Quick Change Volume 1: Slyborn
Page 22
Everyone in the courtyard pushed both fists together in front of their breast bones, just like Seth had seen Aurora and Ivon do toward Ramses before. Seth mimicked them. Seth expected Ramses to make a speech, but he didn’t. His eyes briefly turned up as he took in Verun next to Seth, but he continued past, silent.
Behind him walked several people. One of them was the priest who’d stood behind Seth during his duel with Randolph, and the other two were adventurers Seth hadn’t met yet. One, a man, wore heavy plate armor not unlike Aurora’s, and the other, a woman, wore leather armor and had a bow strapped to her back.
The group of four of them walked to the gate of Slyborn, which was then opened to let them embark. No one broke the silence. As soon as the fortress doors were closed behind them, everyone clambered to get atop the walls and see what happened, Seth and Verun included.
The Howlingshield force was somewhere between two and three hundred strong, as far as Seth could gauge. They were in a loose formation, though it didn’t look terribly disciplined. Seth spotted a lot of people wearing plate armor in the front two rows, and it looked like there was a knot of around twenty robed people standing in the middle, protected on all sides. There was also a clump of what looked like prisoners chained to some wagons behind the force. Slaves? It was too far to make out.
He didn’t focus too much on the actual force, though. Ybarra could be seen walking away from the force. Seth recognized the man even at this distance. Several people followed him, similar to Ramses, but they stopped several hundred feet back. Ramses’ escorts stopped too, and the two rogues met in the middle.
They spoke, but even a good wind couldn’t have carried their words far enough for Seth to pick them up. Seth looked to Barnett, who’d ended up close to him on the wall, and said, “If Ramses wins, will the Howlingshields just leave?”
Barnett glanced at him, pursing his lips, and said, “That was the agreement we made. I’m confident in the commander. He’s as good at fighting as I am at reading.”
Seth nodded and looked back at the two men alone on the field. After what seemed like too short a time, the two pulled their weapons out and stood ready. Both of the men dark, tight clothing, and both wielded large daggers in each hand.
The two stood stock still for several moments, and if by some magic signal, the fight began. The two launched at each other. Ramses led with a direct thrust with his right hand, but Ybarra parried it easily and retaliated with a swipe at Ramses’ outstretched arm. Ramses backpedaled, and the dagger whizzed by.
The two men were fast. Incredibly, inhumanly fast. They both stabbed and cut at the other at a prodigious rate, it looked to Seth like someone had recorded a fight, and then sped it up to triple the normal speed. The initial exchange lasted only a few seconds then, almost simultaneously, both men jumped backwards and simply vanished from view.
No one spoke, and Seth strained his eyes, trying to catch some glimpse of Ramses or Ybarra, but the small plain just looked empty.
Then, the two men appeared again, dozens of paces to the left. Ybarra had his daggers crossed in an X pattern above his head, stopping one of Ramses’ plunging daggers just inches from his face. Seth saw both men tremble with the effort they were expending, but it appeared to be a stalemate. Ramses gave up that avenue, and kicked Ybarra in the ribs with a black boot. Ybarra literally flew several feet in the air and landed poorly, rolling over the rocky ground.
Ramses was rushing towards him, trying to take advantage of Ybarra’s lack of footing, but Ybarra made a motion with his hands like he was punching the sky, and two black hands looking like they belonged to a giant came out of the ground underneath Ramses and grabbed him. The black, shadowy hands eclipsed Ramses’ legs entirely, and he began slashing at them. They lost cohesion and disappeared in a puff of black smoke as Ybarra regained his feet.
Ramses made the same hand sign that Ybarra had made, and another pair of hands sprung up underneath Ybarra, holding him in place. Ramses crossed his arms across his chest like he was going to lay in a coffin, and simply fell backwards onto his back.
Instead of hitting the ground, though, he seemed to go right through it, and appeared right behind the still stuck Ybarra, lifting out of the ground in a reverse to his fall. He plunged his right dagger down at the leader of the Howlingshields.
