-
Two Days Previously
Kryos took a large drink from his water supply, preparing for the quick journey ahead. He wiped his mouth to clean up any stray droplets, and replaced his water back in his pack. He then grabbed his sword, and swung it over his shoulder. Looking around camp, he studied the rest of the group.
Anne was sitting by the elves, taking a silent vigil over Lexxum. Her dog, Alk, was curled up next to her, watching their wounded companion with sorrow-filled eyes. The elves themselves were kneeling next to Lexxum, carefully watching him and keeping his symptoms in check. Occasionally, they would lay their hands on him, and try to help the healing process. Then there was Lexxum himself, currently lying motionless on the ground. Often though, he would thrash about, threatening to injure anyone too close. Then, there were the two humans. Once they woke, they had just been relaxing. They had eaten a quick meal, then got to setting up the tents. Now, they were lying on their backs, watching the occasional cloud float by. Kryos wished he could have their carefree attitude once in a while.
He approached the elves slowly, not wanting to break their concentration. Yet somehow, when he stooped down next to them, studying the wounded lizard, Ellers looked up.
“How’s he fairing?” He asked.
“Not well. The fever has gone up slightly. The poison is a treacherous one, and seems to possess a mind of its own. But Sir Lexxum will make it though this. With your antidote, and our constant healing, he’ll recover. But what takes time is the actual destruction of the alien substance that flows in his veins.”
“I understand.” He said. He had hoped that Lexxum would have been recovered by now. But since when did things like this turn out the way you wanted them to? “Ellers, can you summon fire by any chance? I heard once that Blood Vines will flee from fire. I was too exhausted last night to remember.”
“Yes, but not for very long. I haven’t gotten very far in dealing with fire in my studies.”
“Great. Come with me for a moment.”
He and Ellers rose, and he led her near the northern edge of their clearing. The Blood Vines could sense their approach, and began moving slightly. “I need you to scare the vines away so I can get through. I’ve some business to see to, and I’ll be back around sunset.” He glanced at the sun. It was just approaching its zenith for the day. “Be alert for me shouting at you to reopen the vines at that time.”
She nodded, and walked forward, Kryos following right behind her. She held her hands in front of her, palms facing each other, about a foot apart. The blood vines were now moving this way and that, eager for an easy catch. But when Ellers started murmuring words of power under her breath, and an orb of fire appeared between her hands, the vines thrashed about, racing to get away from the small inferno. Still uttering words under her breath, the ball of fire enlarged, chasing the vines away. By now, a good opening had appeared in the way. Kryos rushed through it, and out into the rest of the Red Forest. Once he had cleared the danger area, he turned. Ellers was standing there, flames gone, watching him. The vines were hastily reclaiming their positions around the clearing, closing the gap with astonishing speed. Kryos nodded to Ellers, and waved a farewell for the time being.
~ / | \ ~
He had been walking northward at a good clip for about two hours. He had run into no signs of intelligence, living or dead. He had, however, passed by two corpses. One belonged to a deer, and the other to an elf. They looked to be dead for a while now, the decomposition process well under way. He held his breath and passed on though the forest. The trees were still evenly spread out through the surrounding area, masking the rest of the forest from his eyes. He must be getting close. If it was too much farther, he would need to turn around and set out earlier the next day. Still, distance was always hard to tell in the red gloom of the forest.
Suddenly, he stepped out of the forest. He hadn’t noticed the edge of trees because he was watching his footsteps, in between of watching the surroundings. And there before him, loomed the Obsidian Spire. Its black walls and towers could only be described as mountainous. The spire rose to an enormous height. Even from where Kryos was standing, a good two hundred yards from the base, Kryos felt like he was falling backwards when he gazed at the top. This ebony structure rose from the earth, a terrible monument to Xem’Zund's power. The dark windows that were embedded in its sides seemed to glare down at him, as if he were an intruder. He shuddered to think that later, he would have to enter those desolate halls.
Not wanting to waste time, he stuck to the perimeter that the forest made around the jet-black monument. His eyes scanned the surface of the tower, getting familiar with its structure and layout. Yet it was so big, that after a half an hour of walking around it, he had only gotten to the east side of the giant clearing which housed the Spire. The darkness of the eastern side, cast in shadow by the slowly setting sun, made it extremely difficult to make out any details. But there, in the middle of the eastern facing side, were two large, onyx doors. That would be how they would penetrate the structure. Still, they would have to be careful not to get lost once inside. The Spire must be a maze of corridors and rooms from its size.
The sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon by now. He needed to leave immediately to get back to the safety of their clearing before sunset. He jogged back around the perimeter to make sure not to get off course, and then started making his way due south, back to camp. On his journey back, he ran into no trouble. He did, however, run into something that worried him. When he passed by the place where the two corpses were, he found that there was nothing there. There wasn’t even a sign of the bodies being dragged away. It just seemed like they had vanished off the earth. He looked over his shoulder, and around the clearing, looking for anything unusual. There was nothing but endless trees. Cautiously, he continued on.
He reached the camp just as the sun began to disappear. Ellers was waiting near the vines, watching for his return. He called out to her, and like before, the vines raced away from the magical fire. Kryos walked through the portal, and immediately went to Lexxum’s side. The entire company was gathered about him. He was thrashing violently, as if engaged in a terrible battle. Lucas was whispering to James, wishing there was something he could do to help. Anne sat next to Allaria, tears leaking out of her eyes to see the saurian in such pain. Alk was worriedly looking up at her, whimpering now and again. Lexxum’s tail beat the ground in a loud thud. Something needs to be done. He thought.
Kryos let his eyes blossom with crimson color. In the twilight, they softly glowed, and Kryos dived into the Fluenta, the realm of souls. He was shocked to see what was happening with Lexxum’s soul. It was a soft red color. But an angry shade of purple was flowing through it, fighting to survive. Kryos had never seen anything like it in his years traveling the land. It was as if the poison in the saurian’s blood had a soul of its own, and it was acting as a plague would.
Kryos pulled back into the normal realm, and rushed around Lexxum’s body. He summoned the white flames that belonged to the Charity Spell to his hands, and increased its potency to maximum. Waiting for the right moment where he could get past his claws, he rushed forward when it was clear. He laid his flaming hands on Lexxum’s head and neck, sending soul power into him, aiding the battle. He was surprised by Lexxum’s strength, as he jerked on the ground. But after a moment, he slowly settled. When he was motionless, Kryos took his hands off him. Too much aid to the soul from an external source was sometimes a cause of more damage, and that was always a terrible thing.
Kryos took a deep breath and stood, watching the now calm rest of the lizard. He still had a fever, his red scales radiated the heat, but hopefully he would be on the rise. He turned away as his eyes started to change to silver, and went to grab some water and a quick rest.
Present Time
Kryos walked over to Lexxum as he awoke. It had taken him three days to regain consciousness, and he was a little irritated that they had been delayed that long. But nothing could be done about it. He was just glad that Lexxum was awake, and would soon be ready to head out. He grabbed his water skin on his way over.
“It’s good to have you back, friend.” He said, handing him the water. “Drink. Your battle with the poison has left you weakened.” A slight grin played about his lips as relief washed through him as he beheld his friend finally come back.
-
My whole body ached. I felt as if I were far away for a very long time. My eyes blinked several times as the harsh gaze of Lord Mitra greeted them with an almost warm smile. The sun seemed to glow particularly brighter and fill me with a certain warmth. Three days. Anne wrapped her arms tightly about my person and I felt the strength within the Elfling. I held her in my arms and nodded towards Kryos extending a shaky hand towards the water skin. I wouldn't admit that my throat felt extremely parched, as if I were traveling Suravani's bosom for many moons without the comfort of water. I unscrewed the cork gaining access to the contents within the water skin.
The texture of the hide felt rough against my hands. I could feel the various manufactured imperfections of the water skin as my fingers touched the surface of the object. Even through the epidermis of the object, I could feel the cool, fresh water awaiting my consumption. I took my parched lips to the opening in the water skin and let the refreshing substance flow down my throat like a river unbound. Cooling liquid substance touched the parched insides of my body and I swallowed a handsome share of the liquid in one gulp. I felt my tail itching as it moved about against the underbrush beneath me. Various flowers and plants jutted out from the ground struggling for some equal shares of sunlight. Lord Mitra's warmth filtering down to the planet below it and offering its energy to the natural process of photosynthesis. I could feel the warmth that flowed from the earth as Lord Mitra touched it with his natural glare. The whole natural cycle of life was poetic and seemed much more vivid to me after my near case of death. A part of me was well aware that I'd touched death for a moment there.
A mask of concern suddenly shadowed the visage of my facial features. I let the water skin touch the ground beneath me. My body felt heavy and still felt as if I was someplace very far away. I looked at the crimson stained bark surfaces of the sea of trees about me. By now, the red blur seemed so familiar to me but at the same time felt foreign. I knew I was a stranger to these lands. But for whatever reason, Raiaera herself welcomed me into its embrace. This was the right place for the strength of righteous might.
Lucas and James both walked up towards me and placed hands of comfort upon my shoulder. Allaria and Ellers nodded in my general direction as they kept looking upon me. I smiled back, weakly, knowing now that I needed to rest at least a full night more. This would slow our journey down considerably, but when all was said and done, I would be able to come back to the journey at full strength. And they needed my might, not me at a weakened state. I looked towards everyone and nodded.
