by K Dezendorf
“You could say that,” she answered vaguely.
As they continued walking, Rose felt strangely at ease. Maybe it was because of his stature, but Rose didn’t feel threatened or intimidated by her new companion. Once again, she reminded herself to be cautious. Just because someone looked and acted friendly, didn’t mean they were.
"Ah, we’re almost there,” Billy commented, his face brightening.
Rose looked out ahead to what appeared to be the edge of whatever forest they were wandering through. She was grateful. They’d been walking for a while. About two hours, if her watch was still accurate. The trees thinned out into smaller shrubbery.
A ways off the path, Rose saw it; a large grouping of tents at the edge of the forest where the trees were more sparse and spread out. As they got closer, Rose noticed the tents didn’t look new, but they were decent. Combinations of cloth and hide patched together. And there were people there. People who were humanoid in stature, but definitely not human. Ears that were too pointy, hair growing excessively where it shouldn’t, scales instead of skin. Some of them wore simple clothing, while others wore leathers, or mail armor, and carrying weapons.
Rose’s pulse rose as she drank in her surroundings, eyes darting around, trying to catch sight of every detail. She could hear conversation around her, some she understood, others in languages she didn’t recognize. The gentle trilling of a lute drifted on the air, and Rose smiled as she was reminded of Seylvin. She thought she smelled something cooking, like smoked meat. It was worlds away from the clamoring noise of the city she was used to. Oh, how she missed this.
“I should warn you,” Billy piped up as they reached the edge of the camp. “You shouldn't go around tellin’ people you're human. Best case scenario, people will be asking you all sorts of questions. Worst case scenario they’ll try to make a profit off you. Best to play it safe and don't mention it. We’ll keep it on a need-to-know basis.”
"Fine by me," she readily agreed. “Could you magic away my freckles?” She panicked at her slip. Crabs! He doesn’t know I know they’re uncommon here.
Billy snorted. “No, child. I can’t ‘magic away’ your face specks.”
A towering figure stepped out in front of them. Rose let out a yell of surprise and stumbled back, tripping over a rock and landing roughly onto the ground.
“Oh, dear. Are you all right?”
Rose looked up to see a creature with green tinted skin who must’ve been at least fifteen feet tall. His black hair was shaved in a mohawk with a ponytail hanging down his back. He had dark eyes and a wide-set jaw with an obvious underbite. Rose also noted his arms were thicker than her entire body. Which led to the unpleasant thought that he could easily pick her up and tear her in two without any issues.
“Apologies, m’lady,” he said, squinting down at her. His voice was surprisingly genteel for a man of his size. “I didn’t see you there.” He reached out a massive hand toward her.
Rose flinched back, glancing between his hand and his face as he watched her expectantly. It took a moment before she realized what he was offering. Not wanting to be impolite, Rose tentatively took hold of one of his fingers and he easily lifted her back onto her feet. She noticed on his wrist was a large silver cuff, like a manacle, and she saw his other wrist bore one as well.
“Thank you,” she squeaked.
He inclined his head to her, eyes surveying her face. His features pulled into a frown. “Your face. Were you injured?”
Rose reached up, running fingers over her face until she felt the scabbing. “It’s nothing,” she said automatically. “I just fell.”
A hum rumbled up from his broad chest and he reached a hand out towards her face. Her eyes snapped shut on impulse as she waited. She felt a surprisingly light touch to her cheek and her vision was filled with a bright glow. A soothing warmth trickled across her skin as the mild discomfort from her injury was completely wiped away. In fact, her whole body felt soothed. She opened her eyes as the glow faded, and the man withdrew his hand.
“Better?” he asked.
Once more, she felt her face, only to find the damage completely gone. Curious, she pulled up the sleeve of her shirt but found no bruising. “Yeah,” she answered breathless. “Thank you.”
He nodded, looking pleased. “My name is Lawrence, should ever you need my services, m’lady.”
