Diablo 2: Visions of You (Chapter 7)
By Amethyst Haze (amethyst_haze@hotmail.com)
*********************************************************************************************************
Disclaimer: I do not own Diablo II, its concepts, its designs or anything else related to it. Those are the property of Blizzard Entertainment, this story is simply a non-profit tribute and parody. This story is Rated R for moments of sexual content, offensive language and violence.
Amethyst Haze's comments: If this story sounds EXTREMELY familiar to you.... then you've read the original fanfic as the NC-17 version when it was under my old pen name. I will not be writing like that anymore. Also, you might want to have read through "Longing to be with you" first since Visions of You is the second in that series. :P
*********************************************************************************************************
Blood again.... all around.
A slab of stone was centered in the middle of the smoky grey haze, floating from nothing, as blood flowed freely. The thick red liquid spilled over it's carved edges, running down slowly and never thinning in the slightest even though it coated the stone. It flowed past the stone, continuing down and defining the shape of the 'nothing' it levitated from... more steps leading down to where Ferrum stood.
Judging by his reaction, or lack of it, the blonde man wasn't the least bit disconcerted by the strange scene before him, nor did he flinch as the blood puddled at his feet, growing like it possessed a mind of it's own and scaling up his thick leather boots with ease.
He stared blankly, sapphire blue eyes half-lidded and half-conscious seeming. He felt nothing... a strange emptiness; never knowing pain, yet never knowing joy at that moment.
And then a familiar voice cried out to him, full of agony and fused with desperation. A cry, a plea wavering in the darkness... He had to get to that voice.
***
The sight of the darkened temple's high ceiling of a payne grey came into vision, though of fuzzy vision. Hazel eyes focused, her hands rubbing her eyes as she slowly sat up, looking around dazed like a sleepy kitten.
The torches flickered in greeting to her as it glinted off the armour lay strewn on the floor. From the ascending stairs to the outside world, the weak rays of early morning filtered in.
Alys yawned sleepily, glancing around curiously to see what had nudged her awake. Looking beside her on the ground as she stretched her arms out, she saw Ferrum, asleep and restless in it. His face distorted in pain, he weakly flailed and his hand brushed up against her leg every so often.
With slow movements caused by the traces of her sleepiness, she ran her fingers over his forehead and into the field of short flaxen hair. "Ferrum, Ferrum," she murmured, trying to soothe him. Her hand trailed over his face, down his strong jaw and over his chest. She then patted his face, careful not to strike him with painful intentions. "Ferrum, wake up."
He stirred slightly, his movements lessening. His eyes were obviously working judging by the sighted movement beneath the delicate lids.
She leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth, still whispering to him, "Ferrum... can you hear me?" A nibble, a shy lick. "Are you having a bad dream?" She sighed, running her hand over his cloth-covered sholder. "Ferrum..."
His blue eyes peeked out from beneath his lids and darted around cautiously as he felt the ache in his muscles from the fighting that was done to eliminate all the monsters dwelling in the temple. He looked at her, up into her beautiful face leaning over him with a relieved expression. "Alys," he murmured softly, seizing her wrist and pulling her close to him, atop of him. His arms snaked around her waist and, without warning, he lifted his head and kissed her full on the lips.
Her lips were so warm and inviting that he couldn't help himself in nibbling on them in little delicate bites. His arms tightened around her as Alys' hazel eyes disappeared behind her eyelids.
Remnants of his dream flowed through Ferrum's mind; he could still hear the deperation in the screams. Even with that, it still did not hinder the blood surging through his veins. The temperature of his body seemed to rise several more degrees as he felt Alys' lips curve into a smile before opening up to him.
His tongue deftly slipped into her mouth and felt it. The sudden sexual desire that flooded him was so intense that it bordered painful. In mere seconds, Ferrum's manhood was at full attention. He shifted so Alys body lay perfectly atop his; her breasts flattened against the hard wall of his chest while his tented pants pressed against her soft skirt-covered legs.
The screams that had wormed it's way into his mind were now gone. All that was left in his mind was how good Alys felt against him.
