A Strange Tail, part 2

A Strange Tail, pt 2
By GW Hogg
(For the Night Creatures)
©4-20-09

Prologue: When we last saw young Willow and her Amber Band, they had just left G’Wog’s village. Their quest was to find a certain object in the nearby ruins of an old castle. Willow and her band are aligned with the Horde, against the Alliance, in a seemingly endless civil war. The Horde is also considered to be aligned with evil, but as we know, who is what in a civil war is usually determined by the victor.

Chapter Two
Red slammed the iron-bound door behind them, picked up an old sword off the floor and used it to brace the door. “That will hold for a moment or two.”
The rest of the Amber Band, now numbering only six, spread into the dark altar room. Willow held her torch up high and carefully looked the room over. In the dim light from their flickering torches she could see the reddish-brown stains splashed on the walls and furnishings. Low, half-rotted cabinets lined the left wall and empty shelves lined the right one. A tattered tapestry hung from the wall behind the altar. Without counting, she knew that there was over a dozen skulls scattered on the floor, some oddly misshapen. Bones, weapons, armor and bits of decayed cloth littered the floor. The altar in front of her was thick with old dried blood and the stench of decay hung in the air, despite the apparent age of the bones on the floor.
“Be careful with what booty you find. Magic is thick here and I won’t be able to check what you find.” She warned her friends.
As she walked up to the altar, she knew the object they were searching for was here, for she could feel it. She circled the stone altar, examining it carefully. It was simple, one large block of stone, set on top of two blocks, set on three blocks. There were carved figures on the front and back; these she studied carefully, along with any runes she could see.
She could decipher nothing from the runes, nor the carved figures. She walked around the altar again, studying it.
“We don’t have much time.” J’De said to her.
She nodded in answer while she studied the altar. The object they came for must be in the altar, for she could sense it, but she could see no way to open the altar. She pulled out her slim dagger and lightly rapped on the stones with the hilt. There was a hollow sound in the middle, but no opening.
She hunkered down at the back of the altar and held her torch close to it. It was then that she noticed what looked like a small crack. She scraped at the encrusted blood revealing a small slit in the stone. Her dagger was too thick and she was puzzled as what to use, then she remembered the small dagger she got from the dead Goblin. She opened the pouch tied to her waist and removed the small dagger. What was an ordinary looking dagger in the daylight now glowed red. She unsheathed it and slid it easily into the slit until she heard a soft ‘click’. Willow quickly stood and pushed on the top stone; it pivoted to one side, revealing a small round hole. She peered inside and could see a small figurine a dozen centimeters down in the hole. Excited, she almost thrust her hand into opening, but paused. This was too easy. She turned to J’De. “Bring me that arm of the lycanthrope you killed. Mind the blood!”
When they first entered the room, there was a lycanthrope waiting for them. They can be hard to kill, but J’De cut off its head with one sure stroke of his broadsword. The next few strokes took off an arm and a leg. The body flopped around on the floor for a few moments, but now headless, it died quickly.
J’De bent down and skewered the arm of the lycanthrope with his dagger and gingerly brought it over to his woman.
“Lower the hand into that hole, please.”
As he did so, there was movement in the hole and pieces of the monsters fingers were neatly sliced off.
“Damn!” Willow exclaimed. “This will be harder than I thought.”
J’De tossed the arm away and sheathed his dagger. “Let me try the Goblin’s dagger.” Willow nodded and stepped to one side. J’De pulled the dagger out of the altar and slowly inserted it into the hole. When he pulled it out, the tip was also neatly sliced off. He backed away, shaking his head. He handed the now pointless dagger to Willow. She sheathed it and put it back into her pouch.
Willow pondered her next move. “Okay. I will need quiet while I concentrate.”
