Wood and Westerly moved to intercept two men that angled for Alyssa. James had the upper hand against a man who looked like he had bundled up too well for the cold, and was having difficulty moving. Silas, naturally, had singled out the man he believed to be the most dangerous with a weapon, and was engaging. The man did move like he knew what he was doing, but the dual swords were giving him trouble, and he was not nearly as skilled as Meric's friend. The first man who had tripped was now scurrying backwards on his hands and feet. However, he was moving away from the trees and looking that way in fear as he did.
"Demon!" The man screamed and tried to turn over and get to his feet. He only made it half way when Dhuren stepped out from the woods behind the man and planted a boot to his backside. The Dwarf then kicked the bandit's sword aside and stalked after him.
"You forgot your little knife," the Dwarf growled, causing the man to scream again.
On the other side of the fire another bandit came running into the camp... and continued right on through the other side. Meric was pretty sure it was Runner. Right on the man's heels was Sorma.
"Get back here you little rat! If you make me chase you through th..."
The rest was lost to the noises of the fleeing and fighting. The Dwarves may have short legs, but when they wanted to move fast, they were a sight to see. Meric was pretty certain she would actually catch him. He hoped so, otherwise either he or Malina would have to hunt the man down. By the time his attention was back on the others, the fighting was over. Meric was happy to see Brody pushing a stumbling man in front of him as he entered the clearing. They must have been able to take care of whatever had troubled them down in the cave. Brody's prisoner joined the others. Three were captured and the rest were dead.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Trespass
Brody's skin was crawling as he worked his way slowly down the steps. Steady, even breathing and all senses straining to make out anything beyond the reach of the light that could be dangerous to him and his companions. The tension, already thick, was on a continuous rise with each step they took, so when something slapped him in the arm he was immensely proud that he did not jump a foot in the air and let out a scream that would have embarrassed a little girl. It was a close thing, though. The relief was even greater when he realized that the contact had come from one of the Dwarves behind him. Yelic stretched the shield Brody had just been smacked with, out and up a little, turning it so the handle was facing him.
"Enber thought you might be more comfortable with it in hand," Yelic said with a grin.
Brody hefted the shield and then nodded, gratefully.
"Pass on my thanks."
The Dwarf simply nodded in return and fell back into line. Brody turned his full attention forward once more and felt a little tension drain away. He had fought plenty of times without a shield before, but never with something that had jaws big enough to swallow his head in one bite. This was much better. With Maikus and Fastil in front of him, he once more eased his way down the steps.
Brody was looking down at his feet when he sensed that the others had stopped right in front of him. After a quick look around, he realized that they had come to the bottom of the stairs. This level of the caves looked a bit different. Instead of another hallway with rooms connected, it appeared to be a large hall with columns. At least that is how it looked in the limited amount of light that spread out from where they stood. Brody could not even see the walls to either side. Maikus shot him and Fastil a quick glance, and then stepped forward to toss a light out ahead of him.
Brody looked up as the glowing crystal reached the top of its arc, and he realized that the ceiling was higher in this room than in the tunnels above. Happy to be able to stand at full height, he took advantage of this new found space and stretched. Just in time, he remembered to keep the sigh of relief inaudible. A sonorous whistle pierced the momentary quiet that had settled after the light crystal and its holder chimed a few times from hitting the cavern floor. Everyone froze and looked into the darkness beyond range of the light source.
Brody was getting ready to whisper a question to Fastil about what might make that noise, but the question fled his mind a second later as another throaty roar blasted through the hall. He did not know what worried him more; how big the thing had to be to let out such a sound, or the blue glow about fifty yards ahead that had accompanied the noise. It also just occurred to him that it was quite a bit colder on this level than the one above. Whether those two things were connected, he did not know, but he was sure that if they were it would be bad. The only strangely glowing things he had seen before had been because of magic. The only magic he had seen that did not come from Alyssa and his new Dwarven friends had been bad. Very, very bad.
Fastil and Maikus exchanged a glance, and then turned their attention back to Brody. He just gave them a shrug and a grin in return. Then he tossed his own light about twice again as far as the first one and moved between the two Dwarves. The light landed beyond what appeared, in the dim lighting, to be a smashed table and chairs. The pile was off to the left of center, and otherwise the floor was clear of any trip hazard, leaving him plenty of room to work. He hoped.
"The room is sixty yards long and forty wide. The columns are twenty yards apart at the center and ten from the walls," Fastil said. The Dwarf did not really whisper, as that seemed pointless now, but he did speak softly. There was only a slight pause before more came from Brody's left. "The center is mostly clear except for the pile there. A lot more trash down the outsides so I would avoid that without more light, if possible... There is also a drake at the far end, but slowly moving this way. He appears to be Corrupted."
#
Brody actually stopped at those last few words. They sounded ominous. He was not overly fond of ominous.
"Come again?"
Fastil had only made it a half step further when Brody's question stopped him as well, but both of them kept their eyes ahead.
