Beyond All Expectations (Emerilia Book 8)

by Michael Chatfield

  “Get behind me!” Anna rushed through the formation of DCA. They obeyed immediately, compacting themselves into a line, still darts heading toward the ground.

  Anna’s sword swung outward, a clear piercing noise that left one’s ears deaf for a moment. A blade of wind fifty meters long spread out from where her sword passed. Her blade danced in the air as she continued forward, covering the DCA’s retreat.

  She had trained many of them; the Beast Kin had been her family when few would accept her. She accepted that she could not help all of them survive, but when she saw these wounded and their helpers being cut down, she wasn’t able to sit by.

  Her blade tore through barriers, sky screams, and Nalheim riders with ease.

  A net made from cuts with her sword shimmered through the air. The white lines of cut air weakened as they were hit with the disrupting attacks of the Nalheim. But still it hit their flying formation like a hammer.

  The Nalheim were trying to pull their beasts up and out of their dive, sensing the power of the woman in front of them.

  “You want to leave?” Anna’s cold and quiet voice seemed to resonate in everyone’s ears as her sword flashed. Air blades appeared, faster than the Nalheim could react.

  The gryphons flew toward Anna, a light in their eyes. They had found a challenger!

  Anna’s speed decreased once she cleared the last of the DCA aerial forces, before slowly falling back down toward the citadel. She would cover their retreat.

  The sky screams tried to unleash their paralyzing ability, but the wind was changing constantly, not allowing the sound to transmit to Anna’s ears.

  She constantly wove attacks through the air and hurled them toward the oncoming Nalheim. Now that the surprise factor was gone, they were trying to find weaknesses within her attacks.

  Dwayne watched as the threads of compressed white air slowed down, becoming less substantial as they reached Anna. She wasn’t pulling as much air to herself as she was sending spell after spell into the oncoming Nalheim.

  She continued to gather speed as she fell. A horde of Nalheim all in a diving formation now charged onward; under their concentrated attacks, the ones that had been trying to slow their descent and get away from her were now once again joining their fellows in hunting down Anna.

  Her attacks continued to send more and more Nalheim to their deaths.

  A golden gryphon finally reached her and its head slammed toward Anna. She held out a hand, a drill of air forming over it.

  The gryphon cried out, startled as the drill became solid, spinning faster and faster, until it collided with the gryphon’s face. Waves of visible force exploded outward in shock waves.

  Anna’s raised sword smashed the spear of the general on top of the gryphon away.

  The sound of metal hitting metal was almost explosive as people covered their ears.

  The general’s blow might have been blocked but he wasn’t done.

  The gryphon had a large gash on the side of its face underneath its eye, where blood flowed freely. It had been able to save itself from dying at the last moment but not without injury. It let out an angered screech, its front paws trying to claw through Anna.

  Anna nimbly danced out of the way of the gryphon’s claws and beak while she and the general traded blows.

  Their movements were so fast that most people only heard the weapons hitting one another. Dwayne could see that the Nalheim was using all of its considerable skill and its two heads and weapons to attack Anna, who was fending off it and its beast.

  Anna suddenly shot upward again, past the Nalheim; it dodged to the side, receiving a nasty cut on its side.

  The Nalheim could turn its head around but not its arms. Because it was standing up in the gryphon’s saddle, it couldn’t fight Anna as she shot past.

  She sliced and jabbed forward. Her Air blade cut the general nearly in two as her thrust pierced through the gryphon’s tough hide and into its insides. Anna sped toward the ground now. All of the DCA aerial forces had landed and were being seen to by healers.

  As she got out from between the Nalheim and the Terra Alliance forces, the sky once again erupted into hell.

  Spells that had been saved up as well as archers and those manning bolt throwers who hadn’t been confident to use their spells when their allies were so close now unleashed their abilities.

  There were nearly a thousand within the Nalheim group that had tried to hunt down the wounded.

