Chain of Bargains dm-5 Read online

  Chain of Bargains

  ( Delver magic - 5 )

  Jeff Inlo

  Jeff Inlo

  Chain of Bargains

  Chapter 1

  "We still have a cahltof tracking us," Holli Brances reminded the delver.

  "I know," Ryson Acumen revealed, "but we have a problem ahead of us, too. The pass is being watched."

  "Guards?"

  "Not human. Not even goblins."

  "Describe what you see," Holli requested.

  The delver and elf stood near the edge of a wide path that wound through the lower foothills of the Oachet Mountains. Their position upon higher ground on the eastern side of a ridge gave Ryson a clear view of the pass ahead as it descended into the southwestern region of the Great Valleys. The delver scanned the horizon to the east, taking in the entire scene, and then narrowed his sights upon the unknown group of apparent sentries that waited near the end of the pass.

  Leaf filled trees covered the majority of the landscape. Most of the ground within the hills was completely blocked by the swaying, green canopy. The path to the valley, however, was extremely wide and cut a clear trail through the woods. While weeds and thick grass grew high within its boundaries, the broad pass remained visible to the delver as it snaked a passage through the remaining foothills to the east. Above the trail and nestled within the forest, a few rocky glades rested on hillsides throughout the region, and it was on one of those clearings that Ryson spotted creatures with interest in the wide path below.

  It was the height of the high sun season. The days were long with the sun making a high arch in light blue skies, and while the glare off the hillsides was strong, Ryson's eyes adjusted easily to the increased light. After pinpointing the exact location of his quarry and marking points of reference in his mind, he retrieved a spyscope from the pouch at his side. He focused in on the grouping of several forms, and he detailed what he could see.

  "Thick, sturdy creatures, but slightly smaller than an average dwarf. About a dozen. Black armor, but it looks light and flexible. They're not moving much, but when they do, they look pretty nimble. Very pale skin from what I can see of their faces. I can't see any hair. Their heads are covered with helmets, but they don't have beards."

  Ryson lowered the spyscope and considered his findings. He made a quick but fairly decisive conclusion.

  "I think they're inferns."

  Just as Ryson's expression revealed the seriousness of his declaration, Holli's level of readiness jumped. Her internal alarms went off with raging clarity. Inferns were dark creatures of considerable power… and very dangerous.

  "How certain are you?" she requested, not in a dubious voice, but with a tone that marked the gravity of the matter.

  The delver made one last look through his spyscope and then offered it to the elf.

  "I've never seen one, but I've read about them in the legends. The pale white skin, their size, the armor… and they're all holding javelins. I'm pretty sure they're inferns."

  The elf did not wish to doubt the delver, but the presence of inferns was significant. It had to be confirmed and the delver's description could have matched dwarves that dwelled in the region. Holli strained her elf eyes in the direction of the pass, but even with the assistance of magnified lenses, her vision could not match the depth of a delver's.

  "Where do you see them? How far?"

  Ryson pointed in the proper direction and gave a verbal description to assist the elf in locating the sentries.

  "They're just above the pass beyond the second hilltop to our left. They're out in the open on high ground… very near the peak. There's a small rock formation that looks kind of like a broken wagon wheel sticking out of the ground that's just below them."

  Finding the proper spot, Holli could make out only shadows of movement. She could see the figures, but not with enough detail to confirm the identification.

  "They are beyond my sight, but something is clearly there," she agreed.

  "If they're still there when it gets dark, you'll see them better. They glow hot."

  "Glow?"

  "It's like they have an aura of heat around them. It's hard to see in daylight, but it's there. I'm sure of it. Even in the bright sun, I can see it. Their skin is doing more than just reflecting the sunlight. It's like I said, they have a glow. I think at night they're going to stand out like flares."

  Holli knew it was beyond foolish to doubt the delver's senses, and she was now certain of the identity of the figures in the distance. Very few creatures gave off a glow of any sort-dwarves certainly didn't glow-and only inferns matched the full description given by Ryson.

  "Definitely inferns," the elf noted, and then considered the implications.

  Holli placed the revelation in context with both their situation and their mission. They needed to get into the Great Valleys, but risking a confrontation with inferns carried great peril. It was a risk that altered her perspective of their ultimate task. She knew she was operating on limited details, and the reason for their journey was to shed light on certain mysteries. Inferns, however, only added to the puzzle, and one word summed up the discovery.

  Unexpected.

  "None of the settlers in Connel said anything about inferns guarding the passages out of the valleys," Holli continued.

  "I don't think that many settlers came this way."

  "That is true, but why would they guard this pass and not Pride Gap?"

  "I can't say," Ryson answered, "but I don't think it's a good idea to walk right under them."

  "No, it is not. I have already disregarded any such tactic."

  More than happy with that decision, Ryson inspected the landscape as he offered alternatives.

  "We could break to the northeast and bypass them by cutting around this next hill. We can take to the trees. There's plenty of cover."

  Holli considered the option, but then turned to gauge the progress of the cahltof behind them.

