Unforgiving lands - Now in hiatus - Details at last post

[Cerulean_Wings]

Even though in this last post there wasn't any battle, or anything really exciting, it still was interesting and captivating. I find it amazing how you managed to capture me, and probably other readers, into you're realistic fantasy (if that makes any sense at all).

Thank you for the praise, Ethelin. It's tough making things interesting without combat, true, but that's the challenge for story hour writing, after all. Story hours that have more combat aren't necessarily better or worse, but it's less tough to keep things moving, certainly

Your comment is the type that I've been waiting for for some time, since I have little detailed feedback in this thread. Not saying I'm waiting for the praise posts to come in an avalanche, but rather I'm hoping for more and more people to let me know what they think, good or bad, about the story hour.

In any case, I'll be taking a break from typing chapters once per day. I'm getting writer's block, and I have stuff to do for my real life campaign. We'll see when this goes on.

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

Rogue's Gallery will be updated shortly. Or should I say, the Priest's Gallery?



Chapter 26

Haunted grounds

Their journey from Wellspring towards the end of the valley had been rather uneventful, a change of pace that none in the group disliked. During the ride to the north east, the priest of Berethor had spent most of his time conversing with Gon, or at least, he had attempted to, for the soldier remained as silent and somber as before.

Darius wasn’t in a different mood, probably for different reasons, and his demeanor was dark and serious to the extreme. Kahleen had several small talks with the man, but her words didn’t improve his mood like they had in the past. Seeing this, the shaman wisely decided to leave it up to Darius to change his behavior. Gilliam and Vincent didn’t say a word on the matter, likewise choosing to leave it to the two soldiers to switch back to their usual selves.

This situation made Gilliam consider, if only as a demented thought, if he preferred Gon cheery and wild over his present mood. In the end, the mercenary concluded he didn’t really like either. Would it be possible for Gon to reach a healthy balance in that sense? Only time would tell.

It took four days to traverse the remaining length of the valley and the hills that came afterwards. The lizards they rode behaved excellently, as promised, especially for Vincent, who had had training in his early years with House Kashtar (although said training had been with horses, the basics applied just the same for the more exotic mounts), and there were no incidents of them running away or misbehaving. The reptiles were more used to the canyon’s landscape than the hills that came after, however, and that part of the journey took more than they expected.

By the end of the fourth day the six were right in front of the large, tall trees that formed part of the Spirit Wood. The place was the stuff of legends, a place that countless bards had woven countless tales based on its dangers, both real and imaginary. Very few had braved the forest and made it out without showing signs of stress, paranoia, or some other malady. Mist filled every space in-between the trees, obscuring the sight of the forest somewhat, but not completely. Combined with the darkness of the early night, the woods were a rather imposing sight.

Since the lizard mounts weren’t going to be effective in this type of terrain, they had agreed to travel through the forest on foot. Not surprisingly, Kahleen had what seemed like a talk with their mounts, using alien slithering and hissing sounds to instruct the lizards on what to do. The five lizards left the group, then, heading back in the direction they had come from.

“This is it” Gilliam muttered. His hands were clenched shut, and the knuckles beneath the gloves were white. Vincent looked no less troubled, as the squire’s lip trembled every now and then.

Darius and Gon looked too distant to care for the wood’s mystical appearance, while Hantel and Kahleen appeared as serene as ever.

“Has anyone ever been into this place?” Hantel inquired to the others.

“I have” Kahleen answered simply. “What do you wish to know, Hantel?”.

The priest merely shrugged, as if he wasn’t curious. “Nothing in particular. I simply wish to know if we have a guide amongst us for this part of the journey”.

“There are dangers to these woods, that much you all know” the shaman said, making Vincent and Gilliam nod vigorously in unison. “But most of them are rumors, stories coming from people who allowed their imaginations to seize control of their perceptions” she went on without noticing their trepidation.

“I wonder if the place makes one get lost, returning to the same spot every time” Vincent said shakily as he glanced at Gilliam.

“What if the woods make one’s inner fears manifest, forcing us to battle them as ghosts?” the mercenary returned, sounding no less troubled, but trying hard to make it look otherwise.

“How about we go in and see for ourselves?”.

Squire and mercenary turned around to look at Gon, who had spoken the words in a tired, dry tone. The roguish man had a bored expression on his face, another anomaly, coming from him.

“Now that’s a good idea!” praised Hantel with a snap of his fingers, smiling at Gon as he did. “Instead of imagining illusory threats, let us deal with the real ones once they come to us”. This didn’t improve the soldier’s mood, and he merely looked away.

Gilliam took a deep breath in order to better steady himself. “True enough; we can’t waste time here” he admitted. “Kahleen, is there anything we should know before we make it inside?”.

“Beware the spirits of the Spirit Wood” she replied in a serious tone. “If you get too close to them, your essence might draw them to you, and conflict might ensue”. If Kahleen was intending to reassure the two nervous warriors about the place, she had failed miserably.

“Staying close to each other is a good idea” Vincent suggested. “We don’t want to get lost in that mist, right Darius?” he said, finishing the sentence by looking the blond warrior’s way.

Darius wasn’t there.

Vincent blinked, confused, and looked at the others for an explanation. Gon gave him one in the form of gesturing forward with an arm. The squire turned that way to see the other soldier’s form walking into the forest, already difficult to see after barely walking fifteen feet away.

“Let’s go” Gilliam ordered, and as one the rest of the group entered the woods to join Darius.

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

Curses. I was typing up today's chapter, but guess what? The pc got taken away for repairs, and I'm out of luck, typing this from a friend's laptop. There probably won't be a chapter until Monday. Man, I miss writing already...

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

I got the pc back earlier, and it's good as new! Which means a new chapter

Sorry about the title, I couldn't help it.


Chapter 27

Ghosts and goblins

Once within the Spirit Wood, everyone quickly realized it was going to be hard to keep track of time: the wood's mist was thick in all directions, even above their heads, preventing them from seeing the sky or the sun, its golden rays simply not reaching past the mist. A decrease of luminosity would mean that the day was waning, but they would not be able to tell when that was going to happen.

Timing their rest breaks was going to depend on how tired they felt, then. So far, they had rested once, and the experience had left the whole group rather tense instead of relaxed. Judging by the cycle of disappearing and reappearing light, a day had passed since they entered the forest.

More than once the group encountered something moving through the bushes, and instead of being some manner of revenant or ghostly apparition, it turned out to be no more than a small forest animal, like a squirrel. Needless to say, Gilliam's jumpiness combined with his throwing knives resulted in several dead animals along their path.

“You should try to steady yourself, Gilliam” Kahleen suggested, not for the first-or last-time. The shaman had not taken any offense at the mercenary for killing so many innocent and harmless animals due to his nervousness, or at least she did not show it. “When a real threat comes, you must be ready in spirit and body to face it properly”.

Gilliam took a deep breath and shuddered. “Easier said than done. This place...” he said as he looked around, “...it gives me the chills. I cannot help but be on edge all the time”.

“Likewise” added Vincent. The squire was no less nervous than his bodyguard, but at least he was not throwing his spear in every direction he thought he saw a threat. The rest of the group did not look very anxious within the Spirit Wood, but that might have been attributed to their mood, and in the case of Hantel, his beliefs.

