Chapter Text
The bottom of the new trench wasn’t the ground. But the forceful impact was breaking the surface tension of water.
Her eyes open to a burning sensation from the freshwater, and there’s a light above her, from what? Adaine can’t tell as her lungs quickly fill with water, instead of the harsh coldness of the Mountains of Chaos is what’s on her mind. The Sword of Sight is in the corner of Adaine’s vision only briefly before it sinks deeper into the pitch black water.
Boggy swims closer to her while Adaine’s eyes are already drooping with exhaustion. Her blood stains the water, making it harder to see, let alone know what’s up or down. Boggy reaches her, he hopelessly uses his tongue to pull on the sleeve of her denim jacket. Using what little strength a magical frog has to save Adaine.
Yet she can only breathe in more water, her lungs screaming in pain trying to protest.
Adaine sinks deeper with each second. Eardrums threaten to burst from the rising pressure from the water with her eyes drooping barely holding themselves open. Bubbles from her mouth rise to the far surface as the cold hits Adaine harder.
She can’t die here right?
Adaine’s lived to save the world four times, kill her father, saved her sister, and now is hunting down her mother. She’s grown from the little fourteen year old girl on that first day on Augefort who was scared after killing a woman.
Adaine sinks deeper, the light above her grows dimmer. Her limbs refuse to follow her mental commands as the pain soars through her body.
It’s ironic now that she’s thinking about it, Eleminthindriel died in a shipwreck, drowning to her death. Now Adaine is facing the same fate and to think Adaine thought Eleminthindriel was a bad Oracle by not seeing the storm. At least Eleminthindriel died living a long life.
Adaine is only seventeen.
…
The water bursts her eardrums. If she weren’t underwater she’d notice she had been crying the entire time.
…
Boggy is losing hope.
…
She’s seventeen. The years of finally having a loving sisterhood with Aelwyn are outweighed by the horrible years forced by their parents. Jawbone has only officially adopted her for little over a year, almost two in a few months.
…
No, no, no, no she can’t die here.
Adaine tries to breathe and again is met with more water. Her one arm desperately tried to pull her up as her legs started kicking. Her limbs reverberate with pain from the impact but she pushes. Boggy regains his usual happy smile and tries pushing her again. The freshwater burns her eyes but the light above her is slowly growing. It’s enough to push Adaine further. Red stained water makes her want to vomit but she holds it for when she’s at the surface.
Lungs screaming in pain barely hold on, oxygen deprived, the corners of her eyes slowly turn darker. Passing out now is on the verge so Adaine expends all of her remaining energy in swimming up. The light gets brighter yet her vision grows blacker.
Her fingertips touch and break through the water’s surface. Her legs give out underneath her and she slowly starts to sink again. Something burns in her chest and Adaine can’t tell if it’s from the lack of oxygen and the need for it or the sudden adrenaline rush (or the desperate want to go back home)
Adaine’s head breaks through the water with a desperate gasp for air. Boggy floats to the top with her as she sputters for the cold oxygen. The freezing temperatures are worse combined with the water soaking her, yet it’s better than dying in the water.
Looking up, the light wasn’t coming from the surface above like sunlight. An almost ethereal scene filled her gaze, glowing a light blue bioluminescent and dangling from the cavern ceiling were glow worms. The pattern scattered across reminded Adaine of a starry night like the ones when camping outdoors or the ones she watches through her bedroom window.
Minus the giant fissure in the ceiling. Deeper into the crack showed no light coming from above. The fall must’ve been far enough so any light is unable to travel down. Thankfully, the glow worms light up the cave enough for no need for her darkvision yet.
Adaine’s limbs still scream in pain, especially her legs so she weakly tries to swim to the land of whatever cavern she’s landed in. Boggy supports her using his weak body as she crawls with her arm to the rocky ground beneath her. Not bothering to support her body anymore, Adaine easily collapses to the ground, her breathing is raspy and sounds like she’s a dying animal but she can’t exactly be graceful anymore.
Sword of Sight gone makes her low spells now completely useless. Plus, even if there is a shallow enough bottom to the lake? Pool of freezing water for Adaine to swim, her limbs refuse to move without the intense pain, plus her one arm would make swimming an even more difficult task. So, it’s no magic from here on out, her number one ability.
Amazing.
Boggy croaks in support and her spiraling into despair stops for just a moment. Adrenaline made the pain less worse so she knows to brace for the pain when it reverberates through her legs like a second wind. She wants to curl into a ball but again, her limbs don’t follow her command.
Sobs break through her lips while she tries to brace for all of the pain. She needs healing, a desperate amount of healing if she wants to continue, something is wrong with her legs, something is poking out of her flesh but she can’t bring herself to look. Adaine slowly crawls further away from the pool of water as Boggy closely follows behind her. She doesn’t realize the blood stained path she leaves behind in her wake.
Tears well in her eyes but she pushes them down, her fingernails crack and break from clawing the ground trying to pull herself. Blood mixes into her clothing and even though she can’t see the color because of how elven darkvision words, Adaine can guess it stains her everywhere.
Adaine reaches a place with little ice and rock surrounding her. Using her arm and feet to slowly sit up, her darkvision reveals more of where exactly she is. The obvious was the glow worms hanging from the ceilings but with the combination of a few stalactites, icicle shaped minerals forming in the ceiling.
There are multiple deepening chasms, some narrow and a few much wider along the sides of the cavern almost like widened mouths of toothed monsters. Unexplored depths that Adaine doesn't have the time to dwell on.
Adaine gives up around a few seconds of pulling herself and again helplessly collapses to the hard floor. Her chest heaves for air, the coldness pricking the insides of her lungs like needles as cloudy smoke emits from her mouth from the cold. Eyes droop from exhaustion but Adaine forces them open, she knows if she sleeps here it’ll be the last time she sleeps.
A small idea sparks in her head.
A shaky hand reaches into her jacket with a vial of healing potion that fits in her palm Twisting onto her back, staring at the rocky ceiling. Normally she would’ve relied on Kristen’s spells or Fig’s Healing Word or even Riz’s old med kit from freshman year. But she’s alone down here, no one’s coming to save her but herself.
The realization is easy to come to but harder to take.
Her heart races and her throat tightens. The strange cave is suddenly smaller, the ice is getting nearer and reality strikes Adaine more. At least in the previous trench her friends could see her, she could see and hear them. Down here? She’s alone, cold, and in an even worse condition with her injuries.
She’s going to die.
Die alone, forgotten in the unforgiving ice of the Mountains of Chaos. The only thing left of her body is her torn right arm back in the previous trench.
No, no she can’t panic now. Her friends will save her, everyone will be looking for her. She knows Gorgug and Riz would’ve seen her, they’re too kind, too good just to leave her. Her mind keeps coming back to her friends. She can’t die here, they’re still trying to save her…right?
The thought of being abandoned is worse than dying.
Adaine pushes away the possibility that they won’t. She breathes in through her nose, inhaling slowly and exhaling. Her heart stops racing like a trackstar and her breathing isn’t as shallow as before. She can’t die here, not today, not within this month or year or decade. She still has so much to do, Adaine isn’t going to let some cave and fall kill her.
