Jeff Inlo

Nightmare's Shadow

Chapter 1

Magical energy inundated the land of Uton like water. It pooled in the valleys and swept across the plains like a flash flood. It drifted across the sky like swollen rain clouds and rushed beneath the surface through caverns like an underground river. It was in the soil as well as the leaves of every plant. It was the steam from heat and the ice of cold. It could reflect the sky and the mountains like a clear lake, create illusions as incredible as any dream. Disturb it and it would send ripples of turmoil as far as the eye could see.

Ryson Acumen sensed such a disturbance-something in the wind, something off to the west. A mix of impressions fell upon his delver senses. He could smell fear, hear haste, and feel desperation. Definite physical properties defined each sensation, but the magic wrapped itself around each and added mystery to the mayhem.

He tried to understand the magical energies that flowed over, across, and through the land, but the concept remained mostly foreign to him. He was no spell caster, and although Enin insisted that magic was inside every delver, the energy seemed to move beyond his instincts. It felt both natural and unnatural at the same time, like a familiar face that arrives uninvited at a late hour.

His inherent delver abilities, however, allowed him to hone in on even subtle changes to the land. His heightened senses fed his curiosity, but they also often warned him of danger.

The west was a constant source of upheaval for him lately. The magic casters experimented with spells of unknown power in the isolation of the desert. It seemed easier to control the magic in the barren land, as if-like water-the energy hastened to leave the sand and rock to its own devices, and thus-unlike water-it was easier to collect.

And yet, the wind that carried this new sensation did not seem to originate from the sands of the LacobianDesert. The direction was true, but not the distance.

Ryson placed greater attention on the anomaly, focused his senses on what he could not quite see or touch. One of the attributes became very clear to him. He actually smelled a desire… a wish to leave the forest that surrounded him.

Odd.

DarkSpruceForest had become a haven for creatures that utilized and depended on the magical energies. Most beasts viewed Dark Spruce as the ultimate sanctuary.

Ryson, however, could not dismiss the sensation. It was fear mixed with the desire to flee, as opposed to the gripping terror that might leave one unable to move, frozen in a dazed stupor.

The delver leapt silently to a small clearing among the trees and narrowed his sight to the shadows off to his left. He held his breath and his ears quickly picked up the rustling of leaves and the snapping of twigs.

Something was moving in his direction, but he was not the target. Whatever it was seemed to be running at a constant speed with escape being the one true objective. The form coming at him was fairly large-he could tell that just from the sound-and somewhat nimble, moving with an agility somewhere between the effortless grace of an elf and the persistent forward thrust of a shag. The movement matched the desire of flight that Ryson could almost taste. The motivation for such emotion? — still unknown.

The delver focused on the shadowed form that finally came into sight, and he matched its outline with his growing knowledge of dark creatures in the area. The size and motion made the identity clear. It was a swallit-a powerful creature that combined the features of a buffalo with those of a human, but instead of hair, it was covered with thick strands of matted vines. Swallits could run swiftly on all fours or maneuver with great mobility on just their hind legs while standing upright.

Swallits remained rare in Uton; very territorial and more secluded than river rogues. Not many had crossed over to the land, or at least Ryson had encountered very few. They did not pose much of a threat to humans, but they remained dangerous. It was difficult for humans to outrun such creatures, but delvers were much more elusive than humans and Ryson did not fear the charge of the beast.

Unwilling to dismiss the situation as a random encounter, Ryson remained more concerned over the monster's intentions. Most predators did not openly hunt swallits, and for good reason. Swallits were not quite the most cunning of dark creatures-nowhere near as daring as serps-but they were leagues ahead of most goblins in the areas of critical thinking. They could also cast spells, or so the lore revealed. Ryson had never actually witnessed a swallit utilizing magic, but the lore had proven accurate in its descriptions of other monsters and Ryson found no reason to doubt this particular attribute.

Still, the delver knew he could communicate with the beast. He just had to get its attention.

Ryson unsheathed the Sword of Decree and the forest lit up around him as if noon time. The blade reflected starlight a thousand times over and the delver stood at the center of the light. He called out and demanded the creature acknowledge his presence.

"Swallit! I'm a delver and I want to talk to you."

At first, the creature veered away, but as if realizing it could not escape a true delver, it swerved back around and quickly circled the figure holding the blazing sword.

"Ryson Acumen?"

Hearing his name uttered by a beast of the dark lands caught him by surprise, but Ryson recovered quickly.

"You know me?"

"You hold the sword."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Ryson's exploits were becoming well-known by human and dark creature alike. With the Sword of Decree in hand, he had destroyed the Sphere of Ingar, which ultimately unleashed the magic across the land. He had saved the dwarf city of Dunop from shadow trees with the glowing blade and cleaved the dark wizard Baannat in half. He could not deny that the shining weapon was becoming legendary.

"Yes, I hold the sword, and I need to know where you're going."

The creature would not answer at first, but Ryson would not accept silence. The creature was headed east-toward Burbon, toward his home-and Burbon was now somewhat vulnerable. Creatures like the swallit would normally avoid Burbon for it was the home of a wizard who was becoming much more legendary than the Sword of Decree. Unfortunately, that wizard's attention was currently divided.

On that night, as on many other past nights, the wizard Enin remained in Connel, helping to rebuild a city that had seen two major conflicts. Connel had fared badly in the return of magic. Dwarves had almost decimated the city, and what was left intact temporarily fell into the hands of a goblin horde. The city endured both hardships, but not without great loss, and the wizard vowed to guide the city back to prosperity.

Still, Enin had not abandoned Burbon, had not simply left it to its own devices. He had cast many spells to serve as mystic barriers against invading hordes, and he remained ready to return to the small town if the need was urgent. He would not leave Burbon-so close to Dark Spruce and the last true town before the LacobianDesert-defenseless.

Ryson understood that these defenses might keep away most invaders, but not all. The most cunning and cruel creatures sensed the presence of magic casters. They would know of Enin's departure, and though Burbon was protected by walls and towers, as well as a finely trained militia, it remained a ripe target so close to DarkSpruceForest.

"You're headed east, toward Burbon. Is that where you're going?"

The swallit released a throaty cough as if to grumble.

"I will bypass Burbon."

"Then where are you going?"

The swallit finally came to a stop. It rose up on its hind legs and walked slowly toward the delver.

"Does it matter to you? I do not threaten Burbon and I do not threaten you. If what I know of you is accurate, that should be enough."

It should have been enough, and it was to relieve concerns of danger, but Ryson remained a purebred delver, and there was his curiosity to consider. It could not be so easily satisfied.

"You're running away," Ryson stated. "What makes a swallit run away?"

"Am I required to answer a delver's quiz?"

"No," Ryson replied, making it clear he would not threaten the swallit with reprisal should the creature refuse.

"Then I shall go my way, and you can go yours."

And the beast turned to leave.

Ryson might have been unwilling to intimidate the creature, but he was not so willing to give up on the questions goading his delver spirit. He also wanted to ensure Burbon's safety. If the monster refused to answer a simple question, then the delver would not trust its stated intentions of bypassing Ryson's home.

"You can go your way, but I'll follow you to make sure you stay clear of Burbon."

"Then follow if you will, but sheath that sword," the swallit demanded, turning back with a growl and glancing uneasily at the glowing blade.

"Why?"

"Because you will offer me up like a beacon. Why not simply whistle for a goblin raiding party or a hook hawk?"

"You're too big for a hook hawk and I doubt goblins would be brave enough to tackle you."

"So you won't sheath the sword?"

"I'd need a better reason. You might be trying to leave me defenseless."

"And you are beginning to irritate me," the swallit grumbled.

"It's not my intention, but you won't tell me what's going on."

The swallit looked back to the west, and clearly grew impatient.

"I wish to leave and I don't want you blazing a trail behind me. Is that so difficult for your delver mind?"

"No, but you still haven't explained any of it."

"And since when does a swallit need to answer to a delver?"

"You don't. You can go about your business and I'll go about mine."

"But you will continue to follow me?!"

"Only as long as you're close to Burbon. I have people to protect. You should understand that."

"I only understand that you might endanger me with that sword lighting up my path for anyone to follow."

"Is someone following you?"

"No, and I intend to keep it that way. Now be gone and realize I have nothing to gain by lying to you."

"Danger cuts both ways, my friend. You're running from something, that's pretty clear. You could be bringing danger to my home. Tell me what you're running from and if it makes sense, you can go your way."

The swallit lost its patience, unwilling to explain itself to the likes of a delver, even the delver who held the Sword of Decree. It dropped back down to all fours and charged Ryson Acumen, hoping to crash its massive head into the delver's midsection.

Ryson leapt away, but made no attempt to counterattack. He kept his sword held high and the blade away from the enraged monster. It was not his intent to harm the creature by design or by accident. The Sword of Decree could burn the soul with but a touch, and Ryson did not wish to inflict such pain. Still, the delver would not simply relent. A fleeing swallit in the early dark of night was a strange sight. The beast's unwillingness to explain itself was understandable, but only to a degree. In Ryson's curious mind, the mystery deepened with the swallit's attack.

"This isn't going to help," Ryson offered. "I know you're fleeing from something, just tell me what it is."

The swallit swung around, stood up once more, and brought its front legs together. It mouthed a few words and a yellow pentagon appeared at its hooves. The yellow energy then flew out from the creature and crashed across the blade of Ryson's sword.

Ryson now knew for a fact that swallits could indeed cast powerful spells.

The yellow magic appeared to turn to liquid as it bubbled down both sides of the blade. It brightened at first, then turned dark gray. As the energy encased the weapon in full, the light of the blade died away.

The display of power shocked the delver.

"What did you do?"

"What you would not. I doused the light. Now follow if you wish, but your sword will blaze no path for others to travel. You might as well sheath it."

Ryson looked at his weapon in shock. The blade could magnify the dimmest starlight on a cloudy night. Nothing ever before had brought darkness to this sword of light while Ryson stood upon open ground. He had held the sword aloft under the thickest clouds of terrible storms in the darkest of nights, and still the blade magnified what little light existed. For the first time out of its sheath and with a path to the open sky, the sword looked as dull as rusted iron.

The delver brought his hand to the blade. He tried to rub clean the magic energy, but to no avail. The gray covering could not be pushed away.

"You can't remove it," the swallit offered, displaying no pleasure in the effectiveness of its spell, "but do not agonize too much. The shadow that covers it will fade away in short time."

"You shouldn't have done that! I wasn't going to hurt you." Ryson declared.

"And you should have listened to me," the swallit shot back. "I asked if I had to answer a delver's quiz, and you said no. You should have left it at that, but you wouldn't relent. Your foolish curiosity got the better of you."

Ryson, at first, found anger in those words, believed he had done nothing wrong other than to ask the swallit its reasons for racing out of the forest. It was a harmless question, a reasonable request.

He could not, however, maintain that anger. Ultimately, he considered what he would have thought if their roles had been reversed. What if he had been traveling through the forest and happened to cross the swallit's territory? Did that give the swallit authority to question him, to perhaps impede his progress, or endanger him? It did not, and he would have used his abilities just as the swallit had used its own.

"You're right," the delver said, and he sheathed the sword. "I deserved that."

The swallit marveled at Ryson.

"You actually mean that, don't you?"

"You're not a threat to Burbon. You wouldn't get past the walls or the guard even if it was your intent to attack the town. I don't know why you're running, but that's your business."

"Then why didn't you just sheath the sword when I asked?"

"Because I want to know what would make a swallit flee. I still want to know, but threatening you isn't the way to find out. I would have hoped you would have told me."

"I owe nothing to you," the swallit grunted.

"No, you don't, and that's why I should have let you be. I'll try to figure out what you're running from in some other way."

The swallit almost appeared to grin.

"The stories of you, Ryson Acumen, seem to be true. You are a complex creature. It is not well to have you as an enemy, but you do not apparently make enemies without cause."

Ryson did not know exactly how to respond to such words. He simply nodded and turned his attention to the west as he dismissed the swallit.

"Well, I won't follow you now. Just remember that Burbon remains well guarded. Keep to your word and stay away from the town. I doubt anyone else will challenge you tonight."

The beast turned to leave, but paused. It swung its massive head back toward the delver one last time to offer its respect, if nothing else.

"I will return your honor with two favors. The first is that you should never trust what you see when yellow magic is cast. While it is very powerful in its own right, it is also the power of illusion. Light and shadow-one or the other, or both in concert-can be utilized to misdirect even the senses of a delver. Your blade still glows bright, but you believe the light to have been snuffed out."

Ryson looked over his shoulder at the hilt of the sword now sheathed across his back. He did not draw the blade out of respect for the honesty he was shown.

"It was still shining? All that time?"

"Your eyes saw what the magic wanted you to see, a covering over the light, but to those who know to look beyond the magic, the light will appear as bright as ever."

"Just a trick," the delver allowed, with a slight chuckle.

Then, the swallit grunted.

"Be careful not to dismiss such magic as simple deception. Illusions can be the greatest of powers because they can hide the truth, all truth. Yes, it can deceive you into believing lies, make you imagine peril when no such threat exists, but it also can disguise danger. It can make hazardous ground appear safe, camouflage pitfalls and traps. Think about that the next time you pursue a spell caster who utilizes illusion."

"I will," Ryson conceded.

"As for my second point, if you are determined to seek out what I hope to avoid, do not be surprised if you find nothing on this night. Yes, you are a delver, but the threat is not a danger to you or your kind. Even with your great delver senses, I doubt you will locate the menace I know exists. It does not seek you, even if you seek it. That's all I will say."

The swallit's words did little to diminish the delver's curiosity.

"Good luck to you, Ryson Acumen. If our path's cross again, I do not believe it will be as foes. You have my respect, as I hope I have earned some of yours."

The creature said nothing more. It dropped back down to all fours and bounded off to the east.

Ryson was left with a deeper mystery. The peril that made a swallit flee would elude him, or so the swallit said. These were not words that a delver could simply accept. Even though he did not doubt the swallit, he would not give up so easily.

With the monster on its way, Ryson turned to the opposite direction. He traced the beast's path further back into the forest. He followed it carefully. He kept vigilant for any sign of danger, hoping to gain some new insight to the mystery and the questions in his mind, but he found nothing within the trees.

The swallit's path led further out toward the badlands that separated Dark Spruce from the Lacobian, but Ryson stopped before leaving the forest. It was not for lack of desire, for he very much wanted to solve the mystery. He stood for long moments watching and listening-feeling the winds from the west. He had thought it odd when he earlier sensed a strange desire to flee. He felt it again-along with an emptiness-as if many creatures had already acted on that desire.

Had it been just up to him, he would have ventured onward, would have followed the sensation to its origin, but he was no longer just a delver on a hunt for answers. His obligation as a scout for Burbon outweighed his delver curiosity and he felt it necessary to turn back. In the end, he could do nothing more than return to Burbon and alert the guard to what he had seen and heard.

Chapter 2

The magic could not touch Linda, and so, she felt neither aversion nor attraction to the energy. She did, however, have a sense of people. She had it all her life, a natural ability to assess character and perceive intentions. Working in a tavern nourished that gift. She dealt with people from all walks of life and her openness with others often invited them to be more open with her. As she came to discover her initial impression of people usually proved accurate, Linda learned to trust her instincts and her judgment, and although the magic was completely foreign to her, she knew it ran strong in the woman before her.

The young woman was a stranger to the inn, to the entire town of Burbon for that matter. She said she wanted to see Linda, but that wasn't her ultimate goal. Linda could tell that almost immediately. The stranger was happy Linda agreed to speak with her, but it was clear it was only a first step. It was very much like a thirsty soldier waiting at a table. He was pleased when the barmaid approached, but it was whiskey or ale he truly desired.

Linda wanted privacy for this conversation, though she didn't know why-another instinct-but she also didn't want to risk being alone with the stranger. She summoned the woman to the far corner where they could be seen, but not so easily heard over the clamor of the crowd.

"I don't know you," Linda stated as more of a warning than an admission. She wanted the young woman to understand immediately that her trust was not given so freely to strangers, especially to this stranger.

"No, you don't," the woman replied, as if it didn't matter. "I am Heteera."

Linda immediately corrected her.

"That's your assumed name. You're a sorceress."

"I do not hide it."

"You might want to around here."

"Here? In the town of the wizard?The home of Enin?"

"We know Enin. We don't know you."

And that was true. Burbon was not a large city. It was a small town, a town that sat very near DarkSpruceForest, and it thrived on order and control. That's one of the reasons why the people of Burbon survived the return of magic while towns like Pinesway decayed into the mere skeletal remains of abandoned homes and ransacked shops.

"My given name at birth is Heather," the woman admitted, "but I wish to protect the friends and family of my previous life. They shouldn't suffer for my choices, so I would prefer it if you call me Heteera."

"Maybe you shouldn't put them in danger in the first place."

It came out as more of a rebuke than Linda intended, but she did not withdraw the remark.

"It is not my intention," Heteera replied with a solemn tone that indicated she might not have been totally successful in that desire. Regardless, she would not relinquish her aim. "In fact, I've hoped to do the opposite."

Linda didn't sense any true malevolence within the sorceress, but the stranger carried more than danger with her, she carried a sense of concern that clearly weighed upon her request.

"Very well, Heteera, I don't think you're here for a drink or a room for the night. What is it you want from me?"

"You are married to Ryson Acumen. I was hoping you could arrange it so that I might speak to him."

It was not a secret that Linda was the wife of the delver. Others had asked about being married to an individual whose name was becoming part of the legends. Over time, she learned to deal with it.

Still, Linda recoiled at this particular request. The sorceress was not here to offer good news, that much was clear. That fact left Linda more than cautious, it made her unsympathetic.

"It seems many people want to talk to Ryson, but he's rather busy. If you have some kind of concern, you should go talk to the guard. I can direct you to the closest post, or I can even summon them. I can have a handful of soldiers here in a moment."

"Guards and soldiers are of no use to me."

"That may be, but they may have some questions for you. A sorceress comes to town and starts asking to see Ryson. They're going to want to know why."

It was not such a veiled threat. Linda was growing more suspicious, and Heteera noted the animosity.

"Are you always so hostile to strangers?"

"No, but you asked about Ryson, and I know you're a sorceress. That has me concerned. I won't deny it and I won't apologize for it."

"I understand," Heteera nodded. "And I also know you don't fear me. The magic can't touch you, and even if it did, you are under the protection of two legends-your husband and the wizard. It would be foolish to try and harm you in any way."

"I'm not worried about myself, I'm worried about why you want to see Ryson."

Heteera paused, as if to internally debate her next response. When she finally replied, her words suddenly seemed painted with a desire for mercy.

"I need to speak with the wizard Enin. It is… important."

"Then go see him. He spends more of his time in Connel for their rebuilding than he does here."

The sorceress let out a heavy breath, as if to acknowledge a truth she already accepted before even entering the tavern. She revealed that truth without apparent embarrassment.

"I'm afraid."

That's not a statement most people will make, and Linda was impressed by the honesty behind it.

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of what he will sense, or of what the elf guard will sense."

"You know about Holli?" Linda asked. The sorceress seemed to know quite a bit, and that was also surprising considering she was a stranger to Burbon.

"She is the wizard's protector and he has trained her. It shouldn't be that much of a surprise for you. Anyone who touches the magic can in someway sense the wizard."

"Well, I can't touch the magic, and I still don't know what this all has to do with Ryson."

"The delver and the wizard are beyond friends. There is a trust between them. If Ryson Acumen will listen to me, he will understand and can relay my message to the wizard."

"Ryson isn't a messenger. Go speak to the wizard yourself."

"Believe me, I would if I could, but…"

Linda sighed with growing frustration. "But you're worried what he might sense about you, or that Holli might prevent you from seeing him. I know you said that, but it doesn't make sense. Enin speaks to spell casters all the time. Why should he avoid you?"

Here, the sorceress was not as quick to make an admission. She paused, as if calculating how to speak of her concern.

"I have made a misstep… a miscalculation."

Linda was not as impressed by this statement. The stranger's hesitation seemed almost to mute the confession.

"You're not helping your cause with me."

"I realize that, but to reach Enin, I first must convince the delver, and to convince the delver, I first have to reach you."

"Why?"

"Because you are immune to the magic. If you understand, then Ryson will know that my cause is true, that I am not manipulating the truth."

"So you want me to trust you?"

"In essence, yes."

"Well, you have a problem there."

"I know."

Linda was baffled and she made it clear. "Look, all I know is that you asked to see me and now you want to speak with my husband. You obviously know more about me than I do about you. What is it you really want from me?"

"Take me to your husband and listen to what I have to say to him."

It was a simple request, but not one without potential risks. Linda was not ready to simply guide a puzzling sorceress to her husband-to the delver who had proven to be a bane to many dark creatures that infested the land. Still, it seemed such a small request in light of the woman's mysterious nature.

"That's it?"

"That's it for now."

And so, alarm bells rang within Linda's core. Just like this meeting, it was all just a first step. The sorceress wanted something from Ryson, wanted something from Enin, and whatever the request ultimately became, it was not going to be simple.

"So there's going to be more?"

"I told you, it is not Ryson Acumen I ultimately seek. I need to get Enin to understand what I've done, so I will need your husband's assistance in that, yours as well."

"And how do I know you don't mean to harm Ryson?"

Heteera looked Linda dead in the eye.

"I cast white magic. Most people who know Enin understand what that means. I have equal power over the entire spectrum of magic. And I do have power, but I don't have the control of the wizard. I cannot cast in one circle, let alone two. Still, I have ability enough to cause damage to this town while Enin is away… if that were my goal. But it isn't. As I've already said, I don't want to harm anyone."

At that moment, Linda saw something in Heteera, something she sees often when people come into a tavern for all the wrong reasons. She saw guilt.

"You're afraid you've already done harm, aren't you?"

"I'm afraid of what it might turn into, yes."

"Can Enin stop it?"

"I believe so, if he listens."

Linda bit down slightly on her bottom lip and made her decision.

"Ryson is out on patrol. He'll meet me here at closing to walk me home. The best thing for us to do is wait for him to come to us."

"Thank you," the sorceress replied, grateful for the opportunity, but her appreciation was muted by the fact that her mission was just beginning.

Chapter 3

Ryson met Heteera and Linda in a back storage room. He looked over the sorceress and then turned his attention to his wife.

"Are you alright?'

"I'm a little worried about what's going on here, but beyond that, I'm fine."

The delver could not deny his curiosity. He turned back upon the stranger.

"And you are?"

"Heteera," she replied.

"You're a stranger here," Ryson stated.

"Yes, and we've never met."

"And you're a sorceress."

"You are as perceptive as your wife."

Linda decided to add information she felt was quite important.

"She says she casts white magic. I don't think she's lying."

Ryson gave the sorceress another look.

"That would be a stupid lie, especially around here."

Heteera agreed without hesitation. "Yes, it would be, but I can cast in white magic. My control is somewhat limited, but my access to all energies is quite exceptional."

"So you're a powerful sorceress, and you're here to talk to me. What is it you want?"

"I have already told your wife this, I need to warn the wizard Enin."

"He's in…"

"Connel, I know. I can't approach him."

"Why not?"

"He will sense a presence upon me. Actually, I believe even the elf guard will sense it and she might kill me before I say a word."

Making his suspicions clear, Ryson considered the statement more revealing of Heteera's character than Holli's. Ryson held nothing but respect for the elf guard. He knew that Holli would not endanger anyone without reason.

"Holli wouldn't kill you unless you were a threat. Are you a threat?"

"No, but I'm afraid I've created one, one that has to be dealt with before it's too late."

"What kind of threat?"

"One that uses the magic for malevolence."

"That's not being very specific."

"That's because it isn't a specific threat, not yet anyway."

Ryson had obtained nothing from the woman, no information that could assist him in any way. It was much like his encounter with the swallit. Yes, he was curious, but he was also growing frustrated.

"Why don't you start with what you can tell me?"

Heteera almost blurted out her fears, but she took hold of them-wrapped them up and swallowed them, as if a bitter herb.

"I'd rather show you than try to explain it."

Ryson and Linda shared a glance, revealing their surprise. Surely, the sorceress couldn't expect Ryson to simply let a stranger lead him off into the unknown without some kind of explanation. The request defied reason.

"So you just want me to follow you?"

"I believe it's the only way."

"I'm not sure I accept that."

Linda added her own clear viewpoint of the matter.

"I know I can't accept that." She then turned to her husband. "You can't just go off with her without more of an explanation. She thinks Holli might kill her on sight. She admitted that herself."

"She's right," Ryson nodded to Heteera. "If you want my help, you have to tell me what's going on. You have to give me something."

At this point, the sorceress appeared prepared for such a response, even from a curious delver. She spoke with a newfound confidence, as if she could make her reluctance understandable.

"Believe me, I would if I could, but my request is not so simple. I do not wish to lie to you because if I do, I can't obtain your help. I can't risk that. And while I have to remain honest with you, at the same time I have to remain credible."

"You're saying I'm not going to believe you?"

"That's part of it."

Ryson found the explanation feeble, if not totally inaccurate. Bizarre creatures and events were common throughout Uton. He accepted them just as he accepted the legitimacy of the legends. No one could accuse him of being so shortsighted as to disregard possible threats, no matter how fantastic.

"I've seen some things…"

Heteera cut him off.

"I can imagine what you have seen, and I understand the power of the magical energies. Events beyond sanity have already taken place in this land, and you have been much in the center of it. I imagine there is very little that would truly surprise you, but even the curiosity of the most open-minded delver has limits." She looked upon both Ryson and Linda and could see they remained skeptical. "Let me ask you this: If I told you a colossal giant with three heads-taller than a dozen houses stacked one upon the other-stepped out of the western seas and took prisoners of port cities, would you believe me?"

Ryson didn't answer.

"You've seen incredible things since the return of the magic," Heteera continued, "but that sounds a bit much, doesn't it?"

"A monster like that wouldn't be able to hide. Stories of it would fly across the land. I haven't heard anything about…"

"What if I was simply the first to make it through from the coast, the first to tell the story? Maybe news of the encounter just hasn't reached you."

"But it would eventually."

"And you wouldn't have to take my word for it, correct?"

"Well, it doesn't hurt to confirm things."

"And if I wait for you to get some confirmation of the danger I'm talking about, it will be too late."

"Are you saying that there is such a monster?"

"No, I'm not. I'm using it as an example. I'm trying to explain that some things are difficult to explain. Sometimes just words of a problem aren't enough, especially in this case. There are certain topics, certain descriptions, that would, by their very nature, invite reservation. And that is only half of my dilemma. Part of the threat that is coming has not taken any form. I'd like to be specific about the danger, but at this point, I can't be sure. That's the other part of my problem in explaining it to you. Without form, I cannot give you an honest appraisal of the threat."

Ryson acknowledged there was some merit to the sorceress' concern. If she, in fact, did not want to lie or embellish her concerns about an unknown threat just to get the delver's compliance, then perhaps it would be difficult for her to be more accommodating. He searched for other answers that might be easier to obtain.

"Where is it you want to lead me?"

"To the southwest-not terribly far, but beyond the forest-to the border lands between Dark Spruce and the Lacobian."

Mention of the location sparked Ryson's curiosity. He had just been very close to those badlands, and he had felt something strange in the distance. If the woman hoped for credibility, she had just gained some, but only to a degree. The delver also understood the power of magic. His interest in the area had remained fresh in his mind and a powerful sorceress might just be feeding his own curiosity, using it against him. Thus, he remained cautious.

"But you can't give me any kind of indication of what's there?"

"I'd rather not. I don't know how else to explain it to you. If I try, I'm worried that you will either misjudge the problem or me. It's better you see for yourself and come to your own conclusion."

Ryson looked away. He was given so little information, and yet, so many things pulled at him. He had indeed seen many incredible sights over the past few seasons. And it seemed that every new day brought something beyond the previous spectacle. Whether it be monsters or miracles, the magic had reshaped the land in countless ways.

This story, however, had no true substance, only a plea for assistance by a sorceress who claimed great power and warned of some shadowed threat. It was not a request that could be validated in any way. He couldn't pick apart the facts from any possible embellishments because he had no true description from which to start.

He had heard so many other stories in that tavern, mostly exaggerated yarns or inflated half-truths. And yet, there was now an underlying reality to even the most outlandish tale. If you wanted an adventure, you did not have to travel far. DarkSpruceForest was a gathering point for dark creatures of varied types, as were the ColadMountains. The LacobianDesert was becoming even more mysterious than the other two combined, with spell casters utilizing the barren lands as a stage to manage their new found abilities.

Was the sorceress exaggerating the threat?

She said that was what she hoped to avoid, but sometimes leaving things unsaid did more to heighten a conceived threat than by describing it in the most inflated fashion.

Again, Ryson thought of his earlier encounter with the swallit. The creature used illusion against the delver's sword, a trick to make him sheath the weapon. Was this just another trick?

What did he know of her? She stated she could cast white magic. If that was a lie, it was a risky one. If it wasn't, she had power and she shouldn't be ignored.

Ryson shook his head and then focused on the floor. He placed an imaginary flame-very small, that of a candle-on a blank space. He wiped all the thoughts from his mind as he concentrated on his greatest concern. He finally spoke, but would not look up from the floor at Heteera. He kept his mind on the practical, on the measured response of logic, and kept his curious instincts in check.

"I have to tell you, I've been through this kind of thing before-all my life, in fact. People know I'm a delver, and if they want something from me, some will try and use it against me. They throw one mystery after another at me. They usually do it because they want to trick me."

"I'm not trying to trick you."

"I don't know you, but you came to see my wife first. You tell me you need to speak to Enin, but he won't see you. Even so, you say you cast white magic. If that's true, I would think he would want to speak with you. You're afraid Holli will kill you, and I have no idea why. You sum it all up with a notion that there's a threat that has to be stopped. It's a delver hunt, one mystery after another."

"And that's why I came to your wife first. I was hoping that she would look upon my words in a different manner. I couldn't entice her on a delver hunt. As for being mysterious, it's not my intention. I'm not trying to offer a mystery that needs to be solved or some treasure that needs to be discovered. I'm trying to get you to simply see for yourself what it is that I can't explain. Let your own eyes be the judge. It's not going to seem any more plausible to you if I explain the danger. You know I'm a sorceress. You're going to wonder if I'm manipulating you."

And with that said, Ryson made an admission, and once more looked upon Heteera.

"I think you might be trying to manipulate me now."

"If I was using magic to manipulate you, why would I want your wife present? The magic can't touch her."

A valid question, and one that met Ryson's logic with wisdom of its own. He faced Linda.

"Do you believe her?"

"I believe she's afraid of something out there and I believe she feels terribly guilty about something. That's all I can say for sure, but I still don't want you going out there with her unless she tells you what she's afraid of."

Ryson nodded as he returned his focus to the stranger.

"I believe you're not trying to trick me, but she's right, it's not enough. The simple truth is that I'm not going to just follow you unless you give me something more to go on."

"I do not think it will help to tell you anything further."

Ryson frowned as he came to his decision and revealed it with blunt honesty.

"That's no longer your decision to make. I'm not going to follow you based on what you've told me so far. In fact, I'm going to ask you to leave Burbon. Beyond that, once you're on your way, I'll be in Connel before you get deep in Dark Spruce or wherever it is you're going. I'll tell Enin what happened here. He's going to want to talk to you. If you really want to speak to him, you won't have to worry. You can bet he'll find you."

Ryson could see the fear explode in the sorceress.

"You can't speak to the wizard until you know the truth!" Heteera implored.

The outburst was surprising, but it did not sway the delver.

"I'm waiting for the truth."

The stranger covered her face with her hands, as if hoping to hide despair. She brought them down to her chin and pressed them together as if praying.

Ryson remained alert. He watched for any sign of white magic to appear, but the sorceress would cast no spell at this point. Instead, she blurted out the truth.

"The sphere is a threat again."

Ryson said nothing, but Linda demanded clarification.

"You mean Ingar's sphere?"

"Yes."

Ryson stiffened. The woman was lying, she had to be. He thought this was all some kind of twisted game, or something worse. The battle at SanctumMountain over the sphere would always remain fresh in his mind. He knew on that day that the magic could never be erased again from the land, that the sphere would never return.

"No, that's not possible," Ryson responded.

The sorceress could not mistake the look in the delver's eyes. She knew even the curiosity of a delver would not allow him to accept her story.

"You see!" Heteera shot back. "This is why I didn't want to try and explain it to you. I knew you wouldn't believe it."

"I don't believe it because I destroyed the sphere."

"I know you did, but you did not destroy the idea."

To Ryson, the idea and the sphere were one and the same. The sphere was magic contained, and that idea was just no longer possible.

"Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I know that Ingar is gone and so is his sphere. The magic is free."

"Yes, it is, but not all of it. Part of it is being captured again."

"Are you saying there's another sphere?"

"Not exactly. It's difficult…" and her voice trailed off, unable to explain anything further.

"You're not making sense. If the magic was being captured, Enin would know about it. You wouldn't need to warn him."

As Heteera understood much about the magical energy, she found her voice once more to explain Enin's lack of awareness.

"Enin thinks the reversal of magic is due to his battle with Baannat."

"Baannat?" Ryson asked.

"Yes, Baannat was extremely powerful. He could store enormous amounts of energy. That energy was released in a battle with Enin, a battle in a dimension outside of this land."

"I know what happened. I was there. It was my sword that cleaved Baannat in two."

"I was there, too," Linda added. "Baannat was destroyed and the magic was taken from him."

"Taken where?" Heteera demanded.

Both Ryson and Linda thought of the dimension where dark creatures bred and lived until they could walk upon the lands of Uton. They thought of the monsters that ultimately tore Baannat apart after Ryson defeated the wicked slink ghoul, monsters that eagerly ripped the magical energy from Baannat before they returned to their own realm.

"I'm not sure where it went," Ryson finally answered, "but what does that have to do with Ingar's sphere?"

"Not the original sphere, not a sphere at all!" Heteera claimed, "But the idea behind the sphere. Remove the magic-that's the concept-but this time remove it from the monsters, remove it from their realm. Enin would not notice this unless he was told."

"And that's the threat?"

"That's only part of it. You have to see the rest."

That was enough for the delver. Ryson was convinced this was no trick, no manipulation of magic. He could not believe the sphere had returned, but there was something to the sorceress' words. His instincts could lead him now and they spoke loudly within him. He needed to follow Heteera.

Unfortunately, he needed to convince his wife as well. And by looking at her, he knew she remained skeptical. She would not want him to go on such little information.

"I need to speak to my wife alone."

Heteera asked for a different approach.

"Use the sword," she said.

The Sword of Decree held a strange power after the elves gave it to the delver and Ryson explained it simply.

"It won't really tell me if you're lying, if that's what you're hoping. It doesn't reveal intentions. It will only give me direction and I have no idea to what point."

"That's all I'm asking now, for you to take direction, not from me, but from the sword."

Ryson moved his hand to the sword cast from elf magic. Before he pulled it from its sheath, Heteera called out one last request.

"Before you take hold of the sword, I want you to know it's not just you who has to follow me. Your wife must come with us."

Ryson dropped his hand away from the hilt as if it were suddenly poisoned.

"I'm not going to put her in danger!"

The delver's outburst drew an equally emotional response from his wife.

"But you'd put yourself in danger?" Linda demanded.

"I don't want to put anyone in danger," Ryson remarked almost harshly.

"I'm not asking you to debate this among yourselves," Heteera intervened. "Leave it to the sword."

"I'm not going to base a decision like that on the sword," Ryson declared.

"Why not?" Heteera asked. She was so close, and now appeared desperate to get her way.

"Because I don't understand why she would even have to go in the first place."

"I need another to witness this. You'll understand when you see what it is I have to show you. You have to come with me, there's no doubt in my mind about that, but when it comes to convincing Enin of what you will see, we'll need another voice."

"Then we can bring someone from the guard. I can even get Sy to go with us."

"The Captain of the Guard will not help. I need it to be Linda."

"Why?"

"Because the magic can't touch her. It's the only way I can be sure to get the message across to Enin. And he's the only one with the power to stop this."

"Forget it," Ryson stated.

"Then maybe you have doomed us all."

"I haven't doomed anyone."

Linda was watching Heteera. She saw the truth in her eyes and heard it in her words, and it was she who would break through Ryson's concern.

"Ry, I appreciate what you're saying, what you're doing, but I don't think it's up to you."

"Who's it up to? Her?"

"No, and if you listened to her you'd know that. She's leaving it up to the sword. She's putting it all on that. How many times did the sword point you in the right direction? Is it suddenly going to let you down?"

"But we don't have any idea what's out there."

"But you're willing to go. You want to go now. I've seen that look before. I'm not going to try and talk you out of it. I'm willing to accept what you're willing to risk. You might have to do the same."

"But I'm a delver."

"And I'm immune to magic. Leave it to the sword."

Ryson knew he could not win this argument. Linda was right, the magic could not harm her, not directly. She might be vulnerable to a shag's fangs or a goblin's crossbow, but he could protect her from those threats. The true danger near the Lacobian was the magical energy and how it was being used. Truth be told, he would be in greater danger than his wife.

As for the sword, he could not deny its power. It was as he said. It did not so much point to the truth as it pointed the way. It decreed what needed to be done. How it would be done was up to the holder.

Ryson grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it from its sheath. The windows of the tavern let in starlight for the blade to reflect, enhance, and magnify. The clamor of other patrons died away as everyone looked to the shining blade. The light would not harm their eyes in any fashion. If anything, it was almost pleasant to behold. The blade showed the way… and it did so for Ryson Acumen.

"We have to go with her. I'll get two horses and we'll leave at first light."

Chapter 4

With Ryson running alongside the horses-guiding them through Dark Spruce, avoiding danger, and finding the clearest paths-they crossed the forest quicker than Heteera ever hoped. They broke through the dense trees of Dark Spruce and reached the badlands that would lead to the outer reaches of the LacobianDesert while the sun still hung fairly high in the western sky. The horses moved even faster upon solid ground with fewer impediments. The brush and thicket which covered the edges of Dark Spruce diminished and eventually disappeared in the harsher, dryer climate-just as the trees became scattered, standing more like distant sentries spread too thin to cover the horizon sufficiently. The land opened up before them to reveal large clearings surrounded by boulders, bluffs, and intriguing rock formations of intricate design.

Ryson remained vigilant for threats, understanding that despite their abilities-a delver, a sorceress, and a human immune to magic-they still might invite an ambush from a desperate predator. The presence of any such threat, however, continuously eluded him, and that in itself invited concern.

The badlands did not harbor as many dark creatures as Dark Spruce-the forest offered more prey and more shelter-but many beasts still preferred the open and dry regions. The badlands were also the last refuge before the totally inhospitable desert. Ryson would normally sense at least some predators in the distance, smell or hear them even if he could not see them. As if to present more of a puzzle, he could not sense any threats in the area. What he did perceive confused him.

"It's empty, but it's not," he revealed aloud.

Heteera understood, but Linda could not grasp the seemingly inconsistent revelation.

"What do you mean?" his wife asked.

"There are plenty of caves, crevices and ravines along the land, but there's nothing there. No creatures. There's plenty of hiding places for them, but they're just not there. It's like they all just left." He paused for a moment to sniff the air and turn an ear to the warm breeze." But something else is here. I felt it in Dark Spruce, but it's stronger out here." He turned to the sorceress. "This is what you want us to see, isn't it?"

She simply nodded.

Linda, who could not utilize the magic in any way, pressed Ryson for details.

"What do you feel?"

Ryson tried to put into words what he could not completely describe.

"It's like water going down a hole. Water goes in, air gets pushed out. I'm getting the same feeling, but it's not water and air. It's like something's rushing in and out of… I'm not sure where it's coming from. It's there and then it's not."

"It's magic," Heteera offered, "but it's not just being pulled from the land. It's crossing dimensions."

"Is it going in or out?" Ryson wondered.

"Both," Heteera answered. "That's why Enin wouldn't notice it from Connel."

"But you said the threat was like the sphere. The sphere absorbed all the magic."

"Only in the beginning. At the end, it was emitting the energy, but as poison."

"That's right, poison to the elves. Is that the threat?"

"I believe the elves will be the last in danger," Heteera replied.

Then Ryson considered his encounter with the swallit, and more of the puzzle came together.

"I ran into a swallit during a scout. It was heading east, away from this place. It was trying to escape what's out here, wasn't it? That's why there aren't any creatures around."

This news did not sit well with the sorceress. As it was, she fought off waves of discomfort. The predicament she could not speak of openly weighed upon her as they now closed upon their intended destination. She also was not comfortable on the back of a horse, not a natural rider or a seasoned expert with much time spent in the saddle. This new revelation offered by the delver added to her troubles.

"If that's true, then he's adding to it," she claimed with little explanation.

"Adding to it? Adding to what?" Ryson demanded.

"He's seeking other creatures, expanding the reach."

"Who?"

"You'll have to see."

"You know, I have to admit, I'm getting tired of hearing that."

"You will not have to wait long. It's just ahead, by that rock formation to your right."

The delver leapt quickly ahead of the horses, took to the lead even as he moved on foot. He spied nothing ahead.

"There's nothing there."

Heteera pulled back on the reins and slowed her horse.

"We have to stop here."

"There's nothing here," the delver repeated.

"Give it time. It does not stay open or closed indefinitely. It fluctuates. We shouldn't have to wait long."

As if in response, the air shuddered. The afternoon light at first grew brighter and then dimmed, with no passing cloud the cause. The ground itself appeared to sway in and out of focus, like a mirage that would fade and return.

"What's happening?" Ryson demanded.

"The portal is reopening. As I said, it won't stay open or closed, not for long."

"A portal?To where?"

"To nightmare," Heteera responded with a pained expression. "To a place you have seen before… a realm where dark creatures breed."

It was as if a hole opened in the very air, a shallow tunnel that turned and twisted in every direction at once, but existed in a controlled space only slightly taller than the delver and perhaps three times as wide.

Looking upon it produced a sensation of incompleteness, as if it was not possible for such an opening to actually exist. It was a tear in reality.

Ryson peered into the opening, but only for a moment, and then he looked away. It was a nightmare, and he had seen it before.

Another such opening was created by Enin in the magical dimension during their conflict with Baannat. It was a gateway to a tormented world, a gateway from which monsters leapt.

"Why didn't you just tell me this was here? I've seen this kind of thing before. I would have believed you. We need to get Enin here to close this."

Heteera stared into the anomaly.

"Would you have believed that if I had not brought you here to see?"

Ryson did not want to look again, but he had to follow the sorceress' gaze. Looking over his shoulder, his eyes fell upon a figure exiting the rent.

Immediately, his hand flew over his shoulder to his sword as he crouched low. Any creature crossing over from the dark lands would be a danger to them all, but Ryson never drew the Sword of Decree. The single form who stepped out of a nightmare was a friend to him.

Despite the fact that the figure was all shadow and no true substance, was of a single gray pallor, Ryson recognized him immediately. He knew the elf, Lief Woodson, very well.

"Lief?"

The apparition tilted his head as it looked upon all three. It seemed to glare at the sorceress, but then drew a softer expression as it glanced upon Linda and finally Ryson.

"You look well, Ryson Acumen."

"You see?" Heteera managed, while struggling to keep her horse calm. "It's not the portal. It's who's using the portal."

"But you're dead," the delver exclaimed, disregarding the sorceress but unable to believe what, or rather who, was before him.

"And you are surprised in what you see now?" the ghostly form asked with an expression of both surprise and amusement.

Ryson could not answer. He was beyond shock. He had lost this friend only a short time ago, less than a full cycle of the seasons. The loss left him less than whole, slightly hollow. He looked to the sorceress as if to demand confirmation of what could not be true.

"Is this possible?"

Heteera simply nodded in assent.

He then looked to his wife.

"Do you see him?"

"Yes," Linda replied with wide-eyed wonder, unable to say anything more.

"Is it such a surprise to you, Ryson Acumen?" the specter called out. "On SanctumMountain you spoke with the spirit of Shayed and you fought the ghost of Ingar on the same ground."

"But the sphere brought them back, and the sphere is gone."

"The magic brought them back," Lief corrected him. "And the magic remains."

"That's not what I mean," Ryson replied, trying desperately to take hold of his emotions.

"Are you not happy to see me?"

"Of course I am, but…"

"But? You have reservations about seeing an old friend? Consider what we have been through together. I would have expected a happier greeting."

And Ryson did want to be happy. He wanted to rush to the side of his lost friend, take his hand if he could grasp the palm of a spirit. He wanted to believe Lief Woodson had returned, but even with all the joy that would generate, there remained caution… concern.

"I am happy to see you, but I didn't expect this."

"The sorceress didn't tell you?"

"She didn't think I would believe her. She was probably right." Ryson admitted.

"Is that why you are so hesitant to greet me?"

"I guess… I don't know. I just can't believe it's you. I didn't think I would see you again. You were…"

"Killed.By a lightning bolt from another sorceress. I could not dodge something so large. Apparently, I lack a delver's skill in that regard."

The description of Lief's death was accurate, and only a select few were there to see it. Still, Ryson's thoughts swam with confusion. He expected danger. He expected a threat. Not this.

"What are you doing here? Is it supposed to be this way? I mean this isn't a land of the dead."

"That is true, but what we are does not die when the body ceases to be. The spirit lives on."

"But everyone moves on, they don't stay here."

"And as I said before, others have returned. You saw them yourself. I remember when you first spoke with the spirit of Shayed. At first, you couldn't believe she had returned, but after all you have been through, I am surprised you remain doubtful."

At that, Ryson recalled his first meeting with Shayed. Yes, he had previously spoken to a spirit, but even Shayed had explained it was a rare occurrence.

"Shayed came back because of the sphere, as did Ingar," Ryson recalled. "It was a special circumstance, she admitted as much. The sphere summoned Ingar back from the dead, and Shayed returned for the higher purpose of saving the land."

"And you think it's not possible that I have returned for a higher purpose?"

"Is that why you're back?"

At that moment, the spirit form of Lief Woodson gazed back into the center of the dimensional breach. His eyes narrowed on something within the tunnel and then he turned quickly to those still living nearby.

"We can talk further of this later. We must move quickly away." He pointed up an incline that led to a bluff that overlooked the portal opening. "There! Make your way to that cliff. Quickly now!"

Ryson heard the threat of danger in the elf spirit's voice and he grabbed the reins of Linda's horse without hesitation. He then called to Heteera.

"Follow me!"

The delver raced up the slope, leading Linda's horse to a full gallop. The sorceress struggled to keep up, holding on to the reins of her horse as if her life depended on it.

Ryson pulled Linda's horse around as he guided them to the edge of the bluff that overlooked the dimensional doorway. He watched in awe as the specter of Lief Woodson simply floated through the air to the elevated position.

"What's going on?" Ryson asked.

"Something is coming out."

Ryson wanted to ask what it might be, but he did not have the time.

The first creature was another swallit, smaller than the one Ryson had previously encountered. It looked about in confusion, then looked back into the opening, back to the twisted land that spawned it. It clearly did not like what it saw. It dropped down to all fours and began to dash. Unfortunately, it never reached its full running speed.

A second figure sprang out from the dark break in reality, a large and hairy beast. Ryson recognized it immediately as a shag. Not the largest he had ever seen, but a big one nonetheless. It was already in full pursuit of the swallit and it leapt through the air in a desperate attempt to reach the creature before it could escape.

The swallit screeched as the shag's now protracted claws ripped through the vine-like mass of its pelt and into its skin. The beast hit the ground and it rolled over, trying to dislodge the larger predator.

The shag held tight and in the tangled fray, its jaws clamped down on the rear leg of the swallit. Fangs tore through muscle and tendon, rendering the leg useless.

The swallit shrieked once more, but this time it brought its front legs together. At its hooves, a crackling deep orange energy formed an uneven square. The beast coughed out strange words and flung the energy toward the head of the shag.

The energy instantly turned to bright orange flame that streaked down upon the shag in long tendrils. The shag ducked its head, but the fire erupted around its shoulder and down its back. The matted hair twisted and shrank back in massive black streaks. The shag released its grip as it tried to beat off the flames with its own thick paws.

Up above on the higher banks of the bluff, Ryson immediately smelled the burning fur. The scent was strong and sickening, like maggot infested wood burning over a fire fueled by decaying corpses.

The swallit tried to bolt once more, but as it placed weight on its wounded leg, it collapsed. Knowing it could not escape, it turned about and prepared to cast another spell. Orange energy again appeared at its hooves, but this time the energy grew to a massive ball of fire. The swallit held to the flame as long as it could and then hurled it at its target.

The ball of fire wavered in the air, flew in an unsteady manner. The flames struck the shag, but only in a glancing fashion. Hair upon the monsters hip was singed, but no further damage had been done.

The shag backed slightly away, clearly measuring the distance between it and its prey. The threat of fire would keep it at bay, but only for the moment. The shag would not relent. With the swallit badly wounded, time was now in its favor.

Ryson found the scene more than unsettling.

"We have to stop this," he stated aloud.

It was Lief who replied first.

"You would interfere?"

And then Linda chimed in.

"You can't go down there. Either one of them could kill you."

"So we just let the shag kill the swallit?"

Lief almost laughed.

"The swallit would kill you given half a chance."

Ryson didn't believe that was the case. Swallits were dark creatures, that he could not deny, but he had spoken with a swallit, faced one in Dark Spruce, and while the beast at one time did attempt an assault, it showed respect for the delver as well.

"I don't think so," Ryson refuted. "They can cast magic. They have intelligence, they deserve respect as much as you or I. I have to do something."

"Yes, you have to let things sort them out for themselves," Lief responded in an admonishing tone. "This is between a swallit and a shag. It will be decided between the two of them."

"No, it won't. The swallit's hurt. I can send the shag back where it belongs."

"And maybe it will just kill a different swallit. It has to eat."

Ryson didn't like that response. There was truth to it, and maybe by saving this swallit he was, in fact, dooming another, but he could not simply standby and do nothing.

As if sensing the delver's decision before he made it, the elf ghost spoke the only words that could keep the delver still.

"Would you leave your woman unprotected? Who knows what might come out next? Perhaps a hook hawk looking for prey. While you are busy engaged with those beasts, will you be able to keep track of other threats?"

Ryson looked back at Linda and knew he could not leave her side, not so close to a doorway to such danger.

He was about to give up, but then he thought of the sorceress.

"You can cast white magic! Send the shag back!"

Heteera hesitated. She sat motionless in the saddle.

"Do it!" Ryson demanded.

The sorceress threw her hands together, closed her eyes in concentration. A distorted shape of white magic rolled about her wrists. There were points and curves in the oblong contour of magic that would not hold a steady form. Heteera opened her eyes and shouted strange words.

The white magic exploded from her fingertips. It was a blunt force spell that was meant to crash into the feet of the shag and hurl it backwards into the dimensional opening. It missed its mark.

It hit the rocky ground between the two monsters and the stone exploded in far greater force than the sorceress intended. Sharp broken rock burst apart in a wave of deadly debris. The shrapnel ripped through both monsters, dropping them to the ground in bloody hulks.

Ryson just stared at the mayhem below.

"I'm sorry," Heteera responded with a mournful whisper. "The power got away from me."

"Do not fret, sorceress," Lief replied stoically, as if the bloody display meant nothing to him. "You finished them both off quickly. That's more than they should have hoped for."

"The swallit didn't have to die," Ryson finally said.

"And what of the shag?" Lief asked. "Did the shag deserve less? If so, for what reason?"

"Neither of them deserved it." Ryson then looked upon Heteera with sympathy. "You didn't mean it. I know that. It wasn't your fault."

"I would agree with that," Lief added. "Fault had nothing to do with any of it." He then fixed a stare upon the delver. "Where are you going?"

Ryson had turned to move back down the slope.

"I want to check on them, make sure they're dead."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"What? You still think something else might come out of there?"

"Something definitely will. And I wouldn't get in its way."

"I can handle a hook hawk now. There's nothing to distract me."

"You might be able to handle a hook hawk, but not this." And Lief nodded to the gateway.

Ryson stopped and refocused his gaze upon the distorted opening.

Indeed, another figure did emerge from the passage, but it was something Ryson could not identify. It did not walk, leap, stagger, or even crawl out into the dying afternoon light. Instead, it dragged itself across the ground on several twisted, distorted limbs.

The thing seemed to have several heads, but none appeared complete or easily distinguishable, just as it had several limbs that could not be identified as truly arms or legs. It was as large as a full grown man, but had no discernable form. In some areas, it was pale white, like the bleached skin of a corpse left in the sun. At other points it was dark brown and purple, oozing as if in decay. The mass pulsated in a labored manner as it edged forward.

"Dear Godson!" Linda cried, and she looked away.

She would be thankful she did when she learned the aim of this mutated mass. The thing fell upon the swallit and began tearing away at the vines that served as the beast's coat. When it reached the skin of the swallit, it peeled a portion back in one long sheet. In a most disturbing fashion, it then tore at its own repulsive hide. It pulled away at the newly broken edges of its misshapen body, making a huge gap. It quickly placed the swallit hide over its own open wound, and the new skin fused into place.

Once this macabre operation was complete, the strange mass of disproportionate flesh spun backward into the gateway, its limbs twisting and turning, quivering in disorganized imbalance. With all the grace of misshapen rock rolling down an uneven hill, the horrible mutation disappeared out of sight back into a darker land where it clearly belonged.

"The danger is gone for now," Lief announced. "I doubt anything will be coming out for quite a while. Creatures on the other side tend to steer away from my creation."

Ryson could not stifle his surprise.

"You created that?"

"With the help of your sorceress friend," Lief admitted without hesitation.

Ryson's gaze shot over to the spell caster sagging forlorn in the saddle.

"That's what you were talking about, wasn't it?"

"It's not what I intended," she pleaded, but could not look upon the delver.

Where Ryson was more than willing to forgive the errant spell that killed both the swallit and shag, he found this difficult to conceive, let alone excuse, and so he pressed for those intentions.

"What did you intend?"

She would not speak, or rather could not speak.

"She intended to remove the dark creatures from the land," Lief offered in response. "Is that so surprising to you?"

Ryson spun around to face the elf ghost.

"And how is that… that… thing! how is that going to accomplish that?"

"By collecting the magic from the dark creatures."

"Just like Ingar's sphere!" Ryson added, and to some extent the sorceress' earlier plea for help was becoming clear.

"In one way yes, but we made some alterations," Lief acknowledged.

"You made the alterations," Heteera suddenly accused the apparition. "I didn't want this. You knew what I wanted."

"Yes, and you did not want to go far enough." Lief then shook his head as if admonishing a small child. "That is why you lack control of the magic. White energy and yet you are weak where it matters. You don't see the whole picture."

"And what's the whole picture, Lief?" Ryson asked.

"You have to ask me? The dark creatures are a bane to this existence. They must be removed. The sorceress and I agreed on that point, but she did not want to go far enough. She wished to simply close off the dimension, to stop portals from opening, to keep the dark creatures from entering our land. It's not enough. They'd find a way around it, they'd find another way. And there is of course the matter of the creatures already here in the land. There is but one solution to the problem. Destroy them all, everywhere!"

"But what you created is going beyond that!" Heteera managed. "It's collecting the magic, just like Ingar's sphere. It's going to lead to greater misfortune. You have to know that."

"You concern yourself with the wrong problems," Lief said, almost with a snarl. "You look ahead to troubles that do not exist, while you ignore those that do."

"What exactly is that thing?" Ryson interrupted.

"It is a vessel," Lief explained. "And yes, it is like Ingar's sphere in that it was created to collect magic, magic that allows the dark creatures to exist. Ingar's sphere was made of the skins of the five races; elf, delver, human, algor, and dwarf. This vessel is made of the hides of dark creatures, and so, it focuses upon them. It feeds on their magic."

"Magic is magic," Ryson noted, but then did not appear so sure. "Isn't it?"

"Magical energy has more properties than you can imagine. Still, you should understand some of this. It is not so difficult to grasp that the vessel can be tuned to magic that has been utilized for a specific purpose. You have seen those who cast spells with different hues. The color of the magic matches the intention of the spell and the natural ability of the caster. There is magic of the air, of water or fire, of death."

"But what's that got to do with that thing?" Ryson demanded.

"That thing, as you call it, is tuned to the magical energies inherent in the dark creatures, the magic that allows them to cross over into this land and remain here."

"And that's all it was supposed to do!" Heteera interrupted. "It was only meant to serve as a deterrent, to keep them away, but now it hunts and kills, both here and in the dark realm. And it's storing the energy, becoming stronger!"

"As I said, you do not want to go far enough. It has to get stronger, much stronger. That's why it needed that swallit. It already lost one not long ago, and so today our little creation forced two creatures through to this side, the swallit and a shag. The shag would hunt the swallit and kill it, or injure it. Either way, the swallit would not be able to escape, and it didn't. With the swallit skin added to its shell, the vessel can now feed more efficiently on those dark creatures. It has to expand to match every dark creature that stalks the land."

"So what's going to happen?" Ryson interrupted. "Where's all this headed?"

"Headed? It's not headed anywhere. The mission has begun, and with great success. The number of beasts and monsters walking this part of the land has already diminished greatly. The creatures back in their native realm cringe in fear at my device. Eventually they will shrink back from this existence, never to return."

Ryson understood Lief's desire, but only to a degree. There was danger in this plan, that much was clearly evident.

"And what happens when all the dark creatures are destroyed? Where does that thing go next?"

"Dark creatures are like a plague. They never go away completely. They will continue to breed. The realm on the opposite side of that portal will spit them out continuously. It will never stop, and so, there will always be something for the vessel to hunt."

"That's not what I'm worried about. Have you completely forgotten about Ingar's sphere… what we went through? Godson, you were with me at SanctumMountain. You saw what the sphere had become. You've created another one."

"You now sound like the sorceress."

"If she's worried about your creation, then I'm glad I sound like her."

"And you would dismiss the benefit of removing dark creatures from the land so easily?"

"But you're not stopping there. You're destroying all the dark creatures and storing the magic."

"Not all the magic. That was Ingar's mistake, not mine."

And that seemed to be true. According to lore, the sphere focused on all the magic. It threatened to absorb it all and even led to an alliance between loathsome creatures and magic casters of every kind. Lief was speaking as if the magic could be divided, and Ryson lacked the knowledge to argue.

For a moment, the delver did not know what to do. Still, he did not come there alone. The sorceress had brought him. He turned to Heteera.

"Is he right?"

"No, he is not. The device is a threat, and I think he knows it, but will not admit it."

"She is foolish. She lacks the control to understand," the spirit fired back.

Ryson ignored the elf ghost. He focused on Heteera's concern.

"You know this thing is dangerous. That's why you brought us here. What are you really worried about?"

"The sphere will grow in power. It will feed on magic that was bent on evil intention, magic that is tainted by the stain of darkness. It will become a great reservoir of twisted power. I'm not sure what the end result will be, but I'm responsible for it and I can't let it just continue to expand. That's why I said the threat had no form."

"You don't think it can be controlled?"

"Do you? Would Enin?"

And so the sorceress' request became clear. She needed Enin to heed this dilemma and Ryson agreed. The magnitude of this problem was beyond a delver.

Lief eyed Ryson suspiciously.

"What are you thinking, Ryson Acumen?"

"We have to talk to Enin about this."

"I thought the wizard did not engage in such activities. He is passive and will allow others to make decisions of destiny."

"He'll want to hear about this."

"And if you tell him, what then?" Lief demanded, his tone becoming harsher. "Are you going to request that he interfere?"

"He'll know better what to do than me."

"Fire upon you, delver! Then go! Go to your wizard and tell him what you have seen here, but know this, I will not give him a chance to destroy my creation. Tell Enin I will keep the vessel in the dark lands. I will let it feed on the magic there. I understand Enin's power and if he tries to enter that dimension, the dark creatures will sense his great magic. Those that don't hunt him in great numbers out of hunger will flee from their realm. They will enter these lands in a wave beyond your reckoning. If you wish to destroy the vessel, it will not be by Enin's hand, of this I vow. This will be between you and me."

The apparition said no more. The ghostly form flew back down to the portal and disappeared into the dark lands.

Chapter 5

Taking the safest passage, Ryson led Linda and Heteera back to Burbon. The sorceress wished to go directly to Connel, but the delver refused. The return trip did not take them far out of their way, and it allowed for a bit of rest in familiar surroundings before continuing on to Connel.

Ryson did not wish to waste the additional time, but he also needed to add to their party. If Lief's creation was a threat, it was a threat to everyone in the area. Sy Fenden, Burbon's Captain of the Guard, needed to be included in the discussion with Enin.

After hearing a short explanation, Sy agreed to join them. He understood the value of remaining informed. Combating monsters and hideous creatures became more commonplace over the seasons, but what might come of this new menace was beyond his experience.

As for Heteera, she slept little during their brief stop in Burbon. When the time came to leave for Connel, she did not relish the idea of another ride on horseback, but she could not refuse. She took responsibility for what was happening, and she had to see it resolved. The mutated vessel hungering for dark magic was as much her creation as it was Lief's, and she could not absolve herself from any malice that followed.

If she took any solace, it was in the fact that she achieved her initial objective. After what Ryson and Linda saw, they could express the true threat of Lief and his vessel. The wizard would have to listen. Stopping Lief and his twisted device moved far beyond her ability, but she believed Enin held the necessary power to rectify her conceived mistakes.

Heteera could only hope that the presence of Ryson and Linda would be enough when they entered Connel, would allow them access to Enin, access she knew would be denied if she traveled alone. She knew the great magic within her, as well as the taint of her past spells, would serve as a beacon for those attuned to the energy. She never meant to use the magic for twisted designs, but she feared the results of her errors would overshadow her true intentions. The mark of malevolence would brand her as a threat, and the elf who guarded Enin against such threats terrified her beyond measure.

The foursome moved through the farmlands at a quick pace. Ryson led the way on foot, outracing the horses as he scouted out the roads and kept his senses alert. The farmlands were patrolled, but they still held their share of perils. Razor crows remained the biggest concern. Ryson could scatter a small group with ease, but he didn't want to run into a massive flock that might attack in a great wave.

