Delver Magic I: Sanctum's Breach by Jeff Inlo (read novels website .TXT) 📕

“You put me in a very difficult position,” Lief stated anxiously. “I need you to explore the breach. Unfortunately, I also know how keen your senses are. Whatever is calling you may be just as important. It may hold the answers to my questions. Time, however, is becoming an issue. My people need to be told of what I have found. Should you forget, goblins are appearing in this land. An unwarranted delay may prove deadly.”

“I don’t know what to say to you,” Ryson replied honestly. “I know I have to check out that crater up there. I even want to explore it. I can’t imagine what I might find if it leads to within the hollow of the mountain. Still, I know there’s something else I must see, something at the peak.”

“Then, I will offer but one plausible solution to both our problems. You go on ahead up the mountain, and I will follow.”

“Wait a minute, I don’t …”

The elf erupted. His anger boiled over. “No! I will not wait! Last night you made it very clear to me you would do as you please and there was nothing I could do about it. Now, I am telling you the same thing! You can not prevent me from following you. I will not stay here just because you say so! I will make my own decisions just as you have. Now, if you let me finish my proposal, you will understand what I offer.”

Ryson did not argue. He bit back any anger of his own.

“Go ahead,” he said simply.

The elf continued through heavy breaths. “You wish to explore a part of this mountain which may or may not hold importance to us. I wish to find out what has caused the breach and if there is any indication of the sphere’s presence. I will follow you up the mountain, but I will not hold you up. You will go forth at your best speed and reach the breach first. Examine what you will, but be careful. We must both remember that there are secrets hidden in this mountain that neither of us may understand. If you complete your investigation before I have reached the rupture and you feel there is nothing which alarms you, continue on your quest up the mountain. Find whatever it is you seek, but do not delay. While you are exploring the top of this mountain, I will examine the break for myself. I will make my own judgments. If I find something which raises my concern, I may not wait for you. I may leave to warn the other elves.”

The delver considered the proposal for but a heartbeat. He could not argue its logic or its merit. “I understand, and I guess I can’t really argue with any of that.”

“No, you can not. Now, let us go. We’ve wasted enough time as it is.”

With nothing further to say, both elf and delver began moving up the mountain. The climb was fairly easy with few obstacles, but within an instant the delver quickly pulled away from his slower companion. Even as the grade of the slope increased, Ryson bounded forward as if he were moving over flat, smooth ground.

For Lief’s part, the elf moved gracefully at times, but it was apparent that rocky slopes were not the trees of Dark Spruce. He stepped with more conviction and with less ease. He labored at times with the steep grade. It was also difficult for him to keep his attention purely on the climb. The smooth movements of the delver were certainly a spectacle to see. Lief took his focus away from his own footing more than once to marvel at Ryson’s speed and agility.

Ryson stopped every now and then to check his surroundings. He took heed of the elf’s warnings and made sure he would not stumble upon anything blindly. He checked for loose dust in the air which might signal movement ahead of him, and he listened intently for sliding rocks. He sensed nothing. He peered down to the forest and watched carefully for any signs of goblins. He smelled the clean warm air, and in everything, he sensed no sign of danger.

He took time to check the ground and saw the great disturbance in the soil. He was now certain that the quake which rolled through Connel must have originated from this mountain. Still, everything he examined appeared natural. He saw no signs of man-made tunneling, no sign of digging or of excavating. The fallen rocks, the loose soil, the raised ground; all appeared the natural result of a powerful tremor.

As Ryson moved to within range of the crater, he took a position behind a large boulder. He pulled his spyscope from his belt and made his first examination from a safe distance.

The hole in the side of the mountain was as tall as two men and almost as wide. The sunlight cascaded in at an angle and lit up the western edge of the break. From where he stood, he could not see a bottom to this crater. Instead, it formed more of a cave entrance. He knew it was very deep, he just did not know how far it traveled.

He circled about the opening before approaching. Remaining ever careful of ambush, he continued to sense not a shred of danger. He stopped at several points to take a look into the opening, but still he could not see the bottom of this crevice.

Finally, secure that no danger of ambush existed; he stepped up directly to the breach. He stopped right at the foot of the opening and peered deep into its center. The break formed a tunnel which apparently bore clean through. It dove through the rock at a forty-five degree angle and continued far beyond the delver’s vision. Nothing but darkness welcomed his sight.

