by Robe
“As you wish,” Benard replied.
“What?” Farseed crowed. “Absolutely not! This ship will be destroyed!”
“You already said it was destroyed, Farseed,” Auric said. “What’s another scratch or two?”
“Inconceivable! You will dock this vessel properly! I demand it!”
“Sit down, Farseed,” Benard said. “You have no authority here.” Farseed looked insulted beyond words, and he turned to scribble angrily on his parchment.
The next few minutes were torturous for the heroes as they watched Argain disappear into the village, but he left his bodyguard behind. The Black Commander stood on the wharf like a statue, idle and vigilant as it waited for its adversaries to near. Its blood-red cape blew calmly in the wind, daring the heroes to dock.
Benard did not wait to dock, however, and he did exactly as Auric had suggested. The wind was strong with the Paragon Pelinum as it came to its first and final destination. Everyone aboard the vessel braced him or herself, and the boat slammed into the wooden docks, tearing apart both the bow and the landing platform. Once the shock subsided, the heroes were off the ship, leaping from the deck rail and onto solid ground, leaving Thraun behind with the sailors.
The Black Commander stood before them, its obsidian sword unsheathed and the tusks of its helm pointing toward its opponents. “My master bids that you die.”
“Step aside,” Auric demanded. “We have no time for you.”
“Time will soon not be a concern for you,” the Black Commander spoke. It raised its blade, challenging them.
Auric looked back at Veese, and the wind warrior nodded before taking flight and sailing past the Black Commander. Turning its horned helm to watch Veese pass over, the last black knight prepared itself to fight, but before it was ready, a stream of water sprayed into it, knocking it off balance.
Charging forward, Dalk’s light blue sword connected with the blade of pitch black. “Go!” he shouted, and Ziem rushed past, Joan following after a short embrace from Kandon. The citizens of Balistary Port watched as the two shining blades struck one another repeatedly, the bystanders not fully aware of the intensity of the situation.
Allowing his energy to seep into the hilt of his blade, Auric rushed to help Dalk, the runes of his sword glowing brown. One after the other, they took turns swinging at the Black Commander until its back was pressed against a building. Kandon waited for an opening, and Auric made a risky swing, scraping the shiny trimming from the abdomen of the black knight.
Not wasting his opponent’s temporary vulnerability, the Commander grabbed his red cape and flung it at Auric’s face while deflecting Dalk’s strike with its sword. Tangled in the scarlet cloth, Auric failed to see the boot of the knight and was knocked backwards by a surprise kick.
Kandon jumped in and took up Auric’s place beside Dalk, throwing staggering stabs and sweeps at their enemy with his arming blade. The Black Commander did not seem to be tiring, but Dalk and Kandon were. After several more blocked swings, Dalk took a step back and raised his hand to release a ray of frost at the black knight. Largely unaffected by the cold, the raider stopped Kandon’s next swing and grabbed his sword right above the hilt. Kandon snarled as his sword was ripped from his hand and tossed aside, but it wasn’t until he tried to grapple the Black Commander that he truly realized his mistake. Easily breaking free of Kandon’s grip, the last raider swept its sword upward, slicing Kandon across the chest.
Blood splashed onto Dalk’s tunic as he returned to the battle swinging, and with a powerful chop downward, he removed the right hand of the Black Commander. A coughing sound came from the opening of the knight’s helmet as its sword fell. Its weapon no longer a threat, Dalk swung downward again to execute his opponent, but it raised its left hand to catch the blade. Dalk’s blue sword cut the four fingers from the hand, and with nothing left to block his strike, he impaled the Black Commander through the chest.
Finally, it fell, and with Argain’s last creature gone, Dalk turned to help his friends. Auric, having seen Dalk’s victory, was already tying a cloth tightly around Kandon’s torso. Blood was escaping the makeshift bandage, but Kandon seemed well enough to banter.
“Did you have to cut the poor lad’s fingers off?” he asked, grinning up at Dalk through winces of pain as Auric secured the dressing.
“It wouldn’t die. I wasn’t going to waste any more time,” Dalk said, wiping Kandon’s blood from his cheek.
