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

“So high that others won’t realize we all have to work together?”

“That is the point. The races no longer work together. That has been the way. Even the threat of total extinction may not allow for a change.”

Ryson remained unconvinced that their plight deserved such skepticism as to ring a death bell before they even began. He simply would not accept such a pessimistic outlook. If he had, he would have given up on his own sanity at the first encounter with the walking dead.

“How can you sound so sure?” he questioned.

Mappel answered as if reading from history. He spoke with a gaze that spread across the forest. “I can be sure for I have seen the changes over time. I have seen the new order evolve and I have seen the races move further apart. To change this would be more difficult than reversing the flow of tens of rivers. It is the reversal of a path which occurred long ago. In a time you might not be able to imagine, this land held magic. The magic was the common denominator for the different races. They lived in the land aware of each other’s presence. They worked together, traded and respected each other’s existence. They held a common enemy in the dark creatures.

“All this ended, however, when the sphere was buried in Sanctum Mountain. The things which kept the races together were gone. There remained nothing which they might hold as common. There was no longer a common foe and there was no longer the link of magic. Distrust appeared almost immediately. The very creation of the sphere was such a consequential event; it changed the very fiber of our existence. It led to the new order of things, an order which has been in place for a very long time. It will not be so easy to undo.”

Ryson appeared undeterred by Mappel’s words. “If the creation of the sphere could create such a situation, then maybe it is exactly the destruction of the sphere which is needed to change it.”

“But in order to destroy the sphere we must end the separation. Do you not see the paradox?” Mappel questioned.

“I see it. We need to destroy the sphere to bring back common ties among the races, but we need for the races to come together to destroy the sphere. It’s a circle. I’m aware of that, but we have to enter the circle at some point.”

“That is where the very problem lies.”

“It’s only a problem if we make it one,” Ryson insisted. “You seem to be willing to accept what we have to do. How can you be so sure others will not?”

“Because elves have remained in contact with the dwarves. I know of their stubbornness. I also know of the humans. They wish to ignore the history of the legends. They live without knowledge of the other races.”

“Very few are stubborn when their lives are at stake,” Ryson countered. “I’ve noticed that before. I suggest we get them to realize what’s going on. You spoke of changing the course of a river. Maybe you should compare it to changing the tide of the ocean. The tide has been going out, but now it’s time for it to come back in. It’s just like everything else. It takes time, but it does happen.”

Mappel raised an eyebrow. His face softened, lines of age seemed to disappear miraculously. He even allowed a smile to cross his thin lips. “This is the second time I have been comforted this day. First, I hear of Shayed’s return. Now, I hear a delver advising me of what I should already know. Thank you.

“Lief has done well to find you. You instill within me a faith that we might complete the impossible.” The transformation of the elder elf continued, now both in his tone and in his expression. The self-doubt vanished, replaced with confidence and a willingness to grasp hold upon the hope held out by the delver. His eyes and his voice now held a fire which was known to Lief but not yet seen by Ryson.

As Mappel spoke, his words now echoed across the forest. Other elves looked to them with growing curiosity. “We must now feed a fire which must burn to save ourselves as well as the land, but there is much more we all must do. Our path is now chosen. We must send forth representatives to speak with the dwarves. They will be the easiest to gain an audience. The humans will be the most difficult. They might not even accept our very existence.”

“Won’t they have to if you come out of hiding?” Ryson questioned. The thought of elves walking down the streets of Burbon or Pinesway was all too vivid in his imagination. Such a sight would certainly cause a stir and raise the curiosity of all.

“Hmmph,” Mappel exhaled almost indignantly. “You may live with the humans, but I see I understand them better. They have grown arrogant in an age where they assume they are the superior race. It will not do them well to find otherwise. They will resist such knowledge. I don’t know if they even carried the ancient knowledge with them. We may never find a single human with the knowledge of their own part in the Wizard War.”

“Let’s not get too pessimistic about that, either,” Ryson advised. “I know of people that keep close ties with what we call the legends. In fact, I was sent out by Reader Matthew to investigate the origins of the quake. He is the leader of the Church of Godson at Connel.”

“Connel? Does that mean you also come from Connel?” Mappel asked.

