Delver Magic Book I: Sanctum's Breach

by Jeff Ianniello

  "Do not be quick to judge what might be fate," Mappel interrupted. "These are uncertain times. We have no idea what forces may or may not be at work. But continue with your explanation."

  "Fate or not," Lief conceded, "that I can not say, but I can say that Ryson Acumen was indeed a boon to my travel. We agreed to follow the path of the quake which initiated these troubled times. It led us, as I suspected, to Sanctum. His powerful senses detected a group of goblins. With his help, we captured one and found that the goblins were not responsible for the freeing of the sphere."

  Ryson suddenly felt the urge to help with the explanation. In listening to the story, he himself found it unbelievable even though he experienced everything described. Knowing the severity of what they faced, Ryson felt it essential to convince the elder elf.

  "What he says is true," the delver exclaimed. "I did fight what he calls one of the undead. I couldn't believe it myself at the time, but it tried to kill me. We also fell upon goblins and captured one. I have one of their swords. You see." Ryson held up the crude short sword for the elder elf.

  Mappel showed no interest in the weapon. His eyes fell upon the delver and spoke with a voice so crisp, it defied his age.

  "Do not feel as if you must prove something to me. I still have eyes and ears. I see, hear and feel what is happening. I might not have accepted the truth at first. I hoped that the magic might have returned naturally, but now I am sure that it is the work of the sphere. That means the return of goblins, among other things."

  "You believe now?" Lief asked with his hope rising.

  "Much has happened during your absence, Lief Woodson. The magic has grown within us. Though it may be difficult to accept, I know you, and I know you have no reason to lie. Your story corresponds with much of what has already happened here. Those gifted have even been able to cast minor spells. The magic, unfortunately, is not pure. I am not so old that I can't sense the poison within it. It will undo us all. If the magic has returned, then why not Shayed? There is also the matter of the river rogue and the fate of the two unfortunate elves. Now, you return to me with continued proof. As much as I would like, I can not deny the tragedy which faces us."

  "It may not have to be a tragedy. Remember, we have spoken with Shayed," Lief reminded him with words trimmed in pride and optimism. "It is her counsel that we might yet defeat this thing which now haunts us."

  Mappel found only small reassurance. He spoke more of his growing confusion. "The return of Shayed, even in spirit form, fills me with hope. It appears as if this is indeed a momentous time, a time which may decide the fates of many. Yet, this all remains so distressing. It distresses me that elflore gave no foreshadowing of this event. The return of Shayed signifies a time which must be of great importance. Why must we face this without a shred of help from the lore?"

  Lief hesitated for a moment, but finally forced himself to speak.

  "There is more which you might find troubling, Mappel. We will not be able to simply bury the sphere. It is the word of Shayed that this will no longer be allowed. She makes other requirements of us. In truth, she commands that we destroy the sphere."

  The words lingered in a moment of silence, stabbed at the elder and drew his ire.

  "Were those her words or yours?!" Mappel questioned sternly, hissing like a startled rattler.

  Lief stood his ground. His eyes remained upon the elder, but his voice dropped in tone. "They were hers." It was apologetic in its offering.

  Mappel remained unsatisfied and eyed Lief questioningly. "You know the story of Shayed. During the Wizard War she defied the magic users because she would not destroy the sphere. Now, you tell me differently. This does not follow with elflore. Does Shayed truly advise the destruction of the sphere?"

  Lief could answer no differently. "Yes, she does."

  The elder elf, filled with disbelief, turned to Ryson. "What do you say to this, delver?" Mappel demanded. "Were you present? Did Shayed truly order the destruction of the sphere?"

  Although he found Mappel's outburst most disquieting, Ryson answered with the simple truth. "Yes, she did."

  The elder gripped his branch slightly tighter and grumbled something unknown to Ryson. He ripped his sight from the two that stood before him and his eyes bore into the trees. He thumped his staff twice against the ground in revolt against what had been told to him.

  Ryson and Lief waited quietly before him. The delver remained uncertain of what to do or say. He looked to Lief who stood, more or less, patiently waiting for Mappel.

  After his momentary display of resistance, Mappel fell completely into acceptance of what he viewed as nothing less than a tragedy.

  "Then so it must be done," he sighed, his shoulders sagged with the weight of the revelation.

  Mappel turned the prospect over in his mind. As if condemned to a sentence of hard labor, he faced it with a will to begin as soon as possible in order to end it as soon as possible. "To destroy the sphere we must reach it first. You say it is still within Sanctum. What of this breach? Can we use it to reach the sphere?"

  "No," Lief replied flatly. "The sphere protects the opening with a force barrier. The magic may exit, but we may not enter."

  The elder dropped his head in frustration.

  Lief continued. "Shayed advises us to use the tiers as a path to the sphere. It can not be blocked by any power the sphere might induce."

  "The tiers are protected in other ways," Mappel shook his head.

  "I know, but we have no other choice."

  "You realize what this means?"

  "We must enlist the help of the other races," Lief began, again sounding apologetic, but when he recalled his own encounter with the spirit of Shayed, unyielding determination filled his voice. "I realize the weight of this matter, but it is also what Shayed commands."

  "Shayed may command, but it may not be all within our power," Mappel spoke with sadness. "We must depend on the assistance of others for this request. The tiers have proven to be the divisive matter surrounding all the races. To break the secrets of the tiers is to break centuries of an accepted settlement that led to the new order. This can not be done easily."

  "It will have to be done," Lief insisted.

  "You speak as if we can snap our fingers and it will be so," Mappel lectured. "You have no idea of what we face. Not only must we convince others to join our cause, we must defeat the barriers themselves. Although I know only of what the elves placed within Sanctum, I know that passing this will not be easy. I can only imagine what other horrors might await. The tiers were constructed so that no one might reach the power of the sphere."

  "Do we have another choice?" Lief questioned. "Forgive me, if I appear impudent, but I see little value in debating the issue. We must do what we must do."

  "It is not only up to us," Mappel countered. "The barriers of Sanctum are beyond the unity of elves. They represent the separation of the five races, and thus, they include the five races. Just because you and I might say Sanctum must be entered does not mean others will agree."

  "It is not just you or I," Lief reminded, "it is Shayed as well."

  "So it is," Mappel allowed, "and perhaps it is time to break the symbol of the pact which separates the races. I don't know how we might accomplish such a thing, but if it is the command of Shayed, it must be attempted."

  "Excuse me, sir," Ryson finally spoke. He found the exchange between the two elves interesting and enlightening, but the near defeatist attitude of Mappel puzzled him. As he questioned Mappel, his voice carried in low tones, hoping to remain as inoffensive to the elder as possible. "I can't claim to know much of what you're talking about, but it sounds as if you're dooming this before we even get started. Will it be so difficult?"

  Mappel turned his disheartened glance upon the delver. He answered with grace. Though his response was lacking in detail, he made a genuine attempt to answer the delver with all honesty. "If you must ask, I must reply that it will be far more difficult then you can comprehend. It
is not simply the barriers we must overcome, but the ages of mistrust and separation."

  "Well, that may be," Ryson countered. "I really don't understand any of this fully, but I've continued along with what I've seen and heard so far. That may not be much, but consider what I have seen. I didn't know of elves or goblins before. I saw a ghost today for Godson's sake. I haven't walked away yet."

  "You are a delver," Mappel reminded. "It is your natural instinct to follow anything which is new and unknown to you. Take my word; it will not be as easy to convince others to assist in this task. The stakes are very high, as is the mistrust."

  "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 install 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 council 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."

&
nbsp; "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 council you on what to look for, what to sense. With your abilities, you have the greatest chance of locating them."