Diablo 2: Visions of You

Diablo 2 - Visions of You (Part 7)
By Lady Jasmine
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Legal note: Diablo 2 does not belong to me. This is meant as a
parody. It contains adult situations, so please do not read this if you’re a
minor in your country. Thanks so
much.
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Blood again.... all around.

A slab of stone was centered in the middle of the smoky grey haze, floating
from nothing, as blood flowed freely. The thick red liquid spilled over it's
carved edges, running down slowly and never thinning in the slightest even
thout cot coated the stone. It flowed past the stone, continuing down and
defining the shape of the 'nothing' it levitated from... more steps leading down
to where Ferrum stood.

Judging by his reaction, or lack of it, the blonde man wasn't the least bit
disconcerted by the strange scene before him, nor did he flinch as the blood
puddled at his feet, growing like it possessed a mind of it's own and scaling up
his thick leather boots with ease.

He stared blankly, sapphire blue eyes half-lidded and half-conscious seeming.
He felt nothing... a strange emptiness; never knowing pain, yet never knowing
joy at that moment.

And then a familiar voice cried out to him, full of agony and fused with
desperation. A cry, a plea wavering in the darkness... He had to get to that
voice.

***

The sight of the darkened temple's high ceiling of a payne grey came into
vision, though of fuzzy vision. Hazel eyes focused, her hands rubbing her eyes
as she slowly sat up, looking around dazed like a sleepy kitten.

The torches flickered in greeting to her as it glinted off the armour lay
strewn on the floor. From the ascending stairs to the outside world, the weak
rays of early morning filtered in.

Alys yawned sleepily, glancing around curiously to see what had nudged her
awake. Looking beside her on the ground as she stretched her arms out, she saw
Ferrum, asleep and restless in it. His face distorted in pain, he weakly flailed
and his hand brushed up against her leg every so often.

With slow movements caused by the traces of her sleepiness, she ran her
fingers over his forehead and into the field of short flaxen hair. "Ferrum,
Ferrum," she murmured, trying to soothe him. Her hand trailed over his face,
down his strong jaw and over his chest. She then patted his face, careful not to
strike him with painful intentions. "Ferrum, wake up."

He stirred slightly, his movements lessening. His eyes were obviously working
judging by the sighted movement beneath the delicate lids.

She leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth, still whispering to
him, "Ferrum... can you hear me?" A nibble, a shy lick. "Are you having a bad
dream?" She sighed, running her hand over his cloth-covered sholder. "Ferrum..."

His blue eyes peeked out from beneath his lids and darted around cautiously
as he felt the ache in his muscles from the fighting that was done to eliminate
all the monsters dwelling in the temple. He looked at her, up into her beautiful
face leaning over him with a relieved expression. "Alys," he murmured softly,
seizing her wrist and pulling her close to him, atop of him. His arms snaked
around her waist and, without warning, he lifted his head and kissed her full on
the lips.

Her lips were so warm and inviting that he couldn't help himself in nibbling
on them in little delicate bites. His arms tightened around her as Alys' hazel
eyes disappeared behind her eyelids.

Remnants of his dream flowed through Ferrum's mind; he could still hear the
deperation in the screams. Even with that, it still did not hinder the blood
surging through his veins. The temperature of his body seemed to rise several
more degrees as he felt Alys' lips curve into a smile before opening up to him.

His tongue deftly slipped into her mouth and felt it. The sudden sexual
desire that flooded him was so intense that it bordered painful. In mere
seconds, Ferrum's manhood was at full attention. He shifted so Alys body lay
perfectly atop his; her breasts flattened against the hard wall of his chest
while his tented pants pressed against her soft skirt-covered legs.

The screams that had wormed it's way into his mind were now gone. All that
was left in his mind was how good Alys felt against him.

Alys smiled as she broke his kiss, marvelling at the thin strand of saliva
that connected their mouths. She quickly wiped it away and slid off his body,
embarassed. "Ferrum," she murmured, turning her face away.

He lifted himself slightly to prop one elbow up as he rolled to lie on his
side. "Did I wake you?"

"Yes, but it's alright," she chuckled, head tilting towards him with a smile.
"I don't mind." As if to prove her point, she lay back down and inched closer to
him, right beneath his gaze, the side of her body pressed up against his.

