surrounding trees. More furred beasts had appeared in the fray, and Durgoth watched as these beasts had turned on the bullywugs, killing almost as many of them as he and his cultists. It hadn’t been very long until the battle was over and several creatures, includingthe one that huddled before his fire, had been captured.
“I did not destroy you,” the cleric replied at last, “becauseI believe that you and your companions can be of some use to me.”
The creature nodded. “Yesh. Jusht tell Braggsh what it ishthat you wish,” it said. “Braggsh will make sure that Braggsh’sh pondmatesobey.”
Durgoth’s lip curled at the bullywugs pathetic mewling.Disgusting creatures, he thought, half-considering whether he should just kill the ones who remained and be done with it. “That is good, Braggsh. I see weunderstand each other. Very well. There are other intruders to your lands, about a day’s march to the east. See to it that not a single one of them leaves thisswamp alive.”
Braggsh’s eyes blinked slowly beneath the flickering light ofthe fire. “Yesh. Braggsh knows the intruders you shpeak of. They are led by apointy earsh. It ish very shkilled. Pond deshide to let them passh. Too much trouble to kill.”
“I want them dead,” the cleric said again, nearly shouting atthe vile humanoid. “Is that clear?”
The bullywug nodded once more, but Durgoth could hear the wet smack of Braggsh’s throat as the creature swallowed hard. “But the pond-”
“I care nothing for the whims of your stupid pond,” Durgothshouted. “You will do exactly as I say, or I shall stake your entire pond on thedriest ground beneath the heat of the noon sun. Do I make myself clear?”
He uncurled his fist and held it before him. With a whispered prayer, Durgoth channeled the smallest fraction of his god’s power through hisupturned hand. Waves of darkness reached out to the frightened bullywug, and the creature writhed in pain, emitting a horrifying sound somewhere between a scream and a gurgle.
Durgoth almost groaned in pleasure as he felt the dreaded hooks of Tharizdun’s power tear into the creature’s spirit. He held the contactfor a moment more and then, with a sharp wave of his hand, he released the tortured beast.
It rolled around on the muddy ground for quite some time before huddling once more at the cleric’s feet. “So,” Durgoth said as Braggshshook with fear, “do we have a deal?”
“Yesh,” Braggsh said. “The intrudersh will be deshtroyed ashyou command.”
Durgoth scowled at the pathetic beast. He knew that the creature’s first thoughts would be to betray him. Such base animals always did.He slowly let his scowl turn into a smile. “One more thing, Braggsh,” he said assweetly as he could, “if you even think about betraying me, I will allow mymaster to feast upon your soul slowly, and the pain you felt just now will feel like the sweetest pleasure next to the Dark One’s kiss. Now begone, and takeyour pathetic pondmates with you.”
Braggsh let out another long, screeching gurgle-whether fromfear, anger, frustration, or all three, Durgoth did not know or care.
He knew the disgusting creatures couldn’t destroy theNyrondese band. But, he thought, they will slow them down enough so that we might catch up. He turned his back on the bullywugs, closed his eyes, and smiled.
The next five days passed in a haze of heat and almost constant motion for Majandra. Rest stops were infrequent and taken only as a necessity-mostly to apply herbs to insect bites and treat the odd wound. Despitetheir precaution, the expedition was forced to battle its way past several more fanged alligators and even one vampire vine. Lizard folk were, thankfully, not in evidence.
Throughout the long days and seemingly instantaneous nights, the half-elf’s fingers itched to pluck at the graceful strings of her harp.Unfortunately, her body’s exhaustion forced her to throw herself into herbedroll as soon as the evening meal was complete, rousing only when prodded forcefully by the rest of her companions. As a result, Majandra’s instrumentremained silent, packed carefully away in its waterproof case.
