by Jeff Inlo
Baannat ignored the wizard, or so it appeared. He continued to narrate the battle in the desert.
"They fight well, these algors. They sling rocks, they throw spears, they even club their enemies when they can. Somewhat savage, wouldn't you say?"
As he had nothing else to do, Enin argued with the ghoul to the best of his abilities. Perhaps remaining in conflict with Baannat would allow him to keep his wits long enough to find a way out.
"It is not savagery to protect one's home. That is all they're doing. Your fiends are the attackers—the savages."
"I suppose they did go into the desert looking for a fight, but a fight takes two willing combatants."
"Would you have expected the algors to run?"
The ghoul shrugged.
"I really didn't know what to expect," Baannat stated with an almost innocent grin. It appeared so out of place on the slink ghoul that the smile turned disturbing in but an instant.
"Nonsense. You knew the algors would fight. You said as much."
"I've said many things, but not all of them are true."
Enin wondered if Baannat would speak any truth at all, and he posed a question that still burned in his mind.
"Would you be truthful if I asked how you can control so many?"
"Certainly, no need to lie about that. It's actually quite simple. Dark creatures need magic to exist in your land of light. That's already been established, but for them, it is an artificial reality. Still, most prefer it to life in the dark realm. That's why when a portal opens they usually take advantage of it."
The explanation seemed empty.
"So you promise to open portals for them? Is that all?"
Baannat hissed with dissatisfaction. "If we're going to play this game, I need you to concentrate a bit more. What's wrong with you? I told you I cannot open a portal of my own. Seems you don't listen to me. Or maybe you think I'm lying about the portals. I'm not. Think about it for a moment. How could I possibly link two physical planes together when I'm not completely physical myself? It's just not possible. But linking the physical to the nonexistent, that's now within my power."
The words rang true. It explained Baannat's inability to create a portal of his own. It also explained, to a degree, how Baannat could influence events outside the dimension of nonexistence, but it did not go any further in answering the original question.
"And how does that give you power to control the actions of so many monsters?"
"Because they understand the new realm that has been created by my rebirth. They actually long for it. Think about it. You call them creatures of nightmare. That's very appropriate. Such beings don't wish to escape into a land of light. They wish to escape their very existence. They see me as a bridge to their most fervent desire. They would love to join me here, and that is what I have offered those that do my bidding. I don't necessarily control their will. I don't have the power, but they will follow my orders because I offer them what they truly want, and for that, they will do almost anything."
"And now they fight for you in pointless rage," Enin responded in complete dismay. "You wanted a war, and you told me you didn't care who wins the battles. You're just creating havoc."
"These creatures enjoy havoc."
"But you're not doing it for them. You're doing it to get back at me. You want to torture me. That's all you want to do."
"Oh, no, no. That's not all. There are others. Remember? I also have a bone to pick with your friend the delver... and the woman immune to magic. The delver is in the desert. You knew that. He fights with the algors. Would you like to know how he's doing?"
Enin looked away. He did not wish to occupy his mind with the struggles of his friend. That was not the way to keep his sanity. He turned his consciousness back to the gray cloud that surrounded his soul. He tried to use it to blot out the words of the ghoul, but he couldn't. He could still hear the shrill laughs as well as an unexpected surprise.
"He died a few moments ago," the ghoul announced with almost child like innocence. "Ryson Acumen dead. Such wonderful words. Would you like to see? I think I can project the image here. Don't you want to see how he was killed?"
Enin turned his focus further inward and away from the ghoul. The news hurt more than he could believe. Though he had no body, it felt as he was suffering from physical pain, as if his stomach was torn free. Of course, it was not, but the pain seemed identical.
The wizard cursed himself for making so many mistakes, for putting so many in harm's way. Ryson Acumen was a force for good, he could see that much. The delver's death would be a great loss and it was all his fault. The pain within him grew.
"You don't wish to see?" Baannat asked. "You wish it to remain a mystery? That's not like you. I would have thought you wanted proof. You normally don't believe anything I have to say. Why would you believe me now, especially when I'm lying."
The emotion within Enin swung in the opposite direction. His sorrow switched to relief, but then bubbled over in anger.
"You lied?!"
"Of course I lied. The delver's not dead. I don't just want him to die in some pointless battle. What does that gain me? Nothing. You're a fool. I told you I wanted him here with you."
"You are a despicable creature," Enin projected with his thoughts.
"Yes, I am, but not one without a sense of humor. Here let me show you."
The gray envelope grew lighter and a hole opened before Enin. He immediately tried to press himself through the break, but he could not. It was only a mirror, a reflection of occurrences in the desert, not a true rift.
Baannat laughed.
"Did you really think I would let you escape? No, you're never getting out of here. Still, I want you to watch the battle in the desert. It's getting interesting. The shags are about to enter the fray. Watch and enjoy."
And Enin did watch. He gazed upon the endless number of shags storming across the desert. He saw them fall in numbers beyond reason when they reached the line of sand giants waiting in a gorge. He marveled at the speed of Ryson Acumen as the delver cut through every monster that broke free of the sand giants.