The rest of the band stopped their plundering and waited. Willow stood over the altar, positioned her hands over the hole and began her spell. With careful finger movements and precise words, she wove her spell until two thin tendrils of blue light emerged from her fingertips. She brought them together until they formed a loop and then lowered the loop into the hole. As she lowered her hands, she watched carefully to keep the joined tendrils away from the sides.
Sweat beaded on her brow as she lowered the loop over the head of the figurine. Her hands began to shake as she pulled the loop tight and slowly raised her arms. She had only used this spell twice before and then only to lift a silver coin. This object was much heavier and she felt it slipping through the tendrils.
Slowly the object emerged and she could see it was the figure of a small rabbit sitting on its hind legs. Rabbits are considered cute, but this one had a nasty scowl on its face.
When it was completely out of the hole, J’De grabbed it. She released the spell and would have fallen over, if not for her man grabbing her arm and steadying her.
He handed her the idol and she immediately felt power and strength flowing into her. It felt wonderful! Like cold water to a man dying of thirst. She could feel the power of the room and as she extended her senses outwards, she could feel things stirring in the castle, evil things that had been dormant for decades!
Suddenly aware of the danger, she pushed the idol into her bag and turned to the band. “We have to go. Now!”
The band could sense her urgency and they didn’t argue. Red kicked away the sword bracing the door and slowly opened it. There were no surprises waiting for them. He thrust his torch out before him and cautiously poked his head out. After scanning both directions he turned back to the room. “Looks clear.”
They filed out of the room. J’De took the lead, Willow in the center and G’cia taking up the rear. Everyone was alert, for even though they had little magic ability, they all could feel a change in the castle.
Red peered over the railing on their right, but it was too dim to see to the foyer floor far below. They had two flights of stairs to descend and it would help if they knew what waited for them.
“There is something behind us!” Shouted G’cia.
Willow looked back, but could only see vague shadows. Everyone began to run for the stairs and Willow quickly wove a spell for a small fireball, more for light than anything else. As they reached the head of the stairs, Willow turned and released the fireball. It flew into the shadows and exploded against something that was once a man.
“Zombies!” Willow exclaimed, for she could see four or five more behind the one she hit. The front one’s clothes were afire, but it didn’t stop. “I hate zombies!” She muttered as she turned and went down the dark stairs. ‘At least they are slow.’ She thought to herself.
They hurried down the stairs. J’De stumbled over something, but one of the men caught his arm and steadied him. At the first landing, someone threw his torch down into the dark foyer. They all paused for a moment when the torch hit the stone floor with a shower of sparks. Every one scanned the area below, but nothing was down there waiting for them.
Just as they turned to go, there was a horrible screech and a huge harpy swooped out of the darkness above them. As it flew over G’Cia, it sunk its claws into his shoulders. With a tremendous effort, it pulled him up into the air and out over the foyer.
Despite the stench left by the harpy, three daggers flew through the air. One missed, but the other two stuck into the harpy’s right wing. The harpy screeched out several words that even J’De would never say, but continued flying. The next thing that hit the harpy was a fireball and it blasted away most of its left wing. Unable to stay airborne and on fire, the harpy spiraled down.
G’Cia was madly thrusting his torch at the rank harpy when they landed in a giant spider web that was stretched out over part of the foyer. As both the harpy and G’Cia struggled in the sticky web, two giant black spiders scuttled out onto the web. Two more daggers flew from the band, but each missed their target. Willow quickly wove another fireball spell, but it was too late. One of the spiders landed on G’Cia and sunk its long fangs into his chest. His struggles slowed, then stopped. The other spider had attacked the harpy, but its poison was not as effective. The second spider scuttled over and joined the fracas.
Despite each loosing some legs, the spiders prevailed and the harpy stopped moving.

