Every few minutes, I reached out with the Mark of the Guardian to search for any magical presence around me. The tunnels were as empty as they were silent, and I felt nothing. Not even a hint of magic to indicate that Vozaath was somewhere beneath us. Was it too much to hope that the demon really had died long ago? Dragons could live that long, but they possessed the magic of the altars to sustain them. With no magic to feed on down here, the demon could have faded away or starved to death decades ago.
That thought just led me back to the question of what had killed the implings. I couldn’t sense any other creatures through the surrounding stone, so was it possible that another band of implings killed their own? What were Captain Daxos and his men hiding?
After another hour of walking in tense silence, the red light began to fade. The tension seemed to lift as I used my ice magic to turn on the white light of the runes.
“What say we take a break for lunch?” Captain Daxos offered. He was all friendly smiles again as if nothing had happened.
“Sounds good to me,” I said. I hadn’t eaten anything that morning, and the consistent use of magic was taking its toll on my energy levels. Arieste and Irenya actually seemed glad for the chance to take a rest, and I guessed that their human bodies weren’t accustomed to this level of activity quite yet.
Captain Daxos produced a cloth-wrapped bundle from his pack and opened it to reveal smaller packages within. Each was as large around as a softball, wrapped in a long, green leaf, and tied with black twine. Within the leaf was a small ball of sticky rice covered in seeds, dried red chili peppers, and what looked kind of like a lighter-colored version of dried seaweed. The rice balls let off a marvelous smell of ginger, garlic, lime zest, and a fishy sauce, with a hint of coriander to add a light punch.
“Damn, this is good!” I said around a mouthful of rice. I took another enthusiastic bite and got a taste of the pickled vegetables that gave the flavorful rice a wonderful acidic edge.
“My mother’s secret recipe,” Captain Daxos said with a grin. “She never lets me leave home without them.”
“My compliments to your mother, then.” I finished the rice ball in four big bites. I’d been a lot hungrier than I realized. Captain Daxos handed me a waterskin, and I took a long swig before passing it on to Arieste. The platinum-blonde woman had only nibbled at her rice ball, though Irenya devoured it with the same gusto as I had.
“Got any more?” the red-haired woman asked with an eager smile. “I could eat a dozen of those.”
Captain Daxos drew out another rice ball and handed it to her, and she went through it in five big bites. She ate noisily and chewed with her mouth open, but somehow it just added to the charm of her personality. She would enjoy life to the fullest and make no apologies for doing so.
Lieutenant Trosken and Sergeant Dai sat at the front and back of our little group, and they kept a wary eye on the tunnels. Yes, something about finding the dead implings was definitely spooking them. I thought about asking the captain, but couldn’t be sure he’d give me a straight answer. I’d give him a bit more time before I really started to get suspicious.
We resumed our descent into the tunnels after fifteen minutes, just long enough for Irenya to finish a third rice ball and the rest of Arieste’s first. I saw the tension in the platinum-blonde woman’s face, the tightness of her posture, and the calculating look in her eyes as she studied Captain Daxos and his men. Irenya seemed far less worried, but I saw the sparks dancing between her fingers and felt the little surges of magic from within her. She wasn’t going to be caught off-guard.
We’d traveled maybe half an hour before I felt a little tickling in the back of my mind. I’d been scanning the surrounding tunnels with the Mark of the Guardian in search of any sign of magic, but I couldn’t tell what it was or how far away it was, but there was no mistaking that faint hum of magical power.
“Captain, hold up,” I said as I slipped between Arieste and Irenya.
“What is it, Sir Ethan?” Captain Daxos asked, and his grip on his sword hilt tightened.
“I felt something from ahead of us,” I told him. “Something magical.”
“Something… magical?” The captain’s forehead furrowed. “What sort of something?”
“I don’t know yet,” I said with a shrug, “but I want to be ready for anything when we find out. Let me take the lead so I can guide us toward it. You and your men watch my back.”
