To Tower of The Earth #2
That shut him up.
The silence, Alton found, was worse than Duncan’s incessant chatter, for he heard whispers, indistinct voices murmuring from the wall. Cold air flowed across the back of his neck and made him shiver.
Very rarely did the guardians of the wall speak to him of their own accord. They did not trust him and never would because Mornhavon had almost tricked him into destroying the wall. He reined Night Hawk right over to it.
“Something wrong?” Duncan asked.
Alton placed his hand against the wall. A faint silver glow shimmered around it and faded. No runes appeared as they sometimes did to warn of the wall’s deterioration. However, a clarion voice spoke into his mind: Come in, Rider. You must come in.
He’d never been addressed so directly. Surprised, he tried to pull his hand from the wall, but it was...sticky, glued his palm to stone for a moment before he forced it loose. He rubbed his stinging hand and flexed his fingers. His skin remained intact and there appeared no harm had been done.
“That was strange,” he said.
“The wall seems to have something on its mind,” Duncan said. He pressed his own hand to the wall and it sank into granite, a frown of concentration on his face. After a moment, he pulled his hand out. “They do not know me on this side of the breach and refuse to speak to me.”
· · ·
Night had fallen by the time they arrived at the small camp at Tower of the Earth with its welcoming fires and lantern light. They were intercepted by wary guards and led to the camp’s commander, Lieutenant Janes.
“Welcome,” the lieutenant told them. “This is a surprise. How may I serve, Lord Alton?”
“First, I need to take care of my horse,” Alton replied, “but if you have any supper left over, I’d be most obliged.”
The Rider assigned to the Tower of the Earth encampment, Peri Copperhaven, appeared beside the lieutenant and said, “I’ll take care of Night Hawk if you like.”
“Thanks. I am betting he’s as hungry as I am.”
“Not to worry,” Peri replied. “I’ll make him a nice mash.”
Alton grabbed Duncan’s pouch as Peri led Night Hawk away to the pickets. He knew very little about Peri, but that could be said about most of the Riders. He’d never met many of the new ones, and it was a long time since he had set foot in Sacor City. A few years, at least.
Janes led him to a fireside and ladled stew from a pot for him. Another soldier handed him a cup of ale. The lieutenant updated him while he ate.
“Nothing has come through the tower,” the lieutenant said, “and the orders are explicit about not allowing our Rider to enter it. Not that she’d want to.”
“Very dangerous,” Alton said between mouthfuls of stew, “but that’s why Duncan has come along, to take a look inside at the tower’s condition and how Haurris’ spells are holding up.”
Janes kept glancing at Duncan as though amazed to meet the great mage. Or, rather, the projection of a great mage.
“We’ll be most interested to hear what you find out,” Janes told him.
“Of course,” Duncan said from his seat, a stump he’d conjured for himself. He’d also conjured himself a cup of ale so as not to feel left out of the camp’s hospitality.
“We’ve kept watch, of course,” Janes said, “but have also kept busy building defenses just in case something does come through.”
Alton nodded in approval.
“And, of course, we’ve been converting our lean-to structures into cabins. Lean-tos and tents are not always the most comfortable shelters during winter.”
Alton understood that all too well.
The encampment maintained a complement of twenty-five members of the River Unit and one Green Rider, and they had accomplished much in the time since they’d been posted there.
“Well, Lieutenant,” Alton said, “you’d best prepare yourself for an influx of help. It’s about to get much busier around here.” He told him of the arrival of Captain Quille and her troops at the main encampment, as well as the news that even more were forthcoming.
“I’m very pleased to hear it,” Janes replied.
Duncan stood, stretched, and yawned. “All of this talk is making me drowsy. I believe I’ll retire so I can be ready to enter the tower on the morrow.”
He and his stump vanished. The nearby soldiers murmured in consternation.
“So strange,” Janes said. “Is he real?”
“It depends,” Alton replied, “on your definition of ‘real.’”
He was given a tiny cabin to sleep in, converted, it appeared, from a lean-to, that fit a cot, his gear, and a brazier, but little else. The coals in the brazier heated the small space wonderfully, and he snuggled into his bedroll and quickly drifted off.
“The guardians on this side of the breach are strange.”
Alton squawked and fell off the cot with a thunk. Duncan peered over the side at him.
“What are you doing down there?” the mage asked.
“Don’t do that again,” Alton said, fighting his blankets to regain his place on the cot.
“Do what?”
“Pop in like that. I was nearly asleep and you scared the scat out of me.” Alton growled and rolled onto his cot again.
“No need to get snippy,” Duncan replied. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Just thought you would want to know.”
Of course he didn’t, Alton thought darkly, and Duncan was clearly amused by it. “Strange in what way?”
“I haven’t been communicating with them directly, but they are out of rhythm, for one, and they’re quiet like, I don’t know. They won’t speak to me. It’s mistrust, but it is also like they are trying to hide something.”
“Hide something?” Alton murmured. “That is strange.” The guardians were single-minded entities, keeping rhythm and singing their song to maintain the strength of the wall.
“We’ll have to check in with Garth and Ylaine to see if their mages have detected anything.
” Garth was posted at Tower of the Trees, and Ylaine at Tower of the Sea.
“Perhaps we should investigate now rather than tomorrow?” Duncan suggested.
Alton considered. “No, I don’t think it’ll make a difference and I want to be rested before we attempt anything.”
Duncan looked disappointed.
“As for you, don’t wake me again unless it’s a dire emergency.”
“Yes, sir!” Duncan gave him a sarcastic salute and vanished.
Alton grumbled and turned onto his side. Only a year or two ago, he would have rushed to check out the irregularities Duncan had detected. Only time and experience had taught him that rushing was not always the safest or most productive approach.
Satisfied by his decision, he fell asleep in no time.
Only to have his dreams interlaced with that voice: Come, Rider. Come in here.