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Chapter 5- Slayer Scrolls

Chapter 3-Chrissy-Fire in the Sky

Day 5 Mid-day?

Road to Helena

A couple of hours later Chrissy came across another road sign at a fork in the road directing her off towards the right. The sun was starting to set when the gates of Helena came into view, and a smile grew on Chrissy's face until a horrible roar booms across the sky above her. It was so loud that Chrissy had to cover her ears at first. The pain from the roar was so bad that Chrissy couldn't stand it anymore, she screamed towards the sky just as a freakishly huge black dragon flew in the sky above her. Chrissy could not believe her eyes for it turned and looked at her and seemed to smirk but kept flying. Sending an Arctic chill down Chrissy's back and pit of her stomach at the same time.

Road to Falls Creek

A horrible roar echoes across the sky above grandson and Grandfather while startling Nellie so badly that they both had to hold her. It was after a few minutes of Samuel talking quietly to her that the goat finally calmed down.

"What was that?" Samuel asks at pit in fear.

"I don't know." Borazon says as he and his grandson stare up into the sky back towards the way Helena was.

"You don't think Chrissy?" Samuel asks.

"Remember what I told you? She is special."

"But we need to go back and help." Samuel says as he tries to head that way

"I think we would just be in the way." Borazon says blocking the path of his grandson.

"But…"

"No. We made a plan with her we will stick with it, so she doesn't worry about us."

"But. She..."

"She is a Slayer remember. Now let's keep going." Borazon as he takes his grandson by the shoulder and keeps them both moving down the road away from Helena but at times each would look back hoping beyond hope that Chrissy would be there.

Helena

Chrissy had been so transfixed by the sight of the creature flying away she at first didn't hear the screams of the people being burned alive coming from Helena. It was those screams that finally pierced her mind and kicked her into action. Chrissy runs up the hill to the gates so fast she was unable to stop, crashing into them with such force they bounce open and Chrissy lands hard on to the ground. Smoke and flames had engulfed most of the wood buildings. Chrissy takes one of her unused privy clothes and covers most of her face with it. Every building she tried to get was too hot for her to reach and Chrissy has to pull back. She sees so many people on fire and she feels overwhelmed. While she is trying to figure out how she can help she almost gets run over by a flaming man who is running towards a well. The flaming man was about to jump in to the well, but the flames are too much for him and falls to the ground. Chrissy runs over to the well and pulls up a bucket of water. She uses it to put out the flames on the man, but it is too little too late as death has already claimed him. She uses the well again this time to soak herself and her cloth.

Chrissy has seen enough death to know he was gone she whispers to him that she is sorry and moves to the next building that thanks to a light rain had started to go out. The only thing she finds are more burned corpses. Checking several buildings that weren't in flames only yields nothing. She was heading for the last building when she heard someone call out. Chrissy found him badly burned and barely alive.

"Easy I got you." Chrissy tells him as she approaches. "Do you know if there are anymore?"

"Many ran for the main fort it has an escape tunnel in it."

"I am going to try and help you."

"Don't. I can't believe it even though I am dying from it. The Corruptor Black Dragon has returned." The man rasps out.

"What?"

"Here take this…" He says as he holds up an old leather journal he had been protecting. Chrissy is hesitant at first to take it but seeing the pleading in his eyes she does.

"Thank you." He says with his final breath.

"Noooo…Noo." Chrissy cries for a few moments. She looks at the journal and opens to find that it belonged to Genny's friend Kellsin. "Damn it." Chrissy hisses and places the journal in her bag to give to Genny. She then heads for the main keep of the stone fort finding the first door she comes to blocked as she continues around to find an open door in the side leading to a small training court.

Inside Helena Fort

"Hello?" Chrissy says as she opens the door while thinking that was the stupidest thing to say if this was a horror movie. At that last thought Chrissy draws her sword and keeps it ready. Torchlight reveals a large barracks style room. On her left she sees four wooden straw beds; each one had a chest at the foot end toward the center of the room. To her right seems to be a dining area with two small round wood tables with chairs to match and a larger table resembling a picnic table to her. Each table was cluttered with a few things. One table had a couple of plates and half drank mugs, while another had plates with half eaten food. The large picnic table had several metal plates and jugs and shelves that lined the walls at the far end of the room was a door. Close to the door were weapons racks with a few weapons on them. When she reaches the door and discovers it is not a door but a wood cell type of door with no door handle.

