Pure Choice dm-6

by Jeff Inlo

  As the elves continued to cross through the portal, it was Holli who broke the uncomfortable quiet.

  "You wanted us here, for what reason?"

  "Come now, elf witch. You're not that dense. I wish to rectify a previous mistake. You have grown in power, but we both know you're still no match for me. Your associate found a way to beat me last time. He will not have the same success."

  "So you are determined to engage in some pointless battle?"

  "Pointless to you, not to me."

  "And if we simply refuse… just leave this place and you?"

  "I will abduct the elves again, but next time, I will kill half of them. I will have my way."

  Jure wished to strike at that moment. In light of the elves' abduction, the additional threat was enough to justify any means to subdue the sorcerer, but he would not act without Holli's consent.

  "So we have no choice," Holli announced.

  "You never did."

  Holli turned to the delver.

  "Ryson, go to the elves. Assist them in their departure. Wait for us at the portal. If something happens to us, return to Connel and advise Enin of what happened here."

  "But I…"

  "Do not argue. Please, trust me."

  It was the last two words that forced Ryson's decision. He did as he was asked and rushed off toward the portal.

  "What if I objected to that?" Ansas asked.

  "You and I both know you do not wish to face the delver. Only a complete fool would, and though you are many things, you are not that."

  "And do you think your threat to tell Enin of my actions might frighten me?"

  "I do think you should consider it."

  "Of course I've considered it."

  "And you still wish to continue?"

  "There is nothing that will stop what I have planned."

  Holli shook her head in disgust.

  "This is so childish. What should we do now? Should we face opposite directions, march twenty paces, turn and begin casting spells at each other?"

  "It does seem rather uncomfortable, doesn't it?" Ansas admitted. "But I believe I have an answer. Your companion is waiting for me to strike and then he believes he can contain me. Why don't I make the first move and we can finish this quickly?"

  Ansas stepped back calmly. With deliberate steadiness, he cast his first spell. It was of no great consequence, a simple shadow strike that was meant to dull the perceptions of his opponents.

  Jure watched with growing surprise. He was prepared to launch a defensive spell of immense power, but he knew immediately that such a response was unnecessary. He expected the sorcerer to move quickly, viciously, but the slow and steady movements of his foe allowed Jure to analyze the spell before it was even cast. It was so weak it was almost pathetic.

  Adjusting his own spell, Jure cast a very simple light shield that disbursed the shadow before it could strike. He had much more magical energy at the ready and he decided to use it to end the conflict with limited consequences. He believed he understood Ansas' one weakness and attempted to exploit it before the sorcerer could utilize whatever plan he concealed.

  A pure white circle of energy formed around Jure's hands. With but a few words, he cast the magic directly upon the sorcerer. The white magic turned blue and formed a sheer wall of water, a magical shell that would surround Ansas, a barrier somewhat similar to the shadowed dome which imprisoned the elves.

  Ansas did not smile, but he reveled in the wizard's error. It was exactly the spell he expected, the very reaction he wanted from Jure. During his first encounter with the old wizard and the elf, he had been trapped in the same manner, encircled by a wall of water that opposed his ebony magic. He was trapped because he wouldn't cast spells of fire or storm to disburse the water; he refused to stain the purity of his castings with a hue inferior to ebony energy. Since that defeat, however, he learned he did not have to stoop to such actions. He could destroy the barrier and remain pure.

  "I was hoping you would do that," Ansas revealed.

  "Why?" Jure asked, still somewhat uncomfortable with Ansas' seemingly apathetic approach. He could still see the sorcerer through the translucent blue shell and found the unconcerned expression on his foe's face slightly unnerving. "Do you think I lack the power to hold the shield? You're wrong. I've learned to tap into great pools of energy. I can outlast you if I have to."

  "That's almost laughable."

  "I don't see you trying to escape."

  "Would you like me to? Fine."

  As Ansas pressed his hands together in front of his face, a ring of pure black energy, darker than any night sky ever produced in Uton, formed around the sorcerer's waist. It expanded outward and brushed against the blue shell of magic. At contact, there was no blast of fury, no explosion of opposing wills. The dark ring simply seeped into the shell, flowed outward, and engulfed the entire watery prison.

  Ansas slowly pulled his hands apart. As he did, the shell around him changed from transparent blue into a darker, almost navy color. He used the dark magic to change the composition of the imprisoning shell. It turned from fluid water into a thin solid, similar to that of charcoal wafers. With a flick of his fingers, the shell shattered into a fine, black dust.

  "Your containment shield worked once on me, but never again. I don't have to directly counter your spells… use fire against water or light against shadow. I simply have to alter their nature, not an easy task, but the purity of my magic makes it possible."

  The ease with which the sorcerer altered the imprisoning spell left Jure uneasy but not defeated. He still cast white magic in a perfect circle and he did not doubt his own abilities.

  "You've only proven that you can escape a simple water shield. You've hardly won."

  "But I have. I've proven that I can defeat your shield. I wanted you to cast that spell of yours. I think it's why I trapped the elves the way I did. I wanted to put that thought in your head."

  "You also wanted to bring me here," Holli added.

