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

must have lost my balance almost immediately, but I seemed to be hanging in the air forever. The next thing I remember I was here. I’ve been told a few of the church followers saw me leave to help the soldiers. They followed behind and brought me back, put a tourniquet on what was left of my leg. I have no idea who it was. The only thing I can really see clearly is the face of that soldier when the dwarf woman finished him off. He felt it. I know it.”

The reader coughed. He endeavored to press these blood soaked images from his mind, but they would never release him. This particular nightmare would never fade completely from his consciousness. It would become the sole event which would always remind him of the brutality which was possible in this world. Whether he lived only one more day or one hundred more cycles of the season, he would never forget the carnage of this single battle.

The narration haunted Ryson as well. He pictured what might have happened had the dwarves focused their strength on Burbon instead of Connel. What if they attacked there with thousands instead of just a few? What if they are planning to do so tonight? The question caused an ache, and yet again, he felt the pressure of time. Each moment which passed, Burbon remained vulnerable, Linda remained in danger. He had to move quickly, but unfortunately, he had no further moves to make. He came to the church hoping for advice from the reader, perhaps the reader might accompany him to Lief’s camp in Dark Spruce. He hoped if he could reassemble those that stood at Sanctum, it might carry more weight in convincing Petiole to not use the seeds of the shadow trees. He knew it would be asking the reader to take a great risk, but now, with the reader’s injury, such a request moved beyond difficult and into the realm of impossible.

Matthew seemed oblivious to Ryson’s contemplations. He continued his narrative with a dull sorrow as he described the aftermath of the attack.

“Most people are homeless. At least two thirds of the structures sustained damage. I haven’t seen for myself, but some of the other followers have scouted around town. They’ve been trying to set up temporary shelters. They’re trying to rebuild as quick as possible. Not a good time for that. It’s not like it’s the beginning of the growing season. Dormancy will be here in a matter of days. I can feel the chill of the wind even in here.

“It’s a good thing we have a new mayor, an honest one. She’s getting the people together, but she’s facing many problems. The army has to rebuild, and people that might be helping in the construction are training for war. We have no idea if the dwarves will come back.

“That in itself has created another problem. A good many people are leaving now. They’re just picking up and heading east, out into the plains. Rumor is spreading that the dwarves don’t like the ground out there. It’s too soft. They say the dwarves live mainly in the hills and the mountains. They think they’ll be safe in the flatlands.

“I don’t know whether to believe that or not. I just know that most everyone’s beyond just being scared. It’s fear and uncertainty mixed together. We didn’t know why the dwarves attacked. Even now that you’ve explained it to me, I have a hard time understanding, and we don’t know if they’ll be back. I can have word sent to the mayor as to what you have told me. She’ll try to explain it to the people, but do you think they’ll accept it? Two seasons ago most everyone around here didn’t even believe in dwarves. This is insanity to them. People dead, the city destroyed, all by creatures of a dream.

“I guess we should be somewhat thankful. Most of the farms were completely untouched. The stocks of grain in the silos remain. Those of us that stay, we won’t starve, but I don’t know if we will survive the fear.”

Matthew coughed again. Once in control of his breathing, he realized he had been doing all the talking. He took a long look at Ryson and considered his appearance. He saw the conflict, saw the doubt within the delver. It raised many questions. “You didn’t think you’d find us this way, did you? You didn’t come here to help us with the dwarves; you came here for something else.”

“In truth, I came for your help,” Ryson admitted candidly

Matthew’s intuitiveness was rather remarkable, especially considering his situation. “Was Burbon attacked as well?!”

“Yes, but not like this. They only sent a few. Our soldiers managed to fight them off. We were very lucky.”

“Then why did you come here?”

Ryson quickly explained his intentions. When he spoke of Dzeb’s refusal, Matthew displayed disbelief.

“He wouldn’t offer his help?”

“He said it wasn’t his place.”

“So he would let everyone suffer?” Matthew seemed almost incredulous.

“I don’t think that’s how he sees it. I guess he thinks we’re creating our own suffering and it’s up to us to stop it. Either that or he wants more of a sign from Godson. Maybe you understand it better.”

“I don’t understand it at all. It’s inexcusable.” Matthew was rather resolute in his judgment. His face soured at the thought of the cliff behemoth refusing to help.

Ryson offered solace so as to calm the wounded reader. “Don’t be too hard on him. I was at first. I was mad at him. That’s hard. Just looking in their faces, all you can see is peaceful content. It still bothered me he wouldn’t help, but I started to think about it as I was coming here. It may be a blessing that they can remain so detached from such things. I mean, what would happen if the cliff behemoths started to think it was their right to interfere in every single matter? I don’t know how many of them live up in those mountains, but I’m sure there’s enough to basically take over. If they wanted to, I’m sure they could dictate everything we do.”

