by Rosie Scott
I was impressed with this spell's strength and efficiency. It was the first time I'd ever tested a spell that contained a unique word that I created, so its success invigorated me. My work developing spells in Eteri clearly wasn't for naught. I went back to healing, hearing Cerin in the midst of fighting on the level below us. I realized I had been too focused on my work to notice when he'd run through the cannon deck.
Azazel's wrists were both healed minutes later, but I was drained. Between the energy for healing the wounds and the extra I'd given him to remain conscious, I'd needed to take from my own life. When my friend and I finally stood up together, Azazel reached out to me, grazing one hand down the length of my arm in a caring gesture.
“Are you okay?” He asked, concerned.
“Just fatigued. But you're healed, and that's all that matters.”
Though Azazel smiled, he also hesitated. “I can see you're fatigued, but you also look contemplative.”
Staring straight into his eyes, I relayed my concerns to him. “I had to drain my life to finish healing you, Azazel.”
He frowned. “I'm sorry. We could have had Cerin—”
“That's not what has me quiet,” I replied.
“Then what is it?”
“I drained so much energy to save you it should have killed me,” I admitted. Azazel's eyes settled into a warm realization, and he nodded slowly as I continued, “You were right. I'm not only getting stronger, I am already on the path to immortality.”
Nine
The ocean to the northeast of Monte was littered with splintered wood and frozen bodies. Shimmering ice crystals had formed over dwarven facial hair and blue and gold armor in the time since the freezing water had handed their bodies over to shock, immobilizing their limbs involuntarily.
Hours had passed during our battle, but as I looked to the skies, I couldn't tell how many. The clouds were so thick and tumultuous above the raging blizzard that it was like a blanket covered all of Arrayis, keeping the sun's exact position in the sky out of view. The snowstorm was the only thing making noise anymore. The coast of Monte was out of audible and visible range, and no further dwarven vessels appeared through the snowy chaos to meet us.
Hammerton's navy was nothing to scoff at, but clearly, they had decided to keep the majority of their ships closer to Olympia. Everything I had ever heard about Olympia led me to believe it was the dwarves' prized possession. It was a massive city of luxury and had a large harbor. Because it was so open to attack and would be a fantastic settlement to control in war, perhaps Hammerton had anticipated our assault there first. Due to Eteri's destruction of Pisces in the last century, however, it was clear the dwarves had learned their lesson and tried to prepare for an attack on the towns. Unfortunately for them, our decision to send Eteri's full army to the towns instead of Olympia had caused them to be overwhelmed.
With the dwarven force on the seas taken care of, Zephyr's navy sailed to the coast north of the town as I directed my own ships to the south. Our battleships had to unload from the front, so I planned to line them up on the southern coast and disembark all at once. As my navy sailed down the shoreline, some of the abandoned galleons under Altan and Kirek's control came into view, rocking over choppy, freezing waters with nothing but anchors keeping them secured in the storm.
“Can you see the cannons?” I asked Azazel as I searched for the defensive weapons myself.
“Yes,” he replied. “They are unmanned and covered in blood. There is evidence of fighting nearby.”
I nodded. That meant Altan and Kirek had successfully disabled them. With that thought in mind, I did not give our ship a shield as we neared the coast. Instead, I walked back to Maggie, pointing to the open shore ahead.
“Prepare to disembark,” I commanded.
“Aye!”
I hurried to the poop deck of the ship, directing the rest of our navy southward. The vessels altered course and maneuvered past us as we headed to shore.
“Those of you in charge of the sails and the door levers!” I called through the winds to my soldiers. “Stay here until you see the giants disembark! Then join us. The rest of you, follow me!”
I headed to the stairway leading down into the ship. All of the Seran Renegades other than Maggie were directly behind me, and our soldiers followed right behind except for the flying beastmen. I trotted down to the giant deck, my eyes immediately finding Marcus standing close to the front end of the ship. As I moved closer to talk to him, the brand new and unblemished armor of the giants twinkled in the light of nearby lamps.
