Winter 4994, 18 Ginmoth

Despite the larger group, the trip out of the swamp was much faster than the one in. The earth Sorcerers rose the land from beneath and the water Sorcerers pushed the murky water back from their feet. The sun dawned as they walked and with it a thick fog. But the wind Sorcerers summoned a light breeze to blow the mist away, and the fire Sorcerers provided floating fires to illuminate the path until the sun rose enough to filter through the dead branches of the swamp.  A plethora of small animals, cats, birds, and even a few reptiles and amphibians; wove between tired feet or flew just overhead. All of them, human and familiar, pushed through their exhaustion without complaining, the hope of dry land and open skies driving them forward. 

A wave of relief, too tired to be excitement, rolled from the front of the line to the back as they reached the end of the swamp. And Lily finally stirred in Shon's arms. He let himself fall further behind as her eyes blinked open, and Ryuuko whistled a quiet greeting from her lap. 

For a moment, she gripped his shirt and nuzzled deeper into his neck. But then she froze and pushed away. Shon let her legs down gently, and she stumbled to the nearest tree, ducking behind it and out of sight. 

"Lily?" Shon called. She didn't answer. Slowly he picked his way around the roots and mud to see her holding her arms and shaking her head, her back to him. 

"I'm sorry..." she whispered. Ryuuko flew over to hang onto the tree and tilt its head at her hidden face. 

Shon arched a very confused eyebrow. What on earth did she have to be sorry for? She hadn't lost control despite the Warlocks. Had freed the Sorcerers on her own. Came to Shon's rescue alone. And destroyed most of the zombies with one, albeit debilitating, spell.

But she wasn't looking at him... 

He stood behind her and lifted his hands for a moment before dropping them again. She'd said that he could touch her no matter what, but this seemed like too much. He reigned in his desire to hold her and asked, "Why?" 

Lily's shoulders rounded, and her nails dug into her arms, but she answered, "They were right. I'm a monster..." 

Shon barely smothered a growl, "You're not-" he started, but she spun, her eyes shining with tears,

"I am! I wasn't even born. I was created, and they changed me into... This." she made a gesture to take in her entire body. Shon shook his head, but she laughed, "And I'm not even a true success! I'm a dead end, a mule, a cross between red and gold just like you said." She hugged herself again and stepped back from him. Looking away, she repeated, "I'm a dead end... I can't even give you children. I can't..." 

Ryuuko lept from the tree to his shoulder as Shon surged forward, taking her by the arms and squeezing her tight until she looked up at him. "Lily, enough. I don't care. Look at me." He shook her when she tried to look away again and locked her eyes with his. "You're Lily. My Lily. My light. Even if the Warlocks are right, I still wouldn't care." he let her go but cupped her face in his hands quickly, before she could step back again. Feeling the heat of her skin on his palms calmed him enough that his voice dropped to a whisper, "Please, don't pull away from me because of anything they said. Don't give them that power."

Lily's lip trembled, and she collapsed forward, gripping his shirt tight and burying her face in his chest. Shon wrapped his arms around her, and Ryuuko snaked its long neck down to nuzzle into her hair. "I love you," Shon whispered, holding her tight with one arm and stroking her head with the other. She'd saved everyone twice over, and him specifically, but that wasn't what made the statement true. He'd loved her for years, ever since they were teenagers in the far north. 

She shook her head against his chest, and he could feel her words muffled by his skin, "But I can't-"

"Hey, Shon. Everything alright back there?" Tuth's voice sounded from behind the tree. Shon flinched, and Ryuuko, feeling his wish, took off and flew around to confront the Mage. He could hear the flutter of its wings and Tuth waving his hands at it, "Alright, alright, I get it. We're making camp whenever you're ready." he called to Shon, then left again, and Shon relaxed. 

Lily pushed away from him gently, "We should go, they'll worry..." 

But Shon used the space between them to cup her cheek again, "They can wait." he stated, running his thumb over her scales and wiping away the traces of tears -old and new. "There is nothing you can't do, Lily..." he whispered down at her. 

She looked away again, "There is." she said, "I can't have children. That's the real reason they couldn't use me here... Why they have to keep trying..." she squeezed her eyes shut tight, "I'm a mule. I can't give you..."

Shon shushed her as quickly as he could, pulling her face back to his and kissing her to silence. Lily stiffened, but the tension eased a moment later, and he spoke against her lips, "I don't care..." he told her, willing her to feel it and know its truth. "I chose you, Lily. I'd never even thought of children before you." he sighed, tilting his head to rest on hers and pulling his lips away to speak more clearly. "You're the one who said you didn't want any miscommunication to cause unnecessary drama between us, so listen to me. Having children never crossed my mind. And when it finally did, because of that damn Yua and matron, I thought about it a lot." 

