In Defence of the Crown (The Aielund Saga Book 2)

by Stephen L. Nowland

  The sound of a beast snarling just up ahead sent Aiden’s heart racing, and he gripped the hilt of his weapon tightly. Valennia began to back away slowly as a wolf the size of a small horse slowly advanced on them, its dark grey fur matted and a heavy chain secured around its neck.

  “Dire wolf,” Sayana whispered. “I have heard the legends, but never before seen one with my own eyes.”

  A howl echoed around the tunnels as a second dire wolf joined the first, almost as large and just as angry. Both creatures seemed to have been maltreated and starved, and the insane look in their eyes mimicked the look Aiden had seen in their smaller cousins in the mountains, not so long ago.

  “Bugger this,” Ronan muttered, breaking from the group and running back the way they had come. As the two snarling wolves leaped forward, the rest of their companions followed Ronan. With the dire wolves snarling and baying at their backs, they rushed around the corner and towards the place where Nellise was still working to heal Maggie. If nothing else, it would be a good place to make a final stand, but unfortunately for Valennia, that was not an option.

  The larger of the two wolves leapt onto her back and forced her to the ground in one mighty push, tearing her charred armour from her body. Sir William dodged the second wolf as it came at him, but it had its gaze fixed on the old knight and pivoted on the spot to grab on to one of his legs in its mighty jaws and pull him to the ground. Solas Aingeal clattered from his grip as he fell.

  Valennia screamed as the wolf sliced into her back, but she managed to roll over and slam her axe into the side of the beast, drawing blood but hardly budging its immense bulk. Aiden was torn between helping Sir William and aiding Valennia, but his decision was made for him when Ronan and Sayana teamed up and went to the aid of the knight. Her axe and his twin blades proved to be especially effective against the wolf, while the knight resorted to punching at the beast with his gauntlets.

  Pacian suddenly rushed past with his right hand raised in a fist as he spoke the command word Aiden had taught him. The enchanted ring he wore activated, creating the vague, ephemeral outline of a fist ten times the size of his own, and sending it straight at the wolf. The impact was enough to and crack a few of its ribs and slam it into the wall.

  Valennia’s axe chopped into its side, again and again as if she were felling a tree. The battered dire wolf slunk backwards, whimpering from its terrible injuries as Pacian unleashed another arcane punch that cracked its neck and dropped the beast to the ground, dead.

  Breathing hard, Valennia accepted Pacian’s offered hand and got to her feet. The other wolf was charred and broken, lying motionless on the ground with Sayana standing over it, struggling for breath as she leaned against the wall for a moment’s respite.

  As she touched the brickwork, the sound of a chain rattling from somewhere above could be heard. A heavy metal door slammed into place across the corridor with an echoing ‘boom’, barely missing Sir William as he rolled out of the way.

  “What have you done?” Pacian groaned, rushing over to take a closer look at the door, which had separated them into two groups. Sayana and Ronan were now stuck on the same side as Nellise and Maggie. A small hole with thick metal bars running vertically through it was in the middle of the door, allowing them to peer at each other but far too small to allow anyone through.

  “Check to see if there’s a release mechanism on your side,” Pacian called through the gap, performing a search of his own for a way to remove the obstruction.

  “Are you okay?” Aiden asked of Valennia, who was leaning heavily on her axe. Her burnt animal hides had been torn away from her upper body during the fight, leaving only a ripped halter top to keep her decent, providing no protection whatsoever.

  Great claw marks could be seen on her midriff and back, and one of her arms had been mauled during the fight. It was clear to Aiden that she was in need of help, but with the healers on the other side of the door, he was hoping the Val was as tough as she proclaimed to be.

  “I will not lie to you, Aiden,” she gasped through the pain, “I may have suffered a scratch or two in that battle.”

  “Really? I hadn’t noticed,” he replied with disbelief.

  “Here, take these,” Nellise called through the small gap in the door, pushing through some bandages and a small vial to Pacian, who tossed them to Aiden.

