The Return of Lash pt. 1

Previouse Entry

The Case of the Murdered Family

Well I felt mighty silly this morning. I woke up, peeled my face off of my journal and laughed, despite my headache, when I noticed my unfinished sentence. I had meant to write ‘a couple of vampires and werewolves.’ Dale went on to say I was mighty lucky to be breathing again. I certainly can’t deny that. The Inn keeper tried encouraging me to go up the stairs to sleep, but despite not feeling good at all, I brushed it off saying I was fine.

The truth, however, was I didn’t want to be alone in the room. So I remained at the bar and journaled while Abu and Cloudbreaker had their fun.

The Goliath and cleric were already awake when I woke. Considering how much they drank, I was somewhat surprised they were up before me. They both had passed out after their seventh pint. I informed Cloudbreaker that I wanted to go get my halberd and new outfit right away. He then told me that we had earned an audience with the Mayor for having killed the vampire last night. He thought we best wait to do our errands until after that meeting and getting healed.

Abu kindly offered his assistance in restoring our health. Cloudbreaker certainly looked far better than he had. Something had withered him while in the crypt, but after Abu’s help, he looked healthy as a horse once more. Bal Vyr came walking in shortly after we were healed. He mentioned it was time for us to go meet with the Mayor.

Before leaving I went and washed my face and hands off of all the blood I had acquired. I braided my hair from my face and made sure I had all of my gear before returning to the men. While I did that, I noticed something strange. Maybe I’m being too clingy, or I’m allowing myself to become paranoid, but in the moments I was alone, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of panic. It was relieving to return to the party even though a half dozen guards stood in front of Bal Vyr, Cloudbreaker, and Abu.

“Now that your friend has returned, let us go,” one of the guards said. I looked at Bal Vyr and Cloudbreaker wondering what was going on.

“Apparently the Guard Captain needs to see us again,” the Drow commented under his breath as we followed the guards. We went politely, and were escorted to the Guard Captain’s office. The Captain paced behind his desk a little, which only added an element of seriousness to what he was about to say.

“I don’t like being lied to!” he seethed. I narrowed my eyes on him as he accused us.

“About?” Bal Vyr questioned.

“You said you killed the vampires.”

“Yeah,” the men simultaneously responded.

“Well it would seem all you did was make it angry!”

“How so?” the Drow asked.

“An entire family was found with their bodies drained of blood!” The Captain snapped. Bal Vyr turned to Cloudbreaker.

“Did we miss a spawn?” he asked the Goliath. I opened my mouth to mention that there were two vampires I had heard last night when I woke after being captured. However I stopped myself from speaking figuring all that would do was get them, well us, in more trouble.

“Because we killed the vampire,” Bal Vyr continued.

“Well, clearly you missed one for there was blood everywhere in the home of this murdered family.”

“Perhaps it was the werewolf we mentioned last night to you,” Cloudbreaker said.

“No,” the Captain responded coolly, “this was something only a vampire could do.”

“Then this vampire problem is bigger than you thought. We killed the head vampire last night and that alone should have solved the problem,” Bal Vyr retorted.

There was a few seconds of silence as the Guard Captain eyed each of us.

“Look, we’re sorry that some people have died, but that’s not our problem-” Cloudbreaker began.

“It is!” the Captain snapped again, “You were to kill the vampires!”

“We did,” the Goliath said distinctly. I watched Cloudbreaker flex his hands and knew he was growing impatient.

“Hey! It was you who said that there was a bounty for each head. Never did you say we had to kill them all!” Bal Vyr jumped in, “we regret that they’re not all ‘dead’, but it was pay by the head, not for completion of the job.”

I stifled a smile as the Captain fumed under his skin. The look he gave Bal Vyr was utmost contempt.

“Besides,” the Drow went on, “Why didn’t your guards prevent something from happening. Why is it they didn’t see anything last night? Hmm?,” the Captain said nothing as he continued to glare at Bal Vyr, “Perhaps we ought to go investigate this scene. You know, just to make sure it really was something a vampire did.”

The Guard Captain scoffed before answering, “and what might your constitution be like for such a scene?” Bal Vyr assured him that he, and the rest of us, were well adept to seeing blood and viscera. The Captain then stated we’d find the house in the Commoner’s section of town, which was nearby.

“But what about our reward for killing the vampire and our meeting with the Mayor?” Cloudbreaker asked.

“That can wait until you’ve finished taking care of this problem,” the Guard Captain simply responded.

