A/N: Hello all, here's another chapter just to keep you going. I intend to post these weekly but as I know it's hard to get into a story with only one chapter I thought I'd treat you for this week. From now on I aim to post every Wednesday and I am staying well ahead so these should be regular, all going well. Obviously have more free time on my hands at the moment, so things could change in the future. But for now I'll leave you all to read, review and enjoy! :)

Chapter 2

Dying felt like shit. But what felt worse was coming back.

The first time it had happened Ellie had been floored for a month. Her whole body had felt like it had been passed through a mincer, and even though there were no visible scars to show what had happened, it had taken another month before her skin had stopped itching. Added to that her reflexes and abilities were always diminished after reviving and it made for a pretty crappy experience. This time had been one of the worst ones for a while. Her rocky arrival into this world had already took it out of her, having a pitchfork shoved through her chest had only heightened her enjoyment of the whole situation so far.

She had woken, as she normally did, with a retching gasp. Her head splitting in two and the feeling of a thousand needles piercing her body. She had sat up, coughing loudly, then paused as something lodged in her chest stopped her. Fumbling around she had gripped cold metal. Looking down at her hands she had seen the pitch fork she had been stabbed with still stuck into her chest up to the handle.

With a sickening wet, squelching sound she slowly pulled it out, freeing her chest and allowing her to cough the contents of her stomach up for the second time that night. With the prongs now loose she tossed the pitchfork to one side and tried to get her bearings, yet again. She had become acutely aware that there were other presences near her. Their scents hot with blood and tinged with fear. Glancing up she saw the group of men she had run into standing around her, their faces frozen in horror.

'Im-impossible.' One stammered as she wobbled to her feet. The wounds were already closing up in her chest and she rolled her shoulders experimentally as she tried to look as harmless as possible.

'Sorry about that. Is there any way you could tell me where I am?' Ten faces stared back at her, their mouths opening and closing like stranded fish. A particularly mean looking one choose to answer by unsheathing a long sword at his side and charging at her with a cry. 'Fucking witch!'

Not again, Ellie thought as she held her hands up in submission. But the frightened men were unlikely to listen after they had witnessed her coming back from the dead before their eyes.

'Shit.' She cursed under her breath for the second time and prepared to flee. Just as the man with the sword got to her there was an almighty roar and the space where they were all clustered was suddenly filled with cloying black cloud of smoke. The men fell back in fear as something tall and thin inserted itself between them and her. It roared again and Ellie swore she heard wolves howling in the distance as if answering it. Seeing the men's attention switch to the new threat she decided this was her chance to get away from this madness. Turning on her heels she had dashed into the forest, unsure of where she was going and if that deer thing was following her. Eventually her limbs had screamed for her to stop and she had collapsed against a large oak tree.

That had been a few days ago. She wasn't sure how long exactly. Time keeping became hard when you didn't have to eat or sleep. Her energy was coming back to her in bits but she was nowhere near full strength. A couple of times she had tried to open another door, using a sharp piece of stone she had found to cut her hand. The blood mark had glowed briefly on the trunk of the tree, but it flickered and went dim almost instantly. After the third attempt she had resolved to stay put and try and get her strength back.

Unfortunately for her, the humans hadn't re-entered the forest since that first night so she had no way finding out where in all fuckery she actually was. Judging by what they had been wearing and the fact one guy had a long sword it wasn't modern times. So what, she had travelled back to medieval Britain? They had what resembled west country accents but there had been a strange lilt to them that seemed alien. Coupled with the fact that Mr Deer Head existed too meant she wasn't sure she was in her home world anymore.

Mr Deer Head, as she had taken to calling him, didn't say much. In fact, he didn't speak at all, just kind of, rumbled and moaned occasionally. He had reappeared near her as she had been throwing up for the umpteenth time that night and had stayed watching her from a distance for some time. At first, she had found it extremely disconcerting and had done her best to ignore him, but when he made no move to attack her she had relaxed in his presence slightly.

