by C Woodward
I growled, "Guys, this isn't the time nor the place for your debates."
They seem almost surprised that I growled but at least things became quiet. I sighed, "Look, let us get some rest. The sooner we get up to leave while this close to the entrance, the better."
Falstrid nodded, "Let us whisper our conversations, if we must speak."
"Thank you, Falstrid," I said. I let out a big yawn and plopped on my bedroll next to Talestria.
Wotmire woke me up to tell me it was time to get going. I grumbled, but complied. Everyone else quietly climbed on their dragons with half asleep faces. Talestria looked a bit flushed.
"You okay, hun?" I asked.
"Yeah. I didn't sleep very well last night," she said.
"Everyone's ready when you are," Wotmire reported.
"Oh good. Um, let's get going then," I explained.
We flew along the northern rim of the Iron Mountain range. It should take about a day to reach our final destination, but we were taking a long route and flying pretty low to make sure we were concealed. A few hours in, we spotted a large group of dragons flying from the north. There were at least a dozen of them. I spotted some draykens flying among the group. It was good that the flank party was arriving. I kind wanted to wait for them but we needed to reach our destination before nightfall.
The mountains climbed up so high that I was tired by the time we reached the top. We flew a bit longer today than I wanted before we finally made our final stop. The sun had been down for at least an hour, but my eyes could see just fine in the dark. The feral dragon's had no trouble seeing as well.
Flying a few extra hours tired me and even the hearty feral dragons, but we finally made it. We found an ideal vantage point where we would be concealed behind a tall peak before reaching the valley. I had Amgati and Rejun scout ahead to survey the valley below while the rest of us made camp. I was beyond tired and glad we would get at least a full day's rest before starting the battle.
Amgati walked back from scouting. "Things are as predicted,” he reported.
"Are there a lot of forces down there?" I replied.
Amgati nodded, "Yes. I saw many of those foul obelisks. It is a sea of foes." He continued, "There is a strange light coming from the lake. It is quite eerie."
"Xum'gol isn't wasting any time working at the source rune is he?" I muttered and groaned, "Well, it looks like if things go right over by the entrance, we will still have more than our share of foes."
Amgati frowned, "It appears so."
Wotmire grumbled, "Clagmir, Falstrid, and I faced a small army on our own. Blake, did you forget?"
"Oh, that was when I first came here. I almost forgot about that," I realized. I looked around and saw my current companions, "It would take more than a small army of undead to slow us down."
Wotmire grinned, "You are darned right. I might be nearing old age, but I can still wreck some enemies."
"Near old age?" Falstrid joked.
Wotmire lifted a brow, "You are now past old age."
Falstrid chuckled, "I am still peppy."
Wotmire laughed, "That I can agree with. I don't even think old age can stop an old goat like yourself. You are far too stubborn."
I smiled, "We should limit our conversations and rest." I found it funny how I had to keep the more experienced heroes quiet. "I want everyone to be well-rested before we strike."
No one argued with that order. It had been a long day and sleeping in almost balanced out any worries I may have had. I still didn't know how long it would take before we would move in. For the time being, we could enjoy as much idle time as we could.
Even King Wotmire slept in the next day. Although we were not expecting anything for at least a full day or so, we kept everything ready. I was almost thankful I didn't wear bulky armor anymore. I couldn't imagine sleeping in it. Wotmire and Teltar were the most armored of our group but they didn't seem to mind sleeping in their armor. It was no surprise with Teltar; he could sleep on a battleground.
I spent most of my day watching from our vantage point. I could see the valley below with its marshlands and camps. There was an aura in the area below that resembled the ruins before I defeated Gratius. The only clear spot was directly above the pillar of light shining up from the lake. I wondered if the source rune itself repelled the corruption from covering it.
Our view exposed the whole region. There were many large trees covering the area near the entrance. Below that there appeared to be a sea of undead with several obelisks protruding out. I was not sure how big General Valk's forces were but I hoped it was enough to defend the opening. The feral dragons will carve a line through the ranks of undead but there were still many. This battle will not be easy.
I sat up there watching the valley below for most of the day and part of the night. Talestria came over to bring me food and keep me company. The next day I got up and watched the valley once more. I sat staring down, wondering what Xum'gol was thinking. It was difficult to see what was by the lake but the pillar of light.
Sitting there for almost three days didn't help my nerves. Soon it would be over, for better or for worse. The sky turned red when the sun hit the gloom over the western clouds and coated the valley.
Talestria gave me some dried meat. "Blakey, I brought you some dinner." She sat next to me and handed me the food.
I popped the meat in my mouth and put my arm around her. I chewed and swallowed before I spoke, "Thank you." I smiled as she leaned her head on me, "I am so happy to have you at my side."
Talestria let out a happy sigh, "I am happy as well."
"Something on your mind?" I asked.
