Warped Paths

by Morikain

Surprise!

Author's Note:

You are going to wonder about a certain part of this chapter so when you get to it, look up EQ2 Shadow Brute because I suck at detailed descriptions. Sorry for the delay as well, I have been in a weird slump and haven't been able to write hardly anything.

After nearly an hour of walking around with the Princess and having the Gala shown to us in its entirety, Lutano and I separate and find places in the Hall that wouldn't bother us with the crowds while still being able to observe the event. Surprisingly, it wasn't as difficult to remain calm since the ponies were too tense to relax so I was able to sit in peace for the most part. There had been the occasional pony that would wander by to ask a question or two about what and who I was or the reason for my being at the Gala but they were easily ignorable and sent on their way with a few short answers. The one that truly stuck out and annoyed me though, was a snow white stallion with a blonde mane styled carefully and an attitude that just screamed he thought the world of himself. While it seemed he was curious with the number of questions he had, they were all thinly veiled insults that I knew were meant to get a reaction out of me.

After finally excusing myself by saying I was going to get something to drink, I head straight for Lutano to give him a warning about the stallion. Catching him near the doors, I look over my shoulder to make sure the stallion hadn't followed me. Turning back to Lutano, I put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention and pull him down to my height so I wouldn't be overheard. "Be on the lookout for a white stallion with a blonde mane, he is going to try to get a rise out of you and cause a scene." Suddenly smirking, I take a quick glance around the room and spot the stallion talking to a group of nobles. "I have an idea on how to strike back if he pushes too far though... I just wanted to give you a heads up."

Lutano nods and chuckles. "So is he going to be charred or spikey when you are done with him?"

I pause for a second to think before shrugging. "We will just have to see what we have to work with if the time comes. Anyways, get back to whatever you were doing, I am going to head out to the gardens to get some fresh air."

Lutano nods slightly. "Just don't leave me in here by myself for too long, I really don't feel like dealing with any of these nobles if it starts getting in to politics."

I chuckle and nod before passing stepping into one of the doors and out of a tree in the gardens. To my surprise, I had stepped out in behind Fluttershy who appeared to be trying to talk to the animals that lived in the gardens but she was only getting them to run away. Sighing to myself, I walk to her side and put a hand on the top of her head. "You are trying to go to the animals when you should be letting the animals come to you. You have to remember that despite being intelligent they will still see you as a threat before they see you as a friend. Sit down and let them come to you."

Ruffling her mane, I take a seat beside her and smile. "I'm sure you would have gotten through to them your own way in time though, you have a way with animals that even a few druids don't have."

Sitting beside me, Fluttershy gives a slight sniff. "I don't understand why I can't befriend them though, it was so easy with the animals in Ponyville."

I think for a second before smiling slightly. "Maybe because you have spent enough time around the Everfree that even the animals you didn't know, knew that you were a friend. The animals here know nothing of you or any other pony most likely. Give it some time and I am sure that the animals will come around. I know the wolf pack in my home forest would run me off every time they saw me for nearly five years before I was finally able to gain their trust and become a part of the pack."

Fluttershy's eyes widen. "Y-you're f-friends with w-wolves?"

I nod slightly. "Part of being a druid is to know all animals. Some of us even take on one or two as a companion if we feel the desire. Though the time it takes to get a familiar is considerably longer than just to befriend the animal."

Fluttershy seems to think for a second before speaking. "Do you have a... familiar?"

I nod slightly. "I do, though I haven't seen him in a long time. After I joined the Merciful Ones, I spent too much time in cities for his liking and we parted ways until I returned to the forests... Now that I think about it, I should probably summon him soon. He has to have noticed the near severing of our bond."

Fluttershy blinks a couple times. "What would cause your bond to sever?"

I gesture to the woods as I answer. "My bond with him was through nature, which while the forests here are nearly identical it is still different. When I left my world and came here, the difference strained our bond to the point of snapping but it held long enough to adjust thanks to the similarities." Looking back at the castle I sigh. "I need to get back into the celebration, no telling how things are going and I really don't want to leave much to chance. Lutano and I have never been ones for..." A sudden chill running up my spine stops me mid-sentence and I frown.

Looking to me because of my sudden silence, Fluttershy tilts her head slightly. "Sarikasin? What's wrong?"

