I am Lena Wolf, Lena's life as it happens Options

[Lena Wolf]

Rain's Hand, 4E204 - Showdown

"We are going to the excavation site," Lena turned to her pawns. "They keep pawns as slave labour there, they have Godsway all over the place, I shall try to shield you but cannot guarantee it. You will get headaches at best or you will fall under their control at worst. There is no telling what will come to pass... If you'd rather not go, leave now."

Rook and Mason didn't move but their fighter shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"I'd rather not go there, master," he said, blushing. "My will isn't that strong... I prefer to return to my own master instead."

"Good luck in your future endevours then, and thank you," Lena nodded and smiled. "No hard feelings at all. After all, we are going into the jaws of hell... No pawn should be going there."

He dithered a little, then turned and walked away.

"Into the jaws of hell, then," Mason looked resolved. "I am not quitting. If I die there... it's been an honour."

"Don't say that," Lena shook her head, hugging him. "I hope no one will die... that's not the plan, anyway..."

"I am ready," Rook straightened his back. "Do you want me to lead? I know the way."

Lamond was standing slightly behind them, watching.

"Two pawns, two Arisens," he rubbed his chin. "I wonder... You may find yourself torn." He looked at Mason and Rook. "I heard that Godsway amplifies an Arisen's power as well... So that even mine may come through. It will be up to you to try and evade danger. And then there are all those other pawns there..."

"Enough deliberations," Lena put her hand on the hilt of her dagger. "We cannot predict what will happen. Let's go."

...

They approached the excavation site without an incident. They entered the camp and did not get challenged, and neither Rook nor Mason noticed any influence of Godsway.

"It is through those gates," Rook pointed at a sturdy gate leading up the hill. "The pawn camp and the works are there. This is it."

They entered the pawn camp. It brought a flood of memories for Lena, but she steadied herself, trying to focus on the scene at hand. A lot had changed since last time, after all, the excavations continued.

"The cells were that way, were they not?" She turned to Rook, pointing at a tunnel entrance. "Scorpio must be there."

They entered the mine. The dimly lit corridor made a few turns, then opened up to a long hall, cells lining the walls. Two guards stood looking bored, the pawns inside the cells barely looked up. The cell at the back was curtained off on the inside. Lena rattled the door, but it was sturdy, and it was locked, she could not see through the curtain.

"Hey, what are you doing?" One of the guards snapped at her angrily. "That cell is off limits!"

"Just that one?" Lena squinted at him. "What about the others?"

"The others as well," the guard fingered his sword. "Get lost! You have no business here."

"Let's go," Rook said in Lena's ear, taking her by the arm. "We should find the key."

She scowled at the guard but followed her companions out.

"I feel no Godsway," Rook said quietly, having pulled them into an alcove without torches. "It only has a limited range, so if we stay clear, it won't affect us."

"Clear of what?" Mason looked around nervously. "I don't like it."

"The overseer has a staff with a Godsway crystal," Rook explained. "A great big crystal glowing red. Unless they've got more of them now... I wouldn't know."

"The overseer probably also has the key to the cells," Lena noted. "Which means you stay back and I'll go alone."

"You stay back and keep watch," Lamond looked at Rook and Mason. "Keep your heads clear, if you can. We'll go about getting the key."

...

"He's in that house," Lamond peeked into an open window of one of the stone houses on the site. "I can see his staff, too. It's Godsway but it will cast any other spell as well, make no mistake."

"I'll get the key." Lena slipped to the front of the house and pushed the door, but it was locked or barred from inside.

"Who's there?" The overseer shouted, looking out the window. Lamond moved back into the darkness. "Guards! Who's rattling my door?" Guards from several directions ran towards the house, but Lena already moved back too. This was not going to be easy.

"Wait until he falls asleep," Lena whispered to Lamond when the guards resumed their posts. "I'll go through the window and get the key."

"Will he still be alive after that?" Lamond grinned.

"No, he won't."

There was nothing else for it but wait.

...

"Guard!" The overseer stood in the door frame with a scroll in his hand. "Take this to the lab with all haste. I feel trouble brewing..." A guard took the scroll and sped off. The overseer peered into the darkness around the house, shut the door and bolted it from inside. He looked out the window again, then finally lay on his cot without undressing, still clutching his staff.

