Twisted

Balar looked up towards the Jotun with surprise. When they had first met the giant he had been making short work of a pack of trolls in the wild lands east of Treno. They had come to his aid and as was often the case their companionship had been forged in the heat of that battle and then every battle since. However, Balar was a man of few words and instead shrugged and gave the Jotun a pat on the leg.

"You are worthy ally my friend, and if you will forgive my saying so, in possession of a little more humanity than your kin over yonder. I trust you."

Balar was saved from further words by the screaming of Dyvia and raised voices from within the tent. Cali threw the tent flap open and tossed a wet bundle of bloody flesh at their feet.

“Kill it!” She ordered.

Before either Balar or Erik could draw weapons Tiella shoved past them with a look of cold fury on her face. She drew a dagger from her belt. Where the hell had she go that. Balar watched as it glistened in the cold moon light, it was a different weapon, but it held power. Where had she got it? What was she...?

"Wait no!" Balar lunged forward just as Tiella did the same and plunged the blade into the squirming red mess at her feet. There was a sickening wet sound as the blade sank deep then a loud keening sound that grew in volume as a sudden billow of shadow magic burst out into the night. It was unclear whether it came from the newborn or the blade but it was enough to throw both Erik and Balar from their feet, leaving Tiella encased in a sphere of dark magic.

Balar scrambled to his knees Hofund now in hand. He inched closer to the eldritch display seeing the form of his wife within, she still clutched the dagger tightly and the thing beneath her was writhing with a violent fury.

"Tiella." Balar cried out in rage and fear as he got to his feet and brought the blade down upon the sphere of magic. It had the desired effect as the dark spell shattered with an earsplitting crack throwing Balar back to his knees.

Tiella too was thrown back the blade ripping free of the creature beneath her, tearing from its flesh and plunging into her own. With a sharp cry Tiella fell back clutched her chest where the dagger was now buried.

"Nooooooooo!" Balar screamed in horror as he crawled across the ground Hofund forgotten as he caught Tiella as she fell. He held her in the crook of his arm his other hand hovering over the haft of the dagger and flinching back.

"Somebody help her... somebody."

She reached up and gently touched his cheek smearing blood across his skin and smiled up at him.

"My love." she whispered, a voice cracking with the approach of death. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth now and she struggled to keep her eyes fixed on his own.

"No no no no no... it will be alright. Somebody!!"

"M..my..l..." her eyes rolled back and her breath caught as the deadly wound returned her shade to the embrace of the grave. Tiella was dead.

"Nooooooo!" Balar roared in grief as the others enclosed around him.

Where the dark offspring of Dyvia had once been only a black smoking circle now remained.