#Wil Ohmsford fanfiction

[austinswhitewolf]

Finding One Of Your Own Pt. 1

I needed to give Wil some loving. There are not enough fics for him. Hope you all love this, Should be only three or four parts.

For as long as you can remember, you were with this group of Rovers. They always told you that they ‘saved’ you, that you were better off with them.

You only knew what they told you of the world beyond their group. You were known as a mongrel, half elf and half human, and despised by every race. But hated most by the Elves, who they always told you hunted down mongrels and locked them away to torture them. The fear that they had instilled in you kept you with them, never trying to run away. You were used to being beaten on whenever you did something wrong or when any one of them were upset. You bore many scars from over the years. There were a couple times that they had you hating your ears so much, that you had tried to cut the tips off, but the pain had been so bad that it just left scars. And it was something they would continue to rag on you for. Flicking the tip of your ear was also a punishment they used because of how sensitive elf ears are to touch. Whenever you left the camp you kept your ears covered, hair plaited and twisted to cover them. You were never allowed to let anyone besides your group see them. 

Over the last week, the group had been working on scavenging around a destroyed and abandoned village. Today had been the last day there, in the morning you would all be heading to do some trading for some needed items. You were taking care of the few horses while everyone else was having drinks and laughing around the fire they had going cooking dinner. Night was falling fast as you started to brush down the last of the horses, making sure nothing was stuck in it’s hooves as well. Spending time with the horses was your favorite, they always seemed to be happy to see you. And they were always gentle with you. One of them popped it’s head up, eyes and ears flicking over to the edge of the camp. Soon, all the other horses were doing the same, the one you were brushing started to shift nervously. There was a snap and suddenly the horses were taking off into the woods. You were knocked down as the one had turned to bolt. When you looked up, you saw trolls rushing into the camp. The rovers were pulling their weapons but with the alcohol in their systems, they were no match for the amount of trolls.

In the murderous rampage, you were trying to scramble to get a sword or some form of weapon when a troll swung it’s blade at you. You dove out of the way, but a cry left your lips as a searing pain flared up on your back. Wetness was starting to seep down your lower back as you managed to get up. One of the few ravagers that was still left alive had attacked the troll, garnering it’s attention away from you. 

When you looked around, all but three of the group were dead and the three alive weren’t going to make it long. Turning, you knew the only way to survive was to run. As you stumbled into the woods, the pain in your back was excruciating. The fear was clouding your judgment, causing you to just run and run. No particular direction in mind, just to get far away from the trolls. 

The longer you ran through the night, the more you stumbled to the ground, tripping over tree roots and rocks. The blood loss was slowly taking it’s toll, canceling out the adrenaline little by little. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Wil left the building, ripping the gloves off, he turned to the Gnome that followed him out. He was shocked when he was corrected that Slanter didn’t secure him the job here, it was Allanon. Turning around to head back to his small house, his eyes caught on a figure that was nearing the edge of Storlock. His head tilted slightly watching the rough stumbling walk, something wasn’t right. You blearily saw small huts in the distance and started towards them. You were beyond exhausted, body on fire as you stumbled between the trees. Using them to help balance as you stopped once more to look towards the closest hut. A figure in white was standing there, you had no idea if they were facing you or not. Your head dipped a few times before your knees gave out under you. The pain from the heavy jolt from landing on your knees caused you to pass out, everything finally taking it’s full toll on you. The moment Wil saw you fall to your knees and then slump to the ground, he raced over and slid to your side. The blood, dried and fresh on your lower back was an immediate concern for him. When he turned you to your side gently, the heat coming off you showed a high fever. Wil scooped you up carefully into his arms and raced to one of the huts for more critical injuries. Within minutes, they had you on your stomach, cleaning your back to find the full extent of the wound. Black lines were branching away from the gash, the blade having been poisoned. It took a while to get the wound fully cleaned and covered it in a salve to draw out the poison. You would have to be watched closely over the next few days, changing the salve and watching for the fever to go down. Wil took it upon himself to do this. Over the next day and a half, you woke up a few times, delirious from the fever and infection talking about needing to get back to the group so you wouldn’t get in trouble.

At the end of the second day, Wil undid the plaits and twists in your hair, taking the time to get the knots that were starting to form out of the soft hair. The shock he felt at seeing your ears and the scars on them, shook him to his core. He saw the scars on your back as he would change the salve and keep the wound clean but the sight of your ears was what got him. What had you been through? Long thin fingers were gentle while tucking hair behind your ears. 

It was the next morning that your fever broke and mid day you started to slowly wake. Wil was coming back into the hut with the head healer behind him to check on your progress when they saw you shift and let out a soft groan. “She’s waking up.” Wil spoke as he moved to your side and sat back down on the stool he had there. The gnome was right behind Wil, his eyes shifting over your form. “Her color is better for sure.” His gruff voice caused you to stir again.

When your eyes fluttered open, you glanced around. Though the moment your eyes landed on both of them, you let out a shriek and shuffled away from them, falling off the edge of the bed before Wil could stop you. A yelp sounded out as you landed on the wound on your back. You were so frightened, that as you scooted back away from them to the corner of the hut, you didn’t notice the smeared trail of blood you left. When Wil moved around the bed to your side, he noticed your eyes never left the gnome. He turned and nodded to the male who quickly exited the hut.

Once the gnome was gone, your breathing started to slow a bit and your eyes scanned your surroundings. When your sight landed on Wil, his eyes were what caught you first. They were such a pure blue, mesmerizing to you.

“I’m Wil. What’s your name?” You shifted, resting your hand on his arm as you sat the rest of the way up with a groan and gave him your name. “We should get you back to the bed so I can take a look at your wound. It opened back up and I need to stop the bleeding.” The deep timber coming from this man helped soothe your raw nerves. When you nodded, he helped you back up and guided you back to the bed, sitting you down on the edge for him to take a closer look. Once you were sitting down, you shifted so he could have better access to your back. “How did this happen?” Wil asked as he put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. You took a moment before you started to explain how the trolls attacked your group and you were the only one to make it out alive. By the time you were done, he was starting to put some more salve on the wound. “That would explain how it was so badly infected and the poison.” After the salve was on, he put a bandage wrap around your stomach and back to cover it. His fingers deftly tied the fabric off quickly before he touched a scar just above the bandage. “This looks like it hurt.” “I caused the group to loose dinner. So that was punishment.” You said as if it wasn’t a big deal, and to you, it was all you knew. “Your group did this?” He was appalled at the thought of anyone hurting one of their own group. He leaned forwards so he could see your face. Turning your head to look at him, you opened your mouth to speak when your eyes saw his ear. Your hand reached up and gently touched the bottom of it. “You're a Mongrel too?” He gave just the slightest of a twitch/wince at that word. “I’m half elf, half human.” “Yeah, a mongrel. Like me.” You said as if it were a fact. Reaching up you moved your hair from covering your ear. “No one is a mongrel. That’s not a good word. Why do you use it?” You looked confused at his words. It was only a moment before you were telling him what all you had been taught about the races. When he gently asked questions about growing up, each response from you had his heart clenching in pain. “None of that is true.” He explained gently. Wil told you a quick generalized version of what the actual truth was. “You are safe here, the lands are safer than they have been in years.” Chewing his bottom lip slightly, he took a breath before reaching up and brushing your hair back over your ear. “What happened?” His voice was soft, eyes looking over the scarring on the tip of your ear. With what he had revealed to you, tears filled your eyes. “I was scared of having pointed ears. I didn’t want them, so I tried twice to do something about them. But it hurt too much. And I felt ashamed both times I couldn’t.” Wil felt the air leave his lungs in a woosh. How could anyone be so cold and cruel to have you believe it would be better to mutilate your ears. He gently reached up and with the lightest of touches traced over the scars. You were not expecting the warmth that flooded your stomach, the tingle to flow through your veins at the warm soft touch. A soft sigh left you as your eyes slid shut. This feeling was completely foreign to you. A flush filled Wil’s face and up his ears as he quickly pulled back, he knew better. Elf ears were super sensitive and were a pleasurable point. He knew how amazing certain touches could feel. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” He said as he stood up quickly. “I need to let the head healer know how you are doing. I’ll be back shortly with food for you.” With that, he was out of the hut, leaving you in total confusion as to what had just happened.

[klizzie93]

I can’t believe this is happening but I just posted my first ever (short) Shannara Chronicles story to Ao3!! I’ve been reading fanfic for years (Sherlock, mostly) and have also dabbled in writing it for myself, but this is the first one I’ve ever posted. I blame Austin. 🫣 (link is below)

I’m so in love with this sweet boy.

[austinbutlerslovers]

If this is your first time seeing these you’re very welcome

[ilovebuthatemen]

❤︎︎ ADORESBUTLER MASTER LIST ❤︎︎

apply for the taglist here

- hi !! my name is Sam, i’m 19 and welcome to my acc! <33 below are all my works 🫶🏻

requests are open for anything!! I mainly do any austin butler or Elvis Presley related!

reminders <3

Austin Butler :

- Smut: Trouble

- Fluff: Winding Down

- Smut: Be My Baby

- Smut: Halloween

Austin!Elvis :

- Smut: After Midnight

- Fluff: Safety

- Smut: Hands All Over

-Smut: Acts of Lust

Elvis Presley :

- Smut: Dangerous

- Fluff: Presley X-mas

Sebastian Kydd :

- Smut: Brat

[fxntxsix]

Guess who’s back (back again sHADY’S BACK imsorry)

Yessirrrr I am back so please fill me in on anything I missed and all the fanfics I missed (I’m looking at you @presleysnotes @adoresbutlers and @emmymaehereeeeee ) and yes I will have some more writing out soon

Kissies to all

-Fantasia

[romantiqueofthemind]

Soo are we just going to ignore Austin Butler in the Shannara Chronicles??? Like??????? We need more fics about Wil Ohmsford???