"I'm sorry. I got careless back there. My size has its advantages in most things, but in some things, I'm actually rather clumsy."
"Don't worry about it mate, it's just good that you're back with us. You gave us quite a scare for a moment there. I doubt we'll be able to complete this quest without you." That was James talking. The man wore a lopsided grin and Lucas seemed to be nodding in agreement. I turned my attention back to Kryos.
"Thank you all for your kidness. But I need to rest now in order to recover my strength quicker. I'm sorry that the set back is my fault this time. Once I have regained my strength we can continue on our way again. Hopefully it shouldn't take more than extra night's rest and we can be off."
Allaria stood up and walked over to me.
"Take all the rest you need to, we are safe here. For the moment at least."
She placed a moistened bandage on my forehead to keep my head cool, apparently I was running fever not too long ago. This greatly concerned me but I allowed the healers to work their magics upon me. I looked down upon Anne and kissed the little girl on the forehead. Afterwards, I laid down upon the soft earth and let myself fall fast asleep. I managed to close the water skin before that...
-
He grabbed the waterskin from the forest floor, and uncapped it, taking a drink himself. He only took one swallow though. They were running a little low on supplies, and if they didn’t find a pure water source in the next three days, they would be in trouble.
He was still unnerved by Lexxum’s strange symptoms. He had not shared to the two elves what he had seen in Lexxum’s soul, and had no intention to. But he had never heard that blood vines were so poisonous. Suddenly, he had an idea. He approached Allaria to see what she thought.
Looking across the saurian’s body and into Allaria’s blue eyes. “What is the possibility that the blood vines around us could have become a hybrid with the Fealotë, the Soul Blossom? I’ve never known of a blood vine to be this poisonous, but if it were a cross, then we could be in trouble if any more of us get injured like Lexxum.”
Allaria’s reaction was one of surprise, then thoughtful meditation. At last, she broke out of her reverie. “Normally, that should be impossible. The genes of the plants are too aggressive to be paired. However, I suppose it could happen if something of dark magic were to force the two together when they are immature, or seeds. And I agree that these vines are more deadly than they normally should be.” She paused. “The forest holds many dark secrets, and this could be one. But right now, it is of little importance to others.” She said, returning to looking after Lexxum.
He nodded and stood. As he made his way across the clearing to put away his water, he noticed that Anne was still hugging Lexxum. He reached down and patted Anne on the head. She looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Come on, Anne. Let’s let him rest. He’ll be up and about tomorrow.”
“But, Kryos, he’ll get lonely in his sleep.”
He couldn’t help but smiling at that. Even after she had gone through all this, she was still just a child at heart. He gave her a quick nod and left to his pack. After replacing the water, he stretched, arms above his head, feeling his vertebrae cracking, then relaxed in an exhale of breath. Truth be told, he was restless. Hanging around in a clearing for three days wasn’t much fun. But now that they would be leaving tomorrow, he was energized. An idea came to him, and he grabbed his sword. He pulled the blade from the sheath, and walked over to where James and Lucas were. He grinned at them.
“Anyone up for a light workout while the sun’s still shining?”
His smile broadened as they went to fetch their weapons.
-
The time to move was upon us now. I recovered my strength and gathered my supplies. Anne followed me about the entire time watching and learning from everything I did. I made sure that I could provide an effective role model for her young eyes. My soldier's training assisted in that department. Gathering up what supplies remained and leaving behind what was no longer useful, I made sure we dusted our tracks. I doubted we were being followed but my soldier's training demanded a certain degree of caution with every move that I made.
I awoke to the sounds of Kryos', James, and Lucas sparring amongst themselves. This pleased me; Kryos was forcing everyone to spend their time constructively and not grow complacent. Even Anne was busy helping out with minor chores such as gathering wood for the fire and other supplies. I was grateful that we'd obtained enough foodstuffs for the long journey ahead. But I was concerned about our fresh water supply. There were many ponds in the Red Forest but we hadn't come across a fresh supply in a while it seemed. We would need to restock at least once more before we reached Anebrilith.
I could see the Obsidian Spire in the distance and knew that we were close now. No more than a day or two away from our destination. I walked over to Kryos when we were done packing and nodded to him.
"I apologize for that scene earlier. I got a bit careless and it cost us precious time. Also resources. We'll need to restock on our water supply as soon as our path takes us across the sit at Carnelost. We're very near to the Obsidian Spire right now aren't we? I can tell. There aren't many animals making their calls around these parts. We should be very cautious once we leave the clearing." I took a couple of sniffs at the air and the scent of death touched my nostrils. We were close now. Deep in the realm of the enemy. We weren't that far off from Anebrilith either. Another hard day's ride towards the East. But the path would lead us through Amon Lungan. The enemy would have the advantage of the higher grounds over us. I looked at Kryos for a long moment.
