"Arise, Captain Neetah," Rollvag said in Vasquentan. "You and your band of one hundred are a most welcome sight in Drog country." Neetah rose from her knee as Rollvag carefully examined her bow and sword, searching for Elven origin. He saw that her weapons were even as the adventurer's! Rollvag was still not at ease. "I see that the Elves have been working overtime," he joked, attempting to lighten the mood of the situation. "Another refuge from the mines, or a Drog spy?," thought Rollvag to himself, "And where are the one hundred?" Neetah blinked in surprise, but managed to agree. She nodded politely, but she thought to herself: "This is Stormwielder? Perhaps I have made a mistake..." "So they call me Stormwielder?" Rollvag asked. Neetah nodded once, but grew more nervous with each passing second. "Well, I seem to collect titles that are flattering, if a bit overstated." Rollvag said, continuing in Vasquentan. "These fellows call me a General when I seem to perform like a Private." She said nothing, but paused to use her peripheral vision in order to check what the others were doing. Since they made no move to surround her, she did not panic, but turned her attention to the man that she fast expected was not Stormwielder. "Better get ready for something to happen!" her battle sense voice spoke to her inside... Rollvag's joviality could not penetrate Neetah's wariness. With growing impatience, he tried yet again to bring her into a conversation, to see if this Vasquentan beauty was truly an ally. "Oh well, if it's Stormwielder I am to be, then let me wield a storm." With that, Rollvag reached into his pocket and pulled out a Drog pendant taken from the lizards so long ago. With a quick flip of his wrist, he looped to pendant over his head! Rollvag turned to Neetah and said sarcastically in Drog: "Hutanac sizoh," meaning "Let's go hunting!" Elkin shouted "Wait!" in Vasquentan, but it was too late. Neetah's sword was out of its sheath before Rollvag had finished the sentence. Rollvag didn't know it, but Elkin did: Neetah could kill ten men in the space of ten seconds. Rollvag suddenly became aware that he was not dealing with an average swordswoman, when the thrust he side-stepped snapped briskly past his chest, missing by a hair's width. Rollvag drew his own sword and shouted to the others: "Stand still! No weapons!" Elkin, who was now very alarmed, shouted "She's for real, Rollvag!!!" This did not deter either of them. Elkin raised his staff. Rollvag's blade blocked Neetah's head cut, and then deflected a vicious swipe at his leg. Sparks leapt away from the contacts between the energy swords. Several thoughts crossed Rollvag's mind: "She is very strong...but we need to know...I hope that one hundred arrows will not shower me..." Neetah paused. "A better than average swordsman!" she thought. "Too bad for their side..." "Got something against Drogs?" Rollvag asked innocently in Vasquentan. After a feint, which Rollvag reacted to, Neetah launched her left leg into a swift side kick. Rollvag ducked barely in time as the sound of Neetah's foot crackled in his right ear. Neetah attacked with renewed vigor, but became increasingly aware that not a single blow was aimed in her direction, nor was the rest of the party doing anything but watching. Rollvag broke away and stepped behind a small tree. Neetah was by now very confused and appeared to be ready to run. Mumbling a small prayer, Rollvag brought up his sword before him in salute. "Sorry, had to be sure." he said proudly. With that, he slid his sword back into its sheath. He stepped from behind the tree in full view of Neetah and removed the pendant from around his neck. For a moment, she brought her sword up as if to run him through, but with an unwavering stance, Rollvag simply smiled. "Why?" she asked, swordtip inches from Rollvag. "Why not?" "That's not an answer!" "That's the problem: Not enough answers to too many questions," Rollvag said evenly. She started to glare at him, but her eyebrows merely raised and a small smile timidly appeared on her face. Her logical mind began to add things up. Rollvag continued: "Too often, what seems to be is not, and we must make sure of what is. I would rather go up against one hundred now instead of one thousand later." "I understand that you are not what you at first seemed, but where did you get that?" she demanded as her sword tip turned away from him to the pendant in his hand. "Just a souvenir of a battle I never fought..." "Then you must be Swordwielder!," she added happily. Rollvag made as if to put the pendant into his pocket but stopped. He held it out to her. "A peace offering?" Battle sense spoke in her again: "Deprive you of your souvenir?" she asked in mock concern. He did not move. "I would have nothing of Drog scourge." she growled as her swordtip circled the pendant. "That is what the Drog believe." he said. With a flourish, he draped the pendant over the swordtip and turned to his companions. "Come, there is much to talk about and I think this is the last calm before the storm--the real storm..." Back to Arveta 3 Table of Contents Back to Arveta List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Abram Paradies. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com