"Thank you, Master Seymour," said Levicus with a bow of his head. "Your generosity is a blessing beyond the powers of light. I can only pray that I continue to serve you and give you pleasure."

"Enemies," said Oliver quietly, his eyes on the little grove of trees to which they had approached within shouting distance.

"Where?" said Seymour as he looked around.

"The trees," said Oliver although he did not look towards them directly or point with his finger to the indicated site. "There are perhaps two dozen of them. Hobgoblins and some sort of attack beasts. They will attack when we reach the large rock to the side of the trail."

"Excellent," said Seymour, pulling back his cloak, and reaching for the platinum chain around his neck. With a casual flick he pulled out the chain and revealed a glowing yellow ball that seemed to churn and throw off little fingers of molten fire. The brightness of the thing was blinding, but a close look revealed that smaller globes, darker and of different colors slowly circled around the great fiery thing at the center.

A small smile flickered onto the face of Sutekha as he began to mumble under his breath and his hands came out of his pockets holding a small gla.s.s vial filled with apparently living worms, white and squirming.

Oliver's expression did not change as they moved towards the stone, but Levicus's face screwed up and his hand began to twitch nervously at his side. As they finally made it to the stone there was a sudden yell from the nearby trees and a dozen forms erupted from it and three more creatures, apparently lying in the high gra.s.s rose, suddenly within striking distance of the group.

Sneak and crawl, burrow and dig Eat their brains, make them dance and jig!

Shouted Sutekha, his face in a wide smile as the worms in the jar suddenly vanished and a war cry from one of the approaching hobgoblins suddenly turned into a terrible shriek as the thing began to claw at his eyes and fell to the ground. The companions on either side of him paused for a moment, then began to dig at their own clothes and dropped their swords as they shrieked in horror.

Seymour put his right hand on the burning icon around his chest and casually flicked it at another group of the approaching creatures and there was a sudden rushing of air and a terrible fiery explosion where the creatures once stood. One war dog, near to the explosion but not in it, was lifted from its feet by the power of the blast, the white hot heat burning the legs on its right side so quickly and powerfully that they seemed to simply melt away. The right side of its body became a blackened b.l.o.o.d.y mess and it lay on its side and made a strange little whimper sound for a few short seconds before it mercifully expired.

The three hobgoblins that emerged close to the group found themselves facing off against Oliver while their allies lay dead before getting to within twenty yards of the companions. One of the creatures, a ma.s.sive hobgoblin standing seven feet tall and towering over Oliver, smiled at the orc and cracked his knuckles. "I like to kill Orcs," it started but Oliver lunged forward, his right arm extending the sword point as the beast closed the distance between them with blinding rapidity, and the tip went into the creature's mouth and came out the back of its head. Without pausing the Orc paladin withdrew the blade and closed in on the two creatures lurking behind the first with his left hand catching the wrist of the leftmost as it swung its blade and his right swinging the sword in such a tight arc that it appeared only a blur and went through the neck of the hobgoblin on the right.

Oliver then paused for a moment to look the only survivor in the eye as the hobgoblin watched his two friends collapse to the ground. A crack suddenly brought the creature's attention back to Oliver even as the sword dropped from his hand, his wrist snapped by the fierce power of the Orc.

"Araghh," cried the creature and fell to its knees.

"Don't kill it," said Seymour. "We will wish to interrogate it for information about this region and the exact location of the White Marble ruin."

Oliver bowed to Seymour and kicked the sword away from his fallen foe and with a flick of his sword cut the belt off the creature, sending it to the ground along with the small knife sheathed on it.

"Sutekha," said Seymour with a glance at the hobgoblin that lay trembling on the ground and refused to look up. "We will need spells so that we might understand the speech of the heathens."

"Your will is my command, oh Great Master of the Icon of Ras," said Sutekha an eye on the glowing ball that sat on Seymour's chest roiling in fiery chaos.

Chapter 27.

The campfire had burned down to searing embers and the great bulk that was the half-orc Shamki leaned against a tree while the small form of Unerus stood next to him as they watched over those who slept nearby. The warm evening brought everyone out of the wagon with Tanner and his wife on one blanket at the far side of the fire while Humbort slept under the wagon curled up like a child. The children lay together near the merchant and his wife while Lousa and Hazlebub slumbered close to the duo.

