Son of a Warg!

by CA Productions

Sauron is destroyed. However, one of the Nazgul manages to flee from the destruction. He is found by one of the istari, the Orange Wizard, Hyano. After taking him in, she doesn't yet realize that she set a series of happenings in motion, which will change both of their lives.

13. Playing God

Cubby: *Sneaks up behind Avp… drops water balloon full of pudding on his head.*

Avp: Gah! The hell Cub?!

Cubby: Ren! Pudding! *Runs*

Ren: Pudding? *Runs in and tackles Avp like a dog.*

Avp: Gah?! Why?!

Hyano: *Watching from her bean bag chair.* And this is what happens when my creator gets bored… Enjoy the show, everyone.

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Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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Chapter 13 – Playing God

-A few weeks later-

Nothing much changed in Moria over the past few weeks.

The orcs and trolls were busy rebuilding what was lost and mining the precious metal to forge the needed armor and weapons. Spawning their kind wasn't as easy without magic but they grew somewhat in numbers...

Not as fast as Ren would have wanted. But it was still progress.

By now, all orc guards had mithril armor and weapons, all becoming sturdy but much lighter on their feet than with Orcish armor. The rebuilding of the city is in full swing as well. It was most stable now and standing firm, now all it needed were visual upgrades... as in... making sure it doesn't look like a ruin from the outside. It needs to have the sturdy look it deserved. No one has set foot outside of the mines either but held the doors shut firmly, they weren't bothered luckily, so either the wizard didn't suspect they are here or really couldn't come inside because of the new seal.

The orcs were used to not being disturbed, not being in danger and simply ignored most of their environment for now, working hard to accomplish their goals for today. The corridors where the orcs mined were much wider now, seeing they removed some metal already, working their way deeper into the walls. The trolls continued to lift larger chunks of stones and rocks, transporting them deeper into the city where more orcs worked to repair the damage done by time and wars. The sounds of mining and smithing were almost defeating to the ears if you aren't used to it and the dust in their air was also more prominent now. It didn't bother them, though, as they are used to that by now, only the newborn orcs had a slight problem with that, coughing every now and then but they also started to adapt quickly.

Not much had changed for the little wizard either...

Alright, that was a very big lie.

She had learned spells without stop since that day, only stopped to do the basics such as sleep and so on. She by now had half the book memorized, even spells she couldn't do yet but already took the time to memorize the spells ahead of time, making it easier for her to just jump in when she did get that far. She of course could only do this under Ren's watchful eye but she had yet to hear him complain about her newfound determination. However, she was also as anxious as ever. Staying in one place so long was driving her mad. She was used to moving around all the time, jumping from trees, going distance, not staying in a room for who knows how long.

She had changed a deal physically as well.

The child wizard has gotten much paler considering she never got direct sunlight now and her hair had turned slightly darker in contrast. The flowers that grew in her hair had adapted as well, their colors darkening to help absorb what sunlight they could but they also had started to develop into something like trap flowers that not only ate sunlight but also whatever they came into contact with. Her clothes had went through some altering as well, having to change her clothes from a bright orange to a dark shade of purple, seeing they were more fitting to her environment. She switched the hat for a hood, not because she was trying to look like Ren but because it was less likely to fall off if she needed to run and today was the day she was going to test that out.

She peeked her head out of her room. Ren had yet to come in to check on her today. He was likely busy doing who knows what. She quietly stepped out of her room then started down the hall pulling her hood up. She was curious to see how far she could get without being noticed.

They didn't notice the wizard walking the halls, only a few looked up, wondering what it was but only briefly before returning to their work. While the miners were too busy to truly notice her, the same cannot be said about the guards who still roamed the halls with their weapons at the ready to sort out disputes. One of the larger guards noticed her walk about without showing any signs of hurrying or working and of course her strange clothing was too different than that of those around her. He stepped right in her path, standing in the way, his hand gripping firmly the handle of his axe as he narrowed his sharp yellow eyes at her, waiting for any explanations without a word.

Hyano then looked up and instantly and cringed.

Oh you have got to be joking!

First hour out and already caught? She debated a moment then decided to take a submissive approach nodding to him then tried to turn and go the other way. Not back per say but just in a different direction not saying anything on purpose to try to avoid giving herself away.

The orc wasn't having any of that. Dismissing her nod, he held out his weapon and struck the axe down in front of her, halting her from leaving his presence.

"Where do you think you are going?" He asked in a demanding tone, his gaze searching the hood of the... thing in front of him. "What do you want around here? You can't just walk around and do nothing." He growled before raising his axe and pointing it at her chest, poking her with the sharp edge of it, making sure to show her he wasn't afraid to kill if circumstances called for it. He was a guard and it was his job to beat the hell out of lazy workers.

Some things never change. Was the first thing that came into her mind as the axe came down in front of her making her jump. She then blinked as she was poked in the chest by the axe.

"I want to see the day where you shut your big mouth for once." she said crossing her arms too annoyed to care if he knew who she was or not. The fact that he almost chopped her face off was enough to put her in a bad mood. She then pulled her hood down. "As for where I'm going that's for me to know and for you to keep out of." she added bluntly.

The orc instantly recognized her. It was quite easy actually. She was the only non-orc among them aside of their Lord. Realizing who she was, he growled, baring his rotting teeth and narrowing his yellow eyes at her and in return to her insult his grip on his weapon tightened.

"You dare! I will show you!" He shouted, gaining the attention of a few more guards as he lifted his weapon above his head and brought it down towards her with every intention to kill. No matter what favorite pet to her master she was... She can't go disrespecting orcs... Especially not guards who already have a higher rank.

Hyano put her hand up and whispered a spell and instead of it slamming into her, it hit a shield above her. She hadn't learned all these spells for nothing. She then swiftly moved, dropping the spell before whispering another which created ice that engulfed his legs. The point being to get him to stay put.

"Show me what? That your temper is bad or that you swing faster than you think?" she replied with a smirk. Now she was just teasing him. You have a pranking war long enough with a wraith and you would probably develop a rather nasty sense of humor too.

The orc grunted and raised his weapon again to strike but found he couldn't turn towards her... He frowned and suddenly felt the cold feeling at his legs. This made him look down and notice the ice that held him in place. At first, he just stared at it but hearing her speak and say those words... it made him furious. He snorted and started using his weapon to free himself from the ice.

"You just wait, little brat! I will show you how fast I can kill you. After that you can complain all you want." He shouted angrily as he repeatedly slammed down the axe on the ice before he heard that satisfying sound of ice giving way. He couldn't wait to bathe his weapon in her blood. "Come closer so I can see how sturdy your skin is against my axe."

She raised a brow.

"Complain? I haven't been out of my room in weeks and I finally get out to look around and you almost axe me. What were you expecting?!" she snapped not moving any closer. She heard the ice crack and give way under his hits. Part of her worried he would hit too hard and slice his own leg. "Well, while this has been fun I am going this way now." she said not even saying anything to comment about coming closer as she tried to make a run for it down a tunnel before he could get out and chase her. At least that was the basic idea anyway.

While she would have escaped before he got out of his trap, sadly he wasn't alone on his duty. Seeing the commotion and hearing all the shouting, a few more guards joined him while she talked to the orc. The two guards stood in her way with crossed arms, intending to halt her escape and put an end to this argument.

Of course in favor of their kin.

While they prevented her escape, the orc guard finally got free with a last hit of his axe and stood straight, cracking his back and neck, ready for a brawl if needed.

"You have a too big mouth for your own good, rat. Perhaps I should slice down a part of your mouth and see how big words you can squeeze through." He told her as he advanced towards the wizard, holding his weapon at the ready.

The young wizard didn't want to kill any of them. They were kind of needed at the moment. Ren made a point of explaining that until she could produce more, that each of the orcs were still of use. Once they were easy to replace then it would be less of a problem. She stepped back from them then looked at the orc she fought. Maybe Ren could at least live without that one.

"You are one to talk... oh wait. You always talk." she said stepping back towards him. She picked up a piece of stray steel and whispered a spell, it shifting into a metal staff. She hadn't had a staff in some time now. She was due for a new one anyway. "Let's see if you can back up all that talk instead of getting yourself blasted through a pillar." she challenged.

The orc glared and bared his teeth before raising his weapon and charging. He wasn't one of the light-weights, so each step he took shook the ground beneath them. He didn't care and didn't want to think about what she can do with a metal staff. All he saw was that she certainly can't cut or slice him with it. Which was enough to boost his determination.

"Time to die!" He almost screamed as he swung his weapon, intending to be done with this in one hit.

She ran at him, the axe missing her completely before she slammed the blunt point of the staff directly into his gut, making him double over. She then jumped up and slammed it over his head like a one would a club. She wasn't even using magic on him anymore. She was just using her small size and speed at the moment. She would see how far she could get without using magic before she proceeded to blast him through objects.

The hit on his head didn't really register to the orc. He was sturdier than that and she lacked the necessary muscles to make it hurt. He growled like an animal as he stood and went to slash her with his axe again, roaring in rage.

The other guards for now didn't wish to interfere, recognizing it as a battle for dominance between the two. But if things get ugly, they will step in.

Hyano deflected the blow then slammed her staff down on his arm to make him lose his grip on the axe. Before going any farther, though, she lit her hand on fire and touched the axe it quickly turning red from the heat. She didn't say anything though as she jumped back from him and the weapon. She wanted to see if he was stupid enough to try to pick it up again or if he had enough intelligence to register that red meant hot. She knew she wanted to win without the use of magic but she couldn't help wanting to prank the big orc just a little. I mean, who wouldn't? He was the one trying to kill her after all.

The orc didn't pay attention of course, his mind was too much fixed on his target as he finally got his bearings back, shaking his head a little, not needing and not wanting to massage his hand. The hit of a little girl shouldn't hurt him and only dropped his weapon because of having been surprised by the hit. He reached down and grabbed his weapon without a second thought and advanced once more. The effect of the hot axe was slightly delayed, due to the fact that the wooden handle did a fine job to block most of the heat.

But not for long...

As he finally got into range, he raised the weapon but before he could strike, his eyes widened and yelped, dropping the axe instantly, grasping the hand that held it with the other, growling and gasping, trying to hold back the groans and cries of pain.

"You little coward... You pathetic excuse of a brat. You dare using your magic in a fight like this? Hold your own with nothing more than your weapon you cheating little worm!"

She raised a brow.

"I'm cheating? You picked a fight with a little girl you could easily step on and I'm the one who is playing unfair? You were cheating before the fight began and you are a fool to believe that a wizard of all things wouldn't use magic." she said then held a hand out towards the fallen axe and in seconds it had been cooled again by a small layer of ice. "But if you are so scared of such harmless tricks, then fine. I won't use magic at all. I will just beat the darkness out of you with nothing but this little staff if that makes you feel better." she said talking to him in a mocking tone now.

The orc gritted his teeth as he grabbed his weapon and swung it in his hand where it belonged.

"You have started mocking me. You should have shut your mouth and answered my question as the little girl you are. If you go and disrespect a guard who is doing his job, then you will get this. No matter what wizard or pet you are. Or who your master is. You have to respect us, like it or not, brat!" He shouted and heard some approving grunts and roars from around him. Boosted by this fact, he gave a confident smile and glare, stepping towards her once more. "Now come on... give me a little girl's hit." He mocked her and advanced towards her, making sure to brace himself if she does hit somewhat hard. But judging her built and her hits so far, she can't truly hurt him if she only uses her staff.

"Heh... alright big orc. I'll do what little girls do when faced by a big lumbering man." she said with a smirk then spun gaining momentum before swinging up and hitting him right between the legs.

He asked for a little girl's hit.

He got it.

She wasn't afraid to beat a man where it hurt worse. Besides, it wasn't like any of these orcs were ever going to need that for anything anyway. She had yet to see a female out of the whole lot so she was sure that there was no such thing so no harm in bringing harm to a tool that will never be used.

