[Carriac]

He felt the warmth of Mara's arms around him and the kisses she placed on his face, but his mind was so caught up in his horror that he derived no comfort from it. He saw her angular elvish features torn and dripping blood and forced his eyes shut to try and escape the image.

"I didn't...I couldn't have...but I was there - I WAS THERE! I SAW IT! THE BLOOD WAS EVERYWHERE...."

He broke down and sobbed uncontrollably as the scene replayed itself in his mind's eye. Again, he witnessed the brutal acts firsthand. He felt the rush of pleasure as some part of him enjoyed - no REVELED - in the carnage. His revulsion warred with the pleasure and the dichotomy of his emotions was too much for him to bear.

His eyes shot open, then rolled up into his head as his body stiffened in a violent seizure.

[Mara]

Mara had pulled Carriac out at arms length, while listening to him babbling on about seeing something and he had mentioned blood. That word alone caused her own blood to turn cold and she shivered.

"Everything's going to be ok now. You're safe..."

But she watched in horror as Carriac suddenly went into a Violent seizure, his eyes rolled back showing nothing but white, and his fingers were clutched tight into fists while his body shook. She had never seen a seizure so violent before and she pulled him to her and tried to keep Carriac from hurting himself.

"TRAVELER!!"

Placing Carriac down on his back, she quickly pulled her dagger and pried his mouth open with her fingers, before placing the hilt of the dagger in between his teeth. Taking his hand, she pulled them down beside him and held them down, while watching his body jerk and his feet digging into the soft dirt.

"Traveler! I need you over here! Carriac is going into a seizure and I can't hold him down for long."

She started cursing in elven as she waited for Traveler, her arms hurting and her blood boiling. She could feel a change coming over her, but she bit her lip and force the feeing back down.

"Help me get him into the wagon. Maybe we can tie him down until this thing passes."

[Traveler]

He woke with a start as Mara moved from his side. He relaxed a bit when he heard Carriac had made it back to camp, and decided to let Mara welcome him back to camp in her own way. Carriac and him were going to have to sort things out in their own way. He realized as she started kissing him how much he had begun to care for her himself.

There were faint stirrings at the edge of the grove that caused him to realize the grove was back to its normal size. The trees had backed away from around the edge of the wagon. The was a low, faint rumble at the edge of his hearing that seemed to surround him/ He started to wonder about how the trees were able to move when he heard Mara' desperate cry.

He hurried to Mara's side and took in the scene at once. IF it had not been for Mara claim that Carriac had made it back, he would not have recognized his friend. There was a sort of familiarity about him, but he had lost so much weight that he no longer looked like their friend.

He grabbed the man and hauled him over his should and said, "Go open the door and make the bed ready." He followed her to the wagon and waited briefly as she went in the wagon and called back to him that everything was ready. He scrambled up the ladder and carried the now slim elf to the bed and dumped him unceremoniously on it.

He watched for a moment as another seizure took him. "We need to tie him down or he could hurt himself." Not wanting to consider the possibility that the elf's powers could be unleashed during a seizure. "Go find some rope, quickly."

He waited for Mara to come back with some rope and carefully tied Carriac down with enough slack to move, but not enough to be able to hurt himself. "Let's take your blade from his mouth and put a gag in. It will help him breath easier." Also not wanting to leave something dangerous near at hand.

"Mara, we need to give him some time to rest. Why don't you go make him some stew. He'll need something on his stomach to regain his strength."

[Mara]

Mara could only wonder what was going on with Carriac. He seem...different, but at the moment all she wanted was for him to be better. She stood just inside the door and watched while Traveler took the bits and pieces of rope from her hands and tied Carriac to the bed, before pulling the tilt of the dagger from his clinched jaws. She couldn't move when Traveler handed back the blade, her hands twisting and wringing the last piece of rope as she starred at Carriac, then Traveler. It felt like ages when her voice returned and she swallowed before trying to speak.

"Is he going to be ok? I...I didn't know what to do. I...I didn't see any wounds to heal, and I don't know why he's so....thin."

She bit her lip again and leaned around Traveler, before turning quickly and jumping down from the wagon. "He'll be hungry after this won't he? Your right...I...I should fix him something to eat. I'll...let him rest," and with the last strand of rope still being twisted in her hand, she stepped over to the fire and threw another piece of wood on the fire and started reheating the water. Her thoughts were elsewhere when she picked the hot pot up and moved it over the fire more, before standing. Her hand reached into the now boiling water and she checked to see if it was hot enough, before rising and stepping over to the wagon. There she pulled the sack full of supplies down and started to fix a hearty stew, with that she had. She was using her dagger, cutting and slicing things without even looking, her hands moved so fast they were but a blur, and everything she cut went into the pot.

