by Jeff Inlo
Sy believed it was possible a handful of rogues might have been alarmed at the increased activity... and especially the presence of dwarves above ground. River rogues might have been willing to hunt down humans, but the sturdy underground dwellers were another matter. Sy assumed that previous contact between rogues and dwarves had been limited at best. River rogues preferred hiding in the tall grass by the sides of waterways and dwarves remained below ground.
The captain pondered river rogue activity and their more likely adversaries. With that thought, he mulled over another prospect that troubled him, gave him an uneasy feeling like listening to an out of tune instrument played by an intense amateur musician. It had been several days since he had received any reports from the elves of Dark Spruce, and elves and river rogues were natural enemies.
When the magic first returned to Uton, elves and humans appeared to have the easiest time in reestablishing relations. Communication between his town and the elves of Dark Spruce Forest started out sporadically, but it had become more constant over the past few seasons. There wasn't any official treaty between them, but a casual agreement to share information had burgeoned into a fairly stable structure of cooperation. He believed the elves, and certainly his own forces, benefited from the shared intelligence.
For some reason, however, all contact with the elves had ceased. He had sent scouts out into Dark Spruce, but he knew that elves could avoid detection if they chose to remain hidden. They had done so for countless cycles of the seasons when the magic was absent from the land. Avoiding human scouts in the deepest sections of Dark Spruce would be a simple task.
The question was, why? Why would the elves break off all communication? To Sy's knowledge, there had been no hostilities between them, not even a minor misunderstanding.
The loss of reports from the elves was more than a slight inconvenience, it quickly became a substantial concern. He wondered if the situation with the elves had anything to do with the appearance of so many rogues. To his dismay, he had very little information about any dark creature activity in Dark Spruce and his town was suddenly inundated with monsters. He didn't like the implications.
When he reached the barracks, he ordered several messengers to different outposts across the town. The guard station would serve as a temporary command post, and he would ensure he received sufficient information. He also placed a signal guard on the roof to establish immediate communications with each tower. He quickly reviewed the contents of the adjoining armory and then waited for the return of his sergeant and the delver. They arrived quicker than he expected.
"I found him outside the door of the tavern," Klusac explained. "He was guiding people inside while guarding the entrance."
Ryson Acumen moved lightly into the barracks with ease in his step, like a light breeze flowing down a mountainside. There was no stress in his eyes, no tension in his body, and no apprehension in his movements. Still, anyone who knew the delver recognized a raised level of vigilance.
"I heard the disturbance and I saw the signals," Ryson acknowledged. "The sergeant told me about the rogues. How do you want to handle it?"
Sy looked dead in the face of the delver and offered what he felt was the best way to approach the situation, though he already knew Ryson would object.
"I want you to use your senses to locate every rogue within the walls. Once you pinpoint them, I'll have archers dispatch them as quickly as possible. You can..."
Ryson didn't let him continue.
"No, I won't find them so you can kill them."
Sy made one last effort.
"They're already inside the walls... on the streets. They're dangerous and they're here to kill our citizens."
"We can handle it without killing them. The people have already been warned. No one is going to get killed tonight."
Eyeing the delver with frustration, Sy realized further argument was not only futile, but a waste of critical time.
"Fine, we don't kill them. We'll capture them. I'll send guards to different points of the town with iron chain nets. Rogues are strong, but they can't rip through iron. You hunt them down. Keep that sword of yours out in the open. I want the tower guards to keep track of your progress. When you pinpoint a rogue, stop and wave the sword three times over your head. The tower guards will signal your position to my soldiers, and they'll take it from there."
"Maybe you should just let me take care of it. I can lead them out of the town. I would just need your guards to open a gate once..."
It was Sy's turn to cut off the delver.
"No. You won't let me dispatch them, as I should—and I'll live with that—but I'm not going to let you lead some kind of parade through town. I'm also not going to open the gates at night. There are more rogues outside the wall. We net those that are already inside, secure them so they can't get loose, and I'll have them released very far down river tomorrow."
"I have your word you won't have them killed?"
"You have my word." Sy frowned. He didn't feel it was necessary to affirm his order. He meant what he said, and the delver asking for some kind of confirmation added to his annoyance. He was already compromising with the delver—adding risk he did not think was necessary—and Ryson's apparent lack of faith was a jab he did not need... or like. He wouldn't waste time debating the issue at that moment, but he also decided that wouldn't be the end of the conversation.
"You and I are going to have to have a talk."
"Tomorrow," Ryson offered.
"That'll be fine."
Ryson was sorry the tone had become so unfriendly. He wished he could have cleared the air before he left, but he had rogues to find.
Turning about with a flash of grace, Ryson quickly exited the barracks with Sergeant Klusac and Sy following close behind. The delver pulled the Sword of Decree from the sheath on his back.
The blade glowed brightly as it magnified and reflected the surrounding light. Even with a night sky blanketed in clouds, the land was never completely dark. Light always managed to find its way through the land of Uton and the Sword of Decree enhanced that light with its enchantment.
