Curse

Melody Cross · Aug 21, 2007, 07:31 PM // 19:31

Writers Note: These posts stay here at GWGuru’s discretion and Anet and NCSofts mercy but

Guild Wars guru makes no claims of ownership for materials posted in the user agreement of this site save their right to remove or edit, nor requirements that you relinquish copyright of any story posted. That means I have the right to retain ownership of intellectual property posted herein. I choose to use that right: this story and its characters are the property of me and/or Anet and NCSoft; any attempt to duplicate what’s mine for personal gain or to post it on another site without my permission (particularly a paid to view sight) will meet with litigation. Translation: Reading about Faith and her friends is free and it’s going to stay that way. Don’t steal Faith and try to make money off it or turn her into some trumped up hussy in your own story or I’ll sue you into the ground.

For those interested, the first installment of Faith Riven can be found here:
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3000934
And its first sequel here:
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3023706

It’s been a long hiatus for me and my necro. I’ve left GW, come back, gone into GvG, left that, and finally settled into a guild I trust. Hard Mode got me interested in PvE again, and a few days ago I just picked up Faith and started wandering around. This story is several years in the making, and I don’t remember all of it anymore. Still, I hope you’ll be able to sit back and find some enjoyment as I spin one more yarn for Faith.

I don't remember Minus Sign's password, so I'm posting this with my GvG handle. if there's any confusion from people who followed the original story, I apologize.

Prelude

There was no light in the room save the soft glow created by its occupants. Five figures stood erect in the small space, unmoving as suits of armor. Perhaps they wore armor, no one knows. No living mind knows to tell what they truly looked like under the glowing golden robes they wore as the five creatures stood in the small room.

Despite their statuesque stance, there was an air of impatience in the room. “We should kill them now,” one of them said. Another shook its head very slightly.

The second spoke, its voice a haunting echo of the firsts. “Those who serve still have their uses. They round up those who do not. I still believe that conversion is preferable.

The first turned slightly to face the second. “As long as the humans live, the Chosen still flourish. We have all heard the prophecy by now.”

“Glint is a blind fool buried in the desert,” the second replied, impatience tingling its spectral voice. “Her race is gone with the rest. The Youngest are all that remain a threat, and we are dealing with them as we agreed.”

“But the prophecy,” the first began again.

“I will not bandy words with a dragon!” the second snapped. The creature seemed on the edge of violence, and its ire was most uncomely to the rest. Two of the five turned away, to hide the second speaker’s shame at loosing its temper.

“If it proves true,” said the first, its voice soft, “they will be the end of us.”

“If it proves true,” said a third, “there is no stopping it anyway, sibling.”

“But still he seeks it,” pressed the first.

“Of course he seeks it,” said the second, turning from the group in shame.

“He is the seeker,” said the third. “It is his nature.”

“We will be the first race,” the second promised. “The others remain bound, we will be the first among all. This time, when He is freed all will bow to we who break the seals.”

“You are so certain sibling,” said a fourth speaker as it entered the room. “I would not be if you knew what I know.”

The tension in the room ebbed as the sixth member took its place in the circle. “It is you who called this meeting,” said the second irritably.

“Show what you know,” the third said, more calmly.

A twisted picture formed in the center of the room, expanding through the dark chamber. To the eye, there was no chamber anymore. “I took this from one of our missives sent to the north. There is still much fighting in Ascalon. Child Zain’s memories are quite clear on what he saw.” The occupants now floated above rocky barren ground, a tarpit bubbling ominously in the distance. The world around them was dying. No. It was dead; a decaying corpse of a country that had fallen to calamities worse than even their hands could wrought.

“What has done this?”

“The Untamed Ones attacked Ascalon with a power that rendered the Youngest’s magic useless. Their Great Wall was shattered and their towns turned to rubble.

“Where did they acquire such magic?” the second sounded accusing now. “If our Agony has been used too soon…”

“Not I,” said the first.

“Then who?”

“Look,” replied the fourth, “and see what power has been granted the beasts.” The image shifted, twisting along the Great Northern Wall. In no time, the occupants had “traveled” a distance of several miles, to a ruined city under heavy siege. Charr and men fought in the streets and outside, the tide of battle shifting like breaking waves. The occupants ignored the fighting; it was a small concern now.

Before the charr an effigy stood. A crude caricature of a three legged beast was poised before their army. As they looked on, four large charr ran through the tight mass of furred bodies carrying a bronze cauldron. The creatures growled ominously in ceremony, dipping its burring contents atop the effigy which lit to flame. The charr around it roared triumphant. The occupants of the room stared on it what could only be stark horror.

“They,” gasped the third, “are loose?”

“Too soon,” said a fifth and the second nodded. “Too soon. We have not the power to stop them.”

“We will not be first among servants," the sixth occupant now said. “We will break the seals.”

“That is to wait, sibling,” said the third. It turned to the second and first speakers in turn, saying “I think we can all agree on this now?” the two nodded solemnly. “Good. The Seeker will take our full attention until the scepter is secure. Once it is destroyed, we can carry on our plans unhindered. None of the others can oppose us.”

Melody Cross · Aug 21, 2007, 09:00 PM // 21:00

*1*
There is hope in the Ascalon foothills, for those who care to look. Though the grass is turned a sickly brown hue, it is a natural shade for foliage so high. The foothills have always been a tough land to live in, with tough people settled on the sloping feet of the Shiverpeeks. Now, after the apocalyptic attack by a race of animal-like creatures called charr, these tough people have been driven out. Driven up to the Shiverpeek Mountains or down to the blasted lowlands below; driven into cages to be sold as slaves or worse things beyond the knowing of the living. But still, there was hope. The nature of the foothills remains unchanged by the searing chant that the charr used to rock all of Ascalon to its foundations. And one who passed this hard land after living in Rin for 2 years could not help but marvel.

For if the foothills remained as they once had, perhaps—not probably, but a feeble hope of “maybe”—the world was not coming to an end yet.

“Where there’s life, there’s hope,” was the Ascalonian motto for hard times, and a ranger took comfort in that thought as he stumbled with his burden up the cold barren earth toward the snowcapped rocks beyond.

“Don’t give up Alia,” Colin Trueshot said, hitching a barely conscious mesmer that was leaning heavily on his shoulder. “Where there’s life there’s hope.”

A massive brown and gray stalker growl/purred its agreement, licking the mesmer’s bloody hand when her feet began to drag. “Water,” she whispered. “Want…water…”

Colin grunted under the strain of her weight. Alia Peacebound was a slight but fairly tall woman. She wasn’t heavy. In truth, she was a rather bony woman after the months of short rations that had been all the besieged Grendich Courthouse could offer its troops as they fought the charr. But Colin was weary as she, and wounded too as they had made their way up the foothills through monsters pushed out of the Diessa lowlands by the perpetual war below. It had seemed ironic at the time to Colin: to survive the horror’s of Grendich’s last days and a mad dash through the charr infested lowlands only to die unmourned and unlamented at the rock hard hands of a blinding Stone Fury and its hydra hanger on.

There had been no warning. The ground shifting under their feet became grasping hands and Alia shreaked in fear and pain. Colin turned arrow nocked and ready to fire as a massive shape emerged from the rocky trail they had been traveling on. Shrieking, upside-down with her leg being crushed in the…

No, he thought to himself, don’t dwell on it.[/i]

But the memory came unbidden, and once begun, it was like watching a play in his mind. Alia shrieked again, hexing the boulder elemental as it struck her abdomen. The empathic shock cracked the elemental in two, but that did not save the poor mesmer. She landed on her head, pieces of heavy stone from the crumbling creature toppling atop her.

Don’t…think about it.…

The fight was joined. Two Stone Furies had come to the living boulder’s aid and Colin had no time to spare for Alia as the entire mountain foothill seemed to turn against him. Earth exploded upward, blinding shards of mana heated rock stabbing at his eyes. In pain and sightless, Colin desperately crawled from the mana-imbued eruption and into the path of another. Through the group link, he could feel Alia’s bones breaking as an earthquake tossed her between the ground and the crushing weight of rock that had fallen atop her. Still she fought. “Caster’s,” she had told him once, “are playthings to a decent mesmer.”

And she proved it too. Colin could feel another volley of elemental spells begin to form near him, but no sooner was he praying to Grenth to give him a nice spot at the table when the energy in the earth around him rebounded back to its source with lethal consequence. Alia’s screamed “Fail!” echoed through the air, changing from a mere word to action as the mana-enhanced command interrupted the two spells; turning the deadly twin Eruptions against their creators and twisting the energies once inside. One of the Furies tried to cast again, but Alia’s “Die!” sent the power back into it again, the Power Spike shattering the Stone fury as effectively as her Empathy hex had the Boulder.

“Finish em off boy!” Colin roared, stumbling to his feet at last and rubbing his burning eyes. Through a separate but similar link he could feel Idiot reaching the wounded Furies. But the stalker did not attack them at his master’s order; he ran on past the pair and further up the trail. The ranger had no time to ponder why Idiot disobeyed, and the reason became clear with Alia’s last soul-shredding scream.

His vision still watery but no longer blind, Colin aimed his bow waveringly at the nearest Stone Fury, twin arrows impacting on its already cracked torso. The creature fell, crumbling into the other who was already toppling into a pile of lifeless rock. But it was the—the thing—beyond them that instantly took Colin’s attention.

Feral hunger stared back at him from six eyes as the hydra roared a challenge. He could smell burning flesh and Colin chanced a look back to see another massive boulder searing Alia from above. The hydra had been too far from the furies to be affected by her Cry of Frustration and the mesmer had been too busy fending off their renewed assault to deal with it. Overtaxed, she had ignored the Meteor it was forming until it was too late, and now the aftereffect was undoing what work she had done in crawling out of the Boulder Elemental’s corpse, crushing her under—now burning—stone. Another spell flared from the hydra, a fiery ring scorching Idiot as he ran to Alia’s rescue and snapped at one of the hydra’s heads at melee range. But the spell did not end where it began. Streaking from the hydra, in a twisted three headed caricature of the mythical bird Colin had seen human elementalist’s use, a mana phoenix flew past him to explode across Alia’s exposed back.

“KIIILLLLL YOUUUUUU!” Colin roared, his usually carefree temper shattered in a heat more blazing than an Inferno. Alia was all he had managed to bring out of Grendich alive. If she…if she…died…

“Water,” the mesmer pleaded again, and Colin stumbled anew. The memory had been so gripping—why couldn’t he let it go and focus on what needed doing now? It was hours past!

“I can’t give you water Alia,” Colin said pitifully. “The hydra destroyed our packs.”

“Water,” she said again, more feebly than before.

He had tried to share his Troll Unguent with her, a powerful ointment that soothed wounds out of the body as quickly as a monk’s Healing Breeze could. But the spot he had applied to her skin to test puffed up immediately. She was allergic to something in the mixture; trying to heal her with it would likely kill her in the process. Kill her faster…if she dies…

“There’s snow up at the top Alia,” Colin tried to sound soothing. “I’ll melt some down and you can drink it while I ice your back.”

“No cold,” the mesmer groaned. “Ice…cold.” At least something was getting through her delirium. “I’m cold.”

“I know you feel cold, but that’s the fever,” he said. Alia wriggled feebly under the burning stone, her mouth open in a silent, panicked scream. “You’ve a fever though,” he forced the memory down this time, staying in the present, “your back is inflamed. I need to ice you down soon and clean the burns or they might get infected.”

“Colin,” she said, her voice the whispered hush of a bad dream, “run…hydra…fire…in the air…”

“Don’t you worry about that damn hydra,” Colin ordered, forcing the rage in his voice to a simmer. “It won’t hurt anything ever again.”

He let the memory come this time: two thrashing heads crooning piteously at the third lifeless one that lolled between them, its face a pincushion of arrows. Colin snarled at the left head as Idiot pounced on the right, dragging the dying animal down. “May Grenth spit on your mother,” he cursed, taking his time as he brought the last arrow to bear…

“Run…hydra...” the fear in her voice pained Colin more than the sight of her when he cleared the last of the rubble off had. Her tone was so concerned for him, so worried that he would pounce into danger to rescue her. If only he had in time…

Idiot whimpered beside him, gripping his hands by the teeth and pulling the rag-tag troop to a stop. Colin was just about to call the stalker down when he heard the faint sound of spell casting beyond.

