by J. Carrarn
He slammed into the top of the wall, and the thick layer of bone cracked from the impact, a section of it breaking apart while splinters shot outward. His momentum carried him further, smashing him through the ruined wall. With nothing to grab on to, he rolled over and plummeted to the wasteland far below.
He managed to flip over and get his legs under him and focused on the ground. The wasteland floor split apart as a column of stone shot up and met him mid-fall. The top layer of stone cracked and crumbled, but the pillar held, and he managed to stand up.
He kept an eye on the sky, but luckily there were no Ygdra to be seen. As he turned back to look down at the wasteland, he saw a group of forty or fifty of the larger Yellowplates, some of the black Kaot-like skeletons, and Scathia. They were fleeing into the wasteland. One of the skeletons was dragging a motionless purple shape across the ground.
Oh no you don't!
Solus knew he couldn't get too close, but he had to do something. Weighing his options, he blinked. A nasty grin surfaced on his face, and a large stone hand formed below the tower. It held a boulder as large as Solus, and with a sweeping motion, the hand hurled it toward the fleeing group.
One of the Yellowplates had been looking back over his shoulder and yelled out a warning, but it was too late. The boulder struck the middle of the group, crushing two of the Yellowplates before rolling over and crushing one of the skeletons. Scathia and her entourage turned to face him.
"It is because of your selfishness that Tendraal lies in ruin!" Scathia's hate-filled voice hissed about his head in anger. "Now you dare to pursue me? You dare to destroy my minions? I shall make you pay for your presumption and insolence!"
The remaining Yellowplates charged as one back toward him.
"I will have your mana-core by day's end!" Scathia screamed.
"Stop!" Solus roared as a dozen more stone hands rose from the wasteland. Each held a boulder. The Yellowplates slowed down but resumed their charge after a moment's hesitation.
Suit yourself, Solus thought, and the stone arms hurled the boulders at the Yellowplates. Forewarned this time, only two of the boulders struck the undead, the Yellowplates dodging and weaving out of the path of the oncoming missiles. Feeling the drain on his mana, Solus frowned.
"Lure them closer!"
Tirella's voice projected beside his head. Solus looked around but didn't see her.
"Below."
Looking down the stone pillar, he saw Tirella stand behind it, out of view of the incoming war party. She was grinning at him and held up a massive stone club, almost as long as she was tall.
Solus's grin widened, and he nodded in understanding and approval. Then he turned to the incoming Yellowplates, focusing on the stone arms to throw boulders. He crushed another of the surprisingly nimble nuisances with a lucky shot before the rest reached his tower.
As soon as they did, the plates on their lower arms extended and formed into sharp points until they were an arm's length beyond their fists. They started slamming into the stone, which began to crumble instantly. Feeling the tower shudder, Solus drew the stone from the middle of the tower to the edge, increasing its density but leaving the tower hollow. The cracking from below turned into a thudding, and one of the plates snapped backward with a screech.
Looking below, he was just in time to see Tirella jump from behind the tower and into the thick of the Yellowplates. Swinging her stone club around, she hit the nearest group, swiping them aside. The club shattered on impact, and stone debris flew everywhere.
Seeing her annoyed look, Solus grinned and formed another stone club beside her, increasing its density to match the toughness of the tower's shell. Tirella saw it and snatched it up just as ten of the Yellowplates jumped her. Thick stone tendrils shot out from the side of the tower, grabbing at the Yellowplates. The stone wrapped around them but cracked and exploded outward in a wave of pebbles within moments. The plates covering the Yellowplates grew outward, and serrated edges became visible all over them.
Solus saw more Yellowplates rush Tirella, who was busy flinging them around, and jumped off the side of the tower. He landed on two of the Yellowplates and felt their plates and bones snap below his feet. Turning his back to Tirella, he drew a deep breath and roared. A column of shimmering air struck another group of Scathia's minions mere moments before they could pile atop Tirella. The two that got the brunt blew back against the others, cracks and fissures appearing on their plates. They rolled over the ground, scrambling to get back up.
