Delver Magic III: Balance of Fate - Jeff Inlo (ready player one ebook .TXT) 📗
- Author: Jeff Inlo
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“Why would they all be moving in the same direction? They could fear something to the west, but they do not act as if fleeing. They are moving with purpose, not with fear.”
In considering a danger to the west, Lief’s mind returned to his own objective of Sazar and Tabris. He wished to waste no further time on the likes of goblins when such a true threat existed out in the Lacobian Desert. He almost dismissed what he witnessed until he realized the actions of the goblins might indeed be related to his own objective.
“Could the serp be directing them?” the elf wondered aloud. “No serp has the power to control this many goblins separated by such a distance. But what other explanation is there? They do not flee from the hook hawks. If anything they ignore them. Even if they numbered thousands, the arrival of the bird beast would at the very least provoke a response. If the serp was indeed guiding their actions, as well as the hawk, they would indeed ignore the bird.”
Lief considered all he knew and all he saw. “No serp alone has the power to do this, but what of a serp combined with the power of a sorceress? And if Sazar were to gain such power, what would he do? Would he stay in the Lacobian wasteland where prizes are few and far between? No, he would not. He would move either west to the coastal towns or east through the forest and into the plains that hold so many human cities.”
Putting the pieces together in his head like a puzzle that becomes easier to solve at the end, the elf visualized Sazar creating an army of minions just as he had done before attacking Pinesway. This time, however, the army would be massive in size and scope. With the aid of a sorceress’ power, the serp could control thousands upon thousands of goblins as well as hook hawks and other monsters. From the desert, Sazar would have to cut through the rocky hills and then Dark Spruce, but eventually he would come to the open plains and one human town after another where he could finish what he started in Pinesway. Realizing that the goblins were indeed linked to his own objective, Lief understood he did not have to go to the Lacobian to find his target.
“These creatures will lead me to Sazar, eventually.”
“Raid the farmhouses and the barns, leave the animals alone, allow the humans to escape. When they have fled, search all the buildings quickly for weapons and food,” Sazar commanded the goblin in charge of the raiding parties. He would also send these orders by thought to each minion surrounding the outlying farms, but as he discovered the goblins actually responded better to a chain of command, he elevated a certain number of them to higher ranks and communicated with them directly.
It truly wasn’t necessary for him to speak with his minions to get his orders across. His powers of control enhanced by Tabris’ magic allowed him to communicate his directives completely through mental links. Allowing a few goblins access to his presence and speaking to them directly, however, elevated these creatures to a higher status. It was a status all the goblins desired, and they would compete with each other to gain the serp’s favor in order to move up the ranks. While the serp found repeating his orders verbally somewhat tiresome, he realized the effort actually enhanced the goblins’ willingness to follow his directives exactly. With so many dark creatures under his control, Sazar quickly learned how to manipulate and influence them with the greatest degree of efficiency.
For the most part, the goblins showed a great desire to belong to his horde, and as his army grew, it actually took less exertion to place them under his command. Many of the diminutive creatures actually began seeking him out, as if they could sense the growing power of the goblin horde now under his direction. They bickered and argued constantly. They fought and backstabbed for any advantage they could obtain to move up the ranks, and this proved to be an annoyance as he began to lose goblin soldiers to their own infighting. Still, Sazar found that establishing a dominant order within the goblin ranks increased the zeal and willingness of each individual goblin to work toward promotion. This more than made up for the moments of turmoil.
“Remember,” Sazar continued, “force them out of their dwellings or lure them out, but do not kill them in their homes. Let them see you, let them panic, and let them run. Make sure the fleeing humans head toward the city, not out toward the wilderness. If they head for the trees or toward the grassy hills, redirect them to the roads heading back to the city. If they continue to seek refuge elsewhere, then you may kill them. Some of them must reach the city guard posts alive.”
Sazar’s long thin tongue quickly darted out of the side of his mouth as he looked toward the east from a small window. He sat in a large chair in front of a desk that had one leg smaller than the others. It wobbled slightly when he leaned upon it. The building he now used as shelter from the night and the coming snow storm was one of three structures that comprised a small outpost to the northwest of Connel’s outlying farms. The bodies of the humans that used to maintain this outpost lay stacked in a haphazard pile in back of a small shed like structure. The dead humans previously served as clerks monitoring goods shipped from Connel to the northern passage routes that led through the Colad Mountains and into the northwest valley regions. Their journals and papers now fed the fire which kept Sazar warm.
