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The Doomed Bastards: Reckoning (story complete)
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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 4412888" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Thanks for all the posts! Thought you'd enjoy that twist. I actually didn't plan for it to happen (at least not when I wrote my original outline), just sort of happened when I was writing this section. </p><p></p><p>Here we go...</p><p></p><p>* * * * * </p><p></p><p>Chapter 86</p><p></p><p>VARO’S BLESSING</p><p></p><p></p><p>The elder earth elemental that Sultheros had summoned came apart in an explosion of dirt and stone that scattered across the width and breadth of the square. The Ravager stormed through the remnants as they scattered on the morning breeze.</p><p></p><p>“Well. Let’s get its attention, shall we?” Varo said, summoning a <em>firestorm</em> that rose up in brilliant white sheets from the ground around the Ravager.</p><p></p><p>The Ravager roared in fury and stepped through the flames, the scorch marks covering its legs and flanks already starting to fade as it picked up speed. Its size was such that less than ten strides separated it from Varo and the others. Sultheros raised his staff, and Allera lifted her hands, limned with a soft blue glow, but Varo gestured for them to hold as he stepped between them. </p><p></p><p>“Get back,” he said. “Remain behind me.”</p><p></p><p>The elf shared a glance with the healer, who said, “Do as he says! Fall back!” The others did as bid, although they could barely keep their feet with the ground shaking under the Ravager’s tread. Eight strides, seven, six, the monster looming over them like a tidal wave. </p><p></p><p>Varo lifted his shield, and drew back the white sheet. </p><p></p><p>“Witness truth,” he said to it. </p><p></p><p>The Ravager looked upon the rune scribed upon the shield. </p><p></p><p>The monster roared again, lifting its head. It lost its stride and staggered to the left, but its momentum kept it going, through the square, into the buildings beyond. Heedless of what it was doing, it clipped Varo with one foot, knocking the cleric back twenty feet to land hard against an overturned wagon. The heavy shield was torn free, and skittered wildly across the square. The others were able to get out of its way, but Allera fell to the ground as it passed, and Sutheros quite nearly joined her. Only sheer luck kept it from crushing the building holding the incapacitated clerics and their knight guardians, although one corner collapsed, and the warehouse beside it was completely devastated. It kept on going, through a second building into the street beyond, and then through a pair of small houses beyond that. Only then did its charge start to abate, but the incredible noise of its cries continued. It started lashing about with its arms, the claws taking off nearby roofs as though they made of straw. </p><p></p><p>Dar flew down from above, as Allera ran over to where Varo, grimacing, was starting to get up. He landed beside them, shaking his head at the swath of destruction left by the creature. He looked even more surprised to see Varo, but he recovered quickly. “What did you do?” he yelled.</p><p></p><p>Varo’s expression remained calm. “I drove it insane.” As if to punctuate his words, the top of a chimney landed in the square about ten paces away, spattering them with pieces of broken bricks. The Ravager roared again. </p><p></p><p>“You... <em>what</em>? Are you mad, priest? What can we possibly hope to gain...”</p><p></p><p>“It will no longer be able to act in a coordinated manner, nor will be able to escape you for a second time. If you act quickly; the spell is permanent, but I suspect that the creature’s innate powers will allow it to shake off the effect in time. In very little time, perhaps.”</p><p></p><p>Dar stepped forward, and for a moment it looked as though he would seize the priest. With his white robes torn and mussed, he no longer looked like a celestial emissary, but again a mere man. At least until one got a good look at his face, and his eyes. </p><p></p><p>Allera grabbed Dar’s arm to forestall him. “How do we kill it, Varo? We’ve been able to damage it, but it regenerates far too quickly.” </p><p></p><p>“And if you say that we need to have faith, I swear I’ll feed you to it myself!” Dar growled. </p><p></p><p>Varo looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Can you summon the Host once more?” he asked Allera. </p><p></p><p>The healer shook her head. “No. Fueling the ritual drained most of my powers. I could barely manage that one <em>gate</em>; I had thought to bring the solar once more...”</p><p></p><p>“Yes. And you ended up with me, I’m afraid.”</p><p></p><p>“Can’t you do a <em>gate</em> of your own?” Dar asked. “I remember before...”</p><p></p><p>“I am afraid I cannot,” Varo said, cutting him off. “My writ here is more circumscribed than before. As an agent for outside forces, my abilities are limited by the Compact.”</p><p></p><p>“What the hell then are you...”