Mercifully, Chance had managed to get at least a little sleep despite the pain. Sleep, or simply being unconscious, was the only time he couldn't feel it. It was also the only time he didn't think about Jake or Elena. About how they were probably worried for his safety, and what they were doing to try and rescue him. In part, he hoped they would come soon. But at the same time, he didn't want them to come. He feared that the lich would in fact capture them. Possibly kill them, or worse. Killing them would be the lesser of two evils. Chance didn't want to think of the two kats he was closest to also being tortured as he was. He knew Elena had been through this all before, and the hatred inside him for Kirok was rekindled anew. He hated that mage. Chance rarely ever wished anything bad on anyone, but he wanted nothing more than to see that wizard torn apart. Perhaps by one of his own werekats, if not by Chance himself.
He looked up at the sound of the door, his eyes full of hatred.
"Ah, I see your awake early this morning."
Morning again? How long had he been there?
"Don't worry, it won't be much longer. I believe they should arrive today. This may just be your last 'session'."
"Now what are you going to do?" His voice was weak, but still defiant. This throat was dry, his lips cracked. The constant pain dulled his senses, but he still tried to fight it off.
"Kougré is quite unpredictable. There is still a very slight chance that she could succeed today. I'm not prepared for that risk. So I'm preparing some additional traps for her and your partner. You shall be one of them."
A pair of koblins ran in carrying a small table. They set it down near Chance, and two more koblins set a handful of small vials and jars on top of it.
'Great', Chance thought. 'Now what?'
The werekat walked over and again grabbed Chance by his badly infected wrists. He hissed, trying to ignore the pain of the beast's grasp.
Kirok picked up one of the vials and, very carefully, opened it. The contents were a greenish liquid that released a slight steam on contact with the air. Gently, taking care not to slosh or spill the liquid, he poured a tiny amount, only a teaspoon or so, into a glass bowl. He then resealed the vial.
"I really suggest you try not to move."
The wizard stepped back, carefully holding the bowl in one hand. He used a small glass rod with a rounded end, and dipped it into the liquid. With a quick jerk of his wrist, a fine mist of minute droplets were flung off of the rod, and onto Chance's badly damaged back. Chance didn't think anything could hurt worse than the pain which had already been inflicted upon him. He was seriously wrong! The acid burned deep, causing a nauseating smell as it rotted his flesh on contact. His back, shoulders, arms, chest, legs... the wizard made sure he felt every tiny drop of the acid, not letting it hit the same place twice.
Chance's throat was so dry now that even screaming caused it to bleed. Small red droplets coated his lips. He tried to cough the blood out of his throat and lungs, but that just made the pain of his body even worse.
When Kirok had finished with the acid, he gently set the bowl and rod down inside a larger glass bowl. He then picked up a pouch and poured it's contents, which appeared to be nothing more than sand, into the bowl, completely covering the smaller bowl and rod. There was a hiss as the remaining acid burned away in the sand.
"Now then. For the trap itself."
Taking another bowl, this one of clay, he opened a jar of powdered plant leaves and placed a small scoop of it into the bowl. He then poured a small amount of water into the bowl and stirred the mixture.
"Nerium is a beautiful plant. It's colorful flowers make it very popular in gardens. But it is also one of the strongest toxins known. When used by a trained herbalist, it can treat snake bites. But it also has other, not-so-helpful uses. Well, quite helpful to me though. But not to you."
The werekat tightened its grip on Chance's wrists, then grabbed his chin with it's other hand. Chance tried to struggle against the beast's grip, but the pain was too intense. He could barely move, and even the slightest motion caused the tiny razors inside of him to cut deeper. Kirok poured the mixture into Chance's mouth, then the werekat pushed his jaw closed. He fought as hard as he could, trying to spit out the foul-tasting liquid. He couldn't breathe, and involuntarily swallowed. The werekat released it's grip on his face and he immediately began coughing, but it was too late.
"That's my insurance should she, by some miracle, actually manage to free you and escape from here."
He set the bowl back down and picked up the last vial.
"Manchineel. The 'death apple'. One of my favorite plants."
The liquid was milky-white. He picked up another glass rod and dipped it into the solution.
"You may want to keep your eyes closed for this one. Contact will cause blindness."
He pulled the rod out of the vial, the flicked his wrist. Chance closed his eyes tightly, and was expecting to feel more of the terrible burning that he did from the acid. Nothing. He didn't even feel the tiny droplets touch his already badly burned chest. Three more times Kirok flicked some of the liquid onto him, but he never even noticed.
"There."
Carefully, Chance opened his eyes.
"Did you miss?" He tried to sound cocky, but it came out as little more than a hoarse whisper.
"No. It will take a few minutes before you start to notice. But once it begins, you will notice."
The werekat let go as the koblins ran back in and proceeded to remove the table and it's contents.
The red-furred wizard turned to leave, but reached up and placed a small glass vial on a narrow shelf over the door. He seemed to do something else with the vial, but Chance' couldn't see what. The mage then left, closing the door slowly.
