“Yeah, that was the berg.”
“Yes, it was.” Aila kept moving.
“What happened on the ship?” Damien asked in a low voice as they entered the massive pipe.
***
“Here we are.” Claire cut a hole in the side of the pipe with her magic. It fell away and dropped a few feet.
She stepped out and dropped to the ground. Anthony went afterward and Aila followed. With her Night Vision, she could see every grisly detail of the pipe.
As she got to the hole, she looked at the gnome capital.
There were massive gears that had collapsed, falling on buildings and crushing them. Sections had been covered with dirt and debris, only a few sections she could see. There were large open areas where one could land or take off with their aerial beasts. Chimneys sprouted everywhere. Buildings seemed to look more like they were built around the giant capital turned machine. Like ants gathering around a clock and living inside it.
Water wheels fanned out, a complicated system of water and steam pipes connecting the capital together and powering it.
She stepped out of the pipe and looked over it all.
The central building had been shattered. Now just a broken mess, massive metal supports pierced through the buildings, reaching up to support Ascen above.
“It looks like some giant’s tomb,” Aila said.
Claire used a Clean spell on everyone since they had forgotten the smell and their journey.
Tommie looked at everything and anything, his mind trying hard to take it all in. “Those must have been enchanting workshops, and those were smithies. Those are runways! They must have had the famed aerial gliders of the gnomes here. It was a machine you could strap onto your back and it would allow you to fly through the skies for hours, reaching much farther than a mount. You would need to refuel and use a launcher or jump off a tall hill and you could just keep going.” Tommie looked around, just stunned and overwhelmed by it all.
“Gnomes soaring the skies, dwarves working above ground, and beast kin working on enchantments—it was a place of wonder, science, and creativity pulled together,” Claire said in a soft voice.
She pointed to the main building. “That’s where we need to go. It connects to the Guardian headquarters. There is no knowing which passages the Drafeng know about and not. Be ready for anything. We could meet with guards, chaotic beasts or even saints down here.”
With that, she jumped down off the building, landing below.
“Wee!” Anthony followed.
“Quiet!” Claire hissed.
Aila followed and Damien grabbed Tommie. Tommie closed his eyes against the wind, as Damien landed and put Tommie down.
“Thank you,” Tommie said weakly.
“No problem.” Damien held out a fist.
Tommie hit it, a little too hard. It rang out and he bit his lip while shaking his hand.
“Can you stop making noise?” Claire asked.
“Sorry.” Damien put his hand behind his head awkwardly as Tommie jumped up and down, trying to stop himself from yelling at his badly bruised hand.
“Come on,” Claire said with a defeated sigh, passing Anthony. “Stop teaching others your bad habits.”
“Those habits were already there when I knew them!” Anthony replied and then hurried after her as they walked through the bones of Ashmere.
***
General Fysher stood up as an official messenger stepped into the tent and held out a scroll for him.
Fysher took the scroll and read the contents.
I knew that the order was coming the entire time but it doesn’t make it any easier to read.
“I acknowledge the emperor’s orders.”
The messenger nodded and left the tent.
“Raise the other generals. We are at war!” he said to the messengers in the tent.
People ran out and jumped on their mounted beasts. Flags in the fortress were changed, sending messages to the other forts.
Gates were sealed as soldiers grabbed their gear and pulled it on. They strapped swords to their hips and checked the bindings of their armor. Their familiars flashed with power. Long-range weaponry was checked and loaded. Military units moved out of their secondary forts that had been built just to hold them. They moved out to create a line, forming at the southeastern end of the line.
In the north, cliffs exploded among the mountains. Ice and stone dropped into the passes, cutting off both sides as forces were moved to reinforce the passes that couldn’t be closed.
Patrols were sent out in the south; navies left their harbors and unfurled their sails as their enchanted hulls carried them forward.
At dawn tomorrow, the army of Radal would cross the line once again.
Another messenger arrived and passed a message to General Fysher. As information came back in, the map started to change once again.
The enemy started to react and move their own forces, ready to repel the humans.
He took the message from the messenger. It was a small scroll from a messenger bird.
Letanya arrived at Laisa. Hopefully we can use the war to hide what happens at Laisa. He let out a tired breath through his nose, feeling tired. It won’t be the last time I have to cover up the church’s culling.
***
Todd was sharing a drink with Gunnar, Sofie, and Katrine. The trio had come down for some work, assisting the farmers in clearing more land and guarding caravans that moved through the Deepwood and the other villages.
After the goblins had taken over, Laisa had undergone a change for the better.
“Seems a lot lighter in here from when we arrived,” Sofie said, with a satisfied sigh.
“Is that the drink talking?” Gunnar asked.
“I run a fine establishment here, well-lit and airy!” Todd waved his finger at Gunnar before his mock serious expression turned into a smile.
“I think that the people are happier. There are groups of different races working together. People were all grouped up—humans with humans, gnomes with gnomes and so on,” Katrine said.
