by Jeff Inlo
Chapter 13
The majestic Colad Mountains stood in the far distance and Ryson enjoyed gazing at their imposing outline whenever such a view became possible through the thick woods. The crisp, clear air of the dormant season and the bare trees allowed him more than a few passing glances at the northern ranges whenever he ventured up to a treetop to get a better view of the surrounding terrain. With each glimpse to the northwest, the delver knew the mountains saw far more than their normal share of extreme weather during this dormant season. Heavy snows blanketed not only the peaks but also far down the mountain sides. Even at the tree line, the thick white snow cover blotted out nearly all signs of green, brown or gray.
These were the days Ryson loved to travel in this region. The daylight was short, and the air was brisk, but the land around him sparkled with life even as much of it slept in dens, burrows, or under blankets of crusted snow. The normally thick underbrush of vines had withered and fallen away during the end of the harvest season, as did the leaves of the low hanging branches. Paths for roaming existed in nearly limitless directions, and the delver felt the call to explore many new trails several times during his excursion. With a mind toward finding his friend, however, the delver ignored these calls and kept an eye to the fresh tracks on the ground.
His journey kept him in Dark Spruce Forest, and though Lief’s trail continued in a round about pattern, it remained to the northwest of Pinesway. At no point did Ryson ever fear that the elf had made a turn to the south and a possible encounter with Sazar and Tabris. Heavier snows in this region made the trails easier to follow, as it seemed neither the river rogue nor the elf took the time to cover their tracks.
Still, the tracks of the elf appeared somewhat confusing. Lief’s trail followed that of the river rogue, apparently stalking it for a kill. It seemed quite clear to Ryson that many such opportunities arose for the elf to strike, but as far as the delver could tell, Lief never made the attempt. All the markings indicated that Lief simply continued to follow the beast, making no sincere effort to end the chase. Adding to the confusion, there were signs the elf had indeed fired his bow, but when the delver strived to learn the target, he always found the corpses of goblins, tree rakers, bloat spiders, hobsprites, and once even a snow ogre that must have ventured far from its natural mountain habitat. Every monster appeared to be felled by one of Lief’s arrows, yet the river rogue continued unabated on its own path, at times even feasting on some of Lief’s kills.
The afternoon sun hung low in the western sky when Ryson slowed his movements. He heard rustling sounds in the distance and the cackling squawks of tree rakers. Such shrieks had become common in this area of Dark Spruce since the return of dark creatures, and Ryson knew enough to remain careful when he heard them.
Tree rakers depended on the heavy growth of forests to do most of their work for them and on the panic of their prey to make their hunt successful. Thick and bulky, as well as slow and ponderous, rakers hunted knowing they could never catch even the slowest of their intended victims. Instead, they created traps on well worn paths, and their cackles frightened potential prey into making mistakes that would cost them their lives.
As powerful as full grown shags, tree rakers were enabled with the strength to knock over small trees no matter how well rooted into the ground. Rakers normally worked together in small packs, usually numbering four or five. Pushing together small trees that sprouted up along the sides of wild deer paths, they quickly turned a once free and long standing trail into a corral that led to a dead end trap of intertwined branches and impassable tree trunks. As rakers where not choosey in their diet, they would wait for any potential prey—human, wild animal, or even dark creature—to venture into the area. They would then begin their shrieks, sending the intended victim into a panic. Taking strategic positions to block off other exits, they hoped to compel their prey down their prearranged path. The frightened victim would become so distracted with the clamoring cries, it would never notice the trap that awaited at the end until it was too late. The group of rakers would fall in behind their victim, blocking off any escape.
Short in stature, wide in girth, and with the thick wrinkled hide that looked much like tree bark, rakers could blend in with the forest during any season. Still, they made more than enough noise to make their presence known. At the moment, they were not close enough to the delver to present any immediate danger, and as long as Ryson moved with reasonable care, he would be able to avoid them with ease.
On previous trips to this region of Dark Spruce, the delver spent time becoming more acquainted with the calls of rakers. Ryson had now listened long enough to this pack to know they were not hunting. They had caught the scent of a danger and were trying to frighten it away.
