Delver Magic Book III: Balance of Fate

by Jeff Inlo

  #

  “I am Ryson Acumen. I am a friend of Jon Folarok and I wish to see him.” With that one statement and the Sword of Decree in his hand, Ryson, Lief and Holli were allowed to pass through the streets of Dunop with a full dwarf escort. He held the weapon low at his hip with the tip pointed to the ground. The blade magnified the light that was reflected into this deep underground city through an elaborate configuration of mirrors.

  The dwarfs they passed eyed the elves suspiciously but most bowed their heads slightly in acknowledgement to the delver. There was no clamor of hostility, there were no shouts of rage. Tensions were noticeably reduced since the last time Ryson and Lief walked upon the roads of Dunop.

  The delver and two elves remained calm as they traveled the impressive underground tunnels through the city of Dunop. Even though Ryson had seen these vast caves before, he still marveled at the impressive dwarf architecture. The most amazing structure of all was the grand palace that stood at the heart of Dunop. It’s cascading, spiraling towers stretched from the lowest visible bowels to the highest points of the rock ceiling overhead. They stood like mammoth pillars that supported the entire weight of the land that rested above this city of engineering audacity.

  As the three visitors were escorted into the palace, Ryson recalled the layout of these halls and realized they were being brought directly to the throne room. He wondered if he would be greeted by Jon Folarok, he wondered if Jon had perhaps recovered from his state of utter withdrawal, but all such speculations ended when he spied a dwarf woman sitting at the head of the room.

  The three walked directly up to this woman and briefly bowed their heads in acknowledgement of the woman’s obvious standing of authority, but none of the three recognized her.

  Surprisingly, the woman smiled upon them all.

  “Welcome my friends,” she said in a deep, thick voice. There was sincerity in her words, that much was clear. The easy stance of her short, stout body gave every indication that she held no animosity to any of those that entered. She sat relaxed and waved her arm toward the delver with open enthusiasm. “A grateful salutation to you, Delver Acumen. You are always free to enter Dunop for its people know you as honorable. I am Therese Folarok, Queen of Dunop.”

  Ryson appeared very much bewildered, but tried to speak through his confusion. “Thank you, uhmm, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I didn’t think there was another Folarok to take the throne. When I left, it was just Jon, and he was not in the best of conditions.”

  A brief hint of sadness washed across the dwarf queen’s otherwise animated face. “Unfortunately, Jon’s condition has not changed since your last visit. He remains very much within himself. He will not talk to anyone and shows little regard for anything that goes on around him. As for there not being another Folarok, that was true then, but no longer true now. My great grandfather married the niece of a Folarok prince. Although I did not carry the name, I have always carried the blood. In order to bring stability to Dunop, it was conceived that I should marry Jon Folarok to take the name as well. Though Jon is still king and the acknowledged ruler of Dunop, I am accepted as the leader.”

  Lief kept his own tone respectful, but he could not refrain from asking the question that burned his own mind. “And do the dwarves of Dunop accept your authority?”

  “There is no challenge to my role,” Therese stated as a matter of fact. “Dunop has much to recover from, and the mistakes of Yave and those that wished to destroy the monarchy have received the appropriate blame.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Ryson stated with a sense of relief. Then his mind turned over the series of events described by this new queen and a curious question popped into his mind. “I don’t mean to pry into your affairs, but I am confused. Jon wasn’t married when I left and he was in no condition to do much of anything. If he’s still withdrawn from everything, how was it possible for you to marry him?”

  Therese showed no sign of holding back, no desire to try and hide the circumstances of her partnering to Jon. “Jon was able to walk with only slight assistance to the sacred alter of Krajkar which is the required setting for royal weddings. While he did not speak, he was able to nod at appropriate times. I believe he understood exactly what was going on and welcomed the situation. Since the ceremony, he has shown very slight signs of recovery. He still has a long way to go, but somehow I think he knows a great burden has been lifted from him.”

  “And put on you,” Ryson offered.

  “Fah, I was aware of that burden when I was approached by those loyal to the Folarok name. Times were, and remain, very difficult. We lost many dwarves due to Yave’s misguided intentions. The sand giants caused great damage to Dunop before the Cliff behemoths arrived, and we lost an entire section of Dunop due to the shadow trees.” Therese would not look upon Lief or Holli, but she did bow her head to Ryson. “We would have lost the whole city had it not been for you. For that, I and all of Dunop wish to thank you.”

  “There were many mistakes made during that time, by many different people,” Ryson offered. “I just did what needed to be done.”

  “We are still grateful.”

  Ryson nodded and then decided it was an appropriate time to come to the point of his meeting. “Actually, I’m glad you’re grateful because I’m here now for your help.”

  “And what does the Delver Acumen need?” Therese asked without hesitation.

  “The human city of Connel has been overrun by a goblin horde. Actually, overrun isn’t the best word. The city was surrounded and forced to surrender.”

  “Truly? The goblins surrounded the city? They were able to amass such a number? The vermin normally do nothing but bicker among themselves.”

  “They did not act on their own,” Ryson acknowledged. “They were led by a serp named Sazar. He brought them together and he coordinated the attack. It is by his will they control Connel and he aims to grow stronger.”

  “Fah, I know of this one named Sazar.” Therese nearly spat upon the ground, but she remembered where she was and swallowed hard instead. “He is the scoundrel that slunk into our city and stole what his miserable hands could carry. I have made it my business to know what lowly creature took advantage of our misfortune. I was not surprised to learn it was a despicable serp.”

  “He is despicable, and now he’s dangerous as well,” Ryson said. “With Connel in his hands, he now threatens the entire region. We can’t have that. We also can’t let him keep the prisoners he has in the city. This is where I need the assistance of the dwarfs of Dunop.”