The moment the hit landed the orc stood still, not making a sound but his eyes widened and his mouth opened in a silent scream. Also at the same time painful grunts could be heard as the others who saw this cringed and winced, grimacing, some even lowered their hands to their own 'tool' in protection. Finally, the orc let out a painful and high-pitched groan, falling slowly to his knees, grasping his 'precious' with both hands and fell to his side, still not making too much sound.

The wizard stabbed her staff into the ground and leaned against it, smirking down at the orc.

"Sooooo, which did you like better? Me using magic to kick your behind or me beating you from the other end?" she asked but didn't wait for an answer as she kicked him square in the nose before turning around and looking at the rest of the orcs around her. She gave them a smile and clapped her hands together. "So, who else wants to lose their little orc maker?" she asked with a straight face smiling the whole while like she was asking if anyone wanted to try a piece of cake rather than experience extreme pain.

The orcs looked at each other, then back at her, not sure what to say or what to do... The little brat seemed to know where to hit where it hurts... But this still doesn't give her the right to provoke a guard then beat him for doing his own duty. Agreeing about this just by glances, the two other orcs bared their teeth and growled, unsheathing their swords while the hurt guard finally scrambled to his feet.

"You little rat... If you want to live among us... you have to live by the rules! Or suffer the consequences." He told her as he picked up his weapon and advanced once more, now enjoying the support of the orcs standing around them.

"I would just LOVE to see you all make me." she said looking at the guard who spoke then pulled out her staff. "And as far as I can tell I was following the rules until you stepped in my way. I was only heading through the caves. You're the one who stopped me and when I bowed my head and tried to go another direction you nearly took my face off. So, what part of your job does that all include? Because I do believe that your job is to dispel fighting and make sure things are in order. As far as I know I wasn't fighting anyone. I wasn't causing any trouble. I told you to back off and you lost your temper. So in actuality I had every right to not only bump you down a few notches but in your society I could have killed you and it would have been seen as a normal thing." she said getting annoyed. She wasn't paying the two swordsmen any mind just yet.

"That is only a part of our job." The orc informed her as he got close enough, preparing to scold the girl like how she deserved it. "Our job is also to make sure everyone is doing their tasks, that there are no lazy workers and to prevent a brawl. I didn't know who you were, what you were doing, where you were going and with you not answering, I had every right to stop you and question you, you rat." He shouted as he tightened his grip on his weapon. "And then you disrespected and mocked me. What other reaction did you expect? That I would bow my head and apologize for doing my job? Well, guess what! That isn't going to happen! Ever!"

"I don't expect an apology. The day I get an apology from someone down here is likely the day I figure out this place. I didn't answer because I didn't feel it was required and if you can't stand a little mocking then I'm not sure how you are a guard because I'm sure any orc or goblin can tease or throw an insult a lot better than I can. If it really bothers you that much then fine. If it makes you feel any better I have no idea where I'm going. I was trying to memorize the mines by just walking around." she explained herself simply looking up at the overly annoyed orc. Though, if she was in his shoes she would probably be just as frustrated by this point.

"You didn't think it was required?" The orc almost shouted as he took another step forward to tower over her. "If a guard steps in front of you, you answer to everything he asks or gestures for. And don't worry, no orc or goblin dares mocking guards. Because it is against the laws... and we have all rights to beat the Abyss out of them if they do. If a guard asks, you answer... If a guard tells you something, you do it. No questions asked. We are directly under the generals, making us the third greatest rank."

Hyano raised a brow at him then thought on what Ren said about time a while ago.

She had waited.

She had been a good little wizard and learned all her spells like she was told to. She never got this kind of trouble from the generals. The goblin general made a point of not getting in her way. So, as she listened to him she debated in her head. Does she continue to wait or does she start making things clear? Not a very hard choice. She squeezed the staff.

"4th." she said then jumped the tip becoming pointed and she sent it flying down the staff going straight for his head. She landed and unlike the first time she did not seem to care if she managed to kill him or not. She was so furious, and only after the staff left her hand did she realize what she did. Her green eyes widened.

The orc fell backwards as he felt the hit in the head but luckily the throw wasn't as strong to cause any true harm due to the child lacking enough muscle. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt. He lay there, massaging his skull, groaning a little but moved to stand shortly after.

The little wizard simply turned to the orcs and waited to see what they would do or say, her daring eyes saying for them to pick wisely what their next move would be.

"I'd suggest you leave." Said one of the other orc guards as he pointed his weapon at her, gesturing towards the direction she came from. "Maybe thinking about what you did alone will put some sense into you." Do not be mistaken, the orc guards at this point wished for her head to roll and didn't want anything more than rip at her flesh for angering them, however they had to keep in mind that she was the pet of their master. If they kill her, or harm her… They will be the ones who will get their flesh torn at.

Hyano felt scolded like a child but like Ren she didn't fully mind it. She picked up her staff and nodded. She learned enough for now anyway. She learned a lot about the orcs which was nice and memorized a bit of the tunnels. Not the worst she had ever done. She looked among the orcs and was surprised not to see one orc in particular.

"Before I go, can you all answer a question for me? Is Tuhul still alive?" she inquired half not expecting an answer.

Most of the orcs turned back to their work, the miners picked their pickaxes back up and started hitting the wall to retrieve the metal, while the guards slowly dispersed, each returning to their own post. However, the same orc that told her to go decided to answer her question.

"He is deeper in the mines." He told her simply before nodding towards the direction of her room, telling her wordlessly to go. More and more parts of the mines are reopened for work, and so some of the guards moved there to guard the workers. Tuhul was one of those guards.

The child nodded. "Thank you." she said turning to head back. However, the moment she was out of the orcs' sights she pulled her hood up and took off in the other direction down another hall. She did what she could to stay out of everyone's view and ways as she ran down the hall. She was naturally stubborn and living around Ren had not helped this fact. She wasn't sure why she wanted to but she wanted to see Tuhul. Mostly to find out what had changed in the past few weeks.

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Much to the dismay of Ren, the orcs and trolls now reached the gorge where he normally spent his days when nothing else needed to be done... where he fed his mind with false hopes... This also had a little effect on him, becoming slightly more impatient than he was but otherwise he didn't mind. He just has to look for another place.

The orcs started their mining a few days ago, the road along the walls were still unstable and easily crumbled, causing a few deaths by now. The drop was quite deep, the bottom wasn't visible in the darkness but the bridges leading towards the other side of the drop are already being repaired. A few more weeks and the other side of Moria can be reached as well and used. Who knows what they might find there. The sound of working and mining orcs was very loud here as well, just like at anywhere else at the moment, the orc guards walked the halls regularly to settle disputes and make sure no one falls down just because of a small brawl for metal.

One of these guards was Tuhul, still carrying his sword on his belt and the war hammer on the holder of his back, walking leisurely but was still alert, doing his job as it was pointed out to him.

Hyano made good time getting there and looked around.

"Wow..." she whispered to herself and noted that it seemed there were none of the guards from earlier. They must all work in the main mines. She thought to herself, relaxing and walking about, choosing to keep her hood down this time so she wouldn't have everyone wondering who she was again. She made a point to stay out of everyone's way and to not move too slowly, just in case someone walked up behind her. Her eyes scanned the gorge and everyone working around her, not yet seeing Tuhul. Something did catch her eye though.

A structure flaw.

A bad one likely created by years of wear and tear. She needed to tell someone before someone got hurt.

"Out of the way!" Came the roar of guards as they started to walk along the line of workers, pushing some aside, repeating their command over and over. There were a few complaining but the guards made short work of the punishment and simply punched those who dared questioning their methods. There were questions about why they were shoved away from the main roads next to the walls when the answer came with groans.

A few larger trolls were herded deeper into the mines, their larger size needing the space to move along. As soon as they left the view of the workers, the first ones came back, holding large stones and rocks, intending to bring them to the city and let the orcs use these to repair some damages at the walls and buildings. Their steps thundered along the halls and shook the ground, especially when they had the added weight of the rocks.

Hyano noticed that the very step of the trolls was in fact making the problem worse. She then saw a crack.

"Oh no..." she whispered then looked around. "Everyone, get out of here, now!" she cried out in her wizard voice, which echoed through these tunnels. They couldn't stay here any longer. There was a crack in the ceiling and it was getting worse fast. If they didn't all get out and have it repaired, by smaller goblins maybe, then everyone in this room was going to die. At this point that made a good chunk of Ren's army including the muscle-bound trolls.

Mostly the sound of grumbling and growling drowned out her voice, the roars, the steps of trolls and still the few orcs working on getting metal were still loud as well. They didn't notice the cracks either or didn't take it as seriously as they should. A few orcs that were close to her looked at her and growled, questioning her motives, some even pushed her away for speaking nonsense and hindering their work. Most guards didn't pay attention to her but continued clearing the path for the trolls, however, Tuhul's sharp yellow eyes snapped in her direction as he recognized her voice.

He grit his teeth and felt his hand grip the handle of his sword tightly, before taking a few steps towards her. He didn't even reach her yet, but his roars already echoed through the hall.

"What are you doing here? If you aren't working with a pickaxe then don't be in the way!" He demanded as he made his towards her.

The orange wizard glared as she was pushed before she saw him. Well, at least he was alright. As loud as ever but alive. Part of her wanted to yell back at him but she pushed the thought to the side for now, deciding she had more important things to worry about than Tuhul yelling at her for being useless again.

"Tuhul, you need to get everyone out of here now or everyone is going to die!" she yelled back at him. It was the only way to get her voice over all the noise around her. Why couldn't anyone see the danger they were in. Before it had just been Ren in the room. No problem. Now there were all sorts of creatures hammering away and causing the very room itself to shake.

Were they all that blind?!

The orc was taken aback by her request and claim. He narrowed his eyes at her again, not releasing his hold on his sheathed weapon.

"What do you mean with 'die'? Why would they die?" He demanded, stepping closer to her, towering over her much smaller form, baring his rotting teeth at her. As far as he knew, there was no real danger to evacuate the whole area. Maybe a few did fall down to their deaths but this all belonged to mining.

Hyano didn't get the chance to explain as with one last step of a troll a loud crack let loose from the ceiling.

"That!" she yelled as within seconds the whole area was shaking and it was no longer from the steps of the lumbering trolls but from the ceiling caving in, causing Tuhul to roar loudly in warning to everyone.

Large boulders started to fall, taking out sections of the floor under them, sending orc and goblin alike down to their deaths. One rather large boulder came crashing down, taking out the bridge completely, killing all those who had been on it and trapping others on the other side.

Hyano saw this and without thinking twice she ran past Tuhul and for where the bridge used to be, wanting to help before it was too late.

The orcs, goblins, and trolls tried ducking next to walls or into small holes in them but sadly most still had been crushed by the debris and all the rocks that fell down from the ceiling.

Tuhul himself wasn't in a better situation. Being a guard, it was his duty to protect those who needed it and the safety of these workers were partially his responsibility, so tried herding the orcs and goblins towards the entrance to this part of the mines.

But they were too late...

The tunnel collapsed together with the ceiling, sending debris and heavy dust along it, which engulfed the collapsed part of the section and flowed right towards the mines where other orcs worked.

They heard the rumbling as well and felt the shake of the ground... then they ran as well when the dust engulfed the rooms, debris still flying towards them as well. Basically the whole mine was soon engulfed by it, even the non-damaged parts. Orcs, trolls and goblins fled while guards and generals barked commands and tried to overcome the panic.

With not much success...

In the end, Ren's angered and commanding long, loud shriek ended the running and fear, echoing through the halls and the mines, wanting to make sure they don't scatter and he can make sense of all this.

Hyano was glad to hear another voice she knew.

Ren was here as well. Good.

