with.
They reached the ratmen's village just before nightfall. In the fading light, Ythnel began to notice lean-tos erected against unfinished walls. Midden heaps inhabited several of the roofless buildings they passed, assailing Ythnel's nose with their ever-present stench. A crowd of onlookers began to form behind the group, following them as they neared what Ythnel guessed to be the center of the camp. The growing entourage consisted of males and females, most in the rat form of her escorts, but there were one or two who appeared human. So, they are werecrea-tures as well, Ythnel concluded.
The wererats stopped before a building whose walls completely enclosed its interior. What appeared to be a curtain of hide hung in the doorway, and a thatch roof sat atop the walls. The lead wererat entered the dwelling while everyone else waited outside. The area in front of the building was well trod and muddy. A pot of something unwholesome-smelling stewed atop a small cook fire nearby. Ythnel's stomach gurgled at the thought of food, unconcerned with how unappealing whatever was being served might be.
The hide curtain was pushed back and out strode a striking older man with Ythnel's wererat captor in tow. While the man's shirt, breeches, and boots were patched and sullied, he carried himself with an air of confidence and a twinkle of cunning in his deep blue eyes that seemed out of place in the middle of a swamp. A thin mustache, touched with the same gray that streaked his fading hair, did little to separate the man's sharp nose from his broad grin. He stopped before Ythnel, covering her thoroughly with his eyes while the other wererat whispered in his ear. Nodding, the man raised his hand, and the wererat stepped back with a slight bow.
'So I understand you were part of a group of wizards recently captured by the werecrocodiles. You're very fortunate that some of my men were able to rescue you.' The man spoke with disarming friendliness and concern.
'It was my impression your men would have been just as happy to eat me,' Ythnel scoffed.
'Ah, I'm sure it was just a poor attempt at humor.' He smiled. 'Unfortunately, hunger is a common epidemic amongst my people, thanks to the werecrocodiles. Making light of it is often our only relief.'
Ythnel took a second look at the crowd gathered around her and noticed how gaunt many of the figures were. Skin was stretched taut, and many faces had hollow cheeks and dark circles around the eyes. The way they all looked at her made her suddenly very uncomfortable.
'What do the werecrocodiles have to do with your going hungry?' Ythnel asked.
'They constantly patrol the waters around this island, attacking us when we try to cross. It makes it difficult to hunt or forage; there's nothing left on the island to support either us or the werecrocodiles.'
'So how have you survived?'
'Raids mostly. The werecrocodiles are overconfident and sloppy. It's easy enough to slip past their pickets with an appropriate diversion. Occasionally, we make it across the river and can… trade with passing caravans.' The man's hesitation gave Ythnel the idea that the trades were probably one-sided.
'Enough business,' the man declared suddenly. 'I would imagine you are tired from your ordeal. Please, accept what hospitality we can offer.' He waved his hand in a grandiose gesture that encompassed the surrounding ruins and midden heaps.
'That is quite generous,' Ythnel said, trying hard to keep the skepticism from her voice. 'I don't even know your name.'
'Ah, where are my manners. I am Torgyn.' He bowed. As he straightened, he looked at her expectantly.
'I, uh, am Ythnel.'
'Well met, Ythnel. Join me for a bite to eat?' He motioned her toward a table made of stacked mud bricks and crossbeams. When they sat, a pair of plates were brought to them. The 'meal' presented to her made Ythnel's stomach turn. Rotten vegetable matter and bones, which were covered as much with maggots as meat, were piled on the plates. The stench was more than enough to cause her to gag. She daintily picked through the refuse, earning snickers from the assembled wererats. Torgyn was watching her intently.
Ythnel wondered if this was some sort of test. Would they kill her if she refused to eat it? Even as hungry as she was, she knew she couldn't force herself to eat the putrid dish in front of her.
