Soldiers of the Heavens

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “Certainly,” Pacian answered sarcastically, “and would you like some refreshments while we’re at it?”

  “Yes, bring me another bottle of the red if you would… oh wait, you weren’t serious. Please go away now, annoying people.” With that, the nobleman closed his eyes and was snoring within moments.

  “I’m not sure what to make of that,” Sayana remarked, although Aiden hardly heard her. The drunken noble had alluded to Osric’s location below the palace. Without saying another word, Aiden made his way out of the room and began searching for the stairs down. The others joined in, spreading out through the palace to search for the entrance to the catacombs below.

  “Over here,” Pacian called, drawing their attention. As Aiden headed in his direction, the sounds of heavy, clunking footsteps could be heard rushing through the palace halls towards their location.

  “They’re through the main gate,” Robert commented as he jogged past.

  “Pace, tell me you found the way down,” Aiden asked as his companions gathered around. Part of the wall had been pushed aside, revealing a secret stairwell descending into darkness below.

  “Move it,” Robert ordered, practically pushing them through the narrow gap as a small army of guards closed in. Pacian was the last one through, operating the mechanism which closed the secret door behind them. They held still as armoured men could be heard passing by out in the corridor. The delay tested Aiden’s patience, but the last thing they needed was a horde of soldiers to contend with.

  “We’ll have to deal with them later,” Robert growled in a low voice once the footsteps had subsided.

  “One thing at a time,” Aiden said, not discounting the observation. They continued on down the stairs until they opened out into a hallway of grey stone. Light from sputtering torches illuminated the dank passageway, and the incessant dripping of water echoed throughout. As Aiden began moving purposefully forward, two men leaped from the shadows and knocked him to the floor.

  A heavy club slammed into the side of his face, dazing him momentarily. Before he could recover, both of his assailants were tackled and held against the wall by Pacian and Robert. Nellise helped Aiden back to his feet as he wiped a smear of blood from the side of his face. The two men appeared to be the dungeon guards, dressed in chain armour and carrying clubs and a set of keys. Both men stank of heavy drink, and lacked the professionalism of the elite guard in the palace above.

  “How many prisoners do you hold down here?” Aiden asked, resisting the urge to punch them hard for their attack. The men looked at him blankly, clearly not understanding Aielish.

  Robert repeated the question in their native tongue, and one of the men answered by raising one finger. It was enough for Pacian, who knocked his captive unconscious with the end of his weapon. Robert simply head-butted the other guard, who slumped to the floor in a stupor.

  They moved through the passageway, with Aiden peering through each cell door, torn between hoping to find Criosa inside one and fearing to see her within. The others began spreading through the complex, checking the cells and looking for any sign of Osric or Criosa. The dungeons had clearly fallen into disuse, for they encountered nothing but empty cells and cobwebs for the most part.

  Aiden continued checking the disused cells for signs of her presence until Sayana grabbed him by the shoulders and brought him to a halt.

  She raised one finger to her lips, cautioning for silence. Curious, Aiden held his breath and listened along with the others, but heard nothing beyond the dripping of water echoing along the damp stone walls.

  Sayana’s eyes widened in surprise, and she turned and began creeping along the hall towards a barely visible stone door at the far end. Following her cautiously, Aiden watched as the sorceress placed the side of her head against the door. Moments later, Sayana pulled back and pointed at it, nodding her head silently to indicate she had discovered what they sought.

  Pacian rushed forward and began examining the door, which did not have a visible handle to open. His expert hands ran across the surface, searching for some way of bypassing the hidden entrance, to what Aiden believed could only be Osric’s private chambers.

  “Are you sure?” he whispered to Sayana when he couldn’t hear anything beyond the stone surface. She nodded in reply, her lips pursed tightly in consternation. Whatever she sensed was clearly distressing, which did not help Aiden maintain his calm.

  Terinus brushed past, pushing Pacian gently aside before whispering a quick incantation. As before, he walked through the stone door as if it were an illusion. Moments later, it opened silently on oiled hinges revealing a large chamber. Dark stone walls enclose the large space, which was empty except for several squat pillars holding up the ceiling.