"He's nervous alright," Lena breathed to Lamond. "I doubt he'll fall asleep. Watch the guards. There's no point in waiting any longer." She pulled down her hood and leapt through the window. There was a scream, noise of a struggle, then a bang of metal against stone and a heavy crush. All that commotion did not go unnoticed and several guards set off towards the house. Lamond readied his sword, but still kept to the shadows. Finally, Lena emerged from the window and they dashed from the scene just as the guards surrounded the house. The door was still barred, and it took a few moments before one of them leapt through the window and discovered what had occurred. By then Lena and Lamond were near the tunnel to the cells, with Rook and Mason joining them.

"Quick, before the word gets around!" Lena motioned them to follow.

It wasn't hard to overpower the guards. She unlocked the door of the curtained off cell and pulled back the cloth to let in the torch light from the hall. Then she froze. Scorpio was chained to a crucifix on the back wall, held off the ground with cuffs around his ankles and wrists, a collar around his neck pulling his body back. His breathing was laboured, his eyes half open, with only the sclera showing through, bloodshot and yellowed. His body was covered in cuts, bruises and warts and a large dark patch was spreading on the side of his abdomen... It was exactly what she had seen in the crystal ball. She felt all life drain from her, and if Lamond hadn't caught her, she would have collapsed.

"It's bad, very bad... but he is alive," Lamond said in her ear. "We are not done yet, Arisen. Your pawn needs you now."

A moment later loud noises were heard from the entrance as guards were rushing in.

Hearing Mason engaging the guards and Rook casting a shield, Lena jolted back to life, her anger turning to rage. She tore through the guards as a flaming fury even before Rook enchanted her daggers. Seconds later the guards were merely corpses.

Several more waves of guards tried to enter the cavern, all to meet the same fate.

Finally the camp was quiet. The pawns in the cells were shaking off the stupor of Godsway.

"Let us out, we'll help," one of them called out to Lena. "That key should unlock all the cells... Whatever you did, lifted the haze... somewhat... We're yours to command, Arisen!" He smiled. Lamond picked up the key and started unlocking the doors.

"Stay alive," Lena said to all the pawns. "Or return to the Rift. No pawn must die outright tonight. Trouble is coming." The fight was far from done, it was merely a pause before reinforcements arrived, summonned by the overseer's scroll sent just before his demise.

Not wasting a moment, they released Scorpio's cuffs and chains and laid him down. He was still unconscious but his eyes were moving behind the eyelids.

"Keep him alive," Lena nodded to Rook who was already incanting a spell. "This will hurt." Unflinching, she cut open one of the warts on Scorpio's body ignoring the blood and puss jetting out. The pain made Scorpio twitch, but there was no time to waste. Another cut revealed a crystal embedded into the flesh, she dug it out with the tip of her dagger. The cavity filled with blood. The crystal fell to the floor and she crushed it. One down. Dozens more to go.

...

They heard noises coming from the camp - reinforcements were on the approach. Lena had cleared most of the warts on Scorpio's body but some still remained. Rook's healing was enough to close his wounds, and he seemed stable for now.

"If Ambrosius or Phaesus come here, make sure to keep them alive!" Lena addressed the pawns in the camp. "I have need of them. Everyone else - do as you see fit."

Two or three waves of guards and soldiers stormed the prison compound, but the narrow tunnel leading to it allowed for easy defence. The pile of bodies was forming a barricade of its own. With the situation under control, Lena resumed squashing warts on Scorpio's body. Finally, she was done.

With the last bit of Godsway crystal crushed and the pawns breathing a sigh of relief, she knelt over him looking into his face. Yet no miracle occurred and he remained unconscious.

"That was to be expected," Rook said softly. "But he is alive, and that's the best you can hope for now."

Lena was just going to say that there was still the matter of the dark patch on his abdomen, but battle noises made her look up - another wave of reinforcements was upon them, greater than before. She joined the battle, her daggers blazing.

"There! That's the Arisen!!" Someone shouted further ahead. "Get her!!!"

She twisted and turned, evading the onslaught of heavily armed guards, having no illusions that a single hit of such a sword or a spear would kill her. She wanted to get to whoever gave the command, the voice seemed familiar. And then she saw him - Ambrosius was casting a spell. She lunged but was too far away, her throwing knife nicked his skin and interrupted his casting, but he moved and two heavily armoured guards were now blocking her way...