“And you thought that Anthony was a bad guy,” Gunnar said.
“What am I supposed to expect with a passed-out elf and a knight standing over her?” Katrine said.
“We did the right thing,” Sofie agreed.
“He is a strange character, that Anthony, but means well,” Todd said. “I wonder where they are now.”
“Your boy went off with them, right?”
“Last I heard, they were going to the east. I hope that they didn’t get into trouble.” Todd sighed, worried as any father would be with his son gone for a long period of time, to lands unknown.
A goblin ran into the tavern, huffing and puffing as she ran up to Todd and passed him a letter. “Gob!” She jumped up with the word before turning and running away again.
Todd opened the letter. His hands shook and his face went paler. “The Church of Light is leading a group from the armies here!” He raised his voice so everyone could hear.
“What are they coming here for?”
“Are they coming to clear out all of the races except for the humans?”
“Maybe they’re just looking for supplies?”
“They have a war to fight—why are they sending people down here?”
“I need to get to my family!”
The room turned into chaos as the harmony from a moment before was ruined.
“What will you do, Todd?” Katrine asked.
“I...I’ll go to the Deepwood. I can live off the land for a bit there, wait for this to calm down.” Todd started to jolt into action. He had so many things he needed to do, he was met with indecision.
“We’ll go with you,” Gunnar said.
Sofie and Katrine looked over.
“If the church is coming with the army, it likely means that they want to purge Laisa. There won’t be anyone but humans left alive and they will live like slaves for the church as they take over the city and bring in their believers
.” He raised his voice so others could hear, increasing the panic and the people leaving the tavern.
“Is that true?” Todd asked.
“Yes. I’ve seen it happen before,” Gunnar said with a dark expression.
“Okay, okay.” Todd, panicked, ran upstairs to grab supplies.
“The army is only a few hours away!” someone yelled in the streets.
Todd ran back downstairs. “I grabbed some food and clothes. Let’s go.”
The other three had their gear all packed already and just pulled it onto their shoulders.
Todd stood at the entrance, looking at his tavern and the spilled beer from those who had run out. He thought of the memories he had in this place. It was his home. He always imagined Tommie walking through the door and saying he was home, how happy he would be.
Will it be here when I come back?
Todd closed his eyes and turned, leaving the tavern.
People were gathering caravans; the entire village was stirring. Most believed they were overacting—they were as far from the Church of Light as possible. Why would they care about their small village?
People were fleeing to the east, west, and south.
The guards left the doors wide open as people rushed out, creating streams of people.
“I’ll get the mounts. Meet you at the wall!” Sofie yelled. She ran off, the fastest of their group.
They continued toward the gate, pressing in with the other people—those with carriages, others with backpacks. Entire families, with screaming children and white-faced adults, moved through.
Gunnar and Katrine protected the shorter Todd as they got out of the village and moved along the southern road.
Sofie burst out of the gates with Gunnar and Katrine’s mounts. They were all ikas, large four-legged beasts that looked like a mix between a horse and a wolf. They could run for long distances and were nimble for their size. They rarely ran quickly but were tireless.
“Todd, ride with me. I’m lighter than Gunnar. Gunnar, take his pack,” Katrine said.
They reorganized their weight and got up onto their mounts quickly.
Todd grabbed hold of Katrine’s waist, they had just gotten a short distance from the town. He looked behind; he could see a dust trail in the distance. Suddenly a person riding a horse appeared in the distance. Their bright-white armor was clear to see as lines of military horses and a number of others wearing the white armor of the Church of Light could be seen riding toward Laisa.
The group split up, led by those white knights to intercept those fleeing the city.
Todd watched as they moved as fast as the ikas would take them toward the Deepwood. He heard noise in the distance and he turned to see the people fleeing east fall to the ground ahead of the charge.
Aerial familiars shone in the light, diving down and reaping lives, mixing in with the arrows that the mounted military personnel were shooting.
The mounted army used their familiars, enhancing their bodies and using their ranged abilities, or materializing them and having them chase the fleeing people of Laisa down.
Todd was stunned, his stomach gripped so tightly. He just didn’t—he couldn’t—believe what he was seeing.
No, no—this can’t be true. This has to be an illusion, or I’m asleep and it’s a nightmare. They can’t be dead. No!
As much as he raged against the truth, there it was in front of him.
He couldn’t tear his eyes away.
The main army rushed toward Laisa. The gates slammed shut.
The guards on the wall, seeing their friends and family members get slaughtered, counter attacked, using their bows and their spears.
Goblin explosives were tossed out, killing members of the church and of the army. Laisa was fighting back against their attackers.
A burst of golden light appeared around a woman, the woman who had been leading the army over the hill. A lance of power shot out from her hands, hitting a gate and causing it to explode. A hole opened in Laisa’s defenses.
The defenders didn’t give up.
Todd saw gnomes, goblins, and humans fighting together, against the Radal army and the Church of Light.
Laisa grew distant as flashes of light and attacks could be seen within the walls of the village.
