Chapter 18
The Uninvited Guest
After eating, Jared and the others removed their robes and then hung them on the coat rack by the not-just-an-elevator door.
As Jared turned and headed toward one of the couches, his attention was drawn back to the not-just-an-elevator when he heard Rohlwig.
“Are you ready for some more training?” Rohlwig held out his arms inviting Jared and the others to join him in the not-just-an-elevator.
Jared nodded. “You bet.”
“Well then, put your robes back on, and let’s go.” Rohlwig stepped to one side to make room for his students.
Once they were out on the training field, Rohlwig said, “Cover your eyes,” and then tossed an orb up into the air.
Jared immediately closed his eyes and covered them with his forearm.
A few seconds later, Rohlwig said, “Okay. You may open your eyes now.”
Jared removed his arm and opened his eyes. The small sphere was lying on the ground, and they were all standing in a forest of colossal pines. Are we in a simulation? He threw a ball in the air not a rolled up map. Jared deduced that it was possible to store a simulation in other kinds of objects.
Rohlwig pointed at the sphere. “I had you cover your eyes because the olamshi emits a blinding flash of light as it creates a security perimeter, which can sense enemy life forms and detect devices being used to eavesdrop. And by the way, the way you’ll know if your security perimeter is being breached is by the high-pitched sound the olamshi will make.”
“Like from the HST. My dad used one to help my grandpa and me escape from Dreggan.” Jared got a little choked up. He was surprised at the emotional tug he felt just mentioning an event surrounding his parents’ deaths.
“Correct. Of course, this olamshi has been altered to store a simulation.” Rohlwig had confirmed Jared’s deduction about being able to store simulations in objects other than maps. “Anyway, here’s a regular olamshi for each of you.” He handed an orb to each of the youths. “Put them in your robes, please.”
Jared took the olamshi and looked at it. It was a smooth, silver sphere a bit smaller than a golf ball. He put it in an inside pocket of his robe.
It was strange that there was another pocket when he needed one—one for his treyo and then one for the olamshi. What made it so strange was that he didn’t remember there being any pockets the first time he put the robe on.
Jared shrugged to himself. Just another one of those Diestro mysteries, I guess.
“I want to teach you how to omporulae, which is the ability to travel super fast without a vehicle of any kind.” Rohlwig slapped his hands together, and then shot one forward. “You won’t be able to go super fast at first, though. But keep in mind, the more you practice, the faster speeds you’ll reach.
“Someday, you might even be able to travel across the universe in the blink of an eye. Of course, such instantaneous travel could take many years to master.”
Jared was impressed. Now, that’s fast.
“Anyway, I want to teach you how to omporulae because it could come in handy if you need to escape a dangerous situation.” Rohlwig raised his eyebrows and nodded slightly.
Jared agreed, Yeah, and then joked to himself, You never know when you might need to outrun some thiguts.
“Now, turn around, and let’s get you into position.” Rohlwig lined the youths up side by side. “Okay. When I say, ‘Go,’ I want each of you to close your eyes, clear your mind, imagine yourself next to that tree lying down,” he pointed at a fallen tree a long distance away—probably a couple hundred yards, “and then take a step while saying the command ‘omporulae.’ Okay... go.”
Jared took a deep, cleansing breath, closed his eyes, and then tried to free his mind.
Rohlwig spoke in an almost hypnotic tone. “Now, imagine seeing yourself over by the tree.”
Jared pictured himself standing next to the tree.
“Think about getting there as fast as you can.” Rohlwig paused. “Now, take a step while saying the word ‘omporulae,’ and then open your eyes.”
Jared took a step. “Omporulae.”
When he opened his eyes, his jaw dropped, and he did a double-take. He was surprised to see that the tree was right in front of him. In amazement, he turned and leaned back against the trunk.
“Very good, Jared.” Rohlwig gave him a thumbs-up.
Danielle and Paul suddenly appeared next to Jared.
“Whoa.” Paul blinked hard and shook his head.
Jared looked at Danielle. She gave him a surprised smile.