"Not as bright as it would glow in the day," Ryson admitted, "but in this darkness, I doubt the tower guards will have any trouble seeing me."
"We think there's only three," Sy reminded the delver, "but there could be more. Find them all, and do it quickly."
Ryson nodded and sped off toward the northern section of town.
"I still can't get over how fast he can move," Klusac blurted out as he watched the glowing sword become a streaking flash through the night.
"It is amazing," Sy allowed. Then the captain offered a relevant consideration, for his benefit as well as Klusac's. "Maybe if he wasn't so blasted fast he'd understand why the rest of us are a bit more willing to remove these threats completely rather than playing around with them, especially at night. I wouldn't want to go running after rogues alone, but then again, I can't move like he does."
Klusac didn't verbally agree with the sentiment, didn't want to simply admit his own fears, but he knew he wouldn't want to chase river rogues hiding throughout the town in the dead of night, either. Rather than dwell on his own misgivings, the sergeant turned his attention to his duties.
"What do you need of me now?"
"I've got foot patrols waiting at crossroads throughout the town. Make sure they're armed with chain nets and they know to capture these blasted things as opposed to killing them. There should be plenty of nets in every armory. They'll get signals from the towers on what they need to do, but I'd feel better if you delivered the message personally to as many as you can."
"Done."
While Klusac mounted his horse and rode off into the darkness, Sy resigned himself to simply watching and waiting. He stepped back through the barracks entrance but stopped after only a couple of steps. He stood under an open trap door that led to the roof, and he turned to get a clear view of the nearest tower through the front entrance. Despite the delver's speed, he
knew he would have at least a few moments of quiet.
The guard captain actually embraced the momentary silence that washed across the empty barracks. As he became more of a leader of the entire town and less of a soldier, hushed moments of contemplation grew in importance. He used such time to weigh his decisions, those already made and those he still faced. Finding the right balance between benefits and hazards became a greater part of his duties than facing down goblins, shags, and river rogues.
He considered Ryson, pictured him racing across the town—a blur of motion and a flash of light. The delver was doing what he loved to do, and Sy couldn't deny the advantage of having a purebred delver available to him; to scout the surrounding lands, to uncover enemies, and to help protect the town. Unfortunately, Ryson's unyielding moral compass created certain risks that potentially offset such advantages.
Sy silently cursed the situation. It would have been easier if it was just one or two rogues. He wouldn't have had to ask for the delver's help. His soldiers could have found the creatures and dispatched them. Problem solved. He just wasn't that lucky. There were too many confirmed sightings and too many unknowns.
He had given in to Ryson because he wanted the delver's help—needed Ryson's keen senses—but keeping rogues alive to release them down river began to sound like far too great a concession. The question he faced centered on the benefit of having the delver's aid versus the compromises he had to make, compromises he believed increased the risk to his town just to keep dark creatures alive.
It didn't make sense, not to a soldier and certainly not to a captain of the guard. He would have to speak with Ryson, and friend or not— delver or not—Sy would make his growing concerns known.
As for Ryson, the delver brushed the brief disagreement with Sy from his mind. He concentrated almost entirely on finding the river rogues as he raced away from the barracks. During his past scouts, he had come across several rogues in the course of his travels, but he always kept a safe distance. His remarkable memory and mind for detail allowed him to recall an accurate description of the monster.
They were odd looking beasts. He always thought of an elongated lake trout with arms and legs whenever he pictured one. Of course, it also had fangs and claws, and a viciousness that made it extremely dangerous.
A clear visual image of a rogue, however, was not essential in locating the ones that stalked the town. Holding the brightly glowing sword in front of him, Ryson relied little on what he could see. Instead, he focused on what he could smell. The scent of a river rogue was strong and obvious, more so than that of a shag. Even as the smells of burning lanterns and late night cooking fires filled the air, he knew the rogues would not be able to hide their scent from him.
Sergeant Klusac had informed the delver of the locations of the rogue sightings, and Ryson rushed to the first location, near the northwestern section of the city. He found the scent trail immediately and he raced onward knowing the rogue was close by but probably waiting in some dark corner hoping to ambush its prey.
Sy's orders for the citizens to find immediate shelter as opposed to heading home probably saved at least one life. With no one on the streets, the rogue would be disappointed.
Careful not to step near any potential hazard, Ryson stayed to the center of the streets. After a few turns, he located a dark alley behind a candle maker's shop. He knew the rogue was hiding behind two waste barrels. The creature probably hoped the scent of the discarded oils and fat would mask its own presence, but Ryson had no such difficulty in locating the beast. He could hear its labored breaths.
Keeping his eyes on the alley, Ryson waved his sword over his head three times and waited stone still until a group of soldiers arrived bearing a long and wide net made from iron chains. The delver knew it would be dangerous for any of the guards to attempt to capture the monster in the narrow confines of the alley, and he didn't wish any injury to befall either the soldiers or the rogue.
"Let me bring it out in the open," Ryson offered before any of the soldiers could move into the alley.