Rose managed a smile. “Rose. Nice to meet you, Lawrence.”
She watched him leave, others quick to move out of his way as he went. Billy, who had been observing the exchange, stepped up beside her.
“In case you’re wondering, he’s a troll.”
Rose glanced at Billy before looking back to Lawrence’s retreating profile. She had never met a troll before. “Quite the gentleman.”
“Eh, he’s definitely an odd one,” Billy said. “Don’t know much about him other than he’s fairly new to the group. From what I’ve heard, he was a former slave who was used for experiments.”
"That’s horrible. Who would do such a thing?"
He waved a hand dismissively. “Nothing to concern yourself with for now."
Rose glanced around and noticed several people had their eyes on her as they passed by. She noticed her hood had fallen down and hurriedly pulled it back up.
“Come along, child.” Billy turned and headed farther into the camp. “The tent we’re looking for should be around here somewhere.”
Rose was quick to follow Billy, keeping close to him while also keeping an eye on her surroundings. After about a minute or two of wandering, they came to a tent made solidly of cloth, much larger and nicer than the others. Before they reached the entrance, a wolf-ish looking man came bursting out, nearly plowing over Billy. Rose had to jump to the side to avoid being shoulder-checked. The man gave her a short snarl in passing as he strode off.
“Well, step on then,” Billy called after him.
Rose’s eyes went wide, looking at Billy before looking back at the wolf-man. Thankfully, he either didn’t hear Billy, or just didn’t care, because he continued on his way. It was a shame, she could have sworn she recognized him.
Rose turned back to Billy only to see him disappear into the tent. She approached the entrance and pulled the flap aside to look in. She stared for several moments, before stepping back to look at the outside. She looked inside again and there was no mistake. The inside was much larger than the outside.
“Okay, so it’s like a Tardis,” she mumbled to herself. “No biggie.”
Stepping inside, Rose found herself in a large conference room. Several people were present in some sort of meeting. Most were gathered around a table, while one person was standing off to the side. Above the table, a hologram was playing out. Rose saw a stretch of landscape with figures moving across it. She couldn’t make much out beyond that.
“Pardon the intrusion,” Billy spoke up. “But we have a guest.”
Rose felt very on the spot as the group of people stopped talking and turned to look at her. Most of them Rose vaguely recognized from her sketchbooks.
One was an ogre, very large and muscular, his skin yellowish. That was Addrick.
A well groomed dwarf, not as short as Billy, but a lot broader in the shoulders, wearing thick round spectacles. Vindo, she believed.
And then, there was a very handsome elf. Brown hair, bright blue eye -just the one, with the other covered by a patch- wearing a hat adorned with a feather. This man, she definitely recognized.
“Vincent!” she exclaimed, happy to see a familiar face.
The elf looked at her for a moment. “I daresay… could it be?” He got up from his seat and walked over to her. “Ah, but it is! Rose, isn’t it?”
Rose smiled sheepishly, shifting on the spot. “You remember me?”
“I’d never forget a beautiful face.” Vincent held out his hand, and she shyly placed her hand in his. He brought her hand to his lips and gave it a chaste kiss. “It’s nice to see you again.”
Out of the corner
of her eye, Rose could see Billy looking completely flummoxed by the fact she already knew people here and had to hide her grin.
“Yes, welcome back, my dear.”
The voice belonged to another. An older looking man, and the most notable thing about him, given the situation, was he looked human. His cloud of hair was white and thinning, and he had a long, frizzy beard. Longer than when she’d last seen him. He had the same manner of dress, pale yellow robes with wavy green patterns stitched through, complimentary to his satiny dark skin.
Rose gave a respectful bow of her head. “Hello, Dimitri.”
Chapter 7
It was uncanny just how similar it all felt. Being brought to Dimitri in order to decide her station in this world. Though, the memories were far more bitter than sweet. For several moments, no one said anything, each person taking measure of the situation. Rose wondered how many of them remembered her, considering she’d only met them briefly.
