by R. J. Batla
Death
Cloud
The Senturians of Terraunum Series
Book Two
R.J. Batla
Table of Contents
Title Page
Death Cloud (Senturians of Terraunum)
Thank you Kickstarter Supporters!
Dedication
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Map of Terraunum
Chapter 1 – Councilman Ames Talco
Chapter 2 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 3 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 4 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 5 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 6 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 7 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 8 – Gilmer Borger
Jayton Baird
Chapter 9 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 10 – Malstrak
Chapter 11 – Morgan Keller
Chapter 12 – Katy Lavernia
Chapter 13 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 14 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 15 – Councilman Ames Talco
Chapter 16 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 17 – Jayton Baird
Leona Orchard
Chapter 18 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 19 – Gilmer Borger
Chapter 20 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 21 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 22 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 23 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 24 – Royn Crowell
Chapter 25 – Royn Crowell
Chapter 26 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 27 – Malstrak
Chapter 28 – Gilmer Borger
Chapter 29 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 30 – Sonora Aledo
Chapter 31 – The Admiral
Chapter 32 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 33 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 34 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 35 – Aurora Helotus
Chapter 36 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 37 – Katy Lavernia
Chapter 38 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 39 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 40—The Admiral
Chapter 41—Jayton Baird
Chapter 42 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 43 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 44 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 45 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 46 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 47 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 48 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 49 – Leona Orchard
Chapter 50 – The Admiral
Chapter 51 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 52 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 53 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 54 – Royn Crowell
Chapter 55 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 56 – Jayton Baird
Leona Orchard
Jayton Baird
Chapter 57 – Pecos Sinton
The Admiral
Chapter 58 – East Gate Captain
Chapter 59 – Ames Talco
Chapter 60 – The Executioner
Chapter 61 – Jayton Baird
Royn Crowell
Chapter 62 – Scout Team Seven
Chapter 63 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 64 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 65 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 66 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 67 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 68 – Ames Talco
Chapter 69 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 70 – Jayton Baird
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About R.J. Batla
All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, R.J. Batla, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
DEATH CLOUD: The Senturians of Terraunum Series Book Two
Copyright © 2018 by R.J. Batla
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Cover design and Illustration by:
Damjan Gjorgievski
Editor:
Melissa Jackson good-girl-editing
Thank you Kickstarter Supporters!
Dedication
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Map of Terraunum
Chapter 1 – Councilman Ames Talco
Chapter 2 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 3 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 4 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 5 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 6 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 7 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 8 – Gilmer Borger
Chapter 9 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 10 – Malstrak
Chapter 11 – Morgan Keller
Chapter 12 – Katy Lavernia
Chapter 13 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 14 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 15 – Councilman Ames Talco
Chapter 16 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 17 – Jayton Baird
Leona Orchard
Chapter 18 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 19 – Gilmer Borger
Chapter 20 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 21 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 22 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 23 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 24 – Royn Crowell
Chapter 25 – Royn Crowell
Chapter 26 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 27 – Malstrak
Chapter 28 – Gilmer Borger
Chapter 29 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 30 – Sonora Aledo
Chapter 31 – The Admiral
Chapter 32 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 33 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 34 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 35 – Aurora Helotus
Chapter 36 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 37 – Katy Lavernia
Chapter 38 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 39 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 40—The Admiral
Chapter 41—Jayton Baird
Chapter 42 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 43 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 44 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 45 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 46 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 47 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 48 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 49 – Leona Orchard
Chapter 50 – The Admiral
Chapter 51 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 52 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 53 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 54 �
�� Royn Crowell
Chapter 55 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 56 – Jayton Baird
Leona Orchard
Jayton Baird
Chapter 57 – Pecos Sinton
The Admiral
Chapter 58 – East Gate Captain
Chapter 59 – Ames Talco
Chapter 60 – The Executioner
Chapter 61 – Jayton Baird
Royn Crowell
Chapter 62 – Scout Team Seven
Chapter 63 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 64 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 65 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 66 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 67 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 68 – Ames Talco
Chapter 69 – Jayton Baird
Chapter 70 – Jayton Baird
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Did you enjoy DEATH CLOUD?
Thank you Kickstarter Supporters!
About R.J. Batla
Thank you Kickstarter Supporters!
