The darkenbeast's quarry was near.

In morbid elation, the creature rose, flying nearly parallel to the trunk of the cedar until it was high enough to gain a better vantage point. As its wings beat faster to carry it over the branches and tall bushes, the darkenbeast rolled its head back on its elongated neck and voiced a victory cry that threw the occupants of the woods into an unnerving quiet.

The creature skimmed above the lower canopy, urged on by the scent of blood and the hope of reward the man's broken body might bring.

Galvin ambled slowly, exhausted and thankfully near his destination. Every several feet, he stretched out his right arm to steady himself against a tree. He felt weak and apprehensive. Something bothered him even more than his wound, making the short hairs rise on the back of his neck. Insects were in abundance. Droves of flies and mosquitoes were drawn to his bleeding shoulder, their soft buzzing annoying. But there were no louder night sounds, no birds, no frogs, no snapping twigs from foxes or other night-hunting creatures. He glanced nervously about as he continued his trek, stopping frequently, the quiet nagging at him. Eventually he dismissed his worrying as silly fears brought about by his loss of blood. He glanced about once more, then pushed on.

It was shortly before dawn when the woods began to thin. Gradually the ground cover turned to ferns and large, thick-leaved waxy plants and vines, and Galvin found himself at the edge of a campsite by the great marsh. He had put almost ten miles between himself and the buried gnoll. He started toward a one-man tent at the far side of the clearing, halting halfway there and whirling shakily at the sound of hoofbeats muted in the thick grass.

"You're winded, something I thought I'd never see," a deep voice observed. "And you're late-also unusual for you, my two-legged friend. I swear by my mane that this mission might be worthwhile after all. It's just barely started, and it's already showing me a new side of you."

The speaker measured well over seven feet tall from the hooves of his front legs to the top of his head, which was crowned with a shock of curly, ink-black hair, cropped short on the sides with a hank in the back hanging braided below his shoulders. He possessed the body of a man from the waist up, boasting a tanned, muscular, hairless chest and an angular face covered with a short, well-trimmed black beard streaked with gray. The remainder of his body resembled a war-horse, big and black and powerful, the kind only the wealthiest knights in Faerun rode. The centaur, Wynter, smiled broadly at Galvin, then pursed his lips when he saw that the druid was injured.

"What happened?" Wynter's voice was unusually gentle for his size. The centaur moved closer to better assess Galvin's wound, but the druid pivoted and stumbled to the far side of the camp, where he had left his belongings. Bending to rummage in a satchel, he pulled out a wine flask, uncorked it, and took a deep draft, letting the warm, red liquid run around in his mouth before answering.

"I killed the spy, Wyn."

"Did the spy attack you? Why? How badly are you hurt?" the centaur pressed, worry etched on his handsome face.

Galvin paused to dig deeper into his satchel, keeping his back to the centaur. He valued strength and was too proud to let Wynter know his condition. Nor did he want the centaur to know he was bothered by killing the gnoll spy. Wynter was a pacifist, and the druid couldn't admit that Wynter's beliefs had affected his own through the years. At last his searching was successful, and he retrieved a handful of berries that appeared freshly picked. The druid scooped them into his mouth and swallowed, then knelt and made a show of rearranging the contents of his pack. He was growing weaker by the minute and was angry at himself for not realizing the severity of his injury. While he continued his ruse, he felt the special berries begin to work, lessening his discomfort. He didn't have the right herbs in his pouch to stop the bleeding, but he would attend to that soon.

"Talk to me, Galvin." Wynter was determined. "Tell me what happened." The centaur was patient, accustomed to slowly extracting information from his druid friend.

"It was my fault," Galvin said, glancing at the tent. He was relieved that their small band's other member, a politician from Aglarond, remained asleep. There would be time enough in the morning to discuss the situation and send the council member back to Glarondar, where Aglarond's chief officials were gathered.

"And…?" Wynter coaxed, laying a large, callused hand on Galvin's head.

"The spy was a gnoll. I pushed him too hard… made him mad."

"And…?"

"And he attacked me, but not until I was able to get some information from him."

"Are you all right?" The centaur refused to let the issue drop.

Galvin grimaced; he never lied to the centaur, who was the closest friend he would admit having. He usually just avoided Wynter's questions when they became too personal. However, this time he knew the centaur was going to bulldog him. He relented.

"It's a deep wound, but I'll live," Galvin finally replied, keeping his voice down so the council member wouldn't hear them. "And I'll learn not to be so careless this close to Thay." He drew his cloak over his injured shoulder, turned to face the centaur, then felt himself growing faint. He sat quickly and crossed his legs. "I'll get some rest, then I'll find some healing herbs. I'll be fine."

"Fine. At least tell me what you learned." The centaur's face still showed concern, and Galvin offered him a weak smile to put him at ease.

"It seems a Red Wizard called Maligor, who is somewhere in Amruthar, wants to expand his holdings. Red Wizards are always looking for ways to become more powerful. But there's something about this that catches my interest."

"I remember the name Maligor," Wynter interrupted. "He had just become a zulkir when I left Thay." The centaur scratched his head, then indicated the tent. "Maybe the Aglarond council member is right. If a zulkir's involved in this, maybe Aglarond is in jeopardy. Did you find out if Aglarond is Maligor's target?"

"The gnoll didn't know."

"Didn't know? Well, Galvin. Give me your best guess. What do you think is up?"

The druid leaned against his pack for support. "I'll have to go to Thay to find out."

"We, you mean." Wynter shook his head and grinned, showing a row of even, white teeth. "The Red Wizards of Thay are one of your demons, my friend. I think you're looking for an excuse to poke around inside that evil country."

The druid started to argue, but the centaur cut him off.

"I was born there, and I have no love for the country nor the wizards' malevolent politics." Wynter flicked his tail for emphasis. "You'll need me as a guide."

"I'm going, too." The tent flap parted. Despite the temperate climate, the young woman had a blanket pulled about her. Foolish civilized modesty, Galvin thought.

She was slight, little more than five feet tall, and slender and graceful like an elf. Yet Brenna Graycloak was a human, with earth-brown eyes, rounded cheekbones, and a nose that turned faintly upward at the end. In the moonlight, her skin looked pale, the complexion of a scholar who locked herself in libraries all day. Her dark red hair hung to her waist, blue ribbons intertwining with the curls and smelling altogether of lilacs. Galvin found her distracting and out of place.

"I need to know what's happening in Thay," she continued, glancing at the druid. "If there's a Red Wizard planning war, I'm going to find out about it."

For long minutes, Brenna lectured the Harpers, detailing her council's responsibility to protect the people of Aglarond and her own duty to discover Thay's current military plans. She tossed her hair back, crossed her arms beneath the blanket, and eyed them sternly.