"I will explain in detail later, but the short of it is this; some magical artifacts, if not properly crafted, will... uhm... leak? I guess that word would fit. Anyway, the magic can leak out and contaminate things. Not usually serious, say for another inanimate object, but creatures or peoples that are inherently magic... it can affect them. Sometimes in horrible ways."
"That mean the blue glow was coming from the drake?"
Fastil only grunted in the affirmative, and his head seemed to track something that was moving slowly back and forth across the center aisle for a moment and then turned to face Brody. It seemed that the Dwarf was looking more at the shield than him, but Brody did not take his attention away from the darkness ahead for long enough to find out. Brody was just about to step forward again when Fastil spoke once more.
"Keep that shield gripped tight, no matter what. That is why you can see the glow. It should also-"
The Dwarf cut off when they all heard what sounded like something big breathing in deeply, and quickly.
"Down!"
Fastil's shout was accompanied by a shove that caught Brody off guard since he was watching the far end of the hall. Before stumbling off to his right, he could see another blue glow about ten feet up in the air. This time the intensity of the glow increased by a lot, and then shot toward them. Due to the shove, the blue stream missed him by about a foot, but he could feel a bitter, aching cold wash over him as the yard long streak passed him by. Astus was not quite so lucky. The ever quiet Dwarf with the thick, grey-flecked, red beard and piercing brown eyes let out sharp yell as his helmet was brushed by the blast. Astus flicked the helmet off as quickly as possible, and Brody watched the now frost-coated piece of armor crumble into a thousand pieces as it hit the ground. Brody looked up at the same time as the Dwarf and their eyes locked.
"Mind the glow," was all Astus said before scrambling over to use a column for cover.
The rest of the group followed his example, and Brody could hear one of the others grumbling about not having their crossbow. He
wholeheartedly agreed. Meric's presence, with that deadly longbow in hand, would be greatly appreciated right now. A quick peek around his column showed the glow moving to the left. Mentally and physically gathering himself, he prepared to move to the next column to see if he could flank the creature; drawing its attention so the others could hit it from the rear. Just prior to taking that first step, Fastil called out to him again.
"Brody!"
"What?" Okay, so maybe he sounded a little rude, but was now really the time to chat?
"Your shield... it's runed to handle magical energies. As long as you catch the blast on the face of the shield, it will... absorb the attack."
"Are you saying it won't end up like Astus' helmet?"
"I am."
"Great. Lucky me. One day you and I... and Enber, are going to sit down and talk about the Human definition of the word friend!"
The Dwarves actually chuckled. All of them! Crazy bastards.
"Fine. Any of you got a spare light?"
"Here." Brody watched as Astus snapped a crystal and holder together and then tossed it over.
"You know, that might have been useful information to have known before now." Brody directed back at Fastil as he caught the light.
"It never came up."
Though he could not see it, Brody could hear the shrug in Fastil's voice. The way ahead, at least up to and around the next column, was lit well enough for him to cross without falling flat on his face. He debated keeping the light in hand as he moved across, but in the event that he was attacked, he would rather have his axe out and ready to use. Flipping the glowing crystal ahead of him, he did not hesitate to follow. The sound of claws on stone could be heard as Brody moved, but he made it without seeing the beast or any glowing arrows of slobber. It did sound like the thing moved closer to their end of the room, so maybe it would be easier to get behind it now. After a few moments to calm himself, Brody was prepared to face the creature.
"Ready?"
A chorus of "Aye" filled the chamber and more scratching could be heard. Hopefully they were confusing the beast. No more stalling. Brody spun around the column and moved in a half crouch out from cover.
#
The drake had indeed moved toward the their group, and from where Brody stood, was now backlit by the original crystal. It spun around by the time he was a foot away from the column and Brody finally got a look at it. It was a nightmare turned flesh.
Huge, it easily stood ten feet at the shoulders and the head brushed the ceiling two feet above that. The scales covering it looked black, but glinted blue in the light as it moved, shuffling its feet and weaving its head from side to side. The eyes had a dim blue glow to them, and there were faint lines of the same blue glow running down the head and neck. As the beast shifted sideways, the lines became clearer and ran throughout the entire body. The scales were actually slightly see-through, and the lines were where the creatures veins should be. The mass of lines all spread out from the heart, about the size of Brody's head, beating rapidly in the center of its chest.
Brody noticed all of this in the span of about five seconds, and promptly dismissed it all because the drake let out another roar and reared its head back. At the intake of breath, Brody set himself for what was to come. Ducking down and hiding as much of his body behind the shield as he could, Brody felt something hit the face of his shield, and felt cold wafting over the top for a second before the sensation went away. He had no idea how long the beast needed in between blasts, and did not really care to find out, so he surged back to full height and charged. The drake's head immediately snapped forward to bite. Instead of just blocking the blow, Brody swung the shield as hard as he could to meet the creature's snout. He felt the impact all the way to his shoulder, but the drake let out a sharp whistle and reared back shaking its head. Brody was not going to wait, but could also see Yelic out of the corner of his eye lunging forward, trident aimed for the beast's side.
