by Jeff Inlo
"You thinking about doing the same?"
"And do what? Farm? Not me."
Ryson saw an opening to gain additional information on the outlying lands. Although he risked losing her attention with a subject she didn't appreciate, he decided to fish for at least sketchy details.
"It seems a lot of the farmers are leaving, too."
The woman actually offered more perspective than Ryson expected.
"Can't blame them. They're out there alone with those goblins, living next to them and no one to keep the peace. At least in the city we have the inferns to keep the goblins in line... at least somewhat. Out in the farms, they don't even have that. It's just the farmers and the goblins. I'd leave, too."
"So you're happy the inferns are here?"
The woman appeared surprised, and then insulted. At first, she wondered how he could even ask such a question, but then she thought he was judging her and she felt the need to defend herself.
"I'm not happy any of them are here... goblins, inferns, the whole lot. I wish they'd all go back to where they came from."
"But it seems like all the people accept the inferns as kind of the law here."
"We were told they were going to keep the peace."
"Told by whom?"
"The councils, the guard, the mayor... everyone in charge."
"And do they keep the peace?"
"Sort of."
"Can you be more specific?"
"You just saw it. They didn't let the goblins back there get out of control. The inferns are harsh and they don't care about anyone or anything, but they keep things from breaking down into chaos. And chaos is all the goblins really want. They don't do anything else. They don't work. They just drink, gamble, and fight. "
The woman paused again and took a good look at Ryson. She thought of what she said, and realized it was probably too much. Anyone who lived in Ashlan didn't need to ask whether the inferns kept the peace. They would know. The stranger across from her was not from Ashlan, and though travelers and merchants from other towns still entered the city, she believed just about everyone in the Great Valleys knew of the situation.
She couldn't understand why he would even ask such questions, and then, she worried about her answers. Talking about inferns in a derogatory manner to the wrong person meant trouble, trouble she didn't need. The expression on her face revealed she was sorry she even spoke at all to the stranger at her table.
"I think I've been here too long. I have to go."
She put a few coins down on the table to cover her dinner, food that she left basically uneaten.
"It was nice talking to you," Ryson stated to her back.
She said nothing further and never turned around. She hurried out the door.
Chapter 11
Holli explored Ashlan with the greatest caution, wrapped in spells of shadow and avoiding busy streets and crowded taverns. She inspected the city from above, creeping on the ledges of rooftops and crouching behind chimney tops. As silent and inconspicuous as hay stored in the loft of an abandoned barn, she became part of the city skyline. She leapt from building to building without making a sound, not even creating a silhouette in the night sky. She was the swirling breeze no one could quite feel, and the rustle of leaves no one really heard.
With an elf guard's patience, she monitored the movements of those that walked the streets and alleys below—humans and dark creatures alike. She noted their patterns and analyzed their motives. She evaluated them with a mind to her experiences in the towns of Connel and Burbon, but she found few similarities. The elf quickly realized that any comparison was futile. The situation in Ashlan challenged all reason. Watching humans and goblins move about the city in both opposition and separation, yet acceptance and close proximity, left her stunned.
Unprecedented.
The human element she could almost understand—almost. People were adaptable, curious, sometimes even inviting of change. Not all of them, of course, but even those that found comfort and security in consistency could learn to live in new surroundings. She had seen that in Connel after its citizens and dwarves agreed to trade treaties and assistance pacts. Dwarves mingled with humans in nearly every aspect of life, they came together out of mutual respect and benefit. Dwarves and humans gathered together, worked towards common goals—a natural acceptance became commonplace within days.
Still, it wasn't dwarves, or elves, or even algors that marched through the streets of Ashlan. It was goblins, and humans were naturally repulsed by such malevolent fiends. Adapting to such creatures might be within the realm of human capacity, but they would not do so easily.
More confusing than the humans, the goblins defied Holli's understanding of dark creatures with even greater emphasis. The repulsive creatures were nothing if not aggressive, combative, and hostile toward other races, especially those they deemed inferior. Certainly, goblins could be subjugated. They would bow to the will of a superior, become the pawns of the more cunning monsters and evil mages. That was part of their very heritage, but they never succumbed to harmonic co-existence whether by treaty or even necessity. Cowardly creatures, yes, but agreeable, even peaceful neighbors living in passive acceptance with humans?—not in all the pages of elflore.
As opposed to immersing herself into the details of the oddities, Holli focused on the city as a whole—obtained an outlook of the bizarre situation from a high level and on a large scale. As the entire population of Ashlan seemed to accept the coalescence of humans and dark creatures, she viewed the city as one massive, complex curiosity. She tracked individuals only to the point where she could understand their part in the overall structure. She wished to understand how the city could possibly operate under such radical conditions.
