Ash drifted slowly from the sky as the wall of the fort crumbled. The blast had removed most of the wall and sent rubble flying in all directions, disintegrating the closest part of the wall, and taken about a third off the connecting walls. The Cannibal was unconscious, a group of greens trying to move his armoured form as browns moved to plug the hole in the fort and The Huntsman couldn't see the elf anywhere. The Cannibal had been right, and as usual, whenever he was right, there was destruction.
The monster had led the defence of Nordberg, a two month siege where fire rained from the sky and blood flowed like wine. Buildings had been dropped on top of units of soldiers, marching in formation before stone was toppled and killed any beneath. Good men had died, been sacrificed merely to delay the enemy for a few days. It had been a pointless war, the Overlord had been killed. The entire thing was a message of what happened to those who defied the king, a message written in blood.
He took a deep breath before he started firing shots over the minions' heads. Letting loose as many arrows as fast as possible whilst still retaining a degree of accuracy. With each shot he took a deep breath, pausing for a heart beat before letting go. It was a practice rhythm, one that he'd taught to Parcid when the lord's son was just a boy, and he'd taught it to the girl.
It was then he saw the girl. Walking from behind the line of guards, a new bow held to her side, and a look of pure rage on her face. With a single movement black lightning leapt from her entire body and hit all the guards that the browns had been fighting. He watched as their faces contorted and they dropped to their knees, their entire bodies convulsing before turning to ash and charred bone, not even breaking her stride.
It was the most fear inspiring thing he'd ever seen, that such a young girl held so much unrestrained power.
"They will all burn!" Lo screamed, heading into the jungle, the markings on her body letting out a blue light visible through the chainmail armour and her eyes the burning orange that he'd seen on the previous Overlord before hand.
Lilith, Gnarl and Morg watched as the scrying orb turned pure white before cracking and then totally falling apart.
"What the hell happened?" Lilith demanded, looking as confused as other two.
"I don't know." Gnarl answered, drumming his long fingers on the table.
"I believe the elder abomination may have been correct." Morg added.
"Have Grubby create a tunnel to the fort, I'm going up their personally."
"Are you sure that's wise Lilith? I'm not sure walking onto a battlefield is the safer thing to do."
"We need to make sure she's alive Gnarl, we'll need her alive for him to return."
The brown minion looked over to Morg, expecting him to help convince them succubus. "I agree with her Gnarl, we need her blood, and if she runs off and doesn't come back, then all of our actions will be for naught."
"No, they won't. The Cannibal can continue with the invasion and we can track her down. You two have become attached to her, and that, that is what is putting us at risk."
"Morg, come with me if you want, it Gnarl, if you ever imply my attachment to her, or his loyalty to the Overlord, is putting the the plan at risk, it won't just be the scrying orb that's broken and about to be thrown off the edge."
"A threat from a parasitic species, how terrifying."
"No Gnarl, a threat suggests a chance of it not happening, and I want my reward for all this."
The Huntsman sniffed the air as The Cannibal was carried down the tunnel and the succubus queen came up. The women in white had informed them of her, and he could remember the smell from when she'd put Parcid to sleep and he and the others had recovered him. He didn't like the smell, it was wrong, unnatural in almost every way conceivable. Too strong. Too sweet. Too perfect. A predator designed to prey on want. He would not be deceived.
Lilith gave a smile as she walked towards the abomination. Even beneath the mask she could sense the raw hatred and anger he was radiating. It was almost as delicious as the lust people had for her, she was going to have a lot of fun here.
"Hello handsome. I don't think we've met but I have the feeing you know who I am." She said, sauntering towards him till they were less than an arms width apart.
"Piss off whore." The Hunsman spat.
"Aww, don't you play well with others?" Lilith giggled.
"No."
"Not very chatty are you."
"I only 'chat' with those I like."
"Oh, have I done something to offend you? Perhaps I can make it up to you later." The succubus walked closer, placing her hands on her well curved hips and sticking her chest out as much as possible.
"You left a man to die in the snow."
"And who would that be?" She asked innocently
"The lord of Nordberg."
"Which one? The boy or his father? War's so unprofitable in my business, men away from their local brothel, supply lines are so difficult to maintain up north."
"Give me a reason I shouldn't gut you"
"What, can't you take a joke? So much loyalty to a dead man. You're far too serious, maybe we could, relax, together."
The abomination took a step closer than he was comfortable with before placing his dagger to Lilith's stomach that was covered by her wings ,wrapped his hand around her throat and moved his mouth to her ear. "I can either cut your wing, let you bleed out, suffocate you, or snap your neck. If you ever try anything, and I mean anything, one of those will happen to you."
"So aggressive," Lilith started before she felt the pressure on her throat increase, " you think you're the only one who carries a dagger with them."
The Huntsman glanced down before having the back of Lilith's hand hit him in the face and then felt his feet being knocked out from under him. Her corset unfurled into a set of large, bat-like, wings before she knelt with one leg on either side of his chest. "Get off, whore."
She drove the spiked tip of her wing into the ground less than an inch from the abomination's head, the other against his throat. "We could have so much fun like this."
"Lilith, stop playing with your food." Morg Chided, pulling himself out of the hole with Grubby next to him. "We have another matter to tend to."
"Too bad." She cooed, slowly pulling herself up before her wings returned to their normal place. "We'll have to continue this later."
"If this happens again there won't be a later date."
"Stop now. While you two were flirting or fighting the girl made a head start. Now we have to find her and there's an entire island to search."
"It's not as if I can search by air." Lilith hissed sarcastically.