Brody hesitated for just a second, waiting for Yelic's strike to drive home. As he expected, the drake let out as scream as the red glowing tip of the Dwarf's weapon pierced its side. As he knew it would, the head whipped around in the direction of this new attack, and that was what Brody had waited for; his axe caught the beast in the side of the head. The blow was not as solid or true as he had hoped, but the edge did slice through the bony ridge over the left eye, and the eye beneath it. The drake went a little wild then, striking out in all directions. Brody saw Yelic flying backwards as the creature whipped around, striking the Dwarf with its tail. A few of the others could be made out, scrambling to get clear, but then Brody had to jump back to avoid sharp claws whistling through the air. He heard the beast start to draw in a breath again, and lunged forward. When the drake's head reared back it left its chest exposed and Brody took advantage. Again his strike was not as precise as he would like due to the beast shifting too quick, so instead of his axe burying deep into the chest, it sliced through the right shoulder.
The shock caused the drake to expel its breath before it had drawn a full one, and fortunately the head was still high, so Brody only felt cold air flash overhead. With Brody's blow nearly taking the drake's right front leg off, the now useless limb crumpled, and the beast tilted in that direction. Before it could even try to recover Fastil was there and his war hammer met its head as it came down. Fastil had put his full weight and strength behind the blow, and though he was small comparatively, Brody knew that all of the Dwarves packed a lot of muscle in their shorter frames. The hammer's head had a silver glow as it arced through the air, and Brody remembered his friend mentioning the Air enchantment on the weapon. Alyssa had explained that it added a powerful blast of Air as it struck home, essentially doubling the damage the weapon could do.
It showed; the drake's head half caved in and was driven back so hard that the leaning beast was thrust in the other direction. A now recovered Yelic and a circling Gharis took advantage of the drake's position. Yelic's trident drove in through the open wound left by Brody's axe and straight into the heart, while Gharis' spear pierced the bottom of the jaw and went up into where its brain should be. Everything went still for a second and then the creature sighed out its last breath and slumped to the ground.
The quiet that followed was only interrupted by heavy breathing until the Dwarves let out a cheer. Brody walked over to Yelic as the Dwarf went to a knee and raised a hand to cut above his left eye. After clapping him on the shoulder Brody called out to see if anyone was badly wounded. A few scrapes and bruises were the worst of it, and as much as Brody wanted to take a moment to relax and be thankful he was alive, there were still bandits intent on attacking his friends to think about.
"Fastil," Brody called. "Can you spare a few men to go with me to check on the others?"
The Dwarf looked around for a second and even before he spoke the rest of the group was already straightening and moving toward the stairs.
"We will all go. We can come back down here later."
Brody nodded and headed for the exit.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Change
Anna dropped her book and raced across the numerous rugs covering the polished hardwood floor, almost tripping on the uneven edges of the thick, brown bearskin in front of the fireplace. The girl did not even hesitate, or ask who was there. The bolt was thrown, and thick wooden door was tugged open.
"Erin! Come in."
Miles almost laughed at the sound of her excitement. She knew that they were going to discuss her training, and to her that meant she would soon be dancing around with shining blades, vanquishing her enemies. It was going to be interesting to see how Anna reacted to the real thing.
"Thank you, Lady Anna."
The nonplussed look on the girl's face almost had Miles rolling on the floor.
"I ain't no Lady," Anna stated indignantly. Miles cleared his throat, loudly.
Before Erin could answer, and after a much imposed upon sigh, Anna tried again.
"I am n
ot a Lady."
Though she was doing very well in her studies and seemed to easily pick up on speaking 'properly', she still slipped up sometimes when she was surprised or flustered. Personally, Miles did not care if she talked like the street-raised commoner that she once was. However, that was no longer her life now, and standing out in that way would only bring her ridicule and harassment from her new peers. Not that she had many close friends her age, but it would still make her life easier. What Miles did do, was encourage her whenever he could. He even likened it to training, blending in where she would normally stand out. This was what finally convinced her. After having lived many years as a street rat, hiding and blending into the background was something she understood. Just because she no longer had to lie, steal and fight just to keep from starving, was no reason to abandon everything that life had taught her. Miles knew that there were many people that would strongly disagree with his philosophy, but they did not have to do the things he has done, or go the places he has gone.
With one last thought to the difference in the girl before him from the emaciated little thief he had caught just under two years ago, Miles turned his attention to his guest. Erin was struggling to keep the laughter in.
"Actually, you are a Lady. Miles has adopted you, so you are now the daughter of Lord Miles Keller. That essentially makes you Lady Anna Keller." Erin added a curtsy when she spoke the title even though she was wearing pants.
This sent Anna into a fit of giggles that even had Erin smiling. The girl skipped over to the chair next to Miles, and was about to sit when he cleared his throat again. When Anna just gave him a blank look, he nodded in Erin's direction and mouthed the word 'guest'. His adopted daughter popped back up and turned to the Lieutenant.
An Adept's Duty: The Scepter of Maris: Book Two Page 20