Delver Magic III: Balance of Fate by Jeff Inlo (best free e reader TXT) 📖

offer them is better than being thrown to a bloat spider, I believe they will remain useful to me. If, however, they realize that many of them will be sent to their deaths at the hands of an experimenting sorceress, they might get other ideas. They might actually rebel, and that is my problem.”

“So you need to select humans that you can send out into the desert without alarming the entire population?” Consprite asked with little regard to the implications of such a dilemma.

“You understand very well,” Sazar said.

“That is a problem I can solve for you without hesitation,” Consprite answered with almost a note of glee in his voice. “I know exactly where to get your first group of subjects, and the rest of this town will not care one bit. They may even be pleased to see them go.”

“Really?”

“There is a Church of Godson in this city,” Consprite now noted with more disgust than cheer. “I suggest you start with them.”

The serp showed a sign of amazement at such a suggestion.

“You think I should base the selection of people on some religious segmentation? Do you really think that is wise? I like to believe I understand humans, at least to a degree. Their beliefs in religious matters tend to stir some rather interesting passions. To me, that seems very dangerous.”

“Don’t kid yourself. This is not some established, respected church. They are nothing but a bunch of loons. They will not be missed. And it certainly will not stir any kind of concern in the rest of the people here.”

“I would imagine the Church of Godson might have gained new respect,” Sazar wondered aloud. “After all, their beliefs contain such creatures as goblins, and shags, and even serps. Now that the people face such creatures in reality, I would have guessed that more humans might have sought out this church.”

“Oh yes, they have grown in number,” Consprite admitted, “but not so drastically that they outnumber those that mistrust them. Many in this city even blame them. Not many here are happy with what has happened since the sphere was destroyed. I’m sure that now you’re here, they’re even more unhappy. But the followers of that church, they were ready to accept all of this before it even happened. A lot of people think they even welcomed it. How do you think people that are surrounded by goblins are going to feel about a church that welcomed the return of dark creatures?”

“You have a point. Still, I believe care is required. I don’t want it made known exactly what is going on. I would like to see these people removed from the city without alarming the rest of the population.”

“That’s the beauty of it,” Consprite said. “They keep to themselves as it is. All you have to do is go to their church and you can probably find several dozen there right now. Keep them isolated and send them out to the desert in small groups. No one else has to know or will even care what’s going on.”

Sazar placed a finger to his chin and tapped a long nail against his cheek and began to pace once more.

“It’s certainly an easy way to start,” Sazar hummed to himself. “The first few days will pose the most challenges in maintaining control. I doubt Tabris will be patient enough to give me more time. No, I have to prove to her that I will maintain my part of the bargain, so I must begin sending her something immediately.”

Sazar turned about and faced Consprite directly. “Ahhh well, it seems the best alternative I have. I stand corrected; you have proved to be of assistance to me. I also wish to make further use of you. I will send you to this Church of Godson with a small party of goblins and two shags. You will see to it that a number of humans, let us say ten to begin with, are removed from this church and sent to the western outskirts of the city. I will instruct my goblins to transport the humans from there to the desert.”

“I have no problem with that.”

“That might be, but I’m not quite finished just yet. If I’m going to fully trust you with this endeavor, however, there are things I must know about you.”

“Such as?”

“How is it that you have fallen under the protection of this vampire, Janindise?” Sazar asked.

“I have no problem telling you that, either. No problem at all. I was the mayor of this city when the sphere of Ingar freed itself from Sanctum. I learned a great deal about things at that time. I learned there is power far greater than political power, that being mayor of a city really meant nothing—as Ms. Flisher apparently found out today. The magic the sphere contained was power, but only if you have the skill to use it. Unfortunately, I do not have such a skill.”

“Does this story have a point, and if so, will it answer my question?” the serp interrupted.

“Fine, you want the short version. There was a delver named Ryson Acumen that was hired to find out about the sphere. I had this delver followed. My first tracker died, but I never give up easily. After an encounter with this delver right here in Connel, things spiraled downhill quickly. I was removed as mayor. I decided to hire additional trackers to pick up the trail of Acumen to find out every place he had traveled. With nothing else to do, I followed along, learning as much as I could. During these travels, we happened upon Janindise. She would not attack us, so I was able to speak with her. She asked what brought me to her, and I told her the truth, that I had been retracing the steps of Ryson Acumen. It seems she hates the delver as much as I do. In this, we found common ground, and I make no effort to hide that fact. I was out of money and unable to convince the trackers to work with a vampire that could only move at night. The trackers left me. I, however, understood that Janindise could be a great asset. I stayed with her, even convinced her to return with me to Connel.”

