The Bloody Eye

17

At first, Yddith couldn't comprehend what had happened. Krusk, her shield and safety, the sanctuary she'd refused to leave since he rescued her entire town from the slavers, had done the unthinkable by attacking a priest of Pelor! What's more, he would certainly have killed Jozan if Alhandra hadn't recognized that Hassq had charmed the barbarian and sent Jozan off to hide in the woods while the rest of the party distracted Krusk.

Yddith knew little about charms but she supposed that Hassq's death must have weakened the spell. After they left the orcs' camp, she, Alhandra, and the surprisingly helpful Qorrg kept asking questions of the barbarian until he simply forgot Hassq's command to kill Jozan.

After an hour on the trail, Yddith begged the party to stop for rest and asked Krusk to sit by her on a fallen log a few paces off the sparse trail they followed.

Yddith didn't know how or why, but she sensed that she had the power to help Krusk as she felt it building within her. She placed her hands in the barbarian's and reveled in the strength as her slender palms and fingers were swallowed by his enormous grip. She held his gaze with her single eye and smiled so that her face sparkled like the emerald that served as her surrogate eye. She spoke in a tone as soothing as a court minstrel's harp and a soft, green glow danced catlike between the emerald and Krusk's coal-black eyes.

Yddith neither saw the worried look on Alhandra's face when the green glow appeared nor observed the paladin reach toward the heavens for discernment. She didn't know that Alhandra's god had revealed a taint of evil in the pale, green aura. She merely spoke soothingly to the barbarian, caressing Krusk verbally with the idea that he was incredibly important to her and that she wanted to share the rest of her life with him. She hadn't even admitted the latter to herself until she said it. For a moment, she wondered if it was true. Then, its rightness washed over her as surely as her words and the glow were washing over Krusk.

Yet, as soon as she was certain that Krusk was susceptible to her suggestions, she averred that Calmet, not Jozan, was the biggest danger to her, as well as the biggest threat to the emerald that Hassq had been trying to protect from Jozan. The last suggestion was an impromptu addition spurred by a glance at Alhandra's disapproving face. Yddith was quickly becoming aware that the emerald had a power that could reach deep inside her and teach her the ways of sorcery. She could tell that the paladin didn't approve of what she was doing, and she didn't want any interference from Alhandra, no matter how well-intentioned.

As Yddith released Krusk's hands, Alhandra stepped forward.

"I assume you realize that your emerald is evil," asserted the paladin.

"Is it?" asked Yddith, innately aware that the paladin was correct.

"I'm afraid I detected a taint of evil, even as you worked that spell," responded Alhandra.

"Glow green!" interrupted Qorrg, "Like Hassq! Bad spell! Qorrg hate Hassq!"

Sensing the conflict, as well as being captivated both by Yddith's spell and the natural charms she wielded even when he wasn't under an enchantment, Krusk interposed his big frame between the nascent sorceress and the unlikely duo of Alhandra and Qorrg. Yddith used the opportunity to express her intent.

"I know the gem is fueled by an evil power, but I'm not evil. By Pelor's grace, I feel that I'm using evil for good."

Yddith could see that her argument wasn't convincing to the paladin as Alhandra shook her head and muttered, "Would that I had a gold piece for every soul who believed that!" The paladin backed away from the barbarian and continued, "I will not interfere, but I will tell you as the taint grows stronger. Perhaps, you'll be wise enough to remove the cursed object before it's too late."

Still, Yddith could see that the paladin was not pleased, and she was relieved when Alhandra turned her attention to the half-orc. As she touched Krusk's forearm, Yddith looked into the barbarian's charmed eyes with an expression that exuded admiration and appreciation. She realized that some of her overt adoration was a disingenuous way of controlling her protector, but she also decided that much of it was real. She felt safe and content in his presence, something she'd never really experienced before.

She observed Alhandra raising her arms once more in supplication to Heironeous, knowing that the paladin was detecting evil on their prisoner. With amusement, she noticed Qorrg himself edging away from Alhandra when he realized that he was the target of the paladin's spell.

The orc lifted up his hands and protested in a stream of northern orc Common, "Qorrg not bad. Hate Hassq. Hassq kill son. Give Gruumsh. Qorrg scared. Serve Hassq. Not like. Hate One-Eye, too!"

Yddith felt as if a forest of trees had been chopped down to reveal a new horizon. With twenty gutteral words of pidgin Common, the orc had explained his cooperative attitude and his previous service to Hassq. Hassq was evidently one of those legendary druids who practiced human sacrifice. Qorrg hated the druid for killing his son, but served the druid because he was frightened of him. It seemed the orc had gained a much-coveted revenge when he killed Hassq, but thirsted for still more if he could get in range of Calmet.

