Orc Bait 04

She continued to cry. Tears were streaming down her face. "Just stay here. I'll be right back." I got up and ran to the house. I was terrified as well. Why did it have to be the Death Viper? I needed to focus on the task, she didn't have much time. Where the hell did I have my antivenom? The back room I had made into my laboratory was a mess. There were unlabelled potion bottles, and ingredients everywhere. I frantically searched for the little white vial.

After a minute or so, I found it in the back of a cupboard amongst my poisons. I flew back out of the house with the vial in my hand. To my horror, Jorcina was no longer in front of the stable. "Jorcina!!" I cried out. "Jo, where are you?!" I quickly looked inside the stable, and then scanned the area. She was nowhere to be seen.

I ran out to the dirt road, yelling her name. I followed the road until I saw something. She was lying motionless on the side of the road. My heart almost stopped. I ran up to her, dropped to my knees and lifted her in my arms. "Jorcina, Can you hear me?" She wasn't moving. "I have the antivenom."

I pulled the cork out from the vial and put it to her lips, then poured the liquid into her mouth. She didn't move. "Come on Jo!" I sobbed. The liquid ran down her chin. She wasn't breathing. I was falling deeply into a pit of despair. I looked up to the dark clouds and screamed out in anguish.

Some villagers had come over and were looking on. "It's young Jorcina!"

"What did the half-elf do to her?!"

"Someone get the chief."

I just sat there bawling. Cradling her lifeless body in my arms.

...

The flickering flame shone brightly in front of me and hurt my eyes. Now I was sitting on a soft bed. The candle was lowered from my face and I blinked the tears away. There was a grey bearded man in front of me. "Now look at my finger, little Aerowyn." He held his finger up in front of me and I watched as he moved it about. "Good," the old man smiled.

He stood up and turned to the red-headed woman, who was standing in the doorway with a concerned look on her face. We were in some kind of homely cottage. "Your daughter appears to be fine. She's quite a happy and healthy little girl."

"Are you certain. Perhaps you could take another look at her."

"That's not necessary. Perhaps the snake was not as dangerous as you thought."

"I was a Death Viper, I saw it!"

"A Death Viper can kill a fully grown man within ten minutes. If one did strike her, perhaps it was her elven blood that saved her. There's magic in elf blood." He turned and smiled at me, "Or maybe the gods have other plans for her."

...

I slowly opened my eyes. I was laying on the hard ground again, with my head on its side in the dirt and my arm pinned under me. I groaned as I rolled over. The blue sky was getting darker as the sun was setting. I felt completely disoriented again, deeply saddened and mentally exhausted.

Where was Aerowyn? I slowly picked myself up off the ground. I was fighting the dizziness as I sat up. My groin was still sticky and wet in my pants, though I was no longer aroused. I was sore and tender where a few large bruises had formed from my earlier battle with the witch. I looked over and saw Aerowyn nearby. She was sitting on the ground with her knees up to her chest, leaning back against a tree stump.

I could feel the rough bark of the tree stump on my back, and I knew we were still linked. I felt immense sadness. I could tell that it was coming from Aerowyn, from her expression and body language.

My shortsword was laying on the ground nearby. I picked it up and sheathed it at my waist. Gods, I felt like crap. I was glad to be myself again, though Aerowyn was still a very real part of me. I wondered if she had relived the ordeal with the village girl Jorcina too. That may be why she was so sad. Or was it me? I was still groggy and confused.

I needed some water, and I had stashed my pack before approaching the campsite. Aerowyn then held up a bladder and motioned for me to come over. I slowly crawled over and sat next to her, before taking the bladder. I looked at her, frowning.

"What, still don't trust me? After all we've been through together?"

I held the bladder up to my lips and took a long drink. Then I held it up and let the water wash over my face. I turned to her again, "Break the link, Aerowyn."

"I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I mean I can't! I don't know why. Mental amalgamation spells usually require effort on behalf of the caster to sustain. They can just stop doing it and the link is broken. Some other force is powering our link. I can't stop it."