She got to where the bridge used to be and breathed before creating an ice bridge and running to the middle. As soon as she got to the middle, she pointed up and created a large shield over the bridge. This was a lot harder to do than the small shield she used against the guard earlier today. She cringed with every rock that hit it then yelled out.

"Hurry already!" she yelled at those who were still left on the other side. They all didn't question it, but ran to join the others. When it was down to one last troll she gritted her teeth as he walked across the bridge, not able to help the fact that he was heavy footed. With every step she worried that the bridge would collapse under them. When she heard a crack coming from under her feet she knew her worries were warranted.

After another step the bridge started to come apart.

Hyano cursed then dropped the shield and ran.

"Run run run!" she yelled at the troll and he did as told and made it to the other side but Hyano felt the ice come out from under her feet and yelped before grabbing onto the bridge's edge. This day just got better and better.

She wasn't left behind, though.

Orcs, goblins and trolls held together and helped each other in need, at least when their lives and survival depended on the group itself. Unlike humans, who would be spooked and would run around in panic, saving their own lives, they however didn't leave their comrades to die. They had a very strong bond as a tribe.

The troll which came as last and made it to the other side turned and grabbed the much smaller wizard, pulling her up and setting her down not too gently as he was in a hurry himself and looked around for any escape routes.

Debris still fell, and it was impossible to see because of the dust. After a while, the whole rumbling stopped, the ground didn't shake anymore, and just a few more parts of the ceiling fell down in smaller bits. The groans and painful roars of creatures filled the room though as they started to get their bearings and noticed their injuries. However, it was still impossible to see.

"Everyone, stay where you are!" Came the roar from a guard as he tried to see and coughed as the dust irritated his throat.

"Don't move!" Came the roar from another, this time Tuhul from slightly farther away. Well, his situation changed drastically. While the debris fell, a rather large rock fell on him, trapping his legs from his thighs on. He however refused to show any pain... but it was very hard to hide. In his desperation he started to hit the rock but it was drowned out by the questions and struggles of others as well. And no one saw the other because of the dust.

While they tried to organize themselves, the creatures on the intact side of the mines started to gather before the caved-in tunnel and started talking, murmuring, guessing if anyone could be still alive there or should they even bother freeing the ones that survived.

Hyano looked at the gorge, the smoke being more than enough to make it so she could just hardly see its edge. She thought, then looked towards the sounds of the guards. They were trying to bring order but things were still panicked. She needed to at least make it so that everyone could see at least.

"Tell everyone to step back from the pit and hold on! I can get rid of the dust but there will be some strong winds!" she called, hoping her voice would carry over the chaos around her.

The pained grunts, groans and roars filled the hall and it was hard to understand what she said. Most didn't but there were a few around her who decided to do as she said and grabbed onto some sturdy rocks and onto each other. The news had been spread by these and soon it got into the ears of the remaining guards, who roared at the worked and barked commands to hold onto something. There was shuffling, growls as they bumped into each other, crashing sounds as they fell over dead bodies, other orcs and rocks. It took a while but eventually it became mostly quiet but panic was still thick in the air, whispers and murmurs sounded, questions about ever getting out of here. Not many could move though, as they are trapped under rocks anyway, so won't go anywhere soon.

Hyano smiled slightly before stepping back herself and planting her feet down, then started the spell. A whirlwind formed in the middle of the pit, sucking the air up from above, grabbing up all the dust and loose rocks and anyone who hadn't done as she said. It was hard to keep herself planted where she was herself and she was almost caught by the wind but the troll from before saw this and used a hand to hold her in place. She mentally thanked him but didn't say anything else.

When the air was clear enough to see she let the spell drop, the pit now looking cleaner as the dust settled there, slowly being pulled into the darkness by gravity. She looked around doing a mental head count. They had lost many but things could have turned out way worse. She looked around for a moment then called out.

"Anyone who is trapped under rocks need to stay put! I will come to you! All trolls make your way to the exits as carefully as possible and start digging us out! Any movement that is too rough could start another cave in! Once the exits are cleared out, I want only the lighter goblins to stay here if you can to help the injured or trapped!" she called out. They needed the lighter weighted in here. Everyone else, even the orcs needed to get out as fast as possible before their very footsteps caused even more chaos.

There were groans and murmurs with 'where would they move if they are trapped' sentences, and were extremely reluctant to move. The wizard didn't have such a good reputation among them, so they didn't think they would want to listen to her for now. A few orcs questioned her decision.

"Why don't the trolls lift the rocks off of the trapped?" One of such creatures said, skeptic about the possibility that she can lift such weights which the orcs have trouble lifting themselves. There were nods and sounds of agreement, and so, boosted by their comrades' requests, the trolls didn't know what to do first, but listened more to their brethren than to the wizard.

So, moving aside, the trolls started lifting the rocks off of the trapped and crushed survivors, putting the rocks to the side and moving to the next quickly. While two trolls did this, the others decided to start digging their way out of this trap, so started picking out rocks from the blocked tunnel as well.

But because there was so much movement caused by the trolls there was a slight rumbling and a few rocks came down.

"Because of that! The trolls are too big! As careful as they can be they are too heavy to not cause movement. With each step they take we risk more boulders caving in on us. They need to leave along with the orcs. The goblins are the only ones light enough to not cause any more heavy movement as they walk around." she pointed out looking at everyone, hoping they would listen to her words.

"Listen up, brat!" came the voice of an orc just freed by the trolls from under a heavy rock, massaging his broken hand as it was crushed beneath the large weight. "With them walking about with these rocks from the entrance, digging out the tunnel, don't you think we aren't in danger still, huh? If there will be a cave-in with them moving about, then there will be one, no matter what you do, idiot!" He roared the last sentence and stood, holding his injured hand tightly.

The others gave an approving nod, although some not as reluctantly anymore. That didn't mean they agreed with the girl slowly but because they were nervous about being bombarded by rocks from above again. Many scrambled close to the walls for protection in case another collapse happened.

"Yes, but the faster they get out the better. I'm not saying the trolls aren't helpful but they are causing more danger than helping. The faster we get them out the more people can be saved. That ceiling isn't going to hold and the more the trolls move the less time we have." she told the orc though she wasn't staying still anymore. She was making her way to a trapped goblin. "This is going to hurt." she warned him ahead of time before creating a whirl wind under the boulder and forcing it up then she had it thrown into the pit never to be seen again. She was doing this to avoid a possible movement caused by the boulder being put down. She then saw Tuhul and ran up to him. "You alright?" she asked though she wasn't expecting much of an answer as she got ready to do the same to the boulder on him as well.

"Of course I am alright! What kind of question is that?" Tuhul answered as he gritted his teeth after, preparing for what is to come. "I am an orc guard. I can take anything. I take death head on in a battle and win!" He shouted as the rock was lifted. He pulled his legs back towards him and touched them, feeling the crushed muscles. But lucky for him, his legs weren't broken. At least he couldn't see any swollen parts. They did hurt, quite so, but he won't show this to anyone. He sat there, not wanting to move until the tunnel was freed, while his gaze traveled over the scene, now being able to look around, not blocked by the rock on him. There were simply too many trapped orc, trolls and goblins...

Another crack sounded from above them and the guard looked up sharply, before meeting her gaze with his sharp yellow ones.

"You can't possibly free everyone in a short time. We need a plan for this." His eyes darted from one place to another, from troll to troll, before an idea struck him. "Everyone, listen up!" he roared for attention, causing most to look at him. "You all, orcs and goblins, get out of the way; go to the walls for protection from a possible collapse. Trolls!" he called for them, gaining their attention as everyone huddled close to the walls. "Stand in a line along this tunnel. From the entrance to the gorge. Instead putting down the rocks and causing more shaking, give the rocks to each other, the last one throws it down the gorge. While doing your work, you can free our trapped brethren without taking steps." He raised an eyebrow and looked at the wizard with a challenging gaze. "Everyone is happy."

"Agreed." The istar said then looked up getting an idea. "I can make a shelf over the ceiling to try and hold what's left in place to give you all more time but be careful." she said then took a deep breath and formed a shield layer over the ceiling. It was a temporary hold but it would do the job to help give them the time they needed to hopefully get everyone out of there.

"Move it!" The guards roared as they commanded the orcs and trolls to do their jobs. The trolls lined up as they were told, and handed each other the rocks coming from the tunnel and from above the trapped goblins and orcs. Everyone else stood still, only the smaller goblins moved to help their freed brethren to safety. Well, if you can call that safety. The trolls worked hard, digging deeper and deeper into the tunnel, sometimes roaring as they lifted the rocks, starting to tire, holding and handing such enormous weight without stop was taking its toll on them. They did need to pause for a few minutes after a while, being halfway the tunnel now, but simply couldn't go any further without some rest. Their hands felt numb and some couldn't even lift them anymore. The stress and fatigue caught up with them, strengthening each other's effects. The murmurs and whispers started up again, rumors of a new cave-in coming soon and promises of death filled the room, rooting almost everyone to the spot. Most of the guards quieted down as well, not having the will or need to shout. The trolls are done for...

What made the occupants of the trapped tunnel go quiet was the sudden shriek coming from the other side, an almost questioning sounding, as if calling if anyone was alive there or anyone heard him. The Nazgul has ventured closer to the collapsed tunnel after not finding Hyano in her room. He looked for her everywhere but couldn't find her. He dearly hoped she wasn't dead in there... The foolish wizard!

Hyano was tired too. Even though everyone did their best to keep as much movement as little as possible she could still feel the ceiling cracking above her shield. She looked at the tunnel when she heard Ren's shriek, but could not answer due to the concentration needed for the shield, then gritted her teeth.

"Everyone get back!" she yelled not taking 'no' for an answer before she started blasting rocks.

They didn't have any more time.

It was either now or never because the ceiling wasn't staying up much longer either way. It was very hard to use two spells at once but she had no choice. It got even worse when the ceiling tried to give way forcing her to her knees. Her nose started to bleed but she didn't seem to notice as she blasted the tunnel again. One last blast and the rocks gave way to an opening.

The blasts shook the whole tunnel, sending large rocks from the ceiling down towards the shield which in the end started another collapse almost immediately. While her blasts created the required path outside, it also created more harm than anyone would have foreseen. The rocks that were blasted forward were sent out of the tunnel, right into the hall where the remaining survivors were at the other side, including Ren... There were roars of surprise and shock, also of pain as the rocks crashed down onto them, killing some instantly, while others still struggled to stay alive after being crushed. The Nazgul was also trapped beneath the rocks, still too surprised to say anything or trying to move.

"Get out! Get out! Get out!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She was shaking her body hurt so much. She wasn't even sure she could move if she wanted to at this point.

The orcs, trolls and goblins from the collapsing section ran out and away from the tunnel, scattering almost instantly to try and get away from it all as fast as they could.

Hyano couldn't move nor hold it anymore.

There was no way.

She cursed loudly then let the shield drop only to create another one around herself. It was like creating her own personal rock. The ceiling came down hard around her until she knew for sure there was no way out. She wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She panted and pressed her head against the floor her head pounding and her body feeling like she had gotten beat up by a troll. She wasn't sure how long she could even keep this up before she finally passed out. She really hoped she was dug out before that happened.

---

Sadly, not everyone made it out...

Some of the orcs and goblins were still crushed as well, dying quickly, while others still gasped for air, trying to stay among the living but with not much success. No one rushed in to see if anyone was alive still in there... Too afraid of another collapse and being hit by rocks like these unfortunate creatures lying around them.

This time, Ren gave out angered shrieks as he finally realized he was trapped. Even if quite a large amount was towering over him, his spectral body luckily wouldn't get hurt, so no pain but fury was making him hiss like an angry cat and shriek loudly. Some trolls instantly worked on getting him out as fast as possible.

Tuhul wasn't less angry.

