Joint Intentions (Book 9) (22 page)

Holli opened the door to Enin's home in Connel. To her initial dismay, she found Vraya waiting for them. The elf guard frowned only slightly as several dogs rushed toward the door.

She allowed the animals to pass, as the pack of canines leapt with glee at the sight of Jure and Ryson. Despite the joyous barks of Enin's beloved dogs, Holli did not quite share their enthusiasm. It was somewhat discomforting to find the ebony casting sorceress inside Enin's house, basically trespassing.

The elf guard considered asking Jure to immediately confine the sorceress, but she remembered the advice Ott had offered. She needed to look beyond her mistakes and contemplate a much larger picture.

Along with considering events which took place before they ended up in the Lacobian Desert, she had to reflect upon the situation as a whole. There were many details to ponder and a number of questions which required answers. The arrival of the sorceress in the desert remained a muddled proposition. Holli wanted to gain a more precise understanding of Vraya's motives. Having the sorceress readily available for certain inquiries would benefit the elf in that regard.

Still, Holli could not simply ignore the spell caster's uninvited appearance within Enin's home. It raised new questions and concerns, and the elf guard needed to understand Vraya's intentions.

"Why are you here?" Holli questioned with only a hint of irritation in her voice.

"To take care of the dogs," Vraya answered with a smile.

"We have people to ensure their well-being when we are away."

"I imagined as much, but it was better to be safe than sorry."

"How did you even know Enin had dogs?" Ryson wondered.

"Did you forget, Ryson? I've been watching you. You have always been close to Enin, and his dogs as well."

"No, I didn't forget. I just wasn't sure how closely you've been watching me. Now I have a better idea."

Holli decided to use the admission to address another question regarding Vraya's appearance in the Lacobian, but she would not challenge the sorceress at the doorway to Enin's home. She led her companions into the house and guided them all into the study. Secured with greater privacy, the elf guard focused on Vraya's answer.

"How is it you have been able to keep watch over Ryson? Clearly you must have used some incantation to view the events in the desert, and yet, sight spells require an anchor, do they not?"

"Yes, they do," Vraya confirmed. "But the truth is, I didn't really cast a sight spell. I followed waves of magic in a similar fashion, and I did utilize an anchor. I used Ryson's  sword."

Holli knew which blade to which the sorceress referred. Though Ryson wore two battle swords in sheaths at his hips, he bore another weapon of great power, a blade  which was almost always within his grasp.

The Sword of Decree was bestowed upon the delver when the magic first returned to Uton. The elf elder, Mappel, requested Ryson take possession of the blade when members of each race faced the daunting task of entering Sanctum Mountain. The sword carried powerful enchantments, and even after the Sphere of Ingar was destroyed, every elf believed Ryson should always bear the weapon as a sign of hope. In deference to the elves' wishes and out of respect for those lost in the mountain, the delver agreed and carried it across his back almost constantly.

The weapon was crafted carefully by the elves... with a specific purpose. It was created to battle shadow trees; another construction of elf enchantment, a horrid conception of twisted magic. Shadow trees became a nightmare, a weapon of pure devastation. The Sword of Decree represented the exact opposite. While the shadow trees stood for anger and hate, the enchanted sword represented trust and conviction.

Understanding the potency of the sword's magic, Holli sensed possible deception in the sorceress' explanation. Using the blade as an anchor to spy on its holder was an unlikely proposition, and the elf guard challenged Vraya further.

"The Sword of Decree is of elf forging. You would not be able to seek out its magical properties for your own purposes."

"The blade's enchantment was altered in the delver's hand," Vraya explained without reluctance or unease. "The dormant powers of insight came to exist in Ryson's possession. That was not the case at its initial forging. I've studied the legends... and some of elflore. The sword enhanced ambient light, burned the souls of anyone touched by the blade, but it was a silent weapon. The sword now offers insight to those who draw it from its sheath. Isn't that true?"

"It doesn't always work," Ryson offered. "Sometimes it shows me something, most times I don't see anything of importance."

Rather than contradict the delver, the petite sorceress offered a rather cryptic response.

"A decision only has to be made when you reach a fork in the road."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the delver questioned.

"When you already know what to do, which path to follow, there's no need for a declaration of enlightenment... no reason for the sword to offer a measure of clarity."

"You're saying the sword only works when I need it to?"

"I don't think it is necessarily based on
your
need, but rather on a higher purpose. Though the enchantment blossomed under your care, the sword is still an instrument for integrity."

"I'm not sure what that means either," Ryson admitted.

"It means if you hoped to use the sword for malicious purposes, it would rebel against you, but you are not a malicious individual. There's nothing to fear in that regard."

"That may well be," Holli interrupted, "but it does not answer the question. The Sword of Decree's enchantment would not allow you to spy on its holder, of that I am quite sure."

"And I would agree, except I wasn't spying on him. I was learning from him, and the sword itself. As I said, the blade went through a transformation. When Ryson took possession of the weapon, its enchantment thrived to a point where the sword became true to its name, reached the full measure of its potential. Such an enchantment could never fully take hold under elf possession."

"Why not?" Ryson asked, his curiosity sparked by the words of the sorceress.

The sword on his back had always been an enigma to him, a puzzle he could never quite solve. He couldn't resist pressing for answers regarding the blade which had become almost a part of him.