"What the hell?" Chrissy bellows as she kicks the door. She reaches for the large warhammer on the weapons rack but stops as her hand grazes a large round ring on a chain. She remembers her brother's video games having something similar and that when the character pulled on it a door would open. She pulls the chain causing the door to slide open to reveal a narrow stone hallway lit by torches. Christy makes her way down the hallway with sword and shield ready only to come again to another gated door. She looks to the right and finds another pull chain. This one does the same in the as the last and opens but only to a large circular room and a dead body on the floor.

She checks him and finds a letter to his family. She takes it and the necklace he was wearing while saying. "I couldn't save you, but I can at least make sure that gets to your family." She than notices that he died for a mass slice to his stomach. She knew that it wasn't a dragon that kill this man was killed by someone with a sword. "Damn fools they have a dragon attacking and they are still killing each other." Chrissy says as she uses the cloak he was wearing to cover his face.

Chrissy then moves through the open gate in that rooms she finds several empty burlap sacks next to a wooden bench along with a bucket, makeshift cart, bale of straw that was in the room. She follows the stone stairs to the next level she found another room with a long hallway. She was just coming up to a wood door on the left when the ground shook so bad, she falls on her ass and into the wood door. At first Chrissy was pissed and embarrassed but suddenly thankful as she saw the ceiling where she was heading collapse in. The door she had fell on gave way and it falls taking Chrissy with it in a room.

"That was graceful." Chrissy remarks to herself while she is getting up and brushing herself off.

After brushing herself off Chrissy glances around the room first up at the ceiling to make sure it was still there. From the stone cooking fireplace, with hanging garlic, rabbit and birds drying, she comes to the conclusion that this was some type of Kitchen. It is one of the more dimly lit areas as there were only a couple of torches and the fire that was dying out. Chrissy saw someone sitting in a chair by a table with their back to her.

"Hey, I am here to help." Chrissy says making herself known but there is no response from him as she moves towards him.

"I said I am here to help." She tells the man at the table which she thinks is a Legionnaire because of his armor looked like the ones she met on the road.

Chrissy reaches out her hand and places it on his shoulder and says. "I said.. OH FUCK!" Than screams as the man's head rolls off and falls on the table. As the head is rolling off Chrissy stumbles back and over another dead body. She lands on her backside yet again.

"What the hell is wrong with you people? A dragon is burning people alive, and you are killing each other? " Chrissy yells at the dead bodies in front of her because she realizes the one, she fell over had been a Storm Cloak.

Chrissy checks both bodies to see if she might find anything to send back to a family member. She found nothing but they were wearing and a few coins, which she left. She explores the rooms some more only to find more dead bodies in area that looked like it was for storage as it had several barrels with different food items in them. Chrissy checks the bodies again for any letters but nothing she did grab a few like the salt and some meat out of the barrels nearby. She also found some bags of flour and other bags with apples and carrots. Chrissy notices a door and tries it. It easily opens to the other side of the collapsed area. Chrissy grabs a torch off the wall and fallows the hallway that lead to stone steps that took her down into a room that appears to be a type of prison because of 3 metal cages and other types of restraints on the walls. She finds more Legionnaires and storm cloaks bodies. Chrissy follows her routine of checking them for any letters or identification again none are found. She leaves all their belongings with them as most have nothing of value the only thing she does take is a few arrows. In part of the room, she finds a caged area, but it looks more like for weapons and other stuff. In there she discovers a dead legionnaire inside she finds a book on the history of the legionnaires. She leaves almost everything except for a satchel that contains a few lock picks a magic book that makes her hands tingle. There is than a faint glow while what few scratches she had gotten were completely healed. "Cool." Was her only response as she heads back in the main area and discovers another doorway.

