Then, at the last possible moment, a shadow‒no, a hooded figure‒ came out of nowhere and deflected the arrow away as if it was no more than an annoying mosquito.
“Now, now,” the hooded man said in a deep, thundering voice, “that is most impolite. Our Sorceress here is in the middle of an important task. We mustn’t bother her.”
He wore robes as black as night, its shadows making it impossible to see his face. It sent a shiver down Aric’s spine.
Then, without another word, the hooded man gave a flick of a hand, and all three Hunters were sent flying upwards. Aric felt his throat tighten and burn. He tried to breathe in, opened his mouth as wide as he could, but found no air would come. Legs dangling three feet above the ground, he grabbed at his throat, instinctively searching for whatever was squeezing it, but there was nothing.
In the meantime, Eliran kept conjuring her spell as if nothing at all was happening around her. In front of her, the great steel gates screeched, and a slither of light poured between them as they parted open.
The dark Mage chuckled.
Aric tried to scream, but his throat couldn’t produce a sound. His lungs began to burn, and the world became blurry. He felt as though he was going to pass out at any moment when all of a sudden there was a growl, followed by a scream. The grip around Aric’s neck loosened, letting him fall to the floor. Gasping for air, he raised his head and saw some wild beast standing over the hooded man, gnawing at his neck.
It was Geric.
Only then did Aric realize Eliran’s chant had died out, and the gates had stopped opening. Aric looked at the Witch and saw her lower her arms with an extremely confused look.
“What…” she muttered.
A whimper echoed across the hall and Geric flew into the air, disappearing into the shadows. The hooded Mage stood back up, growling.
“Fire take you!” Eliran screamed, furious. She sent her palms at him, and a wave of blue power came pouring out from them.
The dark Mage casually raised a hand, absorbing Eliran’s attack. It sounded like a piece of meat searing in a pan, but he gave no sign of feeling any pain.
“Don’t just stand there!” Eliran yelled. “Help me, you fools!”
Aric snapped back to himself and lunged forward, screaming, with his dagger in hand. Leth and Clea did the same. Their charge never reached the target, however, as Sohtyr raised his free hand and sent a gush of flames towards them.
The blaze came flying at them with lightning speed. Aric halted, skidding through the floor and shrinking into himself. He covered his eyes and face, expecting the flames to engulf him at once, but the burning never came. He opened his eyes and saw a massive wall of fire hovering above him about an arm’s length away.
Sohtyr chuckled. “You won’t be able to protect them for much longer, Sorceress,” he said. “And they can’t help you either.” He extinguished the flames, then swung his arm flamboyantly above his head. Stone began to crackle everywhere.
Aric looked around and saw the army of statues coming to life. One foot after the other, the statues yanked themselves out of their stupor and stepped down from their pedestals, the indigo light from Eliran’s relentless energy attack casting a ghostly hue over them.
“Oh, crap,” Leth said as a statue carrying a lance twice as tall as him stepped closer. He parried a blow from the lance and thrust his sword into the statue’s chest in one single, elegant move.
The statue fell to its knees with a loud thud.
“Good news,” Leth said. “They can die.” With the help of a foot, he pulled his sword from the statue’s chest, and just as he did, the creature climbed back onto its feet. “No, spoke too soon!”
He staggered back and stopped just in time to avoid bumping into another living statue.
Finding himself surrounded, Leth deflected the blows coming from both sides, sweat breaking out over his forehead.
A few feet to his left, Clea unsheathed two daggers from the low of her back, raced towards Leth, and in a swift, scissor-like movement snapped the head off one of the statues. She then twirled and snapped the head off the second one. Both of the statues fell awkwardly onto the floor, and this time, they stayed there.
“Okay,” Leth said with a sigh of relief. “I was right the first time. They can die.”
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to discuss it as another, far more numerous wave of statues fell upon them.
“Aric!” Clea yelled, deflecting an attack. “Decapitating them works. Just snap their heads off!”
You make it sound like it’s easy, Aric thought, grinding his teeth and spinning as he parried the attacks from three different statues. He rolled to his left, then backwards, trying to get enough room to launch an attack, but everywhere he went more statues surrounded him.
