spearmen to the edge of the door where they had a clear view.
The old priest waded through the drifted path to the center of the small field between the warren and the woods, where the elemental already stood. Barely had they met when the elemental pointed toward the entrance. 'The female comez, too,' it shrilled. Martine realized its icy finger was pointed at her. Jouka eyed her darkly, suspicious of the link between the woman and the fiend.
Unbuckling her sword, Martine joined Sumalo on the frozen meadow. Away from the shelter of the doors, the wind blasted her cheeks and cut through the light clothing she wore.
'Speaker of the Vani, listen to me,' Vreesar was saying as Martine approached. 'Give me the woman and the stone she haz stolen, and I will leave you in peace. She waz Hakk'z mate, and now she iz mine. She stole the stone from Hakk.'
Sumalo stared up at the towering elemental. 'Mere are far more stones in the earth than Vani. I do not know which one you mean.'
'The woman knowz! Ask her,' Vreesar hissed, voice crackling with frost. The creature squatted down till its angular face was level with the old priest's.
The tired veins on Sumalo's neck traced blue-black lines as the priest tensed. His eyes narrowed, the gnome turned to the Harper. 'What does he mean, Martine of Sembia?'
'It was a rock I found on the glacier,' the Harper lied. 'I don't have it now. Last I saw it was in the chieftain's lodge.' Suddenly she was thankful for the cold, for her shivering disguised her trembles of fear.
'Liez! I know it iz the key! That iz why you stole it, human!' The elemental almost reached for her, then restrained itself, perhaps deterred by the line of spear points behind her.
Martine trembled. Damn! The creature knows! I was too obvious. I can't let it get the stone. 'I don't have it,' she repeated fiercely.
Vreesar changed his tactics. 'My slavez say, `People of the dirt hate the Burnt Fur. You must lead uz in war against
them.' But I, Vreesar, do not want war. You do not want war. I give you thiz chance to make peace, Su-ma- lo. Do not be tricked by thiz human. She haz the stone. Give them both to me.' The creature's icy face crackled in expectation.
'Me woman is our guest. I will not break the laws of the warren.'
'She liez!' Vreesar's razor edges glinted in the sunlight. 'She haz stolen the stone. She must be punished!'
'Your law is not our law, creature,' Sumalo snapped back, his anger rising with each threat. 'We did not start this war. You invaded our valley.'
The elemental drew itself up. 'We see no totemz, no claim stakez,' Vreesar said with a sneer.
'Our homes are our claims,' Sumalo replied. 'You murdered Elder Hudni! The crimes are yours, not the Vani's.' The fiend buzzed in a mockery of laughter, its needled mouth cracking in a perversion of a smile. 'When all of you are dead, I will bring my brotherz to amuse themselvez here. No more talk! I kill some of your people. Th en we talk again.*
The elemental turned and strode back toward the woods and the waiting gnolls. At the edge of the forest, it stopped and looked back. 'People of the dirt, remember who started thiz war!' With that, the wind embraced the pale creature in a cloak of driven snow, swirling him out of sight.
'Shut the doors,' Sumalo rasped as they entered the warren. The puffs of his breath hung like cold charms in the air. Martine held out one arm to help the old gnome along, but he paid her no attention. When they reached the foyer, the others quickly labored to close the broad wooden gates. The doors met with a loud thump, and the bar rattled into place.
Sumalo pointed at the gnomes nearest the door. 'Stay here and guard. Three others each guard the cliffside and the east entrances. Vani, arm yourselves and prepare for war!'
Twelve
The rumble of heavy feet sounded through the thick, earth-banked walls of the warren as the Vani hurried to carry out their priest's commands. Farmers and hunters alike sprang to their new duties.
'Harper, wait,' Sumalo called, using the same tone of command he used with the gnomes. Martine, Vil, and jazrac slowed until the priest, with Jouka close behind, joined them.
'What was that all about, Harper? What is this stone the creature wants?' The normally understanding priest looked at her sternly, rather like her father the blacksmith had when he caught her playing with the swords he made.
Feeling she was caught in yet another web, the huntress explained. 'It's the key to the rift the one I closed. If that creature got possession of it, it could break the seal and reopen the gap it came through.'
'And do you have the stone?'
With Jazrac there, Martine could hardly avoid the truth.
If she were to deny existence of the stone, the wizard would surely contradict her. 'Yes. I lied to Vreesar.'
Sumalo's face clenched with anger. 'You have the stone it wants? Didn't you hear the creature? It will kill the Vani for your stone, yet you refuse to give it up? You have no right to condemn us, human. Give me this stone, and I will put an end to this thing.'
'No… she can't do that,' Jazrac said as he stepped forward to support his fellow Harper. He adjusted his cape and planted himself firmly at her side. 'If this creature opens the rift, do you think he will go home and leave you alone? No. Instead, more will come, and then what will you do? Can you defeat ten, twenty, a hundred of his kind?'
'So you say we must fight?'
'You already chose that last night,' Martine snapped, Sumalo's face reddened and he chose to ignore the illogic of his arguments. 'We chose, not you. You are not Vani. You do not have the right to choose for us!'
'Elder Sumalo,' Martine snapped back, her patience almost at an end. 'You heard the creature talk of its brothers. If it gets the stone, that will be the death of the Vani. As long as we have the stone, the creature fights alone.'
'Not alone with the gnolls,' Jouka growled.
The woman wheeled on the other gnome. 'You're a hunter, Master Jouka. Which way are your odds better? Against one bear or three?'
The gnome swore under his breath. 'One,' he said reluctantly.
Vil spoke up for the first time. 'The Harpers are right.' His voice was even and calm, in marked contrast to the growing passions on both sides. ''They have acted badly, but they are right. Now is not the time to argue among ourselves. We must act as one or we will all lose.'
Standing as straight as the low hall ceiling allowed him to, Vil stepped between the two groups. 'Jouka,' the former paladin said in a way that neither cajoled nor dictated, — 'we must act now together. What do you recommend?' 'Organize a raid,' Jouka said, glowering. 'Attack them first, before they attack us.' Beside him, Sumalo nodded in agreement.
'But your strength is your warren,' protested Jazrac. The Vani do not hide in their homes!'
'What do you say, Elder Sumalo?' Vil interrupted before passions once more got out of hand.
'I agree with Jourka. We must attack!' 'Martine?'
'I also agree. Let's hit them before they attack us and put a quick end to it.'
'Men I think we're in agreement,' Vil said, placing his hands on Jouka's and Martine's shoulders. 'We will help you in this, Master Jouka, if you will have us.'
'Meet us at the east gate, then,' Jouka said, his voice somewhat surly. 'We'll pick up their trail from there.' With the course of action decided, the two groups split. Sumalo and Jouka went to organize their people while the three humans headed for their room. All the way there, Jazrac argued against the wisdom of the raid and his part in it. He wasn't prepared, he didn't have the right spells, they needed more information, he didn't have fighting gear… the litany went on and on until Martine was sure Jazrac was looking for some excuse to back out.
