Diablo 2 - Visions of You (Chapter 8)
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
On a funny note... this is the largest chapter I've written. O_o;
***
In the endless strech of overwhelming darkness is where he found himself standing once more. There, the smell of the blood was mixed with the metallic stench of a blade. Alys' scream rang out again and the blood at Ferrum's boots still clunging like a gelatinous monstrosity but a thousand times stronger than that. The nauseating fragrance of blood, of death, choked him, unsettling his stomach and enducing the feel of bile chruning violently in his stomach.
Alys! he narrowedly thought, concentrating only on her even though his mind felt lost in an unfocused reverie. His feet struggled to even lift for a step forward. The thick blood that clung persistently to him was fighting back stubbornly, hindering his journey quite well.
Ferrum thrashed a bit, throwing his body and alternating shoulders forward to budge. No avail, the goo just wouldn't give; it had a mind of its own.
"Alys??! Where are you?!" He could see nothing but an endless and edgeless stretch of midnight that held no hope of an edge.
The screaming died into venomous demands, words piercing the lost location, "Save me!!" she hissed out, her voice sounding inhuman and horribly awry from the soft and delicate woman he knew her to be. Despite her voice being amiss, Ferrum fought against the goo-like blood that was grewing even more by climbing up his legs in swirling tendrils, burning through the armour and his clothes effortlessly.
He grunted in pain, the scent of burning flesh reaching his nostrils. His face scrunched in disgust; that would be a smell he'd not soon forget, but he fought on with two instincts: save Alys and to get away from the pain immediately.
"Protect me!" came Alys again, seeming more to be seething than in agony.
As he fumbled for his bonewand, Ferrum still called out her name, fighting vigorously against the aqueous material. It made squishing sounds as it hindered his every desperate motion. The sound of it held no candle against the sound of Alys' voice or the pain travelling furiously up his body.
"You belong to me!" she barked out, a mocking tone to her voice that startled the necromancer even more. "You must help me!!!"
Before he could open his mouth, a sharp and blood-curdling scream broke through the chill flesh-scorched air.
The setting and scenario dissipated and the materialized into something different so abruptly and Ferrum showed no sign of change to it. He had been transported from the endless stretch of black devoid to the cozy sanctuary of Alys' home. He was lying down on her pallet with Alys kneeling next to him, staring at him worriedly with those beautifully clear hazel eyes..
A feeling of warmth encompassed him as he gazed into the depths of Alys' serene and innocent eyes. "Alys..." he murmured, reaching out to her and pulling her towards him gently.
Her face shifted to an angry expression before she slapped his hand away and struck him in the forehead with the side of her hand.
Startled, Ferrum stared up at his girlfriend. No... Alys was not the kind of woman to pull something like that.... but yet she just did!
Alys scowled, bearing her teeth. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Her voice had turned into a man's deep baritone.
A very familiar voice.... belonging to a certain druid....
***
Rune's mouth was thin and granite stern as he watched Ferrum rub his eyes and blink several times before looking up at him again. The druid was still rather miffed at having his ass grabbed suddenly when he sat down next to the necromancer to check on the lukewarm cloths. Being man-handled was something he wasn't used to nor would ever want to become familiar with.
"Argh..." Ferrum groaned, touching his head gingerly where the druid mercilessly struck him with one knuckle. "That smarts..." He looked up at the weary, yet scowling, face and returned the expression. "The hell was that for?" Not that he really cared for the answer; the blonde necromancer's head was spinning so fast that it had to be the work of the rotating world, or at least the make-shift room they were in.
The room? he thought, looking at his surroundings more carefully. The walls were made out of a rough and scraggly material--burlap, most likely--and through a poorly crafted opening, he could see the dense jungle in the faint torch lights posted just outside. The air was scented thickly of death, moss and rodents; obviously a bad combination that could not compliment any room.
His back, which was hunched over, straightened slowly as his vision strengthened in its focus leaving him to a harsh reality. "Eugh," he felt his spine crick back into motion and the mucles of his body spasm in protest as he looked up at the arm-crossed druid. "Feels like I've been sleeping forever."
