Alrion opened his eyes and observed the wall. It was unchanged.
"Maybe it's a trust exercise too," Alrion thought. He repeated his visualisation technique and instead of opening his eyes, stepped through his newly imagined door. The wall smacked him in the face and he stumbled.
"Not quite there," Alrion thought to himself. But at least he had a new avenue to try.
Bang. Bang. Bang. The great doors of the temple were under assault by three Shades. Nothing the monks could throw through the slits in the door had any effect of them.
"The door is lost, it's just a matter of time," Vincent said.
"Time is everything. If what you said is true and your son is in the Vault of Silence he needs as much time as possible," said Rengin, the seeming leader of the monks' defences.
"Have you undergone the trial?" Certan said.
"I cannot say," Rengin said.
"I guess we keep annoying them then," Lara said, hurling more discs through the slits in the doors. One of the Shades bent down to peer through the slit and Lara let loose another disc that hit it between the eyes.
"Oh, I think he's angry," Lara said, judging the reaction of the Shade. The blows against the door stopped.
"Maybe you convinced them to go away?" Vincent said.
"Listen carefully," Certan said. Amongst the general clamour there was the sound of heavy footsteps.
"Are they charging the door?" Lara said.
"Everyone move back, defensive positions around the entry," Rengin said. The monks all stepped back, and moved their ammunition to further back in the room. With a gigantic crash the doors bent, and one of the three Shades pushed through and emerged in the room.
"Now the real fight begins," Vincent said.
Certan and Lara moved next to him, and all three readied themselves.
32
Time and Time Again
Alrion bashed the wall in frustration. As always, it made no sound and had no impact ruining any possible satisfaction from the act.
"This is insane. How do I get out? I don't even care about this stupid trial, I need to help my friends," Alrion thought. He had no idea what was going on outside, everyone could be dead for all he knew.
"There's that one spell," Alrion thought. The light bomb that he had been forbidden to use. There was nobody else here, and it had seemed ridiculously effective.
"I've nothing to lose. Let's try it," Alrion thought. He built up his Spark cautiously, and remembered how he had built it. He combined the light, fire, and force into the unique combination, and let it build and build. Once he had injected all of his power he let it go. He planned for it to explode once it reached the furthest wall.
As the bomb impacted, the walls began to shimmer, but instead of being destroyed they were absorbing and repelling the force.
"Oh no," Alrion thought before his world was enveloped in light.
"We need to keep them separated if we have any chance of doing this," Vincent said.
The three Shades were fighting together, and any time there seemed to be an opening, more Blighters flooded into the entryway.
"We will try and contain the rest, if you focus on that one." Rengin pointed at the Shade nearest the wall.
"Excellent choice, we may be able to steer him into the corner.” Lara grabbed a handful of the monks' metal discs and started to advance.
"As we discussed, Lara and Certan you create the opportunity and I'll capitalise," Vincent said.
Lara dashed forward, launching more discs at the Shade. "If only Alrion were here to make them more effective," she thought. She did miss him, and wanted him by her side. But he was the reason they were fighting, and chances were he had made it to his trial by now. "Just make it back safely," she thought and continued her assault on the Shade. The discs bounced harmlessly off, but the Shade was annoyed and focused his attention on her.
Certan dashed in, raining blows on the Shade's stomach, then disappearing. The Shade whirled quickly to counter attack, but Certan was gone. As it turned to face Lara again it noticed too late that Vincent was there, swinging his sword. The Shade moved quickly to block with its right arm, but it had made a critical mistake. The sword cut cleanly through and the severed arm dropped to the ground. The Shade howled in pain, a strangely muffled and muted sound despite the high volume.
"Nice one," Lara said as Certan and Vincent retreated.
"We weren't fast enough, so the surprise is lost. It will be more cautious now," Vincent said.
"True, we will need to be more cunning. Lara, is your blade made of the same material?"
"Yes, thanks to Vincent."
"I see where you are going with this. It won't expect her to attack up close. Let's try that," Vincent said.
This time he advanced upon the Shade, whirling his sword in large arcs, capturing its attention. After having a taste of the Runesteel, it was keen not to have another.
With the Shade occupied, Certan moved in to attack from the side. He got in several quick blows, which unsteadied the Shade. It didn't move to counter though, as it was carefully watching Vincent. The Shade wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. However, it had made another mistake, in not looking for Lara.
While the fight had carried on, Lara had crept through the other concurrent battles, and sliced the occasional Blighter in her path. But now she was positioned behind the Shade, and it had no idea of her location.
"I don't think I can kill it from behind, but I can do some major damage," she thought. When she saw the Shade was completely occupied she quietly stalked behind it, leapt, and drove her dagger into the creature's neck.
The Shade lurched back in pain, grasping for the dagger. Lara pulled it out and rolled away. As the Shade lost its balance Vincent lunged forward with his sword and pierced the Shade through the heart. The strike was precise and deep, and within a second the Shade perished. It fell to the ground, lifeless.