Solus clutched his green hammer and jumped toward another group of undead. He struck the side of a Yellowplate's head, and it crumpled inward while the Yellowplate was flung sideways, crashing into one of his comrades and knocking it off its feet. Roaring, Solus finally felt the familiar red curtain of battle rage cover his vision, and he began striking at anything that moved.
When he had downed over half of the Yellowplates, his arm froze mid-swing as he lost control of his body. Scathia! How had he forgotten about her? As he fell forward, his arms responded again, and he caught himself. What's going on? Pushing himself up, he looked around.
A handful of Yellowplates stood behind him, their backs toward him as they stared at a peculiar scene. Tirella stood there, holding Scathia by the throat and lifting her high enough for her feet to dangle in the air. A couple of her Cheroc guards stood close by, poised to attack. Scathia hung limply, not resisting and just glaring at Tirella.
Not sure how long Scathia would wait until she immobilized Tirella, Solus ran toward them. He barreled through the immobile Yellowplates. They scattered and fell, remaining motionless on the ground. Solus frowned as he realized nobody was moving beside Tirella and Scathia.
"Why aren't these guys moving anymore?" he asked as he stopped beside Tirella, staring at Scathia.
"It appears she can't use her abilities when you crush her neck," Tirella grinned—squeezing a bit harder. Scathia's slightly glowing eyes bulged out of her head as veins appeared around her temples.
Solus frowned, moving toward one of the unmoving black skeletons. The eye sockets, normally aglow, were empty and dead. He turned to Scathia and nodded. So this was what the rumors were about?
"She is either controlling them, or they aren't really awoken."
Tirella lowered Scathia, dragging the would-be Litch behind her as she moved to the unmoving body of Derin.
"He seems hurt," she said, gently prodding the purple undead with her foot.
"Let me go, or your friend will never wake!" Scathia's voice projected around them, hatred dripping like acid from every word.
Solus didn't bother to reply. He looked at the unmoving undead around them and the Ygdra that flew above Tendraal, raining destruction down upon the crumbling city. From different broken sections in the wall, undead were fleeing alone and in small groups. Most of them seemed to be heading in the direction of Skulltown. Whether that was by design or luck, there was no way to tell.
He turned his attention back to Scathia and gripped her skull.
"Let's make things simple. Tell me how to wake Derin, and explain how to absorb a mana-core, or no more Litch Queen."
Without waiting for a reply, he squeezed, slowly increasing the pressure.
"I won't tell you anything! If you destroy me, you will never survive!" she screeched.
"Wait!" Tirella said, stopping Solus, who was about to squeeze harder.
"What if we gave you a mana-core? Would you tell us what we want to know?"
For a moment, the only sounds were the explosions from Tendraal, and Solus could see Scathia's eyes moving between him and Tirella.
"If you give me a mana-core and let me leave with it, I will tell you," Scathia finally said.
Solus laughed, his grip increasing. "You lie! What will stop you from running away without telling us? And don't tell me that we should just trust you."
"I will help you wake your friend!" Scathia said, a tiny bit of panic in her voice this time.
So she isn't un
afraid of being ended after all, Solus thought with a scowl.
He released some of the pressure.
"This is what will happen. You will wake our friend, and you will come with us. I will show you where the giant Wyrm is, and then you will tell us the way to absorb a mana-core. After that, I will let you go."
"Tha-"
As soon as Scathia started talking, Solus squeezed, shutting her up.
"I wasn't done. Once you have your mana-core, you will leave this part of the world. If I find you are still hanging about after we deal with these rifts, I will bury you as deep as I possibly can, encase you in a layer of metal, and leave you there to go insane for eternity." He released the pressure, glaring into the red eyes.
"Fine."
Scathia's single word was laced with so much hate that Solus could almost taste it.
If I let her leave, she is going to cause so much trouble. Looking into her burning eyes, he made a decision. The moment she told them how to absorb the mana-core he would end her. The decision didn't feel well, but the alternative seemed far worse.
