The Morning After

Irene kept pacing around the area until she heard the loudest bang come from behind. Broken wood spat around the beaten door and Irene saw a familiar face; Jacques had slipped in through the hole. Irene realized that if she heard the commotion so did Jarl; she turned her attention to see the door she was staring down had been opened and the room, empty.

"Salaud!!" Irene cursed loudly in french and ran over to the gaping hole in the door after hearing Roy's voice yelling at everyone to get out; there's nothing I can do about it now. She followed Roy's lead and told everyone to get out quickly. Once everyone was out, she saw Roy for the first time and gasped loudly; his face was nearly covered in streams of blood and he had a slight hunch when he walked as if he couldn't stand straight. "Damnit Roy."  After a quick glance at Roy she saw Jarl at the stage again, horrifyingly furious. The moment Roy suggested they try reason Irene knew it wouldn't end well, though he did get points for being diplomatic in her mind. Just as she opened her mind to answer Jarl, Roy spoke and she saw Jarl's eyes dart down to his chest the way a mother would look to her baby during a fire. As quickly as the look came, it left and blinding bolts flashed past them and Irene screamed and jumped almost a foot in the air.

Irene felt Roy's sweating hands grab hers tightly they ran to the car, following Jacques lead; she considered healing him then and there, but she knew it would distract Roy, the warm feeling might even terrify him if she didn't warn him and we had no time or shelter. After a life threatening run to the car Irene basically flew into Roy's former seat and didn't bother using a seatbelt. Immediately Roy called for his gun, she looked at him dead in the eye and whispered "Don't shoot his chest, I think that's where the map is", she figured with that in mind Roy would shoot for the arms the car would just steer off. Now that there was at least some shelter Irene figured she would at the very minimum, start healing him. The small instant that Roy's fingers touched Irene's as she handed the gun Irene threw a burst of thought into healing his wounds, she realized he had at least one broken rib; those would take longer to heal but she could jump start it, after a few minutes it should be healed, as for the rest of his relatively minor wounds on his face would heal instantly.

Grateful of being in the car, although the ride was anything but smooth, Irene looked at Roy and realized she could do more than just heal his injuries; but they needed to get closer. Taking a deep breath, Irene got on her knees on the seat and faced the back window. "Jacques! SLOW DOWN" Irene yelled back, if she was going to do this she needed to be closer.

"What? Are you insane Irene?" Jacques looked back at her with eyes that should only be reserved for someone with two heads.

"JUST DO IT" Irene screamed, forgetting they were in an inclosed space and her voice projected far more than she anticipated. With that Jacques slowed on the one two laned highway and the first car containing several guards was so close Irene could see the blood red in their eyes. Irene locked eyes with the driver and focused a sharp glare. Sleep. Within seconds the driving half-giant dropped with acute Narcolepsy and the car swerved around for a moment before driving far off the road and into a tree. Irene figured they wouldn't come back but she also was sure they were not dead. She exhaled sharply and turned back to her seat for a moment with a headache.

With her hands pressing against her head, as if that would stop the headache, Irene looked at Roy.

"Good job, Irene!" Roy exclaimed to her. She seemed to be have an aching headache, so he quickly kissed her forehead. And leaned over to Jacques.

"I'm gonna need to bring down the top of this car." Roy said to his friend. Jacques nodded, speeding down the road. Luckily, the place was pretty abandoned, being a big road to the mansion of Jarl. Jacques nodded, and pressed a button in the car, and the top slowly came down, now making everyone's hair fly around. With this Roy slowly stood up on the seat.

"Don't veer too hard, Jacques," Roy chuckled. He felt like he was going to fall over, but it was the best way to get a good view and a good aim. He would have stayed crouched down in the backseat if the place wasn't so dark. He saw some motion in the car, and Jarl and his Body guard shifted seats. Now the half-giant was driving. Jarl stuck his head out the top window. Roy held the revolver straight with two hands, aiming for the head of his enemy. There was a bolt of magic, which now shot a tree up ahead. It immediately burst into flame and it fell over. Jacques made a hard turn around it, making Roy crouch down before he flew off the car.

The troll missed another shot, but it came very close to Roy's side.

"Stay still you ugly son of a bi--" And with that, Roy came with an impossible opportunity. Both cars were going straight, no swerving, and Roy had Jarl's head the gun's sights.