“So you’re not giving us the reward for what you said you would reward us for-” the Goliath began to shout

“Cloudbreaker!” Bal Vyr snapped at him, ”Let us deal with this first,” he finished more calmly.

“No!”

“Yes! Innocent people are dead.”

“I didn’t put my life on the line for this man to cheat me!”

“You didn’t put your life on the line to kill the vampire!” Bal Vyr spat out. The room got very silent to which Bal Vyr’s next statement rang loud and clear as he gestured toward me, “You put your life on the line to save Blackwing!”

I felt some heat in my cheeks. Part of me felt like I was the cause of the troubles that were happening then and there, yet the frustration in Bal Vyr’s voice matched my own feelings of insignificance; why was it Cloudbreaker risked his life to save me?

The Goliath muttered under his breath that he killed the vampire, but seemed to give up the fight.

We finally maneuvered out of the Guard Captain’s office and worked our way down stairs. We discussed the need to pick up some items to which Bal Vyr and Abu went their way while Cloudbreaker and I went ours. We were to meet up at the crime scene in an hour.

As the Goliath and I walked toward the Blacksmith’s I thanked him once more for the rescue. He shrugged and didn’t make a big deal about it. I suspected he was still feeling bitter about the whole interaction with the Guard Captain.

“Cloudbreaker, what exactly happened last night?” I said in an attempt to take his mind off the Captain and to get a better idea of what went down, “Is... Grendel finally dead?"

The Goliath let out a short chuckle, “I can only hope that the crusader is buried 6 feet deep. Since Bal Vyr and I didn’t see him after we made our escape from the places we were teleported to, I imagine he too was teleported and never made it out."

"Then why do I recall you saying Bal Vyr died too? Am I just jumbling that with Grendel's death then?”

Cloudbreaker remained quiet for a minute before answering in a grave tone, “Bal Vyr did die." I glanced up at the Goliath. His face was hard and forlorn as he continued, “Hell hounds, that the vampire had, tore him apart... and after I killed the vampire, the tomb was engulfed in darkness that came from Bal Vyr’s body. Within the darkness was some monster. Abu, Armadeus, and I were able to destroy him once outside the crypt. After killing him, he reverted back to his Drow self.”

“Hmm,” I mused as I pondered the gravity of our situation, “Perhaps I should have tried harder to kill the creature Lash became. Maybe then she could have been saved.” I once more glanced at the Goliath and could see him deep in thought.

“This worries me Blackwing,” he said, “What are these marks doing to us?”

I pursed my lips together. To me it was clear what was happening; we were becoming evil. But what confused me most was the mark did two new things I wasn’t aware of. First it was changing in shape. Bal Vyr’s mark was maneuvering up his chest and Cloudbreaker’s was climbing up his arm. Heaven knows what mine must look like...

The second thing was how Lash and Bal Vyr had turned into some other being upon their death. Never had I seen that before. Even when Meryth died-

Besides those newish things taking place, there was the power that the mark had that was overwhelming my agency. I was drinking, something I had sworn never to do. I tried to steal from an old lady. Let alone, I’ve actually been contemplating helping the Druidess assassinate those she had requested of us. Plus, another incident happened today that I’ll get to later. The point is the mark is slowly turning us evil and apparently into some monster upon our death.

“Cloudbreaker,” I finally spoke in a soft, defeated tone, “With how the mark is behaving... it’s making us evil,” I noticed the Goliath eye me in my peripheral, “Two of us have turned into some monster upon death, I can clearly see the mark consuming your arm, and I’ve felt the effect of it on my choices,” I felt my chest tighten as my emotions suddenly ran strong. I bit my tongue before adding, “I don’t want to become evil.”

“You have control Blackwing. You cannot become something you don’t want to be. This mark may consume our bodies, but it cannot touch our heart. Not even the Gods can change them,” Cloudbreaker responded. His optimism was quite inspiring. I gave a nod my head.

“Cloudbreaker, you definitely make it hard to doubt,” I said with a small smile, “Therefore I will try to believe. I will continue to fight what I’m most certain is changing me.”

I suddenly felt a warm hand placed on my left shoulder. I looked at Cloudbreaker to find  him smiling at me. I felt my stomach flutter and my heart race as he looked upon me closely.

“Blackwing,” Cloudbreaker began in a warm and firm voice, “I believe in you. You have such inner strength that dwarfs my own. It heartens me to know that we are to fight this doom together.”