"You little fool! What did you do?!" he roared as he looked around this part of the tunnel, seeing the other crushed creatures around him. This all wouldn't have happened if she didn't start getting impatient and blast everything down. The ceiling wouldn't have fallen again and many more would have made it out. He gritted his teeth as his eyes darted from one orc to the other, trying to find that little rat. But he had no luck. For a brief moment, he wondered if she made it out...

---

The wizard wasn't going to be able to keep the shield up forever.

Her body couldn't take it. Even this much was making her shake and pant, covered in sweat. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think. However the only thing crossing her mind was if she was going to die.

Was this really the end? Had she done all this for nothing?

She gritted her teeth starting to feel angry. Rage building up inside her aura growing dark.

No... She was not going to die.

Not after coming this far.

She opened her eyes now completely red and she let out a scream before her aura blasted out around her forming around all the rocks. There was a rumbling noise before the boulders and rocks all started to crumble into dust around them and were swept away into the gorge.

Despite this, most of the orcs and goblins who were trapped with her couldn't be helped anymore, if anything, some more were damaged by the blast. One can't just select what to harm and what not if it is magic and something done not quite with a sane mind. The blast also made the ones outside back away even more and run for it, away from this place, scattering around in the mines much to the dismay of the guards, who did everything in their power to herd the workers together again. That didn't mean they weren't shocked either... Just that they were slightly smarter and more determined to get their task done.

Tuhul was given the order by one of the generals to help his comrades gathering the workers and went on his duty, still grumbling.

In the meantime Ren was finally freed as well and stood, instantly looking around, his hands formed into fists and walked up to the entrance of the collapsed tunnel... which wasn't so collapsed anymore. He could still feel the magic, his spectral body however didn't react to it as badly, seeing it was something familiar...

Black magic.

So, he was right after all. Hyano was in there... He hissed in fury and not caring about what awaits him, he stomped right along the tunnel, intending to catch that little sneaky wizard.

The little girl stood, her eyes glowing red and her body completely black.

What just happened? I can't feel anything anymore? She thought then looked at her hands. What happened to my body?! She tried to speak but nothing came out. She heard a familiar hiss and her head turned to him. Ren was there. He was angry at her. Likely for leaving her room. For all the chaos that happened here. She mouthed his name but again nothing came out. She then started to feel the full blow of the pain the blackness covering her body caused and her eyes rolled back into her head before she passed out landing hard on the ground.

While she herself did not hear it, Ren clearly understood what she said and heard her call his name. It was strange to say the least... She almost talked in his kind's voice, echoing through his mind, as she called his name, he felt the call in his mind too. He didn't know what was going on but they will find out once everything is sorted out.

He walked up to her and reached out to touch her face and neck, trying to determine if she was still alive or not. His keen senses soon picked up her heartbeat and her even breathing, so he stood and called over an orc, ordering him to take her back to her room. She might need her sunlight to get back to normal. He stayed behind and looked around the damage done. All he could do was shake his head and order this section to be closed until they can make some tests, see if it is still dangerous. Much metal is in there... Would be a shame if it continued to collapse after each hour. The Nazgul soon made his way back to her room, just in time as the orc walked out, having placed her on her bed. The wraith walked in and stood in front of her with crossed arms, pondering and trying to guess what happened.

---

Hyano didn't wake for a full day, her arms and legs still not fully back to normal. She sat up quickly and cringed, feeling the pain in her limbs instantly before looking. She looked around before spotting the mirror and seeing her eyes.

One was still very red.

She reached up a hand to her face before seeing its blackness and stopped.

"What... what happened?" she asked her voice coming out in her ears as a whisper. She remembered everything until the rocks caved in on her. Then nothing but rage and pain.

Ren had been hiding in the darkest corner of the brightly lit room, meditating for a while, sitting there cross-legged with his head lowered slightly, relaxing. When he heard her move, he raised his hooded head and looked in her direction, not saying anything at first but observing. She doesn't seem to be much different aside her looks. Her voice is back to normal mostly, her eyes are still red and her arms are still black but otherwise look fine. He finally stood and decided to answer her question as best as he could.

"Save orc." he said, telling her she saved many... "Kill orc." He continued. Because yes, she did kill many with her actions in that tunnel be it her own doing or something she did while in her weird moments.

The girl felt a little better when he said that she had saved some of the orcs but cringed when he said some had died as well. She looked down, feeling sad.

"... I tried..." she wanted to say she did everything she could but she didn't feel she had. Orcs had died and she felt it was all her fault. Even the ones who had died because of the rock falls. If she had gotten there sooner maybe none of this would have happened. She felt sorry for those who died. This wasn't their fault. They had been only doing as told, only working like they were supposed to. If they had been warned sooner about the ceiling, someone could have easily come and inspected it but by the time she got there and noticed the problem it was too late and then after that it was just one death after another. She didn't cry like she normally would. She just got quiet, her eyes downcast.

Well, at this time, Ren didn't know what to say or do, so just stood there, watching her, wanting to see how well she developed over the few weeks, how much the dark magic corrupted her mind. No doubt, the sudden blast of black magic was also the result of its influence and its ever stronger grip on the wizard. Her style and clothes changed as well accordingly, slowly but surely getting pulled under Morgoth's will and gift to the creatures of darkness. To him, the loss was only irritating because they can't yet create more orcs and trolls... But once they achieve that too, such losses will be ignored and simply more will be spawned to replace the fallen ones.

"Good. Learn magic." He told her, finally addressing Hyano, wanting to motivate her to embrace the dark arts again, over and over... Because this was what he wanted, and this was what will benefit everyone. Even her in these circumstances. The book for a few days wasn't on the shelf anymore but was put closer, next to her bed to be within reach

The orange wizard nodded, not saying a word then carefully took the book and put it on her lap. It was strange picking things up and touching things when she couldn't feel touch. Only pain in her limbs. She looked at her hand again before opening the book to where she left off.

"... Ren get Tuhul for Hyano?" she asked looking up at him. Part of it was she wanted to be sure he had made it out safely. The other part was for some reason... she just wanted someone to yell at her. To have someone tell her just how badly she had done. Ren wanted to motivate her to work. That's what he always did but she felt like she needed scolded. Someone to be angry with her and Tuhul was the best person she knew for the job.

Over the past weeks, a guard was placed at the entrance of her room, which did all the tasks needed around them. Ren only needed to hiss towards the door and the guard stepped inside, bowing beforehand, then stood straight, his eyes as usual fixed on the Nazgul's robes, but not his hood. That was disrespectful. Meeting the gaze of someone meant that they are equal, and staring within the empty hood of a wraith meant challenge towards his status. No orc would dare picking a fight with one of their kind…

He stood there, waiting for the request and order that is to be made, only briefly glancing in the direction of the wizard, his senses picking up the dark magic she had stored. After the wraith told him about the guard he needed to bring, the orc bowed again and backed out of the room, leaving the two alone for now.

The time went on in silence, Ren having nothing to say to her, instead turned towards his usual corner where he spent his time in this room. However, suddenly he stopped and took a few steps towards the sitting wizard, extending a hand; he touched her shoulder, squeezing on it once as if in reassurance before releasing his hold and backing up against the wall to rest. He knew she was troubled. And when she felt this way… it was the best opportunity to tighten the bond they share. To be her one and only sanctuary, her protector and friend.

Hyano was caught a little off guard by his show of... assurance. It was the closest thing to affection he had ever given her on his own. She relaxed a little then turned her eyes to her studies.

Hmm... It seemed to work. She did relax after this. Ren had been trying to find ways to bond her more to him and give her more... motivation to practice. Because some days she seemed so reluctant. However, simple touch seems to have a positive effect on her. Maybe he should do this more, tying her to him even more than now. Mortals seem to be yearning for physical contact every now and then. Even if he didn't see its importance... For now, he will watch and not say a word, just sitting at his usual spot and observing.

The girl read carefully, going over spell after spell. She couldn't do them right now. Not until she had full control of her arms back. Movement of the arms was in a way required to keep a spell where you wanted it. While she could enact spells at this point without her arms it wouldn't be safe to do so.

Not long after, the thundering steps of the orc guard could be heard, along with his highly annoyed tone and almost roaring voice. He certainly wasn't happy about his summons. As soon as he was in front of the door, he pushed it open, stepping inside. His yellow eyes didn't have to travel too far as he was already looking in her direction where she usually was found when he was requested. At first, he didn't say anything but stared at her with a glare, crossing his strong arms over his chest.

The wizard looked at him, her currently red eyes meeting his yellow ones.

"... I'm glad to see you made it out in one piece... How are your legs?" she asked trying to get him talking... or rather yelling.

Tuhul's only reaction to her red eyes was a slight raise of an eyebrow, more thinking that this was a side-effect of a spell she was casting just now or something. He kept his stance firm and didn't move from his position but wanted to stand close to the door so he can go out soon. He didn't want to stay for too long.

"As I said, I will face death head-on and win against it. Now what do you want? Speak so I can ignore it and can get back to my duty." While his legs did hurt still, he couldn't show this to anyone. He was a guard... and guards never feel pain. At least this was expected of them...

She was surprised he hadn't yelled at her yet. Was he so angry with her he didn't want to?

"Why... why aren't you yelling at me? I thought you of all people..." she sounded confused by it. "I couldn't save everyone... why aren't you threatening to kill me or... I don't know. something." she said as she started to grip the book slightly as best as her hands could right now. Her eyes turned down to the pages on her lap though she wasn't reading them. She was trying to hide her eyes, which was rather easy considering her long messy hair. She still couldn't cry no matter how much she wanted to right now. It seemed the change in eye color also had taken the tears from her, however she didn't want him to see her sadness either.

The orc couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her request, tilting his head just a little.

"Why should I? Another needless yelling season that doesn't get me forward? I have a duty to do, so if you have nothing else to say, then I will be on my way." He said in a rather even tone, wanting to avoid yelling, however there was something... "Quit asking for me!" He finally raised his voice at his... command or order, not wanting to come to her room ever again. He didn't want to play the helper at her spells, neither wanted to spend time with her or have an argument anymore. He just wanted to go on with his days as usual.

Hyano blinked at his statement then heard his order and raised a brow at it. Did he really think that was going to happen? She thought then sighed.

"I tried to do what you said. Be useful and all that. I tried to tell you all about the crack before the cave-in but... I was too late. Then everything went to the Void after that. I couldn't hold the ceiling any longer and the trolls were too tired to keep moving the boulders... No matter what I did it was all wrong and all my fault. You're the only one in this stupid hole who I trust to tell me how it is. That's why I figured... you would be the best person to punish me for it..." she explained to him.

Now this request made both of his eyebrows shot up as high as they never were before. She wants him to punish her? Him? Him of all people who would rather see her dead than among them? He narrowed his eyes and stepped forward once, uncrossing his arms and pointed a finger at her form, baring his colored teeth.

"You want me to punish you? If I punish you, you will die very quickly. I would snap your neck in just one movement. We do not punish with beating or scolding for such crimes, but kill without a second thought." He informed her, raising his voice once more. "So, do not ask me to punish you. That would result in my death as well. Our Lord surely wouldn't tolerate your death."

He had a point. She knew it. If he was as angry as he sounded then he probably would try to kill her and Ren would kill him for it. The girl sighed then thought on the day before.

"... from now on I suggest you have goblins check the walls of the caves before you start mining a new area... it will stop something like this from happening again. The farther down you get the less the structure of the rock is stable. Ground rock naturally leans against each other. Since the miners are taking that away it is going to get weaker and weaker the farther down you get... Just a suggestion, though." she told him changing the subject completely. Since he wasn't going to punish her she might as well tell him what she knew. While her specialty wasn't exactly on underground nature, she still had very good knowledge of nature in general. That's how she noticed the crack as quickly as she had.

