Delver Magic III: Balance of Fate by Jeff Inlo (best free e reader TXT) đź“–
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“There were many mistakes made during that time, by many different people,” Ryson offered. “I just did what needed to be done.”
“We are still grateful.”
Ryson nodded and then decided it was an appropriate time to come to the point of his meeting. “Actually, I’m glad you’re grateful because I’m here now for your help.”
“And what does the Delver Acumen need?” Therese asked without hesitation.
“The human city of Connel has been overrun by a goblin horde. Actually, overrun isn’t the best word. The city was surrounded and forced to surrender.”
“Truly? The goblins surrounded the city? They were able to amass such a number? The vermin normally do nothing but bicker among themselves.”
“They did not act on their own,” Ryson acknowledged. “They were led by a serp named Sazar. He brought them together and he coordinated the attack. It is by his will they control Connel and he aims to grow stronger.”
“Fah, I know of this one named Sazar.” Therese nearly spat upon the ground, but she remembered where she was and swallowed hard instead. “He is the scoundrel that slunk into our city and stole what his miserable hands could carry. I have made it my business to know what lowly creature took advantage of our misfortune. I was not surprised to learn it was a despicable serp.”
“He is despicable, and now he’s dangerous as well,” Ryson said. “With Connel in his hands, he now threatens the entire region. We can’t have that. We also can’t let him keep the prisoners he has in the city. This is where I need the assistance of the dwarfs of Dunop.”
Ryson paused only for a moment and decided not to try and dance around the subject.
“When Yave ordered Dunop to attack Connel, tunnels were used to allow the dwarf warriors to enter the center of the city. While we know sections of these tunnels have been collapsed to prevent humans access to Dunop, we still hope to make use of them.
“Our main objective is to free the human captives. This will isolate Sazar and his dark creatures. The prisoners are held in the center of the city and Sazar’s minions control the outskirts. There is no access to the city above ground that is not blocked. If, however, we can reopen the tunnels, the three of us here hope to guide the prisoners out of the city through the underground passages.
“Right at this moment, the human guard of Burbon is joining forces with others in the east. They will attack the outskirts of the city while we manage the escape. What we need from you is permission to use the tunnels for our plans, and we need your dwarves to clear the blocked areas so that we can utilize them. We are not asking for anything else.”
This time Therese did hesitate in answering. She took long moments to consider the proposal and during her reflections, she asked small pointed questions.
“Will anyone else accompany the three of you to go from here to Connel?”
“No, it will just be the three of us,” Ryson replied. “We need to move fast and not draw great attention.”
“At what time of day will the evacuation start?”
“Right at nightfall.”
“How long will it take?”
“Probably the entire night. I’m not sure exactly how many people are trapped in Connel, but it has to number in the thousands.”
“How many days until this counter-assault by the human forces on Connel is planned to begin?”
“It’s also going to begin at nightfall, five days from now.”
Therese seemed in absolute acceptance of the request and willing to assist the delver, but she did place a restriction on the evacuation. “I have no problem whatsoever in granting your request other than making one condition. You may use the tunnels to evacuate the humans of Connel, but you can not bring them into the city of Dunop. Understand, Delver Acumen, that I request this out of respect for the dwarves of this city. What occurred during Yave’s unlawful rule was not the true will of Dunop or the majority of the dwarves themselves. Still, dwarves of this city attacked Connel. We attacked unsuspecting soldiers and citizens alike out of hate and prejudice. Many realize this now and they know shame. I can not have that shame deepened by parading the victims of that city through these streets.”
“I understand,” Ryson responded. “In truth, I don’t need you to offer them sanctuary here in Dunop, just passage through the tunnels so they can escape the city.”
“I am grateful for your understanding,” Therese said. “These humans from Connel, they can go anywhere the tunnels allow, do you have a preference?”
Ryson thought for a moment. “Yes, if we can send them east of Connel further into the plains that would probably be the best alternative, the safest.”
“Our tunnels do not extend very far in that direction. That is the prairie land and controlled by the humans. There is very little of interest to us there and we have only a few passages beyond Connel’s eastern borders. Those we have do not extend very far.”
“Do they extend out of sight of Connel?”
“A dwarf’s sight, a human’s sight, an elf’s sight, or a delver’s sight?” asked the dwarf queen.
“How about the sight of a hook hawk flying directly above Connel?”
“Yes, they extend that far.”
