by SJB Gilmour
Often, those above joined forces with those below as Ronny’s gnomes punched up and through into the maze. It was then that the gnomes proved themselves the most effective. Being so low to the ground, they could scurry beneath a crab and deliver the business end of a pike directly into the weak spot in the horrid crustacean’s exoskeleton. One gnome would deliver a deft jab and then be joined by six or seven of his comrades to lever the crab into the air. The crab, then completely skewered, was vulnerable to those allies of taller stature than the hardy little gnomes below. James’ mercenaries and Jerrit’s Imperial Guardslins were particularly enthusiastic about disposing of the crabs. It almost became a competition to see not only which side would get there first, but just how they would dispose of the monsters.
Perhaps the most spectacular method was discovered almost quite by accident by none other than Kevin the rock giant. In the middle of the maze, the enormous Bullious demon Kevin had once been in partnership with, exploded out from the labyrinth below. Kevin roared at the demon in utter rage. He reached out and grabbed a kebabbed crab and hurled it at the demon with all his considerable might. The crab struck the demon full in the chest, hurling it backwards through the air to crash against a wall in the maze. Of course, neither demon nor crab survived the impact. In fact, all that was left was a fetid soup of crab meat and demon gore which splattered all over the fighters nearby. None of them were particularly upset however. In fact, they cheered and roared with furious enthusiasm, which prompted Kevin to repeat this tactic against any other demons he felt he was able to hit.
The most destructive of all the combatants in Isaacs’ Irregulars were the ogres. James had hired every thug he could get his hands on. He had elves, gnomes, goblins and humans. None of them, not even Kevin, was as truly shocking to witness in battle.
Like all the other ogres in James’ employ, the twins Castor and Pollux wore studded kilts and brass battle armour. They fought with great battle-axes and shields. Their axes did not so much cut their victims as they did crush them. True, the occasional head or torso was severed by these fearsome blades, but most of their foes were too big to be cleanly cut with a single swipe. The crabs of course were round-ish and the demons were usually at least as big as the ogres themselves or even larger. The destruction they caused was bad enough but it was the absolute maniacal glee with which they did their bloody work that struck terror through the ranks of the demons and sorcerers they faced.
Every head or limb that flew through the air brought great cheers and hoots from the ogres. Every chest ripped open or skull crushed in made them shriek with wicked laughter. Perhaps the most frightening of all were the female ogres. Like so many species in the enchanted world, the females are bigger and stronger (and in the case of ogres and ogresses, uglier), than the males. One ogress was particularly savage. Castor and Pollux’s mother, (who had the oddly contrasting name of Grace), leaped into the battle with an enormous two-handed sword that was at least four metres long and must have weighed more than a metric tonne. This enormous blade could cut through almost anything and Grace’s arms, easily the size of oak-trunks, hefted it as though it weighed no more than a straw. Flanked by her twin sons, and with dozens more ogres behind her, Grace stormed across the top of the walls of the maze, chopping at anything and everything in her way.
At one point, a horrid demon that seemed to be made entirely of flailing tentacles and mouths, burst from the maze and lashed at her. Grace didn’t even slow her pace. She simply heaved her sword at the monster in a great sideways chop that sliced the foul thing completely in two. One half fell into a corridor of the maze, its blood blinding a bustling crab. The other half tottered on the wall for a moment then fell forwards, its entrails and stomach contents gushing out in a disgusting wave of half-digested bodies and acid. The cheers from Grace’s comrades and family were stupendous.
Overhead, dragons of every colour swept and dove through flocks of winged demons, blasting them to ashes. Those dragons not actually fighting were carrying heavily armoured goblins on their backs, each of whom clutched a glowing yellow crystal ball in their claws. The goblins shouted co-ordinates into the balls and below them, the Ottispuschenshuffen brothers’ modified elevators rained down, squashing more soldier crabs and filling the trenches with more fanatic goblins.
