Orc Bait 06

Aerowyn just knelt there, hunched over, with her head down as he spoke.

"I WILL END YOUR MORTAL SUFFERING. YOU CAN JOIN HER NOW."

Aerowyn carefully put my body down on the ground, then stood. She turned to face the Demon Lord. Her eyes were puffy and red and wet with tears, but she stared intently into his eyes. "Why do you even battle us, Demon? Why did you rebuild this tower? Surely a powerful overlord like you could annihilate us all in a single blow."

"PERHAPS I FIND IT AMUSING."

"Or perhaps you are not so strong here. I think your vessel is holding you back. You have been extending your power to keep her alive for the last six years, haven't you?"

He raised his spiked fist over her head threateningly, but Aerowyn didn't flinch. "I CAN CRUSH YOU EASILY ENOUGH, MORTAL."

"And throw away a much more suitable vessel?"

He lowered his fist, "DO YOU OFFER YOURSELF TO ME, LITTLE ONE?"

"You are right, the Gods don't give a damn about us. I've tried to serve them well, but they only reward me with suffering. I hate the Gods, and I hate this world. I want to take part in worlds' destruction!"

"Aerowyn...no!" I said, as I looked on. But I knew she couldn't hear me.

Lorca gave her a broad sinister smile. "I CAN SENSE THE TRUTH IN YOUR WORDS, MORTAL. AND I FEEL MUCH ANGER IN YOU...I LIKE IT. YESSS...A POISON WITCH. I WILL SPREAD MY POISONS ACROSS THE LAND, AND CAUSE ENDLESS SUFFERING."

Aerowyn squealed as his hand came forward and grabbed her. He got hold of her green robes and tore them open, exposing her pert pale breasts. His hand then moved to his chest. Lorca growled as he pulled the heartstone away, the long red tendrils violently ripped from his body. Then he pushed it into Aerowyns chest. She screamed out in agony as the tendrils violently bored into her body.

I could just watch on helplessly, "No...Aerowyn! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!"

Lorcas' huge body collapsed onto the ground. Aerowyn continued to scream out in agony, as red spikes tore out through her skin. "DON'T FIGHT ME...SUBMIT!" she cried out. She dropped to the ground and started convulsing. Why did I have to witness this? I was sinking into a pit of despair. She suddenly fell still. The heartstone throbbed steadily on her chest.

Then I saw Aerowyn standing over the body. She looked at me wide-eyed. "Rohme!" She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around me. It seemed we could touch. I grabbed her face and looked into her eyes, "What in the seven Hells are you doing Aerowyn?!"

She looked down at her grotesquely altered body, which now belonged to Lorca, "Watch."

Lorca sat up, his eyes were glowing brightly, "YESSS, THIS IS A SUPERIOR VESSEL. I CAN FEEL MY POWER GROW." Then I could see a thin line of blood run from his nose. He brought his hand up and touched his face, and then looked at the blood on the finger. More blood began running from his nose. "NO...WHAT IS THIS?"

He cried out in pain, and blood began flowing from his eyes, like crimson tears. His ears were also bleeding. "WITCH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! GAAAAAGH!"

I looked on in amazement. That was a good question-what had she done? Aerowyn pointed down near my body. The small empty tube lay on the ground. It was the pitch-black vial I had seen her with earlier. "I've spent decades developing what is, by far, the most powerful poison ever made. The only poison capable of killing me."

Lorca was still crying out and thrashing about. His skin was red with blood that flowed from every orifice. "RAAAAGH! TREATOROUS WITCH!...YOU CAN'T KILL ME!...GNGGH...I COMMAND DEATH!"

"He's right," came another voice.

I looked up and gasped, "Cordelia!"

The blonde cleric smiled at me. She was dressed in a flowing white robe, and looked every bit as beautiful as I remembered. "Wonderful to see you again, Rohme." She looked down at ailing Demon Lord, "Good work, Aerowyn. Your poison has severely weakened him. He is drawing on all his power to keep his vessel alive. Someone needs to finish him off."

"There is no one left." I said, sadly.

"Which is why Felora will grant you resurrection."

I stood there for a moment, just staring blankly. "Resurrection?"

"Yes, Rohme. You will live."

"Can't he allow us all to live?"

"No, he can't."

Aerowyn turned to me, grinning, "It's okay, Rohme. This is your destiny."

I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. Tears streamed down my face. "No. This is not what I want. I can't do it again...I can't be left alone...I can't!"

Cordelia gave me a serene look, "But, Rohme...you won't be alone." She nodded down. I looked down and could see a faint pulsing light in my gut. I didn't understand. And then I realized that it was in my womb. Holy shit! "Your son also has an important destiny. Take good care of him."

