Jeff Inlo - Pure Choice

The initial contact rushed toward her, but couldn't touch her in any way. Linda didn't feel anything on her skin, but she could sense something all around her. She almost called out for help. She thought of Ryson, but for some reason she knew he could not help her. The same force that tried to take hold of her was also inside her husband, inside all delvers.

She turned to run back into the main room of the tavern, but then a surge of odd images rushed into her consciousness. A wave of emotions kept her in place. She felt everything at once; fear, sadness, anxiety, confusion, but mostly anger, and it raged within her.

She wanted to strike out at something, but there was nothing near that was worth her immense fury. She shook uncontrollably as she grabbed her head, clawing at her hair and trying to somehow reach the flood of foreign memories pouring into her mind.

For long, drawn out moments it continued. No one noticed, for she remained alone and away from the tavern full of Burbon's citizens. She grunted and snarled in a fit of pure rage. She never saw the two greasy puddles sliding toward her.

Two arasaps had entered the tavern by sliding through a back window well before the river rogues even entered the town. Both had waited patiently in a far corner near the stairs to the basement. They appeared as nothing more than two large drops of water that might have fallen from some boiling pot.

They kept in constant contact with the arasap that was already inside the human host. Through telepathic messages only the arasaps could understand, they knew to wait. An opportunity was coming soon, and they would not waste it.

When the first arasap began to feed, the other two creatures made their way across the floor. Their objective remained alone and far too occupied to notice their advance. When they reached her feet, they both rose up slowly, like expanding bubbles. They struck from opposite sides, each taking hold of a separate arm.

Linda barely noticed. The flood of images and emotions kept her angry and confused… and completely unable to comprehend her dire situation. She felt the greasy substances slide across her arms and into her neck near her shoulders.

At the same instant, the flood of images subsided and she could no longer feel the strange presence surrounding her. When she regained her composure, all traces of the arasaps were gone. The incident remained fuzzy in her mind. She wondered if she imagined the entire event.

There was one thing, however, that remained clear in her mind. She thought of Ryson and how he left her. He was not there to help her. Beyond that, she realized there was something between them, an obstacle that neither of them could overcome.

Linda stormed out into the tavern and took a seat alone at a back table. She ignored everyone around her. She focused on a single glass that was left on the table. It was empty, but she began to look at it as a symbol of her future. She wanted to toss it across the room, let it shatter into a thousand shards, but she held to it. She decided she didn't want to let go of it, at least not at that moment.

Those that waited in the Borderline Inn let her be. They imagined her emotional state was the result of the chaos outside in the streets. They couldn't blame her. Her husband was racing through the town, defending Burbon against horrible creatures, fighting for them.

Ryson found the third rogue in a residential section of Burbon, roaming through shadows of the eastside. The beast appeared almost disoriented and seemed much more intent on fleeing as opposed to stalking the alleys for food. Several dogs were barking from inside locked homes, and the rogue moved frantically from one shadowy corner to the next, hopelessly trying to escape the noisy mayhem.

Rogues didn't like dogs, as dogs could smell them far in the distance-another reason why dogs had become so popular after the return of magic. Early warning and avoidance of danger became necessary in life throughout Uton, particularly so near Dark Spruce Forest, and dogs proved to be the ablest of alarms against shags, goblins, and especially river rogues. From the smallest terriers to the largest wolfhounds, the appreciation for canines grew as their natural ability to sense dark creatures saved almost as many citizens as the town guard.

Reeling from an alley to a dark porch and then to a lonely street corner, the rogue seemed helpless in its attempt to avoid attention. The moment it rushed away from one barking canine, it stepped too near the home of another. Soon, the entire eastside echoed with yaps and howls, and the monster could find no path to sanctuary.

Ryson closed to within a single town block of the rogue, but then slowed his approach. He continued to carry the Sword of Decree in front of him, but he made no attempt to wave it over his head. He had a clear view of the creature, knew there was only one in the area, but he delayed signaling the towers. He continued to assess the situation as he watched the rogues frantic movements.

Realizing the monster was extremely agitated, Ryson wondered if trying to catch it in an iron net remained the best alternative. He was very near the eastern town entrance. He probably could have coaxed the creature toward the gate, right through the passage, and beyond the wall in mere moments. He knew the rogue was simply trying to escape. Guiding it to just such a remedy seemed the best solution for everyone involved.

Unfortunately, Ryson knew the gate was closed and the keepers were under strict orders to leave it that way. They weren't going to open it for him, even if he had the rogue marching right in front of him. More than likely, they would signal the situation to the towers, and the captain of the guard would receive the message immediately.

Ryson thought of the agreement he had with Sy. The captain gave his word he would release the rogues unharmed, but it would be far from the town. Sy wasn't going to allow the beast to flee so near Burbon's borders. There was already tension between the two of them, and breaking their agreement would only add to the stress.

Still, the delver made no move to signal the towers. He followed the rogue for a few more blocks, which only served to strengthen Ryson's opinion that the creature was too unsettled to hunt for prey. If everyone stayed away from it and allowed the beast free passage, it would leave of its own accord. The only thing it seemed to care about was escaping the continuous clamor of the neighborhood dogs. The monster didn't even notice the delver's glowing sword.

The rain that had been little more than a very light shower finally altered the delver's decision. A smattering of drops here and there turned into a steadier downpour. The rhythmic beat of drops against the surrounding rooftops added to the chorus of barking dogs. Several street lanterns dimmed or were extinguished completely. Visibility was dropping quickly, and Ryson knew the guards in the streets would have a difficult time keeping their torches lit.

With nothing to gain in delaying his decision further and growing anxious over the storm clouds to the west, the delver waved his glowing blade over his head. He kept a close watch on the river rogue, waited to see if the action might divert its attention.

It didn't.

The monster simply kept moving onward, trying to find a secure place to hide, but failing to do so. The only thing that seemed to offer it any solace whatsoever was the increasing rains.

Okyiq also welcomed the storm. The rain began to pour down upon the tall grass of the hills just as heavier winds rustled almost violently through the trees of Dark Spruce to the west. The large goblin nodded his head in approval as he made one last address to his surrounding lieutenants.

"See? This is why I lead. Told you the rain would be stronger. Humans will have hard time seeing us. What will they shoot at? Nothing. We have target. We can shoot at the top of wall and at towers without even seeing humans, but we know they are there. We will hit some. They will die."