by Jeff Inlo
Chapter 4
Enin and Ryson landed in the grassy hills just outside Burbon.
“I didn’t want to bring us to the center of town because I don’t like how this spell affects surrounding space,” the wizard explained. “I didn’t want to send an innocent passerby into shock if one happened into our path at the wrong moment. It was safer to land here.”
“I’ll take it,” Ryson said while eyeing the sun in the sky. “It’s about mid afternoon. Sy should be in his command post. I’ll meet you there.”
With that, the delver exploded in a blur of motion that almost could not be detected by the wizard’s eye. He blazed a trail to a side gate where he stopped stone still just long enough to be identified by a tower guard and the gatekeeper. He then moved with slightly less speed as he darted his way past the wall, through the town streets, and ultimately to the center of town.
Enin floated up into the air and flew just past a guard tower. He waved with an uneasy smile before making his way to Sy’s command post by floating above the building rooftops. When he reached his intended goal, he quickly dropped to the ground and landed at the front door. He stepped into the office where he saw Ryson already explaining what he knew to Sy Fenden, Burbon’s leader and Captain of the Guard.
Ryson paused to acknowledge the wizard’s entrance.
Sy appeared grim as he considered the news brought to him by the delver. Still, he had many questions, and he quickly brought Enin into the conversation.
“Ryson told me what you saw. You used a spell to see Pinesway?”
“Yes,” Enin answered simply without going into an extravagant explanation of the components of his spell.
Sy was grateful for the short answer, but pursued the topic further. “Do you think Sazar was aware that you were watching him or his minions?”
“You’re worried he thinks we’re spying on him?” Enin appeared almost ready to laugh. “There’s not much he can do to stop me.”
“I’m more concerned that we’ve alerted him to our own awareness. I’m not sure what he’s up to, but it would be nice to know the extent of his own information. What he does, or what we do in response for that matter, depends on a great many things. So, do you think he knows about your spell or not?”
Enin reconsidered the question. “Hmmmm… I’d say it’s possible, but not probable. I would guess not. He’s not the kind of a spell caster that he would be able to detect the use of magic in that fashion. Those with a higher connection to magical energy can sense spells. He, however, does not have that kind of connection. That is not where his power lies.”
“But you said it was possible.”
“Yes, he might have learned a spell that could act as a, how should I put it, warning system for any directed magic. Problem with that is I don’t think he has the power to cast such a spell. He could, however, have obtained a magical item that would serve that purpose for him.”
Sy frowned again. “Alright, since it’s possible then we should probably assume he knows we are aware of what he’s doing. Tell me exactly what you saw.”
Enin described all the creatures he witnessed, their movements, as well as the reaction of the few people he could see.
“Casualties?” Sy asked.
“Yes.”
“Can you estimate how many?”
“I only saw a few.”
Sy shook his head. “There aren’t many people left over there. That’s the good news. The bad news is in everything else you just told me. Sazar has a sizable force of creatures from your description. The question now is what do you think he wants?”
Ryson interjected at this point. “Whatever he can get his claws on.”
Sy did not totally dismiss the sentiment, but he explained his own considerations. “I’m sure he’s taking everything he can, but what’s the real purpose of this?” He looked to both Ryson and Enin with expectation as he spelled out the situation. “This can’t just be a raid to loot supplies. Doesn’t add up. What he can get from Pinesway, he can get in different ways. There is no guard or militia to protect the town. In effect, there really is no town anymore. For the most part, it’s just abandoned buildings and a transient population. From what my scouts tell me, thieves have done a good job ransacking the place. Anything worth any value, they’ve already taken. Actually, the thieves and bandits have pretty much taken the place over, and these people aren’t going to risk their lives to fight off goblins for an abandoned town. Sazar knows this, so why does he go in there with a force of that size and actually attack?”
Ryson frowned as he considered the question. “Didn’t think of it like that. Maybe his goblins are getting restless and he just wants to pacify them with whatever blood they can draw.”