As they finally reached the outskirts of Connel, they marveled at the activity. Construction crews were at work at nearly every visible portion of the city. Even more amazing, they noted people flocking toward the city from the east.

"I knew they were getting an influx of settlers, but I never expected this," Sy stated as the group broke through the outer boundaries of the city. "Looks like hundreds are coming in. I wonder if it's like this every day."

Ryson moved them forward through the crowd. Eventually, they passed the ancient wall constructed by dwarves that once surrounded the entire city. That wall was part of Connel's history. It survived the passing of the magic and remained nearly intact at the mystical energy's return.

It was at the wall that Ryson noticed movement on the rooftops to their right. They had already passed sentries in newly constructed towers that let them pass without question, but the delver could not release his gaze from the shadowed movements above. Someone was stalking them.

Ryson's sight could normally pierce the shadows and identify a target at great distances, but the silent follower remained careful to avoid detection, as if it knew how to avoid a delver's watch. The shadows also appeared unnatural, enhanced by something beyond the taller buildings that blocked the sun. Ryson's concern only grew as the shadowed form continued to follow them as they moved along the city streets.

They passed several crossroads, moved through crowds and around various areas of construction. Many buildings had been destroyed in two previous encounters. The dwarves had attacked Connel when Yave vowed revenge against all those responsible for her son's death. The serp Sazar then led a legion of goblins against the weakened city. Much had been lost, but it seemed as if the survivors and the new settlers were intent on restoring it all.

Maneuvering through the city required them to change direction several times. All the while, Ryson kept a steady watch on the mysterious figure that continued to stalk them from above.

A delver almost never becomes truly lost because a delver can always find a way through almost any obstacle. Delvers, however, are known to be distracted, and while Ryson lost track of their position in the city, the Captain of Burbon's Guard did not.

"Ryson, we're not making any progress," Sy Fenden called out.

"Yeah," Ryson responded with only a fraction of his attention. "A lot more detours than I expected."

"That's not what I mean. We're almost right back where we started from. The wall is only a few blocks behind us. We're no where near the center of the city."

"What?"

"Take a look," Sy requested as he pointed behind him.

For the moment, Ryson ignored the figure on the rooftops and turned back to gauge their position. The ancient wall was much nearer than it should have been.

"That's not right," Ryson admitted. "We shouldn't even be able to see it. Did we make a wrong turn?"

"No, something else is going on. You've been watching our friend up there…"

"You've seen him?"

"Only a few times. Whoever is up there is using more than natural ability to keep from view. Every now and then I've caught a glimpse of something, but I knew you were watching, so I left it to you. I've been keeping track of our movements. We've had to move around some construction, but we haven't moved in a circle. There's no way we should be where we're at. Something else is at work here."

The delver knew he could trust Sy's sense of direction. Ryson looked back once more at the wall, studied the buildings around them, and did his best to retrace their previous path in his mind. Sy was right, they should not have been where they were. Ryson put the pieces together and came up with only one conclusion.

"We're being tricked… misdirected." Ryson stated with a nod. "It's an illusion of some kind. It has to be."

"Not sure what it is," Sy admitted, "but something, or someone, doesn't want us to get to where we're going."

Sy urged his horse forward and moved to a soldier patrolling the street.

"Can you tell me how far it is to the town hall?" Sy requested.

The soldier paused for a moment, looked up at Sy, but said nothing. He tilted his head in a bewildered fashion, and then focused off into the distance, as if he heard an echo of some far off order. He then continued his patrol.

"How about the nearest guard station?" Sy called after him.

This time the guard didn't even stop. He turned a corner and marched out of sight.

Sy looked over at some of the construction workers. They ignored him completely. He then directed his horse back to Ryson.

"This isn't right."

"No, it isn't" Ryson agreed.

After hearing this, the sorceress concentrated deeply. She could not control the magic with any degree of certainty, but it ran strong within her. Her ability to cast pale magic gave her equal power over all facets of the energy. She sensed the presence of a powerful spell and it filled her with alarm.

"It's a trap!" Heteera implored through a whisper. "They know I'm here and they're not going to let me in. We're in danger."

"Danger from what?" Sy demanded.

"The elf. She knows I'm here."

Sy had fought beside Holli Brances, the elf who guarded Enin. He could not accept that Holli was a source of any danger. He looked to Ryson for further explanation.

"She thinks Holli might harm her," Ryson added.

"We have to get out of here," Heteera pleaded.

"And go where? We have to see Enin."

"She won't let us. I'm telling you this is a trap!"

Ryson could not deny the fear in Heteera's voice. He recalled the phantom form that had been following them and he directed his attention back to the rooftops. The figure had vanished and his own internal alarm rang out with danger.

In a blur of motion, Ryson pulled out a small dagger that was laced to his hip. He did not wish to unsheathe the Sword of Decree as the light of the blade might attract further attention. Normally, he would have bolted up to the rooftops, uncovered the follower, and removed any threat in the blink of an eye, but his first thought fell upon his wife.

"Sy! Get them to cover. I think it's just one on the rooftops, but I can't be sure."

To his credit, Sy didn't hesitate to follow the command of the delver, but he did stop at the sound of a familiar voice.

"Hold your position!" the voice called out.

A very nimble form leapt down from the building in a manner that was almost as graceful as a delver. The shadows that still appeared to cling to her body slowly diminished in the sunlight and they all recognized the elf guard Holli Brances. Her greeting, however, was not so pleasant.

"Stand aside, Ryson."

"Holli, what are you doing?"

The elf fixed her stare upon the sorceress. Holli remained alert, prepared to strike if the woman tried to cast any magic.

"Attempt no spell, sorceress. You are surrounded."

As if to confirm her words, their surroundings transformed. Stores and carts faded out of sight, Buildings in the distance blurred in and out of focus and then shifted in position, as if suddenly moved by an unseen hand. Construction workers, merchants, and ordinary citizens who seemed to previously line the street simply disappeared. In their place, fifty soldiers armed with spears and crossbows surrounded the stunned party.

Sy immediately considered their position. They had no cover whatsoever as they stood exposed at the center of a wide crossroad. The soldiers blocked all paths of escape. Only the delver with his blinding speed might be able to break for freedom, but Sy knew Ryson would not leave his wife. The sorceress was right. They were trapped.

Holli moved forward cautiously, her eyes still fixed on Heteera. The elf guard held a bow steady in her hands, but she had not drawn an arrow… yet.

Ryson remained between the sorceress and the elf.

"Holli, she's with us. We have to see Enin."

The elf guard found no reassurance in these words.

"I can not let you through. The sorceress is very powerful and she is tainted with evil." Holli paused and almost appeared to sniff the wind. She looked deeper into Heteera, as if probing the sorceress' spirit. The elf's eyes narrowed on Heteera with contempt as Holli could not ignore the faint traces of a spell, a spell that she considered profane. "And she has committed evil. She has defiled a legend and she has opened a gate."

"That's what we're here to talk about," Ryson declared.

The elf would not release her icy stare from Heteera, but she questioned the veracity of Ryson's claim.

"Do you really know why you're here? Do you have any idea of just how powerful and dangerous she is? You think I can let someone like this just walk up to Enin? What spell does she have you under? I do not blame you, Ryson Acumen. Even with all my training, she's powerful enough to take control of my thoughts if I gave her the slightest opportunity."

It was Heteera who spoke up.

"I have them under no spell. Ask the woman, she comes here of her own will. She knows of the danger. You know she can't be touched by the magic. How could I take control of her?"

Holli remained reluctant to alter her focus or her determination, but she could not deny Linda's gift. No spell could harm Ryson's wife directly and no wizard or witch, no matter how powerful, could ever hope to take control of her mind.

The elf guard called first to the soldiers of Connel.

"Keep your aim on her. If she raises her hands, kill her."

Ryson was appalled by the order.

"Holli! You can't!"

"Do not worry about me," Heteera replied. "I won't try anything, but do you see now why I needed your help?"

Holli ignored them and moved carefully to Linda's side. She grabbed the bridle of Linda's horse. She guided them about so she could see directly into Linda's eyes.

"Tell me why you are here," Holli asked. There was true compassion in her voice, but there was also authority. She wanted a clear answer, without doubt or hesitation.

"We're all here to see Enin," Linda answered. "There's something out near the desert. It's Lief. He's back… not alive… but like a ghost." She stopped, as if she realized how absurd her story actually sounded and now she worried if the elf might disregard her completely.

Holli, however, urged her on. "I know. I can sense that upon her. She has cast a spell to summon the spirit of Lief Woodson. She could not hide that from me. Go on."

"There's a portal… an opening to the place where the dark creatures come from. Like the one Enin opened."

"I could sense that as well," Holli nodded, becoming more confident that she was learning the truth. "What else?"

"Lief made something… something horrible. It's killing dark creatures and storing magic like Ingar's sphere."

At this, Holli's expression drew cold.

"What you are saying is very serious. I need you to be sure. I know you're immune to the magic, but your eyes can still be deceived. Illusion can work against you. You learned that when battling Baannat. Do you remember?"

Linda did not wish to remember, but she knew she would never forget.

"Yes," she whispered.

"I want you to search deep within you," the elf insisted. "Do you think you are being influenced by an illusion? Do you think your husband is acting in any way that you would consider unnatural?"

"No," Linda responded quickly, "to both questions. We have to talk to Enin about this."

"Very well," Holli nodded. "You will see him immediately."

Chapter 6

"What did you intend to happen?" Enin asked. His tone was not harsh, but he clearly appeared agitated by the news that was brought to him by his friends and the sorceress he questioned.

Heteera did not feel threatened by the wizard, or by the dogs that stood obediently at his side. She didn't feel awestruck by his presence, but she could not deny an overwhelming sense of insecurity. The magical energies ran strong within her-far stronger than any ordinary spell caster-but compared to Enin, the range of her ability was significantly inferior. Standing in front of him, she understood why even novice magic casters could sense his presence from almost anywhere in the land. The energy that coursed through the wizard-that he could control with great skill-roared like an ocean, and despite her own considerable connection to the magic, she was but a meager stream.

She collected herself quickly. Despite her previous failings, she had managed a small victory. She finally had the attention of the wizard, an opportunity she could not waste. It was not her goal to try and impress this man, but she hoped to make her desires clear, make it so that he would believe she meant no harm to anyone. He was the key to her redemption.

"The magic is such a gift," she explained, "but most people don't see it. I don't blame them. Look at what's happened-here and across the land. People fear the magic, but that's because all they see are monsters and beasts roaming the land. They don't look at what the magic can do."

"I understand, but that doesn't come to the point."

Ryson almost laughed. He stood beside his wife, as Sy and Holli looked on. Enin was infamous for drifting from the point of any conversation, but the delver stifled a chuckle and allowed the discussion to continue without interruption.

Heteera did not find anything amusing. She knew with certainty that she would be unable to live with the thought of her mistake spiraling out of control. She did not wish to be known as the inept sorceress with great power and no ability. She cringed at being considered a fluke of nature, or worse, a dangerous fool with her finger on the land's destruction. To be labeled as such would crush her spirit, but it would have been much worse if those who might suffer from her actions chose to question her purpose. Despite her failings, she wanted her intentions to remain above reproach.

"If we could remove the creatures that crossover, then people would see the true benefits."

"So you hoped to remove the magic that they use to exist in this realm? Commendable but foolish. Magic in itself is pure in form. Only when it is altered to the whim of those that seek to utilize it does it take on a particular intention or quality."

"Actually, no, that's not what I hoped to do. I just wanted to close the rifts. If the dimensional portals could not exist, then nothing could cross."

Enin shook his head. He understood the desire, but he could not comprehend the action.

"So in hopes of closing doorways to the dark realm, you opened another?"

"I did that just for temporary access to the dimension. If successful, that one would have closed with all the others and no new ones could have been opened."

"So you took this monumental action upon yourself? Alone?" Enin could not disguise his surprise. "You have great power, and potential, but you're not alone. And you clearly lack the necessary control. Even you would have to admit to this. Why didn't you try to talk to other magic casters before you tried this."

"Who could I have talked to? Other humans? The most capable spell casters go out into the desert to experiment. They couldn't care less what others think. Why would they help me? They wouldn't want to be bothered. Could I speak to the elves? They have a unique understanding of the magic. They would not see it from a human point of view."

"You could have come to me," Enin offered.

"I didn't think you would see me."

"You could have at least tried."

The sorceress hung her head in her next admission.

"I was impatient."

"Not only impatient, but imprudent as well." Enin said as he reflexively dropped a hand down to pat one of the dogs on the head. "You can't save the world on your own. That is a task left for a power far greater than magic. This hope of yours is beyond any of us and you proposed to do it alone. I do not understand."

Exactly the words Heteera did not want to hear. She did not want her motives placed under question, even indirectly.

"I didn't think it would hurt to try."

"So you would try this, but you would not attempt to meet with me first?"

Heteera trembled slightly in despondency. She could not reply. The very thing she feared the most was now being tossed over her shoulders, a weight of responsibility pulling at her soul.

Enin sighed as he lowered his other hand to find the head of another happy canine appreciative of his attention.

"Don't you think I would have already sealed off the dark realm if such a thing were possible?" Enin pressed. "Do you really think I would have let creatures like river rogues and goblins enter our world freely if their world could be sealed off completely? I'm amazed you would think so little of me."

As if this consideration struck her for further fault, Heteera's eyes went wide and her small trembles turned to shudders of dismay. She felt the steep guilt of her mistakes stabbing at her. She did not wish to add to it, and though it meant casting some of it back at Enin, she tried to defend her actions.

"But you've resisted to act in the past. You believe in allowing all creatures to find their destinies."

Enin frowned, not upon the sorceress, but at the recollection of his own inaction in the past. In certain circumstances, he removed himself from the conflict, kept his power in check and allowed others to determine many outcomes. That was true. He could not deny it. That, however, occurred before he faced his own fate and the part he could play in helping Uton and its inhabitants. The sorceress was in essence accusing him of something he could no longer accept.

"And everyone still must find their destiny, but do not blame me for inaction now. There was a time that might have been true, but that time is past. I have accepted my role and my responsibilities. Why do you think I'm here? I'm helping to restore this city from the damage caused by goblins, bloat spiders, and shags. I no longer sit idly by. I have worked with both dwarves and humans here. They have set up trade between Dunop and Connel, using the tunnels below this city for access. They trust each other now, more than ever. Both cities are rebuilding, growing, thriving. I believe I have helped that trust prosper. Is that the sign of someone who would refuse to help?"

Again, Heteera could not respond.

"And do you think it's my destiny to simply allow creatures of nightmare to run free in this land if I had the power to stop it?" Enin asked. "The magic returned and made me what I am. It has made you what you are. That does not mean I am still willing to let evil go unchecked."

"You're saying you would have helped me?" Heteera finally replied.

"I'm saying I would have advised you of the truth. You could not have hoped to succeed. Dark creatures lost the ability to enter this land only when the magic was completely controlled by the Sphere of Ingar. But the sphere is no more. And even if you attempted to replicate the sphere, it would never work again. The magic will now always be free, and with that, portals will open whether we want them to or not. We must accept that."

"Then he was right," Heteera gasped.

"Who?" Enin asked. "Who was right?"

"Lief Woodson."

The wizard could not contain his confusion. His expression clearly revealed his bewilderment.

"Lief?"

"She brought forth the spirit of our comrade, Lief Woodson." Holli explained.

The wizard's confusion rocketed into unadulterated shock. The return of a spirit was no small matter, especially to Enin. He could sense the connections between the planes of existence, understood them beyond what could be contemplated by a mortal who had not yet passed through the veil of death and into a new state of existence.

His shock was clearly evident and this in turn surprised the elf guard.

"Can you not sense it?" the elf guard asked.

"No, there is too much magic within her," Enin offered, and he explored an explanation as if to satisfy his own concerns, "but she has no control. To me, she is like a wildfire burning everywhere at once. If I were to begin probing her for past spells, I wouldn't know where to start. You are able to sense this particular spell?"

"Her intention to summon Lief was as clear to me as your confusion is now."

"That seems odd. I can't imagine why it's so clear to you and not me. Perhaps it is your elf heritage. Perhaps also the bond you shared with Lief in entering Sanctum." He then turned to the sorceress.

"Why did you summon the spirit of Lief Woodson?"

Here, Heteera would not hide from the truth. "Because I believed he would understand. He wanted to stop the dark creatures. More than anyone else I knew. He was also an elf and he now walks the spirit world. I believed he had the greatest potential to assist me, to help me control the magic."

She spoke with such authority, that the underlying meaning almost escaped them all. It was Ryson, however, who finally spoke up as he found inconsistencies in Heteera's story.

"Wait a minute! How would you know that? Did you know Lief? He never spoke of you."

Heteera hesitated. She knew this moment would come. She had hoped to prepare for it, but her admission remained painful.

"I did not know him, but I watched him in his travels. I watched all of you. I needed to see how you handled all those challenges. I saw what happened on SanctumMountain… how you defeated Ingar. I didn't stop there. I watched the battle against the dwarves in Burbon, and then the battle here against the goblins. I saw how Lief, and Holli, were expelled from their camp. I saw how she came here to guard Enin and how Lief began to hunt all the evil creatures. That's why I thought he would be the best to help."

And so it was out. Heteera admitted she had spied upon them all. An uneasiness fell upon them. They looked at her with uncertainty, and most were at a loss for words, as if they confronted a close friend who refused to acknowledge an open debt.

Enin shook his head. He moved past the discomfort and upon the credibility, in which he found lacking. "I do not sense deceit in you, but your words don't ring true. If you had actually seen these things for yourself, that would indicate that you had been following us-all of us, including me. That's not possible. I would have sensed you."

"No, I didn't follow you during the actual occurrence. I called on the shadows of what have been, on the whispers of the past. I was able to witness everything that happened by recalling the images and sounds of time gone by but not lost. They still reverberate and can be retrieved. I even saw when you battled Baannat."

At this, the wizard showed dismay and clearly rebuked the sorceress.

"You called on the echoes of time to show you what happened? Someone of your power? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

Heteera clearly didn't.

"But I only called on the memory of the events. I couldn't change them."

"No, you can't alter the past, but your power could have recalled a spell caught between dimensions. Baannat and I cast many spells in that battle-dangerous and powerful spells. What if you released one of those spells here? You could have destroyed an entire city."

"You mean the spell could have been recast?"

"Not recast, but reenergized. Baannat created a dimension based on pure magical energy. That dimension disintegrated when he was destroyed, but some of the magic was trapped in that space. When you call upon the echoes of time, you do more than look upon the past, you risk spell reflection into this time."

Heteera was not ready to accept even more blame for her deeds.

"But no spell came out of the echoes! I'm sure of that."

"Then you were lucky."

Sy listened intently, but found the conversation had lost its purpose. They were all concerned over the past, while he remained troubled of what was to come.

"Maybe we were all lucky, maybe not," the captain pointed out. "What I'm worried about is what happens now? What kind of trouble are we really in here?"

Enin understood the captain's point. Yes, there were important facets of Heteera's tale, but they all led to the current predicament. The wizard believed that the summoning of Lief Woodson was not the true threat, but rather the talisman that stalked the dark realm. He refocused his attention on that point.

"Heteera, please answer me plainly. I understand why you summoned Lief, but tell me about this creation similar to Ingar's sphere. Why did you create this vessel if it was only your intention to block off the dark realm?"

"It wasn't my idea. It was Lief's. He told me it would be difficult to close off the dimension unless we starved the dark creatures from what they truly needed. We had to pull the magic from the creatures, just as Ingar's sphere had done. I didn't believe that was the answer, but he assured me it would work. He told me we just needed to use skins of the monsters as opposed to the skins of the different races. He found discarded corpses of goblins that had been attacked by a shag and we started there. He told me to cast a spell that would absorb magic and then to focus it on him. I did so, and he pulled the magic from me and redirected it at the goblin corpses. The partial remains of the goblins fused together into a distorted mass and became animated."

"And you're not sure what Lief did to the spell?"

"No, I just know he pulled a great deal more magic from me than I expected, but I thought it was necessary."

"What happened next?"

"He told me that the animated vessel could hunt down goblins, remove their magic, but we needed to do more. We needed access to every dark creature that might crossover. He insisted I open a portal. I did so, but I could not control the spell. The rift fluctuates in and out of existence. Lief didn't care, he said it was enough to allow him to get in and out. He guided the creation through the portal. I have witnessed it hunt creatures on both sides of the rift."

"And the vessel has grown?"

"It's made up of more hides than I can distinguish," Heteera admitted.

Enin turned to the delver.

"Ryson, I need you to tell me everything you heard and saw when you met with Lief."

The delver did so, and with sufficient detail that satisfied the wizard. The situation left the wizard concerned, but not desperate. In short time, he actually made their path clear.

"The vessel must be destroyed."

Most were surprised at Enin's decisiveness. Sy, in fact, even wondered if that was the best alternative. He considered the situation from Burbon's viewpoint, from a town that stood at the border of DarkSpruceForest-a forest with more monsters than a child's worst nightmare.

"Are you sure about this, Enin? I have to tell you, getting rid of some of these creatures isn't necessarily all that bad. If Lief is going to keep that thing on his side of the fence, so to speak, it's going to limit the number of monsters that come over, right?"

"Yes, it will." Enin admitted.

"And do we really want to stop that?"

Enin held to no doubt. "The vessel will grow in power. It is a mutation of monsters, a twisted creation of dark creatures that is absorbing magic. What happens when it grows to a point that Lief can no longer control it? What happens if it decides to return to Uton and march toward Burbon. Do you want that?"

"Not at all, but what are the chances of that happening?"

Enin paused to consider the question. He furrowed his brow and then waved his hand about in the air as if making an imaginary calculation. When he spoke, he talked toward the sky, as if arguing with a cloud.

"Assuming the dimensional portal will allow constant access to this realm, the vessel will eventually sense the greater level of magic in this land. Hunting grounds, however, will be substantially broader in its current realm. At some point the greater level of magic will exceed the advantage of excess prey. It will definitely happen… in three seasons."

"Can we wait?" Sy asked. "Three seasons of less monsters would be a welcome break."

"The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to destroy it."

The meaning behind this statement was not lost on the guard captain.

"You mean you're not going to destroy it?"

Enin realized the implication and quickly explained. If the vessel were within his reach, he would have disposed of it in due haste, but such was no longer the case.

"Lief took that option away," Enin stated. "Do you not remember what the spirit warned Ryson? Lief has sought refuge for himself and his creation in the land of nightmare. You do not want me venturing into that dark realm. The moment I entered, thousands of beasts would sense my presence. It is true some would try to attack me-a senseless act that would not succeed-but others would view me as a threat. Without doubt, many would flee into this land. The results would be… catastrophic."

"So who goes?"

"You even have to ask? The delver, of course. It was with his sword and by his hand that the original sphere was destroyed. He is the one who defeated Ingar. It is his sword that can destroy this new incarnation. I have no doubt of that. An arrow might puncture it, a different sword might cut it, but the Sword of Decree will destroy it."

"You're going to send him into a realm filled with dark creatures?" Sy asked in disbelief, as if it was a death sentence.

"I would only send him if he agreed to go, and by the look of him, I don't think that's a problem. His chances of success are very high. I would not send him in there if I thought he would be in true danger. Have confidence in him. He may not wish to admit it, but he is very powerful."

Enin then looked to Holli. While he had great respect for what the delver could accomplish, he also understood Ryson's limitations.

"But he should also not go alone. He does not cast magic, and he will need that assistance. You need to go with him."

"If that is what you wish," Holli agreed.

"It is. You'll also have to close that rift. You have the power."

"I can take care of that," Heteera suggested. "This is all my fault."

"And you would make things much worse," Enin replied flatly. "You have no control. You will stay with me until this situation is resolved. Do not even bother to argue. It is not up for debate."

It was Ryson's turn to speak, but he turned to his wife.

"What about you? You're not going to argue?"

"Why should I argue?" Linda asked. "It isn't going to do any good. Besides, I'm going with you."

Ryson was about to protest, but he never got the opportunity.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Enin insisted.

Linda shook her head, completely disregarding the wizard in a way that no other creature of Uton might ever consider. Enin was perhaps the most powerful man she knew, more powerful than most could even imagine, but she was immune to magic.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me."

Enin remained resolute. "I applaud your bravery, but no one here is going to let you go when they realize that you will die."

The words fell upon Linda with immeasurable weight when she saw the look in the wizard's eyes. She swallowed hard, remained resolute, and pointed out her own understanding.

"You can say I'm going to die, but you're sure Ryson will be fine? Am I supposed to believe that?"

"I'm fairly certain in Ryson's success. The realm he will enter is the true home of the nightmare beasts, but he goes to destroy a device that hunts them. The creatures will understand his purpose. They will be more than happy to let him pass, but you… you they will kill the moment they spot you. Of that, I am certain. They will sense what you are, sense the lack of magic within you. You are an aberration. They will view you as something to be destroyed, and they will not hesitate to do so. The magic can not touch you, but claws can still tear you apart."

As Enin's tone had not changed, this time Linda could not reply. The wizard offered consolation to a woman he respected far above most others.

"You saved me, perhaps the entire land, when you allowed me to use you as a shield in my battle with Baannat. It is now my turn to save you. Allow me to do what you did for me."

Linda looked about her and faced the expressions of all those who cared for her. Even though she might have been the only individual who could withstand the power of Enin, she could not disregard his request.

"What can I say? I'll stay out."

"And that's wise, but I'm going in," Sy offered, "and I don't want to hear an argument. I can't move like Ryson or Holli, and I can't cast spells, but you're going to need another pair of eyes. I'm trained for this and all of you know it. I'm a soldier and I understand a soldier's sacrifice."

"I don't want anyone to sacrifice anything," Ryson protested.

"And neither do I, and that's just what I mean."

"You will get no argument from me," Holli offered, as she, too, understood what Sy meant. "Another soldier is a welcome addition."

"Then I guess it's settled," Ryson said, "but if you all don't mind, I'd like a moment alone with Enin."

Enin nodded and then guided the delver to a private room.

"What do you wish to know?"

Ryson came right to the point.

"You once said you can see the destiny in people. Are you seeing that again in me? Is that why you're sending me?"

Enin almost laughed, but he could not hold to any true amusement. The wizard once saw Ryson's destiny very clearly, but that destiny was met, and Enin had to make a confession of his own.

"I have removed myself from that power," Enin admitted. "I decided it was best."

"You mean you just turned it off?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

A revelation that definitely surprised the delver. Ryson had come to view Enin as almost omniscient. That was apparently no longer the case and such an admission held other implications.

"So you can't see the destiny in Heteera, either? You can't tell if this was all supposed to happen?"

"Can't be sure of any of that. I no longer want to be sure. As I said, I have cast aside that ability and I have no intention of reclaiming it."

Curiosity quickly gripped the delver. He could not imagine why someone would willingly turn off an ability that would offer information that could not be easily obtained elsewhere. A delver sought answers from all sources and closing one off felt like a sin.

"Can I ask why?"

Enin sighed. "Despite my power, I'm no god. I'm just a man."

"But as you said, you have great power. Shouldn't you use that power?"

"To what end? Should I actually try to intervene in matters that I see as fate? No, that would be unwise. Or perhaps I should start making decisions based solely on these destinies? A very bad idea."

"I'm not sure I would agree," the delver confessed.

"Only because you have not thought it out, experienced the true consequences. Let me illustrate my point. My efforts here in Connel are sometimes delicate. I have dwarves calling at me from one direction, humans calling at me from another. I have to sort out many things. I have had to guide them the best way I know how. When I started to see individual destinies in the people who trusted me, I could not ignore what I saw. I was beginning to judge humans and dwarves alike on their destinies, which they could not control, as opposed to their character, which they could. Is that wise?"

"No."

"Beyond that, if I was going to accept anyone's trust, I couldn't allow myself to peek into their future, especially without their consent."

"I see," but the delver still wasn't sure he agreed. He then considered how Enin's self-induced limitation related to their current dilemma. "So you really don't have any idea of what's going to happen? We could go into the dark realm and not come out?"

Enin realized what he was admitting. With all of his power, he truly could not be sure if Ryson would succeed, if he would even survive. He tempered that truth with his own belief in the delver's ability.

"With absolute certainty? No. In that, I am like any other man, but I do have an understanding of this world and the realm you are about to enter. I have confidence in you. I believe you will be fine."

"Care to expand upon that just a bit? I mean, I've had glimpses into that world. I'm not looking forward to going in there." Ryson prodded.

"I can appreciate that. I have told you once before that you are magic. Do you remember that?"

"I remember. Didn't quite understand it then, and I'm not sure how it helps now."

"It helps because you should realize that magic is a part of you. You don't store it like I do, you don't have to collect it. As a delver, you were born with it as a part of your essence. You bring the magic with you wherever you go. It allows you to be a delver, and as a delver, you are a very powerful individual. That is why I believe you will be fine."

"What about Holli and Sy?"

"You will protect them as they protect you. I'm not sending any of you to some certain death."

"And that's it?"

"I'm afraid so. If you wanted something more, I can't help you."

"Then I guess we should be on our way."

Chapter 7

Taking the most direct route, Ryson led Sy, Holli and a small group of soldiers out of Connel and toward the badlands that served as the perimeter for the LacobianDesert. It meant cutting through the denser sections of Dark Spruce, but he found paths that avoided any danger or delay. He brought them out of the forest and to the spot where the portal fluctuated in and out of existence. When they first arrived, there was no sign of the rift, and so, they prepared quickly for its return.

Only Ryson, Sy, and Holli would enter the dark realm. The soldiers would wait outside the portal, watch over the horses, and guard the area. The delver revealed that there were no current threats in the immediate vicinity, but keeping the grounds surrounding the rift clear remained a priority.

Sy distributed the supplies that the three would carry into the dark realm and then checked his weapons. He knew he would be the most vulnerable and so he couldn't allow for any mishaps. He steadied himself for the mission and then requested any information that might be useful.

"Anything we should know before we go in?" the captain asked of Holli.

"Focus on our goal," Holli responded, "and try to differentiate between true threats and the hostile environment. That will be no easy task. The lands we will enter are beyond foreign, they are intimidating and oppressive. Death is everywhere, but we can not allow that to keep us from our mission."

"Okay, no sightseeing, no problem here."

Holli smiled at the attempt to lessen the tension. She checked the supplies she had been given and continued with her assessment.

"Beyond that, I think we are ready. We have sufficient supplies of food and water. I do not believe we will need this amount, but better to be prepared. Based on Ryson's description, the vessel is not something that can move at great speed. You are the slowest among us… no offense intended."

"None taken.Can't argue with facts."

"But you are not a liability by any stretch of the imagination. I believe you be will be more than able to keep the pace necessary to catch our quarry. Based on what we know, Lief intends to protect the magical vessel. He can't lift it himself, but the vessel itself is capable of movement. It is reasonable to assume Lief managed to coax it away from the gateway, but I would not expect they will be far."

"Maybe he can use the magic to move it faster?" Ryson offered.

"If so, I will be able to follow the trail. Enin has taught me how to move through space in the most efficient manner, even through space in the outer dimensions. I can easily offset any advantage Lief might have gained by utilizing magic stored in the vessel, but I doubt that will be the case. If I were Lief, I would keep the profile of the magical signature as low as possible. I do not think he wants attention now."

"Still, he's got a head start on us. Will we be able to track them?" Sy wondered.

"I do not expect problems in that regard, either. Lief is a spirit and will leave no trail, but his creation has distinct physical characteristics. It has multiple limbs and should leave a clear trail. It is also something that dark creatures will naturally avoid, and we can use that to help locate it. I honestly don't think finding it will be difficult."

As if to punctuate Holli's confidence, the rift slowly reappeared. The air rushed by in unnatural gusts, brushing back and forth across them all in varied temperatures. The view of the landscape behind the reemerging portal lightened. A transparent haze formed before them that blurred what they could see in the distance, but then the horizon faded completely out of view as if a cloud suddenly appeared. A swirling mist marked the boundaries of the portal. Initially, it blocked sight into the dark realm, but only for a moment. The mist dissolved leaving a clear view through the break. The portal took hold between dimensions, hovered in the air slightly above the ground and created a bridge between existences.

Each member of the party looked deep inside the rift, prepared to battle anything that might wish to gain entry into their land, but the gateway remained empty. They could see a clear path into the bizarre and twisted world that waited on the other side.

The soldiers, though they would have entered had it been their duty, could not deny a sense of relief that it was not their burden to walk the realm beyond the portal. They did not lack the courage to endure the hardship or the desire to meet a challenge, but they faced life with brutal honesty and deeply held convictions. Entering a land of nightmare is not something any of them would truthfully acknowledge as a welcome adventure.

Ryson had already looked into the tainted realm. The strange lands beyond did not beckon him, did not excite his delver instincts and entice him to explore. If anything, the gateway forged the opposite effect. It repulsed him and burned a deep yearning in his soul to race away with all possible speed. He buried his dread to the best of his ability and stepped up to the portal.

Holli and Sy moved up alongside the delver and braced themselves. In unison, the three comrades who had faced many trials, fought dangerous enemies, and defeated powerful foes, stepped into the opening with monumental determination. For all three, it felt as if they willfully entered an open grave. It was one of the hardest things any of them ever had to do.

Once through the rift, they stood upon rocky ground somewhat similar to the badlands of the world they left behind, but that was where the similarities ended. Although they breached a thin wall of haze with but a single insignificant step, they now walked a plane of existence beyond their complete understanding. This was a land of shadow and terror, a godless underworld, and the dark realm encased their senses.

The delver was struck the hardest and the sickening smell almost drove Ryson to the ground. He fought off the stench only to be assaulted by horrifying screams in the distance. The shrieks rolled in like waves from an ocean, continuous and unyielding, roaring with both ferocity and turmoil. Simply put, there was no peace in this existence. There was only mayhem-constant, terrifying, soul-crushing chaos.

Sy and Holli moved quickly and spread themselves apart so as not to be clustered together. Using Ryson as the third point, they formed a small triangle and gazed across the bleak lands.

Ryson finally gained greater control of his senses and washed the initial sickness from his being. He allowed himself the opportunity to look back into the rift, to gaze back upon a much more welcoming place. Even the harsh landscape of the badlands appeared like heaven from the perspective of this twisted dimension. He wished with all his heart he could turn back, run and find Linda, but he restrained the desire to race back to safety and turned his focus back upon the ground they traveled.

Beyond a sickening warm moisture, he felt nothing upon his skin-not chilled air or a dry, hot wind. Still, something stirred at his core. He felt a cold emptiness, but it chewed at the pit of his stomach, not at his exposed face or hands. He thought he might break into an uncontrollable shiver, but his nerves held and he finally steadied himself.

The sky was dark, but not black as night. It was a dirty gray with no stars. There was enough light to see, but it came not from the heavens, Instead, the land around him glowed from pits of smoldering fire that appeared like trapped lava bubbling up to the surface from an angry core. At times, it appeared as if half-dead trees simply combusted into flames and flashes of bright light burst in the distance.

Yes, there was light, but he found nothing of comfort in this place, and reflexively he pulled the Sword of Decree from its sheath on his back. He hoped the blade might offer some reassuring radiance, but the blade remained dark-not from some magic spell, such as the illusion cast by the swallit, but from the simple truth of the weapon's very nature. The enchantment of his sword reflected the natural light of stars in the sky. It would not augment the diseased illumination of this realm. The delver understood that as he gripped the handle.

In his hand, the sword offered a new enlightenment, as well as growing confusion. The delver suddenly felt as if he was being torn in two. Conflicting messages, powerful and uncontrollable, burst forth in his mind. He saw the danger, but he also understood the mission. There was no doubt in either, but he could not understand how he could avoid one and complete the other. His body convulsed at the divergence and he almost dropped the blade. It took all his willpower to retain a grip on the weapon and remain on his feet.

Both Sy and Holli immediately noticed his anguish.

"Ryson, what's wrong?" Sy asked.

The delver could not speak.

Holli made the connection between the enchanted weapon and the delver's dismay. She did not dare touch the sword with her hand, but she used her bow to guide the blade to the ground. The hilt remained in the delver's hand, but the point of the blade rested upon the dark rock.

Ryson could find no reassurance in making contact with the alien ground, but he felt the divisive pull of the sword diminish, as if the demands placed upon him were now shifted to the ground itself. Eventually, he found the will to speak.

"We shouldn't be here,"

"Tell me something I don't know," Sy stated in another failed effort to break the tension.

"No, I mean the sword made it clear that we shouldn't be in this land," Ryson responded. The conflicting images from the weapon slowly began to retreat, but he held the underlying meanings in his mind.

"Are you saying we need to go back now?" Holli demanded. As an elf, she would not dismiss a message from a sword enchanted by her race. Although it never offered such wisdom until it came into the possession of the delver, the Sword of Decree was forged by the elves during the time of legends. It had become something quite more in the hands of Ryson Acumen, but every living elf understood its power.

"I don't know," Ryson stated honestly.

"The sword should have made it clear," Holli stated as she looked toward Ryson expecting some kind of explanation.

"It did make it clear. We shouldn't be here."

The elf needed no further direction.

"Then we will return to Uton at once."

"We can't," Ryson insisted. "The vessel… we have to destroy that thing. We can't let it grow more powerful."

Holli shook off that concern.

"That's what Enin said, but he did not know of this information. The sword can not be ignored."

"The sword made that clear, too." Ryson explained. "It showed me both… at the same time. We shouldn't be here, but we have to destroy what Heteera's spell created."

"You are certain?" Holli demanded.

"I saw both," the delver replied, "it was clear, but it was strange. It was as if the sword knew that both couldn't be done, like it was fighting itself."

Sy took a quick look around. He saw no threats in the immediate vicinity. It was almost as if this portal had been abandoned by everyone and everything on the dark side. It was hard to find any sense of security in this place of torment, but he believed they were in no immediate danger. He then offered his own assessment.

"What if we split up-maybe not all of us are supposed to be here? Maybe it's you who has to go back. If you give Holli the sword…"

"No," Ryson answered sternly. "It's not just me, or Holli, or you. None of us should be here. It was so clear I would have pulled us all back through the portal without even telling you."

"But you didn't," Sy followed Ryson's point. "So we also really have to destroy that thing."

"Yes, and we can't wait."

"Two divergent paths." Holli added.

"We can't take them both, but it sounds like we're supposed to. That's a problem." Sy acknowledged. He then turned back to Holli. "Any suggestions?"

"Pick the more pressing of the two," the elf stated.

They both then looked to Ryson.

"They both hit me the same. One was as important as the other. It's like we have to do both."

"I don't think we can," Sy admitted.

"As I said, two divergent paths. We must walk both, but they split before us." Holli then gauged the grounds and considered their plight. "Perhaps this is exactly what Lief intended. Maybe somehow as a spirit he is in touch with a greater perception. He created a dilemma that could not be solved."

Ryson could not accept Lief would be so malicious.

"But why would he do that?"

"I cannot answer that."

Sy decided they were getting nowhere and took command. "Look, we have to do something. The sword wants us to leave and wants us to complete our mission. We can't do both, but failing on both accounts would be the worst decision. Standing here isn't accomplishing anything."

"What do you recommend?" Holli asked, wanting the assessment of a solider she would trust with her life.

"This is how I see it: we find that thing as quickly as possible, destroy it any way we can, and then we get out of here. That's as close to completing both as we can come. Any argument?"

"The strategy appears sound to me," Holli replied quickly.

Ryson was not so quick to agree.

"You have to know this. It's not about getting out of here as quickly as possible. We shouldn't be here now… at this moment. It's a mistake for us to be here at all. That's what I know… for certain."

"I understand that, but you also told us we have to finish what we came here to do."

"I know, and we do. We have to find the vessel and destroy it… immediately."

"Then we can really only pick one or the other." Sy concluded. "I say we destroy that thing and then get out of here."

"It may be a mistake to stay here," Ryson warned.

Sy saw the conflict in the delver. It was not fear of this strange land that pressed Ryson to leave. It was, in fact, something he learned from the sword. Still, a decision had to be made.

"I don't want to force you, Ry," the guard captain admitted, "but unless you have an alternative plan, it's the best we've got."

"I know, but you don't know what I saw. I don't think we can win no matter what we do."

"Well, I'm not for just giving up. Are you?"

Ryson shook his head.

"Well, let's see if we can find some trace of Lief."

The three turned their attention to that end, but somehow Ryson understood that something else was in play. The sword had not lied to him. They had to do everything it decreed, but there was no way to achieve both ends. A despair gripped him and it was more than misery surging from the surrounding lands of death. He felt a crushing doom begin to suffocate his spirit.

Chapter 8

Sy looked upon the strange ground. He found markings in the chalky dust, a clear trail of uneven steps by a multi-limbed creature.

"Over here," he called out, as he pointed to the dirt beneath his feet. "I think this is it. Looks like prints made by a very large and drunken spider."

Ryson brought the image of Lief's creation to mind. He recalled how it appeared and how it moved. Sy's description of a large, inebriated arachnid was accurate. He looked over the trail that Sy had discovered and with his eyes followed the path over the treacherous, broken ground.

"That's it. Strange, though."

"What's strange?" Sy asked.

"I would have thought Lief would have covered up the trail."

"Maybe he didn't think there was a need. He might have guessed no one would have been foolish enough to come in here. To tell you the truth, I'm surprised we're standing here now."

Ryson shook his head. He remembered Lief's last words before the elf stepped back through the portal. By bringing the vessel back to the dark realm, Lief plainly intended on keeping Enin at bay, but the elf spirit had to know Ryson would be back. Lief made that clear when he said it would be a struggle between the two of them.

"I think he knew I was coming back," Ryson announced. "He almost said as much."

This caught Sy's attention, and he found it more than a bit disturbing. It sounded almost as if they had been invited. And if Lief did expect to be followed, why would he leave a trail so easy to follow? Sy examined the peculiar tracks once more. He kicked at the dust around the markings and found it would have been fairly easy to cover the tracks, at least in that area.

"I don't like it," he admitted.

"Perhaps we are just fortunate," Holli offered. "Remember, Lief is a spirit, no longer a physical being. He might have lacked the ability to kick dust over tracks. And the device itself sounded as if it lacked the coordination to hide its own trail."

"One problem with that," Sy stated. "If he was going to leave such a clear trail to follow, then why take off in the first place? If he knew Ryson was going to follow him, then leaving wouldn't have done any good. You can't hide if you leave a path like this.

It's like hiding in an open field next to a bon fire."

"Maybe he just wanted to get away from the portal, find a more defensible position. That would be explanation enough."

"Perhaps."

"Also," Holli continued. "I wonder what prolonged exposure to this place might have done to Lief. When you further consider he is actually a spirit called back to this place by a sorceress with great power and little control, the situation becomes difficult to assess. We can not expect him to act based on rational thought."

"You're saying he might be deranged?" Sy asked.

"I am saying it would be difficult, and perhaps foolish, to interpret his actions."

"Wonderful. That means we can't go into this with any expectations at all. I was kind of hoping we might be able to reason with Lief. I thought that might give us some kind of edge. Now, I have to treat him like an enemy."

Ryson found those words almost painful. His relationship with Lief Woodson had been tumultuous at times, but Lief was not, and would never be, an enemy. He simply could not accept that. His loyalty ran too deep.

"Don't give up on him," Ryson finally said.

Sy nodded, but held to his concerns. He would not argue the point with the delver, but he would not walk blindly into a trap, either.

"So what's the plan when we find this thing?" Sy asked before he allowed them to follow the trail.

"According to Enin, the Sword of Decree can shred the device, destroy it," Holli stated. "That is our main objective. I would suggest a low profile as we utilize our abilities to minimize our risk."

"Fair enough, so we track this thing, pinpoint its location, move to position and let Ryson's speed handle the rest."

"A simple plan, but sometimes simplicity is best," Holli acknowledged.

"That's true, but only if we don't face any other obstacles. The thing I'm worried about is Lief. He doesn't want us to destroy his little creation. We have to assume that much. Maybe he won't want to hurt us, but maybe, as you said, he won't be rational. The question I have is, can he stop us? I mean, he's a ghost, right? But just what can he do? What are his limitations, if any? I heard about what Ingar did on the top of SanctumMountain. He was just a spirit, but he had a great deal of power."

"Ingar was a wizard in life, and held a power over magic. Lief never possessed that kind of skill. As a spiritual essence, he might possess new awareness over certain energies, but I honestly doubt his magical prowess will exceed my own. According to Heteera, he couldn't cast the spell required to create the vessel. He needed the sorceress to feed him with magic. Still, we should remain careful and prepared for anything."

"What do we do about Lief when it's all over?" Ryson interjected, not wishing to discount that his friend should also be considered a victim. "I mean, we can't just leave him here."

"Let us hope when the vessel is destroyed, he can move on and rest. It was the spell of Heteera that summoned him. It was her desire to close off the dimension that led to this. With that desire gone, he should be freed. In the end, I believe it will be ultimately up to him. I, for one, will hope he realizes this."

"Optimism," Sy offered. "I can live with some of that right now. Well, let's find this thing quick and get out of here."

Once more, Sy assessed the alien ground to the best of his abilities. He eyed the uneven, faltering trail of the vessel until it sloped down around a break in the horizon and out of sight. He believed he could follow the path. He then considered the strengths of his companions. He needed to utilize all their assets to their best advantage. It was his natural ability to lead, to take command, but he did not view the delver or the elf as subordinates. As he offered a strategy he considered sound, he did so in a manner that revealed more of a request than an order.

"Let me follow the trail. If I need help, I'll ask, but for now, I'd feel better if the two of you keep an eye out for anything that might be a threat. I have no idea what might leap out in this place, so you both have to keep watch."

The captain then waved his arm about the rugged landscape. It was treacherous to be sure, but not to the surefooted movements of a purebred delver.

"Ryson, I think you should continually circle around us, not by more than thirty paces, but enough so I know there's a secure buffer all around. If you perceive anything with those delver senses of yours, call out. Keep moving, use your speed."

Sy then turned to the elf.

"Holli, even with Ryson circling us, I'd like you to concentrate on our rear. I'm going to be focused on our path forward, so if we're vulnerable, it will be at our backs. Also, can you cast some kind of shielding spell around us in case something surprises us? I don't want anything that's going to encumber us or slow down Ryson, but a barrier that might ward off any sudden attack, say from a goblin crossbow, would be helpful."

Holli agreed with the tactic and concentrated on a spell. A green octagon appeared at her fingertips. She flicked her hands quickly but deliberately and the emerald energy flew off her fingers into the air. The magical shape grew into a large churning mass, but then broke into three separate sections. The individual pieces broke ranks and each found a place over delver, human, and elf. The magical energy swirled over their heads and then dropped down about them like sparkling rain.

"The spell is not tremendously powerful," she admitted, "but it is enough of a shield to stop any surprise attack of modest means. If we faced anything powerful enough to shatter the barrier, we would probably know about it before we were attacked."

"Excellent," Sy responded, and then called out to the delver. "Ryson, check your movements with the shield in place. See if there are any restrictions."

Ryson cast aside the continuing sense of foreboding the sword had imposed upon his consciousness. He knew they should not remain in this terror-filled realm, but the need to destroy the vessel urged him on with equal tenacity. He kept the Sword of Decree at the ready as he began to circle about their position.

Running, leaping, and climbing, he moved about the perilous land with controlled speed and adequate caution. The shield about him did not constrain him in any way, but somehow he could feel its magical presence. It was like a blanket of security had been draped over his shoulders, and though he certainly did not feel any sense of invulnerability, he knew his person remained guarded, at least to some extent, by a silent and constant protector.

Opening his senses proved more difficult than patrolling their surroundings. He attempted to define the sounds and scents all around him, but the viciousness of each continued to assault his consciousness. The screams of agony and scent of death lingered so heavily in the distance that the entire area felt ensnared in peril. He refocused his senses on their immediate vicinity and found the threat greatly diminished.

He called out his findings for both Sy and Holli to consider.

"Things are bad in the far distance… things I can't even begin to describe, but I don't sense anything near to us at the moment. It's almost like there's been a clearing of dangerous creatures."

"That would make sense," Holli offered. "The creatures of this world would stay clear of the vessel."

The delver then cast his gaze down the path Sy intended to travel.

"That's probably true, because I also don't sense anything in our path. I can't be sure, but it just seems like nothing is close to us at the moment, and we don't seem to be headed toward anything overwhelming. I think it's pretty clear."

"That's good news," Sy responded, almost cheerfully, but cheer was not a sensation allowed for long. The captain then looked to Holli. "What about you? Do you sense anything?"

"A strong source of magical power… in the direction of the trail. It must be the vessel, and it is not far."

Sy gave a last look to the portal. He noted its position in relation to other landmarks.

"If it's not far, then we should be able to find our way back without too much difficulty. As far as I know, that portal's the only way home. Let's all try to remember that and make it back."

Without further word, the guard captain moved carefully along the trail of their quarry. He trusted his two companions and put his full focus on following the path. He moved faster than he expected, but he still had to contend with a hostile environment.

Thankfully, there were no monumental obstructions in view-no bogs impossible to cross or mountain ranges too high to climb. He could see no dense forests filled with thorny brush or vast lake beds filled with smoldering acid. Even more importantly, there was no army of vicious creatures waiting to tear them apart. There was only the desolate land of a dark and despairing realm.

The ground was uneven and inconsistent, hard and rough in some places, loose and spongy in others. Rocks lay strewn about, some solid and heavy, others brittle and light, easily scattered by a humid breeze.

A light wind finally appeared, but it held not pleasure. Instead, it felt like the hot breath belched out of a diseased volcano. It bore into their exposed skin and left them all sweaty and uncomfortable. Truly, there was no comfort in this nightmare.

There was, however, life in this place to be sure-life beyond the screams of unknown creatures in the distance, but not life easily understood. Trees dotted the landscape, scattered about as if they staked out their territory and did not allow invaders near. They did not stand tall and proud, covered fully with green leaves or pine needles, serving as homes for birds and squirrels. Instead, they grew in twisted, bent curves with gaping holes and half-dead branches. The dying branches seemed to thrive. Upon limbs with apparent life, the leaves that clung to gnarled branches appeared sickly yellow. No animals danced in the higher branches, but strange insects burrowed deep into open slits in the trunks and boughs.

Sy dismissed the bleak scene and kept moving toward their goal. Before long, they came to a descending slope that dropped into a ravine. Sy didn't like it, but that's where the trail led. The path was now too narrow for Ryson to circle.

"Ryson, climb up to the top. I don't want us walking into an ambush. If we stay down here and something hits us from above, we've had it."

"Good idea," the delver agreed and bounded back up the rocky walls of the ravine. He dashed forward and scouted the area ahead in mere moments. When he returned, he remained topside but called out below. "It's clear. I'll follow you from up here and make sure it stays that way."

Sy just nodded and turned his attention back to the trail. After about fifty paces, the trail turned and marked a path into a sizeable cave entrance in the cliff wall. This did not encourage the captain.

"What do you think?" Sy asked of Holli.

Holli gazed into the opening. Her elf eyes could make out a faint glow in the far reaches of the cave. Even more, she sensed a collection of powerful magic.

"It is in there."

"Blast." Sy responded with a flat, discouraged tone. "We can't all go in there. That would be beyond careless. It would be suicide."

Holli looked upon the captain. She knew the answer, but apparently so did he.

"Looks like I have to stay here and guard the opening," he stated as he examined the edges of the rock. "Ryson has the sword and you have the magic. You both have to go on."

He did not like the idea of staying behind, but he had not choice. The opening in the ravine wall was their only path of escape and it could not be left unguarded.

"How deep do you think they are in there? If I yelled a warning from here, could you hear it?"

"Without a doubt."

"I guess that's it then." Sy then called out to the delver. "Ryson!Anything up there?"

"Nothing at all."

"Give it a good look, as far as you can see."

"It's clear."

"Good, because you're going to have to come down here now."

The delver glided down the rocks as if they were a simple staircase. When he reached the floor and found the cave entrance, he understood what they faced.

Leaving Sy at the entrance, Ryson took the lead. Just like Holli, he could see the light in the distance and he made that his objective. Moving much quicker than before, he bounded through the narrow tunnels of the cave. When the light ahead became substantially brighter, he paused to consult Holli.

"It's just up ahead and around that bend. What do you suggest?"

"I sincerely doubt that stealth will be of any value beyond this point. It is your speed we must rely on now. I can feel the magic growing in intensity. I believe the vessel is near. If it is in your hands to destroy it, do so now, without hesitation."

"Alright, cover my back. I'm going in."

Just as Ryson took tighter hold of his sword, once more the overwhelming sense to leave that realm hit him with unquestionable certainty. He knew they should not be there. It was clearly a mistake. The consequences of their actions were not yet known, and thus could not be communicated to him through the sword, but he understood that misfortune would certainly follow in some form.

Unfortunately, at that exact same instant, the sword decreed the device had to be destroyed without delay. He knew the vessel had grown in power, had successfully hunted many creatures in the realm, and continued to crave the magic twisted by unspeakable acts and held within grotesque monsters. Without question, he knew the danger of this device, what horrors rested within it. He also knew with absolute certainty that the sword was capable of destroying the object, and he was now close enough to succeed toward that end. His path was clear and necessary, and just as there would be consequences for remaining in the dark realm, there would be dire results if Ryson did not act.

The divisive forces that pulled him in distinctly opposite directions were so powerful, he almost fell over. Had it not been for his delver grace and speed, he probably would have tumbled to the ground.

Instead, he forced a decision and rushed forward. He broke around the corner in a blinding flash. Just ahead of him in a direct line waited the spirit of Lief Woodson, standing beside the mutated shell of monster skins that now held an immense reservoir of corrupted magical energy.

The elf ghost simply stared at the flash of movement that was the delver. The spirit said nothing. Further, he made no move against the attack. He simply stood motionless, a pale expressionless apparition, until he smiled.

Holli Brances could not hope to keep up with the delver, but she still possessed the speed of an elf guard. She bounded around the bend and watched the scene unfurl before her. The delver was only a blur of motion, but she could see the sword in the delver's hand. It was pulled back and ready to strike.

Holli caught a glimpse of Lief's smile, saw expectation and desire in his expression. At that moment, she knew. Lief wanted the vessel destroyed. He expected this moment and delighted in its coming.

"Ryson! NO!" but her cry came too late.

The deformed collection of monster hides did not cringe from the attack, made no attempt to avoid the blow. If anything, it leaned into the strike, welcoming the blade and the end of its twisted, agonizing existence.

The Sword of Decree cleaved the vessel in two. Once the two separate sections of skin peeled away, they broke from the energy they once contained and slid eerily like snakes until they wrapped themselves around Lief's spiritual shadow. The magical energy that was held within the device remained intact-floating in the air like a condensed bubble of sheer power-but only for a moment.

The ghostly form of Lief Woodson threw his arms around the energy, pulled it into his core. He absorbed every ounce of power. His shadowy figure seemed to burn like an exploding star, but then diminished back to its previous state. He grinned with even greater amusement at the delver.

"Thank you, Ryson Acumen, for doing what I could not, for making me whole once more. Ironic, considering it was you who ultimately split me apart. Regardless, the energy is now mine and I intend to use it."

The conflicting messages from the sword ceased abruptly. No longer was Ryson fed the understanding of two mutually exclusive missions. As the turmoil released its grip on his mind, another understanding began to filter through from the Sword of Decree, but it was never given the chance to come clear.

The grinning apparition waved his hand and the weapon was pulled from the delver's grasp. The spirit would not take hold of the sword, but flung it behind him far from Ryson's reach.

"You no longer deserve the honor to carry such a weapon," the spirit announced as if rendering a verdict.

Looking into Lief's face, Ryson felt only more confusion.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I no longer have to answer to you, Ryson Acumen. And without that sword, you no longer have the answers before you. Time for you to figure it all out on your own."

Holli, however, felt no confusion. She sensed danger and relied on her instincts. She pulled at the delver's shoulder.

"We have to get out of here now. Now!"

Ryson didn't want to leave Lief-the vessel had been destroyed, but something was now very wrong. The spirit of his friend was not at peace, not ready or apparently even willing to leave this twisted place. Ryson couldn't simply abandon the elf ghost, not like this.

And yet, the delver could not dismiss a lingering warning, a distant echo dragging through his thoughts. A wisp of the sword's last image remained in his mind, but he could not pull it out into clear thought. He considered making a dash to the sword, to obtain a clearer understanding of the consequences they now faced. Holli held him tight, but he could slip free if necessary.

He gave one last look into the apparition's eyes and somehow he knew if he stayed there any longer, they would all die.

Ryson threw his hand up to his own shoulder and grabbed Holli's wrist. He then pulled her away in a flash of speed that was beyond the elf's to move. He rushed them away from the spirit and back down the path from which they came.

"Run as fast as you can," the laughing voice of Lief called after them. "It won't do you any good. You can't outrun me now. I can attack you without even moving."

Before they reached the cave entrance, however, they heard another voice from the opposite direction.

"Ryson! Holli! Get back here!"

It was Sy's voice calling from the cave entrance, and despite the captain's bravery, the tone carried more than urgency, it carried fear.

Chapter 9

"Something's coming at us topside."

Sy couldn't see it, couldn't look above the ledge of the ravine, but he could feel the rumble in the distance.

Ryson didn't even have to hear the warning. The delver already knew.

"Sounds like an entire army. Godson, there must be thousands."

"We have to return to the portal," Holli advised. She remained calm, but her tone was no less urgent than the others.

Ryson pointed to the path they had previously taken down into the gorge. "You two get going. I'm going up top to see what we're up against."

Sy and Holli did not argue, they turned and moved quickly toward the sloping path that would lead up and out of the ravine.

Ryson scampered up the rock wall and pulled himself onto flat ground that served as the ledge for the chasm. As he broke clear of the cliff wall, he almost didn't want to look. The roar was now deafening and it sounded as if more than an army was rushing toward them. It sounded more like the entire realm was collapsing. What he saw made him almost wish it was.

The desolate loneliness of the barren plains before him was broken by the tumultuous charge of monsters too numerous to count. They filled the landscape before him in numbers Ryson never thought possible. The land was now alive with movement-a twisted and angry furor-but alive nonetheless. The dark creatures that made it their desire to avoid Lief and his vessel, no longer held to such a wish. They didn't have to. The vessel was gone. They could sense that. They sensed other things as well. A whisper of knowledge floated to their ears. They knew of invaders to their lands and they hungered for them.

Legions of goblins rolled forward like a massive wave. In some areas, it seemed as if they scurried atop of each other for lack of space to run upon the ground. They moved toward Ryson's position as if he had called them out personally. All the while, they shrieked and screeched and their calls echoed over the land in tune with the rumble of their charge.

Within their ranks, he saw rock beetles and shags-natural enemies ignoring each other-focused not on one another but clearly on the delver at the edge of the ravine. It was a race to see which of them could reach the prized flesh of delver, elf and human.

On the moderate hillsides off to Ryson's right, the outlook was not much better. Creatures of various sizes-bloat spiders, gremplings and rogens-moved with the same apparent desire. They were all headed toward Ryson as if being called upon to greet him with overwhelming enthusiasm, even if they only wished to enthusiastically eat the delver.

The skies were alive with much the same movement. He saw hook hawks and razor crows far off in the horizon, and though they posed no immediate threat of attack, their speed in the air would quickly erase any distance that offered the mere suggestion of safety.

More alarming was the proximity of a giant winged caelifera-basically an enormous locust that had a taste for living flesh as opposed to the decaying plants of a twisted land. It was the most dangerous of the monsters charging forward, and it was the closest to the ravine. Dodging that monster was going to be trouble, especially for Sy.

He looked over his shoulder. The only comfort he could find was that the path back to the portal remained clear, but he wondered for how long. He believed these creatures were being summoned to this place, perhaps even ordered to keep any of them from escaping. He didn't wish to suspect Lief of such treachery, such viciousness, but something was clearly provoking the attack.

Further considerations of Lief's intentions would have to wait. The caelifera could move at great speed and any hope of avoiding it was quickly diminishing. Ryson dashed along the ledge of the ravine and then halfway down the slope to meet Holli and Sy before they came out into the open.

"We have a problem. Our path back to the portal looks clear so far, but we've got creatures coming at us from every other angle.

"Then let's…" Sy started, but Ryson cut him off.

"There's a caelifera already within striking distance."

"Blast," Sy responded. He had fought such a creature only once before. It had attacked Burbon and killed several of his men. It took Enin's power to destroy the thing, but Enin was not there. He didn't like the odds, but he knew the situation. "We can't stay here, so we have to move no matter what. The two of you listen, don't slow down because of me. No sense in us all getting killed."

Ryson wouldn't give in.

"No one's getting killed. Holli, can you cast something to cloak him? You don't need to make him disappear completely, just something that will make him less obvious so it focuses on us instead."

"Illusion is not my power, but I can try."

She cast a quick spell and suddenly Sy seemed to fade out of existence. He was not totally invisible, but he appeared like a dim shadow. It was an unnatural sight when the guard captain spoke.

"Did it work?"

"Not bad," Ryson responded.

"Better than I hoped," Holli agreed, "but that won't cover any sounds he makes or his scent."

"Maybe that's enough to confuse it," Ryson hoped. "Sy, try to follow in Holli's tracks, but don't get yourself killed trying to keep up. Just move as fast as you can. Holli, if it turns away from me, you're going to have to distract it until I can get its attention again. We don't have any more time, so let's go. "

The delver sped back up the slope. The caelifera was almost directly overhead by the time Ryson hit open ground.

"This is going to be rough," Ryson whispered to himself. He broke into an all out sprint, cutting to his left and right, all the while keeping one eye on the giant flying insect above and the other on the path ahead.

Wanting to keep the monster's attention, he called out in grunts, clicks, and whistles-anything to hold the creature's interest and keep it from looking back on easier targets.

