by RG Long
“Give it to her!” he shouted once again. “It might be the only way we make it out of this alive! All of my potions and tricks are inside that cave that’s blocked! You don’t have time to mix up anything new so give her the rimstone!”
Ealrin whipped his head around at that last word.
“You have some!?“ he shouted.
An explosion rang out behind them and Gorplin came rolling down the hill, swearing with every turn.
Ealrin looked back to see Holve and Master Ferrin holding off two demons by themselves.
“What are you waiting for! All of us to die?” Szabo shouted.
Ealrin could see both fear and resentment on the face of the potion master as he reached into one bag and handed Blume what looked like a silver bracelet. Worked into the metal, he saw, was a glowing piece of red rimstone. No black smoke tainted this one. Still, Ealrin nearly reached out to smack it away from Blume‘s hand. The last time she had used magic it had been disastrous. But before he could do so, she had snatched it up and put it on her wrist.
Words of speaking flowed out of her mouth immediately as she threw a magic blast towards the demon that was rearing up to attack Holve.The blast of the impact scattered the other two demons along with Holve and Ferrin. Ealrin looked to see which way they were going when he felt a body rush past him.
At first he thought it was Blume, rushing up to help with the other two demons. But then he heard her speaking more words of magic right next to him. It was then that he heard Tratta.
“You’re going to get yourself killed, you know!” she shouted.
Then it made sense who that fiery red blur had been.
“Olma!“ Ealrin called.
It was too late. The girl had already made her way up the mountain towards the fighting and was engaging with the demons alongside Master Ferrin. Arcs of red light shot from her hands as she began to wrestle with the demon itself. It was like her limbs had been extended by the red light. No part of Olma’s skin touched the beast, even though it looked as if she was wrestling with it.
Ealrin’s jaw hung open as another magical blast soared passed him and landed squarely on the demon who was approaching a crumpled mess on the mountain side. The blast did away with the demon, but not before Ealrin recognized that the crumpled mass was Holve. He must be hurt!
Ealrin rushed back up to Holve’s side, sword in hand and puffing the whole way. The old man shook his head as Ealrin tried to rouse him. He quickly got to his feet, shaken but seemingly unscathed.
“I’m glad you’re okay,“ Ealrin said. It was true. He had lost Holve once. He did not want to experience that again.
Holve didn’t appear to hear him.
He was shouting and pointing at the last struggle going on just a bit away from them.
“Blume! The both of them! Use your magic!“
Ealrin saw that Holve was pointing in the direction of Olma and the demon. But there was only one, not two. What does Holve mean?
It dawned on him with a terrible shock.
“No!“ he shouted. “Don’t do it Blume!”
Before his words had escaped his mouth, a third blast of magic hit the spot where Olma and the demon were wrestling. The wolf exploded into a thousand particles of light. Olma flew through the air and hit the ground hard beside Master Ferrin.
Ealrin cast one last shot look at Holve before trying to run towards Olma. Holve caught him by the arm.
“You don’t know what she’s capable of! Or what she’s become!” he said with a snarl.
Ealrin shook his arm free.
“And I won’t let her be sacrificed for it!“ he shot back. Ealrin ran forward and kneeled down at Olma’s side. Her eyes were open with a shocked expression on her face.
“I didn’t know,” she said weakly. “I didn’t know I could do that.”
“It’s all right,” Ealrin said. “You’re going to be okay.”
He found himself saying those words a lot today. Helping her up into a sitting position, he looked over and down at the armies marching below them.
He saw that most of them had begun to engage with one another. Had they seen the magical explosions that had happened up on the mountain nearby? Would they worry about such a thing with enemies so close? He didn’t know. He didn’t know if he could afford to care.
Looking over his shoulder, Ealrin already knew there was only one thing he had to concern himself with.
Holve had told Blume to attack Olma. Had he meant for her to kill the young girl? The old man had his arms crossed and was looking at them both with a stern expression. Ealrin couldn’t tell.
“We’ve gotta get out of here, ya know!” Tratta said. “There are some scouts coming up this way now!
Ealrin whipped his head down and saw that she was right. A dozen or so soldiers in green were heading up the mountain. Apparently enough of a magical commotion had happened to warrant the attention of the Theocracy.
“We can’t get over the mountain!” Szabo said. “There’s no good path around it. We’re going to have to fight our way down and through!”
Ealrin was tired of fighting. He also knew that he did not have the capacity to argue with the halfling. Szabo knew the area better than he did.
“Then we’ll fight our way down,” Holve said.
Everyone did their best to stand and recover.
“Ealrin, Gorplin, Ferrin and myself will take the front,” Holve said. “Tratta, Szabo, Cecil, you three watch over Blume and Olma.”
Ealrin wasn’t sure he like that idea. He wanted to be the one who was watching over them. He wanted to make sure Holve’s intentions were pure.
“What about us, Mr. Holve?” Jurrin asked, standing next to Galp. The poor Skrilx looked a little worse for the wear he had experienced.
“Take up the rear and help Miss Rivius. Make sure everyone keeps moving forward. That’s gonna take a lot if we’re going to get out of this alive.”
