Delver Magic Book III: Balance of Fate

by Jeff Inlo

Chapter 15

  “Raid the farmhouses and the barns, leave the animals alone, allow the humans to escape. When they have fled, search all the buildings quickly for weapons and food,” Sazar commanded the goblin in charge of the raiding parties. He would also send these orders by thought to each minion surrounding the outlying farms, but as he discovered the goblins actually responded better to a chain of command, he elevated a certain number of them to higher ranks and communicated with them directly.

  It truly wasn’t necessary for him to speak with his minions to get his orders across. His powers of control enhanced by Tabris’ magic allowed him to communicate his directives completely through mental links. Allowing a few goblins access to his presence and speaking to them directly, however, elevated these creatures to a higher status. It was a status all the goblins desired, and they would compete with each other to gain the serp’s favor in order to move up the ranks. While the serp found repeating his orders verbally somewhat tiresome, he realized the effort actually enhanced the goblins’ willingness to follow his directives exactly. With so many dark creatures under his control, Sazar quickly learned how to manipulate and influence them with the greatest degree of efficiency.

  For the most part, the goblins showed a great desire to belong to his horde, and as his army grew, it actually took less exertion to place them under his command. Many of the diminutive creatures actually began seeking him out, as if they could sense the growing power of the goblin horde now under his direction. They bickered and argued constantly. They fought and backstabbed for any advantage they could obtain to move up the ranks, and this proved to be an annoyance as he began to lose goblin soldiers to their own infighting. Still, Sazar found that establishing a dominant order within the goblin ranks increased the zeal and willingness of each individual goblin to work toward promotion. This more than made up for the moments of turmoil.

  “Remember,” Sazar continued, “force them out of their dwellings or lure them out, but do not kill them in their homes. Let them see you, let them panic, and let them run. Make sure the fleeing humans head toward the city, not out toward the wilderness. If they head for the trees or toward the grassy hills, redirect them to the roads heading back to the city. If they continue to seek refuge elsewhere, then you may kill them. Some of them must reach the city guard posts alive.”

  Sazar’s long thin tongue quickly darted out of the side of his mouth as he looked toward the east from a small window. He sat in a large chair in front of a desk that had one leg smaller than the others. It wobbled slightly when he leaned upon it. The building he now used as shelter from the night and the coming snow storm was one of three structures that comprised a small outpost to the northwest of Connel’s outlying farms. The bodies of the humans that used to maintain this outpost lay stacked in a haphazard pile in back of a small shed like structure. The dead humans previously served as clerks monitoring goods shipped from Connel to the northern passage routes that led through the Colad Mountains and into the northwest valley regions. Their journals and papers now fed the fire which kept Sazar warm.

  “I will let each raiding party commander know when to begin their individual assaults,” the serp informed his raiding commander. “I want you to remind them of the importance of waiting for that order.”

  The serp then gazed deeper into the eyes of the goblin commander. Sazar’s eyes seemed to swirl as if the dark oblong pupils floated in unsteady waters. His voice hummed with a near musical tone as he detailed the first part of his plan to the raid commander.

  “The raids will begin in three farms due south of Connel’s main entrance. The farmers will not want to fight goblins alone in the dark. They will also not want to risk losing their supplies this early in the dormant season. Most will run for the nearest guard post. The human sentries will alert their superiors and they will almost definitely respond with a forward patrol on horseback to drive off what they will view as an ordinary raid of simple goblins looking for food. The mounted patrol will investigate and they must be allowed to see the goblins about the farm houses, thus your raiders will not hide at the sound of the incoming horses. They must be seen, and then they must flee, but they are not to respond in any other way.”

  Glaring at the goblin commander and pressing even deeper into the mind of the diminutive monster, Sazar made sure the goblin understood his strategy. “More raids will begin just west of those first three farms as well as further south once the first human patrol has been sighted. The escaping farmers of these additional raids will come across the horseback patrol and announce the new activity. Unsure if these are the same raiders that scattered or another raiding party, the patrol will call for reinforcements. That is why the raids must be staggered.”

  Once certain that the goblin commander understood Sazar’s intentions without question, the serp announced the rest of his plan. “At the point, the humans will undoubtedly send reinforcements to the south. When this detachment reaches the outlying farm lands, the primary raid will occur at all the farms to Connel’s east. Again, let the farmers escape to the city, let them reach the guard posts. When their militia learns of this new larger attack, they will believe we bypassed the city in order to gain access to the dormant season food stocks. Upset that goblins have moved well past the city limits and to the more important farmlands of the eastern plains, the humans will most assuredly dispatch the majority of their forces. It is at this time their forces will be out in the open and most vulnerable to attack. The main body of my army that has already surrounded Connel will fall upon them with force. When they are decimated, I will then call on the shags and bloat spiders. You will also begin to hear the calls of the razor crows and hook hawks. That will conclude all raiding activity on the outlying farms and you are to withdraw and redeploy your forces to cover the main road that extends east out of Connel.”

  The goblin did not speak. It simply nodded and waited to be dismissed. Sazar waved his scaly hand and the raiding commander scurried out the door.

