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

bar first. He was looking for you. Apparently when you last saw him, you told him there was someone special at the Borderline. I only hope you were talking about me. I wanted to help him find you and I didn’t want an elf looking around on his own. We went to see if you were with Sy, but some of the guards said you were still out on a scout. I figured this was the best place to wait for you.”

Ryson would not have been able to hide his happiness had he wanted to. “It’s great to see you, Lief. Godson, it seems like only yesterday, but then again it seems like forever. I never would have believed to see you here. I remember how much you hated being in Connel. I can’t imagine this place is any better for you. They didn’t give you any trouble at the gate, did they?”

Lief shook his head. “No, they thought I was just another human.”

“Another human? Not likely.” He turned to Linda. “This is the first elf I ever met. I didn’t even know elves existed, and he just dropped out of a tree.”

“I know,” she replied with a smile. “You’ve told me a hundred times.”

Ryson swerved his attention back to Lief. The delver wore an excited grin. Here before him was a friend, but also an elf. Indeed, he had tried to explain it to Linda a hundred times before, but he never believed words would do it justice. Now, he had a much better way. “Hey, do me a favor. Show Linda your ears. She’s never seen an elf before.”

Lief sighed, but acquiesced. He pulled the long brown hair away from his ears, revealing their pointed tips.

Ryson looked to Linda. “Amazing?”

“Not for me. You’ve told me enough about elves and dwarves. I never doubted you. You can’t expect me to be as shocked as you were. I’ve already been through things like goblin raids.” She looked towards Lief. “You’ll have to forgive him. Since we’re getting married, he wants me to know everything he knows. Some people might get excited at the sight of an elf, but I know how much you helped keep him alive. I’m more grateful to you than anything else.”

“Married?” Lief offered a wide smile to the couple. “Congratulations to you both.”

Linda returned the smile. She gave Ryson a slight hug as her hand slipped around his waist. “Thank you. We don’t have a date yet. Everyone, even me, is having a hard time adjusting to the changes. We thought it would be better if we gave it some time for everyone to adjust to what’s happening. There’s so much going on right now.”

“More than you know,” Lief added

Ryson immediately caught the tone of this grave announcement. For the first time, he truly examined the elf’s expression. There was joy to be sure, joy in seeing a friend, but there was also concern, attention on a not so distant problem. He also considered what would make the elf leave Dark Spruce. What would make Lief willingly enter the walls of Burbon?

“You’re not here to just say hello, are you? What’s going on?”

Lief cleared his throat, as if reluctant to state the true purpose of his visit. “I’m afraid there is a great problem arising.”

“Again?”

Lief acknowledged the reference to their last problem; the trek through Sanctum’s core, the battle with Ingar, and the final destruction of the sphere. “No, this is not quite the same. In truth, this does not even really affect the humans, and only to a slight degree the elves. But it does involve us. You and me. It involves all who stood together within Sanctum to save the land. It has much to do with the dwarves and what happened to Tun.”

Ryson grimaced at the memory.

Linda’s focus shifted from the elf to her fianc�. She felt a tenseness growing in his body. She knew the pain he felt when he recalled those who died to save the land from the sphere. Tun was one of three to give their lives at Sanctum, and it was a memory that would always haunt Ryson. She turned back to Lief and spoke up to prevent a lingering silence. “Ryson told me of what happened in the mountain. Tun died while helping to destroy the sphere. Why is that causing a problem?”

Not knowing how much Linda knew of the events, Lief recounted the most important highlights. “Tun was a prince, the son of King Bol and Queen Yave, rulers of Dunop. Tun was killed by a sand giant, a creation of the algors. Jon, Tun’s brother who was also with us in Sanctum, reported the event upon his return to Dunop. Things spiraled out of control after that moment.

“Things were hard enough in Dunop as it was. The dwarves were split about helping destroy the sphere at the very start. Many of them are afraid of the magic. When Jon returned with the sad story, the magic was already loose, and the dwarves were ready to blame anyone for their fears. The king became an easy target. It seems Bol could not live with the guilt of sending his son to his death. He relinquished the throne to Jon and banished himself from Dunop.”

“So Jon’s now the king?” Ryson interrupted. His delver instincts kicked in as he attempted to imagine the circumstances in the underground city. He openly wondered of the sequence of events and Jon’s ability to lead. “That has to be tough, facing the death of his brother and now his father leaves. How’s he doing?”

“He is no longer the king,” Lief replied gravely. “Queen Yave would not support her younger son. I am told she blames him as much as she blames the algors.”

