3.8

Kargerran

Lenefeit, Apprentice Mage and damn near as white in experience as a newly birthed babe, at least had the good sense not to argue with Kargerran about rowing duty. The soldiers saw him safely in the row boat before the Rangers pushed them out from shore and hopped in, taking up watch positions at the stern and aft of the craft. Lenefeit may not have known how to row before this, but he was a smart boy, if not very athletic. They took it slow as he got into the flow of rowing. Kargerran found himself enjoying the stretch and pull of the strokes, the quiet susurrations of the water as their oars slipped between air and liquid.

Kargerran estimated that they were near a third of the way across the lake when the young apprentice asked, "Are we still pointed at the island?"

Kargerran watched Vi's tail twitch with annoyance, but Nilis was at the stern and answered. "Yes. Veering slightly left of our initial direction, but not by much. Why do you ask?"

"We're slipping out of the mana stream," Lenefeit said, a lot of the pomposity of youth forgotten in the calmer, more focused tone he had been easing into since entering the dungeon. Like many a high strung colt, the boy settled down when he had something to do and no time to build up the doing into some grand thing.

"Is that what those goggles do, then?" Vi asked, glancing toward their guest. The younger Ranger quickly returned his gaze to the waters when he caught Kargerran's unamused glare. Even if Kargerran had a soft spot for the lad, that moment of distraction could easily be the difference between life and death in any normal dungeon. Jason Kline's warning before they entered had not been mere diplomatic decoration.

If Lenefeit caught that, he gave no indication. "Mana trackers, yeah. Which side do we pull harder on to get back on course?"

Nilis knocked his tail against the side of the boat that matched the left he meant and Kargerran said, "Easy on the adjustment. Watch me, then match me until we're back on course. Since you're navigating, you tap the side you're seeing us veering too far toward."

"I will do so, Kar Sergeant," Lenefeit said.

Vi's scales puffed up, just a bit, but Kargerran took no insult from the misapplied honorific. His lad knew quite a lot, but had yet to learn to judge people by their own merits.

Nilis, his tone relaxed though a touch distracted, said, "I haven't much knowing when it comes to the higher families. Are the Nefeits just branching into Lotrot?"

Lenefeit's stroke faltered. "How did I mess up?" he asked.

Nilis, still not focused on the conversation, said, "Along the Rimward Trade Road, we attach the accolades to the individual, not their rank. I understand it's the other way around in New Botam and closer to the Sages."

"My apologies," Lenefeit said. "I mean no disrespect, Sergeant Kar."

Kargerran chuckled. "Relax, and it's just sergeant or Sergeant Kargerran. There is no 'Sergeant Kar'."

"Yes, sergeant," Lenefeit said, nearly choking on his embarrassment.

Kargerran was happy the boy couldn't see him. The amusement he derived from watching the growing pains of younglings had as much to do with his continued service as the satisfaction he found in knowing that he helped to protect his people.

Maybe Iggy was on to something with wanting to see him paired off.

Kargerran dismissed the idle thought, sinking back into the relaxed routine of awareness he had developed during his former life as a dungeon delver.

There was no such thing as constant vigilance. The strain of attempting to focus on everything - every noise, every scent, every movement, every shift of the air against your skin - quickly became overwhelming, exhausting soldiers before they fought. Unfocused awareness, on the other claw, could be maintained indefinitely, even while sleeping.

Nilis was farther along in learning how to maintain relaxed awareness. Vi would learn soon enough. He just needed to stop letting his mind run ahead of his [Perception].

They arrived at the island with only a few course corrections and a curious snake-like fish poking its head out of the water several meters distant from them, snapping a gem fly out of the air.

The island was an irregular oval about 300 meters wide and 500 meters long. The terrain was more reminiscent of a hill top than a boulder, though the land was not level. Several fruiting trees that Kargerran was not familiar with dotted the island.

Lenefeit helped Kargerran secure the boat without being asked, letting Nilis and Vi take the lead in scouting the island. He did start toward the center of the island as soon as they were done, but he stopped when Kargerran held up a restraining hand in front of his chest. The boy's tail twitched, his scales lifted, but these were the involuntary signs of a youth restraining his eagerness. While such reactions were deliberately trained out of soldiers, civilians tended to be far more demonstrative.

"Let the Rangers scout for danger first. After all, if we let you walk into a snapper's den, well, we wouldn't be doing our jobs, now would we?" Kargerran explained, pleased that the boy obeyed almost as well as any of his soldiers.

The boy's scales riffled like someone had just goosed him. It was an interesting reaction, one which Kargerran couldn't place. However, the boy only nodded at his words and braced his feet, flexing his knees in turn.

It did not take the Rangers very long to return with the all clear.