The winged insect took the bait and began swooping down in several attempts to grab the delver. Its thin wings beat ferociously against the wind giving it both speed and agility in flight. At times it hovered in midair, other times it darted back and forth, left and right. It tried to anticipate the movements of its intended prey as it made sudden dips to the ground, but each time it came up empty.

Ryson bit back at tremendous terror. He did not believe he had ever been so close to death before, a death that would have been beyond any nightmare ever experienced. If the caelifera gained a hold of him, he would not be able to break free. Without his sword, he had no hopes of fighting off any attack. He had only a dagger and that would be insufficient against such a foe. Unable to resist, he would be pulled apart by the powerful legs that would take hold of him, or he would be crushed and chewed by vicious mandibles before being swallowed, probably half conscious.

The creature came close on several occasions, but Ryson managed to alter his path at the last instant. He had only his agility to depend on, and normally that would be enough against any creature. Speed on the ground, however, did not compete well against speed in the air. His quick movements compensated somewhat for the disadvantage, but eventually his timing would fail. It was only a matter of time.

He did not wish to die, not in that fashion or in any manner on that day. It might have been a noble sacrifice, a desire to give his friends a chance of survival, but he found little comfort in that consideration. Instead, he thought of Linda. He would be abandoning her, not by choice, but he would be leaving her nonetheless. He wished he could avoid his plight, but he could not see how.

Regardless, he fought on, would not make it easy for the caelifera. He charged over the ground with every bit of his fury, not holding anything in reserve. Eventually, he moved at a speed that he never thought possible. Amazingly, he even opened up some space between himself and the monster, but the gain was only temporary.

The winged creature adjusted its path, speared through the air to a point ahead of the delver and then turned back on its prey. It had successfully cut Ryson off and waited in front of the delver's path.

Just at the caelifera was about to make its final attack, a handful of goblins swept across its face as they shrieked in both fury and fear. It seemed as if they were falling out of the sky, plunging from above but from no apparent hilltop or mountainside. It looked almost as if they were flung deliberately in front of the monster.

Ryson took advantage of the momentary distraction and retreated in a flash. He spotted Holli and Sy in his wake. Holli had pulled to a halt as Sy continued to run to meet her.

The giant locust now cared little for the delver as the falling goblins proved much easier prey. They could not control their movements as they fell, and the caelifera plucked two out of the air. The giant winged insect flew off into the distance to enjoy a simpler meal, but perhaps much less tasty.

Ryson stopped in front of the elf.

"You did that didn't you?"

"The goblins to our rear were close enough for me to seize. I simply moved them through space in the most efficient manner and dropped them in a more suitable location."

"Thanks."

Sy reached them. He was still somewhat of a shadow, but his form was becoming clearer. Holli's spell was fading. He struggled through heavy breaths, but directed them onward.

"We can't slow down. Hook hawks are still coming in."

"At least we can fight those," Holli offered, "but you are right. This is not the place to rest. The portal should be close by."

"I'll take point," Ryson shouted, as he took off in another blur. He didn't even appear winded.

As he pressed forward, however, he could not locate the gateway. He recognized the spot where they first entered the dark realm, even found their initial footprints exiting the portal, but the rift itself was nowhere to be seen.

Holli and Sy came up to meet him and shared in his distress.

"The portal has faded out of existence," the elf shouted. "The sorceress warned us she lacked the control to make the rift permanent."

Ryson nodded. "Yeah, she said it would continuously appear and disappear."

"Any idea of the length of time?" Sy asked.

"None," Ryson admitted.

Sy then looked back at where they had been. The horizon was now filled with monsters of every type, as were the skies.

"Not good. Options?"

"If we run from this spot, we run to our death," the elf stated in an emotionless revelation. "I can cast a spell for a new portal, but it would require much more time than we have. They would be on us before I could even begin."

"Barriers to slow them down?" Ryson asked of the elf. "Can you buy yourself time?"

"No spell available to me can stop that many, not even slow them down."

"We go down as best we can," Sy announced. He noticed Ryson no longer carried his sword, and without question or hesitation, he removed two short war blades from under his coat and handed them to the delver. Eyeing the horde, he unsheathed his long sword.

Holli took hold of her bow and the three comrades stood shoulder to shoulder. She knew they had no chance, as it seemed as if every dark creature of elflore had been called against them and appeared willingly in droves.

It appeared their time had come.

"To the other side and the next adventure," she said, accepting her fate as would a true elf guard.

Sy and Ryson simply nodded in unison. They would fight, but they also knew they would die.

As if to reward them for their courage, the dimensional portal shimmered into sight. A rift opened a bare arm's length away from their position just as hook hawks began their attacking descent.

Ryson dodged low and then pulled both Sy and Holli through the gateway with all of his strength and speed. They made it back to the badlands of Uton with one bound.

"Fire into that portal!" Sy commanded to the troops who stood watch for their arrival.

Each guard fired without hesitation. It was a pathetic volley but enough to catch a handful of goblins moving toward the opening on the other side.

"Hold them off," Holli yelled as she positioned herself in front of the portal and began concentrating.

Ryson and Sy stood at her side, slightly in front with weapons still drawn. The guards reloaded their crossbows and took angled positions with clear lines of fire. They could all see into the dark realm. They witnessed the massive horde fall upon the rift, but then suddenly stop. Not one creature ventured across.

"They're not coming through," Ryson announced.

"Stand ready," Sy growled, not willing to accept any kind of fortune.

Yet the creatures across the void made no move into the rift. They appeared disgusted with their own inaction. Many fought among themselves. The chaos grew as more beast closed upon the opening, but none ventured forward. They watched and waited, but they did not cross, as if something held them back, even to their disdain.

Long moments passed as all but Holli joined in a frozen war of brinkmanship, menacingly staring at each other through the portal. Ryson, Sy and the guards, though ridiculously outnumbered, held their ground, and the monsters across the dimensional passage made no further advance.

The air around Holli began to glow with an emerald hue and a large green octagon formed around her entire body. She opened her eyes and focused on the edges of the rift. The bright green shape floated away from her body, guided by a force of will. It encased the entire portal and then began to shrink. As the octagon of energy closed in upon itself, it pulled at the rim of the dimensional doorway. The rift tightened into a small break in reality until the magical energy completely folded into itself and both the magic and portal disappeared with an air shuddering crash.

The gateway was closed.

Those on the light side of the portal stood quiet. The guards waited for news from the three that had entered, but none appeared ready to speak, until Sy asked for confirmation of their situation.

"Will it stay closed?"

"That portal no longer exists, but that does not mean another one cannot be opened. Gateways can be created from either dimension as long as there is magic on both sides to feed and anchor the spell."

"So if someone over there has the power, they could just reopen another one right now."

"I do not think that will happen. I cannot claim full comprehension, but they already chose to stay within their own lands. If they wanted to come through, they would have before I closed the portal. We could not have stopped them."

Sy nodded, "I know. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on. What happened with Lief?"

"Ryson destroyed the vessel, but Lief absorbed all the energy."

Sy could not miss Holli's tone or her expression. "That doesn't sound like a good thing."

"It is confusing," Holli replied. "It might explain why the beasts refused to cross, it might not. We have to return to Enin and inform him of what happened. He may be able to sense something within the magic."

Ryson agreed that was the best course of action, but not for all of them.

"You all go ahead," the delver stated. "There's something I need to do first."

"We should go together," Holli suggested. "Enin will want to see you. Your senses might help unravel this puzzle."

"I'm as confused as you are," Ryson admitted, and then offered his best consolation. "I'll meet you back at Connel. I'll get there as fast as I can, but I have to go out into the desert."

"Why?" Sy asked.

"Because I have to. I got something from the sword before Lief pulled it away from me. I'm not sure what I saw, but something has me confused. I need to check this before I see Enin. I can't explain it better than that."

That was good enough for the captain of Burbon's guard. He had learned to trust Ryson's instincts. They saved many and on more than one occasion.

"Then hold on to those blades. You might need them out there. And be careful."

"I won't be long," Ryson managed. "I might even beat you back to Connel."

Holli didn't think so as she watched the delver dash off to the west.

Chapter 10

As implausible as the sight was before him, Ryson was not surprised-not really. If anything, he almost expected to see what waited for him. Despite the absurdity of his discovery, events made more sense, his lingering fears dissolved. He might doubt his sanity, but he no longer had to question his loyalty or his faith in a friend. He believed that was the point of the last message from the Sword of Decree, but he couldn't be certain. He had to confirm it, and he hoped he would be able to do so by returning to the place that Lief Woodson had died.

The ground he stood upon was the site of their battle with Tabris, the sorceress who had joined forces with Sazar. Because of her treachery, two of Ryson's closest friends had died in the wasteland.

For a brief moment in time, that small portion of the desert had been an oasis, life coaxed from the desolation by Tabris' magical power over the wind and storms. With Tabris destroyed, nothing could keep the desert from reclaiming the land. Plants had withered and died, the pond was now a dry bed. All that was left were rocks and sand.

Still, Ryson could find the spot where Reader Matthew died after forcing Tabris' spell to explode within her, and he noticed signs of the crater created by the lightning blast that killed Lief. The blast site was the delver's true destination-a pinpoint in all of existence that called to him.

The apparition stood in the center of the crater and smiled warmly upon the delver as Ryson approached.

"I knew you would come," the spirit revealed.

Ryson looked on the face of Lief Woodson-not a face of flesh and blood, but a spiritual countenance, a shimmering outline of soulful grace. In many ways, it looked the same as the ghostly form that first met the delver outside the portal, but Ryson now also saw the difference. He knew instantly that the spirit Heteera raised was an imposter. The true spirit of Lief Woodson stood before him now.

"I'm very happy to see you, Lief!"

And it was true, seeing his friend at this moment brought Ryson a great sense of relief, almost peace, but then he felt something else. It was as if a great sadness fell upon his delver senses. The overwhelming feeling of remorse tempered the joyous reunion.

"You don't want to be here, do you?" the delver asked of the spirit.

"What I want is now complicated," the spirit replied, "and not the true issue. I no longer belong in this world and it reminds me of what I had become-angry and violent. I am here because I have to be here, not because I wish to be."

"Why do you have to be here?"

"It is very simple. I'm being given a chance-an opportunity to rectify what I had become. I suppose I could have resisted this chance, simply accepted oblivion, but that would not be the right thing to do. You should understand that."

Understand?

There was little to understand. Ryson wanted to be joyous at the sight of a friend, to know Lief had not become unbalanced with hate and anger. A spirit should be above such conditions, and yet, Lief was now speaking of doing what was right. That consideration now plagued the delver in a different way.

What was right?

Did he even know anymore? Even if he did, did it matter?

The delver remembered his last encounters with Lief when the elf walked among the living. They argued over what was right. Ryson recalled the tension that had grown between the two of them during Lief's last days. Lief had become obsessed with cleansing the land of dark creatures, but Ryson had seen it as senseless killings, nothing more. They argued over the point, but the elf became rigid in his desire to kill all things he judged evil and that included every monster from the dark realm.

That's what Heteera had seen when she recalled the images of the past, and that's why she called upon Lief's spirit to help her in her task.

"A woman named Heteera cast a spell to recall you," Ryson declared. "Is that the chance you're talking about?"

Lief shook his head.

"No mortal can forcefully recall the soul of another that has passed on, no matter how powerful the caster. I am here because a far greater power has granted me an opportunity for redemption, a redemption I did not seek in life, a chance I wasted. Thankfully, there are several chances, and though I do not wish to be here, it is an opportunity I am grateful for. Still, you must understand that I am here because I choose to be here, not because I was recalled."

"That almost sounds like you're punishing yourself."

Lief did not respond and the delver's curiosity expanded.

"Are you?" Ryson pressed.

"We all punish ourselves in some way when we come to a mortal life, but we are also given a chance to learn. I failed to see what I should have seen. I blamed others, including you."

Once more, Ryson recalled their arguments. If Lief blamed him, then it was quite possible that the elf believed the reverse as well.

"We saw things differently. I didn't hold it against you."

"But you were not the only one I blamed. I found fault with all the elves of my camp, even the elder, Standish Loftber, and he did not deserve my rage." Lief paused, but only for a moment. It almost seemed to cause him pain to recall the actions of his past life. "I blamed him because he banished me, but he was right. He made the wisest of decisions and he put others before himself. He found the only path that would bring stability for everyone. After forcing me to leave, he exiled himself. It was a very brave thing he did. He did what he thought was best for my camp. He learned his lesson, but as I said, I did not learn mine."

"So you came back to learn a new lesson? It sounds like you've already learned it. What's there to come back for?"

"You would not understand it all, not yet anyway. The Reader Matthew understood. He renewed his faith at the very end, and he has found the way. There is no need for him to return. He found his path and it seems as if I now have to find mine. I am, however, thankfully getting guidance, though I am not certain I deserve it."

"I have to admit, I'm confused by more than that," Ryson admitted. "I don't know if I understand any of it. You said you couldn't be recalled by a spell, but Holli sensed that you were summoned when she met Heteera, and Enin never questioned the sorceress' story."

"Holli sensed the echo of the spell," Lief explained, "but she lacks the insight to realize that such a spell would be useless. As for the wizard, Enin should know better. I am surprised he even accepted this story."

"You mean Heteera's lying?"

"I am not graced with the insight into Heteera's true intentions. I do know that Enin's awareness has grown. Though he cannot truly enter the afterlife, he has been gifted with a power that allows him to see beyond this life, beyond physical existence. He should have sensed the deception."

And once more, Ryson recalled the imposter, a spirit who claimed to be Lief Woodson, but clearly was not.

"Who is it that's in the dark realm? Who's pretending to be you? It's not Ingar again, is it?"

"No, it is Baannat."

That revelation turned the delver's blood to ice. Ingar was hungry for power, deranged by the sphere of his own making, but Baannat was pure evil.

"But I killed him."

"And Tabris killed me. I stand before you. There are other powers involved in this struggle. Just as I have been allowed to return through the veil of death, so may others."

"So Baannat is a spirit like you?"

"In truth, no. He is different. I cannot explain how, but Baannat was able to return to this plane of existence through deception of his own volition."

"What does he want?"

"What every evil creature wants… to cause pain and suffering, to gain power and control, to destroy and decimate. He also wants revenge, revenge against all those who defeated him."

"Will he succeed?"

"I have no idea, but I know that not all things are controlled by destiny. There is a struggle to come, and those in this world will have to make choices. It is these choices that will define them and ultimately determine the outcome of the struggle."

A struggle.

Not words Ryson wanted to hear. Words, in fact, he had grown tired of hearing. It seemed as if life was becoming a constant struggle. Time and time again he was faced with hardships.

Yes, he had overcome those hardships-him and his friends. He had succeeded in every conflict, but at what cost? The loss of friends, even a loss of himself. He couldn't deny it. Maybe he was losing patience, or maybe just losing faith, but he was certainly growing tired of the struggles.

Ryson looked across the desolate lands of the LacobianDesert. At that moment, he welcomed the apparent emptiness all around him. The desert had washed away the oasis, burned through the water, decimated life. But it was quiet, almost peaceful.

He had faced so many conflicts, would there ever be a time of rest? Maybe magic was not supposed to be in this world. He had doubts about the magic before, doubts about his part in destroying Ingar's sphere, but now those doubts seemed to double, then double again.

As a delver, he did the only thing he could. He started searching for answers.

"So… why are you here then? What is it that you can accomplish that will lead you down the path you need to travel, lead you to redemption?"

Lief could sense the desperation in his friend, and in that, he took his own hope.

"You came here because you knew I would be here," the elf stated. "For that to be true, you had to believe that I was not back in that cave where you destroyed the newly created vessel of damnation. You could not accept that I was the apparition bent on causing so much pain and destruction. Both in life and after my death, all you wanted was to help me see that my anger was misguided. You believed in me, Ryson Acumen."

"I still believe in you."

"I know, and I am here to tell you that you were right. All along, you were right. I no longer wish to argue with you for I have no argument with you. You, above any other I have met in life, capture the essence of what we should all strive to be. Do you understand what that means?"

The delver said nothing for he did not know how to respond.

The elf answered for him.

"All along, and even to my death, I have believed in you. It may not have seemed that way, but it is true. That is why I'm here. Much has been asked of you and you have given much. Your deeds have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Never doubt that. You are a force for good, remain so."

"And so that's why you've come back?" Ryson finally asked. "Well, why are you out here in the desert? Why didn't you come to me?"

"Unfortunately, I lack the strength of spirit to move from this spot. I do not understand it, but perhaps I was meant not to. Not everything is left up to choice, nor is it left to design. There is always some middle ground between the two. You still have many paths before you and perhaps it was up to you to seek me. I can only guess."

"So what happens now?"

"What always happens, the struggle continues. Opportunities arise to make choices, to be strong."

"And for me?"

"You already know the answer to that. Return to Enin. Tell him what you have seen here in the desert. From that point on, follow the path you have always traveled. Do what you believe is right."

Chapter 11

"It's not Lief." Ryson stated as he leapt before Enin.

The delver had raced nonstop to reach Connel. He did not beat Sy and Holli to the wizard, but he was not far behind. He reached them just as Holli had finished explaining what had occurred in the dark realm.

Everyone looked at Ryson with pure bewilderment, and he was not surprised. He also knew there would be little joy in the news he brought.

"Of course, it's Lief!" Heteera objected before Ryson could say anymore. She knew the spell she cast. Only Lief had ever truly echoed her concerns. No one else even came close. "I focused on him specifically."

Holli did not hesitate in pointing out the sorceress' known deficiencies, but she also cast doubt on the delver's announcement.

"I know she has no control over the magic, but I sensed the spell in her."

"I think you sensed what she wanted to do, not what she actually did," Ryson offered.

That was possible. Holli never examined the true outcome of the spell, only its casters' intentions. Still, other considerations contradicted the delver's claim.

"But you and Linda spoke with Lief, and later, we both saw him in the cave. It was him."

The delver made his revelation with grave certainty.

"No, it wasn't. It was Baannat."

A silence fell on them all.

Ryson looked to Enin, but the wizard's expression revealed little. He had hoped for clarification from Enin, an immediate understanding, but the wizard only stared off into the distance as if pondering some complicated equation.

Ryson didn't wish to say anything more until Enin questioned him, but it was Sy who demanded further explanation.

"How do you know this? How can you be so sure the ghost in the cave wasn't Lief?"

"Because I just talked to Lief… his spirit, out in the desert… out where he was killed. That was the real Lief Woodson. The spirit in the cave-the one that created the vessel we destroyed-that was an imposter."

"You saw another ghost?"

It almost sounded funny, but Ryson failed to find any humor. He was not chasing ghosts or investigating haunting spirits. They were all being pulled into a larger conflict, another struggle.

"Not just a ghost, but the spirit of Lief Woodson."

Sy placed the pieces together, but found an immediate conflict.

"And why would you believe that spirit and not the other?"

"Because I could tell, and it makes sense."

That also almost sounded funny-seeing ghosts and making sense-but no one could deny the serious tone in the delver's voice, or the gravity etched in his face. One, however, would refute Ryson's conclusion.

"No, it doesn't!" Heteera claimed. "It doesn't make any sense at all and it's not possible. I didn't summon Baannat! I couldn't have. I called on Lief. I wanted to stop the monsters from coming here. I didn't want to bring one back. I would not have made that kind of mistake!"

The delver did not want to place blame, that was not his cause, but he would not withdraw what he knew to be true.

"I don't think it was all your fault," Ryson responded. "I think Baannat had something to do with it. He had to, but whatever the case, I know the truth. Lief is out in the desert and Baannat is in the dark realm. We have to accept that." He paused, and though he did not wish to speak the next few words, he knew he had no choice. "And we have to deal with it."

"Are you sure of this?" Holli asked.

"I'm not sure of much, but I know that it wasn't Lief who was in that cave. I think deep down, you know it, too. Think about what we saw. As angry as Lief had become before… before Tabris ended his life, he wasn't evil. The spirit we faced in the dark realm wanted those monsters to kill us. He wanted us dead, and he was enjoying it."

Holli considered the point, then turned upon Heteera. She stared deeply at the sorceress, opened herself up to the magical energies around them both. She listened deeply to the echoes, heard the words and saw the actions of the past and present. She focused on that sensation that first alerted her to the spell that was used to summon Lief Woodson. The intent was clearly there, but the focus was lacking. She could not deny that the connection to Lief Woodson existed, but only in the desires of the sorceress.

The elf searched beyond the intent and beyond the focus, touched the magical connection that still existed between Heteera and the apparition that had waited in the caves of the dark realm. It was Heteera's spell that summoned the mysterious spirit, but Holli needed to move beyond the obvious, for there was a curtain that separated the intention and the act, an almost unnatural shroud that hung over the summoning. Her perception pierced the cloak, but only for a moment. It was enough.

Instantly, she broke off her examination of Heteera's spell.

"He's right. It's not Lief."

Heteera would simply not accept this condemnation of her spell.

"No, you're both wrong! I summoned an the spirit of an elf, not a dead slink ghoul. I would know the difference!"

"If it was Baannat, don't you think he could fool you?" Ryson asked.

Enin finally spoke, though he remained seemingly distracted as if something in the distance pulled at his attention.

"Something else may be at work here," the wizard stated in almost a mumble. "We must not jump to any conclusions."

Ryson did not want to contradict the wizard in front of everyone else, but he had to make his case.

"Enin, Lief-the real Lief-told me you should know the truth. He said you would understand that no spirit could be recalled to this land."

"Not if it didn't wish to be summoned," Enin admitted, "but if Lief felt the need to remove the dark creatures from this land, he would have viewed Heteera's spell as an opportunity, an open door, and he would have walked through it willingly."

"Would he also be willing to kill Holli, Sy and me? Could a spell or even prolonged exposure to the evils of another dimension have warped his true soul? Could it make a spirit act so out of character?"

"No, it couldn't," Enin acknowledged.

Ryson then pointed to the elf guard.

"Look at Holli, Enin. Even I can see it in her face now. She knows that wasn't Lief."

Enin looked into the depth of his elf guard. He touched the magic and shared her awareness. She had previously given him permission to do so as he saw necessary. She knew he would not abuse the privilege and it would allow her to protect him far more efficiently. He could share her concerns directly, understand her motives without question, and act in a fashion that would allow them to co-exist.

In return, Enin had shared his magical knowledge and his energy with Holli. Beyond simply training her in understanding magic and casting spells, he enabled her to grasp the vast energies he could summon. This magical link permitted Holli to maintain focus on the wizard's safety and well-being across untold distances. It kept them connected and in a sense of harmony.

As the wizard joined with his guard's consciousness, he saw the certainty in her mind. It was not Lief Woodson they left in the dark realm.

"I see," Enin muttered.

There was, however, one gap that could not be explained. While Holli was certain the spirit was not Lief, she was not sure it was Baannat, and that remained a doubt Enin would have to erase for himself.

"If it is Baannat, we need to be absolutely sure, and there's only one way to do that. I will go see him now."

Holli almost objected, but it was Sy who called out.

"Wait a minute! Are you saying you're going into the dark realm?"

"It must be done. We must know for sure."

"Unless I missed something, that's not an alternative. When this whole thing started, when we decided that vessel had to be destroyed, you said you couldn't go into the dark realm. You said it would cause a horde of monsters to flee into this existence. That's not a good thing."

"You did not miss anything," Enin agreed, "but the circumstances have changed."

"Does that mean dark creatures won't come bounding across to our side of the portal?"

"Of that I can't be sure, but it no longer matters."

Sy looked at the wizard with a baffled expression.

"Excuse me for saying so, but I think it matters quite a bit!" Sy finally revealed.

Enin almost laughed. He might have, too, had the concern of Baannat's return not hung so heavily upon him.

"Sy, it is a joy to know you. I know you're worried about your people in Burbon. I'm worried about them, too, as well as the people here in Connel. You must, however, look past your immediate concerns and understand the depth of the circumstances. If Baannat has somehow returned and decided to reign over the dark realm, then my appearance there means nothing. If he wants to send every menacing, dangerous creature into our land, he will do so without hesitation."

"What if it's not Baannat?"

"Whether it's Baannat or not is actually no longer material. Something disguised as Lief Woodson has tricked a powerful sorceress into casting an unwise spell. That spell was then used to collect vast amounts of magic twisted for evil purposes. All of that magic is now at the command of an individual that tried to kill you, Ryson and Holli. This deceitful phantom seems to control an army of monsters. Ryson is now certain that the specter is Baannat. I can determine if that's true. Should we just sit back and wait for a catastrophe, or should I act now?"

"Are there any alternatives?" Sy asked.

"I'd be willing to listen to them, but you must offer them quickly, and remember, caution is a luxury I can no longer afford."

"I don't like any of it, but I guess there's no choice. Hard to believe you once didn't like to act," Sy stated without intent to insult.

Enin took no offense.

"People can change, even for the better," the wizard offered. He then looked upon Heteera. "You will stay with Holli and you will cast no spells until I return. Do you understand?"

"Yes… but it's not Baannat," the sorceress whispered.

"Let's hope you're correct."

Chapter 12

Willing himself into the sky, Enin flew to the spot outside of the Lacobian where Holli closed the portal. While in flight, he bent the space around him, utilizing the magic to reach the area almost instantaneously.

After landing, he didn't have to examine the ground for tracks. The echo of magic was strong. Looking beyond his natural sight and focusing on the magical vibrations, his mind's eye could pinpoint the exact location of Heteera's now extinct portal. Holli had indeed closed the rift, but whispers and memories of the spell hung in the magical energy.

Hoping to gain some insight into Heteera's limitations, Enin examined the casting's attributes and envisioned the obvious results. The spell was beyond deficient, it was reckless and disruptive. The portal clearly would have lacked proper substantive connections between dimensions. He noted its imperfections; its inability to remain stable and its fluctuations in and out of existence. He found the spell almost offensive-a dangerous break in reality and a genuine waste of energy.

Before moving on to his ultimate goal, he took one moment to spread the strands of his awareness to the surrounding lands. The emptiness saddened him. It was not just the lack of dark creatures that he noticed. It seemed as if all life had fled. Birds, lizards, rodents, and insects now avoided the area. He wondered if at the next rainfall, even as sparse as it was in these badlands, the raindrops themselves would refuse to reach the ground he stood upon.

Unwilling to waste too much time on such reflection, he quickly cast his own spell, opening a new portal that mirrored the one that Heteera created. He established it in the exact same spot, but this rift would remain permanent until he saw fit to close it. It made a connection to the previous location in the dark realm, but it would not fluctuate in and out of existence. This new gateway was also somewhat smaller, about the size of an open door, just enough room for Enin to float through. He saw no reason to make it any larger.

The wizard sighed with even further sadness as he entered the twisted realm of pain and agony. There was life-and magic-here, but it felt heavy to him, almost suffocating. More disheartening was the almost total lack of hope. Death and destruction bred here, he understood that, but beyond a very narrow desire for survival, nothing else existed in this plane to offer a reason to live. He sensed desperation in the magical energies. It weighed him down, like difficulty breathing in thick, humid air. He wished to be free of it as soon as possible, but there remained work to be done.

Checking the immediate area, no dark creatures of significance waited in the area to challenge his arrival. Those few beasts that hid in the shadows skulked away from the wizard, unwilling to risk an encounter they would surely lose. Enin did not feel it necessary to place any protection around the rift and he turned his attention to finding the spiritual entity that had to be identified.

He took flight into the gloomy skies, keeping a watchful eye for birds of prey, but determined to follow the path of magic to the cave in the ravine. He could sense the energy and it called to him like a beacon. He glided down between the cliff walls and came to a halt just outside the tunnel entrance. He peered inside, but he knew the cave was empty. It was at that moment he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, brother."

It came from above. Enin searched upward with both his eyes and his magical perception. The apparition did not even bother to maintain its disguise. The form of Lief Woodson had dissolved and the familiar form of Baannat, the slink ghoul, was now clearly evident.

Enin tapped into the magic, extended his perception to measure the aura of energy surrounding the ghoul. He let his feelings grasp it like tendrils wavering in the wind. He recalled the many visits he made to the magical enclave Baannat had carved out before their final battle. In that pocket of inter-dimensional space, the wizards had challenged each other in contests of power. They knew each other very well and Enin recognized the presence of his enemy.

Still, he could not understand how the slink ghoul had escaped death, and as he looked up to the cliff ledge where Baannat stood, he openly questioned the ghoul's survival.

"You call me brother, as you have in the past, but is that really you, Baannat?"

"You mean you don't recognize me? I know you're probing me, examining the magical connection. Isn't that enough for you?"

"I'm not sure it is. For some reason my mind is not clear on the issue."

"You would actually admit that to me?"

"It does no harm. I've always been prone to distraction. If you are Baannat, you would know that."

"And what can distract you here?"

"A memory. You died, and of that, I'm sure."

"Are you sure?" the ghoul hissed.

"We battled. You were the stronger, but you could not reach me and the delver cut you in two. That was no illusion, no trick."

"No, not an illusion, not a trick. I was beaten, but where did I go?"

"I don't understand," Enin admitted,

"I'm asking you where I went," the slink ghoul snickered. "Is it that difficult of a question?"

"You did not go anywhere. You were dead."

"Yes and no."

"What kind of answer is that. Are you trying to confuse me?"

"There is no need. I won't hide the truth. Not only is there no need, there is no cause. You'd figure it out on your own. That's why you're here."

"I'm here to determine if you are truly Baannat. Everything within me confirms that you are, but it doesn't answer the question of how you survived."

"I didn't survive, but you gave me the chance to return."

Enin considered the assertion. It was difficult. Something was clouding his thinking. Maybe it was the distorted aspect of the realm, but he found it challenging to concentrate. Some things, however, remained clear in his mind.

"I gave you no such chance," Enin stated firmly.

"No? Think back. We fought in a dimensional pocket of pure magic. That's how you used the human female to shield yourself. She was immune to magic. By the way, how did you find her? Such an ability is extraordinary. Totally immune. I think that's more exceptional than your magical strength."

Enin did not want the subject changed.

"I'm not talking about the woman. I'm asking how it's possible for you to have returned. Will you answer openly or must I pull the magical remnant of memory from you forcibly?"

"No need to be so hostile. My, you have become so aggressive as of late. I will tell you freely-mostly because I find it amusing. You see, when I spell it out for you, you'll realize your own hand at work."

Enin grew tired and angry. He willed himself through the foul, heavy air and came to rest directly in front of Baannat, who appeared neither physically whole, nor completely spiritual in form. The slink ghoul seemed to be hovering on the brink of existence, nothing more.

"Yes, by all means get a closer look," Baannat encouraged. "The delver defeated me, I can't debate that, but think closely on all the aspects of the event. You say I died, and perhaps I did, but it did not occur in one realm or the other. I was killed in an envelope of magic. The accursed delver cut me in two sure enough, but you made a miscalculation."

"How can cleaving you in two be a miscalculation?"

"Right before the delver struck me with his accursed sword, you opened a portal to this realm, remember? When my power began to wane in our battle, you created a gateway for dark creatures of this place to enter my magical sanctuary. They did, of course, and they feasted on the remains of my body. And where did they go?"

The human wizard recalled the incident, and slowly, he began to understand.

"Ah, you can almost see it now, can't you?" Baannat laughed. "The shreds of my carcass were taken away by creatures you invited into that space. That's why it was your miscalculation. Yes, they fed on my body-and my magic-and returned to their own realm. But I am a slink ghoul, and my core is malleable. Parts of my body merged in different ways with the beasts that ate me."

Enin did begin to understand, but only a little. The cloud lifted to a degree, but the fog remained.

"That answers only how part of your body could survive, but your essence was destroyed."

"Was it? I was killed in a space of pure magic. Not in this realm of darkness and not in your land of light. My death took place in a transitional field that I created, and so my essence was caught in that field. It might have stayed there forever, or it may have eventually faded into nothingness had my body been truly destroyed. I'm really not sure, but I know that the sorceress gave me another chance."

"Heteera," Enin whispered.

"Yes, very powerful, but not very careful. She called on the echoes, opened a nice link of which I took hold. As she watched the history of our battle, I took refuge in the powerful magic that surrounds her. Unfortunately, I lacked the strength to do anything more. I was not whole. As long as she did not notice me, I could remain. The magic is too much for her. So much power and so little control. It was actually very easy for me to conceal my presence from her."

"So that's it," Enin sighed.

"Only part," the ghoul laughed in delight. "Don't jump too far ahead. You don't have the entire picture yet. You see, I was still not whole. Parts of my body existed within the creatures of this dark realm-those creatures that feasted on me-and my consciousness resided in the magic of a sorceress. I had to reconnect them, but how? Care to guess?"

"The spell to recall Lief Woodson," Enin stated sadly.

"That was certainly an opportunity I couldn't resist. It was almost too good to be true. The foolish woman called on a spirit to help her, the spirit of an elf legend, but she has no control. It was easy for me to utilize the spell for my own needs. The spell gave me the power to exist outside of her magical reservoir. I took the form of Lief Woodson as she saw it in her memory and the rest was child's play."

"You convinced her to open a portal to the dark realm."

"Of course I had to get my body back, but I lacked the power to kill dark creatures. I could find the ones that fed on my corpse, but what then? I needed a way to kill them and regain what was rightfully mine. I also needed a way to collect the magic that also belongs to me. I had Heteera cast a spell that took care of both problems. She reanimated the remains of dead goblins and turned them into the vessel required to collect my body and my magic."

"And then you needed Ryson to destroy it."

"Not destroy it. Open it up for me. And you sent him to me. How ironic is that? You all did exactly what I wanted you to do. It's like I wrote the script and you all willingly played your parts. This is not the first time I've accomplished that, so don't be so surprised."

Enin shook his head.

"So you say, and that might explain much, but you know I can't trust you."

Baannat's smile twisted into a hateful sneer and he willingly revealed the full measure of his desires.

"No you can't, but trust no longer matters, brother. We are now at war."

"That war is over. Ryson won."

"Yes, he did," Baannat admitted with another hiss, but with no further humiliation. "You often talked of destiny and how it was the cursed delver's fate to meet me in battle-to defeat me. Well, as you said, he won, but that was him. The war with you, however, goes on."

Enin sighed. He saw Baannat not as an equal, not even as an enemy, but as a shell, and an incomplete one at that.

"And what am I at war with? You're not a spirit, of that I'm now sure. You're not the ghost of Lief Woodson. You're not even the full spirit of Baannat. You are a slink ghoul, only partially whole, alive once more, but not fully. It's almost as if you exist and don't exist, much like Heteera's portal."

"Very much like her portal."

"Which means you lack the power to defeat me in any kind of war. Even with all the magic you usurped from the dark creatures through your vessel, you still cannot match me."

"Not true," the ghoul said with great confidence. "A war is made up of battles. We battled once before, I made a mistake. I tried to fight you on my own, but you brought allies. You wouldn't face me alone."

"That's because it was Ryson that was destined to defeat you."

"And he did defeat me, as I've already acknowledged. That destiny is complete. I no longer have to concern myself with battling a fate already decided. Now we face a new beginning. I now have my own allies, an entire realm of them."

Enin looked about the hills, cliffs and ravines. He could see some of them, but he felt almost all of them-a multitude. They were vicious and cruel creatures and the wizard could sense their willingness to please Baannat. They would follow the wishes and desires of the ghoul. Somehow Baannat had gained control of this realm. It was no trick. The link between them all was as clear to the human wizard as if he could pluck them like guitar strings.

He then saw more, saw what was to come, what was inevitable. The ghoul was going to use these monsters, use them to wreak pain and agony, cause havoc of unimagined proportions. He couldn't allow it and he had the power to stop it, but he had to act at that moment.

There was no time to consider the moral implications, no time to offer Baannat a chance at redemption. Enin believed he could stop untold suffering, but the path was narrow and alternatives nonexistent.

Without hesitation, he threw his hands together and brought forth the vast magical power that was his to command. Two large circles of white fury encircled his wrists. It was his intention to obliterate the ghoul, to snuff Baannat out like a candle and be done with him, to end the suffering before it began.

There was no finesse in his spell, simply power. He cast it at the ghoul in the blink of an eye, without warning, without any way for the monster to defend himself.

A mighty crash exploded on the cliff ledge. A clap of thunder echoed in every direction, yet the ghoul remained.

Enin stood mystified at the results.

"Another miscalculation," the slink ghoul grinned, "but this is one I will not explain. You have time to consider it, for this is but the first battle, and I believe it will end in a draw. Still, we will have to see. You have taken your shot, it's time for me to take mine. I will not attack you directly. As you have so perceptively stated, I lack the power. Instead, let us see what my minions might accomplish."

The gray skies quickly filled with winged creatures of every shape and size, and they began their assault on Enin from every direction.

The wizard quickly cast another spell. From his being exploded an ever expanding and repeating wave of fury, as if a large stone fell upon the water and created many rings of disturbance that swelled outward on the surface. The force of the spell was directed at the skies and drove the flying creatures backward. They could not fight the power, and just as one ring passed, another one threw them back even further. The skies were cleared in mere moments.

"Nicely done," Baannat congratulated. "As I said, I believed it would be a draw, but I needed you to see. That was but a small contingent of the forces I can call from this realm, and I will call them all. Not to attack you here and now, that would be a waste. I have a better use for them. I will send them into your world, and do you know how?"

Enin did not reply. He stared with icy indignation at the ghoul.

Baannat smiled, but continued.

"I have no problems explaining this, for you can't stop it now. I'm going to use the very portal you created. Oh, I know you'll try to close it, but it's too late. You won't be able to. It now serves my purpose, so in effect, maybe I did win this battle."

"You won nothing. Do you think I'm a fool? If you are Baannat, you can open your own portal."

"You would think so, but for some reason I can't. Maybe that explains why your spell didn't affect me. Think about it."

With those words, the slink ghoul faded out of sight. Enin wondered if it was nothing more than a spell of invisibility, but he could not detect the ghoul anywhere nearby.

"Blast."

With nothing else to accomplish, Enin willed himself back through the air and to his portal. He crossed back into his natural plane of existence and then focused on closing the rift.

It was a small task. The gateway was of his creation. All he had to do was reverse the spell, child's play for a spell caster of his power. And yet, resistance occurred. He could touch the magic, but it defied his purpose. The rift would not close.

From across the dimensional gap, he heard a laugh.

Enin ignored the slink ghoul. He focused on the magical vibrations of the portal. It remained as he made it. The spell had not been tainted, at least he sensed no stain of evil. And yet, it now defied him.

Uncertain of what to do but unwilling to leave the portal open, Enin focused on a new spell. While he could not close the gate, he could at least seal it. He focused his energy to create a powerful shield that covered the small portal.

Baannat's voice called out from the other side.

"Well done. I didn't expect that, but it doesn't alter my plans. While I can't create my own portal, I can still alter yours. I fully intended on making yours much larger anyway. I want to be able to send creatures of all sizes into your world. Now, I will simply have to make it larger. I will expand the edges beyond your shield. You won't be able to block it forever. I do give you credit, because you bought yourself some additional time. The question is, what will you do with that time?"

There was a momentary pause, as if Baannat was waiting for an answer, but Enin said nothing.

"Then again," Baannat finally continued, "maybe you don't have as much time as you think. I will come for those who defeated me. My creatures will come for all of you. From the deserts to the plains, I will attack. And don't forget, some of my minions are already over on your side."

At the center of the blocked portal, Enin believed he could see Baannat once more. Still, the slink ghoul remained beyond his touch. Another attack would be as pointless as the first. Enin simply could not make direct contact with his foe. It seemed as if Baannat was simply projecting himself at the human wizard, taunting him while remaining out of Enin's reach.

Though Enin could not attack the ghoul, he realized he could probe the essence of Baannat's energies. He seized upon them and he believed he understood his enemy's intentions. Three were in grave danger-himself included-but Baannat also had a hunger for both the east and the west. Many would attack, as war was exactly what Baannat craved.

Chapter 13

It was Enin's intention to return to Connel immediately. He perceived the aim of the slink ghoul, knew the mayhem that was to come. He would not allow Baannat to move unopposed. Much needed to be done in preparation, but as he took to the skies, he soon understood Baannat's warning. It seemed he had much less time than he anticipated before the first strike was made.

Over the top of Dark Spruce, he saw the fires begin. He slowed his journey through dimensional space to view the coming catastrophe. The goblins in the forest were once again acting as one, moving in unison across the vast wooded lands. It seemed as if the slink ghoul could guide creatures that had already passed into Uton, and the goblins had a leader for their horde once more.

Acting with total disregard to their own safety, the goblins throughout the forest moved with a vicious intent to destroy the lands that offered them refuge. They hated the trees, even as the forest hid their movements and provided more food than they could ever imagine. It no longer mattered. Life on Uton-all life-was the enemy. The forest would burn, and that was their new desire.

The slink ghoul had placed the craving in their tiny minds. By offering them a place in his new world-a world without the pain of the dark realm and without the judgment of a land of light-Baannat convinced them all they had nothing to lose and so very much to gain.

Without hesitation, the cruel creatures put torches to dry kindling and fed the growing flames with anything that would ignite. They laughed and danced with glee as the fires spread. From north to south, these creatures of hate spanned out, members of one camp quickly reaching those of another. They did not squabble about territory or fight over food and treasure. Instead, they agreed to destroy it all.

Before Enin's eyes, a long line of fire took shape across the western edge of the Dark Spruce, and the wizard could not dismiss the wind. It would press it eastward and the entire forest would burn. Despite the wizard's spell to seal the rift, the war had begun.

"Holli," Enin whispered to the wind, "I have need of you. Prepare yourself."

In Connel, the elf felt the call, and without a word to those around her, quickly moved outside to an open space with a clear path to the skies.

"I am ready," she replied in a whisper of her own over the magical link between them.

Enin cast a spell to recall her to his side. White energy jolted across the heavens and surrounded Holli. It lifted her up just as it curved and twisted the space between them. The magic pulled her across a compressed tunnel and then held her aloft in front of the wizard.

The elf guard immediately gauged her surroundings. She felt no fear in being held so high above the ground. She had complete trust in her mentor, and she knew he would not let her fall. A she gazed across the forest, she could not miss the growing fires below, but as she scanned the breadth of destruction, she realized an unmistakable truth. These were not flames born of natural causes, not a simple wild fire from a lightning strike that would burn out the dead wood and allow the forest to reclaim unproductive land with new growth. No, these fires had been started deliberately with one objective.

Her own magical connection to nature was exceedingly strong and she could sense the true intention. The fire was born of hate, a hate she could almost taste. The forest represented life and that was the true target of the assault, and the flames were being fed by evil.

It was not fear that shook her. It was loss. Dark Spruce was her home. She might have been banished from her camp, exiled from the forest, but she had never relinquished her heritage. The trees were as much a part of her as any other elf that called Dark Spruce home, and to see it under attack brought her great pain.

She had not yet spoken to Enin, had not learned of his encounter with the spirit that claimed to be Lief Woodson, but she didn't need to. She drew a conclusion based on what she knew and based on the horror she witnessed below. She did not have all the pieces yet, but she knew enough to understand that great evil was in play.

"Baannat?" she asked of her mentor.

"Yes, it was him that assumed Lief's appearance. Ryson was correct. The slink ghoul intends to do much harm. As of this moment, he is controlling goblins in Dark Spruce."

Holli pressed the anger and the sense of loss back into the recesses of her soul. If Baannat was behind this aggression on her beloved forest, then she needed to focus on the implications of every action.

"They are setting fire to their own camps," Holli noted. "That is normally a desperate ploy, and used only when they need to flee. They are not considering their own safety or their immediate needs. His control over them must be strong."

"He controls much more in the darker realm," Enin advised.

He controls more?the elf thought.

Considering the amount of damage that was already being incurred, that did not bode well. Holli openly wondered as to the true magnitude of the threat.

"Will they come across?"

"They can't at the moment, but eventually they will. I will explain in time. For the moment, any additional threats are restricted to the other dimension."

"Then our focus should fall upon the fire. If it is left to burn, it will destroy the entire forest."

"That's why I brought you here," Enin admitted. "The intention goes far beyond the forest. Baannat seeks to destroy everything and so we must work quickly. I am going to place you upon the forest floor. Send messages to all the elves of Dark Spruce. Baannat is at war with us all. He controls the dark creatures and will send them against us in waves. Everyone is in danger and we must prepare to defend ourselves."

"What about the fire?"

"I will take care of that. Place the elves on alert. That is your first objective. When you are finished, call to me and I will summon you back to Connel."

"Very well," Holli stated. She would not doubt Enin's instructions and the wizard lowered her into the forest away from any hazards. After quickly surveying the forest floor, the elf guard took off to begin her mission.

Enin remained in the air and focused on the fires below. He knew Holli's concerns were justified. It went beyond saving her forest. Dark Spruce could not be allowed to be decimated by fire. It served many purposes and many creatures. To let it be destroyed so early in the war would be devastating.

He contemplated summoning rainstorms, but the fires were already burning hot. Rain would slow the spread, but would not consume the flames. He considered a flash flood. There were plenty of streams and creeks throughout the forest and major rivers to the north and east. He could expand the waters, redirect them with a focused spell, but would that serve his purpose? How much damage would the flood cause in the affected areas? It would save the majority of the forest, but he could not accept destroying such a large part in order to save the whole.

He turned his mind from water to air. That was his answer. If he could not douse the fires effectively and efficiently, he could starve them out. It would take more of his power, but the price was not so steep in comparison to that which would be gained.

He flew higher into the sky and stopped only when he could distinguish all of the fire as a single line through the forest. He cast his magically enhanced gaze along that line and burned the edges of each flame into his consciousness. He folded his hands in front of him as if in prayer and whispered words that would focus his energy over the element of air. White magic dropped from him like a long net and expanded as it fell down upon the burning forest.

As the magical energy struck flame, it enlarged into sheets. The flames hissed and fluttered, seeming to struggle against the powerful spell. It was, however, a battle that fire could not win. The air rushed from the flames and soon every fire was extinguished.

The forest was safe, but only for the moment. The goblins could simply start another blaze and threaten the trees once more. Enin needed to dissuade them from such an idea.

He grinned as an idea grew from his imagination. He felt it fitting.

With a spell in mind, he did not have to expend much of his own magical power. Instead, he allowed the energy to come from the forest itself. He made it a point not to modify the concepts of nature. It was not his place to change the aspects of life. He did not, however, find it beyond the scope of ethical integrity to offset Baannat's aggression against the forest with a suitable response. He did not truly alter the trees, did not give them consciousness. He simply utilized his mastery of the energy to allow the trees to defend themselves.

He cast his spell over much of the forest. It was more of animation than illusion, but the spell called on both properties. The result appeared subtle from above, as if nothing below had been changed at all.

The goblins down in the forest, however, met the effects with disbelief at first and then panic when they attempted to reset their fires.

Just as trees would grow toward the sun, search for open space, and send roots for deep water, they now moved branch and bough with great speed against goblin fire. Thick lush leaves batted out torches, and thick limbs swatted away goblins. It was as if powerful winds gave both intent and direction to low lying branches as the trees themselves fought back against every assault.

The goblins retreated in superstitious terror, wondering if the land was rising up to smite them. They scattered from their camps, trying to find refuge, but in the depths of Dark Spruce there was no sanctuary. They half expected the trees to dislodge themselves from the ground and chase them to their death, but not one uprooted itself.

Gaining only minimal courage, the goblins struck back with fiery crossbow bolts. If they could not light fires with torches, then they would rain flame down upon the forest with a volley of crossbow fire.

Once more Enin's spell allowed the trees to fight back. Swaying back and forth, heavy pine branches swallowed each bolt before it could embed itself in dead, dry wood or in the piles of dried and discarded needles. Flames were extinguished once more and the vast movement of the trees seemed to create an infinite sigh of exuberance.

Again, the goblins raced away, ran with disregard to any higher order. They headed westward to the far borders of Dark Spruce, toward the badlands where Enin's portal remained and away from the trees.

Confident the threat had passed for the moment, Enin turned his attention to other matters. Preparations were now vital. Holli would warn the elves and they would in turn assist in protecting the forest.

The trees, however, were not one of Baannat's true priorities. The slink ghoul had a mind to other targets, and they would have to be protected as well.

Ryson would be sent to the desert. That would be a problem in itself, but Enin believed it could be overcome. Many were at risk, one in particular, and that's where the delver would find issue.

Enin, however, had no real choice. Though he blinded himself to the destinies he could once see, he saw the direction laid out before him like lines on a map. He would have to make a stop at the ColadMountains before returning to Connel. As Baannat had warned, wars were made up of many battles. The fires were just the beginning. Enin had to prepare for many more encounters or discover a way to end the war before it began.

Chapter 14

Upon the wizard's return to Connel, Enin needed to address his plans for Ryson in the most sensitive fashion possible. He sent word to recall the delver, Linda, and Sy Fenden to a private room at a small tavern near the edge of the city.

Before setting his plans in motion, the wizard took a brief moment to size up the city that was becoming his second home. He considered the history of the legends and how they played out in Connel. As he took one brief moment to stroll the perimeter of the inn before entering, he patted the ancient wall built by dwarves countless cycles ago.

The wall served as the barrier that protected the five races when spell casters and dark creatures aligned to take Ingar's sphere by force. It was built to deflect magic-spells cast by wizards and sorcerers to kill the innocent. The spell casters didn't care about right or wrong during that legendary battle. They only wanted the captured energy freed, but they were defeated at Connel. The sphere was taken to SanctumMountain, buried, and then forgotten.

In more recent history, the sphere was destroyed and the magic set loose once more, but the disgrace could not be forgotten-not by Enin nor by any other spell caster who arose to utilize the return of magic. He cursed the memory of now long dead wizards and sorcerers, despised their desire to remain relevant-powerful-even to a point of risking the very safety of the land. The stain of their selfishness may not have tainted the newly released magic with any poison, but it certainly left a bitter taste to any spell caster who now benefited by powers previously unimagined. It was an injustice that perhaps could be corrected.

Enin looked down the streets and alleys. Connel itself remained bustling with activity. The citizens of the city, as well as those new settlers willing to join in the burgeoning and lucrative trade with the dwarves, were not yet aware of the new threat. They certainly knew of Enin. Many didn't comprehend the full extent of his power, but with each day the inhabitants of Uton were growing more accustomed to magic. These people knew he placed his watchful eye over them, and the city's population grew because of that simple fact.

His involvement allowed Connel to revive from near devastation. He was not quite the leader of the city, more of a guiding patron, but his counsel and contributions brought stability and security.

He looked once more upon the intricate weave of stone that made up the wall around the city. It represented a connection between dwarves and humans, a strong tie between the races that existed in the past and that was being rekindled in the present. Connel was becoming a beacon of hope and a model that others could follow.

As he watched individuals of different backgrounds and different races come together to rebuild, he made a personal note of conviction. Connel had been through enough. The city and its people needed-no, deserved-a reprieve. He would see to it, but before he could set about his plans for battling Baannat, he had to convince Ryson to take on responsibilities that would certainly go against the delver's deep-seated priorities.

Enin exhaled deeply as he entered the tavern and moved deliberately to the private room where those he called waited for him. The delver had much to do, and convincing him of what needed to be done would not be easy.

"You have two important duties," Enin said to Ryson after a quick explanation of his encounter with Baannat.

Ryson listened carefully with both Linda and Sy by his side. It pleased him to see that Enin took on an aggressive role in assisting Uton. Seemingly gone was the passive stance of the wizard to let others dictate the outcomes of such serious events. Enin held power beyond the normal and ordinary, and Ryson would not question the intent of the spell caster, or so he thought.

"I am convinced we face many threats," Enin continued. "Baannat clearly stated he would attack Uton from the desert to the plains. As I explained, I could not close the portal, thus, we know the bulk of the assault will come from just beyond the western edge of Dark Spruce. While I have plans for defending the areas to the east of the forest. It is the desert that concerns me the most. That is why you are needed there."

"The algors?" Ryson asked.

"Yes. There is nothing between them and the portal, save spell casters practicing in the desert, and they will not be there for long. The desert and its inhabitants will be a crucial target, of that I am certain. While the algors did not actively battle Baannat, they are linked to you, and the ghoul knows that. He will strike at them in so much as that it is a strike against you."

Ryson found it difficult to hear that his actions had put others at risk. The algors had already suffered, and through no fault of their own. They did not deserve further affliction, and thus, Ryson would eagerly do what was necessary to defend the unique desert dwellers.

"What do you suggest?"

"They have to be warned. Algors do not store magic for long. They must collect it and use it almost simultaneously. They must be given enough time to prepare. Otherwise, they would be overwhelmed by the forces that I believe will attack them. In fact, the Lacobian is so important that I believe Baannat will make it a priority."

"Wouldn't it be faster if you just flew there yourself," Sy asked. "Ryson can move fast, but you can get to places in an instant."

"It would indeed be faster, but there are other considerations that I will explain. The algors must also be advised to expect allies. It will be difficult for them to survive on their own, even if prepared."

"You're going to send them help?" Ryson asked.

"Yes, you… and two battalions of dwarf warriors."

"Dwarves?"

"Yes, they are best suited to fight in the sandstone caves that the algors use as shelter. The dwarves are also more than capable to deal with the harsh environment of the desert, certainly more so than elves or humans."

"Dwarves from Dunop?" Ryson wished to confirm.

"Yes, well at least most from Dunop. They will come from other cities as well. About five thousand warriors in total. I have already talked to a representative. That is what I have been promised."

Ryson immediately saw the trouble with the strategy.

"The algors were attacked by dwarves from Dunop," Ryson reminded Enin.

"And that is why the dwarves are willing to assist," Enin explained. "They still view that as a mark against their honor, just as they saw their attack on Connel as a disgrace. They wish to rectify those errors."

"That's fine for the dwarves," Ryson offered, "but what about the algors? They weren't just attacked, they were decimated… in their homes. Now you want to send the dwarves back into those caves? That's not going to go over well."

"That's why you must go. The algors will trust you. In some strange way, they have accepted you as no other. There is no one else to send who comes close to your standing. In many regards, you have earned their trust. That's why you must go."

"I'm not sure how much they've accepted me."

"Do not underestimate your bond to their community. They think with a like mind, and they can act as one. You have a greater standing among them than you can imagine."

Ryson did not see it quite the same, but he felt compelled to help in any way.

"I'll do everything I can."

"Then I am convinced you will succeed, and we can't accept failure. The algors must be convinced to fight with the dwarves as opposed to fighting against them, and you must stay and assist them in any way you can. The Lacobian must not be lost. Baannat's legions can not be allowed to utilize it as a breeding ground for additional forces or a base of operations for incursions into other areas. It must not become an access route to the western coast. As long as the algors remain a cohesive unit in the desert, the Lacobian will remain guarded. If they are decimated, Baannat will grow infinitely stronger."

None of those attending, not Ryson nor Sy, could argue with the strategy. While Dark Spruce functioned as a sanctuary for dark creatures fleeing into Uton, the Lacobian served as far more than a practice ground for human spell casters. The algors remained in tune with their desert home, and for the same reason a bird guards its nest against predators, the lizard-like desert dwellers protected the Lacobian against the hordes that might wish to gain access to the western ocean.

"What's the second duty?" Ryson asked, no longer questioning his appointed role to help defend the algors.

Enin did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned his attention to the delver's wife.

"Linda, you allowed me to save you once by keeping you from following Ryson into the monsters' realm. I must ask that you allow me that service again."

"What do you mean?" Linda asked, clearly caught off guard.

"Of all those in this land, you are the most in danger. Baannat understands that you are the biggest threat to him. He is a magic caster, and though he has lost much of his strength, that is still his true power. You helped defeat him once, and he fears you most of all because his magic cannot harm you. He will seek to destroy you with the creatures he now controls."

"He's going to hunt me down?"

"Yes, and we must protect you, and I believe I have an answer."

Enin eyed Ryson and noted the growing anxiety. The delver was going to be difficult to convince.

"I am going to ask that Ryson escort you with all possible speed to the foot of the ColadMountains. You will utilize the swiftest horse in Connel, and with Ryson's speed, you should reach your destination before Baannat can act. There, you will be turned over to the protection of the cliff behemoths. There are none better in all of Uton to protect you."

Ryson broke through the shock of this revelation. His wife was now the target of an insane and evil slink ghoul with the power to control perhaps every dark creature in existence. It was almost a death sentence to be carried out in horrific ways he dared not imagine. He would not accept that, and he would fight with his last breath to protect her, and yet he quickly realized a simple truth behind Enin's plans.

"Just hold on!" Ryson demanded, "How can I stay with Linda in the mountains and go to the desert to meet with the algors?"

Enin stiffened to face the true challenge of this meeting. "You can't. You are only to escort Linda to the mountains. You cannot stay. Once you meet with the cliff behemoths, you will begin your journey southwest to the desert. I have already communicated with Dzeb and he has agreed. We have designated a meeting area…"

He did not get a chance to finish as the delver spoke with cold determination.

"I don't care what you agreed to," Ryson interrupted. "If she's in danger, I'm not leaving her side."

It was not with anger that he eyed the wizard, but with impenetrable determination. It was not up for debate. There was not a question in his mind. The algors' dilemma evaporated from his concerns like a single rain drop in their desert home.

Enin saw no other way to argue. He came right to the point.

"Then I suggest you come to grips with the reality that you just sentenced the algors to extinction and perhaps every inhabitant of the western coast once Baannat's forces claim the Lacobian."

Ryson was prepared for almost any argument, but that single accusation stung like a quick slap to the cheek.

"What? You can't place that on me!"

"You defeated Baannat. You are linked to the algors. He will kill them because of that."

"But that's Baannat's fault, not mine."

"And what of your failure to warn the algors?"

"Don't mix the issues! You're talking about my wife here! There's absolutely no way you can expect me to let anything else be of greater importance. Someone else can go to the desert!"

"True, someone else can send a warning, but who else can convince them to accept help from the dwarves? You are connected to their tribe. You.No one else. If you don't go, I cannot send the dwarves as aid. It would not only be useless, it might start a skirmish between them that would weaken both forces."

"That's not right. Just because the dwarves once attacked the algors doesn't mean I have to leave Linda."

"I'm afraid it does, for that is the situation at hand. You can blame destiny or chance, it doesn't matter which. The truth of the matter is that, while I understand your desire to protect your wife, you are needed elsewhere. The algors trust you and you alone. That is what the situation demands."

Ryson shook his head. He could not accept those demands.

Enin understood, but he could not allow a refusal.

"Understand, I don't wish to put you in this situation. In fact, I've done everything I can to come up with the best solution. Ask yourself this, who better to guard Linda than the cliff behemoths?"

"I can do it better!"

Enin raised an eyebrow.

"You can? You are an amazing individual, I do not deny it, but are you telling me you are a better defense against an army of dark creatures than a host of cliff behemoths?"

The description surprised the delver.

"A host?"

"Ryson, I am well aware of the loyalty you have to your wife. Did you think I was just going to turn her over to one or two cliff behemoths in the wilderness. Give me a little more credit. I did not waste time speaking with Dzeb. My effort was deliberate in every way."

"But how can I leave her?"

"By understanding what is at stake. There are many lives in the balance and I view them all as precious. I don't wish to sacrifice any, not one. Why would I waste valuable time with these plans, and now arguing them with you, if I didn't understand the magnitude of what we face. Now you must accept that I have taken the proper precautions. Every cliff behemoth understands the need to defend Linda. They will do so."

Ryson felt trapped, cornered. What was not even supposed to be up for debate was turning into an argument he was actually losing. He looked to Linda.

"I don't want you to be in this kind of danger, and I don't want you to face it alone."

Linda felt pulled in every direction. She wanted Ryson with her and the thought of being hunted by an army of beasts left her beyond terrified. For her, it was more than a death sentence. It was a punishment of torment. That is why she remained quiet, until that moment.

"I don't think what we want matters anymore," she said, barely above a whisper.

Ryson saw her fear and his emotions took over.

"You see?!" he demanded of the wizard. "She's terrified."

Enin bowed his head. He had lost the delver. He was sure of it, until Linda changed the outcome.

"Of course I'm terrified," Linda managed through labored breaths, "but what can we do? Even if you do stay with me, wouldn't it be best to seek the safest place? Can't the cliff behemoths protect me?"

"I don't know," Ryson admitted.

"If they can't, can you?"

"I'd die before I let something happen to you."

"Then we both might be dead, maybe all of us-the algors, the humans, the dwarves, the elves-every last one of us."

Ryson found no way to answer that.

"Ryson," Enin joined with his optimism renewed. "There is a way, but you will have to trust in Dzeb and the cliff behemoths."

"It's not about trust, it's about responsibility," Ryson shot back, becoming angrier and now feeling outnumbered.

"I know it is, and unfortunately, your responsibilities are split. You have a responsibility to your wife and a responsibility to the algors. You believe the former is greater than the latter. No one will argue that point, but I have given you the opportunity to meet both responsibilities. You can escort your wife to the safest place in the land, leave her knowing that she will be protected by the mightiest beings of Uton, and move on to fulfill what you must do in the desert."

"There's got to be another answer. What about you? Can't you protect Linda right here? You could wipe the land clean of goblins with your power."

That solution seemed to hold merit, hope even for Linda. Enin, however, pointed out what he gleaned from Baannat as he shook his head at the proposal.

"We three-Linda, you, and I-we are the main targets of Baannat. We are the ones who defeated him. He wants revenge… on all of us. We must remain separated. If two of us come together, Baannat can combine his forces. If he knew I was with your wife, think of what he would send against us. It would not be just goblins. Do you remember what you saw in the dark realm? Multiply that a hundredfold. That is what he would send at us. Do you still want me to guard Linda?"

"No," Ryson admitted, but then jumped on another option. "So you don't guard Linda, but what about the algors? It doesn't have to be me. You could do that. I heard what you said before about convincing the algors to accept the help of the dwarves, but why even bother with the dwarves? Why can't you protect the algors?"

"Because I'm going to have to eventually face Baannat," Enin revealed, "and he's going to want to do more than destroy me. He wants to humiliate me."

