The Emperor's Shadow War (Tales of Alus Book 2)

by Donald Wigboldy

  Darius flicked a small ball of wizard's fire into the face of one more orc. The creature fell away clutching its face pitifully. The wizard felt no joy over using his powers in such a way, but this was war and that was the way of it now.

  He turned to see Electra slay another and took in the fact that the twenty guardians had either fallen or run from the unmasked members of his allies. Bagheer was at his side as always. Long time elven friends, Tavarsh and Seco moved to either side of Electra as they all ran for the opened gates before them.

  Tate caught his eye and smiled sadly, while Meria looked to her friend with concern etched on her face. Janus stood waving everyone towards the doorway where Dorvin and his dwarves charged eagerly to face new challenges. Reaching the entry chamber within, the dwarves were disappointed to find only the dead bodies of the enemy and Dante standing over them all.

  Darius could feel his pain before he even saw the man’s face. His friend was not taking Gibble's death well. Darius moved to Dante's side and lay a gentle touch upon his shoulder. "I'm sorry, brother."

  Dante looked at the wizard sadly, "He died to get us inside, Darius. I'll be damned if I'll let him die in vain."

  "Of course," he replied softly, "none of us will let the Dark One or his minions get away with taking anymore lives. You were right about Gibble, my friend, so remember as well that there may be more within this fortress that have as noble a soul. Perhaps we can find more that serve the Dark One only because they cannot afford to do no less or die.

  "Honor the goblin by defeating the Dark One and freeing those enslaved souls."

  Dante looked at the wizard with shadowed eyes. "I hope that there are others, but they better not make the mistake of getting between me and this Emperor, Darius. No life, no matter how innocent, will stop me from killing that creature now."

  The gates closed with a loud slam as several of the elves pushed it closed. The body of Gibble had been moved gently to one side while the men of Dante's squad lifted the huge wooden brace into position to secure the doors against the Dark One's minions still laying in wait outside.

  "We're inside," Janus stated grimly. "We have only one direction to go now, friends, deeper into the darkness. There we will find the cause of all this death. Like a spider in its web, he sits there awaiting those who will dare to defy his embrace." The elf raised his sword aloft and it glinted with the dim light of the torches set around the walls. "This time the spider falls for good!"

  Though Janus hadn’t cried out loud, they all could feel the echoes of the words. Darius was the only one to ask aloud, "Which way, Janus?"

  The elf pointed with his blade to another large door at the opposite side of the chamber. "Our enemy makes the trail easy enough to find, wizard. Let us go meet him now. Our host shouldn't be kept waiting."

  Dante led the way with Dorvin and his dwarves close behind him. Valenia, Lane, and the other humans moved close behind. They all feared for Dante. His current state lent to recklessness and, though he was believed immortal, no one wished to test his limits. But no one could hope to dissuade him from his need to lead. Janus could even be seen frowning with worry at times as they navigated hall after hall.

  Finally the elf knight spoke the words that many of them had begun to wonder, "Where are they? I can't believe that the Emperor wouldn't have more guards than those we slew at the entrance."

  Riad spoke worriedly, "Perhaps they think he's that powerful. Maybe he doesn't need guards?"

  Darius shook his head, "From what I've heard of the Dark One, even if he is that powerful, I think he is also vain enough to want to have some guards as well. The more who see his power, the more he likes it. Look at his horde of armies. He likes these masses of followers. They are extensions of him as much as they are his guards and executioners."

  "I agree," Janus replied. "I suspect a trap is set somewhere ahead of us. Be careful where you step, Dante."

  The lieutenant scowled but chose to lead them at an even more furious pace. Finally, they found themselves before a chamber of enormous size. Dante stopped feeling the change in the air. "I think that we've found the trap," he stated though no creature could be seen to stir within the great hall.

  Janus moved closer to peer inside. "There are balconies above and several doors along each wall. Archers could be above waiting for us to enter. Soldiers can sweep in from the sides then and finish us off."

