Delver Magic III: Balance of Fate, Jeff Inlo [most popular ebook readers .txt] 📗

Ryson saw where Sy led him and heaved a heavy sigh. “Ok, maybe there’s not much I can do for the wounded. Maybe I can get them temporarily to a safe place to hide, I can worry about that when I see what I’m up against. I might also be able to find some that are neither dead nor wounded, maybe they’re just scared and hiding. We can’t just leave them there.”

Sy pressed with his pessimism. “While I don’t wish to be coldhearted about this, I could argue that most of those that are now residing in Pinesway are doing so because it has been abandoned. They are opportunists that knew the risks. They took over abandoned homes because there was no one there to stop them. An empty town makes a good hideout for bandits. These people know how to take care of themselves, that’s what they’re best at. If they saw a problem coming, they are probably already gone. If not, I doubt there’s anything left of them to save.”

“Maybe most of the people that were in Pinesway were the type that would take off at the first sign of trouble, but not all of them.” Ryson noted. “There were a few that just didn’t want to leave their homes, even if it meant living with bandits and transients, and having to deal with goblin raids. Remember, I’ve scouted Pinesway on more than one occasion. There are some people there that just don’t want to leave. I don’t think they would argue with any help I could give.”

“I can’t argue that,” Sy offered, “but they also knew the risks. They didn’t have to stay. You have to consider that they are basically now dealing with the inevitable, with what they knew had to eventually happen. It’s not necessarily your job to help people that didn’t want help in the first place. But let’s leave that aside for now. I believe there’s more to this, so tell me why else do you want to go.”

“To scout the area, to see what Sazar is up to, to get an idea of the size of his new band of monsters.”

“Well, our wizard here has already given us a good idea of that.”

Enin jumped into the conversation without much thought to Sy’s intentions. “I used a sight spell, but it was connected to the web spell. It doesn’t really see the whole town, you know, just bits and pieces. A street here, and an alley there, kind of blurry vision of the whole. It’s probably an accurate count only to a degree.” The wizard put a finger to his chin as he considered something new. “Now, that’s a thought. I wonder if I could cast a clearer sight spell, something that wasn’t connected to an object or another spell—a spell that would allow me to see anything at a particular area. It would be my own vision, not transplanting images obtained from something else. I’d have to bend light, that wouldn’t be difficult, but I’d have to bend it there and back, kind of a reflection, but what would it reflect?”

“While you think about that, let me continue with the delver’s wishes.” Sy turned his attention back to the delver “As for scouting, my men scout that area every day. As you just said, I’ve had you scout it several times yourself. You know the condition of the town before the raid and the lay of the land. As for what Sazar’s up to, we just talked about that. We don’t have an idea at this point, and let’s be honest, he’s not going to tell you even if you go right up and ask him. We would still have to guess at that just as we will estimate the size of his forces. Even if Enin hasn’t given us an exact count of the number of goblins and shags and whatever else might be involved in this attack, we both know he’s given us a good idea of what’s out there.”

“Yes, but we also know he has a larger force with him now. That in itself is a bit of a surprise and getting a better look might not hurt.”

“Actually, I don’t think it is a surprise,” Sy countered. “Think about it for a moment. We know for a fact that Sazar followed the dwarves into Dunop after they were defeated here. We have to believe he took a great amount of wealth from Dunop before he took off. He could use that to buy food and weapons to keep a fair amount of goblins happy for a while. We also know from Enin that he can control them to a great extent. The more creatures he controls, the more supplies he can steal. The more supplies he gets the more goblins he can entice into his camp. One will keep leading to the other.”

Here Ryson spoke with much more certainty. “That’s another reason I want to go. I know you can’t be happy with what you just said, Sazar growing in strength. I want to see if maybe I can put a dent in that. If he goes in and strips Pinesway clean, he just gets that much stronger. I don’t think you want that to happen.”

“No I don’t,” Sy allowed. “I also know that alone you can’t really stop the force that Sazar is controlling.”

“True, but I’m not going to stop them, just to irritate them, cause them some problems, let them know that they just can’t waltz anywhere they please without some kind of resistance. I mean let’s really look at this from a hard perspective. Sazar attacked in broad daylight. Don’t you think that’s sending some kind of message?”

