Emperor

by Isaac Hooke

  Meanwhile, Solan and Gannet cut through the enemy with their flaming swords. Sylfi and Brita fired bows, like Gwen, downing a foe with almost every shot. They showed Wendolin how it was done.

  But then Wendolin had her revenge a moment later, because she caused branches to grow from the wooden shafts of the arrows the three launched, and she used them to impale several of the nearby foes, smashing the sharp tips through the insubstantial bodies and into the kobold heads from underneath, so that it was like their heads were on stakes.

  Sylfi paused for a short moment to admire the tree elf’s handiwork. “She’s good.”

  Malem felt pride emanating from Wendolin’s energy bundle.

  The four oraks meanwhile used their pikes, jabbing through the ranks, and preventing any of the kobolds from getting close to the bow-women of the party.

  Everyone essentially fought back to back, because they were surrounded by the kobolds on all sides.

  The birds, meanwhile, circled overhead, alongside the gazers. Apparently there was a limit to how many opponents the gazers could Confuse at once, because Malem stopped sensing that triumphant feeling that came whenever they successfully turned a foe.

  Those gazers were taking arrows from the kobolds, since Timlir was too far to draw away the attacks with his ax. Malem instructed the gazers to move in zigzagging patterns, and randomly unleash air attacks toward the archers to protect themselves.

  The stone abruptly erupted in front of Malem, and a rock elemental burst from the cobble.

  “They have a mage!” Xaxia said.

  The elemental punched a huge fist down toward Abigail, a blow that would have harmed even a half dragon, but hit an invisible shield similar to Ziatrice’s. Malem was confused for a moment, but then he remembered the cloak Abigail had picked up from the treasure hoard. It must have been magic.

  “I’m going to transform,” Sylfi said.

  Just then the roof began to collapse.

  “No room!” Abigail said.

  “Forward!” Malem ordered.

  The kobolds were fleeing, making it easier for Malem to shove his way through their ranks.

  Malem weaved between the falling chunks of the roof until finally he cleared the collapse. His companions made it as well, but the kobolds bound to him didn’t fare so well. Two had died outright, and the life signs of the remainder were close to death. He crushed their wills, draining them entirely, compensating for the stamina he lost when the others died.

  The cavern tightened as he continued forward, so that the roof was just overhead. At least that roof was intact. However, it’s proximity would prevent the dragons from transforming, not unless they wanted to get lodged in the tunnel.

  Despite the low roof, the tunnel maintained its previous horizontal breadth, so that was one positive, at least.

  After running for a time, he spun about to see what had caused the collapse. The kobolds continued to flee, vanishing into the alcoves from whence they had come.

  Something stirred amid the ruins.

  “Looks like we woke something up,” Xaxia said.

  He saw wings extend, and a dragon-like head raised.

  “What the hell?” Gwen said.

  “A wyvern!” Mauritania exclaimed.

  The dragon only had forelimbs, which it used to pull itself toward the party.

  Malem tried to Break it—no luck.

  It swung its barbed tail at them, into the tighter section of the cavern, which was like a slot compared to the chamber where the massive beast resided. It missed.

  Its body was too big to fit into the smaller area, so instead it rammed its head into the opening, and breathed wicked black flame.

  That dark fire struck one of the oraks, and black veins rapidly spread across its body, and it shrieked terribly as it disintegrated.

  Solan and Gannet stood in front of the others with their bucklers to protect them from the fire, while Ziatrice and Abigail did the same with their magical force fields.

  “Go!” Malem said when the flames subsided.

  As she fled, Mauritania launched darts of the Green Rot at her opponent, and they struck, but didn’t stop the creature. Abigail also launched fireballs, and Weyanna ice spears. It didn’t seem to have much effect. Malem still couldn’t wrap his mind around its will.

  The wyvern scraped its tail inside, trying to snatch them up, but they were too far.

  As they moved deeper, it screamed in outrage, and launched another stream of flame, forcing them to duck behind the different shields once more.