Ferrum's hand whisked over to her hairline, running through the soft strands
as she had done while he was lost in his nightmare. She sighed softly, closing
her eyes and enjoying the relaxing feel of his hand even though it was making
her a little light-headed at having him so close... his scent so intoxicating
and she was intensely aware of it; the warm feeling growing in her belly proved
that much to her.

"Do you love me?" she asked softly, her eyes still closed.

The movement in the hand was ceased then removed. She opened her eyes and
watched as Ferrum studied her face in silence. Embarassed, she turned her head
away.

"Look at me." He cupped her chin and turned it back, not surprised that she
didn't fight him. He craned his neck, leaned in and graced her forehead with a
kiss. He didn't stop there. His lips traveled, pressing more kisses and
whispering to her after each one.

One to her cheek, "You mean everything to me."

One playfully on tip of her nose that got a giggle from her. "I care about
you."

A chaste one on her lips and a heated kiss on the softness of her neck. "I
love you..."

Alys' eyes rolled back to the lips grazing her neck and his husky voice. "And
I need you..."

"How do you do it?" she asked softly, her eyes shimmering in the dim light.

"Do what?"

Her smile turned sweeter, "Know exactly what to say to make me fall even more
in love with you."

He chuckled and saw something in her face he never had seen quite so clearly:
a pure honesty, completely unrestrained and lacking the traces of worry he had
usually found. His head turned into the soft veil of her hair and he took in the
delicate fragrance of her. "Funny... I could say the same thing to you right
now.... I love you so much."

Turning her face, Alys gazed upon the visible parts of his face, studying
every curve and angle of him. She suddenly felt the urge to ask him something
she wasn't so sure of herself. "Ferrum.... how would you define love?"

He slowly turned to her, a funny smile on his face. "A sweet ecstasy you
don't want to escape..." Looking down at his tented pants with a sheepish grin,
he ran his fingers through his short blonde hair. "Sorta like an erection, but
not so transient." A light red tinted his face as he leaned forward, a serene
expression with a delighted look to his eyes, "Love should last forever."

"And you love me that way?" she quickly licked her lips and suddenly found
herself holding her breath.

Ferrum pulled her into his arms immediately, gazing straight into her
innocent eyes. "You really don't need to be asking that, but since you did--yes,
I love you Alys, I'll love you forever."

"Why?" It was so sudden that her question pulled a laugh from him.

"Alys..." His shoulders shook as he rolled onto his back, taking her with
him. "You're so precious, you know?" His hand reached up and cupped her chin,
pulling her face close to his until their noses almost touched. "I love you
because it feels right to love you. Do I need a better reason?"

"Are there any other reasons?" she asked, her eyebrow arching.

Grinning and thinking her fishing for compliments, Ferrum still remained
purely honest about his words coming out, "Of course. I love your smile, I love
making you smile, I love the way you blush, I love the way you sometimes fuss
over dinner for me--"

"--I do not fuss," she quickly cut in.

He kissed her lips, his hands sliding under her blouse and running up the
gentle curve of her back. "I love your expressions, your enthusiasm, even your
shyness... You are perfection, and yet I know you're not... but that makes me
love you even more," his voice trailed as her eyes stared at him questioningly,
prompting him to continue. "You're so... human... and at the same time it seems
as though you're above that."

She laughed softly, "I think you're just trying to flatter me, Ferrum."

"No, love," he replied, his mouth finding her neck again. "I'm only telling
you it as I see it..." His arms fastened around her waist as he rolled over,
taking her with him.

She stared up at him, her hair shadowed behind her, as he eased a bit of
weight off of her lithe body. "Ferrum..."

"You're so beautiful," he breathed, his hands running up the curve of her
body and to her breast. "So incredible..."

She flushed, even more aware of his hard shaft against her thigh. "I...
ah..." A sense of bliss leapt into her body as his hands pushed her blouse up
and caressed the gentle swell of her breasts again.

I want this bliss, I want so much more, Alys thought as she arched her
back and felt the pleasure radiate warmly throughout her body. But
something's telling me I must resist...

"Ferrum," she spoke softly, biting down on her lip and scared of the hurt she
might see in his eyes. "... I don't think we should do this."

