THE BLUE BOY
by Lynn K. Hollander
Chapter 9 - Preparations
MINDO
Ressent, the acting Captain of the castle guards, stood up. "When was this found?"
"This morning."
"No one saw the fire?"
"Not that we've found. It is secluded and visually blocked, rocks here, hill over there."
"Who found it?"
"A pair of lovers. As I said, the place is secluded."
"Have they used it before?"
"Yes. Last time was two days ago, in the afternoon."
"Good job," Ressent said. He turned to the senior witch. "Can we move him?"
"He was stripped," Kailea the witch said. "And the fire was enhanced. There are still faint traces."
"Enhanced how?"
"Hotter and smokeless. I have no idea of when."
Ressent nodded. "Can we move him?" he asked again.
"No."
"Why not?"
"This is one end of his journey. I'm going to try a back-track spell."
"Aren't those really short term?" Ressent said.
"It's what we have," Kailea said. "Get some trackers and followers ready. Once I release the spell, they'll have to follow the marker."
With a gesture, Kailea directed the smoke from the censer over the body, from the feet up to the head. Over the head, the smoke gathered in a small globe, which began to glow.
Kailea cut the circle with her knife. The globe of smoke, glowing softly, levitated up slightly, then moved across country, back towards the castle. It moved faster than a horse or a man walked, but not as fast as a running man.
Witches and guards followed it. Kailea watched them go. "When the globe disappears, the body can be moved. I'll send word. I'm going back to the castle."
***
"Are you certain of the times you have given me?" Sagard asked.
"Yes, my lord. From three lyuds after sunset to three lyuds after midnight, a novice was there, in penitential meditation, contemplating the wholeness of the circle. No one could have entered or exited the castle through the gate during that interval."
"And the body that was found on the pyre?"
The senior witch answered as the Scholar held his hands up helplessly. "Was tied to blood we found at the base of the cliff and to the scrap of fabric we found on the top of the wall. The marker disappeared after it entered the fane."
"And do you know who he is?"
"My lord, we do not know what he is, except that he is not Mindoan. The body has been brought to the castle. We are attempting a cosmetic restoration spell, after which we will know what he looks like."
"I wish to view him, as soon as your spell is in effect."
***
"This is what he looked like just after he died," Kailea said.
"Ferenckian," Ressent said.
"How accurate is this?" the king asked. "His leg is at a strange angle. Is that an accurate representation of a broken leg or is it an inaccuracy in your spell?"
"His leg was broken," the witch said.
"And the ritual suicide wound?" Ressent asked.
"The wound is there; whether it was in fact suicide, I cannot tell."
"Immaterial," Sagard said, looking down at the blond human seeming male. "Theories?"
"They attempted to retrieve their hostage and flubbed it. They arrived via the gate. Somehow, the boy went through the gate alone and arrived on Earth. The novice entered the precinct and blocked access to the gate, so the intruders exited the castle over the wall. This one broke his leg at the base of the cliff. Later, he was killed, possibly suicide or murder, and burned."
"Who activated the gate the boy used, that Baudier and the novice Rolt found ready?" the king asked.
"We have no idea."
"And why was the gate focused to give access to a place other than Ferenc?"
Ressent held his hands up and shook his head, admitting ignorance.
The king nodded. "If the group here was prepared to go to Earth, they may have gone there through another gate, or there may be another group who went there from Ferenc." He turned to Kailea: "Can you send a message to Baudier?"
"Only by hand-carrying it. I will go," the witch said. "I can locate Gries."
The Sage looked at her: "And the spell of indifference? The one that is keeping our party safe from hostile notice?"
"The College thought of that. Gries and I are exempt, as far as one of us finding the other; we are the emergency cutout. I can locate Gries, and go directly to her, whereas Ressent must search out Baudier by mundane means, which, since Baudier would probably not be noticed much, if at all, would be difficult."
King Sagard considered, then nodded. "Assist her," he told the Sage.
Simio stepped forward. "If they did in fact attempt to retrieve their hostage, they may mean to restart the war. In any case, the safety of our hostage is in doubt," he said softly.
"The boy is on Earth, apparently alone. For all they know, we still have him," the king said. "The peace holds."
"And if their ambassador asks to see the boy?"
"Measles," the king said. "We had them last year. We can have them again."
HOVE
Magal considered his outfitter: "I loathe green."
"Earth frequently pairs brown and green. Any male `human' who lives in the northern half of the western hemisphere would appreciate this gear. It is almost a uniform for `men' your apparent age."
