The Fourth Session
“This story is purely fiction. I hope you enjoy it and my other stories that I have written. I appreciate comments and an occasional suggestion.”
*
I had just been given the news by the trainer. Apparently, I had two bruised ribs and would be out of action for at least three weeks. Suddenly, The Hurricane ran past me, the Hardcore Title bouncing over his shoulder as he went. I quickly took a peek outside and saw Christian and Chris Jericho in hot pursuit of him. As soon as Christian neared the door I stuck my arm out and clotheslined him, but as soon as I stepped out Jericho went for my injured ribs with a kendo stick. I felt a great pain in my right side as my ribs started to hurt worse, maybe I had broken them. I turned around, facing away from Jericho, and saw that Hurricane was standing there in the hall.
“Get the hell outta here.” I yelled and with that Hurricane disappeared, while Jericho (and now with Christian’s help) kept on pummeling me. A cameraman stood nearby and recorded everything. Suddenly, out of nowhere Hurricane and Rob Van Dam appeared scaring Christian and Jericho away. After they were gone I was still lying on the floor holding my injured ribs Hurricane and RVD were hovering over me.
The trainer rushed out and as soon as he moved my arms, he came to the same conclusion that I had, my ribs were broken, but neither of us knew how many. Medics arrived soon and wheeled me off to the hospital where the doctors told me that I had broken both ribs and a couple that had been bruised before as well as getting a few new bruised ones. They told me that I would be out of action for at least a month maybe two depending on how resilient I was, even though I had to fight The Undertaker in less than two weeks.
A few minutes later Vince himself arrived and came in to check up on me, I told him this month’s pay per view would need a new main event.
Vince asked, “Is there anything that I can do.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Get a cameraman up here, I have a message for The Undertaker to record.”
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“I’m gonna forfeit my title to him.” Vince just looked shocked. He started to say something, but I interrupted him, “Trust me Vince, I think that in the long run we can turn this into a positive.” He just nodded. “My belts are in my locker room.” So half an hour later I turned the title over to The Undertaker and told Vince that I was gonna take three months off just to be on the safe side and I wanted a little vacation for myself. After I had recorded the message, Vince said to me, “Wayne, you know how I love unexpected angles, but not angles that jeopardize my plans for a great match.” All I could do was nod.
Two weeks later while resting at home I received a call that would set my healing back another month. The lovely Lita called my house and told me the most gut-wrenching thing in my entire life. Lita and Matt were going to try and work out their problems and I was now left out in the cold. I promptly went into my personal weight room picked up a nice 25-pound weight and promptly hit myself in the ribs causing them to break once again, sending new waves of pain running through my body. I went out and hopped into my SUV and drove to the nearest hospital where doctors inquired how I had re-injured my ribs. I simply told them that I had gotten into a good pace lifting weights and when I brought down my right arm it slammed into my ribs, breaking them once again. When I got home I called up Vince and told him what happened and that I would need another month off; he gave it to me without a moment’s hesitation.
I hung up the phone. Later that night the phone rang, I looked at the Caller ID; it was Lita’s cell phone number. I just let the phone ring and after the fifth ring the answering machine picked up.
“Wayne, I’m sorry about what happened to you and between us. If you need to talk, you can call me.” I went back into the kitchen and finished making my dinner, a nice thick cheeseburger and fries (for some odd reason, I had a difficult time gaining weight so I wasn’t worried about getting out of shape). Two weeks went by, Lita had been calling at least three times every day. Eventually I took the answering machine’s tape and went out back and set the damn thing on fire. I went back in and put in a fresh tape and no more programmed the message when Lita called once again.
“Wayne, I know your home. Pick up the damn phone and let’s talk about this.” That really set me off.
I picked up the cordless phone and said, “You want to talk. Okay, but I’ll do the talking. You were the first woman I had loved in years and you knew that. And you still dropped me like a sack of shit with a fucking phone call. Quit calling my house and leave me the hell alone.” I slammed the phone back down onto its base. Almost instantly the phone started ringing, it was Lita once again. This time I just let it ring.
The machine picked up once again. “So you want to play things like that?” Lita said. “Well, the entire time you and I were together, I was still fucking Matt.” That one set me off. I grabbed the phone and slammed it and the answering machine down on the floor and proceeded to stomp the living shit out them. I ate a lite dinner and went to bed, the phone (in the bedroom) rang twice in the middle of the night, but I just turned over and went back to sleep.