“Oh, so you two know each other already,” Billy said, slowly. He looked back and forth between Rose and Dimitri. “Not sure if that complicates things or simplifies them.” After staring baffled at Rose for another moment, he looked to Dimitri. “Should we just come back later then?”
“No, it’s all right, Billy,” Dimitri stated, glancing at the other occupants. “We’ll adjourn the meeting for now.”
The group nodded and began exiting the tent. As Vincent passed her, Rose said, “Tell the others I said, ‘Hello’.”
He smiled warmly at her. “I'll do just that.” And he left.
“Right, well…” Billy seemed to still be recovering from the surprise. “I’m gonna see if I can’t find some food for you, child. You must be hungry.”
“Some food would be nice,” she admitted.
“Be back in a jiff then.”
Once he was gone, that left Rose and Dimitri, along with a large and surly looking gentleman with dark green skin lingering in the far corner. She believed his name was… Marrik, maybe?
“Well, then.” Dimitri clapped his hands together. “Might I interest you in some tea?”
“Tea sounds lovely,” Rose answered, wanting to be polite. She took a seat in one of the chairs while Dimitri brought over a tray bearing a tea set.
“How long has it been?” Dimitri asked as he poured her a cup and set it down in front of her.
“About five years,” she answered. Taking a sip of the tea, it tasted dark and smokey. It brought a small cough to her throat. Tea had never been her beverage of choice.
Dimitri finished pouring himself a cup and gently lowered himself into a chair across from her. “You look well.”
Only because Lawrence had fixed her up on her way to the tent. Even without the injury, she probably looked a mess. “So do you.”
There was a long pause as Dimitri lifted his cup to his lips and took a lengthy sip. “I hope the tea isn’t too strong. It’s one of my stouter blends.”
“No, it’s fine,” she answered. Frustrated, she decided to cut to the point. “So, do I get to stay this time, or are you planning to kick me out again?”
“I take it you kept your promise, and didn’t tell anyone of your initial visit?” Dimitri asked mildly.
“Yes, I didn’t tell anyone,” she answered honestly.
“It is a little earlier than anticipated.” Dimitri took another long sip, then released a soft sigh. “I must ask, what do you intend to make of your time here?”
As Rose considered how to answer his question, she heard yelling outside. She glanced over towards the entrance of the tent. Dimitri quickly stood up, his face grave.
"Stay here," he told her and exited the tent.
Rose stayed seated, growing more concerned. She tried to listen to what was going on outside, but the noises sounded oddly distorted. Curious, she went towards the door to take a peek outside. Before she could, a wall of black flames roared up in front of her. She jumped back and looked around to see Marrik pointing his hand at her.
"Stay," he said, his voice low and deep. He pointed to the chair. "Go sit."
Deciding it was best not to argue, Rose started heading back towards the chair. She only made it a couple steps before something barged its way into the tent. A horrible, terrifying monster. It was humanoid in that it had two arms and two legs, but that was where the resemblance stopped.
It stood hunched, long arms ending in jagged claws, as did its feet. Its face was nightmarish: a wide mouth and razor teeth dripping dark ooze. Its body was putrid gray and oily looking, and it smelled foul, like something rotting. The stench was so strong and acrid, it made her gag. But the scariest part about it was its back. The way it moved as though something was trying to get out.
"Run!" Marrik yelled.
Rose turned to flee but the monster had surprisingly long reach and grabbed her leg with its claws, causing her to fall to the floor. The claws dug into her leg and she let loose a scream of pain.
A jet of black fire hit the thing, searing a hole in its body, but it still continued to attack. Another of the creatures came inside, rushing by her.
Rose tried desperately to crawl away, but the monster held fast and sank its teeth into her leg. She howled in pain as it pulled her closer. Rolling onto her back, she tried to kick it away but it wasn’t even phased. Her leg felt like it was pulsing and burning, and she was starting to feel weak and sick.