44: Down the Mountain
The company made their way down the mountain as quickly as they could. Ealrin was at least glad to know that they had the high ground and that this alone would give them the advantage over the scouts. What he didn’t like was that between them they only had two bows with a few dozen arrows. If the scouts who were coming up to engage them had any projectiles, they would have to rely on Blume‘s magic and Master Ferrin’s one shield to protect them.
They didn’t have to worry for long.
“Everyone on your guard!” Holve shouted as the first barrage of arrows came flying at them.
Blume sent up a wave of magic that disrupted the arrows just enough to throw them off course. Ealrin could feel the force of the wind she had commanded and it nearly knocked him over as well.
“If you could do something about them so we don’t have to engage them,” Holve shouted at Blume. “I think that would be best.”
Before Blume could act however, Olma was throwing out her hands.
Sparks of red energy arced from her hands towards the scouts who were only a stone’s throw away. When the magical energy touched them they shuddered and fell to the ground. Arc after arc Olma sent at the approaching scouts. One by one they fell to her magic.
Ealrin, who had traveled with Blume across three continents, was not surprised by the magic. But he did find himself intimidated. Blume’s magic looked nothing like this. Everything she had done was either a blast of energy or a use of the elements around her. Something about all of this looked and felt otherworldly.
He could see the markings on her skin moving in dizzying patterns as she continued to throw energy at the approaching scouts. He wondered if, like Blume, she would need to rest soon. She was using so much magic! Only two of the dozen or so scouts remained. Olma’s magical arcs began slowing down.
“I’ve got it!“ Blume said with a wave of her hand. Several rocks flew up from around them and hurled themselves toward the scouts. Try as they might, they could not deflect or dodge the projectiles fast enough. The last few fell wit
h a thud as Blume’s rocks hit them one by one.
Ealrin wondered if this was how the island nation had engaged the continent. Throwing magic around on any who advanced upon them. No wonder the Theocracy had thrown all of its people towards the conflict. There was no way they could overpower them. Their only hope was to outnumber them.
Step after dusty step, they passed the soldiers they had disposed of and found themselves at the base of the mountain and on the plains just before the beach.
The only problem was now they were dangerously close to the battle going on below.
Just as they reached the bottom, the giant blue beacon that had lit up the sky disappeared from sight. Almost immediately, Ealrin felt the shuddering power of the magical cannons ringing out their destructive blasts.
Holve shouted something, but Ealrin couldn’t hear it over the noise of the battle.
Looking up, Ealrin saw to his horror that several of the large purple demons were making their way into the combat as well. He had fought them before. He was not excited about doing so again.
Holve came up next to him.
“We’re gonna have a hard time fighting them,” he said. “Especially without my spear and Gorplin’s ax. Those things only go down to rimstone and magic.”
“Did somebody say something about a spear?” Ealrin spun around at the sound of the familiar voice. He knew his eyes lit up at the sight of them. He couldn’t believe it. Out of the shadow of a few trees and a rock came Silverwolf and Serinde. Silverwolf, the assassin threw Holve’s spear to him. He caught it deftly in the air. It was glowing white. Serinde handed Gorplin his ax with it’s glowing red stone embedded into it.
With a somber expression, she handed Ealrin his sword.
“Barton didn’t make it,” she said.
Holve nodded, but said nothing else to her. Serinde then made her way right to Olma.
Turning around, Holve gave them all a grim battle plan.
“Everyone pair up with someone who can do magic or is carrying a rimstone weapon. Fight along the edges and make your way east. We want to avoid as much of this as we can.”
Ealrin nodded at Silverwolf.
She winked at him.
“Maybe we could find a better place to rendezvous next time?” she asked.
Ealrin shook his head. Even in the midst of immediate death and danger, she was still the same Silverwolf. Ealrin stood next to Blume.
“Ready?“ he asked her.
“Never,“ she replied.
45: Fresh Blood
“Try not to get separated!” Holve shouted at the group as the battle began to draw closer to them. Running to the east, they made their way alongside the base of the mountain and the plains on which the battle was ferociously intensifying. Ealrin saw a burst of blue and heard a scream. The wailing screech rose above the tumult of the battle.
Another blast of magical cannon fire rained down close to where they were and shook the earth. Ealrin felt himself being thrown into the air ever so slightly and losing his footing. Holding tightly onto the sword Serinde had returned to him, he felt it grow icy cold in his hands.
He wondered if that was the thrill of battle, or something else. Returning to his feet as quickly as he could, he stood and saw that the only people next to him were Blume and Holve.
“Where are the others?” he asked frantically. There was no time to discover the answer to that question. The battle was around them.
Blume threw up her hands to create a wall of magical protection as several bolts of energy flew at them. Her red shield absorbed them but Blume withdrew her hands as if burned as soon as the magical energy had hit the wall.
Holve jumped out in front and let his spear sing through the air. Ealrin saw one speaker fall to Holve’s thrusts and another back away, surprised at the magical weapon that was sending out sparks with every stab.
