Here is the nex chapter of Shunned One and I would like to thank Ice Queen of Candracar and Wilhelmina Vandom for Betaing it.
I would also like to thank Wilhelmina Vandom, The Crazy Talk Kid, KnightofFaerun, Darkness-Lightness, GuyverZero, human kitsune hero, Angel Maria Cloud, Kitsune6, jj and Philip Gipson for reveiwng.
IMPOTANT NOTICE: I have been forgetting to mention this in past Author Notes, but some character have leveled and I have psoted the changed level in my bio.
Discliamer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H. or D&D so no law suites please.
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Chapter 11: Meridian Capital, Here She Comes
The next morning, the group was packed up and heading back to the village at dawn. Irma and Hay Lin wished it was not ending so soon since they would be heading right back to doing chores the second they got back.
Will wished it was not ending as well, but for a different reason. If they left now then she would be heading to the capital with Julian, Caleb and Aldarn instead of heading home. Susan had not sent word she was done at the ruins so that meant Julian was going to have to go with the back up plan.
"Julian...What am I going to do while in the capital?" Will asked as they walked. She was a bit nervous about what the answer would be, since she was unsure of what kind of work she would be assigned in Julian's home.
Julian thought about this for a moment, he had not fully planned on wrapping up this trip so soon. 'Let's see perhaps...Yes that should be much more productive then having her run around the manor doing minor tasks.' The Royal Knight thought and looked towards Will.
"How would you like to attend Sheffield Academy until Susan sends word she is back? You won't be an official student, but I'm sure I can ask Sade to arrange for you to be able to attend classes with Taranee, Cornelia and Princess Elyon. I heard from Susan that you're not used to a scheduled system like regular school but you might enjoy it none the less." Julian asked.
Will was surprised at the suggestion. Her in school? Even if it was just for a short time it did seems like a rather alien concept, seeing how most half-elves did not even dream of the idea. 'I did wonder what it would be like to be able to go, but if it's like the read, writing and math lessons that Susan has me doing I'm not sure if it's a good idea.' Will thought to herself as she weighed the pros and cons.
After a few minutes Will asks, "Am...Am I really allowed to be there? Since I am half-elf and a warlock, won't they...Not want me there?" Will's question got her several looks of sympathy from the group. They knew this would be a question Will would ask over and over again for years to come if things did not change and blind hatred was allowed to continue.
"Don't you worry about it Will, there is no way they can stop you or make you leave unless they have just cause. Plus you'll have three of your friends, my son and Mathew Olsen to make sure they don't try anything once you are there." Julian assured Will, which helped a little.
"Well...I guess I could at least give it a try. But what about my forced service? How can I go to school when I have to do that?" Will asked, still a bit nervous at the idea of going to this Sheffield place.
Julian just roughed up Will's hair and gave her a grin, "Typical teenager, trying to get out of going to school." Will blushed a bit at this but said nothing as they kept walking back to the village.
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After a few hours of walking the group finally got back and were the Lairs and the Lins surprised. "What happened? Did someone get hurt?" A panicked Chen Lin asked, once again assuming the worst. It did not help that Hay Lin's mother Joan was being equally frantic, much to the poor girl's embarrassment.
"Oh knock that off you worry warts! I swear my granddaughter has TWO mothers from the way you both act sometimes!" Yan Lin stated, as she came to her granddaughter's rescue. Meanwhile, Irma's father had his arms crossed over his chest and was tapping his foot, while looking at Irma with an expression that clearly said, 'Explanation now!'
Irma gulped at this site, but fortunately Julian stepped in and explained the situation. After an hour of explaining and Yan Lin and Anna glaring at Tom, Chen and Joan to make sure they did not do anything stupid or rash, Irma and Hay Lin were freed from their grounding because they helped make sure everyone stayed safe during the skeleton encounter.