Ryson knelt and checked the rim of the opening. The soil was still loose, but the surrounding rock felt sturdy, and there was no threat of collapse. He stood and felt the top as well as the sides, still checking the integrity and soundness of the rock.

Secure that the tunnel would not collapse around him, the delver began to step down into the crevice. He took several steps forward into the shadows. He bent his knees slightly to compensate for the downward pitch of the floor.

Out of the sunlight, he let his keen vision adjust to the dark. He soon could see further into this newly created passage. It formed a long cavern which continued far and deep down through the mountain. It curved ahead of him, thus he could not see its ultimate destination.

He paused briefly for a quick examination of the interior walls. He examined the sides of the cavern and noted their texture. They showed no sign of being disturbed by tools or explosion. Shovels and picks always made definite breaks, but the surrounding walls were almost smooth, as if one solid cylinder broke through the wall in one mighty burst. Explosions leave smoke residue and burn marks, but he found neither.

Ryson took a few more cautions steps forward. Unknowingly, he slammed into an unseen barrier. The unexpected impact dropped him to the seat of his pants. He slid slightly down the slope of the cavern floor until again he hit the same unseen barrier with his feet.

Surprised, the delver swung his head back and forth trying to find an answer. He saw nothing behind him. Ahead was nothing more than the continued path of the tunnel. He was alone in the cavern, yet something had dropped him to the ground. That something remained directly in front of him.

From a sitting position, he reached out his arms and his palms pushed flat against an invisible wall. He pushed at the barrier, gently at first, then with greater force. The unseen wall would not give. He lifted a leg and placed his foot against it. He used all the leverage he could muster, but still the barrier held him back.

“What in the name of Godson in this?” he muttered to himself as he struggled against the slope to return to a standing position.

Again, he reached out and found the barrier with his hands. He followed it from left to right and found that it extended from wall to wall. He continued moving his hands about, trying to find a hole or a break. None existed. It appeared to cover the entire width of the passage.

Ryson stepped back and glanced around his feet. He spied a small stone and picked it up. With a slight flick of his wrist, he gently cast the stone at the barrier. It was an amazing sight. The stone floated through the air until it hit the barrier. It jolted to a stop in midair and dropped straight to the ground. It barely made a sound upon impact with the invisible wall, but its thud upon reaching the ground echoed through the crevice. Shaking his head with puzzlement, he turned and climbed back out into the open air. He stood outside the crevice considering what he had found. He could not, however, divine a reasonable explanation.

Of course, the unreasonable reared up with disturbing possibilities. Magic. Was this yet one more case of something he could not fathom? He was growing weary of such explanations. Just once, he would have hoped to venture upon something of a more conventional nature, something which might not seem so implausible.

Ryson wondered if Lief might explain this phenomenon. He checked the elf’s progress. The elf was closing on his position, yet he was still several paces away.

Ryson sighed. He looked further up the mountain. He continued to sense a strong attraction from a point near the top. He felt no danger, only a summoning. The pull was strong, and he greatly desired to move further up the mountain. The existence of the barrier, however, created an anchor which kept him in place. He waited at the mouth of the crevice until the elf reached him.

Lief did not appear winded by the climb. He stepped up to Ryson with diligence, and he immediately noted the concern on the delver’s face.

“What have you found?” the elf demanded.

“I’m really not sure,” the delver responded without shame in admitting his confusion. “I started checking out the hole and I couldn’t see the bottom. I wanted to see if it led all the way into the mountain, so I started walking into it.”

Lief listened carefully as he stepped up to the break in the mountain wall. He peered into the shadows as Ryson continued.

“I got a few steps inside,” the delver explained, “then I hit something. It was like a wall, but it’s invisible.”

If the presence of the invisible barrier alarmed the elf, he did not show it. It was the breach which held his concentration, a break in a mountain which was supposed to be indestructible. “Did you see anything or anyone? Did you hear anything?”

“Didn’t see or hear anything,” Ryson responded simply.

Lief would wait not a second more before further examination of the tunnel.

“Let’s take a look,” he stated bluntly.

The elf stepped slowly forward. Ryson followed behind.

Ryson pointed to an area a few paces forward. “The barrier’s just ahead.”

Lief stopped before he took more than three steps into the crevice.

“What’s wrong?” the delver asked pensively.

“Don’t you feel it?” the elf’s agitation was clearly apparent on his face. His hands shook slightly and he wrung them together as if hoping to remove an unwanted film.

“Feel