She follows it down into what can be considered their cell area because it had cells on each side most of them are empty except for one that contains a dead body. She checks it again but nothing. She continues back down the cell hallway to what she thinks is the end but as she turns to leave, she sees a faint light at the bottom of some stairs, so she follows it. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she sees to bodies in hanging cages. She checks them first to make sure they are dead and to see if there is any way to notify family. Again, no such luck. She moves on past some shelves to discover a faint breeze coming through a huge hole in the stone foundation.

At first Chrissy is hesitant to go through, but the sounds of fighting reach her ear and she can't help but run into the depths of darkness with only the torch flickering on the walls. For fear what she does not know is ahead Chrissy does not use her Slayer speed. After what seems like a lifetime, she arrives at what can only be described as an underground cistern of interlocking waterways. Again, she wants to curse and kill whoever designed the walkways across the waterways for there were no handrails.

"I swear to whomever might be is listening that if I find the moron who designed all these bridges without handrails, I am going to kill him…Slowly." Chrissy hisses as she passes over another stone bridge that had no handrail and was very narrow.

With each footstep Chrissie's heart drops as she comes across bodies and bodies of both legionnaire and storm cloaks. It was apparent to even her amateur eye that they killed each other in a fight. She would check each body again for life if there was none than for some way of notifying their family.

Chrissy was coming to what she hopes is the last body when she realized he was still alive and trying to fight her.

"Take it easy I am not here to hurt I am here to help." She tells him.

"You won't get past me you damn Storm Cloak!" He says while throwing a weak put at her but succumbs to his injures and starts to fall to the ground in front of her, but Chrissy catches him before he hits the ground.

"Take it easy. I have you." She tells him

"It's too late for me you must save Hadvin he was trying to get to River Run through the escape cave. I am sure he made it to the other side before it collapsed."

"Easy I have some of that.."

"No, you must help Hadvin!"

"Okay I will but how do I find him?"

"You can't get through that way but if you go out to the main road from River Run you will find some standing stones that look like a shrine it is the marker to the path that leads to the escape cave. You might be able to get in that way. You must help Hadvin to get to his uncle in River Run so they can warn the General of the D…" He gasps just before he dies in her arms.

"No…No… No… come on don't do this to me." Chrissy cries out as tears fall down her face at the loss of life.

"Get yourself together. Girl. I'll right I couldn't save them, but I might be able to save Hadvin." Chrissy tells herself. Chrissy gets up and checks the area he was talking about and finds that there was no way for her to get through. "Damn he was right I can't get through this way looks like I get to run around."

Chrissy gets up and runs some of her Slayer speed as she darts back the way she had come. She finally reaches the main area of the fort where she found the first Storm Cloak Body. Instead of turning back to the barracks area she runs straight to the door in front of her only pausing long enough to unbar it and go through.

Outside Helena Fort and Depth of the Web

Once outside Chrissy pours on the speed with each step as she skims past the gates. She is running so hard and fast Chrissy can hear her heart pounding in her ears but that doesn't slow her down. As she comes to the main road, images of the Dragon's smirk and the people burning to death drive her on. She somehow increases her pace while rounding the corner she took to enter the road back to River Run. With horrific images flashing through her mind at that pace she misses the turn where she had parted ways with Borazon and Samuel without realizing it. Chrissy barely manages to stop herself from running off the cliff above a waterfall.

"Fuck Chrissy! You need to stay focused!" She berates herself as she takes a breather for a few moments. "Okay the guy said there was a marker that looks like a shrine."

Chrissy heads back up the road. When she comes to the intersection where Borazon and Samuel had headed, she gives a longing look and wonders and prays to whoever may listen that her new friends don't meet up with the dragon. It took some effort, but she finally found the marker or at least she hoped it was. It was getting late and hard to see and she got several jump scares, most from what she thought was the same damn elk. Though she believes when she slapped it in the butt with her shield it got the hint.

"Okay.. Slapping elks in the ass.. Not, a good idea." Chrissy wheezed through the pain of being kicked in the gut by the elk when it took off.

After getting her breath back Chrissy does her best to follow the hidden path and is about to give up when she energetically says. "YES!" as she found what she hopes to be the cave. Before entering she manages to get the travel lantern that was attached to her belt. She kept her sword ready just in case as she enters.