Rohlwig appeared in front of Jared, Paul, and Danielle. “Excellent.” He clapped lightly. “Well, all three of you picked up on that quickly, but I do have some advice for you when omporulaeing. It’s easy to go short distances, but beginners get really tired or run into things over extended lengths. So, my advice to you, if you have to go long distances, is to do several shorter intervals with breaks in between until you get better at it.”
Jared didn’t like the idea of running into something while omporulaeing and wondered if he would die from the impact. It seemed likely, so he didn’t bother to ask Rohlwig about it.
“Now, the next exercise I’d like to do with you requires a laris.” Rohlwig handed each child an object that he pulled out of his robe. “Put this on the back of your hand, with the barrel toward your knuckles.”
Jared took a moment to examine the laris. It was a very lightweight, glassy, silvery-black oval with a rounded topside and four long hooks that looked like curved insect legs—a pair on opposite sides. A pencil-thick, hollow tube, no longer than the thickness of a quarter, stuck out of one end—most likely the barrel.
As Jared placed it on the back of his hand, the four legs of the device grabbed the sides of Jared’s hand and squeezed. It didn’t hurt, but it was snug. Jared shook his hand, but the laris stayed on.
Jared looked at Rohlwig. What are we going to do with this?
Rohlwig said, “The laris is a defense weapon. I probably don’t need to remind you, but, like the beo, the laris is a training tool. When you’ve reached a certain level of proficiency with it, you won’t need to use it anymore.” He turned to Jared and pointed at him. “Ena’am solum.”
A bubble of light covered Jared. He reached forward and pressed on the surface. The bubble was solid and didn’t give at all. It seemed to be as strong as steel. Rohlwig dropped his aim, and the bubble disappeared.
Handy. Jared looked at his laris. He was ready to give it a try but waited for Rohlwig to instruct them on what to do.
“That’s a restraining bubble. There are,” Rohlwig held up two fingers, “two types: a bubble that can hold its prisoner as long as you keep your aim steady and a more self-sustaining bubble that can remain intact after removing your aim.
“To make a temporary bubble around someone else, as I demonstrated on Jared, say ‘ena’am solum.’
“The bubble is a fairly strong containment field, but it is by no means impenetrable. It is mostly meant to keep your opponent at bay to make an escape or to buy time.
“Now, I’d like you to try the solum on each other. Jared I’ll have you practice with me.”
Jared nodded and then aimed his hand with the laris on it at Rohlwig. “Ena’am solum.”
He captured Rohlwig in a bubble of light. Keeping his hand pointed at Rohlwig, he looked over at Danielle and Paul. They both chuckled and pointed toward Rohlwig.
Jared turned back to see what was so funny. The bubble around Rohlwig was gone.
Jared frowned and looked at his laris. He joked, “It must be broken.”
Danielle snickered. “Yeah, that’s it.”
“Remember to keep your aim steady,” Rohlwig said.
Embarrassed by the mistake, Jared shifted his mouth to the side. “Hmm.”
“And, don’t feel bad. With practice, I’m sure you’ll be able to make the field stronger and last longer.” Rohlwig turned to Danielle and Paul. “Now, yo
u two give it a try.”
Danielle and Paul took turns making solums appear around each other.
Rohlwig moved his hands in a swirling motion. “Now, let’s change partners.”
After Jared and Paul had practiced making solums around each other a few times, Jared looked over at Danielle, who had encapsulated Rohlwig. Rohlwig waved his arm, and the bubble split in two as a beam of light slashed through it like a sword.
Jared flinched. Whoa.
“What was that?” Paul had taken the words right out of Jared’s mouth and sounded just as excited as Jared to learn how to do it.
I’ve gotta learn that. Jared looked with anticipation at his laris.
“That was a,” Rohlwig made a downward slicing movement with his hand, “slashing weapon—perfect for fending off an attacker, breaking through a restraint, or cutting through whatever. The command is ‘tahsil.’
“Oh, and you should also know that the blade of light only lasts long enough to make one slashing motion. When your arm stops, the tahsil disappears.”
