The War Lich Chronicles Ch. 01

"You'll be warm in no time." Danroth told her.

"The perfume makes you feel alive again." Ni said quietly to Asdern who came to stand next to Danroth. "Because you're dead?"

Danroth let out a small hiss and Asdern frowned and nodded tightly. She looked over at Danroth who stood poker strait.

"I've heard that most War Liches aren't usually willing turns." She looked at Asdern and he nodded again.

"There are eighteen of us here." Asdern told her. "Our master is dead. We are free. We side with no one. We've left the rest of the world behind because we're tired of fighting. We want to live peaceably."

"Of course that's understandable." She said.

"But is seems that some of us have grown lonely." Asdern told her putting emphasis on lonely.

Ni burst out laughing.

"Well that's not the reaction I was expecting." Danroth said to Asdern.

"It's just that you stressed the word lonely." Ni said trying to pull back her laughter.

"Why is that funny?" Asdern asked in puzzlement.

"Well apparently my mind is in the ditch and I took that to mean something sexual. Sorry about that. I was just having a moment. I'm the last person that someone would want to be un-lonely with." She emphasized the word just as Asdern had done.

Both of the men didn't say anything, just looked at her gravely.

"Oh." She stopped laughing and looked over at Danroth. "You really want me to?"

He nodded.

"With you?"

"I suppose if you like Asdern can join us."

Asdern whipped his head around so fast to look at Danroth Ni was sure she heard his neck pop.

"Relax." Ni said to Asdern. "He's joking."

Danroth nodded and Asdern shook his head and walked away. He said something to Danroth in their guttural language and Ni frowned.

"What did he say? What language was that?"

"He told us to figure it out on our own. As for the language we were speaking it doesn't really have a name. It's merely the language of the dead."

"Language of the dead?" She asked curiously. "I didn't know there was one."

"Not many do. Most people think that the walkers are merely gibbering."

"But they're not?"

"No." He shrugged. "Of course their minds are mostly gone so they don't really have much to say.

"Oh. Wow."

"Asdern was right." Danroth knelt down in front of her. "I brought you here because I was lonely. I honestly don't remember the last time I was with a woman."

"Oh."

"I want someone to talk to about things other than swords. I want someone to laugh at my jokes." He looked up at her almost desperately. "Gods above, I want sex!"

Ni laughed. She wasn't promiscuous in any way but she did understand the need to connect with someone every once in a while. That itch had to be scratched every so often.

She reached out and ran a hand across Danroth's forehead moving a lock of hair behind his ear. She really looked him over. He was human. His features were even and he was handsome in a classical way. He was around seven feet tall and heavily muscled. And he had the loveliest beard. Ni really did have a thing for neatly trimmed beards.

"Well I normally spend the winter somewhere warm but I guess I could spend it here with you." She blushed furiously but didn't try to take it back. Just looking at him was making her get the itch. If he was willing to scratch her back for a while she would sure as hell scratch his too.

"Excellent." He grabbed her out of the chair and swung her into his arms. He was striding out the hall door and back into the corridors.

"Oh, okay. I, uh, guess now is good a time as any." She said taking a deep breath, reminding herself she wasn't likely to get away and that she thought he was handsome. Just thinking about him running his big hands over her body made her stomach jump. Everything about him was just so large. She knew that his manhood was as well. She'd been pressed against him for quite awhile after she'd woken up.

"Not right now." He said.

"No?"

"No."

"Well, then what in name of the nine hells are we doing?" She was frustrated now that she'd been fantasizing and he was telling her no.

"I have responsibilities and you need to get some more sleep. You're as taut as a bow string."

"That's because I was just fantasizing about you and your big hands! And now you're telling me no!" She screeched.

He looked down at her and smiled wickedly as he pushed through an open door way. He walked over to a lit fireplace and laid her down on a large bed of furs that was close to it. He bent his head and kissed her lips gently. He ran a hand up her leg, over her stomach, grazing a breast, and then wrapped it around her neck. He felt her pulse speed up and stroked her jaw with his thumb. He squeezed just a bit and she opened her mouth so he could deepen their kiss. Her tongue dueled with his before he pulled away to look down at her. His eyes glowed with an unholy light.

"Sleep." He said pulling a fur over her body. "You'll need it."