“Goddamit, Adaine, pull yourself together,” Adaine’s voice echoes through the empty cave. She needs to lick her wounds before she moves.
She clumsily opens the vial with her hand while Boggy climbs onto her shoulder, nuzzling her cheek in support. The cork stopper pops off after a few attempts with her nails trying to claw at it. Adaine shakily sits up as she lifts the bottle to her mouth, the cold liquid tastes bitter yet sweet like success. Her injured leg shifts, bone and flesh moving no less. She grits her teeth, looking away from the gruesome sight of regeneration.
Staring back at the ceiling trying not to cry again, flesh sounds out as it squishes, as it regenerates and closes her wounds.
A few of her other wounds like the ones from the bandit fight, from the fall, and the ice mephits heal as well. It’s brutal, any of the others' healing would have been gentle, Kristen’s divine magic, Fig’s Healing Word washing over her. Adaine feels tears prick at her eyes again and regeneration slowly does its job.
Bone and flesh eventually stop moving and growing. Adaine lets her head down, her left leg covered in blood as the final bits of the flesh wound are still left unhealed from the potion. Blood covers her in the mix of freshwater, an earthy material mixed with bitter iron. Healing is somewhat fixed. Now, about getting out is the more worrying problem.
Adaine could retrieve the Sword of Sight now with her semi headed wounds. She could try swimming but the bottom could be deeper than Adaine could reach, plus with the freezing temperatures hypothermia and frostbite could be on the horizon. Adaine doesn’t feel like losing more limbs if the frostbite could become severe.
The mouths of the narrow and wide labyrinth mock her. She could, maybe, travel deeper. One of the pathways could lead further up to another exit to the outside world through a connected cave. Or it could lead to her demise.
Boggy breaks the long silence and breaks Adaine out of her train of thought once more. The others won’t be here for a long time, trying to get down the original trench would’ve taken time and valuable spells, trying to get down to the cavern would take even longer.
Kristen didn’t prepare Scrying so they couldn’t even check if she was still alive or dead. Nor could they call for help using Sending since Adaine was the only one who had it prepared. And to add salt to the wound the nearest ranger station is almost a two day trip.
Adaine could use her jacket to provide small snacks, water bottles, some more small vials of healing potions and stay down here longer.
Though, she was never one to just sit around and wait.
Boggy croaks, clambering onto her shoulder. Weakly standing up, using the rock wall for support Adaine stands up. The injured leg still pulsates with pain so limping it is for now. A new blood trail haunts her steps that move to one of the long winding entrances to the unknown. From the glow worms illuminating above her and elven darkvision Adaine’s sight can count elven new paths.
However only five of them could fit her body, the other six remained tight and narrow. A possible chance of being stuck is high and Adaine’s body isn’t in the condition to be putting stress on for narrow paths. Squeezing through restricted spaces isn’t an option.
Adaine limps her way, Boggy croaks echo through the damp cavern. Her breath is smokey from the freezing temperatures and the water from the lake makes the cold worse for her body. Adaine’s fingers twitch, body shivering like a leaf in high winds during a storm, she can’t tell if it’s water dripping down her face or tears.
The pathway Adaine leads herself to is another damp area. The rocky floor covered in either water or ice that threatens Adaine’s limp to a challenge. She can only sigh, eyes drooping with exhaustion.
The plan is simple: travel through the pathway until it gets too narrow for her body or until there is no end in sight. Then Adaine will either turn back and try out the other four passageways until she finds a way out. Or she’s stuck down here for her inevitable death or for her friend's arrival.
Adaine leans against the cold wall for support. Blood stains the rocks below and to the side of her, it’s truly getting to a point Adaine does not care anymore. All the wizard hopes for is, well, hope, the hope to make it out alive, the hope to find a way back to the blanket of snow that covers the Mountains of Chaos.
Her grunts, soft whimpers of pain and Boggy’s support is the only thing sounding in the cave.
Adaine walks, for how long? She isn’t entirely sure anymore. Her mind tried to keep up with the seconds passing yet her train of thought was always interrupted by the wincing of pain from the leftover wounds.
Not to mention her amputated arm. The stump throbs in pain still, Adaine is just praying that the phantom pain from her amputation doesn’t start and won’t need to be added to the pile of injuries. Boggy croaks in reassurance.
Darkvision takes over Adaine’s sight. The black and white contrast to the glow worms starry night illumination. She wraps her arm around herself in a small attempt for warmth as she delves deeper into the winding cave.
Adrenaline wearing off reveals more pain across her body. Adaine wants to cry but tears are already spilling past her cheeks too much for Adaine to hold them back.
It’s only when something snaps underneath Adaine’s boot is when she snaps out of the dazed trance.
Boggy gives a short nuzzle while Adaine leans on the rocky wall. Supporting herself as she checks the bottom of her boot. At first she takes it only as part of the murky ice before she takes a closer look. It’s a dark brown almost black, a brittle material from how easily it broke under Adaine. Her hand picks a piece out from her boot.
Bringing the material to her face, the piece crumbles away from her fingers. Adaine kneels to the pooling water and broken bits of ice. Her hand swished through the water with a shaking hand.
Again, that brittle material touching her fingers. Easily dissolving as her hand passes through it.
Maybe cloth or fabric? No, no, there were no traces of life down here and stuck in ice and water for so long it wouldn’t have just dissolved in her hands it would’ve dissolved years ago.
Whatever it was, Adaine manages to grab something solid this time. Pulling it with all the might left in her hand the brittle structure barely holds on as she lifts it to her eyeview.
A bone. A rusted brown resembling the dirt on the surface. Adaine can immediately tell it’s been down here for years.
By pure shock she gasps and drops it. Splashing the water over her, the reflection of herself rippling. Adaine preparers herself to continue by quickly-
Adaine is kneeling by the ice and water staring at the eyes staring back at her in the water's reflection.
A glimpse of her own reflection in the blade.
Adaine can’t turn fast enough to dodge the sword chopping her neck-
-Thrown like a ragdoll-
-White fur stained red-
-Blood splatters onto the wall-
-Sun burning her eyes as she stares-
-Desperate screams-
-Rusted sword clattering onto snow as-
-A diamond with a desperate cleric that-
-A griffin soaring-
-Barking of dogs-
-Medicine, injections, warmth-
-Broken cries-
-Gifts piling onto the-
…
It’s cold
…
So, damned, cold-
Adaine snaps back into reality, her own gaze shooting to the eyes boring into the water staring at her reflection. Adaine ducks just as the unsheathed sword slices where her neck should’ve been.
Promptly landing into the shallow pool of cold water. Splashing over her red stained body, Adaine scrambled on her hand and knees, twisting onto her other side now facing the figure who’s sword slams right between her legs. Too busy to dissect the vision.
It stands at a height of six feet, skin white as the snow, its hair having similar resemblance in color. Its face is gaunt like a corpse and thin almost tendrils of flesh connect the bridge between the lips. Studded leather armor dyed black that perfectly blends in with the dark. At the shoulders and knees rest skulls scraped by blades.
The things eyes are pitch black, no life remaining in them.
A Wight, undead humanoids vowed to kill against the living. Adaine barely recognized it from her studies with Riz when it came to preparations (ironically, she did so much study and preparation in anticipation yet nothing could help her down here).