This made the two celebrate being free from the extra chores and Will was just glad they were no longer being punished for what happened in the ruins. Irma and hay Lin tried to get permission to go back with Will to the capital, but the request was shot down by the parents.
The two had been away so much lately their families wanted to have them home for a while. Will felt a little sad to be leaving her fiends so soon, or did until Irma yelled out as they were leaving, "Hey, let us know if you and Caleb have another moment together!"
"Ya we need to know all the juicy details!" Hay Lin added, which was causing Will and Caleb's faces to go from both embarrassment and anger. Every one else with in ear shot was either laughing at their expense or very curious at what the two were talking about.
"Irma! Hay Lin! The next time I see either of you, you better run!" Will screamed back at them. "The same goes for me!" Caleb yelled back as well so the two girls knew to watch out for both him and Will.
Julian and Aldarn just chuckled at the whole event, finding the two's reactions very amusing and knew the two jokers were going to be in for a world of hurt the next time they crossed Will or Caleb.
After reaching the edge of the forest, Aldarn turned to Caleb and said, "Well this is where we part my friend. I'll try to visit again soon." The Elf's words shocked Will and turned to look at Aldarn in confusion.
"You're not coming back with us Aldarn? Don't you go to the academy with Caleb?" Will asked. She never really got to know the Elvin boy all that much, so she was sad to see him go before she had the chance. Plus Will wanted to know more about her Elvin heritage from an actual Elf. She had been tempted to ask Susan several times, but also didn't want to pester the woman with pointless questions just so she could satisfy her own curiosity.
"Na, I'm a wanderer like Susan was a few years back. I explore human lands for a while then head back home and visit my family for a few weeks. Then I see if any of my fellow Rangers need a helping hand and if they don't, I come back and roam Meridian a little more." Aldarn explained to Will, who was now looking at him with a mixed expression of amazement and envy.
"Wish I could do something like that." Will admitted. She would have loved to be able to wander Meridian. To see things or do things only few others had done before, possibly even be the first to achieve something no one had done before and no longer be looked upon with disdain.
Julian gently placed his hand on Will's shoulder and gave her an encouraging smile. "One day you just may be able to. Think of your forced service as if it was to prepare you for the day you can go out on your own and explore this kingdom and beyond once your debt is paid in full." Julian said in encouragement. He could understand Will's desire to adventure beyond the places she knows about, many young boys and girls have at least fantasies of doing so, but half-elves tend to be even more prone to these desires then most young people.
They do it as a means of escape from the torments of the people, possibly even gain acknowledgement if their exploits were great enough. That was something many half-elves sought due to years of being neglected and shunned by society…Or at least that's what the good ones sought anyway. Others, for obvious reasons, wanted revenge instead ofacknowledgement.
"I…Guess that's true. Guess that means I'll be really prepared because I'll be a hundred by the time I pay it all off." Will said in a shy tone. The three males could tell Will was trying to joke at being a hundred years old when she was finally free, they could also tell a part of her actually believed it.
Julian knew that Susan would never let the sentence go on for that long, not even she could deny the motherly attachment she had gained for Will for even half that long. 'If Susan did, either me, Abele or Sade would pay off Will's debt and give the woman a tongue lashing.' Julian thought as he gave Will an encouraging smile.
"If by some off chance that happened, you would still have plenty of time to explore this world. The average life span for your race is about two hundred fifty years after all." Julian commented, hoping that a little reminder of girl's long life span would cheer her up. In theory it should, since all the time Will looses to her forced service was only a small drop in the girl's total lifespan.
Will just gave Julian a small smile as the group finally started moving again. Aldarn headed off in his own direction, while Caleb, Julian and Will headed towards the Royal capital. All the while, Will was trying to brace herself for the events to come. What ever they might be.
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It was another two days ride to the capital, ones that were uneventful. Julian tried to help give Will more pointers and tips on survival in the wilderness, but since it was easier to show certain things than describe them he was not able to teach Will everything he had originally planned.
