“Like chaff in the wind is a troubled mind.” So said Master Kamar, and if true, my mind was a chaff in a giant storm. This whole case from the beginning had been plagued with bad luck, such as the Dragon nearly wiping out all my clients, and strange mysteries, such as why I had found a stone from a demonic portal in my client’s lodge. Now, since my visit to Weldenvar I had even more mysteries to consider.
First, why would the chief think I would banish the spirits who accompanied him? I was an exorcist, one who drove out evil spirits. So then is he implying that he will be accompanied by evil spirits? No, hopefully this is just a case of an man ignorant of my profession, with a skewed idea of what I do.
More troubling, however, is that he didn’t want me to tell other chiefs or the royal house. Normally, I would think, a person would be proud of saving an area from certain destruction, they would want me to tell as many people as possible. Does the chief think that the portal we are going to destroy is connected in some way to the royal house? Or did the chief know more about this portal than he was letting on, and wanted me to destroy all evidence so that the matter would go away quietly. I made a mental note to borrow some paper and ink. I wanted to write all these oddities down and send them to the temple, just in case I died during the mission.
"Sorry I could not get more men but most people do not sign up to face their nightmares. Did you have any success with the elves?" I looked up, I suppose I had automatically gone where Commander Kavin was waiting for me.
“Yes,” I replied distractedly, still trying thinking through all these recent events. After a while, I looked up, only to find every eye on me. Was I supposed to say something else? I racked my brain, finally deciding that they expected a rousing speech to raise moral.
Clearing my throat, I began in a hopeful tone. “You go now to your probable death. If you don’t die, you will be haunted by visions of what you will meet. If you wish to leave, do so now. Then, if we fail, you will not face a probable, but a certain death and your life will be haunted by visions of what you will meet, for the few seconds you continue to live, screaming in agony.” I paused, somehow feeling that these weren’t the right words I should be saying. “And…uh…for Untor we fight!”
They at least should have pretended to cheer, but instead they just looked at me. “Yes, well, I guess we’ll just wait here for our reinforcements to come.” I quickly turned my back on the few men and sat down. It could have been my imagination but I still thought I felt their eyes on me. Trying to ignore the rather unpleasant sensation I pulled out my meditation scroll and began unrolling it, revealing a bit of a mountain. ‘A mountain, so serene and peaceful.’ So I told myself, but at that moment it sounded like a lie.