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

such a terror. I remember how you looked when you described how they were first used. It was another dwarf-elf war. The fact that the elves used such a weapon pained you. Now, you’re going to allow it to happen again?”

Lief erupted. “What can I do?!

Ryson did not pause in his response. “Whatever it takes!”

Lief began to show anger himself. “And do you know what that might be?! Our leader is now determined to strike back. He will not be swayed. He has the authority and the right to make such a decision. Despite what you think, I have no right to question him.”

“No right?” Ryson’s eyes shot open wide. “You have every right. And what justifies the crime he’s about to commit? Just because he’s the camp elder? That means nothing. No one who could even consider such an act should even be allowed to lead.”

“Again, you speak with no knowledge! What do you think we can do? Just ask him to step down? Take a vote like the humans? He is the leader because he is. There is only one way to end his role, and that is with his death. Maybe you think I should just kill Petiole?!”

Ryson did not back down for an instant. He was against killing, he held life sacred, but perhaps that is what pushed him to this limit. He yelled right back. “If that’s what it takes. Better for one to die, than to allow him to do this.”

Lief clenched his fists. Ryson’s reaction was no true surprise to him, and the solution was not something foreign to his own contemplations. Yet, as an elf, he knew more, more of what was involved, more of what was truly possible. Yes, he had considered such a thought, and he revealed as much as he spoke through a set jaw. “You think it’s that easy! You don’t know anything! Ask Holli if she would let me get near Petiole if she knew I was going to kill him.”

Holli did not wait for the question. She answered without emotion. Her monotone voice rang hollow. “I would have to stop him, kill him if necessary.”

Ryson’s eyes widened. His accusing glare turned from Lief to Holli. “You would kill Lief?”

“It is my oath.”

“Your oath? What in the name of Godson is wrong with you?”

“Ages of what you call tradition,” Holli replied.

Ryson raged on. “That’s not acceptable! What happened long ago means nothing compared to what’s going to happen right now. Can you look me in the eye and say that you support even the thought of releasing the seeds on Dunop? Can you?”

“No, I can’t.”

“But you would protect Petiole?”

“They are not the same.”

“Yes they are! Godson!” Ryson grasped for reason, searched for alternatives. “Fine. You won’t let Lief stop Petiole. What about me?”

Linda could not hold her own reaction. “You? You would go out to kill this elf?”

Ryson kept his eyes on Holli, but as he spoke to Linda, he checked his rage. “If it would stop this, yes I would. You know I don’t believe in killing anything, but I’ve seen those trees. Anyone that would even think of using them has to be stopped.”

Sy entered the debate cautiously, made a point of his own, a consideration of the humans in Burbon. “I don’t know much of these shadow trees, but I do know the dwarves are a threat. They attacked us. They attacked the elves. You can’t fault them for wanting to defend themselves. The dwarves want to kill us, all of us.”

Ryson shook his head. “Not all of them, and I can tell you about these trees. They would kill every dwarf in Dunop.” He turned his attention back to Lief and Holli. “What about that? What about the dwarves that resist Yave? The ones that wanted us to warn the algors, to help them remove Yave from power and stop the separatists? Do they really want to attack us? Do they deserve a torturous death? And what about Jon? Does he deserve to die because some irresponsible elf is worried about his own stupid reputation?” His voice got rougher as he directed more and more of his reply at Holli. It was soon evident he was questioning the elf guard. “What does that make the elves? Jon stood with me, stood with us, to defeat Ingar, to save the land, including the elves that were being poisoned by the magic. Is this how we repay him? We destroy his home with the worse nightmare I’ve ever encountered. Is that what you’re protecting?”

Holli remained steadfast in her reply. “I protect the elders of my camp as well as all elves. The eldest is the leader. It is not my position to question his decisions. If you tried to enter my camp with the intention of harming Petiole, I would do everything in my power to stop you.”

Ryson’s disbelief widened. “This is ridiculous.”

Lief listened to the delver with commiseration. This same debate, these same questions raged in his own soul the moment Petiole announced he would use the shadow tree seeds. He began to reel in his own anger at Ryson. He knew what fed the delver’s passion. In truth, it fed his own. He would rather see Petiole removed from power than face the prospect of living with the guilt of unleashing the seeds upon the dwarves. He would even accept the responsibility to kill Petiole, if that was a plausible solution. It wasn’t, as he understood the elf culture. He knew what Holli went through to become an elf guard, knew what oath she swore. Ryson did not know these things.

