By the end of the second day, Armegon and Ultrecht had reviewed all the texts involved with the subject of mental combat and control. Their search had been fruitless until late that evening when Ultrecht had discovered a text dealing with the theory of the detached mind and the effects on the body by mental combat during separation. The book, a theoretical text titled: The Projected Mind: The Dangers and the Remedies, by Austrias Junigia of Haganaw claimed that no matter how the deed is done, the separation of the mind from the body kills the body unless a link can be maintained. Since Sam's body still lived, then there had to be a viable link between his mind and body remaining.
The book described a procedure that isolated and identified that link. The book also discussed how a mind forcefully separated from a living body could be safely restored, but most of these methods involved obtaining the receptacle of entrapment.
They knew from the vision of the Replay spell that Sam had been drawn into a gemstone or crystal of some sort. Unfortunately, they did not know where Tyson or the prison was hidden. They theorized that Tyson had returned to the fold of House Blackheart. If that were so, they were not anxious to attempt a raid on that fortress.
The outlook was grim until Ultrecht ran across a section the author had written concerning a spell that he had been researching just before he had died of old age. The spell outline indicated that a subdued magic would travel along the body's link to the mind and from inside the prison would sever the restraints on the mind allowing it to snap back to the body. This was of great interest to the two mages. It was a way for them to free Sam without having to face Tyson and his allies.
"According to this," Ultrecht said excitedly. "The only spell component we lack is the freely given blood of the Emerald Monocerous."
"A what?"
"I think it’s some kind of unicorn," Ultrecht recalled. "Or at least it was."
"Can I assume that we need to find out about this creature?" Armegon asked.
"If there are any still in existence, it could make life a lot easier for us, Ultrecht answered.
Armegon sighed and left the table. He inquired at the reference desk about various species of unicorns and was directed to a section in another wing. "I'll be back in a little while," he told Ultrecht as he gathered some writing material. "You keep at this and I'll find out about our unicorn."
Ultrecht agreed and waved his apprentice off. "And don't take too long, he said aloud in an irritated voice. He would later claim that it was for show and to maintain the master-apprentice cover, but the real reason he had said it was to hear Armegon grinding his teeth together as the sorcerer walked away.
Ultrecht spent almost an hour making notes from the text they had discovered when Armegon finally returned. "You were right, it is a type of unicorn. It is supposed to dwell in the Savanah Range and is known by a tribe of people called the Janus."
"Savanah?" asked Ultrecht. "Isn't that in the far west?"
"Yes," Armegon said. "It looks like we may have to travel to the Twin Cities and hire an ice boat." Armegon gathered the remaining books. "What was the name of that dwarf? Heineken?"
"Yeah," Ultrecht said as he helped Armegon replace the texts on the shelves. "He and that young elf were good company, maybe we can get them to give us a lift west."
"Do we have enough money to hire a boat," Armegon asked.
"If nothing else, we can hire on," Ultrecht offered. "After all we saved his carcass from pirates last time. He owes us."
"Do you think Tyson’ll leave us be for that long?"
"No," Ultrecht said, "but as long as we keep moving the best that bunch can do in follow and harass. If we stay in one place for too long, they can launch a coordinated attack on us."
"What of Avery, and the girls? They haven’t been moving these last few days," Armegon asked as he put the last book on the shelf and Ultrecht gathered his notes.
"Avery can handle himself, and I get the feeling Nikki's place is fortified, even though they didn't mention it. You know how hard it is to attack a druid and ranger in the wild."
Armegon agreed. "We have some things to think about," he said. "Should we leave Sam somewhere safe, or take him with us? Who should go? What should we take?"
"Let's discuss it over dinner," Ultrecht suggested, and he headed toward the exit. Armegon fell in behind him. They went to the cafeteria and sat down to a light meal and some ale.
"You know," Armegon said as he poked at a leg of baked pheasant, "I’m not so sure that we should seek immediate revenge."
Ultrecht looked up from his own plate. "That’s unlike you," he observed.
"Well I was thinking. After we free Sam, Tyson will immediately expect us to attack and he’ll be at a defensive peak. He’ll be warded and cautious. But if we wait and bide our time, he’ll start getting paranoid, and we can feel his defenses out. I think we can bank on him making a mistake. When he does, we nail him."
"Besides," Ultrecht added knowingly, "the wait will drive him nuts."
Armegon grinned. "Yeah," he laughed somberly, "I though of that too." It was hard to be jovial with his foster son comatose hundreds of leagues away.
"Okay," Ultrecht relented, "we will put off settling our account with Mr. Tyson for a while longer, but we can't put off freeing Sam."
Armegon emphatically agreed. "Of that there can be no doubt. I’m not certain what to make of the fact that he hasn't made any demands of us yet, though."
"That may be due to several things," Ultrecht suggested. He drained his cup. "They may not know where we are. After all, we were traveling north when Tyson disappeared, and he homed in on Sam, not on the area Sam was in. He may not have been there long enough to locate himself."
"That’s a good point," Armegon added. "Any other reason?"
"There’s no logical reason to believe we’ve come to Allentown, either. And, it is possible that Tyson hasn't made any demands of us because he has made his demands to Avery."
Armegon didn't like the last one. "I don't think that’s likely," he said. "Tyson is not so stupid as to waltz into a druid's stronghold and make demands to a ranger in the forest."
As he reflected on this Ultrecht was forced to agree. "I guess you're right." He wiped his mouth on the tail of the tablecloth and leaned back. "So what is the plan?"
"We return to Nikki's, collect Avery, and head north to the Twin Cities to catch an ice boat west." Armegon drained his cup also.
"No, I mean for tomorrow. We still have a whole day left before we return."
Armegon wiped his mouth. "I’m going to get out of this guild so that I can stop playing your apprentice. Maybe I'll go and see a shop keeper I met some time ago. He deals in gossip and maybe I can get some useful scuttlebutt."
Ultrecht accepted this with a nod. "I am going to find out more about those damned coins. The next time I put a fortune in my pocket, I want to know it."
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