by Paul Yoder
Even as Fin talked, they could hear the approach of numerous boots sounding in the hall.
25
The Last Light of Day
The chamber door flew open as Bede stepped into the room where she had seen Nomad taken. Smoke still lingered in the room, incense appearing just lit in trays on either side of a large throne on the other end of the grandiose room. Gold and marble pillars lined the walls and lavish crimson drapes covered most of the room.
Looking around hastily, Bede saw an open door to the left of the room. Guessing that to be the direction they had taken Nomad, she took off running through the threshold.
Finding added confidence in each stride from her newly found powers gifted to her through her talisman, she ran headlong now down the dark hallway which looped around, coming to a spiral stairwell, leading both up and down.
Pausing for a moment to listen for signs of Nomad and his captives, she thought for a moment she heard something up a few flights.
Without stopping to confirm it, she strode up the stairs, getting off on the second floor, hearing a serpentine voice echo in from somewhere on that floor.
The room let her out on an indoor balcony that ran along a large, open room with sweeping stairs leading down to numerous fountains and plant beds. At the end of the room was a large archway leading out to an outdoor veranda, upon which she could see figures in the moonlight hauling Nomad out into the last remaining hues of a sun that had set some time ago.
Jumping over the balustrade, Bede fell fifteen feet before touching down on the hard, sandstone floor, tucking into a roll to soften the landing. She grunted through what felt like a pulled hamstring, forcing herself to get back up to speed as she sprinted towards Nomad’s captors who seemed to take note of her as they rounded the archway.
As Bede approached the veranda, she could hear the snake-like voice command, “Take care of her,” and just as she approached the threshold, a large skeletal knight came back around the pillar swinging its long bastard sword at Bede’s head.
She didn’t have enough time to stop her momentum, so she leapt in at the knight, plowing into it before its sword could make contact with her, sending the two barreling out onto the veranda.
The knight’s heavy armor made it difficult for the arisen to right itself. Bede sprung back up and dodged a weak sword swipe from the prone foe before clutching her brightly glowing talisman, shooting it towards the abomination’s bleached skull.
Its teeth violently rattled out of its skull before its face began to disintegrate, bone flecking off under the presence of the bright light.
Sword clanged to the stone floor as the thing ceased moving, meriting the attention of the hooded one holding Nomad along a flight of stairs leading down off of the veranda.
Bede turned around, looking straight at the one in shrouds. Out of its robe folds came a polished wand. Quick as a blink, the skeleton snapped out an undiscernible bark as a bolt of purple light shot directly at Bede’s hand holding the white, glowing light.
The purple bolt evaporated upon striking the talisman, and Bede, not phased in the least by the attack, began to raise the symbol up over her head, starting to walk towards the evil being.
Shooting another bolt, this time at Bede’s legs, Bede stumbled as the purple energy chiseled into her flesh, bringing her to one knee.
She could feel her whole leg go numb by the energy-draining blast. She worked to stabilize herself when she realized the skeleton had the wand pointed at her head, already speaking the command word to fire off another bolt.
Nomad, coming to, shoved the wand wielder, causing the shot to fire slightly off target, hitting Bede in the right shoulder, sending her down to the ground as the skeleton stumbled on the stairs with a still discombobulated Nomad.
The skeleton seemed to stable itself for a moment, but Nomad snagged the skeleton’s hood before falling backwards down the stairs, a purple ray shooting off into the night sky as the two tumbled head-over-heals down a flight-and-a-half of stairs before landing in the courtyard, neither moving once they came to a stop.
Bede, grunting through a short prayer, held aloft her talisman. It burst forth with light, instantly restoring to her control over her limbs.
Struggling to her feet, the previous encounter taking a toll on her now, Bede hurried over to the balustrade of the veranda, leaning over it to spot Nomad lying very still with the cloaked figure rolling over, attempting to get to its feet.