He shot. There was a loud bang that came from the gun. The bullet connected to Jarl's head, and his body fell down. Roy then quickly aimed for the driver and shot three times, and though all made it through the windshield, only one hit the half-giants chest, and the car swerved to the side, hitting a tree.

"How was that for sharpshooting, Jacques?" Roy laughed and let out a breath. He slipped down in the seat, running his hands through his hair with a sigh of relief. Jacques slowed the car down, and after a three point turn, they pulled close to the car that contained the two dead men.

"If you're squeamish, I'd suggest staying in this car," Roy told his girlfriend. Head shots especially were messy business. Jacques and Roy quickly got out of the car, and jogged to the car. They opened the passenger seat to see the blood that was all over the expensive leather interior. Jarl's body was especially messy, of course. Without much thought, Roy started digging through the pockets of the troll. One in the suit jacket contained a snack: dried sheep intestines, which Roy through out. He then checked the vest, and then the shirt, and finally the pants. Roy's hand reached the final pocket: the front left pocket. He slowly smiled, and pulled out a folded piece of parchment, old and with frayed edges. Opening it, he seen what he had hoped for. The forest map. On the top it had the word "Skogen" (forest), and in the center was a drawing of the forest, which through turns and landmarks led to a badly drawn castle. Roy gave Jacques a high five.

"Some very good driving, my friend," Roy chuckled, patting the map to him. Jacques smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Nice shooting yourself," He mumbled looking at the map, curious.

"We should head back to my place first. We will need to pack for the journey. This seems like a good day's worth of hiking, but we're not even sure what we're going to meet at this castle. We'll need to have a good sleep, or at least the best one we can after this commotion. It might even be easier." Jacques rambled, giving the map back to Roy. He then went back to the troll's dead body. It was slowly starting to go back to it's natural form. Ugly and grotesque. One thing that Jacques always did is keep a little something something from his adventures. Being trolls, they normally left a fingernail. The body, once it was complete troll, then shrived quickly, shrinking and shrinking, leaving only a fingernail. Jacques grabbed it and put it in his pocket.

"As much as I hate getting the grosser remnants of monsters, it's more than nothing." Jacques shrugged.

The moment Roy shot at the remaining car behind them Irene yelped and jumped in her seat. She knew gunshots were loud, but she was unprepared for how loudly it would ring in her ears when the sound emanated from just beside her. The loud sound wasn't helping her headache, although it was fading on it's own. What did help however was that sweet kiss Roy planted on her forehead.

After a moment Irene realized they were going back; Roy must have gotten him. They got out of the car and Roy suggested she stay in the car; not that she doubted Roy's aim but she didn't actually witness the shots she figured he might need her in the case he missed. She waited watched Roy leave the car and she struggled for a moment to get the seatbelt undone; regretting putting it on during the car ride after Jacques pulled the ceiling down but in her defense it was a very bumpy ride.

Eventually Irene got out of the car and walked over to Roy and Jacques who had already gotten the map out of Jarl's body. As she got closer she saw the horrifying blood and brains all over the dashboard and window.

At least he didn't miss.

Irene winced a bit, she was used to saving lives, not taking them. She locked eyes with Roy and gave a grim look before retreating back to the car. Now that they had the map they were heading back to Jacques house and rest up. Once they arrived to the house an hour and a half after they left it. They would have enough time to get at least eight hours of sleep, assuming they would be sleeping the whole time. Irene asked to look at Roy's face and body, she had him take off his shirt to inspect every last inch of him, if she were to heal him it had to be before going to bed so she could be refreshed tomorrow. Satisfied with Roy, she moved on to Jacques who was unharmed minus an unnoticeable patch of hair that had the very tips fried from a bolt of magic. A small shake from his hand broke off the burnt bits and that was the end of that.

She thanked her comrades and excused herself to bed and hoped Roy would accompany her later for a more personal good night. She took a small curtsy and left to her room. Once at her room she showered quickly and changed into her thin red silk nightgown that had the lace at the top and bottom and flowed down to above her knees. She set her mind into waking her up early morning.

She laid in her bed and awaited Roy by reading a small book she found in the mini library in her room.

The car ride was short, as the roads were nearly empty at this time at night. They all drove home safely, and after Irene made sure Jacques and especially Roy (not that he complained). Roy was mighty thankful that she healed up his rib. That would have been a nasty annoyance throughout the adventure otherwise. He thanked her, and after a nice laugh, the gang headed to bed, ready for a good hike through the forest tomorrow.