Perhaps it was a prick of intuition, a warning of future tragedy if she
failed to comply. Whatever it was, she couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere
draped in darkness, swathed in silence and waiting for the right moment, was a
frightful disaster that could ultimately destroy her world... maybe even
herself. It had been lurking and skulking around every corner in her mind, but
never had she felt it so strong as this moment.

She couldn't help but hear A's v's voice echo hatefully "whore's taint." And
to counter that, the image of her uncle's expression after she punched him
materialized. That's all it took for her smile to return and her words to form
from her kiss-swollen lips, "I love you, Ferrum, but... I don't know..."

He nuzzled her neck, sighing at the feel of her soft skin. "Alys... I promise
I won't laugh at you when you change your mind." His breath against her neck lit
a fiery shiver up her body, forcing her to turn her head slightly and close her
eyes as the brief urge to laugh she had felt before disappated.

"You know I love you and you know that you enjoy this." To make his point, he
cupped his hand against her mound and pressed, dragging a light circular motion
that was rewarded with a soft moan. "What more do you need, love?"

She gritted her teeth, biting down on her lower lip to avoid making any more
sound. Maybe I should just let go... she thought, her mind growing
fuzzier with each passing second in his presence. She knew she had to get away
from him and fast... "Ahh..."

The gasp never left her mind or formed in her throat as the squeeze of
Ferrum's hand upon her breast radiated warmly into her body. He firmly kneaded
the soft flesh in his hand, teasing her nipples it to a hard point. His other
hand left the apex of her thighs (much to Alys' disappointment) and, its heat
the same as the other, latched on to her other breast, giving it just the same
treatment.

When Alys whimpered in his arms, Ferrum whispered into ear, his warm breath
tickling her lips as he spoke. "You're the only one I want...." He murmured more
sweet words as his mouth trailed down, licking a lingering trail down the smooth
column of her neck.

Her body limp beneath, she let out a faint moan as her uncertainties were
thrown from her body. She soared against his touch, her arms raising to lock
around Ferrum's neck, giving him full access to her body without any sign of
hindrance from her own willing body.

Slipping his hands under her blouse, his rough hands slid across the smooth
skin of her belly, gliding up to capture her breasts. Alys sighed deeply, her
senses being overloa. The calluses of his hand were felt against her flushed
skin.

A familiar heat pooled in her lower body, right close to where Ferrum's
erection pressed against...

And then that feeling returned and she was unable to shake it.

From there, she pushim him off of her, pulled her blouse over her body and
expressed her concern, the foreboding feeling... she was surprised when he gave
in to her wishes.

"I'm shocked as well..." He sighed, eyes closed and jaw tensed, but still
amused. "I wonder if a side effect of abstinence is insanity..." He opened his
and and was greeted by regret in Alys's eyes. "It's alright, love." He sighed
again, "I'll live."

In turn, Alys curled up next to the heat of his body with a sigh. She
apologized right then, again. "I'm really sorry... it's not that I don't like
it, but--"

"--You already explained that, I said it's alright."

She nodded, not sure if she believed him. "I enjoyed it... really. It was..."
she smiled, "The way you touch me, how you make me feel, it's..
uh...indescribably beautiful."

Ferrum grins, a strangled smile and trying to keep the pain from unfulfilled
longing out of his mind... wasn't really working.

Alys sighed again. With a glance below and before she could stop herself, she
curiously reached her hand down to touch him, her hand over the bulge in his
pants and feeling the hard form of it. "I'm sorry."

He groaned, making a face. "God, Alys... Apolgizing to me is enough, you
don't have to apologize to my cock."

She grimaced in a funny way that brought another amused smile briefly to
Ferrum's lips. "I-I know that!" she stammered, fighting off the rising heat in
her face. "I just wanted to feel it... Sort of know what I'm missing out on
right now... " As if to illustrate her point, she slowly slid her hand inside
his pants.

He sucked his breath in sharply as he felt her hand curl around his hard
member. His eyes shut tightly as exploration beckoned Alys even more. The feel
of her soft hand wrapped around his manhood and the smooth palm sliding up and
down the hard length of him was maddening and threatened to break the tight
reins he had recently built on his desire.

"Alys, you know I try to respect your wishes and all, but... ugh..." he
swallowed the lump in his throat as another chill of pleasure caused his voice
to crack a bit. "But that doesn't mean I still don't want to spread your thighs
and take you."

