Mikal was running with Ziplocke on his shoulders. The Goblin launched Fire darts at the chasing Imperial soldiers. Crossbolts and ice spears clattered and shattered along the walls and floors as he ran. The Healer winced from the pain in his shoulder where a crossbow bolt stuck out. He was bleeding, and he knew that as soon as his adrenaline wore off, he would be in trouble. Plus, he was fleeing Imperial soldiers and was running toward an army of fanatical devil-worshipping cultists. Mikal chuckled. That''s just my luck! He thought.
"This is not funny!" Ziplocke shrieked. A crossbolt whizzed passed his green head. "Run faster!" The Goblin cried.
Mikal briefly fantasized about tossing the Goblin back at the soldiers. This brought a grin to his face, but the Goblin was right. They had more pressing matters. With a grimace, the Healer shaped Runes with his good arm as he ran. He poured his Will into the Rune spell and Summoned up a mist ahead of him. As they ran through the mists, Mikal Shaped it into ice to form a solid wall that gave the two a slight reprieve from the chasing Legionnaires.
"Why are you stopping?" Ziplocke wailed.
Mikal ignored the Goblin and winced in pain as he yanked the crossbow bolt out of his shoulder. Blood poured freely, and he leaned in pain against the wall. The Healer had to admire Hannah''s craftsmanship. His armor held up splendidly! His wound was shallow and easy enough to heal. Mikal tapped his Life aspect Channeling tool and Shaped his flesh closed. He had mastered the healing arts, and mending wounds was easy for him, but it still drained his Will. However, he did get a lot of practice from his team. They couldn''t keep their flesh together even if their life depended on it! Mikal thought to himself with a chuckle. He missed his team.
"Okay, you are healed. Get a move on!" Ziplocke ordered.
The Legionnaire Rune casters were Shaping Mikal''s ice wall away. The Healer scowled at the Goblin and grunted as he shoved himself off the wall and continued to run down the corridor. They were nearing the chamber where the altar and the small army of cultists were. Just my luck! Mikal thought. He happened to be in the only part of the labyrinth where he had only two options to travel. One was occupied by homicidal Legionnaires, and the other direction led toward homicidal demon-worshiping cultists. The two groups should meet, Mikal thought to himself.
"Get ready with your Shadows, demon," he told Ziplocke. He added, "And don''t ask for something in return! I swear by the Frozen All-Father, I will toss you for real into a Goreratpor''s maw!" Mikal exclaimed.
Ziplocke had readied a retort but snapped his mouth shut after the Healer''s threat. Instead, he replied, "You got it!"
This is going to be challenging, Mikal thought as he came upon the turn that led to the final stretch. He knew that his running would have alerted the cultists and shaped the Water aspect Glyphs to prepare mist. They turned the corner, and at the end of the long corridor were a dozen armed cultists. Their eyes went wide when they saw Mikal leading a charge against them with a small army of Legionnaires behind him.
"Attack them for the honor of our Immortal Emperor!" The Legion captain cried.
Mikal rolled his eyes as he shaped the mist to form an ice shield that he Controlled to remain in front as the cultist unleashed a flurry of Fire darts. His magic held against the onslaught as he continued his charge. The Legionnaires behind him returned fire.
“Now!” Mikal ordered.
Ziplocke released his Darkness magic, and the area was engulfed in Shadows. Mikal used his ice shield and forced his way past the defenders and into the circular chamber. Behind him, the Legionnaires and cultists clashed in fierce combat. The Healer''s heart sank when he saw that the masked cult leader remained in the chamber. With curiosity, he wondered what they were doing. Were they mobilizing to go after Jeze? He saw dozens of cultists form up on the opposite end of the chamber on the other side of the enormous Fiend statue. The cultists began fighting and were forced back inside as three large and heavily armored warriors charged in. Mikal''s heart lifted when he saw that it was Dunar, Helga, and Rolfe! But were they mad? To attack such a large force on their own? The chamber shook, and the three Frostsworn quickly moved to the side.
"Oh, no," Mikal stated as he also moved toward the walls.
He was grateful to be able to hide within Ziplocke''s Summoned shadows. Dunar, Helga, and Rolfe were not mad. They were insane! Mikal thought to himself. A terrible roar echoed through the chamber as two lumbering Goreraptors charged in. Legionnaires, cultists, the Proven, and two huge monsters were all fighting inside the chamber. Carnage and mayhem ensued.
*****
Click! One of the fully armored Legionaries with Drake stepped on the pressure plate. In front of Jeze and Viel and through the double steel doors, the chamber became awash in Darkness, Flame, and red Affliction magic.
In the pitch black, Jeze heard Viel point out, "Gotta hand it to the builders. They remained consistent with their traps."
Jeze groped in the dark and retrieved her glow globe. She activated it and the two saw that there was a wall of inky blackness in front of them. Screams of pain could be heard from within.
"I suppose we wait it out, then?" Viel said.
Jeze nodded, but she felt sorry for the Legionnaires.