Over the next few days he had gotten closer to her. Not always staying with her, sometimes he went off and did whatever it was he did in the forest. In the light of day, she had noticed that the clouds of smoke billowing around him were also joined by birds when he appeared and vanished. Big black crows it looked like. Despite his terrifying appearance she found him oddly fascinating. She had never seen anything like him and by the way he watched and followed her around, nor had he.

One day she was wandering around the forest, smelling the air trying to locate any sign of civilisation when she had stumbled upon a strange structure made of branches and what looked like animal bones. It looked like something straight out of a horror film. A warning or marker of some kind. She was wondering idly as she ran a finger over it, if the humans had put it here to ward off Mr Deer Head when he suddenly popped into existence next to her. Giving a small yelp, she took a hasty step back. It was the closest he had got to her since the he had helped her escape. His empty eyes stared down at her.

It was hard to tell, seeing as skulls weren't exactly expressive, but she had the sense he was looking at her quizzically. Up close she could see his body was covered in bark, moss and lichen, scales of fungi sprouted from his arms and torso. He was wearing a hood and loin cloth made of a dark brown leather. Letting out a low, rumbling moan, he continued to watch her.

Ellie cleared her throat and pointed at the wooden structure, 'Is this yours?'

Mr Deer Head turned his bleached skull towards it, then slowly nodded. She smiled up at him. The first genuine smile since she had landed, arse first, here.

'It's nice.' She offered up lamely. He turned his empty eyes back to her, and again with no expression it was hard to tell but Ellie was certain he was smiling. Having a one-sided conversation with a tree with a skull for a head wasn't the weirdest thing she had ever done, but it was up there. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure how to proceed. There was still a chance he could attack her on a whim, and with her depleted state and how close he was she was sure he would get a good swipe at her before she could get away. But there was something about the way he was stood neutrally watching her, silent except for the creaking of his limbs, that made her think he wasn't going to harm her.

'Listen.' She started, sure this wasn't going to get her far. 'I'm a little lost. You wouldn't happen to know how to get out of this forest would you? It's just…'. She paused to gesture at her nose. 'This place smells weird and it's kind of hard for me to get my bearings.'

She held up her hands, her tone flustered. 'Not that it's a bad smell, not that you smell either. It's very nice…for a forest. Only I can't tell where anything is because of it.'

Mr Deer Head gave her another enigmatic stare. Ellie shifted uncomfortably, he hadn't understood had he.

Finally, he lifted a long, clawed hand. She watched it expectantly, hoping he was about to point the way. Instead, in a thoroughly surreal moment, he rested his giant hand on her head. Just for a second. Before he lifted and turned to go. Ellie placed her own hand where he had touched her, watching with confusion as he disappeared into the shadows as he was apt to do.

'Ooookay.' She said. Rubbing the spot thoughtfully. Had he just…patted her on the head?

'Thanks anyway.' She called after him as an afterthought. Then she had resumed her fruitless search for the edge of this endless expanse of trees.

The next time she saw him it was night. She had been sat with her legs tucked to her chin, her back against the old oak she had now made her temporary base, listening to the sounds of the forest. Everyday a little of her strength returned, although she still couldn't summon a fucking door, but her understanding of where she was grew as she observed it.

A pack of wolves were howling off to the east. They tended to hunt that time of night and she could already hear the sounds of pursuit as they chased down one of the forest's many deer. So far, she had established this world had things she recognised; like wolves and deer and other woodland animals. But it also had stuff she was in no way acquainted with. The main culprit being Mr Deer Head, but there was also gross spider crab insect and small, ugly goblin looking thing. Both these creatures she had seen from a distance and she had kept it that way. The last thing her recovery body needed was a run in with a hybrid she had no idea how to fight.

The wolves' howls grew fainter as they followed their quarry. Resting her chin on her knees Ellie wished she had someone to talk to. Before coming here, she had wanted nothing more than to be left alone, being constantly surrounded by her subordinates. Careful what you wish for. A familiar smell hit her nose right before, in his usual cloud of smoke and black birds, Mr Deer Head appeared.

