Delver Magic: Book 05 - Chain of Bargains (17 page)

While Holli would not risk
revealing herself by questioning the general population of Ashlan, she accepted
the minimal peril of exposing herself to an individual she had perceived in her
earlier explorations of the city. The magical pulse across the city was making
it extremely difficult to sense other spell casters, and there seemed to be an
almost blatant lack of sorcery within the city limits, but one building caught
her attention quite by accident.

She had been tracking inferns
across the city by the heat the half-demons discharged when she noticed a surge
of warmth above and beyond the heat of the high sun season. She pinpointed the
house from where the phenomenon originated, and though the flow of magic nearly
erased the sensation, she caught the faint hint of a spell before it
evaporated. She watched the house for sometime and noted only one occupant. She
returned to the building and entered the residence by climbing through a third
story window. Once inside, she closed it tight, sent out a strong magical
pulse, and waited to be discovered.

A man who's age was difficult to
determine entered the room where he knew Holli waited. He displayed more
curiosity than concern, but he kept a safe distance from the stranger in his
house. His short-cropped hair contained no gray, but the stubble on his
unshaven face displayed streaks of white. He had been practicing spells in his
basement and the sudden dash up several flights of stairs left him somewhat
winded, but he was certainly athletic enough not to be flushed or gasping for
breath.

The magic hung lightly in the
house, mostly from Holli's spell, but also from the spells cast by the man as a
means to enhance his own abilities. Holli could sense an orange aura still
clinging to his wrists. Fire was clearly his casting strength.

The man looked the elf over
quickly, and in that short time, he already caught his breath. He waited just a
moment to give Holli the opportunity to speak first, but when she remained
silent, he became somewhat apprehensive over her appearance. He decided to
spark the conversation.

"Can I help you?"

Holli answered by removing her
cap.

"You're an elf!" the man
remarked.

"I am, and I removed my cap
as a gesture. I'm going to be open and honest with you and I expect the same in
return."

Despite her request, the spell
caster remained defensive, if not totally evasive.

"My openness will depend on
your requests."

The elf nodded. The man was
cautious, she could accept that. More importantly, he started out with clear
honesty—not committing to anything before he understood the full measure of
Holli's sudden and unannounced appearance.

"I respect that," she
offered. "Let me begin by stating I mean you no harm and wish to bring no
calamity upon you."

The man surprisingly shook his
head in open defiance of Holli's declaration.

"You may have already brought
me more trouble than I need. The casting of magic is frowned upon in the city.
The magical pulse you cast to announce your presence might have escaped these
walls. I understand you did it to get my attention, but there are others tuned
to the energy. If there are inferns nearby, they will sense the use of
magic."

Holli found this accusation
somewhat unfounded, considering she knew the man was practicing spells before
she entered the house.

"You are concerned with that?
You were casting spells in the basement."

"I cast spells of fire in
confined spaces under great control. If the residue of my spells escapes my
house, it would mix easily with the inferns very presence. It would not be
detected."

"I see. Understand this, I am
trained as an elf guard. I patrolled the grounds around your house carefully
before entering. There were no inferns within range of detecting my
spell."

The spell caster appeared relieved,
but quickly questioned the appearance of an elf guard within the borders of
Ashlan.

"Why are you here? Elves are
very sparse in this region."

"I seek information as to the
strange occurrences throughout the Great
Valleys."

At first, the man appeared to
accept the explanation. His eyes, however, narrowed upon the face of the elf.
He reached out with his own magical perception and sensed a powerful presence
linked to the elf before him.

"You are not simply an elf
guard on patrol. You are extremely sensitive to magic, otherwise you would not
have known about my spells, but it goes beyond your own ability. There is
something much more about you. Who are you really?"

Holli understood the man sensed
her link to Enin. The great wizard was so powerful that even across the vast
distance that separated Connel from Ashlan, any spell caster of even marginal
ability would notice the connection.

"I am Holli Brances. I am
guard and apprentice to Enin of Connel."

It was not joy or fear that shaped
the spell caster's expression. It was something in between awe and respect.

"I see." He paused, but
only for an instant. He accepted the situation almost as if a stranger had come
to his home bearing gifts, and he wished not only to be grateful but to
reciprocate the goodwill. "As a spell caster, I call myself Brenn. How can
I help you?"

Holli was certain the house
contained no other occupants, and without hesitation, moved right to the
purpose of her visit.

"As I said, I seek
information. The situation in Ashlan is... confusing. How long have the goblins
been established in the city?"

"Over a full cycle of the
seasons."

"Why were they allowed to
enter?"

"I don't really know. They
just started appearing."

"No one raised an
alarm?"

"Many did, but they were told
they were overreacting."

Odd.

"Overreacting to the presence
of dark creatures within the city?" Holli questioned, not even attempting
to hide her surprise.

"We were told they were not a
threat and everyone should mind their own business."

"Who made this decree?"

"People in authority—city
council members and members of the regional steward's office."

"Any protests?"

"Not at first. People were
too stunned and the goblins didn't cause that much trouble."

"But protests did
occur?"

"After a while they did, when
the goblins just kept coming. Things were getting tense, a lot of people just
left. It eventually seemed goblins were going to outnumber the people. That's
when people started protesting, but it was all disorganized and eventually
stifled."

"The town has a minimal
presence of soldiers. What stifled the protest?"

"The arrival of the
inferns."

"When did they arrive?"

"A while after the first
goblins showed up... maybe two or three seasons. Now that I think about it, I
really don't think they've been here that long. It just seems that way."

"And when they showed up were
you again told to mind your business?"

"Actually, we were told the
inferns were here to help keep the peace."

