by Eric Vall
Of the monsters that flew and swarmed, I spied some drakons and gryphons, both powerful in their own right. I didn’t see any ember eagles, which was a blessing because they would have likely burnt the whole city down.
“This is bad,” Nia breathed. Yeah, that was an understatement.
A pang of powerlessness tried to creep into my heart, but I pushed it back. We had to do something. We were mages. We were trained for battle and there had to be something we could do to turn this around. We had to dive in.
I turned in my chair from the disaster before us to the banisher behind me. “Varleth, do you think there are any other banishers in the Enclave?”
His face pinched as he thought. “Maybe a few. There are six that stay full time at the Academy, me included, but we live in a much larger Enclave, so it’s likely they would have less in Bedima. Plus, I don’t know how many might be on missions.” He shrugged. “It could be all of them. That happens all the time.”
“If there are any, they’re likely already trying to close that rift,” Nia said as her eyes darted rapidly to take in every little movement in front of her. “But if they aren’t…”
“Then that’s where we need to go,” I said. I gave Varleth a long look. “Do you think you’re up to closing that damn portal?”
He didn’t like me, that much I knew. Maybe it was because I was a summoner or young or maybe it was something else, but none of that mattered now. Humanity was in danger, and we were perhaps the Enclave’s best chance. So, Varleth stowed his disdain and nodded, his gaze determined. This side of him, I could get along with.
“I’ll do all I can,” he answered.
I nodded. “That’s all we can hope to do. We have to give it our best.”
“Yeah, let’s get down there,” Nia said with a defiant grin and a deadly gleam in her eyes. “We can deal with those winged nightmares after we close the rift.”
“It’s too bad we can’t just fly the airship inside,” I said as I stared angrily at the rift. It was definitely big enough, but with all the debris and buildings in the way, it’d be suicide to try.
“That would be nice,” Nia agreed as we circled the Enclave. It would have been hard to tell what was going on down there normally with the tightly packed buildings and narrow streets, but all the smoke and the darkness of the storm above made it that much worse. Nia scanned the city for a spot to land, but I found one first.
“There!” I pointed to the large square in front of the train station. It was the only spot big enough to land this thing.
She nodded at the suggestion and turned the wheel toward the spot. As we descended and got closer, I saw rubble strewn everywhere, interspersed with bodies and blood. To top it all off, a whole horde of monsters swarmed around the square.
I took a deep breath and steeled myself. We would be in for a fight as soon as we landed.
Maybe it was the size of our ship or the speed of our dive, but the monsters cleared out as we made our final descent. I’m pretty sure we still crushed a straggling axe goblin under our landing gear, which was strangely satisfying. As the airship fully settled on the ground, we all seemed to take in a long shuddering breath at the same time.
After we collected ourselves, Varleth went to the cabin, retrieved his sword, and began muttering his spell over it. Nia and I joined him. Nia chanted a spell or two herself, and I swore her body began to hum and glow with raw magical energy. I gripped several crystals in hand and nodded as Varleth finished his incantation, and his sword swirled with that wicked banisher magic.
We were ready.
“Get me to that rift,” he ordered. “Then maybe, if we’re lucky, we can close this thing before the enclave is consumed in blood.”
Nia and I nodded grimly.
With that, Nia cracked her knuckles and jumped through the exit hatch and into the hellscape below. With only a second more of hesitation, I jumped after her and into the greatest fight of my young life.
Chapter 4
We waded through hell. I wasn’t sure if it was a comfort or not, but it was at least a cold hell as the cool mountain air sent a shiver down my spine.
As soon as my feet touched the hard cobblestone of the square, I was under attack. A goblin bounded after me, clawed hand raised, so I only had enough time to unsheathe my short sword and jam it upward at my attacker. The goblin’s claws raked across my right arm, sending fiery pain through me, but my sword went right through his jaw and out the back of its head. It twitched, but in the moment before it started to break down, its acrid black blood flooded over my hands.