“Probably the rogue,” Ryson whispered to himself, “or maybe even Lief, but whatever it is, they want it out of here.”
Quickly gauging the tracks on the ground and considering what was most probably ahead of him, Ryson took to the trees. He grabbed a low hanging branch and hoisted himself up into a box-elder. He jumped another two branches upward before moving along a thick limb to a neighboring cottonwood. He gauged the distance to the rakers' cries and moved with a greater speed, knowing he would not fall into one of their traps.
After but a few moments, the delver closed upon the clamor. He quickly spotted the river rogue that appeared particularly agitated over the noises of the tree rakers. Though visibly tense over the chaotic sounds, the rogue remained in a fixed position, slightly hunched over and using a fallen, rotten log that was lodged between two full grown white pines as cover. It showed no desire to retreat or to bolt for better cover. Instead, the rogue continued to peer to its left toward a thick grove of spruce trees.
Ryson followed the rogue’s gaze to the same spot. As he eyes fell upon the thick branches, he noticed the barely visible signs of slow, steady movement from within. Almost immediately, Ryson witnessed an arrow fly from out of the spruce trees and with deadly malice toward one of the rakers. The arrow stuck clean on the side of the creature’s head, and the dwarf-constructed metal arrowhead penetrated the raker’s skull with ease. Only half of the shaft remained visible after impact, the rest burrowed deep into the monster’s brain. The creature dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Death was instantaneous.
Ryson shook his head and then bounded through the trees towards Lief’s position in the spruce grove.
“Lief!” he called out.
The elf’s head popped out behind cover just as the screeching of the other rakers in the area ceased. The pack members that remained alive scurried off as fast at they could deeper into the cover of the woods.
As for the rogue, it appeared somewhat uncertain of its next move. It didn’t like the smell of the delver that now approached, nor did it have any desire to follow the remaining rakers into the woods. In the end, it appeared satisfied to remain behind the rotten log, and it simply crouched lower to the ground as it waited for any further signs of action.
In mere moments, the delver was in front of the elf as Lief extricated himself from the thick branches of the spruce.
“Ryson?” Lief asked, revealing more surprise than any other emotion. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been tracking you. I heard the noise of the rakers and then saw the arrow and realized I found you.”
The elf looked over toward the dead raker. “One less monster to worry about. These dwarf constructed arrowheads can break through rock, so they have no problem with the tough hides of tree rakers.”
“Or the hides of goblins, bloat spiders, and even a snow ogre,” Ryson added with a hint of displeasure.
Lief didn’t notice the tone, or he chose to ignore it. “That was a pleasant surprise—the ogre, that is. Didn’t think I’d chance upon one of those so deep in the forest.”
Ryson found Lief’s rather upbeat response somewhat perplexing. “What are you doing out here?”
The elf raised an eyebrow, as if the question was unnecessary a
nd the answer obvious. “I told you exactly what I would be doing when I left you at Pinesway, and if you’ve been tracking me, you should be able to tell by the trails. After dispatching as many retreating goblins as I could find, I set my sights on the river rogue that set up a territory near Pinesway’s northwestern bridge. It was already highly alerted to much of the disturbance when I came upon the bridge. Once it smelled my arrival, it took off for the woods. He was obviously spooked by the goblin attack, perhaps also by your activity, and thus made haste to leave the area almost immediately. I have been tracking it since that time. He has proven to be a difficult quarry. He left his territory in quite a hurry and has showed no great desire to return quickly. At least on two different occasions, though, he did try to double back to Pinesway. I had cut him off and almost had him, but both times the blasted wind changed and he caught either sight or scent of me and fled further into the forest.”
Lief pointed the top of his bow at the creature as he continued. “He’s over there now, much more used to my scent at this time. He’s probably wondering about you, though. Still, I don’t think he wants to leave my vicinity too soon, as I’ve been providing him with several easy meals lately. I’m actually quite happy it got away. It seems to have given up on returning to its river bridge by Pinesway. Instead it has staked out a rather large territory here in the woods. There is a small stream off to the west where it started digging out a new den. There’s not a lot of water for it, but the forest has enough snow on the ground here for it to make do. I’ve been using him to track goblins and other such creatures. The rogue stalks when it senses prey nearby but does not strike. It leaves that to me now, almost as if it knows I will take care of the killing for it.”