Rune nodded, pulled out and uncorked a vial stashed on his belt and handed it to the groggy necromancer, "Figures... you've been sleeping for six days--"
He paused, looking up at him with shocked eyes though the rest of his face failed to portray his surprise. "Six days...?" he echoed in disbelief, tilting his head back as he downed the vial's contents. He immediately winced, his face twisting as though he drank the pure essence of lemon grass.
He shook his head to shake off his disgusted reaction as he coughed. "God, that's awful!"
"But it'll work," Rune replied, smiling ruefully.
"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" The question was redundant and Ferrum felt even more idiotic once Rune gave a smile of mixed humour and annoyance.
"We would've if we could. You were... ill," the druid replied, leaning forward the small wet cloth that had fallen to the pallet once Ferrum woke. The cloth was warm, probably from being on Ferrum's forehead for too long and taking in the temperature of his body.
Watching him as he dumped the towel into a discarded bowl on the floor, Ferrum gazed beyond the large slit in the flimsy raggedy burlap barricade that divided him from the rest of the world. Outside, he could see firelight burning brightly among a heap of logs. In a lazy circle around the fire were a few Iron Wolves, seated comfortably and chatting idly, but their shifting eyes told of their caution and uneasiness. Beyond them was dark stone walls that seemed familiar to him. When he spotted a set of stairs leading down into darkness, he had a vague idea where they were.
"Which temple is that?" the question surprised Rune.
"Does it matter?"
"No... not really," he sighed, rotating his shoulders and arching his back to work out the kinks. "Damn... I feel like crap."
Rune's mind was contemplating other things than the condition of the necromancer's body. Ferrum's wakening only meant one problem less, and although he was relieved that the necromancer was conscious, it didn't not promise the solution to the other remaining dilemmas. His thoughts were on Ormus who, only since two hours ago, was lying in another makeshift-burlap quarantine, fighting his own fevered sleep. It was the wise man's words that stayed with him, embedded like a persistent stinger that refused to leave. His last moments conscious happened so fast that he needed to think things over.
Looks like everyone was wrong about Alys, Rune thought, shaking his head as Ormus' explaination of her state rang through his mind.
Ferrum slowly got to his feet and looked down at the uncomfortable pallet. A question came to mind and, for some reason, he was filled with a sense of dread as he voiced it, "Rune... where's Alys?"
He remained silent and stoic, he gazed upon the younger blonde man with a green, hardened--however, still sympathetic--gaze.
The necromancer asked him again, growing more agitated by the druid's stark silence.
A curious look this time, "You don't remember?"
Ferrum paused. Fragments of memories swirled in the confused whirlwind of thoughts. A scream. Flashes of white-hot lights. Black eyes. Red mist. He shook his head and the images rippled into nothingness. "No."
Rune sighed heavily, dragging his fingers through his hair and feeling the bits of his scalp collect under his gritty nails. It was going to be difficult to explain. He turned towards the opening in the quarantine and held the burlap flap open. He motioned with a nod of his head for Ferrum to follow, and he did.
They walked along the worn in paths. Rune dragged his feet as he did, feeling uncomfortable at the one having to fill Ferrum in on what happened that fateful night... "Where to begin..." he trailed off, his eyes darting along every opening that they passed. He paused and turned to him, "What do you remember first off?"
He opened his mouth then immediately shut it. He saw it. The gidbinn embedded in Alys' gut by Ormus. The fearful look on her face returned to him as did the same sheer terror of his blood freezing. "I remember--"
*** (recollection start)
"ALYS!!!"
Ferrum's voice shattered the still air of the ancient ritual grounds, piercing whatever mystic serenity that was left. His blue eyes, displaying his terror-stricken emotions, burned brightly with severe fury. He sprinted at them, the blood pounding in his ears and adrenailine pumping with a vengance through his veins. His hands itched; they wanted to hold Alys' body, wanting to breathe life back into her by some miracle even thought his abilities revolved around death.