Inside Cave Under Helena

The sight that greets her did not bode well for herself or those she was searching for, as various types of bones litters soft dirt ground of The Cave. step by step she slowly enters. Chrissy's senses are on high alert with each step part of her longs to run back into the outside and she was just about to when from the darkness she hears a voice moaning out in pain. "Help me please."

"Where are you?" Chrissy asked with no response for a short while when she suddenly hears a soft "here"

It was that soft voice that Chrissy immediately was able to determine the direction it came from and moved there. Chrissy about steps on a legionnaire who was on the ground in a fetal position in severe pain.

"Hey there." Chrissy says as she kneels next to him.

"Oh god it hurts so much?" He bellows as his body shivers.

"What can I do for you?" She asks as she takes off her backpack and unhooks the bed roll to drape over him.

"I have tried to heal but I can't do much more. Do you have a healing potion?" He asks.

"Yeah." She says as she takes one out of her backpack and places it to his lips. "Here drink."

The man whole heartly does. As he is gripping the bottle his fingers accidently brush against hers. "Damn your cold. I am going to get some wood and start a fire. I'll be right back."

"Please don't."

"You are going into shock you need the warmth of a fire. I promise I'll be right back." Chrissy tells him as she heads back out of the cave entrance. She gathers as much fallen limbs and even some medium size logs for a fire. Once she has an arm load, she heads back into the cave. Inside she finds he is still alive but shivering. She does her best to build a fire by placing the small twigs in a pile. She takes her knife and shaves off some of the dryer wood just enough for a small pile. Then she tears off a small blank piece of paper from one of the books she had kept. After adding just a few drops of the lantern oil, she uses the flame from the lantern itself to start get a small flame going. As the flame start to eat that way, she adds small slight bigger twigs to build the little fire bigger and bigger. When she is satisfied that the fire is going well she places some rocks around it as close as possible.

"Hey, my name is Chrissy. What's yours?"

"Hadvin." He says through chattering teeth.

"Are you the blacksmith's nephew?"

"Yes."

"Your uncle will be happy to know you are alright. But listen I am going to have to move you so that you aren't lying on the cold ground. Is that okay?"

"Okay."

Chrissy moves Hadvin so that he is lying close to the fire on the bed roll that makes her think it look like a leather sleeping bag. She then uses it like one so that he is under the other part of it. She uses the tent that was tied to her back as a pillow for Hadvin.

"Hadvin do you know if there is anyone else back there?"

"No.. There maybe, but I think the spiders got them."

"I am going to check."

"But the spiders."

"I think I can handle a few spiders." She tells him as she draws her sword and heads deep into the darkness.

Chrissy is cautiously making her way through the darkness when she notices a far off glowing and heads for it. She must splash through ankle deep water to reach it only to find it's another stone cauldron holding low burning stones. With the added light of her travel Lantern, she makes out a small narrow cave and follows it. The new narrow cave does a few twists and turns until she reaches another stone cauldron with glowing warming stones in an open cavern.

There is something about this cavern that sets Chrissy on high alert as she notices how much the walls, floor, and ceiling are covered in cobwebs and not just small ones. Chrissy is about to turn back when she hears a clicking noise not too far off on her right, she turns just in time to see a median dog size spider coming at her bearing fangs and spitting something.

Slayer's reflexes allow for her to automatically pull up the shield and protect her from the onslaught of what the spider was spitting. Chrissy hears it coming closer as she readied her stance and sword. When she felt it was close enough, she kicked up with her foot into its face sending it onto its back giving her enough time to come down with her sword and split its belly. Chrissy was thankful she had kept her shield up as who knows what spit out from its guts as she stepped back.

She was just about to give a sigh of relief when she hears that same sound to her left without looking, she takes her sword and shoves it in that direction contacting a spider the same size as the first coming at her. Unfortunately, it does not take it out with one blow and the creature bites down on her extended hand. Chrissy screams in pain!

Thankfully the gauntlets she was wearing prevented the creatures' fangs from puncturing but not from drenching it in venom. Even though it doesn't puncture it still hurts, as the spider tries to bear its fangs down through the gauntlet. Chrissy screams in pain but still manages to use her shield and come down on top of the creature's head behind where it was biting for a killing blow. Using her shield, she pries apart the creatures' fangs to free her hand, just before another spider repels down from the ceiling on its web.