</p><p></p><p>Dar was interrupted by a loud noise from several streets over; more buildings coming down. Above them, their allies continued their magical attacks against the Ravager, but from what they’d been able to do thus far, it was doubtful that they could do more than slow its rate of regeneration. </p><p></p><p>Letellia drifted down from above, accompanied by Lyllalya, who looked pale despite the magical healing that had restored her broken wing. Sultheros stepped forward to join them. “I am surprised to see you here,” Letellia said to Varo. </p><p></p><p>“Likewise,” Varo said. </p><p></p><p>“This situation is untenable,” the sorceress said. “Dra Mak Mor and Koros are keeping it busy, but they can’t really hurt it. Our spellpower is depleted, and the thing has gone through the best we could dish out with barely a scratch.”</p><p></p><p>“Varo has messed up its mind,” Dar said. “But we don’t have any way of knowing how long it will be affected.”</p><p></p><p>Letellia nodded. “We can remain out of its reach, but I doubt that our magical firepower alone will be enough to overcome its regenerative abilities.”</p><p></p><p>“Bring it back here,” Varo said. As everyone turned to face him, he said, “Between those buildings, there,” indicating the main street that fed the square.</p><p></p><p>“What trick do you have up your sleeve?” Dar asked. </p><p></p><p>Varo shook his head. “Nothing you haven’t seen before, Dar. We can only pray to the gods that it is enough.”</p><p></p><p>“Why were you sent back here?”</p><p></p><p>“Because I am a part of this world as well, Dar. Even now.”</p><p></p><p>Allera stepped between them. “We don’t have any time.”</p><p></p><p>Dar nodded, without turning from Varo’s gaze. “Do it,” he said. Sultheros nodded, and lifting his staff, he uttered a spell and rose into the air. His attendants followed behind him, their cloaks fluttering out behind them as their <em>fly</em> spells lifted them above the wreckage of the square. Letellia and Lyllalya followed behind them. Dar lingered just a moment longer. “Stay in cover,” he said to Allera. “If there’s nothing you can do, don’t try to be a hero.”</p><p></p><p>“I cannot hide from it; it senses my power, I believe,” she said. She touched Dar’s arm, and said, “We all have to do what we can.” Healing power flowed from her, easing the fighter’s wounds. It was a trickle compared to the power she typically wielded, but he touched her face, and smiled as she met his eyes. </p><p></p><p>Dar stepped back and lifted back into the air, following after the spellcasters toward the noise of the mad Ravager’s passage through Highbluff. </p><p></p><p>“What can I do?” Petronia asked. </p><p></p><p>“Let’s see what we can do for the other clerics... wait, where’s Maricela?”</p><p></p><p>They looked around, but the priestess was no longer anywhere within the square. </p><p></p><p>Flying high above, Talen and Shay floated on invisible threads of magic. “Interesting,” Talen said. “I didn’t expect to see <em>him</em> again.” Below, they watched the Ravager rampaging through the town, driven to madness by Varo’s spell.</p><p></p><p>“Do we intervene?” Shay asked. </p><p></p><p>Talen shook his head. “Let’s see what they do first.” </p><p></p><p>Shay glanced back at the horizon to the east, which was steadily brightening now with the light of the coming dawn. “You <em>do</em> see that, right?”</p><p></p><p>Talen nodded. “This will be settled, one way or another, very quickly. And then we will need to decide for ourselves what has to be done.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 4412888, member: 143"] Thanks for all the posts! Thought you'd enjoy that twist. I actually didn't plan for it to happen (at least not when I wrote my original outline), just sort of happened when I was writing this section. Here we go... * * * * * Chapter 86 VARO’S BLESSING The elder earth elemental that Sultheros had summoned came apart in an explosion of dirt and stone that scattered across the width and breadth of the square. The Ravager stormed through the remnants as they scattered on the morning breeze. “Well. Let’s get its attention, shall we?” Varo said, summoning a [i]firestorm[/i] that rose up in brilliant white sheets from the ground around the Ravager. The Ravager roared in fury and stepped through the flames, the scorch marks covering its legs and flanks already starting to fade as it picked up speed. Its size was such that less than ten strides separated it from Varo and the others. Sultheros raised his staff, and Allera lifted her hands, limned with a soft blue glow, but Varo gestured for them to hold as he stepped between them. “Get back,” he said. “Remain behind me.” The elf shared a glance with the healer, who said, “Do as he says! Fall back!” The others did as bid, although they could barely keep their feet with the ground shaking under the Ravager’s tread. Eight strides, seven, six, the monster looming over them like a tidal wave. Varo lifted his shield, and drew back the white sheet. “Witness truth,” he said to it. The Ravager looked upon the rune scribed upon the shield. The monster roared again, lifting its head. It lost its stride and staggered to the left, but its momentum kept it going, through the square, into the buildings beyond. Heedless of what it was doing, it clipped Varo with one foot, knocking the cleric back twenty feet to land hard against an overturned wagon. The heavy shield was torn free, and skittered wildly across the square. The others were able to get out of its way, but Allera fell to the ground as it passed, and Sutheros quite nearly joined her. Only sheer luck kept it from crushing the building holding the incapacitated clerics and their knight guardians, although one corner collapsed, and the warehouse beside it was completely devastated. It kept on going, through a second building into the street beyond, and