Wonder filled him. A great crowd lay below him. He had never seen a crowd this big before. So many people! Many more than Baluka’s thousand, he guessed. He considered the size of the hall in the Raen’s palace. It was hard to estimate a room’s size from someone else’s memory, but one thing was clear: the rebels had a problem. How are we all going to fit in?
His heart lifted. Perhaps Baluka would have to call off the attack. He began searching for the rebel leader, and did not have to seek for long. Baluka stood on a half-buried rock at the centre of the crowd, Frell and Hapre at his side. The broken wheel symbol had been painted many times, all over the rock’s surface. He wondered who had thought to bring paint along.
They saw him as he reached the rock and their faces softened with relief. But as he arrived in the world they exchanged grim and reluctant glances.
“What has happened?” he asked, even as he read the source of their worry from their minds.
“Volk is missing,” Baluka said.
“Probably dead,” Hapre added.
“The latest groups to arrive encountered another sorcerer who said Volk told him the meeting place was at the Worweau Market,” Frell explained. “They couldn’t convince him otherwise.”
Tyen’s heart sank. “One of the allies is pretending to be him? That doesn’t mean he is dead. The allies might have caught another rebel who had received directions from Volk.”
Hapre frowned. “But how would this sorcerer know Volk’s name? We weren’t giving our names to anyone. They have to have encountered Volk himself.”
“They might only have spied on him and read his mind.”
“If one of them read his mind they were stronger. Why would they let him live and continue to spread the message?”
“No rebels have arrived since then who were sent by Volk,” Frell added. He looked at Baluka. “Waiting for him will only give them more time to coordinate an attack.”
Tyen looked at the crowd. “At least we do not have to wait. You’ve already got your thousand, Baluka, twice over or more!”
Baluka nodded. “Yes. Yes, we have.” He smiled. “How can we lose, Tyen? How can we lose?”
“I can think of a few ways,” Frell said. “Large armies have their weaknesses. Communication, for a start. How are we going to get our orders out to so many people, here and during the battle?”
“Volk taught me a method of adding volume to my voice,” Baluka replied.
“That may not help with more complex information–like the path to the Raen’s world.”
Baluka shrugged. “We will take them there ourselves.”
Hapre stared at him in disbelief. “Transport that many people at once?”
“It takes no more effort to move thousands than to move one,” Baluka reminded her. “The Raen has transported entire nations between worlds. It can be done–and you don’t even have to be that powerful—” His attention shifted away. “What is it?”
A man was hovering at the rock’s edge. As Baluka stepped to the side to speak to him, Hapre looked at the mass of people. “Moving that many people. It just… feels like you shouldn’t be able to.”
“Good and bad news,” Baluka said as he rejoined them. “The rebels who were misled to the Worweau Market are under attack by several allies. Those that have escaped said several hundred rebels had been waiting there. The good news is the Raen is not with them.” His eyes were bright with excitement. “We should try to take advantage of the allies being occupied. You are right, Hapre. Volk would have returned here by now, if he were able. We can delay no longer.”
Nothing was said for a moment, as they exchanged bleak and worried looks. Tyen cleared his throat.
“There’s another problem.” The three turned to look at him. “From what I saw in the minds of those who’d been there, the Raen’s palace is underground. The arrival place is a hall–a large hall, but not big enough for everyone here.”
As Hapre and Frell realised what this meant, their faces fell. But Baluka only smiled.
“Ah. That’s clever,” he said. “That’s very clever. There can never be enough sorcerers in one room to be a threat to him.”
“What can we do instead?” Frell asked. “Do we stay here and wait for the allies to attack? We may be strong enough to face the Raen and his allies.”
Baluka shook his head. “And lose the advantage. Assuming the Raen is still in his world. No, we must think of a way to overcome this.”
“Could we arrive, attack and then leave in turns?” Hapre suggested.
Frell shook his head. “It would take precise coordination, which would take a great deal of time to prepare and train for, and we don’t know how perilous the six uninhabited worlds before the Raen’s are.”
“If only a small number can face him then that number need to be the most powerful,” Hapre said. “Then the rest can take magic and deliver it to those fighters.”
“Or we could try to lure him out of the palace?” Frell suggested.