"There's a hole in the ground, looks like the start of a downward sloping tunnel system," Nilis reported. "Other than that, we saw nothing of note."

Kargerran nodded. Lenefeit headed toward the center of the island once more.

"That's the way to the hole," Vi said, voice low.

Kargerran nodded again, already having guessed as much. Nilis was already adding to his sampling bag as he followed Lenefeit, and Kargerran took off to keep pace with their guest, Vi taking the rear guard position.

The hole sat in a shallow basin and was wide enough for all four of the arassi to enter at once. As Lenefeit got within range to step into the hole, his guide golem spoke up. "This passage is heavily trapped to prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing the linking nexus. Your group leader must request and receive authorization to proceed."

Lenefeit took a deep breath, letting his scales flare and settle. Then he turned toward Kargerran. "Sergeant, would you please?"

Kargerran asked his guide golem, "How do I request authorization to go to the linking nexus?"

"Contact one of the Zone Guardians with Territory Management access. Would you like for me to initiate this contact?" This golem's voice was a soothing bass, a distinctly feminine sound.

"Yes, please," Kargerran answered, finding himself responding with an instinctive respect.

*** *** ***

Acuity has increased +1 due to a special action.

*** *** ***

Kargerran set the odd notice aside to ponder later. A high pitched sound like bells being chimed came from his golem guide, the tone flowing in a not-unpleasant rhythm. After a moment, the bells ceased and the voice of a human woman issued forth.

"Kargerran, good to hear from you! Candy here. I didn't think you'd end up with one of the research teams. There's another group using the linking zone safe space right now. How long do you think your teams' tests will take?"

Kargerran blinked, then looked toward Lenefeit.

The boy said, "I'll take whatever time I can get, in that case."

Candice Sterling's chuckles came through Kargerran's guide golem. "Dude, realistically, how long will it take you to get through whatever tests you've brought with you?"

Lenefeit did not need prompting twice. "That depends on how strong the mana flow is at the link site, but I think the longest I'm likely to need is a sky mark."

Kargerran said, "If Nilis and Vi are permitted to run the evaluation procedures we have materials on hand for, we would be done three times over in the same time."

Sounding cheerful, Candice Sterling said, "Okay. I can squeeze you guys in for three-quarters of a sky mark today. We had to boot a research party out for being stupid, and they had the middle of the day booked. While you're waiting, your golems can guide you to the [Aviary]; that level was one of the first to complete. The [Hall of Crafting] is where the other research teams have gathered, if you would rather head there. Stay away from the [Sea of Grains] - Lena's feeling artistic there, and it would really suck if you guys discovered first hand what happens when an active mana field rolls over disharmonious E.M. fields."

"Thank you," Kargerran said.

"What's an ee-em field?" Lenefeit asked.

Candice Sterling hummed for a moment before she answered. "I don't have the time to explain it accurately, but the basics are that every living being produces one, as do a lot of not living things. Each field … vibrates, and some times those vibrations complement each other, and sometimes they cancel each other out, but mostly they react at different levels of vibration. Mana, so far as I've had a chance to study it, interacts with E.M. fields that vibrate around the level of what living critters generate. I'm sorry, I'd love to talk longer, but I need to keep up with my portion of the incoming mana that [Priesley's Folly] is generating."

"Thank you again, Candice Sterling. Will the golems inform us when we may head toward the linking zone?" Kargerran asked.

"Yep. As soon as things slow down, I'd love a chance to talk more. Over and out." Candice Sterling ended the communication with a short, trilling chime.

Turning to Lenefeit, Kargerran asked, "Where would you like to go now?"

*~*~*

They explored the [Aviary] level. The plants here were more tropical, and the birds, which were the primary type of life, were mostly unfamiliar to the arassi. Despite their guide golems' silence when the matter came up, they decided not to try collecting any of the critters, sticking to taking samples of the plant life.

Near to half a sky mark later Kargerran's guide golem announced, "The current nexus group is preparing to leave. Please advise when your party is ready to be transported to the shielded areas near the linking nexus."

"What do you mean, 'transported'?" Kargerran asked. Upon hearing the answer, he grinned and called the Rangers back to him.

Lenefeit had been close enough to hear the golem's response. He still looked a little fear sick when force bubbles formed around them. Vi jumped, bumping his head into the top of the bubble surrounding him, while Nilis just let his scales lift, glaring at Kargerran's wide smiling face, the promise of retribution reflecting in his eyes.

Truth be told, Kargerran found the experience of traveling inside an invisible bubble of force at speeds he couldn't even match while running full tilt to be unsettling. However, he had to set a good example, so he focused on noting down every detail he could regarding their flight.