Aerowyn looked into my eyes and smiled, "Oh, wow! you're going to be a mother...I'll always watch over him. I promise."

I held her tightly, "I don't want to lose you. Not now."

"I know," she breathed. She pressed herself into me, and tears rolled down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, Rohme, but this can't wait any longer. You have to go back," said Cordelia. "It's time to say goodbye." And then three other figures appeared next to her-a white-haired elf, a large dark-skinned fighter, and dark-haired beauty. Locien, Strafe and Sierra.

"Father!" said Aerowyn excitedly. She tore away from me and rushed over to hug him.

"I am so very proud of you, Aerowyn," he said, as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "We will take this journey together." He nodded to me, "May good fortune accompany you, and the Gods watch over you, Rohme Walker."

I stared at Sierra, my mouth agape. She looked so radiantly beautiful. She gave me her wonderful smile, and then came forward and hugged me. I put my arms around her and hugged her back. "I'm proud of you, Rohme. And thank you. I have always known that you were special. You're the greatest hero I have ever known."

More tears rolled down my face, "I missed you so much."

"I will always love you, my beautiful ranger."

Strafe smiled down at me, "You did good, girl."

"And you, Bonehead." I said as I wrapped my arms around his broad torso. "Thanks for the help."

"Thank you...and good luck. If your son has inherited your stubbornness, you're gunna need it."

I pulled away and smiled. Cordelia came forward, "It's time to go," she said, before planting a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Wait!" called Aerowyn. She came back over and grabbed me, before pressing her lips into mine and kissing me forcibly. I kissed her back, and felt the warm tingling all over. The strong feelings of love were tainted with deep sadness. I closed my eyes and was swept up in the moment.

When I opened my eyes again, I was laying on the hard stone floor. Aerowyn was gone. I slowly sat up and rubbed my head. Welcome back to the living. I rubbed my belly, and there's another life in there, I still didn't know what to make of that.

The howling scream nearby reminded me that I had a job to do. I picked myself up off the ground and grabbed my sword. The Demon Lord Lorca was still writhing on the ground in a pool of blood. He looked like a blood-covered, hideously deformed Aerowyn. I approached him and he looked up at me with blank glowing eyes that cried blood. "NAAAAGH...YOU!...HOW CAN IT BE?"

"It looks like you don't command death, Asshole." I stepped forward and he lashed out at me. I swiftly swung the blade and cut off his arm. Then I brought it down and hacked off the other. I then stabbed the blade down hard into his head and the sword was lodged there. Lorca still screamed, convulsed and bled out. I planted my foot on his chest and got hold of the weakly throbbing heartstone.

I growled as I pulled with all I had. I suddenly fell back on my ass as the stone ripped out of his chest. The tendrils lashed out at my arm. I quickly tossed the stone aside, on to the ground. The spikey blood-covered body fell still. I stood up again and went over and spat on the stone. "Not so big and scary now, are you, motherfucker?"

There was a crashing sound behind me and I jumped. I spun around and saw a robed figure there. He must have leant on the crumbled stone pillar and knocked it over. "Duane!" I called out, excitedly. "So that's why you didn't show up to say goodbye."

"What?" he said, blinking at me. "Rohme, thank goodness you're still alive."

"And you, I thought you were dead."

"Yes...that wasn't pleasant. Lucky I had a healing potion with me." He looked around the large chamber, taking in all the dead bodies, and the heartstone sitting on the ground. "And you won?"

I nodded, "At great cost."

"Yes, it was always going to be at great cost," he said sadly.

"I need your help with something."

Duane opened up an Azraelus Gate and I tossed the accursed stone through the portal, back into Hell where it belonged. As the gate closed back up again, it finally dawned on me that it was all over. The total destruction of the world had been stopped, and it was all thanks to the sacrifice of one crazy red-headed witch, who I had come so close to killing. I missed her already.

Duane smiled at me, "Come on, I'll help you find your pants."

***

There was one thing that would often occupy my thoughts after those events-Was it really our destiny? Were things always going to turn out the way they did? Or was it like Aerowyn said to me in that gloomy dungeon-True heroes forge their own destiny, no matter what Gods and Devils have planned? Or did we just get incredibly lucky?

This time, I wasn't left wondering why I was still alive, or why I had to go though so much shit. I saw the reason for it every day, in my beautiful child. Was it true that he had an important destiny? It didn't matter to me at all. I loved him all the same. And I was immensely proud of him.

As it turned out, Aerol the half-orc would become a legend. But that's a different story entirely...

END