The First Quest

by Nick Storming

  He landed in a small circular room, Druska crouched in the shadows beside the entrance while Leesha stood, eyes narrowed as she looked down the corridor. It was slate grey stone, and the corridor had been hewn straight from the stone, its walls rough and uneven. Braden could make out two alcoves far down at the end, roughly two hundred meters away was the entrance to the third level.

  “This seems too easy,” Leesha said.

  Druska took a deep breath in through her nose, “She passed this way master, and I can smell other things, old things. I have never encounter anything that smells like it.” Puzzled she drew deep again, “Smells of death and hate.”

  “Let’s take care and double check every few feet for traps,” Braden said.

  As Druska moved forward cautiously, sliding in and out of sight as she slipped into the shadows, Braden quested out with his magical senses. There was a dark energy to this place. He couldn’t identify where, but he sensed magic permeating the corridor. They made it most without encountering a threat and Braden could just begin to see into the alcoves. He saw small figures wrapped in tight yellow linens and just as he began to recognize what they were, Leesha gave a shout.

  “Druska wait!” Her hands came up, crackling red energy danced along them. Druska froze in place and was about to turn around asking what it was, when the wrapped corpses gave a violent twitch. Flowing out of them, came two ghostly figures, blue white and translucent. The faces were twisted in rage mouths frozen in screams. Mist like hair blew in great halos around their heads and their ghostly dresses ended in frayed edges as they floated out of the alcoves. Faster than thought they flew down the corridor at the party.

  Fear sank its hooks deep into Braden, making his bowels turn to water and his knees shake. He felt the sword slipping from nerveless fingers as the terrible ghostly women bore down on them. He saw Druska cower and wail out, falling to her knees and burying her face in her arms, but he was unable to move forward and help her. The fear held him. Leesha was the only one who had managed to shrug it off. The elf had some natural defenses and had built up more just by climbing back underground into her worst nightmare.

  Leesha had never encountered undead before; this was an enemy out of the dawn times. Now she faced two of the horrors and her Master and the always confident Druska were both frozen and unable to act. She saw the attack coming before it hit and was able to erect a defense, the shield of fiery lightning deflected the brunt of the screaming wail, but she was still slammed hard against the side of the corridor. The sonic blast smacking her head on the wall, dazing her. Druska’s blaster went off just as the alien woman was hit, the fiery green bolt passing harmlessly through both banshee and skipping off the wall.

  The element within was like a second breath, like a best friend she had forgotten but now returned. Since her Master had so blessed her with the Bonding, it was all she could do to not use her magic for everything. She had so much to learn about it, and every moment she held it and worked it, more secrets were revealed to her.

  The Banshee wailed again and she watched in horror as her Master was slammed against the walls and crashed to the floor, skin tearing and blood pouring from his ears and nose. The Banshee advanced on its prey blasting Braden again, the fear aura rolling off it in waves. Druska had managed to struggle to her feet, tears streaming down her face as she cried in fear and struck at the Banshee bearing down on her. Her vorpal blade passed through the incorporeal body, doing no harm and she collapsed again, sobbing harder.

  Her wits returning Leesha struck at the first Banshee advancing on them, her attack passing through the body without harming it, just at Druska’s blade had. Remembering an old tale, she took off down the corridor, in the direction of the two alcoves. The Banshee just before her now let out twin wails, and Leesha dived low, erecting the shield at her back as she passed beneath the twin sonic blasts. She heard the wet thud of flesh impacting stone behind her and a bellow of rage and anger, but she dared not look back as she rolled beneath the floating banshee.

  Braden had shaken off the fear, the pain and humiliation of cowing down, while those he loved fought without him, was enough for him to drive past it. His limbs still felt shaky and weak, but with lumbering steps he charged the fore most banshee. Leesha had just popped up behind the two ghostly figures and was sprinting down the corridor.

