Dragon Mage 3 Chapter 15: Dark Menace (Patreon)

367 days until the Arkon Shield falls

The svartalfar.

All along, I had been taking comfort in how far west Sierra was from the orcs, but I’d never considered what may lie to the north. Or farther west for that matter. Sierra’s position—and Sanctuary’s—might be far more precarious than we realized.

Jhaven was still talking, saying something else about the mages, but I wasn’t really listening. “What’s to the west?” I asked abruptly.

The shaman turned my way. “The west?”

“Yes, what lies to the west of the Human Dominion, on the other side of the Sedge River?”

“Worried about who else may be coming for you?” he guessed, shrewdly.

“Just tell me,” I snapped.

Jhaven chuckled. “Not to worry, little human. There is nothing west of the Human Dominion, only deadlands.”

“Ah,” I exhaled, feeling the tension drained from me. I uncurled my fingers. I didn’t even remember clenching them so great had been my anxiety. Facing off with the dark elves to the north was bad enough. It would have been significantly worse had another threat lurked just across the river as well.

“The deadlands?” Thursten asked, watching me keenly.

“The Dead Dominions. I’ll explain later,” I replied absently, not taking my eyes off Jhaven, who was watching me just as intently. “What about to the south? Who borders us there?” 

I asked the question more out of interest rather than from any great concern. Sierra and Sanctuary lay in the northwestern corner of the Dominion. Whatever or whoever occupied the south was—as yet—too far away to trouble the Forerunners. 

Jhaven shrugged. “The fiends, gnomes, and elves. The Dominion’s southern border is a long one.”

I chewed over the orc’s response, but in hindsight, I was not really surprised by his answer. Given those species’ status as humanity’s Sponsors, it stood to reason that they would border us closely.

“Thank you,” I murmured. “Back to the svartalfar… what do you know of their intentions?”

“Their intentions?” Jhaven laughed loudly. “That is no great mystery human. They intend to grab as much of humanity’s territory as they can before my people overrun the rest.”

 I waved aside his words. “I know that. But I meant the question more specifically. What do they intend for Sanctuary?”

Jhaven frowned. “To claim it for their own, obviously.”

“Obviously,” I agreed. “But why move against us now? And why do it in this manner—sending six mages into a neighboring lair instead of directly against the village? It smacks of…” I paused searching for the right word.

“Subterfuge,” Thursten supplied. “Jamie is right. The dark elves maneuvering here does seem peculiar. Either they didn’t know about Sanctuary—and still don’t—in which case we have nothing to fear.”

“Or they know about the village, but something else is keeping them from striking at us,” Arneson added. He turned to Jhaven. “Something big and green.”

The shaman smiled broadly. “You are right, human, the svartalfar are aware of your settlement’s location. They are also aware that orcs occupy the village.” His amusement faded. “Or did, rather.”

“How?” I asked curiously. “How did the dark elves come to learn of the village’s location—or the lair’s, for that matter?”

“By means of magical scrying, of course,” Jhaven replied disinterestedly.

“Scrying…” I mused.

Thursten’s brows drew down. “What’s that?”

“A sort of magical scan,” I explained. “A long range spying spell if you will. Think of it as if a plane overflew the valley, mapping out the terrain.”

Alarm flickered across Arneson’s face. “What’s the spell’s range?” he demanded of Jhaven. “How far across the border can the svartalfar see?”

“How far?” Jhaven repeated, his humor seemingly restored by the question. “Why, halfway across the Dominion if they so wished.”

“What?” I asked, startled. I’d never contemplated scrying having such a range. If what Jhaven was saying was true, it meant… “Are you saying the svartalfar—and the other races too, presumably—have already scanned the entirety of the Human Dominion?”

Jhaven shook his head. “No. If only it were that simple. Scrying spells are limited not by distance but by time and mana consumption. A master scryer can see far but the spells he must use have long casting times and require significant quantities of mana. Mapping out a domain this size is a project that will take years to finish—even for us orcs.”

The answer eased my mind, as it did Thursten’s and Arneson’s. For now, at least, we didn’t have to worry about all the domain’s lairs and dungeons being gobbled up before we even learned of them.

“Alright, that’s… better,” I said. And it was, if only marginally so. “But it doesn’t really affect things as far as Sanctuary is concerned. The svartalfar mages must have already mapped out the entire valley. They’ll know everything they need to about the territory.”

“Oh, it’s much worse than that,” Arneson said grimly.

I glanced at him questioningly.

“Who’s to say they stopped scrying?” he asked in response to my look.

My eyes widened.

Thursten nodded. “Arnie’s right. We’ve got a goddamn spy plane hanging above us.”

“Spy plane?” Jhaven interjected.

I turned back to the shaman. He had been quietly observing our conversation I noticed. And reaching what conclusions? I wondered. But I couldn’t worry about that now. There were more important concerns to address. “How do we stop the dark elves from scrying us?” I asked, ignoring his own question.

Jhaven contemplated me in silence for a moment before answering. “You use a scry ward.”

Of course. “Do you know how to form one?”

He nodded.

“Good. Then, that’s the first spell you’ll teach me. We’ll begin now.” And to forestall any protests he might have, I added, “I don’t care if you think I’m too low leveled to learn the spell, you’ll teach it to me all the same. I might just—”

“There’s no need, human.”

“You let me be the judge of that.” 

He said nothing.

