by Jeff Inlo
#
Enin stood near the south gate. His attention remained focused beyond the wall, upon his magic web that covered the blind spot in the hills. The wizard had recast the spell only moments ago, and the web was restored to full power. It was ready to catch its intended prey, but Enin truly doubted it would be necessary. Since Ryson had left, there were no further signs of goblins, or of the serp and the shag. The wizard felt nothing, sensed nothing. If there were goblins out there, they were far in the hills. They were certainly not near his web or he would have sensed them. Enin felt secure enough to consider what he had learned about the web spell. Though several guards stood around him, he spoke openly to himself of altering the spell in another form.
"I thought of a spider, like a spider, and I created a web. Combining a trap with a warning. Stronger spells of the same kind could be very helpful to us. It's good to be warned of an enemy, but even better to trap it before it can cause any harm."
The soldiers nodded. Certainly their jobs would be easier, safer, if Enin could trap the goblins before a battle ensued. Nearly every guard there had faced the hail of crossbow fire. A few had been hit in the arms and shoulders. Perhaps magic was a dangerous thing, but they'd welcome a spell which would remove them from harm’s way.
Enin paid them little attention. He focused on his own calculations as he continued to speak of them aloud. "A web is nice for small areas, but it can be avoided. I could probably enlarge the web, but that would take more energy. It would also lock us in as well as locking others out. We couldn't get to the fields, merchants couldn't enter the gates. No, that won't do. It has to be something that identifies a true threat and only stops that. That's an interesting thought. A spell that can identify as well as trap and warn. Now that would be a great spell. I wonder how much power it would take. What would it be like? A circling wind. It would pass around the walls constantly. When it touched someone, it would identify, and then, decide whether to strike. Like a hunter wind! I don't know if that's possible. I wonder if it can attune to the different way the magic surrounds everyone. The goblins have a different aura of magic. What if the spell could react to that specific aura? That might actually work. It would take time. I'd really have to know what makes the magic around the goblins different. But the wind idea is a good one. It could sweep around gently until it hits a goblin, then it could alter into something more powerful, like a tornado, trapping the goblin at its center."
A familiar voice called out to interrupt the wizard's concentration. "Thinking of more ways to trap our friends out there? That's good. I like to hear it."
Enin snapped from his thoughts to see Sy walking up to him. The captain clapped him on the shoulder.
"I was just thinking about variations of my web spell." Enin explained. "Spells like that can be quite useful."
"I know. Did you recast the web?"
"Yes, just a few moments ago."
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine. It really doesn't take much energy."
"Well don't exhaust yourself," the captain advised. "I'm not too worried about tonight. My men have been briefed. I've been going around to each post and no one has seen a thing. All the lamps are lit in the clearing and the sky's clear. There's no sign of any movement. The tower guards are reporting all clear. I think when the serp ran into Ryson, it knew it would have to delay any plans for a raid. How about you? Have you sensed anything out there?"
Enin was not allowed to answer. A crash from the southeastern edge of town broke the silence of the night, not quite an explosion, but loud enough to shake the windows of most of the shops. Silence followed for but a brief moment. Quickly after, calls shot out from all over town. Shutters were opened by worried, yet curious, townspeople. The fading light was not sufficient to reveal the source of the clamor from the ground, and questions rang out from the night.
"What was that?" Enin questioned.
The guards came to the ready as Sy took immediate control.
He called first to the guard perched in the tower. "Report."
"The new tower's collapsed. No sign of any other activity."
"Any fire?"
"None."
"Any street lamps out, any sections of town dark?"
The guard scanned the town spread out below him. "All lamps lit."
"Signal the other towers. Tell them to maintain watch."
The tower guard lit a long torch and waved it high above his head. A special sequence of movements relayed the message.
Sy caught Enin's attention. "Is the web still in place?"
"Yes," the wizard mumbled with confusion. "It's intact. I know it is. It hasn't been broken at all. I don't understand. I don't feel anything. There can't be any goblins around, I don't feel them!"
"Relax!" Sy ordered. "We don't know what's out there. All we know is the tower collapsed. It's under construction. Anything could have caused it. We have to check it out."
He shouted out again to the tower guard. "Signal the perimeter patrol. I want them to meet me at the new tower. Everyone else stays at their post." He then turned back to Enin. "I want you to go back to command HQ. Assemble all reserves. Wait there until you get a signal, or until I come back for you."
Sy watched the tower guard finish his last set of signals before giving his final orders. "Tower guard! Keep your eyes on the clearing. Make sure no one crosses it. No one gets to or past the wall." He then instructed the gate soldiers which numbered twice as many as normal. "I want three men to come with me. You, you and you. The rest of you stay here. The gate remains closed no matter what. No one gets through."
