by Sean Davies
The rest of the team slowly walked through the room, ready for a fight.
“You saw ‘em, the crazy fuckers! They were all in on it!” Till lied, looking at the Swords of Fortune mercenaries for backup. “We’re better off without them, trust me!”
“You stole my book!” Constance yelled, seeing it resting by his feet.
Till Vanderborg bared his teeth as he took in the seething expressions of the expedition team, along with the Katana only inches away from his throat, and knew that he wasn’t escaping without a fight. Without warning, he lunged forward to head-butt Genevieve, bursting through his clothes and into his Brutebeast form in the process, whilst taking a deep wound to his neck as there was no way he could dodge it.
The blue-haired Vampire Nightclaw side-stepped the flimsy attack with ease and yanked her Katana free of Till’s expanding, fur-covered neck to perform the finishing blow.
The hulking black Werewolf belched magma at Genevieve, buying himself enough time to pick up a display case full of enchanted brooches off the floor as she dodged the flaming globule. The Vampire went on the defensive, expecting Till to launch the massive case at her, but instead the evil Werewolf threw it at Constance, who was summoning the power to rob him of his Supernatural abilities.
Genevieve was forced to fall back and shatter the sturdy case in the air before it could crush her beloved, and Till took the opportunity to scoop the book up and sprint to the elevator.
The expedition team threw everything they had at the retreating Werewolf, and for a few seconds it seemed as though the shaggy-furred beast was invincible as his massive form soaked up bolts of energy, bullets, throwing knives, and magic, but he finally collapsed flat on his face just short of his escape route, reverting into a lifeless human corpse.
Constance rushed towards Till and pried her book from his thick fingers before his blood could seep onto its pages, looking down at him in reviled disgust. She wanted to burst into tears, and was grateful that her overwhelming anger wouldn’t allow it.
At the other end of the room, Az grabbed Ricardo by the neck and clenched it tightly with his armoured fingers. “Were you in on this too? Were you?!” he demanded furiously.
Ricardo’s brown skin turned dangerously red as he grunted ‘no’ several times, before Kieran and Kyle pulled their dad away.
“He wanted out… like I did,” Ricardo wheezed as he rubbed his bruised neck. “I didn’t know he’d… I didn’t know. We were just going to—”
“Leave us behind?” Stitches interrupted angrily.
“It wasn’t like that, not for me,” the adventurer replied meekly. “I thought it was hopeless at first, but I changed my mind! He… didn’t.”
Az broke free from his sons’ grip and punched Ricardo in the gut, knocking him to the floor. “Well, thanks for the warning! You risked the whole party for your own hide. I can’t believe we ever worked for you—the Swords of Fortune are done with you, Stern.”
The armoured Mage swung his fist out to hit the fallen adventurer again, but Genevieve zoomed between them and blocked his punch.
“We’ve already lost six people to fucking in-fighting,” Genie hissed. “Let’s leave it at that.”
Az backed off and stormed through the corridor while his boys followed, trying their best to calm him down.
“What do we do… about them?” Stitches asked softly, gesturing to the dead.
“Lay them side by side, and bury them with this Goddess-damned treasure,” Constance sobbed, her emotions finally hitting her full-force. “It’s the least we can do.”
“Do we… do we have time?” Quoronastra asked in an uncharacteristically broken voice.
“Yes, of course we do,” Genevieve said sadly, giving her girlfriend a kiss on the side of the head.
Valkeria gestured to Till’s bloody corpse. “What do we do about him?”
“Burn him and scatter the ashes,” Constance snarled.
“With pleasure,” Peter the Mage said angrily, ready and willing to dispose of the traitor’s remains.
The group did their best to honour the dead troopers, covering their lifeless bodies with a carefully arranged assortment of treasure, and Ricardo silently arranged two small mounds of gemstones and gold coins beside two Archmage energy weapons for Joran’s and Matthias’ sakes.