Viel rubbed her shoulders. "Don''t feel bad. You and I experienced this trap before and we survived, barely."
The screams died down and they could hear Drake''s muffled voice bark commands. He sounded stressed, and this brought a grin to Jeze''s face. If anything, at least he suffered. She reflected. Jeze turned to Viel.
"Who else did you and my brother travel with?" Jeze asked as she kept an eye in front.
Viel scratched his dark curly hair and answered, "Let''s see. You got Daverius, who was our leader. I was the Striker, and Drake was our Protector. Ahh, there was Lydia, our Healer, and Selene was, our Scout."
"Do you talk to them?"
Viel shook his head. "No, your brother was why we all traveled together. I mean, we made efforts, but each of our lives took over."
"Was Drake always with the Empire?" Jeze asked.
Viel tapped his chin and responded, "I recall he served in the Legion, but I don''t know much else."
It quieted down in the other chamber. Viel and Jeze gripped their weapons.
"Get ready," Viel whispered.
Jeze Summoned piles of dirt in different locations throughout the chamber and activated the Runic protections on her armor. She closed her eyes and prepared herself mentally. Jeze hoped to achieve Mastery again. The Darkness faded away as the Legion''s Rune caster dispelled it with the Light aspect. One of the armored Strikers lay unmoving on the ground, with smoke trailing off their burned armor. The old Rune caster was kneeling beside the fallen warrior. Drake glared at Jeze and Viel. His chest heaving with rage.
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"One down. Let''s hope the Rune caster tries to save his mate. That leaves Drake and the other two. That''s fair odds," Viel stated and cracked his neck.
"That is cold-hearted," Jeze replied. She felt bad about the Legionnaires. They were just following orders.
"Eh, you are still young. So, you take the two, and I dance with Drake?" Viel said.
The two Legionnaires consisted of the woman in the heavy padded jacket armed with a crossbow. A sword hung at her hip. The other was a Striker in heavy plate armor from head to toe and armed with a halberd. Jeze saw Runes etched along the plate armor and weapon. However, the armor was singed, and she suspected some of the Rune chains were marred. All three showed signs of struggling against the Affliction spell. The woman with the crossbow had a twitch in her eye and lips. The halberd fighter''s helmeted head glanced around. Drake''s method of managing the Affliction was interesting. He used his rage to focus his mind, and he seethed with it.
"No," Jeze growled as she recalled memories of the Old Hunter and Drake''s betrayal. "I have a score to settle with him."
Viel appeared to hesitate a moment before shrugging. "Suit yourself," he said.
No further words were shared, and it was as if a universal unspoken command was given, and the fighting erupted. Viel launched himself toward the two Legionnaires and took a crossbow bolt to his chest that did not seem to faze him. He still had some lingering power from his sister''s heart, and Jeze wondered how long that would last. She was snapped out of her thoughts as Drake rushed her with his sword flashing. Jeze recalled how fluid the Imperial agent fought as she quickly dodged out of the way. Despite being under the Affliction spell, Drake managed to land a glancing blow with his shield that threw Jeze off balance. She rolled out of the way from Drake''s follow-up sword chop. His blade shot up sparks as it clanged against the stone floor. Jeze felt peace as her mind touched the flow state. This was Mastery. With her fingers and weapons, she weaved the final glyphs into the air and Shaped a pile of dirt into a boulder. Drake was relentless as he hacked and slashed with his sword. Jeze deflected an attack with her axe and countered with a thrust of her blade. It glanced harmlessly off his shield as he bashed it against her. Jeze fell onto her back, but it did not disrupt her Will. She Controlled the boulder with precise gestures of her hands to slam into the Imperial agent. The blow sent him crashing to the ground.
"Curse you!" Drake cried as he struggled to rise to his feet.
With a cold focus, Jeze Shaped another boulder and Controlled it to slam into the imperial agent.
"This is for Raynor," she growled.
Drake was knocked onto his back as his helmet flew off to rattle along the floor. His thick hair and eyes were wild as he sprung to his feet and deflected Jeze''s third boulder with his shield. The rock shattered with a thunderous clamor against the wall. Jeze launched another one at him. Drake dodged it as he rushed toward her, and the two engaged in a rapid exchange of steel. Jeze recognized that Drake was stronger, more armored, and better suited for melee combat than her. A slight panic rose in her chest, but she remained calm. Jeze was focused as her mind searched for solutions. To create space, she flung another boulder at her opponent. Drake deflected it with his shield and countered with his sword, but the brief distraction allowed Jeze to move away. Like the wolf, she never moved backward but in angles, and she was safely off Drake''s line of attack as his blade sliced the air. Drake spun to face her just as she placed an orb of pure Darkness around his head.
"Aaagrrh!!" Drake roared in frustration as he blindly swung his sword and shield.
