Author: Lostiawen

E-mail: changeling@planetx.org

Rated: NC-17

Pairing: VM/OFC, VM/OB

Summary: Viggo joins the quest. 

Archive: Please ask.

Feedback: Yes, please.

Warnings: AU (medieval fantasy), some het action (nothing beyond flirting and light kissing), threats of violence. 

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, none of this really happened.  The author is not associated with or is implying anything about the sexual preferences or the lives of the people depicted within. 

Author´s Notes: This is it, the dreaded het chapter.  Unfortunately, this came out to have more than one scene of het, but it´s lighter in rating and more implied.  (PG-ish) Again, please bear with me, it´ll be worth it. 

Posted Nov.  15, 2004.

"WHAT?"  Viggo said to Jytte. 

"He was supposed to relieve me, but when he didn´t appear, I grew suspicious and checked the barracks. His armor, weapons, and travel supplies are gone. Shall I gather a search party?" 

Viggo frowned. Abandoning one´s post carried a severe punishment, and he was sure that Arvid had been coaxed under duress. In addition, he was wary about leaving Illossa without much in the way of defenses at this point in time. 

He weighed his options and replied. "No, I´ll seek him on my own. He can´t have gone far." 

Viggo dressed and strapped on his light armor. "You´ll be in charge while I´m gone...pay heed to the northern wall, it sustained the most damage and needs to be repaired before the rains come." 

Jytte nodded while Viggo continued to talk, informing her of the state of their fortifications while he strapped on his weapons. Once he was done, he grabbed his shield and said, "Jytte, if I do not return...don´t look for us." 

She was about to protest when he said, "That´s an order." 

Jytte sighed, but acknowledged Viggo´s command. 

Viggo walked towards the gate. "I´m leaving now. I pray that the weather will remain pleasant while I search for him." 

"May Uvanna smile upon you, Viggo," Jytte said as he disappeared into the wilderness. 

***

Arvid pushed some of the branches in the thick forest aside. He and Galen had decided to stay off the path, but travel went a bit slower than he would like. "How are you doing, Galen?"  he asked, noticing that his voice trembled when he spoke. 

"I´m well. Are you all right?"  Galen replied. 

"I am fine," Arvid said. He had never been this far from the village, not without Viggo looking over him. 

Arvid sighed. He knew that his mentor would be distressed at his sudden exodus, but Galen was a blood relative. 

"You look a bit flushed and we´ve been traveling for hours. You should rest, cousin," Galen said. 

"I´m not tired," Arvid said, even though his legs felt as if they couldn´t take another step. He wanted to get as far away from Illossa as possible...but he also didn´t want to look weak to Galen. 

"You´re not as hardened to travel as I am. And you need your strength. We agreed on that, earlier. Don´t be foolish, Arvid." 

"But..."

"Please. I can find a suitable area." 

Arvid rubbed a hand over his drooping eyes. Galen was right, he had overtaxed himself. His heart had been hammering since they had left in the dead of the night. Constant worrying about Viggo and about the possibility of the Rage striking at any moment had taken its toll; he was much wearier than he should be. "Very well. Let us rest for a few moments." 

***

Viggo growled under his breath. He had managed to track Arvid and his captor with ease, since they had concentrated on traveling quickly, but it seems as if he had lost them once he reached this patch of forest. Evidence of their passage had just...disappeared. 

"Viggo!"  Arvid suddenly called out from behind an area that was choked with thick foliage and branches. Viggo heard Galen cursing, and before his startled eyes, the growth parted of its own accord, revealing a small clearing. 

"What? How?"  Viggo said, confused beyond all belief. 

Arvid prostrated himself in front of his mentor. "I´m so sorry! But Galen needed my help."  He looked up. "He can stop..."

Galen said, "Arvid! Silence!" 

"No, he needs to know so that he can stop worrying about me. Please? He can be trusted," Arvid replied, turning around to look earnestly at his cousin. 

Galen´s face grew dark. "Do you swear?" 

"On my life´s blood." 

Galen sighed. "All right."  He looked at Viggo. "Allow me to introduce myself, again. I am afraid that I withheld some information...I am Galen, disciple to Svana, the priestess of Tulir. I have been groomed to become her successor, but I could not ignore the call of this quest." 

