Chapter 28 Shame

"Wake up, Klaus."

"Wake up."

A cold voice echoed in Klaus's ears, and he felt only the heaviness of his body. Though he could hear the sounds around him, he could not open his eyes.

"Wake him up with ice water," said a husky voice.

Klaus felt a cold, tingling sensation on his face, and his eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw was the shriveled and hideous face of Wizard Green, who was staring at Klaus with his one remaining eye.

"He's awake," said Wizard Green indifferently.

"Where am I?" Klaus, with a splitting headache, found himself tied up behind his back on a stone bench.

"You're in the tribe now," Lyme's voice rang in his ears, as he held a bucket of iced water in both hands.

"What happened?" Klaus struggled to recall his earlier memories, but his mind was blank.

"That's what I'm supposed to ask you," Green's face grimaced. "The patrolling clansmen spotted you and Rand lying on the riverbank, so they brought you back."

"I don't remember anything."

Klaus's voice was weak, and he remembered vaguely that Elder Quinn had told him and Rand to go to the succubus tribe and ask for marriage, but he could recall nothing of what had followed.

But Green's ugly face indicated that they seemed to have messed up.

"Rand is saying the same thing as you," Green snorted coldly. "It looks like you two have lost your memories for the time being."

"But soon we'll know what you've been through. Lyme, go get Rand here."

Soon, Lyme and the two troll warriors escorted Rand into the tent, his hands tied behind his back. Green ordered Rand to sit on another stone bench.

Rand slumped onto the stone bench with a drunken look, his eyes red and barely open. He looked even more tired than Klaus.

"Lyme, let the two of them drink the potion," Green said.

Lyme walked up to Klaus with a bowl of black potion. When Klaus smelled the sour smell of the potion, he frowned slightly. Green noticed this and immediately threw a sharp and cold gaze at Klaus, so Klaus had to force himself to drink the potion.

The sour liquid churned in Klaus's stomach, and he felt nauseous. Soon, he felt as if his stomach had been burned, and he tried to vomit, but could not.

"Get this thing out of the way!" Rand yelled at Lyme. "I'm not going to drink it."

"Pour him the potion," Green commanded Lyme.

Then, the troll-warrior grasped Rand's head with both hands, while Lyme pried Rand's mouth open with one hand and poured all the remaining potion from the bowl into Rand's mouth with the other.

"I'm going to kill you, damn wizard!" Rand's mouth was still stained black, and he was much more sober now than before.

"I'm looking forward to it," Green smirked dismissively. "Now, let me see why the hell you guys messed things up."

Green stepped between Klaus and Rand and placed his hands on the tops of their heads as he whispered a mantra.

Klaus only felt something heavy pressing down on the top of his head, and he bowed his head and winced. As Green finished his mantra, the churning sensation in his stomach worsened.

Then the uncomfortable sensation rose from his stomach to his neck and back down again. When the sensation reached the top of his head, it turned into a flash of lightning and struck Klaus.

Klaus could not repress a snarl, and his head seemed to be splitting apart.

But the feeling did not stop with his snarl. Instead, it intensified. Klaus's eyes widened in pain as memories flashed before them.

He saw an image of Lilly having sex with him in the pool. He remembered her gasps and groans, and he recalled the bargain he had made with Yuna.

At the end of the flashback, he saw Yuna's beautiful face and her sneer.

"What an idiot," her voice echoed in his head.

"No!" Klaus let out an angry growl.

"Stop, stop." Rand also groaned in pain.

Even as Green lifted his hand from Klaus's head, he could still feel the lingering sting of the lightning-fast sensation over his scalp. He was on the verge of suffocation, and his wrists, tied tightly behind him, were bleeding.

"I'm so ashamed of you," Green said, looking at both Rand and Klaus with those gray eyes. "You've all been tricked by Yuna's damn succubus."

"She lied to us," Rand argued.

"Shut up," Green glared at Rand. "I'll tell Elder Quinn the truth, and you'll all be punished."

"Lyme, go get Elder Quinn."

"Yes." Lyme gave Klaus and Rand a reluctant look before leaving, his eyes betraying concern for his comrades.

Elder Quinn shuffled heavily into the tent and sat down in the middle of the carpet, his face solemn, his hammer in his hand.

"Say it," Elder Quinn said.

"Listen to me," Rand preemptively said, "We were robbed on the road, and then..."

"Shut up," Green retorted. "It's not your turn yet."

"Green, tell me what you saw," Elder Quinn said in his deep voice.

"These two fools lost the dowry, and Yuna not only burned the letter you wrote to Evelyn, but also tricked them into venturing into the Abyss to retrieve the Grey Spider's Magic Nucleus. As a result, they not only gave Yuna the Magic Nucleus, but also the Magic Crystal. Then Yuna threw them a celebration party, where the succubi spun them around and Rand was lulled by their charms. Klaus was not only possessed by a deformed succubus, he was also drained of his energy. After stripping them both of their power, the succubi left them on a wooden boat and let the river carry them away."

Since Green had read their memories, he was unaware of the secret deal between Klaus and Yuna.

"You two idiots!" Elder Quinn slammed his hammer onto the ground, "This is a great disgrace for our tribe."

The thud of the hammer echoed through the tent, and Elder Quinn's curses continued for nearly three minutes as he raised the hammer in one hand and pointed it menacingly at Klaus and Rand.

"I will put you to death."