by Jeff Inlo
"As I said before, land councils have turned over abandon farms to goblins. The land was not put up for sale, it has not been offered to humans that would put them to far better use. What sense is there in turning fertile lands over to goblins that do not know how to use them?"
"Give them time. They haven't had the opportunity. That's all they need."
"Opportunity? I believe you are giving them just that. Do you not see the inherent danger in allowing a horde of dark creatures to take sanctuary in your cities and to overrun your farmlands?"
"You seem to be consumed with the idea that goblins are unable to live side-by-side with humans."
"All of elflore supports that position."
"I am not concerned with ancient legends rooted in fable."
"And are you concerned with events not so long past? The city of Connel was attacked by a great goblin horde. That is no fable."
"The issues of the west are not necessarily the same for us. Perhaps if the people of Connel approached the matter of goblins as I have done, they would have never been invaded."
"You are actually blaming the people of Connel for the goblin attack on their city?"
"I am simply pointing out that there has been no grand attack in the valleys. Yes, I admit there have been moments of tension, but we have moved past that."
Prilgrat paused to nod to the goblin that had remained silent.
"This is Mivoy. He is the head delegate of the goblins in Ashlan. He and I work together to keep an understanding between goblins and humans. Perhaps I should let him tell you of the goblin point of view."
The goblin's gray face revealed an expression of apprehension as the creature looked to the steward with momentary confusion.
"Don't worry," the steward offered in a calming tone. "Tell them both exactly how you see things. Be totally honest with them. I mean it."
Mivoy's eyes narrowed in greater disbelief, until he shrugged, and with a demeanor of defiance, admitted his feelings toward the people of Ashlan.
"We have no love for the humans, but we have learned much. If you shoot arrows at humans, they'll shoot back. If you steal from them, they won't let you keep it. If you try to conquer them, they will resist. If, however, you join them in a crowd, they won't notice until you outnumber them, and then they will just leave."
"And there you have it," Prilgrat noted with a surprising laugh. "Now, I wouldn't quite put it the same way, but it does explain much. They've learned not to attack us or to steal from us. They are learning to live with us."
It was Ryson who could not refrain from pointing out what he actually heard.
"Are you serious? Didn't you hear what he just said? They don't want to live with people. They want to force the humans out. They're just doing it without fighting, and you're letting it happen."
"I'm doing nothing of the sort. I admit people have left, but they are people that cannot accept the new order. Better for them to leave than to remain here and create conflict."
"You are delusional," Holli responded.
"That is how you respond to someone who disagrees with you? You call them crazy? Far from appropriate, if you ask me."
"And is it appropriate to hand over control of the city to inferns?"
"Control of the city rests with the town council… and me, of course."
"So you maintain control over the half-demons?"
"You don't see them burning down the city. They also maintain order. They keep the goblins in check. Mivoy may not like the inferns, but he agrees their presence keeps conflicts to a minimum. The goblins are putting aside their wickedness in hope of reaching a better future."
Holli wouldn't accept that. Goblins were not creatures that could simply discard their brutality and hatred like an old worn out coat. They were monsters bred in a land of nightmare for the purpose of destruction. The goblin standing before her might have been able to place his cruelty in check, but it was temporary at best. She heard Mivoy's disgust toward humans when the goblin honestly revealed what it thought about the people of Ashlan. Holli decided to feed the goblin's malice.
"So Mivoy and his goblins will cower and submit to humans because they are afraid of inferns. I knew goblins were nothing but pawns, but I would have never guessed a goblin horde would bend to the will of humans for the sake of peace."
Mivoy's smile disappeared, just as Prilgrat's had dissolved. The goblin growled, but the steward tried to intervene.
"There is no horde. There…"
"No horde?" Holli interrupted. "Has anyone counted the number of goblins within the city? They could take over if they were not sniveling at the feet of every human that walked by."
"We do not snivel!" Mivoy hissed.
"No? I have seen it myself. Goblins fall over themselves to avoid conflict with the humans. You know it is true. Tell me, Mivoy, do you like having to bow to human demands? Because that is exactly what you are doing."
"The humans make no demands. They are beneath us."
"And what does Mivoy think of elves?"
The mere mention of elves revived an even greater instinctive animosity. The goblin trembled slightly with obvious anger and when Mivoy responded, it did so with a snarl that spat out the truth of its hatred.
"I despise them. I despise you. The elves have always interfered with our plans."
"Like I am interfering now?"
"Exactly, and I grow tired of it."
Holli stared dead into the goblin, spoke in the tone of a mocking dare.
"And what are you going to do about it?"
Even with such little provocation, Mivoy reached his breaking point and he reached for his sword as well.
Holli moved with a swiftness that revealed she expected the move, enticed it, and reveled in her success. She raced around the corner of the desk and caught Mivoy's wrist before the goblin had the blade of his sword more than half removed from its scabbard. With one quick twist, she forced the goblin to release its hold just as it screeched in pain.
