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The angry roar of nearby monsters was no new thing, the beasts hostile and ravenous and spoiling for a fight. They existed on every floor, a large and varied amount of foul minded creatures hunting them and each other. The monsters were angry, bothered and upset by their surroundings. They did not understand why they were inside this tower, the building far removed from the lands the monster usually made homes out of.

Such was their anger, that the beasts were warring with each other. Vicious fights that seemed to shake the very foundation of the building. There was blood splatters on the floor, even on the wall. Corpses lay rotting, discarded by even the scavengers. Other times, Bones picked clean of all flesh, lay in piles on the floors. Even some remains of an adventurer by the look of it. Lenneth could sense the soul attached to the human’s bones, the man unable to move on from this, the site of his death.

Lenneth wanted to go to the soul. She wanted to release the man from his suffering, aid him on his way to whatever afterlife he had earned. But she held back, conscious of the mage, Lezard, watching her. He wasn’t the only reason she held back, Lenneth thinking of Odin now. Thinking how the King of the Gods would be alerted to her, if she used her divine powers in such a way. It was a waste, Lenneth unable to help the man’s soul for fear of what it would mean for her own existence. It made her feel cold hearted and selfish, but ultimately she was trying to preserve not only her life but Alicia’s as well.

It was that desire for the princess to live, that had moved Lenneth to arrange an agreement with the mage. She had bartered for his sword, and his promise. A promise to aid them in returning Alicia to her countryside home in the region Dipan bordered. With no food or money to purchase such goods, they were dreadfully unprepared for the journey home. A tower full of monsters had been another hindrance, Lenneth knowing Alicia was nowhere near ready to take on several floors worth of the rabid creatures.

Lenneth didn’t like having to rely on a stranger. Especially one they had met in so strange a circumstance. She had learned to be suspicious of any and all who came to have dealings with Alicia. The fact that this mage had appeared precisely in their moment of need? Lenneth thought the timing was a little too good. Just as she thought his story was a little too convenient, Lenneth wondering how in all of Creation this man had survived the massacre that had taken his party out. It just didn’t make sense, Lenneth thinking the strength he had shown them, should have been enough to keep his allies alive.

But she couldn’t prove anything. She had only her gut instinct screaming at her to be wary. Alicia would need more than just an instinctive dislike of this man, especially after Lezard had played the hero to the girl. Lenneth kept most of her complaints to herself, mulling over her thoughts and suspicions privately. She let Alicia remain the active spirit inside their shared body, Lenneth fading to the background of the princess’ thoughts. There, ready to lend assurance should Alicia need it, and always cautious to keep the princess from making a fatal mistake.

Concentration was key, when fighting for one’s life. Alicia was having her hands full, battling the monsters that stalked these halls. Occasionally Lenneth praised her, or voiced encouragement, grimly smiling to watch her pupil succeed. After years of training, with only Lenneth’s voice to guide her, Alicia wasn’t doing too badly for a novice to battle.

“Kyaa!” Alicia shrieked suddenly, her sword arm going numb. A dragon warrior had brought it’s weapon to clash against Alicia’s borrowed sword, the force of it’s impact so jarring, it had nearly cast the sword from the girl’s grip. It would have, had Alicia’s fingers not been gripping the blade’s hilt so hard. The girl had been loathe to relax her guard, even in the most peaceful of moments. Lenneth couldn’t blame her, not with so much danger lurking around every darkened corner.

“Alicia!” Lezard shouted her name in concern, right hand being thrust in the princess’ direction. His palm was up, already glowing with a spell. “Prismatic missile!” White and gold lights seemed to flow off his hand, twirling around each other and growing in size. By the time they whizzed past Alicia, they were projectiles the size of a human male’s arm.

The spell slammed into the upper portion of the monster’s chest, staggering it back. Lezard was already chanting another spell, gaining Alicia the time for her arm to recover. With a more ferocious scream than her previous shriek, Alicia drove her sword forward, the blade slipping between the scales of the dragon warrior’s armor. Spells continue to slam into it, Alicia digging her sword in deeper, searching for the monster’s weak point.