Ryson found that explanation lacking and looked to the wizard with a doubtful expression.

Enin tried to erase those doubts.

"Maybe you think I can stand with the algors. It is a false hope. Once more I ask that you look at the situation in total. Baannat is planning my destruction, but he has many objectives. If I remain away from Linda, away from you, and away from the desert, Baannat must divide his forces. If you demand I go to the desert, he will focus all his might there and then turn upon you and your wife. You might as well open the path for Baannat's victory right now."

Again, Ryson had no answer.

"No, I can't do that," Enin continued. "I must be prepared to move at a moment's notice to counteract whatever Baannat attempts. I may need to assist the elves in Dark Spruce or the humans here in Connel. I must be ready to deal with any number of contingencies. Remember, Baannat not only controls the dark creatures, he reenergized himself with vast quantities of magical energy."

Enin offered Ryson one choice, but it was false hope, and the wizard knew it before he even made the suggestion. "In all honesty, you have one other alternative. If you are absolutely determined to remain with your wife, you would have to bring Linda with you into the desert. Think on that carefully. Who would you really be serving? Where do you really think she will be the safest? In the mountains under the protection of cliff behemoths or in the Lacobian where I am sure Baannat will attack in great force… a terrible force if he believes you two are together."

Linda immediately saw the implications of Enin's offer and she saw the danger to her husband. Believing Ryson might let his emotions get the better of him, she spoke up before he could answer.

"Ry, you have to go to the desert… and you have to go alone."

"You agree with him?" Ryson asked, not hiding his shock.

"How are you going to feel if you discover the algors were attacked while you were trying to protect me? What if they're all killed? What if Baannat takes control of the desert? Will you be able to forgive yourself? Will you be able to forgive me?"

Ryson, however, could only look at it from the opposite position.

"I won't be able to forgive myself if something happens to you."

"Isn't it really my choice?"

"Actually, no. It's our choice," Ryson replied.

Linda nodded.

"You're right. I'm sorry. It is our choice. In all honesty, I want to be with you. I almost want to say-right now-let me come with you to the desert. We can be together. It almost makes sense… almost. The problem is I'm going to distract you if I'm with you. We'll probably both get killed. Am I wrong? And be honest with me."

"I don't know." Ryson allowed.

"So what does that leave us?"

"I'm not sure."

Linda turned to the wizard.

"Enin, how long will I have to wait out in the mountains?"

"I do not believe time is something we have in great quantity. The fact that Baannat ordered the goblins to set fire to Dark Spruce tells me he wants to act quickly. If he does not take the desert by the end of the growing season, I believe he will lose the opportunity."

"Okay, so not very long. I can live with that-time in the mountains protected by cliff behemoths." Linda then considered the plan in full and voiced another question. "You said I was to go by horse. Couldn't you just cast one of your spells and send me there much faster?"

Enin shook his head.

"I would have to accompany you, and I don't think that's wise. More importantly, I don't want to leave an energy trail to where you are going. Although Baannat remains somewhat a mystery to me, I must treat him as the powerful wizard he once was. You are a unique individual and placing you in a magical stream for transportation might be the same as drawing a map for him. I don't want to do that."

"So it's a journey by horseback." Linda then turned her attention back to Ryson. "You can protect me for that. I know you can. You can get me to the cliff behemoths and then do what you have to do. You go warn the algors, get them to accept the dwarves as allies. A few days or more in the desert for you to help them. Then, you come back for me. Is that really such a bad plan?"

For Ryson, it was a bad plan. He was being forced down a path he did not wish to travel, forced away from Linda. But apparently, he was the only one that saw it that way. He looked into the eyes of the three people he trusted most, and he knew what they thought.

"No, I guess it's not."

That was all Ryson could say, all he would say at the moment, but it seemed as if his life was taking more than an unfortunate turn. He was feeling punished for some crime he did not commit and the discouraging circumstances were quickly breeding a deep bitterness.

Chapter 15

"Does it ever bother you?" Ryson asked his wife as he guided her horse through the northern branch of DarkSpruceForest.

Linda knew her husband wasn't simply attempting small talk to pass the time, but dwelling on the inescapable seemed a pointless exercise.

"It always bothers me, but what can you do about it?"

"I'm not sure if we can do anything, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it."

"We talk about it all the time."

"We haven't talked about this yet."

"You mean me going to the mountains?"

The Colad Mountains.

Ryson could see portions of the majestic range during certain points of their journey. The northern branch of Dark Spruce was one of the thinner sections of the forest, but the foliage and abundance of new growth thrived throughout the trees-enough to block a clear view of the horizon, especially during the growing season. Healthy, light green leaves grew in abundance and filled every open space, taking in as much sunlight as possible. Every now and then, however, Ryson cut through a small clearing or crossed the heights of a plateau and a clear line of sight formed to the north. The mountains overwhelmed the landscape. The scenic beauty that surrounded them offered a stark contrast to the thoughts and fears that overwhelmed the delver.

"That and all the rest," Ryson finally responded. "I mean it's like here we go all over again."

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Linda agreed. "Baannat's back. We didn't get much of a break, did we?"

"No, and that's why I'm asking. Aren't you tired of it? Sometimes I think it just doesn't get any better. If anything, it's getting worse."

"Some things are worse, some things are better. It's all how you look at it."

"You can be the eternal optimist if you want, but at some point reality has to set in."

"And what's reality to you?"

It was not his intention to frighten his wife, but the seriousness of their situation clearly weighed upon him, left him grasping for answers. Searching for answers was part of being a delver, but these were not the kind of questions that inspired a delver to explore. Ryson faced issues of an internal matter, questions about his place in the land and the consequences of his actions.

"It isn't just that Baannat is back. He wants you and me dead. And why?Because we got involved with him before. We stopped him, but not for good. Now, we're going to pay for it. That's reality and it's hard to be optimistic when you consider what we're facing. It's not about monsters or magic. It's about something evil wanting very much to kill us."

Linda didn't know what to say to that. It was true. It was scary. And it was almost painful to consider.

"What's bothering me the most is it doesn't seem to matter," Ryson explained.

"What do you mean? What doesn't matter?"

"What we do. I don't know how else to say it. Why did we even go through all that agony with Baannat to stop him the first time? It didn't work. We're right back where we started and now he wants to get even. Why did we do it?"

"We didn't have a choice."

"Maybe we did."

Linda shook her head.

"I don't think so. He wasn't going to be satisfied until he destroyed everything in his way. Enin knew he had to fight Baannat, and he needed us to help."

"And so we did what we had to do," Ryson followed. "We did what we thought was necessary. I know what you're saying, but I still think we had a choice. We could have stayed out of it."

"I don't think you could have. I know Enin said it was your destiny, but it goes beyond that. Staying out of it was never an option. That's not you, and I think deep down you know that's true."

"I'm not sure of anything at the moment. You're probably right about me not being able to stay out of it then. I did what I thought I was supposed to do. That's what it's about, right? We do the best we can… do what we think we should. There's only one problem. I'm starting to think it doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters. You did what was right. That's what guided you then and it's what guides you now. It's what makes you what you are."

"Great, and what does it get us? Hunted. Maybe I should try being something else."

"Don't talk like that."

"Why not? I'm not looking for some great reward. I never have, but is it too much to ask that maybe I don't get thrown into the fire every single time? Godson, what do I have to do? I try to do the right thing. I try to help people, and now it all seems to get thrown back in my face. I don't want this to sound like I'm feeling sorry for myself, but I'm trying to understand it. And in all honesty, I can't."

"So you think you don't deserve this?"

"You think I do?" Ryson sounded a bit surprised.

"Not at all. You absolutely don't deserve it, but I hope you're not saying that you want life to be fair, because we know what that gets us."

"No, I don't expect it to be fair, but is it too much to ask that certain things actually mean something? If they don't, then why do we bother? And if they do, why are we back where we started? Only now, it seems like things are much worse. I think that's what's really bothering me."

Finding Ryson's assertions almost alarming, Linda pointed out what she believed to be true.

"What we do matters a great deal, especially when we do what's right. You know, in the bar I hear a lot of talk. People say what's right and what's wrong and what they're going to do, but that's only talk. It matters more what you do, and I see that in people. You more than anyone. I'm even surprised you're thinking this way. Of course it matters what we do. Look at what you've done. You saved so many people. You saved all of Uton."

Ryson didn't want to discount his wife's opinion. He understood she was doing more than complimenting him. She was revealing her pride in what he had done, but pride would only go so far. It wasn't going to save them against Baannat, and rather than simply accept her praise, he dwelled upon his own misgivings.

"Yeah, I saved Uton; first by destroying a sphere and then helping to kill an evil slink ghoul. Seems like the ghoul didn't want to stay dead. And the magic from the sphere is now being used against all of us. Maybe Heteera was really wrong."

Linda didn't follow the connection to the sorceress who had come to her in order to obtain Ryson's help.

"She made a mistake. I wouldn't blame her."

"That's not what I'm talking about. She was more worried about the magic. She wanted to stop the dark creatures from entering the land in order to show how the magic has helped us. I'm not sure it's helping us at all."

"What about Enin?" Linda pointed out.

"Baannat wants him dead, too."

"That's not Enin's fault."

"This isn't about fault. It's about understanding what all this is for. I'm not trying to figure out the purpose of life or anything like that. I'm just wondering if any of this really matters. Actually, the truth is I don't even care if it matters. I'm tired."

Linda could sense the desperation growing in her husband. She knew it probably had more to do with her being in danger than anything else, but she could also see the frustration.

In a way, she couldn't argue with Ryson. He put his life on the line many times. He risked everything for every race in the land. Yes, he was becoming a legend, but he didn't want the glory, or the price that came with it. He just wanted peace and a chance to enjoy life. He wasn't getting either.

As they continued on their journey, she realized how lonely their surroundings had become. A few abandoned outposts dotted the trails, but it seemed that only the most brazen-or perhaps most foolish adventurers-utilized these paths. New growth from the forest claimed almost every passageway. Ryson's skills guided them, but it felt as if they were now the only inhabitants in the land.

"What are you really thinking?" Linda asked in order to keep the silence from overtaking them.

Ryson appeared to look around, as if to ensure they were truly alone. When he spoke, it was just above a whisper, just loud enough for Linda, and no one else, to hear.

"Maybe we should just take off to the north. Forget the mountains, forget the cliff behemoths. Let's just lose ourselves."

Linda was almost tempted to agree. Let the land sort out its own problems, but deep down she knew it wasn't that easy. Where could they go? Where would they really be safe from a maniacal wizard returned from the dead? How would Ryson live with the fact he turned his back on others? Perhaps more importantly, how would she feel about him if that's what he truly wanted?

She almost didn't want to ask the question, but there was no way to avoid it.

"You really think that's the best choice?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it's better than us being separated."

Linda appreciated the sentiment, agreed with it, but only to a point. There were others to consider.

"And what about the algors?"

"Will I really do them any good?"

"So you would just leave them to Baannat?"

And here, Ryson made his case. It wasn't just about him. It was about how the rules seemed to stack against him no matter what he did.

"Maybe I'm not leaving them, maybe I'm really doing them a favor. I'm looking back at everything I've done. Some say I've saved Uton, just like you did. But where has it gotten us? All of us? The sphere was going to destroy the land. Well, now Baannat is going to destroy the land. Seems like we're back at square one. I'm not sure I've saved anything. I think I just keep moving things in a circle."

"So we remove ourselves from the circle. That's what you want?"

"Maybe."

He heaved a heavy sigh and then continued with a weary voice.

"You're asking me about the algors. Well, why are the algors in danger? Mostly because of me.Seems like the algors keep getting punished for things that I've done. I pulled them into entering Sanctum. They got blamed for a dwarf prince getting killed in there, so the dwarves attacked them, killed thousands."

"That wasn't your fault or the algors' fault."

"You keep talking about fault. It's not about fault. It's about what matters. I'm starting to think nothing matters and maybe we should just accept it and get out of here as fast as we can."

Linda looked into Ryson's eyes. She could see the uncertainty now. She knew he didn't like the idea of leaving her, but she now realized it went far beyond that as well. He was questioning everything he had ever done-every brave action, every selfless deed, everything that made her so very proud to be with him.

"We can't," she said with a certainty that surprised the delver.

"We can do anything," he responded almost defensively.

"No, we can't. You can't become something you're not. If you do, it really will be the end. The end of us, the end of you, the end of everything that brought us together… that keeps us together. I know this isn't about fear, but I think you're losing yourself, and that's what really scares me, more than being hunted by Baannat."

Ryson almost grimaced. He knew she was right. He was questioning himself, questioning what he believed in because he didn't know what that meant anymore. He was, however, tired-very tired. Tired of fighting battles and wars beyond his reckoning. He was a delver, not some legendary warrior. He wanted simplicity. He was curious in nature, not bold and daring. He wanted to spend the day exploring and then come home to Linda. He wanted an end to the struggles.

Struggles.

That was what Lief said they faced, but deep down he knew it went further than that. Ingar's sphere wanted to destroy everything, wanted to end the struggle-the struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, life and death. He destroyed the sphere and the struggle continued. Was he now sorry?

"I guess I really am just tired," Ryson suggested.

Linda almost accepted that as the end of the discussion, but she couldn't. He wasn't letting go of his doubts and he had nothing to take hold of for hope. As she looked upon him, she noticed the two short war blades sheathed to his hips, blades that Sy had given him to replace what he had lost. The Sword of Decree that he carried on his back was noticeably absent.

"You miss your sword, don't you?"

"Miss it?"

"Yes. I'm not saying you depended on it, but it did have a way to point you in the right direction. In the back of your mind, you knew it was there for you. You don't have it with you anymore. It's a hole."

"A hole?"

Linda just nodded.

"I think it's more than just the sword…" Ryson began, but then a series of shrieks distracted him.

He knew immediately what they faced, but he had been taken unaware. He had lost focus and they were now in grave danger.

"Tree rakers!" he yelled over the growing clamor. "Get hold of the reins."

Linda tightened her grip and pulled to slow the frightened horse, but to no avail.

The branches of nearby trees began to swing violently as the screams of the rakers grew louder and more violent. The horse bolted in fear and chose the only apparent path.

"No, not that way!" Ryson shouted. "Pull him back."

Linda pulled on the bridle with all her strength, but the horse would not relinquish.

"He's not stopping!"

"He must have the bit in his teeth!" the delver called out. "Hold on!"

Moving at incredible speed, Ryson ran along side of the stallion and took hold of the bridle strap at the horse's cheek. He pulled as he ran, but the horse was too strong and too frightened.

The path ahead narrowed continuously. Thick branches whipped at Ryson's body as he ran through the brush. He ignored the pain, but he could not ignore their plight.

"Not good!"

The delver understood the trap. He had dealt with tree rakers before. The worked in packs. Too slow to hunt like wolves, they waited in ambush instead. They set a trap of a single path that appeared to offer a way to freedom, but in fact was no true escape. Using shrieks and startling movements, tree rakers herded frightened pray down a narrow passage. The trail, however, would lead to a dead-end and the rakers would close in from behind.

Ryson could feel the path closing around him. In a fit of desperation, he finally managed to slow the horse, but he could already see the end of the trail just ahead-a complete stop surrounded by dead trees trunks and broken limbs. Not a single path existed in any direction other than the way they came. He looked about for a way through the surrounding brush. It was too thick. If he were alone, he might be able to push his way through, but even he couldn't work fast enough to save them all.

With no other recourse, he pulled the war blades from their sheaths and took a defensive position at the rear of the horse. He moved far enough away to be clear of any hind kicks from the panicked animal, but further retreat was no longer possible.

Four tree rakers rambled towards him, completely blocking the only free passage. He wondered if there were more camouflaged in the side brush. In truth, it didn't matter. His blades would not significantly harm the rakers, could not cut through their thick bark-like hides. He could outmaneuver them, even in close quarters, but eventually they would turn on easier prey, take the horse and then Linda. He would die before he allowed that, but in his mind, they were already dead.

Linda tried to turn the horse about, to face the predators head-on, but the passage was too narrow. She nudged the horse forward as far as the animal would go to give Ryson as much room as possible. She looked over her shoulder at first in dismay and then in wonder.

Ryson crouched low, prepared to strike at the lower limbs of the tree rakers. If he kept them off balance, knocked them to the ground, he might frustrate them. It was faint hope, but the only hope he had, until he saw the rustling behind the rakers.

The movement was furious, but in some ways almost gentle. A pair of giant arms locked upon the two rear rakers and lifted them from the ground. Both of the upended creatures were then carefully tossed into soft brush in the distance. Those rakers would free themselves, but it would take some time. They were no longer a threat.

The remaining two rakers turned about. Unwilling to give up their prey, they disregarded the size of the interloper. They ripped at the newcomer with sharp branch-like fingers, but even claws that were sharp as razors could not cut the smooth, but rock-hard hide of their target.

In a desperate attempt, both rakers pressed the full weight of their thick bodies against their unexpected foe, but they would have been more successful trying to crush a boulder. Struggle as they might, they failed in even disturbing their enemy's balance.

Just as the giant took hold of their comrades, powerful hands fell upon the last two rakers and pulled them back down the path. The rakers struggled, but to no avail. Once the narrow passage opened up into several paths, the tree rakers were released and pressed to retreat. The creatures made no further argument and scurried off into the woods.

"You may come out of there now," a soft, reassuring voice called out to Ryson and Linda.

Ryson first moved back to the front of Linda's horse, and guided the animal backward until room allowed for him to turn the stallion about. As they reached the clearing at the end of the passage, Ryson offered his appreciation with great respect.

"You have my thanks. I owe you more than I can say."

"No need for thanks or debts, Ryson Acumen. You are well known to all the cliff behemoths. We all count you as friend to us, and a friend to Godson."

Ryson had met several cliff behemoths in his explorations. This one, however, he did not recognize. They were near the previously arranged meeting point with Dzeb, but not so close he would have expected their assistance. He was grateful, but surprised.

"I don't believe we've met," Ryson explained.

"No, I have not yet had the personal pleasure of your company. I am Elese."

She looked much like Dzeb, only somehow softer. It was difficult for Ryson to determine exactly how that was possible, but he couldn't deny it. In many ways, cliff behemoths looked like giant oblong rocks with arms and legs, and Elese appeared much the same. He doubted anything short of a magical explosion could dent her skin and she appeared as powerful as any behemoth. All cliff behemoths had soft, peaceful eyes, but this one had something more about her. There was something in her expression, a warmth beyond the peaceful ways of the cliff behemoths.

"Well, thank you again. We were in a tight spot."

Elese chuckled pleasantly.

"Yes, a narrow spot indeed. I am surprised you fell into the tree rakers' trap."

Ryson wanted to hide his embarrassment, but he would not lie to a cliff behemoth.

"I was distracted."

"Distracted in the forest is a dangerous thing. It is a good thing Dzeb asked me to venture out and meet you early. I will accompany you to the meeting spot, Godson willing, and we will look out for traps together."

"I'd appreciate that."

They moved slower, but Ryson didn't mind. He was in no hurry to leave Linda. He understood the pressing need of the algors, but he remained torn inside. His inner conflict was more than just a distraction. He was not certain of Enin's plan.

It was only when they finally met Dzeb that his worries lightened. The mighty cliff behemoth was flanked by dozens upon dozens of his brothers and sisters.

Ryson wanted to run up to the mighty behemoth and throw his arms around him, but he contained his jubilation. Instead, he walked up to the giant and bowed his head.

Dzeb reached out a powerful arm and gently rested it upon the delver's shoulder.

"So good to see you again, Ryson Acumen. You are a blessing of Godson."

Every behemoth repeated those last three words in unison.

Dzeb then walked over to the stallion where Linda remained mounted. He placed his hand on the horse's muzzle. The animal pressed its face forward into the hand of the behemoth, grateful to be recognized.

"Do not dismount, ma'am," Dzeb suggested. "We have little time and we know what threatens you. Godson willing, you will be safe with us. We will guide you into the valleys where it remains warmer. The lakes are full as the heavy floods from the thaw have already occurred. There are many fishing shacks that have been abandoned that you can use for shelter. It seems the adventurers who used to travel to our mountains have dwindled since the return of magic. I will give you a moment to speak to your delver, but then we must move to safer lands."

"I'm not sure I'm going to be leaving," Ryson admitted.

Dzeb turned about and looked into the delver's eyes.

"Do you not have another task ahead of you? I thought your help was required in the desert. That is what the wizard informed me."

"That's his plan, not mine."

"And so you withdraw your assistance? That is not like you at all, Delver Acumen."

"I don't know if my assistance is worth that much. Enin probably told you what's happening. It's nothing new."

Dzeb smiled.

"Godson makes everything new. And your aid is a great gift. Have you forgotten all that you have done with Godson's grace?"

Ryson had no intention of debating Dzeb's deeply held beliefs, but he would clearly question his own worth.

"I'm not sure I've done any one any good. What have I really accomplished? A great many people have died, many more have suffered. Looks like there's more suffering to come. If you look back, what I've done doesn't seem to mean much."

Dzeb's smile actually grew.

"You truly are graced by Godson, and it seems you don't even know it. You are learning truths that some take a lifetime to discover. We are often left to our own devices, whether we be man, delver, elf, or cliff behemoth. We do what we can, we do our best, but not everything is up to us."

"Yeah, well is it too much to ask that when we do the right thing that it actually matters?"

Revealing surprise, Dzeb questioned the delver's desires.

"You seek rewards?"

The question and the probing look of the colossus actually stung the delver and he defended his true meaning.

"I don't seek any reward, I just want an end to the struggles."

"That is a reward." Dzeb paused and reconsidered what he believed he saw in the delver. He revealed it freely. "There seems to be doubt in the heart of Ryson Acumen. Welcome to Uton. Welcome to Godson."

Ryson, however, was baffled.

"I have no idea what that means. Am I supposed to?"

"You are a delver, you seek to find answers to mysteries. If that is a mystery to you, then seek the answer."

"The only thing I'm seeking is an explanation as to why we don't seem to get anywhere. I keep fighting the same battles and nothing ever changes."

The giant sighed, but then spoke a simple truth.

"And so you wish to force a change by removing yourself from the struggle?" The titan shook his head in disappointment at the thought. "You do what you must, but if I may offer a bit of wisdom-you are looking at things from a narrow eye. If you wish to use the past to vindicate yourself, then you must consider the entirety of all your actions, both the good and the bad. Do you really wish to base your salvation on everything you have already done and ignore what you still can do? The past is over, but you can control what you do in the present and you can look for light in the future. Let it be Godson's way."

Dzeb walked away without saying anymore, giving Ryson and Linda all the time and privacy they needed.

"So you're just going to stay here?" Linda asked. "I thought we had this settled. Look at how many of them are here just to protect me."

"I don't think it has anything to do with them. It has everything to do with me. Like I said before, I'm tired of things not making any sense. We keep trying to fix things and they keep breaking. I wish it wasn't all so confusing."

"It's only confusing if you look at it in a certain way. We were saved today by a cliff behemoth. I think that's something for you to consider."

"What? You mean like some sort of sign? I didn't think you believed in signs."

"I'm not sure I do, but I do think things happen for a reason. Enin likes to tell us we're not alone, that other powers are always at work."

"Maybe it's just a coincidence."

"Do you think any of these cliff behemoths around us believe in coincidences?"

"No, they don't."

"Then let's trust them and stick with the plan," Linda declared, as if she made the decision for both of them, and in a way, she did.

They said their farewells and then moved in separate directions. Linda went north into the mountains with the cliff behemoths and Ryson began his journey south, back to the LacobianDesert.

Chapter 16

Running south, an objective in mind but his thoughts diverted to the one he had left behind, Ryson raced past the edges of Dark Spruce, through the badlands, and into the LacobianDesert. He would not have to waste time searching for the algors. He would head directly to the sandstone cliffs that served as their massive shelter, the central gathering point for the community that all algors belonged.

Distracted, he never saw the sand trap until he was near its edge. The sand formed a hollow depression. The circular cavity consisted of steep downward slopes that led to a dark hole in the center. The creator of the trap compressed the sand with amazing force, packing it tight enough for the surface to become as smooth and slick as wet glass. Once over the edge, a trapped victim would not be able to climb out, for there were no footholds, nothing to grab, just a steep slide into the center abyss.

Ryson tried to stop before passing the trap ledge, but he had too much momentum and it carried him into the crater. Immediately, he accelerated. Using all his speed and agility, he pumped his legs hard down upon the smooth surface. Instead of trying to slow his descent, he increased it, but at an angle away from the center. When he reached a point halfway across as well as halfway down the depression, he reversed the angle upwards. With one mighty thrust against the trap side, he leapt across the remaining space to the opposite side of the crater. He didn't quite make the far ledge, but he ducked his head, tucked his chin deep into his chest, and rolled upward over the edge using the last of his momentum.

He sprang to his feet disgusted with himself.

"That's twice. First the tree rakers and now this," the delver grumbled.

Someone else was not so critical.

"That was marvelous," a voice called out from across the sand.

Ryson kept still except for his eyes. He raised his gaze up over the horizon toward the source of the call. He saw a middle-aged man with a fairly round belly and extremely long, unkempt hair sitting on a rock. The man actually applauded.

"Did you make this?" Ryson asked as he lifted his head toward the man, but made no other abrupt movements.

"Yes, what do you think of it?"

"I think you're a spell caster with too much time on your hands."

"How did you know I made it with a spell? I could have built it with my hands."

Ryson didn't bother to hide his understanding of the man's physical limitations.

"You?Out here in the desert? No magic, just your hands, turning that much sand basically into glass? I don't think so. It's an interesting spell, but maybe you could do something more constructive than creating traps for unsuspecting people. What if an algor fell in there?"

If the man was insulted by Ryson's opinion of his attributes, he didn't reveal it. Instead, he openly boasted of his previous accomplishments.

"Oh, I've caught many algors, but they don't move like you do. They try to claw their way out. Really quite humorous to watch."

Ryson pictured a stunned algor trying to escape the trap. He found nothing funny about the image.

"What happens to them when they hit the hole?" Ryson demanded, not even trying to hide his disapproval.

"Oh, don't be that way. I don't hurt them. It's just a hole that leads to a tunnel. Algors love tunnels. They just have to follow it for a while and it brings them back out over that dune behind me. No harm done, really."

That might have been true, but the trap was an unnecessary hazard. If Ryson had more time, he might have even argued the point. Not wanting to waste any more sunlight with the clearly pointless discussion, Ryson turned to leave. Unfortunately, the spell caster had other ideas.

"You can't be leaving so soon. You just got here."

"I'm afraid I have business elsewhere, so if you'll excuse…"

Before Ryson could finish and return to his travels, the wizard threw his hands together and a red star formed around his hands. A flash of crimson energy raised the rocks and sand completely around the delver. He was enclosed in a circle of compressed sandstone. He could no longer see the sorcerer from his position, but he could still hear him.

"I know you can climb out of there," the wizard called out, "but that's going to be part of the game. Let's play tag."

In but an instant, the annoyed delver took two quick leaps up the enclosure and reached the top of the sandstone prison. He looked over to the rock where the wizard had been sitting, but he was gone.

"I'm not playing tag," Ryson said mostly to himself, and then turned his attention to his southwestward path.

He started running again, but nowhere near top speed. He didn't want to carelessly fall into another trap. He simply wished to be on his way and put the entire encounter behind him. He didn't get far before the voice called to him again.

"Looks like you don't want to play. I don't like that."

At first, Ryson didn't care what the sorcerer liked or didn't like, but then another flash of red energy altered his consideration for the spell caster. The sorcerer was more than a persistent pest. He was quickly becoming an obstructing nuisance as another spell enveloped the ground around the delver.

The ground broke away at Ryson's feet-not into a hole or crater, but rather into uneven dips and slants. It almost appeared like a broken staircase created by a deranged mind. It led downward into a new dark hole that appeared to be nothing more than another tunnel entrance.

Rather than lose his balance, Ryson initially followed the awkward steps downward. After a half dozen steps, however, he vaulted off a section of the broken rock and back to safer ground up near the top of the uneven steps.

He was about to call out to the magic caster to cease his madness, but another spell altered his footing once more. The ground rose up carrying the delver with it. It continued to rise like a long pole reaching for the sun. It ascended at an incredible rate and Ryson was soon far above the surrounding desert, perched on a small platform of stone.

Shaking his head in disgust, the delver dropped from his platform and threw both arms around the pole. Rather than slide straight down, he circled about the shaft to control his descent. He hoped this was the last of the spells for his patience was all but gone.

He was about halfway down when the pole ceased growing upward from the ground. Instead, it turned from hard stone into loose sand. Ryson was left without support as the sand gave way in his hands.

As his fall accelerated, he shifted his entire body into the shaft of quickly eroding sand. The breaking pole did not dissolve away all at once. It disintegrated slowly and so it slowed his fall. More importantly the growing pile of sand at the bottom offered a soft cushion for him to land. He rolled with his impact and up onto his feet.

"That was even more impressive than avoiding the sand trap," the spell caster called out, apparently hiding behind rocks in front of the delver. "Still, I keep tagging you, and you haven't tagged me yet."

Ryson frowned, but said nothing. He tensed and appeared to focus on the rocks where the spell caster hid. He took off in a blur, as if to charge the prankster. He hoped to startle the sorcerer into thinking he was going to attack, but immediately changed direction to his left. He had no intention of playing any games with a lunatic who was wasting his time. He doubled his speed and became a dazzling display of intense movement.

The desert was wide open before him and he hoped to put a great space between himself and the sorcerer. Once out of range, he could return to his proper path and reach the algors' home without further delay. Unfortunately, the land itself did not seem to cooperate.

As he pressed forward, landmarks in the distance appeared to move further away. It was as if he was running in reverse even as he pressed forward. He changed his direction, first to his left and then to his right in hopes of offsetting the apparent abnormality, but it didn't matter. Every forward move appeared to take him backward and even frantic leaps just accelerated his reverse movement.

He thought it had to be an illusion, yet another trick of light. Holli had used an illusion at Connel to lure him into a guarded area when he initially brought Heteera to see Enin. Just because the land appeared to be moving in reverse didn't mean it was. A swallit had also cast an illusion to make it appear as if his sword stopped glowing. The beast even warned him of the power of illusion. This had to be more of the same. He wouldn't fall for it.

Knowing he couldn't rely on his eyes, Ryson believed he could depend on his ears and his nose. He caught the scent of the spell caster and placed it at a set distance in relation to his current position. He also focused on the sound of the sorcerer's breathing and movements. That would be his focal point and he would race away from it regardless of what he saw.

Increasing his speed, he ignored the strange vision he attributed to a mirage-like illusion. He concentrated on the fixed position of the sorcerer based on what the delver could smell and hear. To his amazement, his other senses matched his sight. He was not escaping the spell caster. If anything, the faster he ran, the closer he seemed to be returning to the sorcerer even as he did everything in his power to move in the opposite direction. Frustration almost bubbled over for the delver, but he was not alone in his annoyance over the predicament.

"That is enough!" a new voice boomed across the desert, one that Ryson immediately recognized.

The delver pulled to a complete halt and looked to the skies above the rocks where he knew the sorcerer to be hiding. He could see Enin, and the wizard was clearly unhappy as he descended to the ground.

The long-haired spell caster meekly stepped out of the shadows. He knew hiding was useless against the superior wizard and he did not wish to appear threatening in any manner. He looked up at the wizard in obvious concern.

"I wasn't going to harm him," the man revealed in a near panic.

Enin frowned in clear annoyance, but then his attention to the delver.

"Ryson, come here quickly, please."

The delver ran to the side of his friend and to confront the heavyset sorcerer.

"Ryson Acumen?" the spell caster asked in even greater dismay. "I did not know. Honestly, I didn't know." He looked upon the delver with pleading eyes. "I didn't hurt you. You know that. I was just practicing my spells. I just knew you were a delver, that's all. If I knew you were Ryson Acumen, I wouldn't have bothered you at all."

Enin dismissed the excuses as irrelevant.

"It shouldn't matter who he is. What is your name?"

"Neltus," the man responded without hesitation, and he clearly knew the wizard before him. "Honestly, Enin, I was just practicing."

"You were delaying Ryson Acumen from performing a service at my request… and for what? A ridiculous game to hone your so-called skills. Well Neltus, you will have need of those skills and I will put them to much better use. Don't test my patience with further excuses."

The spell caster fell silent as Enin turned his attention to Ryson.

"I assume you completed the first part of your mission without incident?"

"Small incident, but everyone's safe," Ryson admitted. "No real problems until I got here. I didn't want to mess around with him, but he wouldn't let me leave." Ryson then considered the appearance of the wizard. Baannat had been at the forefront of Enin's concern. His delver curiosity kicked in as he openly wondered what would bring Enin to the desert. "Why are you here?"

"I am in need of those with the ability to cast powerful spells. Loath as I am to admit it, this foolish man has such an ability. I was probing the desert for spells and couldn't ignore the energy being used here."

The wizard turned back to Neltus.

"You have great power over the land, but you use it unwisely. No matter, there is a debt that must be paid by all spell casters, particularly those who abuse their power."

Ryson agreed it appeared as nothing more than an abuse of power, but he still questioned the aspects of what had just happened to him.

"What did he do to me out there?" Ryson interrupted. "I thought it was an illusion but it wasn't. He kept me running in place, actually going backward even though I was moving forward. Why couldn't I get away?"

Enin knew the answer but forced Neltus to explain.

"Tell him."

Neltus spoke sheepishly at first, not wanting to expose himself to the wrath of the wizard, but in mere moments, a clear tinge of arrogance shaped his words.

"You're right. It wasn't an illusion. I don't mess with things that aren't real, but the land is as real as it gets. That's what I focus on. I cast a spell to have the land work in direct opposition to you. You expand energy on the ground to move forward, but I can make it so the land fights back. Whatever you did, whichever way you moved, the very ground under you would react in the reverse. You were pushing forward, but the ground was pushing you back, and you're not stronger than the land."

"He can do that?" Ryson asked of Enin.

"Unfortunately, power and wisdom don't always go hand-in-hand. Yes, he has the ability. It's a powerful spell. Only those casting pure red magic," Enin paused to look at Neltus in a most menacing fashion, "or white magic, can accomplish the spell. It does, however, take a great deal of energy. He probably couldn't have kept it up much longer."

"So if I just kept running, eventually I would have broken free?" Ryson asked.

Enin simply nodded.

Ryson made a mental note of that new information.

"That's good to know."

"Have you made contact with any algors yet?" Enin asked, clearly concerned about the delver's progress in more important matters.

"No, I didn't want to search out any stragglers in the desert. I thought I would just go to the cliffs where they congregate," Ryson admitted. "Once I can get there, I can spread the word to most of them, and they have a way of communicating with each other that's much more efficient than anything I could do out here."

"Then do not delay any further, and give Neltus no more concern. I will deal with him."

Ryson was about to race off, but his delver curiosity held him for one more moment.

"What do you really want with him?"

"He is being recruited into the service of the land." Enin said with more than a sense of finality. The statement held an iron tone, as if the Neltus was bound to obey.

Neltus, however, found his voice again.

"Recruited?" Neltus asked with obvious worry. "Recruited for what?"

Enin's expression turned grim.

"The days of magic casters selfishly playing in the desert are over. You were given power for a reason, a reason far more important than casting spells for your own amusement or benefit. A war is coming and it is a war you cannot hope to avoid, even if I didn't come for you."

Near panic washed over the crimson sorcerer. He was in the desert to gain power, to grow in experience for his own gain, not so he could fight in some battle. He didn't even need to know what the war was about. It was not his concern. He only cared about his own well-being.

"I don't want any part of a war!" Neltus objected.

"It does not matter what you want, or what I want, for that matter. The desert will come under siege in but a few days time. Would you rather be caught out here when thousands of dark creatures emerge from the east to claim these lands?"

Neltus did not wish to contradict the wizard, but the claim sounded baseless.

"Dark creatures? Here? There's nothing here for them."

"There is actually much to be gained out here, but it's obviously beyond your rather narrow and selfish considerations. I'm not here to play games, Neltus, or spin lies. They are coming, and if you wish to ignore me and stay here, it will most likely mean your death."

Neltus understood Enin's vast power. As strong as he was over the crimson energy of the land, his power was dwarfed by the wizard that cast white magic with two circles of control. Enin had no reason to lie, and Neltus had no wish to die. Still, the plump sorcerer remained self-absorbed and he considered other alternatives, choices that would keep him from danger.

"I can go further to the west, to the seas."

"Can you? And what then? Your cowardice is irrelevant. What matters is the magic that courses through you. That magic binds you to the land, more so than most others. And the land recalls. It remembers the time of absent magic and the time before that-the time magic existed but was captured by Ingar's sphere. Those that used the magic bargained with dark creatures for their own benefit, and the land remembers, thus so do you."

Neltus would not openly admit it, but he did understand. His connection to history was as deep as his connection to the ground that withstood the passage of time. At Enin's insistence, he recalled the legends, sensed the time that magic casters chose corruption and selfishness. He dropped his gaze in shame.

"And so the debt exists for all spell casters," Enin declared, "and you must repay the debt or live with it for the rest of your days. You know you really don't have a choice, you will go where I send you."

Neltus wouldn't ask, but Ryson did.

"Where?"

"To Pinesway."

"Pinesway is abandoned," Ryson replied. "Nothing there but empty houses and a handful of thieves and vagrants."

"Give them no mind. They will leave as well when they see what is coming," Enin added. "And that is for the best. Baannat will move both east and west. You, the algors, and dwarves will confront him in the desert, and the spell casters will meet him in Pinesway. This will cut him off from his main objectives, and it will keep many others out of harm's way. I will not allow Connel to suffer again. The battle that is coming in the east will take place at the edge of Dark Spruce. We will stop him there, where there will be no innocents in danger and where the magic can be used to its full potential without worry for collateral damage."

Ryson was then hit by one more worry.

"What about Burbon?"

Enin frowned, revealing equal concern.

"I haven't fully decided what to do about Burbon. It must also hold in order to keep Baannat from breaking into the farmlands, but Baannat seemed to care more about the plains. I did not sense Burbon to be in his plans, but I can't discount the town's location. It's a problem I'm still working on."

Enin then shook off that particular concern.

"Don't worry. It will be dealt with appropriately. You will just have to trust me on that. You have to focus on the algors. Reach them quickly. If Baannat acts as I suspect, both the east and west will face a terrible onslaught."

"I'm on my way. Take care, Enin."

The delver said nothing more. He resumed his path to the algors, but surprisingly felt reassured. If Enin was obtaining the aid of spell casters from the desert to fight in Pinesway, the battle would remain, as Enin said, to the east and west. That was where Ryson wanted it, away from the north, away from the mountains and away from Linda.

Chapter 17

"I'm impressed. Pale blue, almost white, and a perfect circle. You have great control over water, but you're expanding your horizons."

After sending Neltus on to Pinesway, Enin had been following new trails of spells, reaching out to powerful magic casters across the desert. He had found another, one who appeared quite adept. The magic caster appeared older than Enin, perhaps by several cycles of the season. Despite his age, he clearly revealed youthful enthusiasm as he developed his skills.

The practicing spell caster, a man named Jure, was not surprised at Enin's magical and unannounced appearance. Jure allowed his spirit to embrace the magic, and he immediately noticed the strong vibrations within the energy the moment Enin seized upon the imprint of Jure's spells.

As Enin approached, Jure gently bent his head downward and lowered his gaze to the ground, a great display of trust and respect. He raised his head only when Enin had stopped directly before him.

"Believe it or not, I owe it to you." Jure's voice was deep, but not booming. A solemn acceptance of solitude crept into the tone. "I came to you a while ago and you pointed me in the right direction. Do you remember?"

"I think I do," Enin admitted. "Your name is Jure, right?"

"It is."

"My memory is actually quite good. I've been told it's my focus that's the problem."

Jure found the admission somewhat surprising.

"Your focus? With all the control you have, you have a problem with focus?"

"Oh, I can control the magic when I want to, but you must realize by now how much the energy opens your perception. There are so many things to consider these days. Each spell can be altered a hundred different ways, maybe even a thousand, so many new ways to look at how the energy exists in the land… "

Enin stopped himself with a shake of the head.

"Ah, as you see, my focus is the problem. I'm going off again, not concentrating. As to answer your question; yes, I do remember. You came to me early in the magic's return. You understood water so well. Perhaps too well. I think it scared you."

"It did," Jure was not embarrassed to admit it. "That's one of the reason's I came to the desert. The water's presence isn't so overpowering to me here. When it all began, if I walked by a river, I felt like I was going to drown. That's why I came to you, and you told me to see things differently. You showed me how water was part of nature and of storm. How it could reflect light and douse fire. You also told me how it could feed the land. If I let my blue aura stretch out, I could touch all the other colors as well. I'm very close to that. I think it's the yellow that is the last obstacle for me. Once I understand that as well as the others, I think I might get that pure white circle."

Enin found no threat in hearing this. Jure was very different from Neltus. Enin could sense wisdom in the magical aura that surrounded the spell caster before him. Where Neltus acted like an immature adult trying to regain a youth that had passed him by, Jure accepted the role of an elder statesman and allowed the magic to refresh his outlook of life. Beyond that, Enin sensed a desire for justice, fairness and consistency within the man. The wizard believed that such qualities might allow Jure to become a great force for compassion, perhaps more than even Ryson Acumen, and that was a remarkable consideration.

"That makes me very proud," Enin proclaimed. "Many have come to me for answers. I won't refuse to offer my suggestions, unless I know it will only lead to hardship or acts of pure selfishness. You, however, have an understanding that many lack. Most want to increase their power over their natural gift or to master the control over the energy they contain. You are expanding to areas that were not immediately within you and you have gained greater control over them all. The circle was not your objective, but it has become a reward for an open mind."

"As I said, you're the one who opened it."

"Speaking of which, I'd like to discuss past actions and obligations of responsibility. You don't owe anything to me, but we all owe a debt, and that is why I'm here."

"I thought you were here about the rift."

Enin was only mildly surprised. Jure had no connection to the portal, but the gateway was now a source of disruption in the land. Even in the far reaches of the desert, Enin could sense the break-magical energy in upheaval.

"That is part of the reason I'm here. You are aware of it?"

Jure looked off to the northeast.

"I can sense it. It's an imbalance. It's not so much a gateway as it is an anomaly. It's a bridge to be sure, but it doesn't just bend the magic, it slices it."

Not a description Enin expected to hear.

"Slices?"

"Yes, like small breaks in a line. The line exists through both realms-ummm, energy that connects the two dimensions through the gateway-but there are small gaps." Jure frowned at his own statement as he considered the ramifications and revealed his own concern. "Breaks shouldn't exist in magic. It should be a continuous flow, but for some reason, the breaks are still there."

Enin understood the description, but he grew confused over its implications.

"Is this the current rift or the previous one?"

"I don't follow," the spell caster admitted.

"There were two portals. I created the second. The first was created by a sorceress named Heteera. Her gateway lacked stability. It phased in and out of existence. I could understand breaks in the magic which coursed through Heteera's gateway, but that one is now closed."

Jure considered the point and expressed a new understanding of his own.

"Two portals, huh? That would explain the change. At least to some degree."

"What change?"

"Many days ago, when I first sensed the portal, I could feel the magical flows and they were continuous for a period of time. Then, they would cease. But this wasn't a blink or a break. It was a long pause. Then, the flow would continue. It was like it was turned on, then off, and then back on again. Those I actually understood. I thought someone was just practicing with portals-making a new one, then closing it. That must have been the first portal."

"What is it that you feel now that's so different?"

"Now, it is like I said-a broken line, quick breaks. The flow doesn't turn off completely. Instead, it's like someone is constantly chopping at the stream or perhaps swinging a blade through it over and over again. The magic comes and goes through the portal in segments. All of the breaks are very small, almost insignificant, but they are there."

"You are certain?"

"You don't feel it?"

Enin frowned.

"No, and this is the second time I have missed such subtleties. My apprentice-my guard-noted the remnants of a powerful spell that was meant to raise a legendary figure. I missed it completely. Now, I am missing this."

"Maybe it's because you cast the spell… created the portal."

"That only has me more puzzled. It is my spell. My connection to it should give me greater awareness over its properties." It was Enin's turn to gaze off into the direction of the rift. The more he considered the dilemma, the more it confounded him. "This is most perplexing. I understand the instability of the original spell. Heteera lacked control to keep her portal in existence, but the second portal is of my own casting. There should be no such deficiencies."

Jure did not wish to dispute the wizard, but he remained certain of the anomaly.

"I wish I could explain it better, but it really is like I said. There's magic flowing through the portal, that's for certain, but it's… constantly interrupted. That's the best way I can put it."

They were both silent for long moments as each contemplated the situation. It was Jure who began to put the pieces together, but he needed confirmation of certain facts.

"Am I correct to assume you opened a new portal as opposed to reopening Heteera's?"

"Yes, the old one had been closed," Enin revealed, "but I mirrored Heteera's spell in order to have it open to the exact spot in the dark realm. I needed to follow the trail of magic."

"So you sensed the characteristics of the initial portal and utilized them to create a new one?"

"Yes."

"And you cast it in the same spot?"

Enin nodded, but failed to see the significance.

Jure scratched the top of his head and his fingers ran through the slightly graying hairs. He began to see a solution that would solve the question of the interrupted magic as well as to Enin's inability to sense it.

"Maybe the first spell wasn't completely dismissed. That could be your answer."

Enin raised an eyebrow, but cast doubt on the assertion.

"The first portal was closed. Of that I'm sure."

Again, Jure did not wish to contradict the more experienced wizard, but he saw something in the sequence of events that fit together.

"I'm sure it was closed, but that doesn't necessarily mean the spell was completely gone."

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Even if the first portal was closed, the spell that created it was clearly unstable. Remnants of that spell could have been caught in…" Jure paused to try and find words to complete his thought. "Not a plane of existence, but something just the opposite. How do I explain it? A stable portal would create a passage through a veil that would bridge two realms, exist in both at the same time, but an unstable gateway would drift both in and out of existence."

This awoke a deeper consideration for Enin. He thought of his meeting with Baannat and the slink ghoul's explanation of restoration. Baannat was not quite whole, not in body or in spirit, but there was something more to it than that.

In and out of existence!

That was how Enin sensed Baannat in the dark realm. Indeed, the slink ghoul was not whole, but it went beyond not regaining the full measure of his body or the full power of his magical ability. Baannat was not hiding in some distant dimension. He was in the dark realm, but at the same time, he wasn't.

"Give me a moment," Enin requested.

Jure complied without argument.

As Enin walked about, he thought of Baannat; perhaps trapped in a veil between realms, or hiding in that same veil… not in an envelope of magic, not in a chamber created between dimensions, but actually in the curtain that already exists between the two. He was killed in a pocket of magic, but dark creatures removed his body to the dark realm. The envelope of magic Baannat created dissolved, but the veil between dimensions would always exist.

That was where Baannat was! That's why Enin's spell of destruction failed to obliterate the slink ghoul.

It also explained why Enin could not close his own portal. Portions of Heteera's spell were trapped in the veil. Her portal was closed, but remnants of the spell remained and attached themselves to the new rift. Enin's spell was not completely his own. He had reenergized remnants of Heteera's portal, and thus, the portal could be claimed by Baannat who had his own link to Heteera.

Enin smiled upon Jure.

"You have done well. You have opened my eyes. We have a chance to stop this."

"I'm not exactly sure what I've done," Jure confessed, "but you spoke of a debt?"

"Yes, I did… a debt of all spell casters. I was referring to the time before SanctumMountain, the time when Ingar first created the sphere. Spell casters actually fought against every race to prevent the sphere from being entombed. They aligned with the dark creatures because they wanted the sphere freed for their use. They did not want the magic removed from the land."

"The legend of Shayed," Jure responded. "The elf sorceress fought with the races as the only spell caster determined to see the sphere buried in SanctumMountain."

Enin nodded with a smile.

"It is good to see you are studying the lore along with practicing your spells. You truly are expanding your knowledge. But we have to face the full truth. The other spell casters fought on the side of selfishness. That is a mistake that all spell casters carry with them. The magic has returned and we all have a chance to repay the debt. That, however, applies to magic casters who have not yet done their part. You have already paid your portion. I will request no more of you."

Jure beamed, but only for a moment. He could not take pride in such a small offering. He had lived long enough to know that life was a continual test and he didn't wish to sit on the sidelines. He sensed the coming storm, the chaotic tremors that broke through the portal in the distance. He could not stand by as an observer as if he made his full contribution. It wasn't enough.

"Maybe you don't want to request my help, but I want to offer it."

Once more, Enin could not help but notice the strong aura of compassion bubble from the spell caster. As much as he wanted Jure to help fight this war, for it was character and strength of spirit that would be needed to defeat Baannat, he could not dismiss what Jure already contributed. It might have seemed a small offering in the eyes of the spell caster, but to Enin, it was a grand revelation and perhaps a key to avoiding all hostilities.

"I will not deny your assistance would be most helpful, but where I have been willing to pressure other spell casters into offering their aid, I will not make such demands on you. I must make it clear to you that you no longer have any obligation to me."

"Then think of me as a volunteer as opposed to a recruit," Jure stated. "Look, I don't want to overstep my bounds. I'll do whatever you ask of me, but I'd rather be part of an army than standing out here alone. Really, I want to help."

"Very well. Accompany me to Pinesway. I have summoned dozens of spell casters already. When we return, I will make my plans clear."

Chapter 18

He did not want harm to come to the algors, he wanted to help them, but Ryson's heart and mind remained in the mountains with Linda. After leaving Enin and letting the wizard deal with Neltus, he made the trek to the algor den as quickly as caution would allow. He wished to alert them to the danger, encourage them to accept the help of the dwarves, and then turn his attention back to his true concerns.

When he reached the sandstone cliffs dotted with tunnel openings the algors used as shelter, he found little amiss. Most of the tailless, lizard-like creatures acknowledged him as any other algor. For the most part, they went about their business. They revealed no curiosity to his appearance and no exuberance to his arrival, nor did they show any dismay as if he was an uninvited guest or an unwelcome invader. The greeting as a whole ranked somewhere between comfortable acceptance and simple indifference.

Most of the upright, green-scaled algors acted as if just another one of their kind had returned from a long absence in the desert. It was a very common occurrence. Algors came and went with casual frequency. They ventured out into the wasteland in search of isolation and then returned back to the fold, to rejoin the community as if they had never been away.

The difficulty Ryson now faced was getting their full attention and conveying his message. There was no council for him to advise, no royal family to meet, no single commander of an army to warn. The algors existed in a bizarre split between complete individualism and a hive-like belonging with no queen. All held equal standing. There was no leadership, and thus, he had to speak to them all, or at least to as many as possible.

He considered shouting out to the tunnels, but decided against it. He was slowly beginning to understand the collective thinking of the algors and decided to use that in his favor. One after another, to every algor that passed, he made one simple request.

"I need to speak with all of you. I will remain here until you've gathered. Please spread the word."

His attempt did not meet with complete success. Some of the algors ignored him, just ventured off into the desert alone, as if they suddenly decided they didn't want to be part of whatever he had to say. Others decided they would listen, but felt no need to communicate the message to others. They made an individual choice and felt no need to include others. These algors simply gathered around Ryson and waited patiently.

Most of those he spoke to, however, climbed back up the cliff walls and entered the array of tunnels and caves. Eventually, thousands upon thousands of algors spilled out of the cliffs and came down to give audience to the delver's warning. It was more than he could have hoped for.

They drew very near, crowding him, giving him little room. They spoke openly among each other, and as the multitude grew in size, the clamor became a near deafening and completely incomprehensible roar.

Then, without anyone calling for silence, without a single demand for attention, the crowd hushed. Not a single word was spoken, not a single algor moved. All of them stood silent with their bulging eyes fixed on the delver.

Ryson spoke quickly. Having their attention and hoping to keep it, he spelled out the danger first.

"A very powerful slink ghoul has gained command of the dark creatures both here and in the realm where they breed. His name is Baannat. He has made his intentions clear that he will attack all of the lands in force. He intends to send an army of beasts here into your desert. They will attack your home and they will attack very soon. I've come here to warn you and to aid you in your preparation."

As he took a breath before continuing and waited a moment to gauge their interest, the silent attention of the algors dissolved.

"We have been attacked before," one voice cried out.

"The desert is always dangerous," another shouted.

And then a chorus of shouts followed.

"This is nothing new."

"We are always attacked."

"Dark creatures are now a way of the land."

"Goblins will wilt in the desert."

"They will end up in the forest."

"Let them raid the outer lands."

"There is nothing here for them."

"That's where they always go."

"None last in the desert for long."

Ryson held up his hands hoping to regain their attention. It worked unbelievably well. It was as if the algors were commanded as one unit to be silent, and they complied.

"It isn't just goblins and it's not just raids," Ryson offered, as he hoped to alert them to the true severity of what they faced. He remembered how Baannat used the dark creatures after the Sword of Decree destroyed the vessel of captured magic. The monsters moved against him, Holli, and Lief as a single body, much like the algors listened to him at that moment. "All of the dark creatures are now united. They are not fighting amongst themselves. Baannat has control over them all, and he will use them all. It won't just be a single camp of goblins, or a flock of hook hawks, or even a pack of shags. It will be all of them and more. It will be a deluge of creatures bent on clearing the desert of anything in their way. They want to take control of this land, and to do so, they must remove you."

This time as the delver paused, the algors remained quiet. Ryson believed he struck the proper chord as they no longer called out any dismissive responses. He continued with a renewed hope, but in his desire to keep the warning open-ended in regards to timing, he made a critical mistake.

"A portal to the dark realm is opened that cannot be closed. It is to the east of here, at the outer edges of the desert. It is being manipulated by the slink ghoul. Beasts and monsters will utilize it to cross over in great numbers. We can't be sure of when, but there is great concern that you will be targeted."

One algor from the crowd shouted out a single question.

"Are you certain they will come?"

Ryson stopped to consider the point. It was truly a question of significance and it went beyond the simple concern of a single algor.

Was he certain?

In all honesty, Ryson wasn't certain of anything. It was Enin who believed the desert would be attacked. The wizard convinced him of the threat, but that's all it was, just a threat. Ryson had seen no sign of an invading army on his trip to the desert. Baannat said nothing specifically about attacking the algors. Everything was based on Enin's interpretations.

Once more doubt made its presence known. Would Baannat attack in the desert? Should he have left Linda? Was any of this really necessary?

Rather than acknowledge those doubts, he replied with a simple perspective regarding what brought him to the desert in the first place.

"The wizard Enin has sent me here because he is sure about the attack. He wants you to prepare…"

A different voice interrupted him.

"Do you believe we will be attacked?"

"Enin wouldn't lie," Ryson responded quickly this time, not allowing his own concerns to confuse the matter.

As if that answer was not sufficient, another voice repeated the question with an emphasis on the delver.

"Does Ryson Acumen believe the algors will be attacked?"

In a moment of weakness-a release of the frustration and fatigue growing within-Ryson spoke of his own doubts.

"I think there's a danger, but I don't know what to believe."

And just as quickly as he finished his answer, the intermittent shouts began again. One algor after another yelled out his or her own view of the matter.

"We have nothing for them."

"Why would they come here?"

"They will target the forest or the humans."

"It's the spell casters. They will bring them here."

"Why would dark creatures unite against us?"

"We should listen to the wizard. He is powerful."

"The wizard is not one of us."

"There is only concern. Nothing is definite."

"Sentinels are needed."

"A waste of time."

That was all Ryson could hear. After that, one shout merged into another and he could not distinguish a single word.

He held up his hand again, but the algors ignored him. He tried to shout over them, but even he could barely hear what he said.

Ryson shook his head. He had lost them. He almost allowed it to be the solution. If the algors ignored the threat, there was no need for him to stay.

Something inside him, however, held him, kept him from issuing a farewell and leaving it to the algors to decide. For some reason, he couldn't just abandon them, and though he couldn't put that reason into clear perspective, he acknowledged it in the form of a question. He asked the closest algor that simple question, and the answer turned out to be the true reason he was there.

"Am I one of you?"

Other algors continued to shout, but those nearest to the delver gave Ryson a long, appreciative look.

The algor that Ryson asked directly answered first.

"You are Acumen, you are delver… you are algor."

Another algor repeated the response, "You are Acumen, you are delver, you are algor."

Another algor answered, but only slightly different.

"You are you, you are them, you are us."

That was also repeated.

Almost immediately the shouts from the crowd diminished and then ceased completely. Whispers of acceptance echoed from the crowd.

"Acumen, delver, algor."

With that, Ryson understood. He was actually three things. He was an individual. He was also a delver, but even that wasn't all. He belonged to the community of algors as well. Through his past trials and his willingness to not only assist the algors but to share their suffering, they had accepted him. Somehow in their collective thoughts, they viewed him as truly another algor.

That thought, however, proved Enin's theory. Baannat wanted Ryson to suffer. The delver was sure of that, and if Ryson was part of the algors, then Baannat would attack them. Any doubts regarding what the algors faced vanished.

"I'm afraid because you have accepted me, you have also welcomed attacks from my enemies. The slink ghoul is out for revenge-revenge against me, my wife, and the wizard Enin. Enin believes that will make you the prime target for an attack. That is why he sent me here."

The algors now listened more intently and showed no signs of interrupting.

"One of you just asked if I believed you would be attacked. I know I said that I didn't know what to believe. That was a mistake. I do believe Baannat will come after you. He will do so because of me. I'm very sorry for that. I wish I could change it, but I can't. All I can do is warn you and hope that you will let me help you against whatever comes."

The algors erupted from their silence.

"We must prepare."

"We must defend ourselves."

"Sand giants are needed."

"We must collect the magic."

And so it was done. The algors had been warned and they accepted that warning. They shouted plans for preparation and they would not be caught off guard.

With one objective completed, Ryson almost allowed himself to smile, but he now faced the most difficult obstacle. Ryson held up his hands to address a second objective.

"There is another matter," the delver announced after the algors quieted. "The threat we face is so large that Enin has provided us with further assistance. Dwarves will be here shortly to help you defend your home, to defend the desert."

In unison, the crowd of algors roared.

"No!"

The rebuke was so sudden and so strong, it stunned the delver. He fought to regain his composure and reassure the algors of the dwarves intentions.

"The dwarves are not coming to attack. They only want to redeem themselves for what they did to you in the past."

Once more, the response was total in both certainty and unity.

"No!"

"They will fight with you not against you."

"No!"

"Without their help, you might not survive."

Just one algor voice called out.

"They killed us. We will not let them in our homes again. They killed us."

And then all of them: "They killed us!"

They shouted the charge in complete unison and with such emotion that it seemed as if the voices of the dead had joined with those that had been left behind. There was more than anger in the three accusing words. There was pain and loss.

Ryson did not discount such emotion. He did not attempt to contradict the accusation. He couldn't, but he chose to grasp hope from the future as opposed to suffering from the past.

"I know, and so do they. They want to make amends."

The algors simply repeated themselves one last time, with even greater emotion.

"They killed us!"

Ryson looked upon the strange creatures that looked back upon him as if he should understand, but he could not.

"If we don't accept their help, more of us will die."

He wasn't sure why he said it in that way. The emphasis was on "we" and "us."

The algors responded in kind.

"We will fight as one and we will die as one. They killed us!"

There would be no debate. It was true. The dwarves had attacked the algors, viciously and cruelly. They attacked the algors as if the race was one entity, one enemy. Thus, the algors held to their losses in the same fashion. Every death of an algor at the hands of a dwarf was a crime against every algor, and they would not forget or forgive. Certainly, they would not allow the dwarves to enter their territory.

Ryson saw only futility in further arguing. He wondered if the suggestion alone had destroyed his own chances of assisting the algors.

"Will you at least accept my help?" he asked of the defiant crowd.

Silence at first, and then several algors together responded.

"Acumen, delver…" a very long pause, and then… "algor."

There was nothing else Ryson could do. He would have to meet with the dwarves before they arrived and inform them of the algor refusal. Enin stated that dwarf assistance was crucial, but algor resistance was not something easily overcome, especially when that resistance was so unanimous.

The delver would have to devise some kind of plan on his own. He would not be able to communicate with Enin on the matter. The wizard was fortifying forces to the east. Winning in the desert was now his problem and his alone.

Chapter 19

"You will lead them," Enin revealed to his loyal elf companion.

Holli did not question the directive, but understood the implications. She swore a personal oath to protect the wizard, and it was her concern for his safety, not unease over his plans, that drove her question.

"Where will you be?"

"Back in the dark realm," Enin answered honestly. "I hope to stop this war before it truly begins."

"You tried that before," Holli pointed out. "Baannat was not vulnerable to your attack… your spell failed to inflict any damage upon him. That is what you told us."

"That is because he was not really there. Jure is very perceptive. He saw it before I did. Baannat never actually died, but he's no longer alive, either. He walks life and death at the same time."

"How is that possible?"

"A perfect blend of circumstances and my mistake," Enin admitted. "The end of his previous life occurred in a pocket of magic, a place where the aspects of a physical world can be manipulated with greater ease. In fact, one of my spells actually worked to slow time to a crawl. Before there was a complete separation of Baannat's body and spirit, demons removed Baannat's body back to the dark realm-not this plane of existence, but still a physical realm. Even when Baannat's magical sanctuary collapsed, he had not completed the transition into death. His evil soul was trapped in the space between life and death. It served almost as a sanctuary and that's where he is at this very moment."

Holli began to understand. She had already perceived the intention and effects of Heteera's spell. She followed the progression of events to their logical conclusion.

"Heteera wanted to open the death's door to bring Lief back to this existence, but without true control, she simply allowed Baannat to escape."

"Indeed, but remember, he was still not alive and could not capture or utilize free magic for his own purposes. The vessel was needed to capture it."

"And once the vessel captured sufficient energy, we released it for him," Holli acknowledged. "Still, how will returning to the dark realm allow you to fight him if he's neither alive nor dead?"