“You two seem to be braving this place well enough” the Seer assessed in the direction of Gon and Darius. “Maybe you should go ahead of Gilliam, in order to act as more relaxed scouts?”. This made Gilliam stop walking and turn around quickly. Everyone likewise stopped their march.

“No, we are not changing the marching order. If something comes from the front, I'll handle it; if it's from behind, Gon and Darius can face it properly” Gilliam said in a firm tone. The two soldiers did not stir at any of the words that had been said, however, and looked as detached as ever.

“Darius”.

The blond warrior looked up, for he had been gazing at a patch of grass beneath his feet. Kahleen had called his name. “We need you focused on the path ahead, not on the path beneath. If we were attacked right now, would you be able to defend us?” she asked.

“Of course not. I cannot even defend myself, how in the Hells am I going to defend others?” the soldier replied with a tone that sounded more angry and serious that he usually used.

“You have done a fair job so far, judging from the survival rate of our group” Vincent observed. Darius shook his head and mumbled something that he couldn't make out. “If you do not stay focused, then the next thing that comes after us will definitely slay us all. We need that extra sword arm, Darius” Vincent added.

This time, Darius stared at the squire for a moment before nodding slowly and changing his posture to a more active one. Vincent smiled and changed targets to Gon.

“What about you, Gon? Can we count on you to defend us from behind, as well?” the squire inquired, still smiling. Gon's visage was one of a man who did not have qualms about jumping off a bridge. “Sure, why not” he replied in a tired voice, waving the issue away with one hand. Like Darius, Gon assumed a more active posture, looking out for enemies around. The only reason they had him on the back, rather than scouting ahead, was that the mist could prove fatal at the time of reuniting with him.

“Aah, they have finally seen the light of clarity. Good, very good” Hantel said almost to himself, nodding to Vincent in approval.

Now more concentrated on their respective duties, the six resumed walking. The mist around them did not seem affected by their change of attitude, and the area remained as eery as ever. Strange sounds would be heard every now and then, and those ones were clearly not being created from a normal, living being.

For how long they had traveled, none of the group could really tell. Eventually, when it was still relatively bright, Hantel got interrupted in the middle of a saying from his faith due to a high pitched scream coming from ahead. Everyone tensed, as the scream sounded otherworldly to say the least. In an instant, everyone had their weapons at the ready, including Hantel, who braced his sturdy staff with his two thin hands.

“Stay alert. Do not move from this spot, wait for it to come to us. If you throw your spear, you will lose it in the mist” the mercenary quickly instructed, the last remark directed of course at the elf fighter, who silently changed his throwing stance to a melee posture.

While they waited, the screech intensified, indicating that its source was approaching rapidly. They could not see anything, thanks to the mist, and for all they knew the creature was merely twenty feet away, obscured by the fog. Hantel had not remained idle, however, and the Seer of Berethor chanted in a deep, yet calm way, filling the others with a sense of peace.

“Shield of Clarity, hide our sight from those of the Nether realm” Hantel implored at the end of his prayer. No one felt any different when the spell was done, but Hantel looked satisfied by the result. “Spirits and other undead will not be able to see us” he informed them.

The priest's devotion was put to test, for one such unliving being emerged from the mist at full speed, making a bee line for the group. It was half of a humanoid, from the waist up, made of translucent greenish substance, floating swiftly two feet above the ground. Its features were that of a skeleton, with bony hands stretched forward, reaching for Gilliam, who was ahead of the group..

“Priest, I do not doubt in your deity's power, but that thing is coming straight for us” Gilliam said in a low voice as he crouched low, bracing himself for impact, swords ready at the sides of his body. The mercenary's observation was fairly accurate: the ghostly apparition was clearly aiming for him, its mouth open wide in a skeletal smile of glee.

An arrow shot past Gilliam from behind, aimed for the ghost, but it merely passed through it. Kahleen's aim had been true, but the thing's substance was less than solid. The spirit was not stopped for a moment, and it carried on, screeching in an otherworldly fashion. Seeing that it was up to him to stop it, Gilliam performed a twin slash right before it reached him.

Both adamantine swords cut through nothing but air.

Gilliam's eyes widened in horror, preparing his body and mind for the worst. Yet for all his fears of what it would feel to have a ghost touch him, the mercenary felt nothing at all. He blinked, realizing the thing was not in front of him anymore, so quickly it had passed through his form. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw the spirit doing the same with the others, going through them, causing no harm whatsoever.

“What” he whispered, almost disappointed at the anti-climatic feel of the ghost. Was that really all to it? The others were slightly shaken as well, and no one showed signs of more than fear. After passing through Gon, the spirit continued heading in that direction, performing its haunting shout moan as it did.

What the six failed to notice was the small figures approaching them from multiple directions at once, using the mist and trees as cover, with the spirit's screech as a distraction for their already light footsteps. The attack came from everywhere, several of these small yet deadly creatures charging forward at the six, screaming like awakened undead, all too ready to destroy those who invaded their place of rest.

Two of the creatures came at Gilliam, each from opposite sides. They looked like halflings, except that normal halflings did not have snow-white bones without skin, red eyes, and looked like they had just emerged from their graves, their leather armor resembling tattered rags. Each carried a worn battle axe in their two bony hands, too big for them to wield with just one, and they jumped in unison at Gilliam as they swung them horizontally.

Surprised as he was, the mercenary couldn't possibly lift his blades in time, and his magical chain shirt protected him from only one axe, as the other one bit hard onto his chest. The undead critters were small, but Gilliam realized that they were stronger than they looked.

Another pair charged after Vincent, from opposite ways as well, and while the squire was by no means ready to receive them, his armor did the work for him, as the two axes failed to pierce through his mighty full plate.

Darius had had no time to focus his defense as much as he would have liked to, but he had stayed in a strictly defensive position since the spirit had appeared. The small bony monster hacked at him with a wild swing, which was then parried by Darius' blade. With one undead assaulting him from the front, Darius did not notice the second one coming from behind. His indication that he had another enemy came in the form of searing pain from his back from the other undead's weapon.

The shaman was in dire straits, with no weapon other than her bow to fend off her attackers. A pair of the critters charged after her, side by side, and both slashes from the battle axes connected solidly, ripping parts of her lizard hide armor away, blood beginning to coat the grass beneath her feet. Kahleen took a quick breath to steady herself, only to find out it was suddenly very hard to do so.

At the very same time that the shaman was attacked, Hantel found himself in a no less difficult position. It seemed like the undead came in pairs after each one of them, and these two targeted the old priest with a disregard for his age, or rather, noticing his inability to fight back as well as the rest. Two battle axes swung in the air, and two long cuts formed on Hantel's body, the chain mail's links broken where they had struck.

“My spell” Hantel gasped in pain. “How could this be?”.

But not everyone was caught completely unawares. Gon, who had honed his lightning quick reflexes in his past training, positioned himself to face two of the monsters that were coming from him. Gon turned a decapitating strike into a small gash on his face as he sidestepped, and the second creature tripped on a branch that was on its way, making the axe's swing go wild and off target. Its balance lost, Gon didn't hesitate, stepping forward and punching through the monster with his longsword, the blade's tip emerging from its back after the attack was completed.

