Jeff Inlo - Chain of Bargains

The half-demons had already begun their work by setting the surrounding forest ablaze, and the roaring flames were only part of Jure's challenge. The smoke billowed up quickly, filled his nostrils with the smell of sulfur. Thankfully, a northeast breeze kept the haze from engulfing him. It still managed to mix with the night sky and decrease his visibility. He wished his awareness had remained as extensive as it did when he removed the goblin threat, but without Heteera's magic, his perception returned to its normal state. It was enough, however, to target his enemies.

The inferns never looked up, never concerned themselves with what was above them. They were, in fact, the very same inferns Holli and Ryson had spotted upon their arrival into the Great Valleys, but they no longer cared about watching for the activity of others. They were also no longer bound to the dwarf plan of ensuring humans fled west through Pride Gap. Even monitoring the pass became inconsequential. The draevol had delivered its message to them telepathically, and the half-demons took to their newly appointed task with overwhelming zeal.

They spit fire from their mouths like dragons, and the demon flames spread quickly across even the healthiest sections of forest. They walked through the fire without harm, as they were resistant to the flames, and they spread out through the blazing trees to inflict even greater devastation. They ignored each other, they ignored the smoke swirling around them, and they ignored trees bursting apart from the boiling sap within thick trunks. They were only interested in inflicting their tortured existence upon the lush lands around them, on turning everything before them into a blazing inferno.

As Jure sailed downward through the sky, he spied a wide and mighty river back in the lowlands of the valleys. Despite the darkness, he could see the running waters that created a clear path past farmlands and small towns. The rippling surface reflected the starlight and the sheer expanse of the waterway filled the elder wizard with confidence.

He called on the river's power, allowed the energy of the water to be both his sword and his shield. He cast his spell in mid-fall and torrents of liquid rose up out of the river bed and soared above the surrounding lands. It was an incredible sight, like a waterfall that traveled across the sky.

The great mass of liquid met with Jure just before he reached the ground. It surrounded him but did not engulf him. It encased him in a pocket of air at its center. He never reached the ground for the water of the river held him aloft over the tree tops and above the flames that flared even higher.

Taking the shape of a colossal multi-legged creature-something between a long-legged spider and a giant squid-the enormous accumulation of water began its defense of the land and its assault on the inferns. It kept its core high above the ground as several legs or tentacles stretched downward onto the forest floor. It was completely immune to the demon fire as its form became so dense it cooled itself before any part of it boiled away into steam.

The liquid titan struck out at the inferns first. Its fluid appendages stretched out far quicker than the inferns could move. Even those that attempted to fly out of its reach were plucked from the sky. It took hold of each infern within its vast range and ended their wave of flaming destruction.

The magical entity did not treat the half-demons with the same care it had shown Jure. It engulfed the monsters in its appendages, overwhelmed them with the fluid of its body. When the inferns opened their mouths to spit out flames, the water pressed the fire back down their throats. Dousing the half-demons internal flame was only the start. Jure's creation applied extreme force upon the monsters it held within its form. It tightened its grip and exerted great pressure, as if the inferns were sinking deeper and deeper into the ocean's depths. The force became so overwhelming that the half-demons caved-in upon themselves until they imploded into wet cinders.

With the inferns destroyed, the magical creature of water turned its concentration onto the fires spreading across the forest. The flames burned white hot, for they were born of demons' blaze, but even demon fire could be extinguished by sufficient force. The entity of water could focus its watery essence with frightening efficiency and engulf each flaming tree or clamp down upon every burning blade of grass. It moved swiftly across the wall of fire, directed onward by Jure's will until every flame was extinguished.

The size and the great speed of the liquid creature allowed it to complete the task in mere moments. The peril in that one area had been faced and defeated, but many other inferns waited all around the Great Valleys, and there was little time for celebration. The watery entity lowered Jure to the damp forest floor, and then, at the wizard's command, sailed back across the lands until it returned to the river banks from which it came.

Turning his attention to the neighboring hills, Jure spotted another bright orange glow burning through the trees to the northwest. He called upon another teleportation spell. Compacting space through a tunnel of magic, he placed himself back in the sky over the new fire. He spotted another grouping of inferns setting the trees around them ablaze.

He repeated the entire process; summoning a water entity of great power and unleashing it against the inferns and the demon fire that burned through the forest

When he was done, he teleported to the next blazing glow and attacked once more. Each assault was frighteningly efficient, ensuring that every infern was eliminated and each smoldering ember was extinguished.

He traveled all around the Great Valleys, covering the vast region with the power of teleportation. It required vast amounts of energy, but each time he called upon some great river in the distance, he requested additional support. He connected with the intrinsic magical energy within each drop of water. The rivers willingly obliged, eager to help the wizard save the valleys it had helped construct ages ago. After every conflict, the flowing waters rewarded Jure with a renewing surge of magic.

The effort continued throughout the night, but became more difficult as morning drew near. The fires he reached at the later stages of the conflict had much more time to burn and consume the lands. The final two blazes were titanic struggles and Jure was forced to call on multiple rivers. He created several water entities to battle both fires and inferns, and despite the reenergizing power of the magic he received, he almost collapsed from exhaustion. He fought the last handful of inferns on pure will alone, but before the sun rose, he had defeated them all.

Huntston suffered more than any other town in the valleys, even worse than Ashlan. The concentration of goblins was the greatest in the mines under the town between the Twin Rivers. When the dark creatures were released to create havoc, they raged with a fury that surpassed anywhere else. Every soldier was killed, every shop ransacked, and every home overrun. While many of the citizens were forced out into the wilderness to the west, nearly half were killed within the town's borders.

Of course, there was no warning. When Strog Grandhammer realized the delver and the elf had escaped, he issued the order to begin the uprising. He communicated that directive to goblins in the mines and word spread quickly through the horde. While the draevols used telepathic spells to broadcast the message to goblins across the region, the multitude under Huntston reacted immediately.

When Enin reached Huntston, he quickly reviewed the damage, or rather the lack of it. Even for a wizard capable of extravagant spells of immense power, the initial scene surprised him. A bizarre outlook of inconsistency filled every street corner. An eerie silence prevailed, and a lonely calm pressed itself across the empty roads. Though the goblins had delivered severe destruction when they first released their rage, most of it had been washed away by powerful magic.