It was exactly as Holli expected.

"All the citizens accepted
this?"

Brenn took a few steps about the
room. His uneasy movements revealed the discomfort he had with the situation.
He gestured with one hand as he spoke, as if waving off the significance of the
question.

"I doubt anyone really wanted
to accept it, but what could anyone do? Inferns are not to be trifled with,
they could have burned down the city."

Holli countered with her own
assessment of natural reactions under such circumstances.

"The powers of inferns are
not common knowledge and the city is large with a great population. If the town
truly wished to rebel against such edicts, I believe there would have been at
least some conflict. Are you saying everyone remained silent?"

"Not all, no. Some spoke
out." Brenn's voice turned bitter. "They were quickly silenced and
the powers of the inferns became very much understood, even if they were not
common knowledge before they arrived."

"How many were killed?"

"You mean how many were
incinerated? I couldn't guess at the total. Five that I know of
personally."

"So Ashlan has been
conquered," Holli noted.

Brenn was not ready to agree with
that appraisal.

"Conquered? I wouldn't say
that. Our lives have not changed. The goblins are controlled and the inferns
want nothing from us. We retain our leadership."

"Your leadership seemed more
than willing to accept the inferns, which tells me they are not true
leaders."

"You think we should have
fought the inferns? I am a spell caster of fire. I know what they can do. To
fight them would have meant the death of many."

"And so you accept
subjugation?"

"I disagree with the premise.
We may have been forced to accept the presence of inferns—even goblins—but that
does not mean we have given up our freedoms. We simply had to accept... certain
inconveniences. As I said before, our lives have not changed. We retain our
ability to move freely both within and outside of the city. We are not
prisoners... or slaves."

"Are you saying you are happy
with the arrangement in the city?"

Brenn's willingness to cooperate
vanished. His body went rigid and his expression turned cold and empty.

"What kind of question is
that? It's judgmental and flawed. Whether I'm happy or not is immaterial. I
have nothing to do with what goes on here. You said Ashlan was conquered. I
disagree and my happiness over the arrangement is totally irrelevant."

"But you are already making
judgments. You have defended the actions of the city leaders."

"I have defended no one. I
simply stated fact."

"These facts," Holli
replied, "may be in dispute, but I have no wish to argue that point. I
simply would like to know your feelings toward the city's condition. You are a
spell caster. You have a greater awareness and perception than your human
counterparts that lack your skill. Your concerns may assist me in isolating
true threats."

"As I said before, my
feelings, as well as my concerns, are irrelevant. I do not wish to speak of
things that are beyond my control."

"You do not wish to render an
opinion? Certainly you are entitled to one, or is it that you simply do not
wish to commit to anything?"

Brenn remained reluctant to
discuss the inferns, but he quickly focused on an area of personal concern.

"I'll tell you what I don't
like and that is the restrictions placed on the use of magic, but that was
placed in existence before the inferns arrived."

"What type of restrictions?"

"A formal declaration by the
regional steward that the practice of magic within the city limits was
inherently dangerous."

The regional steward meant
Prilgrat. It seemed almost every hand pointed to him in some way or another.

"A ban on all spell casting?"
Holli asked, pushing aside concerns over Prilgrat.

"No, they did not come right
out and ban magical spells. They were very...
careful
about their wording. They stated it was dangerous, not
forbidden. It gave them the ability to question magic casters whenever a spell
was cast, but it allowed them the discretion to determine what was acceptable
and what was not."

"Laws that they could
interpret at their convenience."

"That's one way of putting
it," Brenn agreed.

"That is why you were
practicing spells in the basement late in the night?"

"It would be careless to
advertise my abilities and downright foolish to invite questioning by
authorities that have their own interests at heart."

"Why do you stay in
Ashlan?"

"Why should I leave?"
Brenn shot back almost instantaneously and with more than just a defensive
tone. The words carried clear belligerence, like a drunk responding to someone who
asked him to give up a bottle.

Holli realized that humans didn't
normally answer in such a manner unless they didn't like the question. She did
not wish to antagonize the spell caster, but she continued trying to place the
mystery in perspective and certain aspects remained cloudy—such as why some
humans would stay in a hostile environment while others would flee.

"The town is teeming with
dark creatures," she offered.

"It doesn't bother me."

"But it is more than an
inconvenience, you have to admit that. The inferns are dangerous—you've already
acknowledged that—and your talents in casting of spells are being
limited."

"Only if I let them. As you
know, I'm being careful."

"Casting spells of limited
power in close quarters is more than just being careful."

Brenn frowned, but quickly nodded.

"You're right. I am limited
in what I can do here." He then painted the true picture as he saw it.
"But where can I go? The valleys are becoming more dangerous by the day.
Inferns are watching the borders and I have no idea why. Maybe they are looking
for magic casters seeking to escape."

These, however, were hollow
excuses of fear, and Brenn moved past them to his true reasons, reasons he
spoke of with greater passion, a passion that matched his previous hostility.

"This is my home. My desire
to stay here is greater than any wish to experiment with magic. If I really
wanted to expand my powers, I could leave here on a carriage of flames pulled
by horses of pure fire. You know I could, but I choose not to. This
is
my home! What do I care about
goblins, inferns... even limits on spells? I am content here. Why should I
leave?"

Holli remembered the farmer she
first spoke to after entering the valleys. He stayed because he wasn't going to
give up his land. Clearly, Brenn felt much the same way about his home, but
what about the other inhabitants of Ashlan, Huntston, and all the other small
towns and farming communities in the Great
Valleys? Some people were leaving,
heading across the great central plain in droves. Yet, some were holding their
ground.