Like? The JAWLINE on the LAST ONE????? 🥵🥵🥵

[ao3feed-mythology]

Paranor

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/30yhrMa

by Aria_Breuer, The Long Series (Aria_Breuer)

Part 2 of my fanfiction mini-trilogy, Janet and the Druids.

Janet and Tobias have arrived at the Druid's Keep, under the Lion Aslan and the Druid Brona's watch. What mysteries will they uncover? Can they restore Janet's parents' human-like abilities? Will there be new hope?

Sequel to Moondust.

Words: 1328, Chapters: 1/7, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Origin Series: Stage 2 - Before the First Age - Janet and the Druids

Fandoms: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), The Shannara Chronicles (TV), Shannara Series - Terry Brooks, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic (Video Games), Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game), Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Peter Pan (1953), Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan (2003)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: F/M, Gen, Multi

Characters: Janet (OFC Dalmatian-Human), Tobias (OMC Hobbit), Aslan (Narnia), Brona | Warlock Lord, Anabeth (OFC Human-Shapeshifter), Frodo Baggins, Eretria (Shannara), Peter Pan (Peter Pan), Wil Ohmsford, Janus (OFC Dalmatian), Jock (OMC Dalmatian), Maximus | Cerberus (IMC Dog), Pan (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)

Relationships: Janus (OFC Dalmatian)/Jock (OMC Dalmatian), Janet (OFC Dalmatian-Human)/Tobias (OMC Hobbit), Aslan (Narnia) & Brona | Warlock Lord, Eretria/Wil Ohmsford

Additional Tags: Druid's Keep, Birth, Pan's Panpipe, Action/Adventure, Family, Friendship, Romance, Drama, Humor, Alternate Universe - Fantasy

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/30yhrMa

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 2

Here is part 2 everyone! <3

The next day, as Wil was saddling up Cricket, you watched each move he made. He then turns to you, resting his hand on your cheek. “I have to go. I need to find someone. I’ll miss you beautiful Ebony. Take care of yourself.” He said before turning and mounting Cricket. As they start off, you move alongside them, only sliding to a stop and rearing up as they reach the woods. You wished that he didn’t have to go, you were so close to showing him who you really were. With a sad heart, you began to wander, not caring which way you went. You had nothing to keep you here or interest you anymore. 

It was a few hours later that you felt a firm but gentle magical presence calling out to you. A man’s voice spoke to you, saying you were needed to help save the lands, that Wil would need you. At those words, you turned on a dime, heading towards the presence at breakneck speed. Running through the rest of the afternoon and early evening, you were breathing heavy, ground flying by you. As darkness started to fall, you felt the magical presence grow near. You were exhausted and wet with sweat from running the entire time. As you slowed to a walk, moving through a thicker patch of trees, the glow of a fire came into view. You stayed out of sight, looking at the man sitting near the fire, his horse nearby tethered to a tree dozing. The man’s head turned right to where you were standing in the shadows out of sight. When you hear your name in the same voice you heard earlier, it was coming from this man. He tilted his head in respect to you before waving his hand for you to join him near the fire. It took a minute or two before you slowly stepped into the glow of the fire. “It will be easier to talk if you were in your other form, young one.” You took a step back, if he knew, could you trust him? “My  name is Allanon, I’m a druid. You are one of the last of your kind. I knew of your grandparents. They were proud and fiercely loyal people. I was too late to help them. But I helped your parents get away.” He explained how your grandparents had been extremely close to the Shannara’s. How your bloodline and theirs always found each other. Your destiny was tightly entwined with Wil Ohmsford. Then went on to tell you more about your people. When you found love, it was deep, true and for the rest of your life.

While he talked, you shifted form with your back to him. You took the cloak off the log that was sitting there folded and draped it around you before sitting down. Allanon then told you about Wil’s past, what his father had done to help save the four lands with the elf stones that were now in Wil’s possession. He then told you about the Ellcrys and its purpose against the demons, how it was dying. When you finally were able to ask a few questions, your voice was scratchy from being in your horse form for so long. Once he answered your few questions, he offered you food and some water. Then he went about putting some protection spells around the fire. After eating, the exhaustion fully hits you and within minutes you are deeply asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You are woken up by a gentle shake of your shoulder. Flinching and swinging your fist towards whatever had woken you, your eyes shot open when a leather glove gently caught it. “It’s time we find Wil, young one.” With a groan, you sit up, rubbing your eyes. After a small breakfast, Allanon gets onto his horse before looking at you. 

You move over to him, hand him the cloak and then shift back. You stood as tall as his horse. With a nod, you both started off. About twenty minutes later, you heard a happy nicker and Cricket was rushing over to you, recognizing you right away. With a happy head toss and nudge to her neck, you continued to follow Allanon, Cricket staying with you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you finally came upon a house in one of the trees, Allanon dismounted and tethered his horse to a small tree. “I’ll be back with Wil.” He then headed up into the building. It wasn’t long before he was walking back over to you. He stood there waiting for Wil who wandered over towards him. He saw Cricket first and grinned. “That’s my horse.” He moved to Cricket and started to pat her neck. When you shifted, his eyes glanced over and grew wide. “Ebony?” Wil moved over and held his hand out to you. You stepped forwards and pushed your nose into his hand. He started to rub your neck with his free hand. “You are lucky Wil Ohmsford, this one’s bloodline doesn’t trust easily. Even less allow anyone this close unless they fully and completely trust that person.” His cryptic words made Wil look between the two of you. Shaking your mane out, you then nudge Wil towards Allanon who starts to tell him of the magic in his blood, how he can control the elfstones. His eyes and tone become annoyed then as he tells him that he can’t believe that he let the rover girl steal them from him. Without giving Wil time to ask anything, Allanon mounts his horse and starts away. “We need to get to the Druids Keep. Let's go.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not stopping once that night, you all reach a cliff overlooking the keep late the next morning. Wil is not impressed at all. When they climb off their horses and walk inside, you wait until they are out of view before shifting again. Being in human form after so long felt so wonderful. You could hear their voices and a few loud noises before their voices raised in volume. Once their voices started to get closer, you let out a sigh and shifted back quickly. Shaking out your whole body just as they were walking out, Allanon looked a little rough. You tilted your head slightly at him and he gave the smallest of head shakes.

“We need to get to Arborlon fast.” With that you were all once again racing off. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you finally reach the border, you slow to a stop when Allanon motions for you to wait just inside the trees for them. You watch them continue on, hearing Wil ask why you weren’t following as they disappeared. You settled in to wait for them, making sure that nothing was going to sneak up on you at all. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s a day later that they are riding back out, you easily joining alongside them in a gallop. When you stop again, Wil is pestering Allanon about a woman. It finally gets to a point that Wil wants to know about his father if Allanon won’t talk about the woman. You snort out a huff, bobbing your head at the same time Allanon smirks when Wil spoke about having to save the world, protect the princess and frying his brain. The druid looked around for a few more minutes before saying you had to head off again. When you reach the ocean, the freedom of the beach and salty breeze fills your heart and you take off at a flat out run. Kicking out and just letting go as you run, some of the recent worry recedes and leaves you feeling lighter. When you reach a slight turn, seeing a woman cleaning a fish, you slide to a stop, ears flattening back. Backing up a few steps, you let out a snort and only relax a little when Wil and Allanon reach your side. The woman was walking towards you when the guys dismounted, you moved to stand just behind Wil. The almost cold way she speaks to Wil has you stomping a hoof, ears laying back again. When Allanon told Wil she was at the waterfall, you followed him, not wanting to be around while the woman and Druid talked. There was major tension there that was making you antsy. 

You easily jump over a few rocky spots as Wil moves over them. “Show off!” He says with a laugh.  You let out a small nicker at him. When the waterfall comes into view, the naked woman along the water's edge freezes you in your spot. Though you closed your eyes, would have rolled them if you could, when he tried to call her over the roar of the waterfall. Trudging along behind him as he moves closer and tries again.

When he slips on a wet rock and drops to the ground, you let out a nose of almost laughter, head bobbing and tail flicking in entertainment. As Wil starts to roll over, you lean your head down, biting the back of his jacking and pulling him up. Time was not a necessity as Allanon had put it. While doing this, you didn’t notice the woman sneak around and when you finally did, your whole body shifted around on a dime, a huff of startlement filling the air. An angry cry flew out when a blade moved to Wil’s neck. That alone kept you still, not trusting her reflexes at all. 

As he turns around once telling her it would be less awkward if she were dressed, you kept your eye on her though shifting between the two once her blade was away from his neck. Putting your head over his shoulder, your ears only relax when his fingers curl around your nose gently. “It’s okay.” He murmurs to you softly, leaning into you lightly. When she was mainly dressed, Wil turned and faced her as she sat on the rock to put her boots on. While she was interrogating him, you kept lipping at his sleeve, not liking how she was speaking to him at all. Your head shoots up when you all hear a scream, your ears flicking around to face the direction. 

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 11

“You must be Eretria’s friends.” He spoke, eyeing how Wil had moved you to stand between him and Amberle. They quickly grabbed the three of you. You and Amberle were taken to a room where they made you put your clothing back on. They wanted to keep the dresses. When they got you outside, you saw they had done the same with Wil, obviously wanting to keep the outfit he had nabbed. Once you were back together, they took you into the woods and when you came to a small clearing with three large wooden posts, you noticed Cephelo tied to one. WIthin moments Wil was moved to the middle one, you were pushed quickly behind and tied on the opposite side of the post with him. Amberle was then tied to the third. “You can’t leave us out here.” Wil spoke up to the woman who had tied you and him up. “Shut it, Elf.” 

It was then that you heard almost growl like sounds in the distance. You became very uneasy when the woman said they were coming. Who?

You grabbed Wil’s left hand with your right. 

“Who’s coming?” “The trolls, Princess.” Cephelos spoke up finally. “I told you there was something not right about these people, didn’t I? Never thought I’d end up as dinner.” “We’re being fed to the trolls?” Wil asked, with complete disgust and disbelief in his voice.