A month later, I was sitting in front of the television nursing a wine cooler (though I didn’t drink very often) when there was knocking at my door. I set the wine cooler down and went over to the door and looked through the peephole. Standing outside in the heat was Stacy Keibler, her clothes had started to darken and stick to her as she sweated more and more. I opened the door and Stacy rushed right in.
“Damn, it’s hot out there today.” She said. Soon the air conditioning started to have it’s effect on her body and she came over and gave me a hug, which I gave back (since she was close to my height I didn’t have to bend down in order to hug her). “How have you been Wayne?”
“Alright.” I said. “But I am having a problem with something though.”
“Lita. I already know. Trish really wanted to fly down here as soon as she heard, but Vince wouldn’t let her.”
“Then how come you’re down here?” I asked.
“I had an appearance to do not to far from here, so I figured that I’d come and check up on you. No one has heard from you, and some of the guys, and girls, were starting to get worried. Besides, Trish bugged me until I promised her that I’d check up on you.” I went over and sat down in my chair and started to sip on my wine cooler. “I didn’t know you drank.”
“I don’t that often, only when I’m pissed off. This thing between Lita and I has really gotten my blood boiling.”
Stacy looked a little hesitant. “May I have one?”
“If you’re old enough.” I replied. She just smiled and went to the refrigerator, and when she opened up the door and bent over, her already short-shorts rode up even higher showing her long tan legs, and the soft curves of her ass cheeks. Her body was absolutely divine, like an 18-year-olds.
She came back in and sat down on the couch near my chair. I pushed play on the DVD remote and up popped the last pay-per-view (I bought all of the pay-per-views). “Wayne, we really need you back now. I know that you were going to become a heel after your match with ‘Taker, which would lead to you and Lita getting into a fight, but since Steve left, we don’t really have any guys that can play a better good guy than you. And according to the story lines, I ditch the Dudleys and get together with you as your manager/girlfriend.” Slowly she sipped on her wine cooler then she said something that surprised me. “Wayne, please don’t injure yourself anymore,” I snapped my head up. “We’re all very concerned about you. We know that you injured yourself on purpose because of Lita, Vince was going to order you to a shrink, but I talked him out of it. Wayne, if you want, I’ll be your new girlfriend.” I almost choked on my wine cooler.
After I settled down a bit I replied, “That can’t happen.”
“Why?” She asked. “Do you think I’ll pull a Lita and fuck someone else? I’ve seen the video of you and Torrie. I know how good you are at eating pussy and from the stories that I’ve heard from the other girls and before that bitch Lita changed her story, you’re a very sensitive and caring person and I’ve never been able to find a man that’s any good in any of those categories. You are a very sweet and handsome guy and you didn’t deserve what happened to you, but that’s all in the past now.” To be honest our little talk was starting to get me worked up, but I kept my distance. Stacy polished off the rest of her wine cooler, bent down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll be back in about a half hour.”
I was a little confused. “Why?” I asked.
“I don’t have to be back for two days, so Vince wanted me to bunk in with you, just to make sure you don’t do anything bad to yourself, again.”
“Okay.” I said. “Go get your stuff and I’ll clean up a room for you.” Stacy just gave me a smile and left, while I hustled around the house trying to clean up. Promptly at 5:30, Stacy pulled up in her rental and I immediately rushed out to help her carry what little baggage she had inside.
“I didn’t really have the time to clean out the spare bedroom, so I figured that you can sleep in my bedroom and I’ll sleep in the recliner.” I said.
“No, this is your house; you can sleep wherever you want to sleep.” As we entered my bedroom I lay her suitcase down one of the dressers. “Besides the bed looks about big enough for the both of us.”
I sighed and shook my head. “Thanks for the offer, but to be honest I…I…just want to sleep alone in my recliner.”
“Whatever works for you Wayne.” She said.
“So what do you want for dinner?” I asked her, quickly changing the subject.
“I have a craving for a nice thick steak.” She replied. I took a step back and looked Stacy up and down. “Don’t be fooled.” She said. “Just because I’m small doesn’t mean I can’t eat an entire steak by myself. I saw the cutest little restaurant type place in town.”