"You know what?" He said as he put his hands on his hips, glaring at her still. "You can make yourself useful and check it yourself if you so much want. We go on with the mining as we want. If you are so worried, do it yourself." He said firmly, not wanting to argue about this as well. Orcs and goblins were too proud of a species to listen to a wizard like her, especially if this wizard caused more damage than good, and if she was taking a liking to arguing with him and making him yell, making use of his anger which he refused to give. At least not as much that would help her. He sighed and backed away towards the door, not even wanting to go on with the conversation.

The child blinked at what he said, then for the first time that day smiled.

"That's a perfect idea!" she said and tried to jump up but her legs buckled out from under her. Not being able to feel much in them made it hard to stand. She pouted at them but smiled anyway. "Tell the miners to stay out of the gorge. If anyone is risking their life in that thing it's going to be me. I'm sure they won't mind." she said then looked at Ren.

While Tuhul grumbled, saying that no one would go close anyway, even if they commanded them to after the collapse, he made his way outside and closed the door behind him firmly, deciding that this conversation ended now. If she liked it or not. He then adjusted his armor and stood tall, resuming his duty and walked along the halls once more with his hand on the handle of his sword, wanting to keep order and make sure the workers saw the guards around them, giving them security while they mined and created the weapons.

"Hyano make mines safe." she told the Nazgul, pretty sure he had no idea what was going on but a quick explanation was not a hard thing to give.

At her question, the Nazgul raised his head and looked at her, tilting it to the side. It came quite suddenly and unexpectedly, so stared at her for a while, not saying a word. Only after a few minutes did he finally move, shaking his head at her.

"No." He said firmly, pointing at the bed, silently telling her to sit back down. He won't let her go around with such effects still displayed on her skin. Her red eye also gave way to his suspicion that the effects of the dark magic still didn't die down.

The little wizard pouted but did get back on her bed.

"Later?" she asked pulling her legs back to her. She finally had an idea on how to make herself useful and there was no way she could do it just sitting here. "Can fix ceiling. Make strong. Never happen again." she added hoping to push the point. She had enough spells and knew enough ways to avoid this ever happening again. The orcs -while they had lived here for some time- were not originally miners. They were fighters by trade. They couldn't know the things she did. Maybe she could make up for what happened with this fact.

"Later." Ren said as he got comfortable in his corner, deciding to stay longer and see what she will do now. While he was skeptic about this skill, he still wanted to see if she truly can make the mines safer than they are now. They lost quite the amount of workers and guards, two trolls as well. He can't afford losing many more... The spawning isn't going as fast at the moment to make up for the lost numbers. Plus the miners are more... careful now and fear to go deeper in other parts, afraid that this will happen again. But he cannot send her off now in her current state. Once he saw she has enough energy and is cleared of the effects, he will let her go. But not now. The last time he was too soft on her almost ended in her death just now in the mines. He made the mistake of letting her go out on her own... This won't happen again until she was strong enough.

Hyano sighed and nodded. "Yes Ren." she said a little annoyed but understood. He was going to be more careful than ever with her now. She picked up her book and put it on her lap. She figured until her arms and legs came back she would continue to study. She finally came to a page that caught her interest. One that talked of how to create the orcs and trolls that worked there. She never did quite understand where they came from. She read it over and raised a brow. It was a high level spell. One that mixed nature and darkness.

Go figure.

It made nature unnatural. The whole explanation and spell took up four pages all on its own, not including the images it gave. Apparently these creatures there weren't the only things that could be made. They were just the only things that were ever made. She would stick to what she knew for now. Maybe later she would play around with it but first she wanted to get the actual spell itself down. When she finally had it memorized it had been many hours and she finally noticed that her arms were back to normal. She rubbed her eyes. Reading for too long always made her eyes sore. She then remembered how her eyes had looked and checked the mirror.

No, one was still as red as ever.

At least the other one was green again. She sighed then looked around noting that it must be dark outside because only moon light worked its way into the room. She looked around.

"Ren?" She asked, turning her gaze towards the dark creature. What she hadn't noticed was that the mark on her shoulder had turned half black, the other half still a bright orange.

There was a hiss coming from the wraith's usual corner of the room as he shifted in his position just a little to get more comfortable and also to signal that he acknowledged her call.

"Yes?" He asked, the end of it ending in yet another hiss, as his hooded head turned towards her, awaiting her question or comment. Through the few hours of silence he got a good amount of meditation down, and wanted to continue it for a few more hours, seeing the stress got to him from a few hours ago. He was also trying to think of ways to solve this mining issue, along with how to replace the killed goblins and orcs. He did think about maybe digging a tunnel towards Mordor and see if they can find any of such creatures there, but he trashed it, knowing the digging would last too long and the distance is just too great for that to work.

The young wizard jumped up on the bed and held out her hands showing him that the blackness had gone away.

"All gone. Go now?" she asked like a child saying they were done with their dinner so they can go play. Only she wanted to do something a little less childish. She knew what problems she had to look for and had a good idea on how to solve them. She just had to hope that Ren would actually let her do it. She knew he didn't want her getting hurt but she also knew he wanted the mining to continue so it honestly depended on him and his choices.

The Nazgul looked at her hands, finding them truly clean as she said. He let his invisible gaze travel to her eyes and noticed her still red one. He hummed at this, contemplating if he really should let her go outside and do as she requested she wanted to. Finally, after a good minute of pondering, the wraith shifted in his position and stood up, adjusting his robes after.

"Yes." He told her slowly, but of course he will accompany her and make sure nothing happens that shouldn't. He was sure he can prevent her death if something goes wrong. He also dismissed her still red eye as a lingering slight side-effect, which will go away soon.

The child grinned and jumped off of the bed happily before bolting out the door. She instantly felt an odd atmosphere. No one was sure what to think of her.

Those that had been saved by her actions weren't sure if they should be grateful or angry considering she both saved their lives yet in a way could easily be blamed for everything as well. However those who had not been in there were furious so kept a distance.

She kept her eyes down and just started walking heading straight for the tunnel from before as quickly and quietly as she could.

"Hyano!" Came the scolding and raised voice of Ren as he walked out of her room and closed the door. "Slow." He told her as he started walking beside her. The wraith didn't want to end up running after her all the time, and she exited her room quite quickly. He wanted to go with her of course and ensure that there will be no threat along the way and at the tunnels she wanted to check out. He kept staring ahead, wanting to follow her where she went. While in his presence, the orcs and goblins didn't dare uttering a wrong word or give her a glare. Or else he would punish them for it.

Hyano cringed as he called her slowing down so he could catch up then continued walking.

"Sorry." she mumbled then looked around. She noticed the closer they got the fewer of the orcs or anyone for that matter she saw. By the time they got to the gorge no one was around at all. They must really be that scared. She cringed as she saw the bodies and closed her eyes as she stepped around them before taking a breath and looking up. "Alright..." she whispered to herself then went to the wall and started climbing up.

The Nazgul didn't seem to mind the dead bodies, didn't even look at them like they weren't there. It was easy for him to ignore death, after all he saw this every day in almost every minute in the war and before it. Some were caused by him as well. The wraith decided to let her lead him where they will go and eventually stopped at the tunnel where the collapse happened. He stopped at the entrance first, giving the room a quick glance before entering, turning towards her as she climbed. His hooded head soon averted and started counting the dead they had in this tunnel.

"Bad..." he commented on the number of dead orcs, goblins and even one troll was halfway buried under rocks, Very bad indeed. They will need to hurry with the spells, or else they won't have workers.

Hyano was lucky she spent most of her childhood climbing trees. It made this all a little easier. She climber her way up until she reached the ceiling nearly upside-down. Not the best feeling position. Especially on your stomach but it was perfect for what she needed. She looked over the structure then took in a breath.

"Here goes..." she whispered then slammed her hand onto the ceiling and sent a spell through it like a purple glowing vine. It moved its way through, covering the whole of the ceiling in the vine-like magic before the ceiling started to harden and the cracks were quickly filled in. The wizard panted as she finished. This had been a spell she learned for turning people into stone. However in this case it made a good reinforcement spell. She looked down at the Wraith. "Good?!" she called down to him.

Ren had been busy looking at the bodies, kicking the hand of the dead troll with an armored foot before looking up, giving the ceiling a good inspection, walking from the other end of the room towards her.

"Good." He told her as his hooded head moved, turning from one direction to the other, walking about. "Good..." he repeated as he finished his inspection, stepping up to the wall where she climbed up. There were many questions swirling in his mind, but decided to not ask. One reason being because they are too difficult and complex with his current vocabulary he wouldn't be able to voice them anyway. This was the time when he first thought about teaching her his tongue...

Black Speech.

As it looks now, she will stay with them for the rest of her life, which means she will have to adjust to their way of living... She will have to become like them, behave like them and speak like them. Just to make commands and orders easier.

The wizard grinned then started her way down through a mix of climbing and sliding. Once she was low enough she jumped down and looked up at her work the stone looking like a solid ceiling now. She knew sooner or later Ren would want to work on moving up and breaking the surface of the mountain so she made sure to create a fix that could be broken through in the future. She smiled up at Ren her bad mood gone like she had never had it. She was lucky in that way. While things easily affected her she also was easy to make happy. Little touches and words were more than enough to make her grin even after crying her eyes out.

"Tell orcs?" she questioned. She wasn't sure they were ready to come back in, even with the fixed ceiling. None of them would ever admit it but she was sure they were afraid.

The Nazgul walked up to her slowly and wanting to go on with his plan of keeping her loyalty and strengthening her bond to him, he raised a hand and put it on her shoulder, patting it a little before letting go.

"Yes. Tell orc." He told her before turning and walking towards the entrance of the -now safe- tunnel. He turned his hooded head around slightly, stopping there to check she was coming as well before resuming his walking.

Once they made it out and closer to some of the orcs mining at the walls, the wraith gained their attention by shrieking. The creatures stopped what they were doing, their yellow eyes fixed on the Nazgul, completely missing the wizard's small form in the darkness. Ren then proceeded to tell them that the tunnels are safe now, the ceiling was strengthened by black magic and they can go back to work now. The orcs looked at each other then nodded, although not as confidently. They still weren't sure, but they didn't want to go against the command and wish of their Lord.

The girl could see the hesitation in everyone and could very much understand why. A lot had happened in that area in the span of only a few hours. She let her eyes wander for a moment then looked up to Ren.

"Work on new spell now? Check new cave tomorrow." she suggested to him. She knew which spell she wanted to work on. It was higher than her level but she knew she needed to get to that spell soon or things would get much harder. She thought on the spell though. She couldn't do it in her room. There was no way. The ground had to be dug up in order to see if the spell worked or not. She would rather not have anyone digging up her floor. "Do spell not in room." she added. She figured he would be confused but if this worked he wouldn't be long.

As some of the orcs and goblins marched away to do as they were told, the Nazgul stopped in his tracks as he was on his way back towards her room, leading her.

"Why?" he asked in a rather curious tone, tilting his head to the side, stopping them both from walking. "Spell not in room?" He asked, now tilting his head to the other side, wondering why she cannot practice this spell in her room. Well, at least none in her level contained any more dangerous effects or needing a bigger room to be performed in... Or maybe she just needs special tools for it? The only way he can find all this out is if she answers his questions.

Hyano sighed and thought a moment.

"Need... dirt. So can dig." she replied and thought a moment. What else would she need? "Need book, water, food, and..." for a moment she wanted to say she would need Tuhul but she wasn't going to be making an orc yet so there really wasn't any need for the temperamental orc just yet. She was starting small. Very small. The book talked of dog-like creatures. She figured creating puppies of those would probably be the easiest thing she could start off with. However she would need some help with the whole digging part. If she was the only one to do it then it would take too long and Ren wasn't about to do it. She was sure Tuhul would refuse. However she was starting to find his rants rather funny sometimes. "Tuhul." she decided to add with a smile.