"Because I now believe I know where he is. He is in the veil between existences, not one side of the curtain or the other, but inside the curtain itself."

"Can you reach him there?"

"I believe so. Baannat told me he could not open a portal between Uton and the dark realm, and that makes sense. He is no longer a true physical being so he cannot make connections between two physical planes. He has, however, recovered a portion of his previous body and that allows him to make contact with the dark realm from the veil. He has opened… not so much a portal… but more of a link to the physical world so he can take control of the dark creatures."

"And you can reach him through this link?"

"I believe so, now that I know where he is and where he is not."

"And you will go alone?"

"I know you would rather accompany me, but it is not possible. I also need you here. Even as I battle Baannat, he will send his minions out into this land. I do not know why my judgment has been so clouded of late, but there are things I have seen clearly. Baannat wishes to punish me, Linda, and Ryson, but he also wants to take control of the desert to the west and the plains to the east."

"May I ask why you chose Pinesway?"

"It is very simple. I do not believe Connel should suffer again. It has faced too much hardship since the return of the magic. If there is another battle within its borders, I believe the people will finally give up. I can't have that."

Holli could not argue the assessment. She had been at Enin's side as he worked to rebuild the city of Connel. Though the wizard masterfully utilized the newfound trust between dwarves and humans to the city's benefit, another catastrophic battle would ultimately destroy any optimism and doom any chances of prosperity. There was, however, certain risks in the wizard's strategy.

"Just because you wish to avoid conflict within Connel does not preclude it from occurring. If what you have said of Baannat is true, then he will certainly target those areas that are of significant importance to you. That's exactly why Baannat may choose to bypass Pinesway."

"No, I don't believe he will. Not when I have so many spell casters collected here. He will sense that. I am certain of it, and when he does, he will choose Pinesway as a battlefield. He will view it as an opportunity to expand his power and remove potential threats to his rule. Connel will always be there for him, but how can he resist a target of such opportunity?"

"Because it's what you want him to do," Holli offered.

"And that will make it that much more inviting for him. He would like nothing more than to beat me at my own game."

Holli remained less confident.

"Perhaps, but we may need to impose safeguards as well. With so much power here, there are other ways we can bring them to us as well," she offered. "We know the location of the portal where his army will enter. A few well-placed spells could force their path to us."

"That is an excellent idea," Enin agreed, "just don't extend too much energy in bringing them to you. You'll need enough to fight them when they get here. That reminds me, will you please ask Sy and Heteera to join us."

Holli moved quickly out of the abandoned house on the outskirts of what was left of Pinesway. Enin took the opportunity to look out several windows and survey the surroundings. He could sense very few people remaining in what was left of the forsaken town. The thieves and most squatters had retreated. Save several dozen magic casters spread about the area, the streets were silent and rotting buildings stood empty. If a battle had to be fought, this was the place for it.

Not much was left in the town, certainly not hope. That had left long ago. Meager refuge for those with something to hide or nothing to lose, and sanctuary for bandits looking for temporary shelter, that was all that remained.

Holli, however, was correct about Baannat possibly bypassing the decaying town. There was nothing that would call for Baannat's interest or for the hunger of brutes and fiends, nothing beyond what Enin had placed there-the grouping of powerful spell casters and their collective magic.

Enin, however, was growing more confident that would be enough. He himself could not ignore the pulsating flux of energy that seethed over the dilapidated town. The spell casters he enlisted into this fight brought their power to the abandoned streets. Even as he looked upon the shell of a lifeless town, he could sense a resurgence of optimism. It almost felt as if life, and hope, had returned to Pinesway.

Sy and Heteera followed Holli back into the warehouse. Enin addressed Heteera first. He did not wish to place blame on the spell caster, as he believed her intentions were noble if not misguided, but he would also brook no argument over her role.

"You are to stay with Holli, but you are not to cast any spells. I am not insulting you. In fact, if you actually understand anything about the magic, I am about to pay you a great compliment. You are to open yourself and your energy to Holli. Let her use your power. You will be the force and she will be the control. You have the strength to defeat any army, if you use it properly. Do you understand?"

Heteera nodded.

"I'm sorry about all this. I'll do whatever I can," she added.

"Leave apologies for another day. I deserve as much blame as anyone. For now, we do what we can to correct our mistakes."

Sy entered the conversation with his own concerns.

"How sure are you that the attacks will only take place here and in the desert?"

"I am not sure at all, but I am fairly confident of certain facts. I know he wishes to take the desert, to eliminate the algors. I am also confident he cannot ignore such a collection of energy. Since he wishes to move both east and west, this will be his most likely target."

"What about Burbon?"

"It is a concern, one that is shared by Ryson… and also apparently you."

"Absolutely, so what do you suggest?"

"I want you to return to Burbon and prepare your own forces. Unfortunately, I can offer no other aid. The magic casters must focus their energy here, and I don't want to have any links to Burbon. Our foes might follow the path right to your door. I have even removed the spells I once placed around the town for its protection. I don't want anything to attract them."

"They may not need anything else than its location to be attracted to it," Sy proposed. "If I were attacking, I'd hit Burbon first and with everything I had. From there, I could flank Pinesway, as well as have a clear path to the farms around Connel."

"I know, but I believe the main force will come after the magic casters first."

"What about the elves? Can they offer any help?"

"Too busy protecting their camps in Dark Spruce from the dark creatures that are already in the forest," Holli answered. "Shags, goblins and river rogues are making constant raids throughout the woods."

"So we're on our own. We'll do what we can, but with no spell casters, no elves, and no Ryson, we're the weak link."

"You may also be the safest," Enin allowed. "If Pinesway falls, the path to Connel and the eastern plains is already clear. You might not even be worth their attention."

"I can't count on that. Anything else you need to tell me? If not, I should get back to Burbon."

Enin shook his head and the guard captain left Pinesway with more worries than when he entered.

Enin offered Holli one more word of advice before he himself set out on his own personal mission.

"You control a powerful force here, but you must use them wisely. Many that are here are selfish and arrogant, but as spell casters they are attuned both to the magic and its history. I will alert them that you represent me and that they must follow your orders. Give them a chance to redeem the stigma of the past, and they might surprise you."

The wizard then looked to Heteera.

"I know the power inside you. Don't try to use it yourself, but don't keep it bottled up when it's needed."

Without another word, the wizard left Pinesway in hopes that no such need would ever arise.

#

Out in the desert, a single apparition stood at the very spot a powerful spell took his mortal life. The spell came from a sorceress hoping to expand her power and enhance her skills, a magic caster much like those now gathered in Pinesway.

Enin was correct about one thing; the collection of magical power created a beacon to all those attuned to the energy that flowed freely across Uton. Baannat's forces-an army of dark creatures-would not shy away from such power. Instead, they would gravitate to it like moths to a flame.

As a spirit walking a physical plane, Lief Woodson could sense far more than even a great wizard linked to vast sources of magic. The elf ghost's awareness could sail beyond the limitations of mortal senses. He could perceive the intentions of many, including one in particular that would view Pinesway as a great opportunity. Most certainly, the abandon town would become a battlefield to determine the fate of the eastern plains. In that, Enin was correct.

But Lief wondered about Enin's foundation for such a conflict. The wizard had brought magic casters to Pinesway out of a sense of duty, a need to erase sins committed during legendary times. Could the actions of spell casters during one age remove the stain of guilt upon those from another? That is what Enin believed, but Lief regarded the issue with a growing understanding to his own circumstances. He sensed a hollow aspiration in Enin's logic, and though he could not guess as to whether or not this would doom Holli's forces in Pinesway, Lief believed he might find his own salvation in the events that would follow.

Chapter 20

When Enin reached the portal to the dark realm, he was surprised to see how large it had grown. The edges expanded far beyond the force barrier he placed in front of it. Sufficient free space existed to allow hundreds of beasts to crossover at any time.

As he looked into the rift, surprise shifted to alarm as he noted the gathering of creatures waiting almost patiently for some distant order to invade. Their numbers obliterated his worst fears and their willingness to remain on the dark side of the portal defied all logic.

He wondered how it was possible for Baannat to maintain such far reaching control. Even beasts of nightmare have a will of their own. They would not simply succumb to Baannat unless they were forced. The ghoul absorbed a great deal of magic, but it was not an endless reserve. There were limits, and yet, Baannat seemed to be exceeding each boundary.

Determined more than ever to quell the storm of war before it passed into Uton, the wizard made his way into the rift and past the monsters under a shadow spell that kept his presence hidden. There was no point in exhausting his power trying to fight the multitude. Even if successful in annihilating all the threats currently present, Baannat would simply gather another army, perhaps even larger.

No, the only path to success cut directly to the slink ghoul. Remove Baannat's influence over the beasts and they would probably set upon themselves. The portal could be closed and the threat extinguished.

Enin followed the trail of Baannat's energy back to the cave in the chasm. He did not enter, for if he was right, Baannat didn't truly exist in the cave. The ghoul was only using it as an anchor. Baannat was hiding his true presence in a shroud that separated all existences. That was the space Enin had to access.

Reaching Baannat, however, was the true challenge. Enin, to a large extent, understood the subtleties of existence and the differing planes of being. He witnessed angels and demons waiting at the veil between life and death. He knew the immortality of the spirit and the passages to greater awareness.

While he could separate his essence from his body to enhance his awareness of multiple dimensions, he could not actually pass through to the spiritual existence while he remained a mortal being. His own soul remained linked to his body for as long as he drew breath, and though he could step out of his mortal shell for brief periods of time, he could not pass through the veil to experience true life after death until his time came.

Still, it was not the afterlife that he wished to enter. Enin set his sights on the slink ghoul and that's where he had to reach.

Baannat had not passed through the veil completely. If he had, his influence over Uton would have ended. He had escaped death because the link between his body and spirit had never been completely severed, he had not died in physical space. The ghoul was also no longer alive and could apparently remain in a state of flux, walking the almost invisible line between life and death.

Enin focused on the veil. He continued to probe Baannat's energy, using that as a guide to space that had no true substance. It was not an envelope of magical power. It was almost non-existence and reaching it proved elusive.

As Enin searched for some link, some connection to exploit, Baannat's almost ghostly figure-part body and part spirit-appeared near the cave entrance with a cackle.

"Back so soon? I'm surprised. I thought you would be preparing for the war. I am. I know you saw my soldiers. Quite impressive, don't you think?"

Enin did not answer. He probed the vibrations coming from the slink ghoul, followed them back into the curtain.

"By the way," the ghoul continued, "I saw you come across the portal. I knew you were there. Your shadow spell is quite strong, but I see beyond the shadows. I could have guided my entire army to you, but I wanted you here."

"You saw me?" Enin asked, but only to keep the ghoul talking.

"Of course. As I said, a shadow spell, no matter how strong, can't hide you from me anymore. Shadows are a way of life for me now."

Shadow

That was the key. If Enin could enter the shadow of physical reality, he could reach Baannat. A shadow had no depth, but its existence could not be denied. The veil between life and death held to the same properties. Unfortunately, the question remained as to how to enter the shadow of life without completely entering death.

Baannat seemed content to continue his idle chatter.

"So no big bolt from the blue like last time?" The ghoul looked up at the dark skies above. "I guess I should say gray, not blue. Well, whatever. Aren't you going to try and annihilate me where I stand?"

"You do not stand here."

"I don't? Where do I stand?"

Enin saw no reason not to speak the truth.

"You stand in the veil."

Baannat smiled broadly.

"You figured it out. Bravo."

"I had a great deal of help."

"Still relying on others to beat me, eh?"

"I see no shame in taking aid."

"I guess then you don't blame me for gathering an army?"

"There is a difference between accepting assistance and manipulating the weak-minded for your own selfish desires."

"I see. So I'm just using those pathetic creatures and you're… well, what is it exactly you're doing? Being provident or divine, perhaps?"

"I make no claim to godhood."

"And yet you stand above them, so far above it's amusing. And you guide them now. You actively involve yourself in their affairs."

Enin wasn't certain where the conversation was headed, but it did not matter. He was there to remove Baannat as a threat, and to do that, he had to reach him. He responded only to keep the slink ghoul distracted from his true purpose.

"I offer my assistance and they accept it, just as I have accepted assistance from them."

"So very noble of you all."

"Nobility has nothing to do with it. It is about acceptance. I understand my place."

"I don't think you understand anything at all. You're here trying to find a way to get to me, but you can't figure it out, can you?"

Baannat paused. He knew the human wizard would not answer. He cackled once more for several moments, then revealed his own understanding of the situation.

"Why did you even come here if you didn't know how exactly how to reach me? Do you enjoy wasting your time?"

Enin frowned.

"Sometimes you can't form a plan until you know all the facts," the wizard finally responded.

"Doesn't seem like you've discovered any new facts," the ghoul taunted.

"Facts? Perhaps not, but a few insights gained."

"Well, let me share a few more insights, brother. Brother! You never liked it when I called you that. Does it still bother you?"

"I'm surprised you call me it now. We're less related than we ever were."

"That is true, and that's your real problem. You're still alive and I'm beyond that."

"But you are not beyond the magic."

"Are you sure? How can you tell?"

"Because you are sending your energy to this existence. You consumed magic that was trapped in the vessel created by Heteera and you are using magic to control the creatures of this realm."

"Am I? Maybe… Maybe not. Remember that magic came from dead creatures. The vessel killed them before it collected their power. You may wish to think about that."

"So you're saying death is the only way I can reach you?"

"Perhaps. Are you willing to attempt ending your own life to try?"

"No, because I do not believe you. You did not fully die and you are still connected to the magic, so there must be a way."

"If I knew, would I tell you?"

"No, you would not."

"Then maybe I'll surprise you and tell you anyway."

Enin raised an eyebrow as he waited for the ghoul to explain. Unfortunately, Baannat just broke down into uncontrolled laughter. Enin simply shook his head and returned to his dilemma.

He returned to the concept of a shadow. He believed that was the key, but he remained uncertain how to utilize the notion.

"It's a shame, really," Baannat said as his laughter died down to a few snickers. "We were once equal in power, then I surpassed you. You beat me because I was careless. Now, you're more powerful than I am. You could vanquish me with a flick of your wrist, but you can't reach me. Don't you find that amusing?"

"Hysterical."

"Sarcasm doesn't fit you well."

"And you're simply trying to distract me. You're reaching out to your army, preparing to send them through the portal, but it won't…"

Enin stopped in mid-sentence. He knew. He understood what was necessary. He needed another portal, but not a gateway between two dimensions or even between physical and spiritual existence. He needed the shadow of a portal, a rift between life and death. That was the answer.

The spell would be black, gray and yellow, a mix of change, shadow and light. He would focus on the alteration of death and the depthless form of shadow. The light would hold the link to the physical realm, or so he believed. A full portal would connect existences, but the shadow of a rift would serve only to reach the immeasurable space between existences.

He concentrated on the aspects of the spell, considered the subtleties of the combination. With the ability to cast white magic, he had significant and equal power over black, gray and yellow energy. He shaped both in his mind, molded the desire of his intentions into a clear objective. With a total focus on a shadow portal in his mind, he spoke the enchantment of his need. He took hold of the energies emanating from Baannat, that was the target, the exit point for his gateway.

White energy coursed about his body and brightened the dark lands around him. Two perfect circles first formed at his hands. They swirled about his palms in perfect unison until he flung them from his fingers. The two white circles combined to make one large ring. The ring turned yellow, then gray, then black, and finally a strange mix of all three.

A rift formed, but one that Enin had never seen before. It was in every essence the shadow of a portal. It had no true beginning and no true end. It was not a gateway from one realm to another, but an opening into a space of nonexistence.

Certain he could now reach Baannat, Enin stepped through. As he did, his physical body crumpled to the ground in the chasm of the cave. His body continued to function in certain ways-his heart beat, his lungs took air-but the completeness of his essence was no longer contained within. No consciousness, no light of true awareness formed behind the glazed over eyes. There was only the mechanical functions and the instinctive measures that sent impulses throughout his system. His mortal shell was empty.

Enin, however, did not see the fall of his body. It only occurred after his spirit stepped into the shadow of nonexistence. He believed his essence floated in the veil between life and death. He knew he was not dead, and yet, he felt so close to death, certain that the afterlife was but a shadow's width away.

Death, however, was not his goal. He had stepped into the veil so he could confront Baannat directly.

Without a body, his essence was now nothing more than a pool of light. The lack of substance did not deter the wizard. On several previous occasions, he had removed his consciousness from physical existence to explore the infinity of dimensional awareness. Under such conditions, Enin always maintained his force of will. That required no magic or physical existence. Focus and control were the tools of pure conscious thought, and though at times his focus wandered, his control made him a powerful wizard.

Enin placed his attention confidently upon the slink ghoul. Though he had no mouth, he had the will to speak.

"And so I am here… without the suicide."

"Yes, that's true, you are not dead," the ghoul responded, but he did not cower in any way before the more powerful wizard.

Whereas Enin was nothing more than a presence of light without shape, Baannat maintained a semblance of structure and form. The light of his being resembled his previous body, even appeared to have substance in the gray nothingness that surrounded him.

"I will give you one chance," Enin offered. "Remove your control from the creatures outside this place. Leave the dark realm to its own designs and do not interfere in the lives of others."

"If I say yes, would you believe me?"

"It doesn't matter. I've now proved I can reach you. If you go back on your word, I will return to destroy you. I am giving you one chance to avoid destruction."

"And what should I do?" Baannat asked, almost playfully. "Should I just remain in this vacuum of nonexistence for all eternity?"

Enin did not answer, for he had no answer. What could Baannat do? There was no place for the ghoul to go. The wizard even wondered if Baannat could obtain true physical existence once more.

The slink ghoul did not wait for a reply. He simply made it clear he had no intention of renouncing his goals of destruction and revenge.

"Or maybe I should spend my time assisting those less fortunate than I?" the slink ghoul taunted the human wizard. "That would be amusing. Just like you are helping the humans and dwarves learn to live in harmony, I could teach shags not to eat goblins."

At that moment, Enin understood the pure evil at the heart of Baannat. The ghoul could never be trusted. As long as he existed, he would work to bring pain to others. The wizard considered the army of beasts waiting to cross into Uton. Many would die and many more would suffer. Enin would not allow such torment to occur.

Believing his power far superior to Baannat, who was now nothing more than a mere shadow of what he once was, Enin prepared to cast a spell that would stop the war, stop the suffering, and end the existence of the slink ghoul forever. He had no hands to concentrate the magical energy upon, but he remained a force of will. The magic would bend to that force to destroy an enemy to all life.

"I am sorry," the human wizard said with all sincerity. "There is clearly no other way. I will rectify my earlier miscalculations and end your existence as it should have ended."

As Enin focused on a spell to end the threat of the ghoul, the white magic that once filled his body and his essence would not move to his command. Despite his unerring control over the energy, it would not respond to his call. The spell faded in his confused thoughts as his mind searched for an answer.

Baannat smiled.

"What's wrong? Can't think of a spell?" the ghoul asked with a mocking grin.

Enin ignored the questioning ridicule. He concentrated on the core of his essence. The magic within him as well as his vast links to the magic of the land were gone. Normally, his connection to the energy was so vast it was like an ocean falling upon a single grain of sand. At times, it could overwhelm his thoughts and bring him intriguing perception of so many mysteries, and yet, he was now empty.

"I know what you're thinking," Baannat boasted. "You've separated your consciousness from your physical being many times before, and you still held to your magical power. Even when you fought me in my magical sanctuary, you were not truly physically present and yet you cast spells against me of incalculable power. You were able to create a spiritual representation of your body, but you can't even do that here. There is something different. I'll give you a hint. Where is your anchor?"

"Anchors are diverse in nature," Enin argued, still searching for a clear understanding, as well as fighting against the growing panic of the emptiness that replaced his magical reservoir. "The portal I created should provide enough of a link to the physical plane."

Baannat's smile and even his snickers died away as he looked upon the human wizard with contempt and disgust.

"You still don't get it, do you?" the ghoul asked, dropping any taunts. "Where are you?"

Enin considered the question but would not answer aloud, and thus, Baannat answered his own question.

"You think you are in the shroud… between life and death."

"As are you." Enin added.

Baannat would not quite concur. Instead, he continued to define the truth of the situation. "I am not quite dead, and not quite alive. What are you? You remain clearly alive, but your body is trapped on the other side. I have brought part of my body into this veil, as you call it, but I am not whole. I actually have substance in this place, as strange as that might seem. You have no substance, and you have no anchor."

"That should not matter. Even without an anchor, even without substance, my connection to the magical energies should remain. They have before."

The ghoul growled in disgust. There was no more laughter in his stunning explanation.

"You don't even know where you really are? What do you think this is? A transitional plane?A shadow between life and death? You couldn't be any further from the truth. This is a new existence, one created from my rebirth. This is no veil! This is a new realm, one that formed to compensate for my rather unique form. I did not die, and yet I no longer live. I have form, but I am not complete in body. My essence is linked to a form that has no beginning and no end. Don't you understand what that means? It's not immortality because I'm not alive. It's not spiritual existence because my essence remains connected to a body that maintains at least partial substance."

In an instant, Enin understood. He had made a grave miscalculation, one that he could not possibly remedy.

"So you begin to understand," Baannat continued. "Your essence can utilize the energy, but even for you there are certain rules. Where is the vast reservoir of magical energy that you can hold? It normally fills you beyond imagination, but you left it behind with your body when you entered this place. That power-the magic you possess, the energy that you can use to cast spells-is at this moment connected to your body in the physical realm, but now your essence is no longer in contact with your mortal form, not in any way. By stepping into this new shroud, you placed a barrier between your spiritual and physical existences without severing it through death. No, you're not dead, but you split yourself and willingly sent your spirit into nonexistence."

Enin looked for the portal. His only hope was to escape the shadow of existence, to pass back into life. He could not, however, find the gateway.

"You're going to have to search a long time before you find that doorway," the ghoul snickered. "Oh, it's still there, but now it's a shadow within a shadow. Have you ever been able to see one of those. Perhaps you could cast a new spell to uncover it?"

But Enin had no magic to call upon. The almost unending flow of energy that was once his to command was gone, left behind in the physical realm. It probably still coursed through his body back in the dark lands, but as Baannat had stated, a link to that body no longer existed.

"You know what you might try?" Baannat suggested. "You can't go back to the physical plane, but maybe you should move on to the spiritual existence."

Enin actually considered the thought.

Death.

Was that his only option? He then wondered if it was truly an option at all. Could he exit this realm of nonexistence and find the true veil between life and death, pass through it completely? If so, how? What was there for him to kill?

"Is that what you want me to do?" Enin tested the ghoul. "Do you wish me to simply surrender my life?"

"Actually, no. I want you to remain right here. I want you to watch as I take control of your pathetic world. Besides, you couldn't kill yourself even if you tried. Your body is on the other side of the veil. How would you reach it? You can't. And if you can't kill the body, how would enter death? Would you kill the spirit? You know that's not possible."

It was true. Even if he wanted to, Enin could not force his own death under those circumstances. He was trapped, but then, so was Baannat. The ghoul, however, was able to exert some influence on the land beyond the state of nonexistence.

"And how is it you can take control from here? How can you touch the magic that is kept from my hand?"

"Because that's the way I planned it. The vessel captured magic and parts of my mortal body. When the delver broke open the vessel, he returned my body and my magic to me, but he returned it to me in such a way that I remained incomplete. As I said, here I have substance, even minimal as it is, it is enough. Don't you see?"

And Enin did see. It was just as Jure explained. The energy coming from Baannat and coursing into the land of Uton was broken, segmented. Partially existent and partially nonexistent. Baannat had formed a lifeline to the physical world in a manner Enin failed to comprehend until he blundered into the trap.

The slink ghoul chuckled again.

"Hurts, doesn't it? To know that you stepped right into it? It's actually funny. When we first met, we were almost equals. You had a slight advantage, but then I grew more powerful. Still, you, the delver, and the woman immune to magic managed to beat me, reduced me to a wisp of what I was. You became much more powerful than me, but only on the plane of your natural existence. Here, even as I'm just a shell of what I was, I am superior to you and I still have the power to command every creature in the dark realm."

Baannat used his power to look out into the land of darkness and to review the legion of beasts waiting at the portal. The time had come for him take further revenge on those who had beaten him.

"You really thought you could stop me," Baannat growled, "but I give you credit. You planned for contingencies as well. Yes, I'm going to attack the algors in the desert as well as the spell casters in your abandoned town, but the truth is, I don't care who wins. It's all a game, but it's my rules. You see, I want the delver and his wife here along with you. That's what's important to me. I want to bring the three of you together, and then I will torment all of you for an eternity."

Enin could not imagine a worse fate. He might have actually taken his own life at that moment, but he could not escape, even in that way.

Baannat drew closer to the wizard, touched Enin's spiritual form with a claw that flashed in and out of existence. A the sharp nails slowly sliced through Enin's soul, the wizard experienced an entirely new sense of torment.

"The delver is out in the desert," Baannat hissed. "I can sense him. He will fight with the algors. Maybe I can catch him there, maybe I can't. It won't matter if I can catch the woman. She's the one I want to bring here next. Once I control her, I control him. Where is she, brother?"

Enin didn't want to answer, but he was now powerless against the ghoul. It would only be a matter of time before he broke.

Chapter 21

Holli felt her connection with Enin break. It didn't shatter like exploding glass, or slowly fade like light after sunset. It just ended, as if it were cut by the fall of an axe blade.

The insight temporarily staggered the elf. Reality shifted and little else mattered. She stared off into space, searching desperately, trying to reestablish the link. Her reach, however, was limited. It was his power that fed the connection, that allowed it to exist beyond dimensions. He had promised to maintain that link, and yet it was most certainly gone.

Possibilities dwindled. Holli faced a certain horror. The break was now crisp in her memory-a moment in time captured with extreme clarity-it was as if it happened over and over again. It went beyond the diminishing end of a spell or the passing of some powerful barrier. There was sheer certainty captured in the severity of the disconnection and very few things in life held to such conviction. Aghast, she found one explanation defying all others. She believed Enin had died with that break, as she could not imagine anything less causing such a definite fracture, and the magic within her seemed to reinforce that conclusion.

A colossal sense of loss flooded her being. The sudden grief crippled her thinking as if a massive void opened at her core and then filled with unimaginable sorrow. She did not wish to jump to such a devastating assumption, but with each passing moment, she was more certain that Enin's consciousness had moved completely out of existence. She did not need someone to knock upon her door to deliver the news. The magic itself was the messenger making the declaration clear.

The world around her turned gray, losing not only joy, but purpose as well. She swam in uncertainty as the bond she had grown accustomed to had simply vanished.

The grief went beyond losing their intricate magical connection. Enin had allowed Holli to touch the core of his spirit, and once she had, she no longer held any doubts as to the benevolence of his intentions. She could not imagine a better soul to carry the great power that was within him.

She had become a part of that benevolence, sharing in the desire to be worthy of such a gift, such a blessing. Losing that was like having the light of hope extinguished by a demon's laugh. Shock and agony mixed together in a swirling current of emotional upheaval.

Along with a great sorrow came great apprehension. With her understanding of Enin's power, she previously believed him near invulnerable to any attack. Yes, she was his guard-as well as his apprentice-but she long since accepted there was very little she could do to protect him that he couldn't do himself. She could not imagine the kind of power required to end the wizard's life.

While she could never dismiss the loss, she remained an elf guard. Fighting through her incredible grief, the elf grasped hold of her own inner strength. The loss to her was immeasurable, but the immediate dangers grew exponentially. Enin entrusted her with a mission of vital importance before leaving to face Baannat, and even as she believed the wizard had somehow fallen in his battle with the slink ghoul, her task remained.

With all of the crushing emotions encumbering the elf, Holli did not yet suffer from a sense of failure, but that might come as well. It was now her duty to complete the plans of her mentor. If she failed at Pinesway, then she certainly would have failed Enin, and that was something she would not accept.

Unfortunately, while she could maintain the inner resolve to contain her grief, there were others around her that might not share her tenacity. She would need them and she could ill afford any rebellion at such calamitous news.

All of the spell casters preparing to defend Pinesway were human. All other elf sorcerers remained in Dark Spruce prepared to protect the forest. Although elves were more adept at utilizing the magic as a race than humans, human individuals were the most prone for reaching the ultimate heights of ability. The magic casters gathered at Pinesway were some of the most powerful in the land, and the need for the sum of their talents was at hand.

These humans deferred to Holli's authority because she represented Enin and he was superior to them all. While they might profess some deep obligation to redeem themselves as magic casters for the sins of a generation from another era, they were held together by Enin's edict. If they believed he was dead, some-or perhaps most-would simply abandon the town.

She would not reveal the news to them, but such an announcement might not even be necessary. They were all attuned to the magic. They might notice the abrupt absence of Enin's power without any declaration on her part.

How long could she maintain her authority?

It was not a question she could answer on her own. Instead, she called upon Heteera immediately.

The young sorceress entered the abandoned home that Holli used as a command post and she was already distressed.

With one look, the elf was certain Heteera had sensed the same calamity.

"What do you believe has happened?" Holli commanded with an even but authoritative tone.

"He is gone." Heteera whispered. "Enin… the magic is still there, but he is not."

This did not surprise the elf. Of course the magic would still exist. Magical energy did not die with its host. It returned to the land in some form, ready to be used by another. Heteera, with her vast reservoir of magic and her ability to absorb energy across the land, would be the most sensitive to Enin's loss. It was her control over magic that was lacking, not her connection.

"Do you believe any of the others have sensed it?" Holli asked, hoping to determine the extent of the revelation.

"Some probably do, but… I'm not sure."

In a heroic effort to ignore her own inner pain, Holli brushed back the sorrow and focused on Enin's wishes. She needed to maintain control of the spell casters in order to defend Pinesway, and all of Uton. There was only one way to do that.

"I need to tap into your energy. You have to open yourself to me."

Heteera immediately stepped back and away from the elf and showed no sign of apology. The thought of turning her power over to the elf both angered and frightened her. She could not argue with Enin, for he could force her obedience. The elf guard, however, had no such power over her.

In Heteera's eyes the battle was now lost. Enin was her one true hope. At the beginning-when she decided to seek out Ryson Acumen-she believed only the wizard had the power to reverse her mistake, a mistake that seemed to expand with each passing day.

It seemed everything since then had spiraled out of control. Yes, she had convinced the delver and his wife to assist her, but where did it lead? She discovered that it was Baannat that she had recalled to the land, not Lief Woodson. As for the delver, he had unwittingly aided the slink ghoul when he destroyed the vessel created to capture dark magic.

Still, she always believed Enin had the power to rectify each misstep, each mistake, but that was no longer the case. She revealed as much in her answer of defiance.

"The wizard is gone!" she repeated. "It's over."

The issue of Enin's fate stung Holli, created even more anguish, but she buried the pain. The elf guard revealed no animosity toward the sorceress, no hostility. She would not take out her grief on Heteera, but she would not accept her assertion of futility.

"No! It is not over. Enin commanded us to do battle in this town, and that's exactly what we are going to do. All of us. If you think that Enin's fate somehow releases you from your obligations, I suggest you think again. I will fight on and my loss is the greatest. Nothing is over. We didn't simply come together in this abandoned town because a wizard ordered us to. We did so because it was necessary. It is still necessary."

Heteera, filled with remorse, sensed a hidden meaning.

"Why? Because this is all my fault? Is that what you're saying?"

"Forget fault… and blame. Your very honor is at stake here, not for what you've done, but for what you will do. No one has said your help is no longer required. You were not bound here simply because Enin demanded it of you. You agreed to assist, if not by word then by action. You are released from nothing."

Holli stepped forward to remove the distance Heteera had put between them. She made no threats, she only spelled out a simple truth.

"Forget what you have done or what you've failed to do. Those moments are gone. It is this moment that matters-this decision, this action. I could care less what regrets you have. It does not change what we face. I only care about how you will hold to the commitment you have made here. Will you keep it or not?"

Heteera looked to the ground with uncertainty. She did not answer.

Holli stepped even closer. "I do not wish to argue. I need an answer, and I need it now."

Heteera did not wish to debate, either, but all seemed so futile. Her mistakes only served to compound previous actions. She did not wish to make another error in judgment, and so, she searched for something, a ray of hope that deep down she did not believe existed.

"What do you think you can accomplish?" the sorceress asked. "Even if I give to you all of the power within me, you can't match Enin. How can you succeed where he failed?"

"I do not know if he failed or not. And neither do you."

"But he's gone, I know he is."

"And I sense the same thing. We assume he is dead, but perhaps the slink ghoul has also died."

"I didn't think of that," Heteera confessed.

"An important detail, and if true, one that could turn the tide to our advantage. Wouldn't you agree?"

Heteera nodded.

"The truth is that we are unsure of what happened. We are unsure of many things, but there is one certainty. We are bound to carry out Enin's will, and it was his wish to save the land. We will make our stand in Pinesway. We will defend the path to Connel and the eastern plains. Even if Enin has passed to a new existence, even if Baannat still lives, it does not change this. If the creatures of nightmare come into this land, we will fight them."

"What is it you intend to do?"

Holli would not try to conceal her intentions. She needed the sorceress to open herself completely. There could be no doubt-no mistrust-between them.

"I'm going to probe the energies, but I need to reach beyond the emerald power of nature. I need access to all magic, and so I need help. I need to know how many spell casters have already sensed what has happened and how they might respond. I also need to reach out toward the portal and determine if our foes are advancing. Only when I know the true strength of our position and the nature of our challenge will I be able to determine what to do next."

Heteera remained uncertain, but as Holli only appeared to seek information about their situation, she eventually submitted.

"I will do as you ask."

"Cast no spell of your own," Holli advised. "Do not attempt to alter the magic in anyway. I will create the link and then utilize that which is within you. Throw up no barriers-no restrictions and no alterations."

Heteera nodded and cleared her mind. The sorceress closed her eyes and let the darkness swallow her thoughts. She focused on the emptiness of a dreamless sleep, the nothingness of a forgetful pause, and the utter void of complete indifference.

Holli had become well versed in creating the link she now needed. She had done so many times with Enin. He had taught her the way, and though this link would not be as intimate as the wizard allowed, it would enable the elf to connect to power far beyond her own natural reserves.

As the energy surged into the elf, she quickly felt the dramatic increase in power. At first, it was almost frightening. It did not match the depth that she experienced from Enin, but it was raw and almost bubbling with ferocity. The untamed fury almost shattered the link before it was even complete, but Holli fought against the billowing flood. She managed to control the tide as it coursed into her being, and she placed limits on the flow so that it would not overwhelm her.

With a conduit to a power source of immeasurable reserves, Holli focused on her main concerns. Remaining as inconspicuous as a candle flame held up in front of a roaring bonfire, Holli's consciousness probed the various magical waves to all of the spell casters throughout Pinesway. She did not wish to invade their conscious thoughts or unconscious desires, but she probed for an awareness that would be impossible to hide. If any of the sorcerers knew of Enin's fate, it would be through a perception of these very same magical waves.

It was clear that only one had perceived the loss. She would deal with that later. She needed to move her consciousness further out of Pinesway. She needed to determine the extent of the threat at the portal.

The rift itself would serve as the anchor point. Enin had cast the spell to create a new portal, and she was very familiar with his energy. Though her link to the wizard was lost, she could ride the waves of energy to his spell and utilize her past links with Enin to gain the focus required.

As she reached out toward the badlands before the Lacobian, she grasped echoes of the wizard's magic, except they were stronger than she expected, as if they were more than memories. She attributed this to Enin's strength. Though she very much wanted to linger in the familiar strands of her mentor's power, she kept following the trail to her ultimate goal.

She quickly located the portal with her mind's eye and the sight did little to alleviate her fears.

The rift had expanded far beyond the edges of Enin's barrier that once sealed it. The obstruction hung in the center, but it only served to block half the opening. Dark creatures flowed out of the elongated portal like a never ending swarm of angry bees exiting a hive of limitless size. They rushed out into two groupings; one headed southwest toward the desert and the other moved to the trees of Dark Spruce. The barrier served only to slow their progress, not stop it.

With her main objectives met, Holli almost broke off the connection, but the vibrations of Enin's magic kept her attention. With the aid of Heteera's power, the elf reached beyond the portal, probed into the dark lands until she reconnected once more with Enin's power.

And it was Enin. She was certain of it, but a mystery remained. She followed the strands right to Enin's body, but it was somehow… empty. It was more than the wizard simply being asleep, or even separated from his consciousness in order to explore some distant dimension. It was as if the magical energy remained in his body, but the essence of his soul had been completely removed.

Still, she now had hope. Enin's spirit was somehow absent, separated in some strange way she could not conceive, but he was not dead. Of this, she was now sure.

The revelation traveled through the link to Heteera's energy and it caught the sorceress' attention. She drew the same conclusion. While Enin's link to the magic of this land was somehow severed, he was not dead. Unwittingly, she joyously reached out through the magic to more closely inspect the body of the wizard.

Once more, her lack of control forced unintended consequences. The power surged through Holli and the elf fought to contain the heaving rush. In pure desperation, she pulled her focus away from the dark lands and placed it once more on the anchor of the portal.

Holli's spell of reaching sight tangled into massive disorder with no set objectives or limits. It exploded around the rift causing two dire results. The barrier that Enin placed to restrict movement of the dark creatures disintegrated in the expulsion of uncontrolled magic. The blockade was already weakened and unstable from the extension of the portal beyond its borders. It could not withstand the jolt. With the barrier destroyed, the dark creatures had unobstructed access to the entire rift.

Beyond that, the creatures themselves took heed of the disruption. Some of the monsters with magical powers of their own, quickly followed the spell back to its source. They in turn now spied upon Pinesway and learned of the waiting magic casters.

Holli managed to cut off the link between herself and Heteera, but the damage was done.

Heteera babbled words unintelligible and then let out a cold sob.

For a brief moment, Holli ignored her. She moved to a window and considered the entirety of what she had learned. Even with the accidental discharge of magic, the most important aspect was a dramatic improvement.

Enin was not dead.

She could not imagine what might have placed him in his current state, but as long as the wizard remained alive, there was hope… hope that Baannat could still be defeated, as well as hope that Enin would return. She could use that to bolster her forces.

Heteera managed to speak more clearly as Holli mulled what tactics to employ over the forces they would engage.

"I'm sorry. It all got away from me. I know you told me to clear my mind, but when I saw Enin…" she could not continue.

Holli grew weary with the sorceress.

"Yes, you're sorry. I know, but what are you sorry for? Are you sorry you have no control over the magic or are you sorry that you failed to follow my instructions? I can accept the first, but not the second. If you saw everything I saw, then you know what's coming at us. I'm going to need your power when they get here, and I can't allow you to continue making the same mistakes."

Heteera almost recoiled from the harsh words… almost. But it was true. Being sorry was not helping the situation. She could not control the magic within her, but she was not being asked to control it. Her power could help win this battle, but only if she allowed others to use it. In the very near future, she had to do more than just be sorry. If not, they would all be dead.

Holli ignored the sorceress. Heteera's last mistake was not that crucial. The barrier was destroyed, but in her mind, that mattered little. It would serve to hasten the invaders arrival, but that mattered even less. Those who gathered at Pinesway were already prepared to battle. Time was not something they needed.

She then thought of the group heading into the desert. She hoped Ryson was also prepared.

Chapter 22

Ryson waited for the obstruction within the tunnel to collapse. The passage had been used before, both by dwarves that attacked the algors and sand giants that in turn marched on Dunop. The way had been blocked, but the dwarves were known to make easy work of such obstructions.

The rocks blocking the passageway fell downward into a sub tunnel that had been quickly constructed beneath the main passage. Once clear, dwarves filed past the settling dust toward the sandstone cliffs that waited just beyond a few twists and turns of the catacombs.

Ryson met the leader, a battle force commander named Kevok Mettelston, and after quick introductions, the delver made a most surprising revelation to the dwarf leader.

"The algors don't want your help," the delver revealed.

The force commander's eye's widened a bit in surprise and then squinted into an angry glare.

"They refuse?"

"They do."

"The reason?"

Ryson really didn't want to explain, didn't want to lay that kind of fault at the feet of the dwarves that were there to help, but he had no choice.

"They still blame you, all of the dwarves, for attacking them."

The dwarf commander made the obvious counterpoint.

"And do they forget the sand giants they set upon Dunop?"

"No, I guess they feel that was simply a response to your attack… that it was justified."

The dwarf nearly shouted in rage, but caught his anger. Eventually, Kevok turned upon the diplomacy that brought him and the thousands of dwarf warriors to the cursed tunnels of baking heat. None of the dwarves behind him-dwarves ready to do battle, ready to die-had been forced to march through tunnels under the desert. They all volunteered. They wished to right a wrong, remove a stain of the past.

"The algors are entitled to their point of view," Kevok allowed. "In fact, it is even more reason for us to be here. If the algors believe that creating an army of sand giants to destroy a dwarf city was justified by the misguided attack of fanatical dwarves, then they must agree to let us restore our honor. We have an obligation to prove we are not the same dwarves that preyed on the innocent."

"I wish they would agree, really, and I have talked to them. But they're adamant about this. I don't mean to insult you, but they don't care about your honor. I think the wounds may be too recent for them. It's also… it's hard to explain, but as much as they try to be independent, they view themselves as a single entity. When one is killed, they seem to all suffer." Ryson paused. Not wanting to incite the dwarf, he searched for the right words, words that eluded him. "They lost a great number. I think that multiplies the grief for them more than it would for any other race. It's like everyone lost thousands of fathers, mothers, sons and daughters."

Kevok frowned. "Dwarves understand loss as well, Ryson Acumen. You were in Dunop when the sand giants attacked us. How many fathers, mothers, sons and daughters of dwarves were lost that day?"

"A great many," Ryson responded with great torment at the memory. "Too many."

"And should we then call it even? We attacked them, they attacked us. What's done is done? We don't think so. We are here for that very reason, because we are ashamed of what happened. Are the algors not also ashamed?"

"I don't know what to say," Ryson admitted. "I just know they don't want your help. I believe they would probably attack you if they find you invading their home."

"Attack? Invading? Fah, if we were invading, they would know it."

"I'm sure they would, but I did try to talk to them. I tried to convince them your intentions were honorable. I saw the anger and the pain. I'm not saying it's justified. I'm just saying it's there. So if you go forward-not invading, just wanting to help-and they see you as an enemy, what happens in these tight caverns?"

Kevok examined the surrounding catacombs near the sandstone edifice and looked back upon the long line of dwarf soldiers ready for battle. They stood at attention, but he could sense their growing impatience. These dwarves wanted to wash away the dishonor on their reputation, but honor was a two way street in his eyes.

"You have informed them of our intentions, but you still believe they see us as an enemy?"

"I do."

"Fah."

And Kevok frowned again. He took another look back upon those ready to die for the algors that would continue to view them as an enemy. His pride in his troops grew, just as his opinion of the algors sank.

"Perhaps we will go forward anyway. They would not dare attack two battalions of war-ready battle dwarves. They may not wish to accept our help, but it is not entirely up to them. Word has spread as to what is about to happen. The dwarves that work with the humans of Connel-humans smart enough to accept when a dwarf admits he's wrong-have relayed the story of the slink ghoul and the impending war with the dark creatures. The desert is of strategic importance to all the land. It is as much in our interest to protect the desert as it is the algors. Inform them that we are coming anyway. If they don't wish to view it as assistance, that is their problem, not mine."

Ryson didn't like the sound of that and he imagined what would happen.

"It may be everyone's problem. You may not think they'll attack, but I'm not so sure. I've also seen what they've been up to. They've been preparing to face a legion of dark creatures and they're ready for a battle. I'm not saying they could defeat all of your soldiers, but it would be a mess. And who wins in the end? The very creatures you came here to fight."

Kevok folded his arms across his chest. With further contemplation, he considered the predicament.

"You believe they would still attack us… despite the fact that a slink ghoul's legion is upon their doorstep?"

Ryson nodded.

Kevok almost laughed, but he also found respect for the algors. Dwarf pride was legendary, but perhaps algor pride was also worthy of admiration. The algors would face certain annihilation, but they would also apparently not forget their dead. Some might look at it as pointless arrogance, even unjustified vengeance, but Kevok could not dismiss the true emotion behind the sentiment.

Accepting the algors' decision, he turned his musings to his own situation. He understood his mission and the needs of the dwarves. One objective was to restore the honor of Dunop. They had hoped to fight alongside algors, to prove their integrity. In his eyes, that proof already existed. It was now the algors' pride that kept the races apart. Dwarf honor was no longer in question. It had been restored. That part of his mission was now complete.

As for protecting the land, he could utilize the situation with the algors to his benefit. He would adjust his battle tactics to minimize losses of dwarf soldiers, and he professed as much to the delver.

"Very well. We shall not proceed into the algor shelter."

Kevok made the announcement with such resolve that the delver imagined the worse.

"You're not leaving? Are you?"

"No, I still have my orders to defeat any invading dark army hoping to lay claim to these lands. I do not, however, need to concern myself with algor losses. If it is their wish to disregard our assistance, that is their choice. I will move my forces into surrounding tunnels of our construction. We shall allow the algors to have their way. They will meet the coming invasion on their own and we will wait in reserve. If my information is correct, I have very little faith in the algors success, but they might inflict enough casualties to allow my forces to route the enemy when the initial battle is complete."

"And that's it? You're going to come in and clean up the dark creatures only after the algors have been decimated?"

"That is their choice, Ryson Acumen, not mine. Do you have another strategy I should consider?"

It was a pointed question without any true answer. It was the decision of the algors to relinquish assistance. The dwarves simply guaranteed the desert would not be lost. What more could Ryson ask of the dwarves?

"No, I don't have any other ideas. I'm just sorry it couldn't have been different."

"Fah, leave remorse for a more worthy situation. The honor of the dwarves is no longer in question. We were willing to shed dwarf blood to save algor blood. The algors wish to face the enemy on their own. That is their wish, and it holds some degree of honor as well. Respect that honor, do not dismiss it."

Ryson saw only foolishness and further complications to his plans. He would fight with the algors, but the battle seemed already decided.

Kevok noticed the failing spirit of a delver he knew saved the dwarves, saved the entire land of Uton.

"Keep yourself safe, my friend." Kevok stated. "You remain honored among the dwarves, and we will do everything to help you once we enter the battle. We owe you that."

"I'm not sure that's going to help me. I have to stand with the algors. I can't explain it, but I have to."

"I see that. You are willing to fight with them, but that is no reason to die with them. Do everything you can… short of sacrificing yourself. I am simply telling you that if you can hold out to the end, there is hope for you."

Ryson considered exactly what that meant. Hope for him, but none for the algors.

Chapter 23

"You can see them?" Ryson asked the algor who stood next to him on a ledge of the sandstone cliff.

"I cannot, but others have spotted them. We have been following their movements."

Ryson could neither see nor hear any threats in the distance. His senses were far superior to those of any individual algor, but they seemed to share information in a way that allowed them greater overall awareness. Algors far out along the eastern edge of the desert were clearly communicating the progress of the oncoming force.

"How soon before they get here?"

"The winged ones will arrive shortly, unless they pause to coordinate their attack. So far, they show no signs of slowing. I believe they are impatient. A mistake."

"How many of them in total? I mean all of them, not just the ones in the air."

"How many grains of sand can you see?"

Ryson was not at all pleased at that answer.

Previously, he had been surprised to the point of optimism at the algors' preparations. Ever since he warned them of the coming dangers, they had worked to build their defenses. Where their refusal to accept dwarf aid left the delver to the point of despondency, the algor's defensive efforts reversed his gloom.

Once the word spread of the advancing invaders, thousands upon thousands returned from the desert. The algors ranks swelled to form an impressive army. They worked together beyond any force Ryson ever witnessed. Though there were no officers to lead, no chain of command to direct their efforts, the tailless lizards moved with cohesive unity. They all seemed to understand the design of some grand plan, though no plan was ever outwardly discussed.

Even while constructing their defenses, they concentrated on collecting the magic that they could not store naturally for long periods of time. The energy bloomed within each algor, and though Ryson's connection to the magic remained limited, he could not deny the charge of power that grew in the desert. Just as they assembled their weapons, they prepared themselves both physically and magically for battle.

While the great majority of the algors worked in and around the sandstone cliffs, it was apparent that several scouts remained out in the desert. Perhaps they utilized some of the magical energy that almost pulsated within their community to communicate their foes' movements. There were no alarms or signals given, but they all seemed to understand what was coming. Even before the enemy came into sight, the algors moved into their coordinated positions and formed their defensive lines ready to repel the attack. No one could ever fault the algors for lack of organization.

Ryson, however, could fault them for other reasons. He still wished they would accept the help of the dwarves that remained waiting in reserve, waiting for the algors to perish before they would rush in to confront the dark creatures. The delver wondered how many algor lives that mistake would ultimately cost. His considerations were further dimmed by the announcement of the algor beside him. If Baannat's invaders did number as the grains of sand, then even the coordinated movements of the algors would not be sufficient.

The delver recalled the number of creatures that had attacked him, Holli, and Sy back in the dark realm. It was a frightening sight, and Baannat conjured that force up in mere moments. How many more could he send into the desert? The answer was about to become clear.

"Actually," the algor noted, "you should soon see what approaches. Turn your delver eyes to the east and look just above the horizon. They cannot hide their numbers in the open air."

A shadow raced across the sky. It was as if night chased away day, but it wasn't the darkness of evening that flowed across the skies. Dusk came gradually in the desert, slowly choking off the light. This darkness moved with speed and created a definite border between light and shadow. The gloom rolled in much like a bank of angry storm clouds, but there was a much more violent motion throughout. A multitude of flying nightmares beat their wings with a demon's fury. There was no thunder, only the screeches and shrieks of unthinkable monsters.

As they closed upon the sandstone cliffs, Ryson's sharp eyes picked up greater detail, but he could barely distinguish the hook hawks from the spin vultures, while razor crows filled in any available space between the two. The sky turned into a cruel mass of shifting, soaring carriers of death and destruction.

Hide their numbers?

They didn't have to.

Ryson pulled the two war blades free from their sheaths. He could not reach the invaders if they remained in the sky, but in order to assault the algors, they would have to swoop down within range of his blades. He was certain such a force was not there simply to scout the land. They were going to attack, and he in turn would be forced to fight for his life and the lives of the algors.

A heaviness fell upon him. Death was coming… death for these birds of prey, death for the algors, and maybe even death for him. He didn't wish to fight, didn't wish to kill, but what could he do? He couldn't run. He had vowed to stand with the algors, and so he would. Baannat's legions were coming to spill blood. There were few choices. Would he sacrifice himself? Would he allow algors to perish around him? He looked at his war blades. Or would he serve up his own form of death? He cursed under his breath.

More struggles.

He thought he was tired before… tired of the conflicts he faced, tired of the decisions forced upon him. He was now sick of the struggle.

The delver looked over the algors around him. They armed themselves with clubs, spears and slings. He wondered if they had any chance with such crude weapons.

He imagined the coming conflict. The winged monsters would swoop down with razor sharp claws and hardened beaks. The fighting was certain to be brutal.

Ryson didn't want to see such carnage, let alone be part of it. Violence, blood, and death-more byproducts of the struggle.Pointless and foolish.

Such thoughts forced him to reconsider his decisions. Was it foolish to include himself? Where did he truly belong? The answer was clear-with Linda. And yet, he could not deny the strong sense of obligation he had to these strange lizard-like beings that considered him one of their own. The war might have been beyond foolish, just as the struggle was beyond his comprehension, but standing with the algors was neither.

A decision made with finality-a decision to fight for and with the algors-he examined their formations. They stood in close contact along haphazard lines stretched across the desert floor as well as across the many ledges of the sandstone cliffs. They took no cover. They waited patiently for the shadow in the sky to move closer, and it did.

The algor Ryson had questioned tilted his head as he addressed the delver.

"It is time for you to be what you are. You are algor… but you are delver. Do not stand idly by. Move-as is your custom."

Ryson didn't know what to say, but he couldn't disagree. He would have to fight. Baannat was forcing the issue-and probably laughing with glee. He forced the slink ghoul out of his mind and focused on staying alive and saving as many algors as he possibly could. The algor was right. His strength was his movement, and now was the time to use that strength.

He raced down one ledge and leapt to another. Utilizing the downward motion to add to his speed, his momentum carried him past hundreds of algors as he dodged his way down to the desert floor.

Once upon the ground, he gave another quick look to the progress of the predator birds. They closed the distance in a great hurry. The battle was almost upon him before he had any further chance to examine his conscience and the ramifications of his actions.

As the first wave of flying beasts came into range, the algors grasped their slings. Every algor, whether perched on a rock ledge or standing shoulder to shoulder upon the desert sand, took hold of the long straps and began to swing. They moved as one.

Stones in the sling cradles swung through the air in a dramatic display of unity. The twirling motion at first made only the faintest whirring whisper that barely defied the cackling of the razor crows, but it soon turned into an angry whine that overpowered the calls of the swooping birds.

Ryson actually paused at the sight. He did not stop moving, but he slowed and released his attention from the incoming predators. He simply could not ignore the algors. Their cohesive action demanded his attention. Thousands upon thousand of algors twirling their slings in complete harmony. It was more than individuals acting in concert. It went far beyond that. The algors became a single entity-one objective, one perception, one thought.

Ryson realized the true power of the algors at that moment. The sling was no longer a crude weapon of minimal effectiveness. For a hook hawk to be hit by one stone was possibly nothing more than an annoyance or a deep bruise-a laughable defense-but to be hit by thousands at once was bone crushing destruction. Guided by a common goal, the algors released their projectiles as if following the frantic guidance of one conductor. It was an avalanche of devastation that didn't roll down a mountainside, but flung upwards in the simultaneous release of the sling cords.

The stones formed a rainstorm-a tidal wave-of flying missiles. They darkened the skies, not to the same extent as the attacking birds, but certainly far beyond Ryson's expectations.

What's more, the algors seemed to understand the consequences of the tight flying formations of their enemy. They aimed for the monsters highest in the air and at the ones at the center of the flocks. Those that fell crashed into birds below or behind, causing further havoc in the ranks. A chain reaction of mayhem exploded through the cluster of attackers in such a fashion that taking down one bird meant the destruction or disabling of several more.

And this was just the first volley. Ryson understood the algors were prepared for a long battle. They reloaded and fired again, and more monsters fell from the air.

The delver turned on his speed once more and carefully watched the ebb and flow of battle. In these early stages, the fight was taken to the invaders. The predators fought against flying projectiles and made little progress toward reaching their prey. Ryson could do little more than observe and hope the battle would remain that way.

Unfortunately, both speed and numbers were on the side of the winged monsters. Algors were forced to reload, swing and release. Too much time passed between each volley, and eventually a great number of twisting hook hawks and swirling spin vultures fell upon the algor lines.

Some algors were yanked from the ground and pulled into the air, but most were simply sliced open where they stood. Talons clasped and ripped at algor scales. Beaks jabbed and tore. Powerful wings knocked many off high ledges. Casualties quickly mounted.

The algors dropped their slings in unison, but then broke into two separate and distinct groups. The first group, the majority, turned their attention to fighting off the flying menaces with clubs and spears. They readied their weapons just as the full breadth of nightmare birds dropped from the sky like a collapsing tent of twisted feathers.

As the mass of invaders that once darkened the skies draped over the sand and stone, the algors fought desperately against superior numbers as well as superior fighters. The slim form of the algor did not translate well into melee conflict. They swung their clubs and jabbed their spears with valor but with only marginal success. Whereas a sharp claw or jagged beak could incapacitate an algor with one swipe, it took several blows of a club or stabs with a spear to drop a single hook hawk.

Spin vultures-powerful flyers with bodies of great bulk-could plow through the algor lines. As their flight path took them in swirling patterns along the ground, they crashed into their victims with great force. Once they landed, their massive beaks swung back and forth like a battering ram on a pendulum. Thick claws grasped any algor nearby and tore the poor victim into shreds.

As the fighting continued, the second group of algors-a smaller portion of algors representing slightly less than a quarter of their total number-moved to their injured comrades. Utilizing the healing power of the magic they could temporarily hold, these algors set upon saving the fallen. Wounds closed, bones mended, consciousness was restored. They worked feverishly, helping every algor that could be saved. Only the ones that had passed the threshold of death remained upon the ground, but they were few. Even algors savagely torn apart that still clung to a small spark of life were revived, and once restored, they rejoined the fight.

In this, Ryson found more optimism. The algors were outnumbered, but their wounded could return to battle. The same could not be said for the enemy. The fallen dark creatures remained in heaps on the desert floor, dead or disabled. Over time, the algors might just offset the superior numbers, and perhaps even overcome the viciousness of their adversaries.

The battle, however, had just begun. Hook hawks, spin vultures, and razor crows were just the first wave. Baannat had also sent ground forces to the desert and their appearance caught the attention of the delver.

A staggering number of shags crested over a tall dune in the distance. Despite being territorial creatures that would attack their own kind, the giant upright monsters of powerful limbs, matted fur, and sharpened fangs charged across the desert like a well-trained army. They maintained close ranks and moved with clear purpose. They would reach the frontlines of the battle in mere moments, or so Ryson thought.

The delver raced forward to meet the charge, hoping to divert and distract them by cutting through the center of their ranks with his blinding speed. He could not hope to halt them completely, but he could certainly delay them.

As he raced to the top of the nearest dune, he reached a strategic position that overlooked a low lying ravine. The first line of shags rambled to the bottom of the gorge before the delver. When they hit the leveled ground, it exploded before them.

Hundred upon hundreds of sand giants rose from loose sand and dirt. They took hold of the stunned shags and dispatched the astonished creatures with ferocious savagery. Even the largest and most powerful shags could not match a sand giant's strength. The carnage was beyond description.

The shags, however, continued forward, moved by some unseen hand that urged them onward despite their losses. It was a sickening strategy, but one not without merit. As dead shags piled up around the sand giants, many of the stone titans became confused and even trapped within the mass of corpses. Their efficiency waned as they struggled to battle the seemingly endless rush of fur laden monsters.

Many of the shags charged over the tops of their fallen brethren and leapt safely over the sand giants as if knowing their fight rested not with animated rock but with the algors that waited beyond the next dune.

Ryson watched this turn with growing dread. The true moment of his involvement in battle had finally arrived. He could not have these shags reach the algors unchallenged. He needed to do more than distract them. He had to stop them.

Even with war blades in each hand, he instinctively wished to pull the Sword of Decree from its sheath on his back. The sheath, however, was empty… the sword back in some cave in the dark lands. He would not be able to use the magical energy of the sword to burn the very essence of his enemies. He would not be able to encourage their retreat with the threat of its glowing blade. He would have to rely on the sharp edge of plain steel and the death he would deal.

A heavy burden fell upon him, a decision to make, but it was already made for him. Where was the choice? None existed.

He removed the regret he knew he would feel from his mind. He focused on the charging shags. He would kill as many as he could. He didn't want to… the thought sickened him. He swallowed hard and resolved to save as many algors as possible. He raced toward the hairy beasts in a blur of furious motion.

The weapons twirled in his hands. They became spinning blades of death. He struck without hesitation and moved to kill as quickly as possible. Cutting through the long line of rushing shags, he left his own number of staggering casualties. He would not look back on the dead and dying monsters, only forward on those that dared to move past him with the intent to kill the algors Ryson vowed to defend.

As he accepted his role in this tragic battle, Ryson became a killing machine, his part in the fight irreparably sealed. The choice of joining the struggle was no longer a question. The choice had been made. One day he might regret it, and just as the dwarves sought to restore their honor, he might seek some kind of redemption. Within the struggle, however, such considerations became irrelevant.

Back and forth across the sand, he intercepted every shag that managed to break past the sand giants. Ignoring the heat of the day and the shifting, unsteady ground, Ryson blocked everything else from his mind. He ignored the screeching shrieks of the hook hawks behind him and the murderous howls of the shags still in the distance. He fought off fatigue, fought off fear. He focused completely on his own part-became part of the battle, part of the struggle.

The number of shags that Ryson had to dispatch slowly began to diminish. Sprinting over greater distances to reach his next target, the delver placed greater attention on the algor creations that served as the front line.

Pressing through the shag carcasses, the sand giants continued their assault. Though their movement had for a time been slowed, they pushed away the dead and began to move more freely. Stepping forward and beyond the carnage that had once blocked their path, they met the continuing shag rush with indifference to the blood thickening upon the desert floor.

If there was any solace, Ryson began to sense an end to the conflict, and he believed they actually had a chance to win with minimal algor casualties. He and the sand giants effectively countered the shag threat and the algors had proven they could stand against the aerial assault.

In fact, the number of shags began to decrease dramatically. They faltered against the sand giants, and those that made it past could not outmaneuver the fast moving delver.

Soon the sand giants were left to chasing a few remaining stragglers. Many of the stone sentinels stopped all movement as they scanned the terrain before them, but found nothing but empty rock and sand. They were creations of a single purpose-to defend the algors against aggressors. The grounds around them, however, were now all but empty of such invaders.

With no more shags breaking past the sand giants, Ryson turned his attention back to the algors. He could see some of the sandstone cliffs behind him and realized that the number of winged monsters had dwindled as well. He marveled at the situation.

Could they have already won?

Just scant moments ago, such a possibility seemed out of reach, and yet he could not deny the scene before him. The shags had been decimated by the raw power of the sand giants. The flying dark creatures could simply not overcome the algors' ability to restore health to the casualties they inflicted. The threat was not only dwindling, it was disappearing completely.

It seemed to Ryson that magic had again won the day-magic placed in the stone statues that created animated warriors and magic that healed all but the dead algors. The energy had been used in different ways, and although it allowed creatures of nightmare to invade the land, it also helped repel them. There was a benefit to the energy that flowed across the land, and if that was so, maybe it could also be used to defeat Baannat once and for all.