The two Iron wolves that held Alys up let go of her, allowing her body to crumple to the ground. Both dark skinned, the white of their eyes were so vibrant compared to the drab colours of their uniform and the weathered stone structures behind them. They stood out so easily; Perfect targets for Ferrum. With his eyes narrowed to wolf-like slits, he angrily spat dark words under his breath, all his rage balling up into his attacks as he madly casted curses like a vengeful madman possessed. Red lights glimmered to life upon the group nearby Alys' fallen figure, but in his fury, he failed to notice them right away.
Ferrum twisted his body, arching his back as he turned to the side to avoid the thrust of one of the spears the mercenary warriors used. The blood rushed to his ears, his heart pounding loudly in a deafening beat. His ears were so attuned to every movement he could hear the swift slice of the spear's deadly head cut through the uneasy air. His growl reverberated in his throat in an inhuman sound as he regained his posture and lunged at him, teeth bared, fist flying.
His fist struck right between the Iron wolf's eyes. Beneath his knuckles, he could feel the sickening shift and hear the splintering crack the nose bridge breaking from the impact. The Iron wolf's eyes watered as the other mercenary ran forth to meet Ferrum in battle as well as defend his comrad in arms.
Not missing a beat, the angry necromancer's hand flew out, stretched wide open as his voice boomed ancient words in a tongue foreign to the mercenary. The man fell to his knees, his eyes bulging from the hideous pain flowing rampant through his body as his joints suddenly felt weak beneath his heavy armour. The mercenary collapsed in a heap in front of Ferrum, looking up at him before the necromancer's boot furiously connected with his head and all turned bloody then black.
Ferrum had no hesitation in giving the other mercenary, still on his feet, the same treatement.
In the confusion of the battle and the overwhelming bloodlust the necromancer had experienced, he barely noticed Ormus and Alkor back away several feet from the battle and the alter where Alys' slain form lay in a growing pool of her own blood. Her blood spilt over the edge of the weathered grey stoneslabs as Ferrum approached her... only to be thrown back with such an awesome force.
On his back and blinking in astonishment, Ferrum dazedly sat up, staring in confusion as his survival instincts kicked in again. The chill of death and uncertainty crept up from under his arm to kiss and raise the hair on the back of his neck in a foreboding promise.
Ormus' eyes widened as his eyes remained fixed upon the horror of Alys' corpse. Her blood was rotting to a black shade as it was being sucked back into her lifeless body. The black shadowed stain of her blood still remained on the altar's stone floor as her unnaturally pale limbs started twitching, fighting for control with uncontrolled movements.
Her fingers clawed angrily at the stone floor as she slowly pushed herself up onto her knees. Her face remained shadowed, her head bent down reverently to stare at the dark mass where her blood was recently spilt. Her shoulders shook as her hands gingerly touched the blade of the gidbinn protruding from her belly. Her softly rumpled tan blouse was now stained black around the edges where the deadly relic had been planted.
Both hands left her belly to cup her face as her head tilted down even more and a loud strangled sob left her deathly-hued lips. The sound was a sickening cry of outrage, misery and sorrow melted into one. Her delicately-boned shoulders shook as her arms crossed across her chest to grasp the other one. Without warning, she tore at her blouse, rending the soft neckline further apart and exposing her shoulders even more. Her finger dug into each of her bicep as though she would sink her nails in to rip out her own muscles.
Her head shot up, glaring directly at Ormus with such ferocious intensity. Ormus could not stop himself from taking a step back as he sucked the breath back into his mouth quickly. "No..." he whispered agast as the sacrificed lady slowly stood up in such an animalistic posture.
Alys' back was hunched over, her legs spread more than shoulder-width and her feet firmly planted to demonstrate her possessive and territorial nature. Her body was bent forward, her left arm hung loosely in front of her while her right hand still latched on to the left bicep. The skin on the bridge of her nose crinkled as she growled fiercely at the enigmatic Ormus.
"Alys?" Ferrum was back on his feet, fully alert despite his desire to run to her and hold her. Only a blind man would be foolhardy enough to approach her at this time. Her once tender looks turned aggressive as her gaze flew to the necromancer. She stared at him assessingly from head to toe as though calculating the threat he posed to her.
