Chapter 30
Calial
Red unsheathed his cutlass from the neck of the last Everafter. He drove his steel into the soft floor of the marsh cleaning off the putrid, black blood.
"Ah, deez tings sure do stink," Red said, curling his nose.
"That is not their smell," Urganox laughed. "That is your own flavor."
Red made to come at him, but waved him off and reloaded his pistol.
"It seems that Dead Marsh is safe," Azonis said, looking at the scores of bodies. "It will take a good bit of time for the cleanup."
"We need to burn these bodies," Caleb said. "River and Locmire can help with that."
Thaddeus came to Locmire, who stood by himself looking toward the western border of the marsh.
"What is it, Wizard?" he asked.
"It is not over," Locmire said, frowning
Locmire took a few steps back and readied his staff.
"To arms!" Thaddeus called out.
The Saviors filed in on each side of him, weapons in hand.
A hooded figure appeared from out of nowhere, carrying a staff with a red orb secured to its end. He approached The Saviors taking slow, calculated steps, dragging the bottom of his robe behind him.
Locmire saw the familiar faint glow of an object hidden beneath his robe.
"That is far enough," Thaddeus said, snarling as he took a step forward. "Who are you, and what is your business here?"
"My name is Calial," the man smiled. "And the reason I am here stands before me."
"He is a Priest," Locmire whispered.
"What was that, Wizard?" Calial asked. "Speak up so I can hear you."
"You are a Dark Priest," Locmire repeated, a little louder. "We will finish you quickly and take what it is that you hide beneath your robe."
Calial's face grew paler than it already was, although Locmire thought it impossible for the man's skin to become any lighter.
"You are fighting a losing battle, Wizard. Pledge allegiance to Hasbarie, and he will show mercy upon you. The Lord of the Dead-" Calial jumped back as a bolt of lightning streaked toward him. He drew his staff and deflected the spell. "Fool! I see that you cannot be reasoned with. You will not live to regret your mistake."
Calial drove his staff into the ground. The marsh shook, the water boiled, and a large hole appeared before them.
A being, much larger than any of The Saviors had ever seen, pulled itself out of the hole. It was over fifty feet tall with hands the size of Urganox's entire body. The creature's muscles bulged from its gray skin. A fuzzy patch of hair sat on top of its otherwise bald head.
"By the gods!" Thaddeus said. "What is that thing?"
"It looks like a Gargantuan. A dead one," Urganox said with a smile. "I have waited my entire life to kill one of these."
"I thought them long gone," Oggy said.
"Until recently, I thought the Dainties long dead," Lot chuckled.
"How do ye be's laughin when sumpin like dat be standin right in front of us?" Red asked.
"A Gargantuan is no match for us," Lot said. "We have a Brazurkin. It is in their blood to battle Gargantuans."
"Can we defeat dat ting, and all of deez udder tings?" Red asked, motioning to the hole.
More Breathless and Vraymen climbed out of the ground.
"Suggestions?" Azonis asked.
"I will deal with the Vraymen once more," Locmire said. "Urganox and Thaddeus, the Gargantuan is yours. The rest of you, do what you do best."
Locmire produced his lightning whip once more and prepared for the tedious task of feeding the Vraymen his piping hot balls of fire.
Thaddeus and Urganox charged the Gargantuan. When in range, the Gargantuan raised his foot and tried to stamp his tiny foes. As they dodged out of its way, Urganox cracked the creature on the heel of its foot with his flail. It turned to follow him. Thaddeus struck from behind, driving his swords into its ankle and ripping downward. The Gargantuan grunted but kept its eyes locked on the Brazurkin, his only natural enemy.
River cast spell after spell, blasting her way through the Breathless, but with her magic reserves running low, she decided it best to conserve her energy.
Oggy bashed his way through the soft, reanimated bodies with his pizenore war hammer and had much fun doing so. The King of the Dainties sang his favorite song as he smashed his way through the horde.
"Oh, Eighty eight bottles of beer on the wall, eighty eight bottles of beer. . ." he sang.
"Me likes dat tune as well," Red called out, then joining in on the next verse.
