Chapter 13 The Storm
"How are we supposed to find the wolf?”. Eliza asked, “We don't even know what it looks like as a person."Weamar and Lynn looked away, deep in thought. Neither had anything to say.
“And I can't stay too long." Eliza added, glancing at Lynn. "I have to get back to the Cathedral before the morning."
"Don't go. It's too dangerous.", Lynn replied looking over at Eliza. Their eyes almost met, but Lynn quickly looked away.
Eliza lowered her voice. "It might be just as dangerous if I stayed."
"Well, we know where it was a few minutes ago.”, Weamar said slowly and thoughtfully, “It may have left tracks that I, or Cujia, might be able to follow. Also, it threatened to come after you three first. And that seems more of a danger than us going to it, together."
"We should go with you.", Lynn replied.
Eliza squeezed Lynn's hand and nodded.
"I'm concerned that you would be in a position of great harm, but of possibly little use.", Weamar interjected, "The reason I'm more confident is the sword I found, without a similar weapon I'm worried you'd be risking your lives for little purpose."
Weamar's comment made Lynn feel bad, "The wolf isn't the only thing out there.", she replied coldly.
"That's true I suppose.", Weamar conceded.
Then Lynn suddenly brightened up, "Maybe there's someone else here who can help us.", she said excitedly.
At that moment Marinae and Damon arrived at the table. Marinae cleared her throat quietly.
"You've all met Damon, however momentarily.”, Marinae said. Then she hesitated, wondering how to break the news. She decided upon the direct approach.
“We seem to have something in common.", Marinae said, pausing slightly, "He's my father."
Weamar was quite surprised by he announcement, but he quickly recovered. "Hello, Damon.", he said extending his hand. "I'm Weamar."
Damon shook Weamar's hand firmly. "Good to meet you.", he replied.
Lynn frowned a little at first. She hadn’t thought about her father in years. But now the memories were starting to flow back, and most of them were not good ones. Lynn blocked them out of her mind and managed to put on a pleasant smile.
Eliza raised an eyebrow. "Wow.", she said. For a moment Marinae stood there stunned. Then she remembered what the word meant to humans. She laughed a little and then took a seat next to Lynn.
"Small world, eh?”, Damon said with a half smile, “What did you say you needed help with, Lynn?"
"We're...", Lynn paused, then lowered her voice, "we're being hunted."
"Hunted?", Marinae was startled.
"Seems my escort out of Verbrek has found me again.", Weamar said gravely.
Marinae’s face went pale.
Damon sat down next to Marinae. "Hunted? Who is hunting you?"
"A wolf. The leader of the pack.", Lynn said softly.
"A wolf in the city?”, Damon replied smiling, “Seems like it wouldn't be too hard to spot."
"Unfortunately we think it isn't always a wolf.”, Weamar said uncomfortably, “I think its manner of speech was what gave it away."
Damon quickly turned his head towards Weamar, "You're not saying what I think you're saying are you?", his smile was quickly disappearing.
"I wish I wasn't.”, Weamar replied, “Simple wolves don't bother me in the least."
"Can you help us?", Lynn asked Damon.
"I'll do whatever I can.", Damon replied tentatively, "I can hold my own in a duel, but I'm no hunter."
"We need to get Eliza back to the cathedral tonight.", Lynn said. Just then a rumble of thunder sounded in the distant sky.
Eliza looked towards the door. "It's going to rain again.", she said with a hint of fear.
"And, from the sound of that thunder, what little clue of where this thing is now will be erased soon.", Weamar added.
"I'll go change.", Lynn said standing up.
Weamar quickly reacted, "None of you should be alone until we kill this thing. It threatened to kill you ladies first. Someone should at least accompany you to your room."
Eliza seized the opportunity, "Umm, I'll go with Lynn while she changes then."
The two of them soon disappeared up the stairs. Weamar related the story of his meeting in the alley with the wolf to Marinae and Damon. Marinae was taken aback.
"We're not the only ones who don't need to be alone.”, Marinae protested, “You should have called for backup!"
“I could have helped.”, Marinae added. Then she turned towards Damon, "Did I mention I'm a Sorceress?"
Damon winked, "I know a couple tricks myself."
Damon reached behind Marinae's ear and pulled out a coin.
"I was wondering where I'd gotten that.”, Marinae said laughing, “Mother can't light a candle by hand!"
"I think I got your sense of humor, too!", Marinae added and related the story of how she taunted Petrov with the same coin trick.
Damon chuckled. But soon the conversation turned back to the wolf.
"Cocky bastard, isn't he?", Damon said.
