Author's Note: This is one of those chapters that pleased me in rough draft—and then it turned ugly on me when I started editing. It happens, LOL.

Chapter 8…A Shadow upon the Land

The ambush was crudely set and Carona suspected she had taken her attackers somewhat by surprise. At least one question she had was answered—the duergar could move about on the surface in the light of day, although judging by their squints, they were not happy doing so.

"This is getting a little tiresome, lass," Khelgar said as he readied his axe, looking anything but tired.

"So that's a bladeling, huh?" Neeshka added, dagger in hand. "Looks like his mother mated with a porcupine. What's that he called you?"

"I don't know but I don't think it's a compliment." Carona raised her voice. "You there, bladeling—why do you people keep hounding me? I have done nothing to you. Leave us be or you will die." The bladeling leader hissed and then motioned his duergar slaves to attack.

"Thief! I will take the shard from your corpse!" He waved his sword. The duergar started forward and then cried out in dismay as vines and brambles leapt from the ground, entangling and ensnaring them. There was an angry buzz of insects, which swarmed out of the nearby shrubs to form a dark, stinging cloud. Birds erupted from the grass by the road to fly in their attackers' faces and a badger—small but vicious—snapped at the bladeling's ankles. It was as nature itself had chosen to strike their enemies down.

And that was how they came to meet Elanee, the druid. Carona's suspicious attitude seemed to have rubbed off on Khelgar and Neeshka, for they both protested loudly when the druid proposed joining their group. As Neeshka checked the corpses for valuables (none, even the food in their packs was too strange-looking to tempt them) and Khelgar made a little production out of cleaning his axe, Carona studied the druid. True, the woman had helped them in this fight and true, if she knew a shorter route to Highcliff, one that would avoid the main road, well, that could be of great benefit. But it bothered her that Elanee had been following them all the way from West Harbor and they had had no inkling of her presence. Feeling a bit of a fool did not predispose her to like or trust the druid.

But what raised her suspicions the most, Carona suddenly realized, was that Elanee was an elf. She hoped it wasn't mere prejudice that made her fancy she saw secrets in the elf's eyes, just as she had seen secrets in her father's eyes, secrets that she knew he would never share with her. And more, she wondered if Daeghun had something to do with Elanee's presence here now. Although he had never spoken of the druids of the Mere, he had hunted there for many, many years. It seemed certain that he knew them. Had he sent this druid to spy on her? Not that Daeghun meant her any harm—although he cared little for her, he had never meant her harm. But perhaps he had sent Elanee to ensure that she followed his instructions and carried the shard—and its pursuers—out of the Mere.

And so she accepted the company of the druid but she could not help but feel uneasy around her. Elanee herself was quiet but watchful as well.

Unfortunately Elanee's 'safe and swift' path to Highcliff led them to Eridis, a beautiful but deadly glade filled with beasts that mindlessly attacked. They had been incited by a maddened druid trapped in the form of a bear—the largest and most awe-inspiring bear Carona had ever seen. It was clearly no natural beast and when it rose up on its back legs and roared, Carona had been actually stupefied with terror. When it charged, she just stood without drawing her blade until Elanee pushed her aside and called down lightning out of the overcast sky to strike the beast again and again.

This bear, Kaleil, was actually one of Elanee's mysterious Circle but he only remembered who he was when he lay dying before them. Khelgar and Neeshka, who had drawn together in their distrust of Elanee, both reviled the elf for leading them into danger but Carona watched as the druid stroked the great snout of the dead beast that had once been her friend and said nothing. The elf's face was almost as expressionless as Daeghun's had ever been—but her eyes showed how different they were.

It was difficult to judge an elf's age by appearance but the shocked and bewildered pain in Elanee's eyes made her seem little more than a child.

"There is something terribly, terribly wrong," Elanee whispered, grief lying heavy in her voice, pulling Carona to feel a most unwelcome pity. "A shadow has fallen upon the land. I…don't know what to do."

Carona had never paid much attention to Highcliff—it had always been a point along the journey, never a destination in itself. After two days, she was familiar with every alley, house and business and after four days she was heartily sick of them all. She was sick of the gray skies and the cool dampness that soaked uncomfortably into her very bones. She was sick of the sea-smell of the place and the constant pounding of the surf against the rocks. She was sick of the grousing of her fellow travelers and she was sick to death of her own foul temper.