The corporal in charge of the squad immediately disagreed and offered his own approach.
"If we stretch the net across the alley, we can rush in and wrap it up before it has a chance to move. That alley's a dead end. It can't escape."
"But if it runs up against the back wall," Ryson countered, "it's going to know it's trapped and it might panic."
"Let it."
"And if it flails out in that narrow passage? What then?"
"We know the risks."
"Why take any risks?"
"It's what we do."
Ryson didn't care for the soldier's disregard for danger and unwillingness to consider safer alternatives. He decided to paint a clearer picture for the corporal.
"You mean your job as a soldier? One that takes orders from Captain Fenden? He put me in charge of finding the rogues. I would think that means you need to defer to my judgment."
It was not quite an accurate statement. Sy Fenden had told Ryson to simply find the rogues and allow the guards to handle the capture. Ryson had no authority over the corporal, but he was not against taking on more responsibility.
The corporal appeared uncertain, clearly not wishing to bow to the orders of the delver. He also, however, understood that Ryson—though not an official member of the guard—held a special relationship with Burbon's captain. The corporal had hopes of obtaining the rank of sergeant, and falling on the wrong side of the captain's wishes would not aid that cause. In the end, the soldier decided it was wiser to allow a the delver a measure of latitude.
"Fine. You force the creature out here in the streets, but once it's in the open, let us handle it."
"You're not to injure it," Ryson reminded.
"I know my orders," the corporal grunted.
Peering into the alley, Ryson watched the dancing shadows created by the surrounding torches and the much brighter light reflecting off his sword. The creature remained well hidden and apparently somewhat secure in its place of hiding. Perhaps it felt as if it was nestled under some fallen tree across a dry creek bed. It made no movements and showed no undue concern toward the gathering of soldiers just beyond its reach.
Ryson decided to use his speed to dash past the waste barrels and into the back of the alley. He did not leap. He simply burst into motion and raced past the rogue before the creature even realized the delver had entered the alley. As Ryson turned swiftly about at the back wall, he held the Sword of Decree out in front of him to ensure the monster would not lunge. He didn't want the rogue to think it suddenly obtained an easy meal.
For its part, the river rogue remained crouched behind the barrels but clearly confused at the drastic change in events. The shadows and darkness it used to conceal its presence vanished in the glow of the enchanted blade held by an invader to its sanctuary. The trespasser moved faster than the beast's limited mind could fathom and it appeared uncertain of its security. It did not charge the delver, but its agitation grew as it realized it stood trapped between a grouping of soldiers and the armed invader.
Ryson did not wish to antagonize the beast, but he knew the situation turned critical. If he allowed the rogue's uncertainty to swell, it might make the wrong choice and create an unhealthy situation for them all. He wanted the creature to move out into the open street, not further back into the alley. He worried the corporal might order an immediate attack if he saw the monster charge backward. With all of them gathered in such close quarters, the chances of an unnecessary injury to any one of them would expand greatly.
With another decisive flash of motion, Ryson sprung forward. He swung his blade with force, but it never touched the river rogue. Instead, he used the speed of his movements to add power to his swing. He knocked the waste barrels over and sent them rolling out into the street. He created a clear path for the rogue to escape and then shouted a command to the soldiers waiting just outside the alley.
"Back up! Give it room to come out!"
&
nbsp; Every soldier quickly acknowledged the order, except for the corporal who hesitated, but even he complied as he saw the wisdom in the strategy.
The quick strike to its cover startled the rogue. It initially prepared to fight off its attacker. As the delver shouted words it could not understand, it readied its claws to slash at Ryson's throat. It never found the opportunity as its intended victim sprung out of reach far too quickly.
With the barrels rolling out the front of the alley, the river rogue peered over its shoulder to see the soldiers backing away. Moving surprisingly fast and with determination to escape, the beast bounded after the barrels, extricating itself from the alley.
The rogue almost found a path to freedom. Seeing the guards give way, it remained behind the still rolling barrels. When the containers slowed to a near halt, it leapt over them before the soldiers could close ranks. The monster saw a clear lane down the open street and moved with haste to find new refuge.
Breaking from the alley, Ryson took a path around the soldiers and simply rushed to a spot beyond the monster and blocked the once clear path of retreat. Still holding the Sword of Decree, he never stopped moving. He used his great speed to add to the dazzling glow of the enchanted blade that he twirled about in his hand.
The swerving, flashing light confused the beast, and the rogue lost any sight of escape. Its uncertainty brought it to a complete halt.
The soldiers did not delay. They had the rogue on open ground and momentarily disoriented. They threw the iron net over the creature and circled about it to wrap and entangle the monster. With the heavy iron chains draped about the rogue's arms and legs, the guards pulled tight at the net's edges to bind the creature within the folds of the mesh. With one coordinated tug, they succeeded in dislodging the rogue from its feet and rendering it completely bound and helpless.
"That's one, at least two more to go," the delver acknowledged with a smile. He thanked the guards and then dashed away, lighting up the darkness with his enchanted sword like a shooting star darting over the empty streets.