Dirt? Digging? Book? Food and water? Is it what he thought it was? The Nazgul stared at her for a few minutes without saying a word, trying to determine just by the looks if she was truly ready for such a high level magic. He wasn't sure about this, as this could end up killing her if it is too great... But in the other hand it would be time to try this magic as well, and work upwards towards greater creations. He wondered what she wanted to create first. When she mentioned that orc guard again, he wasn't sure yet again what to think. Why would they need a guard? Only workers help with creating... Guards are needed elsewhere, and right now with the loss they suffered, all guards must be in place.

"No guard. Work. Goblin." He told her, crossing his arms, denying her the request to call for Tuhul. He is needed at his post. But they can ask for a worker or two if needed. But first, they needed to find the perfect place for spawning. He lifted a hand and gestured for her to follow him as he walked along the corridors and tunnels. Spawning can't just happen at any place. They need harder earth to contain the 'pool' and softer dirt to become the mud they create everything in.

Yes, they will need workers...

The little girl pouted but let it go and followed him. She will have to ask the goblin general which goblins he could spare for this. She was curious as to where he was taking her. Now that she thought on it she was kind of curious just where they could do this in the first place. Most of the earth here was very hard. That was good for mining but not so good for spawning. While it would contain the pool, the mud was still needed. She noticed it seemed he was thinking the same thing. He wasn't taking her anywhere really. He was looking it seemed. She also let her eyes wander. Worse comes to worse she would find an empty area and make her own spawning grounds. It would take a day to do it and another to get her strength back but it was doable.

They needed a wide and empty area with even ground and much space. Without metal at that. Metal can mess up everything if it mixes with the mud. Ren could remember actually one room... One that wasn't yet used for anything... It was slightly further deeper into the mines, but he had been wondering about if he could use it for exactly this occasion.

A spawning room.

He led her down towards it, passing hallways and tunnels, gesturing for a few goblins on the way to stop mining and follow them instead, which they did, confused. They marched through more tunnels until they came to an empty cave, which did have a hard ground. All they needed to do is dig a hole in it. The loose earth can be brought here from another location. Or break the dugout earth here and make sure they are fine enough to be used. They also needed water. He gestured towards one section and told the goblins to start digging there, while another was sent out to get water.

Hyano looked everything over. She saw the miners start work on pulling up the floor. Good. That would make this all easier. She smiled.

"Perfect." she said then looked up at Ren. "Still need book." she pointed out to him. While she had already taken the time to memorize the spell and information that came with it she also didn't want to risk messing this all up. A lot can go wrong. A whole page was dedicated to what all could happen if you did ANYTHING wrong. It was very detailed and Hyano was not willing to try any of it. She planned to do this at a basic level and get it right on the first try.

"Book..." Of course... He forgot that book... They should have gone for it first, but his mind was so fixed on finding this room that he forgot about it. He snapped his fingers and called over the goblin which just now returned with the two big buckets of water requested, and told him to go back towards Hyano's room and fetch the book that is on her bed. The goblin bowed and backed out of the room, taking off fast and ran along the halls, turned the corners with a speed that almost flung him from his balance sometimes.

"... How long take to get ready?" she asked wondering how long it would take them to get the room ready. She wanted to get started as soon as possible.

Ren looked at her and let his gaze wander about the room, seeing the goblins doing their job. However, not quite knowing what she wanted to create is making their work harder. He doesn't know how big the hole should be.

"What?" He asked, pointing at the hole being dug. He lacked the exact words how to ask the correct question and had to resort to pointing and hoping once more. He knew how big a hole needs to be for a goblin or an orc as he was present on many occasions his brothers or other sorcerers spawned these creatures.

When the goblin finally returned she snatched the book from him and looked up the page before opening and pointing to the dog beast.

"Wargs." she told him. "Spawn small. Grow big. Spawn big later." she added explaining that she would have to spawn them small but they would grow to their full-grown size soon enough. It was just easier starting out to spawn them in their smaller states first. Also taking care of a newly spawned puppy warg is easier than taking care of a baby orc. When she figured out how to spawn them in their adult forms then she wouldn't have to worry about going through the same stages with any of the more human-like creatures.

For a brief moment, Ren questioned if she could truly do this. He didn't know what will happen if she does something wrong... What creature would be born if there will be? He shook these thoughts aside. He will just take care of it. He wasn't one to worry about anything too much or for too long. As a wraith, it was natural for him to not care, as it doesn't harm him or his army. If it goes wrong, he will just kill whatever it will be born from it. The Nazgul nodded at her before gesturing for the goblins to break in the earth they dug up and refine it, creating the loose dirt that will become the mud once water is applied to it... That dreaded mud... He won't be around her much if the spawning will be at full swing. Everything will be full with mud... He stood back slightly as the goblins poured a portion of the earth back, and poured some water on it, stepping into it to mix the two together, before repeating it until the hole was partially filled with mud. Just as much as it is needed. They had experience with spawning their own kind and were good in creating the mud for it.

The little wizard waited until all was finished and the mud was ready. She looked around to make sure nothing else was needed before catching a goblins attention and handing him the book. She was quite literally using him as a book stand leaving the book open to the page she needed.

"Drop that and I'm pretty sure he will kill you." she warned him pointing to Ren before going up to the mud. She couldn't exactly keep the book on her while doing this. She needed both hands and if she put the book down it might get covered and there were still a number of spells she hadn't covered yet. She took a deep breath then started the spell.

It was long and hard. As she went through it her hands started to grow black but she was easily ignoring it. When her arms had become completely black she slammed both of them into the mud itself and purple magic that looked like electricity ran through the mud. By the time it was finished her whole torso had been turned black as well though you couldn't see it thanks to her clothes. She panted and looked to the mud before looking to the goblins.

"One hour... then start digging." she instructed them.

The goblins nodded and inched away, standing to the side to look at the ground better. They scattered to check if the walls don't contain any metal. Because metal would be a great danger to the newborns. It would either kill them or alter them to the worst. They picked up some shovels and started piercing the walls with them, letting some of the earth fall down, checking for mithril.

While they did this, Ren wasn't sure what to do with the time of waiting. He never stayed this long in a spawning chamber, but it was needed to stay close, just in case something goes wrong. The Nazgul instead joined Hyano and looked her over, noticing the black coloring once more. He reached out slowly and took her arms, probing the skin to see if the texture was any different, before moving to her shoulder, checking the condition of her flesh while they waited.

Hyano didn't even notice she was being touched until her arm was actually moved. She looked up and blinked as he inspected her arm. To make it easier she held it out completely for him so he could see it clearly. She then lifted her sleeve up so he could see it went far past her actual arm and to her torso.

"Big spell. Not bad for first time." she said honestly surprised her whole body hadn't been turned black. This spell was a good number of levels above what she had cast before. She was obviously glad that it hadn't been that bad. The blackness hurt, so anyone who had to go through it regularly would probably be glad for less and less of it. She knew they had a good bit to wait and Ren didn't like waiting so she decided to busy his mind. "Ren. When get Ship?" she asked him. She did at some point want to have their little friend back but they had never really talked about when or if they ever would go back for him.

Compared to how he thought she will die of this spell, it is indeed not bad. Ren released her arm and briefly looked at the hole filled with mud. It didn't move yet, why would it anyway... It wasn't yet ready, no matter if it worked or not. He turned his hooded head back towards her as she asked about... what? He tilted his head to the side, for a moment not knowing what she talked about. It was easy to forget something that had no use to you...

Especially if you are a wraith.

For a moment, he looked up above her head, pondering about the answer. While the Shipmunk had no actual use for him, it was a good entertainment. It provided amusement and fed him with the feeling of superiority while he had no one to actually control. Maybe it could prove to be a good entertainment once more. But the question was... Should they come out of their hiding to look for a small rodent that can be easily replaced by a goblin if he wished? Hmm... But a goblin can't be picked up and poked the way as that Shipmunk...

"Soon. No safe now." He told her, shaking his head. For now he wasn't willing to risk their safety for the little creature.

"Fine..." she mumbled a little sadly. She really hoped they got to see the little creature again. Hopefully they would get lucky and he would come to them. After that she didn't say much else but rather focused on the mud.

Like Ren though she had a rather short attention span, so ended up kneeling and started drawing in the mud. She then remembered Ren's sand sculptures which are likely long gone by now. This gave her the idea to start making mud figures. She started making little goblins and orcs and so on until she had made her own little mud army. She then froze a few so they would stay solid. She then started a little sword fight between two of them just for the hell of it. This is what happens when you let a little child get bored around mud.

At first, Ren didn't pay attention to what she was doing, but started watching the goblins as they worked, luckily not yet finding any metal, so this room should be perfect for spawning, they can always dig deeper into the walls to make more space. But once the production started, he will only visit rarely... The wraith didn't want to show off his talent of... mud-slipping.

Soon enough, he lost interest and returned his attention to the little wizard. He tilted his head to the side, seeing what she was doing, going closer a few steps before stopping. Strangely... this mud behaved like sand... Does it really stick together like this? He hummed and moved his fingers a little, looking around to find small amounts of mud at some places. He quickly went to them and started gathering them in one pile for himself, before starting his own work. It was not as sturdy as sand, but at least one can build some things. Things that don't need so many details. So, he started building his sculpture higher up, creating a tower first, before using the sharp tips of his gauntlets to draw in the details. It wasn't yet ready, so would be hard to see what it is.

Now that they had something to keep their attention it was no surprise that time passed back rather quickly. Odd fact, when you pay attention to time it goes slower than dirt but when you let it alone it moves like the wind.

Hyano wouldn't have even noticed the hour had passed if she didn't hear a sound coming from the mud. She looked up and blinked as she saw movement, then whistled to get the goblins' attention and pointed to the mud telling them to start digging before snapping her fingers to get Ren's attention so he could see what was going on as well.

The goblins perked their ears as well and quickly hurried to the mud, starting to dig through it, looking for the body of the one that made these noises. It took them a while, seeing the hole was maybe slightly bigger than it should have been. But eventually, one of them managed to grab something by the leg and pulled it up. Much mud was stuck to it, so it was hard to make out the creature. The goblin grinned in triumph for finding it and let it dangle by its leg for a little while before putting it down on the ground, stepping back from it, followed by the others.

Ren's attention was also attracted to the noise, but not before he heard that sharp noise again, which caused him to snap out of his concentration at building his little sculpture. It was such a long time ago that she made this noise...

Hyano moved over to the goblin and started pulling off the mud and gunk from the little creature. It started to cough and hack before the girl punched it in the gut and it coughed up some mud and started breathing properly. It then got to its feet rather shakily and started to growl and snap at her. Lucky for Hyano it didn't have its balance yet and kept falling off its feet in the mud. She got back from it and watched as it kept working on standing up and growled at anyone that got close to it. Even a warg pup was something to worry about considering it was the size of a large full grown wolf. Hyano got back from it and back to Ren's side. She was obviously pleased considering she had a huge smile on her face.

She did it.

She brought a creature to life.

A violent one but still a creature none the less.

As the pup growled and snarled, its -still not as great- eyes scanned the room, the goblins decided to jump right in and show the warg its place. They surrounded it and hissed, growled right back, doing little roars of their own, intimidating that pup, if needed they even pulled on its legs at every snarl it gave to make sure it falls. A warg has to be shown its place, or otherwise they aren't good for anything. Also, the pup seems to be female, and now they just need a male to start breeding them on their own. Wargs need to be raised by the goblins, especially those who will ride them. Just to make sure they don't eat them instantly and become somewhat controllable

Ren watched the display, pleased as well that it worked now all they need is another and start breeding them. They will be nice additions to his new forming army. He turned his hooded head towards Hyano who looked quite proud herself and decided to praise her for it. She needs motivation to keep doing what she did. He reached out with an armored hand and patted her head a little, nodding at her before returning his gaze to the goblins.

