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main outpost that in turn has portals to most of our other worlds."
Jartan nodded towards the display. Suddenly a filigree of gold threads knitted the various worlds
together. The greatest bundle came up from the surface of Haven, with a half dozen or more lines going
straight to the world under attack. Yet from that planet, thirty or more lines arced out further, striking
nearly every other world in the display.
"Take Yuvin, and he can push his way through to everything else. Eventually he would find some
unguarded point and reach us here."
"That is why we must meet him there." So saying, Jartan seemed almost to reach out and cup the world
in his hands.
"Once defeated, we must pursue him, through dimension after dimension if necessary, shutting down his
portals, sealing him back into the hell which he came from. Perhaps then he will leave us alone."
"Let's just kill the bastard," Macha growled.
"A tall wish indeed," Jartan replied, "and a task which even I might find to be a challenge."
"How do we know itis Gorgon?" Cinta, one of Jartan's court sorcerers, asked. "What evidence do we
have?"
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As the sorcerer spoke, Mark glanced at Ikawa. The Japanese officer had met Cinta in combat for the
possession of Leti's Crystal of the Sun, and had barely defeated him. The slightest of contemptuous
smiles crossed Ikawa's features, and he gave a merry wink to Mark.
"I was getting to that," Jartan replied.
There was no reproach in the god's voice, but the sorcerer cringed slightly.
"There are a number of reports regarding actions here on Haven. Allic, would you please begin."
The lord of Landra stood and strode to the open end of the horseshoe.
Bowing to his father, he began, describing the incident at Sarnak's portal and mentioning as well the
threat both to Mark and himself.
As Allic spoke, Mark fixed his gaze straight ahead, closing his mind to keep the memory away. Several
in the group turned back to look at him with open concern. Fortunately Storm kept her eyes straight
ahead as well, an action which Mark was grateful for, else he would seem her protected and
worried-over lover, not a powerful sorcerer in his own right. He did notice, though, the sharp look from
Macha--an almost smiling gaze that seemed to say it served him right.
Allic then went back into events covering a period long before the arrival of the outlanders: Dealings with
Sarnak and vague comments from that direction which might have new meaning in light of the discovered
portal. He ended with the review of evidence discovered only recently of a small village in the mountains
that had been hit hard, with all inhabitants either slain or kidnapped. They had been attacked by demons,
but not demons of Haven from all appearances.
After Allic, Storm spoke, and then Leti, relating events on the outpost worlds they had patrolled in the
last several years. Macha followed, speaking as a representative of the god Minar.
For there had been several unexplained occurrences in his distant realm as well.
"So that is the past record of evidence," Jartan finally declared. "Now to the recent events:"
"Word came via a messenger ten days ago that an outpost had detected a disturbance indicating that a
portal of some significance had been opened."
"I sent a messenger to bring me a standard report. He did not return."
"Three days later I sent out a triad, led by one of my best sorcerers, Suda Codi."
There was a murmur in the room. Mark remembered the woman from his first visit to the city. She was a
vivacious character, full of life, and with a reputation as a voracious lover--an experience he had never
sampled, though Walker had strutted about for days with a grin of delight after an alleged meeting.
"There was no report from them as well. Finally I sent three more. One came back and died within
minutes of his arrival."
Mark could see Walker leaning forward anxiously.
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"Four of the six outposts had been overwhelmed and destroyed. A vast and impenetrable energy field
had been erected about the fifth and sixth, through which nothing could pass. The fifth outpost was
already in flames and aswarm with demons."
"The messenger told me that he had personally recognized one of the leaders of the attack. It was
Jujatag, third demon lord of Gorgon's realm."
An angry stir swept the hall.
"And Suda Codi?" Walker asked nervously, coming to his feet.
"I'm sorry, but there is nothing to report on her."
Walker sat back down, his countenance grim. Sergeant Saito leaned over and put a hand on his
shoulder, while Shigeru, the wrestler and staunch follower of Walker's, growled darkly at his friend's
pain.
"This, therefore, is the plan," Jartan continued. "I will send another recon team in."
"But two have been annihilated already," Storm interjected. "What hope will a third have unless it is a
significant part of our strength? If that's the case, then we should send everything in an all-out sweep."
"We still aren't sure of what we face. It could be a mere strike by one of the minor demonlords either as
harassment or as an outright bid. If that is the case, then several of our demigods can handle it. If it is
Gorgon, I want to know before we go in."
"And if it is Gorgon?" Storm asked.
"Then we must strip our defenses dangerously thin. I myself shall go, leaving my realm in the hands of the
gods Chosen, and Minar. Macha will act as liaison to Minar through this crisis."
There were nervous mutterings in the room. Jartan's leaving would leave his realm underprotected in
case of attack from another quarter. Though he was not yet sure of all the implications of power, Mark
nevertheless grasped the fact that if Jartan had been away when Tor and Sarnak had struck, the end
result of the last war might have gone differently.
"To go myself if there is merely a diversion would leave us vulnerable here. To send my sons, daughters,
and sorcerers without my support could result in a disaster if Gorgon himself has passed through. We
must know more first." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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main outpost that in turn has portals to most of our other worlds."