At that moment, however, Baannat was still a threat, still hiding in the dark realm looking for ways to cause pain and suffering. His army was defeated, but he was not. The ghoul still had his objectives and his targets. It seemed he lost in the desert, but the delver knew the ghoul would not simply give up. Ryson thought of Linda. It was time for him to return to the north.

It was in that same moment the ground rumbled.

Chapter 24

"Interesting battle out in the desert, don't you think?" Baannat asked. "Oh, I forgot, you can't see it, can you? You really can't see much of anything. How is that for you? You're used to seeing so much, aware of so many things. And now, all you can see is me? That must be difficult for you."

Baannat deliberately needled the trapped wizard, but he spoke the truth as well. The ghoul knew the extent of Enin's confinement, understood the restrictions on the wizard's awareness. Where Baannat could utilize the incompleteness of his own existence to reach out from the emptiness of a new realm of nonexistence, he knew such connections defied his rival.

These truths hounded Enin, left him grasping for absent hope. The space that enveloped his consciousness served more as a tomb than a place to explore. His lack of any physical attribute amplified his misery as his consciousness simply existed in a gray hole of nothingness. He could see Baannat, though not with his eyes. His mind simply registered the closeness of the ghoul. Beyond that, he was surrounded by unmoving shadow. His consciousness existed in emptiness-nothing more.

The ghoul, however, took shape and form in the shadows. His lack of total substance in the physical world allowed him certain advantages in a realm that lacked solid composition. Baannat could interact with nothingness.

"Is it painful for you? I know it is. You might be beyond certain things, like eating and sleeping, but you're not beyond pain. We've already established that."

That much was also true. Despite being separated from his body, the wizard was not shielded from pain. It was not a surprise. Certain feelings rested not within physical properties, but within emotional conditions.

Enin focused on controlling his emotions as these were all he had, all that was left for him to experience the grayness around him. He had spiritual awareness, but he was locked away from the spirit world. Back in the dark realm, his physical existence remained intact but totally blocked from his consciousness. He could think, and he could feel, but not with his fingers or hands or any other part of his body. He could only feel with his emotions.

He had not yet lost the wisdom of his experience and he understood that under his current circumstances, these emotions would be his weakness. Baannat had already inflicted pain on his consciousness by tearing at it with claws that found purpose in an empty existence. Even as the ghoul could slash at the wizard, it was not physical pain that resulted, but emotional anguish. Fear held greater power than a blade in a realm that lacked true substance.

The slink ghoul chuckled, as if he could sense Enin's thoughts.

"You don't wish to talk to me, brother?" Baannat pressed.

"You still call us brothers?" Enin finally responded. "You used to call us brothers because you saw us as equals in magic. That is clearly no longer the case. I am now separated from the magic and you are a mere shell of your former self."

"And you don't see the connection that remains between us? I am not whole, and now, neither are you. We still remain brothers." And Baannat cackled with laughter.

"Fine, we're brothers," Enin muttered.

The ghoul's laughter abruptly stopped as he tilted his head in confusion at the wizard's spirit.

"You give up so easily now? Why? Because you no longer have any power? Are you now just going to give in to all my demands?"

"Not all of them," Enin replied with as much courage as he could muster.

"You still wish to hide the location of the woman from me?"

"I will not offer it freely."

The slink ghoul considered the meaning behind Enin's words.

"What must I pay?" he asked.

Enin considered the request, and surprisingly, he made an offer.

"Release me and I will tell you exactly where she is," he stated quickly.

The ghoul sneered in disgust.

"Once I will release you, you will not tell me anything."

"There is a way you can guarantee my response. We can make the pact binding with a spell of your own magic, a spell that binds us both. I tell you where she is and you immediately return me to my body. A spell pact would guarantee my honesty and I would know you could not back out. Surely you would allow me this?"

Baannat almost agreed, but then caught himself.

"Very good. You almost had me there. Yes, you would tell me. You would even reveal the truth, as the pact would force it, but then I would have to release you, and what would you do? You would be back to the all-powerful wizard you can be. Then what? You would streak toward her and move her once more. You would have kept your bargain and still managed to save the woman and yourself. No, there will be no spell pact on this. You will tell me. It's just a matter of time."

Enin didn't wish to agree, but deep within, he knew the ghoul was probably right. His ploy was easily detected by the ghoul, and that was all he had left-bungling attempts at deception. He had fallen from his lofty perch of magical power.

Baannat disregarded the wizard as he once more gazed past the veil and into the land of Uton, into the desert.

"I have some good news for you," the ghoul noted. "The algors are actually doing quite well. Strange creatures, these tailless lizards. Looking at them, you would think they would die easily, but they cling to life and they cling to each other. They have this unending sense of… belonging. At the same time, most of them wish to discard their connection to the community. Right now, I can sense most of them would like nothing more than to walk off alone into the desert, but they won't."

"It is important to belong," Enin offered. "I doubt that's something you would understand."

"Oh, they belong, but then again they want to be alone. Isn't that interesting? They seek solitude, they seek independence, but they just won't give up their little hole in the desert. I think it's almost adorable."

Adorable?

A strange word to be used by the ghoul. Nothing about Baannat could ever be confused with adorable. Cruel-certainly.Twisted-absolutely. But there was nothing remotely close to adorable within the slink ghoul.

As Enin considered such inane observations, he realized just how desperate his situation had become. There was nothing he could do. It went far beyond being caught in some trap. He fought against the mind-numbing grip of emptiness. It was as if he could stare into his own hollow grave and realize that an eternity of pointlessness would swallow his thoughts.

Enin found the situation maddening. He couldn't do anything. He simply floated in the nothingness of nonexistence. He wondered how long he could last under such circumstances, how long before insanity took his mind.

Maybe that was the answer. If only he could be sure he would lose all his memories, he would have embraced madness in an instant. Unfortunately, he might hang to a shred of reality, and if he did, he would end up releasing Linda's location. He would fight against that, and so, insanity would have to wait.

Baannat ignored the wizard, or so it appeared. He continued to narrate the battle in the desert.

"They fight well, these algors. They sling rocks, they throw spears, they even club their enemies when they can. Somewhat savage, wouldn't you say?"

As he had nothing else to do, Enin argued with the ghoul to the best of his abilities. Perhaps remaining in conflict with Baannat would allow him to keep his wits long enough to find a way out.

"It is not savagery to protect one's home. That is all they're doing. Your fiends are the attackers-the savages."

"I suppose they did go into the desert looking for a fight, but a fight takes two willing combatants."

"Would you have expected the algors to run?"

The ghoul shrugged.

"I really didn't know what to expect," Baannat stated with an almost innocent grin. It appeared so out of place on the slink ghoul that the smile turned disturbing in but an instant.

"Nonsense. You knew the algors would fight. You said as much."

"I've said many things, but not all of them are true."

Enin wondered if Baannat would speak any truth at all, and he posed a question that still burned in his mind.

"Would you be truthful if I asked how you can control so many?"

"Certainly, no need to lie about that. It's actually quite simple. Dark creatures need magic to exist in your land of light. That's already been established, but for them, it is an artificial reality. Still, most prefer it to life in the dark realm. That's why when a portal opens they usually take advantage of it."

The explanation seemed empty.

"So you promise to open portals for them? Is that all?"

Baannat hissed with dissatisfaction. "If we're going to play this game, I need you to concentrate a bit more. What's wrong with you? I told you I cannot open a portal of my own. Seems you don't listen to me. Or maybe you think I'm lying about the portals. I'm not. Think about it for a moment. How could I possibly link two physical planes together when I'm not completely physical myself? It's just not possible. But linking the physical to the nonexistent, that's now within my power."

The words rang true. It explained Baannat's inability to create a portal of his own. It also explained, to a degree, how Baannat could influence events outside the dimension of nonexistence, but it did not go any further in answering the original question.

"And how does that give you power to control the actions of so many monsters?"

"Because they understand the new realm that has been created by my rebirth.They actually long for it. Think about it. You call them creatures of nightmare. That's very appropriate. Such beings don't wish to escape into a land of light. They wish to escape their very existence. They see me as a bridge to their most fervent desire. They would love to join me here, and that is what I have offered those that do my bidding. I don't necessarily control their will. I don't have the power, but they will follow my orders because I offer them what they truly want, and for that, they will do almost anything."

"And now they fight for you in pointless rage," Enin responded in complete dismay. "You wanted a war, and you told me you didn't care who wins the battles. You're just creating havoc."

"These creatures enjoy havoc."

"But you're not doing it for them. You're doing it to get back at me. You want to torture me. That's all you want to do."

"Oh, no, no. That's not all. There are others. Remember? I also have a bone to pick with your friend the delver… and the woman immune to magic. The delver is in the desert. You knew that. He fights with the algors. Would you like to know how he's doing?"

Enin looked away. He did not wish to occupy his mind with the struggles of his friend. That was not the way to keep his sanity. He turned his consciousness back to the gray cloud that surrounded his soul. He tried to use it to blot out the words of the ghoul, but he couldn't. He could still hear the shrill laughs as well as an unexpected surprise.

"He died a few moments ago," the ghoul announced with almost child like innocence. "Ryson Acumen dead.Such wonderful words. Would you like to see? I think I can project the image here. Don't you want to see how he was killed?"

Enin turned his focus further inward and away from the ghoul. The news hurt more than he could believe. Though he had no body, it felt as he was suffering from physical pain, as if his stomach was torn free. Of course, it was not, but the pain seemed identical.

The wizard cursed himself for making so many mistakes, for putting so many in harm's way. Ryson Acumen was a force for good, he could see that much. The delver's death would be a great loss and it was all his fault. The pain within him grew.

"You don't wish to see?" Baannat asked. "You wish it to remain a mystery? That's not like you. I would have thought you wanted proof. You normally don't believe anything I have to say. Why would you believe me now, especially when I'm lying."

The emotion within Enin swung in the opposite direction. His sorrow switched to relief, but then bubbled over in anger.

"You lied?!"

"Of course I lied. The delver's not dead. I don't just want him to die in some pointless battle. What does that gain me? Nothing. You're a fool. I told you I wanted him here with you."

"You are a despicable creature," Enin projected with his thoughts.

"Yes, I am, but not one without a sense of humor. Here let me show you."

The gray envelope grew lighter and a hole opened before Enin. He immediately tried to press himself through the break, but he could not. It was only a mirror, a reflection of occurrences in the desert, not a true rift.

Baannat laughed.

"Did you really think I would let you escape? No, you're never getting out of here. Still, I want you to watch the battle in the desert. It's getting interesting. The shags are about to enter the fray. Watch and enjoy."

And Enin did watch. He gazed upon the endless number of shags storming across the desert. He saw them fall in numbers beyond reason when they reached the line of sand giants waiting in a gorge. He marveled at the speed of Ryson Acumen as the delver cut through every monster that broke free of the sand giants.

He almost felt pride, but he also felt loss, a great loss at the sight of so many dead. It was all such a pointless waste. So much death and destruction.And over what?

All because of Baannat-a miserable entity that served nothing but evil. It disgusted the wizard that such a creature could even exist, let alone have the power to cause such mayhem. Enin wished he could rid the land of the ghoul.

And then Enin thought of how he had already believed he accomplished that feat. He battled the slink ghoul and allowed Ryson to defeat the monster, but defeat was not permanent because of his own mistakes.

Enin focused on the images cast upon the shadows around him. He looked upon the growing pile of dead corpses in the desert. It could have all been avoided if Enin showed greater care.

Was he then also responsible?

Enin's emotions swung wildly. From despair to relief and from anger to guilt, emotions flooded the wizards consciousness. He fought against the tide, tried to keep his focus on what little purpose he had left. He watched the struggle and hoped for the best.

As if in reward for such determination, the tide of battle swung completely to the algors. He could see the shags completely decimated and the flying nightmare birds removed from the sky. The majority of algors appeared to survive the attack, as did Ryson Acumen. Another battle Baannat had lost, or so he thought.

"Now it gets interesting," Baannat quickly offered through a sinister giggle. "That was just the first round. The real fun starts now."

Enin caught one quick glimpse of the monster rising up from the desert floor and then the space around him went back to gray.

"I don't think you need to see any more of that right now," Baannat snickered. "I'll let you wonder how that turns out. I'm sure you realize it won't be good for the algors."

A dark thought-that was the last imprint on Enin's mind from the horrific image in the desert. Baannat was right. It would not be good for the algors and just as bad for Ryson. Enin's emotions swung back to fear and regret.

Baannat drew closer to the wizard's spirit. The ghoul took greater form in the shadow as his body was incomplete and it thrived in such an element. He could move his deficient figure about in the emptiness even as Enin could do nothing to flee.

"You know," the ghoul continued with a sickening hum, "there's something you've forgotten already. Where were the dwarves?"

At first, Enin didn't understand. The question seemed out of place… irrelevant.

"What?"

"The dwarves. You directed many of them into the desert to assist the algors. Seems like they didn't show. Doesn't that concern you?"

Enin realized the ghoul was correct. There was no sign of the dwarves in what he had seen. He grasped at the only explanation he could believe.

"The images I saw came from your magic. You could have distorted them." Enin accused.

"If I could do that, why would I show you what you saw? Wouldn't it have been more advantageous for me to show you the algors getting wiped out? No, whether you believe me or not is immaterial, you saw the truth, and deep down, you know it. So I ask you again, where were the dwarves?"

Confusion swirled Enin's thoughts in every direction. He had forgotten about the dwarves, but he could not deny they were not in the scene of battle. They could have been fighting underground, but shouldn't at least some have come to the aid of the algors on the desert floor or on the ledges of the cliffs?

Nothing was going as he hoped or planned.

"You really have been a bit numb lately, haven't you? Why is that?"

Another question that stung the wizard-a question that rang with Enin's own doubts. He had made so many mistakes. His mind had been in a cloud. He wanted to blame Baannat, but he couldn't. Baannat had played Enin for a fool, he could not deny it, but the wizard's confusion came from within and long before Baannat had the power to reach him.

"You're very unsure of yourself at the moment," the slink ghoul observed. "It's not just the lack of power. It's something beyond that. You're wondering about so many things. You used to feel safe because you were powerful, but now you're weak and locked in here with me. I could strike at you at will."

Without further warning, Baannat swung a claw at the wizard's essence. There was no flesh to cut, but the strike stung like hot wax dropped into an open wound.

Baannat did not laugh. He growled and sneered. He let the hate flow from his form as it surrounded the spirit of his foe. "You wanted to destroy me from the beginning. You feared me then… and you fear me now. You used others to keep yourself safe from me when we battled, but now there is no one here to hide behind."

Hide!

The word seemed to echo through the emptiness. Enin wanted to hide, as his worst fears-the unfounded anxieties of his childhood-exploded around him. Darkness and monsters… helplessness. It all crashed upon him.

"Is that what you want?" the ghoul pressed. "To hide? Is that the word you focus upon. You can't keep your thoughts from me here. I can taste them."

Enin could taste nothing. He could only feel the crushing cold of fear.

"You wish to hide?" Baannat demanded. "Where could you hide? What would be safe for you, brother?"

In a moment of weakness, Enin thought of the safest place in the land. He thought of a place where even ghouls of such hate could not win the day.

Baannat grew quiet and then let out a soul piercing laugh.

"Cliff behemoths? That's where you would be safe?"

It was indeed what Enin had pictured. Cliff behemoths in the ColadMountains. Yes, there was safety there. He believed that, but his beliefs betrayed him.

"Is that where the woman is safe?"

Enin's fear turned over to dread as if he knew in an instant there was nothing left for him. At that moment, he even grasped for insanity, but that, too, eluded him.

Baannat shrieked in ecstasy.

"She's in the mountains of the north… guarded by cliff behemoths. It's almost too easy. Did you really think that would stop me. It changes my plans, nothing more. She will be here before you know it."

In delight, the ghoul sliced at Enin once more with claws that penetrated the wizard's soul. Baannat giggled and cackled as he struck again and again.

"I now have everything I need from you, brother!" the slink ghoul screamed through snorts and grunts. "You are mine for all eternity. You cannot escape and you know no one can reach you here. I, however, can bring others to you. And I will. You will see the woman here very shortly, and then, I will have the delver as well. There's nothing you can do to stop me now, but at least you will have company."

Chapter 25

One caelifera was more than the regular force of Burbon could handle. Hundreds of the giant locusts swarming in over the trees of Dark Spruce… that was a death sentence. Not the towers, not the walls, not the weapons in the hands of the well trained militia; none of these defenses were going to stop the giant insects headed towards them. Sy understood that immediately.

He stood on the tower platform gazing out at the spectacle for only a moment. He didn't need to ask the opinion of the officers around him. Though he valued their input, he saw everything he needed to see in that single instant. There were no conflicting strategies to choose, no real decision to make. There was only one realistic course of action and he issued his orders without delay.

His first directive fell upon the tower guard.

"Signal the other towers. Issue the alarm for everyone to seek low shelter."

The citizens of Burbon had been previously schooled in certain signals from the towers. There were alarms to evacuate, calls to take up arms, warnings to take high positions-to avoid rock beetles and other underground attacks-and signals to take low shelter. The people of Burbon would immediately seek out basements, root cellars, cold storage dens, caves-anything below ground. It was the only hope they had, and Sy knew it.

The signal was given and soon the warning spread through the entire town. Sy watched the quick and orderly movement of the citizens. They had practiced the procedures in quieter times. Though the town lived under the protection of Enin, the townspeople also understood structure and preparation. Sy was thankful they did. It would probably save hundreds.

More than satisfied with the reaction to the alarm, the captain refocused his attention on the lands beyond the walls and gates. Never satisfied with an initial assessment of danger, he looked to the hills and the far border of Dark Spruce for additional threats, but there remained only one apparent menace-the swarm. He found little solace in that fact, for that one threat was enough.

As he watched the agitated motion of the giant locusts, he considered how they would fall upon the town. It would not be pretty. He hoped the early warning would save enough. Maybe they could start over, maybe they could rebuild. He didn't like to give in… to give up.

The town, however, was doomed. That much was certain. He doubted a single structure would be left standing. Maybe most of the citizens would get lost in the debris, that the insects wouldn't dig through the rubble to find all the underground shelters. That was the only hope left. It was really just a matter of how many would survive.

Sy turned to the handful of soldiers standing with him on the platform. He wanted to announce it was a privilege to serve with them, but he didn't want to offer that kind of finality.

"All guards to secure locations as well. No way to fight what's coming at us, so don't argue. We can't evacuate, they'd be on us before we got ten paces beyond the wall. Everyone goes to low shelter. Assist anyone who's not moving fast enough, but then get underground. Go!"

For the most part, the guards moved quickly, not from fear of the coming catastrophe, but because they followed orders. They would not question their captain. Each officer, however, paused one moment to nod to their captain out of respect.

As the members of the guard filed down the ladder of the tower, only one solider remained at his post, the signal guard. He would not leave until the last order was given. Sy would eventually order him to evacuate as well, but they had a few moments of relative safety to monitor the movements of the swarm and to watch the surrounding hills for any other threats.

The guardsman kept his focus on the dark wave rushing towards them.

Sy noticed the stoic look on the soldier's face and smiled at the lack of apparent concern for his own safety.

"Fast for their size," the captain noted as he nodded at the incoming swarm.

"Yup, big buggers, too. You know, I'd rather deal with goblins. Yeah, they're pretty creepy, but I really hate these flying things, especially big flying things."

Sy then offered his own outlook on the size of their foes.

"I don't like any of the new bugs. I mean really, what happened here? Used to be you could just swat them away. Now we have spiders and beetles that are bigger than me. Not my idea of fun."

The guard grunted a small laugh, then admitted a truth larger than the caelifera.

"Wish Enin was here."

"Me, too." Sy agreed. Then he took another look to gauge the distance of the closest insects. The two men had only a few more moments before they would have to retreat to safety. He thought of Enin again and posed a question that was rather surprising.

"You think Enin could handle that?"

A massive swarm of giant flesh eating locusts is not something any man should be able to handle alone, and yet the question was sincere. After all, Enin was as far beyond a normal man as caelifera were beyond a normal grasshopper.

The guard acknowledged as much.

"Yeah, believe it or not, I do."

"So do I," Sy admitted. It was a staggering thought. Enin controlled power that both soldiers acknowledged could clear the sky of a threat that was about to destroy their entire town with ease.

"Who knows," Sy continued, offering some hope to a hopeless situation. "Maybe Enin will realize we're in trouble and show up at the last second."

"Would be nice," the solider agreed.

Sy agreed. "Yup, it would."

He then turned back to the town. He looked over the emptying streets and believed this would be the last time he saw it whole. Even if he survived the attack, there would be nothing left.

He watched the last few soldiers reluctantly entering their shelters. He knew what they were thinking. They wanted to fight. He did, too, but you don't always get what you want. Some days you fight, other days you retreat. It was part of being a soldier.

Believing it was time to retreat, he called back to the tower guard.

"Well, we can't wait for Enin. No sense staying up here and letting them eat us. Let's…"

"Sir, they turned."

Sy instantly twirled about and refocused his attention on the closest caelifera. He stepped up to the tower rail and watched the shifting movement with great interest. There was no doubt about it. The swarm made a definite turn. They were no longer headed east. They were flying north and with apparently greater speed. It was as if Burbon was no longer important to them, but something else mattered quite a deal more.

A reprieve?

It seemed so, but Sy wasn't about to relax.

"Don't signal all clear to the public yet," Sy instructed, "but recall all the guard topside and have them take stations at the gates."

The guard made the appropriate signal and the streets became active with soldiers headed toward the wall. With his signal complete, the tower guard watched with relief as the swarm continued to fly to the north. The distance between the town and the caelifera grew.

"You think we got lucky?" the guard asked.

Sy thought of what might have captured the caelifera's attention, encouraged them to change directions. He considered what he knew was due north of their position. The ColadMountains came immediately to mind.

He then thought of Linda, one of Baannat's target. She was hiding in the mountains to the north. Was it truly their luck or just her misfortune?

Chapter 26

"I probed the magic," Holli admitted to Jure. She had called him to the abandoned home at the center of Pinesway, and they spoke in private. "I meant no intrusion. At first, I thought Enin was dead. I wanted to know who else might have sensed the loss. That is how I knew you were also aware."

"I understand, but I never believed he was dead," Jure admitted.

"Never?"

Jure shook his head. "Ever since I talked to Enin about Baannat's possible whereabouts, I've been contemplating the situation. I've been trying to focus on the ghoul's location, I can't pinpoint it exactly, but that's understandable because it doesn't really exist."

"Does not exist?"

"I know. Doesn't make much sense, but there's really no way else I can put it."

"How is it you know this when Enin himself had so much difficulty locating the ghoul?"

"I really can't answer that. I'm not the wizard Enin is, but I still sensed the breaks in the magic. He didn't. After Enin left, I stopped looking at the magic that was coming out of the portal and started focusing on those breaks. It's a strange puzzle. The answer isn't in the broken magic. It's in the space between the breaks."

Holli looked beyond the words of the magic caster and used her elf guard training to judge his expression and his tone. Jure's insight exceeded the elf's expectations.

"You know more of what's going on than I do, correct?" she noted, giving Jure credit for his perception.

"I'm not sure what you know, so I don't know how to answer that."

Holli didn't wish to waste time dancing around the issue, and thus, she asked a blunt question.

"Do you know where Enin is?"

Jure frowned. He knew the answer, but explaining it was not a simple task. As he tried to find the words, he looked at a bare wall before him. He noticed a small crack that seized his attention. It wasn't a great break by any stretch of the imagination, but it looked out of place. It probably would have been quickly patched or covered up by a painting, but there was no longer anyone that lived in the home, no one that cared about it. For some strange reason, it made him lonely, made him think of the home he abandoned before heading off into the desert.

Disregarding the wall, he tried to explain what he understood of Enin's true location.

"It kind of depends on your point of view. His body is in the dark realm, but that's not where he really is. The essence of his spirit is trapped in an area that defies existence. That's the only way I can describe it. He's not traveling through dimensions, or even in the spirit world, or even in the veil between life and death. He… well, he's not dead, but he's not really part of the living, either. It's a form of existence that defies explanation."

"There is more to it than that, isn't there?" Holli pressed, recognizing the first sign of hesitancy in the magic caster.

Jure came out with the full truth as he understood it.

"As you can probably guess, he's not alone. Baannat is in there with him, but it's worse than that. Baannat maintains a certain control over magical energy. Enin has no such control. His link with the energy was severed when his soul left his body."

Jure's statements confirmed some of Holli's assumptions… and many of her fears.

"So he is a prisoner?" Holli asked.

"That would be my guess. Actually, it's more than a guess. I don't think Enin can get out. I think he's stuck in a struggle with the slink ghoul and he's about as helpless as he can be."

Holli could not imagine Enin being helpless, but she had to admit to certain facts. She knew what she felt when she utilized Heteera's energy to perceive the dark lands. Enin was alive, but then again, he wasn't. Everything Jure said corresponded with what she already knew. Rather than doubt the magic caster, she searched for alternatives.

"Is there a way to assist him, help him in his fight with Baannat?"

Jure's frown sank into a grimace, and then he revealed his understanding with brutal honesty.

"I don't think so. I mean what could we do? Enin is the most powerful wizard in the land. No one else is even close. But… he made a very bad mistake. He cut himself off from his own magical energy. There's a clear divide between his essence and his power. Any one that joins him in an effort to save him will only make the same mistake."

"But Baannat seems to have power," Holli offered.

"Because Baannat isn't the same as he was, not quite whole," Jure explained. "The ghoul isn't trapped away from his body. Instead, both his body and spirit have somehow come together in a way that defies both life and death. In that state, he has a very loose connection to the magical energies, but a loose connection is better than none."

"You are certain Enin and Baannat remain together even as we speak?"

"Absolutely."

Holli turned over a quick consideration in her mind and spoke of it aloud.

"You said Enin's body is trapped in the dark realm. I have seen it there as well. I believe I know where it is. Do you think we should strive to retrieve it?"

"I wouldn't risk it," Jure admitted. "Fighting through armies of dark creatures would be enough of a problem, but more worrisome would be the effect on Enin. We don't know if taking Enin's body from the dark realm might irreparably harm the chances of restoring his consciousness to his body."

Sound reasoning. The elf nodded, but her alternatives were quickly diminishing.

"So reaching Enin's consciousness remains the true hope. Is there nothing that can be done to either bring Enin back from this… nonexistent realm or to restore his connection to his magical power?"

"Only if we can find a way to make a connection to the new realm without separating ourselves from existence. In truth, I'm working on that idea, but it's complicated. It also involves Heteera."

In Holli's eyes, Heteera was beyond complicated, she was dangerous… to herself and anyone who miscalculates her power.

"Utilizing Heteera can be treacherous," Holli advised, as she recalled her own experience with the sorceress and the explosion at the portal.

"I know that, but it was her spell that brought Baannat back into this existence, even if it didn't bring him back completely. In some ways, she's still connected to the ghoul, but it is not a full anchor and not at all stable."

"Stability seems to be her problem."

Jure nodded. "That's true, but if it was stable, we might be able to ride her connection into the void to reach Enin. If so, I believe we could feed him enough power to escape. Given time, I might be able to use my control to stabilize Heteera's energy, but I haven't yet come to a suitable way to achieve that end. Links to her power can be opened, as you can attest, but links to her spells as anchors are another matter. Creating stability in such chaos I think is attainable, but not without clear focus. I haven't established that focus yet, but I believe it can be done."

The thought held merit. Holli did not consider Heteera's link to the slink ghoul, and although the sorceress would not wish to admit it, one existed nonetheless. Jure had talent, power, and instinct for the magic-the elf could not deny it, but she had other needs as well.

"Unfortunately, we have other problems."

"I know. The invasion has begun."

"Can you see them?"

"No, but I can sense the upheaval at the portal. It's been tremendous since Enin entered the void."

Holli grew quiet. She considered the full breadth of her situation. Enin was alive, but seemingly trapped. Massive armies of dark creatures were flooding Uton.

"How long would it take you to work with Heteera?"

"I'm nowhere near close to even making an attempt," Jure admitted. "I'm still learning the intricacies of this new realm. It seems to be a reversal of spiritual and physical existence. To some extent, I can understand the resistance to physical properties, but I don't have Enin's insight into spiritual existence. If I could speak with him, he might be able to speed up the process, but in order to reach him, I need to pierce the void. It is a circular problem. I also have to be concerned about alerting Baannat about my intentions. If I stumble, Baannat could strike at Enin and end any attempt before it started. And then of course, there's the control issue with Heteera. All of these factors need consideration."

Not encouraging news for the elf and Holli placed all of the factors in relative importance. She wished to do all that was possible to help the wizard, but she wouldn't risk his safety. Jure needed time and eventual access to Heteera, but Holli could not offer either. She would need Heteera's power to fight the coming battle, and the elf had to focus first on the mission Enin himself had given her. Defending Uton was the main priority.

"I appreciate your honesty and I believe your idea holds promise, but we must first defeat the invading horde," Holli announced, making it a firm commitment she expected Jure to share. She eyed him carefully to gauge any reluctance.

"I don't think we have a choice in that regard," he stated. "I wouldn't even dare probing into the void during an attack."

Holli appreciated Jure's aversion to recklessness, but she also needed his willingness to fight.

"I will need you in the coming battle and for you to concentrate toward that end. You are one of the most powerful here, probably the most powerful, and I will depend heavily on you. I can not have your focus divided. You must leave considerations toward assisting Enin until we reach a point when we have achieved success here first."

"Don't worry about that. I won't be distracted when the time comes to deal with the enemy," Jure replied.

Holli was not certain exactly what that meant. She pressed for a commitment.

"You are aware that Enin has been… neutralized for the moment. Enin placed me in charge of the forces here at Pinesway. I can't hope to match you in magical ability, and so, I have to be certain of your intentions."

In Jure's mind, Enin's predicament changed nothing. He agreed to follow the orders of the elf guard, and so he would.

"My intentions remain focused on succeeding. My loyalties rest with Enin, thus they also rest with you. I will follow your lead."

It was the best Holli could hope for. She then considered the remainder of her forces. She had probed the magic with Heteera's aid. Only Jure seemed aware of Enin's capture, but the elf would not depend solely on what she could learn with the sorceress' power when other sources could confirm the information.

"What of the others here in Pinesway? Do you believe anyone else is aware of the situation?"

"They have no idea as to Enin's condition. It's not a surprise. Enin's power remains viable in his body. He just can't utilize it. No one else here is able to notice the subtleties of the situation. You knew because of your link to the wizard. Heteera knew because of her connection to Baannat. Everyone else is only aware of the upheaval coming from the portal."

"And you think they will stay and fight against that upheaval?"

Before answering, Jure looked at the crack in the wall again. The small imperfection seemed to accentuate his understanding of Pinesway-an abandoned town now guarded by spell casters who cared nothing for the patch of ground it occupied. It was a blank place left to deteriorate. He knew the other magic casters didn't care for the town, but they cared about their own well-being.

"I think they know there really isn't any alternative. If any of us hope to survive, Baannat must be defeated. I believe everyone here understands that."

Finally, some encouraging news. Holli believed she could now depend on all in Pinesway to fight the coming onslaught, and it was time to prepare to that end.

"Very well," Holli nodded, "then I will ask you to…"

Jure looked off to his left, and then closed his eyes. His mind gained an image of the desert, an image that brought desperation to his soul. He was not one to act on impulse, but he understood urgency as well. If something was not done immediately, the algors would be defeated and the desert would fall. The options, however, were greatly limited. Enin had been captured. Heteera remained unstable. Holli lacked the raw power. There was no one else, no one else but him.

"I have to go."

Holli could not believe her ears.

"You just told me…"

Jure would not let her finish.

"Trust me. I respect your authority, but if I don't go now, whatever we do here won't matter. I'll return as soon as possible."

"Tell me what is…"

"No time."

He held his hands over his head and an extremely pale circle with only the smallest hint of blue appeared over his head. It dropped down and encircled him, and then he was gone.

Holli stared at the empty air before her. Just moments ago, she believed she could rely on Jure, and in but an instant, she believed she was wrong.

Chapter 27

"How in Godson's name did that get across? How big is that portal?"

The ground had literally shattered just as the sand giants eliminated the last of the shags. Ryson blinked several times as if hoping to clear his vision, but no benevolent hand reached down to wipe away the horrific image before him. He stood alone, so his questions went unanswered. All that he could hear was the smattering cracks and pops that rang out from pellets of debris that rained down around him. There would be no lucid explanation as to how the new threat could cross over from the dark realm, only fearful speculation and dread toward what might come next.

The rocks and sand unearthed by the arising of the colossus slowly settled, but a cloud of dust rolled about the creature's lower form, enhancing the grim vision of its appearance. It looked like a demon spawned from the depths of a nightmare surrounded by the haze of restless sleep.

Ryson had never seen a thrastil before. He didn't want to. He had been lucky to that point, but his luck had run out. He read the descriptions from the lore, and thus, the identity of the monstrosity was unmistakable. The distinguishing characteristics of a crocodile's head on the body of a scorpion destroyed any lingering doubt as to what they faced, and yet, the delver found the situation incomprehensible.

Even as he stared into the face of the horror, he almost dismissed it as some wizard's illusion. It was not that he doubted the legends. The lore spoke of many wild and fantastic beasts. Some such beasts had already passed through from the dark realm and entered reality with absolute certainty. Twisted birds of prey, giant stalking beasts, conniving snakes of opportunity, enormous flesh eating insects-all of these were considered almost common in the land and he could not doubt their existence.

That, however, did not lend credence to the reality of all monsters described in the legends. Many of the deadliest beasts, especially the most bizarre, remained elusive and did not make their presence known in the land of Uton. Ryson believed these fantastic creatures were simply poetic devices used to add emphasis to the passages describing netherworlds or prophetic calamities. He could accept a horde of goblins, a flock of spin vultures, even an army of charging shags, but how could he have ever expected his reality to include the kind of monstrosity that just entered the battle with such incredible force?

He could not, however, dismiss the sight before him. The angry head took on the clear shape of a carnivorous reptile. Bulging eyes rested near a large flat forehead and looked down a long and slightly angled snout. Its wide mouth formed a sinister smile, and rows of sharp jagged teeth were clearly visible when the monster snapped at the ground. The massive size of the scale covered head was enough to induce pure panic, but it was amplified a hundredfold by the body from which it extended.

A long hard shell sat mounted on eight spindly and angled legs with high joints. The shell narrowed at the end into a long curled tail with a glistening spike at the tip that hung over its back. At the forward end, cascading over the enormous jaws, two massive and hairy claws reached outward upon nimble appendages. They swung about like wrecking balls that could both crush and snap-truly a deadly combination.

Its size only added to the ferocity of its aura. The creature was far taller than any of the lookout towers that surrounded Ryson's home town of Burbon, and it was wider than the most grand palace the delver had ever explored. Ryson had never seen any living creature match the thrastil in sheer mass.

The monster, however, did not entice with beauty or impress with elegance. Its form betrayed its true purpose-brutality and destruction. It raged with malice. It stalked forward with deadly intent. It was not a wonder of nature. Instead, it was the terror of violence inherent in the depths of abject cruelty.

As the delver considered his true dilemma, he realized the battle had taken more than a simple turn in fortune. The earlier battle, as exhausting and devastating as it might have been, was nothing more than a harbinger for the true fight. The thrastil represented the full extent of Baannat's reach.

The epic creature moved upon the desert floor as a mocking rebuttal to the conflict that had already taken place. Despite the fact that the algors had survived an onslaught of hook hawks, razor crows and spin vultures, the true threat to their existence fell upon them not with staggering numbers, but with sheer domination in both size and savagery. The algors could utilize the magic to fight off swarms of invaders, but how could they possibly defeat a menace that could overwhelm them with such raw power?

Again, Ryson thought of the struggle, how it continued, how it seemed to always get harder. If he were less tired, he might have cursed at the top of his lungs.

"Why this?" he asked himself. "Why now?"

He did not receive an answer, for there was no response that could satisfy his growing frustration. Deep down, he knew it wasn't right. It went far beyond not being fair. The so-called struggle was starting to feel like some colossal joke dropped upon him from powers that seemed to find humor in crushing his spirit.

And it did crush his soul. He looked over the trail of dead shags all about the desert floor. Monsters… yes, but once living beings that he attacked-that he killed. And for what? During the battle, he lamented not having a choice. He justified his actions by focusing on saving the algors. As it turned out, none of it mattered. They had defeated the shags and the dark birds, but it held no true meaning. Baannat would make sure the algors would not be saved… no matter what. Ryson killed those shags for nothing. His own brutality would haunt him and there would be no excuse to hide behind.

He almost gave up, almost turned around and sped out of sight. He would be leaving the algors, but maybe it was the best thing for them as misfortune seemed glued to his every action.

Ryson, however, did not turn away. He held his ground and hoped for some miracle. He and most of the algors had survived so far. He clung to hope that they could find a way to win again. Optimism was becoming more difficult for the delver, and though he grasped at it momentarily, it was quickly dashed when the stone guardians charged the monstrosity.

To their credit, the sand giants-created with one singular focus-ignored the newcomer's horrific appearance. It mattered little to them. Emotions could not bend their will, fear could not distract their ultimate objective. They were created to defend the desert, to attack invaders of any size. They marched toward the thrastil as if it was just another shag. They marched toward their doom.

The thrastil wasted little time on the stone sentinels. Though it grabbed several in its jaws and crushed them into dust, it found no taste for the rock that made up their bodies. With no desire to feed on crushed stone, it turned its other weapons against the giants. It used its claws with incredible success and efficiency. One swipe of a mighty pincer destroyed four or five at a time.

The spiked tail also took its toll. Though the poison of the creature could kill an entire legion of the most resistant dwarves, it was the bone crushing mass of the appendage that was most effective. The spike might have been able to penetrate the strongest metal, but the sheer power behind each thrust simply obliterated any sand giants in its path. The devastation was monumental.

The sand giants ignored their fallen brethren. Though their mission was clearly futile, they continued to assault the thrastil with the full intensity of their limited consciousness. Many attempted to take hold of a lower leg and upend the monster, but most were simply swatted away as if they amounted to nothing more than dust balls in comparison to the mighty beast. Those that tried a frontal attack upon the creature's head were pounded into rubble or crushed into debris.

Moving with agility that seemed impossible for its size, the thrastil used all eight legs to its full advantage. It scurried left and right, forward and backward, maintaining its balance despite its oversized head and massive jaws. With speed that defied logic, it trampled over the remaining sand giants in the gorge, leaving broken pieces of rock in its wake. With nothing between it and the sandstone cliffs, the horror turned toward the algor sanctuary with obvious malice.

After witnessing the raw power of the creature, Ryson wasted no further time. He sprinted to the front lines of algors, those in the sand behind the last dune that separated them from the thrastil. He called to them all.

"We have to go!"

The algors did not respond as Ryson had hoped. Instead, with the last of the hook hawks eliminated, they took hold of their slings once more and prepared to fight off the next menace. Not a single algor broke ranks.

As the beast's head hung close to the ground, all that was visible to the algors on the desert floor was the massive tail that curled up into the sky. Quickly, however, the thrastil propelled itself up the side of the last dune and the sinister face came into clear view.

The algors looked upon the massive reptile head with surprising curiosity. The similar reptilian features clearly caught their interest. Certain qualities, however, were not comparable, and the algors appeared to have disdain for the creature's enormity. It was almost as if the algors saw the thrastil as a representation of their greatest fear.

The algors could come together and match the thrastil in size and focus as an army, but they could always return to the multiple solitary beings they longed to be. The thrastil lacked such ability. It was not a collection of smaller parts. It was a single entity that could not break apart into individuals-not an army coming together as one, joining in consciousness for a single purpose, but a massive being shackled as one vicious element for all eternity.

The thrastil, however, showed no such distress in its inherent nature. It concentrated on less philosophical concerns. The beast fully raised its entire body above the dune and looked down upon the algors in the sand. Its crooked smile seemed to widen as it paused to stare at the huge number of prey before it. As if the sand giants left a bad taste that could be quickly remedied by a new meal, the monster salivated.

Ryson ignored the macabre scene. He pressed what he saw as the inevitable truth upon the algors.

"Slings and spears aren't going to work against that. You can't win."

"We will not leave!" the algors answered in unison. The determined response carried across the desert like a crash of rumbling thunder. It contained defiance, but Ryson saw no victory in futile resistance.

"You don't have to leave. Just move back. There are dwarves waiting underground to help. Maybe they can beat this thing."

Every algor appeared to turn its head toward the delver. As if he just insulted them all, they glared at him, and yet again, responded together.

"No! We will fight as one. We are not dwarves, dwarves are not us. We fight as one."

Ryson found no shame in bringing up the dwarves. He didn't care if the algors blamed him for consorting with a race they saw as the enemy. There were larger concerns at the moment-one of which he blurted out.

"You're going to die."

"We will die as one."

Ryson realized he could not argue with them. There was no dissension in their viewpoint, even in the face of the thrastil. The algors were in complete agreement. They would not allow the dwarves to fight their battle. He could not, however, allow them to simply commit suicide.

"At least get back in your caves, all of you. Try to wear it out. Give yourselves a chance! Don't just stand there and die. Find a way to survive!"

The algors suddenly appeared uncertain-distracted. They looked once more upon the thrastil standing on the heights of the last dune. They might have been unwilling to accept any assistance from the dwarves, but they were not so adamant in denying the candor of the delver. If they did not retreat, they would certainly die, but retreating to their caves did not mean retreating from battle.

They finally broke, but they acted as if they had suddenly lost their unity. Their lines dissolved into disorganized masses of movement, but thankfully, they headed toward the cliffs. They climbed the walls and entered the caves of their sandstone home. They would not flee into the desert, but at least they gained some semblance of cover.

Ryson looked back over his shoulder at the thrastil that seemed to watch with detached curiosity. It appeared almost indifferent to the retreating movements of the algors, as if this maneuver changed nothing. The outcome would be the same.

The delver faced his own dilemma. What should he do? He couldn't hope to fight such a creature. What could he do? He could distract it, but for how long? And was that sensible?

Sensible or not, he sped off to the southeast, closer to the thrastil but away from the algor shelter. He called to the monster to get its attention, waved his arms, and prepared to move like lightning.

The thrastil eyed him, but only for a scant moment. The monster peered directly into the delver's eyes, almost seemed to recognize the tiny creature before it. It did not completely disregard Ryson, but showed absolutely no desire to attack. It lifted its head up from the ground and glared at the sandstone cliffs.

Stepping deliberately forward with all eight legs, the thrastil bypassed the delver, but showed clear diligence in avoiding Ryson, as if it did not wish to risk stepping on him. Once within reach of the elevated rocks, the beast sneered into the caves at the lower levels of the cliff wall.

Ryson could hear the whir of swinging slings echoing through the tunnels. He knew at least some of the algors were not seeking sanctuary deeper in the caves. He gave them credit for their courage, but couldn't help but question the sanity of the attack.

A surprising barrage or rocks flew out of the tunnel entrances as if the cliffs were spitting out pieces of its own self. Clearly, the algors had regained their cohesion, although a few spears flew out with the wave of stones. Perhaps this had more to do with the limited space within the caves then a handful of algors showing a streak of independent thought. Unfortunately, the spears had no greater effect than the rocks which simply bounced off their intended target.

The thrastil appeared more annoyed than angry at the response and certainly not injured. Rearing its head back slightly, it opened its massive jaws and then thrust forward with the full force of its body. Its mouth slammed shut just as its teeth met the rock. An enormous portion of the wall disintegrated on impact.

As rock and sand crumbled down on to the ground, the thrastil moved back slightly to review the debris. It immediately focused on several wounded algors that had been ripped from their dens. The jaws snapped quickly across the desert floor, devouring all algors whether still living or dead.

Ryson watched in silent agony as the thrastil skittered over to another section of unbroken rock. Once more it crashed its jaws down upon the algor sanctuary, destroying an even greater number of tunnels and dens. More algors fell helplessly to the ground. Those that could move tried to flee, but they could not escape.

The delver felt more than helpless… he felt trapped in anguish. He looked down upon the blood stained war blades still in his hands. He knew they were useless. They might have slashed through hundreds of shags, but they would not even scratch the hard shell of the thrastil's body or penetrate the thick scales of its head. He could try for the eyes, but that would be pointless suicide. There had to be another answer.

He thought of the dwarves again and perhaps there was some slight hope. So what if the algors didn't want help. He did. He wanted all the help he could get. The dwarves might be able to tunnel beneath the monster and trap it somehow. It was the best plan he could form.

He was about to race toward one of the tunnels when a strange voice called out to him.

"Ryson Acumen, stay where you are."

The delver did not recognize the elder man who stood behind him in the desert, and he had no idea where he came from. The stranger seemed to have just appeared out of thin air.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Jure. I've been working with Holli in Pinesway to protect the eastern plains from invading monsters." He nodded to the thrastil. "Against creatures like this."

"Are you a spell caster?"

"I am."

"Can you help us? I was going to try and reach the dwarves, maybe together…"

"I believe I can handle the situation."

"Just you?Against that?"

"It has weaknesses. You have to believe that."

Ryson didn't know what to believe, but he didn't want to waste time talking.

"I'll believe whatever you want, just do what you can to stop that thing."

The sorcerer stepped past Ryson and moved deliberately toward a monster no sane individual would even wish to see, let alone get close to. Jure, however, revealed no fear, no hesitancy in confronting the beast. It was not insanity that pressed him forward. It was necessity and certainty. He had power, and he was right, the creature did have weaknesses, weaknesses that played to Jure's strengths.

He considered his surroundings for only a moment. He was back in the desert, back in the land where he took refuge from his natural ability. Jure's command over water remained his true strength. The desert was a dry land, but not completely dry. Even as sand and rock overwhelmed the landscape, water could always be found, either far below the surface or high in the air. Even in the far distance, beyond the horizons, the water would follow Jure's desire. It would come to him if it was needed.

He believed it would be needed. In that, he was almost certain. The thrastil was not a beast that would grasp reason. Still, Jure wanted to be absolutely sure that there was no other choice.

He called to the thrastil, but not with a raised voice. He muttered words in very low tones just under his breath. He brought his hands over his head and pointed them to the sky. A perfect circle of pale blue energy flew from his finger tips, up into the heavens and out of sight. In but an instant after the ring disappeared, the sky flashed and a thin, jagged line of lightning streaked down toward the monstrosity at the sandstone wall. It was a simple spell, small in power, more light than storm-a tap on the shoulder. It gained the thrastil's attention.

Jure stepped forward as the monster glared down upon the spell caster. It clearly did not appreciate the interruption. It turned quickly upon its skittering legs and its eyes narrowed even further. Jure ignored the threatening stance and offered but one chance to avoid the destruction that he was spinning in the back of his consciousness.

He spoke with words, but only to give his thoughts forceful meaning. He directed those thoughts into the mind of the beast.

"I can create a portal, but you must use it to return to your realm, and you must use it now. Will you leave?"

The thrastil did not even hesitate to consider the proposal. It flung itself forward with mouth open wide, jaws ready to scoop upon the interloper and then grind him into paste.

The spell was already on Jure's lips and he cast it with greater speed than the thrastil could move.

The water came from everywhere at once, but it all focused on the creature's open mouth. It poured down like a giant waterfall from the skies, it gushed like a geyser from broken holes in the ground, and it rolled in like the incoming tide over the tops of the dunes. It struck with such force that it instantly knocked consciousness from the creature. Even as the monster rolled backward onto the ground, the water continued to flow. The pressure kept the giant jaws open and the water poured into the creature with no mercy. The thrastil drowned before it ever regained consciousness.

With his task complete, Jure turned his hands upright and refocused the spell. The flow of water ceased. The skies turned back to a crisp, deep blue and the ground became still and quiet. Water flowing in from the north and east turned back to their original sources. The remaining liquid that flooded the desert floor around the dead thrastil rose up into the air and quickly dispersed in a giant rainstorm where raindrops flew outward from just above the ground as opposed to downward from the sky.

Ryson-rather amazed he was still dry-stepped up to Jure with obvious gratitude.

"That was impressive," the delver acknowledged.

"Water remains my strength."

"No argument here. Thanks for stopping that thing. I didn't think anything could."

"As I said before, there are always weaknesses." Jure would have liked to speak further with the delver. He knew of Ryson Acumen, knew of his friendship with Enin. There was much to discuss, but once more, he felt a need. This time, it was back in Pinesway.

"I don't mean to leave you so quickly, but as I said, I have been working with Holli. It seems the battle has ended here but now focuses in Pinesway."

Ryson, although he could not sense the same magical pull as Jure, still felt the pull of responsibility. He thought of Holli and wanted to lend any assistance he could offer.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Jure smiled. "Your willingness to help others is not overstated, but I believe you have other concerns. You can't be everywhere at once. Good luck to you."

The sorcerer waved his hands to create another spell of transportation and his body was whisked off to the east in a flash of pale blue light.

"Gone, just like Enin," Ryson acknowledged to the empty air, and then he did think of his greatest concern.

Linda.

If the battle was indeed over in the desert, it was time for him to return to the mountains. There was nothing preventing him from leaving. He could join her and the cliff behemoths, and they could wait out the end of the struggle together.

With a clear objective in mind, he rushed over to the cliffs and raced up the ledges. He entered the tunnels in order to offer a final report to the algors before he simply left them. He did not feel he had to address them all. A small group was enough.

"The thrastil's dead," he announced, and then he offered his opinion of the situation even if it wasn't required. "Seems as if we got help when we needed it most, even if you didn't want help."

"We did not want help from the dwarves," several algors responded in unison, as if to justify their decisions.

"But I guess help from a human wizard was okay?"

A single algor stepped up to Ryson, but she seemed to speak for them all. Every algor in the tunnel remained silent, simply stood focused on the delver.

"You think we were wrong to turn away the dwarves? You think we should have simply accepted their aid?" The algor shook her head. "We could not. Why did they want to help us? Because it was honorable? Or was it because they thought it might allow them to forget? If you wish us to forgive them, we may yet one day do so, but it will be our choice, not theirs. You cannot always earn redemption by your own deeds and that is why they were here."

"So you can't right a wrong?"

The algor seemed to sigh and then proclaimed what the algors wanted.

"You can tell the dwarves they may leave our desert now."

She said nothing further. She and all the algors ventured back outside to bury the dead.

Ryson did exactly as she asked. He informed the dwarves the battle was over and when they headed back to their underground cities, he returned to the surface and raced back to the mountains.

#

Lief saw the battle in the desert, not with his eyes, but with a spirit's awareness. He also heard the words of the algor and he placed them in context with his own situation. He was there to help the delver. He believed that with all his soul, and yet, was that why he had really returned? He knew there was something to be learned from everything he witnessed, something that still eluded him. It was, however, within reach. He could sense it. He believed when Ryson found the right path, Lief would find his.

Unfortunately, doubts still haunted the elf, doubts about where the struggle would lead and where it would end. He knew the delver was tiring of the conflict, losing faith in everything he had ever done. That was wrong, and Lief knew it. He would help Ryson see that, but then he thought of the algors again. What if the delver didn't want his help? What if he refused just as the algors had refused the aid of the dwarves?

The elf apparition focused his thoughts on Ryson Acumen. He knew the delver was heading toward the mountains, heading toward Linda. The struggle would continue for the delver whether he wanted it to or not, that much was certain. Lief could only hope that Ryson would not forget him in the confines of that struggle.

Chapter 28

"I will remain inside with you. No harm will come to you, Godson willing." Elese said with a smile that may not have appeared completely forced, but at the very least seemed dampened with uncertainty.

Linda wanted to believe the cliff behemoth who previously saved her and Ryson from the tree rakers, but that was back in the woods when there were only four predators. Linda saw the swarm before Dzeb had hurried her inside the best shelter available-a small hut by the side of a mountain lake. She couldn't manage a guess as to how many caelifera filled the sky, but even at a great distance, they appeared like a driving rain burst of enormous dark droplets.

Cliff behemoths ready to die in order to protect Linda, quickly surrounded the hut. They were large and powerful beings, sturdy defenders with the strength to break mighty oaks in half as if they were nothing but dry twigs. They took their positions without bravado and without menace. Instead, they moved with purpose and dignity. They had agreed to protect Linda, and they would hold to that vow.

Linda could not deny the determination of her protectors anymore than she could deny the power within their bodies. They would do everything possible to keep her safe, even that which was impossible for ordinary humans. She never doubted it for a moment. Having so many willing to defend her should have brought her solace, but she could not deny the coming storm.

It was no goblin horde, no flock of razor crows, no herd of swallits that the slink ghoul sent for her-so many terrors that seemed almost laughable in comparison. Baannat's means of vengeance surpassed her faith in the cliff behemoths. The caelifera formed a swarm of absolute destruction.

Linda knew of locusts before the magic returned, back when the land dealt with calamities of a lesser nature. She heard stories of how a cloud of the insects could strip the plains clean with their voracious appetite. There was often no way to fight, no way to escape. They were a plague-even when they were simple, small insects.

The magic, however, brought with it accented nightmares. It took the difficult and made it impossible. It turned the wicked into pure evil. And it grew common pests into monsters of legendary proportions. The gigantic insects filling the oncoming swarm wanted to find her-to take her. She knew it.

She might have been protected by an army of cliff behemoths, but was she really safe considering what swept across the horizon? Not only did the approaching swarm outnumber the cliff behemoths, they could fly.

The beating of their wings announced their presence as much as their darting shadows danced across the landscape and blotted out the light from above. The distant hum quickly turned into a terrifying buzz that sounded as if the land itself was being torn apart. Linda covered her ears, but she could not hide from the truth.

The swarm was upon them.

It appeared as if the chosen location suited the will of the caelifera. Other areas of the ColadMountains offered narrow passages among the grand peaks, but the cliff behemoths chose to bring Linda to a large, open valley. The majestic walls of mountain rock stood off in the distance. The space offered a stunning view as a sizable lake stretched across most of the valley and reflected the impressive outlines of the surrounding mountains. To the caelifera's advantage, it also allowed for wide air space, giving the giant locusts ample room to move in force.

The defenders, however, took quick action and turned the free space toward their own end. Dozens of cliff behemoths hurled boulders into the air. The crushing force of unyielding rock smashed into the hard shelled bodies of the giant locusts, killing a number of them on impact. Satisfied with the results, more behemoths broke stone from the surrounding mountainside with their thick fingers, and the barrage of boulders grew in size and intensity.

The dark creatures attempted to dodge the projectiles which slowed their forward progress. Their attempts at avoidance intensified the activity within the swarm. The flying rocks and the darting caelifera created an unnerving dance of disorder. The swarm lost any of its cohesiveness and the riotous motion relayed a sense of unbridled insanity.

As the caelifera finally closed upon the shack, behemoths leapt high into the air and took hold of giant wings. They beat on their foes with mighty fists and snapped their necks with quick twists. Despite the enormity of the locusts' bodies, the followers of Godson took hold of three and four at a time and hurled their massive bodies upward and into the heart of the swarm.

The dead insects plummeted from the sky with alarming velocity. Whether tossed aside by massive arms or dropped by careening boulders, a host of locusts lost their ability to remain airborne. They struck the land below like streaking meteors.

Inside the hut, Linda jumped at each sickening crunch of a caelifera crashing to the ground and each booming thud of a giant rock landing nearby. The walls and roof quivered. The very ground beneath her shook as if rattled by tremors. She wondered how long the shack would remain upright around her. She moved to a far corner hoping to avoid injury from the collapse she believed was inevitable.

Elese moved to the center. She was ready to support the entire structure if the need arose. She eyed the ceiling with calm fortitude, as if she waited for Godson to signal her home.

Outside, the other cliff behemoths continued their task with solemn acceptance. They abhorred violence, but they accepted their fate. They viewed themselves as tools for Godson's will, nothing more and nothing less. The land was not created for their benefit, to make their lives easy. Life was a test of faith, a test of character. They believed if Godson didn't want them to enter battle, the battle would not have occurred. Such was their faith that they accepted the surrounding mayhem as part of a greater plan, and it was their choice to be a part of that design.

Even after many caelifera fell, the struggle grew more brutal. The giant locusts were not accustomed to such resistance. They were used to overpowering their foes, lifting prey from the ground and tearing their meals apart at will. These cliff dwellers, however, defied the insect's size and their ferocity. The fury of the battle sent them into a frenzy.

This was the very reason Baannat sent the caelifera to the ColadMountains. He never expected them to defeat the cliff behemoths, they only needed to occupy them. For that purpose, the giant locusts were ideally suited.

As the caelifera became more frantic, the confusion grew. The insects buzzed about in all directions. Some dropped low and darted just above the ground. Others shot high into the sky out of reach for scant seconds only to dive down like suicide missiles. Much of the swarm became a cloud of uncontrollable, directionless rage.

The cliff behemoths fought through the chaos, but they could not monitor all the activity at once. Communication broke down between them and the followers of Godson struck back with a growing sense of frustration. They drifted within the cloud and became independent fighters as opposed to a cohesive set of defenders. Defending the cabin remained their objective, but they failed to notice the entirety of the battlefield.

Taking advantage of the confusion, a second wave of insects remained outside the fray, unnoticed by the battling behemoths. Around three dozen caelifera hovered above the lake, out of reach and out of range. The grouping appeared to take heed of the conflict as if calculating the significance of so many cliff behemoths willing to do battle.

The small structure by the lakeside had remained a focal point. That much was clear. The behemoths had maintained a position around the hut and would not venture far from its walls. Its importance became even more evident as the battle raged.

As if they suddenly discovered a long lost secret, the unengaged caelifera found purpose of their own and swooped down upon the hut. The first few that landed on the roof clawed at the thatch and mud, pulling it apart and sending it flying into the air like dirt laden confetti. Their intent was clear and their action quick. They gave no time for the cliff behemoths outside the structure to react.

Once the roof was pulled away completely, several caelifera dropped within the cabin walls. They filled all of the available space, separating the two occupants. Initially, not a single insect struck out. Instead, they remained still, standing on hind legs. They stared within the meager structure with unblinking eyes, and regarded the full contents of the shack with apparent curiosity.

Elese pressed all her strength against the nearest monsters. She sent two flying into the distance against their will with a mighty heave of both her arms, but two more locusts dropped into the space made available. Elese's path to Linda remained blocked. She tried to shove her way through to the far corner where she knew Linda stood, but a terrified scream brought her attempts to a halt.

When the caelifera first dropped into the hut, Linda could not make a sound. She stared at the giant locusts with disbelief. Despite everything she had been through, the monster towering over her seemed beyond reason. She could only gape at the creature, until it grabbed her. The scream was more of an uncontrolled response than a call for help.

Linda felt the weight of her body completely engulfed in multiple legs of the caelifera. She sensed her feet leave the ground as the vibrations of the monster's wings shook her entire body. She looked down for only an instant, but then slammed her eyes shut. Still, she could not shut out the truth. The wind blew threw her hair and she felt the stiff breeze across her body. She was being carried away, taken south.

Chapter 29

"You can not just fly off like that."

"I really didn't fly," Jure corrected Holli. "It's more like a transportation…"

"I know what it is! I do it myself… when the time is right! You were needed here."

Jure was about to argue, but then reversed course, and tone. "I admit it. I didn't handle it right. I know you're in charge. I should have asked you first. It's just that I sensed the thrastil and couldn't ignore it. I didn't think the algors had a chance. But that's no excuse. I'm sorry."

His words carried sincerity and Holli knew it. He was not just pacifying her. He made a mistake and admitted it. It was actually the best answer he could have given her, the best answer she could have hoped for.

Of all the magic casters in Pinesway, Jure was both the most powerful and the most respectful. He recognized the true power in the entire spectrum of magical energy and displayed sincere consideration to all of its elements. He agreed to defend Pinesway and the eastern plains because he believed in the cause. He did not look for selfish gain, or focus on self preservation.

When Jure returned from the desert, he could have dismissed Holli's concerns, treated her as an inferior. He didn't have to listen to her. With the power at his command, he could have tossed her aside like an empty wheat sack, which would have beyond impertinent. It would have been calamitous.

With Enin trapped, any disregard from Jure would have poisoned her authority. He did not take any such stand. He acknowledged her command and actually apologized.

Holli did more than simply appreciate his respect. Her estimation of the man grew and any doubts about his loyalties faded away. She knew she could rely upon him, and as there was no sense in pounding the point-admonishing him further-she focused on more pressing matters.

"What happened out there?"

Jure explained his arrival in the desert, his fight with the thrastil, and the signs of the casualties among the algors and the dark creatures.

The news rose the elf's spirits, as well as her hopes. It sounded as if the desert was secure. One less concern, though others were growing.

"What about the dwarves?" Holli asked.

"What dwarves?"

"Enin sent two battalions of dwarves to assist the algors. You told me you saw Ryson and the algors, but where were the dwarves?"

"I didn't see them, but I really didn't look, either."

"No dwarf weapons or war machines near the thrastil?"

"No, just broken rock and some dead algors."

"No dwarf casualties anywhere?"

Jure closed his eyes and reconstructed the desert scene in his mind. He knew if there were dwarf bodies near the thrastil, he would have seen them. He hadn't and so he shook his head with certainty.

"That does not seem right," Holli revealed as she considered her own expectations of what should have occurred.

"I don't think I'm mistaken. I'm pretty…"

Holli reassured the wizard by explaining her true point of contention.

"I do not doubt your assessment of the scene. I believe you, but what I can not understand is why the dwarves would not have rushed the thrastil. They are determined warriors and can be stirred into bloodlust given the right circumstances. A thrastil would have offered them a challenge I would not think they could resist. I would have guessed there would have been at least a few dwarf corpses around the thrastil, perhaps even dozens. Long odds would not frighten them. To put it simply, they are not ones to back away from a fight. I believe they would have charged the thrastil, if for nothing else, to prove their courage."

"Maybe they didn't get the chance," Jure offered. "I reached the desert fairly quickly. I think the battle with the thrastil had just begun."

It was plausible, but Holli offered other possibilities.

