Delver Magic III: Balance of Fate, Jeff Inlo [most popular ebook readers .txt] 📗

Connel, Holli considered the darkness as a possible hindrance to their plans.

“When we direct the humans down here, they’re not going to be able to see. It’s going to be well after sunset when the evacuation should begin. There are thousands of humans that need to be evacuated, that’s going to take the entire night. That means they are going to be in the caves, even during the greatest darkness of midnight. There will be much going on above them and asking them exit through such a dark passage is to invite panic.”

Ryson sheathed his sword and examined the dim light of the tunnels.

“You’re right,” Ryson agreed. “They’re not going to like what’s happening as it is and if it’s this dark, many will probably panic. I could stay in the tunnels and help direct them. With my sword unsheathed that would give more than enough light. Anyway, we need someone down here to guide these people to the right caves.”

“That task should fall to me,” Holli stated. “You know Connel far better than I do. You also have speed I can’t hope to match. Connel’s center is large and we have to assume the people are spread out. You must be on the surface to spread the word of the escape plan. Lief also must go as he has the best knowledge of the city’s situation directly after the goblins took over.”

Ryson considered the point and he could not argue. “Would you argue with taking my sword? I’m not going to want to draw attention to myself when I’m out in the open, so I’m not going to be using it. Seems to me it would serve a better purpose down here.”

“The idea has merit, but I don’t like the idea of you going unarmed up into the city.”

At this point, a dwarf in charge of the excavating moved forward to the elves and delver.

“Do not concern yourselves with the lack of light,” the dwarf stated gruffly. “We have anticipated such a problem and already have the answer. We have brought several light gems that we will setup in but a few moments. These tunnels are constructed to direct the light forward and redirect it down many shafts. Based on how we station the gems, we can send the light all the way to Connel as well as to the far eastern end of the corridors which will be your final destination.”

Ryson nodded, but then for the first time began considering other potential problems he did not think of before. He questioned the dwarf further on what to expect.

“The tunnels that we plan on using that go eastward beyond Connel, how will we exit? Is the tunnel open at the end? If so, where will the people end up when they come back out on the surface?”

“It is open,” the dwarf replied. “It breaks into a dry stream bed. If it were the start of the growing season, it would be half filled with water. At this time, the waterways that feed it run low before the snow melt. The humans leave it alone since it floods during their planting season. For your purposes, it should be fine. Once your people are in the open, they will be in the prairie lands east of Connel, not very far from several farm outposts.”

Ryson nodded happily, then he thought of his own needs.

“What about getting from the tunnel up into Connel? The people of Connel had to fill in the outlets by now. I’m sure they didn’t just leave open holes all over the place.”

“They probably have, but not all. We created many access points, some of which lead to the sub-basements of older buildings. We kept these exit points hidden so that we could move in and out of the tunnels without being seen. They are marked on your map.”

“That’s actually going to work in our favor,” Ryson remarked as he considered what he was told. “We can guide people to these points and they can escape under cover as opposed to dropping into the ground in plain site. Even if the serp and the other dark creatures are occupied with Sy’s attack, one of them is bound to notice lines of people dropping into the ground in the middle of some road.”

Lief had opened the map and was already reviewing certain sections. “This will hasten our work. We will not have to guide the humans directly to the openings. We can direct them to these buildings here, here and here,” he said as he pointed to the map. “They can enter the tunnels themselves and Holli can direct them down the proper passage to the east. With luck, we may be able to pull this off. The most difficult part is going to be spreading the word and keeping the humans from making a panicked escape.”

The dwarf turned about. “The clearing is nearly complete. In but a few moments, we will set the light gems. Your paths will be clear to you. Simply follow the direction of the light.” The dwarf kept moving but he pointed his arm out to his right side. “Remember that direction is north. These tunnels do not curve. They are built in straight lines. Turns will be obvious, so keep your point of reference about you and you will always know which way is east.”

“Looks like we get moving,” Ryson said as he gathered up their supplies.

#

Sy rode side-by-side with Colonel Haravin the commander of Fort Nebran. Haravin had already heard what happened to Connel from the cavalry that reached the fort days earlier. He needed little convincing to assist Sy in his plans. In less than two days, they combined their forces with every outpost in the region.

