by TJ Reynolds
Kai turned back and shouted, “Ban, fly above the lake, make sure you keep enough distance between you and the surface to avoid becoming croc food. Ether Shriek that bastard, and then rain acid down on it!”
When this is over, Rhona thought, more than a little confused. We should probably tell each other what skills and abilities we have.
Shaking her distracted thoughts away, she stood and cried out to the young man who seemed intent on fighting the beast until she’d recovered. “I’m okay, Kai. We need to run while we can. This thing’s gonna kill us all if we don’t get out of here.”
The Crocodeel had opened its mouth once more and appeared about to send another sonic blast their way. Rhona shoved the young man out of its path and jumped back herself, in the nick of time, to avoid the attack. This time she saw the rippling haze of power as it tore across a span of the stone floor. It would likely have killed them both.
“Okay, there’s a tunnel at the far end of the cavern. We’ll head that way,” Kai said, and Rhona watched as the boss monster turned its head towards the sound of his voice.
She ran another few paces away before clapping her hands and shouting, “Hey, ya shivving bloater! Over here!” When it swiveled her way, she laughed nervously. Nothing like being face to face with a beast ten times the size of Honor to get your blood moving.
This time the boss sprinted directly at her, apparently no longer relying on its sonic attack. Rhona evaded the croc in a wide circle, leading it away from the tunnel Kai was running toward.
A shrieking blast erupted, and she saw Ban practically explode with force. It did little more than make the boss angry, but its attention had been diverted. Rising higher in the air, the gargat sent gobs of spittle raining down on the Crocodeel’s slick back, smoke instantly billowing up into the air.
The boss opened its mouth wide and arced back. Then it rolled, tossing some of the acid off itself before searching vainly for the source of its newfound pain.
Rhona didn’t dare say another word. She ran until she was shoulder to shoulder with Kai, Honor a few paces in front of them. The exit tunnel lay just ahead. “Call your little bat friend off,” Rhona hissed, and he spun about, his face wincing with fear. She turned and saw the Crocodeel’s thirty-foot body leap up and snap at Ban.
The gargat whirled in the air, trying to evade the creature’s massive jaws, but wasn’t fast enough. The Crocodeel’s teeth clacked over Ban’s tiny body, and he was suddenly gone. Kai made a sound deep in his throat. Yet their own danger pressed them onward.
The Crocodeel fell heavily to the ground and went still, listening for the sounds of its remaining prey.
Innocently, Honor chuffed as he neared safety and the monster turned to pursue them.
The fight would go even worse in the confines of the tunnel, Rhona knew. Spotting a large rock nearby, she picked it up and allowed a trickle of ether to infuse her arm before throwing the stone as hard as she could. It tumbled across the cavern floor toward the entrance. The Crocodeel turned and took a few steps toward it before the stone shattered into pieces and came to rest.
She looked over and noted Kai was casting a spell, dark ether pouring from him and surrounding their party. As the cloud thickened, sound became muffled, even Honor’s clacking horseshoes quieting to near silence.
Rhona waved Kai further back up the tunnel. Finding a second large stone on the ground, she scooped it up as they hurried past. This rock wasn’t as big as the first, but it was exactly what she needed. Infusing this stone with ether as well, she launched it all the way across the cavern.
It exploded against the far wall.
The distant impact and sound of stone fragments falling pulled the boss’s attention away from them.
Thanking every god she could recall, she ran deeper into the dungeon.
36
Captive Keeps the Key
Rhona
The group trudged back up the tunnel, spirits cowed by the prospect of such a defeat, yet grateful for another chance to live. Poor Honor was shaking by the time Rhona caught up with him, and when they came to a small, empty chamber, she called for a halt.
“We can rest here,” the monk said. “Thank Andag, Honor had a chance to grab at least a small drink. It would have been nice to have refilled our skins back there, but I am sure you agree we escaped just in time.”
