Chapter 8 - Isolde

“That’s absurd”.

“Is not! I think it’s a great plan, sir”!
 
“Are you sure this is still S-Sarah”?
 
All of you listen!
 
Ever since Astrid had woken up the four of them had been deliberating upon their next course of action. The fighter had calmed down considerably, seeing that Astrid was still much like her usual self. The elf, redressed, was keeping her lewd behavior to a minimum; By order of Aishura, to avoid Roland’s ire, and to try and keep this as normal as possible for Astrid. The witch, was confused. She still struggled to piece together the situation even after Roland’s explanation. 
 
Isolde was gone. 
Sarah was different.
Roland seemed distraught. 
 
The witch tried to remember when they first met, the four of them. It was in some dusty tavern in Dunthrop, a small village nearly two weeks travel from where they now were. Astrid had been banished from her home at the age of thirteen; she was an abomination they said, a magus. For quite some time it was just her, doing housework for families that could afford it, barely scraping by. At fourteen she found a job as a bar-maiden; it was, an ill-fit. 
 
But one day, they walked in. 
 
They were adventurers, young and courageous souls who sought out various things; honor, respect, gold. It was a fantasy she had, to be an adventurer, a break from her dreary existence. She asked herself, “why not?”, surely nothing bad would come of their curiosity. Young Astrid approached the young knight, Roland, and the rest was history. They had spent nearly a year together, as a family. Each one of them had lost their home in some way or another, souls scattered to the wind. 
 
That’s why she loved them, her friends. 
 
Let’s say she’s alive, and that a cave troll took her prisoner…She’s essentially dead none the less, or at least she wishes she was. 
 
“Have some faith, and some sensitivity”! Roland did not take kindly to the monster’s assumptions. Even if things looked bleak Isolde was their friend, they couldn’t count her off just yet. Roland had to have faith; but how far had that got him? He soon realized the naïve nature of his words. Still, the creature didn’t need to speak of her that way, especially in the company of Astrid. 
 
“What would this, troll, do to her”? Astrid was confused, she wanted the truth, but her gut told her she wouldn’t like it,
 
“What we all want…”, Sarah whispered beneath her breath. Her imagination raced when she thought about Isolde and the muscular beast, except her sentiments were quite different from the rest of the groups. 
 
I heard that, be good! Aishura was amazed at Sarah’s behavior, it was just over half a day ago that she was a completely different person, defiant yet afraid. Now she was essentially a succubus, devoid of inhibition. A little manipulation and great deal of slime went a long way. He’d have to keep that in mind, for future reference. 
 
Let’s say we find her, and she’s still ‘salvageable’, what then? This beast is clearly a formidable foe, it nearly killed the four of you with little effort before. 
 
“This isn’t the same as before, we know the creature’s weakness now, head-on”. Roland stood up from the stone floor. “Before it took us halfway through our encounter before we realized his vulnerability to fire. This time we’re ready; we hit the monster head on”!
 
“I agree with you Ro, but clearly this troll is somewhat intelligent, it may see such a straight forward attack coming”. Astrid was trying to formulate a strategy for dealing with the monster, but there was one crucial problem. “My igni based magic drains a great deal of magic. Fire is chaotic, hard to control. Depending how strong you need the blast we may only have one shot”. Astrid felt ashamed, but she knew that such things were beyond her control. 
 
Fair point, and unless we can fight this beast on my turf I’m essentially useless. 
 
Roland crossed his arms, his mind working purely from the standpoint of a tactician. 
 
“Eureka”!
 
“What is it Ro”? Astrid stood up as well, staring up at Roland in puzzled anticipation. 
 
Yes, what is it?
 
“I have an idea”.
 
~
 
Hungry. Lady man-thing. No. Not her. Not. That Hungry.
 
The troll drudged the forest in the hunt for food, such creatures required a large amount of food intake per day to stay health; foraging was always his best gamble. His beady eyes rapidly scanned the forest; if it moved, he’d eat it.
 
For the sake of getting more than one use out of his new toy the troll decided that once was good for now, any more could possibly kill her. Corpses didn’t hold up that long. She was good by man-thing standards, but a deer in heat was still his favorite. 
 
There. 
 
A sound. 
 
An echo. 
 
The troll stealthily crept through the tree line, following the sound of rustling leaves. Footsteps. Two at a time. Another man-thing? Man or Lady? What luck either way, trolls were indiscriminate eaters, and rapist. 
The monster was drawing nearer to the source of the disturbance, he could hear the noise getting closer, anticipation built in the troll’s loins. 
 
