~ Galina of Morwea Woods ~
by J A Bard
Chapter 14
Chaotic Attractors
The fire in the woodstove was radiating warmth into the rooms while sounds of wind driven rain hit the exterior cabin walls, exuding a cozy feeling to the two occupants. Neda was nodding off comfortably slumped in a chair. Connie was weaving a new leather handle on her knife. Both were waiting for some word of why Morra left hurriedly with a messenger from her troop, the Rangers of Lewah. The messenger arrived during dinner.
It had snowed for two days, keeping the troops close to the barracks and barn. Connie taught them basic protection spells and how to bundle their own charms. Neda drilled them in hand-to-hand combat, and Major Pili had them practice basic woodland skills for both the benefit of the children and to see what his troop knew.
A rap on the cabin door had Neda jerking up startled. She quickly rose from her chair and opened the door.
Pili dressed in wet weather gear was hanging his dripping coat on the coat rack in the foyer. He slipped out of his boots and accepted the towel Neda handed him. He was here for more than passing on a message, Connie thought.
"Pili, you look grim," Neda said. "Come near the woodstove and warm up while you tell us what's going on."
"Good evening, Neda, Connie. The weather's working up into the usual mixture of snow and rain." Pili held his hands over the stove, glancing around the female officer's quarters. His eyes rested for a moment on Connie's leather weaving around the tang of her knife. "The messenger that came by earlier, reported something strange is going on in the forests around the Queen's Realm."
"What did the ranger see?" Neda asked.
"She was just passing the message. What was reported to various ranger stations around the Queen's Realm, is villagers seeing lights shining in the forest late evening or early in the morning. When it's investigated in the morning light, there are blank spots of energy where the lights appeared. Blank as in there is absolutely nothing in these spots… no plants, no bugs and no sense of air. No one has died or gotten sick from these occurrences yet. At the moment, the Rangers of Lewah are visiting farms around Nigwa Forest to get first hand accounts so by morning we'll have a starting point. Our job is to secure Nigwa Forest. QRS is sending two additional troops by morning to assist in our assignment."
"The Queen's Security hasn't heard of such a thing, I take it," Connie said.
"When the Queen's Security has no clue it means they haven't asked the right person," Pili said. "There are always people that know. Nothing new happens."
"Why are you worried, Pili?" Neda asked.
"A knot in my gut for the last week. It's a real pain."
"Did you see someone about …?"
"It's not from what you think. It's a feeling something is wrong and I can't place it. I hope reinforcements arrive before morning muster so we can all start the search together. Get some sleep. We'll be mustering before daybreak no matter the weather. With this rain the snow will melt and all trails will be muddy. Fortunately, we have rangers that can look above all that. We need to get our search completed before the next snow storm."
After Pili left Neda stood in the doorway looking out at the forest. "From all the patrols we've been doing in the forest we would have noticed that something was amiss. The shimmers are sensitive to something like that. So are you. Did you get a feeling something was amiss in the forest?"
"Shimmers?" Connie asked.
"Shapeshifters is what the public knows them as."
"Who calls them shimmers?"
"Friends, themselves, those in the know. Out of twelve, our troop has eight shimmers." Neda smiled before adding, "I expect you already know who they are. Pili selected them out of over a hundred petitioners. In case you're wondering about Mac, he used to be Pili's mentor. He retired to raise a family. Pili said he asked to return to help train rangers but not in any officers capacity. I've never met Mac until recently, but he's a fountain of wisdom."
"So, I've noticed. How does the selection work? I mean what happens to the other petitioners?"
"That talent is not left to waste, or unmonitored," Neda said. "There are a lot of organizations that have use of shapeshifters' talents, and I don't mean being hired by a wine constable to chase mice. They usually work with the town witch, shaman, healer and or law enforcement and they do have a mentor. Usually mentors in that situation average 10 students and as they become more adept, about 20 at the most. Mentors are monitored also to make sure they aren't over their heads in work and their own lives."
"They are all monitored," Connie said, filing that bit of information away.
"No matter how careful the system is about leaving no citizen behind in education, it's still up to the individual to take advantage of the opportunity they've been given. Not everyone will make something of his or her life, even those gifted with abilities to help others."
Connie nodded thoughtfully. "About sensing something odd in the forest…our patrols have been deep within the forest where civilians aren't going to be….unless they're there for a reason that would not be lawful like the poachers," Connie said. "I'm still getting a feel for Nigwa Forest. I haven't run into any guardians of various spaces yet. The only guardian of anything has been your Troll friend."
