The air finally cleared. The burst of flame from the sky had taken her. Threnody was dead. It wasn't the first time; and unfortunately it wouldn't be the last. She always returned, more powerful than she had been before. Demons always do.
The area was filled with the bodies of the people who had lived here. They had helped Threnody in this, deceived them. Swaying a bit, Anwar fell to a knee and sat down, taking a much-needed rest. She had pushed herself to the limit just trying to remain conscious long enough to keep her friends safe.
Coming over like a loving mother, Telariel put her hand to Anwar's shoulder, steadying her, reassuring her that it was over. Had there not been so much horror this night, Anwar may have believed that it was a peaceful evening, out here among so many stars.
On the other side of the massacre Islan stood frozen at the sight of the burned sand, staring in awe and horror that Threnody had been killed again. He had told himself that this time it would be different. That he could save her. He understood what she had been through before. He understood her pain, her loneliness. This time he thought he could save her from herself. His long white hair, fallen over his face, hid his determined, Elven eyes. He knew the violence she had shown was just a shell to hide behind. He knew he would crack it one day. He knew she wasn't dead, only defeated once more.
Turning back to the group, Islan wiped his sword with his cloak and sheathed it at his side once more. Walking over toward Anwar, he bent down to his backpack, pulling out a water skin. "Here, you look as if you could use this," concern ringing through in his voice. Not so long ago, this would have been a strange sight. The proud Elf of the house Diemyn offering water to a human out of concern, things were different then however. He had been different then.
"Thank you, but I don't think I could keep it down at the moment," Anwar said with a little effort. "I'm still feeling a bit queasy from that stew that they fed us. Why am I the only one who seems to have gotten sick?"
Before she could get an answer however, Telariel pulled a few leaves from the pouch at her side. "Hold on just a moment dear, let me take care of that for you. Islan, let me see your water and a cup if you could. I know just the thing to take care of this. You rest for now," she said, looking down at Anwar as if she were her mother, though she only looked a few years older.
Reaching once more in his sack Islan revealed a small steel cup, which he quickly turned over to Telariel, fearing that she might bite his head off if he didn't move faster. She took it and moved over toward the campfire, which somehow still burned, pouring some of the water into it. Mixing a bit of the crushed leaf from her bag, she set the cup on a rock near the fire for a moment, stirring the water with a small stick she had pulled from her cloak.
Meanwhile on the other side of the camp Jacques was wiping a bit of sweat from his dark forehead, as he and the large brutish looking Minotaur, Arung, worked at the daunting task of cleaning up all the dead bodies. Though these people had tried to kill them, neither thought that they should be left here for the carrion birds. Though both men seemed to still bare the wounds of the battle, neither seemed to care too much. It is always much easier to fight through pain when you can put your mind somewhere else, or so Jacques had always thought. While his stature was much smaller than that of Arung, they both seemed to carry the load of piling the dozen or so men equally as well.
The bodies they carried were those of men, but they both knew that not 15 minutes before, many of them had been some sort of rat-like creature. They had surprised the party by surrounding them when Threnody had appeared. Apparently that had been the true form of the people who had welcomed them to their fires. The same people who had offered them food and drink, telling them that their sleep would be a safe one. Jacques almost couldn't forgive himself for not having seen it sooner.
Off to the side, Arilyn, a cute, brown haired, half-Elven woman sat on a log as she wiped down her long sword and stared hatefully toward the body of the man whom Arung was carrying toward the pile of bodies. The man's name had been Barrett and Arilyn still couldn't believe that she had had to kill him. She couldn't believe he had betrayed them and lured them into this trap. She had had her revenge, but somehow that just didn't seem like it was enough.
She turned her gaze toward Islan, whom had tried to befriend Threnody, the woman who wouldn't leave them alone, the woman who had stolen the crystal shard from around her ankle while she had slept. Arilyn had sworn to defend Islan, as he to carried a fragment of that crystal, now she just felt betrayed. She couldn't understand how Islan could just stand there and almost allow her to take the crystal. It wasn't the time though, Anwar was still hurt from the food that those things had poisoned them with.
Over by the campfire, Dolartu, a half-Elf woman, who bore the namesake of a dragon that she had believed for most of her life to be an ancestor, was helping Telariel warm the tea that she was preparing. Dolartu had an innate gift of magic, which, mixed with her draconian heritage, allowed her a special kinship with the flame. Dolartu had been surprisingly quiet for most of their journey through the desert, from the nation of El-Alahd. She didn't particularly trust Telariel, so she preferred to keep a close eye on her. There was something about the way her and Islan acted together as if they shared some sort of secret. Dolartu didn't like secrets, especially when it had to do with one of her close friends and a woman whom they had no reason to trust.
