Firion’s hand thrust down as Endrance poured every ounce of power he had prepared through the lightning spell tattooed on his hand. He had used it earlier to incinerate a rag, so he knew he could shock things with contact. With direct contact, Endrance could avoid most of the man’s wards.
The chamber illuminated for several seconds with crackling light. Firion convulsed where he stood, and Endrance kept up the flow of power. He tapped into the power remaining in his bracers and his aura, and thrust out his other hand.
“Ignatius!” He cried.
* * *
Outside, Joven led the way through the side passage. They had some difficulty bringing down the large Atastos, but they had managed. Selene and Bridget were right behind him. They came into the opening for the hot spring and saw the hole blasted in the rock face. Joven looked back at the two.
“Are you sure it was Endrance?” Joven asked. “Not a falling star or something?”
A scream erupted from the hole in the stone, followed by a brilliant flickering flash of lightning.
“Never mind!” Joven said, charging around the outer rim of the spring. Selene flanked the spring on the other side with Bridget right behind her. They reached the entrance into the cavern beyond and Joven stepped into the hole.
Bright red light blossomed from deeper within, and Joven heard the distinctive roar of onrushing flames. He cursed, leaping backwards out of the cavern as the entire inside chamber erupted in fire. The three of them reeled back and they dove into the waters of the spring before they were roasted alive.
Joven surfaced first, pulling himself back onto the stone. Bridget and Selene were hauling themselves out of the water shortly after. The cavern inside was silent.
They pushed forward, noting that the chamber had its own inner light. They found Endrance nearly fifty yards in. He was sprawled across the stone on a blackened smear that had at one point been blood before the fire had erupted. Slumped nearby was a badly burnt man who was still breathing laboriously.
Joven unslung his axe, gesturing for the women to check on Endrance. He walked up to the other man, scowling.
“He’s alive.” Selene said. “He’s been run through and he’s got broken ribs. Gods, is his hand burnt too?”
“That’s not all.” Bridget replied. “I think his nose is broken, and a black eye.”
Selene examined the stomach wound in detail. “I think the wound has healed a little. It’s not bleeding.”
“Is he awake?” Joven asked.
Selene hesitated. “No.” she replied.
Joven smiled. “Good.” He said, hefting the axe. “Then it’s my choice what to do with this guy.”
“Help me…” The burned man moaned.
“I’m about to.” Joven stated
“She… was too strong.” The man wheezed, trembling. “Tell Endrance… I’m sorry.”
“Noted.” Joven replied.
He brought the axe down, bone cracked and blood sprayed, and Firion was beheaded. The body went slack. And for a moment there, Joven saw a smile of gratitude before the head rolled away from him.
Joven turned back to the Draugnoa and noticed just how close Firion was to Endrance. “Back up, you two.” He commanded. “You know what happens next.”
Selene and Bridget nodded, scooting away. In an instant, the bracers on Endrance’s forearms gleamed as the arcane script lit up with golden light. The three had come to expect what would happen next, but had not been expecting the volume of light. Instead of a faint trickle or stream of golden illuminant light, a torrent of power rose from Firion’s body and spiraled around Endrance as the bracers did their work. Strangely, the swirling power caused some crystals across the ceiling to dim and blacken while others brightened. A sound like a great rush of wind filled the cavern as the bracers siphoned off a great volume of power.
When it was finished, both of the bracers’ gems gleamed brightly, as if they were full of power. The ring on his finger glowed as well. Endrance’s eyes fluttered open.
“Did I get him?” Endrance asked.
Joven shrugged. “Mostly.” He said. “Had to finish the job.”
“Ah.” Endrance replied. “So. Are we done? Is it over?”
“Yes.” Bridget said, looking around. “The wolfmen we could see are gone.”
“Good. And the Ewer?”
“The gold thing?” Joven asked. “It’s sitting out there still. What do you want done with it?”
“Get rid of it. Take it far away from here and bury it if we can. I’m not sure we can destroy it.” Endrance said. He grimaced, clutching at his side.
“Well, you’re still dying a little bit.” Joven said. “If you can heal the stab wound, maybe we can get you someplace better.”
Endrance blinked up at him. “I think… I can manage that much.”
Selene smiled down at him. “Good.” She said. “Cause if you died, I’d find where you went and kick your ass for the rest of eternity.”
Endrance blinked dully at her. “W-what?”
“I love you.” She clarified.
“Ah.” He replied. “I love you too.”
Chapter 22
Joven paced outside the longhouse. Stonemasons complained loudly as they tore down the damaged stone and worked to replace the now devastated section of the house that was supposed to be the Spengur’s bedroom. They didn’t mean anything by it; they were overall in good spirits.
As Thorald’s one remaining retainer placed the crown on his head, the dawn which had seemed to be almost holding back, spilled forth across the mountain. It swept down its height and across the flatlands before it. As it did so, the Atastos howled into the sky. Then in waves, they turned to dust, scattering on the morning breeze. Even the ones they had killed were rendered unto dust, leaving the mountain streets caked in dirt.
Gullin perched on a roof nearby, supervising. Half the time, Joven had the suspicious feeling that the familiar was keeping an eye on him as much as the workers. He shook his head.
