Barrow King

by C. M. Carney

  “Damn coward," Gryph bellowed. He could not believe the gall of the gnome. He was only alive because Gryph had been stupid enough to engage the wyrmynn. Now he'd been betrayed, abandoned and left to fight three wyrmynn with only a pair of daggers.

  “Great,” Gryph muttered and braced for the attack. The wyrmynn rushed forward with no tactical sense, emboldened by the superior numbers.

  Gryph activated his Ring of Minor Air Shield and a bubble of solid air formed around him with a snap. The first wyrmynn smashed into the invisible shield and bounced off, shock crossing his face as he fell onto his ass.

  The others hacked at the shell and soon it began to blink. Gryph prepared himself. Soon the shield would fail. With a final, frantic blink the shield disappeared with a pop. The first wyrmynn was upon him in seconds.

  Gryph sidestepped the lizard man’s attack, spinning past the stabbing spear and slashing down with his left-hand dagger. He felt the metal bite into the creature’s calf and it went down with a scream, hamstrung.

  Gryph turned and parried a sword strike from the second. The jarring thud of metal on metal forced Gryph down to one knee. Damn these things were strong. The wyrmynn pulled back for another strike and Gryph decided he needed to be elsewhere.

  He rolled forward and past his foe and flipped the dagger in his right hand while spinning. The blade now faced downward and Gryph used his momentum to thrust the blade into the beast’s back. It sunk in with a crunch of bone. Gryph twisted the blade and yanked it free. He felt the creature’s spinal column snap. The wyrmynn went down. It wasn’t dead, but it wouldn't be getting back on its feet anytime soon.

  Gryph got to his feet just in time to lock his daggers and parry a crushing blow from the leader’s massive two-handed sword. The force caused Gryph to collapse to the ground again, and the wyrmynn brought his knee up into Gryph’s face. His Health dropped by a third as he felt his nose break. The blow caused his eyes to water and his vision grew blurry.

  Debuff Added. You have received a Disorienting Blow. Attack and Defense reduced by 25% for 1 minute. Unable to cast spells for 1 minute.

  In a panic Gryph’s mind scrambled for a way out of his situation. The two handed sword connected again and his health dropped below half. Gryph needed space and activated Push Off. He climbed onto the wyrmynn’s chest and pushed off with both feet, flipping head over heels and landed about five feet back. The wyrmynn sprawled onto the ground, taking minor damage.

  Gryph pulled a health potion from his pack and went to drink it when another wyrmynn threw a spear at Gryph. He dodged the hasty throw, but the potion fell from his hand. I need to up my health, he thought, forcing his panic down..

  With no other idea he dumped his last five Attribute Points into Constitution, hoping the small increase they provided would allow him to survive long enough to escape. His Constitution shot up to 29 and not only did his total Health bump up by eight points, his entire Health bar refilled.

  What the hell? A life hack, Gryph thought to himself amazed. I wonder if it works for my other stats as well? Unfortunately he wasn’t able to test that theory since he had no more points. He grinned to himself, laughing at the absurdity of being unhappy that he was healthy. Already the game mechanics were messing with his mindset.

  He had no time to brag as the wyrmynn he’d knocked over was back and swinging. Gryph staggered and fell back onto all fours to avoid the attack. The dagger in his right hand skittered away, knocked free by the fall to the ground. He tugged a throwing knife from the bandolier and tossed it at the leader’s face. Gryph’s aim was true, but a quick swipe of the leader’s sword deflected the knife before it found purchase. Gryph had just witnessed the Parry perk used against him.

  The leader grinned and rushed forward. Gryph knew he was in desperate trouble, but would not go down without a fight. He feigned left with his dagger and spun right, his right palm connecting with the reptile’s ribs right below his armpit. Bones cracked, and the leader grunted, but he still managed a one handed swing of his massive blade.

  Gryph could smell the rust of the blade as it buzzed over his head, missing him by a few hairs. His defensive move caused him to fall onto his backside again. He held his one dagger out in front of him and almost chuckled at the lame deterrent. The wyrmynn outright laughed and brandished its two handed sword.