"Some other force?...Where?"

"I don't know."

I sat back and took and took a deep breath. A flock of dark birds flew by, screeching at each other. "That elven wizard at the castle, Locien, he's your father."

"Yes."

"I was you, Aerowyn. Jumping around to different parts of your life. I didn't just see it, I lived it."

"And I was you, Rohme. At your fathers' farm, with your lover Baden, with your party. That horrible night in Fangrind Forest..."

We both sat there in silence for a while. The world around us was bathed in twilight as the sun set. "We both need rest," said Aerowyn. " We'll camp here tonight. Let's build a fire."

I nodded, it had been a very eventful day. We were tired. I looked around the campsite. The bandits had a fire pit set up and a stack of fire wood. Hopefully they would have some food around too. While Aerowyn busied herself stacking the wood, I stood up and went for a short walk into the woods to recover my pack, bow and quiver.

It was dark when I returned. She had the fire going. I slumped down on the ground next to it. Aerowyn sat across from me. I didn't have to look at her to know how she was feeling, we both felt the same. We were wiped out, upset, and sad.

But I still had plenty of questions. "So we're supposed to stop this thing together, according to your...visions?"

She nodded. "And my fathers'."

"How long have you known?"

"After our first encounter, but before our second encounter at Kabores' Tower. I was able to have clearer predictions there. I thought that I could make you submit, that I could be your mistress. I was wrong about that. "

"Why did you abuse and humiliate me at Ulrich?"

"To show you that I wasn't cowed by your brutal payback. That you hadn't beaten me. And I was angry. I thought that what you did to me was far worse than what I did to you. I see now that it wasn't. I never meant you any harm Rohme. I really do like you. I wish things could have been different. It's all my fault, I know."

"You killed innocent people."

"They weren't so innocent. I removed some obstacles, but I didn't make them abuse you, or judge you, or turn a blind eye."

"They weren't all like that. There was a good woman named Joan who was almost killed."

"But you got to be a hero and save her, right? That was an important factor in getting the Kings to let you go."

I felt a surge of anger, "You don't give a damn about anybody but yourself, Aerowyn. And I think I know why. You were in love once, and you were wounded deeply when you lost her. You didn't want to suffer that kind of pain again, so you chose not to care for anyone."

I could feel the waves of sorrow and regret, and it made me feel sick. Aerowyns' eyes glistened as she looked into the fire. "It's a weakness," she said softly.

"Hey, I've lost people I love, and had my heart torn out as well!"

"Yes, I know," she said sadly.

"It didn't turn me into a psychotic bitch. Friends are a strength, but you only know how to make enemies. For all your efforts to become more powerful, you're weak, Aerowyn. You're weak, and I don't know if I want to go into battle with you."

She just glared at me, gritting her teeth. I could feel that the words cut deep. She exhaled sharply and simply said, "You need to."

There was silence between us, as the nearby campfire flickered and crackled. Then a wolf could be heard howling in the distance. Aerowyn was the one to break the silence, "I have done some horrible things to you, Rohme, and you didn't deserve it. I experienced some of it as you, I know what you went through because of me. I don't blame you for wanting to kill me. I'm...I'm sorry."

Tears rolled down her face, and I felt the heavy emotion behind her words. She had said sorry before, but this time I knew she meant it. I recalled being on top of her on the bed in Kabores' tower, forcing my magical cock into her. Taking joy in my revenge. Now I had experienced it from both sides. A tear rolled down my face, "I'm sorry too."

Aerowyn wiped the tears from her eyes, "Well this sucks, I would rather be getting super horny with you."

I nodded, "The question still remains--If you're not the one I have come to stop, then who?"

The half-elf stared into the fire, "You think I know? I didn't even know the location of the ruins until a couple of days ago."

"You forget that we're linked, Bitch. You know. Tell me!"

She looked at me and exhaled sharply.

"Tell me!" I said forcefully.

What she said next shocked me to my core.

"Our enemy is the sorceress, Sierra."

To be concluded...