Lily managed a strangled laugh and quipped, "Making up for lost time?" 

"Maybe," Shon answered, "I thought that if I ever did start a family, it would only ever be with you, but I still didn't like the idea of fathering children. What if they inherited my ice? I wouldn't wish that on anyone." Lily tried to shake her head, but Shon held it still with his hands and his own stubbornly unmoving forehead on hers. "And the alternatives?" he continued, "They get no power, and then I can't touch them, can't hold them. Only if they got your power would it be worth the risk, and that's only a gamble I would make if you asked me to. Because you're the one I want, the one I choose." 

Lily stilled and blinked at him, "I..." but her words faltered, for once having nothing to say in response. 

He did though, "I love you," he said again, needing her to understand the depths of it, "And I want to stay with you. Want you to stay with me. We just saved a dozen innocents. You saved them. There is no one I would rather have at my side." 

She managed a strained smile, "I'm going to tell Master Veon-Zih you said that..." 

Shon grinned, "You do that. And you can even add that some part of it is because he can't keep me warm at night like you can." He pulled her close to press against him, "It isn't just about the adventures and battles or your strength. He's like a father to me, and not by blood. But you are my heart. The one who chose me despite all that I am..." 

Lily pushed him roughly, pulling away and hitting him in the chest with her fist, raising a finger to shake in his face. "Because of all you are!" she declared, "If I'm not allowed to think less of myself for not even being human, then you aren't either. You have no excuse." 

With a sigh, he cupped both her cheeks again and pulled her back to his head, "Deal." he whispered, "So please, no more talk of being a monster. And don't you ever, ever, call yourself a mule again."

She didn't argue and only answered with a kiss.

"Am I interrupting?" Yua asked from behind, and Shon groaned in frustration against Lily's lips. 

Lily giggled, pulling away once more, but with a smile, and answered, "No. We're coming." 

"Oh, gods, I hope not!" Yua exclaimed, "I don't need to see that. No one does." 

Shon let his head fall back and ran his hand through his hair with another pained groan, "Please stop..."

But Lily just giggled again and took his free hand, squeezing between him and the tree and pulling him around to follow the Ranger out of the swamp.

***

Shaloon stumbled from her room at the Central Talon into the hall. Her robes still smoking in places and a half dozen burns oozing from various nonfatal wounds. She'd passed out after her escape and now pulled herself along the wall, snarling at those she passed. Their expressions ranged from curious, to horrified, to indifferent, depending on her fellow Warlock's natural dispositions and various levels of madness.

She made it to her destination, but rather than trying to grasp the handle, she used her sword to cut through the latch and shouldered her way in. Inside were shelves upon shelves of jars, each containing a lump of flesh suspended in yellow liquid. Shaloon growled through a groan and moved to the shelf labeled 'Western Talon, Swailand' where six jars waited, each with their own label. 

With the flat of her blade, she swept off five of the jars to smash and splash onto the ground, their contents squelching against the stone. Finally, she dropped her sword to dissolve into smoke, then stood over the flesh of her fellows from the tower and started chanting. 

"You missed one..." A voice sounded from the door, making her boiling blood run cold.

Shaloon swiveled, slipping on the preserving fluid and falling to her knees, "Master Archmage In'nin..."

The 'man' smiled down at her, his stone onyx skin shining in the weak light of the 'silence assurance' room. His eyes were blank and the same shade of white as his sister's marble skin, Yonin, who stood just behind him in the hall, her onyx eyes leveled on Shaloon. "What happened, Shaloon?" the second Master Archmage asked. 

Shaloon's mouth worked fruitlessly for a moment before she managed to choke out, "The Firewyrm, she-"

"Oh, so she is alive?" In'nin said, looking to his sister over his shoulder.

Yonin smiled, "We had wondered. It had been so long since we lost her." 

Shaloon shook her head to clear it and tried to explain, "She came to us as a Sorcerer, but escaped. Archmage Yarna collapsed the tower. But-" 

In'nin sighed, and his sister shook her head, "Yes, yes, standard procedure then..." Yonin gestured to her brother, who lifted his hand. 

Shaloon squeezed her eyes shut. Heat washed over her, and she fell back, but she wasn't burning. Opening her eyes, she saw the five lumps of flesh ignited in purple-black flame. She had to squint through the smoke to see the two leaders of Ryuugen's Warlocks turn away from her.