  Magical explosions tore through the skies as bolt throwers traced lines of bolts onto sky screams. Arrows cracked through the air with their force.

  The Nalheim had nowhere to go.

  Dwayne looked to Anna as she circled down and around, coming to stop with the rest of Party Zero, who stood on the exterior battlements, watching the Nalheim and their attempts to advance.

  She looked as if she were breathing slightly heavy and there was sweat on her brow, but otherwise it didn’t look as though she’d needed to exert any effort.

  Dwayne’s eyes looked to the gryphons and sky screams, as well as their riders.

  They were powerful in hit-and-run attacks or when they were fighting against infantry out in the open or their opponents couldn’t focus their ranged attacks on them.

  With everyone walled up in the citadel and castles, they were able to focus their fire onto these aerial riders. Under that withering fire, not even the steely-eyed Nalheim were able to do much.

  BAE Chapter 14: A Time to Defend and A Time to Act

  “Dave, what if something happens here?” Josh looked at Dave and the rest of Party Zero who all stood within the command post inside the citadel.

  The Nalheim had been constantly engaged in aerial fights but they hadn’t been able to make much progress on the ground.

  The elves and DCA ground forces had even started to add in their own ranged hit-and-run attacks on the Nalheim.

  They didn’t fall into ambushes as they moved forward in one direction, no matter the terrain. The war lizards always rushed toward where the combat was like bloodhounds.

  “You have more traps out there than I’ve ever seen anywhere!”

  “It’s kind of like an old man saying ‘get off my lawn’ but instead of using a shotgun, he used mines, and elves, and Devil’s Crater soldiers, and more bombs he made in his barn when he was drinking waay too much moonshine,” Steve interjected.

  “Dude, not helping,” Dave said.

  “Okay, so we’re holding them back and slowing them the hell down with all of the traps, but you want to go off to Gudalo and check out the spawn point in the orcish lands!” Josh said.

  “If we can figure out how the spawn points work, maybe we can stop them, or figure out something to kill the things coming out before they get organized, maybe even learn something.” Dave waved his arms.

  Josh looked around the room before he looked to Dave, his eyes narrowed. “Okay, you make a good point.” Josh rubbed his face and let out a deep breath. It was clear that running the Terra Alliance was not the easiest of jobs. “Just, I’ll let you know if I think that the Nalheim are going to reach the castle walls. They haven’t stopped coming out of that portal and I don’t know when they will. If they can get to our castles, then hopefully we can push them back and hammer them at range. It’s not as simple fighting this way once you know that it’s real.”

  “I know, but it drives us harder to see that we can do our best by ourselves and those who call Emerilia home, whether they’re players, people of Emerilia, or E-heads,” Dave said.

  ***

  “Why don’t they pull back?” Malkur asked Kala as they stood on the battlements of the citadel. Malkur and his aerial forces had been replaced by Efri’s people.

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s an honor thing, or the way that they evolved.” Kala shrugged her massive shoulders. “One thing I know for sure—while they’re slow about it, in two or three days, they’re going to reach the citadel. That’s when the real fight starts.”

  �
�The battle only comes to its conclusion when it reaches your walls. If it is the first time you’re engaging your enemy, you’ve fucked up.” Malkur smiled.

  “Looks like all my wise words weren’t wasted on you.” Kala laughed.

  “Just kept some of the gems.” Malkur chuckled.

  They fell into silence as they watched the fighting. It felt surreal; in any moment, they could be thrust into it and here they were just looking at it—hearing the explosions, seeing the artillery cannons firing and their impacts.

  “What do you think is going to happen in the orc swamps in the Gudalo republic?” Malkur asked.