"Well, if I'm the only one who has managed to outrun his pack, then he has reason to be cocky, I guess.", Weamar said frankly, "Especially since without the mists I probably wouldn't have escaped either."
"That just makes him overconfident.”, Damon pointed out, “If he was smart he would have taken you down on the spot rather than playing games. We might be able to use that to our advantage."
Marinae smiled. She was happy to have someone along who thought more strategically than she did. She looked down and saw Rambis curled up around her boot.
"So, we gonna go check out that alley before the rain comes?", Damon said.
Weamar nodded. "Sounds like a good idea to me."
"No rest for the Wiccan.”. Marinae joked. She nudged Rambis with her toe. “Give me my foot, you...", She thought to him.
“You left it on the ground. It's mine now.”, Rambis replied with a kitty laugh. Then he stood and stretched in a way that only cats can.
Weamar gave the cat a curious look.
"I found him, or he found me.", Marinae explained.
Weamar just shrugged and headed out the door.
Inside her room Lynn took off her gown and turned to face Eliza.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you today.", Eliza confessed.
"I'm so glad that you came.", Lynn said with her head looking slightly downward.
Eliza moved in close, wrapping her arms around Lynn. She swayed side to side. "You were wonderful."
Eliza leaned forward and kissed Lynn softly. Lynn let Eliza take her, melting in her arms. Eliza slid her hands across Lynn's skin and up to her face. Her soft kiss grew in intensity. Lynn slowly started to forget about everything. All that she wanted to feel was Eliza.
Outside, the street was empty. The failing light of nearby lamp posts did little to cut back the night. Storm clouds were gathering. Weamar went over to Cujia and untied him from the post.
“This dog is a friend.”, Marinae told Rambis.
Rambis strutted up to Cujia and looked her in the eye. Marinae waited patiently, half expecting Cujia to lung at Rambis and chase him down the street. Fortunately for all of them, that didn’t happen.
"Stay, girl.", Weamar commanded quietly.
"He did the same thing with Damon earlier.”, Marinae said to Weamar with a grin, “He's probably looking into her soul or something like that."
“She's not so big.”, Rambis huffed and strutted back to Marinae.
"Good girl", Weamar added as Cujia just sat there watching the cat.
"He says she's nice.", Marinae said, translating diplomatically.
Weamar looked at her skeptically.
"Let it go at that.", Marinae added. Now it was Weamar’s turn to grin.
Damon shook his head, smiling. "Let's go."
Weamar led them towards the alley. All three of them glanced about constantly, on the lookout for a half man, half wolf. Weamar heard a soft rustling coming from the alleyway. Cujia stiffened at the sound and sniffed at the air. Weamar put a finger over his lips, cupped his ear, and pointed towards the alley. Marinae and Damon stopped in their tracks behind him. Then Weamar dropped Cujia’s leash and slowly drew his short sword and William's knife. In the dim light Weamar could just barely see a large pile of refuse against a wall. Then he saw movement underneath the pile.
Marinae stopped. Then she thought to Rambis, “What do you see or hear?”
“Something in the garbage.”, Rambis said matter-of-factly.
Marinae frowned, “Something bigger than you? Bigger than me?”
“Bigger than me. Bigger than you.”, Rambis replied.
Weamar started down the alley cautiously. He looked down and saw several sets of tracks, one of which was the one he made earlier. He turned to the others and said, “Follow.”
“Give me some room.”, Marinae advised Rambis, “I don't want to step on you if we have to fight.”
Weamar slowly approached the pile of refuse. When he got close he saw a hand grasping a bottle sticking out from it. Something beneath the pile moved occasionally. Marinae raised a magical shield and eased a dagger out of its sheath. The closer they got to the garbage the worse the smell became. The pile twitched again and the cound of glass lightly striking the cobblestones echoed through the alley. The hand had slid down the pile to the ground. It was still gripping the bottle but it wasn’t connected to anything else. Weamar winced and Marinae quickly put her hand over her mouth. Damon was about to make a clever comment when the pile rustled again. A bloody faced rat poked its head from the hole left by the dismembered hand. Marinae felt as if she was going to puke. She turned and looked around at anything other than the garbage pile.
“Times like this, I wish I wasn't so adventurous.”, Marinae thought to herself.
Part of the trash fell to the side, revealing a gruesome sight. The remains of an old drunk lay in the pile. A number of rats were gnawing upon him. He was missing an ear. Weamar grimaced and looked around. He saw a set of footprints that stood out from the others. It was relatively fresh and looked like it had been made by a large man. The tracks indicated that the man had approached from the other end of the alley, stood before the pile, and left the same way as before. Weamar led Cujia along the tracks away from the pile and she soon picked up the scent.