As soon as Galen revealed his identity, Viggo realized that he had used magic to conceal the tracks and the clearing. The other pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place -- his sword, his ability to travel alone, but questions still lingered in Viggo´s mind. What would cause a priest from the largest town in the land to come this far? 

"What is your quest?"  Viggo asked, needing to satisfy his curiosity. 

"I have the means to end the Rage. However, I need to bind a wildling in order to do so," Galen said. 

Viggo was stunned. "What? That´s impossible...and even if you could achieve your goal, you cannot bind a wildling -- Hallador said that they were the stuff of imagination. To my knowledge, there are no spells to bind a creature that has as much substance as the smoke from my pipe." 

Galen said, "He is mistaken, then. They do indeed exist. I received a vision from Uvanna -- I saw a beast shifting into many forms, poised to attack me outside of Alora... and I saw myself binding it...I saw the land at peace...the rest was unclear, but when I came to my senses, the knowledge of how to perform the enchantment was burned into my memory." 

Anger flared within Viggo. Hallador had seen many winters, and Viggo resented this upstart´s dismissal of his revered master. Hallador had also never claimed to have received a vision from Uvanna herself, but questioning Galen would tread on dangerous ground. 

Viggo swallowed his annoyance and said, "I see. And why do you require Arvid´s presence?" 

Galen replied, "He´ll become the wildling´s master. Someone needs to distract the creature while I am casting the spell." 

Something about Galen´s statement didn´t ring true to Viggo´s ears. "I apologize for my ignorance, but shouldn´t the wildling become your thrall?"  he asked. 

Galen said, "The shapeshifter may not be amenable, someone needs to be able to restrain it so that it does not attack me while I cast the spell. In addition, I need to remain alert if the end result is...unexpected." 

"Could you elaborate?"  Viggo said. 

"Although I saw the binding, I never saw its completion... and although I have faith, I am also a practical man. If something goes ill, I need to be able to contain the potential side-effects in case the wildling attacks me before I am finished." 

"Side-effects?" 

"Interrupting a spell can have a variety of unpleasant consequences. For this particular one, since there is a large fire component, it will probably result in immolation of the designated master if things do not go well." 

Viggo gaped. "And you agreed to this, Arvid?" 

Arvid replied, "He is my blood relative. I meant what I said at the gate, Viggo." 

Viggo said, "Then I´m going with you." 

"Pardon?"  Galen said, not sure if he heard correctly. 

"Arvid is still young. Bind the wildling to me. If something happens, no one will miss an old man." 

"Viggo, how can you say that?"  Arvid said. 

"Jytte is more than capable enough, and I´ve been performing my job for far too long. I´ve grown bored with it," Viggo replied. 

"Viggo..." Arvid pleaded. 

"The matter is closed," Viggo said firmly. 

Galen laughed. "And you, my friend, are as stubborn as I am."  He clapped Viggo on the shoulder. 

***

That evening, as they were enjoying their dinner, Galen said, "The fire´s getting low. I´ll gather some more wood." 

Viggo nodded, watching as the large form disappeared into the forest. Arvid poked idly at the flames, avoiding Viggo´s gaze. 

Viggo patted Arvid´s shoulder. "I´m not angry with you," he said in a reassuring voice. 

The tension visibly drained from the slim form. "You aren´t?" 

"I know that becoming one of the guard was your life´s ambition. You wouldn´t abandon it unless you had a very good reason." 

Arvid leaned back, looking up at the stars. "Galen is an incredible man. He is one of the best swordsmen I know, but his skills will readily adapt to other weapons; he is equally at home in a large town or in the wilderness, and he is the brightest of Svana´s pupils." 

There was a wistful note in Arvid´s voice when he spoke, and Viggo replied, "He must mean the world to you." 

Arvid nodded. "He was always kind to me. No matter how busy he was, he always spared time to listen to me prattle away. And he never treated me as if I was inferior to him."  He looked directly into Viggo´s eyes. "He would never have approached me about the wildling if there was any doubt in his mind. When he told me that he could end the attacks..." Arvid´s voice trailed off. 

Viggo smiled. "You don´t have to explain any further." 

"Thank you, Viggo," Arvid replied. 