"This path will lead us across the Escaldor River where we can resupply our water. I think that if we travel hard we should make it to Anebrilith without incident. "
I said to Kryos. But I was worried. As we started off on our journey again, I took my position next to Kryos. Anne was mounted upon her great dog, Alk, Lucas and James took up the center of our party, and Allaria and Ellers took up the rear portion of the entourage. I carefully studied the road ahead thinking about my battle with the strange sand golem. I didn't remember much about it, but I had a feeling that it would become an issue later on. My ancestors often spoke of a place of our people called The Wild. They said that there it was possible to come across Gradins. Vengeful spirits that often had an affect on the natural world. It was also possible to obtain great power for a blood lizard that learned to unlock the great mystery. I started to march forward without saying another word and simply drawing my weapon so that the tip of the blade was pointed towards the ground. The glowing sword vibrated with the power of the Eternal Tap. I could feel the hunger within the weapon as it developed its own sentience with every kill I manged to obtain with it. It was a bloodied sword, but a beautiful weapon of destruction nonetheless.
We were half a day out...and everything seemed to be going well...but there was a strange feeling in my gut of imminent danger.
-
His breath came evenly and deeply, as he gazed at his two partners. They all had their swords out, waiting. Waiting for the first move of the morning’s sparring match while they waited for Lexxum to awake. Apparently, the two humans had learned much from the previous day’s workout. Today, they had suggested that they continue on. He had most willingly obliged. Now, as he faced his two opponents, his eyes watched their every move, saw every shift in balance. He saw Lucas plant his dominant foot, before lunging forward with his short sword.
He easily deflected the blow with a sidestep, and brought his muandrian up to ensure that the opposing blade missed its mark. A harsh scraping sound rent the air as the blades rubbed against each other. Then, the noise ceased, as he darted past Lucas and at James, who had waited to enter the battle until he could get a clear shot. Kryos’ blade came down toward James before clashing to a stop, blocked by James’ long sword. Turning with reflexes slightly faster than the two humans’, he blocked a strike from Lucas. Spinning his sword, his forced the short sword away from himself, leaving Lucas open. Rather than taking the opening, he raised his leg, and pushed Lucas back. He swung his attention back to James, who had just drawn a dagger. Faced with two blades, Kryos readied himself. He needed to get out of the middle. He brought his blade down again at James, to be blocked just as before. Only this time, James sung the dagger at Kryos’ nearest side. In response, the Dwiilar shifted his sword to block the dagger as well, then grabbed the hilt of James’ sword with his free left hand. Taking control of that sword, he pulled it toward him a little, causing James to stumble forward, off balance. Keeping the dagger caught in between his blade and hilt, Kryos readjusted the angle of his sword, and brought the end up to James’ throat. He paused for just a second, letting James know that he was eliminated from the round. Then he turned, to face the oncoming Lucas. Ten seconds later, Kryos found himself frozen in submission to Lucas’ sword. A smile flashed across his face. They had improved.
“Excellent work, both of you.” He said, grinning and lowing his sword. “You’ve both improved, as well as gotten better at working together. And you’ve shown me some things as well. Thank you.”
“No problem, Kryos. Man, I don’t know how you can switch opponents so fast. It’s like you aren’t human.” James replied, breathing heavily.
Kryos grinned at that. He stepped back, and took up his ready position once more. The morning sun cast a long shadow in front of him. Just as he prepared to attack, another shadow approached. This one was tall and powerful. It belonged to Lexxum. He turned then, and nodded greeting to him.
After hearing his comments about the past few days, as well as the plans to finish their trek, he shook his head. “No apology is necessary, Lexxum. Ill things can happen to the best of us. However, I wasn’t planning on going to Carnelost. From our current position, that would take us directly past the Obsidian Spire. Also, I had heard before I left the capital, that a host of enemies was approaching Carnelost. In our current situation, venturing there wouldn’t be the best course of action.” He paused to gather his thoughts. Then he remembered. “Oh, I did visit the Spire while you were under, just to get a feel for it. I’ll tell you about it when we are on the move though. For now, we need to get going. I was planning on just heading slightly northeast from here on out. That will be the quickest way to get to Anebrilith. We’ll cross the Escaldor River, as well as the Elleduin River, so we should have plenty of water once we reach them. If we keep a good pace, then hopefully we can see the port city tomorrow at dusk.” He turned to Lucas and James, sheathing his muandrian. “Let’s pack up. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get to Anebrilith.” The humans grinned with enthusiasm, and turned to help the others pack up. Everyone was anxious to get out of this crimson forest, and Kryos didn’t blame them.
