“The Vault? You mean all the artefacts from the age of fire and war? The Demon Wars and the Draconic Wars had ended so many lives in so many terrible ways… I don't know whether the Empire is a good curator for such items but certainly letting them be free beyond the confines of the Vault will only end in misery for us all.” Lord Stormwind of the Protectorate of Stormwind Isles, 1645 Grand Mage Autocracy foundations.

1509.04.07 S’Vesstar, Varsh

  The wagon and horse rode hard on the road to Fort Julius. Dust clouds billowing across the horizon as the sun started to set. Oakarn and Rotkar took the refugee teens off of the road that morning and lightened the load so that Ivalinna could rush Ada to the fort. Ada felt weaker now. Travelling far and fast had taken a toll on her body and that toll wasn’t certainly ending this evening. Her body was badly bruised and badly infected once again. Breathing had become hard and Ada’s skin was unnaturally pale and clammy.

   “Dalen…” Ada softly called out, her body feeling heavy yet weightless as the wagon hit irregularities of the road they were on.

   “Hold on Ada! Not much long, please not much longer” Ivalinna knew that Oakarn could not have helped her any, the infection of Blight in Ada’s body had gotten so much worse now. She seemed to call out random names and not remember why or who she was calling out too. Dalen was another name amongst many, though when Ivalinna heard her call out Kelly in the same weakened delirious state.

   No no no! This is not how Kelly would’ve wanted this to go, how everything is falling apart so fast! Ride Ival, come on! No sense in slowing down now.

   Ada was feeling so tired, something about her breathes she knew there was something wrong and yet here she was. Muscles ached yet numb, breathing shallow and mildly suffocating at the same time. The heavy white cast that had been where her wound was had been removed many night ago but for some reason she still felt the heaviest weight on that side. Ada was on her right side attempting to cushion the rattling wagon and its equestrian engine allowing it to tear across the evening road. The horse itself determined to make the trip was starting to falter.

   “Shit, fuck shit…” Ivalinna slowed the horse down, it would need another break before they could ride hard like that again. When the wagon finally stopped Ivalinna hopped back.

“Look at you! Still alive!” Ivallina tried not to sound surprised but Ada knew she looked worse and worse as the moments drew on.

    “My caretaker tries..” Ada’s voice listed somewhat “Hard to breathe, wagon doesn’t cushion much.”

    “I know I know.” Ivalinna lowered her hood so her full white hair could be let down more loosely and as the dark elf ran her fingers through her hair to pull it back into a ponytail.

    “We just need another day’s ride to the fort and I can probably ride slowly during the evening here.”

    “I don’t know Ival… This has been my longest day.. So far”

    “Well Ada you were always a fighter, come on are you telling you can’t do one more day.”

    “I will try” Ada coughed and doubled over forcing Ivalinna to catch the human. Ivalinna laid her back down to the spot she'd been trying to sleep in.

    “Oak said I gotta try to clean this thing each rest stop we make so I will try to make it quick.” Ivalinna didn’t wait for a response from Ada and began undressing to redress the wound. Black icor had managed to soak through the dressing which made Ivalinna’s heart sink faster and faster.

    “That doesn’t look good.” Ivalinna said out loud without realising it. Ada tried to laugh but ended up coughing and having to get caught doubling over once again.

    “I don’t feel well Ival”

    “Shh shhh, we will get you through this Ada. You just gotta hold on. Try and think about what we’ll be doing in Julius when you are getting better yeah?”

    “Ival…” Ada’s grip on the dark elf’s shoulder was fading and soon was slipping.

    “I’ll shit.. I’ll get you some water” Ivalinna scrambled to find the waterskin, the wound undressed looked horrifying. Not only was the muscle tissue rotting away to a purple brackish goop, the remaining structure around it seemed to exist as a portal of melting meat and bone. Parts of Ada’s exposed rib bones had ripples of black hair thin veins feeding this same goop to a strange black sac hanging in the human woman’s body. Strange black blue lichen hung like embedded dinner plates feeding from their own black little roots and veins.