Colin was an excellent tracker with great ears. “How did you know when I didn’t?” he asked the mesmer and Idiot at once. The answer was obvious; he’d been spending all his energy brooding and none of it focused on the present.

And he’d led them into the middle of a battle in the process.

“In the air,” Alia warned again and what he’d taken as delirium now made perfect sense, “Fire in the air.”

Colin was no elementalist. His sense of mana energy was less than theirs. But he could feel what Alia could, now he took the time to search for it. Fire mana was roaring somewhere up aread. Lots of fire mana, and earth as well. This close, he could sense the energies being used. “Fire,” he whispered to himself, looking at the mesmer’s pale, sweaty face, “in the air.”

“Run…”

Melody Cross · Aug 22, 2007, 12:41 AM // 00:41

*2*
The Gods, it seemed to Colin, were having a fun time at his expense. There; just at the top of the hill he could see a shimmer of reflected light. It was dirty and trodden upon, but the water he had been promising Alia for hours now was almost in arms reach.

“Go,” she pleaded weakly. Her warning delivered, it felt to Colin that the last of Alia’s strength was fading, “back…down.”

“We can’t turn back,” Colin scolded himself. “The water’s up there. You’ll die going back down and if you don’t the charr will finish us both.” The only hope for her—for both of them—was the band of refugees that had fled with Prince Rurik when King Adelbern denounced him. The dwarves that lived up there might get him to the other humans and safety; there had always been a fragile peace between Ascalon and the Deldrimor Dwarves.

But to fight, Colin would have to abandon Alia. To get her to safety, he would need to leave her behind.

“Idiot,” he said, setting the mesmer down as gently as he could on her stomach, “stay with her while I go look.”

The stalker sat beside Alia, pawing her face gingerly and licking her ear. Alia stirred, moaning from the movement. “Melandru,” Colin called, “Dwayna; Grenth take me Lysa, someone keep an eye on her!” and he ran the short distance to cover, preparing his arrows for harm once more.

Screams could be heard from the rocky hillside, and Colin twisted around a boulder to see. His heart nearly leapt into his throat at what he saw.

Dwarves. A dozen of them in fierce combat with several hydras and boulder elementals. A stone fury rose ominously from the ground, only to be smacked back down by a massive warhammer.

“Yes!” roared one of the dwarves,” But tell your people to be more gentle Mistress Bay. We need as much of the creatures skin intact as we can get!”

“You heard em,” a familiar voice rang in Colin’s ears, “quick and clean folks and lets get back to the bend!”

his mouth open in wonder, Colin crested the hill, abandoning cover. He recognized none of the other five with her, but there was no doubt that he knew the tall, dark haired elementalist leading them. “KALI!!!” he screamed, almost laughing as he ran toward them. One of the dying hydra’s heads turned toward the distraction, and was quickly blasted to pieces by an orb of pure energy.

The humans turned from their labor to watch him, Kali Bay the staring in shock as she recognized who he was.

His joy lasted only moments as her eyes turned white in spellcasting. The earth leapt up to his knees, dragging him to a halt as if walking in mud. Why? Why would another human do this to him in his time of need? Had she turned into a bandit? Had she…

He knew the answer before he asked these questions. The reason Kali would not be so happy to see him as he was to see her, was because he had done considerably worse in their last meeting.

The last time he had seen her, Colin and his group had intended to capture or kill Kali and her friends.

“Colin Trueshot,” Kali snarled. She must be still holding a grudge. “Make ready,” she warned her team and the dwarves, “he’s one of Gaban’s.”

“I’m not!” Colin almost screamed, futilely tugging at his trapped legs. The elementalist was unconvinced, and assuring her there was no trap would waste precious time. “I swear it! We came up here for help; I swear!”

“And whose this ‘we’ you speak of then,” Kali asked, still wary. He knew she had a right, but Gods, please, let her trust just a little. Alia needed help now! “Where’s the rest of your group Colin? Hiding in ambush, ready to hit us when we run to their aid I bet!”

“Yes!” he said, trying for all to ignore the sardonic twist to Kali’s mouth. “Me and a mesmer,” he explained, finally pulling a foot loose, “we came up here today and were attacked. She’s just beyond the rise,,” as soon as his other foot was free, kali recast Grasping Earth on him, dragging him further into the ground than before.

“Just out of sight,” she sneered. “That’s convenient Colin. You’re too smart for your own good. If you’d come up with that pet of yours, I might have believed you were alone. I won’t drag my team into another trap for your sake.” The finality of her statement struck Colin like a blow to the face. He was a threat to her friends, and she was steeling herself to pass sentence.

“Please,” he begged. Giving up on freeing himself, Colin dropped to his knees. “Gods, please, just go check. She’s right beyond the hill. Please!”

“He is grouped,” the hammer warrior said. “Can’t tell how many.”

“Please Kali,” Colin said, his own strength giving way in the futility of the last day’s effort. Alia was to die, yards away from help…by the very people he had brought her to for help!

“Please, before she’s dead.”

The elementalist was standing over him now, a longsword in her hand and raised slightly.

“Kali,” the monk put her hand on Kali’s forearm. “Are you sure? I mean,” the young woman rubbed the shaved half of her head thinking, “he doesn’t look a threat. He’s beat out and run down.”

“I’m sure,” Kali proclaimed, flexing her swordhand. “He’s crafty as a snowfox and he always looks a mess.”

“We should check Kali,” a ranger said behind her. “If he is bringing up refugees, we’d be remiss to leave them out here.”

“Please,” Colin said one last time. “Do what you want to me; I deserve it. But save my group.”

Kali’s hand faltered on the sword, staring into Colin’s eyes. Rage at him was still flaring across her face

“Balthazar be with me,” Kali grumbled, raising the sword again to point. “Fine; Sadie, Gerard, swing around the other side; I’ll take the center,” then to another warrior, this one with a sword and shield, “you run ahead.” Kali turned to the last of her group, the ranger and the air elementalist. “If he moves, kill him.” The hex was wearing off again, and Kali recast it a third time. “If you’re lying, I swear, you will be the first to die.”

The monk and hammer warrior disappeared around the other side of the hill, and kali and her escort crested the top at a hard charge, ready to fight. Then silence. Colin was panting in panic. What was taking so long? Why weren’t they talking?

“It’s a mesmer!” the hammer warrior roared from beyond at last. “Alone! She’s in a bad way—Sadie! Sadie git yer skinny butt over here!”

Colin breathed a sigh of relief. He still might not live through the day, but at least Alia had a chance.

“Gods,” he heard the monk swear. “Gods, I can’t. She’s all torn up.”

“Try Sadie,” Kali said softly beyond.

One wrong move and I’ll pin you to the ground brother,” the ranger drawled. “Walk slow, lets see to your friend.”

The air elementalist helped him to stand, the ranger still keeping his bow taut and ready. Colin dropped in own bow and quiver, walking unarmed over the rise.

Sadie had Alia’s head in her hands, a bright light emenating from both bodies as the monk worked her spells. “I,” another shimmer of light from the monk and Alia tensed, breathing more deeply. “I think she’ll live. If we get her to Yak’s Bend and mean right now! She needs Mhenlo or ‘the loon’—“

“Don’t call her that!” Kali snapped.

“Sorry,” Sadie said, her hands floating over Alia and up to her hair, then back again, as though afraid that touching the mesmer would break what healing her mending enchantment had wrought. “Sorry. She needs a…she needs more help than I know how to give.”

“You,” Kali snapped, standing tall and assuming all the command her great height could give her. The dwarves who had been making their way toward the pass jerked, stopped. “Where’d’you think you’re going?”

Colin turned to see the dwarves had followed. In all the confusion and panic, he had forgotten they were even there. Now they were trying to quietly slip away back up the trail into Shiverpeeks. “Our business is concluded Mistress Kali. We were—“

“Just about to give us a hand carrying her up to Yak’s Bend, right?” Kali cut the senior dwarf off.

“But,” the dwarf quailed slightly, “the supplies. We can’t carry both,” the dwarf sighed, dropping the giant pack full of boulder elemental. “Yes, you’re right.”

“Then lets move out people,” Kali said, pulling another pack from one of the dwarves shoulders. “Gerard, take point, everyone else, form up on,” she hesitated, glancing again at Colin and some of her ire show through again. “Form up on the refugees.”

Melody Cross · Aug 22, 2007, 12:59 AM // 00:59

*3*

Faith scowled as the monk turned and walked away. She knew better than to ask one of “them” where Melody had gotten herself. It never ceased to amaze her how people could latch onto one thing and twist it so completely upside down.

Why, in Grenth’s, won’t they just leave us alone!

It hadn’t taken long for Melody to become a curiosity to the local healers. Her traumatic experience during the Searing and the peculiar side effects that came with it had been a source of debate and speculation for the first month they had spent in Yak’s Bend, waiting orders from Rurik’s re-banded Rin Defense Force as they led the way to Kryta and safety.

Her “elite” enchantment, as the monks called it, was doubly a problem. Some considered it a blasphemous waste for “her” to carry; others fairly drooled to see if they could wheedle out how it worked so they too could reap its power in combat.

The mesmers had been more subdued in their inquires. And more helpful. Melody had entered therapy again with a host of mesmers and Faith’s fellow necromancers to look in on her. Simply called “The Team” amongst themselves, they had begun shunning the monks when it became obvious that much of their help was more motivated toward self-gain than it was toward healing a severe mental trauma.

Faith sighed, spotting a pair of sandy blonde buns bobbing up and down behind a large crate near the camp kitchens. She started toward her hidden friend, contemplating where it had all gone horribly wrong.

When the monks had been relegated away from Melody’s case, they had quailed. In a rare show of solidarity from the class, they had announced melody unfit for active duty and ordered her confined for treatment. The Team had pleaded melody’s case adeptly to Prince Rurik, with Faith and her old group coming to her aid again. While Melody remained free in the camp, the end result was that Faith and her friends where ostracized by many of the other—most experienced—monks.

Of course, it would help if she—Faith—had been back up to snuff before she arrived in Yak’s Bend. The near death experience had taken much out of her in the intervening month and it had been a slow and boring recovery thus far. A legend among some, Faith had risen quickly in Duke Baradin’s Special Teams two years earlier. Then again, she had proven herself a valuable and deadly assest when he sent her and her team to Grendich Courthouse to help a beleaguered Prince Rurik retake the Diessa Lowlands. That she had arrived too late had not been her fault, and Faith had fought charr and prejudice as the Acalon Army crumbled around her. It had taken being dead—actually dead—for several hours to awaken her to the fact that Ascalon was a lost cause and Adelbern would not rest until his people were a smear on hungry charr’s cheeks after a turn at the cookfire. Still weakened from her return, she had managed to lead her team out of the lowland, up the foothills and to safety.

But still a month later, the monks—who were ultimately in charge of clearing people for combat duties—were stonewalling her. She still needed time to recover from her ordeal. And while she was here, they could twist Faith’s—Melody’s Group Leader’s—arm to get another look at her.

Melody never noticed these things of course. Even when troubles did manage to break through her haze, they were quickly forgotten. This was largely due to Peace and Harmony, a semi-permanent enchantment spell she had acquired to deal with her mental anguish. Under its guise, Melody could neither see nor perpetrate harm. While it made her one of the most powerful monks to come out of Ascalon, it also made her completely unaware of certain aspects of the hard life she lived.

“Hello Faith,” the tiny monk said, smiling as the necromancer turned the corner of the crate.

“What is that still doing here?” Faith asked, staring sickly at a furry lump in Melody’s lap. The lump shifted, growling ominously.

“Hmm?” Melody turned to look at Faith curiously. “Cuddles? He’s always been here.”

Cuddles shifted in Melody’s arms, spitting out the bladder of goats milk she had been feeding it from and regarding its caretaker with ravenous eyes. “It’s not ‘Cuddles’,” Faith said, taking an unconscious step back, “it’s a trollspawn.”

“Pet him Faith,” Melody replied, ignoring the slight as she lifted Cuddles up for her friend to inspect.

“I am not petting that.”

