working to repay a great debt of some sort. He never did tell me the details regarding it, but every bit of profit he made went toward that cause. That's why he risked working as a smuggler: he needed to make as much gold as he could in as short a time as possible. But as hardworking as Thokk was, he hated dealing with people and negotiating prices with customers, and eventually he realized he was losing business because of it. He decided he needed someone who was good with people, someone charming and flamboyant…'
'Someone who was everything he wasn't,' Diran said.
Onu nodded. 'And so he hired me, and 'Captain' Onu was born. I'd always loved traveling, being exposed to fascinating new people and places, and my bargain with Thokk granted me those things. And if I do say so, after taking me on, Thokk's profits increased quite significantly. He could be a prickly one to work with, and I must admit that my over-enthusiasm for my role didn't always help us get along, but he was a good man. A good friend. I'll miss him terribly.'
Diran laid a comforting hand on the changeling's shoulder. Onu and Thokk's partnership had been an odd one, and Diran wasn't certain he entirely understood it, but he could tell that Onu's grief was genuine.
The changeling's features blurred, shifted, reformed, and his human guise was once more back in place.
'Let us continue with our quest, my good priest! What better way to honor our fallen comrade's memory than by seeing this adventure through to the finish, eh?' Onu clapped Diran on the shoulder and strode off confidently to join the others.
Diran stared after him, puzzled. He'd known changelings before. One of Emon Gorsedd's most trusted assassins was a changeling named Rux. But though Diran understood that in many ways changelings' identities were as fluid and malleable as their outer forms, he'd never seen such a drastic shift in personality as the one he'd just witnessed in Onu. 'Captain' Onu had always struck Diran as a trifle erratic, and now he wondered if the changeling might be mentally imbalanced in some way. The man would bear close watching, Diran decided, regardless of which shape he chose to wear.
Diran started off to join the rest of the companions, who'd already shouldered their packs and were ready to move out again, but Asenka broke away from them and approached the priest, meeting him halfway.
'I can't believe that after taking the time to bury Thokk you aren't going to at least attempt to do the same for Leontis. He was a fellow priest-not to mention your friend!'
Diran knew none of the others had seen Leontis change into a werewolf during the battle with the shadowclaws, and he saw no point to reveal his friend's secret now. If Leontis was dead, then let his shame die with him.
'We have no proof that Leontis was killed,' Diran said. 'But even if he was and even if we could locate his body, he would not wish us to further endanger ourselves by burying him. He came along to help us stop Nathifa, and we would be dishonoring his sacrifice if we failed in that mission.' Asenka started to protest, but Diran placed his fingers on her lips to silence her. 'When I prayed over Thokk's grave, I prayed for Leontis's soul as well… just in case.'
For a moment it looked as if Asenka would continue to argue, but in the end she nodded her acceptance of Diran's words. He put an arm around her then and said, 'Let's go join the others.'
But as the two started toward their friends, they heard a shuffling sound coming from behind. They turned to see Leontis walking unsteadily toward them. The priest was naked, his skin bright pink like a newborn baby's, and he was completely bereft of body hair.
'I appreciate the prayers, Diran, but as you can see they were, unfortunately, a bit premature.'
'Why didn't you tell us he was a werewolf?' Ghaji demanded. The half-orc's teeth were clenched, and his voice was pitched dangerously low.
'I don't blame you for being angry with me, but please try to understand. Leontis asked that I keep his condition a secret. It was a request I was bound to keep, both as a priest and a friend.'
The companions continued onward. Diran had joined Ghaji at the head of the line, and the others had fallen back a few yards, sensing the two needed a bit of privacy so they could talk. They'd scrounged together some clothing for Leontis, and now the priest wore a pair of Tresslar's extra undergarments and Ghaji's travel cloak. The clothing was poor protection against the night's chill, but Leontis didn't seem to notice. The other companions kept their distance from the priest as they traveled, eyeing him with suspicion and, in the case of Tresslar and Yvka, outright hostility. Though Leontis was in human form, his curse was revealed by how swiftly he was healing. His hair and eyebrows were already starting to grow back, though it would likely be some time before his beard filled in again. His longbow and arrows had been destroyed in the fire, and he no longer carried any weapons, but that hardly seemed to matter since Leontis was a weapon in and of himself.
Diran marveled at the healing powers of Leontis's curse. The fire must have charred his body to a crisp, and yet he was now whole and seemingly none the worse for wear. Even the healing magic granted by the Silver Flame would have been hard-pressed to restore someone who'd suffered such severe burns, especially in such a short time. Diran wondered if Leontis healed so quickly because the werewolf who had infected him had carried an especially powerful strain of lycanthropy or if the healing magic Leontis had learned as a priest of the Silver Flame had somehow combined with his lycanthropic abilities to help restore him to full health so swiftly. The latter possibility raised some intriguing-and disturbing-notions. Could evil and good co-exist within the same individual in some sort of balance? More, could those opposing forces somehow complement each other, becoming stronger than either could be on its own?
'You put us all at risk by not telling us the truth,' Ghaji growledd, not mollified in the least by Diran's words. 'What if Leontis had changed one night during the voyage on the Turnabout? How many men and women might he have slain-or worse, infected with his curse-before we could've stopped him? You should have at least told Solus. He could've kept an eye on Leontis and let us know when he was about to change.'
Diran wanted to explain his reasoning to Ghaji, but he realized that his old friend was correct. Diran hadn't really considered all the ramifications of allowing Leontis to come with them. He had told himself that he'd invited Leontis along because of the visions of the future revealed to him by the Fury-demon, and that was true enough as it went. But the real reason-the deepest reason-was far simpler, and it had blinded Diran to the threat presented by Leontis's curse.
'He's my friend, Ghaji. Leontis and I were once as close as you and I are. I… wanted to give him the opportunity to come to terms with his condition, to give him a second chance. Tusya gave me a second chance when he drove the dark spirit from my soul and taught me the ways of the Silver Flame. Could I do no less for Leontis?'
'Or Makala?' Ghaji said with a grudging smile. 'Or me, for that matter, when you found me working as a disillusioned, cynical brothel guard?'
Diran smiled. 'I hate to break it to you, but you're still quite cynical, though I hope somewhat less disillusioned.'
The two friends looked at each for a moment, and then Ghaji sighed.
'What's done is done. Let's speak no more of it. But I think we should ask Solus to monitor Leontis's thoughts-as a precaution.'
'And a wise one at that. I'm sure Leontis will understand. I'll inform him while you speak with Solus.'
The two friends broke rank to do so, and as Diran surmised, Leontis had no objection to the psiforged's mental scrutiny.
'I do have one question,' the priest said. 'My memories of the battle with the shadowclaws are fragmentary at best, but Thokk's death…'
'Was at the hands of the dark beasts, not yours,' Diran said.
'Thank the Flame,' Leontis whispered.
The companions continued on their way, but Diran noticed how everyone glanced uneasily at Leontis from time to time, as if expecting him to grow fangs and sprout fur any moment. Diran supposed he didn't really blame them.
Once again the party relied on those members with night vision to guide their way. They left behind the burned area of the forest caused by Tresslar's blast, and the going was slow once again. The companions made their way through the thick tree growth and kept close watch for any signs of danger. Tresslar no longer bothered trying to detect the dragonwand. He explained that the process by which he'd converted the revealer into an enhancer couldn't be reversed, at least not with the tools and materials at his disposal. He was, however,
