A Sound in the Night (Spicious)

[JackieCat]

Naarilash nodded. "You are correct, do you have any other clues to where it might be?"  she walked up next to him and looked at the book.  She couldn't read the runes, but she recognized them a bit, they looked similar to some other runes she had come across in her reading. "I'm sorry I was sarcastic to you a moment ago," she said. "I shouldn't have done that."

[Arthuriel]

That was much better, Khasm thought, she was finally learning to respect her better. "No, I have no idea where to look, and apparently no else does, either."

[JackieCat]

Naarilash nodded, and at that moment a wolf ran out of the cave and up to her.  It spoke to her in the growling language of the Wolfiei and she responded, then it went back into the cavern.

"Before we left the cave I told the Beta to ask around and see if any Wolfiei knew anything about the magic.  I know you said that the book couldn't detect it because no one in a ten-mile radius knew anything about it, but since Wolfiei are very different from human's they might not register in the book.  I would register, as I am a High Wolfiei, and more human.  Anyway, Irrids said that after asking around there were a few Wolfiei know of a temple almost sixteen miles from here.  I know what place they are talking about, and we should go there first.  It is in ruins, but some of the Wolfiei said they had sensed some sort of magic near there.  What do you think?"

Khasm wasn't the nicest, Naarilash thought, and she hoped that not all humans were like him.

[Arthuriel]

"Oh gods, woman, it doesn't matter!" He shrieked, having reached his breaking point. "It's magic, it doesn't pick and choose what race, it does them all! I could learn the entire history of the hells and the heavens a creature from those planes were here! There is no limit to what it can tell me!" He exhaled forbid, calming himself down. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted, you lead the way."

[JackieCat]

Naarilash herself was about to explode when he shouted, but when he apologized she nodded to him. "I'm sorry I don't know everything about your book, I was just wondering.  Anyway, the Wolfiei said they didn't know of any magic but they knew of the temple where the magic may be.  So I suggest we go there.  I know the way, follow me."

Naarilsh turned and started to walk in the direction of the temple.  As she walked she transformed back into her full wolf form, she would be able to travel much faster and farther in the wolf form than the human form.

[Arthuriel]

They were halfway to the temple when Khasm realized that the sun had set.

"Perhaps we should camp," He said, and had no plans on taking no for an answer. His feet hurt and he mentally cursed. Walking, why hadn't he managed to learn a flying spell yet?

[JackieCat]

"Good idea," Naarilash said, but then she realized she had spoken in the Wolfiei language.  She quickly transformed into her human form and repeated the words.  "I know a small oases a few minutes walk from here where we can stay and be safer than if we stayed out here in the open."

After another three minutes they were at the oasis.  It was nothing more than a few trees and large boulders around a pool of water.  The boulders formed a pretty tight ring around the pools and Naarilash slipped through a small space between two boulders and into the ring.  She climbed onto one of the boulders and looked around in the blackness.

"I'm not very tired," she said. "I'll take first watch."

She changed into her full wolf form and sat down on top of the boulder.

[Arthuriel]

Khasm didn't lie down to sleep, just reached into his pack and pulled out a squirming hare. It's eyes widened with fear then rolled into the back of his head, dead from the blast of energy Khasm had held  in.

He arranged a cone of sticks then blasted it with the hare's soul, setting the wood ablaze. His thoughts turned to the Wolfiei, standing watch nearby. She was... interesting. He'd never admit this to hear, but in many ways the wizard was jealous. She had friends, even a family among her pack. Khasm considered his own life, finding himself friendless. Had it been worth it?

Yes, he decided, a frown finding its way onto his face. What good were friends? They would've held him back, would've stopped him from his experiments. They would have stopped him pursuing what weaker ones wouldn't dare! He'd made the right choice.

[JackieCat]

Naarilash sat atop the rock, thinking.  This was all so sudden!  One minute she was with her pack, like an ordinary day, then the next, she was running off on an adventure with a man, a human, (she had met a human!) who seemed to have some problems, including that he thought himself better than her.  Despite that, she didn't hate him, just thought there were a few wrinkles in his fur that needed to be smoothed out.