  “I can’t find a way to get this open,” Ronan said from the other side. “Any luck at your end?”

  “There’s nothing here,” Pacian replied, downcast.

  “I’m sorry,” Sayana interrupted. “I should have seen that lever on the wall.”

  “You’re going to have to go on without us,” Nellise said to Pacian reluctantly.

  “The hell we are,” he disagreed as Aiden started to tend to Valennia’s wounds. “Look around for another corridor - this place is like a maze, so there’s bound to be a way through up ahead somewhere. We are not leaving you behind.” Aiden glanced up from his work for a moment and saw Nellise peering through the gap with what he thought of as ‘secret longing’ that wasn’t really much of a secret anymore.

  “Take care of yourselves, and God willing, we will re-join you soon,” Nellise spoke softly before pulling herself away from the door. The sounds of their movement faded as they went back down the way they had come, searching for another way forward.

  “There is nothing more we can do from here, son,” Sir William informed a distraught Pacian, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  “Here, drink this,” Aiden said to Valennia, handing her the small vial of healing tonic. Despite her best efforts at downplaying her injuries, she took it and downed the contents in one gulp.

  Aiden invoked a small light and placed it on Sir William’s blade, who lifted it above his head like a torch. Pacian moved beyond the edge of the light, darting in and out of the shadows as he checked every alcove in the corridor. Aiden had no idea what this place was supposed to be, aside from a deliberately built maze for a bunch of crooks to hide in. If it had ever held some other purpose, it was lost to time.

  Presently, they turned down a corridor and noticed a metal grating on the wall, through which they could see part of another passageway with a high, arched ceiling. It seemed to Aiden like they had entered a part of the sewers that had never been connected to the main system, for the architecture was identical to those tunnels.

  Pacian searched around for some sign the grate might have a latch, yet found no mechanism to open it. They were about to press on when the sounds of fighting could be heard echoing along the stone, the sharp noise of metal-on-metal accompanied by the distinctive rumble of flames.

  “They’ve been discovered,” Aiden muttered, feeling powerless to help their friends.

  “We must have faith that they are equal to the task,” Sir William added, his voice sounding hollow in the empty passageway. “We should look to our own security, lest we stumble into another trap.”

  “Nothing’s getting past me,” Pacian growled in a low voice, “and they’d better pray nothing happens to Nellise, or I’m going to make them wish they’d killed me earlier.” They turned away from the sounds of the fight and moved as fast as they dare down the passage, Aiden’s nerves growing taut with suspense, for their lack of contact with the enemy might indicate they were going for Nellise’s group instead.

  They passed several more gratings at regular intervals in the corridor and it was through these spaces that the sounds of battle had faded, to be replaced with sounds of running. Pacian skidded to a halt and peered through the nearest grating with a look of horror on his face.

  Wordlessly, Aiden and the others joined him, looking through at what appeared to be a stairwell down, with a massive statue in front of it – and the statue was moving. But what truly shocked Aiden was the sight of their four friends running through the corridor towards it, with several of their enemies in close pursuit.

  “Look out!” Pacian yelled, slamming his fist in frustration against the grate, which caught th
e attention of the animated statue. It lumbered towards them and seemed to be looking right at the four of them, giving Aiden a good look at the contraption.

  It was similar to the metal golem the wizards used at the University to guard their front entrance, but this one was hewn from stone. It was carved in such a way as to appear like an armoured warrior, but the attire was ancient, the sort of things that Aiden had seen sketched in history books from long ago.

  With the approach of Ronan and the ladies, the construct turned and walked purposefully towards them. Nellise screamed and Ronan brought them all to a sudden stop, arms spread wide as he tried to protect them. Behind them, five assassins formed a wall of steel blades to prevent their escape, clearly intending for their stone guardian to finish off their foes.