Kai nodded and added thoughtfully, “I’ll bet that thing was a boss in the dungeon. Ban told me he could make a boss, but a dungeon this size might have more than one. I think the Brintoshi soldiers who attacked must have by-passed that monster and headed in deeper to the Earth Core.”
Rhona could tell by the look of despair that flashed across his features that talking about his friend had made Ban’s demise more painful. “He will come back. I know it wasn’t pleasant to witness,” she touched Kai’s shoulder encouragingly and tried to cheer him up, “but he told me that if he died, he could always summon a new champion. That’s true, right?”
Kai gave Rhona a weary look but nodded. It seemed the prospect of losing his friend, even temporarily, seemed too much for him to consider at the moment. Instead, the young man shook his head and looked her up and down, noting her torn and bloody clothes. In a voice more mature than his young face indicated, he told her, “Sit down, Rhona. Let me have a look at your wounds.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted, knowing her power to heal would eventually bring her closer to full health.
“Don’t be stubborn,” Kai snorted. “I can heal you. I have plenty of AE remaining and you got hit hard back there. Please, you’ve helped me so much already. Accept my help in return.”
With a heavy sigh, she relaxed enough to submit to his assistance. It wasn’t as if Rhona felt too stubborn to accept help, but sometimes she got so caught up in the constant battle for self-reliance.
In the military, she’d been taught that an army must rely on itself. Being a woman, however, and the daughter of Drystan the Destroyer, she’d always held herself to an elevated standard.
But that attitude was folly now. If I’m to fight with this man, she told herself, I must trust him.
With difficulty and some reservations, she allowed him to comfort her. Rhona had seen Kai cast his healing spell before, had watched the mana charge and release, the liquid wrapping around his body in a wave and soaking into him. But when he did so now, she couldn’t help but be a little nervous.
Salves, wraps, splints, tinctures: those were the implements of healing she knew about most. Though the Brintoshi army had healers in their ranks, they were rare and only used on higher-ranking officers.
Kai’s eyes lit up faintly as the spell reached its zenith, and then emptied once more of mana. A surge of cold touched her body, etheric power seeping through her skin as easily as if she were made of paper.
She shivered, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around herself. What followed, though, was more profound—the aches and pains in her body simply vanished. The still-sore wound in her core, where the boss’ sonic attack had shattered her insides, knit itself back together and became whole, once more.
She sighed, surprised at how much pain she’d been in, only realizing its full extent when the sensations abated.
“Thank you,” Rhona said, forcing herself to look the man in the eyes. “I appreciate it, I really do. Hells, I feel amazing.”
The young man nodded, his gaze averting quickly, almost as if embarrassed. “Of course. We are companions, at least for the time being. I’m just trying to uphold my end. You—” He shook his head, eyes wide with sincerity. “The way you fight, Rhona, I can only hope that someday I’ll learn to be so competent.”
“You will.” She smiled, a flush of something more than gratitude filling her chest unexpectedly. “I saw your work with the glaive. You’re already growing in skill. If you can learn not to trip over those long legs of yours, you’ll be fine.”
“Ha! So, you’ve noticed them too! I swear, it seems like half the battle,” Kai admitted, an
d they both laughed. “A year ago, I thought I was done growing, and then all of a sudden, I find a few more inches in each leg.”
He slapped the inside of one of his legs, before laughing again, this time at himself. Rhona couldn’t help being impressed. Briefly, she thought of the puffed-up and hollow confidence that Roarke had carried about with him.
Yet Kai not only admitted he was fallible but made a joke at his own expense. Humility, she mused, is a rare trait among men.
The two produced some of the remaining water and drank, and then Rhona brought out her provisions. They needed a bit of meat in their bellies, and some rest. She handed Kai a piece of jerky, and gave the last of the molasses oats to Honor. The poor horse needed to recover.
Finally, she boiled another pot of herbs. This time, she had no need for Kai’s glaive. The stone of the dungeon floor was dry as bone. When the tea was done, she drank half, then passed the cup to Kai. Feeling the minute changes in her body take place, she sighed in relief.
