“Nobody is going anywhere alone!” Delvin shouts from the front. Pointing his sword at a nearby cliff, the warrior sheathes his weapon and starts scaling the wall. “All of us have the strength and ability to reach that spot. We can defend it until Nyx has recovered enough to clear the path. Are you feeling any better?”
“Head is still spinning, but I can do some damage,” she replies before sending a wave of fire down the path. The inferno sputters and bursts against the stone, a sharp turn preventing it from continuing towards the bandits. “Focus is a problem since I still feel like I have another voice in my head. Guess channelers don’t do well with shaman magic. Really starting wonder why my people were considered so dangerous back in the day.”
Dariana puts Nyx on her back and leaps onto a ledge to offer a hand to the others. “I’ve seen you destroy mountains, so the reputation is well-deserved. The bandits are being cautious thanks to the fire and the ogres are having trouble getting through the narrow areas. We could try to run along the path and take our chances down there. A final stand on the cliff could cause delays or leave us open to the shamans.”
A high-pitched shriek erupts from the distant camp as two orcs rise above the mountains, their bodies sprouting feathery wings. The pair soar towards the champions while gaining enough height for a high-speed dive. Sunlight glints off talons as the shamans begin their attack and aim for Timoran. Clinging to the rough stone, the barbarian dodges the enemies by dropping to the path below where the first wave of bandits is already coming around the bend. Before the shouting thieves can close the distance, he jumps back up the wall while the shamans begin another dive. Whistling for the flying orcs’ attention, Fizzle darts into their path and catches one by the neck. As the other is killed by taking one of Sari’s throwing knives to the chest, the captured shaman is dragged to the ground and slammed onto an ogre’s spiked helmet. Leaving a burst of hallucinogenic mist in his wake, the drite returns to his friends and does his best to help pull Timoran along by the arm.
Clambering onto the cliff, the champions soon realize that they are over a deep chasm created by three waterfalls. With Sari and Timoran guarding the only entrance, Delvin puts his hands on Nyx’s cheeks and focuses on clearing her mind. His body glows with a bright white light that seeps into the channeler’s body and purges her of any foreign energy. The warrior nearly collapses from the strain, but a deep breath helps him recover enough to take stock of the situation. He frowns at the way the bandits swiftly scurry up the wall, three more of the shamans chanting at the back of the crowd to enhance the warriors. Dariana coughs and nods her head at flickers of movement around the mountain, but the fleet-footed enemies are too fast to be seen for more than a split second.
“I’m thinking you were right,” Delvin admits while peering over the edge. Explosions cause him to jump and look to where Nyx is peppering the mob of bandits with fireballs. “Why are these shamans acting more like battle casters? I know they’re enhanced by the Baron, but this is getting ridiculous.”
“The fast ones are using wolf spirits and some type of cat at the same time,” Luke mentions from the back of the cliff. With a scaly hand to the ground, he struggles to gain a clear image of their enemies. “I count five and they’re staying away. Maybe there’s something in their path that they must go around. I can take them out if I fly.”
Before anyone can stop him, Luke attempts to transform into the griffin while stepping off the cliff. He only gets as far as growing leonine paws and a beak before his body locks up and he finds himself plummeting into the chasm. Fizzle dives to catch him by the ankle with his tail and his teeth grow long enough to stick into the solid stone. Scrambling back onto the cliff, he starts to drag the half-elf to safety when one of the shamans lands on the sheer wall to his left. No longer moving, the female orc is now visible as she unleashes a howling hiss that batters everyone’s eardrums. The spotted bandit is about to pounce when Dariana catches her by the tail and yanks her off the stone. While Fizzle finishes climbing, the telepath wields the shaman like a club and takes Sari’s place to beat back the bandits.
“Are you okay?” the gypsy asks, kneeling next to Luke. Ignoring his attempts to push her away, she checks him for injuries and is surprised to find blood on his stomach. “He’s bleeding without a wound. I think it’s the scar left by Stephen, but it’s still closed. I’m going to take care of you while everyone else handles the bandits. You guys can hit a lot harder than me since there isn’t a lot of water here.”