Of course he was still able to give Will plenty of information and knew all the redhead needed was for either Susan to take Will on a patrol mission or for him to bring her on another hunting trip for Will to practice this newly gained knowledge. Once that happened it would be a simple matter for either him or Susan to help Will learn the last few tricks a bit better.
By the time they reached the capital, Will seemed a bit more at ease at the idea of going to the academy, mainly due to Caleb's encouragement and telling her what happens during the daily routines. Both father and son could tell Will was never going to fully get used to the sit still and learn classes, such as math, history or magical theory, but could also tell she would excel in practical and hands on classes like sword training and magic practice.
Julian wished he was able to teach Will a few new tricks to ad to the girl's arsenal, but since she was learning a different sword style than he was used to and had never bothered to learn how to access magic, he could not teach Will much. So for the most part her just had Will spar with Caleb so she could at least practice what she did know.
As they got with in sight of the Royal City, Will had to stare at the beauty of it all. The capital seemed to have grander aura to it than the city that Susan lived in. It was so much bigger than Susan's city, which alone shocked Will. It was also artistic in design, but Will assumed it was because this was the capital of the kingdom.
Of course Will was not used to such a crowded place, so she was looking a little intimidated by all the people. The only thing that made it easier for her to handle was the fact that she was on her horse and some people made a little more room for her, Caleb and Julian to get through the crowds.
"First time in a crowded city, isn't it? Don't worry, you'll get used to it after a while." Julian assured Will as he rode closer to Will so she knew someone familiar was near by and hopefully give her a sense of security.
It helped Will a little but she was glad when they started getting closer to the wealthy side of town, instead the more public and merchant sections they had been in. The Wealthy section was lesscrowded but still had many people, since the capital had many more nobles and wealthy merchants with in it.
'I'm really starting to miss…Home' Will thought as she and her companions continued to ride through the city streets. This was the first time Will had admitted to herself that she thought the city were Susan lived was her home as well.
Will missed the small room just connected to Susan's, the familiar castle hallways and corridors, the warm and cozy spots in the large study where Will spent her quite time reading books and would sometimes fall asleep, then wake up to find Susan had wrapped her up in a blanket and moved her over by the fireplace that was at one end of the room.
Will was even starting to miss the morning training exercises and jogs and the pranks Will would pull in retribution for both the jogs and the cold and wet wakeup calls Susan would use on her every morning.
These thought were starting to upset Will, she never had a place she truly called home before so she also never had to worry about a little thing called being homesick. But now, Will no longer had that protection and was for the first time in her life, was missing a place she had grown so found of.
Caleb noticed Will's quickly disintegrating emotional condition and knew he needed to help Will get to someplace private fast. He was sure Will would prefer not to have an emotional break down in public, it would probably just make her feel worse in the end.
Caleb then discretely signalled his father with hand signs that they needed to pick up the pace. His father gave him a nod of his head to signal he understood and nudged his horse to go a bit faster. "Will, we should pick up the pace, I'm sure you must be tired after such a long trip." Julian said in hopes of helping the young girl get to a place where she may feel more comfortable if she was starting to get depressed.
Will only nodded her head in response, glad that she had the hood of her black cloak up. She thought it helped hide her depressed mood, which it did for the most part. Julian and Caleb were just better able to pick up on the sad girl's mood.
A few minutes later, they reached the Russell estate. It was a large mansion with a beautiful garden all over the front area and Will guessed it extended into the back area as well. "Welcome to our humble home Will." Julian said with a big grin on his face, hoping to cheer the depressed girl up.
It did not have much of an effect but Julian knew Will just needed time to adjust; she had been taken out of her normal environment which was a place the redheaded half-breed felt safe and thrust into one where everything was new and unfamiliar. This would be a good experience for Will since she could not always be in her comfort zone after all, but Julian knew that did not mean it was going be a pleasant experience for Will for the first little bit.