“And why does Janindise hate this delver?” the serp inquired.

“That is her business, and I do not speak of it. One of the reasons she graces me with her companionship is that I respect her wishes. She has no problem with me revealing our mutual hate for Ryson Acumen, but she has made it clear she does not like to speak of her experience with the delver.”

“I see. I do have one last question before you leave. Why do you wish to be assistance to me in the first place?”

“When you cut me off before, I tried to tell you I have a new understanding of power. I see such power in you. I do not fear you because Janindise protects me. When I prove my worth to you, I will gain yet another ally. Power is in the friends you keep, even if you might not be able to trust them.”

#

The mood in the Church of Goodson did not quite match that of the rest of the human population in Connel. Certainly, there was fear and anxiety over the encroaching goblin horde, but not to the same extent as from those that hid in dark basements or empty alleys. On the faces of the followers that sat in the unassuming church, there hung a simple acceptance, as if these people almost expected what was happening on this terrible day.

If this were any other place within the city limits, when Edward Consprite walked through the large doors accompanied by two large shags and followed by a half dozen goblins, panic would have exploded throughout everyone present. In this church, however, the followers simply remained silent and began to pray silently.

The spiritual leader of the church, Reader Matthew made no attempt to calm the other followers of Godson. There was no need. Instead, he simply took a deep breath, and with the help of two canes, hopped up to the ex-mayor with grudging acceptance of who was before him. It didn’t take long for Matthew to recognize Consprite. Though the ex-mayor was thinner and older in appearance, Matthew could always recognize the deep seeded hate that languished in the eyes of this man.

“Hello Matthew,” Consprite said with obvious contempt to the Church of Godson’s leader. “I can see by the look in your eyes you remember me, even though my appearance has changed somewhat. That’s good.”

Reader Matthew simply nodded as he eyed the ex-mayor and the two large shags that stood on either side of him. The stench of the two monsters began to fill the room and in order to keep from gagging, the reader was forced to take short shallow breaths through his mouth.

Consprite looked over Reader Matthew and regarded the stump that took the place of his left leg. “I’m going to guess that occurred during the dwarf attack. Am I correct?”

Reader Matthew bit down any anger and answered with an even tone.

“Yes, I lost my leg to a dwarf ax. I still manage to get around.”

“Yes, with two canes and a good deal of hopping. It must get rather tiring.”

“I manage. Now, if you don’t mind, the people here are very alarmed with what’s going on. The presence of these two shags is adding to that concern. May I ask what you want here?”

Consprite looked over the rows of benches that were half full with silent followers of Godson.

“They don’t look alarmed.”

“Would you prefer they ran screaming out any exit they could find?”

“All exits are blocked on the outside,” Consprite remarked with a smirk.

“How comforting.”

“Still I am curious,” Consprite admitted. “I would have expected much more concern among your followers considering what’s going on outside. You have heard of what’s going on, haven’t you?”

“We are well aware of the situation,” Matthew replied, but his calm demeanor made it seem as if nothing of any great importance was going on outside the walls of his church.

Consprite continued to find the reader’s reaction most perplexing, even slightly annoying.

“And here I am with two shags at my side and you walk right up to me as if I’m an invited guest. You don’t think that’s surprising?”

“As I said before, what would you have me do?”

“I would have you explain to me what’s going on here before I decide to have these shags start tearing your church apart.” Consprite warned.

Reader Matthew looked over his shoulders to those that remained seated but now appeared a bit more anxious over the shags in their midst. He nodded his head and turned his attention back to the ex-mayor.

“This is from the Book of Godson,” the reader offered, and he began to quote text from the book that represented his faith. “‘And the dark ring will come to the last plain city, diminished but not destroyed. In the whiteness of night, that which was silent shall be heard. Not an arrow shall fly, not a blade broken and still the city shall fall.’”

Reader Matthew paused as he raised his eyebrows toward the ex-mayor. Consprite did not reply, other than a shrug, and Mathew explained further.

“That may sound confusing to you, but we knew what those words meant before this serp of yours even came to this land. ‘The last plain city’ is Connel, the final city of the farmland plains before the Colad Mountains. ‘Diminished but not destroyed’—certainly the dwarves put great damage to the city, but we were not quite destroyed. ‘The whiteness of night’, I’m sure