Brothers

by Viktor Zólyomi

  He sighs, and runs his fingers through his hair.

  `If only I had made it here in time...' he says, sounding sad. I guess he cared after all...

  He stretches his neck and clenches his fist together.

  `Then I could have kicked the asses of those bastards that did is. I could have used some practice...'

  Well... On second thought, I have no idea how he feels about it. I think it's best not to even try to guess.

  Suddenly he notices something in the distance and stares at it intently for a while, then he slowly rubs his palms together.

  `There they are...' he says.

  I look in the direction he's facing. In the distance I see more smoke. Faint, but more smoke.

  `There is another settlement in that direction.' he says. `It's much bigger than this place. I remember it well. It's called Aldut. It's close. Come, we must hurry! Whoever did this is ransacking Aldut as we speak! We have to get there before they get away!'

  He rushes towards the smoke and after a brief hesitation I slowly follow him. We soon leave the ruined village behind. A short time later I feel like I am being watched. I stop and swiftly turn around.

  Nothing. Or...

  Far in the distance, by the village, I see something. A faint outline. Of... something. The creature I saw earlier is looking at us. Is it going to follow? We shall see, I guess. I turn around and quickly catch up with Daniel as I think about the creature. Was that what destroyed the village? Is it coming after us? But must of all...

  What is that creature?

  Aftereffect

  Somewhere in Draconia, present day (8 hours after Twilightfall)

  `That'll teach ya!' I exclaim, as the last ghost shatters and crumbles to dust. I glance at Irea. `Now tell me, how did you get here?'

  `How did I get here? How about a thank you?' she replies sharply.

  `We'll get there, but I'm curious how it's possible that you're here at all.'

  `Bah! You're not the only one who can travel the Planes!'

  `You know, I'd be surprised if you managed to open a Portal out of here right now.'

  `Where do you want to go?' she asks.

  `Anywhere. Just open a Portal. If you can.'

  `Why couldn't I?' she asks, and then waves her hand and a scepter-like object appears in her hand. She motions towards the ground with it and begins chanting. A while later she stops and smiles at me in satisfaction.

  But nothing happens.

  `What the...?' she asks, with a confused expression spread across her face.

  `See, if I can't do it...'

  `How is this possible?!'

  `Now do you understand my question? I need to know how you managed to get here.'

  `Fine.' she says, nodding. `I teleported here from my palace in Delamar.'

  `Impossible... Wait, when did you do this? Was the Keep still standing?'

  `That big castle? Yes. It was there. There was a siege.'

  `Now I understand... What were you doing here though?'

  `I came to warn you. Perhaps a futile, wasted effort, but... I felt I had to come.'

  `Warn me of what?'

  `You wouldn't believe me anyway.' she says, sighing.

  `Just tell me...'

  `I had a premonition. A premonition that you would be hurt. Possibly die.'

  `Oh... I understand...'

  `You think I'm crazy.'

  `I said no such thing!'

  `You didn't have to.'

  `Well, your premonition was wrong. I'm still breathing!'

  `If I hadn't come here these ghosts would have killed you.'

  `Not necessarily!'

  `Oh, the old ungrateful! Next time I won't even bother! I don't even know why I came after the way you ruined my plans in Ergha.'

  `Was it because I impressed you?' I ask, smiling.

  `Hmph. It takes more than an escape trick to impress me. But enough of this! I need to go back home. Why can't we open Portals?'

  As if I knew...

  `I have no fucking idea...' I tell her, and I slowly sit down on the ground.

  `That figures...' she replies.

  `It's not like I didn't try it, mind you... I was trying it for hours, in fact. But it's not working. The worst of it is that I am also unable to teleport. Ever since the motherfucking twilight fell.'

  `What's with the twilight?' she asks, as she glances at the sky.

  `Haven't you noticed that it's been like this for countless hours? It just won't go away. And the crimson sparkles in the sky...'

  `The stars?'

  `They're not stars. I don't know what they are, but they're not stars.'