"Fer-rum," she pronounced his name with a dark pride, her eyes flickering with acknowledgement as her lips twisted into a cynical smile. Her pose straightened from a battle-ready beast to the posture of a regal queen. Her head tilted slightly and a lock of her auburn hair fell across her forehead. Only her head moved, turning to look back at Ormus. She hissed his name like it was a poison being spat from her lips.
Ormus wordlessly raised his metal staff out in front of him, ready to accept her challenge if she decided to fight. "Dark creature, you are not welcome here."
Amusement played on her lips, "I am not?" she questioned out loudly, her voice very crisp with a heavy emphasis on her pronounciations. "Then why did you anger me? Stupid human, you insulted me."
The haunting air of the altar grounds seemed to crackle with a darkness unknown as the woman licked her dry and lifeless lips. Ferrum could only stare in disbelief, wondering if he was lost in some nightmare.
"We did not summon you."
Alys glanced at her raised right hand and made an L shape of her thumb and forefinger in front of herself. A thin jagged line of lightning traveresed between the extended fingers before she balled her hand into a delicate fist. "You did," she charged, her teeth displayed. "You dared to insult me with such an offering... hmph."
Ormus eyes widened as he glared accusingly at Alkor, slowly backing away and trying to make his escape, "How is it that she's a virgin?!"
Ferrum's eyes widened then narrowed at the horrible statement. "Don't you dare speak of Alys that way!"
Ignoring his comment, hazel eyes flickered angrily with raw rage as they focused on the scrawny and deceitful man her body once called uncle. She was deadly-still except for the hand moving over her heart. "You..." she murmured in a hushed voice. "There's something about you that makes me despise you..." Her fingers dug into the softl flesh over her chest.
Hair-thin strands of lightning sparked to life around her body as she glared at the man. The hot white flashes and deadly yellows illuminated her body randomly. Shadows flickered on and off in an eerie pattern as she stepped down from the stones towards Ormus and Alkor who were backing away rapidly.
Ferrum sprang into action only to have Alys glare furiously at him, "Stay out of this, human!" her voice boomed with all the authority of a high demoness.
The necromancer immediately froze, watching as Alkor fled from the three of them. He scrambled backwards, tripping over a plant. "Alys, d-dear!" he sputtered desperately as he climbed back to his feet with amazing speed for bones as old as his. "Sweet niece... I'm your uncle, your kind uncle!"
His sweet niece, as he so eloquently put it, laughed mockingly at him. "Save your words, O withered one," she hissed as the rapid arcs of lightning circling her body sped up and intensified, eratically lighting up the section of the forest. Her eyes flashed of hatred briefly before her left arm snapped out, her hand pointing her slim indexed finger at her uncle.
The lightning traversing over her body leapt from her and sailed through the air, swirling into its attack target. The massive illuminated lightning bolt was so abundant of raw power that Ormus and Ferrum shielded their eyes.
Alkor screamed in a pitch thought impossible for a man... an old man even more. The smell of burning human flesh crept up into Ferrum's nostrils and he grimaced. Although he was familiar with the smell of death, it was not one he would willingly be accustomed to.
Alys smiled, walking towards the charred body and kicked it loathingly. "I love the smell of death at any time of day..." she murmured ominously while trembled in a self-embrace as though she was turning orgasmic from her first kill in a long time.
Ferrum slowly slidled over to Ormus and gestured to the shaman to take his distance.
He quickly obeyed, and that caught the attention of Alys.
Spinning around on her heel, Alys frowned at Ferrum, "I told you to stay out of this, meddling human."
"Alys--"
"--She's not Alys anymore," Ormus cut in, regarding the demoness still glowering at him.
Her stiff composure was replaced with one of reflection, "So, the name of this woman is Alys?" she questioned out loud with a chuckle. "Beautiful name.... " She impulsively frowned, her eyes flashing as though she were arguing with someone. "I hate beautiful things."
Her eyes predatorily scanned the entire premises with a burning hatred. They hovered from tree to tree as her teeth clenched and increased its pressure. "Hate, hate, hate, hate... hate it all..." she hissed.
Ferrum raised an eyebrow, as he backed up a foot away from her again and muttered out the corner of his mouth, "What's wrong with Alys?"
