Bloody Crucible- Lone Wolf

by E C Chii

  “Hello there, dear brother. What brings you from your endless fields of battle?”

  “Hello yourself, how is my favorite sister?” the warrior asked with a smirk and a hint of genuine affection.

  She frowned at the question, “You know how I am doing. The answer is the same as last century when you asked. What brings you here Týr?”

  “Nothing much, just thought I would give you an opportunity to bring a being in from another plane without needing to use much energy to do so.”

  Immediately she perked up, giving him her full attention. “Tell me please, how, when, why and who else have you told?”

  Týr laughed heartily, “Vhisk is who told me. He is the mastermind behind this little endeavor. We have a sort of understanding that depends on you though.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked narrowing her eyes.

  “You know that Vhisk has been in love with you for over ten millennia, right? Well, it’s not a big secret that you two were once a thing about forty thousand years ago. He would like to try to mend the divide between you two and make up for the mistake he made that lead to your current situation.”

  Lady Arete sneered, “What would that trickster know about love, trust, or acknowledging his mistakes? He was the reason my people’s kingdom fell.”

  Týr tried to calm her down, “Calm down, calm down. He simply wants dinner and to show you something that I am sure will make you forgive him. Will you allow him to come to your fields for a dinner meeting?”

  For several minutes, she thought. She was prideful and would not openly admit that she had missed Vhisk and all his antics, but she still held much animosity toward him for causing the downfall of her people’s kingdom. Doubt plagued her mind, but she finally relented. “Okay fine, but make sure he knows that this does not mean I forgive him, nor does it mean we will be together again.”

  “That is all I ask.” Týr smiled and faded away.

  ……………………………………………………..

  That night all three met for dinner and discussed the full plan. She was surprised at how well thought out and planned it was for something coming from Vhisk. The more they told her, the more she was excited about the prospects. Several glasses of wine and she had agreed to be the third participant in this plan. Several decades later she felt the disturbances in the barrier which allowed her to see into the world where it was thinnest. Years passed as she watched the bland and disinteresting denizen of this world.

  While the objects they used were interesting, the accomplishments of the humans that inhabited it were of little merit. It wasn’t until she was looking at a small island in the middle of a vast ocean that she found something that peaked her interest. A group of six men and one woman were fighting off a numerically superior group of men within the confines of a dense stone forest. It wasn’t something she hadn’t seen before, except for the fact that they primarily used swords, knives and axes. What’s more is that they were even winning.

  Months went by as she watched the one she had chosen to be brought over, charged time and time again into battle. Silently she rooted for the team’s success on their various quests, while she couldn’t watch them every moment, she was sure to see all their exploits. She saw them free those who were enslaved one day, and wiping out the people who had enslaved others the next. One day she was watching them killing all the guards to a slave camp, smiling she had expected to see them free those enslaved. What she saw next horrified as she watched them leave the enslaved there to the mercy of the enslavers.

  Later she saw that they had been sent to another location where they came into conflict with a similar group to their own. Only this group was allied with the enslavers. A battle ensued after enslavers had captured and fatally wounded one of the team. When the group that called themselves the 799th GSG faced off with this new enemy the youngest member recklessly charged them. They were victorious against their enemies; all were either wounded or outright killed. Sorrow and pity filled her heart as it broke into pieces. These people were family and to see them lose one of their own tugged at her heartstrings. Soon after she was filled with anger and disappointment at the actions of this one man for being the direct cause of this pain due to his recklessness. What’s more is that due to his recklessness the primary person she wished to bring over was no longer alive.

  A sudden idea sprouted, and after several hours she came up with a semi-decent plan. She called to her brother and Vhisk, when they arrived she explained her idea and they immediately agreed to it. Several weeks later she was staring at the prone and motionless body of the reckless man who all but got his team killed. While there was no anger left, disappointment still filled her bosom.

  She watched amusingly as the man startled awake looking around confused. When he saw her his eyes widened and pupils dilated some. ‘Hmph, of course I am beautiful.’ When he took on a defensive stance she was taken aback.

  “Relax Richard, there is no one here that would hurt you. Depending on your next actions of course.” she said in a soothing melodious voice trying to overpower his will. She continued, “If I wished you any harm I would have left you in that dream loop until you lost your mind.”

  “What…Where was I?” he said as shook his head trying clear his mind and retain his faculties, but she simply added more of her essence into her words. She stifled a frown as she didn’t like this brutish approach, but she was left with little choice.

  “Such a pleasure to finally meet you. You were in a dream loop, I wanted to punish you a little.” she replied with an adorable giggle.