Trusting that Blume would be able to take care of herself for the time being, Ealrin jumped down and charged the other speaker. He knew words of magic were coming from his mouth and could feel the hair on his arms rise up with the thrill of energy. Ealrin brought his blade down as hard as he could, silencing the speaker before he could finish the spell. The air around him burst with unfinished magic and Ealrin crouched down, hoping to avoid the worst of the blast.
He felt the back of his neck singe with a burning pain. Letting out a yell of fury, he rose to his feet and charged forward again. Thankfully, he saw Blume and Holve were next to him as they continued to run east.
Blume threw two more shots of magical energy in the direction of a group of speakers. One of them hit the mark and sent several of the troops from Isol flying. The other shot too close and only sent dirt flying everywhere. The explosion at least was enough to screen them for a moment as they continued to flee.
Ealrin found himself filling with dread.
Where were the others? How could they have gotten separated so quickly?
He knew he had to trust the plan. Looking over the battlefield, he saw several flaming beasts of purple holding their giant weapons in the air and bringing them down in devastating arcs that caused death and explosions whenever they touched the ground.
He knew a moment of panic as he remembered the terrible war in Beaton. How could they all survive this?
Ealrin felt a firm grip on his arm that pulled him forward.
“Don’t stop!” Holve shouted in his ear.
It took everything Ealrin had to obey. He rushed forward, making sure that he could see Blume right beside them. Another blast of magical energy shot over their heads and sent rocks and debris flying everywhere.
Ealrin heard Blume shout out in pain.
“Blume!” Ealrin called, running to her as quickly as he could.
He fell down beside her and did his best to get her to her feet. She wasn’t bleeding, a fact he was grateful for. But he could tell she was shaking.
Between him and Holve, they lifted her up and kept her feet moving. Without her magic, they were going to be in dire straits.
Ealrin had just completed this thought when he saw something that made him freeze in his tracks, even though everything around him was screaming at him to run forward and escape.
It was children. Boys and girls younger than Blume. Their faces were gaunt and their eyes were blank stares of terror. But what made him most terrified were the bloody weapons they all carried. Each of them were covered with fresh blood. It consumed every part of their bodies.
“What type of devilry is this?” he asked.
“Demons,” Holve replied with a grim expression, pushing them out of the way. “Something we’ll have to deal with if they come for us.”
Ealrin kept stumbling forward with Blume at his side.
“They’re just kids!” he said, seeing that one of them could be no older than ten.
A group of soldiers had seen the three of them and began to rush toward them. Before the soldiers could make it to them however, the bloodsoaked children engaged. Ealrin screamed as he watched them. There could be no other response.
The teenagers moved with uncanny speed and what looked like superhuman strength. They leapt upon the soldiers with a bloodlust Ealrin had never seen before. Men screamed in pain and agony as the young ones killed with farming equipment and rusted, broken swords.
Holve got them moving forward again.
“There’s nothing worse than someone who’s been possessed by a demon,” he said.
Ealrin remembered his instructions to Blume. Hit them both. Kill the demon. Kill Olma.
There was no time to think anymore about it. They had to keep moving. The battle was growing more intense and the last soldier was falling to the seemingly demon possessed band of kids.
Ealrin had seen war before.
But this was a new kind of terror.
46: Racing For It
“Curse you flaming horses into the depths!” Gorplin shouted as he rose to his feet after being blasted off them. He didn’t know if the blast had come fro
m the giant demon who was approaching them, but he felt justified in blaming him anyways.
He had fought them once before and thought that he might never fight them again. Gorplin wouldn’t admit he was wrong to anyone. Not out loud at least.
“On your feet stumpy!” Silverwolf shouted at him.
“And curse you, you white-haired harlot!” Gorplin added as he got to his feet. “Couldn’t you fight alongside somebody else?”
Gorplin was not excited about having to face what could be his last moments next to the smart-mouthed assassin.
At least she was good at her job.
“Coming right for us, ya know!” Tratta shouted.
Gorplin looked up and saw that she was right. A demon holding a giant ax over his head was bearing down on them. Standing to his feet, Gorplin raised up his own ax. He was glad to see it glowing with a red light. His magical weapon was back and thirsting for demons.
“Come and get it, four hooves!!” Gorplin shouted as he charged the demon. Silverwolf and Tratta were right beside him.
Tratta let several arrows fly up towards the demon’s helmet. The first two bounced harmlessly off of his protected head. The third, however, drove itself deep into its slit and the demon roared with pain.
Bringing down his ax wildly, Gorplin dodged out of the way with Silverwolf right beside him.
“Get up there, short stock!” she shouted as she grabbed onto the demon’s arm and shoved a dagger deep within its purple flesh.
The demon swung his arm furiously, and Silverwolf hung on as she was thrashed about.
Gorplin ran under the demon’s leg and swiped at it with his rimstone ax. With an arc of red energy, the blade sliced right through the armor the demon was wearing. It reared back up on its hind legs as Gorplin ran underneath it and sliced again at its rear right hoof. This time his ax did not go all the way through. He found his glorious weapon stuck in the demon’s armor.