She shook her wolfen head in amazement, this was wonderful!  She just hoped that when they found the wizard, or the magic, that it would be worth something and they both wouldn't be killed straight away or find that the magic is unreachable.

She watched the moon rise and fall, and when she saw that the stars were in the position of the middle of the night, she changed back into her human form and called over her shoulder in a whisper to Khasm.

"Your turn for the watch!"

[Arthuriel]

Khasm nodded wordlessly, standing up and peering out into the darkness. It was a quite night and the stars shone brightly against the black abyss of the sky. The wizard took a step back, blinking repeatedly as some of the stars blinked out then reappeared within a matter of moments. Had he imagined it? There wasn't some unknown beast lurking out there, just waiting to shred him to pieces. Maybe it'd go after Naarilash... No, no, there was nothing, nothing at all.

No shadow creature, nothing whatsoever. He repeated this well into the night and had started to believe when an earth-shattering shriek echoed through the night.

[JackieCat]

Naarilash screamed as the monster bit its teeth into her leg.  She screamed again as the beast pulled its teeth out and made to bite at her face.  But before it could make contact, Naarilash had transformed into her full wolf form and rolled out of the way.  Her leg was bleeding badly, and as she rolled to her feet she kept it tucked up and off of the ground.  She growled at the beast, it was large, nearly six feet tall and ten feet long, and was covered in shaggy black fur.  IT's eyes glowed yellow and its great yellowing fags dripped with Narrilash's blood.

When she had been attacked the Wolfiei had been asleep, and she was sure she would have died if her reflexes hadn't been so quick.

The Wolfiei growled quietly and a burst of flashing lights surrounded the other beast's head, while it was blinded and distracted, Naarilash sent another blast of magic at the creature.  The magic blasted it back, but the monster recovered quickly.  Naarilash tried to scramble back as the beast neared her, but her injured leg slowed her down considerably.  She hit the boulder behind her and fell to her back, unwillingly turning back into her human form.

"Khasm!" she screamed. "Help me!  Please!"

[Arthuriel]

Khasm gulped and shoved a trembling arm into his sack, crushing a hare to death with his shaking hand. To his credit, the blast came closer than the wizard had expected. His eyes widened in shock as the light from the blast illuminated the area.

In the brief moments that Khasm could see the creature, he would've sworn in looked like a large... wolverine. With sand colored fur.

Oh, shit, He thought as darkness returned to the camp.

[JackieCat]

The blast distracted the beast long enough for Naarilash to get away.  As she rolled around to the side of it she narrowed her eyes, and if she was that kind of person, she would have swore.  A sand wolverine.

She didn't have much time to be irritated though, for the wolverine spun on her again.  Naarilash transformed into her hybrid from and leaped onto the wolverine's back, digging in her claws, but her injured leg could not be used, and the wolverine threw her from it's back.

She flew off, hitting a boulder and falling to the ground, but she leaped to her feet almost immediately and ran again to attack.

"Come on!" she growled to Khasm. "Let's get this thing!"

[Arthuriel]

Khasm gulped in fear. He didn't consider himself to be a coward, just an avid fan of not fighting or endangering his own life. But still, the beast, which he would get full credit for discovering, would probably kill his companion without his help.

He didn't reach for his bag of hares this time, instead he held his hands out in front of him palm upwards. He spoke the needed words of power and a deadly axe forged of a metal darker than dark appeared in his hands. As he closed his fist around the weapon's leather wrapped handle he felt himself grow several feet taller. Soon he was probably a head and a half taller than Naarilash and he knew that the rest of his body had increased in size as well.

It had been too  long, he thought to himself as he rushed forward, bringing the great axe to bear against the savage beast. Too long, indeed.

[JackieCat]

Naarilash was intrigued, if not surprised, at Khasm's transformation, and was happy for the help.  While the wolverine was distracted, Naarilash turned back into her full wolf form and growled under her breath.  Another flash of light appeared behind the wolverine, and the creature spun around to face it, thinking it another foe.  Now the wolverine was facing away from both Naarilash and Khasm, and the Wolfiei leaped forward and onto the wolverines back, digging her claws into its flesh and biting at the back of its neck.