The giants had been in charge of making their own armor, and it was just as sturdy and well-made as their architecture. They tended to favor medium to heavy armor made out of thick metals, and they were strong enough to withstand its weight and bulk. Most of them wore steel spangenhelms, the helmets not only covering their craniums but also swooping down over the ears and nose. Giants were not a magical race of beings in the slightest, so a variety of abnormally large melee weapons were hanging from readied arms. There were some blades, but most of the giant armaments were created with bludgeoning in mind; hammers, clubs, and maces were terrifying weapons to face as it was, but when wielded by giants, they promised to be even more damaging.
Marcus's choice of weapon was a solid metal club about ten feet in length. On the offensive end of the club, it was not only thicker and heavier, but it was adorned with hundreds of solid spikes which resembled building nails. Some of the spikes were slightly corroded, evidence of having been used in the past. I took note of my own reflection in the cruel metal of the weapon before I glanced up at its owner.
“Marcus,” I called up to him over the murmur of those on deck, “are you prepared to lead an army?”
Marcus lifted one dark brown eyebrow at me. “You know it.”
I chuckled softly. “Given the dwarven reinforcements which pushed back our arrival, you may not be able to do much damage. Altan and Kirek may have already cleared the soldiers in the town on the plains, and you probably won't fit in the mountain pass.”
Marcus nodded in understanding. “Any ideas for what we should do if we can't?”
“Secure the town. Ensure no one escapes to warn Griswald, but don't kill anyone who has surrendered.”
“Will do.” Marcus hesitated as the front of the battleship scraped up onto the shore, the vibrations rattling through the huge vessel and massaging our bones. “I'll lead?”
“That would be best. I don't want to be trampled today,” I replied, to which the giant laughed.
“Did you all hear that?” Marcus called through the deck to the anxious giants, a sudden boost of motivation causing him to stand up straighter as he spoke.
“You the boss?” Another giant replied light-heartedly.
“You're damn straight.” Marcus turned toward the door as the vessel finally came to a stop, clutching his club in anticipation. Just moments later, the scraping sound of two heavy winches echoed out from above our heads, and the door ahead lowered to the coast of Hammerton with a heavy thunk. The initial view of the battlefield beyond was a mess of snow flurries from the raging blizzard, but that didn't faze the giants. Marcus lifted up his club with gusto and screamed, “Charge!”
The battleship shook violently as the giants rushed out into the storm. Only when the last of them passed through the doorway did I advance, an army of beastmen and mercenaries on my heels.
Once my boots hit the slush, I was bombarded by the blizzard. Harsh freezing winds bit at my face, stealing my breath and leaving my lungs begging for mercy. The world was one of white, chunks of snow falling from the skies before being abused by the winds on its escape to the battlefield below. Nearby to my right, the snow was sunken in and discolored, as if the freezing precipitation had covered up bloodshed while melting in its fading heat.
I could no longer see or hear the giants. The army behind me was nothing to scoff at, but I couldn't begin to lead them in such weather. I kept still in the snow just before
my men, raising both arms to the sky.
Seriin a wava a multipla. Clear air energy trembled in both palms as I recycled the power of the storm into a spell to calm it. I forced the magic into the skies just above my army, watching as the winds visibly slowed their tantrum, leaving nothing but snow. Without the winds to whip the ice crystals around, both visibility and hearing range were amplified. Where Monte had once been invisible to us, I could now survey the scene.
The town on the grasslands had been taken, and the battle seemed to have been short. The only resistance Altan and Kirek had encountered had been the coast defenders and armed civilians, but they had just been overwhelmed. Very few Eteri casualties were dotted throughout the snowy streets. Many of the dwarven civilians had surrendered, and I noted with some relief that a number of them were watching our army approach the inner town with nervous eyes through glass windows of stone cottages. I hoped that meant that Kirek was sparing them.