Uncertainty flashed in Captain Daxos’ eyes, and I could see Lieutenant Trosken and Sergeant Dai bristle a little at my giving orders. But Danikel had told me they were coming to help us find the Circlet and defeat the demon, and I was the one with the magical abilities, so I was in command of our little expedition.
“Sir Ethan,” Captain Daxos said in a hesitant voice, “while I do not doubt your courage or magical abilities, I am not willing to risk your life should we find ourselves in danger.”
“Trust me,” I said and hefted my axe, “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
“Of course,” the captain said hurriedly. “But--”
“Captain,” I said in a voice that brooked no argument. “I’ve got this. Watch my back and get ready for whatever’s out there.”
After a long moment, Captain Daxos relented. “As you say, Sir Ethan.” He nodded to his two men, and they took up position behind me as I’d commanded.
I’d worried something like this would happen. The three men served in the Blackguard which had a strict chain of command. I wasn’t part of that chain of command, so there was always the risk they’d hesitate to take orders from me. But it seemed Danikel had prepared his son well. Even if they didn’t trust me yet, they would obey the People’s Councilor. That would be enough until I proved that I wouldn’t do anything stupid like sending them off to die like a foolish commander. It took time to earn the trust and respect of soldiers, just like with firemen and cops, and leading the way into danger would be a good way to start.
I tightened my grip on my fireman’s axe and summoned a bit of ice magic to re-light the runes in the wall. Then I kept pouring magic into the stone until it glowed bright enough to illuminate the tunnel ahead of us for a hundred yards or so. The walls of the tunnel ran unbroken for nearly eighty yards, but there was a patch of darkness on the right that could only indicate the presence of a side passage. My senses told me the magic was coming from there.
We advanced at a slow pace, and I could feel the surge of magic in the women behind me. If anything came out of that tunnel to attack us, they’d find themselves in for a fight. Demon, impling, or anything else.
I hesitated as we reached the side passage. The glowing runes continued straight down the tunnel ahead of us, and the way to the right was totally dark.
“Got a torch?” I asked as I held out a hand to Captain Daxos. When the captain handed over his barely used firebrand, I lit it with a little flash of fire magic, took a deep breath, raised the torch high, and strode down the side passage.
The darkened corridor ran for twenty yards before it opened into a larger space that turned out to be a circular room about thirty feet in diameter. The walls of the room were covered in runes, and a bit of ice magic poured into the stone filled the space with a soft white glow.
I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me and whirled, my axe at the ready. Captain Daxos had his sword raised and his eyes fixed on a pile of bones that lay off to one side of the room.
“Yang,” he said in a sharp voice.
Lieutenant Trosken slipped past the captain and crouched beside the bones. After a few seconds of study, he turned to the captain.
“Human,” he said. “Ancient, by the looks of them.”
The tension in the small chamber faded and Captain Daxos lowered his sword. Arieste and Irenya both released their hold on the magic they’d summoned at the Captain’s reaction.
I strode over to Yang and studied the bones as well. The pile was large enough to hold at least ten or twelve skeletons, but it
could have been more. Judging by the shattered skulls, snapped arm and leg bones, and the scattered hands and feet, these men had died a violent death. It didn’t take a forensic examiner to see that they had been ripped apart by an immensely strong creature.
“Vozaath,” I said. “These are some of the wizards of Ironfast, and this was the demon’s handiwork.”
“So, it seems,” Captain Daxos said, and I was surprised to find his face filled with relief. He sheathed his sword and let out a long breath. “What a gruesome way to die.”
The sight before me brought the reality of what I faced to light. If Vozaath could crush, shatter, and rip these people apart with such ease, we faced a serious challenge ahead. This wasn’t some minor impling, fire goblin, or even a rock troll. A creature strong enough to do this much damage could even be a threat to the dragons, and I could see that both Irenya and Arieste were just now realizing that.
But if these bodies were long dead where had I sensed the magic coming from? I used the Mark of the Guardian to feel for any hint of magical power and caught a faint pulse coming from beneath the pile of skeletons. The room echoed with the eerie clatter of bone on stone as I used the head of my fireman’s axe to shove the pile out of the way.