"Oh! You gotta be freaking kidding me. I thought heights were bad now I know I really hate spiders." Chrissy mutters as she sees that this spider is twice the size than of the last two combined.

The monstrous creature wastes no time and before it even reaches the ground it starts to spit its venom at her. Chrissy rolls away from it to avoid being hit. Unfortunately, she had rolled herself into a corner and left herself no means of escape except to face the creature. The spider pauses for a few moments as it sees what Chrissy had done to the smaller. By haunting look it was giving Chrissy thinks those may have been its children. The spider gives off an unnatural screech as it rushes towards Chrissy. Seeing she has no choice Chrissy gets into a runner stands aims low and darts out to meet the spider. At the last moment Chrissy slides underneath the spider without getting bitten, barely. Using her momentum and Slayer strength she pushes it up and over onto its back. With this advantage Chrissy then takes her sword shoving it down towards the creature's exoskeleton, while also trying to keep her shield up and blocking the creatures' legs that were kicking at her. Chrissy head feels like it is about to explode from the combination a sick crunching, cracking sound of her sword piercing the exoskeleton and the spider screeching out in a death rattle while trying to fight. With one final blow the creature sends Chrissy flying high into the air and across the room until she crashes into the wall. After sliding down, Chrissy is dazed and dizzy. After a few moments Chrissy does her best to get her feet steady back under her. Stepping up Chrissy is about ready to attack again when she notices the creature is only twitching in death. Not wanting to meet up with anymore Chrissy heads back.

After arriving back at the fire Chrissy checks on Hadvin and finds he is resting easily but has a slight fever. Not wanting anymore unwelcome guests, Chrissy puts more wood on the fire and settles in for a long night of staying on watch. She only left his side when she started getting low on wood. Each time she returned from gathering wood she would check on Hadvin. About halfway through the night Hadvin's fever broke and he was sleeping well and deep. Chrissy wished she could sleep too but fear of what might come from the darkness and the images of the burning people would invade her mind when she would start to dose. To keep her mind busy while she stayed alert, she thought about anything and everyone she could while listening for anything that may come from the darkness. Chrissy had even thought about humming or singing but decided it was best to stay quiet so she could hear if something came.

When the silence was too much for her anymore Chrissy goes over to the small stream and rinses her face. Chrissy takes off her gauntlet and thinks about rinsing it off in the water but decides she doesn't want any of the venom going down stream and getting someone sick. As she was doing this, she saw some large flat stones next to the stream.

"I love you little brother." Chrissy cheerfully said to herself as she recalled losing a bet with Tommy and being forced to watch all those U-tube survivor shows with him. "But now that I think about it you could have possibly.. nah he couldn't." Chrissy says as thinks that maybe he had known how to win.

She picked out the two that were about the size of her hand and took them to the fire. She then places them in the hot coals that were on the outer most part of the fire. She then adds some small twigs around the stones to heat them faster. Chrissy ties her disgusting gauntlet to her backpack, then she gets to work and pulls out some dried meat and placed on the stones. She also places her ceramic water bottle close to the warming stones. While they were warming Chrissy finds the J. berries Samuel had placed in her bag. She crushes the berries and puts them in the bottle. While they were warming, she took out a couple of apples and used a knife to slice them.

On the road to river run once again

Day 6-

The smell of either the J Berries juice or warming meat must have woken Hadvin as he yawned and sat up.

After looking around he sadly says. "Then it wasn't a nightmare if I am here."

"So, I am a nightmare?" Chrissy teases as she hopes to lighten the mood.

"I am sorry I didn't mean." Hadvin says.

"I was joking. Yeah, sorry it wasn't a nightmare." Chrissy says as she hands him a warm stone with food. "Careful it's hot."

"Thank you." Hadvin smiles back.

"No problem. I see you are feeling better." Chrissy says.

"Yes." He says as he gets up but then wrenches in pain at his side. "But it seems I am not at 100 percent yet. I think though with your help I can make it to River Run. That is if you don't mind." He says while eating.

"I can take you to River Run." Chrissy says with a yawn.

