She made a mental note to bring the subject of age up with the elf sometime in the near future, as she and Elec made their way further down into the tunnels that continued along in a very linear fashion.
Elec suddenly held up his hand to her as they rounded a corner. She stopped, respecting the elf’s vision for what it was. She and Elec had wandered into a rather large chamber that shimmered with a bizarre, emerald light. Within that glare, she witnessed a number of slow, humanoid shapes moving around in the distance.
Rose yanked Elec out of the chamber entrance and pressed her body hard against the wall. Garius and the others arrived shortly after.
“What is it?” Garius whispered to Rose.
“Zombies? Undead of some sort? I didn’t get a good look! And there is a green light coming from deeper within the tunnels and that chamber,” Rose responded, swallowing hard and gesturing. She was no coward, but she did abhor confrontations with the living dead—they unnerved her more than she liked to admit.
“That should prove no problem,” Garius said, straightening up to his full height. He threw his cloak over his shoulders and began an incantation. He looked like a god to Rose at that point.
The runes upon the head and handle of The Repentant began to glow, as did the symbols upon his pauldrons. He maneuvered around the barbarians and Elec and strode directly into the large chamber. Rose and the others followed behind to witness the event.
A blinding luminescence burst from the Inquisitor as his words reached a crescendo, but when the light dispersed, the creatures remained.
Nothing happened.
Suddenly the creatures were moving toward them. Whatever they were, they were immune to the effects of the Inquisitor’s holy spells.
“Wha…?” exclaimed Garius as he attempted to recover. But, as the creatures neared, he realized that they were not undead after all. Instead, he recognized the two closest to him, a human and an orc, though they were changed. They appeared in every way as an animated corpse might, moving slow and unsteady, but were clearly not. No, this was something different. And these creatures also carried weapons.
Garius brought up The Repentant to block the creature’s predictable attack, but it hit with more force than he deemed probable and he stumbled backward, recovering in time to bring an overhand swing down upon his foe. Its head caved in under the weight of the blow with a sickening sound.
Then the Inquisitor saw the others fanning out from behind him, obviously reacting to what was happening.
Saeunn withdrew her mighty greatsword and Orngoth gripped his club in both hands as the two barbarians led the push into the room. They charged headlong into the mass of enemies with apparent delight.
Garius did not know what to make of these once humanoid things, but he certainly did not like it. He uttered a prayer to The Reaper and tapped into the necromantic powers of the degenerative plane, directing that energy toward a mutated orc, stopping it in its tracks. He continued chanting the words over and over, the power ebbing and pulsing, growing stronger around the orc-thing until it faded into nothingness.
“They are mutated humanoids from what I can gather!” Garius shouted over his shoulder. He stumbled back, dropping to one knee as the one-time-orc’s life force fell over him. He felt the power shifting, harnessing into a surplus of divine energy that pulsated around him until he controlled it, forcing it to conform to his thoughts, as he stood and headed toward another foe.
Elec felt his newest elixir combination coursing through his veins and a feeling of self-assurance washed over him. His other senses were numb to him for a dozen heartbeats as he entered the room and focused on a small pocket of the mutants. He moved straight for them, Daegnar Giruth in one hand, Wyrm’s Fang in the other.
As he approached, a mutated elf and dwarf advanced on him aggressively. He noted that Rose appeared suddenly to his left, disrupting a few more of them that were attempting to gain his flank.
No matter, Elec thought, I can handle them.
He thrust his sword at the elven mutant and recorded a solid slash across its chest, causing it to stumble backward. Elec pressed his attack, keeping the other at bay with his dagger, its blade flashing left to right. His attacks came in swiftly as he felt yet another effect of his elixirs infiltrate his bloodstream, speeding his actions threefold. He became a blur of motion. A slash here and a slice there had the elf mutant lying on the floor in front of him, bleeding from multiple wounds.
He refocused on the dwarven assailant next as he opened up a hole in his defenses, inviting it in. The thing came at him awkwardly and Elec swiped away its assault with a sweep of Daegnar Giruth, throwing wide its attack and exposing its flank to him in the process. The elf followed through with a pommel strike of his dagger connecting with the creature’s forehead, its head jerking back and exposing its throat. He brought the sword back up and across its neck with speed and accuracy, severing its head clean from its body. He felt his heart thundering in his chest as the effects of the elixir was in full effect. It felt absurdly powerful. He felt like a god.
He turned to see Rose, who was fighting three of the mutants. He moved swiftly to aid her, all apprehension and fear replaced by mettle as of yet unknown to him. He moved into the fray, connecting with steel on flesh.
Rose suddenly had a trio of the mutants surrounding her. She chastised herself for putting herself in an open space that left her vulnerable to aid the elf.
Avorna and Zaedra were slashing and slicing, piercing flesh and drawing blood, over and over. Rose’s arms ached at the pace with which the magic propelled them, as the weapons navigated the space to respond as quickly as she could think. Before she knew it, she’d downed two of them, but three more took their place, advancing on her. She was about to step into the realm of shadows when she saw Elec out of the corner of her eye.
“’Bout time, elf,” she quipped with a grunt, kicking out and knocking one enemy to the ground as another made it to her position.