Paul waved his arm while saying, “Tahsil.” A flash of light cut through the air. “Whoa.”
Rohlwig said, “Good job, Paul,” and then turned to Danielle. “Okay. Now you, Danielle. Attack me.”
Danielle looked at Rohlwig but didn’t move—as if to say, “Really?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll block it.” Rohlwig motioned with his arms for her to approach him.
Jared knew Rohlwig was baiting her and wondered what he would do to repel the attack.
“Okay,” she said with hesitation and lifted her arm.
As she slashed at Rohlwig with a tahsil, he brought his arms up and said, “Estio.”
The tahsil was blocked by a shield of light.
Jared wanted a turn. “Let me try.” He stepped up to Rohlwig.
Rohlwig took a wider, more solid stance.
Jared called out, “Tahsil!” and swung his sword hard.
Rohlwig leaned into the attack, and once again, his force field deflected the blow.
Jared took a step backward. Whoa!
Rohlwig lowered his arms. “My purpose in demonstrating the tahsil was not to teach you how to be aggressors.” He smiled at Jared. “However, it’s important to know that many weapons can be an essential part of a good defense.
“That being said, now I’ll teach you how to make a force field like the one I used.” Rohlwig acted out his instructions. “Point your laris up, with your palm facing you. Where the back of your hand is facing is where the shield will appear. Also, since you’re beginners, I’d recommend covering the laris with your free hand, so the back of both your hands are facing away from you. This double-handed method tends to provide more strength for the shield. Then, when you want to make the shield, say, ‘estio.’”
Seems easy enough. Jared copied Rohlwig’s movements to practice.
“Like the solum, it’s temporary. So, when you move your hands, the shield will fade. Also, the shield area is relatively small. You can only protect the area right in front of you. But, there’s a simple technique to block an attack from behind.” Rohlwig spun around 180 degrees. “Just turn around.” He smiled.
Jared rolled his eyes. That was a lame joke.
Rohlwig turned to Paul. “Paul, go ahead and attack me with a tahsil.”
Paul stepped forward.
Rohlwig took a wider stance. “But this time, I want you to repeat it several times in a row.”
Paul repeatedly swung a tahsil at Rohlwig, but Rohlwig stood firm with his estio.
Rohlwig relaxed when Paul stopped. “The strength of your shield and the duration with which you’ll be able to hold it under an attack depends, once again, on practice.”
Jared made a mental note. Practice. Check.
“So then, let’s have you practice it.” Rohlwig faced Jared. “I’ll try to grab each of you. When I do, hold your hands like I showed you and say the estio command.”
“Alright.” Jared held up his arms in the position Rohlwig had demonstrated. “Estio.”
Rohlwig tried to touch Jared, and his hand stopped when it met the barrier of light. He smiled at Jared. “Nice shield.”
Rohlwig pushed harder, and the shield disappeared. Jared was disappointed that he couldn’t keep his shield strong.
Rohlwig patted Jared on the shoulder. “No, don’t feel bad. You did a good job. That was your first estio. The next one will be stronger.”
Paul and Danielle each took a turn making a shield to block Rohlwig’s hand. Rohlwig tested all three of their estios again several times—each time pushing harder than the last on their shields.
Fortunately, by the end of the exercise, Jared’s estio was stronger.
“Good.” Rohlwig stepped back. “Well, those are the basics of the laris. I’m impressed. All three of you have done quite well—in fact, better than I expected—with all these defense commands. And in such a short period.
“You sure are gifted. We were right to choose you.”
Jared felt proud and confident with his Diestro and Amatay skills. He wanted to do some more. “What else are we going to learn with this?” he asked, waving his hand with the laris on it, hoping there were more things Rohlwig would teach them.
Rohlwig scratched his chin. “Hmm... well, there is the disorienting technique I used on that porumfid that took you and Danielle on that ride. And, there’s a commonly used tranquilizer command.”
“I think our guardians used a tranquilizer on Damen when it attacked us in Teruvisa,” Paul pointed out.
Rohlwig nodded. “If the Beast just lay there, then it probably was a tranquilizer.”