The pain in my arm was bad, but I’d been through worse, so I pushed through.
Still, not a great start to an already impossible task.
Nia was ahead of me. She twirled around and whipped up a gale of wind that wrapped around her momentarily like an ever-shifting dress before she thrust out her hands, the wind following. The grunt level monsters around her flew back, and the space allowed me to do my work.
I summoned my usual platoon of axe goblins now that I had some breathing room. Supplemented with speed slugs, they ran through the collective mass of monsters. So far, I didn’t spot anything too powerful, but I was sure larger beasts were lurking somewhere.
I turned to see Varleth stab into a box troll, and the black energy of his sword drained the monster of magic before it crumbled to dust. He spun and cut a goblin in two. With each monster he cut down, his sword seemed blacker and blacker, but he looked paler. He saw my concern and shrugged it off.
“I told you, draining monsters takes a toll.”
“Enough of a toll that you won’t be able to close the rift?” I asked. We didn’t need him dropping before we got a chance to save the city. If worse came to worst, I was sure Nia and I could escort him properly without him having to raise a finger in defense.
“I’ll be fine, summoner,” he growled back. “Just get me there.”
Nia looked back at us, her face glowing from her magic. “Then let’s go.”
We cleared out the rest of the square. Nia swept up a legion of goblins in a barrage of fire that broke up the cobblestones and sent chunks of rock and debris flying through the air. Varleth did his best expert swordsman impression and dispatched grunt after grunt without hardly breaking a sweat. The grunts rushed me too, but I dispatched them easily enough with some speed slug enhanced axe goblins that tore through their ranks with terrifying efficiency, sending blood and gore raining through the air.
Once that was finally done, we started our push through the embattled city and to the rift.
The Enclave was a chaotic, horrifying mess. The dead and injured were strewn everywhere, fires and ruins rose all around, and the air was thick with blood and smoke. The clang of swords and the pop of gunfire filled the air, mingling with the screams of the fearful and the dying and the hungry roars of the many monsters.
We did all we could. Nia led the way, a swirling mass of elemental fury as she burned, froze, electrocuted, and crushed everything that came our way. Varleth stayed in the middle of us while I covered our rear and flanks. I summoned a few wallerdons, reinforced them with bullet bass metal, and had them walk on our sides as moving cover. Grunt level monsters couldn’t put a dent in them, so they had to climb over and go around, which they did, but that made them easy pickings for Varleth and me.
Our progress was slow, and it took everything in me not to stop and help everyone we saw. I kept my resolve, but there were so many bodies and people screaming for help while their homes burned or were raided by monsters. I wanted to sob and mourn for all the loss. My stomach churned, and my heart was aching almost continuously, but I pushed through it, no matter how painful the sights and sounds.
Down another side street, I spied an augmenter grappling with a massive rhinoceros-like monster with a huge bone covered head. A rambler, like the one I’d fought in the Shadowscape at Helvetia. This one’s glowing red eyes stared mindlessly at the augmenter who seemed to be very capable. His arms wer
e the size of tree trunks as he focused all of his strength and magic there to hold back the rambler. Those monsters were mindless waves of destructive momentum and weren’t stopped easily, and this one was no different. It pushed the augmenter through wall after wall, building after building. I wanted to go help him, but time was a luxury we didn’t have at the moment.
We continued on our march, we were mostly unaccosted for a good couple of minutes. That didn’t last, of course.
It had become a little too quiet for my liking when ahead of us, a bakery exploded in a spray of glass and brick. Out came a rambler, and atop its back was the same augmenter from before. The two still grappled, trying to gain the upper hand. I liked that sort of hardened determination. At least, I did in a person, not in a monster hell-bent on death.
The rambler charged forward toward Nia, but before it could come close, the augmenter climbed forward so that he could get his arms around the rambler’s thick neck. Once he did, he tensed his muscles and twisted. His veins bulged, and he roared with exertion and pain as he snapped the monster’s neck.