Upon retracting the blade, Gon noticed something curious in it. “I thought that undead didn't have blood” he commented, losing his focus of the battle for a brief instant. His sword was coated in red after slaying the supposedly undead monster, and this confused the soldier. Gon looked at the other bone-white creature that attacked him, squinting his eyes, which widened a moment later after his analysis was complete.

Gilliam could have dispatched both undead with him in the span of six seconds, of that he was sure, but the sounds of pain coming from behind, especially those of the healers, made him change tactics in a flash.

“Protect Han and Kahleen!” he shouted as he began to run towards them. The undead duo that was flaking him didn't feel like letting him go easily, and both attacked the departing mercenary. Their axes barely clipped Gilliam's cloak as he ran past them at an incredible speed, his training at moving quickly through the battlefield paying off very well.

Hearing the command, Vincent moved his body to face Hantel, who was lifting his staff in a feeble attempt to block more slashing attacks from the undead. The squire charged at one, forgetting all about the two harassing him, but was given a painful reminder about their existence when one's axe managed to find a gap in his greave, almost making him topple over from the loss of balance and sudden pain.

Hantel Raft was merely five feet away, but Vincent had to put a great deal of effort to get one of his legs to move forward the remaining distance. He stabbed at the undead that was looking away from him, and the spear's sharp tip penetrated the monster's skeleton just fine by the spinal cord. Curiously enough, severing that connection did put the monster to sleep permanently, although Vincent did not expect that from a supposedly unliving creature.

“My thanks, Vincent” Hantel said in return for the assistance. However, the other small menace was still there, not taking its crimson eyes off the priest, and slashed at him once again, as the old man had no possible defense other than his chainmail. It did not count on Gilliam's bastard sword decapitating his head from behind as the mercenary reached the priest just in time.

“Can you not chase them away with divine energies, Han?” Gilliam asked, placing himself right by Hantel in order to keep the priest safe from further attacks.

“I am afraid that these beings might not be undead after all” the priest returned cryptically, and Gilliam did not have time to ponder on its meaning, but he did not need to: copious amounts of red liquid were emerging from the beheaded monster. The two 'undead' he had abandoned had reached him, eager to finish what they were all-too intent on doing with him, along with the other two from Vincent. Stopping one of them was doable, but the second one could potentially slip past them and reach the already wounded priest.

“Heal Kahleen, I will distract them!” Darius told Gon hurriedly as they rushed after the shaman, barely ten feet away from them. Darius had dispatched the 'undead' with him with a wide swing of his sword and the added brawn from his belt, and Gon had finished his by performing a quick feint, followed by a devastating thrust.

“Fine” the roguish soldier replied, as if he was given a disgusting chore to perform. While Darius charged at the two 'undead', Gon jumped above them with ease, twisting in mid-air to avoid their attacks, landing right next to Kahleen just as Darius attempted to hack at one of the 'undead', and missed.

Kahleen was sporting two nasty wounds on her chest and arms, but she seemed to be able to remain on her feet for the time being. Gon began to draw the slender healing wand from his belt just as he watched the two 'undead' assault her once more. It all seemed to happen in slow-motion: Kahleen batting away one axe blade with her bow in a desperate maneuver. She ended up with Blood Moon below her waist, resulting in her inability to block the next attack from the other undead's companion.

Blood spurted from the new, deep injury on her body, and Kahleen had to lean against Gon in order to avoid losing her balance and remain standing. Without wasting another second, Gon jabbed the shaman on the ribs with the wand as he activated the wand's power to heal her.

Nothing happened. The soldier stared at it in disbelief, positively sure that it was still charged with essence. He realized then that he missed a small but crucial step in the activation, hurried as he was in the heat of the battle.

To make matters worse, sounds of more of these small bony monsters began to emerge from the nearby woods.

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

Chapter 28

Rage

Gilliam could not be certain, but he heard at the very least eight more of these goblins-for that was what they were in actuality-coming from two directions at the group. It certainly did not help that one of the casters was grievously wounded, with the addition of the other one having received his fair share of slashes from the skeletal goblins.

“Gon, Darius, shield Kahleen; we will protect Han!” he shouted, or rather, tried to, for his voice died as soon as he realized that the world around him was beginning to fill with darkness, enveloping everything in sight, including his allies. Desperate, the mercenary looked around for the source of this strange occurrence, but failed to find it.

And then he saw that which brought forth his deepest fears and doubts right in front of him, making him collapse to the ground, screaming at the top of his lungs like a madman. Barely five feet away from him, Vincent turned his head to glance at his bodyguard, not understanding why he was acting like that.

“Gilliam, what’s wrong with you?” he asked, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible in their current predicament. Since the response came in further screams of desperation from the man, Vincent steeled himself for what was about to come: four of the goblins, since the two with Gilliam did not see any reason to bother with him. The squire felt a gentle pat on his back, indicating that Hantel required his attention.

“Look after Gilliam, good squire; I shall take care of myself and the others” Hantel informed him before he began to pray for a spell. How the Seer intended to do so, only the Gods actually knew, and Vincent sidestepped in order to stand next to Gilliam. “The roles are reversed, for once” the squire muttered to himself as he assumed an exclusively defensive posture.

The four goblins came at him in pairs, forming a cross around him, each equally eager on spilling some elven blood in that very instant. A quartet of crude axes sliced the air in unison, and as one they were repelled by a combination of Vincent’s full plate armor, his shield, and finally, his protective ring, causing some blows to deviate from target in the last second.

Such luck would only last for so long for the squire.

“Keep them off of me; I can’t possibly fight with Kahleen at the verge of collapse!” Darius bade Gon just as a goblin axe struck true and bit onto his unprotected leg. He tried retaliating, but the blow was easily dodged, as the soldier’s efforts were put into protecting himself and the shaman instead of killing the goblins.

Gon was having a slightly harder time with the current goblinoid than with the ones he had dispatched mere seconds ago. Instead of falling for the soldier’s quick feint, the creature ignored it and blocked the long sword that came after it just fine, sneering at him in defiance.

“No can do, Broken Blade; this one is smarter than the others” Gon replied almost casually. “Or should I say, less stupid?” he added as an afterthought. As if the goblin could understand his remark, it suddenly leapt forward, chopping down with the axe at full speed. Sidestepping was all Gon could do to avoid losing a leg in the process, getting a nasty injury on the limb instead.

“Well, great” the now-chastised Gon said dryly.

Kahleen felt like her life force was being drained away, and in fact it was exactly the case, for her wounds oozed with blood in a constant flow. She was bracing Blood Moon with one hand, using the other one to get a firm hold of Darius in order to stay upright. All that discomfort went away as a sudden surge of soothing relief entered her body from behind.

From one instant to the next, Gilliam opened his eyes as he came back to reality. What had seemed to him like an eternity of pain had been no more than five seconds in actuality, and the only change he noticed was Vincent standing in guard next to him surrounded by four goblins. The trauma of seeing his dead wife had weakened his spirit, and nearly killed his body from the shock, but he had resisted it. Gilliam’s emotions now went from fear to annoyance and from annoyance to anger. Anger at the goblins that surrounded his protégé, at whomever it was that had assaulted his mind with that vile magic.

You must never surrender your mind to senseless rage, squire his teacher had instructed him.

Why? With such a powerful emotion, one can beat any enemy; slay any foe he had replied with determination.

