Delver Magic: Book 05 - Chain of Bargains (2 page)

"Believe it or not, there are
more dwarves in these hills than elves. Not many elf camps in this region, if
any at all."

"Even with all these
trees?"

"The dwarves laid claim to
these lands long ago with underground cities. They did not relish the idea of
elves camping over their heads and made as much known. The elves did not care
for the area anyway. Too many human towns at the edges of the valleys, too many
loggers entering the forests cutting down the trees. That is why this pass is
so wide."

Ryson considered these facts and
applied them to the sentries in the distance.

"Maybe that's what they're
doing, just watching the pass in hopes of spotting loggers."

"Which returns me to my
question of why use inferns for that? Draevols have never been concerned with
hoarding treasure. They would only wish to spread plague across the land. As
for inferns, they burn and kill. If they were here to set the forest ablaze, I
would understand it."

Ryson considered the idea and took
another look at the grouping of inferns.

"No, they're not starting any
fires. They're just standing there watching the pass, not causing any damage at
all."

"For whatever reason, we have
to assume they are waiting for something," Holli determined. "Which
means, we have to avoid them."

"If you don't want to head
northeast, we could..." Quickly turning his head to the north, Ryson
stopped in mid-sentence and sniffed the wind. He shook his head as if he
smelled some terrible odor. He then lifted his ear to the same direction.

"We have another
problem," he alerted the elf in a guarded whisper. "Something's
coming at us from the north. The scent is goblin, but it's not right. It's too
strong. I can hear them. Sounds like a grouping of six to ten... but it smells like
fifty. They're also moving heavy, too heavy for goblins."

Holli sniffed the air. "You
are right. The odor is strong. How close are they?"

"Just around this hilltop.
We'd both see them easily if we had a path of clear sight."

"How did they get so close?"

"I have no idea," Ryson
revealed with confusion of his own. "The scent just appeared, but it's
very strong."

Ryson gave Holli a single moment
to digest the news, then offered what he saw as the only alternative.

"We have to go south. We can
climb the trees, move from branch to branch and..."

Holli cut him off.

"No."

"No?" the surprised
delver responded. "We can't get caught here."

Holli scanned every direction and
then set her sights to the hills behind them. She already had contingency plans
set in her mind, and she chose the one that offered the greatest chance of
success given the alternatives.

"We are being directed south,
and it is usually a bad idea to take the bait. You know that. Whatever is to
the north is disguising their true scent with goblin scent. That means they
must
 
know you are a delver or that I am
an elf. Why disguise scent for two humans? No, humans would not recognize the
smell—they rely too heavily on sight. Whoever is coming at us is moving like this
for a reason... to send us in the opposite direction. Heading south is a
mistake."

"Then what do we do?"

"We head back west... for
now."

"We've got a cahltof
back..."

"I know," Holli cut him
off, and then quickly issued her directives. "I'm going to take the lead.
I want you to travel ten paces behind me. Match my speed." She looked
directly into Ryson's eyes to make her next point very clear. "Understand,
I
want
the cahltof to attack me.
Trust me and be ready with your sword. Unsheathe it now."

Ryson almost argued, but they were
running out of time. Holli asked him to trust her, and so, he would.

The delver pulled the Sword of
Decree from its sheath across his back. He looked to the north with the glowing
blade in his hand, then he eyed the grouping of inferns. Before considering the
power of his sword, he looked to the east where the cahltof waited in the
distance. With his attention divided among many concerns, he gripped the handle
tightly as if to entice a message from the weapon. The sword would, at times,
produce an image in the mind of its holder, revealing not necessarily the full
solution to some puzzle, but expose facts and offer guidance.

Ryson hoped for some magical
insight, but with so many questions, he lacked focus. He received no further
information from the weapon. He shrugged it off. He had learned to live without
assistance from the sword, and if the blade failed to offer further
enlightenment, so be it.

Just as the delver drew his sword,
Holli prepared herself to deal with the cahltof. She concentrated on a single
spell that would mix her inherent power over nature with the spell of storm.
She pressed her hands together, but only allowed them to touch at the
fingertips. A small emerald octagon of magical energy appeared between her
palms. The green magic spread across the back of her hands, down her arms and
around her entire body. She glowed bright green until she pulled her hands
apart, and then, all evidence of the magic faded.

Ryson could not contain an
observation.

"With you lighting up green
and my sword glowing like a bon fire, I'm guessing anyone and anything near us
now knows exactly where we are."

"We will not be here
long," the elf replied. "Follow me and be prepared to strike if
necessary."

Holli did not wait for an
acknowledgment. Just as Ryson trusted her, she would trust in him. She knew he
would do as she asked, and she would stake her life upon that confidence.

She raced westward, back along the
path they had traveled. She did not alter her course or change her pace at any
time. Instead, she ran straight down the middle of the pass with a clear
indication of reckless flight. It was an obvious act of desperation that almost
any predator would recognize, and it was certainly the kind of frantic dash for
escape that would draw out the cahltof.

Holli prepared herself for a long
run. The air remained hot and heavy with humidity. Still, it was the kind of
element she could adapt to easily as opposed to the scorching dry winds of the
Lacobian desert. She focused on breathing in steady time with her movement, and
she measured her stride to keep from overexerting herself. The pace matched the
full sprint of most humans, but she was an elf.

She believed the cahltof would
quickly alter its own strategy to match the escape attempt of its prey. She was
certain it wouldn't allow them to pass it by. The beast wouldn't want to fall
behind at this stage of the hunt. Previously, it was content in following them
and pressing them onward, but with a hasty change in direction, the cahltof
would adjust its tactics. She was sure it would strike from a forward position
as they ran directly into its path, but she couldn't be certain how long it
would wait before it decided to pounce.