  Three doors beckoned from across the room, with warm light flooding into the larger chamber from a gap in one of them. The subtle rustling of chains could be heard from within, prompting Aiden to immediate action. He rushed across the open space and burst through the slightly open doorway, expecting the worst. A number of lanterns hanging from the walls illuminated the room, revealing opulent furnishings and many other comforts, in stark contrast to the rest of the dungeon.

  The sound of a heavy impact, followed by iron clattering across the floor was heard just outside the room. Turning to look, Aiden saw Robert had taken a hit and been knocked onto his back by something. The immense booming sound of something massive walking across flagstones echoed throughout the chamber, putting them all on alert.

  “The dreadnought approaches,” Terinus remarked, incanting some protective magics, as did Sayana. Nellise cautiously headed through the door with the clear intention of aiding Robert, who was shaking his head and struggling to rise after hitting the floor. Before she could reach him, a blur of movement struck the cleric, and it wasn’t the metal arm of the gigantic construct.

  Osric Davignon, moving unnaturally fast, struck Nellise’s armour with a sword etched in light. The blade left searing lines of heat across the metal plate where the weapon connected. She fell back, unable to respond to the blistering assault as Osric’s arms moved faster than the eye could see.

  Terinus raised his staff and began to incant, when the young king left Nellise reeling from the assault and charged at the wizard. Within a heartbeat he had reached his position and slammed a glowing shield into the ancient elf’s chest, sending him back into the room.

  “Aiden Wainwright, we meet again,” Osric purred. Pacian, who had moved to one side of the doorway, brought his scythe down in a deadly sweep that should have taken the king’s head from his shoulder. Osric easily sidestepped the assault and slammed his shield into Pacian before he could react, sending him reeling against the wall.

  Sayana sent a stream of fire at Osric, bathing him in flames. The king seemed unperturbed by the heat, however, and rushed forward to slash her repeatedly with his arcane blade. Her spectral armour flashed and sparked as it resisted the assault, but of greater concern was the stomping footsteps of the dreadnought as it loomed in the gap behind them. Robert and Nellise were cut off, and Osric’s magically augmented speed and power had the others on the defensive.

  In the gap between the construct’s massive legs, Aiden saw Nellise kneeling next to Robert and whispering a prayer of healing. She needed time to get Robert into the fight, and Aiden knew just how to get it.

  “We know what your plans are,” he shouted at Osric. The king was busy dealing with Sayana, who simply couldn’t find the time to invoke her power while his assault continued. Terinus regained his footing and sent a bolt of lightning into Osric. The power arced around his body, striking the walls but leaving him unharmed.

  “Veronique told us everything,” Aiden continued, trying to come up with a way to beat him. “She thinks you’re nothing more than a fun little diversion, did you know that?”

  “You’re lying,” Osric snarled as he slammed the hilt of his weapon into Sayana’s face, leaving her stunned and bloodied. The king turned and stalked towards Aiden as
he spoke. “Veronique has entrusted me with the secrets of the gods, and sees the greatness within me. I will remake the world in my image and live for a thousand years. Criosa will be part of that vision, and you are not taking her from me.”

  “You’ll never lay a hand on her again, you bastard,” Aiden answered as he stood before the king, his sword at the ready. Osric barked a sharp word in Tuscara and out in the chamber the gigantic construct, hunched over in the confined space, bore down on Nellise and Robert, while Osric moved in on Aiden.

  At that moment, everything around him began to slow down. The dreadnaught’s steps were measured and lazy, while the two it sought to destroy moved as if mired in molasses. Initially puzzled, Aiden glanced to his left and saw Terinus incanting in his direction, clearly using magic to counter Osric’s advantage. The wizard may not have been able to affect the king directly, but he could enhance Aiden to match him.

