by Jeff Inlo
"What are you saying?" Enin demanded.
"Reiculf still wishes to increase his reach. Unfortunately for him, he has lost a servant. He will find that... unacceptable. His thirst for more power will actually grow. He will turn his sights upon you—the most powerful asset he can claim—and vow not to make the same mistake."
"What mistake is that?"
"Divide his forces in hopes of acquiring as many pawns as possible. He will not follow that same path. There's no question in my mind about that."
"And what does Connel have to do with this?"
"Must I really explain everything?"
"In this case, yes, you do."
"Take a look at what happened here," Ansas offered. "A legion of undead warriors was followed by an undead thrastil. Reiculf had every intention of destroying this town, and he probably still can't believe his army was obliterated. He not only lost, he was embarrassed. How do you think a creature like Reiculf will react to such a defeat?"
"Not well."
"That's only his initial reaction. He will realize Burbon is protected by a force that he will not wish to face again. If you choose to make this place your sanctuary, he will hope to entice you away from here, just as he tried to entice you out into the open fields by having inferns burn Connel's crops."
"You believe he will attack Connel again," Holli conceded.
"Without a doubt, but this time he will do so in such a way that your mentor will not be able to avoid a confrontation. Reiculf will most likely use both of his remaining slaves to assault Connel, and he will show no mercy."
"What must we do?"
"Be prepared to fight."
"Can we succeed against such power?" Holli questioned.
"We have a chance. That's all I will say."
"That is not very promising."
"You would like additional assurances when you consider what we face?" the sorcerer questioned harshly. "Be thankful you even have a chance."
The elf elder stepped up toward the sorcerer. She had listened in silence, as the discussion centered on strategies which had much more to do with human cities than her elf camp, or even Dark Spruce Forest. She did not look forward to going to Connel, but she would make the sacrifice to keep Reiculf's focus away from the elves. She could not, however, ignore her responsibilities completely.
"How long will this take?" Shantree asked.
"You're in some kind of hurry?" the sorcerer responded.
"In truth, I am. Not for myself. Since my presence would potentially endanger my camp, I can not in good conscience remain among them. I have turned authority over to the council and the captain of the elf guard. I am confident they will do whatever is necessary to protect themselves. But you requested that Haven and Scheff accompany us. Scheff is now blind, as you well know. He would do better back in the elf camp where he could learn to adjust to his condition."
"Do not concern yourself with me," Scheff protested.
"And I will help him no matter where he is," Haven added.
"My concern is for both of you," Shantree insisted.
Ansas waved off the conversation.
"Don't worry yourself. Reiculf is not known for his patience. And all of you will be needed for what we have to do next, even the blind elf."
Shantree was about to object to Ansas' callous remark, but another voice cut her off.
"But you don't need me again, do you?" Neltus cried out. "I've done my part!"
Many of the others were disgusted by the selfish plea, but Ansas surprised them all.
"Yes, you have done your part. You gave me the information I needed when it was necessary. You don't have to help out any more, but be aware, Reiculf is still after you. Do you really wish to go out on your own?"
"I can stay here. You said Reiculf wanted Enin... that Connel was the target. And this place is protected."
"Yes, it is, but it is not mine to say whether you can stay here."
The sorcerer looked to the captain of Burbon's guard for an answer.
Klusac was as disgusted as the others with Neltus' cowardice. He recalled how the wizard teleported to safety when Burbon was in need of his magical skills. Klusac did not like the magic caster, but it was not necessary. All that was necessary to keep Burbon safe was to maintain the honor and integrity of the guard.
"He can stay if he wants," Klusac announced, but then the captain walked up to the wizard. "If you stay, you will remember where you are. This is Burbon, and we won't put up with your antics. You'll behave, and for that, we will protect you."
Neltus smiled almost too widely.
"Of course, I'll be the perfect citizen."
His idea of the perfect citizen was to camp out in a tavern, to drink and eat, and use his own magic to entertain himself. Once the others went to Connel, he believed he could do as he pleased, that there would be no one in Burbon powerful enough to stop him, but Klusac quickly reminded Neltus of a new reality.
"I know what you're thinking," the captain advised. "Forget it. You think we're all just human guards, that we won't have any power over you. Let me remind you of what happened here. We defeated an undead thrastil, something you ran away from. The spirit of Sy Fenden lives in the guard now. If you threaten us, you threaten him. You'll do as we say. If not, all your magic won't keep us from throwing you out into the forest."
"And into the hands of Reiculf," Ansas finished. "He's not bluffing. You're going to have to do what he says. You are safe here, but only as long as you conduct yourself properly. I can't have you ending up in Reiculf's power. That would undue everything we have accomplished to this point. If I find you've been banished from this town, I will hunt you down myself and kill you before Reiculf finds you. And you know I can find you whenever I want. Do you still wish to stay here?"
Neltus didn't like his choices, but in the end, he chose the safer path. He could sit quietly in an inn, at least for a while. As Ansas had stated, Reiculf wasn't patient, and he wouldn't have to wait long to see what happened in Connel.
"I'll stay here."
Not everyone was ready to leave the decision up to Neltus.
