A tanar'ri named Chare'en.
She recognized him from old tales she'd read in the ancient tomes that filled the high shelves of her own library. The Ravenwitch felt that cold chill return to run down her spine once again. She shivered and tried to ignore it. The pool fluttered to life yet again. She watched the swirling patterns and peculiar symbols of the magic waters reveal the actions of others The Ravenwitch's inner vision conjured forth a number of different forces currently coming together Each of these forces, she saw, possessed different motives. Each was bent on helping to free the creature-some inadvertently, but some after years and years of careful, meticulous planning.
Chapter Five
It was good to have a purpose. Vheod's footsteps no longer fell gingerly on the ground with the tentative- ness of an explorer, but instead his stride betrayed the resolute determination of a man with a mission.
The village he'd observed earlier lay on the outskirts of the forest. Two days previous, Vheod watched laborers work to clear more of the land. As the sun rose into the morning sky this day, those same workers returned to their tasks. Sounds of axes against wood and falling trees filled the rapidly warming air.
Vheod hoped that someone here could direct him in which way to go. He needed to find the two people shown to him who would free Chare'en. Were they servants of the balor? Somehow he doubted that. More likely, he thought, they would inadvertently loose the tanar'ri lord through some other action. Stopping them, then, would be as simple as finding them in time and warning them.
He had no idea where this place, Tilverton, might be. He was unsure even of its nature, though he assumed it must be a city or a fortress of some kind, since people obviously lived there.
In his previous visit, Vheod had slipped into the village after the descent of night. In the Abyss, he learned to approach others with either subtlety and guile or domineering aggression. The stealthy approach had served its purpose so far-now it was time for a change of pace.
Leaving the cover of the woods, Vheod entered the tiny settlement, walking amid the small buildings constructed of felled logs fitted crudely together. Smoke rose from a number of them, carrying with it good, wholesome smells that tugged at Vheod's nose, making him suddenly aware of his own hunger. Trying to ignore the feeling, he walked toward a central area from which all the other buildings seemed to radiate and the largest building in town stood. He never reached it.
A man dressed in rough, sturdy clothes stepped through an open doorway. As he walked he pulled thick leather work gloves onto his hands, despite the growing heat of the day. His face concealed with a thick beard, the man looked up at Vheod with surprise.
'Who in the name of Helm are you?' the man asked.
'Silence,' Vheod said, attempting to sound as powerful and confident as he could, despite his smoky, scratched voice. 'I am Vheod Runechild, and I must know where the place called Tilverton lies.'
The man backed slowly into the open doorway. 'Feshik! Get out here,' he yelled, still staring at Vheod.
'And bring my sword,' he added over his shoulder.
Vheod was confused. He looked around, even behind him, but saw nothing. By the time he returned his gaze to the man, a young boy had appeared in the doorway, attempting to peer around the large man. The child's black hair was tousled, and his eyes opened almost as wide as his mouth as he stared at Vheod.
'Who is that, Papa?' the child asked. 'I said to bring my sword!' the man replied, pushing the child backward into the house with a wide, gloved hand.
'You don't need your sword,' Vheod said, extending an empty hand in the man's direction. 'I have need of knowledge. Aid me and no one will be harmed.' 'What you'll get is a taste of steel, demon.' Demon? Was it so obvious? 'As I said, there's no need for that.'
'What's going on here, Tallin?' a voice came from behind Vheod, causing him to whirl in surprise, his hand instinctively going for his sword hilt-an action he immediately regretted. He just was not accustomed to this sort of peaceful approach. His instincts were too versed in danger.
Behind him stood another man, larger but older than the first. His yellow hair receded from his forehead, and his face was clean shaven. He hefted a wood axe at the ready as Vheod turned. The cambion pulled his hand away from his hilt, holding his hands open and high in front of him.
'I don't want to have to hurt you,' he said. 'Who is he, Tallin?' The axeman asked. His eyes narrowed as he examined Vheod.
'I figure he's a servant of the Spider Lord,' the man in the door replied.
Vheod looked behind him now to see the child bring a broadsword to the man. The boy lifted the heavy sword with both hands, handing it to the man carefully. The child's wide eyes remained focused on Vheod.
'Get back inside now, Feshik,' Tallin told him. The boy complied, eyes still wide with fear.
'Looks a little like a dark elf to me,' the man with the axe stated.
Dark elf? A drow? Servant of Lolth? Vheod knew of the drow and their Abyssal mistress, the spider queen Lolth.
'I assure you, I'm no drow,' he told them, hands still help open in front of him. 'And I'm no one's servant.'…
“Fallach! Chorrad!' the older man cried out in the direction of the woods. 'Get over here, we've got a… we've got something.'.
Vheod saw doors to the buildings around him begin to open, and frightened eyes peered out.
“I’ve come here,' Vheod explained again, 'just to get some informa-'
'Be quiet!' Tallin spat out, stepping forward, his bared sword upraised.
Vheod turned back fully to face him. How long could he keep from drawing his own blade? Vheod thought they would respect his powerful demeanor and help him. Why wouldn't they even listen?
'Whatever it is, it ain't human,' the man behind him now said, 'and it ain't, well… anything good. You can tell that just by looking.'
'Look, demon-or whatever you are-leave us or die,' Tallin said, staring Vheod in the eye.
'You don't need to be afraid,' Vheod said, pleading with his open hands.
Looking down, he could see that the Taint was no longer on either arm. Where was it? He sometimes suspected that it altered when others looked at him, perhaps communicating something to them. Perhaps others saw something in the mark that he didn't, which might suggest that his own body conspired with others against him-a paranoiac's nightmare.
'He's a drow,' a female voice called from an open door across the way.
Another, a male, replied, 'Drow don't have red hair.' 'Ill bet he was conjured up in that storm yesterday,' still another voice called out. 'Manchal says storms like that are a sign that a doorway between worlds is opening.'
Footfalls grew louder behind him, coming from the direction of the woods.
'I just need to know how to find a place called-' Tallin watched something over Vheod's shoulder and suddenly drew himself up taller, as if more confident. The footsteps behind Vheod were louder still. He lunged at Vheod with his sword, shouting, 'I said, get away from here!'
Vheod dodged to one side to avoid the sword blow and could hear the man behind him moving closer, probably with that axe ready to cleave his skull.
'I don't want to fight you!' Vheod finally cried. He couldn't keep his rising anger and frustration from showing in his voice.
'You’ll not find us to be defenseless prey,' Tallin said, again raising his blade.
Vheod drew his sword, the Abyssal steel ringing in the morning air.
Just then, two more men ran up the bare earthen road. One carried an axe, the other a long knife. They cried out in surprise and ran at Vheod.
Vheod shot his blade straight out at the one called Tallin, catching him right where he wanted-the wrist of his sword arm. Tallin's blade flung end over end through the air as his fingers splayed wide. His other hand reached up to grasp at the painful but minor wound. Tallin cursed, but Vheod had no time to listen. Two more men approached, and there was still someone behind him with a-
