"It could also be a card of waiting. That certain things must come to pass before you can take action against your enemy."

"Wait for how long?"

"The cards cannot reckon the time as we understand it. You ask what I cannot answer, Lord Strahd. Perhaps you already have the answers and you need not look to the cards at all."

"Then let us hope I find them soon or else all of Barovia will suffer, including the Vistani."

"Because of the war that's to come?"

"Indeed. You have reminded me of Eva's warning; was there nothing more?"

"You must study your enemy, and more importantly, you must not underestimate him."

"Every good general knows and does that."

"And you must trust in your friends."

"I have none."

"Yet they are there all the same. The animals of the wood, the wind and the rain, the very earth of Barovia itself."

"And the Vistani?"

"We will help all we can, Lord Strahd-in our own way. But we are not sword-fighters."

I was well aware of that.

"But we can watch all things for you, even the Necromancer."

"Only from a safe distance. He is a danger to any who attract his notice. His powers are such that he can kill ordinary men without much effort or thought."

"As I saw in the dreams. He tried to kill you with the fiery needles, but the mist carried you away."

It was part of their magic to rely on dreams. Not nearly as efficient or controlled as my own practice of the Art, but no less powerful. I could trust in it even if I hadn't experienced the immediate proof of it last night.

"That is what happened. Any Vistani approaching him will not be so fortunate. Why was I not told of his coming by your people first?"

"None of our tribe were camped in that wood. The scouts said there was no game to be found there so they moved elsewhere. I saw him in my dreams, though, not clearly, for he has cloaked himself too well. I did not understand their import until the lady's message was brought to our camp along with the servant's gossip of a stranger to her house, then I knew the time of the Necromancer had finally come."

"I would rather that he left, and quickly. Can your people take this Necromancer through the Mists and back to his own land?"

"No more than we could take you."

Well, I had to ask.

"Will he find his own way back?"

"With the white card's influence in the reading the answer is both yes and no."

"How can that be?"

She spread her hands, canting her head to one side. She did not know. Going to the Vistani to find out about the future could be a very frustrating experience, which is why I had always previously avoided it. I was coming to the conclusion I should leave now and let things look after themselves.

"There is perhaps one other way I might help you now," she said. She collected the cards and put them away, then from her skirt pocket drew forth a small pouch. It was so heavily embroidered that the fabric beneath the decoration was hardly visible. She opened the loose knot on the drawstrings and reached in, taking out a carved wooden ring, placing it between us on the table. Next she brought out a crystal ball. It was as large as an apple and clear as mountain water, quite perfect. She set it upon the ring base.

I remained quiet, allowing her to concentrate while she stared into it. After a few moments the crystal became cloudy, its center going white and roiling like the border Mists.

"Do you see it?" she whispered.

I pressed my own gaze hard upon the ball, seeing nothing more than mist at first, then a tiny picture faded in and out so quickly I was not sure if I had only imagined it.

"Keep looking," she ordered.

I put all my focus into it. The picture returned, and held long enough for me to perceive what it was. "Iron gates," I said.

They were familiar, being the entry to the manor house Azalin had taken over. The view in the crystal moved forward through them, then up to the huge oak door of the house itself. I seemed to pass through without it opening and stood in an elegant hallway. This was not the place as it was, nor even the illusion Azalin had cast.

"Is this what will be in the future?" I asked.

"Perhaps."

I traveled down the hall to a vast round chamber, thick-walled with a round window set in the center of the roof. A full moon shone down, bathing the circular room with a cold blue light. The light formed a sphere in the center of some apparatus I did not recognize. The sphere grew brighter and brighter until I could not bear it and had to turn away. When I looked back the image was gone and the light fading from the crystal. The mist folded over it, then the ball became clear again.

Ilka put a trembling hand to her brow. I waited until she seemed recovered then asked, "What is the meaning?"

She gave a little laugh. "That is the peril of seeing the future. It has no meaning until it has become the past."

"But this is something that will happen?"

"Probably, since the image was so clear. Sometimes, when there are too many uncertainties over a specific event the outcome is fogged, or there can be several outcomes to confuse you. Beware of them. Trust the future only after it has happened."

"Which isn't much help to me, for by the time it has happened we might all be destroyed."

"But the present is where you must be. In the present will this war be won… or lost. Prepare, watch, and wait."

"I would do that anyway."

"But this time you will have this to aid you." She picked up the ball and pressed it into my hands. It felt heavy and cool.

I could have offered a polite protest, but it would have been inappropriate here; this was too magnificent a gesture. "You are sure?"

"I am old, Lord Strahd, I must soon pass it to someone. To use it tires me more than you can imagine, but you have much more power than I ever had even in my youth. You will be able to use it to see many things and protect Barovia. But be warned: the future is often changeable, and the past can be made into a lie by wishes of what might have been. The uncorrupted present is best, for then it will show you only the truth of what is happening. It is also much less draining."

"How do I see the present?"

"Look hard into the crystal and think of a place you wish to see."

Placing the ball back on its pedestal I concentrated and was surprised how swiftly a view of Castle Ravenloft appeared in its depths. The image was small but very detailed, every stone visible. I leaned closer.

"No need for that," she said above me. "Now that the image is fixed in your mind just shut your eyes."

I did so; the view remained clear in my mind and grew larger until I seemed to be there. When I desired to move toward the castle my view did just that. I fairly flew toward it. In I came past the overlook, swooped up the chapel wall, then down and around to the front to my very room. I passed through the locked windows and went straight to my library. No candles were lit, but I could see everything perfectly, and knew it was the present. All was as I had left it the night before when I had gone to visit the village.

Pulling back, I opened my eyes and had to blink as a wave of dizziness washed over me.

"You will get used to that," said Ilka as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"It is truly amazing. Will I be able to travel anywhere in Barovia with this?"

"Only in your mind. And you cannot see into a place you're not familiar with, however, you may begin in a known place and travel to the unknown from that point. Or you may think of a person you wish to see and his image will come to you along with wherever they might be."

I had to test this out and immediately thought of Azalin, recalling his form and then focusing on the ball. In a few moments I seemed to be hovering several feet above him as he sat at a table in the manor house studying the baron's book. Though too far away to see which page he was on, it was obvious he was trying to memorize whatever spell was before him. Often had I done the same myself, spending hours poring over the volumes in my library.