“Well, now. That’s something you don’t see every day,” said Trick. “I mean, unless you live there. I guess the people who live there see it every day. Must get old after a while.”
“Not really,” said Amaris. “It’s invisible from the inside, so we never think about it unless we go somewhere and come back home.”
“That’s good,” said Trick. “A person would go a bit koo-koo staring at that thing all day long.
‘That thing’ was the magical barrier that covered the entire kingdom of Calymnia. It was a semi-transparent magical dome that spread from the ground and soared thousands of feet into the air. It shimmered with a sickly green light and radiated heat. Those who dared to approach it felt a growing sickness spread throughout their body, and the increasing heat caused painful blisters and burns on their skin. The sickness and wounds went away after a few days if you stepped away from it, but anyone who didn’t heed the obvious warnings died if they got too close.
The companions were about a mile away from it, each of them looking on with awe. It had taken them several days to get here from the temple, and they had discussed this moment long into the night on many occasions. However, now that it was here, they still didn’t know how they were going to get inside.
“I suppose that it’s too late to just forget about this nonsense,” said Trick. Sophia elbowed him, and Nightshade rolled her eyes, but Kaine appeared to be thinking it over.
“You’re not seriously considering it, are you?” asked Amaris.
“No,” said Kaine. “I’m not. I’m simply too tired of his whining to respond anymore,” he said. He turned to Amaris and said, “Tell me again. So you and your men just walk through it without trouble? There’s no password or gesture or key or anything?”
“Yeah,” said Amaris. The soldiers come and go as we want. The barrier doesn’t affect us.”
“Is it just the army, or is it anyone in Calymnia?” asked Nightshade. “Can the commoners come and go as they please?”
“Usually, there’s no problem. However, there have been a few incidents. People leaving then being unable to re-enter,” said Amaris.
Kaine looked over at Jorvar and Finn. “What about you two? Can you go in and out as you please?”
Jorvar shrugged his shoulders and said, “We haven’t tried. When Amaris goes inside, we wait outside.”
Kaine looked at Amaris and said, “Let’s try the easiest option first. See if you can pass through,”
Amaris nodded and started walking away. Almost an hour passed before he came walking back up to them. “No dice,” he said. “As soon as I got within a hundred yards or so, I started feeling the burning sickness. I turned around and got out of there as fast as I could,”
Kaine started pacing back and forth, as he always did while he was trying to work out a problem. Looking at Nightshade, he asked, “Can you teleport to the other side?”
Trick whistled sharply. “No, don’t try it. I tried that once, several years ago, and it nearly killed me. I slammed right into the damned thing. The heat and the sickness would have killed me in a few seconds had I not been able to teleport away.”
Amaris looked at Trick and had an idea. “Try changing into an animal and approaching,” he said. “We know animals can pass the barrier without trouble.”
Trick looked at Kaine, who nodded. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned and changed himself into a large black panther. They watched as he sprinted through the woods towards the barrier.
Several minutes passed, and the panther came running back, with patches of its fur missing and open sores all over its body. They watched as the panther seemed to melt into Trick, who stood up and said, “Nope. That didn’t work.”
Jorvar handed him a healing potion, which Trick downed immediately. “Many thanks,” he said.
“What about merchants or minstrels? Travelers?” asked Kaine.
Nightshade scoffed. “Coming from where? This is the last civilized place in the world, other than Bloodshire and Meliyat,” she said. “I can promise you that there have been no traders or travelers since the world went to shit.”
Sophia spoke up for the first time in a long time. “She’s right. Think about it. We’ve been traveling all these years, and we haven’t found anything other than villages and outposts. Humanity, and by that I mean all people, is on the brink of extinction. People don’t dare leave their homes anymore.”
Kaine nodded in agreement, and then turned back to stare at the barrier. He appeared lost in his thoughts again, but then snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it. I figured it out. I know how to get inside. But it’s gonna be dangerous.” He looked at Nightshade and said, “Night, we’re gonna need some poison.”