  One of the other wyrmynn rushed Gryph, but a barked order stopped the creature in its tracks. A strange quiet settled over the cavern as Gryph stumbled to his feet. The blood flow from his nose had slowed and the debuff clock ticked closer to zero. “What is he doing?” Gryph wondered.

  “Hold. Surround him. Then we will attack from all sides,” The leader said in its odd, guttural language. Gryph’s eyes widened. A moment later the leader’s did. “You understand me? How is this possible?”

  Gryph knew every moment he kept his enemies off balance was another minute he got to live. “Because any simpleton could master your language. All you do is grunt and hiss and spit and drool,” he said in wyrmynn.

  The leader grinned a terrifying explosion of sharp teeth and chuckled. “Surface folk. You always underestimate us. My kind walked the surface of this world long before you warm-bloods. And we will reign long after the sun goes dark and you are all gone.”

  As the leader talked, his subordinates surrounded Gryph. The one he’d used Animate Rope on was back up, his bonds cut by one of his fellows. The beast tossed the rope on top of Gryph’s lost spear. An idea popped into Gryph’s head and he checked the status of Animate Rope. He had a mere ten seconds of cooldown left. Time for more distracting talk.

  “Blah, blah, blah, we are mighty wyrmynn and we used to rule the roost, but then the meanie weenie warm bloods kicked our asses and made us live in a hole in the ground. Wah, wah, poor us,” Gryph said in the wyrmynn’s own tongue. The effort was almost painful and Gryph feigned a coughing fit. “Damn your language is uglier than you are.”

  The leader grinned wider, his head split near in two and it barked a horrific laugh. Gryph’s right hand twisted and contorted as he cast Animate Rope again. A low chanting hum surged. “What the hell is that?” Gryph tried to find the source of the sound, but it was a barely audible hum and the cavern was a natural echo chamber.

  “More enemies?” Gryph thought, his stomach surging with acid and fear. Then he saw the gnome peek up from behind a boulder on the ledge. The chanting was coming from him and he stared intently at Gryph. ‘Buy me time,’ the look said.

  Gryph returned his attention to the wyrmynn just as he finished casting. The length of rope came alive and entwined itself around Gryph’s spear. It raised up behind the wyrmynn like a cobra ready to strike.

  The rope spun itself several times and threw the spear towards Gryph. The spear spun end over end and Gryph caught it in midair. He brandished the weapon in front of him. “Do you know what this is?” he bellowed. “Or are you too stupid to identify the bane of your species?”

  The wyrmynn looked at the spear in confusion and trepidation and paused, confusion plastering their faces. The leader hissed and barked in laughter. “You are a fool. Tonight we will dine on elf.” The leader’s long tongue eased out of his mouth and danced across his teeth. The effect was chilling and Gryph felt a trickle of sweat drip down his back. He laughed again and his cohorts joined.

  “Any time now guy,” Gryph yelled. This confused the wyrmynn who looked back and forth at each other. The leader was having none of it though and growled at his troops to focus. On his order the wyrmynn all ran at him full bore. “Shit,” Gryph said bracing his spear for the attack.

  Then cacophonous boom of a single word split the air.

  “AVERNERIUS!”

  Gryph looked up to see the gnome lift his staff above his head, the red jewel atop it glowing like a red dwarf star. The stunned wyrmynn also looked up, shielding their eyes from the brightness. The gnome brought the staff down with a thunderous crack.

  “I CALL THEE!”

  The gnome rumbled in a lo
uder and deeper voice than should have been possible. He collapsed to one knee as his command echoed throughout the chamber. Then the world grew silent once more.

  Confusion and uncertainty reigned for several heartbeats as Gryph and the wyrmynn looked around in confusion and expectation. Had the gnome’s spell failed?

  Then a pinprick bleed of red light appeared between Gryph and the wyrmynn. It sparked and spun and expanded faster than Gryph’s eyes could follow. A tear split the fabric of reality open from ceiling to floor. It pulsed and expanded reaching a width of ten feet.

  The crimson haze of a hellish realm of darkness, fire and movement blocked Gryph's view of the wyrmynn. A black sun hung in a sky of seething red clouds. Streaks of green lightning leapt from cloud to ground, casting jets of earth to spiral skyward. Each flash brought more focus to the hellacious realm. Gryph wished it hadn't.

