Andoralson agreed with his cousin. "He really is magnificent. But right now, he's more trouble than anything." Gamaliel's golden eyes glared at the druid, then the cat lifted his nose in pride and looked away.
"Talenthia, I can't tell if it's the magical collar the cat wears or Gamaliel's innate magical resistance that allows him to ignore our spells. Can you get a better fix on him?" Talenthia concentrated and tried a spell, but shook her head. "Sorry."
Ren kept an eye on Evaine, standing as close as Gamaliel would allow. "It looks like her bleeding has stopped, and her breathing sounds more normal. She'll probably wake up naturally in a few hours."
"What do you think we should do, just wait until she comes around?" Andoralson didn't like the idea, but didn't have any other suggestions.
"We don't have much choice," Ren replied, shaking his head. "Miltiades, you and I should burn the bodies of those creatures. The two of you, pick through their equipment and see if you can learn anything about them. All we can do is hope that Evaine is all right and wakes up on her own. But if her wound gets any worse, or if she looks like she's in danger, I'll take a hand in moving Gamaliel myself. I've fought large cats like him before." The deadly look he gave Gamaliel told everyone he would kill the cat to save Evaine if necessary. The glare Gamaliel returned told Ren he would be in for trouble if he tried. "Well, uh, not exactly like this cat," Ren admitted. He motioned to the others to get busy, but Miltiades asked a question.
"What were those wolf creatures, anyway? The ones that started out as wolves and changed into humanlike things? I've battled werewolves before, but never creatures like those."
Andoralson explained. "Wolfweres. When werewolves and wolves mate, their offspring are more wolf than man. The creatures are more intelligent than normal wolves and can change shape to look like werewolves whenever they want. They're incredibly powerful and are ferocious killers. Once they're stirred up, they fight to the death-as you now know from experience.
"What surprised me is that the wolfweres allowed themselves to be mastered by the werewolves. I've always heard that the two creatures hate each other. Perhaps this growing evil in our land is perverting nature more than we suspect."
Talenthia shivered at her cousin's observations. Andoralson squeezed her in a comforting hug, then pointed her toward the woods where the bodies of the horrid creatures lay waiting. The foursome separated and busied themselves with chores.
Hours passed. Evaine didn't awaken, but didn't worsen either. Gamaliel refused to budge. He made his mistress comfortable in the grass and gently licked her wound. Still she did not stir. The wolf bodies had all been burned and the druids were done picking through the possessions they had gathered. Ren and Miltiades had cleaned their armor and sharpened all their blades.
Many hours later, as the companions roasted rabbits for supper, Evaine stirred and sent Gamaliel a mental message.
Ohh, Gam, what happened? I've got such a headache.
A wolf were hit you from behind and knocked you unconscious. You've been out for hours, and I've been guarding you from everyone. The giant animal purred, rubbing his huge tongue along her neck.
Despite her pain, the sorceress giggled out loud, attracting the attention of the others. Hey, that tickles! she said silently. Ouch, don't make me laugh. She opened her eyes to find everyone looking worriedly at her.
"I see you've met the real Gamaliel. My familiar should be a little nicer now that I'm awake. Talenthia, can you do anything for this pain? My head is splitting." The druid hesitated, looking worriedly at the cat. The sorceress ordered Gamaliel to lie down.
A stern-faced Ren watched the attractive druid work her magic on Evaine. "I can understand why you didn't tell us about your familiar. I would have done the same thing in your place. But the creature's loyalty in guarding you prevented our helping you and could have endangered your life."
"He won't prevent you from touching me again. I'll make sure of that," she said, rubbing the brown fur between her giant cat's ears. "What happened after I was knocked out?"
"Oh, nothing much," Talenthia replied, finished with her healing. The ever-cheerful druid made light of the serious battle. "We destroyed three werewolves and three wolfweres. I checked to make sure none of us, including you and the cat, got the lycanthropy sickness."
"How did you know those creatures were evil lycanthropes, anyway?" Andoralson asked. He handed Evaine some sweet-smelling fruit juice in a wooden chalice.
"We could all tell they were odd somehow. But when they pulled out that fresh meat, I knew what type of evil they were. The meat was human. Gamaliel knew by the smell. He and I can communicate mentally, if you haven't guessed that already. I would have given you all more warning, but I truly thought my missile spell would kill their leader. The creature must have been unusually powerful."
"Yes, it was. Snapping that creature's neck was more difficult than I anticipated," Miltiades noted. "But we discovered many interesting things about them while you were knocked out."
"Oh yes, you're going to love what we found," Talenthia said sarcastically. She strolled over to Ren to check his healed wound for a fourth time. "Give her the parchment they were carrying."
Andoralson handed over a small, official-looking folder with a broken wax seal. The tiny runes on the seal were in an ancient, magical script, one Evaine had learned as an apprentice. The script proclaimed the holder of the document to be a trusted ambassador. An ambassador of what, she couldn't tell, because part of the seal had fallen away. She read the scroll aloud.
To the lords and mercenary captains reading this scroll, I, Lord Marcus, bid you greeting.
The bearer of this document is a trusted servant of my new realm. He is empowered to hire and negotiate in my name for troops and mercenaries who would consider declaring fealty to me in my red tower.
The rewards such warriors may earn are vast. In my service, the battles are brief and the booty great. Those who would join should travel west of what was once Hillsfar along the coast of the Moonsea. All soldiers will be met by other servants of mine and escorted to my tower.
Lord Marcus, Red Wizard of Thay
The ranger sought Evaine's opinion. "I dreamed of a red tower just before I arrived in Phlan. I didn't think it bore any significance. Could Phlan's pool of darkness be connected somehow to this tower?"
Evaine thought for a few moments. "The large area of darkness that I saw in my spell is located west of Hillsfar. Considering what I know of such places, it's entirely possible that the tower could be within the darkness, along with the pool. But that doesn't account for the missing city.
"We should continue riding toward the smaller patch of darkness. I'm convinced it's connected to the larger evil, and it'll provide important clues." She smiled. "Besides, my home is a few days' ride south of Zhentil Keep. It's a stone cottage hidden in the edges of the elven forest. We can all rest there and discuss our strategy. I can cast another spell to locate the pool. Being that close to the area of blackness should give me more clues about what we are facing.
"I still own many of Sebastian's possessions. If the small blackness is indeed the home of my mentor's adversary, those items will help prove who I am and enlist the aid of the old wizard. Unless anyone objects, that's how I'd like us to proceed."
"Evaine" Ren said, stripping off his weapons to create an amazing pile of daggers and short swords, "could you ask Gamaliel to turn into a human again? Now that you've assured him we won't be harming you, I'd like to talk to him alone for a moment."