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  “Well you did cause the death of several friends, but I wanted to get a much better understanding of you as a person, I was not impressed by the way. Though I must admit, I do so love how those of other planes try to justify the heinous acts of wanton violence and death to suit their needs. How does it feel to be reviled as a mass murderer? Do you know what happened to those men and women after you killed the officers in that camp? The remaining soldiers rounded them all up, some were beaten to death, some were buried alive, others had a much more gruesome death. One of the more interesting things they did was they tie some of them up and allow bamboo to slowly grow piercing their bodies. I never would have thought of that.” The entire time she was talking her voice was dead and impassive.

  In a tone that was absolutely dripping with sarcasm and venom, “How many people have you killed, hundreds, thousands? It’s hard to say really, since those lives you justified in one way or another, but tell me.” She said leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, “How many innocent people did you dam to horrible deaths and misery you couldn’t even comprehend?”

  She felt the long-suppressed anger in her chest as she sneered, “After being around all that death it’s no wonder you are the rage and hate filled monster that most people believe you to be. If only you could let, go of that rage and hate those others would still be alive. What was their names again; Denise, Roy, Jonathan, and Serge? Ah, I forget you call each other by different names, I think they were Athena, Fury, Jonjon and Ski”

  Wolf’s vision tinged red allowing him to regain some control of his body and taking a few struggled steps forward. The next words that came from his mouth were more hiss than speech,

  “Who are you? Choose your next words very carefully that will be you’re only warning. Those who have spoken ill of my brothers and sisters have all died horribly painful deaths.”

  She harrumphed, “Oh, how precious, your resisting. You can call me Arete, the reason I pulled you here after your death just now was I needed to get a measure of your abilities for my own purposes. You have after all just upset the balance of this world, much to my glee and quite possibly in my benefit. Pleasantries aside, I have a task for you. You need to escort Siris Yhelena to the Tall Spire ruins and my temple. I will ensure that you are properly compensated for your time and efforts.”

  “Why would I help you or do
anything for you?” Wolf asked as anger welled in his chest.

  A look of annoyance and creasing of her brow flashed across her face as she re-exerted control over the imprudent man when he struggled to gain control. Once complete she relaxed.

  “I commend your will power; you will have need of it in the future. Why not take on this quest? It’s not like you have anything better to do. Think of it as a chance to do something productive and do some good this time. As for speaking ill your dead, I simply wish you to acknowledge that you could have prevented it had you controlled your rage, hate, and anger. I have been watching you for the past four months, those three core traits are holding you back in more ways than one.”

  Confused, Wolf retorted, “I have only been here for a few weeks. How could you have possibly watched me for months?”

  The woman snickered, “Ordinarily you are right, but that gravity thing weakened the barrier between our worlds enough for me and many others to look in. It wasn’t until recently that we were able to do something though.”

  A look of realization dawned on him, as he thought back to what he thought was the last moments of his life. “All those images I saw. Those were real!” his eyes narrowing with suspicion, “But that only happened right before…how could you have been watching for that long? What you say implies that the barrier was weakened much earlier than what my team knew of.”

  “Precisely, the ones you were fighting were experimenting with it long before you were sent on that quest. Although it wasn’t until you used it that the barrier was weakened enough to do anything tangible. I don’t usually pull people in from other planes since it takes too much power to do it. However, the situation that you caused made it infinitely easier, although I didn’t anticipate the time lapse that would occur, which has caused some very irritating setbacks. Now that you are here I can see, you have potential to run a little errand for me. While I may have used most of my energy during that event, it was extraordinarily productive, so many new pawns in the game now.”

  He continued to struggle against her which annoyed her to no end, but eventually his ability to fight back waned enough for her to placate him again.

  “Do this for me and you will be rewarded, don’t and I will ensure you have a very unpleasant time. Now be a good doggy, now run along.” she said with a smirk

  She saw anger rising in him allowing some modicum of control over his body and right as he was about to say something she waved her hand saying “Buh-bye”. When she waved her hand, he glowed green and faded into mist.

  Breathing a ragged sigh, she slumped into her throne. Both Vhisk and Týr materialized next to her throne. Vhisk stood tall with his beautiful long black braided hair, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as Týr handed her a goblet of wine. She wearily looked up to his reddish-brown skin and lupine ears. As he knelt she could stare into his wolfish eyes surrounded by black and red face paint, making her heart skip a beat and warmth spread in her chest.

  Raising her free hand, she caressed his face and whisper, “That was more difficult than I thought. Thank you.”

  Vhisk smiled warmly and responded, “No thanks necessary”

  Their stare did not end for many long moments as she weakly asked him to stay a while longer, all while thinking ‘goodness I’ve missed him’

  Chapter 15 – Safety dance

  Critical! You have taken 204 Damage from Sir Charles Lemeign’s Coup de Meurte (4.3 damage mitigated)

  You have died.

  Due to your trait ‘Sine Fine Itinere’ you have not lost any levels or progress. All items and equipment have been destroyed.

  The trait ‘Sine Fine Itinere’ has progressed to Level 2.

