Darkwell - Douglas Niles [117]
Shantu crept to the edge of the black water, sensing his master's anger. The displacer beast crouched there, unmoving, for so he had been commanded. The perytons, too, shifted and flapped in agitation but remained around the well.
The body of the corrupted Genna Moonsinger, however, rose from the place where she had been sitting for many days and walked to the wafer's edge. Her eyes, flashing red, then fading to black, stared ahead at nothing. Then she heard her master's command and turned to leave. Retaining the form of the Great Druid's body, she disappeared in to the forest to the south of the well.
Bhaal, meanwhile, used his rage to add form to his body.
The cord of substance connecting his presence here to his realm of Gehenna had now grown strong and unassailable. He was nearly ready to project himself beyond the Darkwell.
The form he had chosen for this protection was appropriate, given the nature of the Forgotten Realms. He would emerge from the well in the body of a man. But it would be no ordinary man. Instead, it would be a creature of awesome, looming size, and a visage terrible to behold.
And very soon now it would be ready to emerge.
XVI
Betrayals
Hobarth sighed in a moment of wistful regret. How simple this plan would be, he thought, if only he could cast the simple mage's spell allowing one to charm another person into performing those tasks the caster found useful or desirable. Instead, he was forced to resort to guile and trickery – effective tactics, to be sure, but so much more complicated.
In the next moment, he forgot his regrets. He would never exchange the spiritual depth and multi-planar accomplishments of his clerical skills for the cheap light and fire shows of the wizards. Indeed, he reminded himself – and Bhaal, should his master be listening – Hobarth had often before scorned the chicanery of his sorcerer allies, even while accepting and using their aid.
The cleric looked toward the door of the dingy inn as the hour approached noon. If the man, Pontswain, was true to the nature the lords in the Inn of the Great Boar had ascribed to him the previous night, Hobarth felt certain he would respond to his summons.
Indeed, he recognized the man as soon as he passed through the door of the inn. Lord Pontswain was handsome, with a luxurious spill of brown hair, but he had a tightness in his smile and a narrowness of gaze that told the cleric this certainly was the man for the task.
"My Lord Pontswain, would you care to join me?" The cleric rose and bowed humbly, gesturing to the vacant chair at his table. The man looked suspicious, but he came over and sat down. Good, thought the cleric, pleased. He fits the role perfectly!
"What do you want? My time is valuable, and I dislike these mysterious arrangements."
"Please forgive me. It would not be politic for me to come directly to the castle itself. You see, I am no friend of the Kendricks."
Pontswain's eyebrows rose at the admission, and he waited for the cleric to continue.
"This is no blood feud, I assure you, but years back the father of the current king, on a voyage to the Sword Coast, embarrassed my own father in quite a nasty scene. The details are far too unpleasant for me even to recount.
"Suffice to say that I desire to embarrass the son of that king, and I am willing to pay a handsome sum to do so. No one shall be hurt by this… prank, but it is hoped the king will be caused some discomfort."
"What is a 'handsome' sum?"
"You are interested, then?"
"Perhaps. Answer my question, man!"
"Gold… in the hundreds. Shall we say two hundred gold pieces upon agreeing to the deal, and an equal sum to be paid upon its completion?"
The lord could not conceal the flash of greed suddenly illuminating his eyes, though he tried to look as if he was carefully considering the offer. Hobarth suspected, correctly, that the sum exceeded the annual tax income that a cantrev lord on Corwell could expect to collect.
"And what do I have to do to collect this gold should I accept?"
"I understand your king has gained a proud symbol of his rank