"Formless Feint," she thought - a master maneuvre she picked up from the local assassins. "Now's the time!" She rarely found herself in such a tight spot and hoped that the lack of practice would not cost her her life this time. A twist, a lunge, a puff of smoke - and the guards missed their mark. Jumping between them, her daggers extended, she cut two throats at once. "Phew!" She landed in a crouch, watching the guards slump to the ground. She looked up - Ambrosius was just ahead, casting his spell... Searing pain hit her chest, and for a moment she blacked out.

...

"It's done, you got him," Lamond helped her up. "We've defeated all the guards. Ambrosius is ready for you."

Slightly bewildered, Lena decided not to argue. Battle statistics could always be handled later, and it really didn't matter who delivered the final blow. Ambrosius had been captured and she needed a chat.

"You found your pawn but you're too late," Ambrosius scowled at her. "Strong as he is, no pawn can withstand the spread of Dragonplague. That patch will consume him."

"Dragonplague?" Lena was taken aback. "The disease that jumps from pawn to pawn and brings death and devastation in the end?"

"That's the one," Ambrosius grinned. "Pawns contract it from drakes and dragons through contact with dragon blood. They are related, you see... or at least Lord Phaesus thinks so. May be. But regardless... Your pawn has had enough dragon blood pumped into him to kill an army! You lost, Arisen." He glared at her, watching Lena's face turning gaunt. "But tell me..." he looked puzzled now, a scholar in pursuit of knowledge above all else. "Why do you care? He is but a pawn... And how it is that he still lives?"

Lena glared back down at Ambrosius and said nothing. She walked over to Scorpio and knelt over him again. His wounds were no longer bleeding and his pain must have lightened up in Rook's care. His breathing improved, his face, although still heavily bruised, looked calm. She pressed her cheek to his and whispered in his ear: "I came for you... Forgive me that it took so long... Stay with me and I'll stay with you till the end of times..."

[Lena Wolf]

Rain's Hand, 4E204 - Cold flame

"Enough of that!" A mage with a Godsway staff walked into the prison block of the excavation site. He slammed the end of his staff against the floor and every pawn collapsed in agony. "You found your poor pawn, I see," he turned to Lena. "Well, you are too late! There is no cure for the Dragonsplague."

"That isn't actually true, Phaesus," Lamond stepped forward.

"Nonsense!" Lord Phaesus scowled. "Yes, Dragonsplague can be passed on to another person, thus curing the original carrier... even such an advanced form as this one. But in all our trials, passing on infected blood killed the recipient, whether human or pawn." He paused, looking at Lamond quizzically, then turned to Lena. "So if you wish to cure your pawn, all it takes is for you to take over his infection. All of it. All the dark blood in that patch. Trouble is, you will die before you are even half way... So go on. Both of you will be dead then." He smirked with disdain. "And if you think you can force anyone else to take it on... Dragonsplague is a peculiar illness. It has to be passed on in its entirety, you cannot spread it between several subjects. We've tried. Your pawn has been exemplary... so very long lived. You've got a bond beyond the basics, I suspect that's what sustains him. Perhaps he even has a piece of your soul..." Lord Phaesus paused, watching Lena who could not help flinching. "Ah... indeed. Well, no matter. He will die, and so will you."

Lena's first impulse was to kill him. It must have reflected on her face because Lord Phaesus quickly cast a shield around himself, he was an exceptional mage. Lena's blood was boiling with rage and despair, her judgement was clouded... what to do? She ran out of the cavern... was Godsway affecting her too? How could it? She was no pawn... "Godsway affects the Arisen as well as the pawns," she recalled Lamond's words earlier. Why did he know so much about the matter? He never explained how he knew Lord Phaesus... Whose side was he on? Was there still a side to be taken? Or was everything really already lost..?

Lena shook her head - that wouldn't do. The situation called for a cold, calculated response, not her usual hot-headed impulse.

"I know about it because I crossed paths with Phaesus before," she heard Lamond's voice behind her. "As did the oracle that you consulted. As did most other Arisen. He seeks us out, one way or the other... us or our pawns."

"Is it true, what he said about the Dragonsplague?" Lena asked cautiously. She so wanted to trust Lamond... but she was also cooling off, with her judgement becoming guarded. "Is it true that all is really lost?"

"It is true what he said about needing to pass it on fully," Lamond spoke slowly, watching Lena. "You can trust his research, he values knowledge above all else. It is also true that no mere mortal... not even an Arisen, and no pawn can take it all and not die before it's done. The size of that patch... it's beyond belief." He stopped talking. Lena turned away.