  Sine Fine Itinere Level 2 (Passive, Trait) – Resurrect six hours after dying, -1 Character Level * Trait Level in character level. 2% chance of items being retained, or levels not being lost, items are destroyed otherwise. Soulbound, set, artifact and relic items are exempt. Current Level reduction per death 2.

  Wolf lay there dumbfounded; rage and hate had always been a part of him in one way or another. Many of his teammates had told him it was limiting factor for him since he often lost control. As he was staring up at the night sky any effort to move was moot since he was bound in tight linen. Out of sight he heard the crackle of fire, through the corner of his eye he could saw a small trail of wood and oil leading away from him igniting. Strangely he felt at peace even though he was on the top of a funeral pyre about to be burned alive.

  He chuckled at the thought of what Raven would say, ‘Don’t stand stupid’ to every area spell that happened in the games they played. His chuckle went from good natured to sardonic as the fire gradually grew closer. As he could not move to free himself, he had to wait until the fire had weakened the linen enough to break it. Second by second the fire grew stronger and the pain increased.

  You are taking 1 fire damage per second.

  Wolf just kept asking himself, ‘Why do I always find myself in painful situations!’. During this wait Wolf had many things racing through his mind, first being he was sick and tired of always being in these situations. Anger, rage and frustration filled his chest further tempered by the heat of the pyre. The conversation with that woman made him realize she was only half right, those traits were holding him back, but not in the way she meant. While he may have refuted it in the past, he knew that deep down she was right about him having a vicious and insatiable monster within. If he kept fighting it, one day it would break free from its cage, never be able to put it down again. After a minute of tortured pain from the intense heat, the fire had weakened the linen enough for him to break free. On the plus side it did increase his CON by 1 point.

  The jerking and movement he made when he broke free, caused the pyre’s supports to collapse, plunging him into the structure. Rage fueled by pain again filled him. As he rose flame licked his body further exacerbating both his pain and rage. He let out a bestial scream of rage and frustration as he blindly battered away at the burning support structure. Finally, when he escaped the conflagration, he staggered away from the pyre. Lightheaded from lack of oxygen and coughing from inhaling excessive amounts smoke. Once his mind had cleared enough for him to start thinking clearly, he did something that was a first for him, he accepted rage and hate. Made it part of himself the boiling blood coursed through his veins renewing his strength. A crowd of people with wide eyes and shocked faces stared at him with a mixture of awe, fear, and curiosity.

  Wolf couldn’t help what happened next, in a deep gravelly voice, “When there is no more room in hell, I shall return to walk the among the living!”

  A wave of panic and fear shook those in attendance to the core, several broke into screams and ran. Horror, grim and shocked looks adorned the men’s faces as they tried as best they could to shield their loved ones from the perceived monster. At this point Wolf couldn’t help but start giggling and then laughing uncontrollably. This laughter further confused those present as he couldn’t keep himself upright and slowly fell to the ground laughing. The fire had long since burned away his clothes as he lay on the ground naked covered in a light sheen of sweat and soot. Finally, when he stopped giggling he was laying on his back and sat up. Standing in front of him were several men with swords drawn and pensive looks on their faces.

  The joke caused a calmness to envelop him bringing a rare smile to his lips he was alive after everything he had been through! He had survived over three years of fighting and killing when countless others had not. Personally, ending so many lives he truly feared how much blood was on his hands and souls rested on his shoulders. Having finally accepted his rage and hatred as part of himself he was more at peace with himself. He no longer felt afraid of the beast within himself, it felt like he was finally whole, though a nagging part in his mind still screamed it was all but drowned out by the overall feeling.

  Wolf understood that his life was to walk battlefields and thrive as it had been his home all along. This would naturally pan out into hi
m fight against the Empire of Kuing, those slaver cockwombles would still die horrible deaths, but Wolf wouldn’t hold it against the common soldiers for fighting itself. This latest death made him reflect on his life, he thought it maybe had something to do with Arete but was uncertain. If it did, he would need to thank her, after he punched her in the face of course. On the plus side of nearly being burned alive he discovered that most of his hair was inflammable, so the hair on his head was still present in all its glory.

  With a smile he stood, in his normal voice he said, “Relax, I am not undead or anything. You just failed to kill me, besides I need to talk to the elder and Siris.”

  The men remained wary with their weapons pointed at him as he walked toward the village proper. With the gate still open he saw three figures blocking his path, the tallest was the familiar armored man with the slender frame woman being Siris, and an old hunched Huldra. As soon as he got within range to speak, he stopped. Everyone present tensed as Wolf reached to his head to scratch his wolfish ears. Though he saw the hesitation and worry on the face of the old elf, Siris took in his nudity with shy embarrassment, the armored man was completely unreadable through his full helmet. Though he couldn’t see his face, Sir Charle Lemeign stood with his longsword stuck in the ground and hands resting in its hilt.