“Isn’t he cuuuute!”

“No.”

“Well, I think you’re cute.” Melody rubbed the baby trolls head and received a vicious snap on her hand for the trouble. ‘Cuddles’ latched on and growled savagely, shaking her hand in his mouth. Melody giggled, letting him thrash away and using her other hand to stroke the burs from his fur. Faith sighed. When his teeth came in and he bit off a finger doing that, Melody wouldn’t be laughing then. Where did she get him anyway?

“Ho Faith!” came a hoarse baritone from the kitchens and the necromancer turned to see a large warrior striding toward them. “Where’s Kali?”

“Got tired of waiting for you to wake up I suppose,” Faith replied to the new arrival. “I saw her talking to Gerard a few hours ago, Stephan.”

“Aw. Why’d she let me oversleep in the first place?” another annoying aspect of their stay here had been the split her group had suffered. Kali was spending more and more time with Stephan. She didn’t begrudge the elementalist for falling in love with the rugged warrior, but it left Faith holding the bag alone when it came to looking after Melody.

Because you’ve turned into a drunken sod since we got here. “Maybe she wanted to do this one on her own.” Worse than Faith’s sense of abandonment, Stephan was having some trouble adjusting to this “new life”. He’d always been a drinker since Faith had known him but since leaving Ascalon the man had become sullen, moody and—the worst, in Faith’s book—unreliable. If she didn’t get her group back together and working soon, it was liable to tear itself apart.

“It might be her first patrol as GL,” Stephan almost whined and Faith grated her teeth in vexation, “but that’s no sense. I’da followed her orders the same as anyone.” Cuddles snarled again, trying to get his mouth around Melody’s wrist and Stephan jumped back, alarmed. “What’s that still doing here?”

“It’s ‘Cuddles’,” Faith dripped sarcasm.

“Wanna pet’em?” melody asked, standing to hold the squirming troll babe out for Stephan.

“Well,” the warrior gave a sickly look and stepped back with Faith, “uh,” Melody followed, drawing Cuddles close to her chest and cooing to the little monster, “What’s all the commotion up there?” Stephan asked, pointing to a small gathering that was starting to obscure the south entrance to Yak’s Bend

“Dunno,” Faith replied, just as eager to change the subject away from melody’s disgusting and violent pet, “Groups come in probably. Might be Kali; she’s due in any time now.”

“Mel! Mel!” and a bald monk exploded from the group, his robes crumpled as he had wrestled his way through the growing crowd. “Melody!” Mhenlo called, running to the three and grabbing her by the arm. Faith lurched forward, catching Cuddles as the tiny monk was dragged into the fray…and got her arm chewed for it. “I need your help; we’ve a wounded mesmer here and she’s in a terrible state.”

The chief thing Faith hated most about the last month came upon her as she watched Melody’s perplexed expression disappear into the throng of quickly crowding bodies: that feeling of being useless.

“They need some air,” she said to Stephan. The massive warrior nodded, flexing.

“Alright you lot!” he bellowed, Faith already drawing the crowd back with a firm hand one at a time, “Make a hole, lets give those two some room to work.”

For those who were reluctant to move at Stephan’s stern command, Faith held Cuddles up to their face and they became most eager to be elsewhere.

Melody Cross · Aug 22, 2007, 03:26 AM // 03:26

*4*
No sooner had Faith and Stephan started to clear the mass of people than the group erupted again. Stephan roared a hoarse “Kali!” and the elementalist barreled into Faith’s arm, a bound man behind her with a sack tied over his head.

“Get us outa here!” the elementalist screamed as the mob pushed in again.

“Back up!” Stephan roared again, shoving people out of his way to reach the pair. “Who is that?” he called over the angry murmurs that were turning into ill-content grumblings.

“Who is that?” a ranger pulled at the bound man’s arm.

“A bandit!” accused a woman, pulling at the sack on the bound man’s head.

“He’s not a bandit,” yelled another refugee. “Look at his arm! That’s a GL badge! He’s from Grendich!”

“They caught a traitor!”

“Get em!”

“What’d you do to that mesmer pal!”

“Where’s my brother!”

“What the Gods names?” Stephan grunted as the mass of people began pushing back in on him. Faith gave Cuddles free reign, the troll baby snapping and biting at anyone who came too close. He didn’t hurt them, but the sight of the untamed troll snapping and snatching at them helped people decide to keep their distance.

“We’ve got to get him to the stockade before they lynch em!” Kali pushed onward toward the RDF tents, dragging her prisoner behind. Her group kept up behind, keeping the worst of the mob away from them. The prisoner made no complaints even when he nearly fell to the ground; whatever treatment she might have given him was nothing compared to what this mob would do if they got a hold of one of Gaban’s officers.

“You bastards killed my brother!”

“Get us outa here!” Kali screamed again

“Your fault!” the mob began chanting. “This is all your fault!” the month of cold beds, constant fear and homelessness was coming crashing down on this solitary sack covered head. Kali was right; if Faith didn’t get her to safety soon, they wouldn’t stop until they had torn this man apart.

A fiery dragon sword cut the mob in half in front of Faith. No one was burned, though many screamed fearfully. Captain Orsic pushed through the crowd to Kali and her captive, trying to regain order. Though his station had little effect keeping the mob at bay, the uncompromising heat of his weapon gave him instant attention. “Back up!” he roared, slowly waving the weapon in a circle around Kali. “We’re not savages cutting each other to pieces here! Back off I said!”

The dwarves had made their way into the mass as well, Brogmar the Arena Guard first at the fore. “You humans have been given the dwarves’ guestright. Would you spit on our hospitality by smearing our homes with what may be innocent blood?”

“Innocent in Grenth’s Eye!” the brotherless refugee called back. “That’s a Group Leader badge on his arm! He was an officer for Duke Gaban in Grendich and we all know the slaughterhouse they’ve turned that into!” Murmurs of agreement came from the group, though thankfully Faith realized, not as many as had been clawing at her a moment ago.

“That is enough!” she yelled, grabbing the refugee by the throat and dragging him out of the group. He was a dirty man, with hungry eyes that looked to have missed more than a few nights sleep recently. Many of them did, but she wouldn’t let him hide behind a sea of faces and egg people on toward murder. “I was there you little snit! I was in Grendich; I fought there!

“I never saw you!”

“They took my brot—“

“I don’t care if they inducted your mother you toad of a man! What you’re trying to do doesn’t avenge his name; you disgrace it! All of you! There is no justice in a mob; only more wrong.

“If this man,” Faith waved her hand over the sack covered head, “has caused wrong while he was a GL for Gaban, then he will be found guilty and he will be sentenced. But not by you! By a tribunal of GLs or the prince himself!”

The mob gasped. A tribunal was one thing. GLs were largely judge, jury and executioner in the field, but more serious crimes took a tribunal to pass sentence. But for the real offenders, the Royalty got involved. It was a myth among Ascalonians that a man sentenced to die by the king had damned his family in the process.

“Van!” Orsic called, seizing the stunned silence Faith’s outburst had given him. “Get down here. Take this prisoner from GL Kali’s custody. She’s forfeiting her right to pass sentence and have his case heard by the local monarchy.

“Right?”

“Right,” Kali said immediately.

“You lot disperse before I start thumping heads,” Orsic waved the fiery sword before him again for motivation, “and you won’t like it if I have to thump your head.”

Van took the prisoner from kali, leading him away on the improvised leash and kali began disbanding her group. “You lot stay here,” Orsic ordered as Sadie and Gerard began to leave for their quarters. Faith started pulling Stephan away, Cuddles trying to bite through her arm now that she had his undivided attention again. Could the little furball actually be laughing at her?

“I meant all of you Faith,” Orsic said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I didn’t do anything,” Faith said, shrugging him off. “I mean, I didn—I wasn’t out there.”

“No arguments, Faith,” orsic said, some of the hardness returning to his voice. “I don’t want you two mingling with that crowd right now; you’re foremost in their minds and I don’t want his hate,” he hitched his thumb toward the retreating prisoner, “on your head.”

“I,” Faith began, getting another glare from Captain Orsic, “of course Captain;” she said instead, “lead the way.”

“Uh huh.”

“You,” Faith hissed in kali’s ear as they followed Orsic into toward the RDF barracks, “have a lot of explaining to do.”

“You have no idea,” the elementalist replied.

“Are you alright?” Stephan asked, putting his arm around her. Kali pushed him off with a smile; she hated him trying to cuddle when she was sweaty and dusty.

“Well” she began, dropping her voice to a whisper, “to start with, the guy you saved was Colin.”

“Colin Trueshot?”

“The same.”

Faith sighed. Colin hadn’t been a bad group leader while she had been in Grendich, but he’s had a famous name. That kind of notoriety in the Ascalon Army would not help him if the mob got hold of it. They’d figure, since they’d actually heard about him before, he must be doubly bad. “Then that’s why you sacked him.”

“Do you know what they would have done if I’d let him walk in her free?” kali started. “They’d have torn my team apart to get to him, and they were already mobbing around to watch that mesmer he dragged up croak.” The elementalist sniffed disgustedly. “Ghouls.”

“You did it right Kali,” Faith replied. “You brought him in and no one got hurt. Its in Rurik’s hands now.”

Kali only grunted, walking on.

Paul Mahdi · Aug 22, 2007, 06:09 PM // 18:09

Haven't read it all yet (Instead went back and refreshed my memory), but I'm excited to see you're back and writing again.

Minus Sign · Aug 22, 2007, 08:35 PM // 20:35

Alright. I found the old email and got my PW, just in case anyone's notified a mod that I'm stealing my own hash

Nice to see you Paul. I know this is a little dark right now, but most of my stuff starts out that way.

I hope you enjoy it.

Minus Sign · Aug 22, 2007, 08:36 PM // 20:36

*5*

They were placed in a single cramped tent for the day, the heat of their bodies making the small space warmer. Slowly, Faith and her old group filled Kali’s team in on who Colin had been, the mad dash from Grendich they had made with him close on their heels. And Kali in turn was able to tell Faith what had happened on what was supposed to have been a cakewalk first mission as a mercenary.

“So,” Faith said as they finished the rounds of explanations, “the question is ‘what are we waiting for now’?”

Stephan shrugged. “Well, it’s obvious isn’t it?” he looked to each of them in turn. “They need to speak to Kali’s group to find out what Colin was doing in the foothills. And I guess they’d want to talk to us because we were the last group to make it out of Grendich. We’re all witnesses, one way or another, for a,” the warrior took a breath, “a crown court.”

“They’ll split us up, then,” Faith decided. “Soon. They won’t like us talking amongst ourselves like this. It’d have been better if we hadn’t been together in the first place, from their point of view. Better if they,” Faith trailed off, part of her mind clicking on a single fact. The only one of her group not here was Melody. But she was with Mhenlo, helping see to the mesmer. They wouldn’t take her out or a healer’s tent for something like this would they? Mhenlo would pitch fits.

“What?” Kali asked, recognizing that look in her GL’s eye.

Orsic returned, pulling the tentflap open. “Okay, we’re going to split you folks up for a while—”

“Where’s Melody?” Faith cut the captain off, pushing past him and into the hands of several RDF guardsmen.

“What?” Orsic waved the men to stand easy, but they didn’t let Faith out. “With Prince Rurik. He wanted to get her testimony before she was elbow deep in guts, if you’ll pardon the phrase.”

“What?!” Stephan and Kali screamed together, moving to help Faith push her way out.

Faith was scanning the barracks thoroughfare, searching for a familiar face. “See here now, I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying to play but—”

“Willamina!” Faith called, breaking free from the guardsmen and rushing to a dark mesmer as she too hurried on.

“I know,” Willamina said without stopping and the guardsmen had Faith by her arms. “I’m getting The Team together right now. I sent Minerva and Jessie ahead; if anyone can get inside those two can.”

“You know what?” Orsic snapped, grabbing Willamina’s arm. “What’s going on?”

“You’ll still need to get over there Faith,” the mesmer said, ignoring the captain. “She’ll need a familiar face.”