“We can’t leave him there.” Red said as the rest of the band stood in shock. “He’s still alive, isn’t he?”
“Yes.” J’De answered. “But we can’t save him. There is no antidote or spell against the spiders’ venom.”
“But they’ll lay their eggs in him! We can’t let that happen!”
“No, and we won’t!” Willow proclaimed as she released a huge fireball.
Her aim was true and the fireball hit the paralyzed G’Cia square in the chest. Most of him was immediately incinerated, as was the web and his remains fell to the dark floor below.
Every one else stood there stunned until J’De cried out. “Let’s move! The zombies are almost upon us!”
A quick glance behind them revealed the zombies slowly coming down the stairs. As one, they all turned and fled down the stairs to the foyer.

As they fled across the foyer, they could hear things coming into the room. They ran to the main door and as a group struggled to push the heavy oak door open. There was a great grinding of rusty metal and the door opened just enough for them to squeeze through.
They burst forth into the courtyard, blinking from the harsh light of the sun. As they ran to the main gate, Willow fought to blink back her tears. Her mind told her that what she had done was necessary, but her heart was saddened.
Red glanced back as he heard the oak door screech open. A dozen creatures spewed forth, giant salamanders, the two huge spiders, more zombies and things he couldn’t name.
“Don’t look back, just hurry!” He shouted.
As they ran under the main arch, Red turned and cut one of the ropes holding the portcullis open. The sudden added weight to the other rope caused it to start shredding. They could all hear the snapping of the rope and the squeal of the iron portcullis as it slipped lower.
They made it through and were halfway across the drawbridge when they heard the portcullis slam down. They turned and could see one of the giant salamanders impaled by the spikes on the bottom of the portcullis. The other creatures were trapped behind it and the band was safe for the moment. Then the creatures moved to one side and a huge troll lumbered up to the portcullis, grabbed it with his massive hands and slowly began to lift it.
Willow turned to her band. “Run!” She commanded.
Once off the drawbridge, Willow turned back and began the intricate process of casting another spell. Everyone but J’De continued to run towards the low hills. He recognized Willows’ stance and knew that he was still needed.
As Willow raised her arms and chanted the spell, she moved her hands precisely. There was no room for error if she was going to save her band.
The portcullis was raised just enough and a salamander wiggled under and scrambled to the drawbridge. Willow shouted the last part of the spell and brought her hands down sharply.
Out of the clear blue sky, two huge bolts of yellow lightning hurtled down and smashed into the middle of the drawbridge, splintering it. As the burning ends dropped into the moat, the salamander tumbled into the water. When it broke the surface, it tried to scramble back onto the shattered drawbridge. It barely had its front feet on the wood when a huge scaly head burst from fetid green water, sank its long teeth into the salamander and pulled it underwater.
Willow, exhausted from the spell, turned away, took one step and then collapsed into her man.
J’De knew Willow could barely handle the lightning spell and was ready for her. As she collapsed into him, he bent down to let her fall onto his shoulder. He pushed her legs up slightly until she was slung over his shoulders, then he straightened. Even with her light armor, she was not very heavy. He turned and ran after his men.

At the top of a small row of hills, Red, A’Bulo, B’Don stood watching while J’De caught up to them.
“Nothing is following us.”
“How is she?”
“Okay, but getting heavy.”
“Let me take her for a while.”
B’Don stepped forward and J’De shifted the unconscious Willow onto his shoulder.
“She seems light enough.”
“Then let’s move. We’re burning daylight.”

Each took their turn carrying Willow and by the time the sun was setting they had reached the small clearing where they had camped the day before and left their packs hanging from a tree.
While A’Bulo shinnied up the tree to untie the packs, Red helped J’De carry the still unconscious Willow over to another tree. They would make camp here and try to sleep. They all knew that Willow just needed rest, but they were afraid there would not be time.
While the rest of the band made camp and divided up what was in the now extra packs, J’De pondered what to do. Something might make it across the moat and they were not far enough from the castle. In the morning, if they were still carrying Willow, they would be hard-pressed to defend themselves. Then J’De remembered the idol and its effect on Willow after she used the grabbing spell. He reached into her bag and pulled the idol out.
It was a small thing and fit easily in his hand. He could tell it was solid gold, from the weight; but with rubies for eyes and a mean expression on its face, it unnerved him. He carefully placed it in Willow’s hand and her fingers wrapped around it. A moment later, her eyes fluttered opened and she smiled at him.
“How long was I out?”
“Just a few hours, my love.”
She smiled at him again and luxuriated in the power flowing into her from the idol. As her strength returned, so did her senses. She became aware of the amulet hanging from J’De’s neck, the little curse on Red and the special sword that B’Don carried. When her senses swept over the pack that A’Bulo had carried from the castle, she suddenly felt a darkness.
“Help me up, please.” And she reached her arm out to her man. He pulled her up, steadied her for a moment and then released her.
“I’m okay now, thanks; but there is something wrong. Come.” She walked over to the pack and the rest of the band gathered around her.
“What’s in there?” She asked.
“Just the loot from the castle.” Red answered. “We haven’t had a chance to look at the stuff yet.”
“Don’t. There is evil in there. Things that none of us should touch!”
“What then?”
“We need to get rid of it. I fear that if anything gets out of the castle, this will draw it to us.”
“I’ll get rid of it.” A’bulo said, stepping forward. He lifted it by its straps and turned to the North. “I’ll be back soon.” And he loped off into the woods.

Willow was still holding the idol and despite the effect on her, knew she needed to release it. She stuffed it back into her pouch. That was the problem with holding something so powerful, it became addicting. She knew some of the history of it and how it eventually took control of the wielder. She was a powerful mage, especially for her age, but she was wise enough to know the idol would eventually control her.