Lady man-thing?
 
It was one of the other ladies, from before, most definitely a friend of his property, but wasn’t she dead? It didn’t matter, what luck! He had thought anyone of them that had survived would never return, that he had made them afraid forever… He guessed that some of them must have really wanted to die. 
 
He knew that she had seen him. The hunter and his prey, who would initiate the chase. He was not standing more a mere twenty feet away; him in the tree line, her in a small clearing. 
 
She was smiling. 
 
This infuriated him more than anything else. It was an insult. He enjoyed the struggle. There would be no fun if she enjoyed any part of it, and yet while the beast had been angered, it showed no external signs of such duress. Trolls were cold and unemotive creatures. 
 
She darted, and so he followed. 
 
This man-thing was fast. As if she knew these woods well. I didn’t matter, the hunt had overridden much of his cognitive functioning. All that mattered now was hunger and lust. 
 
The elf darted and leapt of fallen logs as if they were nothing, she was admirable prey. Hopefully a proud creature to be broken.
 
He was close! He could feel it! The wind from her body brushing against his matted hair and gnarled face. This was what he lived for, and what better luck, she was approaching a dead end; a series of fallen boulders and stones. This chase was decided. 
 
No.
 
The she-elf dove elegantly, her body just clearing a series of boulders, barreling into the tunnel below. 
 
Dammit! The beast wanted to bellow but didn’t. How could she have slipped right through his grasp? Nonsense. Utter unfair nonsense. Usually he’d let a prey escape had he no means to reach them, but… but she smiled! How dare she, the indignation of this tasty morsel. To deny being devoured as Krom intended! 
 
The beast paced back and forth, his brow furrowed in anger and disbelief. 
 
No, no, no. No!
 
He approached the debris, his muscles tense and swollen. With no preparation the beast began to toss the boulders and stones aside. He would not be denied. Unacceptable. 
 
The imposing fiend made short work of the blockage, quickly tunneling his way into the earth; surely, he would be rewarded for his diligence. 
 
The creature found itself crouch-walking through the stone tunnels, running its claws amongst the cobblestone pathways. Perhaps this was her hideout, a safe place, perhaps there would be more than one meal; more than one toy. Thick strands of sickly saliva fell from in-between the beast crooked fangs.
 
He drudged deeper. Deeper. Deeper. Until the stone no longer felt like stone. Hmm? This was peculiar. Unexpected. Where was thi-
 
~
 
Now!
 
A torrent of tendrils erupted from the slime soaked walls that surrounded the beast, a myriad of smaller tentacles constraining each of the creature’s limbs. Now this was a worthy foe! It took much of Aishura’s will to restrain the beast as nothing else had ever resisted with such power; still, he maintained his grip on the foul troll. 
 
Roland charged from down the hall behind the beast, “Astrid, now”!
 
The beast twisted its head back in a puzzled fashion, none of this made sense! Soon the creature would stop trying to make sense of anything, and just kill. 
 
From the opposite end of the hall Astrid called back, “Yes”!
 
“Igni morto rapier”!
 
Fire danced around her fingertips once more, a bolt of fire angerly flickering just outside of her reach. Suddenly the flame jutted from her grasp, swirling down the hallway at a rapid speed. 
 
~
 
Of course, it was these man-things. Using tricks to kill. Cowardly vermin. They would pay. First the girl. Then the man. Then this- slime.
 
The troll was no fool, it anticipated the impact of the fire bolt, quickly jutting its head back just in the nick of time. Fools, they had-
 
No.
 
~
 
“Perfect”! Roland was overjoyed, everything was going according to plan. 
 
Soon the fire bolt that whizzed past the monster’s head reached its intended target. Roland’s blade. Runes of flame and fury engulfed the sword’s edge, quickly inscribing themselves into the longsword. 
 
The beast now frantically resisted, fear evident in it’s expression. It knew that unless it moved, it’s fate was sealed. 
 
Now or never sir “knight”! Aishura could not hold this abomination any longer, his very consciousness was beginning to tear at the seams. It was up to Roland, as once again, responsibility had all fallen upon his shoulders.
 
Roland lunged into the air, sword wielded in both hands, striking the beast in its thick and veiny neck. The blade had cut nearly half way through the troll’s neck, thick dark blood was beginning to pool along the gash. 
 
The troll grew lax, bloody tears running from it’s dark eyes. 
 
“Now that, is for getting us stuck in this fucked up situation in the first place”. 
 
The beast gasped for air, shrill grunting sounds emanating from its bound body. 
 