He got up and walked out of the room, unconcerned about the erection straining the fly of his trousers. Ni sighed and threw a hand over her eyes. He'd made her so hot she was burning up and then he walked away. He may not have remembered the last time that he'd been with a woman but he hadn't forgotten the tricks of getting one's attention. For a moment she contemplated just taking care of her needs on her own but she was stopped her in her tracks by one single thought. He'd done this to her and she'd see that he finished what he started. She closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep because he was right, she would need it for later.

Danroth walked back to the great hall and stopped dead when he realized that every one of his comrades were there waiting for him.

"Ya weren't gone dat long mon." Neron said as he fingered one of his tusks.

"She needs rest before she can take me on." He said with a shrug. "Where'd the extra furs come from?"

"I've been getting back into my leather working." Said Korian Hardhoof, the only Minotaur among the group, with a grin. "Asdern came and asked me for them. He explained the situation. I'll not begrudge you them."

"Thank you." Danroth said.

"No thank you." Korian said. "I figure if you have the stones to go out and find a woman then so do I."

Everyone in the room agreed with him.

"There is one thing." Danroth said seriously.

"What's dot mon?" Neron asked curiously.

"Ni is a half elf. She's likely to live as long as I do." Danroth told them all seriously. "I chose her mainly for that reason. I don't want to get attached and then have her die on me in fifty years."

"Well damn me then." Came a deep voice from the back of the room.

"What's the matter Tesh?" Asdern asked.

"I don't like elves!" The Orc groaned in frustration.

Everyone laughed.

"Ye don worry laddie." Said Nallish, the group's one and only dwarf. "There are plenty of other species out there that are immortal and hae some luvlee lassies among them."

"Like what?" Tesh demanded.

"Come now laddie don tell me you ne'er saw the banshee queen Ellana Courtsong."

"A former elf!" Tesh barked.

"What about one o them demons from the Ronlan Desert?" Nallish fired back.

"Oh yeah." Tesh smiled, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. "I could get myself one of them."

Asdern whistled loudly getting all of their attention.

"Is this something we're all actually contemplating?" Asdern asked seriously. "Because this place is barely fit for us and we're dead."

"Lad's got a point." Nallish piped up. "We all ken that this place ain fit fer a rat let alone a gaggle o lassies."

"Then we make it fit." Said the cultured voice of the Moon Elf Aidan Diamondflame. "We have gold, do we not? We will go to Krinlin and buy the beautiful things that women like."

They all nodded in agreement.

"I don't know what in the nine hells women like!" Tesh's twin brother Grolsh said with annoyance.

"Perhaps we should be findin out wat we be matin with before we buy tings." Said Toshin Bloodwind. "Troll women be different dan human and elf women."

"Ya mon. Can you see a orc woman wantin to take a bubble bath?" Geru Deathdagger asked with amusement.

"I guess we have a few things to think through before we go about making this place a home." Asdern said and they all nodded in agreement. "Let's go about our responsibilities for now."

000

Danroth was lying next to Ni watching her sleep. She was looking so much better. The dark circles that had been beneath her eyes were gone and her tanned skin was starting to get a healthy glow about it. He'd initially been worried because she'd been asleep for almost three days but Aiden had explained to him that it was a normal occurrence for an elf to crash if they'd been up for two or more weeks.

"Wake up girl." Danroth whispered and Ni opened her lids and gazed up at him with her obsidian colored eyes.

"How long?" She croaked.

"Almost three days." He told her as he sat up and grabbed a water skin for her.

"You were right." She told him after she'd had a big drink. "I needed to sleep. I hope I didn't worry you."

"Not at all. Aiden explained to me that you're sleeping for so long is normal."

"Aiden?"

"Aiden Diamondflame."

"He's an elf?"

"Yes. A Moon Elf. Time to bathe." Danroth said and picked Ni up.

"That would be heavenly." She snuggled into him.

"I thought you might like that."

He walked into a small adjacent room and set her in a small steaming pool.

"Hot!" She yelped.

"Give it a second." He made quick work of stripping off his clothes and Ni gave an audible swallow when she saw his manhood jutting out from his body. He smiled at that but said nothing. He stepped in and sat across from her. The pool was probably knee deep on her but when she sat it came up to her breast.

"Um. I don't remember falling asleep naked." She said to him with a raised eyebrow.

"I undressed you of course."

"Of course." She smiled. "Look your fill?"

