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

The elves approached. Holli surveyed the area, summed up each human guard that stood near. She showed no sign of agitation, only careful analysis of her surroundings.

Lief did not appear happy.

“That was not wise,” the elf admonished the delver. “You ran out of our camp without a thought to the threats in the forest. You ran off before you could voice your own experiences in the desert.”

Ryson spoke out defensively. “I thought Burbon might have been attacked. It was. I had to get back here as soon as possible. You would have done the same.”

“Without escort? Alone? I don’t think so.”

“There was no time for that. I had to move fast.”

“Fire upon your impatience,” Lief cursed.

Holli spoke softly but firmly. “There is no cause for that, Lief. What’s done is done.”

Ryson thanked the elf guard and quickly introduced her to those around them.

Holli found each individual interesting in their own right. She could sense the strong magic in Enin. She recalled Lief’s description of the wizard. It did not surprise her now that he cast white magic. One day he would be a powerful wizard, perhaps stronger than any other, this she could not deny. Had it not been for the aura of pureness around him, this encounter would have given her nightmares.

Linda had no magic in her, none whatsoever, and that was also fascinating. It went beyond normalcy for resistant humans, even beyond the dwarves resistance to the energy. Even most dwarves Holli met touched the magic to at least some degree, but this human woman seemed to almost repel it, to shed it from her as if it was an unwanted and weak virus.

As for Sy, he sparked the most curiosity in the elf guard. He was obviously a soldier, a leader of this human army that was even now training in the streets. She wondered about his skills, his experiences. She would have liked to speak with him alone, to learn everything he could teach her. She was not so arrogant to believe that only the elf guards knew proper battle tactics. She need only look around to see the walls and towers as well as the placement of guards to know that this man had wisdom in the ways of war and defense. She asked openly of the training exercises.

“You have many learning to fight and Ryson spoke of a dwarf raid. Have you been attacked?”

Sy spoke without hesitation. He spoke openly and with all honesty. “We were attacked by dwarves that tunneled under the wall. We weren’t ready for that. We lost about thirty soldiers. Our forces were deployed for other threats. I have these people training because I don’t have enough experienced men to cover the town. The truth of the matter is I’m spread too thin, not something I would like to admit. I’m telling you this because I accept you as an ally, a friend. In all honesty, we need all the friends we can get. It’s been hard enough for us to deal with the constant threat of goblin raids. I have to tell you, I’m afraid this town is under the threat of extinction. If I can’t count on you to treat us as an ally, I don’t think there is any hope for us.”

He looked to Holli, looked to her for a soldiers promise, a word of good will that would go beyond negotiated treaties. She did not disappoint him.

“The elves do not feel threatened by the humans. We have no animosity to you or your town. We can be friends and allies, we need to be friends.”

“That’s good to hear, because another enemy I don’t need.”

Sy looked to Ryson, looked to see if he said anything he would later regret. The delver simply nodded and smiled.

Lief, however, returned his wrath to the delver. “And as friends, we should not run out on each other. Your word was needed.”

“I thought I was needed here.”

The response did little to alleviate the elf’s anger. Ryson saw this clearly, and he attempted to assuage his friend’s anger.

“Maybe I can go back,” he replied somewhat apologetically.

“It is too late for that. Holli and I recounted our experiences. Still, your words might have swayed Petiole. Whether you like to accept it or not, you are a part of elflore now. Your opinion would have been highly regarded.”

Sy forced the conversation back to his own needs. “I’m not sure what’s going on with your camp, but I can tell you that I need the delver here. Of that I’m sure. That may be the only thing that I’m really sure of. I’m worried the dwarves may come back at any moment. For the most part, we were lucky.”

“What do you mean you were lucky?” Holli asked with interest.

Sy detailed the battle and the retreat of the dwarves. “We were lucky Enin was here. I don’t now how many of my soldiers would have died if we had to battle them without him.” Sy could not help but notice the expression on Holli’s face. It exposed her reservations with the victory. Sy narrowed on this, demanded an explanation. “That’s not the expression of someone that’s just heard good news. Something about what I said is bothering you. What is it?”

