by Logan Jacobs
Merlin let out a panicked chatter and climbed up onto my shoulders where he trembled against my head.
"What did you do?" Aerin looked accusingly at Lavinia, and the ranger glared back.
"I didn't do anything! Why do you assume I did something?"
"Ahem, ladies," Maruk breathed, "if I might direct your attention--"
We all turned in the direction the orc pointed out just as the ground shook again. About fifty yards away down the shore, the sand was churned up as if a giant had taken a jackhammer to it, and even the nearby trees swayed and crashed down as the earth itself buckled and rolled. Roots snapped and great swathes of land rippled like waves, and my stomach dropped when I saw why. There was something crawling out from beneath the ground.
It was difficult to make the thing out, it was so covered in mud and trailing roots and sod, but as it shifted my shocked mind managed to piece together an enormous, squat body and limbs as thick around as tree trunks.
The ground rolled every time the creature moved, and I had the sickening thought that we were somehow watching its birth, but I was transfixed. The thing dragged itself forward again, and the land quaked as it pulled itself out of the hole. It wasn't like any animal I'd seen before, nearly the size of an elephant but with the stocky look of a badger or some other burrowing thing.
Dirt trailed from its body, but I realized at that moment that it wasn't just covered in dirt, it was made of it. Seven feet tall at its massive shoulder, the creature's entire body was the earth. Tree roots jutted out from its chin like whiskers, and its beady eyes were the same pale pebbles that formed the lakeshore. Grass covered its back like fur, and its thick forelegs ended in wide paws with long claws of stone, as sharp as any knife.
Only then did the creature's name come to me. It was a golem.
The golem opened its gigantic maw and roared so loud that the trees shook. Bits of stone and dirt flew from its mouth, and we got our first view of the thing's rows of stone teeth.
"Raaaaaaaahhhhh!" Dehn roared back, and the halfling ran forward to meet the golem with his spiked mace in one hand and an axe in the other.
The golem bounded forward as well, its mouth open to snap the halfling up in one bite, but Lavinia's arrows were faster. Three lodged right between the golem's pebble eyes and sunk so deep that only the dark feather fletching was visible.
That shot would have killed any ordinary creature instantly, but the golem was no ordinary creature. It reared back with a roar, then slammed back down to face Dehn just as the halfling reached it and swung his mace at its nose.
"Dehn, stay away from its mouth!" Maruk called as he charged forward to aid the pint-sized berserker.
"It's not an animal!" Aerin spread her arms as she turned to the ranger. "It doesn't have a brain."
"How was I supposed to know that?" Lavinia shot back.
"How do we kill it?" Yvaine asked. The noblewoman already had her sword drawn, and her expression was set in a determined frown.
"We'll figure that out," I replied. "It still has mana, so I can--" Before I could finish, a jet of water surged up out of the lake next to us like an explosion had gone off just below the surface.
"Oh, shit," Lavinia muttered.
I turned just as the spray coalesced and took on the serpentine shape of a water elemental. Sleek and shining, it was almost like an eel, only it was the size of a train and born of a deadly mixture of water and magic.
"'Land and water shall rebel,'" Emeline quoted. "That's what the curse meant."
The water elemental turned at the sound of the panthera woman's voice and lunged.
I stepped in front of Emeline and threw up my hand and cast a mana shield between us and the eel, and the monster crashed against the barrier with a deafening crack and a flash of bright blue light. The mana that gave the eel life exploded on contact with the mana of my shield, and the eel's head dissolved into vapor as the rest of its body writhed and twisted like a water spout over the lake. I knew, however, that it was only injured, and it would take a lot more than that to kill it.
At least I had bought us a moment.
"Yvaine, Lena, Aerin, go help Maruk and Dehn with the golem," I ordered.
The orc did what he could to keep the golem's attention while Dehn jumped around it like a flea and hacked at its legs, but they weren't going to be able to take down the golem on their own. After the three women nodded and broke off to help, I pulled Merlin off my shoulders and set him on the ground.