Ormus shook his head, looking irate that he still called her that. "She's not Alys anymore, she's--"
"Enchantress!!" a voice shouted out like battle cry before several black crows screamed its attack as it swooped down at her.
The events that took place happened so quickly. Next thing Ferrum knew, he and Rune were battling it out with Alys, though Ferrum more reluctant to cause her harm than the druid. To make matters worse, Alys had easily thwarted Rune's animal army's attacks and left their lifeless bodies littered on the ground without even the smallest ounce of care or sympathy for the summoned creatures.
"Give me the shaman now!" Alys shrieked as another bolt of hers dodged by Ferrum struck a tree and set it a blaze.
"Get Ormus back to Kurast, now!" Rune ordered Ferrum once he understood how impossible it would be for Ferrum to fight a demon that took on the form of his girlfriend.
Alys stared at the fire, fascinated. "Burn...." she purred in a low voice, chuckling to herself and trembling again.
Ripping the blue ribbon with his teeth, the druid hurled the scroll in the air as he shouted out the magic incantation that was written on the parchment.
A mass of swirling blue light appeared in a flash... as did Krysta, Asheara and ten other Iron Wolves from that portal.
"Krysta!" Rune hissed angrily as he dodged another Ferrum ushered Ormus towards the portal while Alys was still strangely distracted by the fire with an evil child-like curiousity. "I thought I told you to stay in Kurast!"
The assassin groaned and immediately pushed the reluctant Ormus into the portal before entering it.
"Move out, now!" Asheara twirled her spear above her head as she and her Iron Wolves took not even a moments pause to assemble and surround the demoness, their deadlt weapons all pointing at her and ready. "Kill her!"
Rune shook his head, horrified by the female warrior's advance. "Asheara, no!" He lunged forward, throwing her out of the way along with him.
A spear from one warrior thrusted forward and Alys quickly caught the metal head of it with a sneer. Arcs of electricity materialized, wheeling around her body tightly, as it grew in space. The currents spunn faster and faster, growing and expanding with every revolution. Raising one hand to caress her own face, she smiled sadistically. "Let me hear your screams..." she whispered lovingly as the lightning pounced and spread out at every mercenary. Screams rang out in chorus.
In less than thirty seconds, the Enchantress had electrocuted the Iron Wolves and set fire to a good portion of the tropical forest. The pungent stench of human flesh burning rose and mingled with the fresh rain scent the air once held.
Alys chuckled, savouring the sounds of the roaring fire and the screams that echoed into the night. "Lovely sound... " she murmured to herself, twirling around slowly like a daydreaming child. "Burn... burn...burn....."
"Alys!" Ferrum called out again, carefully avoiding stepping upon an Iron Wolf corpse as he approached her. "Stop it!"
Her eyes flashed angrily again as she laughed, "You never give up, do you boy?" With a wave of her hand, she chuckled as three corpses not a few feet away from Ferrum bursted inside out, letting loose a spray of green mist carelessly into the air.
Ferrum choked as he inhaled the gas. His eyes were burning up along with his throat as he coughed fiercely. He struggled to stay on his feet as he staggered back away from his love, tripping over a corpse as he went.
Alys cackled again, her hand pointing at the corpse and sending a poison blast from that one as well directly on to the necromancer.
Everything was blurry and it occurred to Ferrum's hazy mind that the poison was the blame. Before he could fall completely, he felt a pair of hands roughly grab him and drag him to the swirling blue portal. He could've sworn he heard more voices, so distorted he could barely make out what was said... but the warped voice, at least one, sounded like Rune's.
After tossing Ferrum into the portal, Rune ran after Asheara and dragged her towards the portal despite her insistance that as leader of the Iron Wolves, she must fight till the very end. Well, in the very end, Rune ended up disgracefully picking up the female warrior and tossing her not too gently into the swirling mass before joining them.
*** (recollection end)
"That still doesn't explain all this."
Thinking to have regained most of his strength, he and Rune were patrolling around the jungle encampment that the remaining villagers of Kurast had built. The makeshift village was very lively with children playing about and people talking not too far away from the small crowed of Iron Wolves, but despite the social efforts, it did not disguise an underlying fear that Ferrum had sensed once he left his own little burlap quarantine.