A’Bulo returned well after the sun had set. They ate a quick meal, divided up the watches and went to sleep.

Willow had the last watch and as the sky began to lighten, she removed her detection spell from around the camp and began to wake the others.
They were quiet as they broke camp and prepared for the march back to the village. Losing two of the band yesterday weighed on their minds, as did having to throw away their plunder. Willow walked to the edge of the camp and extended her senses, feeling for trouble. She could perceive nothing, so she carefully removed the idol and grasped it tightly in her hand.
With the added power of the idol, she could sense the loot that A’bulo had disposed of the night before. She focused her attention towards the castle and could easily sense it in the distance. Ignoring the castle, she scanned the area between her and the castle. There was nothing there, but something was wrong. She scanned the area again and suddenly knew what was wrong! There was an area of nothing. A large black void and it was moving towards them.
She hurriedly stuffed the idol back into the bag and turned to her men. “Something is coming. Something we never want to face!”
The men quickly slung their packs onto their shoulders and J’De helped Willow with hers. “How fast is it moving?”
“Fast enough that it will catch us if we dawdle!”
Red was the slowest runner, so he set the pace as they loped off into the trees.

Chapter Three.

Seemingly half-man and half-warthog, G’Wog stood in the grassy area a hundred meters from the villages’ North gate. At two meters tall, he dwarfed the four other villagers standing next to him. His small tail, with its little tuft of hair, twitched nervously. “They are coming.” He stated.
“How soon?” L’Yaw asked. G’Wog looked into the distance and then turned to her. She was a pretty young thing and well proportioned. Though few people realized that her smooth curves hid a well-muscled body, when her full lips smiled a certain way and her eyes flashed a warning, men knew it was dangerous to trifle with her.
“Maybe fifteen minutes.”
L’Yaw pulled an arrow from her quiver and nocked it into the bow that was as tall as she was. The two guardsmen cocked their crossbows and nocked bolts also.
G’Wog turned back and studied the hills in the distance. L’Yaw and the others saw his hands gesturing and heard him muttering something. They knew to wait.
His face seemed to darken and he cursed in a language they didn’t know. “Something is following them! Something dark and evil!” He turned to his left and addressed the chief of his small village. “L’Shrim. Be a dear and go tell A’Gee that her services as a healer will be needed. Then please hurry back, we will need you at the gate.”
The young woman he addressed knew they were in trouble. His use of ‘dear’ underscored the seriousness of the situation. Though she had only been their chief for a year, she had quickly earned everyone’s respect by the wisdom of her decisions. The fact that her pretty face hid a quick temper had surprised many.
“Right away!” She said as she turned and ran back to the village.
G’Wog allowed himself a small smile as he watched her run towards the North gate. The man she was destined for could not ask for a more attractive woman. To also get one of such intelligence would make him the envy of many.

The Amber Band crested the last hill and could see the little village below. They could feel the dark void behind them and it was getting ever closer. Unless they increased their speed, they all knew that they would never make it.
Without pausing, they sped down the hill. Red was the first one to shuck off his pack and the rest of the band quickly emulated him. Willow was faster than them all, but she kept pace with her man for her place was always at his side. In the distance she could see G’Wog and three others waiting for them. A moment later a young woman walked into the open gate and planted herself in the middle, blocking it. When Willow glanced at her again, she had a staff in her hands with a brilliant glowing crystal on one end.