Maddy and her team employed a different tactic that was cruelly and brilliantly effective. Single Guild sorcerers were not much of a threat and were quite able to be dealt with by the werewolves. Large groups of them were another matter. Appearing as they did as elves, the quicklings flashed about until they found such groups, then slowed down and looked about as though they were elves who had only just arrived. When the sorcerers moved in to surround them, they blurred into motion with their knives. The result was very much like taking the lid off an enormous blender filled with bodies. Blood and gore quite literally exploded in every direction.
Below the maze, Mel and The Nightcorps hacked through every kind of wicked creature imaginable. The Silver Shrouds prowled through the tunnels, sniffing out all manner of wretched beings. Demons, imps and ghouls were found and torn to pieces. Many of the horrid monsters, some barely visible in the darkness and as such impossible to describe, knew nothing of the curse of Silver Shrouds and fought back with all their power. This only resulted in doing more damage to themselves than the werewolves, and allowed the following minotaurs ample opportunity to close in.
Behind them, the gnomes fell upon the ones not completely destroyed to finish them off. The noise of the battle above which echoed through the caves was deafening. Rocks and rubble fell from the roof of the labyrinth with frightening regularity and dust filled the air, but Ronny’s clever gnomes had an answer for that. Close behind every squad of minotaurs, ran on stubby legs a team of gnomes with water wands, spraying jets of water through the dusty air to make it easier for their fellows to breathe.
By dusk, both forces — those above and those below — reached the inner edge of the maze, beyond which left only the clear barren ring of sand around The Nonagon. The circular field was about a kilometre wide and appeared to be almost completely empty.
Sarah stopped at the edge, having cut through everything in her way. Mel too reached the last tunnels of the labyrinth and blasted her way through the sand and rubble. Once outside, she joined her best friend. They stood together, panting and gazing out at the field that seemed so quiet and empty. Empty, that is, until they stepped out onto it.
The ground began to shudder and seemed to explode as hundreds upon hundreds of mummies and zombies clawed their way out of the sand. Each one, captured and preserved by Cromwell over thousands of years, was charged with one purpose — defend The Nonagon.
Sarah’s Golden Shrouds poured down and out from the maze walls and the corridors within, battle-crazed and ready to attack. The Nightcorps followed Mel up out of the labyrinth, just as ready for more battle. The Silver Shrouds also bounded out of the dark tunnels, ready for more fighting. The minotaurs and gnomes stayed below and continued to seek out and destroy any lurking monsters that may have been missed.
The zombies were slow and armed only with simple clubs or swords, but what they lacked in speed or skill, they made up for in numbers and toxicity. One bite from a zombie would infect the victim who would in turn become a zombie.
The mummies were faster but usually more fragile. A single well-aimed blow or even a solid kick was usually enough to at least knock them to the ground where they usually broke apart.
‘Hold your positions!’ Sarah roared. Her command was instantly relayed by the werewolves and Golden Shrouds.
Mel also signalled for her Nightcorps to form ranks so that they may spearhead the attack on the zombies.
‘Wait!’ James yelled. The bald master of enchanted botany was bleeding from several small wounds. Part of his clothing had been burned away at some point, but he still ran forward to Sarah as though his injuries were nothing.
‘I’ve got a better idea!’ He dug a handful
of seeds from his pocket and hurled them into the air. ‘Gonna need some rain, Mel!’ he yelled gleefully.
Melanie grinned back at him and commanded the sky to ‘Aquaslick!’ the Magaeic spell to bring rain. Now with all the enchanted energy flashing about on the battlefield, there was already a constant peal of thunder and the sky was lit up with lightning as though it was some sort of concert. Dark grey clouds had been boiling overhead from the moment the fighting started. The resulting rain that hammered down upon the field was nothing short of a tropical downpour.
‘That’ll do!’ James hollered over the sound of the pelting rain. His face was worried. The mummies were getting closer, and zombies weren’t far behind them.
‘Haltus!’ Mel yelled at the sky. The rain stopped.
‘My turn,’ James declared grimly. He thrust both hands out in front of him in a pushing motion and bellowed ‘Rumbleweed!’