I shook my head, “Na. I’ve got a couple of nice steaks that I was going to have this week. I can cook those.”
“Are you going to need any help?”
I shook my head and said, “No. I don’t think so, but I do need someone to talk to. Something to take my mind off…you know.”
Stacy nodded, “I understand completely.” I went into the kitchen and fired everything up while Stacy took a seat at the table. “So is that why you’ve been so messed up, because of Lita?” I just nodded my reply and went about working on dinner. “You really liked her didn’t you,” That I couldn’t reply to.
“Can we please talk about something else,” I asked, Stacy just nodded.
“So what do you think about the storyline?” She asked.
“Which one?”
“The one about you and me,” She replied.
I shook my head. “I don’t really have a problem with the manager thing, but I just don’t think that I can handle a girlfriend right now, real or on TV. I just…I don’t want to get hurt again.”
“Wayne, I can tell this is making you feel uncomfortable so we won’t talk anymore about this until tomorrow, but only on one condition,” She said.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I want you to just think about you and me being together. Also, tomorrow, Vince requested that I talk to you about Lita, if you need to, he’ll send you to Smackdown.”
I thought it over for a second, “Okay.”
Just then Stacy’s cell phone rang. “Hello?” She answered. “Oh, Hi…no…he’s all right…yes you may…” Stacy handed me the phone.
“Is it Lita?” I asked sadly.
“No, someone who’s been dying to talk to you,” She replied.
I took the phone from Stacy, “Hello?”
“Hi sweet thing,” Came the soft reply.
“I’m sorry, but who may I ask is this?” A long silence ensued.
“You know, you’re lucky Stacy’s down there instead of me because I would have kicked your ass for asking a question like that.”
Now I was starting to get really pissed, “Who the fuck is this?” I asked again.
“Jeez Wayne, you don’t have to get angry or anything, it’s me, Trish.”
“Oh. I’m sorry it’s just that lately I’ve been under a little stress.” I said.
“I know everything.” I just rolled my eyes.
“Does everyone know about this?” I asked.
“Yeah, everyone knows. Actually most of the people are on your side.” She replied. “I’m just calling to check up on you, to see if you’re alright.”
“Yes.” I replied. “I’m okay. My doctor said that I could start training in a couple of weeks.”
“So…since you don’t want to go out with Stacy, how about you go out with me?” She asked.
I sighed, “Trish, I have to go. I’ve got dinner cooking and I don’t want to burn up all of Stacy’s cell phone minutes.”
Now Trish sighed, “Alright, but think about what I said.”
“Okay.”
“Bye.” She said.
“Later.” I replied, hung up the phone and handed it back to Stacy.
“So, what did she want?” Stacy asked.
I sighed and said, “She wanted to know if I wanted to go on a date with her and she wanted me to think about being her boyfriend.”
“I know you have enough on your plate now, but I have to tell you one other thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
She replied, “The other Divas are after you also, excluding Jazz and Jackie ’cause they’re both married. So I wouldn’t be a least bit surprised if you got a few more date offers in the next few days.”
“Can we just let this be until later?” I asked.
“Whatever you want,” She replied. I went about the kitchen finishing the steaks up and prepping a salad. After a few minutes I placed the steaks plates and put some salad on each plate as well. I carried the plates over to the table, placed one in front of Stacy and sat down with mine.
Suddenly, out of nowhere I said, “I’m sorry about you and Test, I saw what happened on Monday.”
Stacy snorted and said, “I just can’t believe that he did that to me.”
“If you want my personal opinion, and don’t take offense to what I’m going to say, but I think that you are much prettier than Torrie, even though you’re not as top heavy as she is.” Stacy laughed. “What?” I asked.
“I’ll bet you twenty bucks that you have a copy of her Playboy.”
Now I laughed, “Actually I have two. A normal copy and a copy with her signature wrapped in plastic so nothing will happen to it. For some odd reason she sent them to me.”
“So did you like her photos?” She asked quietly.
Stacy was really starting to act and sound just like a jealous girlfriend. “They were okay, but somehow I felt that they weren’t right. I don’t really know what that means, but I just know that there was something wrong with the photos.”
“But don’t guys think that bigger is better? Apparently Andrew (Test) did.” She said.