“And now he’s up to speed. I got a proposal for you, Blondie. In exchange for my freedom.” You rolled your eyes at Cephelos. He was always trying to weasel his way out of everything. 

“And what exactly is that? Hmm?” The woman moved over to him. 

“I’m talking about elfstones, the most powerful magic in all the four lands. The last hope for the Elvin race. And they could be yours. I got them here right in my pocket. This could be our chance to get rid of the elves once and for all.” At those words you had to bite your lip to keep from laughing out loud at his stupidity. As the woman pulled out the pouch, you snickered softly and shook your head. When she saw that they were the dice, you actually laughed. “Have a nice life, Rover. Well, for the next 20 seconds anyway.” With that the woman and two men who had brought you out here, turned and started to walk away. 

“Here’s a thought, since you’ve still got the real elfstones on you, why don’t you whip ‘em out and show us what you’ve got before that pack of trolls rolls in and sucks the meat off our bones!” 

“Even if I could reach them, they only work on one thing… Demons.” 

“Would it really hurt to try?” Cephelos snapped back at Wil. “Wil… They are coming.” You spoke nervously. You could feel him start to fumble, trying to reach his pocket. “Hurry!” Amberle yelled out.

“I can’t reach the stones.” Wil was straining to try and reach them, and your hands were not at the right angle to even try to help. You watched as the troll slowed down as it reached the four of you. Its stench made you feel sick to your stomach. It moved around so it was standing in front of Wil. Just as it raised it’s ax to hit him, you heard a loud noise ring out and heard the body of the troll hit the ground hard. 

You lean to the side and look around Wil’s shoulder. You see Eretria and let out a sigh of relief at the same time Wil does. She moves over and cuts the two of you free before moving to Amberle. The moment she was freed, she wrapped her arms around Eretria. “I’m sorry for what I said.” Her voice was muffled into her shoulder. You and Wil watched the interactment. Though you rolled your eyes when Cephelo cleared his throat. With a roll of your eyes, you reach down and grab the blade from Wil’s boot and move over, freeing the rover before gently flipping the blade and holding it out to Wil. 

It was then, that the woman and man that had cut you off and one of the men that had brought you out here stopped near you.

“Oh, no, no, no! Do you realize what you’ve done?” 

“Ty, please.” Eretria pleaded, holding the gun up towards him as he raised his. 

“You’ve doomed us all.” He said before shooting at you all. Wil gripped you and pulled you into him as he put his back to the wooden post as cover. Shots rang out, your ears hurting from the loud noises. Crossbow bolts were soon hitting the wood by you. You grabbed Wil’s hand and moved back into the woods for some cover as Eretria shot back. Wil had his arms around you, watching what was going on. The moment the grunt moved forwards, he was shot in the head. When he dropped to the ground, Wil shot forwards towards him. “Wil!” You shout out as he moves, your eyes wide and fear filling your heart. He grabbed the crossbow the man had and shot back. You glance over as you hear both Rovers talking to each other, and see that Cephelo is bleeding, having been shot in the gut. 

When she handed the gun over, you looked back to Wil. “Wil, come on!” You needed him to get out of there. He was back at your side in moments as Cephelo stood up and started towards the two left alive, shooting the gun. You glance back when you hear him fall. He had given you enough time to get out of range before he had been killed. The smell of Trolls was strong to you. “This way, I don’t smell troll as much.” You speak out and start to lead the way. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When you finally stop running, the night has given way to morning. The sun was rising and the trees thinned out as you caught your breath. “What now?” Eretria asked, her breathing heavy as she looked at Amberle. “Now, we find Safehold.” She responded, resting her hand on the woman’s shoulder with a small smile. With that she took off again. 

Wil looks over at you. “You okay?” “Yeah, I just need to rest soon. We are near water, can you smell the sea?” You ask, he nods in return, grabbing your hand before taking off after the other two women. 

It wasn’t long before they broke through tree cover and were upon some metal ruins and just past that was the sea. All four of you stopped and looked across the large gap of water between you and another area of land. Only a small part of a bridge was still standing.  Eretria looked at the map and then back up. She sighed and looked between you all. Wil leaned against your side, looking around the front of you and looked down at the map in her hands. “What about that? The yellow line?” He asked, reaching over and pointing it out. “Do you see another path? The bridge was it.” “Well, hope you’re a swimmer.” Wil responded to Eretria. Out of the corner of your eye, you watched Amberle move off. You turn your head and watch her. When she looks down, you start over towards her. “We’re not going across.” She calls out. When you reach her side, you see what she was talking about. “We’re going under. There’s a tunnel.” 

You could feel the color drain from your face, your lungs contracting and having a hard time drawing in breath. The world started to dim around the edges and you gripped onto the railing in front of you. “It’s almost dusk. We go in there now, we’re spending the night. If there are trolls down there…” “Would you rather sleep out here in the open?” Amberle cut off his words. 

Her words made your knees weak. Yes you would rather sleep in the open than down in enclosed tunnels. “That tunnel could be flooded.” Wil responded. After a few moments of silence he turns, noticing you. He quickly moved to your side. “What’s wrong?” He had never seen you like this before. 

“I can’t go down there.” Your voice is barely audible. “What do you mean?” He gently turned you away from where you were looking and guided you a few steps away to have some privacy. “Small spaces. I can’t do them Wil. I feel like the walls close in on me, I can’t breath. It’s bad.” You looked into his crystal blue eyes while speaking. “You’re claustrophobic?” 

“Well, it never came up.” Your tone was layered with anxiety and unease. “Hey. I will be right beside you the entire time okay? Just focus on me, not where you are. You were meant to be at safehold with us.” He rested his hands on your upper arms and gave a gentle squeeze. Wil leaned his head down and rested his forehead against yours. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” 

Taking a few deep breaths, you try to focus on him, grounding yourself. The smell of the fresh air and water helped. After a few moments you felt a little better. Wil pulls back slightly, kissing your forehead before leaning back. “Ready?” “As I’ll ever be I guess.” You nod slightly. With a deep breath you turn towards the other two women. Both you and Wil glance over a green sign but stop on it. “Wil?” Your voice is soft and questioning if he saw it too. “Yeah.” He nodded before moving over to it, grabbing a chunk of soft white rock. By now Amberle and Eretria were standing side by side against the railing. They looked up and over when Wil moved to the sign. He wrote out the letters E and H, the sign now saying Safe Hold on it. 

“Safehold.” Eretria spoke softly. “We made it.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Wil said, reaching his hand out for you as he moved towards the stairs. Lacing your fingers with his, you moved right into his side once you were both down the stairs. Amberle and Eretria were behind the two of you. 

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 7

Every time I watch them arrive at Pykon, I laugh when Wil talks about following a creepy little kid. XD

When mountains came into view, you all stopped for a short rest. Crispin was looking through his telescope towards the mountains, talking about Safehold. Wil and you were standing next to each other against a tree. “Am I the only one who thinks staying the course is a bad idea?” “I think it is also. We need to figure something else out.” You speak softly, eyes glancing between Amberle and Crispin as they looked over at the two of you. 

“What do you mean?” Amberle asked with genuine confusion. “That Demon at the fort? It knew we were coming.” Wil stood taller as he spoke. “That’s impossible, ” Crispin responded in disbelief. 

“Allanon said the Dagda Mor had a spy at Arborlon.” When Wil spoke those words, your eyes shot to him.

“A changeling.” “We saw it die.” The two other women spoke, glancing at each other. You were glad you had missed that, you never wanted to come upon one ever. They were nasty Demons. “There could be another.” Wil stated softly. 

“He’s right. We need to find another way to the Wilderun.” Amberle stated with a nod. 

Crispin said there was no other way. That the mountains were impassable. At the next set of words your blood turned to ice. “There’s always Pykon.” Cephelo said, glancing at everyone. “It offers passage through the Rock Spur and into the Wilderun beyond.” Amberle asked about it, confused. “A fairy tale, Princess.” Crispin stated. 

“Pykon’s no fairy tale. My parents died in the dungeons of that stinking Elvin fortress.” Cephelo revealed. Crispin brought up the storm that was growing ever closer to you all. Cephelo responded about how you wanted to spend days walking around the mountain, but he wouldn’t. When he started to walk off, Amberle stopped him, telling him to take everyone there. And that if he tried anything Crispin would finish what he had started. 

When everyone moved to follow the rover, you slowly pushed off the tree. When Wil pushed off the tree, you smelled a coppery scent and your eyes saw the red mark he had left. “Wil, you’re bleeding.” You spoke up, grabbing his wrist gently, turning his hand over, seeing the cut on his palm was bleeding again. You tore off a piece of the cloak and wrapped it around his hand a bit tightly. He thanked you and slid his arm around the small of your back while guiding you forwards after the others. 

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The wind and snow had picked up as you all moved up the mountain. The path got thinner and thinner until it was just a small ledge against a sheer cliff face. Cephelo was leading the way. Wil was second while he helped you along right behind him. Crispin was behind you, ready to help if needed to you or Amberle who was right behind him. Eretria was following them with the scout taking up the rear. 

When Wil’s foot slipped for a moment, your heart dropped. He caught his footing and began to move forwards over the icy spot. Once over it, he reached back to help you over. When Cephelo stops and starts to argue with Crispin, you and Wil continue past him a few steps. He pulled the dagger from his boot and brought it up to a thickly snow covered part of the rock. Scraping the snow away, he sees some ruins carved into the rock. You both look up and see a huge statue. “Guys.” Wil calls out, they all look over and then up. Everyone started forwards again, coming around a corner and a large frozen stone fortress emerged through the blowing snow in the distance. 

“Nice-looking fairy tail, isn’t it?” Cephelo calls out to Crispin with a grin on his face then laughs shortly. 

Wil helps you along as everyone hurries to get to the fortress, wanting out of the cold blowing wind. The large doors open and once everyone is inside, they are pushed back closed.