Ryson looked over to the rogue. He felt sadness for the creature, but said nothing.
“You were tracking me, I assume, for a purpose,” Lief stated. “May I ask what it is you want of me?”
“Mostly, I wanted to warn you,” Ryson acknowledged.
“Warn me?”
“Yes, when we met in Pinesway, I told you about Sazar the serp. It seemed to me you might go out of your way to hunt him down. After I returned to Burbon, we learned that he has teamed with a sorceress and I wanted you to know that. If you started hunting the serp, you might have stumbled on a dangerous situation.”
Lief frowned, then glared at Ryson. “You see what happens when you don’t act? You let evil get away and it only gets stronger. Perhaps I shouldn’t have wasted so much time on the rogue or perhaps I should have taken care of the serp first while I was still in Pinesway. The rogue would have waited. Blast all of this!”
Ryson did not know what to say, and thus, said nothing. Lief, on the other hand, just seemed to get angrier.
“Why is it that evil is allowed to prosper? Why must it be that creatures like Sazar can not only get away with directing the death of innocents, but can then benefit by the help of a sorceress. Where is the justice in this?” Lief bit down hard in frustration but then turned his questions directly to Ryson. “Does anyone know the power of this sorceress, who she is?” Lief demanded.
Ryson, knowing the answer, was now even more hesitant in responding, but he eventually spoke honestly.
“Actually we both know her,” the delver finally admitted. “It is Lauren, the one that was with us at Sanctum. Remember? She changed her name to Tabris when she left us.”
“Yes, I remember well and I’m not happy about this, either.” Lief then shook his head in absolute disgust. “It seems every time I turn around, I am reminded how things tend to only get worse. If I remember correctly, she began at the outset with a great capacity to utilize the magic. How much of a danger is this sorceress now?”
“Enin says she’s not in his class, but that she is quite powerful, powerful enough to cause a great deal of damage if she put a mind to it. Beyond that, I can’t say.”
Lief’s hands clenched into tight fists. “Well, at least I know what I must do now.”
“What’s that?” Ryson asked quickly, and then wondered if he really wanted to hear the answer.
Lief spoke as if his next actions would be as simple and as obvious as crossing a road in the deserted town of Pinesway. “I will track this serp and this sorceress and I will put an end to their evil before too much damage is done.”
“Well, they really haven’t caused any damage yet. I’m not sure if it’s the best idea to go looking for trouble.”
“Looking for trouble?” Lief appeared nearly baffled. “Is that what you think I’m doing—looking for trouble? Who caused the trouble in Pinesway?”
Ryson decided to be forthright and pointed out what he saw to be the truth. “I won’t argue that Sazar and the goblins started it, but you didn’t have a problem with finishing it. It seems to me both you and the goblins caused an excessive amount of death there.”
Lief’s eyes narrowed. “What would you have had me done, Ryson Acumen? Perhaps I should have just swatted them on the backside as they raced back into the woods after killing so many. Would that have been a fair punishment?”
This time Ryson could not find the words to answer the elf, but Lief continued without waiting for an answer. “And what do you think I should do now—now that I know this same serp is now in league with a powerful sorceress? Would you have me just sit back and wait for them to destroy everything in Dark Spruce before someone does something to stop them?”
“But we don’t know if they’re going to destroy Dark Spruce,” Ryson finally protested. “In fact, the last I heard, they were still out in the Lacobian.”
“Then I will go to the Lacobian.”
“Do you think that’s really necessary?”
Lief’s frown grew deeper as he could not fathom why he had to explain this to the delver. “The magic has only returned for a few short seasons and already this serp has caused nothing but evil. This Sazar creature threatened your own home town of Burbon to gain access to the tunnels dug by the dwarves. It plundered Dunop when it had the chance, then it moved on to try and take over the town of Pinesway. Its minions left many dead in the streets, or did you already forget?”
The image of the dead became even clearer in Ryson’s mind. “I didn’t forget.”