The butterflies left as a pit fell in my stomach. I had inner strength!? That dwarfs his own? How could he think I had any strength at all? Why was he lying to me? Those questions rang in my head as I remembered my inferiority to the Goliath. Gently I took his hand from my shoulder and though part of me wanted to keep holding it, I let go and looked at my feet. It was there I realized we had stopped walking.

“What strength?” I muttered. Then I looked the Goliath in the eyes. It really did seem like he was speaking lies to me. Why would he, a Goliath in which only the strong survived, say I have strength when I was most certain I hadn’t any?

I continued on making my point, “I have none! What have I done to contribute to your well being since we’ve been together? You’ve saved me 3 times,” I emphasised by placing three fingers up, “I’m forever grateful of course, but... in or out, I have no strength.”

Cloudbreaker let out a soft sigh and looked away. It was funny how in that moment the clarity of life moving about us was apparent. The Goliath then spoke, in which the world faded and it was just me and him on the busy street.

“Perhaps you don’t see it yet, but I certainly do,” Cloudbreaker said meeting my eyes once more. It was clear he was sincere and he lit up as he continued when he saw my cold eyes staring back, “You single handedly destroyed an abomination back in the bowl. You rowed out to save me on the lake and you stopped me from killing the gravekeeper in cold blood.”

I involuntarily scoffed when he mentioned the gravekeeper. “I was certain you resented me for preventing you from killing that man.”

“No,” Cloudbreaker said with a shake of his head. There was a soft smile on his lips though his eyes looked forlorn, “I can get carried away. When I get angry... I lose sight of things and tend to do stuff I normally wouldn’t do,” he then shrugged and looked me in the eyes once more, “We all have our faults. Mine so happens to be a testament to my weakness,” or the mark, I thought.

He reached out, as though he wanted to grab my shoulders, but stopped himself. Instead he balled his hands into fists before relaxing, stepping closer, and pressing them together to point at me.

“Remember, you have plenty of strength, Blackwing. I believe in you and you should do the same,” Cloudbreaker encouraged. I pursed my lips together. It still felt like lies he was speaking, but he was so genuine... or perhaps it was the closeness. I managed a smile to show my gratitude and placed my hands around his.

“Thank you Hajarikn. That means a lot.” I squeezed his hands a little before letting go and leading the way to the Blacksmith’s. I could feel my heart racing again and I really wanted to clear my head from the euphoria I was feeling. I don’t know what’s going on between me and the Goliath. Part of me doesn’t want Cloudbreaker to like me, yet... that's the very thing I’m hoping for.

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Part 3: Saved... Again.

Previous Entry

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I stood in a familiar room. It was dark and empty. It was the very room I was in a few nights ago in my nightmare. However, instead of being on a table unable to move while watching two men fight, I was standing alone. Fear took hold of me as the loneliness set in. It was like waves against rocks; I’d feel the fear hit me, subside a little only for another wave of fear to crash over me more intensely. My body was unable to move as I began to desire to run, to flee, to find wherever it was Cloudbreaker had went.

In my helpless state I became aware of that humanoid being again. It was there in my peripherals, but I still couldn’t see it. I just knew it was there. Once more, the creature placed it’s warm tongue on my cheek, licking down slowly to my neck.

My eyes snapped open as I sucked in a deep breath. The cool air felt good, but the fear still lingered as I realized I was alone. I could feel myself laying down on a table with heavy chains webbed across me. The chains didn’t feel that tight, yet I couldn’t will my limbs to move.

I then heard voices whispering. They weren’t the kind of voices that would instill a sense of relief, but rather tears welled in my eyes as it became evident that they were my captors.

“Can’t I have a little nibble?” I heard one of them ask. Vampire, I thought. Somehow I wasn’t shaking as my mind swam in a sea of terror.

“No,” a second, almost too soothing, voice said, “You saw what happened last time-” Lash must have been who they were talking about, or at least that’s who I’m certain they were referring to, “Now, we need one more. Go find us another for the ritual,” the being commanded.

It was silent for a moment when I suddenly felt the presence of the second voice above me. I could see a faint glint in his eyes that were inches from my face. I then felt his hand stroke my cheek.

“Don’t worry my little dove. You will always have me.” I could sense the hungry smile upon his lips. His sensual voice was repulsive like his touch. Alas, there was nothing I could do as my mind worked while my body remained motionless. I then faded back into the darkness.