"I need your help, buddy," I told the puca.
He crinkled his nose and trilled at me, then turned and bounded toward the water. He shifted just as he reached the end of the shore and took on the form of a wyvern with scales as black and shiny as an oil slick and leathery wings at least twenty feet across. He took to the air and soared in a tight circle above the lake before he dove and sliced his claws through the eel's throat right as its head had begun to reform.
"Merlin will keep it distracted," I called back, "Emeline, Lavinia, I can give you mana enhancements but not for long. We need to make every shot count."
"Always do," Lavinia replied.
"Let's take this thing down," Emeline added.
I stepped back so that I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the women, with Emeline on my left and Lavinia on my right. I could see the mana pooled in Emeline's hands, ready to be released in a spell, and Lavinia had another arrow nocked and drawn.
I closed my eyes and inhaled, and I felt my power surge down my arms, prickling, electric, alive. As I exhaled and opened my eyes again, the blue light of my mana glowed over Lavinia's bow and at the tip of her arrow, and the orange light in Emeline's hands was rimmed with blue, and not a moment too soon.
The water elemental had recovered, and it snapped at Merlin as he flew in circles around its head. It must have sensed my magic, however, because all at once its eyes snapped onto the three of us, and no harassment from Merlin would steal its attention.
"Now!" I ordered, and the twang of Lavinia's bowstring mingled with the whistle of Emeline's fireball as both women launched their attacks simultaneously.
Arrow and fireball arched forth in twin streams of blue light and hit the eel squarely in the face. It lit up as though struck by a lightning bolt, and the creature twisted and cried out in a gurgling, watery howl of pain as dozens of tiny explosions crackled down its long body.
"Again!" I shouted, but before either Emeline or Lavinia could do anything, the writhing eel swung its body forward, right toward us. I flung my arms out to push the women back and tried to summon a shield at the same time, but the column of water that was the eel's body slammed into us like a tidal wave and threw us back across the shore. The cold was like a punch to the chest, and I choked as water flooded into my mouth and nose and I flipped head over heels, caught up in the wave.
I flailed and tried to grab hold of something, anything, but the pebbles of the shore rolled beneath my fingers and I couldn't get a grip. Then, just as quickly as it had overtaken us, the wave receded and left me crouched in the mud by the trees.
I coughed and spit up about a quart of lake water as my heart pounded against my ribs, but a second later my senses returned and I scrambled back to my feet on the slick pebbles and cast about for Lavinia and Emeline.
Aerin must have seen what had happened because the healer was already halfway across the shore by the time I stood up.
"Get Emeline!" she shouted and gestured behind me as she ran to Lavinia's side.
I turned and saw the pyromancer stretched out on the mud, her dark hair plastered to her face. My heart sank to my stomach as I raced toward her, but as soon as I reached out to touch her, she rolled onto her hands and knees and spat out a mouthful of water.
"Emeline, are you alright?" I took her by the arm and swept the hair out of her face.
She coughed again and nodded as she sat back, wet and bedraggled, but not seriously injured. She blinked and opened her mouth as if to speak, but then her green eyes went wide and s
he shoved me roughly aside.
I glimpsed the eel out of the corner of my eye just as it struck the ground where I'd been a moment before.
It reared back for another strike just as Emeline raised her hands and cast twin fireballs, still laced with augmented mana, that exploded within the creature's open mouth. Not a second later, a volley of arrows hit the eel in the side of its face, and the eel's head exploded into a shower of spray.
The headless eel retreated, and I could see the magic that controlled it start to coalesce and reform. Near the center of the creature, there was a sudden spike in energy, and I knew that was the spot we had to hit.
“Aim for the center,” I called out. “Not the head!”
Emeline nodded as she pulled herself to her feet. Her mana glowed, and she curled her hands around a single large fireball. I saw her eyes narrow as she focused her attention on the weapon she was creating, and a massive amount of mana flowed along her arm.
I turned to look for Lavinia, to see if she had heard my shout. She had found a large rock to stand on, and I watched her track the beast as it shimmied across the lake.