Then to Orsic and the RDF, “Melody Cross is very sick Captain,” Orsic gasped, thinking of what he had just set loose upon his monarch without knowing. “It’s not a catching kind of sick; I’m sure you’ve heard a little something about it already if you listen to the monk’s gossip.” Orsic nodded, sighing relief. “But it can be dangerous to her and people around her if she’s placed in the wrong kind of stressful situation, and I’m concerned that you’ve done just that.”

“What can we do?” Orsic asked. He’d probably been dispatched to get Melody; the show of unquestioning concern usually meant that she had met this man.

“Get those three to her as quick as you can,” Willamina replied, pointing to Faith and her friends. “I know your orders differ, but she needs well-known faces right now or she’s,” the mesmer sighed, turning to hurry on, “liable to hurt someone.”

“Hurt someone?” Orsic repeated but the mesmer had already shaken loose from him and was now running down the thoroughfare, calling names. “That little girl?”

“Herself most likely,” Faith supplied, pulling Orsic out of his thoughts. “Will you help us?”

Orsic turned to her, then to the RDF. One of them shrugged. The captain said “I know Willow. If she thinks it’s what we need to do, then yes. Lieutenant; separate the other witnesses; you three with me. We’ll be back shortly.”

Orsic tried to retain some dignity as he led the group at a run down the thoroughfare into the deepest part of the RDF barracks. Willamina had been busy before Faith caught her up; several mesmers were already beginning to descend on prince Rurik’s private tent when the quartet reached it. The guards outside were having a time keeping the women out. Two of them were trying to crawl between gaps in the men’s legs, some were snapping at them like a pair of naughty children caught stealing sweets, and still more were trying to wax provocative at the pair for a distraction. If the situation weren’t so serious, Faith might have laughed as the mesmers pawed, railed at and cajoled the two men.

Both of the guards breathed a sigh of relief as Orsic pushed his way into the mass. “Let us pass,” the captain said, several of the mesmers taking the opening for their chance to slip in.

Faith surveyed the tent as she came inside. It was open and spacious, a small fire from a clay oven warming the interior. She had seen houses less opulent than this tent; the Deldrimor Dwarves having furnished it for Rurik as a visiting monarch.A silver stand mirror sat in a corner, with a motherofpearl washbasin beside a small curtained space that could only be Rurik’s bed. Even in disgrace, the Prince of Ascalon was doing well. It gave Faith heart to know he was being treated so well.

But her hope sank as she saw the tiny white bundle rocking back and forth in a chair in the center of the open space. Melody was surrounded by at least a dozen of Rurik’s personal guard, every one of them as large and intimidating as Stephan on a bad day. As the mesmers broke inside with Orsic and Faith’s team, the guards tensed anxiously, hands moving to weapons.

“Faith!” the tiny monk jumped out of the chair, running from her prince without dismissal and taking Cuddles into her arms. The troll seemed to sense her agitation and settled for gnawing on her robes. “I gotta gooo,” the little monk said, rocking back and forth anxiously. She was crying. “I gotta gooo. Now. Mhenlo needs me; Alia’s still in a bad way. Please?”

Faith laid a hand on Melody’s head, turning to Prince Rurik. He was seated in a large wooden chair with red cushions, staring at the monk and the intruding mesmers with equal shades of disbelief and confusion. “Respectfully Your Highness, you’ll not get much more than that out of her even if she didn’t have a patient to attend to.”

“Please?” Melody said again, rocking Cuddles in her arms. “I don’t like it here. Its scary.” Then, turning to Rurik. “He’s scary.”

“Hey, Mel,” Stephan said, laying his hand on her shoulder. Melody flinched. That was a bad sign. She hadn’t been nervous around Stephan since day one. If she was this agitated, she was ready to flip out. “He’s not scary. He’s Prince Rurik.”

“I don’t know him, I don’t know him,” she was rocking back and forth again, squeezing Cuddles tightly. “Make him go away I don’t know him I gotta go.”

Willamina stepped from the throng of mesmers rapidly filling the tent, curtsying deftly to her Prince. “Respectfully, Highness, may I take her in hand?”

“Of course,” Rurik waved his hand dismissively, staring at Melody as she was shiveringly led out of the large tent. “Thank you for your time Mistress Cross.”

“Bye bye,” the monk said, still shivering, “Gotta go bye bye gotta go.”

Willamina mouthed a quick “She’ll be fine” as the The Team passed Faith. The necromancer nodded, taking a shivering breath of her own. That could have gone better, obviously.

“Highness,” Kali supplied,” you won’t need all of us, I’m sure. And if its alright, Mel’s known the three of us since Piken.”

“What?” Rurik asked, his eyes on the tentflap “Yes. By all means. Captain Orsic, please escort these two while they’re with Mistress Cross. I’ll send for them later.” A quick bow from the two men, a hurried curtsy from kali and all three of them were heading toward the exit.

“I didn’t realize it was that bad,” the prince mumbled, more to himself than to his subjects.

“It hasn’t been for a very long time Highness,” Faith supplied. “It’s just…she’s not used to being without one of us,” she pointed to herself, Kali and Stephan, “and, to be frank, you’ve got a lot of men here that she’s never met.”

“Will she be alright?” a small voice called from the corner and Faith turned. Colin was here, still bound, looking for all as if he wanted to chase kali and Stephan down.

She’ll be fine now Colin,” Faith said, managing a tight smile. :”For now, let’s see about you.”

Minus Sign · Aug 22, 2007, 08:39 PM // 20:39

*6*

Rurik took another breath to compose himself, then he was all business. “You are correct Mistress,” he paused, waiting for her to supply a name.

“Everyone calls me Faith, Highness.”

“Faith. I was not able to get very much useful information out of Mistress Cross,” another akward glance to the tentflap said things had been going worse than they were when Faith entered. She worried anew at what Melody had done. “Beyond being happy to see Master Trueshot, she did not seem interested in answering my questions.

“Perhaps you can enlighten me further about what happened in Grendich?”

Faith shrugged. “Beyond what I told you when we arrived Highness, there’s not much more to tell. Grendich was a slaughterhouse when I arrived, and it only got worse. I honestly believe now that it the whole affair was a foolish attempt—if you’ll forgive me—to set up another Piken Square but on a larger scale.”

“Moral was high when you first re-took the Square; it dropped after my father stopped sending men and supplies,” Rurik nodded for her to continue.

“As you say Majesty. I don’t know if it was King Adelbern trying to re-live his mistakes at Piken and make things right, or if it was Duke Gaban trying to set himself up as a bigger better Duke Baradin. I don’t really care anymore. It was a mess; my team was going to die for no good reason, and I had a way out.

“I took it,” she snapped, some of her own heat at the incident showing through. Faith took a calming breath herself, continuing, “The powers that be didn’t like that.”

Rurik chuckled to himself. “Baradin’s letter warned me you were ‘bold’,” Price Rurik said after a long space. “And this ranger is one of the group leaders that assaulted you on the way up here.”

“He is Your Highness,” Faith nodded. “I know Kali was a little put off after she learned what,” she paused, turning to regard Colin in the corner, “well; what you did to Stephan.” The ranger blanched. “But he was following orders and technically, we were defectors. I know of no dishonorable conduct from this man during my tenure at Grendich. In truth, I understand why he had no choice but to follow the orders he was given, even if they were on the ragged edge of immoral.

“But that does not explain why you’ve come up here Master Trueshot,” said the prince. “In fact, it suggests this would be the last place you would willingly want to go.”

Colin was studying his the ropes around his wrists. He spoke in a hollow voice; one filled with pain and weariness. “I did try to stop Faith and her group from leaving Grendich. I won’t lie about it. I was under orders and I followed them to the letter.

“And what orders are you under now,” the prince pressed.

“No ones,” Colin looked to Faith and Rurik. Then back to his hands. “Grendich…fell nearly a week ago.”

Rurik bowed his head, shaking it and muttering to himself. Faith thought she caught “Blind stubborn fool!” before his head wiped up again and he said “What of Rin?”

“What Rin?” Colin asked, his patience beginning to wear thin. “There wasn’t much left when you folk made your way up here in the first place. What was left…You’re all the way up here and that makes for a heck of a good view I’m sure Highness. Maybe you noticed a soft glowing light a few days ago; kinda pretty in the air.”

“They’ve sacked Rin?” Faith asked. “But…Stormcaller…”

“They ran over Rin like it was a twig under a cartwheel,” Colin faced her, starting up. The closest of the personal Guards let an inch of steel show from his scabbard and Colin settled back down. “From what I heard. I believe what I heard; the fires were still going when we made it into the foothills.

“I took what I could,” he continued. “I took who would follow. Most were set and determined to make their way to Ascalon City.”

“What of,” Rurik cleared his throat. “What of my father, the King?”

“Highness,” Colin looked up again, tears beginning to stain his cheeks, “I’m sorry. I know nothing of the King. I saw some of Adelbern’s Guard when I made my way out; they were…there was talk of going back for him, but my team wasn’t in the best of shape.

“It is my understanding that he was still in Rin when the charr attacked it.”

“Your team,” Faith pressed, instantly turning to Prince Rurik to apologize. Rurik gave her a “go on” gesture silently and she continued. “I know you Colin. You wouldn’t try to make your way up here with nothing but a mesmer for support; you’re smarter than that.”

Colin was staring at his hands again. “Can you talk about it?” the ranger nodded but said nothing. “What happened?”

“Some of us,” he began, “went back anyway; try to rebuild like I said. ‘Where there’s life there’s hope’ but I’m not sure I believe that for Ascalon now.

“The other’s…Charr. Hit us on the bridge. You remember the bridge Faith? It nearly broke in half when they dropped a meteor shower on our heads. Alia and I got out of there with Grad but…Alia’s part elementalist and I’m part mesmer. We had no monks with us anymore.

“We couldn’t attune the shrine,” he said, Faith’s mind echoing the futility of those words from long ago. “I couldn’t attune the shrine.”

“Damn.”

Minus Sign · Aug 22, 2007, 08:52 PM // 20:52

*7*

It was several moments before Rurik remembered himself enough to dismiss Faith from the court proceedings. With a stern “Remain in camp in case I need to recall you,” she was released to her own devices. She went to check on Melody only to find Willamina, Kali and Stephan sitting outside one of the private recovery tents. Melody was inside, back in her element and, according to the mesmer—quickly returni ng to normal.

“It’s amazing, that spell,” Willamina said, looking back at the sealed tentflap. “Two minutes and she’s forgotten why she was scarred. Come tomorrow, I’ll be surprised if she remembers being scarred.”

Faith took a turn at the tent when Orsic came to summon Kali. When it was Stephan’s turn, a rustle at the flap announced Mhenlo stumbling out. He looked exhausted but quite pleased.

“She’ recovering,” he said, then realized who his audience was. “Both of them will. Melody is staying the first watch; I need to get something to eat and a little sack time and chew Prince Rurik out for dragging my best assistant away. Some times, I don’t know about that young man.”

“You go on to bed,” Faith said, giving the monk a little nudge. He didn’t protest. “I’ll bring something to your tent for you.”

“I’ll,” came a harsh snap from her other side and Faith winced. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard Cynn come up, “get something for him, thank you very much. You worry about your monk; I’ll worry about mine.”

Faith shrugged, letting the elementalist take Mhenlo in hand.

Willamina was replaced by Jessie, was replaced by Minerva, was replaced by Gertrude after Kali left and before Stephan returned. Faith had sent Kali to get some sleep hours ago, and from the haggard look in the warrior’s eyes when he returned, Colin had been more detailed in what had transpired on the way out of Ascalon. She sent him off too.

“You should get some rest too,” Gertrude said. “If you get any more pale you’ll be see-through young lady.”

Faith cracked a lazy eyelid open to watch the platinum haired tallow skinned mesmer stifle a yawn of her own. “Look whose talking,” the necromancer rebuked. “Besides, I can sleep here,” she lied. “It’s not that cold.”

It was true that Faith had caught a few minutes of sleep here and there while standing this night’s watch. But the dreams she had were fitful things. Dark and unremembered. She pulled the collar of her jerkin open a little more to let the cold in. It kept her awake.

“That whammo,” Kali drawled, thumping down in a heap beside her. Faith grunted, elbowing Kali to make a little room, “has only one thing on his mind.”

“Zat a fact?” Faith asked, feigning sleep again. Gertrude chuckled.

