"Ahhh a customer",Stoker says. "I'll see to them, finish your coffee", Dahlia says as she gets up to tend to the customer. As she walks through the door to the shop, she is stopped dead in her tracks, the old woman is standing in the doorway of the store. Dahlia breaks into a cold sweat as the old womans evil eyes meet hers. St.,st. Stoker, Dahlia can hardly muster his name as if someone had their hands grasped tightly around her neck. Stoker barely hears her almost inaudible call,he stands with coffee in hand and walks toward the shop. Walking through the door he says,"what is it Dah" but his question stops abruptly when he sees that Dahlia is trembling as she points to the old woman. "Graylund!!" Stoker says as Graylund and Jewls step into the shop. Stoker steps out from behind the counter with Graylund in short tow"may i help you maam," Stoker says. Stoookeer Baaaiinn, the old woman says with a voice that sounds like she has been gargling glass."I am he " Stoker says "how may i help you?" "You have an uncle whom lives in Bormel" the old woman says, "an uncle by the name of Bonelli Bain, the brother of your father, the second son of your grandfather Collin Bain. Yes i do, and how do you know this, Stoker asks? "Your uncle is in grave danger Stoker Bain, you must go to him quickly" the old woman says. "Lady i don't know you from anywhere , who are you?" Stoker asks the old woman. I am Agnus Bordain of The House of Seven, you dont know me, but i know you Stokerr Baaiin(ha ha ha ha he he) the old woman chuckles. "Ok lady I don't have time for this," Stoker says. As Stoker steps toward her, the old woman reachs out and grabs hold of his hand, instantly Stokers body is ridged, stiff as a board, as his cup of coffee slowly tips and falls from his hand onto the floor, his eyes stare strait and turn white as ice. Do you see now Stokeer Baain, the old woman says as her blood red eyes glow. Stoker's throat closes so he can not breathe, in his mind he knows he is chocking, but can do nothing to help himself for he is completly paralyzed and helpless to this womans touch. Graylund stood there staring in shock, watching his friend be controlled by such a small woman (not even five foot tall and maybe ninty five pounds). Graylund steps foward to help Stoker, when the old woman looks at him and says, "bow down Graylund Barsto, you are not man enough to challange meee," as Graylund is crippled in his tracks, he falls to the floor in violent convultions, sweating perfusly and foaming at the mouth. As the old woman talks to Stoker in near silence, in a language that nobody but he understood. Everything but Stokers mind was paralyzed and useless, as Stoker listens to the old womans gravely voice, his mind begins to race unbeleivably fast with memories of the past and revelations of the future.He sees his fathers death,his own birth, the deaths of many past relatives, and the birth of many generations to come. Stoker sees in his visions the carnage and stryfe being bestowed upon his uncles farm and local town folk. Stoker witnesses the burning of buildings and crops, the killing of men, woman being raped, and children being beat down and trampled in the street by horse until the dirt was nothing but bloody mud, as their bones were broken like twigs and their skulls are smashed like pumkins under the weight of the large animals... Stoker is now sweating like he never has in his entire life, heart pounding so hard he beleives it will burst, each breath comeing hard now as the images of brutal slaughter continue to invade his mind. Dahlia wants to help her husband desprately, but dares not to approch the old woman. Noticeing that Stokers paralyzed body is floating, she knows she has to do something before she kills him. Dahlia grabs a heavy iron cook pot off of the wall and hurls it at the old womans head, the witch doesn't even look at Dahlia, but throughs her hand up sending the pot with wicked velocity back in Dahlia's direction narrowly missing hiting her in the face. "You fucking bitch,"Dahlia screams,, as the old woman faces Dahlia and Jewls, blasting them backward against the wall with only a look, no words were spoken to them, only what she was saying to Stoker in the unknown language. Suddenly the doors to the store are almost blasted off of its hindges, and in the doorway stands Audry Wisse speaking the same unknown language as the witch. The witch waste no time destracting her attention away from Dahlia and Jewls to look at Audry. Immediatlly the old woman turns and hisses at Audry like a snake, exposing large bloody fangs and jagged teeth, dropping Stoker to the floor in a crumbled heep of useless flesh, bleeding like a gutted pig from his neck. Now that the old womans attention is devertide, Dahlia rushes