Death 


Sutekh sat beside the garden pool, staring into the darkness of the 
water.  Yolande was standing on the opposite side of the pool.  
	"It will probably be easiest for you to find Eldrad," Sutekh 
said, his eyes never leaving the water.  
	Yolande gestured and the darkness of the pool swirled aside, 
revealing the lands around Greyhawk.  Armies were on the move, 
humanoid armies.  They were marching on that great city.  
	"Impossible," Sutekh thought.  "How does he expect to take 
Greyhawk?" 
	As if from the eye of a bird, yet faster than any bird had 
ever flown, the vision in the pool swept over the armies and turned 
aside from their destination.  Soon it came to lands more familiar to 
Sutekh; Autumnstead.  Sutekh's heart pounded as the vision, slowing, 
passed over the village.  The remains of many fires still smoldered, 
but they had left few buildings intact.  The vision finally halted, as 
if the bird had perched a few hundred yards from the gates of 
Autumnwell.  The bodies of both orcs and humans were numerous, but the 
battle that had felled them was apparently not over.  Several hundred 
orcs, a score of ogres scattered among them, were arrayed before the 
castle, waiting.  They did not have to wait long.  
	The pool satisfied only sight, so Sutekh did not here the call 
of horns as the gates of Autumnwell were thrown open and a column of 
horsemen issued forth.  Immediately the column spread, growing wide; a 
prancing line of steel consisting of perhaps two hundred blades.  As 
the orcs surged forward, the horses were kicked into a charge.  
	Sutekh's eyes searched the ranks.  He recognized several of 
his companions, including Eldrad, on whom the vision was centered, but 
he also recognized another figure.  
	"Master!" he whispered desperately, not believing what he saw.  
	Yolande glanced at Sutekh and then centered the vision on the
one who had led the charge.  
	Both sides had apparently exhausted their spells, leaving only 
muscle and steel.  Though the orcs had the numbers, the defenders had 
the speed and skill.  There were a few among the horsemen, one time 
companions of Sutekh's for the most part, who hunted among the enemy 
for the remaining ogres.  The rest simply drove again and again 
through the orcs, long swords and sabers flashing.  The battle did not 
last long, the orcs soon broke rank and fled.  
	The battle over, the vision moved closer to Paladin Bernaldo 
Bravos.  At the gates of Autumnwell the aged warrior dismounted.  As 
soon as he released the reins he collapsed.  The vision followed as 
Bernaldo was carried through the courtyard and into the castle.  
	Yolande was beginning to feel the strain from having drawn out 
the spell too long, but still the vision held.  As Bernaldo was
carried to his bed, the vision clearly showed his breathing to be
labored.  Soon his breath was no more.  Yolande looked to Sutekh to
see his reaction, but there was none.  She let the darkness of the
water consume the pool and quietly left the garden, leaving Sutekh
alone.  
	As Sutekh stared into the water, his eyes slowly turned to 
those of a cold, emotionless killer.  It was what he did best.  

The Principality of Ulek had fallen, the prince now ruling from exile
in the County of Ulek.  Fax was besieged.  The forces of Ecthalion had
even entered the Selintan river valley, moving slowly toward the city
of Greyhawk.  
	Adaz and Sutekh were put to work scouting Celene's eastern 
border, though Sutekh did as much hunting as scouting.  His hatred of 
orcs had always been great and orcs made up the majority of 
Ecthalion's forces in that region.  These forces were mostly small 
scouting bands from the siege troops at Fax, wandering through the 
area in seemingly random fashion.  
	Sutekh plied terror tactics against them.  Orcs frequently
disappeared from patrols, but their bodies, or at least parts of 
them, were turned up by other orcs at startling times.  Adaz was 
horrified to see the corners of Sutekh's mouth turned up ever so 
slightly in combat; a malicious smile to compliment the coldness in 
his eyes.  Only once did she dare to question him about it.  
	"Combat is easy," was his reply.  "There are no decisions to 
be made, no judgments, no thinking; you simply act."  
	Adaz agreed that Sutekh had not been thinking in combat of 
late.  He often took tremendous risks, not seeming to care about 
consequences or injuries.  He had even fought a duel with a kzinti 
warrior, claiming a need to test the strength of the kzinti race.  It 
was as if he had a death wish, and the kzinti had nearly honored it.  


						Jeff Stehman