Mappel shifted his weight as he changed the angle in which he held his staff. "I understand all too well what you speak of, for I have that responsibility. I can only tell you that I would be willing to reveal what I know to increase our chances of success."
"But will others be so willing?" Matthew persisted voicing his doubts. "The five tiers were constructed so that no one might enter to regain the power of the sphere. What you will ask of all the races is in direct opposition of this." Matthew looked up at the elder elf and began to speak quickly. "Please understand, although I know I'm not explaining myself well. It's just that you present more than a request. The tiers represent a sense of safety for all the races that understand the legends. It is so that no power might use the sphere. I realize the sphere now becomes a danger and the tiers are now an obstacle in ending that danger. It is difficult, though, to simply free myself of the covenant of the tiers. If such skepticism rests within me, how will you convince all the races?"
Mappel addressed the question with understanding, but with no less resolve. "I am already aware of such difficulties, but there is no other way. It will be my task to make all understand that there is no other choice."
Matthew exhaled deeply. He crossed his hands atop his desk over his book. "I am glad I won't have to make that decision. In all honesty, I do not know what the humans placed in their tier, but I know who might.”
At this, Mappel’s eyes widened with interest as well as hope. “There is a human in your church that might have this information.”
“He’s not a simple member of just this church. He is a blessing to all of those that follow the word of Godson. I will do my best to get word to him. Until then, I can only suggest we focus upon other problems."
Lief found it refreshing to face something other than the sphere, elflore and the book of Godson. He gladly seized upon the opportunity to deal with other matters. "What problems may that be?"
Matthew spoke with a heaviness that revealed a deeper shame, a shame of how his own kind might react to the sudden presence of such beings as elves, dwarves, and algors. "If you plan to bring representatives of other races to Connel, you will have to give previous warning to the residents of this town. We may be able to hide their presence for a while, but as more come, it will be difficult to keep such a thing a secret. Such a thing might cause a panic. If we do not address this now, we might face a greater problem when we need it least."
"What is it you recommend?" Mappel questioned, regarding such matters with serious conviction.
"I am not good at this, dealing with such problems." Matthew conceded. "The followers of this church are viewed as outsiders. I doubt our warnings would be taken with any regard. I would suggest we meet with the town council. But it is late and the sun is almost down. It's going to be hard enough to see the council as it is. It would be near impossible to see them this very evening. It would be better for us to make the attempt tomorrow morning. I suggest we break for a meal. Then, perhaps we can talk further. I know I have a lot of questions for you. I suppose you have the same for me. I would hope that you would stay here tonight and we can discuss all of these things, then we can see the council at daybreak."
Mappel nodded in agreement. "We are honored to stay within a Church of Godson. I must admit it will be strange for us to sleep within the confines of any building, but I would also admit that if I had to choose such a place, it would be here. There is much to discuss, and even more to plan. As events unfold, it becomes more and more evident to me that the barriers between humans and elves must fade. We have a long road to travel. It is best we travel it together."
Chapter 12
The fog drew close upon Matthew as he guided the two elves through the streets of Connel. The previous evening was a cool one, allowing for warm fires within hearths as well as vast quantities of dew, even in the dusty streets. As the sun broke the eastern horizon, the warm rays excited the layers of moisture into a jubilant mist.
Such was not uncommon for the growing season. It would take the passing of many more days before the ground absorbed enough heat to refuse the wetness of night, before the onset of the dry season when long hot days began at first light.
Matthew silently thanked Godson for the fog, a blanket of security and secrecy from prying eyes. If he had to walk the streets with strangers, far stranger than any might believe if they could see the ears which were hidden behind the forester caps, it was best to do it behind a veil of mist. It would not take long for the rising sun to burn off the last remnants of the fog, but it lasted long enough to see the two cloaked figures follow Matthew through the doors of the town hall.
Surprisingly, they were guided directly into the mayor's office within moments of their arrival. Matthew did little more than announce their presence and an urgency to speak with the town council. The receptionist greeted the request with unfettered nervousness, rather than the cold dismissal Matthew expected. As the two elves and the reader were left with the mayor, the door thumped shut with the heaviness of a vault.
Matthew, Mappel, and Lief found themselves in a dimly lit office with the blinds shut. The cobblestone fireplace remained cold and dark. The growing warmth of this morning required no fire, but the sterile cold and dimness of this office begged for the bright flames.
Mappel pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders to shield him from the strange chill. He allowed himself a moment to inspect his surroundings. The room was much bigger than Matthew's chamber at the church and included many more lavish decorations, but Mappel found this room uninviting. As he turned his head about, he noted the dark paneled walls that appeared newly cleaned. The thick rug also appeared fresh, and clear of dirt. The air smelled of disinfectant, and the windows remained closed. The office was almost completely devoid of life and nature. It certainly held no inviting hand to an elf, and for perhaps the first time in his life, Mappel felt his age.
Lief also found no comfort within these walls. The large volumes of books upon the shelves did not impress him. Neither did the paintings hanging upon the walls. Again, he felt trapped and contained, but even more so with so many distractions placed around the room. He longed for the green of the forest which was notably absent in this seemingly lifeless environment.
