Jeff Inlo - Pure Choice

"It can't be the same one," Sy Fenden growled. "They're quick, but river rogues don't travel that fast, especially on dry land."

"How'd they get inside the walls?" the soldier who just offered the news of another sighting asked Burbon's captain of the guard.

"My guess? The drainage ditches that run under the walls," the captain offered without much doubt. "We have to let the water go somewhere… not too unreasonable to assume at least one of these things would eventually follow the water flow, especially with all the rain we've been having."

"But the ditches are gated at the walls," the soldier responded.

"The gates rust and these things are strong," Sy noted. "At daybreak, we'll check the grates. I'm betting at least one will have been pulled free. It's not a surprise. The only surprise is that more than one came in during the same time. Blast, I thought these things were more territorial."

The guard captain considered his options. His first concern was for the safety of Burbon's citizens.

"With two of them roaming around, we're going to have to issue an alarm. I was hoping to isolate the first one without causing too much clamor-didn't want to agitate it-but I can't risk it. Inform the tower guards to signal a breach warning. Immediate shelter… with no exceptions." That was all the soldier would need to send to the towers, but Sy expanded on his orders to make them clear. "Everyone goes to the nearest shelter and stays put. I want everyone inside as soon as possible. I don't want people trying to race home."

The soldier nodded, pulled a small red flag from his belt, and moved directly beneath a street lantern to be seen easily in the night. He waved the flag to gain the attention of the guards standing watch in the towers and then offered the signals to communicate the captain's orders.

Just as the soldier was finishing the first communication, Sy added to the message.

"Expand the alert to all guard posts and call for a security sweep of the entire town by foot soldiers only. No horses. All horseback patrols are to stand fast. I want both rogues accounted for as soon as possible."

Just as Sy finished the additional orders, Sergeant Klusac arrived. He directed his mount across the town street and to the captain's side.

"More bad news, captain," the sergeant offered with both sympathy for his leader's dilemma and concern for the growing problem. "A third sighting within the town… not even close to the other two. This one is to the east. There's definitely at least three rogues inside the wall. Tower watch reports additional sightings beyond the town borders as well. Another two were spotted outside the wall to the northwest."

"What the blazes is going on?" Sy demanded, not of the sergeant or of the guard finishing the signals, but of the dark skies above, hoping to get some stroke of clarity. "Five river rogues in the same area. What is this… some kind of conference I didn't know about?"

It was not meant to be a joke. The words were spoken with both frustration and bewilderment.

"I don't understand it, either," the sergeant admitted. "I thought they kept clear of each other."

Sy quickly turned his attention to addressing the calamity.

"Keep all gates closed. No one exits to deal with the two on the outside. I don't want anyone going outside the wall until we know what's going on. Get additional archers up in the towers and on the walls over every drainage ditch. I don't want any more of these things getting inside."

The sergeant motioned for the guard to signal the new orders to the towers and then updated his captain on what he knew.

"I just came from the northern section of town. I checked out both sighting locations, but the creatures have moved on. Third sighting occurred closer to the eastern gate. If I had to guess, I'd say they got in under the wall to the northeast."

Sy nodded. "There's a drainage ditch there that leads out to a nearby farm, but we have to cover them all until we know for sure."

"I won't argue," the sergeant agreed. "As for the rest of the town, all gates are closed and I told the gatekeepers to wait for additional orders. We'll keep the other two rogues out-and any others that might be skulking around out there-but there may be more than three inside." He paused as he took a sweeping glance at the dark skies. "Still cloudy, I think more rain is on the way… a lot more. Visibility is already poor, could get worse."

Sy gave another look to the blackened heavens. It seemed as if the skies were willing to add to his troubles.

"Blast," the captain cursed again, and then gave additional messages for the signal guard. "Alert the towers to switch to covered torches. We're not going to be able to see flags in the rain."

"It's also going to be harder to spot the rogues," Klusac noted.

Realizing his options were dwindling, Sy looked back up to his sergeant.

"Get Ryson for me."

The sergeant didn't wish to delay or question his superior's orders, but he had to point out the truth.

"If these things are inside, they're going to have to be killed. He won't be a part of that."

The captain sighed heavily. "I know. He's going to want to try and capture them. It's not the way to deal with the situation, but he can sense them without seeing them. Without Enin here, we don't have many choices." Sy paused only for a moment, and then revealed his expectations. "Maybe he'll listen to reason this time, but I doubt it. If we have to, we'll play it his way."

The captain knew that ended the discussion, but Sy offered more advice before the sergeant could turn away.

"Be careful on the streets. Rogues spook horses something fierce. You're the only one I want riding through the streets, but I don't want you getting thrown. Go to the tavern first. My bet is he's there waiting to walk Linda home."

Klusac nodded and directed his mount away without another word.

After peering down several streets and alleys to ensure the citizens of Burbon had taken the warning to find immediate shelter seriously, Sy moved back to the soldier who had signaled the towers.

"Signal the towers again. Cancel the order for the sweep. Have the foot patrols take positions at major crossroads and wait for further orders. Stay here and keep note of the tower communications. I'm going to the nearest barracks. I'll dispatch messengers back to you as soon as I get there. Use them to keep me apprised of what's happening here. When Klusac and Acumen return, send them to the barracks."

After the soldier acknowledged his order, Sy moved quickly across the darkened streets, stepping through dancing shadows created by the flickering flames of the street lamps. The wind picked up, and he could smell the rain in the distance. Nothing was going to be easy.

Tactical approaches to deal with the incursion flashed through his mind. The thick scales of the river rogues were durable, but not resistant to arrows. If he could find them, his archers could bring them down. Unfortunately, he knew the delver wouldn't allow the obvious approach.

Still, the delver was the best suited to quickly scout the town and locate any river rogues within their walls. He'd try to convince Ryson, but he wouldn't waste time arguing. Heavier rains were coming, and that would hinder his efforts and work to the monsters' advantage. The river rogues had to be neutralized as quickly as possible, even if he had to give into the delver's passive nature.

Fairly confident he could address the river rogues without casualties, he ceased isolating the problem and considered it with regard to his other worries. Five river rogues-three already inside the wall and two outside-were far beyond any rogue encounter they had previously experienced in Burbon.

With the Fuge River nearby, there was always the threat of one or two wandering in too close, enticed by the scents of food and hopes of easy prey, but three actually breaching the walls was a little too extreme for the captain to dismiss as mere chance. He faced the prospect of finding a connection between the incursion of river rogues with other occurrences happening around Burbon.