  `Let me take a better look.' she says, and she looks towards one of the sparkles high above and stares into it intently. She stands like that for a minute, until she addresses me.

  `Zack, it's starting to pulsate. I think.'

  I stand up and look towards it.

  `I can't tell...'

  `Believe me, it's pulsating. Just this one I've been staring at, but it certainly is. What can it be?'

  `I have no fucking...'

  Before I could finish, a flash of light emits from the supposedly pulsating sparkle, and it impacts into the ground beside us. Then another, then another, and another. Then another three. Then nothing.

  `What the fuck was that?' I ask.

  `I don't know, but it stopped pulsating.' she says.

  `I don't like this...' I tell her, as I look at the ground, and observe one of the places that were struck by the beams of light. I walk up to one of them and see that there is a complicated glowing rune inscribed on the ground...

  `What is that?' she asks.

  `Oh fuck...'

  `What?'

  `Get back, quick!' I tell her, and I pull her away from the rune.

  Just in time... For mere seconds later, the rune flashes brightly and a tall column of flame erupts towards the sky from it. It vanishes swiftly, and a tall, bulky figure appears in its place. It's a red skinned creature, walking on two legs, and having two arms. Various horn-like thorns protrude from its arms and legs, and it has two large goat-horns on its head. It has bat-like wings on its back, and its eyes are glowing in a reddish color...

  It opens its mouth and lets out a high pitched yell. Like some kind of battlecry. But for the time being, it stays still and just watches us.

  Impossible...

  Im-fucking-possible...

  I refuse to believe this!

  `What is that?' asks Irea.

  `It can't be what I think it is...' I tell her. After a brief pause, I tell her. `It's a demon. It's a fucking demon!'

  `How did it get here?'

  `That rune... was a demon summoning rune. That crimson sparkle in the sky inscribed it onto the ground, and imbued it with immense magical energy...'

  `There are more runes all around us...'

  `Yeah...' I tell her, nodding. Moments later, the aforementioned runes light up brightly. Columns of flame reach for the sky for an instant all around us, and within a minute we are surrounded by seven large, dangerous demons...

  `What now?' she asks.

  `We fight!' I tell her. She nods, and without hesitation, she points her hands towards the nearest demon.

  A small ball of flame appears between her hands, ready to strike the demon. But then she lowers her hands, like she reconsidered, and the fire goes out. A moment later she waves her hand and summons forth a sword made of flames. Then she casts another spell and the fire sword turns into a blade made of crystal.

  Good, she's smart after all... Most demons are immune, or at least highly resistant to fire. Would have been funny to see her try using fire against them...

  I reach out my arm and call forth the Sword of Fury, as she attacks one of the demons with her sword. I strike towards another one, and as we engage the demons, they all scream aloud, with the same high pitched yell as the first one let out earlier. Their yelling makes it perfectly clear: they won't go down without a fight.

  *<
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  She uses her magic to envelop her entire body in a sheath of flame, and then she attacks one of the demons. The flames seem to be deflecting the attacks of her foes, although they cannot harm the demons. Meanwhile I conjure a traditional magical shield and start hacking away at the nearest ugly motherfucker. The strikes of my sword draw blood from the wretched creature, and I am filled with satisfaction. These things will be much easier to put down than those fucking ghosts were, but it still won't be easy...

  Every now and then I glance behind me to see how she is doing. Her crystal sword seems to be effective against the demons. It doesn't draw quite as much blood as my own sword, but it seems to be weakening the demons. Suddenly, the demon she's been fighting starts to scream. It runs away and she attacks another demon instead.

  `I hate mosquitoes.' she says, sounding extremely annoyed. She fights the new demon while her previous opponent just keeps running and running and...

  Suddenly it drops on its knees and begins to inflate... Moments later, it simply explodes with a sickening sound, and blood and demon body parts litter the floor all around it. If that sword can blow them up like that, we'll win this battle swiftly!