  The beast began trailing them near the end of the Osak Plateau and it followed them through the Oachet mountains. It had been very persistent as well as diabolical in revealing its presence. The creature wanted its prey to know that they were being followed, to sense just enough danger so that rest became impossible.

  The cahltof wasn't going to let them escape, that was clearly its intent. It would rely on its incredible endurance and hope to wear out its prey. It would be a long hunt, but cahltofs were relentless.

  Despite the qualities if its pursuer, Holli believed they could outdistance it. The cahltof might follow them through the foothills, but it would not enter the lower regions of the Great Valleys where humans were much more common. She was certain the monster remained out of striking distance but believed it was closing. She had sensed the creature through the magic, but only barely, and she had to augment her senses with a deliberate spell.

  Turning back to the inferns, the elf attempted to trace a magical signature back to the figures in the distance, but she could not reach that far without actually casting another spell of her own to actively follow the magic. She did not wish to take that chance and alert the inferns to her presence. It was better to remain silent and unseen.

  "Why inferns and why here?" the elf asked aloud, as she wrestled with the implications. "It makes no sense."

  "Maybe it does," Ryson offered. "If goblins are settling in the Great Valleys, why wouldn't inferns? If they are, they would want to guard the passes. Wouldn't elves do the same thing in Dark Spruce?"

  "Yes, but elves are trained to be guards. We watch passages to protect our camps. Why would an infern wish to protect the valleys?"

  "Maybe it's not so much protecting the valleys as searching for prey."

  "Perhaps, but I still do not
understand the presence of inferns in these hills. They are foot soldiers, pawns of draevols."

  Ryson knew a great deal of the legends, but he had not yet dealt with a draevol and wished to confirm their threat.

  "Death mages?"

  "Not death, but plague mages," Holli corrected. "They are demons that cast spells of rot and decay, sickness and disease. Brown is the aura of their magic, not black. There is a great difference. The power of death is not in shadow, but in change. The magic of plague is meant only to weaken and ultimately destroy. Draevols spawn from the depths of the dark lands, but thankfully they are somewhat limited in their ability to crossover from one realm to another."

  "That's how they're described in elflore?"

  "Yes, and that is also why they utilize inferns. While draevols are pure demons, the inferns are only half demon and half gnome. They have little will of their own but make a formidable army. While draevols cast plagues, inferns utilize fire. They move with speed and have great endurance, almost as much as a cahltof. My question remains as to why would such creatures guard this pass into the Great Valleys?"

  "Maybe they've been ordered to by the draevols."

  "We have heard nothing of demons by the settlers and their presence would be hard to miss."

  "No, but the refugees from the valleys talked about a lot of unsettling things. Draevols and inferns may be just another part of it."

  "Still, this pass is inconsequential. It breaks over rough terrain and is used mostly by loggers bringing resources into the Great Valleys."

  "Could they be watching for elves possibly coming out of the trees?"

  "Believe it or not, there are more dwarves in these hills than elves. Not many elf camps in this region, if any at all."

  "Even with all these trees?"

  "The dwarves laid claim to these lands long ago with underground cities. They did not relish the idea of elves camping over their heads and made as much known. The elves did not care for the area anyway. Too many human towns at the edges of the valleys, too many loggers entering the forests cutting down the trees. That is why this pass is so wide."

  Ryson considered these facts and applied them to the sentries in the distance.

  "Maybe that's what they're doing, just watching the pass in hopes of spotting loggers."

  "Which returns me to my question of why use inferns for that? Draevols have never been concerned with hoarding treasure. They would only wish to spread plague across the land. As for inferns, they burn and kill. If they were here to set the forest ablaze, I would understand it."

  Ryson considered the idea and took another look at the grouping of inferns.

  "No, they're not starting any fires. They're just standing there watching the pass, not causing any damage at all."

  "For whatever reason, we have to assume they are waiting for something," Holli determined. "Which means, we have to avoid them."

  "If you don't want to head northeast, we could…" Quickly turning his head to the north, Ryson stopped in mid-sentence and sniffed the wind. He shook his head as if he smelled some terrible odor. He then lifted his ear to the same direction.

  "We have another problem," he alerted the elf in a guarded whisper. "Something's coming at us from the north. The scent is goblin, but it's not right. It's too strong. I can hear them. Sounds like a grouping of six to ten… but it smells like fifty. They're also moving heavy, too heavy for goblins."

  Holli sniffed the air. "You are right. The odor is strong. How close are they?"

  "Just around this hilltop. We'd both see them easily if we had a path of clear sight."

  "How did they get so close?"

  "I have no idea," Ryson revealed with confusion of his own. "The scent just appeared, but it's very strong."

  Ryson gave Holli a single moment to digest the news, then offered what he saw as the only alternative.

  "We have to go south. We can climb the trees, move from branch to branch and…"

  Holli cut him off.

  "No."

  "No?" the surprised delver responded. "We can't get caught here."