Sighing, I replied, “Not all guys. In fact I don’t believe that bigger is necessarily better, but I do believe that taller is better. You can’t imagine how sore my back got when I stood and made out with Lita. But whatever floats a guy’s boat.” We ate the rest of our dinner in silence and afterwards I cleaned the dishes. We then went into the living room and watched some TV until about ten o’clock. Soon we were tired and decided to go to bed. I got up and went to my master bathroom and brushed my teeth, as soon as I finished, Stacy had her turn in the bathroom. While she was in there she slipped into some, I guess they were pajamas, she had on a powder blue shirt with matching bottoms, but her shirt was a tank top and it appeared to be a little tight, and the bottoms were a pair of tight short-shorts.
Stacy noticed me staring at her choice of nightwear, “These are my guest clothes, normally, I sleep in my underwear or in nothing at all.” She said the ‘nothing at all’ a little heavily. I went over to the bed and pulled the covers back some. Stacy came up behind me, hugged my back, and climbed into the bed. After she was settled, I covered her up with the covers and tucked her in.
Then I said, “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but…” and with that I slowly leaned in and gave Stacy a kiss on her forehead.
As I started to leave, Stacy said, “Wayne?”
“Yeah,” I replied.
“Did you mean what you said about tall women?” She asked.
I nodded. “Yes, I meant what I said. Goodnight.”
“Night,” She replied and with that I turned off the light and proceeded to my weight room. Thankfully I had my weight room soundproofed, because as soon as I got inside I immediately went over to my CD player and put “WWE Forceable Entry” in and quickly turned it to the second track; “Legs” sung by Kid Rock, it was also Stacy’s theme song. All throughout the room posters of Stacy were hung on the walls, I even had almost every article of clothing that the WWE had auctioned off over the Internet that at one point had been worn by Stacy. These clothes I had set up in protective displays. I sat down on the bench and set up my weights, I no more than lifted twice when there was a knock at the door. Immediately, I froze in place. The door opened and there was nothing that I could do about it. Stacy walked in and before I could do anything she gasped.
“Oh dear, what, what is this Wayne?” She asked.
“Well…” I started to lie but figured that there was nothing that I could say that would explain this, “it’s my…shrine…of sorts… to you.” Again Stacy gasped. “Despite what I told you, I’ve had a huge crush on you since I started with the company, but I couldn’t say anything to you because I was afraid that you’d reject me. So when Lita offered herself to me, I took it. I figured that you’d never fall for me. I did this even though I loved Lita, but I wasn’t in love with her. I’m in love with you Stacy, madly, passionately in love with you.” I set the weights back into their place and sat up, head bowed low. “I know, it’s very strange. If you want to go, be my guest, I’ll understand.” Stacy walked around the room, looking inside of the cases at the clothes she once wore, while I started to sob.
Stacy rushed over to me and dropped to her knees, rubbing the back of my head, “What’s wrong?” She asked.
I replied, “Please don’t leave Stacy. I’ve been alone for so long, I don’t think that I can take it anymore.”
“What do you mean? Alone here at home or alone as in without a girlfriend,” She asked.
“Both.” I replied. “The silence is deafening and the voice of a one-sided conversation is worse. Please don’t go, I beg you not to go.”
She gently and slowly ran her hands through my hair, “Wayne, I won’t go anywhere unless you want me to. I was serious about wanting to be your girlfriend, I’ve thought long and hard about this.”
As I started to sob harder, I looked into her soft brown eyes and smiled for the first time in weeks. “Come on.” She said smiling, “Let’s go to your room, I think that it’s time that we both get what we’ve been wanting.” Slowly I stood up, Stacy took my hand and we walked to my bedroom. As we walked inside Stacy said, “Sit down on the bed, I’m going to change into something a little more comfortable.” I sat down on the bed, pondering at all of the things that Stacy could come out in. But I couldn’t believe that one of my greatest dreams was about to come true. Suddenly, the stereo in the bathroom blared “SHE’S GOT LEGS!” The door opened up. Stacy ran a socked foot up and down the doorframe a couple of times and then stepped out. I was shocked to say the least. Her hair was in pigtails and she wore a pair of black glasses. She had on a white blouse with a plaid skirt and was chewing on some bubble gum, she wore the perfect schoolgirl outfit.
“How did you know that you’d be needing that this weekend?” I asked.
