Altered Messages (Delver Magic, #7) by Jeff Inlo

Utilizing pure magic to overcome their treacherous nature, six serps form a council bent on obliterating peace and order across the land. They merge their manipulative abilities into a powerful force and develop a complex plot focused on raising tensions between the races.

The mayhem begins with an ominous and grisly message. Ryson Acumen and Captain Sy Fenden immediately recognize the handiwork of the abnormally large goblin, Okyiq. The ghastly display, however, serves a much larger purpose for serp manipulation and launches a series of cascading calamities meant to envelop the entire region of Dark Spruce Forest.

Great magical spells and horrific monsters crash down upon Uton in waves, causing great pain and tragedy. Demons terrorize humans and dwarves, even as Okyiq leads an army of goblins, shags, and bloat spiders through Dark Spruce and towards the town of Burbon. Every misfortune is designed to foster fear and instability, and a war between the races seems like an impending certainty.

Recognizing the sweeping influence of the serps, the guardians of Uton work toward defusing the crisis. Holli and Enin hope to stave off catastrophe while avoiding direct confrontation with the serp council. Jure joins with Ryson to take a more direct approach to bring peace between the races, but it's the delver who discovers that the only way to match the serps' influence is to move faster than they can scheme