Her cheeks stained bright red as her eyes rounded briefly.

With a rakish grin, he pulled her close again; his lips graced her forehead.
"You're so damn cute when you blush," he murmured hotly against her skin, his
breath feathery against her soft hairline.

Alys smiled, trying to fight the redness in her cheeks as he pulled her body
closer to his, cradling her body against the warmth of his warmth and resting
his chin on top of her head.

It was still there though: That demanding need for more... Possibly because
her hand was still wrapped around his erection. "Woman..." he murmured softly,
"You're gonna be the end of me."

She nodded apologetically but still refused to remove her hand. "I still want
to do something for you though... I don't like seeing you like this."

He chuckled, "Then maybe you shouldn't try to arouse me then."

"I meant that you look like you're in pain."

A sigh left him, "It's a fun pain..."

"You're lying."

He smiled, glittering eyes locked with hers, "Maybe."

"... Uh.." she hesitated as she spoke, her fingers trembling against him as
she slid them over the head. "Can I.. um, can I touch you some more?" A rather
useless question on her part since she was already unfastening his breeches,
freeing his enormous manhood.

Yay! cried millions of sperm in unison, wanting much more than just her
hand. The feral need within him let out a chorus of cheers despite the angry
scolding of his gentlemanly conscience: justjust feels guilty about not
giving you her all. Make sure it's what she wants!

He gritted his teeth, half-heartedly fighting the desire to give in to her or
take her into his arms and touch her until she was begging for him to make love
to her. ""Alys, you don't...uhn... have to. I..." He couldn't finish his
sentence.

"I know, but I want to," she replied sincerely, determination filling her
voice as she wrapped her fingers around his wieldy silk-over-steel feeling
shaft.

There, you happy now??? he mentally screamed in triumph at his
conscience. His head dropped back helplessly against the hard floor as he closed
his eyes, allowing himself to fully enjoy the feel of her small and warm hand in
an intimate and lusty caress of a part of him he (for so long) so badly wanted
to give to her.

Alys wet her lips in anticipation as she nervously leaned over his lower body
with one hand resting on his thigh to steady. Slowly, she licked from base to
tip, fascinated by the feel of the velvety skin against her wet tongue. And she
felt the strong fingers of his hand run through her hair lovingly as she
repeated her action several times.

She removed her lips from his body, smiling as she stroked him a bit. For
some reason, a wet cock looked a lot more appealing to her than a dry one. She
flicked her gaze to him to find his head lifted, eyes fixed upon her with a
feral look to him.

Ferrum watched the slow and bold smile appear upon her face as she lowered
her head to return to him. "God... Alys," a groaned excaped him as firmly
caressed his throbbing erection, her mouth gingerly sucking upon the smooth
velvety head.

With her maidenly shyness restrained, she gave her all in pleasuring him,
loving him in a gentle yet ferocious way. Her mouth sucked; lips wrapped; one
hand stng wng what her mouth failed to cover; one hand teasing his tautened
scrotum.

He grit his teeth, his hands buried in her hair as he barely managed to stop
himself from thrusting into her sweet, wet and hot mouth. As though she sensed
his desparation, Ferrum felt more of his cock being taken in as her tongue never
ceased it's flight. It flicked against his head, swirled around and caressed his
shaft randomly, never staying too long on one part. That made him burn even
more.

Without warning, her oral ministrations ceased from the wet heat that snugly
held his hardness. He looked down at her, his mouth twisting into a frustrated
frown from the exquisite pain she left him with.

"Minx," he whispered hoarsely at her as she giggled and licked her lips with
an impish smile.

"Sorry, love," she replied, her hand returning and pumping his shaft several
times. It was strange to her, while her tongue was indulging in the taste of
him, it seemed he had changed; A bit bigger, maybe a bit harder... she just
couldn't be sure though. But that thought barely lasted for she still marveled
at sight of his glistening member. The scent of him, musky and strong, made her
feel lightheaded. A soft "hee" was heard before she eagerly returned to pleasing
him.

Ferrum's head dropped against the floor again as he groaned. Alys wasn't
holding back at all. She sucked so voraciously this time that Ferrum was
surprised and found himself wondering for a spleconecond as to where the energy
suddenly came from.

