Delver Magic II: Throne of Vengeance, Jeff Inlo [graded readers .TXT] 📗

Once beyond Burbon’s wall, Lief took the lead. He and the delver moved on foot, remaining on the lonely road that passed through the south gate. They passed several hills before Lief let out a shrill whistle. A similar response came from his left.

Ryson’s eyes immediately honed in upon the source. His sharp vision detected trace hints of Holli’s presence while she remained crouched in the tall grass. Upon his sighting, she stood erect, though carefully and slowly. She checked each direction before stepping lively but gracefully toward the open road. She met Ryson with a smile.

“Good day to you, delver!”

The near carefree ease in her welcome surprised him. He was prepared for a more stoic greeting, a greeting that suited a cautious elf guard. Instead, she appeared more than simply good-humored to see the delver. She seemed almost at peace, and this contrasted sharply with Ryson’s memory of her. Though surprised, he managed to return the hello. “And a good day to you, Holli. You look well.”

And she did, well and happy, and also content with her surroundings, and that also contrasted with his memories of her. As an elf guard, she had always seemed far from at ease; always watchful, always preparing for some unseen and unknown threat. But now, she appeared much more relaxed. Her eyes still darted about, still surveyed the land in all directions, but not with the same diligence that Ryson remembered.

To the delver, this change was beyond out of character, it was unwarranted, especially considering the influx of new dangers. Since the release of the magic, he himself was far more careful. Whenever he was outside the walls of Burbon, his senses jumped to high alert. He became as zealous in uncovering danger as he remembered the elf guards that protected their camps in Dark Spruce.

The guard that epitomized this behavior, Holli Brances, was now, however, nothing like the cautious fox he remembered. He could not guess as to what might have caused this transformation in her behavior. Ryson’s curiosity got the better of him and he blurted out the question.

“Are you still an elf guard?”

“Of course,” she replied simply. She found the question almost humorous. She waited expectantly for an explanation.

Ryson remained confused. “But you’re different… I don’t know, less alert I guess?”

Holli tilted her head. “I still remain concerned with possible threats, if that’s what you mean. I always will.” As if to accent this point, her eyes darted about the landscape.

The quick glance, however, did little to alleviate Ryson’s suspicions. Something was different about the guard and his delver curiosity pushed him to know more. “I don’t know. You seem much more at ease than I remember.”

“Right now, I am at ease. I believe that all serious threats have left this area.”

Ryson recalled that he encountered the serp and the shag several hilltops to the west. Could she know of them, were they still about?

“What threats?”

Holli responded with certainty. “A serp, a shag, and some goblins.”

“So you know about them?”

“They were within shouting distance a short while ago.”

“I know,” Ryson admitted. “I broke up the goblins, but the shag and serp forced me away.”

“They have left.”

“You’re certain?”

“Absolutely.”

“How do you know?” Of course, he suspected. He felt a presence around her that was akin to the aura which surrounded Enin.

“The magic has opened many secrets to those who know how to use it. I can now sense the presence of such creatures as they approach.”

It was as he thought. Holli was much like Enin in her ability to touch the magic. He wondered how far she had gone with this new power. “So you’re casting spells now?”

Holli shook her head, almost defensively. “I am not a magic caster. I am an elf guard, and my duties prevent me from conducting such activities. Casting spells is a dangerous activity and requires time for study. I have no such time, and my responsibility to the safety of those I protect remains paramount. Still, there are other ways to use the magic other than simply casting spells. It remains an energy that can be harnessed in many ways.”

She appeared certain of this to the extent of knowledgeable. Ryson had little understanding in the matter of magic, and being a delver, he pressed for answers.

“How so?”

Holli chuckled harmlessly. She understood all too well the delver’s curiosity. She endeavored to quench it for him. “Think of fire. It can be used for heat or for light. Lamps surround your human town to ward off threats even as pots of stew boil over stoves and hearths. Magic is no different. It all depends on your need. I don’t use spells, but the magic within me heightens what I can sense. It’s not sight or smell, it’s beyond that.”

Ryson nodded. He made it clear to the guard that he understood her explanation. “I know. There’s a human wizard I’ve become associated with. He’s also learned to sense the presence of creatures that use magic.”

“He casts white magic, with spheres,” Lief acknowledged with a nod to Holli.

The elf guard looked back at the walls of Burbon.

Ryson missed the underlying importance of such matters. Instead, he focused on the use of magic itself. “He’s been able to warn us of goblins that sneak through our first line of defense. It has become quite helpful.”

“It will be even more helpful when we cross through the Lacobian desert,” Lief stated with an impatient edge. “The algors await us and need warning. We should not delay.”

He began to move southward along the desolate dirt road as Ryson and Holli turned to follow. A bridge over the Fuge River was in sight as were a few trees of Dark Spruce. Lief stepped at a quick pace, a near trot for humans. He contemplated the distance to the forest. Before long they would be able to move among the trees, but only for a while. The section of forest which separated these grassy hills from the rocky terrain which preceded the desert was not at all wide. He frowned at the thought of trekking through the rock canyons and even worse, the Lacobian desert. He grumbled a complaint out loud.

“We should have brought horses.”

Ryson corrected him. “It wouldn’t have helped. I’m sure you want to climb through the trees when we reach the forest. What would we do with the horses?”

“I was thinking more of the canyons and the desert.”

“They’d help in the canyons, I can’t argue that, but not in the desert. I can get enough water for us, but not for three horses as well. We’d have to bring a great supply of water for them and that would weigh them down. No, we’ll be better off on foot.”

Lief’s impatience to move on was but a temporary distraction from Ryson’s questions for the elf guard. The delver’s thoughts focused back on Holli’s words about the magic. If she could sense creatures that used the energy, she would be as useful as Enin in uncovering threats. He looked to the river and thought of the river rogues, dangerous creatures, but creatures that apparently needed magic to walk this land. Again, as they moved toward the bridge, he voiced his questions.

“Do you sense anything from the river? Any river rogues?”

“No, the path is clear.”

“And you sure of this?”

“Absolutely.”

This was interesting. If elf guards could indeed detect the presence of other creatures, it changed battle tactics. He mulled over the possible effects as he voiced yet another question.

“If you can now sense threats well in advance, doesn’t that change everything? I mean, it sounds like surprise attacks are a thing of the past. Take us moving over this bridge as an example. If you could sense a river rogue before it gets near us, we could never be surprised.”

“That is exactly why I am more relaxed with our journey at this