She smiled “I didn’t, but I figured that it would be good to have it just in case. But I want to make one thing absolutely clear.”
Valen, realizing what she’s about to do, darts in and whacks the beast on the end of the nose to distract it. She lands, full-force, squarely on the lich’s ribcage. With the damage to its legs, the weight of a paladin in full armor being driven in to the side of the beast is enough to topple it. She rolls clear, but the force of impact has driven the wind from her. The lich lies there, scrabbling toward her, while she tries to collect herself. Valen cuts in at a dead run stopping just long enough to throw her over his shoulder, and carries her out of range of the beast. It howls and belches fire, but since it’s unable to maneuver effectively, it’s essentially harmless.
Valen sets her down, “Are you well?”
She grimaces and wheezes, “If I could breathe, I’d answer you.”
He waits as she gasps for air. Finally she answers him, “I’m alright, really. I just got the wind knocked out of me. You killed a spider for me. Do you think you can finish that thing off?”
He grins at her through his helm and offers her a formal salute before turning away to deal with the beast. He darts in with his flail and a few good strikes crush the skull. In the mean time, Lavoera runs up to Morrighu and casts a healing spell. Morrighu straightens and mumbles a prayer to her goddess.
Valen trots back toward her, “I hope that was what you had in mind.”
She nods as she bats her eyes at him coyly, “My hero – the killer of spiders and other fell things.”
Valen chuckles at her antics.
The deva, not having seen the bebelith, laughs heartily.
Valen gives her a dark look, “You didn’t see the spider. Try, if you can, to imagine a spider that would give her pause,” as he points at the grinning paladin.
Morrighu looks at Valen, “If the heaps of bone are any indication, this will be the last go. Since this is the last go, it will likely be the most vicious now in an attempt to cling to its undead semblance of life.” She looks at Valen curiously, “I can all upon my power as an aspect of my goddess to help us in this battle.”
Valen shakes his head vehemently, “No, I saw what happened the last time you did that. It nearly killed you.”
She rolls her eyes, “It did not nearly kill me. I will admit that it left me weak and drained, but the blood rage is only part of my powers as an aspect. I have others, though they all deal with controlling rage and frenzy. I can amplify them or dampen them in both my allies and my opponents. I have been wary of doing this, with you near me. I know that your demon is drawn out by your rage. If you think you can withstand it, I think it may help Nathyrra and Lavoera in the coming battle.” She eyes the glowing piles of bones warily, “We do not have much time to decide. Once the battle is joined, I doubt we will have a chance to speak again.”
Valen considers briefly, “Do it. I will manage as best I am able.”
She motions for him to move away from her, “This works off proximity. The closer you are to me, the more intense it will be for you.”
Morrighu throws her head back and her arms wide as she begins to call up on her powers as an aspect of her goddess. Valen watches in awe as the deva, who is standing closest to Morrighu, is transformed. The deva’s eyes spark with holy fire and lightening begins to play around the head of her mace. Nathyrra is next. Her face twists into a snarl as she begins casting meteor strikes, a spell that normally requires more power than she can muster.
Valen sucks in a sharp breath as the rage overtakes him. His mind is flooded by it and soon the need for battle consumes him. His eyes flash from blue to a deep glowing red, like a hot ember. The beast rises and she walks calmly toward it, her cloak streaming behind her. Valen closes in on it with his flail at the ready. He notes absently that as the beast comes in to her range, its attack seems to falter and become half-hearted, almost as if it is disinterested.
Nathyrra continues to pound it with meteors while the deva closes in with her mace. The lightening from her mace causes the beast to smoke wherever she strikes. Valen seems to be doing more damage than normal with his flail, while Morrighu stands off to the side, still praying to her goddess. The beast, seeking to escape his attackers, takes to the air. With a sharp scream, the deva pursues it. The deva is smaller and faster, so she gains the advantage of altitude.
She begins striking at the beast’s wings, forcing it back down. They whirl and twist, each seeking the advantage, but the cumbersome lich is no match for the enraged deva. Nathyrra has changed from meteor strikes to empowered fireballs and the smell of smoking bone fills the air. The beast swoops toward Valen, who ducks out of the way but manages to land a solid blow against its tail, throwing it off balance as it seeks to maneuver. The deva folds her wings and follows the descent, her mace striking at its wings.