Red stood in the middle of the horde with his cutlasses drawn. As they lumbered toward him, he lashed out with his steel, lopping off arms, heads, and slicing through torsos with the greatest of ease, never missing a note. The Pirate was as elusive as a fly. Even when the Breathless closed in on him, they could not manage to take him. He spun, jumped, and rolled around them like a leaf in a storm, constantly on the offensive.
Lot danced amongst the Breathless, hacking and slashing with his dragon bone short swords. The Thief made quick work of them. When he cleared himself a path, he rushed to River's side, aiding her in battle.
Caleb, in the form of a Hormut, and Ryker stampeded through the Breathless, pouncing on their foes and snapping their necks with their powerful jaws.
Azonis and Rasmere fought back to back. Azonis slashed and stabbed with his sword and bashed the Breathless with his shield when they came too close. Rasmere's arm was a blur as he let loose his arrows at the moving targets. The Sestian and his Sword worked as a cohesive unit once again.
Jeszekia bounced around the battlefield like an acrobat. She leapt high into the air and came down to the ground, trident first, impaling the Breathless. Jeszekia whipped her tail violently, impaling nearby Breathless with the steel barbs attached to its end. She stopped for a moment, long enough to gig a few of them with her trident and bound away before she became surrounded. She was a true warrior queen.
At the time the last of the Breathless fell, so did the Vraymen. All eyes fell upon Thaddeus, Urganox, and the Gargantuan.
"Let's go!" Lot roared.
"No!" Locmire called out. "It would not be wise to interfere."
"Why?" Lot wondered aloud.
"The more targets a Gargantuan has, the more successful he will be with his attacks," Locmire said.
"Point taken," Lot said.
"Jeszekia," Frayzur called out. "We'z haz returned."
"What are you doing here?" Jeszekia asked, turning to Frayzur and a small guard of Raptilians.
"We'z ezcorted ze villagerz to zafety. We'z decided to come back and help," Frayzur replied.
"It iz good to haz you back. We'z will be needing ze exzra help," Jeszekia told him.
The Dark Priest stayed back with his arms crossed and a grin on his face. Lot glanced over at him. Keep smiling, it will be your turn next, he thought.
The Gargantuan's legs oozed blood, but it did not slow. The giant was so big, the lacerations looked like injuries one would sustain from running through a brier thicket.
"I have had enough fun for one day," Urganox panted. "You ready to end this, Thaddeus?"
Thaddeus's chest rose and fell rapidly. "Have we been playing with it?" he asked, smiling.
"Have you been trying?" Urganox asked, with a toothy grin.
The Brazurkin King charged the Gargantuan once more, but this time the giant welcomed him with the back of his hand. Urganox flew through the air and slid to a stop in the mud.
"It is about time you fought back," Urganox said, making his way to his knees and wiping the blood from his mouth.
The Gargantuan spoke. His voice was like howling wind. "I will crush you, just like my kind did yours so many years ago."
"If I am not mistaken, my ancestor slew the last of your kind," said Urganox as he stood.
"Only after the life was stamped from his body," the Gargantuan said in his deep, raspy voice.
"If it happens like that on this day, t
hen so be it," Urganox said.
He charged forward again, but this time with Thaddeus at his side. The Gargantuan swatted at Urganox once more, but the Brazurkin King jumped out of the way avoiding its large hand. The Gargantuan turned its head, following Urganox's every move. This was the break Thaddeus sought. The Human King slammed his blue fist into the Gargantuan's ankle. The giant let out a blood curdling cry as the bones of its lower leg burst through the decayed skin. It tried to swat Thaddeus, but he punched through its opposite ankle. The giant cried out once more and fell onto its knees, screaming in pain.
Urganox jumped onto its lower leg, hopped up on its back, and stood on the back of the Gargantuans neck. With a smile, he smashed his flail into the back of the Gargantuan's head over and over again. As each strike landed, the Gargantuan fell closer to the ground, until it collapsed face first into the marsh. The watery floor bubbled as the Gargantuan took its last breathes. Then it was still.
