Legends of Balic - The Whispering One

�Gather round,� Armis whispered to the children surrounding him on the clear, cool night. A fire was burning in the pit just outside the city walls, the caravan arriving too late in the evening to be admitted at night. Perhaps if they had been sponsored by one of the three great Houses they would have been admitted, Armis thought to himself. No, they would definitely be allowed inside if they had be sponsored.

After the children from his caravan has settled near him, he began his story. �Around these parts, everyone has heard of the Emelegis, the Whispering One, and everyone fears him. Across the dunes and gullies, he glides across the peninsula, watching and waiting for a lone traveler to be out upon the roads at night.�

�What is he?� one of the children whispered.

�He�s a beast, he�s a ghost, he�s a man, he�s none of those,� Armis replied, he eyes shining above his graying black beard. �All anyone knows is, when he approaches, his victims here whispers, though they can�t here what the voice is saying. The sands whirl about�, Armis�s fingers making fanning motions on the sands, �and the air grows cool.� The storyteller smiled inwardly as some of the children pulled their cloaks tighter.

�And when he gets close enough, a gentle hand brushes across the back of the victim�s neck��

At this point in the story, some of the older kids ran their hands behind the necks of the younger, raising startled cries around the circle of listeners.

When everyone had settled back down, and the laughter had stopped, Armis continued. �And the eyes. The eyes are like tiny suns, pinpricks of bright yellow light. They�re angry eyes, angry at those who trespass on what Emelegis considers his land.� He paused. �We�re sitting on his land right now.� He looks distracted for a moment, looking out into the darkness outside the city. �What is that? Do you see that? And what is that noise I hear. Do you hear it?� The children shook their heads � they didn�t hear it. �Listen closer.�

From behind them came a harsh whisper �I�ve got you now my morsels. I�m going to eat you one by one.� In unison, the children leapt upwards and ran back to the wagon, seeking the comfort of their parents.

Armis chuckled. That ventriloquist trick had the certainly come in handy for his storytelling�s. He would have to use it more often. His bones creaking from the effort, he rose from the fire and walked back to the wagons.

And from the darkness, eyes followed him.