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My eyes opened once more. The weight of the chains were gone and so I sat up. As I did, my body clenched up in fear while my head throbbed in pain. I hugged my knees and cradled my head while a sob escaped my lips. Just as I was about to let the despair of abandonment take hold of me once more, I felt a warm hand and heard a familiar voice.

“Blackwing? Are you alright?” Cloudbreaker’s gentle voice called out. So many emotions struck my mind in the few seconds that it took me to find my words. I hated how he had disappeared earlier and left me to those monsters. I hated that I was angry at him and still uncontrollably dependant on others for my safety. Yet at the same time I loved him all the more that he came for me. Then guilt took over. Why was the Goliath wasting his time on me? Wasn’t it my resolve to keep him safe? Between the throbbing headache and how weak I’ve felt since waking up in the bowl, I felt utterly useless. I looked at Cloudbreaker standing in the dim light the room now held.

“My head hurts,” I simply said, “Can we get out of here?” I asked. Cloudbreaker nodded his head. He then introduced me to a man who I didn’t recognize. His name was Abu. I told him I was Blackwing.  

I then took in my surroundings. I found myself sitting on an altar made of skulls. A lone woman laid next to me to which I scooted away. Part of me wanted to rescue the poor damsel, but another part of me wanted to save my own hide. As I stood up, it was like some unforeseeable weight was placed upon my shoulders.

“Where’s the way out?” I asked as I took a few cautious steps away from the altar.

“Just through the tunnel over there,” Cloudbreaker pointed out.

Right about then I realized Grendel and Bal Vyr was no where to be seen.

“Where are the others?” I asked. Then I heard the Goliath mention something about Bal Vyr dying but was up the tunnel and fine... or was it that since he hadn’t found Grendel that he was the one who died... Whatever had happened, it didn’t matter much for Cloudbreaker and Abu began to mess with some of the items at the base of the altar. I didn’t want to try and leave on my own, so I sat down near Cloudbreaker.

I don’t recall quite when I began to lean on the Goliath, but I bolted upright as a weird glow encased him. I tried to focus on Cloudbreaker to figure out what was happening.

About as soon as I noted Cloudbreaker’s state of immobility, Bal Vyr suddenly was in the room. He asked what happened. I wasn’t sure so the Drow directed his attention to Abu. He said he handed the Goliath a scroll that was addressed to him. Bal Vyr muttered to himself and walked around the Goliath. As I think about it, he wasn’t disguised at the time. Part of me was impressed that Abu wasn’t freaking out.

Anyways, Bal Vyr then came to some solution as he scrutinized over the Goliath. He reached out to Clodbreaker and suddenly the glowing aura was all around the Drow.

“I dunno Abu, these scrolls are probably a waste of time- Bal Vyr?” Cloudbreaker stated before noticing the frozen Drow in front of him, “When did he get there?”

“You were frozen just a moment before. Bal Vyr then touched you and became frozen himself,” I answered. Abu then apologized for having him read the scroll. I then reminded the group that we really ought to leave. Cloudbreaker picked Bal Vyr up and as he walked away with him, I looked back at the woman. I wanted to leave her, but I felt compelled to try and help her. So I woke the woman up.

Almost instantly she went into a babble about it being too late and that we were all to die. She then dropped her voice and began to wave her hands in a familiar way. I knew it was a dark spell that could kill each of us. With a moment of adrenaline I brought my halberd around (surprisingly my gear wasn’t taken from me) and swung at the woman.

I remember missing. What I don’t remember was how I got on my back. Some other man, who later I learned was a cleric named Armadeus, was standing near me. He wasn’t looking in my direction as he slowly moved away. I quickly looked about and found Cloudbreaker fighting with a werewolf. I felt my heart race. I picked myself up and realized I was bleeding heavily. My body shook with fatigue and my head continued to pound. I maneuvered to the back of the room, casting a light about me. As the light became stronger, I pulled out my rust  colored bag of tricks to get a creature to help fight.

As I did that, suddenly a skeleton that resembled the frame of an owl bear, appeared. I watched as Cloudbreaker fought valiantly against the creatures. I was able to send a wolf in to help and directed my charged light at the skeleton.

It seemed the fight was over about as soon as it started. The werewolf had escaped through some secret door. Part of me was nervous about the beast still being alive and missing, yet the pain I was in made it impossible to worry. I had to get out. The men thought the scrolls might be of importance and that it'd be unwise to just leave them behind. I didn't care, but I went and snatched them up hoping that that would get them going faster. I also took a ritualistic looking dagger off the alter before turning on my heels and heading toward the tunnel.