“Sorry about that,” Kandon said, looking at his blood now on Dalk’s hand. “I’m not used to being carved through the middle.”
“You should be fine,” Auric said before pulling Kandon up and walking him toward a nearby pub. Dalk nodded to them and ran to follow the others.
Opening the door of the tavern, The Suffered Mermaiden, Auric and Kandon were given looks of suspicion by the unaware people of Balistary before Auric yelled at them. “He’s wounded! Someone fetch the healer!”
“I’ll go,” a young lady said before running through the door.
Auric sat Kandon down at the nearest table. “You’ll be alright here?”
“Of course,” Kandon replied, wincing slightly as he leaned against the back of the chair. “Go strangle that goose.”
Auric nodded and rushed back through the doorway to find his friends.
It was not long before Auric could hear the screams of the citizens of Balistary Port, and he changed the direction he was running to follow the cries echoing against the tall buildings that lined the streets. Around him, people were fleeing, looking back over their shoulders and dragging their loved ones behind them. The deeper into the village Auric hurried, the thicker the frightened mob became, and he found himself fighting through the people just to stop from being dragged away with them. Over the crowd, he saw a flash of light and heard a loud crack, not unlike Ziem’s lightning.
Finally, Auric got past the stampede and broke into the village square. He saw Argain standing upon a rising clump of thick, tangling vines. Although the Evil God still looked weakened, the fury in his face made up for what his composure lacked. The ground beneath the growing plant was bare and blackened, and scalding steam rose from it. Several innocents had been caught in the dirt and lay burnt and dead against the desecration.
Auric choked down a cry of remorse for the burned bodies before turning his gaze back to Argain, who seemed to be drinking in the death of those he had murdered. The vines upon which the Evil God perched were expanding quickly and crept into the nearby homes to fish out the people hiding within, dragging them screaming toward the terrible, scorched land.
Refusing to let any other innocents fall prey to Argain’s evil, Auric leapt into the action. Dalk was standing on the other side of Argain, his teeth bared in frustration as he watched, unable to get into the fight. Joan was beside him on her knees, holding her arm as if something had hit her.
As Auric ran toward Argain, Veese appeared beside him, his face even more bruised than before, so much that one of his eyes had swollen shut completely. The two reached the blackened ground, and without hesitation, Veese jumped into it. He guided himself safely to one of the thickest roots sprouting from Argain’s vigorously-expanding plant and turned to beckon Auric. With some reluctance, Auric followed, leaping as far as he could toward the root. He felt the heat rising from the ground, and as he watched his feet near the burning earth, he thought Veese had forgotten him. Just before landing, he felt an immensely powerful gust pull him up, and he touched awkwardly behind his ally on the root.
Veese was off just as Auric got his footing, and Auric watched his friend fly through the air toward Argain, sword poised. The Evil God spotted Veese too soon, and a vine sprung up to intercept him, tangling around his legs.
“At last,” Argain sneered. “The wind warrior will burn!” The vine holding Veese flew downward toward the tainted ground, and Veese outstretched his hands to hold himself away from the heat. He screamed in pain as his hands touched the blackened earth.
Fu
eled by Veese’s terrible cries, Auric harnessed the magic within him and raised his hands, unleashing a mound of dirt in Argain’s direction. The clump slammed into the Evil God from behind, and he fell from his perch. Just before Argain hit the tainted ground, it transformed back into normal earth, and he landed, unburned. Auric was right behind him, leaping from root to vine, and then down to where Argain stood.
Before Auric could strike, Argain lifted his hand, and a violent radiance blasted from his palm, sending Auric sliding backwards. He felt the heat on the back of his heels and fought to resist the bright light. Managing to take a step forward against the wicked radiance, Argain’s power wavered, and Auric was able to lunge, pulling his sword from its sheath and sweeping at the Evil God. He felt it connect with something, and the light faded, allowing Auric to see he had caught Argain’s body on the right of his torso.
“Foolish humans,” he said, taking a step backwards as blood trickled from his tunic, and the ashen ground vanished beneath his feet. “You cannot stop me. With each of you I kill, I gain strength, and not even the most powerful amongst you can prevent it.”
