The next morning, the members of the Fantasmal Fighters arrived in the meeting to discuss the fast approaching quest for the five jewels. Ester, Mrs. Guardman, Salov and Lawrence were also present in the seats along the wall. However, Fantasma and his aids were notably absent, having left earlier that morning.
As usual, Becky started the meeting. "Yesterday's practice was excellent, but we don't want to take any chances so Jandor's only taking a small group to the fortress."
Jandor was standing behind Becky's chair. "For now, I'm taking Ace, Allen, Daniel, and Ashley."
Derrick shot out of his seat. "Hey wait a minute! What about me?"
"I thought about it, but I want you and Alyson to stay here and continue training some of the others. Alyson will be taking over weapons and you need to continue with hand-to-hand combat."
Derrick started to protest but then decided against it. "Okay, but don't hesitate to call if you need me."
Jandor nodded with a grin. "Don't worry; I'm sure we'll be needing you soon."
Becky turned to their resident quickener. "Henry, I know you've been working with Sharanel on ways for us to transport and keep in contact with us. This whole quickening thing is really confusing so if you wouldn't mind going over it for the group."
Henry cleared his throat. "What happened was, when I tried to quicken you the first time, I botched it and the transport was never complete. That's how you all ended up thrown back in time and in various places. When I got my staff repaired and activated it again, it was like my staff 'rebooted' and tried to finish the last quickening command I did. That's why you all ended up here. All of you were still part of an incomplete quickening and that's why you felt something when I finally had my staff back. The mentus used to quicken was still a part of you and that mentus was drawn back to the staff sort of like a magnet. So, it didn't matter where you were, or how long you'd been on Mendala, you were instantly transported back to the staff. At least, that's how Dr. Landerpool explained it to me."
"What about Tabatha?" Ace asked. "Why wasn't she drawn back?"
Henry shrugged at this. "I'm not sure. Even if she was in Fantasmal Mountain, the mentus marker still should've been on her and drawn her back to my staff. My best guess is that some other quickener interfered at just the right moment. In any case, normal quickening doesn't work like that. Any kind of quartz will usually interfere with quickening."
Becky absentmindedly interrupted. "Quartz again? What's with this planet and quartz?"
"Quartz works against mentus and mandamus," Henry said matter-of-factly. "It's like a barrier and for quickeners it means that we can't quicken through it either outside to inside or visa versa. So if you're surrounded by quartz, I can't quicken to you or quicken you to me. Also I can't quicken to places surrounded by quartz and if I'm surrounded by quartz, I can't quicken to a place outside of the quartz barrier."
Becky huffed. "Sounds really stupid and confusing."
Henry chuckled as he continued, "When I first transported all of you, you became connected to my staff. As long as I continue to quicken you all regularly, it'll stay that way. Since you're connected to my staff, I can hear you when you call me as some of you already know. You don't have to use mentus to do it so don't worry about that. Also, with a little bit of help I was able to tune my staff so that we can communicate visually. Basically, it's a holographic projection, sort of like Ben's device. Of course, just like with quickening, we can only do it when you're not surrounded by quartz."
"How much is this whole quartz thing going to play out?" Becky asked impatiently. "I mean, Fantasma already said that the fortresses are in naturally quicken-proof places, or something like that. It doesn't sound like quickening will be very useful to us if all the places we want to go are either quicken-proof or surrounded by quartz."
"Well we found a way to get around that to a certain extent." Henry said as he pulled a bag from under the table. It was filled to the brim with rocks. "We're giving all of you some traveler quartz. Everyone take at least seven pieces." He started passing the bag around. "When you're surrounded with traveler quartz, it'll help me quicken to you in places that have a lot of quartz interference or places that are just naturally quicken-proof. It won't work everywhere but it'll help with a lot of our traveling back and forth."
"Hold up," Becky said, truly confused now. "You just finished saying that quartz acts as barrier. How is using this stuff," she shook the traveler quartz, "going to help us?"
"Traveler quartz is the exception to the rule; it actually enhances quickening abilities. Like I said, it doesn't always works, but it'll definitely help in a lot of normally quicken-proof places. Don't lose this stuff; it's very valuable. Dr. Landerpool had to pull a lot of strings to get this much."
"What about me?" Allen tugged at his hat. "Won't being anti-mentant affect your ability to quicken me?"
