A/N: Hello again, and welcome back for another installment of Lodoss War fic I just want to thank you all for the reviews! I really am surprised at the numbers- so thank you! (PS- keep them coming in they amuse me greatly)
Anyway, nothing new here... well nothing remotely interesting anyway. Except for this new chapter. That's all you care about right now, desu ka. So I'll jump straight in – enjoy!
-
Chapter 13
"If you will not tell me what you want here, then I will just kill you both and get it over with." She said as she reached down for Parn's sword. Unsheathing it she turned back to the blue eyes man at her feet. "You must be a powerful shaman to have spirits come to your aid and break my sleep spell. No matter, I'll just be done with you now."
-
Orson found himself in a veil of darkness. The void's silence and a coldness that lingered in the stale air all added to his uneasiness. As the berserker tried to meditate in his current state a bright light flashed before him. Momentarily blinded, Orson was unable to witness the three figures approaching.
"Who... who are you?" He asked as his eye sight began to slowly clear.
"Orson," three separate voices called to him at once. When his eyes cleared there before him stood three separate visions. Nearest to him stood the spirit of fury that had possessed his soul and plagued him for years. The other was an unmistakable form of Kardis the destroyer. The third vision was less clear than the others. It was definitely female, from the voice he hear calling his name.
There was something else about the woman half hidden in the shadows that made him want to go to her. As he moved, a sudden strain on his arm held him back. Turning his head away from the hidden woman, Orson saw the chains that held him to both the spirits and now Kardis' spell.
Continuing to fight against the bonds that held him, Orson was suddenly more determined to no longer let himself be tied down then ever before in his memory. Hearing the familiar voice again it dawned on Orson who was calling to him.
'Sheris...' He whispered recognizing her form as the woman in the shadows. She was calling him... through it all she had been the constant in his unfeeling life. Quick to anger, but Sheris was never prone to stop loving, even if she tried to keep inside herself.
Not willing to leave her now, Orson fought with everything he had inside to break the hold of the two dark forces. Both the spirit of fury and Kardis' forces battle for his soul, yet in the end, he was determined to win the fight for himself and the one he loves...
-
Parn could do very little against the woman who drew closer with his own sword above her head. Her evil looking eyes took aim at his neck. For the first time in his life he actually felt failure and despair creep up on him. He knew that if he died here, Deedlit would become a widow, and surely die soon afterwards.
That was something he had never let cross his mind so clearly until this very moment. They had come so far thinking only of easy success and nothing of the magnitude of their current situation.
'I can't let things end this way... spirits of the forest, please... I don't ask for much, because I know you have already given me all the treasures a man deserves... but I beg you... I can't fail her.'
Closing his eyes, Parn tried to relax his spirit like Deedlit had shown him during his trials in the forest in order to further his connection with any of the spirits that resided on the desolate island. Without Deedlit near him, or her reassuring voice in his mind, Parn felt lost and everything he had learnt seemed to seep out of his mind.
As the follower of Kardis prepared for a clean slice of the sword, neither she nor Parn noticed the other man's eyes open suddenly. Breaking free from the spell the witch had placed on both men, Orson was quickly on his feet and with the back of his hand knocked the woman on the back of the head.
Parn heard the woman collapse with a thud to the ground before him, and his sword dropping as well before his face. With a sigh, Parn felt the spell binding his limbs release and he was quickly to his feet.
"Orson?" Parn said both in a shocked and grateful tone. "How did you break her spell?"
"I'm not sure myself." Orson said with a sigh and a tone that Parn clearly recognized as confusion as well.
"Orson? Are you feeling alright?" Parn asked looking concerned at his friend's face. Instead of the normal emotionless face and voice, Orson looked like a very different person.
"I... I feel strange." Orson admitted not understanding the new rush of emotions he was feeling. "I actually feel..."
"Could the evil spirit's power over you have faded? But how?" Parn asked both amazed and somewhat relieved that his friend seemed to finally have broken from the evil spirit's clutches. However, he could not comprehend how the events had taken place. After all the shamans and mystic healers they had searched out and questioned, suddenly unexpected the berserker was now in control.
"We can figure things out later, I have a feeling you want to continue our search so we can return to your wife... I too have some one I need to get back to." Orson said thinking of the light that had brought him out of Kardis' spell. While in the darkness after sinking below the sands, the thought of not seeing his red headed companion again was something he was not willing to accept. Musing over the idea that it was Sheris that had made him beat the demons of Kardis. Not wanting to side track their mission with maybes and thoughts of his own issues, Parn and he decided to search around the strange lair of Kardis' priestess.