  "Let them try," the soldier snarled angrily. He leapt into the hall and ran straight for one side of the room. Leaping upon a tapestry hanging beneath one of the balconies, Dante started to climb up towards the railing above it. Suddenly several arrows shot towards the man, two struck him solidly but he ignored them to quickly pull himself up and over the railing.

  Darius could hear shouts and the crash of swords. Several more arrows fired across the hall and screams of the beasts Dante fought carried throughout the chamber.

  "We can't let him fight alone," Valenia stated worriedly.

  "And he won't," Dorvin insisted gruffly. He pulled out his shield and a crossbow. Without looking to see his dwarves copying his actions, the dwarf king simply ran out into the chamber in the same direction that Dante had gone. Three of the elven archers followed their lead before Janus could stop them.

  Darius turned to Tate and Xarien, "We'll use the few pine cones we brought along to get rid of the archers and move onward."

  Both young men nodded. Fioren and Matalchus moved to join them. Meria stepped forward quietly to join Tate. The elder wizard said grumpily, "You weren't planning on leaving us behind, boy, were you?"

  Darius smiled and stated, "The more the merrier, old man."

  Bagheer pulled Dante's soldiers together as the wizards spoke. The men moved their shields into place and, as the wizards moved in the direction of the dwarves who were trading shots from behind a pair of stout columns with the archers above, they formed a wall of leather and wood to protect the spell users. Janus finally shook his head and ordered the last elves and those soldiers remaining to follow suit.

  Staying to one side of the chamber limited those above to shooting from only one side. As the wizards cast their cones into the alcoves atop the balconies, explosions uprooted the enemy knocking the fight out of them swiftly. Darius was beginning to feel that they had slipped from yet another trap when all the doors to the hall were thrown open.

  Dozens and dozens of screaming warriors rushed into the room to meet their enemies. A body fell from a balcony above startling him as he prepared to fight yet again. A goblin had splattered its brains onto the floor, but only after Dante had split its skull first.

  Darius gave a little prayer for all their safety just as the wave of soldiers struck their brave band full force.

  Chapter 53

  Darius was startled as Gannon slashed at a troll that had reached out for him saving the wizard from harm as he dispatched another pair of goblins with a rush of flame. The seer had been quiet since they had arrived near Dirgoya as if he was distracted by something else. If it was a vision that could help them succeed, Darius hoped the man would break his silence for once.

  "Thank you, Gannon," he shouted quickly over the noise of battle.

  Bagheer and Electra fought just beyond him with Seco and Tavarsh against a brace of trolls in unusual battle armor. It was unusual since he had never witnessed the creatures in armor before and based off their ability to fight he was glad that he had not.

  Over the noise of the fighting, a boom of snarls and shouts made itself known as dozens more of the Dark Emperor's guards rushed to end the threat to their master. A flash of steel and a silver mane suddenly whisked ahead of the wizard. Janus slew an orc before quickly shouting to him, "We need to leave here and find the Dark One, Darius. It is up to us to find him before we are overwhelmed or worn down by these numbers." He paused and struck a new attacker severing its hand from its wrist. The creature howled and fell away. "Follow me, wizard!" the elf ordered.

  "We need to get the others to join with us
then." The elf shook his head, "No time. They'll have to fend for themselves."

  Darius was stunned by the callous remark. It was battle, but these people around them were also friends. "We can't..."

  A hand shoved him forward towards Janus. He twisted his head to see the seer pushing him forward. "He is right, Darius. The others will win or lose without us, but the Emperor must fall."

  Unable to find fault with those words, the three started for a doorway. Bagheer and Electra fell in as well covering their escape as best they could. Passing through the doorway, the elf turned and, finding little resistance in the darkened hall, moved quickly in a direction that Darius could only guess was correct at first. Several steps and a doorway later, the wizard felt what pulled the knight ever deeper into the dark world of the enemy.