“We’re not talking about that,” Matthew objected. “We’re talking about Dzeb’s unwillingness to stop this war.”

“It may be the same thing,” Ryson countered. “I know it sounds strange. I’m arguing against my own point, but I’m also a delver. I have to examine things, learn from what I see and hear. Dzeb doesn’t want to help me, and at first that really angered me. It still does. I think he should step forward. He was at Sanctum. He knows that what happened was no one’s fault. He should say so, but that’s only my opinion. He has a reason for not acting. Whether I accept it or not, I have to admit that the reason holds at least some merit.”

“You’re defending him?”

“I don’t think so. I’m just taking a hard look at what might happen if they interfered all the time.”

“Interference is not the equivalent of correcting a grievous error,” Matthew stated firmly.

Ryson shrugged. “I know, but that’s his decision.”

“So you came here to see if I would go with you to speak with this Petiole.” Matthew paused to contemplate the idea. “I would like to go, but I would have liked some time to heal a bit more.”

“I appreciate that, but I can’t have you go with me now. It would probably kill you, and you’d slow me down. I guess it doesn’t really matter anymore. I can’t think of anything else to do. The dwarves won’t listen to me. They’ll continue to attack. The algors will send their sand giants and the elves will drop the seeds. I guess it’ll all be over soon enough. No way to stop any of it now. It still bothers me, though, even after seeing all this destruction. The entire city of Dunop shouldn’t be destroyed just because one woman went mad with grief. I only hope the delay I caused didn’t lead to more deaths in Burbon. That would be hard to live with.”

“If that is the case, you can’t blame yourself. You did what you thought you had to do.”

“It wasn’t enough,” Ryson responded sadly. “Anyway, if you’re worrying about the dwarves, my guess is they won’t be back here in force. At least not right away, and probably not at all. Both Lief and Holli agree. They think the dwarves are going to set their sights on Burbon. Besides that, the algors will be sending the sand giants, and I probably won’t be able to stop Petiole from dropping the seeds. Dunop and the dwarves will most likely be destroyed in a few days. You can tell your mayor that.”

The reader nodded, almost with a thankful nod to the heavens. “I will. It will probably help her a good deal. It’s already easing my mind.”

Ryson placed a hand on the reader’s shoulder. “I’m glad I could be of some help. If you need anything from me, just send word to Burbon. I’ll do whatever I can to get it to you. I’ll be back when this is over to see how you’re doing.”

Matthew nodded. “Thank you. I look forward to seeing you.”

He watched the delver turn to leave. As he did, he saw the sheath of the sword at Ryson’s side. An image ignited. He thought of the sword and its power as he remembered it. He blurted out a question. “Is that still the magic sword? The Sword of Decree?”

Ryson stopped and eyed the reader with a perplexed expression. “Yes, it is.”

“The same sword that Dzeb told you to hand to Tun in this church basement?”

“Yes.”

“Tun didn’t believe the sphere should be destroyed,” Matthew noted out loud. “I remember that clearly. He was against the release of the magic. He wanted to encase the sphere, bury it again. He wouldn’t listen to reason. You let him hold the sword and his opinion changed. He saw the truth behind the sphere, he saw what he needed to do.”

Ryson understood in an instant. “You think it would work on Yave?”

“If it has been blessed with such a power, I can not see why not.”

“I didn’t even think of that.” Ryson rubbed his chin in careful consideration. “I would have to get her to hold it, and I have no idea if it would do anything. It doesn’t work on command or anything like that.”

Matthew tried to sit up. He pulled himself forward slowly as he found strength in his own faith. He considered the events of the past two seasons. He thought of the prophecies of Godson and how the future and their fate now seemed to be in their own hands. He remembered the scene on Sanctum Mountain where the delver found the power to destroy Ingar. He believed that that was a blessing of Godson. He spoke of the present with the same conviction. “If you were meant to stop this war, it will work. You have to have faith in that. You intended to enter Dunop with Dzeb. You must still go. I don’t envy you. I don’t even know what your chances might be. I guess you have to ask yourself if you really believe it’s your responsibility to stop this.”

Ryson waved aside any concern over his own safety and focused on an immediate question. “But how do I get to Yave to hold the sword?”

“How did you intend to enter the city without them killing you on sight even if you were with Dzeb?”

“I figured I’d be worth more as a prisoner, they’d want to question me.”

“If they question you, you can challenge them to hold the sword. Again, I go back to