'Evening.' She said, bowing her head and tipping an imaginary hat in greeting. Solomon, her old teacher, would be pleased with her manners. He stared at her for a second, then to her disbelief inclined his skull head in a similar greeting. She flashed him a wide grin in return, her mood instantly lifting. Purgatory, how desperate was she for company that she was happy to see him? Although, she had grown quite fond of his company. He hadn't attempted to hurt her since that first night she had growled at him. In his defence, she had just appeared in the middle of his home unannounced.

'Nice night isn't it.' She said conversationally. Mr Deer Head walked slowly towards her and Ellie noticed with interest that where his feet touched the ground, small roots sprouted. Pushing up through the earth towards him. 'Do you look after the forest?' She asked, pointing at his feet.

He stopped, looking down with exaggerated slowness to where she was indicating. With creaking limbs, he lifted the foot she was pointing at, tilting his ridiculously long body to look at the sole. The sight was so comical Ellie couldn't stop the loud snort of laughter coming from her.

'No, there's nothing on your foot stupid. I saw the roots growing. Do you make them grow?' To highlight her point, she leant forward and touched one of them gently. Mr Deer Head straightened, then with the sound of a cracking branches he lowered into a crouch, so his head was only hovering a foot above her own.

'Oh hey, that's better. Was afraid I was going to get a sprained neck looking up at you all the time.' In answer he unfurled a clawed hand and pushed his index finger into the earth next to the root Ellie had been touching. With a rumbling sound the root shot into the air making her sit back abruptly. She watched as the root that had been barely an inch high before was now half the height of the ancient oak she had been leaning against.

'Holy…that was awesome.' She exclaimed. Beaming up at him. 'Wish I could do that.' Looking down at her own hands Ellie tried to channel what little static energy there was in the air into her fingertips. After a lot of effort, she managed to make a small, blue spark jump from one hand to the other. It wasn't her most impressive work but Mr Deer Head let out a low, guttural humming and lifted his head in the air unleashing a brief excited roar.

'You liked that? I can do more usually. But it's harder when I'm not in my own world and I'm injured.' She looked down sadly at her hands again, her eyes drifting to the brand seared onto the inside of her left wrist. A triangle surrounding two other triangles stacked on top of each other to resemble an hour glass. The emblem of the Gatekeepers. She really should try harder to get out of here. The others would be wondering where she was and who knew what problems were arsing without her there.

Mr Deer Head let out another rumble moan and reached behind his back to get something. Pulled out of her worries, Ellie glanced down to see he was offering her something in one clawed hand. Frowning, she leant forward to get a better look.

A scrap of dark brown fur lay across his palm. She wondered why he was giving this to her when she caught its scent. It was a rabbit. A very dead one, but a rabbit none the less. She looked up at her strange companion

'Is this for me?' She asked. The deer skull bobbed up and down in response. Gently he pushed his hand towards her so his rough, barky fingers brushed against the exposed skin of her leg. He stared at her with those empty eyes of his as he waited for her to take his gift. Ellie didn't have the heart to tell the creature that she didn't need food. It was a kind gesture from something that she guessed probably didn't receive a lot of kindness in return.

'Thank you.' She said finally. Taking the carcass from him, she smiled at him warmly. Then leaning forward, she placed a hand on the top of his skull head, right between his antlers. Mr Deer Head rumbled again. Straightening up as she withdrew her hand, he bowed once more then disappeared in a cloud of bird smoke. Ellie then busied herself for the rest of the night, lighting a fire so she could cook the gift that her new friend had so thoughtfully given her.

Lambert examined the totem he had found about half a mile into the forest. Judging from what he had seen so far, this leshen didn't appear to be that old, maybe a couple of hundred years. A young adult really. This meant it was highly likely this was its only totem tying it to the forest.

Taking a moment to make sure his silver blade was coated in relict oil and his dimeritium bombs were on hand, Lambert braced himself before blasting the totem with a quick Aard. The sound of the sign reverberated off the trees, and the criss-crossed branches and bones exploded in spectacular fashion. A boyish grin stretched across the witcher's face as he twirled his sword in his hand, his other already placed on the pouch where he kept his bombs. He hated a lot of things about his life as a witcher, but the one aspect that he had always been able to find peace with was the killing monsters part. It gave him a rush of adrenaline and purpose like nothing else ever had.