But his teacher had shaken his head at this. Not always is such feeling a boon, squire Araby. It may drive you away from your one true goal: defending your cause, or the person you must defend at the time. Such behavior is not proper for a knight, and may as well be the end of your purpose, if not your life.

The words, said to him many years ago, were still fresh in his mind, yet Gilliam saw them as more the reason to go against them. In the span of a second, he was back on his feet besides Vincent, both swords in hand. He did not realize it, but he was screaming again. Although this time it was not from fear, but pure unbridled rage. Where a mercenary had once stood, the spot was taken by an unstoppable killing machine.

“Your miserable lives end here and now” he promised the goblins in a voice that gave the four of them pause. They were usually fearless beings, inspiring terror in their enemies through their resemblance to undead, but this human seemed different from any other they had encountered.

Gilliam began to move his arms in a blur without warning, and within the span of four seconds, the goblins surrounding him and Vincent dropped to the floor, dead, each sporting a gruesome cut on their small bodies. It had taken him exactly one second to perform each killing slash.

Just as this happened, the new wave of goblins came at them, hooting and screeching with abandon. There was about nine of the monsters, each carrying a battle axe like the current ones did.

For the mercenary, absorbed in his raging state, they only appeared as more meat to grind into little pieces. Still, he was not invincible by any means, Vincent knew this much, and he decided to stay with Gilliam in order to take away some blows from him.

With a roar that rivaled and even surpassed that of the incoming goblins altogether, Gilliam charged, followed by Vincent, who was forced to strain himself in order to keep up.

“I’ve never seen you like this, Gil” Vincent commented, but his bodyguard did not seem in the state of mind to process, let alone answer the words.

Yet more goblins emerged from the opposite side of the mist. Eleven of the creatures dashed after the rest of the group, and they were lead by the wailing spirit that had passed by earlier.

“Ignore the apparition, it’s not real” Kahleen said, seeing the supposed ghost for what it was in reality, a figment created by magic. By who’s magic, the shaman could only theorize. And true enough, the ghost went through them once more, dealing no harm whatsoever.

Seeing that she was as good as new, Darius skewed defense for an all-out attack against the goblin that was assaulting him, eviscerating the small bony thing with a quick sword strike. Gon did as well, managing to successfully catch his opponent off-guard and piercing its neck with his blade.

This gave them a few seconds respite to receive the incoming goblin squad, desiring more than ever to slaughter them due to the death of their comrades. Kahleen was well enough to fire arrows at them, but as if inspired by Gilliam’s savage display, the shaman summoned her inner magic to surround her figure, changing to that of a brown bear after a soft green aura surrounded her. Unfortunately for them, the goblins were too filled with raw emotions to consider the threat of the shape shifted woman.

The eleven goblins went down to nine as Kahleen mauled the first two to reach her, and those nine turned into seven just as the soldiers combined their blades to end an additional pair of the monsters.

Their turn to strike back had come after the initial welcome, and the goblins proved to make up for their lack of toughness with their fierce strength. Kahleen received two telling axe hits, and for all the toughness of her bear hide, the attacks managed to undo part of the healing that Hantel had done. Still, with her new shape, she had obtained the endurance of an actual bear, making it easier for her to withstand injuries.

Darius had expected the goblin that came for him, and the small monster could not bypass the soldier’s perfect parry. He thought everything was under control, and was proven wrong with Gon calling for help. The other soldier was placed five feet from him, and he was being flanked by two goblins.

“I can’t be expected to deal with this in a regular basis” Gon was cursing as he avoided an incoming axe blade, then turning around swiftly out of instinct in order to block the other one from behind.

Nothing could be done about the remaining two goblins, their faces showing wicked smiles that promised pain to the priest, who merely stood a couple of feet behind the others. Surprisingly enough, Hantel kept a serene composure even in the face of death, and the goblins discovered that the old man had a reason: when they were but at arm’s length from him, they found that for the life of them they could not will themselves to attack Hantel.

“Berethor’s sanctuary will keep me away from your axes, foul ones” the Seer informed them, unaware if they could understand him or not. Almost methodically, Hantel walked past the two goblins and started to invoke a prayer of healing onto Kahleen’s furry body. To say the goblins were angered by this was an understatement.

Hantel’s prayer turned into a yelp of pain as a huge black and red centipede manifested itself from the mist and clamped its sharp pincers on his neck, threatening to rip it wide open. The priest’s condition went from slightly hurt to seriously injured with the vermin’s attack, and he could very well feel its poison seeping away his ability to coordinate his body.

“Lord of Clarity, help me” he begged weakly, just as the monstrous centipede reared back for another assault that would definitely be the end of him.

 

[Megapurrr]

The fighting scenes are definitely improving. I really liked how you descrived how Gilliam's fear turned to rage, and turned him into a killing berserker; it gave us a little more background on why he stopped being a knight...
Perhaps the battle scene became a little long when descriving each blow, but stopping it in the middle made a good cliffhanger.
I can't wait for the next one!

MP

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

Thank you for your opinion on the matter, Megapurr, it's highly valued and appreciated

I'm glad you see improvements, since I can feel I've made tweaks to battle scenes without really knowing what I did exactly.

With regards to the battle being a bit long since I took the time to describe certain attacks, would you care to give an example, so I have an idea of what you're referring to? I tried to keep each attack to a minimum, but if you feel they could be shorter (and still interesting) do tell

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

Chapter 29

The puppeteer

Darius could not help but take a quick look behind in order to see what had happened to the priest. The sight of Hantel being bitten by the enormous devilish bug filled him with dread, since the scene reminded him all too well of Lazarus being slaughtered by a giant ape in the warehouse. Were all agents of Berethor that accompanied them destined to die in the hands of a monster that came out of nowhere?

In her animal form, Kahleen roared as she turned in the opposite direction of the goblins that were hacking at her, performing a mad charge against the huge centipede. She swiped at its red and black hide just before it was able to land a blow upon the weakened Hantel, opening three parallel slashes on it. The priest visibly relaxed once he saw that this was not his end, for the devilish vermin switched targets from him to the bear. While the centipede had managed to muster the force of will to go through the magic of his sanctuary, the other goblins were still unable to do so.

The blond soldier witnessed all of this in that quick glance, but that one second of distraction allowed the goblin to take careful aim and slash at his exposed leg, causing Darius to yelp in pain as his attention got drawn back to his opponent. By now he was beginning to feel weakened for all the hits he had taken.

“I survived a giant’s attack, I’m not going down here” he swore vehemently as he counter attacked with a vicious slash of his own. A moment later, the goblin’s body fell to the floor, limp, and its head did likewise afterwards.

Now that he was free, he considered for a moment going after Gon, who was practically dancing in between two goblins in order to avoid their axes; another quick look at Kahleen and Hantel indicated that they were in worse circumstances, for the four goblins targeted the shape shifted shaman, who was already fighting the centipede. Without wasting another instant, Darius yelled fiercely while he ran to the aid of his companions.

“That’s right, leave me alone, help the others” Gon said in a low voice, clearly not intending for his words to reach the soldier. Evading the two simultaneous attacks from the goblins was going to tire him in a short period of time, but he did not see how in the Hells he could possibly alter that, as he stayed on the defensive in order to avoid being cleaved in two.

