***
The mist thickened. It became difficult to see more than a few yards in any direction. Boulders and trees looked sinister in the fog. Something began to bother Theodus, and occasionally he would stop to shake his head.
"What's wrong?" Kelden asked.
"Dark magic," said Theodus. "Worse than anything I've ever felt--like pure venom. We cannot keep going this way."
But they did, hoping the Dar fiend was either simply being paranoid or sensing traces of old, relatively harmless magic in stone ruins or evil caves. But Theodus grew more desperate, until finally he refused to go on. "We've made a terrible mistake," he said. "We thought only of worms or mutants as dangers. But something much more dreadful hunts us."
Dameon clutched Theodus' shoulder. "What threatens us?"
"A shadow of some sort," said Theodus. "It's not clear to me. An assassin's mind at work, plotting against us."
Dameon glanced about, then shook Theodus roughly. "Concentrate, Dar fiend. We need to know who stalks us, or we'll die without ever having a chance to fight. You need to tell us!"
Kelden and Thayan drew close to the two. Kelden considered his options and quickly decided he'd have to make a stand. A startling image invaded his mind--of the four of them lying blood-soaked on the ground, corpses growing cold.
"We are going to be attacked," said Theodus. "Soon. We cannot match the might of this foe. It will surely slay us!"
Dameon's eyes burned with defiance. "They won't finish us like that. Not when there is so much left for me to do!" He pulled the group closer together. "Kelden, give Thayan your feeder torch. Then summon your magic as you never have before! We'll die fighting if we must."
Kelden's trembling hands could barely open his pack, but he managed to pull out the torch and toss it to Thayan. He seized his blood potion of shielding. He struggled to steady himself so he wouldn't spill the precious fluid as he uncorked it. He considered whether or not this was the right time and decided in an instant it was--for he trusted Theodus' keen instincts. With an inner apology to Master Lendrith, he gulped it down. Then he grabbed Theodus' shoulder. As the potion's warmth spread through his body, he remembered that a side effect of the concoction would cause him to lose his sorcery for a little while. But it was too late to worry about that.
The four travelers stood and waited in torment for the attack. As time slipped by, all they could hear was their own breathing. They had nowhere to hide and no chance of fleeing. Theodus had made that quite clear. They would have to make their stand against whatever monstrous force had come to destroy them. They could all feel it now--the choking darkness closing about, the certainty of despair and death. It was the aura of the evil realm of Blue World.
When Kelden could stand the tension no longer, a silver spear tore from the mist and ripped into his back. Charged with a malicious sorcery like poisonous thorns, the weapon fought to shred his flesh and leave him choking on his own blood. The force of the blow threw Kelden onto his stomach and broke through the barrier of the blood potion of shielding, piercing his flesh. Moments later, the weapon disintegrated as blood pooled from the wound. Kelden groaned once and then went still, his eyes rolling back in his head.
Frantically, Theodus ignored the danger and rolled Kelden over, searching for signs of life. Kelden could gaze up, but he couldn't move or speak.
Then a phantom shape stepped from the mist, a smiling figure of blue flesh wearing a grey cloak. The corpse-like face of a Blue World sorcerer was revealed, a young and handsome man with shaggy black hair. His eyes were as kind as an easy death, his sad smile hinting at things that could never be.
The sorcerer gazed at Kelden and nodded. Dameon howled and hurled his mace. But the mace found only mist and stone, bouncing off the rocks with a clatter of sparks. The sorcerer had vanished back into the fog as quickly as a shadow fleeing before torchlight.