The Glass Prison

He looked at Mela

"What a sad, sad tale," Mela

"Why would I lie about that?" Vheod retorted, a little more edge to his voice than he wished.

Whitlock just nodded and gave him a stern smile-or perhaps it was a grimace, Vheod couldn't tell. A few more moments of silence passed. Whitlock finished eating. Mela

"What does your tattoo mean?" Mela

Again, Vheod's mind reeled. His eyes grew wide-Lords of the Abyss! The Taint! Who knows what shapes it had taken, or where it had placed itself, making his companions believe him to be even more strange. He glanced down at his arms, but it wasn't there.

"The tattoo-on your chest, just below your neck," Mela

Reflexively, he looked down, but he could just barely see it. Fortunately, it looked rather i

"Oh, I'm sorry. It just seemed so… I don't know. It just seemed more purposeful than a birthmark. I thought perhaps it had some meaning. Please accept my apologies. I didn't mean to be rude."

Vheod just shrugged. Now, he realized, he was going to have to worry about what the Taint was doing during the entire time he spent with Mela

"It's getting late," Whitlock interjected. He'd finished packing and prepared his bedroll.

Vheod appreciated the change in subject and was more than happy to lay back away from the fire and the light and stop feeling as if he was on trial. After his experience in the village so soon after his arrival, he never knew how the people of this world would react to him or his past, and he was already tired of thinking about it.

Morning came and with it a summer storm. Not like the dangerous storm of a few days before, but rather a cool rainstorm with little wind and only a smattering of thunder. The noise echoed through the mountains in ways Whitlock had never heard before, living in the relatively open Dales all his life. He liked it.

The rain really wasn't so bad. Whitlock appreciated the break from the heat, and he liked how the rain always made Mela

While he packed their already soggy things onto the horses, Whitlock noted that the rain would probably make for poor hunting. Most animals would find some sort of shelter. He would have to wait to get the group some food. That thought made Vheod's next comment so strange.

"What sort of bird is that?" the cambion asked. Whitlock looked around, not for the bird, but for Mela

Mela

"That's a raven," he said dismissively. Before Whitlock could turn away Vheod asked, "Is it an evil bird?"

"Evil?" Whitlock replied. "No. It's a bird. I suppose some people think they're a bad omen or something sinister like that, but it's just a bird."

"Sinister. An appropriate word. I don't like that bird."

Vheod was strange, to say the least. "Look, this isn't Hell, or wherever you're from. This is… the world. Here, animals can be just animals. You don't have to distrust everything."

"Did my brother just say those words?" Mela

"I came from the Abyss, not Hell," Vheod said softly but succinctly. "There's an important difference but I shouldn't expect you to understand that."

Whitlock turned. After all the liberties Whitlock had given this stranger, he wouldn't be spoken to like that. "Listen, you-"

"Wait. What's all this about?" Mela

"Oh, he saw a bird and it spooked him," Whitlock said dismissively.

Both he and Vheod turned toward where the raven had perched, with Mela

"It's not even there anymore. Happy now?" Whitlock turned to finish his preparations. When he turned back again he saw the reassuring smile that Mela

Once they were back on the move, the rain diminished, and by mid-morning had stopped altogether. The trees dripped with a glistening shine, and the grass they passed over was slick, slowing them a little. The day remained cloudy and dark.

"According to Orrag's instructions," Vheod said, “we should probably arrive at the site tomorrow."

"Late tomorrow, perhaps," Whitlock added, looking at the mountains and comparing landmarks with the half-orc's directions. "Assuming he told us the truth in the first place."

They'd been moving at a dangerously slow pace compared to the earlier portions of their journey. That was to be expected, but the threat of the gnolls made the slow pace all the more nerve-racking.

"That's my brother for you," Mela

Vheod didn't respond. Whitlock and Mela

Vheod turned with a start.

"What is it?" Mela

"In the trees, to the right," Vheod said, pointing. At first Whitlock relaxed a little, thinking Vheod had seen another bird, but no, something passed between two trees-something humanoid. It was ru

"A gnoll," Vheod said.

Whitlock leaped back into the saddle and pulled hard at the reins. His boots dug deeply into his steed's sides as he urged it to speed. Crossing the open space, he raced into the trees where the gnoll was quickly loping away. Whitlock drew his sword with a single smooth stroke. The gnoll was probably a scout, going to warn a larger group of their position.

He couldn't let it get away.

The gnoll ran, and ran quickly, but Whitlock saw an opening in the trees large enough to ride through, and he guided his mount into it.

Obviously sensing it was hopeless to attempt to outrun the horse, the gnoll wheeled and pulled at a spiked club that dangled from its belt. Grasping the club in both its clawed hands it planted itself, ready to attack as Whitlock approached.

So Whitlock did what the gnoll was not expecting. Pulling his left foot up onto the saddle, he pushed off and leaped to the right, toward the surprised gnoll. He crashed into it with great force, knocking the gnoll off its feet. The flat of Whitlock's sword smashed into the creature's snout, and blood spattered over both of them as they rolled together. Whitlock used the gnoll's large, shaggy form to absorb the impact of his leap.

When they stopped rolling, the stu