And it was a flight. They lifted over the canopy before heading toward the portal gate that would return them to the [Entrance Hall] level, and from there sped over the water to the tunnel their golems had warned them was trapped. The force bubbles carried them effortlessly down and through tunnels carved through the very water itself to an oddly barren room. They didn't linger there very long, just enough time for Kargerran to spot a long bench table with four seats to one side of them and a trio of glass fronted rooms on the other.

Lenefeit yelped as they exited that room, tearing the mana trackers off and rubbing at his eyes. The boy knew some interesting cusses. Considering they flew through a mana stream strong enough that Kargerran could see colors shifting with his naked eyes, he had a strong suspicion just why the boy was so upset.

The bubbles deposited them on the near side of the mana stream, in a triangular corner area. They passed through a visible barrier separating the corner from the mana stream and were set down gracefully before the bubbles dissipated.

During the ride, their guide golems had relayed the safety rules around the linking nexus:

1. Do not exit the shielded areas around the nexus. So far, none of the researchers had brought anything that provided protection the Dreamers deemed sufficient from the mana levels.

2. Do not attempt to interfere with the shields protecting the safe zones. The force bubbles transporting them were keyed to pass through the shields, as were the golems, but everything else would be "repelled with extreme prejudice".

3. The golems near the shielded areas were there to move sampling equipment around the unshielded areas of the nexus. Their guide golems would act as the "remote controllers" for the golems used for taking samples.

4. If in doubt, ask the guide golem.

They were simple rules, though Kargerran resolved to ask Jason Kline what "extreme prejudice" meant. Regardless, he got the general idea that it was not a fun experience.

While Lenefeit ran through his experiments, Kargerran had Nilis and Vi take out the set of mana stones used to check ambient mana levels.

In the shielded area, all three of their stones were dim and pale, reflecting a very low level of ambient mana. Vi was the first to summon over one of the sampling golems, carefully setting his mana stone in the curved part of the golem's primary limb.

These golems were very oddly shaped. Most mages made their golems in the shapes of living creatures, but these were more like inelegant boxes on small, hard wheels. Their limbs came in a wide range of strangeness, resembling nothing so much as odd tubes joined with pins and hinges, or flat metal bars with depressions and grooves in inexplicable places.

The golem cradling Vi's mana stone slowly removed itself from the shielded area. As soon as the mana stone was outside of the barrier's protection, it lit up with a violent orange glow. The orange turned to red once the golem was fully outside of the barrier. By the time it was ten centimeters into the mana stream, it ignited.

Kargerran noted that he was not the only one with scales fully raised and vibrating with alarm. "Bring that back in," he ordered.

The golem brought the mana stone back to them. Nilis and Vi put up a containment shield around it without needing to be prodded, but the light dimmed back to dullness as it passed through the barrier. Then the three of them ran through their various inspection skills with the stone.

"I think I'd feel better if a Quartermaster confirmed the enchantments are in working order," Vi said. His nostrils were flared, but Kargerran was pretty sure the lad wasn't even aware of that betrayal of his shock.

They repeated the experiment with Nilis' and Kargerran's stones before deciding that their equipment was not capable of taking any other useful measurements.

Lenefeit, in the mean time, had finished preparing his sampling tools. "[Time Track]," he said as he sent the two golems he was using out. A mana stone held in his off hand began to pulse.

One of the golems stopped near the barrier while the other moved near to where Kargerran guessed the center of the mana stream poured forth. The mage apprentice's tools did not glow or provide other easily detected signals. That made it difficult to understand how Lenefeit decided that the experiment was done with, but they packed up afterward.

The bubbles transported them back to the [Entrance Hall], setting them down gently by the door out.

"I think," Lenefeit said, shivers running across his shoulders, "that I would like to exit the dungeon now."

Kargerran heartily agreed.

*~*~*

They did not get their wish quite as fast as they would have liked. A pair of blue painted members of the Mage Corps awaited them on the other side of the portal, along with an indigo and yellow striped arassas that looked suspiciously like Lenefeit.

"Sergeant! Senior Mage Berrim and I have a few questions we'd like to run through with you about your escort duty!" The nearer of the Mage Corps members said. His grin didn't hide his annoyance, but at least he wasn't directing it at them. Kargerran guessed he had been denied access to the active parts of the dungeon.

The civilian with them gave their guest a hard stare and said, "Lee, we've been given permission to use one of the rooms here to discuss your research trip."

Lenefeit swallowed hard and followed the man Kargerran suspected was his mage master. A few steps in, he stopped, turned and bowed to Kargerran. "I thank you for your escort, Sergeant Kargerran," he said, then straightened and hurried after his master.

Kargerran nodded to the boy, then looked at the two mages. Resigned to their debriefing, he asked, "Where would you like talk?"