"He's not a friend. He turns up at the most exasperating times and offers his services. I don't trust a Troll when he's not acting like one. Now, Morra and him have a past. She and him just laugh and say this and that, but I sure would like to know what it is that they share." Neda secured the fire in the woodstove. "I don't think Morra will be back tonight. She'll be sitting with her troop in a field hoping to see the lights. It looks like it's going to be a rough night for anyone out in this weather."
"It sounds like a disturbance from another dimension spilling into this one," Connie said, more to herself than Neda.
"We'll find out soon enough." Neda said. "It puts a hold on your challenge."
It means she expects me to put the troop first, but nothing will hold up my challenge issued on multiple levels. What better time for the challenge to be returned then when my attention is divided as well as my loyalties, Connie thought.
"Neda, what are dalin, then?"
"Dalin? Who told you that name?"
"I heard it."
"It's the name a family member would use," Neda said.
"I see. Familiarity in a word."
Chapter 15
Hunting in the Forest
The next morning Major Pili's expected additional squads arrived, waking everyone up with the presence of so many people in once roomy spaces. Quickly and efficiently the two new squads were settled in their new quarters. Since no one could sleep, Major Pili called for an early muster, including the three youths that would remain under his direct responsibility until spring. The only place in the cold weather that could hold so many was in the barn, and it was nearly shoulder to shoulder with the two new troop vans parked.
"Captain Neda, let's get everyone introduced," Major Pili said.
"Lt. Connie, call roll," Captain Neda said.
"Squads, form up!" Lt. Connie commanded. "Sgt. Jasper, call roll and introduce your units."
"Rangers of Delora," Sgt. Jasper said loudly. "Joline, Benita, Bianca, Ona, Bane, Chesmu, Derry, Howin, Kale, Mansur!"
"Thank you, Sgt. Jasper. Sgt. Len. Ready up and introduce your units."
"Yes, Lt. Connie. Rangers of Maia. Shing, Del, Davin, Drina, Anila, Jone, Rudo, Rez, Timin, Neto, and Rico."
"Thank you, Sgt. Shing. Sgt. Mac, introduce all members of your troop."
"Yes, Lt. Connie. Rangers of Valma, Sven, Linnie, Frida, Helen, Mayer, Moe, Eli, Jolan, Magena, Ogun, Anoki, Kane, Taylor and Oma."
"Thank you, Sgt. Mac. Captain Neda, roll call complete."
"Thank you, Lt. Connie. Major Pili, the troops are ready for duty."
"Thank you, Captain Neda. Rangers, we have a mystery going on in the Queen's Forests. We're tasked to solve this mystery in Nigwa Forest. The Rangers of Lewah asked the farmers around Nigwa Forest if they've been seeing strange lights flashing. They have on all three sides. When someone goes to investigate, what's found are dead spaces." He looked over the troops gauging their understanding of what he was saying. "Not even a bug is in the space," he said. "No one has reported any deaths, failure of crops, spouses leaving them, madness from seeing or visiting the phenomena and we would like to keep it that way."
Sgt Jasper raised a hand. "Go ahead, Sgt. Jasper," Major Pili said.
"Major, a week ago a dozen Rangers of Delora passed through Merit and heard in the taverns that they had patches of dead space around their orchards," Sgt. Jasper said.
"What became of it?" Major Pili asked.
"Their resident witch took care of it, or so the mayor said. He didn't appreciate us taking the town gossip as our business. He said their local problems are theirs and they solve their own problems fine. His concern was that word would get out that their orchards were haunted and no one would buy their produce."
"Did you speak to the witch?" Major Pili asked.
"The mayor said she was in the mountains collecting herbs and could be there for weeks. No one would speak to us after the mayor announced publically that there was nothing further to say. When we returned to base we received orders to head here."
"Did your CO say anything about the report?" Major Pili asked.
"No, Major. Our base had six troops and four were given orders for immediate redeployment," Sgt. Jasper said.
"Anyone else hear or see blank spaces or new places no one wants to visit?" Major Pili asked loudly.
The sergeants looked at their troops sternly, giving the impression that snarky remarks were to be left unsaid.
"None here, Major," each responded.
Major Pili looked at Morra who had said nothing during the exchanges. "Find out more on Merit and see if you can find the witch. If she did take care of it I want to know how she did it."
"I'll take care of it immediately, Major," she told Pili. She smiled and added, "And the Lewah Rangers will find out just what the town did see in their orchards."