Of course getting out wasn’t completely seamless. The tunnel, that was our exit, was blocked at the end I was on and water began to flood the cavity we were in. I tried to break the grate that prevented our escape but it was a pathetic attempt. Cloudbreaker pushed past me as the water became waist deep. With one jerk he removed the grate and helped the rest of us out.

Something else unusual that I remember happening during the fight and our escape was Cloudbreaker glowing once more. However, as soon as Bal Vyr regained his ability to move, he’d touch Cloudbreaker again and take the glow back. I can’t remember why he did that, but the priests at St. Cuthbert made the glow stop completely once we arrived there.

We then stopped at the Guard Captain’s place to show the evidence of the kills we had made. I sat down in the lobby waiting on the men as they went up. With how hurt I felt, it pissed me off somewhat that they were taking their time, at least that’s my assumption. I had just decided to get up and make my way back to the Chalice Inn when I heard the men’s footsteps come down the stairs.

“You look awful Blackwing,” Cloudbreaker pointed out.

“You don’t say,” I sarcastically responded. The Goliath chuckled and gave me a pat on the back. I cringed under the weight of his hand and once more my desire to go to bed increased.

“Hey, let’s go back and get us some drinks,” Cloudbreaker suggested. For a moment I wanted to scream at him and all the guys who agreed. Wasn’t it clear that I was badly hurt!? Yet funny enough, the sound of a drink was very desirable.  

And so here I am writing while Abu and Cloudbreaker do their drinking contest. I've enjoyed my pint which dulled some of the pain I felt. Dale shook his head when he saw me.

"What you go and get yourself into this time missy?" Dale asked with a mischievous smile.

"Oh just a couple of vam

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Part 2: Into the Crypt

Previous Entry

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Sleep eventually came over me. When I woke this morning, I realized nothing had transpired during the night. A sigh of gratitude escaped me as I rested a moment longer in my bed.

Cloudbreaker and I went about our same morning routine; got up, washed, dressed, and ate breakfast. We then grabbed our gear for we knew today we needed to collect on the vampire bounty. However seeing that it was still early, we ducked back into Banehammer’s blacksmith shop.

Banehammer, the Dwarf whom I saw smoking yesterday, and the other man I talked with were mighty pleased to see us. The Dwarf however was somewhat disappointed that we hadn’t brought back enough silver for him to coat a great sword for Cloudbreaker. Instead they had to settle with making a silvered halberd for me while Cloudbreaker requested a better sword than the one he had. Banehammer told us by tomorrow morning our weapons would be ready. In the mean time, Cloudbreaker and I had to trust Grendel and Bal Vyr to provide enough protection against the vampires for us...

The Goliath and I wandered on up to the graveyard. As we walked in, Bal Vyr and Grendel were placing the stone tablet back onto the sarcophagus. Cloudbreaker questioned why Bal Vyr had another look when the night before he had already seen what was inside. The Drow muttered something back about ‘you can never be too cautious.’

The graveyard was quite large. Cloudbreaker went about searching for a crypt. As Grendel, Bal Vyr and I stood around waiting for Cloudbreaker to alert us of the location, I noticed the gravekeeper’s home off to the side. The other night when we had come to slay the undead, the gravekeeper made haste to get inside when dark fell upon us. I was curious how he was doing since our fight with the undead.

I walked over to the house and knocked on the door. A squeal was heard, followed by scuttering of feet. Locks being opened and the shifting of a heavy wooden plank was heard. The door creaked open eventually and I looked into the wild and fearful eyes of the grave keeper. He still wore the brown robe from the other night and his hair looked as though he hadn’t washed in a week.

“Y-yes?” The man squeaked out. I put on a pleasant smile, or so I hoped.

“Hi. I was just wanting to see how you were doing. Has the graveyard been any better since we killed the undead?” I asked.

“Oh! Yes, yes! Very good. All good!” the man nervously responded, “Soup almost done. Would you like some?”

I didn’t see the need to refuse the offer. I gave a nod and before entering the house called back to Grendel and Bal Vyr, “There’s hot soup for those interested.” I figured if something weird happened, at least the other’s knew where I went... even if they cared less about my well being.

Crossing the threshold into the grave keeper’s house nearly had me stop dead in my tracks. The stench that somehow managed to escape my nose until I walked in was so foul that I felt my eyes water. I swallowed back my repulsion and forced a smile as I followed the gravekeeper in.

