Chapter 18

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The only thing that appeared to remain in the library was the black robe. And then Eyrmysse herself began to change. Her face began to be supplanted by another. The effect scared Uriel, afraid of what he might see. He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his vision. Everything returned to normal when he opened his eyes.

Eyrmysse still stood before him, but now her eyes betrayed some inner conflict. She struggled within herself for another moment before she turned and walked away, wordlessly. Surprised, Uriel breathed a sigh of relief. But he allowed himself only a small one. Though Eyrmysse was lost among the maze of the library aisles, there was no guarantee that she would not return.

In an attempt to block Eyrmysse out of his mind, Uriel turned his attention back to the reference book. Thoroughly disgusted with the deviate incubi and succubi, he turned to another section in the book. There he discovered other vile creatures: ogres and trolls.

They supposedly originated in Mhajje, the continent south and east from Khaballe. It was generally accepted that both ogre and troll came to Khaballe during the Mhajjean War. But there were some accounts of them which predated the war. Those had been explained away as a few isolated instances where small groups of the creatures ventured across the Sea of Ghaury and settled in Khaballe.

The ogre was large, somewhat taller and broader than a good-sized human. It had strong limbs, a hairy body and a porcine head. It was carnivorous and was known to devour its human adversaries after killing them. They fought with abandon and their favorite weapon was the spear, although in a close battle, they were deadly with the two tusks which protruded from their faces. Their only weaknesses were their affinity for liquor and their somewhat less than inferior intellect. Their social unit was the clan and they dwelled in hilly regions near forests.

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