Teryn shrugged. “What other choice do I have?”
“Honestly, not much.”
“Shall we go, then?”
Talon nodded.
“Great. Move in close.”
For the third time in as many hours, Teryn called upon the ancient Tytin magics, hoping they wouldn’t let him down. “MOVE TREBOR!”
* * * * * * * * * *
Every time they teleported to one place or another, the trip seemed to be even quicker than the one before, but Terwain kept assuring them that each teleportation took at least an hour, if not more. This time, they knew he was right because the sky was starting to darken when they arrived.
Teryn glanced over at Talon. He was sure of it this time. The big man definitely looked a little ill, like the teleportation had affected his senses. The old general caught him staring and glared back at him. Teryn quickly looked away.
Fortunately, they were a little way off from the ruins and were hidden from view in the safety of the trees. Had they been teleported directly into the center of the Trebor camp, they’d be running for their lives right now.
Teryn thanked the gods for the fast-arriving darkness, figuring it would do much to hide their movements and keep them safe.
Talon left him for a moment and went on a quick scouting mission to see what he could find out about the guard situation. He came back a few minutes later and reported there were several guards along the rim, but spaced far enough apart that they might be able to slip past and only alert one Trebor in the process. He also told Teryn of the large campfire in the middle where they would undoubtedly find the scroll.
“I guess it's a good time for me to learn to use this,” Teryn whispered as he pulled out his glow-sword and turned it on.
“How did you get one of those? There are only three of them still in existence!” Talon whispered harshly. Teryn started to say something but the giant man cut him off. “Turn it off for now!”
Teryn did as he was commanded. “I stole it,” he admitted, a sheepish grin on his face.
Talon’s face turned red, but Teryn wagged a finger at him and tsked, then pointed toward the Trebor camp, and the big man’s mouth remained shut.
“Along with this box of entombment and a few other trinkets,” he continued. He put the sword back and pulled the tiny box out of his magical holding bag while he spoke. He tried to keep the bag’s opening angled away from both of them so Talon wouldn’t see anything else peeking out.
“Well here, put a few extra energy cylinders in that glow-sword of yours and then go entomb the closest guard,” Talon ordered, reaching into one of his pockets and handing Teryn a few oddly-shaped spheres.
“Can do,” Teryn replied with false bravado. “Be right back.”
He took no chances. He crawled as quickly and quietly as he could up to the edge of the trees and scanned the immediate area for one of the Trebor guards. He spotted one off to his left perhaps fifty feet, and wondered if he could slip past him from where he was. He shrugged off the thought and got closer to the Trebor, the entombment box in front of him.
When he was about fifteen feet away, he waved his hand over the box and whispered, “Septi novac dhan.”
The magic in the box burst to life and Teryn watched the Trebor get sucked quietly and quickly into its depths, where the beast would remain forever. Teryn thanked the gods no sound had been made and prayed that none of the other Trebors would notice the guard’s absence.
“Done. Now what do we do?” Teryn asked Talon as he walked back into view.
“Did you get the guard in the box?”
“Yes, of course. He’s right here,” Teryn said, showing Talon the box and patting its lid. It gave off a pale glow that hadn’t been there before, alerting any who saw it that it was in use.
Talon took the box from his hands and flung it into the forest behind them. “Good. Now I don’t suppose you also happen to have a ring of nothingsight, do you?” he asked with a hint of a sneer on his face.
Teryn smiled back at him. “As a matter of fact, I do.” He took Valeria’s ring out of his pocket and brandished it before him.
“You’re quite the pickpocket, aren’t you?” Talon accused, putting his hands on his sides.
“Hey, this one was a gift. Honest!” the young mage insisted.
“Uh-huh. Sure. Look, just put on the ring, make yourself invisible, and go sneak into the camp. Try to get that scroll from them. If you get caught, yell for help and run like hell. Oh, and don't be afraid to use that glow-sword of yours. It's very powerful.”
Teryn stared back at Talon, eyes wide. “Wait a minute, why do I have to do all the dangerous work? What kind of plan is that?”
“The kind in which hopefully no one dies!” Talon rebutted in a harsh tone.
“Okay, Okay, I'll do it. But only because it's for Valeria. See you in a few minutes.” Teryn gulped. “I hope.”
Teryn slipped on Valeria’s ring. This time, he tried to catch how the magic worked, but the spell went a little too quickly for him to follow. Maybe next time he’d get it.
Even though he was now invisible, he didn’t want to take any chances if he could help it, so he still crawled through the forest and the ruins on his hands and knees. He couldn’t help but to look at all the Trebors he passed by. There must have been dozens, all of them scarier than the last. As he got closer to his goal, he almost turned back in fear, even though