Crispin lights two torches, handing one to Wil and keeping the other as they start to look around the entryway. 

“Looks abandoned.” Wil’s voice bounced off the walls. “Looks can be deceiving.” Crispin says as you all continue to turn and look around. 

Wil’s body stops moving and tenses up for a moment, your eyes moving to where he is looking and you see a little girl with blonde hair standing in a hallway. 

Once she starts to turn, you notice her ears are pointed. She then starts down the hallway away from you all without saying anything. You are one of the last to move after her. Wil glanced back, seeing you not moving so he stepped back to your side. “You okay?” “Yeah, let’s follow the creepy little girl who showed up silently. Nothing bad will happen to us.” You murmur quietly so only he can hear. “Anyone else have a problem with this plan?” Eretria spoke up, she was between you and the others in the group. Wil used your words as he responded for the both of you, and you nodded your head agreeing with him. “Following a creepy kid through an abandoned fortress? Not at all.” 

When you all round a corner into a slightly larger room, an elf was starting a fire. Once it flared to life, he turned around to face you, the little girl next to him. 

He welcomed you all, glad to have company after a long while of none. Apparently the little girl, ‘Mag’ had seen you coming up the mountain. Well that made it even more creepy. You backed up a step, this man just looked evil to you. His grin was making you uneasy. 

“Oh god.” You whispered when Crispin introduced himself with his title. “Not good.” “We heard this place might offer passage beyond the mountains.” Wil spoke up. You reached out, grasping the back of his jacket lightly in unease. You would not speak a word, to have this man’s attention on you, the thought made you sick. He could not know what you were. “Shit.” You once again hissed when Amberle spoke up about their mission. 

Hearing how the passage had collapsed in an avalanche two winters ago made your heart sink and clench at the same time. The thought of spending any more time here was making you nauseous. 

When she accepted his offer of staying until the storm passed, you moved closer against Wil’s back and closed your eyes. When the man showed you and the other two women to a room that had bathing pools in, Amberle offered to help you clean up if you wanted. With a nod, you both stepped into the room. 

She helped you undress and down into the water. It was only moments before she was in the water with you, neither minding the other’s nakedness. Amberle helped wash out your hair, the tangles sliding away and the shine coming back to it. You could feel the dirt and knots in your muscles soak away. Once you were cleaned up, she helped you back out of the water. After drying off and helping you dress again, she put a few small braids in your hair. “Thank you.” You said, giving her a small hug. She smiled happily and nodded. “Anything you need, if I can help, let me know.” When you turned to leave, you heard her step back into the water. Once you stepped outside, you saw Eretria walking towards you. “They are out in the entrance hall.” She spoke before stepping into the bathing room. As you got closer you could see the flickering of the torches they still had. 

Wil was up at the doors while Cephelo and Crispin were whispering to each other. He turned and moved down to the two men. “You know, if we found this place, so can the Demons. Maybe we should worry about that and not some Elvin janitor.” 

“This fortress is impenetrable.”

“Is it? We walked right in the front door. I’d feel better if one of us kept watch.” You moved over to Wil as the man came to announce dinner. Cephelo and Crispin followed after the man while you stood next to Wil. “Sure, I’ll take first watch. I don’t need dinner or anything.” 

“I’m staying here with you. I don’t like this place at all. I don’t feel safe here. Something feels really off.” When Wil sits down, you slowly sit down next to him. The two of you sit there in silence for a while before he pulled a shell out of his pocket. Leaning your head on his shoulder you ask him about it. When you learned that it was his moms, you wrapped your arm around his shoulder and gave him a hug. You pull back when you hear steps approaching. Mag has two plates, handing one to each of you before sitting down on the stairs with the two of you. Wil thanked her, setting the shell down on the step. You keep quiet and smell the food, not sure what it was. Wil, being the sweet being he was, started to talk to the girl. While they talked, you took a tiny bite to taste it. When it didn’t taste bad, you took a few slow bites. You set your plate down when Wil does and then listens to him tell the little girl about the ocean. 

Around the time she asks ‘for keeps’ you are starting to feel tired. Your energy was draining at an alarming rate. Your hand shot out to Wil’s knee as you turned your head to look over at him. Before you could even open your mouth to say anything you felt the world tilt and the cold stone of the steps against your back. Wil passed out moments after you. 

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 9

Weekend is almost here everyone!! <3

You learned the young man’s name was Perk. He moved over to the cage-like door on the shallow cave and made quick work of getting rid of it with Wil’s help. When the creature steps out, you see she is a Roc. You take a few steps towards the creature while looking her over. She was beautiful and had a beautiful spirit. Wil spoke with Perk about having to find Amberle and Eretria and needing the four of you to get back together. The young man offers to take you and Wil on Genewen to look. With a grateful thanks, Wil helps you up behind Perk, then climbs on behind you. It is a little while before you spot a hole broken into the ground. With a quick low flyby it is found that this is where the two were. Wil grabs rope from Perk and quickly makes foot holds in it before swinging down off the back of Genewen down and into the opening. All you can really see is movement, the darkness down there was hard to see from out in the brightness of the day. When there was a tug on the rope, Genewen started to fly up, lifting the rope and the three out of the hole. It’s not until they are out of the hole and some other elf hunters are running out of the woods shooting their bows at you all, that you realize Eretria was not there. Once to a safe area, you land and Wil helps you off so that Perk can go take some flying sweeps trying to find if Eretria was taken with the elf hunters that you all escaped from. You stood next to Wil at the base of a grouping of trees, while Amberle kept watch for Perk and Genewen. Shifting on your feet, you lean into Wil’s side as the warmth of the sun is shining on you through the branches. Amberle starts to get more nervous and antsy, starting to pace. “It’s taking too long.” She says while moving over to you and Wil. 

“He’ll be back. You just got to be patient.” Wil said as he watched the Princess move around. “What do you have there?” You asked, seeing her hand gripped around something. She opened her fingers, showing three different shaped items that looked almost like stone and had numbers on them. 

“It’s just something I found inside.” She said handing them to you. “What is it?” Wil asked, reaching out and taking one from your hand to look at it. “It is some sort of game or something, I am not quite sure. They just caught my eye.” “Hey!” You heard Perk before you saw him as he was jogging over. You slipped the three blue shapes into your pocket.

“Any sign?” Amberle asked with worry on her face. “They packed her up and headed out quickly. I think they’re using the trees for cover. I’ve done half a dozen passes, and still nothing.” Perk spoke, looking between the three of you. “We need to go on foot.” Amberle said while Perk pulled a whistle out of his pocket. 

“Thank you Perk.” Wil spoke gently. “No, thank you. If you ever need me, use this whistle.” Perk said while holding a whistle out to Wil, who took it gently with a nod. With that the young man ran back to his Roc and they took off. “She’s out there alone.” “We’ll find her. I promise.” Wil responded to Amberle while sliding the whistle away.  She started off towards the area that Eretria and herself had fallen to start from there on foot. You followed after though for you it was not as fast as them. The fabric of the pants was rubbing against your hip and it was starting to hurt more and more. When you all got to the hole, you started to shed your boots, pants and shirt, dropping them into a pile at your feet. “I can’t continue on two feet. I need to shift if I am going to keep up with you two. I will be of better use in my other form as well.” You said as you took a step back from the clothing. Wil had turned from you the moment he saw what you were doing, the tips of his ears turning red. Amberle nodded and grabbed your clothing quickly and tied them into almost a pack themself and hooked it to her belt. You shifted and let out a breath as you took a moment to let your skin stretch and settle. You moved over to Wil’s side once the irritation died down mostly. With a nod Amberle took off into the woods, trying to find any type of tracks. There were some that she quickly found and then bolted off even faster, not even slowing down to weave through the underbrush. The tracks trailed off here and there until the seemed to disappear all together. You stayed right next to Wil the entire time, your gait so much more smooth and easy on your hip. “Amberle, wait up! Hey, wait!” Wil called out finally a little over an hour later as she had not once slowed down. 

“The last track we picked up was over a mile ago. Okay, we need to gain some ground before her trail goes cold.” 

“We need to rest.” He said, trying to keep his breathing even. He glanced at you, seeing you were even looking slightly out of breath and had to be tired. 

“We need to find Eretria.” Amberle said before turning and starting to jog off again. Wil let out a breath before moving after her and catching her elbow. 

“Amberle, stop.” 

“She thinks we ran off without her and that she's alone again. And I’m not gonna let that happen!” She pulled out of his grasp and started to move again. You shifted your ears away from her loud tone of voice. “Why are you yelling?” Wil asked.

“I don’t know!” 

“You feel guilty. I get it. So do I. But we can’t get distracted. We have a job to do here.” You shook your head, mane flipping from one side to the other at his words. Wrong thing to say to an upset woman. The look on her face showed just what you were thinking.

“How can you even say that!?” 

“You’re the one always saying we can’t let our feelings get in the way of our mission. You need to rest Amberle, so does she.” He said motioning to you, She looked over at you before looking back to Wil. “I’ll rest after I find Eretria.” With that she turned and took a few steps before you let out a sound at the same time Wil yelled at her to stop. She froze in her tracks. Wil had reached out to catch her but she had stopped without him needing to. He looked down at her feet, her eyes moving there as well. He glanced along the vines and then followed them up to a hanging cage that was ready to drop when tripped over. 

“Probably trolls. Eritrea told me to expect traps out here.” He murmured while you took a few steps up and knocked a larger chunk of branch forwards and onto the vines, setting the trap off. The cage came crashing down and the edges buried into the ground at the weight of it. 

Wil sighed and turned back to Amberle, you turning to them as well. “We will do anything to find her. But if we want to make it out of these woods alive, we need to be careful. We rest, then we eat. And then, then we keep looking.” Amberle finally gave in and nodded her head. 

