by David Adams
“Spell or creature?” Silas wondered.
“Either way, it surely means to hold us back,” Adrianna replied.
Xanar raised his bow and deliberately took aim just to the right of the sword’s base. Seeing no movement, he let fly, a swift, powerful shot.
The great sword flashed, deflecting the arrow aside. The missile tumbled into the channel and was washed away in the current. The sword returned to its vertical ready position.
“I don’t think that proved anything about what wields it,” Xanar said, “but it does not appear to be an idle threat.”
“And it is quick,” Uesra said. “Especially impressive given the sword’s size and weight.”
“If it is a ward placed upon the bridge,” Adrianna said, “we could go around it.”
“If it’s not, it will simply fall back to the gate,” Uesra replied. She held up her scimitars. “Xanar, if you see an opening…”
“Arrow’s already in place,” he told her as he pulled his bow taut and another magic ice arrow appeared.
She approached in increments, knowing she likely had to come within the sword’s arc to force it into action, and wary of the speed she had already witnessed. She planned to stay on the defensive initially, not wanting to open herself up by attacking a target that might be non-existent. Before she was close enough for her own weapons to strike, she was rewarded with a vicious slash from the crimson blade. Thellas was ready, the defender sword taking the blow squarely and absorbing much of its force, allowing Uesra to stop it and retain her balance. She tried to hold the block while she brought Ashtalon to bear in a quick arcing cut, but the red sword countered immediately, parried the strike, then retreated two feet.
“Something wields it that fears a blade,” Silas said.
Uesra heard the comment, was glad her friends had drawn the same conclusion she had. She stepped forward to press the attack, but the wielder of the crimson sword was quicker, and she found herself checked, then forced into a slow backpedal from a string of fast strikes.
An arrow flashed past her, so near she could hear it cut the air. This time the sword did not move to stop it, but rather dipped and moved to the right, a dodge. The arrow found no mark, sailing harmlessly beyond the far side of the bridge. Uesra saw the opening and reacted instantly to it, but the sword danced away, keeping clear, then came on again, stronger than ever. She was hard-pressed to fend off the assault and any thought that a concerted effort between her and her brother might force the sword’s bearer back so that they might cross the bridge was soon gone from her mind.
The others saw Uesra’s plight, and Darius and Adrianna reacted by moving forward, but warily, the bridge not conducive to a larger melee, and Adrianna still unsure of her skill with the sword she held uneasily in her hands. Xanar moved laterally, looking for a good shot, the speed of the swordplay and the encroachment on the battle of two allies making his job harder. Silas fought off the urge to rush ahead, instead going to his pack. He searched it quickly, finding one of the vials he carried, empty as he expected, although he had hoped to be proven wrong. He pawed through his supplies, a cursory search, finding only more empties and berating himself for not acting when they had been led to the underground stream. With an annoyed shake of his head he concluded that his thirst, hunger, and tiredness, while somewhat conquered by their find in the ravine, were still paying ill dividends.
The battle on the bridge went on in full fury, at least as far as Uesra and the crimson sword were concerned. Seeing it was trying to drive her, she naturally resisted, and rather than trying to push the sword back she tried to work her way around to one side. She sensed her friends moving up behind her, and knew Xanar was back there as well with his bow. If she could turn the sword, whatever held it would have its back to her allies.
The crimson sword was wielded by one well-skilled in the arts of swordplay and tactics. It perceived Uesra’s strategy and countered it, not difficult given the reach of the long weapon and the relative narrowness of the bridge.
Darius found himself unable to easily engage in the battle. Openings were there and gone, and if he slid up next to the elf he was just as likely, if not more so, to get in her way as he was to aid her. Adrianna stayed a few paces back, wanting to help but feeling completely out of her element. Worse, she had the same fear as Darius, although with more certainty: she would only be a hindrance if she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Uesra.
The least engaged but most anxious was Silas. He expected at any second to hear some anguished cry from above, indicating that one of his friends had fallen. He rushed down the bank of the channel, found it steeper than he expected, and slid the last few feet, wetting his boots in the process. He regained his footing and dipped the vial into the channel, the water filling it quickly. The strength of the current surprised him, and he felt the glass container slip the slightest bit in his hand. He was never close to losing it, but his stomach still clenched at thinking what further delay might mean. He corked the bottle and eyed the water inside it, which was colored a dirty brown, the particles suspended in it still swirling. Then came the hardest task of all, given the pressure on his friends above: he closed his eyes, stilled his racing mind if not his racing heart, and prayed.
Three times Xanar had almost loosed another arrow, three times he had stopped himself and realized he had just avoided disaster. He wanted to direct his friends, to reposition them so he could get a better shot, but he knew he needed to let them choose their positions as best they could, being within reach as they were of the crimson sword. He thought to run left or right of the bridge to get a better angle, but rued the time it would take. He was vaguely aware of Silas having gone down the channel’s bank, and distantly wondered if the cleric might have had a similar idea.
Darius continued to edge closer, looking for an opportunity. He felt Gabriel’s power, the sword positively pulsing with hunger. He had known Adrianna had advanced with him, was glad she now held back. He wondered where Silas was, but couldn’t take the chance of looking for him.
