[The Stranger]

Injured once again, and this time the wound more serious. Not good.

What had happened...

Ahhh.... the hound. One of the females had destroyed the hound. The sudden severing of the mental connection had left him vulnerable. The Stranger nodded to himself as floated a few feet above the ground. He would have to take pains to prevent that mistake again.

The wound needed healing. He had stopped the bleeding and was holding the edges of the wound together with his mind, but he had not sewn it up yet. There was something he had to do first.

The large flat building lay in the distance. Fences of various heights and qualities sectioned the farm into a grid of pens. Most of the pens were full of dogs. Hunting dogs. Herding dogs. Guard dogs. Canines of every possible size and description.

The Montfort Kennels.

The animals barked at his arrival, rousing their keeper.

"AYE!" shouted a bearded old man running out of the building. He was holding a torch and a crossbow. "We're closed! You wanna buy some dogs you come back tomorrow."

The Stranger looked at him, and said nothing.

"I said- URRRK!!!!"

The Stranger quickly squelched the old man's words. He grabbed the man in a telekinetic vice and twisted the top and bottom of his body in opposite directions. The man snapped in half like a bundle of blood-filled sticks. The keeper hit the ground with two horribly distinct thuds.

The Stranger floated to the ground not too far away. The keeper's torch still burned, and with but one look from the Stranger the torch leapt into the air and hung above the Stranger's head like a lantern on an invisible pole. He examined the dogs that still growled and barked all around him. So many different kinds...

He pointed to one of the dog-pens, and a single pup floated up away from its mother, sailed over the fence and dropped gently to the ground at the Stranger's feet. He held it there with a gentle telekinetic hand while retrieved something from his cloak. It was not the medicine kit... it was something else. A scrap of oiled leather and a sturdy glass flask, half-filled with an evil reddish-brown fluid. The flask's cork had a dropper fixed on one end, and when the Stranger removed it, there was a single drop of the red fluid suspended from the tip. He deposited the drop onto the leather, and then mixed it with a bit of his own blood from his wound.

Then the Stranger knelt down and placed the pup's head near foul mixture. The dog lapped up the red smear with two flicks of its tongue.

The Stranger stepped back. All around him the growling of the dogs increased... they were worried. Afraid.

With good reason.

The pup began writhing in pain on the ground. It cried out for its mother... but the high-pitched yelp began to deepen as the dog's throat grew. The pups body lengthened. Bones, infused with the magic of the potion, doubled and then tripled in both length and sturdiness. Muscles grew... not the smooth bands of normal growth, but huge painful knots that literally trembled with raw power. The skin and hair thickened, both taking on the foul scent of sulfur. The nerve endings grew numb... pain receptors ceased to function. New nails and teeth, harder and sharper than the originals, sprouted from the transforming flesh. The dog's metabolism increased to a phenomenal rate... and then continued speed up. Wounds would heal almost instantly now. The effect would kill the dog in a few days... but until then it would serve the Stranger quite well... perhaps even better than its predecessor.

Just before the process completed, the Stranger entered the hound's mind and firmly established his own voice as that which controlled the dog's growing rage. It would listen to him... follow his orders...

And for now, there was only one:

"Find Females. Bring Them To Me."

The new Hellhound rolled to its feet and growled at the Stranger. A deep rumble emanated from its enlarged, muscular chest.

The Stranger repeated the order with more force... sending it directly into the hound's mind. It obeyed, and ran off towards the city.

The Stranger held up the flask and eyed the contents. Then he looked around.

How many dogs were there here? Four dozen? Five? How many more were inside the building? Another dozen perhaps?

There was enough potion to treat at least that many.

Smiling beneath his blank-faced illusion, the Stranger pointed to another hound and hauled it over the fence towards him...

---

[...elsewhere...]

[Val'keth]

With nerves already on edge, Val'keth choked a scream back as a dark shape materialized so close to her, hissing and spitting. She didn't stop to think, her instincts reacting automatically, and the taught muscles in her legs bunched as she powered herself forward and slammed into - whatever it was, using her momentum to push them both from the rooftop.

[J'Hasp]

J'Hasp's flexible bones yielded painlessly under the sudden attack. His clawed feet dug into the rooftop, while his hands grabbed the elf and quickly halted her charge.