She paced the pit of the excavation site, looked at the sun just visible behind the high cliffs... Was that the end that the Sphinx spoke of? "You will reach the end when you find the beginning," she had said. "You will not reach the end until you collect all the strands." Had she collected them all? She thought she did... the crystal ball was the oracle, the brother was Lamond, the sword of sorrow was her Godsbane, the grains of sand in the desert... She recalled the man blinded by his drive to provide what his loved ones did not want... "Take stock of what really counts..." Was she still going after her missing heart? Was that even important any longer? She felt emptiness and pain in her chest... It's been so long since she felt a heartbeat... She used to press her ear to Scorpio's chest and listen to his heart... Would one heart be enough for them both?

"The cold flames..." She suddenly realised that one strand was still missing. "If that's what it takes... very well."

She straightened her back, determination returning to her features. Lamond watched, nodded and smiled. "You've made up your mind, sis," he came up behind her. "I'll be watching your back." Lena returned to the cavern.

...

The scene there was the same as before, it appeared that Lord Phaesus had been waiting for her, not expecting to be attacked. He still had his shield up, but otherwise seemed relaxed. Ambrosius looked nervous in his cell, especially since Lord Phaesus made no attempt to free him. The pawns were cowering with pain, unable to move. Scorpio was still lying on his cot, unconscious as before.

Lena took it all in as she entered and walked straight over to Scorpio, not even glancing at Phaesus. Lamond blocked the entrance to the hall. No one would go in or out.

With a flick of her dagger, Lena opened the wound in Scorpio's side and dark, viscous liquid started oozing out. She knelt over it and drank.

...

"Have to drink it all..." she thought, watching the patch shrinking as she ingested more and more of the dark blood. "But that's a lot... That indeed will kill me... unless..."

"I can help you, Dragonborn!" A voice spoke in her head. "Just say the word... You can have it all, and it will only make you stronger! Or die, like cattle..."

She hesitated. Was it indeed the only way?

"You can now transform at will," a voice of a memory spoke. "Just think it... All you need is blood."

She stood up. She had drunk perhaps half of what had to be drunk, but her head was spinning and she was loosing feeling in her legs... She saw Lord Phaesus watching her with interest, expecting her to collapse. She removed her lorica exposing her upper body... "Just think it..." She'd never done it before, not to that extent. "Transform..."

She felt warmth drain away from her, replaced by cold fever. Her fingertips started to tingle with a familiar feeling, growing long, rounded claws... her fangs re-emerged... her eyes, she had no doubt, turned red... and something else... something new... her skin pulled tight and hardened, like armour... there was a sharp pain in her back... and her feet no longer felt the ground...

She heard a gasp. She opened her eyes.

"What..?!" Lord Phaesus backed off, a flash of panic in his eyes. "How..?" He pointed his staff at her, ready to fire a spell...

It took but a moment. She leapt at him, her wings carried her high, away from Phaesus's magic bolt. One swing, and she smashed his staff, the Godsway crystal cracking in two, Lamond crushing the rest into dust. Phaesus' magic shield fizzled out and he backed against the wall. A higher vampire in its winged form was hovering over Phaesus, its cold breath forming icicles on the wall. "All you need is blood..." a memory kept pulsing in Lena's mind - she was famished.

With the Godsway crystal destroyed, pawns started to regain consciousness, but seeing a vampire in its full glory, many backed off into the depths of their cells - it wasn't really their fight, after all.

"Behold the cold flame," Rook said to no one in particular. He shot a glance at Lamond who was still barring the exit, they exchanged nods and Rook unlocked Ambrosius' cell. Ambrosius backed into the furtherst corner.

"Blood..." the thought kept pulsing in Lena's mind. "All you need is blood..." Her senses led her to the one victim with pure, untainted human blood... Ambrosius.

...

Nourishment brought some warmth to Lena's limbs and cleared her head. Pale as a sheet, Ambrosius collapsed in his cell. He wasn't dead, but wouldn't even make for a modest breakfast, Lena thought. Without a word, she returned to Scorpio's side and continued drinking the dark dragon blood from the patch.

"You disappoint me, Dragonborn," she heard a voice in her head. "But have it your way... embrace my gift! It saved your life today."

"Go away, Molag Bal," Lena thought lazily. "I am busy."