  With a grim smile, Aiden raised Robert’s elf-crafted sword and blocked Osric’s swing. The two locked eyes and the king’s cocky smile vanished, for Aiden was moving just as fast. Without the advantage afforded by his relics, the tables had turned.

  The edge of Aiden’s blade began to glow red where the two swords met, so he brought his booted foot up and kicked Osric hard in the stomach. What he lacked in skill with the blade, Aiden made up for in tenacity. He slashed and cut, putting Osric on the defensive for the first time. The king’s weapon was light and fast, and each parry set Aiden’s sword glowing with a little more heat.

  As he expected, Osric was no novice to fighting with the sword, but he lacked real combat experience. Aiden increased his attacks on his opponent’s left flank, meeting his glowing shield with each strike but gradually forcing Osric off balance and out of position. After half a dozen hits, Aiden stepped in and slashed at the king’s face with his gloved claw while extending his talons. They burst through the leather and gouged deep lines over Osric’s smooth features.

  Osric staggered to one side as blood ran down his chin, but Aiden didn’t relent. With strength surging through him, he slammed his blade down again and again as the young king raised his sword to keep Aiden at bay. He was wearing down Osric’s defences when the wall behind them exploded, sending shards of broken stone across the room and scattering the two combatants.

  Aiden rolled to a stop at the base of the large bed, taking a moment to clear his head before regaining his footing. The entire wall had been destroyed, leaving the room opened up to the large chamber beyond. Standing on the other side of the carnage was the ominous figure of Veronique LeNoir, bathed in an eldritch glow and staring into the remains of the smaller room with fury. Aiden felt the speed he had gained leave his body as Terinus’s attention turned to his counterpart.

  “I told you to stay out of this,” Veronique warned as a strong wind arose from nowhere in the isolated chamber. Osric pushed aside the debris and slowly stood, looking like a child who had done something wrong and was about to face the anger of a disappointed parent. A violet glow surrounded him and grew with intensity.

  “No, I can beat them!” he protested to his mentor. “Don’t send me away—”

  His screech of protest was cut off as Osric promptly vanished, teleported away against his will. Aiden felt a similar pang of frustration, for he had just about beaten the man. He didn’t have time to contemplate this for moments after Osric disappeared, Terinus and Veronique sent a cascade of magical energies at each other. Aiden dived to one side as lightning and fire crackled overhead, setting the back of his tunic alight. He rolled around on the floor to douse the flames.

  Both wizards were deflecting powerful magic and sending out torrents of deadly incantations, colouring the room in an assortment of strange hues. The shadows caused by these lights sprang to life and lunged at Terinus, attempting to suffocate him in darkness. He incanted a powerful burst of light which burned away the shadowy fiends, then sent a burst of green energy crackling into the ceiling above Veronique’s head.

  Shattered stones began to fall toward her, but with a wave of her hand they turned into feathers before they could crush her beneath their weight. Calling upon her impressive powers, she turned the falling feathers into small birds, which flew shrieking at Terinus to batter him, leaving him distracted and unable to respond as a giant, ephemeral fist appeared in the air and slammed into the wizard.

  Terinus crumpled against the wall, yet Veronique did not let up. She raised her hand and the colossal fist picked up her opponent from the ground, and tossed him through a gap in the ruptured stone wall as if he were a rag doll. Veronique vanished in a flash of violet and reappeared through the gap, unleashing another bolt of lightning onto the unseen form of Terinus.

  More of the wall across from Aiden was turned to dust as the dreadnaught’s gleaming fist slammed through it. Through the hole, Nellise, Sayana and Pacian were struggling to control the gigantic construct.

  Aiden clambered over the pile of rubble and joined his companions. He reluctantly summoned a suit of spectral armour to cover his body, knowing full well he was tapping into his sorcery once more. He couldn’t think about it now, however, for the lives of his friends were at stake, and one solid hit from that monster could kill him if unprotected.

