"Looks a little like a dark elf to me," the man with the axe stated.
Dark elf? A drow? Servant of Lolth? Vheod knew of the drow and their Abyssal mistress, the spider queen Lolth.
"I assure you, I'm no drow," he told them, hands still help open in front of him. "And I'm no one's servant.".,.
“Fallach! Chorrad!" the older man cried out in the direction of the woods. "Get over here, we've got a… we've got something.".
Vheod saw doors to the buildings around him begin to open, and frightened eyes peered out.
“I’ve come here," Vheod explained again, "just to get some informa-"
"Be quiet!" Tallin spat out, stepping forward, his bared sword upraised.
Vheod turned back fully to face him. How long could he keep from drawing his own blade? Vheod thought they would respect his powerful demeanor and help him. Why wouldn't they even listen?
"Whatever it is, it ain't human," the man behind him now said, "and it ain't, well… anything good. You can tell that just by looking."
"Look, demon-or whatever you are-leave us or die," Tallin said, staring Vheod in the eye.
"You don't need to be afraid," Vheod said, pleading with his open hands.
Looking down, he could see that the Taint was no longer on either arm. Where was it? He sometimes suspected that it altered when others looked at him, perhaps communicating something to them. Perhaps others saw something in the mark that he didn't, which might suggest that his own body conspired with others against him-a paranoiac's nightmare.
"He's a drow," a female voice called from an open door across the way.
Another, a male, replied, "Drow don't have red hair." "Ill bet he was conjured up in that storm yesterday," still another voice called out. "Manchal says storms like that are a sign that a doorway between worlds is opening."
Footfalls grew louder behind him, coming from the direction of the woods.
"I just need to know how to find a place called-" Tallin watched something over Vheod's shoulder and suddenly drew himself up taller, as if more confident. The footsteps behind Vheod were louder still. He lunged at Vheod with his sword, shouting, "I said, get away from here!"
Vheod dodged to one side to avoid the sword blow and could hear the man behind him moving closer, probably with that axe ready to cleave his skull.
"I don't want to fight you!" Vheod finally cried. He couldn't keep his rising anger and frustration from showing in his voice.
"You’ll not find us to be defenseless prey," Tallin said, again raising his blade.
Vheod drew his sword, the Abyssal steel ringing in the morning air.
Just then, two more men ran up the bare earthen road. One carried an axe, the other a long knife. They cried out in surprise and ran at Vheod.
Vheod shot his blade straight out at the one called Tallin, catching him right where he wanted-the wrist of his sword arm. Tallin's blade flung end over end through the air as his fingers splayed wide. His other hand reached up to grasp at the painful but minor wound. Tallin cursed, but Vheod had no time to listen. Two more men approached, and there was still someone behind him with a-
Pain flared in Vheod's armored shoulder as metal clanged against metal next to Vheod's ear. The man had struck his shoulder but fortunately hadn't penetrated the pauldron. Vheod turned and brought his sword up to block the man's second blow. The two other men charged toward him, and he could hear more humans stirring all around, probably grabbing weapons to help. "Go back where you came from!" the axe wielder shouted.
Vheod now knew he would have to kill all these insufferable, intolerant, misbegotten fools who-
No.
Something within him bade him to fight that urge. Perhaps because of the growing distance from the baleful Abyss, other forces were able to work within him, despite the fact that he still felt the evil in his nature as strongly as ever. Years of swordplay beckoned his arm to raise the weapon and cut down these men. Vheod forced his arm to remain still. He was suddenly forced to remember days earlier when Nethess had hired him to kill an enemy of hers. Living by his wits and fighting skills, Vheod took the job. To his surprise, Vheod discovered that his target was a human mortal-not a tanar'ri. Further surprising him, Vheod found he could not kill the man. At the last moment, the mortal portion of Vheod's soul had conjured forth his conscience, which stayed his hand. He couldn't kill a man as easily or thoughtlessly as he might slay a fiend.
This discovery may have surprised Vheod, but it only enraged Nethess. Now he found the same strange reluctance. He had to think of another way.
There was no time for a spell. If he fought these men, he would end up killing them. Vheod reached deep within himself, thrusting a mental hand deep into the dark well of fiendish power. He called to it, like a master calls an attack dog. Dark energy welled up inside him, climbing up his throat from his gut. Vheod choked back the bile that it brought with it and thrust the energy out from, him into the world. A magical darkness exuded from every pore, enveloping him and hiding him from sight. It spread impenetrable darkness as well. Though he'd called for such darkness before-it was a common enough trick among the tanar’ri-he never noticed that the darkness seemed oily and smelled of spoiled food. It had never occurred to him to pay attention before now.
Vheod tried to comfort himself in the fact that the darkness would eventually fade. He couldn't spare the time to think about it any further. The darkness kept the men from attacking him. Their shouts of surprise and terror only helped create further confusion. Vheod knew from experience that once oncoming foes were thrust into such darkness, they were likely to begin swinging their weapons wildly. He immediately dived to the ground and began to crawl a few feet away.
Still within the mass of inky blackness, Vheod muttered sorcerous words long-practiced, forming a short incantation. He couldn't see, but he could feel the power unleashed by his spell spreading over him. Starting at his fingers, a prickling sensation spread down his arms., across his chest, down his body and back up until it covered his head. He had used this particular incantation many times, so he didn't need to see to know what the spell accomplished. In fact, sight wouldn't allow him to see the effect at all-that was the point. This spell rendered him beyond the vision of those who sought him. He held his breath as the magical effect finished clothing him in invisibility. Then, and only then, he slipped out of the darkness altogether.
By that time, as he blinked away the sudden light of day outside his dark creation, he saw his assailants drawing away from the oily cloud, recoiling from the frightening and surprising magic.
"I told you he was some creature of evil!" the axeman shouted to anyone who might listen.
A young woman ran up with a strung hunting bow pulled taut with a nocked arrow. She pointed it at the roiling blackness, but one of the men who had run in from the forest grasped the bow before she could loose her missile.
"No!" he told her. "It might fly through the darkness and strike someone on the other side. Everyone, wait. We’re got to find him. I've seen this spell before."
"But Chorrad," a man's voice called out, "we're got to do something before he attacks us-or the children!" It was Tallin. He still grasped his wrist, but he'd regained his blade. A woman in a simple dress stood behind him with a bloody cloth that she tried to apply to his arm, but he pushed her back with a determined scowl.
Vheod determined then that his only recourse was to slip out of the village before a real fight started. A voice in his head nagged him, telling him: these simpletons deserve whatever harsh treatment you deal out. You tried to approach in peace, and they attacked you. Shaking his head, he tried to think about something else. How was he going to find Tilverton now?