The other two Shades recoiled in pain, and looked over. One of them became quite enraged, and grabbed a nearby monk who was momentarily distracted by the commotion. The monk cried out in pain, communicating the anguish that the Shade now felt.
"I think somehow things just got worse," Lara said.
"You could be right," Certan said. Vincent removed his sword and turned his attention onto the other Shade.
Alrion slowly regained consciousness. His body ached, and he had no strength. As his eyes opened fully, he sat up and examined his body. Everything was fine, he just felt incredible pain. Once he had done that initial check he looked around the room. It was exactly the same as before. Nothing had happened.
"Nothing except almost killing myself," Alrion thought. He reached for his Spark and found that it was not available. He had used up all his power.
"I keep failing. Why?" Alrion thought. He lay down and looked at the ceiling, hoping for a breakthrough. What he did attain though was sleep.
Alrion awoke, not knowing how long had passed. But his back was stiff and his muscles restless.
"I must have been asleep for hours. But everything is still the same, and I'm still here. What does this all mean?" Alrion thought, running his hands through his hair. There was only one possible explanation. Time had to act differently within the vault. It was the only way he could think of to explain how long he had been toiling with no answer.
"Shouldn't I be hungry?" he thought. But he wasn't hungry, or thirsty. He was just in this place, unable to leave.
"I have recovered my strength, I am going to train while I think of another way out," Alrion decided. The decision triggered a memory, of the notebook message that he had recently received.
Time is always against us. Use it to your advantage.
"I thought the message was about being stuck in the sandstorm, or my training. But maybe it's about this?" Alrion thought. Regardless, it seemed practical. He would find a way out, but while he pondered the solution he would use the time he had available to train. If he had additional time here, he would put it to
good use. He was going to emerge more capable in many ways, not just one.
Vincent and Certan stepped back, exhausted. They had managed to defeat another Shade, capitalising on its anger, and finding an opening. But they were quite spent. Lara looked around at the monks. Many had fallen, and many were wounded.
"This doesn't look too good," Lara said.
"No, this space is becoming too hard to defend," Vincent said.
"I was going to say the same thing, but I wanted to wait until you toppled that second beast. It's time to pull back," Rengin said.
"Something else prepared?" Vincent said.
"Of course, we're just not sitting on our hands while you take down Shades." Rengin let out a piercing whistle with his hands and the monks started to retreat. Vincent and Lara followed closely, and Certan was helping another monk get away. Once they all passed into the main passage Rengin directed them around a corner. "Now!" he shouted. Two monks hit a wall with a coordinated strike and it started to fall over, blocking the passage. "This will buy us some time, fall back," Rengin said, directing the monks to retreat even further. "This is our home and it's a maze. We can use that to our advantage."
"And the Vault of Silence?" Vincent said.
"At the heart of the temple. It's where we make our last stand."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Certan said.
"You have fought with honour today, brother. I will stand for you, when this is over," Rengin said.
"That is a great honour, coming from you. I will continue to be worthy of your praise," Certan said.
"Take a position in one of these rooms. You can rest a little until they break through, then ambush them," Rengin said. The rooms he pointed to were all tiny, single occupant nooks. Vincent took the first one, Lara the second and Certan the third. The other monks distributed themselves down the passageway, similarly hidden and waiting.
A giant crash and the sounds of rubble echoed down the passageway.
"They're making progress, get ready," Rengin shouted while he was standing in the middle of the passage, monitoring the enemy's progress.
"Here they come!" he shouted. He ran down past the first set of rooms and waited. A stream of Blighters ran down the passageway, heading straight for Rengin. As soon as the first one attacked, the defenders emerged from the nooks and cut down the Blighters from the side. The whole encounter was over within seconds.
The next wave was not as hasty, and the third Shade was standing behind them.
"It's probably directing them, springing the traps. They're crafty," Lara said.
"Yes, it's a shame they're not just dumb beasts. They're certainly strong enough to qualify. At least the narrow passage here helps us with numbers. But we won't be able to flank the Shade, so we may need to retreat again," Vincent said.
"You're right. Rengin will call it, just keep up the fight," Certan said.
"I never said I was going to stop, it's just more challenging." Vincent stretched his shoulders and prepared for the next wave of Blighters.
As predicted the narrow corridor suited the defenders, and the Blighters were unable to make a dent in them. Seeing this, the Shade began to advance by itself. Two monks tried using the rooms to ambush the creature, but it knew they were coming and they didn't have enough space to manoeuvre. They were crushed quickly.
"It has the advantage here for sure," Certan said.
"Let's go back to Rengin," Vincent said.
The three of them retreated and joined the monk leader.
"Unfortunately, this isn't a simple change of tactics. Much of the ground we will retreat to is the same layout. We need to balance safety and time. If we retreat too soon, we will be defeated too quickly," Rengin said.
"I saw your monks topple a wall, isn't there a way we can make a better space?" Lara said.
"There could be something. You come with me, Certan hold here. Retreat as you need to." Rengin dashed down the passage with Lara and showed her a few spaces further down.