If he had he would have seen the cleric scrambling up the bank and then running onto the bridge. Silas looked at the vial, the water now crystal-clear. He saw the tight space on the bridge and checked himself, then flung the container at what seemed to him to be the sword’s control point.
The floating blade met the missile of its own accord, shattering the glass. The shards and more importantly the water inside exploded in a fine spray, left, right, and mainly forward in the direction it had been thrown.
An unearthly wail went up, and for an instant some gruesome specter of ripped flesh tried to come into focus. Then the sword’s wielder, the subconscious concentration it used to cloak itself shattered just as the glass vial had been, winked into view.
The demon was a huge one, appearing even more so because of the great wings that it now fanned out to intimidate its foes. Its face was bent into a permanent scowl, while two large tusks curled up from its lower jaw, giving it a hungry leer. Large black horns circled the sides of its head. Where the holy water had struck it its flesh was burned away, and the gashes still bubbled and oozed a sickly grey pus. It was these areas alone they had seen when it was first struck. Its left wing had been hit as well, which had torn great holes in the leathery membrane.
Silas had hurt the demon, physically and by making it visible, but his ploy had not defeated it, and pain and rage made it for a time all the more formidable. It lashed out at Uesra with renewed vigor, and after batting aside a number of blows she faltered, her knees buckling and Ashtalon dropping a fraction as instinct kicked in and she moved to keep her balance. The demon sensed the breakthrough and moved in.
Darius reacted at the same time as the demon. He slashed with Gabriel even as he moved, and while his eyes grew wide with the possibility of delivering a fatal blow, he worried Uesra might fall as well.
The demon did not miss the white sword, and as much as it wanted to press the issue with the female elf, it was forced to
defend itself or die. It swatted Gabriel aside with enough power that it nearly pinned the sword and with it held Darius’ arms at bay. It removed one of its clawed hands from the sword’s hilt, thinking to use it on Darius’ face while the other kept their swords locked. As it pulled back its hand, it felt an odd sensation on the right side of its head, a deep pinch followed by a sharp pain behind its eyes, which flew open in recognition of what had happened. The hand that was raised to strike instead touched the shaft of the icy arrow that had pierced its skull.
Darius felt the strength leave the demon an instant after the arrow appeared. It had already started to fall when he freed his sword and swung Gabriel around to meet it as it dropped. Before its knees sank to the bridge’s wooden surface, the demon’s head was cleaved from its body. It lay for a moment in two parts, then vanished in a black mist. The crimson sword clanged onto the bridge, no longer bound to its former owner.
All was still for a moment, but before the companions could take heart in passing another obstacle, they became aware that the city was far from abandoned or unguarded. Perhaps the guardian of the bridge had been their captain, perhaps just a beast placed to ward off any who might encroach, but regardless of why there was a great contingent of denizens of the nether regions upon the battlements, and these now stood and revealed themselves and their displeasure over the companions’ victory. A few stray arrows were fired toward the bridge, none finding a mark but enough of a show of force to cause the companions to yield the bridge they’d just won.
After they had retreated to the north end of the bridge they crouched behind a low stone wall that had been built on each side of the road and acted as a sort of funnel to place traffic on the bridge proper. Every few seconds they heard the clack of an arrow against the other side of the stone.
“Holy water?” Adrianna asked Silas.
He nodded. “Sorry I was late,” he said, to Uesra in particular. “I had used up my supply earlier, as it has marvelous healing properties but must be used in quantity at times. Unfortunately I was remiss in replenishing it.”
“Your intervention was timely enough,” Uesra said with a nod of thanks. “As was yours,” she added to Darius.
“What’s next?” Darius asked. “I saw nothing at the gate, and it is shielded from the wall above, but I can’t believe it’s not held.”
“We have to get there first,” Xanar said. “And we have no shields.”
After a brief contemplative silence Adrianna tossed aside her sword. “I’m sorry, Darius, and to all of you. I’m no good with a blade. But a shield I might be able to help with.”
They had all seen how Adriana could form invisible barriers, but that was before her amulet was shattered. She had produced the small glowing sphere, and they had seen her create tiny flames, but this seemed to be something well beyond that. They tried not to show their doubt, and none were willing to voice it, but it was plain enough of their faces.
“I’d feel the same way if I was you,” she said, forcing herself to smile. She looked at Silas, made sure she held his gaze before speaking. “You have been my friend for many years, have trusted me when others would not, have risked your life for me. Will you do so, once more?”
“Of course,” Silas said, with only the slightest hesitation.
“Then let me prove myself first. You have other vials you would now fill, if you could?”
“Yes.”
“Prepare to do so. I will nod when it is time. Go straight from the edge of the wall to the water.”
He nodded and started gathering up his empty vials.
“And do be quick,” she added. She smiled, somewhat embarrassed. “I have no doubt I can do this, but—”
“You need say no more, my friend,” Silas told her, and now both his expression and his voice hinted at neither doubt nor fear. “It will only take a moment.”
