Delver Magic Book VII: Altered Messages (6 page)

With a strong grasp of Okyiq's intentions, Pru focused on scents and signs away from the ooze and blood stained dirt. He began to prowl across grounds farther down the path. He did not race away, but slowly stalked deeper into the forest as he studied tracks that most humans would never notice.

After but a few moments, he stopped stone-still and peered off into the forest. He had the path Okyiq had used to escape, and it was a trail he knew he could follow. Pru quickly returned to the spot where Sy waited with several soldiers.

"I've got him," the half-delver revealed. "I know everything he did and I know which way he went."

Sy nodded. He had permitted Pru to review the scene undisturbed, but he wished for additional information before he allowed the half-delver to complete his mission. The captain of the guard pointed down the section of forest where Pru last examined.

"He went that way?"

"Yeah, moved pretty fast. Arranged the fingers and then took off. Doesn't seem he wanted anything else."

"That matches what Ryson told me."

Pru knew of the purebred delver. They weren't friends, only spoke to each other on a few occasions, but Pru respected Ryson's abilities.

"It's a difficult scene to examine," the half-delver admitted. "Some of those fingers were older than the others, pretty rotten and really smelled up the place. But if both Acumen and I are in agreement, then I'd say it's pretty definite Okyiq just wanted to leave the message and get out."

"Was he alone?"

"Yeah. He did all of this himself and he left by himself. I'm sure of it."

"Anything else you can tell me?"

"Nothing you don't already know. He's big... large tracks for a goblin. Hard to believe. Heavy, too. Moves pretty quick for his size, about as agile as a regular goblin. He doesn't let his bulk encumber him, at least not from what I can see of his tracks. He maneuvered through certain sections of the forest without any apparent problem."

"You're right," Sy revealed. "I
am
aware of all that. He's hit us before and I've seen him in action. But I am surprised he was alone. He knew how to lead a raid."

"This wasn't a raid," Pru responded. "He was just leaving a message. He didn't need anyone else for that. Other goblins might have got in his way."

"But they could have watched his back. He was vulnerable here, at least for a while."

"Can't argue that, but he was careful. He scouted the area before he left his little message to make sure there were no patrols. Once he started, he didn't waste any time."

"There might not have been patrols, but Ryson was running outside the walls with his dog. If Ryson came out a bit earlier, he could have caught Okyiq in the act."

"Mayb
e, but that doesn't mean Okyiq would want to bring other goblins with him. I'm not saying he's still on his own now. If he's everything you say, he's probably already rounding up a new batch of goblins to lead. I just understand why he wouldn't want them with him for this. He didn't mess around. He came in quick and got out."

"You're probably right. Any other opinions?"

Pru paused to give one quick look across the grounds and peered off in the direction he knew Okyiq escaped. He considered all the facts and then revealed his only consideration.

"No, just a question. You still want me to go after him?"

"I don't believe there's much of a choice."

"There's always a choice," Pru pointed out. It wasn't out of apprehension or moral conscience that led the half-delver to make the remark. Pru simply believed nothing was carved in stone.

Sy understood Pru's contention, but he spelled out the facts.

"Like I told you, he's hit us before. He thinks this part of the forest belongs to him, thinks Burbon is part of what he owns. He's not going to leave us alone, so in that regard, I don't think there are any choices."

"Sure there are. You could increase patrols and wait him out. You could draft most of the citizens into the guard and put them on the walls with bows. You could even tell the elves what happened here. They won't be any happier about this than you are. You could let them deal with it."

"I don't like handing my problems over to somebody else."

"You're handing them over to me," Pru responded bluntly.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," Sy shot back, slightly annoyed by the remark. "I'm dealing with the problem with the resources I have. That doesn't mean I'm willing to throw it in some elf's lap and just walk away. I'm paying you a pretty sizable sum. If you don't want the money, fine. I'll find someone else that does."

"Oh, I want the money. You know my price, and it's not cheap. I'm just pointing out your alternatives. I don't want you to think I'm cheating you."

Whenever a discussion with mercenaries turned to payment, Sy always gained a greater appreciation for his dealings with Ryson. The captain may not have always agreed with the delver, even had a few heated disagreements, but Ryson was never about money.

"None of those options are acceptable to me," Sy stated firmly. "I want this goblin taken care of. So to answer your question; yes, I still want you to go after him."

"Then I'll leave now. I've got his trail and everything I need."

Sy, still somewhat unhappy about some of the half-delver's remarks, decided to offer up a question of his own regarding Pru's abilities.

"This goblin's not only big and quick, he's also very strong. And you're right about him wanting to lead more goblins, which means he may not be alone for long. Are you sure you can handle him?"

"I have no intention of getting close to him," Pru replied, seemingly unfazed by Sy's doubts. The half-delver used his thumb to point over his shoulder to a sturdy crossbow draped over his back. He then pulled an iron bolt from a quiver tied to his hip. "I don't care how big he is, he'll go right down with one of these in his ear. As for any of his followers, I have no intention of being seen by any of them."

"How long?"

"A few days at most. There's no way he can outrun me. He doesn't use magic, does he?"

"I sincerely doubt it. If he could, he would have tried it when we captured him during his first raid. No, I saw it in his eyes. He was caught and all he could do was bargain his way to freedom, no other options, no magic."

"Then, like I said, just a few days."

Sy considered everything before him; the message from Okyiq, the way it was presented, the information he gained from Ryson and Pru, and finally Pru's estimation for completing the job. Something about the situation bothered him, made him feel like he was being maneuvered or led to a decision that was already made for him.