They moved down to the next chamber in sorrowful silence, and were immediately met with a set of bronze doors, set between two angelic statues with their hands held out before them.
“What’s this all about?” Charlotte asked wearily.
“I think I know,” Quoronastra replied, touching one of the statues hands quickly before flinching away.
“What is it? Are you okay?” Stitches asked, concerned about the Dragon’s hand.
Quoronastra presented his uninjured hand to the Alt to show that he was okay, before continuing. “These trials were all designed to counter Archmages—the regular kind of Archmages, who would have considered the idea of giving away power to be the most abhorrent concept in the universe.”
“So we give up some power and gain entry,” Connie said plainly, reaching out to grab a stone hand.
The Dragon gently stopped the Book Wielder from touching it. “In theory, but these were designed for Archmages—not humans, Dragons, Supernaturals, or Alternatives.”
Constance closed her weary eyes as she realised what Quoronastra’s words implied. “They’ll drain us dry…”
“Potentially,” the Dragon replied sadly.
“We’ve got potions,” Az reminded them glumly.
“Maybe you could do that trick where you nick the building’s power?” Ricardo suggested to Connie quietly.
The Book Wielder nodded. “I’ll go first and see what I can do.”
“Don’t hold on too long, okay?” Genevieve said, concerned that her girlfriend would go too far.
“Promise—best friends, and all that…” Connie said with a thin smile.
Constance clasped the hands of the nearest statue, while the others divided up a fair share of energy potions between them in preparation for their turn. She felt the life flowing from herself immediately, but closed her eyes and focused, despite the unpleasant sensation. She reached out to the building and found herself falling through the floor, towards a machine-encrusted mantle in the distance. Suddenly, she was in Genevieve’s arms, and the Vampire was looking down at her with a frightened look in her red eyes.
“I thought I’d lost you!” Genevieve said shakily, looking extremely relieved.
“What happened? Did it work?” Connie asked dozily.
Genie shook her head. “You held on for about thirty seconds before you passed out. I had to pull you away.”
“Shit,” the Book Wielder groaned, noticing that the other members of the team were taking turns to feed the statues their energy. “Be a babe and grab me an energy potion?”
Genevieve handed her girlfriend a potion and made sure that she was okay, before heading to one of the statues for her own turn.
Stitches tried to lend a hand, but the life-stealing statues recoiled from his offering as if his fabric hands were made of fire, and the Alternative was forced to take a backseat, leaving the fatiguing process to his friends and teammates.
The team had kept a handful of energy potions in reserve inside the Alchemy cases, but luckily the doors opened before they’d had to use them; everyone sighed with relief, thankful that the draining ordeal was over. As soon as they went to walk by, however, the statues reached out and snatched their potion cases.
“What the—?!” Leanne jumped.
Charlotte exhaled loudly when no follow up attack came. “These fucking statues give me the creeps.”
Az, still battling with his anger, slashed out with his bastard sword and smashed the statues’ arms off, before handing the cases back to the team without a word.
“What was that about?” Constance asked, eyeing the ruined stone figures fearfully.
“I don’t know. Let’s just
get out of here before they do anything else,” Genevieve said, equally disturbed.
They entered a long, dimly lit corridor and Genevieve took the lead, holding her Katana forward, ready to backflip away from any traps. The group walked for several minutes before reaching another elevator, and Constance activated it with her book.
“Think this is it?” Kieran the warrior asked.
“The change of scenery would suggest it,” Quoronastra answered.
“It seems... too easy,” Ricardo said delicately, as the elevator rapidly moved down.
Constance nodded in agreement. “I was expecting to see the hologram again.”
“We should stay alert, regardless,” Genevieve said, looking around in awe as they were brought to a massive warren of tunnels that ran in all directions.
“This place is massive,” Kyle the ranger gasped, as the elevator them wove through the erratic maze of stone and metal.
“We're probably well into the surface of the planet by now,” Quoronastra informed them.
“Huh, that's weird,” Stitches remarked, looking at the pocket watch he'd made before he and Connie had departed for Central Isle.
