Delver Magic: Book 06 - Pure Choice (9 page)

It was not completely out of the
ordinary. The goblins had often been used as pawns, pressed forward by the
twisted desires of wicked sorcerers or conniving dark creatures of greater
willpower. Still, when the goblin threat was unleashed, it was shoved upon
victims like a turbulent dust storm rolling forward with constant and frenzied
violence.

The actions Ryson viewed did not
match such characteristics. The goblins dashed through Burbon as individuals,
single goblins following the orders of their master. Even as they clearly
reveled in the thrill of the raid, they did so in a manner that reflected
control and purpose.

With the nature of the assault
unfurling before him like some scripted play on a muddy, flooded stage, Ryson
realized that targeting the goblin foot soldiers was not the path toward
successfully ending the conflict. He needed to address the real force behind
the incursion, remove the very will that pressed each goblin into becoming a
dangerous menace to his home.

With his decision made, Ryson
raced toward the massive goblin. He readied the Sword of Decree in front of him
as he became a flash of light and motion. In an instant, he was upon the
pillaging group led by Okyiq.

The goblins froze at the sight.
Even Okyiq stood dazed at the near incomprehensible vision. A blazing sword
shot at them as if unleashed like a lightning bolt from the sky. Many of the
smaller goblins were knocked immediately from their feet and left to roll
through mud puddles, struggling with their heavy sacks of loot.

After stunning several of the
smaller goblins with quick slaps of his sword to their swollen heads, Ryson
turned his attention to the apparent leader of the raid. The delver had
witnessed thousands upon thousands of goblins over the past several seasons,
but the creature before him stood far more massive than any goblin Ryson had
ever seen. A slap on the head was not going to achieve anything beyond
incurring the wrath of the creature, and Ryson knew well enough not to grapple
with the monster.

Weaving about the goblin, Ryson
never slowed. He became a dancing shadow in the rain, moving as if he found the
means to evade each drop of water falling from above. He did not strike the
goblin with his sword, but he called out a dire warning.

"Recall your minions! Leave
now!"

The dizzied motion bewildered
Okyiq. He could hear the voice but never focus upon the face that issued the
declaration. The glowing blade rushed about him as if death itself had come to
take his poisoned soul with a spinning, skeletal finger of light.

The monstrous goblin almost issued
the order to retreat. He had accomplished most of his objectives. He had
entered Burbon and taken the human food. It sounded as if the humans were
offering him free passage back to the hills, back to Dark Spruce.

The thought of the forest,
however, reminded him of his burning desires. He had gained control of that
portion of the woods. That corner of Dark Spruce belonged to him, and he viewed
Burbon as part of
his
forest. The
humans would bend to his will, not the other way around.

As his ambitions rekindled the
motivation for his deeds, Okyiq found the clarity to realize that no human
could move like the form that threatened him. It was another defender of
Burbon, a more dangerous foe than a simple human soldier, and he was aware of
the town's protectors. Without a shred of doubt, he realized he faced the
delver and not the enormously powerful wizard. In that thought, he found
courage. He called out to every goblin within Burbon.

"Attack this delver... or die
by my hands!"

The order was roared out as if a
lion had become enraged, and it brought a great pause to the goblin frenzy
throughout the area. They ceased their shrieking. They stumbled to a sudden
halt. Many dropped treasures in momentary confusion. They looked to their
leader, saw that he was engulfed by the legendary movements of the speedy
delver. Despite their fear of Okyiq, they were at a loss of what to do.

Attack the delver?

Did they dare? That was like
attacking the wind... but that was the order. Okyiq frothed with rage, and the
goblins could not deny the quandary before them. Attack the delver or face
their leader's wrath—it was like a choice of trying to grasp rushing water or
standing before an avalanche of boulders, a true dilemma that left the goblins
dumfounded.