Yddith saw the paladin smile and drop her arms to her side.

"At least," announced the paladin, "the evil within Qorrg isn't gaining strength. It might even have lessened."

The party picked up their belongings and started out anew on their quest. It seemed highly unlikely that Hassq's enchantment of Krusk could last overnight, and Yddith felt confident that she could distract the barbarian for that long with her own charm. Her real concern was that her adamant refusal to abandon using the emerald's power was creating a rift between herself and Alhandra. She decided to try a conversational gambit that would emphasize their common experience, if there was one.

"Before we left Pergue," the one-eyed woman reminded the paladin, "you mentioned that you needed someone to trust once, but he wasn't there."

Alhandra looked uncomfortable. She turned her eyes to the ground and reddened slightly. She hesitated for an agonizingly long moment before responding.

"His name was Argyll Bruce, the eldest son of a highborn lord. He was the best rider, the finest swordsman, the most magnificent dancer and the most handsome man I've ever known." She raised her chin to make eye contact with the one-eyed woman, and Yddith could see a trace of extra moisture in the paladin's glistening eyes. "We were betrothed and I was in love," Alhandra continued. "Commoner and noble alike said we were a perfect match. They were wrong."

The paladin surprised Yddith by changing emotion with an incredible suddenness. She spat on the ground to punctuate the finality of her assessment. "They were wrong because horsemanship, weapon prowess, elegant grace, and exceeding good looks are no foundation for love. I saved myself for him and he betrayed me."

Yddith sucked in her breath, nearly missing a twist on the knot she was tying. "He took advantage of you?"

In spite of the painful memory, Alhandra seemed amused at Yddith's horrified reaction. The paladin obviously assumed that in spite of her naive demeanor, Yddith was not unfamiliar with the ways of men.

"No, not physically," the paladin continued, "but he betrayed my love with churlish disregard. We were out riding, jumping fallen trees and earthen mounds. It was a beautiful day and we'd been racing and jumping like demons from Baator. We were leagues away from civilization when a downpour was unleashed upon us. We weren't expecting the thunderstorm. There'd been no sign before we left, and we certainly risked catching the ague if we rode all the way back dressed as we were."

As Yddith and the paladin walked along, she sensed that some of the chasm that had opened between the two women was closing again. There was nothing like sharing a heartbreak to re-ignite a sense of trust. She waited patiently for Alhandra to continue.

"We found a hunter's lodge and built a fire. Argyll suggested we dry our clothes in front of the fire, but…uh…that's an old gambit, and I wasn't about to fall for it. I told him that I loved him and that I was saving myself for him. He made some half-hearted suggestion that that particular day was the rainy day for which I was always told to save. I told him that we were destined for connubial bliss, and I wasn't going to trade it away for an afternoon's ecstasy in a musty old lodge where he would probably have to share his love bites with the fleas in the sleeping furs."

"And do you have regrets?" asked Yddith. "Do you think you drove him away?"

Alhandra breathed deeply before answering, "It was the right decision, little sister, though it came to even more of a foul end than you realize. I not only lost the man I thought I loved. I lost my reputation, also."

"But you said," interrupted Yddith, "that you told him you wouldn't!"

"And I didn't," responded the paladin, "but we returned to town after the storm and the gossips were already telling their tales at Washerwoman's Rock. His mates at the tavern couldn't believe he could possibly be alone with such a beauty and keep his hands off. My love not only failed to defend his fair flower of womanhood, for such he had always called me, but he didn't bother to tell them that the fair flower had kept every petal of her womanhood intact."

"He lied?" asked Yddith in such refreshing disbelief that Alhandra couldn't help but laugh.

"He lied," answered the paladin. "He lied with words and he lied with silence. Not only did I lose the opportunity for that nuptial match, but I was considered a tainted woman. It wasn't long before I joined the service of Heironeous, where actions speak louder than words, particularly louder than lies, spoken or unspoken. I guess that's why I have no patience for those who choose to live between the darkness and the light as shadows."

Yddith winced as Alhandra's sermon came full circle back to her. She knew for certain that the paladin disapproved of the emerald's power, but she also sensed that she would need the gem's assistance to have any chance against the clerics of Gruumsh. She had heard it claimed many times in the tavern that it was necessary to fight fire with fire. Now that she was comprehending the nature of the gem, she vowed to fight evil with evil and trust the two negatives to bring a positive conclusion.