Khelgar had worn out his welcome in all the taverns in town and the only way she could find to distract him from his bar-fighting fetish was to persuade him to rent smithy space from the local armorer, Edario, and set him to work furbishing up their armor. The physical labor soothed his restlessness a bit and Carona was touched when he forged a lovely little short sword for her. He had also commissioned Edario to make a scabbard and belt to match.

"A dagger's fine for cutting your meat at the dinner table," he had told her, "But for fighting, ye need a sword." He also spent time sparring with her, getting her accustomed to the length of the blade. His energy seemed boundless.

Neeshka was perfectly happy gambling with the many out-of-work sailors stranded in town but if she kept up her 'winning streak', she was going to wear out her welcome as well. She would disappear after supper and sometimes didn't return to their inn until Lathander's colors signaled the arrival of dawn. She would fall into bed with a yawn and a smirk and Carona asked no questions.

Elanee moped around for a day or so, ignored by Khelgar and Neeshka, but a chance meeting with the local alchemist gave her an occupation, gathering herbs and brewing them into medicinal concoctions. Her animal companion, a badger named Naloch, was the terror of every dog in town. Carona heard several townsfolk mutter about the need to muzzle and leash the beast but none of them quite dared to say so aloud. Carona figured they were afraid to draw Khelgar's attention.

Carona could find nothing to satiate her own restlessness. None of the news that she garnered was good. The warning beacons were still lit day and night on the cliff top and the Harbormaster refused, in the curtest way, to even hear her pleas for a ship—any ship. Mentioning Daeghun's name didn't help. When she dropped a delicate offer of a gift of coin for his assistance, his face hardened and without another word, he gestured for a couple of his burly dock workers to escort her off the wharf.

She was desperate enough to try talking to the town elder. Mayne, worried and harassed by complaints from stranded travelers, heard her out politely enough but had no hope to offer. Not only were the ships in the harbor continuing to be sabotaged, but many of the local farms had been attacked as well. No one knew where the horde of lizardfolk had come from or why they had arrived in such numbers. They had made no demands; they just attacked—but they only destroyed property. Not one person had been hurt. It made little sense. The elder's attitude seemed to be one of helpless resignation. In her frustration, Carona felt a moment's nostalgia for West Harbor and its doughty folk.

Their seventh day in Highcliff was enlivened by the arrival of Galen and Cormick, who had left his four fellow watchmen at Fort Locke to help the garrison round up any remaining bandits and search for the missing patrols.

"With Tann gone, I just didn't feel comfortable staying at the fort," Galen told her as they ate lunch together. He and Cormick had taken a room at Carona's inn, and the merchant seemed determined to arrange that they share every meal. Carona was happy to see Galen but Cormick she could do without. "Frankly, my dear," he said in a lowered voice, "That acting commander Vallis is an idiot. Cormick was ready to strangle him and I could hardly blame him. I thought we'd best leave before he did something rash."

Carona smiled. Strangling the fort's commander would do little to advance Cormick's career, she guessed. After seven days in Highcliff, Carona was ready to strangle someone herself. She just didn't know who.

"Really, Carona, you need to deal with this lizardfolk problem like you did with the bandits near Fort Locke."

"I wish I could," she told Galen, not meaning it, but the idea started to soak into her head. Bladelings hadn't attacked since she had arrived in town, but if they were willing to strike at West Harbor, what would stop them from attacking here? Highcliff was a larger town but it had no militia worth noting.

In the seven days they had wasted here waiting for a ship, she could have already been back in Neverwinter—if nothing went wrong along the way. The problem was, with caravans disappearing from the coast road, she wasn't sure that the four of them should risk the trip. It would be stupid to throw their lives away out of boredom and impatience. Daeghun had told her to take a ship to Neverwinter, and as many times as he had irritated, confused and exasperated her, she couldn't say that he had ever given her bad advice.

Obviously the lizardfolk had a lair somewhere nearby, and if it could be found, they could be driven off. Not that Carona had much interest in sneaking into some dark damp cave. Still, it wouldn't hurt to look around. An entire tribe of lizardfolk had to leave some trace of their existence. If Daeghun was here, he could easily track the lizards who were watching the harbor. She doubted she could do so but perhaps Elanee had the skills or maybe there was a decent tracker somewhere in town. Once the lair was found, surely even these sheep-like townsfolk could be roused to take action.

