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Kernstalion 2 - 54: A storm of teeth and nails
🕑 Added 2022-01-28 18:19:06 +0000 UTCI scanned the end of the narrow corridor, flanked by creates and cursed. I had no idea where Libidi was and could only hope that she had heard the guards enter. As quiet as I could, I stepped forward, absently glad the floor was dry sand and not wooden boards. My new boots would have made way too much noise.
I peeked around the edge of the crates, staring straight into the narrow opening in the middle of a leather faceplate. My mind turned to frost, and without missing a beat, I stepped forward, dropped my ax, grabbed the guard's arms with my lower ones while clenching his throat with the others. My fingertips dug deep into the soft flesh, and his eyes bulged out slightly as he made soft gurgling noises. His feet began kicking, and he hit the chest next to us, causing a loud thud. With clenched teeth, I lowered him on the ground before putting one knee down on his chest, pinning him. A quick look showed no one behind him, but that didn't make me feel any better.
Where's the other one?
The guard's struggles were dying down, and I glanced down. As I watched the eyes roll up and could almost feel the life slowly drain from him, it hit me. I was choking someone to death. A surge of revulsing came, and I felt bile form in the back of my throat as I tried to keep from throwing up. What was going on? I'd killed plenty of people.... why did this one, this way, matter?
A shuffle and quick intake of air ahead of me caused my adrenalin to spike, and the sensation vanished as I looked up. Another guard stood there, a dagger in each hand, his gaze flicking from me to the guard I was strangling. I saw him hesitate, then he turned and disappeared around the corner.
Shit, we're fucked.
I tightened my grip, suddenly no longer caring about the fact that I was strangling someone and only wanting the guard to blow out his last breath faster. I needed to hurry after the other one before he could alert the rest!
I constantly expected a shout or scream of warning, but one second passed. Then two. Three, and still no outcry. I frowned. Below me, all of the resistance left the guard I was strangling and a soft gasp expelled from his mouth. I held him for another few seconds before getting up and sneaking forward. I rushed through the narrow maze of crates until I reached the place we had entered.
As I rounded the final corner, I saw the slit in the tent, and below it lay an unmoving guard. A familiar knife stuck from the back of his neck, and I heard a soft rustling above me. Anticipating what I'd see, I calmly looked up. Libidi sat at the top of a crate, her eyes on the guard a dagger held up. When there was no more movement from him, she cast me a glance before climbing down.
As soon as she reached the ground, she rushed to the guard, carefully taking out her knife and inspecting it.
"No parasites?" I whispered as I moved up to her.
"No."
I nodded before looking at the opening.
"Did you find food?" I asked, realizing my backpack was still somewhere behind me.
"Yes. I'll get it, and then we need to leave," Libidi whispered before turning around and soundlessly running away.
A few minutes later, we were crouching outside the tent, each carrying a backpack. The camp was as quiet and dark as before, with no signs of a search. Even the previous whispers from tents had stopped.
Libidi beckoned me, and I followed her along the side of the tent, making sure to stay a few feet away. She led us through the camp, occasionally stopping for guards and patrols, and as we continued, I was amazed at her ability to know exactly where to go and when to stop. It was as if she had some radar that showed her the positions of anything in her immediate range.
Wait, would that be possible? I thought as I imagined magic that would do that. After a second, I decided to shelve it for when I wasn't in immediate danger.
A few hundred feet away from the large tent, Libidi stopped and peeked around the side of a tent. She turned and beckoned me forward.
Now what? I thought as I snuck closer to her.
Libidi just gazed at me with her deadpan look and pointed around the corner. I stepped forward and copied her move, wondering what was going on.
A few dozen eight-foot-high cages sat close together, and inside I saw more of the frog-like Jounbers. Each was considerably bigger than the one we had fought on the grass-covered hill, likely rivaling Casiron's previous shape. All of them lay still, their bulbous eyes closed, and I realized the soft whooshing I was hearing wasn't from the wind. These things made it.
I pulled back and looked at Libidi with a raised eyebrow. Now what, I mouthed.
Libidi leaned closer, and I frowned as I felt her lips brush my ear as she started whispering.
"They will hear you and wake up. We need to go around them, but I didn't memorize that route."