“Almost done. W-would you like some?” the grave keeper asked again while giving the pot a stir.

“Um, no thanks. I actually just had lunch,” lied hoping it wouldn’t cause offence. The grave keeper muttered something nervously as he continued to stir. I watched him as he put the finishing touches on the soup, unsure what else to say.

Then I caught sight of what was causing the sickly smell. Some fingers slipped over the edges of the pot before being stirred back in. A hand!? I remember my head screaming. Wide eyed and disgusted, I stood up and quickly left without another word.

Once outside, I savored the freshness of the air as I commenced to rejoin the others.

“He’s eating people!” I exclaimed.

“What Blackwing?” Cloudbreaker questioned. I was surprised momentarily that he was close by.

“The grave keeper. He’s a cannibal,” I stated. The grave look in Cloudbreaker’s face made my stomach churn as he marched off toward the grave keeper’s house. Quickly I changed direction and followed after the Goliath.

He barged right in without a knock. I was about 20 feet behind him and watched as he got choked up on the smell before hearing him yell at the grave keeper. Screams ensued from the nervous man as Cloudbreaker demanded of him why he was eating dead bodies. As I rounded the corner I saw the Goliath walking toward the gravekeeper with the pot of soup.

“Cloudbreaker!” I shouted.

“What!?” he snapped at me.

“What are you doing with the soup?”

“I’m gonna teach this fool a lesson!”

“Goliath-” Grendel called from behind me before suddenly drive heaving. Once he got his stomach under control he continued, “We have bigger things to concern ourselves with. Let the town guard deal with him.”

“Grendel, he’s eating bodies! Isn’t that something that your order would find punishable!?” Cloudbreaker questioned.

“Yes, but like I said, let the guards deal with it. We are losing precious daylight and don’t need to waste more time,” Grendel then turned on his heels and left. I was somewhat impressed with how civil the crusader was toward the Goliath. It seemed odd, but I agreed. I didn’t want to fight vampires in the dark. Without knowing how long it’d take for us to find the vampires, it was smart for us to focus our efforts while the day was still young.

“Leave the man Cloudbreaker,” I spoke softly, “He’s clearly not in his right mind. It’s abominable what he’s doing, but clearly the curse this graveyard is under has played it’s toll.”

“Blackwing, this is an abomination!”

“Yes, I know. But killing a man who’s clearly mental isn’t right either. He needs help, not death. Let’s not make him our problem. We can use the soup as evidence and let the guards deal with him,” I argued. Cloudbreaker clenched his jaw and reluctantly set the pot down.

“Stop eating the dead!” Cloudbreaker barked at the grave keeper. He then marched out of the house. I looked back once more at the man as he cried in terror. I pitied him, but I didn’t blame Cloudbreaker for yelling at him either.

I caught up to the Goliath when Grendel called out saying he found the crypt entrance. Cloudbreaker said nothing more to me as we joined the others.

The section of graveyard we walked through was lined with grave stones. A lone casket laid open to the left of us. Bal Vyr went to examine it but found nothing of interest. Ahead of us were two stone statues. It was as though they were placed there to guard the crypt. However, instead of the statues coming to life, two zombies crawled up out of the ground.

The undead were much bigger than the ones we fought two nights ago. Let alone nearly impossible to sink my halberd into. Their strength was something to be alarmed by. Each sent Cloudbreaker and Grendel into the ground. Cloudbreaker was up to his head in dirt. That alone was nearly enough to make me want to run and flee, but seeing that one of them had been hurt enough by Grendel’s hammer, I focused my energy into my halberd and charged a fire bolt to it. With a great swing, I sunk my halberd deep into the undead, lighting it on fire for a moment. The creature fell to it’s knees and remained still.

Bal Vyr helped get Cloudbreaker and Grendel out of the ground as I attacked the last creature. I was exhausted from the energy I used to make my hit true on the one zombie, so I cast a minor spell that was particularly unpleasant for undead.

Once all of us were standing on dry ground again, the final zombie dove back into the earth. We all looked about ourselves for a few minutes seeing if the creature would resurface. After thoroughly searching, we decided to commence into the crypt.

There were no torches lit inside, which wasn’t surprising considering it was a tomb. Cloudbreaker entered first and got hit by an arrow. I foolishly ran in beside him and triggered the second arrow. I’m certain I heard Grendel and Bal Vyr chuckle at our misfortune.