It was with a sickening squelch of sound that Alicia pulled her sword free a moment later. The sword was covered in blood and black ichor, with fragments of a still bleeding heart pulsating on the tip. Alicia started to gag in response to the sight of that dying heart beat, Lenneth whispering soothing words to the princess. Trying to keep her calm long enough for Alicia to shake off the revulsion, and the worst of the gore from her blade.

“My lady, are you all right?” Lezard seemed overly concerned with Alicia’s current state. He would reach to touch her shoulder, Alicia still hunched over. A shift in power, and then Lenneth would be in control of the body. She’d carefully lash out with her arm, making sure to not actually touch the mage.

“I am fine.” Lenneth told him. “This body is just not used to such sights.” It was a truth, Alicia no pro when it came to blood and death. Nor was her body used to the rigors of fighting through the tower. It wouldn’t come soon enough, their escape from it, Lenneth wondering if Alicia could last one more floor’s worth of battles. “How much farther until the exit?”

“If we haven’t gotten completely turned around, then I would say no more than two floors more.” Answered Lezard. Lenneth nodded, grimly accepting this answer. Ever since they had entered the lower levels of the tower, there had been no windows available to them. No light got in, leaving them with no way to estimate how long they had been fighting. Nor did they know how high up from the ground they were. But if the choice was having windows the monsters could crawl out of, to them floundering around lost, Lenneth would settle for the latter.

“Perhaps you would like to rest…?” Lezard’s tone was solicitous, the man looking like he wanted to touch Alicia again.

“Please…can we?” Alicia begged inside Lenneth’s mind.

“We can rest once we are out of this place.” Lenneth told him. But for Alicia’s benefit, she softened her tone. “I will take the lead.” The words were enough to let Alicia
know Lenneth would do the fighting from here on out. It would give the princess a chance to rest and recover from the near non stop fighting they had been doing.

“You are under my protection.” Lezard reminded them. “I would be remiss in my duties as guardian, if I allowed you to go first.”

“I am not completely helpless.” Lenneth pointed out, holding up the sword. “You need the time distance grants you, to cast your spells. You won’t be able to fight very effectively if you are ambushed at the next turn.” He still looked ready to protest, Lenneth holding back a sigh. “You have given me your word that you will return me to my home. You won’t be able to live up to that promise, if we both end up dead.”

“I don’t want to die…” Came Alicia’s alarmed protest.

“Very well.” Lezard gave a slow bow, gesturing with his arm for Alicia to step ahead of him. “It goes against the gentleman’s code, but you do have a point. When relying on my more powerful spells, I do need time to speak the invocations.”

“Mages are a powerful tool….but limited in that way.” Lenneth was careful to avoid brushing up against him as she walked past Lezard. There was something about the mage, something that unsettled her to the point Lenneth did not want even an accidental touch shared between them. Alicia had no qualms about an occasional touch of Lezard’s hand, but even through the filter of the princess’s consciousness, the mage made Lenneth’s skin crawl.

“Indeed I know it.” He followed behind her, allowing several steps distance between them. “It’s one reason why I prefer to travel with a party…The brute strength of my allies buys me the time to finish off our enemies with my spells.”

“It is a shame about your comrades.” Lenneth said, tone holding just an edge of sympathy to it. “I suppose in that instant, the combination of strength and spells did nothing to gain you a favorable outcome….”

“No, not at all.” Lezard agreed with a heavy sigh. “The mage simply overwhelmed us, with both monsters and spells….there was little time to do anything, even to react. I just barely came away with my life….”

“And yet you were brave enough to come face this mad man alone?” Lenneth demanded, hearing the slinking sound of wet footsteps in the distance. “With no one to back you up?”

“I was better prepared this time.” If it was a lie, it rolled smoothly off his tongue.

“Even if that’s true, surely you came close to exhausting yourself on the journey to the upper levels of the tower!” Lenneth exclaimed, her sword arm tensing.

“I have enough power, that I was able to get through the worst of the tower, conserving my more powerful spells for the confrontation I knew was coming.”

