The Talisman of Odan

By Vic James

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2013 by Vic James

All Rights Reserved

 

 

vicjames2@hotmail.com

www.vicjames.com

 

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Chapter Two

Erella and Tig flew into the mercenaries' camp. She changed them back to their original form.

"Erin is in the largest tent. Go to him. I will distract the others."

Tig nodded. He spoke his concealment spell and snuck around the camp to get to the tent.

Erella changed shape into a beautiful young woman. She walked openly through the camp. The men gathered, licking their lips. She could tell how evil they all were. It was a smell to her. An awful smell. She walked up to the main tent. She really wished she could just kill them, but she didn't want to become a demon. She had a childhood friend who had done that. She still cried about her, sometimes.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she called.

Erin sighed with relief as Elgath got out of bed to see who was speaking. Erin was tied to the metal pan and Elgath had just started to cut his leg with one of his knives. Elgath left the tent. Erin struggled frantically, but Elgath had a lot of experience tying up his sex partners. Erin was unable to even move much.

"Erin," Tig called as he climbed under the tent.

"Who is it?"

Tig cancelled his concealment spell and climbed up on the bed so Erin could see him.

"My name is Tig. I want to save you."

Erin looked at the little goblin. He was short, green, and had big pointed ears. He was ugly, but Erin was in no position to choose his savior and he reminded himself not to judge an apple by its skin. He looked into the goblin's green eyes. They were really beautiful. He smiled as he recognized the eyes. His dream man had those eyes.

"Can you cut me free?" Erin asked.

"Erin." Tig closed his eyes. Here was his beloved. He was finally meeting him. He sighed. "Erin, Triesse said the only way you can survive is by not being a virgin. I have no idea why, but she seemed sincere."

Erin looked over at the blue light.

"I know why. He will never release me while I am a virgin. He needs my blood tonight. He will be dead by midday tomorrow if he doesn't drink the blood of a virgin. If he loses me, he will not have time to find and drain another one. He said he has a battle soon and—oh, it doesn't matter. Please cut me loose!"

Tig grabbed a knife, and cut him free. He helped Erin get off the draining pan. Erin shuddered. That's what Elgath had called it.

Tig looked down. "Erin, I could—I know you think I'm horrible, but—I mean, it could save your life, and we don't have time to find anyone else!"

"You are right, Tig. Fuck me, please! I want you to do it!"

Tig nodded.

Erin got on the bed on his back. He pulled his legs up.

Tig pressed his face against Erin's hole and began licking it. He had to get it wet for his cock. He licked and stabbed at his hole.

Erin moaned and his eyes widened at the incredible sensation Tig was giving him. He had never felt anything like it.

"Oh, Tig!" he murmured.

Tig stopped and spit on Erin's hole. Then he spit on his cock.

"I wish we had time, Erin! You need to be stretched and loosened—oiled—"

"Thank you for wanting to do that, but you really better hurry! I would rather be in pain than dead!" Erin didn't say it, but after what Tig had just done to him, he wanted him to fuck him.

Tig climbed on top of Erin. Erin was amazed that Tig's cock looked completely human, although it had a greenish tinge to it. Tig had two parts that Erin liked. His green eyes and his pretty prick.

"Push out while I push in," he told Erin.

"I love you, Erin!" Tig pushed inside his love and groaned. He knew they had very little time. He came immediately. "Oh, Erin!" he moaned as he ejaculated inside him.

Erin was pressed into the bed as a suddenly larger and much better looking Tig transformed before his eyes. Tig was the man of his dreams!

It hurt like hell as his cock grew larger inside him, but he grinned at Tig as the lamp turned red, bathing the whole tent in red light. Elerra was right, his dream man's cock was extremely painful.

Tig grabbed two knives, one for each of them. Tig shuddered at the thought of why that man needed twenty sharp knives next to his bed. He handed a knife to Erin and they slipped under the back of the tent. Tig realized they were both naked. He went back in the tent and grabbed Erin's clothes and his own pants. They ran away from the camp together.

They laughed after a while as they ran.

When they were well away from the camp, they slowed to a fast walk.

"Thank you, Tig! Are you the one Elerra said loved me? I suppose you must be. I have trouble imagining I have two admirers."

"Yes, Erin. From the first minute I saw you, I have thought of nothing else."

Erin wasn't sure what to say. What he thought was, `You must have been very bored!' Erin's life was not exactly exciting. Well, it didn't used to be, anyway. He had never been anywhere exciting or done anything exciting before.