Once they were all assembled at the eastern edge of the clearing, he nodded to Ellers. She strode forward, and, flames dancing between her hands, banished the vines. Beyond, was the gloom of the Red Forest. The group hesitated, wishing they could bring the safety of their clearing with them. But then, Lexxum strode forward, and back into the Lindequalmë.
-
The sky above seemed to possess the only comfort for me. Anne was positioned on top of Alk carefully handling the big dog's hide. She kept looking in my general direction strangely with an expression of longing. I couldn't blame her really. I knew what would happen at the end of the journey ahead, we would all part ways. It was a painful thought to have to abandon the child at such a juncture, but she'd be in better care with the Altmer than with myself or Kryos. I knew a little about human culture and the child needed a sense of stability and a home to belong to. A part of me didn't want the journey to end, I had grown complacent to having my companions around. They'd become more than friends, they'd become a fellowship. We'd bled together, we'd shared battles together, suffered together, cried together, and nearly faced death together. I knew deep down that the chance to face death again as a unit would come soon enough. To my right, I could see the flowing waters of the Escaldor River. Our path would eventually take us past the Elleduin River a few hours later. I was grateful that we'd completely bypassed the site at Carnelost, all rumors suggested a major battle was taking place there.
I looked at Anne's general direction as we walked. Keeping track of the time, I was glad that we were given ample opportunity for rest. Looking at the flowing waters ahead, I could see the environment around us take a sudden transformation. I knew there was a bridge that crossed the rivers further ahead, with any luck we could make it by the hour. I walked over to the bank of the river's edge seeing that, at least so far, our party was safe from encounter. It was now or never. I looked at Kryos and raised my fist to motion the other to stop for the time being.
"Now is a good time. We probably won't get another opportunity to refill our water supplies."
After that, I moved forward towards the river banks. Sedimentary rocks and other earthbound stones jutted out from the rough ground. I could see rocks jutting upward from the bottom of the river. By this time, I was weary of battle and knew that every part of the Red Forest held its dangers, especially the watery depths of the rivers famous in Raiaera. Fortunately, I didn't try to go too far into the flowing water. I just went close enough that my feet could stay on dry land. With my extensive reach, I was able to take my water skins and fill them to the brim with fresh, flowing water. I capped all of my water skins and made sure I had a steady supply. Not realizing until that moment that my sickness had drained so much of our available water supply. I never quite completely healed from the poisons either, they simply just passed through my system and altered it ever so slightly. I still didn't understand the vision with the sand golem, I had no idea what it meant. And that girl? Who was she? I knew every member of my tribe and I'd never seen a girl like that before...most peculiar.
Taking my cue, the rest of the bunch went up to the waters edge to refill their water supplies as well. The process took less than half an hour. I looked at Kryos and nodded. Once the process was completed, I took a sip of fresh water to clear my throat, refilled my water skin once more and prepared for the long road ahead. It was time to go.
"We should be going. Let's stay by the river bank until we have to cross the bridge."
I said simply enough and we were on our way again with fresh water supplies. I decided that staying along the river's edge was probably the best course of action to follow. Walking forward, our path continued onward steadily Eastward.
As we walked something strange happened. I started to see blood and other human remains upon the earth near the position of the river. Looking at these remains, I became curious. I motioned for the group to stop again, assuming that Kryos would have noticed these changes as well. By now, we were more than half a day out, we were almost a full day's out from the clearing with the blood vines. A part of me longed for the clearing. I drew my weapon and that's when I noticed it. There were objects floating in the river that I hadn't been able to identify up until this point in the journey. Then, one of the object floated closer towards the river bank and I could immediately see what it was. My face went wide with disgust. Alk started barking with alarm as the bodies moved downstream. I recognized some of the corpses, they were the people of Valinatal, and a few other places as well. The ones I didn't recognize were from other cities of Raiaera that fell to Xem'Zund's forces. A horrible smell touched my nostrils. I chastised myself for exposing Anne to such a horrible sight. She closed her eyes after screaming for a moment.
"Bloody hell, we're lucky we got out of there alive." It was Lucas speaking I turned towards him and nodded.
"It's not the old, it hasn't started decomposing." That was James speaking now and he was examining the body that washed ashore. The body was a young male elf. I felt an extreme amount of anger for seeing such a waste of life. I walked over to their position. "These bodies must be from Carnelost. I few of them are from the site at Valinatal. I'm surprised, this would be fodder for a Necromancer's army." I said casually. But then it hit me all at once. What if these weren't meant for Netha'Tu, but for another Necromancer yet hidden in the Red Forest? I immediately drew my weapon and prepared for imminent battle. I turned to Kryos.
