By Volk-Oboroten'
As the midday sun rose high over mountains towering behind Lik, Valaric prepared to lead Dagobert's band up the long, winding road to Cirith Morgul, the hidden home of the Black Claw. He wondered if the Karuvati guards would oppose him, or merely allow one of Lilith's noted commanders to pass into their rocky domain without hindrance. Perhaps he might need some additional help, in case they proved troublesome.
Tilting his head back, he let loose a great howl. Some of Dagobert's men backed away, worried by his lupine voice. They became even more nervous a few minutes later, for soon, a storm of howls broke out in the valley below, filling the forest with sound.
Hearing the dire wolves reply, Valaric turned to Dagobert, saying, "I've called the pack. They'll move around the back side of this ridge, to keep an eye on the Karuvati. I'll summon them directly if we meet any resistance from the foul felines."
"The cat-lutins really haven't been a problem," said Dagobert. "They actually seem to be more cooperative than ordinary lutins. We're much more worried about their master, who seems to be very skilled in the black arts. There are so many stories about what he may be doing up there."
Valaric glanced up at the dark cloud hovering over the hidden pass, wondering what might be found in the Black Claw's stronghold. How much could he have done since January? "Has Recared explained why he's worried about the cat demon? All I've heard so far is that his servants don't wear Lilith's ankh. Are there any other signs of open rebellion?"
"Actually, I think Kriemhilda is more concerned about this than Recared," replied Dagobert. "She's been one of his trusted advisors ever since you left Lik in January. Recared has come to depend upon her counsel, especially as her fellow vampires claim to have a special bond with Lilith."
One of Dagobert's soldiers then approached Valaric upon hearing Kriemhilda's name, "We've heard so much about the Dark Queen's undead servants over the past few weeks. The Eternal Brotherhood is always present in Lik at night these days. None of them directly threaten any of the miners, but we've heard rumors that people who stray out of town . . ."
"What rumors?" asked Valaric. "Lilith's vampires would never disobey her orders. Anyone who has been kissed by the Queen has pledged his eternal loyalty to her."
"Umm," stammered the man, "Some people have disappeared. Vanished completely! Others are said to have joined them. I mean, they've become vampires! I can't see it myself, as it would seem so unpleasant to live . . . Umm, exist, like that. But I guess it could be appealing, because the Eternal Brotherhood claims that its members will really go on forever. Into eternity."
"What about you, Valaric?" asked another man. "How did you gain the power of the dire wolves? What did you need to do for the Lady of the Forest?"
"It's a very long story," said Valaric. Images sprang to his mind of the days when he had wandered the woods below the Death Mountains, after he'd escaped from Nasoj's hunters. There, he had joined a pack which moved east, deep into the Forest of Darkness. That's where he first met Lilith.
"A long story?" asked Dagobert incredulously. "You only left the battlefield near Metamor in late December. It must not have taken too much time."
They must still think he is Lik's old Guild Lord, thought Valaric quickly. No one beside a few of Lilith's draconians and vampires knew that the Black Fang, the Queen's lupine warrior, had assumed the form of Roderic's brother. Certainly, no humans had traveled to the Dark Keep but for the Guild Lord, who had fled there, escaping with treasure from the battlefield..
Meanwhile, Dagobert's question inspired his men to become more curious. They had been stunned when the wolves all replied to Valaric's howl. Many were jealous of this power, for Lik was now full of tales of how one could gain magic boons from Lilith.
"How did you do it? Can you mentally control a pack? Can you turn into a real wolf?" asked one soldier.
Another man, who appeared more suspicious, asked "What is it like? I can't understand how you can talk to us when you have a wolf's muzzle. It must be some sort of spell."
A third soldier, the one who had mentioned the Eternal Brotherhood, nervously inquired, "Are you still human? I mean, umm . . . are were-creatures undead like vampires? I've always wondered what you needed to do to become one. Is it very painful?"
"Enough!" exclaimed Valaric, emphasizing his annoyance with a deep growl in his throat. "We have work today, which needs to be finished before sundown. Don't you want to find out what this Black Claw is doing, up in his secret lair? Remember, Lilith rewards those who prove to be loyal and obedient."
"You're right," said Dagobert. "Let's head up the path without delay."
