Death Knight Box Set

by Michael Chatfield

  After a lifetime, she hung there limply, her eyes dull.

  “Looking away from a crime doesn’t mean you weren’t part of it. It means that you allowed it to continue,” the sphere of rock said.

  Those words hit hard as Letanya’s mind was clear and she tried to find excuses, fall back on the fact that the Church of Light was righteous. Those words couldn’t pass her lips.

  She could only tell the truth.

  “Why did you carry out these acts?” the rock sphere asked.

  “It felt like the right thing to do,” she said. It was such a simple answer, but it encompassed all of her motivations.

  Chapter: Ignite the Fire of Change

  Anthony and Claire walked through the halls. They came to a stop, talking to each other. Anthony looked over Claire’s shoulder.

  “That is the meeting room that they use,” Claire said.

  “Looks like they’ve got about ten powerful guards around the place. Are those people the saints I’ve heard about?”

  “Stop moving...bit to your right.” Claire used his breastplate to look over her shoulder. “Yeah, that should be them.”

  “Well, should we go and say hello?” Anthony’s hand slid closer to his sword.

  Claire pulled out her timepiece. “It’s ten minutes in. They should all be there.” Claire turned, facing the heavily protected room.

  Where did they put you? Claire sent out a spell but there was no response. She sent it out again, calling out to something.

  “Well, this won’t be messy,” Anthony said.

  “I thought you liked going through the front door,” Claire asked.

  “Well, you know, looks badass,” Anthony said.

  Claire worked her lips, finding it hard to keep in her laughter.

  She raised her hand. Spell formations appeared around all of the guards; lightning shot out and into their bodies. They shook and shuddered before collapsing to the floor. A second spell made gas fall on them, knocking them out.

  Three saints guarded the room: one was bleary and stunned; the other two were shaking the effects of the spell off.

  Anthony charged forward. He dodged one attack, moving perfectly so that Claire’s Ice Bolt hit them in the stomach and threw them against the wall that seemed to turn to clay as they sunk in before solidifying, making them a part of the wall. At the same time, she casually raised a stone spike, piercing another’s foot as Anthony dodged their blade and punched them in the face. Claire withdrew the spike and they dropped to the floor. A spell formation appeared in their face, giving them a dose of green gas. Anthony grabbed the remaining saint by the hand, picking them up and then kicking them. She changed the density of the wall they were traveling into, a spell formation on the wall as they sunk in chest deep; the floor wrapped around the gassed saint on the floor while the formation disappeared and the wall became stone again.

  They flowed together, chaining their attacks together perfectly.

  “We still got it, my little badass battle mage.” Anthony moved to the door. He drew upon his power. Gold, black, green, and a faint red appeared on his blade as the air around him shot past, clearing dust and rubble. The sash around his waist rippled wildly.

  He drove his sword forward into the door. The doors struggled as power cracked through its structure. The door exploded with a loud noise, the defenses defeated quite handily.

  The doorway was ricocheting off the walls and ceiling and she could now see into the meeting room beyond.

  A blast of power shot out from within the meeting room, striking Anthony in the chest.

  He raised his sword but he wasn’t able to deflect it.

  Anthony went shooting past Claire.

  “Seems they’re not morning people.” He dug his feet and blade into the ground. With a surge of power, he rushed forward. The doors were opened to reveal several leaders of the Church of Light sending out blasts of their special Lord of Light power.

  I can taste the corruption and chaos in their attacks. They can’t be humans. Reinforcements are coming in. Claire raised several spells, firing them into the room. She used her other hand to alter the walls and floors to create barricades to stop or slow the enemy rushing toward the meeting room.

  Anthony moved forward, dodging attacks and shooting his own back.

  Purple power—faint, only wisps of it—was being gathered together on Anthony, his Guardian emblem clear to all as he rushed forward.

  “I’ve come for you!” Anthony yelled as a hammer appeared in his hands. He struck it down on the air. Power surged as the Agents of Chaos were wrapped up with purple chains and judges appeared. They didn’t have their impassive expressions that they normally wore when they were overseeing a case. Their deep anger created a powerful pressure on these Agents of Chaos.

  The chains expanded as their illusions were broken.

  There were three Drafeng commanders and one regular Drafeng.

  “Looks like a bit more than Agents of Chaos. We have a nest of commanders,” Anthony said, panting.

  He’s having to use his own power. The power of Dena is restricted here by the formations on the different pillars.

  “Guardian,” one of the Drafeng commanders hissed.

  Claire looked at the saints pinned to the walls as they started to move oddly.

  “Guardian Anthony!” the dwarven judge yelled out as a beam of chaotic power came from the hallway.

  A man leading other saints charged forward. His blast struck Claire, who had been at the entrance to the meeting room, some twenty meters and then through a wall.

  She used a flight spell, stabilizing herself as she looked at Anthony.

  The Drafeng in human illusions fired on the courtroom, tearing through the purple judges and the court. Their power consumed the power of the Guardian’s Judgment, forcefully destroying it.