At the end of the alley the trail merged with street traffic. Cujia sniffed around and stepped out of the alley. She went up the street one way and back the other before stopping in front of Weamar. It seemed that the scent went in both directions. Damon remained quiet, keeping a look out on the rear. He too seemed more than a little unsettled by the corpse.
"Maybe more than one person?", Marinae whispered to Weamar.
"Only one scent, though.”, Weamar replied, “More likely he approached from one direction, and then continued on."
Lightning streaked from cloud to cloud and a light rain began to fall.
Eliza's lips began to roam across Lynn's flesh from her cheek to her neck. Lynn breathed slowly and softly, offering up her smooth flesh to Eliza. She ran her fingers through Eliza's hair, feeling its silky texture, then buried her nose in it and breathed the gentle aroma of wildflowers once again. Eliza left a trail of kisses down Lynn's body and knelt before her. Lynn kept stroking Eliza's hair silently and lovingly. Eliza closed her eyes and breathed in, sighing with contentment then she began to lick and nip at Lynn's inner thigh.
Lynn knelt down in front of Eliza and whispered in her ear, "Whatever you want. Anything at all.”
Eliza looked at the window for a moment and then back to Lynn. She swallowed hard and reached for the clasp of her cloak. The heavy cloth fell to the floor.
"Touch me.", Eliza said.
Lynn did as she was told. She put her fingers on Eliza's lips, then she slid them down her neck and shoulders and then farther down. Lynn's hands caressed Eliza's breasts with only a thin layer of cloth between them.
Eliza shivered, "Take off my robe."
Lynn slowly lifted Eliza's robe up over her head. Then she dropped it to the side and caressed Eliza's arms. With her bare skin exposed, Eliza took Lynn's hand and placed it against her chest. Her heart was pounding strongly.
In a hardly audible whisper Eliza said, "Touch me, again."
Lynn put her fingers over Eliza's lips again and slowly moved them down her neck and shoulders to her breasts. Gently she caressed Eliza, rubbing her thumbs around her nipples. Eliza's breathing quickened. A small gasp escaped her lips. Lynn felt down Eliza's waist to her hips, then rubbed her hands up over her back. Lynn pressed her fingers firmly into Eliza's flesh, giving her a deep back massage. The tension in Eliza’s muscles began to melt away. Eliza leaned against Lynn, nuzzling her neck and shoulder.
Lynn moved closer to Eliza and held her tightly against her body. She continued to rub Eliza's back. Eliza wrapped her arms around Lynn, and returned her caresses.
"Ahhhh.", Lynn breathed into Eliza's ear.
Eliza suckled gently on Lynn's earlobe as Lynn rubbed her hands up and down Eliza's back underneath her long black hair. Gently she blew into Eliza's ear. It made Eliza giggle. Then suddenly Eliza cried out and gripped Lynn all the harder as a huge crash of thunder shook the building. A blinding white flash illuminated the entire room. Lynn held Eliza close as the thunder echoed through the night. Although the thunder and lightning were so close, to Lynn they felt far away.
Eliza whispered, "I should go before it gets any worse. This could last until morning.", then she laughed and added, "The storm could last until morning, that is."
Lynn's head drooped. She held Eliza close for another minute and then she whispered, "Okay.” Then she slowly got up and began putting on her things.
Eliza remained kneeling on the floor, watching Lynn for a moment, then she pulled her robe and cloak back on and walked up behind Lynn. She wrapped her arms around Lynn and rested her head on her shoulder.
"We'll have a night to ourselves, eventually.", she said hopefully.
Lynn was thinking the same thing. She stopped dressing and held Eliza's arms. "I want to make love to you, with all of my heart. I don't want to have to hold back."
Lynn felt moisture on her neck from the tears sliding down Eliza's face. All that she could manage to say was, "I love you."
One trail led to the market, the other to the city gate. The rain started to fall a little harder.
Damon called out, "Anything?"
"Well, other than the obvious.", Weamar said, "Not much."
Marinae cast a spell and looked around, but she could see no magic auras other than the ones around the magical items that they carried.
"If you were a werewolf, would you spend the night in town, or out in the woods?", Weamar asked.
"If I were in human form, I'd stay in town.”, Marinae answered, “Why catch food when you can buy it?"
"Because you enjoy the chase?", Weamar replied.
"There is that, but there's plenty of prey in town as it is.”, Marinae pointed out, “Whores, winos...”
"And some of its nominated prey is in town too.", Weamar added.
