Chadley and Adeline, June 22

The summoning spell brings Chadley to a small cabin, deep within Silverpine Forest, and the place is beyond dark. Darkness is merely visual, but this, whatever it is, permeates everything. The atmosphere is oppressive and terrifying, like something out of a horrible nightmare that you can't see, but that you know is sneaking up on you and you can't even scream for help. Demonic eyes flit in and out of the shadows, and there's the sound of laughter, though it's a warm, happy sound, totally out of place for this dark cabin. Also out of place is the smell of delicious home cooking--pie, chicken soup, toasted bread, the works. Once Chadley has fully materialized, a rotting hand reaches out from the darkness and pulls him gently but firmly to sit down on what seems to be a stool, with no back to speak of. His hands are immediately bound behind his back, his legs to the legs of the stool, and all the while, someone is humming a lullaby.

Chadley staggers, a sickness overcoming him that is partially from the summon and partially from the creeping, crippling sensation of his Light being suppressed. His curse wears off now that his destination is reached, and he seems to finally understand what he did- and where it took him. "No. No, no, NO-!" He thrashes angrily in his bindings, a pale, weak glow flickering up around him, sparking against the undead woman's touch.

Adeline clucks her tongue and hisses in pain, fighting through it to secure the bindings more tightly than they need to. "Ah'm sorry this'll prob'ly hurt you fer now, but it's necessary, y'see." She takes a step back, once Chadley is secure, and smiles at him, warmly and lovingly, like he's come home from a long journey rather than been summoned to a cabin of horrors against his will.

"As if hurting me is suddenly an issue with you." He struggles again and snarls, shouting a plea that results in a red glow flickering around his bindings-- and then doing nothing. His eyes widen in panic to mix with his rage, and he struggles again. "What the hell have you done to me?"

"Ah want your last memories of lahf to be pleasant--not lahk mahn," Adeline answers sadly, moving away from Chadley to check on the stove. For a brief moment, the light of a crackling fire illuminates the darkness, showing the forms of her demons all crouched around and watching Chadley curiously. Then she closes the stove and the darkness returns. "Ah've done nothin' to you. Seems Tommy was discoverd to have an affinity fer Lahtslayer work, so he helped me douse this place in shadow. Ain't it nahce?"

"T-Tommy," Chadley stammers, almost a sob. "Is h-he here too?" He is shaking uncontrollably, his lips silently fumbling over more words of prayer when he's done talking. He wiggles his wrists behind his back, trying to find a weakness in the knot.

Adeline shakes her head. "He's away quite a bit on church business, much lahk yer father was, but of course, we're both very devout. Ah'm sure you'll understand why." That grotesque smile returns and quivers slightly. "But look how you've grown, in jest the couple 'a years it's been since Ah saw you. Ah can't tell yuh how proud Ah was to see you, all decked out in yer paladin gear, fahtin' fer the Crusade."

Chadley looks nauseous again, his body curling forward as much as it can as he lets out another pained, frustrated growl. "Then let me go be that! I know how they make you think, but I know what you want, and you want me to be happy, right? Then let me -go be that-." He struggles more, his Light flickering again and causing the imp that was apparently climbing up the back of his chair to scramble off with a yelp.

Adeline shakes her head and avoids addressing the main query in Chadley's diatribe, returning to the stove. "Ah hope a berry pie's alraht. You don't know ha' hard it was to get good food up here--ain't nobody deliverin' to Fersakin lands, but Ah managed t'fahnd some nahce berries visitin' Hearthglen. And there's soup and fresh bread fer you, once yer hungry." She's obviously smiling from the way she's speaking. "Ah'm jest so excited, knowin' how well you'll serve our Queen. You'll be a real blessin' to Lordaeron, jest lahk you always wanted."

"You should have saved yourself the effort. I wasn't stupid enough to eat your poison the first time, I won't be now." He stops struggling in hopes of conserving his energy, and instead watches her through the black as she bustles about. His face twists in anger, but his voice sounds just vulnerable and shaky as he says quietly, "D-do you even hear hear how you sound? You're a brainwashed fanatic! I'm already a soldier of Lordaeron! You don't need to..."

Adeline turns around and fixes Chadley with the kind of glare he'd have received as a child for doing something particularly stupid or, in this case, for backsassing. "Don't take that tone with me, boy. Ah am still yer Ma, and you will treat me with respect," she snaps. "The Banshee Queen's th'only one ensurin' those of us from Lordaeron actually get to live in our home. You think yer Crusade'd let folk lahk me on their fresh, green grass? Ain't a snowball's chance in hell."

"It's the Banshee Queen's fault you're even what you are to begin with! She killed everyone in Southshore, Ma! She killed Thomas and brought you back!" His angered features are wet with tears now, and though he appears vulnerable, his Light still shines. "Ma, there are undead Crusaders. Dad! He's bad off as most of you, and's he's... he's..." Chadley trails off, shaking his head and muttering, "Please don't do this, Ma."