Danielle tilted her head to the side. “It was lying down, but there was also a bubble,” she brought two cupped hands close together, “around it—a bubble like the solum.”
Rohlwig held up a finger. “That was a double command. Very advanced. It requires combining code words in succession. Beginners have a hard time with that. Usually, when they try to do two things at once, they get confused, and nothing happens.”
Jared wanted to try a double command. He had learned to focus quite well when speaking Amatay. But, maybe I better get the singles down first. I don’t want to embarrass myself.
“For now though, let’s just do simple commands.” Apparently, Rohlwig didn’t want Jared to embarrass himself, either. “First, to disorient an opponent, point your laris and say ‘tordistrem.’ If done right, this will leave your opponent confused, and he won’t know whether he’s coming or going. He might even experience some memory loss.”
Jared silently mocked the porumfid he and Danielle had an encounter with. Just like that stupid porumfid that dropped us.
Rohlwig looked around. “Let’s see if we can find something to practice on.”
“Look. Over there.” Rohlwig pointed up and behind Jared, Paul and Danielle. “A bird. Try to get it with a tordistrem.”
Jared turned around and looked in the direction Rohlwig was pointing. When he saw a small red and white bird high up in a tree, he lifted his hand. He noticed that his friends were also pointing at the bird, but he wanted to be first.
Jared imagined that he was practicing on a porumfid as he took aim. “Tordistrem.”
The beam of light from his tordistrem hit a branch next to the bird, and the bird flew away. Paul tried to get it while it was in flight but missed. Then, all three of them kept trying to hit the bird with a tordistrem, but no one was able to hit the target before it was out of sight.
Jared turned around, hoping that Rohlwig would have something else for them to try to disorient.
“Good try, but let’s try the tranquilizer this time. The command is pana’idem.” Rohlwig looked around briefly and then pointed to Jared’s right. “Look. There’s a squirrel. Try to get it with the tranquilizer.”
Jared quickly turned his head and saw the small animal close by. He pointed his laris at it. “Pana’idem.”
He hit the little creature sitting on a stump. I
t dropped the nut it was holding and fell over.
“Ha—ha.” Jared smiled at his friends, held his laris up by his mouth, and then blew across the barrel like it was a smoking gun. “Got it.”
Danielle rolled her eyes. “Big deal.”
Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched squeal filled the air, and a Beast of Tirum jumped out from behind a tree less than 100 yards away from Jared and the others.
The fierce-looking dog-lizard leapt forward, and Rohlwig omporulaed toward it. As fast as lightning, Rohlwig, using an estio, plowed into the Beast and knocked it over.
The Beast started to get back upright, but before it could regain its balance, Rohlwig reached out with one hand and said, “Ena’am solum.”
The Beast became trapped in a bubble. Rohlwig held out his other hand, and the silver olamshi he’d used to start the simulation shot into his palm.
The high-pitched alarm stopped.
“Help me get it!” Rohlwig had turned away from the Beast as he asked for help and didn’t see that his captive had broken the bubble.
“Look out!” Jared wanted to help Rohlwig and, pointing at the Beast, used the first command he could think of. “Pana’idem!”
Rohlwig fell to the ground, unconscious. Jared had accidentally hit Rohlwig instead of the Beast! Jared stood there in disbelief. What have I done?
Danielle gasped. “Oh no!”
The Beast ran past Rohlwig toward Jared, Paul, and Danielle.
Jared snapped out of his daze and clenched his teeth in frustration. Grr. And, regardless of the fear he had of messing up again, he pointed his laris at the Beast. “Tordistrem!”
The Beast faltered slightly but kept coming. Jared froze with fear. It didn’t work.
It was almost within striking distance of Jared, but before it was able to pounce, Paul jumped out from behind Jared and swung his arm down diagonally in front of himself. “Tahsil!”
A flash of light cut through the air.
The Beast hesitated, and Paul repeated the command.
Jared was grateful for Paul’s help but felt it was too soon to celebrate. “Thanks, Paul. Keep it up.” He’s not going to be able to keep that thing away for very long with a little sword.
