by Jeff Inlo
Chapter 10
As Enin opened the front door, Ryson took two leaps back and urged the four dogs that waited in the doorway to charge him. He slapped his chest and the one that reached him first jumped into his arms as the other three clamored around his legs. After playfully rolling the dog back and forth, he let the overjoyed animal slip easily to the ground in order to let another one jump up into his hands. With that one still in his arms, he bent over low to let yet another leap onto his back. Once these two were finished, he let them leap away only to drop to his knees and say hello to the fourth and final dog that nearly knocked the delver over onto his back.
Enin watched the display only slightly amused. “I am overjoyed you love them so much, but I really wish you wouldn’t do that. They now think it’s ok to jump on everyone that comes to the door. It’s very hard on some of the visitors.”
“Bah,” Ryson replied with a grunt while still wrestling with the dogs. “If someone doesn’t want a dog jumping up to say hello, you probably don’t want them as visitors.”
“Hmmmm,” Enin said, while thoughtfully considering Ryson’s reply. “Never thought of that, and you know what? You’re probably right.”
“Of course I’m right.”
“Are you here to take them for their run?”
“That’s one of the reasons.” Ryson stood up and began walking back towards the door. Enin swung it open wider to allow Ryson and the dogs to come through. “I heard Holli came to visit you and from all accounts she’s still here. If that’s true, I’d like to talk to her first. Then, I’ll take them for a few laps around the town’s wall.”
“Yes, she is still here. She is waiting for us in the library. And the dogs would love a run around the wall.”
Enin took the lead, marched halfway down a long hall and made an abrupt right into a large room with an open door. Ryson followed, but slowed as he saw the elf staring into a green mist that seemed to reflect his and Enin’s presence like a mirror. Holli’s hands arched around the mist as if she was holding it in place.
“That’s not bad, not bad at all,” Enin stated with a satisfied smile.
“I wasn’t able to hear anything,” Holli noted as she collapsed her hands to her sides. The green mist dissipated and soon all traces of it were gone. “I could see you open the door. I saw Ryson step back and the four dogs went to greet him.”
“Excellent. You saw everything. As to not hearing anything, well you’re not supposed to hear anything with that spell. It’s a sight spell. You are only supposed to see what I see.”
“For the most part, I could see clearly when I first cast the spell. As you moved further away and toward the door, the image became slightly less clear. In truth, it was only a small blur, but enough so that I could notice. As you walked back toward me, the image became stronger again.”
“That we will rectify with practice and also when you realize to tap into more of your inner strengths. You have a natural ability to make the spell stronger, you just don’t realize it yet. You need to focus more on the light that is part of your inner power.”
Holli frowned. “But I cast green magic, not yellow. I thought my power focused on nature.”
“Indeed it does, but doesn’t nature thrive on the light? What is green but a combination of blue and yellow? Nature is water and light working together to give life. So, yes your true strength is in the druidic spells of nature, but you also have natural abilities for spells dealing with water and light. Casting green magic is a great gift and you should be thankful for it.”
Holli smiled as she looked to the delver. “Hello, Ryson. It is good to see you again.”
“It’s great to see you. Is Enin teaching you how to cast spells?”
“Yes, he wants to help me with spells that would enhance my abilities as a guard. We both agreed that a sight spell would be a good start.”
“I guess that will come in handy when you return to your camp. An elf guard that can increase her sight can only be a benefit.”
Holli said nothing at first. She looked to Enin for possible direction. When he nodded his head without saying a word, she returned her gaze to the delver.
“I am not returning to my camp. My service there has come to an end. With Enin’s approval, I have now turned my service over to him. As I once supported my camp, I now avail my abilities as an elf guard to serve Enin, as well as this town.”
Ryson did not appear shocked, but he did take long moments before responding. He looked back and forth from the elf to the wizard and then stared at the ground as if considering other details and trying to put them all in perspective.
“Holli, does this have anything to do with Lief?” Ryson finally asked.
“Yes and no,” Holli responded. “Yes, in that both Lief and I were asked by the elders to leave our camp. No, in that Lief went his way and I went mine. I never got a chance to speak to him after he left. He did not leave under the best of circumstances.”