Bede ran over to the stairs and started down them, stumbling a few times before shakily making it to Nomad who was unconscious, a stream of blood running down from his soaked, black bandana.
“Nomad!” Bede sobbed out, taking off his head wrap to find a very serious head wound from the fall, paying no attention to the retreating cloaked skeleton.
Nomad lay limp, head now cradled on Bede’s lap, the darkening night sky casting a soft periwinkle tone over his pale skin. Whispering through a frantic prayer, Bede kissed her talisman and held it over Nomad’s head wound, holding it there for a moment, continuing to pray as sinew began knitting itself back together, blood multiplying at a super accelerated rate to renew what blood he had loss.
A sudden gasp of breath and a fluttering of eyelids later and Nomad sat up to find Bede slump against the wall, completely exhausted now, finding that perhaps what had been draining her wasn’t just the physical exertion of the chase she had been engaged in, but the repeated use of the holy power she had been endowed with.
“Bede!” Nomad shouted out, helping her to stay sitting upright. Looking around, Nomad could see at the far end of the courtyard troops beginning to enter through the high arches, the hooded figure conversing with another robed figure who turned to look at the two lying at the foot of the stairs.
“We need to move, Bede. That is a whole regiment, and they are headed right for us.”
Bede knew she didn’t have enough energy in her to flee. She’d just slow Nomad down. She also knew Nomad wouldn’t leave her, even if she commanded him to.
Gripping on to Nomad’s shoulder to help her get to her feet, she spoke in a solemn tone.
“Stay, and witness the unmatched power of Elendium.”
Stepping out to meet the approaching band of arisen, Bede clenched the talisman to her chest, its glow radiating brightly.
She could now feel the energy it so subtly sapped from her, taking more as the light grew brighter in her hand. She knew she didn’t have much more to give, but she at least had one last fight left in her.
She’d use everything she had, now. She had to level the enemy with this attack, and she’d have to spend her life to do it. If she didn’t, she knew Nomad would linger, attempt a rescue, and be overwhelmed.
The robed figure came closer, walking past the slowly approaching horde, coming into clearer view. Moonlight momentarily shown down through broken clouds, soaking into the arisen’s deep-violet robes, glinting off of the multiple gold adornments it wore, including a crown that sat upon its tattered and torn ashen face, flesh still desperately hanging onto its skull. Gaping holes where its eyes should have been shown with a faint crimson glow that emanated from two suspended beads within its skull.
It halted its advance, the rest of the regiment stopping behind their leader. It stood there as the moonbeam retreated from the courtyard behind a cloud, enhancing the glow from the arisen’s piercing eyes.
It opened its awful maw, breathing out, “A maiden of Elendium. Most…pleasing. I’ve felt the power of your presence since the moment you entered this city. You are favored among your righteous god. You will be my companion, fair one. This night I prophesize it!”
As the profane voice of the robed one spoke, and as she faced a small army of the most abominable creatures she had ever faced in battle, she couldn’t help but tremble at the awful evil that stood against her.
Her hand fell to her side, despair and exhaustion seeping into her flesh, when a warm, strong hand gripped it from be
hind.
Looking over, Nomad unlooped her mace and placed it in her open hand, smiling at her as he drew his sword, flourishing it once before looking forward to the impossible enemy they faced.
Heartened by her comrade who had become so dear to her so quickly, coming to some level of peace with this, their last stand against an evil that needed to be confronted, she looked over to Nomad and said in a voice only he could hear, “This day you have found an irrevocable place in Elendium favor, and in mine. As a saint and a light bearer of his, I seal this blessing upon you for all eternity.”
Placing a hand on his sword arm, a portion of light transferred from her talisman, through their touch, to his blade, faintly glowing as he held it in front of him.
Bede took a deep breath to steady herself and looked up with a newly determined gaze, along with Nomad, at the robed figure who now raised its withered fleshy arm, bringing it down to point at the two, causing the regiment of death to start its march towards the horribly outnumbered duo.
