A Monster Life Ch. 103-105

Trolls came and went during the dark, and by the time the faint light of the sun touched the horizon, there was no sign of any troll activity. Ulric descended the column alone to check the camp. In every tent and corner where he found one, they snored peacefully, in a broad definition of the word peace. He couldn't imagine not waking himself up making noises like a grunting pig in a shredder. He peeked into one tent and averted his eyes at once from the view of a naked female troll spread wide on a blanket. 'Just how bad do their urges have to be to make little trolls with that?' he muttered to himself. He looked up at the column. 'They're all asleep.'

Conchim and Yingshien stayed on the column to keep an eye on the camp and warn when a troll woke up again, together with Kaui, Isazea, Susi, and Handil, while the others joined Ulric down on the ground. He looked over at the entrance of the ruin. 'We'll search quicker if we split up, but move as if there are still trolls awake because we don't know what's in there. Leave at any hint of trouble, I want none of you in danger in there.'

Iphigenia stroked his neck. 'Don't worry, Wolfie, as long as you do the same.'

Light pouring in from windows and holes in walls and ceilings was enough to cast a soft, blue tone on the large entrance hall, barren aside from clutter spread around by the trolls along the walls and a good layer of sand and dust. Ulric thought he experienced a little of how archaeologists felt when entering ancient places, even in the presence of the current trash. He was glad for the light, as it was enough to navigate by without using their flashlights and chancing alerting a still awake troll. He exchanged looks with everyone before they all split up into hallways at every side.

Elzbieta and Caylais paired up, and Elzbieta reached out to the others after investigating the first few chambers. 'Trolls and their filth and a couple of trinkets, that's all we've seen so far.'

Tipper looked in disgust at the gnawed bones she found in a chest, while Valdys pulled the spirit copies of damaged books which were tossed into a corner. 'Same here, but there must be something because now I'm sure I sense something leaking magic somewhere in this place.'

Iphigenia and Rachael exchanged a glance when they entered the next chamber on their side. Rachael stepped closer to a thin, robed figure sitting in a chair, surrounded by flasks, tools, and magic books. She used her staff to push back the hood to reveal the head. Iphigenia stepped closer to look at written notes on a crooked table. 'You are likely correct. We found a troll wizard and what looks like something he's actively working on. Looks like he's been trying different kinds of spells on something, but it doesn't show what exactly.'

Caylais stepped through a wide entrance and into a small hall, and halted at the sight of the large troll sitting in a thick, wooden chair. 'I'll do you one better, we have a king here.'

Ulric held back his curiosity to go and take a look at that king. 'So, is that like one who's just dressed fancier, or like a much larger troll who just wears more rags and wields the biggest weapon?'

'Not just larger and a big weapon, my love.' said Valdys. 'They are more intelligent like the wizard type. You'd need several very capable regular people to defeat one. As this isn't an ideal place for trolls to live, so I assume they're here for a purpose.'

Elzbieta and Caylais searched through the collection of valuables laid out around the king's wooden throne, and Caylais held up a couple of drawings of a stone gateway with trees and flowers behind it. 'It might be nothing, but maybe they're looking for a way to fertile land. I found drawings of an entrance of some kind.'

Ulric stepped into the open area in the middle of the building, and the square surrounded by a passage with pillars was empty apart from two pillars standing in the middle of it. The ground looked like it had been an indoor garden from the looks of withered branches and remains of thin tree trunks, and flat stones forming paths from every side to the pillars at the centre. He walked towards them while looking around for clues. 'I'm at what might have been a garden in this courtyard. There's no sign of trolls or junk tho-' He froze when he suddenly found himself surrounded by lush and fragrant vegetation.

Iphigenia sensed the sudden loss when his words were cut off. 'Wolfie? Are you still there?'

Tipper noticed the worried gaze into nothing from Valdys. 'Something wrong?'

Valdys didn't move a muscle as she used her powers to search for Ulric and spoke with a slightly hollow voice. 'Our beloved has disappeared.'

***

Ulric rubbed his eyes and blinked once more. The scents and sounds from everything around him were too real to think his eyes deceived him. He took a deep breath to relax his fast beating heart, and retraced his last steps in his mind with logic. Thinking he came here simply as he walked forward, he walked backwards to see if that returned him to the courtyard. Nothing changed as he stepped back farther than he would have needed to, and tried walking back and forth several times to make sure it didn't do the trick. "I would have been more excited about this if I didn't also lose the link to everyone." he thought, and sighed. Although he kind of expected it, the loneliness and cold spell in his chest took some effort to counter with the confidence of returning to his lovers one way or another. As he looked around, the place seemed friendly enough and the weather was nice, so he decided it was comfortable enough to stay where he was and at least wait for a while in case the others showed up or enabled him to return to them.