“Should the serp not pay for his crimes? Should he be allowed to simply do whatever he likes without consequences?”
These words struck Ryson rather hard. He clearly remembered what the serp did at Pinesway. It was Sazar’s orders that led to many killings, killings that were barbaric in nature. Ryson certainly believed Sazar should face repercussions for his actions, he just wasn’t sure if Lief running off to the Lacobian was the right way to go about it.
“That’s not what I said,” Ryson finally spoke out. “I didn’t mean the serp shouldn’t be dealt with. Sazar is a threat and he does have to answer for what he’s done.”
“Then why are you trying to stop me?”
“Because it just sounds wrong how you’re going to go about doing it.”
“Then tell me your answer as to how it should be done. Will this wizard of yours, this Enin, will he handle the situation?”
Ryson looked down to the ground, becoming more frustrated by the moment. “No, he doesn’t think he should get involved.”
Lief almost laughed. “Not get involved? That’s what Tun said when the sphere first freed itself. He didn’t want the dwarves to get involved. He would have had all the denizens of Uton destroyed by the dark magic if he had his way. Not get involved? That’s what the elders of my camp insisted when I wanted them to intervene in Petiole’s absurd behavior. And so they did nothing. So do not tell me that that’s your answer, that you think I shouldn’t get involved.”
“Look, Lief, I don’t know what the answer is. I just came out here to warn you of what’s happening. I didn’t want you to get caught by surprise. I guess I’ve done that. As to what you do next, I guess that’s up to you.”
“Indeed it is up to me.” Lief exhaled heavily and then seemed to light
en in mood ever so slightly. “I appreciate what you have done for me here. You have done so out of friendship. I realize that, and I thank you. What I do now, I do because I feel I must. It has nothing more to do with you. Do you understand that?”
“I guess so, though, I don’t understand much of anything anymore.”
The elf looked about the forest, momentarily stared at the corpse of the tree raker, and then cast a wary eye toward the river rogue. “These are complex times for us all. Still, I can not simply do nothing now. I had a chance to deal with this Sazar and I missed that opportunity. I now feel it is my obligation to stop him. I assure you I will act with care and hopefully I will succeed in doing what must be done.”
Ryson looked across the forest at nothing in particular. He felt almost ashamed of what he was about to say, but he knew he had to say it. “I can’t go with you, you know. I don’t know how to argue with what you’re doing, but something about it just doesn’t seem right.”
“I am not asking you to join me,” Lief said with almost a shrug. “I will track these villains in the Lacobian on my own. I am not sure how I will deal with them as of yet, but I must at least try. First, I must dispatch this rogue.”
Ryson’s gaze quickly shot toward Lief in utter dismay. “You’re going to kill it?”
“I’m responsible for leading it out here into the forest,” Lief responded flatly. “I won’t leave it here to wreak havoc.”
“Wreaking havoc? What are you talking about?”
“A river rogue is a dangerous creature with the ability to kill many innocents. It must be dealt with.”
“Why? Because it has the potential to kill? You can’t kill it just because it might do something in the future.”
“What else will it do? You think it has the ability to offer any thing constructive to this land?”
Ryson would not give up this time. He believed killing the creature would be a dastardly act and made his feeling evident. “You worked together with that creature. Dark creature or not, it does not deserve to be killed so callously. You call these things monsters, fine, but they have their place here just as the rest of us. It was hard for me to argue about Sazar because he has committed crimes, but tell me what this creature has done that you haven’t. It has hunted to survive. In its last few days, it hasn’t even killed. It has left that task up to you. If you want to send it to its death simply because it’s dangerous, then maybe you should save an arrow for yourself.”
Lief stood with eyes blazing, but said nothing.
“Here’s what I think, Lief. I’m not exactly sure why you’re so angry at the land. You want to be angry at the elves in your camp, that’s one thing. From everything I’ve heard, it sounds you have the right to be more than just a little annoyed. Godson, I was furious with your camp when they allowed Petiole to drop the seeds. Still, I don’t see how that gives you a free hand to become a cold blooded killer. If you kill this river rogue, that’s what you will become.”