He looked up at Tig. "You are beautiful, Tig."

"She did it! She changed me so you would like me!"

"I liked you before," Erin said. "How can you not like the person who is risking their own life to save yours? I owe you my life, Tig. And I loved what you did with your mouth! I have never even heard of that before."

"I will do it as often as you will let me."

Erin just grinned at him.

"I'm starting to think that will be often," Tig said.

Erin laughed and nodded.

When they were a safe distance away, Erin dressed. He laughed at the expression on Tig's face.

"You look disappointed, Tig."

"You look better naked."

Erin grinned. "Thank you, Tig."

Tig tried to put on his pants. Erin tried not to laugh.

Tig threw the pants on the ground. They were useless to him in his new body.

"Will you be cold?" Erin asked.

"Not if I'm holding you, Erin." Tig astonished himself with his boldness. But Erin liked the idea.

"I will definitely be in your arms if I have anything to say about it, Tig!"

Tig felt like flying!

"We are near a cave. The entrance is hidden. We will be safe there," Tig said.

They came to it and crawled under some bushes. They entered the cave, which was dark, but not so dark that they couldn't see.

Erin looked into Tig's eyes. They were the same beautiful, green eyes as before.

Erin put his hand on Tig's muscular, hairy chest. "Do you mind looking like a human?"

Tig looked down at his new body.

"Wow! I've got a really big cock now!" He looked at Erin. "Um, do you think I am handsome?"

"I think you are the sexiest man I have ever seen. But I want you to be happy. If you want to go back to your old appearance, I will understand. I am sure I will come to love you in your true appearance."

"I don't care what I look like, as long as I am with you. Will you be mine, Erin?"

"Yes, Tig. I owe you my life, and I think you are wonderfully brave, as well as handsome."

They wrapped their arms around each other and kissed. Afterwards, Erin rested his head on his tall lover's chest.

"It's strange being taller than you," Tig said.

"I hope you like it."

"I do. I like it very much. I want to protect and cherish you. I feel I can do that better now."

Erin sighed.

"Are you going to live with me, Tig? I can't leave my father. There is no way he can run the farm by himself."

"I will live with you if you will let me."

Erin hugged him tightly.

"How will your father feel about me?"

"About you being a goblin?"

"Or about me being a male."

"I think the male part will bother him a little; he wants grandchildren. But he will adjust. I don't think the goblin part will bother him. We aren't pure human. He is a little less human than me, because my mother was human."

"Many humans hate goblins," Tig said.

"Many humans hate humans."

Tig laughed. "Yes, that is true.

"Would you like children, Erin? You'll never have them if I am your mate."

"I would like to have them, but I have known I wanted a male for a mate for years. I have accepted the fact that I won't have them."

Erin reached out and stroked Tig's cheek.

"Tig, I think you look wonderful, but I don't want you to spend your life in a shape you don't like. I don't want my happiness to depend on your unhappiness."

"Thank you, Erin. But I have lived three hundred years as a goblin. I am looking forward to living as a human. If we are going to live with humans, it makes much more sense for me to look like one. I am still the same inside, and I hope it is the true me you will love one day."

Erin smiled at him. "That will probably be very soon, you know. Not only are you incredibly good looking, but you are brave and kind. And you are also a good lover. Those last three have nothing to do with your new appearance."

Tig pressed his mouth to Erin's. They kissed again. His love's mouth was sweet. He knew they would kiss often. He was completely happy. Erin knew what he looked like and he loved him, or would love him soon, anyway.

 

Elgath strolled out of his tent naked. Erella was waiting for him.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" he asked Erella.

"My name is Ann. I am looking for my family's bird. She flew over here. Have you seen her? She is incredibly valuable. The bird grants an extra week to your life for each day you possess her."

Elgath smiled. "My, my! I can understand why you seek her," Elgath said. "How did you lose such a valuable bird?"

"My great-great-great-great-grandfather had him. He is old."

"Oh, I am sure of that!"

"But then my first cousin died. He was only ninety-seven and my aunt and uncle wanted to use the bird for a few days to bring him back to life."

"Back to life?"

"Yes."

He motioned with his hand. One of his officers walked up to him.

"Bring me the Mirror of Lisustred from my case next to the tent," Elgath whispered.

Erella cast a spell of reversal around her that would cause the Mirror to reveal the opposite of fact.