Prilgrat, though remaining seated, put a halt to any further aggression by either side. His jovial attitude subsided and he revealed the forceful nature of his personality.
"Stop this at once!" He turned his gaze upon the elf and spelled out her miscalculation. "You are breaking the law. Assaulting a goblin is just as serious as assaulting a human in Ashlan. We play no favorites here. Do you really wish to spend time in Ashlan's prison?"
Holli did not release her hold, and made it clear she would accept no guilt of any crime, let alone Prilgrat's perceived authority over her.
"I am defending myself. You saw him."
"You antagonized him… on purpose. I suggest you release him. My patience has a limit. I could call for my guards and have you arrested and tried, both of you." Prilgrat then turned a challenging stare toward Ryson. "I haven't forgotten that the delver failed to register on entering Ashlan and ignored a lawful order from an infern. He put many people at risk by racing through the town."
"Inferns tried to incinerate him with demon fire," Holli replied. "What would you have had him do? Stand there and burn?"
"I would have had him follow the law."
"And does the law not provide for an elf and a delver to defend themselves?"
"You still don't understand. No one is going to believe that you were defending anything. I am a regional steward and you are a strange elf. Do you really think people are going to believe you over me?"
That was probably quite true, but Holli had one more card to play.
"And if I summon Enin to sort all of this out? Who do you think he is going to believe?"
"Go right ahead. What will he do? He will take your side, and that will be his undoing. Have him remove me from office and throw me in jail if you like. Then you can all return to Connel after explaining how you are interfering in matters that are not your business. Will that serve the wizard's purposes in the future? Is he willing to become overlord for all of Uton?"
No, that was something Enin was neve
r willing to become. Holli released her hold on the goblin. Prilgrat had played his own cards and proved to be a more worthy opponent than Holli expected.
"That's a good girl," Prilgrat acknowledged. "Now, I'm willing to forget all of this… this time. I will not be so accommodating in the future. Still, to show that there are no hard feelings, you are both welcome to remain Ashlan. Mr. Acumen doesn't even have to register. I'll make sure the inferns are informed. They won't bother him again. I will also rescind my order to have either of you held in any town throughout the valleys."
As if to indulge Holli with a parting gift, the steward offered his willingness to answer additional inquiries.
"Do you have any other questions?"
"Just one," Holli revealed. "Why do you restrict the use of magic in Ashlan."
For the first time, Prilgrat seemed unsure of what to say, but his indecision lasted only for a moment.
"Magic is dangerous. People realize that. If it's not used wisely, it should not be used at all."
Holli noted the steward's discomfort, but decided against pursuing the matter any further. He was too heady a politician to be caught unaware twice. She believed it was time for her and Ryson to leave.
"I see. Thank you."
Holli turned toward the door and motioned Ryson to follow her. They moved quickly out of the house and onto the streets. No longer worried about the inferns, they stood out in the open as the elf considered their next move.
"That was interesting," Ryson offered.
"I have another word for it," Holli replied. "Infuriating."
"Well, we did get some answers."
"And many more questions." Holli looked to the grand house they exited and considered Prilgrat's power. As regional steward, he held great influence, but he held that position without the goblins or the inferns at his side. As far as she could tell, the dark creatures did not expand his authority in any way, and that perplexed her. "Tell me this, why would a regional steward really go to all this trouble to allow goblins into his valleys? What does he stand to gain?"
"He said he was trying to avoid conflict. Maybe that's all it is."
"He lets people abandon their homes and farms to become refugees to accommodate goblins? No, that can not be all there is to it."
Considering the full extent of the encounter, Holli focused on one clear point of vulnerability. Prilgrat was only truly unsure of himself at one moment, and that was at the mention of the magic. There was something there, but she couldn't quite figure out the connection. She frowned as she thought back to the first time the magic appeared as an anomaly, and she realized she would have to correct one of her own misjudgments.
"We are missing something," she announced, "and that was my fault. You were right and I was impatient."
"I don't understand?" Ryson admitted.
"At Huntston, you asked if we should check on the goblins. I was in too much of a hurry to get to Prilgrat. It was a mistake. One I intend to correct. We are going back."
Chapter 16
"She just… I'm not sure how to explain it. She just turned off."
Jure stood beside a bed where, aside from shallow breathing and an occasional blink of the eyes, Heteera rested motionless. He watched her closely as she stared up toward the ceiling and paid no mind to the entrance of the wizard. Jure had hoped that Enin's appearance might spur some reaction, some hint of recognition within the sorceress, but his hopes were quickly dashed.
"What exactly happened?" Enin asked, as he moved to the side of the bed.
"She collapsed. It's not like she fainted. As far as I can tell, she never lost consciousness, but she couldn't stand up. She didn't say anything or wince in pain. She just seemed to lose the ability to remain upright. Never stopped breathing, didn't make a sound, not even a groan. She just… buckled."
"What was she doing at the time?"
"She was walking beside me. We were headed for breakfast."
"Has she missed any other meals?"
"No. She ate last night. I'm sure of it. I was with her."