I nodded and looked around before shrugging and pointing left, then right. I wasn't going to pretend I had any idea where to go. Libidi was quiet, then pointed left, and I just shrugged. I followed her as she continued through the chaotic camp, all of which looked the same to me. I didn't know how she even knew where she was going, but after a while, she began moving around the right again, in the direction Tenziran should be.
What had to be hours after we entered the camp, we finally reached the end of the tent-filled area. Squatting between the last of the tents, I gazed at the edge of the encampment. One of the massive contraptions we had seen from the hill behind the camp stood fifty feet away. Guards patrolled everywhere, and as I tried to find a safe path through, I began feeling less and less good about our current position.
Libidi touched my arm, and I looked up to see her point to the right. I followed her gaze, noting a small enclosure that reminded me of a horse pen. Inside, a group of charbulls and cindermares stood, and from what I could see, they were sleeping on their feet.
"I'll create a distraction. Get ready to run, and don't stop. I'll catch up," she whispered.
"What about you?" I replied.
Libidi's cold eyes gleamed as she looked at me for a moment.
"They won't even know I'm there," she finally said before pulling away.
Without giving the option to think up a better plan, she snuck away without making a sound. I watched her leave, trying to find out if there was some trick to how she put her feet down. I couldn't find one, and I wondered if it was some form of magic. It almost seemed like it.
I lost track of her within a few seconds, and suddenly alone in the encampment, I felt the weight of reality push down. I looked around and decided that I didn't particularly enjoy sneaking around. If there were any other way in the future, I'd take that over this. If I had another shot at the library in the future, I'd search for either a flying spell or invisibility.
A thunderous crack interrupted my introspection, and I focused on the animal pen. A part of the pen was gone, ash drifting away from a smoldering opening. The animals inside were stomping around; orange and yellow flames were erupting from the noses of the charbulls, and the eyes of cindermares flared up like signal fires.
Surprised shouts and screams came from all around, and the guards along the edge of the camp were running towards the animal pen. I readied myself, waiting for the guards to leave. To my anoyance, the guards further away stayed where they were, just looking at the hubbub.
Dammit! I thought as I glared at the guards. How the hell was I supposed to get by without them seeing me. Then I recalled what she had said, and my eyes widened. She didn't say anything about sneaking.
I shivered, looked around, and saw no guards within fifty feet. Looking at the city, far in the distance, at least half a mile away, I cursed and jumped forward. My ax angled behind me, I ran towards the nearest of the contraptions. I didn't even reach them when alerted shouts came from the left. A quick look showed guards pointing my way, bows raised.
"Fuck," I snarled as I let go of any misconceptions that I might be able to get by unseen.
Increasing my speed to a full sprint, I tried to remember how far I could sprint before getting tired. As if to chime in, my obnoxious mind recalled that I could have increased my stamina instead of my strength.
A flaming arrow struck the ground a dozen feet to my left.
"Fucking, fuck," I growled while starting to weave left and right.
A few more arrows struck the ground, but it didn't take long before they began falling short. I risked a glance behind.
A hundred feet behind me, the camp was lit-up like a chaotic ants nest, and a dozen archers stood at the edge. Their arrows were pointed in the wrong directions, and I saw them firing off a round into the dark.
No night vision? Such a shame!
I smirked when I noticed something racing across the open muddy plain beside me. For a second, I was afraid they had sent the Jounbers after me. Then two blue eyes flashed in the dark like tiny diamonds, and I realized it was Libidi.
Stopping the now useless weaving, I angled towards her.
Halfway to the city, I knew I'd make it without any trouble. My breath was still coming easily, and although I felt a thin layer of sweat appear on my head, I knew I could have sprinted much further. The sound of Libidi's pounding feet joined mine as I closed in on her, and I could see she was breathing easily.
"Good job," I said.
"Quiet," she hissed, looking up.
For a second, I didn't know what she meant, then I remembered. The Go'in'la!
I looked up, but my night vision didn't go deep enough, and all I saw was the darkness of the cloud-filled sky. Realizing there was a massive group of flying monsters somewhere above us, I gritted my teeth and focused on the path ahead.
Still far from the city gates, the sound of a dozen horns shattered the silence. Hundreds of torches burst alight along the entire length of the massive wall. Shadowy figures were moving around, rushing along with torchers.