Chance closed his eyes. Never in his life did he imagine he would feel such pain. He didn't even believe it was possible. He then began to feel nauseous. The Nerium was beginning to take effect. After a few moments, he noticed a slight itching over the acid burns on his chest. The itching soon turned into burning.
Chance looked down, and could see tiny welts beginning to form. He groaned. More pain. Several more minutes passed. The burning got worse, as did the welts. In only a short time, the toxic mixture had caused his chest, sides, and shoulders to break out in dozens of very painful blisters. He felt as if someone was taking a steel grater to his flesh. He bit his lip, but ended up yelling out as the pain continued to grow in intensity. The agony he had suffered from all the rest of the torture seemed like nothing compared to this burning. He vomited. It was mostly blood, as his stomach was otherwise empty save for the tiny amount of nerium. Thankfully, some of the nerium came up as well, but too much of it had already been absorbed into his system. He continued to vomit, then dry-heave when there was nothing left. His throat burned, and he was spitting up blood from it.
Soon, he began to feel dizzy. He heart was racing and he could barely breath. Finally, almost mercifully, the nerium's poison caused him to black out. A few minutes later, his heartbeat slowed dramatically, his blood pressure dropping. If something wasn't done, soon, he would never wake up.
The nightmares came again to Elena, but vaguely. Even Kirok's power had difficulty piercing the aura of the Fae's magical glade. She managed to sleep this time, as did Jake. She awoke early and prepared for the final part of the journey. Two hours before dawn, she woke Jake.
"C'mon. It's time."
He stretched, and looked around in the darkness.
"How early is it?"
"We have two hours before dawn comes. It's a little over an hour to the river entrance. Then it'll be a mile to swim."
"Alright. Let's get going then."
Both changed from their travel clothes in preparation for the challenge that was to come. Jake was once again Razor, though he now had the sword Reaver in it's sheath at his hip. Elena put on her belt and had her own sword ready. She made sure the herbal mixtures that Lyxa had given here were securely sealed in their jars. The oxygen masks and Razor's glovatrix were moved to the tops of the rear saddle bags so they could quickly get to them when they reached the river.
They mounted the horses and bid farewell to the satyr. The black unicorn led the way through the thick forest to a narrow deer trail. In the woods behind them, Razor could once again hear the haunting music of the fae, though this new song was far softer, and more sad. He tried to ignore it, but the music pierced straight into his heart. Elena felt it too, and it seemed to make her even more determined.
The deer trail slowly began to widen, and the unicorn, followed by the two horses, broke into a trot, then a canter. The forest wasn't as thick here, and in a few places the sky became visible through the branches. ShadowStar led them into a small gully, then stopped and whinnied softly. Elena dismounted Bolt and removed the horse's reins, placing them in a saddle bag.
"This is it."
Razor did the same with Fleur's reins, and they removed the oxygen masks from the bags. Razor put on his glovatrix and looked around in the small gully.
"I don't see anything?"
"It's here. I can hear it." She knelt down near some loose rocks and began to pull them away. Razor walked over and helped. He too could now hear the faint sound of gurgling water. They both worked together to pull a fairly large boulder out of the way, and finally revealed a small hole leading down into darkness.
"Ladies first?"
She nodded, then put the mask over her face. Holding the sword against her leg so it wouldn't catch on the rocks, Elena dropped, paws first, into the hole. She hit cold water almost instantly, then moved aside. Razor dropped down right behind her. The Astral Stone around Elena's neck took on a blue glow, allowing them to see in the blackness. The current was not overly strong, and fortunately flowed in the direction they were going. It also helped that they both were good swimmers.
The current became stronger the further they went. It became very difficult to know how far they had traveled, but Elena could feel that they were getting close. Something suddenly caught her attention. A presence. She turned around just in time to see it. Elena lunged sideways, pushing Razor out of the way as a massive eel-like creature snapped it's jaws shut right where they had been.
The strong current made it difficult for Elena to get to her sword, but Razor was still able to use his glovatrix. He had the bow-zooka attachment on and was able to load a small explosive arrow. The giant eel came at them again, it's jaws wide. Razor fired the arrow, which went into the eel's open mouth and down his gullet. It then exploded.
The shock wave in the water hit them both hard, throwing them against the rocks on the sides of the river's underground tunnel. Elena's claws dug into the rocks and she managed to keep herself from getting swept away by the current. But she had lost sight of Razor.
Gripping the side of the wall, she closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. He wasn't too far away, but he was stuck. Elena pushed off the wall and let the water take her further down the river. She soon found Razor, his harness, specifically the oxygen pack, was caught on some sharp rocks. He couldn't get himself free, and he didn't dare remove the pack. It was still too far to make it without the air mask.
Elena dug her claws into the stone wall, and carefully moved along it over to him. Her training with the poles back home came in handy, as she then hooked the claws of her paws into the stone, releasing her hands. She strained the muscles in her legs, holding on tightly against the current, and worked to free Razor of the rocks. As soon as he was free, they carefully made their way once again down the river.
