Delver Magic Book III: Balance of Fate

by Jeff Inlo

Chapter 22

  Ryson’s sharp delver hearing picked up the thunderous beat of horse hooves even from his position well below ground. From the roaring vibrations, he knew that Sy had succeeded in convincing many to join the assault. He wondered about this awe-inspiring sight, what that many soldiers on horseback racing to the city must look like. His delver curiosity almost got the better of him, but he recalled his true mission and buried the desire to look upon the charge of soldiers. He would ascend through the access tunnel, but remain focused on leading those trapped in Connel to safety.

  As he began to climb toward a new light overhead—a light from an opening that would lead to the basement of some storehouse in Connel’s northwest section—Ryson picked up another tremble in the ground, one that did not originate from the distant horses racing toward Connel. This disturbance rattled the ground very close to him. Half-way up the access tunnel, he stopped his own movements to better sense what was going on around him. Moments later and just a few steps ahead, dirt and rock erupted into the passageway as the black, grime-filled pinchers of a rock beetle burst through the narrow cave walls.

  Ryson jumped back just as the beetle pressed itself out of its own burrowed passage. As the narrow high-jointed legs twirled the giant insect about to get a new hold of the access way, Ryson stared in uncertainty at the large rounded body of the monster that now blocked his path to Connel. When the creature started to propel itself forward in a rambling motion, the delver backtracked with ease. He kept a safe distance from the thick pinchers that glistened in the sparkling beams of light that flowed through the lower part of the cave. Knowing he could not leave this creature alive if he hoped to evacuate people down this passage, he had little choice but to draw the Sword of Decree.

  As the glow of the blade magnified the light in the tunnel, the immense insect recoiled. Without spinning about, it retraced its own steps backward at an alarmed pace of frantic motion. Before the delver realized the insect’s intentions, the beetle reached its own burrowed tunnel and darted out of sight.

  Ryson cursed as he deftly raced back up the access way and toward the beetle’s escape route. The delver peered into the hole and allowed the blade of his sword to enter the new cavern, filling the passage with brilliant light. Ryson saw three different paths breaking from the opening and could not fathom which the insect might have taken. Still, he could not simply allow the creature to escape. It could easily return when people filled this tunnel. That would be beyond catastrophic. He was about to venture a guess as to the beetle’s path when he heard Holli shout out.

  Ryson cursed again in a moment of indecision. The elf was calling out to him, not in fear or in panic, but in a tone that demanded his immediate attention. He took one last glance down into the beetle’s den, shook his head in disgust, and then bounded back toward Holli.

  In but an instant, Ryson saw Holli with her bow drawn. She stood between two rock beetles. She aimed at the one in front of her. With steady precision, she released the bowstring and let the arrow fly at the creature’s head. Unfortunately, the insect dropped its body low against the ground and the shaft shattered against the thick round shell that covered its massive body.

  “There’s another one behind you!” Ryson shouted a warning.

  “I’m aware of that,” Holli replied. In the blink of an eye she ran directly at the monster that she had fired upon. She dove upward and forward, extending her body as high above the beetle as the cave ceiling would allow.

  The large insect lurched up quickly on its two hind legs with its thick pinchers poised to attack, but its movements were no match for the nimble elf. The pinchers closed on empty air. The miss left the creature off balance and it toppled forward. It landed on its legs, however, and it twirled about to face Holli once more.

  “Use your blade on the one nearest you,” Holli commanded. “The sword can break through the armored hide.”

  Ryson did not act immediately. Instead, he set his feet below him, taking a deep breath in preparation for the strike. Almost as if the beetle could sense what was happening behind it, it rose up on its legs and skittered off to the side. Without looking back, it dropped low and propelled itself through a hole just wide enough for its body to fit through.

  “Blast!” Holli shouted. “Cut the other one off! Don’t let it reach that tunnel!”

  This time Ryson moved swiftly and without delay. He leapt to a clear spot between the remaining beetle and the passage the other insect used to escape. He held the Sword of Decree firmly in front of him, waiting for the monster to turn. It never did.

  Holli drew another arrow, but before she could even place it in the bow string, the beetle’s six legs thrust it toward her with unexpected speed. She had to drop the arrow as she leapt to one side of the tunnel and then used her hand against the cave wall to thrust her further away from the lunging pinchers.

  Ryson leapt forward at the creature, but the instant he moved, another pair of pinchers exploded through the cave wall and nearly closed around his neck. Only his delver speed saved him as he dropped to the ground and rolled away. Completing the tumble and leaping back up to his feet, he faced the new attacker with his sword ready to strike, but the insect’s head withdrew back into the darkness of yet another break in the cave wall.

