brought others into the cavern along with his sire, Rahsikba,
who ordered the entrance blocked. The chieftain
looked mightily aged and Wank wondered how much time
had passed, how long he had spent flitting like a ghost
from cave to cave, feeling like the shards of shadow he
gathered with his Talent.
An old orc hag was brought forth to sift through
Wank’s belongings. She spread out his bedroll and ran
rough hands over it, a low, nearly inaudible hum
emanating from her wrinkled throat. She passed fingers
over his kit, flint and darkmoss, utensils and rope.
Dismissive of his foodstuffs, she concentrated on the club
and knife he had left behind when scrabbling to safety.
After several more minutes of humming and
mumbling to herself, the hag declared, “Ready.”
Rahsik-ba ordered everyone quiet as the hag began
a simple chant. A few minutes passed before she intoned,
“I see him. He is bound in darkness.” She hesitated. “No,
rather it is he who binds the darkness about himself!” And
all gasped, finally gaining some small realization of the
Talent possessed by the half-orc-that-was-mostly-human.
Wank moved slowly toward the exit while
everyorc’s attention was focused on the hag. He had no
clear idea of how to skirt the guards, but he must, or she
would find him soon. He stayed on the periphery of the
cavern, edging along the natural boundaries of darkness,
moving too slowly over loose stone, he feared.
“I see only darkness, though it is nearby,” she
added. “It is…"
61