Delver Magic: Book 05 - Chain of Bargains (19 page)

"I think you'd just be
fooling them. It's a temporary fix at best. Like I said, more keep coming each
day. That's the real problem. My sergeant pointed the same thing out to me.
Even if you make everyone comfortable with a crowd, at some point we're going
to bust at the seams."

Enin sighed, but he agreed with
the point. It would only buy time, and he had no idea how much more time Holli
and Ryson needed to address the true cause of the problem. He turned the issue
over in his mind and decided to attack it from another direction.

"Can you convince them to
come to Connel?"

"I've tried. I even told them
that's where you live now, but it hasn't helped. I think they're afraid of what
happened here with the goblins. They've heard the stories of when the goblins
took the city."

Enin thought of how the serp Sazar
conquered Connel with a goblin army. It had occurred many seasons ago, but it
was not something easily forgotten. Stories of the invasion spread east. The soldiers
from Fort Nebran
that assisted in freeing Connel from the goblin horde had served across the
lands. It was the defeat of the goblins that finally brought the dwarves and
humans together. It was a story that was becoming popular in every tavern and inn.
It was not surprising that Connel's history was known to people from across the
central plains and beyond.

From the information gathered from
the refugees, the appearance of goblins in the Great
Valleys caused much of the chaos in
their previous homes. The dark creatures did not overrun towns, conquer cities,
or plunder farms, but they had somehow become a force in the entire region.
Could Enin blame anyone who sought to escape goblins for wishing to avoid a
city that was once infested with a goblin horde? He could not.

He did not, however, wish to give
up on the plan so easily. Connel could certainly handle the influx of refugees
far better than Burbon.

"I can guarantee them safety
from the goblins," the wizard announced. "I don't care how large the
horde, I will never allow goblins to take Connel again."

"I'm sure that might induce
some, but they also seem to be apprehensive of cities. Many of these people are
farmers or people from very small towns and outposts. That's why they came to
Burbon in the first place. I mean look around, Enin. Has this placed doubled in
size in the past few seasons? Tripled? Connel is getting uncomfortable even for
me. These people would rather live in tents outside the wall of a small town
than enter a city of this size."

"So they will overcrowd a
small town as opposed to enter a large city?" Enin asked.

"I didn't say it made sense.
I'm just trying to tell you how I see it. Even if you guarantee them protection
from goblins, even though they're facing goblin raids at Burbon every day, most
of them still won't come to Connel."

Enin paced about for several
moments. He mumbled to himself. At times, he tapped his hands together in a
random beat to his silent contemplations but eventually returned them to behind
his back. With an idea forming, he spun about and refocused his attention on
Burbon's captain.

"Very well. They won't come
here and they can't stay with you. Put them in Pinesway."

Sy found the proposal intriguing,
if not surprising. He never even considered Pinesway, and he blurted out his
immediate understanding of the small town to the west of Connel that neighbored
Burbon and was also very near Dark Spruce
Forest.

"Pinesway is abandoned."

"Which makes it
perfect," Enin responded, still contemplating the full measure of the
solution. "It's a small town that can house thousands—if done properly. No
one has to be displaced and there is plenty of room. There are structures
already in place."

"Many of them are falling
apart."

Enin nodded, but he did not let
that detail detract from the possible gains. It could be dealt with quickly and
he believed he knew how.

"The dwarves will be happy to
assist in that matter. They can build and reinforce structures almost as fast
as I could create illusions."

That was certainly true. Sy had seen
for himself how fast a small contingent of dwarf builders could construct a
sturdy home. There were, however, other concerns.

"The town's not totally
abandoned, either. You're not the only one who's thought of using Pinesway.
Bandits returned after that little fight Holli had with the magic
casters."

"Another problem that can be
solved with the dwarves. They will assist with construction and patrols. Do you
know of any bandits that would want to strike a dwarf war party?"

"No," Sy allowed. It was
sounding more and more like a workable solution, but Sy focused quickly on all
the implications of such an arrangement. He was no town manager, but he was an
effective leader. It was under his guidance that Burbon survived the return of
magic as opposed to falling into disarray as had so many other small towns. He
followed the path of the solution to its end and considered all the costs.
"The dwarves aren't going to do this just because we ask them. They're
going to want to be paid. We don't have the money."

That was very true, but Enin saw
yet another opportunity to enhance the relationship between the dwarves and the
humans.

"Yes, they will expect
payment, and the refugees will have to earn their keep. Dunop is always in need
of timber. Have the people clear some of the encroaching trees from Dark
Spruce, as well as most of the dead wood from within the forest near the town
borders. It has been many seasons since the return of the magic and very few
loggers have entered Dark Spruce in that time."

Enin rubbed his hands together
with growing satisfaction. He saw the rewards of another human town prospering
with the aid of dwarves.

"I realize Dark Spruce
remains dangerous," the wizard continued, "sending humans into the
forest will require even more dwarf guards and that will increase the cost. It
will, however, be a mutually beneficial arrangement. The dwarves will build and
guard. The humans will help and supply materials. If the refugees are truly
farmers and people of small towns, they will be quite comfortable in working
for their security and shelter."

The plan actually sounded as if it
could work and Sy saw added benefits to Burbon. Not only would it remove the
refugees from outside the wall and from the roads within, it might ultimately
remove Pinesway as a trouble spot. He never liked the idea of a haven for
bandits so close to his town's borders. There was just one last hurdle to
clear.

"Someone is going to have to
be in charge of this... manage it. I can't spare anyone and my first
responsibility is to Burbon. With Ryson gone, I shouldn't even be here."

"I agree. I would not ask any
more of you. I will send someone to help you. There are enough managers here.
The dwarves are also very organized. I have to tell you, it's much easier to
work with them than I imagined. I will deal with them directly, at first. I
believe it will work."