The monster let out a snarl as its body jerked for a moment, its back swelling and writhing until it burst open in a spray of gray fluid. Another, smaller monster emerged from the first’s back. It turned its attention to Rose, hissing, its eyes hungry. Rose tried to get up and run, but her legs weren’t strong enough and her head was getting fuzzy. Both monsters bore down on her, maws dripping dark ooze.
Flaming blue claws swooped in and began tearing into them. Rose was released and claws were being thrown from both directions above her until the monsters were ripped apart, dark entrails spilling over her in a hot, gooey mess.
The sickening feeling continued to pulse through her and soon it was too much effort to keep her head up. She slumped fully to the floor.
“Is that you, Kyan?” she mumbled.
“Who else would it be, dummy?” Kyan's voice answered. “I told you, Rose. I’m always looking out for you.”
Rose groaned, her eyes closing as she was starting to feel feverish. “What’s happening to me?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say you’ve been infected. So even if I were to carry you out of here, you’d die eventually.”
“There’s a troll named Lawrence,” Rose told him through labored breaths. “Find him. He might be able to help.”
“Try not to die while I’m gone,” Kyan answered.
Moments later, the tent came down around her, burying her. She could still hear the distorted sounds of screaming as she faded from consciousness.
************
Rose awoke to a combination of things. At first, all was dark, and she couldn't feel anything. Like she was asleep but conscious. All around was nothingness. She felt a warm glow, her senses brightened and the world slowly came to focus. As it did, it brought searing pain. Her leg felt like it was being torn to shreds. Did another one of those monsters find her? Was it eating her?
Rose heard a high pitched ring, still unable to focus on what was going on. The first thing she saw was a large hand hovering over her torso emitting a glow. The glow brought her attention away from the pain. Slowly, the ache became background noise as her mind came more into focus. Rose noticed a blackness in her leg slithering down like snakes, ebbing away. They hissed as they left the wounds. Once the blackness faded, the wounds slowly closed up.
Rose stared up and saw Lawrence. Once again, Kyan had come through for her. "Are you all right, m'lady?" Lawrence asked quietly, as though afraid to be overheard.
“I think so,” she answered, slowly sitting up. The sickening feeling hadn’t completely worn off yet, but she felt much more stable.
The entire camp
was in ruins; tents had been torn down, and there were bodies scattered about, and too few of them were the monsters. Blood stained the ground and the coppery smell of it stuck unpleasantly in the back of her throat. She had to swallow down the desire to be sick.
“We should leave right away,” Lawrence said, his eyes darting about. It was odd seeing someone of his size and physical stature looking so nervous. “Do you need me to carry you?”
Before Rose could answer, there was a large boom and Rose felt the air shake. There was a flash of blue light and she could hear yelling, clearly this time. Rose’s eyes widened and she swore she recognized the voice. Forcing herself onto her feet, she went towards the noise.
"M’lady, it’s too dangerous!" Lawrence cried.
Rose ignored him and continued forward, peeking around one of the tents. She saw a tall male with a sword fighting off several of the grotesque monsters. Long dark hair and pointed ears. Her stomach gave a lurch when she recognized Edward. Before she could help him, one of the monsters off to the side had noticed her and came charging.
She ran, coming across a fallen body with a spear nearby. Grabbing the weapon, she dodged the monster and tried to stab it, but missed. It nearly got a hold of her with its claws, but Rose managed to avoid it and stabbed again. This time she hit, but the spear sunk through the thing’s shoulder, and she lost her hold.
Rose turned to run for it again, when she heard a sickening thwack. She looked to see a large rock embedded in the creature’s head, obscuring its face. It continued to claw blindly around.
"We should leave, m'lady!" Lawrence yelled to her.
Rose looked at him before glancing over at Edward, still being attacked and overwhelmed by the two monsters. Of course she was terrified, and a part of her wanted to run, but a stronger part of herself couldn’t just abandon him. She’d made him a promise after all.
