Tuculcha was sitting in her study, gloating over the Swamp Crew’s loss of Sterling when the Raven flopped into the room.“Tucy!” The Raven screeched, making Tuculcha jump, “You knew that they let me go, why did you not come and pick me up?!?! Do you want to try and climb downstairs as a Raven with only one good wing? I could not keep my balance and rolled all the way down!”
The dark sorceress could not help but laugh at the image of the bird rolling down the stairs.
“You would not be laughing if it was you who fell down the stairs!” The Raven pouted indignantly. “Somehow that Adventurer knew I was under a curse and promised to have the High Wizard Gareth remove it if we stayed away from them. I hate being a Raven, Tucy, I say leave them be.”
An evil grin played upon the soceress’ lips. “We will see what happens. They will have free passage out of the castle, after that who can say. If it is to my benefit I shall let them release Gareth. Venger has given me the task to protect Gareth’s prison and it is not easy to ignore such a duty. Then again, Venger must know that they used my mirror to break into his fortress… curse them for breaking it! Venger will seek revenge upon me I fear, so I think it is best if we flee from my castle for a while. I’m as good as dead when Venger gets a hold of me, unless I can strike a bargain with those heroes. I hope that Drow does not return, then I can deal with the Adventurer, he seems much more reasonable.”
She picked up the bird and took out the first-aid kit that she had prepared for his release. She tenderly cleaned and bandaged his sore wing. “First you let Venger turn me into a statue and now you let the Drow hurt me and shove me into a bag! Quite frankly I am glad he is gone! The nerve of that man…”
Tuculcha only half listened as Amaronte continued raving about his captivity. She had too many plans to work out to worry about his wounded pride. ‘Maybe I can use them to my advantage instead of just fighting with them…we shall see…”
