Life Review Ch. 02

He closed his eyes and saw his mental menu shimmer into existence as he focused on it. On the main screen beside his rotating portrait, he saw an icon that resembled two circles flowing into each other. It said, "Elven Blood Rite: Denza, House Gaellalen," and like Death had told them earlier, it told him nothing about what it actually was, only that he had acquired it.

"Den...za?" Shawn asked cautiously. The name felt both strange and familiar on his tongue.

The woman's eyes met his and she spoke for the first time, "Shawn." Her voice was soft and gentle, like an ocean breeze but held the capacity for screaming unrelenting rage. She blinked and narrowed her eyes in sudden anger. "What the hell did you do to me, Shawn?"

"Whoa, wait a sec, I have no idea what you're even talking about! I didn't do anything, you attacked us!" Shawn's own voice grew hot.

She stood up and brandished the axe at him, but he felt no real threat behind it, "You're only after the Wolf's Eye! Is it not enough to beat me and claim my kill for your own, you had to bind me to you?"

"What are you even saying? We just showed up here today, we found tracks and came to investigate. Hell, that's MY climbing axe! I threw it at the monster to try and give you a moment to run!" Shawn squared his shoulders, quivering in indignation.

"I thought you just got here? I found this on the wolf's body when I hunted and killed it yesterday," She stalked forward, keeping the axe between them.

"I threw the axe yesterday, I was out climbing and saw it chasing you. After I threw it, I ended up falling from the cliff..." Shawn struggled not to say 'and died', because apparently he wasn't dead. Just in a coma.

"Ahuh, you fell from a cliff trying to save me and you're still alive, what, did you get one of your Expeditionary buddies to resurrect you at one of the God-King's temples? Filthy human, can't even die correctly," She sneered.

Shawn matched her stride, they were nose to nose, "You can check your attitude. For someone who's saved your life, twice. I didn't have to help you with the wolf, and I didn't have to let you go just now. How about we show a little gratitude and wipe the bitch off your face!"

Denza looked shocked, "What did you just call me, human? I am not a bitch! I will never be your bitch! Bond or not, I will die before I let you spoil me!"

Shawn gawked at her. He didn't think she understood what he said, all she heard was the word 'bitch' which, admittedly, is offensive to most women, "What are you even saying? Do you have a few screws loose? I don't want to spoil you, or make you my bitch, what the hell is wrong with you?"

It was Denza's turn to looked enraged, yet confused, "Then why did you force me to bond with you, if you didn't want to spoil me?"

"Spoil? What does that even mean, Denza?" Shawn roared in exasperation. "And I didn't bond with you, not intentionally. I don't even know what that is!"

Denza glared again, turning as if trying to cover herself, "Spoil. Take my virtue. Rape me. Make me your slave, why else would you bind me?" Something finally clicked in her mind, maybe she felt that he was just as flustered, perplexed, and angry as she was, "How did you even do it? It shouldn't be possible for another race."

Shawn opened his mouth to say something, but loud tromping noises alerted them to a group of people marching their way over to them. There were six in total, four men and two women. Their obvious leader was a bald man in scaled armor carrying a large halberd on his back. He was shorter than Shawn, but not by much. He looked to have almost fifty pounds on him though. He was flanked by a spearman in studded leather, a woman with a staff, two archers, and another man with a staff holding the rear.

The bald man stopped a short distance away and held up a hand, "Ho, this hunting ground is ours by contract. We are here to kill the Great Wise Wolf on behalf of a client."

Denza scowled at the man, "You idiots are too late. I already claimed the kill."

The group focused on her, then looked past them at the corpse of the creature, and Cassidy sitting on the ground. The bald man glowered, "You dare talk to me like that, you gutter trash elf? It looks to me like your betters took care of it, and you are just trying to steal the glory for yourself."

Shawn's eyebrows shot up at the venom in their words. What was going on here? He cut off Denza with a raised finger, earning him a dirty look.

"What's your name, sir?" Shawn asked respectfully.

The bald man looked him up and down, then smiled, "I'm Cadder, we hail from the Ft. Rolver Expeditionary Guild. I'm afraid we have already accepted the contact for the wolf, so if we could kindly ask if you hand over the gem. You are free to come back with us and we'll compensate you for your work."