The camp was very mediocre and nothing of the quality he was used to from all his years of training as an apprentice necromancer. Another wave of nausea hit him full in the stomach and he grabbed on to the druid's arm to steady himself.
"I'm alright," he muttered, feeling disgusted with himself and his erratic strength as he let go of Rune.
Rune's eyes were fixed on a thin malnourished women coddling her child nearby a campfire. The woman was humming softly, trying to get the infant to stop its crying while what he presumed were her other children were playing nearby with sticks, poking the ground and tracing images into the earth with childish laughters that perked his ears up without him realizing it.
"Alys-- I mean, the Enchantress," Rune sighed, correcting himself under Ferrum's scrutinizing glare, "Invaded Kurast two hours later." He gestured at the entire encampment. "These are all the survivors."
Ferrum shook his head, muttering a curse under his breath. There had to be at least fifteen people, including himself, presently in view. Then, it dawned on him. "Where is Krysta and Asheara?"
He paused, studying him for a moment. "This way," he grimly replied. Ferrum silently followed him as Rune continued talking. "Before you ask, the Enchantress is still inhabiting Kurast. Our attacks have been unsuccessful due to the lack of power. Unfortunately, more than two-thirds of the Iron Wolves were wiped out during her invasion." Rune zig-zagged through the camp, weaving through the mass of tents, trees and fires, towards a burlap spread out between trees, acting as a divider, but unable to hide the muffled growls emanating from behind it.
Ferrum ducked under the burlap drape and immediately tripped over a small and hard object to fall face first into the dirt. He cursed under his breath but then his frustration ebbed when he heard the familiar jingle jingle sound: Spikey.
Energetically, the metal golem skittered in quick circles around the necromancer as though in a celebration dance while chanting "He's alive, he's alive!"
Ferrum got up and sat back on his haunches as he picked up Spikey and immediately set him down, looking embarassed. The golem barely noticed it as he continued his celebratory dance. "You've either gotten heavier or I've gotten weaker."
Rune sighs, "Fever will do that to you."
The elation left the golem as quickly as it had first arrived, but Ferrum was not the least bit concerned; his attention was focused on the spectacle Spikey was pointing at: two robust Iron Wolves fully armed and carefully guarding five women tightly tied to the rough bark of the palm trees. The third and fourth woman from the left caught his eyes: Asheara and Krysta.
The look on all the women's faces were equal.... angry, empty, pale and agitated. Their eyes darted back and forth from face-to-face in a desperately speculative manner, assessing each man by their possible level of threat to them. They struggled against the rough corded ropes that bound them to the trees as the necromancer slowly approached, horrified and astonished.
He came up to Krysta, and she snarled at him, craning her neck, not hiding her urge to sink her teeth into him. Her eyes were sunken in and her skin was slightly jaundiced; she did not look a picture of health.
Spikey approached with him, but got too close to the assassin that her booted-foot lashed out and struck the metal golem square in the head. He barely moved an inch, but still shook his blade-fist at Krysta scoldingly.
Ferrum slowly turned to Rune, about to question the women's apparently rabid state when he quickly answered for them. "Cursed."
A blonde speculative eyebrow shot up as his blue eyes turned to Asheara, thrashing quite the same and bearing her teeth in equal ferocity.
Rune sighed, folding his arms. "It's the work of the Enchantress, it's how she works. She somehow corrupts women, blinds their judgement and... well," he gestured in sympathy to the women tied up. "This is what happens. Three men died already from them, and five women, already corrupted, died as well."
"They killed each other?"
"The curse killed them. If they are not near the Enchantress... they will die."
Ferrum sucked in his breath with a wince. It was a no win situation in this case. Most likely if they brought the women to the Enchantress, they would live, but on the downside, the Enchantress would have human allies; He didn't even want to imagine having Asheara and Krysta on the opposing side. But, he couldn't let anymore people die. There had to have been a man-made cure, a shamanic cure, for the curse, but Rune quickly quashed that hope. "Ormus can't help us."
"What?!"
He grimaced with a sullen nod, "Before he slipped into the coma, he said many things of great import." He paused for effect as Ferrum prompted him with the wave of his hand. "The sacrifice was done poorly. Alkor and everyone was deceived in terms of Alys innocence."