The man went after it.

"The bird can truly restore life?"

"Only to the recently dead."

This was the ultimate prize! Elgath thought to himself, better than the Talisman of Odan!

Erella picked that thought out of his mind. She wondered what the talisman was.

"My uncle said my great-great-great-great-grandfather should die before my cousin and there was a big fight. My aunt refused to allow her son to be buried. They were all pulling on the cage and it came open. I am the only person the bird will approach. It flees from everyone else."

"Oh." Elgath supposed he would have to keep her alive. If she was telling the truth. "How old are you, my dear?"

"One hundred and three."

Elgath gasped. "You look like a young girl, no more than fifteen!"

"I have lived with the bird since my birth. I seem to have stopped aging completely. I have looked this way for as long as I can remember."

Elgath was handed the mirror. He turned his back to her and looked at her reflection the mirror. He smiled, triumphantly. She was telling the truth! Immortality was within his reach! And not only immortality, but a way to reverse death! He could be the richest man alive in months. He could charge any price for temporary use of the bird. He wouldn't tell them they would only live a week. He supposed he would be willing to share the bird with this simpleton, if he had to.

His life would no longer depend on the Talisman of Odan. Once he thought it the ultimate prize. He finally acquired it four years earlier. He had been invincible in battle, ever since. A person wearing it could not be killed and it was claimed it could slow aging by half. The talisman could keep its owner alive for one hundred and fifty years. He sought it for seventeen years and killed dozens to get it. Although it was difficult to kill the previous owner. He tried and found it impossible, at first. He stabbed the woman through the heart and she laughed at him. He convinced her to give it to him by threatening to kill every grandchild of hers. He killed two before she handed it to him. He pitied the woman. Love was such a weakness. He killed her and then the rest of her family. It was a terrible pity that there were no virgin relatives of the proper age. They would have been useful to him.

Unfortunately the talisman did not like being near him during or immediately after he drained and enjoyed a virgin. That meant he couldn't have sex before a battle, and that was one of the joys of his life. The talisman made him horribly sick and burned his skin, if he wore it. Also some of its powers did not work for him. It was supposed to make sex amazing, but he assumed his blood curse blocked that. The travel power didn't work for him, either. It was supposed to allow him to travel anywhere, instantly. A wizard told him it was because the talisman was white magic and the curse on him requiring virgin blood to live was blackest magic. The wizard also told him that his heart was black and Odan did not approve of him. Imagine! Supposedly, that was why it was always a painful for him to wear it. He felt sharp pricks and began bleeding when he wore it. All of this limited the talisman's usefulness to him. The bird was better! He wouldn't have to wear the stupid bird. It could restore life after death! He calculated quickly. If he had the bird for the next fifty years, he would live three hundred and fifty additional years. And he would live forever if he kept the bird! He thought of his riches and all the virgins he could enjoy. He could buy as many virginal slaves as he desired.

Erella picked up his thoughts about the talisman. She knew it was inside a wooden case in his tent.

Elgath turned to her and motioned again. Erella was grabbed from behind by one of Elgath's men. To keep them interested and distracted, she had the men hear the sound of a peacock calling. She answered the imaginary bird and saw the triumph in Elgath's eyes. Erella's arms were tied. Then her legs. Erella pretended to be afraid.

"Why are you doing this? I might be able to let you keep the bird for a day, the month after next month, if you let me go."

"Why don't you describe the bird? Then we will let you go."

"Do you promise?"

"Of course! I am an officer!"

"Are you an officer of the king?"

One of Elgath's men chuckled.

"We are soldiers of fortune."

"Oh! You have a fortune!"

Elgath rolled his eyes. If he let her live, he might need to make her mute.

Erella was delighted when she sensed Tig mounting Erin and penetrating him. The tent suddenly glowed red, like a brothel in Mendarra, which she found very amusing.

And she was vastly amused by the tale she was spinning. It was complete fiction, but Elgath loved it, and was distracted. It was especially fortunate that her tale made him think of the talisman. She would not have known of it, otherwise. She could sense the talisman was protecting him, even though he wasn't wearing it. She needed to get it away from him. Someone so evil should not have protection. A moment later, she sensed Tig and Erin were running away from the mercenaries' camp.