  The ground was awash in talons, horns, tails and teeth. Tortured bodies of red and black, green and grey roiled like an ocean of malevolence. It pulsed and spasmed and then parted like a literal Red Sea. A hunched demon sprinted, a sword of black flame clutched in a claw tipped hand. It lurched with purpose straight at the portal and towards Gryph.

  21

  G ryph got ready to jump aside, but as the demonic beast crossed the threshold, the surface pulsed like a mirror breaking in slow motion and the horror emerged on the other side, facing the wyrmynn. It whipped its head back and screeched. The sound of a thousand eagles pierced Gryph’s skull, and he fell to one knee, hands clamped to his ears. The portal winked out with a flash and a rush of air.

  The wyrmynn covered their ears in terror and pain, but that was the best of what they endured. The creature’s sword moved with a blue black blur and the closest wyrmynn was without a head. The head bounced to Gryph's feet, still gazing upwards in surprise, a stupid expression now permanently scrawled across its ugly face. Its tongue lolled out with a final exhalation of air.

  All the wyrmynn tried to run, except for the leader who Gryph had to admit, showed incredible bravery in the face of the demonic beast. Gryph took a moment to Analyze the creature.

  Abyssal Terror: Level 24. H:554/S:420/M:310/SP:300 These Lieutenants in the Armies of the chthonic Realm are devastating warriors who use flame and terror to bring their enemies low. Rarely seen in the mortal realms, they can only be summoned by a sorcerer skilled in the despised magic of the chthonic sphere. Strengths: Unknown. Immunities: Unknown. Weakness: Unknown.

  “Unholy Shit,” Gryph muttered as the abyssal terror swung its sword at the wyrmynn leader. The wyrmynn leader barely got his sword up to parry the blow, but it proved a small and useless victory. The ember of molten cobalt seared right through the rusty iron of the wyrmynn’s blade and bit into the wyrmynn’s shoulder, slicing down and splitting the cold-blooded beast in twain.

  The demon tugged its weapon, but it remained lodged inside the corpse of the wyrmynn leader. The demon almost shrugged as it looked up at the remaining two wyrmynn. It struck out with one hand and grabbed the closest lizard by the throat. Flames surged from the demon’s hands and the wyrmynn’s eyes melted. It squealed in horror and pain.

  At the same moment the demon shot its tail out and impaled the other wyrmynn through the chest. The demon raised its tail, pulling the wyrmynn off its feet. The obsidian barb protruded several feet from the wyrmynn’s back, covered in green blood and gore. The wyrmynn struggled for a few moments before going limp.

  The demon shook its tail and flung the corpse against the cavern wall with a sickening thud. The demon paid it no heed as it pulled the other wyrmynn close. The saurian creature tried to scream, but its vocal cords were charred and useless. The eyeless sockets stared in horror as the abyssal terror brought it to its maw of needle sharp teeth and chomped down on the wyrmynn’s head, severing it with all the ease and interest of a sociopathic child tearing the wings of a fly.

  The world went silent except for the sickening chomping of the demon’s maw as it feasted on lizard flesh. Bones cracked and tendons tore and gore dribbled and splatted. Gryph backed into the corner. So far the demon hadn’t noticed him. That soon changed.

  In his panic, Gryph backed into a pile of stone and gravel. The sound of skittering rocks drew the demon’s attention and its head spun on Gryph, eyes burning from the inside with cold fire. It screeched, tossed the partially eaten wyrmynn aside and rushed at Gryph with a speed that defied its bulk.

  Gryph raised his spear, wedging its base against a boulder and hoped. The abyssal terror was mere feet from adding Gryph to its varied buffet when an order in an odd language erupted from the gnome. In an instant the demon pulled up short, its bulk mere inches from Gryph.

  “Sorry, I forgot to designate you as a friendly,” the gnome said.

  “Forgot,” Gryph yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “I’d lower that spear. First, it won’t do much on good ol’ Avernerius here. Second, if you so much as prick his infernal skin, your status as friendly will become void. And that would be… well seriously ungood.”