Rune carried on cautiously, noticing Ferrum's enraged expression. "To the Countess, you sacrifice virgins; to the Enchantress, you sacrifice the 'impure.' If you offer a sacrifice that is an insult to what they require, they will be summoned to express their rage. Their existance should only be a short while... but... it can become a permanent life.
"What do you mean?"
Rune lowered his head with a sigh, "If after the seventh night the Enchantress is not destroyed, the next life she sacrifices will give her immortality."
Ferrum stared in horror.
"There's more.... this is the seventh night."
The necromancer needed no more words spoken to. He immediately stalked across the village back to his quarantine and began strapping his armour and weapons back upon him as Rune followed with a smirk. Ferrum then turned, picked up Spikey and headed to the center of the encampment, calling to arms all able-bodied men and the remainder of the Iron Wolves. Upon than, he learned of Hralti's decision to take a boat out to travel to a neary village and request assistance or hire the first mercenaries he came across.
"How long as he been gone for?"
Rune shook his head, "Two days. We can't expect results that quickly."
"We must act now!" an Iron wolf quipped up and the rest agreed. "We can't let demon Alys win!"
"We'll die though! The demon Alys will kill us!"
Ferrum narrowed his eyes at the use of his love's name in the same sentence with the words 'demon.' Miraculously, he stopped himself from lashing out at the two iron wolves. Instead, he turned around, still holding on to Spikey and looking up at the sky.
His eyes wandered over the slowly appearing starts that glittered in the dusky sky. He quickly found the north star and headed in the direction of the village. It was too bad most of the jungle had been transformed by scorch marks, which were no doubt, caused by the Enchantress.
"Where do you think you're going?" Rune gruffly asked, staring down at him as he blocked his path.
"I'm going to get my girlfriend back," he replied testily, going around the druid.
Rune quickly grabbed Ferrum's shoulder and tossed him back. "Without a plan that'd suicide Ferrum, and you know it."
"Fuck a plan, Rune. I don't care, I'm going in there."
"To die?"
"No, to... I don't know... save Alys or die trying."
"By what? Reasoning the evil out of her?" He shakes his head, "Running into Kurast without a plan is suicide. No one goes there without a good plan, it's too desperate."
An Iron wolf suddenly bounded in through the woods, crying out his announcement in a horrified voice, "Rune, Rune, terrible news! One of our scouts just caught sight of Deckard Cain! He's been captured by Alys! Also, Hralti's boat has been spotted on the horizon, heading towards the docks with several people on board!"
Rune's composure broke apart as he gritted his teeth. That meant they had at least twenty minutes tops before they landed in Kurast. It was time for drastic measures. "Alright fine, let's go."
"What? No plan?" Ferrum mocked, feeling mighty despite their dire situation.
"You shut up."
Picking up armor and weapons, the two of them departed on their own, deciding last minute that it would be best if the Iron wolves remained at their posts in case the Enchantress was planning an attack of his own or, in the event that their attempts proved futile, the encampment's people would have at least some protection against the Enchantress.
As usual, Rune summoned his animal army and Ferrum, walking along beside him, stopped every few seconds along the trail whenever a corpse was nearby. Not really wanting to do such a thing, but having no choice, he summoned the skeletons of the dead beasts and human corpses to crawl out of their dead flesh casings to serve him in his own undead army.
The druid keenly noted Ferrum's reluctance to summon undead aid and questioned it.
Ferrum shrugged with a smile not so energetic as they usually were. "I feel fat around them, I guess." He received an odd stare from Rune before he shook his head and answered again, still trekking along. "Really though, it makes me uneasy.... less human, I suppose."
And yet you'd make yourself feel inhuman for Alys' sake... Rune thought understandingly, a bitter smile curving his own mouth as the words 'consequences be damned' echoed in his mind. With a quick glance to the sky, he broke into a sprint, his animal army matching his speed. "It's getting dark..." he called back to the necromancer already speeding up his movement to trail the druid. "We better hurry."
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Reviews are much appreciated. Two more chapters to go actually. ^_^