'You go. I sleep. Fair deal.' Vree settled and tucked his beak under feathers again while Darkwind felt around for the clothing Suras would have laid out before waking him. I can't say I wasn't expecting this, he thought glumly. But I wish it had waited until after sunrise to start. Maybe we should have just stayed with the gryphons.
He had known that when they worked a spell requiring that much power and concentration, things would be attracted. There were too many power-hungry creatures in the Pelagirs for any educated mage to think that magical workings of any scale could go unnoticed. Odd how much had gone into so simple and tiny a package as that hummingbird messenger, though.
Well, tiny, yes. Simple, no. There had been all manner of enhancements on that little bird, for speed, for endurance, plus the pocket of energy it would use to feed. Then all the spells needed to hold the message, to deliver it, to recognize the right kind of person to unlock it...We did what we could to shield, everything we could spare from the spells themselves, without harming the little thing itself, he told himself. We did everything we knew how to do, but I suppose the bleedoff was noticed. There hasn't been anything really troublesome around since the basilisk. If luck is with us, these things will be small. Something we can run off, rather than killing.
He dressed carefully, knowing that he would probably be spending the whole day out in the cold, wrapping his joints and neck in brushed cotton and insulation. It was still dark by the time he descended the steps to the Vale floor, and he had no idea how long it would be until dawn.
It was going to be a very long day indeed.
Another messenger dyheli came galloping closer just as they ran the younger of the lodella pair off with its fuzzy tail tucked down between its legs, all its dorsal spines flat, and its hairless head ducked low. The elder had already flagged its surrender with its retreating back, but the younger one had less sense and more bravado. They'd actually had to pound it a bit with hammer-spells before it gave up.
Darkwind waved to his partners, who came up beside him just as the stag neared. 'Now what?' Elspeth asked, as she propped herself against her Companion's neck, then shifted toward the saddle to avoid being caught in Gwena's steaming breath.
Elspeth hadn't spent a lot of time in the saddle; the Companion had been far more effective helping as a third herder when they met with creatures that were willing to be shepherded away. It wasn't just her size; she also seemed to be able to project a 'presence' that played a factor in discouraging hostilities from the less- intelligent creatures.
These 'disturbances' had actually included a fair percentage of 'browsers'; creatures that meant no real harm, but could not be allowed close to habitations. But the rest-The rest of the beasts facing them would have been only too happy to work some harm, but the beasts faced the three of them, plus the two gryphons, and Falconsbane was no longer there to support his creatures with magic.
The gryphons had tackled the first real problem; the half-dozen gandels that tried to force their way into the ruins. But without Falconsbane's will driving them, they were inclined to fold at the first show of resistance. A few feints of Hydona's claws and a stooping dive by Treyvan convinced them elsewhere would be far safer.
That set the tone for the day; to frighten the creatures away rather than actually closing to fight with them.
Illusions proved as effective as real threats; after the gandels, they had sent a pack of Changewolves running with the illusion of a bigger, stronger pack downwind facing them to claim the territory. Illusions were exhausting, though; they took more magical energy from the caster than actually fighting, but certainly left the user less winded, and less likely to strike at shadows. After a full day of active casting, though, illusions could deaden even the most ardent of mages.
On the other hand, one generally doesn't get wounded casting illusions. Or bitten, gored, horned, or worse. As Vree would say, 'Fair deal.' It actually had a certain entertainment value, as he and Elspeth got into an impromptu contest over which of the two of them could create the most imaginative counter to the problem at hand. He'd conceded defeat when Elspeth began dropping huge illusionary clay pots on the dumber creatures' heads, or sending blizzards of wildflowers in their faces. They'd both found themselves laughing after that.
So far, they had been incredibly lucky; the illusions hadn't failed yet to drive away their targets, though once or twice they'd needed to reinforce the illusion with a bit of magical force.
The dyheli stopped and pawed at the snow, a signal for attention. Was their luck about to run out?
'You are called to the ruins,' the dyheli said, before Darkwind could ask him why he had been sent. 'The gryphons say there is a message waiting for you there. Three of the Vale mages are following me, to take your place.' Darkwind slumped against a tree in relief. He had completely forgotten that the mages of k'sheyna would recover from their draining eventually.
He had been so used to depending on himself and no one else, used to the idea that there was no one to relieve him. It had literally never occurred to him that someone would be along to take their places.
'So what is it?' Elspeth asked. 'Who are we going to have to rescue this time?'
'No one,' he said, mentally thanking the messenger at the same time.
'Believe it or not, no one. We've had a reply to our call for help. It came to the ruins, since that was where the hummingbird started from.
Keyed to us, of course, so no one else can break into it.'
'Would that be the kind of personally keyed message we would have sent if we'd been able?' Gwena asked, her tiredness fading as her interest was caught. 'But it hasn't been more than a day-I had no idea that little bird could fly that fast or far!'
'I hoped he would find a good carrying wind somewhere up above the clouds,' Darkwind told her. 'That, and the enhancement spells we put on him would have made all the difference. Once k'treva got the message, of course, it wouldn't take them very long to reply-they knew where to send it and who to send it to; it takes a little longer than straight Mindspeech, but not much.'
'Then the bird probably reached them just as we tackled the wolves,' Elspeth replied thoughtfully. 'It hardly seems possible, but I suppose that if a falcon can be carried off for hundreds of leagues by a high wind, there's no reason why a hummingbird couldn't have that happen to him, too. ~ ' She straightened, and looked around. 'We're going to have to walk,' she told Darkwind. 'Gwena is in no shape to carry us.'
She bent down and scooped up a little snow, and rubbed Gwena's forehead with it. When Gwena didn't protest that she was fine, thank you, Darkwind figured that Elspeth was right. While the Companion hadn't been
