Thanks for the reviews, guys. The last chapter was really hard to write. I didn't know which character to bring in and so on, so i just decided to wing it. Hence so many grammar mistakes.
Anyway, this one is gonna be a bit more intersting. I'll see how things go.
Chapter Four: Alone
There was an obvious limp to her stride, and her hand was shaking as she stumbled through the caverns of rock and wet stone. The flame on the thick piece of wood seemed content to stay alive despite the humid air it had to burn, so light was no longer an obstacle.
Deciding to head through to the tunel from which the creature Necrid came she stumbled along, one hand against her stomach.
There was a throbbing pain in her middle where she knew she'd have a bruise. Maybe a rib had been broken for all she knew, the hit she had gained from Necrid's weapon had left her worse off than before.
Swallowing the thick mess of knots that had grown in her throat, shecoughed lightly, ignoring the echoes the soft sound created.
Her head was swimming and her vision wasn't working too well.
the fight had taken a lot more out of her than she had realized at that very moment.
The wind that seemed to follow her danced and twirled around her nearly in a worried manner, gently touching and carressing her cheek.
Talim stumbled and nearly fell, grabbing the side of the rock wall for balance. The sudden movement made her stomach lurch and she gasped, falling to her knees.
Suddenly she knew, she couldn't go on like this, she needed rest.
Her whole body felt like a giant bruise, the dirty clot of blood on her right shoulder was making her whole arm numb. The bruise appearing on her torso was throbbing in and out of focus, numb one moment burning acid the next.
She allowed herself to curl up into a tiny ball, with the torch dancing around beside her, sending dark shadows on the black wet walls.
Her eyes felt heavy and her heart felt tired. This was obviously the first test and her mind didn't care.
Is this what you wanted, Goddess? Is this it? I am so tired... I've killed someone, are you happy now?
The darkness ate steadily at the corners of her vision and soon she lost her grip on reality and time, letting her body relax into nothingness.
The Protector no longer had the stregnth to protect herself...
Unknown to the young Priestess the cave ended perhaps fifteen minutes down the tunel she had just entered, and perhaps if she had known she would have forced herself to go on.
Just outside of the cavern in the woods where the night was still in full swing and the rain falling continued it's orchestra of drops.
A cloaked figure struggled through the storm, head bowed against the rain.
The lightening above struck the tree to their right, shattering the wood to splinters. That seemed enough a signal to decide to take cover.
Looking about for a moment they caught sight of the gaping hole in the mountain wall.
Ignoring the possibility of monstrosities hiding within they slipped inside and huddled against the inner lip, not intending to go any further.
That was until the sound of someone falling and the clatter of wood against rock made them turn sharply at the twisting tunnel beyond.
There was a slight hesitation for a moment as the silence grew thick and the whisper of a flame continued to slide down from the caves dark throat.
Sighing the person started into the darkness, keeping a hand to the cave wall for support as the black grew too thick to see and the ground too rough to trust.
As he continued on, the sound of harsh heavy breathing grew louder and the sound of a dancing flame more persistent.
He stopped suddenly at the sight of light bouncing off the walls from behind the corner of heavy rock that hid whatever was breathing with such horrid trouble.
Frowning he peeked past the cave wall and blinked in surprise.
Crumbled on the floor was a pale youth, her hands limp against the rocks, eyes closed and her breathing coming in and out harshly.
The young man pulled back his hood to reveal red hair in stringy locks.
He shifted his weight idly, wondering what to do. There was a giant bruise growing steadily on the girl's stomach, and blood was starting to drench through the cloth wrapped tightly around her right arm.
He frowned slightly and walked towards her slowly, shifting his weight awkwardly. She was extremely pale at the moment, and all of her skin seemed to be coated in grime and blood.
The blood didn't seem to be hers though. The elbow blades that lay by her side were also drenched in thick blood.
He crouched down beside her, reaching out a hand to lift the heavy locks of dark hair covering her face.
The small delicate features of someone too young to look so old glimmered at him by the light of the torch dancing it's fireywalz behind him.
He blinked slightly at her, shocked.
How could someone so young...
The girl heaved a loud sigh and twisted in her sleep, drops of sweat glittering on her brow.
The young man touched his palm to her forehead and drew back sharply, eyes wide.
She was burning up, and the blood from her arm was beginning to pool on the cave floor.
He stood up and shifted his weight slightly to the other foot, a small gathering of his brows expressing deep thought.
The rain outside wouldn't let him go anywhere for quite a while, it seemed to be relentlessly beating the earth, so he had time to spare for the moment, and it would haunt him if he left the girl here to die.
Which he knew would happen if he did leave.
Eyes sliding idly to the tunnel from where she seemed to come, he sighed and knelt down again, picking her up with ease. She weighed nothing.
As soon as he touched her, he felt the cold slap of wind against his cheek. He blinked and looked about sharply, eyes narrowed.
The air swam around him, hissing with life.
He stood still, watching with cold dislike and apprehension. His gaze slid back down to the young girl in his arms, considering the possibilities of a connection.
Without a word, he started away, ignoring the wind that seemed to follow, whispering with breezey tones.
The torch was quickly snatched up as he passed, though with difficulty. He juggled the girl and picked up the flame.
Silently he walked down the tunnel, looking around and listening with cool intensity at the sounds echoing around.
about five minutes from where he had started, he came to a sharp turn. The smell of blood, and the flapping of wings along with the screeches of bats was enough to make him hesitate in turning.
Carefully he put the girl down and looked past the cave lip, hesitant at first.
The sight before him was one of dark nightmares and gory memories.
There as what looked like a body on the ground, covered from head to foot in bats.
They fluttered about the cavern, screeching in high pitched voices.
Their teeth had eagerly ripped apart the vunerable skin of the body and the blood had easily heavily drenched the ground, staining the dark stone with an even darker liquid.
The young man stood by, swallowing his disgust with traine ease. He had seen worse.
Slowly he entered the danger zone with the torch ready in hand. With a sharp wave, the bats dispersed, screeching their dislike.
They left the body clear for examination. The young man winced as the crude cuts and disgusting drops of saliva came into view.
Sighing he knelt beside the corpes, looking around for a death wound.
In seconds he found the gaping cut that had split the neck open. He frowned slightly, struggling to beleive that the young girl he had just been carrying would be capable of slaying a beast the size of this great mammoth.
As he was beginning to turn away something caught his eye. The glitter of a red shard in the pool of already drying blood danced along with the flames of the torch.
He crouched once more and picked it up, ignoring the sticky sensation of the blood on his fingers.
The aura surrounding the miniature shard was enough to tell him what it was.
"...there you are."
He stood and slipped the thing into a pocket thoughtfully, eyes glittering as he turned tohead back to the girl.
This was interesting indeed...