"It's good you can talk to the hobgoblins," said Unerus and looked up at Shamki, "or I don't think we would have gotten past that patrol alive."

"Traders leave alone," said Shamki as he looked into the darkness. There was almost no moon and a thick cloud cover prevented even the stars from shining down on the camp. "Ambush night, dark," he continued in what for him was almost a freewheeling conversation.

Unerus started to yawn but quickly brought his hand up to cover his mouth. Shamki didn't say anything but the boy knew that he should go to bed and leave the watch over to the half-orc. Humbort would get up soon to watch with Lousa and Hazlebub after that. Tanner usually took the morning turn at guard. "I wish we knew where we were going," said Unerus not really expecting a reply from the half-orc. "It just seems like we're wandering around with no purpose."

Suddenly Shamki's body tensed and he glanced to his left beyond a small tree that was barely visible ten feet away.

"What is it," whispered Unerus.

Shamki didn't say anything and his eyes darted back and forth in the darkness. Unerus knew that orcs saw well in the dark and his friend was half-blooded so perhaps his vision was keen as well. The boy looked in all directions carefully not turning his head too much, simply looked with his eyes, but could see nothing. After a few seconds more Shamki took in a breath of air with a short sniff and then repeated the maneuver several more times with a slow turn of his head each time. A small gust of wind came to them and then Unerus could smell it, an old musty odor, an odor of death and decay but so faint as to be unable to trace.

Shamki immediately pulled his sword, took a step backwards, and pulled Unerus behind him with a heavy hand.

"You have nothing to fear from me tonight," said the whisper-quiet voice from somewhere ahead in the darkness. "I am Tenebrous and My Mistress sends me to aid you."

"Show," said Shamki, his sword moving in little circles and his body slowly moving to the right and stalking the sound, although his hand continued to push Unerus so that the boy stood behind him.

"Do not strike," said the voice and a strange, dark shape seemed to appear in the night but then was gone again with a whisper.

The dark creature suddenly reappeared, a vague shadowy presence, a few feet from where they first spotted it. "You will not strike?" said the form as it hovered a few feet away from Shamki who stayed his sword hand but did not reply.

Unerus sidled over to the sleeping form of Lousa and reached down to give her a nudge. A moment later she sat up and looked around in the darkness unable to see much of anything. "What is it?"

"I'm ... I'm not sure," said the young boy and pointed to where his darkness adjusted eyes could barely make out the form of Shamki, although he could not see the other thing at all. "It's Shamki and something. It said its name is Tenebrous and it means us no harm," he continued.

Lousa quickly got to her feet and threw off the woolen blanket that covered her. She wore a loose fitting cotton gown and when she got up the neckline bulged forward to give Unerus a glimpse of her ample figure, and he immediately looked away and blushed. The woman threw a leather jerkin over her head and slid into a pair of denim pants and did not notice his flush. "Come along," she said a moment later to the boy whose face was still bright red although concealed by the darkness of the night.

The commotion stirred several of the people around them including Tanner and Almara who sat up from their shared blanket and tried to focus their eyes in the gloom. "What's going on?" said the chubby woman and put her hand on her husband's chest.

"I'm not sure," said Tanner, got to his feet, and pulled on his trousers with a quick motion. He fiddled around for a moment and tried to unsheathe the knife at his belt but then followed after Unerus and Lousa who headed towards the small tree where Shamki awaited. Hazlebub continued to snore loudly apparently oblivious to the evening's excitement.

The events stirred the children, but they awoke more slowly their eyes groggy and their movements sluggish. Ariana was the first to awake and immediately looked to the satchel beside her and touched it with her hand before she slowly crept out from under the covers. Nearby Tylan also slowly gathered his wits and watched as Ariana struggled up from bed and sat up.

"What's wrong, Ara?" asked the boy, and the girl looked to him in the darkness only able to make out a vague form just a few feet away although she recognized the voice easily enough.

"I'm not sure, Ty," she said and began to thrown on a woolen shirt. "But I'm going to find out. Are you coming?"