“Your victory in that battle may cost you much in the future,” Holli responded like one steel nerved officer speaking to another. “If our suspicions our correct, the dwarf war party was sent here to punish you. You did not let them succeed.”

“Was I supposed to?”

“No. You were put in a no-win scenario. No soldier would allow an invader to attack without attempting to defend. You acted as any true leader would. But that won’t change what will probably happen next. Not only were you not punished, you forced a retreat and inflicted casualties. The dwarves will find this an embarrassment. They will most likely attack again, but next time they will come in greater numbers and they will spread themselves in formations which will keep your wizard from trapping them again.”

“Damn!” Sy quickly looked out across the streets, looked to the civilians now training to be soldiers. “They won’t be enough, will they?”

“I don’t think so,” Holli responded with honesty that would befit an ally. “But do not yet lose your faith. There are other aspects of this war to consider. The dwarf army may never reach you.”

Both Ryson and Sy spoke at the same time. “Why not?”

Holli hesitated at first. There was something immediately upon her lips, but she did not speak of it. Instead, she referred to knowledge that was already Ryson’s. “Ryson knows of the sand giants. The algors intend to send them upon the dwarves. Such an event may forestall any attack upon you.”

“Wait a minute,” Ryson interrupted. “I thought it would take time for the algors to prepare the stone and to capture the magical energy needed to cast the spells. I didn’t think the sand giants would be ready for another several days.”

“That is probably true, “Holli admitted, “but we also don’t know when the dwarves will plan a second attack against this town.”

“Hold on. Hold on,” Sy demanded. “You’re going way beyond my comprehension here.”

Ryson explained as quickly as possible.

Sy knew not to doubt, even if the thought of giants carved from sandstone and animated by magic seemed beyond sane thinking. He simply accepted the facts as revealed by the delver. The algors intended to send an army of sand giants against Dunop. If so, that would certainly occupy the dwarves if not destroy them completely. Still, Sy had to speak of his own interpretations. “If I understand what you’re saying, it’s possible that these sand giants may take care of the dwarves for us. If that’s the case, our town may yet be safe. But I have to offer you two possibilities. What if the dwarves return to the desert and defeat the algors before these sand giants are created?”

“That is certainly a consideration,” Holli conceded.

Sy continued. “That means the dwarves may still show up here. It’ll just take them longer to regroup their army. The other possibility is that the sand giants don’t reach Dunop until after the dwarf army attacks us. You said the sand giants will use the tunnels constructed by the dwarves as the means for them to reach Dunop. If the dwarves did a good job destroying those tunnels, it may take the sand giants days even weeks before they reach their target, plenty of time for them to deal with us.”

“That is also possible.”

Sy pointed out the obvious. “Then, in all honesty, the odds remain high that the dwarves will still attack here, and I don’t know if I can stop them.”

“There is one other factor you are overlooking,” Lief said abruptly. He paused for a moment as everyone turned to look at him. Holi grimaced briefly but then nodded her head. Lief would have made the announcement with or without her approval, but he was glad to have it. “You are unaware of what Petiole, the leader of my camp, has decided. This decision makes an attack against your town very unlikely.” He exhaled deeply as if the next words were not welcome to his lips. “He plans to unleash shadow trees upon Dunop.”

The mere mention of shadow trees caused Ryson to shiver. He recalled the power of these mutated creations, how they thrived in darkness and consumed all living things. He had dealt with them in Sanctum and he still recalled their nightmare. Shadow trees were beyond horror, they were living darkness and the thought of their existence in Dunop was stifling. He thought of the lifeless evils growing in the dark caverns of the dwarf city. The hideous creations would overwhelm the city, consume every inhabitant. Dunop would be destroyed, of that there was no question. He then considered the sand giants. They would clear tunnels as they sought the dwarves, make paths for the shadow trees to grow and reproduce. They would thrive in the darkness and they would spread, perhaps through every underground city in the land. Maybe it was not Burbon that faced extinction, but the dwarves.