Holli went on to explain all the details she could on what led to Lief’s banishment and her own departure from the elf camp.
“I met Lief at Pinesway,” Ryson stated after the elf was done. “I know he’s not happy. He’s actually quite angry. That’s why when I heard you were here, I came over to find out what was going on. I wanted to…”
Ryson went silent. He said nothing as he stared into empty space. He brought a hand to his forehead as he tried to get a better feel of what he was sensing. He could not.
Enin had seen this look before.
“The dryness—that was how you put it last time—are you feeling it again?” the wizard asked curiously.
“Yes,” Ryson admitted. “This is such a strange sensation. The real problem with it is I can’t even get a hold of where it’s coming from. It just basically appears out of nowhere. It’s fairly subtle actually, but when it happens, I can’t miss it. That might not make sense either, but it’s how it is.”
Enin spoke out loud as he considered his own thoughts. “I wonder if I could trace it. What spell would it be? It’s not light, but perhaps it’s instinct. An animal spell might follow it, but then I would have the difficulty of trying to determine which animal. Is it prey that can sense a predator, or the other way around? It may not even be instinct. I don’t think it’s elemental so I can discount wind, water, earth and fire. Illusionary also seems doubtful, but it could be using dryness to hide its true qualities. That might actually make some sense. What about shadow? But would a shadow feel dry? Maybe. Then the question becomes how to detect shadow and trace it to an origin. My guess is the feeling is from within you, so it might build on emotion, but dry emotions would be no emotions. There are things I could try, but at the moment they would be guesses and I don’t wish to experiment until I know more. I think perhaps we…”
Just like in Dark Spruce Forest, Enin’s focus on Ryson’s feeling was torn away by a feeling of his own. The wizard quickly gained an awareness that made him regretfully cast aside any consideration of the delver’s own sensations.
The wizard’s expression became as serious as his tone. He looked to both Holli and Ryson with a somber understanding of how the land had just changed. “I am afraid something has just happened of enormous consequence. I can not explain fully how I know this, but you must accept that I do. It has much to do with the balance of things and I am very aware of elements of this nature. The sorceress Tabris, the one both of you went into Sanctum Mountain with to obtain Ingar’s sphere, has made an alliance with Sazar. In one form or another, she is now linked with him and thus she has chosen her path. I can not say where this will lead, I only know that I feel the weight of her power on the side of evil and malevolence. Her power is great enough and her decision momentous enough for me to sense this.”
“Do you know where they are now?” Ryson asked.
“Near her new home in the Lacobian desert.”
Ryson looked about as if trying to decide what to do next. “I don’t understand how you know this, but I’m not going to q
uestion it. Is Burbon in any immediate danger?”
“No,” Enin answered with certainty.
“Well, that’s something at least.” Ryson then considered the power Tabris displayed when she assisted those that entered Sanctum Mountain to retrieve the Sphere of Ingar. The thought of someone that powerful teaming up with Sazar did not leave pleasant thoughts in his mind. “The two of them coming together is not a good thing. You have any idea of what they might be planning?”
“No, only that it will not be in the best interest of the land, but in their own selfish interests.”
Holli turned to her own training and immediately put the situation in perspective. “If there is no immediate threat, then there is no need for immediate decisions. We should, however, inform your captain of this turn of events. He needs to know without delay.”
“I agree,” Ryson added.
“Very well.” Enin turned to Ryson. “I regret we must for the moment forget your feeling of dryness and address it at another time.”
“It’s ok, it’s gone now anyway. It only lasts for a few moments. We should all go to talk to Sy. If this is as big as you make it out to be, we all need to figure out the best way to handle this.”
Ryson looked down at the four dogs that remained nearby. “I’ll have to run with them later. Sorry guys.”
Enin looked to the animals briefly and then began to walk to the door. “They are disappointed, but they understand.”
Ryson called out to the wizard as they moved down the hall together. “Are you talking to them now?”
“If I answer that, you might think I was crazy.”