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instructions. I was worried that some of them thought I might try to corrupt
Thluna's young mind with my civilized philosophies, but they didn't express this
as far as I saw. To their credit, they trusted their dogma to keep him on what they
defined as the right path.
"Do you know about the Blue Bears?" he asked me.
"The Blue Bear tribe? A little."
"My father pried this helmet off the body of one of their warriors, whom he
killed with his bare hands. Of all the degenerate Uthgardt tribes, the Blue Bears
are the worst."
I was happy to hear that. The helmet was marked on one side with an
emblem of Everlund, and I was a trifle concerned about how he'd got it.
"I understood the Blue Bears are extinct now. The tribe crumbled after
Hellgate Keep was destroyed."
By a group of magic-wielding "civilizeds," I silently added.
Thluna nodded. "This is true, so far as we have seen. We passed through
their territory a tenday ago and saw nothing of them. It is said that when they
learned their bitch chieftain Tanta was not human at all, but some foul fiend of
the Hells, they were too twisted to even care." He turned his eyes to me. "Is that
what we will be like if these phaerimm enslave us?"
"I don't know," I answered truthfully.
"Any of us would rather fight to the death than to allow that to happen to us
or to happen to the rest of our tribe."
"You'd even rather fight beside a mage." When he didn't knock me off my
horse as I suspected he might, I thought I would press my luck farther. "What is
your people's objection to magic? You have priestly magic."
"Priestly? Our shaman's spells are a gift from Uthgar.Your magic is not the
same."
He was right, in a sense. Clerical magic did not come from the Weave like
my spells.
"Magic isn't just a tool of destruction," I said. "It can be helpful, beneficial.
This amulet is a good example. Without it, we couldn't be talking to each other
like this."
"Were it not for your magic object, we would have to learn to communicate
on our own level. We'd be forced to accomplish something. Instead, the amulet
does it for us. Magic does not make your life better, only easier."
"Magic is an Art. It's a gift of Mystra."
"Mystra," said Thluna. "We are aware of this goddess, though we do not
think of her often. When we do, it is of a trickster who lures men with offers of
tremendous power, power without restrictions. These powers grow and grow and
eventually become impossible to control. She is a miner of men and tribes alike."
My anger rose, but I knew this was Thluna's way of getting me back for what
I had said a moment ago. Things were settled between us, so I didn't dare to say
what we thought of his god.
It was later that day that one of the Uthgardt pointed out a plume of smoke
rising to the sky in the distance.
"Could be orcs," said Sungar. "But there are so few trees. Where are they
getting the wood for a fire?"
He had a point. Orcs ate raw meat but preferred it cooked. "It's probably
magical fire," I reasoned. "A gift from their new masters."
One of the older barbarians chimed in with his advice. "We should attack
now, while there's still light. In darkness they will have the advantage."
"I'd like to know what we're up against first," said Sungar.
"I have a spell for that."
Some of them began to object, but Sungar silenced them with a glance.
"I ll need silence for a minute or two," I said and crouched on the ground,
facing the direction of the smoke.
I cast my spell and felt my consciousness propelled over the fields of the
Fallen Lands with increasing speed. There was a large plain ahead of us,
featureless but for a small ruin rising maybe eight feet above, like the tip of
something mostly buried under the ground. But for that, there was little cover in
any direction. Surrounding the ruin was an impressive force made up mostly of
orcs, with a few stray bugbears and gnolls in the mix, probably acquired
somewhere between there and Evereska. A lot of them were tending to their
mounts, those ugly bipedal birds, and some were cooking meat over a series of
magic bonfires. Still, they looked like they were ready to fight at a moment's
notice. I estimated at least ten of them for every one of the barbarians.
My mind slipped between a set of orcs and continued toward the ruin, barely
more than a few cracked walls and broken columns. A few huge and bulky
masses were standing nearby like statues, and on the ruin itself was a long, thin
serpentine body, a dark blue-purple in color, ending with a human face that was
buried in the belly of its meal, a dead orc.
How do we know this civilized is not warning our enemies?
He is luring us into a trap!
The voices shot through my mind and sent me hurling back to my body so
hard that I fell backward.
"Silence!" shouted Sungar at the offending Uthgardt, who slunk away in
submission.
Sungar was a strong ruler but smart enough to know that some of the ill-
tempered barbarians would not tolerate my presence much longer. Barbarians
lived for battle. It was the only pleasure in their harsh lives, and battle was the
only thing that would protect me. These Uthgardt would much rather fight beside
me than ride with me.
"It's all right," I said, pulling myself to my feet. "I saw enough. There are
maybe four or five hundred orcs in the army, and a few other humanoids as well,
but I did not see any phaerimm. We can be relieved at that. They're being led by
a dark naga."
"A dark what?"
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