Sy allowed a smile to soften his
hardened features, but only for a moment.

"I hope so. Well, I have to
get back to Burbon, but there is one more thing... it might be important."

"What's that?" Enin
asked with no apparent frustration towards another possible dilemma.

"I was able to get one of the
refugees to open up a bit on why he left. He didn't give a lot of detail, but
he said more than they usually say. He talked about his crops dying, but not in
a normal way. It scared him. You know what it reminded me of? The first time
the magic returned and people had to deal with dark creatures. They knew
something was wrong, but describing it made them feel... I don't know... insane
maybe."

"I remember it well. It was
difficult to accept what was happening. Look at me. I'm now a wizard."

"That's my point. Take
yourself back to the time when we didn't know about all this magic. If I came
up to you and said you were going to be a powerful wizard, what would you have
said to me?"

"I would have thought you
were drunk."

"Or crazy. People didn't like
to talk about what was happening, even when monsters were walking through the
streets."

"And you think that's why
these refugees have been somewhat evasive in their answers?"

"Actually, yes, but I think
it goes beyond dark creatures."

"Interesting. You think some
use of magic is behind the exodus out of the valleys?"

"Maybe, you'd know better
than I would about that, but I think something evil is out there, something
that's hard to define. I think the farmer I spoke to could sense it. What it
all has to do with magic... that I don't know."

"This is all very
interesting. I have to think on this a while."

"Well, I hope it helps, but
as I said, I have to get back to Burbon."

Sy turned to leaved, but then
remembered a task that Ryson's wife had asked of him.

"Any word from Holli and
Ryson?" the captain inquired while looking back to the wizard.

"No direct word, but I know
they are reaching a critical stage. When I focus on Holli, I can usually sense
what she is feeling. She believes she is nearing an answer. As to what it is,
I'm not sure. Maybe it will help explain what you've told me. I think I'll have
greater information in the next few days. What happens after that is anyone's
guess."

"But they're alright?"

"Yes, they're fine. I would
know if something happened to them."

"Linda will be happy to hear
that."

Enin smiled at the thought of
Ryson's wife. He understood the burden she faced, always worrying about her
husband but allowing him the freedom to explore as a purebred delver.

"Tell Linda I said hello and
that Ryson is in good hands. Holli won't let anything happen to him. She's an
elf guard."

"I've told her that, but
it'll make her feel better to hear it again. I'll let her know. Thanks. I
really have to get going. I'm not looking forward to traveling at night, but
I've been gone too long."

"Would you like an
escort?"

"No, but can you alert the
guard here that I'll be heading to Burbon. I'd hate to be stopped by a patrol
near the gate."

"I'll let them know."

Enin quickly addressed a guard
outside his tent and bid him to deliver the message to the patrols. He then
returned to Sy, shook his hand, and nodded with another smile as he watched the
captain leave.

With the thought of Ryson and
Holli fresh in his memory, Enin decided to focus on the elf guard who also
served as his apprentice. His perception flowed across the link between them,
over great distances, and probed the most pressing concerns of the elf. He did
not reach deeply into her thoughts, just glanced past her mind like a beam of
sunlight that narrows through a drifting cloud and reflects off a still pond.

With that one light touch, he
became grateful he made contact after Sy had left. If he made the attempt in
the captain's presence, Sy would have sensed the unease that filled the wizard.
Sy Fenden was no spell caster, but he had the sharp eye of a trained soldier
and the intuition of a effective leader. It was best that Sy could return to
Linda without carrying any additional burden of worry.

Enin knew he would get no more
sleep that night. His muscles tightened. His breath shortened. It felt like he
faced an impending and unavoidable physical confrontation, as if a shag stalked
him in the night. His body coursed with the same degree of tension that flooded
Holli's consciousness, but he lacked the conditioning of an elf guard. His
ability with magic set him far above almost every other being in Uton, but his
physical talents matched those of an average middle-aged man.

The elf was not in any immediate
danger. Enin knew that to be true. He also knew that Holli had made significant
progress in her search for answers. She was narrowing in on the cause of chaos
in the valleys, but her overriding concern shifted and centered upon the
well-being of the delver. Ryson had beckoned her by utilizing beacon stones.
The elf guard couldn't be certain, but she was prepared to face extreme peril.

An image of goblins danced across
the wizard's mind, but that was a hopeful wish. Holli didn't believe the
diminutive monsters posed a true hazard—not to her and probably not to Ryson—
and thus that whisper of a notion quickly faded. Instead, another creature came
to the forefront of Enin's consciousness. He could almost feel his body
temperature rise from both the heightening of Holli's distress and the physical
properties of the dark creatures that fed Holli's concerns. A clear figure
etched itself in Enin's awareness.

Inferns.

It was only mildly surprising. The
wizard had plucked distant fears and anxieties from the minds of the refugees
in previous hopes of uncovering the reasons for their flight from the valleys.
While the apprehension over goblins remained clear—almost tangible—other
anxieties proved less certain. The refugees chose to leave because they sensed
a growing evil in the land itself. The farmers perceived near hostility from
the very ground that held their livelihoods. Inferns could generate just such
fears.

Enin knew Ryson and Holli would
remain careful and their unique abilities would serve them well under such
conditions. Still, he would keep his attention focused on the lands to the
east. While he would not risk disturbing Holli's concentration, he would hold a
silent vigil until he was certain no harm would befall them.

Ryson could hardly bear the
uncomfortable heat that hung in the tavern. It felt as if there were roaring
fires burning in every corner. The only two fireplaces within the room,
however, were dark. Only the flames from small lamps and candles lit the inn,
and any stoves for cooking were far removed from the main room of the pub.