She and Elanee spent the rest of the afternoon combing the beach without much success. The cliffs the town was named for were riddled with sea caves and she had little desire to explore them at random. The innkeeper had told her some of the caves flooded when the tide changed and the thought of getting trapped in one made her shiver. She was a poor swimmer. Drowning was not high on her list of preferred ways to die.

The next morning, all four of them rode out to the Jerro farm at Elder Mayne's suggestion. Shandra Jerro was one of the few farmers who hadn't run to the safety of town. She claimed to have seen lights in the ruins of a castle on top of the cliff overlooking the bay, a place no one had lived for many years.

"It seems an odd place for lizardfolk to settle," Elanee said as they rode their rented horses back to town. "I'd expect them to lair closer to water."

"Maybe it's not lizardfolk up there. Maybe someone else is hiding in the ruins," Neeshka said and she looked at Carona. "Maybe it's someone who wants to keep an eye on the town—or on someone within it."

"Bladelings?" she asked. Neeshka shrugged.

"Some of the sailors claim there are monsters up in the old castle. They say that with a good spyglass you can see them walking along the cliff late at night when the moon is full."

She had just finished dinner in the common room of the inn when she felt a presence loom behind her.

"May I have a word?" Cormick asked. Khelgar gave her a look and then hoisted his feet out of the chair beside him, muttering something about a tankard calling his name. "Let's go outside," Cormick added. She followed his gaze and saw the curious looks she was getting not just from Khelgar but from Neeshka, Elanee, and Galen, who were chatting by the fireplace. Maybe she and Cormick had been avoiding each other a shade too obviously. She gave an inward sigh and agreed.

The innkeeper had placed a bench under a spreading oak. It was no doubt a pleasant spot to sit in the summertime. Now it was chilly and dark. She sat. The seat felt damp, like everything else in this accursed town, she thought. She could hear the beating of the waves on the cliff below. There was no place in Highcliff where you couldn't hear the sea. After a moment, the bench creaked as Cormick lowered his bulk next to her. He wasn't as large as Lorne Starling had been but he still made her feel about Khelgar's height. She continued to look out towards the ocean.

"It's been a long time, Carona."

"I suppose so." He was as uncomfortable as she was, she realized. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. He had always been almost excessively self-assured. It had been a long time, as he said, but surely he hadn't changed so drastically.

"I want to thank you for all you did for Galen," he said. "You didn't have to help him and…well, I thank you for it."

"I like Galen."

"So do I," he said, a bit inanely, considering that she was aware they were lovers. "And what you did in Fort Locke—rescuing those prisoners…that was a good and proper act, Carona. Galen says they're calling you a hero." She turned her head a little so she could see his face out of the corner of her eye. He wasn't mocking her. He was embarrassed and for some reason that annoyed her.

"Don't worry, I was well paid," she said, and she was not too pleased to find her Harborman's drawl coming back to her. She shifted on the bench to face him. Cormick was sitting so close that her knee brushed his. She jerked away. "You needn't fear that you've been mistaken in my character."

"For pity's sake, Carona, I wanted to thank you, not to criticize you. Is that so hard to understand?" Now she was embarrassed too and that annoyed her further.

"I guess it is. I wonder why."

"Can't we talk without rehashing old arguments?" He made an exasperated sound. "Am I really so harsh? Is that how you see me?"

"You were always quick to judge, Cormick."

It was not too dark to tell he was looking down at her, his heavy brows lowered in a way that had no doubt caused many miscreants in the Docks to tremble and search their conscience. After a moment, he gave a half-amused snort.

"Aye, so I've been told. A hazard of my occupation, I suppose."

"No, you've always been that way," she snapped. "Not many of us lesser mortals have ever met your lofty standards." Cormick made no reply and she wished she had kept her own mouth shut. Carona let out a little breath. She was being harsh and judgmental herself, she realized. And he was right—these were old arguments.

"I didn't mean to rake up old…I'm sorry. This place is making me testy."

"I wish…" he started.

"Look," she said. "What's past is past. We can't change anything now—even if we wanted to."

Silence stretched between them.

"I heard you were going to check the castle ruins tomorrow," he said, as if she hadn't spoken. "Can you use another sword? Let me come with you."

There was another silence, and then she said, "If you like."