26
Jaws at the Door
Boots sounded outside the five’s hideaway door as a troop marched down the hall that led to the hidden underground city entrance the group had entered by.
For a good minute, boots continued to pass by the door, it sounding as though a whole regiment was passing them by.
A sudden sharp snort from a now rousing Cavok, caused everyone in the room to turn an eye to him who now smacked his sleepy lips, coming out of his long nap.
A yawn, followed by a slurred, “What?” caused Reza to leap over to the bed he had been sleeping on to slap a hand over his mouth.
Guttural moans in the hallway issued in response to the large man’s voice, causing a wave of anxiety to sweep through the room, Cavok slowly becoming aware of the dangerous situation they were in.
The room was silent as more moans joined in, the group hearing the soldiers outside opening and inspecting the room down from them.
“Get your things. Get ready for a fight,” Reza whispered as quietly as she could.
Cavok stood up and grabbed his large greatsword, everyone else was still and quiet as death, waiting to hear what the troops outside would do next.
The door handle began to rattle. Fin flipped the lock to secure the door and looked around at everyone as the door handle started to rattle violently; then, the awful pounding of arms against the wooden door began.
For a moment, the group remained still, perhaps hoping desperately that the troop would give up their witch hunt and leave their room uninspected, or perhaps still processing their best, next move. Whatever had the group in a stupor, the spell was broken as Cavok brushed aside Fin from the door, launched a heavy kick, slamming it open while knocking multiple arisen soldiers down across the hallway.
Stepping out into the horde-infested hall, Cavok brought up his greatsword and skewered the first victim that came within reach of him, shoving him off of his blade tip afterwards. He sprinted off, disappearing from the group’s sight as he charged off down the hall shouting battle cries, dismembered anything that got in his path.
With a rustle of chains and hefting her shield, Reza was the first to respond to Cavok’s surprise hallway entrance.
Leading the rest of the group out into the carnage, Reza could instantly tell that Cavok hadn’t just leapt into the enemy aimlessly. He had cleared a path towards the hall that led to the courtyard, there being only ten or so bodies standing between him and the stairs that led down and out of the building.
“Go!” Reza shouted at Fin, Jadu, and Zaren, who quickly ran out after Cavok towards the exit as Reza slammed two of the walking corpses that managed to stumble past the bodies that were still prone in the middle of the hall from the door slamming open.
Reza could see that most of the hall towards the tunnel was packed with arisen, all turning around now to charge back the way they had come to rush her.
Slamming another rotten body aside with her shield, she took one last assessment of the thirty-or-so bodies that now wholly focused on her, their dead eyes locked on her, a tinge of demonic hunger seemingly resting just below their emotionless expressions.
The body jam in the hallway was quickly working itself out, and Reza, noticing her comrades already around the corner out of her sight, took off to follow suit.
Some of the bodies on the floor that she passed were not motionless, but they were in no state to impede her flight. Turning down the hallway, sprinting down a flight of stairs, brought her through the open doorway and into the courtyard where her comrades stood, looking into the strangely-lit purple night sky, illuminated by a purple bolt of light shooting higher and higher until it disappeared into the low-hanging clouds, defusing until the night was once again gently awash in only pale moonlight.
“What do you suppose that was?” Fin asked, only receiving a cacophony of moans from inside the building as an answer.
“We need to get Bede and Nomad and get out before we have the whole city bearing down on us. That direction was where they were headed. It’s our best bet to finding them. Fin, you get a good look at where that flare originated from?”
Fin nodded as he pulled out two throwing daggers from sheaths along his hip.
“You lead the way then,” Reza said, pushing the group forward as the first arisen corpse stumbled out of the building behind them, being met with a shield slam so powerful that it split open the rotten thing’s cranium, brain matter spilling all across the ground as the small group sprinted off across the open courtyard.