When he estimated he had waited long enough for them to search the whole building three times over for him, he figured they couldn't reach him the way he arrived, and decided he'd need to find a way out himself. As he slowly examined his surroundings, he once again thought how much he relied on his beloved girls and their abilities. For a moment he wondered if he'd lived as well, or even as long as he did if he hadn't met Iphigenia, and then Elzbieta, and every one of them. He shook the thoughts from his head. 'Focus. I need to find a way out and be with them again.' he muttered to himself, and went on his way along what appeared to him to be a vague path through the trees, unaware of two pairs of eyes watching him intently.

***

The girls gathered at the courtyard after searching every nook and cranny for a sign of Ulric, speculating on what had happened until Iphigenia held up her hand. 'Hold on a moment, sisters.' she said, and they all went silent. 'Let's see what we know for sure first. Wolfie must alive, otherwise we'd have lost our familiar link.' The others agreed and she continued. 'He was here according to what he said before he vanished.' She looked at Elzbieta. 'We found no signs of struggle or blood or anything indicating it involved violence at the pillars where his tracks end. So far that's not bad news.' Elzbieta gave a nod in confirmation, and Iphigenia looked at Caylais. 'Now, the clue could be the drawings you found.' She looked at Valdys now. 'You said you sensed magic.'

Valdys nodded. 'Something is leaking magic. Just faintly, but enough for me to notice. And it's this place where it feels the strongest.' She looked at the two pillars in the centre of the courtyard. 'With no other evidence, the only conclusion I can come to is that our dear wolf more or less stumbled through a hidden gateway to another place.'

Tipper looked at Iphigenia and Elzbieta. 'But nothing happened when you two investigated there.'

'It's likely there's a specific trigger to open the way, and Ulric has it naturally.' said Valdys. 'We need to find out what it is, unless someone has another idea we can pursue as well.'

None of them could think of anything, and Iphigenia looked up at the sky to estimate the time. 'We'll need to hurry, the trolls won't stay asleep forever.'

***

The smallest of the trolls, who had watched the girls from a distance, sneaked his way back to his king, who only opened one eye as he sat still in the same position as before. 'They are busy at the portal, sire.'

'Good. We'll keep pretending we're asleep from the potion they tried to feed us, and give them plenty of time to breach the portal. When they succeed, we will charge in after them and reap the spoils of that pure land.' He closed his eye. 'Inform the wizard and keep watching those women.' He grinned a little at his cunning plan. 'They thought I wouldn't notice the change in the water, eh? Keep working for us, and after we conquer those nasty bugs, we'll have fun with you until you're nothing more than meat for our stew..' he said with a lick of his split tongue along his crooked lips.

***

The more Ulric experienced the peaceful nature and the soothing scents surrounding him, the more he felt he was out of place. Although the sky looked the same, he suspected he was not exactly on the same planet as he was before. He couldn't put a finger on it, let alone his entire paw, but he knew it in the back of his head like a dormant instinct. It certainly felt like a pleasant place where no demon beast like him should ever appear, and he hoped he could keep his trespassing very brief. He pricked up his ears at the sound of faint and very delightful giggles, and spun around when a voice with hints of fragile crystal bells ringing spoke up behind him.

'Oh dear, he heard us.' said a small girl with red hair, wearing a short dress made of bright green leaves, to another girl looking just like her, but with green hair and a dress made from white flower petals. Their blue eyes sparkled playfully. 'Whatever will we do, faced with such a monster?'

Ulric didn't understand their speech, but the way the red haired girl put up an exaggerated shocked expression on her face, he realised they didn't think he was a threat to them. In a way he was glad not to be seen as hostile, but in another he didn't think it was polite to be made fun of by some brat he'd never seen before. He spoke a friendly greeting to show his better side, but all that left his throat was a growl and bark. "Oh shit." he thought. "I've lost my ability to speak."

The two girls giggled and danced in opposite directions around him as they sang.