Nothing was wasted.

[Carriac]

The shaper was aware of his body, the racking convulsions and frenetic trembling, but he felt outside of himself. No, that wasn't right. He was INSIDE of himself - buried deep down inside. A great weight seemed to push him back within the confines of his mind - pressing him forcefully into the sea of his memories - which is exactly where he DIDN'T want to be. The gory scene from the house floated all about him, bathing him in the bloody details. He struggled in the murky sea of his mind, battling against both the tidal wave of memory and the anchor that forced him to remain there. He tried repeatedly to free himself. But his strength was waning....

[Mara]

Before long she came back to the wagon, and found Traveler sitting by the door. "You must rest. I'll...watch him. I brought you some stew. It's not much, just some things that I threw together. The bowl is hot, so be careful," as she held the bowl out in the palm of her hand, her face showing not reaction to the heat. Just her cheeks showed the stains of tears, when they fell and dried on her cheeks.

"He's going to be ok, isn't he," she asked, more to the point, that it was a question, as she sat the bowl down, and looked into the wagon, to see if Carriac was stirring around yet.

"I've had nightmares like that...."

[Traveler]

He took the bowl from her and quickly set it down. He stirred it for a moment, and stared at the bowl.

"Mara, I'm not going to lie to you. I don't know what's wrong. I don't know if he's going to come out of this or not. Something strange is going on. He acts like a man possessed at times. He's lost a lot of weight in a very short time."

He studied her face for a moment before he continued. "Yesterday when we went to the jail to get him, I saw something. Something that scared me. I couldn't see who it was, But I saw something kill that guard, and escape through the back wall. As far as I know there is only one person who could have managed that escape."

[Carriac]

With a final surge of desperation, he broke through the mental barrier and escaped the memory sea. His mind fled to the relative peace of consciousness....

The seizure stopped and Carriac opened his eyes. He found Mara sitting next to him, a bowl of stew and a spoon in her hands. Traveler leaned against the doorjamb of the wagon also holding a bowl.

The wagon. He was in the wagon. He was safe.

"W-what....what happened?" he managed to ask.

[Mara]

Sitting on the edge of the bed, with a bowl of hot stew in her hand, she gently smiled down at Carriac and placed one hand over his lips. "Shh! Don't speak. You're back at the wagon and you're safe, that is all that matters right now."

Before Carriac could say anything else, she has slipped her hand back, replacing it with a spoon full of stew. "Now it might be hot, so just lay back and nod if it is."

Worried now that the stew was too hot, Mara pulled the spoon back and blew softly on it for a bit, while glancing over towards Traveler.

"Traveler," she asked while she placed the spoon in Carriac's mouth, "would you get the wagon moving? I think we had better leave the grove while we still can. Please..."

[Traveler]

He looked at them both before shutting the door and heading for the front of the wagon. He broke camp and pack the few things they had gotten out. There would be time enough later to clean the dishes. Once everything was stowed. He climbed into the wagon and started to leave.

He blinked to clear his eyes. There before him, where before there was a wall of trees, was a trail. It was wide enough for the wagon to travel down. The trail was shaded by the trees which overhung the trail.

Looking around he urged the mules to go and directed them towards the opening. Just as he reached the opening the Guardian of the grove stepped in front of him and said, "This way will lead you to a safe point far away from here. Do not wander from the path. My influence is great here only. There are places along the way to camp and find water." It turned and started to leave.

"Thank you for helping us, again!"

The guardian turned and said, "Be careful. There is something evil in your group. I cannot tell what it is. There seems to be a shadow of something hovering close to your group waiting to spring forth."

The guardian seemed to melt into the surrounding trees as Traveler watched. Once more he urgerd the mules on, and they started with a lurch.

[Mara]

Her hand was shaky when she turned back and slipped the now empty spoon from Carriac's lips. Her tear stained face seemed to glow with the candlelight as she looked into his eyes and smiled. Taking the spoon, she filled it once again, blew on it and feeding it to Carriac, stopping him at times from trying to rise up or speaking as the wagon lurched forward.