Though her wounds were mostly healed, thanks to Kai, the tea acted to bolster their bodies against the adventure ahead. Her blood warmed and she felt her condition continue to improve while they rested.
Rested and somewhat recharged, they returned to a larger chamber that split into five passages. Two obviously veered upward, though, and with nothing to distinguish between them, of the other three, they chose the center at random. If they had to backtrack, they would. But for now, not hesitating was perhaps the wisest option.
An odd smell emanated from the tunnel ahead, something dank and moldy. The closer they got, the more Rhona had to breathe through her mouth. The stink made her eyes water. It was like they were walking into a latrine.
Kai tapped her on the shoulder, and she stopped. “Something’s up ahead. I’m sure you can smell it too, and I thought I heard something ahead, a shrill voice perhaps. We should move slowly.”
She nodded, grateful she wasn’t alone. They reduced their pace and cautiously moved on.
Soon, a faint light began to glow ahead. Rhona’s ears picked up on murmurs, voices scattered across the dungeon walls. She nodded to Kai, letting him know she could hear it too, but didn’t stop. Her body still retained some of the residual ether gained from being smashed by the Crocodeel’s sonic blast, for which she was grateful.
Every instinct she had screamed a fight was coming.
The party entered another large chamber, this one with a low ceiling. It was perhaps twenty feet wide and it stretched off for an unknown length into the distance. A yellow and orange light flickered ahead, a torch, Rhona knew at once. Someone or something was using a torch.
Somehow, fighting against brainless mobs was easier than knowing what she was about to face had the wit and foresight to use fire as a tool.
Still, they had a mission, and she felt it was justified. Many stories passed through the rank and file of the army, about how evil and terrible the dragons were, how dangerous their Earth Cores were.
Thinking back, though, not a single story she’d heard involved someone being attacked by them. It was always that the threat loomed, so best they be killed before it was too late.
Preventing potential danger by killing things was one of the great contradictions of Brintoshi culture Rhona found completely intolerable.
She stopped and whispered in Honor’s ear. He needed to stay put. He was strong-willed, even for a warhorse, but being below ground had worn away much of his resolve. Besides, he was liable to wound one of their own party as soon as an enemy in this smaller chamber.
She pulled out a few carrots and left them for him to munch on, before proceeding down the long, narrow hall.
The mutterings became hissing whispers, which eventually became loud enough to make out. Something was speaking, at great length, and in a tongue she did not know. The language was a harsh and rasping thing, as if swords had learned to speak after much practice.
The source of the light came into view.
The chamber they were in had a slow, even turn to it, shaped almost like the curve of a huge bow. It was hard to notice from within the chamber, but as they progressed, Honor’s form slowly disappeared from view behind the wall of curving stone.
Two large torches flickered in sconces on the wall, shedding light into an offshoot. Rhona couldn’t see if it was another passage or just an opening within the chamber, but she slowed to a crawl. Whoever was speaking stood just around the corner. Giving a nod to Kai, she peeked around, hoping to maintain some degree of stealth if possible.
A group of huge baliska—the tallest well over six feet—stood upright like men, lounging about the room. A few still forms huddled on the ground nearby, apparently sleeping. One stood not far away, speaking to a companion who leaned against the wall, its fang-filled mouth articulating thoughts in a tongue that sounded exotic and strange. It might have been discussing the weather, for all she knew.
Unfortunately, it spotted her as well.
The baliska thrust out a finger with a harsh cry and its features lit up in surprise. A few of the baliska turned to see her as she threw hesitation to the wind and darted around the corner toward them. Surprise was a potent weapon, and she wanted to preserve what she could.
Rhona jumped and kicked the baliska whose back was facing her, aiming for its spine. Unlike the ones they’d faced in the marshes above, these were much stouter. It felt like she’d kicked stone, and her foot ached from the attack. The beast toppled forward into its chatty friend but seemed otherwise unharmed.
