The Stranger

The Stranger, as he was known to those he allowed see him, had watched these three who were strangers to him long of many weeks now. At first they were an intriguing distraction, then a short time later, a mild nuisance. Now they seemed to be headed south, away from his sphere of influence. Good, he thought to himself, things would transition easier in the cities farther north if they weren't poking their noses into every pie he left cooling upon a windowsill.

He watched them as they entered Snoam-Schlabach. Saw as the rogue-elf first met with his charge, Willis McDunugh. He sneered at them as their now dead, half-orc lackey ran through one of the first he had seduced, Behrogar, before he could kill the witch and be rewarded with the only thing in the world the barbarian wanted more than her: The MacBrady ancestral weapons and armor. He laughed heartily as that same mud-blooded fool wasted his own pathetic life in the Pinefore a short time later.

But when they delved into the quarry fresh with their newly acquainted enigmatic dwarf, killed the bearded devil he'd taken so much time and effort to summon, effectively shutting off his connection to Hell, even if only temporarily. They were no longer amusing to him. And later, when they tracked Briggs, Willis and the one he'd seduced in Schudlichton to the Pinefore, finding them among Tonguescum's orcs and nearly slaying them all to a man, he'd become infuriated. The death of Anna came too early and the destruction of both towns would have to wait weeks longer.

Now they had become a serious concern. They weren't men of consequence, or so it seemed. They weren't even particularly interested in their surroundings. He guessed the fire-scarred elf to be an outlaw, a mild curiosity to entertain the self-righteous druid who walked around arrogantly, oblivious to the hardships of those The Stranger meant to oppress and destroy. This disregard for the townsfolk, The Stranger was pleased to see, worked in his favor. He'd thought the leader of the group to be a crusader, a hero to the people at first, and was glad to be wrong. The destruction of Snoam-Schlabach and also Schudlichton, events that could have been prevented under different circumstances, seemed of no matter to the druid. He proved this as he ushered his charges, one of which who happened to be the son of one of the destroyed town's chieftains, southward. Away from the masterpiece to come, away from The Stranger's life's work, the snow-cursed canvas he'd just begun to touch with his crimson-tipped brush.

Yes, The Stranger thought to himself, fly away little elf. Fly as you have on the wings of the hawk you've occasionally turned yourself into. Keep your Kutenai-granted powers away from the reckoning to come. Flee with your horribly scarred mate, and please while you're at it, kill any new companions you meet along the way as you did the dwarf whom you'd befriended. Yes kill another person fooled into trusting you. There was a special place in Hell for those who murder their friends.

The Stranger knew all about that.

Now if only they'd get moving southward soon. The snowstorm will keep them from returning to Snoam-Schlabach, forcing them to wait nearly a week in the abandoned Whitewall Camp. As long as they avoid Henutsen, a tree ripe with sinister fruit waiting to be plucked, everything would be fine. Replacements for Tonguescum's orcs, who haven't the will or the resources necessary to assist The Stranger in the larger cities to the north, could be gathered there. No, the orcs have served their purpose and those seduced from the one-time fortress-city of Henutsen could more easily slip unnoticed among the northern towns, unlike the ugly orcs, who'd be killed on sight.

They'd found The Stranger's symbol, The Unfinished Triangle, were told its secret by the exiled hag, but cared not to delve further into its mystery. Another encouraging sign he thought. Maybe, if they did happen to find themselves in Henutsen, The Stranger could use them for his own purposes. Perhaps, if he showed himself to them, they could be seduced like Behrogar, Willis and Briggs had been so easily. With their easily manipulated egos and uncanny luck at his disposal, more could be brought to his cause. More of the seduced means more rapid destruction, and then She... Yes, She could be summoned to this world, freed from her prison of nothing.

No, he thought to himself, they were only selfish and greedy, perhaps even a little cowardly. After all, they weren't evil.

Were they?