She turned to the bird and stared into its opaque black eyes. 'Yes, my darling, I know morning has come. Go and find yourself something to eat in the woods with the others. I shall be fine here.'
The raven squawked shrilly and flew from the library.
An amulet that rendered him immune to the balor's powder. Interesting. With such an item, the Ravenwitch would have nothing to fear from the future. Chare'en would mean nothing to her. But where would such an amulet be now? It could be anywhere in all Faerun. She sighed. There was no time to search for it. If it was lost-buried in some vault or fallen amid some ancient ruin-she would never find it soon enough for it to be of any help.
No, the only way she could hope to find the amulet would be to presume that someone else found it first and had it with him now. Perhaps a person who knew about the coming of Chare'en and the power of the amulet-or at least something of its history-had already discovered it. More than likely, that person would be nearby, concerned somehow with the current events.
This required some thought.
Chapter Eighteen
Gnolls swarmed from every possible angle, as though they'd been scattered and were regrouping. Unfortunately, their chosen rallying point lay within the clearing right outside the entrance to the prison, at the edge of which stood Whitlock and Melann. Prison, Whitlock thought. The prison of Chare'en. Had he already completely given up on the idea that this might be the crypt of Chare'en-the goal of the entire journey? If this was a prison, and Chare'en was a demon and not a wizard, what in Helm's name were they doing here?
The situation at hand hardly presented Whitlock with the opportunity to think about that at length. Fortunately, it appeared that the gnolls were expecting to find him and his sister here even less than Whitlock expected the gnolls to return right at that moment. Bestial eyes stretched wide, and howls of surprise and confusion seemed to occupy the gaping mouths of the creatures rather than commands or warnings. Whitlock's combat training and experience took over as he looked all around him, sizing up the enemy and possible strategies to defeat them. He fired the loaded crossbow at the first gnoll he saw through the trees and watched it drop into the foliage at its feet.
His instincts quickly determined that their only option was flight. Turning to look for Melann, Whitlock saw that she was already casting a spell on the gnolls nearest her, wrapping them in divine energy that held them in place. Effective, but not enough considering that the monsters numbered at least a hundred, if not more.
Careful not to interrupt her spell, Whitlock shouted when she was finished, 'Melann, run inside the… cave. He wasn't sure whether to call it a crypt or a prison, at least not out loud. There was no time to consider it now. He hung the crossbow on a hook, on his belt.
Melann turned to him, her eyes betraying utter terror. Whitlock ran, not into the mountain, but along the edge of the clearing that surrounded it, racing to reach his sister. His sword sang in his hand, and he threw himself at the nearest gnoll. Steel met flesh, but the warrior was interested only in reaching Melann. As he ran toward her, she moved to meet him.
'Into the cave!' he shouted again. The gnolls began to recover from their surprise and confusion, surging toward the humans. Whitlock pushed away an onrushing beast-man, using his charging momentum to add to the force of his blow.
Melann used her mace to fend off the only gnoll near her left mobile after her spell. Rather than fight it, she ducked under its muscular, hairy arms as it slashed at her with a crude axe. She ran to her brother. Whitlock held his ground, waiting for Melann to reach him. Another gnoll rushed toward him and he slashed at it with his blade.
The creature lunged to his left to avoid the sword stroke, then raised its spear high above its head. Plunging the weapon down at Whitlock, the gnoll was caught off guard as the warrior threw himself at its feet. Whitlock crashed into its lower legs, so as the gnoll lunged forward with its spear, it not only missed him, but toppled over the top of his now crouching form. The impact to its legs only sent it over the top of him that much harder. Whitlock gained his feet much faster than his foe did, and two well-aimed chops from his sword ensured that the gnoll would indeed never rise again.
Pain arched through Whitlock's arm and he whirled and saw that another gnoll had approached while he'd fought with the other. The bestial humanoid's spear point dripped with Whitlock's blood, and the gnoll pulled back for another stab. Whitlock's empty arm went limp, and he could do little but swing his sword to block the second spear thrust. He was weak with pain.
Suddenly darts of reddish energy struck the gnoll, overcoming it and sending it crashing to the bare earth. Whitlock turned again, this time to see Vheod standing at the entrance to the cave. His spells had cleared a path for the siblings to reach the opening in the cliff face. Melann reached Whitlock's side and reached toward his wounded arm.
'There's no time!” he told her, pulling his arm away. He ran to Vheod and Melann followed. Turning to look behind him, Whitlock saw the gnolls rushing after them, appearing more numerous than the trees from which they poured forth. Whitlock and Melann had to cross almost two hundred yards between the edge of the clearing and the rectangular entrance. Their feet slid in misplaced steps on the open, gravel-covered earth. The gnolls followed them into the clearing, emerging from the trees in greater and greater numbers like grain pouring into an empty bowl.
Whitlock and Melann scrambled over the jumbled rocks that lay at the bottom of the cliff wall. The hot summer sun beat down, and the cacophonous growls and roars of the gnolls behind them deafened them to all else. Sweat and blood covered Whitlock's upper body as he ran toward the opening in the stone wall. Vheod stood at the entrance, calling out to them-no, to Melann-as they approached.
The opening showed signs of great activity-the gnolls had apparently uncovered this entrance, probably within the last day or so. Large, bestial footprints and claw marks covered the surrounding rock. There was something else, too, but the situation provided no time for a detailed analysis. Only when they were inside did Whitlock realize in surprise that he could see Vheod. When the cambion had entered he'd rendered himself hidden from sight.
'Don't go back very far,' Vheod told them in a harsh tone. 'There's a stone guardian blocking the way.'
Whitlock looked down the passage that led into the earth but saw only darkness. Small bits of stone lay scattered amid the smooth rock floor, and dust churned in the sunlight around them, stirred by their activity. 'If we can't go inside, we're doomed!' Whitlock said. 'We can at least make a stand here,' Melann said hopefully. Whitlock knew that defensive position or not, the three of them could never defeat so many enemies.
“Perhaps we can defeat two foes at once,' Vheod told them as he grabbed Whitlock's crossbow from his belt in a swift motion. Whitlock handed him a quarrel and watched silently as he loaded and cocked the weapon. He had no idea what the cambion had in mind.
Melann invoked the power of Chauntea in the form of a blessing. Vheod turned to her and said, 'I believe we're going to need that.'
'Here they come,' Whitlock shouted, looking up at the approaching gnolls. 'What's the plan? We don't have any time.' The gnolls slowed. They appeared to approach the entrance with trepidation-or was it reverence?
'This is going to be extremely dangerous,' Vheod said with a calmness Whitlock found disturbing. 'When I begin to run, follow me. Even if you can't see me, just keep to one side of the passage or the other and run as fast as you can. When you reach the end of the corridor, turn to the left and stop.'
'What are you going to do?'
'There's no time to explain,' Vheod said. 'Just trust me.'
As much as it surprised Whitlock to realize it, he did trust Vheod. How could he not? Despite all of Whitlock's initial reservations and suspicions, Vheod had twice saved his life.
Whitlock looked Vheod in the eye and gave him a short nod. 'Whatever you say.'
Vheod turned to look at the oncoming gnolls. They would reach the entrance in a second, but Vheod seemed to be waiting for something. Melann visibly held her breath. Whitlock gripped his sword's hilt more tightly-both in anticipation and to help distract him from the pain in his other arm. They stood just inside the cave, and Whitlock noticed for the first time that cool air drifted slowly out of the corridor behind him.
