Grey clouds hid the sun. A smell of rot drifted on the wind, and sometimes Kormak found there was a strange taste in his mouth as if invisible spores had somehow found their way in. His tongue tingled at times and he felt dizzy in the saddle. He pulled out the wraithstone amulet. It was a little darker, and black threads seemed to be extending itself through the core of the stone. They were in a shadowblight, for sure. Kormak and Brandon rode beside each other. Lucas was at the front, on point, watching the road. Aisha rode behind them with Shae. The wolf’s tail hung between its legs and sometimes it raised its muzzle, sniffed the air and whimpered. Sometimes it snarled fiercely. “I don’t like this smell,” said Brandon. He wrinkled his nose. The huge moustache lifted like a raised eyebrow. Kormak said,“There is a taint on this land, the effect of the Defiler’s curse. Dark sorcery curdled an entire nation, turning the land sour, filling it with evil magical energies.”