Alys smiled as she broke his kiss, marvelling at the thin strand of saliva that connected their mouths. She quickly wiped it away and slid off his body, embarassed. "Ferrum," she murmured, turning her face away.
He lifted himself slightly to prop one elbow up as he rolled to lie on his side. "Did I wake you?"
"Yes, but it's alright," she chuckled, head tilting towards him with a smile. "I don't mind." As if to prove her point, she lay back down and inched closer to him, right beneath his gaze, the side of her body pressed up against his.
Ferrum's hand whisked over to her hairline, running through the soft strands as she had done while he was lost in his nightmare. She sighed softly, closing her eyes and enjoying the relaxing feel of his hand even though it was making her a little light-headed at having him so close... his scent so intoxicating and she was intensely aware of it; the warm feeling growing in her belly proved that much to her.
"Do you love me?" she asked softly, her eyes still closed.
The movement in the hand was ceased then removed. She opened her eyes and watched as Ferrum studied her face in silence. Embarassed, she turned her head away.
"Look at me." He cupped her chin and turned it back, not surprised that she didn't fight him. He craned his neck, leaned in and graced her forehead with a kiss. He didn't stop there. His lips traveled, pressing more kisses and whispering to her after each one.
One to her cheek, "You mean everything to me."
One playfully on tip of her nose that got a giggle from her. "I care about you."
A chaste one on her lips and a heated kiss on the softness of her neck. "I love you..."
Alys' eyes rolled back to the lips grazing her neck and his husky voice. "And I need you..."
"How do you do it?" she asked softly, her eyes shimmering in the dim light.
"Do what?"
Her smile turned sweeter, "Know exactly what to say to make me fall even more in love with you."
He chuckled and saw something in her face he never had seen quite so clearly: a pure honesty, completely unrestrained and lacking the traces of worry he had usually found. His head turned into the soft veil of her hair and he took in the delicate fragrance of her. "Funny... I could say the same thing to you right now.... I love you so much."
Turning her face, Alys gazed upon the visible parts of his face, studying every curve and angle of him. She suddenly felt the urge to ask him something she wasn't so sure of herself. "Ferrum.... how would you define love?"
He slowly turned to her, a funny smile on his face. "A sweet ecstasy you don't want to escape..." Looking down at his tented pants with a sheepish grin, he ran his fingers through his short blonde hair. "Sorta like an erection, but not so transient." A light red tinted his face as he leaned forward, a serene expression with a delighted look to his eyes, "Love should last forever."
"And you love me that way?" she quickly licked her lips and suddenly found herself holding her breath.
Ferrum pulled her into his arms immediately, gazing straight into her innocent eyes. "You really don't need to be asking that, but since you did--yes, I love you Alys, I'll love you forever."
"Why?" It was so sudden that her question pulled a laugh from him.
"Alys..." His shoulders shook as he rolled onto his back, taking her with him. "You're so precious, you know?" His hand reached up and cupped her chin, pulling her face close to his until their noses almost touched. "I love you because it feels right to love you. Do I need a better reason?"
"Are there any other reasons?" she asked, her eyebrow arching.
Grinning and thinking her fishing for compliments, Ferrum still remained purely honest about his words coming out, "Of course. I love your smile, I love making you smile, I love the way you blush, I love the way you sometimes fuss over dinner for me--"
"--I do not fuss," she quickly cut in.
He kissed her lips, his hands sliding under her blouse and running up the gentle curve of her back. "I love your expressions, your enthusiasm, even your shyness... You are perfection, and yet I know you're not... but that makes me love you even more," his voice trailed as her eyes stared at him questioningly, prompting him to continue. "You're so... human... and at the same time it seems as though you're above that."
She laughed softly, "I think you're just trying to flatter me, Ferrum."
"No, love," he replied, his mouth finding her neck again. "I'm only telling you it as I see it..." His arms fastened around her waist as he rolled over, taking her with him.
She stared up at him, her hair shadowed behind her, as he eased a bit of weight off of her lithe body. "Ferrum..."
"You're so beautiful," he breathed, his hands running up the curve of her body and to her breast. "So incredible..."
