'We understand,' Diran said. 'We shall go cautiously and assume nothing.' The priest took a quick inventory of the group. All wore backpacks containing food and water, among other supplies, and all were armed with their chosen weapons. Diran held a pair of daggers-one steel, one silver-and Ghaji gripped his elemental axe. Asenka had drawn her longsword, and Hinto his long knife. Yvka held no obvious weapons, but Diran knew the pouch hanging from her belt contained various magical items constructed by the devious artificers of the Shadow Network. He'd seen the elf-woman use her devices to devastating effect in the past, and he had no doubt their magic would serve her well again this day, if required. Solus needed no physical weapon, just the power of his mind. Thokk held a mace whose handle was pitted with small concave spaces, as if it had once been encrusted with jewels, The weapon might not be a thing of beauty, but it would still perform its function well enough when wielded with dwarven muscle. Onu's weapon was a light rapier that he kept swishing back and forth through the air as if it were a toy. The captain of the Turnabout hadn't removed the tiny metal ball on the rapier's tip used to prevent accidental injury when simply sparring with an opponent. Diran was certain everyone else had noticed as well, but no one had said anything, perhaps having come to the same conclusion as Diran: given Onu's overly enthusiastic personality, everyone might be safer if he left the little metal ball where it was.
Leontis held his longbow with an arrow nocked and ready. Diran's old friend appeared calm enough, but there was a gleam of excitement in his eyes as if he were eager to head off into the forest to begin exploring-or perhaps hunting. Diran hadn't failed to notice the minor transformation Leontis had gone through after slaying the aerial monster earlier-the increased length of his beard and hair, as well as the sharpening of his teeth. Diran had hoped that those feral touches might recede as time passed, but they had remained. It was as if Leontis had held the bestial side of himself in check as long as he could, but the wolf was beginning to fight its way out. Back in the inner courtyard of Kolbyr's palace, Diran had been fully prepared to honor Leontis's request and release him from his curse, much as it would have pained the priest to do so. But he'd remembered the visions the demon had shown to him, especially the image of a wolf's head, its eyes shining with human intelligence. Diran had stayed his hand then, because he realized that Leontis had a role to play in the events to come-though for good or ill, he couldn't say. Now, seeing the first signs of lycanthropic change in his old friend, Diran was beginning to question his decision. Had he once again allowed emotion to cloud his judgment, just as he had with Makala? Would more weight be added to the burden of guilt Diran carried on his shoulders. And if so, how would he ever be able to bear it?
Tresslar held his revealer out before him and slowly moved it from left to right then back again. When he was finished, he lowered the device to his side, a disappointed look on his face.
'No sign of the Amahau yet. Perhaps once we get moving…'
Diran nodded. 'Then let's be on our way. We have precious little daylight remaining to us, and we shouldn't waste it.'
The companions set off toward the forest in single file. Ghaji took the lead, with Diran right behind him. Asenka came next, with Tresslar after that, periodically holding up the revealer to check for the presence of the dragonwand. Thokk and Onu were next in line, the dwarf muttering to himself as walked, the garrulous captain commenting on anything and everything he saw that took his fancy. Leontis followed those two, and though Diran would've preferred to keep his fellow priest closer to him, and had suggested as much, Leontis insisted it made more sense for him to take a position in the middle of the line, where he would be free to loose his arrows in any direction an attack might come from. Though Diran agreed with Leontis's reasoning, he didn't like it. Yvka and Hinto came after Leontis, and Solus brought up the rear, using his psychic powers to scan the surrounding area for threats.
During the journey from Kolbyr, Tresslar had told them all about his previous voyage to Trebaz Sinara in the company of Erdis Cai. So Diran knew what to expect from this portion of the island, but experiencing it for himself was a different matter. As they entered the forest and began making their way northwest between mismatched varieties of trees, Diran was struck by how still and stale the air was, and after only a few minutes, it began to feel as if some unseen force was weighing them down, its pressure increasing with each step they took. Though it was yet daylight, the treecover blocked out the sun, and the forest gloom only added to the oppressive atmosphere. The forest should've been home to all manner of insects, birds, and animals, but the only sounds they heard were their own footfalls and breathing-well, that along with Onu's incessant chattering. Thokk had managed, with no little effort, to get the man to keep his voice to a near-whisper, but no amount of urging could get Onu to be silent. If Diran hadn't already known about the eerie silence of the forest from Tresslar's account, he would've thought Onu had scared off all the life in the area.
Solus's psionic powers confirmed the absence of anything living nearby except foliage.
'I cannot sense even a trace of thought beyond our own,' the psiforged said. 'It is as if the entire island is devoid of life.'
Since they knew that was not the case, Solus's words were far from reassuring. Indeed, they made things worse, for something had to be blocking the construct's psychic abilities. But what?
The quiescence soon became maddening. At first, it seemed preferable to hearing the roaring of fierce beasts close by or the rustling of underbrush as something large and hungry stalked them. But the silence grated on the nerves and eroded the spirit, preying on the mind, if not the flesh. As Diran and the others continued trudging through the forest, the minutes stacking up and becoming hours, the companions became increasingly on edge, and even Onu finally fell quiet. The forest gloom deepened as night came to Trebaz Sinara, and though they seemed to be completely alone in the forest, Diran deemed it was too risky to use any illumination, and so the humans in the party had to rely on the night vision of the nonhuman members to guide them.
Since making landfall, they'd been traveling without rest to take advantage of the daylight left to them, but now that night had fallen, Diran thought it high time they took a break. But just as he was about to broach the subject, light flashed in the darkness behind him, and the priest whirled about, prepared to hurl his daggers.
Diran saw Tresslar's grinning face lit by a yellow glow emanating from his revealer.
'I've detected the Amahau!' Tresslar said, his voice rising in excitement. 'That means we're close!'
Diran smiled, all thought of rest forgotten. 'How close?'
'No more than a few miles.'
'Let's keep moving,' Diran said. 'We-'
Diran's words were cut off as the darkness surrounding them came alive.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Nathifa, Haaken, and Skarm stood at the base of a rocky hill. Night had fallen, cloaking the land in shadow.
'We've arrived.' The lich pointed a dead-white finger at a cave opening halfway up the sloping hillside.
'Doesn't look like much,' Haaken said, sounding almost disappointed. 'I have to say that so far Trebaz Sinara has failed to live up to its reputation.'
'Don't be a fool,' Skarm said. 'Our journey here was uneventful only because our mistress used her magic to shield us from the island's dangers.'
Haaken shrugged.
Normally, Nathifa would've punished the sea raider for his insolence, but she'd envisioned this moment for many long decades, and now that she finally stood here, she was too excited to care about Haaken and his doubts. She glanced up at the sky and judged that it had been night long enough.
'You can come out now,' the lich said.
A feminine hand emerged from the rippling black substance that served as Nathifa's robe, and Makala stepped forth from the undead sorceress, detaching herself from the living darkness with some effort.
Once she was free, the vampire shuddered as if caught in the icy winds of an arctic blast. 'That was… less than pleasant.'
'Perhaps, but traveling within me protected you from the rays of the sun. Enough talk: we have work to do, so let's be about it.'
Makala smiled. 'Well, if you're in a hurry…' The vampire's form blurred, shrank, and reformed into the shape of a black bat. Wings flapping furiously, Makala circled around Nathifa's head once before breaking off and soaring up to the cave entrance.