No matter, Adaine is just defenseless with no sword or magic and stuck with something that could kill her in one fell swoop. Amazing.
Adaine can’t fight, so she does what she used to do best.
Adaine dashes right past the Wight, narrowly dodging its incoming attack from her open window of opportunity. Boggy croaks in support while she sprints further down the pathway. Adaine can hear the clanking of metal behind her, the pathway slowly growing larger and larger.
Eventually, as Adaine is becoming out of breath. The path splits into another labyrinth, Adaine’s gaze catches the countless scratches covering the walls. Swords, maybe arrows, claws even.
Adaine can't ponder on her choice. A sharp direction diagonally to the left, the entrance covered in sharp rocks and an even harsher ceiling. You can’t always win.
Whether or not the Wight is willing to still follow her is up to-
Whistling that is becoming hauntingly familiar to Adaine shoots through the cold air.
She can barely take another step before the crushing of her ribs reaches her ribs. A guttural scream rips her throat with blood slowly pouring into her mouth. Stumbling onto the nearby rocky wall on her side. Boggy due to the uneven balance from the running splats onto the ground with a croak.
Adaine can feel the warm blood seep into her discolored jacket. The whistling resonates in her ears, the cry of pain already through her lips as the second arrow launches into her thigh.
Boggy tries to climb back onto her yet the growling snaps Adaine out of her pained and dazed trance. She narrowly ducks forward as it pops from the corner of another nearby path, a sword clangs off of the rock which was aimed for her head once more.
Another one of those wretched things. Adaine can hear through her pained gasps for air footsteps, four maybe five pairs behind her as she faces the one who’s sword barely missed her. She wants to break down and sob, how, how could this have happened to her?
Adaine can’t wait for a response. Two arrows thud into the wall swishing past her face with a flutter of air from another. The first one pops into the corner of her vision, finally catching up with Adaine.
Heart racing, a panic attack on the verge of emerging in the worst moment. Boggy croaks helplessly, the Wight in front of her prepares another attack with an unfamiliar sense of necrotic energy radiating from the blade.
Blue eyes land on the rusted blade that sits on the hip of the Wight in front of her. God, she thanks that fighters always carried some form of an extra weapon on them. Her legs force the pain away from the arrow sticking in her thigh.
Boggy climbs onto Adaine’s back as the rest of the Wight’s close in on her. A croak barely reassures her but it’s enough to push her more.
Adaine takes the dangerous risk, running right past the Wight once more. This time she can’t rely on pure luck as the Wight lifts its sword high in the air just as Adaine’s hand seizes the rusted sword sitting on it’s side.
Her scream reverberates through the labyrinth. The sharp, olden blade digs into her flesh, slicing away freely. Scraping her ribs and threatening to cut near her spine.
It’s the pained croak that catches her attention. Adaine stumbles forward before turning sharply, a rusted sword in her loosely gripped left hand. Boggy’s small weight no longer rests on her back, Adaine can see the small foggy mist.
Fuck.
Adaine can only use the rest of her movement to run. Not her original path but another one.
Arrows whistle through the cold air. Adaine can only press on, her body screaming in pain. Whether they land into her body or not, the adrenaline running its course through her veins and her utter ignorance for it until she’s safe makes it almost numb.
Either way her running won’t be enough if she can’t lose the Wights. Her running won’t prove anything else as Adaine can see the walls slowly close in on her.
Blood pounds in Adaine’s ears. More arrows, the footsteps continue to close in on her with the cold walls. Rusted sword grasped in her hand held no answer in return.
The rocky walls that are slowly turning into ice however might provide one.
As the path gets narrower and narrower, Adaine can feel the disgusting and cold breath from the undead being right behind her. Almost on her neck.
Adaine turns on her heel facing the Wight with sheer desperation. A rasping scream erupting from her throat, the clumsily held sword shoots into the monster’s chest. A screech from the top of its dead empty lungs sounds out.
Arrows race through the space, yet with the Wight blocking Adaine none strike true on her. Two even manage to thud into its leather armor. Adaine pushes the dead figure off of her sword, collapsing to the ground Adaine doesn’t bother grabbing any of its items as much as it lures her.
The ceiling is close enough to Adaine’s head. Plus, the rock that was slowly turning into ice looks, for once, thankfully unstable. The plan might kill her in the process but Adaine has little to lose now.
Arrows are knocked at bows with Adaine’s sword cutting into the unstable roofing with a swing.
Arrows whistle past her, and into her. Adaine digs the sword deeper, twisting it with all of the might her left hand can gather.
More rapid footsteps, more arrows at the ready with the unsheathing of swords.
Cracking, right above her. A fissure breaks into numerous ways in the ice stretching down both ways of the path. Adaine twists the blade more, the rust threatening to make the sword fall apart to pieces.
A resounding crack shoots through the tangle of caves. With a snap of a finger, ice, chucks big as a living person begin to fall and fill the area. It isn’t just the pathway Adaine is in. She can hear the echo deeper from the original paths.
The sword falls into Adaine’s grasp again, this time with growing hope yet urgency Adaine breaks into another sprint the other direction from the Wights.
Screams bellow from dead and long unused throats. More arrows fly through the air to her, yet chunks of ice fall blocking them and shattering them to mere splitters like sticks.
Adaine can feel the walls close in on her with the roof lowering as everything comes collapsing on top of her. The path gets narrower, almost too tight for her to even run through. A piece of ice thuds into her back, bruises her no less.
The walls push against her shoulders, the screams echo making everything louder. Her ears ring with the overwhelming sounds.
Adaine barely squeezes through the narrow passageway, her ribs almost being crushed from the pressure. Collapsing to the rocky floor with the thundering tumble of ice and rock behind her. The screams of the Wight’s behind her drown out from the sea of ice that blocks them between Adaine.
In the meantime, Adaine’s face is flat against the floor. The rusted sword flinging across the new cave pathway with a clatter. Her hot breath hitting against the floor back to her is the only warmth provided in the moment. As the blood slowly trickles from her wounds, pooling beneath her.
The ice is no longer collapsing on her. Rock surrounds her once more and Adaine is grateful for the earth for once in the hellish turn of events.
The adrenaline is enough to numb the pain to a point Adaine isn’t screaming out her lungs.
Everything is wrong. She isn’t supposed to be here, not down hundreds meters of ice, not slowly bleeding out, not the freezing cold numbing her body, not the blood staining her everywhere. Adaine is supposed to be above, where the stars greet her and the sun burns her pale skin.
Not with the mocking silence of ice and rock surrounding her. Darkness fills her vision, eyes slowly drooping with exhaustion. Boggy’s croaks long died out with him from the slash replaced by the dripping of melting ice into water and Adaine’s ragged breaths.
Adaine needs to sleep, she wants to but she knows if she were to rest it would be her last one.
She can’t die here. Her body can’t be lost under the ice like Eleminthindriel’s body is lost in the vast sea.
Rising in her chest is a panic attack. Adaine’s throat tightens, cutting off her already limited breathing, her heart thrums, beats like Gorgug on the drums. Body trembling and for once it isn’t from the freezing cold.