The elf did his best to explain the facts of the situation. His voice was filled with regret as he tried to reassure the delver of what was simply not possible. “I know how you feel about the shadow trees. I feel the same way. I also agree that Petiole has no right to unleash such a weapon just to reaffirm his authority. Be that as it may, I can not blame Holli for what she has said. She is an elf guard. She takes an oath so strong it has never been broken. It is more than just a promise to the leaders or even to the camp. It is also more than just tradition.”

Lief rubbed his hands together as he searched for a way to explain the unexplainable. “I believe I know you well enough to say that you would do anything to keep your own word. Holli’s oath is beyond just giving her word. It might be like you making an oath tied to the blessing you have with the woman who stands beside you. If you break that promise, you irrevocably destroy that very same blessing. That is the strength in her own responsibility. She can not question it, no more than you can question the feelings you have for this woman.”

At first, Ryson wished to debate the issue. No promise was worth committing this crime. No oath of service was so strong as to deny morality. What was this elf saying to him? That killing off every dwarf in Dunop, the innocent along with the guilty, that was simply acceptable because the elf guard swore to protect their own.

His mouth opened to protest just as Linda gently held him at his arm. He looked to her. He saw his own life in her eyes, his happiness, his future. He would kill to protect her.

His focus shifted to Holli. He saw pain. The elf guard held her oath as sacred as Ryson held Linda. In this moment, that same oath was forcing her to do something which was justified by no other reason. He saw the grief in her choice, the grief he would feel if he committed murder to protect his own love.

Ryson swelled with regret. His harsh words to the elf guard forced their way back into his memory like the returning tide. He immediately babbled out an apology. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t blame you. I didn’t understand. I thought you were defending Petiole’s decision. I think I see it’s something more now. I am sorry.”

Holli simply nodded. She herself had doubts. For the first time in her life she faced a choice which actually brought her close to breaking her oath. Ryson said nothing which was not true. Despite the attack of the dwarves, she could not justify the use of the shadow trees. But elves had died in the face of the attack, more would die if tensions escalated. Wouldn’t the seeds save lives as well as take them? Then again, was that truly why they were being used? Petiole was doing nothing more than fighting for his own standing. He was wrong. She knew this. Yet, she must defend him, protect him. Her inner turmoil kept her silent.

Lief spoke up, placed the blame on its ultimate recipient. “What is being said here is nothing which hasn’t already been considered. This debate can rage forever without a proper conclusion. And no matter what we decide, it will not change Petiole’s decision. Still, he is not the true problem. Do not forget that it is Yave that is at the center of all our difficulties. Look around you. Why are these humans training? They know they will be attacked by the dwarves. Remember the algors? Who attacked them? Not Petiole. Again, it was the dwarves under Yave’s leadership. And as for Petiole himself, he would not be in the position he is currently in had Yave not ordered an assault on the elves as well. I say this not to justify the use of the shadow trees. I can never condone that. Unfortunately, there are many elder elves that do. And remember the algors. Any day now they will unleash their army of sand giants. It is Yave that is causing this. It is Yave that is the problem. As much as you hate the thought, there is little we can do about this.”

Ryson’s jaw was tight with emotion. He could not accept everything Lief said, but the underlying truth was undeniable. Whether it be shadow trees or sand giants, both were only reactions to dwarf attacks. Yave and her followers drew first blood, and there were no signs of her stopping. The first sin was hers, but that would not forgive the future sins, including sins of abeyance. He would not be faultless if he did nothing to stop this abomination. “That may well be, but I can’t just do nothing. There has to be a way to stop this.”

“You would have to stop Yave,” Lief replied firmly.

“Then that’s what I’ll have to try and do.”

The shadow of doubt quickly darkened Lief’s face. “And how will you accomplish this feat.”

Ryson clasped his hands together. He laid out the situation in simplicity. “Yave attacked the algors because she thought they were responsible for Tun’s death. I know that’s not true. I’ll have to convince her of that.”

“If you are considering what I think, it is foolishness. Yave will not listen to you,” Lief retorted. “You are a delver. Have you forgotten? She now sees you as an enemy as well. Why do you think she attacked this place?”

“I have to try.”

“Try what? Suicide? You are thinking of going to her, attempting to sway her opinion. That much I can see. She’ll have you killed.”

The words fell like bricks upon Linda. She looked to Ryson with growing dread of his intentions. “You can’t do this.”

“I have to do something. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”

“You can’t be irrational either,” Lief admonished.

“Listen to him, Ry,” Linda implored, pleading while tears filled her eyes. “What good would it do if you just get