In hopes of finding some plausible explanation, she looked more to the activities of the dark creatures than the humans. Scores of goblins meandered along the streets in daylight as well as at night. They traveled in packs, and did not socialize with the humans in any intimate manner. Holli found this behavior consistent with her understanding of dark creatures as described in elflore. She could not, however, understand why the goblins established a presence in a human city without the desire to conquer the indigenous population.
As she noted the size of the goblin population within the city limits, that question became even more vexing. The troublesome fiends numbered a sufficient force to take control of at least one third of Ashlan. They could have hunkered down within and around the closely built structures and thwarted any assault to remove them. All they had to do was come together as a horde—which was their basic instinct—and inflict heavy casualties on the humans in one particular area. They did not, however, employ such a strategy.
Instead, they moved about as if they had already conquered the entire population, but decided not to suppress the humans into bondage. For the most part, they simply ignored the people around them, accepted them as an unavoidable minor annoyance. The only time they interacted with humans was when they hoped to obtain some material possessions or when some dispute arose.
While the humans kept their distance, there were times when contact simply couldn't be avoided. Goblins didn't like stepping around people and made their disapproval apparent in many ways. They often shoved humans aside roughly and made grunting, scowling threats to those that didn't move fast enough for their liking.
Still, the goblins showed much more restraint than the elf ever expected. On many occasions, she waited for what she believed would be an inevitable violent encounter, but the goblins never pushed any confrontation to that level. Many times they would even back down. It was not out of fear of the humans, for there were times they greatly outnumbered their adversaries, yet still they refrained from outright conflict.
As Holli continued to monitor the activities throughout Ashlan, the conduct of the other prevalent dark creatures became apparent, and in this, she found her answer. She could not help but notice the presence of inferns all around the city the very first ni
ght she entered Ashlan. Their glowing bodies gave away their positions like burning torches dropped in hollow black pits, but unlike the goblins, the half-demons limited their activity.
They moved about the city, but in slow methodical fashion. Whereas the goblins interaction with humans was narrow, the inferns remained completely aloof. They walked among the people, but never with them, never acknowledging the humans in any significant fashion. They did not enter stores or taverns with any regularity. They did not press their way through crowded streets. Never did the slightest conflict arise between infern and human.
Just as with the goblins, the infern behavior confounded the elf guard. As foot soldiers for draevols, inferns served as shock troops. It was not only their mission, but their inherent nature, to cause turmoil, and yet, they did not prey upon the weak or make any attempt to cause damage or suffering. Holli would have expected the city to be nothing more than a burning cinder with so many inferns walking Ashlan's streets, but the half-demons refrained from all barbaric actions.
Holli could not help but recognize the actions of the inferns, as they moved about the city like sentries intent on keeping order. Their actions became obvious and their tactics were very familiar to an elf guard who's duty it was the to protect an entire elf camp. The half-demons positioned themselves as peacekeepers, and their appearance often dissuaded the goblins from acting aggressively. They even revealed an uncanny knack to anticipate goblin bedlam before it broke loose, and they always appeared to lurk nearby just before any encounter destabilized.
Even from up high, Holli could see that the goblins feared the half-demons. She witnessed them cease their aggressive behavior and scatter at the sight of a disapproving infern. With such dread in place, she could not deny the goblins' willingness to refrain from hostility and to accept a less combative life among the humans.
The explanation did little to ease Holli's concerns. It simply accounted for the goblins' restraint. It did little to clarify the inferns' desire to act as mediators. It also did not explain why the humans allowed the goblins to enter the city and why inferns were placed in positions of power and control.
She was also becoming certain that Ashlan was at the very heart of the turmoil across the Great Valleys. After monitoring the goblin activity, she realized that the dark creatures utilized the city as a base for their activities. Many came and left during the first two days of her investigation of the city. She watched the flow of travelers across the main roadways, and the near endless flow of goblins simply could not be dismissed.
There was also the matter of Prilgrat. He was obviously an influential figure within Ashlan, and in a town where inferns kept the peace and goblins coexisted with humans, a man of influence would hold many answers.
As a regional steward, Prilgrat maintained contacts across several of the valleys, that much could be assumed by the politics of the area, but he also served as the link to the soldiers at Huntston. Holli still could not guess why Prilgrat ordered towns in the valleys to keep watch for her and Ryson, but it proved another link to Ashlan and the mysteries of the region.
During her reconnaissance, Holli had located key town centers, including the offices of the regional stewards. She had pinpointed Prilgrat from afar, even followed him to his home, but she would not make contact until she spoke to Ryson. When the time came to confront the steward, she wanted to make certain she knew the right questions to ask. That time was growing near.
On the third night of her excursion into the city, she turned her mind to another anomaly. The magic around Ashlan behaved in a similar manner to that of the energy at Huntston. The magical flow from above and around the city bent toward the collection of structures and its inhabitants. She could not pinpoint an exact source for the disturbance, but she could not deny its existence.