Adaine desperately keeps her drooping eyes open. Her body is pricked with the cold as if thorns were wrapped around her in a tight hug. Tears fall down her face, no frog is left to nuzzle her cheek this time. No warm hug from the almost two dozen cats Aelwyn keeps, no warmth from the fur that is Jawbone’s.
The gasping breaths for air quickly turn into the gasping breaths from the tears.
Painfully twisting onto her back, Adaine stares at the rocky ceiling. She can feel the tears fall into her disheveled hair, water mixing into the dried and wet blood.
As much as Adaine wants to cry out her heart, she needs to focus on keeping said heart beating. Shaky breaths in through her nose, holding the cold air that jabs into her lungs flesh, then exhaling through her mouth. Creating a fog that reminds Adaine of the steam from Jawbone’s morning coffee.
Rinse and repeat. Through her nose, holding the stabbing cold air, then releasing the fog. Over, and over, and over again until Adaine can breathe without sounding like a dying animal.
It’s until the muffled screams of the Wight’s turn into dead silence that Adaine finally moves. Body screaming in pain and protest Adaine twists onto her side. Her broken sobs, the squelching of blood beneath her sounds out. The tips of her blonde hair easily turn dark red.
It’s a goddamn miracle.
Adaine wants to celebrate again like she did surviving the original fall, then the fight with the ice mephits, and the second fall.
Adaine can only cry.
It’s painful to move, let alone to curl herself into a ball but it’s the only solace Adaine can find. Her heart drums in her ringing ears like a band playing. Mixture of water from the lake, the blood pooling beneath her makes everything ten times colder. Adaine can’t feel her fingers, god, she should have brought gloves.
The only success Adaine can cheer for through her crying is that she’s alive, she can still feel her toes, her limbs aren’t being cut off anymore.
And that the pathway she followed leads somewhere else. That somewhere is leading up by the slanted tilt to the ground. Adaine can feel her heart beat faster, a glimpse of hope in the chaotic cold Hell she is in. But first, she needs to lie down.
Adaine hugs herself, arm wrapped around her shivering and wet body like a blanket until the cold air can’t bother her anymore (it’s still bothering her, her body just slowly becoming numb from the pain as it overtakes her without her full knowledge).
Tears flow freely down her face, it’s been god who knows how long until Adaine gains more strength. Her knees scream in protest, from the falls, the running, tripping, all of it takes a toll. Lungs filled with thorns, mind fuzzy and blurred from pain and cuts.
Adaine weakly shifts onto her knees. Moving with the assist of her arm, Adaine’s body buckles, threatening to collapse to the floor once more but she pushes. Stumbling against the rock, a simple Mage Hand grabs the rusted sword.
Adaine holsters it to her side before reaching to her thigh. It’s only now out of the height of danger does she realize the amount of arrows stuck in her body. From the throbbing pain it could range from four to maybe ten.
Painfully, slowly, Adaine removes all of them, clattering to the floor. Her throat is hoarse from screaming in pain so Adaine can only make weak whimpers of pain.
All eight are out of her body. Only then does her shaking hand reach into her jacket pocket once more grabbing another healing potion.
Her shaking hand makes popping off the cork harder, her nails even crack but with a small yet echoing pop Adaine smells the herbs and chemicals. Without hesitation Adaine downs it, the liquid burns her throat like the pricking cold air but her wounds don’t throb as much anymore. The bottle clatters to the ground as it slips out of her weak grasp.
The flesh slowly repairs itself, Adaine can feel the rushed process of scabbing, blood drying, her flesh closing itself with a disgusting squelch. Tendrils of flesh and bone connect each other, forming webs of newly formed cells across Adaine’s body.
Through the grueling pain, the recent flesh scars her ghostly pale skin. In the dark light Adaine can’t tell but can accurately guess her skin is disfigured like Aelwyn’s lightning scar from Angywn.
Hells, she’s worse than Aelwyn. Aelwyn may need her cane to walk but at least she isn’t missing a fucking arm.
She feels useless, the sensation of magic at her hands is gone. The golden weapon in her hand is gone, the double wielding of magic and a weapon at her hands is gone.
Adaine hates it.
Tears of anger well her eyes, Adaine wants to scream and cry but she’s already done both on separate occasions.
It’s useless, just like she is.
Huffing, Adaine pushes herself off the icy wall onto her feet. Eyes burn from the crying but Adaine blinks away the flowing tears. Trembling footsteps echo, the pathway is narrow but enough for Adaine to fit through without much trouble or stress on her body.
Hope is a small idea in the overwhelming chances of death. Yet Adaine pushes forward.
The rocks tug on the blood-soaked denim fabric. Ripping at the cotton that long lost its purpose to provide warmth for her. Her leather shred against the rocky walls, Adaine can feel the cold flowing through the fabric, touching her already trembling body.
Adaine tries to keep her breathing steady. In through her nose, holding in her pained lungs, out through her blood stained mouth.
The pathway is covered in rock, the ground soaked with melted ice. Slowly as Adaine walks the ground begins to go upwards in a slanted tilt like she had seen before. Her pace is awfully slow but all Adaine can care about is even walking. The soles of her feet flare with pain like repeating single flares.
Silence is daunting, leaving her with her own thoughts. The same thoughts that repeat the chances of death, dying from hypothermia, her injuries finally catching up to her, going insane maybe? Death by dehydration or malnourishment or even suicide.
Adaine doesn't dwell on the last option for long. The slanted ground is slowly going more up to a point Adaine has to force herself up. Her feet ache in pain from the rough terrain.
Walking, and walking, Adaine is slowly losing hope. If the end is a dead end there is no other option for Adaine. She has no spell focus, let alone any spells. Someone could Scry on her or Sending her yet Adaine lacks any hope to believe someone would come rescue her.
It isn’t until there is a glimpse of light that ignites something in Adaine.
Hope? Relief? The exhaustion finally taking over?
Adaine’s steps grow desperate, her pace faster then she should be able to move with her trembling body. Her hand propped against the rock wall slid against the hard material scraping her pale skin.
Blinking away the tears the light was closer and the narrow passageway was slowly growing larger. Adaine could hear whistling, roaring of winds that didn’t reach her in the deep winding tunnels before. More importantly, snow from the surface slowly gathers at the floor.
Freezing temperatures hit harder against her drenched body yet Adaine can’t care. Adaine spends her energy on her pace, going faster almost in a dead sprint instead of a jog.
The room changes, Adaine is no longer in a narrow tunnel that was slowly suffocating her. The den ceiling reached thirty feet, the den area was just barely larger than an average classroom like Tiberia’s.
More importantly, to Adaine’s left is a bright light. The bright light of the outside world, the sun gleams like a burning fire that Adaine can’t tear her eyes away from. The last time she was outdoors was in the first trench, when it was nighttime.
Has it really been that long of walking, fighting, crying, and drowning at one point?
Wind howling into the cave ran through Adaine’s disheveled hair like fingers untangling knots. Snow piling at the entrance covering the ground floor as if a blanket.
Tears fall down Adaine’s face yet the act is not in pain or desperation. For once, it is in hope.
Shaky footsteps tread to the den entrance, Adaine wants to believe that it is an illusion, a hallucination her mind is playing at. Yet the needles of ice pricking her tell her otherwise.
