Chapter 5

         Chapter 5          The          Bowman          Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sandrial finally got the results back from her med kit.

"This is weird, the readout says that the substance is unidentifiable but has magical properties. We will NEED Zeth if we are to heal her, he can do it, I know he can, he's an extremely experienced healer. I will run it through the identifier one more time with different settings and then I will try my magical abilities and see if that reveals different results. Arman I will do everything I can to try to find something that will help until Zeth gets here."

Arman placed her into her bedroll. Sandrial runs into the forest without a word.

After she returned she worked with some of the ingredients while looking at her laptop and came up with some kind of concoction. She got up and ran to Siobahn and poured a thick purple liquid down her throat, pinches her nose closed and breathed into her mouth getting her to swallow the thick liquid.

"This might just keep her alive until Zeth gets here...or..."

"Or? Or what!? What did you do?" Arman yelled.

"I'm ninety-nine percent positive this will do exactly what I think it will; if not the poison may kill her anyway. I figured I had nothing to lose." Just then, Arman saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Siobahn had moved her head and let out a small whimper.

"That better be a good sign!" He was still perfectly angry with her for not taking into account what he wanted. He knew he would've tried it anyway; he was just upset that she hadn't consulted him about what she did.

"Well it's doing something and it looks good," She said. "You never did trust me did you?"

"That's not true! I always trusted you until you started making decisions without me. Just like this one."

"So it finally comes out." She yells. "You always were stubborn with your feelings, at least with me! Now you have another girlfriend. Why can you do it with her and not with me?"

"This is pointless. Do you even care or are you just trying to cause problems," He yelled back. "No! You're jealous!" He said. "You're jealous because I found someone who cares about my feelings, who respects me, and doesn't go off and do things that eventually hurt me. Hurt us."

"That is so not true; you only wish I was jealous so you could have both of us at the same time!"

"Oh! This conversation is over!" He told her turning away from her.

"That's right! Turn and walk away like you always do."

"You know I can hear you guys right?" Siobahn said in a groggy, raspy voice.

"Siobahn!" Arman cried out completely forgetting that she was coming around. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened? I was talking with you guys and next thing I am lying in my bedroll."

She closed her eyes and her head fell to the side, again, she was out.

"She will be in and out of consciousness for a while I just really hope Zeth gets here soon, he'll know what to do. This was just a simple magical poison reducer; it slows down the activation time for the poison. I can only do so much. We'll finish this conversation later. Right now I'm going to try and find out what this thing that you fought was. If we know what it is I might have a better idea of what I can do, so sit down, shut up and let me get to work."

Arman waited impatiently for about an hour and interrupted Sandrial several times to find out if she had made any progress, and every time she told him the same thing, 'Shut up and let me work.'

"I think I may have found it. Look at this and tell me if I'm right." He walked over to her and looked at her laptop.

"Yep that's it, it's called a Wernicker? Does it say it's enchanted; or are we looking at someone who did it on purpose? Does it say anything about how to slow or cure the poison? Is it native to this region because I've never seen one? Does it say how to kill it-?"

"Chill! I'll tell you what I know so far. The Azgroot leaves and some other things will slow the poison. I told you it would work, maybe now you'll trust that I know what I'm doing. It also says that there is no known cure for this poison. I'm sorry, Zeth may know how to cure it, I'll save this for him to look at."

"I see here that the Wernicker lives in caves and dark deep places. They have six arms with sharp claws at each end- yada yada yada, you know the rest." She keeps scrolling down reading things to herself and sometimes mumbling.

"You said something about regeneration?" Sandrial asked.

"Yeah, when I cut its arm off it regenerated it very quickly, quicker than I've seen any troll regenerate. That's when it slung the acid on me and damaged my enchanted armor. But it stopped at my padding. Thank the gods or I would've ended up just like her."

"This should be a challenge for Zeth; he loves a good challenge. Now we just have to wait until he gets here. I hope those gnolls don't go after him."

"He is going the same way we went. There should be no problems. Should I go and try to meet him halfway?" Arman asked worried again.

"No you need to stay here in case she comes too again, I want her to see your face when she wakes up, not mine."

"Does your GPS show you where he is?" Arman asked.