DEATH CLOUD HAS BEEN a fun book to write, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of some awesome people! Your support allowed me to get this book done and in the hands of more readers. You have my deepest thanks.
And now, in no particular order.
Chris Heston
Carrie Campbell
Billy Joe Holcomb (For the Guild!)
Staci D Black
Becky Batla
Joshua C. Chadd
Cyndi Chadd
Andrew M
Gerald P. Mcdaniel
Joel Henry (the best brother in law ever)
Thank you all!
Dedication
This book is for everyone, but it’s mostly for my wife, who puts up with me and my shenanigans.
She is pretty much a badass in everything she does. I love you darlin!
And I can’t have a dedication without thanking God for everything he’s done for me. Especially putting my wife in my life.
Thank you for wondering through my world.
Book 2 begins...
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JOIN MY READER’S COALITION and get AGAINST THE BEAST: The Terraunum Origins Series Book 1 for free!
Royn Crowell’s first assignment is a tough one. With the situation getting worse by the minute, can Royn find a way to defeat the monsters, or will his death mark the first in a long line and threaten all humans on Terraunum?
Sword and Sorcery, Superhero, Military, and Steampunk elements combine in the fast-paced, action packed adventure in Terraunum, where monsters and men clash in a battle for survival.
Grab your copy now!
You’ll get an email with the link to the book (if you don’t check your spam folder or email me and I’ll get you your copy).
I’ll also send periodic updates on my author journey and future books.
Thanks!
RJ
TEMPUS: THE TERRAUNUM Origins Series Book 2
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A vanishing ship and an invisible adversary lurking below the surface sends new captain Celeste Dumas and the crew of the Ajax into uncharted waters fraught with danger as they uncover a much more sinister plot.
Pirates, action, and amazing powers combine in the second novel in the Terraunum Origins Series, chronicling characters from Fire Eyes Awakened.
Death
Cloud
The Senturians of Terraunum Series
Book Two
Map of Terraunum
Chapter 1 – Councilman Ames Talco
AT THE SOUND OF A BATTLE horn, thousands of creatures broke from their ranks and ran screaming toward the iron and stone fortifications the Easterners had set up in twelve concentric rings in defense of the Gate. Swarming over the land like ants, the multicolored three-foot-tall pyarks quickly moved across the ground, their shark-like heads full of pointed teeth bobbing back and forth as they ran, their small spears and flint blades shining in the morning sun. Shrieks, clicks, and pops carried over the open ground toward their enemies on the wall.
The defenders stood atop their platform of stone and spikes, waiting for the incoming army. The great gray Wall loomed behind them like a giant guardian, a firm foothold and a fortress to fall back upon. Stone faced, they watched from the twelfth defensive ring — the furthest from the Wall and the edge of their defenses. The Senturians of the East Side could have relied solely on the strength of their huge battlement, but the leaders had chosen erected the temporary rings to take the fight to the enemy while still allowing them a means of retreat. Each ring expanded from the Wall Gate in a larger arc than the last, the gate the lone way through the Wall.
When the pyarks were halfway through the thousand-yard distance between the two armies, Ames Talco, from his perch behind the front lines on the eleventh ring out from the Wall, gave the order.
“Engage traps!”
Through small interconnected earpieces, his order was relayed to various commanders along the twelfth ring in front of him.
All along the fortified wall, various Senturians engaged their powers—blue, red, brown, and green energies glowing quickly, then being sent to their destinations. With springs and mechanical whirls, hundreds of traps sprung on the incoming horde. Pits opened with spikes at the bottom, impaling any creatures that fell into them. Flames burst from triggered traps. Energy filled stones exploded, sending shrapnel into other pyarks. Small tornadoes burst from nowhere, flinging and carrying off several of the screaming invaders. Spears of solid ice erupted from soggy ground, piercing the pyarks clean through. Hundreds died in the initial attack.
Despite the drastic loss of life, the little demons advanced, hardly slowing at all, their bloodlust and the will of their master an insatiable driver. They closed the distance, now within two hundred and fifty yards.
Ames Talco gave the next order. “Fire siege weapons.”