“Lavinia,” I yelled. “Aim for the center!”
“Got it,” she replied.
The beast reared up again, and both Lavinia and Emeline released their charge at the same time. Lavinia’s arrows arced towards the tower of water, the mana glow leaving a silver trail across the sky. Emeline’s fireball blazed a trail straight towards the eel, and I could see that Emeline had poured everything she had into its creation.
The arrows and fireball collided dead center of the monster. The creature reared back, and a bone-chilling cry filled the air. I saw silver mana explode inside the beast, and then bursts of other colors shot skyward as the spell began to dissolve. When the last of the spell dissolved, a column of ordinary water fell back into the lake.
Beside me, Emeline let out a breath that was half-pant, half-laugh and slumped back on the shore, and I caught her eye and grinned. But our relief was to be short-lived because a second later, a mighty roar sounded from down the shore where the others were still fighting the golem.
Emeline and I scrambled to our feet just as the golem reared and slammed its forepaws down with such force that the ground trembled even where we stood. Numerous gashes stood out on the golem's earthen hide from Yvaine's rapier and Dehn's mace and sword. The marchioness moved like a dancer as she stabbed and slashed at the beast, always one step ahead of its teeth or claws. Dehn's movements were less graceful but no less effective, and the halfling took advantage of his height to roll beneath the golem's legs and stab at its belly.
Wisps of colorful smoke tapered into the air, and burns in the golem's grassy hide showed Lena's mark. When the golem roared again, the alchemist tossed a round jar into its open maw, and the as the golem crunched down on the glass, whatever was inside the bottle exploded.
The golem gave a choked cry as its lower jaw was blasted apart into dust, and it staggered as it tried to make sense of what had just happened. Before it could, Maruk swung his larger shield against the side of its head, and the golem's face crumpled beneath the blow.
Dehn let out a whoop, but his victory was short-lived. Like the eel, the golem merely retreated for a moment, and began to reform. I watched carefully and tried to find the point that served as the control. I found it, at the back of the neck, near the base of the skull.
“The weak point is the neck,” I yelled as I staggered towards the golem. The ground shook again as the thing pulled more dirt and mud into itself. “You have to cut it at the neck!”
Maruk dodged a blow from the creature as it slammed the ground near him. He swung his shield, this time leaving a mark along the throat. The golem roared angrily and made another charge.
Lena and Yvaine had ganged up, and while Dehn continued his own assault, I saw Yvaine move forward and land several blows around the head and neck. When the creature turned to face her, Lena tossed another jar. This one made a loud pop when it hit, and a bright slash of red sizzled across its throat. Maruk took advantage and ran forward. He slammed his shield into the spot, and the golem staggered.
"Maruk!" I called out as I drew on the last reserves of my mana, "do that again!"
The orc waved to show that he'd heard me, and I raised my hand out to him. Blue light enveloped the orc's shields as he charged forward and bashed the golem against the head again. Mud and bits of rock sprayed out as the golem's head caved in, and its massive body swayed for a moment before it lost all form and crumbled into a mound of dirt and debris.
Chapter 15
The forest was eerily silent again. I felt my legs start to tremble from the exertion as Emeline wrapped an arm beneath my shoulder. I gave her a reassuring smile, and she gave me a quick kiss on my cheek.
“Fuck, yeah!” Dehn cheered. “Did you see that? Am I badass or what?”
“Or what,” Lavinia muttered as she and Aerin stumbled over to the trees Emeline and I were using as supports. Both women were soaked through, and Lavinia was limping slightly. Aerin’s shoulders slumped and I could see that her mana wasn’t back to full strength yet. Lavinia flicked a lock of wet hair from her face and scowled at Dehn as he and the rest of the Shadow Foxes approached.
“That was awesome!” Dehn declared with a grin. He was covered in dirt, and a tree root was stuck to the points of his armor. He also sported a broken nose, and a blood trail from nose to chin. “What’s next?”
“Rest,” Maruk suggested. “A moment to contemplate the finer points of civilization.”
