Soldiers of Ruin

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “Are you okay?” Aiden asked of the sorceress, who nodded weakly in reply. Nearby, Sir William was leaning heavily against the wall struggling for breath. Aiden felt sorry for the old man, for although his conviction and courage were strong, his body was not what it used to be.

  Looking at their surroundings, Aiden could see the gate must have led them outside the ancient ruined city itself, for the roughly-hewn cavern before them seemed far less “civilised” than the place they’d just run through. It was a massive open area though, with traces of light filtering in from cracks in the ceiling hundreds of feet above them. The remains of a bridge could be seen at the edge of the light, the bulk of its frame lost to a great chasm below.

  “Thy ruinous machinations will be for naught,” a dry, rasping voice echoed across the cavern, drawing the attention of everyone present. “Ten thousand warriors of ruin answer my call, heedless of death. Aielund will rue the day they sent thee to end mine existence.” The ground shook beneath them, interrupting the reply Aiden was preparing. Something moved at the edge of the light. Something big. The ground shook with its every footfall, and Aiden braced himself for the worst.

  The huge skull of a dragon’s head loomed into view thirty feet off the ground, bone white and sporting an array of sword-like teeth in its jaw. Its eye sockets were as empty as any of the other warriors they had faced, and the sight of it struck terror into Aiden’s heart. He involuntarily crawled backward into the others as it came into full view, it jaws opened in a silent roar.

  The spell of fear was broken as Pacian sent a bolt flying into its ribcage, blasting one of the massive bones from the body which shattered on the stone floor of the cavern. It served as a rallying cry to the others, who burst into action. Aiden raised his wand and conjured a blast of crackling electricity into its bulk. Nellise stepped forward with her crystal and holy symbol raised, sending an immense wave of divine energy towards the undead dragon.

  The air rippled as if from a great heat, but the dragon’s aged skeleton weathered the storm of light and it lashed out with its claw at the source, slamming Nellise in the chest and sending her tumbling head-over-heels. The light faded, and the dragon charged in with unnatural speed.

  Aiden’s companions were scattered as they tried to avoid its deadly charge, and as before, Sir William stepped up to the fight, the blade of Solas Aingeal bathed in a plume of holy fire as he swept it towards the great jaw before him. Several of its massive teeth were severed as the blade swept past, but the undead thing knew no pain or fear, and did not hesitate to clamp down on the knight’s already battered armour.

  Sir William was picked up and tossed to the floor, even as the light from his blessed sword scorched the unholy construct. The impact left the old knight vulnerable, as one of the dragon’s claws descended upon him. Valennia was quick to intercede, slamming herself bodily into the foreleg to veer it off course, saving Sir William’s life.

  “This one is mine,” Valennia growled as she recovered, her fear replaced with a terrible fury. Aiden was about to make a suggestion when he noticed the robed form of Aeldrith appear out of nowhere a mere ten yards away. The necromancer raised his staff and Aiden was struck with an invisible force, throwing him onto the ground and sending the wand skittering across the stone.

  A jet of fire surged through the air toward Aeldrith, only to be turned aside with a wave of his staff. Sayana was back in the fight, though her effectiveness was in question. Pacian loosed a crossbow bolt through the air and struck the withered mage dead-on, only to be stopped by the flash of spectral armour surrounding the ancient wizard.

  Aiden had more pressing matters to deal with, however, for despite her best efforts, Valennia was barely able to match the unholy might of the dragon, her armour already showing numerous dents from the ferocity of their fight.

  Valennia retaliated with a great sweeping arc that drove her scythe through one of the monster’s claws, sundering it from the body and then following through with a cut at its leg that chipped the immense bone limb. Her terrible foe did not flinch at the gradual destruction of its body, instead bringing its damaged claw across to slam directly into Valennia’s side, sending her staggering over the floor.

  Aiden was about to go to her aid when he suddenly felt the air around him burning like acid. He writhed around in agony for a moment as he felt the skin flayed from his body by Aeldrith’s power, the rest of his companions feeling the effects of the dark magic just as keenly as he.