"Now lay still or I'm going to tie you back down," and she bit her lip. "I was so worried about you, and I didn't know what to do, so I ran and got Traveler. But your safe now and you need to rest."

[Moiran]

"I can help there!"

[Mara]

Mara almost spilt the stew all over herself and Carriac when she saw the Gnome standing over her shoulder, watching her. He was licking his lips and eying the stew, before taking a deep sigh.

"How can you help?"

[Moiran]

The gnome circled around until he was facing her, floating a few inches off the bed. "Well he needs his rest, and I know a few formulas that can put him to sleep like a baby."

[Carriac]

"I don't need to sleep like a baby, you sorry excuse for an alchemist, and I'm sure as Hades not gonna drink any of YOUR concoctions!"

The weary shaper made an effort to stand, but was stopped by Mara's firmhand.

[Mara]

"Hush you! You've been through enough for one night and your staying right there," and Mara pointed a finger and pressed it to his bare chest. "Now you lay back and close your eyes, or else," and she leaned over and kissed him full on the lips. Standing up, she turned and watched while the Gnome started looking through the cubby holes and cabinets pointing at a number of bottles, some full of powder, while others were full of some type of liquid.

"Grab that bowl there, and I'll tell you what to add."

Mara did just that, and listened, while keeping an eye on Carriac. Before long she had a cup full of a strange smelling brew, that boiled and puffed up smoke as she slipped over to the bed.

"Does he drink it, or do I pour it over him?"

[Moiran]

The gnome rolled his eyes before shaking his head. "He drinks it! Pour it over him indeed. You're no chemist, that's for sure!"

[Carriac]

He had half a mind to refuse, but the kiss had softened up his resolve. With a sigh, he took the cup from Mara and downed it quickly. It was only after the entire contents were gone that he realized the potion had actually tasted rather pleasant, but by then the drug had begun to take effect and his eyes drooped. He was asleep almost instantly.

[Mara]

Slipping the cup from the now sleeping form's hand, Mara made sure that he was still breathing by placing an ear to his chest. She heard a steady heartbeat, and air pulling in and out of his lungs, causing her to take a sigh of relief.

[Moiran]

The gnome placed two outraged fists on his hips.

"What?" he demanded, "Do you think him poisoned?"

[Mara]

Mara stood and shook her finger at the ghostly form, her eyes shifting while she whispered. "No, I didn't think you poisoned him, but with him...changing like he's been doing, I wanted to make sure he was...ok." She stopped talking, placing just her fingertips on Carriac's chest, feeling his heart beating strong.

"I just wanted to be sure he was breathing alright, and to check for a fever, that's all."

Standing there now, she slowly ran her hand up to his cheek, then through his hair. "He's changed so much in the last day or two. Maybe when he uses his...talent, it takes something from him. Since he hasn't used his...gift in such a long time, maybe that's why he was so..."

[Moiran]

"Fat?" The ghost snorted. "You think he was fat because of his shaping abilities?"

[Mara]

Rolling her eyes, she almost shouted,"NO!", but she caught herself at the last second. "No, he was never fat! He's just...large boned. Anyway, what do you know? Just go back to where ever you go and leave us alone for a while."

[Moiran]

"Doing?!? As if a disembodied spirit has anything to do trapped here in this deathtrap of a wagon. Still, even the solitude of that cabinet would be preferable to spending more time with someone as loony as you!"

He turned with a flourish and disappeared into the aforementioned cabinet.

[Mara]

"Yea, whatever! Just ghost!"

Yawning, Mara stretched and stepped up to the small cot. She released the curtains, plunging the cart into deep shadow, before slipping in beside Carriac, pulling his arm over her shoulder, slipping on her side next to him. Before long, her eyes closed as she played with his fingers, wrapping them in hers before falling asleep. The wagon moved on slowly, rocking them to sleep.

Or at least one of them...

[Carriac]

He seemed to be falling at a great pace; the sensation was unmistakable. Falling, and wrapped about in blackness - a warm comforting blanket of inky darkness that held him in its gentle embrace. How long he remained in this state, he didn't know. Time had no meaning here. There was only the falling....

A subtle call tugged at him through the black, urging his presence.

*Whatever for?* he questioned. It was so peaceful here...so peaceful.

The call repeated, insistent. *Come,* it purred, *Come and see...*

He followed the prompting then, altering the motion of his movement. He landed softly, comfortably on his left side and opened his eyes.