  Holli scanned every direction and then set her sights to the hills behind them. She already had contingency plans set in her mind, and she chose the one that offered the greatest chance of success given the alternatives.

  "We are being directed south, and it is usually a bad idea to take the bait. You know that. Whatever is to the north is disguising their true scent with goblin scent. That means they must know you are a delver or that I am an elf. Why disguise scent for two humans? No, humans would not recognize the smell-they rely too heavily on sight. Whoever is coming at us is moving like this for a reason… to send us in the opposite direction. Heading south is a mistake."

  "Then what do we do?"

  "We head back west… for now."

  "We've got a cahltof back…"

  "I know," Holli cut him off, and then quickly issued her directives. "I'm going to take the lead. I want you to travel ten paces behind me. Match my speed." She looked directly into Ryson's eyes to make her next point very clear. "Understand, I want the cahltof to attack me. Trust me and be ready with your sword. Unsheathe it now."

  Ryson almost argued, but they were running out of time. Holli asked him to trust her, and so, he would.

  The delver pulled the Sword of Decree from its sheath across his back. He looked to the north with the glowing blade in his hand, then he eyed the grouping of inferns. Before considering the power of his sword, he looked to the east where the cahltof waited in the distance. With his attention divided among many concerns, he gripped the handle tightly as if to entice a message from the weapon. The sword would, at times, produce an image in the mind of its holder, revealing not necessarily the full solution to some puzzle, but expose facts and offer guidance.

  Ryson hoped for some magical insight, but with so many questions, he lacked focus. He received no further information from the weapon. He shrugged it off. He had learned to live without assistance from the sword, and if the blade failed to offer further enlightenment, so be it.

  Just as the delver drew his sword, Holli prepared herself to deal with the cahltof. She concentrated on a single spell that would mix her inherent power over nature with the spell of storm. She pressed her hands together, but only allowed them to touch at the fingertips. A small emerald octagon of magical energy appeared between her palms. The green magic spread across the back of her hands, down her arms and around her entire body. She glowed bright green until she pulled her hands apart, and then, all evidence of the magic faded.

  Ryson could not contain an observation.

  "With you lighting up green and my sword glowing like a bon fire, I'm guessing anyone and anything near us now knows exactly where we are."

  "We will not be here long," the elf replied. "Follow me and be prepared to strike if necessary."

  Holli did not wait for an acknowledgment. Just as Ryson trusted her, she would trust in him. She knew he would do as she asked, and she would stake her life upon that confidence.

  She raced westward, back along the path they had traveled. She did not alter her course or change her pace at any time. Instead, she ran straight down the middle of the pass with a clear indication of reckless flight. It was an obvious act of desperation that almost any predator would recognize, and it was certainly the kind of frantic dash for escape that would draw out the cahltof.

  Holli prepared herself for a long run. The air remained hot and heavy with humidity. Still, it was the kind of element she could adapt to easily as opposed to the scorching dry winds of the Lacobian desert. She focused on breathing in steady time with her movement, and she measured her stride to keep from overexerting herself. The pace matched the full sprint of most humans, but she was an elf.

  She believed the cahltof would quickly alter its own strategy to match the escape attempt of its prey. She was certain it wouldn't allow them to pass it by. The beast wouldn't want to fall behind at this stage of the hunt. Previously, it was content in
following them and pressing them onward, but with a hasty change in direction, the cahltof would adjust its tactics. She was sure it would strike from a forward position as they ran directly into its path, but she couldn't be certain how long it would wait before it decided to pounce.

  Cahltofs, with their sleek bodies, ran gracefully and effortlessly on all fours. They could not quite match the speed of an average horse, but they could come close and they could maintain their top pace for a much longer duration.

  Holli attempted to spot the predator as she ran, but she knew cahltofs blended in well with the shadows of the trees. Short thick fur covered their entire bodies, usually colored light brown, but sometimes dark gray. They appeared like a cross between a mountain lion and a timber wolf, but with an elongated body that was almost snake like in its flexibility. It was this long and supple core that allowed it to strike with such deadly proficiency.

  With Holli leading the way, she and Ryson rounded the base of several hills. The terrain suited both of their natural abilities. Although the Oachets were called mountains, they stood more as gently, rolling hills. The altitude was that of a high plain, but was no where near the height of the Colad Mountains where the air was thin and peaks rose above the tree line.

  Holli didn't even have to look back to gauge Ryson's condition. She knew he could handle the pace she set without difficulty, and the clear path along a hillside was a terrain where Ryson Acumen thrived. She would tire long before he would.

  Her only concern latched upon the stamina of her spell. While the dash was no true test of her physical endurance, her pool of magical energy was not of equal standing. The spell she cast upon herself constantly drained her reserve of magic. The spell would fade if the cahltof showed much greater patience than the elf expected.

  Behind her, Ryson called out a quick warning that relieved her of that worry.

  "It's still ahead of us, but it's getting closer. I can smell it."

  Unfortunately, his warning carried an additional caution Holli did not expect.