They were twenty meters away from apparent safety when they heard Red scream from behind them. As one, they stopped and turned.
Red was held high in the air by something they couldn’t see. They heard someone bellow, “Run!” from behind them, but they were frozen by the tableau before them. Red was thrashing in mid-air and one of his arms had been torn off. Before they could move to help him, his other arm was ripped off. Red screamed again.
“Run you stupid fools!”
Willow glanced behind her and G’Wog was frantically waving at them to keep running. Willow turned back just in time to see Red’s head ripped from his torso. Stunned, the band was frozen to the spot.
A fireball erupted in front of them, breaking the spell.
“Run you miserable bastards!” That got their attention and they turned and ran towards the village.
They were breathless when they got to G’Wog and the villagers.
“Get behind us. Now!” G’Wog bellowed.
“The barrier!” Willow gasped.
“It’s no good.” G’Wog shouted. “It’s just an illusion!”
Willow looked back where they had come from, but she could only see Red’s lifeless body lying in the grass. Despite her exhaustion, she started a fireball spell.
“That will be of no use.” G’Wog yelled at her. “Where is the knife?”
“Knife?”
“Stupid little girl! The knife I told you to leave in the castle!”
Shocked, she fumbled the little knife out of her sack and unsheathed it.
“Throw it at the creature! It will slow it down!”
“I…I don’t see anything!” She cried out, frustrated by being yelled at.
“Feather it!” G’Wog yelled.
There were simultaneous twangs and two bolts and a long arrow flew through the air. The bolts never stopped, but the arrow hit its mark and stuck there, quivering in midair.
There was a queer warbling scream from the thing out there. “Again.” He shouted and turned to Willow. “Can you hit it now?”
Willow aimed for the arrow and threw the small knife with all her might, but she was exhausted and the knife landed harmlessly in the grass.
The archer faired better and her arrow struck true, just under first arrow. The two crossbowmen were still fumbling to ready their weapons.
Willow finished her strongest fireball spell and hurled the crimson ball of flame right at where the arrows were. It struck just above them and vanished.
“You can’t hurt a void with magic, it only absorbs it!” G’Wog yelled as he drew the small flat piece of wood from his belt.
Willow looked back at the nothingness and saw the small knife rise from the ground. She pulled out her rapier and set her feet, ready for the attack. She heard the sounds of her band pulling out their swords and wondered if they would be effective.
“Wait here!” G’Wog commanded and as he stepped forward, he held the piece of wood up high and said a word in the old tongue.
Strange runes glowed on the stick for a moment and it suddenly elongated and became a quarterstaff as thick around as Willows arm. With a bellow, G’Wog sprang forward and raced towards the knife and arrows floating in the air.

As he passed where the invisible barrier was, Willow let out a gasp. For what had been half man and half warthog, suddenly became a huge shambling creature seemingly made from moss, mud, leaves and sticks.
“A Shambling Mound!” Someone gasped.
“A Swamp Thing!” Someone else said.
Willow suddenly understood what the barrier was for.

G’Wog swung his massive quarterstaff, but the change in his shape slowed him and he missed the creature. As he pivoted around, he saw the knife come up. Too slow now, he couldn’t dodge it and he felt it slice into his face.
The pain was incredible and he bellowed in his rage. As the knife came up again, he twirled the staff and knocked it to one side. Before the creature could strike again, he rammed one end of his staff into it, just below an arrow. There was that queer scream again and the knife paused. G’Wog spun the staff over his head and smashed it down on top of the unseen creature. There was a tremendous crack and as he spun around for the next blow, he bellowed a word of power.
When the staff hit the creature, the resulting shockwave knocked everyone off their feet. As they scrambled back up, they could see G’Wog on his knees holding the knife up high. Then he plunged it down into the creature.
Slowly, painfully, G’Wog used the staff to pull himself to his feet. Green blood poured from the gash in his face and he could barely see out of one eye. Something was eating into him and he knew he needed to get to a healer quickly. He stumbled back towards the village and collapsed just as he crossed the barrier.

L’Yaw was the first to his side and was shocked to see the damage to her friend. One side of his huge face was cut open and the angry red sides were quickly turning black. A moment later, Willow was kneeling next to her. She gasped as she saw the blood and pus running from the wound. The wound was so deep that she saw the white of his jawbone! While L’yaw yelled at someone, Willow wove the only healing spell she knew. When she cast it, she was not surprised that it seemed to have no effect. She felt the evil poison that was consuming her friend and mentor, but was at a loss as to what to do. She turned to yell for help and saw the young woman from the gate racing towards them. Behind her, four stout men were following with a huge litter. She turned back to G’Wog and suddenly had an inspiration. She grabbed the idol from her sack and with its power now flowing through her, she scanned the wound. Yes, she could now sense what was going on. She quickly wove a simple containment spell. As she released it, she controlled it with the help of the idol, shaped it over, under and around the wound. As she watched, the blackening of his skin hit the barrier she had cast and stopped.
“Move!” Someone commanded and Willow scrambled to her feet, but not before she picked up the small flat piece of wood that had been G’Wog’s quarterstaff. The stout men put the litter down next to her friend, and with great effort, lifted him onto it. The two guardsmen dropped their crossbows and ran over to help lift the litter. Once it was up, the six men started off towards the village in a trot.
Willow turned to follow but L’Yaw blocked her path. “Come, we must first check on the creature.” Willow followed her, as did everyone else.