"Thanks for reminding me.", Marinae said with more than a hint of sarcasm.
"That way seems slightly more likely then, sort of.", Weamar said pointing towards the market.
"Wonder what Lynn is changing into? It's taking her long enough.", Marinae said. Then she thought about it for a second and answered her own question.
"So long as it isn't something big and furry, I don't really care.", Weamar said humorously, but no one felt like laughing.
"I was worried about that, myself, after that first attack.", Marinae answered soberly, "I don't know how to test for wolfness, though. At least I haven't grown teeth and claws and gone slavering around the market at night."
The rain fell harder. Damon spoke up, "I'm sure even werewolves have enough sense to come in out of the rain."
The roar of a thunderclap rang in their ears. The storm was almost as bad now as it was when the group had rode down from Sturben.
"You seem to have a point.", Weamar replied.
Rambis began to complain about the rain, so Marinae picked him up and tucked him underneath her cloak
“Better?”, she asked. Rambis purred loudly.
The three went back into the Inn and looked around for Lynn and Eliza. The crowd had dwindled to only a few other guests, but Lynn and Eliza were nowhere to be seen.
Damon sat down "Well, looks like Hala has no intention of giving the wolf an easy hunt this night."
"We can hope.”, Marinae said sitting next to him, “If it were a werecat, it would stay inside during rain."
Lynn turned around and kissed Eliza lightly. "I love you too, Eliza. I love you so much."
Eliza wiped her eyes and gave a little smile. Lynn seemed a little more detached now that she had accepted the fact that they had to go back into the real world. Lynn put on her clothes, her armor, her robe, and her backpack. Eliza stood at the door, feeling absolutely wretched over having to break the moment. Lynn put on her katana under her robe. Then she put on her blindfold and pulled the hood down over her face. Now she was ready to go out.
Eliza and Lynn came down the stairs to the main room and joined the others.
Eliza asked, "Did you find anything?"
"The owner of the ear, some tracks", Weamar answered.
Damon raised an eyebrow, "What took you so long?"
Eliza ignored Damon's question. She glanced at Lynn, then back to Weamar. "I need to get back."
"Not alone.", Weamar interjected.
"We should all go with her.", Lynn said.
"Agreed.", Marinae added.
Damon stood up. "Well, the night'll get no younger. Shall we?"
“Great. More water.”, Rambis whined.
“I can always get you a little jacket like some of the people in Court did for their pets.”, Marinae answered. Rambis wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.
Outside the rain fell hard, splashing high on the stone streets. Shadows leaped and danced as the street lamps were blown about in the wind. Lightning flashed all about them. Then Marinae spotted something moving out of the corner of her eye, something with wings.
"We've got company!", Marinae shouted.
Lynn put her hand on her katana. Weamar drew his short sword and dagger. Marinae readied her quarterstaff. Damon reached behind his back, eyeing the rooftops. Fear gripped them all. For a moment all they heard was the pounding rain, then there was a crash from behind them. Weamar turned to see what had happened. A street lamp had been smashed, making everything a little darker.
"Well, I can fix that.", Marinae replied and quickly lit up the tip of her quarterstaff.
Eliza turned and put her back against Lynn’s. Lynn drew her katana. Marinae's staff flared with the enchanted light revealing a stony tail lashing out at another lamp. The tail disappeared into an alley.
"What is it?", Lynn whispered.
Eliza's fear was plain as day, "I don't know.", she whispered back.
"Gargoyle.", Marinae answered, "Or gargoyles."
Rambis began digging his claws into Marinae’s skin underneath her robe. She gritted her teeth and braced herself for an attack. She caught another glimpse of movement along the rooftops.
Lynn concentrated hard. The sounds, smells and her sense of touch created an image of the street in her mind. A change of pressure and the scraping of stone on stone told her that something was coming at her fast. She stepped forward to meet it with her katana. A blur of pale gray stone, swept down from the nearby building towards her. In an almost precognitive motion she raised her blade in a defensive posture, knocking aside a fierce swipe. The creature’s blow was glancing but the power behind it was amazing, and it nearly knocked Lynn off her feet. Then the creature leaped up to the roof of the opposite building, and disappeared from sight.
Lynn told Eliza to get down, and stood next to her trying to sense where the thing was going to come from next. Weamar moved over next to Lynn and scanned all the rooftops for any sign of the thing. Marinae and Damon backed towards them and they formed a small circle around Eliza who was kneeling between them in the pouring rain.
"How the hell do we fight stone?", Marinae called out to the others.