Galen returned at this point with an armful of wood. As he tended to the fire he said, "We´ll travel until we reach Alora. Once there, we should probably inquire amongst the townspeople -- I´m quite sure that someone has spotted the wildling." 

Viggo looked up at the moon again. "What about the impending rains?" 

Galen said, "We will have time to reach shelter before the storm passes." 

*** Water was falling from the sky in sheets when they completed their journey to Alora. As approached the town, Viggo noticed with a bit of envy that their fortifications were much sturdier than the ones around Illossa. In addition, the surrounding forest was not quite as thick, which meant fewer animals would be in the area when the Rage struck. 

After stating their business to the guard, they entered the town. Galen noted, "The light´s fading. We should acquire lodging soon." 

"I see an inn just down the street," Viggo replied. 

"Shall we?"  Galen said to Arvid. 

"Aye," Arvid replied. 

The party made their way towards a well-kept building. It was a modest establishment -- clean, but bearing simple decor. The front area served food and drink to the patrons, and Viggo spotted a door in the back of the dining area leading to what he assumed were the rooms for guests. 

It was quite a busy night -- a young woman scurried between the tables, serving ale and food with remarkable efficiency and speed. A fire was blazing, and Viggo longed to warm himself by it. He had left without a change of clothes, and he was beginning to regret that hasty decision. 

"Welcome to The Good Coin, travelers," the innkeeper said. 

Galen replied, "I would like to have a room for the night." 

"For how many people, good sir?" 

"Myself and my two companions." 

As Galen completed the arrangements, Viggo´s eyes strayed to the tavern wench. He grinned in approval, admiring the waves of full red hair that cascaded around her delicate, heart-shaped face. His eyes drifted downward, and he grinned even wider when he saw the rest of her physical charms. 

His perusal was interrupted by Galen tapping him on the shoulder. "I have a room for us. We should store our equipment and eat." 

Viggo said, "I have little in the way of supplies and it appears to be fairly busy around here. I´ll find a table and order supper while you´re settling in." 

Galen nodded and disappeared into the back with Arvid. Viggo found a vacant table and waited. Soon enough, the tavern wench approached him. Her warm smile immediately banished the cold in Viggo´s bones. "Greetings, kind sir. Would you like anything to drink?" 

"Three ales," Viggo said. 

"Three?"  she said. "You must be quite thirsty." 

"Um...no...I have two companions," Viggo said, stumbling over his words. He had never been comfortable flirting with women. 

She giggled, "I´m sorry, I was jesting." 

"It´s fine...I´m just a bit weary. I come from Illossa." 

"Really? Then you´ve come a long way," she said, her green eyes sparkling. Viggo nodded. 

She leaned closer and purred, "I could show you the extent of Alora´s hospitality later... if you´d like." 

Viggo wondered if she was just teasing him. He mumbled, "Perhaps another time." 

The wench pouted and began to make her way to the bar. While she was navigating through the tables, another patron reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist. 

"Elspeth, my lovely...how about a kiss?"  he asked. 

She frowned and pushed on his chest. "You´ve had your time, Aiden. You know my rules." 

Aiden growled, "Aye...and I´m asking you to make an exception. You know that I can make it worth your while."  His grip tightened. 

"Unhand me!"  she said, struggling. 

Annoyed, Viggo jumped out of his chair and clamped his arm around the other man from behind, tightening his grip until Aiden was gasping for breath. "You heard the lady," he hissed under his breath in his most dangerous voice, angered at the younger man´s rudeness. 

Aiden released Elspeth, and she scurried away for the safety of the kitchen. Once she was out of sight, Viggo loosened his arm. 

"That´s no lady," Aiden said bitterly, "The only men in Alora that have not been between her legs are the ones too infirm to walk." 

Viggo was about to retort when he heard Elspeth scream in pain, followed by the clatter of a heavy pan. He raced for the kitchen, pushing the door open. 

Food was scattered on the floor, and Elspeth was clutching her right hand. "Are you all right?"  Viggo asked. 

"I am well...I was so flustered by Aiden that I burned myself when I picked up the pan..."

"Let me see," Viggo said in a gentle voice. 

She shyly offered her hand, keeping her eyes lowered. Viggo winced when he saw the ugly blisters and reddened skin. He spotted a bucket of cool water and brought it closer, guiding her injured hand into it. 