Major Pili looked back at the assembled troops. "Our job is to comb Nigwa Forest and find these dead spaces. When you do, learn all you can. You're all experienced and know the difference between risking yourself needlessly and gathering as much information as you can." He looked at the sergeants and got a nod of affirmation.
"Captain Neda, bring up the map. In one week, we'll meet right here in the center of the forest." Major Pili then began to circle three areas assigning each troop a section.
"Captain Neda, take the Rangers of Delora, to the bottom of the forest. It covers Clomouth Falls that drops into the lake that feeds many tributaries. For draftees it would be an overwhelming task, but for veteran rangers and with the right troop, it's merely a challenge. You know the whereabouts of the cabins and emergency hideaways, but don't trust they're safe without checking. On your way to your spot, acquaint your troop with these places. This is winter and the weather in Nigwa Forest can change from nice and sunny to a storm, rain or snow in minutes."
"I'll take the Rangers of Maia, Sgt. Len's group, along with our three new trainees. We'll cover the mountainous areas and move even with the village of Chinwag. There have been reports of lights a few weeks ago but nothing recent."
The Rangers of Maia had six shapeshifters; three flew as various birds, and three moved over land as various four footed shapes. The other five rangers on the team were seasoned in forest work and could detect changes even if carried on a wisp of a breeze. The three children would get plenty of exposure to ranger work.
"Lt. Connie has the Rangers of Valma. Though this is the larger area, you're all familiar with this area so anything out of place you'll pick up quickly. Alright troops, grab your gear. Neda and I will take the air transport ships to our areas."
While Neda and Pili's troops rushed to gather their gear and settle in their ships, Connie and her troop gathered around the map for their assignments.
"Familiarity can be our enemy," she warned first off. "We'll do air and ground in a simultaneous search. We'll patrol in threes. Sgt. Mac will team you up. This is where we'll meet up in two days, cabin 4. We'll compare notes and map the next section, though with this weather we may be taking shelter there for a while so make sure you have rations for a week, a least. I'll take this path that leads directly to our rendezvous point. Here and here." With her finger she drew two lines that the path crossed. "Two ley lines. Anyone not familiar with a ley line?"
"We're all familiar with it," Sgt Mac said. "We can use it to sense out if anything is amiss."
"Exactly my thought. That will enable us to be more thorough. There's another place that needs checking, Sgt. Mac. Here. It felt like someone used it recently for creating a protection circle."
Sgt. Mac nodded. "I felt a bit of it. It's near the place we found the children in the cage."
"I would like you to look into that. When delving in places of power, there's more unseen than seen going on around them, so don't challenge anything unless you're sure you have to and know what's going on - and call for backup should you need it." She looked up at the sky that was overcast. "I gather you'll have the right gear with you should the weather turn bad." The group nodded. "You've studied where the various emergency shelters are? Good. When you've all cleared the compound I'll go over it again. Sgt. Mac, assign the teams."
Sgt. Mac was quick with his assignments, balancing the ground and air coverage and someone to carry the light kits of the two shimmers, then they were gone.
When Connie had the ranger compound to herself she sat in the barn and placed her fingers in a mudra pose. She breathed in and out in a practiced rhythm, putting herself in a state to see the physical world overlapped with other dimensions. With her consciousness in multilevels she began her walk around the compound sensing what was around the area. There were protection spells she recognized and spells she didn't know about. Connie tested what she knew and left the unknowns for future study. Though it wasn't what she felt comfortable with, it wasn't something that could be changed in a few hours, so Connie started her own journey.
Not unexpectedly Troll appeared five minutes into her walk. He appeared from behind a bush that was covered in white snow, peppered with dark pricks from the branches. As Ramla and Malinda had informed her numerous times, lessons were not learned well if they came at convenient times, and it was what Rozene made sure she experienced enough to not be too off balance when those times occurred. It was encouraging to know that her guess that now would be when she would get her challenges from the leader of the Besardo. It told her that this leader knew more about her than she knew about the leader and that the leader knew a lot about the rangers in general. So, the Besardo leader had a shapechanger for an associate and knew ranger business.
"Greetings, General Klovoko," she said.
"Are you going now?" he asked.
"I'm looking for dead spaces. Have you heard of these spaces where we can't feel anything in them?"
His dark eyes gleamed. He turned to look back down the path, expecting perhaps to see one.
"Can you tell me what you know about them?" Connie asked.