Just when it looked like the stab would land, Ybarra teleported several feet to the right and Ramses’ shadow hands disappeared in another puff of smoke. Seth was almost positive that the man hadn’t actually moved there, but literally teleported, instantaneously.
It seemed like Ramses expected the move, though, because he lunged at the now free Ybarra and scored a nasty slash across the man’s stomach, parting his dark leather armor as if it were thin cloth. Seth was surprised that no health bar appeared above the man, but guessed that he was too far away.
Ybarra pressed his left forearm against the gash and backpedaled, but Ramses pressed his advantage, continuing to advance at the other rogue and hammering him with different strokes of his wicked black daggers. Ybarra was still able to counter most of the blows, but Seth could see blood running down his pant legs from the wound on his stomach, and the man, while still lightning fast, was slowing.
When Ybarra tripped over a stone Seth couldn’t see, landing firmly on his rump, Seth thought the fight was over. Ramses stepped forward and loomed over the fallen man. Seth wondered if he’d have mercy on Ybarra, but apparently the killing of the guild’s headquarters in Vardon was too fresh on his mind, because Ramses stabbed down, lightning fast at Ybarra’s head.
The fall had been a ruse though, and Ybarra parried the blow, and then stabbed his left dagger toward Ramses’ unprotected stomach. The dagger didn’t connect, though, and Ramses teleported several feet back. Seth had to know how the men were doing that.
Ybarra raised his hands again, punching the sky, and the two black hands appeared again, holding Ramses in place. Seth saw then that the group of four people who’d followed Ybarra halfway to the meeting point had started running forward, toward their leader. Seth said, “Oh, no,” and started climbing onto Verun’s back. The lion, instincts sharp, leapt off the wall before Seth even said anything, and Seth saw Ramses’ escort start sprinting forward, too. Seth’s stomach dropped, and he felt like he might vomit, but was able to hold it in through sheer adrenaline.
No one had made it very far, though, when three rogues appeared in a triangle around the immobile form of Ramses, all of their daggers plunging down at once. Ramses was actually able to contort his body in such a way as to dodge two of the figures who’d ambushed him, drawing his dagger across the neck of one, and plunging it deep into the gut of the other. The rogue most out of Ramses line of sight, though, hit home, and his dagger plunged into Ramses’ back.
By that point, the fastest of Ybarra’s escort, a thin man in a robe, got close enough and a streak of golden magic swirled around Ybarra, healing his wounds. Ramses’ group wasn’t close enough to help yet, but Seth and Verun streaked toward him at a prodigious speed.
Ybarra stood and went for Ramses, jumping over the still convulsing man who’d had his throat slashed by the Adventurers’ Guild commander.
And before anyone could make it, Ybarra rammed both daggers into Ramses’ chest. Seth finally crossed the threshold to see health bars and saw the moment that Ramses’ dropped to zero. The commander’s body fell unceremoniously as Ybarra pulled his daggers out and started running back to his soldiers.
Seth saw that the entire Howlingshield force had started advancing now, and Ybarra’s four escorts had reached him. Verun roared and continued flying at Ybarra, but Seth mentally said, No, we can’t beat them all. We need to regroup with the guild and fight together.
Verun growled again, and Seth could feel rage boiling off the lion’s mind. He said, Seth looked down and saw that Ramses’ escort had reached his body. The scout woman was rapidly firing arrow after arrow at the opposition. The knight was
hammering blows of his big sword into the one surviving rogue who’d ambushed Ramses, and the priest struggled to pick Ramses’ body up.
Seth fired a thought to Verun, and the lion agreed, landing next to the group. Seth hopped off and ran toward the priest and Ramses’ body, and said, “Here, put him on Verun’s back.” The priest looked shell-shocked, but complied, and he and Seth were able to get Ramses onto Verun’s back. Blood ran down the lion’s white fur.
