More and more wolfmen were sucked into the sky by the waterspouts that were forming around the mage. The water also caught the orbs of light as they touched, sucking them out of their lazily drifting pattern and into the sky.
High above Endrance, illuminated for anyone for miles around to see, an orb of water began to form. Within it floated the kicking, struggling bodies of dozens upon dozens of wolfmen and scattered orbs of light. As the reservoir emptied, anything even soaked in water was being hauled up by the spell.
Even with this occurring, more wolfmen piled into the reservoir as space cleared up; and they were additionally swept up into the sky. Being mindless killing machines worked well against soldiers, but was a critical weakness to a mage.
When the last droplet of water joined the orb above, Endrance found no wolfmen standing on the ground around him. Any bodies he saw below had been crushed under the feet of the wolfmen above. Looking up, he saw the orb was almost dark with their still struggling bodies.
He raised his right hand, pointed the first two fingers of his hand at the orb and hammered power through the scribed spell. Lightning unleashed in an arc of pure power and struck the aqueous orb, dispersing its power through everything in the water. The lightning caused the lights trapped within to strobe, flickering in rapid succession as Endrance continued to pour power through the tattoo. Instead of firing a shot and then letting it cool down before firing again, he let power flow continuously through the spell, chaining the orb with lightning.
Steam erupted from the sphere, but because of the spell, it could only crawl along the outer layer of water. Smoke drifted from his fingers and the smell of burned flesh filled his nose. His hand started to go numb.
He let go of the spell, shaking his hand out as it continued to smoke. Looking up, he could see electricity crackling across the orb between globes of light. Once Endrance felt confident the water was sufficiently electrified, he switched hands; instead reaching for a spell he had cast only moments before. "Culare." he stated, dropping the last dregs of his power into the spell.
Rotating in the air, illuminated in lightning and sparks, the orb froze solid. It started from the core, the water expanding as it froze. The spell completed and finally the night went silent.
Endrance looked up at the frozen orb as it revolved slowly in the air, surrounded with mist and crackling with inner lights that flickered through the coating of cloud surrounding it.
Taking a deep breath, Endrance shook his head. Okay. I think I'm done now. He said, feeling exhausted again.
Endrance! Gullin called, finally able to make contact with him. How did you-
I chained several spells with synergistic effects together. Endrance replied wearily. Let's get out of here.
Endrance visibly sagged, unable to stay upright much longer. Channeling the ego of his ‘guest’ the blood tiger would have been exhausting even if he hadn’t also drained his aura and much of the energy he had restored to the spell bracer. Now he was beyond fatigued, and only his fear of being found and mauled again by the wolfmen kept him from sinking down and passing out.
Where? Gullin replied. You may have wiped out every wolfman I can see for miles, but there are more out there.
There. Endrance replied, pointing. The seal over Rothel's tomb waited, sitting at the bottom of a bone dry reservoir bed. I can either wait there a while, or try to find a passage elsewhere.
I can't follow you down there. Gullin replied.
I know. Go back and keep Joven and the girls company. I want them to know I'm okay. Endrance instructed.
Gullin soared by the frozen orb that remained the most visible feature for miles. I don't think that will be a problem, master. The crimson bird concluded.
Endrance slid down the side of the ice pillar and nearly fell on his face as he landed. Righting himself, he approached the seal to the tomb of Rothel. The capstone remained untouched by plant life or degradation, implacable in its design. The fifty-four black iron studs along the outer rim of the cap gave him a good handhold as he hauled himself up to the top of the capstone. The mage struggled to recall the sequence he had instructed Joven to use many months ago.
Gullin, soaring high above, kept an eye out for danger. For a moment, he thought he saw something moving by the very farmhouse Endrance had perched on before approaching the reservoir, but as he coasted closer he saw nothing moving, only shadows dancing in the light of Endrance’s handiwork.
Endrance pushed the stones in the right order and slid back from the capstone as the locking mechanism unwound. The black iron studs extended as the rods beneath them rose. Endrance watched them wearily; his hands on his knees and his hair hanging lose.
Gullin barely caught the shift of darkness behind Endrance as the dry bed shifted. A sulking form rose out of the dirt nearby. It was one of the wolfman who had somehow escaped capture and destruction. It appeared to have been trampled into the bed as others piled on top of it in their haste to catch their prey. He wheeled towards his master as the wolfman haltingly walked towards the mage who had been too tired to even hear the thing’s approach.
Endrance! Gullin cried. Behind you!
Endrance whirled, but only barely managed to avoid the battered and broken wolfman’s claws. Behind him, the capstone slid aside slowly and noisily. Endrance fumbled at the daggers at his hips, but could not draw them before the wolfman’s second strike hit home. The fine chain shirt took another hit, and several dozen links went flying as the wolfman drew blood.
Gullin couldn’t draw on any more of Endrance’s aura to fuel his powers, so he flung himself into a dive. As the wolfman lined up a third strike, Gullin’s talons impacted with his head. The wolfman’s claw went off the mark as the familiar took off most of his head, and only clipped Endrance on the shoulder. As he stumbled back from the blow, he felt his heels come up against the lip of the tomb’s entrance.