"Just like that?" Jure challenged the verdict. "What if we need him? I may not like him, but we can't ignore his power."
"Burbon needed him and he left without a second thought," Ansas noted. "Do you really want to depend on someone like that to help us?"
Without another word, the sorcerer dismissed Neltus as no longer relevant.
"Then the rest of us need to get to Connel as soon as possible. I am assuming the inferns have ceased their attack. A new attack will have to be coordinated and I doubt that they will care about the food stocks. Reiculf will have much grander and far more heinous plans for the city. I need to take time to consider the terrain and other factors. You will all have a part to play if we are to survive the next attack."
Enin, Jure, and the elves considered what Ansas meant. They were about to fight yet another battle, but this one would be in the crowded streets of Connel. The elves would have preferred the trees of Dark Spruce Forest, and the two wizards concerned themselves with the citizens of the town, but it was the voice of the delver that raised the first question.
"What about me?" Ryson called out.
"What about you?" Ansas replied.
"What are your plans for me?"
"Reiculf has no desire for you," the sorcerer responded with absolute dismissal of the delver's importance.
"I don't think that's true," Ryson argued. "Dzeb came here to warn me about Reiculf. He said I couldn't stay in Burbon."
"Is this true, behemoth?" Ansas questioned, as he glared up and into the giant's serene eyes.
"It is."
Ansas knew enough of cliff behemoths not to bother asking for further explanation. The giants acted on impulses he believed were nothing more than absurd whims and blind superstition. The sorcerer discarded the information as unimportant. He allowed the delver to decide for himself.
"Do what you will."
"That's your strategy?" Ryson asked in amazement.
"My strategy involves defeating Reiculf. The daokiln is not able to use you to bring his magic into this land. What you do is irrelevant to my plans."
"That may be the stupidest thing I have ever heard," Jure noted. "Ryson has done more to help this land than anyone else in existence, including you. How can you just disregard him as unimportant?"
"Because he cannot be used as a vessel for Reiculf's power, nor is he a threat to the daokiln."
"Dzeb thinks he might be."
"The cliff behemoth focuses on beliefs that do not concern us."
"Perhaps they should."
Yet again, Ansas grew weary of having to defend his decisions. The sorcerer offered a biting description of how he viewed the cliff behemoth's faith.
"Really? You wish me to base our defenses against Reiculf by placing an emphasis on the Book of Godson? In order to do that, I would have to accept Godson's will as would a cliff behemoth. I would have to base every decision on faith in a divine power. Do you wish to wait for Godson to save Connel? By all means, let's give it a try. We can stay here in complete safety. Enin can cast a sight spell over Connel, and we can watch the city be saved by the all powerful Godson... or destroyed."
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?"
"Ryson is a valuable asset. He once defeated you."
"He did not defeat me," Ansas snarled, but his eyes betrayed him and revealed the humiliation he wished to hide. "I defeated myself. Regarding his value, his wife is far more valuable than he is. Her immunity to magic is a most unique trait, I might be able to utilize that in a battle against Reiculf, but not in the battle we face now. As for the delver, he can do what he wants. If he comes to Connel, I might be able to use him as a scout, but his presence is not required."
The delver ignored the sorcerer's stated view of his worth. He even suppressed his anger when Ansas referred to Linda with casual regard. Instead, he turned to the giant. He wanted to hear Dzeb's opinion of what he should do.
"You came here because you thought Reiculf was a danger to me. Now we know that Sy's spirit is protecting the town. Do you still think I'm in danger?"
"I do," Dzeb replied. "Reiculf remains a threat to all of the land, and though Burbon is now perhaps the safest place in all of Uton, the daokiln will never leave one such as you in peace."
"Then I have to go with them."
"And I will go with you," the giant responded. "It is my task to protect you."
"What about Linda... and Stomps?"
"They would now be safer here," Dzeb stated firmly. "Let them stay."
Chapter 19
"You know what's bothering me about all of this?" Ryson asked of Jure. "He's got us split up again. I understand why he did it the first time. He wanted to separate Enin, Neltus and Shantree. He tricked Reiculf into separating his own forces. If they had been together, we never would have survived. It's basic strategy of divide and conquer, but isn't that the same mistake we're making now? We're dividing our own forces... and for no good reason."
The delver looked quickly over toward Dzeb. The behemoth was content by a stable, petting horses that eagerly moved toward the giant whenever he strolled near. With Dzeb out of earshot, Ryson continued his concerns.
"Ansas seems sure Reiculf will try to take Enin. I can't argue with that, but I would think it would be safer to keep as many eyes on Enin as possible, especially yours. Other than Enin, you're probably the most powerful of us all."
Ryson frowned as he peered once more down one of Connel's streets.
"He's got the elves on the east side of the city," the delver persisted, "and us on the west, but for what? Splitting us up doesn't seem to serve any purpose this time. We're just leaving Enin more vulnerable, and isn't that the mistake Reiculf made with Scheff?"
"There are quite a few things that bother me about Ansas," Jure revealed, which was not a surprising revelation, "but I agree. I don't see the wisdom in sending us to different parts of the city, but it's not like Ansas wanted to listen to my opinions, or anyone else's for that matter."