Beneath the mound of skeletons lay a shield and sword. The sword was crafted in the same katana-style as Captain Daxos’ weapons, and though the leather wrapping on the hilt had crumbled to dust, the steel remained strong. As I picked it up, I felt a little pulse of magic coming from the bright red gemstone set into its hilt.
I pressed the gemstone, and it sank into its socket with a little click. Immediately, a tongue of flame licked up the single steel edge. The sword glowed with the heat of the fire and the steel grew red-hot, just as Sir Galfred’s fire axe had.
“Hah!” I let out a triumphant laugh as I swung the sword around. It felt and looked like a beautifully crafted weapon, with a balance that felt amazing in my hands. If I wasn’t so fond of my fireman’s axe, I could totally see myself using this sword. But there was someone better-suited to wielding it than me.
“I think you could do some serious damage with this, Captain,” I said as I pressed the gemstone to shut off the fire magic and held out the now-cool blade to Ling.
The captain’s jaw dropped in surprise. “You want me to wield this?” he asked after he recovered from his shock.
“Seems more your speed than mine,” I told him with a grin and a shrug. “It’s an awesome blade, but I’m an axe guy. Besides, I’ve got magic of my own.”
Captain Daxos took the blade reverently from my hand and held it up. He pressed the gemstone and gaped as the fire once again flared to life along the blade.
I stooped to pick up the shield. It was five feet long and shaped like an inverted teardrop, made of layers of plywood sheets, iron, and animal hides. It felt sturdy in my hand but weighed a lot less than I expected from something so solid. I felt a little rush of excitement as I saw the white gemstone embedded into the back side. When I pressed the stone, I felt the rush of magic surging through the wood and metal. A shield of ice crackled to life on the front face.
“Now this is the sort of thing I’d find useful in battle,” I said with a grin.
I made a few experimental one-handed swings of my fire axe. It might take a bit of getting used to, but I could see it working. It would be good to have something a bit more defensive than just my ice magic, especially when facing something like Vozaath that’s able to rip people limb from limb. And, thanks to my own ice powers, I could actually augment the protective layers of ice on the shield.
I saw Lieutenant Trosken and Sergeant Dai glancing at the pile of bones as if hoping to find more magical items within. Sadly, the red and white gemstones set into the sword and shield were the only sources of magic I could feel around me.
There was something else. My blood ran cold as I felt another faint hint of magic coming from the main passageway. It wasn’t the significant presence of magic I expected from a creature like Vozaath, it came from lots of smaller creatures. I strained my senses to try to feel what sort of magic pulsed within them, but the magic seemed to evade me, and it felt like I was trying to see a shadow in a dark night.
Then my eyes flew wide as I realized what it was.
Emroth’s magical abilities allowed her to hide in plain sight, which was exactly what it seemed this magic was doing. There was only one explanation.
“Shit!” I cursed as I rushed up the hall toward the main passage.
Sure enough, in the light of the glowing runes, I saw a handful of corpse-like creatures shuffling up the tunnel toward us. Their gurgling cries echoed off the stone walls and ceiling, and a black light gleamed in their eyes as they caught sight of me.
“Goddesses!” breathed Captain Daxos, who had run up beside me. “Ghoulins!”
Chapter Ten
How the fuck had Emroth’s minions gotten into the tunnels beneath Windwall? If there was this small band here, how many more were in the tunnels around and below us? Even worse, had some of them found their way back up the path we’d come and into the city itself? Was an army of ghoulins even now ravaging Windwall, all because of the magical door I’d opened? All these thoughts whirled through my mind as I studied the hideous figures shambling up the tunnel toward me.
“It can’t be!” Captain Daxos whispered, and I saw his face had gone pale.
The ghoulins had seen us and were lurching faster to cover the remaining fifty yards to reach us. I could sense twelve or fifteen individual magical signatures, so there was no way Captain Daxos and I could take them all down alone.
