The Dark Sire Issue 4 (Summer 2020) | Page 63

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