[Val'keth]

Val'keth gasped with the impact, then realized her mistake. Instead of plummeting over the edge of the roof, the - thing - had just grabbed her, it's sharp claws digging in painfully. Val'keth struggled to wriggle free, and gasped as she saw the fangs dart toward her. With her arms pinned to her sides, she had only one option. She brought her knee up hard into the things groin, and ripped an arm free of it's claws.

The thing had a peculiar smell, not as unpleasant as she had expected, given the patchwork of scales and fur that covered it. But she couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.

Fel'mrath. The word hung in her mind as her fist flashed upward to meet the thing's descending mouth. Bone rang loud on metal as her bracer took the full force of the bite, the fangs squealing as they scraped over the carved patterning, a strange crackle and flicker of blue sparking from the bracer.

[J'Hasp]

Sparks from the elf's enchanted bracers arced across his fangs. J'Hasp squealed and hesitated for the merest instant...

[Val'keth]

Val'keth kicked hard, feeling the concealed blade spring from one of her boots and bury itself again and again in the thing's thigh, then as it's grip on her shifted, she wriggled free and pulled her sword. Sword and dagger flashed a deadly pattern in the air as it hissed at her again, and she lunged for one of the clawed limbs, the tip of her sword merely skipping over scales as the thing pulled back.

Fast, very fast. And what was it doing here... No-Face. It fitted perfectly.

"Crawl back to your pit in the abyss," Val'keth snarled, her feet nimbly dancing over the tiles as she dodged the creatures fist. It darted toward her with razor sharp claws glinting in the light and Val'keth leapt over the thrashing tail that threatened to sweep her feet out from underneath her. She dove toward it again, her sword whipping toward its ugly snout, her other hand flicking the dagger toward its exposed torso.

[J'Hasp]

The man-creature quickly jerked away from both attacks, and responded with an onslaught of his own. Claws slashed through the air, seeking the elf's face and neck. The nimble elf deflected his first volley of attacks with her unusually hard sword, but J'Hasp simply went for her with more speed and ferocity.

[Val'keth]

As Val'keth dodged the onslaught of slashing blows from the creature, she caught a glimpse of Zade's smiling face looking up from the shop window below.

The cloth. Zade. The cloth. Oh gods, it was after the only clue they had. She just hoped the shop's wards were strong enough to keep the creature out.

She hammered home one last flurry of slashing blows, feeling the creature's claws ringing against her blade as it deflected them, then ripped the bit of cloth from her waist and leapt straight over the edge of the roof. She landed harder than normal, using her levitation at the last moment and only enough to prevent breaking her legs, then ran headlong for the door, waving the cloth at Zade.

"ZADE! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR - HIS CLOAK, SHE CAN SEE FROM HIS CLOAK!!!"

Val'keth risked a glance backward, and found most of the street blotted out by the - thing - directly behind her.

"OPEN THE DOOR!!!" she screamed, "DONT LET IT GET THE CLOTH!!!"

"ZAAADE!!!"

[Zade]

Zade and Theesa watched the spectacle from inside the store. At first, Theesa was interested in the commotion, but when it became obvious that bloodshed was imminent, she backed away from the window, leaving Zade to watch the show alone.

Despite her smile, Zade was not completely happy about this turn of events. She wondered what repercussions this would have for her. After all... J'Hasp was out there doing HER job...

Suddenly, the elf jumped to the ground and ran for the door. She could never make it through, of course, and with J'Hasp right behind her, Val'keth would soon be another bloody mess that Zade would probably have to clean up.

Then she saw the cloth. Zade recognized it instantly... either it was a piece of the Stranger's cloak, or a very good imitation.

She needed that cloth. She could let J'Hasp kill the elf and then take the cloth from her cold, dead, and most likely severed hand... but who knew what ELSE the elf was hiding? Nothing? Or maybe something vital?

Zade made her decision just as Val'keth reached the door. She dismissed the wards and snatched the door open.

"...WITH ME!" she shouted. She was looking at Val'keth, but the words were intended for J'Hasp. The creature understood... instead of bursting through the door, it jumped onto the roof with a single, powerful leap. A second later, he was gone.

"What the hell was THAT!?!" gasped Zade. Her false concern almost fooled even herself. Zade shot a glance at Theesa, and hoped that the woman would know enough to play along.

[Val'keth]

Val'keth crashed into the door, rolling inside as it gave way beneath her and came up, sword in hand and staring at the doorway.