  “I won’t be able to take another hit like that,” Ziatrice said as the flames subsided.

  Malem fed her stamina, and continued running.

  The wyvern blasted its flames into the opening again, but the party had moved out of its range.

  The frustrated creature turned about to attack the alcoves where the kobolds had fled instead.

  “Well, first floor, and already it feels like we’re in over our heads,” Xaxia said. “No one ever told us this was a high-level dungeon.”

  “We keep going,” Malem said. “We have no choice. The uraks have probably tunneled through the collapse behind us by now.”

  “They’ll have fun getting past the wyvern,” Abigail commented.

  “They certainly will,” he agreed.

  On that note, the party proceeded deeper into the dark depths.

  16

  The kobolds that had fled this way, ahead of the party, remained in hiding.

  Malem kept Balethorn drawn, and scanned the alcoves on either side. Abigail continued to rove her flaming globe left and right to illuminate the wide extents of the current area. Malem kept the party in the middle of the cavern, away from the alcoves on either side, just like before—in case of further ambushes.

  Though the passage was wide, the ceiling remained too low for the dragons to transform. Malem suspected it would stay that way for the rest of the journey beneath the mountain.

  “You think they’re coming back?” Xaxia asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Malem replied. “Probably eventually.”

  “That wyvern thoroughly spooked them,” Abigail said.

  “But for how long?” Malem pressed. He glanced at her, remembering how her cloak had created a magic shield around her when the elemental had tried to punch her. “It’s magic,” he said, nodding at her cloak.

  “Yes,” she said.

  “That’s why you frowned when you tried it on earlier. You sensed something, didn’t you?”

  “I felt different, somehow,” Abigail said. “I wasn’t sure what the cloak did, however.”

  “You could have asked Brita to identify it,” he said.

  “I did, actually,” she told him. “While we were dressing. She told me it could create a magical shield similar to Ziatrice’s. Unfortunately, it only has three charges left, according to Brita. Or two now, after the elemental attack.”

  They continued in silence for some time. The remaining gazer led the way, followed by three oraks. The others, including the birds, had been lost during the escape. Malem had felt the birds dying, but since the animals used only one slot each, the boomerang effect that came with the mental severing didn’t drain him too severely. The loss of the gazer had been worse, but in truth, he had barely noticed it at the time, given how fast his heart had been pumping. But he was definitely feeling a bit tired now.

  He resisted the urge to drain from his companions. They would need their strength in the coming minutes and hours.

  “Where did these monsters come from?” Gwen said. “I haven’t seen creatures like kobolds, wyverns, and so forth to the south.”

  “They are the remnants of those monsters that traveled through from the Black Realm during the First Balor War,” Wendolin said. “They never crossed the intersecting Khroma and Harken mountain ranges, and instead took up residence in the underground cities and towns that the dwarves and other mountain dwellers left abandoned during the war. Even dragons, who had forsaken thei
r nests to join in the fighting, would return to find their dens overrun.”

  “Nasty,” Xaxia said.

  “Yes,” Timlir said. “My city was overrun with monsters, too, but we dwarves of the Grouchfain clan weren’t about to abandon our homes. We joined forces with the other clans that lived in Grotfore, and swept the monsters out level by level until our city was habitable again.”

  “It’s too bad Furlantos didn’t give us a map,” Brita commented. “We could be in here for days. And if we ever have to backtrack, there’s a good chance we’ll run into the uraks hunting us.”

  “I don’t think Furlantos had a map,” Malem said. “The dragon admitted it never traveled deeper than the upper levels. Those stairs and the tunnel after were far too cramped for the creature.”

  “Sort of like these tunnels,” Gannet complained.

  “Either way, let’s hope we don’t have to backtrack,” Gwen said.

  “Why not?” Xaxia gently caressed the blade of her sword. “Biter could use something tastier than kobolds to snack on.”

  “What about the Light Pearl?” Abigail asked. “Are we still searching for that?”