“Okay,” Kali said and faith thought she could hear the blush rising in Kali’s cheeks. “Two things,” and the old mesmer slapped her knee with a throaty guffaw. “Tonight it’s ale. I don’t know what to do with him Faith; those dwarves won’t pay us until they have ‘a full shipment of boulder skin’ so I hafta go out again tomorrow.

“I can’t use him drunk or hung-over.”

“So?” Faith drawled sleepily. “Keep him occupied on the other thing he always has on his mind.” Gertrude tipped on her side, hugging her sides and howling.

“If I can swing it, we’ll come with you tomorrow.”

“The monk’s have cleared you?” Kali asked, leaning over to swat the convulsing mesmer on her thigh. It only made Gertrude laugh harder.

“No.”

“What’s going on out here?” came a sleepy voice from the tent. The flap popped open and Melody’s head burst out between Faith and a cackling Gertrude. “Shh,” the little monk said, putting a finger to her lips. “My patient needs quiet.”

“Hey Mel,” Kali said while Faith turned to shush up Gertrude. “How’re you doing?”

Melody cocked her head to the side, scratching her ear. “I’m fine. But Alia needs to sleep so shh.”

“We were worried after,” Kali shrugged. “You know. The prince.”

“The prince?” Melody asked, budding her lip with her finger. “I think,” she leaned her ehad around again, looking to Gertrude who had regained her composer and was now watching Melody intently. “He was nice,” the monk declared. “He let me see Colin again. It’s good to see friends. I’m glad Colin is back.”

The three women outside the tent shared a look. The looks on their faces exchanged a silent agreement: Peace and Harmony.

“Mel,” Faith asked, coming full awake, “about Alia. If you get some sleep tonight, do you think another monk could watch her tomorrow? Say,” Faith paused to glance at Kali, “around noontime till dusk?”

“Oh,” Melody waved her hand at the necromancer, “she’ll be fine by then. Ready to go out again in another few days. This is all just precaution now. The bones are all healed up and Mhenlo did a great job on her wounds. It was touch and go there while we worked on her, but now they’ve mended, her wounds are all healed up. It’s not like it was with you Faith.”

“Then we’re probably going to go out for a while tomorrow,” Faith said, giving Kali a wink.

“But what about the monks?” Kali pressed. “What about The Prince?”

“I don’t care if they do or don’t clear me anymore,” Faith growled. “We’re mercenaries for crying out loud; we don’t have to listen to them. And if Rurik hasn’t called us back before noon, he isn’t going to.”

“I might could swing something to get melody out of camp,” Gertrude supplied. “I’ll talk to some of The Team in the morn.”

“You should listen to the monks Faith,” Melody chimed instantly. “They only want to help you.”

“Do you think I’m still sick?”

“Well,” Melody pondered that, budding her lower lip again, “not really. Your body is okay, anyway. But you haven’t been out in such a long time, whose to know what will happen if you try to make more minions.”

“That settles it then,” Faith said, nodding to the elementalist. “Mel and I need to get out of here for a day anyhow. Give these people a chance to talk about us behind our backs.

“Now,” Faith gave Kali a firm push away from the tent. “You go give that warrior a reason to stay sober tonight. If it’s such a chore you need to find another one anyway and we’ll need him in fighting form tomorrow.”

As Kali left the recovery tent Gertrude doubled over again.

Minus Sign · Aug 22, 2007, 09:26 PM // 21:26

*8*

“Faith.”

Faith stirred, glancing around her. She gasped, jumping to her feet.

“You’ve prayed to Grenth…”

The voice echoed inside her mind, making the necromancer shiver. She was “standing in a nothingness. A soft green light suffused the emptiness around her, hard to see with her eyes.

No. The dead have no eyes.

“Karim?”

“Faith,” the soft whisper in her mind was like an icesickle down her back. This was wrong. Before, she had felt nothing. How—why—did she somehow feel cold?

“Karim!” her voice did not echo in the space around her. It was impossible, but she had been here before. This was “between”, the hollow emptiness she had shared with her lover for an eternity—or a blink of the eye—when she had died.

“You’ve prayed to Grenth but—“

“But what?” Faith “turned” but the long dead monk was nowhere in sight. She thought she turned again—it was impossible to tell with all this nothing; there was no reference for her mind to tell her where she was. “Karim? Where are you?””

“…to Grenth but…”

“Karim!”

“Faith?”

Faith jerked awake, flinching away from the hand on her shoulder. “Wha? Melody?”

“Get her home Mel,” Mhenlo said behind, “I’ve got this.”

“Yeah,” melody said, nodding as the other monk slipped into the tent. “You okay?” she asked, helping Faith to stand. Gertrude had been replaced by Willamina again. “You were…where you having a nightmare?”

“I…I’m not sure. It was,” Faith shivered, drawing her jerkin close. Why in the Gods names had she opened it?

“The mesmer. Alia. Is she alright?”

“Oh yes, she will fine I think.” Melody giggled. “Don’t you remember? I told you before. There was a lot of burning along her back, but Mhenlo is a great skin weaver; I don’t think there will be much scarring.” She smiled. “I did the bones. I was a little worried because she hasn’t had much food for a long time, but Mhenlo said that could wait and she could eat her fill up here so I shouldn’t try to heal hunger.” Another giggle. “That’s silly; you can’t heal hunger.”

“Yeah,” Faith agreed halfheartedly. “I’m glad she’ll be alright.”

“Is she going to get into trouble?”

“What? Why?”

Instead of answering Melody said “Did Colin get in trouble? Stephan was really mad about something and the way they were pushing Colin around I thought there might be trouble.”

“No Mel,” Faith replied. “I don’t think Colin’s in trouble.”

“That’s nice. I like Colin. He tells funny stories. Did I tell you how Idiot got his name?”

Half a dozen times. “Lets get some sleep Mel. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

“What are we doing tomorrow?”

“We’re leading the dwarves out to get more boulder skin. Kali’s team had to leave a lot of theirs behind.”

“Oh. Okay. Um…where is Kali?”

“With Stephan Mel. They sleep in the same tent now.” [i]Unfortunately./[i]

“Oh,” Melody shrugged as Faith pulled the tentflap open, leading her inside “I just though,” the monk shrugged.

“What?”

“I dunno,” Cuddles had been put into a little cage Melody had made for him. He was chewing the bars when Melody pulled the latch open and, as soon as the troll had an opening, began chewing her instead. “I thought they’d be here. It was so much like old times this morning, you know? With Colin and you and Kali and Stephan and,” Faith couldn’t hold it in. She burst out laughing. “What’s funny?”

“Only you would remember Grendich fondly Mel. Come on, let’s get some sleep.”

If there was a bright spot to Cuddles, it was that Melody no longer needed to share a bed with anyone. Cuddles curled up with her more than willingly, grasping one of her hands and sucking on a finger as he went to sleep.

Paul Mahdi · Aug 22, 2007, 10:55 PM // 22:55

Just read through it, excellent work as usual. Keep 'em coming

Minus Sign · Aug 22, 2007, 11:15 PM // 23:15

*9*

There was no summons by late morning from Rurik, so Faith set her plan into action. What could they do? Sit her in another tent to wait? They’d have done that anyway if he had called her. Disband her from the army? They’d already done that anyway.

With nothing to lose and her sanity to regain, Faith met a small group of mesmers and set a plan. Stephan and Kali made their way toward the main gate with Kali’s monk Sadie, and Willamina took the other slot. Faith turned to each person, forming a six-man group.

“Nothing like a little action,” Stephan said, accepting the group link. He stretched lazily, but paused when one of the mesmers broke down in fits of laughter.

“What’s with them?” the warrior asked, pointing with his axe to the gaggle of mesmers just beyond. The platinum haired one was still shamelessly chuckling and now whispering to some of the others who also began to laugh.

“I don’t know,” Faith forced her own smile down, hoping he would only since humor through the group link. “I heard something about an ale keg; made no sense to me.”

“Women,” he shook his head. “You’re all nuts—oof!” Kali smiled sweetly, pulling her elbow out of his ribs.

As Melody joined the group, the feel of Stephan changed in Faith’s mind. He became strong, stable, patient, and protective. It was more comforting than she remembered when last they had grouped. The Team of mesmers had been working with him as well.

From all of them, she felt love. Stephan’s honest heart, Kali’s fiery spirit. Melody blazed with it, unknowing and unworried, only to know that she loved her friends dearly and would protect them from any hurt. Faith forced back a savage thought and sent as much of her love to the monk as she could. Melody touched her arm in greeting, smiling as bright as her soul.

“You sure about this?” was all Kali said. “We could get into trouble.”

“Really?” Faith asked, sincerely. “You think I might get us into a little trouble?” and she smiled.

“Yes,” Kali bared teeth, “Smarty-pants.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this,” Faith said, waving a small piece of parchment at Kali. “I’ll take the heat; come on.”

“Hold up there,” Orsic called as the six began to leave. “What’d’you thing you’re doing?”

“Therapy,” Faith supplied, handing the note the Team had written for Melody. “We need to get her out of the camp for a little while, let her get some fresh air and group with some people she trusts.”

Orsic ignored her, reading the piece of paper and exchanging a glance at Willamina. “Are you sure about this Willow?”

“Absolutely,” and there was a touch of humor from the dark willowy mesmer through the link. “We should have done this yesterday, but everyone was dog tired from the hearing and the operation on Alia Peacebound. It had to wait until today, but it shouldn’t wait any longer.

“Why these three?” Orsic asked. “They’re the main witnesses.”

“And her original team,” Willamina countered. “Mel trusts no one like she trusts these three,” she pulled out another piece of paper for him to inspect, then stuffed it back into her belt pouch. “Prince Rurik gave us clearance for this, now stand aside please.”

“Oh,” the captain said, straightening with that. “If the Prince gave you permission, then, uh,” he turned to Melody who was smiling at him and hiding behind Kali. “You—are—going—to—be—okay?”

Melody looked at him quizzically, leaned forward with each word as she said “Yes—I—am. How—are—you?” and she popped back behind Kali, peeking around with a smile.

Faith laughed. “She’s not deaf Orsic.”

“Sorry.”

“May we?”

“Yeah.”

As the six stepped out of yak’s bend faith turned to Willamina in wonder. “You lied.”

“I’d never lie,” the mesmer said in all seriousness, but there was a mutinous tinge to her in the link. “Rurik gave The Team permission to do ‘whatever it thinks necessary in Melody Cross’s case’. The Team thinks she needs a day outside to play. And you too.

“Besides,” Willamina continued, lowering her voice ominously, “This’ll teach him to grab people out of an operating tent or a therapy session in the future. If he needs a little mutiny to learn his priorities, I’m all for it.”

***

“Okay,” Kali said, bowing to the party of dwarves who were to follow and pulling out a map of the area. “Last time we took the east road down and that’s probably still the best way to go. The Summit are more interested in keeping us from getting deeper into the Shiverpeeks for now so they don’t patrol down that way.

“Our biggest problem is this wood bridge here. They keep a heavy guard there with some Ice Golems to help, in case prince Rurik ever tries to hit this big group here with a flank. But its more for warning and to give their patrol time to sound an alarm. We hit it and keep moving, they’ll liable to let us slip out.

“An excellent plan as usual, Mistress Bay, but if I may.”

“You are?” Faith asked, offering her hand.

The dwarf took it, “I am called Granite by those who know me. I am a mason for the Bend, fortifying the outpost. We need this Boulder Skin to counteract the cold wind and elements. It works wonders against an Ice Golem siege too.

“Pleasure,” the necromancer said, forcing a smile.

“There will be a problem with it today I fear, Mistress Bay,” Granite continued. “The Summit are on alert after yesterday’s foray. They will not be as lightly guarded as before. I expect to meet patrols here,” he pointed to a place on the map, “and here,” and to another space just south of the bridge.

“What would you have us do?” Faith asked.

“Why,” the dwarf looked at her humorously, as though it were obvious, “Steel yourselves for combat of course. Oh, the battle; it will be glorious," the dwarf looked off dreamily. "Some of us may even die.”

“We’ll try to avoid that anyway, Mason Granite.”

“Of course we will,” he agreed, nodding sagely, “Of course we will.”