"Or maybe they never reached the desert at all. Baannat could have easily targeted the dwarves in their underground tunnels. We know the ghoul wants to make a war of many fronts. We have no idea how many dark creatures are at his disposal. The dwarves could be fighting trolls and bloat spiders as we speak."

"That's a bit of a pessimistic assumption," Jure noted.

"In war, you have to always assume the worst."

Jure knew very little of war, and he did not wish to contradict the elf guard. Still, he had found power in seizing upon the positive, accentuating the opportunity as opposed to emphasizing the peril. That outlook brought him greater control over magic and it did not suit him to simply accept the worst case scenario.

He contemplated the situation and offered a solution that might answer the question with a greater degree of certainty as opposed to simply accepting pessimistic assumptions.

"I could try to probe for them. There's still water out there from my spells. I could use that as a way to search. If they're anywhere near the desert, I might be able to locate them. I don't think it would take long to try."

Holli considered the offer, but realized the results offered little reward. "I do not think it would help our situation. Dwarves are very resistant to magic, and trying to uncover their whereabouts might be a waste of your power. It is a factor that needs to be considered, but it is not imperative. Knowing the desert is secure is the most important issue. Are you certain there were no other threats in the area?"

"Fairly certain, but as you know, anything could come out of that portal at any time. Still, there was nothing on the horizon when I left, and I did not sense anything nearby. The algors appeared ready to tend to their wounded and dead. Ryson Acumen even asked if he should return here, but I knew he had more important concerns."

"You think Ryson is headed to the ColadMountains?"

"That would be my bet." Jure sensed a deeper anxiety in the elf from that response. "You don't seem happy about that."

"I am not, but there's nothing we can do about it."

"What's wrong?"

"While you were away, I saw an entire swarm of caelifera moving with speed over Dark Spruce. I believe they were, at first, headed toward Burbon. I would have sent you there when you returned to help Sy Fenden, but the creatures turned north. I can only assume they are headed to the mountains."

"A swarm?Of caelifera?"

"Yes. Not a pretty sight."

Jure connected the incident with Holli's apparent concern.

"You think they're going after Ryson's wife?"

Holli saw no other explanation.

"Why else would they bypass Burbon and Pinesway? Enin, Linda and Ryson all call Burbon home. I am not surprised it was an initial target, but the swarm changed course. We have spell casters here in Pinesway and other dark creatures coming to attack us. The caelifera could have joined against us, but they did not do that, either. What is left?"

Linda was the obvious answer. Jure knew she was under the protection of cliff behemoths in the mountains, but he wondered if he might be able to assist as well. He would not, however, take off again on his own whim.

"Should I go to the mountains and help?"

Holli considered it, but announced what she saw as the most reasonable course of action.

"There is no time now, and we have to believe the cliff behemoths can fight off the insects. I think they can. I just hope Ryson does not do anything careless, but there is nothing we can do about that, either. We have problems of our own."

Jure understood. He had sensed the upheaval at the portal. As Holli had just pointed out, more invaders were stalking the land-another large group headed east, headed to Pinesway.

"I have had the others cast sight spells all around the town and out in the surrounding lands," Holli continued. "The east is clear, but that was to be expected. No threats from the skies, but it seems Baannat threw his flying beasts at the algors. I was worried about the caelifera, but they are already out of range. The main thrust is going to come from the forest. Definitely goblins. I have already located several forward scouts, but I am not too worried about them. It is what's behind them that concerns me, and as of yet, I am not sure what that is."

"Another wave of creatures further behind?"

"Not that much further. Fairly close."

"But the sight spells can't detect them yet?"

"That is what has me worried. The spells should be detecting them, and to a degree I think they are, but not completely. The creatures do not appear to be cloaked." Holli paused for a moment to better explain what she sensed. She wanted Jure to understand the full scope of what she sensed. "I believe something is interfering with the spells. I can tell something is out there, but whenever I try to focus on it, the spell shifts out of my control."

"It's not blocking the spell? It's actually shifting control?" Jure asked, clearly amazed by the implications.

"Yes."

Jure considered Holli's explanation and it clearly troubled him. He could understand a cloaking spell-an illusionary shroud over a large army would be difficult, but not impossible. It would take power and an understanding of varied terrain, but a dark sorcerer versed in illusion could pull it off. He could also accept a counter spell that would block the sight. That would be the easiest, as it would simply counteract the effects of the first spell. Interfering with another magic caster's sight spell by shifting the focus, however, was an approach usually taken only by wizards very confident in their own ability. It was in every way a contest of wills.

"That's odd," Jure admitted. "Messing around another caster's spell is pretty bold. Disrupting someone else's spell isn't the easiest thing to do. It might not work, it might leave a trail, it might blow up… a lot can go wrong."

"That is why I am concerned. Would you ever attempt such an action?"

"In battle?Absolutely not."

"What about before the conflict begins?"

"Not a chance. It's too risky. It borders on arrogance."

"And you are not that kind of spell caster, I realize that. What if you wished to test an opponent's strength?"

"Better ways to do it than that," Jure replied.

"This is why I am concerned."

As if to offer an answer, Holli sensed a very distinct warning in the spells she used to alert her of impending danger. She folded her hands together in front of her chest and concentrated on a line of magic that linked her to one of the sight spells.

The initial spell had been cast by a sorceress who was strong in both wind and storm. She had placed a watchful magical gaze in the clouds over the abandoned town and allowed Holli to link to it with a casual breeze spell. Holli felt the pull of that spell, not a raging alarm, but a light whisper to announce danger was near.

The elf guard brought the spell into focus, created a small window in front of her so that both she and Jure could examine the disturbance. Neither was pleased with what they saw.

"The goblins have already surrounded what is left of this town," Holli announced. "A large horde, larger than I previously expected. River rogues are forming a wedge in the northwest. They are preparing to cross over the bridge at any moment. Gremplings are darting through the trees at the border of Dark Spruce, probably acting as lookouts to determine our movements."

Jure peered into the magical window that allowed him to share in the spell of sight and he offered his own opinion.

"It's a large force," Jure allowed, "but they're really not suited to fight us. I'm not trying to brag, but I could probably handle the rogues on my own. And goblins aren't really a threat to us, no matter how many there are."

"No, they are not," Holli agreed, "and Baannat would know that, so what is behind them?"

"I don't…"

The ground erupted and dozens of rock beetles broke through the floor of the abandoned building where Holli and Jure stood. Just as the first insects rushed from the openings, more filtered up from behind. Within moments, even the walls appeared to move with a life of their own as the hard-shelled creatures scurried across every open space.

Jure took a position at Holli's right shoulder, but made no motion to cast a spell. He waited for the elf's command rather than act rashly and initiate an attack that might conflict with Holli's intentions.

Not willing to be an initial casualty to the surprise attack, Holli drew upon almost all of her magical reserves as she cast her most powerful spell. An octagon of green energy formed in front of her and then burst outward in every direction.

Holli's true connection to magic came from her bond with nature. Green was the primary color of her casting and when she immersed her essence fully into emerald energy, her spells reached their greatest potency. Her casting utilized that connection and the magic sought out dormancy and sparked a resurgence of life.

The power pouring from her immediately revitalized portions of the furniture, floor boards, walls, and even the roof of the structure. Everything made of wood around them came to life. Roots sprouted out from table legs. Thick trunks sprung from the floor. Sturdy limbs speared out from walls. Heavy branches dropped from the ceiling.

In many ways, the spell was a reflection of Holli's own spirit. Once a proud elf guard, but cast out of her elf camp, she had lost what she believed was her ultimate calling. She was asked to leave her home so that her camp might survive. She gave up everything that defined her. When she stepped out of Dark Spruce with the intent to join humans, she stifled everything she had become. The light of her fire had been doused.

She did not, however, allow that light to remain extinguished. Her skills and talents remained, she simply needed to redirect them. She found new purpose-new life-in joining with the most powerful wizard in Uton.

The wizard agreed to let her become his guard, but he offered more. Enin trained her to be more than she was, to strengthen the magic that was within her. She called on that strength with a spell of nature that glowed with the cascading brilliance of emerald renewal.

Holli's spell grasped the elements of life. Every particle that once made up a living tree drank in Holli's energy and reveled in rebirth. Spectacular growth from the inanimate exploded in every direction. The roots, trunks, limbs and branches expanded with incredible intensity.

Not only did the newly invigorated vegetation surge in growth, it also recognized the presence of an enemy. The giant insects represented a threat, one that would not be tolerated. Roots and branches struck out at the beetles. They wrapped around the legs and the hard-shelled bodies of the insects. They strangled the life out of many, ripped others apart.

Holli and Jure stood calm and still at the center of the bedlam. The beetles could not reach them and the revived tree sections would not attack them. They would survive the first attack.

Despite their momentary safety, they both understood that such security was fleeting at best. The battle had begun and it would not end with the casting of one spell.

Without moving, Holli called on all the sight spells available to her and she examined the full breadth of the attack. All of Baannat's forces entered the fray, but the spell casters at her disposal had responded as she hoped.

Goblins fired crossbows, but their bolts were redirected back at them by powerful wind spells. The river rogues rushed forward across the bridge but were immediately driven back by two spell casters well versed in fire. Gremplings bounded into the city and attempted to take high positions on rooftops but were quickly and efficiently flipped back into the trees by simple force spells. Holli's spell casters proved clearly capable in dealing with each of those threats.

The rock beetles, however, were causing greater disruptions. Their tunneling brought down several buildings and their ability to surface at any point left many spell casters vulnerable to surprise attacks. The insects represented the one true danger to her forces.

Her spell had proved effective in dealing with the beetles in the immediate area, but there were hundreds more across the town, utilizing underground tunnels to appear and disappear at will. She had exhausted most of her energy and another spell of such power was not within her. There were, however, other alternatives, one of which was noticeably absent.

"Where is Heteera?" Holli demanded. "She knows to come here when the battle begins."

"I'm not certain," Jure admitted.

Holli considered her options. She was loath to under utilize her assets, but her choices were limited.

"I have to direct this fight. Find her and bring her here. We are going to need her power."

It might have been a waste of his abilities-to be a simple messenger-but Jure did not hesitate for even a moment. He stepped clear of the dying beetles and the disorganized mass of animated tree parts and exited the building as quickly as he could.

The elf guard turned her attention back to the escalating conflict. The very ground all about the abandoned town was becoming a hazard. If the rock beetles continued their assault uncontested, she believed they would all sink into a crater of rubble. They needed to be stopped and she knew who was best suited for the task.

Holli directed her strategy at the spell caster who had caused Ryson so much trouble in the desert. His power focused on the land itself. Rock and dirt would bend to the fury of his red energy and so she called upon him to eliminate the beetles.

"Neltus!" she commanded in thought. "Turn the land against these creatures."

Far across town, the middle-aged sorcerer with long disheveled hair frowned at the order. He did not wish to be in Pinesway, and he didn't like taking orders from an inferior elf.

In his mind, the opposite should have prevailed. She should be taking orders from him. He had more control over the magic, and much more power. His was a primary color, one of the pure forces. She cast in green, the essence of nature-trees, grass, shrubs. It was laughable. What were plants without soil? Nothing.

Unfortunately, there were others who disagreed. Enin for one, and that optimist, Jure, for another. Neltus didn't care for that one. Jure was growing more powerful and yet seemed to be more than satisfied in taking a subordinate position. And the old man was casting in near white color with a perfect circle. Such a waste.

Many of the spell casters in Pinesway agreed to fight because they felt they had to restore some honor of some ancient magicians that weren't even a memory. More nonsense. They could believe that all they wanted, but Neltus understood. And he believed the others did as well. They just didn't want to admit it. They fought because Baannat wasn't going to let them hang around if he took out Enin. It was better to fight in a war with a chance at winning than to be hunted down and killed without any hope of help.

The problem was, if you accepted help, you had to accept the people who went with it. That's why he was in that Godson forsaken town with an overbearing elf guard that pretended to be a sorceress.

Neltus decided to follow the order, not because he was willing to yield to the elf, but because it would give him a chance to show his true power. Holli appeared concerned by these beetles, but they were a joke to him.

He took hold of the crimson energy in his mind and turned his will upon the land. Rock, sand and soil moved at his desire. The ground called out to him, revealed to him the location of beetle tunnels, allowed him to see the greatest concentration of their numbers.

Rock beetles were at home underground. They could hear and smell through the soil. Beyond that, they could sense vibrations through the ground, pick up the faintest steps of prey far in the distance. They were open to any tremor and used it to find their way in the total darkness of a buried existence.

Neltus decided to use this against the creatures. He could have compacted the ground around the beetles, crushed them in their tunnels. He could have broken the subterranean fields apart and sent the insects deep into an abyss. Either method would have sufficed, but neither held the dramatic flare he wished to employ. He wanted every spell caster in Pinesway to truly appreciate his power.

The sorcerer focused his power on echoing waves-pulses of motion. Crimson energy surrounded Neltus until he forced it downward beneath his feet. Immediately, the ground began to quiver and tremble like the shivering fingers of a thin beggar caught out in the cold.

A series of tremors turned into hundreds of violent underground swells. The ground did not break apart, but the vibrations under Pinesway amplified a thousand times over. Every rock and stone, every grain of sand and soil, every mineral no matter what its property, pulsated in the upheaval.

Confusion boiled over within the ranks of the insects. The beetles swooned against the conflicting vibrations. They could discern neither the source nor the composition of the activity. Those that were above ground circled about in mad patterns. The beetles still in the tunnels lost any sense of direction and awareness.

The pulses continued unabated. They grew stronger, sending the beetles into mass panic. Rock and dirt growled with tension. The land itself shuddered, and every vibration was sent directly at the rock beetles.

The giant insects could not fight back, could not find the true source of their misery. All they could do was react to the vibrations in ways that either forced them to flee or drove them to distraction. Those far enough away from the center of Pinesway tunneled off into the distance in retreat, but any beetle within the town borders suffered from overwhelming confusion. The chaotic impulses led to a breakdown of their senses and eventually death.

Neltus allowed the red energy to echo back as well as flow out of him. He could read the waves and sense the destruction of the insects. He enjoyed the display of his own power and celebrated his success with smug satisfaction.

After long moments, every beetle within the borders of Pinesway, whether underground or above, lay still and dead. Most of the tunnels remained intact, but they were now devoid of movement. Before ending his spell completely, Neltus stabilized the ground under Pinesway, compacting the loose soil and rock. He completed his mission beyond the instructions of the elf guard; he secured the land from collapse and removed the rock beetles as a potential threat.

"Let the insignificant elf witch try that," the sorcerer scoffed in sanctimonious victory.

Holli, however, held no connection to Neltus' thoughts and did not suffer his insults. She kept her mind focused on the continuing battle.

The river rogues had regrouped and were waiting in the river that bordered the town. The water offset the fire spells that they had faced earlier. They made no further attempt to enter the town and appeared content to wait in the running waters.

The goblins had fallen back as well. They no longer fired their crossbows. They continued to encircle the town, but they had retreated to a point out of range.

The gremplings also returned to the edge of the forest, satisfied to watch from the trees. They sat in branches with curious expressions, as if they expected some great show.

With Neltus' spell at an end and the beetles devastated, very little activity prevailed through the abandoned town. Holli's spell casters waited at their stations, prepared to fight off another assault, but no such attack materialized, at least not immediately.

Holli considered the inaction with growing doubt. It was not a simple pause in the battle, a regrouping of forces. It seemed more as if the dark creatures had achieved an objective and fallen back as part of some grand plan. Neltus might have obliterated the beetles and the other spell casters managed to neutralize the other threats, but the enemy had not been routed, not completely.

Focusing on all the information available to her, she realized a mystery remained. Something had interfered with her link to the sight spells, and yet, none of the dark creatures that had entered the battle revealed any such prowess with magical energies. Goblins, gremplings, river rogues, and rock beetles were not gifted in the ability to interfere with such spells. Why did the disruption occur and where did it come from?

The rock beetles were certainly a surprise, and their arrival might have been the purpose for limiting her initial sight. And yet, the beetles' attack consisted of raw power with little emphasis placed on tactics. The need for stealth seemed minimal at best. Even Jure agreed that interfering with a spell was a risky proposition. Why risk it for such minimal gains?

Seeking an answer to that question seemed to grow in importance as the lull in conflict continued. The true strategy of her foe was eluding her, and it was never wise to fight a battle without understanding the intentions of the enemy. If the goblins, gremplings, and river rogues were waiting for something, it was in her best interest to determine what it was before it hit them.

In order to track the source of the interference and perhaps gain insight into its true purpose, she thought of reconnecting to the sight spells with greater focus, with a mind towards following the disruption as opposed to overcoming it. If she could pinpoint its location, she might decipher the source. If she could accomplish that, the battle would be half won.

Unfortunately, she had only recovered a small portion of the magical energy she expended. Her magical reserves remained depleted and she was not ready for any such attempt to track an opposing spell.

Her mind turned once more to Heteera. If she were here, Holli could tap into her power and possibly overcome any barrier that might keep her from the revelations she sought. Jure, however, had not returned, and so all the elf could do was wait.

Her true enemy, however, decided to end the lull in battle. The real fight was about to begin, the ultimate threat exposed. Holli would see what Baannat had truly planned for Pinesway, and she would not have to concern herself with tracking any spell to reveal it.

Chapter 30

Dzeb placed a gentle hand on the shoulder of the delver before he said a single word. He took careful but firm hold. He did not wish to hurt the delver, but he needed to be certain Ryson Acumen would not sprint away.

Ryson immediately recognized the sorrow in Dzeb's eyes. His own body stiffened as a lump formed in his throat. He was almost unable to speak, but he forced out the words?

"Where's Linda?"

Dzeb would not deny the truth. He answered openly, but with clear and painful regret.

"They took her."

The lump grew and Ryson's muscles tightened with heightened anxiety.

"Who took her?"

"Caelifera.A swarm."

Ryson thought of the giant caelifera that had almost killed him in the dark realm. He remembered the fear he faced, and that was only one. He then thought of an entire swarm.

Linda-alone-facing a swarm of caelifera. The image almost wrecked his sanity. He cursed himself for leaving her.

Ryson didn't have to ask where they went. He knew. They were taking her back to the portal in the badlands by the Lacobian, back to the dark realm… back to Baannat.

With that one thought in his mind, he dismissed everything else. He would race there as fast as he could. He would do anything to save her, lose his own life if necessary. It was all that mattered.

Ryson attempted to turn and charge off toward the badlands. He could not, however, leave the cliff behemoth-a massive hand held him in place. He fought against it, almost pulled free from Dzeb's grip, but the behemoth managed to maintain his hold.

"What?" the surprised delver managed to blurt out. "Let go!"

"You must not simply run off," Dzeb counseled.

Not run off?

What else could he possibly do? Ryson saw no other option. He knew what Baannat was going to do. He had to stop it.

"I have to get to her before…"

He was going to say "before she dies" but, he couldn't finish the sentence. It hurt too much to think what the ghoul might do to her, what might be her last moments.

"Do not think the worst," Dzeb stated, offering hope but with all honesty intact. "I do not believe Baannat wishes her dead. If so, the caelifera could have killed her here. They had the opportunity. Why fly her out of here if he just wanted to kill her? Death from a caelifera would have been a dark enough end to satisfy even a slink ghoul. No, he wants her alive. For what reason, I can only guess, but I believe he wishes to trap you."

Ryson didn't care about a trap, he didn't care what happened to him. The thought of what Baannat might do to Linda was far worse than any other torment.

"It doesn't matter what he wants to do with me. He can try to trap me all he wants. I don't care! I have to go to her. I have to do everything I can to try and save her. Now let go of me!"

"I understand, but you can't go alone."

Alone.

The word hurt because that's what he was… alone. Linda had been taken from him. He faced the struggle alone.

At that thought, he looked to the sky. He realized the struggle was growing larger, getting more complicated, becoming more painful.

His frustration and fatigue turned to anger. He was more than tired of the way things were. He was furious. It seemed nothing in this existence or the next held any honor. There was nothing good in a world where Linda could be taken away from him in such a manner.

Fire upon the struggle, fire upon it all!

This was the anger that burned within him. Forces for good or evil, he didn't care about any of them. It was a sick, twisted game, and the only ones who suffered-that lost in the game-were the innocents.

Dzeb could not help but sense the growing rage in one he believed with all his faith had been touched by Godson. If it were possible, it might have crushed Dzeb's spirit, but a cliff behemoth's soul is mightier than the colossal body that holds it. He offered solace and explained what he saw as the only reasonable solution.

"We will come with you. The other cliff behemoths have already agreed. We will help you get her back."

For Ryson, there was no comfort in the offer. He didn't see the benefit in leading an army of cliff behemoths into the badlands. He saw the truth. Time was his true enemy and he shook off the proposal.

"You won't be able to keep up and I have no intention of slowing down."

His tone was not defiant-he did not wish to blame the cliff behemoths-but he was resolute. He was telling Dzeb the absolute truth. Nothing would keep him, or even delay him, from going after Linda.

Dzeb understood Ryson's resolve, but held to hope that he could still sway the delver into making a more rational decision.

"You would not slow your chase even to give yourself a chance to succeed?"

"And what if we're too late? I can't take the risk. I can't keep you from following after me, but I won't wait for you."

"You would not give me your word to stay close to us? It is for both your benefit and Linda's. Time may not be as important as the force you bring with you. You will have a chance if you let us aid you. You will have no chance if you go alone."

Ryson replied with unflagging honesty.

"The moment you let go of me, I'll be out of your sight. I'm sorry, but I can't wait."

"Is there nothing I can say to convince you?"

"Nothing."

#

During the flight across the mountains and forest, Linda did not struggle. Although she wished to be free from the grip of the winged monstrosity that held her aloft, absolute fear clouded her mind. She jammed her eyes shut often as she could not stand the sight of being engulfed in the middle of the swarm. She could not, however, hold them closed completely. With every jerk in movement, instinct-certainly not conscious desire-forced her to take a glimpse of her surroundings to see if she was being thrown to her death.

Despite her absolute panic, she tried to assess their direction. During her momentary glances, she gauged the position of the sun. Unmistakably, the caelifera were headed south, and she remained almost certain as to their final destination.

When they closed upon the badlands and she could see the portal in the distance, her fears were confirmed. She knew they would be flying through the rift and into the dark realm. She did not wish to enter.

With her fear raging, she did begin to struggle. She knew that even if she broke the grip of the caelifera that held her, she wouldn't truly escape. She would only fall to her death. It didn't matter. Better to be smashed on the rocks below than to be forced into an unending nightmare.

The caelifera, however, would not release its hold no matter how hard Linda fought. It ignored Linda's futile movements and remained in the center of the returning swarm. As it closed upon the portal, it dropped low to the ground and prepared to pass through.

The rift had grown quite large, almost as if it threatened to envelope an entire region of the badlands. It was wide enough to allow many of the caelifera to fly through the opening at once. It eventually swallowed the entire swarm, but it remained open, like a giant eye that peered in two opposite directions at once.

Linda found everything about the dark realm sickening as well as frightening. She had been forced into the lands of horror against her will, and the sights, sounds and smells magnified the assault on her being. It was a place of pure misery and she was sure it was the place she was going to die. She was wrong.

The swarm moved toward the ravine that held the cave, but the other caelifera broke off before they reached the crevice. Only the caelifera holding Linda continued forward.

Linda saw another portal, but this rift appeared much different. While the gateway between Uton and the dark realm was like a connection between two dimensions, this new portal was but a shadow. There was no distinct realm on the other side. It was simply a break in one existence with nothing waiting beyond the veil.

The caelifera hovered in front of the shadow portal. It stared at the opening as if uncertain what to do. The uncertainty did not last. With one forward thrust, the monster tossed Linda into the rift.

Linda's body passed through the portal, but it did not disappear, did not move on to a new dimension. Her body remained in the dark realm and fell to the ground next to Enin's. Death did not claim her, but there was nothing left of her consciousness in the lands of nightmare. Her body clung to life, but it was nothing more than an empty shell.

Linda's true essence, the full scope of her spirit, fell into Baannat's presence and then fell into despair. She could not focus on anything. Gray blankness colored her senses. Her body was gone. All that was left of her was her consciousness-her awareness-and that was held hostage by the slink ghoul. She could not flee and she could not fight. There was only nothingness.

Baannat greeted the new arrival with a snarl.

"Welcome to a different kind of life," the ghoul announced. "You were immune to magic. You probably still are, but it doesn't matter. Not here."

Linda could not focus on anything. Even Baannat's sinister voice turned into nothing more than a low hum. The emptiness threatened to overwhelm her consciousness and she did not fight against it. Even if it was not true death, she welcomed oblivion.

The slink ghoul, however, had other plans for her.

"No, no, no. I won't let you simply fade out of here. You can't. I am the sole point of focus for you now and you will focus on me."

Baannat's image grew brighter before Linda and his form took hold of her consciousness. His voice boomed, became as clear as thunder crashing across an empty field in the early hours of dawn. She could not block him out. She had no eyelids to close, no hands to place over her eyes or ears. She was forced to look upon him, forced to hear him.

Linda remembered the first time she saw the slink ghoul. It was during their first battle, when Enin used her as a shield and Ryson sliced the monster in half. The current outline of the ghoul that took shape in the gray shadows appeared much the same as it did then.

His face resembled a distorted tiger. His long fangs helped define his cat like muzzle. His hands were like tiger claws and his hind legs were like those of an overgrown cat. The rest of the ghoul's body, however, was without true shape, and that characteristic took greater hold in a cloak of shadows.

The ghoul's core had always been malleable, but it seemed even less solid in the emptiness that surrounded him. Baannat's body appeared more translucent and barely capable of holding the ghoul together. He was more than a shadow but less than a material being, but in that existence, he found a way to strike out at Linda.

"I'm not going to cast some spell upon you. I'm not sure it would have any effect on you, so why waste the energy? I have other ways to hurt you."

Baannat's form moved upon the faint glowing essence of Linda. He opened his hand and revealed the narrow claws that shined bright in the all enveloping shadows. With one quick slashing motion, the ghoul sliced into Linda's soul.

The pain was both hot and cold, sharp and dull. It exploded through her consciousness. There was nothing in her previous existence she could compare it to. She couldn't imagine anything worse. It was like drinking acid and then diving in freezing water, but it went far beyond the physical pain of either. It boiled in her like wasted hate and then chilled her like choking dread. She wanted to scream, but she could not find her own voice.

Beyond the pain, she had only one other focal point, and that was Baannat. His figure swam in and out of focus. If she allowed his form to drift from her awareness, she had nothing else to take hold of beyond the pain. Oblivion was no longer in reach as the torment of another slash kept her awareness from fading into the shadows.

Within the same gray shroud, Enin sensed the disturbance. He could not attack the ghoul, but he could expand his awareness. Though he was now separated from the magical energies, his essence remained strong. His exposure to different realms and dimensions allowed him the ability to reach out with his consciousness. The wizard focused on the disruption of the emptiness. He located another light, another soul in the dark. He recognized Linda's spirit.

He condemned himself immediately. It was his plan to have her sent to the mountains, to be protected by cliff behemoths. He had underestimated Baannat yet again, and his failure meant another captured soul.

He could sense her suffering, knew that Baannat was slashing and clawing at her as the ghoul had done to him. It was his fault she was there, his fault she was suffering. He could not let it continue unabated.

Enin called out to Linda. He did so not with a voice, but with a thought-a surge of emotion. He had experienced such links before-links with Holli-and moments of communicating while exploring planes beyond his mortal body.

Though he could not use any magical energy as a conduit, the gray nothingness presented no barrier to break through. He simply had to press with enough determination to reach out to another soul in the shadows. He focused on Linda, on atoning for his mistakes. It would lead him through the emptiness.

As the wizard strove to make a connection, Linda suffered through agonizing torment. The claws of the ghoul created no true wound, but they left her essence in tatters. Her reality blurred into two objects-a twisted ghoul bent on causing her pain, and the pain itself. There was nothing else for her. The moment she lost herself in twisting anguish, the face or the voice of Baannat would reassert itself as the focal point. When the pain dwindled, the ghoul slashed at her again and the torment overwhelmed her.

Just as the pain of another slash erupted in her being, Linda finally sensed something beyond the pain, something past Baannat. A glowing light in the distance called to her. It had no form, no structure other than being a faint break in the shadows, but it was something she could focus upon that did not cause her misery. She latched her consciousness upon the simple point of light.

Enin projected all of his hope and all of his strength toward Linda's consciousness. He could not save her from Baannat. He could not lead her out of the shadows, but he could take hold of her mind, siphon away some of the pain. It would become part of him. He would certainly suffer for it, but he would not allow her to endure the agony alone.

Latching on to the new source of light, Linda accepted Enin's offer of diminished suffering. She pressed the pain out of her and towards him as he attempted to pull it from her. The agony lessened, but did not extinguish completely. At the very least, the connection allowed her to concentrate upon something other than the slink ghoul.

The effort did not go unnoticed.

"So the two of you wish to comfort each other?" Baannat asked through a cackle. "That's wonderful. It won't last, though. You'll start blaming each other, and sooner than you think. Oh, I know you're going to tell me it won't happen, but it will. When things get really bad, it's only natural to want to find someone to blame. You're all you've got, at least for the moment."

The slink ghoul paused, but only for a moment. He then pressed his way past Enin's will and took hold of Linda's focus once more.

"The wizard knows what I'm talking about, but do you?"

Linda did not know how to answer, and she did not wish to try. Instead, she attempted to reach past the ghoul back to Enin, but the ghoul would not allow it.

"Someone else will be here soon," Baannat sneered. "You know who it will be, don't you? He's going to come to save you, stupid as he is. He has no chance, but he will try. He will try because of you. Isn't that funny?"

Linda knew Baannat was speaking about Ryson. A spark of hope glistened within her, but only for a scant moment, a flash and nothing more. She imagined Ryson trapped in the nothingness. He would suffer the same agony and suddenly a new focal point arrived for her consciousness; unimaginable, abject fear. It actually surpassed the pain of Baannat's slashes and the torment of his voice.

Baannat giggled, then turned his attention to the wizard.

"She has a hard time speaking in here. I guess she's not as experienced as you."

"Or maybe she's not meant to be here," Enin shot back. "This place is not meant to exist. It's an aberration, an affront to the true dimensional realms. Your very existence mocks any true balance and such deviations are destined for destruction."

"Are you actually talking about balance again, brother? Good and evil, right and wrong, and all of that? Don't you get it? There is no balance. There are only superficial rules, and no rule is set in stone."

"And there are other powers far beyond what you or I can even comprehend. Your deviancy will not go unnoticed. You will eventually be purged."

Baannat dismissed the charge.

"Are you saying that for your benefit or hers? Maybe giving her false hope?Admirable. You say the woman is not meant to be here. But then, what about you? Does that mean you belong here?"

"I deserve it."

"Taking blame for everything?Not only admirable, but noble as well. Should I applaud?"

"I don't care what you do."

"Yes, you do. And so does she," the ghoul then spoke directly to Linda. "You're a silly, stupid creature. You thought your worst fear was something happening to that pathetic delver of yours while he was out on some mindless excursion. You worried about him being hurt out in the forest, or falling down some mountain. He'd be alone and you wouldn't be able to help him. You tried to stifle that fear, even commended yourself on accepting it as part of life. How very courageous of you. Of course, it's not true, and now you know it. It will be so much worse to have something happen to him right in front of you… because of you. That's right, my dear. As I said, he'll be coming here to save you. Won't happen. I will torture him in front of you, and then you in front of him. You will both share in the same pain. Isn't that fun?"

#

"Ryson Acumen, you must understand," Dzeb stated. "The caelifera would not have been able to take her if it was not part of a larger…"

Ryson would not let him finish.

"Dzeb… just stop it! I don't want to hear about it. Don't tell me about Godson's will. If Godson cared, none of this would be happening."

The cliff behemoth did not agree.

"If not Godson's will, do you have another explanation?"

Ryson felt the blood pounding in his head. He grew angrier with each moment he was delayed. He stared at the cliff behemoth with a growing hostility he once thought would be impossible to direct toward such a creature of grace.

"I don't have time for this. You're keeping me from Linda! I'm already trying not to blame you for not protecting her. If you don't let me go, I'll blame you for anything that happens. Everything!"

Dzeb almost let go, but he had to offer Ryson one last point of consideration.

"You are not the only one who suffers in this land."

"So what?!" Ryson scoffed. "Is that some kind of grand excuse? Am I supposed to accept everything that's happened because other people are getting their fair share of hardship?" He clamped down his jaw. There was no time for this, no time for some philosophical debate. "Dzeb, I really don't care about Godson, or suffering, or whatever else is on your mind. All I care about is Linda. Let me go… now."

"And so I will, but you might wish to consider those who have felt greater loss and still believe."

"That's their problem, not mine."

"And as you focus on your problems, I will remain faithful that Godson will help to heal you, as well as the others who have suffered."

Dzeb let go of the delver, and Ryson Acumen took off to the south without another word.

As Ryson blazed off in a blur, he pressed the words of the cliff behemoth out of his mind, or so he thought. He focused on saving Linda. He was sure she had been taken to the dark realm. He would check the cave first and if she was not there, he would search the entire realm if necessary. He would find her.

And then what?

That was the important question. How would he save her? What if she remained in the clutches of a swarm of caelifera? He couldn't fight them all. One was probably too much.

And if not the caelifera, then he would have to face Baannat. How could he defeat the ghoul? He thought he already had. He fought Baannat before and won. Baannat was dead, but somehow returned.

Returned.

With that thought, he realized he would not go directly to the portal. He wanted to, with all his being, but a spark of realization made it impossible.

Dzeb's assertion about accepting assistance was correct, but only partially. Ryson had to consider what force to bring with him against Baannat, but it wasn't going to be an army of cliff behemoths. He needed something else. And though it would cost him time, he had to make one stop first. If he was going to save himself, save Enin-and most importantly, save Linda-he knew he needed help. He believed he knew where to get that help.

Chapter 31

Black dust fell upon several magic casters at once. A spell of near total dominance announced the new attack on Pinesway. It came from every direction, the enemy sorcerer's location not yet revealed. The misty but dry substance followed the waves of magic, traveled over the echoes of spells used against the dark creatures that previously invaded the abandoned town. The remnants of these spells formed the anchor lines for the assault.

In the northern section of Pinesway, the sorceress and wizard that drove back the river rogues with fire could not escape the black powder that shot back upon them like shadow flares. On the streets encircling the town, the magic casters that repelled goblin crossbow fire with wind swells could not avoid the murky cloud that swirled around them. And the sorcerers to the southwest that pressed the gremplings back into the trees with spells of pure force could not evade the dark wall that fell upon them.

Despite the great magical power in all of these spell casters, they could not overcome the strike. The black spell grasped the magical residue, followed it with unerring accuracy. The echoes of past spells could not be extinguished fast enough to escape the fury of the overpowering retaliation. A dozen spell casters dropped to the ground, dead in but an instant.

Holli felt the loss. Her connection to the other magic casters in Pinesway allowed her to oversee the battle, to conduct her strategies. It also enabled her to sense their death. In that instant, she also understood the brilliance of the overall plan.

"That is why they attacked the way they did," the elf guard said to herself. "Someone out there wanted us to cast spells at the invaders, to create a magical trail that could be used against us."

Knowing the strategy, however, did little to comfort her. Utilizing the remnants of spells as a conduit for an attack required powerful focus and control. Holli realized that all of the dark creatures that surrounded Pinesway, including the rock beetles that had already perished, were nothing compared to the sorcerer able to devise such a spell. The goblins, river rogues, gremplings, and rock beetles were less than distractions, they were expendable tools, and they were used as such.

She directed an immediate order to the surviving magic casters at her disposal.

"Break all links to any existing spells!"

This, of course, would also break the ties she established to communicate her orders. She would not be able to coordinate the fight-debilitating, but necessary, for if they allowed any lingering spell connection, it would be used against them all.

Holli's perception of the town went blank. All sight spells dissolved as did her link to every other sorceress and wizard in Pinesway. Her awareness was limited to what she could see and hear from her current position, which was very little. She ran outside and scanned the town in hopes of regrouping her forces. She saw no one.

"Where is Heteera?" she fumed.

There was, however, no sign of her or Jure. The streets remained empty. Her options dwindled. She did not wish to move far from her command post, as she needed Heteera at her side if they were to have any chance at defeating the new threat that surely stalked them all. If she ventured too far, she might not locate Jure until it was too late.

At the same time, she did not wish to abandon the other spell casters. They would need direction or they would be picked off one by one. The spell links had been broken, but a dark sorcerer of such significant power had many ways to search the town.

As an elf guard, she immediately realized that indecision was her greatest enemy. The battle had turned and she faced a defining moment. Wars were won or lost during such critical periods. She would not fail due to uncertainty.

Though her magical reserves remained low, she utilized almost all she had left for one spell. She did not create links to any other spell casters to send her message. Instead, she forced her thoughts out through the town for all to hear regardless of their connection to the magic.

"Do not attack! Reserve all of your power for defensive spells. Fall back against any foe. Abandon the town, but only if necessary."

She then sent a second message. It was directed at one individual, but again, every one in and around Pinesway would hear it.

"Jure, find her, get back here, and prepare to use her, if necessary."

Her orders given, she waited for what she believed was the inevitable assault. She knew she had left herself open for an attack. The dark sorcerer could easily use her last spell of communication to send powerful magic back upon her. She understood that when she cast the spell. She didn't intend to die, but she knew there might be little choice in the matter. If she did, she hoped Jure was as strong as she believed.

#

"I wish to talk to you," the muscular man with dirty blonde hair, a large nose, and sunken eyes commanded as he appeared directly in front of Neltus.

Neltus pulled to a halt from his slow trot. He had heard Holli's order and accepted it as an invitation to leave. He had seen the attack of black magic on a nearby wizard. He had no intention of suffering a similar fate. He was going to abandon the town immediately, because in his eyes, it was necessary-necessary for him to survive.

"I know you're leaving, and that's exactly what I want," the stranger announced to a silent Neltus. "There are, however, a few things I must know, and so, your exit must be delayed."

Neltus didn't like taking orders, but it seemed as if lately no matter where he turned, another more powerful spell caster was making demands. He believed the man before him was responsible for the sudden change in fortunes in Pinesway, and if that was the case, he didn't want to cross him. Before making any further decisions, he decided to confirm his suspicions.

"You cast that spell, the one that killed the others, didn't you?" Neltus finally asked cautiously.

"I did. I could have killed you as well. It would have been easy. That spell you cast-the one that vibrated the land-quite a spell, but quite a trail as well. You left a wake of magical energy back to you that a blind man could have followed, but I decided I wanted you to live."

The last statement was offered not as a gift, but more of a declaration of the dark sorcerer's desires. It was as if his verdicts formed reality.

Neltus was of course thankful, but suspicious.

"Why?"

"Because you impressed me."

Again, it didn't sound as if it was meant to be a compliment, and certainly not offered for the purpose of flattering Neltus. It was more of a statement of fact than anything else.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Ansas," the sorcerer replied as he looked Neltus over like a cow at an auction. He then shrugged, as if Neltus' physical appearance did not match the dark sorcerer's expectations. Continuing, he offered more information, but all the while regarding Neltus as nothing more than a simple diversion and worth little consideration. Even as he spoke, he looked about the town with a sense of detachment. "Baannat asked me to remove the pathetic force of magic casters in this abandoned town and then take the eastern plains."

"You willingly do Baannat's bidding?"

This remark provoked a bit more emotion from Ansas, and he quickly placed his full attention on Neltus, something Neltus found extraordinarily unsettling.

"I willingly do my own bidding. He asked me, he didn't order me. You should pay closer attention."

Neltus wanted to leave it at that, but he felt as if he needed to explain himself.

"No offense, but you came here as part of Baannat's army."

"I came here to test my power. It was my time. Baannat simply created an opportunity. I chose to embrace that opportunity. Nothing more and nothing less." Ansas then regarded Neltus with a spark of impatience. "Enough of that. I'm here because I have questions for you, not the other way around."

Neltus bowed his head in submission and waited, offering no further word until spoken to.

"Why did you agree to join this group?"

"It was that or die," Neltus answered without hesitation.

"You don't expect me to believe that they threatened to kill you if you didn't join them, do you? They don't act in that manner."

"No, I thought Baannat would kill me. If he won, he would wipe out all the spell casters."

"And that was your incentive to join this group, to take orders from an inferior elf witch, and to place yourself in jeopardy? If you're going to reply with absurdities, then my impression of you will quickly diminish even further."

"It's not absurd! Baannat was sending forces into the desert. He was looking to conquer the eastern plains. Look at what happened here. Look at you! You were sent here to destroy the other spell casters. You revealed as much only a moment ago. Any one that might be a threat to Baannat's power would be removed. Every capable spell caster would die!"

"Am I going to die?" Ansas asked.

Neltus paused as he considered the question. Before him was a very powerful sorcerer who had clearly taken a stake in Baannat's game. He couldn't imagine why.

"I don't know," Neltus admitted.

"I assure you, I am not. I understand death better than anyone. Death does not wait for those who side with Baannat."

"What does wait?"

"Opportunity."

Neltus never considered that as a plausible alternative. It interested him and he wondered if he might profit from it.

"Are you offering me something?"

The dark sorcerer laughed, as if he heard a slightly humorous tale. "I've already decided to let you live, so I'm offering you nothing. I'm just curious about you. You have far more power than the elf witch, yet you bend to her will. That's only mildly surprising because you do so out of self preservation. I understand that now. And despite your abilities, there is one even more powerful than you who also defers to the elf."

"His name is Jure," Neltus confirmed. "He casts near white magic in a perfect circle."

Ansas shrugged. "And I cast pure black magic in a perfect circle. I would not submit to the elf witch, why does he? Why do you? Are you actually afraid of her?"

"I'm afraid of Enin," Neltus admitted. It was difficult to state, but it was the truth, and he was not willing to risk angering the dark sorcerer with lies.

"Enin is no longer a threat," Ansas revealed.

"How is that possible?"

"An error in judgment. He is trapped in Baannat's new existence. Take a lesson in that, Neltus. The truth is that Baannat is also trapped in that existence. Not to the same extent, but he can only project a portion of his will into a purely physical realm."

"How do you know this?"

"As I said, I cast in pure black magic. I understand death. Baannat controls the dark creatures because he offers something beyond their grasp, a chance of existence without consequence, but they are fools. There are always consequences. They grasp at the unattainable."

"So why are you here?"

"As I said, I wish to test my powers. I have already done so successfully in so many ways. Even now, the elf witch waits for her death at my hand. I could easily accommodate her, but there is no challenge in that." Ansas frowned. "And yet again, you are asking the questions. You really do not listen well, do you?"

"No, I do not. My apologies."

"Then listen carefully now. I understand now why you're here, and I accept it. I wish you to leave immediately. You don't have to worry about Enin or the elf, or Jure, or even Baannat. You are clearly not my equal, but you have power I find intriguing. You have remained true to the pureness of your true calling. The crimson energy cannot match the strength of ebony power, but it is a hue I respect. It is for that reason alone I will let you leave."

Neltus did not argue the sentiment. He simply bowed and continued his escape from Pinesway.

#

"You had to hear her, everyone did. You can't just hide here."

Jure had found Heteera crouched down behind a broken counter of an old general store. The sign had fallen into the dirt just outside the front door, but it remained legible. The shelves had long since been emptied of everything that was of any use or value. The only items that remained upon them were spiders, broken glass, and dust.

Heteera would not look up at Jure. She just stared at the grimy floor. She didn't wish to acknowledge him. She did not like him. He was so calm and certain with the magic. He had no idea what she went through, what it was like to have the energy flow within like a raging river that could not be contained or controlled.

"Well?" he pressed.

"Yes, I heard her, but I can't go."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't control it."

"You don't have to control it. Leave that to Holli."

Heteera exploded. She jumped up from behind the counter and bore into Jure with venom in her stare.

"She can't control it, either! She tried once before and it made things worse!"

Jure's expression turned to stone. Just as Heteera did not like him, he had no great admiration for her… and certainly no respect. She had immense power, but she was weak-weak in will-and it limited her true potential. She viewed control over the magic as simply an inherent quality, one that could not be obtained or enhanced through focus and determination. She was wrong. He was proof of that.

"You're coming with me. Holli will use your energy and you will allow it."

"Why? Because you say so? I'm not going to listen to you."

White energy bubbled around her as her anger grew. She made her threat clear, she would cast all her power at him before she agreed to follow him anywhere.

Jure responded with a display of his own. A circle of energy formed around him. It danced around his entire body, swaying and rolling in perfect rotations. The energy glistened white, but not as pure as Heteera's. A hint of blue stained it ever so slightly, but even that small imperfection could not dampen the truth.

The magic that surrounded Jure moved entirely at his whim. The perfection of the circle remained undeniable. The depth of his magical energy might not match hers, but his control remained far superior.

"Yes, you will listen. I may not be able to tap into energy that is open to you, but I control what is within me. If I have to force you, I will, and all of the power that is within you won't be enough to stop me."

Heteera cringed. He was right, she could not defeat him. His focus was beyond her, and though he did not cast with pure white magic, it was close enough to offset anything she could throw at him. Unwilling to risk a confrontation she believed would end badly for her, she attempted to restrain the magic, to pull it back within her.

To her growing dismay, the energy flowing freely would not be so easily contained. She fought to suppress it, but it surged around Heteera, burned white hot. It began to pulsate on its own, fighting against the sorceress' will. In one bright flash, a large portion of the freed magic exploded outward.

Three walls of the store shattered into pieces. The fourth wall fell over flat. Shelves broke apart and flew in every direction. The enormous piles of upended dust created a brown cloud that followed the wave of power out into the empty streets.

The explosion did not harm Jure, did not touch him in any fashion. The white ring of magic that surrounded him deflected the explosion of force away from his being. It did, however, bring clarity to the situation. He knew Heteera was more of a potential threat than a possible benefit to their cause.

Heteera stared at the destruction. Her head drooped downward upon her shoulders as she felt absolute failure fall upon her. As she finally contained the remaining force within her-which was still substantial enough to destroy the entire town as it destroyed the store-she pointed out her own failings as further reason for him to leave her alone.

"Did you see? There's too much power."

"And that's why we need you," Jure stated. "You will help us, but I realize you are right. It will take more than you can offer on your own."

Right or wrong, he didn't ask for her consent. He knew if he did, it would serve to warn her, and her power might offset his attempt. He quickly developed the spell in his mind and cast it upon hers.

Heteera failed to react. Before she even understood what he was doing, a wall of magic formed between her consciousness and the magical energy within her. The very meaning of existence changed for her.

She remained in control of her body. She could speak and she could move. Her arms and legs moved as they always did. An untrained eye would have noticed absolutely nothing different in her condition, but she could no longer tap into the magic within and around her in any fashion.

Beyond that, the wall hampered her in other ways. All of her creativity shutdown. The barrier cut off her imagination. If she had been asleep, she would not dream. The world around her turned black and white, no color existed in anything she saw. Her emotions dried up as well. She felt no sadness, no joy, no fear, no delight. Physically, she remained as she was, but mentally, she went numb.

Jure sighed. Looking at her, she appeared capable of completing any menial task, but there was a vacancy within her. The dilemma painted her expression with complete indifference. With the wall intact in her mind, she had lost her will as well as her insecurities. With that, he had accomplished exactly what he set out to do. She was now a reservoir of vast energy, energy that could be tapped and utilized against their enemies. He guided her back toward Holli.

#

"So you instructed your forces to go on the defensive?" Ansas asked out of simple curiosity-nothing more. "Would you care to explain the tactical reasoning behind that decision?"

Holli had expended nearly all of her energy. What remained available to her could not scorch a garden spider. She was also alone when Ansas appeared. Jure and Heteera remained out of her sight. All she could do was delay the dark sorcerer who simply walked up to her and introduced himself.

"You demonstrated the ability to cast a deadly spell utilizing faint trails of previous magic incantations," Holli offered, as if speaking to an opposing general regarding strategies of a past conflict. "I had to break my connection with them or you could have used it as a path to every spell caster here."

"That doesn't really answer the question," Ansas stated with a hint of impatience. He walked past the elf guard with complete disregard. He looked into the home overflowing with trees from the spell Holli cast to destroy the rock beetles.

"Nice," he allowed. He then examined the steps leading up to the house. Without looking up, he demanded greater explanation. "I asked why you put your forces on the defensive, not why you cut off your communications."

"Without the proper links of communication, I lacked the ability to coordinate any counter attack against you. I left them vulnerable. When attack is no longer a viable option, the focus must turn to defense and possible retreat."

Ansas sat down on a wooden step and picked at a weed. He inspected it as if it held more importance than the elf he questioned.

"Your conclusion is sound, but I don't agree with your premise. Attack remained viable. There are still a great many sorcerers and wizards within the town, though one of your more powerful has left."

"Neltus?"

"Yes. Anyway, you could have ordered the others to attack any threat at will. I passed many of them on my way to you. They are all very powerful, not that it would have helped them, but they could have caused me to expend energy."

"An uncoordinated attack against a superior opponent is hardly ever the best strategy. I would lose assets."

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice assets to weaken an opponent."

"Only if you can weaken him sufficiently that it creates opportunities for attack. Otherwise, it is a waste."

"And you don't like to waste resources?"

"I'm defending an abandoned town with limited assets. My opponent-and I'm referring to Baannat, not you-appears to have near unlimited resources."

"You think Baannat is the true threat?"

"He sent you."

It was the second time Ansas was accused of being nothing more than a stooge for the slink ghoul. He was growing tired of that assertion.

"Only because I wished to come."

Holli considered the full meaning of Ansas' reply and wished to confirm the underlying significance.

"You could have refused?"

"Absolutely."

"Interesting."

"In what way?"

Holli explained fully, without concealing her theories. The truth would not assist her adversary, and it would buy her additional time.

"Enin went out searching for the most powerful spell casters in the land. He sought out those who would be able to offset powerful enemies. You are clearly a capable sorcerer. If you were not under Baannat's influence, I would have thought Enin would have contacted you. He did not, for he told me that no one denied his request to assist Pinesway. Enin must have sensed you were already under Baannat's power."

Ansas sighed. Dealing with such petty observations was clearly beneath him. He threw away the weed in his hand and then occupied himself by strumming his fingers on the wood step he sat upon. He explained not out of a desire to clarify things to Holli, but out of a hope to escape boredom.

"Perhaps your mentor did not fully explore all the possibilities. Enin went into the desert looking for spell casters. I left the desert. It was not the right place for my power. I went into the dark realm to fully concentrate on the black energy. It was only there, in a place without light and without hope, that I could keep my focus on my inherent elemental bond."

Holli quickly discounted the explanation.

"Enin would have known about you no matter where you were, even if you were hiding in another dimension."

"Is that so? He seemed to miss Baannat's return until it was too late. He's also made other mistakes. He blundered into Baannat's trap pretty easily. So much for your infallible mentor."

All points were true, and though it stung Holli to admit it, Enin had made his fair share of errors. This probably contributed to Ansas' confidence. Holli decided to test that conviction.

"And maybe you have also blundered into one of Baannat's traps."

"I don't feel trapped."

"That doesn't mean you haven't made a similar miscalculation."

"How so?"

"You are here because you said you wished to be here. Baannat could have known that and used it to manipulate you to get what he wants."

"And what does he want?"

"What all evil creatures want; to create havoc, to instill fear, to dominate for their own amusement."

"A rather simplistic viewpoint. Let me give you some insight. Evil creatures want to separate themselves from consequence, but force it on others. That's what they really want. They want to be able to do whatever they want, when they want, how they want, and they don't want to be judged or forced to pay for their actions. On the other hand, if someone crosses them, they want to exact the full measure of retribution. An inconsistent application of consequence-that is the true definition of evil."

"And you have killed many spell casters today. Should you face the consequences of that action, or are you evil as well?"

"Again, you oversimplify. I am more than willing to face the consequences of my actions, but my actions are not intended to simply kill spell casters. I wish to test my abilities. I didn't stalk the weak, or the unaware. I placed my talents against dozens of wizards and sorcerers fully prepared for battle. I tested my strategies against yours-a trained elf guard being mentored by the most powerful wizard in the land. I didn't walk into a schoolyard and pick on a group of toddlers. You don't think I was prepared for the consequences if I failed?"

"I think your confidence might preclude you from the concept of failure."

Ansas nodded. "I like that. You argue the issues well… but you are incorrect. I am not so arrogant that I believe I am invulnerable. The situation before me presents an adequate test-a test that is about to get more interesting."

The dark sorcerer nodded to the two individuals walking toward them.

"Your cohorts have arrived before I eliminated you, just as you hoped. I knew you were stalling, but I wanted to wait for this Jure to return as well, so I humored you."

Before Jure and Heteera reached them, Ansas stood up. He carefully brushed the dust off his pants and moved a few paces off to Holli's side. When he was done, he concentrated his attention upon Heteera. He raised his eyebrows with interest.

"What's the woman's name?" he demanded.

Holli did not answer.

"Oh come now," Ansas sighed. "I humored you. You should be equal to the task."

"Heteera." Holli finally responded.

Ansas then questioned Jure.

"Interesting spell. Is it a struggle to maintain it?"

Jure looked to Holli before answering.

"Answer him," Holli advised, "tell him the truth. We owe him that much. He could have killed me."

"I'm still going to kill you," Ansas noted before Jure could reply, "so don't let that be the only reason."

"Then let it be for honor. You may simply pretend to acknowledge it, but that does not mean I will not reciprocate. I do not consider it 'humoring' you."

Jure eyed both Holli and Ansas carefully. He could not guess as to what they were discussing, but he found their exchange discomforting. Still, Holli had ordered him to speak the truth, and so he would.

"No, it's not a struggle. The wall in her mind draws from her own energy. I just had to place it there. My control constructed it, her power maintains it."

"I like it, but why did you do it? She would be interesting to observe under stress without the wall. She's like a battering ram with no specific target. You should have turned her on me. She might have gotten lucky. I think she might actually have the power to defeat me."

"She still might."

"So you're planning to tap into her power? Interesting ploy, but what's to stop me from doing the same."

"She won't allow it," Holli replied, but suddenly wondered about the soundness of their strategy, and Ansas punctuated that concern.

"How is she going to stop me now? Your wizard subordinate here walled off her will from the energy. She's an open well."

It was Jure who replied, "Try to tap into it now."

Ansas didn't care for the challenging tone and eyed Jure suspiciously. "You seem a bit too eager for that."

"I'm eager to see you fail, that's all."

Not appreciating the insult, Ansas pressed forward and attempted to tap into the magical energy that Heteera provided. He would only draw upon the ebony power, but Heteera was an open conduit to great pools of magic. He could not, however, break through the wall that Jure constructed.

"I might be satisfied in allowing others to determine the course of our actions, but I'm not going to be responsible for losing to the likes of you," Jure stated. "I had a feeling someone like you was out there waiting for us. Interfering with our sight spells was a dead give away. Knowing that, did you really think I'd create an open pool of magic for anyone to utilize? Not going to happen. For you to get through to Heteera's magic, you'd have to break through the wall and the only way to do that is to defeat me."

Holli stepped up and stood at Heteera's side, bringing the three of them together.

"Not just him… all of us. You'll have to defeat the three of us."

Ansas then looked toward Holli. "I should have killed you immediately."

"Seems as if you are not infallible, either."

Holli quickly cast a spell that linked the three of them together. Ansas would now face the combined power of three magic casters as the elf guard brought together their greatest strengths: Heteera's vast energy, Jure's control, and her own determination.

Responding in kind, Ansas attempted to break them apart. An ebony ring formed over his head, but quickly swung over Heteera and dropped down upon her like a dark curtain thrown over her body.

Heteera gasped. She could inhale, but not exhale. Her lungs filled up, but the pressure could not be released. Her eyes bulged and she pressed her hands frantically against her chest. She could not speak, she could not even cough.

Holli whispered an order to Jure through their mental connection.

"Help her."

As Heteera dropped to her knees, Jure pulled fortitude and strength from Holli. He then pressed that resolve into Heteera. Utilizing that determination and pulling on the reserves of magic within Heteera, he used his own focus to grasp hold of the edges of Ansas' spell. With one deliberate discharge, he tore the enveloping curtain away.

Heteera heaved a mighty exhale in absolute relief. She staggered back to her feet with the help of both Holli and Jure. She remained dazed, but conscious, and that was all that was needed.

Quickly moving to prevent further damage, Jure directed his own energy into a point of concentration between himself, Heteera, and Holli. He shaped the power and it pulled energy from all three. He could feel Holli's will maintaining the links and he dug deeper into harnessing Heteera's power. The combination narrowed his control finer than it had ever been and allowed him to tap into power he never before could sense.

A true ring of power encircled the three. It shined a perfect white, with not even the faintest stain of blue. Jure had obtained complete control over all the facets of magic and his tendency towards sapphire energy faded.

Instead of attacking Ansas, he placed a shield around himself, Holli, and Heteera. He would not allow the dark sorcerer another opportunity to focus a spell on only one of them. He would have to break through the shield, and that would mean defeating their combined power.

Ansas restrained any immediate attempt to attack as he studied the defensive field around the three.

"Proud of yourself?" Ansas posed.

Jure did not answer immediately. He waited for direction from Holli. She said nothing, but he could sense her desires. She wanted him to distract the dark sorcerer as she tapped into Heteera's power for her own purposes.

"Actually, yes I am," Jure finally replied. "I have achieved a pure white circle. Even with the help of others, that is something to respect."

"I don't respect it."

"I don't believe you're that foolish."

"You are the fool. You believe that casting in white gives you power over all the elements, including ebony energy, but you are wrong in that regard. A sorcerer that seeks only to deal in dark magic is not open to the weaknesses of the other elements."

"Weaknesses?In the energy itself? The elemental power is different from hue to hue, but there is no weakness in the purity of one aspect."

"But there is, and deep down, you know it. Blue water can douse orange fire. Brown can whither green. Yellow light chases away gray shadow. Purple storm can redirect blue water. Yes, you cast in white, which means you open yourself to every weakness of each color."

"Are you saying you have no weaknesses at all?"

"No, but I have remained pure in my magical intent. I have kept myself clean of other hues, and so, I do not share those inherent flaws. My weakness is limited where yours is not."

"Let's see if that's true."

Jure took greater hold of his connection with Holli. He opened himself not only to her determination, but also to the emerald energy that was her natural element. He pulled from her a greater understanding of the energy and cast a new attack.

Another ring of white formed over the three, but it quickly turned a bright and crisp green, like the new growth extending from the branches of a healthy spruce tree. Jure immediately took control of the swirling green energy and directed it to the ground in front of him.

The dirt roads of Pinesway were no longer traveled by merchant carts or farmers' wagons. Weeds had sprung up along many of the side alleys and even in places along the main streets. These weeds responded quickly to Jure's spell.

The plants took off in a wild spurt of spectacular growth. They quickly grew around Ansas' feet. They wrapped around his ankles and then sprung up towards his knees. They reached for his arms, but they could not move fast enough.

The dark sorcerer pressed his fingers against his temples. A pure black circle of magic formed around his throat like a necklace. It oozed thick black sludge that ran down his chest and back. It did not stain his shirt, but instead, slid quickly off like droplets of water skimming down a well oiled metal sheet.

When the black liquid hit the plants wrapped about his legs, it smeared every leaf, every stem, and every blade. The ebony sludge choked the weeds back down to the ground and Ansas stepped out of the dying mass with a shrug of indifference.

"You chose to attack with the life of nature. I chose to defend with suffocating death. The weakness of your spell was easy to expose. Now let us see about your other weaknesses."

Ansas called once more upon the ebony power and a grand black circle formed at his wrists. He flashed his hands outward and a dark flash of lightning speared toward Jure's chest.

The defensive shield of white power surrounding all three absorbed the spell, but not without consequence. The pure white energy sizzled and smoked. The shield held, but a slight gray stain remained visible. The three magic casters appeared as if they were placed under a shadow.

"The power you steal from the woman is vast," Ansas allowed, "but now your control weakens. Even you must admit that now your shield is vulnerable to an amber casting that would shatter it with little effort."

"But you don't cast yellow light."

"That's not the point. I was able to weaken your shield with nothing more than black lightning."

"The shield remains. That's all I care about. And what if I attack with an ebony spell of my own? I have equal power over all the hues, including black energy," Jure challenged. "Would we cancel each other out, or would I outlast you since I can tap into Heteera's deep pools of magic?"

"You can try if you wish, but you could not possibly hope to overcome me if we both cast in black. My focus is pure, yours is not. The difference is subtle to be sure. It is the difference between the darkest of gray and black. It often cannot even be seen, but it can be felt."

Once more, Holli communicated through her link to Jure.

"Keep him talking, this may be important."

Jure acknowledged the directive with a nod, but otherwise kept his attention upon Ansas.

"But my casting would not be gray. It would be as rooted in the ebony magic as any spell of yours."

"And that is where your logic fails. You cannot possibly have full control over dark magic because you open yourself to the other elements, thus you lose the complete immersion needed to understand the true base of the element. You can cast in black as well as in any color, that much is true, but you can never fully immerse yourself in the ebony power for the very same reason. Black is more than death, as aspects of death can be found in brown. Black is more than shadow, for gray can find the elements of shadow as well. Black is beyond change, as all hues can be mixed into new ones. The totality of ebony magic is its ability to darken every other color without exception. Do you understand? There is no other magical force that can match my power in that one regard."

"That's it? You can darken other elements, and that somehow gives you an advantage? By the same token, white magic can lighten all other elements. What's the difference?"

"The difference is clear. Dark magic overpowers weaknesses. Light magic softens it, and that is the difference between life and death."

Jure scoffed at the definition.

"You're wrong. You may understand death, and that may give you some greater insight of life, but it's limited."

Ansas didn't appreciate being insulted and his tone revealed his growing annoyance. "And yours is not?"