When they had picked up Endrance to remove him from the cave, the familiar had just plopped onto the ground where Endrance had been lying; as if he had been pinned under the mage’s back the whole time. But neither Bridget nor Selene had seen any sign of the bird before. Disgruntled but not injured, Gullin was persistent in making sure Endrance was treated quickly.
Endrance had been taken to a nearby temple and given a room to rest. Joven had overseen the aftermath in the day and night since then. He had been busy, and hardly had two hours of sleep.
The first matter was that, only hours after the undead horde had been destroyed, General Rohl’s forces were seen at the edges of the flatlands. Joven had to then help his brother coordinate reopening the gates, receiving the returning forces and exchanging stories. It turned out that Rohl had been leading his men through the rear lines of the Atastos, doing his best to destroy every one they could get their blades on. They had been harried for a while by a masked man using magic, but he had mysteriously vanished the day before. Joven explained what happened on their end, and he would have forgotten about Rohl’s wife and child if the man hadn’t asked about them immediately after.
He had then to explain what had happened while he was afield, including the deception of Kalenden and the death of Rohl’s wife. Joven assured him that his mother was watching over the child now, and he could retrieve him when he was ready. Though devastated about the death of his wife, Rohl was proud to hear his child was prophesied to grow into a fabled hero.
After that, Joven had to track down Ezeilo. He found him being held in the second bowl, along with two of the other soldiers who had somehow survived the Atastos attack along with him. Though still shaken, he was not nearly as traumatized as he had been earlier. Joven had them brought up to the seventh bowl.
He then tended to the new king. Thorald was exhausted from the ordeal of the night before, but he sat and listened to Joven’s explanation of what had really happened during the invasion. He also didn’t immed
iately reject Gnaeus’ proposal of peace.
“The wolfmen we’ve fought have been honorable enough to take responsibility for their deeds.” Thorald observed. “If they say they weren’t behind the attack, I believe they weren’t.”
Further diplomatic considerations were not on the table. Apparently, it was a big enough step that Balator wouldn’t hunt them down and destroy them. Joven didn’t press the matter, but he did make sure to remind him that the Spengur had agreed on peace between the two races.
Afterwards, he had to help with the recovery from the Ascension. He was tasked with informing the families of those who had perished during the contest and supervising the cleanup of the obstacles and hazards that had hastily been set up. Unfortunately, since they had to rush the construction, many of the traps they had placed were more lethal than they should have been, but still, they only lost about a quarter of the men and women participating on both the ascending teams and the defenders.
He had thought that the Furie-cursed would have made it farther, but her team lost cohesion by the time they reached the fifth bowl, leaving their leader without any followers. Joven guessed that they had lost their tempers with each other.
Now, his many tasks completed, Joven paced. After the business and excitement passed, he was back to his normal duties as the Spengur’s bodyguard. The Spengur’s home construction was almost completed, once they had restored the damage Endrance had done to it. Joven sighed. That boy was hard on houses.
They still had not figured out how Endrance had been flying, on fire, and had hit that masked mage as hard as he did. The Spengur wasn’t talking, nor did he seem interested in explaining anything. If anything, he seemed lost in thought that morning. Selene agreed to watch him. Bridget said something about training her new arm and went to the Ergkinoa’s training grounds.
Joven still hadn’t believed her explanation of how she had her arm back, but if it worked and didn’t do anything strange, then he was going to accept it. A year ago, he would not have been willing to even stay in the same room as that thing. But since meeting Endrance, and witnessing the things he’d seen, he had come to expect a certain amount of weirdness in his life as a matter of course.
“So, how’s the house.” Endrance asked.
Joven shrugged. “Messed up, like usual.” He did a double take. Endrance was standing next to him.
“Yeah, sorry about that.” Endrance said, shifting the straps of his pack to sit more comfortably on his shoulders. “I wasn’t really aiming when I ambushed him.”
“What are you wearing?” Joven asked. The Spengur had his thick travel clothing on, and tiger hide coat over it.
“How long has it been since we were last here, talking in front of my longhouse, Joven?” Endrance asked.
He did a quick count. “A week.” He said.
Endrance smiled. “Don’t you remember? I made a promise.”
Joven shook his head. “Wait, you can’t mean…?”
Endrance nodded. “Yes. I told them that when General Rohl returned in a week, we would return to Ironsoul.”
“But you’re injured!”
Endrance patted his stomach. “Healed it, mostly. Going to leave a scar, I think.”
Joven scowled. “I don’t like this. You just saved this kingdom. Again.”
Endrance smiled again, “Yeah, I know. But now I have other reasons to return.”
“Kaelob.” Joven stated.
The Spengur nodded. “Yes. I have to find out what his involvement is with Valeria. I know he had something to do with her plans; and he had to know more about what I really am than he was letting on.”
Joven shook his head, sighing. “I still don’t like it.”
Endrance patted Joven on the shoulder. “Then come with me.” He said. “The women are.”
“Wait!” A voice cried up from down the road. Endrance and Joven turned to see Bridget trotting up to them, another woman in tow. Endrance recognized Tanya from before. She was frowning, but willingly following Bridget.