She flushed, even more aware of his hard shaft against her thigh. "I... ah..." A sense of bliss leapt into her body as his hands pushed her blouse up and caressed the gentle swell of her breasts again.
I want this bliss, I want so much more, Alys thought as she arched her back and felt the pleasure radiate warmly throughout her body. But something's telling me I must resist...
"Ferrum," she spoke softly, biting down on her lip and scared of the hurt she might see in his eyes. "... I don't think we should do this."
Perhaps it was a prick of intuition, a warning of future tragedy if she failed to comply. Whatever it was, she couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere draped in darkness, swathed in silence and waiting for the right moment, was a frightful disaster that could ultimately destroy her world... maybe even herself. It had been lurking and skulking around every corner in her mind, but never had she felt it so strong as this moment.
She couldn't help but hear Alkor's voice echo hatefully "whore's taint." And to counter that, the image of her uncle's expression after she punched him materialized. That's all it took for her smile to return and her words to form from her kiss-swollen lips, "I love you, Ferrum, but... I don't know..."
He nuzzled her neck, sighing at the feel of her soft skin. "Alys... I promise I won't laugh at you when you change your mind." His breath against her neck lit a fiery shiver up her body, forcing her to turn her head slightly and close her eyes as the brief urge to laugh she had felt before disappated.
"You know I love you and you know that you enjoy this." To make his point, he cupped his hand against her most intimate region and pressed gently, dragging a light circular motion that was rewarded with a soft moan. "What more do you need, love?"
She gritted her teeth, biting down on her lower lip to avoid making any more sound. Maybe I should just let go... she thought, her mind growing fuzzier with each passing second in his presence. She knew she had to get away from him and fast... "Ahh..."
The gasp never left her mind or formed in her throat as the squeeze of Ferrum's hand upon her breast radiated warmly into her body. He firmly kneaded the soft flesh in his hand, teasing her nipples it to a hard point. His other hand left the apex of her thighs (much to Alys' disappointment) and, its heat the same as the other, latched on to her other breast, giving it just the same treatment.
When Alys whimpered in his arms, Ferrum whispered into ear, his warm breath tickling her lips as he spoke. "You're the only one I want...." He murmured more sweet words as his mouth trailed down, licking a lingering trail down the smooth column of her neck.
Her body limp beneath, she let out a faint moan as her uncertainties were thrown from her body. She soared against his touch, her arms raising to lock around Ferrum's neck, giving him full access to her body without any sign of hindrance from her own willing body.
Slipping his hands under her blouse, his rough hands slid across the smooth skin of her belly, gliding up to capture her breasts. Alys sighed deeply, her senses being overloa. The calluses of his hand were felt against her flushed skin.
A familiar heat pooled in her lower body, right close to where Ferrum's erection pressed against...
And then that feeling returned and she was unable to shake it.
From there, she pushed him off of her, pulled her blouse over her body and expressed her concern, the foreboding feeling... she was surprised when he gave in to her wishes.
"I'm shocked as well..." He sighed, eyes closed and jaw tensed, but still amused. "I wonder if a side effect of abstinence is insanity..." He opened his eyes and was greeted by regret in Alys's eyes. "It's alright, love." He sighed again, "I'll live."
In turn, Alys curled up next to the heat of his body with a sigh. She apologized right then, again. "I'm really sorry... it's not that I don't like it, but--"
"--You already explained that, I said it's alright."
She nodded, not sure if she believed him. "I enjoyed it... really. It was..." she smiled, "The way you touch me, how you make me feel, it's.. uh...indescribably beautiful."
Ferrum grins, a strangled smile and trying to keep the pain from unfulfilled longing out of his mind... wasn't really working.
Alys sighed again. With a glance below and before she could stop herself, she curiously reached her hand down to touch him, her hand over the bulge in his pants and feeling the hard form of it. "I'm sorry."
He groaned, making a face. "God, Alys... Apolgizing to me is enough, you don't have to apologize to my cock."
She grimaced in a funny way that brought another amused smile briefly to Ferrum's lips. "I-I know that!" she stammered, fighting off the rising heat in her face. "I just wanted to feel it... Sort of know what I'm missing out on right now... " As if to illustrate her point, she slowly slid her hand inside his pants.