"Not in the same way, no. You know where Baannat is, I can tell. I've been probing his existence-and non-existence-as well. I've seen not only what is between life and death, but also the edges of each. You think your focus on the dark element gives you some kind of advantage? That's arrogance. Death is a gateway, a door to something larger, larger than me and certainly larger than you. Shadow is a break in light, nothing more. Change is a byproduct of every struggle, no matter how great or how small. You say your energy is this and much more. You believe you can overpower every other element because you have remained pure. Nonsense. You have limited yourself, that's all you've accomplished."

"You're right!"

It was not Ansas who made this startling remark but Holli, and she said it aloud for even Ansas to hear.

"You wish to add something to our conversation, elf?"

"Only this; if your strength is based on overpowering your foes, then all we need to do is reflect your power back upon you."

"Reflection!" Jure agreed. "Of course."

He slapped his hands together and shattered the shield that surrounded them. Before Ansas could attack during their moment of vulnerability, he cast another spell. This time he drew on the blue energy that was his initial focus of power. The spell, however, was very simple in construction.

A dome of still water took shape almost immediately, water pulled from the very air. The dome fell upon the dark sorcerer and surrounded him completely. It was not, however, stagnant. Like river currents or mighty waterfalls, the liquid hastened to react to the movement it was anchored to, and it was anchored to Ansas. It moved as he moved, followed him wherever he might step, the walls always keeping just out of touch.

"What have you done?" the dark sorcerer demanded.

"Trapped you," Holli responded. "That's what he's done."

Ansas called on the ebony magic one last time, he pressed the dark energy against the walls of water, but it only flew back at him, discharged its power in a cataclysmic blast, causing him great pain.

"I wouldn't do that again," Jure advised. "It's a simple reflection pool spell. It's not really all that sturdy. It can be disbursed with a storm spell or even evaporated with air or fire, but you won't cast those, will you? You don't want to break your purity. But if you keep casting black energy at it, it will only reflect back at you. The more you try to overpower it, the more it's going to hurt."

"You can't possibly hope to hold me with such a pathetic spell."

"Normally, no. It takes a great deal of power to maintain it around you. If it were just me, it would dissolve in moments, but I'm drawing from two others as well, and Heteera is a vast pool of energy."

Ansas remained unconvinced. He threw spell after spell at the blue walls that surrounded him. Black energy exploded within the enclosed space. Each blast forced a scream of agony from the dark sorcerer. He ignored the pain, but only for so long. The strength of his own fury battered him both physically and magically.

Jure and Holli watched the display and carefully monitored the flow of magic from Heteera that powered the prison surrounding Ansas. The outpouring of energy reached staggering levels, but Heteera's pool of magic renewed itself simultaneously. The reflective spell would hold against the onslaught.

One last shriek of pain from Ansas signaled the end. Holli and Jure could only see his shadow through the dome of water, but they didn't need to see his expression. By his movements, they knew he had surrendered.

"Are you ready to face the consequences of your actions?" Holli asked.

"What is it you propose?" Ansas replied after a long pause.

"Over time, we could probably destroy you. We could cast spells at you that would leave the dome intact, but hammer at you no end. You would eventually succumb. Heteera offers us more than enough reserves to break you. You would have two choices: you could accept death or you could cast a spell outside of the ebony energy to break the reflective walls. That, however, would end the purity of your black power."

"Then I choose death."

"Let me offer you a third choice, one that will allow you to maintain your much beloved purity. Agree to remove the dark creatures under your control from these lands, bring them back to the dark realm. Go with them and vow to remain in the dark realm. You would be banished forever, but your purity would endure. Your choice. The consequences are but a result of that choice."

Holli was not surprised when Ansas vowed to return to the dark realm and bring along every dark creature under his command.

Chapter 32

"Very Interesting," Baannat allowed. "That wizard you found in the desert is quite capable. First, he wins the day for the algors by killing a thrastil. To follow that up, he joins with your little elf witch and defeats what I thought was a far superior sorcerer."

"So even from here you face defeat," Enin noted.

"Defeat? That's almost funny. I told you I didn't care what happened in that pathetic town or in the desert."

"I know you said that," Enin argued, doing his best to keep Baannat's attention centered on him rather than Linda, "but you also made it quite clear you wanted to take the eastern plains and the western coast. Or, are you dismissing them as irrelevant as well?"

Baannat tilted his head as if bewildered, then let out a furious giggle that sounded like an evil child enjoying a devious act.

"I'll take them over eventually," the ghoul finally responded through several snorts. "Time is now on my side. I have all that I need. Your home is now my little sandbox and I can play in it whenever I wish."

"So delays and defeats don't matter to you? I find that hard to believe."

"Delays?Defeats? When have I faced either? I have enjoyed one victory after another where it really counted. You have to remember what was important. What I really wanted was to get you, the woman, and the delver under my control. I already have two thirds of that complete, and the final piece of the puzzle will fall right into place."

"The delver might yet surprise you."

"He's already on his way here. He cares too much about the woman."

Enin cursed to himself as he realized the ghoul's attention was turned exactly where he didn't want it to go.

As if to confirm Enin's concerns, Baannat moved back to Linda. He took great delight in tormenting her. He knew Enin shared in her pain to lessen it, but that just meant he tortured both at the same time. He could increase the torment at will if he felt she wasn't suffering quiet enough.

"How does that make you feel, woman? Maybe you're proud? Your brave protector is going to give up everything just for you. Does that make you feel all warm inside? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. He's really not doing it for you. Oh, he says he is and you, of course, believe it, but it's not really the truth. You see, he's doing it for the reason all humans-and delvers-do things, he's doing it for himself."

Surprisingly, Baannat did not explain himself further, at least not immediately. He let the thought burn in Linda's mind as he turned away from her and placed his attention back on Enin.

"As for you, brother, I'm curious about you. How does it feel to be helpless? I'm betting you got terribly used to feeling all powerful. You were like a god. You could do anything, so much so that at one point you actually chose to do nothing. You were so powerful, you were afraid to interfere in people's lives. You thought they would start to depend on you. Good thing they don't. Oh, I forgot, you changed your ways. You did get involved and now they do depend on you."

"I only helped them, I did not takeover for them. There is a difference."

"Not to them. You restored their confidence. That's what they needed, and that's what they depend on. They started looking to you as the great protector, and look at you now. How do you think the people of Connel would feel if they could see you here? They'd realize a startling truth. You can't protect them and that's what they wanted most. It's what you wanted most."

"The people survived without me before, they will do so again."

"Only if I let them. You didn't want any harm to come to this new city of yours. That's why you put your little magic casters in the abandoned town. Don't you think I knew that? It doesn't matter. I can take Pinesway… I can take the eastern plains… I can take Connel. You can't protect them anymore. You can't even protect your little friend here."

Baannat charged back at Linda and slashed at her with his claws just to drive the point home. He laughed almost uncontrollably, but only until a sneer wiped away his maniacal smile.

"I didn't forget you, woman. I told you that your dear delver was coming here and I told you he was doing it for himself. I know you don't believe me, but let me explain so that even you can't question it. What is it that pains you most? My claws or the thought of Ryson Acumen facing the same pain?"

Linda didn't want to consider the question. She couldn't speak, so she couldn't answer even if she wanted to, but she had no desire to play the ghoul's game. She tried to flood her awareness with other thoughts, press Baannat from her mind, but he wouldn't allow it.

His form exploded with blistering radiance before her, lighting up the surrounding shadows, making himself the only true focal point for her attention. He screamed at her with lust for her agony.

"You don't want the delver to suffer! That is your true pain! What would be the best thing he could do for you? He can't save you, you know that. Do you want him to join you in suffering? Of course not, it would make everything worse for you! He doesn't care. All he's thinking about is how he left you. He has his own guilt. He thinks he's responsible for your suffering, so it has become his pain, and that's what he wants to get rid of. I told you he was doing it for himself."

The emotional pain erupted in Linda. She knew Baannat was tormenting her, twisting the truth into lies so that she could suffer. Still, the words as well as the meaning behind them tore at her soul.

Baannat fed on her pain.

"Don't you see, woman? It's so simple. You're going to blame your pitiful delver for coming in here trying to save you. And what do you think he's going to do? He's going to blame you for getting trapped in here in the first place. Do you want to know what he's really going to think? He's going to ask himself over and over why you just didn't let the caelifera eat you alive. That would have been better."

Enin tried to force his will past Baannat's. He pressed his own words into Linda's mind.

"You will not blame each other, Linda. You know that."

Baannat pressed Enin aside.

"Of course you will blame each other. You already do that. I can read your thoughts here, read your fears. You blame each other for everything. You actually blame him for being a delver, don't you?"

She wanted to deny it with all her heart. She wanted to scream "NO!" but she could not find a voice to speak.

"If he wasn't a delver, he wouldn't always put himself in danger. You wouldn't be here and he wouldn't have to save you. You actually hate him for what he is. Don't you find that amusing?"

There was nothing amusing about it to Enin. Once more he fought past the slink ghoul and entered Linda's thoughts.

"Everything he says is a lie. You are with Ryson because he is what he is. You know that. Even Baannat knows that. Ryson just wants to be with you, to save you and he will go through any pain to make it so."

"Isn't that wonderful for the delver, but what does it do for the woman?" Baannat demanded. "His pain will become her pain. We all know that. If he enters this place, he does so to remove his own guilt and make her pain that much worse."

"Don't listen to him. He's just trying to use Ryson against you."

"I don't have to use the delver against her. She does it all herself. If she could speak to the delver at this moment, what would she say? She would tell him to stay away. You know that's true, so do I… so does she. Yet, he will come here anyway. He wouldn't listen to her because it's her fault she's here."

"No, it's my fault!" Enin proclaimed. "And it's my fault Ryson will be here. Linda, that one thing must remain true to you.

"Go ahead, brother. Take all the blame. She already blames you for sending her to the mountains. She can't say it, but she knows it's true. You are projecting yourself into her consciousness. Search her thoughts. You will find the blame there."

Enin didn't dig for Linda's thoughts. He didn't have to. Baannat was right. Linda did blame Enin for sending her to the mountains. He forced them apart. Enin's intentions were honorable, but what did that matter?

Enin almost broke away from Linda, but beyond her superficial blame there was a deeper emotion, one of self torment. She blamed herself more than anyone. The wizard hung unto Linda's consciousness with all his might. He tried to breakthrough to her again, but her own torment prevented it.

Images and memories swirled in Linda's thoughts. She recalled the journey with Ryson to the mountains. Ryson gave her another chance. He said they should run off, but she refused. She agreed to Enin's suggestion of separation, a separation that would bring them together in Baannat's realm, and then tear them apart.

Her mind reeled. Baannat was right. Ryson would blame her, and she in return would blame him. Her pain grew.

#

"I need help, Lief, and I think you're the one I need to talk to."

The apparition did not smile or frown. The spirit of Lief Woodson simply looked at Ryson expectantly, waiting for the delver to move down the right path.

"They took Linda," Ryson explained, "or are you already aware of that?"

"I'm aware of it."

"The caelifera, they took her to Baannat, didn't they?

"Yes, she's with Baannat, but she's not alone. She is with Enin."

A ray of hope.

"Is he protecting her? Can he save her?"

"No, to both questions. He is unable to do either. He has separated himself from the magical energies that give him power. He is as trapped as she is."

And just like that, the hope died.

"In the dark realm?"

"No… and yes. Their bodies remain in the dark realm, but their awareness-their very essence-is now in a completely new state of existence. It is not life or death… or even in the veil between. It is a place outside the reach of both."

More than hope was dying. Ryson worried Linda was now completely out of his reach as well.

"Can I get there… to her I mean… wherever she is?"

"The path remains open to you. Baannat wants you to enter. He's waiting for you."

Not a surprise. Dzeb warned him it was a trap. He didn't care then, and he didn't care now. He only cared about getting to Linda. Lief was telling him that was possible, but he also wanted to get her back to safety.

"Can I get them out?"

"That will depend on you."

"What do I have to do?"

"You have to believe."

Ryson looked down on the ground and exhaled heavily. He focused on his needs, and tried once more.

"That doesn't answer the question. Like I said before, I need help. I don't need some cryptic answer that Dzeb could have told me." He then looked back into the ghost's eyes. "I don't have time for this. Please, Lief, tell me what I have to do."

"Hear me out completely, I know you want to leave here as quickly as possible, but you have to realize that if you don't listen to what I have to say and find the answer, you never will. You have a chance to save both Enin and Linda, as well as yourself, do you believe that?"

"I want to believe it, that's why I'm here."

Lief considered all he knew. He had insight beyond what was available to Ryson, that was true, but he himself was still trying to grasp the events that brought him back to the physical world. He spoke with a willingness to help his friend, but also with a desire to understand the full scope of life and death.

"You can't save them if you go in as you are; blinded with anger. You won't find your answer that way."

"You mean angry at Baannat? How can I not be…"

Lief cut him off.

"You are not just angry with Baannat. It goes deeper than that."

"I know it goes deeper than that, but what's that got to do with anything?" Ryson demanded, becoming more frustrated than ever.

"And your anger builds even now. What is it you are angry at? Life?"

"Yes… maybe… I don't know. I'm angry at all of it."

"I know. I felt that same anger. Do you remember? When we first met, we argued often."

Ryson recalled the first day he met Lief Woodson. The sphere of Ingar had broken free from its tomb. It was polluting the land with tainted magic. Emotions boiled over often, that was true. There was, however, a reason for it, and Ryson made that clear.

"But Ingar's sphere was poisoning the land, especially the elves. We were all living on the edge of a knife and didn't even know it. The magic was making us quick to judgment. We all got mad… at everything. You were no different."

"But I was. What happened when the sphere was gone? The anger remained in me. I took it out on everyone and everything."

"Who can blame you? The land was changing with the magic."

"You are now defending me? You used to argue with me about my choices. You were right. I was wrong. Why are you looking at it differently now?"

Ryson looked back over his shoulder toward the badlands. Hashing out old memories wasn't getting him anywhere. He didn't want to waste time with this debate. He knew Linda was trapped somewhere out there. He wanted to get there, badly, but he needed to save her as well. Unfortunately, he was dealing with something beyond his understanding-consciousness separated from the body. All of his skills as a delver wouldn't help him resolve that struggle. He hung on to one hope… that Lief could guide him to the answer he needed, and so he answered the elf's question.

"Because I'm tired of arguing. I'm tired of struggling with everything. You were right to be angry. People let you down. Your own camp let you down. You looked at the land and saw what was happening. I'm seeing it now. The magic didn't make things easier, it made things worse."

"That is in perspective."

Ryson couldn't accept that, not at that point. Everything had fallen apart and there was no other way to look at it.

"You want perspective? Baannat has taken control of just about every dark creature. Linda is trapped somewhere with him. So is Enin. You want to tell me what good has come from any of this?"

"Individuals made choices. Some made very unselfish choices. You risked your life to help the algors. Cliff behemoths risked their lives to protect Linda."

"And they failed!"

"Did they? How so? They sacrificed much to fight off the caelifera. Linda might have been taken, but are you so willing to dismiss the cliff behemoth's intentions?"

"What are good intentions worth?"

"Everything. Far more than you could know."

"And that's what you want me to believe?"

"That's part of it, but let us to return to your anger. I've tried to explain that I was wrong. Do you understand that?"

"I don't understand anything. Right now, I think you had every right to be upset. Maybe if I listened to you, helped you kill some of these dark creatures, then none of this would have ever happened."

"No! As I said, I was wrong, and now you are in danger of going down the same path as I did. You tried to stop me, now I want to stop you."

"You want to stop me? I'm not the problem. You're a spirit. You're dead. Go talk to whoever's in charge on that side. Tell them enough is enough already. What do they want from me? Every time I turn around there's another problem, another catastrophe. Why?"

"Why not?"

"Because it's not right."

"Would you like to become the judge with final say on what is right and wrong?"

"That's not what I mean. Come on, Lief, don't you think I've been through enough?"

"And who decides what is enough? You?"

Ryson fumed. They were getting nowhere. He almost turned his back on the elf and ran off toward the badlands. That, however, meant giving up, and for Linda, he held himself for one last question.

"Why are you really here?"

Lief answered without hesitation.

"Redemption. Not to earn it, but to understand it. There is a difference, I'm beginning to see that now. You can not find redemption by fighting new battles, Enin tried to retrieve it for all the spell casters, the dwarves for themselves. They wanted to fight a dark foe to make up for past mistakes, past sins. But that's more like revenge than redemption. It doesn't work that way. You have to accept the blame and hope to be forgiven. You can't just wipe away a sin at your own will. There's no scale that will allow you to ignore the mistakes by piling acts of perceived benevolence against them."

"And that's why you're here? To find redemption?"

"I hope to, but as I have said, redemption isn't simply earned by our actions and our deeds. We reach it through our beliefs as well, through what is truly in our hearts. I now believe I returned here to learn that lesson. I have seen it as I watched the entirety of this conflict, this struggle."

Lief appeared to grow brighter. His form took on greater definition. He remained an ethereal spirit, but he almost appeared as full flesh and blood.

"You believed in me and now I wish to believe in even more," the elf spirit acknowledged. "I also wish to help you, but I realize that in itself won't bring me what I seek. I believe I have already discovered that. Now, I only have to close the book."

That sounded like an ending, and Ryson was not ready for that.

"Before you close anything, help me reach Linda."

"I will, but you must do your part. Look beyond the struggle. Look inside. There is meaning to almost everything that happens, but you have to believe. That's what I meant when I said you had to believe. Can you accept that?"

"I'll accept anything if it can save her."

"I suppose that will have to do. Let me first tell you about where Baannat is and where he is keeping Linda and Enin. Baannat found a way to cheat death… and life. He's not in the veil between life and death. He has bypassed both completely. In doing so, he's created a completely new existence.

"The followers of Godson believe in the immortality of the soul, but that exists in the spirit world. Life has always been fleeting. It ends for us all. Life, death, and a transition from one to the other leading to immortality; that is the way. Baannat, however, has used the magic and the bizarre circumstances of his death to create immortality while still clinging to life. That has led to consequences in both the spirit world and the physical plane of existence. Life, death, and the veil between remain intact, but an entirely new form of existence-or perhaps non-existence-has emerged. That is where he has trapped Linda and Enin's consciousness."

Ryson accepted the explanation. He had no way, and no desire, to question it. He only cared about one thing.

"You said I can get there. How?"

"Enin created a shadow portal that is still in existence. It is in the dark realm near the cave where you encountered Baannat when he disguised himself to appear as me. You can go through that portal and you will join Enin and Linda."

So, he could get in. That was half the battle, but he wanted more.

"How do I get out? How do I get Linda and Enin out and back in their bodies?"

Lief did not answer, and this shook the delver's confidence. He spoke a chilling truth.

"That's the problem, isn't it?" Ryson asked.

"If you make it one."

"I'm not trying to make it anything, but if Enin can't get out, how can I? How can I get all of us out?"

"By believing."

"Believing in what?"

"That the answer will come to you when you need it most."

"I need it now."

"You will need it when you step through the portal."

"That's all you can tell me?"

"That's all I know. I'm not trying to confuse you or limit what I tell you. I have given you all the information I can. I have no secrets, but I can tell you this; their souls do not deserve that fate, and so, if you believe that there are other forces at work that understand that, then you can save them. You can be the tool to bring them to freedom, but you must let it occur as it is meant to be, not as you want it to be."

"Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Just goodbye and good luck."

Ryson did not dwell on the true meaning of those words. He knew there was nothing else to be gained from the elf apparition. He had to save Linda. That was all that drove him.

"Thank you," the delver acknowledged and then sped off to the portal in the badlands.

Lief watched the trail of Ryson Acumen, his friend, fade off into the distance as the delver ran toward the end of his struggle at all possible speed. It was now time for Lief to face his own fate.

The elf ghost looked to the sky and reflected not on what he did to help the delver, and in turn to help Linda and Enin, but instead on the message he tried to deliver-the lesson he learned himself.

"Did I get it right?" he asked the skies.

As if in reply, Lief Woodson's soul streaked up to the heavens.

Chapter 33

"He's almost here!" Baannat giggled. "Isn't that wonderful? He's coming to save you, woman. Does that make you happy? Should I be scared? Maybe I should strike out at you while I still have the chance."

Baannat slashed at Linda's consciousness over and over again. He danced with glee with each slice.

The pain flashed in Linda's being as if the ghoul's claws were actually shredding her skin. There was, however, no flesh to injure, but her spirit erupted with similar agony. She wanted to scream, might have even begged for mercy, but she couldn't. There was no outlet for her, no release for the torment.

Confusion also began to overwhelm her. She wanted the pain to stop, but there was little else for her to seize. She had no other physical sensation. Her mind swelled with memories, emotions, and fears, but they lacked any tangible impression. The pain served as her connection to existence, even as it served to remind her that she had been swallowed by a state of nonexistence.

The uncertainty did not end there. She wanted to see Ryson, but then again, she didn't. Her emotions centered on the delver, that was a simple fact she could not deny, but they served as both hope and dismay. Being with him again would bring comfort to her soul, but watching him suffer at the hands of the ghoul would tear at her far worse than the ghoul's claws.

As if Baannat could sense her torment, he continued his assault by adding to her emotional chaos.

"You want him here, but you don't want him here? Is that what you're thinking? My, you are a mess. Well, let me tell you, it won't get any better for you when he does get here. He'll be as helpless as you are. And he'll feel the same pain. How much will it hurt him to see you suffer? How much will it hurt you to see him suffer? You will find out soon, very soon indeed."

"And if he does come, what then?" Enin shouted, hoping to intervene and distract the slink ghoul.

"Whatever do you mean?" Baannat asked almost innocently, but his words could not hide the snickers under his breath.

"I mean, where does it all lead? You take us prisoner, but then what?"

"I amuse myself."

"By torturing the three of us?"

"Yes!"

"That's it? You truly are just a shell of what you used to be-an empty shell at that. You must have lost a great deal of yourself if that's all that's needed to keep your mind occupied. Your power once exceeded my own. You used magic in ways others can't even imagine. You manipulated life to avoid death. And now you're just going to spend all of eternity torturing three helpless victims?"

"I certainly don't want to spend eternity listening to your pathetic attempts of diversion," the ghoul replied.

"I admit it! I'm trying to distract you, but there's truth to my point and you know it. Let's say that Ryson joins us. Now you have three of us. You've accomplished your goal. You torture us, but so what? You can't kill us."

"I don't want to kill you. I want you here with me."

"And that will be enough to keep you from drifting off into nothingness yourself? This is no trick of mine, ghoul. If you have any true recollection of what it's like to wield the magical power you once held, then you must realize I speak the truth. Your mind will go numb. It may take eons, but that's what we all face. It might come to pass that the three of us will accept the pain and torment you cause as a part of our existence. It will no longer be painful. It's you who will face oblivion first, for you will have nothing else to occupy your mind. No purpose."

"Your logic is faulty. I have other distractions to keep me occupied."

"Such as?"

"Why should I tell you, brother?"

"To prove me wrong," Enin challenged. "Don't you think Linda has already heard what I've said. I've given her hope. Dash it, if you can."

"Such an empty ploy, but I will humor you just to show you there is no hope. The very space we occupy defies both life and death. You know that now. It's too late for you to do anything about it, but you can't dispute it. It exists solely for my benefit and I will expand this new realm of mine."

"To what end? There's only the three of us? Do we need more room?"

"It's not about space. It's about control. Speaking of which, I will also conquer your precious land of Uton."

"And how do you hope to accomplish that? Your reach from this place is limited. Your power is nothing compared to what it used to be. You absorbed a great deal of magic, but you lack the depth of power and control you once had. Even I can see that. You spoke of Jure before, how he surprised you in defeating your thrastil and your dark sorcerer. Don't you think he's prepared to eliminate you if you ever ventured completely out of this new realm?"

"I don't have to leave here. I control the dark creatures. Even this Jure cannot hope to withstand a continuous onslaught."

"Continuous? How long will it truly last?"

"As long as I want."

"That's not possible and you know it. There are so many factors you're ignoring it's almost funny."

Baannat's tone changed with his demeanor. His laughs faded as he sneered toward the light that was the wizard's consciousness.

"Enlighten me."

"You admitted yourself the dark creatures are not completely under your control. They only do your bidding because you promise them something you can't possibly deliver. They wish to escape the dark realm and flee into your world. But why? They are looking for a reprieve from pain and suffering, but wish to avoid judgment. They want sanctuary without sacrifice. Do you think they can find that here?"

"What do I care what they find?"

"You should care. Once they realize your offer is an empty promise, you will lose your control over them. Your power outside of this place will diminish even further. Aside from that, there are other forces beyond us that will find this place, and you, and view both as an abomination. Do you think that you can avoid the consequences of life and death forever?"

"I already have!"

"I don't believe that. You're nothing more than a gnat right now, an insignificant bug buzzing around powers that neither you nor I can possibly comprehend. Eventually, the gnat gets noticed and when it does, it does not end well for the insect."

#

Reaching the first portal was the easy part, but Ryson did not know what to expect when he entered the dark realm. Before he stepped through the now gigantic gateway, he peered into the rift. The portal allowed a wide perspective of the hostile world, but beyond broken rocks, smoldering pits of fire, and dying trees, there was little else to see. Not even one monster guarded the other side. As Lief warned, the path was clear. It was an open invitation to the delver, and Ryson knew it.

Leaping into the portal, Ryson landed on the hard and unforgiving ground of the dark realm ready for anything. Despite the lack of guards, he remained cautious as the unkind world sparked every defensive instinct within him. He scanned the horizon, but still found no threats. He raised an ear to the oppressive hot winds. Unlike his first trip, a chilling silence greeted him from every direction. He could hear no screams in the distance, no moans of agony or vicious growls of fury. He sniffed the heavy air, but even the gut-wrenching stench of the place seemed diminished.

Ryson ignored the quiet as well as the underlying meaning of the clear path before him. If Baannat didn't want him there, the ghoul would have sent a swarm of caelifera at him. The way was open because that's exactly what Baannat wanted.

It went well beyond a clear path. Baannat was challenging him… mocking him. It wreaked of confidence and disdain. The slink ghoul knew the delver was coming and ordered the dark creatures away from the area. It was obvious… and frightening.

Thinking of Linda, Ryson ignored any consideration of turning back. He did not yet know how he was going to deal with Baannat, but he was determined to face him. The delver would not disappoint the ghoul.

Racing forward, Ryson found the ravine on memory. He did not have to rely on any trail. With the cave opening in sight, he saw two bodies on the ground below a round, gray break hovering in midair. He ignored the eerie hole that appeared nothing more than a suspended shadow, and instead, he ran to his wife.

He called to her, but she did not answer. He dropped to his knees by her side and carefully checked her condition. To his great relief, he found her alive.

To his dismay, however, she still would not respond to him. Her heart beat, she breathed, her eyes blinked, but she looked through him as if he was not there. She made no acknowledgement to his touch and no resistance to any force against her. She remained crumpled upon the ground, making no attempt to stand or even sit up.

The truth was plain. Lief warned him of what he would find. Only her body was in the dark realm. Linda's true being existed in some other place, some other dimension. Only the mechanics of her body functioned before him. Beyond that, there was no true consciousness within-no soul.

Ryson gently leaned Linda against the wall of the ravine and then tended to Enin. He checked the wizard's condition which matched Linda's. He was alive, but not aware. His body was empty.

He placed Enin's body next to Linda's and then stepped away from them. He gave them one last look, and finally peered into the shadow portal-the doorway he knew he had to enter.

He saw nothing on the other side. It was not like the rift between the dark realm and Uton. In that gateway, no matter which side he was on, he could see where it led. The strange shadow before him, however, had no clear destination. It was a simple hole in existence.

Ryson knew Linda and Enin waited beyond that rift, were held hostage by Baannat in the emptiness in front of him. He almost charged through, but he made one last consideration of his conversation with Lief.

He had asked the elf apparition if there was a way for him to defeat Baannat and to save his wife. Lief implied that an answer existed, but the elf had no more to offer than vague advice. Ryson had to believe, but believe in what?

The delver stood before the rift restraining the desire to jump in after Linda. Holding firm, he waited for some great awareness to strike him, some sort of inspiration that would guide him. The answer was supposed to come to him when he needed it most. He needed it at that very instant, needed it more than anything. If Lief was right, he would get his answer.

Nothing. His mind was as blank as the gray hole before him.

Ryson started to feel the anger rise up inside once more. He almost cursed at the heavens for leaving him so unprepared for what he faced.

Remembering that Lief warned him about his rage causing him to fail, he did his best to bury such feelings. He could not do it completely, could not stifle the boiling emotions within, but he muted them to the best of his ability. He silently wished for an answer, wished for something to penetrate the gray haze in his mind.

For whatever reason, he thought of what it was like to be a delver. For at that moment, that was the root of his dilemma. He always sought answers. He lived to explore. His explorations would lead him to new mysteries and his instincts and abilities would guide him to answers.

He was facing another such mystery, but he doubted his delver abilities could help him in a dimension that could separate Enin from his magic. That's what he really faced. The portal was a doorway into nonexistence. If a wizard as powerful as Enin could be trapped in there, what hope did he have?

He drove that doubt from his mind. He wouldn't accept it. The answer would come to him. Too much depended on it.

Then he thought of puzzles he could not solve. They would often drive him to distraction, but he learned patience. Not all answers would come easily, and some not at all, but he always looked for them. He was always a delver.

Still, what of those questions without answers or those moments of indecision? He dealt with them in the past. How?

He then thought of the Sword of Decree. It was in the cave next to him. He knew it was still there. He didn't know why, but he could sense it. The sword would tell him what to do. When he truly needed an answer, it always offered one. All he had to do was retrieve the blade and hold it once more in his hand. The weapon would guide him.

Ryson almost turned away from the rift. His mind held to a hope that the sword would present the answer, but as the rift held his gaze, it also revealed a simple truth. He knew he would not be able to take the weapon with him through the portal. The existence on the other side was not one of physical being, not true existence at all. Linda and Enin's bodies were proof of that.

That, however, was not the complete truth. He could still retrieve the Sword of Decree. It might give him the answer before he crossed over. That's all it had to do. Once he knew how to save Linda, the sword would have fulfilled its purpose.

Ryson actually turned from the rift and moved toward the cave entrance. He almost rushed inside to retrieve the blade, but he stopped. The sword was not the answer. He knew it. He didn't know how, but he did. He had relied heavily on the enchanted weapon in the past, and in some cases, relied on it more than he relied on himself. If Lief was right, then Ryson had to believe in something, something more than an enchanted blade.

The delver still didn't know the answer, but he knew the sword held only false hope. He turned back to the shadow rift. He needed to pass through it. He had to get to the other side. It was not just a leap of faith. There was something else, something he was missing.

He had to believe in being a delver, believe in himself. He then thought of something Enin had told him before. With that thought sparking hope, he prepared to step into the portal.

#

"He's at the shadow rift you created. Even at this moment, he looks into the nothingness." Baannat paused, but then revealed the truth as a way to cause even more misery. "He hesitates. He is unsure!"

Baannat raced back to the light of Linda's presence.

"Your delver made it all the way here, but now he's not sure if he wants to join you. Does that make you happy? Maybe he'll stay out. You won't have to watch him suffer. That's good. Right? Or is it? Maybe he's worried more about himself than you. How does that make you feel?"

Linda could not ignore the ghoul. She could not block out his words, but she discarded their meaning. She tried to force her own thoughts out from the emptiness. If Enin could speak, so could she.

She tried to call out to Ryson, to tell him to turn away. As much as she wanted to be with him, she loved him too much to see him tormented. It was more pain then she could handle. It was better for her if he never entered. She believed that with all her being, until Baannat pressed the matter and doubts clouded her thoughts.

"I would have bet he would have jumped right through. There's nothing in his way. You know that's true without even looking. I want him here. I made sure the path was clear. And yet, he doesn't want to take that last step. He's actually considering abandoning you."

Would he abandon her?

"No, he wouldn't!" Linda thought to herself. She couldn't speak the words, had not yet found a voice in the surrounding emptiness, but she understood the truth. The emptiness could not bar that from her. She knew that Ryson had always put others first, including her.

Either Baannat was lying or Ryson had a reason for not entering. Maybe as a delver he could sense something and that was holding him back. Maybe he could hear her even though she couldn't speak. She focused even harder on trying to warn him to stay away, to find another way to help them. She fought through all the fear and torment to send one clear warning for him turn back.

#

Ryson did not sense any message from Linda. He only believed he could save her, and with that, he leapt into the shadow rift.

In the physical plane of the dark realm, Ryson's body simply passed through the break as if it fell through the beam of a gray beacon. His figure crumpled below the portal, but somehow it looked different than the other two bodies that it now rested near.

Enin and Linda appeared as they always did. Their expressions remained blank and lifeless, but their bodies looked normal in every other way. The delver's mortal shell, however, appeared somewhat out of focus, not quite there, as if the finer definition had somehow been brushed away. It was almost as if a light fog had fallen all about him and blurred his body to anyone who looked upon it.

Within Baannat's shadowed dimension of nonexistence, Ryson found himself standing in bizarre surroundings. The world about him was gray and empty. There was no air to breath, no horizon to see, no sky above and no ground to stand upon. Still, he was actually standing for he maintained a remnant of his form. He could also move, for just like Baannat, he had arms and legs… a body that was not complete, but substance nonetheless. Even in partial structure, he held to enough physical attributes to maintain his form.

He immediately sensed three other forms in the nothingness. Baannat was clear to him, but there were two other lights. He knew one was Enin and one was Linda, but initially he could not tell which was which. As he peered deeper into the formless entities, he felt a deep connection with one. He knew immediately that it was Linda.

"Are you alright?"

Linda couldn't speak. She had not yet developed any control over her spiritual essence. She was lost in a lifeless world. Despite her limitations, she threw her complete attention upon the delver. As improbable as it seemed, she could make out Ryson's figure. He was more than a simple beacon of light. He appeared like an angel to her, a silhouette of hope.

While Linda could not respond, Baannat chose to remain silent. The delver's appearance clearly concerned the ghoul, and Baannat considered the implications with a miserable scowl.

It was Enin that replied first.

"Ryson, you're here?"

The delver looked upon the other glowing entity.

"Apparently so."

"But how? How were you able to bring part of your physical existence into this plane?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a theory."

Baannat finally stirred from his silence. His confidence returned as he realized that despite the delver's trickery, the realm was his. He was the master and he would rule with savagery.

"So the delver has a trick up his sleeve? Do you think that can save you?"

The delver turned upon the slink ghoul. At first he did so with fury in his heart. He wanted to tear Baannat limb from limb, but he stifled the desire. Instead, he forcefully made his demands, demands he expected to be followed.

"You're going to let them both out of here now. You're going to send them back to their bodies and allow them to walk out of the dark realm."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are because if you don't I'll do everything in my power to destroy you."

"You tried that once before, you even cut me in half. Didn't quite work out as you hoped."

"No, it didn't, but it's different now and you know it. You ordered the caelifera to bring Linda here. She didn't choose to come here."

"So?"

"So that makes you responsible."

"I'm responsible for a great many things. Let me show you."

The slink ghoul raised his hand with his claws extended towards Linda. He went to slash at her soul, but his arm was stopped in mid swing… against his will.

Ryson moved at incredible speed. The silhouette of his own hand speared through the gray emptiness and grabbed Baannat's wrist. Both the delver and the ghoul were only shadows of their former physical beings, but both held enough substance to actually make contact in the otherwise empty plane.

Ryson glared into the ghostly face of the slink ghoul.

"You will not touch her, not ever again!"

Linda rejoiced. She knew there would be no more pain. She did not know how, but Ryson had the ability to fight the ghoul and he would not let Baannat hurt her again. Relief poured over her soul. She had not yet escaped the emptiness, but removing the pain was like walking into heaven.

Enin also celebrated the turn of events, and he pointed out a few simple truths.

"He can hold you, ghoul. That means he can attack you as well. For some reason, he retains enough physical presence here to offset your contrived state of existence. He is also a delver. You saw his speed. You can't match him."

"But he is only a delver," Baannat snarled. "And I am far more!"

The slink ghoul yanked his wrist out of Ryson's hold. He then threw his hands outward and called on the magic he retained. No circle of white power formed anywhere about him, but the energy flowed out of him like a bolt of lightning.

Ryson leapt away from the strike with ease. In fact, he felt more nimble than he ever had before, as if he was light as a feather but could still move with all the speed and grace befitting a purebred delver. Utilizing the full advantage of his free movement, he jumped behind the ghoul, grabbed him by the shoulders and flipped him aside as if Baannat was nothing more than a paper cutout.

Showing no sign of pain or injury, the slink ghoul rose up in the gray nothingness and released a burst of magical energy that shot from his form like a spherical explosive blast. The shock swell did nothing to Linda and Enin-their glowing forms simply shimmered in the force wave-but it sent Ryson flying across empty space.

Ryson felt the brunt of the initial blast. There was pain in the immediate concussion, but that is where the attack ended. There was no back wall for him to smash into, and no hard ground to land upon that would add to the impact. The momentum propelling him backward slowly came to a halt and Ryson controlled his movements once more.

Hoping to catch the slink ghoul by surprise, Ryson raced with all possible speed back at Baannat. He ignored the absurdity of his surroundings, flushed it from his mind. He didn't understand how he could move. There was no solid ground for him to run upon, yet he moved by force of will. He simply propelled himself against the gray emptiness as if he could bounce off the wind itself.

Bounding directly toward the face of his foe, Ryson took hold of both the ghoul's arm and pulled them together. Pushing forward, the delver pressed himself firmly against Baannat's chest.

"Try that again and you'll go flying right along with me," Ryson growled.

The ghoul spat into Ryson's face. It wasn't saliva, even though it looked like it. It was hate.

"Will you now hold me for an eternity?"

"I could if I had to, but I don't. Enin's going to get us out of here."

Baannat laughed and more spittle went flying.

It was Enin who corrected Ryson's apparent misconception of the situation.

"I can't. I am cut off from the magic. I have my will, but that's all."

"You're cut off from the magic out there," Ryson corrected. "Not from the magic in here."

Baannat stopped laughing and eyed the delver with suspicion.

"The only magic within his reach remains within me. Do you think I will let him steal any energy from me?"

"He doesn't have to steal it, and he won't get it from you. He's going to get it from me."

Both Enin and Baannat responded in kind, though with far different emotions. Enin revealed uncertainty and surprise. Baannat hissed with hatred as well as concern.

"From you?"

Ryson ignored the ghoul. He spoke instead to the essence of the wizard.

"You told me the magic was a part of me, part of being a delver. I think that's why I have form here, just like him." He nodded to the ghoul still trapped in his hold. "The magic stayed with me when I came across because it's who I am. That's what I thought would happen when I stepped into the portal. That's what I believed would happen. I wanted to bring it here for you."

Enin considered the point.

"Yes… yes! The magic is part of you. You are born with it and you would die with it. You do not cast it out in spells and you don't absorb it from the land. It is not simply part of your body. It is part of your essence."

"That means it's here, and if it is, that means you can use it."

Enin wasn't so sure. His mind reflected upon the intricacies of magical energy, his current state of existence, and the properties of the space he occupied. He began to speak openly of the situation, as if it was some elaborate puzzle.

"Can I? I'm not so sure. My essence is here, but my link to the magic remains with my body. There is a clear separation. Still, you have brought magic with you. If you allow me to siphon energy from you, I might be able to channel some of the power into something useful. I don't…"

"Enin!" Ryson shouted. "This isn't the time to ponder what is and isn't possible. Just try it!"

Realizing that was indeed the best course of action, the wizard cast aside his doubts. He reached out to Ryson, just as he reached out to Linda, but with the delver, he grasped for something more than a simple link of understanding and compassion. He searched for the energy that was part of the delver. As he probed Ryson's inner essence, he felt the familiar pulse of powerful magic and he attempted to seize it.

Ryson felt the wizard's presence within him. It felt almost as if something was tugging at his very core. Even as he fought to restrain Baannat, he allowed Enin access to the energy within his spirit. He battled the slink ghoul with one side of his consciousness and reached out to the wizard with the other. Without struggling, he let the magic flow out of his being and into his friend.

The delver didn't need to hear it from the wizard, he knew it was working. Without hesitation, he demanded Enin use the power to save Linda first.

"Open the portal on this side and get Linda out of here! Send her back!"

Agreeing with the intention, if not the implementation, Enin focused his renewed power on revealing the portal that he knew still existed. The shadow rift had never been closed. It just remained hidden. He did not have to open the portal, he simply had to find it.

Using a mere fraction of the magic now available to him, Enin created a magnetic like force that would pull at the vibrations of magical energy. The portal would radiate such energy, and thus, it would call to him through the shadows.

Baannat could sense the spell and knew it would point out the one true exit. He burned with rage and fought furiously against the delver's hold. He pushed and pulled, and although he gained momentary success, he could not break completely free. Every time he managed to loosen the delver's hold, the ghoul found his arms grabbed and yanked back into place or his legs knocked out from under him. He could overpower the delver with strength, but he simply could not compensate enough for Ryson's speed and agility.

At first, the space around Enin did not react to his spell. The gray emptiness remained still and unbroken, but Enin pressed forward. Within long moments, he sensed a light pulse. He latched upon it and forced the magical energies to reveal themselves. The shadows around the portal eventually parted, revealing the gateway, and Enin willed his essence right to the brink of the rift.

He did not go through, not completely. He would not be the first to escape. Instead, he held himself at the very edge, spilling just enough of himself through the shadowed veil that he could see into the dark realm. Standing in the portal, in the thinnest of space between existence and nonexistence, the wizard focused first on his body. He knew that's not what Ryson intended-the delver wanted his wife sent to immediate safety-but Enin had sound reason for delaying.

The wizard did not wish to take anymore of Ryson's inherent magic for he could not be sure what consequences that might hold. He had taken enough to find a path to freedom and it was now time to regain the magical power that was beyond the prison rift. He reconnected to his mortal being just enough to once more retrieve a portion of his magical abilities. He created a clear link to power that he could now pull into Baannat's realm. The separation was ended.

Reenergized, Enin also took silhouetted shape in the gray shadows. His body still remained in the dark realm, but his connection to it solidified his spirit. He called on all the magic available to him. Without further delay, he cast a spell to remove Linda's essence from Baannat's plane and to place it back into her body.

In the dark realm, Linda stirred. She felt stiff and sore. Her movements were forced. Even her breathing felt heavy and uneven. Trembling uncontrollably, she recalled the past horrors of the shadowed existence with Baannat. Her memory of the event remained crisp and clear. Instinctively, she checked her arms and chest for wounds from claw slashes. She found nothing, but even as her body remained unmarked, her mind would always carry the scars of torment. She pulled herself up to her feet and stood before the shadow portal. She looked into its center and she could actually make out the outline of Enin's form.

"Stay where you are. I will bring Ryson to you shortly," the wizard offered in a mental message that Linda could hear, but not with her ears. It was more of a distant memory that suddenly came into the forefront of conscious thought.

It was going to be alright. She knew it. Ryson had found a way to save them… to save her. Despite what she had gone through, she realized the world was not as dark as it could have been. There was hope even when none should have existed.

Back within the gray emptiness, Ryson retained his hold on the slink ghoul. He fought against every move Baannat made. Even as the ghoul would break free, it only lasted for the slimmest instant. With deliberate quickness, the delver would regain his grip and bind Baannat to his person.

Despite the struggle, he managed to take several glimpses at the glowing form he knew to be Linda. When he saw that light fade out of the shadows, relief rushed over him, but he had to be sure.

"Is she safe?" Ryson called out.

"She is," Enin replied.

"And we can still get out of here, right?"

"Of course."

If he could have exhaled a heavy sigh of relief, he would have, but his essence did not retain sufficient physical existence. Instead, Ryson released Baannat with a heavy shove and then stood ready to react to any attack the ghoul might throw at him.

The ghoul did not respond. Instead, Baannat crouched, waiting for his foes to make the next move.

"What do we do about him?" Ryson demanded. "I don't want him to ever get away with anything like this again."

Enin understood and agreed, but with the magic flowing freely through him, he gained a greater insight into their situation. He had thought Baannat had cheated death, but now he believed he saw a clearer picture. The powers of good and evil fought a constant battle. There was both a place for angels as well as demons, but the emptiness of Baannat's creation served a new purpose. The dark realm had its monsters. Uton had its heroes. The inhabitants of both realms chose their paths and met their destinies. Now there was a final home for those that chose a life of pure evil.

"That may not be up to us," Enin admitted.

"I don't like that answer," Ryson responded with gritted teeth.

"What would you have me do? Kill him? We tried that once before and it didn't work. I'm not even sure we could kill him here. He's not really alive."

Baannat snarled but otherwise remained quiet. He could sense that Enin had regained a substantial portion of his magical powers. There was little he could do.

"You can't just obliterate him?" Ryson asked.

It was not a foreign concept to the wizard. He even attempted it once before, before the war had started, but he was surprised the delver would offer it as a possible solution. He wondered if Ryson understood the significance of the request.

"I could try, but is that what you want?"

Ryson honestly considered the question. He remembered the shags he himself killed, how hundreds of them lay dead in the desert. They died at his hand. It caused him more than simple regret. It left a heavy burden of guilt within. He didn't want to kill, but the decision was forced upon him… by Baannat. The delver thought of all that Baannat had done, the terror he caused. For him, the answer was clear.

"Absolutely."

"That may be, but is it wise? Wanting something done is not the same as accepting the wisdom of a decision."

"Leaving him around isn't that smart."

Unable to disagree, Enin stepped up to Baannat and peered into the depths of the ghoul's essence. He saw the horrors of pure evil. It pained the wizard to see such inherent cruelty. Unfortunately, he saw more. The ghoul was beyond life and death. His evil soul festered into the remnants of what was left of his physical presence. The line between mortal and immortal had been blurred to a point of no return. Enin saw eternity within the core of Baannat's existence. He didn't understand how such an entity could exist, but he couldn't deny the truth of the situation.

"I'm afraid he is beyond obliteration. He is here to stay."

The thought left Ryson cold. Even in a place of nothingness, he felt the icy dread of leaving the slink ghoul capable of further havoc.

"We can't just leave him here. He'll just start it all over again."

With that said, Enin looked around at the gray shadows of nothingness. He sensed a growing connection between the emptiness and the slink ghoul. They were becoming intertwined, and Enin knew it. With that knowledge came a possible answer.

"I'm not so sure."

"You have an idea?" Ryson pressed.

"Not an idea, more of an understanding."

Baannat finally questioned the wizard.

"An understanding of what?" the ghoul hissed with a mocking disgust.

"Something you might not yet see yourself, but you will."

"And what is that?" Baannat demanded with a sneer.

"This place that you have carved out for yourself…it is becoming a part of you… and you a part of it. In essence, you have chained yourself to this emptiness."

"Is that supposed to concern me, brother?"

Enin would not accept that title, certainly not any more.

"I never have been, and never will be your brother. Even you will eventually admit that. You used to talk of the similarities between us. They will all end when I leave here. You, however, will not be so lucky."

"You think I'm trapped here? Then go ahead and leave. I will see you again soon."

Ryson didn't quite understand what Enin was saying, and he pointed out his own assumptions.

"He's right. This isn't a prison. He was able to leave before. He showed up in Uton disguised as Lief. He was in the cave in the dark realm."

"And he still can penetrate the outer worlds," Enin confirmed, but then he quickly offered a shred of hope, "but there are limits. This plane was created when you destroyed the vessel he made to capture his evil magic. He dwells in it as a sanctuary from true existence, but he is also now bound to it. He can never exit this place completely. He is, in fact, chained to this place forever. When he reaches beyond, he can influence, but he can't directly assault. It may not be the perfect prison, but it will be sufficient."

"How can you say that? He took my sword away from me in the cave."

"He used magic on a magical artifact. That was all. Did he cast any spell of power against you? Did he cause you any direct harm?"

"He did in here. He tried to fry me with his magic."

"That was here. I'm talking about limits on what he can do outside this realm."

"He was able to send an army of dark creatures into Uton. They captured Linda and threw her in here. He ordered them to attack the algors. He'll do it again."

"No he won't"

Without explaining further, Enin released more of his magical power. White energy crackled about him and then poured out of the shadow portal.

"What did you do?" Ryson asked.

"I altered the portal that links the dark realm to our home. He used that portal to send his minions against us. I will not allow it to be used in such a way again."

"You lie!" Baannat screamed. "You have no power over that portal. It is mine now."

"Not anymore. I made the mistake of creating a rift in the echo of Heteera's incomplete portal. You were able to usurp that portal since you stood in a realm of nonexistence, but I stand here as well. I now have infinitely more power than you, and I reclaimed the spell and removed its flaws within reality. The portal is still open, but it is fully under my command, not yours. It no longer moves in and out of existence. We shall use it to leave this place, and then I shall close it for good."

"Can't he open another one?" Ryson wondered aloud.

"No, he can't, and he knows that. He could possibly convince others to do so, but I am not quite done."

Enin cast out even more energy, and once more magical waves flew out of the rift and throughout the dark realm.

"What did you do now?" Ryson asked.

"You worried about Baannat's influence over the dark creatures. I have just restricted that influence. I brought awareness to the creatures of the dark world. Limited awareness to be sure, but a new understanding nonetheless. Baannat didn't control any creatures with his magical energy. He confused them into believing he had something they greatly desired. I just cleared the shadows of their minds to give them this one revelation. The realm of Baannat will no longer hold any of their desires. In fact, every creature that is born to the dark realm or to Uton will inherently know of Baannat and the truth of his territory. Even monsters will shun this place. They will know the truth. This place is more painful than the dark realm. This is not a sanctuary. This is a place for the condemned."

Enin then turned his glare upon the slink ghoul.

"It is a suitable home for you, and so you shall remain here. We both know your power to leave here is limited, and now even the dark creatures know of your treachery. You will be cursed by all. Those who you will be able to influence will be the lowest of the low. That is your fate. I hope you can accept it."

"So you make me king of nothingness?" Baannat hissed. "What if I refuse?"

"You can't."

Enin then called for Ryson.

"It's time for us to leave."

As Ryson stepped to the portal, he heard Baannat scream in rage. He turned just fast enough to see the ghoul lashing out at him. He ducked under the strike and used Baannat's own momentum to redirect him deeper into the gray shadows.

When he followed Enin through the shadow rift and back into the dark realm, he could hear Baannat shouting curses, but the echoes of the shrieks simply faded into the emptiness.

Chapter 34

Linda rushed to Ryson's side, helped him from the ground, and then threw her arms around him. She pulled him to her as tight as she could. For all the agonizing moments she spent trapped-unable to move and unable to speak-in a plane of nonexistence, she found more comfort than she could imagine in that first embrace. She did not want to let go.

Enin stood on his own as the full power of near infinite magical energy refreshed him almost immediately. With his strength growing, he stepped with great purpose to the gateway of emptiness, and he used that power to correct one of his many mistakes. Two perfect circles of white energy formed around his hands. He released them at the shadow portal and allowed both rings to encircle it. With one immediate flash of bright light, the circles of magic tightened about the rift and forced it to close in on itself.

Carefully inspecting the space, he ensured all remnants of the portal to Baannat's realm were gone. Satisfied, he called for Linda and Ryson.

"We must not linger here. We have to go quickly."

"We should be okay," Ryson offered. "The path was cleared when I came in."

"It won't be for much longer," Enin warned. "Many of the creatures here will sense my power, some will seek to escape out the portal to Uton, others will attack."

"I thought you said Baannat wouldn't be able to control them any more."

"He can't, not all of them as an army anyway. They know his promise is nothing more than a lie. Even monsters will reject Baannat's realm. But it also means they are once more left to their own devices. They will attack me as a powerful invader hoping to feed on my energy. And they will see you two as a possible meal."

Ryson acknowledged and accepted the new threat and he put Linda's safety first.

"Can you transport her to the portal?"

"Yes," Enin nodded.

"Do it."

Linda refused, maintaining her hold on the delver.

"No, I don't want to leave you again!"

Ryson understood. He didn't want to leave Linda, either. He, however, had one more task to complete.

"No one is leaving anyone, but I have to move fast."

"Why can't we transport together?" Linda demanded.

"Because I have to get my sword. I'm not going to leave it here. It's part of elflore."

Linda shook her head. She didn't want to risk losing him over an object-a weapon-even if it was part of the legends.

Ryson placed his hand on her chin and pulled her face to his so he could look her in the eyes.

"I'm a delver. I'll be alright. I promise."

Linda let out a heavy sigh as she released her grip. Yes, he was a delver and she couldn't keep him from venturing into danger. That would always be part of their lives. She had accepted that simple fact long ago, and despite Baannat's lies, she would never hold that against him.

Ryson placed his attention on the wizard.

"Enin, get her out of here, now."

"And you must move at your best speed," the wizard declared as he guided Linda next to him.

"Don't worry. I will."

Ryson watched them for only a moment. That was all the time it took for Enin to cast the spell and transport himself and Linda to the portal between the dark lands and Uton.

Once they were gone, Ryson raced into the cave and followed the path back to where he destroyed the vessel… back to where Baannat relieved him of the Sword of Decree. He found it right where it had been left-on the ground, dark with no light for the blade to reflect.

He snatched it up in his hand. He did not sheath it over his back. Instead, he held tight to the weapon, waiting for some new insight. Nothing. There was no message from the sword-no task that needed to be completed and no direction for action.

Ryson wasn't surprised. He had made the right decisions. He had saved Linda and Enin, saved himself as well, but any doubt about Baannat's fate was now also removed. The ghoul was a prisoner of his own twisted sanctuary and that was where he would stay forever.

With the sword still in hand, the delver ran out of the cave and back toward the portal. As he did, the silence that existed when he entered the dark realm had dissolved into the raging shrieks of conflict. Crashing explosions and pounding concussions reverberated over the gloomy landscape. Shouts of both humans and goblins rang out in the distance. More alarming, he could hear the unmistakable buzzing of a caelifera swarm.

Bounding over the twisted landscape, he eventually caught glimpses of the giant locusts shifting about in dizzying patterns of mayhem. He knew they were flying over the portal and he pushed himself to run even faster.

Once he broke over the last bluff separating him from the portal, he could see the scene clearly. He watched Enin standing at the front of the rift, casting spell after spell at a vast collection of monsters. Linda was not with him-Ryson spotted her past the portal and standing in relative safety in the badlands of Uton-but neither Enin nor Linda stood alone.

Linda was surrounded by heavily armed guards from Burbon. Sy Fenden directed their attacks into the dark land. From the Uton side of the portal, they fired their long bows in coordinated patterns, forcing goblin war packs into retreat.

Enin stood upon the dark lands with Holli and another magic caster, the one who saved the algors from the thrastil. Obviously guarding the portal, Enin focused his crushing spells on the caelifera, wiping dozens from the sky with each incantation. Jure targeted creatures in the distance, keeping them at bay with floods of black water and driving rainstorms. Holli kept both spell casters protected with a shield of pure green energy. Not a single bolt from a goblin crossbow could penetrate the barrier.

On both sides of the portal, Ryson noted the presence of dozens of cliff behemoths. Those who stood upon the lands of Uton threw any monsters back into the rift that dared to crossover. The ones in the dark realm knocked away goblins, gremplings and bloat spiders. They cleared a path for Ryson, which he quickly crossed to reach Enin's side.

"You have the sword," Enin noted.

"Yes, we can leave."

"Then let us do so."

All the Uton defenders in the dark realm stepped through the portal with Enin being the last to cross. When he did, he eyed the edges of the gigantic portal and sent his magical fury to bring them together.

The creatures in the dark realm reacted violently to the attempted closure. They threw themselves into the rift trying to escape, but they were all forced back by arrows, magical spells, and cliff behemoth strength.

The portal responded as Enin had expected. He had successfully removed the imbalanced nature of the rift that previously prevented him from closing the gateway. It disappeared from existence with a bone shuddering pop.

The portal was gone, only a somber view of Uton's badlands remained. The guttural shouts of the goblins, the buzz of caelifera wings, and the screeching shrieks of hook hawks disappeared in an instant. Those who stood safely in Uton did so in peace.

Sy Fenden, unwilling to accept such a simple resolution to the conflict, spoke first to his soldiers.

"Spread out! No more than fifty paces. Keep on the lookout for any stragglers that might have sneaked through."

Enin smiled. "Always the commander. You may rest, however, I sense no dark creatures in the area."

"Doesn't hurt to be on your guard," Sy countered. "Is the portal sealed for good?"

"Yes, another may open in the future… perhaps here or perhaps in Dark Spruce, but we have no control over that. In that regard, it will be as it has been in the past."

"What about Baannat?"

"Trapped in a dimension of his own making. Chained to emptiness."

The captain of Burbon's guard raised an eyebrow.

"Are we done with him?"

"Perhaps. Who's to say?"

"I don't like the sound of that," Sy admitted. "I was hoping for something a bit more final."

Ryson quickly joined the conversation, revealing what he understood to be an absolute certainty.

"I was hoping for more, too, but we did what we had to do… all we could do. It may not be as much as we want, but it's enough for right now. He can't hurt us like he could before, but we can't stop anyone from choosing a path that leads to him." Ryson then nodded to Enin and eyed the Sword of Decree. "We did the right thing."

"That is comforting to know," Enin admitted.

Linda joined them and Ryson placed her arm around her.

"You alright?" he asked.

"I think so. I just wished none of this had happened." She considered that remark, remembered what started it all, and made a quick look around. "Where's Heteera?"

Enin recalled the great power of the sorceress and her limited control. He placed a questioning glance upon Jure and Holli.

"Yes, where is she?"

Jure remained silent, but looked over to Holli. The elf guard explained.

"We had to separate her mind from the magic. It was necessary."

Understanding all too well what that meant, Enin's expression turned sorrowful.

"I'm sorry to hear that. What happened to her?"

"I left her in the care of several of the more reliable spell casters in Pinesway. They will look after her. I was hoping you and Jure might be able to find a way to help her."

"I would be willing to try," Jure offered. "It was my spell that did it to her."

Holli would not let him accept all the blame.

"Had I thought of it myself, I would have ordered him to do it. It probably saved Pinesway and the eastern plains."

"Very well," Enin allowed. "Perhaps we can find a way to use this to help her gain greater control. I now realize how important that is. I've made many mistakes myself these past few days. I have no excuses. There was no spell from Baannat. Just my lack of concentration. I am… all too human in that regard. I'm sorry to you all."

An uneasy silence fell over them all. To even accept his apology meant assigning blame to the wizard, and no one there wished to walk down that path. It would have accomplished nothing.

Ryson decided to turn the conversation towards questions of his own. He looked to Sy and Holli.

"I thought you were protecting Burbon… and you were in Pinesway?"

"We were," Holli acknowledged, "but Dzeb followed you south from the mountains."

"He came to Burbon first," Sy added. "He told us what happened and that he and the other cliff behemoths were going to try and help you. We decided to join with them, bring the fight to the dark creatures at the portal rather than waiting for them to come to us. With cliff behemoths on our side, it seemed like a good strategy."

Ryson then looked to Holli for her explanation.

"I had Jure go to the portal to check on it as a precaution," Holli offered. "He alerted me to the cliff behemoths arrival and I came as well. It was then we saw Enin and Linda on the other side of the rift. We entered to help protect them."

Dzeb walked up to the group just as they realized that the other cliff behemoths were all quietly heading north, back to the mountains.

"Please give them my thanks," Enin asked of Dzeb.

"I will relay your message, but we all followed the will of Godson." With that, the cliff behemoth turned to the delver. "And what of you, Ryson Acumen. You wondered which path to follow. You had many questions the last time we spoke. Did you find your answers?"

"Some of them… I think."

"Would you honor me by sharing?"

"I don't mind, but I'm not sure if it has anything to do with Godson."

"Let Godson worry about that."

For the delver, that simple statement accentuated his past doubts and his newfound beliefs.

"Actually, that's sort of what I'm talking about. I don't know about Godson, but ever since the magic returned, I started looking at things differently. I don't mean the obvious stuff-like dark creatures and magic spells. Believe it or not, that's actually the easy part. I'm talking about the things beyond even that. Unless we all want to just bury our heads in the sand, we have to accept that there's a lot more going on than just meets the eye. We've sure been shown enough to know that we can't possibly be alone, and I'm talking about more than the dark realm. I'm not sure if it's easier or harder to understand life now, but I know there's more to it than I thought."

He wanted to leave it there. He felt everyone's eyes on him, and revealing his personal feelings left him more than embarrassed. It made him feel vulnerable.

Linda, however, pressed him to continue.

"Don't stop. We need to hear this… I need to hear this."

Ryson grimaced, but he did explain.

"It's what's beyond all of this. It's actually kind of strange for me, maybe more so than anyone else. With all that's been happening, it's been almost too easy for me to simply accept… I don't know… something bigger than all of us-a power beyond this world. As a delver, I don't think it should be easy for me to just believe in anything like that, but I have to be honest with myself. I've seen monsters and angels. I've seen those who have died come back to life. It was all right before me. I didn't have to go searching for it. Some of it I just accepted, but some of it surprised me, scared me, even got me angry."

Ryson hesitated, but the cliff behemoth bid him to continue.

"Don't worry about offending me, say what's in your heart, Ryson Acumen."

"I thought I didn't like what was happening. It didn't meet my expectations. None of it did. I always thought that powers like Godson, or whatever, should be looking out for us, maybe even looking out for me. Didn't seem that way.Seemed just the opposite. That may seem selfish, and maybe it is, but it's the truth. I thought I did my part, but every time I turned around, something else terrible happened. I couldn't get away from it. I got angry with all of it… but eventually, I started to believe in something else as well. I started to believe that I wasn't cursed… that I was actually given a great gift. And I started to believe in being a delver again. That's what got me through this. Delvers look for answers. That's what you told me, Dzeb, and you're right. If I just keep searching for the answers, I believe I'll find them."

Dzeb placed his hand on the delver's shoulder only for a moment, smiled, and then headed north.

Content

Jeff Inlo
Nightmare's Shadow

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34