As they got close to the front door of the mansion, Will saw Abele aka the Mage come out along with several servants. Will was just dismounting her horse when a servant reached to take the reins, but Will grabbed them and said, "I-It's okay, I'll do it. Just point me in the right direction and..." But before Will could finish Abele stepped in.
"Nonsense Will! You're a guest while your here." Able said as she gently pried the reins from Will's grasp and handed them to the servant. Abele then led Will towards the mansion, noticing the depressed aura around the young girl. When Abele glanced at her husband with a worried expression on his face, he mouthed the words 'I think she's homesick' to his wife.
Abele signalled she understood by nodding her head and continued to lead Will into the mansion. "Will, why don't we go get you cleaned up? It's been a long trip and I'm sure you would like a nice hot bath and a good meal." Abele said in a motherly tone, hoping to comfort Will and bring her out of her depression.
It did not have nearly as much effect as Abele hoped, but it did at least make Will to try and force a smile. Abele smiled back and opened the door for every one. Will noticed Caleb and Julian went into a small room next to the main entrance and looked a bit confused until Abele explained, "That is where they keep their weapons and armour Will. While we get you cleaned, I'll have a servant put your own in there as well. Don't worry; they will be perfectly safe in there." The last part was said because Abele noticed Will was touching her sword in a protective manner.
Will seemed to lighten her grip a bit at these words, but Abele could tell the young girl did not like letting some the most precious things she owned out of her sight. It was a normal half-elf reaction Abele had to sadly admit. Having very few personal items made the hybrid race very protective of the ones they do gain.
'And I bet the mithral chain shirt she is wearing under her tunic is especially important to her since it was a gift from Susan.' Abele thought as she took Will into a bathroom. A few minutes later, Will was in the tub having nice long soak. Abele told Will to take her time and be sure to get all the grime of the last few days off. The sorceress left to put Will's belongs away and to have Will's clothing cleaned, since the redhead had only a few changes of clothing brought along for the trip.
Will took advantage of this time alone to try and get herself back under control. She was feeling so sad; she was on the verge of tears. 'At least I did not cry in front of Caleb or his parents; I bet they would have found me rather pathetic if I did.' Will thought as she scrubbed herself clean.
After Will was done, she changed into a spare tunic and pants Abele had left behind. Abele had also left a note that gave directions on where to go after Will was done. Will followed the directions to two large doors. Just as Will was about to knock, she heard Abele's voice say, "Come in Will."
Will jumped a little bit at this, but after taking a second to recover from the startling experience, she entered the doors. What she found was a large library much like Susan's. This made Will feel a little homesick again, yet at the same made her feel a bit more comfortable.
"Will, please come and sit down." Will heard Abele say and looked over to see the woman was sitting on the far side of the library, next to the fireplace. There was a coffee table and couch across from the fireplace and two comfortable looking chairs on either side of the coffee table, one of which was occupied by Abele.
Will slowly headed over and sat on the couch, where Will noticed some tea and sandwiches waiting for her. "Eat up my dear, then I'll show you a few spots where you can find some books of the same type Susan mentioned you enjoy." Abele said with a kind smile, making Will look at the powerful sorceress in surprise.
"T-T-Thank you…But you really don't need to…" Will started to say, but was silenced by Abele's raised hand. "Nonsense, I have noticed you have seemed a little sad and I can guess why. You're in a completely different environment and are probably feeling homesick; something I'm hoping that by being in here might lessen these feelings. I know you like to read sometimes and since both Susan and I have a similar layout to our libraries, you might feel more at home in here." Abele explained with a gentle tone, hoping a little kindness would help brighten the sad girl's mood a little.
Will gave the woman a shy smile and nodded her head in acceptance, not wanting to offend Abele since she was going to so much trouble to make Will feel at home in a new place.
After Will finished her little snack, Abele showed Will to where the books were. Abele had apparently been in the middle of pulling said books from the shelves, since they were all stacked on a table with wheels. This gave Will the impression Abele had been getting the pile ready for her, much to the redhead's surprise.
