Thomas Gown's connection to a group of powerful wizards who lived thousands of years ago is finally revealed, and he learns that he may be able to save his world and his civilisation, along with others beyond number, from a threat that will manifest...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The Captain's cabin of the Hopu was large, spacious and sumptuously furnished, and there was plenty of room for the seven men to arrange themselves comfortably.
The three Jules Verne crewmen took care to remain always on guard, of course, and to keep a wary eye on their counterparts in case this turned out to be nothing more than a trap. Saturn kept the words of defensive spells at the forefront of his mind, watching the other wizard with his single eye for any sign that he might be about to cast a spell of his own, while Drenn watched the two Garusian swordsmen who'd accompanied their Captain into the room and who were were now standing by the door, watching the Tharians warily. They looked tough and mean, but Saturn saw a confident look on Drenn's face as if he didn't think he'd have much trouble dispatching them if hostilities broke out.
Strong looked completely at ease, giving an appearance of confidence and security. A bluff, Saturn guessed, as if they had a hundred other Jules Vernes ready to come to their rescue if the Garusians tried anything. Saturn didn't think the Garusians would try anything, though, so long as their Captain was exposed to danger. This man looked too fat and opulent in his fancy, expensive clothes and pudgy, bejewelled fingers. He'd probably never touched a sword in his life. This was a man who sent others to do his fighting for him, and who would send as many as necessary to their deaths to do the job, never sparing a thought for the widows and orphans he was creating in the process. Saturn felt nothing but contempt and disgust for him, and he knew Strong well enough to see that he felt the same, even though the Captain was careful to keep it from showing it on his face. This man represented a potentially deadly threat to his homeworld, and he had to be treated with the utmost care and caution.
All three Tharians now spoke and understood the language of their hosts. Saturn had cast another spell during their walk through the corridors of the ship, whispering the words so as not to alarm the Garusians, and Drenn had prayed to Samnos for the gift of Comprehension. The contact between deity and follower had been weak and tenuous across the transdimensional divide, but the God of War had not abandoned His worshipper and had sent the power, which Drenn had signalled to the others by passing an offhand comment to a Garusian soldier they'd passed on the way.
Along with the language had come a basic understanding of the fundamental realities of the culture these people belonged to. Their hatred of the inhabitants of the other planet, their unquestioning obedience to those in authority over them, drummed into them over a lifetime of crushing discipline, and their thoughtless cruelty to and impatience with those subservient to them. Saturn definitely wouldn't want to live in such a culture, and neither, he knew would either of the other Tharians. He could see a look of firm resolve on both their faces which he knew was to keep such people from gaining power on their own world. Armed conflict was to be avoided if possible, of course, but if the worst came to the worst he knew that all three were now prepared to take whatever measures were necessary to protect their planet. To keep these people on their side of the portal.