Aric parried a sword and swung back to parry another attack, but this time from a massive battle axe. The two weapons clanged loudly and Aric’s hand went numb. His sword went flying beyond another cluster of living statues, and he was forced to roll backwards to avoid another swing of the axe. He searched his arms, legs, and waist, trying to find some other weapon to fight with. He found only a dagger. It was long, but it was made of Glowstone. It would have been perfect for killing a Dragon, but it would certainly shatter against creatures made of stone or their steel weapons.
A pair of statues marched towards him on both sides, lances at the ready. Aric backtracked and found himself trapped against a wall, a third statue joining the other two. There was nowhere to go. This was it.
Then, Eliran burst into existence with a flicker of light and shot a bolt of blue energy at each of the three statues, blowing them up. Without a word, she grabbed Aric’s dagger by its blade. The Glowstone gleamed as brightly as one of Eliran’s spells.
“What… what are you doing?” Aric heard himself ask.
“Saving you,” Eliran replied. “Get into the vault. Now!”
She flickered back out of existence, turning into a bolting trail of light. Just as she disappeared, Sohtyr materialized right next to where she had been standing, turning into a similar trail of light and blazing after her.
Immediately, four more statues replaced the three fallen ones. There seemed to be no end to them. A sword thrust at Aric’s chest, and he instinctively parried it. For a moment, he expected his blade to shatter as Glowstone normally would, but instead, it shimmered and shrieked and the statue’s sword disintegrated.
Wow!
Aric parried another attack, destroying a lance, and followed with a counter, slashing across a statue’s chest. The creature staggered backwards, and the gash across its chest spread out until the entire statue crumbled. Aric hacked at his other attackers, his blade singing as it broke the statues apart as if they were made of sand.
All over the hall, there were flashes every time Eliran and Sohtyr materialized in and out of existence. It was as if two shooting stars had found their way into the hall just to chase each other, statues exploding as they passed by.
Eliran’s metallic voice rang inside Aric’s head. Get into the vault!
Why? Aric asked.
Do it!
It was hardly the moment for debate. Aric darted towards the steel gate, carving a path through the living statues. He reached the huge metal doors and looked over his shoulders. The Mage’s lightning pursuit continued while Leth and Clea fought for their lives against a growing legion of statues.
I have to help them, he thought.
There’s no time! Eliran replied. The spell on your blade will wear off soon. You can either help us all or not at all. GET IN THE VAULT!
Aric nearly went deaf, those four last words ringing like an echo inside his head. He cursed but stepped through the gates. On the other side, everything was blindingly bright, and Aric was forced to squint. It took him a moment to adapt, but when he did, his jaw dropped.
Everything was covered in white frost. The floor, the walls, the ceiling, and most importantly, the Dragon God. The creature wa
s as large as the Imperial Palace, probably bigger. It had been frozen in an awkward position that resembled a prancing horse, the lower half of his body buried beneath ground level. Its mouth was open in a silent roar, fangs the size of turrets gleaming inside. Several horns grew out from its head, some of them as long and thick as the top of a mountain peak, but even those weren’t as creepy as its eyes.
Green lizard eyes shone beneath a layer of ice. They were wide open, staring down on Aric as if the creature were watching him.
This thing… Aric thought, speaking to Eliran. What am I supposed to do with it?
The sword, do you see it? Eliran asked.
He did. It was a large sword, but in the middle of that colossal chest, it looked like a needle.
I see it, Aric said.
That sword is storing a spell just like the one I stored in your dagger, except it freezes things and is much, much more powerful than mine.
What about it? Aric asked.
It’s our only hope against Sohtyr. Pull it out. Now.
What!? Are you joking? That’s what Sohtyr wants. We’re supposed to stop him, not help.
That thing won’t unfreeze all at once, Eliran explained. You’ll have some time. Not much, but enough.
Aric looked over his shoulder. Beyond the gates, an army of statues was overwhelming Leth and Clea.
Your friends won’t survive this much longer, Eliran said. And neither will I. That sword is the only thing in here powerful enough to stop Sohtyr. We have no other option.
