"This is where we left off didn't we? The night before the Moonlight Howl, yes. Let us continue our tale..." said Dandelion, tuning his lute.
The freedom after the torment
The morning sun rose beautifully up the archway of the sky. The golden and red rays were bathing the malachite-green grass and the towering, old oaks, who stood watch over the forest. An already warm breeze was softly whispering through the think foliage and grass, murmuring words no tongue could speak. The splendid azure waterfall was like streaming down the hard rocks, and down into the lake below, at which the citizens of the Kingdom were already drinking and talking merrily, for the Moonlight Howl was to be held that night. Excitement and happiness flooded through wolves and bears alike, as they desperately wanted a break from all the horrible past events. Ithilden, Lara, Mithrandir and Kharazim, early risers, were already serving breakfast.
"So, any plans how to banish this thing or whatever yet?" Lara asked Mithrandir, putting a berry tart on the table.
"Still thinking. Usually we have to destroy what binds them to this world. But we have no fucking clue what that is." he replied, .
"Hmm... yeah. We'll see. These other assholes still ain't awake yet?!" she finished exasparatedly.
"Let them sleep, come on, Lara." laughed Ithilden. "Fann was fucking Speedy yesterday, give him a break. And we all kinda got our asses kicked by Slenderman, one way or another."
"You're goddamn right, my arm still feels a little weird." chuckled Kharazim.
"Told you it needs a little to feel in shape again." said Ithilden, tucking in berry tart. "Damn, Lara, you outdid yourself, this tart is delicious!"
"Thanks. Worked a bit on it, to tell the truth." she smiled. "Canue helped me choose the berries, gotta get our allies a slice each, I must admit, I outdid myself, not to boast." she finished, laughing.
"It ain't boasting if it's true." shrugged Kharazim.
"I'll go wake those lazy-asses, they'll sleep until midday if they get the fucking chance." said Lara, half amused, half exasparated.
The three Archmages laughed loudly when they heard Lara waking the others up with her "special waking tune". In other words, screaming at the top of her lungs. She came back, seemingly pleased with herself. Shalidor and Fannaeras followed soon after, looking disgruntled.
"You really had to do that?" asked Fannaeras irritably.
"Yep, absolutely. We're not waiting for you lazy-asses to wake up on your own at midday or something." laughed Lara.
"Yeah, yeah, cool. Let's eat and go then, Miss Impatient." replied Shalidor, yawning.
So they finished breakfast and teleported.
On top of the mountain
"This thing's amazing!" said Kate, feasting on the tart.
"Thanks, took me a while to make it, but it was 100% worth it." chuckled Lara.
"Dunno if you heard, Moonlight Howl's tonight." said Lilly.
The Archmages exchanged worried looks.
"Umm... why're you worried?" asked Garth.
"Last time that happened... well you remember... the ranger got killed." said Kharazim quietly. The wolves shivered.
"Who died?" asked Queen Bear.
"There were two humans that lived back in our territory. They were nice, not bothering us. They both got killed by the first monster. It was... sad." explained Humphrey.
"Just the memory of his body still makes me wanna throw up." shuddered Shalidor.
"Was it that horrible, or are you just weak yourself?" asked Tony, slightly skeptically.
"You try to imagine a body, having about a hundred bleeding holes in it, and leeches feasting upon it. What do you think?" replied Shalidor, through gritted teeth. Tony grimaced and went quiet.
"Calm down, Shalidor, Tony didn't mean harm." spoke Ithilden gently.
"Sorry, Archmage. Didn't wanna hurt you." added Tony.
"It's alright." sighed Shalidor.
"Whatever, to the matter at hand. I do not know if your Majesties have been informed, but we found out what the monster is." Fannaeras rushed to change the subject, still seeing Shalidor slightly angry.
"Ah, please, tell us." said King Bear hurriedly.
Mithrandir explained what he saw inside the monster's mind and the solution they came up with.
"Well, we wish you all the good luck." said Queen Bear respectfully. "Thank you, dear, for the food, it was delicious." she added with a smile to Lara, who smiled back.
The bears then left.
"We would love to see you at the Moonlight Howl tonight! It'll be the first one in the this new territory." said Kate.
"Unless you're busy, of course." added Lilly shyly.
