Owlflight

stretching.

“Here,” Snowfire said, handing him the meal. “Ayshen said I was responsible for making sure you eat. So what sort of progress have you made?”

“The enemy mage is trying to consolidate power for himself, and he’s trying to work his way through all of the locks I put on the lines,” Starfall confirmed. “From the way he’s working, trying to bludgeon his way through, I think he’s under the impression that it’s crude work, possibly done by that master of young Dar’ian. I don’t think he realizes that there is still an active worker about, and I know he isn’t aware of me.”

“As long as he keeps thinking that, I’ll be pleased,” Snowfire replied, helping himself to some of the berries.

“I have the bare hint of a power-point out along the river,” Starfall continued, laying a slice of meat neatly on a slice of bread, and roiling them up rogeiner. I strengthen it gradually, as you are setting up the traps; he’ll notice, but it won’t be enough to tempt him. But once the traps are done, I’ll remove it and put it on a dyheli; then I’ll pour enough energy into it that it will look tasty, and I’ll have the dyheli move it farther down the river along the river path. At the same time, I’ll build an illusion around it of a heavily armed caravan moving away. I want to create the impression that the river has uncovered a talisman or artifact, and that someone found it and is carrying it off.”

“Even if that isn’t what he thinks, he’ll still assume the caravan has something tasty and send his fighters.” Snowfire nodded with satisfaction. “It’s a good ruse. Just make sure your illusion won’t be broken.”

“It shouldn’t be; I’ve gotten a dyheli doe to volunteer to carry it.” Starfall applied himself to the food. “I’m linking the power-point to her once she gets into position, but not before. I don’t want to have a moving power-point to attract his attention until then. And once we’re done, of course, I’ll gather it back in and use it as the core of the Heartstone.”

Snowfire swallowed, and raised his eyebrows. “So you are going to make a Heartstone here?”

“A small one,” Starfall confirmed, as he finished his first meat roll and built a second. “Not powerful enough for a Clan Vale, and at any rate, it will take a long time before it has accumulated enough energy to be useful. It will be four or five years before anyone could use it to create even a small Vale.”

Snowfire was not at all sure he liked the idea. He’d thought of several objections when Starfall broached the plan, and those objections hadn’t changed. “Still. A Heartstone out here? Why? And who are you going to link into it, besides yourself?”

“Why? Why not?” Starfall responded, apparently surprised that Snowfire would object at all. “Sooner or later the k’Valdemar will produce a mage that can use a Heartstone - or we will want an outpost here. You have all complained at one point or another about the lack of civilizing amenities here; well, a Heartstone will make those things possible, eventually.”

Snowfire grimaced. “And meanwhile? Wouldn’t it attract unwanted attention?”

Starfall shook his head and took on a little of that arrogance that seemed to come with being an Adept. “Oh, do trust me to know my business, Snowfire; by the time I am finished with concealing it, only another Tayledras Adept who knew that it was there would be able to find it.”

“I hope you’re right,” Snowfire replied. “Never mind; what more can you tell me about this enemy mage?”

“He’s certainly strong enough to be an Adept, or whatever these barbarians call such a thing.” Starfall folded and refolded the napkin pensively. “If it came to a fight, he’s not a match for me, but he would exhaust a great deal of my resources in defeating him. I don’t want to have to do that, and to keep from coming into direct conflict, I will have to be subtle. Subtlety requires time and concentration, rather than power. He’s powerful enough that it is going to take all my attention to keep him from breaking the illusion, finding our encampment, and tapping into the new matrix of ley-lines and nodes.”

“Which means when we move against the village, you stay here.” Snowfire nodded. “I rather thought you’d say that. I can leave someone here on guard, if you like.”

“Why not Nightwind and Kel?” Starfall suggested. “She’s a good shot, and he’s worth five fighters in intimidation alone.”

“And it would keep him out of close combat; now that is a good idea.” Snowfire felt a bit more cheered. He’d been trying to think of a way to keep the gryphon from flinging himself into situations where he’d be a target rather than an asset, and this was perfect. Put him in the air and Nightwind at the valley entrance - put a couple of hertasi and dyheli in the valley right here, around Starfall’s ekele, acting as bodyguards - that would work very well. No matter how clever enemy fighters were, they wouldn’t get past the combined senses of a gryphon, hertasi, and dyheli. If somehow there was a concerted attack by a formidable group instead of an incursion of one or two fighters, Starfall would have warning, covering fire, and time to escape.

And Kel would rightly see this as a trust and an important assignment - which it was - rather than an attempt to keep him out of combat - which it also was.