“Looks like he was literally scared stiff,” the priest said after a few minutes. “It’s rare, but it happens. He’ll heal by himself, but in the interest of time, I’ll wake him.”
The priest rubbed his hands together and chanted a few words of a spell as he moved his hands up and down Lionel’s midsection. A few moments later, Lionel woke up and sprang to life. The poor, confused wizard ran around screaming about dragons and imminent death for a solid minute before anyone could calm him down. Slowly, he regained his decorum.
With everyone back in good health, the group set about finding the Surcram base. Teryn called upon the knowledge wizards Jonathan and Scott to help him with scrying magic. It didn’t take long for the three to locate the base. It was about three days’ ride away from their current location, meaning it would probably take them a week or two partially on foot.
Teryn sighed, but there was nothing he could do about it.
At least the Guild Leader hasn’t shown up recently, he thought. It’s nice to finally feel like I’m off their radar. Even if I know it won’t last. Maybe he’s afraid to make a move with so many wizards in the way?
That at least seemed plausible, if unlikely, to him.
Well I guess it doesn’t really matter.
Without further interruption, the group set out on their mission. On the way, several wizards griped and complained about the quest.
“Why do I have to go on this quest?”
“We’re all gonna die anyway, so what’s the point?
If nothing else, Teryn knew this was a coping mechanism for them. He had to admit he was afraid of the Surcrams as well, and he had a sinking suspicion that not everyone would come out of this alive, but it was too late for all of that now. Besides, the wizards had known there would be life-threatening peril when they signed up, and now they were stuck, so Teryn just sat back tried not to think about it.
* * * * * * * * * *
Two weeks later, they were on the edges of the Surcram base. They could see it some ways off from their spot of relative safety in the trees. Teryn lingered there for a moment, thinking it would make them more invisible.
He didn’t have Valeria’s ring anymore – she’d been a little upset about that, but also quite understanding – and it wouldn’t have covered everyone anyway.
The base itself was in the middle of a large clearing, probably so the Surcrams could see any would-be attackers – victims, really – long before they reached the base. The structure looked to be made partly of wood, partly of metal, and partly of other, unrecognizable substances. There weren’t many Surcrams visible outside the complex, but Teryn knew there would be hundreds of them waiting inside. He shuddered at the thought of even entering the structure.
But he had little choice. It was the only way to keep Valeria safe.
Lyrad, of all people, offered to scout the facility, and Teryn leapt at it, thinking he could finally be rid of what was probably a pesky spy.
Much to his chagrin, the priest came back a few hours later in one piece, seemingly unscathed. The sight of the tall, lanky man in white priest robes strutting toward their camp without a care in the world did nothing to brighten his mood, but he listened to the man’s tale anyway.
“The majority of the base is underground,” Lyrad told the group. “Only the entrance and a few other rooms are at the ground floor of the structure.”
Teryn frowned, wondering how a pacifist like that man could possibly know such things – how he could even stand in a Surcram’s presence without pissing himself – but what he was saying did make sense. The compound didn’t look all that big, and he’d figured there would be a catch.
He motioned for the priest to continue his report.
Lyrad nodded. “The megacylinder we seek will probably be at the heart of the complex, several floors beneath the soil. It looks like there’s one main shaft that goes up and down the whole base. That would be our target.”
That’s gonna make it hard to get back out, Teryn thought as he pondered the priest’s words. He said a silent prayer to the gods before doing anything else, figuring they would need all the help they could get to pull this mission off and come back in one piece.
Teryn motioned for everyone to gather around him as he tried to come up with some sort of plan of action. Nothing came to mind. He looked at everyone’s expectant faces and his mind went completely blank. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing ushered out of it. He could see his companions were waiting patiently for some sort of grand plan and inspiration to come, but he had nothing to offer them.
Well I wouldn’t recommend just rushing in head-first, that’s for sure, Terwain said to him then, unbidden. An image of a man slamming his head into a brick wall filled his vision for a second, which made him giggle a tiny bit.
I kinda figured that, Teryn replied.
He wasn’t quite sure why, but Terwain always annoyed him a little bit. He swore the Sage Mind took pleasure in tormenting him in small ways.
Well, then what’s your plan, flyboy? How do you plan to make your way down several floors of an unknown structure and past hundreds of bloodthirsty Surcrams and back out with their most prized possession without getting killed?
He rolled his eyes. If I knew that, I wouldn’t be standing here looking like a moron.
An image of a fat man chuckling came to him. Look on the bright side. It’s kind of a cute look for you.
Teryn scowled at the Sage Mind.
Too close to home? Okay, I’ll stop. At least you don’t