"I think this could work. But we would need these two walls knocked down. And these over here," Lara said.
"That can be done, I'll task some monks to assist. Hopefully we have enough time," Rengin said.
"Is it possible to have them one strike away from falling over?" Lara said.
"Should be. Why?"
"I think that could work better. Bring the monks and I'll talk you through it.” Lara had a smile on her face. "This might just work," she thought, the smile her reaction to imagining the last remaining Shade go down.
33
A Losing Battle
Certan threw a punch at the Shade, then rolled away before it could retaliate.
"Fall back!" he shouted, and lead the retreat. They had held up the Shade as best as they could, but it moved forward with relentless power and they couldn't use their numbers to overwhelm it.
"Don't worry, Lara will have a good ambush cooked up," Vincent said.
"I'm not worried about that, I'm worried about them having enough time to prepare it," Certan said.
"If that's your concern perhaps I can help," Vincent said. As they turned the corner he waited instead of joining the rest. As he heard the Shade lumbering through he sliced low and fast, aiming for the feet. He managed to connect, slicing off one of the Shade's feet and causing it to tumble. Vincent hesitated, wondering if he could get in a fatal blow.
"Don't risk it, come back!" Certan shouted. His friend's advice tipped the scales in one direction and Vincent ran off to join the rest.
"That will certainly help," Rengin said.
"Should slow it down a little. How's things back there?" Vincent said.
"Almost ready. Don't lose too many up here, we will need them to spring the ambush."
"It's your command again, just give us the orders," Vincent said
"Just follow my lead. Here it comes," Rengin said. The Shade walked slower, but it seemed otherwise unfazed by the loss of a foot. It walked on the stump instead, losing a little of its balance in the process.
"Harrying strikes only, we need to annoy and slow it down," Rengin shouted. Many of the monks used arrows or discs to pester the Shade, and it began to stop trying to block them. One monk got a little too greedy with the arrows, and the Shade suddenly closed the gap between them and grabbed the monk with its right hand. Rengin loosed his bow immediately, putting the monk out of his misery.
"Retreat!" Rengin shouted. He led the group back, into a slightly wider room with multiple rooms off it.
"You need to get him into the middle of this room," Rengin said.
"Done. Leave it to us." Vincent stood at the entry of the room, to ensure the Shade saw him. Once it arrived it charged immediately at Vincent. "Good to see I have its attention," Vincent said, stepping back, and parrying the Shade's attack. It put Vincent off balance, and he struggled to block the next attack.
Certan circled around, trying to find an opening to capitalise on the creature's compromised balance. It was wise to his tricks, whirling and stepping to keep its distance while still keeping Vincent its focus. Vincent kept retreating, leading the creature closer and closer to the middle of the room.
The Shade increased its onslaught. Vincent desperately parried attack after attack, losing ground faster than he had wanted.
"You're too close! Get away!" Lara shouted. Certan retreated instantly, but Vincent could not. If he gave the Shade any opening at all, it would have him.
"Just do it anyway!" Vincent shouted. Lara did not hesitate and gave the signal. The walls to either side of Vincent shook and started to collapse inwards. Vincent dived to the ground, trying to stay clear of the rubble. The Shade paused its attacks, and focused on batting away the debris from the collapsing wall.
Two additional walls came down behind the Shade, and as they fell monks emerged from the dust and attacked the Shade from behind. It quickly turned to face these foes, angrier than ever.
Vincent stood up, and navigated the unstable ground. He was joined by three o
ther monks, who could now attack the Shade in greater numbers. As they started to land blows, it wheeled around and lunged at them. The monks darted back, only one of them receiving a glancing injury.
In all this commotion Lara dashed in, and dodged the monks, the crumbled walls and the Shade's flailing attack. She manoeuvred in-between it all and planted her dagger squarely in the creature's heart. It shuddered and released a muted cry. Certan stepped up and slammed the dagger with his palm, forcing it the rest of the way and killing the Shade. It toppled to the ground with a crash, surrounded by the broken walls and stones.
The victory was short-lived. As the Shade fell more waves of Blighters entered the room. They were followed by Tainted Ones, clearly giving the orders.
"It never ends," Lara said.
"It will eventually," Certan said, not elaborating. But they were all thinking the same thing. There was only one way this fight could end. They needed a miracle.
"Reinforcements coming through. Change over," Rengin shouted as he came up to the front. The injured and tired monks fell back, and others took their place on the front lines. The room was bigger and full of hazards, but it was still tighter than the entry hallway, so they had a chance at holding it.
Lara stood back, aiming for the Tainted Ones. She took down two before they caught on and stood much further back, directing the Blighters from afar.
"This might sound crazy, but if we can continue this rotation, and there's no more Shades, we can hold this," Vincent said.
"Until we have no energy left yes, but for quite a time. Let's hope there's nothing else to throw at us," Rengin said. It was clear the leader was tiring, despite not fighting as much as some others.
Vault of Silence (The Hidden Wizard Book 2) Page 23