  “We’ve got to do something by God, or they’ll be cut to ribbons!” Sir William barked, glancing around furiously to try and find a way through.

  “Pace, I don’t care how you do it, just find us a way through there,” Aiden ordered, taking off his goggles and flipping them over to his old friend. Pacian caught them and immediately put them on, disappearing into the darkness a moment later. His chances of finding a way through in time were slim, so Aiden had to do something to delay the construct. The gratings prevented their direct access, but they were open enough that he figured he could unleash an incantation through there to aid his friends.

  The stone guardian lumbered over and swung at Ronan with a fist the size of a melon. He ducked at the last moment and had a close-up view of the impact of the fist against the wall. He stabbed at the arm as it went overhead, but his blade was turned away harmlessly.

  Sayana summoned a jet of flame, engulfing the contraption for several seconds and forcing Aiden and the others back from the grating a few steps from the force of the heat, and yet when the flames died down, the stone golem was unharmed. It swung at Sayana, clipping her on the shoulder as she sought to dodge its attack, sending her sprawling into a wall.

  Nellise was reloading her crossbow cartridge, but Maggie, one of her arms in a crude splint, whispered a quick prayer and was rewarded as vines and plants embedded in the cracks and holes of the walls quickly grew to ensnare the legs of the stone guardian. It ripped them apart with ease.

  Aiden pulled his vision away from the conflict and began flipping through his scrolls, hoping by lucky chance Sayana had stolen something of use in this situation. The language came to him easily now, much more so than even a few weeks ago and quickly skimming the more obvious runes gave him a general idea of what incantations were inscribed. What caught his eye was a difficult one he had seen earlier and put aside. One slip-up in the reading, and the consequences would be dire.

  Seeing little alternative, he held it up to the light and began reciting the runes, only just barely keeping his tongue from tying itself in a knot as he spat out the difficult language. The scroll ignited and turned to ash as the incantation took effect. Aiden felt a connection to the energy, awaiting his command. He locked his gaze on the stone monster and lifted his hand towards the vaulted ceiling.

  The behemoth was poised to strike at Sayana until it suddenly lifted off the ground and flew up towards the arched ceiling, where it crashed with impressive force, sending dust and brickwork tumbling to the ground. The assassins nearby, patiently awaiting the monster’s victory were awestruck by this display and froze with momentary indecision.

  Sayana, her face twisted with rage, brought her hands together and sent a shockwave of sound at the group of men, deafening them from the incredible volume of the noise that echoed along the corridors.

  Ronan took advantage of the distraction and set upon their enemies, his twin blades cutting and stabbing at will, meeting little or no resistance from the men who were clutching at their heads in pain. Nellise shot a few bolts at them as well, striking them down with uncanny precision until the stone monster, still on the ceiling, began to move once more.

  It was the oddest thing Aiden had ever seen - watching the construct rise to its feet upside down. Its head was still five feet from the ground, but its arms were long and it could easily reach their beleaguered companions.

  The stone golem swung its club-like arms at Nellise, catching her off-guard as she focused on the battle against the assassins nearby. She was struck on the side of the head and crashed into the wall.

  “Get away from it!” Sir William cried, slamming his mailed fist into the grating that stood between them in frustration. Valennia tried to pry apart the steel bars with her bare hands, with no visible result. Against the knight’s plaintive advice, Maggie crept in closer, discovering that she was the only one beyond the reach of the stone behemoth.

  It flailed at her with its massive arms, coming within inches of hitting her, but to no avail. Her confidence bolstered by the display of impotence, she grasped her crystal and gestured up at the monster with the hand of her broken arm.

  As before, water sprayed out from her hand towards the target, showering the upper torso and head of the construct with no immediate effect. As Aiden watched, he could see that it wasn’t water she was spraying it with, but acid. Before his eyes, the stone began to steam and pop as the acid began to eat through it, covering the thing in pock-marks and gaping wounds. It did not scream, nor react in any way that a living being would, but it also didn’t stop trying to crush the diminutive druid.

