by C Woodward
Talestria placed her hand in front of it and closed her eyes. She quickly opened them in surprise, "There is another source powering it."
"Where?!" Clagmir said in shock.
Talestria quietly pointed toward the school.
Jerak restored his mace to his shoulders, "Well, let's go in and destroy that source then!"
Clagmir nodded, took out his sword and jogged toward the school. Jerak followed.
Amgati walked over to Talestria and me, "Sometimes it amazes me how driven humans can be." He casually walked over with Clagmir with his spear over his shoulder. He stopped to turn, "I still haven’t yet figured out if it is a good or bad thing."
We marched into the halls of the school. Our footsteps echoed loudly in the dead silence of our surroundings. The place was a mess of broken windows and shelves. Books and blood stains littered the floor. We hadn't spotted a single corpse and wondered if they were used as an addition to the undead.
"Ayjestus mentioned an old gateway in the basement!" Clagmir said as we jogged aimlessly through the halls.
"Any idea where the basement is?" Jerak asked.
Amgati moved out ahead of us, "Follow me."
We ran as fast we could. Amgati ran freakishly fast. He swiftly made short turns around corners making it hard to keep up with him. At least, he could have allowed us to catch up with him. We finally did when he stopped in front of a broken-down wooden door. He gazed through the doorway with a heavy uneasy feeling.
"Something feels almost sickening down here," Amgati uttered.
We peered down some darkened stairs. I didn't feel anything but it did look creepy down there. I took a step down and saw Jerak and Talestria just standing by. They also looked scared. Only Clagmir started to follow me.
"Don't you feel it?" Talestria asked.
I shook my head, "No. I don't feel whatever you three are feeling."
Clagmir kept walking the stairs down past me, "I feel it." He kept a determined expression, "It doesn't matter how scared we are, we have to keep going."
Seeing Clagmir's bravery inspired us to follow him down the stairs. I figured there must be some aura causing our fear. That could explain why I wasn't affected by it. The basement was a huge mess with all sorts of clutter. The only light source was from Clagmir's shield with a faint source straight ahead. It looked like there was a sealed door up ahead.
"Talestria, do you think magic gateways could be the source of the power?" Jerak whispered.
Talestria let out an uneasy sigh, "I really don't know. They were built far before my time."
Jerak stared ahead, "Wow, they must be really old then!"
Talestria gave him an angry stare but her attention quickly turned to the door in front of us.
The door stood taller than any of us. It was made of thick wood, reinforced with iron braces. A massive iron lock laid on the ground below. It appeared it wasn't opened but ripped apart. There was a yellow light escaping between the gaps of the massive door. Clagmir took a deep breath and slowly opened it.
I would have never expected this! The room was well lit with massive piles of books on either side of the room. The far wall held a large stone archway that was brightly glowing. In front of that sat a massive, dark red figure with huge horns. It was turned away from us as if it wasn't aware of our presence or didn't see us as a threat. Soon the monster tossed a book aside and began to stand up.
The figure was as large as a bone-construct. It wore only a loin cloth and a large belt holding several scrolls. Its face had tusks and huge fangs. It had no hair on its head but the two large horns took most of the space anyway. Its eyes were completely black with a bright red iris that almost seemed to glow. It stared directly at me and began to laugh deeply and menacingly.
"Good to see you finally arrived, Blake," The monster spoke in a deep, booming voice.
Clagmir staggered back, "How can...? No! I turned and looked at him. He almost looked terrified, "How can a demon even be in this realm?!"
The demon began to laugh, "I was hoping you would show up too, Clagmir. Pity your other friends didn't."
Clagmir gathered up his courage and shouted back, "How do you know us, demon!?"
The demon raised his left hand and started to create a red orb. He hurled the orb at Clagmir. The orb exploded and caused Clagmir to be hurled against the wall. Clagmir let out a painful grunt and coughed up a little blood.
Amgati, Jerak and I didn't hesitate. The three of us charged the demon with our weapons ready. The demon stood there as we made our attack. He moved his massive arms in front of our weapons. Amgati's spear sunk in not even an inch. Jerak's mace just glanced off and my blade completely stopped as if it was as dull. The demon grabbed my arm and lifted me above the ground.
"Nice blade. I see my old master's power lies in it," the demon spoke.
I struggled to break free, "What do you mean?"
The demon grabbed my blade and tossed me aside. He held the blade up and admired it a little. I slowly lifted myself back up; a little banged up, but okay.
The demon looked at me and smiled, "You disappoint me. I would thought you would have guessed by now."
Clagmir shouted in full rage, "Xum'gol!"
A huge blast of dread rushed through me. I staggered back in sheer shock. "How?! I defeated you!"
Xum'gol laughed, "Oh, you did. You banished me to the underworld. It was a minor setback. Njyak did his job and brought me back to this realm."
Clagmir charged in with his sword burning to match his rage. Xum'gol blocked with his large arms. The sword barely singed his forearm. Xum'gol gave him a back-handed swing. Clagmir quickly moved back to dodge it.