“I have already considered that, and I’m not happy with it myself.” Sy turned about and looked at the map on the wall with Burbon at its center. The map illustrated several strategic points in all the surrounding areas. Hand drawn marks indicated contact with varied monsters, suspected territories of dark creatures, and paths of travel for goblin raiding parties. The map drew a grim picture, but other factors existed that could not be illustrated on this chart and Sy spoke of them openly. “Message or not, daylight or dark, we have to consider the ultimate truth. I do not believe that Burbon is in any danger from this attack, and that has to be my first concern. Sazar is not going to hit us even with a force three times the size Enin described. This town is not abandoned. If he attacked, he would have to deal with our wall and towers, a trained corps of guards that know how to fight goblins, a purebred delver that also knows how to deal with an assortment of dark creatures, and let’s not forget our wizard here. If Sazar attacked us, he would lose probably his entire force and gain nothing. He’s too smart for that, too calculating, and that’s the shame of it. So, with a fair amount of certainty, I can say that we’re not his primary target now or in the foreseeable future. There are, however, several outposts to the north, farms on the outskirts of Connel, and small villages to the southeast that would be a ripe target for him. If he believes he can waltz into Pinesway and just take whatever he wants in broad daylight, then he’s not far from advancing on these other targets as well.”

Sy turned back to Ryson, but remained frowning. “Still, while I understand why you want to go, I don’t know yet what you think you’re going to do out there. It’s dangerous and I know you don’t like killing things. I can’t see you doing any great damage to Sazar’s numbers if you’re only going to stir up some kind of frenzy. You put yourself at great risk and I’d like to know what you think you’re going to ultimately accomplish. This has to have more of a reason.”

“Well, I have no intention of doing some kind of frontal assault if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“What is you intention?”

“First, I do want to do a quick scout. I think we should get a better idea of Sazar’s true force and not just base it on what Enin saw in that spell of his. Second, I want to create some havoc, knock a few goblins out of the fight. You’re right, I have no intention of killing any, but I can make them run scared, and if they run far enough, they might not come back. If I stir up enough trouble, I can maybe even cause a shag to lose control. A shag that takes off after me might also get beyond Sazar’s range and that’s one less monster the serp has to control. Third, I want to try and remove some of the supplies they are stealing, remove or destroy, same thing. I can’t carry it away, but I can sabotage a cart or set it on fire. Finally, I want to send a message right back to Sazar, let him know that I have my eye on him. Sazar knows me, knows us. You’re right, he doesn’t attack Burbon, and I think it’s mostly because of our wizard here, but he also knows we are prepared for him. If I take a quick shot at him while he’s trying to make a strike in a neighboring town, then he also knows we will go beyond the walls of Burbon to keep him at bay. If he wants to send a message by attacking in broad daylight, I want to send one right back to him, one that’s says I’m not impressed.”

Sy nodded and carefully considered what the delver just offered. He could not help but agree with many of the points. “The truth of the matter is I can’t argue with anything you just said. I’m not happy that Pinesway is sitting out there so close to us and abandoned. It serves as an easy target that invites the wrong type of element. Choosing between thieves and dark creatures doesn’t make me comfortable. That I do not like. I’d much rather have an empty hillside then what’s there now. I also don’t like Sazar thinking he can pick off easy victims without risk. He needs to know we’re ready to counter anything he might throw at us. He seems to be the biggest threat in our immediate area.”

“So you don’t have a problem with me going?” Ryson sounded almost amazed.

Sy quickly explained. “I have lots of problems with it. It’s risky, I don’t want to lose you, and you’re outnumbered. But you’re also a delver and I’ve seen what you can do. If you keep your mind to your business, I doubt they’ll touch you. There are, however, other considerations.”

“Such as?”

“Such as should I send a contingent of guards as well.”

“They’d only slow me down.”

“It would not be my order to have them accompany you,” Sy explained. “As I said, I’ve seen what you can do. They wouldn’t be able to keep up and would probably just end up causing you greater risks. I am thinking, however, of sending them to follow up after you. If you create the kind of havoc I believe you can, they might be able to clean up after you, take out several goblins that end up fleeing or a shag that gets separated form the main group. You might have something against killing these creatures, but I don’t. It wouldn’t upset me to put a bigger hurt on Sazar.”

“Didn’t think of that,” Ryson admitted.

“Of course, I doubt that will be necessary if Enin decides to go with you. Then he could probably cause more pain and inflict much more damage then several hundred of my best