  The saints on the wall and floor broke free of their bonds. They started to transform, the power of Dena within them being converted into chaotic power as they transformed into chaotic beasts. The Drafeng were covered in a white glow as they started to transform into their combat forms.

  “Kill the leaders of darkness. Angels of Light have come to assist us!” the man who had struck Claire called out.

  Anthony defended himself, but the backlash from having his Guardian’s Judgment forcefully cancelled drained him of his power temporarily, being a magical being he was fighting to stay on his feet.

  Claire let out a yell as the mana in the area was disturbed. She fired spells back at the Drafeng. The room was shredded apart with exploding meteors.

  With her left hand, a rainbow of prismatic light shot forward in a cone. People burned; others were covered in acid, lightning, poison; still others were hit with cutting cold, crying out in pain. Some were restrained and other blinded. One of the newly transformed chaotic beasts cut out at a Drafeng.

  Their limb glowed with chaotic power, cutting through them and leaving a dying husk. They absorbed their chaotic power, restoring their strength and repairing the cold damage. They cut off their limbs, regrowing them with chaotic power.

  Claire used Wind Blade, slicing through several chaotic beams of power. Anthony was struck, being hurled out of the open wall.

  The mana around her surged and funneled through a spell formation, creating a raging inferno of flame that filled the meeting room and the halls around it. The heat was enough to warp the floor as flames spat out over the balconies.

  Claire muttered another spell under her breath.

  A semi-sphere shield appeared around Claire as she dual cast a weight-reducing spell on Anthony and a weight-increasing spell on herself. She shot down, dodging the chaotic blasts as she grabbed Anthony.

  “Mana chaotic—head is fuzzy,” Anthony said.

  Claire used Stone Shape on a wall in front of her, using it in a circle. She threw Anthony; he crashed into the circle. It fell inward and he crashed into the ground.

  Claire was pushed forward by a blast hitting her back.
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  She finished chanting her spell. Several shining doves shot out from her hands. They landed on Drafeng and chaotic beasts, as well as saints who had appeared and not changed. Their eyes turned gold as they fell under her spell and started to attack one another.

  She was only able to affect a few as she cast Illusion on herself and used voice amplification.

  “Kill the creatures of darkness! The darkness has invaded our church!” she yelled out, looking like one of the people she had seen in the room before they had shed their human illusions.

  She used Domain of Silence, covering the commanders so they couldn’t argue.

  “Come, priests, guards! Saints! Kill them!”

  The church was stirred into action, given direction now. Some said that she was using an illusion, but they were few and seeing the saints and the guards fighting the chaotic creatures, they rushed in to join them in the fight.

  The Drafeng didn’t care, slaughtering their way through. Lances of chaotic power landed on Claire’s shield, pushing her backward. She dove into the floor she had opened up an entrance to.

  Anthony was getting to his feet.

  “So much for a knight. Are you okay?” Claire asked.

  “Let me get back to you on that. My power is nearly gone, can barely call up anything.” Anthony looked punch-drunk as he swayed on his feet.

  By reaction more than conscious thought, he raised his sword, defending himself.

  “Good punchy shield.” Claire moved behind him and started casting. Using him as a new barricade, she fired past him. Mana bolts collided with chaotic beasts, cutting open wounds. Several ballistas appeared on either side of her. They fired out bolts that changed between red, white, and green: fire damage, cold damage, and poison damage.

  Once the bolt was released, the ballistas’ magical construct turned into motes of light as Claire replaced them. The chaotic beasts were growing in number.

  “How many people did they corrupt? This place is like a damn hive!”

  Three of the Drafeng commanders worked together, shooting at Claire and Anthony. She grabbed him, casting Fly.

  If we stay here, we’ll be pinned down.

  She flung him over a balcony between the bridges; she adjusted him and aimed for the Lord of Light statue.

  Little middle finger to the assholes.

  She increased his weight as she flipped around her body. She let out a crackling laugh. Mana flowed through her veins instead of blood. Her eyes turned purple as green and black power covered her body.

  She flipped, dodging attacks as the Drafeng and their people charged down the tower, and jumped onto bridges, causing them to crack and break. Debris and dust rained on people below.

  Claire was a fairy dancing on the wind as she fired out bolts of black and purple. They struck the chaotic beasts, causing them to cry out as their bodies started to decay in real time. Black flames burned through their bodies and purple lines traced through their veins.

  When she missed—she rarely missed—the stone walls would explode and then start to decay for a few seconds, leaving black marks on the walls.

  People were fighting all across the levels, the church a scene of chaos.

  She flew back quick as a sparrow, between two bridges and looped up. Blasts came from her hands as she circled over a Drafeng commander, shooting them from above instead of below.

  She created a shield, stopping a blast from striking her; she increased her weight and shot down. Beams intersected above her.

  She hit another chaotic beast with an attack. They contorted and yelled out as they dropped. With their mass, they dropped faster, passing her and Anthony.

  “Hey, guys!” Anthony said as she was still dodging attacks and firing. She looked over at Aila, Damien, and Tommie, who were running across a bridge to the other side.