The boy grinned widely and slipped his pants on as he struggled beneath the blanket to avoid exposure. Next came his socks, and then he started to pull on his boots before he remembered the important morning ritual his father taught him and banged them together upside down to dislodge any night visitors. "Shalalee," he whispered to his sister who lay next to him, but she did not appear to be awake so he finished his dressing and got up to follow Ariana.

Shalalee lay quietly with her eyes closed and listened as first Ariana got up and left and then her brother. She waited for a few more moments as their footsteps indicated a true departure and opened her eyes just a little and waited for them to adjust to the darkness.

Meanwhile Lousa arrived next to Shamki who still held his sword and stared into the darkness at apparently nothing. "What is it, Shamki?" she said and looked around, unable to see the shadow form that was Tenebrous.

The half-orc made a little nod with his head and pointed the tip of his sword into the darkness at the form that seemed to slide in and out of existence in the night air.

Lousa looked more closely and then suddenly caught sight of the thing and gasped for a moment, unable to collect her thoughts. Finally she looked at Shamki out of the corner of her eye as she tried to stay focused on the creature, "What is it?"

Shamki shrugged, but the creature chose that moment to speak again. "I am Tenebrous, a servant of She who Eternally Rules the Abyss," he said, his shadowy form slipping and sliding although he stayed in the same spot.

"What do you want?" asked Tanner suddenly coming up from behind Lousa with his small knife gripped tightly.

"I wish to parlay," he said. "My mistress is interested in acquiring the staff you have and is willing to pay a goodly sum."

"It's not for sale," said Ariana out of the darkness and glared with her young eyes. "I see you."

"That is a shame," said Tenebrous. "My mistress, She who has Always Ruled and Always Shall, is not a particularly patient woman."

"Who cares!" said Ariana in such a loud voice that it even woke Hazlebub for a moment although the witch went back to sleep almost instantly.

"Ariana," said Lousa and put her hand on the girl's shoulder but only for a brief moment as the girl twisted away. "Ara," said Lousa again. "We should speak with this Tenebrous at least."

"I'm not giving it away," said Ariana.

"Ara, we've been over this many times. You are eventually going to have to give it up one way or another," said the halfblooded elf woman, her eyes staring at the girl in the darkness. "You have to accept reality."

Ariana shook her head and set her mouth firmly although she did not stomp her foot.

"What kind of thing are you?" asked Unerus who had moved behind the creature with his small sword drawn and at the ready.

Tenebrous did not bother to turn around to address the boy but simple continued to speak in even tones and keep his eye on the half-orc. "I am a shade, a creature that once lived but was sent to the Deathlands by She Who Eternallly Rules the Abyss," said the creature. "I found my way back from there and the Mistress allowed me to stay so long as I obey her every command."

"What are the Deathlands?" asked Tylan as he joined the group around Tenebrous.

"You do not wish to know," said Tenebrous, his shadowy form suddenly seeming to become even more vague and insubstantial.

"The Staff of Naught is not for sale," said Lousa to Tenebrous. "You suggest your mistress will not take kindly to this news. What do you think she will do when you convey it?"

"I am bound to obey my mistress," said Tenebrous. "Outside of her direct commands I am able to use my own judgment. Should I delay in reporting this news then her wrath would also be delayed."

"Why would you do that," asked Lousa, her eyes narrowed even further on the dark night. "What do you want?"

Tenebrous's form seemed to darken and take on a more substantial ident.i.ty for a moment and Ariana noted that the creature appeared to have some sort of wings, but then he went back to his shadow self. "I have my own agenda which has nothing to do with you," said Tenebrous. "But it is possible we may travel the same road for a time."

"What if we told Smyrnala what you are telling us," said Unerus with a flick of his blade.

"I would be horribly tortured and sent back to the Deathlands, perhaps permanently," said the creature with little inflexion in his voice.

"Oh," said Unerus.

"What do you want with the staff?" said Ariana, as she looked at the creature keenly able to make out some substance beneath the shadow form. It looked somehow significantly larger than its shadow, almost corpulent, and a strange aura emanated from it.

"I do not care about the staff at all," said Tenebrous. "That is where we might find common ground. My desires have nothing to do with the staff."

"Why would you help us then?" asked Lousa.

"I am not prepared to divulge that information at this time," said Tenebrous, his form darkened with these words.