King Skullsplitter jumped down to the ground and considered the fallen giant for a moment before giving it a swift kick to the side of the head.
Thaddeus approached the Brazurkin King and said, "Well done."
"Why did you not use that arm of yours sooner?" Urganox asked.
"I was not sure what effect it would have," King Graystone replied.
"Well, do not forget about the power you possess the next time. I actually broke a sweat," Urganox said.
Thaddeus and Urganox joined the others, but the sound of clapping hands silenced their moment of joy.
The Dark Priest strode forward, clapping in unison with his footsteps. "Well done. Well done. That was quite impressive. You are truly a gifted group of individuals. Too bad this will all be over in a moment."
"What other inept creatures do you have to put in our path?" Azonis asked.
"I only have a few more. . . creatures, as you call them, to put in your path, but I assure you they are not inept by any means," Calial replied.
"Where are the creatures you speak of?" Thaddeus asked. "Let us get this over with!"
Calial smiled and held his arms high above his head. What sounded like an enormous flock of birds resonated from behind him. A black wall of winged creatures appeared and came flying their way.
"Hethern," Locmire said as he readied his staff.
"I haz waited a long time to zee zeez creaturez zat deztroyed my anceztorz zo many yearz ago," Jeszekia said, drawing her dart gun.
The Hethern were almost a foot in height, with arms and legs like man and wings like a bat. Tiny horns sat upon their skulls and hundreds of razor sharp teeth lined their mouths.
Calial thrust his arms forward, and the Hethern swarmed The Saviors. The Raptilians unleashed a barrage of darts into the swarm, sending twenty or more of the winged creatures tumbling to the ground.
Red sent hot lead into the middle of their ranks, killing another twenty or more, but it did not seem to make a dent in their numbers.
Rasmere flung arrow after arrow their way, while River and Locmire blasted them with fireballs, but still they advanced.
The Hethern swarmed them like a colony of bees protecting their hive, stinging them with their tiny tridents. The Saviors swatted at them with their steel while the Raptilians speared them with tridents of their own.
One unlucky Raptilian turned to flee, but became overwhelmed. He swatted at the tiny creatures as he ran. Tripping on a log, he fell to the ground and a few hundred of the Hethern pricked him over and over with their tridents. They flew from his body, leaving behind a mauled, bloody mess, reminiscent of a Raptilian.
"Do not break formation," Locmire called out. "We are more vulnerable on our own."
Everyone frantically defended themselves from the pesky flying nuisances. Everyone except for Jeszekia. She found great joy unleashing dart, after dart, after dart, smiling all the while.
She drew her trident and went to work impaling the tiny winged creatures. When her trident became filled to the limit, she shoved the tips into the ground, scraped the Hethern off with the heel of her foot, and started the cycle over once more.
A zmall bit of retribuzion for my anceztorz, she thought.
River let out another ball of flame and fell to her knees. Azonis rushed to her side and stood over her, swatting at the Hethern as they tried to swarm her.
"Locmire!" Azonis cried. "We need your help!"
The Wizard turned and let loose a lightning bolt into the center of the swarm, setting off a chain reaction of electrical currents that ran through the Hethern, dropping them in mid flight. Azonis hovered over River as hundreds of the dead Hethern rained down upon them.
"Is she all right?" Lot asked as he rushed to their side.
"She has only expended her magic a bit too much. She will be fine. I will stay with her until she is rested," Azonis said.
Lot nodded and tore off to face the Hethern once more.
"Thank you," River whispered.
Azonis gave her a grin. He stayed by her side and slashed at the pesky nuisances circling above his head.
He has shown me a kindness recently that I had not thought possible of him, River thought as she closed her eyes.
"Can you not end this, Locmire?" Thaddeus asked. "These beasts are never ending."
"I can, but the rest would be left up to the lot of you. It would take a great deal of my magic reserves to do this," Locmire said as he incinerated a small flock of Hethern coming his way. "Can you handle the rest? The Dark Priest and whatever other creatures he summons?"
"Let us hope so," Thaddeus said, swiping at the Hethern who had him by the hair of the head. "I do not know how much longer we can stand against these things."