Paul did a good job of holding the Beast at bay as they carefully made their way to Rohlwig.
“Way to go, Paul,” Danielle said as she and Jared knelt down next to Rohlwig.
Jared didn’t take his eyes off the Beast, but, out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rohlwig stirring. He was glad Rohlwig was coming to but felt embarrassed about knocking him out. “Sorry, Rohlwig. I... um... it... uh... are you okay?”
“Oh yeah. I’ve had worse.” Rohlwig grunted as he got to his feet. “Pretty good pana’idem, Jared, but your aim could use some improvement. Remember to focus.”
Jared knew Rohlwig was joking to make him not feel so bad, but he still felt guilty.
The Beast lunged forward. Paul jumped back. The Beast’s claw barely missed him.
As it was preparing to swing again, Rohlwig stepped forward and pushed Jared and Paul aside. “Estio!”
His shield took the full blow of one of the Beast’s powerful claws. Rohlwig lost his balance and fell down.
The Beast whipped around. Rohlwig flung his cape over himself and disappeared. The Beast’s tail came swinging past where Rohlwig had been lying.
Rohlwig appeared behind the Beast and jumped onto its back. Using a tahsil, he slashed the Beast and then jumped off.
The Beast cried out, rolled over, and began writhing on the ground in agony from the wound Rohlwig had inflicted upon it.
Rohlwig scrambled to his feet. “Go!” He pointed at a dirt path that started between two trees about 50 yards away to Jared’s right.
As he sprinted toward it, Jared wondered why he hadn’t noticed the path before.
Paul and Danielle appeared between the trees Jared was running toward. He realized they must have omporulaed, so he envisioned himself at the trail head and, with his next step, shot forward.
When he reached his friends, Jared looked back over his shoulder. Rohlwig was slowly walking backward toward them while keeping an eye on the Beast, but the Beast, apparently not happy about Jared and the others getting away, sprang at Rohlwig.
Danielle cried, “Rohlwig!”
Rohlwig blocked the Beast with another estio. He continued watching the Beast but communicated with the youths using beoveh. “Jared. Danielle. Paul. Take the trail until you get to a clearing, and stay there.”
The Beast pounced again several times on the force field before stopping to analyze the situation. It paced back and forth, probably waiting for an opportunity to attack again.
“Omporulae. Now!” Rohlwig took a wider stance like he was bracing himself for a tackle.
Jared was about to go, but he hesitated when he saw the dog-lizard attack Rohlwig, knock him off balance, and streak past him. However, Rohlwig grabbed its tail and flung the Beast against a tree.
Jared was amazed by Rohlwig’s display of strength. Jared had learned during his training with Ferran that it was possible to enhance one’s strength by using Diestro, and he remembered when Gromagan used enhanced strength to break a padlock off a gate at Lake Arrowhead.
Furious, the Beast focused on getting Rohlwig. When it leapt forward and swiped at Rohlwig with one of its massive claws, Rohlwig jumped and did a back flip to get out of the way, and then he encased the Beast in a solum.
Jared knew he should leave, but he didn’t want to move. He was mesmerized by the fighting.
He watched in astonishment as Rohlwig jumped and flew about like a cosmic acrobat, dodging the attacks of the Beast. And, every time it would make a move in Jared’s direction, Rohlwig would trap it in a containment bubble.
Rohlwig yelled at Jared, “Get out of here, now!”
Jared snapped out of his trance and looked at Paul and Danielle, who were gesturing and vocally urging him to go with them. He figured he should do what Rohlwig wanted.
Jared turned but threw one last glance over his shoulder at Rohlwig before he left.
At that moment, the dog-lizard’s tail made contact with Rohlwig’s arm. Rohlwig twirled around, and it ran past him.
No! Jared stopped.
Danielle screamed. “Jared, come on!”
Jared felt her pulling on his arm and hesitantly started to give in.
Rohlwig pointed his finger in the Beast’s direction. “Vashoh’!”
A burst of light hit the Beast, and in an instant, it was gone—disintegrated.
