"Who goes there?" she asked, her words echoing in the forest.

The only reply that came was the sound of inhuman shrieking, and a number of beings emerged from the forest.  They were tall and covered with thick sinew, but each one seemed passably human somehow.  Most of them had clubs, a few carried rusted spears in hands that had been made into claws.  All of them hissed and screamed like mad things, rushing at her in a semblance of an organized attack.  She let fly with her arrows and downed two of them immediately, then took to her heels and ran from the mob of creatures. 

"Gettt herrr!" they screamed in unison.

She turned again and fired, this time allowing a bit of mana to slip into her arrows.  The shafts began to glow with blue fire as she let them fly, each arrow hitting one of the creatures and enveloping it in a cold, blue aura.  These were Cold Arrows, designed to slow them so she could take aim and fire.  But there were far too many of the things to slow, and she was nearly out of arrows.  The monsters had almost gotten to her when a rain of arrows erupted from behind her, pelting them and sending most of them to the ground.  As they died, she saw steam rising from their open mouths and eyes, steam that bore tortured faces and bodies.  The corpses they left behind were of female warriors.  She turned to face her sudden benefactors.

"Who are you?" she asked.

A tall woman with burning, red hair stood at the forefront, behind her were two other archers wearing a similar garb.

"I am Kashya, tactician to the Sisters of the Sightless Eye.  Who are you?" her voice was stern and demanding.

"I am Alyssa."

"A mercenary, then?  Why are you here?"

"I am looking for employment…"

"Hmmm, is that so?  You have strange skills, Alyssa, even stranger is your accent."

"I'm from the South Sea."

"An Amazon?  This is passing strange, I may have an opportunity for employment, would that please you?"

"Yes."

A scream came from the forest and another of the monstrosities ran towards Kashya.  Kashya readied her bow, but Alyssa could see that the monster would be on her before she could fire.  Alyssa drew her spear and impaled the creature upon it, stopping it dead in its tracks with her savage stab.  The thing writhed for a moment on the end of her spear before relenting, its death throes ceased.  Then the smoke issued from its mouth and eyes and it became a normal woman's corpse.

"What manner of things are these?" Alyssa asked, horrified.

"These," Kashya looked down, "were once Rogues of the Sightless Eye.  Now, they are abominations."

"How?"

"I do not know… many of our Rogues have disappeared… and these things appeared shortly after."

"I don't understand." Alyssa looked at the corpse on the ground.  It was hard to imagine what force could have twisted it so.

"Come back to the encampment with us, perhaps I can fill you in more when we get there…"

"I would be honored, Kashya." Alyssa replied.

"Tami, Sarah, go back to the encampment, Alyssa and I will catch up to you later.  Tell Warriv to meet me at the gate."

"Yes commander," the two replied simultaneously.

They left, making their way through the underbrush with practiced skill.  After they disappeared over a small hill, Kashya began to speak.

"The things you saw are corrupted Sisters of the Sightless Eye, made so by a demon's magic."

"Which demon?"

"Andariel, the Maiden of Anguish.  She invaded the Monastery of the Sightless Eye from the catacombs and corrupted the remains of our most valiant warriors.  Those Rogues who tried to stand against her were also corrupted, and became the creatures that attacked us just now."

"How do you know this?"

"Akara, our priestess and Oracle, she knows much of the legends of both angels and demons."

They were silent as they traveled both of them thinking their interior and private thoughts.  Passing over two small hills, Alyssa saw the Citadel of the Sightless Eye, dominated by a huge monastery in its center.  No doubt that was the monastery Kashya has spoken of, for even from a distance one could see its corruption.  A caravan was stopped in front of the main gates of the Citadel, many of its wagons appeared to have been attacked, and several of them were missing.  As they got closer she saw that there was a bustle of activity near the caravan, most likely repair work.  A swarthy man hailed them as they neared, on his head was a turban like the people of Lut Gholein wore to protect their heads from the desert sun.

"Kashya, there was been another attack!" the man's voice was reedy and high, he sounded like a man prone to stress.

"I know, Warriv, we were also attacked in the forests."

"And who is that beside you?"

"My name is Alyssa."

Warriv walked towards them with a barely perceptible limp, and Alyssa saw that the man was perhaps stronger than his voice made him out to be.  Strong muscles moved beneath his desert-dweller's robes.  No doubt that this was the caravan master.

"Greetings, Alyssa, it has been long since I've seen anyone from the South Seas, the trails there have become impassable of late.  Kashya, a few of the others have disappeared into the monastery… I tried to dissuade them, but couldn't."