"Persistent as always, paladin," Xum'gol mocked. "You are nothing but a mere pest to me." He lunged toward Clagmir. Jerak and Amgati moved in at Xum'gol's flank but their attacks were ineffective. All they did was distract him. I moved in to pull Clagmir away.
"How did you become a demon?!" Clagmir uttered in disgust.
Xum'gol took few wild swings at Jerak and Amgati. They jumped back to avoid his feral strikes. "Oh, that was my plan all along. It was the last spell my master learned long ago. It is true that a demon in this realm would go mad here. My goal was to put my soul into a demon!" He stepped in and punched me.
I tried to avoid it but his fist was so massive and it caught me off-guard. It felt like being kicked by a large horse. I flew back and crashed hard to the ground. Even with the armor I could feel the wind being knocked out of me. I turned my attention to Talestria. Her arms were extended out from her sides. Her hands were tilted upward in a perfect pose. An orange flame slowly climbed up along her body.
A large red magic seal formed in front of her. She chanted quietly to herself with her eyes closed. Suddenly her eyes opened with a bright glow in them. The seal started to glow brightly. She let out a loud war cry as a volley of fireballs shot out from the seal. They shot almost too quickly to be caught by the untrained eye. Soon Xum'gol was engulfed by a near endless barrage of fireballs.
Xum'gol braced himself as each fireball exploded right onto him. The sound resembled that of a heavy machine gun. He was slowly pushed back and it appeared to be too much for him to bear. He let out a deafening roar, and crushed our hopes as it created a huge burst of energy that pushed us back. It was enough to stop Talestria's barrage.
The blast also knocked down Clagmir, Jerak, and Amgati. Talestria's magical barrier protected her but her attack was now completely disabled. I struggled to pick myself up and watched in horror as Xum'gol stepped in and punched Talestria. His mighty punch broke through her shield and knocked her flat on her back. A mist of blood sprayed in front of her as she hit the ground.
"Talestria!" I cried out.
"As expected from a child of Worlyn," Xum'gol grunted. His body showed only minor damage from her attack.
Talestria lay there with her face covered in blood. She could open only one eye as she stared at me. She was completely dazed and struggled to retain cons
ciousness. My body trembled with a deep seething anger. My insides burned in rage and I started to lose feeling. My vision dimmed and the only thing I felt was bloodlust. I got to my feet and the only thing I could see was Xum'gol.
At this point I didn't care about losing control. With no care about anything but his death and to make him pay, I charged at him like an untamed beast. He stared at me and tried to block as I stepped in and punched him as hard as I could. My fist sank into his torso. At first it resisted but soon my fist sank deeper. He staggered back, his upper body leaning over. He coughed up a tiny bit of blood.
Xum'gol was stunned for a moment. That was all I needed. I inched closer to him and punched him again in the gut. I shouted at top of my lungs as I pummeled him with my fists as fast and as hard as I could. All I could feel was the burning pain of my anger.
Xum'gol twisted through his pain and grabbed me both hands. I could only growl and move franticly as he fought to retain his grip.
"You," Xum'gol coughed. Blood dripped down the side of his mouth. "That blasted dragon deity. He gave you his rage," he muttered.
Soon a purple glow formed around me. Xum'gol stared at me in anger. I started to regain feeling in my body and my vision began returning to normal. I felt a massive sickening feeling rushed through my body. The aftereffects of my blood lust? No, my body was growing weaker.
"You think I would stay in Vunash?! You think I would just foolishly let my legion of undead face your forces in the south?" Xum'gol yelled at me in anger. He soon held me up with one hand.
Everything started to get blurry. I was feeling weaker by the second. All I could see was Xum'gol amassing a prismatic orb in front of me. It started to glow brighter and brighter and I felt weaker and weaker.
"Your life force is what I need for the final phase of my plan. I allowed and staged this whole assault to draw you closer. I need your worldly life force. It’s a pity you won't live to see your friends die," Xum'gol said as he drained the life out of me.
I could hardly keep my eyes open. My body became limp. It was getting harder to keep my eyes open. Was this it? Soon Xum'gol tossed my body aside. I could do nothing by crash into a pile of books. I could hear my heart beating slowly. I could barely see the others. Soon I could not see and I stopped hearing the beating of my heart.
Two eyes stared briefly at me from a dark void. Soon I was gasping for air. My body started to feel warm again. A feeling of pain spread through my body and I opened my eyes. This feeling was unlike anything I had felt before. I could hear voices.
Talestria cried, "You monster! How could you!" She struggled to stand.
Jerak lunged at Xum'gol, only to be knocked down. Amgati threw his spear but it wasn’t very effective. Xum'gol only laughed and toyed with them sadistically. I tried to move but couldn't. It felt like every part of my body was broken. I couldn't utter a sound.
Clagmir held his sword with both hands and slowly shouted, "You think my power is mine alone?!"
Xum'gol smiled, "Oh, you can still stand, old man?"