Because of the swerving correction made by the lich while trying to recover from Valen’s attack, one of the lich’s wings bumps into the deva, sending her spinning. She unfurls her wings, rights herself, and begins climbing to regain her advantage. Once again, she begins driving it downward where it will be in range of her companions. Finally, the deva succeeds in disabling one of the beast’s wings.
It crashes to the cavern floor and skids to a halt. It waits to see if they have assumed its dead, but Morrighu can still smell the taint on it. The rest are too enraged to care and they charge the thing. The beast sees Valen charging him and starts to belch out a stream of fire, but Nathyrra sees what the beast is up to and casts a protective spell. Instead of being roasted, Valen only singes a bit. The pain from this only serves to enrage the demon even further.
He moves in and starts wailing on the beast’s head while it is still trying to recover from the impact. Nathyrra continues casting fireballs at it. The deva’s mace leaves patches of smoking bone where ever it touches the lich. It struggles to rise under the combined assault, but finally it collapses. Morrighu lowers her arms and looks around expectantly but none of the bone piles exhibit any kind of a glow. She sighs in relief.
Now that the combat is over, Valen, still fully possessed by the demon, tosses aside his flail and moves swiftly toward her. Roughly, he reaches out and grabs the neck of her armor and pulls her toward him, grinning evilly. Morrighu sees the state of his eyes and, in a move that surprises everyone, throws her arms wide. As she does so, Valen’s eyes flash immediately from red back to blue.
He sucks in a sharp breath and releases her with shaking hands, “So that is why you do not fear me?”
She nods at him grinning, “I told you not to underestimate my skills.”
He gives her a dark look, “I could still hurt you.”
She reaches up and strokes his cheek, “Valen, I doubt you would ever hurt me. I called your rage and I stilled it. Had I not called it, would the demon have gotten away from you?”
He shakes his head, “I don’t know.”
She laughs, “I do. It would not. Now, if you don’t mind, I still smell a serious taint to this place. We must seek its source.” She moves off looking like a dog seeking a scent. Her head is tilted back and she casts from side to side to see where it is strongest.
Valen retrieves his flail and looks abashedly at Nathyrra, who grins at him.
Nathyrra puts a gentle hand on his arm, “I can only imagine what that was like for you. I was so angry with that thing and I had so much magic at my disposal. Valen, think for a moment, rage is her province as the aspect she embodies. I’m certain that she knows what she speaks of. Surely this should make her more precious to you, since you need not fear so. She is perhaps the only woman who can still the demon in you at will. That she also cares for you is your great good fortune. Don’t kick a gift horse in the mouth.”
He shrugs, “I will consider it, but the demon is me still frightens me at times.”
Limping and blood-smeared, the deva beams at everyone, “Well that was fun, wasn’t it? Evil is vanquished! Do you know if they’ve got another one of those stashed around somewhere?”
Nathyrra looks at her, “You’re bleeding.”
The deva looks startled, “I’m what? I’m bleeding? Oh wow, I’m bleeding! That’s a good sign. I wasn’t sure if I had any left in me.” She wipes the blood away and continues grinning.
Morrighu turns to her, “I have one last favor to ask of you.”
The deva is practically dancing with excitement, “A favor? That’s sort of like a mission, isn’t it? Ooh, this sounds like fun.”
Morrighu grins, “There’s a rebellion against the drow who had this done to you and the rebel camp needs your protection.”
Lavoera nods, “The drow? The vampires were using my blood to fashion golems for the drow army! Won’t they be surprised to meet me on the fields of battle. Rebels, rebels, rebels… Got it! Okay, on my way!”
Nathyrra laughs as the excited deva disappears from sight, “She will be quite useful against the army of the Valsharess… assuming she manages to find our camp.”
Valen grins, “The Seer’s army is a rag-tag mix of outcasts and misfits. I think that deva will fit in quite well. She will certainly be more welcome than the kobolds.”
Morrighu goes back to seeing the source of the taint that she can still sense and this leads her toward the back of the cavern.
As they near what appears to be the rear wall, Nathyrra stops them, “Look at this.”
She opens a previously hidden door in rock. Morrighu shrugs and steps into it, leaving Valen and Nathyrra to follow her. When she steps out, there are two bone golems guarding a phylactery. She and Valen make quick work of the golems and Morrighu walks over to look at the phylactery. The orb spins within its sanctuary, Vix’thra’s draconic soul coating it in a fine red mist.