It was dark in the room. No, not a room, he realized as his sharp elven eyes adjusted quickly to the shadows. He was in the wagon - the curtains were down. The cot where he lay was jostled slightly as the wagon lurched its way down whatever road it followed. Mara murmured softly and snuggled more comfortably into him, her arms folded across her chest.

Mara?

Carriac felt the warmth of her pressed against him, his right arm wrapped firmly about her waist.

*She belongs here.*

The thought brought a smile to his lips. The back of her head rested against his chin and he breathed deeply, the scent of a cook fire lingering in her silky hair. How comfortable this was! He kissed that hair, gently squeezing the arm about her.

*Such a flat stomach.*

Carriac ran his hand gently across Mara's middle feeling the firmness of her stomach. Two fingers slid into opening between buttons brushed across skin. The touch sent a shiver through him. He pushed up on one arm then, looking down across her sleeping form.

*She is offering herself to you.*

Mara was sleeping. Sleeping next to him. Sleeping AGAINST him. Yes. YES! She was OFFERING herself to him!

*You must take her now. Take her quickly before that jealous fiend, Traveler, comes back to interfere!*

With a snarl, he came to knees beside the sleeping elf maid. She moaned slightly as her weight shifted. He didn't notice. With eyes of the deepest black, he took in Mara's sleeping form. He placed one hand on her side, the other on her knee. With a sharp mental bark he destroyed her clothing, dissolving the weave into its component fibers. He took hold of Mara's knees, then, and wrenched them apart, straddling her as the cloth of his own pants parted as was needed.

Mara awoke abruptly, but he was on her now, his greater weight pinning her to the cot.

[Mara]

The old wagon rocked with each step of the mules, causing Mara to sink deeper into her dreams. She awoke to find herself in a small clearing the soft moss blanketed the area in a sea of green with tiny blue flowers sprouting up all around her. She was bare as the day she was born, the sunlight that filters down between the leaves sparkled across her rich tanned skin, warming her. Her chest slowly rose and fell while she ran her hands along her sides, stretching while counting the leaves on the trees above. The forest was at peace, with the soft sounds of birds and insects going about their daily lives, a soft gentle breeze blowing over her, cooling her skin.

She didn't see the shadowed form until it was standing over her, blocking out the rays of light from her eyes. The form of a mans silhouette caused her to smile, her hand reaching up for his bare chest while he knelt down between her legs.

"I've been waiting for this day for ages," her voice was but a whisper, yet it seemed to echo throughout the forest. She felt his strong hands on her knees pushing her legs up and her hands came up to his chiseled chest. His skin felt cool on her fingers and she thought it strange that such a dream could feel so real, but she felt pain where she had never felt pain before, shocking her from the dream state. The images of the clearing faded, bring her back to reality. Blinking in the darkness of the wagon, the form of the man was still kneeling over her, the pain slowly growing deep inside of her being.

As her eyes became accustomed to the darkness, she saw that it was Carriac, her hands were indeed resting on his bare chest. She glanced down across her own bare chest, then body, seeing the two almost matching in a strange way, the sensation of pain building. Arching her back, she tried to pull away from his advances but found her head up against the wall.

"Carriac? What are you doing..." she asked, feeling a heavy pressure being pushed against her, smelling her own blood, feeling her own body tearing in two.

"Stop...Please..." She was feeling violated and she was unsure if it was her fault, if in her dream she had started the advances towards him in her sleep. The pain grew as she bit her lip, straining to break free from his grasp.

"Carriac! No..."

[Carriac]

*KEEP HER QUIET!*

The thought slid into the fire in his brain. Hardly aware of the movement, Carriac backhanded Mara sharply across the face.

His hands then pinned her arms to the cot.

[Mara]

At first, she felt frightened of what she saw before her. This was not like Carriac, not the man she knew, or thought she had known. She ran things through her mind as to why he was treating her like this, then everything fell into place. The potion that she had mixed had brought forth something in side of him, a darker side.

But the assassin side of her hated to be slapped around like some rag doll, to be abused in that manner. Her eyes changed, before she sucked in a deep breath, her face filling with anger.

"Get...off...of me," she grunted out and with the strength born through her by the blood of the dragon and phoenix, she brought her hands up against Carriac's chest and spun on her side while pushing him off. She watched as he sailed from the cot, before striking the door that lead into the wagon, knocking it loose from its hinges.

"Do you think you can just come here and violate this body without asking first? You are sadly mistaken!"