He almost felt pride, but he also felt loss, a great loss at the sight of so many dead. It was all such a pointless waste. So much death and destruction. And over what?
All because of Baannat—a miserable entity that served nothing but evil. It disgusted the wizard that such a creature could even exist, let alone have the power to cause such mayhem. Enin wished he could rid the land of the ghoul.
And then Enin thought of how he had already believed he accomplished that feat. He battled the slink ghoul and allowed Ryson to defeat the monster, but defeat was not permanent because of his own mistakes.
Enin focused on the images cast upon the shadows around him. He looked upon the growing pile of dead corpses in the desert. It could have all been avoided if Enin showed greater care.
Was he then also responsible?
Enin's emotions swung wildly. From despair to relief and from anger to guilt, emotions flooded the wizards consciousness. He fought against the tide, tried to keep his focus on what little purpose he had left. He watched the struggle and hoped for the best.
As if in reward for such determination, the tide of battle swung completely to the algors. He could see the shags completely decimated and the flying nightmare birds removed from the sky. The majority of algors appeared to survive the attack, as did Ryson Acumen. Another battle Baannat had lost, or so he thought.
"Now it gets interesting," Baannat quickly offered through a sinister giggle. "That was just the first round. The real fun starts now."
Enin caught one quick glimpse of the monster rising up from the desert floor and then the space around him went back to gray.
"I don't think you need to see any more of that right now," Baannat snickered. "I'll let you wonder how that turns out. I'm sure you realize it won't be good for the algors."
A dark thought—that was the last imprint on Enin's mind from the horrific im
age in the desert. Baannat was right. It would not be good for the algors and just as bad for Ryson. Enin's emotions swung back to fear and regret.
Baannat drew closer to the wizard's spirit. The ghoul took greater form in the shadow as his body was incomplete and it thrived in such an element. He could move his deficient figure about in the emptiness even as Enin could do nothing to flee.
"You know," the ghoul continued with a sickening hum, "there's something you've forgotten already. Where were the dwarves?"
At first, Enin didn't understand. The question seemed out of place... irrelevant.
"What?"
"The dwarves. You directed many of them into the desert to assist the algors. Seems like they didn't show. Doesn't that concern you?"
Enin realized the ghoul was correct. There was no sign of the dwarves in what he had seen. He grasped at the only explanation he could believe.
"The images I saw came from your magic. You could have distorted them." Enin accused.
"If I could do that, why would I show you what you saw? Wouldn't it have been more advantageous for me to show you the algors getting wiped out? No, whether you believe me or not is immaterial, you saw the truth, and deep down, you know it. So I ask you again, where were the dwarves?"
Confusion swirled Enin's thoughts in every direction. He had forgotten about the dwarves, but he could not deny they were not in the scene of battle. They could have been fighting underground, but shouldn't at least some have come to the aid of the algors on the desert floor or on the ledges of the cliffs?
Nothing was going as he hoped or planned.
"You really have been a bit numb lately, haven't you? Why is that?"
Another question that stung the wizard—a question that rang with Enin's own doubts. He had made so many mistakes. His mind had been in a cloud. He wanted to blame Baannat, but he couldn't. Baannat had played Enin for a fool, he could not deny it, but the wizard's confusion came from within and long before Baannat had the power to reach him.
"You're very unsure of yourself at the moment," the slink ghoul observed. "It's not just the lack of power. It's something beyond that. You're wondering about so many things. You used to feel safe because you were powerful, but now you're weak and locked in here with me. I could strike at you at will."
Without further warning, Baannat swung a claw at the wizard's essence. There was no flesh to cut, but the strike stung like hot wax dropped into an open wound.
Baannat did not laugh. He growled and sneered. He let the hate flow from his form as it surrounded the spirit of his foe. "You wanted to destroy me from the beginning. You feared me then... and you fear me now. You used others to keep yourself safe from me when we battled, but now there is no one here to hide behind."
Hide!
The word seemed to echo through the emptiness. Enin wanted to hide, as his worst fears—the unfounded anxieties of his childhood—exploded around him. Darkness and monsters... helplessness. It all crashed upon him.
"Is that what you want?" the ghoul pressed. "To hide? Is that the word you focus upon. You can't keep your thoughts from me here. I can taste them."
Enin could taste nothing. He could only feel the crushing cold of fear.
"You wish to hide?" Baannat demanded. "Where could you hide? What would be safe for you, brother?"
In a moment of weakness, Enin thought of the safest place in the land. He thought of a place where even ghouls of such hate could not win the day.
Baannat grew quiet and then let out a soul piercing laugh.
"Cliff behemoths? That's where you would be safe?"
It was indeed what Enin had pictured. Cliff behemoths in the Colad Mountains. Yes, there was safety there. He believed that, but his beliefs betrayed him.
"Is that where the woman is safe?"