For a few seconds they saw and heard nothing. Then, in another flash of lightning, the creature leaped from the rooftop and dove straight into Weamar. Man and monster clashed ferociously as the storm raged. The creature struck at Weamar with both claws while Weamar fought back with his blades. Claw and knife parried one another but Weamar’s short sword bit into the thing’s shoulder, bringing forth an ooze of dark green ichor. But the strike was not without cost however as the thing's other massive arm slammed hard into Weamar’s chest. Weamar’s armor protected him from the sharp talons but the force of the impact sent him staggering.
With the grace of a dancer, Lynn spun and swung her katana, bringing her blade in line with the thing's neck. Had it been a man, the blow would have resulted in decapitation but this was no man. The force of Lynn's swing buried her blade a full inch into the back of the creature's neck. More of the foul fluid came forth and was washed down by the rain. Marinae uttered a few magic words and a bright flash of light erupted from her palm, scorching the granite surface of the gargoyle but not going any deeper.
“Damon?”, Marinae called out. She turned and saw him standing petrified, his hand behind his back.
Bleeding and enraged, the thing let out a howl that was all too familiar to Lynn. The ending of her dream returned to her with painful clarity causing her to gasp loudly. With a great burst of speed, the living gargoyle pushed forward, knocking Damon and Marinae aside, and grabbed Eliza by her robe. Then the gargoyle turned and made for an escape.
"No!", Marinae shouted.
"Lynn!", Eliza cried out as she was dragged away by the beast. With amazing speed it ran down the street with the young priestess sliding and struggling along the stones behind. Weamar dropped his weapons and took off after them, his legs pumping for all that they were worth. A bolt of light from Marinae zipped past his ear and slammed into the creature causing it to stumble. That moment was all that Weamar needed to leap forward and tackle the beast to the ground.
Lynn and Marinae ran after the fallen gargoyle while Damon remained frozen, watching the scene unfold. Weamar struggled to get a grip on the creature but the thing's flesh had the texture of smooth stone. With the rain and ichor he couldn't get a firm grip and it managed to slip away from him. In a split second it was on its feet and dragging Eliza again.
Running down the slick streets the three chasers were simply not fast enough. And even with the added burden of Eliza, who had now been hoisted firmly under arm, the creature gained ground. It looked back with sneer before leaping up the wall of a building and to the rooftop, leaving gouges in the stone. Marinae slowed to a walk and let out a stream of curses that she had overheard in a taproom brawl, then she added a few more that she had heard in Court.
Lynn quickly cleaned the ichor off of her katana and put it back in its sheath. She turned around as a horrible feeling began to overtake her. A familiar sound echoed in Weamar's mind as well as Eliza's screams faded into the distance. Then they were suddenly cut short. The implication of that was not lost on anyone. Lynn collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Weamar grimly cleaned his sword and sheathed both it and his knife. Marinae walked over to Damon. He was still standing there motionless. She felt like kicking him in the crotch. She didn’t.
"Are you all right?", Marinae asked.
Hearing Marinae's voice, Damon came around. "I'm sorry.", he said with his voice full of shame.
"What happened?", Marinae asked him.
"I just... I couldn't move. It was like I was in a dream.”, Damon said staring off into space. Then all at once he seemed to get his will back, “We have to go after them."
"You're right. We do.", Marinae answered.
Lynn lay there in the street quietly with the rain falling on her. Thoughts of death filled her mind. Eliza was no more, she was sure of that, and she wondered if she should go on living as well. Life without Eliza was something that she didn’t want to face.
Weamar held a hand out for Lynn, "C'mon, lets see what we can do.", he said.
Marinae walked over to Lynn and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find her.", she said, "And we'll make someone pay very dearly."
Marinae felt around for her cat, “You all right in there?”, she asked.
Rambis poked his head out, “Is it over?”, he thought to her.
“For now. But we have to go after them. Eliza's been captured.”, Marinae answered. Then she turned back towards Damon, “Does that happen every time you're faced with living stone creatures trying to kill you?"
"Every time so far.", Damon replied with a sheepish grin.
"I can't say I blame you.”, Marinae consoled, “Not a pleasant thing to face. You don't have to come, if you don't want to. None of us will think any less of you. I don't want to go, but I have to."
"No, I have to as well.", Damon replied. He drew a wicked looking serrated knife from his back sheath.
Lynn reached up and grabbed hold of Marinae's hand. Weamar, seeing Lynn finally respond, called Cujia over to him. Lynn pulled down on Marinae's hand and Marinae helped her up. Lynn struggled to her feet and held Marinae's hand in both of hers. For a moment Lynn felt like she was holding Eliza's hand again. Her mind reeled back to an hour ago when everything was wonderful.