Jartan nodded towards the display. Suddenly a filigree of gold threads knitted the various worlds
together. The greatest bundle came up from the surface of Haven, with a half dozen or more lines going
straight to the world under attack. Yet from that planet, thirty or more lines arced out further, striking
nearly every other world in the display.
"Take Yuvin, and he can push his way through to everything else. Eventually he would find some
unguarded point and reach us here."
"That is why we must meet him there." So saying, Jartan seemed almost to reach out and cup the world
in his hands.
"Once defeated, we must pursue him, through dimension after dimension if necessary, shutting down his
portals, sealing him back into the hell which he came from. Perhaps then he will leave us alone."
"Let's just kill the bastard," Macha growled.
"A tall wish indeed," Jartan replied, "and a task which even I might find to be a challenge."
"How do we know itis Gorgon?" Cinta, one of Jartan's court sorcerers, asked. "What evidence do we
have?"
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
As the sorcerer spoke, Mark glanced at Ikawa. The Japanese officer had met Cinta in combat for the
possession of Leti's Crystal of the Sun, and had barely defeated him. The slightest of contemptuous
smiles crossed Ikawa's features, and he gave a merry wink to Mark.
"I was getting to that," Jartan replied.
There was no reproach in the god's voice, but the sorcerer cringed slightly.
"There are a number of reports regarding actions here on Haven. Allic, would you please begin."
The lord of Landra stood and strode to the open end of the horseshoe.
Bowing to his father, he began, describing the incident at Sarnak's portal and mentioning as well the
threat both to Mark and himself.
As Allic spoke, Mark fixed his gaze straight ahead, closing his mind to keep the memory away. Several
in the group turned back to look at him with open concern. Fortunately Storm kept her eyes straight
ahead as well, an action which Mark was grateful for, else he would seem her protected and
worried-over lover, not a powerful sorcerer in his own right. He did notice, though, the sharp look from
Macha--an almost smiling gaze that seemed to say it served him right.
Allic then went back into events covering a period long before the arrival of the outlanders: Dealings with
Sarnak and vague comments from that direction which might have new meaning in light of the discovered
portal. He ended with the review of evidence discovered only recently of a small village in the mountains
that had been hit hard, with all inhabitants either slain or kidnapped. They had been attacked by demons,
but not demons of Haven from all appearances.
After Allic, Storm spoke, and then Leti, relating events on the outpost worlds they had patrolled in the
last several years. Macha followed, speaking as a representative of the god Minar.
For there had been several unexplained occurrences in his distant realm as well.
"So that is the past record of evidence," Jartan finally declared. "Now to the recent events:"
"Word came via a messenger ten days ago that an outpost had detected a disturbance indicating that a
portal of some significance had been opened."
"I sent a messenger to bring me a standard report. He did not return."
"Three days later I sent out a triad, led by one of my best sorcerers, Suda Codi."
There was a murmur in the room. Mark remembered the woman from his first visit to the city. She was a
vivacious character, full of life, and with a reputation as a voracious lover--an experience he had never
sampled, though Walker had strutted about for days with a grin of delight after an alleged meeting.
"There was no report from them as well. Finally I sent three more. One came back and died within
minutes of his arrival."
Mark could see Walker leaning forward anxiously.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Four of the six outposts had been overwhelmed and destroyed. A vast and impenetrable energy field
had been erected about the fifth and sixth, through which nothing could pass. The fifth outpost was
already in flames and aswarm with demons."
"The messenger told me that he had personally recognized one of the leaders of the attack. It was
Jujatag, third demon lord of Gorgon's realm."
An angry stir swept the hall.
"And Suda Codi?" Walker asked nervously, coming to his feet.
"I'm sorry, but there is nothing to report on her."
Walker sat back down, his countenance grim. Sergeant Saito leaned over and put a hand on his
shoulder, while Shigeru, the wrestler and staunch follower of Walker's, growled darkly at his friend's
pain.
"This, therefore, is the plan," Jartan continued. "I will send another recon team in."
"But two have been annihilated already," Storm interjected. "What hope will a third have unless it is a
significant part of our strength? If that's the case, then we should send everything in an all-out sweep."
"We still aren't sure of what we face. It could be a mere strike by one of the minor demonlords either as
harassment or as an outright bid. If that is the case, then several of our demigods can handle it. If it is
Gorgon, I want to know before we go in."
"And if it is Gorgon?" Storm asked.
"Then we must strip our defenses dangerously thin. I myself shall go, leaving my realm in the hands of the
gods Chosen, and Minar. Macha will act as liaison to Minar through this crisis."
There were nervous mutterings in the room. Jartan's leaving would leave his realm underprotected in
case of attack from another quarter. Though he was not yet sure of all the implications of power, Mark
nevertheless grasped the fact that if Jartan had been away when Tor and Sarnak had struck, the end
result of the last war might have gone differently.
"To go myself if there is merely a diversion would leave us vulnerable here. To send my sons, daughters,
and sorcerers without my support could result in a disaster if Gorgon himself has passed through. We
must know more first." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]