Bal Vyr scoured the entry for any further traps. Once satisfied that it was trap free, Cloudbreaker once more lead the way down a set of stairs. I kept close to him and pulled out my rust bag of tricks... or so I hoped. If I was lucky, a bear would be summoned if I needed extra help.

When we reached the bottom, Bal Vyr and Grendel close behind me, a pair of red eyes pierced the darkness. For a moment I thought it was Lash and almost called out, but as I looked closer, there was something different about them.

“Who might you be?” Cloudbreaker asked.

“None shall pass!” The creature hissed. A chill ran through my bones and I reached into my bag to pull a fluff ball out. I felt a light breeze and watched as the red eyes swam toward me.

I tried to stumble backwards, surprised by the quickness of the creature. I then felt it strike me in the stomach. I keeled over as the pain racked my body. I threw the fluff ball and heard the creature take shape. It had to have been small for I couldn’t feel anything as I searched the air blindly. I instructed the animal to attack while side stepping and swinging my halberd at the red eyes.

Stars then danced in my field of vision as something hit me from behind. Another hard attack and somehow I managed to keep on my feet. I slowly turned around to see a very faint silhouette of some being. As I tried to search the features of the person’s face, it became clear that the others were gone. Grendel, Bal Vyr, and most upsettingly, Cloudbreaker; they weren’t there.

With the new creature blocking my exit, and the red eyed being behind me, my only chance was to jump up and over the new creature and run back up the dimly lit stairs. With a great leap, I stretched my wings and brought my legs up and over the being. However it's large hands grabbed my feet and threw me back into the darkness.

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Part 1: The Fight

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Bal Vyr showed up about thirty minutes before midnight. He walked on over to us in the midst of our storytelling and told Cloudbreaker it was time to go. Quickly we both got up to which Bal Vyr took one look at me and said, “Uh, you’re coming?”

“Yep. I’d like to see the fight,” I responded. Cloudbreaker and I had agreed to stay together and I wasn’t about to let that waiver for a moment, even though I trusted Bal Vyr more than Grendel.

The disguised Drow made a face suggesting he was baffled or concerned. “Ărajă, I assure you that the place we’re going isn’t exactly... ‘good’,” Bal Vyr attempted to dissuade me.

“I’m a big girl, I can handle myself. I’m just there to keep an eye on Cloudbreaker. I won’t make a fuss about whatever else is happening,” I replied. Bal Vyr shook his head but dropped it and lead the way.

The fight was located around the docks. We walked into a tavern, or rather a shadier version of a tavern, to which I kept close to Cloudbreaker. Bal Vyr went off to talk to someone whom I assumed was in charge of the fight. As Bal Vyr gestured toward Cloudbreaker, a man approached me.

“Why hello ma’am. Might I interest you in any services tonight?” the smooth talker asked, holding a hand out toward me.

My mouth hung open slightly. I’m not sure if it was out of shock of being solicited in such a way, flattery that I was being solicited, or the fact that his teeth were brilliantly white! Something about them was dazzling, but the smile that coupled it made me uncomfortable.

“No thanks,” I quickly clipped out.

“I’m sure we have a variety of those who’d be quite interested in fulfilling a winged woman’s needs,” he persisted with his hungry smile. With eyes hooded and lips pursed, I stepped closer to Cloudbreaker, not caring if I was invading his personal space.

“I’m not interested,” I stated firmly once more, holding my chin high.

“Is this man bothering you Blackwing?” Cloudbreaker asked. My stoic look broke as I heard my new name. Don’t know why considering he had called me by it all evening in the Inn. Yet a smile appeared on my face as I looked at Cloudbreaker.

“No, I’m fine,” I responded while shaking my head.

“Might I interest you sir?” the dazzling toothed man ventured.

“Ha!” Cloudbreaker let out, “I haven’t seen a Goliath in years, let alone a she Goliath. I doubt you’d have one in your company,” Cloudbreaker retorted. Something in my gut twisted when he said that...I doubt explaining it here would help. I should know better anyways. Whatever this feeling that’s coming over me with Cloudbreaker... I hate it. I hate that I’ve allowed myself to like him. But alas, there are more interesting things for me to report than the woe of whatever I feel towards the Goliath.

The man eventually walked off seeing that he wasn’t peeking our interest. As he walked away, I gave Cloudbreaker his space back.

