Runes of Redemption

Chapter 1-2

They approached the spot at an angle, edging up to the base of the cliffs. As they neared the cliff face, Aron held out a cautioning hand, using telepathy instead of speaking aloud for the sake of safety. ::Wait. Let’s watch a bit and explore this with our senses before we get too close.::

They certainly did not want to blunder into a trap or accidentally find themselves shuttled to another dimension. ::Some gates are one-way, or so I have read,:: he continued. ::Most allow passage in both directions, but usually passage one way is easier or less tricky than the other. And to close one, you need to be on the powered side.::

Clay shot a keen glance his way. ::You mean we might have to go through and work from the other side if the power’s there? How would we get back?::

Aron chuckled. ::That’s the fun part, the trick of it. You have to set the spell and then pass back through with the final word and gesture right before it closes forever.::

Pausing about ten feet from the spot, they sat on a slab fallen from above to rest and watch. Nothing happened. Up close, the patch seemed less conspicuous, more difficult to see even a hint of a shape or space. Clay dug a granola bar out of his pack to munch, and they both drank from their canteens.

“This isn’t accomplishing anything,” Clay said after a few minutes.

“No, it looks like we’ll have to test it. Stay close, but behind me.” Aron stood, starting for the rock face. He halted a short stride from the spot they had seen. Slowly, he reached with one hand until the very tips of his fingers lingered an infinitesimal distance from touching the stone. Within a few seconds, he nodded, as if he sensed some betraying tingle of energy. “There’s something here. Can’t you feel it?”

Clay edged forward to stand beside him and reached as Aron had.

“Don’t quite touch it. Go close, but leave a hair’s breadth of space.” Aron watched as Clay reached.

“I feel something, almost a tickle, and there’s a faint hum, like the sound from high tension electrical lines, only very muted.”

“Right. I’ve decided—I’m going through. Grab my belt and don’t let go. I don’t want to lose you. As long as we’re physically linked, we won’t be separated and should end up in the same place.”

He waited until he felt the wide leather band holding his sword and other gear draw tighter and Clay’s knuckles pressed into his back.

::Now.:: His outstretched hand sank into the stone without effort and disappeared as if his arm had been severed just below the elbow. Without hesitation, he followed, stepping into swirling darkness. Briefly sense-blind, he could only hope Clay passed through with him.

After a few seconds, the mist cleared and his senses returned to normal. Aron looked around, taking in the bleak landscape, even less hospitable in appearance than the area they had just left. A smudgy sun hung low on the horizon, and he saw a jagged line of hills to the right, in the direction he’d call west on Earth. He sensed Clay behind him even before he turned to confirm the other’s presence. Briefly disoriented, they both stumbled a bit, moving a few steps in the process.

::Where in hell are we? And I’m serious—it really looks like hell.::

Continuing to gaze around, Aron shrugged. ::Gods only know. I’m guessing it’s a Trogue world. They hold several and since they subsist on dirt and stones, it’s about all there is here. Probably some brackish water in places, but this is no spot to linger.::

Clay gazed around, then frowned with perplexity. ::But where is this side of the gate?::

They stood in a low swale, edged by bumpy gray boulders. Nothing seemed large enough to contain a passageway. Aron turned around slowly, scanning the visible landscape. ::It’ll be one of these boulders, I think. Trick is to find which one…::

He heard Clay’s slight sigh. ::You won’t have to drag me away. I don’t see anything to recommend this place. So is this side the one we have to work from to do the sealing?::

Aron shrugged again. ::Probably. I’ll know once I find the right rock.::

He strode to the rim of the little vale and approached one of the larger stones. He ran his hands over it, just short of touching the rough, pocked surface. With a shake of his head, he moved on to the next. He’d gone more than halfway around before he found the right one.