Avarice Twilight

by R. A Davidson

  I see a chance to knock the Hashshashin on my left of balance. I aim for his knee as soon as he shifts his weight onto his front leg. The Hashshashin's leg gives out; however, he strikes just as strong and precise.

  I jump back to gain distance from the three Hashshashin; they charge to reduce the space between us. Utrix uses his magic to keep them at bay. I have enough time to ready a spell when the ground shakes.

  The Hashshashin stops.

  The cause is Aryn slamming his head into the ground. Repeatedly, he drives his head towards the ground, each time causing the crater to deepen.

  "Barin, I’m losing it!" Aryn yells.

  More Hashshashin approach him as daggers fly towards Aryn from the trees. The blades skewer Aryn, and he screams in pain. His scream of pain soon becomes one of anger. Grunting on the ground, Aryn starts looking like a feral beast instead of a person.

  The Hashshashin halt their approach as a murderous miasma slowly consumes the area around us. Aryn begins to growl madly, his eyes rolled in the back of his head.

  He faces the Hashshashin , flames erupt from his mouth, enveloping all in their path. The heat from the flames is unusual, burning everything without discrimination. The Hashshashin stand by in fear and awe as their comrades are erased from existence.

  The flames burn out of control, setting the whole forest ablaze. The horses whinny as they run to escape the spreading fire.

  "What are you doing, you fool!" The Princess yells. She stomps over to Aryn. "Are you attempting to kill us too, you imbecile!?" she screams.

  Aryn stands up to meet The Princess, baring his teeth and growling. "Get away from him!" I yell. I run to stop her.

  "Who do you think you are?" The Princess demands. "Must I constantly remind you what the circumstances are? Now, stop with this show of brute fatuousness."

  The Princess then slaps Aryn, who seems momentarily stunned. Aryn clasps The Princess's neck and hoists her from the ground.

  "U-unhand me," she sputters.

  The Princess swings her sword at Aryn's shoulder; the blade breaks in half on impact.

  Damn it, that level of magic won't work anymore. I know what I have to do, but I hate to use it on Aryn.

  "Utrix, get ready to send Aryn in the air," I order.

  Utrix nods; luckily, he's trusting my actions at the moment.

  I point my finger towards Aryn, aiming for his face. "Crimson Flare," I chant.

  A small flame flies from my finger, and into Aryn's eye. He drops The Princess and winces from the pain. While the attack is hardly enough to do damage, it should be able to get his attention on me.

  Aryn makes eye contact with me while rubbing the soot from his face. It's been a while since he's been in this state… I'll end it quick.

  Aryn starts charging towards me. He's not using his strength wisely, so his feet break into the ground with each step. This gives enough time to signal Utrix to use his magic.

  Manipulating Aryn's gravity, Utrix sends him flying up into the air.

  "Let me know when to drop him," Utrix orders.

  I glance at the remaining Hashshashin and the hooded woman; I'm wary about why they have yet to attack. It seems that they're more worried about observing for the moment.

  I wait until Aryn is high enough to leave my sight before I signal Utrix to release him. I have to time this at the right moment to use the spell, preferably when Aryn is at the fastest descent. I have to put all of my focus on gathering mana.

  A few Hashshashin leap toward Asteria, Utrix stops two of them from advancing. The last one lunges towards Asteria. As he reaches her, a metal spear strikes him from the ground.

  The Princess stands. "Heed my words and appear, hear the song of battle and dance, Platinum Petals," she incants.

  A whirlwind of small blades descends upon the forest, keeping the Hashshashin at bay. At this point, Aryn is in my sight, and I really do hate having to use this on him, but it's the only way to stop him.

  "Answer my will, break through the ground and shatter the enemy, Sharur," I recite.

  The forest trembles as the ground cracks, creating a chasm that divides us from the Hashshashin on the other side. A mass of stone rises from the crevasse, forming a handle as it slowly approaches my hand. I grasp the stone, pulling it from the ground.

  "A club?" Asteria asks.