"For the elves, the blade was crafted to offset the shadow trees," Vraya explained. "While it was a true weapon of defense, it was forged in concert with a weapon of wickedness. Its purpose was tied to a creation of malice. In the hands of the elves, the two ideals could never be separated. In your hands, the Sword of Decree became a symbol of unity. The cruelty of the shadow trees was always absent in your heart. You carry the sword for reasons of nobility."

Ryson found the explanation somewhat unnerving. He never wanted to place his own character above that of others. He knew anger and fear, succumbed to selfish desires, and made mistakes. He couldn't believe that he was somehow responsible for the sword's powers because he was some saintly individual.

"If the sword always reflected my feelings, it might not have any magic in it at all. I'm no angel."

"No, you're not, but despite your imperfections, you have always been an individual with honor."

"And what of you?" Holli asked. "Are you now saying you are of equal honor?"

"I don't make any such distinction, but I am a disciple of transformation. My magic is a testament to that fact. Jure has already confirmed the existence of my ebony core. You asked how I could utilize the blade as an anchor even as it's endowed with powerful enchantments. All I can do is point to its transformation. It is a beacon to me."

"And this allowed you to anchor sight spells to the sword?"

"Not so much a direct incantation. Such a spell would have been noticed by Enin when he retained his magical core, or even Jure. I couldn't allow my eagerness to study moments of transformation to create a possible distraction, especially when you all faced so many challenges."

"If not some form of sight spell, then how did you monitor us?"

"By bending the aura of enchantment. As Jure will tell you, magic flows across the land in various patterns and waves. He can follow them. He is very much in tune with the energy. I can follow them as well because the magical flows have the potential to transform the land and all its inhabitants."

Holli looked to Jure for confirmation.

"Is this a feasible explanation?"

"It is, but she wouldn't be viewing things as they happened. She could place her focus on the sword's enchantment, capture images from within the flow of energy, but she would see it only when the energy reached her."

"No matter how far I stood in the distance, it would not take more than a few moments," Vraya clarified.

"She's right."

"Very well," Holli allowed, deciding to move on to another topic considering the sorceress. "How long have you been studying the delver?"

"I have seen much of what he has done. I did not see him enter Sanctum Mountain—my magic was not strong enough at that time—but I did see him battle the slink ghoul Baannat and the sorcerer Ansas. I watched him battle the goblin Okyiq and the serp Sazar. I also saw him fight against the serp council."

Almost immediately, Holli sensed another issue within the sorceress' explanation. It wasn't so much an inconsistency as it was a deficiency in reasoning.

"You witnessed all of that, and only now did you choose to come to our aid. Why?"

"You believe I should have left you buried in the sand?"

"I believe we have faced far more serious predicaments in the past. You admitted you have watched many of those confrontations, yet you stayed away. Suddenly you appear. Why now?"

"Because as grim as many of your previous encounters may have seemed, this particular situation called to me."

"Why? What is different about this situation that you felt it was necessary to intervene?"

"Unless you haven't noticed, the changes and challenges you've faced have been growing far more severe of late."

"And you believe this current dilemma surpasses what we have already faced in the past?"

Vraya hesitated. She did not wish to build on their fears or frustrations, did not want to create a sense of hopelessness, but she knew Holli would not allow her to evade the question.

"There's something very serious stirring within the magic," Vraya revealed. "I'm not even sure what it is, but I can feel it. It hasn't happened yet, but it's coming."

"That is hardly specific."

"That's because I can't be specific. I'm not a prophet. I don't see into the future, but I can feel change. It doesn't always happen all at once. Most of the time, events build toward it, and that's what I feel right now. I sense something in the winds of ebony magic which, in all honesty, I've never sensed before. There is something about to occur, something bound by fate. The magic reveals at least that much to me. It's almost like the energy of alteration is about to boil over. That's what I feel inside of me. There's a great transformation culminating in this sequence of events, and I don't believe it can be stopped."

"You know nothing more of this potential transformation?"

"No, nothing else."

Holli pondered every word of the petite sorceress. Vraya's responses seemed both logical and unrehearsed. The elf was not ready to place complete trust in the spell caster, but she could not discard the importance of intuition. Her own instincts matched the sorceress' concerns. The elf did not wish to appear as if she was challenging Vraya, but with so much already at stake, it was necessary for her to consider the sorceress' connection to other important matters.

"Have you ever met Neltus?" Holli questioned.

"I saw him when I studied Ryson's activities, but I've never actually met him."

"Have you ever had any contact with Enin?"

"You are Enin's guard, you should know that I haven't."

"I was not always his guard. You could have been in contact with him before I arrived in Connel."

"True, but no, I never met him either. I often wanted to speak with him, thought he might offer advice. He was known to help spell casters looking to enhance their control, but I decided against it."

"Why?"

"He was too powerful."

"Why would that prevent you from seeking his assistance?"

"I cast ebony magic in a perfect circle. Consider what I would face if I ever reached Enin's level of strength and skill."

"You did not wish to increase your ability?" Holli questioned.

The sorceress knew her responses were somewhat inconsistent. She studied the magic, but she understood the potential dangers if she grew too powerful. She looked to Jure to see if he would comprehend. She knew he did, but she would still have to explain it to the elf guard.

"I don't deny I studied Enin from a distance," Vraya confessed. "I could see him when he was with Ryson, and I could watch him just as any other spell caster could follow his immense energy. I saw the strain of his power. He knew he could alter the outcome of any battle, force his will on any situation. He was able to curb his own desires, deny the temptation to interfere. As you already know, I cast in a black hue. It would not be so easy for me."