"We shall see. We'll most likely be there, but we'll be much more alert than the last time." replied Mithrandir, nodding.
"Great! We'll see you around!" said Claudette, and the wolves also walked off, leaving the Archmages to their still unclear plan.
Ann thought she could see a white face, stalking her from behind a tree. But as it disappeared, she ignored it and continued bathing.
That evening
Stinky,Fleet, Humphrey and Garth were both waiting excitedly for their dates. Their hearts were beating frantically, looking everywhere, their patience running out fast. The rays of the moon were bathing the wolves in pale silver light, making the rocks look like pure silver. Then ,they finally saw them: Kate with a purple flower next to her left ear, walking gracefully, Lilly's snow-white fur was shining dazzlingly, Claudette's orange fur was elegantly flattened, and Ann's beautiful light grey fur was being gently stroked by the wind.
The males all immediately ran and kissed their dates, complimenting them. The Archmages were watching grinning from a distance.
"Love's beautiful, isn't it?" asked Kharazim, looking at them.
"Yeah... but I only like the more fun parts of it..." finished Fannaeras sarcastically, only to be elbowed by Lara.
"Seriously, don't you have anything else on your mind except that?" she asked amusedly.
"Sometimes." shrugged the blood-elf.
"We arrived a bit late, didn't we?" asked Ithilden, seeing that couples were already occupying different positions on Howling Rock.
The others shrugged. Fannaeras, Shalidor and Mithrandir then produced together the lights, but this time they tried to make them a light purple, to fit with the starry, wonderful night. Then the couples started howling. Once again, the best couples made a purely flawless song of love, passion, and eternity. The musicality, the perfect match was just a song to get lost in, to forget about your troubles.
The Archmages smiled happily, as they remembered the last howl, which was just as wonderful. The bears were also watching with incredulous looks on their faces, for never had they heard something more immersive, beautiful, and just a pure pleasure to listen to. After a few more minutes of pure bliss, the couples finished and were walking down, Claudette and Fleet kissing passionately. The Archmages also produced beautiful flashing lights in the sky, which brightened the atmosphere, and the animals cheered at their finesse.
A few minutes later
Stinky and Ann were getting a drink at the nearby pond, still with dreamy looks on their faces.
"You were just amazing, love." said Stinky.
"You too, my love, you too." she replied.
They started kissing passionately. Stinky's paw was stroking Ann's soft fur, holding her close to him. They were slowly getting lost in their love, Ann now hugging him back, it was like a dream...
But dreams never last forever.
They broke apart and quickly looked behind them, at a rustling bush. Stinky got into a defensive stance, ready to defend himself and his lover.
Out of it stumbled a human child, seemingly fighting something...
"No, no, no, don't make me... please... I don't want to kill..." it kept sobbing, trying to hold his arm away. He had something in his hand, which was shining like a claw, but didn't attack. He was rolling around in the grass, crying and struggling with himself. He was even hitting his own arm, just to try and stop it.
"One eye's gray and burry, but the other looks normal!" said Ann loudly.
"He must be the possessed human pup, but..." continued Stinky.
"He's fighting that thing." finished Ann.
"Come on, fight it!" Stinky encouraged him, letting his guard down for just one second.
That second made a difference.
In a flash, the child's eyes turned gray, and he slashed Stinky across the chest, leaving him to bleed. Ann hit him with a paw, knocking him backwards. The child staggered up, raised his knife, but was knocked over by a lightning bolt, sent by none other than Shalidor, and dropped his weapon. Lightning sparked on his hand again, but he was knocked into a tree by a black tentacle.
A long, white hand reached and grabbed the weapon, and another took the child by his hand, and they all disappeared. Just for one moment, they saw Slenderman's white face out of the darkness, but Shalidor noticed something else, too. He tried to send fireballs, but to no avail, as Slenderman was already gone.
The other Archmages arrived.
"What happened?!" asked Lara, her sword out.
"It's gone." answered Shalidor.
"You really couldn't put that speed spell on us too, couldn't you?" asked Ithilden, as he was healing Stinky's bleeding chest.
"Sorry, hurried." replied the human. "But I saw something: the knife glowed very strangely when Slenderman took it. I also felt some magic."
"You mean..." began Fannaeras, his eyes wide.
"We found our artifact." fininshed Mithrandir, nodding.
