Jeff Inlo - Chain of Bargains

"I wanted to fight you alone," the elf continued, "without the help of the others. Enin would have just sent you back to where you belong. I want you to crawl back and never want to return."

The draevol nearly disregarded the elf. The words were pointless bravado, nothing more. Of the four that once confronted it, it feared the elf the least. As a demon, it could see into her heart and inspect the essence of her power. Her magic was puny, especially compared to the two wizards that had left to deal with other dilemmas.

The demon's own magical prowess was superior to the elf's as well, and it felt no peril from emerald energy-the power of nature. Disease could overcome field after field and forest after forest. The monster possessed the power to wither the entire valley, and there was nothing the elf could do to stop it.

The demon also viewed the elf as a minor annoyance in comparison to the delver. The elf lacked the physical talents of Ryson Acumen, who was immensely dangerous with his speed and quickness. The threat of the delver went far beyond his physical abilities. Any demon could sense the pureness of his heart. The magic that was deep inside that particular delver was endowed with a grace of its own, the kind of benevolence that could shatter a demon's diseased existence with but a wave of the hand.

In an act of obvious arrogance, the elf had sent the delver away as well, and Ryson Acumen took with him the enchanted sword. Such a weapon in the hands of one with incomparable speed could have destroyed the demon in mere moments, but the elf relegated the delver to face the inferns, a tactical error in the eyes of the fiend and a waste of true power. The draevol probably feared Ryson more than any other, save for perhaps Enin, and it was pleased to see him leave. If Holli spoke of a favor, it was a favor to the demon that she sent the delver to battle its foot soldiers.

No, the true dangers to the demon had departed. The elf's strength was her tactical awareness, her ability to lead, but she had proved lesser in that regard than the demon expected. As a direct menace, she was nothing more than an insignificant irritation, and the draevol revealed its disrespect with a booming voice of impatience.

"Be gone elf. You waste my time and I warn you, I have little patience for such annoyances."

"That is how you view me? As an annoyance?" Holli demanded.

Unable to ignore the request of a brave soul who stood before it, the demon was forced to admit certain facts. Agreements and considerations-even if not entirely spoken-held significance. Despite not wishing to waste precious time with the elf, the existence of more favorable circumstances came at the elf's bidding, not its own. Acknowledging the benefit it received from Holli's actions, the draevol offered but one consideration in return.

"No, not a complete annoyance. You have given me what I want. You have sent the others away and allowed me the opportunity I need to escape and cover my trail. I give you your due in that. Do as I once suggested, go home. I will allow you that as part of a new bargain."

Holli would have none of it. She did not send the others away for the demon's benefit. She did as she saw fit, and she based her decisions on the dangers they faced. Though she wished to face the draevol on her own, she knew she sent each individual to confront a challenge based on their abilities. It was her good fortune that left her alone with the demon.

"We have no agreement," she announced with authority, making it clear she renounced any unspoken contract, "and I have no intention of allowing you to leave."

It was not quite a sigh of exasperation that came from the demon, more of an irritated grumble. Its own red eyes glared down upon the elf before it, and the fiend painted a picture of the truth.

"I am a demon plague mage and you are nothing but an elf sorceress. You cast the green energy of nature, I can sense that in you, but I am the power of disease, decay, even death. You have no chance against me. If you wish to deny any agreement, so be it, but leave while you can."

"You think I will rely on my magical abilities?" the elf questioned.

"What else do you have? As an elf, you are potentially more dangerous than an ordinary human, but I am not human. If you had planned to match me in a contest of physical abilities, why would you have sent away the delver?"

"I did that for him."

"How noble of you, but you are wasting my time. Leave now… elf… sorceress… whatever it is you wish to consider yourself. I no longer care."

Holli, however, found the demon's viewpoint of the truth more than lacking. She was not prepared only to battle a draevol, she was ready to accept everything she was.

"I am not just an elf sorceress… and I am not just an elf guard. I am both, and I will use all of my strengths against you."

Jure never considered questioning the elf guard. Though he believed he was better suited to deal with the draevol than Holli, it was not his position to question her orders. Instead, he focused all of his energy on locating and neutralizing the inferns that surrounded the edges of the Great Valleys. It was a daunting task, and it would require all his concentration and energy. Arguing tactics with the elf was not only out of character for the elder wizard, it was a pointless endeavor.

The thought of an infern, or even hundreds of inferns did not trouble him. They were half-demons, very quick, and masters of demon fire, but his natural power originated from blue energy, the power of water. While he mastered his control over all the hues, his control of blue magic remained extensive. Even demon fire would not be able to cut through his defenses.

Unfortunately, the challenge rested not with defeating inferns, but in overcoming space and time. When the full force of the Heteera's magic flowed within him, his perception of the valleys extended to every border. He had seen the number of inferns and the vast stretches of land they covered. If they were set to unleash their fiery wrath over all the regions they guarded, the Great Valleys would soon be surrounded by demon flame.

Heteera's great flow of magic, however, no longer coursed through his essence. He had to rely on his own ability to reach out to the energy and utilize it as efficiently as possible. Reaching each destination and confronting every infern, that was his true dilemma. He could not fly like Enin. It would consume too much energy, and he would need every ounce in the battles to come.

In a decisive move, the elder wizard decided to utilize two of his superior abilities. He would concentrate on shifting dimensions to overcome the obstacle of space. Once upon his adversaries, he would depend on his skill over the element of water to engage his foes.

His first target set, he teleported himself to the southwestern edges of the Great Valleys, to the border of the Oachet Mountains. He would begin his assault there and ride the waves of blue magic and dimensional travel around the entire outer borders.

When he set his anchor point for where he would arrive, he did not place it on the ground. Instead, he placed it high in the night sky so that he would command an expansive view below him. Of course, because he couldn't fly, he would not simply float above the mountains indefinitely.

The moment he appeared over the Oachets, he began to plummet. At his age, he did not seek out such thrills, but he could not deny the exhilaration of soaring through the air as if he was indeed flying of his own will. As he dove downward, he could see several inferns marching across the forest floor below. He couldn't miss them. They glowed bright in the dark night of the wilderness. They would have appeared like flickering white stars in a black sky had they been surrounded by darkness, but fires spreading through the trees created an orange glow that looked more like sunset breaking though late afternoon clouds.