Ow, fucking hell, I thought as I suddenly realized something I should have thought of before. Would they even let us in? How the hell had I forgotten about that preciously important little detail? I looked to the left at the path that led past the city. If we had to, we would just run past it and-
"Watch out!"
Libidi's scream came just as something struck me in the back, knocking me forward. I caught myself with three hands, the other still holding my ax. The mud and grit slid below my palms, and I barely kept my footing as I scrambled back up. A soft growl came from behind my back -no on my back!- and then I was tugged sideways as something pulled at my backpack. I caught another movement flickered from the corner of my eye and jumped sideways, trying to rip my backpack free.
Libidi darted towards me, her backpack gone, daggers in each hand. Realizing I'd seen her, I heard something gnaw at my pack. Shaking myself, I turned my back towards her while struggling with the straps. The constant pulling and tearing made it almost impossible.
The sound of something slashing cross flesh was followed by a gurgling scream, and a weight dropped from me. I ripped the backpack from me and saw a Go'in'la attached to it. Its neck was slit from the back, blood streaming down.
"Leave it, and run! The rest of the swarm is almost here," Libidi hissed before turning to the gate and sprinting away.
I followed her and caught up within moments. We were still hundreds of feet away from the gate when I heard something above me. It sounded like leaves rustling in a storm, but when I looked up, there was nothing but the black, cloud-covered sky.
What the hell, I thought, as I resisted the temptation to shoot bolts up in the dark.
The sound increased rapidly, and with the gate looming a hundred feet away, I knew we wouldn't make it before the swarm reached us.
I looked at the torches and clenched my teeth. It looked so close, but even at our insane speed, it would take us almost two minutes to reach it. Somewhere, subconsciously, I knew that was faster than any regular human from Earth could have ever hoped to achieve.
"Duck," Libidi screeched as she threw herself forward.
I copied her, even before the word wholly registered. Something swirled over my head, and I felt tugs on my back and my short hair. It felt like a giant cheese crater passed closely above us. For a moment, I hoped the swarm would pass over us, giving us a second, then something landed on my back, and claws dug into my flesh. Long taloned feet slammed into the ground beside my head, and I flinched. Without hesitation, I pushed myself up from the ground in a single explosive burst, shoving the demons flying around me away. The thing on my back screeched, and I felt my flesh tear and slice apart as it scrambled before sliding off and hitting the ground behind me. I swirled around, slashing my ax around me in tight circles as fast as I could.
Loud screams and screeches followed as dozens, maybe hundreds of shadowy bat-like creatures surged away from me.
For a moment, I had breathing space, and I saw two of the Go'in'la atop Libidi, grabbing her and starting to lift her struggling form up and away. My two-bolt casters whipped up, and one dropped with a bolt in the back of its head while the other screamed and clawed at its eye.
The combination of skill and luck might have made me happy if I had the time, but I didn't.
I tried to relax my grip on my ax as I began spinning and slicing it around in a move that Haltir had taught me. I'd not used it before, but it was the only one I could think of that might help. It was called Splitting Arrows, but it sliced apart an incoming demon just as easily. The blade kept tugging and nicking at things, causing only slight injury to the demons around me, and I felt the urge to put more strength behind the blows. I resisted the temptation and just focused on keeping the blade spinning and whirling around me.
As I slowly moved, a swirling mass of wings, talons, ugly eyes and wide-open maws circled me, moving so fast I could barely make out the distinctive Go'in'la. I stepped forward, small cuts and nicks appearing on my arms and cheeks when I wasn't fast enough until I reached Libidi. She was lying on her back, slicing her knives at a Go'in'la that had dropped atop her, and I decapitated it with a single move. Hoping she wouldn't attack me, I stepped over her, blocking the Go'in'la from reaching her.
I looked around at the hurricane of teeth and death around me and hissed as something sliced my back. As hot blood ran down my back, I tried to increase the speed of my swirling ax. I barely heard a dull horn sound echo from the city, but I had no idea what it meant nor the time to ponder it.
Under the constant threat of death, my mind somehow remained calm as a summer lake. Focusing on keeping the Go'in'la swarm at bay, ideas bubbled up, only to be quickly rejected. Running was no option; calling for Rathica would be either too late and likely cause an angry Deity to find me. Suddenly, an idea popped up, and my eyes widened.