Marinae squeezed Lynn's hand, "You'd better not make me wear an ugly bridesmaid's dress when you two are hand fasted.", she said smiling.
Marinae’s joke didn’t make Lynn laugh, but it helped to make her feel a little better. She began to think that maybe Eliza was still alive. Marinae seemed sure of it. Her confidence gave Lynn hope.
Slowly Lynn returned to reality. "Thanks.", she said softly.
"We'll find her.", Marinae assured her. Then she turned to Weamar, “I saw them heading towards the Cathedral.”
“Let’s go.”, he said, and in a flash they were off.
The storm still rolled on, dumping rain on the already soaked city. They soon reached the gates of the Cathedral. Weamar looked up at the roofline above him and saw that the Gargoyle of the Great Cathedral was missing.
“Surprise, surprise.”, Weamar thought to himself.
"What's that?", Damon said. He then knelt near the wall a few yards to the right side of the gate. He held up an amulet. A kite shield overlaid with a silver long sword.
"Isn’t that Eliza's?", Marinae asked.
Damon handed the amulet to Marinae and looked to the gate. "Locked. We can't all scale the wall." Then he reached into a vest pocket and produced a gleaming set of thin metal instruments. Marinae raised an eyebrow.
"Well, now I know why Grandmother claimed you stole her daughter away.", Marinae said wryly.
Damon went to work on the lock, "Please, I'm a 'locksmith'", he replied. A sly grin crossed his face.
In short order the gate swung wide open. What in daylight was a beautiful scene, in darkness took on an eerie quality. The towering spires looked like the tusks of some great beast with the giant double doors its hungry maw. Stained glass eyes watched over the grounds. The irony of the inscription on the statue of the first anchorite was plain 'Let all those who enter here find solace from the world'.
Weamar used a rag smelling of ichor as a reminder to Cujia. “Find it, girl”, he ordered.
Cujia ran towards the main doors, sniffing along the edge.
"Walking in through the front doors. Two very big doors, mind you, does not seem wise to me.”, Damon remarked, “Perhaps a side entrance?"
"I'm tired of frontal assaults, myself.”, Marinae replied. “Us elves are supposed to be sneaky."
Weamar nodded in agreement, "We should be able to intercept the trail once we're inside."
Circling around the side of the Cathedral, they found a door that yielded easily to Damon's skill. Inside the room was empty but a voice could be heard coming from the main hall.
Harsh and ugly like a gravel road, the voice spoke "Lady. You are Lady. She speaks to me, says to find those who bear her image. I have found others, but they are false. They are not the Lady. So they were punished."
Marinae let her cat down onto the floor. “Can you sneak over there to see who all is there?”, she asked him.
The cat went to the door. Damon raised an eyebrow at Marinae but opened the door with great care. Marinae pointed to the cat, then to her own eyes. Damon nodded and closed the door again silently, but not before a shuddering sob rang through the hall. Lynn recognized it immediately and was overcome with a strong urge to rush over to Eliza. She walked over to the door and stood before it.
Through Rambis’ eyes Marinae could see Eliza kneeling in front of the statue of Ezra. The gargoyle was talking to the statue and there was no one else around.
"She says, when I find her she will make me whole.”, the gargoyle continued as Marinae whispered what Rambis was hearing to the rest of the group, “She will make me not ugly. We will be together for all time. She says Master died because of me. Because I am ugly. She will make it better when I find her."
“Ewww. It's touching her.”, Rambis thought to Marinae.
“I owe you extra mice for seeing that.”, Marinae answered and related what Rambis saw.
Eliza gasped, and the sound sent a chill through everyone. The creature continued, "Are you she? Can you make me whole?"
Lynn could take no more. She had to do something, she just didn’t know what. She opened the door walked out. As she pushed past, Damon said in an exasperated tone, "Oh, bloody hell."
"Shit, another frontal assault!", whispered Marinae. She and the others quickly followed on Lynn’s heels.
Inside the main hall the creature's face was disturbingly close to Eliza's, one talon was under her chin. Eliza was shaking with fear, her eyes closed tightly.
Lynn turned to Marinae and said, "Wake someone, bring them here.", and kept walking.
Marinae wondered who she was supposed to wake. The gargoyle looked up as it heard them coming. It growled menacingly, then wrapped an arm around Eliza's waist and made for an exit.
"Stop! She speaks to me as well. ", Lynn called out quickly.
The gargoyle stopped, one clawed hand on the door to the tower. "You lie!”, it shouted, “She speaks only to me."