“Yes, it does. Lief already told me of how Connel was the place of the final battle in the fight for the sphere. He thought it might mean something that I come from there. Respectfully, I think it’s just coincidence.”

Mappel’s expression revealed his interest at the delver’s remark. “Who is to say whether it means anything or not? It may be as you say or it may be more. Indeed, we have nothing to guide us. Thus, it is not wrong to grasp at even the slightest hope that other powers are at work. Whatever the case, I believe Connel to be significant in this matter. Connel is where the five races made their stand together, and it will be the place where we shall rejoin.”

Ryson’s eyebrows flipped upwards. “Are you sure about that?! Connel is a place where the people don’t exactly warm to strangers, let alone strange things. They’re going to have a hard time accepting elves just walking into town.”

“They will have to accept more than that,” Lief stated fervently. “Wait until they see the dwarves, or the algors for that matter.”

“That’s just what I mean,” Ryson explained. “Don’t you think a less conspicuous place would be better for such a meeting?”

“No. It must be Connel,” Mappel spoke with a newfound determination. He accepted the cause with all his heart and soul. He would move forward now with all the intensity he could muster. “Its potential importance is too critical to overlook. The other races may even be more willing to help fight a common foe when faced with reminders of our last joint battle. We shall bring all the races back together within the confines of the ancient wall which saved us so long ago. As for the humans, they will simply have to accept what they see. The world as they know it is finished no matter what happens. Either the sphere will destroy all life or we shall destroy the sphere. In that case, the magic will return and the land will revert to how it was during the time of elflore.”

“I guess so,” Ryson said reluctantly. His image of elves walking through a human town re-entered his mind, but now he saw them in the familiar streets of Connel. He wondered how those he had come to know would react to such a sight.

“It is how it must be,” Mappel stated firmly. “Now, about this Reader Matthew. He is versed in the book of Godson?”

The question brought Ryson’s attention away from his personal thoughts. “I would have to say so. My guess is he is the best hope at finding someone who might know what the humans placed in Sanctum as protection. If he doesn’t, I don’t know who will.”

“I shall see him myself. Lief shall accompany me.”

Both Ryson and Lief displayed great surprise and concern.

“You’re going to go to Connel?” Ryson questioned.

“Do not be alarmed. I may be old, but I still can travel. This is an important time for us. It is my responsibility. If it calms you, we shall remain inconspicuous. We can appear to be just as humans. No one will know of us until we locate the reader. We will disclose ourselves only to him.”

“Are you sure of this?” Lief asked.

“I have no choice. It is my place. It is also your place. You have spoken to Shayed. Without aid of elflore, we must choose the obvious. It may have only been chance that it was your lot to come across the delver in the woods, but it might just as easily have been the guiding hand of fate. In some unknown manner, you have been selected to play a role in this event.”

“What about me?” Ryson wondered aloud. “Does my part end here? Do I go with you to Connel? I promised to send word to Reader Matthew. If I accompany you, I can report to him directly. I might also help explain what’s going on.”

Mappel shook his head, but eyed the delver with veiled expectations. “If Matthew is indeed a follower of Godson, we will not need you to explain. As for your part, I don’t believe it is over. That, however, is up to you. I would have a task for you that is both important and dangerous. Whether you feel it to be your role, that is up to you.”

The weight of Mappel’s gaze fell heavily upon the delver, and Ryson almost hesitated in asking the obvious question. His delver instincts, however, would not allow him to remain quiet.

“What is it you want me to do?”

“As I have said before, I will send word to the dwarves about this matter. That will need no special messenger. They will hear my word and I am sure they will understand. They will send representatives to Connel. The algors are another matter. They are a strange group. They live by their own accord. I never claimed an understanding of them. In truth, I wouldn’t know how to find them. I know they live in the desert south by southwest of our camp. That, unfortunately, is the extent of my knowledge. But here I find myself graced with a delver, a purebred delver, and by elflore I know it is within you to find anything that might be hidden. I can advise you on what to look for, what to sense. With your abilities, you have the greatest chance of locating them.”

Ryson’s eyes widened at the suggestion. A loose description from the legends of an algor filled his mind. It left much to his imagination, and even more to disbelieve. “I’ve never even seen an algor before. Even if you tell me what to look for, it’s not going to be easy. The desert is a tricky place. The wind and the sand can play tricks. Even if