  I wouldn't exactly call it a club. It's just a crudely shaped rock.

  Aryn is falling to the right height for me to attack. I take my stance, ready to strike. I don't like using this spell, since it uses the caster's body to complete it… I have to bear the brunt of the rebound.

  Aryn is in range; I swing Sharur. As I make contact with Aryn's body, it's almost as if reality itself cracks. Everything behind Aryn shatters as the environment rises like a wave. The force from the swing then blasts away Hashshashin with a monstrous maelstrom.

  The dust settles as I return Sharur back to the ground it came from. Aryn lies on the ground in front of me. Behind him remains what is left of the altered landscape.

  "What the fuck was that," Utrix asks as he approaches me.

  "Asteria, come heal Aryn," I order.

  Asteria makes her way over to Aryn and starts healing him.

  The Princess joins us. "What are the two of you?" she questions. "I have never heard of magic like that."

  I sit down; I don't have the energy to stand, let alone deal with The Princess at the moment.

  From the silence, we hear the movement of rubble. A slab of rock falls over, revealing three Hashshashin and the hooded woman. They were lucky to survive.

  They climb out of the hole they hid in.

  "The old man did not mention two monsters," the hooded woman remarks as she stands.

  Her tattered hood falls to the ground, it's too dark out to see her face, but I can make out a red eye.

  "Fall back," she orders.

  The remaining Hashshashin disappear into the darkness. The woman keeps looking at us as she slowly walks backwards. "I have a feeling I will meet that one yet again," she remarks.

  "What is wrong with Aryn's body?" Asteria asks while healing him.

  "His bones and internal organs have been completely destroyed," I respond.

  The rebound from using Sharur is setting in; my vision is blurring, and I can feel my muscles tearing.

  I motion for The Princess. "Would you mind using an enchantment to strengthen my body?" I ask.

  She points her sword at me instead. "This is the second time you have demonstrated magic above even the strongest known mages. Your fool of a brother has also demonstrated physical strength akin to a monster," The Princess states. She puts her blade to my neck. "I will have you explain yourself thoroughly," she demands.

  I sigh; it seems that Utrix and Asteria are in agreement with The Princess. I'll only tell them as much as they need to know. For now, I want to keep our past a secret from them.

  14

  UTRIX

  The Princess has Barin by the neck to get him to talk. I glance at Asteria, for as much as she is against us quarrelling, she seems intent on hearing this as well.

  I suppose I would like to know as much as I can about those in my company. These brothers are nothing short of monsters. I need to know any weaknesses if I ever have to confront them.

  "I won't tell you the spells that I can use. What I will tell you is I can use many spells that would be classified as Arcane or higher," Barin states.

  I look at the damage that Barin did with that attack. Maps will have to be redrawn. I don't know what is more dreadful, that he did that much damage… or that Aryn took a hit like that and lived. That's troublesome; while my magic is also Arcane, I can't affect the terrain to such an extent.

  "What about the fool?" The Princess interrogates. "He is clearly not human."

  I'm not sure about not being human. However, I can feel something strange flowing in Aryn's body. Call it intuition, but no one should have such a malevolent, murderous aura. The killing intent he disp
layed with Regin was that of someone who has a mountain of corpses behind them.

  "Aryn is a human; I won't tell you the details, but his body was enhanced by myself in order to save his life," Barin responds.

  That actually makes some sort of sense to explain Aryn's almost Behemoth like physical aspects. From what I’ve witnessed so far, Barin should indeed be capable of such.

  "Are you going to say you gave him fire that burns magic as well? I, for one, have never heard of such fire magic existing," The Princess refutes.

  Barin doesn't answer.

  "I said you will answer," The Princess presses.

  Barin remains silent.

  If he is trying to get us to trust him, he is not doing too well. Aryn's flames are concerning. They are an impeccable weapon to have when everyone uses magic to fight. However, the same is also true if he were to use them against us or the kingdom. Frankly, in a battle against Aryn, I doubt I could best him. In fact, I suspect all three of us against any one of the brothers, would be able to do little damage to them. It would be better to classify them as walking disasters, at the very least.