'She did not need to go to all this trouble just for me.' Will thought as she looked at the stack of ten books that was presently on the wheeled table. "A couple of these books are spell books Will. I was not sure if I should put them in though, since I don't know Susan's plans for your future training." Abele said as she started to wheel the load back towards the fireplace.
Will looked at Abele in confusion and asked, "What do you mean? Wouldn't knowing as many spells as possible be good for my training?" To add to Will confusion, she watched Abele shake her head with an amused smile on her face.
"Susan had not gotten to explaining that yet has she? Let me explain then. You see Will, Susan is probably going to guide you down a path much like hers, where your casting type will be a mix of Blast, Sniper and Warrior." Abele said as they got back to the fireplace.
As the powerful sorceress expected, Will still seemed completely clueless to what she was saying. So Abele sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to her. "Sit down Will; this is going to take a while." Abele instructed the half-elf, who obeyed with out question.
"As I was saying, there are many types of casters, I won't explain them all since that would take hours but I will explain the three types I mentioned. First the Blaster type, they are the type of caster who uses spells that effect a wide area and can be used to take out multiple targets at once." Abele explained, making Will think back to the ruin adventure she had with the other girls. The Burning Hands spell Elyon, Taranee and Hay Lin used seemed to fit into a Blaster's arsenal of spells, since it did affect a wide area.
While Will thought of this, Abele continued, "The Sniper type is the one you relate to the most at this point in your training, because of your warlock abilities. Sniper type casters focus on single targets, taking out key enemies first before moving onto lesser opponents." Will could easily figure out why Abele though Will was very close to this type, since her eldritch blasts were well suited to a Sniper.
"Now the Warrior type is the one you are almost as good at as the Sniper type, since this type of caster is a frontline magic user, instead of a stand back and barraging opponents with long range spell. Warrior types have a wide selection of ability increasing spells, like ones that make themselves bigger, faster or stronger for a short period of time. With your Hideous Blow invocation, you have something that makes you even more suited to this type Will." Abele said as she wrapped up her little lesson on caster types.
Will had to admit she did seem close to being those types of casters. She lacked any area effecting spells at this time, but Susan was probably planning on changing that in the near future, but the other two types Will knew she already was heavily built around, from both training and the fact she was a Gifted with three classes that would be well suited for those types.
"Won't training to become something like that…Make me even more feared though? It's like I'm being trained to be some kind of ultimate warrior or weapon." Will said as she started to realize just how much power she could have one day. Susan said she had potential, but this new information made Will scared of her own power.
Abele looked a little startled at Will's words. She had not foreseen telling Will about a few caster types to scare the girl so badly. 'Maybe that's why Susan never explained her overall plan for Will's training to her, though I can't be sure until I actually ask Susan. Now that I think about it, Will's idea does make sense if you look at it from that viewpoint. Her potential along with that type of training would make a powerful force, even greater then I first thought back when I head she was Gifted in three classes. I better try to fix this little mess before it destroys all that confidence Susan has been trying to help Will gain.' Abele thought and quickly set to work.
"Will I can assure you that no one is trying to turn you into a weapon of any kind. In the past I'll admit Gifted were treated as tools by lords to gain power and wage war, but that was way back in darker times and that practice has long since been outlawed. Remember Susan could easily fit into that type as well, even though she lacks your eldritch blasts or invocations. Her spell casting abilities and skill with a sword makes her just as dangerous, only difference between you two is that fact you have Warlock abilities." Abele tried explaining, hoping it would make Will realize there was no grand scheme to make her into a force of destruction.
It seemed to help a little, because Will seemed a little calmer after hearing this. There was still some doubt and fear in the half-breed's expression. Abele knew only Susan was going to be able to put all these doubts to rest, but it might be awhile before that happens and all the powerful sorceress could do for now was try and keep Will busy until Susan was done at the ruins.