"And she made no complaints before the incident?"
"No, but you know she doesn't complain about anything, not since I placed the barrier in her mind. Every time I ask her how she feels, she just says that she's fine. I think we could have jabbed her in the eye and she'd say she was fine, but at least she responded. Now, she won't say anything at all. She hasn't said a word since she collapsed."
Enin attempted to see if his voice might stir some response.
"Heteera, can you hear me?"
The sorceress said nothing.
Enin clapped his hands forcefully by the side of her head, but Heteera didn't even blink. It was as if she could not hear.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Jure explained. "After she fell, I picked her up and brought her to her bed. She's just been lying there and staring off into space. She can't hold her arms up or her head. She can drink and swallow. I tried that, but you have to hold her head up for her and pour the water into her mouth. I thought it might revive her a bit, but it hasn't. I called for you. I was worried about what you said before… about what might happen to the magic inside of her if anything were to happen to her."
Enin examined Heteera more thoroughly. She remained totally unresponsive to his calls and his touch. She would breathe and blink when needed, but beyond that, she was as lifeless as a rock. With nothing noticeable in the physical realm to cause the paralysis, Enin turned his attention toward the magic.
"Did you sense any spells around her before or at the time she collapsed?"
"Nothing. And I haven't cast any… either at the time or since."
"Do you sense anything around her now.. any type of spell?"
"No, not a spell, but there's a lot more magic flowing into her now. I'm not sure if she's trying to use it to heal, but I can feel the flow. It's really rather strong."
Enin inhaled deeply, but he took in more than just air. He purposefully concentrated on any energy surrounding Heteera, and he absorbed even the slightest vibration of magic. He could sense it flowing into her-a fairly substantial current. In itself, it did not cause him great concern. She always had the capacity to attract magic across the spectrum. She had retained that ability even after Jure cast the barrier spell. The flow of magic was strong, but that might have been nothing more than an instinctive response, a call for additional energy to revitalize her. Enin initially took that as a positive sign. He sensed no adverse spell from an external source and admitted as much.
"You're right. There's nothing there. Whatever is wrong with her must be internal. I thought she had stabilized, but something is not right. I'm going to have to look inside her."
Before the wizard forced his own cognizance deep into the folds of Heteera's essence, he pressed lightly against her most peripheral thoughts. He simply wanted to check the state of her most basic awareness. He was nearly tossed to the ground as he was forced back several steps.
The near violent reaction surprised Jure almost as much as Enin himself.
"What happened?" Jure asked.
"I'm not sure," Enin replied, obviously taken aback by the incident.
"Is she blocking you?"
Enin shook his head. "No, it's not a shield or even a buffer. It was more like a surge of power."
"Did she cast some spell at you?"
Enin grimaced, not in pain, but in confusion.
"No, definitely not a spell," he finally said, as he stared intently at Heteera, but kept his distance. "It was almost as if I popped a bubble of pure energy in her mind, but at the most outer regions of her consciousness."
"Maybe it's a good sign," Jure offered. "Maybe she's finally trying to communicate with you."
"It's possible, but there was nothing like that in the surge-no hopeful desire to reach out to me-there was just… intense power. I can't imagine what might have summoned such a response. Her conscious thought was nearly void the last time I checked."
Enin remained
several steps away from the sorceress and showed no desire to move any nearer. He had sensed no magical disruption until he attempted to reach beyond Heteera's blank stare. His effort was nothing more than a simple whisper into her consciousness, yet it invoked what appeared to be a harsh rebuke. The incident confounded the wizard for it appeared purely reactionary and totally in contrast to his understandings of Heteera's mind.
Previously, Heteera had attempted to force the wizard out of her consciousness, but only when he reached deep into the twisted paths of her essence. She never tried to prevent him from reaching out to the cognizant yet dormant sections of her mind. It was only when he walked through the maze of unconscious mayhem, when he raised the fears deep within her, did she lash out at him.
Still, he was convinced that it was not a deliberate shield placed by the sorceress to keep him from entering her mind. It was nothing more than a rush of power, a surge for which he was unprepared, and while it contained no clear message, it seemed to want something from him. Unfortunately, he could not comprehend what that might be.
Jure could not help but notice the reluctance in Enin's desire to return to the sorceress' side. He might not have been equal to the wizard in magical power, but he had seen enough years to develop a perception of people. For whatever reason, Enin had grown extremely cautious, and that in itself concerned the older spell caster.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Enin quickly considered Jure's ability to access the magic within Heteera, and that offered a sensible alternative.
"Actually, yes. I wish to check the magic."
"You usually do that after you enter her essence."
"I know, but that surge has me worried. I don't think she caused it."
"You think something else is in there with her?"
"No, I don't. I believe she is very much alone, but something is… different."
Jure nodded, and without any reluctance, he opened his link to the magical reservoir that resided within the sorceress. For him, it was very much like opening a spigot. He held a direct connection to the barrier that held the magical energy, and he simply pressed his will upon the obstruction which would allow him to pass.