  “The republic is already sending down their military from all of the races to be ready for anything that comes out the spawn point. We’ll send some support there. Already there’s a bunch of Dark and Earth mages going to make fortifications to hold back whatever is there or to launch an attack from. Unless they’re much worse than the Nalheim threat, then we’re going to stay here and fight off the Nalheim then go and help at the other spawn point. This is part of the Terra Alliance—we knew that we wouldn’t be able to react to every single problem. This way we can respond to the worst ones so that the people of Emerilia survive, not just a kingdom here and there,” Kala said.

  Malkur nodded but it was hard; if the Nalheim were bad, then whatever was coming through the spawn point in Gudalo could be much worse.

  With all of these spawn points dotted around and many that they probably didn’t even know of yet, it was likely that they would get bogged down with so many cries for help from so many different people that they would have to make decisions that would allow a great number of people to die so that others could live. All of these decisions lay squarely on Josh’s shoulders.

  The people of Emerilia had become stronger, learning through the Mirrors of Communication. However, these creatures were not normal. Although the people of Emerilia might be able to put up a bit more of a fight, they could get away from danger much faster. If civilians could get out of the area, then the armies and warriors wouldn’t have to worry about casualties incurred by their actions. These fights were not going to be easy but they were doing everything they could to survive.

  ***

  Dave, Deia, Anna, Lox, and Gurren were all running through the orc swamps in the southwestern region of the newly formed Gudalo republic. The rest of Party Zero had been helping the Terra Alliance to build a large citadel like the one outside Goblin Mountain to hold the republic’s army as they waited to see what would come out of the spawn point.

  The five party members quickly entered the swamp. Even in midday, after about five minutes of running, they found themselves in fog. The farther they went, the denser it became.

  “Halt.” A deep guttural voice ground out through the fog.

  Dave and the rest of Party Zero stopped, forming into a circle by reflex.

  “Who goes there?” Deia asked.

  “What is your purpose in coming to our swamp?” the voice asked. It seemed to come from all around them.

  Dave pushed his senses out. His eyebrows rose in shock. He could only faintly sense the half-dozen creatures around the party.

  “We wish to inspect the spawn point that is located in your swamp. We haven’t been able to see one yet and want to know what it is capable of doing and how it works,” Deia said.

  When creatures in the event spawned, the spawn point had disappeared, both when the Elsoom spores spawned and when the portal had activated.

  A shadow appeared in the fog, moving closer to the ground before the fog seemed to dissipate to reveal a seven-foot-tall orc. This orc was covered in muscles and scars. There were different paints on his skin to make it easier to hide in the forest. He didn’t have much of a neck with those bulging muscles.

  Even though his footfalls were light, the power that was wrapped up in this orc was not to be underestimated.

  Rings pierced through his lower tusks; a tattoo ran from his neck down across his body. He wore only a simple loincloth and had a massive sword on his back.

  “I am Ursk, leader of the White Smokes and owner of this territory.” The orc crossed his truly massive arms.

  “I am Oson’Deia, leader of Party Zero.” Deia stepped forward from the group.

  Ursk looked her over before his eyes flickered to the others in the party. “You wish to see the silver spawn point?” Ursk’s eyes once again focused on Deia.

  “That is correct,” Deia said.

  “Very well. If you defeat one of my people, then I will let you.”

  Another orc stepped out of the fog and stood behind Ursk.

  Anna stepped forward as well.

  Ursk nodded and moved to the side; Deia did the same.

  The orc who had stepped up behind Ursk rushed forward.

  Anna stood perfectly still, making no indication of moving. She looked rather bored as the orc closed in.

  It punched forward, creating cannon balls of wind. Anna moved fluidly out of the way of these attacks, using the movements to get close to the orc. Her leg snapped out, hitting the orc in the gut and sending them flying. The fog was tossed around as the orc slammed through a tree.

  Anna lowered her foot as the orc hit the ground.

  Ursk looked from his fighter to Anna with a nod. “Very well, we will take you there.”

  Dave felt the others moving around them as a few went to check on the orc who had been kicked through a tree.

  Ursk quickly guided them through the swamplands with ease.