With Valaric leading, Dagobert and his men trudged up the rocky trail. Nearby, they could hear a wagon clattering down the rails as it rapidly rolled along the steep incline. It must be loaded with ore from the mines up in the hills above. But what else could be found in the Black Claw's domain?
Turning a bend, they spotted a line of metal stakes driven into the ground. Two cat-lutin guards paced incessantly in front of them, watching for any intruder with ceaseless vigilance. Above the stakes, they saw the emblem of the Black Claw, a red flag adorned with a feline foot, which ended in four sharp talons.
"Halt," snarled one guard. "The master has ordered us to prevent any from entering his lands without invitation. The Karuvati will fight any intruders!"
"We have come to inspect his fiefdom for the Queen," said Valaric firmly. "Doesn't he remember that he owes allegiance to Lilith? She can take it away from Gor . . ."
"You will not pass!" hissed the second guard, twitching his pointed ears, "The Black Claw's soldiers don't follow commands barked by dogs. Or people that look like dogs."
"Soldiers?" said Dagobert. "Aren't you just a bunch of lutins?"
"We were once mere lutins, but are now perfected beings. The Malachite Order has honored us by allowing us to wear the form of Karu, the sacred feline. We loyally serve the Nameless One."
Not again, thought Valaric. He recalled meeting the Malachite Order back in Caralore. While the Malachites had agreed to work with Lilith, they wouldn't work for her, as they claimed their unnamed Master was superior to any daedra or god. What arrogance!
A group of wolves bayed in the valley below, sending waves of sound echoing up to the high hills. As the howls stopped, the second cat-lutin guard sneered at Valaric, saying "Are you threatening us? The Karuvati will not be cowed by any dire wolf, even if he brings his whole pack."
Ignoring this comment, Valaric recalled the details of Lilith's pact with Gorthaur. Slowly drawing a golden ankh from his cloak, Valaric displayed it to the guards. "Do you recognize this symbol? I only hold one because I have served Lilith for many . . ."
He stopped speaking, recalling that Dagobert's men might ask questions if they knew he'd been in the Queen's service before the battle in the Metamor Valley. While Lilith's cult had operated secretly in Lik when the real Valaric was Guild Lord, the Queen still didn't want humans to know what she had been doing there. At least not now.
Brushing the whiskers growing above his mouth with a foreclaw, one of the feline guards intently examined the ankh, peering at each curve in the gold circle at its top. The other guard, who'd evidently heard of Lilith's power lifted a pike, moving it away from the path. As he turned the heavy metal bar to one side, he declared, "The Queen's servants may pass, even those who are puny humans. But do not stray from the path! Go directly to the Black Claw's tower."
Tower? Valaric was curious at how much had been built here since January. Dagobert and his men followed Valaric up the path, watched with venomous looks by the cat-lutins. Once they passed, the guards quickly barred the path again, resuming their monotonous duty of patrolling the road into the Black Claw's realm.
Moving higher into the mountains, Valaric saw clumps of snow along the way, but noticed that it was dirty, flecked with gray and black ash. The area must have once been a forest, but all that was left now were a few stumps. He guessed the the trees must have been used by the Black-Claw's Karuvati to haul ore down to Lik, for the rails were only partially metallic. He'd looked at one earlier in the day, discovering that iron seemed to have been strapped down on top of the wood. How many trees had been felled for this project? Didn't the Black Claw know that Queen Lilith loved the woods, for they were the homes of her fierce beasts?
"Everything's dead here," observed Dagobert. "Even this high in the hills, there should be some plants growing by April. But there's nothing here but gray and black dirt. Nothing at all! Just look at the piles of slag along the hills. The miners down in Lik are careful to dispose of waste metal in one place, for it may poison the land. But the Black Claw just doesn't seem to care. It's dumped everywhere, as if it's his deliberate policy. "
"I don't like it either," said Valaric, recalling his days in the forest. What sort of monster would dwell in an awful place with no trees, surrounded by heaps of toxic mine debris? He especially despised the awful smell of the place, which burned his nose with its fumes. It was blasphemy! If Lilith knew what the Black Claw had done, she would surely . . .
"What's that?" asked one of Dagobert's men. "There's someone running down the path."