She thrust a blade right through the creature’s neck, causing it to recoil and move back a step. She punched straight out toward the second one that had made it back to its feet, just as Elec intercepted the third. The creatures’ origins were unclear but it did not matter to her—they were humanoid, and as such, they had vitals; they bled when cut, and she took full advantage of their fleshy exterior.
As she struck the second of the two with her left hand, the pommel of Avorna was tight against her knuckles, giving her some added severity when she connected with its face, breaking what was once the creature’s nose.
She continued with a kick from her left leg that placed the ball of her foot directly onto the creature’s right thigh which forced its leg backward, causing it to lose its balance. As its head dipped forward, she brought the point of Avorna straight up and through the jaw and into the creature’s head, killing it immediately.
Rose was clipped on her right shoulder by a strike that might have broken bones if it had connected solidly. But, fortunately, it only grazed her instead as she managed to roll with it. She immediately took advantage of the fortuitous opening that provided and came down with Zaedra in an overhand arc, dropping it down and into the fleshy arm of her assailant. She then used the plunged blade to pull herself forward, as well as to simultaneously jerk the mutant closer to her. She drove the tip of Avorna deep into the back of its neck, severing whatever nerves and muscle yet remained there.
Rose dropped the lifeless corpse to the hard floor and watched as Elec slashed both of his own magical blades in outward strokes across the neck of the last assailant, its head rolling backward and its lifeblood spilling forth like a volcano erupting. He spun on Rose and she could see the dilation of those odd pupils once again, the entire eye glazed over white with the smallest ring of black still visible. It was unnerving and she was more than a little concerned for him, but this was not the time, nor the place.
Saeunn and Orngoth ran past the Inquisitor into the eerily green shaded room. They found many a
n adversary awaiting them and the two barbarians howled with excitement.
Orngoth barreled into a section of the room with a half dozen of the mutant humanoids moving to intercept him. This is exactly how he wanted it. Saeunn watched him ram several of the humanoids with a shoulder, using his massive body as a weapon. He then began swinging his huge club, just as a group of three rushed toward her.
The barbarian woman from Chansuk dove straight at them, sword swinging in a wide left to right arc as she landed. The wide and forceful swing ran a deep gash into the first mutant’s flesh and beheaded a second. Saeunn dove forward again, hit the ground, tucked and came steadily to her feet. She advanced with another swing of her mighty greatsword and connected with a two handed pommel strike to the face of the third mutant. Its face caved in and the thing fell to the floor in a heap.
Then she felt pain in her left shoulder as the remaining creature took a small bit of flesh from her with a clawed hand. Saeunn remained in the same position, reversed her grip on the sword and shoved the blade past her rib cage to plunge the lengthy blade deep into the creature’s gullet. She removed it, letting it slump to the floor, its blood filling tiny crevices and depressions in the stony cavern floor.
She turned to see that Orngoth had defeated all of his foes, sending them to the afterlife and she could not help but admire his own brute strength. He was certainly a force to be reckoned with and she found herself wondering what it would be like if the two of them clashed in combat.
Orngoth joined her and the two of them made it where Elec, Rose and Garius had all gathered.
“Does anyone require attention?” asked the Inquisitor.
Saeunn went to one knee, leaned on her sword and waited.
“I am fine,” Rose answered. “But, what is this unsettling green light and where is it coming from?”
“I don’t know but I’d say we keep looking until we find some answers.”
They continued on for what had to be a half-day’s cycle, moving onward and through the passages that seemed endless. The group encountered more of the mutated humans, elves, orcs and other species that must have wandered in here, but never uncovering the source of the jade glow.
As Rose stopped to retrieve some rations from her pouch, more salted venison, which she enjoyed thoroughly, Garius and the others rested with her.
“These creatures,” he began to say, kneeling to inspect one of them, “were once like us. Something changed them—transformed them into things just as dreadful as the undead, I’d say.”
“Well, they sure weren’t here to welcome us and show us around,” Rose said with her usual dry wit. She glanced about and inspected the ceiling of the chamber, shaking her head in wonder if they would ever appreciate her wit.
Too solemn or too stupid, she thought, looking over her audience.
“Something is not right and I would like to uncover the mysteries within these walls,” Garius began but then held his words, a pensive expression crossing his features.
“And?” Rose asked, picking up on his suddenly silent tongue. “Don’t keep us waiting on your insightful explanations.”
“Firstly, I suddenly understand that if we remain here, bathed in this green glow for much longer, I fear that we may become like our attackers,” he suggested and they all nodded their agreement. “Secondly, the visions I had reeked of a cunning beyond…this. These creatures here, though not undead, resemble their mental capacity,” continued the Inquisitor as he tugged on his braided beard. “The author of these attacks scribed well-coordinated attacks. These mutated creatures are certainly not sellswords or highwaymen.”
“So, we are looking in the wrong place?” Elec presumed, running a hand through his dark locks.
“It would seem so,” Garius answered with a look of concern.