Gone.

She looked around quickly before thrusting her sword into it's scabbard.

"Hell-spawn." she said curtly. "No-Face's newest playmate, I suspect, and after this..."

Val'keth put the ripped bit of cloth on the counter, then turned back to Zade.

"Perhaps she can tell us more from his cloak. I take it the wards will stop that - thing?"

[Zade]

"Our mage is one of the best," said Zade. She re-secured the door and made and turned her back to the windows, thus showing her non-concern about any possible intrusion. "We've got too much stuff in here to let anything just bust on in whenever they got the mind to."

[Theesa]

Theesa stepped out of the corner where she was pretending to cower.

"Is this a friend of yours, Zade?" she said. Theesa knew better than to wait for an introduction from Zade. "My name is Theesa. I'm remodeling the store."

Smiling cordially, She held out her hand to Val'keth, but Zade immediately deposited the Stranger's cloth on Theesa's upturned palm.

[Val'keth]

She smiled at Zade. "But of course." Zade's words rang in her ears; 'our mage is one of the best'. Just what she was looking for...

"I see you've noticed Zade's manners as well," Val'keth chuckled.

"Val'keth," she offered by way of a name, then added, "Remodeling? Not quite my taste at the moment, I have to say, but I'm sure you'll make a fine job of it. I prefer slightly darker shades myself, less - ah - glare for the eyes that way. All this white you know..."

She glanced at Zade, then added "Bet you'd rather it was decked out in wall to wall leather eh Zade?"

[Zade]

"Ha. Ha," grunted Zade. "How can I stand this much humor?"

[Val'keth]

"So, can you tell us anything from the cloth, er, Theesa?"

[Theesa]

Theesa took a few deep breaths and scanned the surface impressions from the cloth...

"If it's from him... and he hasn't taken any steps to erase any traces from it."

Theesa closed her fist around the cloth and opened her mind.

The strength of the impressions was startling... as was their nature.

"What?" she heard Zade say. Zade must have seen the sour expression on Theesa's face.

"This man... the killer... his mind is so chaotic. Unstable. I've never felt impressions like this from any SANE mind."

[Zade]

Which leads to the obvious question... where has she ever been exposed to an INSANE mine?

"We need to know where he came from and who he's after," said Zade.

"That should be in the recent past. If he was wearing this cloth, I should be able to...hmmm... this is it, I think."

"What do you see?"

"Fire. A big fire... and lots of weapons gathered around. Swords and... strange blades. There are men. At least I THINK they're men; it's hard to tell from their clothes. They're wearing robes... like priests priest. Some are red... others are a kind of metallic blue. They have strange symbols around their necks, I... I don't recognize them. Their faces are hidden."

"The man with no face... is he there?"

"Yes. He's there. He's... he's anxious. Impatient. He wants something that the priests have. I think its money, but I can't be sure. He wants to just take it... but he doesn't think he can fight them all."

"What are they saying?"

"Uhhh... The impressions are strange, here. There's a lot of magic in the air; it's scrambling the image."

"Take your time."

"Okay... one... one of the men in the robes is speaking. I can't make out the first part, but now he's saying:

...knows things she should not know. It was a mistake to allow her to live... a mistake that you will correct.

"Who is 'she'?" said Zade.

"I can't tell. Wait... there's more..."

She has fled to Montfort. You will find her there.

"Now the killer is asking how he will recognize the woman. The priest says:"

Her memory has been altered, and she will not know she is hunted... or why. You will find the signs of our tampering in her mind... but look no deeper. Our secrets are ours to keep. Find the woman and kill her.

Return to us for your reward.

"The image is fading... it's gone."

"Well THAT was helpful," Zade said sarcastically.

[Val'keth]

"I'd like to see YOU hold a bit of cloth and find even HALF that amount out. Theesa's given us more information than either of us found by attacking him," Val'keth replied shortly.

"There's a number of discrepancies with what they said to do, and what he's *actually* doing. Can you see anything else, Theesa? How far back can you see with this whatever it is you have..."

[Theesa]

"Unless someone's taken pains to erase it, I can see the entire history of this cloth... but there's no telling how long he was wearing it.

Theesa was silent for a moment, and then:

"Yes... yes, I'm seeing...oh!"

"What?" said Zade.