  Her second opponent seems to be doing a better job parrying her sword with its claws, it is still uninjured. Seems like they paid attention to what happened. They're smarter than they look...

  Meanwhile the demon I've been fighting attempts to retreat from the fight and let another one battle me instead. I lunge after it, but one of the other demons cuts me off and pretty much knocks me over. I jump to my feet and toss the Sword of Fury after my first opponent. The Riftblade impales the creature in the back and it falls on its knees. Five magic missiles are emitted from the blade and they target the remaining demons, causing them minor wounds. I roll out of the way of the other demons and reach towards the sword. With telekinesis I pull it back to me, and then rush towards the fallen creature.

  Another demon stands in my way, but I slide between its legs and run towards my target. It is motionless, but certain is certain. I raise the sword high above my head and behead the demon.

  `Ha! One less turdfucker...' I exclaim victoriously. Then I face the other demon that's been on to me.

  Beyond it, Irea is still struggling with the rest. They have her surrounded. She chants a few words and the demons are knocked away from her, some of them fall off their feet. She lunges forth to sink the blade of her sword into one of them, but the demon is able to knock her sword out of the way.

  She could use some help it seems. I unleash a series of quick attacks upon my opponent and attempt to swiftly put it out of its misery. But the creature fights well, and evades most of my attacks. I point at the creature with my ghostly left hand and shoot a bolt of lightning into its chest. The demon stops dead in its tracks and starts shaking. I quickly run towards Irea and the other four demons.

  They have her surrounded but she knocks them off their feet again. But it seems like she can't really injure them. Not good... I rush beside her and observe her opponents. There are some mild cuts on some of them, but no severe wounds.

  `This ain't going well...' I tell her.

  `Yes, I fear that the previous battle against the ghosts took too much out of us.'

  `Perhaps, but that's not the problem... These things might bleed but they are demons!'

  `I have never faced such creatures before.'

  `I have never faced more than three at the same time before...'

  `We have to do something.'

  `Yeah, but look at the bright side. If we die, we'll go down in a spectacular way.'

  She looks at me with disapproval in her eyes.

  `Can you quit being an idiot for just one minute, please?'

  `Nope.' I tell her, smiling. `Come on, let's just kill them.'

  `Just what I intend to do. Any ideas?'

  I look around and observe the demons. Slowly I sigh.

  `This is not my fucking day...'

  `Nothing, then. Very well. Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor, Zack. We must flee.' she says. She's got a point. Those fucking ghost may have been more numerous and they may have been a pain in the ass to kill, but at least they were slower than these fucking demons...

  But...

  `Flee? Like how?' I ask. `You wanna fly away? These things can fly, too.'

  `Can they? Truly? I didn't even notice!' she says, sounding ironic. `We should have left when I first offered you to...'

  Before she could finish, a violent quake hits the ground. For a second, I get the impression that the demons are doing it, but no. They, too, seem to be surprised. A moment later, the ground shakes again, and I almost fall.

  I don't fucking believe this...

  `No, no, no, no, no! Not this! I've had it! First, the motherfucking stone blows into my motherfucking face! Then, this motherfucking twilight pins me to this motherfucking world! Then, these motherfucking ghosts come and try to fucking kill me! Then, these motherfucking demons come out of fucking nowhere and go postal on my ass! And now, a motherfucking earthquake?! I've motherfucking had it with this motherfucking day!'

  `Are you always so angry?' asks Irea.

  `Angry? I'm not angry! I'm motherfuckingly pissed off!'

  The ground shakes again, and this time I lose my balance and fall, but fortunately so do the demons, and none of them fall on me...

  As I fall to the ground, I witness a strange sight. From below the ground, a large object comes to the surface. A large, spiked wheel.

  `Wait a minute...'

  That's Trenz! Trenz! One of Danny Boy's sentient golems! That means, Danny Boy is still alive!

  Where the fuck is that son of a bitch?!

