Jeff Inlo - Pure Choice

He considered all the activity at Pinesway. The neighboring town had once been abandoned and became a haven for bandits and thugs, but that was no longer the case. It was being rebuilt by dwarves and humans. The criminal element had been forced out, and settlers continued to repopulate the area. Humans were even logging again just beyond the outskirts of the town.

Sy believed it was possible a handful of rogues might have been alarmed at the increased activity… and especially the presence of dwarves above ground. River rogues might have been willing to hunt down humans, but the sturdy underground dwellers were another matter. Sy assumed that previous contact between rogues and dwarves had been limited at best. River rogues preferred hiding in the tall grass by the sides of waterways and dwarves remained below ground.

The captain pondered river rogue activity and their more likely adversaries. With that thought, he mulled over another prospect that troubled him, gave him an uneasy feeling like listening to an out of tune instrument played by an intense amateur musician. It had been several days since he had received any reports from the elves of Dark Spruce, and elves and river rogues were natural enemies.

When the magic first returned to Uton, elves and humans appeared to have the easiest time in reestablishing relations. Communication between his town and the elves of Dark Spruce Forest started out sporadically, but it had become more constant over the past few seasons. There wasn't any official treaty between them, but a casual agreement to share information had burgeoned into a fairly stable structure of cooperation. He believed the elves, and certainly his own forces, benefited from the shared intelligence.

For some reason, however, all contact with the elves had ceased. He had sent scouts out into Dark Spruce, but he knew that elves could avoid detection if they chose to remain hidden. They had done so for countless cycles of the seasons when the magic was absent from the land. Avoiding human scouts in the deepest sections of Dark Spruce would be a simple task.

The question was, why? Why would the elves break off all communication? To Sy's knowledge, there had been no hostilities between them, not even a minor misunderstanding.

The loss of reports from the elves was more than a slight inconvenience, it quickly became a substantial concern. He wondered if the situation with the elves had anything to do with the appearance of so many rogues. To his dismay, he had very little information about any dark creature activity in Dark Spruce and his town was suddenly inundated with monsters. He didn't like the implications.

When he reached the barracks, he ordered several messengers to different outposts across the town. The guard station would serve as a temporary command post, and he would ensure he received sufficient information. He also placed a signal guard on the roof to establish immediate communications with each tower. He quickly reviewed the contents of the adjoining armory and then waited for the return of his sergeant and the delver. They arrived quicker than he expected.

"I found him outside the door of the tavern," Klusac explained. "He was guiding people inside while guarding the entrance."

Ryson Acumen moved lightly into the barracks with ease in his step, like a light breeze flowing down a mountainside. There was no stress in his eyes, no tension in his body, and no apprehension in his movements. Still, anyone who knew the delver recognized a raised level of vigilance.

"I heard the disturbance and I saw the signals," Ryson acknowledged. "The sergeant told me about the rogues. How do you want to handle it?"

Sy looked dead in the face of the delver and offered what he felt was the best way to approach the situation, though he already knew Ryson would object.

"I want you to use your senses to locate every rogue within the walls. Once you pinpoint them, I'll have archers dispatch them as quickly as possible. You can…"

Ryson didn't let him continue.

"No, I won't find them so you can kill them."

Sy made one last effort.

"They're already inside the walls… on the streets. They're dangerous and they're here to kill our citizens."

"We can handle it without killing them. The people have already been warned. No one is going to get killed tonight."

Eyeing the delver with frustration, Sy realized further argument was not only futile, but a waste of critical time.

"Fine, we don't kill them. We'll capture them. I'll send guards to different points of the town with iron chain nets. Rogues are strong, but they can't rip through iron. You hunt them down. Keep that sword of yours out in the open. I want the tower guards to keep track of your progress. When you pinpoint a rogue, stop and wave the sword three times over your head. The tower guards will signal your position to my soldiers, and they'll take it from there."

"Maybe you should just let me take care of it. I can lead them out of the town. I would just need your guards to open a gate once…"

It was Sy's turn to cut off the delver.

"No. You won't let me dispatch them, as I should-and I'll live with that-but I'm not going to let you lead some kind of parade through town. I'm also not going to open the gates at night. There are more rogues outside the wall. We net those that are already inside, secure them so they can't get loose, and I'll have them released very far down river tomorrow."

"I have your word you won't have them killed?"

"You have my word." Sy frowned. He didn't feel it was necessary to affirm his order. He meant what he said, and the delver asking for some kind of confirmation added to his annoyance. He was already compromising with the delver-adding risk he did not think was necessary-and Ryson's apparent lack of faith was a jab he did not need… or like. He wouldn't waste time debating the issue at that moment, but he also decided that wouldn't be the end of the conversation.

"You and I are going to have to have a talk."

"Tomorrow," Ryson offered.

"That'll be fine."

Ryson was sorry the tone had become so unfriendly. He wished he could have cleared the air before he left, but he had rogues to find.

Turning about with a flash of grace, Ryson quickly exited the barracks with Sergeant Klusac and Sy following close behind. The delver pulled the Sword of Decree from the sheath on his back.

The blade glowed brightly as it magnified and reflected the surrounding light. Even with a night sky blanketed in clouds, the land was never completely dark. Light always managed to find its way through the land of Uton and the Sword of Decree enhanced that light with its enchantment.

"Not as bright as it would glow in the day," Ryson admitted, "but in this darkness, I doubt the tower guards will have any trouble seeing me."

"We think there's only three," Sy reminded the delver, "but there could be more. Find them all, and do it quickly."

Ryson nodded and sped off toward the northern section of town.

"I still can't get over how fast he can move," Klusac blurted out as he watched the glowing sword become a streaking flash through the night.

"It is amazing," Sy allowed. Then the captain offered a relevant consideration, for his benefit as well as Klusac's. "Maybe if he wasn't so blasted fast he'd understand why the rest of us are a bit more willing to remove these threats completely rather than playing around with them, especially at night. I wouldn't want to go running after rogues alone, but then again, I can't move like he does."

Klusac didn't verbally agree with the sentiment, didn't want to simply admit his own fears, but he knew he wouldn't want to chase river rogues hiding throughout the town in the dead of night, either. Rather than dwell on his own misgivings, the sergeant turned his attention to his duties.