"Would you stop worrying! You certainly don't sound like a seasoned veteran of anything right now. Pull it together Arman! And yes, he's a little more than half the way here. He'll be here just before nightfall."

"You're right I need to pull it together what is wrong with me? Damnet!"

"You're smitten. Snap out of it Arman, go catch us something to eat other than wolf would you?"





Zeth arrived just when Sandrial said he would. He had no clue about their immediate situation. Arman was pacing around the fire and Zeth could tell he had been doing that all day; but there was a rack of meat cooking over the fire and a deer's head was on his table.

Immediately Zeth knew something was wrong.

"What has happened, Sandrial, what is wrong?" Zeth asked.

"Wait. You're an ogre'!?" Arman sceams.

"Yes I am, you ever live on Sandavareth?" Zeth asked.

"Yes, I served in the military. Why?" Arman replied.

"That's why then, ogres aren't allowed to serve in the military, too unstable." Zeth said. "Right now that's not important, now what's going on?"

"Siobahn has an enchanted wound and needs healing like, right now, before Arman here goes insane."

"I'm not going insane, it's just we can't lose a member of our party, she's too important."

"Yeah, that's the reason, we'll go with that," Sandrial shot back. If Arman ever looked evil, this was that look.

"Tell me what happened and what was done so far," Zeth asked.

Arman went into every detail he could remember. Zeth reached for his laptop and started doing his own research and Sandrial told him of what she had done to slow the poison.

"Oh shit. This will be a challenge." He said tapping away at the keys for a few minutes. "I've never even heard of a Wernicker before I'm not sure this research will be enough, I will have to dig deeper and maybe even talk to my friends. Have you tried the normal healing spells?"

"She's our cleric." Sandrial told her pointing to the prone girl lying on the ground.

"Oh boy. Let me try a few things first. You say this creature was enchanted somehow?"

"It regenerated itself after every wound and obviously it spit a poisonous acid. I assume that's the enchantment." Arman told him a bit calmer now; feeling better now that a cleric was here working on this. "I stabbed it in the base of the skull and twisted the sword that should've killed it."

"Not necessarily Arman, remember trolls are poisonous and they can regenerate needing fire to stop the head from growing back, c'mon Arman, think," Sandrial said.

"You've seen the thing! It does not even have a neck how should I cut off its head?"

"Arman, use yours! You've been on epic adventures and faced off with creatures that were far worse than this one. Your letting your feelings get in the way of logical thinking. Start behaving like a seasoned warrior Arman. But that all doesn't matter right now let me go with Zeth to get his supplies before it gets too dark then he can try the spells, but the longer we stay here the longer it's going to take to get back and heal her, so shut it and let us work."



They got back to camp to find Arman cradling Siobahn.

"Her breathing just became erratic and she was moaning," as if in response she moaned right then. While not looking like a total wuss anymore, he did look worried.

"Lay her down gently please and back away." Zeth then knelt next to her and laid hands on her chest. A red glow appeared under her chest armor. Her breathing began to return to normal. "That should keep her stable long enough for me to prepare my most potent healing spell. But first I will try to dispel any magic."

While he said some mystical words in a language he couldn't decipher Sandrial went back to her computer and started poking around at other ways to dispel this kind of magic. She waved Arman over.

"Get me some meat and cheese please," she simply asked.

"How can you eat right now?" He asked.

"I work better when I'm not hungry, do you want my full attention on this or not?"

He did as he was told and brought her the meat; anything to keep his mind off of what was happening. He had to have faith.

"Have you been able to dispel the magic yet Zeth? I think I've found a spell I could do to cancel out the magic. Let me try." She tells him. Both Zeth's and Sandrial's spells were unsuccessful. Sandrial went back to studying her computer again.

"Here it is! Let's try this one! It should heal her even with the enchantment!" Sandrial seemed more confident this time.

"This spell is not a spell, it is more like a ritual, we hafta do this right. Sandrial, good job. I will need moonlight to cast this. Do you still have any of that potion left?" Sandrial gave the potion to Zeth. "It is a good thing that the sun has set. Hopefully the clouds will not hinder the ritual in any way. We shall see. I will also need all of the Azgroot oil you have, I have to pour it all over her, even down her throat." He pours the concoction down her throat.

Zeth begins the ritual and as he does Siobahn moves her head slightly moaning softly.