While the woman was unconscious, the duo found that there was a vast collection of herbs and roots in some sort of storeroom. Returning to the area where they had been kept, they found that the woman was now awake and struggling against the rope, they had tired her arms with.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" She nearly screamed at the two men as they approached her. "I will not allow you to destroy what Kardis has created!"
"Calm down, we meant no harm to you or to your goddess." Parn stated as he approached and knelt by the woman's side. "We didn't mean to trespass here, but we are in search of a root." Parn added as he pulled out a short dagger.
"It is supposed to be found only here on this island." Orson added as he too came nearer to the woman.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Parn said seeing her eyes go wide at the sight of the dagger in his hand. "If we let you go and promise to leave afterwards, will you help us find this root?" A nod from the woman gave Parn hope that she knew what they were searching for here on Marmo. Freeing her from her ropes, the woman instantly pulled away from both men. Looking at them with a little less hatred, yet still contempt; she motioned them to follow her.
"So it was not you then who called the spirits of the forest?" The woman asked as she opened a large book of spells once they entered a study. The massive books were in a strange language and both Parn and Orson were relying on her help.
"It was Deedlit, I suppose. That would have been the only logical answer since I cannot summon anything without her strength and support." Parn said as he watched the dark figure stare up at his circlet once again.
"She is an elf then?" The woman's reply seemed a bit shocked at first. However, that was the normal reaction to learning about the union of an Elf and human. "She was weakened in childbirth then?"
"How... how did you know?" Parn asked amazed that the woman could somehow understand their situation.
"It's simple. You wear an Elven circlet, and you risked journeying to Kardis' island for a rare herb. It is a powerful root, and should take away all the ill symptoms of her difficult delivery... take it and leave."
"That's it?" Orson said with disbelief welling inside him. They had surprisingly had to overcome fewer hurdles than expected in this trip.
"It doesn't matter... all that matters is that we get this back to the forest in time." Parn said looking to his companion. "Thank you priestess. I know Kardis is not always our friend, but I will always remember your kindness."
"Kardis is not always represented by the evil in this world, remember that. You may think that one bad egg makes us all that way... without darkness there can be no light." Nodding at her words, Parn and Orson took the offered root in a pouch, and were able to escape the underground caves of the priestess.
'Hang on Deedlit, I have it. I have it and we're on our way.'
Anyway, nothing new here... well nothing remotely interesting anyway. Except for this new chapter. That's all you care about right now, desu ka. So I'll jump straight in – enjoy!
-
Chapter 13
"If you will not tell me what you want here, then I will just kill you both and get it over with." She said as she reached down for Parn's sword. Unsheathing it she turned back to the blue eyes man at her feet. "You must be a powerful shaman to have spirits come to your aid and break my sleep spell. No matter, I'll just be done with you now."
-
Orson found himself in a veil of darkness. The void's silence and a coldness that lingered in the stale air all added to his uneasiness. As the berserker tried to meditate in his current state a bright light flashed before him. Momentarily blinded, Orson was unable to witness the three figures approaching.
"Who... who are you?" He asked as his eye sight began to slowly clear.
"Orson," three separate voices called to him at once. When his eyes cleared there before him stood three separate visions. Nearest to him stood the spirit of fury that had possessed his soul and plagued him for years. The other was an unmistakable form of Kardis the destroyer. The third vision was less clear than the others. It was definitely female, from the voice he hear calling his name.
There was something else about the woman half hidden in the shadows that made him want to go to her. As he moved, a sudden strain on his arm held him back. Turning his head away from the hidden woman, Orson saw the chains that held him to both the spirits and now Kardis' spell.
Continuing to fight against the bonds that held him, Orson was suddenly more determined to no longer let himself be tied down then ever before in his memory. Hearing the familiar voice again it dawned on Orson who was calling to him.
'Sheris...' He whispered recognizing her form as the woman in the shadows. She was calling him... through it all she had been the constant in his unfeeling life. Quick to anger, but Sheris was never prone to stop loving, even if she tried to keep inside herself.
Not willing to leave her now, Orson fought with everything he had inside to break the hold of the two dark forces. Both the spirit of fury and Kardis' forces battle for his soul, yet in the end, he was determined to win the fight for himself and the one he loves...
-
Parn could do very little against the woman who drew closer with his own sword above her head. Her evil looking eyes took aim at his neck. For the first time in his life he actually felt failure and despair creep up on him. He knew that if he died here, Deedlit would become a widow, and surely die soon afterwards.
