Long and hard the elf thought upon the meaning of the vision he had been shown. What did it all mean? Shaking his head from side to side he put it off for a more immediate problem. What would his answer to Morlend be?
Amidst his thoughts came a soft knock upon the door. Looking up he saw the Lady Fins standing there, wearing her white dress. She looked troubled.
"May I talk to ya Troll?"
A sad smile crossed Cameron's face and he invited her in.
"Of course ... what troubles ye Lady?"
Sitting down in one of the chairs opposite her guild master, the Lady Fins sat for a while in silence. She shifted her weight uncomfortably as she sat there. She always felt nervous when she was around him.
"I am worried, Troll," she began, "I ..., No ... I am sorry, I shouldn't have come here." And with that she got up to leave.
Quickly rising from his chair, a look of concern upon his face, Cameron moved to stop her.
"Nay Lady. I see ye have something on yer mind. Tell me what bothers ye. I told ye I was here fer ye, should ye need tae talk. Please ... talk tae me."
The Lady Fins, turned away from the door and looked at her guild master over her shoulder. Uncertain whether to stay or leave she stood there for a moment. Trollhater, seeing her indecision, stepped towards her and grabbing her hand, led her back to the chair opposite his desk. Fins allowed him to lead her back to the chair, mildly surprised by his hand holding hers.
"Please, Lady, sit and tell me what troubles ye."
Again the half-elven woman sat down, looking uncomfortable in her chair. Her eyes were rooted on the desk, staring at what ... Cameron couldn't tell.
"It's nothing, Troll. I just had an odd dream last night and you were in it."
She looked up at Trollhater and saw that her words seemed to have startled him somehow. Quickly trying to compose himself, Cameron leaned back in the chair, the remnants of his dream still bright in his memory.
"What did ye dream of Lady? Tell me." spoke the ranger with a bit more urgency than he had meant. "Please..."
A bit puzzled at the intensity in Trollhater's voice, she sat there silent, trying to think of what to say.
"Well, ya were in the Pass, hunting by yourself as ya normally do," She began, "but around yar feet, instead of trolls and giants, were the bodies of all yar friends, arrows sticking out of their backs. Sedillo, Shadowteal, Niniane ... all of them were lying there. Standing beside ya was the warlock Morlend. He was patting ya on the back for something. I called out to ya, but ya didn't seem to hear me. I moved forward and Morlend pointed me out to ya. Then ya pulled yar bow and fired an arrow at me. That was when I woke up." Fins paused for a moment glancing at her guild master's face to see what affect her words had on him. "I don't know what to make of it. It seemed so real, as if it were really happening."
Cameron looked at the Lady Fins in shock, his mind racing.
"Did she get a vision too?" He wondered to himself. Getting up from behind the desk, he walked to the doorway and shut the door, so that no one would hear their conversation.
"Lady, may I confide something with ye?" He asked as he turned away from the door.
Fins turned in her chair to face Cameron. "Of course. What is it, Troll?"
Trollhater stared at Fins for a time, in silence and then turned away and began to straighten the portrait frame of Jihad as he spoke.
"Morlend has come to me and made me an offer." Cameron let that sink in, pausing before he said anything else.
Trollhater began telling Fins all that had happened in the last two days, leaving out only the dream from the night before. The Lady sat rigid in her chair, no longer preoccupied with her nervousness, stunned at having heard all that Troll had just said.
"But ya can't believe him, Troll. I know ya must miss your parents a lot, but ya can't even think about trusting him. Ya just can't ... he's Morlend! Even if he could do what ya say ... he won't. Once he has what he wants he will forget all about ya and leave ya behind." Fins moved to her guild masters side and touched his arm in concern. "Nothing he promises ya is anything more than a lie. He has nothing he can offer ya that ya can't get on yer own."
Turning to look at Fins, Troll knew she spoke the truth. He didn't understand why he hadn't seen it on his own. Why had he ever even considered Morlend's offer? The mage must have influenced him somehow.
"Aye Lady, ye are right ... I know what my answer must be. I thank ye greatly fer hearing me words on this. Somehow speaking tae ye has made many things clear." He said as he smiled at her and placed his hand on hers. A slight thrill ran up his arm as he did so. "Me brother is a lucky man."
Taken aback by Cameron's comment, Fins pulled her hand away having felt that thrill as well. She once again felt nervous in front of him, as she always had.
She moved to the door a bit of hurry in her step.
"I... I must be going Troll. Please do not listen to Morlend. He only knows how to lie."
With that, she was gone. Troll smiled to himself and breathed deeply the air around him. He once more looked at the portrait of his brother.
"Come back soon brother, I need ye here," he said aloud as he looked out into the hall, after the Lady Fins, "for more reasons than one."
Shaking his head, he sighed and tried to turn his thoughts back to the matter at hand. He must tell Morlend of his answer today. Straightening out the paperwork on his desk, he decided to go hunting. Morlend always had a way of finding him when he was on a hunt. So, gathering Corsican from the stables, he began the journey back to the pass.
Cameron hunted at the pass all that day and all the next, but Morlend never came.
Returning home, exhausted and spent, he rode into town having forgotten about Morlend. Stabling Corsican, the ranger moved to his locker in the bunk room. The room was unusually empty of the constant bustle of guild members it normally contained. Opening the locker, he immediately saw the red pulsating glow that surrounded his flame arrow bow. Behind him he heard a voice.
"What is your decision, Trollhater? Have you decided to take me up on me offer?
Troll looked over his shoulder but saw no one. He didn't expect too. Morlend loved to hide. It irritated the guild master that he was in his guild, though.
"Ye could nae have come tae me outside of me guild, Morlend?"
Making himself visible Morlend ignored Trollhater's question and repeated his own, "What is your decision Trollhater?"
The ranger reached into his locker and pulled the pulsating bow from it's depths. He stared at the bow for a moment before giving Morlend his response. There was a slight sound from the doorway. The Lady Fins stood there, her mouth open as if to speak. Looking up at her, Cameron knew what he must do.
"No, Morlend. I do nae want yer help or yer lies. Ye have tried yer best tae bewitch me warlock, but I will have nothing tae do with ye. Leave me guild, mage you are nae wanted here."
With his final word, the ranger broke the bow over his knee, the red glow fading from the pieces in his hands. A slight sound could be heard as the glow faded, the sound of many voices in torment.
"Bah! So be it Troll. I knew you wouldn't be able to handle true power, but I tried to show you all you could be. So be it."
The flash of a red serrated dagger glinted in the light coming through the window. Morlend took Cameron by surprise and struck true, finding a nitch in the elves armour.
Fins who had stood quietly watching, cried out as she ran forward to grab Morlend's arm. Morlend, who had not seen her enter the room, was surprised by the attack but was able to hold on to the dagger in his hands. Slicing at the half-elven woman. Morlend sliced through the thin fabric of the dress she wore when she was out of armour. Blood stained both Cameron and Fins. Sneering at Fins, Morlend threw back his head and laughed out loud.
"Thank you Lady. Your gift to me is icing upon the cake. But I must be away so that I may put it to good use." He smiled at Fins and Trollhater lying upon the ground beside each other and laughed. "Has anyone told you two that you make a charming couple?" Morlend smirked at the two as he began casting a spell. Cameron, overcoming his shock, pulled a bow from his back, notched an arrow and fired at the mage. The arrow flew straight and true, but Morlend was gone, having teleported away.