“Merciful Ava…” Aric muttered. He looked at the mountain sized creature rising above him.
If that thing was let loose upon the world…
He walked towards the sword. It was the most exquisite weapon he had ever seen. Its handle was made from a purple metal Aric didn’t even know existed, wrapped with red and gold leather for grip. It had an extremely thin strip of the same purple metal serving as a guard, which looked to be merely decorative, as it would had been of little use as an actual guard. Beyond the hilt, the sword’s Glowstone blade pulsed as if it was alive.
Aric wrapped his hand around the exuberant hilt and caught a fright when the sword’s guard magically extended out and around his hand, covering it in a weave of purple metal.
He closed his eyes.
“Goddess…”
Would he be fast enough? What if Sohtyr managed to put up too long of a fight?
Hurry, Eliran pleaded.
For the first time in their mental conversations, he didn’t just hear her thoughts. He felt something. He felt… terror.
Please… Eliran’s thoughts turned into a wave of pain as if a knife had been driven through his head.
Aric yelped and let the sword go, its magical guard shrinking back.
“Got you, little Witch!” Aric heard Sohtyr’s voice echo from outside.
Aric saw Eliran floating, paralyzed in the air, Sohtyr’s hand magically holding her in place.
“I told you you couldn’t get away,” Sohtyr chided, chuckling.
A few feet from the Mages, Clea was hit in the chest by a sword. Leth saved her by parrying what would have been a deadly blow to her neck, but coming to her help exposed him to a blow across his back from a second attacker.
Aric screamed and cursed, his eyes welling. He almost raced to their rescue, but one last, fading plead from Eliran stopped him.
The sword. Get the sword.
He looked at the magic weapon, hesitating.
I won’t risk it, Aric thought, not sure if Eliran could still hear him.
Then, he reared his leg and kicked the sword’s handle as if he was trying to break down a door.
The Glowstone blade shattered, splitting the sword in two, half of the blade remaining buried in the creature, the other half flying through the air.
Aric dashed away, picking up the broken sword, and raced out of the frozen crypt.
Sohtyr caught him from the corner of his eye and smirked. Then he realized what Aric was carrying in his hand.
“What do you think you’re going to do with that?” the dark Mage mocked.
Aric, however, never replied. Two statues came at him and were instantly turned to ice. A green light flashed and Aric rolled, dodging the bolt of energy. The magical attack hit two of the statues pursuing Aric instead. The stone warriors lost their upper torsos, green fire melting and consuming them.
The Archon cursed, and Aric caught a glimpse of his furious eyes. Green sparks flew around the Mage’s hand as another of his energy attacks charged. Aric tried to speed up even further. He swung the magic sword back, readying the final blow, but he wasn’t fast enough.
A flare shot from the Mage’s hands. Aric barely even saw it, but he did feel it. It was like being hit in the chest with a log. He was knocked to the floor, all air abandoning his lungs.
Gasping, Aric tried to spring back up. He had to kill Sohtyr, even if it was the last thing he did. But there was no pain, so he looked at where he had been hit, and instead of a gaping, smoldering hole, he found the Glowstone shards of his armor plate, intact and gleaming furiously. His cuirass had absorbed the energy attack.
“What the?” Sohtyr mumbled. He opened his mouth to say something else, but whatever it was would never be known as Aric buried the magical blade in his throat, turning the Archon into an ice sculpture.
Sohtyr’s spell immediately broke, and Eliran fell to the floor at the same time that every statue stiffened again.
Aric stepped back from the frozen Sohtyr, looking down at his shimmering armor again.
“Thank you, dad,” he said to himself, gasping.
“You did it!” Eliran said, elated. “You killed the bastard!”
Leth poked at one of the statues surrounding him. The stone warrior lost its precarious balance and fell, smashing an arm.
“There was no need,” Leth said. “We had it under control, you know?”
Aric chuckled while Clea shot Leth a stare.
“What? Still hate my cheekiness?” Leth asked her.
Instead of replying, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Aric expected to feel something akin to a punch in the gut. Surprisingly, though, he didn’t. Instead, he remembered his cat.