to his side tearing off her appron to aid the wound on Stokers neck. As Audry continues to speak to the witch, Zane steps out from behind her and burst a jar of blue liquid at the old womans feet. The witch turn into a mist with a horrific scream that ends with a bright explosion of light and a sonic boom that was so violent it knocked everyone to the floor, buckled floor boards, and even busting the roof, as if they had been in an earth quake. The old woman was gone, nowhere to be seen. Stoker was still in a heep on the floor with Dahlia tending to his wound, Jewls was looking after Graylund whos convultions were easing, as Zane helped Ms. Wisse up off of the floor to her feet. While Dahlia is tending to Stokers wounds, she watches Audry in confusion, wondering, because in the mayham she had notice that Audry was floating, just like the old woman. Graylunds convultions had stopped as Jewls sits by his side comforting him,Zane has steadied Audry, Dahlia makes sure Stoker's wounds have stopped bleeding,his body still limp as a dish rag and uncontious. As Dahlia stares at Audry with unbeleiving eyes she says screaming,"AUDRY WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE". "I am not sure dear," Audry says. "I'm not sure, I'm not sure, fuck that shit, this fucking bitch walks into my life, my families life, nearly killing my husband, and almost crippling Graylund, and you tell me your not GODDAMNED SURE!!!!" Dahlia screams at Audry. "Halleck," she says in a quiet tone to herself. "WHERE'S HALLECK," she shouts. "He is safe Dahlia," Audry said. "He'd fucking better be," Dahlia says to Audry with a growl,( as the fairest lady of the lands turns into a feirce mother who would do anything to protect her child)."Where is my child," Dahlia asks demandingly. "He is in the safe house underneth Kristov Bahle's shop, William is watching over him," Audry tells her. Dahlia leaps from Stokers side and races out of the store, in full stride she runs the streets of Gall toward Kristov's shop to find Halleck. As she follows the streets of Gall not realizing how much time had passed all the shops but taverns are closed, as she hurries down torch lighted streets, she keeps a watchful eye for the witch. Reaching Kristov's shop, the doors are closed and locked, she goes to the service entrance and beats on the doors franticly. William, whom has almost fallen asleep is startled by the sudden heavy knocking, drawing his sword as he stands he cautiously approches the door. Cracking the door open slowly, he sees Dahlia standing there in tears, as he opens the door all the way Dahlia falls into his arm saying " thank the gods William, is Halleck safe". Holding on to Dahlia for a moment to long he pulls her to him tightly, looking her strait in the eyes as he says " yes Dahlis he is here," and as he resist giving her a long wanted kiss, he points to a kiln where they fire steel. As she looks at him in dought, he says" come and i will show you," William walks to the kiln with Dahlia by his side, reaches and pulls a large ring on a support post. Dahlia hears a rumbling as the kiln starts to move to the side, she kneels as the kiln moves so she can look to see whats there. As the kiln moves, Dahlia can see a set of stairs, and as it moves further, she can see an image at the bottom of them, it's Halleck. "Halleck, come to me, its mommy," Dahlis cries. Halleck runs up the stairs, jumping into his mothers arms, hugging her so tightly, she thought he'd break her neck." Are you alright Halleck," Dahlis asks." Yes mommy I am fine, William was watching over me, he even showed me how to make nails," Halleck replies. Dahlia thanks William for his watching of Halleck, grabs him by the hand and says " come on son it's time to go home now". Halleck says his goodbyes to William and leaves with his mother. As Dahlia and Halleck leave the the smith's shop and turns the corner,William follows as Audry has instructed him to do so. Dahlia takes odd streets through the city to make her way home, when arriving Halleck had fallen asleep. Dahlia takes him inside and into a hidden room in the back of the house and lays him on a pallet, after she makes sure he is still asleep, she closes the door quietly locks up the house and returnes to the store. As William follows, he notices that Dahlia is takeing a strange path home, he watches Dahlia take Halleck inside and waits. As Dahlia emerges from the house and turns toward the strore, William stays hidden in the shadows and watches the house where Halleck lies asleep. William wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but it was Audry's order to watch Halleck, " it is the order of The Nine to keep special watch over the Bain's "Audry had said to him, when she left Halleck in his care.