Giving her one more squeeze, he let go. Tirella followed his example, and Scathia thudded on the ground, hands rubbing her neck. She glared at them for a moment.
With a shudder, the remaining Yellowplates and Cheroc skeletons began moving. They were about to rush to Scathia when Solus stepped in their path. While looking at them, he directed his voice to Scathia.
"They can come, but they will follow at a distance behind us."
"Fine!" Scathia snapped again, and the undead grouped up into a column a short distance away.
Scathia moved toward Derin and kicked the undead in the ribs. "Wake up!" she snarled. A shudder passed through Derin, and with a shock, he sat upright and looked around. When he saw Scathia, he scrambled back, eyes wide in fear as the blue patterns on his body began to glow brightly.
"Welcome back, Derin," Tirella said, stepping toward him. The purple undead's eyes widened even more, and he looked around. When he saw Solus, a look of relief spread across his face.
"Where are the others?" he asked, his voice rough and cracked.
The others! Solus cursed and turned to the city. More and more Ygdra were flying above the city. He looked in the direction they came from, and saw an enormous rift in the sky above the white planes spewing out more.
"I'll get them," Tirella said, moving toward the city. "I'll meet you at the city of the ancients, at the same building we stayed in while you were out hunting with Sig."
Watching the orange undead walk purposefully to the city, Solus worried about her. Would she be alright on her own? Did she have enough energy to dig the others out? Taking a deep breath, he crushed his concern. She had survived longer on her own than he even existed. Worrying about her was pointless. He turned to Derin.
"Can you use your abilities?"
"Depends on what you need," Derin said, pushing himself up with a pained expression on his face.
Solus pointed at Scathia. "We have a deal with her, but I am pretty sure she will jump us if she gets the chance. She can't lock us both down, so if I stop moving, grab her with that ability of yours and throttle her until I move again."
Derin cracked his neck and looked at Scathia. A smile played around his lips, but his eyes showed anything but humor.
"Sounds like fun."
Scathia snorted and turned to the wasteland.
"Are we going or what? I've lost Tendraal thanks to you, and if we don't hurry, none of the other cities will remain."
Cities? Solus thought, slightly taken aback. Somehow he didn't think Scathia was talking about Skulltown and Realdeep. Shaking the implications away, he took a last look at Tirella, who was halfway to the wall. He was about to tell her to be careful but stopped just before he could. What was wrong with him? He shook his head as he remembered how awkwardly Norg had acted around Vingria at the start. Was that what was happening to him?
He stomped forward, eyes on the horizon.
"Follow me, and stay close," he commanded.
—
Many hours later, Solus was still in the lead when he saw something glint far off in the distance ahead of them. It seemed like a flash of red light, but he couldn't sense any tremors coming from that direction. They still had almost two days of travel ahead of them before they would reach the city of the ancients. He had expected to encounter at least some wyrms along the way, but so far, he hadn't detected the passage of a single one.
"Why are we stopping?" Scathia asked, her desire to be in control evident. Her tone showed she demanded an answer.
Solus ignored her and began walking again. He kept his eyes out for anything, and as they closed in on the red light, he saw more flashes. Eventually, he saw a black tear in the sky. Crimson energy trickled out from around its edges, and now and again, it would crackle in a blinding flash. Each time it did, he thought he saw a pair of gigantic taloned hands tearing at the edges of the portal.
"Pusscracklings, what is that?" Derin hissed as he and Scathia stepped up beside him.
Nobody answered him, and Solus changed course slightly. He didn't feel like getting anywhere close to the portal. If those hands were indeed real, a single one could crush him. Trying to close that portal seemed impossible.
"We might not have time for your little scheme," Scathia finally said. She sounded weary, and when Solus looked over his shoulder, he saw her gazing at the portal.
Following her gaze and noting how the portal was slowly expanding, Solus shook his head. He had wanted to take it slow and give Tirella a chance to catch up, but that was no longer an option.
"Then we'd better hurry. We are going to start running. How fast can you move?" he asked Derin.