"The last time we trusted something like this look what happened," said Tanner as he eyed the dark cloud carefully. "Remember Khemer and what he tried to do. Do you want to use the staff to bring yourself back to life?"

"No," said Tenebrous firmly. "I am quite happy in my current deathly condition. I do not want to use the staff at all. I want something else which might come about if you will listen to me."

"Go on," said Lousa.

"No, don't trust him," said Ariana.

"Ara, leave this to the adults," said Almara from behind her husband, and the girl looked up sharply but then returned her glare to the dark creature and said nothing.

"Go on," repeated Lousa with a nod. "But, don't try anything funny or Shamki will run you through, insubstantial or not."

"Humor is not particularly my forte," said Tenebrous. "The Eternally Ruler of the Abyss wants the staff and her step-sister, the Eight Legged Mistress of Spiders, also wants it."

"Step-sister?" said Almara.

"So the Great G.o.ddess, Ruler of the Abyss, Eternal Champion of Death, tells me. I do not actually know the exact nature of the relationship except to say that it is most antagonistic. This antipathy is something that I wish to foster for reasons that I will not elaborate upon at this juncture. You are in a position to help me further this wish. I am prepared to give you certain advice on how to proceed if you are willing to listen."

"We're listening," said Lousa and shifted in her stance but also relaxed subtly. Shamki lowered his sword slightly to ease the weight upon his arm but remained balanced on his toes and at the ready. Unerus sheathed his own little sword but maintained a position behind the shade.

"Neither party wishes the item destroyed," said Tenebrous. "The Spider Queen's motivations are something that I long ago gave up fathoming. Her webs are most intricate and her plans of such scope and long term ideology that the more one attempts to understand them the more deeply enmeshed in making them come to fruition one becomes."

"What?" said Unerus.

"If I understand you, Tenebrous," said Lousa her hand to her chin. "Her plans are so complex that if you think you are working against her you might well be furthering her ends."

The dark shape seemed to lighten slightly and gave off a slight chuckle, "I like you, half-blood elf woman," said Tenebrous. "You are quick of mind and pleasing of body."

"What do you care!" shouted Unerus suddenly. "You're dead anyway."

"There are stages of death, believe it or not," said Tenebrous. "And I have yet to reach the stage where beauty is of no concern to me. However, the All Powerful Eternal Mistress of the Abyss does have the power to put me into such a state. So, to some degree I am now at your mercy. I can only antic.i.p.ate that this state of affairs will facilitate our working arrangement."

"What will you tell the Mistress of the Abyss," said Lousa, "when you return to her after this meeting?"

"That, again, is not your concern, milady," said Tenebrous. "Just be aware that for the moment our paths are on parallel courses and that I only wish you success."

"We want to destroy the staff," said Tanner. "You said that the sisters both want to the staff to remain unbroken. How does that work towards your ends?"

"I can only repeat what I have already enumerated," said Tenebrous and he suddenly paused and thought for a long moment. "I find my thought patterns to be strangely linear these days, ever since my little sojourn. Not that this information is pertinent to this discussion, of course. What is important is that you continue on your course with the staff. Seymour the Bright is already en route to a nearby location and you should continue towards him."

"Where is he?" said Ariana breaking back into the conversation. "How far away?"

"A week's more journey," said Tenebrous. "The G.o.ds are guiding you now."

"There are no G.o.ds," said Ariana. "Just a bunch of fakes."

"Ariana," said Lousa. "Please let's not cover old ground again." The form of Tenebrous suddenly seemed to darken substantially and his black energy seemed to focus on the girl.

"Who told you that," he said and floated so close to the girl that Shamki shifted position and moved to within striking distance.

"No one," said Ariana. "I just figured it out myself."

Tenebrous seemed to have completely lost focus on Shamki and the others, for a moment his black aura grew and formed into a huge winged creature, "Do not lie to me girl. I know a lie when I hear it, did I not sit in the court of Asmodeus as a boy, did I not wield ..." and he suddenly trailed off into silence before addressing Ariana again, "it is extremely important. Who told you this?"

Ariana did not shrink back from the dark form and her eyes blazed with conviction, "The man in the staff told me and I believe him!"