  The onslaught finally subsided, and Aiden struggled for breath, all the while knowing deep down that he didn’t have time. Unable to locate the wand he had dropped, Aiden had to resort to more mundane efforts to battle their foe. The metal of the ancient gauntlet had cooled since he last used it, so he reactivated it and gripped his sword tightly as he charged at the black mage. With strength thrumming through his body he scythed his auldsteel blade at Aeldrith, striking with enough force to cut through his spectral armour and slice deeply across his chest.

  The withered fabric of his robe gave way, revealing the true nature of the wizard. They had battled skeletal warriors with more flesh on them than this thing standing before him, the decaying remains of Aeldrith having long ago past the point where a mortal man would have perished. But worst of all were his eyes — instead of the empty sockets of the other undead, the wizard stared back at him with two rubies, glowing blood red with terrible fury.

  With a whispered word and a gesture, Aiden was once again pushed by an invisible force. Reaching forward with his gauntlet, he pushed back at the unseen power and skidded to a halt, the two of them locked in a duel of strength and willpower. It was broken when a flash of green energy crackled past Aiden, blasting into Aeldrith’s exposed side and vaporising his right arm.

  A dry scream of dust erupted from the undead wizard’s lipless jaw and with a gesture from his staff, he vanished. Aiden turned and saw the others back on their feet, more or less, their skin appearing raw and bloodied in the bright light. Valennia continued her battle with the dragon despite being struck by the same magic as the others.

  The light around Sayana flickered and dimmed for a moment as she tried to draw in the energy from her surroundings, but in this dark place filled with death, she struggled to absorb power. Aiden could feel some of his own energy being syphoned off, and suspected the others nearby felt the same effect.

  Finally, Sayana drew in enough energy to fire off another blast of crackling green destruction. The bolt shot out and struck the huge skeletal monster in the chest, shattering its entire ribcage to dust and sending its right arm clattering to the ground.

  Sir William came in on the beast’s flank, smashing through bones with ease as Solas Aingeal wrought its terrible fury upon the unholy creation. With his bold attack, everyone joined in the attack upon the dragon, smashing bone and sundering its form with all manner of weaponry, until it crashed to the ground and shattered into a hundred pieces.

  Their victory was short-lived however, as with a flash of light, Aeldrith reappeared on the scene, his body somehow completely intact. While Aiden pondered this, a beam of crackling green energy formed and shot forth from his staff, sizzling through the air to strike at Sayana. The sorceress leaped to one side as soon as she saw it coming, but her legs were scalded as the spell shot past, blasting a hole in the stone where she had been standing. Aiden went to charge the wizard again, but he had vanished once more.

  “What manner of creature is this, which can ignore death itself?” Valennia snarled in frustration. There was no time to ponder this, for the wizard reappeared a dozen yards away and sent out a beam of darkness which struck Valennia and brought her to her knees. Pacian shot a quarrel at Aeldrith as he disappeared once more.

  “We need to find a way to neutralise him or we’re done for,” Aiden said as he wracked his brains trying to recall how such magic worked. When Aeldrith reappeared, however, he found his magics stymied by Nellise, who was back on her feet and using her gifts to block the wizard’s
attacks. The wizard vanished once more and did not reappear, giving Aiden some time to figure things out.

  The only magic he knew of that could prolong someone’s life in this manner was considered one of the darkest incantations known. One of the crumbling tomes he’d read back in Coldstream had touched on the subject, but did not go into detail. However, he recalled some of the text describing that in exchange for the power to defy death, those that invoked such magic had to store their life force outside of their bodies, rendering them undead, yet alive — the process of becoming a lich.

  Aiden looked closer at their surroundings, looking above and around at the stone cavern they stood in. There was no sign of a laboratory, or even the library that Aeldrith had hinted at earlier. Something was amiss, but found himself distracted by a new terror.

