James Wyatt - Oath of Vigilance

Then his eyes came to rest on the farthest table from his seat, where a hulking dragonborn and a diminutive halfling sat behind a dozen mugs and glasses. They were laughing -Nu Alin could not stomach the audacity of it-and telling stories to a tight circle of very interested listeners. And then he recognized them.

The dragonborn had pursued Nu Alin as he chased the Voidharrow and its thief from this town to the place where the trail of the Voidharrow had disappeared. He had traveled then with his wizard friend and the tiefling, who had proven a most disappointing host. After Nu Alin had taken the tiefling, the dragonborn and halfling both had been among those who confronted him in the depths of the Labyrinth, forcing him out of the tiefling’s body and bringing his search for the Voidharrow to a premature end.

Nu Alin believed he was above the petty and tumultuous emotions that seemed to drive his hosts, but he could appreciate what they called hatred or loathing when he considered the two adventurers across the common room. Without question, they were the greatest threat, in the room or anywhere else in the pathetic town, to his plans-and to Vestapalk’s plans. He set his glass down and focused all his attention on listening to them.

Their stories were full of improbable boasts and unlikely twists of fate, but Nu Alin recognized the danger represented by their laughter and the smiles that slowly spread out from their table through the other patrons. They represented hope for the people of Fallcrest-hope that could not be allowed to blossom into resistance.

Nu Alin was so focused on the pair of adventurers that he almost didn’t notice a new figure appear in the doorway and start toward their table. He glanced in the newcomer’s direction and recognized the tiefling woman he had taken-Tempest. He could still taste her delicious fear, her fury at his possession, and her determination to resist him.

“He’s here!” she suddenly cried.

The dragonborn and the halfling whirled to look at her, and the room fell silent.

“Who’s here, Tempest?” the dragonborn said.

“Nu Alin!” A note of hysteria tinged her voice. “I can feel him!”

The dragonborn and the halfling leaped to their feet, and it was their panic that gave Nu Alin the opportunity to escape. When the others in the room saw the two adventurers’ reaction, their faint hope dissipated, replaced at once by fear. The room erupted in a clamor of confusion. Others sprang out of their chairs and milled around the room or made their way out, and it was a simple matter for Nu Alin to weave his way through the chaos to make his escape.

As he slipped out through the door, he heard the dragonborn trying to calm Tempest, assuring her that she was suffering the effects of a nightmare. Further proof, if any was needed, of the boundless capacity these mortal creatures had for self-delusion. Some part of him, perhaps tied to the emotions of his host body, wanted to laugh.

“Damn it,” Tempest said, “why won’t you listen to me? Yes, I had a nightmare. I woke up. I came down here to find you. And then I felt his presence.”

Roghar nodded. “All right. Is he still here?”

Tempest closed her eyes and tried to relax, but Roghar could see that her whole body was shaking. He wanted to kick himself for not taking her seriously sooner.

“No,” she said at last. “He must have slipped out in the confusion.”

“Then he can’t have gone far,” Roghar said. “Let’s look outside.”

“I’ll get Shara,” Uldane offered, heading for the stairs.

Roghar took Tempest’s arm and led her out onto the crowded street. He scanned over the crowd, looking for … for what? He wasn’t sure. When they had faced the demon in its halfling body, the shimmering crimson of its true substance had shown through a number of gaping wounds in the halfling’s flesh. By the time they caught up with the demon in Tempest’s body, the only sign of its presence inside her was around her eyes. He had to assume that, if the demon had been lurking in the common room of the Silver Unicorn, it had taken pains to conceal its presence in whatever host body it was using. He decided to look for hooded figures moving quickly away from the inn.

At first glance, he counted seven people that fit that simple description. He picked the nearest, ran to catch up to him, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Excuse me,” he said.

The person wheeled around and the hood fell away from his face. A middle-aged human man with a neat salt-and-pepper beard and dark brown eyes frowned at him. “What do you want?”

Roghar stared at the man’s eyes, searching the shallow wrinkles at the corners for any sign of glowing red crystal liquid. He slumped. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I thought you were someone else.”

Tempest caught up to him, looking around the crowd helplessly. “He could be any of these people.”

“Can you feel him now? Is he still nearby?”

“I’m not a bloodhound, Roghar! It’s not like I can track his scent.”

“Well, I just thought …”

“I know. But it was just a sudden impression, overwhelming for that moment, then gone.”

“Let’s walk a bit,” Roghar said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Maybe it’ll come again and we can do something about it, and maybe it won’t.”

Tempest nodded, and Roghar chose a direction and started walking.

Tempest walked beside him in silence for a while. They passed the House of the Sun and then the Temple of Erathis before she spoke again. “What do we do if we find him?” she said.

Roghar shrugged. “Kill him.”

“How?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when he’s in a body, he’s so terribly strong. I’m not sure the two of us can defeat him alone. And even if we do, if we kill the body he’s in, he just slips out-the way he did when Erak stabbed me. Then what?”

“Well, I’ve thought about that some,” Roghar said. “You didn’t see it, but when the demon was trying to take Falon’s body, it recoiled from divine light. I figure that’s the way to destroy it. Bahamut’s light will consume it.”

“It could be anywhere, Roghar. It could be in any of these people.”

“No more overwhelming impressions?”

Tempest shook her head.

“Then let’s get back. Shara and Uldane will be wondering what’s going on.”

“You want to just let him go?”

“I don’t see any other choice. But listen-we’ve gained some useful information. We know he’s here, moving around in the town, and we know that we have at least one way to detect his presence. He won’t be able to spy on us again. And next time, we’ll get him.”

“But he’s gained useful information, too. He knows we’re here, and he knows that I sensed him. He’ll keep his distance now-there might not be a next time.”

“We’ll get him, Tempest,” Roghar said. “I promise.”

Albanon knelt beside Kri and put both hands on the old priest’s shoulders. “It’s this place, Kri,” he said. “The taint of the Chained God fills the whole tower. You can hear the maddening whispers if you listen too closely.”

Kri nodded, covering his face with his hands.

“Let’s get you out of here.” Albanon shifted around to Kri’s side and lifted him to his feet. “Come on, one foot in front of the other.”

Kri’s arm lashed out, striking him in the abdomen and breaking free of his grip. “I know how to walk, damn it!”

Albanon stared at him, trying to catch his breath while Kri glared wildly back. “Fine,” he said at last. “Walk yourself. Follow me, or don’t. I’m getting out of here.” He didn’t wait for a response, but turned to the stairs and started up.