  Trenz rolls away from the place where he emerged, and his contours begin to shake. Moments later, he changes his shape, and he stands there in his original form, a gigantic golem, thirty, if not forty feet tall, towering far above the demons on the ground.

  The demons jump up, and attack Trenz. But he easily brushes them aside, and walks to me.

  `Zack Sands! It is you, isn't it?' he exclaims, in the typical thundering voice that nearly all the alter golems have.

  `Yeah, it's me.' I tell him, nodding. `Help me out, will you?'

  Suddenly, the ground shakes again, and with the exception of Trenz, we all fall to the ground again.

  After a while, something huge bursts out of the ground and takes to the sky. A big fucking stone eagle...

  Latta! He survived, too.

  I try to stand up, but another quake hits the ground. Moments later, a gigantic figure emerges from the ground. Danny Boy's largest and possibly strongest golem. Welker.

  As the ground finally stops to shake, I slowly stand up and look around. Irea stands not far from me, and looks very surprised. The demons surround us, and for the time being do nothing but wait. Latta circles high in the sky in his stone eagle form, while Trenz and Welker stand over us silently.

  Finally, Welker addresses me.

  `You! Where is our Master?!' he asks in a demanding voice.

  `I have no fucking idea. But let me tell you, I want to find him just as much as you do. But first, how about you help me out here?'

  `Help you out?' he asks. `It was your meddling that destroyed our Master's home!'

  `First, it was an accident, and second, it wasn't my fault!'

  `You expect us to believe...'

  `Danny Boy is my friend, why would I intentionally demolish his place, huh?'

  `He's got a point.' says Trenz.

  `Where is our Master?' asks Welker once more.

  `I don't know.' I tell him. `I am trying to find him. I will let you know as soon as I have found him. But first...'

  `First?! First what?!'

  `First, how about you help me kill these fucking demons before they rip my fucking ass to pieces?!'

  Welker looks around. Only now does he notice the demons around us.

  `Puny insects!' he exclaims, and then he grabs the nearest demon and raises it
high above. The demon struggles in Welker's grasp, but it is no use. Welker holds the demon's torso in his left hand, and then grabs the demons head with his right. An effortless twist, and Welker rips the demon's head off, then tosses the head and the lifeless body to the ground.

  The remaining four demons cry out loud, and attack Welker and Trenz simultaneously.

  *

  `What do we do?' asks Irea.

  `Nothing!' I tell her, smiling widely. `Just stay out of the golems' way and enjoy the show!'

  She slowly nods, and steps away from the golems with me while I enjoy the sight of the largely uneven battle between the golems and the demons. Welker and Trenz are pounding on the demons where they can, and Latta swoops down from the sky to rip into them as well. The demons have no chance. About five minutes pass, at most, and Trenz tears one of the demons in half, while Welker literally crushes another one beneath his massive feet. There are only two more remaining, but now they are thinking about fleeing.

  These last two demons jump up in the air and try to fly away on their bat-like wings. But Latta doesn't intend to let them leave. He flies after them swiftly, and as he catches up to them, he changes into his golem shape in mid air, right above the two flying demons. He jumps on the back of one of them, and with unbelievable swiftness he rips out the demon's wings. Then he jumps up and lets the demon fall, and then jumps down on the second demon. Instead of ripping into the demon's wings, Latta grabs its head with both hands and rips it off, then drops it, jumps up, and as the demon falls, he changes into his stone eagle shape and swoops down, after the first demon.

  He lands right next to the demon with the ripped out wings, and changes to golem shape. He grabs the demon and punches it forcefully twice, then raises it high above and simply rips it in two. So, it ends. The demons have fallen.

  `Amazing!' says Irea next to me, as Latta slowly returns.

  `Yeah...' I tell her. `The most powerful golems in Arghard. And beyond...'

  Indeed. I should have thought that these three would somehow survive the explosion. Danny Boy has made them extraordinarily resilient. Of all his golems, these three always stood out, not just because they were sentient, but because of their power as well.