by Kyle J Cisco
Evon in a flash of adrenaline mannaged to kick the man from him, and get back to his feet his broadsword drawn, and shield in hand. As his opponent raised from the ground, and turned Evon noticed the white design upon the warriors blacken helm. The face of a skull lined the front of the helm. Evon gripped the hilt of the sword tight in his grasp as he charged headlong into battle with the skull faced leader.
23
Before them lay the blackened brick causeway that lead into the inner courtyard of the spire. Tattered banners of black and purple, swayed in the breeze making the sepent sigil look as though it was slithering accross the fabric.
Natasha watched the walls monitoring the movements of the guards that walked back and forth atop the ramparts. There had been no movement for several minutes. She raised two fingers to her mouth and whistled the call of the song bird. The signal for Hargoth and his men to move toward the gate. The heavy barred gate was left open. Goosd they dont know we are here yet.
As the thought entered her mind one of the guards looked over the walls and down upon Hargoth and his men. Natasha brought her crossbow up to take the man's life. Though to her surprise the man had already fallen to an arrow that came from behind her. She swung the crossbow in a 180 tunring around to see a group of armored men not 20yards away from her. Deater's red captains cloak waved in the breeze.
"Your late," said Natasha, as she shot the man a devilish grin.
"Better late then never right? So what is the plan?" asked Deater, as he closed in on her position.
"We, go in and find Virgil, and get out."
"The Executor, and the forces of Light are on their way as we speak to aid us."
"That explains why the massive army that stood between us and the fortress began to move north this morning."
"Aye, but we dont have much time," said Deater, as he waved his men forward to group up with Hargoth's men.
Both teams now in position moved into the inner courtyard. Eyes pealed as they made their way to the onyx staircase that lead into the spire itself. Natasha was first through the door. The entrance hall was breathtaking. The banners that hung were in prime condition, and the floors were polished so one could see their reflection in them. The entire hall was lit by braziers carresing purple flames. Whose reflections danced upon the polished floor. Hargoth, and his men stopped, and gawked in silence at the interior of this place known for so much evil.
The group hid as foot steps eminated from the corridor in front of them. As they dissipated Natasha moved into the corridor crossbow at the ready to take down any nasty surprises they might find. But nothing could be seen in the hall beyond. The corridor opened into a vast hall with a dark purple carpet that lead to a darker area of the room.
Natasha's instincts screamed at her as she approached the darkened area of the hall. As she grew closer braziers lit on thier own revealing what hid in those shadows. A giant stone thrown made of onyx. Its the throne room. The danger flashed in her mind as she recoiled, and headed back to the others.
"We, are going to have to split up," Natasha said.
"Are you sure you want to do that. We, will have a better chance sticking together in case we run into a fight." Deater said.
"If we dont then we chance being found and Virgil being killed before we reach him."
Her words rang true, and nods from Hargoth and his men spoke to thier agreement with her thinking.
"Fine, my men will check the lower levels of the spire." He said.
The growing sound of gutteral laughter came from the corridor to the left. Three black cloaked figures stood in the threshold of the room.
"You, are too late. Your frined is already dead." The middle specter said, as his sword materialized from beneath his cloak. "But do not fret, you will all meet him soon."
Deater, drew his sword, and charged into combat with the specters. His men close behind him. The thundering of twenty one footsteps echoed through the hall as the men closed into combat.
Natasha, Laura, and Hargoth's company. Headed toward the other side of the hall. But three more Specters blocked this path as well.
Natasha fired three bolts in rapid succession. One struck the middle specter in the chest dropping it into a folded mess of cloak on the ground. I would love to know what the hell happens to these things when they dissapear like that.
An imcoming strike pulled her out of her thoughts, as she ducked to avoid the rusted blade that headed toward her. She held the crossbow out behind her as she passed the specter. Firing a shot that caught it in the back.
Something slammed into her left side causing her to fall and slide a few feet on the polished throne room floor. A figure in black stood above her poised to strike. A blast of light knocked the specter from its feet. Throwing into the far corner of the room.
"Find, Virgil," came Deaters voice over the rising sounds of the melee.
Natasha gathered her self up and headed into the next corridor to the right of the throne room. The corridor was narrow, and the howls and cakles of goblins and other creatures enimated from behiond them.
"Natasha, we must hurry the spire has to be alerted to our presence here by now," Laura said, as she moved next to Natasha. Her mace moving back and forth with the movement of her arms as they increased thier pace.
Hargoth ordered his men to stay and guard their rear. There in the corridor they stood as the others stood at the bottom of a spiraled stiarcase leading into the upper levels. Natasha gave laura a nod of reassurance as they headed up the stiars.
Arrows pelted the stairs, as they travesed them. Goblins stood over the stair well as they sent their deadly poison tipped rounds down toward the intruders. Bolts flew back in response as Natasha tallied another enemy to those she had killed. The body of the goblin toppled from the outcropping from which it stood. Plummeting into the ground in a lifeless heap on the bottom level of the spire.
As they reached the first out cropping they headed down the first hall they saw, only to be confronted by several more goblins heading to the stair well. Each of the parties caught off guard by other stood for a split second in shear bewailderment.