"Well I have to go check on those buffoons I call a husband and son. I bet they headed straight to bed for a nap instead of getting washed up first, so I better go deal with them. If you have any questions, please don't be afraid to come and ask." Abele said knowing she could do nothing at the moment to further convince Will her fears were unfounded, so she chose to leave Will alone and hoped she would distract herself by reading.
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Many hours later, Will was passed out on the couch with a book on her chest. Will had tired to do the very thing Abele hoped she would do and try to get her mind off the discussion they had earlier.
As Will slowly woke up, she found out it was late in the evening because the moon was now up and was in the position it would be in around midnight. Will also noticed someone had even started a fire in the fireplace and had placed a blanket on her as well, much like Susan would.
'Another thing that reminds me of home.' Will thought sadly and slowly got up. Normally when she found herself in this predicament, Will would go to her room and go back to sleep, but even if she was home that would not have been the case tonight. The discussion she had earlier with Abele was still bothering Will, so she decided to go look up a very specific book, one about a topic Abele had mentioned earlier.
'I never really thought about looking up the history of Gifted before. Were we really seen as tools or weapons of the lords back in the past? Maybe researching that…Would help me decide if Susan is only trying to turn me into a weapon or if I'm just being paranoid.' Will thought as she cast her light spell so she could see.
Will's body then started to glow, since light needed to be cast on a person or object to work. Since Will had no item to use she cast the spell on herself. 'Now I'm a walking lamppost.' Will silently mused as she headed further in the library in search of the book she wanted.
Being unfamiliar with how and where Abele kept what sections, Will quickly became lost among the bookshelves to the point she could not find her way back to the fireplace. 'What do I do?' Will wondered as she tried to think of what she was supposed to do, when she suddenly noticed a small door in the corner of the room, almost hidden in the shadows but Will's keen eyesight noticed it quite easily.
"What's that?" Will whispered as she headed over to the door. As Will opened it she found it led to a spiralling set of stairs that led downward. This really peeked the redhead's interest. She was wondering why something like this would be in a library, so she decided to check it out.
It took a while to reach the bottom of the stairs, much to Will's surprise. She had not been expecting such a long flight of stairs to under the Russell estate. 'Wonder what could be kept so far underground?' Will wondered as she finally reached the bottom and found another door.
Will opened it to findit led into a large chamber with a pool of water in the middle of it and several corridors branching off from the chamber. In the center of the pool of water was a stone platform that had a book on a stand. Will approached the pool as she wondered how anyone was supposed to get to the book, when she noticed a stone float to the surface.
Shortly after that another stone popped up and then another, until there a trail of stepping stones leading to the stone platform in the middle of the pond. "Guess that's how you get over there." Will mused and walked on the stepping-stones to get over to where the book was, knowing it had to be there for a reason.
When Will reached the book she noticed it opened up on its own to the first page of the index. 'Someone certainly spent a lot money on enchantments so far for just this spot of this place, either that or Abele's been busy. What are they keeping down here that they would go to all this trouble though?' Will wondered as she read the index of the book.
The index seemed to list categories of items, which was further broken down into others. The book seemed to be log of some kind of items from what Will could figure out. "Wait…Abele is supposed to a protector of a lot magic items and knowledge. I wonder if there is any thing in here related to Warlocks? I might find out some new invocations or something." Will said aloud, which made the book act strangely.
The pages started to flip through themselves and went to a section that listed two pages worth of warlock related items, mainly things that seemed like their scrolls or books. "Wow!" Will said, impressed that there was so much related to her outcast class. Will was still scared of her own power because of what happened earlier, but she also still had a desire to learn more about her own abilities thanks to Susan's encouragement.
"Okay let's see…I now know they're around here somewhere but how do I find them?" Will whispered to herself, trying to find any possible clue that might be on the two pages. But once again the book seemed to provide the answer and a small blue sphere of light the size of a marble floated out from the page.
