight tangled into massive disorder with no set objectives or limits. It exploded around the rift causing two dire results. The barrier that Enin placed to restrict movement of the dark creatures disintegrated in the expulsion of uncontrolled magic. The blockade was already weakened and unstable from the extension of the portal beyond its borders. It could not withstand the jolt. With the barrier destroyed, the dark creatures had unobstructed access to the entire rift.

Beyond that, the creatures themselves took heed of the disruption. Some of the monsters with magical powers of their own, quickly followed the spell back to its source. They in turn now spied upon Pinesway and learned of the waiting magic casters.

Holli managed to cut off the link between herself and Heteera, but the damage was done.

Heteera babbled words unintelligible and then let out a cold sob.

For a brief moment, Holli ignored her. She moved to a window and considered the entirety of what she had learned. Even with the accidental discharge of magic, the most important aspect was a dramatic improvement.

Enin was not dead.

She could not imagine what might have placed him in his current state, but as long as the wizard remained alive, there was hope… hope that Baannat could still be defeated, as well as hope that Enin would return. She could use that to bolster her forces.

Heteera managed to speak more clearly as Holli mulled what tactics to employ over the forces they would engage.