"Curse the Gods! These are fresh supplies heading towards another Necromancer! We've been tricked...this is not a safe passage at all."
And as if to confirm our worst fears, sounds from the South of a group of Arta warriors approaching could be heard. The sudden scent touched my nostrils and I turned towards that general direction. A group of Arta were heading towards us, at least twenty of them. I prepared for imminent battle spitting on the ground.
"More zombies!" Alleria suddenly yelled.
I gave the command.
"Prepare for battle!"
And the group of zombies came towards us whilst we prepared for battle...
-
The horrid stench of the undead grew stronger as the zombies approached. Their eyes were filled with evil, and they came in an unorganized pattern. His eyes narrowed as he swung his pack off his back. He grabbed his muandrian, and pulled it from his sheath, the metal scraping sound issuing through the immediate area. Anne had taken out a dagger, and gotten off of Alk. The canine was growling savagely, ears flat against his head. Suddenly, two arrows flew past Kryos, and sunk into the rotting flesh of the leading zombies. One hit a zombie in between the eyes, while the other sank into the chest. But still they came. Kryos cursed. They would have to totally incapacitate every one of the monsters. Behind him, Lucas and James were getting ready to fire another set of arrows. The two elves were singing their songs of magic. From the sound of it, Ellers was working on defensive magic from the School of Ost’Dagorlin, while Allaria was singing the soft, eerie sound of Turlin magic. A white orb of light appeared between the two groups, which then exploded. He covered his eyes with his arm, and then saw that the creatures were picking themselves from the ground, flesh burned. After that, there was no time for thinking.
Kryos threw himself at the nearest zombie, sword swinging through the air. It struck the creature on the upper arm, cutting though flesh, bone, and stopping when it hit the rotten torso. The arm fell to the ground, but still it moved, under the influence of the Necromancer that controlled it. He jumped back, putting space between himself and the howling beast. It charged him then, joined by another zombie. Retreating rapidly, he suddenly ran into a tree. He braced himself for the zombie attack, when a fire blast collided with the lead zombie. The force was so powerful, that it knocked the creature to the ground, where it lay writhing in pain. Making use of the distraction, Kryos beheaded the other zombie, and then lobbed of a leg and an arm from the body. That should be enough to keep it from being an immediate threat. Blood streaked down his blade, and he looked around for his next enemy.
Around him, chaos reigned as the battle continued. Lucas and James were fighting back-to-back, keeping each other covered. They by far, had the most opponents. The elves had swords in their grasp, fighting two zombies, while trying to use spells as often as they could. Alk was defending Anne, who was murmuring under her breath. Suddenly, the creature that Alk was engaged with suddenly sunk up to his chest in the ground. Kryos was surprised that Anne could do such a thing. And then there was Lexxum. He was a magnificent fighter, using his claws as often as his sword. His red scales seemed to glow with the excitement of battle. Kryos dove back into the fray, intent that everyone would make it through this.
The world changed. Nothing existed except for himself and his opponent. Kryos moved with instinct, keeping his distance from the defiled until he could strike a damaging blow. Blood flew through the air, only to fall back to the earth, and soak into the soil. The enemy numbers were thinning. There were only a few more left. Then, a scream rent the air. A scream that belonged to a child.
-
"No!"
I heard the cry almost at exactly the same time that Kryos did. I was busy with my own battles, but I relatively close to Anne's position. A single zombie managed to crawl past everybody's defenses and make its way towards Anne's position even whilst she chanted more song magic. I took the head off the nearest zombie I was engaging and immediately moved towards Anne's position, throwing all other objectives aside. The rotting creature moved towards Anne's position with the intent of making a meal out of her. It had grabbed Anne with a decayed hand attempting to quickly bite the child. But I would not allow such a fate for my young companion. The dog, Alk, saw the threat immediately and acted.
I decapitated another zombie that decided to risk its second life and come at me. The afternoon sun taunted my vision with promises of Lord Mitra's embrace. I moved quickly and swung my weapon to keep the undead at bay, any that attempted to come too close. Song magics flew through the impromptu battlefield as Alleria and Ellers released their knowledge of the archaic arts onto the environment. Subtle changes occurred upon the area around me as the air became alive under the Elves' command of those mysterious arts. Strange words filled the air causing it to vibrate underneath the weight of power. But none of that could protect my Anne.
Lucas released a skilled arrow that felled another zombie. James launched a bolt from his crossbow. The shoulder of a zombie was struck as it fell backwards and was stapled to the ground. They quickly reloaded their weapons, but the zombie broke through the main line of defense we were able to conjure up. Lucas and James were forced to abandon their long ranged weapons and drew their melee weapons. But none of that could protect my Anne.