Just as the goblins began to hack at him once more, an idea struck him. Gon jumped up high in the air, timing the maneuver just right so that the pair of axes collided with each other on the spot where he had been. The resounding impact caused the perplexed goblinoids to lose their focus for a moment. This was exactly what Gon was counting on.

“The game’s over, go visit your ancestors in the Nether realm” the roguish soldier informed the two as he landed back on the ground, his hands high in the air holding his sword right before it descended rapidly upon one goblin, cutting out its arm at the shoulder. The result was a prone thrashing goblin, bleeding to death. Its friend did not seem intimidated by the other’s eventual death, and it attempted another strike at Gon. He turned around, deflected the axe head and swept one leg by the ground, effectively taking the goblin’s legs secure footing.

Once the small creature fell onto the grass, it took an almost methodical downward thrust from Gon to finish it.

No more than thirty feet away, Gilliam Araby was wrecking the goblin squad as if he had turned into an entity of retribution, with his adamantine blades mowing about in a blur, so fast they were moving. The goblins had attempted to surround him and Vincent, but they quickly realized that the former was able to drop one of their kin with each brutal slash of a blade, and Gilliam could pull off four of those for each one of their attacks. When the eleven goblins were turned to seven due to Gilliam’s swords, the remaining ones displayed an uncharacteristic show of intelligence, jumping back several feet from the enraged mercenary.

“You’re not living this place alive” Gilliam promised grimly, charging with abandon at the supposedly retreating goblins. In his fit of anger, he did not notice what they were intending to do. Vincent did, but as he tried to warn him, it was already too late.

“Gil, NO!” the squire called desperately as Gilliam stepped into the trap. He was able to slash at one goblin as he reached them, but the creature managed to dodge the attack. The retribution from the goblins came swiftly and as mercilessly as Gilliam’s earlier kills. Five goblins stepped forward, forming a tight semi-circle around him, and each one had been holding back their axes until that moment.

A quintet of goblin weapons scythed the air between them and the human, just as their owners screamed like awakened demons. Rusty, yet sharp iron crunched on mithral links, and three sections of the armor gave to the pressure, permitting the axes to continue their movement into Gilliam’s skin and muscle. The mercenary cried out, but instead of weakening him, the attack seemed to have enraged him further. Covered in both goblin blood and his own, Gilliam gritted his teeth against the pain, unleashing four more devastating cuts at his enemies.

Three of the four targets fell down, each sporting a vicious cut; the fourth one had been cunning enough to block the blade’s movement with his weapon. The survivor of the onslaught attempted another axe strike, seeing Gilliam severely injured, but a spear’s tip went right into its lung, piercing it and preventing it from drawing any more air. Vincent kicked the goblin in order to dislodge the spear, taking a step in front of his bodyguard.

“Step aside, I can handle them” Gilliam insisted through gritted teeth to his protégé, his current physical state contradicting his claim. Vincent shook his head as he considered the remaining trio of goblins.

“I’m afraid you need to step back, Gil, if you are to survive the battle” Vincent said to him in an even tone. Before Gilliam could reply, the goblins charged at the armored elf, ignoring the fact that the others had fallen mere seconds ago. Even though he wished for this conflict to end without more bloodshed, Vincent resigned himself to facing off the remnants of the goblin force.

His keen elven ears perked up, then, as he could have sworn he heard strange chanting coming from the misty area ahead of them. Before he could even think of what was occurring, a sudden flash of fire appeared within the thick mist not far away from where he was at, and it began to travel after him at an impossibly fast speed.

“Gah!” Vincent yelled in surprise as the source of this fire, a snake made entirely of raging flames, jumped at him, exploding upon impact in a brief rain of ashes and sparks. Vincent’s chest plate was left blackened, but he did not get hurt much thanks to his magical ring. There was a loud noise of a metal object colliding with his armor then, and he realized that the goblins had been unaffected by the fiery snake.

Before he could complain, Gilliam darted past him, smiting the offending goblin with his sword, opening a gap in its neck from where its life went out. The last two goblins approached as well, and one met its end by Vincent’s spear as it went through its windpipe.

Only then did the one remaining monster’s courage falter, and it turned around abruptly in order to make a hasty retreat. The goblin’s red eyes stared at the duo with hatred for a brief moment as it looked back while running away.

Gilliam’s shoulders sagged as the rage and adrenaline played out, and he looked more tired than he usually did at the end of any battle. He looked around, almost at a loss, seeing all the goblin corpses lying on the floor, their lives taken for the most part by sword cuts.

Recalling the rest of the group with a jolt, Vincent spun, only to see the other four alive, although some of them were worse for wear. Darius and Gon sported different sets of wounds, the former more serious by far, while Hantel looked like he was about to collapse, and the shaman had returned to her half-elven shape, looking very tired. There was no sign of the centipede, and the four goblins that had attacked the shaman were all dead, mostly from wounds that a bear would have caused.

“We helped with the centipede” Darius told the concerned squire as he approached them. The soldier was kneeling on the grass, using his sword as a support, giving him the look of a great knight who was swearing allegiance to his liege. “Kahleen smashed the goblins all by herself” he said, then glancing at Hantel. “The Seer kept pouring healing energies into her as she took hit after hit from all sides, even though he was in great peril during the battle”.

Meanwhile, Gon approached the grievously wounded priest wordlessly, wearing a distant expression. He pointed his healing wand at Hantel’s body, and summoned the item’s magic, which came out as a misty white glow that closed all priest’s wounds.

“Thank you, Gon” Hantel said in response to the much-needed healing. Rather than talking, the rogue merely nodded absently and walked towards Darius, doing the same thing with the soldier.

“Much appreciated” the blond warrior said to Gon in earnest, although his counterpart did not seem to notice. Gon turned around and walked towards Vincent, who likewise thanked him after he used the wand of him, although it took two tries for it to work this time. Finally, he went for Gilliam, who was looking around the nearby area, as if expecting another ambush. After healing his wounds for the most part, Gon flicked the wand in his hand before snapping it in two.

“No more magic” he informed the rest as he threw the two halves to the ground. Hantel approached Gon and cast a minor healing spell on him, closing most of his injuries through a cerulean glow that emanated from the Seer’s hands. The soldier said a “Thanks” in a low voice.

Vincent ceased watching Gon and noticed Kahleen summoning an orange aura around her, although there was no visible change when it dissipated. “I have purged the centipede’s poison from my body” she explained calmly. “Hantel, may I…?” she inquired at the old priest, but he shook his head. “Nay, good woman, keep your magic for something more important than this; although fragile, my body will hold for now”.

“Let’s go”.

Everyone looked in the direction of the mercenary, who stood in one spot, swords drawn. He looked dead tired, but an iron determination shone in those gray orbs of his.

“What’s the hurry, boss? We got them good, now we can rest” Gon pointed out.

“No, we can’t rest now” Gilliam instantly retorted. “We need to find the source behind this ambush here and now”. Vincent’s eyes widened as he considered his words. The squire nodded slowly as he uttered a single word.

“Ignus”. Gilliam indicated he was right with a nod of his own. This did not seem to relieve the rest in any way.

“Who is this Ignus that you speak of?” Hantel inquired with concern.

“A wizard of considerable power who tried, unsuccessfully so far, to kill us all” Darius explained to him. “His presence would explain the appearance of that huge centipede”.