"Very well," Locmire said.
Locmire swung his staff above his head in a circular motion. The wind picked up, creating a huge funnel cloud above him. The Hethern flapped their wings in a frenzy trying to escape the hungry tornado. Every last one of them disappeared into the vortex. Locmire raised his staff high into the air and the tornado burst into flames. Locmire fell to his knees, and the tornado disappeared. All that remained of the Hethern was their tiny tridents scattered about the ground.
The Saviors and the few remaining Raptilians drew in deep breaths, trying to recover.
"Help me to my feet, Thaddeus," Locmire said with an outstretched hand.
With the help of King Thaddeus, Locmire stood and approached the Dark Priest.
"Your time has come, Priest. It is time to end this," Locmire said, as he and The Saviors closed in on Calial.
"Not just yet," Calial smiled.
He touched the end of his staff to the ground and a dark figure arose.
"Get back to the village, now," Locmire said in a low tone. "I can feel the power running through this creature."
"Why?" Thaddeus asked. "We can-"
"Do not question me!" Locmire roared. "Retreat to the village."
Locmire studied the being. He had never seen such a creature.
"Does he frighten you?" Calial asked. "This is a Draith Lord. It will be your demise."
The Draith Lord stood over eight feet tall and wore rusted plate armor. It clutched a seven-foot pole arm in its right hand that had a long, curved, blade on its end. Its eyes glowed a bright, piercing red. The flesh of its face was dry and withered, but the flesh of its body was alive and robust.
"The Saviors," the Draith Lord boomed. "What a pitiful bunch."
Urganox made to step forward, but Locmire stopped him.
"Go to the village, at once! We must leave from here." Locmire said.
Urganox, knowing that Locmire was not a fearful individual, decided it best to heed his advice.
Frayzur cried out, "For ze marzh!" as he charged the Draith Lord.
The Draith Lord stood still, pole arm in hand. Frayzur rushed in, leading with his trident. Right before Frayzur made contact, the Draith Lord, with lightning-like speed, stepped aside and severed Frayzur's torso in half with one quick swipe.
Frayzur lay on
the wet ground, eyes blinking like a flickering light, gasping for breath. The Draith Lord stood above him, smiling. He placed his foot on Frayzur's head and pressed down, creating a sickening crunch.
"No!" Jeszekia cried as she tried to run to Frayzur's aid. Urganox had to throw her over his shoulder and carry her back to the village.
Once inside the village, Thaddeus asked, "Where did that thing come from?"
"The Onock, I suppose," Locmire said. "I sense great power coming from within it."
"Can we defeat it?" Lot asked.
"During the Great War, there was a being similar to the Draith Lord. This creature appears just as powerful," Locmire said.
"But can we defeat it?" Lot asked again
Locmire removed all expression from his face. "No. It is too powerful. Even during the Great War, the creature, which we called the Dank, was not destroyed until Hasbarie fell."
"What makes it so unique? What are its weaknesses?" Thaddeus asked.
"Other than it being a mighty warrior, it has great magical abilities. I watched many skilled warriors attack the Dank, with lackluster results. I studied the Dank intensely during many encounters, but never found a break in its defense. Not a single warrior was able to harm it," Locmire told them.
"Can you not destroy it?" Lot asked.
"Not in this state," Locmire said, frowning. "My magic is almost depleted."
"So what do we do?" Oggy asked.
"We'z combine our ztrength to bring ze creature down," Jeszekia said.
"I am sure between the lot of us, we can defeat this abomination," Azonis said.
"I think our best course of action would be to retreat from here," Locmire said. "We cannot sacrifice ourselves to this creature. We have more important tasks at hand."
Splinters and chards of wood flew through the air as the Draith Lord burst through the gate.
"Arrr!" Red cried out, doubling over in pain as a piece of the shattered gate sank into his thigh.
Oggy came over to aid his injured friend. A piece of wood the size of a flute was sticking out of Red's leg.
"Pull it out," Red said.
"Are you sure?" Oggy asked.
Red nodded.
