What the hell happened here? I couldn’t help but ask myself as I continued to survey the room, mentally wincing at the damage. Could this have anything to do with whatever destroyed the Nafarrian city?
Pushing my surprise at the destruction to the side, my eyes continued their sweep, noting that the damage only appeared to be limited to the one area of the room. Turning my head towards the opposite side of the chamber, I passed over the still functioning crystal, and the Ætherbound Soldiers gathered around it, until my eyes landed on a single rectangular stone pillar set into the distant wall. The strange object barely reached shoulder height and appeared to have several crystals set into it, though from this distance I couldn’t even begin to discern what its purpose was.
Something to worry about later, I thought, carefully completing my inspection of the chamber and not finding any other inhabitants inside, making me suspect that the cluster of magically twisted Irovians were going to be our only challenge for the room. Assuming there isn’t anything else hiding behind the crystal that I can’t see.
Making a decision to proceed with our assault, I waved a hand behind me and signaled to everyone that the way was clear, then stepped into the chamber and to the side so I wouldn’t be in the party’s way when they came charging through. With how fixated the Ætherbound Soldiers were on the magic crystal, we would have to be fools not to take advantage of their lapse in attention, a tactic that I also hoped would help mitigate the level disadvantage we had.
Rapid and heavy steps began to echo out of the hallway beside me, forcing me to push any doubt that I had to the side. Gripping Splinter tightly in my hand, I focused my attention on the Soldiers ahead of me, holding a single thought in my mind.
Here we go!
Chapter 34
Drace burst free of the hallway first, the long strides of the half-giant turning him into a blur as he rocketed past me and towards the oblivious Ætherbound Soldiers gathered around the crystal. Pushing off the wall, I then pumped my legs as hard as I could to fall into place behind Drace, my rapid steps allowing me to match his speed.
Completely mesmerized by the magical crystal, none of the Ætherbound Soldiers ahead of us reacted as we closed the distance with them. It wasn’t until we were practically on top of them that their attention finally began to shift towards us, the emerald burning skulls that were set atop their shoulders eerily spinning around to look in our direction despite their bodies remaining fixed in place. Moving with surprising reflexes, I then saw them all begin to turn their bodies towards us, each of their hands moving toward weapons hanging by their side.
All far too late to counter our charge.
With a bellowing shout, Drace was the first to make contact with the twisted undead-like creatures, simultaneously slamming into the still-turning form of one Soldier with his shoulder and bringing his sword down heavily onto the shoulder of another. I had just enough time to see the twin blows knock the pair of them off their feet, the first Soldier being thrown heavily into the dais below the floating crystal and the second being driven right down onto its knees.
Then it was my turn.
Having seen the two Soldiers that Drace had temporarily taken out of the fight, I focused my attention on the next one in the circle, timing my attack as it turned to meet our charge. Channeling all of my momentum into the blow, I lunged forward with my final step and swung Splinter into the heaviest attack I could manage, the gleaming blade crackling through the air before slamming viciously into the side of the Ætherbound Soldier’s skull. I felt bone crack under the brutal impact as my attack completely obliterated the undead creature’s jaw, sending fragments of it flying everywhere.
Reeling from the impact, the Soldier visibly staggered as it continued to turn, giving me a perfect opportunity to spend the final energy of my charge and slam my shoulder into it while fouling its balance with my foot. Completely overwhelmed by the brutal assault, it tumbled to the ground in a heap, falling directly on top of the first Soldier that Drace had knocked down.
Flailing in a tangle of limbs, the undead creature barely had time to complete its fall before Drace’s sword came slashing down on the back of its already damaged skull, shattering it so completely that the emerald flames comprising its body winked out, whatever magic fueling it unable to keep up with the punishment that we had inflicted upon it.
That’s one down! I thought with excitement as I took a step forward towards the other fallen Soldier that was trying to push the now empty armor of his companion off his body. Not giving the Ætherbound entity a chance to re-enter the fight, I slashed Splinter in a backhanded chop towards its exposed head, catching it right in the side of the temple and cleaving straight through bone.
Pulling Splinter free, I heard several loud shouts and crashes fill the air as the others joined the fight behind us. As I raised my blade for a second time to strike the undead Irovian, an azure blur appeared in the corner of my eye as Amaranth practically flew past me, pouncing on a pair of Ætherbound Soldiers that had finally reacted to our presence.
Putting my familiar out of my mind for the moment, I brought my blade down a second time onto the trapped Soldier’s skull, this time splitting the crown of the ancient bone in two, causing the emerald flames that animated it to dissipate in a burst of light.
There goes another one! I started to feel a surge of confidence shoot through me after seeing the second soldier go down, making me feel that we would be able to take care of the entire group without too much difficulty.
Of course, that was right when a bright flash of magic, followed by a thunderous burst of sound forced me to change my mind.