Auric ignored Argain’s words and ran at him, sword aimed at the Evil God’s heart. As Auric reached Argain, his target vanished in a puff of black smoke, causing the hero to almost charge into the black ground.
“I’ve fought the best of your kind before,” Argain’s voice said behind him, and Auric turned to see the Evil God rematerialize, “and won. There will be no mistakes this time. Those you seek so desperately to protect will die.” As he spoke, a sword appeared in his hand, a long, silver-glimmering blade. “This is the end, Spiderhunter.”
Dalk grabbed Joan’s hand and pulled her up. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s just a scratch,” she said, brushing off her injury as she watched the chaos before them. “We have to do something.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Dalk saw a vine tangle around Ziem’s ankle and pull him down. Struggling, the youngest member of the party tried to grab onto the trampled dirt road as he was dragged backward toward the filthy, tainted ground that Argain had created with a simple flick of his wrist.
The runes of Dalk’s sword glowed brightly as he ran to help Ziem. He knew he couldn’t let the boy reach the ashen land, or he would be burned just like the other innocents caught within its violent heat. Dalk reached the vine that held Ziem and swung his sword down on it. The vine shuddered but didn’t stop. Another chop, and a third before Dalk realized that every time he cut the vine, it would rematerialize as strong as ever.
He dropped his sword as Ziem was pulled past his feet and dove forward to grab his ally’s hands. Ziem squinted his eyes as his boots pressed into the scorched land, and Dalk pulled with all his might against the wicked tendril. Grunting as he tugged, Dalk had to force himself not to freeze Ziem’s hands as he felt his power naturally springing to his aid.
“Don’t…let…go!” Dalk shouted, and he managed to get to his feet. He saw tears forming in the corners of Ziem’s eyes and realized he was losing the fight for his friend. Acting quickly, he let go of Ziem with his right hand and pointed over the young man’s head directly at the vine. A frigid and unforgiving beam of ice emanated from his fingertips, striking the vine just below Ziem’s ankles. At first, the plant just wriggled, but as Dalk continued to assault it with cold, its grip on Ziem weakened and finally released, dragging away a partially frozen segment of itself.
“Th-Thanks,” Ziem stammered as Dalk pulled him up. Dalk began to reply but was interrupted by a second vine. It wrapped around his chest and tugged, almost toppling him onto the blazing ground. Dalk wedged his fingers under the vine and unleashed his power, sending frost up and down the plant. He didn’t relent until the vine hung limp, cold and hardened around his torso, and it easily snapped as he pulled it apart.
“We have to stop the others,” Dalk said and pointed to vines that had sprouted from multiple places on the main stem and were laying siege to the people of Balistary Port. They went separate ways around the blackened ground, hoping they could save the innocents of Lon Gairdas from Argain’s wrath.
Joan watched as Veese struggled to hang onto the docile vine, dangling just above the blazing earth. He did not use his hands to grip it, but instead wrapped his legs and arms around the green extension, trying desperately not to fall back into the heat. Impressively, he managed to inch his way to the safety of the plant roots, which were much less active now that Argain no longer perched upon them.
Not far away, Auric was dueling Argain on a small patch of normal ground within the ashen field. Joan looked at the black ground in front of her and sprayed it with water from her palms. Even more steam wafted off into Joan’s face, and she had to jump back for fear of being burned. The steam faded, and where was once tainted land, only normal earth remained.
Realizing she could help Auric, Joan centered herself before conjuring a large source of water between her hands and pouring it onto the blazing ground. When the steam cleared, most of the evil soil between her and Auric had been washed away, but upon looking at the sword fight ahead, she saw that Argain had resorted to a vile tactic. He had separated himself from Auric and was surrounding the hero with the dark land. Auric’s space was running out quickly as the scorching ground closed in around his feet.
Joan ran onto the dirt she had cured and launched a torrent of water at Argain’s back, causing the Evil God to tumble forward. Argain turned back around furiously, and upon spotting Joan, he pointed at her. A vine shot forth from the central stem and gripped Joan’s arms. She fought the tendril, but it was too strong. Through the bramble, she saw Auric jump from the last bit of safe ground he had and land where Argain stood, forcing the Evil God to retreat backwards across another stretch of cursed ground.