“Stop in the name of the church!” a man yelled out, his voice increased by his familiar as he charged forth with his army.
They had caught up with the southern escapees, who ran harder.
The man shot out a blast of light. “Stop or be cleansed!”
Some did stop, pleading for mercy.
Todd wanted to yell out but he saw as a human family with two younglings, a mother, and a father were struck by horses, trampled.
“Spies will not be tolerated.” The man from the Church of Light had a sense of gloating and Todd wanted to tear the man apart.
The army seemed to be waiting as they drew and fired their arrows at those near them.
Sick bastard. He just wanted to see whether people would stop, divide us.
Arrows cut down people indiscriminately as familiars charged forth.
A familiar jumped up and stuck its claws into the side of the ika Todd was riding. The sudden pain made the ika jolt to the side, startled.
Todd kicked at the familiar’s face, hitting it a few times.
The familiar growled and jumped up and bit into Todd’s leg making him cry out in pain.
Sofie rode next to them and slashed at the familiar with her blade; her familiar enhanced her strength as she cut through the enemy familiar.
A man cried out in the army as his familiar was killed.
Sofie had a pleased look on her face as she grinned at Todd. “Little bandage and you’ll be—”
A beam of light cut through her armor, sprouting through her chest and going through her ika.
Time slowed. Todd saw the stunned look on her face as her ika stopped. She was thrown forward. Her sword slipped from her hand before she slammed into the ground.
Todd cried out as he felt a burst of pain in his back and chest.
He looked down to see an arrow sprouting out of his chest. He let out a wet cough.
“Sofie!” Gunnar yelled.
“Todd! Todd! Are you okay?” Katrine yelled.
But it was becoming distant as darkness came in and shut off Todd’s vision.
Chapter: On Dawn’s Break
Claire led the group through the ruins of Ashmere.
“Wow, they really let this place go, huh?” Anthony asked.
Claire just rolled her eyes as she scanned the area. She threw out a hand, stopping the others. She cast Illusion on the hallway they were in.
A few seconds later, some guards of the Church of Light marched past. She cast a detection spell that spread through the walls, highlighting the different living creatures around her.
“Let’s go.” She dismissed the Illusion spell and they continued on.
They reached a section of wall. As the others kept watch, Claire put her hand in an alcove.
There it is. She pulled and twisted a handle. A locking mechanism disengaged as she pushed on the wall.
“Footsteps,” Anthony said, hurrying everyone through.
Damien pushed the wall closed and it locked back into position. Everyone held their breath.
Claire saw the guards moving past on their route, watching them with her Detect spell.
She held her breath as they continued on.
With hand gestures, she led them through a small tunnel and they found themselves in an old room.
“Where do we go from here?” Aila asked.
“We go up.” Claire pointed to the ceiling.
Tommie let out a hiss of air. “These enchantments—it’s more complex than anything I’ve seen before.”
“It’s a spatial teleportation formation. Now, I hope that the other formations are still active.” Claire pulled out a crystal. The mana density in the room increased rapidly as she moved to a section in th
e wall. It opened with a tap and she slotted the crystal in.
The formation flickered to life and the wall lit up with different dots on the wall.
Claire looked at the dots. “These are all the destinations.” She wiped the part of the wall next to the dots, showing the Church of Light cathedral.
“It looks like they cleared most of the ones in the higher levels. There is one here, just three levels from the main chambers where the leaders of the church host their meetings.” Claire pulled out a timepiece. “They should be starting their meeting in about ten minutes.”
She shut it with a snap and looked at everyone.
“Anthony and I will take on the meeting room. I’ll play a cleric and you will play a guard. Damien, Aila, and Tommie—you will be heading to the restrictive enchanted rooms. These are rooms that the Church of Light have altered in order to contain the power of the ley line and use it for their own means. If we can break that hold, then the power of the Guardians will increase dramatically and the power of ‘Light’ that the Drafeng have gifted will transform once more into the power of Dena, reducing the threat of the Church of Light’s guards, priests, and saints.
“Do you know all of the locations?” Claire asked.
Aila pulled out a map from her pack.
“There are four in the basement level, two on the eighth floor, one on the eleventh and seventeenth, with three more located at the base of the spires on the top level,” Tommie rattled off.
“Good. If you can destroy them, then do so. Otherwise, Tommie, you know the most about enchantments among us. It will be up to you to destroy the enchantments and remove their hold on the ley line.” Claire looked at Tommie.
He looked nervous but he gripped his fists and nodded.
Claire waved her hands, gathering mana and forming it with a few words and gestures. She threw it on to the others. Faint golden outlines appeared around them, making them appear to be human and wearing the different clothes of the Church of Light clergy. Tommie looked like a small human priest while Aila was a Church of Light cleric and Damien a large Church of Light guard.
Anthony became a guard as well. Claire transformed into a high priestess. All of them wore robes of white and gold and polished armors, different from the ragtag items they had been wearing before.
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