Ryson decided to break the
momentary stalemate. He ignored the surrounding goblins. They were never a
threat to him. Even with so many around him, what could they do? They carried
short swords, not bows. They would have to get within arm's length to use their
weapons. Even had they not carried sacks heavily loaded with plunder, they
lacked the physical ability to match the delver's speed and quickness. No, the
goblins throughout the streets posed no real danger.

Okyiq was the one real threat to
Ryson's home. The large goblin orchestrated the attack, used his unnatural
strength to its fullest potential. It was not the frantic call of the horde
that urged the goblins forward, but rather the harsh voice of their leader. It
was not the furious stampede of the dark gray host that pressed the goblin
storm onward, but rather the raised fist of one titanic monster. If Ryson
wished to end the conflict, he needed to neutralize the leader of the raid.

With surgical precision, Ryson
stabbed at the monstrous goblin's shoulder. The tip of the Sword of Decree
broke through the skin, but only by the smallest of margins. It was just enough
to invoke the enchantment of the blade, a blade which was capable of burning
the spirit, no matter how decrepit in nature.

Okyiq howled in indescribable
pain. His eyes shot open wide as every fiber of his being felt as if it was
being consumed by the fire of a white hot star. He tried to pull away from the
sword, but the cursed delver could counteract his every retreat. Desperate, he
swung a free hand at the glowing blade, hoping to knock it away.

Ryson countered by pulling the
blade away at the last instant and then stabbing at another vulnerable section
of the goblin's body. He danced about the monster's form, twirling about like a
whirlwind constrained to a localized area. He stabbed with deft accuracy,
always slicing the goblin's hide just enough to engulf the creature's soul with
enchanted fury but never thrusting the blade to cause an egregious wound to its
body.

As Okyiq wailed in absolute
anguish, the surrounding goblins stared in disbelief. It appeared as if their
leader was being consumed by magical fire, a flame of glory that caused the
enormous goblin unimaginable pain. If their formidable leader could suffer in
such a manner, they could only envision what they might endure if the blazing
blade fell upon their own vulnerable bodies.

Unwilling to face such a fate,
every goblin within Burbon raced toward the gate. They rushed forward, dropping
their sacks, many even dropping their simple weapons. They wished only for the
sanctuary of the forest and to free their ears of the horrible screams of their
suddenly abandoned leader.

When the last goblin fled through
the gate, Ryson pulled his sword from Okyiq's skin but held the sharpened tip
menacingly toward the large goblin's face. The delver had a prisoner, one of
great value.

With the raid over, Ryson's
curious nature bubbled to life. Questions erupted upon his consciousness. He
considered everything he faced on that turbulent evening, and he wanted
answers.

"Why did you attack?"

Okyiq looked with grave misgivings
at the point of the glowing blade, but he found the inner strength to ignore
the question. He turned his stare to the delver and remained in stony silence.
He did not wish to face the searing pain of the sword again. He would rather
slit his own throat, but he despised the delver and would not submit to the
demand.

Ryson ignored the monster's
resolve. He realized the first question was too obvious. He saw the sacks, many
lying around the large goblin, dropped by nearly a dozen goblins that decided
to retreat without their leader. The delver could smell the contents, and so,
he knew the creature was there to steal food. With questions still feeding his
curiosity, Ryson turned his attention to the rest of the night's commotion.

"Did you send the
rogues?" Ryson demanded in a voice just above a whisper, and he watched
the monster carefully.

Okyiq had not known about the
river rogues, but it did not surprise him. He was well aware that something had
invoked the fear of the humans, something pressed them into greater concern.
From the delver's question, he finally knew what forced the odd human behavior
even before his raid began.

Ryson immediately noticed the
goblin's sinister smile, but it only confused him further. It was not surprise
or denial he sensed within the expression of the monster, but something more
akin to sly satisfaction, as if Ryson had unwillingly revealed a secret. The
reaction served to elevate the delver's curiosity.

"What do you know about the
rogues?!"

Okyiq said nothing. He held up his
chin in pure defiance, stared into the eyes of the delver with pure hatred.