"You didn't sleep, did you?"

"No, I met those spiders you warned me about."

"Oh no."

"I killed some, but I wasn't sure how many more there were. I didn't see any of your friends."

"I was the last who made it out."

"Crap I am sorry."

"That is why I need your help getting to River Run."

"Okay let me finish eating and gather my things than we'll head out."

It didn't take long for them to finish eating and gather her things. He must lean on her for support. As they make their way out of the cave, they both glance overhead to make sure the Dragon had not returned.

"It looks like he is gone."

"For now. We must hurry."

"No, we have to just get you there." Chrissy says as she catches him as he starts to fall.

"The healing potion you gave heal the worst of it, but I am going to need an antidote for the spider bite."

"Crap I thought you were just cut or something. I don't have any."

"The herbalist should."

"Will you be okay until we get there?"

"I should be. Do you have another healing potion?"

"I have 2 more if we need it. What would happen if I didn't?"

"This feels like it would paralyze me. The healing potion postpones it but without an antidote it will take effect."

"You just let me know when you need some."

"I will."

For several hours they did their best to stay quiet as they picked their way through the underbrush. Each keeping to their own thoughts. "Maybe I can get the cart back at the fort when we reach the road… Nah… that would waste time and leave him as a target. Not a good idea in his condition. I know he is doing his best to move be it looks like with each step it's getting worse. If he gets too much worse, I am going throw him over my shoulder and run him to River Run. But Damn I am tired don't know how far we would get." Chrissy thinks as at times she would look over and check on him.

"There is something about her. If she really did take on those Spiders by herself… I wonder how she is…Don't go there… I don't need that going stiff." Hadvin berates himself to no avail as a certain part of his anatomy goes stiff, which has no link to the poison, making it more difficult to walk.

"Finally!" Chrissy cheered when they reached the road.

"How did you ever find the cave?" Hadvin asks as he looks back at the trail they just made.

"You can thank... Never mind. Let's just keep going." Chrissy says as she heads them down the road not wanting to discuss being kicked by an elk in the gut. Hadvin still needed Chrissy's help as they made the way down the road.

After a little while Chrissy notices Hadvin starting to lose consciousness and decides it's best to have him talk. "Hey Havin, what's it like being a legionnaire?"

"With this war is difficult but there are times... You seem like a good warrior you should go to Solstheim and join the Legionnaires we could use a warrior like you. Especially now that the rebels have a dragon. General Tullius should know about this he's the only one who could probably come up with a way of defeating it." Hadvin replies as he does his best to walk without showing his new woody.

"Are you sure that it's the Storm Cloaks who have a dragon? I saw both Storm Cloaks and Legionnaires burned to death." Chrissy points out.

"It doesn't matter we still must let General Tullius know."

"I agree with that, because that thing look like we need a F-35 but since we don't have one an army hopefully be the next best thing."

"What is a F-35?"

"It's … Never mind. We don't have one." Chrissy says as they walk past the road where she had separated from her friends less than twenty-four hours ago. For the second time she longingly looks down it again but continues.

"Is there something wrong?" Hadvin asks, noticing her look.

"I am supposed to meet up with some friends, but I keep getting sidetracked." She tells him honestly.

"I am sorry."

"Don't be they would understand."

River Run Once Again

It was almost evening when they finally reached River Run and the Gate Warden was closing the gates as they approached. The Warden took one look at Chrissy and opened the Gates without saying a word.

"That is strange." Hardvin says at the warden's reaction.

"Nah we know each other." Chrissy tells him with a smile.

"Hadvin!?" Lucus the Black Smith calls out as he sees Chrissy almost completely carrying him.

"Uncle..." Hadvin says and Lucus easily takes him from Chrissy.

"What is wrong with him?" Lucus asks as he helps Chrissy move Hadvin.

"He was poisoned by some freaking huge spiders. I have given him some health potions but..." Chrissy tells him.

"I'll take him in if you go to the Herbalist and get the antidote. If you have any problems just tell her to put it on my tab." Lucus says as he takes the weight of his nephew from her. "Now go!"

"Okay." Chrissy says releasing Hadvin to Lucus then runs towards the Herbalist shop.