  Ryson paused only for a moment and decided not to try and dance around the subject.

  “When Yave ordered Dunop to attack Connel, tunnels were used to allow the dwarf warriors to enter the center of the city. While we know sections of these tunnels have been collapsed to prevent humans access to Dunop, we still hope to make use of them.

  “Our main objective is to free the human captives. This will isolate Sazar and his dark creatures. The prisoners are held in the center of the city and Sazar’s minions control the outskirts. There is no access to the city above ground that is not blocked. If, however, we can reopen the tunnels, the three of us here hope to guide the prisoners out of the city through the underground passages.

  “Right at this moment, the human guard of Burbon is joining forces with others in the east. They will attack the outskirts of the city while we manage the escape. What we need from you is permission to use the tunnels for our plans, and we need your dwarves to clear the blocked areas so that we can utilize them. We are not asking for anything else.”

  This time Therese did hesitate in answering. She took long moments to consider the proposal and during her reflections, she asked small pointed questions.

  “Will anyone else accompany the three of you to go from here to Connel?”

  “No, it will just be the three of us,” Ryson replied. “We need to move fast and not draw great attention.”

  “At what time of day will
the evacuation start?”

  “Right at nightfall.”

  “How long will it take?”

  “Probably the entire night. I’m not sure exactly how many people are trapped in Connel, but it has to number in the thousands.”

  “How many days until this counter-assault by the human forces on Connel is planned to begin?”

  “It’s also going to begin at nightfall, five days from now.”

  Therese seemed in absolute acceptance of the request and willing to assist the delver, but she did place a restriction on the evacuation. “I have no problem whatsoever in granting your request other than making one condition. You may use the tunnels to evacuate the humans of Connel, but you can not bring them into the city of Dunop. Understand, Delver Acumen, that I request this out of respect for the dwarves of this city. What occurred during Yave’s unlawful rule was not the true will of Dunop or the majority of the dwarves themselves. Still, dwarves of this city attacked Connel. We attacked unsuspecting soldiers and citizens alike out of hate and prejudice. Many realize this now and they know shame. I can not have that shame deepened by parading the victims of that city through these streets.”

  “I understand,” Ryson responded. “In truth, I don’t need you to offer them sanctuary here in Dunop, just passage through the tunnels so they can escape the city.”

  “I am grateful for your understanding,” Therese said. “These humans from Connel, they can go anywhere the tunnels allow. Do you have a preference?”

  Ryson thought for a moment. “Yes, if we can send them east of Connel further into the plains that would probably be the best alternative, the safest.”

  “Our tunnels do not extend very far in that direction. That is the prairie land and controlled by the humans. There is very little of interest to us there and we have only a few passages beyond Connel’s eastern borders. Those we have do not extend very far.”

  “Do they extend out of sight of Connel?”

  “A dwarf’s sight, a human’s sight, an elf’s sight, or a delver’s sight?” asked the dwarf queen.

  “How about the sight of a hook hawk flying directly above Connel?”

  “Yes, they extend that far.”

  “Then that would be enough.” Ryson then addressed the timing of what was needed to be done. “How long will it take a contingent of dwarves to reach the areas that were collapsed to seal off the tunnels to Connel?”

  “A day, perhaps two.”

  “And to clear them?”

  “Another day.”

  “That’s better than I could have hoped,” Ryson said with a smile. “The sooner we can start the better.”

  “Then we shall start immediately,” Therese waved over a guard and issued some immediate orders. When he left with haste, she turned her attention back to Ryson. “I shall have you and your two friends escorted to the Connel tunnels right now. You will be given maps of the corridors so that you know which tunnels to utilize under Connel and then which to use to evacuate the citizens of Connel to the east. Since you will be in the corridors for at least 5 days, we will provide you provisions to last several days as you wait for the proper time to enter Connel.

  “A team of excavators will accompany you to the points where the tunnels were collapsed. As I said before, it should only take them a day to make clear passage. A small contingent of dwarf guards will also accompany you to these points, but not beyond. They will simply ensure that no creatures use the free passage to attack Dunop. We allowed that to happen when Sazar looted us the first time. I can not let it happen again.”

  “I understand.”

  “The dwarf guards will not accompany you into Connel. For that, you must go alone, but rest assured the path will be obvious to you. You will not get lost in the tunnels.”

  “That’s all I can ask for.”

  “Then let us begin.”

  Queen Therese called for an assistant to escort the three to the tunnels and provide them with everything they needed. She thanked Ryson again as he and the two elves left the throne room.

  With the visitors now gone, Therese walked over to a table with the stride of determined purpose. She threw herself in a heavy wooden chair and grabbed writing materials that were placed neatly about the table top. She stared at blank parchment long enough to organize the words in her mind. When she started writing, her hand moved with flowing continuity. She never paused, and once finished she raised herself up from her chair and walked over to her military advisor with the same resolve.

  “I want you to prepare what’s left of our assault forces for immediate action. I also want every member of the palace guard to make ready for battle.”

  “May I ask why?”

  “I see… an opportunity,” Therese explained. She handed the parchment she completed to her advisor. “This will explain it better.”

  The advisor quickly scanned the paper in his hands. He looked up at the queen with a question. “Do you think many will join us?”

  “I do, actually,” the queen replied. “But this time the dwarves of Dunop must willingly choose to join in this attack. I do not wish to order them or threaten them like Yave did. This time Dunop must act as one without excuses and without any blame to place on any one individual.”

  “I hope you are right,” the advisor remarked with a dubious tone.

  Therese pointed to the parchment. “Please have the scribes make copies and post them throughout the city once the elves and delver have moved into the tunnels to Connel. I don’t want them reading this.”

  “It will be as you wish.”