Ryson feigned a light jab, but
never touched the goblin with his glowing blade. He made the threat of his
sword clear as he stared back with equal determination to learn the truth.

The bulky goblin did not even
flinch. Okyiq inflated his chest as he snarled in total defiance. He would not
answer.

Frustration exploded in the
delver's mind. He knew he couldn't force the goblin to speak, but he wanted
answers,
needed
answers. He decided
if he could not compel the monster to respond to threats, perhaps he could
persuade it... with the right incentive.

"Answer my questions and I'll
release you into the forest," Ryson offered.

At that very moment, Sy appeared
as he turned the corner of a nearby street. Despite the rain splattering in his
face and the mud slowing his step, he moved with obvious authority to the
delver's side.

"You have no right to make
that offer!"

The delver did not take his eyes
off the monster, but he recognized the voice. His expression revealed surprise
at the rebuke. The goblin was his prisoner, and he felt he could do with it as
he wished.

Sy did not even wait for Ryson to
debate the issue. He made his point clear.

"That's a prisoner of Burbon.
What happens to him is not up to you."

Okyiq kept his face turned to
Ryson—still daring the quick handed delver to pierce him with the dreaded
sword—but he took several quick glances toward the approaching soldier. He
didn't care for the tone of the human, disliked the words even more. The delver
had offered a chance at freedom, something Okyiq might have accepted, but that
offer had been quickly withdrawn. Still, the goblin was smart enough to sense a
conflict he could possibly manipulate for his own benefit.

"The offer has been made and
I accept!" the hulking goblin declared.

"There is no offer!" Sy
growled. He shouted an order up to the nearest tower. "Signal the cavalry
at the western gate. Send them out into the hills to disburse those goblin
archers. Have them cut off as many of the raiders as they can. I want
prisoners."

The signal guard immediately sent
the message, but then followed with a report from what he could see on his
elevated platform.

"Most of the goblins have already
passed through the hills. Only a few of their archers are still firing at the
wall. They must think the raid is over."

Sy nodded and turned his attention
to the large goblin still facing Ryson's glowing sword.

"They won't all get away.
I'll get the information I need from the prisoners I capture. You're staying
here."

Realizing that he faced the human
with unmistakable authority, Okyiq decided to make one last grasp for freedom.

"You can ask them all you
want, human, but they don't know what I know. I lead. They follow."

"Which is exactly why I'm not
letting you go. You think I'm going to let you back out there and lead them on
another raid? Not going to happen."

And then, Okyiq made a declaration
that stunned both Sy and Ryson.

"You don't have to worry
about that, human. Not going to lead them again. Going to kill them all,
everyone that left me here. They're all dead."

The delver responded first.

"You're not going to kill
anyone. You had your chance. You're staying here."

Sy, however, turned a more perceptive
eye toward the large goblin.

"You'd kill them all? I don't
believe that. You wouldn't have anyone to follow you."

"What good are goblins that
follow if they run?" Okyiq grunted. "They didn't listen, didn't
follow my orders. They're dead."

"But you wouldn't have to
kill all of them. You'd only have to take care of a few to get your point
across."

"Wrong, stupid human doesn't
understand. They
all
ran, so they all
need to die. You let any live and then they think they can do it again. Do it
once... die."

"You're not going to listen
to him, are you?" Ryson asked of the captain.

Sy ignored the delver and placed
his complete attention on the goblin. He saw an opportunity, one that might
give him both the information he desired as well as a chance to put a goblin to
work for his own cause.

"You got a name?"

"Okyiq."

"Alright, Okyiq, here's
my
deal. You answer my questions
first—all of them—if I'm satisfied, I'll actually let you go. I want you to go
after those goblins. I'm not going to ask for your word, because I know what
that's worth. Nothing. But I'm curious about you. You say you're going to kill
all the ones you led. How many was that? A hundred? Two hundred? I doubt you
can even remember."