Lady of Poison_ The Priests - Bruce R. Cordell [21]
Marrec declared, "Then I'm going to the Mucklestones. If Briartan can't aid me, perhaps Gameliel can answer my questions." Gunggari nodded.
Elowen added, "You can question him, but do it quickly. I am sworn to destroy Gameliel. Unless you object, I'd like to continue accompanying you."
"I would welcome your company and sword arm," responded Marrec.
"The Mucklestones are my specialty," interrupted Ususi. "I will come, too. I must learn why the portal stones are blocked."
"It won't be safe," said Marrec. Despite her exotic beauty, Marrec was unsure if adding this acerbic woman to their group was a good choice.
"I possess a power of my own, which Gameliel may learn, to his misfortune."
Marrec nodded his acquiescence, sighing. He couldn't say no to the potential aid of a wizard. He wondered if perhaps her presence was actually fortuitous, something Lurue had foreseen? Perhaps he would find his answer in the Forest of Lethyr.
Day kindled, and the travelers were already up and out of Two Stars, eager for an early start. Morning peeked over the shoulders of the darkened countryside. Before them, the land was quiet and in the pre-dawn light formless and gray, but even as they watched, night's fingers pulled back and colors began to bleed back into the world: the lighter greens of the fields, the darker-hued forests far off, the blue gradations of the sky with a fleecing of white clouds, and the coffee-brown of the road that stretched ahead.
"We can follow the Cold Road for a few miles," said Elowen. "After that, I know of a trail we can take that'll shave days off our trip. Eventually, we'll intersect the northeastern end of the Lethyr Forest. I expect six or seven days to travel so many miles, even with the mounts."
She looked back, seeing Marrec and Ususi each astride a horse and Ash on her pony, Henri. Gunggari brought up the rear. Like her, the Oslander preferred traveling on his own two feet. Despite that preference, she knew Marrec was right in procuring mounts for everyone. Horseback was the only way to travel the distance in any reasonable amount of time, especially with Ususi along. While Ususi controlled potent magic, she apparently didn't like to squander them on anything as mundane as transportation. The wizard seemed a bit put out because her magical portal to the Mucklestones was blocked. Likely Ususi had been considering a trip to investigate even before Marrec made an appearance with Ash, Gunggari, and herself in tow. For Ususi, Marrec's appearance must seem a happy coincidence.
The Cold Road was in good repair, at least so close to Two Stars. The road ran straight and wide through low grasslands, but further on she could see the road passed through deep groves of conifer. Farms and small communities were visible in the distance, as the sun continued to ascend along its daily track. Elowen had not taken the trail she intended for their group in thirteen years, but her memory was certain. Past the next long rise, she would break left off the road.
Behind her, she could hear Marrec quizzing Ususi. She smiled. Ususi wasn't particularly forthcoming about her origins. Elowen had known the woman for several years, and only in the last few had she discovered the secret Ususi wanted kept quiet. After all, most surface dwellers reacted poorly when they learned that they were in the presence of someone hailing from the Underdark.
Obviously Ususi wasn't drow or some even worse abomination birthed in the world below the sun. In fact, she presumed Ususi was more closely related to Marrec than herself, with her elven blood. Ususi claimed to be a member of a human sub-race thought extinct on the surface, but who instead had sealed themselves into an hidden enclave in the deepest portion of the Underdark that they could penetrate. Apparently a race of wizards, the refugees had sealed all knowledge of their presence behind impenetrable walls of force and illusion. Only recently, after thousands of years, Ususi claimed, had those walls begun