27
Into the Press of War
Even the thoughtless dead hesitated to rush the two glowing figures ready to welcome them. Shuffling to the side to surround the duo, moans and scathing hisses issued from the horde of one hundred arisen at various states of decay.
The robed leader behind the horde stretched out its hand, materializing in a wisp of black and purple smoke, a staff, twisted, grey, and grooved with a knot at its head. Bringing it down forcibly to the stone court floor, the hollow sound marked the signal for the troop to make their advance.
Bede was already channeling power through the talisman, transforming it into a floating sphere above her, collapsing to her knees as the glowing, white orb became complete.
Bede held up a trembling finger and pointed towards the advancing horde, directing the orb to begin floating to the closest enemies, flaring brightly as it came closer to the decayed warriors, peeling flesh and bone from their frame. Those closest to it were being completely disassembled by the ball of holy light, falling to pieces on the ground—swords, armor, and body parts collapsing in piles in the wake of the orb of pearlescent light.
Nomad charged the line to their left, knocking a spear out of his way as he came in on the front line, spinning around, slashing the upper torso of the unarmored, standing corpse that had been clumsily holding the spear. The cut split the arisen’s chest almost in half, falling back on its arisen comrades.
Reversing his spin, Nomad hastily swept his sword around again, slashing through and knocking back three enemies pressing fast in from his right, attempting to take advantage of his open side.
Circling his sword over his head, keeping his momentum, he brought the end of his blade down across the arms of a lightly armored skeleton to his left who was raising its sword to strike him. His dimly illuminated sword broke through bones like they were twigs, leaving the skeleton with nothing but stumps to defend itself with.
He was about to follow through and kick the disarmed skeleton when another one came in from his other side, slicing a falchion down towards Nomad.
Quickly repositioning his blade over his shoulder to catch the sword blade that had almost struck along his back, Nomad thrusted upwards, the skeleton’s blade flinging skyward with the force, Nomad spinning around to face his enemy, slashing the arisen cleanly across the spine, severing its two halves—its torso and sword landing simultaneously well behind him.
Two arrow
s flew in, one skipping off the stone floor beside him, giving him just enough warning to dodge the second one, purely due to luck, the dimness of the night not helping at all with seeing the projectile’s path.
Another arrow came in at him, this time embedding into his thick leather pauldron, sinking into his flesh enough to cause pain, but not enough to disable the use of his arm.
Looking at the direction the shaft had come from, he spotted the three archers at the back of the ranks, notching their bows for a second volley.
A longsword slammed him from the side, luckily across his steel side plate along his hip. The blade slid off without doing any real damage but turned his attention forcibly back to the fight directly in front of him.
Bringing his sword up and sweeping it back down across the shoulder of the rotted corpse that assaulted him, Nomad sunk his blade deep into the chest cavity of the walking body.
His blade stuck in his newest victim, and the nearest arisen that surrounded him all went in, hoping to overwhelm Nomad with a rush of sheer numbers.
Gripping his sword hilt, he powered the blade through the rest of the corpse’s torso, it bursting forth through the other side. Entrails spilled out of the hollow half of the fallen enemy, his blade creating a stark, contrasting glow amidst the gore as it pulsed now brighter than ever.
Nomad noticed his blade had glowed brightly when he focused his energy on the last draw, and the cut, a massive eight inches of bone and flesh from a dead press, had been relatively easy for him to accomplish.
Eleven armed warriors rushed in at him. He held his sword out to his side, awaiting his attackers to get within striking distance, focusing his energy into his blade.
Rising his brilliantly glowing blade up beside him, crouching in a defensive stance, he swept the first attacker’s longsword over and across before cutting back in, dropping the attacker’s arm and sword. Deftly stepping past the disarmed foe, he snatched the falling longsword with his other hand as he passed, slashing into the unprepared corpse behind him, stepping out of the circle of death and into a more sparsely occupied section of the regiment.