Oggy wrapped his large hand around the piece of wood and pulled it from Red's leg. The Pirate yelped out, gritting his teeth and tightening the muscles of his body.
"He is bleeding a good bit," Oggy said.
Locmire hobbled over and ran his hand over Red's leg, stopping the blood flow.
Jeszekia leapt into the air and landed behind the Draith Lord. She lunged with her trident, but the Draith Lord moved slightly, catching it between his arm and torso. He ripped the trident from her hands, whirled around, and slapped her to the ground.
"No!" Urganox cried.
He charged forward, flail in hand. As he was about to unleash his fury, the Draith Lord grabbed him by the throat, stopping the stampeding Brazurkin dead in his tracks. He lifted Urganox high into the air and slammed him to the ground.
Urganox let out an, "Umph," sound and rolled over onto his hands and knees.
"We must do something, Lot," Thaddeus said.
"Agreed," his brother answered. "But what?"
"Follow me," Thaddeus said. "I have a plan."
Thaddeus and Lot marched toward the Draith Lord. King Graystone called out," Caleb, can you distract it?"
Caleb smiled and flew into the air. He hovered above the Draith Lord's head, swooping down and clawing at its eyes. The Draith Lord swatted at Caleb, allowing Thaddeus and Lot time to act.
"I need his back to me," Thaddeus said. "Can you manage it?"
"Give me just a moment," Lot said.
The Thief ran at the Draith Lord, fell to his knees and attempted to recreate the maneuver he performed the first time he and Thaddeus encountered the Everafter. His short swords clanged off of the Draith Lord's armor as he slid between his legs. The Draith Lord turned around and grabbed Lot by the hair, hoisting him high into the air.
With the Draith Lord's back turned, Thaddeus unleashed all of his might, driving his magical fist in-between the blades of its shoulders. The Draith Lord shuttered, dropped Lot, turned around and kicked Thaddeus square in the chest. The King saw his world go black as the air left his lungs. Lot scampered off as the Draith Lord gathered itself.
Urganox grabbed Thaddeus by the shoulders and sat him on his feet.
"Locmire is right," Thaddeus panted. "We must retreat."
"Take zem to ze hidden exit," Jeszekia ordered a Raptilian guard, as she picked up her trident.
"You are coming with us," Urganox said, grabbing her by the shoulder.
"I will be zere zoon enough. I cannot allow zis creature control of Dead Marzh. If ze Raptilianz cannot have ze marzh, no one can," and with those words, Jeszekia ran for her hut.
"We must go!" Rasmere cried as the Draith Lord stalked toward them.
"Look at them run!" Calial called out from within the village. "And you call yourselves Saviors!"
At the back of the village there was a trap door near the wall. The Raptilian guard opened the door to reveal a watery hole.
"Ze tunnel iz big, but not too long. You cannot get lozt. Zwim to zafety," he said. "I muzt go defend Queen Venumroot."
They hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave a companion behind, but they knew they must.
They entered the tunnel one by one. Thaddeus worried that Ryker might not be able to make the trip, but the Hormut jumped into the tunnel without hesitation and disappeared out of sight. Urganox was the last person left, holding out hope that Jeszekia would return, and she did.
"Get inzide!" Jeszekia cried. "Now!"
The Draith Lord and Calial closed in on them. Urganox gave her a grim look of disapproval and jumped into the tunnel.
"You cannot haz ze marzh," Jeszekia told them.
"It appears there is no one here to stop us," Calial said, chuckling.
The Raptilian guards readied their blow guns. They took aim and fired. Calial cowered behind the Draith Lord, seeking the shelter of his massive body. After realizing their darts were unsuccessful, a small group of the Raptilians charged with their tridents. The Draith Lord, almost playfully, cut them down one by one.
I am zorry, my friendz. It seemz zat hiztory iz repeating itzelf, Jeszekia thought as she tossed a ceramic jug high into the air. She glanced over at the thirty or more remaining Raptilian guards. As the jug fell to the earth, Jeszekia shattered it with her trident. A fine powder floated through the air and down toward the earth.