He fell in beside her as she resumed her walk. Scratching his whiskered chin he looked thoughtful. "There are stories - people moving in different dimensions, causing rifts that show up in others." He lifted his long arm and drew something in the air that Connie could not interpret, but she could feel that it was a protection spell. It released tamun that she breathed in and tasted bitter on her palate.
"Apprentices as well as masters can say the wrong word or leave something behind that doesn't fit when moving from place to place, which means they are not cleaning up after themselves or before them. Very sloppy. They seem to think it's perfectly alright because the nature of living things is that they rebalance, either through intervention by someone who is obsessive about such things as tidiness, or that in time it will rebalance itself. It certainly makes for good stories."
"So these rifts appear as dead space?" It was as she suspected; the damage was coming from other dimensions.
"It can," he said. "I have heard stories that tell something different, as well. I can't rightly say it's just this or that."
"Have you visited such places yourself?" Connie was remembering that Ramla often referred to phase spaces, where hot spots from various dimensions if they overlapped could rupture the membrane into another world. Bifurcation points, Malinda call them.
"I've only heard about them."
"Have you heard of who would clean up after others?" Connie asked.
"A troll's motto is to leave nothing behind and travel light on a journey."
Connie glanced at the troll, thinking that could mean a lot of things, most of which made no sense…as if any creature from one dimension made sense in another.
"These points of disruption are from travelers that leave something behind," Connie said thoughtfully.
"Allusion is also deception, depending on where you stand," he said.
"The girl, trapped in dreamtime," Connie said, remembering the Toll's bargain, though not believing the story as he told it. "What is physically wrong with her?"
"Her legs were crushed under a rock slide. Her dreams are her escape from her room," he said. "From stories her parents read her, she thinks the job a troll does, is something she can do, so in her dream she came in search of a troll mound to ask for a job." He made a noise in his throat Connie could not interpret.
"A village healer could direct the parents to a dream reader and find out how to bring her back," Connie said.
"Maybe they think she's better off in dreamtime," General Klovoko said. "Whatever her cause is, it's out of our hands now. It's between her and her keeper. I used her as an excuse to talk with you, but in reality, neither of us can interfere."
The walk continued in silence until Connie caught sight of a misplaced plant nestled between the roots of tree. It was not wise to step off paths in forests no matter how important the mission, so Connie looked around for some sign of the resident spirit, because there was always a sign.
"Dilteed," General Klovoko identified. "Strange it grows here."
"Do Trolls have use of it?"
"It's not something a troll would have to go far to find."
Connie suddenly realized that she had crossed over a threshold probably the moment General Klovoko joined her. His appearance was a distraction from noticing the subtle changes in the environment. So, even if he was a story teller, he still initiated the cross-over into a different dimension. It wasn't the gray world, because the forest around her was similar to what she had started her journey on.
Looking with more keenness, Connie could see that the tree was shriveled and seemed dead, but there was some life still flowing through its trunk. Taking a seat on one of the huge roots, she rested one hand on it's trunk and the other on a root. She listened with her heart.
A small light appeared before her and fluttered off in bumble bee wandering direction. Connie followed it. The light stopped at a clearing where the ground was littered with tiny balls of spent lights. Kneeling at the outside of the clearing, Connie rested both palms on the ground, looking for the ley line that gave life to this realm.
"Are you sure you want to change the flow?"
Raven was sitting on a branch overhead.
"What changed for them to be like this?"
Raven's laugh was a caw. "When they dragged a fool into their business."
"Raven, why were you chosen as my clan's totem?" Just as the question popped into her mind it was verbalized. It occurred to Connie that something not of her doing was at work, but the question wasn't without merit. Following a clan's talisman, especially if it were also known to be a trickster, was important to know of its purpose in your life, just so that you could be prepared.
Black shiny eyes regarded her and then Raven's head swiveled around to regard the lights on the ground. They were changing from black to gray as if night was passing into day, and with it, lighting up everything in colors.
"The clan needed a guardian over its tendency to become too entrenched in self importance."
"That's what the Besardo are for." Connie's eyes opened wide at what she blurted out.
"Is that what you think, do you?" Raven cackled.
"I don't know where that came from," Connie said. "I don't really believe that. They kill people and turn others into hate mongers."
"Have you seen anyone that they've killed?" Raven asked.
"No, but my father was one of their victims. And Jennifer feels just like a Besardo would," she said.
"How many Besardos have you met and not guessed at?"
"They have dark energy all around them. I can feel it."
