The Crystal Sorcerers by William R. Forstchen

count.
    He would let them come to him.
     
    Kochanski got up from the Godchair severely shaken. Someone else from Earth was here, but was very dangerous. Maybe insane, too. Jesus, that was a close call.
    He sent a call for Jartan over his communications crystal. No answer. Still, he was picking up some type of commotion in Jartan's main briefing room down the hall.
    Heading down the hall, he saw great numbers of sorcerers going into and out of the main briefing room, all wearing looks of intense concern.
    Entering, his first thought was the similarity to an overturned anthill. One group was preparing maps, another was entering figures on a great projection board, and another was working on two huge models of different worlds floating above the large horseshoe-shaped table. Jartan stood at the head of the table issuing commands and listening to reports as they came in.
    Kochanski pushed his own concerns aside as he worked his way toward the god. As he passed he noted that the largest of the two floating worlds had numerous bright lights surrounded by circles of red, and that the smaller globe orbiting the larger one was seemingly covered with ice and snowfields with only one bright light and no red circles.
    He stood beside Jartan for several minutes before the god had time for him.
    "Kochanski, I've moved your training up. Sara and several others will be arriving shortly to give you lessons on portal travel in other dimensions. You've got a departure time of less than three days, so your life depends on you being a quick learner."
    Kochanski's first thought was, My life? and then, Three days? He's got to be kidding.
    "No, I'm deadly serious. One of our primary outpost worlds seems to be under attack. I'm sending a reconnaissance in force to check it out. You are the best sorcerer I have for the Godchair, so you're definitely going. I need information badly."
    "Uh, Jartan, why? I mean..."
    "Not now, Kochanski. There will be a briefing tomorrow afternoon when the rest of the team arrives. You'll be pleased to know that I'm sending Mark and the rest of the outlanders with you. For now, return to the Godchair. Sara and the others are preparing a training portal opening for you. You are dismissed."
    Kochanski walked from the room more confused than ever. What the hell was going on?

Chapter 3
    Winging in low Sarnak skimmed between the snow-covered peaks. Overhead, forward, and to either side, his escort of thirty sorcerers ranged outward, ready to react at the slightest sign of treachery.
    So far it was all going according to plan. But if the roles were reversed he knew what he would do at this moment, promises to the contrary be damned.
    As he swung down the side of the mountain, he felt tension knotting within him at the sight of the dozen wall crystals mounted along the upper battlements of his cousin's fortress. As agreed, they were not manned. But still, the gunners could merely be hidden.
    With every sense straining, Sarnak probed for the first indicators of threat, but all was as it should be.
    His lead sorcerers, following the example of the first guide, swung in over the battlements and alighted on the landing platform.
    "All clear, my lord," a voice whispered through the comm link.
    Sarnak looked over at the second guide sorcerer who had been flying alongside him. The path to Tor's ancient fortress was known for its difficult approach. A range of mountains nearly thirty thousand feet tall had to first be cleared; and atop those peaks were battle platforms, positioned to fire on any would-be attacker. That thought alone had sent prickles of fear running down his back.
    The fortress was not built at all in the traditional sense, but rather had been carved straight into the side of a mountain, five thousand feet below the summit. Two thousand feet below the fortress was the floor of the valley, where his subjects lived, a region that could only be approached through a narrow defile.
    For those who were condemned to travel on