  "As far as I can observe, the fool is just as much a threat to us as the enemy," The Princess states.

  Asteria finishes with Aryn's healing; she takes the time to brush his hair from his face. I think I was the only one to witness her little display of affection, though this really is not the time for such activities.

  "It was not Aryn's fault," Asteria states. "The enemy had used toxins to influence his mind."

  She stands in front of Aryn's body, as if a sign of protecting him.

  Annoyed, The Princess looks towards me as if I should reinforce her speculations.

  I sigh. "It appears his mind is easily distorted by anything of magical or alchemic origins. From his interaction with The Princess, he clearly cannot discern friend from foe if he is in such a state," I respond.

  The Princess looks satisfied with my answer. "Then that settles—"

  I clap my hands to interrupt The Princess.

  "While he did act like a wild beast with unfathomable strength, he was still just a beast," I state. “I would argue, that Aryn is more dangerous when he is sane.”

  The Princess is not pleased with me, preventing her from finishing her thought. "I have withstood quite enough of this fool's inabilities!" The Princess bellows.

  Her vocal outburst takes us by surprise; she is usually more pristine with her verbal abuse.

  She then proceeds to stomp over to Aryn, but Asteria halts her approach.

  "Please stand aside, Asteria," The Princess insists.

  Asteria stands her ground, looking The Princess fiercely in the eyes. The Princess gives Asteria a heartfelt smile. I guess she recognizes Asteria's resolve and doesn't want to hurt a friend.

  "Silver Knight," she chants, summoning a small golem from the ground.

  The knight takes hold of Asteria to remove her from The Princess's path. "Stop it, Isla!" Asteria pleads.

  The Princess puts the point of her sword to Aryn's throat. "Let us rid ourselves of this unstable nuisance," she suggests.

  An ominous pressure momentarily overtakes me. The Princess seems to feel the atmosphere change as well. Asteria is staring wide-eyed at Barin.

  Is this Barin's killing intent? It's definitely a different sensation compared to Aryn's, like a hand is gripped around my throat.

  "Do you dare oppose my decision in this matter, Barin?" The Princess calmly asks.

  There's some killing intent coming from The Princess now. For only her second time making use of it, she has refined it to feel like a cold dagger.

  "I may have exuded a fair amount of mana, but I can still wipe you from this world if you threaten us," Barin responds with no expression.

  A chill crawls down my back after Barin makes his intentions known. The Princess turns to face him; it seems she wants to fight. I step between them. "Princess, I really don't want to see if he can back up what he said. If he uses a spell, like the one earlier, I may not be able to stop him," I state.

  Aryn suddenly sits up, frightening Asteria. He stretches as though he had just woken from a nap. "What's going on?" he asks, clearly confused.

  Seeing him lively makes me a bit envious of his recovery speed.

  He looks at the damage from the battle. "Seems like everything worked out," he says with a grin.

  The Princess thrusts her sword at Aryn, who lies down to avoid the blade. He grabs The Princess's sword arm and proceeds to pull her to the ground atop of him. Aryn wraps his arm around The Princess as she tries to resist, to no avail.

  "Release me at once, you foolish fiend!" The Princess demands.

  Aryn sighs. "Are you afraid of me?" he asks sincerely.

  The emptiness in is voice is pretty alarming.

  "I'm sure you have many questions about Barin and myself. Sadly, I can't recall much of my past," Aryn states.

  Hearing Aryn speak like this is strange; it gives me an unnerving feeling. It's almost like he's a different person from the one I've recently known.

  I glance at Barin. Why is it that he seems to know everything, but Aryn doesn't? Barin stares at me; his gaze is sharp and intense. I glare back, as if asking him what he is hiding. For the time being, I don't think I should trust Barin completely.

  The Princess stands once Aryn releases her.

  "Can you please release me?" Asteria kindly asks, still being held by the golem.