“You are either very foolish, or very lucky.” Lenneth said, tone as savage as her arm as she swung her arm forward in a diagonal swing. Green slime splashed on her, the bulbous creature’s mouth a round o of surprise. Already the wound she had made was sealing, the green slime oozing together. Lenneth knew it was futile to try and kill it with a blade, and yet she kept on hacking away, buying Lezard the time needed to cast a fire spell that burned the slime creature to ash.

“I make my own luck.” Lezard said, his voice too close for Lenneth’s liking. He had inched nearer to her, almost putting his lips next to Alicia’s ear. Lenneth had to fight to keep from slugging him, the Goddess making a haughty sound.

“I am beginning to think you are both.” Her footsteps squelched, the remains of the slime having dripped down her legs. Alicia made a repulsed sound, the girl desperately wanting a chance to bathe and rid herself of all the filth the pair had accumulated. Lezard himself, was hardly touched, the mage holding that advantage due to the distance his spell casting required of him.

Continuing forward, Lenneth kept her senses attuned for any sound. She heard Lezard chuckle under his breath, as though the man was amused by what she had said. Lenneth refused to be riled up, keeping her head held at a haughty angle.

“Lenneth, what’s wrong?” Alicia asked, and the Goddess whispered an answer back.

“It is nothing.”

“It is not nothing.” Alicia protested. “You are on edge. You have been for a while…”

“So have you.” Pointed out Lenneth. “This whole situation is cause for concern. We, along with several other young women who match your coloring were kidnapped. They were cruelly murdered by a man who might know just what you house inside you.” She felt Alicia shiver in response, and couldn’t blame her. Lenneth wished she knew exactly what was going on. She wished she knew why that mad man had been slaying women who resembled Alicia, and why he had had a statue that was sculpted in Lenneth’s likeness.

“Is something the matter?” Lezard called from behind them. “You’ve been muttering things under your breath.”

Lenneth scowled, though he could not see it. That man had sharp hearing to have picked up on her whispers. “I was just wondering…Is Flenceburg the nearest city to this tower?”

“Yes. But even then it is still several miles to the east of the forest that surrounds this tower.”

And east was the exact opposite the direction they needed to travel. Lenneth tried to weigh the pros and cons of making the journey to Flenceburg. If it was worth going out of their way to pick up some much needed supplies, or push onwards to the West. She wasn’t sure how far the next nearest town would be, and if they could survive on what they could hunt and scavenge from the forest.

“We can get a ship.” Alicia said this in an excited tone. “I’ve never been on a boat before…..it might be fun….”

“It’s also dangerous.” Lenneth muttered, knowing Lezard was probably picking up on her words.

“Dangerous?” A quizzical thought from Alicia. “How?”

“If we were to be attacked out at sea? There would be no where to run, nowhere to escape if the fight was not in our favor.” Lenneth was thinking of Odin, of the divine assassins he would send after them. The divine assassins that might even at this very instant be hunting them. If they traveled by boat, they would be trapped on the water, an all too easy target for Odin to pick off.

Alicia didn’t need further explanations, the girl seeming to shiver inside Lenneth’s mind. “Let’s avoid that route then…” She muttered softly.

“Boat travel is not as dangerous as it once was.” Sure enough, Lezard had listened to her whispered conversation. Lenneth had a thought to wonder what the man thought of the fact she appeared to engage herself in conversation. The mage might think she suffered some form of ailment, or that she was afflicted with split personalities. Lenneth wasn’t prepared to educate him otherwise, preferring he think Alicia a little crazy rather than let the man know a Goddess resided within the princess.

“Not safe enough for my liking.” Lenneth’s tone was curt, a clear dismissal of the topic. Pity Lezard didn’t take the hint, persisting in this line of thought.

“It will take us nearly a week to make it to Solde on foot…and that is provided we can hitch a ride here and there on a passing wagon. A boat WOULD be quicker…”

“A boat would be expensive….far more than even the sapphires can afford.” Lenneth pointed out with some satisfaction. “I would not be indebted to you further by having you pay for my ticket on such a trip.”

“I suppose there is that.” Lezard sighed. “I suppose there is no helping it…we will have to travel by land…and hope the journey is without too many setbacks.”

