Delver Magic III: Balance of Fate by Jeff Inlo (thriller books to read txt) 📕

“And how do you intend on forcing his goblin army out of Connel,” Holli asked. “I have seen your guard in action against the dwarves and I know your current strength. They are excellent defenders, but this action would call for offensive tactics. They would be vastly outnumbered with the goblins fully entrenched in the city. These are not welcoming odds for you.”

“No, they are not,” Sy admitted, “and I have no intention of leading my soldiers on a suicide mission. There is, however, sufficient help to the east. Fort Nebran lies within a days ride, additional outposts exist less than a day away from the fort. Lief has also told me that the contingent of Connel’s cavalry escaped to the east when the city surrendered. I would bet my best horse that they went to Nebran as well. When they hear what’s going on at Connel, they’re not going to need much incentive to return.

“I’ve had dealings with the officers at Nebran before, and believe me they know the score. They’re thankful that our town sits between the farmlands and Dark Spruce. Word has spread of Enin and they know Burbon serves a nice buffer. When they hear an army of dark creatures has bypassed us and taken Connel, they’ll know that they’re the next target in line. If we consolidate all our numbers, we can assemble a sufficient force to at least have a chance. With a little luck, we might be able to take back the city.”

Holli offered one last bit of concern. “What of the bloat spiders? Lief said they have encased most of the city with their webs. How can we attack the city if we can’t get through the webs?”

“Actually, I believe the spiders will at first work to our advantage. It’s not just a matter of limiting what enters the city, it’s also a point to consider how fast Sazar can get his forces out of the city. He may not be able to meet us in the open field. If we know that in advance, we can make it work to our advantage.” Sy turned to Lief. “This does, however, raise a question. If the city exits have been covered by the webs of bloat spiders, how did you manage to get out?”

Lief responded without hesitation. His tone held the simple ring of truth as opposed to any arrogance in what he was able to accomplish. “I am an elf, not a human. I can climb up and down the sides of your structures. The spiders only covered the free paths of the streets knowing that humans would not be able to jump rooftop to rooftop to avoid their webs. They did not know an elf was present within the city.”

It was then Ryson that raised a concern of his own. “What about the people trapped in Connel?”

Sy frowned and did not answer.

Ryson pressed with his own understanding of the matter. “If you attack Connel, those people in there are going to be trapped with the goblins. Sazar could use them as hostages or simply kill them to keep them from getting in the way.”

“The city is surrounded by webs, Ryson,” Sy reminded him. “I can’t get them out. There’s no secret passage way that’s going to get them out. I don’t have that kind of magic.”

Everyone looked at Enin, but the wizard simply stared at the floor. Ryson, however, quickly ended the uneasy silence as his face lit up like a flare.

“But there is!” Ryson exclaimed.

“Is what?” Sy demanded.

“A secret passage, there is a secret passage. Remember the dwarves attacked Connel just like they attacked Burbon. They dug tunnels under the city and attacked by appearing in the city’s center without giving Connel’s army advanced warning. We can use those tunnels to get the people out.”

Sy stood silent, but only for a moment. Then he quickly dampened the delver’s proposal. “The dwarves blocked those tunnels after they left the city in ruins.”

“They just block sections, so the humans couldn’t use them to follow them back to Dunop.”

“Exactly, that means we can’t get through them to get to Connel. It’s enough of a block that we wouldn’t be able to dig through in time. We can’t wait forever to hit Sazar. We have to do it now.”

“We couldn’t dig through, but the dwarves could.”

“You think the dwarves are going to help us?” Sy questioned. “The dwarves didn’t just attack Connel, they attacked Burbon as well. And it wasn’t just a small disagreement, it was a nasty battle. We lost a lot of lives and they lost much more. Our wizard here decided to help then and we forced them to retreat. Now I know you told me that they attacked because their queen ordered them to and I know she’s gone now, but it’s hard for me to believe the dwarves are going to be willing to assist us after all of that.”

“They owe us, or at least they owe me,” Ryson said simply. “I saved Dunop from the shadow trees. I also asked for the Cliff Behemoths to come to Dunop. They did and stopped the sand giants. All I’m asking is for them to do is to clear a few tunnels so we can get to Connel. They owe me that much.”

“They may not think they owe you anything at all,” Sy responded flatly.