Raven fluttered her black feathers then hopped to another limb closer to her. "You'll have to do better than that. If you intend on going against someone or thing, you need to know what it is, where it stands in the order of things, the consequences of changing the balance it provides, and what you plan on replacing it with. Didn't you learn that leaving a void causes chaos and fluctuations in various dimensions? Listening to what others have to say about what Besardo is, is knowing only what the tellers experience is and that doesn't really help you for when you have to face this energy yourself. You may find that you don't have to do anything at all!"
"I need to speak with the leader." The feeling was if she had wakened from a dream with the answer to something she was mystified with; however, it was a short lived feeling of accomplishment.
"Isn't what all this is about?" Raven asked impatiently. "You keep going in circles. What kind of trail are you and Wolf following? A few days ago you were going to meet this leader. What's keeping you?"
Connie stumbled on a rock, nearly falling flat on her face. Picking herself up, she shook the mud off her hands and looked around for General Klovoko. The environment around her was more solid -- cold and damp, and the path slippery and messy with forest debris and mud. There was no troll, raven, or wolf around. Sniffing the air, Connie could detect more rain in the air. Looking up, the sky had become darker with rain laden clouds, and the tree tops were waving from the strong winds that had not made its way ground level yet. A streak of lightening hit a tree nearby, followed closely by a boom, then scattering of smashed tree parts and rain in sheets. She needed to think about finding shelter or practice one of Ramla's exercises in erecting a bell-shaped energy shell over her to prevent the cold and wet weather from affecting her. She opted for the weather bell, knowing nearby was an emergency shelter that Neda had pointed out to her on one of their trips to the cabin. Plodding through the mud she squinted through the rain, looking for the mark to step off the path. The rock with the crooked tree next to it was her destination and she found it.
"Lt. Connie!" a voice shouted over the weather.
Linnie and Frida had prepared the shelter and were enjoying it's small comforts. It was not easy to see from the trail, sheltered by rocks and fallen trees. A small fire in a bowl in the rock was sending out warmth to her. The smoke curled through the hole near the corner of their cover.
"Nice of you two to set it up." Connie removed her poncho and pack and squeezed next to Linnie. "Find anything of interest?" Connie asked.
"Not us. Sgt. Mac found evidence that someone had camped near the edge of the forest where the circle was. Due to the weather Sgt. Mac couldn't get a proper sniff of who was around," Linnie said. "He sent us along the trail to pass the message on to you. He's herding the rest to the cabin. He thinks the snow storm will hit sooner than Major Pili thought."
"Instead it's a rain storm," Frida said. "Not good for my mode of travel."
"Snow storms aren't either," Linnie said. "I told you we should be practicing four leggeds too and not all the time on feathered."
Connie gave an internal sigh. They sounded like siblings or an old married couple.
"Have either of you heard of a new coven, wizard, or any kind of magic group forming up?"
"Well," Frida started.
"Yeah," Linnie said. "We heard something like that."
"The kids told us they saw an advertisement for lessons in magic, guaranteed to make any one powerful in a month. They thought this person could help them learn shapeshifting or would be able to tell them where they could go," Frida said.
"When they got there the people hanging around the school creeped them out," Linnie said.
"Magic in the minds of the naïve sounds suspect for all these dead space occurrences," Connie said. "A local warden should have been able to spot the chaotic energy and put a stop to it or called for help. Where is the school?"
"They said in an old building near a bus terminal. On the tour bus, stop 49 on the road to the Queen's Winery."
"By now the operation has moved," Frida said. "These overnight scams are there just long enough to look legit, collect money and followers, and then they move elsewhere."
"Our draft was spent in working at a local shire-reeve community house. The reeve was a retired Queen's Master At Arms Guard. He made extra money by training up to six draftees at a time in police work. A good sort, but he had a peeve about these charlatans," Linnie said.
"We didn't have many, but that's because he taught us all what to look for and how to feel out a suspect without letting on we suspected him or her of running a racket," Frida said.
"I miss his wife's dinners. That woman cooked good and plenty so Reeve Gooden ran us for two hours a day, rain or shine to prevent us from becoming too fat. He liked to say he ran his garrison trim and hearty."
"People still got fat, most notably Reeve Gooden and his Gooden wife," Frida said.
The two laughed heartily. There were more inane stories of their lives which Connie listened to, wanting to get a sense of them. It was strange that while they bandied about stories they leaked little in the way of feelings. She had not been around shimmers much, so she didn't know if this was part of their makeup.