The child istar sighed happily. She wanted to go ahead and start work on the next one. It seemed they were already starting the warg's training. That was good. She looked up at him.

"Next one." she said but didn't wait for a reply already knowing he would approve. She stepped up and got the goblins attention. "Get the mud ready to go again and get the warg out of here. We don't want them trying to kill each other." she said to them watching the violent creature. In her mind it was still cute though. She found animals in general cute, so her opinion on cute should not be taken seriously. "Put it in the room across from mine." she added with a smile.

At her request where she wished to have the pup brought to, the goblins looked at each other before shaking their head, one of them deciding to explain to her why. "We need a warg pen. Away from all the noise and the living quarters. We will look for a suitable place." he told her as the others grabbed the canine by its legs and hauled it away as it still snarled and growled, but couldn't snap at them because it was still too weak.

If he could, Ren would frown at her request. Again? But the blackness of her body didn't go away just yet. He didn't want to lose such a useful servant just because she was eager.

"No now. Later. Now rest." He told her as he stood in her way and sent away the goblins to take care of the warg pup. Yes, he wanted to motivate her, but he refused to let her try this again. They will need to get rid of the blackness first. "Not good." he told her, reaching out to take her black arm, lifting it to show it to her. "Go wrong. Hyano die." He continued, explaining to her what he would find highly annoying if it happened.

Hyano sighed as she was denied not once but twice. She watched the warg get dragged away.

"Can you at least show me where you are keeping her later?" she asked but didn't get an answer which made her pout. She wanted to be around the cute pup. She looked up at Ren then nodded to show her understanding before running and jumping up onto his shoulder. "What now?" she inquired. Did he want her to go to sleep or to study again? She kind of wanted to join him on his rounds around the mines but she was pretty sure he wouldn't allow that. Maybe he would make use of the time until she got her arms back and teach her something new.

Oh no! No! No! No! No! No! Not this again! The Nazgul felt the force applied to him and after this the weight of the wizard on his shoulders. No matter how many times she did this, he always made sure to express his displeasure about this, but she would never listen and do it again. It was so... degrading. Like he was used as a... mount of some sort. He didn't answer her at first, but stood silently in one position before slowly but surely he turned his hooded head towards her and released an annoyed sigh. Not a second later, he suddenly bent forward swiftly, trying to get her off of his shoulders. He didn't want anyone to see them like this. Maybe he tolerates it in her room or he tolerated it back then in the forest when she jumped on his shoulders to reach something tall, or to clean a difficult place in the treehouse. But that was different... He didn't have a whole army to keep under his control... He can't show such... submission to anyone...

Hyano pouted as she was dropped off his shoulder and crossed her arms.

"Annoying..." she mumbled but didn't say anything more. She knew he worried a lot about his image. To some degree that annoyed her, however she also worried about what the others thought but she was a kid. That was normal and expected. It would be weird if she didn't care at all what any of them thought of her. She sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "Go now?" she asked him while also waiting on an answer to her original inquiries.

Annoying indeed. She seems to use this word now more frequently than him. Ren shook his head and thinking of an idea, he bent down again to retrieve the book, then again to reach out towards the wizard and simply grasped her, making her yelp, picking her up and securing her smaller form under his arm like someone would carry an item and started walking out of the spawning pit.

"Yes." He told her as he went along the hallways and tunnels like this. She wanted to be carried, fine... she can be carried. But only like this. She was quite light... Well, maybe weighted a little more than back then in the forest... He adjusted her a little under his arm to get a more comfortable grip. "Heavy." he told her as he chuckled, going towards her room. He did plan something, just didn't know how to start...

The little girl pouted as he made a comment on her weight. She knew she was heavier actually, however it wasn't a weight thing. She had eaten very little since they got there. Tuhul can buck off about how much she was a burden on the food supply. She had in fact gotten a little taller since she started using dark magic. It wasn't very drastic but she had noticed it. She mainly realized when she noticed she didn't have to look up as high to look Ren in his 'face'.

"Taller." she corrected him with a huff crossing her arms but enjoying the ride none the less. She doubted he had even noticed the change. He really didn't pay attention to such small details.

"Heavy." he repeated, chuckling at their small debate. Yes, she is heavier than he remembered from a few weeks ago.

Soon enough, they reached her room and opened the door without putting her down, and walked inside, kicking it shut. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked around with the book still in his hand. To her dismay or fun he didn't put her down just yet and didn't show any signs of wanting to do so either, instead he seemed to be in deep thought as he stared ahead. The truth was that he simply wanted to mess with her. Seeing he didn't have anything else to do at the moment, annoying the wizard might prove as a nice entertainment. He wanted to know what she will do in order to get down or when she will get bored of being held like this.

Hyano blinked as he continued to hold her even after they had reached her room. Alright... They were here now... why wasn't he putting her down?! She looked up at him then pouted and tried to squirm out of his grip. Considering how much bigger he still was compared to her it easily didn't work. She eventually gave up and just slumped in his arm. Alright, now he was just being a big annoyance. She knew he was just trying to mess with her too. The fact he hadn't pranked her in some time was a pretty good excuse for him to say she was due for a little teasing. She would make sure to get him back later. Maybe push him into the mud.

The moment she slumped his hooded head found her form again and adjusted her once more, clearly not intending to still put her down. This was a too... feeble attempt to try and free herself... So she might maybe try again? He wasn't sure but one thing is certain: If needed, he will stand here the whole day or the next few days. He was content to see her annoyed and irritated, which will feed him with entertainment. He kept holding her this way, amusing himself with her attempts.

The wizard pouted thinking. Alright, how could she do this without getting very violent? If she kicked and thrashed too much she could easily end up going from amusing the wraith to straight up ticking him off. She thought for a moment then smirked, then pointed her hand down, making the wraith follow the gesture and froze the floor before slamming her body against his. Ren was not a fan of anything like ice or mud, mostly because his balance was rather horrible. While this would likely end with her hitting the ground too she was pretty sure he would let go, which in the end was the intended goal.

The Nazgul straightened himself and tried very hard to think quickly how to solve this little trick of hers, but he wasn't fast enough. The moment she bumped against him, he lost his footing and started slipping around trying to gain back his balance.

It was in vain though.

Not a few seconds later, one of his legs slipped from under him completely forward, ending in him falling backwards with a surprised shriek and landed on his back quite heavily. Despite being spectral, his armor and robes still weighted him down, which caused the heavy thud and some cracks in the ice. However, he didn't go down without taking her with him. His grip did loosen on her, but he was sure he won't let her get away so easily from him.

Hyano groaned as they hit the floor shaking her head then again worked on squirming out of his grip. She almost got free if it wasn't for those blasted clothes of hers getting caught on his gauntlet.

"Damn it Ren! Let go!" she yelled trying to pull off of him. One large pull and a loud rip and she went down with a 'whump!' she slid a little away from him thanks to the ice then panted. For a moment she just laid panting and annoyed, then realized just how funny the whole ordeal was and she broke down laughing. She would have to sew her outfit back up thanks to their little match but in the end it was still rather funny. "Ren fun." she told him between laughs.

He did not comment on her claim but tried very hard to sit up at the very least and try to get her back into his grip. His gauntlets slipped a few times from under him, causing quite unpleasant falls back onto the ice but eventually managed to hold himself up. She was slightly farther away from him but that didn't stop the determined wraith. He reached out again and grasped her leg, then slid her towards him, which also caused him to fall forward, slipping onto his stomach with a grunt. His grip however stayed strong and kept pulling her back. Once close enough, he hissed in amusement and reached out, poking her side.

The orange wizard squirmed and tried to get away from him the ice making it hard.

"Ren! Hahaha stop!" she called out as she laughed and tossed then grabbed his hand and tried to hold it away from her as best she could still giggling like mad. Even having a hand close to your tickle spots made someone want to laugh. It was uncontrollable but so much fun anyway.

"No!" He exclaimed and managed to sit up cross-legged, holding his balance on a greater surface now, making it easier. What was hard was to get her closer. He used his greater strength to his advantage and hauled her squirming form right into his lap, resuming poking her there and keeping her in place, finding her attempts amusing and her laughing entertaining.

Just at this moment an orc knocked on the door, standing in front of it, wishing to gain entry, but it went unanswered and was drowned out by the wizard's laughing. He wondered briefly what is going on, so opened the door and stepped inside, only to be frozen in place. Their Lord... the most powerful, intimidating and strongest creature they know... is playing with his pet, making her laugh and squirm, but not in pain but in amusement. He stood there for a few seconds, maybe a minute, then decided to just... go out now and come back later, seeing no one noticed him. He inched backwards and closed the door silently, then vanished from the corridor to go on his duty.

The small istar laughed so hard her sides hurt and continued to squirm and move around in an attempt to get out from his grip.

"Hahaha Ren please... hahaha stop!" she laughed out then tried to kick out of his grip. This was totally not fair. He was bigger and stronger than she was and he knew she wouldn't use any serious magic on him. She didn't even notice the door or the highly confused orc. At the moment she was in her own little world where it was just her and Ren and all the stress that came from these caves didn't even exist.

Once they started leaning to the side a little, Ren didn't know how it was possible but he lost his balance and fell on his side, successfully losing his hold on the wizard and releasing her of his grip as they slid apart. He started cursing in black speech and tried to crawl towards her but only ended up falling onto his stomach. He tried to slide towards her and get up but no matter what he did, he couldn't move that much, so heaving a sigh, he gave up and simply laid there on the ice on his stomach silently.

Hyano laughed on the floor before finally sitting up and smiling at her friend. She wondered if he was like this when he was alive. Did he have brothers and sisters he used to play with? She knew he used to be a king once. Maybe his father used to play with him like this before he died. She shrugged off the thoughts thought before putting her hand down and melting the ice. She then dropped back on the floor, too tired to get up and move herself to the bed. Ren had worn her out. It was surprising just how tired you could get from just laughing like crazy for even a short amount of time. Though then again the same could be said about crying or sneezing. If you cried for too long you would fall asleep and if you sneeze too much you get light-headed. The body was so strange.

"Ren. When Hyano grow up will Hyano strong like Ren?" she asked him curiously.

The Nazgul didn't bother to move, even when the ice melted, instead remained laying on his stomach, with his limbs spread out, staring forward, not saying a word about his situation. Once she spoke up and asked the question, his hooded head slid a little along the floor to look at her and stared at her for a few seconds, before thinking about it. If she can be as strong as him? He doubted it. She will never gain the abilities that give him the advantage against anyone else in this world. She cannot become indestructible... One who doesn't feel pain... These traits make him stronger and much effective than her. And these are the abilities why she cannot reach his rank and skill level. She might be better than him with magic, but she lacks many more traits to make her truly more effective in combat or on missions.

"No. No same." he told her, not moving still. "Almost. But no same."

The child could live with that answer she guessed. No way would he say yes even if he did think she could but he wasn't saying it in that overly powerful way he normally did when he was trying to keep her in her place. He was just stating facts. She put her hands on her stomach.

"That alright. Ren keep Hyano safe. Hyano alright not being as strong." she said then finally sat up cross-legged. "Hyano learn talk like Ren?" she asked him. She was sure he had been thinking it too but she wanted to learn for another reason. She was curious what all the orcs and goblins where saying when they were talking in the black speech. She was sure she wouldn't always like it but she didn't like not knowing either.

It bothered her.

They didn't have to know she knew what they were saying but she still wanted to know what was going on. It was a girl thing she was sure.

The wraith didn't say anything at all in return to this. He continued laying there like he is dead to the world, not moving an inch, but that dark hood of his was directed towards her still, not looking away. After a while, the Nazgul finally moved, standing slowly and adjusting his robe at the same time, before bending down and picking up the book she learned from. He looked at it, touching its cover before turning his gaze towards the wizard and tossing it back to her. The answer to this was quite simple.