“Shit!” Constantine practically screamed from somewhere to my left. “There’s a boss creature here—wait, no! There are three of them!”
In a heartbeat, I felt my blood go cold as I processed Constantine’s words, my head spinning towards the sound of his voice. In a glance, I saw him, Alistair and Amaranth nearly surrounded by a quartet of the twisted Irovians, with two of them wearing notably different armor than the rest of the Ætherbound Soldiers.
One of the pair was clad in complete full plate, the heavy, black-charred armor clanking loudly with every step that it took towards the group. A thick helmet completely masked its features, save for the wisps of emerald fire that were visible through its eye sockets. In one of its hands, it held a massive shield, made from the same metal as its armor with the other carrying a wicked looking mace. Staring at it in momentary awe, an identifying tag appeared in my vision.
[Ætherbound Knight] – Boss – Level 15
Damn! I cursed, my mind immediately going into overdrive. We had known very well that there was a good chance that we would be up against a boss ranked enemy during this fight, but none of us had even dreamed that we would be facing three of them at once! Forcing myself to stay calm as I assessed the sudden change in battle, I shifted my eyes from the Irovian Knight and towards its partner walking in sync beside it.
The first thing that I noticed was that it was substantially lighter armored than the Knight, its armor namely being a metal cuirass protecting its chest, with a flexible layer of chainmail extending out to cover the rest of its body. Its head was encased in an open-faced helmet, the black silhouette of the skull within its emerald flames giving it a deeply sinister appearance. Armed with only a short, double-edged blade in its left hand, its remaining hand was empty and poised high at its side as if it were waiting for the right moment to cast a spell. Gazing at the creature as it advanced, another helpful tag appeared in my vision.
[Ætherbound Battlemage] – Boss – Level 15
“Drace! We need help on this side!” I shouted, turning my body to run towards the group, seeing that in addition to attracting the two boss creatures, Amaranth, in particular, had managed to catch the attention of the two Ætherbound Soldiers he had attacked earlier and was slowly being driven backward from their combined assault.
“One second!” Drace called back from behind me
, just as a loud shout from Lazarus and another thunderclap of magic filled the chamber. “Okay, maybe two!”
Rushing forward, I approached the two Ætherbound Soldiers from behind, glancing around urgently for the third boss creature that Constantine had warned us about, but not seeing it anywhere nearby. Putting it out of my mind for the moment, I focused my attention on relieving the pressure on my familiar and thrust Splinter deep into one of the Soldier’s back as I reentered combat, the charred armor giving way under the impact.
I felt the blade grate against metal before it pierced through into nothingness, the burning azure flames comprising the inner part of the undead creature’s body providing no resistance to the sword’s intrusion. But despite the creature no longer being one of flesh and blood, it recoiled in pain from the blow, a burst of magic seeping free from the rent in its armor.
I sent to Amaranth, as I pulled my blade free and delivered a second stab to the creature, this one higher up its body.
Without a second’s hesitation, Amaranth pounced forward, his jaws closing down on the Ætherbound Irovian’s skull that was floating within its emerald flames. A loud crunch of bone then echoed through the air a heartbeat afterward, followed by the now empty armor falling to the ground with a thump.
“Move!” I heard Drace shout ahead of him as he ran, followed shortly after by the ring of metal on metal. “Get him back and heal him! Lyr! I could use your help up here!”
“Coming!” I yelled back at the warrior, Amaranth and I already moving to attack the Soldier that had fallen to the ground before it managed to regain its feet.
Moving with blinding speed, Amaranth leaped onto the fallen Soldier’s back, his weight pinning it to the ground, giving me the opportunity to bring Splinter down on its skull, having long since deduced that destroying it was the most efficient way to put an end to the creature. Bringing my sword down on the skull twice, I sent large cracks spiraling through the bone, until Amaranth pounced forward and bit into it, his powerful jaw effortlessly crushing Soldier’s head and causing the emerald flames to wink out.
These Ætherbound Soldiers are little more than trash mobs, I thought to myself as I rushed to Drace’s aid, leaving Amaranth to deal with yet another of the Soldiers that had finally rounded the floating crystal and was heading towards us. The sole purpose of the weaker creatures seemed to only be a distraction, forcing us to spend time dealing with them instead of focusing our attacks on the more dangerous Knight and Battlemage.
As I ran, I was forced to detour around a burnt-looking Constantine who was sitting on the ground and clutching at a visibly broken knee while an also singed Alistair desperately tried to heal it.
“Watch the Knight, Lyr!” Constantine shouted as I ran past the pair. “He is fast and hits hard! The Battlemage has instant spells too!”
“Great!” I called back, seeing that Drace was not only squaring off with the Knight but had managed to catch the attention of the Battlemage as well.