  "Absolutely," Ansas admitted. "My banishment to this place was your demand, and I agreed to it based on the circumstances of a single battle. You had defeated me and offered me a choice… accept banishment or die. While I might have stayed here based on that choice, the banishment existed only as long as my defeat remained clear. That is no longer the case. Now, I have beaten you."

  "Beaten us?" Jure objected. "You countered one simple spell."

  "I have done more than that. I have illustrated how I can overcome any hue. That was the purpose of this encounter."

  Holli cast a doubtful glance upon the sorcerer.

  "You abducted an entire elf camp simply to prove you learned a new application of your magic? I find that difficult to believe."

  "Why are all of you so narrow minded? I abducted the camp to bring you here. I could destroy you at will. Despite what this old man believes, he is no longer a match for me. I think you know that, but I choose to do for you what you once did for me. Return to your land. We are even, elf witch, and any agreements forced upon me are now irrelevant. I go where I want, when I want."

  "What if I'm not done with you?" Jure intervened.

  "You would be a greater challenge than the elf witch, but you are still at my mercy, especially here. As far as you being able to tap into pools of energy, you have no idea of what I can do. You were smart enough to notice the instability inside the dome barrier, but were you aware that I could teleport in and out of the barrier with ease?"

  "It was your spell. Why wouldn't you be able to manipulate it?"

  "Idiot. It has nothing to do with the barrier's origin. It has everything to do with my control of ebony magic. Teleportation is the very essence of alteration. Although any hue can cast the spell, it is black energy that is best suited for shifting space, and I am the master of that magic. I can reach across and through dimensions. I have found ebony energy that is more pure than I have ever seen. It is darker than even that which exists in this realm. It comes from a place wh
ere there is no light, none at all."

  "Good for you. Seems to me I'm still standing in front of you. You wanted me here to prove something. I don't think you've proved anything."

  "I've already explained why I wanted you here," Ansas sighed. "I have vindicated myself. Whether I stay in this realm or not is now my concern. The banishment I vowed to accept is no longer relevant."

  "That is all you wanted?" Holli questioned. "You would let us leave?"

  "I have no further need of you."

  With that said, Ansas turned and walked away.

  "He's just turning his back on us, like we're not here," Jure exclaimed.

  The entire altercation defied reason. There was no grand battle, no cataclysmic spell, no spent and exhausted magic caster unable to continue and forced to concede. Jure knew he had not been defeated, and yet the conceited sorcerer turned his back as if the elder wizard did not even exist.

  Holli also expected more, but she wondered if it might have been their good fortune that the sorcerer decided to limit the confrontation.

  "Should I let him go?" Jure asked.

  Holli watched Ansas' back as the sorcerer slowly marched away. He was not innocent, not by any measure. He had abducted elves and made it clear he discarded his self-imposed banishment. None of it sat well with her, and allowing such a dangerous sorcerer to simply walk away bothered her beyond measure.

  There were, however, certain measures of success she could not ignore. They had found the elves and freed them. All of them could return to Dark Spruce. Rather than press for further conflict, she decided to accept the uncertain outcome.

  "This is not the time for a battle with him. We have achieved our ends. The elves are safe."

  "And he is free to return to Uton," Jure noted as he nodded toward Ansas.

  "The only thing that kept him here was his own word. He could have broken that at any time. We need…"

  Before she could say any more, Holli caught a glimpse of an unexpected commotion down near the portal. Her elf guard instincts took over and she turned to face the disturbance. A single elf refused to enter the rift. Rather than return home, the elf in question rushed away from the gateway and toward where Holli and Jure stood.

  Holli cut off the dashing elf, grabbed him by the shoulder and twisted him to the ground before he could get away.

  "What are you doing?" she demanded.

  "I am staying here… with him," Scheff gestured toward Ansas, but as he did, he threw both hands up and cast a spell of blinding lightning.

  By the time Holli and Jure's vision cleared, Scheff was back on his feet and racing toward the sorcerer.

  "Are you both alright?" Ryson asked as he rushed to their side.

  "What is going on?" Holli demanded as she struggled to assess the situation.

  "He wouldn't go back," Ryson explained. "He argued with Birk and then he just took off. Do you want me to go after him?"

  Holli said nothing at first. She watched the renegade elf close upon the sorcerer. She wondered what Ansas might do if he felt threatened. When the sorcerer turned to see the elf confront him, she was surprised to see Ansas simply nod and return to his path. Scheff fell in behind like a loyal servant following his master.

  "That can't be good," Jure remarked.

  "We need more information," Holli cautioned.

  Birk reached them and explained what Scheff had told them, why he refused to return to Uton, and what Haven Wellseed had further clarified about the discussion in Ansas' study.

  "Should we try to bring him back?" Ryson pressed.

  "I do not believe a fight against the two of them would be advisable," Holli answered.

  "He would not listen to reason," Birk offered. "He dismissed Shantree Wispon as if she meant nothing to him."

  "He refused to take direction from the camp elder?" Holli asked with obvious surprise.

  "Blatantly," Birk affirmed.

  "Maybe he's not in his right mind?" Ryson wondered.

  "Haven stated she sensed no spell of persuasion. She believes Scheff made the decision to stay on his own."