  At that moment, Lief appeared and without hesitation fired his bow at the beetle that continued to move toward Holli. The arrow sliced through the air and slammed into the upper joint of the insect’s rear left leg. The leg quivered and then fell limp.

  The loss of its hind leg left the beetle unsteady in its movement, but also much more alarmed. It no longer focused on Holli and instead skittered and skipped about on its functioning legs, leaving the damaged one to drag along the ground. It flattened itself against the ground and its forward legs dug furiously against the dirt and rock. Within moments, half of its body was submerged out of sight.

  Ryson stood uncertain as he watched the monster make further progress in burrowing out of sight. “What do we do?”

  “There is little we can do,” Holli offered dejectedly.

  Ryson pointed back down from the way he had come. “There was another one that came at me by the northern passage. It escaped down a path that opens very near the entrance point we were going to use.”

  Holli moved up and quickly inspected several of the holes made by the beetles. “That means there are at least three, probably more. We have no idea how many. We have to call off the evacuation.”

  “But we can’t…”

  Before Ryson could argue further, Holli explained the simple truth. “What we can’t do is send defenseless people into this cavern. The serp has a connection with these creatures. Since they know we are here, he knows we are here. Regardless of what is going on near the outer edges of the city, he is not going to ignore these tunnels any further. He can use the beetles to attack, or have them collapse the tunnels. Trying to bring people down here would be the same as sending them to their death.”

  “Then what do we do? Getting the people out of there is part of the plan. We have…” Ryson stopped suddenly and peered down the tunnel toward Dunop. “Wait, there’s more movement down there, but it’s not beetles.”

  Both elves turned their own attention back down the cavernous passage. Their keen elf vision revealed the truth.

  “The dwarves are coming and they are dressed for battle,” Holli stated and quickly took a position in the center of the tunnel.

  Indeed, swarming up through the cavern from Dunop came a great host of dwarves moving with grim determination. They wore full battle armor and carried mace and axe. At the front marched the dwarf queen. As she approached the three, she unexpectedly offered a smile and bid those dwarves behind her to hold their progress. She immediately acknowledged Ryson.

  “Leave the beetles to us, Delver Acumen, and there is no longer a need for your evacuation.” The queen then raised her left hand, pointed forward, and made four distinct clicking noises with her tongue. Several groups
of dwarves charged further up the tunnel, disappearing into the various passages used by the rock beetles. The queen then turned back to the delver. “Be assured the insects will not escape us.”

  Ryson looked from Queen Therese to the two elves. Lief was eyeing the dwarf queen suspiciously while Holli stood stoic. Ryson could read little from her expression. Without knowing what else to do, he asked the obvious question.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Therese Folarok actually laughed—a throaty, hearty laugh. After a few breaths, she finally answered, but in the form of a question. “What do you think we are doing here?”

  “I don’t have the slightest idea,” Ryson admitted honestly.

  “Your elf friend here believes we are here for no good reasons,” the queen said as she nodded to Lief. “And that one will not reveal her assumptions. She is well trained. I would play this game with you longer, but time is short. We have a city to cleanse of dark creatures and we wish to do it before the sun rises.”

  “You’re going to attack the goblins?” Ryson blurted out in obvious surprise.

  “Indeed, as well as any other dark creatures that must be removed.”

  “But why?”

  Here, Therese’s face lost its mirth and her tone turned deadly serious. “It is quite simple. We have wronged these humans. It is time to make amends for that wrong.”

  Therese looked upon the delver and saw only more confusion. She did her best to make her point clear. “You yourself pointed out these tunnels were created for us to attack the humans of Connel, and attack them we did. We offered no quarter and allowed no mercy. We took the lives of many in that battle, many that did not deserve to die. We did all of this because we wanted to believe they were a threat to us, when in truth we were the ones creating the threat. These humans had never done anything to us. In truth, they did not even know Dunop existed until we rose upon their streets for the sole purpose of trying to prove our own superiority.”

  Ryson tried to interject his own understanding. “But Yave…”

  The delver was not allowed to continue as Queen Therese cut him off in mid sentence.

  “…was not the only one to blame,” Therese said with finality. “Yave was not alone, and we can’t simply hang this totally on the separatists that aided her for their own cause. We all have blood on our hands. Dunop has blood on its hands, and it must be cleansed just as we will cleanse the streets above of the horde that now infests them. You see, Delver Acumen, sometimes it’s not enough to simply acknowledge you’ve done great harm. Sometimes you have to do more to rectify those mistakes.”