That's when it occurred to her that she wouldn't have to. Overcome by hunger as she prayed last night, Ythnel had requested a seldom-used orison she had learned early in her days at the manor and eventually forgotten. She began to chant while holding her hands just above the plate and channeled a small burst of Power. With a smile, she picked up a chunk of meat, brushed the maggots off of it, and took a bite. The overwhelming odor of decay was gone. The texture was a bit gamey, and she tried not to think of what it might have been before the wererats killed it. She just enjoyed the feeling of something in her belly.
'A useful spell,' Torgyn remarked, 'but not very effective in a fight.' He grabbed a handful of the rotten food on his plate and shoveled it into his mouth.
'An empty stomach is as much a distraction in a fight as having a strap on your armor unbuckled. It is a weakness that your enemy can exploit,' Ythnel replied.
'Very true,' Torgyn said, his mouth still half-full. 'Purifying food is not really a concern of ours.' 'And what is your concern?'
'The werecrocodiles. Therefore, I'm very interested in what they would want with some wizards. I'd also like to know what you and your wizard friends were doing in Adder Swamp to begin with.' Torgyn smiled, but there was a wicked cunning behind it that put Ythnel on guard. She chewed slowly to give herself time to think. There really wasn't anything to gain by lying to the wererats. She doubted they would return her to the Karanoks, and it was possible that there was a way to play the conflict between the two groups of werecreatures to her advantage.
However, she would have to be careful to avoid mentioning the revelation that Brother Crocodile was really a werecrocodile. Even the slightest indication that there was some sort of connection between her and the werecrocodiles could result in the wererats turning on her.
'My friends are members of an underground society attempting to overthrow House Karanok.' Ythnel took Torgyn's raised eyebrow to mean he at least knew of Luthcheq's ruling family. 'After rescuing me from the Karanoks, we fled to the swamp. That is why we are here.
'I have no idea what the werecrocodiles want with us. They captured us last evening, as we were sleeping.'
'I think I know: magic. They used magic once to enslave us. It would give them the advantage should they be able to wield such power again.' He seemed to mutter this last to himself, but he kept his eyes on Ythnel. 'They knew you had magic. The question, though, is how did they know?'
Ythnel's mind raced for an answer that would not involve Brother Crocodile. 'On several occasions when we first entered the swamp, we had to use magic to fight off creatures that attacked us. Perhaps they witnessed one of those encounters.' Ythnel held her breath as she waited for Torgyn's reaction.
'Perhaps,' he said, nodding thoughtfully. 'So it would appear that Lord Mulkammu finally has his wizards. This time, though, it seems we would have a wizard of our own with which to fight back.' The man's eyes narrowed shrewdly. 'It appears that your rescue was just as fortunate for us as it was for you.'
They had rounded the island, following the west fork of the Adder River until it finally spilled out into the Bay of Chessenta, before anyone noticed that Ythnel was lost. A wounded werecrocodile had finally caught up to Kohtakah, whom Kestus rode, a broken arrow shaft protruding from its left shoulder. The group immediately headed for the island shore, and once beached, the werecrocodiles transformed into their human shapes. The wounded werecrocodile reported he had been hit by the wererat volley and had thrown the woman while trying to dislodge the missile. By the time he had resurfaced, she was gone.
'The woman is of no real concern,' Kohtakah shrugged off the news of Ythnel's disappearance. 'We still have the two wizards.' He tentatively examined the other's festering wound, Kestus noted, taking extra care not to touch the arrowhead. 'We need to get you back to the city to have this removed.'
The group marched along the northern edge of the island, heading east. That side of the island was covered with the same mud-brick structures Ythnel had pointed out earlier, but they were more often in some semblance of completion. Squat, square buildings were huddled together in what could have passed for city blocks had they been connected by cobblestone streets rather than channels of muddy water.
Small points of flickering light began to appear in the distance as night fell, indications that the group was finally nearing the werecrocodile community. The mages were led past lit dwellings toward a towering pyramid that appeared to be the center of the village. The entrance was guarded by only a pair of sputtering torches set in sconces on either side. Kohtakah knocked then waited a moment before pushing the door open and ushering the