Natasha drew her blades after firing her last bolt into the face of the leading goblin. She wadded through the foes dodgin blows that threatened to sever her head. She lashed out slitting the throat of the nearest foe, But a searing pain rose from the left side of her body. A spear tip lodged into her leather armor. A warm sensation crept down her left side as a stream of bright red blood flowed from the wound. She grabbed the tip of the spear heaving it from her body, as she drove the other dagger deeo into the goblins chin the tip of the blade stuck out from the scalp of her foe.
She slumped agaisnt the wall for a second to catch her breath as Hargoths men overtook her position, and continued to drive the foes back. Using her dagger she cut a piece of cloth from her cloak, and jammed it into the hole on her side to try and slow the bleeding for the time being. The wound was shallow enough, though there was no sense in taking unnessecary chances. A hand jutted toward her, as she looked up to see Largoth. She took his hand and the muscular man pulled her back to her feet with seemingly no effort at all.
The wound throbbed on the left side of her body as they moved deeper into the interior of the corridor they headed down after exiting the stairs. Sceams eminated from ahead of them. The screams made Natasha's stomach drop as images of Virgil being brutally tourtured entered her mind, spurring her forward in a half sprint down the hall.
"No...no...ahhhhhh..."
Sounds of combat could be heard from within the spire, with those sounds the Specters that stood vigil in the darkened corners of the room hurried out into the hall. This is my chance. Virgil began recite an incantation as he focused all of the willpower he had left into breaking the bindings that held him. But there was nothing.
"Mother of Light, please lend me your ear. I need your help, let me touch the light once more." Virgil said aloud, thought there was no one else in the room now.
&nbs
p; He closed his eyes once more and spoke the incantation, this time channeling all of the willpower into the bindings themselves. He could feel movememnt from the cuff on his right wrist, he slowly moved his head to look at the binding. But once his eyes focused on the metal it stopped.
Voices could be heard now, and he knew he needed to act fast, he sank into the deepest rage he could as he remembered Rex's death and the brutal tourture he had endured for the past six days. With one mighty yank of both of his wrist the chains ripped from the walls setting him free. He fell to the floor in exhaustion. Get up you fool. He thought to himself, while he rose to stand upon weary legs. Blood trickled down his middle finger from the cuffs digging into his skin.
He exited the tourture chamber and out into the hall where the guard sat with his back to Virgil. With a measured steps he moved to within two feet of the foe, he grabbed the chain in one hand. Then sprung at the goblin wrapping the chain around his neck and pulling with all of the strength he could muster.
The goblin's hands flailed about trying to catch some piece of Virgil he could grab, the sharp gasps getting farther and farther apart. The goblin started a slow decent to the ground, as he reached a sitting position upon the wall, He ended the goblins life with a sharpo twist of the neck that ended in a loud pop.
He grasped the keys and made his way to the door to a storage closet where he hoped his personal effects would be located. Virgil was shocked to see that he was right and quickly prepared for battle. The last thing he grabbed was the ornate hammer. He hefted the heavy weapon into his hands, but nearly dropped it. It has never been as heavy as it was now since the beatings he suffered.
"The prisner escaped," came a cry from down the hall he had come from. He shrunk back behind the open door and waited. Foot steps grew closer, as his heart pounded furiously in his chest. A shadow moved past the corner of the door near the hinges where he watched the hall.
He kicked the door shut on whomever had walked in. The goblin took the heavy wooden door to the face sending into racks of other gear that had been taken over the years. Sending a cloud of dust into the air. Virgil srung into action as he moved through the door. Another foe stood in his way but already swinging he knocked the goblin warrior down the hall his head split like a watermewlon on the ground. The door at the end of the hall opened caught Virgil's attention. And theres my exit. GHe charged the next foe with his shoulder down plowing him into the wall the force of the blow sending the man down without so much as a fight.
He looked down each way the corridor went, his ears listening for any sound that could be heard. In the distance down the right hall he heard mumbled words that sounded close to commands. He looked down the other direction and chose the silent path. He headed full bore down the corridor to the left, and as he rounded the corner hit something solid...
The man that stood in front of Virgil was nearly a head taller than him, he rushed to his feet and took a swing at the hillman. But the man simply grabbed the hammer in mid blow and tossed Virgil to the ground.
"I am not your foe, young Virgil," said the man his baratone voice reverberating through the empty corridor. "I found him."
The voice that answered, brought Virgil out of the moment. Then the owner of the voice rounded the corner of the corridor. There stood Natasha in her magnificent leather armor. Her face wore the stains of blood and dirt.
"Virgil," she said, as she jumped at him embracing him in a hug.
Virgil grunted in pain from the brusies that covered his body from head to toe from the tourture he endured. This caused Natasha to recoil in fear of hurting him more.
"Are you going to be able to make it out of here?" she asked as she grasped his hand in hers.
"Yes, I am fine, but me must go now." He said, as he glanced another woman came into view. "Laura? You, came too?"
"Your safety is my responibility, and I intend to bring you back alive," Laura said.
