Jeff Inlo - Chain of Bargains

"Not here," Holli responded in a determined growl. "The other is in Huntston. We will take care of it as well, but this is the one behind it all. I can tell."

"But can't they use those transport spells?"

"They can, but it would leave a clear trail that Enin could follow."

The delver looked to Enin once more for confirmation.

The powerful wizard nodded.

"Don't worry, Ryson. Neither of them will get away," Enin advised.

"I'm not worried about them getting away. I'm more concerned about walking into a surprise."

"No more surprises," Holli stated, as if sheer will would force the entire event into a final conclusion, "and no more mysteries. The dwarves started this mess, the draevols corrupted it, and we are about to end it."

Nothing further needed to be said, and the elf quickly located not only the entrance to the town hall, but the stairs to the basement as well. She took the lead, not even waiting for Enin to offer direction or advice. She bounded down the steps and found exactly what she was looking for.

The draevol waited at the center of the cellar and its pale glowing form filled even the darkest corners with light. It looked upon the four intruders with fiery red eyes. It did not smirk or frown, but it certainly did not cast an apathetic gaze upon those before it. While it did not shrink in fear, the draevol showed proper respect to the powers of each of the individuals that confronted it.

Ryson had read descriptions of draevols, but he was still surprised by its appearance. The legends described the demons as pale apparitions fixated on sickness and disease. They glowed white hot, but not with anger. They simmered with deliberation on flaw and failing. They were the bringer of pain and weakness, and the icy hand of decay. Their white forms might have contrasted with the brown magic of rot they cast, but the pure paleness of their beings accentuated the lack of healthy color in their demon hearts.

All of that certainly matched what Ryson saw, but the overpowering presence of the demon far exceeded his conception of a creature that embraced sickness. Remembering that Holli described draevols as plague mages, he expected a twisted and decayed creature. He imagined he would find a decrepit essence, frail and feeble-not a colossus-but that is exactly what stood at the center of the enclosed space… at the center of the anguish across the valleys.

The demon was larger than Ryson expected-as tall and as massive as a cliff behemoth. There did not appear, however, to be much firm substance to the fiend. Its form carried distinct borders, and it was not so ethereal as to appear ghostly, but the creature seemed to lack true mass. It appeared like a pure white flame that had taken the contour of a large, hulking beast and suddenly congealed into that form. A near solid, pale, unflickering fire-that's how Ryson saw the demon's body.

The size and brightness of the fiend almost served as a great contradiction to its underlying nature, until Ryson remembered how truly terrifying and powerful plagues and diseases could be. They might have weakened their victims, but the sicknesses themselves could easily become tragedies of epic proportions. The overwhelming presence of the demon served to emphasize that fact. It wasn't simply a representation of the despair it could cause, but rather the depth of its peril. Plagues of the past had wiped out cities and towns, entire regions. With that thought, Ryson realized that was what the draevol had planned all along.

The demon spoke first and it focused on Jure.

"You are the one who cast the spells of power. Well played, but how was it possible? That much magic is not within you."

"Do not tell him," Holli intervened before Jure could speak. "We do not have to humor him with answers."

"I do not have to rely on you for answers," the demon scoffed. "I just did not wish to make assumptions. I know the magic I brought into the city was pulled from me by a very chaotic sorceress, but she is not here. Overwhelmed by the magic perhaps? Yes, I believe so."

Holli wondered if the fiend was just playing with them.

"If that's the case, why do you believe he cast the spell?" she asked, as she gestured to Jure.

"I understand the magic as well as you. He did not take the energy from me, but he certainly used it." The demon nodded to Jure. "I am impressed."

The draevol then cast a careful glance toward Enin.

"The mighty wizard is here as well. I actually imagined you would be the one to defeat the goblins, but I thought it would require more of your attention. It seems I was wrong. You have ended my plans much sooner than I hoped. Congratulations, but you should all go home now."

Ryson recognized the voice.

"The cahltofs!" the delver explained. "Before we got into the valleys, a cahltof told us to go home, but it was your voice. Wasn't it?"

"The delver has keen senses-no surprise."

"Why did you want us to go home?"

"Is it not obvious? Why would I want you here? You are an intrusion."

"But Strog wanted my sword."

"Strog wanted many things, ultimately none of which he was ever going to have."

"So you bargained with Strog," Holli announced, with no true surprise.

"I dealt with a great number of creatures; dwarves, goblins, bloat spiders, inferns, even humans. You are no doubt already aware of my dealings with the human leader of this town. He believed he could actually outwit me, thought I was underestimating him based on his appearance. I don't look at the outside. I'm much more interested in what's within. If anything, I overestimated him. I could not believe he would fall so easily."

"He was corrupt," Enin announced. "The corrupt always end up falling. It's just a matter of time."

"A rather naive point of view from such a powerful wizard. All of you are corrupt in one way or another. I would have thought you understood that."

"There is a difference between being corrupt and being imperfect," Enin shot back.

"We argue over words, not concepts," the demon allowed. "I understand many concepts, especially about humans. The most important aspect is that you don't conquer them with swords, you let them conquer themselves with apathy. That's why when I heard of the dwarf plan, I knew I had to be part of it. The goblins weren't sure of whether or not to trust the dwarves after they made their initial bargain. They came to me for advice. I offered to help them along. In fact, I helped get the plan moving."

Holli saw another piece of the puzzle fall into place.

"You cast the spells that made the people start to leave. You created the unease, the fear, the desire to run. Not in everyone, but just enough to get the exodus started."

"We had to make room for the first wave of goblins," the demon admitted. "We couldn't just take over farms that were already occupied. We had to give a few people a bit of a push."

Enin thought of what Sy Fenden had told him of a farmer who had left his land because his crops died, but they had not died normally. It was all becoming clear.

"You and your brother traveled through the underground tunnels the dwarves dug across the valleys," the wizard accused. "The dwarf tunneling made the underground rumbling that caused the first taste of fear and you built on it. You withered their crops and left a pall of disease in the air."

"It was my offering to the dwarves, my way of being kept in as part of the plan. I was able to open portals over time to bring in more and more goblins. I even cast a spell of sickness on the dwarf king and queen. I gave the dwarf leader exactly what he wanted."

"He's not their leader," Ryson corrected, "He's just a rebel who's pretending to be in charge."

"Whatever."

Holli pointed out the rest as she finally saw the final pieces of the puzzle fall into place.