Big, black wolf

Stripes of blood

Thick on his back

Lost in the woods

He doesn't belong

Deserves a smack

Pet of trolls

Such a bad boy

To come here

Go back quickly

Tell your master

We have no fear

The green haired girl pulled a long twig from behind her, and swung it fast at Ulric's hindquarters. He jumped up just in time to avoid the hit and cursed at himself for almost letting down his guard. He snarled at them but they laughed and kept dancing. He didn't plan on really harming them, but he decided he would teach them a lesson, and leaped at the red haired girl in front of him.

She jumped up fast along with the other, and they both laughed at the stupefied look on the bloodwolf's face.

'Frigging fairies.' Ulric said to himself as he stared at the wings of red flower petals from the red haired girl, and the wings of green leaves of the other. 'I thought they were supposed to be tiny creatures.'

The red haired one giggled and grinned wide in amusement at the other. 'Hey, why don't we have some more fun with him as our pet? We'll have him perform tricks and do whatever we tell him.'

The green haired girl pondered for a moment, then returned the grin. 'Okay.' she said, flew off the a nearby patch of dark blue flowers, picked a few, and returned. The red haired one flew left and right in front of Ulric and stuck her tongue out at him.

'You brat.' he growled, and stood straight to spread his own wings. Except they didn't appear. He looked back over his shoulder in surprise when the other girl swooped down and thrust the flowers against his nose. He barked at her, then growled as his senses faded. 'Shit.' he muttered as he wobbled and dropped down on all fours while fighting to stay awake.

The red haired girl flew closer and grabbed his cheeks. 'He's fighting it, but he's too dazed to do anything now.' she said. Ulric barely recognised what she did when she put her forehead against his, but the faint snarl he could muster as a warning didn't stop her, nor the other girl.

***

Iphigenia held out her pillow stuffed with Ulric's fur between the two pillars, but it didn't vanish in part or whole. Valdys sighed. 'So, it's not any of his physical traits.' she said as she looked at the small piles of his body parts, which had been collected for their properties as he lost them over time. Scales, feathers, claws, some blood and seed that he donated to Kaui for experimental potions. 'We mimicked his voice and scent but I don't know what else we can do. All the spells used to break others are useless when I can't see the spell of the gateway itself.'

Iphigenia clutched her pillow and sighed. She hated the tight feeling in her chest. 'I just hope Wolfie is all right. That's all that matters to me.'

Valdys froze at the faint ripple in the air between the pillars. 'Something happened.' she said, and moved closer to where it occurred.

The others gathered around to see if it happened again. 'What did you do?' asked Elzbieta.

'I didn't do anything.' said Valdys. 'Something else triggered it.'

'But what? None of us did anything just now.'

Valdys looked at Iphigenia. 'You. You spoke of him.'

Iphigenia looked back with slight wonder. 'I was hoping he'd be safe, wherever he is. Just thinking he might be in trouble is frustrating.' The girls gasped as the air rippled again, and Iphigenia gazed at the nothing again. 'Did I do that?'

Valdys laughed, and grabbed Iphigenia's arm. 'I think it's your feelings for him that push against the barrier. The link is still active, and that might be just the crack in the barrier we can use to break it open if we all express our love for him through it.'

Elzbieta chuckled. 'I can't help but think how silly it sounds, but then everything about darling is silly.'

Valdys sniggered. 'Very true, but I like that about him, and if it works I'm not complaining, so let's do it.' she said, and called out to the others outside to do the same.

The girls focussed their thoughts on Ulric, how much he meant to them, their love, and of course their desire. The air in between the pillars rippled violently, then cracked and revealed a colourful scenery of a meadow full of flowers between the pieces. Valdys's heart pounded at the thought of her loved one returning, along with the others, but their force needed just a little harder push. 'The barrier is almost broken, but we still need to put more of our feelings for him into it. Just a little more.' She looked at Rachael and Tipper and reached out her hand. 'If there's anything you can add, please.'

Rachael gazed at the cracked image for a moment, and took Valdys's hand. 'I'm very grateful for all he did for Handil, and me.'

Valdys looked at Tipper. She sighed and rolled her eyes. 'All right, all right. I'm glad he gave me the opportunity to make up for my mistake. But not for him ogling my naked self.' she said, and Valdys chuckled at the blush on the dwarf's cheeks as she took her hand.

Conchim relayed the request to Yingshien, and Kaui to Handil, and they joined in, with Yingshien muttering her reluctance to trust a demon kind as well. The cracks multiplied in the image in the air, and the portal shattered into a silent explosion of glitter.

The girls gazed at the beautiful landscape between the pillars as the cloud slowly dissipated.