It let out a brief whine of agony before it fell silent and crashed to a halt. The augmenter was thrown off of it from the sudden stop and landed in what looked like a painful heap amidst a pile of rubble.
“Ow,” he wheezed.
I went to the man’s side and helped him into a sitting position as Nia crouched on his other side. His augmented arms had shrunk back to their normal size as I gave him a quick once-over. If I had to guess, I’d say he was a few years older than us, perhaps still a student at the local academy. His dark skin was covered in a layer of white dust, plaster and mortar most likely. He was covered in cuts and bruises, but a cursory glance didn’t show any major injuries.
“You okay?” I asked him. I took a step back and looked back to the rambler. It was definitely dead and already half decayed.
He groaned and stretched his arms. “I’m fine. Sore and tired. Thanks.” He pushed himself to his feet and was a tad wobbly. The man could have been fighting for hours for all I knew. His eyes scanned me up and down, an eyebrow arched. “You’re a summoner?”
I nodded. “I am.”
“Haven’t seen too many summoners who fight.”
Nia smirked beside me. “He’s the best there is. So stick around, and you might see some things that will surprise you.” I blushed at the compliment from her.
“Maybe.” He looked Nia up and down with the same curiosity he gave me, then his eyes scanned the skies with worry and looked around, surveying the damage. Then he turned back to me and offered me his hand. “I’m Renuad Porter.”
“Gryff,” I replied as I shook his hand. His grip was like a vice, not surprising coming from an augmenter.
He shook Nia’s hand next as she introduced herself. “Nia Kenefick.”
His eyes widened. “A Kenefick? Here?” Renuad chuckled. “Well, I’m glad to have you.”
“Come with us,” I told him. “We’re going to close the rift if we can, and a knowledgeable guide through the city would be more than helpful.”
Renuad looked at me curiously, but he didn’t protest. “You have a banisher?” he asked me.
“Yes, we do,” Varleth answered with his usual scowl.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s Varleth, our banisher.”
Renuad eyed him curiously. “The Bedima Academy is small, and we only have three banishers as far as I’m aware. Two of them were out on missions. The other might have already gone into the rift, but I have no way of knowing. As far as I’m concerned, we need all the help we can get.”
“Good, then lead on,” Nia said. “Point us in the right direction, and I’ll blast us through anything in the way.”
“Fair enough, miss.”
So, Renuad fell in line beside Nia, and I took up my position at the rear.
The fight went on, and our new augmenter ally led us bravely. I was curious about where we were ultimately heading, so I waited until there was a momentary lull in the fighting and tapped him on the shoulder. He gave me a question glance, left eyebrow raised inquisitively.
“Yes?” he asked, his eyes still darting around and looking for trouble.
“Could you tell me where exactly the rift is? In case something happens to you. It would make it easier on us.”
He gave me a pointed look and chuckled. “Do you have so little faith in my abilities, or are you planning on offing me yourself?”
It was my turn to laugh. “No, I just like to be prepared is all.”
Renuad nodded with a smile, then faced forward. He pointed west, towards the mountain and at a large clock tower. “See that tower? A quarter mile south of it is Miner’s Market. It’s a popular area, filled with taverns of cheap swill, and brothels both luxurious and otherwise, and all other manner of less than reputable establishments.”
“Sounds like my kind of place,” I said with a grin. I heard Varleth scoff ahead of me, but I merely rolled my eyes right back at him.
“I like it too,” Renuad said with another light-hearted chuckle. “It’s rather run down and dingy, but fun. It’s where most of the miners go to unwind after long hours toiling beneath the earth.”
“Makes sense,” I told him, my eyes behind me again to cover our rear flank. I flashed him a grin though. “Thanks for the info. Now I can off you.”
The augmenter and I both shared a laugh as we continued on our dangerous path.