She hissed and flinched, but Viggo patted her hair. "You´ll need to get some salve from a healer, but this should do for now." 

He dried her hand carefully and tore a clean rag into strips. He then wrapped the make-shift bandage around the injury with care, trying to ignore the awe struck gaze on her face. 

"Viggo..." she whispered, moistening her lips. The tension in the room increased tenfold, and Viggo tried to fumble for an excuse, any excuse to stop her as she leaned in closer, her lips brushing his own. 

The innkeeper´s voice shattered the moment. "Elspeth!"  he bellowed. "You have customers waiting! Stop molesting whichever poor man is back there and come out NOW!" 

Sighing, Elspeth pushed past Viggo, disappearing out into the crowd. He watched her retreating form with regret. ***

"I think the tavern wench is winking at you," Arvid whispered from across the table. 

"You´re imagining things," Viggo grumbled before he downed the rest of his ale in one swallow. He had not really touched the hearty supper in front of him, hoping that he could erase the memory of his earlier stupidity by imbibing enough alcohol. 

"Arvid´s right, she´s definitely batting her eyes in your direction," Galen replied. 

Viggo said, "She´s looking at you, then. You´re handsomer than I am." 

Galen said, "I doubt it, she´s not really my ideal choice of bedmate, so I haven´t been giving her any encouragement." 

"What is your ideal choice, then?"  Viggo said, taking a pull on his beer. 

"A nice, lithe blond man," Galen replied. 

Viggo coughed and his ale went spraying out of his mouth. "Excuse me?" 

Arvid was confused. "Viggo, it´s not as if it´s forbidden for men to lay with other men." 

"But...um..." Viggo stumbled. Although liaisons between members of the same sex weren´t forbidden, it wasn´t bandied about over the dinner table in Illossa as if one were talking about something inconsequential. 

Galen said, "Is there a problem?" 

"Um, no," he said before he buried his nose back into his ale. 

"Viggo," Galen said, "If loving between men is wrong, why doesn´t Uvanna smite me for my trespass?" 

Annoyance flared within Viggo after Galen´s statement. He was older than the other man by almost ten winters, and yet, this native from Tulir had succeeded in making Viggo feel as if he was the more foolish and the less world-wise of the two. 

He put his tankard down. "I´m going to retire for the night. Where is our room?" 

Galen replied, "It´s the last one on the left side of the hallway. You can have the bed...Arvid and I will sleep on the floor." 

Viggo gritted his teeth at Galen´s presumption. He wasn´t so old that he couldn´t spend a night on the floor. Still, it was not worth starting an argument over something so minor. 

"Good night, gentlemen," was all he said as he rose to leave. 

"But what about the wench?"  Arvid said. 

"I´m sure she´ll find some suitable company on her own," Viggo replied. 

*** A soft knock on the door startled Viggo out of his fitful sleep. He barely heard it above the rain pattering outside. 

In quiet tones, Elspeth´s voice said, "Viggo? It´s me." 

Wondering if he was still dreaming, Viggo made his way across the room, stepping with care over his sleeping companions. He opened the door, mindful of the squeaky hinges, and whispered, "What are you doing here?" 

"May I come in? Please?"  she replied, her green eyes gazing deep into Viggo´s in a silent plea. 

Viggo´s heart skipped, and he opened the door wider, allowing her to enter. "Why..." he started to say, but she silenced him by placing a finger on his lips. 

"Hush," she said, reaching higher to caress his cheek with her injured hand. 

Viggo felt his body flushing, and he turned his head to press a tender kiss to her fingertips. He noticed that the bandage on her hand had loosened, and he started reaching up to rebind it. But then, something caught his eye. Something unusual. 

He leaned forward to kiss her, keeping his eyes open. As she melted against him, he used the distraction to tug the rag down. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that her skin bore no trace of damage, and was as sound as ever. His brow furrowed -- from serving Hallador for many years, Viggo knew that the priests could heal wounds, but they charged far more than a mere barmaid could afford. 

Moving swiftly, he spun her around and pinned both of her wrists behind her back. "What is this?"  he growled. 

"Ow! You´re hurting me!"  Elspeth said, panicking. She struggled, but Viggo had a firm grip on her. "Have you gone mad?"  She opened her mouth to scream, but Viggo transferred his hold on her wrists to one hand and clamped the other over her lips, muffling the sound. 