The seeds burst into life, sprouting like great enchanted pea shoots. Instead of climbing up in the air however, they bundled about themselves, growing and growing into great thorny balls of nasty-looking weeds about the size of Volkswagon Beetles. The enchanted weeds took off at a furious pace towards the approaching army of un-dead and diseased corpses. The moment each rumbleweed reached a mummy or zombie, it pounded into it and began bouncing on it, pummelling it with great thorny branches. The cheers from the gathered forces now inside the perimeter was deafening.
The crazed enchanted weeds ploughed into the un-dead forces with devastating results, but eventually they were torn apart by the far greater numbers they were attacking.
‘Archers!’ Jax yelled. Every Imperial Guardslin with a bow then raised his weapons and fired. The air seemed to sizzle and sing with the sound of thousands upon thousands of arrows shooting up and then arcing to rain down upon the diseased and shambling horde. Hundreds of mummies and zombies fell to the field. Jax called out again and another cloud of arrows blacked out the evening sky.
General Apex didn’t wait another moment. With a savage roar, he waved to his fellow un-dead soldiers and they took to the field at a run. O’Brien and the Silver Shrouds weren’t to be left out and they too hurtled out to attack the zombies and mummies which remained. Captain Jenny Ashe didn’t even bother to wave at The Gilded Warrioresses to follow her. She simply gave one furious yip and bounded down from the maze walls, followed by three hundred and forty-nine other blood-thirsty and un-killable Golden Shroud werewolves. This three-pronged attack cut deep through the mummy and zombie ranks.
‘My turn,’ Jax grated. The Imperial Guardslin infantry marched down onto the field, steady, unstoppable and totally devastating. They surged through a gap in the massive wall of un-dead bodies created by The Nightcorps, Silver Shrouds and The Gilded Warrioresses, and then fanned out in each direction around The Nonagon.
Finally, Sarah and Mel took to the battlefield. The two girls, one fighting as a gleaming silver creature, the other as blazing Golden Mane werewolf, pressed forward as fast as they could towards the tower. Though only a short distance, and now much cleared of foes to slow them down, they still had to hack and chop their way along as more and more zombies and mummies clawed out of the ground.
The Winged Fire held back and continued to circle the now-depleted maze, blasting everything that moved with great bursts of fire. They were joined by the succubi and vampires who swarmed down upon any remaining sorcerers they spied, reducing them to dried, shrivelled husks in seconds.
Back in the tower, Cromwell peered down to the battle below. He watched the devastation of Mautallius’ forces, hardly able to believe his eyes.
‘You’re being torn apart down there, Mautallius,’ he told the demon-possessed sorcerer. ‘I don’t know how they found out about the labyrinth… That was supposed to be our secret weapon.’ He shook his head with grudging respect. ‘For a moron, that Coppernick’s moves are smart. Damn smart.’
Mautallius had been chanting the evil rites to sacrifice Melanie’s parents all day. Any break in his concentration meant he ran the risk of making a mistake which could force him to start all over again. The rite was like building an enchanted pyramid of spells. The base spells were bigger and stronger and took more time to build. The higher up he got, the closer he came to finishing the rite and the shorter the spells became. He had completed the rite for Alexander and was now working on the rite for David. He ignored Cromwell and kept chanting.
‘You’ll never get your rites finished in time, you mongrel,’ Susan taunted him from within the containment orb in which she, David and their baby Alexander were trapped. ‘Hear that? Mel and Sarah are coming up here and they’ll tear you and your demons to shreds!’
Though Susan was a better seer than she was a necromancer, she knew enough to be stunned at the speed with which Mautallius finished his rites. Were she, or even her sister Angelina to perform those rites, it would take twice as long or more.
Mautallius clapped his hands and barked a final command. The rite to sacrifice Melanie’s father was complete. Now he only had Susan’s to go. He paused for a moment and sneered at her, seeing straight through her mental protective barrier without effort.
‘You pitiful humans,’ he scoffed. ‘You would take days longer to complete these rites, yet for we who are so superior to you, the challenge is simpler and faster. Even the legendary Wolfenvald has underestimated us! The rites to sacrifice your souls are nearly complete. We need only hours now and then you shall die, daughter of Cassandra. You, your wretched husband and your child will be our Mistress’ first meal on this plane!’