Roy went into Irene's room first. She was reading a small book, and with his bow tie undone, his suit and vest open, and the first three buttons on his shirt undone like he most liked, he romantically leaned over the bed and gave her a kiss.

This kiss was the longest kiss the two shared. It was, how to say, extremely passionate. It was long, passionate, and generally mind blowing in almost every sense of the word besides literally, and trust me, Roy would know a thing or two about literally having your mind blown. He winked at her after it was finished.

"I'll see you in my dreams, sexy. I'll be so filled with my thoughts of you that my sleep tonight could be measured in inches." Roy winked at her, and after a last look at those amazing silk night nightgown, he left the room and left the door slightly ajar. He then went to his room, changed into comfortable clothes for sleep, and lied in bed.

~~~

The two half-giants woke up from the narcolepsy Irene had casted on them. They looked at each other, a bit confused of what happened. To the left of them, near the road, a figure of a beautiful eighteen year-old female appeared in the moon light. She had nearly bleach blonde hair, and bright grey eyes with a bit of white speckled in them. She walked up to the car the two half-giants were in, opened the door, and smacked the driver as hard as she could.

"Idiots!" She yelled. "They weren't supposed to kill him! We set up a deal to keep him alive for riches galore, and now we won't get any of it! We'll have to leave soon before the police arrive. I spotted some not too far away."

"Where were you, then?" Asked the half-giant in the passenger side.

"That needn't matter. I was spying on them, but was carried away by a bit of trouble I encountered trying to teleport myself to them. All you need to know is that I know where they are right now. We know where they're headed with the map they no doubt got from the troll's body, so we know where to be tonight. We'll just follow them in. I'm sure that map leads to something good. It's not any day a troll comes out of his hiding spot on a regular basis like he was. Come, get out of the car and come with me.

And with this, the two half giants came up to the girl, touched her shoulder, and they dissappeared without a trace.

Running. Screaming. Irene felt a tug at her foot before a sharp pain at her ankle lead to a sharp gasp as she tumbled to the floor. Broken twigs and dirt got into the fresh cuts on her face; silk red dripped off her chin from the corners of her lips and rolled down her cheeks from the sides of her head. She rose her arm to cover her face from her pursuer and looked to her side with eyes filled to the brim in terror, she could have sworn she saw someone run through the forest; unlike any forest she had ever been in. She let out a final scream and the last thing she heard was her beloved Roy hopelessly scream her name before a yellow light blinded her.

A sharp light pierced Irene's eyes and woke her from the nightmare. A sharp inhale followed by short broken exhales made Irene quiver slightly and whimper. She looked over to her window where the dawn light shone strongly and she sighed in relief. Thank you Father. She gave her silent prayers to her father in gratitude for awakening her from a horrible nightmare as she wiped the sweat off her brow. Still startled she realized today was an important day and couldn't afford to allow her silly dreams disrupt the flow of the team. She turned over to her counter to put on her contacts and the ring Roy had gifted her only to find they were not on the counter. She looked down and realized she had forgotten to take the ring off last night, along with her contacts, and her stud earrings, thankfully no harm was done and she took the earrings off and put on a fresh pair of contacts.

Wow I was out of it last night, I never forget my contacts. Irene was thankful that the ring fit perfectly or extensive wearing could have caused circulation problems. She adored the way the ring shone in the light, it reminded her of her father and she was a devout follower of his power.

Ha, a whole new meaning to daddy's little girl. Ha. Irene laughed at her own joke and took a fast shower, wasting no time. She knew it was pretty early, Irene almost always woke up before the crack of dawn; and while she didn't feel all that rested she had no time to spare. She wore her best pair of sturdy cargo pants held up with a nice black belt, a dark green button up with a red tank top underneath and her black boots accented well with everything else.

Irene figured it would be best to talk to the whole team before packing anything, this way no one over packs or under packs. She opened her door and resisted going to check on Roy; she bit her lip as she recalled his visit the previous night and smiled softly. Walking down the stairs Irene was slightly anxious about the day ahead.