It doesn’t matter that she’s lost somewhere possibly remote in the mountains. She’s away from the winding tunnels of the labyrinth of passageways, away from the Wight’s so desperate to make her one of them, another soul lost to the cold.
Adaine is a mere ten feet away from the entrance, ringing in her ears that mock the previous silence. Something towers over her, another shadow like the human man who cut into her old amputated arm in the bandit fight.
Her hand darts to the rusted sword while her body twists to meet the new enemy.
It’s too late, a clawed hand larger than her entire upper body tears into her back. Adaine would scream if the pain wasn’t so much her body that it almost felt numb. Adaine's legs barely buckle under her just as a giant hand swings over her head (really, did everything just want her decapitated or what?)
Adaine stumbles back and twists her body to face-
Standing at a towering height of fifteen, maybe twenty feet. White fur matching the snow of the outside that Adaine craves. Horns curled like devils and eyes that bore into her widened ones.
A Yeti.
A Yeti that is in Adaine’s way, is all she cares about. The taste of freedom from the icy hell she found herself in is a mere ten feet away and this, thing, is in her fucking way.
Adaine doesn’t bother trying to plan her movements for her body moves without hesitation. The rusted sword shoots for its chest, the Yeti tries to raise another claw with a loud growl but Adaine, out of sheer spite and the determination to go home, is faster.
The sword cuts through white fur like paper. Blood splatters onto Adaine’s face like a sprinkler.
The Yeti stumbles and something surges through Adaine. She takes another strike just like Fabian would’ve done with an action surge. Another strike and Adaine carves an X onto the flesh.
Adaine knew her small moment of victory would only last so long.
It screams so loud it hurts her ears like a concert speaker blasting right next to her at full volume. A hand reaches for her and Adaine is too weak to fight against it, giant and almost half of her size grips her head.
Lifting her in the air like a toy, Adaine’s pain filled legs kick helplessly in the air with her sword swinging with wild abandonment. Breathing is a mercy as the hand tightens around her face making zero room for air entry.
Without another second to even process what was happening to her, Adaine was suddenly in the air.
Flung deeper into the cave with a crack! With the painful landing onto rock, pieces dug into her sides. The crack coming from somewhere in one of the many broken ribs. Adaine skidded against the floor, rolling with painful yelps.
Adaine could barely breathe as the air was knocked out of her with the force of the impact. Once more face first with the rock ground. The blood spurted from her ribs and it wasn’t the deep red Adaine was sick of but a lighter, pinker shade.
Oh, her lungs were cut. Adaine, even with the adrenaline running like caffeine in her body, could feel the crashing waves of pain. Blood sputtered from her mouth onto the ground, staining her face from the proximity.
Yeti charged at her with an unimaginable speed from the sounds of its thundering footsteps. Adaine still managed to keep a tight grasp onto the sword with her hand. The monster came to a sliding stop by Adaine. Probably having another hand already raised in the air to grab her once more.
Adaine twisted her body to face the Yeti. The rusted sword shot up into the air. The Yeti screamed in pain as the rust found its way digging into its abdomen.
A triumphant smile came to her face, maybe, just maybe she had a chance to-
The vision.
The blood splattering onto the wall.
Wait, wait-
The Yeti grips her ankle with a force that threatens to break her ankle. Adaine can only see the white fur stained red of the beast from hanging upside down before she is launched through the air like a ragdoll to a child. A blur of white, blue and gray flashes through her exhausted eyes before she is forced against the rocky walls.
Air is knocked out of her lungs, blood splattering across the rock walls. The sword clatters against the ground, leaving Adiane useless once more. She slides against the wall until she reaches the floor with a thud. Her head is throbbing, blood staining her back like a splash of paint.
The thundering footsteps from the Yeti are only muffled in her ears. Adaine gasps for air, pain reverberating through her body in crashing waves from a storm at sea. Her body trembles, almost convulses from the pain.
Yet her eyes land on the Yeti that walks closer at a slow pace. Almost taunting her to move so it can strike again, and again, and again until her body is nothing but bruises and a mess of bones, flesh, and blood.
Adaine can only feel the pain, hear the muffled noises in her ears, taste the blood pooling in her mouth, smell the metallic scent of iron, and see the blur of white approaching her.
God, why her?
As the monster walks, Adaine can only pray to whatever deity that listens to her in the moment of desperation. Gasping for air that her lungs pushed out from the force, Adaine desperately tried to move. The twitch of her fingers reach for the abandoned a few feet away yet the effort equals to nothing.
Her vision is quickly darkening in the corners. Even if the Yeti somehow doesn’t reach her the injuries will get to her first. Adaine wants to sob but the only action she can take is the blood sputtering from her mouth, dripping onto her already soaked in blood clothing.
Tears streamed down her face once more. Adaine breathes through her nose as if she were to breathe through her mouth, she would choke on her own blood first before the cold air could prick her lungs.
Adaine is too busy mentally praying and apologizing like a damned saint to notice the pain slowly numbing.
Too busy crying to notice her eyes drooping.
Too busy to notice her body falling limp.
Too busy to…
Adaine, can’t breath. Her lungs were cut yes but, she should’ve been able to breathe longer right?
The Yeti grabs her ankle, or her arm. Adaine can’t tell, everything is numb.
She isn’t lifted but dragged.
Dragged deeper into the icy hell.
Adaine wants to move.
Adaine can’t move, her eyes close and now she’s in an icy, dark, hell.
The rusted sword long forgotten as she is placed somewhere.
No, no, this can’t happen.
Adaine can’t die.
This isn't supposed to happen.
…
The vision said so.
…
The sun was burning her eyes as she stared at it.
…
Adaine…
Still needs to see the sun.
Adaine pushes once more, she just needs one more chance.
Her eyes force themselves open.
A second wind of energy? No this isn’t energy, it’s a wave of healing that covers Adaine. A fighter's Second Wind.
The pain once more reverberates through her body in waves when Adaine finally weakly lifts her head up. Blurry vision makes the room just a smudge of blue and white.
But Adaine can see the bloodied Yeti clear as day in front of her. It has its back turned to her as it eats something, something bloody and full of meat. Adaine can see the bone poking from the torn arm. (She has the haunting image of her own torn arm back at the first trench)
Adaine is lying down in what she can guess is a pile of bones. Fabric riddles the bone scraped with teeth marks and bites.
Adaine can only take the moment as an opportunity, she pries her body from the floor. The Yeti is still distracted. She slowly crawls away from the pile of bones.
She’s in the deeper part of the cave, the blood splattered on the walls a mere twenty or so feet away. And so is the sword.
Mage Hand is as simple as reading. The rusted sword is once more in her hand. She misses the way a spell would be in one hand and the sword in the other. Just a bit, who knew that wielding a sword to kill would be so satisfying.
Snow crunches underneath her torn boots. Adaine could make a break for it, yet, this thing deserves to die. It was in her way and it deserves to never be in anyone else’s way ever again.
Her trembling hand grips the sword making her knuckles go white. Shallow breathing suddenly deep and somehow even as she trains the tip to its lowered head. Adaine stops dead in her tracks when the Yeti suddenly turns its head to peer her in the corner of its eye.
It’s a standstill, Adaine has her sword perfectly aimed to its head for the killing blow.
