Into the Abyss

She exited on the younger students’ level and hurried to their study room. Unlike the older student levels, the youngest students’ level was arranged around a common study/play room. All the rooms adjoined the common room. Already, even as she arrived, the children were coming out of their rooms. The girl who served as nanny to the children was busily trying to get them dressed. All of them appeared bewildered and frightened. None of them had ever been involved in anything like this before, and as any child facing the unknown, they were afraid. All of them that was, except one, Jenn noticed that Rupert had a curiously determined look on his face. As if something he had been waiting a long time for, was about to occur. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to wonder about it now; she, and they, had work to do.

∼

Jehenna heard the word “Shit,” in her left ear, and then she noticed the horns blaring in both. She sat up quickly, even as she did, Lenamare was already up and throwing a robe over his naked body. He walked to a nearby window and threw open the shutters. It revealed the courtyard beginning to rouse to the horns’ incessant wailing. She was about to say something, but then noticed the look of concentration on Lenamare’s face.

“Damn, the son of a bitch must have marched his troops all night.”

“He’s here?” Jehenna asked, she could hear the horns, just not believe them.

“Bastard. I want you to get those wards up now. We haven’t got time to spare.” Lenamare looked over the edge of the window, the courtyard was eight floors down, and then he’d have to cross it and climb to the top of the gate house. There wasn’t time; Exador might launch an immediate attack. Turning to Jehenna, he said, “Set those wards and join me as soon as you can.”

With that, he spread his arms outward, and chanted a short phrase. As he completed the phrase, he raised his arms above him, keeping his arms rigid, and touched his hands together above his head. As his hands touched he shouted some word Jehenna couldn’t catch, but which she knew by heart. Purplish light spread out from his center, engulfing his entire being. Reddish beams lanced outward from the center of where his chest would have been, and then the light dimmed. Even before all of the light could fade, she could see he was gone, even as she knew where he would be. In her mind’s eye, she could see him appearing in the same manner on top of the gatehouse, impressing his soldiers; and notifying the enemy of his position.

She stood up, and dressed herself. There wasn’t much time. How Exador had gotten here so fast was a mystery, it wasn’t like him to march his soldiers to death, just so they could go exhausted into battle. Besides, what was the hurry; it wasn’t as if Lenamare and her were going anywhere. As she finished dressing, she left the room and walked down the stairs to see to the pentacles. She felt hurried, but she knew that one of her position could never let her inferiors see her flustered or in a hurry.

Jehenna entered the pentacle catacombs as calmly as she could manage, given the circumstances. She noted approvingly that Masters Elrose and Hortwell were already there and ensuring that the senior students took their positions as they arrived. Master Trisfelt along with Rex and three other senior students arrived right behind her.

The catacombs were a series of linked chambers below the keep. The center of the catacombs was the dome room; the heart of Lenamare’s famous wards. The floor of the dome was inscribed with pentacles that upon first glance appeared similar to those used for demon summoning. However, they were quite different. Rather than being pentacles of containment, these were pentacles of warding.

In particular, they were far more complex and permanently engraved in stone and the engravings lined with rare elements. These pentacles when activated would surround the keep in a sphere of power. From the outside, it would appear to be a dome; but the wards actually surrounded the entire keep in every direction.

A key feature of these pentacles which was different from every similar prior work was that they could block both magical and physical attacks and were adjustable, allowing the controlling wizards to alter the amount of energy dedicated to either physical or magical energies as required. Of course, this caused problems for the people inside firing out, as well as for those outside firing in.

The big trick was that one could quickly cycle between magical and physical energy block in a manner that was hard to detect from outside; except by either trial and error or a very good wizard. The advantage being that the defenders could prepare an all magical or all physical attack; adjust the pentacles quickly to let the defenders strike those outside and then have the equilibrium resealed before the outsiders realized that the balance of power had tilted one way or the other.