It then shot over to one of the many corridors and just floated there; giving Will the impression this was her 'guide'. Will quickly went back across the stepping-stones, which sank back into the water as she crossed, and followed the blue ball of light.
It led Will down several passageways until the ball of light stopped in front of the entrance to a small chamber. Inside were two shelves holding books and scrolls on them, which Will hoped were what she was looking for. As Will stepped into the room, she noticed there was a seven-foot metal figure in each corner of the room. Each had large bulky build and large sword in one hand and a shield in the other.
"Weird way to decorate a room Abele." Will joked aloud, finding it strange the woman would put something like those statues in a room very few people probably even knew about, let alone came to.
Will started to search the shelves and read the titles on the bindings of the books, seeing what there was to read. Will found something called 'Fledgling Warlock Invocations' something Will thought should be a good place to start. 'I have to had increased my skills a bit, but better stick to the basic stuff just to be safe.' Will thought as she reached to pull the book free from the shelf.
But just as her hand touched it, a powerful electrical charge shocked her hand and made her pull it away quickly. Before Will had time to figure out what happened, a barrier formed around the two book cases and a third barrier formed in front of the only exit to the room, making sure there was no way out for the half-elf warlock.
"Okay…Abele made sure to protect her stuff. Just stay calm Will, she'll probably have some kind alarm set up to alert her someone was in here and will be…" Will started to tell herself so she could calm down from what happened, but then heard something shifting and saw the four statues starting to move.
'They're not statues…They're Golems!' Will screamed in her mind as the four metal Golems started advancing toward Will. They looked slow and not very agile, but that did not mean much if there was four of them and they never got tired, any thief (or in this case Will) would wear out eventually and be killed by the room's four protectors.
'Abele please don't be relying on these four to protect this stuff and come fast!' Will begged in her mind as she dove out of the way of one of the four Golems' attacks and fired an eldritch blast at it. But the Golem raised it's large shield to intercept the bolt of pink energy and it bounced off harmlessly.
Another Golem moved in to strike Will, but she once again dodged the blow. But this time another Golem was in position to attack leaving Will only a split second to react. Will managed to dive between the legs of her third attacker.
The fourth Golem moved to intercept Will while she was still trying to get back to her feet but she managed to roll out of the way before the sword struck. Will quickly got back to her feet and fired two more eldritch blasts, one from each hand at the Golem. She managed to fire them so fast; the Golem never had a chance to raise its shield to block them, scoring a direct hit on its head and chest.
But this small victory was just that, since neither blast even seemed to scratch the Golem, if even that! 'How…How can I beat them? My only weapon is my magic and it's not working! Even if I had my sword I probably could not even beat one of them, let alone all four!' Will thought as she tried to back away from the advancing group of metal warriors.
For another five minutes Will dodged and fired at the Golems in hopes of finding a way to win, but all it did was seem like a vain effort to survive. Eventually Will grew tired and was cornered by her opponents. One raised its weapon to finish the half-breed off, who had several cuts from a few close calls from a few attacks. They were nothing serious, but the one she was about to get would be.
"Please don't…I don't want to die!" Will begged through the tears she was starting to shed. Will knew the Golems would not respond as they only did as they were ordered to, but desperate and scared people did anything when in such situations, even if it would do them no good.
Will raised her hand up to shield herself in a futile gesture to protect herself and shut her eyes tight as the massive blade came down towards her, but the last moment a voice roared out, "STOP!"
Will slowly opened her eyes to see the Golem's weapon was hovered just an inch away from Will. The next Will heard was the voice calling out, "Back to your posts!" With that ordered the four protectors walked back to the corners and revealed a panicked looking Abele standing in the door way, dressed only in a white nightgown.
The woman then rushed over to Will who was holding her arms in a protective manner and begging not to be hurt as the half-elf continued to cry in fear. "Will calm down! Its alright now!" Abele said as she took Will in her arms and tried to sooth the sobbing girl.