Sy did not run off in haste. He checked his weapons first, bid his soldiers to do the same. The minor pause brought a sense of ease to those that watched him. They saw he remained in total control. It settled their own nerves. His sword remained sheathed as he carefully set off toward the sight of the disturbance. He stepped quickly, deliberately, but he showed no sign of panic. He carefully eyed all passage ways he crossed. When he spotted townspeople on their porches or worse, in the streets, he politely but firmly ordered them back inside. When the collapsed tower came clearly into sight, he slowed his pace.
"Fan out," he whispered and his soldiers obeyed. He stepped up to the collapsed remains first, carefully avoiding any large pieces which might be hiding a goblin ambush. He stood motionless for long periods as he listened for any signs of intruders. Nothing. His sight moved from the broken wood and swept across the immediate surroundings. Nothing caught his attention until the perimeter patrol moved up from the west.
He chucked a heavy sigh. "I don't think there's anything here. I want to know why this thing fell."
The guards began to inspect the tattered wood as Sy stepped up with authority to the closest house. He knocked gently. "Sy Fenden here. No sign of a threat out here. I need to speak to someone."
A curtain ruffled at a side window before an elderly man opened the door.
Sy spoke quickly but with a calming tone. "It seems there was an accident. Sorry to disturb you. Did you see anything?"
The man appeared off sorts, trying to come to grips with what he might or might not have seen. "I don't know."
"What don't you know?" Sy asked calmly.
"I'm not sure what I saw."
"Describe it."
"A couple of shadows running from the tower after it collapsed. They just disappeared."
"Can you be more specific? Were they human, did you think they might have been goblins?" Sy didn't want to alarm the man, but human shapes would certainly look different as compared to goblins. "What size were these shadows?"
"They were short, but not that short. They were big, too."
Sy held back a sigh of exasperation. "They were short, but they were big?"
"I mean they were broad. Not like goblins at all."
Sy shook his head. He thought he might have understood. "Thank you for your help. I wouldn't worry about it. Please go back ins
ide for now."
Sy walked wearily over to his soldiers. "It seems we have some pranksters in our midst. Kids. I guess it is that time of year again. I would have hoped our people would have left the mischief to the real goblins, but it looks like a couple of 'em just couldn't resist."
A soldier inspecting a support beam interrupted Sy's explanation. "Captain? Can you come and take a look at this?"
Sy nodded and stepped over to a thick block of wood that jutted up from the ground. He did not like what he saw.
The soldier's explanation did little to ease any worries. "Sir, this is the main support column of the tower. I helped place it in the ground myself. It didn't break, it was cut. And I don't mean chopped down, I mean sliced. It looks as if one axe blade went right through it with one swing. There's no kid in Burbon that can do that. I don't know if there's any man that could make that kind of clean cut with one chop."
Sy saw the same thing, but he wanted to confirm it. "Are you sure? Could it have been done with a saw?"
"There's no saw dust. And we would have heard it. The grinding from a saw would have echoed out long before this thing fell over. No, someone was able to cut through this thing with one axe swing."
Sy considered the power for such a feat. He thought of the shag. Only problem with that was the man saw a couple of short shadows. Shags were never short.
"What in Godson's name is going on here?" He quickly checked his momentary lapse of control. He growled firm orders. "Everyone draw your swords. Spread out and check the ground for prints. I can't tell you what to expect, just look for anything out of the ordinary."
The soldiers stiffened with readiness. The air filled with the swish of drawn swords. They took to a spread formation as they carefully scoured the ground. Immediately, one guard called out.
"Over here."
Sy moved to the soldier. "The rest of you stay in position. Stand ready." Sy found the tracks pointed out by the soldier. He found two other trails, all moving in the same direction. He followed them slowly. They disappeared into the ground. Carefully, he patted the soil where the tracks stopped. The dirt was loose. He took a dagger from his waistband and pressed the fine point into the ground. The dirt gave way and revealed an entrance to an underground tunnel. Immediately, Sy called out more orders. "I want eight men, now!"
Eight soldiers moved up to the hole in the ground. They waited impatiently for their orders.
Sy pointed to the hole. "Whatever wrecked our tower escaped down this hole. I don't expect them to come back, but I want it covered. I want three of you to form a circle around here. The other five I want circled further back around the first three. If something tries to come out, order it to stop. If it comes out, order it to stay put. If it moves to attack, defend yourselves. If it turns to go back down, let it. Under no circumstances are you to go down the hole. The rest of you, come with me."