“What is it? Did it get broken?” Constance asked.
“I don't think so, but it's acting rather peculiarly,” the Alt replied, holding it out for the team to see.
The hands of the timepiece were moving back and forth, occasionally spinning around and settling at a completely random time before going haywire again.
The others checked their own watches or phones, and found that they too were going crazy, or not even working at all.
“There must be some kind of interference,” Genevieve mused as she tapped away at her lifeless phone.
“That, or time is being distorted,” Quoronastra mused.
“The ambient power is definitely increasing,” Constance added, sensing the energy with her Book Wielder abilities. “It’s getting stronger every time we descend.”
“We must be getting close,” Stitches surmised, as they plummeted diagonally down.
The elevator landed on a curved ledge next to a gigantic copper door, which mechanically slid upwards as soon as they approached. The team passed through the doorway quickly, fearing that the thick metal would slam shut, and they found themselves faced with a long dim hallway. The golden Archmage hologram was waiting for them at the far end, standing in front of a vast pitch-black space.
“I can feel its energy running through here,” Constance said, almost in a trance. “There’s so much of it, all going into the room ahead.”
“The Creator?” Genie asked.
Connie nodded distractedly, before wandering off towards the hologram. “There are no traps in this hallway, we're safe to head on,” she called behind her to the team.
The group gave each other puzzled looks and then quickly followed.
“Genie, can you see anything with your vamp-vision?” Kieran asked.
“It just looks like an empty room from here,” the blue-haired Vampire shrugged.
“Why do I have such a bad feeling about this?” Kyle groaned, as they caught up with Connie.
The hologram was standing at the centre of a wide platform that overlooked the dark, empty room. A steep set of bronze steps led down to the metal floor, and directly opposite in the distance was another big rectangular doorway which was letting a meagre amount of light into the bleak, barren chamber.
When all of the team had assembled inside, a thick door slid down from the ceiling behind them, preventing them from turning back; however, the group was so focused on completing their mission (for the sake of their lost comrades, and for Mydia as a whole), they hardly even noticed.
“We completed your damn trials,” Constance declared to the hologram, who seemed distracted by the empty room. “Now let us see the Creator.”
The hologram distorted violently before answering, “I can't find anyone... where are they? I told my physical counterparts to have this ready for your arrival.”
“They're long dead, like the Book Wielder keeps telling you,” Az snapped impatiently.
After another series of quick flickers, the hologram snapped her attention to the team with a menacing smile. “Still, you proceed with your lies... but you did make it further than I’d expected. What cunning specimens the Omni have sent to test us,” she mused.
“We're not with the Omni—there isn't even an Omni anymore!” Constance stressed. “We passed your tests, so listen to us and let us fix everything!”
“My software is behaving strangely, but I still know you are trying to deceive me,” the hologram purred evilly. “The trials you faced were meant only to waste your time, rob you of your strength, and reduce your numbers.”
“Fuck this bitch, she's a lost cause,” Genevieve snarled angrily. “Let's just carry on.”
“You are about to bear witness to what awaits your lords and masters, should Elysiana and Anastrixia’s plan to end them fails,” the hologram announced loudly. “As I said, I asked my physical brethren to have this storage room ready for your arrival, but they must be indisposed...” The hologram flashed on and off several times before continuing, and the floor of the room below began to melt and bubble as the room was suddenly illuminated by floating yellow flares. “No matter—I have just enough power left to get things started myself. My kin can repair me in their spare time. Our handiwork is far from the majestic craftsmanship of the Creator, and this batch of prototypes is currently incomplete, but they should be more than able to defeat you.”
“Stop! Just hear us out!” Constance cried, but the Archmage projection had already fizzled away. “Shit, there's an enormous amount of power building underneath that metal!” she yelled to the group.
“Dish out the best potions,” Genevieve ordered. “Quickly now!”
Az, Charlotte, and Leanne each opened a case and swore loudly in turn, and the armoured Mage even threw his own opened case against the wall, shattering the contents into pieces.