As our progress went slowly, we encountered many soldiers who were doing their best to contend with the hordes of monsters. Some walked with us for a time as did some civilians until we informed them of our ultimate destination. We came across a few other mages too, some up close, and others at a distance. When we passed through a large ruined square with a toppled statue at its center, I saw two metallogues fighting back to back. They were beating waves of ghouls and goblins and the like to a pulp, but more kept coming.
I looked back at Nia. For now, we were clear of monsters, but we could hear more of them nearby. My wallerdons were scratched and battered, but they kept on their march. Nia walked briskly forward, her body tensed and ready. Varleth had his sword ready, his skin paler than earlier, but he hadn’t had to use his magic much thankfully. My axe goblins, daggerdillos and box trolls prowled out the perimeter, so we had some breathing room. I could take a second to help these mages out.
So, I summoned a lightning imp and directed them to channel electricity into the two metal-clad mages, which arced out from them into the crowd of monsters. While the torrent of lightning didn’t kill them all, it thinned the horde considerably. When one of the metallogues saw me, he gave me a salute before he got right back to fighting. I nodded back and returned to our own mission.
“Did you know them?” I asked Renuad as we pushed on towards the rift.
He panted, having just ripped the head off a troll. His shoulders and arms were swollen with magic. “One of them, Jakon. Didn’t know the other one. Glad to see them alive and fighting though.”
We passed a wide alley, and as we did, I commanded one of my wallerdons to block it off, a way to minimize avenues of attack as we pushed on. Almost the moment I did, thunderous footsteps echoed through the air from the other side of my wallerdon. Whatever it was had some size to it, but it only took a moment for the monster to become apparent as an ugly hobgoblin pounded against my wallerdon. A hobgoblin was very similar to a regular goblin, only much taller, immensely muscled, and sporting long jagged fangs that jutted out of its lips even when its mouth was closed.
This one had sickly pale skin that was covered in blood, its victims’ I assumed. Its head barely came over the top of my monster though I knew it was too uncoordinated to scale to the top. It thrashed and clawed at my wallerdon in a hungry rage, but even without the bullet bass metal to reinforce it, my wallerdon could easily withstand the beast’s attacks. Still, hobgoblins could be dangerous if not taken seriously. If goblins and the like were the grunts of the monster horde, then monsters like hobgoblins and
cyclopes were the lieutenants.
“Could you kill that thing already, Gryff?” Varleth called from up ahead with some annoyance in his voice. “The raking of its claws is driving me crazy.”
That was fair enough. The hobgoblin kept clawing at my guard with its long claws, sending up an awful screech from the impact. It didn’t bother me much, but it was akin to drawing a rusty nail across metal.
The hobgoblin’s deep red eyes followed me as I kept its attention. With it preoccupied, I tossed a crystal high over its head. With a little exertion of my mana, the crystal glowed and flashed and in a poof of smoke, another wallerdon appeared briefly in the air above the hobgoblin’s head.
I waved at it. “Bye now.”
Then the wallerdon fell on top of it and crushed it to a pulp, snapping bones cracking in the air like gunshots. Now that was an unpleasant sound.
From there, we turned down a long avenue and crossed a bridge that spanned a deep sewage canal that stunk to high heavens, even over the smoke and the smell of death and monsters. I saw bodies in the canal when I glanced in it. I gulped. We had to hurry. Should I use my speed slugs? I’d already used them earlier, so using them again would drain me considerably. Plus, we’d been fighting since before dawn, and the flight here hadn’t offered me much time to recover.
No, best if I conserved my strength. Who knew what we would encounter ahead?.
As we crossed the bridge, it was relatively quiet. The occasional goblin and ghoul ran at us, but they were easily dispatched.
“So you’re obviously a response squad,” Renuad said to no one in particular. “I can tell from the communicator.”
“We are indeed,” Nia replied. She kept her eyes ahead, her arms covered in a thin layer of flame. She was flushed, and sweat drenched her back. We were all exhausted, and we weren’t even to the rift yet, but we had no choice but to press on.