Still, the attack bought her some time. Rhona landed next to another who was just waking up and punched it in the side of the head, using some of her stored ether to shatter something deep inside. It fell dead at once.
Kai emerged, a spell already charging in the palm of his hand. A moment later, he released it, and a ball of purple mana struck one of the baliska in its chest. Rather than harm it, the creature stopped attacking and stared blankly at the intruders for a moment. Then it turned and tore the throat out of one of its fellows.
How did he do that? Rhona wondered. Did he convince it to fight for us? Or is it just confused? She stared in awe as the beast turned and attacked another of their enemies.
The young man didn’t stop his assault, sending a Flame Dart into another’s face as it tried to scramble to its feet. Kai rushed forward, driving his blade through its chest.
Rhona watched as Kai spun on a third baliska, slashing toward its face with his glaive. The creature brought up its own weapon, though, the sound of steel on steel crashing in the room. The baliska stood tall, waving its long, curved sword. The blade was almost like one of its own talons in design but much larger.
Kai battled with more skill than he’d shown before, parrying a powerful strike and lashing out with one of his own.
His body must be recovering, Rhona thought as she ducked an attack by the baliska who’d been speaking.
It had finally shoved its friend to the side and had drawn two curved swords. It stalked toward her with rage in its eyes, as if in interrupting its gossip, she’d given the worst insult in the world.
The beast was fast, striking out with its blades in wide arcs.
Normally, she’d simply duck below one of the attacks and punch the bastard, but it was too quick for such a tactic.
Timing the attacks, Rhona watched another sword whip in front of her.
Instead of backing up, like she’d done before, she spun and kicked the back of the blade with her foot. The added momentum threw the baliska off balance, and in the second that it teetered to regain its footing, Rhona fell into a crouch beside the beast and landed three punches to its ribs, the last of which she added a touch of ether to.
A loud crack told her she’d successfully broken one of its bones.
The baliska grunted and swept its blade in a backhanded strike, which Rhona ducked. Stepping on the bent crook of its leg, she jumped into the air, bringing her other knee up sharply under its jaw. She charged the attack with the rest
of her stored ether. As her braid brushed the ceiling, she felt the baliska’s jaw shatter, sending shrapnel into its brain.
Rhona kicked off its chest and landed with a roll to lash out at the beast she’d first kicked. Thrown off balance twice now, the beast was angry. Face to face with a veritable monster, Rhona slapped her palm to the creature’s chest and triggered Etheric Sapping. What followed came as an unpleasant surprise. A surge of ether entered her body, fueled by the baliska’s core, yet it wasn’t stunned by the skill.
It growled in her face and latched onto her shoulders with an inhuman grip. Rhona fought back, kicking it in the sternum to free herself, but its claws held her like a vise. Suddenly, it threw the top of its head at her face.
Its claws punctured her flesh over her back ribs, and just in time, Rhona took the ether Blood Sunder returned to her and channeled it into the top of her head. Rather than shy away from the baliska’s head butt, she lowered her head like a ram to meet it.
An explosion erupted above her and Rhona nearly passed out. She felt the claws release and she dropped into a crouch. Her legs wobbled, but she remained standing.
Blood ran over her face and she wiped it away angrily. Before her, she saw the huge baliska, confusion in its eyes as it stared down at the tiny thing that had proved so hard to break. Some of its blood trickled from its brow, as well.
Rhona laughed, unable to ignore the absurdity of the situation.
She tried to move, but her knees threatened to give out again, so she sent a trickle of ether into her skull, healing some of the damage there.
Kai’s glaive flashed out, opening the stunned baliska’s throat. It gripped its neck in a panic and slumped to the ground, bleeding out. Rhona looked around and saw the guards were all dead or dying.
Kai had done much of the nasty work, killing three before they had a chance to stand and fight. The one he’d enchanted lay still, slumped against the wall.