  She paused as she waved her arm behind her to the throng of dwarves that waited in the tunnel for her orders. “Behind me is nearly every dwarf in Dunop and they are here of their own volition, not because I ordered them here. So you can understand the weight of what I say, understand that these dwarves volunteered for this action. They accepted it as their duty, their responsibility. Once you departed, I posted declarations throughout Dunop that Connel had been captured by a horde of goblins. I asked for any that wished to assist the city to appear before the palace gates prepared for battle. This is what showed up.”

  Ryson stared down the tunnel and realized the line of dwarves continued beyond his sight. It really must have been nearly every citizen of Dunop.

  “But we didn’t ask for your help beyond clearing the passage,” Ryson said, still amazed by what he saw.

  “Fah, that barely makes up for the extensive damage we caused to the city above us. In essence, the goblins' ability to take the city is also our fault. We weakened the humans' defenses, and thus, it is even more imperative we redeem ourselves. How can clearing a few tunnels even begin to erase the stains on Dunop’s honor?”

  “I don’t think anyone blames Dunop for what happened in the past,” Ryson offered.

  “You think not?” The queen shook her head strenuously. “I’m afraid it is not so. We could try to place the blame on Yave and those misguided dwarves that arrogantly desired to show dwarf strength at the expense of others. Unfortunately, the attempt would be in vain. You can not separate the dwarves from the deed, or the deed from the dwarves. They become one and they encompass all of us, not just a select few. Dunop will always be known as the city of dwarves that attacked the helpless without true cause. That is not a legacy we wish to have endure.”

  “But things have changed,” Ryson said. “You have new leaders. Yave is gone, those that followed her appear to be out of power. You can move on.”

  “I am grateful for your willingness to forgive, but you are not like many others. Know this Delver Acumen, you showed us true honor when you saved Dunop from the shadow trees. You did not have to do this. You were aware the dwarves of Dunop had attacked humans in Connel. You were aware we were about to attack the town of Burbon. You were thrown in the dungeon as a reward for trying to stop that madness, and still, you found it within yourself to put those transgressions aside and save our city. In that moment, you proved yourself far more worthy of admiration than any dwarf in Dunop. That is not only a credit to you, it is a credit to those who serve with you, those you call friend, whether they be elf or human. When we consider what we have done in the face of such honor, we are humbled.”

  Therese’s face suddenly brightened and she spoke with renewed vitality. “But now you give us an opportunity, a chance to remove the stain on our honor and possibly allow us to gain your friendship and respect. If so, we can then respect ourselves once more. It is our intention, all of the dwarves of Dunop, to rid the city above of those despicable creatures. Now please, I understand your curious nature, but any further questions must wait. As I said, we wish to complete this task before the sun rises, and I need your assistance.”

  “What do you require?” Holli asked.

  The dwarf queen nodded in appreciation to the elf guard. “The evacuation is no longer necessary since we shall free this city, however, the humans above must be informed of our intentions. The last time dwarves rose up to the streets of Connel, we did so to attack, we did so to our shame. The three of you must inform them that we mean them no further harm. We will dispatch these dark creatures that plague them, and then, we will return home. While I would understand their apprehension, I do not wish the sight of dwarves returning to their streets to incite further panic. Understand this, these dwarves that follow me are under strict orders not to harm a single human, even if we are attacked by them. You cooperation is most needed in this regard.”

  Ryson considered what was said to him, and quickly welcomed the plan. It was obvious that Connel could no longer simply be evacuated and here before him was the perfect solution to their problem. Sy and all the soldiers surrounding Connel would face unparalleled difficulties in pressing the goblins out of the city, but these dwarves were much better suited for the task.

  With the thought of Sy in his mind, the delver paused and listened intently to everything about him. While he heard the movements of the small dwarf groups pursuing the rock beetles, he could no longer hear the charging hooves of horses overhead.

  “Alright, and thank you. This is more than I can ask, and I’ll do everything I can to help. From what I can hear, Sy must have his forces in place around the city. The charge is over. If we’re going to do this, then we need to go now.”

  Holli spoke up to the delver. “You and Lief can return to your initial passages you planned to use before. I will not have to wait here to guide the humans, thus I can take the center path now.”

  Ryson shook his head strenuously. “No, you take my passage. I need to go more to the southwest. I have to get to the Church of Godson.”