"No. It's true. She spoke to me in a dream.", Lynn said slowing her pace but still walking towards them.
"Others said that. They were false. They die for their lies.", the gargoyle growled. An instant later it had opened the door and was climbing the stairs.
"Dammit!", Marinae cursed. And just as quick the group gave chase.
Lynn scaled the first few steps and then called out, "Nikolai!".
The creature stopped. Eliza looked down at Lynn, terrified. "How do you know Master's name.", the gargoyle said. The anger in his voice had gone away.
Lynn stopped. Finally something had worked, but she had to think fast. "You're not ugly.”, she said, “Nikolai only carved beautiful things."
Marinae scratched her head. “Dreams? Nikolai? Master? A beautiful thing with burns and knife marks on it.”, she thought to herself. “What was Lynn doing?”
"No he died when he saw me.”, the gargoyle said, but with a hint of doubt in his voice, “I watched him die. I knew his fear when he saw my eyes."
"He's not dead.”, Lynn said boldly, taking a step back, “Come, Ezra will explain."
Marinae followed Lynn's lead and backed away, but she was ready at a moment’s notice to launch a magic assault. Weamar and Damon backed out of the doorway.
"I felt him die. I saw them put him in the ground.", the gargoyle said as the rage returned to his voice "I must find her."
It continued to back up the stairs, disappearing out of sight. Lynn was panicking. She didn’t know what to say next. She tried to think of something religious sounding. She thought about all of the silly nonsense that the other churches tried to fill her head with. Finally she got an idea.
"His body died, but he lives on.” Lynn pleaded, “Ezra will explain everything. It's time for you to learn your true purpose."
The creature hesitated, "What purpose?", it asked. It was hooked.
"The greatest purpose of all.", Lynn said. "Come, Ezra will explain."
Lynn turned and walked down the stairs. The gargoyle took a hesitant step down and then followed Lynn. Marinae, Weamar, and Damon nervously backed away as the large stone creature came down the stairs and out into the main hall. Lynn walked over to the statue of Ezra and knelt before it. She pulled her blindfold down and her hood back. The creature looked at everyone with suspicion and held Eliza tightly under its arm.
Lynn motioned the gargoyle over beside her. "Come, Ezra will explain.", she said.
Still oozing the foul fluid from its wounds, the gargoyle stood next to Lynn. Its eyes constantly scanned the room, watching everyone. The others broke eye contact and tried to look as pitiful as possible. The gargoyle gradually grew more at ease. It was working.
Lynn bowed and made up a prayer to Ezra, "Oh Ezra, whose guidance we so dearly need. Our Guardian as we travel the mists, we are forever in your debt..."
The gargoyle set Eliza down on the steps before the statue and went to one knee. It stared up at Ezra and began to lose itself in the statue’s beauty and Lynn’s droning chant.
"...you to whom we owe all of our lives, we beg of thee to grant us salvation..."
Eliza moved slowly away from the creature and towards Lynn. Lynn motioned for her to leave. Lynn felt like the gargoyle could explode into a rage at any time and kill her and everyone else in the room. The fear made her prayer sound all the more real.
"...you who gives our lives purpose and meaning, we honor thee with our submission and offerings..."
The thing's lips moved in its own silent prayer. It was fixated completely on the statue. Eliza moved off, backing away.
"...we bow before you, we suffer for you, we endure for you, speak to us and tell us your will so that we may do your bidding..."
Damon elbowed Weamar, nodding towards the gargoyle and drawing his finger across his throat. Weamar caught his drift and moved slowly towards the gargoyle, drawing his short sword.
Lynn went silent, as if she was hearing a voice. Then she spoke up, "I.. I.. You are angry with us? Oh I beg of thee to forgive us. Forgive us!"
Lynn began to grovel and beg, shaking her body back and forth and trying to distract the gargoyle from what Weamar was about to do. Slowly Weamar approached, eyeing the back of the creature’s neck and imagining his stroke coming down on it. He also feared that the gargoyle could become violent at any moment, but for now the gargoyle seemed completely engrossed in the statue and Lynn.
Lynn begged and pleaded, and then became very solemn and quiet. "Then we submit to your judgment.”, she whispered softly, “We will not resist your punishment."
Weamar's blade whistled through the air and passed through the stone flesh. The cut was clean and the gargoyle’s head rolled over and landed in Lynn's lap. Its blank eyes and gruesome visage stared up at her. The rancid blood stained the floor in front of Ezra's statue and Lynn's robe. Lynn carefully rolled the head away from her and then put her head down on the steps. Her body went limp. Marinae let out a deep breath and wondered how long she had kept it in. Eliza rushed over to Lynn and held her close.