“Who’s this?” Joven asked.
“Joven, this is Tanya.” Bridget introduced them. “I just got back from the elder Ergkinoa. She said now that there was a king, you had to do the ritual before you left.”
“Left?” Joven asked, turning to Endrance. “You told her this morning?”
“What?” Bridget scoffed, shaking her head. “I just know the bastard well enough to know he’s going to try to keep his harebrained promises.”
“I’m just glad you do.” Endrance said, eyeing the knots on her prosthetic arm. “I don’t like getting punched by that thing.”
Bridget rolled her eyes. “I only almost killed you once.”
Joven looked back between the two of them. “Wait what?” he exclaimed.
Tanya stepped forward, bowing. “Spengur, you have saved us from the wolfmen assault, and have shown mercy on us despite our rejection of your plea for help. You have proven yourself more respectable than many prior Spengur.”
Endrance sighed. “All right. So what do we have to do?”
Bridget pointed to the castle. “We go talk to the king. He approves of the Ergkinoa, she gives you the ring and we’re done.”
“Wait, that’s all?” Endrance asked. “I can’t believe that’s what we were waiting for.”
Tanya shrugged. “You should know by now how important our rites are.”
The Spengur sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “All right.” He said. “We go do this now, while we have the chance. Then we gather Ezeilo and we get moving. I don’t want to be away from the kingdom any longer than I have to be.”
Bridget and Tanya started towards the eighth bowl ramps, but Joven grabbed Endrance’s sleeve before he could follow. “Wait.” Joven exclaimed, waving the women to continue on. “I need to show you something.
“What?” Endrance asked.
Joven pulled a small object wrapped in burlap out of a belt pouch and handed it to Endrance. There were stains of dried blood on the cloth. Endrance could tell by the weight and texture it was a metal object, and mercifully, not a body part.
“When I finished off the mage, he said that she was too strong.” Joven recounted. “And that he wanted me to tell you he was sorry.”
Endrance glanced up from the wrapped object for a moment. “That’s an odd statement from a man who had caused me so much pain and killed so many people.”
Joven gestured for Endrance to unwrap the thing and spoke while Endrance did so. “When you cooked him, his back had been almost untouched. We found several of those things embedded along his spine. They could not have been in there very long; they had only been healing for maybe three weeks at the most.”
Endrance peeled off the burlap to reveal a nasty looking bit of silver. It was designed like a chevron, and Endrance could see a lip on the inside curve where a copy would rest partially on the one before it. At either point of the chevron, a painful looking barbed spike protruded downwards. Across the spikes and the face of the chevron were sigils that Endrance could only vaguely recognize. They included symbols of obedience, enforcement, pain, and dominance.
“How many?” Endrance asked.
“Didn’t look too far down, but I think there was one for almost every bone in his neck and spine.” Joven admitted. “I broke two links when I cut off his head.”
“If there were that many, he might not have had any free will at all.” Endrance observed, wrapping up the spike and handing it back to Joven. “I haven’t had time to review any memories he may have had, but I’m getting the idea they weren’t pleasant.”
“I just thought you should know.” Joven stated. “You know, before you go accusing anyone of anything when we get back to Ironsoul.”
Endrance nodded, giving the barbarian a smile. “Thanks, friend.”
“No problem.” Joven returned his smile. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Yeah.” Endrance replied, turning towards the ramps.
As they walked, Joven elbo
wed the mage. “So this Tanya,” he started. “What’s her thing?”
“Thing?”
“You know, Bridget has that cleaver and Selene has that chain-thing.”
“Oh, she’s an archer.”
“An archer? That will be helpful. She might actually kill stuff before it runs you through this time.”
Endrance rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah… I know.”
“So… Back to Ironsoul, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Maybe we can go without you getting kidnapped.”
“I’m trying to keep that from becoming a recurring theme. Hopefully now that Jalyin’s no longer hunting me, I won’t have to worry as much.”
“I don’t know. Usually groups of people don’t forget about you when you kill nearly two dozen of their men.”
“Hey, it’s been over a year and I’ve gotten a lot better than before. And I’m bringing three Draugnoa with me. What could go wrong?”
“Do you really want me to answer that?”
“No.”
Endrance paused at the top of the ramps, looking out over the seven bowls of the city below him. Though freezing cold, the view was impressive. “It’s hard to believe it’s only been a week.” Endrance stated, shaking his head. “Crowned a king, destroyed an army, nearly died gods know how many times, fixed some of the damage and somehow I managed to patch things up with my Draugnoa.”
Joven chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. “It’s not over yet, friend. You’ve a new one to figure out, and then you have to find out how she fits with the other two. And then there’s the murder charges you’re up on.”
“Dammit, Joven!” Endrance exclaimed laughingly as they turned towards the castle. “I was trying to stay optimistic!”
“And then you have to find out what Kaelob has to do with Valeria. You know, she’s most likely out there somewhere machinating the worst possible things, just to ruin your life. Oh, and you might have to save your master from being killed. And to top it all off, you’ve been skipping out on our training regimen this past week.” Joven continued.
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