Connie wrinkled her nose as the whiff of something unpleasant passed them. "It smells like something is rotting."
"Ugh. I smell it," Frida said. "Linnie, that isn't you is it?"
"As if you don't smell when you're wet."
Connie peered outside their shelter looking for anything that was responsible for the stink but the rain was coming down too hard to see anything. Connie shifted her awareness onto another level. Everything changed as light on this level registered differently. Now she could see a shadow standing on the path. When it became aware of Connie's focus it withdrew from the area. Connie waited so see if anything attached to the shadow would reveal itself.
"Did either of you put a protection spell around this place?" Connie said.
"I put one around me," Frida said.
"Me too."
Connie had time to only teach the troop basic personal spells because they had no serious knowledge of spells. City living didn't allow people to know what the magic of nature felt like, unless they went to the wilderness areas intentionally to absorb the supernatural. Connie rummaged in her pack for herbs she always carried with her.
"This is a start then." She pinched an herb and had each smell it. "Remember this. It protects the area you spread it around and four levels."
The two rangers became drowsy, watching Connie's hand draw runes in the air. Connie could see the protection expand and a change in the atmosphere inside the shelter.
"Go to sleep," Connie said softly. "When you awaken, you will be refreshed. If our lives are in danger, you will awaken alert, and effectively take care of the danger."
Deep sighs escaped the two women as they slumped against each other in sleep. In the flickering light from the small fire, she watched their relaxed faces phase between different creatures and human. It would be a disturbing sight if she were not acquainted with shimmers, instead she was fascinated and could understand why some people would be frightened. This was the first time she had witnessed this and wondered why no one had told her this happened. Not even Rozene.
Now that it was quiet in the shelter, she listened on different levels on what was going on around them. On the physical level, wind and rain creating a sweeping rhythm that was relaxing. On other levels, there was plenty happening. The Besardo leader left something behind…intentionally. It was a signet from the House of Moores. Connie took it as an invitation from the Besardo leader to meet again. From her pocket she laid beside it a signet with the House of Moores and on the backside the Raven and Wolf. She knew what was on the other side of the first signet, the same thing as what was on hers.
Connie withdrew.
The fire was low and without moving from her seat, wood was carefully added to the flames. The canvas covers barely moved due to Connie's intervention. Even in the cramped quarters, her seat was a lot more comfortable than the rangers. Smiling, Connie thought of Ramla's lessons. It didn't take much energy, if you did it right.
Connie sat up straighter at the sound of feet pounding in mud past them. It was something heavy that made the ground shake, but on two legs. Anything out in this weather had to have something powerful driving them.
Chapter 16
Looking for a Warm Spot
After what Connie thought was six hours, the rain finally let up to a drizzle. She let the fire go low, it's heat filling the small area well enough. Connie watched the wisps of smoke get sucked out through the vent. Her stomach growl was louder than the plops from dripping trees outside their shelter. Shifting her weight she looked over to the two rangers, who were still sleeping. Their sleep wasn't as deep as it had been, and the twitches and muscle movement from the reaction to sounds were beginning to bring them closer to wakefulness. Connie pulled the flap back to see what it looked like outside their shelter. The wind was pushing a damp blanket of cold sprinkles everywhere but on their shelter. Peering at the sky, Connie could not see any light yet.
"Lt. Connie," Linnie said softly. "It's still dark. Why don't you get some sleep, and I'll watch until daylight?"
"It's dark, but it's morning. I heard someone pass by earlier. It sounded like one person," Connie said
"They didn't see us?"
"Not with the protection spell I put over this shelter. The hard rain stopped and if anyone is going to travel, now would be the time."
"That would be nice. Are we going to break camp then?"
"Yes."
"Looks and feels like a snow storm," Frida said. "How far is the next stop?"
"The cabin is half a day if we don't do careful searches and the mud doesn't tire us out too much. Did I mention that it's up hill?" Connie said.
"Just how many hours is half day to you?" Linnie asked.
"Four."
"Is there anyplace we can hole up if the weather turns bad before we get to the cabin?" Linnie was already folding up her bedding and tucking it in her pack.
"I haven't seen it, but according to the map, there's a rock cave with supplies…however, according to Neda, there are four caves and only one is safe."
"The one with the supplies," Frida said.
"One would hope," Connie said. Her own kit was repacked and ready for travel. The three took down the shelter and stored the tarp and left over wood in its dry storage.
Back on the trail they all tried to not walk in the mud.