He waved at Cromwell. ‘And you, White Pirate, if The First and The Last do reach this place before we have finished the rites, you will be their first victim. It would be in your best interest to delay them.’
Cromwell swore to himself and waved at Guntex. ‘You heard the man,’ he told the scowling goblin. ‘Jax is down there somewhere. Go get your revenge.’
Guntex didn’t wait a moment longer. He had been watching Jax and his goblins slash and batter their way through the soldier crabs and demons, itching to be there himself. He drew a nonagram on the floor and stepped into it, chanting his own spell to transport himself down to the battle below. When the goblin had gone, Cromwell glared at the chanting Mautallius for a long moment then he sighed. With resignation, he removed his clothes and began chanting his own rites to summon more demons.
While Cromwell reached as far as he dared into various hells, summoning every demonic monster he could find, Stepheno appeared. The evil sorcerer’s eyes were reptilian, and his skin shimmered an evil green.
‘Well, brother. You’ve enjoyed your rest in the prison below for long enough. It’s time to get to work.’ Mautallius glared at the sorcerer.
Stepheno nodded with a foul smile. ‘It was a pleasant sojourn... So many souls for me to dine on down there, all forgotten and abandoned. And you, Hnug? Are your rites complete?’
Mautallius nodded. ‘Nearly, Hnag. Nearly.’ He returned to his task and began chanting the last spells of the rite.
Down on the island, the battle was not completely one-sided. Mautallius’ forces consisted of demons and some very powerful sorcerers after all. Most of the casualties they inflicted were goblins, gnomes, and minotaurs. James’ band of mercenaries was being reduced quite quickly. Among the dead were also a great many werewolves. Many of the dragons swept down to retrieve wounded and ferry them to Amelia. There, the grim healer and her team had to decide if each wounded soldier could be healed or not. Those with wounds that were treatable, were transported to one of the hospitals. Those who could not be saved, were made as comfortable as possible while they died. Each such decision broke the medics’ hearts, but they had no choice. Battlefield triage units are places of profound tragedy.
But, these casualties were light compared to the devastation The Armies of Nine inflicted on Mautallius’ forces. By the time Sarah and Mel reached The Nonagon building, the field behind them was literally knee-deep in corpses, the vast majority o
f which were zombies, mummies, Guild sorcerers and demons.
‘What can you see?’ Sarah asked Mel. Both girls paused to stand side-by-side, facing the building ahead.
Mel’s ability to see through walls had been incredibly helpful down in the caves and tunnels. Here again it proved a great boon. ‘Guild guardslins,’ she replied. ‘And a lot of sorcerers.’ She pointed in a direction she knew would take them through to the base of the tower without risking any damage to the library. She looked up at Kevin who was among the first to join them at the outside of the building. ‘Can you get us through there?’
Kevin grinned in reply. The great rock giant reached down and wrenched out a huge section of the building’s wall. ‘You better stand back,’ he rumbled.
Sarah and Mel raced out of the way to watch Kevin yet again show just how amazingly strong he was. Just as an athlete would hurl a discus, he spun and released the section of wall exactly in the direction Mel had pointed. The destruction was immense, and a great cheer thundered from the allies who witnessed his mighty effort.
Neither Sarah or Mel waited to celebrate Kevin’s show of strength. With The Gilded Warrioresses and The Nightcorps behind them, the two girls ran as fast as they could through the destruction and rubble to the base of the tower.
‘We better hurry, Sarah!’ Mel yelled, waving at the sky. ‘The stars are nearly aligned!’
Sarah, who up until then had fought in her Golden Mane werewolf shape, resumed her human form. She drew her golden sword and grinned at her friend. ‘In that case, we better get up there!’ She ran through to the bottom of the stairwell. Once there, she paused, waiting for Captain Jenny Ashe to catch up, just as Mel did for General Apex.
‘Don’t let anything follow us up,’ Mel commanded Apex. ‘When we get to the top, signal the retreat and get everyone off this island.’