by Jeff Inlo
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Ryson circled Pinesway from the edges of the surrounding forest before he even considered entering the town. He dashed through the trees in a blur of movement, quickly taking glimpses of each road that became visible as he traveled. The river that cut across the northwest section of town proved to be his only true obstacle. He could have cut across the shallow water with ease, but he did not wish to deal with the hazards of soaking his feet and lower legs with the bitter cold water. Just because the flowing river kept ice from forming didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerously cold. He also decided to avoid the bridge crossing when he spotted a river rogue crouched low beneath the span.
The creature seemed satisfied to remain still and let the events unfold in the town without its participation. It seemed content to guard its own small territory, so Ryson decided to leave it alone.
Instead, the delver scurried up a large willow tree, scampered over leafless branches and through vines that hung down and across the flowing river, then leapt across to the thick branches of a wild cherry tree. Once he darted down the trunk of this tree, he was across the river and continued his initial scout.
The delver cared little for what he saw. The goblins he visually pinpointed numbered at least a hundred. Since he could see only the outskirts of the town and not far into the center, he believed the true number to stand at a much higher total, perhaps three or four times as many. The creatures surrounded the town’s outer boundaries, strategically covering each significant entranceway. The movements and sounds he could detect from deeper into the collection of structures indicated the devious monsters were closing in on the town square from all directions. Anyone trapped inside appeared to have little chance for escape just as he found little hope for a way to enter undetected. He knew he could bolt at top speed past the stationed guards at just about any point without risking injury, but his movement would be detected. At this point, he still did not have a precise plan, and thus, he wished to avoid being spotted.
Very early in his scout, he noticed the presence of a mammoth shag guarding a large warehouse near the southern entrance. Ryson recognized this monster. Sazar used this creature as a personal body guard, thus the delver remained certain Sazar was in that building and more likely than not directing the goblins’ movements.
Ryson now felt certain that Sazar was up to more than a simple raid for supplies or a blood hunt for his goblins to release their dark desires. Everything he saw pointed to the goblins securing the town. The problem remained that he could not truly know why. Sazar was not allowing anyone to escape, thus he could be targeting an individual or a group. Pinesway was now a haven for thieves and bandits, perhaps they stole something he coveted. Ryson also considered that the serp may have simply wanted to pick the town clean and his tactics kept any humans from escaping with possible treasure. The truth of the matter was that Ryson simply could not be certain of the serp’s intentions without further information.
The delver quickly took a path south through the trees further into the forest. Once past the southern edge of town, he circled back up and came to face the main entrance where he first spied the large shag standing guard outside the warehouse. Remaining hidden, he closed his eyes and focused his attention on what he could hear; guttural shouts of goblins mixed in with an intermittent human scream and a shriek from a hook hawk off to the northeast. He tried to put a picture to the sounds and could only imagine the uncompromising forward movement of the goblins against a terrified group of humans.
Suddenly, he picked up sounds that were quite out of place. Grumbling growls of goblins were replaced by new screams of pain, screams from a goblin, not a human. Moments later, more goblin squeals of tumultuous confusion. Ryson tried to pinpoint the area but could only guess it was occurring slightly to the west of the center of town. Wherever it was, goblins were now in a fit of disorder. Adding to his curiosity over this turn of events, the shag guarding the outside of the warehouse stirred from its statue-like stance and hurried off toward the direction of the commotion.
“Interesting,” Ryson stated the obvious to himself. “He’s going somewhere in a hurry. If Sazar is in that building, he just lost his guard.”
The delver considered that point only for an instant. There were two goblins circling the building, but they were useless in terms of protecting the serp. Ryson could enter the warehouse and be out of their sight before the goblins even knew he was in town. A clear path to the serp offered itself right before him, yet his eyes focused on another path, that of the shag.
“He’s going in the direction of the commotion. I’d bet on it. That means the goblins are having some trouble, or someone is giving them more than they can handle. The shag is going to clean up the mess. That’s the only answer that makes sense.”
In the end, the delver’s curiosity regarding the shag’s destination proved more enticing than the open path to the now unprotected Sazar. In truth, thoughts of the serp faded from his focus, washed out by the questions regarding this new turn of events. His delver instincts called for him to answer these questions.
As if to punctuate this desire, the movement of the hook hawk also caught his attention. Where it had been circling the eastern section of town, it was now curving its path to the west. It let out a spine shivering shriek when it passed the center of town, and its swooping, semi-circular flight path led it in the same direction as the shag was charging toward.
Thoughts of Sazar now disappeared completely from Ryson’s mind. He eyed the path of the shag and quickly noted how the goblins guarding the streets cast a wary glance upon the loping monster. Their natural fear of the shag overrode the serp’s order to keep a watchful eye on the entrance ways to the town. For a brief moment, their attention focused firmly upon the shag, and that was all the distraction the delver needed.
In a blur of motion, Ryson dashed across the open land that stood between the tree line of Dark Spruce Forest and the first structures of Pinesway. He darted behind one building and then around another before the goblins that guarded this area lost sight of the lumbering shag. They never saw the delver, and thus Sazar never gained an image of Ryson’s entrance into Pinesway.