Mara slowly rose, her eyes flaming red while her hair started to float up off of her shoulders and dance behind her, her hands sitting on her bare hips, her chest slowly rising and falling as she stared down at the man before her.

"I would have left you to cinder, if not for the fact that this one loves you. But you have been warned. Touch her again like that and you will not have the tools to try again, for they will be nothing but ash, blowing in the wind." Reaching down she slipped her hand down her thigh and brought her hand up, her fingers coated in her own blood.

"I should just kill you anyway..."

[Moiran]

The sounds of struggle brought the little ghost out of his cupboard. He didn't know what had occurred, but he had seen Mara in this state before - fire was coming, and in this particular enclosed space, that would be very bad!

He floated in front of her, intent on explaining things.

[Traveler]

He had begun to doze in the afternoon sun. There was a cool breeze blowing on this phantom trail they were traveling. The ground was smooth below and not rutted like so many other roads he had traveled. The land rose and fell gently almost rhythmically, inducing and almost hypnotic state. His mind wandered, and thoughts of what he had gotten mixed up in fled like shadows in the daylight.

He was roused by the sudden shaking of the wagon. At first he thought the mules had run the wagon into a tree, so sudden and violent was he shaken. He looked groggily around and realized there wasn't a tree in sight. Fear rise as he brought the mules to a standstill and jumped off the wagon.

[Carriac/Shadow]

She wouldn't get off that easily! The shadow shoved Carriac's weakened consciousness aside and assumed full control of the elf's body - and his powers. It saw the bodiless gnome emerge from a cupboard, obstructing the witch's view.

That was all the time it needed.

Two hands slapped the floor and it sent forth a call of power.

The wooden planks that formed the bed of the wagon responded to the call, splitting down the middle right beneath the woman. It happened so fast that the woman fell halfway out of the wagon before she was able to catch herself on the cot. Another thought and the floor closed around her, trapping the elfmaid in the floor. The shadow chuckled at her fate and then gave one final command before leaping out the back of the wagon.

Five six-inch spikes shot from the edges of the planks entrapping the woman, piercing through her abdomen in an artful star pattern.

[Mara]

She was unprepared for what happened next. She felt the boards under her feet start to move, but thought that it was just the wagon, flexing to the road. When she fell through the floor, she expected to hit the dirt and be ran over, not find herself stuck in the floor like she was.

"That was a foolish thing to..." and her face suddenly showed shock as she was stuck by something sharp. Her eyes grew brighter as the anger within her grew. Spitting up blood from between her lips, she started to curse.

"Nadorhuan," she spat while trying to heal the damage within her.

[Moiran]

It was all happening too quickly! Moiran saw the power building and knew what was coming. He shouted a warning.

"The wards! Mara don't!"

His warning went unheeded.

[Mara]

Mara looked up at the small Gnome, her now blood stained lips drawn tight, her eyes showing him the anger she was feeling. "You! You're the cause of all this! If I had no made that...concoction, none of this would have happened."

She felt her body healing around the wooden spikes, pushing the wood back, splintering it at first, before it started to smolder. Suddenly her whole body burst into flames and she crossed her arms in front of her and bowed her head. Casting her arms out quickly and throwing her head back, she let out a scream, sending out a blast of flames from the center of her body. The wagon lurched straight up, throwing the wheels five feet off the ground before the wagon itself exploded all around her, sending Travel and the mules on a wild ride. The blast forced the wagon up and away from her, and she found herself floating a few feet off the ground, bathed on blue-white flames while what was left of the wagon fell around her.

And there wasn't much left to even tell that it was once a wagon. But it freed the Gnome.

Where is he? I will make him suffer like no one on this earth has ever felt. He will wish for death to come quickly by the time I burn every inch of skin from his body. He will know what Hell feels like, but he will not die so quickly. I will let him stand on that edge, make him look into the darkness before bringing him back. Mara slowly rose a few more feet and turned slowly in midair, before throwing a ball of flames towards a fleeting shadow.

The rabbit didn't see it coming...

[Traveler]

He had just made his way to the back of the wagon when the door burst open. He heard Mara curse and looked to see what was running away. Traveler reached for the handle when the wagon was destroyed by the force of Mara's anger. He was thrown well away from the wagon. The flames singed his hair, but the wagon itself took all the damage. He was left unconscious a little way into the woods at the side of the trail.

(to be continued...)