Shawn nodded, trying to piece everything together. He asked, "I'm sorry, but I don't know about any gem. What are they talking about Denza?"

Denza grit her teeth, and said gratingly, "The Wolf had a powerful magic gem embedded in its skull. People have been hunting it for the past decade but never managed to kill it. I was the only one to succeed. The gem is mine for proof."

"Friend, I recommend you don't let your curiosities get the better of you. I hear elf-flesh is particularly enjoyable when made compliant, but you make the wrong impression if you bring your unbroken slave along with you," He sneered at Denza, "especially if they try to take credit from her betters."

Denza let out a low feral growl and was about to attack the group when he stepped in front of her, putting a restraining hand on her shoulder. She instantly relaxed, her eyes going soft. Suddenly she shook herself and glared at him, her eyes screaming at him to stop touching her. Shawn felt the oddest conflicting emotions coming from down the bond. Humiliation, rage, and hatred were strongly present. He also felt deference, and an artificial calmness.

"Give me the gem," Shawn said sternly. He wasn't going to let her pride get them all killed. He glanced as Cassidy who was sitting, watching the interaction wearily. Gone was her innocent, scatterbrained, airy aloofness. Her eyes were cold and calculating. She glanced at him and nodded imperceptibly. Shawn felt better that she felt they could win if it came to a fight.

Denza shook as her body seemed to move on its own. She reached into a small satchel slung across her hips and pulled out a fist sized diamond. It glowed with an inner radiance that bathed their hands in ethereal light, making their skin look papery and flat. Shawn's fingers brushed Denza's when she handed the gem over. There was a sensation like a jolt of electricity that flowed into him.

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Shawn hands over the gem to Cadder. The man smiles and thanks him for all his hard work. He tells Shawn to gather his whore and woman, and meet them at their camp. They shake hands. Shawn turns to Denza, her mouth open in shock. Cassidy screams. Pain slashes down his back. He falls to the ground, a bloody halberd blade resting in the soil next to him. Denza slumps over, two arrows protruding from her chest. His vision goes dark. Cassidy screams in rage, then pain, then silence.

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Shawn's eyelids fluttered when he felt his body return to his control. He glanced at Denza who was still scowling at him. Had she not seen what he had? He looked at Cassidy who noticed something happened, but couldn't tell what. She looked more curious than anxious. He closed his eyes and felt for the bond with Denza. He felt her stiffen as he focused on it and willed her to feel what he tried to communicate to her. Anger. Trepidation. Fear. Betrayal. Agony.

Her eyes widened imperceptibly, then flickered over the group. She locked eyes with him again and he nodded. Good. She understood. He glanced down at his hands, her eyes followed him. He made a series of subtle gestures and prayed she understood him. She almost looked happy, a feral intensity gleaming in her eyes. Well, he would rather deal with one psycho than six. With one last look at Cassidy who seemed to have put enough together to figure out what he was planning, smiled and nodded encouragingly.

"Go ahead, I'm sure it's for the best," Cassidy said confidently. Shawn steeled himself.

He turned to Cadder's smiling face and walked as casually as he could. When Shawn was in reach, he held out his hand expectantly. Shawn placed the gem in his hand, turning to walk away but not moving his hand. Cadder smile widened then fell into a look of befuddlement. With a burst of speed, Shawn gripped his wrist and pulled him sharply, slamming his forehead against Cadder's nose.

There was a crunch and Cadder swore as he staggered back. The spearman was slow to react, and the woman with the staff was caught off-guard, but began raising her energy-wreathed hands. He kicked Cadder hard in the chest, sending him careening backwards into the man behind him, knocking them both to the ground in a heap. Denza threw the climbing axe like a tomahawk that pierced through the woman's chest, just as her spell was reaching its completion, it winked out of existence just like the light in her eyes.

She dove towards one of the archers, drawing her dagger mid roll and standing up inside the bows range, carving him like a turkey in an efficient series of cuts. Fireballs were lobbed by Cassidy over their heads at the remaining archer and the two on the ground. The remaining mage threw up a hastily cast barrier of shimmering blue energy that rippled in concentric rings as it absorbed the fireballs. Cadder was struggling to his feet. Shawn rounded and quickly dodged around a few clumsy stabs from the spearmen. He ripped the spear away from the man once he was off balance and delivered a crushing open hand strike to his exposed throat.