"That's the problem. It looks like ancient runic, but it's not even the most ancient runic. No variation that I know of -- it's not even in these damn books -- looks like those markings. Sure, it resembles ancient runic, but it's certainly not that. I'd try and decipher it, but the words -- or whatever they are -- are just simple and small. I can't bring out what's the most common lettering and what not. The lines show the directions, but those words in between are vague. It's probably a warning or something. I have no clue." Roy went on, shaking his head. He was wearing his adventure clothes, not including the Hughes jacket, which was handing on a coat rack by the door. He and Jacques were bent over one of the empty marble counters in the kitchen. The table that was in the next room had its fresh fruit baskets looking like they weren't at its fullest -- probably because they weren't; Roy and Jacques had already eaten. The nicks and nacks had already cleaned their plates. While they weren't waiting for Irene, they were ready. Jacques did his normal ritual of watching the sunrise and Roy was always early to rise -- nearly.

"Then we'll--" Jacques started.

"Wing it." The two said together. There wasn't much else to do otherwise. Roy shrugged and took the map in his right pocket.

"It's not like we don't do that normally." Roy added.

"True. Hel, it'd probably be easier on us if we lit the map now." Jacques lightly chuckled. Roy heard some foot steps and walked over to the spiral staircase.

"Why hello there, sweet heart. How was your sleep?" Roy asked happily. Jacques was looking up and to the side with partly squinted eyes, his lips slightly pursed as he was deep in thought. With a shake of his head, he went over to his books, took one, and flipped through the pages, shaking his head again, and getting another.

"We were just looking over the map. At first the language looks to be ancient runes, but it's not. A path is still there with drawings of landmarks, but some parts have words that I can't decipher, nor can any book we find. I guess we'll find out there." Roy explained to his love. He gave her a nice good morning kiss while Jacques was busy, and led her to the table. He may have already ate, but he could at least sit down with Irene and talk to her.

Irene perked up at the notice of the map; shortly after she was discouraged that they couldn't read most of it. No point in me going over it, I don't even know Swedish let alone ancient whatever it is. Not wanting to look disappointed, Irene reciprocated the kiss passionately and wrapped her arms around Roy's neck to tug him in closer. She then took hold of Roy's hand as he lead her to the table; clearly someone had already eaten. She took a large bite out of an apple and gave a closed smile as she chewed; reminiscing on the kiss given shortly before.

"So what's the plan then Roy? What are we bringing with us? I figured you already know we should split up what to bring amongst the three of us." She spoke between eating her breakfast; not wanting to be rude or speak with a mouth full. She had a peculiar idea of what they would need to bring but was sure Roy already had a plan and Irene wouldn't want to derail it. Finished with her meal, she looked over for Jacques fiddling with some books; an expression lingering on his face that was all far too familiar with Irene.

"Found anything?" She gave a concerned look to Jacques, not wanting to go in blind but not wanting to put pressure on anyone, given the fact she wasn't very helpful in this subject, for answers. Irene gave a glance at Roy who was sitting at her side and couldn't resist leaning over and kissing his soft cheek. She laid her hand over his and squeezed gently as her leg wrapped around his leg so tightly she could feel all the warmth rush to hers. It was almost time to get going and the nerves were going to get to her for sure. Irene wasn't showing how nervous she was, she figured it would go away after a while and would be silly to get worked up so early. Looking deeply into her boyfriends eyes she found a sort of solace within; peaceful and comforting to look at, it warmed her heart.

She waited for Jacques instructions to get the bags all in one place to go over quickly before leaving and start their day. She figured if she was ever going to be ready for a journey like this it would have to be now or never.

"We're bringing three day's worth of clothes. We might be spending the night in the forest once, as it does seem a long journey. The other day is just in case. You honestly never know what's going to happen out there." Roy told, shrugging.

"Nothing." Jacques spoke to Irene after breakfast. "Anyway, as soon as you're ready, we'll depart. We don't want to be late." He told her. It was obviously frustrating Jacques that he couldn't find anything. Roy was a bit more relaxed than Jacques, but he was never a nervous fellow.

Roy's three days worth of things were his adventuring clothes; he was never without them when journeying called. His gun was polished and reloaded after last night, with 4 rounds of celestial bronze ammunition. His manriki chain was packed as well, and his xiphos was polished and sharpened, ready to come across anything that came in its way.

Jacques brought with with lighter clothes than his usual attire; Swedish hiking clothes and boots. He also carried his weapon: a dwarven bearded one-handed war axe, its blade serrated, and made to look like the sea. Njord had gifted this to Jacques a time ago. Though he wasn't entirely proficient in battle, he could hold his own if necessary. The two friends were prepared, however, and ready to go.