The Yeti could easily throw her like a toy again against the wall for a crushing death from force.
Adaine grips the sword tighter, the Yeti huffs with a foggy breath with slitted pupils.
Two screams go off, a thunderous roar that echoes and shakes the den. A guttural scream that’s filled with desperation and anger.
A skull crunches underneath the blade of a sword held by a trembling hand. The Yeti’s eyes rolled to the back of its head, blood pouring from the sword sunk in its head, the hilt being the only thing stopping Adaine from burying the entire weapon into brain matter.
Adaine has to scramble back away from the falling body of the Yeti. A loud thud reverberates through the dead monster's den.
A smile comes to Adaine’s face. It’s dead, she can go home now, right?
Just for safety measures, Adaine stands up and grips the sword’s handle. Squelching the brain and cracking the skull even more, Adaine pulls the rusted sword out of the Yeti’s head.
Adaine silently walks towards the cave entrance. Blood pours from the monster's head and stains its fur like the blood stains Adaine. Bloodied footsteps follow Adaine out.
Howling winds haven’t calmed down, but Adaine can finally get a clear view of the outside world once more.
God, she hasn’t been more grateful to see endless amounts of snow and a few trees.
The cave luckily sits at the bottom of the mountains. Adaine steps out of the dark cave. Her feet drag against the snow, blood following her as if her own poltergeist.
Sunlight beats down on her, and Adaine welcomes the heat with open arms-or arm now.
Adaine’s body treks through the snow. Leaving her bloody past quite literally behind her.
The sun isn’t enough to beat the cold however.
Slowly it numbs her body more than death should’ve.
Then, she sees and hears it. Adaine doesn’t know how long she’s been walking.
Something in the sky, a griffin with someone on it’s back. Barking of dogs, sled dogs led by a giant husky and pairs of other dogs behind them and someone riding with them. Her vision was right. Adaine tries to remember the rest of the vision, her mind is too fuzzy to remember.
Her body feels as if thorns are inside them, pricking at every piece of flesh, muscle and bone.
The bloodied, rusted sword drops from her hand as she falls to her knees, then forward onto her face. Snow erupts from her fall but she can’t care.
Sore muscles, protesting limbs, and the throbbing across her body scream as Adaine twists onto her back. Staring at the gleaming sun that stares at her back. Not a cloud in sight, just pure light blue that doesn’t remind Adaine of the ice and snow.
Adaine can’t feel the pain but doesn’t dwell on it.
The sun provides more warmth than anything Adaine has ever felt before. Maybe it’s because she just came out of the freezing temperatures and any warmth is amazing but no matter.
Adaine is alive, out of that trench, out of that cavern, out of the Yeti’s den. Out of the ice and snow.
Her eyes burn and water from staring at the sun but she dwells in it and can’t look away for once. Tears fell down the sides of her face into her blood, snow stained hair.
Adaine is numb, and for once it isn’t from the cold.
A broken, almost silent laugh escapes her blood stained lips. Celebration can’t wait, she’s alive and out from the frozen hell she found herself in. Adaine wants to stand up and cheer, scream at the top of her lungs that she is alive and free.
Her body doesn’t respond to her commands. She can’t stop her eyes from drooping or the way her body falls limp.
Adaine’s head falls to the side and she can see two figures in ranger snow garb, the ones who were riding the animals. Now that they are closer Adaine can see they are men, an elvish one and an ice genasi.
They are rangers right? Adaine can’t remember for dear life even though it was mere moments ago…SandraLynn was a ranger right? Adaine can’t…remember.
Now that she’s thinking about it she can’t remember much anymore. Her mind is hazy like the early morning fog in Elmville during winter.
She wants to speak but her body can’t move at all, her eyes droop. Desperate screams don't’ reach her ears.
Adaine weakly turns her head back up to the sky. The sun is beautiful even though it burns her eyes, the pain is worth it. The tears stop, her heart is beating at a much slower pace, the pain is numb.
Adaine takes in another breath and it doesn’t hurt from the cold. Exhaling, her breath is smokey, like the steam from Jawbone’s morning tea or SandraLynn’s morning coffee.
Adaine tries to breathe again, her lungs refusing to move now.
And so does her heart.
The smell is like medicine, the rhythmic beeping of a machine rings in her ears as something weighs on her leg. Unlike the mountains, Adaine is warm, not warm like snuggled in a blanket or hugging Ayda or Fig with their unnatural warm body temperatures or cuddling any one of the other Bad Kids. Warm as in it’s just enough to be far from cold.
It’s enough for Adaine.
Something is clipping onto her finger, something in her arm, she’s not wearing her regular clothes anymore and there’s muffled chatter that Adaine can’t pick up on. Adaine opens her eyes only to be met with the harsh white light and not the sun’s gleaming one. At first she wants to sigh, but something is on her face, like a mask.
Oh, she’s in the hospital. The mask is an oxygen mask, there is an IV line running through her only arm, a pulse oximeter on her finger, and she’s wearing a hospital gown. The beeping was the heart monitor.
Her eyes move from the ceiling to the side. A window facing outside, she can see the familiar neighborhoods, streets, and buildings of Elmville. The day is sunny and bright, not a speck of snow or ice in sight. Moving to the other side Adaine can finally see what’s weighing on her leg.
At first she can only see a blonde head of hair cut short above their shoulders. The person is sitting in a chair scooted up to her hospital bed as they lay on her in an awkward position. Then she can see the pointed ears, ear piercings, the cat hairs on the person’s jacket.
The small table by her bed is covered in flowers, balloons, gift baskets, gift boxes, cards, a few stuffed animals like frogs, cats, and even dogs. Pushed away from the surplus amount of gifts are old water bottles, takeout food that’s barely been touched. What truly catches Adaine’s eye is the Sword of Sight and her denim jacket.
Polished, sharpened, and not lost at the bottom of a lake in the cavern. It looks almost brand new in the shining light of the windows and ceiling lamps. Her Jacket of Useful things looked just like the day Adaine received it. Clean stitches, not a stain of blood or snow, not a single piece of torn fabric or ripped sleeve.
She can worry about how the two items ended back up here later.
“Aelwyn?” Adaine’s voice is muffled by the oxygen mask. Aelwyn doesn’t stir.
Adaine weakly reaches up to the mask with her one arm, pulling down to her neck. She clears her throat, “Aelwyn?” Adaine’s voice is weak. Like she’s a child again.
Aelwyn stirs but not enough to fully wake. Adaine grumbles with a hoarse throat before reaching over to Aelwyn, her hand on her shoulder shaking the elf with all her might. Barely moving Aelwyn an inch or so but it’s enough to grab the trancing elf’s attention.
Aelwyn mumbles something incoherent before sitting up with a yawn. At first she merely glances at Adaine before looking away to rub her eyes. Then she freezes, her hands darting away from her face as she looks at Adaine with a shocked expression.
There are light eye bags under her eyes (it painfully reminds Adaine of Aelwyn in the orb back at the tower) and her hands are shaky. There is a small moment of just silence, Aelwyn stares at Adaine as if she grew a third head and Adaine weakly smiles at her sister.