Finishing a final stir on the tea, Telariel, picked the cup up, holding a piece of clothe around it, so as to ease to heat and turned to regard Anwar. "Here you go dear, all finished," she said as she walked back over to Anwar. Bending down to one knee in front of the sick woman, Telariel held the cup in both hands to Anwar's mouth. "Now drink it up, it'll help bring your strength back."
"What is it?" Anwar asked, roiling back in disgust at the smell.
"I said drink it, not smell it," Telariel said, almost as if she were her grandmother. "You should know that Tenanmeil leaf is known for its healing properties, not its pleasant odor."
Anwar in fact did know that, as being a ranger of the forest of Argusund had taught her much on the healing properties of different plants. She drank deeply, though with a half disgusted look on her face. "Thank you, I'm just not used to being the one whose being taken care of. Seems ever since I met these people, I'm always having to take care of someone."
An indignant look came across Islan's face all of the sudden, "I'll have you know, I can take care of myself quite alright. Though I will admit you have helped from time to time, I do quite well on my own."
A slight smile crept to Anwar's lips, though her eyes still looked full of pain. "Yes Islan, I'll be sure to remember that the next time you forget to draw your blade in battle and I have a shot lined up with whatever is charging at you." Obviously alluding to his failure to take a stance against Threnody in battle. More pain filled Anwar's face as she set the cup down on the ground in front of her. She had finished most of it, but was unable to finish the rest.
"Okay Anwar, you would do well with some rest," Telariel said, standing back to her feet. "Why don't you lie down for a bit and take no mind to what Islan here has to say. He knows well the help you bring, whether-or-not he chooses to admit it."
Islan looked up to Telariel, knowing that he could not argue with her. He knew who she was. Anyways, he got the point when Anwar had spoken. "Yes, perhaps I should leave you to rest, you do look dreadful. You could use so sleep."
Over near the campfire, Dolartu still stood, watching. "Should we really be sleeping here tonight? After all of this and the fact that there were at least twice as many people here before the battle. I'd kind of like to find somewhere else to spend the rest of the night." Dolartu was perhaps the only one who had not trusted the people who had taken them in for the night. She did at first, but there was just something about Barrett's demeanor that irked her. Perhaps it was how serene he was all the time. No one is that calm, not even Jacques.
Turning toward her, Islan spoke in a soft voice. "I would tend to agree, but with Anwar like this, I don't think we would get very far. At least we know to keep better watch now. Anyways, I'm sure they're all too frightened to return, you saw how they turned and fled."
Walking up out of the shadows, Jacques and Arung came up behind the rest of them, with Arilyn in tow. "I think we may have bigger troubles." Jacques said flatly, turning his head and nodding toward Arung's arm.
"One of them damn thing's bit me and if I'm right about what they are, they're infectious." Arung was wrapping one of his arms in piece of cloth, which he had torn from one of the tents. "According to the stories of my people, anyone bit by one o' them runs risk of turning into a rat too. Real nasty thing to have happen, though they say if you can eat the leaf of a Belledonna plant within a few days, it's supposed to counteract the curse." Though Minotaur are naturally hard to read, Arung almost looked worried.
"Wolfsbane is a tough thing to find in the desert," Telariel said after a few moment's of contemplation. "It's a tough enough to find in most forests, out here it'll be nearly impossible. We'll have to find another way. Right now we all need rest."
Arilyn came up behind the big bull-man, "So you're gonna turn into one of those things too. Does that mean you're gonna get mean?" She didn't look so much worried as inquisitive.
"Maybe," the big man said with a half snort. "I don't want to talk about it right now. Obviously there's nothing we can do about it."
"We'll find a way," Jacques piped in. The bald human almost always seemed on guard, but at the moment he seemed more ready to sleep than anything. "While I don't like the idea of staying here, we all need our rest. We'll worry about it in the morning, as you said, there's nothing we can do about it now."
"But, but, if he turns into one of those things, are we gonna have to kill him too?" Arilyn said, not sounding mean, but concerned. She just did not quite realize how blunt she had sounded. "I'm sure it won't come to that, though," she said, very self-assuredly, putting her hands to her hips.
"Well said," Islan said, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. "I'll take watch. Everyone needs to rest and I already slept well enough for tonight."
Grudgingly the group agreed. Lying back into their bedrolls, which they had laid in earlier, before Dolartu had alerted them to the attack. A cool wind blew from the west, causing everyone to shiver just a bit as they wrapped up and fell asleep. Leaving Islan alone, staring into the fire, wondering if there was anything else he could have said to Threnody. |