“We are over waterfalls!” Timoran shouts while swinging his great axe. The blade cleaves through three orcs, their bodies falling into the army that continues pushing forward. “If you are having trouble with your powers then please tell us the truth. This is not the time for secrets. I have two more shamans coming from this side.”
“Not for long,” Nyx interjects, lashing out with a whip of lightning. The weapon coils around one of the attackers and burns him to the bone while the second retreats back into the mob. “Killing one and scaring another away is progress. I have an idea of how we can get out of here. Sari can turn the waterfalls into slides or stairs that take us to wherever we have to go. I’ll leave the details up to you, little sister, so we’ll just keep the bandits on this side. Even if they follow us, we can gain some distance.”
“I’ve been trying with no luck,” Sari claims with an exaggerated flourish of her hand. One of the waterfalls rises for a second before slamming back into place. “Something in the water is blocking me. Maybe it deals with salt content since naiads are ocean fairies. Then again, I’ve worked with freshwater before, so I don’t know what’s wrong. Reminds me of the problem I had with ice in Rhundar.”
Fizzle bashes through the thinnest part of the bandit army to knock some of their enemies into the chasm before circling back to his friends. “Not sure how long hold. We get tired faster than orcs. Delvin need plan. Fizzle too small to save all. Unless Fizzle shrink friends. That big risk.”
“Give me a moment to think of something,” the warrior requests as he gets his shield in front of Dariana. The blow numbs his arm, but the surprised giltris is left open for a face shattering punch from the telepath. “Why is nothing going right here? I can’t figure anything out because half of us are weakened to some extent. Luke is practically defenseless, so I can’t put him in danger. Nothing is making sense here!”
A roar echoes over the mountains, which causes the bandits to retreat to the safety of the lower path. Flapping wings of thick muscle break through the clouds to reveal a wide creature that resembles a cross between a dragon and a manta ray. Limbless and covered in patches of boney scales, the monster lashes at the stone below with an edged tail. Attached to the meaty body by a coiled neck, its reptilian head ends at two fleshy, drooping prongs that drip foul-smelling bile. The Snare Dragon soars over the bandits to release a noxious gas from vents on its underbelly, the thick fog sticking to whatever it touches. Unable to free themselves from the fog, the trapped victims fall to the ground gasping for air and fighting the urge to retch. The construct notices the shamans and dives low enough to slice one in half, making sure that the others know to stay out of its way.
With the bandits incapacitated, the groaning monster turns towards the champions and opens its gaping mouth. Coils of metal erupt from the dark maw and catch the cornered heroes, most of the projectiles used to bind Timoran’s entire body. The cords spark with electricity to weaken the Snare Dragon’s prey and they absorb all spells that strike them. As the creature backs away from the cliff, it retracts its weapons and pulls the struggling champions into its mouth. Having been ignored, Fizzle tries to ram the beast in the side, but the moist flesh opens to let the drite fly directly into its body. Swallowing the rest of its prey, the Snare Dragon starts to fly away when it feels an unexpected tug on its jaw.
Sari’s body is locked in place on the cliff, the two cords around her waist straining to move her with no success. Her teeth grind together and tears gather in her eyes
as she fights against the growing pressure on her muscles and bones. Gripping her arm is Luke, the forest tracker having already freed himself from the metal coil that had his leg. Stretching around Sari, he uses his saber to start hacking through the sparking tendrils that are around his companion. The Snare Dragon roars and rears back in a final attempt to either catch the gypsy or snap her in half. At the same time that Luke severs both cords, the cliff gives way and the two champions plunge into the yawning chasm that is too small for the roaring creature to enter.