“He got it,” Jared breathed out in relief. He felt Danielle’s grip loosen and pulled his arm out of her hands.
Rohlwig omporulaed over to Jared and the others, holding the upper part of his left arm with his right hand.
Jared realized, He’s hurt.
Rohlwig asked, “Are you alright?”
“We’re fine. But, what’s wrong with your arm?” Danielle stepped forward, pointing at his arm. “We need to get you to a doctor.”
Jared was also concerned.
Rohlwig said, “I think it’s broken. But, don’t worry. I can fix it.”
Jared wondered, How?
Rohlwig took a small, purple, glass vial out of his robe and then handed it to Danielle. “Unscrew the lid for me, would you?”
After Danielle removed the brass-colored lid for him, Rohlwig took the container from her and then poured a few drops of a semi-clear, yellowish liquid on his arm. The fluid, which had the consistency of vegetable oil, disappeared when it touched his skin.
This will heal him? Jared didn’t think it could be possible.
Rohlwig whispered something. Then, recapping the bottle himself, he put the vial back in his robe.
Rohlwig moved his left arm in a circular motion, bending and straightening it and allowing it to rotate in the shoulder joint. “A little stiff. But otherwise fine.”
Jared wondered if Diestro would ever cease to amaze him. What’ll they think of next?
Paul asked, “What’s in that vial?”
“Lumahneh.” Rohlwig patted the outside of his robe in the area where the inside pocket was that he kept the vial in. “A special oil for healing.”
Jared rubbed his hands together, eager to learn the art of healing. “Are we going to get some lumahneh?”
“Not yet.” Rohlwig shook his head. “Healing is a very advanced technology.”
Jared was a little disappointed. “Oh.”
However, even if he wasn’t going to get to learn how to heal with lumahneh, Jared was still glad that Rohlwig was okay and that the Beast was dead.
On the other hand, the fight with the Beast was no doubt a test, and Jared wished he had done better. He felt especially bad because of the blunder he made earlier with a pana’idem that knocked Rohlwig out.
“Sorry we weren’t much help.” Paul looked down, apparently feeling a bit disappointed in his performance, as well.
Rohlwig shook his head. “No, not at all. You did fine. Don’t feel bad. I planned on doing most of the fighting and knew I would have to kill the Beast myself anyway, especially since I hadn’t taught you any killing commands.
“Mostly, I just wanted to give you a taste of what it would be like to defend yourselves in a realistic situation instead of practicing on small woodland animals or trees. I wanted see if you would be able to use your newly-acquired skills instinctively—without over-thinking them.
“And as usual, you exceeded my expectations. Good job.” He gave Jared and his friends a thumbs-up.
“Hello,” someone called out. Then, Jared saw a tall, black-haired man, wearing a white robe stepping out from behind a tree about 100 yards away and waving. At the same time, there was a flash of light in the trees, and the high-pitched squeal of an olamshi pierced the forest.
“Lohmus?” Rohlwig took a step forward, putting himself between the man and the youths.
Jared thought it was strange that Rohlwig seemed surprised to see the visitor. Maybe he’s just pretending. After all, he made the simulation and would be expecting the man to appear, right?
“I have a message from Manasto, but I’m afraid that a Beast followed me here and infiltrated the Cira complex. The Beast must be close if it set off the alarm.” Lohmus looked down and bowed his head slightly but kept advancing. “I’m sorry.”
Rohlwig held a hand out toward Lohmus and turned to the youths. “Children. This is Lohmus. He’s the official messenger for Manasto and Verissa.”
Jared noticed that Lohmus was starting to breathe fast—almost panting. What’s wrong with him?
Lohmus looked up at Jared with his blue eyes, and an evil grin crossed his face.
Jared stepped backward. Something didn’t feel right. What’s going on?
In the blink of an eye, Lohmus transformed into a dog-lizard, omporulaed toward the group, and jumped over Rohlwig. The Beast roared as it came bearing down on Jared.
Jared threw his arms up in a defensive position, covering his face, and tried to scream, but all that came out was a muted, “Aaah!”