Monte must have been more significant than it initially appeared from our scouting along the coast because the path leading into the mountains from the grasslands was littered with bodies. I surmised that the armed forces of Hammerton had laid in wait on the other side of this path; the alarms raised by the civilians earlier had called the dwarven army forth from the mountains where they'd clashed with Altan and Kirek at the mouth of the pass. Somewhere down the path, I could hear a battle raging. Wooden bridges and walkways crisscrossed overhead between the buildings aligning the mountainsides, but they were empty and quiet. Perhaps one of the Sentinels had sent soldiers into the upper paths to clear them of enemies which could flank allies.
“Kai!” Zephyr's voice pulled my attention to the right, where her army approached from the north. The Sentinel's long silver locks glimmered in the reflection of the surrounding snow, and she didn't look nearly as uncomfortable as the men behind her in the freezing weather. Of course, she was half-Icilic. She pointed to the calmer winds with one pale finger. “Your doing?”
“Yes. I couldn't see a damn thing.”
Zephyr nodded. “Thank you, friend. My mages and I were attempting to do the same, but this storm was a strong one and insisted on one-upping us. I should've known you could tame it.” She wiggled silver eyebrows at me before jerking a thumb back to the town, calling attention to the fact that she'd left soldiers there. Marcus and the other giants were with them. “I left some of my soldiers to start to secure the town. I figured mine would be more apt to do it than your beastmen.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Nyx spoke up from behind me.
“Forgive me, that may have sounded prejudiced.” Zephyr chuckled lightly before she motioned to the beasts spread across the snow behind me. “The beastmen are fantastic fighters, but securing this town requires an ability to relay orders. Not to mention that once they transform back to speak, they will be naked.” Her silver eyes found Nyx as she finished, “The civilians here are already stressed about having to follow orders of the Vhiri. Throwing a bunch of mostly Alderi naked beastmen at them might cause chaos.”
“Naked chaos is the best kind of chaos,” Nyx replied.
Zephyr laughed. “That may normally be true, but at a time like this, let's take precautions.” She sobered and looked at me. “Thank you, Kai, for coming to our aid on the seas. You saved me from losing a few ships and a lot of men. I don't think Altan or Kirek even heard my call.”
“They probably didn't,” I agreed, pointing to Nyx. “And I wouldn't have, either, if it weren't for Nyx.” My friend only grinned with pride at the Sentinel.
Zephyr acknowledged Nyx with gratitude before looking off to the pass ahead. “Allow me to aid you now, Kai. What's your plan?”
“I will lead my army through the upper paths,” I replied, pointing up at the walkways bordering the mountainsides. “You now have fewer soldiers than I do since yours are securing the town. If you could lead them through the pass, I will cover you from above. The walkways are large enough for the beastmen, and I don't want to keep them bottled up behind the army ahead.”
Zephyr nodded. “Good plan. Will do.” She swooped an arm toward the pass. “After you.”
I led my army to the mouth of the pass before turning at the bottom of the carved stone stairs leading up onto the sides of both surrounding mountains. My eyes scanned over the Renegades and the army behind me, waiting patiently for orders.
“Flying beastmen!” I called, my voice echoing out over the heads of my men. “I want you all to advance! Find and aid Altan and Kirek from the skies as we make our way to you. But be careful! The dwarves will have access to a variety of defenses. If you find these defenses and can disable them, do so! If you find injured allies and can get them to healers safely, please do!”
I found Holter observing me carefully from where he perched on the snowy rooftop of a nearby cottage, his dark scaly feet grasped over the edge of the building. “Holter,” I began, “you are the only exception. I want you with us. I will use you as a scout.”
Though the beastman could say nothing, he tilted his large head forward as if in a nod.
“Go!” I yelled, pointing toward the skies hanging over the pass. Hundreds of flying beastmen lifted up from the ground with the whipping sounds of wind being manipulated beneath huge wings. Many of them were birds, of course, and there were a few beastmen who had decided to become blood-kin with rocs, which I found interesting given the large birds of prey were native to Nahara. There were two wyvern-kin. Lastly, a few beastmen flew past us that weren't birds at all, and the terrifying appearance of them gave me pause. I pointed a finger at the creatures as they passed, calling attention to them. “What the hell are those?”