"Viggo, what in the world are you doing?"  Galen asked with no trace of sleepiness in his voice. He was sitting up, already armed with a dagger. Arvid, however, was still deep in slumber. 

"How long have you been awake?"  Viggo said indignantly. 

"I was conscious before she knocked on the door. Quite impressive, only assassins are that light on their feet." 

"Then why didn´t you alert me?" 

Galen shrugged. "Assassins rarely knock and announce themselves. Now, will you tell me why you are manhandling that poor woman?" 

He said, "Look at her right hand! She burned it this afternoon." 

Galen stood up and examined the skin. When he saw the lack of damage, he placed his dagger at her throat. 

"Do not scream, or it will be the worst for you. Do you understand?" 

She nodded, her eyes widening in fear. Satisfied that she wouldn´t raise an alarm, Viggo removed his hand. 

Arvid was stirring awake. Galen said, "On your feet, Arvid. We have an unwanted visitor. Be alert for others." 

The briefest moment of confusion flickered over Arvid´s visage, but he recovered in the blink of an eye. Without any questions, he rolled to his feet and crouched near the window, his sword drawn. 

Satisfied, Galen returned his full attention to Elspeth and said in a low, menacing voice, "Why is this healed? And I refuse to believe that you had enough gold to pay for this unless you were a retainer to a noble." 

"I´m...an acolyte of Uvanna," she stammered. "I was not talented enough, so I took leave of my master and came to work here." 

"You lie," Galen said. "Healing magic requires the finest of control. Only the most adept of students can perform it." 

Elspeth spat, "And what would you know about it, warrior?" 

Galen smirked and voiced an incantation. A small ball of fire appeared in the palm of his hand. "Quite a bit, in fact." 

Viggo had been prepared for the woman in his arms to either panic or to strike out at him...but he was not prepared for the non-human, bestial snarl that erupted from her lips. His chest constricted when she glared at him with her eyes... eyes that had lost their whites and were now a deep, oily black. Her features grew longer, larger...her delicate mouth had now stretched into a muzzle, and the sound of tearing cloth filled the room as her form grew, becoming thicker and sprouting black fur. 

Unable to comprehend what was happening, Viggo froze, his blood thundered in his ears as the creature in his arms threw back its head and roared in fury. Taking advantage of his surprise, Elspeth threw Viggo off, sending him crashing into the bed. She then whirled around, knocking a startled Galen aside. His skull impacted with the floor and he shook himself, trying to clear the dizziness in his head. 

Viggo managed to twist his body to minimize the damage and he scrambled back onto his feet almost immediately. He noticed that Arvid was in shock; the youth´s sword wavered in his hand, and he looked unsure as to what his next action should be. 

Galen had regained his footing and he shouted, "It´s the wildling! Hold it, but do not damage it!" 

Jolted back to his senses, Arvid charged in, striking the creature with the flat of his blade. She bellowed, and tried to smash Arvid into the wall with a sweep of her large paw. He dodged underneath the blow, barely finding an opening in the cramped room. She was about to swing again when Viggo tackled her, using his momentum to pin her to the ground. 

"I have her!"  he yelled, holding onto the bucking and still growing form. 

Without any hesitation, Galen began chanting, his hands tracing arcs of green fire in the air. As his incantation grew stronger, the flames leaped towards Viggo and Elspeth, engulfing the two of them in a fiery globe. 

Viggo cried out in pain, as the green tendrils swept over his skin, feeling as if his molten lava had been poured into his veins. Every inch of his body burned with a searing heat. He writhed, only barely aware of the wildling´s cries of agony. His flesh grew white hot as the chant echoed in his ears, surrounding him and building to a crescendo. 

There was an explosion of bright light and then the pain ceased. Viggo slumped to the ground, holding Elspeth´s unconscious, naked body in his arms. 

"It is done," Galen said. "The wildling is yours to command." 

Viggo was about to speak when he heard movement somewhere in the distance and panicked shouts. "Curse it, they heard the fight," Viggo said. "We can´t be caught, or they´ll want explanations." 