    “What the…” Ivalinna’s voice trailed off

    “Ival I feel strange.” Ada had new strength to her voice.

    “Ada I don’t think I can clean this, we weren’t riding for very long. How can this happen?”

    “I don’t understand Dalen” Ada’s eye’s seemed to glaze over and the black inside her body began to give off a sickening green hue behind its amniotic sac. It pulsed.

    “Thank you Dalen over course Dalen.”

    “Ada, are you speaking to that thing?”

    “I have had a vision, Ival. I have had a vision of what our world is!” Ada spoke with energy now and with purpose, her skin slowly stitching its rotted parts together.

    “Ada what’s going on? How are you healing? Is that even what that is?”

    “Ival.. Dalen needs my body, Dalen needs my body, Ival. I am a destined sacrifice for the gods”

    “What? No, we need to get you a healer!”

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    “Hea-” Ada spat black goo, like it was interrupting her.

    “I am a destined sacrifice Ival, A healer would be wasted effort.”

    “No!” Ada’s eyes rolled in the back of her head and black veins could be seen crawling across her neck and facial features.

    “This vessel will birth your new god mortal, I am the apocalypse engine! I am which ends all! I will eat all! I will create all! Nothing will not be in my image as I parade my glorious corpse across the cosmos. I am Legion! I am Death! I am your new Queen..” Ada slumped over as the veins retreated, her breathing slowed but deep and her eyes fluttering in apparent dreaming state. Ivalinna sat in shock.

    What the fuck

    Ivalinna sat in dazed wonderment, something healed her or was sustaining Ada in some way.

    But what could that be and is that meat sack’s name is Dalen?

    Ivalinna didn’t notice Ada’s eyes open but if she had she would see the blackened pits they had become. Ada’s head turned slowly and regarded Ivalinna the same way an animal might regard another as prey.

    “Ada? Whoa your eyes? What is this?”

    “Ivalinna….” A deep grating voice like two stones rubbing together to speak rumbles underneath the voice of Ada’s most neutral tone.

    “Ada?”

    “Hush child of flesh and bone,” Ada’s body breathed in deeply and then breathed out.

    “Ivalinna, you are a noble’s child, somewhere in the east lies your home but not where you were born.”

    “Of course that is where I was born I am from Soecea I know where I am lived before.”

    “You were born the moment gold and blood became your fixation. You are a mercenary that masquerades as a hero. Your arrows will have only taken lives, you have saved no one and your justifications have enslaved hundreds.”

    “What are you? Am I talking to the sack? How dare you! I have saved many people!”

    “And yet you have cursed me, caused me to exist.”

    “Give Ada back.”

    “Your friend is dead”

    “DEAD!” Ivallina grabbed the being’s collar and pulled it closer to herself, it pushed her away with ease.

    “I know not what I am, only that you are responsible, the blight has infected this being’s very soul. I can feel her warmth and sacrifice with each passing second. You are correct mortal, this one was a fighter.”

    “You will die, you piece of undead trash!” A grating chuckle was Ivallina’s response. Instinctively the dark elf grabbed her blade and dash out of the wagon. With a fluid motion Ivalinna had managed to throw her hood back up and fall into a Rennish sword stance holding a long thin blade above her head expecting a fight. The creature simply stood up, and walked out of the wagon

    “I have to thank so many of you for ensuring my host lived this long. I hadn’t even realised this one was human. Her spirit is strong.” Darkness shrouded the surroundings normally making it harder to see. Ivalinna had trained to fight in the bottom of ships and in tight spaces, she didn’t need to see to fight and her golden elven eyes allowed her to the sharp movements surrounding this creature as it seemed to stretch and pull at itself.

    “The Blight…. The Blight is a source of life and death mortal, it will sustain this form and allow it to sustain itself but the Blight will even kill me at some point. This however is not today nor will be for a while. If you wish to fight mortal know only that you’ll lose.”