"Are you alright?", Lynn asked Eliza softly.
As tears filled her eyes, Eliza answered, "I am now."
Damon ran his hand through his hair, "That was...", he started, then stopped, then started again, "That was one of the strangest damn things I've ever seen."
"I wonder how this will be looked upon.", Marinae began with a smile.
Weamar joined in, "Breaking and entering, voluntary gargoyle-slaughter."
"And the cleaning bill!!", Marinae added.
Weamar cleaned off his blade and wandered to each door, listening for any sound of approaching monks. Lynn began to confess to Eliza.
"It was my fault.”, Lynn said quietly, “I shouldn't have made you come to see me sing."
"You didn't make me go out tonight.”, Eliza protested, “I chose to do that. And you couldn't have known what would happen."
"If you had died, I never would have forgiven myself.", Lynn answered.
"Someone's coming.", Weamar announced.
Marinae looked around for her familiar while Weamar opened the door and headed off down the hallway to greet their company. Rambis poked his head from beneath the curtain of a confessional booth. Marinae scooped him up and hid him under her robe. Lynn put on her blindfold and began to pull her hood down over her face.
"Please don't.", Eliza said, pulling Lynn's hood back but stopping short of taking off the blindfold. "Please don't hide from me."
Lynn put her hand on Eliza's cheek. "It's not you who I'm hiding from."
Lynn lowered Eliza’s hand and pulled her hood down over her face. She slowly rose to her feet. Eliza stood up next to her.
“Oh, before I forget.”, Marinae said walking over to Eliza and returning her holy symbol, “I believe this is yours.”
"Thank you.", Eliza said, putting on her amulet.
Weamar looked down the hall. The only person he saw was Ronaldo, the High Seeker's aid.
"What are you doing here?”, Ronaldo asked sternly, “What was all that noise?"
Weamar moved forward to meet him "Everything's OK, it might be a good idea to fetch your superior, however. He might want to see your murderer."
Ronaldo strode right past him and into the hall, "I'll need more than just your say so before I go waking the High... By the Shield! What happened here?"
Ronaldo stormed over to Eliza "Explain!", he said sharply.
Under the young man's intense stare, Eliza stammered and couldn't form any words.
Damon stepped forward, "Well, you see...", but Ronaldo cut him off.
"I did not ask you.”, Ronaldo said without even looking at Damon, “Warden Duval, tell me what happened here."
Eliza was almost in tears. An older voice called out from across the hall.
"That's enough, Ronaldo.", Marius said, still dressed in his bed clothes, "Can you not see she's been through an ordeal? Fetch Vasile and we'll get this sorted out."
Without a word the uptight assistant stormed off. Marius sat down on one of the pews and motioned for everyone to do the same. Eliza sat next to him and Lynn next to her. Marius patted Eliza's hand and looked to the rest for an explanation.
Weamar sat next to Marius and began to tell the tale, "We were attacked by the gargoyle while escorting Eliza here."
"Escorting her here?”, Marius interrupted, then he turned to Eliza, “Eliza, I told you not to leave grounds. I said it was dangerous, didn't I?"
Weamar continued, "It made off with her, we followed it here, and eventually overpowered it.”, he had a knack for making a long story short.
Marius’ mind was slowly waking up. He looked around the room and saw the gargoyle lying on the floor still oozing ichor. Quickly he sorted everything out.
"Amazing, it was right under our noses the entire time.", he said astonished.
Marius sighed and looked at the statue, "I'll take care of things with the Seekers. I ask that you all escort Eliza to her quarters and then return to the Inn. Come back tomorrow and we will speak in depth."
Peace had been restored, but inside Lynn a voice took an incriminating tone. "How many more are you going to murder?!", it shouted.
Lynn's head dropped. "It wasn't me, it was the gargoyle.", she answered back.
But the voice wouldn't hear it. "One day you will get her killed, and you along with her you stupid bitch."
The pain inside of Lynn began to grow. She couldn’t bear being in the same room as the fallen gargoyle any longer. She knew that she had killed it and the longer that she was near it the more that she was filled with guilt. She stood up to leave. Eliza bowed her head to Marius and moved to exit the hall. Lynn went with her.
In the hall in front of her quarters Eliza whispered, "Thank you for saving me. I owe you my life."
"I'll do anything for you.", Lynn whispered back.
Eliza kissed Lynn on the cheek, "Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning."
As her door slowly closed Lynn’s heart began to ache for her. She wondered how she was going to make it through the night.