"Ugh… my head…" A swirl of vertigo and confusion struck Lillian hard. She slowly moved her hands, trying to pick herself up. "S-...s- s-... S-so… Tired…"
To Lillian's surprise, her fingers felt outstretched and locked tight in place with a heavy, smooth object.
"What the-? Where am I-?" Regaining her vision, Lillian jolted awake seeing the children cowering inside a wooden cage.
A burst of energy surged, and she attempted to pull herself up, but just as quickly stumbled to her knees. An unexpected weakness far beyond her comprehension suddenly overwhelmed her once again, and a vertigo, once again, took hold.
Feeling the tug of her hand, Lillian glanced back. To her shock and confusion, she discovered her hands encased between two stone slabs, bound together with thick iron chains. At the end of the chains were more of the tall green monsters that ambushed her and the children.
They looked similar to the others tall green goblin-like monster, the only difference being their size were that of an ogre.
The two monsters held her restraints tight in their grasp, their faces unreadable beneath their iron scrap helmet.
Before Lillian could fully process anything else, a solemn and loud grunt filled the room. On order, the guards holding her restraints, slowly and calmly, pulled her away from the children.
"H-hey! Let me go!" She blurted. She pulled back in vain, trying to resist the beast.
Not long after, her back was pressed hard against a wooden pole with her hands forced to her hands forced apart.
"Argh! Let me go!!" she screamed.
Snorts and laughter erupted amongst the other monsters around them. Looking to her side, Lillian finally realized there was an audience of monsters, feasting at tables barely in sight. Some laughed and pointed at her newly displayed pose.
Lillian continued to wrestle with her restraints, trying to break free. However, hearing another loud grunt, she stops. She glanced to the source of the sound, finding the same Chief she fought sitting on full display in his throne made of animal bones.
Alongside the chief of the barbaric monsters were an assortment of three green-skinned women adorned in crude fur clothing. They giggled and flirted around with the chief, with one sitting on his lap.
Trying to gain a better bearing, Lillian scanned the room. The floors were as natural as the forest. The decoration that littered the room were bloodier than anything nature would ever display. And the wall itself looked ready to give way, with the fragile rope that looked prepared to fall apart as the light poured through he cracks.
A stench pierced Lillian's nose. She cringed, trying to focus on the smell of meat and smoke as she forced a glare on the already amused chief. He paid no mind to her, instead partaking in the festivities of the feast along with the women who continued to vie for his interest.
They drank blood, Tore through undercooked meat, and fought amongst each other in a fever of proving their superiority. All the while, the women around the chief giggled, rubbing their hands on his chest and shoulder suggestively.
Slowly, the feast came to a halt. The chief stood and spoke, presenting Lillian and the children for all to see as his trophies.
The women around the chief gaze at Lillian and the children with amused smiles. Seeing the three women's faces, Lillian's eyes widened in shock. "Their eyes… They're… pink?"
The chief sat back as the three women whispered in indistinct bellows and snorts.
Suddenly, the chief issued a new order to his iron-helmed guard. It acted swiftly, approaching the caged children and snatching the youngest of the group.
Panic exploded. The children, terrified, distanced themselves from the warrior as he dragged the child away.
"Let him go!" Lillian yelled.
The warrior brought the frightened child to the chief.
She clenched her hands.
Ignoring Lillian, the chief took a clean spear from one of his men and stabbed the child. The boy screamed in pain, sending shivers down the spines of the children who watched.
With a newly boiling rage, Lillian pulled at her restraints again, trying to break free. However, she was met with an equal force that restrained her to the pole.
Lillian could only watch on as the boy whimpered and cried with shallow breath, and gasped for air. The monster spectators watched, laughed in amusement, with some breaking into a chant.
"Orc! Orc! Orc! Orc! Orc! Orc! Orc! Orc! Or-"
The chief raised his hand, ceasing their chants.
Lillian glared at the smirking, brutish chief. She clenched her hands, half giving up. "Damn monsters!"
Unexpectedly, the chief of the monsters stood and snatched the dying child by the hand, and dragged him toward Lillian. "W-... What is it doing?" He stopped short of facing Lillian and turned to show spectators the dying boy off, as if it were a prize to be won.
"Ooorrg!"
Another of the caged children, Jasaf, was abruptly dragged out and held at knifepoint by another of the chief's warriors.
Lillian helped her breathe, but to her surprise, the chief began to bellow and grunt, as if to formulate a word. Eventually, a broken, yet understandable word was spoken in the demon language.
"
Lillian froze at once. Unsure if she heard the monster correctly.
"
Illian's eyes widened in shock. W-what the hell? Th…Th-they could talk!?"
The chief smirked once again, understanding that she was catching his meaning.
He threw the dying child at her feet.
"
The stone slabs, encasing Lillian's right hand, were released by the monster restraining her.
She looked on in confusion, with her eyes darting to the two children. Seeing this, the captor pressed he knife harder against the boy's neck.
Other warriors followed the captor's lead, pointing their spears at the remaining caged kids.
Slowly, all eyes fell on Lillian. She grimaced, and not wanting to take chances, she followed the chief's supposed wishes. She used her newly freed hand and unleashed a light, healing the child from his fatal injury.
He gasped for life. Not long after, he broke into a whimper, still feeling the echoes of pain.
Finished, Lillian felt an exhaustion hit at once. Her hands trembled. She felt herself becoming much more faint. She steadied her breath, feeling the weight of her eye, heavy.