She speaks to Vix’thra, “All things come to an end, including your evil. Prepare yourself, your time is at hand.”
She raises both her blades and brings them down on the spinning orb. Her blades meet the orb with high pitched screech. As they begin to bite in, the screech rises in both pitch and volume, sparks begin to fly and the spinning orb begins to slow. She frowns in concentration as she continues to press her blades further into the spinning orb. Finally, Valen can no longer stand the sound and he removes his hands from his ears, un-slings his flail, and smashes the orb. The orb fragments and flies apart.
Morrighu looks at him and grins, “That was a bit loud. Let’s loot this place and then get these people out of here.”
Valen, realizing what she means to do, groans, “Surely not. They will not be any more welcome than the kobolds have been.”
She eyes him levelly, “I have not fought this hard and risked so much to leave them here to die at the hands of the Valsharess’ army. Besides, the kobolds seemed to be adapting well the last time I saw them.”
Valen grimaces, “If, by adapting well, you mean they cannot hit rock in cavern, I would say they are adapting well.”
Morrighu shakes her head, “I worked with them briefly and they are better. They were making quite good progress toward becoming archers and swordsmen. I intend to offer these people the same agreement.”
Valen rolls his eyes, “Why? This will only create more discord with House Maeviir and you have worked so hard to help them.”
She sighs, “Valen, they must learn to defend themselves or they will promptly be slaves again or worse. I also seem to recall someone telling me ‘And we need all the help we can get if we are to win this war,’ when we first met. Has that suddenly changed? Do you think that an army of drow will pass harmlessly by a group of unarmed surfacers? Like the kobolds, they can be taught to fight, which is a skill they will need in any event and we can use their numbers to swell our own. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement for both of groups.”
Valen rolls his eyes and yields the point. He moves to disarm the traps on some chests. Morrighu starts loading the things from the chests into her pack, while Nathyrra gathers up the gold and dumps it into Morrighu’s pack as well.
Nathyrra looks at her, “What are you going to do with all this stuff?”
Morrighu grins, “Trade it to Rizolvir for equipment for the villagers out there. They need armor, weapons, and likely some supplies. They seem to have enough food, but they appear to be a bit light on the clothing and potions. It’s nothing we can’t get from Rizolvir or Gulhrys so long as I have something to trade or gold to pay with.” She holds up a suit of Red Dragon armor and waves it a Nathyrra, “This alone will put dozens of them into studded leather armor.”
Nathyrra grins and helps her continue to load her pack.
Valen finishes up with the traps and joins them, “If you are determined to do this, I will do my best to help you.”
She looks over at him and nods gratefully, “I need your help. I doubt I could do this without you. The first order of business is to get them back to Lith My’athar. Then I need to see Rizolvir and trade him some of these things to cover the cost of equipping them.”
Valen sighs, “You have borne the brunt of the expenses for the Seer’s followers. Why do you do it?”
She laughs, “I have gold enough for my own needs and then some. My goddess has charged me with 1) aiding the Seer, 2) annihilating the Valsharess, and 3) annihilating the Red Sisters. Anything that I can do that falls under any of those mandates, I must carry out. All must be done to the best of my ability. Any thing less is a disservice to my goddess and a violation of my oaths.”
Valen looks at her strangely, “That was not the promise that you made me.”
She shakes her head, “Not that oath. I refer to the oaths I took when I became a paladin in Her service and my oaths as One of the Four.”
He sighs again, “So you feel honor bound to round these people up and cart them back to Lith My’athar.”
She nods, “Precisely. One of my oaths deals specifically with defending the defenseless. These people are defenseless, Valen, especially before an army like that of the Valsharess’. They are all former slaves. Perhaps some small few of them have fought to amuse a master, but having seen them, I find that highly unlikely. I suspect that any who were able and willing to fight were among those chosen for sacrifice. Now that we are done here I find that I am eager to be gone from this place. Will you lead us from this place?”
Valen nods, offering her his arm before he turns to the path out of the temple.
In the chamber where lightening plays in the pit, Morrighu looks up at Valen, “I’m glad that we left all the doors open. This place has been closely kept for too long.”