It was clear that someone would have to hold Ramses on, so Seth instructed the priest to do it, saying he’d help the other two cover their retreat. The priest nodded dumbly again and climbed on behind Ramses. Verun waited for him to get situated and then took off at a jog towards Slyborn. Seth, Charged the rogue that was still trying to defend himself from the knight, and the man’s health was so low that Charge finished him off. His body crumpled to the ground.
The knight had been so focused that he jumped, not having even seen Seth and Verun arrive. Seth pointed back towards Slyborn and yelled, “Let’s go!”
The three of them followed Verun and the priest, the scout occasionally turning and letting loose a few arrows before running again. Seth glanced back and saw Ybarra make it to the main force of his army and heard cheering coming from them. For the moment, the Howlingshields weren’t pursuing them anymore.
The group crossed the bridge into Slyborn, the great wooden doors opening to admit them. The crowd swept up Ramses' body and carried it away into one of the buildings on the courtyard. Seth spotted Molly and Aurora. Molly was no longer crying. Her face was a mask of rage.
Seth jogged over to Dominick, who stood alone, and said, “Is there anything that can be done for him?”
Dominick looked numb. He looked at Seth blankly for a moment before saying, “No. He’s dead. It’s not optional for the rest of us. Maybe you should have fought the guy.” He scoffed and walked off. Seth thought that Dominick might have been right.
The fortress was in a frenzy, guild members sprinting around, securing the gates, handing out weapons, some were crying, some had anger boiling just below the surface, and some had no expressions at all, shocked by the loss of their leader.
Seth spotted Barnett walking out of the building they’d carried Ramses into and walked over. He said, “We need to prepare our defenses in case they do attack. Who’s in charge now?”
Molly and Aurora walked out behind him, and Barnett turned to them and said, “Molly is the most senior member now, though Aurora has officer training and could be field promoted.”
Molly, anger still almost palpable on her features, said, “Aurora’s in charge, I’m busy. I’m going to go out there and cook them alive. I won’t have time to supervise anyone.”
Seth looked at Aurora and said, “Officer training?”
Aurora replied, “All officers have to spend at least one six-year stint as the resident adventurer of a territory before they can be promoted to commander level. That’s why I was in Bosqovar.”
Just then, someone yelled from the wall, “Enemy is forming up ranks again, advancing toward the fortress!”
All eyes in the fortress turned toward the group of people Seth stood with. Molly didn’t react, but Barnett looked to Aurora and said, “What do we do, Commander?”
Chapter 34
Aurora started to speak, but a new sound had started within the courtyard of Slyborn Stronghold. Seth turned around to see Pahan standing in the middle of the open courtyard. He was massive, standing at least twenty feet tall, and his wings stretched out a huge distance in both directions.
Guild members scattered away from his sudden appearance, but didn’t do anything to attack him, recognizing that he looked just like Verun. Verun, for his part, had run forward to stand next to his father.
Pahan’s voice thundered into Seth’s mind, and by the way he saw everyone in view flinch simultaneously, he knew the lion wasn’t just speaking to him.
The guild members expressions varied so widely from shock to awe to terror, but they all galvanized at Aurora’s command. Seth ran over and hopped onto Verun’s back again, and the lion took to the sky. Seth made eye contact with Pahan, and the big lion rumbled, shaking the ground, as he nodded his head at Seth.
The Howlingshield force had indeed been advancing toward Slyborn, and several scouts took shots at Verun and Seth as they spiraled higher over the fort, waiting for some of the guild members to get through the gate and out onto the field of battle. All of the shots feel short.
Seth and Verun spun long lazy circles as the Adventurers’ Guild crammed out of the fortress as fast as they could. The force looked significantly smaller than the Howlingshields.
The enemy had seen the lung dragon heading down the mountain, and had stopped their advance, intimidated by the sight of a dozen spirit constructs barreling in their direction. Seth wondered if the dragons would wait for the Adventurers’ Guild to form ranks and attack, but they blew right past them and slammed into the Howlingshield force.