Talestria sat up and appeared hesitant. She bit her lower lip, "Well, I am just, um well, you see..."
A horn echoed through the valley. It came from the entrance. Talestria and I got up and jogged back to camp. Everyone had heard it and got themselves ready. I helped Talestria and the others onto their dragons. My heart was pounding as I stood in front.
I took a deep breath, "When I give the signal, we go in!"
Chapter 14
The sound of battle could be heard throughout the valley below. We moved in along the cliff side, getting ready to start down. If we acted too quickly, we would be deep in undead. All eyes looked west, waiting for the right moment.
The forces of the undead rushed like a river toward the entrance. My heart pounded as we waited. A minute passed, and then another, each feeling like an eternity. We were all getting anxious. We heard angry roars from the feral dragons in the north. Soon we saw streams of fire raining down toward the rear ranks of undead. The dragons incinerated a wide row on the ground below.
Everything behind the dragon's strike erupted up in flames. Nothing was going to get past it anytime soon. Any undead were the front line's problem, while the other side was our problem. I hoped we had enough distraction.
"Let’s move!" I ordered as I dove down into the valley below.
What was an undead sea were now scattered forces, mostly cultists and a few defenders. I targeted the biggest target. A bone-construct was an ideal target. There were a few of them around but I aimed for a big one to make my first strike. My claws reached out and grabbed its tiny skull and ripped it from its spine as I landed. When I planted my legs onto the earth, the bone-construct toppled behind me.
I stared at the surprised cultists. Many of their undead minions turned toward me. There were still more than I could count and they were all facing me. Their attention changed when the feral dragons landed around me. I couldn't help but smile, enjoying such an amazing entrance. Seeing a wave of undead monsters coming at me changed my mood.
A large ball of fire flew over my head and exploded violently on a cluster of foes. Bodies of both undead and cultists flew from the impact. I took a deep breath. If there weren't three fully capable magic users behind me, that would have been very surprising.
Three bone warriors fearlessly charged at me. I stepped in and swiped at them. My claws
cleaved through one of their fragile bodies. With my wing, I smacked another away. I grasped the hilt of its blade and grabbed its face as well. I clenched my claw holding its face and felt bone shatter. It was good to be a drayken.
A few cultists came in already charging their spells. The eyes of one rolled up as a crossbow bolt found itself in the cultist's forehead. The others turned momentarily as Jerak and Amgati charged in at the other two.
"Can't let you run this show alone!" Jerak joked as he back-handed a skeleton in the chest with his buckler.
"Less talking, more fighting," Amgati commented. He lunged his spear into an enemy then quickly swiped his curved short sword to slash at another nearby.
A few bone-constructs barreled down toward us. A barrage of lightning bolts and fire balls pelted them. The bone-constructs staggered a bit which allowed Teltar and Wotmire to charge in like stout, armored wrecking balls. Their steel chipped away at the legs until the constructs fell and then took no time destroying the rest. They were like a pair of heavily-armored, angry badgers.
I leaped at some hapless cultists with my powerful legs and a few flaps of my wings. My claws sunk into them effortlessly. I turned to face another undead group. I jumped back to avoid their weapons taking a deep breath. I spewed out a cone of flame at them and at the enemies behind them.
"You breathe fire!" Jerak shouted in surprise. He was busy taking down his own foe. His mace cracked into one as he joked, "You never told me you can do that!"
The ground shook which caught our attention. A massive creature made of the bones of beasts far larger than we ever faced came into view. It was a bone-construct unlike anything we had ever seen. It was made from the remains of dragons and various other dead creatures. It stood several stories tall and held a crude club made from an entire tree. How did we not notice this?!
Angry roars rang out. One of the feral dragons jumped right at the head of the bone colossus. Then another dragon latched itself to its shoulder. The other two struck at the legs. The bone creature stood much taller than the feral dragons but having four of them on it was more than enough to cause the thing to fall back onto its allies. The dragons made sure it would never get back up.
"That's my girl!" Talestria cheered. She ran to my side. "Rip its head off!" she encouraged as the blue dragon clawed at the neck of the bone colossus.
"There seems to be no end to them," I said to Talestria.
Talestria pointed her hand and launched a bolt of lightning at more targets. "You need to make your way to Xum'gol," she ordered.
I peered over toward the lake. There was a small temple of stone that stood by the lake. All around it were either tents or totems. The temple appeared to have been made long ago and was covered in moss and ivy. I was willing to bet Xum'gol was there.
"Try to destroy as many of those totems and obelisks as you can!" I shouted to Talestria.
"Right. You get in there, we will take care of this mess," Talestria acknowledged.
I started to jog over when Talestria called to me.
"Blake!" Talestria called out.
I turned my head, "Yes?"
"Do be careful, we need you to survive this!" Talestria.
I smiled, "Of course!" I kept moving toward the temple.