"See to your wounds, Shaloon," Yonin said.

In'nin continued for her, "This is the fourth time you've lost the Firewyrm,"

"But five is a lucky number."

"Perhaps next time..."

Yes. Next time. Shaloon used the shelves to pull herself to her feet, giving the burning flesh a wide berth as they crumbled into ash. Next time she would collar the Firewyrm for good.

*** 

The large band took turns sleeping under the midday sun The horses brought by the rescuers were hobbled outside their circle, nine in total. Not nearly enough for them all to ride with speed back to the city, but there were enough mounts that the weakest of them need not walk.

The oldest child, a young boy of about five, and the only one of the band that seemed less than bone-weary, helped Yua tend to the horses with barely contained enthusiasm. He'd never seen any land outside the tower and looked with wide-eyed wonder at everything and anything, from the grasshoppers scurrying through the grass to the sky itself. 

"I remember feeling like that..." Lily whispered to Shon, "the first time Brom and Ran convinced the Archmages that I should be allowed to play outside once and a while..." She sighed and leaned against his chest, still drained from her exorbitant use of magic, "though I don't suppose a swamp would've been as much fun as the woods in Clearhelm." 

Shon grunted, and she slid down to rest her head in his lap, looking up at him and tilting her head. He sighed, "He's young and has plenty of time to explore the world. Just like you." 

She beamed and rolled onto her side, nuzzling into his thigh. The best pillow. "And the others are too young to even remember." she agreed. She felt lighter after their talk, though a shadow of worry lingered. Lily shoved it to the back of her mind. It wouldn't do to show stress or weakness in front of the survivors or their allies.

Across the way, one of the wind Sorcerers held the youngest child as she fussed, chewing on her hand. Lily snickered and shot a look up at Shon before calling to the airwoman, "Teething?"

The young mother sighed, nodding. Shon closed his eyes and whispered a prayer, then took out his waterskin and soap to wash his hands. Lily giggled, "Bring her here. We have just the thing." 

The woman looked nervous, but these were her rescuers, so she climbed to her feet and moved closer. She tensed as Shon worked his forefinger into the baby's mouth beside its own slimy fist until it bit down and he flinched. The infant stopped fussing and chewed happily on Shon's icy flesh, and he sighed again as Lily burst out in a real laugh. 

"You sure you don't want to give up the adventurer's life, big guy?" Yua called as she came to sit with them, "I'm sure you could make more of a killing as a living teething ring than you could literally killing." Ryuuko twittered a dragon giggle from Tuth's shoulder, who ignored them all with his nose in the Warlock book.

Shon glared and Lily smothered her giggle in his lap. "You're not helping." he grumbled down to her.

"Why would I? It's adorable," she responded. 

The mother looked between them all, then down at her happily noming baby, whispering a quiet, "Thank you. For everything." 

Lily covered a yawn but answered, "Any time," 

"Hengist would never leave you to suffer," Shon whispered. 

The mother gasped, "Hengist? You..." 

Ragther's voice sounded from behind as he marched around to take a seat only close enough to be heard, "The soldier of Hengist came at the request of the Church, who sent for them at the request of the Temple of Horsa. He is the one who saved you." 

Lily rolled her eyes and propped herself up just enough to shout at him, "Actually, I'm the one who saved all your asses, and I answer to no god." Ragther glared at her, but she just stuck her tongue out at him and laid back down, closing her eyes to try and get some more sleep while the mother looked too afraid to interject. 

"Let it go, Sir Ragther," Raina's voice sounded from beside her brother. Lily let a single eye crack open to watch the Lady carefully arranging her tattered skirts as she sat beside the Paladin. Her familiar yowled, clawing its way down her front to her lap before making the leap over to Ragther's. The Paladin pulled his face back from the tinny, ratty cat and sneezed, then pushed it away -back to its human- with the back of his hand. 

Yua laughed, "Oh gods. Ragther, are you allergic to cats?" 

The Paladin sniffed -though it was less than derisive as it was partly necessary now that his nose had started running- "I should have the damn thing shaved..." Ragther muttered. The cat just purred.

"Actually, that wouldn't help..." Tuth mumbled without looking up from the book, "The dander that causes an allergic reaction comes from the skin and..." 