"The bird looks like a peacock, but the design on the feathers resembles an hourglass, not an eye. A wizard named Radish created the bird." He turned around and looked in the mirror. Elgath rolled his eyes again. The greatest wizard who ever lived was Radnish, not Radish! Then he grinned as the mirror continued to show she was telling the truth. "There is a spell which must be uttered, but I don't want to tell you that. Um. Do you want to put on pants?"

Elgath smiled. How did this simpleton and her family come across something so incredibly valuable?

Erella made an illusion of the bird appear on the other side of the camp. One of the men behind her said, "Sir! I see the bird!"

Elgath saw it. "Yes, it is just as she described it."

Elgath noticed two of his men staring at his tent. He turned around and saw the red light. He screamed in rage. His virgin was no longer a virgin! His first thought was that Sanit had fucked him, but he'd sent Sanit away. Whichever of his men had done it would die. He would rip his internal organs out through his ass! He shook in anger, but calmed quickly. What was the loss of a playmate in comparison to immortality? He had the girl and would have the bird in a few moments. If he died tomorrow morning because of the lack of virgin blood, the bird would bring him back to life. The curse would no longer control him! If he did not drain and rape virgins, the invoked powers of the talisman might work for him. He might be able to travel anywhere instantly. Imagine having full access to every royal treasury! But he loved watching the life slowly drain out of the innocent as he drank and found his release. Then seeing the blank stare of death in their eyes. It made him feel so gloriously alive! He knew he could never give that up. He decided he had better not plan on the talisman's other powers. As soon as he had the bird, he would kill the boy and find another virgin, if he could. If not, once he had the bird, he could kill the girl. She was probably a virgin, being simple-minded. He began to formulate a plan. First, all of his men would have to die. Word of the girl and her bird would be known to all of them soon. Sanit would enjoy killing the men. Elgath was sure it would be very creative. Then he would kill Sanit. He would have to think up something special for Sanit. He was creative, too. He would rape him if it was possible. But he doubted Sanit had been a virgin very long. He probably raped his own mother by the time he was four. He had grown to hate Sanit. He was an excellent soldier, but he was always waving that unnaturally huge prick of his around. It was three times the length of Elgath's perfectly-proportioned cock. And Sanit had been giving him suspicious looks lately. He might have decided the talisman should be his. Maybe Sanit had not left for the boy's father and had fucked the boy. A piece of firewood shoved up his ass with Elgath's boot would be an appropriate end! No! He knew what he would do. He would knock Sanit unconscious, strap him to the draining tray and very slowly drain every drop of blood out of the man. He would enjoy watching the rage in Sanit's eyes, over the course of a day, slowly turn to dull indifference and finally the blank stare of death that Elgath loved so much. He smiled thinking of the cursing, followed by begging, and then silence. He wondered if Sanit would bleed to death if he just cut off his cock and stuck it in his mouth. Maybe simplicity would be best.

Erella was afraid she was going to be ill if she listened to any more of Elgath's thoughts. He was the most evil individual she had ever encountered in all her twelve hundred years.

Elgath picked Erella up and carried her to his tent. He dropped her on his bed. The light turned green. He stared at it. He had no idea what that meant. The wizard who had created it told him it was blue for a virgin and red for a non-virgin.

"What are you?"

"I told you. My name is Ann. I'm looking for my bird," Erella said. "It looks like a peacock."

Just then a man screamed.

What now? Elgath thought. He strode out of his tent. Erella slipped out of her bindings and opened the wooden case where the talisman was kept. The box was empty. She spoke a revealing spell and saw it was hidden in one of the sides of the box. She pressed a spot and the liner came away from the wood. She nullified three different protection spells on the box and took the talisman out of the wooden case.

She stared at it. The Talisman of Odan was a large cut diamond, the size of a hen's egg. Even the stone itself must be worth a fortune. With its powers, it was priceless.

Erella fled the camp with the talisman. She circled the group of men and saw the Siren. She smiled. None of those men would escape a Siren. She flew off. The talisman began making her feel ill. She wasn't sure why. She had no black magic in her. She went to see Tig and Erin.

 

Elgath saw his men were gathered in a group. He walked over to them. A beautiful woman was naked and the men were gathered around her. All of them were pulling off their clothes.

Sani saw Elgath. Her joy was intense.

"Oh, Elgath! Elgath!" Then she sang to him. Elgath was entranced. Sani was quite pleased. She had never been able to carry a tune before.

Elgath's mind shutdown.

Sani sang happily as she took Elgath's hand and headed for his tent. Elgath smelled delicious to Sani and she was very, very hungry. Sani sat on the bed and spread her legs.

