Five days had passed. Hoped the Adapts hadn't moved to the summer city yet.
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She started to scratch her back and stopped; the healing scab stung.
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Was it morning or evening? She took out a sun shard from her pouch, holding it in her palm. The shard turned an orange yellow. Morning. So many leagues left to travel. Why couldn't they have let her use a portal? She didn't care about authenticity, meh.
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She stretched and stood, a glint behind a bush and the shaking of the leaves. Bushes don't glint. It moved again. She pushed down a shout.
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Daggers in hand, she padded toward it. It's over there in the thorn bush.
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The something was tangled in the bush and thrashed about. With smooth red fur or skin? There was no head to be seen.
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She went over and poked it with a jiggling dagger handle.
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The creature straightened and became taller. An appendage ripped free of the bush. A hand. Huh?
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She leaned in closer, just a silly human with a cape pulled over his face.
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Even more the fool was she, not him. Being scared of such a thing, shameful.
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Her shoulders slumped. "Don't move."
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Leaning over, she worked free the cape. It took a while to cut though the bush, and she tossed several sticks behind him.
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"Wandering hero, you don't belong out here; go home." Did this guy listen to anyone?
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"I didn't mean to follow you."
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Parcival yanked a jerkin leg still stuck in the bush and toppled backwards on his butt hard. His eyes widened as he cocked his head like a lost puppy. Her long ears twitched. She repressed a smile, while holding out a hand.
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He grasped her hand and stood up, dusting off his jerkin and bottom.
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She straightened, while glaring at him.
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"Leave now." Her voice sounded far too cold, even to her. He'd be far safer away from me. Everyone would.
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His face became drawn, and the smile vanished.
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"My most humble of apology's."
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Formality or sarcasm? "Well?" Was the man daft?
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Her stomach gurgled. Ticking her off when she was hungry and annoyed just ... pehh.
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He held out his hands out and moved them as he talked.
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"This is the fastest way back home for me. I can't allow any women, even one, as..."
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Parcival paused.
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"Dangerous as you are, traveling on your own with The Corpus Outlaws reported in the area, isn't wise."
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She grinned when he referred to her as dangerous.
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"I've no trouble with bandits, but plenty with would be heroes. "I can take care of my self." Most of the time. It's just the blackest luck that the few males left are all children; so few had the powers.
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She spun and went towards the clearing; she had spotted before resting. He walked along beside her. She speed up as did he.
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"I've about had it."
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She put her hands near her hips and put on a serious face.
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He turned, and with slow, exaggerated moments reached out and held her shoulders.
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"Stop. My oath of truth can't be broken. Olenus punishments are swift. Have pity on me. If you wish it, I'll leave when we reach a town, but not before."
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What was he trying to pull? She tugged on a ear-lobe. Still, the rumors of Paladins were generally good. She arched an eyebrow and gave her best steely glare.
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"I warn you; one betrayal and I will kill you." Have to let him come with; it wasn't smart to risk Olenus fury. For now, once back in a town, however ...
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"Not everyone is out to get you."
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Parcival stretched an arm towards the pathway.
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"Let's go." His features were smooth, and his eyes held no darkness.
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He walked up beside her again. After a while, she stopped peeking at him and relaxed a fraction. The forest floor and the trees slowly changed to dry dead grasses and leaves; they crumbled under foot.
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The shadows and light cleared away to an open area littered with stumps. Off to the right, a large crumbling building, all but an arch doorway of stones left. Steam rose from inside the stone encircled ruins. Of what once was a carving of a great fish, all that was left was the tail fins.
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Past that, where the head should have been, a jagged stump. It must have broken off and crumbled to dust long ago. An ancient spring bubbled. She went closer and bent down. One unbroken bench at the bottom; a carved metal rune sat caked with rust.
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"Odd."
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She jumped a little as he was close beside her.
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She straightened up and rubbed her neck. The scratch was tender, and her neck and shoulders were stabbed with a hot needle, then it went away as fast as it came. As that stopped, the vines on the back of her neck thrummed. In a haze, she leaned over it with her fingers dipped in the water.
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The rune pulsed a purple light. Each pulse was like a shock that traveled up her arms. It didn't hurt, but her hands and feet became numb.
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"I'm stuck." She managed to muddle out.
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He came over and pulled on her arm and again. On the third try Parcival planted his feet on the rim of the bath and yanked on her. Pain flared though her arm.
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"You're pulling my shoulder out!"
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Sweat trickled down her spine and itched on the edges of the leather.
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The rune glowed again. Another shock this time, it hit straight on her chest. Her back arched, and she screamed. It stopped as quickly as it started. She clamped down and bit her tongue; a metallic taste of blood pooled in her mouth. She spat it out. This day sucked. Come on, think.
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He came over to her right side and tried to pull her arm out.
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The ground rumbled, a hungry beast intent on swallowing them whole.
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"Get out of here!"
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The lines of energy thickened and wrapped around her arm, numbing it. Oh, gods. She pitched into the water, grabbing a stone from the bath.
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"Forget I said that."
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"I can't leave you to die; quit saying absurd things."
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He stumbled back as the ground shook again; water splashed out of the bath soaking them both. He sputtered and started kicking the stones.
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The ground split a foot in front of her. The crack zagged and ran into the tree line on the left. Water lapped over the edge of the bath, and the rune fell off the bench, sinking until it hit the bottom.
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"Iyeee! Kind gods, spare your wrath!"
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He fell backwards as the earth pushed up then slanted.
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"Are you bewitched?"