Matthew stepped forward ahead of the elves. He faced the large mahogany desk which stood majestically in front of them. The desk top, outlined with gold edging, contained piles of miscellaneous papers. It also contained the name plate of the current mayor, Edward Consprite.
Consprite sat in a full thick leather chair, behind his desk. The chair was turned to face the back wall and the three guests could only see the top of his balding head barely peeking over the hilt of the chair.
Matthew went to clear his throat to gain the mayor's attention.
Before he could make a sound, Consprite swerved his chair about and faced his visitors for the first time. His expression revealed his total lack of joy for their presence. His eyebrows raged downward in the middle, creating a crease just above the bridge of his nose which rose upward to his forehead. His jaw remained tight as he placed his hands down flat upon the desk top. He examined his visitors with notable disdain.
After his eyes whisked quickly over the two cloaked companions, Consprite's stare fixed coldly upon Reader Matthew. He frowned, almost angrily. His teeth barely broke their clench when he finally spoke.
"Why are you here?" he asked bluntly and coldly.
Matthew was taken aback by the surly approach. Members of his church were used to poor attitudes of other townspeople, but never such outward hostility. They were normally laughed or scoffed at, usually ignored, but hardly ever challenged with great antagonism.
The reader gathered himself and tried to ease into a conversation. "Thank you for seeing us. I have to admit I was surprised you would see us so quickly. Usually the council is rather reluctant to meet with members of my church."
The mayor would not let him continue. He spoke with demanding impatience as well as
anger. "What do you want?" It was much more of an order than a politely, or even tactfully placed question.
Consprite's anger again caught Matthew off guard. He stood silenced for long moments. Lief and Mappel remained behind him, their gazes shifting back and forth from the mayor to the reader.
Matthew finally contained his surprise and stiffened himself with new resolve. His thoughts garnered an image of Godson. With a new focus, he met the mayor's angry glare with simple inner strength.
"I wish to speak to the council on matters of great importance." His voice reflected little defiance and no arrogance. "Do not misjudge my intentions. I am not here simply on behalf of my church. I am not going to make any demands of funds. I am here to inform you. What I will tell you, you will need to know. If you do not hear me out you will not be happy with what you might face in the future."
The mayor's eyes remained fixed upon the reader. His expression changed ever so slightly. It continued to contain outward hostility, but even Matthew sensed a note of concern behind Consprite's flashing eyes.
"What is it you have to say?"
"I would rather speak to the entire council. This is a matter which will affect everyone in this town, everyone in the land."
Consprite appeared quite unfazed by this remark. He made no scoffing gesture and spoke not a single word of rebuttal. If anything, the hint of concern grew ever so slightly.
This reaction wasn't lost upon the reader. He expected to face more than doubt from the council; he expected to face downright disbelief and ridicule. After all, he was merely the reader for the Church of Godson, an unenviable position in a place filled with nonbelievers. Surely, he would have great difficulty in convincing the council of any of his story. This was why he brought the elves with him. Without them, he honestly believed his tale would not gain a single shred of respect from the council, especially from the mayor. He could only hope that the presence of the elves might sway them into accepting at least a portion of his story.
Now, however, he looked into a face that showed a great sign of concern; not at all what he had expected. The mayor was absorbed with some great anxiety, and Matthew's appearance in his office did little to ease his tensions.
"The council can not convene today," Consprite again spoke bluntly. "You will have to speak to me and me alone."
Matthew did not let a second wave of surprise break him from his intentions. He wavered only for a moment, searching for the right words to convey the true importance of what he had to say, and then offered his own response. "I do not think that is a wise idea. I can only say that my message is of great importance. It would be better if the council heard it together."
The mayor slapped his hands angrily against the top of the desk. His palms hit with such force that papers lifted up in the air before wafting back down slowly to their previous, albeit more confused, positions. All three visitors jumped slightly at the violent sound which cracked through the room. Consprite gave them little regard as he clenched his open hands into fists. He then brought them to his sides as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Look reader," Consprite spoke with a low snarl, a growl like a trapped, frustrated badger. "I don't think you understand! I said the council can not convene today. Now you will give me your message now or I will have you locked up for creating a public disturbance."
"I have created no disturbance!" Matthew blurted out with astonishment. He never anticipated such a response from anyone on the council, and he had not even revealed the outlandish tale he was now forced to tell.
Consprite leaned ever so slightly forward in his chair, as if to emphasize his conviction. "You just spoke of a message which will affect everyone in this town as well as everyone in the land. Those were your words. Do you deny them?"
"No, but ..."
"But nothing. Those are the words of a rabble-rouser. They create panic and mob rule. Now you will get on with what you have to say or I will have you locked up, and you will never see the light of day again."
Matthew felt his knees grow weak. "You can't do that, you have no right."
"I have every right! I'm about to issue an order imposing martial law! That gives me the right!"
Consprite caught himself before continuing. He cursed under his breath. He face was now crimson and his anxiety was as obvious as ever. He uncrossed his arms and rubbed his temples with his fingers.