"What else bothers you?" Ryson wondered aloud.
Jure had a long list of concerns, but one jumped to the top.
"Ansas' certainty."
"He's always been arrogant," Ryson offered.
"I won't argue that," Jure noted, as he leaned slightly to stretch his back and then rubbed his shoulder, "but how can he be so sure of what Reiculf is going to do? It doesn't sound like he's guessing. He makes no allowances for alternative plans, no considerations for contingencies. He walked around Connel inspecting the streets and the buildings, especially the dwarf construction. He made his decisions as if there was no doubt in his mind about what was going to happen next. He talks in absolutes, almost as if he can't be wrong."
"He's been right so far."
"And doesn't that make you wonder?" Jure asked.
"Definitely," the delver admitted. "I know it wouldn't make me proud if I was able to predict what Reiculf was going to do."
"I think it's more than Ansas being able to guess what's going to happen, or even think like a daokiln. I think it even goes beyond good strategy. I think there's a connection between them."
"A connection?"
"Yes. I don't think it's direct, but I think it's there. Ansas and Reiculf never shared magic, at least not to my knowledge, but Ansas once gave part of his core to Gnafil. Now, the infern is under the control of the daokiln. If Ansas knows how to follow the remnants of past magic, then there's the connection."
"Well, that would be good, wouldn't it? It would mean Ansas could keep an eye on Reiculf, and maybe he can tell what's going to happen. That could work to our advantage. In some ways, it already has."
"It could also be very dangerous. Links often go both ways. What happens if Reiculf figures out how to keep an eye on us? Or worse, what if they're working together already?"
Ryson couldn't dismiss his own distrust of the sorcerer, but he wondered if Jure's doubts were possibly going too far.
"You think Ansas may have been taken over by Reiculf?"
"It's possible. It's also possible they just decided to cooperate. I don't think Ansas has any love for Uton... or for any of us."
"But Ansas wants to beat Reiculf, and the daokiln is losing."
"Is he?"
"I would say so. He lost Scheff."
"Maybe that was supposed to happen."
Ryson considered the possibility. He still found it difficult to fathom. Ansas had plenty of opportunities to lead them astray. The delver didn't think the sorcerer was above deception, but there were certain truths that couldn't be denied.
"That would seem odd to me," Ryson voiced his doubts. "Reiculf was weakened by losing control of Scheff, at least everyone else seems to agree on that. And Reiculf went to a great deal of trouble to capture the elf. Why would Reiculf want to lose Scheff?"
"To get Enin. It's like chess. Sometimes it's necessary to sacrifice a knight or a bishop to take the king. I'm not saying it's definite. It's just something to think about."
"I'm not sure about this," Ryson admitted.
"I don't know, either, not for sure anyway, but consider this; we're fighting Reiculf... three rings of colorless magic. We keep winning. I find that almost impossible to believe."
Ryson's only experience with Reiculf's power had been the battle at Burbon. He recalled fighting the undead as well as the animated thrastil. Maybe they shouldn't have won, but they did. Then, he recalled how they stopped their enemy. They didn't defeat the thrastil on their own. They had help, help from Sy Fenden's spirit, help he still couldn't completely understand.
"You think this is all some kind of elaborate trick?" Ryson finally asked.
"I don't know what to think, other than it's dangerous to trust Ansas. I think there's something more between him and Reiculf than we've been led to believe. Whether that turns out to be..."
Jure was interrupt
ed by a burst of fire several blocks ahead of them. Despite the bright midday sun, the explosion lit up the surrounding streets. Even after the initial burst of fire, the flames continued to burn, the flickering edges stabbing upward into the bright blue sky.
"Inferns!" Ryson exclaimed.
Dzeb reassured the horses and then returned to the delver's side. He looked at the flaming strands and shook his head sadly. He said nothing as he allowed his companions to address the new concern.
The wizard arched his neck as he tried to see further down the road. Too many buildings blocked his view.
"What do you think they hit?" the wizard asked.
The delver scanned the streets. Though he no longer lived in Connel and the city had been greatly expanded by dwarf construction, he retained a clear memory of the roads and alleys. He had scouted the region on previous occasions and did so again when Ansas stationed him and Jure at that particular spot.
They stood near the northwestern corner of Connel, somewhat near the ancient stone wall that once surrounded the oldest section of the city. The dwarves had built the wall to protect the humans from magical attacks, back when the sphere of Ingar was first constructed. The city had spilled out far beyond the barrier, aided recently once more by dwarf construction. Still, Ryson could use the wall as a reference point to determine his position relative to the fire. He could see the bright flames reach high above the rooftops and he estimated the exact location of the burn.
His other senses also revealed far more than what he could see. He heard the howl of the flame, the rush of hot wind, but he could not discern the unmistakable crackling of wood encased in fire. He smelled the fire itself, but not the residue of burning debris. He felt the heat, but it pressed against his skin with the hint of magic and not with the burn of natural fire.
"Nothing," Ryson revealed. "It's burning at a crossroad. The edges of a few shops may be getting singed, but there's nothing actually on fire. There's no real smoke. I think an infern is just feeding flames into the air."