That was something he had never let cross his mind so clearly until this very moment. They had come so far thinking only of easy success and nothing of the magnitude of their current situation.
'I can't let things end this way... spirits of the forest, please... I don't ask for much, because I know you have already given me all the treasures a man deserves... but I beg you... I can't fail her.'
Closing his eyes, Parn tried to relax his spirit like Deedlit had shown him during his trials in the forest in order to further his connection with any of the spirits that resided on the desolate island. Without Deedlit near him, or her reassuring voice in his mind, Parn felt lost and everything he had learnt seemed to seep out of his mind.
As the follower of Kardis prepared for a clean slice of the sword, neither she nor Parn noticed the other man's eyes open suddenly. Breaking free from the spell the witch had placed on both men, Orson was quickly on his feet and with the back of his hand knocked the woman on the back of the head.
Parn heard the woman collapse with a thud to the ground before him, and his sword dropping as well before his face. With a sigh, Parn felt the spell binding his limbs release and he was quickly to his feet.
"Orson?" Parn said both in a shocked and grateful tone. "How did you break her spell?"
"I'm not sure myself." Orson said with a sigh and a tone that Parn clearly recognized as confusion as well.
"Orson? Are you feeling alright?" Parn asked looking concerned at his friend's face. Instead of the normal emotionless face and voice, Orson looked like a very different person.
"I... I feel strange." Orson admitted not understanding the new rush of emotions he was feeling. "I actually feel..."
"Could the evil spirit's power over you have faded? But how?" Parn asked both amazed and somewhat relieved that his friend seemed to finally have broken from the evil spirit's clutches. However, he could not comprehend how the events had taken place. After all the shamans and mystic healers they had searched out and questioned, suddenly unexpected the berserker was now in control.
"We can figure things out later, I have a feeling you want to continue our search so we can return to your wife... I too have some one I need to get back to." Orson said thinking of the light that had brought him out of Kardis' spell. While in the darkness after sinking below the sands, the thought of not seeing his red headed companion again was something he was not willing to accept. Musing over the idea that it was Sheris that had made him beat the demons of Kardis. Not wanting to side track their mission with maybes and thoughts of his own issues, Parn and he decided to search around the strange lair of Kardis' priestess.
While the woman was unconscious, the duo found that there was a vast collection of herbs and roots in some sort of storeroom. Returning to the area where they had been kept, they found that the woman was now awake and struggling against the rope, they had tired her arms with.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" She nearly screamed at the two men as they approached her. "I will not allow you to destroy what Kardis has created!"
"Calm down, we meant no harm to you or to your goddess." Parn stated as he approached and knelt by the woman's side. "We didn't mean to trespass here, but we are in search of a root." Parn added as he pulled out a short dagger.
"It is supposed to be found only here on this island." Orson added as he too came nearer to the woman.
"I'm not going to hurt you." Parn said seeing her eyes go wide at the sight of the dagger in his hand. "If we let you go and promise to leave afterwards, will you help us find this root?" A nod from the woman gave Parn hope that she knew what they were searching for here on Marmo. Freeing her from her ropes, the woman instantly pulled away from both men. Looking at them with a little less hatred, yet still contempt; she motioned them to follow her.
"So it was not you then who called the spirits of the forest?" The woman asked as she opened a large book of spells once they entered a study. The massive books were in a strange language and both Parn and Orson were relying on her help.
"It was Deedlit, I suppose. That would have been the only logical answer since I cannot summon anything without her strength and support." Parn said as he watched the dark figure stare up at his circlet once again.
"She is an elf then?" The woman's reply seemed a bit shocked at first. However, that was the normal reaction to learning about the union of an Elf and human. "She was weakened in childbirth then?"
"How... how did you know?" Parn asked amazed that the woman could somehow understand their situation.
"It's simple. You wear an Elven circlet, and you risked journeying to Kardis' island for a rare herb. It is a powerful root, and should take away all the ill symptoms of her difficult delivery... take it and leave."
"That's it?" Orson said with disbelief welling inside him. They had surprisingly had to overcome fewer hurdles than expected in this trip.
"It doesn't matter... all that matters is that we get this back to the forest in time." Parn said looking to his companion. "Thank you priestess. I know Kardis is not always our friend, but I will always remember your kindness."
"Kardis is not always represented by the evil in this world, remember that. You may think that one bad egg makes us all that way... without darkness there can be no light." Nodding at her words, Parn and Orson took the offered root in a pouch, and were able to escape the underground caves of the priestess.
'Hang on Deedlit, I have it. I have it and we're on our way.'