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The three of you had found a small spot and Wil made a small fire to eat and rest by, at the base of one of those sentinel statues. While Wil was making the fire, Amberle moved around, gathering items to cook over the fire. You stood silently by Wil the entire time, head lowered as you rested and closed your eyes. Once he had the fire going, he sat there and ran his hand over your nose and cheek, soothing not only you but himself with the motions. You only shifted your weight on your hooves when Amberle stepped back into camp and set some food to cook down near the fire. It wasn’t long before she had the food over the fire on skinny sticks. 

The crackling of the fire and sound of the birds in nearby trees lulled you into a doze. Your muscles jumped slightly at hearing Wil ask about the statues and Amberle responding. “Sorry.” He murmured to you, continuing to run his hand over your nose and cheek. You gave in and slowly laid down, back against Wil’s side as you listened to Amberle continue to explain the status. Wil leaned back against you, laying his arm over your back and taking a stick with the food from Amberle once it was cooked. You gave a soft nicker when Wil took the third stick and pulled everything off one at a time once it had cooled a little bit and held a piece in his hand for you to eat while he munched on his. Amberle sat on the other side of the fire. Her eyes were full of pain and sorrow at watching the two of you. She needed to get Eretria and make sure she was okay. Her feelings for the Rover had grown exponentially over the last few days. She could even venture to say it was close to love. 

Wil finished his food quickly and then once you were done as well, he laid his head on your back, arm once again over your back as well. Your strong heartbeat was soothing something deep inside of him. 

Just as you were starting to doze off again, you heard a clang and a man grunt. You shifted anxiously and once Wil had jumped up, you did the same. The three of you silently moved into the trees to see what had caused the noise.

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 8

Thanks for all the love on this story! <3

You feel someone shake your shoulder, your head is pounding and you groan softly. 

Wil says your name softly, giving your shoulder another gentle shake. Slowly opening your eyes, you see Wil kneeling over you, the girl standing behind him. When you see her, you quickly scramble to pull Wil away from her. Once he realizes what you are doing, he shakes his head.

“It’s okay, she is coming with us. She wants to be free of this place.” The truth in his eyes calms you quite a bit and you nod. “Where are the others?” You ask softly, eyes moving around and not seeing anyone else. “They are being held in a different room. We need to get them.” Wil tells you the plan as he unties you. Mag guides you out and to the room where the others are. She leaves to cause a distraction while Wil unties the other three. Once done, you all move to the door Meg pointed out and when Wil is able to push the door open, Eretria and Crispin rush into the room and knock down the elf. Wil moves over to Amberle and works on freeing her. Eretria moves over to Amberle and gives her a hug, pulling back only to kiss her. Wil turns to Mag. “You’re safe now, but we need to go. You know a way out of here?” She nods, taking his hand and leading the way. In the bathing room, she points to one of the large fabric tapestries. Wil pulls it down, and goes to open it. An arrow landing in the wood just beside his head stops everyone. 

“How is he still alive?” You ask out when you see the elf redrawing his crossbow to fire again. 

When he tells Mag to go over to him, Wil guides her behind him. 

“She’s coming with us!” “They’re taking me to a new home.” Mag says to the guy. “This is your home! You did this. You poisoned her with your lies! Made her into a deceitful mongrel, like you!” He shoots the bolt at Wil, Mag moving in the way to block him and gets hit in the back. She collapsed into Wil’s arms. You help Wil guide her to the ground, his face showing everything he was feeling in that moment. He pulls the bolt from her back before fully laying her down. 

Amberle rushed over and stabbed her sword through the elf’s stomach, killing him this time. 

“She’s dead.” He almost whimpers out. Your heart breaks for him and for the girl who would have finally had a life, be a kid. You help Wil move her over to the side, laying her on the tapestry on the ground. As he moved her hand, he noticed something clenched in her fingers. It was his mothers seashell. A small smile forms on his face and you brush a few strands of hair off her face. “We have to go.” Amberle steps over and says softly to the two of you. Wil nods and closes Mag’s fingers back around the shell. You stand up after giving her wrist a soft squeeze for giving her life for Wil’s. You would leave an offering for her spirit when you had a moment. Both of you move over to the doorway when a loud growl fills the air. Turning around, everyone sees the demon from the previous day. Crispin tells you to get Amberle out of there, that he would be right behind you. You turn back around and see both Rovers are gone already. The three of you hurry down the hallway of the exit. Getting outside, you see Cephelo on the other side of the gorge and Eretria waiting for you guys. When she sees you, she shifts the bar she was holding that was connected to a line across it. 

All four of you grab hold of it and get ready to go across. As you start to push off, Wil faces backwards, the Demon coming out of the tunnel. It hooks its ax over the cable and starts to follow you. When that happens, you all get stopped in the middle of the line. 

“Just… Die ALREADY!” Wil shouts out, the elf stones glowing in his hand. A wave of blue bursts from his fist towards the demon. Suddenly, you are all falling. Your stomach is in your throat as you reach out, trying to find hold of any of the others. The last thing you know is a hard splash into water. 

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When you regain consciousness, you are on the bank of a river. With a groan, you roll over and get your bearings. Twenty or so minutes later, you are on your feet looking around, calling out for Wil, Amberle and Eretria. Searching for a good twenty minutes, you start to hear voices. When you finally see that it isn’t anyone you know, you watch them to try to figure out who they are. It’s not long before you realize they are elf hunters. You quickly look around you for a place to hide, and when you don’t see anything, you realize you are going to need to shift. It will hurt like hell and possibly reopen the wound on your hip but they wouldn’t know who you are at least. Taking a few deep breaths, you back up just out of sight and shift. With a groan, you turn your head, seeing that at least it didn’t open back up, but it was scabbed over and when you moved a few steps, it hurt to move. A minute or so later, the two men came around the bend in the river and when they spotted you, their eyes grew wide. 

“If we can catch it, we could sell it along with that elf’s mount.” Before you can turn and try to take off, they are close enough that they get a rope around your neck and then your nose. It hurts too much to rear or try to fight them right now so you just let them lead the way. If you could just get a few hours to rest from the harsh fall and river ride, you could get your strength and get away from them. 

It was slow going, limping as they guided you back to their camp. They tied you up to a large wagon near a large rock formation that was hollow inside and had a cage style covering over it. You let your head hang low, eyes closing as you listened to everything going on around you. 

It was maybe a half hour later that a woman and man came marching into the camp. When she held a sword aloft that was familiar to you, you listened closely to what she was saying. Amberle and Eretria were alive and had managed to get away from these elf hunters. That was a good thing. 

You looked around as she spoke about doubling the reward for whoever brought Amberle's head to her, and you caught sight of two blond’s behind a log. Had you not been looking at the exact moment you would not have seen the slight movement. Tossing your head up as high as you could, you let out a short nicker when you caught Wil’s eyes. When you saw him motion to keep low, you bobbed your head before shifting your weight slightly and lowered your head again and tried to relax. All but one guy races out of the camp, all yelling and shouting excitedly. It is only a minute or two of silence before you hear a voice talking about his ear. You opened your eyes once more and looked behind you seeing the young man was tall and very skinny. Stupidly he tried to go up against the man that had to be twice his muscle mass. It was a good thing Wil wasn’t far behind him as he was thrown to the ground like a twig. Just as the man went to cut his ear off, Wil had Amberle’s sword against his neck. You watched as the events unfolded leading to the young man cutting the elf hunters throat. You let out a horrified sound and took a few steps back, the rope tying you up pulled taught. The look on WIl’s face showed the same shock you were feeling. You give the rope a few tugs trying to loosen it, though all you do is tighten it around your head. The sound must have pulled Wil from his shock as he is at your side in moments. “Hey, it’s okay, I got you.” He murmured while guiding your head down a little before slipping the rope over your ears and off your head before dropping it. He shifted to the side and moved to your back hip, looking at the scabbing. “I’m glad it didn’t get worse from the fall.” You shift back, hissing at the slight pain in your hip. Wil slid his arm around your lower back to help steady you. With his help, you moved closer to the wagon and grabbed an outfit to put on. There were many random things in the wagon besides some clothing, but you were just happy to have something to wear. 

It was only a minute or two and a very red faced Wil, until you were dressed. 

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 6

Part 6 is here everyone. <3

It was about mid day before you all packed up and were heading back out. Amberle quickly moved over to you and Wil. She had a small bag in one hand. “Here, I had a spare shirt,loose pants and a pair of boots  in case I needed them. You can have them.” She said, holding the bag out to you. Gently taking the bag from her, you gave her a soft smile and bow of your head. The rest of the group had started to move out, Amberle making sure they continued even though they noticed you and Wil not behind them.

“Do you need any help?” He asked while you pulled the clothing and boots out. “Maybe with the pants and boots once I get the shirt on.” When he nodded, you handed him the pants and boots. Then stepping behind him making sure no one could look back and see you, you took the cloak off to quickly slip the shirt on and then put the cloak back on over. “Okay.” You murmured, the shirt fell to the tops of your thighs, giving just enough cover. Wil turned, setting the boots down. He knelt down, keeping his eyes firmly on the ground. You rested your hands on his shoulders while slowly stepping into the pants. You took the waist of them from him and slid them up as he turned and looked away again. He then helped you into the boots, tying them up for you.

Once dressed he helped you up into the saddle and then swung up himself. Cricket caught up to them easily in a few minutes. The rover girl was riding with the captain, the princess was on her horse and the guards were leading Cephelo on foot. At about the same time the rover girl asked if anyone heard that, you noticed there was not a single bird singing. It made you uneasy, wanting to bolt from the area. 

“I don’t hear anything.” Wil spoke up. 

