Delver Magic III: Balance of Fate by Jeff Inlo (thriller books to read txt) 📕
- Author: Jeff Inlo
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Both Ryson and Sy looked to the wizard almost expectantly. Enin had said nothing since he began to consider his sight spell. They wondered if he had paid any further attention to the conversation. His reply made it clear he had.
“Me? Go to Pinesway?” The wizard shook his head with a noticeable grimace. “No, not a good idea. Didn’t ever really consider it actually. You both know I don’t like interfering in the decisions of any creature, even dark creatures. There are problems you have to decide for yourself, work out for yourself, that kind of thing. Kind of hard to explain really. It’s hard for me sometime, you know. I like to help, but I can’t interfere. If I start doing everything, then what is there left for you to do? We all have our place and our jobs. You have to do what you have to do. If I started taking over everything, where would it stop? It’s really a trap. I don’t want that kind of responsibility, and I don’t really think most of the people around here would appreciate it. I guess you must think it almost lazy of me, but that’s not it at all. You do understand, don’t you?”
“Enin, the day I understand you is a day I both fear and welcome, and a day that I think will never appear.” Sy then turned back to the delver. “I won’t try to stop you from going, but I will ask you to be careful.”
“I will.”
“Actually, I need you to be more than careful,” Sy added quickly.
“What do you mean?” Ryson turned his head curiously as he waited for an answer.
Sy appeared to take his time in selecting his words. Eventually, he spoke with a greater tone of concern and less the voice of authority that was his normal manner.
“I know you, Ryson. I know you want to help anyone that’s trapped in Pinesway, but I also meant what I said before. I know you think everyone is worth your help, and I’m not going to try and argue that. What I will say is that everyone that is now in danger in Pinesway is in that danger of their own choosing. They had ample opportunity to leave, they decided not to. Some came from other towns to stake a claim after most residents abandoned the place. In my mind, that’s asking for trouble. Now they have it. You want to do what you can to save them, and I won’t condemn you for trying as long as you also understand that people have to ultimately take responsibility for their own decisions. There is a line between doing what’s needed and going too far. I also wasn’t trying to be obnoxious when I asked how you intended on helping the wounded. It’s not only about getting careless, it’s also about realizing that sometimes there’s just nothing you can do. If you don’t accept that, bad things will happen. That’s a plain truth. I don’t want to see anything happen to you, Enin doesn’t want to see anything happen to you—most of all, Linda doesn’t want to see anything happen to you. I know your desire to help is just that, you’re not trying to be a hero. It’s a noble thing to do. What I’ve always worried about is that one day you might end up being too noble. You want to help, fine, help where you can, but understand that some risks help no one and can hurt others. We need you back here.”
Ryson exhaled heavily and did the best he could to reassure his friend. “I’ll be careful. You have my word.”
Sy offered one more reminder to the delver about the challenges he faced. “Remember, the people in Pinesway knew raids like this were coming. They still wanted to stay. Although you might want to, sometimes you can’t save people from themselves. You have to let them be.”
Enin suddenly offered his own opinion on the matter. He spoke with a greater weight to his voice as if he wanted to offer a deeper understanding. “What the captain says is very true. Do not dismiss it, my friend. You can’t save people from themselves, and even more so, you can’t keep people from their fate.”
Ryson found the last statement too confusing to ignore. “You’re saying that anyone that dies in this raid was supposed to die.”
“I’m saying there are things beyond our control,” Enin explained almost sternly, “things that each individual must face on his own. It isn’t always good, but for whatever reason, it must be faced. We might not like everything that happens, but things happen for a reason. Keep that in mind. It will serve you well both now and in the future.”
“Not sure I understand that, not even sure I want to,” Ryson admitted. “Anyway, I need to leave now. I should hit Pinesway before the sunsets and I’ll be back here before the sun rises. Linda thinks I’m out on a scout with Enin so she won’t expect me back until late tomorrow anyway. She doesn’t need to know or worry, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell her where I’m going.”
“She won’t see me,” Enin declared. “I’m returning to my house, there’s something I need to look into myself. I’ll be busy for sometime.” Enin paused to take a deep look at the delver. He then took a small jewel from his pocket. “You’ll be fine, but if you need help, really need help, hold this tight in your palm and think of me.”
Ryson took the gem and held it loosely in his hand. If felt near weightless and he couldn’t identify it. Its color changed with each passing moment. “Never saw one of these before. What kind of stone is it? It’s not a ruby, diamond, or emerald.”