Soon Bal Vyr came over and instructed us to follow him to the pit. Cloudbreaker handed his sword and gear to Bal Vyr to hold. We then walked through a series of doors and through dimly lit hallways. Eventually Cloudbreaker had to go down a hall with the man running the fight. I followed after Bal Vyr into an open room. We walked along panels that held us high above the pit below. Cloudbreaker was already down there and people were loudly chatting amongst themselves.

We pushed our way through the crowd to stand at the railing. The Goliath spotted us and gave a smile. He definitely looked confident, though I couldn’t help but worry what he’d be up against.

Bal Vyr and I placed bets; I putting 2 platinum on Cloudbreaker. Soon the game master called everyone’s attention, stating that ‘Cloudracker’ was the challenger for the evening. The Goliath, in his usual blunt and forceful self reminded the game master it was Cloudbreaker. The man didn’t seem to care much. He continued on and before I knew it, the gates leading into the pit opened up and out walked two wolves. One was small, while the other one was much larger.

At first I thought it was a regular wolf and a dire wolf teamed together. Both wore identical collars and stalked toward Cloudbreaker. I figured it’d be an easy fight for the Goliath. However, those wolves had to have been familiar with the pit for they fought strategically. They would leap at Cloudbreaker, bite him, then jump away before the Goliath could grab any of them. They weren’t even phased by Cloudbreaker’s dominate posture and the cry he sent at them.

The wolves continued their pattern of jumping and biting to the point where I was beginning to worry. Even Bal Vyr gripped the railings a bit too tightly as we watched our friend slowly weaken.

The game master then asked the crowd if anyone wanted to give ‘Clouder’ a hand. Bal Vyr quickly jumped on that and handed the game master Cloudbreaker’s sword. He even paid 20 gold for the sword to be given to him! However the game master had some kind of agenda he was upholding and didn’t give Cloudbreaker his sword right away. Bal Vyr was quite pissed.

While that exchange was taking place, Cloudbreaker managed to grab the small wolf and crushed it in one of his mighty hugs. He then let it fall limp to the ground. The dire wolf did not like that and charged Cloudbreaker. The Goliath managed to catch the wolf in it’s fury and with a greater effort was able to render the wolf like her pup.

I took in a few quick breaths as I realized I hadn’t been breathing. I let a cheer escape me, but caught myself as the wolves crippled forms inflated and became alive again. I hate that I didn’t think to check the magics in the room when that happened. I was so focused on Cloudbreaker, thinking he wouldn’t survive another 5 minutes with those creatures.

At least when that happened, Cloudbreaker’s sword was finally thrown into the ring. Cloudbreaker made a run for it, going into a rage and becoming bigger. The wolves relentlessly pursued, biting at his legs. Once he had his sword in hand, Cloudbreaker made quick work of the wolves, stabbing each and cutting their heads off. It was gruesome, but the decapitations prevented the wolves from springing back to life that time.

In a roar of victory, Cloudbreaker lifted the dire wolf's head above him in triumph. The crowd cheered, my voice joining in with them. Bal Vyr smiled wildly, thrilled that our comrade was victorious.

“I knew he could do it,” he said matter-of-factly.

The announcer even got his name right when he announced Cloudbreaker as the victor. Bal Vyr and I went and collected our winnings before reuniting with the Goliath. He still had the wolf’s head. We said our farewells to Bal Vyr, noting we’d meet up around noon at the bridge that lead to the graveyard.

I wished I had my healing belt. I hate being helpless. I managed to help Cloudbreaker back to Larland’s Chalice Inn. I propped him against a wall in our room.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” I asked.

“Get me my healing belt and some firewater!” Cloudbreaker grunted. I quickly handed him his magic belt before fetching some alcohol to clean his wounds with. I watched as the rags became crimson with Cloudbreaker’s blood.

“Entertaining, no?” he asked. I looked at him dumbfounded for a moment. For a brief second I thought he meant me watching him clean his wounds was entertaining. The majority of the bite wounds had healed up due to the magic of his belt.

“Huh?” I said at first before realizing he was referring to the fight he had just won, “Oh, yes. Very entertaining,” I lied, “I’m also glad you’re alright. I got worried there for a moment,” I confessed.

I then laid on my back as he began to fiddle with his wolf head. I stared at the ceiling for some time. Part of me didn’t want to fall asleep. As wonderful as yesterday had been, that nightmare still lingered in the back of my mind. Would the mark make me sick again and have me hallucinate once more? Was I beginning to become something else? It was those kind of thoughts that kept me awake for an undetermined amount of time.

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