Greetings all
I hope you have all had a fantastic week, and a chilled weekend coming up ahead.
Before getting started on today's update, remember to look at @zakludick's update before reading mine.
With the lull in battle, the five exhausted warriors that had been left at the bottom of the church slowly entered the room. They paused when they saw the scene before them. They were sure they had seen Adrian ride in on the back of an elk, but that creature was gone now. Instead, a white-haired woman was kneeling next to Lucien.
Sebastian took in the scene before him before slowly sheathing his blade. He was so exhausted that he missed the sheath a few times before Trix assisted him. Then as one, all five sank to the ground in exhaustion. There was nothing more they could do. The horrors that had been downstairs had blinked out of existence as soon as the elk creature burst into the church.
The mere visage of her had nauseated Sebastian and at first, he didn’t know why. However, after a few minutes of watching the white-haired creature, he realised what he was looking at. This had been the blighted creature they had seen yesterday. He looked over to Adrian to ask the question on his mind. The boy only nodded his head. There was no need for words at this moment.
Derric half-walked, half-crawled to lie at Magna’s feet before laying his head on his forelegs and closing his eyes. The knights weren’t faring much better. Those downstairs had taken the brunt of the attack and they had fought with their lives. They all needed a good rest and good food. They could barely comprehend what was happening before them.
The pointed-eared woman smiled as Lucien closed his eyes at last. She knew he hadn’t rested in centuries. He may have been there in the beginning, but he hadn’t expected the root of their curse. She could hardly punish him. He had punished himself enough and his self-sacrifice was evidence of that.
“You will need to remain one more night.” She said to no one in particular.
She then looked to Mortis and smiled, “Why, hello Bellum, it has been centuries.”
Mortis stiffed and he could almost feel the spirit within him plus at being addressed.
“Why hide?” queried the woman.
“He is not hiding.” Said Mortis as he continued to keep King Adrian on the ground. “It would seem he offers me some of his power as I am an avatar to war…I guess.”
“You speak quite poorly for a king.” She looked down her nose at him. “Kings and avatars should have more humility, like the young prince over there.”
She inclined her head to Adrian. Then she continued.
“It is clear my brother has decided your cause is just or he would not have allowed you out of those ruins.” She finally removed her hand from Lucien. “There you go, little one. Time to rest.”
She got to her feet and walked with the dressing sweeping around her. He first approached the madman pinned to the floor. She seemed to sneer and move along. She nodded her head at Adrian and lay a hand on Magna’s head.
“You should rest too.”
Magna all but collapsed next to Derric. The wolf didn’t budge at her sudden weight on his side. The woman continued to move toward the last group. The Blaze knights, gore-drenched, looked up at her and bowed their heads in reverence. She returned the bow before turning her attention to Trix and Sebastian.
“You are the last of my cursed children.” She simply said.
The two nodded their heads but were too exhausted to say anything. She seemed to frown before she lay a few fingers on Sebastian’s head.
“You were king of this land, born after the curse came here. You were tainted, killed your parents, oh dear, this runs deeper than I can fix.”
“Fix her.” Sebastian as he inclined his head to Trix.
The woman turned her attention to Trix, and a smile came to her face. “You’re one of the mountain folk, yes? I can feel it in your breath.”
Trix barely managed to nod her head. The woman moved her hand from Sebastian to Trix. The smile faded and she sighed.
“I am sorry, I can’t reverse any of what was done to you, King of these lands.”
“It’s fine. We can be monsters together.” Trix clutched Sebastian’s shoulder.
“I can’t make you what you were once before, but I can stop it from progressing, and maybe in time, you’ll regain some of your humanity.”
Sebastian reached up and held Trix’s hand. It wasn’t what he wanted, but it was good enough for now. He nodded his head.
“But that is for a different day. Right now, I have to have a conversation with Bellum privately.”
The air was filled with an odd scent and those who were standing immediately sank down before lying down. Sleep claimed those in the room quickly, even if they were protected by magic. The only ones who appeared to still be conscious were the woman and Mortis.
“I’m undead, so magic that affects the living won’t necessarily affect me.”
“I can still have a private conversation.” The woman grinned, a little more maliciously than Mortis liked.
And it's back to Zak.
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