There was nothing to see when they got there, except the arrows and the dagger seeming to float in midair.
L’Yaw turned to the other woman, “L’Shrim, what should we do?”
“I think...” Willow started to say, but L’Shrim flashed her a look that made her swallow what she was going to say.
The young woman with the staff studied the area carefully. “We need to keep others away and to know if this thing threatens the village.” She turned to Willow. “Can you make smoke, or fog?”
Willow harrumphed. “Any first level…” But L’Shrim cut her off. “ Please cast it over the area and let it sink slowly to the ground.”
Willow was annoyed at being treated in such a way, but she bit her tongue and cast the spell.

The smoke cloud formed from her fingertips and floated away until it was over the arrows, then settled slowly down.
For just a moment, they could see the vague outline of the huge misshapen creature, then the smoke was absorbed.
“Well done.” L’Shrim commented, then moved closer to where the creature lay. She held the crystal end of her staff over the creature and muttered a few words.
From the crystal, a pale blue light shimmered forth and formed a dome that enveloped where the creature lay. Satisfied, L’Shrim pulled her staff back. “That will keep people away and let me know if it rises again.” She whispered a word and the staff shrunk down until it was just a small, flat piece of wood. She slid it into her belt and turned to the others. “We have done all we can here. J’De, you and your men need to go collect your packs and your comrade. There are rooms waiting for you at the Prancing Horse Inn. I will take you to the small cemetery we have and help with the arrangements. L’Yaw, please take Willow to the healers house. She may be needed and she also needs to return the stick.”
“This way.” L’Yaw said and she motioned to Willow.

They were almost to the gate when Willow turned her head to address L’Yaw. “Who is she?”
“L’Shrim? She is our chief of the village.”
“A Woman?”
“You lead your band.”
“But that is different, my man and I lead.”
L’Yaw harrumphed. “I can see that you are the leader.”
Willow wisely chose not to argue the point and allowed herself to be led.

When they got to the healers house, L’Yaw left her and Willow hurried inside.
She was surprised find no one in the front room, but then she heard a noise to her right and hurried through the open door.
There were two beds pushed together and G’Wog lay stretched out of them. A short, slightly rounded woman was bending over her friend and she was muttering to herself.
“How is he?” Willow said. The woman turned to face her and Willow was surprised at how young she was. “Where is the Healer?”
“I am she.”
“But...but you can’t be! You are too young! Healers are always old crones! My friend needs help!”
Anger flashed on the healers face for just a moment, then a look of calm serenity replaced it. The healer suddenly seemed to fill the room with her presence. A wave of strong faith and goodness pushed into Willow, forcing her to step back. The symbol of her faith, hanging from the healers’ neck burst forth with a blinding white light. Eyes burning from the bright light and her stomach roiling from the gentle goodness that enveloped her, made Willow shut her eyes and she took a shuddering breath.
Then it was gone! She opened her eyes and the pretty young woman was smiling pleasantly at her.
“You must be Willow! Our friend has mentioned you.” She calmly walked forward and took Willows hand. “Come, you can help. I am A’Gee. You were the one that cast the containment spell? Very smart thinking on your part. Though I am afraid you healing spell was no match for the magic, it was a good idea. Come.”
Momentarily bewildered, Willow allowed herself to be led to the bedside. “How is he?” She finally stammered.
“He is okay for now. However, I need your help to cure him. Can you weave a containment vessel spell?”
“Yes. One to hold, say a Djinn?”
“Yes, that would be perfect! Now here is what we should do. Weave your spell and place the opening of the vessel here.” She indicated the top of G’Wogs’ head. Make a small opening in your containment spell there also. Then make a small opening here and I will force the evil magic out of him and into your vessel. Once that it sealed, you can remove the main spell and I can heal the nasty wound.
Willow nodded and reached for her leather sack.
“Oh, you won’t need that accursed item. Just take my hand.”
Willow took the offered hand and began her small spell. In moments, there appeared a small, clear vessel over G’Wog’s head. It floated down until it stopped just over the top the now blackened wound. Once it was firmly in place, she opened a small hole in her containment spell.
“Perfect. Now, just another small hole near the bottom.”
Willow did as she was told and for just a moment, she felt the evil she had contained. The evil magic seemed to flow towards the hole, but was stopped by a force emanating from A’Gee’s left hand. She moved her hand closer to the small, unseen opening and the darkness seemed to retreat. A’Gee’s pendant began to shine brightly and Willow felt the same force of faith and goodness flow to meet the evil darkness. The glare did not hurt Willow’s eyes this time and her stomach was calm. Willow watched in awe as the darkness retreated more. Soon, it began to flow into the vessel she had created. She felt the force against it and fought to strengthen it. The evil pushed hard and she knew she could not contain it. Her right hand moved to the sack that held the idol, but a look from A’Gee stopped her. A’Gee smiled and squeezed Willows hand and Willow felt a flood of power flow into her and strengthen her spell. It was so different from the power of the idol. No desire to control, no ties or bindings, just pure power. At the same time, she felt some of her own power flowing back to A’Gee, strengthening her also.
Willow glanced back to the wound and almost all the blackness was gone. And in the vessel, the darkness was drawn into a tight ball, no longer exerting any pressure.
When the last of the darkness slipped into the vessel, Willow sealed it. It began to float down and she grabbed it.
“What now?” She asked.
“Hold the vessel carefully and release the spell on our friend.”
Willow nodded and whispered the words that ended the spell.
“Now I can get to work.” A’Gee said as she released Willows hand. She held both hands over the wound and though she said no words, Willow could feel the effects.
The wound was still an angry red and there were flecks of green rot on the edges. As A’Gee passed her hands over the wound, the green faded and red slowly turned to the bright pink of healthy flesh. Satisfied, A’Gee ended the healing and grabbed her needle and thread. With quick, deft hands, she sewed up the wound. Next, she slathered a salve on it and covered it with a clean dressing.
She stepped back. “Done!” She pronounced.
“And very well!” Willow commented. “Will he have a scar?”
“Yes. The wound will heal, but since it is no longer a clean edge, it will scar.” She glanced at G’Wog. “Not that he will care, men love to brag about their scars.” And she rolled her eyes.
Willow let out a small chuckle.
“Come.” A’Gee said as she took Willows hand. “We are both tired from this ordeal. Put the bottle carefully in that iron pot and secure the lid. You can leave his stick there on the table. I’ll make us some tea. Do you like spice cake?”
The way Willows’ eyes lit up at the mention of sweets, told A’Gee that she had discovered Willows weakness.