"We must do this before she wakes up or the ritual will fail." He pours the oil down her throat and all over her. Then he lights it on fire and begins to chant. Sandrial had to hold Arman back as he lit her on fire.

"The fire won't hurt her or he wouldn't have done it at all, trust him. Arman, he knows what he's doing."

While Siobahn was on fire she sat straight up opened her eyes and looked at Arman with sorrowful eye's then she fell back to the ground completely motionless. Sandrial held Arman fast as he tried to run to her.

"You will do nothing but catch on fire, then what happens? She wakes up to find you dead?"

With that the chanting ceased and she dropped her arms. She looked over at Arman with sad eyes.

"No...NO! We need you!" He screams at her lifeless body. "I need you." He said in almost a whisper as he dropped to his knees.

The night went by dismally slowly for Arman who just sat there cradling Siobahn's lifeless body. Sandrial had never seen him so torn and wondered if he was like this when his wife died all those years ago. She kept tapping away at her keyboard looking for a way to do...Something; as did Zeth,but they feared no reprieve for Arman and was afraid he might just give up on this whole quest. About an hour later Zeth found something.

"I may yet have a way to save her." Zeth told Arman. He looked up with hope. "If only to give us another chance at healing her; But, if I do this and she does come back she could come back...different so don't be surprised. It is a spell I have been hesitant to use because it is a higher level spell than I think I can handle, but I will try it."

"Do it! Do that!" Arman told him.

"Alright I will try. But don't be too hopeful cause I've never tried this before." Arman just nodded his head. "But if there's any chance to save her, I will. I can see how much you love her, and need her, but be warned, as I have heard this spell will bring her back but she may be different. Do you understand?"

"Yes, even if she comes back different, I can handle that and cope with it as best as I can."

"Then I'll try."

He had to check the spell on the computer to refresh him on the spell. He needed no ingredients, the spell was based entirely on his skill level and how powerful he had become. "This spell will take complete concentration." With that said, he went to work chanting again in some language that neither of them had ever heard before; it was even a mystery to Sandrial. It was a long spell but after that he went over to the fire as Arman brought him some meat.

"So did it work?" Arman eagerly asked.

"I'm alive. It is only a matter of time; she could take a while to wake up."

Arman looked over at her and stared in hope.

"Wait a minute! That spell could've killed you?!"

"Yup, there was a fifty-fifty chance I could've died." He told Sandrial.

"And why didn't you tell us that before you started?" She asked angrily.

"I felt it was worth the chance given the story you told me about this Morticus and its master." He told her. "It's a good quest and worth dying for."

"You still should've told me!"

"It all worked out anyway I hope. If it didn't work I would've died so it had to have worked."

"No wonder they don't let ogre's into the military. You don't use your brain!" She said storming off.

He didn't have anything left to say, the comment stung him but he knew her, that was just said in anger.

Sandrial turned around and went to her computer as he just stood there. She decided to keep looking for other resurrection spells in case this one failed and noticed that the spell he cast made him extremely worn out. It was a good thing that Arman was there with food.

About an hour had passed and Arman was losing hope fast. Sandrial had told Zeth to use his bed roll after he had fallen asleep sitting right there at the fire. Suddenly Arman looked at Sandrial and she saw his face light up. She was moving on her own.

"She's alive! It worked! Zeth did it!" Arman exclaimed loudly enough to wake the dead, literally.

Her eyes opened slowly it was already starting to get dark but she still had to shield her eye's from the light. She propped herself up on her elbows and tried to say something but was unable to talk.

Sandrial went to wake Zeth and tell her that she was awake.

"Is this how she's changed? I can handle this. This is no problem."

"I have heard that she may not be able to walk and talk for some time, it's the price for bringing someone back from the dead, but she should be able to do it soon, she is in need of rest and water now." Zeth said groggily. "Don't try an give her any food just yet."

Arman pulled her up to him for a big hug and she tried to push him off of her.

"Get off me, Elf," She said defensively.

"Easy big guy, she just woke up from a dead sleep, give her some time," Sandrial told him.

She slept all night tossing, turning, and crying out in her sleep. Zeth explained to him that was probably normal after just having gotten back from the heavens. He was up reading about the affects of the spell he used. How long she wouldn't be able to walk or talk and what other effects the spell and being dead for so long could have on her.

