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

Holli found the strength to finally speak. “They are right, delver. You would accomplish nothing but your own death. You are now the enemy of the dwarves in Dunop. If you attempt to speak to the queen, she will have you killed as a spy. Do not forget who you are dealing with. Yave has imprisoned her own son. If she is capable of that, she is capable of anything. She has no reason to listen to you.”

“But I was there. I can tell her.” Ryson halted with this thought as another burst into his head. “Wait a minute, wait a minute! Dzeb! Dzeb was there, too. He can tell her.”

Lief and Holli did not immediately reject the idea. They appeared to consider it with slight puzzlement.

Ryson continued. “You’re right. Yave won’t believe me, but how can she refuse a cliff behemoth. She can’t. They don’t lie. They dedicate their lives to the word of Godson. This can work. I can bring Dzeb into Dunop. He will speak the truth. Once she realizes Tun was killed by the sphere and not by the algors, all of this will end. Even if she doesn’t accept it, the other dwarves of Dunop will. She will lose her power. They won’t follow her if she openly refutes a cliff behemoth.”

Lief displayed hesitation. “I don’t know, let me think about this.”

“What’s there to think about? No one in the land, not even Yave could deny a cliff behemoth. She would have no choice. She would lose all her reasons to attack any of us.”

Lief frowned. “What you say is possible, but you forget many things. You must first find Dzeb, that will take time. Of that, you have little to none. Even now, plans are being made to drop the seeds.”

“You can delay them,” the delver demanded. “Tell Petiole of my plan. Tell him I’m not trying to stop him. I’m trying to stop Yave. If it works, Yave will have to admit her fault. There won’t be anymore challenges to his leadership, and he won’t have to drop the seeds. Wouldn’t that be the best solution to his problem? He has to give me a chance. All I’m asking for is a few days.”

“Even if I could convince him to wait, what about the algors? They will not wait. I expect that even now they are carving the bodies of the sand giants. They will be released soon. While you go searching for Dzeb, the sand giants may destroy Dunop.”

“I don’t think so,” Holli interrupted. “In order for the algors to send enough sand giants to destroy Dunop, it will take them at least several more days. I doubt they will send an inadequate force. They will surely want to make the first attack overwhelming. They may be able to carve that amount quickly, but they will still need time to collect the magical energy needed to animate all of them.”

Enin’s interest leapt to untold heights. “Truly? A spell of animation?”

Holli spoke guardedly of the use of magic. “It is a powerful spell. It brings life to rock, and as far as elflore goes, it has only been cast by the algors.”

Even if it was a spell beyond the power of a human, the thought of such a conjuration enticed the wizard. “And it will take them time to collect the magic? It must use a great amount of energy.”

Holli offered an explanation, but somewhat reluctantly. “Yes and no. The power is great, but not as much as you might think. As a human wizard, you store magical energy within you. The algors do not. They take the magical energy directly from the air. They can collect it, but only hold it temporarily.” She spoke the rest of the explanation to Ryson. “This gives you the time you need. In order to animate an adequate number of sand giants, the algors will need more time to collect the magic. I believe your idea has merit.”

Lief was not so willing. “It may give him a few days, but not unlimited time. He has to first find Dzeb. That in itself could take a season.”

“I don’t think so,” Ryson objected. “I think I know where Dzeb is. Based on what I learned from him when he came to us, he lives in the Colad Mountains. For me, the trip to the north range is less than a half day’s journey. I can be there before nightfall today.”

“But then you have to escort him back,” Lief reminded the delver. “He will not move as fast as you.”

“Are you kidding? His legs are double the length of mine. Maybe they don’t move as fast, but his stride is twice as long as any of ours. We can be back here before midday tomorrow and to the Dunop entrance before the following nightfall. That’s all we need.”

Lief began to succumb, but Linda voiced her own objections.

“But then what? You can’t just walk into Dunop. They might kill you.”

“I don’t think so,” Ryson reassured her. “Even if I was alone, they’d want to take me prisoner first, try to find out what I know. If I’m with Dzeb, they might not even come near me. Remember, we’re talking about a cliff behemoth here. I know you’ve never seen one. You just have to take my word for it. Just the sight of one is awe-inspiring.”