  The banshee spun and Braden could feel their wails building in them, ready to tear into Leesha in a second. With a cry of desperation, he struck the creature closest to him in the back and watched the blade cut through the ghostly form as it if were solid. Surprised the attack actually worked, he nearly got his head ripped off when the banshee spun in pain and lashed out at him with a ghostly claw. He got his arm up in time and it tore a deep gouge across his shoulder but saved himself from having his throat torn out. Happy they had a way to hurt the creatures Braden stuck again, trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder. The banshee was too fast though and as it swarmed him with attacks. He fought desperately to keep it from digging those claws into an organ or do more serious damage. He saw his end coming in those few fraught seconds, his skill with the blade nowhere near good enough to keep the creature off him. Druska crouched in fear just past where he fought for his life, pistol in one hand and blade in the other, feeling utterly useless for the first time I her life.

  Leesha ran with every ounce of speed she had, feeling the ghostly claws hovering just at her back. Then she was at the alcoves and the magic within was unleashed, a coruscating whirlwind of fire and lighting danced from her body and tore through the two corpses, ripping through linens and splintering dried bones beneath, while the fire consumed all it touched. Feet behind her back a wailing cry of misery, trailed off to a whisper. Turning Leesha saw both Banshee fading from sight, their forms misting away finally to nothing.

  Chapter Four

  L eesha and Druska helped Barden to the end of the corridor, where they patched up their wounds the best they could. Braden had taken the worst of it, but nothing too serious. He would be limping for a while and half his body would be bruised the next day. It was Druska he worried over. She had been silent since the fight ended and refused to meet his eyes. Hanging her head in shame.

  While they rested Leesha told them what she knew of banshees, “Their presence is fear, stories tell of hero’s freezing under the Banshee stare.”

  “Is there any way to guard against such attacks?” Braden asked, worried if they might all freeze and be killed if they were forced to face more of the creatures.

  “There are mental disciplines to resist such influence, and I have heard certain magics are effective in both mental defense and offense, but I know little of such powers.” Leesha said.

  “I was useless,” Druska said, her voice grim, “neither blaster nor blade could hurt those monsters.”

  “Banshee are powerful undead creations,” Leesha said, “it would have taken a Bond Mage of incredible power to create two of them and only the most powerful magic weapons can defeat them. That or destroying the source of their magical strength, their remains.”

  “I did no better against them,” Braden said resting a hand on Druska’s shoulder, “If not for Leesha and her quick thinking I would be dead under those tearing claws.” Druska looked up finally and met his eyes, “All we can do is our best Druska, and learn from our mistakes.”

  “I need to find a blade such as yours master. One that can harm these creations.”

  “I’m not sure there are any other blades like this one,” Braden said as he gazed with fondness at the ancient tree shaped hilt and silvery blade. “Perhaps we can enchant your blade though, we will need to experiment when we get back to the inn.”

  Confidence returning slightly, Druska stood and wiped the dust from the knees and then walked over to Leesha and pulled the smaller elf into a tight embrace.

  “You saved my life, and that of our Master,” she whispered in the surprised elf’s ear, “I will never forget this.” Then planting a deep kiss on Leesha
’s lips, she turned back to the hole in the ground, all business once more, “Let’s find Emma and finish this.”

  Braden sent Scry-bot down to search the third level and they all waited in grim silence for its return. The minutes stretched and five turned into ten. Braden grew worried and they exchanged glances uneasy.

  “I can’t sense anything down there,” said Braden.

  Druska lifted her arm and the fine blond hairs there all stood on end, at the sight she gave a grim smile, “It’s a trap.”

  “I agree,” said Leesha, “what do we do now?”

  “Spring the trap,” Braden said. He reached down to Druska’s side and pulled out one of her last grenado. He held it up before the woman’s face and said, “Count to ten.” Then he dropped the grenado down the hole with a cold smile.

  Puzzlement turned to excitement as Druska began to count to herself, drawing her blade once more and looking back down the hole. Just as she got to ten, she leapt down.