"Oh most definitely." He smiled. "You're quite lovely. I like the beauty mark on you hip."

She blushed. "There is no sparring with you is there?"

"Not really, no. I'm afraid when I became a

War Lich most of my emotions went to the wayside. It's much easier to be honest in such conditions." He shrugged.

"You've been smiling for me a lot." She pointed out.

"They're starting to come back."

"Now that you're no longer tied to your master." She guessed.

"Correct." He nodded. "We've all been experiencing a lot of returning emotions lately."

"Including lust?"

"Not until I saw you."

"Really?" She asked sarcastically. "I know I'm plain."

"You are unique." He reached out and ran a hand over her hair. "I've never quite seen this many shades of red before."

"It's weird." She grumbled.

Ni had been born with a full head of flaming red hair, or so her mother liked to tell her. Growing up, the other children had always made fun of her hodgepodge of looks. She'd learned to rely on herself for a playmate and not take what others said to heart. As she'd grown older she knew that men were always drawn to her hair, but not always the rest of the package.

Danroth sighed and smiled fondly at Ni. He put a finger under her chin.

"I will make you feel beautiful and loved. You will never have to doubt yourself with me."

"You may not be that emotional but you're a very expressive person, aren't you?" She asked. Ni had never been an emotional person and was usually uncomfortable around people were.

"Not usually no." He shrugged. "I will fill free to be so with you. We are going to be together for a long time and I would like to start our relationship out the right way."

"That's.., that's uh.., that's a good thing to know." Her smile was forced and the whole time she was thinking ookay what the hell have I gotten myself into?

"I'll wash your hair for you." Danroth said moving over to her side.

"Okay." She shrugged and ducked under the water. When she came back up he had a small pot of soap.

"I borrowed this from Asdern. I hope you don't mind." He scooped a bit into his hand and started massaging it into her scalp.

"Not at all. It'll be nice to feel clean."

He was very thorough and after a good five minutes he finally let her duck under the water and wash out the soap. When she came back up he had more soap in his hands which he massaged into her back and shoulders. By the time that he was done bathing her she was so relaxed that she felt like she never wanted to move again. Danroth had other ideas of course. He picked her up and took her back into the bedroom, laying her on the furs. He put a few more logs on the fire, building it up.

"We'll be dry in no time." He laid next to her and started running a callused finger up and down her arm.

"This is nice." She put an arm behind her head, displaying her breast for him. He smiled at her antics.

"We've discussed it and decided that our home isn't really fit for living beings at the moment." Danroth told her.

"So you have decided to spend the winter in a warmer climate?" She asked with a hopeful smile.

"No. We've decided that we will go to Krinlin and procure the things that will make a woman comfortable."

"Oh." He smile faded and she looked at the fire. "Good luck with that then."

"You will be joining us. Your input will be important."

"Yeah. Not going to happen. Sorry."

"I don't understand. Don't you wish to be more comfortable?" He asked with puzzlement.

"Sure. But we'd have to go to Alay or another city. I won't be setting foot in Krinlin." She told him angrily.

"I'm listening." He said gently.

"My father lives there. We had a falling out a few months ago."

"What about?"

"I refuse to follow in his footsteps and become a ranger. I have other things I want to do with my life right now."

"He doesn't like that I take it?"

"No."

She remembered how awful she'd felt confessing to him that she wouldn't be joining the rangers. The disappointment on his face hurt but his words broke her heart.

"So human." He started walking away then stopped to look back at her. "Do not return to me Nienna Surion until you've decided to take your rightful place."

Ni felt a tear slide down her face and swiped it away. She took a deep breath and tried to stem the tide of rising tears. The hurt had been battering at her for months and the longer she suppressed it the harder it became.

Danroth reached out and pulled her into his arms. She snuggled into his chest and he held her as she sobbed her heart out. Eventually she fell into a light sleep. Danroth covered her, put on his clothes, and left her to sleep.

000

"Elven pride is harsh mistress." Tirin said to Danroth and Aiden nodded in agreement. "Just the fact that he had a child that was half human would have been a great blow."

"And then for her to throw away her heritage, as he would consider it, would be another blow." Aiden said with a shake of his head.

"Don't think there is anything wrong with wantin to follow your own path." Elias Brenmore said. His fellow Lyken, Deven Stone and Cameron Fraiser piped in with their own agreements.