With a curt nod they set off back down the corridor they came from. Footsteps followed them close behind, and the sound of combat getting closer. Through the threshold of another chamber they went, and into the next corridor past the room. There it was the spiral staircase, Hargoth moved to the first step, but an arrow from above stopped him in midstep as the arrow found his shoulder. The rugged looking man pulled the arrow free from his skin, as he shook his fist in a curse to the goblin above. Then stepped twice and heaved the spear he carried into the foes chest toppling him. The thud heard several seconds after the fall singnified the end of the foes journey to the ground.
Virgil came up next to the older man.
"Are you alright," said Virgil, as he laid a hand upon the man's shoulder.
"I have taken far worse wounds then this in combat, young Virgil," said Hargoth.
The company moved swiftly down the stairs despite the hail of falling arrows aimed for them as they went. The clack of the arrow heads making contact with the walls and stairs around them, drove them faster and faster down the staircase. The clash of swords grew loudest as they reached the bottom of the case the two bodies of the goblins lie there unmoving on the ground.
Virgil moved into the next corridor as he saw the combat unfolding in the next hall. Deater and his red cloak stood out in the crowd of goblins and one lone specter. With hammer in hand, Virgil strode into the melee as he swiped the hammer taking out two of the goblins that stood before him dropping them to the ground in an instant. Through the corner of his voision he saw the incoming tendril of energy that reached for him. He rolled out of the way and sent his own red tinged energy flying toward the specter grabbing hold of the figure. Something smashed into his shoulder breaking the hold on the specter He turned already swinging his hammer in the direction of the blow. There stood another goblin with a shotty made sword. The dull blade barely knicked his plate.
As he swung on the goblin the Specter came at him full bore. The hit landed and he turned but not it time. The specter hit him square in the chest with a blast of energy that flung Virgil across the polished floor. He stopped at the base of the Onyx throne, his body ached as he rose from the ground. The muscles of his legs pleading with him to lie back down, but this was not time for that. The specter appraoched him, with cautious movement. As he reached striking distance Virgil swung his hammer lazily. The specter caught the hammer and delivered a punch that sent Virgil back to the ground.
"You shall not touch him spawn of Banon," Hargoth said his ancient bronze sword pointed at the specters chest.
"Do not step between a specter, and his quarry human." It responded the gutteral voice sending a shiver of cold air up Virgil's spine.
The Specter lunged at the man who caught the foes blade, and pushed the black cloaked specter back a few feet. The Specter rose and charged again, and the clash began both specter and Hargoth locked in combat with one another. Strikes were thrown and blocked by both. Virgil once more rose to his feet and charged into the melee. Hargoth and Virgil worked together as if they had been practicing the moves they were performing for years. They danced around the specter, throwing blow after blow at their folly.
The hammer fell hard into the specter's wrist forcing it to drop the blade in its hand. A blast of energy knocked Hargoth to the ground but Virgil had been able to maintain his ground in the asssault. He slung the hammer onto his back and focused the rage into his hands. The red glow eminated from them as him and specter fought hand to hand. He caught the fist of the foe and grabbed for its throat.
He lifted the specter off its feet, and sent a blast of energy the last of his reserves into the creature. The black cloak flailed in the wind from the blast. The cloak then fell to the ground empty. Hargoth regained his footing tapping Virgil on the chest in thank for saving his life.
The others had been locked in battle with the mass of goblins that were pouring through the door to the throne room. The back of the hall was once more cast in shadow. The others were finishing the last of the goblins when they heard it. I know that horn. Ah that sweet
sound of freedom. As the horn in the distance blasted once more singaling the arrival of Evon's army.
The group moved toward the door they had entered through only to be stopped as clapping eminated from the back of the hall. Virgil tunred, and as he exhailed saw his breath. The room grew cold, as the sweat on Virgil's brow was met by a chill air.
"Going so soon, Heir of Dvorak," came a muffled but gnarled voice. With a snap of its fingers the flames came to life inlluminating the braziers surrounding the onyx throne.
There sat a figure clad in magnificent black armor, the plates lined in the purple light of the flames. His face covered by a mask that made him look like a man sized bird. The blackened beak of the mask shapened into a razor sharp point.
It rose to full hieght from the throne, as it meandered down the steps toward them.
"Now, Virgil, you will experience true suffering..."Vraxes said, as he released the chain that fell to his side on the end of it was a metal representation of a human skull covered in metal spikes...
24
"Go, this is my fight," said Virgil, as he slung the hammer from his back.
The hammer rocked uneasily in his hands as he could feel the exhaustion throughout his body. The weight of the hammer felt, as though it would drop to the ground. If this is to be my end I'm taking you with me. The thought entered his mind, as a hand touched his shoulder.
"Let me handle this, Virgil, you must survive," Laura said, as Hargoth, and Largoth grabbed Virgil's arms, and walked him away from the throne.
"So, you send a woman to fight me? Fine. Ill tear her apart first then your friends so you can watch all them die before I take your life." Vraxes said, as another horn blast rang from outside the Spire. "Your, friends out there are in for a surprise. Signal the attack!"