"I do like the boots," Magal said. He shrugged. "Styles change, I haven't been to Earth in over ten cycles.
"Trust me," the outfitter said. "With the second pair of trousers, and a change of shirt, you can go anywhere on Earth with these clothes."
"And local currency? Dollars," Magal said.
"Dollars," the outfitter agreed. "We have about $100,000 in `bills,' of various denominations. The numeric system is still decimal. Are you familiar with it?"
"Yes, but I want a refresher."
"We set one up for you, after your language and transportation briefings. We are supplying European Commonwealth papers, to support a cover story of `bird watcher.'"
"Bird watcher, again?"
"It rarely fails. If we knew which gate you were using, we could be of more help. May we brief you more particularly on what you will find on the other side of your gate?" the outfitter asked diffidently.
Magal frowned. "No," he decided, trading more precise information for greater security. "Thank you," he added.
"And your locating device," the outfitter said, placing a rectangular box, with a white bottom and a clear top. "This is the top of the line spellware specializing in tracking. It cannot be blocked, except by a very strong specific counter spell, which very few witches are capable of casting."
"Earth is relatively free of witches."
"Some areas are quite free, others are more of a problem," the outfitter said. "In any case, your homemade hedge-witch protections will be of no use in confusing this combination. The hardware is state-of-the-art. It opens thus:" He flipped the lid back and unfolded it twice sideways and three times up, resulting in a clear screen with a circular grid marked off in faint gray radii and concentric circles. There was a white dot in the center.
"Have you the targeting information?"
Magal handed the outfitter a lock of fine electrum hair and a pacifier. The outfitter opened the base of the locator and withdrew a wand on a flexible extension. He passed the wand over the hair and over the bulb of the pacifier. The screen flashed blue, and then cleared.
"And are you likely to encounter any known gate traveling persons?"
"Ennea, Damas, Ferenc, Mindoan, Atellun, and Maoli."
The outfitter opened a book of settings, selected the ones Magal had indicated and readied the locator to register the innocent bystanders. The device did not indicate the local population, who would have to take their chances. The outfitter said, "The device will assign indicators in this order: circles, stars, squares and triangles; in these colors in this order: green, red, yellow, orange, and purple. If you encounter any more known races than we expect, it will begin on a timely basis starting with a red star and continuing the sequence."
"Excellent."
"Thank you. Now," the outfitter said. "Will you want a consultation with one of our mages?"
"No, thank you," Magal said. Magicians and witches made him uneasy. Magic, human generated magic, was dangerous and unpredictable. Magal thought the only safe way to use magic was to separate magic from magicians. Put just enough magic to accomplish a desired result into an amulet, and you did not have to worry about a mage or a witch having a bad day or not being in the mood. The standardization of magic made it safe and usable by everyone, not just a few erratic individuals.
In his opinion, Ferenc made inferior protective amulets. Their productions were too individual, too undependable. The best protections were from the factories on Maoli, always, no matter where you were going. The Maolian amulets were predictable and reliable. An amulet made twenty years ago and one made yesterday, worked the same way and gave the same results. He had ordered his usual protection from a firm that had always given satisfaction.
"And your inoculations?"
"Up to date."
"Then, your reservation with the wardens of the gate is about 1/6 local day from now. We look forward to serving you again upon your return."
BREZELIANDE
Ricard, Berengar's aide, walked into his commander's office: "This came, from Earth," he said.
"Your family all right?"
"It's for you, from Meliora."
Berengar broke the seal and read Meliora's letter. "Interesting. She wants to know about blonds, brunettes and blue-skins."
"With that specific mix, she would have to mean Ferenckians, Mindoans and Damasi, but the war's over. Oh, the final treaty's still being discussed, but there's a truce--hostages were exchanged and the armies went home. Didn't you send an observer?"
"A guest. To the wedding. That was nearly ten years ago." Berengar walked over to the window and frowned at the inoffensive scenery. "Without exactly asking, find out what the parties have to say, about the treaty, about the war and about anything else they're willing to talk about."
"We only have ambassadors and their staffs here, they never know anything."
"Go to Hove. Take Ambroys with you. Buy something."
"Well, obviously. You can't get out of Hove without buying something."
"Then go directly to Meliora. I'll prepare a background paper for her, and I'll have Gahariet deliver it."
"Can I come home by way of Seattle? I want to see my grand-daughter."
"That's fine. Take your time. Greet Claire for me."
****