Cassidy was on her feet, stalking forward with both hands wreathed in flame. She hammered away at the shield the remaining mage had constructed until it cracked under the strain and shattered. The next fireball struck the man in the chest, the subsequent detonation threw him back ten feet where he lay prone and unmoving.

Denza rounded on the last archer, taking her apart as if she were nothing more than an amateur. The woman got tangled in her bow in her haste to draw her own blade to defend herself. Her scream was cut short when Denza's knife found the soft flesh of the woman's neck. Cadder was on his feet by the time Shawn reached him. They wrestled with the halberd until Shawn levered it away and twisted hard to send the weapon spinning off into the trees. He punched Cadder twice in the face with a quick combo. He stood there and looked dazed. His gaze fell on Denza's blood spattered visage and smiled, "You'll get yours, Elf whore. We'll come for you and yours."

Shawn felt something he had never felt before. Murderous rage. He had been in fights before, even one incident when he and Jenny almost split up. She was being harassed by another guy, and he had just been angry and territorial. What Cadder said to Denza would normally be nothing more than an empty threat, but something roared to life in his core. The Bond he felt with Denza was sending white hot waves of rage into him. They weren't from Denza, no, her emotions were comprised of shock, and something deeper he couldn't quite read. Her surprise was due to the ferocity of his sudden influx of fury.

He felt his fists grow almost too hot to bare. They burst into hungering flames, all of the power contained in the fireball spell was waiting to be unleashed. He drove his fist forward in a formless haymaker with all of his rage thrown into the mix. His back foot was planted and his legs strained to push as much power into the blow as he could muster. Cadder was wearing metal armor, rationally Shawn knew this wouldn't be very effective. He didn't care. It would be cathartic.

There was a thunderous detonation as Shawn's fist connected with Cadder's chest plate, dead center. He felt his fist collide with the barrier between them and his bones shiver from the impact, but nothing he couldn't handle. The spell he had infused in his hand somehow had taken form and the air around his fist exploded with scorching heat and incredible pressure.

Cadder was illuminated briefly by the hungering flames of his magic before being lifted bodily from the ground, the plate on his chest caved in badly enough to warp the entire chest of the armor, and sent careening ten feet into the trunk of a tree. The tree shook violently, then all was still. Nothing moved around them, and no sound was made.

"Fuck yeah!" Cassidy crowed, "Don't mess with us!"

Denza was mystified. She was glancing between them, trying to make sense of everything. She opened and closed her mouth a few times when Shawn smiled tiredly.

"What? I didn't like it when he called you a whore. You may be a bitch, but not a whore."

Her face was priceless. Shawn laughed his full bellied laugh that inevitably got Cassidy laughing. Denza looked at the two of them like they were insane, but the cheer was infectious and she smiled reluctantly. When the laughter died down, Shawn swayed on his feet. Denza was immediately at his side to hold him up. He smiled at her again, then yawned.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm wrecked," Shawn slurred.

"I'm pretty wasted too. I'm only running on adrenaline. I could shoot fireballs, Shawn! Fireballs!" Cassidy giggled hysterically to herself.

"That was pretty cool, Cass. Too bad you blew your load early," Shawn smirked.

Denza blushed at the terminology and looked confused, "I wasn't aware Cassidy could...you know..."

They both looked at her in disbelief. Then Shawn recalled Death's warning about their speech. "The phrase means she got too excited and burnt through all her energy. We have different ways of speaking where we are from," Shawn chuckled.

"He wasn't kidding when he told us they spoke differently here," Cassidy choked out between her fits of laughter.

"You're both energy-starved," Denza said sternly, "You used too much, too quickly and it's making you loopy. You need to rest. Since Shawn bound me to him, I guess we'll have to use my camp."

Shawn turned his head to look her in the eye, "You don't have to. You don't want to be bound to me, and I don't want a slave or whatever. You are free to go."

Denza shook her head sadly, "Breaking the bond isn't that simple. It's usually a lifetime commitment. Look, I'll explain it once you are in your right mind. I shouldn't even tell you because you are human, but I don't have much choice."