  Its movements were more fluid than other constructs they’d fought, and it was faster than it should have been for something so huge. Its face was a smooth, curved surface as reflective as a mirror. There was no sign of damage upon any of its body, despite the best efforts of Sayana and Pacian. Nearby, Robert struggled to regain his footing from the earlier attack, and the man was obviously heavily wounded.

  “Get to Robert,” Aiden advised Nellise as he moved in to take her place. “We’re not going to win this without him.”

  Nellise nodded wordlessly and dropped the plain sword she had been fighting with to tend to the mercenary’s wounds. Aiden exchanged a glance with Sayana, who looked back at him helplessly. Again, she threw a bolt of energy at its hide, only to have it bounce off and strike the wall.

  “Nothing’s working!” she cried in frustration. The dreadnaught responded by sending one of its fists straight for her. Sayana vanished in a flash of violet, reappearing directly behind the construct. She threw a ball of fire directly at its back, which erupted in flames that crawled along the low ceiling before dissipating.

  Pacian darted in and out of the fight, avoiding its dangerous fists completely. He would run in, slash along its leg or flank, and dash out of harm’s way once more. Even the vythiric blade of his scythe was barely enough to scratch the mirror-like finish on the golem’s oversized limbs, and it would take more than hit-and-run attacks to bring it down.

  Given this, Aiden felt completely outmatched by their mighty foe, for his blade would fare no better than Pacian’s. An idea formed in his mind, and although risky, it was worth a try. He rushed in and struck the foreleg of the dreadnaught with his sword twice in quick succession. As he predicted, it had little effect, but it did cause the construct to turn its attention to him.

  Aiden cautiously backpedalled as it bore down on his position, pulling back one of its arms to ready a punishing counterattack. When he saw its arm begin to move forward, he ducked to one side. The fist went right past him and connected with one of the bulky columns which supported the ceiling in this wide chamber.

  The column shattered under the force of the impact, dropping on top of the construct and bringing down part of the ceiling with it. A resounding crash echoed through the room as it was partially buried under tons of stone, sending up a cloud of dust in the process. Daring to believe he’d actually damaged it, Aiden turned to see how Terinus was faring against Veronique.

  The ancient elf was on one knee, struggling to deflect a storm of rocks his opponent was hurling through the air with the power of her mind. Her fury was terrible to behold, leading Aiden to believe there was a great deal of personal feeling in the fight. He couldn’t let her beat him, however much Terinus might deserve to die.

  Reac
hing within himself, Aiden sent a bolt of lightning at Veronique. Her protective magic took the brunt of the assault, but some of it bypassed her defences, judging by a line of blood streaming from her temple. She turned towards Aiden and lashed him with crackling electricity.

  He screamed in pain but only caught a small portion of it, as Nellise nullified the assault. Sayana dimmed the room as she pulled in power from her surroundings, and sent a bolt of crackling green energy at Veronique. The wizard raised her hands and suddenly, the bolt shot back towards Sayana. Stunned at the sudden reversal, she barely managed to respond by summoning her shield of force.

  The shield absorbed some of the damage, but the rest struck the sorceress directly. She was bathed in green fire for a moment, but even that short exposure was enough to sear her skin and destroy her armour. With smoke rising from her charred body, she collapsed to the ground.

  This had given Terinus enough time to regain his footing, and chains of blue light burst from the ground to wrap around his opponent. She responded by vanishing in a puff of violet light, which Terinus duplicated. Aiden thought they had left the scene of the fight, but they both reappeared nearby, darting in and out of reality as they attempted to gain an edge over the other.

  A rumble of stone caught Aiden’s attention as the dreadnaught arose from the crumbling remains of the ceiling, sporting sizeable dents on its back and arms. It was still very much intact, however, and sent a fist thundering towards Aiden. Caught unaware, his spectral armour flashed as it absorbed some of the force, but he was still sent sprawling into a nearby column, gasping at the sudden pain in his body.

  Nellise stumbled out of the way as the construct lumbered forward intent on finishing Aiden off. Someone else was moving in the shadows behind the construct, and it was then Aiden saw Robert move in and bring his sword across in a mighty sweep.