"None of my people sent that beast," said the summoner after swallowing his food. "I can assure you of that."
"I'm not the one you need to assure," said Laquatas. "Look, I can control the Order troops for now, but if your raiders don't help out more today, I can't say what those soldiers will do. They have lost a lot of men, and you have lost none. They didn't trust the Cabal to begin with, and now a beast roams their camp at night. Help me contain their anger. Use your creatures to stave off the nantuko today, and maybe this treaty can last long enough for you to get the Mirari and finish this conflict for good."
"We will do what we can, Ambassador."
The creature hid in the shadows, watching as tents were stowed and soldiers formed up in a phalanx. It could feel the presence of the nantuko nearby. They too watched the allied forces prepare for the march. It did not fear the mantis warriors. They could not kill it. They could not even find it. It could stand motionless for days if need be. Its only fear was that they would get to its quarry first. That it could not allow.
Traybor was true to his word on the second day. The summoners sent their dementia creatures into the forest around the allied forces. Giant spiders swung through the trees on thick lines of silk. Large cats that once might have been black panthers but now had an extra set of legs or the head of wolf all prowled the forest floor to either side of the phalanx. The nantuko attacked the beasts several times throughout the morning, but never got close enough to the allied forces to kill any soldiers. The phalanx made good time hacking a path through the forest.
Laquatas maintained his scans, at first to insure the dementia creatures were indeed keeping the bugs away but also to keep an eye on those same Cabal protectors to sense any change in their hunting pattern that might be a precursor to an attack. Several times during the day, Laquatas also felt the presence of something else, something that was neither nantuko nor dementia creature. It was always behind the allied forces, and each time he sensed its presence, the creature quickly faded back out of range.
It must be the same beast that entered the camp last night, thought Laquatas after sensing the creature again. But if it's not a dementia creature, then what is it, and who sent it? And what does it want?
Distracted by the beast in the shadows, Laquatas didn't notice that a hole had opened up in the Cabal's dementia web surrounding the forces-until it was too late. Two of the spiders traveling through the trees ahead of the phalanx winked out of existence just as the lead panther bolted into the forest, leaving a path down through the trees for an attack.
Before Laquatas could raise the alarm, three nantuko dropped in front of the phalanx and attacked the nearest Order soldiers. One bug stabbed its claws into his foe, but the Order guard was able to twist out of the way, and the bug hit the man's shoulder instead of his chest.
The soldier next to him was not so lucky. The bug swiped its razor-sharp forearm down, opening up a long diagonal gash across the man's torso. The soldier screamed and fell to the ground.
The third bug advanced on its prey, but before it could strike, the nantuko was thrown to the ground as a six-legged panther barreled into it from the side. Prone with a six-hundred-pound cat standing on its thorax and legs, the nantuko slashed with its serrated forearms, sending globs of skin and muscle flying into the air in an effort to get away.
The other two bugs leaped into the trees and disappeared, but the entire front quarter of the phalanx descended upon the remaining nantuko with their spears and swords. Soldiers hacked away at the creature's legs and arms, trying to immobilize the bug before it could extract itself from the clutches of the dementia cat. As the panther dissipated into inky, black smoke, the sergeant who now led the Order troops, jumped on top of the bug and plunged his spear through its thorax, pinning it to the ground once again.
A great cheer erupted from the Order troops as they reveled in their first victory in the forest. The sergeant brought the head of the nantuko warrior back toward Laquatas on the end of his spear.
"A present for you and your Cabal comrades, my lord," said the sergeant, presenting the head to Laquatas.
"Excellent work, Sergeant," replied Laquatas. "A true team effort. Tend to the wounded, and make preparations for camp. Tonight we celebrate."
While the Order troops cleared the area for a camp, Laquatas reached out with his mind to levitate the severed nantuko skull and headed over toward Traybor with the head bobbing behind him.
"Master Traybor," began Laquatas as he stopped and willed the prize to float up in front of him. "A job well done today. Here is the prize for your cooperation. I think this may help you in your future endeavors, as I believe you have never gotten close enough to tag a nantuko."
"Indeed I have not, Ambassador," said Traybor as he grabbed the head out of the air. "I would have preferred it whole, but the head will make a nice addition to my cats."
Laquatas turned to leave then turned back. "One more thing, Traybor," he said, smiling. "I believe the beast that attacked the Order camp last night was shadowing us today. Did any of your cats spot it? I believe it could be even more dangerous than the nantuko."
"No, Ambassador," smiled Traybor. "We detected nothing but the nantuko today. If you are scared, perhaps you would like to camp with the Cabal tonight?"
Laquatas nearly lost his calm demeanor at this latest aspersion from the arrogant, young summoner. After a moment, he replied, "No. Thank you. I will stay with the Order. They need my leadership after the loss of their lieutenant."
"I understand completely, Ambassador," said Traybor. "Don't worry about us. I'm sure the Cabal will be safe from your shadow."
Laquatas turned on his heels and walked briskly back toward the Order forces. Traybor obviously knows what that beast is, thought Laquatas. But I won't get it out of him. He's too smart for his own good. It may be time to get rid of Master Traybor and find a summoner I can work with more easily.
The beast watched its prey move through the burgeoning camp. The tall, silvery-skinned mage headed back into the heart of the Order forces. After last night, the watch would be doubled again. There would be precious few openings it could slip through to get at the mer. But it could wait, and if an opportunity didn't present itself, it would just have to create a hole in the camp defenses.
Laquatas slipped out of his cot, pulled the satchel out from underneath the bed, and opened it on the wool blanket. He needed no light to see the contents. There was more light seeping into the tent from the dying fires outside than ever filtered down to the bottom of the sea. He reached underneath the cot once more and pulled out the long, thin blade from the spear the sergeant had used to kill the nantuko that afternoon.
"I could not have asked for a more fitting weapon," said the mer softly.
Laquatas laid the spearhead on one side of the open satchel and pulled out several small vials from protected pockets on the other side. He carefully measured several drams of a fine, white powder into a small bowl, then scanned the row of vials arrayed on the satchel.
"This should do the trick nicely," said Laquatas. "Immobilizes instantly, but kills slowly and painfully. I might even get to watch the poor bastard die since he won't be able to talk once the poison enters his system."
The mage uncorked the vial and slowly tipped it over above the bowl. One, two, three drops fell from the lip of the vial, making small, wet circles in the white powder. Laquatas then took his pestle and ground the liquid into the powder until there was a nice white paste in the bottom of the bowl. Taking a stiff brush from the satchel, the mer scraped up the paste and spread it on the tip and edges of the spear blade.