“And we shant be outnumbered long either,” Kali said, forcing a smile.

“That’s not the half of it,” Faith said, standing and looking around. She pointed, “help me take down that wolf, will ya?”

“Oh, Faith, no,” the elementalist began.

“We’ll need the corpses anyway,” Faith pressed, looking at the wolf hungrily. The animal bent low, trying to hide itself in a thorn scrub.

Kali sighed, turning her sword toward the bush, her eyes white. “This better be worth it,” she grumbled, “You know how much I hate killing innocent animals to feed you.”

The wolf yelped, breaking cover with black fire streaming out behind. In a moment the creature had died. Faith let the life spirit of the animal into her, feeling its death regained within. Eyes turned red from her Soul Reaping power, she glared at the corpse before her and thought.

The wolf shivered, twisting apart, and a creature gurgled out of the wolf’s dead body. It walked on two legs—more certainly than the usually shambling bodies Faith typically produced and came to stand before its mistress.

“That’s different,” Stephan said respectfully. Faith cooed to the little minion, smiling wickedly.

“What is it?” Melody asked, pressing in beside Granite. she really was dwarfish; they were nearly the same height.

“A bone fiend,” Faith supplied. “Morgan showed me how to make them while I was stuck in recovery. See this?” she thought and the minion bared its throat—it had no head—to the clumped group. Inside was a thin barbed projectile nestled where its stomach should be. “They spit these at whatever I want to die. Its like my own personal horde or rangers.

“Nice,” Willamina said, drawing away from the fiend. "I guess." It gurgled at her and took a step forward.

“Very,” Faith agreed. "These things don’t have to run up front to be effective. I can cast a Healing Area spell anytime I feel the need. Less Blood of the Master to keep them alive, less healing for Melody—and you too Sadie—and they do a little more damage per attack than my horrors do too.”

“What about our minion wall?” Stephan asked. “It’ll be harder for me to keep the badies off you if there’s nothing else blocking up there with me. More things getting through means more heals, not less.”

“That’s the beauty of having the minions clumped like this,” Faith countered. "We casters can shift around them and through them safely, but any monster that tries to get at us will only end up getting buried in the horde. It’s a little more running, but the damge they can do is worth it, I think."

“It looks funny,” Melody said, patting the fiends back, “but it’s still stinky.”

“I’ll still cast a few horrors now and again to help you keep the line straight Stephan,” Faith continued. “But I’ve got an idea. I get up to around ten minions, and I start letting the old ones die; break my connection with them and they'll drop. That way, I get some of the energy from dying minions back regularly instead of them all going in one big lump when I overcast. I do that regularly, and I can keep casting minions all day long if I have the corpses."

“Only ten?” Kali scoffed. “That’s pathetic! I’ve seen you run with forty before Faith--more!--and keep them focused and moving easy.”

"I need the Soul Reaping from old minions to cast these new guys,” she said, nodding to Melody, “They're a lot more complex than horrors so energy from the old ones let me bring new ones up; they take a bit outa me otherwise.

“Morgan called it a Minion Factory,” Faith finished. “I keep the horde running, instead of blowing it out of proportion and out of control. This lets Death Nova pop all the time too, so when things get away from Stephan and start chasing us around the horde, I can let one blow up in its face.

“I want to try it, and ten minions are still a lot of minions.”

The elementalist shrugged, starting out on the east path. “Your horde, your call,” she said, but Faith heard the melancholy in her voice. The necromancer hadn’t the heart to tell her teammate that, since her incident outside Grendich, she wasn’t sure she could keep more than ten minions under control.

So it became a sour walk down the mountainside for Faith and her team. The other casters thought she was either being lazy or blindly following Morgan’s advice to play with a new toy. Faith knew that the wounds she had received would not let her work as she had before...perhaps never again.

But ten fiends can do a lot of damage. It’ll work, she thought to herself. Morgan assured me it’d work.

Bark · Aug 24, 2007, 09:06 PM // 21:06

Hey

It's really great to see that you are writing again. When I read that you were posting another sequel, I could do nothing else than start to read right away, ended up reading this for the rest of that lession in school.

I loved your works since I red the first page in your first story about Faith, and I've read both of them a dozen of times since then. So I'm really looking forward to seeing how this one turns out, this far it has been absolutely wonderfull

Thank you

Minus Sign · Aug 30, 2007, 01:19 AM // 01:19

*10*

Granite was right. No sooner had Kali stepped off the main trail toward the foothills, they spotted a pair of Stone Summit Dwarves break cover from around a bend and run away.

“That can’t be good,” Sadie said, focusing on the necromancer. A soft wisp of healing flowed from the monk and Faith felt the mending enchantment take root. Melody’s eyes bulged as she let the Peace and Harmony spell flare over her.

“Push on!” Granite roared, the dwarves breaking into a charge. “Lets show these feather-headed fur wearing rust lovers what real dwarves can do!”

Faith’s eyes bulged as big as Melody’s had been. She broke into a run, keeping pace with the long-legged elementalist, soon overtaking Granite. “Are they nuts?”

“A little,” Kali twisted around a pair of dwarves, keeping the pace. “But it’s our job to keep them alive Faith. They’re tough fighters though, I can attest to that. They just really hate the Stone Summit.”

It took little time to catch up to the spotters who had retreated and Kali’s Grasping Earth spell flashed as she reached the two metal clad dwarves. Sword flashing, the tall woman slammed the blade down on one’s neck, red spraying the white snow beneath. Faith felt another surge of energy as the dwarf died, tensing from the release of life. She turned the Soul Reaped mana back toward its source, and a bone fiend began to shake its way loose.

“Gurgle!”

“On the rise!” Stephan roared, sprinting toward another pair of dwarves that were drawing bows. “Shields Up folks,” he screamed as the dwarf allies came into bow range.

Faith snarled, twisting to her side as a pair of arrows streaked by where her head had been moments ago.

Kali was bounding on the dwarf before her, light flashing as he struck against rock hard armor. With one hand, she slammed the crippled dwarf backward to the edge of her sword. With the other she let loose a roar of rage, twin stone daggers forming in the air to strike his helmeted face. The dwarf shook off her attack.

With a roar of his own, Stephan slammed into the dwarf, axe flickering across his armored chest. The warrior heaved back as the stout dwarf shoved and Stephan’s next attack landed on its shield. He growled, swinging again and the dwarf screamed as Stephan’s next attack slashed through shield and arm, a deep gash slashing down the dwarf’s side as he fell.

Faith convulsed as the Summit dwarf died, forcing her mind to her own task. Two fiends were now pushing toward the bow wielding dwarves, throat barbs impacting with vicious results as they struck. Another gurgle announced her third, too far away for a healing area spell to

“Kill the minion master,” one of the bowdwarfs called, letting his arrows fly at her two at a time. Blue light flared as they hit, twisting away from the guardian spell. Melody flashed by her, running for the horde to heal them too.

“It’s minion mistress you sexist pig,” Faith growled to herself, grabbing Melody’s tunic and holding her back. “Keep me up, I’ll keep them up.” Eyes turned a deep red again and Faith winced at the price her minions demanded. The three fiends became more animated, redoubling their attack as their Mistress’s life-force gave them new energy.

“Don’t do that!” Sadie rebuked, another blue-white flash emanating from the young monk. “They’ll do enough damage to you if they hit; don’t kill yourself too!”

Faith smirked, turning to the closest of the bow wielders as he fell. She knew he was dead before he hit the ground, and as he struck she sent his dying spirit back again. This time, a bone horror formed, turning on the last of the four and skewering it in the chest. The dwarf gave a shocked gasp, barely audible below the minion’s satisfied “gurgle!” and three throat barbs slammed into him from the other side, sending the dwarf flying.

“Gurgle!”

“Wchau Wchau,” the first three fiends greeted the forth, turning to each other, tails wagging; then the four of them ran back to Faith, the horror shambling on uneven legs behind.

“I’ll give you this much Faith,” Kali said, offering a hand. “They do some damage.”

“Lets see just how much,” Faith smiled again, turning to Granite. The dwarves had only just reached the battle and were looking at their weapons with a touch of remorse. “Was that your first patrol?”

“What?” the mason started, staring at the bodies he’d had no hand in dropping with a touch of envy, “Yes. I think that was the first. We should be clear until we hit the bridge. I warn you,” and he waved a cautionary finger at Faith, “the ice golems leave no corpse for your horde. The next fight will be harder,” he looked at the battlefield again, at the 6 humans who were coming to stand together, “and a little longer, I hope.”

“You shouldn’t be encouraging her,” Sadie rebuked again, “Don’t use a spell like that one you used before; it hurt you.”

“So?” Faith asked, “It healed my horde and kept you two safe in the back. They needed healing and you two need to stay safe.” To prove it, Faith drew her horde close again, throwing a healing spell out onto the area.

“Don’t,” Sadie snapped, “use it.”

Melody pulled on the other monks arm. “I can keep Faith up if you can help with the others. Please don’t fight. She’s really good at making minions and keeping them around.”

“Fine,” Sadie said, releasing the Mending enchantment from Faith, the trickle of healing fading away. “If you think you can. But there’s no way mending will keep up with the damage that spell can do, and I’m not using all my energy to keep just her alive.”

Melody shrugged. “That’s why I haven’t used mending in such a long time,” the little monk said.

“Why not?” Sadie asked. “It’s a good spell for keeping on other people. Works really well with a Dwayna’s Kiss.”

Melody shrugged again, studying her wand. “It took so much out of me though. I had trouble keeping it on everyone who needed healing, and they always seemed to need more healing than it could give them. I just stopped using it.”

“If you two can talk and walk,” Faith hitched a thumb toward the four waiting minions, slowly decaying in the cold mountain air.

”Anyway,” Melody continued, throwing a blast of pure healing power into the waiting horde, “The damage Faith deals to herself is a lot less than the damage how much the horde gets healed for. It really helps having them around.

“Fodder,” Sadie intoned, thinking about it a little more. “They take the hits so we don’t have to.”

“Hmm?” Melody looked perplexed. “Hits?”

“From the Stone Summit just now,” Sadie continued. They went after Faith because there were enough fiends to hurt them really bad. And because the fiends are weaker than a human..

“You mean the dwarves?” Melody glanced back at the Yak's Bend crew.

“What re you, nuts er something?” Sadie pointed to one of the exploited corpses as they passed. Melody seemed to see the body for the first time and rushed toward it. Need flared through the link. Need to help.

“Melody!” Faith snapped. “Let Sadie deal with him; come up here and keep an eye on my horde…and me.”

Sadie stared thunderstruck at the other monk.

“She doesn’t remember,” Kali whispered to her softly. “And it’s rare that she even notices what’s ‘hitting’ us. Not the way we do.”

“She really is crazy.”

“A little,” the elementalist conceded. “It’s more something about Peace and Harmony we think; but it might just be her.

“But you have to admit, she’s good at what she does.”

Sadie watched Melody warily for a time. Faith paused, casting another of her life sacrificing spells into the horde and the little monk instantly repaired the lost health.

“A little,” Sadie conceded.

Kali snickered, another retort on her lips as a hollow roar echoed from the bend just out of eyesight.

Sadie’s eyes widened. “They don’t waste time.”

“No they don’t!” Kali snapped, breaking into a run to reach the frontline.

Minus Sign · Aug 30, 2007, 02:15 AM // 02:15

Its good to see some familiar faces. I'm glad your enjoying the new installment Bark but *waggles finger* don't let your grades suffer.

If I can, I'll finish up 11 before the night is done. GW:EW, work and RL pwned me this weekend and part of the week; I'll get back into Faith tonight and some tomorrow if I'm lucky.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your comments. I hope my grammar is better this time through; I know its a little atrocious.

Minus Sign · Aug 30, 2007, 02:50 AM // 02:50

*11*

Wait you idiots!” Faith snapped, turning her small horde toward a pair of ice golems beyond. The hellish creatures looked little better than caricatures of humanity, jagged spikes rising out of their skin like a porcupine’s spines. One of the monstrosities roared again, hollow and soulless.

“For Ironhammer and Honor!” granite roared in return, stomping up the slop to face his enemy. Stephan shrugged, sprinting away and was quickly at the fore.