I felt rage pouring through my system as I converged upon the zombie, but the Alk beat me to it. The powerful canine ripped a chunk out of the creature's shoulder and spit it out to the ground tasting the rot of flesh. The zombie did not turn its attention from the girl. It came in for a quick bite and I could see Anne screaming in terror. I suddenly reached forward with my sword, Tap Buster, and did the only thing I could think of. I was still too far away to reach with my weapon and the dog wasn't going to bite more than just enough flesh to slow the creature down. The dog reached for another bite, but the zombie quickly took a swipe at the dog's position. A moment later I heard a yelp and the zombie continued on its inevitable path towards my Anne.
I yelled a prayer out loud towards Lord Mitra. Remembering the ancient words of my people. I called upon the strength of the God I believed in to give me the chance to save my Anne. Tears of anger and despair flowed down the scales of my face as I desperately called upon the powers of the Eternal Tap. I chanted the tongue of my people hoping it would be enough to call upon the sword's power. (Translated roughly from Blood Lizard's speak) "O Lord Mitra, I beg of thee! Give thy servant the strength to protect the innocent. Give thy servant the guiding hand to conjure up the forces within the Eternal Tap. Honour bound contracts from the ancestors of mine people! I beg of thee Lord Mitra! Aide thy servant in battle! Let me protect the one they call Anne from harm at the cost of mien own life! I call upon they help! Tap Buster to the aide of Anne!"
The prayer was heard by all. More powerful than any of Raiaera's turlin magics. The blade of my plynt masterwork sword glowed with the angry energies of the Tap. A living vessel of power. From within the blade, symbols of archaic energies came to life in order to honour bound contracts between master and servant. The sword was bound to me. I could feel the powers of the Eternal Tap flowing through my blade and used as a medium in the physical world of Althanas. The air around my weapon suddenly became vaporized as steam as the potent energies were called. I released the powers of my weapon, and within a moment, a sudden burst of Tap Fire licked from the molecular substance of the plynt weapon in my hand. The fires streamed forward in a burst of wizard's power, singing the air as it rippled through it towards my target. In an instant, my world slowed down as my weapon, Tap Buster, released the archaic fires from its focal point. The burst of elemental fire flowed towards its target, heeding my call and more. A moment flowed by like an eternity. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. All I could think about was Anne's safety, and I'd released my magics unto the world hoping for the best possible outcome. I watched as the zombie lunged for my Anne...
...But would that be enough to protect her?
-
Kryos whipped around to look at Anne. A zombie, decaying hand reached out to grab her, was stumbling toward her. Alk, sensing the danger, attempted to stop the creature, only to be hurled back by a strike from the undead. The zombie opened its mouth wide and prepared to sink its corrupted teeth into the little girl. Kryos’ eyes widened, and he rushed to intervene. But the distance was too great to make in such a short amount of time. He turned, to see if anyone else was aware of this new development, but everyone was in the midst of battle. Only Lexxum had seemed to have heard the girl scream. He was fighting his way to her, but was being delayed by zombies.
“No!” he yelled. “Anne!”
Then, time seemed to slow down. Turning his head, he saw Lexxum shouting in a strange tongue. The words reverberated around the battle site, louder than the song magic of the elves. The chanting didn’t stop the progress of the zombies, though. They kept coming. A white orb of Turlin shot past Lexxum, crashing through the chest of an undead that had been preparing to attack Lexxum’s back. He saw the creature fall, grasping at its chest, before hitting the ground where it lay unmoving. Kryos kept running toward Anne while all this happened. Then, as Lexxum’s chant faded away, he felt the arrival of an incredible power. He stopped and turned toward Lexxum, and the source of the new energy.
The saurian’s dark scales were glowing a scarlet light. But his sword, blood running down its length, was shining emerald. Arcane runes, burning orange, raced down the length of the blade, etched in with a power greater than Kryos had ever seen. The air around the sword suddenly hissed and became steam as the heat of the sword grew. Flames began to dance along its edge, shifting from red, to green, to the deepest black, and even to violet. Lexxum pointed the sword at the zombie attacking Anne. The energies seemed to condense for a moment at the hilt of the sword, the light from Lexxum’s body dimming. Then, the focused power burst from the sword, ripping through the air. The sound was incredible as the archaic flames raced to the zombie. The core of the blast exploded as it collided with the living corpse, throwing it off Anne, burning the skin, muscles, and bones to cinder. The flames danced as they charred the body, emitting a heat so strong that Kryos could feel it from twenty feet away. The flames suddenly seemed to race in circles around the zombie, as they descended to the ground. When they met at the bottom, they exploded yet again, and raced outward on the forest floor, where they quickly dissipated.