  She saw them jump out onto the inner wall of the church and climb up it. She and Anthony were far enough down that the chaotic beasts and commanders couldn’t hit them through the bridges. Debris and rocks fell from above and she had to dodge those as they tried to clear the obstacles in their path.

  Claire dodged elegantly and she came to land on the ground. She reached the ground before Anthony.

  Boom! Anthony hit the ground hard enough to make the ground shake.

  Pretty good aim. The Lord of Light statue was now shattered pieces and her fiancé was now three feet below where the statue had been.

  “Ow.”

  Claire kicked the Lord of Light’s head out of the way and shot a blast of mana at it, turning it into powder. She moved to the right; a rock landed where she had been a second ago.

  She was about to call out to Anthony when several bridges crashed down. She dodged them as she heard wing flaps and a powerful presence.

  ***

  Tommie, Aila, and Damien walked through the lower floors of the Church of Light. Tommie was looking around, studying the enchantments that ran through the building.

  “Enchantments for lighting, for heating. They took the time to make the enchantments look like designs in the walls, a blend of gnome functionality and elven design. Using the strengths of both, the flowing carvings make the flow of power move through easier. This entire building is just one large machine. Though the enchantments are only working partially. There are some paths that are unused and the enchantments have been missed.” Tommie fell silent as they walked across the main floor of the church.

  In the middle, there was a fountain with a statue standing among brilliant white flames, a representation of the Lord of Light. He stood there with a benevolent smile on his face, his hand reaching out to accept others.

  If one got too close, they would be burned by the flames surrounding him.

  Tommie, Aila, and Damien were focused on a pillar in the corner of the room.

  Tommie looked down.

  Power is still channeling through the floor, but it is being restrained. That statue must have more to it, and the fountain too. If we remove the limiting factors on the power draw, then it should burn through the added enchantments. If this was made by a gnome, they would have added enchantments to rebuild the original enchantments and formations. We just need to trigger it.

  He looked at the room ahead. It was one of the main supporting pillars that ran up to the top of the church. There was a room around the pillar, covered in murals.

  Aila came to a stop. “What do we do now?”

  People were studying the murals in hushed, revered tones.

  “Too many people. Let’s go to the higher levels,” Tommie said.

  Damien led the way; he knew the building like the back of his hand. He had been a Guardian acolyte before, so he had spent many days running through these same halls.

  He was quiet as they headed to the next location.

  They opened a door, finding two guards playing a game of cards. In the center of the room, there was a pillar covered in an enchanted sleeve.

  “What are you doing in here? This room is restricted.” One of the guards looked over.

  An explosion rocked the upper floors.

  “Clearing house.” Damien’s hammer came out and hit the two men. The blow knocked them out as they crumpled to the floor.

  “Get working. Anthony and Claire must’ve found the Drafeng. We need to break these enchantments.” Damien moved to the sleeve.

  “Wait! Let me study it for a second or else we might do more harm than good!” Tommie yelled, raising his hands.

  Damien halted his movements.

  Tommie studied the pillar. The work was crude but effective. He took out charcoal and drew circles on the sleeve.

  Aila cut off the men’s pants and used it to bind and gag them.

  “Hit the spots I have circled,” Tommie said.

  Damien used his hammer. He hit one location, building up momentum. He increased his speed, striking the other locations one after another.

  The sleeve started to spark mana and show cracks through it. He hit the final location and the
sleeve fell apart, crumbling. The white light from before disappeared and a pillar filled with purple enchantments was revealed. The enchantments started to glow and the pillar started to repair itself, drawing power back in. The white stone around the pillar started to change.

  “Good. It’s started to rebuild itself. We need to head to the others.” Tommie looked at Damien, who was now back to his original appearance.

  “Get on my back. I want to see just how powerful these Light bringers are!”

  Tommie didn’t think about how embarrassing it was to jump on another man’s back and ride him like a mount as Damien grabbed him and put him up there. Tommie grabbed a stun bomb from his belt as he grabbed the back of Damien’s armor.

  “I’ll lead. I haven’t lost my cover and I can distract people a bit maybe,” Aila said.

  “Let’s go,” Damien said.

  Aila led the way and started to break into a run. Purple power was leaking from the building, drawn to the higher levels. There was an explosion; as one looked up, they could see through the entire church to the burning flames above. Blasts of magic and another power shot through the air. Beasts that Tommie had never seen before charged forward. Their bodies twisted to create wings and other appendages to attack the source of the magical blasts.

  A man clashed with them inside the room. The waves of force blew holes in the walls before he was struck and shot out into midair. He plummeted; the source of magic dropped as well.

  People screamed and ran, the guards rushing out.

  The trio ran into a group of guards down the next hallway.

  “I came in like a wreeaaa-aking ball!” Damien yelled as he swung, not giving them any time to react as his hammer moved. He was true to his words as he barreled through them, sending people flying as he connected with their bodies. He staggered and kept running after Aila, who was still guiding them.

  Claire grabbed Anthony and blew a hole in the side of the tower, crashing into a new level. The chaotic beasts from above jumped out of the room they were in, crawling across the inner walls or flying from the higher level to the lower level.

  Aila got to the next room, which Claire had told them about.