“Maybe,” Sy allowed, “but I’m not sure it makes total sense, either. I mean if that was his objective, why not go in at night? Why go in the middle of the day? And why go in the way he did? From what I’m hearing it sounded more of a coordinated attack. Enin, you said they moved in with reserves in the back and they were attacking in organized movements. You didn’t see them just running wild through the streets?”
“No, not wild at all.” Enin then took a moment to consider his own thoughts of goblins. “It’s interesting actually. Over the past season, I’ve seen some goblins up close, even threw some harmless spells at them just to see how they react. They’re certainly not the brightest thing to come over from the dark realm. Actually, in a battle of wits, I’d probably choose a shag over a goblin any day. Goblins can be sneaky if they want to, no doubt about that. They have guile and stealth, but they run scared quite a bit as well. They can organize, but not like a human militia. They rely on great numbers, but they are inherently distrusting. While they could become a threat if they amassed into a large army, I can’t imagine the bickering that would take place. From what I saw, they moved as if directed by a fairly cohesive plan. Yes, I would have to say with little doubt that Sazar was directing them. That was plain enough for me to see.”
Sy followed Enin’s analysis with more questions. “This is the part that doesn’t add up. Why would Sazar direct the battle if the goal was to appease the blood lust of a bunch of goblins? Why not just let them run wild, then reorganize them, take whatever spoils he could find, and leave? No, I’m not seeing this as just a simple raid one way or the other. He didn’t have to do it in this way to take supplies, and he wouldn’t have done it this way to just let his little monsters go on a killing spree. Something else is up.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy to figure out what a serp really wants,” Ryson acknowledged. He then decided it was time for him to reveal his own intentions. “And even if we don’t know, I want to go to Pinesway.”
Sy rubbed his chin as he eyed the delver carefully. “You want to go to Pinesway? I assume you wish to leave now?”
“Yes, waiting doesn’t do any good.”
In truth, the captain was not surprised to hear this. He kept his own emotions buried as he now pressed the delver for an explanation. “Why do you want to do this?”
“A lot of reasons.” The delver replied almost too simply.
“Can you give me some of them?” Sy asked.
Ryson nodded and spoke openly of why he needed to go. “First of all, Pinesway may be abandoned, but it’s not completely deserted. We all know there are still people there that might need help.”
Sy kept his tone even, he didn’t wish to sound sarcastic in any way, but the delver needed to be told of obvious flaws in this objective. “Noble, but how can you help a group of people that are wounded or already dead?”
“I can’t help the dead, but if I find wounded, I can get them out of there.”
“And if you find a dozen wounded, you’re going to treat their wounds and get them to safety? How are you going to manage that? Are you going to carry them all on your back at once or one at a time?”
Ryson saw where Sy led him and heaved a heavy sigh. “Ok, maybe there’s not much I can do for the wounded. M
aybe I can get them temporarily to a safe place to hide, I can worry about that when I see what I’m up against. I might also be able to find some that are neither dead nor wounded, maybe they’re just scared and hiding. We can’t just leave them there.”
Sy pressed with his pessimism. “While I don’t wish to be coldhearted about this, I could argue that most of those that are now residing in Pinesway are doing so because it has been abandoned. They are opportunists that knew the risks. They took over abandoned homes because there was no one there to stop them. An empty town makes a good hideout for bandits. These people know how to take care of themselves, that’s what they’re best at. If they saw a problem coming, they are probably already gone. If not, I doubt there’s anything left of them to save.”
“Maybe most of the people that were in Pinesway were the type that would take off at the first sign of trouble, but not all of them.” Ryson noted. “There were a few that just didn’t want to leave their homes, even if it meant living with bandits and transients, and having to deal with goblin raids. Remember, I’ve scouted Pinesway on more than one occasion. There are some people there that just don’t want to leave. I don’t think they would argue with any help I could give.”
“I can’t argue that,” Sy offered, “but they also knew the risks. They didn’t have to stay. You have to consider that they are basically now dealing with the inevitable, with what they knew had to eventually happen. It’s not necessarily your job to help people that didn’t want help in the first place. But let’s leave that aside for now. I believe there’s more to this, so tell me why else do you want to go.”
“To scout the area, to see what Sazar is up to, to get an idea of the size of his new band of monsters.”