On the ninth day since the expedition entered the Vast Swamp, dawn woke bright and clear. Majandra groaned as she extricated herself from the bedroll in what had become a regular morning ritual. After a sullen breakfast of hard biscuits and dried meat, she gathered her pack and set off after the third rank of travelers in the expedition. By midmorning, the heat had become a fist that pounded into her body with each step. Despite the oppressive temperature, the half-elf couldn’t help but smile. The trees in this part of the Vast Swampwere thicker, their branches sprouting thick green leaves and colorful buds. Taking advantage of this bounty, more than threescore birds sat atop the tall trees, flitting quickly from branch to branch and filling the air with the melodic chatter of their song.
It didn’t take long for Majandra to add her own voice to theever-present music that swelled around her. Gently at first, and then with more confidence, she wove her rich alto tone around and beneath the nattering birds, providing a harmonic base that added depth to the natural chorus. She felt her step lighten. The oppressive weight of the marsh air lifted, and she was gratified to notice that those around her were feeling the same effects.
It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that she noticed something waswrong. Cocking her ear to the side, she listened intently for whatever it was that had teased her intuition. She heard nothing. Silence filled the swamp, a brooding absence of sound. She realized then that it was this silence that had struck her as odd. Only a few moments ago, the area had been filled with the sounds of life. Now, the swamp seemed frozen, as if waiting for something to happen.
The hairs on the back of Majandra’s neck stood almoststraight up. The bard couldn’t shake the feeling that somebody was watching her.She scanned the surrounding vegetation, shielding her eyes with her hand, but could detect nothing. Unbidden, the memory of her sighting the other day crept into her mind. Despite the heat, she shuddered. What if someone-or something-waswatching them right now? There were far more dangers in this swamp than wandering lizard folk and the occasional alligator.
Majandra stood still, scanning the lush undergrowth, determined to discover this secret threat. The rest of the expedition walked past her, by now used to the half-elf’s penchant for stopping and appreciatingthe grandeur of the Vast Swamp. She could make out the back of the last guard as he pushed through the thick branches of a thorn bush and disappeared down the path. Still, she watched-and listened.
There! She heard something off to her right, a rustling in the bush. Carefully, she crept toward the sound, padding lightly on her feet. With only a slight scrape of metal on leather, she drew her short sword and sent a vicious cut into the center of the vegetation. A raucous scream met her attack, and she stumbled back as a brightly plumed bird exploded from the bush, taking flight with another harsh cry. Majandra swore as she sheathed her sword and tried to calm the pounding of her heart.
Still, the feeling of being watched grew. She spun around once-sure that there must be a hundred hidden eyes peering at her. With one lastbackward glance at the trees, she broke into a run.
It was time to find Gerwyth.
By the time Majandra found the ranger, he was deep in conversation with Kaerion along the side of the path. The fighter had shrugged off his pack and was carefully donning his chain mail armor. The normally placid elf’s face was turned into a frown, and Majandra could see the crease of worrylines around his mouth. She found her own mood equally as serious as she walked up to the two warriors.
“Gerwyth, I think something is behind us. It-”
The elf held up his hand. “I know,” he said in a soft voice.“We have been followed for several days. I couldn’t be sure, for whoever orwhatever it is knows this land exceptionally well. This morning, I found traces of a viscous slime along the base of several bushes.” He pointed down to themuddied ground, at a small smear of thick liquid hanging from the bottommost branches of a marsh bush.
“I will alert Vaxor and Bredeth,” said Kaerion, his voiceheavy with concern. “What about Phathas?”
“He already knows,” replied the ranger. “I informed him of myconcerns this morning. Kaerion, once we have alerted the rest of the expedition, we must be very careful not to let our guests know that we have discovered their presence. There is a stand of uprooted trees about a league south and east of here. I scouted it out earlier. It is the most defensible position I could see within a half-score of miles. If we can make it there, we have a chance of surviving whatever surprise is in store for us.”
“Who could be following us?” Majandra asked, worried evenmore by the concern that filled the faces of the warriors. If the situation was tense enough to put Kaerion and Gerwyth ill at ease, then it was serious indeed. “I thought we had evaded most of the lizard folk patrols in the area.”