  “Let me go next,” Braden said counting to himself silently, “You wait for the count of fifteen,” his eyes found her lightly glowing violet ones and bore into her, “You go for the girl and get her out of there if you can, we will be right behind.” Leesha nodded, her face fixed in concentration as with a brief smile, fingertips brushed along her cheek, Braden fell into darkness.

  The sword was in his hand and the magic waiting at his fingertips, his will directing it and slowing his descent. The stone walls passed by faster and faster, the darkness below rushing at him with startling speed. Then he struck the darkness, like passing through a waterfall its cold energy stole through him, leeching away all of his magic.

  Powerless and breathless Braden’s face struck cold ground as he heard the cries of combat happening just out of sight. The first thing he noticed was the cold, stealing through his limbs from the ground and air. Pushing himself up he felt his brain reorienting itself as he saw grey sky over head, and twisted black trees surrounding a scene of madness and death.

  He was standing just before a swirling purple and black portal and was surrounded by the destroyed remains of a great cage or steel trap. The twisted steel still smoked and blasted bits of wood littered the ground, as well as the bodies of several skeletal creatures, even now twitching and shifting in restless undeath. Several dozen of the skeletons were stumbling out of the dark woods and Druska was in a savage battle with them, the trail of undead corpses blasted and cut down lead straight to the alien woman. She was an alien once more Braden saw. Whatever had happened to them when they passed through the portal had changed her skin color back to its natural green hue.

  The skeletons drove Druska away from a large stone altar up on a small hilltop. Upon the altar lay a gorgeous, endowed blond girl and above her a nightmare that very nearly made Braden recoil. Robes of tattered black cloth covered a body pasty white and bloated; the face a twisted thing with too many eyes surrounding a round fang filled maw, waves of fear aura radiates from it and Braden felt his knees once more shaking.

  However, recognizing the fear as a magical effect seemed to help him ignore some of it. He reached for his magic within and discovering he had no power in this place, almost succumbed to the fear again. The sight of Emma chained to the altar and under that creatures control drove him forward and he met the first skeleton to charge him with a powerful swing of his sword, nearly falling over when the undead skeleton exploded to dust at first contact with the magical blade, the hilt warming in his hand.

  The black robed creature had ignored the pesky intruders up until that point, watching the moon track its path along the lines of the ritual, empowering it. Its head snapped up and glowing red pinpricks of light appeared in its eyes sockets, looking straight at Braden.

  “You will not take another from her harem Fool!” It screamed in a voice like nails on chalk board. Braden struck another skeleton, brittle bone bursting to dust at contact. Laughing he waded forward in wide sweeps, the awkward skeletons stumbling back to the woods as he slew them one after another.

  “MISTRESS!” The black robed creature cried, raising fat puss covered arms to the sky, “QUEEN OF DEATH GRANT ME YOUR POWER!”

  Above in the grey skies, black lightning crackled and thunder boomed. Braden could feel the power of it from here, the hairs on his head lifting. Then a black charge tore down from the sky and struck the ground near the creature. Braden blinked away the flash of light and saw a hulking figure standing where the bolt had struck. Ten feet tall and as wide across the shoulders as Braden was tall the Stone Golem rolled it’s oblong rock head around its boulder arms smashing the ground with titanic strength, rattling Braden’s teeth.

  “AHAAHAHAH YOU FOOLS! My mistress has sent one of her own creation!” It’s maw chewing over the words as it spoke. The black robed figure lifted a wand of twisted blue wood tipped with a ruby on one hand, the other whipping out a sacrificial dagger and began to carve at Emma’s flesh, the young woman screaming out in pain.