The entire militia rode upon horseback as it set out for Connel. For the most part, the eastern farmlands were flat, wide open plains which allowed for the battalion to stretch across the horizon. They moved in unison, a long unbroken line, several horses deep. They carried spears and bows and mulled over the coming battle. Those that belonged to Connel’s cavalry took the lead. They vowed to free the city or die.

Sy looked over the impressive array of men, horses, and weapons. “He’s going to see us coming, no reason to hide. Might as well let him see our numbers and give him something to think about.”

The colonel grunted. “He won’t need scouts, either. From every report I have, he’s got those blasted hook hawks circling the city. With those foul creatures in the air, he’s going to see us before we see them.”

“If you were Sazar, what would you do?” Sy asked.

The colonel didn’t need time to answer. “I’d stay put. He knows we didn’t come out here to just free the farmlands or retake supplies outside the city. With this many men, our mission is pretty clear. We’re going to attack. Now from what I’ve heard from Connel’s cavalry, he has thousands of goblins in that city. They’re armed with crossbows. If I were in charge of that force—keep them in position, that’s what I’d do. If he comes out to meet us in the open field, he gives up the advantage. He may be a bastard of a serp, but he’s not dumb. We need to give him the credit he’s due. I would bet the 4th regiment he’s going to force us to come to him.”

“So we’re going to have to face him in Connel’s streets.”

The colonel had already accepted that as fact. “Indeed, and that’s not going to be easy.”

“Well, it might not be easy, but if you’re right, and I’m sure you are, we can make time work for our advantage. From what Lief told me, he’s going to be having the farmers work the fields. We can start by freeing them first. We hit any goblin packs guarding the farms hard. We can do that while it’s still light. Once we have the farms secure, we do what he did. We surround the city. Hopefully, we can make him sweat a bit. Let’s focus on our strengths.”

“Aye, that’s never a bad idea,” the colonel replied as he clicked on his mount.

#

“It’s got to be around noon,” Ryson said as he inspected the light coming through the cave and calculated the time in his head. “Sy’s forces should already be advancing on the city. They’re going to hit tonight.”

Holli reviewed one of the maps given to them by the dwarves. She looked down one tunnel that led to the east and then up another that followed directly under Connel toward its center.

“Those that will be evacuating will be coming down this tunnel and they will have to turn here. This will send them to the east. According to the map, this tunnel goes due east right to the exit point. Once they’re moving in this direction, they can’t get lost and will have no problem getting out. That makes things much easier. We just have to make sure they make this turn.”

Ryson looked about the rock walls that made up these elaborate caves. He pulled the Sword of Decree and pressed its point into the stone. On the opening to the eastern passageway, he wrote the words ‘Exit this Way, Go to End!’ and an arrow pointing in the proper direction. On the wall that led back toward Dunop he carved ‘Do Not Enter, Danger!’ The sword left deep etchings that were clear for everyone to read.

Holli grabbed several stones and with them created a large arrow on the stone floor off to the side that pointed in the right direction. “Yours is better, but another sign won’t hurt. It will also probably get scattered as more travel this way, but once we get the people moving in the right direction, they will simply follow each other.”

Looking back toward Connel, Holli considered the task ahead of them. She then took another glance at the map that revealed the locations of hidden entrance points into Connel. “Assuming the humans never discovered these two passages, I would suggest that Ryson take this one and Lief you take that one.”

She pointed to the two corridors as Lief and Ryson stood by her side. “Ryson, yours should come up several blocks northwest of the city center and Lief’s will provide access more to the southeast. You will be several blocks apart and can thus cover more of the city. If you both move clockwise for a half circle and then turn inward and move counterclockwise you will not end up covering the same ground.”

“Works for me,” Ryson agreed.

“I will be waiting for them very near these passageways,” Holli continued. “I will move back and forth to each as fast as I can. Tell the first few that you send to wait for my instructions once they are inside the tunnels. After that, simply tell the rest to follow those that have gone down before them. We should be able to create a constant flow. That will, in fact, be the only way we can get most of the people out by sunrise anyway. May I suggest that you take care in the first people you contact. It is important that they are capable and of strong will. I will most likely choose several of the more competent to assist in offering instructions to those that start moving down the tunnels. If any show panic up on the streets, do not approach them until much later. We can’t afford panic in the tunnels, especially in the beginning.”

“What of those that do not wish to leave?” Lief asked

“Move on and let them stay where they are,” Holli responded firmly.

Ryson was about to argue and Holli sensed it before he spoke a word. “Ryson,