Linda wanted to protest further, wanted to keep Ryson from endangering himself. She wondered if saving the dwarves was worth the stakes he was willing to risk. He answered the question for her.

“You have to let me do this. I won’t be able to forgive myself if I don’t try. I don’t think either one of us would want to live with that.”

The image burned its imprint in her picture of the future. Ryson despondent, guilt-laden, and worse. He would blame her. He would wish to be free of her. He would seek the escape of exploring as only a delver would. His excursions would become longer and farther from home. It would be hard enough to keep him anchored as it was. This would destroy them. She gave him the only answer she could.

“Do what you have to.”

Lief would still not let this be the final word. “There is yet one more consideration. If I can prevail upon Petiole to delay the use of the shadow trees, there will be nothing to slow the dwarf army. Most of us agree that Burbon is now Yave’s most likely target. Your plan puts this town and all its inhabitants in great danger. Are you willing to accept this risk as well?”

This was not something Ryson expected. He did have a responsibility to the safety of the people around him. He viewed his plan to stop the use of the shadow trees as his moral obligation. Did he accept the price? Was it even his choice to make? The seeds were a horror, but using them or not using them might decide whether the people of Burbon would live or die. He dropped his forehead to his hands, crushed by the weight of the decision.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled.

Sy did not let him face the decision alone. He spoke with the authority that was his as the leader of Burbon. “That decision is not simply his own to make. If you’re talking about the safety of this town, you speak to me. Now we all seem to believe the dwarves will attack Burbon next, but we don’t know when. You say these shadow trees will stop this attack, but so might Ryson’s plan. If he stops their leader before she orders the next attack, we will be as safe as if these trees you’re talking about destroyed their entire city. From what Ryson tells me, these trees will kill everyone, innocent civilians as well as the dwarf army. I know I don’t want that on my conscience. Maybe the best thing to do is change our tactics. Maybe we can’t defeat the dwarf army, but I can consider different strategies to hold them at bay if they do attack. After all, what we’re fighting for now is time. I would even consider temporarily evacuating the town, anything that would buy Ryson the time he needed.”

Holli’s respect for Sy elevated to that of an equal elf guard. She heard sincerity in his words and iron in his will. He was willing to consider all options to make Ryson’s plan work. He did so not simply to protect his own people, the humans, but to save the lives of dwarves, a race he had only encountered in battle. Her tone carried that respect as she offered him the only true alternative.

“I do not think evacuation will help you. If the dwarves do attack before Ryson brings Dzeb to Dunop, they will catch you in the process of leaving the city. You will not be able to defend yourself, especially if you are walking on open roads. I do, however, see another option you may consider. Will you hear it?”

“Of course.”

“I can order a contingent of elf guards to help defend your town. I can tell you how to fight to avoid great casualties. You will not be able to defeat the dwarves completely, but you will have a chance to hold them off and protect most of your town for at least a day or two. The dwarves will not expect the defenses you will throw at them. It should frustrate them. I can not guarantee anything but a greater chance at survival.”

Lief spoke out once more, one last decree at the choice involved. “Let none of us make a mistake about this. That is what we all face. Survival. Though none of us may wish to consider it, the shadow trees would stop the dwarves and enhance all of our chances to live. But we all also seem to be against such a thing. Still, I want it to be clear. While we wish to save Dunop, we risk our own lives, some of us to the hands of the very same dwarves that have brought this conflict upon us. Is this what we all say? If so, I shall do my part, I will convince Petiole to hold off on using the seeds. He can refuse my ideas, but he can’t refuse listening to them. As Ryson has said, I have gained enough status within my camp to force a meeting of all the elders. I will talk for two days if that is what is necessary. That will give him the time to bring Dzeb to my camp. Once that is accomplished, Petiole will have no choice but to let Ryson carry out the remainder of his mission. If, however, Ryson can not find Dzeb as easily as he believes, this may all be for naught. I can not stall the elders indefinitely. Petiole will give his order and the seeds will be dropped. We will have taken a great risk for nothing. I say this not because I doubt Ryson, I only wish to make our situation clear.”

Lief paused, took a deep breath, before finishing with conviction. “I say we take the risk and give the delver his chance, but my risk is not as great as the others. What about the rest of you? Are we all in agreement?”

They were.