Cahltofs, with their sleek bodies,
ran gracefully and effortlessly on all fours. They could not quite match the
speed of an average horse, but they could come close and they could maintain
their top pace for a much longer duration.

Holli attempted to spot the
predator as she ran, but she knew cahltofs blended in well with the shadows of
the trees. Short thick fur covered their entire bodies, usually colored light
brown, but sometimes dark gray. They appeared like a cross between a mountain
lion and a timber wolf, but with an elongated body that was almost snake like
in its flexibility. It was this long and supple core that allowed it to strike
with such deadly proficiency.

With Holli leading the way, she
and Ryson rounded the base of several hills. The terrain suited both of their
natural abilities. Although the Oachets were called mountains, they stood more
as gently, rolling hills. The altitude was that of a high plain, but was no
where near the height of the Colad Mountains
where the air was thin and peaks rose above the tree line.

Holli didn't even have to look
back to gauge Ryson's condition. She knew he could handle the pace she set
without difficulty, and the clear path along a hillside was a terrain where
Ryson Acumen thrived. She would tire long before he would.

Her only concern latched upon the
stamina of her spell. While the dash was no true test of her physical
endurance, her pool of magical energy was not of equal standing. The spell she
cast upon herself constantly drained her reserve of magic. The spell would fade
if the cahltof showed much greater patience than the elf expected.

Behind her, Ryson called out a
quick warning that relieved her of that worry.

"It's still ahead of us, but
it's getting closer. I can smell it."

Unfortunately, his warning carried
an additional caution Holli did not expect.

"There's more than one!"
Ryson exclaimed.

"What?" Holli responded
in disbelief. "They do not travel in packs. Are you..."

She was unable to complete her
question as five cahltofs broke from the trees ahead of her. They were still
quite far in the distance, but they sprinted in a full charge. As Holli did not
slow her own pace, the space between them quickly diminished. Three came at her
from the left and two from the right. At first, all five focused on Holli and
angled their approach to keep her from escaping between them. One of the
beasts, however, broke ranks and lined a path toward the delver.

Two of the fastest cahltofs
widened their lead on the other three. When they reached the proper range, each
launched itself at Holli, though they sprung at her from opposite sides. It was
an attack the elf expected.

A cahltof would pursue its prey to
exhaustion, and when it believed its victim was sufficiently fatigued, it would
leap at the head and throat. The long sleek body would wrap around its intended
meal, choking the prey or snapping its neck. It was a usually a quick fate, but
not one Holli intended for herself or Ryson.

One of the beasts slammed into
Holli's chin and attempted to wrap itself around her throat just as the second
leapt into her midsection and hoped to crush her lungs. Both, however, received
a daunting surprise in the form of a magical disruption.

Like the seeds of a dandelion
scattered in a burst of wind, small fragments of tiny magical particles
exploded off of Holli's body. They landed upon the thick coats of the cahltofs
that attempted to wrap themselves around the elf's body. Once the particles
made contact with the beasts, each shard of magic discharged a burst of
electrical energy. Quick flashes of lightning exploded across the bodies of
both cahltofs. The electric bursts dislodged both creatures and sent them
flying away from the elf. The pain was severe enough to convince the creatures
to make a hasty retreat back into the woods.

The cahltof that altered its path
to hunt the delver forced its attack on Ryson with a similar leap toward the
delver's head. The creature never made contact. Once in the air, its path was
set and there was no way for it to redirect its course.

Ryson simply twisted his upper
body the moment after the cahltof launched itself toward him. He dropped his
head and shoulders low to one side and allowed the beast to pass harmlessly by.
Instead of turning to face the creature, he increased his speed and passed
Holli. With his sword in hand, he moved toward one of the two cahltofs that
remained in front of the elf.

With a quick but shallow thrust,
he jabbed the point of the sword lightly into the shoulder of the beast. The
Sword of Decree held many enchantments and the glowing blade burned the essence
of the creature. The cahltof shrieked and followed two of its previous
companions back into the woods.

Ryson turned with another flash of
speed and rounded back at the cahltof that had failed to hit him on its initial
assault. As expected, the creature had spun about and was preparing to strike
at Holli from the rear. With another jab of his sword, the delver convinced it
to retreat as well.

With but one predator remaining,
Ryson turned back and moved to Holli's side. The elf and the delver came to a
halt and prepared to fight off the single attacker. They watched the beast carefully
as it had also pulled to a stop. The cahltof returned the stare of the elf and
the delver as Ryson considered their next move.

"Is that spell of yours still
active?" Ryson asked.

"It is," Holli advised,
but she did not reveal that its potency was quickly fading.

Ryson wondered how long the
standoff would continue as he also knew the traits of cahltofs. Patience and
persistence were their strongest attributes and he did not want to remain there
for long. He kept an ear out for the other four beasts that had run into the
forest, but he knew that they were far off in the distance.

Holli was just about to take the
bow from her shoulder, but her hand stopped before it could reach the bow's
riser.

"Go home," the cahltof
snarled, as its gaze passed back and forth from elf to delver.

It said nothing further. It simply
turned with total disregard and stalked slowly back into the trees.

"Did you know they could
talk?" Ryson wondered.

"No, I did not believe they
could," Holli admitted.

The delver glanced back at the
cahltof's path into the trees. He could no longer see it, but he could still
hear the creature moving away at the same steady pace. Despite the otherwise
peaceful setting of the serene hills, the delver felt his uneasiness—and his curiosity—
grow. The raspy growl of the cahltof echoed in his mind.

Go home!

That was the beast's message—or
perhaps its warning. Maybe it was sound advice, but the delver found it
unpalatable. His delver spirit soared at the thought of uncovering unknowns, and
a warning from a cahltof added to the mystery surrounding the Great
Valleys.