THEY FLEW, by pre-arrangement,
northeast at first and negotiated the small strait created by the proximity of
the mainland to the island at it northernmost point, maintaining lift that was
a low profile but high enough to not cause ripples on the water.
Swinging thereafter
directly to the east, the ship captains maintained a trajectory that kept the
spit of land in sight, clambering upward for a bird’s eye view, and saw the
small stone building nestled into the rise. The barracks appeared unattended;
not even a trail of smoke wafted into the early morning air.
Shifting south, the
invisible vessels tracked the land’s line and, based on the map Kilian drew for
them, headed for the jutting spur that was the most eastern point of all
Lykandir. There was, as the mage had revealed, a generally level, if rock
strewn, area hidden from the rest of the isle by boulders that had folded into
immovability an age ago. It was windswept and hostile, apparently, and no mage
or soldier had built a cottage in the area. Yes, he had stated, it would prove
as hostile for them, but he guaranteed no one would see them.
The Mage Keep itself
was out of sight; situated to the west. It meant climbing far higher to view it
and that, as Torrullin had murmured, was tempting the fates. Given how contrary
the wind was this day, he was right in every way.
As the twenty-second
minute commenced, the first ship touched down. It immediately reassumed
solidity of sight, although no soldiers or sailors could be seen on board. A
ghost ship. They were all as ghosts in this present. No outcry sounded. Kilian
was right; no one kept even spurious presence here.
The rest of the fleet
landed and rematerialized. That had as much to do with safe landing - they
needed to see each other - as it had to do with the difficulty of maintaining a
shield in gale-force conditions. The wind howled.
By touch, the soldiers
soon formed up, many stumbling on the rocks, although their mates could not see
them in their ignominy. Kilian could have told them that more rocks were now
present, uncovered no doubt when the ocean heaved onto land in its initial
restart, but as no one was permitted to speak, they remained ignorant of that
fact. Again, by pre-arrangement, they immediately headed for the boulders and
started climbing. Small sounds gave them away, but it was also a truth that the
wind snatched those tell-tale noises away.
Hearts thundering,
feeling as if the world had ended, they attained the higher ground on the other
side, and there they squatted in terrible silence only the wind called a lie.