“Come on,” I said and grabbed the captain’s arm. “Let’s get back to the others and make a battle plan.”
Captain Daxos stared at me with wide-eyed surprise, as if his mind was still trying to comprehend the ramifications of our discovery of Emroth’s minions in the passages. It took him a moment to gather himself, then he nodded and hurried after me back down the short tunnel to the circular room.
“It’s ghoulins,” I told the four people in the chamber.
A hint of fear flashed through Lieutenant Trosken and Sergeant Dai’s eyes. They had spent their lives fighting the creatures from behind the safety of the Windwall. Had they ever confronted the ghoulins directly, or had it always been with arrows, ballista bolts, stones, and burning pitch?
“We can’t let them get in here,” I said as I heard the ghoulins’ gurgling cries growing louder. “We hold them in the tunnel and use the room to give us more mobility. Sergeant Dai, you’ll hold the front line with the captain and me. Lieutenant, use your longer reach to keep them from breaking through.” My eyes went to Arieste and Irenya. “Be careful with your magic.”
“I’ll make sure you walk away from this without scorched eyebrows or burnt hair,” Irenya said with a mocking grin that prompted Daxos and Trosken to reach for their long, black braids.
“Time to see what that magical sword of yours can do, eh?” I told Captain Daxos. I pressed the white gemstone set into my shield, and a thin sheet of ice covered the wooden teardrop-shaped surface. I tapped into my ice magic to thicken the coating of ice. I could use a bit more protection against the claws and fangs of the ghoulins.
Flames crackled from Captain Daxos’s sword as he took his place on my right, and Sergeant Dai grunted as he stepped to my left.
“Let’s do this,” I growled just as the first of the ghoulins surged toward me.
The creatures had been horrifying enough from atop a dragon’s back, but now it was a much more direct threat. There was no Windwall to hide behind, nothing but the strength of my armor and weapons and my skill to keep me alive. I felt a little lurch in my stomach as the wall of glittering black eyes, yellowed fangs, rag-covered emaciated bodies, and razor-sharp claws tottered toward me.
I swallowed the momentary taste of fear and swung a powerful one-handed blow that brought my axe up over my head and straight down onto the skull of the first ghoulin to reach us. The creature
sagged to the tunnel floor without a sound, and black blood sprayed as I ripped my axe free.
“One down!” I called out.
“Two,” shouted Captain Daxos a second later. His flaming sword flashed out in a tight horizontal arc that opened the throat of a ghoulin on his side, then he brought it swinging around again to remove the creature’s head. The falling body tripped up the ghoulin behind him long enough for Captain Daxos to drive his sword straight through the monster’s black eyes. The ghoulin’s gurgling, grunting cry changed to a high-pitched shriek of pain.
On my left, Sergeant Dai chopped through one ghoulin’s outstretched arm with the heavy short sword in his right hand, and then he brought the mace in his left down hard to crush the creature’s skull. The ghoulin sagged at the sergeant’s feet, but Dai kicked the body before it hit the ground. His kick hurled the limp corpse into two more ghoulins, and the three collapsed in a heap.
But ghoulins didn’t attack like normal enemies. They moved slowly but came on without fear of injury or death, and they hurled themselves at us as if trying to crush us beneath the press of bodies. I had a memory of all the zombie movies and TV shows I’d seen. These creatures wouldn’t retreat in fear. We’d have to kill every last one of them if we wanted to get out of this.
I brought down two more with a one-handed sweeping blow of my axe, bashed another in the face with my shield, and twisted aside so Lieutenant Trosken could drive his bladed polearm into a ghoulin’s chest. The creature fumbled at the curved blade embedded between its ribs as if trying to rip it from the Lieutenant’s hands.
I had no time to help the lieutenant since I found myself facing two more ghoulins about to overwhelm Sergeant Dai. I raised my shield to block the slashing blow a heartbeat before one ghoulin tore the Sergeant’s neck open, and I grunted beneath the impact of the claws clanging off the ice-covered shield. They might be human-sized creatures, but the ghoulins were at least two or three times as strong.
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