"Fast, but not for long. I could really use a wyrm orb."
Solus nodded and turned to Scathia. "I presume you can't run?"
Scathia scowled at him, her taut face seemingly disgusted at the notion.
"Thought so. I am going to carry you. Don't do anything stupid, or I'll drop you. Hard."
He grabbed Scathia with one arm, holding her like a big rock, and began to sprint. The sensation of touching the would-be Litch that had him tortured was revolting.
"Let me know as soon as you are getting too tired!" he projected at Derin. A grunt came in response.
After a short while, Solus looked back, and to his annoyance, the Yellowplates and Cherocs seemed to keep up with ease. Luckily, so did Derin.
They came across a dozen smaller rifts during the day—most with tracks of Kaots below them that led off into the wasteland. Solus kept an eye out for Wyrms, but he didn't sense a single one even at night. It bothered him, and not just because he needed one for himself and Derin to replenish some energy.
Where are they? A bad scenario would be that the Kaots had hunted them all, but the worst-case scenario was that another Crusdon had come through and was eating them all.
Discouraged, he continued forward as the sun's last glow disappeared below the horizon, and the darkness ahead deepened. The soft glow of the stone below the dust didn't give him a clear enough view to see as far ahead as he liked. Still, he didn't even think about stopping for the night. With Scathia here, the lack of wyrms, and those cyclopean hands that were haunting his thoughts, he wanted to get back to Skulltown as quickly as possible.
The portals were easier to spot during the nighttime, the red energy around their edges visible from great distances. After counting twenty of them, Solus stopped, fear growing deep inside of him. Halfway during the night, they returned to a slow walk, as Derin slowly broke down from lack of energy. His evolution had increased his stamina, but it had been almost depleted after what Scathia had put him through.
Through the next day and halfway into the night, they walked. At one point, Solus had created a cart and placed Derin and Scathia on it so that he could drag them.
The Yellowplates had already turned to tiny specs on the horizon behind them before the sun had even set, and were completely gone
by now. Only the group of Cherocs continued to follow them, undeterred by Solus's speed.
Pulling the cart ahead, Solus felt a vibration through his feet. It had been going on for a while now, and he could sense it came from almost straight ahead of them.
"What's that?" Derin's voice sounded a bit better after having rested half a night.
Solus stopped and cracked his back. To his joy and amazement, his mana-field was regenerating far more energy than he spent by just walking. A cursory examination of his left arm showed that his grey flesh was almost back to normal. There were just some small abrasions left from the black sludge. Even the green hairs were growing back, short stubble that seemed to grow so fast he could visibly see it happening.
Turning to face where Derin was pointing, he saw it was in the direction of the disturbance he had felt. Far in the distance, flashes of blue light crossed through the air, streaking from somewhere on the ground to a spot in the air. Moments later, red dots shot back down, which caused the rumbling Solus could feel. Together, they illuminated the dark sky in swaths of red and blue.
"Ygdra," Solus said, realizing they were close to the ancient city now.
Sensing around and trying to remember the sun's exact position as it set, he realized the city must be directly below the flashes. He looked up at the stars, knowing he could use their positions to navigate. His gifted memories told him it was possible. They just didn't explain how.
Grabbing the stone cables that were attached to the cart, he stepped forward, this time heading in a straight line toward the blue and red flashes.
"Scathia, get those minions of yours ready to fight. It seems that someone has started without us."
Solus heard an imperious and derisory sniff from behind him, but the skeletons ran forward, fanning out to scout ahead.
Let's see if we can cause some trouble, he thought.
The clean-up crew
Solus, Derin, and Scathia stood side by side on a ridge, gazing at what had possibly once been the biggest city the ancients had built in this region. Now it was mostly an enormous pile of rubble. Its skyline was dotted with ruined buildings, breaking the horizon like the splintered and rotten teeth of some gargantuan beast. Dozens of Wyrm carcasses lay strewn around the outskirts while explosions sounded from the center of the city.