"Oh, darlin'." Adeline's expression softens. She ignores the burn of the Light and reaches in to hold Chadley's face in her hands. "Darlin', it'll be alraht. This is how we're all gunna be together again, at last. You, me, yer Pa--" Her voice breaks and she looks down and away to compose herself. "It ain't conventional, no, and it ain't what Ah woulda chosen, but it's what we got, and Ah know you'll be happier for it. Yer Lorcan, once he's with us, he can have a brand new leg and no more pain. And Mairèad won't even hafta cry over that husband 'a hers anymore. We'll all be together again. You'll see."

Chadley shakes his head in her hands, his eyes still wide and welled with tears. "I'd only be happier for it because I'd be a brainwashed minion like you. The Forsaken are killing everyone, Ma. It's like the Scourge again. That's what you are."

"Ah'm hardly brainwashed, Chadley," Adeline says, releasing his face and moving back to the kitchen. Metal scrapes against metal, and for a moment, the sumptuous smell of chicken soup is almost overwhelming. "And we ain't got ambitions lahk the Scourge. All the Banshee Queen promises us is our home back, and that's what we're takin'."

"That's why you attacked Gilneas, right? Because it's a part of your home? That's why everyone in Hillsbrad was murdered, right? I hope you don't have it in your mind that you can convince me to join you over a nice dinner. I won't be convinced."

"You will be," Adeline answers coyly and with complete certainty. "And you'll fahnd it's far, far better'n you ever coulda imagined."

"... No. I won't be," Chadley argues stubbornly. "You seem to be ignoring the fact that I am a paladin, and it's my duty to wipe the kingdoms clean of things like you. What they're -made you into-."

Adeline shakes her head and laughs as if Chadley's said something absolutely adorable. "Tahm is not on yer sahd, darlin'. Jest--" And then she frowns, a flare of green felfire jumping to her fingertips. She darts about in the dark, waving her hand as if trying to grab something invisible.

Chadley's eyes narrow at her actions. "... Just what?"

Whatever it was, Adeline grabs it and holds onto it, her grip growing tighter and tighter until she relaxes, exhaling out of instinct. "Well, Ah've some good news fer you. It seems our location has been divahned, so you'll have company soon enough."

Chadley barks out a noise. He's to upset to genuinely laugh, but it's close enough. "Mairead. And Lorcan. And Shepard, probably. Do you think your ew pathetic years of fel practice will have anything on them?"

Adeline laughs and shakes her head. "Oh Chadley. So little y'understand. They ain't comin' to rescue you. They're comin' to -join- you. Save fer that worgen fella. That's his misfortune, though Ah know y'don't think too kahndly of him."

"I'm- fairly certain they're coming to rescue me," Chadley corrects her, a bit of energy coming back into his escape attempts. "Y-you seem to know a lot about me. How long have you been watching?" Now he's just stalling the conversation.

"You think that. They think that. Ah know better," Adeline answers sweetly. "And, oh, pretty frequently since y'reached Hearthglen. Ah've not got anythin' in yer room--that'd just be rude--but y'ain't exactly secretive with yer conversations." She seems entirely content to stall as long as Chadley wants.

Chadley's fingers manage to painfully bend at an awkward angle, but even then, his nails barely scratch at the rope. "You've been trying to kill me for a while now. Why are you waiting for them now?"

"Ah'm not waitin' fer them," Adeline answers, once again returning to the stove. "They'll get here when they get here. This cabin's deep enough in th'woods that even with scryin', it should take them a couple 'a days at least."

"But you don't plan to keep me alive that long, do you."

"Always were a smart boy," Adeline answers with another smile. "In a couple 'a days, you'll either have fallen asleep--maybe even sooner, dependin' on how much you faht and wear yerself out--or be hungry enough to take anythin' yer offered. Ah'd rather it not come to either option, but you are so stubborn." She sounds tired now, almost sad.

"A life of meditation has prepared me for many things," Chadley says, easing up again on his struggles in an acknowledgment of her point. "I can last a lot longer than you think I can." He swallows and adds before she can respond, "-- I still wish you could truly hear yourself. You want to kill me. Somehow don't think that's what you figured on while raising me. 'One day, when he's grown, I'll murder and assimilate him into a pestilent horde of zombies.'" His head tilts to the side, his eyes somewhere off in the black now.

Adeline shakes her head. "It'll be so uncomfortable fer you, lettin' exhaustion and starvation take their toll. And Ah think yer bein' obtuse on purpose. You'll see soon; Ah know it's hard, but you'll see."

"... You're going to take the Light from me," Chadley mutters, still staring off into the dark. He can't really bring himself to look at her much anymore.

Adeline shakes her head. "You'll still be able t'call on the Light, if y'want. Ah've found shadows to be much more honest, mahself, but Ah won't judge you fer thinkin' otherwise."

"I won't deserve the Light if it's used SERVING YOU!" Chadley shouts back in a sudden thrash and burst of energy, but it doesn't last long. He hangs his head, shudders and- against his will- begins to cry. "I'll outlast you."

