'You're going to have to face it, Joel,' he muttered to himself. 'You've been casting priest spells. You're a priest now.'
Butternut nickered softly and stopped. Joel halted beside her. Now he could hear what her more sensitive ears must have heard earlier-the clash of steel against steel. Somewhere in the woods to the east someone- several someones-were battling with swords. Joel spied a narrow path leading in the direction of the noise.
The young priest pulled his mare off the trail and tied her to a low branch. Magically reassured, the beast commenced to graze on the undergrowth. The bard pulled up the hood of his green cloak and drew his sword before he began moving stealthily down the path toward the sounds of battle.
The trees on either side of the path grew more sparse, and Joel could make out figures in a clearing up ahead. The bard ducked behind a tree and peered around the trunk to assess the situation.
In the center of the clearing stood a granite boulder over eight feet high and thirty feet around. Five armed men had cornered a lone swordswoman up against the rock. From the black and yellow badges sewn on their leather jerkins, Joel could tell that the men were Zhentilar, soldiers of the Zhentarim, the Black Network.
Branson had warned Joel about them. The Zhentarim shipped their honest goods down the Northride Road through Shadowdale, but there were certain goods that Shadowdale's lord, its wizard, and its people would not stomach. These included mercenaries, arms, and slaves, which the Zhentarim was forced to bring through Daggerdale. To protect this illicit trade, the Black Network sent soldiers to patrol Daggerdale by leave of the puppet rulers it had set up in the town of Dagger Falls. The Zhentilar, Branson had explained, were a menace to any goods not belonging to their masters and harassed travelers on principle. The Zhentilar in the clearing weren't much older than Joel, but they were all armed with swords, and their eyes were cold and pitiless.
Their chosen prey of the moment was barely more than a girl, barefoot and dressed in a long skirt and a tunic, both woven from brown wool. A small leather backpack hung from her left arm, serving as a shield. If not for the cutlass she wielded in her right hand, Joel might have taken her for a Dalelands shepherdess. Considering her dark skin and short bushy hair and the curved blade, Joel wondered if perhaps she was an askara, a fighting woman from one of the southern empires. Whatever her origins, she was certainly no stranger to combat.
Two Zhentilar already lay on the ground. One was a soldier with a fatal gash across his throat, while the other was a spellcaster with a dagger in his chest. Despite having felled two of her seven attackers, the swordswoman was hard pressed now. With her back against the boulder, she couldn't be surrounded easily, but neither could she escape. Although three of the five surviving Zhentilar hung back, they made an effective fence of steel behind the other two soldiers, who harried her like dogs who had cornered a fox. Blood seeped from several small cuts on her arms, and she appeared to be tiring. From time to time, she let the point of her sword droop carelessly. It was only a matter of time before she would make some fatal error.
There was no question in the bard's mind that he would help the young woman. He would have liked to ponder until he could come up with a foolproof plan, but there wasn't time. Certainly the odds weren't favorable for a bold assault. That left deceit. Joel grinned as a wild scheme took shape in his head.
According to Branson, the Zhentilar were used to taking orders from their mages. With its mage captain felled, this patrol was obviously in need of new leadership. Joel waved his fingers about his body, chanting a simple illusion spell to mimic the outfit of the dead Zhentarim wizard. The fabric of his cloak shimmered until he appeared to be wearing black and yellow robes emblazoned with a Zhentarim badge. With the same spell, he covered his face with the illusion of a long gray beard and cloaked his sword with the shape of an oaken staff.
Taking a deep breath, Joel stepped into the clearing. One of the Zhentilar had climbed up the back of the boulder and now teetered precariously near the edge, intending to drop a large rock onto the swordswoman's head. Before the situation got any messier, Joel barked, 'What's going on here? Soldier, report!'
The two soldiers battling the swordswoman kept their attention fixed on their foe, but the two in the rear whirled about, leveling their swords at Joel. The Zhentilar atop the boulder lost his footing and tumbled backward with a startled cry. It took all Joel's self-control to keep from laughing.