  “Not directly,” Malem said. “Our goal now is to get out of here, and survive. If we happen across the Light Pearl along the way, great. If not, I’m not going to fret about it.”

  “What about destroying Vorgon?” Weyanna asked.

  Malem sighed. “Well, that will just have to be relegated to the back burner for the time being.”

  “What’s a back burner?” Gwen asked.

  “That’s another name for a dragon,” Xaxia quipped.

  “No really, what is it?” Gwen pressed.

  “Ever seen a kiln?” Xaxia said.

  “Ah,” Gwen said. “It’s the flame used to generate the heat required for firing pottery.”

  “Kind of a long-winded explanation, but about right,” Xaxia said.

  A dim glow came from ahead.

  “What is that?” Brita asked.

  “A bonfire, maybe,” Malem said.

  But as they got closer, he realized there were brackets in the wall, with freshly lit torches in them, providing light. “Who lit these?”

  “The kobolds?” Solan asked.

  Gannet walked to one of them, and slid his hand inside. He removed it to illustrate that he had no burn marks. “Magic.”

  “You’re a dragon,” Xaxia said. “Of course you’re not going to burn.”

  “You try,” Gannet said.

  Xaxia glanced at Weyanna. “I hope you heal me if this goes wrong.”

  She approached the bracket, and raised a hesitant palm. She paused a handbreadth away from the flame. “Fuck it.”

  She slid her hand inside, held it for a second, and then removed it. She glanced at her palm. Her flesh was unharmed. She shoved it in again and laughed. “It is magic.”

  Wendolin nodded. “Probably here since the days of the trolden. The monsters never removed them. Light can be an advantage, when you’re a creature of the dark.”

  “How so?” Gwen asked.

  “It blinds your enemies,” she said.

  Malem raised a halting hand.

  “What is it?” Xaxia asked.

  “Shh!” he replied. He lowered his voice. “I’m sensing something up ahead. Something big.”

  Abigail, dim the flaming globe.

  She did so.

  Your beast sense is finally working, huh? Abigail asked.

  Malem didn’t answer the gibe.

  He sent the gazer forward, and discovered a smaller side passageway on the left side. It was unlit. The creature he detected was located somewhere within.

  While the others gathered around the opening, he had the gazer proceed deeper, with Abigail’s flaming globe lighting the way. The party assumed a defensive half circle formation around the opening; they were left only with the dim light the magic torches provided, which served well enough for their purposes.

  He switched to the gazer’s viewpoint to observe its advance. Eventually, the tunnel fell away around the monster, and it emerged into a vast, dark cavern filled with piles of gold coins and other treasures. Asleep at the center of the pile was a wyvern.

  That matched up with what Malem’s beast sense was telling him. He didn’t dare try to Break the creature: that might wake it up.

  “A wyvern asleep on a treasure pile,” he said quietly, for the benefit of those who were not bound to him.

  “Another?” Mauritania asked.

  “It might be the same one we encountered before,” Malem replied. “Obviously, there’s another exit to that chamber. Since the wyvern isn’t going to be leaving through here.”

  He shared the gazer’s vision with those who were bound to him, then he instructed the monster to pan its great eye from left to right so that the others could get an idea of the extents of the treasure pile.

  Not that he had any intention of going inside to gather any of it.

  Look there, just to the left of the wyvern! Ziatrice sent.

  What is it? Malem said. Have you spotted a Light Pearl?

  Not exactly, Ziatrice said. A Dark Eye.

  We already have one of those, Wendolin said, glancing at the bulging sack Ziatrice carried at her hips.

  Yes, but a second could be useful, Ziatrice told her. Remember, the Dark Eye can only be used to open a portal to the Black Realm, not back, and that it takes a full day for the artifact to recharge once the portal closes. A day here is equivalent to a week there. If we had two, we could close the portal, and not have to worry about keeping it open, fending off any dark entities while we waited for you to return. We would just use the second one to open another portal at an agreed upon time. Say, an hour later.

  You’re assuming we’re ever going to have the need to return to the Black Realm, Sylfi said.