Catapults, ballista, trebuchets, water cannons, and mortars simultaneously fired, sending thousands of projectiles toward the pyarks. Boulders crushed, bolts skewered, ice struck, fireballs burned, and explosions rocked the earth, killing thousands more of the pyarks. Blood and body parts littered the field, but the swarming mass hardly seemed to notice. Whenever one went down, it seemed three more took its place, often stopping to take a bite from their fallen comrade on the way to attack the wall.
To the Senturian forces, the ground looked like a solid sheet of brown and black bodies. The pyarks avoided the already sprung traps, only to trigger others or be killed by the fire from the siege weapons. The pyarks showed no fear or concern, beady eyes almost lifeless as they scrambled across the earth and shook their weapons.
When they were one hundred yards away, Ames Talco said, “Archers. Fire.”
Thousands of shafts filled the sky, most finding their mark, bringing down the demons in a hail of wood and iron. The little land sharks quickly raised small wooden shields, protecting themselves as best they could, so the next volleys weren’t as effective as the first. Arrows continued to rain down, but the horde charged on, shrieking and clacking their teeth together while banging on their tough skin with their rudimentary weapons, sharp slapping sounds that carried over the battlefield.
At fifty yards, Ames Talco said, “Senturians. Fire at will!”
All the elements appeared at once. Red skinned and armored Phoenix sent fire at the pyarks, burning them as they tried to close the gap. Helion, averaging eight feet tall with icy blue skin hurled ice spears, skewering two or three at a time. Reka, light blue river Senturians and Tempus, dark blue ocean Senturians shot blasts of high-pressure water, cleaving the pyarks in two. Five-and-a-half-foot tall brown Dwarfs launched hundreds of boulders toward the incoming line of creatures. Aeren sent blasts of sharpened air from their green hands, cutting down the pygmy sharks as they continued to advance. Manu, yellow skinned with billowing robes, shot bolts of pure energy, incinerating the creatures. Human Senturians mimicked the same attacks, based o
n their abilities. The final fifty yards of ground between the twelfth ring of defenders and the pyarks became a mass of elemental chaos and dying demons.
Completely disregarding their fallen comrades, the invaders pressed the attack, swarming over their dead and dying warriors in their haste, quickly closing in on the twelfth ring. Senturians continued to fire as the pyarks closed in, but it was clear the invaders would not be held back. Ames Talco gave one more command.
“Brace for impact!”
With their combined mass much greater than a single individual, the pyarks crashed into the wall like a wave. Many died on the spiked fortification, but their bodies only served as scaffolding for those behind as they scaled the fifteen-foot wall as easily as if they were running on flat ground. The Senturians met them with cold steel - swords, axes, spears, and other close quarter combat weapons. Battle cries from the different Races erupted from the throats of the army. Blows and strikes cut down hundreds more of the small creatures, the battlements quickly becoming slick with ichor. Each Senturian was a match for dozens of the pyarks but, by sheer numbers, they were overwhelming the defenders. Stone blades snuck under armor while piercing teeth clamped down on exposed limbs.
Human screams now joined those of the attackers as the fortification soon became of mass of swirling pyarks. Ames watched as they attacked one soldier. He took out three of the creatures before a dozen piled on top of him, spraying blood in all directions. In a matter of seconds, the creatures moved on, leaving nothing but a pile of bones and armor behind.
Ames Talco grimaced as he looked over the top of the battle in front of him and saw the flow of new pyarks had stopped at least. Thank God for that. Maybe there’s an end in sight. But that still left too many to deal with, his soldiers were dying faster than they could be replaced, and he realized it might be too late already.
One of his commanders stepped up beside him. “Sir, we’re being overrun. There aren’t enough soldiers to hold the twelfth ring. There are just too many of them blasted fiends. Do we deploy the reinforcements?”
Ames hesitated only a second. “Negative, Commander. Give the order: all soldiers fall back behind the eleventh ring. Everyone else, let’s give them some cover fire! Don’t let the little devils get our men and women as they retreat.”
His subordinates relayed the orders, and the warriors left along the twelfth ring slowly gave ground as their fellow soldiers rained down powers and arrows upon the pyarks — who still climbed over the top of the wall — keeping them back off the retreating line. Dozens more died during the retreat, but most made it to the eleventh wall through tunnels and over ladders designed for just such an inevitability. Once the last skirted through to safety, the tunnels were sealed and the ladders pulled up.