Finally, Elena motioned to her friend and they both grabbed the stone with their claws. The oxygen in both of their masks was almost gone. But thankfully, they had made it. At the top of the tunnel, the river had worn away the stone, to reveal a small hole leading up. The hole was just barely big enough for them to squeeze through. Dripping wet, they pulled off the masks, breathing heavily. The air was thick and musty. They were now in an old part of the dungeon that was obviously not used anymore.
"We made it."
"Yeah, now to find T-Bone."
The Stone continued a faint blue glow. It didn't provide much light, but that wasn't it's intent. Kirok would certainly feel their presence, so the Stone kept them hidden. It wouldn't be long though, until he realized that he was being blocked.
"We have to move fast."
The two kats ran quickly through the dungeon, Elena leading the way. They found a crumbling flight of stairs leading up.
"Nebelun said he would be in the tower. We're certain to run into koblins along the way."
"Fine by me. It's the werekats I'm worried about."
Elena nodded. They would be a much bigger problem than the koblins. They drew their swords and began to run up the stairs.
The stairs ended at a half-rotten wooden door. They both paused and knelt silently by the door. Elena looked through one of the cracks, then motioned to Razor. Swords ready, they waited as two sets of footsteps approached. Elena peered carefully through the crack, then began to motion with her hand, counting down on her fingers. Three... two... one... They shoved the door open and lunged. The pair of koblins didn't stand a chance, both of them cut down at the same time before they even had a chance to scream. Not wasting a moment, they threw the bodies into the old stairwell and closed the door again. The pair then continued on through the large, open hall of the castle.
Elena held her hand up, coming to a quick halt. The sound of more koblins could be heard up ahead, coming quickly towards them. She pointed up to a balcony. The hall itself was three stories tall. Razor fired the grappling hook from his glovatrix, the end wrapping around a railing on the third level where Elena had pointed. With the hook secure, he then wrapped an arm around Elena's waist and retracted the cable. They were pulled up and onto the balcony just in time, as the group of six koblins walked out through a doorway into the hall. The koblins never spotted them.
They continued running, the Stone's power showing Elena in her mind where to go. Unfortunately, the power was too focused on blocking Kirok, so she couldn't notice the enemy up ahead of them until it was too late. Rounding a corner, they both came to a sudden stop. Standing right in front of them, was a large werekat.
"Aw crud..."
The deep scars on Razor's chest hurt just thinking about the last time he had an encounter with one of these things. Had it only been a few days ago? If it weren't for their dog's warning and Elena's quick actions, he'd have been dead.
The beast turned to face them, it's eyes glowing red. It gave a loud hiss, then lunged. Both kats side-stepped out of the way, Elena to the left and Razor to the right. Elena slashed with her sword as the beast went past them, the blade cutting deep into it's side. The beast spun around and snarled. Dark blood dripped off the edge of Stormbringer. Elena narrowed her eyes at the beast. It's side still dripped blood.
"It's not healing! Razor, use the sword!"
The creature lunged again. Elena feigned a forward attack, drawing it's attention. The werekat slashed at her, barely missing. While it's attention was turned, Razor came in with Reaver, leaving a deep bloody gash in the beast's back. The creature spun around on it's new attacker, but Razor had already dodged back out of the way. Elena then lunged forward, slicing at the beast's arm. Stormbringer's blade took on a soft blue glow, then cleaved the arm clean off. The beast screamed out in pain. The two kats were both skilled fighters, Razor in martial arts and Elena in swordsmanship. Their skills, combined with the two magic blades, gave them an advantage over the werekat, and it seemed to realize it.
The werekat backed up, the bloody stump leaving a thick trail of dark blood on the stone floor. Razor suddenly ran forward, and leaped up. He flipped in the air, coming back down behind the werekat, slashing with his sword. A deep gash opened in one of it's rear legs, severely crippling it. In the same instant, Elena ran forward and stabbed her sword into the beast's chest. It spun and slashed at her. She was forced to release the sword and jump out of the way of it's claws. Now dripping with blood, Reaver's blade had gained a soft red glow to it.
Elena had been temporarily disarmed, Stormbringer still stuck in the werekat's chest. It turned on her. The creature slashed with it's remaining front claws. She backflipped out of the way, but not fast enough. A claw caught one of her legs, catching in the leather and leaving a small gash in her skin beneath. She was slung hard against the wall. Temporarily stunned, she couldn't move out of the way as the werekat came in at her, it's jaws open. The jaws never connected. The beast's head slammed hard to the ground just inches in front of her, Reaver buried deep in it's skull. Razor pulled the blade back out of it's head, then jumped back and slashed at the neck. He wanted to make certain this thing was dead. The red blade cleaved the bone easily, severing the head.
Elena groaned, standing up slowly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just got a massive headache."
They rolled the creature's body over so that Elena could pull her own sword out of it's chest. With the beast dead, the two sword blades ceased their glow.
Elena wiped the blood off her blade on the werekat's fur, then the two continued on. They were sure the sounds of the fight would have attracted attention. If Kirok didn't know they were there before, he certainly did now!