  It’s possible we’ll have the need at some point, Malem sent. It’s best not to rule out any options… no, Ziatrice is right. We can’t pass up the chance to acquire a second one.

  “What are we doing?” Xaxia said softly. “You all just had a mental conversation again, didn’t you? Leaving out the rest of us.”

  “Always leaving out the dwarf, and the humans,” Timlir said. “I see how it is.”

  “We’ve found a Dark Eye,” Malem said quietly. “And Mauritania is going in to fetch it.”

  “I am?” Mauritania said, blinking in surprise.

  “Yes,” Malem said. “You can teleport. None of us can.”

  “But I won’t be able to teleport all the way from the entrance,” Mauritania said. “It’s too far. I’ll have to work my way forward first… I’m the biggest among you. I’ll stand out. You should send in someone smaller, nimbler, more stealthy. Like the dwarf.”

  “What’s the matter, Eldritch?” Timlir said. “Afraid of a little wyvern?”

  “I’d hardly call it little,” Mauritania said. “And I’m not afraid. I just thought I’d give you a chance to do something useful for a change. I never thought you’d be one to refuse a good treasure raid, sneaking a Dark Eye right out from underneath the nose of a wyvern, but that’s fine, I’ll go.”

  “Oh no, I wouldn’t want you to break a nail,” Timlir said. “I’ll do this for you, Eldritch.”

  He sensed relief emanating from Mauritania. She really was afraid. He didn’t blame her, given how ineffective her magic had been against the creature in the other chamber. If this was the same wyvern, the creature was a particularly resilient variant of its species: it would have to be, to survive in a monster-infested dungeon like this.

  “No, I want Mauritania to do it,” Malem said. “Teleportation is an advantage you do not have.”

  “Who needs to teleport, when you’re as small as him,” Mauritania commented.

  “That was an insult, wasn’t it?” Timlir said.

  “Yup,” Mauritania said. With a sigh, she turned toward the opening. “Well then, wish me luck.”

  “Good lucky, sexy,” Goldenthall said, slapping her ass
.

  Malem felt a sudden rising anger, an incredible rage that hadn’t possessed him since he was the Defiler, and it was all he could do not to lop Goldenthall’s head from his shoulders. If Malem had been the Defiler, that head would already be rolling on the ground…

  He sensed similar anger emanating from Mauritania, and knew that Goldenthall was a razor’s edge away from losing his life.

  I need him to communicate with Banvil, Malem warned Mauritania.

  But she ignored him.

  “Do that again,” she told Goldenthall sweetly. “And I’ll shave away that crusty beard of yours with Tiercel and Peregrine.”

  “Maybe I’d like a shave by your hand,” Goldenthall taunted. “And not just on my face.” He winked.

  Mauritania smirked. “Oh no, I don’t think you would. My particular brand of shaving tends to bring off a lot of skin, and the muscle underneath.”

  The lecherous smile left Goldenthall’s face, along with most of the blood.

  Malem was kind of glad Mauritania had put the former king in his place. It meant Malem didn’t have to do it.

  “Oof,” Goldenthall said. The head of a spear protruded from his upper body. He looked down at his chest, his expression one of shock mixed with morbid curiosity. He glanced up again at Malem, and blood bubbled from his lips as he fell to his knees.

  He heard hoots and howls coming from the alcoves around him. Ahead, dark forms swarmed from the openings. More spears launched from them.

  Solan and Gannet raised their bucklers, while Abigail and Ziatrice placed themselves into the line of fire and activated their magic shields.

  “The kobolds are back,” Malem said, positioning himself behind Ziatrice. “Quickly, Mauritania!”

  The half Eldritch dove into the opening as he recalled the gazer. Abigail left her flaming globe inside so that Mauritania would be able to see.

  “Weyanna, heal Goldenthall!” Malem said.

  But she was already on her knees; she forced the spear through the king’s chest, and then allowed white mist to flow from her body and into the wound.

  Malem and the others positioned themselves in front of the pair.