5
Using her dwindling powers to find the shore, Sari swims through the underground lake with Luke tightly gripped in her aching hands. Hoisting him up for air, she tries to float on her back and keep him above water. A small wave flips her over and she nearly loses the forest tracker, his limp body barely visible in the darkness. The echoing roar of waterfalls makes it impossible for her to hear Luke’s breathing and she is unwilling to risk checking for a pulse before they reach dry land. As her eyes adjust to the shadows, Sari begins to see faint outlines of stalactites that are curving away from the plummeting water. Doing whatever she can think of to survive in the eddying currents, the gypsy focuses her attention and power on reaching the shore. The craggy shallows catch her by surprise, the rough edges of hidden stones cutting her forearms and calves. She does her best to keep Luke safe from harm, but she is suddenly knocked over by an eddy. Before she can recover, the back of the forest tracker’s shirt is torn from shoulders to waist and he has a shallow cut on his side. Finding a flat rock by banging her knee against it, Sari grunts as she drags the half-elf onto the shore before nearly collapsing on the thin layer of smooth pebbles.
“Let’s get the water out of you first,” the gypsy says as straddles Luke without touching him. She cups her hand over his mouth and uses her thumb to see if he is breathing through his nose. “This isn’t going to be comfortable, so good thing you’re unconscious. No idea what hit us, but I’m guessing the Baron sent a friend. Wonder if that thing is waiting for us to surface or is hunting for a way down here. Did you drop your sabers? Well, that’s just great.”
Giving in to her trembling legs, Sari carefully sits on Luke and moves her hands as if she is coiling thread around her fingers. The water sparkles and shines as it leaves his nose and mouth, the removal allowing the half-elf to breathe easier. Hopping off the stone, the gypsy examines the glowing liquid and sees that there are tiny bursts of lightning within. She balls the water up and tosses it into the churning lake, which swiftly reabsorbs the water and sends the electricity bouncing along the powerful currents. Disappointed in the lackluster reaction, Sari dips a finger into the shallows and uses her powers to locate Luke’s missing sabers. Straining her magic, she picks up the faint outline of the weapons stuck between two stones. With a jerk of her arm, the gypsy tries to have the water bring the swords to the shore, but she finds that she is still too weak to overpower the strong current from so far away.
Turning back to her friend, Sari stops at the sensation of something emerging to her right. A harsh cough from her left causes the champion to quietly spin around, her adjusted eyes picking out two shadowy figures. Drawing two daggers, she makes her way to Luke without letting either of the disoriented bandits out of her sight. The gypsy freezes at the sound of a larger creature getting out of the water, a telltale hiss revealing it to be a giltris. Towering over the orcs, the groggy lizardman sniffs the air and looks around with crimson eyes that lock on the champion. With a predatory grunt, the creature hunkers down in the shallow water and prepares to pounce.
“Oh, I hope this works,” Sari says before whistling for the other bandits’ attention. She hurls her weapons where she thinks their heads are, one of them collapsing and the other stumbling back with a missing ear. “Better than a total failure. Come and chase me! You go for him instead of me then I’ll escape!”
Running away from Luke, the gypsy charges the injured orc and tries to dive between his open legs. The top of her head slams into his groin, which causes both of them to collapse in a small heap. Scrambling out from under the bandit, Sari rolls away from the giltris’s wild attacks that eviscerate its companion. Having limited sight in the darkness, the creature repeatedly licks the stale air with a forked tongue that stretches for several inches. Its keen senses of taste and smell help it track the gypsy, who constantly trips over rocks. Within seconds, the lizardman has her cornered against the wall where it tries to bite her in the throat. Catching the bandit by the jaws, Sari locks her arms and prevents her enemy from closing its mouth. She tries not to scream at the sensation of a tooth piercing her palm, her immovable skin helping her avoid a deeper injury. Keeping the rest of her free to move, she does her best to avoid the slashing arms that narrowly miss her body. Unable to fight back, the gypsy yells in anger and desperation a second before something hits the giltris in the back with two meaty thunks.
“About time you woke up,” Sari gasps as she lets the body fall at her feet. She is confused at the empty space in front of her until she looks down to find Luke’s sabers embedded at the base of her attacker’s skull. “Guess I did it myself, but I’m happy that my powers are back. Then again, I feel them slipping away again. What is wrong with me? Maybe I got sick while saving Luke and it’s some type of champion disease. That would explain Nyx, Delvin, and Dariana having some trouble too. Not sure why Timoran is left out.”
