Go Time
“I'm trying to find a way around this boulder and, you know, stay out of the river.” Kaelyn said.
“The...you mean the stream? I haven't spent much time up in these canyons, I admit, but I didn't remember the stream coming down this way. But, I fail to see how it could be blocking your path, Sojourner.”
Kaelyn looked at Ellis for a long moment before answering. “Ellis, describe this canyon as you see it. Specifically, what is directly behind you?”
Ellis looked over his shoulder and back at Kaelyn. “Um, there's nothing directly behind me.”
Kaelyn closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Okay, she could handle this. “Ellis, I want you to count to three and take one step directly backwards, okay?”
“Is this something your wizard told you to do?”
“Please just trust me. I don't want to ruin the experiment by explaining ahead of time. Please just do it, Ellis.”
Ellis looked at her for a long moment and shrugged. “Very well. One...two...three.”
And he disappeared into the boulder.
“Can you still see me, Ellis?” Kaelyn asked.
“Of course I can. What is going on?”
“I think Brant is playing tricks on me, and fortunately he doesn't seem to have the ability to play them on you at the same time, or doesn't know you're here. I don't know how he's targeting me specifically, but, Ellis, from where I'm standing you have disappeared into a boulder the size of a small house.”
“hmmm, Chaos was ever deceitful,” Ellis said and stepped forward again, appearing out of the solid rock. “Perhaps his lies have no affect on me because I walk in the light of the Divine,” Ellis said.
“Perhaps.”
Kaelyn sat down to think. “You've never been up here before, you said? So you don't know what the spot looks like where the cave is, and for that matter I don't know if you'll see the illusion or not. If not, this is easy; there's only one cave in this ravine. If that illusion is for everyone I'll need to describe the spot for you, but I want to try something first.”
Kaelyn searched the ground around her for a stick that looked like it was meant to be there and picked it up.
“Can you see this stick?” She asked.
“You're not holding anything.”
Kaelyn wanted to scream. “Okay, Ellis, pick up a stick or a rock or something you can recognize on the ground.” Ellis found a stick and handed it to Kaelyn. She stepped forward and set it against the edge of the boulder, then pulled a long bandage out of her satchel.
“First, thank you fro trusting me, Ellis. I know this doesn't appear to be a problem to you, but it's been most vexing to me. Now, I'm going to cover my eyes. I want you to stand in front of me, and I'll hold on to your coat. Then walk forward until we are both past that stick you laid on the ground.”
Ellis nodded. “I think I understand. Perhaps if you were stronger in the connection to the Divine you wouldn't need such connivance.”
“Perhaps, but are we not also meant to occasionally walk by faith?” Kaelyn said, and she impressed herself by sounding moderately calm when she said it. Ellis smiled. “Touche, Sojourner. Very well, Do you need help binding your eyes?”
Kaelyn shook her head and tied the bandage over her eyes, covering them several times to block all light.
“Okay, Priest, lead this lost soul through the valley of illusions.” She said.
“That's not even how the scripture goes,” Ellis said, but started walking. he walked slowly, carefully, making sure Kaelyn could keep up, and keep her balance.
After what seemed like an eternity he said, “you are now a foot past the stick on the ground.” Kaelyn considered taking the blindfold off but decided against it.
“Okay. Ellis, I want you to keep walking. The cave we are looking for is on the near wall, about half a mile from the mouth of the ravine. I need you to lead me there.” She then described the stop as clearly as she could, until Ellis said, “okay, I think I can picture the place.”
the trip seemed to take an eternity. Ellis was considerate and slow, describing the landscape, telling her when there would be rocks to step up onto or when they had to go around tree roots. Kaelyn stumbled twice and each time he helped her back up quickly. It was agonizing. What made it worse was the fact that, to Ellis, there was no real need for all this security.
At length he said, “Wide, sandy flat place with a foot-tall drop on this side, limestone wall, slightly convex? I think we're there.”
Kaelyn nodded and said “please help me step up and put my hands against hat wall.” She felt Ellis' hands on hers, then felt the stone under her palms. Leaning her shoulder against the wall she reached in her satchel for the flint and bead, and struck them together. There was a loud “pop” and the flint shattered in her fingers.
For a long moment nothing seemed to happen. Kaelyn considered taking her blindfold off again, and was about to do so when Ellis gasped. “Sojourner, you're leaning on...it looks like...red...”
“Swirling mist?” Kaelyn asked and Ellis agreed.
Kaelyn risked lifting the blindfold off. The cave entrance was as she remembered it, but around her the valley was flickering, two different realities trying to assert themselves. She was both standing on a boggy islet int he middle of a river and standing on the edge of the canyon on dry land, looking into the cave through an angry red mist. She guessed that the spell Mason was doing to weaken Brant's power was interfering with both illusions.
“Ellis, I need water from a nearby stream, but I can't reliably see where it currently is.” She handed Ellis a metal cup, made of fine copper, polished mirror smooth. he nodded and went to fill the cup. Kaelyn pulled some materials out of her satchel, a thread, dyed with saffron, a sponge from the sea, and a copper coin with a hole in it. Working carefully but quickly, she pressed the thread into the interface between the barrier and the cave, then tied it at the bottom, and laid the copper coin some four feet from the entrance.
Ellis returned with the water. She thanked him and poured about half of it on the thread, starting at the top, letting it soak the saffron infused twine. then she walked to the coin, lifted it and put it in the cup, setting it on the ground.
“Is this wizard magic or healer magic?” Ellis asked.
“Yes,” Kaelyn said, eyes on the thread and barrier.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the consistency of the red misty barrier changed. The rest of the valley flickered more and the illusion grew thing and indistinct. The thread around the barrier started to glow light yellow, and steam started to rise from the cup.
“We may not have much time,” Kaelyn said, “Be ready to dash when it comes down.” Ellis nodded and tensed up, ready but with nothing to do, yet.
the mist was draining into the thread, the entire things starting to steam now. The surface of the barrier started to ripple like a strong wind was blowing across it, and then, with a sound like a sail tearing, a gash appeared and spread quickly outward, the barrier collapsing into the string.
“Let's go!” Kaelyn said, and they ran into the cave.