“There are no birds singing.” You murmured to him, shifting to look around more. “Something doesn’t feel right.” Wil glanced around, tightening his arms around your stomach. Once the others started to get off their horses, Wil slid down himself. As they moved up the path a short bit, the guard rode into an open area. It wasn’t long before the horse reared, throwing the guard to the ground and taking off out of the clearing. You all watched as the man got poisoned and died. Watching that happen made you even more uneasy. “We need to leave this area. Now.” You spoke, causing Wil to look at you as the captain spoke to the few others up near him about leaving. They moved back to their horses and mounted up, Wil was up behind you in moments and you all started off again. Now having to take a different way around, it added an extra hour or so to the trek to your destination. The captain would complain here and there about the weapons of humankind and it was starting to wear on your nerves. Wil must have noticed as he started to ask you about your childhood, sharing parts of his childhood, to keep your attention off the captain. The conversation between the two of you was flowing easily and found you both had things in common and also interests. You found out that Wil was only a year older than you, which you smiled at. It was a surprise to you when everyone stopped, the captain once again going off.

“I lost a good man back there, Rover.” “Oh don’t worry about it Captain. The elves will get their chance to destroy the world.” The rover responded. You let out a groan at the bickering and leaned back more into Wil’s chest. “I hate to interrupt, but when the demons show up, there won’t be any ‘Elf this’ ‘Human that’. It’ll just be us and them.” Wil snapped at the two men. When you heard Amberle call out ‘look’, you looked forwards and saw your destination. The torches give off a small amount of light. “Where are the guards?” She asked, glancing back at you and then the captain. Wil slid off and stepped forwards to join them. You nudged Cricket to follow. 

When he blew his horn, you all watched with bated breath, wondering what would happen. When three heads flew through the air and landed near the edge of the woods where you all were, a few of the horses startled at the sudden movement. As it was, you felt Cricket back up a step or two.

Well, that wasn’t good, Rin Katsin was now a dead end, literally. As the gates opened up, you noticed a red glow emanating from a black figure. Your stomach almost curdled at the black aura pouring off it and it made you want to vomit. 

“Wil, we need to go!” you spoke up right before you were all told to fall back. You stayed on Cricket, knowing you would be a liability with your wounded hip. The other two horses took off into the woods, Cricket shifting and prancing uneasily under you. When Eretria and Amberle were told to go into the woods, you shook your head. Wil couldn’t stay and fight this demon on his own. Cephelo wouldn’t offer much help at all. As the two women turned, Eretria grabbed the reins of Cricket and pulled her away, taking you with. “No! We can’t leave them!” You say as you keep glancing back, watching as Wil held up the stones in his hand. Within moments he was out of your sight, the three of you getting into thicker denser woods easily. All you could hear was the roaring of the demon as you waited with baited breath. A loud explosion caused all three of you to flinch and you looked towards the way it came from. The time seemed to crawl by, though you wouldn’t have been able to say how long it really was before both the rover and Wil emerged through the trees where you were waiting. You let out a deep sigh. Sliding down off Cricket slowly and carefully, you hobbled forwards. Wil’s long legs ate up the distance between the two of you. His arms wrapped around your shoulders in a hug, while yours slid around his waist. 

When you pulled back, you noticed him favoring his left hand and then saw blood. “What happened?” You asked quietly. 

Wil pulled a bandage out and quickly wrapped it around his hand as he told you. When he tried to tie it with one hand, you took the two ends and knotted it for him. The captain of the guard and one scout were soon meeting up with the five of you and camp was made for the night. You curled up on one of the now extra bedrolls that was one of the scouts that was dead. Wil laid his right next to yours and sat down with a sigh. He took a moment to shed his jacket and boots. “How is your hip doing?” he asked as he turned to face you. “It still hurts.” You moved the fabric of the cloak and the waist of the pants down a bit so he could look at it. Wil trailed his fingers over the edge of the stitches, it was looking better already. Covering it with the cloak fabric, he then pulled the blanket over you as he laid back, eyes closing and letting out a deep breath. The exhaustion of the day soon crept up on you, eyes closing and breathing evening out. While asleep, your arm had shifted over Wil’s chest and his hand rested on it. You slowly woke to the sound of birds and the sun a nice warm glow through the trees. Taking a deep breath, you became aware of your head laying on Wil’s shoulder and your arm thrown over him. Slowly shifting to sit up, you noticed the one guard and captain were awake and talking quietly. 

Wil woke up when you moved, his hand moving up and rubbing his face. When he opened his eyes and saw you, a smile filled his face. “Morning.” His voice was rough and laced with sleep. It was very sexy to you. “Morning.” You responded, stretching your arms as you tore your eyes away from him. As he sat up you glanced back over and a grin took over your face. His hair was quite a mess. “What?” He asked, seeing your smile. “Your hair has a mind of its own right now.” He flushed slightly, ears turning a light pink as he looked away, trying to smooth his hair down. There were a few strands that weren’t cooperating and so you reached up and helped, flattening down the rest and making sure there were no tangles. “Thanks.” He murmured softly and gave you a small smile. You both looked over when Amberle started to shift as if she was having a nightmare. Eretria moved over and woke her up. She bolted to her feet and looked around as Cephelo made a snide comment about how she was talking in her sleep and maybe she was dreaming about Wil. She ignored the man and said that they needed to leave. The captain agreed, saying that a big storm was approaching and they needed to move. Everyone got up and started to gather everything together to pack back on the horses. Wil helped you up and gathered both bedrolls up and attached them to Crickets saddle. You moved over to his side and he helped you up into the saddle. Once everyone was ready to go, the captain took the lead and guided the group onwards. It was mid afternoon when the snow started to fall. 

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 14

Almost done with this one. Hope you all are still enjoying the ride. xD

You let out a sigh of relief when she sat up. She was alive, and now you just needed to figure out how to get Amberle back out of the bloodfire. 

“You lost too much blood.” He responded while helping her stay sitting upright. “We thought you were….” He let out a large sigh. “But the stones brought you back.” He kissed her forehead in thanks that it worked. “I guess you’re a healer after all.” She said softly, and when she saw you, she smiled and reached up, grabbing your hand. It only took a moment of looking around for her to realize Amberle was missing. “Where is she?” “Uh…” Wil wasn’t sure how to answer that gently. He glanced over to where the portal was. “She didn’t make it out.” Eretria started to tear up, one trailing down her cheek as she looked to the pedestal and grabbed onto it. “We need to open it back up.” Wil and you both helped her stand when she started to get up. She pushed her hand down over the sharp point once more, the portal opening right away. You moved towards it, only stopping when Wil grabbed hold of your wrist. “Amberle!” You yelled out. After a few moments you called out again. “Amberle!” Shortly after, you started to see her through the red mist and flames of the portal. Eretria pulled her hand off the spike and the portal closed behind her. Amberle raced down and wrapped her arms around all three of you as everyone came to one spot. 

“Hey, what happened in there?” Wil asked, eyes moving over her to make sure she wasn’t hurt. “It’s hard to explain.” “But you have the seed?” Eretria asked, arm still around her shoulders as she nodded her head. “But the last leaf has fallen in Arborlon. The Dagda Mor is free.” Those words made your stomach drop. “We need to get back as fast as possible!” Eretria spoke up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eretria was leading the way once again through the dark underground tunnels, a torch in her hand. Amberle and Wil had grabbed theirs again as well. 

“Anyone remember how to get out of this place?” You ask, voice wavering with unease. Wil was right next to you, Amberle at the back. “I’m working on it.” Eretria spoke up while keeping a steady pace. “And when we do, how do we get back to Arborlon?” Amberle spoke up. 

“Nobody said it was gonna be easy.” She responded right away. “We’re gonna make it, we just have to…” Wil was interrupted by the sound of trolls growling out. You all freeze and when you glanced back, you saw light growing from behind and shadows moving around. 

“Run!” You called out, everyone turning and taking off at a sprint. Coming around a bend a bit further down, you all slide to a stop, a gate in the way. Wil rushes up to it, trying to see how heavy it was, if he could lift it or not. Amberle moved over to a large wheel, trying to turn it. You rushed over as well, when both of you couldn’t get it, you called Wil over to help. Eretria stood with her back to you all, pulling a dagger out. With the three of you, the gate started to lift up. “We have to go!” Eretria called out, the growls getting louder as the moments passed. All four of you slide under and Eretria tries to close the gate asking for help. You pull down on it with her, even standing on it. Nothing is moving it down, even with all of you trying. “Leave it, we can outrun them.” Wil calls as he bends down to grab a torch. 

Just as you go to turn after Wil, you see Eretria duck under the gate. “What are you doing!?” Wil yells at her, as a troll starts down the hallway towards you all. 

She throws one of her daggers, taking it down easily. Grabbing the ax from the body, she turns and cuts through the rusty chain holding the gate up. “No!” You and Wil both shout, your hands on the gate staring at her in disbelief. “I bought you some time. Use it!” She yells back at the three of you. 

“You can’t do this! We have to go back together.” Amberle says, tears filling her eyes and catching in her throat. 

“No, you have to go back. Don’t you get it? We all have a part to play. I’m doing mine. Now it’s up to you.” She spoke, stepping up to Amberle through the gate. She reaches through pulling her up close and kissing her. “It’s not up to you.” “We will come back for you.” You say, eyes never leaving this brave woman. You had been wrong about her. You were not going to lose her. “I promise.” You watch as she takes down another troll, when a third rounds the corner, she throws the ax, hitting it in the head and then finishes it off before turning back to you all. “Go!” Once she runs out of sight, you grab Wil’s hand and turn Amberle by her arm, pushing her ahead of you. It was up to you and Wil to get her back to the Ellcrys now. 

It isn’t long, running as fast as you can, that you round a final corner and see the light of day and the exit. They both drop their torches as you race between them up the metal stairs. Once in the woods, you are halfway down a set of stairs between two large rocky walls in the hillside when Amberle and Wil stop to look back. Had you not been paying attention, you would have bowled over the princess. Sliding to a stop, gripping onto the craggy rock, you glance between the two of them. “Amberle, Wil… We need to go.” You hear horses in the distance and gruff voices, so you pull the princess up back between the rocks and lay against the wall in the shadows. Amberle takes a few steps down only to look around the curve. She pulls her head back quickly. It wasn’t a minute later that a few trolls stalk past your hiding place and head into a cave at the base of the stairs. 