He sucked his breath in sharply as he felt her hand curl around his hard member. His eyes shut tightly as exploration beckoned Alys even more. The feel of her soft hand was maddening and threatened to break the tight reins he had recently built on his desire.
"Alys, you know I try to respect your wishes and all, but... ugh..." he swallowed the lump in his throat as another chill of pleasure caused his voice to crack a bit. "But that doesn't mean I still don't want to spread your thighs and take you."
Her cheeks stained bright red as her eyes rounded briefly.
With a rakish grin, he pulled her close again; his lips graced her forehead. "You're so damn cute when you blush," he murmured hotly against her skin, his breath feathery against her soft hairline.
Alys smiled, trying to fight the redness in her cheeks as he pulled her body closer to his, cradling her body against the warmth of his warmth and resting his chin on top of her head.
It was still there though: That demanding need for more... Possibly because her hand was still wrapped around his erection. "Woman..." he murmured softly, "You're gonna be the end of me."
She nodded apologetically but still refused to remove her hand. "I still want to do something for you though... I don't like seeing you like this."
He chuckled, "Then maybe you shouldn't try to arouse me then."
"I meant that you look like you're in pain."
A sigh left him, "It's a fun pain..."
"You're lying."
He smiled, glittering eyes locked with hers, "Maybe."
"... Uh.." she hesitated as she spoke, her fingers trembling against him as she slid them over the head. "Can I.. um, can I touch you some more?" A rather useless question on her part since she was already unfastening his breeches.
Yay! cried millions of sperm in unison, wanting much more than just her hand. The feral need within him let out a chorus of cheers despite the angry scolding of his gentlemanly conscience: She just feels guilty about not giving you her all. Make sure it's what she wants!
He gritted his teeth, half-heartedly fighting the desire to give in to her or take her into his arms and touch her until she was begging for him to make love to her. ""Alys, you don't...uhn... have to. I..." He couldn't finish his sentence.
"I know, but I want to," she replied sincerely, determination filling her voice as she illustrated her point.
There, you happy now??? he mentally screamed in triumph at his conscience. His head dropped back helplessly against the hard floor as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to fully enjoy the feel of her small and warm hand in an intimate and lusty caress of a part of him he (for so long) so badly wanted to give to her.
***
Moments later with her jaw feeling sore and Ferrum looking tired but in a blissful way, Alyse smiled amusedly, licking her lips clean of the strange new taste in her mouth.
Settling to lie down next to him, she stared at the eased expression on his face, the innocent look with eyelids gently closed. "... Are you asleep?"
He smiled then opened his eyes, turning towards her. "No, love." He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. "That was incredible.
She nestled her head against his shoulder and nodded, "Yeah..." she trailed off into a fading giggle.
Several moments passed as Ferrum thought about what had happened. It was a curious change. Usually, he had always been the one to initiate any sexual action with her, but just awhile ago, she was the one who insisted on it.
He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and he spoke in a lazy voice, "Alys... I... I think I should return the favour... No, rather I want to."
She didn't move.
"Alys?"
He then felt it it; the warm steady breath against his neck. She was asleep. A throaty chuckle was given as he shook his head. "And women complain about men falling asleep..."
***
Jingle, jingle, jingle... jingle all the way...
Krysta was ready to chuck Spikey into the waters... or at least toss him into the forge at Hralti's workshop. Having the little golem follow her while she stealthily lurked around proved to be utterly stupid. It was as useless as her sneaking up on enemies while wearing a necklace fashioned of noisy glass beads and dangling cowbells. Luckily for her, the metal menace seemed to understand the words "sit" and "stay" and did just that at the entrance of the marketplace.
The two men she had seen and had a gut feeling about were seen heading into the busy area. To make things more difficult however, they had seen her keeping a careful eye on them. Whenever she came near, they scrambled away.
No matter, she thought, confident with herself as she was hunched down, lost in a crowd of commonfolk. The two unsavoury men didn't even bother to think she might try again. Stupid they were, ready to flee at the sight of a tall pale woman decked in leather.