Lillian clenched her hands. "D-d-damn it. I used too much magic. I still need time to recover."
Suddenly, another body was thrown next to the gasping child. Gazing up, she found another of their bloodied comrades, dying,
"
The captor once again pressed the stone knife hard on Jasaf's neck, terrifying the boy.
"Fine… The only thing I can do is play along for now. I can't die now… Especially not since I'm so close to finally seeing her again."
A soft sense of irony struck Lillian. A sly chuckle escaped her mouth as if reflecting. "I wonder what Kalika would think seeing me like this…"
With much more determination and with greater effort, Lillian forced herself to heal the monster in front of her. After a few minutes of fighting her exhaustion, she managed to heal the monster, satisfying the chief.
With Lillian finished, the two bodies were dragged away.
Both children were thrown back along with the others, and the healed monster was presented for all to see. Cheers erupted, with some even checking on their ally.
"Th-thank goodness."
Lillian watched as the children kept their distance from the two, unsure how to react themselves.
"Whatever these things are, they seem a lot smarter than I thought. They probably expect to use the kids as leverage…"
Through the chaos of the monsters' celebration, Lillian attempted to glare at the chief, but only managed to collapse to the ground, exhausted.
Her breathing shook as she tried to stay conscious and regain what little energy she had. "I…I-I need to rest…
Taking no chances, her captors placed her stone restraints back on her hand and poled her back into the pole.. As soon as I regain my energy, I'll break us free from these monsters."
Her gaze locked on the caged children, and using what little energy she had, she spoke. "
The monstrous green hand of the chief suddenly grasped Lillian's cheeks. He looked at her and laughed in his deep, monstrous voice. He then forced her eyes on him, giving her a good look at his ugly mug as he examined her. With a smile, he spoke once again in a broken demon language.
"
********
Jala and Kajd blazed through the uneven jungle terrain with monsters and beasts of all shapes and sizes on their trail.
The eyes of the beast were locked and ready, and the different creeds in species didn't matter to them as they all ran with one goal in mind.
Food.
With a sting of annoyance, Kajd turned to Jala.
"
Jala, holding Fayelynn's undead mother, glared back ."
"Really? Since we're out here away from prying eyes, would you care to explain who exactly he is?>"
"
"
Jala, sensing an attack from the side, turned his hands. In an instant, a wave of ice encased the jungle and monsters with its embrace.
Not wavering for a second, Jala continued forth, surprising Kajd with his nonchalant display of magical prowess.
"
"
To Jala's surprise, the undead women started moving. Her gaze darted to the right, and her hands outstretched in that direction. "
The two cease glancing in that direction. But just as quickly, it became surrounded by the chasing monsters.
"Grr!" Kajd conjured a spear in his hand. Jala did the same, conjuring his sword.
"
""
A winged beast ambushed from above, meeting its swift end with a blade to the neck. Another wolf-like monster leapt in and charged at the two in the frenzy, marking the start of a bloody onslaught as limbs flew, heads rolled. And the blood of the unfortunate beasts riddled the jungle terrain.
With lightning reflexes, Jala sliced through the crowd of beasts, sparingly using his fire and ice magic to kill and maim his foes.
Sensing an attack from behind, Jala manifested a wave of chilling ice magic, converting the humid air and jungle into a frigid, icy wasteland, stabbing the horde of attacking monsters.
Kajd hid behind a tree, nearly avoiding the attack. "
With the ground monsters dwindling, Kajd and Jala turned their attention to the skies and trees above. They watched on as several ape-like monsters pounced at them, ready to slam them into paste.
"
Unexpectedly, Kajd blocked his view and held his arms out. "
"So you actually plan on using your blood magic?>" Jala listened and watched as Kajd clenched his clawed hands and slammed them into the ground with his bloodied palm. Like a scene from a nightmare, curved blood spikes shot from the ground, stabbing the encroaching monsters without mercy.
With the fight over, Jala looked over the bloodied, chaotic scene of their skirmish with the monstrous wildlife.
"
"
Jala then turned his attention to the direction the undead women struggled to between his arm and waist. Her hands outstretched, not saying even a peep as she attempted to crawl her half body from Jala's arm.
" " They dashed back into the thick forest, breaking past the small trees and big-leafed bushes. Eventually, they finally came across the sound of construction. They ceased and hid behind the oversized trees.
Gazing in the direction of the busy sounds, Jala discovered a village built into a pit wall. The town held an assortment of rounded homes, reached with differently colored roofs ranging from yellow to red, and even a darkened green.
Examining the village further, Jala saw a wooden rope further, he saw a rope bridge built over a running waterfall where streams of water flooded downstream. On the other end laid a huge, lone, strangely shaped round hut at the end that was decorated with skulls and other animal bones.
"Jala," Kajd called.
Jala turned to Kajd, curious. He traced the point of Kajd's finger to the far left side of the big village. There was a huge hole constructed and mined.
""
He watched as several huge carts full of random scraps of armor were hauled from the tunnel. Narrowing his eyes to the scraps, he noticed that craftsmen ship to be of ancient war armor, crafted by their early ancestors.
"Impossible… I wonder…"
" They quickly noticed how over half of the population was green or a dark green, with another small part being the colors of, or close to the colors of their kin and humans.
Jala narrowed his eyes further, unsure what to make of the situation.
" " " " " " Kajd's hand stopped short of touching the tree. He then retreated from the tree and smiled to himself. ""
With an unconcerned gaze, Jala turned to Kajd. "