Clagmir closed his eyes, "My power lies in the heart of all those who dare to defy evil. Even if my bones break and my body fails, my spirit will live on!" Clagmir's eyes started to glow all white. An aura formed around him. His body was engulfed. "Falstrid, Wotmire, Lady Ayjestus, Blake, my friends; I have to do this," he spoke softly.
Clagmir let out a war cry as his body became a light blue form and he charged Xum'gol in a blur. They both flew backward against the arch. Xum'gol coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground. Clagmir stood there, his glowing body. His sword dropped from his hands. Then he dropped to his knees and fell flat on his face.
I tried to cry out but it was no use. Clagmir's body started to disintegrate. Soon all that was left was his armor and ash. Clagmir was dead! He was gone! There was nothing I could do. I wanted to do something! Xum'gol slowly got up. He held up his upper body with his massive arms, breathing heavily. How could he still be living?! Did Clagmir die in vain?!
"Foolish paladin. You could only delay their demise," Xum'gol spoke, clearly injured.
His attention turned behind him. The gateway started to become unstable. The arch was heavily damaged from their fight. The energy warped violently within the center of the arch. It started humming louder and louder as it became more irregular.
"What?! No!" Xum'gol cried out as he stared at the unstable gateway.
The energy inside became so loud and unstable that the very stone of the structure began to crumble. Xum'gol could only shield himself as a bright force engulfed us all.
Chapter 4
"Blakey?" a voice called me. It was Talestria's.
I opened my eyes and saw her staring down at me. Her left eye was swollen shut and her nose and lips bled a little. Tears ran down her cheeks as she looked at me. I could see clouds above her.
"What, where are we?" I whispered.
"I don't know," Talestria said softly. She put her hands on my face.
I closed my eyes and felt overjoyed to feel her warmth again. I was completely sore all over. More than just sore, I felt almost destroyed. I looked around and saw that I was still in my armor except for my helmet which was next to Talestria. She began to cry.
"I thought I’d lost you!" she cried. Her tears began to drop on my face. "We lost Clagmir, and I was afraid we lost you as well!"
"Talestria," I cried.
"Blake? Blake!" Jerak cried out in joy. He quickly ran into view. "Oh man! I thought you were a goner!" I could see his eyes tearing up.
I smiled, "Glad to see you are alright too! What of Amgati?"
Amgati dashed into view. Even he looked happy to see me.
Jerak knelt down to comfort Talestria, "There, there."
Talestria put her arms around Jerak and then looked at me, "I don't think I could have handled it if you were gone," She quickly moved to me and gave me a hard kiss.
I couldn't care less if she tasted of blood and tears. I felt so overjoyed that she was safe. I closed my eyes and savored every moment of her soft lips. We slowly opened our eyes and smiled at each other.
Jerak and Amgati leaned over to help me sit up. We were in an open field in an unfamiliar area. There were a few stone bricks and a ton of old books scattered around.
"How did Xum'gol escape? Shouldn't he be here among us?" I asked although I was thankful he wasn't.
"We don't know exactly what happened. He could have fled before any of us came to. He could have wound up in another place," Amgati replied.
Then I saw Clagmir's armor." Clagmir," I spoke softly. I couldn't believe he was gone.
Amgati stood up, "He died valiantly. He saved us all."
Talestria kept her arms around me, "Clagmir. In his sacrifice, he wounded Xum'gol and damaged the gateway," she said.
Jerak just stood there, staring at Clagmir's armor. He couldn't even utter a word.
Talestria looked at me then said to Jerak and Amgati, "Help me remove his armor."
Amgati quickly knelt and helped Talestria unfasten my armor. Jerak still stared at what was left of Clagmir. He took a deep breath and then noticed what the others were doing.
"Oh, sorry. Let me help you with that," Jerak apologized.
Talestria forced a smile as they pulled my arms up, removing the cutlass. The tunic I was wearing underneath showed many sweat and blood stains. Talestria began to remove the rest of the armor while Amgati began inspecting me for wounds. He carefully pulled off my tunic and then let out a loud gasp. Jerak peered over and looked surprised as well. Talestria's eyes grew wide when she looked.
"Is it that bad?" I asked nervously. I feared that I might be bleeding out or had broken ribs or something even more gruesome.
"Your chest, your veins are black," Amgati muttered. He took a big swallow, "The area around your heart is all blackened with black veins spreading around it."
Talestria pushed the others aside and moved closer, "This is no wound. What can this be?"
Jerak raise
d his hand, "Oh, this kind of looks like that thing you had when you were taken over by that dragon ghost." He scratched his head, "But, it wasn't all veiny like this."
Amgati shook his head, "Well, you do suffer from other injuries," He placed his hands over my torso, "I still have energy left to cast some healing. Hopefully it will help."
Talestria stood up, "It won’t do any good. He is immune to magical efforts," her jaw began to drop.
I felt a soothing feeling below my ribs where Amgati placed his hands. The main veins there began to fade a bit.
"It worked!" Talestria spoke in surprise.