Adaine barely registers Aelwyn moving before she is suddenly in a bone crushing hug. Aelwyn buries her head into Adaine’s shoulder as small broken sobs echo through the otherwise silent hospital room. Adaine weakly raises her hand to pat Aelwyn on the back as she cries.
Aelwyn shoots back up into her chair now gripping Adaine by her shoulders. “Fuck you, you know that?!” The tears in her eyes are opposite to the anger in her voice.
“Wait what?”
“I get a Sending from a fucking, frantic! Ayda who told me Fig told her by the feather they share or something! I don’t care,” Aelwyn takes a deep breath. “That you were lost in the mountains, not even the mountains but underneath the ice and who knows how deep you fell through?! Then, I get a call from SandraLynn, that rangers found you bloodied-”
“First off-”
“Don’t you fucking dare talk right now I’m lecturing you Adaine. Then, fucking died Adaine! Your fucking injuries killed you!” Aelwyn’s voice cracks, tears threatening to spill. “You only lived because one of those rangers who found you was a cleric!”
“Aelwyn-”
“Then! When I come to the hospital right as the rangers arrive with you, your missing a fucking arm! Covered, soaked in blood as if you swam in it! Frostbite, hypothermia, fractured bones, slashes, your skull fucking cracked, your lungs cut from your shattered ribs, and infections all over you Adaine! Then! You don’t wake up for two weeks!”
Aelwyn cries again, Adaine barely comprehends her own tears falling down her face.
“Fuck you Adaine. And I swear to god if you die on me I will go to whatever afterlife you’re in and drag you back to kill you myself,” Aelwyn mutters with a soft voice that betrays the violence in her threat. “Come here.”
Adaine doesn’t stop the small smile on her face, she cries even harder as Aelwyn pulls her in for another hug. Her arm weakly wraps around her sister as she cries onto Aelwyn’s shoulder staining her jacket.
Adaine doesn’t realize the door of the hospital room opening until she hears something drop on the floor with a thud. Aelwyn pulls back with a glare aimed at the person-well people entering.
SandraLynn, standing in the doorway already has tears in her eyes that she tries pushing back. Jawbone runs towards the other side of Adaine’s hospital bed abandoning the bag of takeout food from a fast food restaurant that they often ordered from. Jawbone nearly trips over his own two feet when he reaches Adaine, already pulling her into another bone crushing hug.
Adaine can only smile back and softly wince from her healing injuries as SandraLynn walks over just as Aelwyn stands up to stretch. “K-Kiddo, come on you gave me the biggest scare of my life,” Jawbone stammers out. His fur is warm like a blanket knitted by Lydia.
“I’m sorry Jawbone,” Adaine leans on his shoulder.
“Kiddo,” Jawbone leans back. “You have nothing to be sorry about, you just worry about healing okay?”
SandraLynn’s hand is on her head as she kisses Adaine’s forehead. “When you get out of here and you’re all healed up Adaine, we’re throwing you a welcome back party.”
“Y-You don’t really need to,” Adaine mumbles.
“Yes, yes we are because you deserve it and also you’re taking days off of school.”
“I already missed two weeks and-”
“No,” SandraLynn stops her, tone now stern. “No buts, you’re taking days off to rest after what you’ve been through Adaine.”
“Adaine!” Adaine hears Kristen and Fig’s voices before she realizes them. And suddenly has a crushing weight on top of her. Adaine winces from her sore body as she can hear the overlapping voices of Fig and Kristen on top of her. Aelwyn screaming at them to get off of her and Jawbone trying to calm down said screaming Aelwyn.
Adaine heaves for air as Kristen and Fig wrap her in proper hugs. Kristen is on the verge of ugly crying as her muscular arms hug Adaine’s waist, her words are barely audible through cries. Fig is obviously crying yet still tries to hold back any tears while she has her arms around Adaine’s neck. Adaine can only use her arm to pat Fig but leans her head on Kristen.
“I’m-sob-so-sorry Adaine,” Kristen manages to say through her cries.
“Adaine,” Fig’s voice cracks. “I’m so sorry, I-I should’ve been stronger and not let you g-go, it’s all my fault-Adaine ‘m so sorry-”
“Oh my god,” Kristen leans back. “I-I’ll tell the boys that you woke up h-hold up okay?” Kristen stammers as she pulls her crystal out with shaky hands. Fig takes the opportunity to hug Adaine more tightly, Adaine holds back another wince just for the bard's sake.
“I-I’m so sorry, it’ll never happen again I-I swear-”
“Fig, it’s not your-”
“Adaine?!” Fabian’s voice screams through the crystal on facetime.
Fabian runs through his house to outside with the Hangman’s engine roaring through in the background. Gorgug’s crystal is face up but she can hear the rummaging of drawers and boxes. He grabs the crystal with a frantic look and car keys in hand. Riz is already on his bike pedaling through the streets with a panting breath his crystal faced towards the asphalt.
“How the fuck are you alive?” Fabian’s voice cracks.
“Uh, fighting?”
“Fighting what?”
“...A Yeti, and Wights, maybe I drowned a bit as well.”
“You’re fucking crazy Adaine what the fuck dude?!” Fabian screams.
“Oh that’s my fucking best friend!” Fig shakes her shoulders.
“That’s amazing Adaine-”
“How the fuck are you alive girl?!” Kristen cuts off Riz’s celebratory cheer.
“That’s great and all I’m like ten minutes out I promise Adaine I’ll be there!” Gorgug exclaims with the start of the Hangvan’s engine.
“Okay, okay in the meantime until the boys get here Adaine needs more rest and the doctor is going to be here soon to check up on her,” SandraLynn tried to pry off Fig by her shoulders.
“Nooo,” Fig complained, still trying to hold onto Adaine.
“Adaine is still injured and so help me god Fig if you injure her more I’m beating you up,” Aelwyn hurriedly grabbed Fig by the collar of her jacket and easily pulled her off with SandraLynn’s help.
“Oh, your sword!” Kristen exclaimed, rushing over to the table and grabbing the Sword of Sight. “When you arrived at the hospital they said you didn’t have it so after maybe a few days, we went back and found that lake at the bottom of the second fissure.”
“Fabian swam down like, twenty times trying to find it,” Fig added.
“He got pneumonia again.”
“It was worth it!” Fabian yelled through the call.
“He what now?” Adaine asked. Her hand weakly grabbing the sword out of Kristen’s hand.
“Gorgug spent some time borrowing it. He polished it, sharpened it and everything and we even fixed your jacket!” Fig remarked, a bright smile on her face while she leaned over for the denim piece of clothing. “I even added a few patches for you.”
Adaine placed the sword on the bed as she grabbed her jacket. The original blue of its fabric was back. The slashes on her sides and back from the Wight’s and Yeti were stitched back and covered with new patches. One of a familiar looking frog, lyrics from Fig’s song “Dawn of Justice”, a metal flower, and even more ones that Adaine couldn’t see through eyes blurry from tears.
“Fabian wanted to get you another jacket since the stains would barely get out but after a few washes and using Prestidigitation even more we managed to make it look brand new.” SandraLynn interrupted.
“Cathilda managed to sew it back up by the way!” Fabian yelled over the roaring engine of the Hangman over the call.
“Fabian, you were the one who wanted to throw it away!” Fig argued.