"Fear... the man is afraid. Oh, he TERRIFIED! There are men after him... chasing him-"

"Hmmm... what do THEY look like?"

"Just like HIM!... they don't have any faces just like HIM!"

"His guild. His guild is after him? Why?"

"No one is saying anything. He's running through the woods. OH! They're fighting! Oh, MY! He's hurt... he's falling... falling into the water. He's getting away!"

"Obviously."

"He's still afraid. He needs something... something so that the men will stop chasing him. He needs... gold. Money. He has to pay them off, and quickly. Oh... look out for the ROCK! OH!" Theesa opened her eyes. "The image is gone now. I think he hit his head rather hard... but his mind wasn't too stable before then, either."

[Zade]

"Looks like this guy could be worth something to someone."

[Val'keth]

Val'keth tore her gaze from Theesa, fascinated by her talents, and turned to Zade.

"Maybe. Or perhaps the woman he's after would be worth even more to them. We can't find her though, not until he does - unless you know someone else that can look into minds like that."

"But if it's his guild that is chasing him, why would he need money to pay them off." Val'keth paced around, a frown on her face. "If he had gone against their rules somehow, surely they would just have killed him, not stopped to demand gold..."

"Theesa, the men chasing him - are they wearing the same sort of robes as the priests around the fire?"

[Theesa]

"I don't think so."

"Could you tell WHY they were chasing him?" asked Zade "Why would he need money?"

"I don't know," Theesa sighed. "But remember, all I saw was from his point of view. He was frightened, and even then his mind was unstable. He could have been delusional. Just because he THOUGHT he needed money, doesn't mean that it was true. Maybe he just thinks it will help him..."

"What are the odds of us getting a reward if we turn him in to his guild?"

"Now Zade, how am I supposed to know that?"

"Okay... he needs money for whatever reason. So he turns mercenary and hires himself out to the priests to find this woman... whoever she is."

Suddenly, a sound got Theesa's attention. Outside...

"Look who's here!"

December had returned. He paused outside the door and examined the scene inside. No doubt he was curious about Val'keth's presence in his store after closing hours.

Smiling from ear to ear, Theesa waved him in. December entered, and the temperature in the room dropped a full ten degrees just from his presence. December secured the door and stood protectively by Theesa as he faced Val'keth.

"I see we have a visitor. Again."

[Val'keth]

Val'keth turned at Theesa's excited voice, and saw December, then shivered as the cold entered with him.

"I didn't exactly *plan* to be here, believe me," she said with a wry smile on her face. "But, sometimes fate intervenes..."

She glanced at Zade, unsure of how much December needed to know about No-Face's activities in Montfort. His body language spoke volumes about Theesa's presence as a 'remodeler' alone here after hours, and Val'keth guessed she was far more than an employee to December.

"And before you jump to hasty conclusions, Zade hasn't killed me yet for a very good reason. It's the same reason I'm standing here in your shop after hours, and since I know Zade's opinion colours your judgment of me, I'd like to point out that you won't find anything missing or even out of place."

Val'keth grimaced, annoyed that everyone assumed her kind to be nothing better than a bunch of thieving, torturing and killing low-lifes. They were far, far more than that, she knew, though in her case, most of the assumptions had been correct at some part of her life or another.

"And since my blades are sheathed, you can rule out kidnapping or murder in your shop - unless you set Zade on me again." She smiled at him, her dark eyes and skin contrasting sharply with her starkly white hair.

[December]

"My dear woman, I assumed no such ill intentions. However, in the future it would be rise to keep a tight reign on your defensiveness... your words speak more than you intend, and they may lead one to suspect your character. As for Zade killing you... "

December looked at Zade and raised an eyebrow.

[Zade]

"We had an... altercation earlier. But that's not why we're here. There's a bounty hunter out there. A psionicist. He's killing women, including several attempts at us. We were trying to figure out who he was after and how to stop him."

"I am afraid I can offer you no assist-"

"We didn't come to see you." said Zade. She grabbed the cloth from Theesa's hand and held it up. "It's from the killer."

[December]

December looked at Theesa.

"Could you help them?"

"There were some very strong impressions. I told them what I saw..."

"I trust you did not strain yourself," December ran a cold finger gently down Theesa's right cheek. She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm fine. Really." Theesa was blushing visibly now... although whether it was due to the cold or something else remained to be seen.