Frida leaned over to study the muddied tracks that were under a tree. Her nose wrinkled at the still strong smell of urine. "A minotaur. Why would someone want to shapeshift into a minotaur?"
"Why would someone want to be a mouse when cats are almost everyone's favorite pet," Linnie said.
Connie squinted through the drizzle not expecting to see any lights nor dead spaces since this was not near the edges of the forest. What she was expecting was the minotaur or the person. For sure a minotaur was a solitary creature.
"Lt. Connie, the tracks stop here."
"Keep an eye open for anyone," Connie said.
"Do you want us to shapeshift?"
"That's a good idea. If I'm alone, whoever is on this trail will more than likely show himself." Interesting that she uses the term shapeshift with me if what Neda told me is true.
They phased into birds, one falcon and one owl, and quickly flew to the heights above the trees. Connie fitted their kits onto hers. The advantage of having ranger kits, was the compact kits could be easily carried by a partner. Food, emergency packs and foul weather gear did not take up much room in a pack or were that heavy, but three packs could be awkward if Connie would have to run. However, Ramla's lessons were not forgotten on how to lighten loads. Connie sloshed through the mud listening and sniffing the air for the Besardo that was on the path.
Connie stopped abruptly.
His massive face lifted as he sniffed the air then shook his head. Rain drops caught on his head went scattering. He was content to watch her.
"Just what do minotaurs do?" she asked.
He gave her what passed for a smile, and disappeared. Behind he left a space that had nothing. Moving to look at it as close as she dared, her senses told her that there was nothing in the space.
"That's the answer. Find out what dimension it comes from."
Two birds alighted on a branch near her.
"Let's move on," Connie said. Not to far ahead was where the path ran across the first ley line.
Standing on the ley line did not bring any distressful information. If there was something interfering with the energy, she would have felt it the moment she touched it.
Connie resumed her walk. One of the things she had learned in working with Ramla and Rozene was that when working with familiars, spirits, and others, no matter the dimensions or levels of awareness, each had their own business and were not as malleable to the summons of most practioners as practioners would like to believe. Favors and summons had paybacks or consequences. Ramla, Malinda, and Rozene gave payment in the form of offerings, gifts, or honor to those they called for assistance, but the consequences were that those same beings could ask them for assistance.
So, why was the troll in her business? What was he dredging up in her life that needed work on so she could move on into a different level? Raven inferred that her belief of what the Besardo represented was flawed. But was that Raven speaking? The token left in the dimension was the same she had that identified her from the House of Moores and that her clan totem had both Raven and Wolf on them. She was sure the token was from the Besardo leader and that they were from the same clan.
Connie felt a large splash hit her forehead and run down her nose, followed by other drops. A spell was whispered so the energy bell surrounded her and without pausing, she pulled out a rain cape that was conveniently in the side pocket of her pack.
Connie could feel the second ley line. There was nothing out of order here either. She pushed on to the cabin. By the time she reached the clearing, snow began along with a cold wind.
Both rangers alighted near her and shifted back to their natural forms.
"We'll freeze if we don't find cover soon," Connie said.
"We could see the caves you were talking about while we were flying around. It's over that way," Linnie said.
"We can get lost in this weather," Connie said. "What are you going to use to keep us on track? There isn't any trail here." Mac, are you near?
We're in the cabin. Three of you are missing.
Linnie and Frida are with me. A minotaur has left one of those spots behind. I know how they're caused…people visiting other dimensions and leaving something that doesn't belong. We need to find out what dimension they're visiting and remove the items and stop these fools.
I don't know of anyone that visits other dimensions…except you, Lt. Connie. Do you need help to find shelter?
How bad will this snow fall be?
It's a storm. Indoors or in a cave would be better. Here at the cabin it's almost white. We're at a higher elevation.
We'll continue to the cabin then. We're twenty minutes away.
You should already be feeling the climb then.
Yes.
"Let's keep moving," Connie said. "We need to move faster before we lose the trail." She surrounded the three of them with an umbrella that kept most of the harsh weather effects from them.
The snow was falling thick around them and Connie thought she lost the trail, until she saw Wolf trotting ahead of them, leaving tracks in the snow that quickly were filled with snow. His great black plume of a tail was as plain as if they world wasn't surround in blowing snow.
Connie knew they reached the cabin when they reached a steeper incline that were the steps to the cabin. Mac and the others came rushing out of the cabin to hurry the three in.
"Here you are Lt. Connie, something nice and warm to help thaw you out. I wouldn't have thought in this cold anyone would be able to breathe much less hike up here," Anoki said.