...

"What are you going to do now, vampire?" Lord Phaesus was looking at Lena in disgust as her features were turning gaunt again with all the infected dragon blood that she had consumed. "It won't kill you, granted... But where will you go? You are now a monster just like all the others in this world, there to be hunted and killed... I win again, methinks."

"Perhaps..." Lena folded her wings and walked over to him. "Would you like to give me some of your blood? Tainted with Godsway as it is, but I'll accept it. What say you, Lord Phaesus?"

"Have you gone mad?!" He cried out, backing off. "No!!"

"Ahhh... We'll see." She smiled and cast a spell. Lord Phaesus dropped to his knees, his robe slipped down his shoulder revealing his neck.

"Mistress..."

...

Once fed, Lena regained her human form. Her eyes were still red and she still had the fangs, but her claws became nails and her skin looked pink, if a bit pale. Her wings retracted completely. Her vampirism was receding, all she needed was a little more blood... a few more feedings would make it completely recessive. It was time to leave. Lamond unblocked the entrance and the pawns walked out in search of the nearest riftstone to take them back to the Rift. Only Mason and Rook remained. Ambrosius was still alive in his cell, pale as a sheet. Lord Phaesus too was alive, and not much worse for wear; he was making notes in his little book, looking at Lena with a newly found fondness. Then finally Scorpio regained consciousness.

Sitting up with difficulty, he looked around the room.

"What have you done..?" He stroke Lena's cheek as she sat next to him. "You can't go biting necks, you'll get arrested," he smiled.

"Ah, but I have a thrall," she smirked, jerking her head towards Lord Phaesus. "You survived. Forgive me that it took me so long."

Although Scorpio was conscious, he could not walk, so rather than trying to teleport to the city, they decided to move to the main camp and occupy the buildings there. Lena also had to stay out of sunlight for as long as her vampirism was active. Then everyone realised that it had been two days since their last meal... what with all the goings on they had no chance to eat, and so mundane activities took over. Corpses of all the guards killed in the past few days started to smell, too, and had to be thrown into the sea. In a word, there was a lot to be getting on with.

A few days later Scorpio was well enough to walk and Lena's vampirism finally went in remission, her eyes turning amber again and her fangs receding. A slight gauntness in her face still reminded them of all that came to pass... that, and Lord Phaesus still looking at her with fondness.

"What did you do to him?" Lamond asked watching him once again sliding his robe back to reveal the neck with many bite marks on it. "It looks like he's craving you feeding on him."

"That's exactly how it is," Lena nodded. "A strain of vampirism I picked up in Skyrim... He is not a vampire himself but he is infected nonetheless. He craves being fed on. It is so useful to have a compliant thrall."

"Just like having a compliant escort," Rook grimaced with a shudder. "Don't remind me."

"How come you know so much about Godsway, Lamond?" Lena realised that she never asked him that question. "It's almost like you tried it yourself..."

"I have," he nodded. "When I lost my pawn..." He paused, watching Phaesus make notes about something. "The Legion gave me another, but we didn't connect... The pawn would follow my commands and fight without reproach, but his heart wasn't in it... Perhaps it is a common thing, I do not know, but my first one was not like that."

"It's common enough..." Mason nodded. "I've seen it many a time."

"Well then..." Lamond looked at him and smiled. "Perhaps it wasn't my fault. But I thought that it was... that my will wasn't enough... and I heard that Godsway could amplify an Arisen's will. And so I sought out Phaesus... who was all too happy to give me a steady supply..." He paused, then took a sip of his Newt Liqueur. "You can imagine the rest. A nice bit of research. My dragon came and I failed to slay it. My pawn returned to the Rift. I am now but a drunk..."

"I am sorry..." Lena hugged him around the shoulders. "That's tough."

"Don't cry for me, sis," Lamond patted her hand. "I could help you, and thus it was not all for naught. What do you plan to do with him now?" He looked at Lord Phaesus.

"Kill him," Lena shrugged. "What else? That's the merciful thing to do. But first... there is another loose end."

She walked over to him.

"Tell me, Lord Phaesus," she spoke quietly. "Why would the oracle not speak about Godsway?"

"Because that's what keeps her away on her plane," he shrugged. "The insense she burns - that's what makes her appear as a ghost. Deny her that, and she'll regain her human form, whatever left of her... withdrawal can be severe... Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Lena smiled and walked away.