“I found Elec on the southern side of the ridge,” Rose explained, tapping her daggers together absently. “I did not think much of it, really. But if our adversaries are organized, then they might be somewhere on the southern side of the valley.” Sudden realization came over her at that moment and she smacked her forehead lightly with her palm in a mock gesture of folly. “Elec, did you mention a tripwire on the other side of the valley?!”
“Aye,” Elec said, swinging his sword to and fro. “What of it?”
“There are traps in that part of the valley,” she said, letting it sink in. Elec stopped his activity and nodded.
“They are hiding there you are suggesting?” he asked plainly. “It makes sense. Although there is no way to know how long that tripwire has been there, or who put it there. Either way….”
“The south side it is, then,” Garius agreed as he removed his helm and wiped sweat from his brow, stemming a comment from Rose. “Unless there is another reason to remain here?”
“None, I’d say. It appears that this one path takes us further into the company of these…mutants,” Saeunn proclaimed, gesturing to the creatures lying on the ground.
“I am also one for thinking that if they are cunning highwaymen, they would not be found in this cave with these things,” Rose added.
Orngoth simply stared at the carnage, inattentively picking bits of mutant flesh from the jagged edges of his club.
“I’ll take your silence as compliance?” Rose asked the behemoth, who still said nothing. Again, a look of frustration crossed up her features. “Never mind then. Let’s get out of here.”
Rose paused for a moment in consideration and then slowly followed the others as they began to backtrack out of the northern section of the Blackstone Mountain range and headed toward Heartwood Valley.
“We might want to hurry,” Rose suggested as she turned back and heard sounds of thundering footsteps behind them. “There are more of them coming. A lot more!”
With that, the group hastened their exodus.
Again, the voice penetrated his consciousness.
He fought hard to keep it out, but it did no good. He stood outside his home, a broken structure in the ruins of Hollow Hill, and tugged at his hair until a small clump came away, for the pain gave him a moment’s respite from the nagging voice.
“Go! Away!” whispered Rogoth in a moment of clarity. “You have made me do unspeakable things!”
“You have done nothing wrong,” cooed the voice of Cyrza. “I am only trying to have you understand that your place is not in following the orders of these fools. You should be leading them instead! You do not know the potential in you,” the demon lied to Rogoth, still twisting the man’s will into his desires.
Cyrza cared nothing for this coward. In fact, he was merely passing the time until something better came along to take his attention from the man. He’d felt the presence of one earlier whose attention would be better suited, but he had not felt her company of late.
How is she hiding from me? Cyrza wondered. He was unsure, but he decided, that as long as he dominated this one, he was going to amuse himself.
“You must take matters into your own hands,” Cyrza continued, assaulting the man’s fragile psyche and sundering it with his indomitable assertion. “Start by silencing your wife once and for all. She has done nothing but hinder your rise in the Blackstone Brotherhood!”
“I…will…do as you suggest,” Rogoth conceded in a hushed whisper, beads of sweat glistening upon his brow.
He stood before the threshold of his home, tugging the scorched and weathered handle, pulling the door wide. He seemed to hesitate one last time before the demon asserted his dominance fully.
The taste of your soul is so delicious, Cyrza thought, coaxing the man into the room. He guided Rogoth to the kitchen of their modest home and compelled him to pick up a knife lying on the dining table surface. Rogoth heard his wife in the bedroom and proceeded quietly. Cyrza projected visions into Rogoth’s mind, visions of her stealing from him, laughing at him, and kissing another man.
She has no right! Cyrza heard in Rogoth’s thoughts.
He swung the bedroom door wide and found his wife
there, her back facing him. Her lengthy shock of jade hair was covering her bare back and she turned to face him with a smile.
Her tanned skin suddenly turned pale and her grin vanished beneath a wave of fear and confusion as she regarded him, holding a knife. Cyrza felt her emotions too, feeding on the terror. Especially sweet was the rhythm of her thundering heartbeat as she clutched at her chest.
Rogoth slowly moved toward her, the knife clenched tightly...so tightly in fact, that his fingers were white. He looked at his wife’s face and her honey-brown orbs stared back pleadingly.
“Do…not…,” was all that she could manage.
“My dear Meliana,” said Rogoth in a harsh, deliberate tone. “I only wish to put you out of our misery!”
He watched as the forest elf retreated until she ran out of space, backing into the vanity at which she often sat, pulling a brush through her hair…and talking to him.
Talking down to him! he thought.
“Manipulating you!” Cyrza echoed in his mind.
“Yes, you manipulate me, Meliana. But, no more!” Rogoth exclaimed wildly. As he closed the gap and stood a few paces from her, he noted her eyes growing wider, before closing them tightly in expectation of her imminent demise.
“The mirror!” Cyrza barked to Rogoth in an urgent tone. “Intruder!”
At first Rogoth was confused by the demon entering his mind at so untimely an instance. “What?”
“Turn around fool!” Cyrza shouted.
It was then that Rogoth finally caught sight of the reflection of a figure in the vanity mirror.
Amtusk!?
He spun on the half-orc who had invaded his home and his bedroom. “What are you doing here?!”
The Beginnings Omnibus: Beginnings 1, 2, 3 & Legend of Ashenclaw novella (Realm of Ashenclaw Beginnings Saga) Page 63