Lief’s voice was cold and any glimmer of friendship in his eye vanished as if blown away by a bitter wind. “And when this rogue ventures back to Pinesway and maybe all the way to Burbon and kills some child, who will be the cold blooded killer then? The monster for one, but what about you for defending this thing when I could have dealt with it appropriately?”
“Did you hear what you just said?” Ryson asked nearly overwhelmed by Lief’s reasoning. “You think this creature is somehow going to travel all the way back to Burbon just to kill a child. That’s more than a stretch, that’s an outright fairy tale.”
“Fine, it stays here and kills a traveling merchant. Does that please your sense of reality?”
“It might be more realistic, but it might never happen either. You seem to want to damn this creature to an act just so you can justify your wanting to kill it. You know as well as I do this creature may do nothing more than hunt goblins and tree rakers like the one you just shot. You can’t punish something just for what it’s capable of. We’re all capable of doing terrible things, that doesn’t mean we’re going to actually do them.”
“Rogues are killers and thus deserve to be treated as such,” Lief stated with near disdain.
“Are you becoming a killer?”
“You think I take some kind of joy out of doing this?” Lief shot back quickly. “That I am doing it for a thrill? I hate each time I have to fire my bow, but I would hate it more if I did not. I didn’t ask for these creatures to return to the land, but they have, and so they must be dealt with. In truth, I am as much responsible for anyone for their return, or have you forgotten that I was with you in Sanctum?”
“I didn’t forget, but I also didn’t forget that the magic returned to the land before we even set foot at Sanctum’s base. The sphere somehow blew a hole through the side of the mountain and dark creatures had returned before I even met you. We had nothing to do with this, so if you’re trying to take blame…”
“I take no blame,” Lief interrupted fiercely. “I take responsibility! And because I realize my responsibility I have to act. I will not be like the others, others that I’ve watched and done nothing while everything around them screamed for them to act.”
“So you’re going to save Uton all on your own and that starts by killing that rogue?”
“It starts by me doing what is necessary, even though I might hate having to do it!” Lief screamed. “Have you heard nothing I said? Fire upon you, delver. I don’t wish to kill the blasted rogue, but I will not have its acts of murder on my conscience.”
Lief said nothing further. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and prepared to nock it in his bow. He spat upon the ground in angry frustration as his hands shook slightly from his emotions.
The delver watched wide-eyed for only a heartbeat. In a flash of movement, he dashed to his left and grabbed a solid broken branch from the forest floor. The branch was long and sturdy, freshly broken off a nearby maple tree, probably by one of the tree rakers. With this crude staff in his hands, Ryson ran toward the river rogue, remaining well out of its reach, but between the dark creature and the elf.
It seemed almost as if the elf did not understand the delver’s intentions. Lief raised his bow, took aim at the rogues' head, and fired his arrow. It never reached its target. As it sizzled through the air with deadly accuracy, Ryson turned his weight to one side while he swung the heavy branch upward in a long arc. The lower end of the crude staff shattered the arrow in mid-air.
Ryson quickly turned about to gauge the reaction of the river rogue. It remained crouched and unmoving, but watching the delver with a hungry stare, as if it expected Ryson to become its next meal once he was stricken by one of the elf’s arrows.
Realizing the rogue would stay put, Ryson turned his attention back to the elf. “I won’t let you kill it. I can protect it as long as I have to. How much time and how many arrows will you waste trying to do what you know you can’t?”
Lief’s response was as quick as it was cold and hateful. “Fire upon you, delver! If it was not for your past, I would seriously consider firing the next arrow at you. Fine, you wish this monster to live, then you take responsibility for it. I leave any future evil it does on your conscience, not mine. The blood it spills will soak your hands as well as its own. At the very least I can say I tried to remove this monster before it committed any further acts of violence. It was you that saved it. Think hard on that.”
Lief disappeared into the trees, heading south with the Lacobian desert as his ultimate destination.
The delver looked first upon the elf’s back as Lief climbed into the trees above. He then cast a glance to the river rogue that appeared more confused that the delver had not yet fallen. Ryson looked at the claws and the razor sharp teeth and knew the thing had to eat. He sighed heavily and wondered if he made the right decision.