“Kali!” Faith roared herself, feeling the elementalist through the group link, still well behind. Focusing her energies, she sent out wisp of her spirit into the shambling horror. “Stephan; Out!”

The warrior saw the putrid green glow surrounding her improvised bomb, veering toward the rangers in the backline. The stone Summit either missed the necrotic enchantment or were unaware of its lethal nature, for as it strode toward their precious golems, the frontline warriors turned on it with a will. Axes slashed and the shambling horror lurched, still pushing closer toward its intended prey.

Live, Faith ordered, infusing the horde with more of her lifeforce, live; just three more steps

Sensing Faith’s need, and seeing the minion begin to crumble, Melody lay blue enchant on green, her Divine Boon sending the protective enchantments into the minion with more healing power than Faith could muster. Somehow, the monk managed to find energy to push out another spam of enchantments, dropping her Divine Boon to throw them across the dwarf allies as they pressed the advance under archer attack. Arrows bounced off the enchanting armor she wove, or saw their lethal force rebound in healing energy.

The fiends had reached the fight as well, throat barbs snapping out toward the nearest warrior. The Stone Summit groaned, dropping to his knees with sharp bone daggers skewered in his calves.

“Okay; let it die Mel. You! Get away from it you morons!” Faith roared again, the dwarves pressing toward the largest mass of Stone Summit, who what all pushed in to see the minion die. Willamina was adding to the chaos, Stone Summit recoiling as they struck the golem. Her voice seemed to whisper in the wind “It hurts; don’t hit me; how can you do this?” and the Summit dwarves recoiled in sympathy to their own attacks, bleeding from wounds they caused the minion. Faith saw the golems, twisting uncertainly in the mass. One tried to cast a spell, but before the necromancer would tell what it was, Willamina’s voice snapped “Fail!” and both of the icy specters twitched, interrupted.

“Damn!” a pair of earthen daggers flashed past, announcing Kali’s return to the fray. Ice cold earth shattered under the clusters feet, erupting in a cloud of dust and ash. They staggered, turning on the casters.

“NOW!” the shambling horror crumbled at last, the necromancer enchantment infusing its dying flesh with new purpose. The light turned inward, shimmering brightly enough for the blind Stone Summit to see their doom. The horror seemed to grow, to expand into even more twisted dimensions than it had been in unlife. It exploded; rotten flesh and bone blasting outward in a decay-filled cloud of malice.

The Stone Summit, weakened by Willamina’s Empathy hexes and again by Kali’s Eruption, exploded as well. The mass of men toppled from the dead minion, groaning as the last of the eruption hammered them or the toxic fragments turned poisonous carrier in their bodies. The golems seemed to quiver—they’d had no had a chance to cast a spell with Willamina’s interrupts pinning them out of the fight—pieces of bone and flesh embedded in their icy bodies, which cracked and crumbled, shattering into useless pieces on the snow.

Faith gasped, the life energy of the dwarves and golems buckling her from side to side. Melody was right behind, holding the necromancer up as the wave of death mana inundated her own wearied spirit. She nodded thanks to the little monk ‘It’s,” she stumbled, forcing herself to focus on the corpses the Summit had left behind, “it’s been a while.”

“Faith!” Stephan screamed, reminding the group that the fight was not yet over. “Mel! Little help up here!” The rangers were retreating as the tide turned. Stephan roared again, axe whirling into one of the dwarves backs, ripping open a savage gouge of flesh. Another strike hit its knee, crippling the fleeing dwarf before bringing his double bladed axe down one last time.

The Yak’s Bend dwarves had recoiled from the explosion, unharmed. They stared at the mass of bodies as they began to shift again. Granite raised his axe, meaning to cleave one of the dead warriors back into Grenth’s hands, but a snappish “Gurgle!’ jerked him to immobility again. The first four fiends ran to meet their new baby brother, and another corpse shivered loose a new shambling horror. A third corpse bulged and the dwarves left the area, bodies twisting open as Faith’s Horde surged in number. Stephan’s ranger gave her nine, and she trembled under the strain to keep them under control.

But the link between minion and master did not break. She pushed forward, perusing the rangers a pace behind Kali. Stephan was long gone in pursuit, and Melody had given chase to keep him safe.

“Where are they going?” Willamina called, keeping pace with the minion mistress, “Their friends are over the bridge; if they wanted to escape, they picked a dumb direction to run.

“They’re not running to escape,” Faith panted, some of her concentration slipping and the minions slowed uncertainly. She took the pause to cast another blood of the master spell, “they’re running to warn—“

“The south patrol!” Stephan charged back toward them, a flailing Melody under his shield arm, holding the metal plate away from her face. Kali had come up short just as he turned the last bend and the ground shimmered as a ward formed around her.

Stephan tossed the monk toward Faith and the backline, Melody landing lightly on her feet in the snow. She turned around, smiling sheepishly. “Stephan’s funny!” the monk giggled. Sadie blanched anew, just reaching the third fight after totally missing the second.

When Melody turned back, she was all seriousness again. Peace and Harmony flared atop her, followed by her Divine Boon again. Her next enchantment was a Guardian spell, dropped on the elementalist just moments before more arrows struck. The barrage of arrows could not be held back by a single spell, however, and Kali winced as some broke through. It was a small wince however, her garments imbued with another enchantment she was rarely without, and wood shattered on linen as hard as platemail.

The rangers who had fled had perhaps hoped to outnumber their pursuers when they finally turned to fight again. Nine minions begged to differ, tilting the scales back in Faith’s favor. No sooner had her horde reached the fight than all eight fiends turned menacingly on a single, wide eyed dwarf.

“Gurgle!” she sent another sickly green enchantment into each of her shambling horrors, forcing them up to the fight. Control of the horde seemed nearly impossible to her; it felt as though her soul were split eleven ways.

The Stone Summit archers whirled against the charging horrors, pounding their doom back with arrows until the twisted faces were covered in arrows.

Twin explosions rebounded into Faith as the two minions died. Twice she felt her soul seem to swell within her as the horrors fell; and again her Soul Reaping sent her reeling as the explosion sent her enemies into unlife.

“That way’s the passage down to the foothills,” Kali pointed, annoyingly fresh—it seemed to Faith—for all the fighting they had done to get here. “The smashy parts over; now we need finesse.” The elementalist turned to Faith suggestively.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the necromancer forced her voice not to slur in exhaustion, forced herself to make two new minions and bring her horde back up to ten.

“I think it means,” Stephan replied, coming to stand beside Kali, “That those fiends might just be a little too powerful.”

“Can you stick to horrors while we’re in the foothills?” Kali asked.

Faith tried not to scowl. This was, after all, Kali’s mission. Her group. It was just that Faith had led these people so long she was used to taking the reins and steering them where they needed to go. Taking orders was…different.

Faith sighed, letting her horde collapse. “It’s just a couple hydras down there anyway that I can use,” she said, forcing another smile. “Whatever you say GL.”

Kali’s smile seemed grateful.

Minus Sign · Aug 30, 2007, 07:13 AM // 07:13

*12*

“Another successful expedition, Mistress Kali,” Granite said, shaking the elementalist’s hand, “and, as promised, you’ve returned my men and me to the Bend safe and sound.”

“We aim to please,” Kali drawled. As granite released her hand, she kept her arm extended. The little dwarf looked up at her quizzically, “and we’d be more than happy to get paid now.”

“Oh,” the dwarf stammered, fumbling in his pockets, “of course, such a fine display of skill cannot go without reward. We agreed on,” he seemed to have become momentarily distracted by a piece of lint in his pocket, “two hundred gold crowns I believe?”

“It was two-fifty,” Kali said, her voice becoming hard and businesslike, “if you need, I can show your mark in my journal. To boost your memory.”

“No,” Granite smiled sheepishly, handing over five small sacks of gold, “that won’t be necessary.” The other dwarves had scampered into Yak’s Bend, and Granite hastened away himself, a casual wave, “If you ever need a reference,” but what he said next was drowned out by the commotion at the gate.

“You six!” Captain Orsic growled, four RDF guardsmen flanking him and surrounding the group. Kali gave a long suffering sigh as Faith dissolved the group.

“Orsic,” Willamina began.

“Don’t start with me Willow,” the captain whirled, staring down the mesmer in a fury

“It’s my fault captain,” Faith began. It seemed that every word made the man’s face grow just a little redder. “I convinced them to come along “

Orsic snapped his fingers and the four guardsmen circled Faith. “You’re all he wants to see or they’d be waiting for you in the stockade.” He turned to the other five and Faith noticed a gaggle of mesmers—The Team was standing watch—beginning to close in. “You lot get out of here before I change my mind and drag you off as conspirators.”

“Melody,” Willamina took the little monks arm. Melody was still following Faith, a perplexed expression on her face, “Sadie. Have you heard Mel sing? Don’t be shy now. Mel has got the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard. Would you sing for Sadie Mel?”

“Well,” Faith gave the monk a private wink that everything would be okay…and was thankful the group link was separated, or melody would be able to feel the lie in her sentiment, “I like to sing.”

Orsic seemed oblivious to everything in the world save this troublesome necromancer in front of him. He pointed to Faith. “You,” and the finger arched back into a come here gesture, “Come on.”

“Is Faith in trouble?” melody strayed for a moment more, standing on tiptoe as if poised to run. Toward Faith or away from her male escorts, only she knew.

“I’m fine Mel,” the necromancer reassured her. “They just want to talk.”

“Okay,” Melody nodded. “See you at home.”

“As soon as I can.”

“Now necro,” Orsic snapped with a tinge of you-made-me-look-a fool-and-I’ll-have-your-hide-for-it in his voice. One of the guardsmen nudged her between the shoulder blades.

***

The Prince of Ascalon was seated on the throne-like chair again as Faith was roughly shoved inside. He said nothing, merely pointing to the vacant chair in front of him in offer or command to sit.

When he did speak, it was not what she expected.

“Did you have a good time outside? I know the camp can get a little,” he sighed, searching for the right word, “stifling. For one of your experience.”

“Yes Highness,” Faith said, trying to keep the sheepish tone from her voice, “quite…refreshing.”

“This little war between the mesmers and monks is starting to become disconcerting. You on one ned, Mistress Cross on the other. One side says neither of you are fit for duty, the other side says the thick of things is the only place you two seem sane.

“Which is it?”

Faith shrugged. “There are some necromancers on the Team as well, Highness,” she wanted to correct him. Somehow, she schooled her tongue. “We both went out,” she said, non-evasively, “we both came back.”

Rurik smiled—or sneered, his beard was too thick to be certain. “I managed to find this,” he pulled a wide leather-bound file from a small desk beside the chair, “among some of our old reports from Rin. Blame the accountants; if they had their way I’d have had every refugee carry his weight in paper up here with us.

Faith recognized the report. It was an afteraction recap from Mhenlo on what had happened in the catacombs during The Searing. And who had been there.

“Not that we couldn’t use the kindling,” he tossed the file into her lap for her inspection. “you were the monk—the necro—who took down the tunnel.”

“Kali pulled down the tunnel, highness,” Faith said, scanning the report. It all seemed so long ago now. So distant memory becomes when life keeps moving forward. Yet still, it was clear as glass. “I was just her support…”

Underneath the original report, scrawled in large block letters—the Duke’s hand when he had been wearing his gauntlets—was another note. “UNSTABLE; RECKLESS, POSSIBLY SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. CONFIRM WITH MESMERS BEFORE REASSIGNMENT. COMMAND POSITIONS WITHHELD.”

“Was he right?” the Prince asked quietly.

Faith shrugged again, trying to mask the shock inside her. “Probably. I’m not afraid to die if there’s a decent reason for doing so. I know I push my teams hard. But they trust me to see them out,” she fought down a surge of rage. Two years duke Barradin had kept this from her. Two years; no wonder she’d never been promoted beyond GL4. He hadn’t trusted her after all. He’d kept her down, kept her small. If he were still alive, she’d skin his hide in strips! “I work well with small groups. Special Teams,” had she been right when she called them a joke to melody long ago? Were they nothing more than the crazy—expendable—frontline that barradin would willingly give up to save his “good” troops? “was for high risk operations. Low life expectancy, smaller groups.”