"Ah hope y'won't," Adeline murmurs, not turning back towards Chadley, as if in a battle not to start crying herself. "Ah can't stand to see you in pain lahk this. If y'give in now, instead 'a waitin' 'til you got no other choice, it'll be quick and painless, lahk goin' t'sleep. And then you'll wake up, as if yuh've had th'best dream ever and fahnd that bein' awake is just as wonderful."

"If it takes biting off pieces of my own lip, I will stay awake until they reach here. And until then, Ma, I will pray. Pray for power over these shadows, pray for the power to cut you and your little menagerie down, pray for the power to give you your rest. You had it once. And I am so, so sorry they took it from you."

Adeline sighs and shakes her head again, still not looking at Chadley. "Don't be sorry. Ah've been given a second chance to have mah family back, and Ah ain't gunna let it slip away jest 'cause mah boy's stubborn." She makes a sound like a laugh. "After you, and Mairèad and yer Lorcan, we'll all of us go and bring yer Pa home. It'll be much easier fer him anyway... Ah'm surprahsed he ain't come our way sooner."

Chadley just sobs quietly as she talks, the full gravity of his situation finally bearing down on him. When she's done, all he can really manage is, "He prefers the livin'. Ones who still got their heads screwed on straight. Married, too, so good luck." He somehow manages to keep his voice from being wobbly.

"That's what Ah'm countin' on, that silly new wahf 'a his. Not a lick 'a sense in her head. Ah figure, it's only a matter 'a tahm before he slips up and raises her, and then they got nowhere to go -but- Undercity." Adeline still doesn't look at Chadley, but she speaks as if relating idle town gossip to him. Nearby, there's a flicker of green light and another scent joins the mix--a powerful, heady incense.

"I think he'd sooner take his life than join forces with you monsters. He never seemed capable of hate, until I heard him talk of the Scourge-- and your queen. He-" Chadley would continue on arguing, but a whiff of the incense brings a scowl to his face. "It's drugged, isn't it?"

"Mm," Adeline confirms quietly. "Ah've quite a stock of it. Y'could always jest have a piece 'a pie and call it a naht." From somewhere in the darkness, Bronwyn giggles. "And you -do- love your pie," she agrees.

Chadley makes another gross sobbing noise and closes his eyes, the welled tears spilling from them. He lowers his head and takes a deep breath of his remaining clean air and then, quietly, begins to murmur a prayer.

Adeline doesn't seem quite bothered by this, continuing to speak over the prayer. "Tommy should be back tomorrow or th'next day, and he'll wanna say hello. Y'should see him, barely looks a day buried, bless his heart. He's lookin' forward to seein' you again. Said he didn't get a chance to talk to ya after mah funeral." She chuckles, stooping to remove the finished pie from the oven. "Ah am sorry Ah left you lahk that. None of it was expected."

All of Chadley's energy and focus is directed into his prayer. Though he still cries, his words are steady and clear. The Light around him grows brighter with a chime-like hum, and though it can't pierce the darkness, it doesn't fade back.

Adeline continues speaking over Chadley's prayer. She seems determined to get her apology out. "Ah saw someone defendin' th'town, a man with shoulders on fahr. I wonder if he was any relation t'yer Stehl at all."

Chadley's voice doesn't raise to overcome hers, nor does it quiet to hear her better. He continues praying, trancelike, maintaining the stronger barrier. His eyes crack open and illuminate his face at the mention of Stehl's name and surprisingly he nods, but doesn't break his prayer in any way. He lowers his eyes again and sniffs. -Must ignore-.

"He was a good man, yer Stehl," Adeline continues, now moving on to the simmering pot of soup. "What Ah saw of him, anyway, which was brief. They'd set fahr to the house bah then...it's a miracle Tommy made it out."

Chadley's meditation training has provided him with much discipline, but not quite enough to cope with listening to his rotting mother detail her own death. He sobs again through grit teeth, shaking his head and starting his prayer again. The Light flickers.

"Mah last thought was of you," Adeline continues, now speaking in almost a whisper. "Ah couldn't see and Ah couldn't breathe, but Ah prayed with all mah heart that I'd see you again."

Chadley's voice cracks and his words fail. The Light flickers again, but he manages to keep it up without words. It's at a great expense, it seems, because he's sweating like it's midday. "And the Light brought me to you," he grunts. "To save you."

"Ah am saved," Adeline insists quietly, shaking her head. "Yer here. And that's all Ah need."

Chadley trembles and then snaps, "I'll outlast you." Quieter he says, "I love you, Ma."  He closes his eyes and restarts the prayer, his posture relaxing and his brow drying. The tears are back, but his meditation is deep and he doesn't notice them at all.

"Ah love you, too," Adeline murmurs and moves away from Chadley and the Light that radiates from him. When she's a safe distance away, she begins humming the lullaby again, something vaguely familiar from his childhood.

And now he's alone, a single light in an inky dark that sings childhood songs to him. His prayers stay firm and his trance deep. The Light is all he has.