Delver Magic Book VII: Altered Messages Read Online Free PDF Page A

wait for you to go home and come back. Leave your dog with me. I'll see to him."
    Ryson hesitated. He wanted no harm to come to Stomps and leaving him felt like too much of a risk.
    "It's not a good idea," he admitted. "I'll worry about him more than about what I have to do. You won't get a good report, give me just..."
    "I appreciate your concern," the guard replied without animosity but rather with a clear understanding toward the delver's concerns. "I'd feel the same if it was my dog. What's his name?"
    "Stomps," Ryson noted somewhat impatiently, as he wanted to move as quickly as possible.
    "I'll take care of Stomps. He'll be better protected with me than he would be somewhere else. Trust me."
    Ryson could see that Abby meant exactly what she said, and he realized she was right. His wife, Linda, was already at work, and he would have to leave Stomps alone at home.
    "Alright. You take care of him. I'll return here when I finish my scout."
    "I'll signal a request for Captain Fenden to come here directly to hear your report first hand. Do you need us to reopen the gate?"
    "No, I can go over the top."
    "That's what I figured."
    Before leaving, Ryson patted Stomps on the head.
    "You stay here with Abby. I'll be right back."
    Abby gently took hold of the dog so Stomps wouldn't bolt after his master.
    Watching how the guard acted, Ryson knew Abby would be true to her word. He could focus totally on his scout and not worry about Stomps in the least.
    With his concerns alleviated, he bolted toward the wall and scaled a support column in the blink of an eye. Without slowing, he leapt over the top ledge and dropped to his feet in the clearing outside. He shook off the great fall as if he had only descended a single step of a low rising staircase.
    Rather than move directly to the source of the foul stench drifting across the clearing, Ryson dashed due north, parallel to the tree line. There was very little cover between him and Dark Spruce until he reached the edge of a farm field. A crop of corn had grown high, as the harvest season was fast approaching. The tall stalks would allow him to approach closer to the forest without being seen. Of course, the long green stems and thick corn husks would also block his own vision, but he was a delver and could rely on his other senses.
    The wind was blowing from the west and the breeze would bring every scent from the area in question right to his delver nose. He kept the bizarre, overpowering odor centered in his mind as he navigated a path through the cornfield. The smell grew stronger as he moved, but it did not change in composition. He detected no other dark creatures, but he could not separate the scent of goblin from the smell of decay. The odor also became more pervasive, an indication that the source had become stationary.
    While the breeze would ruffle the stalks all about him, he could tune out the distraction and hone in on any sounds coming from the trees. He heard nothing that would indicate the presence of goblins. There were no guttural whispers and no clang of metal chest plates.
    The cornfield did not reach to the very edge of the forest, as the farmer who tended the land did not wish to plant too near the trees. There was a sizable gap that Ryson would have to cross, but the grass between the corn and the forest was tall enough to offer cover of its own.
    While Ryson could use it to his advantage, it might have also offered cover to a small raiding party. The delver, however, dismissed such a peril. The scent from the forest revealed far more goblins than could possibly hide in the swath of grass, and the penetrating odor was much too concentrated for him to suspect the diminutive monsters had spread out.
    Just before reaching the final edge of the cornfield, Ryson stopped to gaze into the forest. He saw nothing but trees and brush, but in examining the branches with greater attention, he realized the forest lacked the normal movement of birds and squirrels. Only the