“It’s not a natural stone. I made it. If you need me, however, it will tell me. That’s all that’s important. Good luck to you.” Enin said no more, he simply walked out the door.
Sy looked from the stone to the delver to the door that Enin walked through. “I may not understand him, but I think I am actually getting used to him. And I know I thank every day that he’s here with us.” Sy turned his attention back to the delver. “Anyway, just so you know, I am going to send men to the outskirts of Pinesway. I’m not going to order them into town, but they will have orders to strike any group of dark creatures they can handle safely. Any stray goblins that try to leave or enter are not going to have an easy time of it. They’re also going to warn any travelers and help any stragglers that have escaped the town that make it to the open roads. Keep that in mind for yourself and anyone that you meet up with. You won’t be completely alone.”
Ryson looked once more at the stone in his hand and then deposited it in his own pocket. “I guess not. Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that, the delver dashed out of the office.
“Hello, brother.” The voice that greeted Enin filled the air with emotion, and this emotion spanned the spectrum of feelings. It held joy drifting toward anger, happiness betrayed by sadness, enthusiasm cut off by indifference. The inhabitant of this otherwise hollow region made no attempt to temper the tone of his voice. Instead, he allowed the opposing passions of these two simple words to vibrate incessantly around the space of this shadowy realm that he himself created.
Enin firmed himself against the icy shivers that always rode down his spine whenever he entered this place. He could feel the intense emotions biting at his very flesh and this cold tingle reminded him just how much he hated coming here. He spoke quickly in response as if hoping to brush off any lasting echoes or at the very least to quickly diminish the sentiment of the greeting.
“I am not your brother, Baannat.”
Enin’s tone held no such dueling emotional ambiguity. His words rang quite clearly of caution and distrust.
Baannat, however, was not so easily swayed. Even more emotion spilled out of his words that followed.
“Not brothers? Well, no. Perhaps not in the way lesser creatures see relations, but you have to admit they are rather limited in their understanding of things. Sometimes you have to go beyond the limits, expand your definition. Think of that, brother. We do that all the time, you and I. We constantly expand what we can do, what we can sense, what we understand. In this context, we are more closely related than these inferior things that call themselves siblings. Just because they spilled out of the same mindless creature that bore them, that’s enough for them to feel some kind of bond. You wish to ignore the bond we have? You acknowledge it every time you come here. We certainly are brothers. Look at the similarities. It goes far beyond our simple meetings here, it goes to the very breadth of our abilities, abilities that no other can match. We both cast white magic, and we both cast with two perfect circles…”
“That is where the similarities end.”
“Perhaps they do, but in that alone we are more alike than any so-called ‘relation’ of these lesser beings with which you tend to waste so much time.”
In truth, Enin could not be exactly sure if there were any further similarities, for while Baannat was eager to be heard, he remained less willing to be seen. He masked his visual presence from Enin with shadow and distortion. Enin never got a good look at his adversary, thus he could only guess as to what Baannat truly was. Despite this lack of knowledge, Enin remained resolute in his belief that he had little in common with Baannat, and they were certainly not brothers.
“We are not alike, we are very much opposite,” Enin stated.
Baannat almost allowed a cackle to slip across his tongue, but he held it back in order to torment his guest further. “Opposites, you’ve talked about that with me before, haven’t you? Opposing sides and such, it is almost necessary according to your concept of existence. It is all for the sake of balance. Isn’t that what you always say? And balance is so very important. It explains those things which you can’t explain. Perfection is impossible to obtain because perfection is out of balance. These lesser creatures must face hardships for the sake of balance.”
“That is only part of it,” Enin replied stoically.
“And what are the other parts again?”
“You know them as well as I do. Lessons need to be learned. Paths need to be followed. When the time comes, decisions need to be made. These ‘lesser beings’ as you refer to them to must be allowed to make certain choices…”
“But not everything is a choice,” Baannat quickly interrupted.
“Choices must be made without prejudice—with balance.”
“And is that why you won’t act against this serp that is currently making problems for you and your friends? You’re afraid of tipping the balance?”
At the mention of the serp, Enin grew slightly more suspicious of Baannat. He had not mentioned Sazar as of yet, but in truth, that meant little. Baannat certainly had ways to see into the land, to know of events as they happened. It was not beyond reason to expect that Baannat knew of the serp’s actions.
“I do not act for many reasons, it’s not my time, nor is it my place,” Enin declared with a distinct tone of certainty. “I will not interfere in the workings of grander designs.”
“Ahh, when we don’t talk about balance we always come back to these thoughts of destiny and fate. You
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