Alys smiled. She could feel him pulsating against his tongue. Her smile gone,
she forced herself to take him slowly into her throat. Her eyes squinted shut,
trying desperately to fight the urge to give up that method. Still, she chose to
fight on.

Her jaw ached, longing to close, to return to simply take the easy way out.
She still refused. Her eyes shuttered as she kept going, desperately wanting to
give Ferrum as much pleasure as she could.

Ferrum was in a frenzy as he ravished her mouth, thrilled by the ecstasy that
Alys was more than happy to provide him with. His grip tangled in her silky
hair, he eased his hold, trying to keep a control on his motions.

Alys' eyes squeezed tighter as she angled herself better. Her mouth was sore
and had been forced open by his hard cock. She couldn't take much more of it.
She eased her head back, stroking him harder and faster as her lips firmly
clamped around his head to suck furiously once more. The smell of him was more
potent than ever; she felt completely delirious and even more determined from
it.

Ferrum was panting, trying to warn Alys that he was near the edge. She didn't
heed him. There was no way she'd back away from... well, from whatever it was
she wanted to make him feel. She couldn't stop now, she was feeling too greedy
in wanting to learn of whatever it was he was rapidly approaching. She would
b
be satisfied with any less, and besides, Ferrum wasn't exactly fighting her.

He grunted with a shudder as he exploded in her mouth, his face scrunched
from the intensity that wracked his body.

Alys's eyes shot wide open as she felt a strange warmth spill into her mouth.
She ripped herself away from him, staring wide-eyed at the thick white liquid
string that spurted out. The fluid was on her fingers and still on her tongue.
To her, so innocent, it tasted mildly weird... but not unbearable.

She smiled amusedly, licking her fingers clean before she cleaned him off,
somewhat enjoying the taste of his virility and the thought that she had been
responsible for this.

Settling to lie down next to him, she stared at the eased expression on his
face, the innocent look with eyelids gently closed. "... Are you asleep?"

He smiled then opened his eyes, turning towards her. "No, love." He pulled
her to him and wrapped his arms around her. "That was incredible.

She nestled her head against his shoulder and nodded, "Yeah..." she trailed
off into a fading giggle.

Several moments passed as Ferrum thought about what had happened. It was a
curious change. Usually, he had always been the one to initiate any sexual
action with her, but just awhile ago, she was the one who insisted on it.

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and he spoke in a lazy voice, "Alys...
I... I think I should return the favour... No, rather I want to."

She didn't move.

"Alys?"

He then felt it it; the warm steady breath against his neck. She was asleep.
A throaty chuckle was given as he shook his head. "And women complain about men
falling asleep..."

***

Jingle, jingle, jingle... jingle all the way...

Krysta was readychucchuck Spikey into the waters... or at least toss him into
the forge at Hralti's workshop. Having the little golem follow her while she
stealthily lurked around proved to be utterly stupid. It was as useless as her
sneaking up on enemies while wearing a necklace fashioned of noisy glass beads
and dangling cowbells. Luckily for her, the metal menace seemed to understand
the words "sit" and "stay" and did just that at the entrance of the marketplace.

The two men she had seen and had a gut feeling about were seen heading into
the busy area. To make things more difficult however, they had seen her keeping
a careful eye on them. Whenever she came near, they scrambled away.

No matter, she thought, confident with herself as she was hunched down,
lost in a crowd of commonfolk. The two unsavoury men didn't even bother to think
she might try again. Stupid they were, ready to flee at the sight of a tall pale
woman decked in leather.

A smirk curled onto Krysta's lips. Of course, all of it worked in her favour.
If this failed though, she could just abandon strategy for brute strength and
scare them shitless into learning exactly what she was suspicious of.

When the crowd of human cover was near the two men, she ducked and crawled
out, hiding behind a pile of rotting fruits and ragged clothes.

"Alkor," she heard the fat greasy-looking man say. Said he'll take care of
it."

His partner, the skinny man with a twisty beard and shifty eyes locked on the
marketplace entrance, nodded grimly. "I heard that he hired two Iron Wolves to
help him."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Hmmm..." the fat man rubbed his mouth thoughtfully. "Wish I could've at
least had a go at Alys' mouth..."

"Mouth?" the twig-like man repeated, slapping the back of his partner. His
shoulders shook in laughter. "I'm more interested in tossing up her skirt than
grabbing her ears."