The Evil God did not see Dalk behind him, though, and only his inhuman speed saved him. Argain parried Dalk’s swing before grabbing Dalk’s sword arm with a lightning fast grip.
“You dare to strike your god?” Argain asked, tightening his grip. A black streak shot down Dalk’s arm, and he grit his teeth, sinking to his knees. “Your fate will be worse than death.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Auric saw that the vine holding Joan had managed to find her neck. It wrapped around her throat and began to squeeze, choking the life from her. Before her, Dalk was suffering worse than Auric could imagine, and Veese had been pressed against the wicked scorching ground until his hands were bloody and blistering.
Auric looked around for his last ally and found him, standing idly not far away. “Ziem!” Auric cried to the youngest member of their party. “Hit him! Hit him with everything you’ve got!”
Ziem looked hesitant, but once Auric screamed, “Now!” he acted without fear. Ziem felt the energy rushing through him as he unchecked the mental restraint that kept it from overwhelming him. The sensation was invigorating, and at his side, his sword glowed a brighter gleam than even Argain’s most wicked flashes. Ziem let loose, and a thunderbolt stronger than any touching the New World before ripped through his body and struck Argain.
As the lightning found its target, Dalk was thrown backwards away from the Evil God. Auric had to shield his eyes, and Joan’s throat was released as the vine dropped from her.
The Evil God stood, his expression dazed and confused as he swayed on the spot. Joan kicked away the vine and ripped her long knife from its sheath before dashing forward and plunging it into the heart of Argain. Brought back to his senses, Argain snarled at Joan before realizing that her blade rested securely in his chest.
“No,” the Evil God muttered. “No!” From the stab wound, a light mist escaped, wafting into the air around the heroes. Joan shook her head, dizzy as the pale smoke touched her. Argain fell to his knees, and the essence lifted from the wound more thickly.
“Stop him!” Veese shouted, and with enormous effort, he flew to where the heroes were gathered. He lifted his hand, raw and blistered, and a gust surrounded the mist, encasing it. From the wound of Argai
n, a new substance rose, one much more visible. A faceless, transparent figure was pushed from the body of Weston Revidious, unwillingly forced from its vessel, and it seemed to panic as it saw who surrounded it.
“Get him!” Veese screamed, and he strengthened the prison of wind around the being, causing Auric’s cloak to flap behind him and Joan’s hair to whip wildly about her face. Auric leapt over the fading blackened soil and outstretched his palm. He added his power to the prison, sending dirt into Veese’s wind so that it spun around the figure, blocking it from view. Joan raised her hand as well, and a stream of water turned Auric’s dirt to mud. The mud orb spun faster and faster, and Auric watched Veese’s bruised face, slick with concentration as he worked. Eventually, the mud case started to shrink, condensing down into a much smaller prison. It began to change shape, and Auric watched in awe as Veese fashioned a small pot, just large enough to sit comfortably in one’s palm.
When Veese was finished, the pot fell slowly to the ground. Veese sank to his knees, panting and nursing his palms. Auric walked to the pot as Joan knelt beside Veese.
“I am alright,” Veese said. “I am fine. See to the others first.”
Auric bent down and looked at the small, bland urn, the color of dirt. He lifted it and immediately knew that they had finally succeeded in their mission. The pot was extremely heavy, and just by touching it, Auric could feel what was contained within.
Joan ran to Dalk and announced him unconscious, but alive. She then hurried to Ziem who was lying where he had stood to unleash the battle-winning blow to Argain.
“Will it hold him?” Auric asked.
“Does it feel as though it will?” Veese asked, looking at his mutilated palms.
“Yes,” Auric said. “It feels like he’s not going anywhere for a very long time.”
“Auric!” Joan screamed, and the two men looked to see what the problem was. They saw Joan kneeling beside Ziem and performing a procedure done only to bring someone back from death. She pushed on his chest repeatedly, crying out to Ziem as she did so, and then she placed her lips on his and blew before continuing the chest pumping. “Auric!” she screamed again, but Auric and Veese were already running to her aid.