  Braden moved to help the girl, but the lumbering golem blocked his path. A massive stone fist the size of his chest swept at him and he had to hit the ground and roll hard to avoid it. He hopped to his feet and side stepped a massive foot as it crashed to the ground. The rumbling earth turned his foot and he felt the ankle roll, under him. Ignoring the pain, he danced back, slashing at the golems side. His blade cut deep and a grinding protest came from the magical creation. Braden didn’t see the second leg sweep around and it took him in the side, throwing him far out to the side to crash into the ground in a bruised heap, the sword spinning from his hands.

  Scrambling across the ground he took up the hilt just as a ball of fire flew over his head. Sword in hand he turned and ducked, just in time to avoid a second. The small fire balls were flying out of the wand. The lumbering golem bore down on him, raising one great fist and then it was stumbling back, one of its legs falling free as Druska rolled from beneath it, her vorpal blade perfect for fighting this creature.

  With a battle cry of triumph, the green woman turned and engaged the golem. It towered over her and with one head-on blow was capable of ending her life. She was faster however and her skill with that short blade was incredible. Braden dodged another fireball then he heard the black robed creature cry out once more and looking to the altar saw the small red elf dragging Emma away from the altar.

  Dashing forward he rolled under one lumber blow from the golem and with quick strides and a juke to one side avoiding a fireball, he closed with the black robed creature. It blocked his first swing with one fat hand, the fingers flicking out as he felt a stab of a needle hitting his arm, then his blade was cutting deep into the fat undead, leaving a smoke gash behind.

  “NOOO! MISTRESS AID ME!”

  Braden’s sword was already though its chest. Its scream ear shattering as it died on his blade. Druska was lopping off the final limb from the stone golem just as Braden turned to help. A big smile of accomplishment on her gorgeous face as she met his eyes, breathing heavy. Looking down he pulled a small needle from his chest, noticing the tip covered in blackness as he threw it away.

  Braden hurried over to help Leesha and felt his mouth go dry at sight of the gorgeous blond girl his eyes meeting hers for a brief moment before she passed out. She had rounded cheeks and a wide fill lipped smile; her nose was aquiline and noble while her eyes were large and pale blue. Druska hurried over and the three of them carried the woman, still bleeding and naked over to the rapidly shrinking portal. Just as they drew close Braden sensed a presence at their backs.

  Druska and Leesha were passing the girl through when Braden turned and saw a dark cloud of energy coalescing above the altar. He couldn’t make anything out but he felt a malevolent gaze upon him. The sword in his hand throbbed, the blade glowing a dim pearlescent that caused Braden to glance at it. When he looked up the dark presence was gone, and the blade was silvery steel once more.

  He stepped back through the portal and felt a surge of relief when the magic leapt back to his touch
once more. They were in a small cave with evenings dim light shining in from just a few dozen feet ahead. Druska scouted ahead and found the area to be clear and safe. The make a small camp and saw to the now unconscious Emma. Druska caring for her wounds the best she could with what they had.

  “She is cut up pretty bad master, we risk infection every moment we can’t get her to a bed and get these wounds sown up.” There were geometric patterns and small glyph marring the smooth flesh of her stomach. The girls skin was a sickly pale grey and her breathing was shallow.

  “Druska we need you to scout the path back, as fast as you can and when we are safely on the trail, head to the village and bring assistance as fast as possible. Bring Betsy and tell her of her daughters injuries, I believe she knows healing.”

  Druska nodded and dashed off scouting out a trail of the dense forest. Braden could only hope they were close to where they had entered the dungeon. He and Leesha searched and found two tree limbs, using his sword he trimmed them of branches and the fashioned a litter. As they were putting the blond girl in Leesha paused her head tilted as she gazed at Emma.

  “I never knew a human could be so beautiful,” she breathed, “I wouldn’t be surprised if there was fey blood in this girl.”

  “Leesha, head out of the gutter!” Braden admonished and chagrined the elf took up the front of the litter and they headed off into the woods, trying to shake the littler as little as possible. He could feel a fever starting at the back of his throat as the marched through the woods. The sweat popping out, cold and sudden, but he did his best to ignore it.