“I am so happy that you are the one who is so close to figuring this mystery out,” declares a voice from above. A large coin emblazoned with a jester cap falls from the ceiling and spins on the floor, occasionally stopping to flip upside down. “Because you are the one, I get to see you again and talk during this final hour. Give me a moment to come through and we can discuss one of the secrets of the champions. Oh, I am so excited about this.”
The coin stretches and bloats as Cessia the Luck Goddess pulls herself off of distant Ambervale. A bright aura emanates from her silver and dull yellow hair, the light bouncing off her coin dress to fill more of the cavern. The smiling deity shakes her leg to get the last of the portal off her ankle, the golden ring dissipating into a fine mist. Without warning or hesitation, Cessia gives Sari a big hug and dances to where Luke is still resting. Placing the confused mortal on the stone, she sits on a throne made out of dice, cards, and coins that comes galloping out of a nearby tunnel. As she leans forward, the goddess’s dark skin glows with excitement and her ring-covered fingers absentmindedly juggle jewels along her knuckles.
“Love is the reason you are having trouble,” Cessia declares with a smile. Getting no reaction from the gypsy, she settles into her throne and winds an endless hair around one of her fingers. “To be more specific, the abilities that stem from your champion status have weakened because your sense of love has been damaged. I see that you are still not understanding. How about we talk about your friend here? His powers are not working correctly because his courage has been severely hampered. It is like when a caster must focus for a spell, but the champions simply have to be themselves and retain what we call their core attributes. Not that such things are decided by anything other than your own life experiences. Do not start thinking that Gabriel has the power to design full personalities. Are you understanding any of this?”
“No, but I’ll see if I can figure it out,” Sari replies while bandaging the shallow cuts on her body. Pausing to look at Luke, she moves some hair from his face and gently takes his frigid hand. “I think I get it for him. The Baron broke him and we’re still not sure what the damage really is. He’s always been the bravest of us, but part of him might want to hold back. So, he stumbles and second-guesses himself. Luke no longer works off instinct, which is making him weak. If what you’re saying is true then my own powers are limited because I’m suffering from being unloved. See, that’s where you lose me. I don’t see how my control over water connects to my relationships.”
With her throne floating upside down, the Luck Goddess takes her by the cheeks and sighs like a l
oving mother dealing with a messy child. “Long ago, something strange happened within the champion prophecy. We do not know what caused it, but our guess is that time and repetition altered the magical threads. Every living thing has something about them that is connected to their core. It is an emotion or mental state that they draw strength from without realizing it. This is the natural state of things, which became enhanced for the champions. The simplest way to explain it is that part of your strength stems from being true to yourself. It is more complicated than that, but even we are not sure what happened. Only a few of your predecessors have ever reached this level and it has never been more than one at a time. That is why we agreed that the god or goddess to reveal this secret would have to wait until all of the temples were purified and one of the champions began to figure things out.”
“So, I need to be in love for my powers to work.”
“Not exactly since you are fairly more complicated than your friend here.”
“The Law of Influence probably stops you from helping beyond that explanation.”
“It does, but I can still say if you are right or wrong.”
Moving away from the goddess, Sari focuses on the water and tries to create a statue of ice in the shallows. Thinking of her time with Luke, she finds it easy to control the resistant currents and forge a copy of herself. Letting it fall apart, the gypsy tries again while thinking of how she lost the competition to Kira. Much to her surprise, she has more success than before and the statue takes a few steps before returning to the lake. Biting her lower lip, Sari attempts to summon a wave while adding thoughts of her childhood adventures with Nyx to the mix. The feeling of finally having a friend outside of her clan flows into her heart and she chuckles at the trouble they used to get into. The nearest waterfall roars as it follows her commands and threatens to flood the entire cavern until she lets it return to its natural state. Without focusing on her emotions, Sari waves her hand to turn a puddle into a rose, but it merely splashes onto her boots.
Warlord of the Forgotten Age Page 9