While he trusted his instincts, he still didn't believe he had much of a choice. The message from Okyiq was more than just a boast. It was a warning. The large goblin had plans for Burbon, and if the captain didn't do something, the town was going to suffer. It was almost as if he was being offered two very bad choices, and he tried to decide which one held the least danger for the people of Burbon.

Sy didn't wish to waste any more time. He believed that certain actions were necessary, but he decided to leave the door open for other alternatives.

"I'll give you seven days to take care of him and then get back to me. Longer than that and I'll assume you failed."

Pru shrugged, but the delver within him needed to know more.

"Won't take that long, but why are you setting a deadline?"

"Because I think this goblin is bad news, and I need to be sure that someone takes care of him."

"I'm coming back for the money. You're going to know when I get him."

"How do I know if you don't? If something happens to you in the forest, I'm not going to hear about it. I can't leave this as an unanswered question. Like I said, you've got seven days."

"Well, if I don't get him, what are you going to do? The only one that might be able to track him after that long would be Acumen, and he's not going to take care of Okyiq the way it needs to be done."

"I'll take your other suggestion and call on the elves. It's like you said, they aren't going to be happy about this."

"Isn't that handing your problem to someone else?" Pru questioned.

"No, that's asking for help when I need it. Nothing wrong with that."

Pru shrugged again and decided it was time to go.

"I guess I'll see you in seven days or less," the half-delver acknowledged.

Four gluuns carefully lowered themselves down one of Dunop's hidden airshafts. The slight and agile creatures moved with astonishing stealth and precision. Making their way through the extremely narrow tunnel offered little challenge. They could scamper through much smaller passages, and the lack of ropes or handholds within the steeply descending channel did nothing to impede their progress. They twisted their thin bodies into bizarre contortions to overcome several barriers. They moved through the constricted space very much like the faint whispers of a light breeze.

While the passage presented a meager obstacle, the agile invaders glided cautiously downward. They slunk deeper into the bowels of the land with wary eyes that could penetrate the darkness. They were careful to choose one of the few shafts that did not utilize gemstones to reflect light below ground, for the ultimate success of their mission depended on secrecy. Absolute concealment of their approach was as important as the timing in which they completed their task.

Even as the enveloping darkness and the gluuns' own magical abilities aided their secretive descent, it was no guarantee of avoiding detection. They were essentially invisible, light and shadow twisted ever so delicately around the space they occupied. Despite being able to cloak themselves entirely in a gloom which hid their very existence, they needed to remain vigilant for dwarf guards.

Gluuns feared dwarves even more than delvers, for it was the stout underground warriors who had developed the vision that could penetrate their shroud of darkness. The gray magic of the gluuns absorbed any light that struck their lean and nimble bodies, but dwarves living underground—and at times in total darkness—could detect the merest shift of shadows. Whereas a delver's eyesight was much stronger than that of a dwarf, a delver focused more on what he could see as opposed to what he could not.

Even a delver's other senses would not help pierce a gluun's cover. The shadow magic erased their tracks, and because the slight creatures lacked any scent at all, even the most sensitive delver would have been hard pressed to locate them. The eyes of a dwarf, however, focused as much on shades of darkness as they did on light.

For that reason, infiltrating a dwarf compound was actually one of the few tasks that gluuns normally chose to avoid. The magnificent underground cities were tempting targets with great riches in gems and precious metals, but being caught by a dwarf warrior, and facing the inevitable consequences, elevated the risks well beyond the possible rewards. A gluun caught by a dwarf could look forward to an extended stay in a dungeon of stone, or even an executioner's axe.

Despite the possible consequences, the four gluuns pushed onward, even as they noticed more light reflecting from the passage below than from the opening above. They all realized the stakes, but they would be rewarded well beyond what they could possibly steal from Dunop. They also believed most of the risks had been minimized.

They received assistance in planning and preparation from individuals even more cunning than themselves. Their new masters provided them with a wealth of information. They knew the layout of Dunop without having to previously scout the city and risk exposure. They knew which passages to avoid and the location of dwarf sentries before they even began their descent.

The one risk that could not be eliminated stemmed from the dwarves' ability to judge darkness as if it was a commodity like gold or silver. The gluuns had been warned over and over again; every dwarf was a possible threat and there was no way to account for simple chance. One wayward dwarf stumbling into the wrong place at the wrong time could jeopardize a complex plot of grand design. Such a mistake was unacceptable, but if the gluuns could avoid a disquieted dwarf stare, they knew they could accomplish their objective.

At the end of the shaft, the four darkened forms came to a complete halt. The gluun nearest the opening to Dunop's alleys lowered its head at a snail's pace with staggering patience. Slowly it gained a greater perspective of the underground passage. It turned its head with the same painstakingly deliberate motion. It looked up and down the path before it finally dropped as softly as a feather to the hard ground below.

The remaining invaders exited the shaft in quick succession. Once upon the stone ground of an empty alley, they moved with the grace of an elf. They walked in total silence, never making a single sound even as they stepped across loose collections of gravel and through shallow puddles of water.

Much shorter than humans, the gluuns found the passages simple to traverse. The empty alleys they traveled matched the information they had received. Each gluun had memorized the expected  route as well as several secondary paths, and they stepped confidently along a predetermined course. They advanced along ancient corridors and lonely tunnels nearly forgotten by the average dwarf. With insight regarding dwarf sentries and guard posts, they easily avoided every patrol.