“Oh shit!” Endrance managed to shout as he plunged backwards down the stairs. He saw light, then darkness and then light as he tumbled. Then his head struck a stone and only darkness whirled through his vision.
Gullin pulled up out of his dive and spotted another wolfman struggling to pull itself out of the packed muck. He swooped down to take that one out before it entered the tomb. The familiar did not see the cloaked figure slip past behind him and into the tomb. It paused at the entrance for just a split second to hit one of the stone buttons before sliding inside.
Gullin rose into the air a moment later and saw the portal closing. Endrance was unconscious, but Gullin did not sense that he was in any immediate danger. He was alive and breathing and that in and of itself was surprising, considering what they’d just pulled off. He would have to let him rest; the familiar was so tired from the mage’s low aura that it took all he had to maintain his presence in that realm. The bird remained on watch of the tomb lid until it was completely sealed. Once the last rod dropped into place, he wearily banked towards the second bowl. He still had to alert Joven.
Chapter 09
Joven looked out over the first bowl and growled as the frozen orb continued to spin lazily in the air. “If that wasn’t Endrance, then we are in trouble.” he muttered.
“What the hells is that?” Bridget asked.
Selene peered at it from the same crenellation as the other two, but her vision seemed to be sharper than theirs. She could clearly see lightning crackling across a frozen ball of water with the silhouettes of hundreds of wolfmen trapped inside. She had no idea how the magic worked, but she could see her Spengur’s handiwork in it.
“It’s Endrance, all right.” She replied. “No one else had hefted the reservoir into the air, or frozen the reservoir, or struck wolfmen with lightning except him.”
Joven rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “And now he’s done them all at the same time?” He protested. “That’s insane.”
“That’s the Spengur. Crazy, but effective.” Selene responded. She leaned out over the stone, looking down. “He even managed to cle
ar out almost all the wolfmen near the gates.”
They were on the second bowl’s wall, overlooking the first bowl. Alongside them were mustering hundreds of the kingdom’s best archers and crossbowmen. They hadn’t time to prep their weapons for the initial rush, but the Spengur’s blatantly obvious assault had managed to grab every enemy’s attention for miles and allowed them to man their defenses beyond the meager four soldiers originally manning the second gate.
It had been assumed that the first gate’s sixteen men had been overwhelmed before they could signal for help. And then, it had been assumed that Endrance was lost, but Gullin’s flames had been visible from where they arrived. Sadly, it had been too late for the three to join the familiar. By the time they arrived, the gates had been permanently closed, black iron rods six inches thick dropped into the stone around the doors, preventing it from opening even if there were no latches or bars. It had effectively become a part of the stone wall it was flush with.
The only other way down was a steep drop of over 80 feet, something that most of the group would not be able to survive, nor would they risk trying to climb down. They were fortunate that the wolfmen were attacking with murderous desire and didn’t have any methods to scale walls other than bare claws. They could have captured a siege machine and used it to get back down from the wall, but in their feral state, Joven doubted they could even conceive of using something even as simple as a ladder.
“If that’s Endrance, what do you suppose that the spell means?” Bridget asked.
Joven shrugged. “It just wiped out hundreds of wolfmen. I think it means the Spengur is helping against the threat to Balator.”
“Hey!” Selene exclaimed, leaning forward as her eyes strained in the darkness. “Do you see something coming this way?”
Joven grabbed the Draugnoa by the shoulder and pulled her back before she slipped over the edge. “If it is Gullin, then that’s good. If it’s not, then also good.”
Bridget glanced at the bodyguard. “’Cause then we have something to fight.” She confirmed with a smirk.
The glowing speck grew into a tired scarlet winged familiar as he approached. The bird’s fire guttered and fizzled as he glided in for a landing. He nearly missed, only catching the stone ledge of the wall with a single talon to prevent him from overshooting. He crashed to the stone floor, shook himself as he stood and in a short hop grasped the wall again. Gullin squawked wearily as he turned to them ungracefully.
“That’s… not good.” Joven admitted.
The crimson bird turned his head to the warrior and merely sagged his head in response. The three exchanged worried glances, filled with trepidation.
“Endrance has to be alive.” Bridget reasoned. “The bird’s still here.”
Gullin looked up at her and nodded his head once, then shook it. He appeared confused, unable to respond with a clear answer. It didn’t help that all three were barbarians and too stubborn minded to open their minds to mental communication.
“What the hells does that even mean?” Joven exclaimed.
“I think it’s safe to say that Endrance is alive, but in a precarious situation.” Selene added. “But not so immediate that it’s an emergency.”
“How do you figure?” Bridget asked.
“Remember how much Gullin would panic frantically whenever his master was in danger? Well he’s not panicking. Tired, yes, but not trying to get us to go after him right away. He would have tried, even if he was dying, should Endrance be in mortal danger.” Selene reasoned.
“Maybe he’s just too tired to-“ Joven started to say, but was cut short as one of the soldiers under his brother’s command called to him from closer to the gates along the wall. The man was running along the wall towards them. Behind him, another three men trailed behind, two flanking and dragging an injured one between them. The lead soldier’s bare skin and armor glinted in the sunlight as he came to a stop before Joven. Not even fatigued by the hundred yard run, he started his report immediately.
