A Satyrs Request  

Through the shadows of the forest, Lanthios looked at the grinning satyr with distrust… while the pink-skinned beauty shyly walked up to him and said with the loving eyes of a child: 

[will you take me to town… this big goat man… is scary…] said Cetrisa through sniffles 

With squinted eyes, Lanthios wasn't buying this suspicious scene but ultimately decided to play along to see where this was going. 

[yes… please take her back to town…if they ask for proof, just tell them the corpses of her parents are in the forest by the furbolg…] said Zenn 

{furbolg? I thought you said tigers and spiders killed them?} replied Lanthios's questionable 

[did I say that? I believe I said I saved this child from the spiders and such… I never said what happened to her parents…Boy, you shouldn't just assume things… people may misunderstand…] replied Zenn thinking quick 

{yes… I guess you're right… I'll be more mindful from now on… but either way, does this 'child' have a name?} replied Lanthios annoyed 

[why are you asking me that? While she's standing right there in front of you…don't you think you are being rather rude right now?] replied Zenn with a smug grin 

{You're right… That was 'rude' of me…} replied Lanthios as he kept one eye on the satyr, as he turned to look at Cetrisa and asked for her name. 

[my name is Cetrisa… Thank you for helping me.] she said with 'fake' tears on the sides of her eyes. 

[Great! Now that you know her name, I will be taking my leave now! As I have much to do and other elves to save! Remember now… 'Lanthios' to put in a good word for me back in town!] said Zenn with a never-failing cheeky grin. 

As Zenn finished what he had to do, he slowly backed away into the shade of the forest. Where a rushing wind blows leaves covering his back until he disappears from sight! 

{Umm…ok… now that he's gone… Cetrisa…I'll take you back once I finish my teacher request… so in the meantime, I guess you can follow me.} said Lanthios with his guard up 

With the smile of a villain, Cetrisa nodded and followed Lanthios back quietly until the silence became too much and asked: 

[so… umm… if you don't mind me asking… what type of magic are you studying?] 

{Oh! What a great question… but umm... How did you know I was studying magic?} questioned back Lanthios, as he held a smite spell in between his fingers! 

[Oh! That's easy! I have a natural ability to sense the arcane arts! At least that is what my parent always said… My dad always believed that I had the talent to be a druid…while my mom….] replied Cetrisa with sorrowful eyes… as she got strangely quiet. 

{Damn! those are very conceiving tears for an act… unless…} thought Lanthios as he saw how genuine Cetrisa's tears looked compared to before when she was asking for help. 

Feeling bad but at the same time still cautious about any trickery, Lanthios didn't notice that the light in his hand was fading in and out, because of his lack of conviction! 

{No! This is an act! Get it together! There is no way a satyr would actually save someone, for no reason!} continued to think Lanthios as he arrived at Shaya's location. 

With healing and a fortitude spell, Shaya thanked Lanthios for his help and promised to give him a good word to Laurna, when Lanthios told Shaya of Cetrisa's circumstance. After hearing the whole story, Shaya looked over to Cetrisa and felt the same uneasiness as Lanthios and said: 

[Lanthios… I know you're a smart kid, and I'm sure I know what you're worried about, but even so, if there is a small chance that, what you have told me is true... Then I can only agree with taking her to town and having Tallonkai take a look at her… I'm sure he'll know what to do!] 

With a nod, the pair began their walk back to Dolanaar, when Shaya ready her blade as the winds behind made a sudden sift, and the shadows turned against her, as a giant Gnarlpine warrior rushed at her from within the lake! With white fur and a rock mace, the clumsy creature was filled with madness! 

With rage-filled teeth that drooled uncontrollably, and eyes that screamed no sanity, the warrior unafraid of its own death, charged at Shaya! Its mighty hands and bugling muscle swung its hammer down onto Shaya! 

With a tsk between her lips, Shaya twirled her spinning blade and parried the clumsy bear attack! As his attack fell into empty dirt, Shaya twirled her blade for a slice! The slice drew blood and fur as it slid against the left side of the warrior's gut! Blood and fur flew, as did the warrior temper! With a mighty roar, he charged again as more Gnarlpine warriors came out of the lake! But more than warriors, they also had a brown-skinned shaman! 

As lighting sparkled in his hands, the shaman stunned the back of Shaya as she fought with the warriors! With stunned legs, she couldn't dodge a rock hammer to her plated chest! As it caved in on her chest, she coughed out blood and screamed drawing the furbolg to laugh at her weakness! But as she tumbled onto the floor, she gripped her weapon and flung it like a disk, that slit the throats of two of the warriors! 

As they held their necks, the furbolgs fell onto their knees! Coughing out blood through their long tongues and black-yellow teeth! With two of the warriors dead, the Shamen channeled a wrath spell in one hand, while another held a ball of lighting! While the original warrior held his bleeding side he gave into his rage, as he watched two of his friends die right in front of him! 