"You wouldn't." Tirin said. "You're human."

"We're Lyken." Cam told him with a glare, even though he was the only one of the three to be in his hybrid form.

"E's right lads." Nallish said. "You were once human an' you still think like them. But other races, including me own don' see it the way you do. Followin' in the footsteps of a parent is important. As is passin' on the knowledge and skills of the ones who came before."

"So your ancestors were death knights?" Cam asked sarcastically.

"Nay lad, they were smiths." Nallish shrugged. "Make no mistake though, I followed like I was sposed to. I can hammer out a sword and armor wi the best of them."

"We're walking proof of that." Deven told Cam and pointed to both of their swords, which Nallish had made for them some time back.

"Ye got a stick up yer arse or what Cam?" Nallish asked.

"Yeah. You're a grump all the time lately." Deven said.

Cam merely rolled his eyes and said, "Hell if I know. I think Danroth got it right. I need to go find myself a piece of tail."

"You're going to have to pay some silver for it if you call a woman a piece of tail." Ni said walking into the room and all of the men stood up. "Women don't like to give it away when they hear things like that."

Cam grumbled and looked away.

"Are you blushing under all that hair?" Ni asked.

Cam gave a snort and threw himself back down in his chair. Danroth pulled a chair up next to his by the fire and Ni went and sat, grateful for the heat. She was seriously going to have to invest in some warmer clothes. The men in the room didn't seem to mind at all. All of them were wearing various shades of leather pants and short sleeved cloth shirts. Danroth and Tirin were both barefooted too.

Danroth had been waiting for her to wake and had made food in preparation. He pulled a large sandwich off of a near table and handed to her. She was about to hold it up in front of her face for a closer look and then thought better. She was hungry enough to eat it as long as she didn't know what was in it.

"Ye feelin better then lass?" Nallish asked.

"I am thanks." She took a small bit of the sandwich which was actually pretty good.

"Ye got a tan." Nallish said confusedly. "Never actually seen an elf wi a tan. Different colors, maybe. Never a tan though."

Ni smiled.

"I'm a Sun Elf." She said with a shrug. "I spend a good half the year in warmer climates too."

"An' this'n brought ye to one o the coldest places in Azeroth." Nallish said motioning at Danroth.

"Yeah. I'm freezing my tits off." She said moving her chair closer to the fire. When she looked up from taking a bite of her sandwich they were all staring at her. "What?"

"You said tits." Cam said incredulously.

"Oh. Wow." Ni said as she watched most of them blushing. "Aren't you all hardened warriors?"

"What's that got to do wi the price of Iron in Hollow Mountain?" Nallish asked.

"I just thought that-"

"I canna speak for the others but I spent more time warring that I did wooin the lassies." Nallish laughed ruefully. "I thought I had all the time in the world."

"Um I'm sorry." Ni said sadly and Danroth glared at Nallish.

"No worries lass. Now I do got all the time in the world. You ken?"

"Oh. Yes I think so."

"Yeah." Eli said. "Danroth has inspired us. If he can get you then we can get our own women too."

"No more cold nights alone." Deven said.

"Uh-" Ni honestly didn't know what to say to this revelation.

"What is it lass?" Nallish asked.

"I just really want to caution you guys to think things through before you do anything rash."

"Like what?" Demanded Cam.

"Um, you know, like kidnapping innocent women."

"It worked for Danroth." Eli pointed out. "He got you and you don't seem to mind at all."

"Okay. We're done." Ni stood up and walked away. "I am not having this conversation with all of you."

Danroth glared at the Lyken.

"What?" Eli asked.

"Could you possibly be any more insensitive?" Tirin asked them.

"Probably." Eli said. "Besides, I'll be a lot more sensitive to my own woman. If I was all nice to Ni then Danroth would probably take it the wrong way and go for my throat."

Danroth opened his mouth to deny it then thought better and didn't say a word.

"See?" Eli asked.

"Have ye figured out what ye want then laddie?" asked Nallish.

"Perhaps an elf." Aiden said with a small smile.

"Not a chance." Eli said.

"Well?" Cam demanded.

"You remember Gwendolyn Ghostfire in Te'Arun?" Eli asked Cam.

"Gods! That damn banshee almost killed me more times than I can count." Cam said with irritation.

"She just needs a firm hand is all." Eli told him with a frown.

"But she's dead." Deven pointed out.