Jeff Inlo - Nightmare's Shad

The algors now listened more intently and showed no signs of interrupting.

"One of you just asked if I believed you would be attacked. I know I said that I didn't know what to believe. That was a mistake. I do believe Baannat will come after you. He will do so because of me. I'm very sorry for that. I wish I could change it, but I can't. All I can do is warn you and hope that you will let me help you against whatever comes."

The algors erupted from their silence.

"We must prepare."

"We must defend ourselves."

"Sand giants are needed."

"We must collect the magic."

And so it was done. The algors had been warned and they accepted that warning. They shouted plans for preparation and they would not be caught off guard.

With one objective completed, Ryson almost allowed himself to smile, but he now faced the most difficult obstacle. Ryson held up his hands to address a second objective.

"There is another matter," the delver announced after the algors quieted. "The threat we face is so large that Enin has provided us with further assistance. Dwarves will be here shortly to help you defend your home, to defend the desert."

In unison, the crowd of algors roared.

"No!"

The rebuke was so sudden and so strong, it stunned the delver. He fought to regain his composure and reassure the algors of the dwarves intentions.

"The dwarves are not coming to attack. They only want to redeem themselves for what they did to you in the past."

Once more, the response was total in both certainty and unity.

"No!"

"They will fight with you not against you."

"No!"

"Without their help, you might not survive."

Just one algor voice called out.

"They killed us. We will not let them in our homes again. They killed us."

And then all of them: "They killed us!"

They shouted the charge in complete unison and with such emotion that it seemed as if the voices of the dead had joined with those that had been left behind. There was more than anger in the three accusing words. There was pain and loss.

Ryson did not discount such emotion. He did not attempt to contradict the accusation. He couldn't, but he chose to grasp hope from the future as opposed to suffering from the past.

"I know, and so do they. They want to make amends."

The algors simply repeated themselves one last time, with even greater emotion.

"They killed us!"

Ryson looked upon the strange creatures that looked back upon him as if he should understand, but he could not.

"If we don't accept their help, more of us will die."

He wasn't sure why he said it in that way. The emphasis was on "we" and "us."

The algors responded in kind.

" We will fight as one and we will die as one. They killed us!"

There would be no debate. It was true. The dwarves had attacked the algors, viciously and cruelly. They attacked the algors as if the race was one entity, one enemy. Thus, the algors held to their losses in the same fashion. Every death of an algor at the hands of a dwarf was a crime against every algor, and they would not forget or forgive. Certainly, they would not allow the dwarves to enter their territory.

Ryson saw only futility in further arguing. He wondered if the suggestion alone had destroyed his own chances of assisting the algors.

"Will you at least accept my help?" he asked of the defiant crowd.

Silence at first, and then several algors together responded.

"Acumen, delver…" a very long pause, and then… "algor."

There was nothing else Ryson could do. He would have to meet with the dwarves before they arrived and inform them of the algor refusal. Enin stated that dwarf assistance was crucial, but algor resistance was not something easily overcome, especially when that resistance was so unanimous.

The delver would have to devise some kind of plan on his own. He would not be able to communicate with Enin on the matter. The wizard was fortifying forces to the east. Winning in the desert was now his problem and his alone.

"You will lead them," Enin revealed to his loyal elf companion.

Holli did not question the directive, but understood the implications. She swore a personal oath to protect the wizard, and it was her concern for his safety, not unease over his plans, that drove her question.

"Where will you be?"

"Back in the dark realm," Enin answered honestly. "I hope to stop this war before it truly begins."

"You tried that before," Holli pointed out. "Baannat was not vulnerable to your attack… your spell failed to inflict any damage upon him. That is what you told us."

"That is because he was not really there. Jure is very perceptive. He saw it before I did. Baannat never actually died, but he's no longer alive, either. He walks life and death at the same time."

"How is that possible?"

"A perfect blend of circumstances and my mistake," Enin admitted. "The end of his previous life occurred in a pocket of magic, a place where the aspects of a physical world can be manipulated with greater ease. In fact, one of my spells actually worked to slow time to a crawl. Before there was a complete separation of Baannat's body and spirit, demons removed Baannat's body back to the dark realm-not this plane of existence, but still a physical realm. Even when Baannat's magical sanctuary collapsed, he had not completed the transition into death. His evil soul was trapped in the space between life and death. It served almost as a sanctuary and that's where he is at this very moment."

Holli began to understand. She had already perceived the intention and effects of Heteera's spell. She followed the progression of events to their logical conclusion.

"Heteera wanted to open the death's door to bring Lief back to this existence, but without true control, she simply allowed Baannat to escape."

"Indeed, but remember, he was still not alive and could not capture or utilize free magic for his own purposes. The vessel was needed to capture it."

"And once the vessel captured sufficient energy, we released it for him," Holli acknowledged. "Still, how will returning to the dark realm allow you to fight him if he's neither alive nor dead?"

"Because I now believe I know where he is. He is in the veil between existences, not one side of the curtain or the other, but inside the curtain itself."

"Can you reach him there?"

"I believe so. Baannat told me he could not open a portal between Uton and the dark realm, and that makes sense. He is no longer a true physical being so he cannot make connections between two physical planes. He has, however, recovered a portion of his previous body and that allows him to make contact with the dark realm from the veil. He has opened… not so much a portal… but more of a link to the physical world so he can take control of the dark creatures."

"And you can reach him through this link?"

"I believe so, now that I know where he is and where he is not."

"And you will go alone?"

"I know you would rather accompany me, but it is not possible. I also need you here. Even as I battle Baannat, he will send his minions out into this land. I do not know why my judgment has been so clouded of late, but there are things I have seen clearly. Baannat wishes to punish me, Linda, and Ryson, but he also wants to take control of the desert to the west and the plains to the east."

"May I ask why you chose Pinesway?"

"It is very simple. I do not believe Connel should suffer again. It has faced too much hardship since the return of the magic. If there is another battle within its borders, I believe the people will finally give up. I can't have that."

Holli could not argue the assessment. She had been at Enin's side as he worked to rebuild the city of Connel. Though the wizard masterfully utilized the newfound trust between dwarves and humans to the city's benefit, another catastrophic battle would ultimately destroy any optimism and doom any chances of prosperity. There was, however, certain risks in the wizard's strategy.