“I will let each raiding party commander know when to begin their individual assaults,” the serp informed his raiding commander. “I want you to remind them of the importance of waiting for that order.”
The serp then gazed deeper into the eyes of the goblin commander. Sazar’s eyes seemed to swirl as if the dark oblong pupils floated in unsteady waters. His voice hummed with a near musical tone as he detailed the first part of his plan to the raid commander.
“The raids will begin in three farms due south of Connel’s main entrance. The farmers will not want to fight goblins alone in the dark. They will also not want to risk losing their supplies this early in the dormant season. Most will run for the nearest guard post. The human sentries will alert their superiors and they will almost definitely respond with a forward patrol on horseback to drive off what they will view as an ordinary raid of simple goblins looking for food. The mounted patrol will investigate and they must be allowed to see the goblins about the farm houses, thus your raiders will not hide at the sound of the incoming horses. They must be seen, and then they must flee, but they are not to respond in any other way.”
Glaring at the goblin commander and pressing even deeper into the mind of the diminutive monster, Sazar made sure the goblin understood his strategy. “More raids will begin just west of those first three farms as well as further south once the first human patrol has been sighted. The escaping farmers of these additional raids will come across the horseback patrol and announce the new activity. Unsure if these are the same raiders that scattered or another raiding party, the patrol will call for reinforcements. That is why the raids must be staggered.”
Once certain that the goblin commander understood Sazar’s intentions without question, the serp announced the rest of his plan. “At the point, the humans will undoubtedly send reinforcements to the south. When this detachment reaches the outlying farm lands, the primary raid will occur at all the farms to Connel’s east. Again, let the farmers escape to the city, let them reach the guard posts. When their militia learns of this new larger attack, they will believe we bypassed the city in order to gain access to the dormant season food stocks. Upset that goblins have moved well past the city limits and to the more important farmlands of the eastern plains, the humans will most assuredly dispatch the majority of their forces. It is at this time their forces will be out in the open and most vulnerable to attack. The main body of my army that has already surrounded Connel will fall upon them with force. When they are decimated, I will then call on the shags and bloat spiders. You will also begin to hear the calls of the razor crows and hook hawks. That will conclude all raiding activity on the outlying farms and you are to withdraw and redeploy your forces to cover the main road that extends east out of Connel.”
The goblin did not speak. It simply nodded and waited to be dismissed. Sazar waved his scaly hand and the raiding commander scurried out the door.
A handful of goblins remained in the shabby office with Sazar as he began to telepathically communicate his orders to his army as a whole. These goblins within the outpost office earned the right to extricate themselves from the mass that made up the horde and stand by Sazar’s side. They normally fulfilled meager tasks to keep the serp happy. For the most part, they served as nothing more than messengers and gophers, and they would do anything to retain that position and avoid returning to the horde as simple foot soldiers. One of these goblins was Chal, a goblin that had no real duty other than to serve as Sazar’s listening board.
Not the smartest, the most cunning, the strongest, or even the most kowtowing goblin, Chal gained Sazar’s favor by being the most able to listen. His attention span far exceeded the normal goblin and it allowed him to remain focused on a conversation with the serp even as Sazar was forced to take long pauses to communicate with his army of minions. With other goblins, Sazar could never start a conversation, take a pause of more than a few moments, and return without having to start all over again. Chal for some reason could actually keep a thought in his balloon like head for more than a wink of the eye, a trait that was most unusual for goblins and immediately elevated him to a high status.
“Chal,” Sazar called out. “I’m interested in your opinions on this action. This is my first true conquest and as it begins, I wish to analyze it further. To this point, I have been quite successful in keeping this huge number of goblins undetected. That in itself has been a monumental task. The approaching storm has undoubtedly assisted in this matter. Traveling in Dark Spruce gave us natural cover. Getting across the hills and farmlands was another matter. In order to get this close to the city without being seen, we have had to use much of the night already. We do not have long now before the sun rises. When it does, we will obviously be discovered. Still, I have the city surrounded and they don’t even know it yet. I have numerous raiding parties ready to attack, thus we are now committed. Still, it almost seems too easy, but as there is no turning back, I am wondering if I might be overlooking something. What would you do at this moment?”
Chal responded as he often did, simply and without much thought. “There are enough goblins at your command to simply take the city and kill everyone. That is what I would do.”
Sazar expected this over simplistic response, but in truth, he
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