A smirk curled onto Krysta's lips. Of course, all of it worked in her favour. If this failed though, she could just abandon strategy for brute strength and scare them shitless into learning exactly what she was suspicious of.
When the crowd of human cover was near the two men, she ducked and crawled out, hiding behind a pile of rotting fruits and ragged clothes.
"Alkor," she heard the fat greasy-looking man say. Said he'll take care of it."
His partner, the skinny man with a twisty beard and shifty eyes locked on the marketplace entrance, nodded grimly. "I heard that he hired two Iron Wolves to help him."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Hmmm..." the fat man rubbed his mouth thoughtfully. "Wish I could've at least had a go at Alys' mouth..."
"Mouth?" the twig-like man repeated, slapping the back of his partner. His shoulders shook in laughter. "I'm more interested in tossing up her skirt than grabbing her ears."
Grinning ear-to-ear in a way that made Krysta feel horribly ill, the fat man nodded. "That too... but... I've heard rumours that she's been on her back for everyone. Wouldn't want to get a disease from her. ... Got me a future wife and all, you know."
Krysta grimaced. I pity her then.
The Twig shrugged again. "Whatever works. I'm just suprised Ormus hadn't considered a human sacrifice instead of an animal sooner."
Those words made the assassin's blood run cold. WHAT?
Twig then went on to talk about the Ageion Destroyer, about the rumours of her being revived if they don't perform the ritual in time. "What if it happens?" he shivered nervously, shaking his head. "If the ritual is a failure, we're all doomed."
Fatso shuddered, "Don't talk like that. The Enchantress shall never be revived again."
If possible, Krysta's blood froze. Enchantress?! That's all it took for her to spring into action. She picked up a rotting pineapple and chucked it, hard.
The tropical fruit smashed into the fat man's head, knocking him off balance. Krysta put her fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly before she then rushed towards the fat man, her katar aimed at his fleshy neck.
Eyes on the sharp blades, the human twig immediately ran several steps away from the assassin. He then tripped over Spikey, who was running towards Krysta like a flash of silver. Not missing a beat, the metal golem leapt onto the thin man's back and sat down, shifting like a kitten trying to get comfortable.
"Yeow! Get it offa me!" the skinny man roared, thrashing beneath the weight of the golem. Spikey crossed his arms defiantly. If he could, he would've smiled snarkily.
He doesn't even weigh that much, you damn weakling, Krysta thought, her katar not wavering the least. What was Alkor thinking to hire these two bumbling morons? Her gaze towards the fat man, sweating profusely. "What's this I heard about the Enchantress?" She narrowed her eyes, her voice sharpening. "Explain."
Horror filled the assassin's body as the fat man revealed and explained all. The Ageion Destroyer is the same as the Enchantress. The Enchantress was what the evil was called first before it found and razed the hidden ancient village of Ageion.
Shit...so that's what Rune was freaked out about... she thought, ignoring the jingle and the cry of pain that came from Spikey and the skinny man he was casually bouncing on top of. Krysta's jaw clenched as she realized something else. The Gidbinn was the weapon to be used in the sacrifice. From this point, the best course of action would be to prevent the retrieval of the Gidbinn. No Gidbinn means no sacrifice and Alys stays alive.
And that meant a happy Ferrum... as annoying as Krysta found him to be at times, it still wasn't enough to want to see him angry or upset.
***
Slowly... she mentally told herself, trying to pry Ferrum's arms from her slim waist.
Alys struggled, gently lifting one of Ferrum's deadweight arms off of her and away from her. She frowned, her arms shaking as she steadily moved his muscled arm.
Success!
She knew not how many hours they had slept, but it was nigh time she woke up. There were two reasons to get up: the first one being food, the second one to wash herself.
As she crawled away from him, she felt something clamp around her and drag her back: Ferrum.
He opened one eye sleepily at her and spoke in a groggy voice, "Where do you think you're going, love?" He nuzzled the soft curve of her calf with a smile. "Come back to sleep..."
She shook her head, hair swishing. "No, I need to eat."
"Food... bah... I can feed you."