    “You killed my friend!”

    “Your friend was going to die anyway, I am but a consequence of her death.”

    “Her name is Ada!”

    “Mortal you will lose if you try to stop me.”

    “You aren’t leaving until you give her back!”

    “Her soul cannot sustain this body and mine refuses to let you kill me.”

    “You have no soul monster!” The creature simply chuckled again, bone-like blades   sprung forth of the forearms of Ada’s mottled and stitched body. The creature stretched now more fully, seemingly growing new bone and sinew at a supernatural rate. A new length of leg as a second kneecap was snapped into place causing Ivalinna to go into a cold sweat.

    In all that is Hera… I’ve never seen anything like this

    The creature was still chuckling, Ivalinna stood firm but her mind and legs screamed for her to run. Shaped more like a gorilla now the creature moved its misshapen form with surprising grace and lith of form.

    “You really think that toothpick is going to hurt me?” Ivalinna wondered the same thing. Her sword was more made to slice.

    I guess I’ll just have to hope.

    Holding her stance firm still, the creature hesitated, it had recognized something and instead started pacing around.

    “I do love a meal that fights back, or do you plan to toy with me… Ivalinna.” The monster toyed with the dark elven warriors name. None of Ada’s form was recognizable from the body that was once there before, stretch marks of rapidly healing and tearing flesh that was still levelling out the creature in how it walked towards Ivalinna before suddenly charging. Ivalinna spun on her heel before using a wide low stance to brace the scimitar in such a way that she ended up cutting the creature end to end. Stunned and spitting black purple ichor it turned to face Ivalinna again but this time with a maddened look.

    Flexing claws as the being’s body repaired itself, the regeneration of its wound slowed the creature's growth by half a factor. Ivalinna’s heart pounded in her chest, one of the creature's claws had indeed torn into and through her armour and she was now bleeding. Her wounds were otherwise cosmetic as far as she could feel but that could be the adrenaline as she watching the creature hunting her now. It was now limping away, at first Ivalinna thought it strange it was running away until she realised what it was running for. Using its massive arms it pounce high above the horse below it. Ivalinna gave chase only to see her horse becoming subsumed by the creature. The horse barely had time to cry out before becoming a part of this amalgamation of flesh. The horse's old hooves became four spear-like limbs carrying the rest of the creature now which had four newly mutated claws ready to tear Ivalinna to ribbons.

    Fire, fire burns flesh that will have to work!

    “I am impressed mortal, your body will be an asset for us… Ivalinna…” There was a second mouth on the creature, speaking with both mouths it had an odd cacophony of sound. Soon the voices harmonised.

    “IVALINNA!” The creature taunted as it attempted to round her out again, the dark elf knew she needed to move. Unsnapping one of her many hidden belts she changed her stance.

    “You're a fool if you think demonkind will suffer to walk free, your kind would destroy this plane.” The horrific two headed four armed four legged dagger like flesh spider could only stare and move with its unnatural hunger. One more hissed at her as the other attempted to pull free as it saw something else.

    “Brother…. This one's desires something larger…”

    “The mortal needs to die, it jeopardises too much.” It stopped in motion quarrelling it two minds until the creature had a tantrum in place. Like some disgustingly sized gorilla with the temperament of a toddler smashed earth and cart and Ivalinna took it as her chance to escape. Snapping her finger with a touch of some yellow powder the fuse on the belt was lit and Ivallina threw the leather strap at the monster.

    Soaring through the evening sky a sudden burst of fire lit up the creature as the belt smashed against the creature. Glass vials inside the ouches carried oil that had now become lit. Inhuman screeching could be heard as Ivalinna ran back south hoping to retreat and find the others. Maybe Oakarn would know what to do about this new monster that trashed and smashed the road and land underneath it. Somehow still alight by the time Ivalinna disappeared from view.