The magic washed over the city as a whole as opposed to focusing upon one distinct point. She disregarded the thought of a single spell caster trying to manipulate the forces. A wizard redirecting magic with no cause or purpose was a waste of effort, but she could not make any greater assumptions beyond that. Something pulled at the energy, directed it toward the city and then sent it back on its way.
While Holli would not risk revealing herself by questioning the general population of Ashlan, she accepted the minimal peril of exposing herself to an individual she had perceived in her earlier explorations of the city. The magical pulse across the city was making it extremely difficult to sense other spell casters, and there seemed to be an almost blatant lack of sorcery within the city limits, but one building caught her attention quite by accident.
She had been tracking inferns across the city by the heat the half-demons discharged when she noticed a surge of warmth above and beyond the heat of the high sun season. She pinpointed the house from where the phenomenon originated, and though the flow of magic nearly erased the sensation, she caught the faint hint of a spell before it evaporated. She watched the house for sometime and noted only one occupant. She returned to the building and entered the residence by climbing through a third story window. Once inside, she closed it tight, sent out a strong magical pulse, and waited to be discovered.
A man who's age was difficult to determine entered the room where he knew Holli waited. He displayed more curiosity than concern, but he kept a safe distance from the stranger in his house. His short-cropped hair contained no gray, but the stubble on his unshaven face displayed streaks of white. He had been practicing spells in his basement and the sudden dash up several flights of stairs left him somewhat winded, but he was certainly athletic enough not to be flushed or gasping for breath.
The magic hung lightly in the house, mostly from Holli's spell, but also from the spells cast by the man as a means to enhance his own abilities. Holli could sense an orange aura still clinging to his wrists. Fire was clearly his casting strength.
The man looked the elf over quickly, and in that short time, he already caught his breath. He waited just a moment to give Holli the opportunity to speak first, but when she remained silent, he became somewhat apprehensive over her appearance. He decided to spark the conversation.
"Can I help you?"
Holli answered by removing her cap.
"You're an elf!" the man remarked.
"I am, and I removed my cap as a gesture. I'm going to be open and honest with you and I expect the same in return."
Despite her request, the spell caster remained defensive, if not totally evasive.
"My openness will depend on your requests."
The elf nodded. The man was cautious, she could accept that. More importantly, he started out with clear honesty—not committing to anything before he understood the full measure of Holli's sudden and unannounced appearance.
"I respect that," she offered. "Let me begin by stating I mean you no harm and wish to bring no calamity upon you."
The man surprisingly shook his head in open defiance of Holli's declaration.
"You may have already brought me more trouble than I need. The casting of magic is frowned upon in the city. The magical pulse you cast to announce your presence might have escaped these walls. I understand you did it to get my attention, but there are others tuned to the energy. If there are inferns nearby, they will sense the use of magic."
Holli found this accusation somewhat unfounded, considering she knew the man was practicing spells before she entered the house.
"You are concerned with that? You were casting spells in the basement."
"I cast spells of fire in confined spaces under great control. If the residue of my spells escapes my house, it would mix easily with the inferns very presence. It would not be detected."
"I see. Understand this, I am trained as an elf guard. I patrolled the grounds around your house carefully before entering. There were no inferns within range of detecting my spell."
The spell caster appeared relieved, but quickly questioned the appearance of an elf guard within the borders of Ashlan.
"Why are you here?
Elves are very sparse in this region."
"I seek information as to the strange occurrences throughout the Great Valleys."
At first, the man appeared to accept the explanation. His eyes, however, narrowed upon the face of the elf. He reached out with his own magical perception and sensed a powerful presence linked to the elf before him.
"You are not simply an elf guard on patrol. You are extremely sensitive to magic, otherwise you would not have known about my spells, but it goes beyond your own ability. There is something much more about you. Who are you really?"
Holli understood the man sensed her link to Enin. The great wizard was so powerful that even across the vast distance that separated Connel from Ashlan, any spell caster of even marginal ability would notice the connection.
"I am Holli Brances. I am guard and apprentice to Enin of Connel."
It was not joy or fear that shaped the spell caster's expression. It was something in between awe and respect.
"I see." He paused, but only for an instant. He accepted the situation almost as if a stranger had come to his home bearing gifts, and he wished not only to be grateful but to reciprocate the goodwill. "As a spell caster, I call myself Brenn. How can I help you?"
Holli was certain the house contained no other occupants, and without hesitation, moved right to the purpose of her visit.
"As I said, I seek information. The situation in Ashlan is... confusing. How long have the goblins been established in the city?"
"Over a full cycle of the seasons."
"Why were they allowed to enter?"
"I don't really know. They just started appearing."
"No one raised an alarm?"
"Many did, but they were told they were overreacting."
Odd.
"Overreacting to the presence of dark creatures within the city?" Holli questioned, not even attempting to hide her surprise.
"We were told they were not a threat and everyone should mind their own business."
"Who made this decree?"