  A few small groups of orcs and goblins stumbled surprisingly into their way and were made short work of by wizard's fire and sword's thrusts. Darius kept looking over his shoulder feeling the need to return to their friends and allies. The wizard knew what he was about to do was important, but it wasn't in him to leave his friends in a deadly fight either.

  Gannon was behind him and shook his head sadly at the younger man’s waning attention. "Eyes front, Darius," he said gently. "The Dark One awaits us."

  The man would have sighed had he not been so out of breath from running and fighting. Instead, he kept moving and watched the twists of the tunnels pass them by as they ran ever steadily towards the powerful magic hidden deep within the stone fortress. Feeling the magic trying to touch him already, disgusted him like intentionally bathing in sewer water, and yet its dark power tried to seduce him with its strength.

  They moved down more flights of stairs and ramps often now. He thought that they had probably doubled back across their earlier steps several times already, but at a much lower plane each time. The weight of the stone began to get more oppressive with each step. The air seemed to gather up more pressure as well and Darius could see that the others felt it as much as he did this time. It wasn't just his claustrophobia, but the effect of descending so far into the sleeping volcano.

  When they finally came across a pair of stout wooden doors adorned with gold and copper inlays, he was almost glad. Janus pushed on it and, to their surprise, it opened easily. Darius could see the elf's hand clench his sword tightly with his worry, only to realize that he was gripping the edges of his robe equally hard.

  "He waits for us," Janus spoke through gritted teeth. "I feel him as I did once before." The elf looked down at the floor before turning to the others behind him. With an effort, the knight raised his eyes to the others. Darius could see fear mixed with anger in the blue and black of those orbs.

  "Well, let's go then," the wizard whispered. "We have done all that we can to prepare for this, Janus. Now it's time to see if all the effort of following the Visionaries' wishes has been worth the trouble."

  Darius could see that Janus had frozen and strode past the elf to see what lay beyond the doors. He took only a few steps inside, with a torch held aloft over his head, before the man came to a stop in shock. The wizard stood at the edge of an enormous chamber of a circular shape. Six torches rested in sconces at exact intervals around the dark room. In the center, dug into the floor, lay a pit surrounded by large stones glowing with red fire. Its light was unusually steady and seemed strong, but darkness engulfed the space beyond its fires.

  Darius' eyes widened as the shadows appeared to move. It took a few seconds before he realized that his eyes had not lied to him. The shadows had coalesced into one deep impenetrable mass of darkness and hovering near the top of the darkness were twin fires of light the color of the pit before it.

  "Ah, you have arrived at last," a voice echoed through the chamber. Darius' blood chilled and fear raced up his spine at its dark sound. The air seemed colder despite the fiery pit before them.

  Darius froze.

  The darkness shifted again and he knew then that this was the Dark Emperor.

  Dante felt possessed of a passion that transcended normal anger. Battle flowed through his veins and the faces of troll, orc and goblin turned red and blurred. The soldier felt no compassion as he slew first one mass of archers and then another. He had found the passage linking the balconies to one another.

  Systematically, the soldier moved from one group to another. Sometimes other soldiers were to be found in the hallway, but his sword slew them swiftly as well. He was becoming a machine, unthinking, and therefore lacking the passion to be called cruel. He had forgotten those who had followed him here and had forgotten the lives given so far that had been wasted. The soldier killed and that was all, until a scream broke through his trance like state.

  Throwing a last goblin over the rail to its death on the floor below, Dante looked over to see the carnage below him. His eyes scanned the tangle of bodies as they swirled round flashes of steel. He found Valenia in the midst of the horde fighting with Lane and Calla at either shoulder and suddenly his mind was his own and it cast hatred on his actions.

  "What have I done?" he asked of himself angrily. "I swore that I would not have anyone else die and I've left them exposed to this!"

  Looking to the side of the terrace, Dante found one of the huge tapestries hanging just below its railing. Thinking nothing of his safety, the soldier leapt over the edge towards the wall hanging. His sword stabbed into its material and while it cut it also slowed his fall. Landing roughly on the floor, Dante turned and struck out for his beloved.