[Arthuriel]

Khasm roared in rage and fury, swinging his onyx axe in a downward stroke, the magically sharpened edge sinking deeply into the beast as he gave a roar of pain. Even in the darkness of the night, Khasm could see the red lifeblood of his foe flowing freely from the deep wound. He roared again, stomping his feet and gnashing his teeth. What power! None could stand before him, no god or demon or angel.

The beast reared from Naarilash and snapped it's jaw into Khasm's bulging legs. The teeth sunk to the bone but Khasm, warrior incarnate, either didn't feel the pain or didn't think it worth reacting to. This beast wasn't worth his axe, he decided as he freed the weapon from his enemy and tossed it away.

The enchantment's dismissal was almost instant. His body shrunk and shifted, returning to the scrawny, feeble man he truly was. A stinging pain erupted in his leg and he looked down at the beast, not able to to tell whether it was more shocked than he was at the change.

He looked up and his eyes met Naarilish and he silently prayed for her to save him.

[JackieCat]

Naarilash had been thrown from the monster as it had attacked Khasm, and she had slid along on the sand before finally coming to a halt.  She scrambled to her paws and ran towards the beast and Khasm.  The wolverine was advancing on Khasm, and Naarilash thought that if she didn't get to them soon the beast would kill her companion.

With a fierce growl Naarilash threw herself at the beast's neck  she twisted her neck around as she leaped, biting under the wolverine's throat and gripping it tight.  The beast howled in pain and tried to shake Naarilash off. The Wolfiei held on for a few moments longer before willingly letting go, but she had gripped hard enough and long enough for blood to be falling from the wolverine's wounds.  As the Wolfiei dropped to the ground the wolverine turned and fled, this prey was not worth its life!

Naarilash turned to Khasm as the beast ran, as she did so she turned into her human form.  She walked over to him, a frown on her brow. "Are you okay?  Let me see your leg."

[Arthuriel]

Khasm was too stunned and tired to resist. He simply sat down and stretched out his leg. The change, the transformation that axe enacted always tired him. He laid down, yawning slightly. He was wary of leaving himself vulnerable to his companion...but sleep sounded so much better.

It wasn't long before the enchanted mage was sound alseep.

[JackieCat]

Naarilash smiled as he started to fall asleep, and she waited until he was completely out until she ripped his pant leg off from the knee down and inspected the wound.  She instinctively turned into a full wolf and started to, yes, lick his wound clean.  But it was after only five or so licks that she realized that his human body might not be used to this sort of cleaning and not react to it positively.  Then she changed back into a human and got some water from the stream to wash his wound.  The cuts were very deep, all the way to the bone, but the bone didn't seem broken.

Naarilash washed the wound thoroughly and then ripped off the bottom of her dress, just his pant leg wouldn't be enough.  She bound his wound with the black fabric and then realized a lot of leg was showing, even though her high heeled boots reached to her knees.  She had read in books that in some cultures, that was perfectly fine, as it was among the Wolfiei, but in others, women had to wear long dresses all the time to be 'proper'.

Naarilash hoped he wasn't from one of those societies.

[Arthuriel]

"You are a threat to the school, young wizard," The archmage shouted, his red robes flowing in the air. Khasm looked on, his arms burning with runes, freshly carved into his flesh. The archmage was a terrifying sight to the enchanted wizard, black hair ablaze with hire and green eyes glowing brightly in the night. Truly, the mage was a thing from nightmares.

"I didn't know!" Khasm cried, tears streaming down his face. How could he have known the golem would kill her? He'd been certain he could've dispelled the monster, the runes should have given him control. The archmage began to chant then, lightning and thunder as the laughter of a god. His former teacher loosed the spell against Khasm.

He didn't mean for her to die.

Khasm awoke with a gasp, drenched with sweat. He cursed himself for sleeping; the nightmare always came when he slept.