Nightshade looked at him and grinned. “Who are we going to kill?” she asked.
“Ourselves,” he replied.
“Are you out of your ever-loving mind?” asked Trick. “You’ve come up with some really bad ideas before, but this by far the dumbest one yet. You want us to kill…ourselves? Have you gone mad?”
“I concur,” said Nightshade. “This is definitely the dumbest idea you’ve ever had. And I’m counting that nonsense back on the ship, too.”
“What nonsense on the ship?” asked Sophia.
Kaine glared at Nightshade, but just said, “Nothing. Nevermind. It’s not important.”
Nightshade looked like she was about to say something more, but changed her mind. Instead, she simply said, “So what’s this plan of yours?”
“The barrier knows,” said Kaine. “Somehow, it knows when someone wants to enter Calymnia to cause harm, and when their intentions are pure.”
“It can read minds?” asked Trick. “That’s crazy. How can a wall read minds?”
“I don’t know,” said Kaine. “But it’s the only explanation that makes sense. That’s why the soldiers and citizens of Calymnia can usually come and go as they please. I’m willing to bet that those who were hurt were people who had recently had a change of heart. That’s why Amaris could enter before, but he can’t now. That’s why normal animals can pass, but you couldn’t. The barrier protects Calymnia by knowing the motives of everyone who passes through.”
“That seems to match what I’ve seen,” said Amaris. “I had a good friend who was killed trying to pass through the barrier as he was returning from a scouting trip one time. Before he left, he was angry. Said something about wanting to make some changes around Calymnia. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I just figured he was blowing off steam. But now that I think about it, he might have had treason in his heart.”
“Yes, I bet he did,” said Kaine. “Just like you do, now. Just like we all do. That’s why the barrier kept you out just now.”
“And so you think that by killing ourselves, we can bypass the barrier?” asked Sophia. “How is that’s supposed to work?”
“Don’t you see,” Kane said. “If we’re dead, we don’t have any motives. If we don’t have any motives, the barrier won’t try to stop us.”
“It’s a good plan,” said Jorvar. “But we don’t need to be dead. In our lands, there is a plant that can be brewed into a poison that doesn’t kill, but turns a person into a mindless walker…I think the term in your language is zombie-”
“That’s even worse!” said Trick, cutting the warrior off.
Nightshade backed away from the group and drew her daggers. Everyone turned to look at her, and they all saw something for the first time: a look of fear in her eyes. “Nobody is taking away my willpower,” she said. “Never again.”
Kaine moved to put himself between her and the rest of the party. “Put the blades away, El. No one is going to try to hurt you,” he said.
Nightshade stared at him. “You haven’t called me by my name for a long time,” she said.
“But I haven’t forgotten it, Eliane. Nor have I forgotten all that you have shared with me. We’re all on the same side, here. No one is going to try anything. You’ve trusted me all these years. Trust me now. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”
Nightshade slowly sheathed her daggers, and walked back over to the others, all of whom were careful to avoid making eye contact with her. Seeing the seemingly unshakable assassin shaken wasn’t a situation any of them wanted to make worse by acknowledging it.
Jorvar continued, “The poison isn’t permanent. It wears off after a few hours, and the person suffers no ill effects afterwards. Our women use it for childbirth, to ease the pain. We also use it when a warrior must undergo a painful procedure on the battlefield and no healers are available.”
“That should work,” said Kaine. “And it’s better than being dead.”
“You’re not seriously considering it, are you?” Trick asked incredulously. “This day just keeps getting worse!”
Sophia spoke up. “Besides. It’s only half a plan. Even if we all agree to this, how are we going to get inside? Dead or zombie, we still need someone to get us inside. I don’t think you’re going to find someone to smuggle us all through. Anyone who would be willing to do that wouldn’t be able to pass the barrier, and anyone qualified to pass through won’t be willing to take us with them.”
