Into the Heart of Evil Read Online Free PDF

skills. 
    “Ardan here is still a scout, bowyer and to some
degree a weapon smith now too.  As the senior warrior, he will be your
second.”  He patted the scar in the shape of a sword on Ardan’s left breast,
the scales about it having been burnt away permanently.  “I have it on good
sources that if he performs on this quest like he has in the past, perhaps
he’ll get a banner around that sword before too long,” he said, alluding to the
further mark that every elite warrior bore on his chest. 
    Grabbing Arloch by the shoulder, he continued,
“Arloch, as you know, is a leatherworker.  Both he and Ardan have been through
much of the territory you’ll be traveling through repeatedly and know the
terrain well.  Additionally, they both have spent quite a bit of time
developing their skills in wilderness lore.  I believe you’ll find them apt
guides as you make your way through the forest.”
    Khazak Mail Fist pointed to the pair of brothers.
“Tohr and Kahn are two of our more skilled climbers from the Deep Guard and
have become very handy with locks and traps.  I think they’ll serve you well
where you’re going.  Who knows, if you can’t find the key to Palacid, perhaps
they can pick the lock for you.” 
    At this, both Tohr and Kahn snickered and smiled
roguish smiles.
    “Finally, Terrim here is one of our more skilled
dog handlers.  We’ll be sending a few packdogs with you, so his skills will be
in high demand.”
    Manebrow nodded. “I thank the council for their
generosity, sire.  I’m sure this team will perform exceptionally well.” 
    The chamberlain nodded in agreement. 
    “I would know, however, more about where it is
that I’m taking them,” Manebrow asked cautiously.
    Khazak Mail Fist nodded. “You will know all we
know shortly.  First, let’s go to the Feast of the Day of Beginnings.  I think
you will see that much has been prepared for you already, and you’ll have the
opportunity to request what more you need once the quest is made clear to you.” 
He patted Manebrow on the shoulder, as a father would his son, though the two
of them were close in age. “Now, our mates and children await us at the
celebration.  Go.  Enjoy the celebration and your families as we wait until the
council assembles in preparation for the telling of what is known about the
mission before you.”
     

     
    There had been a recent attempt on the life of
Lord Karthan, Lord of the Kale Gen.  Attempt is not really the word for what
happened, however.  Insurrection is a more apt description.  For at the end of
the Trials of Caste, as the prizes of rank were given and the quest announced,
several kobolds, almost all of them elite warriors with no love for Lord
Karthan, had launched an uncoordinated attack on Lord Karthan and his body
guard.  A particularly dour kobold named Troll, from the Wolf Riders, had
launched the insurrection before his co-conspirators were ready, though his
charismatic companion Kort, from the Patrol Guard, had jumped in to try to help
him succeed anyway.  In the end, they had all been put down or captured before
they could achieve their objectives.  All of them were now securely held in
Lord Karthan’s prison; all of them, that is, except for Mynar the Sorcerer.
    Mynar the Sorcerer was no ordinary kobold.  No,
kobolds of his status and… special talents… lived by a different set of rules. 
For Mynar had not come by the honor name of Sorcerer because of his mesmerizing
way of speaking or his way of manipulating things behind the scenes.  No, Mynar
had actual abilities.  He could read minds, or perhaps better said, he could
swim through the consciousness of a person’s mind, often diving into their
deeper memories to find what he wanted. 
    Over his few decades of life, Mynar had learned to
not only read what was there, but to speak in the minds of others, and to voice
his thoughts in images.  Eventually, he had learned to help people see what he
wanted them to