"Quickening is only partially about mentus. It's also about quartz." Becky gave an audible huff at this pronouncement but Henry continued undeterred. "A group of anti-mentants, yes, they would be impossible to quicken, but you'll be fine for the most part. Anti-mentants are resistant to active mentant energy directed at them. Most mentus used for quickening is passive. The only difficult thing is that I can't see you in the mentant realm. So when you're not with me, you need to be with someone I can see or I won't be able to get a lock on you."
Allen took this in with a nod, slightly frustrated that he had to be so different, but remembering that this uniqueness had protected Ashley and him in the past.
"How long will we stay connected to your staff?" Becky asked, still visibly confused. "Does it wear off or something?"
Henry shook his head. "No, it's not that. Quickener staffs have memory. They remember places you've been and people you've quickened. Each staff has a different amount of memory depending on how it was made. Mine has a good amount but it can still get full. So that means that only people that I've quickened recently will be connected, but since you guys are really the only ones I quicken, it's not a problem. It also means that if I haven't been to a place recently, I won't have the ability to quicken to it after a while because my staff only keeps what's most recent in memory."
Becky was now sorry she asked Henry to speak on quickening. "It's never simple or easy with this stuff. Everything's a long explanation and it never makes sense."
Henry shrugged. "Makes perfect sense to me."
Jandor smiled at this banter and decided to end the meeting. "I want all of you to practice as much as possible, while we're gone." They all nodded. "Okay, then you're all dismissed, except for the four who are going with me to the Zandamion Swamps."
In the large master bedroom of Fantasmal Mountain, Davron rested comfortably on the plush bed once used by the Fantasma. Tabatha Wright was at his side stroking his hair and talking softly. Tabatha was one of the members of the A&A Club, now the Fantasmal Fighters. She, like the others, had the mark that allowed her to destroy creatures of the Book of War, and she was also a melder, one of the few extraordinary people able to combine mentus and mandamus. But somehow Davron had convinced Tabatha that she was his wife and had been devoted to him for seven long years. No one knew how this happened, not even Davron's top generals.
Tabatha still knew exactly who she was and that the Fantasmal Fighters were once her friends, but none of this made any difference to her. Indeed, it seemed that nothing could sway her from her devotion to Davron now.
"So you're saying we can't get the jewels?" She asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"We know the location of the fortresses but it seems the designers were far more clever than I thought," Davron huffed. "The one in the Lost Plains and the one in Estern are impossible to find. And as if that weren't bad enough, it seems that Fantasma has placed the sun seal on the vaults. I have to admit, it was a pretty good trick. So, we can get into two of the fortresses, but the vaults are sealed off to all but the Daughter of the Sun. There's no other force that'll open them."
"So now what?"
"Now, we wait. We see if the Daughter of the Sun and her lackeys can actually get to the jewels."
"And then?"
"Think about it; I have the fifth jewel. She has to have all five for them to be of any use. She'll have to come here. Then we'll have her right where we want her."
Tabatha leaned over and kissed him. "You're so devious."
"The key is to be patient, Tabatha. We're the ones with the advantage remember. We have Fantasmal Mountain. We have spies and monsters all over the world. They won't elude us for long, my dear. It's only a matter of time."
Tabatha toyed with his hair again. "I know. What do you want to do until then?"
"We still have a strong set of adversaries besides those pesky friends of yours."
"They're not my friends!" Tabatha corrected vehemently.
"Yes, anyway, there is still the matter of Fantasma and the guardians."
"Why are you worried about the guardians? Even they can't destroy the creatures of the Book of War."
"That doesn't matter; as long as they're around, they'll be a threat to me. They're extremely powerful. I hate to admit it, but it's true. I wouldn't stand a chance against a pack of seasoned guardians. Karmandrian's one thing. He's only one and he's loyal to me, but if the guardians were to band together against me, it would be war, and I could lose. That's why I've decided to prevent that from happening. We'll take out the guardians a few at a time, while they're scattered across the planet. It'll be easier that way."
"Now that's inspired." Tabatha leaned over so that her face was inches from his. "But why stop there? Why not kill all the summoners as well? With them gone, they'll be no one left to summon animals either. I know just the place to start."
Davron grabbed Tabatha quickly and rolled over so that he was now leaning over her. "Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful when you're plotting?" he asked with a chuckle.