Wil takes a step down, as if he was going to go after them. You panic and grip his shirt, holding tight as you can. “Wil, we have to go.” You say, gently turning his head to face you. When his blue eyes were locked with yours, you touch your forehead gently to his. “She wants us to go.” Amberle whispers, pain in her voice as she rests her hand on his arm. When he nods, she turns and starts towards the horses the trolls had tied up. Wil takes a few breaths before kissing your forehead softly. You take his hand and follow after Amberle. When she climbed onto one of the horses, you were quick to unhook the saddles of the other horses, pulling the bridles off and shooing them free. She took off right away, knowing your speed.

You then were quick to shuck your clothing off, handing them to Wil before shifting. It took him a moment to glance back and see you had shifted. He gently leapt up onto your back, your clothing now woven into the leather straps on his jacket and the boots hung over the base of your neck. His long fingers wove into your mane, and you let out a deep breath before taking off once you knew he was settled. It didn’t take long to catch up to Amberle and the horse she was on. Sensing your urgency, it ran as hard and fast as it could to keep stride with you. Though you didn’t keep up your fastest pace, not wanting to make the horse run itself to exhaustion. 

The sun was starting to set by the time you reached a cliff edge, looking out over Arborlon. Tossing your head and trying to steady your breath, you shifted on your feet. “I have never been so happy to see anything in my entire life.” The grin on his face was short-lived when you all heard creatures shouting and yelling in the distance. Both Amberle and Wil look at each other before sliding down and creeping over towards the way you need to head. 

You wait, ears pointed towards them and the noises, your head held high. You see the demons in the distance and your blood runs cold. This is not good at all. Amberle and Wil are talking very softly for a few moments before Wil is slinking back over to you. He grabs your boots off your neck and holds your clothing out for you to take. “We are going to take cover and wait for the darkness of night.” He whispers to you as you shift. You nod, taking your shirt and pants one at a time, sliding them on. Then you lean against his side to slide your boots on. Once done, you quickly unsaddle and remove the bridle from the other horse and it takes off. Wil leads you back over to Amberle who then starts to lead the both of you. All three of you are silent as she leads you down and into a small cave, the opening hardly visible as it was.

Once inside, Amberle removes her sword and Wil gives her his jacket. He then holds you close while you all wait. You reach out and take her hand in yours in silent support. It’s not long before you all lay down, trying to get some rest. Wil is curled around you and holding you tightly. You refused to let go of Amberle, knowing her thoughts were on Eretria. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wil shifts and rubs your arm before slowly sitting up. “We should head out now that it is dark enough.” He said while you sat up, pulling Amberle up with you. Once you are all up and ready to go, you silently make your way through the undergrowth of the forest. 

“Is there a secret way in, a back door or something?” Wil whispered while keeping you between him and Amberle. “No, not this far out.” She said before freezing when you heard the grunting of demons closing in. Ducking down and behind a rock, laying on the ground, Wil’s arm over your side and resting on Amberle’s arm. “It’s a patrol.” He spoke softly. Silently swearing, you watched one stop and started sniffing the air. “It smell’s us.” Wil’s eyes were wide with worry. 

He gently pulls out the stones, while handing you his dagger. Amberle pulls her sword out as quietly as possible.

Without making a noise, you all shift to a different spot and when the demon runs over and faces where you just were, Amberle jumps out and swings her sword at it. It quickly swipes the blade away and knocks her to the ground. Wil holds his fist up, the stones starting to glow. “Die, you bastard.” He growls out, the light from the stones glowing brightly and shooting out at the demon. Within moments it disintegrates to dust.

You pull Amberle up quickly as other demons start to run over and surround you. The stones in Wil's fist light up again, Amberle lifts her sword and you hold the dagger while all have your backs together. 

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 13

Love you all! <3

You  had been following Eretria for a while now, once again back in dark tunnels. She was easily leading the way without any hesitations on which way to go. “We’re close.” She spoke up after a while of silence. “How do you know that? And what happened to you back there?” Amberle stops her, a hand on her arm. Worry was filling her voice and eyes. You and Wil watch the interaction between the two, the same questions floating through your minds. 

“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like I can feel the map in my blood. Like it’s part of me.” Eretria says while looking at the pattern on her arm. “That’s the reason you were in my vision. Why the Ellcrys wanted you here.” “I thought it was to make sure you didn’t get yourself killed, but sure why not.” She responded to Amberle with a grin on her face. With that she turned and started off down the hallway again. “So is this what it feels like when you use your Elfstones?” She asked, glancing back at Wil. 

“What do you mean?” He asked, walking alongside you at the back. 

“I feel invincible.” “I usually feel like I’ve been set on fire or beaten with a shovel, so… no.” At his words, you felt like the breath was knocked out of you. That had to be horrible to endure each time. “This should be it.” Eretria said before heading to the set of stairs where different colored lights were glowing from. 

“Nothing ominous about that.” Wil said, you nodding in agreement while lacing your fingers with his. At the top of the stairs, you walk through a broken section of wall into a derelict room. Amberle set her torch down before moving further into the room. Eretria and Wil followed suit, setting theirs down as well. “We made it.” She said, looking around at everything. “Okay… so where is the bloodfire?” Wil asked, guiding you into the middle of the room while looking around. 

“It’s here… I can feel it.” Eretria spoke, looking at a pedestal with a sort of clear cage in it, a sharpened point on the top. 

“In my vision, you guys are standing beneath the window.” Amberle spoke, pointing to a spot as she looked at Wil and Eretria. “Wil on the left.” Both moved up the few steps and turned around. You started to get a bad feeling as you stood next to Amberle. 

“Aaannnd… nothing.” Wil spoke, his face showing confusion. Within moments a golden light started to form on the ground between you all. 

“I take that back.” Wil said, moving to your side as Amberle knelt down and cleared the ground around the symbol. It was the same tattoo symbol again. 

“I guess this means we’re in the right place.” Wil said.

“Now what.” Eretria asked, looking at Amberle. “I don’t know. But we need to figure it out.” She said, standing up and starting to move around looking at everything again. It was then that you started to hear whispers. 

‘No one enters, no one  leaves…’

Okay, creepy voices in the creepy derelict room. Definitely not good at all. Your eyes started to flit around, stepping into Wil’s side. “Wait, do you hear that?” Amberle asked. “Glad it is not just me.” You murmur quietly. At that moment the light changes and a blonde woman floats out of the shadows with a slight screech and hiss. 

“No one enters.” “And no one leaves.” You turn around at the second voice. A dark haired woman floats out in the same way. Their faces flashing between whole and normal looking and half decayed and dead looking. 

“Who are you!” Eretria asks, pulling her dagger out. Wil pulled his dagger out as well and Amberle unsheathed her sword. 

“Guardians of the Bloodfire.” They both speak at the same time. You had been shuffled behind Wil and at their words you gripped one of the leather straps over his back. “Who among you… Dares to seek… The bloodfire?” They speak, both as one and yet separately. “I do. Amberle Elessedil of Arborlon.” 

The two start to circle the four of you. “I was chosen.”  Amberle spoke, though you heard nothing from the two women circling you. 

“What are they telling you?” Wil asked, obviously he couldn’t hear anything they were saying to Amberle also. 

At this point, Wil had the elfstones out. You glared at them, Their eyes only connecting with you once or twice. “You should not be here. You are in the way of everything.” They taunted you. You glared at them, the fire in your blood rising. The moment you shifted, they seemed to shrink back from you a hair. Taking that moment, you glanced around, Wil was looking worried and scared.

Reaching out, you laced your fingers with Wil’s free hand. He shook his head, scrunching his eyes shut before grunting softly. When he opened his eyes, he looked over at you and squeezed your hand.   “They are trying to confuse us, turn us against each other.” You spoke, and in that moment, the dark haired woman shot in, grasping Wil’s face and kissing him. He immediately pulled back, wiping at his mouth and grunting. You snatched the dagger from Wil, jumping towards the woman, slashing the blade. What you didn’t notice was she had dodged behind Eretria. And when you heard a yelp, you shook your head. Wil gently took his dagger back from you, as you watched Eretria look at her palm that was starting to bleed. “I am so sorry!” You whimpered out to the woman, eyes getting watery. “Eretria, your hand.” Wil spoke softly, pulling you to his side as Amberle moved to her side and crouched down next to her. Her blood slowly started to float into the air, moving to the pedestal. The two guardians had stopped moving, watching their work. Though as Eretria asked what was happening to her, they spoke up softly in awe. 

“She is a child… Of the Armageddon.” “My body is the vessel… My blood is the key.” Eretria said before standing and taking a single step to the pedestal, where she pressed her hand down hard and quickly. The sharp metal point went through her hand as she gave a cry in pain. 

You all watched as her blood flowed down and into the base. Within moments a portal of red fire shot up from the ground. The mapping of red lines on Eretria’s arm disappeared and wind picked up. “It’s the bloodfire!” Amberle spoke up. “I need to get inside!” She then tried to go towards the portal. “We will not let you steal the power of the bloodfire!” The dark haired guardian yelled out. “She’s the one! Kill the bearer of the seed!” The other called out. Both going towards Amberle. Wil and you guided her behind some wooden benches. “Run for the flame. We’ll cover you.” Wil spoke, pointing to the portal. You nodded as Wil gave her a gentle push. “Now go!” “Hey, crazy lady!” Wil moved out from behind the bench and held his fist up. Blue glowed from his clenched fingers. He stepped forwards and yelled out in pain as the power of the stones disintegrated the pale haired one. The other yelled out in anger and pain. 