Chapter Four

Seven days later, the four remaining members of the amber band stood well outside the South gate. They and a dozen stout men from the village had taken four days to carry the vanquished creature back to the castle and dumped it into the moat. Willow had stayed behind to look after her friend, who had recovered enough from his wound to give young Willow a few lessons.
A few moments later, A’Gee, L’Shrim and G’Wog joined them.
“We are ready to go, but we want to thank all of you for your help and hospitality.” J’De said as he extended his hand. G’Wog shook it and said. “You are missing one person.”
“Who?” Willow said, looking around.
A moment later, L’Yaw came through the gate. She was dressed in calf-high boots, doeskin trousers and a simple tunic. On her back was a quiver of arrows and small pack; her longbow was in her hands. She looked competent and ready for an adventure.
“I thought you might need a archer and since you are going my way, I hope you do not mind the company for a short time.” L’Yaw said as she joined them.
The band looked at one another and J’De nodded.
Willow ran over to her friend and gave him a big hug. “I shall miss your ugly face.” She said and smiled.
“I will miss you also, my slim friend.”
Willow smiled again and rejoined her band.
“Fare thee well.” G’Wog said as the band turned and headed off to deliver the idol to their master.

They watched until the band reached the trees, turned and waved to them, then disappeared into the forest.
“I wish I could go on an adventure with them.” A’Gee said.
“I need no adventures and besides, your place is here in the village, as is mine.” Answered L’Shrim. “At least we are not cursed with ‘Traveling feet’, like L’Yaw.”
G’Wog grinned, then winced.
“Your wound still bothering you? L’Shrim asked.
“Yes. I think A’Gee missed a spot with her healing.” He answered and smiled.
“I think you need a reminder to be more careful!” A’Gee answered and grinned mischievously.
They all laughed.
“L’Yaw will return, as always.” Said G’Wog. “Come, we have a village to care for.”
They turned as one, each pulling a small flat stick from their belts. Words were whispered and the runes on the sticks glowed for a moment and each became a walking staff. A’Gee’s had a simple silver cross, L’Shrim’s a shining crystal and G’Wog’s had the head of an ugly warthog.
As they walked back to their village, G’Wog wondered how L’Shrim would feel if she knew her destiny and happiness lay with a man in a far off land.

The End, (for now)