Which I suppose is actually his job, being the party tank, I added mentally as I decided to focus my attention on the Battlemage, feeling that I was better equipped to fight a magic using enemy, rather than one covered in nothing but heavy armor.
“Coming up on the right!” I shouted, giving Drace a heads-up as to which side I was going to take, then I immediately slashed at the Battlemage with a Shocking Touch-charged Splinter as a way of greeting, the blade sparking along its armor as it discharged into the creature.
“Lazarus is managing both the other Knight and Soldiers right now!” Drace told me without any preamble. “So, we need to hurry the hell up with these two and give him support before it steamrolls him and the others!”
“There are two of these Knights?” I replied in shock, barely catching the Battlemage’s sword on Splinter’s edge as it shifted its attention towards me.
“Yep!” Drace bellowed as he absorbed a punishing blow on his shield from the Knight’s mace, using the opportunity to stab the tip of his sword into the armor protecting its knee, drawing forth a small flare of magic from the wound. “So, if you have any ideas on how to kill these things fast, I’m all ears!”
“Destroy their heads!” I said without hesitation, exchanging another set of blows with the Battlemage, which resulted in the both of us scoring minor wounds on one another.
“How the hell do you suggest we do that?” Drace barked in frustration, punctuating his point by slamming his sword into the side of the Knight’s head with no visible reaction. “Have you even seen this guy’s helmet?!”
“Figure something out!” I spat back hurriedly, seeing a bright crimson ball of fire begin to form in the Battlemage’s free hand.
Reacting at the speed of thought, I instinctively reached out with my free hand towards the spell that the Battlemage was conjuring, only able to execute the reckless maneuver because it held its sword in its left hand. Had I been facing a right-handed opponent, reaching across my body to try what I had just done, would have likely resulted in me getting injured, or more even more likely, the loss of my entire hand.
In this case, however, the move caught the creature completely off guard, my hand thrusting through the partially formed spell and grabbing hold of the Battlemage’s hand. No sooner did I tighten my grip on the hand did a wave of mana travel up my arm as I interrupted the creature’s magic, causing the tiny ball of fire it was holding to fizzle and fade out of existence.
Instantly, I felt a wave of panic surge through the Battlemage as it realized what I had done, and it desperately began to thrash in my grip with surprising strength. Refusing to let go, I yanked on the creature’s hand in an attempt to send it off balance, using the opportunity to thrust yet another Shocking Touch-charged Splinter into its shoulder, piercing through the thinner layer of chainmail where it joined with the cuirass. My efforts were rewarded by a bright spurt of azure energy as the power that was animating the Battlemage bled out from the armor containing it.
Almost immediately, the creature’s sense of panic turned into a complete frenzy as I continued to drain mana from it, its sword swinging wildly through the air as it tried to force me to let go, cutting out viciously towards my face and eyes. Pulling Splinter free of its shoulder, I instinctively moved to intercept the sweeping blade and ducked my head away from the coming attack. Only to have the Battlemage suddenly redirect its arm and send the point of the weapon straight into my forearm, burying its short blade nearly to hilt.
“Aaah!” I couldn’t help but cry out in pain as the Battlemage then twisted the weapon into my flesh, feeling the edges of the blade grind against the bones in my arm.
Sheer animal instinct demanded that I try to pull my arm away from the source that was causing me pain, but it was now my turn to find my hand being held in place, the Battlemage having decided that losing some mana was an acceptable price to pay in exchange for crippling one of my arms.
Snarling from the pain, I repeatedly hammered Splinter into the side of the Battlemage’s head in a panic, not bothering to conserve any mana in the process, sparks of electricity shot into the air as my blade slammed into the creature’s helmet. Showing no reaction from m
y assault, the Battlemage stoically maintained its tight grip on my arm and tugged sharply on the blade, causing a spray of blood to pour free from the widening wound.
Feeling my arm go numb from the pain, I readied myself to shout at Drace for help, when Amaranth’s head shot into my vision, his jaw clamping down on the Battlemage’s arm. Teeth sinking in deep into the chainmail sleeve, the big cat then snapped its head backward, the motion causing the Battlemage’s weapon to pull itself free of my flesh. Gasping at the sudden relief, I reflexively brought my wounded arm close to my chest, while delivering a vengeful chop into the undead Irovian’s shoulder, directly on top of the wound I had inflicted earlier and widening it in the process.
Unfortunately, however, the Battlemage had other ideas.
Shifting its head upwards, it accepted my stab directly across its jawline, Splinter’s edge obliterating nearly an entire row of teeth as it deflected off bone and sank ineffectually into its mouth, instead of the eye socket that I had originally aimed it at. Without any visible reaction of pain, the Battlemage then unleashed a sudden burst of flame from its free hand, bathing Amaranth’s head in fire and forcing the cat to release his hold on the arm in its mouth.
Legacy of the Fallen Page 43