“Fuck that,” Dehn replied. “I’m ready to kill some more monsters.”
“We still don’t have a way to cross the lake,” Yvaine pointed out.
“Here,” Lena said as she handed me a small glass vial. “This should help you recover more quickly.”
The liquid inside was clear, but when I pulled the stopper out, the smell of rotten fruit filled the air. I frowned and held the vial away from me.
“I’m still working on that,” Lena said quickly as the tips of her ears turned red.
“I should hope so,” Lavinia replied, “unless you’re planning on killing your patients with the smell.”
“It is a tad … odiferous,” Maruk agreed. I noticed that he had several bruises as well, and a patch of shiny skin where Aerin had already healed him.
“I need to sit down,” Aerin announced.
I looked over at her and realized that her mana was still low. I moved to her side and helped her as she slid ungracefully to the ground.
“Aerin,” I said softly. “What happened?”
“I used a lot of my magic,” she sighed. “I just need some time to recover.”
“We should have plenty of that,” Lavinia said, “unless someone’s come up with a brilliant plan to get us to the island.”
“Oh,” Emeline blurted out.
“Oh, what?” Lavinia asked.
“I think I know what we’re supposed to do,” Emeline replied as she bounced excitedly from one foot to the other. “We need to file a petition.”
“With who?” Lavinia demanded. “The creature of the lake? We just killed it.”
Emeline ignored Lavinia’s surly tone and started poking through the undergrowth.
“Find my pack,” she yelled at us. “We need the book Professor Hayle gave us.”
I gave Aerin a quick kiss on her forehead, then joined the rest of my team as they foraged through the dried leaves and deadwood that littered the forest floor. Merlin returned from wherever his flight had taken him and joined the hunt in his favorite dog form.
“I have it,” Yvaine called out. She held up Emeline’s very wet pack, and I groaned. I was certain the contents would be soaked, and the ancient book would be lost.
“Yes!” Emeline exclaimed as she bounded over to the marchioness. She grabbed the pack and rifled through it until she found the book. She pulled it out, and I was surprised to see it was dry. Really, I shouldn’t have been. I’d been in this
world long enough to know that even the most mundane articles could carry protective spells. And as a scholar, Emeline’s first inclination would be to protect the books she carried.
“Okay,” Emeline said as we gathered around her. “Professor Hayle says that the elves who lived here worshipped all of the ancient Elvish gods, but they considered Theira to be their patron goddess.”
“So, any spells they cast to protect the city would probably be tied to her,” Yvaine surmised.
“Exactly,” Emeline replied. “I think she’s the one we need to petition.”
We turned as one and looked at Aerin, who had recovered enough to join our group.
“Now you believe?” she sniped.
“Aerin,” I said as I took her hand. “This is probably the only way to the island, and you’re the only one who knows how to contact Theira.”
“I don’t contact her,” Aerin protested. “I just send prayers, and sometimes she answers.”
“But you start every prayer the same way,” Emeline pointed out. Her ears twitched with excitement.
“Yes,” Aerin admitted. “We were taught the words when we were very young. It’s just… tradition.”
“It’s more than that,” Emeline insisted. “They’re words of power. The prayer is the petition.”
“Come on, Aerin,” I encouraged. I pulled her in closer to me and lifted her chin so I could look into the rich warmth of her hazel eyes.
“All right,” she sighed. “But I’ll take down anyone who makes a smart ass comment.” She shot a glare at Lavinia and Dehn, both of whom immediately tried, and failed miserably, to look innocent.
“That looks like a nice spot for a prayer,” Maruk announced. He pointed towards a small clearing where a shaft of sunlight filtered through the trees, giving the space a dusty golden glow.
“Wait,” I said before the elf had taken two steps.
“What’s up?” she asked, a quizzical look on her delicate features.
“You might need this.” I replied as I placed my hand on her shoulder. I drew on my mana, and sent it down my arm, and through my hand into Aerin. I could see her own mana brighten in response, and the elf’s lips opened into a small ‘o’.