“Joven,” He exclaimed, clamping a fist to his chest. “We found a survivor from the first bowl; he claims to be a messenger from Ironsoul.”
“Ezeilo?” Joven asked, surprised. The man had been in the middle of the first bowl when the attack began. The two men dragging the third were getting closer.
“He isn’t one of us, and we don’t know if he’s a spy for the attackers.” The soldier reported. “Since you’re the most renowned warrior at the wall, captives are your decisions.”
The captive finally arrived and Joven checked the man’s face. A familiar face looked back at him, badly beaten, bruised and bleeding from numerous claws scratches. A long slice ran down the side of his face, cutting into the side of his jaw. He was still remarkably conscious, though he seemed to be in too much pain to be very coherent.
“I recognize him.” Joven replied. “How did you come across him?”
“He was found just inside the second bowl when the call came to defend the gates.” The soldier replied. “He was like this when we found him, alone and unarmed. He said the wolfmen were invading. We thought he was delirious at first-“
“And then the wolfmen showed up.” Joven finished.
The soldier shrugged. “The man who captured him had been among the first to fall to ensure the gate was closed, so he’s now your responsibility.”
Joven eyed the man. He seemed anxious, but not fearful or nervous. Joven finally looked at the three and tilted his head towards the gates and the violence in the first bowl. “Take him to a healer, and keep him in custody until we return. Go, kill the invading wolfmen and retake our lands.”
The man clamped a fist to his chest again. “Of course, Joven.” He replied.
“Joven turned to the two Draugnoa. Time to get ready.”
Chapter 10
Selene swept into the house, her clothes damp. Joven and Bridget followed, a fine powdering of snow on their shoulders. Gullin dropped in, swooping through the door before Joven closed it, landing on the back of a chair. Though the bird was fatigued, the rest of the group was only getting ready for more.
They made it back to the house where they had been recuperating. They had a unified purpose: recover their lost Spengur. Whereas Joven was driven by his sense honor and friendship, Selene was driven by her love for Endrance. Regardless of her personal feelings towards Endrance, Bridget had pulled herself together enough to recognize the Spengur was her duty.
Selene looked about the house, trying to direct her thoughts to preparation. "I just..." she muttered. “I just can't let him be stuck somewhere, surrounded by enemies!"
At first she had been scared for her husband, but as the minutes passed that fear shifted to a very slowly boiling anger that came from deep within. It was her other half, providing her the fire she needed to get moving. She had gone from wanting to save her husband, to needing to find the ones responsible for taking him and tearing out their hearts.
The emotion was a little bit difficult for her to adjust to.
Joven looked over at Gullin and shrugged. The familiar exchanged as close to a shrug as a bird could, bobbing his head down while hunching his shoulders up. If the bird was trying to talk to him, he wasn't hearing it. Joven had wondered about the bird before when Endrance had him around, but he had thought it had died during the fight in the throne room. Then a month later it comes back. The barbarian shook his head. He wasn't going to think about it; the bird was back, and that's all that was important for the moment.
Selene vanished for several moments, returning with a bundle of weapons in her arms. Joven stepped forward as she dumped them onto the table. He picked up her chain dagger. "This." he said, putting it next to her pack. He grabbed up a brace of small knives. "Not this." he continued. In short words, he helped her sort through what weapons were effective against wolfmen and what would have to be left behind. Several minutes later, they had a small arsenal prepared.
"What are we going to do?" Bridget called out from behind them. Jo
ven glanced over his shoulder. Her eyes watched them alertly. Regardless of how she’d gotten there, she'd finally pulled herself together and got past her problems enough to be willing to fight. "Endrance was lost in the first bowl." he said, handing a spiked mace he held in his hand to Selene. "You were there. We're going to get him back."
Selene looked up from her task to realize for the first time that Bridget was present. She thought carefully before speaking. "I won't be here to help you if you need something, so you'll have to handle things on your own while we're gone."
"Like hell I will!" Bridget exclaimed, walking forward. "I'm going with you!"
"You are going nowhere without me!" she was practically shouting. "You think I was going to sit idly by while the Spengur is trapped with the enemy?"
Joven and Selene looked at each other before turning back to Bridget.
Selene blinked at her, confused. "I didn't think you would want to." she stammered. "You don't even like him!"
Bridget turned to her. "Like him?" she said, her voice simmering with anger. "Part of me hates him for what he did. But..."
She seemed to cool down over a few seconds, her shoulder slumping and her head dropping a nearly imperceptible inch. "But," she said in a much more muted voice. "He still is my Spengur and my husband, and he's stuck to what he believed was right by me." She held up her hand and clenched it in a fist, the muscles in her well-toned arm standing out in the firelight. "He saved my life, I must repay that debt."
Joven looked her over. Other than the missing arm, she had been in recovery for weeks and physical training for the remainder of the time. She had been struggling to compensate for her loss and as a result, was stronger than before. She was more than ready for a fight and Joven knew that her skills would be more needed if they had a chance of finding the Spengur.
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