She could do it anytime.

The book after all contained the dark magic in both languages. Black and the language of men. So in a way, a perfect book to learn, seeing it contained the translation of the texts.

The girl caught it and blinked for a moment before understanding what he meant. Alright. If that was how she had to do it. She got up on the bed and decided to start with the first spell she learned since it was fairly ingrained in her memory and would be easiest to learn from. She didn't get very far though. It had been a rather long day and before she knew what happened she flopped forward her head in the book. It was kind of funny to look at though she would likely wake up with a hurting back thanks to it.

Ren couldn't really volunteer to teach her his language. He knew if he could, they would be finished much sooner than this and he knew if she made a mistake or not. However, he lacked the vocabulary in her language to truly teach her. And he was fairly certain he took the meaning of a few words wrong... He keeps discovering new and new flaws in his little collection of words.

While she was reading, he went back to sit in the corner he always preferred before deciding he was bored. There was yet again nothing to do... And the wizard is asleep... Which only meant one thing.

Time for revenge again.

He still didn't give her back the stunt with the ice... He shifted in his position and finally stood, walking over to the sleeping girl, before deciding to repeat one he already did. He wrapped her yet again in the bed sheets, but this time he sat on the bed cross-legged and put her smaller wrapped form across his lap, as he faced the maze on the headboard. He completely forgot about this one... Might as well entertain and possibly anger himself with it while he was here...

---

Hyano didn't wake up again until the next day at sunrise. She grumbled and tried to stretch and blinked as she couldn't. It had been so long since he pulled this stunt last that she had honestly forgotten all about it. She started to squirm and started cursing in both wizard and even a word she had learned in black speech before she passed out. Yes, she still had a thing for curse words so that is the first word she made herself learn. She kicked as best she could and blinked as she realized she was on a body. She twitched as she figured out who and what happened.

"Ren, you son of a warg!" she yelled.

The Nazgul was snapped out of his concentration as she moved, but decided to go back to the maze once she seemed to stop. He held her down by his folded arms, leaning his bodyweight in her, keeping her in place so she won't end up jumping up or squirming away. Once she moved again, this time more violently, he wanted to hiss in irritation as he lost the track of a promising path in the maze. He turned his gaze down to glare at her, but seeing she was wrapped into the sheets, she couldn't see it anyway, so gave up on it quickly and went back to trying to solve the game. He couldn't help an amused hiss that escaped him once she said his name. It was also accompanied with the sentence she used to say when she was angry with him. What amused him further was the fact that she actually used a curse word in his language as well. Maybe it was one of the mild ones but it was a progress. He didn't reply in any way though, instead kept her in place while he tried returning to the maze, wondering what she will do now and when will she give up her struggling.

The girl finally stopped thrashing as she heard him hiss knowing he was laughing at her struggles. She pouted then tried to kick him knowing it wouldn't hurt but tried anyway because she could, then squirmed until she found the hole at the top of the sheets and popped her head out a cute pout on her face.

"Reeeeeen. Let go!" she whined. She was far too used to being pranked by now to actually think he would let her go that easily but felt it only right to try anyway. She wondered if any of the creatures they lived with pulled pranks like this... and how many got killed for it.

Of course, such little tricks and cute faces won't work on a creature of darkness, so his only reply was a 'No', the tone mimicked by him like the one she used and reached out to the top of her head and pushed it back into the sheets. Oh no, he won't let her get away so easily. She had her fun before, now it is his time to mess with her. While she was on his side and surely was loyal to him, he still wanted to cause some discomfort, even if it was expected. It was in a way amusing to watch someone suffer. Even if that suffering isn't too great.

Hyano blinked as she was pushed back down feeling like a butterfly stuck in her cocoon. Not a caterpillar but a butterfly and some stupid black thing wouldn't let her out! She glared up at him knowing he couldn't see. She debated on setting the sheet on fire but the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Ren. She did however know a spell that could get him to let her go. She smirked then reached her hand up out of the hole then with a flick off her hand she made a light orb and tried to toss it in his hood.

From the corner of his eye -if one can say so with a Nazgul- he saw her hand peek out and move, but he didn't think much of it, instead went back to the maze. The next thing he knew was that he went blind as his vision went all white. He shrieked in surprise as that light orb actually managed to get into his hood for the second time in a few weeks and fell backwards, grabbing for it. Swiftly he tried to stand but in his haste he ended up rolling off of the bed, hissing like an angry cat. He then proceeded standing up and picking at his hood, hissing and shrieking, moving about in desperation, bumping into the wall and into various furnishings.

The small wizard yelped as she was tossed off of him then groaned as she hit the floor ending in her being half way out of the sheet. She blinked as she saw the wraith run around her room bumping into things while trying to get the orb out of his hood. She broke down laughing. He was so crazy. She was pretty sure the orb didn't hurt, it was just blinding and therefore annoying. She wondered if he realized if he stayed still he could easily get the orb out a heck of a lot easier than what he was doing at the moment. She was laughing so much she hadn't even bothered to kick off the rest of the sheet still wrapped around her lower half.

He wasn't watching where he was going at all, so in the end, he ended up taking course towards her and after a few moment, he tripped over her laying form, falling on his stomach with a groan-hiss, laying flat on the floor the way he did on the ice. However, half of his body was still on top of her, so she wasn't in a better situation. Realizing this, the Nazgul decided not to move, but stay in this position. Not that he would have any duties... He truly would be bored if it wasn't for the wizard.

"Oof! Heavy... table-cloth!" she yelled and tried to push him off with little success. One of these days she would pull that hood off and look inside to see if he stuffed rocks in there just to make himself heavy. There was no way he was this heavy while being technically not there at all. She eventually was forced to give up. She would get him back for this later. Maybe push him in a mud pit. That would be funny.

He waited for a few more minutes, just laying there in silence, knowing full well, that despite not saying a word she was still irritated by this, which amused him further. However, every entertainment must end once. So, thinking this was enough, he got on his hands and knees and pulled back, kneeling in front of her still half-covered form, seeing she still didn't get out of the bed sheets fully. He reached out swiftly and poked her side a few times before giving an amused hiss and stood up, stepping back to give her room to finally stand up. His hooded head then turned towards the bed where the book was located and went up to it, picked it up, flipping a few pages.

Hyano sighed as he finally got off her then gasped and laughed as he tickled her again a few times. When he finally stopped and she tried to get up quickly remembering her legs were still stuck in the sheet. She kicked a few times before getting out then blinked as she saw what Ren was doing. She tilted her head before jumping up on the bed so she could see the book as well barely.

"What doing?" she asked him her naturally curious nature getting the better of her as she looked at the book then up to him.

The Nazgul actually wanted to trigger this curiosity of hers. His plan was to finally get done more today, and make sure she went along in her studies. Once she was close enough, he turned his dark hooded head towards her and pushed it into her hands.

"Learn." He said, pointing at the texts, wanting her to learn more of his language. Or she can resume with the spells... For him either was alright and satisfactory. Ren stepped back a few paces and turned towards the door, contemplating if he should leave her side now or not. If she studied the spells, then he will stay, but if she preferred the language this time, he will go and have something to do. He never liked boredom and it was now clawing at him.

The istar blinked as the book was shoved into her hands making her loose her balance and sit on the bed. She guessed she did need to study until she went to make another warg today. She looked up at him.

"Study language. Get Tuhul please. Need someone practice on. Make sure get words right." she told him crossing her legs and starting to read again. Part of it was defiance. Tuhul told her not to call him again. She was going to do it anyway just because he said not to. Ren would probably do the same if he could keep up with their conversations. She also wanted to get fluent unlike Ren. If she learned black speech fluently then maybe things wouldn't be so hard.

All the Nazgul did was nod. Although... this also meant that he will stay here and ensure the safety of his servant... and his entertainment. If that orc was involved, they are bound to get into an argument. Maybe he only understands words of a sentence, he didn't need to know what they talked about to enjoy himself. All he needed was their tone, their body language and the end result.

He let out a hiss, summoning the guard outside, who stepped inside a second after and looked at the wraith, awaiting his command. After he received it, he nodded and bowed, stepping back and closing the door to do as he was told.

While they waited, the wraith decided to go to the usual corner where he sat, partially covered away from the sunlight. Before he reached it he passed the bed where the wizard sat and thinking once he extended his hand and patted her shoulder before finally going up to the corner and sitting down cross-legged. That orc surely takes long to arrive... He wondered what is going on...

This caught the little wizard's attention as well. She had been intently reading away but after a while she started to worry and look at the door. Normally Tuhul did not take very long to come despite how much he hated doing it. Actually he came rather quickly because he hated it. He came, yelled, and then left as soon as possible.

"Something wrong?" she asked turning her gaze from the door to the darkness where her friend was staying. "Too long. Tuhul fast." she commented worry showing in her face. Had the orc been hurt or worse? She really hoped not. She knew that was a normal thing here among these creatures of darkness but that didn't mean she liked it or wanted it to happen to Tuhul. Even if he was a big mouth.

The Nazgul was busy sitting and setting his mind on a subject he wished to debate in himself when she spoke up, not even noticing the time that passed and wondered if she was just impatient or not. But considering how many topics he went over in his mind, he did think the orc took more time than normally.

"Other orc?" He asked, turning his head towards her, shrugging, thinking they could call another if this one doesn't come. He truly didn't care as long as she goes on with her study.

Hyano thought on it then shook her head.

"No. Tuhul or no orc." she replied. If Tuhul didn't come then she would just have to deal without. She didn't know any of the other orcs and the idea of working with someone she didn't know bothered her a little. Besides Tuhul was the only orc she knew by name so she wouldn't know who to call anyway. She turned her eyes back to her studies deciding to give it some more time. Maybe she was just being antsy. However she was normally very good at keeping track of time so she honestly didn't see how she was expecting all that much. Maybe Tuhul was just refusing to come. She wouldn't put it past him but she would think the orc they went would come tell them if that happened so she wasn't really sure.

Ren shook his head and shrugged, not understanding why she needed that orc anyway. He didn't see any other use for him than making her angry and being irritating... and entertaining. He shifted in his sitting position, getting more comfortable and decided to wait as well. He won't go and do the job of locating him. He was the leader and not the servant, something that he never wanted confused. Same goes to the little wizard on the bed. She has to understand that he will not do as she said and jump at every word anymore. Now he had authority and a much higher rank. And a whole army to back him up. She will have to learn to solve her own problems.

And solve her own problems she would.

After much longer passed she finally couldn't take it anymore. Something was wrong and she wanted to find out what. She jumped up from her bed and went to the door quickly opening it and looking for the nearest guard.

"Hey where is Tuhul? Is he alright?" she inquired not seeming to care if he was coming or not but if he was alright. At the moment she was pushing back the fact she had called him at all to the back of her mind in favor of finding out if the orc was even alive to come at all. It was the same reason she wanted to learn black speech. She didn't like not knowing what was going on. It bothered her greatly.

The guards looked at each other, but surprisingly the one next to her door was there, and answered her question.

"I told him to come. He said he will, but I didn't see him yet." He told her and shifted in his position, standing tall again and gripping the spear tighter, not quite keen on going again and hoped she won't send him once more. The orc didn't look happy when he told him to come but did agree... However he didn't come. Might be that annoyed tone he had... More than likely he didn't want to come and just wanted to get rid of the guard...

Hyano sighed in relief then thought on it a moment. She guessed he really didn't want to come. She wouldn't force him.

"Thanks. Can you tell the goblins to get the mud pit ready? I will be down there later to start to next warg." she instructed before going back into her room. Maybe if she got lucky she would see Tuhul later and get the chance to kick him in the shin for not coming. He could be such a pain. She went back to the bed and jumped on it before going back to her reading. She figured Ren would tell her when it was time to stop studying so they could go start on the next warg.

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