Azazel chuckled beside me as his eyes followed their flight. “Ba'als. Creatures of the underground. We sometimes referred to them as blade demons.”
Blade demons. The term made sense. Unlike the birds which tended to have arced backs, the ba'als stood tall at ten feet high. They were quite skinny, but the intimidation of the creatures came from their anatomy, not their bulk. As if the skeletal and muscular systems of the creatures were reversed, they were encased in a black exoskeleton that grew over streaks of shiny, bloody muscle. The carapace not only protected them, it also jutted out from their bodies in multiple places in long blades. Fingers and toes were nothing more than sharpened points of exoskeleton, and the natural blades also extended from both knees, elbows, and shoulders. The heads of the ba'als were elongated from chin to cranium like a possessed horse, the chin sharpened at the bottom while the back of the head extended into a bony frill. Dozens of sharp fangs glistened with saliva from wide evil grins, their mouths large enough to use for decapitation. Lastly, I noticed that the demons had few facial features. Their mouths were the only normal parts of their faces. I could see no eyes, ears, or nostrils.
The ba'als flew slower than the birds, humanoid bodies hanging from two outstretched wings of black bone and exposed bleeding muscle. As I directed my army to follow me up the steps to the walkways above us, I asked Azazel, “How do they see?”
“Both echolocation and the detection of heat signatures,” Azazel replied. “They sense sound, movement, heat. They have to, really. Ba'als come from the underground closest to the core of Arrayis. The closer you get to the center of our world, the hotter it gets. The core is molten lava, and that is where ba'als live. They dig through to the underground to feed.”
“On what?” Cerin asked.
“Us,” Azazel said. “They survive solely on blood, though they can digest much more than that. I was sent to kill them a few times while I worked as a hunter. When they ate the others, they ate everything. Flesh, bone, armor, blades. They can also withstand great heat and fire.”
“How in the world do ya kill 'em then?” Maggie inquired with a laugh of disbelief.
“Pull them apart. Get inside their exoskeletons to their organs. They have brains in those long heads of theirs. If you puncture it, you can kill it.” Azazel glanced over at me. “Still, let's just be
happy they're on our side.”
“Don't worry, I am,” I replied. The growing relationship between the wildlands and the underground was doing wonders for the advancement of the beastmen. They had access to all sorts of creatures never before used as blood-kin. It made me curious as to what types of beastmen would be in Calder's army if the underground arrived to aid us in the coming days.
I finally arrived at the top of the stone staircase, breathing hard from the physical effort of climbing. The stone path continued to curve around the mountainside and out of sight. On the other side of the ravine, another route just like it led forward on the other mountain, connected to us by a wooden bridge. Wooden railings rose from the edges of stone, keeping us from falling over into the abyss below, where Zephyr's army was starting to move forward, just the tops of their heads visible from our angle. The architecture here was sturdy, but the dwarves had left much of the railings open to the air, allowing them to keep the magnificent view of the surrounding landscape. Because of this, I felt a little uneasy on my feet.
I directed half of my army to cross the bridge here and advance on the other side of the ravine. I figured that if both sides were leading into the mountain range, they both pointed to the same destination. Even if they didn't, more bridges crossed over the paths ahead, giving us options.
We followed the path to the echoes of battle, only hesitating to check the buildings along the walkways to ensure they were clear of threats. Dwarven civilians were waiting out the fighting in many of them, and we left them alone as we continued forward. The path ahead curved slightly to the left, and only when we rounded the corner did a beautiful sight lay before us.
Monte was much larger than the scattering of cottages on the grasslands, that was certain now. The trail we'd traveled led to a large circular area of lowlands nestled at the meeting point of five surrounding mountains. This hidden part of the town all revolved around mining. Forges dotted the landscape between smithies and warehouses. Crates and wheelbarrows full of metals and ores were parked near the edges of the land. Five separate mine entrances opened up at the base of each mountain in vast gulfs of black, the tunnels supported by massive wooden beams and lit up around the edges by nearby lamp posts.