“Geric!” he heard himself say out loud.
The great hall had turned into a mess of rubble, fallen weaponry, and severed body parts of the statues. Aric found the desert lynx curled in a shadowy corner and placed a soft hand on his warm fur.
“Hey buddy,” Aric said, scratching behind Geric’s ear.
Blood was dripping from his flank and one of his paws looked burned, but he was alive.
“Is he alright?” Clea asked, stepping next to Aric.
“He’ll live,” Aric said, petting Geric’s head.
“Saved our skins,” Leth noted, joining them. “Wasn’t he supposed to be a coward?”
“Nah!” Aric replied, hugging Geric. “Who’s my brave cat?”
That was when a crowd broke into the hall, their steps echoing everywhere.
“What happened?” a voice called. “Are you guys alright?” It was Trissa. The rest of the Company was behind her, looking thoroughly impressed by the chaos around them.
“What the heck happened here?” Tharius asked.
“Is that the bad the guy?” Dothea probed, pointing at the frozen Mage.
“Why did you have to smash all the statues?” Orisius questioned.
Aric, Leth, and Clea exchanged a look. Where to begin?
“It’s… a long story,” Clea ended up saying.
“You’re bleeding,” Lyra said, rushing to her.
“It’s fine,” Clea assured her, but she still flinched when Lyra touched her clothes. “What about you guys?” Clea asked. “What happened to the Dragon?”
“It just… went away,” Tharius replied with a shrug.
“It was weird,” Dothea added. “One moment it was on us like a famished dog after a lamb chop, then the next it just ignored us and
left.”
“I need to clean these wounds,” Lyra said, taking her satchel off her shoulder.
“They’re fine,” Aric argued, standing up from where Geric was laying down. “Take care of my cat first.”
“What!?” Clea and Leth asked in unison.
Aric failed to conceal a wicked smile. “I mean it, Lyra,” he said. “Treat the cat.” He turned and walked over to Eliran as Leth and Clea grudgingly gave Lyra permission to check on Geric.
The Sorceress was still laying on the ground where she had fallen. She looked like she wanted to just fall asleep right then and there.
“Are you hurt?” Aric asked.
“I’m fine,” Eliran replied, sitting up. “Just exhausted beyond words. You?”
Aric looked down on his cuirass. “Surprisingly, yes,” he said.
“That’s not just a pretty thing you got there,” Eliran told him. “That’s for sure. It must be very old too. It has been a very long time since non-magical soldiers had to worry about Mages.”
“Family heirloom,” Aric explained. He looked at Sohtyr’s ice statue beside them. “So, he kidnapped you at Lamash?”
Eliran sighed. “While you guys fought his Dragon and I waited for him to strike, I had this brilliant idea. If I could destroy whatever it was he had come to take, his plan would be no more. So I tried to tear down the wall again. And again. And again. Took the beating of a lifetime. Even my combat tutor would have felt sorry for me. But I did it. I managed to blast that damned Glowstone lock to pieces. Bruises aside, I felt proud as heck. So you can imagine how anticlimactic it was to find out what the fuss was all about.”
Aric frowned, curious. “What was it all about?”
“A chant,” Eliran replied. “Ten pages worth of a stupid song in some weird, forgotten Akhami dialect. That’s what the geniuses of the Academy decided to lock that place with.” She waved a hand towards the great steel gates behind Aric. She sighed. “Then I got just as stupid and arrogant as them.”
“You memorized it?” Aric guessed.
Eliran confirmed with a nod. “Before destroying the parchment, yes. There’s this neat little spell, the favorite of every student of the Academy. The only way to pass fifth level Visions and Prophecies if you ask me. Anyway, I never thought Sohtyr would be able to get it from me. After all, mind spells are supposed to be my strong point.” She shook her head in disapproval. “The pieces of parchment were still burning in my hands when he walked into the library, and he was pretty quick to realize what I had done. I still think I would have been able to resist him if I hadn’t spent so much power cracking the Glowstone lock, but under those circumstances, I was an idiot.”
The Dragon Hunter and the Mage Page 46