position: the thief, he thought in shock. He continued to eavesdrop intently, and the hissing noises of the thief’s voice had been replaced with a heavily accented voice in the common tongue.
“You may have defeated me once before Krem, but even then you failed to destroy me. Behold—now I am of a different vein than before, and you ought not anger me, and rather do as I command. Return south whence you came, and keep with you the minions of Grelion you have taken,” said the mysterious voice.
“I will do no such thing,” responded Krem.
“Krem, I did not wish for it to come to this,” returned the voice.
“So it is Grelion you aid once again, and no doubt his power that has restored you. Let black magic pour through you, and even still you will find no ground to stand on against me, poor Zesm—Zesm the Rancor,” goaded Krem. “Black magic will not win out against Vapoury in a duel; even you should know that.”
“Alas, it is not Grelion that I aid, but Vesleathren himself,” replied Zesm.
“Liar,” Krem struck back angrily. “It cannot be; Vesleathren was killed at the end of the war.”
“He is well and brooding, Krem. Know his power, and mind your route back to the desert,” Zesm said. “Vesleathren still commands the Feral Brood!”
“Impossible, it’s not true. He died long ago. Flaer Ironhand slew him ere Aulterion ended the Feral War,” contested Krem.
“So goes the tainted lore of your brethren—Flaer gained nothing more than Vesleathren’s blade in that war, and Vesleathren fled north long before Aulterion’s blast,” said Zesm. “Hear me now, Krem, feeble sand hermit—Vesleathren unmasks his purpose soon for all to see, and you ought to return to hiding. I’m afraid if you do not I shall return tomorrow night, and all three of your lives will be ended: this is my master’s bidding.” With Zesm’s last word a violent rustle sounded and Krem let out a gasp. It seemed the stranger had disappeared, but Adacon dared not stir to check. Krem’s footsteps could be heard returning toward the campsite. Adacon remained wide awake for some time, his mind racing, trying to make sense of anything he had heard. What he soon felt was an ominous shadow of darkness covering their quest; after an hour of worried thoughts, Adacon decided he had to bring it up with Krem in the morning. If anything, their lives were preserved for one more day, as Zesm had ordained.
* * *
Morning broke and Erguile awoke first. He started to take food for breakfast from his satchel, before kicking Adacon.
“Ugh, hello…”
“Time for something to eat, I expect,” said Erguile. “Only where’s the little man gone off too?”
“Wha..?” said Adacon rubbing his eyes. Groggily he peered around looking for Krem, but there was no sign of him.
“Up and ran off I suppose. Maybe we have to sack this tower as two now?” said Erguile, only half joking. “Would have liked to have him with us though, with that Vapoury he had. Still, I think we’re up to the task—if it’s as ill-guarded as he said.” A jolt of fear ran through Adacon, though Erguile seemed confident enough not to be distraught by Krem’s disappearance.
“He can’t have just run off. He must be off to scout ahead. He’ll be back soon,” said Adacon.
“Maybe, but we can’t stay here too long if he doesn’t come back,” Erguile asserted. They prepared for themselves a breakfast from the food stores Krem had given them, and Adacon told Erguile the details of what he had overheard in the middle of the night. The morning rolled on as they ate, and Adacon reworded everything that had been spoken. He described the deranged looking Zesm. He talked about the aura Zesm had formed from, the hissing noise he had been making, and then Adacon decided to finally tell Erguile about the noises he had heard the first night they camped together in the desert.
“Why didn’t you tell me—better yet wake me up right then and there, hearing noises and such?” said Erguile angered.
“I felt I was doing you a favor, letting you sleep and gain your strength. Besides, like I said, I saw nothing that night, and I thought the noise might have been imagined at first,” responded Adacon.
“Sure, but you heard it twice!”
“I’m sorry,” Adacon said limply. “But this Zesm, when I saw him last night talking with Krem, I glimpsed a broadsword on him.”
“What? Mine surely!” Erguile raged.
“But it was bloodied. Yours was clean.”
“So he may