The Elf brokered no more arguments. She marched them away along the ridge, but not before Cassidy insisted on robbing their attackers blind and naked too for good measure. Cassidy consolidated all the coins they found into one bag that she tossed in her satchel. The two girls insisted Shawn take Cadder's armor, seeing as he didn't have any protection. The scaled armor was short around the waist and arm and too broad in the shoulders and chest but it was serviceable. They removed the crumpled plate from the armor, leaving only the scaled sections to protect his chest.

Fatigue settled over Shawn and Cassidy by the time they reached a small glade that housed Denza's camp site. Her single tent was nestled under a tree and a campfire was dug into the ground. It was cozy, Shawn half expected them to sleep out in the open. Denza busied herself starting the fire and set a pot to boil water.

Cassidy looked lost at what she should be doing, so Shawn had her sit by the fire and take stock of their belongings. Shawn gathered more firewood to last the night, stacking the dried twigs in a pile by the tent. For a fire of decent longevity they needed actual firewood and not just tree scraps, so Shawn went out into the twilight and hunted around for decently sized fallen branches. He spotted a fallen tree that had thick branches still attached that would have a long burn time, the only problem was the lack of an axe.

Thinking back to the wild flaming haymaker he had thrown out so carelessly, he focused on his body to try and replicate that feeling. After a few minutes of trial and error, he isolated that burning ember of power in his mind. He tapped into it and blinked in astonishment as his hands burst into flickering flames. His body had also moved on its own during both confrontations. He didn't know how to fight with any sort of form, but his body now seemed to disagree.

He let the flames fade from his hands as he took a stance above a thick branch. He breathed, focusing on trying to channel his inner Mr. Miyagi. Shawn's open handed chop met the bark covered wood with all the force he could muster. With a dull thwap, pain radiated from the bruised side of his hand. He clutched the injured appendage and let out a low groan of pain and defeat.

"Okay. Okay. So, maybe not a good idea," Shawn shot a reproachful look at the branch.

"You are a very strange human," Denza's voice startled him when she appeared out of the gloom. "What would possess you to try to chop a tree with your bare hand?"

"Uh. Well, you see," Shawn floundered. "When we were fighting, my body sorta moved on its own. I did things I've never done before, like setting my hands on fire."

Denza nodded slowly, "So because you could use fire magic, you decided to what? Burn the tree down?"

"No, I've never been able to fight like I did. I figured if I could cause a dent in Cadder's armor, I could chop firewood with my bare hands," He finished lamely.

The Elf ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head in disgust, "You are one of the most idiotic humans I've ever met. The attack that dented Cadder's armor was the explosion from the fireblast spell."

Shawn set his hand alight, "This doesn't look like the same spell Cassidy used though."

Denza walked over to him and the branch, she hefted the axe, "Because it isn't. Fireblast and Fireball are two different spells. One focuses on the detonation, the other focuses on a controlled ranged release of that fire and pressure. That's why it is spherical in form, to throw."

"That actually makes sense," Shawn shrugged.

The axe rose and fell as Denza hacked into the tree, "So you have a magical talent, but no knowledge. You have good combat instincts, but no practice. How have your survived so far? Did you masters not teach you?"

Shawn stepped back as the branch separated from the trunk, then Denza began working it into smaller more manageable segments, "I never had a master. Me and Cassidy are on our own, I guess you could say. We just got to this land from far off, so we aren't really sure how everything works."

"Where is far off, then?" Denza grunted in effort.

"You've never heard of it, it's way off. Beyond the sea," Shawn said vaguely. When he saw her suspicion he blurted out, "Look. We don't remember. We sorta just wound up here. Magic probably had something to do with it." When you have to lie, trying to tell as much truth as you can will make it much more believable.

Denza bent down to collect the wood, Shawn joined her. When she stood she nodded and said, "Fair enough. If your body remembers what to do, one of the spell effects for transporting you such a huge distance might have been memory loss. You can't forget muscle memory though."

Relieved, Shawn smiled and agreed that was probably it. They walked back to camp to see Cassidy comparing the different coins they had collected. Shawn stacked wood on the fire to keep it hot and alive, Denza began pulling out foodstuffs to make dinner, a stew from what he saw.

"So, Denz, what are these coins? Obviously gold, silver, and copper, but what are they worth?" Cassidy leaned back to look at Denza upside down.