  “You’re a lunatic,” Gryph sputtered, but he lowered his spear. He cast a hesitant gaze up at Avernerius and could see the hate in the demon’s eyes. It still wanted to gut and feast on him and the beast's infernal presence penetrated his mind and his soul. It felt like an oily stain seeping through every fiber of his being with acid tendrils that burned away bits of him.

  “Yeah, and I wouldn’t stare in those eyes either. Bad things live in there.”

  Gryph pulled his eyes away and the foul sensation dissipated.

  “Call it off?”

  “Not how it works, but don’t worry his time in this realm is limited. He has about 20 seconds more before he’s dragged back to his own realm."

  “I have decided I hate you,” Gryph said as he eased away from the abyssal terror and made his way closer to the ledge where the gnome stood. Gryph didn't look up, but Avernerius’ eyes followed his every move. The muscles in the creature's body strained as if it were fighting against itself to get to Gryph.

  “You sure you have control of this thing?”

  “Pretty sure. But no need to fret cuz in... 3… 2… now.”

  A pinprick of fiery light punctured the veils between Realms again and dragged Avernerius backwards as if pushed by hurricane strength winds. A foul rush of sulphuric air sucked the demon through the portal. The smell made Gryph gag.

  The gnome slid down from the ledge and looked around at the bodies of the wyrmynn. Gryph got to his feet and advanced on the small man with virulent ire. Before the gnome knew he was upon him, Gryph had him by the neck. Gryph hoisted the tiny man with ease, lifting him up to his eye level.

  “You nearly got me killed,” Gryph said in calm fury.

  “I saved your life man,” the gnome said gasping for breath.

  “I saved yours,” Gryph grumbled, but his anger was subsiding. Gryph let the small man drop and Gryph felt shame pulse through him. Finn had never been one to let anger cloud his mind. Gryph refused to be victimized by it either.

  The gnome coughed a few times as he forced air back into his lungs. He rubbed a hand against his throat as he stood. He walked right up to Gryph and held out a hand.

  “The name’s Wick.”

  So, he is the gnome from the journal, Gryph realized.

  Wick held his hand out as the seconds ticked by and the air grew uncomfortable. Wick widened his eyes in a ‘don’t leave me hangin’ buddy’ gesture as Gryph continued to stare.

  “And your name is?” Wick said in an irritating drawl that dripped sarcasm.

  Gryph held the stared before grasping the small man’s hand.

  “Gryph.”

  “Nice to meet ya Gryph. Thanks for the save there. I’d thought I’d given this lot the slip, but evidently my stealth skills aren’t up to snuff.” Wick grew uncomfortable as Gryph refused to release his hand. “Gettin’ a little weird pal.”

  Gryph pulled the little man closer and said “Want to explain t
hat demon lord of hell thing?”

  “What’s to explain?” Wick said with a nervous grin.

  “Tell me why I shouldn’t gut you now. You dredged that demon up from hell. What are you some kind of evil necromancer priest?”

  “First off I’m a chthonic summoner, not a necromancer. Necromancers hang out in graveyards digging up corpses. I summon beings from the chthonic realm. Second, I am not evil, I just make use of beings whose moral standards may be a tad looser than my own.”

  Gryph’s withering look suggested that in his mind the two things were not all that different on the moral scale of things.

  “You sound just like my dad,” Wick grumbled. “Well maybe you act like my dad, since you aren’t saying anything. You’ve really mastered the strong and brooding thing.”

  Gryph just stared.

  “Now look, do you think I asked for this? It's not my fault I have an affinity for the chthonic sphere. I sure as shit didn’t ask for it. I would have been perfectly happy following in my Dad’s footsteps and become another in a long line of Flintspanner Master Tinkers. But no, the gods cursed me with this.”

  “Are you done?” Gryph asked.

  After a shy moment of introspection Wink nodded. Gryph let go and Wick lurched back at the sudden freedom. He smoothed out his wrinkled clothes all the while casting a sideways glance of mistrust at Gryph.

  “Yes, I believe I am.”

  Gryph's mind went to Jebbis' quest. This Wick was like the child who liked to play with fire. All fun and games until the neighbor’s house burned down. Definitely someone not to trust. Maybe Jerris and Rehla would be better off if Gryph completed the quest on his own. Not that he knew where he was, much less how to get to their village. After a few moments consideration. Gryph kept the quest a secret.