"Oh my crease I think I want to die..." moaned Angela, huffing and puffing as she, Wizard and Grendel ascended to the forty-third floor of the Garmon upper mines. She wasn't the most accommodating travel companion; she needed Wizard to hold both her hands tightly as they crossed the forsaken bridge across the falls, and needed to halt the proceedings each time she spotted a rock that, in her inexperienced opinion, promised a "great-looking" ore. The cat and wizard could barely coax her to move after lunch, finding the cool temperature of the caves intoxicating on a full stomach. Now, just one floor later, Angela was looking pale and exhausted once again.
"Angela you're so lazy." Complained Grendel, swiping at Angela's exposed thigh with her claws, causing Angela to yelp in pain. The Wizard waited patiently and silently by the stairway to the next floor, watching the two lash it out.
"I am not! I'm just...chubby?"
"You are not! Now get up and let's get moving. It's only a few more floors."
"Fine," she sighed, aggravated. Slowly (ever so slowly) she stood up, grunting along the way. When she managed to make it to her feet, she stretched and walked over to the Wizard.
"Exciting, isn't it? I've never seen these ruins before. For some reason, no one had ever bothered to photograph this place," she was even disappointed by what little evidence Calvin could provide her. Every time she asked him, a fog would cover his eyes and he would claim he could barely remember any fine details of the ruins, not even what the mysterious glyphs that were reported to be up here meant. He did give her a stone tablet that he assumed he recovered on one of his expeditions to the ruins, but it made no sense to Angela, not even to Wizard or Grendel, and as usual Vivi was of no help. None of her books could lend any clues; but Calvin was puzzled by one obvious detail: the carvings in this tablet were made recently. Likely a prank left by someone to confuse or scare any spectators, but Angela wasn't buying that theory. She may be unable to place the symbols or interpret their meaning, but she knew she had seen them somewhere. Something about the seemingly random and innate language haunted Angela ever since her possession of the stone yesterday, after she had left the Wizard's house. Granted, she met Calvin at the bar, and he could have been unable to provide useful information on account of intoxication, but something seemed wrong to Angela. Something had crawled under her skin, and it refused to leave her be.
Like always, the Wizard showed little emotion. He nodded, and lead the ladies the rest of the way up to the summit. What they saw there was startling.
The landscape sparkled with piles of fresh white snow, the surface of black rocks showing only slightly through the white covering. A stone bridge, much more intimidating that the one that crossed the falls, was surrounded by lower hills and peaks. At the top of this bridge laid a rock platform, with more hieroglyphics carved into it. To Angela, the platform seemed to be a spot of great importance, such as a meeting place or a throne for a leader. Or a place where sacrificial subjects were offered to an unknown entity. She shivered.
"Don't be frightened Angela...I'll help you up the bridge..." the Wizard reassured. Grendel was still absorbing the breathtaking and eerily deserted terrain by the Wizard's feet when Angela suddenly brushed past them without a word. She began to climb the bridge.
"Angela?" Grendel called after her, trying to catch up with her necromancer. Angela seemed to be in a trance, her back perfectly straight and her pace unfaltering as she bravely ascended the bridge, never looking back or slowing down. Grendel gave the Wizard a concerned glance, to which he returned an equally concerned look. Grendel hopped onto his shoulders as they followed Angela up.
"Angela!" Grendel tried again, but to no avail. She remained strident in her march to the platform. Her head, however, did quickly twitch to the left, but then assumed it previous position with eyes straight forward. When they reached the higher summit, she stood before the platform, staring, waiting.
"Angela, quit fooling around." Grendel jumped from the Wizard's shoulders and faced Angela. "You're not scaring anyone. So get serious and investigate this place, like you wanted to." But it was no use. Angela couldn't hear her as her eyes glazed over and her pupils dilated. Grendel had lied; she was scaring at least one person here. "Angela?"
On the balls of her heels, Angela swung around and stared at the Wizard. She began to walk towards him, her breathing becoming heavier with each step. Her hands went to the collar of her shirt where she began to unbutton her blouse. Along the way down the line of buttons she unhooked her bra, and her breasts began to poke out.
"Angela!" He came forward, trying to button her shirt back up. It was no use; she kept unbuttoning his attempts. She pressed her body closer into his, and Grendel's ear perked up in the opposite direction. Someone was here.
"Please, stop this," he plead with Angela, still trying to fix her clothing when he too felt another presence. "Grendel, what's happening?"
"I don't know, I just-"
"Remember when she use to have us play house with her?" Said a voice from an indecipherable location. Grendel and Wizard fiercely searched the area, but could find no fourth party. "I think she always rather play instead of study to become a great necromancer, like her grandfather."
"Who are you?" Shouted Grendel desperately. Still no one appeared, but she knew of only one other person who knew such a detail from Angela's past.
"Grendel, have you already forgotten who I am? That's hurtful."
Angela's attention was broken from Wizard, and she turned and made her way back to the altar.
"Angela is so very weak. Her magical defenses are still not up to par, unlike yours and your friend's, Grendel. She fell easily into my trap."
She could deny it no longer, though she hoped she was wrong. "Inazin?"
"There you go!" A man appeared on the altar before a dazed Angela. His eyes were a piercing yellow, his long hair, turquoise with streaks of blue, flowing as a sudden gust of arctic wind blew by. "I knew deep down you could never forget me, Grendel."
Her skin crawled when he said her name. His clothing greatly resembled those from the portraits of the Harvest King, except for the black hooded cloak that was draped over his broad shoulders. His mouth was twisted into a sinister smirk as his eyes left Grendel's and moved to Angela.
"What do you want, Inazin? Leave Angela alone."
"I will, don't worry." He pulled out a black staff with a pointed red gem attached to the end. With this gem he made an imaginary circle around Angela's torso. "I'd never hurt Angela."
Grendel's flanks rose as her ears bent back and she crouched into a threatening position. "Don't touch her!" She hissed.
The Wizard did not know what to do. The presence radiating from this stranger was practically suffocating him. Apparently, Wizard was the next target. Inazin's eyes lifted to look the Wizard in the face. He merely stared at the other man, never uttering a word before turning his attention back to Grendel.
"There's no use in summoning the Harvest King."
"And why's that?"
"Take my word for it. It's just not a good idea."
"What are you talking about?" She demanded, growing tired of the childish mind games Inazin was so famous for.
He waved his hand. "Trust, Grendel. Or should I say faith." He patted Angela obediently on her head before taking a few steps back. "It was nice to see you again, my dear. Farewell."
The wind blew strong again as Grendel lunged at Inazin, her cat form slowly deteriorating into that of a panther's, her large fangs bared and her claws extended. Her muscles tightened as she released a mighty roar, but her efforts were in vain. When he completely disappeared, Angela's body folded from underneath her as she crumpled to the ground. The Wizard was instantly by her side, holding her in his lap as he repeated her name over and over. Thankfully, her eyes were shut, and nothing remained from that hideous state she was just in. Grendel's body remained the same as she ran to his side.
"We need to get her out of here," she said, her voice more ragged and loud in this form. He gathered her limp body into his arms, and the three rushed down the bridge, through the many trials each floor in the Garmon upper mines presented, and hurried for home.