With crazy eye veins and skin turning red, the warrior slammed his mace continually like an orc! Right down onto Shaya! With each breath more painful than the last, Shaya dodged what she could and parried what she could, but against a creature whose muscle mass was twice hers… she was losing! Knowing she was going to die if this continued, Shaya turned to look at the shaman, when a ball made of wrath came hurling towards her! 

Thinking quickly, she tossed her blade at the spell! But the spell was of nature of purity and not of lighting! So, when the blade came cutting the ball down the middle, it didn't block or absorb it! Instead, it simply went through it! As the blade phased through the wrath spell, Shaya could see it as if time had slowed, as it inched towards her face! With boom!

she screamed from the burn, while the shaman fell dead, as the blade stuck halfway into his skull! As Shaya's head burned, the warrior crushed her right leg with a mighty swing with his hammer! Seeing his prey on the floor, the warrior tossed away his hammer, for he wanted to tear this elf with his bare hands! 

But as his claws were about to dig into the elf's soft flesh, a magical bubble made of pure light protected her! Annoyed that someone would dare interfere with his hunt! The warrior turned his bloodlust eyes onto a little creature that looked just like a cub! With a roar, the shadows behind him shifted! As a dagger entered the right side of his neck! 

The sudden pain only made him angry! As blood poured from his eyes, the warrior reached to grab the small Bella that stabled him! But when he did, Shaya grabbed his left leg and stabbed it nonstop with a hidden dagger! With one interloper on his back and another on his feet, the warrior tried to shake them off, when he felt a sudden blast of pain in his mind! He felt an invisible light cutting his flesh! 

Drenched in his own blood, the warrior fell to his knees, as a long sharp blade in the shape of a katana entered his back and through his heart! But out of sheer determination, the warrior roared his last as he fell like a mountain! 

When all was over, Shaya said while she sat on the purple grass: 

[thank you… lanthios... Thank you Cetrisa! If you two didn't come back… I'd be dead right now…] 

{No problem! Shaya! I'm happy to help anytime, but next time please give me a head up if you're going to piss off the furbolg!} replied Lanthios as he kept casting healing spells on Shaya. 

[oh! I assure you! I didn't anger them on purpose! I don't even know why they attacked me in the first place!] replied Shaya 

[Anyway, how did you two know I was in trouble anyway?] continued Shaya 

To that in quarry, Lanthios pointed at the corpse of the Shaman and said: 

{as we were walking back to the village, I saw a strange ball of lighting shoot into the air coming from this direction and simply decided to come back to check on it…} 

[that's it? No other reason?] questioned Shaya 

{do I need another reason? I mean I've been living here with you guys for a while now to know that lighting coming out of the lake is not normal! And I know you are not a druid or a mage or have any talent in magic whatsoever! You're a warrior through and through} replied Lanthios with smugness 

[really***] replied Shaya with annoyed anger veins at the insult 

But while Lanthios and Shaya were having their banter, Cetrisa was hiding her disturbed smile at the sight of the corpses… while she enjoyed the feel of the fresh blood on her blades… her eyes shined in memories as she stabbed the neck of the bear creature again and again as it struggled to pull her off its back… oh! How she delighted in the killing! That she wished she could continue playing with the corpses in front of her… but now wasn't the time… her duties must be completed first... 

But her mind raced with fantasy, Lanthios saw through one eye, her falseness…. He knew something wasn't right with this girl and her little display during the fight proved him right… he saw how sadistic her smile was as she stabbed the furbolg! He saw how she enjoyed the spilling of blood, the feeling of rendering flesh… he saw the demon within! And… he liked it! 

{she may be a demon in elf skin but… if I use her right… I may learn what the satyrs are planning… plus it doesn't hurt to have an extra hand in a world filled with war! I just hope my healing light doesn't hurt her…much!} thought Lanthios to himself as he decided to play along with the satyr's little game. 

[Lanthios…] called out Shaya 

{..} 

[LANTHIOS!] yelled out Shaya with annoyance 

{Ah! Yes! I'm listening Shaya!} replied Lanthios 

[no, you weren't! Now listen to me! You need to head back and seek the council from Tallonkai! He'll know what to do! Hopefully, this was a one-time incident and not their entire tribe or this is going to get ugly really fast…] replied Shaya nervously 

 Of course, this wasn't new to Lanthios, as a transmitter he already knew of the corruption of the furbolg, but without the limitation of the game, this might get uglier than he realizes! His mind then turned to Star Breeze Village and worried he might see a completely different and rawer scene than how it was portrayed in the game. And he was right! 

For as he left with Cetrisa back to the village, Zenn was laughing it up as he watched Ferocitas the Dream eater, and his general Uruson ran-sack the village of Star Breeze! For the village had no walls and almost no guards… for why would they… when their hubris told them that the furbolg were nothing more than weak furry pets, that peace made simple with basic knowledge…