Grinning ear-to-ear in a way that made Krysta feel horribly ill, the fat man
nodded. "That too... but... I've heard rumours that she's been on her back for
everyone. Wouldn't want to get a disease from her. ... Got me a future wife and
all, yoow."ow."

Krysta grimaced. I pity her then.

The Twig shrugged again. "Whatever works. I'm just suprised Ormus hadn't
considered a human sacrifice instead of an animal sooner."

Those words made the assassin's blood run cold. WHAT?

Twig then went on to talk about the Ageion Destroyer, about the rumours of
her being revived if they don't perform the ritual in time. "What if it
happens?" he shivered nervously, shaking his head. "If the ritual is a failure,
we're all doomed."

Fatso shuddered, "Don't talk like that. The Enchantress shnevenever be
revived again."

If possible, Krysta's blood froze. Enchantress?! That's all it took
for her to spring into action. She picked up a rotting pineapple and chucked it,
hard.

The tropical fruit smashed into the fat man's head, knocking him off balance.
Krysta put her fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly re sre she then rushed
towards the fat man, her katar aimed at his fleshy neck.

Eyes on the sharp blades, the human twig immediately ran several steps away
from the assassin. He then tripped over Spikey, who was running towards Krysta
like a flash of silver. Not missing a beat, the metal golem leapt onto the thin
man's back and sat down, shifting like a kitten trying to get comfortable.

"Yeow! Get it offa me!" the skinny man roared, thrashing beneath the weight
of the golem. Spikey crossed his arms defiantly. If he could, he would've smiled
snarkily.

He doesn't even weigh that much, you damn weakling, Krysta thought, her
katar not wavering the least. What was Alkor thinking to hire these two
bumbling morons? Her gaze towards the fat man, sweating profusely. "What's
this I heard about the Enchantress?" She narrowed her eyes, her voice
sharpening. "Explain."

Horror filled the assassin's body as the fat man revealed and explained all.
The Ageion Destroyer is the same as the Enchantress. The Enchantress was what
the evil was called first before it found and razed the hidden ancient village
of Ageion.

Shit...so that's what Rune was freaked out about... she thought, ignoring
the jingle and the cry of pain that came from Spikey and the skinny man he was
casually bouncing on top of. Krysta's jaw clenched as she realized something
else. The Gidbinn was the weapon to be used in the sacrifice. From this point,
the best course of action would be to prevent the retrieval of the Gidbinn. No
Gidbinn means no sacrifice and Alys stays alive.

And that meant a happy Ferrum... as annoying as Krysta found him to be at
times, it still wasn't enough to want to see him angry or upset.

***

Slowly... she mentally told herself, trying to pry Ferrum's arms from her
slim waist.

Alys struggled, gently lng ong one of Ferrum's deadweight arms off of her and
away from her. She frowned, her arms shaking as she steadily moved his muscled
arm.

Success!

She knew not how many hours they had slept, but it was nigh time she woke up.
There were two reasons to get up: the first one being food, the second one to
wash herself.

As she crawled away from him, she felt something clamp around her and drag
her back: Ferrum.

He opened one eye sleepily at her and spoke in a groggy voice, "Where do you
think you're going, love?" He nuzzled the soft curve of her calf with a smile.
"Come back to sleep..."

She shook her head, hair swishing. "No, I need to eat."

"Food... bah... I can feed you."

A blush crept up her neck and she still had the faint taste of his potency in
the back of her mouth. "REAL food, Ferrum," she smiled politely. "Plus... I
um... need to relieve myself..."

Ferrum immediately released her ankle with a groan, "Excuses."

She got to her feet, dusting off her skirt. "I'm going to get us something to
eat, I'll be back."

"I'll go with you."

"No," she argued, shaking her head. "You need your sleep. And I want to take
a bath."

Ferrum tried to push himself up but failed and flopped against the ground in
resignation. "Sleep, right... There's a pond around the corner... Don't be long
and be careful," he murmured, rolling on to his side and mumbling some muffled
and foreign words to the rock golem still faithfully sitting nearby.

"I know," she grinned as the golem stood up and followed her as she ascended
up the stairs into the tropical morning with the golem following her, acting as
the guard in Ferrum's stead...