"Come to me!"

A look of joy appeared on Elgath's face.

"Elgath! You are erect and I am definitely not a virgin! Isn't that wonderful!"

She was disappointed he seemed to be unaware of this exception to his curse. She slapped him. He looked lovingly at her. She slapped him again. He seemed blissful. And he seemed unaware of everything but her. He pushed inside her. Sani realized she could suck his balls into her and she did that. He tasted just as wonderful as she had hoped. He groaned in pleasure until she bit and swallowed. Elgath screamed and pulled away. It was a strange sensation. She bit with her upper mouth, and somehow that controlled her lower mouth.

"Oh, Elgath! You are delicious! I need more. I am so very hungry! I want you! Touch me, please! Oh, please, Elgath!" Then she began singing to him.

Elgath couldn't help himself. He obediently pressed his right hand to her cunt and then pushed inside her to the wrist. She bit his hand off. He screamed again and tried to pull his arm away. Sani laughed and grabbed his arm. She pulled it back inside her. She realized she could drink the blood that was coming from his wrist. She laughed. She was drinking the blood of an ex-virgin, and it was very satisfying. She held it in place until she had drunk her fill. She let go of him. She noticed that leaving his wrist in her cunt cauterized the wound. That was interesting. She could keep him alive much longer than she thought. She would snack on him, but try to keep him alive. She could nibble on him whenever she was especially hungry.

"Touch me with your other hand." He feebly pushed it into her. He was too weak to scream when she bit it off. She kept it inside him long enough to seal the wound. He collapsed to the ground. She pulled one of his feet to her. She was about to eat it when she realized he might need to walk. She certainly wasn't going to carry her snack around. She pulled him to her and pressed her cunt against his groin. He was still bleeding. It seemed to help. She let Elgath fall and beckoned to the next man.

With the aid of Elgath's wonderful knives—he even had a cleaver—she was able to eat the entire man. She wondered when the last of his body disappeared inside her that she was not any larger. Her stomach should at least bulge, but it didn't. Where did the man go? And why was she still so incredibly hungry? She discovered to her relief, that her cunt/lower mouth seemed to be able to expand. That was a relief! She had been afraid she would have to chop her meals into very small pieces. She also discovered she could command the men to dismember each other. Once she discovered that, she made quick work of the rest.

When only Elgath and one other man were left, she felt better. Still hungry, but there were no hunger cramps. She tried to decide whether to eat the last man now, or wait a while. She kicked Elgath to see if he still lived. She didn't really care that much. She wouldn't mind eating him completely, but then she noticed the rise and fall of his chest.

 

Driggor stood outside Elgath's tent wondering what had possessed his comrades. Every one of them was crowded into the tent. The woman was very attractive, but Driggor watched her somehow bite the cock off his cousin Festin. He bled to death on the outskirts of the camp. Several men saw it, but no one else seemed to notice. She sang terribly off-key and it was giving him a pounding headache. He had been wanting to leave the group. They were an unpleasant company, at best. At worst... He tried not to remember several things he had seen. He didn't participate in many of the men's most appalling activities, and they were beginning to distrust him. Festin had turned as thoroughly rotten as the rest of them, and Elgath was best described as a monster. He understood the curse and why he needed virgin blood. Driggor believed a man would do almost anything to survive. But the screams of Elgath's victims and his laughter were not because of the curse. Driggor had only joined the company because he promised his aunt to look after Festin. But Festin was dead, and to Driggor's mind, the world was a better place for it. He tried once again to forget the image of Festin fucking a dead child. Driggor had come close that day to killing Festin himself. He heard a scream and went to the side of the tent and peered under the bottom. She was eating Elgath! He watched her bite off his hand and saw the stump briefly before she pulled it back inside her. Blood flowed freely from his groin. She must have already eaten Elgath's cock and balls. The other men were jostling to be next. Driggor had seen enough. It was simple justice. Or perhaps it was divine intervention. He noticed Elgath's bag with his money, gold, and jewels was within reach. Elgath wouldn't need it. He grabbed it and took it with him. Then he went to his tent and gathered his things. It was time to leave. He sighed. He needed to atone for an awful lot of sins. He had best get started on that, too. He could give his own and Elgath's money to the poor. That would be a start.

 

Tig and Erin pushed the leaves on the floor of the cave into a pile and then lay on them.