The Huntsman shook his head. "The trees provide cover, it wouldn't work."
"This relationship isn't going to work if you keep disagreeing with me." She giggled.
"Whore."
"For you it's free."
"Lilith, either be helpful or be far away." Morg said, returning the venomous glare she was giving him before she let out a huff. "Huntsman, do you think you could track her down."
"Maybe, depends how far she's gone and if she's trying to cover her tracks."
"The scrying orb cut out when the vial exploded, what happened here?" Lilith asked. "If we can work out where she's going, I might be able to head her off."
"She's angry, I doubt she has much idea where's she's going herself. I'll bring her back."
Lo strode through the jungle, her armoured boots leaving prints that would be easy enough to follow, but she didn't care. She needed to hit something. Something that deserved to be hit. Something that really deserved to be hit. She'd already dealt with a few men hiding in the jungle , thinking that a single girl would be easy prey. One of them had said she was armed but the others hadn't listened. That one had ran. That one survived. She stopped when she came to a ill-kept road that she recognised from when she was younger.
"I know where I am."
She remembered everything that happened here now. The carriage. The bandits. Healing Baristan. That meant that she was near her father's old house. She didn't know why, but she started walking towards the abandoned estate.
"Where is, the, girl?" The Huntsman asked again, holding his captive, no more than a boy, against a tree. Annoyingly Lilith had decided to come with him and Morg had stayed behind so he couldn't stop her comments..
"I don't know." The bandit shivered.
"Which direction did she go in?"
"I don't know."
"Pick one, north, south, east, west."
"I don't know."
"Huntsman dear," Lilith chirped, placing her hand on his shoulder, "why don't you let me try."
"I don't think that'll work whore."
"I don't mean like that." She gently pushed the abomination out of the way before leaning over to the other man and whispering. "You're going to remember now, or else."
"Or else whaaaa!" The man screamed as Lilith drove the tip of each wing through his wrists, pinning him to the tree before she dragged him further up it.
"Dagger, now." The Huntsman suddenly had newfound respect for the woman, passing her the blade without hesitation. "Left foot, or right."
"Please, I don't know."
"Left it is then."
"Please, I don't know anything." The man suddenly fell silent, suppressing a scream as the woman began to press the blade into his flesh.
"Then you're of no use. Huntsman, see if you can still follow the girl's trail. I'll finish up here."
"I don't take orders from you."
"No, but you know I'm right."
"I would like my dagger back."
"You'll get it back later."
"What is it with you people taking my weapons."
"Just go already."
The Huntsman turned away, hearing the sound of flesh being sliced through and a scream that was quickly silenced.
It took him fifteen minutes for him to get onto the road and the girls scent changed direction, following it up a hill. The house he came to was abandoned, left in a state of disrepair for many years. The whole area was overgrown and plants had started to force their way through the brickwork and the paving along the outside of the house.
He started walking towards the house, following the smell upstairs and into the room second on the left. She'd spent some time in here, looking over things. What the rooms original purpose had been he couldn't tell, but there was a room with a small stone bath attached.
He then followed the smell to the next room. It was definitely a bedroom and there was a large balcony that she had been on as well. When he moved onto the balcony he saw her. A huddled figure in silver sat in front of a piece of stone.
It took him a minuet to walk down and around her, sitting next to her and taking a minute to try and read the faded stone. "So, who's this?"
"My mother, adopted."
There was another lingering silence. "What happened?"
"I don't know, they never told me."
"I meant at the fort."
"I met my father."
"I don't mean to pry, but what happened?" The Huntsman leaned slightly to get a better look at her face, and was half shocked to see that tears were running down her face.
"He didn't recognise me, he didn't know who I was until I told him. When I asked if he regretted his actions he said no. Then he showed he me this." She held the bow that the Huntsman had seen her walking out of the fort with before passing it to him.
"Pale wood, rawhide string, ends are plated. It's a good bow."
"It was supposed to be a wedding present for me."
"Maybe he cared about."
"No he didn't" Lo interrupted, "it was a way of mending a fence so he'd have more influence on me, he'd have given it to me so he could get what he wanted."
"You look a bit young to be getting married."
"It was arranged."
"Who to?"
"Some noble, I lived in his father's hold for a few weeks."
"Why are you doing this girl?"
"Because I'm the Overlord."
"I've lived for the better part of fifty years. I've seen warriors and soldiers and survivors. I've fought one with one conqueror and was sent to assassinate another. You're not one of them. You've got it in you, but you've not had the thing that pushes you beyond breaking point. Until then, you're a leader. So why are you doing this?"
"The person I was supposed to marry, it was the prince, the king thought that if he showed the elves they would be accepted then they'd come out of hiding."
"So you would have been royalty."
Lo nodded. "They were going to kill me."
"Why? Why to all the effort, just to kill you."
"They'd wait until 'an heir was produced and came of age' then they'd get rid of me. The king's advisor thinks that if the ruler can't be killed by natural causes, then either war or assassination will be used. Both leave a hole that the nobles will fight to fill and cause unnecessary bloodshed. But do you want to know the best part? My father signed it."
"I thought you said he wasn't your father."
"You don't choose your father, actual or adopted. I always thought they'd bury her by the sea, my mother I mean. I went there with her a few times and she loved it there. She never told me where she was from but I guess somewhere along the coast of the mainland. Bastard couldn't even get that right. He didn't even have her grave looked after."
"I was wondering where you were." Lilith said, before walking behind the two of them.
"Let's go home. I just need to get away from here for a while."
Well, good news people, writer's block has gone (,for this story at least,) so the story should continue at it's usual pace.