“He attacked me with some foul sorcery, and then launched a fire spell at Vincent. We need to put a stop to him now, now that he’s close-by and he’s by himself” Gilliam told the others with a tone of finality.

Kahleen sighed as she considered their current situation. “Gilliam, you’re tired, very tired, and the rest of us aren’t much better” she said. But the mercenary simply shrugged, as if it did not matter. “Have you got enough healing magic, Hantel?” he asked.

The priest considered this briefly. “Indeed, I do. Not much, however, since I used part of it during the battle, but enough for another one”. His voice and choice of words indicated how much he abhorred the idea of rushing into another bloody confrontation.

“Then we go” Gilliam declared, turning around quickly and starting to walk at a brisk pace into the woods ahead. Everyone followed at length, each sharing looks of concerned as they did. Not one of them voiced any objections, for in the end Gilliam was right; to allow the mage to escape would mean further troubles down the road, which would likely be worse than what they had encountered so far.

The six traveled close to each other, like they had done so far in their travels, mustering as much silence as they could. The Spirit Wood was as eerie and silent as ever, especially now that they were expecting something or someone to come out of the mist at every step. Every now and then, some of the group swore they heard strange invocations being spoken not far away.

After what felt like an endless walk, but in actuality had been no more than a handful of minutes, Kahleen called for an abrupt halt. She began to summon essence in the shape of a red nimbus, centering it upon herself.

“What did you do?” Darius inquired in a voice that revealed how much tension he felt at the time.

“Conjured essence to protect myself” she replied in her usual serene tone. “From what?” pressed the soldier, not fully understanding.

The shaman gestured ahead of the group with a hand. “Him”.

A sound of hands clapping together emerged from twenty feet ahead of the six, its source now obvious. “Bravo, shaman, very perceptive of you” the invisible Ignus praised in earnest. “Pray tell, how did you notice my presence?”.

“Your feet, although invisible to the naked eye, still flatten the grass beneath you, and I can tell when it’s ‘normal’ or not” Kahleen replied without sounding proud at the least.
An image of Ignus began to emerge from the mist, until it was merely ten feet from Gilliam, who was leading the group. Once more, the wizard’s appearance was one of a robed man without a head, but somehow managing to talk nonetheless.

“Seems like the giant didn’t do it” Ignus observed casually. “And so it seems like I’ll have to get my hands red with your blood if I’m to ever rid myself of you”.

Gilliam spat on the ground in response. “To the Hells with your condescension, mage, we’re here to end your tricks once and for all” he declared, although his words sounded less powerful with his tired tone.

“You’ll pay” Darius said. “For Lazarus, Janis and Mathias!” he finished by swinging his sword around for emphasis. Ignus merely laughed in return.

“Is this what your mission is all about? Vengeance? In any case, I say we move on from the pointless exchange of words and step right into the part when we blow you up into nothingness”.

“We?” Vincent asked in disbelief. He could not see or hear anyone else, but then he visibly paled as the wizard’s statement suddenly became very much possible. “Indeed. You get to meet my two apprentices, right before I sent you to the Nether” Ignus graciously informed them.

Two robed figures appeared to the sides of Ignus’ headless form, each placed at a respectful distance of ten feet from their mentor: a human male and an elven woman, both carrying runic wands in their hands.

“You’re all smoke and mirrors, Ignus; your tricks don’t affect us anymore!” Gilliam shouted with resolution. His conviction was thrown to the four winds as the two supposedly illusory apprentices grasped ruby gems that hung from their necklaces, took aim, and threw them at the six.

They exploded at the same time like small supernovas, each generating an explosion equal to that of a fireball.

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

Chapter 30

Showdown

Everyone in the group gasped and screamed as they attempted to avoid the worst of the explosions. Gilliam succeeded in rolling away from the flames in order to reduce the damage, and Gon practically jumped above them with perfect precision, getting his boots barely singed in the process as the only consequence. The rest did not fare so well, as Darius and Hantel were greatly burned by the explosion; Vincent and Kahleen were not able to dodge in time, but the squire’s ring and the shaman’s protective magic spared them from some burns.

The smoke was clearing quickly, while the grass in a twenty foot radius remained blackened, and already the trio of arcane mystics was conjuring magic. Even to the warriors of the group it seemed as if they were all casting almost the exact same spell. Once they were done, the two apprentices vanished from sight, and Ignus did likewise a second later, for the illusionist added extra syllables to the spell. Everyone could hear the mage’s steps as he moved away from the others.

“Can you do anything about that?” Gilliam asked the casters behind him. Hantel replied he could not, but Kahleen answered enigmatically that she “had something for such an eventuality”. Before anything else was done, both priest and shaman channeled their respective magic in order to ease some of the wounds from Darius and Vincent.

Meanwhile, Gilliam charged after the human apprentice. “Gon, you’re with me” he informed the rogue as he ran forward. Gon did not hesitate and joined the mercenary in his assault. They reached the spot where the arcanist had been mere seconds ago and almost in unison they attacked in that direction.

Neither Gilliam nor Gon’s attack struck anything but air. Darius and Vincent were attempting the same thing with the other apprentice, and their luck was just as bad.

“How are we to defend ourselves if we can’t see them?” Vincent asked in a slightly desperate tone, looking around the forest, hoping to have the answer make itself manifest out of thin air. His words were responded by further spellcasting from the three arcanists, but much to their relief the spells did not make any apparent change.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, we’re just finishing our preparations to your demise” the disembodied voice of Ignus informed them from somewhere behind the two other mages. Hantel paid it no heed, as he was deep into spellcasting, summoning divine energies in order to heal all his wounds with an azure nimbus that covered him from top to bottom.

The four warriors did not know how to proceed, for in front of them there was only misty air, and no more. The situation changed considerably when they felt the ground moving beneath their feet. Vincent yelped in surprise when he felt something grab at his ankle; roots were beginning to emerge from the grassy ground, grasping blindly at everyone situated in a wide radius.

“Kahleen, what in the Hells are you doing?” Gilliam demanded to know, his guess being correct about the phenomena being the shaman’s handiwork. “Keep your eyes forward, not downwards, and you will see” she replied calmly.

The four stopped worrying about the groping roots for a moment, and only then did they notice them latching around what looked like empty air. “They can still be caught” Darius reasoned as he saw the roots that were attempting to twist around the invisible figure in front of him.

No one needed much encouragement to strike at either mage. Darius’ sword cut only air once more, and Vincent’s spear did likewise even though they could get an approximation of the apprentice’s location now. Gilliam and Gon managed to land one solid blow each, but it did not feel to them like they had hurt the magi much, as little blood dropped from its still invisible owner.

In reaction to being hit, the apprentice cast a spell, making the air shimmer around where he was located, but no more. His female companion’s outline became visible once more when she raised her slender wand with an amber tip, aiming for Darius. A word of power was spoken, and one flaming serpent emerged from its tip, hissing and spitting fire at the blond soldier as it launched itself towards him. Darius could not defend himself from it with his sword, nor did his armor prove efficient against the magic, and he felt an intense burn on his left arm when the snake struck there and exploded.