Tabatha smiled and kissed him. "Only you, and only when you're trying to get something outta me." She wiggled from his grasp. "Now come along, we have a world to dominate. We can fool around later."
"So you think we'll be able to make it to the fortress safely?" Jandor asked as his group walked across the expansive plains. He used the Fantasmal Staff as a walking stick.
Ace's robe was now a light shade of blue. "Of course. A friend of mine from a long time ago spent hundreds of years inside the Zandamion Swamps. He charted the safest and most stable paths through the interior and one of them leads to the fortress. I found an old copy of one of his maps."
"But, I thought you said none of the paths were safe from year to year," Daniel reminded him nervously. They were approaching the swamps even as they spoke. The marshy land and tall twisted trees looked dark and menacing.
"I hope this time I'm wrong."
After a few minutes they reached the edge of the swamplands. The wall of trees and underbrush seemed almost impregnable.
"Okay Ace, where's this special path?" Daniel asked.
Ace continued towards the barrier of the swamps and trees seemed to part before him, revealing a path. He started into the swamps without any explanation about what had just happened.
"Impressive," Jandor said with a nod before following after him.
"Ace is beginning to scare me," Ashley whispered to her companions as she stepped onto the path behind Jandor.
"Oh I don't know. Imagine what it was like for him to be here on Mendala for so long. Watching people he knew die around him and amassing all that knowledge and not being able to share it with anyone," Allen rationalized. "He had to move from life to life, home to home, without a real family. It must've been hard for him."
"Do you think he ever fell in love?" Daniel spoke softly. Ace was a good distance ahead but he didn't want to risk being overheard.
"After thousands of years on this planet, of course he fell in love, a hundred times over," Jandor asserted.
"Married even?" Ashley asked, shocked at the possibility.
Allen shrugged. "I dunno. There's no telling what Ace has been through, how many personalities he's assumed. I bet he could tell us stories that..."
"Hey you guys, don't start lagging now," Ace shouted from ahead of them. "We've got a few hours of walking to go."
"We'll be in here forever," Ashley groaned
"It won't be that bad Ash," Allen said cheerfully. "We just have to find a way to pass the time."
"There's nothing better than a song for a long journey," Ace offered.
Daniel didn't like the idea. "I can think of a few things."
"What do you suggest singing, Ace?" Jandor asked, ignoring Daniel's protests.
"The oldest and most well known ballad in the world: The March of Tearrion. Of course first, I'll need a little music."
Ace held his hands up as if he were holding a guitar. After his most recent performance, his friends half expected one to appear in his hands. Instead Ace started to play an invisible instrument, and the air filled with its music. Then he began to sing a slow melody that echoed in the forest around him.
The road is rough, the journey long.
Our only comfort is this song.
We know our leader won't veer wrong,
And so we march, and so we march, and so we march on.
As the song's tempo increased, Ace started down the path with the others in tow.
We will march through the forest, march on the plains,
March through the snow and through the rain.
We won't grow weary, won't complain.
We'll just keep marching on.
We'll march through the cities, march on the shore,
March to the steps of the demon's door.
No matter what we're going for
We'll just keep marching on and on and on and on.
The sky grows dark, the wind blows cold,
And yet our hearts beat strong and bold.
We know the quest won't lead to gold,
But still we march, but still we march, but still we march on.
We will march through the forest, march on the plains,
March through the snow and through the rain.
We won't grow weary, won't complain.
We'll just keep marching on.
We'll march through the cities, march on the shore,
March to the steps of the demon's door.
No matter what we're going for
We'll just keep marching on and on and on and on.
There're many dangers on this quest,
But we'll work hard to pass each test.
The Lord above will do the rest,
And so we march, and so we march, and so we march on.
We will march through the forest, march on the plains,
March through the snow and through the rain.
We won't grow weary, won't complain.
We'll just keep marching on.
We'll march through the cities, march on the shore,
March to the steps of the demon's door.
No matter what we're going for
We'll just keep marching on and on and on and on.
Soon the others had picked up on the chorus of the song and it lifted their spirits as they trekked through the dismal swamp.
"Uh, Ace?" Daniel asked during the musical interlude between two verses.
"Yes Daniel?"
"Exactly how many verses are there to this song?"
"About 300 give or take a few."
Daniel groaned. "This is going to be a long walk."