“Go!” You yelled to her, motioning for her to run to the portal. With that you ran to Eretria. Amberle stopped at the edge, turning to look at Eretria who had tears in her eyes from pain and not knowing what would happen next. Both nodded to the other before Amberle turned back and stepped into the portal. With a scream, the only guardian left batted at Wil, knocking the stones from his hand. They came to a stop at the base of the pedestal near you and Eretria. “Wil!” You called out, worry in your voice as he dove for them. In the last moment he snatched them up and held them out, killing off the last guardian quickly. Eretria pulled her hand off the spike while looking at the portal. Her eyes fluttered before closing and she collapsed. Will called out for Amberle as the two of you watched the portal close, barely catching Eretria so she wouldn’t hit the ground full force. He grunted, holding his hand before shifting slightly. He called out your name before calling out for Amberle when he saw the portal had closed. When he turned and saw you, he was quick to move to your side. You hugged him tightly, burying your head in his shoulder for a moment before pulling back. “We have to get her out of there.” Wil spoke before he noticed Eretria was on the ground not moving. “Eretria.” He moved to her side and looked her over. When she didn’t move, he lightly touched her face. Her skin was cool to the touch, and a look of horror filled his face. When he touched her pulse point on her neck, there was a very faint thready beat there. “Wil, try the stones.” You said, tears in your voice as you rested your hand on his shoulder. He looked up at you, uncertainty in his eyes. “What if it doesn’t work? They’ve only worked on demons.” There was so much emotion in his voice. “If you don’t try, you don’t know if they will work on more than just demons.” You said, sliding your arms around his neck and chest, holding him tightly from behind. “Please.” He nodded, sniffing as he wiped at his face quickly before looking at the stones in his fist. They glimmered slightly and he took a deep breath. Long fingers curled around them and when he closed his eyes, focusing hard and using the strength of you against him, Wil felt the magic flowing. The glowing became brighter, he opened his eyes and put his closed fist over her heart. She shot up, gasping for breath and panicking slightly. Both you and Wil reached out and held onto her. “Wil, what happened?” She asked, her voice uneven as she glanced around, holding her bloody hand. 

[austinswhitewolf]

One of the Last Morrigan Pt. 12

Hope all of my US readers have had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! <3

Wil stopped in front of a doorway into the tunnels. He took a few steps forwards and grabbed what turned out to be three torches from the ground and once they were lit, handed one to Amberle and the other to Eretria. He kept the third and pulled you back into his side before slowly moving into the darkness. 

It wasn’t long before Amberle was in the lead and Eretria was behind you and Wil. It was slow going, trying not to make sound and keep aware for any danger that could be lurking. “It all looks the same.” Wil said a while later, glancing around. When he felt you tense, he pulled you into his side more. “What do you think?” “We’ll head down here.” Amberle said, motioning to her and Eretria. “You guys check that way. Double back in five minutes?” 

“Yeah.” Eretria nodded before motioning to the dagger on Wil’s leg. If you run into a Troll, go for its eyes. It’s their weak spot.” As both of the girls moved off, Wil watched after them. “Five minutes, not a second later.” He spoke up just enough for them to hear. Wil turned, guiding you the other way. “I’m glad those two are getting along now.” “Yeah, and they seem to really like each other. I’m happy for them.” You nodded, glancing up at his face with a smile. “So am I.” He gave you a small smile. The light of the torch danced in your eyes and Wil felt his stomach clench and warmth fill his heart. His eyes flicked to your lips before bouncing back up. Closing the space, he pressed his lips to yours, his eyes sliding shut at the softness of your lips. The moment you felt his lips on yours, you felt a jolt through your body. Everything but the two of you slipped away, forgetting where you were. Your eyes slid shut as well and leaned into the kiss. He pulled you fully against him, his head tilting to be able to kiss you deeper. Sliding your arms around his waist more, you only pulled back to take a much needed breath. Wil’s eyes were darker and lidded while his ears were red. You reached up and brushed some hair out of his face and smiled. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now.” Wil’s voice was a slight tone deeper and soft. His words curled around you, warming you from the inside out. Before you could say anything, both Amberle and Eretria came running through the doorway into the hallway you were in. Amberle’s eyes were wide as she slid to a stop. 

“Guy’s, you gotta see this.” With an almost inaudible sigh, you turn with Wil and follow after the two women. As you come around a corner a minute or so later, you start to see a soft glow ahead of you all. When Amberle and Eretria slow to a stop, Wil and you lean just enough to see around the corner they are at. There are trolls, barbed wire, barrels with fire in them. Your breath catches in your throat, you feel your muscles clench tight and your heart starts to pound. “They’re asleep.” Amberle whispers, though that does nothing to ease you at all. 

“No way. Is that...?” Wil’s voice is soft, his eyes on a symbol on the wall at the end of the hallway. You look at him, then follow his eyes and see what he is looking at. “My tattoo.” Eretria says softly, her hand moving to her shoulder where it is at. Amberle’s eyes move to where her hand is before looking back up at her face. “What is your tattoo doing on a wall beneath the ruins of a human city?” Amberle asks, her hand resting on Eretria’s opposite shoulder. 

“That tunnel must lead to the bloodfire.” She responds. Okay, yeah, how are you all supposed to get past the damn trolls? You give the smallest of shakes of your head, taking a minute step backwards into Wil’s chest. He slides his arm around the front of your shoulders, holding you against him. 

“I agree. It…. It can’t be a coincidence.” Amberle nods. “Maybe you guys didn’t notice, but there are three heavily-armed trolls in that hallway. How are we supposed to get past them?” His voice and touch gives you the smallest amount of comfort, though Eretria’s answer just causes you more anxiety and panic. 

“We’ve fought worse.” She spoke as she pulled her dagger out. Your eyes go wide and shake your head. She’s out of her mind! 

“Wait.” Amberle says gently before glancing upwards. “Maybe there’s another way.” Everyone’s eyes move up, seeing rusty pipes along the ceiling. Eretria starts to slide her jacket off, dropping it to the ground as she moves to stand below the pipe. Wil only lets go of you to help lift her up so she can grab onto the pipe with her hands and wrap her legs around it. Amberle quickly follows suit and Wil has her up on the pipe as well. When he turns to you, you are against the wall and shaking your head. “I can’t do this.” You whisper, eyes wide and trembling. He moves over to you and cups your face in his hands gently. Lowering his head, his face is in line with yours and so that you can’t see past him. “Hey. It’s okay. Just need to take it slow. I will be right behind you, Amberle and Eretria are going to be waiting for you on the other side. It can’t be too much farther.” He whispers to you. The warmth from his hands, and his scent help ground you a little. It takes a minute for you to calm down enough to slightly nod. As he moves you over and rests his hands on your waist, you chew on your bottom lip. You raise your arms and when he easily lifts you up, you grab onto the pipe, legs curling tightly around it. “Don’t look down, just keep moving and looking ahead at Amberle and Eretria okay?” He says, hand on your lower back until you nod and slowly start to inch forwards. It is only a few moments before you hear Wil grip onto the pipe as well and start following you. 

Eretria silently drops to the ground on the other side. Amberle is over the last troll when its hand slaps at its mask, shifting a hair before becoming still once more and snores sounding again. You freeze at that movement, this was such a stupid idea! When you feel a hand on your hip, you almost let go of the pipe, but within second’s you know it’s Wil. He gives you a gentle squeeze before giving you a soft push to get you moving again. 

Amberle drops silently to the ground by Eretria and then waits for you and Wil. You are over the last one when you hear a gasp. You freeze, limbs curling as tight as possible around the pipe. Slowly, you glance and see that the pouch with Wil’s elfstones had dropped onto the troll below him. 

You watch, breath held the entire time he was hanging by just his legs while reaching for the pouch. Flinching when the troll grunted and Wil had pulled back. You let the breath go once he had the stones and was back up curled around the pipe. The two women help you down once you reach them and within moments, Wil is silently lowering to the ground without a single noise thanks to his height. Wil slides his arm back around your waist as you all turn. Amberle, Eretria and Wil each grab another torch before going around the corner. It wasn’t too much longer before a ladder in the stone wall led up. Behind it is a metal sheet with the same symbol again. 

“This is it.” Eretria hands her torch to Amberle before starting up the ladder.

You all watch for a few moments before Amberle follows after setting her torches down on the ground. It doesn’t take long for you to follow, breathing a little easier at seeing light above you. 

At the top of the stairs, there is a room off to the side where a few candles are lit and a book is open on a pedestal. Eretria is in first, moving over and running a hand over the open book. 

“Looks like someone was just here.” Amberle murmured softly as she looked around. You and Wil are last in the room, the air smelled so much more fresh to you. It was a complete difference from where you had just come from. 

“What is this place?” Wil spoke softly from right beside you. 

“I feel like I’ve been here before.” Eretria said while she looked around. 

“How could that be?” Amberle asked, moving closer to her. 

“I can’t explain it.” She responded while moving around the room. You and Wil were looking at the open book, his fingers running over the symbol again. “What is ‘Filii Apocalypsi’?” “I have no idea.” You respond lightly while looking at the other symbols on the page. Amberle gently takes the book and moves over to Eretria. “Eretria, do you recognize this language?” When she doesn’t answer, you glance over. “Eretria?!” Amberle quickly hands you the book before grabbing onto the woman gently. Her eyes were foggy and it’s only moments before she collapses into Amberle’s arms. Wil helps her move Eretria over and lays her down on the ground against a large piece of stone. She gasps, shooting up into a sitting position, hand resting on Amberle’s shoulder. 

“You okay?” “I think so.” Eretria responds, taking deep breaths. “I heard a voice. It said my blood is the key.” 

“What does that mean?” You ask, not sure at all what was going on. 

“I don’t know. But I saw a place… like a temple. And that symbol was there.” She turned, pointing to the one on the wall that was a heart with flames. “And the light, bright like the sun.” “Eretria, you saw the bloodfire.” Amberle spoke with awe in her voice. “It sounds exactly like what I saw in my vision.” 

Eretria hissed out in pain, hand moving up to her left shoulder. Red lines started to form on her skin, radiating from the tattoo, up over her shoulder and down her arm. You and Wil watched in almost horrified wonder as they formed some unknown pattern. “I know how to get to the bloodfire.”