The next morning she was able to speak a little bit, hushed whispers but speech none the less.

"What's your name girl?" Zeth asked her. She thought for a moment looking around at everybody with a look of curiosity. "It's okay it'll come to you."

"What is your name?" She asked him.

"My name is Zethsydyan Rayian, you can call me Zeth. I am the one who brought you back to life. I will also be the one who will teach you how to use your clerical abilities if you would like me to."

Siobahn nods her head and signals that she wants something to eat.

"Deer or wolf meat hun?" Arman asked her.

She nodded over towards the wolf meat.

"I will need to go back to the grove to get more bark for the oil. Zeth, why don't you come with me."

"Yeah, okay." Zeth and Sandrial headed out to the grove and Arman sat there and watched over her. She didn't say anything to Arman for a long while but gave him dirty looks occasionally. Arman wondered why.

"Siobahn, that's my name." She said matter-of-factly.

"That's right, do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, you're the elf, Arman and your other friend is Sandrial. I like her." She told him.

"You do? I thought you hated her."

"She's just got something about her; and besides, she hated you."

"But I thought you guys hated each other that's why you were always fighting."

"It was because of the rift I'm sure. You know how women despise each other during the time of the rift, especially around men."

"Why have you not told me this until now?" He asked her.

"I don't know maybe just having died and come back to life had something to do with it. You and Sandrial can get back together now that you two have 'made up.'"

She looked like she needed more meat. He gave her some and then sat down to absorb everything that just happened.

Sandrial and Zeth got back to camp and he rushed up to both of them.

"She hates me now, what is this?"

"I told you that she may come back different; be glad she didn't come back as our enemy." Zeth told him.

"She told me she likes you." Looking at Sandrial. "She even suggested that because we 'made up' we should get back together."

Sandrial didn't look shocked.

"Give her some time and space. She needs to reaclimate herself to her surroundings and everyone here."

"So when do we get to go after this Morticus?"

"You need some rest to recover. Remember you were dead, and I don't think you should be going anywhere just yet." Zeth told her.

"I've never seen an ogre cleric before." Siobahn said.

"I'm not just any ogre, I'm a Ruby Ogre which means I can control earthy substances. I am very good at extracting precious gems from the ground and I can create minor earthquakes and move rock out of our way."

"Well that's good cause we got to go down into a dungeon. You'll come in real handy."

"I am really curious to see this Morticus. The last one I saw killed my master. He ran around the inside of the ring of fire trying to get the words right when the thing finally caught him and tore him apart. I did the only thing I could. I used the spell to rid us of the summoner, it worked, and the thing died right there in the ring of fire. I'm just happy the ring of fire lasted as long as it did, er' I'd be dead right now too."

"Do you know why he summoned the Morticus to begin with?" Sandrial asked.

"Sorry, I didn't get a chance to ask 'im before I killed 'im."

"Well, I'll get this thing before it ever reaches its master. That doe should've been allowed to live a longer life; if only to be hunted later for dinner by an egotistical elf."

He was totally in shock and awe at this new turn of events. Sandrial looked at him with sad eye's knowing that he just abruptly lost his girlfriend for no good reason. She wondered if that's how he felt when his wife died, she did die for no reason, she had cancer after all and it was too late to cure her.

"I thought you said we worked well together and made a good team."

"Yeah, real good team, you let me die, elf."

Arman had no response to that. He just sat down on the log thinking about what she said.

"Not so proud now are ya? You sit there and think about that."

"Siobahn, he had no idea that thing would poison you that badly and look, you're all healed now." Sandrial said.

"No thanks to him."

"She kinda has a point Arman. I don't know that I would trust someone who had let me die, in her eye's anyway."

Arman eventually got up and got everyone some food while Sandrial and Zeth were looking for new spells they could use during battles and they knew many were coming.

"We should head out tomorrow to search that dungeon. But we bring him with us this time. I don't trust you, elf." It stung him every time she called him that.

"We should look for another entrance, those three goblins we saw the other day went somewhere other than that hole that we found. It might be safer than where we already went if this thing came back to life."

"Good thinking, we wouldn't want to risk losing you, now would we?" Siobahn said sarcastically.

"Let's just eat and get some rest, we've got a long day ahead of us," Arman said.







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