Jeze silently circled around him as she Summoned more of the Earth aspect. Drake charged her from out of the sphere of Darkness. How did he sense me? Jeze wondered. She was surprised and barely avoided his sword slash. Drake''s shield flared with Runic magic and shot out a pulse of Force that struck Jeze hard, and she crashed onto her back. Blood dripped from her nose, and she was dazed as she struggled to get to her feet, but Drake was moving too fast. Jeze knew this was the end, and she cursed herself for her stupidity. Jeze had touched Mastery, but it blinded her and made her overconfident.
Drake stabbed with his sword, and Jeze parried it to the side as she scrambled to her feet. The Legion Captain knocked her back down with his magic shield and used deft blade work to disarm Jeze of her battleaxe. With only her sword, she desperately tried to defend herself, but Jeze''s blade struck harmlessly against Drake''s shield, and he countered and slashed her sword arm. The sharp edge sliced through the thin padding that protected her elbow, and Jeze cried in pain as her weapon slipped out from weak fingers.
"You should have given me what I sought!" Drake growled.
This enraged Jeze, and she cried, "I don''t know what you are talking about!"
"The secrets Daverius shared with you!" Drake howled back with spittle flying from his mouth.
Jeze, seeing an opportunity to escape, continued the conversation. "There were no secrets!" It was true. She had no idea what he wanted.
"You lie!" Drake roared.
He was deep within the Affliction spell, but there was some truth to his words. All this time, he believed that Jeze was hiding something from him. But why did he care so much? Was it all just greed? Jeze didn''t believe that greed alone would make someone go to such lengths.
"Why do you care so much?" Jeze asked. If she was going to die, at least she would know the cause.
"For love," Drake said and added, "for Yasmine."
The Legion Captain glanced off in the distance as if the woman he mentioned was in the chamber with them. This was Jeze’s chance! She kicked him off and scrambled to her feet. Drake''s fury returned in an instant, and his sword lashed out as fast as a striking snake. Jeze closed her eyes, but the blade never struck her. A dark blur appeared in between them that knocked the attack to the side with a clang of steel. It was Viel!
"We have to go," Viel said without turning to face her. The dragon man''s eyes were locked onto Drake.
Jeze didn''t need any more prodding. She grabbed her weapons with her good arm and surveyed the room. Viel had defeated his two opponents, but the Legion''s Rune caster was healing them. Both Strikers were slowly rising to their feet, and they shook their heads. In moments, the entire team would be in the fight! Jeze Shaped dirt into a boulder and Controlled it to strike the Healer. The old man activated the defensive enchantments that were etched into his robe, and a shimmering field of Force surrounded him. But Jeze''s boulder smashed it apart as if it were made out of glass, and the Healer was knocked out for the moment. Jeze used the remaining piles of dirt to bombard the two recovering Strikers with boulders, and the large rocks clanged loudly against their plate armor as they were forced back down.
Viel and Drake put on an impressive display of advanced swordsmanship. They gracefully weaved back and forth in a continuous flow of attacks and counters. Viel stabbed with his longer blade at Drake''s face. Drake raised his shield and countered with his sword in one fluid motion. Viel immediately reversed his attack to parry Drake''s blade and shifted his hips to swing his sword around for another strike, which bounced off Drake''s raised shield. And so forth, the two went back and forth. Jeze was mesmerized by their artistry, but time was not on their side. The Legionnaires were recovering, and the Affliction curse was wearing off. Their slim advantage was becoming slimmer by the moment!
With sword and battleaxe, Jeze joined the fray. She timed her entrance at the exact moment when Drake was on the offensive. Gritting through the pain in her arm, Jeze lunged with her sword toward the Legion Captain''s face. Drake spotted the danger, raised his shield, and deflected Jeze''s sword. The Captain needed to step back to give himself distance from Viel and it was that step that Jeze counted on! She attacked low and hooked the back of Drake''s foot with her curved axe blade and yanked the man onto his back. As Drake rolled to recover, Jeze rapidly Summoned and Shaped shadows to coalesce into pure Darkness.
"Let''s go!" She said to Viel, and the two fled.
By the time Drake and his team made their way out of Jeze''s Darkness spell, the two were closing the door to the corridor.
“After them!” Drake roared.
Using the illumination from her globe, Jeze tapped her Earth aspect bracelet and shaped the Glyphs with her hands in order to Shape the steel in the door. She was trying to Shape something native to this realm and Jeze felt the immense pressure upon her Will. Viel held the door closed as Drake and his team slammed against it.
“Hurry up!” Viel cried.
Even with his strength, he would not be able to hold out for much longer. Jeze pushed her Will so hard that blood dripped out of her ears and nose as she Shaped the steel within the door to lock it. Jeze collapsed from the effort. Drake and his team slammed against the door to no avail. Viel scooped up Jeze and the glowing globe and ran off down the corridor.
“Where are you going?” Jeze mumbled.
She was in and of consciousness. Jeze briefly imagined the joy Ziplocke would have had at seeing her pass out. She missed the Demon.
“I still have my sister’s memories and know how to navigate these Core Tunnels,” Viel answered.
“My team…” Jeze blurted out before passing out.
“Don’t worry. I will keep my promise,” Viel answered, even though she couldn’t hear him as sleep took a hold of her.