A blush crept up her neck and she still had the faint taste of his potency in the back of her mouth. "REAL food, Ferrum," she smiled politely. "Plus... I um... need to relieve myself..."
Ferrum immediately released her ankle with a groan, "Excuses."
She got to her feet, dusting off her skirt. "I'm going to get us something to eat, I'll be back."
"I'll go with you."
"No," she argued, shaking her head. "You need your sleep. And I want to take a bath."
Ferrum tried to push himself up but failed and flopped against the ground in resignation. "Sleep, right... There's a pond around the corner... Don't be long and be careful," he murmured, rolling on to his side and mumbling some muffled and foreign words to the rock golem still faithfully sitting nearby.
"I know," she grinned as the golem stood up and followed her as she ascended up the stairs into the tropical morning with the golem following her, acting as the guard in Ferrum's stead...
***
Krysta had spent a good part of the night and the early hours of the morning looking for the druid and for any sign of Ormus or Alkor. Nothing. Sleeplessness hadn't caught up with her yet. It was due to her strict training. "Sleep is for the weak," she mumbled to herself as she trudged along with Spikey in tow.
They had found Rune on the docks, asleep, looking pleased with himself. Both Krysta and Spikey were tempted to kick Rune into the water.
Irritated with his lack of presence from the hours before, Krysta managed to remain mature by no kicking him awake. Instead, she picked up Spikey and let him drop onto his stomach as if it were a cushion.
"Urrff...What?! Who, huh?" he jerked awake, his eyes blasted open and his blade at hand. His pupils tiny in fear, he stared at Krysta for a moment before he glared at her. "Oh, it's you." A similar scolding gaze was sent to the metal golem still on his stomach. He shoved the golem aside with a huff. "What do you want?"
Her temper exploded, "Why didn't you tell me the Enchantress was the Ageion Destroyer???!" Her fists were propped on her hips, katars dangerously close to her thighs.
"... You didn't ask."
Her gaze narrowed as she informed Rune of what had been missed. Rune's eyes rounded and his mouth went slack in horror. "No..." he jumped to his feet, grabbing Krysta's arm and pulling her back towards the village. "Where's Ormus?"
She followed his fast pace, fighting his grip. She wrenched her wrist free from his hand, "I haven't seen him..." her voice trailed, understanding his meaning. "You gave him the Gidbinn, didn't you?"
He nodded grimly, his fingers dragging through his hair and over his scalp. "Shit..." He took a deep breath, feeling his composure return as he told himself, Now is not the time to panic... breathe... breathe...
Turning to the assassin, he ordered her to stay with the village. "I'll go find Alys or Ferrum. Just remain here, that's your duty."
"What? No way," she argued frowning. "If this is some of that 'You're a female' bullshit, I--"
"--It's not," he interrupted her, heading towards Alys' small home with Krysta and Spikey automatically tailing him. "I need to know someone's here and can protect the village if anything goes wrong."
He kicked the door of the empty house open and found what he was looking for: Ferrum's blue cloak, neatly folded and set on the table. Seizing it, he turned to Krysta. Her mouth was open, ready to protest, but he cut in before she could speak. "You have to trust me, I know it's difficult, but please, Krysta. You don't get it... you could be put in serious danger."
"Me?" she scoffed, shaking her head. "You're in danger too if you--"
"--Krysta," he interrupted gruffly, his face deadly serious. "I mean it. Trust me on this. I'm more experienced in this matter. Please guard the village." He then exited the house, mumbling words foreign to Krysta's keenly trained ear.
The assassin's standoffish attitude faltered and faded. The dark tones of his voice reminded her of the time on the boat when he spoke of his time in the Zann Esu Valleys, "Rune...what's wrong?"
I can feel it starting... he thought with a sigh as several wolves appeared around the corner of another building to approach him and sit obediently, "I got a really bad feeling about this... Krysta. It might happen..."
Krysta's thinly arched eyebrows furrowed, "What might happen?"
Not bothering to answer, Rune dropped to one knee and held out the blue cloak beneath the wolves noses. They sniffed curiously at it, head turning, nose twitching, eyes blinking and ears flicking. The druid mumbled more odd words before standing up. As the pack of wolves took off, rushing into the jungle with their tails swishing eagerly, Rune followed with a flock of dark birds descending from the skies to tail him.
