growing accustomed to-washing light and heat over them. The sun had been easier to ignore in the dense forest. Now he felt its heat and experienced its blinding light without protection. Both Vheod and the horse glistened with perspiration.
Miles of open grassland around him, the forest now a thin dark line on the horizon, Vheod became more aware of the fact that he had no idea where he was or where he was going. Why was he here at all?
The horse carried him slowly down the side of a gentle hill. The tall grass brushed against the bottoms of his feet. His mount seemed tired, reluctant, and quite irritated. Even if he knew where he was going, Vheod was unsure that he could force this horse to actually take him there. It seemed unlikely that he could spur the beast on only by continuing to aggravate it. Unfortunately, he knew no other way.
Glancing down, he saw the Taint had once again returned to his hand. Further, it resumed the appearance of a guiding arrow, pointing toward what Vheod believed to be south. Could he trust it? The Taint could be some intelligent, malevolent ally of his dark half. It could be a manifestation of the tanar'ri part of him.
Perhaps the best thing he could do would be to stop riding where he was. Surely he could insure that no action beyond his control could be wrought by his dark half here in the middle of nowhere, but that could be exactly what it wanted. How could he know for sure? Another rider through the grassland approached over a nearby hill. From this distance, Vheod could see that it was a woman on a horse, but little more, She veered her horse toward him.
As she approached, Vheod considered flight, or at least keeping a good distance away. He didn't want another situation like the one at the village. Before he could get control of his unwilling mount, however, she rode up within just a few yards.
'Good day,' she said, her voice as smooth as the seductive succubi of the Abyss. When her horse moved, she moved as well, as though she and her mount were a single creature with a single mind. Her movements were slow and sure, betraying an unfailing grace. Her petite features included delightfully smooth skin and delicate, pointed ears. Long, silver hair nestled around her thin neck like waves carefully caressing a shoreline. She wore a heavy green cloak the very color of the grass around them draped over her shoulders despite the heat, yet Vheod couldn't see a hint of perspiration on her face or neck. Most surprisingly, she didn't seem at all fazed by his appearance, unlike the villagers earlier that morning.
'Hello,' Vheod returned tentatively. 'Your horse doesn't like you,' she told him with a hint of a smile.
'Urn, no, I think not,' 'Vheod replied, still watching her with scrutiny.
'Well, I hope you are not traveling a great distance then,' she said.
'Actually, lady, I have no idea how far I must ride.' 'Really?' Her clear, gray eyes betrayed a hint of skepticism, and nothing more.
'I am not from… from around here. My destination is known to me in name only.'
'I see,' she said. 'Well, my name is Tianna. I am riding to the mountains to the west. Do you believe your travels will take you there, or elsewhere?'
'I go to a place called Tilverton, and my name, fair lady, is Vheod Runechild.'
'Ah. Tilverton is a human city that lies almost straight south of here, in a place called Tilvers Gap. The Gap itself lies between the Desertsmouth Mountains,' she said, pointing to the west with a long, elegant finger, 'and the Thunder Peaks to the south.' Vheod followed her hand and looked about carefully, attempting to fully establish his bearings. 'Then I am afraid our paths cross only here,' he told her. His voice conveyed his regret.
Vheod wished he could ride with Tianna for a while. Only now did he realize the loneliness he'd felt since his arrival here. He had so many questions about the nature of this world, and it seemed as though she would be willing to answer them. He knew that haste was important and thus allowed himself only one question.
'Tell me, Tianna, before we part company-for I must be on my way-why are you not alarmed at my appearance, as others have been?'
She gave him a cautious smile, but one not without some warmth. 'Vheod, we of the elves are not strangers to cambions, or to those traveling from Other planes.'
Vheod was taken aback. 'Is it that obvious-my tanar'ri heritage?'
Tianna looked at Vheod, studying his features for a moment. 'No,' she replied, 'not to one without any experience with beings from other planes. However, there is a certain, well, quality to you, an indefinable characteristic that gives you a sense of… otherness: She paused to look at him, watching his eyes. Perhaps she was attempting to determine the effect her words had on him.
'Many of those you encounter here may be able to sense that you are different in some way,' she said.
'That will certainly make any time I spend here harder,' he said, looking at the ground, struck as severely as if he'd been in battle. His voice was edged with sudden bitterness, but he didn't have the time to consider if its target was his own nature, or the people who were prejudiced against him.
'Perhaps it will fade over time,' she said. 'Or perhaps your own nobility will be enough to override anyone's antagonistic first impression.'
He looked up at Tianna again and smiled as though she'd just healed a bleeding wound. Her hair shone in a way that made him believe that a special place existed for it in the moonlight, and that its proper place didn't lie in the sun. She was beautiful.
'But you must be on your way,' she finally added with some regret, 'as you said.'
Vheod hated to hear it, but the truth couldn't be denied. Duty and responsibility called to him with voices filled with fear. 'Yes, I suppose so.'
'Before you go, however,' she said, reaching into a saddlebag, 'I think that you should have this.' She produced a small charm on a silver chain, holding it up to let it glint in the sunlight. 'What is it?'
'A magical trinket,' she said with a delicate shrug, 'with a single use. It grants the wearer a power called longstepping. Essentially, it will allow you to travel to a destination in almost no time. You can use it to reach Tilverton today, rather than the three days' ride it might take from here. It will also allow you to bypass a dangerous area known as Shadow Gap.'
Vheod stared in surprise, taking in everything she said. 'But, why?'
She smiled slyly. 'If you use this, then I can take back this horse to where you got it.' 'What? How did you-'
'I'm sorry, Vheod, but it's obvious that you just arrived here at the edge of the Dales, let alone Faerun and even Toril. Judging by your ride, the steed's demeanor, and the fact that you have no riding tackle, it becomes fairly obvious how you came on your mount.
'Further, I am a bit of a seer when it comes to people. You-at least a part of you-didn't want to take the horse. I can return him, if you'll tell me where he comes from.'
Vheod's mouth hung agape as wide as the young boy in the doorway earlier that morning. He quickly closed it, feeling quite the fool, but remained entranced by Tianna and her kindness. Without a word, he slid down off the horse's back and stepped toward her. Tianna urged her mount ahead a few-steps until she reached him. She held out the silver charm.
'It only works once,' she reminded him.
'Thank you,' Vheod said as he grasped the tiny charm in his weathered hand. 'How can I repay you?' 'You cannot, to tell the truth,' Tianna said, 'but that's not the point. I want to help you.'
She looked deeply into his dark eyes and leaned down close to his face. 'I just thought that you probably needed to see a little of the good in the world. You needed some kindness. My gift is really a minor one.' 'But there you are wrong,' Vheod returned her look with a slow shake of his head. 'This is a great gift, one I will remember for all my years.'
'May there be many of them,' she said, straightening in her ornate saddle.
Tianna rode over to Vheod's grazing horse, and drew an extra bridle from her saddlebag. The horse looked at her with calm, welcoming eyes. It nuzzled her thigh with its nose. She placed the bridle on the beast and readied to lead it away, then turned back to Vheod.
'The village lies almost directly in your path, at the edge of the woods to the west.' Vheod gripped the charm even tighter in his sweaty palm. 'They may have unkind things to say of me,' he told her. 'They may not welcome you if you claim to be my friend.'
'Do not concern yourself with such things. I can take care of everything. Safe journey, Vheod, and be well.'
'Yes, ah… safe journey to you as well, Tianna.' Vheod was unused to pleasantries. Tianna turned to