“Well, our wizard here has already given us a good idea of that.”
Enin jumped into the conversation without much thought to Sy’s intentions. “I used a sight spell, but it was connected to the web spell. It doesn’t really see the whole town, you know, just bits and pieces. A street here, and an alley there, kind of blurry vision of the whole. It’s probably an accurate count only to a degree.” The wizard put a finger to his chin as he considered something new. “Now, that’s a thought. I wonder if I could cast a clearer sight spell, something that wasn’t connected to an object or another spell—a spell that would allow me to see anything at a particular area. It would be my own vision, not transplanting images obtained from something else. I’d have to bend light, that wouldn’t be difficult, but I’d have to bend it there and back, kind of a reflection, but what would it reflect?”
“While you think about that, let me continue with the delver’s wishes.” Sy turned his attention back to the delver “As for scouting, my men scout that area every day. As you just said, I’ve had you scout it several times yourself. You know the condition of the town before the raid and the lay of the land. As for what Sazar’s up to, we just talked about that. We don’t have an idea at this point, and let’s be honest, he’s not going to tell you even if you go right up and ask him. We would still have to guess at that just as we will estimate the size of his forces. Even if Enin hasn’t given us an exact count of the number of goblins and shags and whatever else might be involved in this attack, we both know he’s given us a good idea of what’s out there.”
“Yes, but we also know he has a larger force with him now. That in itself is a bit of a surprise and getting a better look might not hurt.”
“Actually, I don’t think it is a surprise,” Sy countered. “Think about it for a moment. We know for a fact that Sazar followed the dwarves into Dunop after they were defeated here. We have to believe he took a great amount of wealth from Dunop before he took off. He could use that to buy food and weapons to keep a fair amount of goblins happy for a while. We also know from Enin that he can control them to a great extent. The more creatures he controls, the more supplies he can steal. The more supplies he gets, the more goblins he can entice into his camp. One will keep leading to the other.”
Here Ryson spoke with much more certainty. “That’s another reason I want to go. I know you can’t be happy with what you just said, Sazar growing in strength. I want to see if maybe I can put a dent in that. If he goes in and strips Pinesway clean, he just gets that much stronger. I don’t think you want that to happen.”
“No I don’t,” Sy allowed. “I also know that alone you can’t really stop the force that Sazar is controlling.”
“True, but I’m not going to stop them, just to irritate them, cause them some problems, let them know that they just can’t waltz anywhere they please without some kind of resistance. I mean let’s really look at this from a hard perspective. Sazar attacked in broad daylight. Don’t you think that’s sending some kind of message?”
“I have already considered that, and I’m not happy with it myself.” Sy turned about and looked at the map on the wall with Burbon at its center. The map illustrated several strategic points in all the surrounding areas. Hand drawn marks indicated contact with varied monsters, suspected territories of dark creatures, and paths of travel for goblin raiding parties. The map drew a grim picture, but other factors existed that could not be illustrated on this chart and Sy spoke of them openly. “Message or not, daylight or dark, we have to consider the ultimate truth. I do not believe that Burbon is in any danger from this attack, and that has to be my first concern. Sazar is not going to hit us even with a force three times the size Enin described. This town is not abandoned. If he attacked, he would have to deal with our wall and towers, a trained corps of guards that know how to fight goblins, a purebred delver that also knows how to deal with an assortment of dark creatures, and let’s not forget our wizard here. If Sazar attacked us, he would lose probably his entire force and gain nothing. He’s too smart for that, too calculating, and that’s the shame of it. So, with a fair amount of certainty, I can say that we’re not his primary target now or in the foreseeable future. There are, however, several outposts to the north, farms on the outskirts of Connel, and small villages to the southeast that would be a ripe target for him. If he believes he can waltz into Pinesway and just take whatever he wants in broad daylight, then he’s not far from advancing on these other targets as well.”
Sy turned back to Ryson, but remained frowning. “Still, while I understand why you want to go, I don’t know yet what you think you’re going to do out there. It’s dangerous and I know you don’t like killing things. I can’t see you doing any great damage to Sazar’s numbers if you’re only going to stir up some kind of frenzy. You put yourself at great risk and I’d like to know what you think you’re going to ultimately accomplish. This has to have more of a reason.”