“So,” Roland was panting, “where is the girl”.
 
The beast looked up in amazement, in anguish, in rage. It couldn’t utter a single word if it wanted to, but nor did it want to. 
 
“Ok then…have it your way”. Roland then quickly dragged the sword through the remainder of the beast head, decapitating it with a mighty flourish. Magical flames flickered from the blade, cauterizing the beast neck hole closed. It was dead, for good.
 
The tendrils that bound the creature relaxed, and Aishura was proud, but more so happy that he was not to be ripped apart. 
 
Astrid held onto her hat, jumping up and down gleefully, amazed that they had slain the beast; she knew Ro could do it. 
 
Sarah turned the corner behind Astrid, having missed the excitement. She blinked in confusion, trying to process the scene. Clarence crawled forth from her blouse, doing the same. 
 
The plan had been a complete success. Roland and Aishura knew that the creature was too cunning for an all-out attack, plus their group has several disadvantages; limited fighting potential, area constrictions, no defense. They deduced that the best course of action was a trap, to trick the hunter into becoming the prey. Sarah would be bait, as in the worst case she was relatively expendable. She would’ve potentially enjoyed much of the troll’s treatment. Aishura would assist her as Clarence, a second set of eyes, to remind her of the plan. As the strongest amongst the Aishura was tasked with restraining the beast; he had experience. The troll was no fool. A magical blast was predictable, and could’ve hit Aishura, freeing the troll. That’s where Roland stepped in. Astrid was the distraction, Roland, the guillotine.  
 
W-well… g-good job. Aishura meekly chimed in, worn out from the whole ordeal. He still couldn’t truly grasp the idea that they had killed the beast, together. 
 
Astrid ran to Roland, jumping into his arms. They had done it! That beast wouldn’t harm anyone else; and if Isolde truly had perished, it had paid for her pain. 
 
A blob of slime slid down the wall, Aishura was too exhausted to shapeshift. He squirmed his way over to Sarah, who quickly placed Clarence down in exchange for the large glob of goo. She caressed him in her arms like a child; a child. What a lovely idea. 
 
Roland was overjoyed, hugging Astrid back with a great deal of force. He had done it, slayed a beast, saved his friends… everything was finally coming together. Except, none of that had really happened yet. There was still a monster left. Aishura. Roland glanced back at the fire imbued blade, he still had time before the spell had worn off. Most importantly, he was weak. He looked back to Astrid, her eyes misty with tears of relief and job. He would have to wait. He still didn’t understand the connection the slime had with Sarah, and now Astrid, and didn’t want to endanger their lives. He would wait. All in due time.
 
You two should go search for her, there may be a chance she’s still alive. Trolls are messy eaters, he looked relatively clean. If slime could yawn he would’ve, he was utterly exhausted; he needed to recharge. 
 
“Agreed”. Roland relinquished Astrid, it was time to find their friend. 
 
~
 
It took them nearly two hours to find her, backtracking the troll’s footsteps. Roland found her first; he commanded Astrid not to look. Isolde was covered in the beast's semen, her hair filled with the thick yellow substance. Her breast had been played with extensively, still red from the pulling and slapping that the troll must’ve inflicted. Her body had been bruised and battered, her spirit had been shattered, the once proud Isolde was now truly an unbecoming sight. She was on her knees, her eyes towards the sky. As her friend approached she turned her gaze to him.
 
“R-Ro-Roland-d”? As she parted her lips some of the beast cum ran down the side of her mouth. Roland couldn’t bear to witness her this- broken. He couldn’t move her like this, not at all. 
 
“Astrid, may I use your robe”? His voice sounded hurried; distraught. 
 
Astrid tossed her long robes towards Roland, he quickly used them to wipe her mouth and hide her shame. 
 
“How much mana do you think you have my left little witch”? Roland, in typical fashion, tried to keep things light with Astrid. She didn’t deserve to face things such as this as he had to; no one did, 
 
“No much, a few more minor spells and charms”?
 
“I need a sleep spell, it doesn’t need to be strong, but for Isolde’s sake”.
 
“I-is she ok”?
 
Roland paused. “I don’t know, we’ll do our best to help her when we get back, I promise”. 
 
Astrid approached still trying to shield her vision entirely from Isolde’s crumpled figure. She was afraid of what she might see. 
 
Insomni
 
Isolde’s eyes quickly drooped, a smile formed across her face; rest. 
 
Roland looked to Astrid, now only wearing her traveling underclothes. By the Maker if there was one, he’d get them all out. 
 
