Delver Magic Book I: Sanctum's Breach

by Jeff Inlo

  Chapter 14

  Evan Chase, seasoned tracker, walked abruptly into Mayor Consprite's office. He did not knock and no aide announced his arrival. The door swung open in total silence, without a click of the latch, without a squeal of the knob, and without a creak of the hinge. He stepped in like a hunting cat, and closed the door as quietly as it opened.

  His eyes darted around the room but for a moment. In those passing seconds, he analyzed, interpreted, and judged every item within the confines of those walls. Nothing within his sight escaped his attention. He was aware of potential hazards as well as all sharp edged or heavy items which were in reach of the mayor. He also made spatial observations. He knew how far it was from the front of Consprite's desk to the door, he noted the paths around furniture, and he observed that the window was locked.

  He moved up to the mayor's desk, stepping so lightly he barely disturbed the dust which came beneath the soles of his moccasins. His clothes moved with him as he stepped. He wore no coat or cloak. Animal hides formed his shirt and pants. They did not rustle or creak, but instead remained as silent as his own steps.

  The mayor was aware of Chase's presence, only because he was waiting impatiently for him, waiting and watching his door. If his attention had been upon papers on his desk, Chase could have poked him on the forehead before he even knew the tracker was in the room.

  Chase acknowledged the mayor's gaze, but his eyes would not lock upon Consprite's stare. The tracker shifted his eyes about warily. He seemed more concerned with the movement and placement of the mayor's hands than his expression.

  The tracker's own countenance was uncaring and shadowed by his own indifference toward appearances. His face was shaven roughly. Spots of stubble remained upon his chin and scattered about his throat—shaving with a hunting knife, no matter how sharp and without a mirror—is bound to lead to a less than perfect job. The shaggy mop of black hair on his head curled about in an unruly, unkempt mess. It covered both of his ears, including the one which was missing a huge chunk from a fight with a wolf.

  The wolf won that battle, forced Evan to run up a tree. His thigh still ached when it rained from a savage bite received during that same encounter. He stayed away from wolves and dogs ever since.

  Chase minced no words as he stopped in front of the mayor's desk. "What do ya want?"

  The mayor scratched the tip of his nose before addressing the tracker. He also decided to be blunt and to the point. "I need someone tracked and followed. I want to know where he's been over the past two days and I want to know everything he does after you locate him."

  "Who?" The word came quick from the tracker's mouth as if he spit out the question. It was quite evident that Evan Chase wasted little time, and knew too few words to waste any of those.

  Consprite grimaced. He did not like being questioned with such bluntness, but he was well aware of his situation. As mayor, he had little that Chase wanted, and nothing he needed. He could not threaten the tracker with ordinances, or the restriction of permits and licenses. Chase probably used such papers to wipe his nose or light his smokes. The mayor was not dealing with a merchant, or a homeowner, he was dealing with an uncivilized barbarian that cared not at all for politics and power. Only gold enticed trackers, and thus the mayor replied sourly to the blunt question. "Ryson Acumen, he's a delver."

  "I know who he is," Chase spoke as if insulted.

  The mayor continued, undaunted by the tracker's lack of grace and tact. "Good, then you'll know him when you find him. He left here several days ago to check out the damage to other towns from the quake."

  "An old trail," Evan stated quickly, making it clear he considered such a thing more difficult and expected to be compensated for such.

  Such a response was not lost on the mayor. It indicated the tracker was willing. If not, he would have simply turned and walked out the door, perhaps spitting on the floor, or on the mayor himself before leaving.

  "I can help you with that to a degree," the mayor responded in fashion, realizing the negotiations for the fee had commenced. "I have reports from him as to where he went and who he spoke to for the first part of his trip. I don't need you to look into that. He was in Pinesway less than four days ago. It's where he went after that I want you to look into. I can also give you leads into that. He was following the trail of the tremor. He also spent some time in the Dark Spruce Forest."

  Chase grimaced at the thought. Dark Spruce had little of anything that interested him and a lot of what didn't, especially wolves. The job was becoming less enticing by the moment. Again, he responded shortly.

  "Dark Spruce is tough terrain. Nothing but trees clumped together."

  "Very few trails as well," the mayor countered. "It's a good bet if you find any markings, it will be our delver. Not many people have a desire to go through there. You won't have to sort through multiple trails."

  "Don't tell me how to do my job." The tracker sneered and for the first time his expression revealed a hint of true inner feelings. He had an obvious dislike for delvers, and had no mind to hide it. "I know about forests and I know about delvers, which brings me to another point. Ryson Acumen is full bred. If he wants to, he can lose me at any time. I can't explain it; it's just something about those full breeds. When they have a mind for it, they don't leave a trace."