  The Princess's face turns red, then the golem drops Asteria and sinks into the ground. "Sorry," The Princess mumbles.

  She turns from us to hide her embarrassment.

  The sun starts to rise over the trees, and we are in quite a predicament. I have no idea where the horses and supplies are, or if they even survived Barin's attack. We have just enough money to get to a city, but that money was meant for tolls and what little supplies we might have needed. What's more pressing is the fact that everyone is tired from the fight.

  "We need to head to Cochagine as soon as possible to try and get supplies." I state.

  They look dissatisfied with my suggestion.

  "Can we not rest first? We did fight two battles in the span of a single day," The Princess protests.

  I rub my eyes… I'm tired as well, but we have no time to sit here and debate what to do.

  "I'm the leader of the group and have more experience in the area. Now, this is the time to listen to me and not whine," I order.

  As angry as The Princess is, she seems to understand my point is valid.

  Barin stands, then walks over to Aryn. "Time to get up," he says as he kicks Aryn.

  Aryn pushes Barin's foot away and grumps. "Get up," Barin says again, this time stomping the side of Aryn's head.

  Aryn sits up. "Fiiiiine," he whines.

  I think I should let Barin oversee handling Aryn from now on. If I can keep Barin in check, Aryn should follow suit.

  The Princess collapses to her knees, "It would seem I possess no energy to move at the moment. Might we not rest for the time being?" she asks.

  I shake my head.

  "What are you doing!?" The Princess shrieks.

  Aryn has hoisted her into his arm to carry her…well, like a princess really.

  "I don't mind carrying a cute lady," he says with a smile.

  The Princess blushes briefly before regaining her composure. Aryn walks over to Asteria, then he smiles and takes a knee. "Climb on," he instructs with a smile.

  Asteria is bewildered by this, I imagine any woman would be.

  "W-wouldn't I be too heavy?" she shyly asks.

  I guess she's so embarrassed that she is speaking informally. Aryn looks confused. "I'll always be strong enough to support you no matter what," he responds with a smile. Asteria wraps her arms around his neck and puts her legs between his arms. Aryn stands up. "See, I'm the strongest there is. You won't have to worry about anything as long as I'm here," Aryn states.

  Asteria puts her face against Aryn's back, but I can see
the red on her cheeks from blushing. I have to say, he is one smooth talker.

  I lead the way as we make our way through what is left of the forest. It doesn't take much time for The Princess and Asteria to fall asleep, exhausted from lack of rest and mana.

  After some time of walking, we run into a group of men. They stop us from continuing along the path.

  "Are you lot coming from where that explosion was?" a burly man asks.

  We try to keep walking, when two of the men block our path.

  The men and I have been working hard lately," the burly man states as he approaches. "What say you let us partake in those women with you?" he smiles.

  His smile shows all the lustful greed he harbors, not bothering to keep his intentions hidden. The other men pull daggers and swords out to threaten us with. Guess the burly man is their boss, a group of vagabonds?

  He stops in front of Aryn; guess there are people of larger frames than even him.

  "An elf?" he remarks. "Never had an elf," he says as he licks his lips.

  The burly man reaches for The Princess.

  "Do you want to die?" Aryn asks.

  The question makes the burly man stop his advance as Aryn looks genuinely dumbfounded by the man's actions. The burly man chortles, causing the other men to laugh. The noise wakes up The Princess and Asteria, who both shriek at the sight of the man.

  "Don't worry ladies, I'll take good care of you," the man grins.

  Aryn kicks the man's neck, breaking it with a sickening crack. The burly man falls to the ground; poor fool never knew what happened.

  "Boss!" one of the men yells.

  "What did you do?" another asks.

  Aryn still looks confused. "I killed him," he replies.

  I flinch; I've never seen a person take a life so nonchalantly, as if it's natural for him to kill someone.

  The other men approach Aryn. "J-just hand us the girls before we have to hurt you," the guy in front demands.

  The Princess and Asteria clench Aryn tighter; they don't have the energy to fight yet.