  "This doesn't seem right," the delver exclaimed.

  "I agree," Jure added. "I wasn't happy we let Ansas go, but what can we do with the elf? Tie him up and throw him through the portal? I don't think any of this is good news."

  Holli stared off at the departing sorcerer with a new elf accomplice in tow. Jure was correct in many aspects. None of what happened boded well for anyone, least of all for an elf gifted with powerful magic over storms who joined with a sorcerer skilled in ebony energy. Unfortunately, there was little they could do. Was she willing to attempt to abduct Scheff and save him from himself? Not at that moment, not while others remained in harms way.

  "Let us all leave this place. I will discuss this with Enin."

  Chapter 15

  Jure sought out Holli among the elves massed together in Dark Spruce Forest. He had just finished casting a teleportation spell that sent the delver back to Burbon. He had done so away from the other elves so as not to cause any confusion or even alarm.

  The elves were quite used to magic, but a human wizard capable of casting white magic in a perfect circle was certainly uncommon in Uton. Holli did not wish for Jure to raise any additional attention. Hoping to avoid any comparisons to Ansas, she advised him to cast his spell away from the elf camp.

  Most of the elves had gathered in a central clearing while Birk Grund directed the guard to secure a local perimeter. Those that lingered in the open spaces appeared more tired than anxious as they waited for orders from the council. They only wished to return to their normal activities; to return to the forest, collect food, and rest. They had been removed from their home for far too long and few were able to sleep during their confinement in the dark realm.

  Unfortunately, normalcy and rest would have to wait until the immediate area was cleared of threats. It didn't take long for dark creatures to move into the region after Ansas abducted every member of the elf faction. Goblins rushed into the region like ants onto a picnic blanket filled with crumbs, and it would take a substantial effort to coax the monsters back to a safe distance.

  Jure found Holli conferring with Birk. Not wishing to interrupt, he waited respectfully off to the side as the two elves discussed the dangers surrounding the campsite.

  "There are many creatures," Holli advised, "so many, in fact, I cannot obtain a clear picture of the full number. They are not within range of our bows, but they are close enough to warrant concern."

  "Not a surprise," Birk noted. "Quite a few of our stocks were raided. Goblins do not miss an opportunity."

  "I definitely sense goblins scattered nearby," Holli confirmed, "Mostly to the south and west, and also a river rogue near the stream between them. Beyond them, it is a haze. There are just too many to isolate. To the northeast, I know there is at least one shag, maybe more."

  "I have spotters in the trees working on identification," Birk replied. "We are aware of the shag. It has been here for some time. It causes us no harm and helps to keep the goblins away. I also know of the rogue. Its arrival is new and not welcome. I have already dispatched a patrol to convince it to abandon this area. You are certain there are a large number of goblins surrounding it?"

  Holli nodded.

  The captain reconsidered his tactics as he incorporated the additional information. With quick deliberation, he decided to alter his plans.

  "The rogue probably has its appetite set on those goblins," Birk acknowledged. "If they leave, the rogue might be more willing to move downstream. Give me a moment to redirect the guard to put a priority on the goblins."

  As the captain of the elf guard turned to give new orders to a messenger, Jure took the opportunity to update Holli on his activities.

  "Ryson has returned to Burbon safely," the wizard advised. "He seemed eager to get back. What do you want me to do to help here?"

  "It is not my place to say," Holli replied. "This is no longer my camp. Birk Grund is
in charge of securing the area. I have been assisting him as he requests. For now, I would suggest that we both wait and see if he requires additional aid."

  Jure accepted the suggestion without debate. He was certainly willing to assist the elves, but he wouldn't force his help upon those that didn't request it. He also wouldn't pretend to understand the intricacies of an elf camp. Any conclusions he might draw would be nothing more than foolish conjecture.

  His discipline and dedication brought him more than just the ability to cast potent spells in each hue, it reaffirmed his belief that everyone had a calling, a place in the land. He recognized he was never the most gifted when it came to intelligence, but he also believed he didn't have to be born smart to act smart. If knowledge was the derivative of focused study, wisdom was the windfall of contemplative experience. And his experiences continued to remind him that there was a reason for his talents, a higher purpose that he should never ignore.

  In that regard, he was not yet sure why he was there, in Dark Spruce, but he believed the answer would eventually become clear. While he would always work to improve his abilities, he would also allow room for providence to guide his decisions and actions. He would not try to force his own desires on the path set before him.

  With such considerations tempering his actions, he waited patiently beside Holli as he reflected on the totality of his circumstances. In that moment of quiet contemplation, he was hit by the staggering complexity of his life and the way he waded into it without so much as a blink of surprise. With but one look around, he appreciated the richness of those very same circumstances. There he was, standing among elves.

  Elves!

  He was in an elf camp, and yet it was so simple he would have never guessed the importance of the site. There were clearings, a few simple shelters, and paths to the trees, but that was it. If he stumbled upon the area when the elves were absent, he would have assumed it was nothing more than an abandoned loggers' camp.

  But even as he acknowledged it was so much more, he found himself almost discounting the significance of its presence. That was a mistake, one he decided to correct.