  Structures seemed to appear out of nowhere. These were wooden defenses, all of them pointed inward.

  Dave looked over the different constructs which looked to be grown from the natural trees and other plants in the area.

  They passed through a palisade and a row of spikes.

  More orcs and gnomes were visible working on the different structures as well as moving in roving armed bands or just stopping and staring at the members of Party Zero who passed through, entering the center of these defenses.

  Earth mage, Dave thought as the swampland that they were traveling through became solid ground as soon as Ursk put his foot down. The control he wielded was impressive as a path formed from his footsteps.

  The swamp trees fell away after a few minutes and the fog cleared so that they could see better. They stepped out of the fog and into the sunlight once again, looking at the gleaming silver spawn point.

  There were four pillars on the outside. All of them slowly turned; the central and larger pillar attached by poles and a metal plate beneath the smaller poles rotated its different runed bands at an even slower pace than the four pillars.

  Dave didn’t pay attention to the spawn point screen that showed the time slowly winding down. Instead, Dave and Malsour both moved to the spawn point, using all of their senses to gain more information on the machine in front of them.

  Dave exercised his ability to cut the Jukal link as he moved up to the spawn point. “It’s complex and made from Magical Circuits, though it’s pretty much nothing more than a complex drop pad but with a timer built into it and a display ability.”

  “It’s pretty simple. I think most of this was just made to make it look impressive,” Malsour agreed.

  “The range is pretty far—must be reaching the second moon where Bob stored all of the prisoners with the automated fighting drones.”

  “We might be able to shut them down, but as soon as we do, then the Jukal are going to know. There’s communication protocols in here. They were probably made in order to make sure that nothing fails for this event, but they’d transmit as soon as there was an error,” Malsour said.

  “These defenses are pretty nasty too. Somehow it inverts the Mana—forcing it instead of acting on the outside world to act within whoever touches it,” Dave said.

  “That’s pretty nasty. We can cast high-powered spells but having that Mana running rampant in our systems, it pretty much makes sure that anyone who attacks it is killed. The only other time I�
��ve seen systems like this is with the Altar of Rebirth and the portals.”

  “Well, this is just one more thing to figure out.” Dave stepped back from the spawn point and looked at it all. It looked pleasing to the eye but it was a herald of death and destruction.

  “I think that we might be able to figure out what kind of creatures that it would release,” Malsour said.

  “Oh?” Dave said. Knowing what was going to come through the spawn points would make it a lot easier to try to figure out how to defend against them.

  “Drop pads can’t move people and animate objects—well, they can but it’s risky as hell. Only players can use them because there’s a good chance that they’ll die from the transition. The Jukal aren’t going to send creatures over here for the event only to have them die upon arrival. Just looking after that takes up a lot of magical runes. If we can figure out how they’re configured for the creatures being brought over, we can take that profile, compare it against the creatures in Emerilia’s past and figure out what they are. However, if we have more things coming through a portal, we aren’t going to be able to figure out what the hell they are beforehand as the spawn points are not only here to tell us about the event location but they act as teleportation anchors.” Malsour looked to Dave.

  “Okay, well, let’s see if we can figure out what’s supposed to be coming through this spawn point,” Dave said. The two of them used their senses, examining the spawn point once again.

  “Well, I guess we should leave them at it.” Lox sat down on the ground. Ursk watched him closely in his Devastator armor.

  Gurren followed suit as Deia and Anna pulled seats out from their bags of holding and started eating some food they’d brought along.

  Ursk was slightly surprised at the relaxed attitude of the group.

  He also sat down, watching Party Zero as Malsour and Dave muttered to each other and wandered around the spawn point. The others lazed around in the swamp.

  ***

  For Josh, things weren’t as relaxed.

  He was with the military leaders of the Terra Alliance who had lent their forces. They were all under the command of Josh to ease the command structure. Josh had, in turn, turned over command over different groups to his different guild leaders.