"Then if we destroy the knife..." started Kharazim, frowning.
"We can banish Slenderman." finished Lara.
"That is very valuable information." said Stinky, standing up, now healed. "That slash I took was completely worth it." he added, smiling.
"Don't say that, please." begged Ann, licking his muzzle.
"What happened?!" screamed a voice. Kate and her family were hurrying towards the lake.
The Archmages quickly reassured them that their pup was alright. After that, they were relieved to hear their discovery.
"Then you know how to end it!" cried Lilly happily.
"Yeah. Just gotta get him to come out, and he's ours." smiled Fannaeras triumphantly.
"That's amazing, you'll finally put it down!" said Runt, stamping his paw happily.
"Oh yeah, we also saw something." said Ann. She and Stinky explained the child's strange behaviour.
"He was fighting the possession, clearly." nodded Ithilden.
"I'm wondering if it's alright now." said Lara, slightly sadly.
"We couldn't help it too. We did the best we could." Shalidor comforted her.
"We should head back, it's getting late." said Kharazim. The wolves nodded and left. Claudette and Fleet however, went to Fleet's den, in which he was staying alone, for a little... privacy to share their love in an even more passionate way. "I think you know where I'm getting at, so I'll leave the rest private..." chuckled Dandelion.
Next day
The morning sun brought warm light to the forest, giving it a fiery veil. The morning sky was dressed with an apparel of orange, yellow, and red. It was a beautiful, clear sky, to announce yet another pleasant day of June. But it also brought horror, as the first image Shalidor saw after having breakfast, made him throw it back out in a bush. Still in a shocked state, he teleported up the mountain, to meet the animals and his fellow Archmages.
"The child... his resisting of the possession led to his demise..." he said gravely.
"What the did that monster do to the poor pup?" asked Kate.
"I think I'll throw up again if I try to describe it... come and see for yourself." replied Shalidor and opened a portal, which they all went through. Lilly fainted on the spot, Claudette and Runt threw up, and the others were at a loss for words, all completely white in the face.
The body of the child was hanged by a tree... by his own stomach. His esophagus served as the rope for the sadistic executor. The rest of his body was horrendously decorated with blood, and other organs.
"What in the..." began Kharazim.
"Whole fuck happened..." finished Fannaeras.
"Hanged. By I think we all know who." said Shalidor, taking off his mask.
"Did you throw up already?" asked Lara.
"Yeah, and I'd do it again if I had anything left." replied the mage, his face still a delicate shade of green.
The two young wolves returned, wiping their muzzles.
"Why... just why would you do that?" asked Claudette, who was on the verge of tears. Fleet embraced her gently.
"He's a maniac... he has just a pure blood-lust." her lover replied softly.
"I did see this kind of thing in his mind, something which I still wish I could forget. He used to do this while he was also still alive. He was just purely heartless and sadistic." said Mithrandir quietly.
"You must stop him... please." said Runt, looking at the ground. "I wouldn't bear to see another body massacred like this."
"We will, we promise. Right today we'll try to finish it. After, we shall send off the poor child." said Ithilden determinedly. The Archmages walked off, already discussing their plan.
The animals also went back, Garth carrying Lilly, not being able to look back at it. But yet again, a white face was looming from behind a tree, watching, listening... he was always watching.
At midday
"Alright, this is the plan." recapped Fannaeras. "Tonight, I'll be the bait again, this time in a wolf pup's form, I'll try to get him to come after me. You'll be waiting here," he pointed to a marked spot, "where you'll ensnare him. We'll get the knife somehow, and destroy it. Then Mithrandir should be able to free the spirit, banishing it once and for all." he finished. All the Archmages nodded.
"Yeah. We need to make sure we have a back-up plan, in case he avoids the trap." said Lara.
"Ithilden has the most effective binds after Fannaeras. You must stop him at any cost from escaping. We saw already he's good at operating in secret, he didn't even enter the protected part of the territory." said Kharazim, looking at the druid. The latter nodded and replied: "I have a plan for that already."
"Great then." answered Mithrandir. "Shalidor, put the invisibility spell, we'll need it. Fannaeras, go get a disguise. The others, let's get to work." The Archmages got up and left their tree-house, all invisible except for the blood-elf. Unluckily for them, the tall shadow still noticed their footsteps and runes. But what he didn't see was Ithilden placing signs on certain trees. He knew their trap and could avoid it completely. Or, so he believed right then.