I shake my head and start to dismiss the feeling before it returned along with the feeling of corruption and malice. Cursing in both elven and common, I jump to my feet and sprint into a tree. Flying out of the main doors of the Hall, I send a fire ball into the air that explodes into sparks half way to the ceiling. "Clear the room! Lutano, we have a demon coming!"

No sooner had the words left my mouth than a ripping sound filled the room and a tear appeared in the center of the room. Stepping out of the portal was a Void demon that stood nearly as tall as the ceiling which had to be at least fifty feet. Cursing slightly, I look to the princesses. "Clear out your ponies, Lutano and I will try to take him down."

Drawing his sword and shield, Lutano steps between me and the demon and chuckles. "Try? What happened to laughing at the thought of something being able to take us down back on Norrath?"

I snort slightly. "Those weren't fifty foot demons with a mouth full of giant fangs and scorpion pincers in place of the hands. I think I would rather take on any of the dragons to be honest." Summoning another fireball, I throw this one up where it then explodes into six smaller ones and converge on the Ravager's face, making it stumble back. "We need to get this thing to the other side of the room to give the ponies a clear shot to the door... any ideas? Because I don't think my fire is going to work well enough."

Lutano frowns slightly before grinning. "I've been wondering what my 'Dubstep' would do if I supercharged it... lets find out."

As he sheathes his sword, I pull a root from the ground and wrap it around his waist. "Here's hoping... because I really don't want to have to revive you after fighting this thing alone. I don't even know if I could take him down fast enough." Pulling back with the root, I use it to throw him at the head of the demon.

Half way to the demon, a massive golden hammer appears in his hands with a head that looked nearly fifteen feet wide and thirty tall and as he nears the head of the demon a joy filled shout echoes through the room. "DUBSMACK!" Swinging the hammer around into the face of the demon, it is sent flying back by the explosive force of the spell and lands against the far wall, nearly collapsing the room when it breaks through it.

Chuckling to myself, I wrap the demon in roots while shaking my head. "It's sad how this doesn't even surprise me." Making my way across the room, I keep an eye on the demon while it struggles to escape my roots. I knew the spell wouldn't hold it for long but hopefully it would be enough to let the ponies escape and do a bit of damage before it freed itself. Before I could even make it half way, I hear a shout that has been the bane of several of my quests.

The portal that the demon had come through was still open, and as it started to tear through the roots holding it, a loud half sung shout rang through the room. "You spin me right round baby, right round!" At the end of the sentence an elf flies through the portal spinning like a top, twin short swords glowing with an orange aura.

Face palming, I can't help but growl. "What did I do to deserve running into him ACROSS WORLDS?!"

A second later a cat like humanoid drops silently to the ground beside me and chuckles. "I don't know, we seem to run into each other quite often. How has your questing and dungeon delving with Lutano gone?"

I sigh slightly and let my hand drop, watching as the elven ranger meets with the demon, swords flashing across its flesh before jumping away when it takes a swing at him. "It hasn't been great but we have managed. I think we have started to hit our peak in abilities because the dungeons are starting to put us closer and closer to an actual death. What about you and Tragornis though, Moriak? Last I heard you were struggling just to get by."

Looking at the fight as Lutano joins Tragornis in keeping the demon back, Moriak shrugs slightly. "We've had our fair of trouble but with a mercenary hired to heal us we have been doing a lot better. As long as we can fight without having to worry about taking too much damage than we do well considering we have a long and close range fighter."

I nod slightly. "Makes sense, I know having Lutano to take the brunt of attacks has saved me a lot of pain. You never realize just how much a single person can help until you have to go without their skill set for a while. Anyways, back to the fight... I don't think Lutano will be too amused to fight this demon without us no matter how much he enjoys a challenge."

Moriak nods and when he charges into the fight with a pair of steel crescent blades that cover his knuckles, I gather magic in my hands causing a pale green aura to surround them before three strands stretch out and connect to Lutano, Moriak and Tragornis. Instantly the scrapes and cuts they had gotten from the few times they were hit begin to heal rapidly and I smirk slightly before adding another spell in that causes ethereal thorns to sprout from their bodies for a second before disappearing. One of my favorite parts of being a druid in a fight was using spells that would inflict damage on whoever struck my group. There was just something entertaining about watching a creature nearly kill itself while my regeneration spells kept my team mates at the peak of health. Unfortunately with the size and power of the demon we are fighting, it wouldn't be a tremendous help because a single solid hit even from just a swipe could take out any of us.