At first, Ryson appeared dumbfounded. Nothing could be further from the truth. He shook his head as if to get the words from his mouth. “That’s ridiculous. Jon had nothing to do with it, and neither did the algors. The sphere prevented the algors from controlling the giants. Tun attacked on his own. That’s why he died.”

“I am afraid that is not how Yave sees it.”

“What has she done?”

“She made a deal with the separatists, a group of dwarves that want to end all ties with every other race. That is why I said it affects the elves only slightly and the humans not at all. The humans have no working relation with the dwarves. You would probably not even notice the change. As for the elves, we will see an end to trade with Dunop. It is not such a major concern. A setback to our relations, yes, but we will certainly survive without their assistance. If it all stopped there, I might not even be here now, but breaking ties will apparently not satisfy Yave’s anger. She has declared war against the algors.”

Ryson rubbed his chin. He had known of wars between humans, but until this moment, he never truly considered a war involving the other races. He had difficulty envisioning what it might mean, a war between algor and dwarf, but what he could imagine did not sit well with him.

“You said Jon was no longer the king. What happened, and why can’t he stop this?”

“Rebellion, I’m afraid,” Lief replied. “Yave’s deal with the separatists included a violent overthrow of Jon. Apparently, separatist warriors stormed the palace, killing many dwarf guards loyal to the Folarok name. Jon has been imprisoned by his own mother. As far as the reports go, he is still alive, but it is difficult to confirm. If he is a prisoner, he would be kept in a palace cell. The separatists are careful, and they are making sure there is no challenge to Yave’s power. She retains her throne as queen and now rules without much resistance. This is no true surprise, she was the queen under Bol’s reign and many dwarves still recognize her as the true leader. Those loyal to Jon and the Folarok name are too few in number to provide any true threat. As long as Yave appeases the separatists, she will remain in power.”

“You’re certain of all this?”

“Very certain. Through the period of Bol’s departure to Yave’s rebellion, we continued to trade with dwarves who still saw elves as their allies. We received reports. We are still receiving reports now, though not as many. Some dwarves see Yave’s plans in their true light, as nothing more than a thirst for irrational revenge. They see a pointless loss of life and wish to do anything to stop it. Some are acting as spies and are calling for whatever we can do. They must remain careful, however, for if they are caught reporting to elves, they will surely be executed.”

Ryson sorted quickly through the new information. He tapped his fingers together lightly as he tried to place things in a logical order. “What is it the loyal dwarves have in mind? If the separatists are entrenched in Dunop and the majority of dwarves accept Yave’s rule, I see little that can be done. I mean, what could we do? Send a war party of humans and elves into Dunop to free Jon and restore him to power? I doubt we’d be successful. We’d be fighting in their environment, upon their home ground. They’d probably slaughter us. And even if we did succeed in sending a raiding party to free Jon, what would that truly accomplish? Do you think any dwarf would trust him again if they see humans helping him? No, this is a civil war. The dwarves have to call for Jon’s return. We can’t force it on them.”

“I agree, as do the elves of my camp. We feel for Jon and those dwarves that remain our allies, but we should not try to exercise our will upon Dunop. In the long run, it will bring no good. Those dwarves that call for our help also grudgingly agree, but they do seek another option. One that I might have undertaken anyway.”

“And what’s that?”

“To warn the algors before the war begins,” Lief stated firmly. “They believe that if the algors have been forewarned, they can prepare for the inevitable battle. If a dwarf assault is unsuccessful, it might create an embarrassment for Yave. The dwarves are stubbornly proud. A loss to the less physically capable algors would certainly cause such an embarrassment. Yave might be forced to relinquish.”

Ryson eyed Lief dubiously. “You don’t really believe that, do you? You don’t really think a dwarf would give up if she was beaten in one battle?”

Lief shook his head. “No. It will only fan her anger. She will rage with the desire to attack with a greater force.”

“Then why do you want to do this?”

“For the same reason you would, to warn the algors. Tell me truthfully, now that you know what is happening, do you not feel honor bound to help the algors that stood with us at Sanctum?”

Ryson did not hesitate in answering. “Of course I do, but how will that solve what’s happening in Dunop?”

“It won’t, but as you say, that is as much a civil matter as anything else. We may not be able to solve the dwarves’ problem, but at least we can save the algors from a slaughter. When we removed the sphere from Sanctum, we overcame the mistrust of every race. That was a proud moment. Now Yave threatens to soil that moment. She wishes to use Tun’s death as a battle cry, to undo what we truly accomplished that night within Sanctum. That is something we can not allow. If there must be a battle between the dwarves and algors, let it be over the truth. Let it be over Yave’s madness and