It just takes a few minutes to arrive at the Herblist's shop only to find the door locked.

"Hey! Genny! Open up!" Chrissy cries out as she pounds on the door.

After a few minutes of pounding Chrissy heard from the other side of the door Genny say. "I am closed."

"I found Lucus's nephew, and he has been bitten by a spider." Chrissy tells her.

"Oh dear. Hold on." Genny says as she unbolts the door. "Come in."

"Thanks. Do you have an antidote?" Chrissy asks as the door opens.

"No, my supplies on spider venom are low." Genny tells her.

"Wait one of them bit into my gauntlet." Chrissy shows her as she pulls it from the side of her backpack where she had tied it to. "I was going to see if the blacksmith could clean and fix it. It is covered in that stuff."

"And you are not sick?"

"The spider didn't puncture it."

"This should be more than enough." Genny says as she uses gloved hands and starts the process of separating the venom from the cloth.

"How long will this take? I gave him the last of my healing potions an hour ago."

"There are six more healing potions over there take them. I'll bring it by when it is ready should be in a little bit."

"Lucus says to put it on his tab."

"I already planned on it. Take the ones in the tall red bottle on the shelf next to the door those are mine and are stronger it so they should last longer." Genny says as she continues the process.

Chrissy is about ready to leave when she remembers. "Genny, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your friend didn't make it. He gave me this before he passed, I figured since you were his friend you would know what to do with it." Chrissy says as she places the journal on the woman's counter.

"Thank you and I do." She says over her shoulder as Chrissy leaves. Chrissy heads back to the blacksmith shop and finds that Lucus had put Hadvin to bed.

"Genny says she'll bring the antidote by in a little bit. She had to make some from scratch. She gave me this to give to him." Chrissy says in between yawns.

"Thank you, lass. You look tired you can use the bed over there." Lucus says as he points to a smaller bed in the corner by the fire.

"Doesn't that belong to someone?"

"It does but she is staying with a friend tonight." Lucus answers.

"Is there anywhere I can get washed up and relieve myself?"

"Yeah. There is a privy out back with a wash bowl next to it."

"I'll be right back." Chrissy says as she heads out back.

"She is a strange one." Hadvin says.

"You can say that again." Lucus says then orders him. "Now drink this."

Chrissy came back a short while later and literally fell into the bed she was offered. She was so tired she hadn't even stirred when a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in." Lucus says as he opens the door for Genny. "Thank you for bringing that."

"You should thank that young lady. She is the one that not just brought your nephew home but the antidote and word about what happened up there." Genny says as she walks over to Hadvin. "Here drink this." She says to the half-asleep young man.

"What happened?"

"We were about to execute Alfric to end this war when a Dragon attack setting them free." Hadvin explains.

"How is that possible there haven't been Dragons around since."

"He speaks the truth Chrissy brought me Kellsin's journal. I was reading it while waiting for the antidote to steep. It wasn't just any dragon it was The Corruptor Black Dragon." Genny explains

"That's not possible. He was destroyed thousands of years ago." Lucus said.

"Uncle we must warn the General. Unfortunately, I was the only one to escape. If Ulric has …" Hadvin says as he fell into a deep sleep.

"What happen to him?"

"The combination of the antidote and health potion is what is putting him to sleep. It will heal him while he sleeps and clean his body of the poison. I suggest that you have a bucket nearby throughout the night he will be weak from it because he did not take the antidote right away." Genny explains.

"I will gather a few men in the morning and head up and see if there are any other survivors that may have been missed and bury the dead." Lucus says. "But Hadvin is right we must warn someone if a dragon is coming here."

"The general is too far away for us to contact. The jarl of White Run is closer, and he may have men to spare while you are away."

"Maybe she can go for us because there is no way my old bones could make the trip." Genny says as she leaves. "We all should get some rest and make plans in the morning. Tell Chrissy to keep the potions. You don't owe me either my friend."

"Thank you, my friend, and good night." Lucus says as he closes the door and locks it. He then heads down the stairs and uncovered a shrine that had been hidden behind some shelves.

"Oh, great Talos your people need your return." Lucus silently prays. "Your old enemy has returned. I pray you have returned to us too."