A wall of enemies blocked my path, some living and some undead. I leaped into the air and let my wings carry me above their reach. The sooner I stopped Xum'gol, the better. A pack of bone-constructs stood at the entryway of the temple. I couldn't just fly over these guys.
I took a deep breath and shot a stream of fire at them. Because they were made of bone, it only burned the reinforcing cords bundling some of their bones to their bodies. That didn't stop them from taking a swing at me. I could only move my gauntlets in time to block the blunt force of one of their large weapons. I rolled back onto the ground a little way, which allowed the other undead to catch up to me.
I could see one of the bone-constructs ready to make another attack at me. Out of desperation and a bit overwhelmed, I grabbed the body of a skeleton warrior and used it to block the bone-construct. Its weapon cleaved its undead ally in half. At least it helped me.
The blows of the lesser undead were pretty ineffective against my hide but the bone-construct was powerful enough to cause real damage. I grabbed another skeleton and used it as brawl weapon. It fearlessly clawed at me with its bone hands. The impact did some damage to the large structure and even more damage to lesser undead.
"That works I guess," I muttered as I made a quick grab and hurled another skeleton warrior. The bone-construct swatted at its ally without a care. I kept using the swarming undead as makeshift weapons against the bone-construct. Finally, I hit the tiny skull and caused it to break. One down.
My reckless attacks helped me gain some space to fight the other ones, but I exerted more energy that I should. I still needed to take on Xum'gol. I couldn’t tire myself out using their undead as weapons.
"Screw this!" I shouted as I charged one of the bone-constructs head on. I grabbed the shoulders of its larger arms and it quickly became a contest of strength. I used my tail to push myself forward and knock the foe back on the ground. I let out an angry growl as I stomped its skull into powder. That’s another one down.
This time various cultists and even more bone-constructs came out of the entrance of the temple. They just kept coming. I stood and caught my breath as I tried to see how I was going to do this. I was also keeping note of a few lesser undead still around me. Large figures came into view from the skies. Not just one but two skeleton dragons hovered overhead to defend the temple.
The feral dragons thundered in and two of them decked the skeleton dragons in a midair brawl. The others landed beside me. They gave me an encouraging growl then they turned to the now terrified cultists. Two of them shot fourth a massive wave of fire that humbled anything I could produce. The scent of scorched earth and flesh filled my nostrils. Only the bone-constructs stood once the flames died.
"Sick em!" I ordered.
The two feral dragons roared and charged at the bone constructs. The massive beasts were more than a match for them as they clamped down with their mighty jaws and crushed bone with their heavy claws. I moved in once there was an opening among the chaos. The entrance of the temple was large enough for me to pass through but too small for any of my large friends. I charged two cultists who survived the fires and now cowered inside the temple. They didn't seem too thrilled when I quickly dispatched them.
The other two feral dragons brought their fight with the skeleton-dragons onto the ground. The two by the entrance looked at me as if awaiting my orders.
"Go help them!" I ordered. It was strange how obedient they were to me but perhaps it was also the help of their master that motivated them. Glad they were on our side.
The temple itself reeked of moss and death. There were many halls and turns, some rather difficult to navigate. I ran into a surprised cultist as I made a turn in the maze-like building. I slammed him head first into a stone wall. Another cried out, this time from another angle. My eyes shifted when I spotted a small group of them charging up their spells. I could only retreat back into the hall to avoid a barrage of various magical projectiles.
I saw at least four of them, in a room large enough for them to spread apart and plenty of furniture to keep them barricaded. I debated if this was even the right way to Xum'gol but I had no way of knowing. I took this moment to catch my breath and figure a means to tackle this new obstacle.
I breathed deeply to get ready to breathe fire at least one of them. I moved in on all fours and charged at the first one I saw. He cowered behind a table as I jumped over it and pounced right on him. One nearby was ready to hurl a spell at me. My flames denied his chance and caused him and all around him to burst into a fiery destruction.
I didn't want to stay in one place very long so I leaped to the side to avoid a projectile and focused on the next target. The last two were close together and panicked now. Good for me. I lau
nched at them and sank my claws into one. The other was struck by one of my wings and fell back. I turn at him and grabbed his throat in my jaws. My fangs went in deep and I felt his throat crush. The copper taste of his blood filled my mouth as I shook my head like a feral beast of prey. I spat and allowed his body to fall on the floor.
The taste of blood disgusted me, more so because I acted in such a savage way. I spit on the ground a few times to get the foul blood out of my mouth and glanced around for something edible to get rid of the taste. No such luck. It disturbed me that I was no longer human and this was war. At least I was disgusted. I feared that it wouldn’t faze me. Soon I found another opening. Perhaps this was the right way.
A heavy thickness filled the air in the opening. I peered in and saw a stairway going deeper down. I recalled feeling the same air when I last faced Xum'gol. There was no question that this was the right path.