  "He won't know you're tracking him. That is, if you're careful."

  "I'll ignore that," Chase responded. "The fact of the matter is he's still a delver, and that makes things harder."

  The mayor waved his hand indifferently. "Fine, it makes it harder, but it's what you do. Now do you want the job?"

  If the tracker took time to consider the proposal, it was surely not long. Within mere moments, he responded firmly, a tone that made it clear he had no intention of haggling. "I'll take the job, but I want forty pieces of gold right now. Another ten when I get back, thirty if I come across somethin' I don't like."

  The demand caught the mayor off guard. He expected the tracker to begin bargaining at half that amount. "That's absurd! He's only a delver. I've told you where he's headed and where he's been!"

  Evan Chase stood firm. He did, however, understand his price was exorbitant. He made a simple explanation as to the height of his fee. "It's not what I'm tracking that's botherin' me, it's the other things that might be out there."

  "What are you talking about?" the mayor eyed him suspiciously. He wondered if the tracker might know of the elves that accompanied Reader Matthew into his office that morning. If he did, he would have Kendal's throat slit. The assistant was the only other person that knew of the meeting.

  Evan, however, made no reference to the elves, but he made it clear he knew something was very different about Connel.

  "I'm talking about what's been going on around here for the past few days," the tracker said with a knowing expression. "And don't make it seem like ya don't know what I'm talking about. I've seen ya traipsing out to places ya don't normally go. You've been out to farms, and to the river. Ya normally don't do that, which means ya know something. I don't know exactly what it is, but something ain't right. Which reminds me of another part of my fee, I want to look over the reports on your desk right now."

  "You can't see those!" Consprite objected strenuously. "That's official business. It has nothing to do with you."

  "Maybe it doesn't and maybe it does. I still want to see 'em." He could have snatched them up without Consprite's permission, but he wanted the mayor to hand them over.

  The mayor fought desperately to find a way to deny the request. Thoughts of these reports spreading across Connel corrupted his thinking. He could only imagine the public outcry for his head if the town found out what he had been hiding. He fished for a way out. "Do you think you'll find out why I want the delver followed by reading these? I can tell you that you won't. If you want to know that ..."

  Chase interrupted the mayor's declarations forcibly. "I don't care about your reasons for having t
his delver followed, but I do care about the things I might run into out there. I know something's goin' on around here. I've seen tracks I can't identify. I've heard things in the night that don't belong to any animal in these parts. Ya can keep your reasons to yourself, but I want to know what's happening around here. It's a safe bet that if it's happening here, it's happening out there in them woods."

  The mayor grunted. He sat silent, contemplating other options, but Chase quickly took them away.

  "If you're thinking about finding another tracker, ya might as well forget it right now. Any tracker worth his salt is going to want the same thing I want. I've been talking to some of the others already. We know ya have an idea of what's out there. You can tell me or you can tell someone else. The only tracker that'll go out there without reading your blamed reports isn't gonna come back. He'll take his up front money and leave."

  Consprite snarled. "Fine." He picked up a clump of papers and held them out to Chase. He had no alternative. He figured the tracker would probably find out for himself sooner or later. His only hope was to bind the tracker to secrecy. "Here, read all you like, but keep this to yourself. That's also part of the agreement."

  Chase concentrated upon the papers in his hand. His lips moved sporadically as he read. Reading words never helped him as much as reading the ground, so he never gave it much practice. He knew barely enough to understand the new reality of things, and now that he did, he cast a sideways glance at the mayor.

  "This stuff for real?"

  "Of course it's for real. I saw most of it myself."

  Chase grimaced. "I don't like it. Corpses walking around and monsters comin' out of the water. I don't like it at all."

  The mayor held his hands up in exasperation. "Do you think I do?"

  "No, I suppose you don't," Chase grunted. "What about the money?"

  The mayor had already conceded to showing the tracker the reports, he would not concede entirely as to the rest of the fee. "I'll pay you thirty now and fifteen when you get back, whether you like what you find or not. That's more than this job is worth and you know it."

  Again, the tracker showed little sign of truly considering the agreement, and his acceptance came nearly instantly. "It ain't worth my own skin, but I'll take it. It'll give me a chance to find out what's really goin' on."

  "Good." The mayor's voice turned cold as he gave his final instructions. "Now I don't want you sending any reports to me. I want you to keep everything to yourself. You come back when you know what the delver is up to and when you're sure you know where he's been. Don't take too long, either. If you think the delver is just surveying the land, then forget him and come back here. You're also to report only to me. Is that clear?"

  "Uh huh," Evan muttered as he gave one last glance to the papers before throwing them back down on the mayor's desk.