Delver Magic I: Sanctum's Breach, Jeff Inlo [buy e reader .txt] 📗

mayor smiled. “Fine. That makes things easy. I can have a fresh horse sent to the church right now, and have another waiting for you at Pinesway for your return trip.” The mayor then spoke with a guarded yet questioning tone. “I have one more question for you. You spoke of representatives of other races. Who will be representing my people?”

Uneasiness filled the room. Matthew looked about absently. He wished to make no comment.

Mappel shifted the grip on his staff. He looked back and forth from the mayor to the reader. “That has not really been decided as of yet. For the moment, the reader Matthew is acting as an intermediary. His knowledge of the legends has allowed for an easier communication of the problems we face.”

“That’s fine, but don’t you think you should be consulting someone that understands all of the people? Reader Matthew represents the followers of the Church of Godson. I would think you should include me in any of your decisions which might affect this town. After all, I am the duly elected official of Connel, and it is Connel which has much at stake.” The sentence was punctuated by Consprite’s almost harsh, questioning stare.

“I can not say whether that is wise or not,” Mappel offered, hoping for an escape from this new dilemma. He fished for a quick response which might rationalize keeping the mayor at bay. “We need those that will understand the legends, those that will offer knowledge of the past beyond your recorded history.”

“Yet you also need someone who will assist you in how things are run in the present,” the mayor nudged the elder elf. “If you expect assistance or even acceptance from the people of this town, you simply must gain the backing of someone in authority. At the present, I am that someone.”

Mappel grunted with dissatisfaction. “I do not know. There are other concerns. You must realize that this is not simply between the elves and the humans. Representatives of other races will also be involved. Others may question your presence. It is not only my decision. I would not want to insult the other leaders by simply accepting you. I would be stepping beyond my experience and knowledge.”

The mayor was not put off, not for a moment. “But it sounds as if it was your decision to meet at Connel. And it was your decision to speak with the reader. You seem to have more power over this than you’re willing to admit. Now, I can’t claim complete understanding, but I already know of what has been happening around this town. Even the reader can’t say that. I also offered you assistance with the gathering of the strangers you wish to bring here. I expect that entitles me to be informed of what’s going on, what other decisions you might make, and how Connel will be affected. For the last, I will demand that, no matter what your wishes are. I am still the mayor here.”

Mappel wished to speak of this no further. He might have found it difficult to read the intentions of Consprite, but he knew he did not like the mayor’s insistence at being included within all their decisions. Uneasily, he made one more attempt to sway Consprite toward a lesser role.

“You will be alerted to all things which might directly affect your people and this town. That seems to be more than a reasonable request. We will also defer to you as the authority in how to deal with all matters involving the general population of Connel. If any services are needed, such as horses, blacksmiths, forgers or craftsman, we will of course come to you. We will also alert you to any of our activities which might, even in the slightest way, gain the attention of any of the townspeople. As to your request for being a representative for our discussions, I must defer on that decision. You will simply have to accept that of all the races, the humans have gained the most distrust of the others. The dwarves, the algors, even the elves have lived to remain hidden from your people. The humans themselves have shown a desire to forsake the past and to ignore the legends. Indeed, for the past hundreds of seasons, the humans even refuse to accept the existence of other races. Even you can not deny that.”

Mappel paused to let the mayor speak. He looked at Consprite, expecting him to reply.

“I won’t deny that your presence is new to me, but …”

Mappel spoke quickly to cut off further remarks. “But that is what I must focus upon. Can you even tell me of the legends which are now central to what we face?”

“I do not know of …”

Again Mappel seized the opportunity to direct the conversation. “And you should not be blamed for not knowing. It was not your way, but it is of great importance at this moment. The trial we face is based upon legends contained in elflore, dwarf tales, and even the Book of Godson. You pointed out that I decided to meet with the Reader Matthew. That is because he is familiar with the legends I speak of.”

The mayor glared in frustration at being interrupted in both cases.

Mappel continued with reverence. “Since humans have forgotten the past, it is not unreasonable for us to first meet with those that will have a better understanding of what we face.”

Consprite frowned sourly. He knew Mappel had seized a small victory in temporarily sealing him from the intended meetings. He was about to make one final attempt to reassert himself when the door to his office flung open.

A woman not known to Consprite pushed forward and out of the reach of the mayor’s assistant, Kendal, who followed behind her with outstretched hands. The woman revealed an immediate sense of relief at finding the reader. She also maintained a look of bewildered excitement.

“Thank Godson I found you,” she spoke with heavy breaths.

“Rachael?” Matthew turned to her and caught her arm.

Kendal tried to move further into the room, but Lief stepped in front of him with a menacing scowl. His agility surprised the assistant, who almost turned and ran back out of the office. He gathered himself quickly as he caught the familiar and questioning face of the mayor. At first the assistant wished to question the presence of such strange men with pointed ears, but Kendal had already witnessed far stranger things these past few days. As the mayor’s chief aide, he was privy to the reports of nearly every occurrence. He wrote most of them out himself.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Kendal said with a heavy breath, as he stepped slightly back and away from Lief. He tilted the upper half of his body to the left to gain a clear view of the mayor. “I tried to stop her, but she ran past me.”

Matthew ignored the assistant. “What is it, Rachael?”

“He’s back!” she blurted out.

Matthew was about to ask who she was referring to, but the excitement on her face made the answer clear. He held his tongue and spoke reassuringly to the wide-eyed woman. “It’s alright, Rachael. We expected him.”

The reader then turned to the mayor. “You’ll have to excuse her. Like you, I have also kept things from my people. Little surprises like this are bound to occur.”

The mayor said nothing. He sized up the words of the reader along with the continued excitement of the woman.

Interesting, he thought to himself.

Matthew wished to waste no further time with the mayor. He had questions himself. Although he could guess as whose arrival excited Rachael so, he could not fathom how he returned so quickly. He had sent word out only this morning. In truth, he had no idea where to send his messengers. He only pinpointed the closest churches of their faith hoping they might have an idea. He believed the hardest part would be trying to find him. It was unthinkable that any messenger could have located him so quickly. Perhaps, even the will of Godson was aiding them now.

“Mayor,” Matthew announced, “you must forgive us, but I must leave. I will keep you informed as to those things that will affect Connel. If you have your guards bring our newly arriving guests to our church, I will appreciate it. I’m sure we will meet with you again to discuss any questions that arise between now and then.”

He said nothing more as he turned his back on Consprite. He led Rachael and the two elves quickly out of the mayor’s office.

The mayor bit back an order for them to stay. He watched dubiously as all but his assistant walked from his office.

When they had left, he motioned for Kendal close the door.

“I want someone placed on watch outside that church of theirs,” Consprite growled. “I want it watched night and day without their knowledge, and I want someone we can trust. I also want you to get me a tracker, a human tracker. Get word to Evan Chase. I have a job for him. There’s a delver I want tracked.”

The assistant nodded, he considered asking about the men with the pointed ears, but decided against it. He recognized the tone of the mayor. Silently, he went to open the door. As his hand hit the knob, Consprite gave one more order, a strange order to his ears at least.

“And get me a copy of the Book of Godson.”