"Obviously. Any thing else?"
"There's a strange scent lingering at the center of the camp. Nothing I can identify specifically, but it's there. I'm pretty certain it's the scent of dark creatures, but it's not the goblin thieves. I have their scent and it doesn't match. This isn't one particular creature. More like a mix. That's why I'm unsure."
"Wouldn't that indicate a possible incursion into the camp?"
"No, you don't understand. The creatures weren't here, their scents got blown into the camp from a distance. It might have been a larger pack of goblins and maybe some shags, and even some river rogues that were able to get close to the camp due to the elf disappearance, but they never entered the camp. For some reason their scents just got trapped here. It's unusual, but it's definitely there."
"That's everything you sense?"
"You think I'm missing something?"
"Quite the opposite. You discovered more than I expected. Now tell me, what is it that really bothers you about all of this?"
Ryson looked to the swallit with surprise.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Answer the question," the swallit responded gruffly.
"It's pretty obvious. The elves just disappeared. One moment they were here and the next moment they were gone. No intruder, no raid or attack. No sign of a struggle of any kind, no indication of surprise or concern. Even the elf guard trails in the trees around the perimeter show the same thing. That's probably what has me the most concerned. Whatever it was that happened, it caught them all off guard. Even the elf guards had no idea it was coming. Something that can catch an entire camp and its elf guards by surprise has to be dangerous."
The swallit nodded again, but said nothing. It began to pace around the camp on its hind legs, looking about from one section of the camp to the next, appearing somewhat like a human going through a market and trying to decide what to purchase.
"Are you going to say anything?" Ryson finally wondered aloud. He offered everything he had discovered and he waited impatiently for information from the swallit.
The dark creature, however, was caught up in its own considerations.
"Be quiet," it demanded.
The swallit continued its walk for a few moments more and then stepped up to the delver. It made one definitive statement, followed by a simple admission.
"I know what happened, but I don't know why."
"How about telling me what happened?"
"That's the easy part," the swallit grunted. "A portal was opened at the center of this camp, an extremely large portal to the dark realm. That is why you saw the strange markings of a hot wind on the dirt. The wind came from out of the portal and so it only affected the ground at the opening. But this was no ordinary portal. As I said, it was extremely large and it only existed for a scant moment in time."
"So it was a quick, hot breeze from the dark realm through a large rift!" Ryson acknowledged.
"Yes, such a blast of restricted hot air would certainly make strange markings on the ground. It also helps explain the scent of the dark creatures you noticed. While there are more rogues, shags and goblins now near this emptied camp, additional scents came from beings on the other side of the portal. They never entered the camp, but the portal offered a trail to their scent. It's not a surprise your delver senses noticed this."
"You think the elves opened a portal?"
"No, the portal was opened from the other side, from the dark realm. Every elf was teleported into the mouth of the portal when it was opened. That is why their trails simply ended."
Despite offering an explanation that answered most of his questions, the swallit's words surprised the delver.
"And you're sure about this?"
The swallit was very certain, for portals had become almost an obsession to the creature.
"The very first time we met, it was in this forest. Do you remember the circumstances?" the swallit asked.
"Actually, I do. You were running through the trees and you didn't want to stop."
"I was running from danger. It was because a portal opened up that connected this land with the dark realm… my home. That portal allowed a twisted creation to move back and forth between the two planes of existence as it hunted beings of all types."
"I remember. A slink ghoul named Baannat created an animated vessel to capture magic. The vessel was made out of the skins of dark creatures."
Ryson also recalled his personal dealings with the slink ghoul. They were not pleasant. He had fought Baannat on two different occasions, and though he defeated the ghoul each time, Baannat avoided complete destruction. He believed the ghoul to be trapped in a shadowed realm of nonexistence.
"I knew that portal was a danger to every dark creature, including me," the swallit explained. "Since then, I have been not only concerned by the opening of portals, I have trained myself to sense them. It is not difficult for a dark creature, certainly not difficult for me, for it is a link back to the land of my origin. When one is created, I can sense it, if I'm not too far off. When this portal initially opened, I was much further away, but it was very powerful. This made me… curious. You should understand that."
"So you came here to investigate?"
"Of course. And I have been here for some time. I wondered if the portal might reappear. It hasn't."
The information did not offer any true solace to the delver.
"Are you saying Baannat has opened another portal? I was told that wasn't possible. He's trapped in some kind of void, at least that's what I was told. Do you think he's behind all of this?"
"No, I do not think it's him. The magic is somewhat familiar but it does not point back to the slink ghoul. I remember the portal Baannat opened. It is not the same. It is, however, very strong magic. The echoes of the spell still linger in the air. There was a great deal of disturbance in this land. I attribute that to the massive use of teleportation. Something was very intent on taking these elves and forcing them into the portal."
"Forcing them? But there wasn't any sign of a struggle."
"You don't struggle against instantaneous teleportation."
The thought of being teleported to some distant place against his will and being unable to resist stirred a new fear in the delver.
"The magic can do that?"
"Powerful magic can… very powerful magic guided by a very, very skilled sorcerer. Whoever did this had access to vast amounts of energy and a talent beyond my reckoning. The elves never had…"
The swallit stopped abruptly and swung around to stare into the forest.
"Someone else has arrived," the creature announced. It quickly sniffed the air. "A teleportation spell… a human and an elf."
The swallit turned back around to gauge the expression on the delver's face as Ryson also took in the scent.
"Friends of yours it seems," the swallit confirmed. "I have nothing to say to them."
The swallit dropped down to all fours and headed deeper into the forest.
"Wait!" Ryson shouted.
"I have told you all I know," the swallit called back. "It is more than you would have learned on your own. You are indebted to me, Ryson Acumen."
Chapter 9
"Who were you talking to?" Holli asked.
"A swallit."
Holli eyed the delver, not with suspicion but with expectation for an explanation, and Ryson did not disappoint her.
"It was interested in what happened to the elves, but it had nothing to do with any of this. It actually gave me more information than I expected."
Ryson went on to explain everything the swallit had told him. When he was finished, he turned to Jure.