Looking ahead, Valaric saw a green shape heading rapidly towards them. Was it a lutin? It seemed to be an ordinary lutin, but something was wrong, for it had dark fur erupting from its ears. Also, parts of its body seemed to have been burned.
"Help me," cried the lutin, as he collapsed onto a pile of rubble next to the path. "The draconians took me here from the mines. I tried to get away, but they said the Black Claw wanted me to be one of his . . . things! They tried to turn me into a cat . . . Aarrrrggh." He tried to continue to talk, but gurgled instead, as blood spurted from the side of his mouth.
"You've been badly burned," said Dagobert, looking at singed fur on the altered lutin's face. "Please talk more slowly so we can understand. Were they trying to transform you into one of those Karuvati creatures? We want to know more."
"Yes," interrupted the lutin with a cough, baring sharp fangs bursting out of his lower jaw. "Up there, in the House of Pain. Klepnos helped the Black Claw, allowing him to do awful things. Just like Nasoj used to do at Hornulaq!"
Some of Dagobert's men shuddered, for they had all heard tales about the horrible tortures Nasoj would carry out in Hornulaq. Back when the wizard had ruled Lik, miners who displeased the Guild Lord would be sent through the portal to Nasoj's Citadel, where strange and cruel punishments would be devised. Most involved unnatural transformations.
"Have you seen the Black Claw?" asked Valaric, looking at the lutin's semi-feline arms. "Did he do this to you?"
"He's awful!" shouted the lutin, displaying sharp claws protruding from his fingers. "Worse than Nasoj! He takes his prisoners and changes them, using his magic powers to warp them into shapes he desires. He holds his dark claw over your body, and somehow pulls . . ."
"What do you mean?" said Dagobert. "He's some kind of sorcerer, able to perform spells merely by waving his right hand?"
"There are only four fingers on the Black Claw's hand, but they are enough," continued the distraught lutin. "But he also has power in his face. His eyes glare at you, eating into your soul. I saw his gleaming-sharp fangs, dripping with venom, threatening both torment and death."
While they listened to the lutin's story, a patrol of draconians arrived, hastily marching down the trail from Cirith Morgul. "We've come up from the valley to reclaim this subject for the afternoon experiments," said the reptile's leader, with a crazed look in his eyes. "The Black Claw decided to resume work where he left off this morning. He's working on a new project to improve the Karuvati, making them more effective workers."
"No, don't let them take me!" said the lutin with a groan. "Anything but this!"
Then, the draconians roughly dragged the lutin off, one reptile holding each limb. He struggled for a brief period, but soon ceased resistance, overcome by the might of the scaly bipeds. Then, the draconians' leader laughed maniacally, as his retainers marched away, carrying the lutin with their claws. Angered by this, a few of Dagobert's men reached for their swords, but were promptly waved back by Valaric.
"We don't want to start a fight, at least not now," cautioned Valaric. "I also don't like what the Black Claw is doing here, but it may be authorized by Klepnos. Lilith wants respect in the council, so she won't interfere with the projects of another daedra." More accurately, Valaric thought, Lilith would deal with this matter herself, in her own way. But there was no need to tell the humans . . .
"Why not interfere?" asked one of Dagobert's soldiers. "That was just awful! This Black Claw must be a dreadful wizard, misshaping all that he touches. Didn't you see how that lutin had been twisted, his face distorted with feline features? What if the wizard starts to experiment on humans?"
"Don't worry," said Dagobert, in a reassuring tone. "At least not yet. We're here to find out what the Black Claw is planning. If it's anything dangerous, Queen Lilith will protect us. After all, Lik is the most valuable town in her new realm."
"We shouldn't worry so much about a lutin," observed another of Dagobert's men. "After all, the draconian said that the Black Claw hadn't finished his work. Just consider, he already spoke more clearly than most lutins. Perhaps he will be greatly improved as a cat-lutin. Those Karuvati seemed quite proud to be felines."
Valaric was already a few yards ahead, tracking the draconians down into the valley below. Dagobert and his men followed slowly, looking at the black smoke billowing out of a cleft in the rocks. Occasionally, gaps in the billowing clouds revealed blocks of stone in the gap below. This must be Cirith Morgul, the hidden pass granted to the feline sorcerer by Lilith in January. What would they find down there?
[End of Part Three]