whispered to her brother.
Whitlock grimaced. He was worried that the gnolls might come back. In fact, he really didn't understand why they ran away in the first place. The twosome-or rather, the threesome-had slain a fair number, but the gnolls had seemed certain of victory. Somehow, the dark-skinned stranger forced them to flee. The thought didn't comfort Whitlock, it fueled his suspicions.
Melann got up and moved to Vheod, motioning with her hand that they should walk a few steps away. 'Please, sir-' she began. 'Vheod,' he corrected. Whitlock strained to hear them as he lay on the ground and watched. He could feel the divine energy knitting his wounds together, but he ignored it in favor of the conversation being held.
'All right,' she said with a gentle smile, 'Vheod, could you please tell me what all this is about?'
'I’ve told you what I know-what you need to know.' Vheod shook his head. 'Are you or are you not going to free Chare'en?'
'Free him?' Melann asked, her face showing confusion. 'He's dead.'
Vheod paused. He cocked his head and stared into the sky through narrow eyes. Whitlock studied this strange man. His breastplate was forged from some black metal covered in bizarre barbs and spikes. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before. The stranger had surprisingly long, reddish hair and a dark, weathered look to his skin. His features were gaunt and pointed-his appearance didn't suggest the kind of warrior Whitlock had seen in the fight earlier. Something about him, Whitlock thought, made him appear different-almost detached from the world around him.
Vheod said, 'When I spoke to Orrag-' 'Oh, you know that misbegotten half-orc?' Whitlock called out from behind them. 'Well, that at least explains something.' It confirmed his suspicions that Vheod wasn't to be trusted after all.
Vheod turned to look at Whitlock and said, 'I spoke to him briefly while I was looking for you. He indicated you might think Chare'en is a long dead wizard. I can tell you you're wrong about that. I don't know why you believe it, but you're wrong. He's an imprisoned tanar'ri, and if you go to where he waits you'll risk freeing him.'
'How did you know to look for us!' Melann asked. Vheod turned back to her. 'I spoke to these two men- priests, I believe. They showed me your image in a magical pool and revealed to me that you were going to free Chare'en.'
'Vheod,' she asked him, 'where are you from? Do you have something to do with the elves?' She glanced at Whitlock with a look that was supposed to carry with it some meaning-Whitlock was sure of that, but he didn't know what he was supposed to gain from it. The pain kept him from being able to concentrate.
Vheod paused, his eyes widening slightly, as if he was caught in a trap. 'I'm not an elf.'
'But that's not what I asked,' she said gently. 'I come from another plane, if you must know.' Vheod said sullenly. 'I came here seeking my heritage-my family-and instead I met a pair of priests who warned me that the two of you are going to do something awful. I've searched for you ever since.'
'You're a cambion, aren't you?' Melann asked, taking a step backward.
Vheod stared at her flatly. Before he could answer, Whitlock asked from behind them, 'What's a cambion?'
Vheod looked at Melann. 'Yes,' he said. 'Does it make a difference?'
'Shouldn't it?' She shook her head, mouth slightly open.
'What's a cambion?' Whitlock demanded, standing up. The wound was almost entirely healed by the spell, and he felt much stronger.
'My father was a tanar'ri, but my mother was a human-from this world. Don't judge me by that, though. I am my own man.'
All three stood in silence, a gentle breeze blowing through the trees, providing relief to an otherwise sweltering day. A few insects flew around their faces, Melann brushing away the buzzing from her ear. She turned to Whitlock.
'He helped us fight off the gnolls. He might have saved our lives. We owe him our thanks and respect for that.' She knew just what to say to him. Those were words she knew he would take to heart, and she was right. Whitlock couldn't argue with that.
'Well, I suppose that's true enough,' he said to Vheod. 'We thank you for that, sir.'
Vheod looked back and forth between the two of them, his long hair tossed about in the breeze. He seemed confused.
Melann's church spoke of tanar'ri distantly-as only something to be feared and destroyed. That had been easy enough for Whitlock to accept. Until this moment, Whitlock hadn't even been certain they were real. Demons were just something that didn't come up in everyday life. Now one stood before him. and he owed the demon a debt. Whitlock still didn't understand why Vheod sought them and what it was he was trying to accomplish. It might be best, Whitlock thought, to never find out.
'We must be on our way,' Whitlock said. 'Wait,' Vheod implored. 'Haven't you been listening to anything I've said? Chare'en is a balor! If you go to him you'll loose a terrible evil into this world.'
'First of all,' Whitlock said, 'there's already evil in this world-plenty of it. Second, Chare'en's not a demon, he's a long-dead wizard. And third, why, by the name of all that's holy, should we listen to you? Just because you helped us against those gnolls? Now we're supposed to believe everything you say? Does everyone in the world think I'm a complete idiot? Ill have no more of this. Melann, come, we're leaving.' 'Wait,' Vheod said again.
A long silence passed as the siblings both looked at the mysterious newcomer. Vheod stood very still, his arms hanging down at his sides. Melann seemed uncomfortable and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Whitlock glanced between the two of them, wanting nothing more than to leave. Damn the debt. 'If what you are saying is true,' Melann said, 'then our family is doomed… and so are we.'
Now it was Vheod's turn to be confused. He looked deeply into Melann's brown eyes and saw sincerity and sadness. Her long, dark hair had fallen out of the tie that had held it behind her head, and now it cascaded around her smooth, slightly sunburned face. As tears welled in her eyes, Vheod took a step forward and placed his hand on her arm.
'Perhaps you could tell me what it is you're doing here, and why you seek Chare'en,' he said, attempting to keep his voice at a gentle level.
'Our family, long ago, had a curse placed on it. We don't know all the details, but we've been told it happened in the days of Chare'en, a powerful wizard. In his tomb we believe we'll find a magical staff that can remove the curse from our family.' Melann wiped her eyes before continuing. 'It's most important that we find the tomb now. Both our parents have fallen ill-struck down by the curse.'
'I see,' Vheod replied, already deep in thought and filled with doubts.
His own motives seemed shallow and selfish now. If Melann and Whitlock were correct, it would be wrong to stop them. But no, he knew Chare'en was his greatgrandfather, a tanar'ri balor, not some mortal sorcerer. Vheod had been telling them about the great wrong that would be inflicted on the world if Chare'en were freed- now he was beginning to realize how true his words were. He wondered if it was his responsibility to make sure that the balor stayed imprisoned. He wondered too at the circumstances in which the balor was imprisoned. Was there any truth at all about this magical staff? Melann certainly seemed to honestly believe in the curse.
The fact that Melann didn't immediately assume he vas lying or even attack him on learning of his true nature gave Vheod hope that perhaps he could convince her he was right. She obviously was reasonable. Her brother, on the other hand, appeared otherwise.
'Look, Melann,' Whitlock said to his sister, 'there's no need to tell this… man about our business.' He turned to Vheod- 'As I said before, thanks for your help, and thank you for your warning. Now we must be going.'
'I can't let you do that.'
'You can't let us?' Whitlock spat. 'Are you going to attack us? Come on, demon-I’ll have at you.' Whitlock drew his broadsword.
Vheod's hand flexed, seeking the hilt of his own blade. He stopped. Instead, he simply held his ground. 'I would not fight you, sir. I don't seek further bloodshed. I've already seen a surprising amount of that on such a beautiful, peaceful-seeming world.'
'You must be from somewhere else,' Whitlock’s leered, his sword still pointed at Vheod. 'Beautiful,