***
It's been too long... a voice whispered that caused Ferrum to get up and retrieve his armour. Strapping it in place, he wondered what made him fear the worst. Either it was love, paranoia or a sliver of intuition.
It had been too long. Alys was gone too long and, Ferrum knew the moment she got back, he would scold her terribly for it. That is, IF she came back. It was that thought that sent the necromancer out of sleep, onto his feet and gearing up just in case.
So many scenarios ran through his head. What if those small demons found her? What if while taking a bath, she slipped on a rock and hit her head? What if...? Too many what ifs that it threatened the necromancer's sanity.
Outside the temple, he called out Alys' name. It echoed through the afternoon sun and into the jungle, but no reply was given.
Bath maybe? he though and turned to round the corner of the temple to head towards the shallow pond. Two steps from the corner, the breath froze in his chest. He broke into a sprint at the pond. At the edge of the water, scattered around, was various tropical fruits, obviously fresh picked.
He picked up a ripe-skinned one and could smell it's sweet juices. He glanced around, dreading he might catch sight of a dead body... God no...
Instead, he saw a pile of rock debris and a dark puddle in the earth. Blood most likely.
In the ground were several footsteps. One that belonged to his now destroyed golem, and two unknown. Neither of them were Alys'... that girl was always too light on her feet to really make a print as noticeable as these were.
Like a madman possessed, he began to follow the tracks. Running into the jungle, his eyes downward cast at the prints as he ignored the branches swiping at his face, he leaped over tree roots, shrubs and other hindering growths. The trees, the green growth, every form of vegetation flew by him like rapid fire. His senses were on overdrive as he rushed through the dense jungle, his mind narrowly focused like a bull rushing to complete it's mission of attacking. Except Ferrum's mission was to find Alys and pray that things were not so bad as he concluded by the blood spots.
His own blood was pounding in his temples. His eyes demanded to see Alys safe while his hands demanded to see that the two who possibly harmed her to pay with their lives.
He ran deeper into the forest, deeper into the area he recognized as being familiar for having ancient carvings, statues, temples and altars. A chill ran up his spine as he glanced from stone structure to structure, his eyes falling upon a stone slab. He hated this area...all the villagers murmured prayers to themselves when the sector was mention or neared; the place was alive with myth and magic... all evil.
Bits of his dreams flittered into his mind. A horrible knot in his gut formed as he continued on, fearing for the worst. As he passed Skatsimi structures one after another, in the far distance he could see five human shapes. He ran as fast as his legs could will him to.
One was Alkor, another, by sound of his rich voice, was Ormus. Two of which were Iron Wolves, easily identified by their armour and, with Ferrum's knowledge of their equipment, it was very likely they were the one who destroyed his golem.
The fifth shape was Alys and her body, limp, was being held up by the two Iron wolves. Beside them, Ormus stood, his arms stretched to the sky, holding up something to the heavens in offering. It was a weapon that Ferrum easily recognized.
The Gidbinn. But that really didn't matter... any weapon raised to strike Alys was equal in threat.
His legs burned as his paced increased; exactly the same rhythm and speed of his heart hammering against his ribcage. Oh God no!!
He was still so many yards away from the altar when Ormus turned to Alys, raising the dagger high, ready to strike.
So many emotions ran through the necromancer at once. One emotion that lanced through him so powerfully was horror. Still running and afraid to blink, he screamed out to her, "ALYS!!!!"
Her head which was lolled back lifted. Awareness glimmered in her eyes as she smiled. "Ferrum," she murmured so softly that no one else her her. Her sweet expression was quickly destroyed when she caught sight of the blade in Ormus' hand approaching her.
His eyes blurred, he bared his teeth angrily, swearing vehemently. "NO!"
Clutching his bonewand tightly until his knuckles turned white, he continued running
towards them, knowing full well that Alys' life, and his own, depended on it. His temples
throbbed fiercely with pain akin to a slow poisonous death. If the Gidbinn killed Alys...
then he himself would consider his life over...
_________________________________
C + C appreciated