Looking around quickly, I give a short sigh of relief when I notice the room was empty aside from us and call to the others. "We have some room to play with now so avoid head on attacks, the less I have to heal means the more I can restrain." All three nod in response and back off a bit, allowing me to release my healing spell and begin charging a lightning spell. "Treat this like one of our guild raids, avoid getting caught in front of it and let Lutano hold the attention. If it starts after you, get behind Lutano and let him piss it off..." I can't help but chuckle at that because he really did somehow manage to always make things mad at him in major battles and would be killed at least twice in a fight. No one in Merciful Ones knew how but he always managed to take a hit that downed him no matter how hard the rest of the guild was hammering the monster. Shaking my head, I focus on the fight again and let the lightning blast from my right hand, slamming into the eyes of the demon and making it screech in pain.

Stumbling back a few steps, the demon shook its head and swept an arm out. While none of us were in reach, it was well within arms length of a couple of pillars and sent large chunks of them flying across the room and forcing us to dodge or use an ability to break apart the debris.

Dodging a large block of stone with just a hair's breadth of space, I whirl to look at Lutano. "Get in close, damn it! Just because I don't want you to get downed doesn't mean I want you to let it take pot shots at us like that!"

Grumbling to himself, Lutano blasts the demon with a Harm Touch before shouting back. "Just because I am the tank doesn't mean I want to take a hit from him! So shut up and let me do what I've been doing for the last two years for you!"

Before I could retort, Lutano charges in with shield in front of him and a stream of arrows from Tragornis flying over his head.

Cursing slightly, I switch my readied spells back to heals and connect a strand to Lutano just in time for him to be hammered into the ground. Thankfully with his enhanced strength he was able to hold up but it was obvious to anyone that looked that the blow had caused a large amount of pain from the grimace on his face. Releasing a wave of energy, everyone takes on a soft green glow and their wounds close. "Tragornis aim for the eyes. If it can't see us, hopefully we won't have as much of a fight. Moriak, I want you to try to trip it up." I notice the expression of disbelief from Moriak and chuckle. "Yes, I know that tripping a fifty foot demon is near impossible. Hit the back of the knee and hope it has a pressure point like a human. If we can get him down, I can bind it long enough to finish it off."

Sighing, Moriak nods and begins to work his way around the demon while it continues to hammer away at Lutano's shield. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side as the demon noticed the attempt to sneak behind it and immediately swung one of it's pincers at him, landing a heavy blow to his chest and sending him flying across the hall and into a wall. Cursing, I immediately connect a strand of magic to him to see if the heal would take, and when it did I let out a quick sigh of relief before turning back to the fight and connecting a strand to Tragornis and Lutano after deciding it was my best bet at keeping them up rather than waiting for a blow to land. "We have to end this fast, I'm not sure how much longer my mana will hold up in this fight!"

Lutano nods and throws a Harm Touch into the demons face, the toxicity melting away at the flesh before leaping forward and summoning another light hammer and slamming it into the section of revealed bone. While the blow alone wouldn't do much more than crack the bone, a quick arrow from Tragornis sank into one of the cracks and I threw a bolt of lightning at it. Acting as a lightning rod, the arrow fed the electricity straight into the demons brain and with a roar it stumbles back for a second before collapsing.

Slumping to the ground against one of the pieces of broken pillar that littered the room, I sight and let myself relax for a second before looking over to Moriak who was now conscious and getting back to his feet. "How are you feeling after that hit?"

Grunting in response, Moriak stands and rubs his chest. "A little sore still but your healing got rid of most of it. Glad you got that heal on me when you did because I could feel myself slipping. And while you guys can revive, I really don't like that feeling."

I chuckle slightly and force myself to my feet. "Believe me, I know the feeling from all the times I went into a dungeon Lutano and I were underprepared for. Anyways, lets make sure that this thing is actually down for the count because I really don't want to have it go on a rampage again later."

Moriak nods and we make our way towards Lutano and Tragornis who were each leaning against a pillar chuckling. Shaking my head, I walk past them to the head of the demon and lift an hand surrounded by flames to burn the head of the demon to ash to insure there was no getting back up but before I could, I felt a sharp pain as something slammed into me from behind before I was thrown and blacked out. The last thing I saw was the demon's glowing eyes as it rolled on to its side.