With a loud roar the leshen appeared in a burst of smoke and cawing birds. It might have been a young one but this specimen was a big motherfucker. Lambert had to take several steps back to get a safe distance away to throw his first dimeritium bomb. Hitting its mark, right at the leshen's feet, the bomb ignited giving off a harsh white light. The witcher was well versed in the use of bombs, so had already averted his gaze to the blast, the leshen however had taken the full force of it. Rearing back its ugly skull head it let loose a howl of anger. Its wicked clawed hands extending out. A glowing green aura now surrounded the beast, hopefully disabling its magic abilities. In the distance Lambert could hear the cry of wolves as they came to their master's rescue.

His grin widened, and he sank into a fighting stance. 'Let's dance fucker.' He said, launching himself forwards towards his quarry. He got in two good strikes to the leshen's flanks before it recovered enough to throw a swipe at him. Dodging to the side, Lambert rearranged his footing so he could circle it and aim a strong downward slash to its back.

The leshen let out another roar and plunged its hands into the ground. He smirked at the beast now raging at its ineffective attack and got in another well-placed upper cut, twirling his sword artfully at the end.

'Yeah, sorry pal. Not going to work that. Going to have to fight me man to man.'

The leshen withdrew its hands, standing back to its full height and vanished in a cloud of smoke. 'Running are we. That's mighty big of you.' Lambert goaded, turning on the spot to see where the monster would appear next. Before he could locate it a pack of five wolves burst through the undergrowth and leapt at him, snarling viciously.

'Oh, hey guys, you here for the party too?' The witcher didn't bother switching swords, dispatching the leshen's minions in five quick manoeuvres. Just as the last let out a yelp as he severed its head from its body, the leshen reappeared directly behind him. He was just able to dodge to the side to avoid the worst of the attack but one of its sharp claws sliced his right arm.

'Ah, fuck it all.' He cursed, backing away and quickly downing a vial of swallow. Before he could go on the offensive again a black, swarming cloud of crows surrounded him, blocking his view of the monster and tearing into him with their many claws and beaks. Lambert caught one or two with his sword, but the mass of birds was moving too quickly to take out a significant number. With a growl of frustration, he quickly signed Igni and let out a blast of fire from his hand. Several of the birds caught alight and the rest dissipated, flying up into the trees.

With his vision cleared he looked around for the leshen. Out of corner of his eyes he caught a brief flurry of black smoke right before his feet were taken out from under him by a tangle of roots. Shit, he thought as he was thrown into the air, dimeritium must be wearing off. Using his momentum, he tucked into a roll and managed to soften his landing, righting himself instantly and turning to renew his attack.

'I'm getting bored now, let's finish this.' He growled, spotting the leshen in the shadows and advancing. Signing Igni again, he let a torrent of fire pour from his fingers in a constant stream. The woody limbs of the monster caught alight and it let out an agonised roar, swinging its massive arms around in a frenzy. Being careful not to get within reach of it, Lambert circled it continuing his barrage of fire. He kept it up until he was exhausted, then taking a running jump, leapt into the air and brought his sword down on the neck of the leshen.

Weakened by the fire and the highly effective relict oil coating his sword, the monster staggered forwards from the impact. A black, viscous ooze began to leak from the wound the witcher had inflicted and it turned its empty eyed head towards him as it let out a wheezing cry of pain.

'Save it.' Lambert sneered, as he twirled his sword and brought it down on the monster's neck a second time for the finishing blow. The leshen's head fell off with a dull thud, its impressive antlers preventing it from rolling too far. Black monster blood spilling from the stump, soaking into the ground and the now headless body slumped to the floor next to it.

Lambert took a moment to catch his breath, although the fight had gone slightly better than he was expecting, he was still injured. Letting out a hiss of pain he examined his torn amour, and the bleeding wound beneath it. Could've been worse. He thought, sheathing his sword and walking over to collect his prize. He looted the corpse for useful ingredients and hacked off the leshen's antlers to make it easier to carry.

Strapping it to his belt he rolled his shoulder, loosening his already aching wound. 'One down, one to go.' He muttered, heightening his senses and stalking off into the forest to find the witch.