"Are you certain? Perhaps you should sit down. I can bring you some-"

[Zade]

"AHEM! We'll, uhh... we'll be going now. Excuse us."

Zade walked over to the door and waited for Val'keth.

[Val'keth]


Val'keth looked at Zade in amusement. She *had* been right, Theesa was far more to December than just someone giving his store a new look. But she was puzzled by Zade's next move - toward the door as if there was nothing to worry about. And December...

"Are you just going to walk out there with that - thing - still out there? You saw how quick it was, No-Face has obviously brought reinforcements."

She turned to December, a puzzled look on her face.

"Did you see anything out there? Nasty creature - fur, scales, long tail and VERY sharp teeth and claws - and a VERY bad temper?"

She glanced toward the door, obviously reluctant to leave, even if Zade was willing to take the risk.

[December]

"I was unmolested and alone during my return," said December. "I saw nothing out there fitting your rather vivid description. But perhaps Zade can take a look around?"

[Zade]

"Riiiiight..." said Zade. She stepped outside and walked halfway across the street.

She saw nothing. Not even the stray shopkeepers were out and about. Nor did she expect to find anything. J'Hasp was an expert at remaining hidden, and she had killed the Stranger's dog herself. Nothing prowled the street save for the usual two-legged monsters... like the Stranger himself.

Zade stuck her head back through the door.

"Clear," she said.

[Val'keth]

Val'keth nodded her thanks to December, then stepped lightly over to the doorway and glanced around herself. As Zade had said, there was nothing out of the usual to be seen. That didn't stop her hand reaching for the hilt of her sword, or her eyes scanning the street constantly for any threat that might be lurking.

"Zade?" she said, still moving warily. "No-Face must be around here still, even if December didn't see him. What else could that creature have been doing here - it's the only thing that makes sense."

[Zade]

Zade almost let a smile creep past her lips. Val'Keth thought J'Hasp was one of the Stranger's creatures, and not December's personal bodyguard. It was best that she continued to think that way...

"He only attacks women as far as we know," said Zade. "So December would have been safe even if the creature was still here. But since it hasn't attacked US, it probably got frustrated and left after it couldn't get through the wards at the store."

[Val'keth]

Val'keth felt vulnerable out in the street, and she glanced around the rooftops. But then, if the stranger had creatures like that, the rooftops were no safer... Val'keth's skin began to prickle alarmingly.

"Zade," she whispered, "I thought you said you didn't have a mage that could help us with No-Face."

She drew her sword and stepped away from Zade, her eyes flickering over the surrounding buildings and streets.

"That wasn't entirely true, was it. If those wards really *can* stop anything, then he or she is powerful enough to help us stop No-Face. You've already vowed to kill me, so why not just say it again once you've got his mage to help shield us from the strangers mind..."

[Zade]

Zade raised an eyebrow.

"Well... if you had asked NICELY I would have just lied to you and let you live until dawn. But since you had to go an pull a sword, then I guess we'll have to settle things now. And you STILL won't know the truth."

Zade took a step back, her mind already seeking weaknesses and vulnerabilities in her opponent. Her fingers itched as she inched them toward her belt...

*thump*

Something small and hard bounced off of the tip of her left boot.

"What?"

Zade hazarded a glance down. The object was a small stone... and Val'Keth couldn't possibly have thrown it.

"What the hell is this?"

[Val'keth]

She sighed as Zade got completely the wrong end of the stick, ignoring her sudden feigned interest in the dirt on the road.

"Just for once, could you STOP jumping to conclusions - the WRONG one's I might add, and leave those things in your belt," Val'keth snarled, her eyes flashing with anger.

"We can fight here, and die when the stranger picks us off in the middle of our combat, or you can control yourself and we *might* just make it though tonight alive. Your choice."

Val'keth turned away, her ears alert to the sounds in the night, and wondered about the stillness. Sounds were missing that normally formed the background to the nights of Montfort.

[Zade]

Suddenly Zade caught faint, yet distinct scent of brimstone. Then she heard the sound of animals... dogs. Their sniffing and growling told of canines on the hunt. And the smell was unmistakable.

Hellhounds.

The stone had most likely been a warning from J'Hasp, a warning which had gone almost completely unheeded.

From the sounds and smells of the night, several hounds were headed in her direction. They were coming fast.

"We've got trouble," said Zade.


[To Be Continued]