Ashok thanked the creature and bit into a chunk of bread. The bland crust tasted amazing. He couldn’t remember when he’d eaten last. He scooped up the pink meat and juices with his crust and ate it all while the dark one waited.
The little humanoid shifted from foot to foot, his right hand clutching the knuckles of his left. He was a bit shorter than Darnae, but he walked in a stooped manner, his shoulders, arms, and knees curling inward toward his stomach. His eyes were dark and watery in a pudgy face.
When Ashok had finished the food, the dark one said in a low voice, “Lord Uwan instructs me to give you a message.”
“What is it?” Ashok asked.
“I’m to say that if you’re feeling up to the task, you should come to Lord Uwan’s chamber. For a
The food settled heavily in Ashok’s stomach. “I’ll come now,” he replied. “Do you know what it’s about?”
The dark one’s expression turned sly. “I wasn’t to say,” he said.
“But you do know,” said Ashok.
The creature’s eyes gleamed wickedly. “Perhaps,” he replied.
Ashok thought of pressing the point, then decided against it. He already knew what the meeting was about- of course he did. He was being summoned to answer for his actions in the training yard. Better he hear it from Uwan himself instead of the creature.
The dark one led Ashok out, and they climbed the winding steps. The walk seemed to take forever. When at last they stood before Uwan’s door, the dark one left Ashok. He knocked on the door and immediately heard Uwan’s voice beckoning him inside.
Ashok saw the painting first, the beautiful cityscape above the long rectangular table. He was surprised to see most of the chairs at the table filled, and even more shocked to see the occupants.
Uwan sat at the head, of course, but Vedoran, Chanoch, Cree, and Skagi all occupied places down the table. At Uwan’s right hand sat Natan. There was an empty chair next to the cleric that Vedoran, seated on the other side of him, pulled out and indicated for Ashok.
“The time has come for you to decide your future, Ashok,” Uwan said. “Sit down. We have much to discuss.”
Uwan leaned forward and clasped his hands together on the table top. In the middle of the table, spread out, was a map of the Shadowfell plain. Ashok recognized the Aloran Tor and several other landmarks. By their locations, he could tell his own enclave was about a six day journey to the north.
“I’ve summoned you here,” Uwan said, glancing at Ashok and his companions, “because you’ve all proven yourselves to be exceptional warriors. I’ve watched you train, seen your strengths, your weaknesses and your faith.
“I have a journey that should you undertake it will require all of your efforts working in concert. I am not ordering you to complete this task. Every shadar-kai in this room who volunteers for this mission will do so of his own free will.” Uwan glanced meaningfully at Ashok. “Will you consider the mission I propose?”
“Yes, Lord Uwan,” Chanoch said at once, and Skagi and Cree were quick to add their assent.
“I will consider it,” Vedoran said.
Ashok looked at Uwan. He had not expected such a proposal at all. He felt off balance, as if everyone in the room knew more than he did. A journey outside Ikemmu? He’d not been outside the city’s walls since the day he’d tried to escape.
“Will you consider this mission, Ashok?” Uwan repeated, when the silence stretched.
“Yes,” Ashok said uncertainly. He didn’t know what to think.
“Thank you,” Uwan said. He addressed Natan. “Will you tell them, my friend?”
The cleric nodded and cleared his throat. “Thank you for agreeing to hear Uwan’s request,” he said. “My own tale is a simple one. I am a servant of Tempus, and I have been blessed with the gift of Sight. The warrior god has chosen to grant me visions of what will come to pass in Ikemmu’s future.”
He paused. Ashok felt Vedoran stiffen beside him. He stared down at the table, his black gaze boring holes in the map.
“Several nights ago, Natan received such a vision,” Uwan said. “Tempus showed him that Negala has returned to the plain.”
“The bog witch?” Skagi said. “Close to Ikemmu?”
Uwan shook his head. “Many miles distant,” he replied. “The city is in no immediate danger.”
“Who is Negala?” Chanoch asked.
“That’s right, you’re probably too young to know her,” Skagi said, which made Chanoch’s face flush with embarrassment. “She’s a hag, a creature twisted by the shadows.”
“She’s like the nightmare, in human form,” Ashok said quietly. He remembered his father telling him a tale of encountering the witch. Her bog was merely an illusion, a part of her mind she could alter at will.
Uwan looked at him sharply. “You know Negala?” he said.
“No,” Ashok said. “But I know what she is. She moves her swamp around the Shadowfell according to her whim. She’s an annoyance, nothing more.”
“Bog may be an annoyance, but you can still die in it,” Skagi said.
“Agreed,” Uwan said. “She must not be underestimated, as this mission will take you straight across her domain.”
“Why?” Vedoran spoke up.
“Shall I tell them?” Uwan said, speaking to Natan.
The cleric shook his head. “If you please, my Lord, I’ll do it,” he said. Natan leaned back in his chair, and the lines on his face made him look ancient, though Ashok guessed he couldn’t be much older than himself.
“A little over a month ago,” Natan said, “a decision was made that instead of dispatching an entire caravan to search the Shadowfell for beasts to capture and train, it was more feasible to send out a smaller scouting force to search for hunting grounds, watering holes, anyplace the shadow beasts might be likely to gather. Such a force could range farther than a caravan and be able to return to the city faster with its intelligence.
“We sent out a band of ten shadar-kai,” Natan said. “Our best scouts. One of them was my sister, Ilvani. Their party disappeared. They never returned to the city.”
Natan paused as if to gather himself. Uwan continued in his stead. “We dispatched patrols to search, but their trails went cold. No bodies were ever found. I believe, and Tempus has confirmed it in Natan’s vision, that some or all of the party are still alive. They were taken prisoner.”
“You believe Negala has them?” Vedoran asked.
“No,” Natan said. “I saw the hag’s lands in my vision, but Tempus pointed me beyond them. Somewhere on the other side of the bog is where we will find our people.”
“We’ve had wizards watching with farseeing spells, waiting to see any sign of Negala’s bog,” Uwan said. “Patrols have been ranging far out from the city, and a few days ago, they saw the bog had appeared.”
“Where?” Skagi asked.
“Five or six days journey north,” Uwan said, indicating the map. “We don’t know how large Negala’s domain is-it could be a stone’s throw or miles of treacherous land. Your mission, then, is twofold: go to the surface and cross Negala’s domain in safety, and once on the other side, find the missing party and return them to Ikemmu.”
Uwan fell silent, waiting for their response. Gradually, Ashok heard Chanoch, Skagi, Cree, and Vedoran accept the mission one by one, but Ashok didn’t speak. He was staring at the map, comparing the landmarks in his mind with the journey north to Negala’s bog.
The Aloran Tor. But he’d been running from the hounds long before he’d stopped in the mountain’s shadow. They’d chased him away from the enclave and his father’s confrontation with the party that had been approaching the caves.
Hemmed in from both sides. The hounds … and Ikemmu’s scouts.
“Ashok,” said Uwan.
Dazed, Ashok looked up. The leader regarded him half in expectation, half hope.