  “Get back!” Aiden called, waiting for Maggie to clear the area below the golem before seizing the opportunity to reverse the effect of his incantation, sending it crashing into the floor head first. Aiden didn’t get to see the result, because he suddenly found himself thrown up to the ceiling at the same time. Groaning in pain from the impact, he looked ‘up’ at the ground to where Valennia and Sir William were looking back at him, perplexed.

  Aiden braced himself for the fall as he inverted the energies with a flick of his wrist, where he managed to land more or less on his feet. The sound of stone crashing into stone again filled the corridors as the construct slammed into the ceiling again, its position still linked by the magic released from Aiden’s scroll.

  Feeling the incantation ebb, he released the energy, severing the link and sending the construct crashing into the ground yet again. The repeated impacts had taken a heavy toll on its granite hide, yet it was still moving. Ronan and Sayana, who had managed to finish off their opponents while all this was taking place, ran over to attack it, giving Maggie a chance to check on Nellise who lay against the wall, barely moving.

  Ronan struck the side of the arcane behemoth, his weapon doing little more than chipping the surface, but Sayana’s axe was made of a metal that could hold a sharper edge than steel. When she hit the golem, the axe managed to sever an arm from the rest of the body which crashed to the ground with a dull thud.

  The other arm was still working and continued to press the attack. It caught Sayana off guard, swinging its other great fist at her and connecting squarely with shoulder. Her spectral armour flashed with the impact but the sheer force sent her flying into a wall.

  “If you’ve got any idea how to stop this thing, now would be a good time,” Ronan called nervously, dodging the lumbering behemoth as it staggered about. At a loss to know what to do next, Aiden was on the verge of ordering his companions to go back the way they came and try to find the other way through when the grating in front of him promptly fell away from the wall and slammed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust in its wake.

  “There’s a small pipe back that way that lead through here, but you wouldn’t fit,” Pacian drawled, poking his head around the corner. He was covered from head to toe in mud and other substances, but he’d made it through. Valennia roared hoarsely as she charged into the fight with Sir William following close behind.

  Pacian ran over to check on Nellise, leaving Aiden to focus on their enemy. He didn’t have many more tricks up his sleeve for directly fighting such a foe, but judging by the effectiveness of Valennia’s wild swings and Sir William’s divine
blade, it wouldn’t take long to finally drop the thing.

  Sayana picked herself up and re-joined the fight. They struck at it from all sides, combining their attacks to distract and confuse the behemoth as they chipped and cut away at its stony hide. Aiden had no idea how much more damage would be required to finally ‘kill’ the unliving behemoth altogether, so when it was finally reduced to the point that it couldn’t follow them, he made the decision to get everyone out of there.

  He briefly considered running back down the way they came, but there was no guarantee they’d be able to get out considering they’d been dropped into this mess in that initial trap, through a passage that was no longer open to them.

  “Down the stairs, quick,” he ordered, pointing the way to the winding stairwell he had spotted earlier. No-one argued the point, and with Pacian helping the barely coherent Nellise to her feet, they quickly moved past the crippled monster and threaded their way below. Ronan took the lead, checking the shadows for any more surprises and signalling for them to follow when none presented themselves.

  Their progress was halted by a heavy stone door covered in dirt and mould. A few moments of Pacian’s expertise persuaded it to open, revealing another corridor disappearing into the distant darkness.

  This part of the complex was below the sewer system, and the corridors were narrow enough that Aiden didn’t think the stone construct would be able to make its way through. When Ronan said he’d found an empty room just off to the right, he guided everyone through to give them a chance to rest and take stock of their situation.

  They were all breathing heavily when they sat down on the dusty stone floor, the grime and mildew heavily encrusted upon walls lined with dirt from countless years. Heavy cobwebs hung in the corners, but no signs of spiders could be seen, and judging by the dry, dusty odour, nothing had moved down here for a very long time