“Indeed.” Lenneth turned a corner, surprised that there was no monsters lurking in wait. There was stone steps leading downwards just several feet away. A welcome sight, even as Lenneth thought the monsters might have used them to travel to the next level.

“Hold Alicia.” Lezard said, the mage taking the lead towards the steps. He peered down into the darkness, then made a gesture with his hand. Flames began to spark on his fingertips, growing together and in size, until a blazing orb of fire hovered before him. He’d finish the chant, and toss the fireball down the stairs. Immediately pained screeches were heard, the fire frying whatever creatures had lain in ambush for them.

The screams would continue, taking several minutes to die down completely. Lenneth came closer to the stairs, peering downwards. The burning bodies gave off more than enough illumination, the Goddess able to see the next level clearly. There was nothing moving down there, everything burned to death. She didn’t feel awe for the power Lezard had used in the spell, Lenneth instead suspicious of just how strong the mage truly was. But she covered her suspicions, nodding to him instead.

“Good work.” Her tone could hardly be considered praising, but Lezard beamed all the same.

“Thank you my lady. I try.”

She didn’t respond to that, Lenneth beginning her descent to what she hoped was the final level of the tower. Lezard followed close behind, along with his light spell. It made no difference here among the burning bodies, but elsewhere on the floor the spell would provide them with much needed illumination.

“If Flenceburg is to the East…” Lenneth began, her movements cautious as she walked past the seemingly dead monsters. “Then….to the West lies three cities. I believe Artolia might edge out the other two in nearness…”

“Just barely.” Lezard replied. “We’ll have to travel north as some point, but from Artolia we’ll be able to travel to Camille Village. Maybe get a carriage there to cross over the mountains.”

“A carriage sounds expensive…” That was Alicia who spoke, Lenneth echoing her words.

“Not as expensive as a boat.” Lezard pointed out. “And trust me, my lady…you do not want to try and cross the mountains on foot.”

“Indeed I do not.” Agreed Lenneth. She tried to think of what treasure remain at the castle that had been Alicia’s home and prison for the last twelve years. Tried to think what if anything she could give to Lezard to compensate for the carriage ride. Alicia had few jewels, and none as impressive as the two sapphires Lenneth had pried out of the statue earlier.

“If it’s the expense you are worried about, fear not.” Lezard said. “I am not so strapped for gold, that I can’t afford us a brief ride across the mountains.”

“I will pay you back…I swear it.” Lenneth promised, even as she wondered just how she was going to manage to keep her word on this.

“I have no doubt you will.” Was that her imagination, or had Lezard actually purred in response? Lenneth frowned, turning to him in time for a spell to go whizzing past Alicia’s face. The golden hair of the princess was stirred by the breeze, Lenneth whirling back to see the wind propelled missile battering into a vicious looking bat like creature. It screeched in pain, it’s mouth opening to reveal it’s saliva coated fangs. Lenneth tightened her grip on her sword, charging forward. Tension coiled in her legs, the Goddess preparing to leap up to slash off one of the bat’s jagged edged wings.

As she fought, Lenneth did not forget what she though she had heard. The satisfaction oozing out of Lezard’s voice. It made her uneasy, Lenneth wondering just what sort of payment he thought to get from Alicia. The answers her mind tossed up at her, did not set Lenneth at ease, the Goddess viciously stabbing her sword into the monster. Brutalizing it in a way she could not do to the mage. Not so long as they were dependent on him as an escort and protector.

Alicia’s clothing was thoroughly soaked with blood by the time Lenneth was through killing the monster. Even Lenneth felt disgust, knowing they needed a bath and soon. The smell of the blood would only serve as an attractant to the scavenger beasts, forcing Lezard and Lenneth to fight battle after battle as they journeyed through this level of the tower. The press of monsters was consistent, to the point that even Lenneth began to feel strain. She never forgot that this body she resided in was not her own, or the fact that it cost her own strength to maintain active control of it.

Lenneth had not one word of complaint to Alicia. The girl herself was tired from her battles on the upper levels of the tower. Lenneth meant to win her a reprieve for as long as it took, even at the expense of the Goddess’ own reserves of energy. She continued to fight, the fine blade she had borrowed from Lezard, singing as it sliced through the air. Cutting through skin and bone, causing blood to spurt, and life to end.