Normally Abele would be furious that someone was down here with out her permission, but knew there was only one way Will could have even got down here in the first place. Abele had forgot to put the protective wards on the doors and recast the illusion spell that hid it, so Abele knew she was just as much to blame for this mess, if not even more so.
A few minutes later, Julian and Caleb came charging in, both armed with their swords and like Abele still in their sleeping clothes. Both looked over to see the weeping half-elf sobbing into Abele's chest, as the older woman rocked the girl back and fourth.
"Abele was she the one…" Julian started to ask, but a look from his wife said 'Yes, but if you try to scold her in anyway, you better find somewhere else to sleep for a LONG time.' This made the man gulp loudly at the sight and nodded his head in compliance. Caleb on the other hand only rushed over Will's side, so to check on her.
"Is Will alright mother? Do you need me to get any of the cure potions?" Caleb asked in a concerned tone. He often put his friends' safety first, then he would yell at them for doing something stupid, but he saw his mother's glance and knew he would regret it the second his mother was done with him.
Abele smiled at her son's concern, glad to know he was at least starting to build a connection of a sort with Will, but the woman knew this was not the time to play matchmaker so put those thoughts aside…For now. "Will should be alright, but let's get her upstairs and give her one anyway, just to be safe." Abele said as she gently helped Will to her feet and guided her out of the chamber.
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A few minutes later, back in the library, Abele was slowly but surely getting Will to gulp down a healing potion to treat the minor injuries she got during her battle with the Golems. "Must admit Will, I'm impressed. You managed to hold some of the best Golems I ever made off for that long with just your speed, agility and eldritch blast. You'll be running circles around Susan in a few years I bet!" Abele said in gentle joking tone. She was trying to get the still shivering girl to calm down but it seemed the traumatic event had badly shaken Will.
'She was up against some rather formidable opponents, so that's to be expected I guess. Plus unlike the last time she had such odds against her she had friends at her side and was not nearly as close to the death as she was tonight. I wonder if I should ask Sade to call Susan away from the ruins, Will could really use her right now.' Abele thought as she got Will to drink the last of the healing elixir.
Will's wounds healed over leaving nothing but the tiny cuts in her clothes. This helped calm the redhead since the slight stinging sensations they have been causing was now gone, and was helping her come back to her senses. "I'm...I'm sorry. I did not know that was where you kept all those things you protected until I looked at the book. Then when I found there was Warlock stuff I got..." Will started to explain, but Abele cut her off.
"No need to explain yourself Will. That door shouldn't have been in plain sight to begin with, that's MY fault, not yours. I should have been more careful and put back up all the protection wards that would normally have been there, but I didn't. Even if I had the right to punish you, which I don't, I think you suffered enough by facing those Golems." Abele said as she continued to sooth the girl.
Caleb and Julian stayed in the two chairs and stayed out of the conversation, knowing that Abele had taken charge of the situation. Besides they had to admit facing those four was punishment enough for anyone especially since Will was literally an inch away from death. 'At this rate though, I would not be surprised that she decided to never become an adventurer. Having three major encounters that nearly caused her death in less then three weeks at only twelve, that would put anyone off on the idea by the time they were old enough!' Julian thought as he watched his wife try and comfort Will.
An hour later Will was asleep again, her head resting one Abele's lap, the Russell family were glad there were still one more day left before school started for the week. Will was going to need the whole next day to recover enough to be able to handle that kind of pressure. 'Please let her have an easy time there, she's been through enough.' Caleb prayed to every god he knew of, knowing it won't be answered but he had to try. Sheffield Academy was a good school when it came to teaching student's things like academics, magic and combat but it did not have many students who respected the rights of others. Not when you were different and Will was as different as you could get in most peoples' eyes.
It was good thing Will had powerful friends because she was going to needed them.
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There you go, I hope you all enjored it. I'll try to update soon.