Seth saw men go flying, and the dragons scattered, doing their loopy turns, and heading in for another attack. Seth saw that one of the dragons had already been killed, its corpse lay tangled on the ground. He wondered if Ybarra had killed it himself.
The adventurers saw the dragons attack and started charging the enemy en masse, wanting to benefit from their enemy’s distraction. The first adventurers crashed into the Howlingshields. The front lines of both forces seemed to be made up of primarily knights and warriors, judging by their armor and weapon choice, and Seth saw dozens of translucent blue shields like Aurora’s spring into existence.
Arrows, bursts of fire, and thin bolts of lightning arced over the heads of the melee fighters from both sides. An Adventurers’ Guild knight fell on his back, his enemy standing over him, sword raised, and Verun dove.
Verun landed next to the enemy, the ground shaking with the impact, and bit the man’s head off. The guild knight stood up, and a priest appeared to heal his wounds. Seth started swinging at the enemies from Verun’s back.
Adventurers rallied around the white lion and Seth, and their portion of the line started making progress, slaying Howlingshields as they went. Things seemed to be going well for Seth until the enemy forces parted, revealing the form of a small, wiry woman. Seth had time to say, “Oh sh—”, reverting to English in his panic, before the bolt of lightning rammed down from the heavens, arced through Freya, and slammed into his chest.
Seth went flying from Verun’s back.
Level 39 mage (Freya) hits you for 845 damage with Redirect Lightning.
Seth was amazed that he wasn’t dead. Golden light spun around him, and then Dominick’s face appeared above him, looking down. Seth said, “We’ve got to stop running into each other like this.”
Dominick glared at him for a moment but then his expression cracked, and he grinned, helping Seth up. He said, “Sorry about earlier. Immortal or not, you need to stay alive long enough to help us kill these bastards.”
Seth nodded at him and thanked him for the heal, then looked around for Verun. The lion was almost surrounded. Men and women with swords had pushed forward after Seth had been blasted off his back. Verun was doing his best to fend them off, but he was losing the numbers game. Verun took one more slash across his right shoulder, reared his head back, and roared in defiance, activating his new Flock skill.
Five copies of the red-faced lion appeared around him, tearing into the Howlingshields that had pushed forward, trying to surround him. Seth tried to take stock of the battle. Only a few of the lung dragons were still airbo
rne, and the Howlingshields didn’t look defeated.
Seth caught a glimpse of Freya on the opposite side of Verun, her finger raised again and pointed at the lion. He sprinted toward Verun, jumped onto his back, and activated Charge. He shot off Verun’s back toward Freya, slamming his blade into her shoulder before she had time to cast Redirect Lightning again.
Her muscles locked up, the stun from charge taking effect, and Seth slashed at the woman with Deliberate Strike. Before the blow could land though, an enemy knight slammed Seth back several feet with Shield Bash.
Seth didn’t know if he’d get another chance to get to the mage, but he didn’t have to. Just then, a massive fireball, several times the size of the others being slung around the battlefield, whizzed past Seth’s head, and hit the ground in front of Freya.
Just before it struck, Seth thought that it had missed, but it exploded on impact. The explosion was huge, knocking dozens of Howlingshields off their feet and sending Freya flying dozens of feet backward. She didn’t rise.
Seth turned around to see Molly walking through the guild’s forces, red hair wild around her face, eyes burning with hatred. Seth said, “Thanks,” but she didn’t react. Another massive fireball was forming in her hands, and Seth scrambled to get behind her before she launched it. That fireball sent another huge swath of the enemy tumbling.
A guild priest Seth didn’t recognize pushed forward through the crowd and healed a warrior who’d been lying down on the battlefield, badly wounded. As the priest was helping the now healed warrior stand, a Howlingshield rogue appeared from nowhere and killed the priest in one hit, then vanished again.
The warrior roared and swung his blade in an arc, releasing a Cleave attack in the general direction the rogue had been in. It worked, and the silvery energy shot by Cleave cut into the rogue’s back, making him instantly visible again. The warrior charged.