The witch looked at him innocently, confused at what was going on, and why? “Roland, are you going to try and kill Aishura”? Astrid wanted to know what Roland was up to, to help him, to be of some use.
 
“Maybe”. Roland couldn’t face her, his eyes had grown teary; not directly because of her question, because of what it implied. Was he even strong enough? That thing was strong enough to battle that monstrous troll, Roland paled in comparison. He had opportunity, and the benefit of an untainted mind, but what did that matter. He was afraid he fail them again, that he wouldn’t be able to protect them. That he’d fail; this time for good. 
 
“I want to help Ro”. She approached him from behind, wrapping her arms around his mid-section.
 
“We have to go little witch, it’ll be dark again before me know it”.
 
~
 
The three walked their way into the dungeon’s heart, the walls covered with considerably less slime. Astara, the battle with the troll truly had drained their new companion. Interesting. Roland was carrying Isolde, he just wanted to find Sarah, so he could set her down; so they could all rest, if only for a while. 
 
Roland had found the elf, but was confused. Usually he’d have heard the slime by now. Some whimsical remark or sarcastic query, things seemed off. Something was off about her. 
 
Sarah was sitting in the middle of the room, nursing an inflated stomach, appearing as if she were nearly ready to give birth. 
 
How had things fallen so low. Roland tried to handle the sight with a straight face. 
 
“Hey guys”, Sarah was trying to speak lowly, “The Master is just sleeping”. 
 
Repulsive.
 
“I-I found Isolde, she’s safe now”. He glanced around the large room, “We’re safe now”. 
 
This was it… the opportunity he needed. Perhaps if he could distance the girls from this place, from that thing. Perhaps then they’d all be safe for good. All he had to do was separate Sarah from Aishura. Maybe he'd come back for her alone, prepared. Roland’s mind was racing now, burning with thoughts of a life after all of this. Of retirement. Of settling down and being a family, together. Putting all this evil behind them. 
 
“We have to go”. 
 
Both Sarah and Astrid looked at him inquisitively, for two different reasons. 
 
“Can we just stay a while longer Ro”? Astrid wearily plopped down on the ground. “I just need a nap, a quick one”. She closed her eyes, exhausted from the long day. 
 
“Why leave Roland”? Sarah looked up at him with a grin, she felt absolutely no reason to ever leave this place. Her stomach twitched and in response she let out a moan of pleasure and content. To her there was no better world beyond these stone walls, "aren't you happy here"?
 
“Because this isn’t our home… we need to be free of this place, to get our heads straight”. A pit formed in the young warrior’s stomach; he didn’t like this at all. Nothing felt right. He hated being in this place, unable to tell whether or not the slime was listening. Wait.
 
Where was the troll corpse?
 
Roland slowly backed away from Sarah, he needed to chart out their escape. Fast. Some way to-
 
He backed into something, but not a wall. There had been no wall there, there could be no wall there. 
 
He slowly turned around, only to be greeted by the corpse of the troll they had recently slain, it’s headless body lurching over him. 
 
Purple slime pulsating on it’s skin. 
 
“No”.
 
Hey Roland, sir “knight”, buddy ol’ pal, friend o’ mine. A familiar voice chimed.
 
The voice echoed throughout his mind. 
 
The thing about me Ro, is that I don’t need to actively control you to hear your thoughts. To hear what you hear, funny how that works.
 
Astrid.
 
Don’t be mad at her, "Ro", she unwittingly played spy of the century; Plus, I didn’t even plan on it! I mean truly, this is some juicy stuff!
 
No.
 
The troll’s corpse grabbed Roland by the shoulders, lifting him off his feet. 
 
I really thought you were a good one. I mean, I know I’m not… but conspiring to kill me? After I had just played a part in saving you all? Low blow, especially from a man of honor and values such as yourself.
 
Roland could not produce words, he was utterly defeated. There was no planning for this, no escaping it. The beast’s cadaver quickly launched him into a nearby stone wall, his body colliding into it with a resounding thud. 
 
I mean, I was going to add you to the family bud! We could’ve been something! Like one of those weird family bands! Aishura sighed, he truly was disappointed. I won’t hurt you anymore Ro. That may come later. 
 
Astrid hoisted herself from the floor and walked over to Roland. His head rang, his muscles failed him, all that remained was his vision. He could see her eyes, a shimmering violet, the fire vanished. She leaned in close, just to where he would hear her whisper. 
 
Insomni
 
~
 
Boy, this one was long, but A LOT of fun to write! I hope you guys enjoyed as always!