“It’s because it looked like Adaine swam in fucking blood when we got it back!”
“Well-”
“Both of you shut up please?” Aelwyn scoffed.
“Thank you,” Adaine mumbled through a soft voice. Fig barely held back more tears before pulling Adaine into another crushing hug. Adaine didn’t need to look to feel Kristen hug her other side.
Adaine didn’t need to look as well when the door of her room slammed open. Nor looking when even more crushing weight was added on top of her. Aelwyn protested trying to pry everyone off of Adaine but SandraLynn semi-convinced her to back off just for now.
The metal of the arm’s socket was cold against her skin, but for once the cold was worth it.
“Uh,” Gorgug backed up from her (for once, as much as she loved him she did need space. Everyone’s been clinging onto her like magnets to iron since she got out of the hospital). “How does it feel?”
The outside of the Thistlespring Trees backyard was filled with machinery, Gorgug’s workshop, and home to the Hangvan. Adaine sat on a small bench right beside Gorgug who looked tense.
The prosthetic arm makes a barely audible hum as the fingers move. More flexible than any of the ones the hospital recommended to her. The steel is a dark gray almost matching black. Expertaly covered by similar metal sheets hiding away the countless wires that Adaine can barely hear the small thumming from.
With the small initials carved into the elbow joint. A.A. Adaine Abernant. (She’ll ask Gorgug to help carve an O after the official paperwork is finalized to change her surname to Abernant O'Shaughnessey).
Adaine lifts her new hand to her face, the fingers bending to her will just like her normal hand would’ve done. She twists her metal forearm, Gorgug’s eyes lock onto the prosthetic with a patient anticipation.
Adaine holds the Sword of Sight in her other hand, arcane energy flows through the prosthetic. She makes a small motion as a small Firebolt starts in her metal hand. Then she switches it to Lightning Bolt, then onto Shatter. An assortment of spells starts in her hand and Adaine has no trouble with any of them.
“My parents recommended this metal cause it can withstand almost anything,” Gorgug mumbles. “Fire, cold, lightning, and everything like spells. It can also do this just in case.” Gorgug reaches to the forearm with one hand, with the other clicking a small button on her wrist. A small compact compartment opened up in the inside of her forearm. “Just in case you need to put anything in there. It's mostly just for precaution to put small supplies.”
“I love it,” Adaine smiles back at him. Gorgug sighs with relief, his tense shoulders relaxing.
“I also did this,” Gorgug grabs a small box with a clipping off of his workshop desk. “Uh, you clip it onto your belt.”
Adaine’s hand grabs the small box, a gray dotted circle in the inside. It easily slides onto her belt with a small click. The Sword of Sight hums with arcane energy, Gorgug stands up from the bench and holds his hand out to the sword. Adaine raises an eyebrow but doesn’t question it, handing the weapon over to him.
“This should work,” Gorgug mumbles. He takes a step back, gripping the hilt of Adaine’s sword before with a grunt. Chucks the Sword of Sight across the backyard, it flies through the air with the sun almost gleaming onto the golden material. Adaine shoots up from her bench but before the sword could even hit the ground, with a bright light it disappears.
Adaine can feel a small heavy weight on her belt, right where the small box is. Glancing, the Sword of Sight is magnetized to the box, easily sitting at her hip like it would’ve always done.
“Using the arcane energy it has of the Elven Oracle and a few other tricks, I managed to make a magnet so that you never lose your sword again,” Gorgug sheepishly looks away. “Aelwyn and I came up with the idea and-”
Adaine pulled Gorgug into a tight hug. At first Gorgug is just tense before he envelopes Adaine into a warm hug. “Thank you Gorgug.”
“No problem Adaine.”
“Fabian, don’t treat me like some porcelain doll that’s going to break any second.”
“It’s been two weeks since you woke up Adaine. I'm sorry I care about your health?” Fabian groaned, another swing for Adaine’s chest was narrowly dodged by her.
The sun beats down on Adaine and Fabian. The pool reflecting their sparring match, Adaine runs around Fabian who tries to throw his battle sheet but Adaine’s sword slashes through the opening to his neck.
Another standstill, the blade of the Sword of Sight presses against Fabian’s neck. Already covered in a few nicks from Adaine’s previous wins. “Five to two Fabian, I’m winning,” Adaine remarked with a raspy voice. “I’m not even using my right hand.”
“Cause you’ve been practicing with both. And I’m generous, if you hadn’t left the hospital mere weeks ago I would’ve gone harder.” Fabian scoffs. Adaine only shakes her head as the two relax from the fighting positions.
“Seriously though Adaine? Take a damn break,” Fabian asks. “Like I know the whole reason you’re going into fighter and considering ranger and stuff is because of the things in the trench-”
“You can just say Yeti and Wights Fabian. I'm not sensitive about that stuff.”
“Well-”
“Sorry for interrupting you two!” Cathilda’s voice interrupts. Holding two trays, one with two cups of lemonade with the other holding cookies.
“Cathilda!”
“Thank you Cathilda.” Adaine grabbed the cold drink with her gloved hand. As much as she was appreciative of the Thistlespring’s gift of her new arm, the glove hid the metal easier and provided no question when people noticed the illusion spell on her.
(Also stopped the small remarks people made every now and then. Any of the other Bad Kids or Aelwyn offered another solution aka, murder or threats of murder but Adaine quickly shut it down.)
“Who, if I may ask, is winning?” Cathilda innocently asked.
Adaine almost choked on her lemonade with Fabian’s deadpan stare at the ground. Swallowing the drink and clearing her throat Adaine broke the small silence. “Five to two, Fabian is the one with two.”
“First off the third round should’ve been me.”
“Second off I don’t care, I still won.”
“I’ve been a fighter for years!”
“Sucks man!”
One blanket wrapped around her like a burrito (suggested by Kristen), another two blankets draped over her. With the combination of Ayda sitting right beside her on her left, the fiery phoenix’s flame provides even more warmth, her wing gently wrapped around Adaine. Hector, Aelwyn’s cat lying on her lap with Aelwyn herself leaning on her right shoulder.
The movie is already rolling its credits but everyone is fast asleep or already in their designated trances. Fig is curled up on Ayda’s other side with Lucky, Aelwyn’s black cat. Fabian, Kristen, Gorgug, and Riz pile on top of each other in front of the couch Adaine is on, using a makeshift bed made of blankets and pillows. An assortment of cats lying on the four teens.
Jawbone, Lydia, and SandraLynn share the other couch. A pile of mixed limbs as the three barely fit together. Zayn is floating around already sleeping with Edgar on his ghostly chest, Tracker and Ragh lean on each other on the floor right beside the pile of teens and cats.
Adaine is the only one awake, minus Boggy squished between Ayda and her. Boggy gives a soft ribbit and Adaine can only softly smile at him. She’s far away from the Mountains of Chaos, far away from the cold that killed her. Now near the warm flame of Ayda, warmth from Aelwyn and her cats.
The warmth of her loved ones.
She closes her eyes not with the exhaustion from a fight that is killing her, or the touch of death that nears her. Closing her eyes, knowing that she is safe and won’t have the possibility of never waking up from the cold succumbing to her in her trance. No monsters hunting her like a wolf to a rabbit.
Adaine is alive and warm.