Arvid raced to the window and threw open the shutters. He and Galen hastily grabbed all of their belongings and clambered out. Viggo pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around Elspeth´s limp form before he eased her out of the opening into Galen´s waiting arms. Once Galen had a firm hold on her, Viggo jumped outside to join them in the driving rain. The innkeeper was pounding on the door when the trio fled into the night, bearing their prize with them. 

While they were running, Arvid said, "Wait! That dilapidated house to the east looks vacant."  The three of them paused behind an adjacent building, trying to get their bearings. 

Arvid said, "Stay here. I´ll see if there are any occupants," before he slipped off into the night. 

Viggo whispered to Galen, "I thought a wildling could only be a beast. How can it be a human?" 

Galen rubbed a hand over his brow. "I don´t know."  He said in a concerned voice, "Why didn´t Uvanna indicate otherwise to me?" 

Viggo patted Galen´s arm. "If She intended for all the mysteries of the world to be revealed at once, we would have nothing to discover." 

Galen smiled. "It appears that I have underestimated you, my friend. I can see why Arvid admires you." 

An awkward silence fell between them. "So...what does having control of the wildling entail?"  Viggo said, feeling a need to speak. 

"She cannot harm you or anyone else except in self defense, unless you command her otherwise. If she tries to flee, she is compelled to return to you. And you can command her to obey your orders as long as it does not involve direct harm to her person. Be careful in what you assign her to do -- since we did not know about the wildling´s ability to assume a human appearance, she may also not be as well-armored as the rumors would indicate. Sending her on a destructive mission may shatter the bond."  He looked up at that moment. "Arvid is signaling us that the house is vacant. Shall we?" 

Viggo nodded, picking up Elspeth and bringing her inside. They didn´t dare light a fire, for fear of alerting the town guard, but they found a corner that was sufficiently intact enough to shelter them from the cold. 

Once they had made themselves as comfortable as was possible, Elspeth stirred in Viggo´s arms, and her eyelids fluttered open. Viggo gazed at her face, waiting for her reaction. The cloudiness had barely left her eyes when she lunged at Viggo, her teeth elongating into a vicious pair of fangs. Her fierce strike was checked by a bolt of green lightning that suddenly arced through her body. She cried out in pain, crumpling into a heap in Viggo´s lap. 

"That will happen each time you try to attack someone without his order," Galen said. 

"Release me, Ground Rat!"  she spat. "Or else your death will be slow and painful."  She glared at Viggo. "I will rip your entrails out and eat them in front of you for this indignity." 

Despite the threat, something nudged Viggo´s mind. It was hard for him to put it into words, but that something was telling him that the wildling´s words were mere posturing. That...and he had a feeling that Elspeth was still deceiving him in some way. He said, "Enough with the deceptions! Show me your true face." 

"This is my face," she replied in a haughty voice. Viggo glared at her; he couldn´t explain it, but he knew that she was lying. 

"No it isn´t," Viggo growled. "I will say it again -- show me your true face."  Noticing her reticence, Viggo said in a more forceful tone. "Obey me!" 

Curses fell from her lips, but he saw and felt her form shifting and changing. Viggo was prepared for some foul hybrid of many beasts, but the sight that met his eyes was one that he hadn´t anticipated. 

A lean, tan, and distinctly male human body peeked out from underneath the blanket. Large brown eyes peeked out from underneath a riot of chestnut brown curls, and sculpted cheekbones leant an elegant beauty to the wildling´s disheveled-looking appearance. 

He pushed the rough cloth aside, revealing that he was clad only in a strip of leather that covered his groin, held in place with small leather ties that ran along his hips and up the cleft of his rear. His upper torso and arms were covered in intricate swirled patterns of the purest light blue. 

Viggo´s jaw fell open, and he was at a complete loss for words. He hadn´t expected the wildling to be human...much less one so fair of form. Despite himself, he couldn´t stop staring at the taut muscles rippling beneath the wildling´s smooth skin. 

The shapeshifter´s eyes flicked over Viggo´s face and his full lips curled up in a smirk. "Well, what shall I do now, Ground Rat? Dance for your pleasure?"  he growled in a rich, deep voice. 

---
end part 2

Notes: I´m sorry about the misleading pairings at the top, but I really didn´t want to spoil the surprise of wildling!Orli effectively cross-dressing. Yes, I´m evil. Thank you. 

Part 1
Part 3
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