Jeff Inlo - Chain of Bargains

"Very impressive," the demon allowed, "but still pointless. I did not use my full strength for I did not wish to waste it on you. I will need it to escape."

"You are not going to escape," Holli called out, remaining behind the thicket. "You will either crawl back to your dark realm, or you will be destroyed."

"And what if I just teleport out of here now?"

"I will follow you," the elf persisted.

"But then you'll be too weak to fight me."

"Perhaps, or perhaps I will find another way to defeat you. I told you, I am a sorceress and an elf guard. I consider all the aspects of battle. If you simply teleport out of here, you will leave a trail… a trail that Enin can follow. You will be weakened as well, and he has the power to destroy you even at full strength."

"Then I will have to kill you quickly and rebuild my strength," the draevol announced, as if it was a verdict that could not be overturned.

Holli wondered if she might have pushed the draevol too far. Where she believed she could emerge victorious in a battle of wills, she could not defeat the demon if it became a contest of magical power. The tactics of an elf guard were just as important as her physical attributes and both had to be used in accord with her sorceress skills. She needed to rely on everything she had become and use all of her talents together.

Hoping to surprise the fiend with her daring, she stepped out into open space.

"You are a demon and you are not against bargains, correct?"

The draevol withheld its attack, for the elf's words were true. Bargains were at the heart of its existence. Demons traded the decency of their souls for power. They allowed corruption into their essence in order to spread plague and famine. The fiend could not ignore the statement as it offered opportunity.

"I've already offered you a bargain. I would have let you live. You seemed determine to fight me. Why the change?"

"I am still determined to fight you," Holli admitted. "I have no desire to let you escape."

Sensing a trick, a feeble attempt to waste time, the demon prepared to cast another spell that would have obliterated the elf in an instant. Before it could complete the casting, however, Holli forced the fiend to a halt.

"The bargain has to do with victory," she called out. "If you simply destroy me, what have you gained? Nothing. No bargain has been made."

"I get to escape," the demon countered.

"Do you? Or is it only temporary. Enin will still hunt you down. How long can you evade him now that he knows of your existence? How vengeful will he be if he knows you killed his apprentice?"

The demon scowled.

"What is it you offer?"

"Why waste your energy trying to destroy me…"

"Because I can," the demon interrupted.

"Whether you can or not is not the issue. You have to admit it will take time and energy."

"You are already wasting time. Is that what you hope to do now with this false offer?"

Holli actually stepped closer to the demon.

"If you hear me out completely, rather than interrupting, you will see that I am offering to put time on your side instead of pitting it against you. It is Enin you fear, or perhaps the delver, you said so yourself. I am willing to make an offer that will protect you against them."

The demon glared at the elf guard for but a moment.

"Make your offer and make it clear."

"I think we both agree that when Enin finishes with your brother, he will return here to deal with you. If we are both here and alive when he returns, I pledge my service to you as long as you remain alive or in this realm. When you die or exit this existence, I forfeit my life as well."

The demon's scowl eased as it considered the full measure of the bargain. It followed the complexity of the deal to its conclusion and almost smiled.

"I must add to it," the demon hissed. "You must vow not to attempt to leave this place until the wizard arrives."

"I willingly agree. It is my intention to destroy you or send you back to where you belong. I will not try to flee."

Realizing that time was, in fact, on its side, the demon paused to consider the details. It spoke of them as if trying to clarify the meaning, but it had already placed the context of the bargain in a form that it could manipulate.

"You will try to kill me, but I can't kill you," the draevol pointed out. "Ultimately, that is what you suggest. I'm not sure I like that arrangement."

It was a lie. The demon saw the true advantage but hoped to string out the agreement to its benefit.

Holli responded with the logic of the bargain.

"We both know that you do not fear me. You fear Enin. It is protection against him I offer, and my life must remain intact for the bargain to hold any sway over him. If I fail to kill you or fail to force you back to the dark realm before he returns, what can he do? If he kills you, then based on our bargain, he kills me as well. If you survive my assault, I am only to remain alive as long as I can be in your service in this land. He can not even force you back to your realm without sacrificing me. Why would you want to kill me when keeping me alive is at the heart of the agreement? All you have to do is survive the battle with me and you have the ultimate bargaining chip against Enin."

"What of the delver?"

"He will be busy."

"But what if he returns. His speed and his sword make him almost as dangerous as the wizard, perhaps even more so."

"I will direct him to stay out of the fight."

"He may not listen. No, the battle must remain between you and I. If you gain any external assistance, you forfeit and I have your vow."

Holli pointed to the roots and branches that filled the cellar.

"I cannot make that pledge. I already have the assistance of the trees."

"I'm not talking about that," the demon hissed. "I'm talking about the delver… and the other wizard who casts white magic. If they return and assist you, the bargain falls in my favor."

"Agreed."

"Then try to destroy me, elf, and hope your wizard master is much less efficient with his power than I expect him to be. Time is running short for you indeed."

The bargain had been sealed and both believed they won much. The draevol wished to stay alive, and it was Enin who it feared. With Holli's life tied to its existence in Uton, the wizard's hands would be bound. The demon would not have to flee or worry about covering its escape. It could even use the elf's powers to its advantage once she was forced into its service. It would have the valleys and grow strong from making it whither and die. All it had to do was keep the meager elf at bay. An easy prospect.

As for Holli, she placed the demon on the defensive. She removed all of its offensive advantages. She would not have to worry about survival and could place all of her efforts on attacking the draevol. With but one simple bargain, she created a battlefield where the odds were in her favor.

It was risky. Enin could return at any time. She knew that was what the draevol was counting on. Holli, however, remained linked to the wizard in many ways. She knew where he was and what he faced. He allowed for that link when he agreed to let Holli become both his guard and his apprentice. If she kept a small part focused upon him, she would know when he was ready to return, and she would use that advantage to ensure the demon could not win, for without its knowledge, she already saw one path to guaranteed victory.

She had to be alive when Enin returned for the draevol to win. If she failed in defeating the draevol, all she would need to do is end her own life. Not a prospect she relished, but she was an elf guard and vowed to offer her life to protect her camp. Under Enin, that camp was now the entire land of Uton.

While she was willing to die for her duty, she did not wish for that end. She remained determined to find a way to defeat the demon, and she would attack with all her talents and all her ferocity.