Lief turned to Sy and declared his own considerations. “No, they are stubborn, they are greedy, they are arrogant, but they are also very proud. They understand that the delver saved their city. That, they can not deny, and thus they can not deny the debt they owe him. For them to turn down a simple request would be beyond my comprehension. I believe they will have to do what he asks out of their own desire to clear that debt. To deny him that simple request would be an act of dishonor. I believe that would be beyond them.”

As Sy looked silently at the map on his wall, he considered the many factors they now faced. In his mind, he calculated the risks of involving the dwarves and the advantages of freeing the humans of Connel. At the same time, he ran through different scenarios in his head regarding the possible upcoming battles with the goblins entrenched in the city.

“Let me just think about this for a moment,” Sy stated as he continued to review his map. “Maybe, just maybe we can use Sazar’s own tactics against him. He surrounded the city to cut them off from any hope of escape. We can cut them off in the same way, cut them off and keep them focused on what’s happening just outside the city.”

Sy made a quick calculation of the forces he would need and the soldiers he believed would be available for the attack.

“Actually, this could all work in our favor if we time it right,” the captain offered as he turned his attention to Ryson and Lief. “If you really think we can get the dwarves to open up those tunnels for us, we might have a chance to get those people out of there. We all have to realize that you’re not just going to be able to guide them all out under Sazar’s nose, but if I can get a sizeable force to attack the city, Sazar can’t afford to watch over the people they’ve got caught in there. We start the attack right at nightfall at the perimeter and Sazar is going to have his attention on us. At the same time, you can start moving as many people out as you can. Even if we fail to initially defeat Sazar, we can still succeed by removing his work force. On the outside of the city, we would have him surrounded. Maybe we can’t get him out of Connel, but at least we would have him contained, and with no prisoners, no hostages, and no way to get out to the farmlands. Also, he won’t be able to send humans to Tabris. If we’re right about what’s going on with her, that’s going to hurt his relationship with her. If she suddenly decides to break off the deal and strip him of any extra powers, I’m guessing he goes back to being a regular serp and he won’t be able to control that many creatures scattered all over Connel. Even if that doesn’t work, we can even think about just burning the city to the ground.”

Holli nodded. “It is a sound plan. You would also succeed in cutting off any new dark creatures from joining Sazar.”

“Exactly,” Sy agreed. “We’re still going to have to try and do everything we can to engage the goblin horde to keep them occupied, but at least now we have other options available to us if we can’t get them out of the city.”

Ryson now offered his own understanding of what needed to be done. “It has to be me that goes to Dunop. I’m the one that has to make the request. You also can’t send any of your soldiers with me through the caves. It will slow me down and I need to rely on speed.”

“I don’t intend to. I agree with you and I also can’t afford to spare any. The few that I can leave behind will have to guard Burbon. I was hoping, however, that Lief would go with you. You can use another pair of eyes, and from what I’ve seen, an elf won’t slow you down that much.”

“I can live with that,” Ryson stated as he looked to Lief expectantly.

“I shall accompany you,” Lief agreed with little fanfare.

Ryson considered the events that transpired the last time the two were together and wondered if Lief would be able to control his anger in the midst of so many dark creatures. “You realize we have to go unnoticed, especially when we are in Connel, so you can’t simply run off and start attacking the goblins. Our objective is to get everyone out alive, not to start a war once we get in there.”

Lief’s eyes narrowed. “You might no longer believe this, but I can maintain control when necessary. I was able to get in and out of Connel without being noticed. Do you think I could have accomplished that if I just started attacking goblins?”

“No, I guess not,” Ryson conceded. “I just wanted to make sure we agree on what our main purpose was here.”

The elf simply heaved a heavy sigh.

“I wish to accompany them as well,” Holli interjected. “I can help them and while we need to keep the party small, I think three is better than two. We can all move swiftly and quietly. When we reach the inner streets of Burbon, I can assist in guiding the humans to the tunnels.”

Enin finally spoke up. “You wish to go with them?”

“I need to go with them,” Holli answered. “I feel it is my responsibility.”

“How so?” the wizard asked.

“You said that when Tabris decided to join with Sazar it represented her turn toward an evil path. By your own admission, you used that decision as the reason you were willing to make me stronger. If she did not turn toward evil, I truly wonder if you would have trained me at all. That being the case, I believe that I must do all that I can to counteract any evil this sorceress does. She is responsible for Sazar gaining control of so many creatures. Without her power, he would be left to raid abandoned outposts in the northern wilds. Do you understand?”

“Whether I understand or not is immaterial,” the wizard said revealing little emotion.