The Awakening
30 days had been and gone; deep in the wilderness as remote
from civilisation as he could manage Norgarth had secreted away the two
immortal organs from the Lich’s body. His trusted companions the Rogue and the
Monk should have also performed their duties by now and would also be on their way
back to the capital. It had taken them
years to track down the Phylacteries of the Lich, and many people had died in
the quest to collect them so that Zhang could finally be destroyed. And yet
still these objects could not be. This time there was no great history or
legends to link his demise to them. Only they knew the true purpose of their
quest and only they witnessed the final destruction of Zhang. He would take
this secret to the grave, as would the other two. For the sake of preventing
the return of this evil Haennah would never know.
Only once had Haennah questioned the absence of the other
two heroes, paranoid that they were plotting her downfall, that they had gone
back to Rathmore and somehow re-opened the portal and were already taking the
power that was rightfully hers. Her raving had worried Norgarth for a while,
but it had seemed to pass. Even so he had needed to remove the guard posted at
her door, as she had started to distrust their presence
‘They come into my
room, I know they do, and whisper things in my ear while I sleep. My mind is like
cake to them and their words are a knife. ‘
This suited some of the crew, who were uneasy being too
close to a dragon blood Teifling who could turn invisible and immolate her
enemies by Will alone. ‘Best to keep it
all calm and comfortable for the moment’ he mused. ‘At least she hasn’t set fire to anything… yet…’
* * * * *
Haennah apparated into her cabin, her bare feet inches above
the floor, the silvery mist swirled momentarily about her before evaporating and
she lightly touched down, holding her skirts above her angles. Her tail swished
playfully. She was having fun. Time spent teaching Norgarth to read kept her
mind at ease, and off the sounds. The weakness in her body had all but gone,
though now and again her new heart twinged and pricked at her if she overexerted
herself. Even so her magic was almost at full power....’In fact, little dove,’
she mused to herself while preening her hair in the mirror ‘we are feeling
quite spritely... ‘
She focussed inwardly
and rose on tiptoe, her arms lifting like a dancer from her side. Arcs of electricity started to crackle and
split through the air, her heart beat quickened and the sparks became galvanised
with greater force, and static filled the cabin like an audible buzz. She
watched with an inner joy as the tin plate and cup from her last meal liquefied
before her eyes. She breathed out calmly
and the tension in the room dissipated.
She stared hard at her reflexion again, the blue mist was
still there deep in her eyes, distant yet present. ‘No pain that we suffer, no
trial that we endure, is wasted…. We?’ She laughed out loud sharply and twirled
around. ‘Me! ‘ She looked once more in the mirror at that distant mist in the back
of her black eyes. ‘Thankyou….. For everything!’ she laughed.
* * * * *
The Petrified Gnome touched down within the city, children
and adults had once again gathered to see the flying ship arrive. There on the
dock stood the Rogue and the Monk, as Norgarth had promised. She ignored the
sound of dripping water, the sky was perfectly clear.
Haennah had nervously spent
the morning trying to tidy herself up and look presentable. The goddess only
knew why, but she left like she was on trial, being scrutinised by her companions.
It was as if all eyes were upon her. She resisted the urge to reach up to her
chest, even though her crystal heart was safely hidden behind the steel
breastplate that identified her as Holy Paladin of Skythia. She’d almost
forgotten about her holy duties for the 2 months she had been away. ‘This will
not do little dove’ she thought to herself. ‘All we have done and endured has
been for the will of the Goddess.’
As the two slowly walked up the gangplank to meet them, she scrutinised
their faces, while trying to smile sweetly. ‘They must know, how can they not,
they think I have betrayed them and they are here to cart me away to some oubliette
to rot. She felt panicked.
Norgath looked up at her, ‘What’s wrong?’
Her mind swirled and she blurted out in a hushed voice ‘I...
I hear his voice sometimes, distant, distracting, like rainfall at night.
Pitter patter, pitter-patter.’
The End
The End
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