Kaine walked over to her and took her hands into his. Then he surprised everyone (most of all her) by kneeling down in front of her. He looked up into her eyes and spoke softly. “You could,” he said. “The barrier protects Calymnia from everyone who would do her harm. That counts all of us, but not you. We all have ulterior motives. Revenge. Power. Greed. Or whatever. But not you. Your only motivation is to bring the Light back into the world. That starts with Calymnia. You said so yourself. The Light needs Calymnia, you said. You can cross the barrier. I have faith in you.”
“Have faith in the Light, Khalis Ravencrest,” Sophia replied, with just a touch of rebuke. Then she sighed and said, “I don’t know, Kaine. It stinks of hubris to assume the Light is going to solve our problems for us.”
“The Light isn’t going to solve our problems, Soph. Just this one. And we’re not really asking it to do anything. We’re asking you to help. We’re asking you to believe in yourself, and in your mission here.”
Sophia sighed again, and said, “Ok. I’ll try.”
Nightshade walked over to Jorvar, and looked him dead in the eye. “Give me your poison, old man. If Sophia will be the one in control, I’m on board.”
Jorvar brewed the poisonous tea, and everyone except Sophia drank it. Once they all appeared to be in a stupor, she wasted no time. She used her magic to change their clothes into monk robes, and she changed her own appearance to look like a nun from one of the holy orders found throughout the world. With everyone looking the part, she lined them up and tied a rope between them. She tied the rope around her own waist last and started walking towards the barrier. Under the influence of the drug, they followed along without any trouble.
Sophia permitted herself a small smile, and said, “I’m going to have to ask Jorvar for some more of this stuff. I finally found a way to keep them all in line. It’s also a way to silence Trick!” But then she felt guilty, and adjusted Trick’s robes as a silent apology.
She still wasn’t sure she would be able to get through the barrier. She knew that everything Kaine had said was true. She just hoped the Light saw it that way. So, she did the only thing she knew to do: she prayed. Nothing elaborate, just “Please let this work” over and over again, but it kept her mind busy as she led her companions towards the gate.
The stern, inquisitive looks on the guards who blocked her way filled her heart with doubt, and she immediately began to feel the queasiness in her stomach and the burns appearing on her skin. She paused for a moment, and focused on the mission, and her place in this world. “This has to work,” she told herself silently. It turned into another prayer: “How am I supposed to set things right if I can’t get inside? Please help me!” With that, she felt the sickness subside and the burns heal themselves. Refreshed in both body and spirit, she walked towards the guards with confidence.
When she was about a dozen paces away, one of the guards called out to her. “Greetings, Holy Sister,” he said. “It has been many, many years since anyone has braved the roads. What brings you to Calymnia, the Holy Star of Erdael?”
“My brothers and I carry the seeds of the Light into all the darkened places of the world. We approach in the hopes of aid and rest on our long, never-ending journey.”
“Very well. As you no doubt have heard, the Holy Barrier protects our great and wonderful nation. If you mean us harm, the barrier will deal with you. Proceed at your own peril, Holy Sister.”
“The Light bless you, Guardsman of Calymnia. Thank you.”
A few steps later, and they were all safely on the other side of the barrier, inside the nation of Calymnia. It didn’t take long for her to find an inn, and within a few minutes she had paid for a room, and for meals to be sent up to it. She led all of her companions up to the room and locked the door behind them. Once they were all inside, she untied them, and dismissed the spell that was concealing their equipment and clothes. She laid each of them down on a bed and then sat down at the table to wait for them to wake up.
The meals came, and she ate while the others laid in their beds motionless. She covered the rest of the meals and placed them next to the fireplace to keep them warm. Still the others slept. She dozed off in her own bed for a while, and woke to find them all still in their places, mindlessly staring at the ceiling. She was just starting to get really worried when Kaine began to stir.
Before long, all of them were awake and eating around the table. The poison was slow to wear off, and so they passed the time in silence. Once they had all eaten, everyone went back to bed. They slept peacefully, which was good, because the next morning, they were woken up by a loud knock on their door. A loud, commanding voice called out from the other side of the door. “By order of the king, you are summoned to the royal palace at once!”