Ragther glared over at the Mage's lecture, but at the sight of Tuth reading the Warlock book, he jumped to his feet, "What are you doing! That text is blasphemy. Full of Warlock magic. You could be tried for treason if the Temple of Saint Giorgos-" 

Tuth finally looked up, his eyes glowing green with a spell he'd cast on himself. "It isn't a spellbook. I don't even know if Warlocks use spellbooks." He twisted in his seat to look at where they'd left the bound apprentices and kidnappers -in the center of the larger group- "I asked the boy. He says it's a record of the larger group's experiments." 

Lily's head shot up, and Shon had to lean back to keep her from head-butting him. The Paladin snarled, "Close it, Mage. No good can come from it."

But if there was one thing Tuth wouldn't back down from, it was this, "All knowledge is worth having," he snapped at the Paladin, "If we know what they've done, and why, we can find the rest and stop them." 

"Your superiors and the Temple will see to that," Ragther argued, "Put it away. You don't have the authorization to investigate such dangerous evidence..." his eyes narrowed, and he actually reached for his flail, "Unless you've been tempted..." 

Tuth snapped the book shut but glared at Ragther, showing significantly more bravery in the face of the angry knight than Lily would've expected of him. "I would no sooner sell my soul to a being of the outer planes than I would go there myself." He set the book aside and stood to continue shouting at the Paladin, though he moved no closer. "With the Archmage's escape, we have even more reason to-" 

But behind him, the male apprentice, the only one awake, squeaked, "She's alive?! Archmage Shaloon is alive!?" He struggled to stand, his hands bound behind his back and legs shaking. All the blood had drained from his face, and he was sweating despite the cold winter air. "No, I have to... We have to... Protect us!" he shouted, stumbling past confused Sorcerers towards the group of adventurers. 

Tuth stumbled back as the apprentice moved for Ragther. Shon stood to intercept, and Ragther gripped his flail. Lily felt it before it happened and jumped to her feet, grabbing Shon by the arm and jerking him back a step just as the apprentice burst into flame.

It wasn't her. This fire was purple-black and shot from the young man's mouth and eyes as he screamed. The kidnappers yelled in terror, struggling to get away from the black fire that burst from the sleeping apprentice as well. 

Sorcerers scrambled away as fast as they could, and Shon turned to shield the airwoman and her baby with his body. Lily tried to grab the apprentice, maybe put the fire out as it spread to consume him, but she jerked back as the strange fire burned her. She'd never been burned before... 

Tuth too dove toward the boy but twisted around behind him to scoop up the book before backing away like the rest. Animals hissed, croaked, and squawked, children screamed and cried, and Sorcerers gasped, covering their mouths, their eyes wide in horror. 

It took less than a minute. The corps fell forward and crumbled to ash, even the bones consumed by the black fire that died as quickly as it came. 

Children continued to cry, and Yua ran to the horses to stop them from panicking, but all else was quiet. Finally, the old kidnapper cried, "We're next! We're next! Protect us, the torch you have to..." 

The Sorcerers closest to the two men backed away, but Ragther surged forward, backhanding the old man across the face to silence him, "What happened!?" he screamed at them as they cowered. 

But they didn't answer, and clearly, Lily thought, didn't know. 

Everyone braced for whatever might come, but nothing did. Finally, Lily turned to Ragther and said, "They aren't Warlocks," 

Ragther grunted, turning away from the kidnappers to nod to her, as Raina took a few steady steps closer, saying, "They kill their own to keep their secrets." She lifted her chin and looked to Tuth, who swallowed but held the Warlock book tighter. "Keep that tome safe, Mage," she told him, "That is probably the only way we will get any information on this group."

Lily looked down at the black stain in the dead grass that was all that was left of the Warlock apprentice she'd spared. She heard Ryuuko's whistle just before Shon's cold arms enveloped her from behind, "It'll be okay..." he whispered into her hair, as she trembled. If she'd killed Shaloon when she had the chance, would that have spared these two? Would the apprentices have even been able to answer any of her questions?

She leaned into Shon's strength, gripping his arms tight so he wouldn't let go, but turned her face to Tuth, "Read the book..." she whispered, "The Guild won't tell me what it says once they get it..."

Ragther opened his mouth as if to argue, but Raina's cat hissed and clawed at his feet, and his sister raised a hand to stop him. The Paladin closed his eyes and mouthed a prayer. When he opened them again, he nodded. "You will surrender the book with your report when we return to the city. Until then..." he left the rest hanging, returning to his original seat.

Lily could feel Shon's glare follow the Paladin, and after one more squeeze, she let him go. Shon let his arms drop and stepped past her to kneel and pray over each apprentice's ashy remains.