  A handful of goblins remained in the shabby office with Sazar as he began to telepathically communicate his orders to his army as a whole. These goblins within the outpost office earned the right to extricate themselves from the mass that made up the horde and stand by Sazar’s side. They normally fulfilled meager tasks to keep the serp happy. For the most part, they served as nothing more than messengers and gofers, and they would do anything to retain that position and avoid returning to the horde as simple foot soldiers. One of these goblins was Chal, a goblin that had no real duty other than to serve as Sazar’s listening board.

  Not the smartest, the most cunning, the strongest, or even the most kowtowing goblin, Chal gained Sazar’s favor by being the most able to listen. His attention span far exceeded the normal goblin and it allowed him to remain focused on a conversation with the serp even as Sazar was forced to take long pauses to communicate with his army of minions. With other goblins, Sazar could never start a conversation, take a pause of more than a few moments, and return without having to start all over again. Chal for some reason could actually keep a thought in his balloon like head for more than a wink of the eye, a trait that was most unusual for goblins and immediately elevated him to a high status.

  “Chal,” Sazar called out. “I’m interested in your opinions on this action. This is my first true conquest and as it begins, I wish to analyze it further. To this point, I have been quite successful in keeping this huge number of goblins undetected. That in itself has been a monumental task. The approaching storm has undoubtedly assisted in this matter. Traveling in Dark Spruce gave us natural cover. Getting across the hills and farmlands was another matter. In order to get this close to the city without being seen, we have had to use much of the night already. We do not have long now before the sun rises. When it does, we will obviously be discovered. Still, I have the city surrounded and they don’t even know it yet. I have numerous raiding parties ready to attack, thus we are now committed. Still, it almost seems too easy, but as there is no
turning back, I am wondering if I might be overlooking something. What would you do at this moment?”

  Chal responded as he often did, simply and without much thought. “There are enough goblins at your command to simply take the city and kill everyone. That is what I would do.”

  Sazar expected this over simplistic response, but in truth, he did not really want Chal’s advice. He simply used Chal as a way to talk to himself. By explaining to Chal the basic principles of his approach, Sazar often found potential flaws that might be so obvious that they were earlier overlooked.

  “So you feel I have wasted too much time and placed too much effort in keeping my forces concealed. I have enough raw power to simply march into Connel and destroy the city. That is probably true, but I would lose more goblins that way.”

  “They can be replaced.”

  “It is good to see that you have such love for your fellow goblins. Still, you mustn’t be short sighted. Yes, I can find replacements, but I want this army to grow, not to shrink or to remain stagnant. I plan to control far more than this city. The land occupied by the humans extends far to the east, very far indeed, most likely beyond your wildest imagination. There are countless towns and cities that extend through the farmlands and grasslands. Uton is only a small region of an even larger expanse. There is another ocean to the east and cities of massive size on its coast. One day, I may wish to take these cities as well. To do that, I must grow in power, not lose power out of impatience.”

  Sazar clicked his long sharp nails on the desktop. The desk wobbled momentarily and Sazar sighed as he sat back in his chair away from the unsteady table.

  “Also, by concealing my forces the humans were never alerted and given a chance to escape. It is not enough to simply take an empty city. That was my objective when I attacked that pathetic town of Pinesway. I will no longer think so small.

  “The second mistake you make is in wanting to kill all the human inhabitants. That is just plain foolishness. I have told you of my bargain with Tabris. I am bound to honor that bargain and fully intend on doing so. If I kill everyone in the city, what will that leave me to send to Tabris? Goblins? I doubt that would make her happy, to say nothing of my goblin army. No, it would not do to simply march in and kill them all. I must control them. To do that, I must show them that I am more than a marauding army. The battle must not only be won, it must be won in such a way that they understand I am not to be underestimated.

  “I also have to think about supplying my forces,” Sazar continued. “I am no longer interested in simply raiding and stealing what I can get my hands on. I will conquer this city and I will hold it. Once I am in control, I will need food for my forces as well as metals to make new weapons. I certainly can not depend on the goblins or any other of my minions to farm or to mine. I will need the humans to do that. I will offer them life in exchange for their servitude. In order for that bargain to work, they must remain alive after I take the city.”

  Sazar nodded his head with a degree of satisfaction. “No, I believe the initial designs of my plan are sound. I don’t want the inhabitants of Connel to escape and I don’t want them all killed. I simply need to make sure their ability to fight is extinguished. I will do that by coaxing a large portion of their forces out into the open and destroying them. The ordinary inhabitants of the city will then be more willing to accept their fate.”

  Chal shrugged. “Goblins don’t like the open land. When the sun comes up, we will look for cover from the light.”

  “The storm clouds will keep it fairly dark for a while,” Sazar hummed. “I believe it will also snow for some time. The sun will not be too much of a problem.”

  “We do not like snow, either.”

  “Goblins don’t like much of anything,” Sazar responded with a weary sigh. “But I must say I should consider that. I can not allow the battle to drag on for long. A heavy snow might slow my army’s forward movement into the city. If the humans can regroup with archers, it might allow them to cause heavy casualties, not enough to change the ultimate outcome, but as I said, I wish to minimize my losses. It is best if I begin the first raids as soon as possible.”