The sight of her in serpent form terrified him. Yet he cared for her-even admired her. She could be kind, selfless, and brave. Just look at how she'd risked her own life to save the woman who had been bitten by the naga. These were qualities that simply didn't occur in a yuan-ti.
And yet she was yuan-ti.
Karrell twisted, still swaying, to face Arvin and Tanglemane. "They have agreed," she announced in her human voice-a strange thing, indeed, to hear coming out of a serpent's mouth. "They will lead us to the satyr camp before we give them the meat."
"What meat?" Tanglemane asked, his eyes rolling.
Karrell turned to Arvin. "You said that Foesmasher would teleport to us, once we have located-" She paused as Tanglemane gave her a sharp look. "Once we have found what we are searching for. He can bring meat with him."
Arvin nodded. It was a sound plan-as long as the wolves' hunger didn't make them impatient.
Tanglemane glanced back and forth between Arvin and Karrell. "Lord Foesmasher will teleport into the Chondalwood?" he asked, incredulous. "This… 'thing' that he holds dear. It must be very precious."
"It is," Arvin assured him.
"As precious as my son is to me?" Tanglemane guessed.
"Yes," Arvin said, meeting his eye.
The centaur nodded then slowly smiled. "I will pray to Skerrit, lord of the herds, that we find her, then."
Arvin glanced at the hungry wolves then spoke in a low voice to Karrell. "If Glisena isn't at the camp, we're in trouble."
"She will be there," Karrell said. "The wolves said so."
Unless, Arvin silently added, Glisena gave birth before they reached the satyr camp. If she had, all they would find would be her corpse-a report that wouldn't please the baron.
And the wolves would feed.
They walked all night, following the white-muzzled wolf through the forest. Arvin and Karrell walked on either side of Tanglemane, soothing him with reassuring words. Yet when dawn brightened the sky to the east, illuminating the trees with wintry light, Arvin could see that fully two dozen wolves surrounded them. They padded through the forest, tongues lolling, casting hungry glances at Tanglemane. Occasionally one would veer closer, and White Muzzle would growl and bare her teeth, warning it away. As the sun rose, these challenges became more frequent. And now that Arvin could see the wolves clearly, he realized they weren't eyeing just the centaur. They were looking hungrily at him and Karrell, too.
For the last little while, they had been climbing a low hill. The top of it was crowned with a tangle of brambles that extended for several hundred paces to the left and right. The pack halted before reaching it and White Muzzle turned and gave a series of bark-yips. Karrell recast her spell and spoke to the wolf.
The satyr camp lies upwind, at the heart of these brambles," Karrell said.
"Is the human female still in the camp?" Arvin asked.
Karrell translated. White Muzzle sniffed the air and yipped once.
"Yes," Karrell said.
Arvin started to move toward the brambles, but White Muzzle planted herself in front of him, blocking his path, and growled. Glancing around, Arvin saw wolves in every direction, hunkered down as if ready to charge. He looked to Karrell for the translation, even though he really didn't need one.
"She has done as she promised," Karrell said. "She led us to the satyr camp. Now she wants her meat."
"Tell her she'll have to wait just a little longer," Arvin said. "Tell her the meat is at the satyr camp; that we'll return in a little while with it."
Karrell did then listened to White Muzzle's reply. "They want their meat now," she translated. "They want Tanglemane."
Arvin flexed his gloved hand. He'd disappeared his dagger into it earlier; at a whisper it was back in his hand.
Karrell tensed and laid a hand on her club. "We will fight?" she whispered.
"No," Arvin answered. "I have something else in mind."
One of the wolves moved in closer. Tanglemane whinnied nervously. Arvin laid a hand on his back. "Don't run," he urged. "It's what they want you to do."
Tanglemane nodded but remained tense. Arvin could feel him trembling. "Tanglemane," he said. "I'm going to cast a spell on you. Don't resist it."
That said, Arvin awakened the psionic energies that lay deep inside his chest. The wolves sniffed as the scent of ginger and saffron filled the air, and White Muzzle's hackles rose. But a moment later, it was done: the fates of Tanglemane and the pack leader were linked.
Arvin manifested his dagger into his gloved hand and passed it to Tanglemane. "When I tell you to," he instructed, "use this to prick the palm of your hand."
Tanglemane hesitated for only a heartbeat then took the dagger. Arvin, meanwhile, spoke to White Muzzle while Karrell translated.
"I have just cast a spell," he told the pack leader. "Whatever happens to the centaur will also happen to you. If the centaur is wounded, you will suffer the same injury." He nodded at Tanglemane, cueing him, and the centaur poked the dagger into his palm.
White Muzzle yelped and started to lift a paw. The other wolves tensed, and she immediately lowered it again. She growled at them, her legs firmly braced to meet any challenge.
"If the centaur dies, then you will die," Arvin continued, taking his dagger back from Tanglemane. "Tell your pack to stand aside and let us enter the satyr camp. After we've finished our business there, you'll get your meat. As promised."
White Muzzle's eyes narrowed as she heard this, but she quickly turned and spoke to her pack in a series of threatening growls. One or two growled back at her, but when she bared her teeth, they parted, letting Arvin, Karrell, and Tanglemane through. For several paces, Arvin walked with tense shoulders, expecting an attack to come at any moment-but none did. By the time the three of them had reached the edge of the brambles, the wolves had melted away into the forest.
"Well done," Karrell said.
Arvin nodded his acknowledgement. His eyes were on the brambles; they formed a near-impenetrable mass. Clumps of mushy berries, blackened by the earlier frost, hung from a tangle of vines studded with finger-long thorns.
"What now?" Arvin asked.
"There will be a path through them, somewhere," Tanglemane answered. "Let's circle around."
Before long, Arvin spotted hoofprints in the snow. Squatting down, he saw a tunnel leading into the heart of the tangled vines.
"This must be the way in," he said. He glanced up at Tanglemane then down again at the hole. He and Karrell could follow the path on their hands and knees, but Tanglemane would never be able to fit.
Tanglemane nodded, as if hearing his thoughts. "I will have to wait here."
"What about the wolves?" Karrell asked. Tanglemane held up his bloody palm. "I'll have to trust in Arvin's magic to hold them back."
"The fate link will last at least until sunset," Arvin said. "Tymora willing, we'll be back before then-with some meat for the wolves. And the baron can teleport us all away."
He turned to Karrell. "The next part is up to you," he told her. "We need to make sure Glisena is here-and that Naneth isn't. In your serpent form, you could slip in and out without being seen. Will you do it?"
Karrell nodded and started removing her shirt.
"Be careful," Arvin added. "I don't want to lose you."
Karrell dropped her shirt to the ground, gave Arvin a kiss that sent a rush of warmth through him, and shifted. She slithered away into the brambles.
Arvin waited. While Tanglemane kept a wary eye on the forest, watching for wolves, Arvin stared at the brambles. After what seemed like an eternity, Karrell returned. Still in her serpent form, she coiled her body at his feet and lifted her head. "Glisena is there," she said. Her tongue flickered in and out of her mouth, which was curved into a smile. "She is in one of the huts. There is no sign of Naneth."