then through a pair of small houses beyond that. Only then did its charge start to abate, but the incredible noise of its cries continued. It started lashing about with its arms, the claws taking off nearby roofs as though they made of straw. Dar flew down from above, as Allera ran over to where Varo, grimacing, was starting to get up. He landed beside them, shaking his head at the swath of destruction left by the creature. He looked even more surprised to see Varo, but he recovered quickly. “What did you do?” he yelled. Varo’s expression remained calm. “I drove it insane.” As if to punctuate his words, the top of a chimney landed in the square about ten paces away, spattering them with pieces of broken bricks. The Ravager roared again. “You... [i]what[/i]? Are you mad, priest? What can we possibly hope to gain...” “It will no longer be able to act in a coordinated manner, nor will be able to escape you for a second time. If you act quickly; the spell is permanent, but I suspect that the creature’s innate powers will allow it to shake off the effect in time. In very little time, perhaps.” Dar stepped forward, and for a moment it looked as though he would seize the priest. With his white robes torn and mussed, he no longer looked like a celestial emissary, but again a mere man. At least until one got a good look at his face, and his eyes. Allera grabbed Dar’s arm to forestall him. “How do we kill it, Varo? We’ve been able to damage it, but it regenerates far too quickly.” “And if you say that we need to have faith, I swear I’ll feed you to it myself!” Dar growled. Varo looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Can you summon the Host once more?” he asked Allera. The healer shook her head. “No. Fueling the ritual drained most of my powers. I could barely manage that one [i]gate[/i]; I had thought to bring the solar once more...” “Yes. And you ended up with me, I’m afraid.” “Can’t you do a [i]gate[/i] of your own?” Dar asked. “I remember before...” “I am afraid I cannot,” Varo said, cutting him off. “My writ here is more circumscribed than before. As an agent for outside forces, my abilities are limited by the Compact.” “What the hell then are you...” Dar was interrupted by a loud noise from several streets over; more buildings coming down. Above them, their allies continued their magical attacks against the Ravager, but from what they’d been able to do thus far, it was doubtful that they could do more than slow its rate of regeneration. Letellia drifted down from above, accompanied by Lyllalya, who looked pale despite the magical healing that had restored her broken wing. Sultheros stepped forward to join them. “I am surprised to see you here,” Letellia said to Varo. “Likewise,” Varo said. “This situation is untenable,” the sorceress said. “Dra Mak Mor and Koros are keeping it busy, but they can’t really hurt it. Our spellpower is depleted, and the thing has gone through the best we could dish out with barely a scratch.” “Varo has messed up its mind,” Dar said. “But we don’t have any way of knowing how long it will be affected.” Letellia nodded. “We can remain out of its reach, but I doubt that our magical firepower alone will be enough to overcome its regenerative abilities.” “Bring it back here,” Varo said. As everyone turned to face him, he said, “Between those buildings, there,” indicating the main street that fed the square. “What trick do you have up your sleeve?” Dar asked. Varo shook his head. “Nothing you haven’t seen before, Dar. We can only pray to the gods that it is enough.” “Why were you sent back here?” “Because I am a part of this world as well, Dar. Even now.” Allera stepped between them. “We don’t have any time.” Dar nodded, without turning from Varo’s gaze. “Do it,” he said. Sultheros nodded, and lifting his staff, he uttered a spell and rose into the air. His attendants followed behind him, their cloaks fluttering out behind them as their [i]fly[/i] spells lifted them above the wreckage of the square. Letellia and Lyllalya followed behind them. Dar lingered just a moment longer. “Stay in cover,” he said to Allera. “If there’s nothing you can do, don’t try to be a hero.” “I cannot hide from it; it senses my power, I believe,” she said. She touched Dar’s arm, and said, “We all have to do what we can.” Healing power flowed from her, easing the fighter’s wounds. It was a trickle compared to the power she typically wielded, but he touched her face, and smiled as she met his eyes. Dar stepped back and lifted back into the air, following after the spellcasters toward the noise of the mad Ravager’s passage through Highbluff. “What can I do?” Petronia asked. “Let’s see what we can do for the other clerics... wait, where’s Maricela?” They looked around, but the priestess was no longer anywhere within the square. Flying high above, Talen and Shay floated on invisible threads of magic. “Interesting,” Talen said. “I didn’t expect to see [i]him[/i] again.” Below, they watched the Ravager rampaging through the town, driven to madness by Varo’s spell. “Do we intervene?” Shay asked. Talen shook his head. “Let’s see what they do first.” Shay glanced back at the horizon to the east, which was steadily brightening now with the light of the coming dawn. “You [i]do[/i] see that, right?” Talen nodded. “This will be settled, one way or another, very quickly. And then we will need to decide for ourselves what has to be done.” [/QUOTE]
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