***

Krysta had spent a good part of the night and the early hours of the morning
looking for the druid and for any sign of Ormus or Alkor. Nothing. Sleeplessness
hadn't caught up with her yet. It was due to her strict training. "Sleep is for
the weak," she mumbled to herself as she trudged along with Spikey in tow.

They had found Rune on the docks, asleep, looking pleased with himself. Both
Krysta and Spikey were tempted to kick Rune into the water.

Irritated with his lack of presence from the hours before, Krysta managed to
remain mature by no kicking him awake. Instead, she picked up Spikey and let him
drop onto his stomach as if it were a cushion.

"Urrff...What?! Who, huh?" he jerked awake, his eyes blasted open and his
blade at hand. His pupils tiny in fear, he stared at Krysta for a moment before
he glared at her. "Oh, it's you." A similar scolding gaze was sent to the metal
golem still on his stomach. He shoved the golem aside with a huff. "What do you
want?"

Her temper exploded, "Why didn't you tell me the Enchantress was the Ageion
Destroyer???!" Her fists were propped on her hips, katars dangerously close to
her thighs.

"... You didn't ask."

Her gaze narrowed as she informed Rune of what had been missed. Rune's eyes
rounded and his mouth went slack in horror. "No..." he jumped to his feet,
grabbing Krysta's arm and pulling her back towards the village. "Where's
Ormus?"

She followed his fast pace, fighting his grip. She wrenched her wrist free
from his hand, "I haven't seen him..." her voice trailed, understanding his
meaning. "You gave him the Gidbinn, didn't you?"

He nodded grimly, his fingers dragging through his hair and over his scalp.
"Shit..." He took a deep breath, feeling his composure return as he told
himself, Now is not the time to panic... breathe... breathe...

Turning to the assassin, he ordered her to stay with the village. "I'll go
find Alys or Ferrum. Just remain here, that's your duty."

"What? No way," she argued frowning. "If this is some of that 'You're a
female' bullshit, I--"

"--It's not," he interrupted her, heading towards Alys' small home with
Krysta and Spikey automatically tailing him. "I need to know someone's here and
can protect the village if anything goes wrong."

He kicked the door of the empty house open and found what he was looking for:
Ferrum's blue cloak, neatly folded and set on the table. Seizing it, he turned
to Krysta. Her mouth was open, ready to protest, but he cut in before she could
speak. "You have to trust me, I know it's difficult, but please, Krysta. You
don't get it... you could be put in serious danger."

"Me?" she scoffed, shaking her head. "You're in danger too if you--"

"--Krysta," he interrupted gruffly, his face deadly serious. "I mean it.
Trust me on this. I'm more experienced in this matter. Please guard the
village." He then exited the house, mumbling words foreign to Krysta's keenly
trained ear.

The assassin's standoffish attitude faltered and faded. The dark tones of his
voice reminded her of the time on the boat when he spoke of his time in the Zann
Esu Valleys, "Rune...what's wrong?"

I can feel it starting... he thought with a sigh as several wolves
appeared around the corner of another building to approach him and sit
obediently, "I got a really bad feeling about this... Krysta. It might
happen..."

Krysta's thinly arched eyebrows furrowed, "What might happen?"

Not bothering to answer, Rune dropped to one knee and held out the blue cloak
beneath the wolves noses. They sniffed curiously at it, head turning, nose
twitching, eyes blinking and ears flicking. The druid mumbled more odd words
before standing up. As the pack of wolves took off, rushing into the jungle with
their tails swishing eagerly, Rune followed with a flock of dark birds
descending from the skies to tail him.

***

It's been too long... a voice whispered that caused Ferrum to get up and
retrieve his armour. Strapping it in place, he wondered what made him fear the
worst. Either it was love, paranoia or a sliver of intuition.

It had been too long. Alys was gone too long and, Ferrum knew the moment she
got back, he would scold her terribly for it. That is, IF she came back. It was
that thought that sent the necromancer out of sleep, onto his feet and gearing
up just in case.

So many scenarios ran through his head. What iose ose small demons found
her? What if while taking a bath, she slipped on a rock and hit her head? What
if...? Too many what ifs that it threatened the necromancesanisanity.

Outside the temple, he called out Alys' name. It echoed through the afternoon
sun and into the jungle, but no reply was given.