  Some of the enemy saw him as he moved to join the fray. Three armored trolls raised their battle axes over their heads and charged at the man. Dante smirked disdainfully and threw the Spear of Aleile with all his strength. The middle troll was pierced through the chest, but the spear continued to wound and kill those directly behind it. Dante's mind didn't worry over the deaths, but merely charged at the remaining two.

  He parried an axe blow by splitting the shaft the blade sat upon, as well as the armor plate and the chest of the troll wielding it. The third troll struck as well, but Dante sidestepped its attack and the blow failed to connect. Dark's Bane swept from one kill to slay the other.

  He howled like a wolf over its kill. A pack of orcs turned to see his wild eyes and the blood covering his body and face. Nearly a dozen in number, the creatures fled with the battle gone from them in an instant. Dante ignored the dozen and pressed into the fray.

  Several moments later, he found Tate and Meria using their magic to cover Tavarsh and a pair of elves who all appeared ready to drop from injury and exhaustion. Dante charged their attackers. Orc and troll were felled in instants from his magic weapon.

  "Follow me," he ordered the five who readily moved into his wake.

  They found Warik and Erphen guarding an injured Xarien and Fioren. Sweeping aside their attackers with little trouble thanks to Dark's Bane and his ferocity, Dante left the elves to protect Tate and Meria while they saw to the injured men. Pausing only long enough to see that they were safe for the moment, he pushed through the mass once more.

  Seeming almost charmed, Dante moved through their midst. They seemed unable to see this force of one until he was right on top of them. Slaying them from behind as much as from the front, the lieutenant found honor had no meaning in a battle like this anymore. It was slay or be slain, and he was determined to be the slayer of them all. Too many of those Dante cared for had been slain to allow anything more than callously removing their stain from the earth.

  Suddenly, the floor seemed to clear of the enemy. Dante was so stunned by the abrupt change that it wasn't until Dark's Bane clanged against Valenia's weapon that he even realized that they were gone. Quickly he noted that Valenia also held the Spear of Aleile against his own sword.

  "Valenia!" he cried out in surprise.

  She grimaced and asked, "Do you always plan on greeting me with your sword, my love? If so, perhaps we need to add some rules to this relationship of ours."

  He reached out with one arm
and pulled her close as their weapons lowered. A passion filled kiss was his answer as Dante held her in relief. Releasing her slightly, the man apologized softly, "I'm sorry, Valenia. I got carried away. I see that you found my spear."

  Laughing at him despite the current situation, the woman confessed, "It stopped in one of the trolls in front of me after killing a few others in its path as well. I admit that it worked out well enough for me. A good thing it arrived by the way since my sword shattered and I was using the broken thing to hold them off."

  Turning to survey their surroundings, he replied halfheartedly, "I'm glad that I could help." Dante looked and found the remaining members of the thirty-four coming towards them. He noticed that many were missing and the others were almost all wounded to one degree or another.

  "Where are Janus and Darius?" he asked worriedly. "If we've lost them, then we've lost everything."

  Matalchus limped over to them leaning wearily on his staff and holding his side with his right arm. "They left the battle," he stated tiredly. "When the second wave came, they escaped deeper into the fortress."

  "Are you sure?"

  The old wizard looked at him angrily, "If you had stayed with us, you young fool, you would have known. You let your temper get away from you and now look at us!"

  Valenia jumped to his defense though he knew that some of what the wizard said was true. "You can't blame him for this, wizard! He fought the archers that we might pass through. How could he fight both battles at once?"

  "Dorvin is missing," Dante stated without looking at either of them. "I don't see his dwarves either. Did they join Darius and Janus?"

  "I found two of them over here, sir," Sergeant Lane answered from one side of the room. "Four of the elves and Volin are dead as well. Wizard Fioren, too, I'm afraid."

  "Volin," Dante whispered wearily and shook his head. "All right, Lane see to the injured quickly. We're pulling out of here as quickly as possible."

  "What are you saying, Dante?" Valenia asked in surprise.