The grass and leaves around the remains of the zombie were burned black. Anne lay on the ground, shaking. The zombie hadn’t had a chance to bite her. Kryos rushed toward her, as the rest of the company finished of the last two or three zombies. The zombies that had been around Lexxum when the blast had left his sword lay motionless on the ground. He was amazed at the devastation that Lexxum had controlled.
Arriving at Anne’s side, Kryos felt his stomach clench in horror. Lexxum’s attack had prevented the zombie from biting her, but with a terrible price. The entire right side of the young girl’s body was scarred from the powerful flames. Her clothes were missing on that side, exposed to such intense heat that they disintegrated. The red and tender flesh wrapped around her body and across her face and neck. She was unconscious, probably due to the amount of damage she had recieved. Yet her body moved on its own, shaking against the ground. Kryos turned his terrified expression to the two elves.
“Allaria! Ellers!”
-
I heard a scream, and then silence. The scream tore at my heart and made tears swell in my eyes. I wasn't fast enough. I'd learned a harsh lesson in humility. My Lord Mitra came to assist me, but I wasn't able to react quickly enough to prevent Anne from getting hurt. Grass from underneath the area of impact was badly scorched and a horrendous scent of burnt skin flowed up into the wind. I looked upon the two bodies on the ground, one was a fallen zombie sent to a second death with the power I was able to conjure forth. The other was the writhing body of Anne. My Anne. My child. I felt anger swelling up in my well scaled bosom as I looked upon the burnt flesh of the young one. She would forever be scarred and it was all my fault.
Tears flowed freely from my eye ducts. I walked over towards Anne's position and let my sword drop to the scalded earth. My large sized boots crushed the ground beneath me. I crawled on all fours and quickly covered the distance between my last position and Anne's current position. I could see Ellers and Allaria currently working on the girl's injuries. She was badly burnt and scarred from the attack to the point of disfigurement. The tears continued to flow down my eyes as I came in close to Anne's person. Ellers suddenly paused what she was doing and looked towards me.
"It's bad." I nodded in silence. Unable to speak at this point. I was in complete shock as to what I'd just witnessed. In a moment of complete carelessness, Anne was the one who paid the price. I swore that Xem'Zund's forces and their allies would pay for what had occurred. I swore to Lord Mitra that I would make Xem'Zund pay. But first, there was the threat of Netha'Tu and whatever other lieutenants that Xem'Zund had in his command. The army of Necromancers would fall to my rage. "I couldn't get to her in time. I was unable to protect her." [i]I cursed lowly not speaking to anybody in particular. I could feel a hand upon my shoulder, and I turned quickly to meet another potential zombie. Naye. It was Lucas. James had gone off to scout to see if there were anymore terrors from the pack that needed to be destroyed. I wanted to be with James, but my heart wouldn't let me part ways with Anne. A part of me felt like I belonged at her side, her eternal protector. "Anne. You have to pull through. I can't let it end this way."
"It won't lad. Just make yourself useful for her sakes. We still got zombies to pick off. There maybe more of them out there." Lucas said casually. "Please, Sir Vordic, you have to pull yourself together. Anne would want you to be strong and we need you to be strong."
I reached out for the child with shaking hands. But deep down I knew that Lucas was right, I just couldn't express it with the recent near death experience, and now, the potential loss of Anne. It was all too much to deal with and I let out a mighty roar. I looked up at Lord Mitra, shining bright, and allowed the warmth to fill me with a rage. I wanted something to destroy, to allow my warrior's righteous wrath full exposure upon a victim. I wanted revenge for Anne. For Valinatal. For all those innocents that were dead because of Netha'Tu and my inability to stop him. My simple days as a lizard pup living on the fields of Fallien were over. I walked over to my sword and picked it up off the ground where I'd dropped it. I felt the familiar weight of my Tap Buster and looked at Lucas with a dangerous expression on my face. I was angry, I was vengeful. Anger was more useful than despair.
"You're right Lucas. Allaria and Ellers will take care of Anne, we are useless to her without the battle." [i]I turned towards Anne one more time to memorize the appearance of her injured person upon the ground, suffering in silence. Every now and again she uttered words of gibberish from her lips. This made me even angrier as I observed such a sight. My people were bred for warfare and destruction. But we had a code of honor, no innocents could fall by our hands. After all, we came from the Lady Suravani herself and eventually evolved into followers of Lord Mitra. I kept my weapon in my hand and prepared to sulk off into the wilderness in pursuit of James. I looked over at Kryos.
"My friend, we're no good to Anne like this. Let's move on and see if we can't find the source of these bastard creations someplace nearby."
"I found something!" [i]It was James. He returned with a satchel in his hands that obviously contained items of some interest. I looked at Kryos and then looked at James. "Bring it here James, let's see if you found anything useful." I waited to see Kryos reaction to James, Lucas, and ultimately Anne.