Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

"I am in need of those with the ability to cast powerful spells. Loath as I am to admit it, this foolish man has such an ability. I was probing the desert for spells and couldn't ignore the energy being used here."

The wizard turned back to Neltus.

"You have great power over the land, but you use it unwisely. No matter, there is a debt that must be paid by all spell casters, particularly those who abuse their power."

Ryson agreed it appeared as nothing more than an abuse of power, but he still questioned the aspects of what had just happened to him.

"What did he do to me out there?" Ryson interrupted. "I thought it was an illusion but it wasn't. He kept me running in place, actually going backward even though I was moving forward. Why couldn't I get away?"

Enin knew the answer but forced Neltus to explain.

"Tell him."

Neltus spoke sheepishly at first, not wanting to expose himself to the wrath of the wizard, but in mere moments, a clear tinge of arrogance shaped his words.

"You're right. It wasn't an illusion. I don't mess with things that aren't real, but the land is as real as it gets. That's what I focus on. I cast a spell to have the land work in direct opposition to you. You expand energy on the ground to move forward, but I can make it so the land fights back. Whatever you did, whichever way you moved, the very ground under you would react in the reverse. You were pushing forward, but the ground was pushing you back, and you're not stronger than the land."

"He can do that?" Ryson asked of Enin.

"Unfortunately, power and wisdom don't always go hand-in-hand. Yes, he has the ability. It's a powerful spell. Only those casting pure red magic," Enin paused to look at Neltus in a most menacing fashion, "or white magic, can accomplish the spell. It does, however, take a great deal of energy. He probably couldn't have kept it up much longer."

"So if I just kept running, eventually I would have broken free?" Ryson asked.

Enin simply nodded.

Ryson made a mental note of that new information.

"That's good to know."

"Have you made contact with any algors yet?" Enin asked, clearly concerned about the delver's progress in more important matters.

"No, I didn't want to search out any stragglers in the desert. I thought I would just go to the cliffs where they congregate," Ryson admitted. "Once I can get there, I can spread the word to most of them, and they have a way of communicating with each other that's much more efficient than anything I could do out here."

"Then do not delay any further, and give Neltus no more concern. I will deal with him."

Ryson was about to race off, but his delver curiosity held him for one more moment.

"What do you really want with him?"

"He is being recruited into the service of the land." Enin said with more than a sense of finality. The statement held an iron tone, as if the Neltus was bound to obey.

Neltus, however, found his voice again.

"Recruited?" Neltus asked with obvious worry. "Recruited for what?"

Enin's expression turned grim.

"The days of magic casters selfishly playing in the desert are over. You were given power for a reason, a reason far more important than casting spells for your own amusement or benefit. A war is coming and it is a war you cannot hope to avoid, even if I didn't come for you."

Near panic washed over the crimson sorcerer. He was in the desert to gain power, to grow in experience for his own gain, not so he could fight in some battle. He didn't even need to know what the war was about. It was not his concern. He only cared about his own well-being.

"I don't want any part of a war!" Neltus objected.

"It does not matter what you want, or what I want, for that matter. The desert will come under siege in but a few days time. Would you rather be caught out here when thousands of dark creatures emerge from the east to claim these lands?"

Neltus did not wish to contradict the wizard, but the claim sounded baseless.

"Dark creatures? Here? There's nothing here for them."

"There is actually much to be gained out here, but it's obviously beyond your rather narrow and selfish considerations. I'm not here to play games, Neltus, or spin lies. They are coming, and if you wish to ignore me and stay here, it will most likely mean your death."

Neltus understood Enin's vast power. As strong as he was over the crimson energy of the land, his power was dwarfed by the wizard that cast white magic with two circles of control. Enin had no reason to lie, and Neltus had no wish to die. Still, the plump sorcerer remained self-absorbed and he considered other alternatives, choices that would keep him from danger.

"I can go further to the west, to the seas."

"Can you? And what then? Your cowardice is irrelevant. What matters is the magic that courses through you. That magic binds you to the land, more so than most others. And the land recalls. It remembers the time of absent magic and the time before that-the time magic existed but was captured by Ingar's sphere. Those that used the magic bargained with dark creatures for their own benefit, and the land remembers, thus so do you."

Neltus would not openly admit it, but he did understand. His connection to history was as deep as his connection to the ground that withstood the passage of time. At Enin's insistence, he recalled the legends, sensed the time that magic casters chose corruption and selfishness. He dropped his gaze in shame.

"And so the debt exists for all spell casters," Enin declared, "and you must repay the debt or live with it for the rest of your days. You know you really don't have a choice, you will go where I send you."

Neltus wouldn't ask, but Ryson did.

"Where?"

"To Pinesway."

"Pinesway is abandoned," Ryson replied. "Nothing there but empty houses and a handful of thieves and vagrants."

"Give them no mind. They will leave as well when they see what is coming," Enin added. "And that is for the best. Baannat will move both east and west. You, the algors, and dwarves will confront him in the desert, and the spell casters will meet him in Pinesway. This will cut him off from his main objectives, and it will keep many others out of harm's way. I will not allow Connel to suffer again. The battle that is coming in the east will take place at the edge of Dark Spruce. We will stop him there, where there will be no innocents in danger and where the magic can be used to its full potential without worry for collateral damage."

Ryson was then hit by one more worry.

"What about Burbon?"

Enin frowned, revealing equal concern.

"I haven't fully decided what to do about Burbon. It must also hold in order to keep Baannat from breaking into the farmlands, but Baannat seemed to care more about the plains. I did not sense Burbon to be in his plans, but I can't discount the town's location. It's a problem I'm still working on."

Enin then shook off that particular concern.

"Don't worry. It will be dealt with appropriately. You will just have to trust me on that. You have to focus on the algors. Reach them quickly. If Baannat acts as I suspect, both the east and west will face a terrible onslaught."

"I'm on my way. Take care, Enin."

The delver said nothing more. He resumed his path to the algors, but surprisingly felt reassured. If Enin was obtaining the aid of spell casters from the desert to fight in Pinesway, the battle would remain, as Enin said, to the east and west. That was where Ryson wanted it, away from the north, away from the mountains and away from Linda.

"I'm impressed. Pale blue, almost white, and a perfect circle. You have great control over water, but you're expanding your horizons."

After sending Neltus on to Pinesway, Enin had been following new trails of spells, reaching out to powerful magic casters across the desert. He had found another, one who appeared quite adept. The magic caster appeared older than Enin, perhaps by several cycles of the season. Despite his age, he clearly revealed youthful enthusiasm as he developed his skills.