"Tell me about yourself, Tig. I know nothing about goblins. I am human, elf, and wood-nymph. I just found out about the wood-nymph from your friend Erella."

"Well. I am much older than you, Erin."

"I should hope so. If you were younger, you would be a boy, and I want a man." Tig smiled. "Or a goblin."

"You are taking it so well, Erin. I really thought you would be horrified that I was a goblin."

"Well, goblins aren't inherently evil, are they?"

"Of course not!"

"I have only seen two. The thing I found most unpleasant were the red eyes. Yours are beautiful, however."

"Thank you."

"They didn't change, you know".

"Well, they already looked human, as I have been reminded my entire life."

"I just never thought of a goblin as a mate. But I never thought of a human female as a mate, either. Our family has never hated other beings. My grandmother, who lives in Distil has had a gnome friend her entire life. I met her. The gnome, I mean. And like I said, we aren't pure human."

Erin looked at Tig's beautiful face. He felt guilty. He felt he had stolen Tig's face from him and replaced it with a mask.

"What is wrong, my love?" Tig asked.

At that moment, Erella flew into the cave. Tig and Erin stood up.

"I expected you to be happier, Erin! What is wrong? Elgath is no longer a danger to you."

"I was just thinking that I stole Tig's face and replaced it with a mask."

"Oh, my! What a thought!" Erella said.

"Erin, I like being taller and better looking to you. It wasn't your idea for me to change my appearance and you didn't ask that it be done."

"He is right, Erin, "Erella said. "You should not worry so much. Everyone tries to make themselves more attractive. Some use magic. Human women use makeup." She smiled. "I can see how fond you are of Tig. That is important. Appearances aren't. If you love him for who he is, for what is in his heart, you should both be very happy, no matter what either of you look like. After all, you will grow old. Your appearance will change. The love will remain. I am sure of that!"

"I love being taller than you, Erin. I would be sorry to be shorter than you again."

"You would?"

"Yes. And I want to wrap my arms around you. I need these arms to do that," Tig held his arms out.

"Well, your other arms were short."

"Yes, much too short. This is better, Erin. I also like having a larger cock. How many males don't want that?"

Erin smiled.

"That is better, Erin!" Erella said. "Be happy!

"Now, I have just spoken to Triesse. Elgath will soon be dead, so you do not need to worry about him. His men are dying as we speak. Triesse spoke to your father and told him what happened to you. Trellig explained to him that you had healed his leg, Tig. He was delighted, naturally. He is able to do farm work now. Trellig and Triesse have agreed to help him for a few days, so the two of you can have a short honeymoon."

Tig and Erin both smiled.

"That is wonderful!" Erin said. "But who is Trellig?"

"He is a friend of mine. He is a goblin," Tig said.

"Trellig told me to remind you how much he hates farming and to not be gone more than four days."

Tig put arm around Erin and Erin leaned his head on Tig's shoulder.

"Erin, I would like you to hold this object for a moment and tell me how you feel."

Erella handed the talisman to him. She was considering giving it to Erin as a wedding gift, but not if it made him ill. Erin clutched it in his hand.

"What is it?" Erin asked her.

"A magical object that Elgath possessed."

"Should I feel anything?"

"Maybe not."

Erella held out her hand and Erin handed it to her.

"Thank you," she said. Erella decided to show it to Triesse before she gave it to Erin. It didn't make him sick, but the fact that Elgath possessed it, concerned her a little. Triesse was protecting him and she would want to examine it carefully herself.

Erin placed the talisman on the floor of the cave. She cast a spell of discovery, touched the talisman with one finger, and closed her eyes. The Talisman of Odan. The name still meant nothing to her. It had been created by a human wizard. Perhaps Odan was the wizard's name. She could tell it was thousands of years old. That it was still so powerful after all that time was amazing, She saw the magical symbols of protection and longevity. There were other symbols she did not recognize, but she was no expert in human magic. The longevity magic would be the reason it made her feel ill, despite being white magic. She was not human and the object was trying to extend her lifeforce. She opened her eyes. Assuming Triesse concurred, it should make a wonderful wedding gift.

"Are you two going to stay here?" she asked.

"I have a little gold. Why don't we go to an inn?" Tig suggested.

Erin smiled. "That sounds fun! I haven't had much fun for a while."

"I know. I have watched you work from dawn to dusk."

"We will go to the Four Trees Inn, Erella."

"I will see you soon."