“Well, I have no intention of doing some kind of frontal assault if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“What is your intention?”
“First, I do want to do a quick scout. I think we should get a better idea of Sazar’s true force and not just base it on what Enin saw in that spell of his. Second, I want to create some havoc, knock a few goblins out of the fight. You’re right, I have no intention of killing any, but I can make them run scared, and if they run far enough, they might not come back. If I stir up enough trouble, I can maybe even cause a shag to lose control. A shag that takes off after me might also get beyond Sazar’s range and that’s one less monster the serp has to control. Third, I want to try and remove some of the supplies they are stealing—remove or destroy, same thing. I can’t carry it away, but I can sabotage a cart or set it on fire. Finally, I want to send a message right back to Sazar, let him know that I have my eye on him. Sazar knows me, knows us. You’re right, he doesn’t attack Burbon, and I think it’s mostly because of our wizard here, but he also knows we are prepared for him. If I take a quick shot at him while he’s trying to make a strike in a neighboring town, then he also knows we will go beyond the walls of Burbon to keep him at bay. If he wants to send a message by attacking in broad daylight, I want to send one right back to him, one that says I’m not imp
ressed.”
Sy nodded and carefully considered what the delver just offered. He could not help but agree with many of the points. “The truth of the matter is I can’t argue with anything you just said. I’m not happy that Pinesway is sitting out there so close to us and abandoned. It serves as an easy target that invites the wrong type of element. Choosing between thieves and dark creatures doesn’t make me comfortable. That I do not like. I’d much rather have an empty hillside . I also don’t like Sazar thinking he can pick off easy victims without risk. He needs to know we’re ready to counter anything he might throw at us. He seems to be the biggest threat in our immediate area.”
“So you don’t have a problem with me going?” Ryson sounded almost amazed.
Sy quickly explained. “I have lots of problems with it. It’s risky, I don’t want to lose you, and you’re outnumbered. But you’re also a delver and I’ve seen what you can do. If you keep your mind to your business, I doubt they’ll touch you. There are, however, other considerations.”
“Such as?”
“Such as should I send a contingent of guards as well.”
“They’d only slow me down.”
“It would not be my order to have them accompany you,” Sy explained. “As I said, I’ve seen what you can do. They wouldn’t be able to keep up and would probably just end up causing you greater risks. I am thinking, however, of sending them to follow up after you. If you create the kind of havoc I believe you can, they might be able to clean up after you, take out several goblins that end up fleeing or a shag that gets separated from the main group. You might have something against killing these creatures, but I don’t. It wouldn’t upset me to put a bigger hurt on Sazar.”
“Didn’t think of that,” Ryson admitted.
“Of course, I doubt that will be necessary if Enin decides to go with you. Then he could probably cause more pain and inflict much more damage then several hundred of my best men.”
Both Ryson and Sy looked to the wizard almost expectantly. Enin had said nothing since he began to consider his sight spell. They wondered if he had paid any further attention to the conversation. His reply made it clear he had.
“Me? Go to Pinesway?” The wizard shook his head with a noticeable grimace. “No, not a good idea. Didn’t ever really consider it actually. You both know I don’t like interfering in the decisions of any creature, even dark creatures. There are problems you have to decide for yourself, work out for yourself, that kind of thing. Kind of hard to explain really. It’s hard for me sometimes, you know. I like to help, but I can’t interfere. If I start doing everything, then what is there left for you to do? We all have our place and our jobs. You have to do what you have to do. If I started taking over everything, where would it stop? It’s really a trap. I don’t want that kind of responsibility, and I don’t really think most of the people around here would appreciate it. I guess you must think it almost lazy of me, but that’s not it at all. You do understand, don’t you?”
“Enin, the day I understand you is a day I both fear and welcome, and a day that I think will never appear.” Sy then turned back to the delver. “I won’t try to stop you from going, but I will ask you to be careful.”
“I will.”
“Actually, I need you to be more than careful,” Sy added quickly.