“Do I need to remind you you can’t refuse?” I asked, sensing his reluctance. “Teaching me is part of your contract.”

Jhaven’s eyes glittered. “Of that I am well aware. But like I was saying, there is no need for you to erect a scry ward around the valley.”

I blew out an exasperated breath but decided to humor him anyway. “And why is that?”

“Because one is already in place—and has been ever since I entered this benighted valley.”

I stared at Jhaven, momentarily speechless. “You are warding Sanctuary?” I asked finally.

“Yes,” he replied curtly.

“Why?” I demanded.

He shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious? To stop the svartalfar and anyone else from spying. It is standard protocol for all orc companies to be warded against magical observation.”

“But Captain Fagan and his men are no more,” I pointed out. “You are alone here, and we are certainly no orc company. So, why are you still warding the valley?” 

Knowing what I did of the shaman, I would have thought he would have dropped his wards at the first opportunity, thereby allowing his fellow shamans to realize his predicament and come to his rescue. It was a danger I hadn’t even thought of. And by the look in Thursten and Arneson’s eyes, neither had they. My focus remained on the orc, though. He still hadn’t answered my question.

“Jhaven?” I prompted.

Silence.

“Jhaven?” I repeated, louder this time.

The orc sighed. “I did it to prevent them from seeing the truth.”

His answer left me no less perplexed. “What truth?”

“The truth of my… shame.”

Understanding dawned. “You don’t want any of the other orcs to realize you’ve been captured.” I paused. “And by a mere human at that.”

“Yes,” he replied, adamantly not looking at me.

I sat back. “Good.”

Startled, Jhaven jerked his gaze back to mine. “Good?”

I smiled. “Yes, good. Because in this one instance, your interest aligns with our own. You don’t want your fellow shamans finding out what happened to you? Good, we don’t either. Keep your wards. Hells, strengthen them if you want to.”

Thursten chuckled. “The wards will also stop the svartalfar from realizing there aren’t any orcs around to ‘protect’ the village anymore.”

 Arneson nodded. “It’ll buy us some time at least.”

Jhaven’s eyes skipped between us. “You want me to help you?” he spat.

I smiled. “No, we want you to continue helping yourself. And let’s not pretend you’re doing anything else. Because you are not.”

Jhaven scowled but didn’t dispute my statement.

“Anyhow, seeing as how we are on the topic of intentions, what do the orcs want with this valley?” I asked.

“Your questions tire me, human,” the shaman replied belligerently.

“Too bad,” I said unsympathetically. “Answer me.”

Jhaven didn’t try dodging the question again. “To have our proxies claim the town, obviously.”

“Why?”

“Because it belongs to the orcs,” he responded with a glare. “As does the rest of the Human Dominion.”

“Yes, but why this village?” I asked, ignoring the spurious claim. 

The orcs were certainly a powerful species, but that did not mean their resources were limitless. And Jhaven, Captain Fagan, and his company had traveled all the way across the domain to claim this village. They certainly weren’t trying to do the same with every other settlement. 

So, why this one? There had to be a reason.

Jhaven’s look turned colder. “You know the answer already. Why ask me?”

I didn’t. I had suspicions, true, but nothing to back them up. I shrugged. “I want to hear it from your own mouth.” 

“We came here to stop the svartalfar,” Jhaven growled.

I exhaled. So. My fears were correct. “Go on. Explain.”

The orc’s mouth turned down dourly. “You’ve seen the peaks to the north, the ones the Arkon Shield runs along?”

I nodded. I had, but only from a distance, and very briefly.

“Well, that’s only the beginning of the mountains that separate this domain from the svartalfar’s territory,” Jhaven said. “The range itself is wide and deep, and the peaks beyond are higher, colder, and harsher. There is no crossing such terrain.” He paused. “Except through a mountain pass.”

“One of which is located in this very valley,” I said softly.

“Yes,” Jhaven confirmed.

“How many other passes are there between us and the svartalfar?” I asked.

“Only one other, and that’s far to the east.”

Arneson groaned. “Then the svartalfar see this valley as the key to their ambitions in the Dominion.”

Jhaven bared his teeth. “Correct. Do you understand now why I said your village is doomed? On your own, you cannot stop the dark elves.”

I ignored his assertion. “Can the svartalfar be reasoned with?”

The shaman’s bark of laughter was answer enough, but just in case, his response was not clear enough, he added. “No. The dark elves understand one language only, and that is power. If you are too weak to stop them, they will run you over.”

“What is their relationship with the orcs?” Thursten asked, not looking nearly as perturbed as I was. “Are they your friends or foes?”

“Neither,” Jhaven stated flatly. “The svartalfar will plunder what we can’t hold, but they have never dared invade our home territories.”

“Alright,” I said, bringing the conversation back on track. “We now know why the dark elves and orcs want this valley.”

“And how the svartalfar found out about the village and the lair,” Thursten added.

“And why they didn’t try claiming the village directly,” Arneson put in.

I nodded. “What’s less clear, though—” my gaze shifted to Jhaven—“is what the svartalfar will do next.”

“Invade,” he said bluntly, not needing further prompting.

“But how?” Thursten pressed. “It’s still the better part of a year before the Arkon Shield falls.”

“They will not wait that long,” Jhaven predicted confidently. “They will move on you before then.”

“But again, how?” I asked. I had an inkling of the answer, but I wanted Jhaven’s confirmation.

“With an army of human thralls, of course,” the shaman supplied obligingly.