Free Delver Magic Book VII: Altered Messages by Jeff Inlo

tunnel, not Dunop itself. The city is much better protected. To enter Dunop would be suicidal. Now be quiet. I have to cast one more spell and our mission will be complete."
    Rivira ignored the large goblin's curses as she focused on another casting that would allow the moisture in the ground to work for their cause. When entering the cave, she had to ensure the dwarves did not notice them in any fashion. Once levitating, Okyiq's trail had ended out in the forest, close to the cave, but it wasn't enough. She had assured the serps that the goblin tracks would lead all the way into the tunnel, even if they were only seen by the half-delver.
    She held a single hand in front of her and pointed to the ground. She whispered words of a spell that gave purpose to the sparse amounts of moisture all about her. Pressing her will into the water, she forced it to move silently along the ground—undetected by the dwarf sentries—until it found Okyiq's last set of footprints. Droplets of water formed an illusion that matched the large goblin's tracks. The false bending of light cascaded across the ground back to the tunnel. Reviewing the markings, Rivira found the results acceptable.
    "We are done here," she whispered to Okyiq.
    With another wave of her hand, she teleported herself and the large goblin out of the tunnel and deeper into Dark Spruce Forest. They were well west of Dunop's entrance, but they had succeeded with all their appointed tasks regarding the dwarf city.
    Canceling all spells, she and Okyiq dropped back to the ground and stood in the middle of thick brush. She did not sense any immediate danger, but their position was not without peril.
    "Do you sense anything about?" the sorceress asked of the goblin.
    "Trees," Okyiq noted with a satisfied grin. He was actually quite happy with their surroundings.
    "I'm talking about bloat spiders or shags. There's no river rogues. We're too far from water. I can tell that."
    "Spiders and shags wouldn't dare attack me."
    "Don't be too sure of that."
    "I'm sure as I need to be."
    Rivira did not wish to argue the point, but she couldn't afford any ill-timed interruptions. She still had work to do.
    "They may avoid you, but that won't help me, and I still have to contact the serps. If I don't, then we did all this for nothing. Now, do you sense anything or not?"
    "Nothing near."
    She accepted Okyiq's assessment of the surrounding forest and turned her focus to links of communication with the serp council. She informed them of everything that had been accomplished. In response, she received a telepathic and authoritative message.
    "You are done... for now. Return to Portsans. Both of you."
    "We're finished," Rivira relayed the message to the large goblin. "They want us to return to the coast. I can teleport us there, but I'll need a few moments to gather sufficient energy."
    "What if I don't want to go back to the coast?" Okyiq asked defiantly.
    "I suppose that's your choice, but do you really want to walk away from this?"
    The goblin took a few moments to reflect upon the question, rather than disregard it completely. After a very brief consideration of certain details, he revealed a brutally honest admission.
    "Not sure what all this is. Bunch of snake faces making complicated plans. Don't look like they accomplished much. What is it you think I'm walking away from?"
    Rivira considered the goblin's rather abrupt judgment, as well as his direct question, and began to wonder herself about the serp council. Trusting serps was not a wise decision, but she understood power. Six serps who managed to merge their talents should not be ignored.
    The serps had indeed revealed some of their plans to her. She had no doubt that their schemes would cause confusion and ultimately conflict, but she couldn't say with certainty where it would all lead. At first, she believed it was wiser to be on the side of the serps as opposed to being left out of their plans.
    The goblin, however, blatantly admitted he