  The bones of the dragon began to reform and assemble into the huge monstrosity once more. Pacian actually began to whimper a little as their seemingly indestructible enemies appeared to be able to continue the fight forever. Aiden glanced at Sir William, who looked absolutely spent. His sword hung low as he stood, chest heaving with each laboured breath. He raised his visor and looked back with a look of futility and guilt in his eyes.

  Aiden suddenly had a flash of inspiration — however Aeldrith was manipulating the bones of the dragon, he needed to be close in order to do it. Magically shifting his vision, Aiden glanced around and saw the shimmering blue figure of the wizard, invisible to the unaided eye.

  But more than that, ascending over a chasm ahead of them was a stairway made from stone hovering invisibly in the air, leading up to a large platform fifty feet off the ground. He had discovered Aeldrith’s lair, yet the undead dragon was between them and it.

  “I can see him,” Aiden hissed, loud enough to be heard by only those close to him. “Get me past the dragon and I can finish this!”

  “If that is what you need, then that is what you shall have,” Sir William uttered as Sayana unleashed a jet of fire upon the reformed dragon. “If he can rebuild it at will, then we must take it away from him. Push it over the edge!” Sir William clapped his visor down and rallied for one final assault. Nellise pulled out her mace and readied her shield, standing by his side as they prepared to charge in, with Valennia snarling as she struggled back to her feet.

  “Aielund forever!” Sir William cried as he raised Solas Aingeal against the towering might of the dragon and led the charge. Aiden activated his gauntlet once more as he joined them, and with the support of the other three, the four warriors slammed into the ribbed side of the undead monster, managing to shove it back several feet towards the edge. Although Valennia was clearly barely able to stand, she summoned her reserves and roared as they heaved against its weight.

  Sir William was forced to raise his shield and defend them from the jaws of the behemoth as it snapped and clawed at the four shoving it closer to oblivion with each moment. Aiden’s gauntlet smoked and glowed from heat as he heaved with all of his augmented might, and behind them, he could hear Sayana and the others dealing with a resurgent Aeldrith.

  Despite Sir William’s best efforts, the claws of the dragon smashed at the four of them, knocking Nellise away even as the beast’s legs went over the edge of the precipice. Aiden’s hand was being scalded as the gauntlet continued to overheat, but he gritted his teeth and pushed harder, holding out just a little longer to see the dragon gone once and for all.

  The back half of the creature hung over the edge, but Aiden couldn’t stand the heat of the gauntlet any longer, and deactivated it. While doing so he was flung back a few yards and lost track of things for a moment. The heat from his right hand was too much, and he quickly removed the gauntlet and dropped the smoking device to the stone.

  Sayana had one last surge of power and used it to push at the dragon’s body with incredible force, finally driving it over the edge, but not before its jaws clamped down on Sir William.

  Solas Aingeal was flung from his grasp as the cliff crumbled away under the weight of the dragon. Nellise screamed in despair as the old knight was pulled down into the chasm, with Aiden transfixed as Sir William’s last words were shouted to him.

  “Finish this!” he cried as he disappeared over the edge, his body already broken by the monster’s jaws. The sounds of bones shattering could be heard as it tumbled down the chasm, and with it, the last knight from the Order of the Rose Eagle perished.

  There was no time to grieve, however, for Aeldrith howled in rage at the destruction of his pet, and summoned a ball of fire at Sayana. Instead of being caught up in the conflagration, the sorceress reached up and caught the ball in one hand, holding it there for a moment before throwing it back at the lich.

  The fireball was swept aside with one sweep of the lich’s staff and detonated on the wall, harming nobody but showering the area with dirt and rock. While Aeldrith was distracted however, Valennia had picked herself up and thrust her scythe into his withered body. The lich screamed and vanished, but this time, Aiden was ready.

  With his sight shifted, he could see the invisible form of the lich fly up to the platform above them and coalesce around something on top. Aiden gripped his sword and took off up the stairs, taking them two at a time as he lunged after the monster. He wasn’t quite at the top when Aeldrith reformed, and Aiden found himself in a standoff.