She said the words of the spell and then nodded and Silas was off. The arrows did not fall like rain—the far side of the channel was still a distant shot—but they did come, and where they were near the mark they ricocheted harmlessly away. Silas filled four vials as quickly as he could, hearing all the while the whistling missiles coming from above and the satisfying clicking noise as they were deflected away. When he was done he scampered up the bank and regained the shelter of the stone wall.
“Well done,” he said.
Adrianna still held her eyes closed, but she wore a subtle smile upon hearing his voice. She sighed, roused herself, and said, “Gaining the wall is really no different.”
“How long can you hold it?” Uesra asked.
“As long as I must. We can be to the gate almost as swiftly as Silas was able to complete his task.”
“I’m less worried about the time to reach the gate than the time to get past it. It appears to be safe from the bowmen, but what else might befall us there is hard to guess.”
“My answer is no different. I will give us the time we need if any assault is to come from above.”
“Give me a moment to prepare these,” Silas said, holding up one of the vials. “This may be the last safe place for me to do so.”
It did not take Silas long to complete his blessing, and they marveled at how his prayer purified the water. Darius wondered if it might be safe to drink—thought it would have to be—and whether they had gone thirsty unnecessarily. Then again, partaking of holy water in such a way seemed somehow base and improper. He hoped their need would never get dire enough that he would feel compelled to ask such questions. Regardless, their current water supply was sufficient for the time at hand, the time of their final trials. As Silas finished Darius pushed aside such notions to focus on the task before them.
“It would be best if I lead,” Adrianna said. “I need to move and maintain a certain level of concentration at the same time. The pace will seem slow…just stay close and be patient.”
Adrianna gathered herself and cast the spell, then rose up and started across the bridge. The others quickly fell into a tightly-huddled line behind her. For a brief time the arrows fell only infrequently, as if the defenders on the wall were shocked by such a brazen move, but by the time the companions had reached the bridge’s midpoint the missiles fell like hail, slapping and cracking off the invisible wall before and above them.
The closer the companions drew to the city wall the more obvious to the defenders that some magic was thwarting their arrows. This only seemed to enrage them, and they futilely increased either the rate or strength of their shots as they could.
The companions, except for Adrianna, could not help subtly flinching at particularly well-aimed shots, but the shield held. They reached the base of the wall and the gate, and they pressed forward to take shelter there. The gate was shut, and here at least some of the old craftsmanship that had gone into the construction of Old Bern remained: the outer gate was heavy iron bars painted black. An inner wooden gate had been left open, so one could see in or out of the city through the iron gate’s bars. Above could be heard the scrambling of many feet, as the defenders moved down to the gate’s level.
“Can you open it?” Uesra asked her brother, referring to the gate’s lock.
“It’ll take a minute,” he answered as he set to work.
It was a minute they did not have. A stream of demons swung into view, and these were ready to try their luck with their bows once more.
“Back!” Adrianna called sharply to Xanar.
Even before Xanar could react, Silas grabbed him by the shoulders and moved him away from the metal bars. Arrows raced through, chasing him, but suddenly bounced harmlessly back.
“Thanks,” Xanar whispered. No one had time to ask whether he was addressing Silas or Adrianna.
One of the larger demons drew a sword and stepped forward. It eyed Adrianna through the gate, sensing her to be the source of the magic. It thrust its sword through the bars and smiled, thinking the spell only effective against the arrows. It didn’t know that she had pulled the shield back, hoping the d
emon would reach the conclusion it did. Its fellows made the same assumptions, and a horde of them pressed in, eager for blood, as the large demon unlocked the gate and flung it open.
As soon as the barrier was removed, Adrianna pushed the spell wall forward, using it as a weapon now instead of as a shield. The demons, taken by surprise and already bunched together, were tossed back and the nearest left in a tangled mess. They still had a great advantage in numbers, and would sort themselves out soon enough, but Adrianna wasn’t done. She cast another spell, and its power shocked her friends as much as the demons. A blast of intense cold shot out from her extended fingers, a cold so severe that it froze any exposed skin it contacted. It was an especially bitter attack given the heat and flames the demons had grown accustomed to over the long years of their torment. The nearest demons died or were completely incapacitated. The others fled, feeling suddenly overmatched.
“Other will take their place swiftly,” Silas said. “We need to move.”
“There,” Darius said, pointing to the right. “That used to be the way to the guard tower. There may still be underground tunnels to other parts of the city. Might run into some resistance there, but…”
“Better than staying in the open,” Uesra finished for him. “And easier to hold off the masses through a single opening.”
What had once been a door was now a rough hole, almost like a yawning maw, which led to a darkened tunnel. It was not an inviting place, but the calls of the demons that now sounded to be all about them pushed them inside without much hesitation. Once inside Silas felt Adrianna grip his arm. “I’m a bit weak from casting those spells,” she whispered. “If you don’t mind…”
“Of course not,” he assured her.
The tunnel was not as dark as it had appeared from outside. There was a faint glow up ahead that subtly lit its rough walls, and the party was able to leave the entrance behind swiftly. Still, Xanar hung back a few steps, ready to call out if they were pursued. In front, Darius led with Uesra right at his shoulder.