At the risk of more wounds, I limited myself to only using my two upper hands to wield the ax and began casting Controlled Conflagration with the bottom two. Within moments, nicks, scrapes, and slashes covered me, and I failed twice. Then the practice of the last few days showed itself when I finally managed to complete the spell with one of my hands.
As soon as the green fire erupted from my hand, a migraine split my head in two, and the calm of my thoughts rippled as fear tried to seize control. With all the will I could muster, I forced the fire up and around me, and the cloud of demons shrieked as they backed up. For a moment, I felt relieved, then a daring Go'in'la shot forward, his long talon piercing the area the flames were thinnest and cutting me across my shoulder.
It's not enough, I grunted as I attempted to force the flames to spread out more.
Something slashed at my back, and I felt another thin stream of blood run across my back as the cold air kissed the skin. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to continue swirling the ax while focusing on the flames.
"We need to get out of here," I shouted at Libidi, who was crouching between my legs like a wound-up cat ready to pounce.
She didn't respond, and I was about to shout at her again when I noticed that her hands were rapidly going through a set of familiar gestures. Moments later, both her hands froze, and green flames licked from between her fingers. They expanded outwards, each on its own smaller than what I was capable of, but combined more than a match. The flames surged up and seemed to merge with my fire, spreading out and covering us in a halo of flickering flames.
A ping from status was almost drowned by the screeching and flapping storm around us, but the fire instantly did its work. The Go'in'la swarm backed up slightly.
More hands, more fire, I thought, wondering how I could have forgotten. Instantly I reverted to a single-handed grip, trying to cover those areas where the fire was thinnest and started casting Controlled Conflagration with both free hands. Even with the migraine and keeping my ax swirling around, I managed to finish both, and a surge of emerald flames roared to life around us. Instantly we stood at the center of a ten-foot bonfire, the Go'in'la circling around, those that dared to close in roasted, their blackened corpses thudding to the ground.
"Let's get out of here," I shouted, trying to help Libidi up as she struggled to her feet. Libidi didn't answer, a sheen of sweat on her face while her fingers were shaking and a trickle of blood ran from her bottom lip where she was biting it.
"Can you hold the spell?" I shouted worriedly over the racket.
Libidi's frosty eyes turned to me, and she nodded.
Worried again, I turned and started staggering towards the gate, half carrying Libidi. I had no idea how far we were anymore, and each step felt like a struggle. Holding the spell was rapidly draining my energy. A dozen steps in, Libidi swayed, her eyes closing and opening blearily. I wrapped my sole free arm around her, holding her up as I also tried to keep a grip on my ax.
Three steps, five, ten. My head felt ready to explode by now. Suddenly the fire around us diminished as Libidi slumped down, hanging like a dead weight from my arm. Gritting my teeth, I pulled her up and dragged her with me as I struggled onward. The fire had withdrawn to a thin cover that barely surrounded us, and long black nails sliced through, cutting at both of us until innumerable thin streams of blood ran from our faces and the slits in our only so recently pristine leather armors.
A massive vortex of wind slammed into the Go'in'la, shoving them away, some straight into my flames and almost knocking me from my feet. My headache turned up another scale, and sparks and lights began flashing before my eyes as I dug in my heels against the wind. Two seconds later, the wind was gone, as were the Go'in'la, and a group of a dozen massive soldiers came running our way.
The sudden reasonably quiet was staggering as I dumbly gazed at the incoming soldiers. Each held a sword in one hand and was making gestures in the other, and a second later, they raised their hands up, targeting something above me. Swirling torrents of wind rushed from their outstretched hands, and an angry, annoyed screech came from above us. Then the soldiers reached us, moved past in a wide berth, and disappeared behind us. Only one of them stopped before us, looking at the sky.
"Drop those flames and get inside the gates," he snapped, taking a quick look at me. I barely noted that his eyes were glowing with a silvery light.
I nodded, all too happy to oblige, and dropped the spells. My head was spinning, and I had a hard time staying on my feet. Still, I picked up Libidi, straddling her to my chest before moving towards the massive gate. In the left of the massive gate doors was a smaller opening, partially open.
Barely standing, I stumbled through to find myself opposite a line of armed guards, all wearing dull gray metal armor, swords pointed at us.
"Great," I muttered. "A welcome party."