“Yes,” Rurik nodded, “Barradin’s Special Teams are something of a legend in themselves. I’ve tried duplicating them myself with some success,” Faith nodded numbly. “Devona’s group is one. I believe you know her?”

No. He’d put up with too much of Faith’s attitude to have thought so little of her. That may have been why he put her in Special Teams, but it wasn’t why she’d stayed there. She got the job done. One way, or another.

Or another. He’d called her resourceful. Brought Tasha Trueborn—one of the best therapeutic mesmer’s in Ascalon—in for Melody once he saw the monk’s potential. Yes; he’d used them. He was their commander. Yes, he’d analyzed her, seen her flaws, seen her…failings. He might have been more than a little surprised when he patted her back after a hard mission. Surprised she’d come back. But never aggravated by the fact.

“This,” she let the file fall back into her lap, “is a rather old and incomplete analysis of me, I should say. And, if I may be so bold highness,” she paused waiting for him to cut her off with another blast from her past.

“You mean to stop being bold Mistress Faith?”

She shrugged--it was all she seemed able to do; her body had rebelled against her--wanting for all to use the file for kindling right now; throw it into the fireplace right in front of his eyes. She kept her hands still. “This wasn’t what I expected you to bring me here for.”

“No doubt,” Rurik nodded, glancing toward the tentflap, “Nor Captain Orsic either I imagine,” Faith forced a wry chuckle at that. “I wouldn’t worry about your foray Faith. May I call you Faith?” she shrugged. “I’ve had my hand slapped more than a few times by those in my command. Too many of them helped change my diapers and train me to manhood for me to hold a grudge when I do something foolish.

“I did something foolish with your friend yesterday. I hope she’ll forgive me.”

“I’m sure she has,” Faith supplied, omitting, “if she hasn’t forgotten it completely. She always forgets…”

“You seem to have a knack, “Rurik continued, “for building very good groups, from some—shall we say—rather unusual people.”

“I’ve been lucky Highness.”

“Yes. Well. I need you to work your magic for me one more time Faith. Colin has, of course, been cleared of any charges. Unfortunately because of that—more than ever—I need him out of Yak’s Bend and away from the refugees. You remember the incident on his arrival.”

“A little,” Faith couldn’t help smiling.

Rurik nodded. “In normal times, the people would have accepted my decision and that would be the end of it.”

“You’ve no need to explain yourself Highness.”

“Yes Faith, I do, he leaned toward her, nodding sadly. “This time, to you, I do.”

Faith glanced to the file again. “The problem is that the people are looking for someone to blame right now. For leaving Rin, being stuck here while our negotiations failed. The fact that the negotiations have failed.”

“You did the best you could Highness. No one should fault anyone; its all just bad timing and…fate.”

The smile on Rurik’s face was genuine this time. “Be that as it may,” he continued, “that’s not how the people see it. Soldiers know how quick the winds change. Civilians want something other than the Gods to blame when the storm tears through.”

“And they’ve latched onto Colin,” Faith concluded.

“One way or another,” Rurik said holding out his hand. A serving maid was beside him immediately, a silver tray with mulled wine at his fingertips, “I’m getting them off this rock, Faith,” he waved the servant over and Faith took the other goblet without protest, sipping slowly. “In a week’s time, I’ll start sending escort groups through with my best guardsmen. I mean my best. But if Colin is in one of those refugee groups.”

“I can see him through Highness,” Faith supplied confidently. What was he fishing for? The sudden change of tactics from interview to confidant was…unsettling. Baradin was the only royalty she had ever known and his was a gruff manner; to the point even when he was being manipulative. Rurik seemed to be scrounging up his courage for a fight she still couldn’t see.

“I’m sure you could Faith,” Rurik continued, taking a sip from his own goblet. It struck her then. He was unsure. As unsure of her now as Baradin had been when he scrawled that note years ago. She was an unknown. Effective, but possibly dangerous.

And he needed her. Needed her for something bad enough that it was hard for him to ask. "Highness,” she cut him off,” I am not so used to such talk. If there is something you need of me; some service you require, ask. If it is in my power, it is yours.”

Rurik watched her over the wine goblet for a time, the war still playing in his mind. At last he said “There’s a bottleneck through Boris Pass. We’ll need to break the refugees up to get through there, but once we’re in, it will be a fight to get them through the Frost Gate. I have people who I trust to break the Stone Summit siege, but they will need help to do it.”

Help, Faith thought. not reinforcements. Not mercenary conscripts. Help. “You don’t want us evacuating? Me and Colin…and my team. We’re not going with the refugees are we?”

“Yours,” Rurik seemed to need to steel himself once more, “would be the road less traveled, if you accept what I ask. “You were special Teams for Duke Baradin. You’re used to going out into the middle of the fray and making miracles happen.

“Beyond Devona and some few recruits I need taking on the Siege, you and your team are the only people with such experience.

“The Shiverpeek centaurs are massing to help the Stone Summit Faith. I need someone to cause some chaos through the old west passage while our refugees and my own elite teams break the siege. The Stone Summit has taken over the Iron Horse Mine. If we can break a group through there, the dwarves up here will be confused and wary when we start to move our people south. In three days time, a blizzard will strike the mountain—so the dwarves tell me—and whiteout everything from Beacon’s Reach to Gunner’s Hold.

“If you can make your way through, there is a small cave the dwarves tell me can weather you through the storm. While we punch a hole through the Frost Gate, your team can make its way through the other side of Anvil Rock and into the Deldrimor Bowl. Hit as many centaur and Stone Summit groups as you safely can and meet us at Beacon’s Reach when the weather permits.”

So, if the Summit don’t capture us, Faith concluded, and the centaurs don’t kill us, and the weather doesn’t freeze us into an icy tomb, we might—might!—just meet up with the rest of the refugees before everything of Tyria walks off this mountain and abandons us.

“From there,” Rurik continued, “its back through the bowl and into Kryta. When I last spoke with Zain, he seemed more than pleased at the prospect of having some Ascalonians settle there. It’s an odd thing, I know, but I get the feeling that Kryta is suffering a population shortage of late. They may need people to settle some of the harder lands to the west and north.”

“You’re very trusting Highness,” was all Faith could say. If ever there were a suicide mission, Rurik was sending her on one.

“No, I’m not. But its either Kryta or grow a second skin, and I’m getting a little sick of this snow. You?”

“It seems a little much just to keep one former GL away from some refugees Highness,” she supplied. Her team. He was asking her to sacrifice her team.

“More than that and we both know it Faith. I need to trust you in this. Can you handle the job?”

Minus Sign · Aug 30, 2007, 10:54 PM // 22:54

*13*

“A task like this, I’ll need to ask my people,” she said after a pause. Rurik sighed, apparently meaning to re-argue his case. She cut him off again. “Meaning no disrespect Highness, but you’ve cut us loose from the regular army. It was your choice,” Faith handed him back the folder, “however good the reasons seemed at the time. They are free men and women now—your words—to do what they will.

“This,” Rurik said slowly, “is a voluntary mission. If those of your team refuse to go with you, that is their decision. I believe I can trust you to fill the group with qualified, capable people. Yak’s Bend is yours if you need it—human and dwarf so long as you’re here—if you accept.

“You should know,” Rurik finished, “that Colin has agreed to the task. He will be going the west route regardless.

“I,” she sighed, “understand. Please; let me confer with my team and…I’ll give you my answer in the morning.”

“Of course Faith. And,” the prince faltered again. “Of course. Thank you for your time.”

“Highness,” Faith bowed slightly as she rose, placing the goblet on the waiting tray.

Faith walked out in a daze. Orsic might have baited her as she passed him—might have consoled her or sympathized, she had no idea. Whatever he said was lost to the cold wind as her thoughts ambled sluggishly around her.

Faith wandered the small camp until the sun had begun to sink below the mountain side. One thought kept intruding through all the others. I promised them. Special Teams were finished. She had promised her people that there would be no more need to fight like before. Promised them safety when they broke from Ascalon and followed Rurik up here. Promised them…and was being asked to break it.

A soft melancholy seemed to overtake her as she neared the tent. It seemed to be all around her; the people shuffled as they walked about their tasks. It was as if the world had changed its music to fit her mood, and she could hear Melandru’s voice lament her woes.

Then she recognized the voice, her hand pausing at the tentflap. Musical chimes singing a slow dirge, Melody’s voice rang into her ears.

“…As the cold wind blows
We stand on the edge of the mountain

A dwarf lies cold, a dwarf lies still
No rebirth comes to his soul
We tread on
Through the deepest snows
We walk the edge of the mountain

To the end, the end of us all
We walk through the ice
To the end,
To the end of us all of us all
We face the ice of the mountain.”

“Its” Sadie paused and Faith slipped silently inside. No one noticed, staring transfixed at the little woman on her cot, “so sad. I’ve never heard that before.”

“I made it up,” Melody said, her head bobbing. “Do you like it Sadie?”

“It sounds familiar,” Willamina said sleepily, staring at Melody.

“She’s singing about the fight,” Stephan said sleepily. “It’s as close as she comes to remembering things like that.”

“Hmm? What fight? Who fought?”

“Nothin Mel,” Kali said, slapping the warrior’s thigh playfully. Even Cuddles had become semi-docile under the softly haunting song. “What do you want to call this one?”

“I dunno,” the monk tilted her head, thinking.

“How about, the cold mountain pass,” Faith offered, stepping toward her cot; the only vacant seat left in the tent.

“I like that,” Melody said, nodding to herself.

“So what did you get?” Stephan asked.

“A mission,” the necromancer replied, pulling her cape loose from her shoulders.

Stephan and kali exchanged a look. “You’re serious?” Faith nodded. “What about Colin?”

“He’ll be helping me. Its an excuse to get him away from the refugees; earn up some credit with the people so,” Faith shrugged, “they won’t decide to lynch him when we settle in Kryta.”

“Is that why he called you?” Willamina asked, her tone a little suspicious. “not about Colin so much as making you a GL?” Faith nodded again. “You didn’t get into trouble for running off today?”

“Yeah,” she forced a smile, showing the right side of her face in profile; the side that had not been burned and still showed smooth white skin. “Comeon; can you stay mad at this face?” Unconsciously, Faith pulled at the long strands of hair on her left side, masking the bruise from view.

Kali was nodding vigorously “For a very long time,” but there was humor in her tone.

Stephan curled his arm around the elementalist’s shoulders. “What’s the mission?”

Faith looked at Melody. At Stephan and Kali. They had done enough for King and Country. They had done enough…for her.

“Boring,” she said at last. “he wants me to build a group and lead it on some forays up north, away from the Frost Gate and the siege,” if they asked around, that might be all they heard. If she was quick enough tomorrow. “He likes Baradin’s idea of our old units; wants to see if he can re-create it.

“Train them up and see them through. Like I said: real boring, but,” she forced a laugh, “there might be a chance to get back in the army. Join the RDF, get a promotion. Do some good.”

“I thought you liked being a mercenary,” Kali began.

“I thought I would too, but,” Faith shrugged. Now that the lie was out, building it became easier, “Comeon. Almost a solid month here; nothing to do. The monks won’t let me out. But if I get my GL status fully recognized again, I can thump some skulls.

“I do have some good news though,” she continued. “In one week’s time you three,” she pointed to each in turn, “are walking out with the refugees. Rurik means to push on the Summit soon; break this stupid siege for Ironhammer.

“Will you be in on that push?” Kali asked.

“We can help Faith,” Stephan supplied.

“I’m sure they could use you herding the refugees, uh,” she had to think quickly; they couldn’t know. They couldn’t talk to Rurik or the whole thing would fall like a house of playing cards, “you’ll, uh, need to speak to Orsic about that.”

“Orsic?” Kali scoffed, “When you’ve got the Prince’s ear?”

“I’ll put in the word if that’s what you want to do.”

“I’ll help too,” Melody chirped, rubbing Cuddles head.

“Of course we’ll help Faith,” Kali smiled, “what’d I say when we started all this? I can’t let you have all the glory.”

“You can have it all Kali,” Faith forced the mirth to fill her voice, masking the sadness again. “You can have it all.”

Bark · Aug 31, 2007, 05:15 PM // 17:15

Haha, dont you worry about my grades, I do that enough myself

You know, I worship you