It was with more relief than she cared to admit to feeling that Lenneth stepped towards the door Lezard insisted was the tower’s sole exit. She didn’t let her eagerness to escape tower make her careless, Lenneth doing a forward thrust that impaled her sword into the soft underside of some boar like beast. Lezard was already tossing a spell, an explosion happening that was meant to keep the rest of the monsters at bay. Buying them the time to get the door open, get them out of the tower without any of the remaining monsters escaping with them.

They weren’t completely successful in that endeavor. As Lezard began to ease the door shut behind them, a shadowy blur darted past. It took to the skies, towards the trees, having spied some kind of prey. Screams followed, the poor animal’s screeches letting them hear how painful it’s death was proving. The door slammed shut, Lezard working to seal it. The screams continued, followed by the sound of the monster feeding. Bones were gnashed, flesh being savagely torn.

It was disgusting, and a waste. Lenneth scowled in the direction of the trees. Inside her, Alicia cowered, the girl sickened by the sounds and the knowledge of what the monster was doing. The dense foliage of the forest, made it impossible to see the monster and it’s feast so long as it remained hidden among the leaves. But they could track it by it’s noise, Lenneth drifting away from Lezard’s side.

“My lady!” He called, hurrying after her. She would ignore him, gazing upwards, trying to pinpoint where exactly the monster was by it’s sounds. Lezard made an understanding noise, his gaze following hers upwards. “There will be other monsters…” He didn’t try to soften his voice, knowing full well the monster was aware of them.

“Any we come across will die.” Lenneth swore.

“As the lady wishes it.” Lights began to glow off his hands, Lezard tossing the spell up into the branches of the trees. The noise distorted, the monster now screaming. An owl’s body slammed into the ground, half eaten and torn open. Alicia’s cry of revulsion was strong. The girl had not had much chance to witness a fresh kill by the creatures that they had been hunted by.

The spell continued to ravage the monster’s body. And then it too would fall from the tree top. Lenneth would stare at it’s convulsing form, then thrust her sword into it’s chest area. She all but pinned it in place against the damp grass, watching as the monster twitched it’s last breath, dying with a gasp. She felt satisfied to see that one last threat to them had been eliminated, even as Lenneth knew there were other dangers in the forest.

That might include the man they were traveling with, Lenneth raising her gaze to meet Lezard’s. She found herself the intense focus of those amethyst colored eyes, the mage studying her. Her own gaze narrowed, but she did not say anything. Certainly she did not let him know how much it bothered her to find him staring in such a manner at Alicia.

“We should leave this place.” Lenneth said, pulling her sword out of the dead monster’s body. “Other creatures will be drawn to this kill…”

“Yes. This is not the place to be taking a rest.” Agreed Lezard, and gave a come here motion with his hand. Lenneth stifled her unhappiness at having to respond, the Goddess moving closer to him. “There is a lake not too far off the forest paths. We can make camp near there.”

“A lake!” Alicia had recovered enough to feel excited at the thought of bathing in the lake’s waters.

“Then let us go there with all due haste.” Lenneth ordered. Inside she could admit to being thrilled at the chance to get clean, the blood and slime having dried unpleasantly on her clothing and exposed skin.

“It’s this way my lady…” Lezard pointed in the South West direction. Lenneth was glad to know the lake was in the direction they needed to travel, the Goddess moving to walk past Lezard. She hadn’t yet sheathed her sword, wary of the unseen dangers that lurked in the forest. Wary of the man that followed close behind at her back. It was with the last of her energy, that Lenneth reluctantly relinquished control of the body to Alicia. She hadn’t wanted to, but there had been few options left to her, Lenneth knowing that to remain in control would have brought them both down to the ground as her energy gave out. The thought of Lezard being there to catch them as they fell? It was more than Lenneth could bear, the Goddess not wanting to be touched by him. Her instincts continued to scream at her to be wary of the mage, and Lenneth was anything but foolish enough to ignore them.