"Shimmering could not save someone out in this weather for very long," Mac said.
"A little bit of magic helps," Connie murmured as her hands wrapped around the warm cup and breathed in the heat.
"Next time I'll mark those caves so if we don't have Lt. Connie handy we won't freeze to death getting to safety," Linnie said.
"Or you could practice shimmering to a creature that cold isn't that much of a problem," Sgt. Mac said. "Having your favorite is one thing, but relying on just that one for a ranger, is not practical. That goes for all of you."
Heads nodded.
"There's a minotaur loose. The cold rains from last night didn't stop him from traveling on the path. In this weather we wouldn't have had time to inspect each cave carefully to see which one is safe, and if we found another creature taking shelter, how right would it be to turn it out when it was there first?" Connie said. "Even if a minotaur or a known enemy."
The rangers looked at each other than Connie.
"Are you saying Lt. Connie, that an animal is more important then we are?"
"You all have to learn more skills so that it doesn't come to that decision. You're all still in training. Sgt. Mac can teach you how to make peace with whatever is in the cave you choose until it's safe for one of you to find another safe place, and I'll teach you how to ward off danger, protect yourself against weather until you do get to a safer shelter, and more importantly, to protect others. Rangers have more than a dozen set of skills in their kits."
Connie let the others think on this for a few minutes then brought up the reason for their being out in the winter weather. "So, we found a minotaur that appeared for a few minutes and then disappeared, leaving one of those dead spots. Anyone else find something interesting?"
"We found trash in some of the camp areas, like so obvious," Mayer said. "We circled the area to trace the origin and could see vehicle marks from a van that had stopped."
"What did you do with the trash?" Connie asked.
"When we returned to clean it up there was no trash," Mayer said.
"But there were blank spots every place the trash was," Hasad said.
As she went around the group they all had the same tale of things left behind and when they went to collect them to dispose of them, blank spots were all they found.
"It's beginning to sound like training sessions for different levels of teleporting," Connie said. "First objects, then themselves, and that includes leaving things in dimensions that the objects are alien to."
"I've never heard of a person teleporting and leaving blank spots," Mac said.
"And if they were taught correctly, there would be no evidence of a teleporter's presence - unless…" Connie said.
"It was intentional," voices said in unison.
"If we supposed it was intentional, then whoever is getting all these beginners to do this is planning on doing something terrible elsewhere," Helen said.
"That's a textbook discovery," Eli said. "It could just be that it's a new trainer that is overwhelmed and can't keep track of his or her students."
They all nodded.
"In an hour, I'll begin another class in protection spells," Connie said. "If you need a nap, take one now."
Connie needed some time alone to meditate. While the others found something to do, Connie settled in the corner of one of the sleep areas where Sven, Ogun and Anoki laid down for a nap. In the background, before she shut out her physical surroundings she heard Mayer and some of the others talk about ordinary things.
"I found roots along the river," Mayer said. "We can add them to the morning pot."
"It's looking to snow all day tomorrow too," Anoki said.
"There was a nasty cloud in the north. We thought the wind would push it toward the villages, but if they have a weather witch and if the town is not looking to be buried under snow, pushing it into the forest would be a safer alternative," Magena said.
"Yeah. Who's going to complain?" Jolan said.
"Have you ever seen towns get into weather wars?" Hasad asked.
"Nasty business," Linnie said. "Thunder and lightening - shaking homes and causing nearby landslides. It can get people in trouble with their craft unions."
Chapter 17
Leader of the Besardo
Connie stepped back into the gray void the moment she closed her third circle. Into this dimension she again wore the cloak of Wolf. A huge figure of Raven was waiting for her, and she knew this was the leader of the Besardo.
"Well met," cawed Raven.
"What is your purpose?" Connie asked without wasting time.
"To keep cowards from the throne. What is your purpose?"
"To rule with wisdom and not blind loyalty to practices that cease to allow the growth of all my subjects."
"Your youth is your undoing. Wisdom is not something you attain by snapping your fingers or waving a spell to get," Raven said.
"I have many lifetimes of experiences to draw insight from as well as advice from others that I gather around me and that I call, of which I will hear and take heed….such as you," Connie boldly told Raven.
Raven cackled. "You have years to go before you can claim the throne of the Moores. We'll see how you hold up to your brave purpose." As Raven's feathers fluffled, he or she was gone….leaving behind one feather. Connie picked it up and returned to her physical self.
To be continued