  “I am beyond any of thee,” the lich rasped at him. “I admire thy tenacity, however. Thou and thy friends will—”

  “Shut up and die,” Aiden snarled, lunging forward with his auldsteel blade. The sword was blocked by Aeldrith’s staff, and with barely a flick of his wrist, Aiden was sent tumbling backwards.

  He was hard-pressed, but not alone. With his comrades coming to his aie, Aeldrith was distracted enough to gived Aiden the opening he’d been looking for. He dashed past the lich and found a series of ornate jars sitting prominently on the desk before him. The vengeful young man didn’t have time to figure out which was the right one, so he swept his blade through the lot of them, shattering them completely and unleashing a strange, glowing mist from the correct vial.

  Whirling around to face Aeldrith, Aiden felt a sense of grim satisfaction as he saw the withered lich turning to dust, a dry scream of protest escaping from his mouth just before he crumbled into nothingness. With his death, the stone platform and stairs suddenly became visible, and Aiden released his focus and stared down at the lich’s remains.

  A sound, not unlike a sigh of relief, echoed through the cavern as pounding of the undead upon the city gate suddenly stopped, and the denizens returned to their eternal rest. Aiden collapsed onto the floor, suddenly overcome by their narrow victory and what it had cost them.

  Chapter Twenty

  Aiden stared into the abyss after the fight, hoping against hope to see some sort of movement in the darkness. In the end, he had to accept Sir William had perished in the fall. Nellise also spent some time gazing down into the depths of the earth, the cleric distraught at the sudden demise of her friend and mentor.

  The knight had spent decades waiting to serve the Kingdom, and it was only in his final days that he truly came alive. His sacrifice was made more poignant by the expression Aiden had noticed shortly before the end — Sir William had felt guilty for leading them further into this trap and had taken personal responsibility for getting them out again.

  “I killed him,” Sayana whispered as the group reassembled on the platform. “I was the one who threw the monster off the edge, and—”

  “It was not your fault, sister,” Valennia interrupted before Sayana could go any further. “The beast grabbed Sir William as it fell, something you could not have foreseen. You saved us, in the end, no less than he did with his sacrifice. I spoke ill of him time after time, but never was he found wanting for courage. It was a glorious death and we should shed no tears for his demise, but instead focus our rage on those who brought us here.”

  Aiden looked up at her, blinking away the tears that welled in his eyes and realised she wa
s right. His sorrow was replaced by a growing anger as he picked himself up and stormed over to the lich’s laboratory. There were several desks around the outer edge of the platform, and a door led to a room cut into the side of the chasm wall, inside of which were row after row of bookshelves.

  He looked through the assorted paraphernalia on the desk with increasing frustration, tossing aside anything irrelevant without a moment’s thought. The anger within him suddenly exploded, and Aiden swept aside everything on the desks, smashing glass vials and scattering parchments to the stone floor. There was no sign of the sceptre, and he began to suspect that the lich had told the truth.

  Ignoring the concerned looks from his comrades, Aiden went into the library and searched for Aeldrith’s copy of Ancient Artefacts from Old Tymes. It didn’t take long to locate the book, for the lich had kept his library in impeccable order. The cover seemed almost identical to the one the duke had shown him back in Fairloch, although this one seemed to be a little worse for wear.

  Flipping through the pages, Aiden went searching for the entry on the Sceptre of Oblivion, which had been on page forty-three in the other tome. He spat out a loud curse as he saw that the page featured a different relic of note, one that Aiden recalled being just before the entry for the sceptre. He checked to make sure some pages weren’t stuck together, or if the page in question had been torn out.

  Nothing. It was as if the entry for the sceptre had never existed in this copy.

  “It’s true… the damned thing doesn’t exist,” Aiden confirmed with leaden words as he emerged from the library. “Little wonder nobody else had ever heard of it before.”

  “Then Godfrey was right,” Pacian growled. “Duke Charles sent us on a fool’s errand and ultimately, to our deaths.”