Kahleen looked left, and then right at each group of combatants, finally allowing her gaze to remain in the middle of them. She nodded to herself and begun to channel essence around her body. Just then, a single arcane word was uttered from afar, its source no other than Ignus, who had been waiting for her to make the move. The shaman felt constricting forces forming around her, attempting to leave her paralyzed, and she made a supreme effort through her tiredness to resist the power. As soon as it had started, it went away, and her body relaxed, allowing her to finish the spell.

Seeing Darius more hurt than ever, Hantel rushed to his aid as quickly as his debilitated body allowed, and he somehow avoided the thrashing roots by smacking them out of his way with his trusted staff. He made it right behind the soldier and prayed to Berethor for a healing spell, not for the last time in the day, he knew. Darius felt his recent burn go away, but his earlier injuries remained there nonetheless.

Renewed by Hantel’s magic, Darius focused solely on the offense this time. The problem was, he realized, that there were five, not one, of the elven mage, each acting and looking like the real one. Darius cut through one with great precision, but after it dissipated in a flash he figured it was not the real one. “How in the Hells” he muttered, frustrated. Right next to him, Vincent attempted the same with his weapon, and the woman was pierced by the stomach right before dissolving into nothingness as well.

The elven mage laughed as she began spellcasting once more, filling the two with dread.

With his impressive speed, Gilliam would have had no problem in slashing at the mage and tearing him into little pieces in no time, but it was not going to happen: Kahleen’s summoned entangling roots now played against him, impeding him from moving another inch forward. Gon was in similar straits, and instead of attacking the mage he had to take the time to cut the roots away.

A flash of fire appeared in front of them, heralding the appearance of another flaming snake from the now-visible man. He targeted Gilliam, seeing him as less nimble than Gon, and the mercenary could not for the life of him avoid the fiery magic with his legs trapped by the roots. The snake bit him in the neck, exploding and leaving a nasty burn in that part of his body. Before he had been tired, but now Gilliam felt truly exhausted, getting closer to the point of dropping down from all that he had been through recently. How much longer could he stay up and fight?

Vincent felt sleepy. Sure, he was tired from all the fighting, but this feeling was beyond reasonable, and his eyes just refused to stay open. Suddenly the ground, living roots and all, did look rather inviting for a nap, and he toppled over…

…but this insistent voice kept trying to take that precious sleep away from him. “Wake up, good squire! This isn’t the time for rest!” the voice of an old man kept repeating over and over. It was Hantel, he realized at length. Startled as he was, Vincent could not immediately shake off the feeling of sleepiness, and he began to climb back to his feet with the priest’s help.

In the meantime, a small ivory figurine of a coiled whip appeared out of thin air, and after a command word was spoken it glowed, enlarging and transforming itself into a real weapon which floated on its own accord. An invisible hand pointed towards a target, and the magical weapon abided to its owner’s wish.

Darius had felt the sleepiness as well, and was surprised to see Vincent actually fall asleep to the ground in the span of a second, right after the mage had worked her spell of slumber, and he felt fortunate to have resisted the spell. Instead of targeting one of the shifting images of the robed woman, the soldier closed his eyes and performed a wide horizontal slash with his blade. The satisfactory sound of fabric being ripped, along with skin and muscle, announced that he had been on target. Now the three images bore the same wide cut on their robes by the waist.

Having released themselves from the restraint of the ever-moving vegetation, Gon and Gilliam proceeded to take the human apprentice down once and for all. He manifested mirrored images of himself like the other one, but the combination attack of the mercenary and soldier removed him of his illusory protection. The man paled at this, but held his ground, pointing at Gilliam with his wand once more, conjuring the deadly serpent at him.

This time, the mercenary was able to dodge part of the explosion, but his energy was depleted by both the burn and the effort of dodging it. His breath became even more labored, and Gon glanced sideways at him, expecting Gilliam to collapse at the slightest breeze of air.

A floating whip came from behind the mage, rearing back right before snapping forward, twisting its length around Gilliam’s sword, and pulling back. It was all Gilliam could do to avoid being driven to the ground by releasing his grip on the sword, allowing the floating whip to disarm him partially.

Vincent and Darius were confident that they could finish the elven mage on their own, especially now that she had been caught fully by the moving roots, rendering her immobile. Vincent thrust forward with his spear, but he heard a voice from farther ahead tell him a message of great importance, stopping his attack.

“Do not strike her with the spear, it will cause you your death!”.

Not wanting to meet his end, Vincent promptly dropped the weapon, opting to punch at the mage instead. His attack was clumsy, to say the least, and he did not even hit a fake image. Darius was so flabbergasted by this that he stayed his own strike, staring at the squire in silent disbelief.

The blond soldier was drawn from his stupefaction by a high pitched screech that came from above. An abnormally large bat was flying fifteen feet from the ground, moving swiftly to the space behind the two mages, looking for something or someone.

Not far away, Gon feinted low with his sword, making his overhead chop unavoidable to the fragile mage, cutting a long wound on the side of the head, bypassing his magical wards. Gilliam would have added his own right there and then, but he felt like dropping dead rather than fighting. A surge of energy came into his body like a rushing river passed through an opened dam, restoring part of his potency.

“Thanks, Han” he said while stepping forward and slashing the already hurt mage across the chest. Now it was the mage’s turn to look at the verge of annihilation, his eyes shining with fear of his demise.

It was strange for Kahleen to obtain the shape of a bat, mostly since she had not been in it for a long time, as the animal’s sonar was its only source of perception to guide itself. Still, for the purpose she needed it now, it would have to suffice. She flew over past the humanoid shapes that were moving about, making a beeline towards the solitary person not far away from the rest. Her sonar informed her that the robed man was moving his arms about, but no more. She could only hope to reach him in time.

Kahleen swooped down upon Ignus, claws outstretched, just as the illusionist finalized his spell. A spark appeared on his open palm, which quickly multiplied into thousands of other sparks as Ignus reached out for the shapeshifted shaman and grasped her foot firmly.

“They say I’m quite the electrifying fellow” Ignus commented casually. “Or at least, that’s what the spirits of the people I killed with this spell said” he added, right before he unleashed the electricity of the spell.

Kahleen felt as if every cell of her body went on fire from one moment to the next, and everything went black.

 

[Cerulean_Wings]

How happy am I with this last chapter? Uber-happy, that's how happy I am

After you read it, why don't you let me know if you're happy as well? Pretty please?


Chapter 31

Determination and faith

The elven mage, trapped by the entangling roots, could not hope to move away from the pair of fighters in order to cast a spell safely. Out of options, she attempted to conjure her magic defensively, putting extra effort into avoiding getting hit in the midst of the spell. Blue fire manifested on her hands, burning intensely, but leaving the caster unaffected. She finished the spell with a wide arm movement, and the fires intensified.

Nothing happened. The fire stayed there, and slowly began to dissipate. Disbelief and panic could easily be seen in the woman’s face as she saw her only means of defense gone.

Her companion, the human mage, was greatly wounded due to Gon and Gilliam’s efforts. He did not have the strength to pull off another spell, or even activate his wand, and saw only death forthcoming for him at the hands of the two men in front of him. With a mighty effort, the man clasped his ruby necklace tightly and yanked another ruby free with one hand.

“To the Hells with you!” the mage shouted with a hint of madness, right before throwing the ruby at his feet. Everyone in the vicinity knew what was forthcoming, but none could do anything but watch.