Enin's fear turned over to dread as if he knew in an instant there was nothing left for him. At that moment, he even grasped for insanity, but that, too, eluded him.
Baannat shrieked in ecstasy.
"She's in the mountains of the north... guarded by cliff behemoths. It's almost too easy. Did you really think that would stop me. It changes my plans, nothing more. She will be here before you know it."
In delight, the ghoul sliced at Enin once more with claws that penetrated the wizard's soul. Baannat giggled and cackled as he struck again and again.
"I now have everything I need from you, brother!" the slink ghoul screamed through snorts and grunts. "You are mine for all eternity. You cannot escape and you know no one can reach you here. I, however, can bring others to you. And I will. You will see the woman here very shortly, and then, I will have the delver as well. There's nothing you can do to stop me now, but at least you will have company."
Chapter 25
One caelifera was more than the regular force of Burbon could handle. Hundreds of the giant locusts swarming in over the trees of Dark Spruce... that was a death sentence. Not the towers, not the walls, not the weapons in the hands of the well trained militia; none of these defenses were going to stop the giant insects headed towards them. Sy understood that immediately.
He stood on the tower platform gazing out at the spectacle for only a moment. He didn't need to ask the opinion of the officers around him. Though he valued their input, he saw everything he needed to see in that single instant. There were no conflicting strategies to choose, no real decision to make. There was only one realistic course of action and he issued his orders without delay.
His first directive fell upon the tower guard.
"Signal the other towers. Issue the alarm for everyone to seek low shelter."
The citizens of Burbon had been previously schooled in certain signals from the towers. There were alarms to evacuate, calls to take up arms, warnings to take high positions—to avoid rock beetles and other underground attacks—and signals to take low shelter. The people of Burbon would immediately seek out basements, root cellars, cold storage dens, caves—anything below ground. It was the only hope they had, and Sy knew it.
The signal was given and soon the warning spread through the entire town. Sy watched the quick and orderly movement of the citizens. They had practiced the procedures in quieter times. Though the town lived under the protection of Enin, the townspeople also understood structure and preparation. Sy was thankful they did. It would probably save hundreds.
More than satisfied with the reaction to the alarm, the captain refocused his attention on the lands beyond the walls and gates. Never satisfied with an initial assessment of danger, he looked to the hills and the far border of Dark Spruce for additional threats, but there remained only one apparent menace—the swarm. He found little solace in that fact, for that one threat was enough.
As he watched the agitated motion of the giant locusts, he considered how they would fall upon the town. It would not be pretty. He hoped the early warning would save enough. Maybe they could start over, maybe they could rebuild. He didn't like to give in... to give up.
The town, however, was doomed. That much was certain. He doubted a single structure would be left standing. Maybe most of the citizens would get lost in the debris, that the insects wouldn't dig through the rubble to find all the underground shelters. That was the only hope left. It was really just a matter of how many would survive.
Sy turned to the handful of soldiers standing with him on the platform. He wanted to announce it was a privilege to serve with them, but he didn't want to offer that kind of finality.
"All guards to secure locations as well. No way to fight what's coming at us, so don't argue. We can't evacuate, they'd be on us before we got ten paces beyond the wall. Everyone goes to low shelter. Assist anyone who's not moving fast enough, but then get underground. Go!"
For the most part, the guards moved quickly, not from fear of the coming catastrophe, but because they followed orders. They would not question their captain. Each officer, however, paused one moment to nod to their captain out of respect.
As the members of the guard filed
down the ladder of the tower, only one solider remained at his post, the signal guard. He would not leave until the last order was given. Sy would eventually order him to evacuate as well, but they had a few moments of relative safety to monitor the movements of the swarm and to watch the surrounding hills for any other threats.
The guardsman kept his focus on the dark wave rushing towards them.
Sy noticed the stoic look on the soldier's face and smiled at the lack of apparent concern for his own safety.
"Fast for their size," the captain noted as he nodded at the incoming swarm.
"Yup, big buggers, too. You know, I'd rather deal with goblins. Yeah, they're pretty creepy, but I really hate these flying things, especially big flying things."
Sy then offered his own outlook on the size of their foes.
"I don't like any of the new bugs. I mean really, what happened here? Used to be you could just swat them away. Now we have spiders and beetles that are bigger than me. Not my idea of fun."
The guard grunted a small laugh, then admitted a truth larger than the caelifera.
"Wish Enin was here."
"Me, too." Sy agreed. Then he took another look to gauge the distance of the closest insects. The two men had only a few more moments before they would have to retreat to safety. He thought of Enin again and posed a question that was rather surprising.
"You think Enin could handle that?"
A massive swarm of giant flesh eating locusts is not something any man should be able to handle alone, and yet the question was sincere. After all, Enin was as far beyond a normal man as caelifera were beyond a normal grasshopper.
The guard acknowledged as much.
"Yeah, believe it or not, I do."
"So do I," Sy admitted. It was a staggering thought. Enin controlled power that both soldiers acknowledged could clear the sky of a threat that was about to destroy their entire town with ease.