“Those fucking statues drained them—they're all empty!” Az roared.
“No...” Constance gasped, horrified.
The deep liquid metal in the room receded, revealing an entire army of mechanical guardians like the ones that Constance and Genevieve had fought, although clearly not as elegant.
“Fuck me sideways,” Kyle the ranger cursed, drawing his ancient energy bow.
“Everyone, give it your all,” Genevieve said calmly, focusing her mind for the fight ahead. “That holo-bitch broke herself to activate these tin cans, so once we're past this room it will be smooth sailing.”
Just as Genevieve finished her speech, the door on the far end of the room slammed shut and the bronze, gold, and copper clockwork humanoids unfolded their bladed wings, producing melee and ranged weaponry from their limbs and bodies as they stood ready to repel the remaining members of the expedition team.
“Don't worry, I can get it open. This room is fuelling me, too,” Constance said confidently, her eyes blazing with golden light.
“You can't share that energy with the rest of us, can you?” Monica Valkeria joked, nervously assessing the waiting army.
“That would be frigging awesome,” Peter Zelphinas sighed. “I feel like I’ve pulled a dozen all-nighters.”
“I wish I could,” Connie smiled back sadly, “but I think I’d incinerate you if I tried.”
“Those bloody statues screwed us rotten,” Charlotte moaned, stifling a yawn.
“If you guys run out of magic, shout and we’ll chuck you a gun,” Leanne offered kindly.
“Can I get one now, please? Preferably something I don’t have to aim much,” Monica Valkeria asked. “I should save what energy I’ve got left for heals—we’re certainly going to need them.”
“One combat shotgun coming right up,” Charlotte said, handing hers over to the Werewolf Shaman before retrieving a compact assault rifle from her duffel bag.
Quoronastra nudged Stitches and grinned. “I've got a challenge f
or you, Stitches, my boy. See if you can copy this...”
Quoronastra moved away from the others, and his robes and possessions faded into his scaly body. His tail grew out from the base of his spine, a pair of folded wings slithering out of his back as Quoronastra’s face elongated. He got onto all fours and continued to grow until he was in his true, threatening yet noble Dragon form.
Whether Quoronastra meant his comment to Stitches as a joke or not, the Alternative quickly followed the Dragon's example; his clothes and belongings folded into his brown material body, before he also dropped to his hands and knees. Stitched bulged, expanding and changing shape until he had become a giant fabric Dragon with round black eyes, material wings, and a long mouth filled with sharp square teeth.
“Hop on, Connie,” Stitches said in his regular voice, which looked strange coming from a Dragon's mouth.
Constance was completely gobsmacked, and she climbed up on the Dragon version of her friend without a word. She straddled his padded back, holding onto a thick bit of loose stitching for support.
“Take Valkeria, too,” Az added, worried that the healer wouldn't make it through on foot. “Boys, you ride on Quoronastra.”
The black and purple Dragon growled a sigh of annoyance. “If you must.”
“Yes!” Kieran cheered. “I've always wanted a Dragon mount, even way back since before they were real!” He took his brother’s hand and helped the ranger up.
“Cheers, bro,” Kyle grinned. “Dad, you coming too?”
Az shook his head. “I'm going on foot. Ricardo, can I trust you to cover my back?” he asked icily.
The adventurer pulled out a long onyx wand and nodded firmly.
“Peter, care to back us up?” Az asked, turning to his fellow Mage.
Peter Zelphinas gave the armoured Mage a thumbs-up. “Always, boss-man.”
“Charlotte and Leanne, you should hop on a Dragon,” Az suggested. “No offense, but you’re only human.”
“Fair point. I’ll take the comfy-looking one,” Leanne said, heading over to Stitches to join Connie and Valkeria.
“I guess I’ll take scales, then,” Charlotte said, wearily approaching Quoronastra’s intimidating black and purple form so that Kieran and Kyle could hoist her up.