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A yanking of her arm from behind, along with several mild curses.
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"My apologies."
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From behind, he wrapped his arms around tugging hard, flattening her chest.
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The ground cracked and split again. The arch doorway on the left a few feet away fell apart. This knocked into other parts of the ruins and fell into a gaping sinkhole. Light flashed from the bath. She turned her head and scrunched her eyes.
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A vast black sinkhole with the doorways stones sticking at all angles looked more like that of an almighty maw intent on swallowing her whole. Her heart slammed in her chest to the point that her body shook with it. Grab it, grab, it come on. The stone she reached for crumbled to dust in her hand.
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Another quake reduced the last of the stones to broken fragments. Another tug from him with more force. The strain of it pained her shoulder and side.
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"Stop, you'll break it."
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Parcival worked his way in front of her. His hands on the top of his head, gripping his hair. "What the hell am I to do?"
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Her stomach flip-flopped, and acid rose into her mouth. She swallowed it back down.
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"I don't care what you do, just do something," she yelled.
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The rumble of the falling earth increased and blotted out her voice.
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Earth crumbled and fell away on all sides. The bath tilted and slid, stopping on a large root that stuck straight out.
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She slipped closer to the edge. "Yaaa!" Clawing at the dirt did little.
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He leapt over onto the remaining stones, pulled out his sword, his hands wrapped tight around the handle. Jumping into bath, he rammed the sword into the water, piercing the rune. It shot out another bolt that spit and encased both of them. She ground her teeth and clamped her jaw from the fresh spike of pain.
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Parcival strained against it and stabbed at the rune. There was no change. His brow sat deep, and his lips tightened.
Is this a sick joke? Tell me! She screamed this in her head.
I had no cause in this, child. I'm not to blame for every misfortune you go through. I do find this humorous you would let yourself become caught so easily. Unnamed chuckled.
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You will not confuse or trick me. You're a monster. I know you did this.
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Don't anger me, or this will become so much worse.
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A rolling wave of heat roared up her back and boiled into her arms. Just as it started to intensify, it disappeared.
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I do you more good than, you know, but continue to anger me ... With that he became quiet.
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Thoughts floated up and back down again as did warnings from her mother. There wasn't much time to dwell on this, as the ancient bath dragged her further towards the hole.
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Her hair fell over the sides of her face, and several of her bags unwound and spun into the depths. Laboring now, she fought to grab the edge of the bath with her left hand. Her arm quivered though still locked in place.
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"We. Are. Going. To. Die! Do something!"
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Parcival, with effort, turned his head. "If we make it out of this, you owe me an ale."
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He leaned back and pulled on his sword. His muscles bulged, and his face turned red. Sweat streamed down the sides of his face and dripped off. He gulped in deep breaths.
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"Now is not the time for jokes."
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Parcival straightened his shoulders and again fought with the sword.
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"Garwaaahhhh!"
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Water became like of glass. Fine cracks appeared across the surface and spread. Light streamed from the cracks, blinding. She tilted her head further away on her right side. Squinting now, she wasn't sure what was worse, the light from the pool or from her bag. Wait.
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She strained and flipped the flap. The pear inside was as bright as the light from the pool. After a while, she managed to pull it out.
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Come on, stop being stupid. The merchant did say it wasn't for eating. On closer inspection. It had lines that separated the top and bottom half. A device of some kind. It fairly hummed with magics too.
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Really, stop stalling and do it. She hefted it in her palm and tossed it into the pool.
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It drifted down in the water. Hope it does something. Exploding, however, wasn't on the scroll today.
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"How is that going to help?"
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He leaned back. "Is it supposed to bubble?"
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"I don't know."
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"How can you not know? What if it explodes?"
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Light streamed out from all sides. The bubbling water swelled and overflowed and steam cooked the back of her neck and ears. Hells dogs, it's hot.
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"Try, again," she said. The words were like an embedded burr and hurt speaking them.
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The bath tilled further.
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The pear spun about, and at the same time, split into shards of ice that now floated on the water.
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He repeated the effort from before, this time lifting the weapon past his face. Water frothed about and shot upwards. He pulled back.
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"Now. Do it."
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Her arm was turning red and blistering. The lines of energy worked towards her shoulder and then around her torso, numbing it further. Her arm slackened, and she was pulled towards the water; it went over her wrist.
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Unable to brace her feet on the root, she dangled from the edge of the bath. Out of the water, one ice shard burst and dragged the water onto it. It turned to steam that froze and arched down to the ground.
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If I get out of this. I'm hunting down that merchant. That lying sack of scorpo-dung!
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He slammed down again.
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She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer.
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The bath rumbled, and most of the remaining stones fell into the sinkhole. Instead of falling, the stream of water carried her with it.
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Parcival dropped the sword and dived at her. The expression stamped on his face as his mouth pulled back into a soundless yell drowned out by the caustic water.
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"I'm sorry," she mouthed.
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An odd breaking and hissing above, looking down the water frozen and extending into a curve, Parcival dived at her and grabbed her wrist, and they collided onto the ice and were launched over the treetops.
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He landed on the edge of the sinkhole and dug his free hand into its edge. She grabbed the edge with her left, while he pulled them both up. He rolled on his back, gasping.
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"See? You need me. Ha. High and mightily Elves." He shook his head.
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"I've had a lovely time. Next time, can we book a getaway that doesn't involve death? He makes a terrible travel companion."
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He stared at her then started to chuckle.
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She laughed with him until her cheeks hurt. Sometimes, you just have to laugh or go mad.
####
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