Bath maybe? he though and turned to round the corner of the temple to
head towards the shallow pond. Two steps from the corner, the breath froze in
his chest. He broke into a sprint at the pond. At the edge of the water,
scattered around, was various tropical fruits, obviously fresh picked.

He picked up a ripe-skinned one and could smell it's sweet juices. He glanced
around, dreading he might catch sight of a dead body... God no...

Instead, he saw a pile of rock debris and a dark puddle in the earth. Blood
most likely.

In the ground were several footsteps. One that belonged to his now destroyed
golem, and two unknown. Neither of them were Alys'... that girl was always too
light on her feet to really make a print as noticeable as these were.

Like a madman possessed, he began to follow the tracks. Running into the
jungle, his eyes downward cast at the prints as he ignored the branches swiping
at his face, he leaped over tree roots, shrubs and other hindering growths. The
trees, the green growth, every form of vegetation flew by him like rapid fire.
His senses were on overdrive as he rushed through the dense jungle, his mind
narrowly focused like a bull rushing to complete it's mission of attackin Exc Except Ferrum's mission was to find Alys and pray that things were not so bad as
he concluded by the blood spots.

His own blood was pounding in his temples. His eyes demanded to see Alys safe
while his hands demanded to see that the two who possibly harmed her to pay with
their lives.

He ran deeper into the forest, deeper into the area he recognized as being
familiar for having ancient carvings, statues, temples and altars. A chill ran
up his spine as he glanced from stone structure to structure, his eyes falling
upon a stone slab. He hated this area...all the villagers murmured prayers to
themselves when the sector was mention or neared; the place was alive with myth
and magic... all evil.

Bits of his dreams flittered into his mind. A horrible knot in his gut formed
as he continued on, fearing for the worst. As he passed Skatsimi structures one
after another, in the far distance he could see five human shapes. He ran as
fast as his legs could will him to.

One was Alkor, another, by sound of his rich voice, was Ormus. Two of which
were Iron Wolves, easily identified by their armour and, with Ferrum's knowledge
of their equipment, it was very likely they were the one who destroyed his
golem.

The fifth shape was Alys and her body, limp, was being held up by the two
Iron wolves. Beside them, Ormus stood, his arms stretched to the sky, holding up
something to the heavens in offering. It was a weapon that Ferrum easily
recognized.

The Gidbinn. But that really didn't matter... any weapon raised to strike
Alys was equal in threat.

His legs burned as his paced increased; exactly the same rhythm and speed of
his heart hammering against his ribcage. Oh God no!!

He was still so many yards away from the altar when Ormus turned to Alys,
raising the dagger high, ready to strike.

So many emotions ran through the necromancer at once. One emotion that lanced
through him so powerfully was horror. Still running and afraid to blink, he
screamed out to her, "ALYS!!!!"

Her head which was lolled back lifted. Awareness glimmered in her eyes as she
smiled. "Ferrum," she murmured so softly that no one else her her. Her sweet
expression was quickly destroyed when she caught sight of the blade in Ormus'
hand approaching her.

His eyes blurred, he bared hieth eth angrily, swearing vehemently. "NO!"
Clutching his bonewand tightly until his knuckles turned white, he continued
running towards them, knowing full well that Alys' life, and his own, depended
on it. His temples throbbed fiercely with pain akin to a slow poisonous death.
If the Gidbinn killed Alys... then he himself would consider his life
over...

_______________________________________________________
Author's note: 
This story was left unfinished.  The lowered-rating version however in
complete.  If you can figure out the .com  to find _fanfiction_ at,
::cough:: it shouldn't be too hard to find.  The reason for the changeover? 
::sighs::  I got quite a few complaints that my stories didn't have enough
sex in it to warrant being worthy of a 'sex' story.  I guess that is
accurate, I try to push more as just a medium between romance novel and a sex
story.  But, yeah.  My constant adding of plot twists and such was
"distracting" according to some harsh criticism I sometimes get.  Anyways,
I leave this here for anyone who do enjoy my writing or will enjoy it.  Not
nice of me to hold back my old work for other people.  Anyways... to people
who are fans of my work, I am truly apologetic, but I do findelf elf happy in
writing plain old rated-R romance-novely stories. ::smiles:: Thank you for your
support.