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ACT 2

PART 1

Storm slept for most of the journey back to the town of Tikesh, waking briefly on the third day of the second week and asking James who was riding in the wagon with her for water. While she was awake Anders came to check on her and brought a large bowl of broth for her to drink to help her start to regain her strength. "My Lady, you can trust Anders. You remember him don't you?" James asked when he noticed Storm start shaking when the Healer Mage joined them in the wagon.

Anders smiled at Storm when she looked at him. "I read what madman's journal My Lady, I know what they did to you. I understand why you fear me and anyone with magic. I just hope that one day you will see that not all magic users want to hurt you. Please drink the broth, I'll leave you in James' care now." Anders said gently. He turned to leave.

"I'm sorry. I just..." Storm said quietly. Anders turned to her and nodded with a soft smile, showing that he understood. The Healer turned and left the wagon. After drinking as much of the broth as she could the Lady of the Mountains of Arckesh closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

PART 2

When the group arrived in Tikesh they were greeted by the entire town. But the children were soon ushered away by their mothers. Storm was carefully moved into a newly built warehouse sized house. They had tried to clean her scales of the dried blood and gore while on the way but without proper soap they could only do so much. After being cleaned up by some of the towns women and allowing Anders to check on her health she curled up and was soon asleep again.

James entered the room Storm was sleeping in and sat down to watch over her for the night. Anders and several others had reported that Storm had been having nightmares about her torture at the hands of that mage and his apprentice. The Apprentice was still a worry for him, the elf twins had yet to report in, but he had faith in them. The plan was to wait till the end of the month before worring about the two elven Rangers.

He sat down next to the wall and leaned back against it. Taking out a small knife and a block of wood he started carving the wooden block into a shape. Storm lightly snoring and the sound of a knife curving wood the only sounds to fill the air.

PART 3

The next few days brought many visitors and a lot of broth for Storm to drink. Slowly she started to get her strength back. A week later saw her starting to stand up and move to lay down in different places in the large room of the house. Anders started Storm on solid food in the second week but wouldn't allow large portions, a single steak of lightly smoked Elk was the first thing she had of solid food.

By the fifth week she had moved outside of the house and the children were allowed to come visit her for an hour or so everyday. This helped to lessen her nightmares and Anders noted that she seemed to be recovering faster, now that she had something to take her mind off of what had happened to her.

Week six had Storm playing some games with the children that required only a little exercise on her part. She enjoyed the antics of the children and the laughter helped keep her mind away from thoughts of the Mage and the pain and suffering he had caused her.

By the end of the third month Lady Storm Firestar was once again flying around the montains. She would return at night and sleep in the house the towns folk had built for her.

PART 4

Three months had past since the Lady had recovered enough to fly around the mountains again. Today she had left the town and made her first kill, but while eating the fresh meat she felt that something was wrong. Something in the air tugged at her, she felt a need to rush back to town. Quickly eating as much as she dared of the fresh elk, the lady took to the air and flew at top speed back to town.

The first thing the Lady noticed was the lack of guards. Second was the utter silence that filled the air with a sense of dread. Final was the smell of fear and tainted magic, that brought back memories, very bad memories.

She shook her head and sniffed the air tracking the scent of the towns folk to the town hall. The largest building in town, it was large enough that she was able to enter without shapeshifting to her elf like form. The Lady paused at the large door, the scent that creeped through the small gaps between the door frame and the door was a scent she hoped to never smell again.

The Apprentice of the Mage who had captured her was here, inside this very building. What frightened her most was that he smelled very much alive. Then the next scent she identified caused her heart to stop for a moment. The smell of terrified children and the smell of blood, from behind the door.

PART 5

The Lady of the Arckesh Mountains Storm Firestar was suddenly enraged, but she was frozen in place, memories flooded her mind followed by doubt. Could she beat the Apprentice? Could she kill him?

Storm was snapped out of her doubt by a cry of fear and pain from inside the town hall. She growled softly, then jumped up onto the roof as quietly as was possible. There were two ways into the Town Hall the main door, and the secret back door. Hidden by a tree house for the children of all things. The back door was to small for her normal form, she would have to shapeshift to get the drop on the Apprentice, he would count on her entering through the front door. The smell of magic was just to strong there.

The Lady gathered her magic and focused it into the the proper spell to allow her to change her form. Parts of her converted into energy, wings became balls of energy, tail also turned into pure energy, some of her mass also changed into a sphere of energy, all of which sank into her now elvish form. Her skin was still a matte silver with fine barely there scales, her hair wasn't truely hair but the finest smallest feathers of red and gold, around her eyes she had kept the same black marks, instead of horns she had long elf like ears that pointed up and slightly back. From a short distance she could pass as an elf. Up close however anyone would be able to tell that this was a shapeshifted form.

Her form now changed she could enter through the back door and sneak up on that foul monster. Taking a deep breath she quietly opened the door and entered the building.

PART 6

It was dark inside but her eyes adjusted quickly. Silently she moved through the back room and into the main room. Quickly looking around the room the Lady noted that all the adults were magical bound and gagged. 'James? Where is he?' she thought, 'He isn't here. Why?' her eyes widened when finally she saw the center of the room.

In the center of the room a large table had been magically modified to have shackles for the wrists and ankles. But what shocked her most was the fact that a young teenage girl from the town was straped to the table, her dress torn revealing her underwear, her bra had been cut of and blood could be seen seeping out of small cuts on her skin. The apprentice stood beside the table a knife in his hand ready to cut away the teens underwear.

Storm moved like lightening attacking the Apprentice suddenly, she sent him flying into the front door busting it open and triggering the trap that was on the inside of the door, a small explosion blasted the Apprentice into the air giving him no time to think or react. The Lady shifted back to her feral form and fired off balls of blue-white fire at the Apprentice, he attempted to form a shield and blocked the first fireball but the second and third shattered his shield suddenly he was engulfed in fire so hot he could feel himself melting. The fire consumed him, as he died he caught a glimpse of who had attacked him, his eyes didn't even have time to widen before he was nothing but ash.

Storm stood panting for a moment, then she clasped her head and collapsed to the ground a pained cry tearing from her. A diluge of sounds flooded the Ladys mind as her Phoenix telepathy suddenly activated. She could hear the thoughts of every towns person within one mile of her. The towns people found themselves free of their bounds as soon as the Apprentice died and some had rushed to help the teen on the table, others rushed out when they heard Storm's cry of pain. As suddenly as it came the telepathy was gone, and the Lady of the Mountains pasted out the last thing she saw before darkness claimed her was a troop of soilders led by James riding into town.

PART 7

A day later Storm and James sat in her house talking about the day before. James had explained that one of the other towns had sent a rider for help with a large pack of what they thought were trolls but turned out to be creations of the Apprentice. It had been a trap for Storm. Thankfully there had been no deaths a few cuts and bruises, a couple of broken arms, and one broken leg amoungst the towns folk. The young teen girl had wanted to sleep next to Storm and after the Lady woke up she picked the girl up into her arms and rocked her to sleep.

The next morning everyone returned to their normal lives as best they could. Storm and James talked for hours about everything that had happened since Storm's capture by the Mage to the events of the day before. That evening Anders came to Storm's house and found to two friends fast asleep, James leaning against Storm's curled up form. With a bright smile he blew out the lamp light and left them to their sleep.

THE END.