“Then that would be enough.” Ryson then addressed the timing of what was needed to be done. “How long will it take a contingent of dwarves to reach the areas that were collapsed to seal off the tunnels to Connel?”
“A day, perhaps two.”
“And to clear them?”
“Another day.”
“That’s better than I could have hoped,” Ryson said with a smile. “The sooner we can start the better.”
“Then we shall start immediately,” Therese waved over a guard and issued some immediate orders. When he left with haste, she turned her attention back to Ryson. “I shall have you and your two friends escorted to the Connel tunnels right now. You will be given maps of the corridors so that you know which tunnels to utilize under Connel and then which to use to evacuate the citizens of Connel to the east. Since you will be in the corridors for at least 5 days, we will provide you provisions to last several days as you wait for the proper time to enter Connel.
“A team of excavators will accompany you to the points where the tunnels were collapsed. As I said before, it should only take them a day to make clear passage. A small contingent of dwarf guards will also accompany you to these points, but not beyond. They will simply ensure that no creatures use the free passage to attack Dunop. We allowed that to happen when Sazar looted us the first time. I can not let it happen again.”
“I understand.”
“The dwarf guards will not accompany you into Connel. For that, you must go alone, but rest assured the path will be obvious to you. You will not get lost in the tunnels.”
“That’s all I can ask for.”
“Then let us begin.”
Queen Therese called for an assistant to escort the three to the tunnels and provide them with everything they needed. She thanked Ryson again as he and the two elves left the throne room.
With the visitors now gone, Therese walked over to a table with the stride of determined purpose. She threw herself in a heavy wooden chair and grabbed writing materials that were placed neatly about the table top. She stared at blank parchment long enough to organize the words in her mind. When she started writing, her hand moved with flowing continuity. She never paused, and once finished she raised herself up from her chair and walked over to her military advisor with the same resolve.
“I want you to prepare what’s left of our assault forces for immediate action. I also want every member of the palace guard to make ready for battle.”
“May I ask why?”
“I see… an opportunity,” Therese explained. She handed the parchment she completed to her advisor. “This will explain it better.”
The advisor quickly scanned the paper in his hands. He looked up at the queen with a question. “Do you think many will join us?”
“I do, actually,” the queen replied. “But this time the dwarves of Dunop must willingly choose to join in this attack. I do not wish to order them or threaten them like Yave did. This time Dunop must act as one without excuses and without any blame to place on any one individual.”
“I hope you are right,” the advisor remarked with a dubious tone.
Therese pointed to the parchment. “Please have the scribes make copies and post them throughout the city once the elves and delver have moved into the tunnels to Connel. I don’t want them reading this.”
“It will be as you wish.”
The trip through the Lacobian desert was as harsh as the surrounding lands. Reader Matthew and the other ten humans forced from Connel’s Church of Godson faced a painful journey. They were given little rest, less to eat, and only enough water to keep them alive. The goblins that pressed them onward were tasked with moving them as fast as possible to Tabris’ oasis without having any die. Beyond that one condition, the goblins could care less if the trek was painful beyond comprehension. A suppressive dry heat nearly roasted their skin during the day and a biting hollow cold left them shivering in the dark of night.
It was at night, however, that the reader and his followers found the strength to go on. In this dark place, they saw stars they had never seen before. The sky stretched out before them and even in the empty coldness, they beheld a beauty that the goblins that pushed them or the sorceress that waited for them could not dampen. It was almost as if they could see into the very heavens where they believed Godson awaited them. In truth, many of them understood a glorious message of hope in these stars. In the vast nothingness, the dark emptiness, the stars glowed white and painted the sky with an undying belief that something so vast would contain so much more for them than an empty ending in this barren place. The desert tested their bodies, but it also strengthened their faith. That faith would serve them well once they reached their destination.
The oasis was pleasant to the eye and afforded much more agreeable conditions than the surrounding desert, but in truth, it did more to offend the followers of Godson than offer any form of relief. They understood that such a haven was not a gift out of the goodness of Godson, but a phantom sanctuary created by the will of a sorceress. They found the place repugnant, a twisting of the natural order of Godson’s will.
Tabris met the members of Godson’s church with indifference to them as a group but keen interest toward their individual traits. She seemed totally apathetic toward the struggles of their journey, offered them no solace. The only time she truly displayed any emotion was when she was informed that the one named Matthew was to be
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