Boom

From the point of the explosion, raging flames rushed in a radius of twenty feet with unstoppable power, burning everything in their wake. This included the four warriors, the priest, and at the same time, the other apprentice. The latter collapsed dead from the severe burns she received, unable to draw another breath.

The only ones who managed to avoid part of the fireball were Gilliam and Darius; Vincent’s ring once again defended him from fire, and Gon’s reflexes faltered as he did not see the suicide maneuver in time. Hantel was burned as well, but since he had healed his earlier burns the priest did not lose his footing.

With the two mages dead, this only left one thing.

“Ignus” Darius said with his gaze focused ahead where the giant bat that was Kahleen was being electrocuted by an invisible force.

Gilliam was about to dash forward when his sixth sense kicked in, telling him to dodge. He ducked just in time, and the animated whip’s coil cracked an inch above his head. “How do you stop it?” he asked no one in particular.

The darkness gave way as soon as Kahleen focused her senses back into reality. Her animal body had spasms in short intervals, but she could somehow manage to stay in the air. Ignus had not moved from his position, and with her sonar the shaman was able to spot the invisible wizard. With a wild screech, Kahleen swooped down and clawed at him, drawing a pair of gashed in his shoulders, ripping the fabric of the robe in those places.

“My, aren’t you persistent” the illusionist observed, not really wounded from the attack. He was about to conjure more magic to bring Kahleen down once and for all, but the sounds of an exploding fireball drew his attention elsewhere.

His two apprentices were now dead, apparently due to one’s exploding ruby. The other five threats, however, were still alive and able to cause him harm. Ignus quickly assessed that Gilliam and Gon would be able to reach him in no time, living roots or not, while Vincent and Darius had been caught by the moving vegetation.

Putting his own safety above the desire to slaughter the weakened bat-shaman, Ignus chanted a spell swiftly, just as both Gilliam and Gon ran after him. They could not see him, but Kahleen’s attack gave him a general idea of his current position. The floating whip could not keep up with the mercenary, and it was unable to smack him as he moved away.

After finishing the spell, Ignus began to elevate from the ground, defying the laws of gravity due to the power he had just invoked. Kahleen had other things in mind, though, and she assaulted the illusionist once more, causing yet another pair of wounds. The trailing blood now began to betray the mage’s invisibility.

Gilliam had no clue about what to do. From the looks of it, Ignus was beginning to float in the air, and there was little chance he could catch him once he got airborne. In a stroke of genius, the mercenary dropped his remaining bastard sword as he drew forth two throwing daggers. Gon seemed to catch on, and he drew his own small blade as well.

As one, they jumped high as they reached Ignus, their arms up in the air with their weapons aiming forward. For a moment it looked like they were about to fall facedown to the ground, tet both warriors had luck on their side, and their knives cut through Ignus’ thick robes, allowing them to hold onto the mage. They looked as if they were climbing an invisible cliff.

Ignus’ ascent was abruptly halted then, since his spell had a limit on how much weight it could lift up. The mage hovered merely ten feet from the ground, with two men hanging from him with knives and hands, and a giant bat stationed right next to him. Things could not have gone any more awry for Ignus.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to release me” he informed the two below him as he started to speak words of arcane power. “Or else”. When the spell was completed, a dark pulsating aura coated Ignus’ silhouette from head to toe. Its intended effect became obvious when Gilliam and Gon felt dark energies hurt them in virtue of being in contact with Ignus.

“How long can you hold on to me, I wonder?” the arrogant mage said almost to himself. Kahleen would have attacked him once more, if only that dangerous aura was not there, for her current situation was one of rapidly depleting energies. The shaman channeled an amber essence around her in order to heal part of the hurt from Ignus’ shocking grasp, and then stayed afloat next to the mage.

“God forsaken roots!” Darius cursed as he hacked several of the impeding vegetation away with a heavy two-handed slash. Still, the things kept growing back rapidly, keeping him and Vincent in one spot, as much as they would have liked to help their companions.

Vincent’s spear was not suited for disposing of roots, and the squire felt he would reach the others by nightfall at the rate he was advancing. Ignus, the floating invisible figure Gon and Gilliam clung to, was merely thirty feet away, but with the roots obstructing their movement it seemed like thirty miles.

“Han, can’t you do anything about this entanglement?” Vincent asked the priest with trepidation. Hantel had remained behind, weary of approaching the mage, and he, too, had succumbed to the grasping roots. “I’m afraid not, Vincent; I haven’t prayed for a spell to do such a thing this morning”.

“If we don’t get to them soon, they’ll die” Darius pressed, not relenting one moment in his rapid hacking of plants that came after him. “Whatever spell Ignus cast on himself is hurting them badly”.

And indeed, that was the case. Kahleen still felt too weakened to launch an all-out assault on Ignus, and neither mercenary or rogue could do much from their position, save for preventing him from flying away. That sole action was costing them, for every five seconds the black aura pulsated, sending ripples of negative energy into their bodies.

In the end, it was a game of inertia for Ignus, for he would win in virtue of stalling things until everyone around him died. The situation had gone from bad to desperate.

But when desperation gets a solid grip in the hearts of brave men, some of them resorted for something beyond mundane, physical means, in order to defeat that which seemed insurmountable. Some call forth determination, while others resort to faith.

Vincent Ender, squire of House Kashtar, had both, and until then he did not know this was the case. He looked at his spear, then at the spot where Ignus floated invisible from sight. The squire turned his head to face the Seer of Berethor, situated right next to him. Hantel was holding the symbol of his deity firmly in one hand, the inverted pyramid with an eye.

“Hantel” Vincent called. The priest looked at him and instantly saw the light that was shining brightly in his eyes. “Yes, Vincent?”.

“What does Berethor say? In times like this, when everything is about to descend to oblivion, what do the teachings of Clarity instruct?” the squire asked.

Hantel placed one hand on his shoulder as he moved the other one to Vincent’s free hand, placing the symbol of Berethor in his grasp. “Have faith, young squire. Have faith in yourself, to see the way of Clarity, and in Berethor, so that He might help you find the path”.

Vincent nodded, his left hand holding the adamantine spear tightly, the right one grasping the holy symbol just as much. Instead of trying to run through the living vines, Vincent pulled his spear arm back, preparing for a throw.

“Against all odds,” he said out loud as he assumed the right position “my spear will pierce through the darkness, shining brightly, lighting a path for all to follow”.

With a mighty shout, Vincent moved his arm forward, throwing the spear with all his might. He knew full well the chances of the weapon actually reaching its target, let alone hitting it.

But as Vincent said, against all odds, his spear pierced the darkness, or rather, the darkness that surrounded the body of Ignus. It went right through the throat of the arcanist, and half its length made it to the other side. For a moment, the spear remained floating in mid air, suspended by invisible forces, but then Ignus’ figure came into view, his face a mask of absolute denial to what had just transpired.

“How?” he wanted to say, but only a gurgle came out of his mouth as blood began to pour out. The mage fell to the ground unceremoniously as his flight spell ended, along with his life. Gon and Gilliam let go and landed without a scratch. Kahleen shifted back to her true form and landed as well.

All eyes were centered solely on Vincent, who stood there, vines still clinging to his armored frame, a look of fulfillment evident in his face.

“That” Hantel said, “is clarity”.