That night
The trap has been set, and the hunters were ready. They were just waiting patiently for Fannaeras to appear. If they had to wait the entire night, then so it had to be. Fannaeras assumed Runt's form, and was walking quietly towards the spot, his eyes darting everywhere. Then he saw it, the white face, watching him from a distance. As his vision slightly blurred, he started sprinting to the trap's location, not waiting anymore. He did not realise that Slenderman expected that, and knew it was yet another clone. Fannaeras arrived in the runed circle, and the Archmages stood ready. Minutes passed, and they were all confused. Where was their prey? What happened?
The tense wait was harshly broken by a tentacle who grabbed Fannaeras by the throat and dragged him quickly out of the circle, setting of the runes and defensive magic, but not hurting him in the slightest. The Archmages were shocked, but redressed themselves fast. Fannaeras landed on Slenderman's bladed hand, which impaled him through his stomach. He yelled in pain. Whips of fire and lightning bolts struck the monster at once, creating an explosion, which threw the blood-elf off, leaving him to crawl away. Lara then tried to blind Slenderman with light, but the monster was unaffected. She managed to dash away, avoiding his claws. He started backwards, slowly dissolving into nothingness but then...
The trees came to life.
Their branches became arms, and roots uprooted, leaving them free to move. The great guardians impaled Slenderman and part of the now Ents ensnared him, leaving him unable to move. Moonlight then struck him , making him solid again and incapable of using magic. Ithilden stepped then from behind a tree his staff and eyes shining a dazzling light blue as the monster was struggling intensely.
"The knife, now!" he shouted.
Lara dashed behind him and spotted the smokey-glowing weapon. She took it and gave it to Mithrandir. The wizard's ring shined fiercely, and the knife started melting in his hand. Roars were then heard from Slenderman, the very first time he made a sound. It deafened the attackers, but Shalidor cast defensive spells, and then purple tentacles covered Slenderman's face, muffling greatly the sound. Fannaeras was back on his feet again, healed, and with a look of hatred on his face.
The knife melted, leaving no trace of it. Slenderman stopped struggling and went quiet. His expresionless face was turned towards Mithrandir. The Mayar then stepped towards him, and put his left hand upon it's face, the ring shining blindingly orange.
"Thee tortured being,
Freed I have you from your torment,
Now I banish you, never to return again!" Mithrandir's booming voice echoed through the dark forest, ringing far.
"Slenderman, I RELEASE YOU!" he yelled. The impact was massive. It threw all the Archmages far back, even the huge Ents raised by Ithilden. Slenderman dissolved into smoke, which lifted high in the air, and formed the man's slender shape. It was a memory of the once alive killer. He bowed, and vanished. Ithilden tapped his half-moon staff twice, and the trees slowly went back to their place, enrooting and going back to their deep sleep.
"Is it over?!" screamed Lilly.
The Archmages regrouped and looked at the wolves, who had worried and expectative looks on their faces.
"It is indeed, my friends. We've managed to banish the tormented spirit, and now it has finally gone to have it's very longed peace." said Mithrandir.
The wolves cheered and were happy, for now another monster has been brought down, and they had another momentarily, calming peace.
A few minutes later
At the foot of the mountain, Ithilden laid the child's body in a grave, then covered it again. On the tombstone wrote: "Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.".
Shalidor then spoke:
"Unnamed child that has been brutally possessed and murdered, go in peace now, for we honor your brave resistance, and shall never forget your spilled blood and tears."
Most of the animals in the Kingdom had brought flowers, and plants, to honor the dead child. The Archmages decorated his grave, and also put rememberships of all of the other victims of the monsters: the wolf pup twins, the rangers, the two adult wolves' which family was destroyed, and Zoe's mother.
The Archmages and animals looked up the the fantastic setting sun, its colors dominating the archway of heave, while they thought they could almost spy the reflections of the dead, being happy that they were finally honored.
A/N: Well, there goes Slenderman! He has also finally gone to rest. Our next guest shall be a certain Mister, who you can't get rid of, and you must read his book to understand his behaviour. Who do you guys think it is? And what's your opinion on this chapter? Let me know in reviews! Peace ! :D