Reacting to the sight of a Zhentilar mage-captain, one soldier before Joel lowered his sword and snapped back, 'Sir, we were interrogating this civilian when she murdered our captain and lieutenant, sir!'
'I can see that,' Joel replied coldly. 'I could feel the death of my brother mage.' The bard strode solemnly over to the dead mage's body and bent over to assure himself the mage was indeed dead. From the corpse's belt, he retrieved a small wand.
As he stood, Joel pointed the wand at the swordswoman. The two Zhentilar facing him backed away hurriedly. Apparently the wand's magic wasn't something to trifle with. Too bad I don't have a clue what it does, Joel thought.
'Back away from your prisoner, men,' the bard ordered the Zhentilar guarding the woman.
The two remaining guards backed away with more calm. From the smug look on their faces, Joel could tell they were looking forward to watching their prey become the target of whatever foul magic the wand released. The color drained from the young woman's face, and her lips moved in what Joel guessed must be a prayer to her gods.
'Sheathe your sword,' he ordered her.
Like a sleepwalker, the prisoner obeyed.
Joel stepped closer.
'Careful, sir,' one soldier muttered. 'That's how our captain got skewered, thinkin' she was pacified. Best flame her and be done with it.'
'Did it occur to you, soldier,' Joel asked with a sneer, 'that if she went to all this trouble to avoid answering your questions, she must know something important? We need to question her.'
The bard strode up to the swordswoman, the wand pointed at her belly. She was nearly as tall as he was, but standing this close, the bard could see she was even younger than he'd thought. She was really just a girl. A brave girl, though-she met his look with a defiant glare. In another instant, Joel sensed, she would attack him.
Joel winked. The girl's eyes widened momentarily, but she said nothing. Joel slipped the wand in his belt, grabbed the girl's arm, and yanked her away from the rock. Noting the soldiers' curious stares, he jerked his head in the direction of the corpses and ordered, 'Do something with those bodies!'
'Yes, sir,' one of the soldiers answered. 'Moonteeth, get the shovel. Kurlens, fetch the captain a piece of rope for the prisoner.'
'That won't be necessary,' Joel replied, steering the girl toward the path. 'I'm sure I can handle her.'
'Where are you taking her, sir?' the soldier giving orders asked suspiciously.
'My patrol is waiting at the end of the path,' the bard lied. 'I'll interrogate her there. Join us when you're finished cleaning up here.' He continued to guide the girl down the path, careful not to look back.
His coolness didn't fool the soldiers. Two Zhentilar followed Joel, and although he couldn't see them, the bard was acutely aware that their blades were pointed at his back.
'Begging your pardon, sir,' the soldier who'd taken charge said craftily, 'but I can't relinquish the prisoner without you giving me the password.'
Password. That's just great, Joel thought with annoyance.
The bard released his grip on the girl's arm. He gave her a quick shove forward, making room for him to whirl about with his staff raised. The first soldier, unaware that the staff was merely an illusion covering a sharpened sword, grabbed at the weapon with his bare hand. Blood spurted from what was left of the man's fingers as he shrieked in pain.
Joel stepped back, parrying the second soldier's blade with his own. The force of steel smashing into steel dispelled the illusion of the mage staff.
“You're no mage!' the second soldier growled. He slammed his blade at the bard's sword with enough force to knock it from Joel's hand. Joel retreated several hasty steps backward. The soldier advanced on him with an evil grin. From behind him, Joel heard a twang. A moment later the grin disappeared from the soldier's face as a crossbow bolt buried itself in his throat.
Joel spun about. His 'prisoner' was already sliding a second bolt into a one-handed drow crossbow. The bard snatched his sword up from the ground and retreated to the girl's side.
The girl stepped forward, leveling her cutlass at the soldier with the injured hand. Joel grabbed her arm. 'Come on. Let's go!' he ordered.