Matthew stared disbelieving at the mayor. "Martial law?"
The mayor did not respond other than cursing under his breath once more.
"You can't do that," the reader repeated himself.
The mayor stood up angrily, grabbed a paper from his desk and shook it at the reader. "Yes, I can. And here's the order that proves it. If this doesn't convince you of how serious I am, I don't know what will."
Before Matthew could say another word, Mappel stepped forward to the edge of the mayor's desk.
"This has gone on long enough," the elf spoke with conviction before pulling the hood of his cloak away from his head and removing the forester's cap. His pointed ears stood revealed for all to see. "I am an elf, and as I believe every one in this room already knows, the end of an age is here."
"Mother of bastards!" Consprite exclaimed, yet he revealed more despair than disbelief. He did not question what he saw; he did not stare with gaping silence. Instead, he dropped himself back into his chair as if capitulating. His large bottom hit the seat with a resounding thump. He placed his left hand over his eyes as if trying to block out a nightmare.
Matthew looked back and forth from the elder elf to the mayor. He could not fathom Consprite's reaction. "You're not shocked?"
"Nothing can shock me anymore," Consprite moaned.
"What are you talking about?" Matthew beseeched. Nothing had gone even close to his expectations. The reader imagined difficulty in gaining an audience with any of the council, he anticipated outright dismissal of his story, and he expected downright astonishment at the revelation of elves in their midst. The actual turn of events was beyond his imagination. He stared dumbly at the mayor, waiting and hoping for a shred of reason.
Consprite offered nothing. He grunted, he cursed, but he remained in his chair with his hand over his face.
Mappel stepped forward ahead of the reader. He raised a hand from his staff requesting Matthew refrain from further questions. He spoke with an explanation he garnered from his own observations of the mayor. "It is the inevitable I fear. I expect this man has already seen and heard of things far more surprising than the presence of elves. He is the leader of this camp of humans as I am the leader of my camp of elves. Just as I received reports as to the occurrences after the quake, I expect he has received the same. The magic has returned, and no camp or town is safe from the effects. It is not so surprising that this man already knows of the changes taking place."
"At first I didn't believe what I was hearing," Consprite mumbled. He dropped his hand to his lap, stared at it rather than return Mappel's knowing gaze. "I thought the reports were made by crackpots out in the wilderness too long. That's where they came from at first. Stories from strangers coming in from the hills and the mountains up north. Then more stories came in from the outlying farms. I had to send people out to investigate. I lost two men to some kind of monster they couldn't even describe. It surprised them at the river and ripped them apart with claws and teeth."
"It was a river rogue," Lief spoke for the first time since entering the office. "They move as quickly on land as in the water. They have attacked my people as well."
Consprite glanced up with a look of desperation. "River rogue, huh? It's good to know the names of creatures which shouldn't exist." He placed an inquisitive eye upon Lief. "I guess you're an elf, too?"
Lief pulled off his cap in acknowledgment.
"That's just great." Consprite shook his head. "River rogues, elves. What do you call the short, swollen-headed things that walk around the forests with crossbows?"
"They are goblins," Mappel answe
red softly.
"Well, I haven't seen one of those yet but the mayor from Burbon sent me a message this morning. They've attacked Burbon twice in as many days." He shook his head as if to expel the images of things he could not comprehend. Upon recalling a sight he could bring to mind, his voice rattled with anguish. "I'll tell you what I did see with my own eyes, a corpse, a moving corpse. It killed a farmer and two of his boys before my men trapped it in a barn. I tell you that thing should not have been walking around. It was half rotted. I could see bone, yet it kept banging at the doors to get out."
"Another of the undead," Lief muttered as he shook his head sadly.
Consprite boiled over with anger and frustration. He shot a wild stare at Lief. His eyes remained wide and bloodshot. "What do you mean another? I had the one in the barn destroyed! It took five men with axes to do it. They chopped it to pieces before it finally stopped moving! We burned what was left. Then burned everything that touched it. Blazes, I had my own clothes burned. Now you tell me there are more of these things. How many more?"
"No one can tell," Lief answered simply.
"But you're sure there's more, aren't you?!" The mayor's nostrils flared as his eyes made wild accusations toward the elf.
"No one can be sure of anything during these times," Mappel counseled coolly. "Our own people are at a loss to understand everything which has happened or might happen."
"Loss? Loss?!" a crazed expression rippled across the cheeks of the mayor. He glowered at the three men that stood before him. "Everything is out of control here and you stand there telling me you're at a loss to understand what's happening? There's no way to understand it! The dead are walking around killing people! There are monsters doing the same near the rivers! And that's only the half of it. All these reports on my desk ... unheard of things. I thought the town was going nuts. Maybe it is. Maybe we all are. One woman said her son was able to levitate. I laughed until I went over to see her. The kid was floating around in the air! She thinks her son is possessed by demons. I didn't want to believe any of this, but I can't shut my eyes to it!"
Delver Magic Book I: Sanctum's Breach Page 18