“What do you mean?” Ryson turned his head curiously as he waited for an answer.
Sy appeared to take his time in selecting his words. Eventually, he spoke with a greater tone of concern and less the voice of authority that was his normal manner.
“I know you, Ryson. I know you want to help anyone that’s trapped in Pinesway, but I also meant what I said before. I know you think everyone is worth your help, and I’m not going to try and argue that. What I will say is that everyone that is now in danger in Pinesway is in that danger of their own choosing. They had ample opportunity to leave, they decided not to. Some came from other towns to stake a claim after most residents abandoned the place. In my mind, that’s asking for trouble. Now they have it. You want to do what you can to save them, and I won’t condemn you for trying as long as you also understand that people have to ultimately take responsibility for their own decisions. There is a line between doing what’s needed and going too far. I also wasn’t trying to be obnoxious when I asked how you intended on helping the wounded. It’s not only about getting careless, it’s also about realizing that sometimes there’s just nothing you can do. If you don’t accept that, bad things will happen. That’s a plain truth. I don’t want to see anything happen to you, Enin doesn’t want to see anything happen to you—most of all, Linda doesn’t want to see anything happen to you. I know your desire to help is just that, you’re not trying to be a hero. It’s a noble thing to do. What I’ve always worried about is that one day you might end up being too noble. You want to help, fine, help where you can, but understand that some risks help no one and can hurt others. We need you back here.”
Ryson exhaled heavily and did the best he could to reassure his friend. “I’ll be careful. You have my word.”
Sy offered one more reminder to the delver about the challenges he faced. “Remember, the people in Pinesway knew raids like this were coming. They still wanted to stay. Although you might want to, sometimes you can’t save people from themselves. You have to let them be.”
Enin suddenly offered his own opinion on the matter. He spoke with a greater weight to his voice as if he wanted to offer a deeper understanding. “What the captain says is very true. Do not dismiss it, my friend. You can’t save people from themselves, and even more so, you can’t keep people from their fate.”
Ryson found the last statement too confusing to ignore. “You’re saying that anyone that dies in this raid was supposed to die.”
“I’m saying there are things beyond our control,” Enin explained almost sternly, “things that each individual must face on his own. It isn’t always good, but for whatever reason, it must be faced. We might not like everything that happens, but things happen for a reason. Keep that in mind. It will serve you well both now and in the future.”
“Not sure I understand that, not even sure I want to,” Ryson admitted. “Anyway, I need to leave now. I should hit Pinesway before the sun sets and I’ll be back here before the sun rises. Linda thinks I’m out on a scout with Enin so she won’t expect me back until late tomorrow anyway. She doesn’t need to know or worry, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell her where I’m going.”
“She won’t see me,” Enin declared. “I’m returning to my house. There’s something I need to look into myself. I’ll be busy for some time.” Enin paused to take a deep look at the delver. He then took a small jewel from his pocket. “You’ll be fine, but if you need help, really need help, hold this tight in your palm and think of me.”
Ryson took the gem and held it loosely in his hand. It felt near weightless and he couldn’t identify it. Its color changed with each passing moment. “Never saw one of these before. What kind of stone is it? It’s not a ruby, diamond, or emerald.”
“It’s not a natural stone. I made it. If you need me, however, it will tell me. That’s all that’s important. Good luck to you.” Enin said no more, he simply walked out the door.
Sy looked from the stone to the delver to the door that Enin walked through. “I may not understand him, but I think I am actually getting used to him. And I know I’m thankful every day that he’s here with us.” Sy turned his attention back to the delver. “Anyway, just so you know, I am going to send men to the outskirts of Pinesway. I’m not going to order them into town, but they will have orders to strike any group of dark creatures they can handle safely. Any stray goblins that try to leave or enter are not going to have an easy time of it. They’re also going to warn any travelers and help any stragglers that have escaped the town that make it to the open roads. Keep that in mind for yourself and anyone that you meet up with. You won’t be completely alone.”
Ryson looked once more at the ston
e in his hand and then deposited it in his own pocket. “I guess not. Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, the delver dashed out of the office.