Valen nods, “I am glad for these people. This has to have been terrible for them.”
Finally, they return to the rope and begin the long climb up. Valen goes first and when he reaches the top, he waits until the other two have begun their climb and simply starts pulling the rope up. Morrighu appears first and he reaches a hand to her, to pull her over the lip. When she’s on solid ground, she reaches down and helps him pull Nathyrra up. When the trio is reassembled, he offers her his arm again, still heading out of the temple.
He pauses before the huge doors to the temple, “I do not know if these people will thank you or hate you for killing their god.”
She looks up at him, “I got the distinct impression that at least most of them will be thankful.”
He nods and throws open the door. A grateful figure hunkers on the temple steps, his knobby hands clasped fervently before him, “Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Many thanks, yes? We are truly free now, both from our prior slavery and from the terrible tyranny of Vix’thra!”
Morrighu offers him a hand up, “You’re welcome. I’m grateful for the chance to help.”
Cordigan looks up at her, “Yes, welcome, welcome, welcome! Come here to Drearing’s Deep any time. We’re Free now, Truly Entirely Free, thanks to you.”
She looks at him curiously, “What are you going to do now?” He grins at her, “Why, lead the village! Free more slaves! Build defenses now that Vix’thra’s gone, protect against the Slave Trackers! It’s time to build a better life, it is. A better life right here in Drearing’s Deep!”
Morrighu grimaces, “Yes, well, about that. You’re out of time. You don’t have time to construct anything that will withstand the army that’s coming.”
Cordigan looks at her in alarm, but before he can continue, she holds up a restraining hand, “We will take you to place that will be safe, but there is one condition.”
He looks at her, “Have we traded one master for another?”
She shakes her head, “No, you may vote on it and do as you choose. I will not force you, but I will ask you to consider what I have to say carefully. The one condition that I have is that you let us train you to fight and that you help us hold the city.”
He looks at her, “How do we know what you say is true?”
She sighs, “Because, you have the word of a paladin on the matter. There is a very large army coming for us, but they will sweep through this area. If they find you here, I cannot say what they will do, but I fear greatly for your safety. Once the army has been dealt with, you will be free to do as you choose. If you wish to return here, we will not stop you.”
He considers her words, “I will have to speak to the others. I am the leader, but I cannot make a decision like this without a vote.”
She nods, “I only ask that your decision be soon. If we are to take you to safety, we must go soon and go quickly.”
He nods again, “I will call everyone and we will vote.”
Morrighu grins, “Kindly allow me.”
She walks from the temple to the gong and raises the hammer. She strikes it several times and watches as the villagers begin to gather. They see her standing there; the first one to be chosen and return, and gossip runs rampant. She lets them talk as they continue to gather. When it appears that everyone is present, she shouts for their attention before bowing to Cordigan and gesturing for him to address steps forward and explains their predicament and their choice.
One of the villages raises a hand and Cordigan points to him to let him speak, “How is it that you are here? No one has ever returned from a choosing before.”
She sighs, “Vix’thra is dead as are his evil priests. You are welcome to go in and inspect the temple, if you doubt me. There is not one thing left living in it, though truthfully, there was not one thing left living in it before we entered. They have been disposed of, I assure you. I would show you corpses but vampires tend not to leave any. There are dead knights, though, and what is left of Vix’thra.”
The villagers turn to one another, chattering but Cordigan shouts for silence, “We must take a vote and decide if we are to stay here and try to ride out the coming storm on our own or if we are to go with this paladin to a place she says can be held against the drow army that comes.”
The villagers fall into heated discussion over the matter and a few fist fights break out. Morrighu gestures to Valen, “At least they have some fight left in them. See if you can stop them from harming each other.”
Valen moves swiftly through the crowd and breaks up the fighting. It doesn’t seem to take more than a growl and a sharp look from him to do the job.
She turns to them, “I know that you do not know how to fight. We will see that you are taught, as best we are able, in the time we have remaining before the army comes. You have so little here – no armor, no weapons, and no real defenses. You might be able to barricade yourselves inside the temple, but I doubt that it would withstand a concentrated assault by well trained forces. The place that we would take you has all of these things. The only thing left to tell you is that whatever you decide, I will consider your decision to be binding.”
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 12:26 pm and is filed under Stars Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.