-From Aphorisms: 16:17-18
The Delmarva gang had set up their base in what Del felt was a fantastic spot, all things considered. The original palace of Salkov. She could see it now, bright with the flickering lights of torches and stolen aethergems.
An old ruin, but with solid enough bones. Once, there had been elegant water features, honoring the Goddess Sallinnia. Now, all that was left were the most practical aspects of the building. Things designed to last for centuries to come.
No longer an ornament, to be marveled at, but rather a place where they could make a stand, and trust the stone beneath them. It reminded her of Tosid’s favorite verse.
A face once noble,
Gorgeous, young, beyond compare,
Only bedrock now.
The runes hidden in the joins had been overcome by the invasive magics of the damned Emperor. Morter sundered by the quaking of the earth, glass melted into slag, and fittings twisted into useless shapes. And now neglect was finishing the job that powerful spells had started.
It pained Delre’s dwarven heart to see it in such a state. Beautiful carved stones in the shape of crashing waves, smooth, seamless, and clearly Dvundae in construction were long gone. They lay, shattered and smashed in piles of rubble, so utterly destroyed that there would never be any hope of making them anew.
A shame that even places can die. But better places than the people within them.
The dwarf charged across the narrow makeshift bridge, yelling up to the others. “Wake up! Shift yourselves! We got to get ready to leave!”
“Leave?” It was Rose’s voice, Rose Delmarva. Their leader.
The thick doors opened up to reveal her. She had bright, kind amber eyes, the faintest hint of sadness in them next to the fresh worry. She stood more than half a foot taller than the Dwarf, and the exact opposite in skin tone, dark where Del was pale.
“Just got jumped by redrobes.”
“You think they are coming here?” Rose asked, looking out back the way Del had come.
“Absolutely, they were guarding the way down.”
“Were you followed.”
“Doubt it, why wouldn’t they pick me off? They’re definitely making a move though.”
“Shit.” Rose waved down one of the others and pointed at something farther in. “Hurry, get the kids to grab supplies. Just the essentials first. We might have to start again with the coin.”
“Damnit…” Del sighed with a wince.
Better the coin than our lives.
She shook her head, looking out into the undercity, “Honestly, I am surprised that the bastards aren’t here ye-”
Thhhhwip-thunk!
An arrow slammed into the door, right next to Rose’s hand, quivering, the point buried deep in the old wood.
“Fuck! Get inside, get what supplies you can and start sending the kids out the back!” Del spun just in time to catch the next four arrows on her shield. The runes flashed, repelling the missiles with enough force to snap them. She saw the archers, hiding in other buildings and crawling out from rubble. It was like a kicked anthill.
How did I miss them?! She shoved Rose farther in, holding her shield high. Then she saw the sand and dust pouring from them as they climbed out of their holes and hiding places. That with her boots on must have been enough to mask them. Damn!
And they had waited until she showed up.
They wanted me back! More arrows clattered against her shield, and it held firm. To have us all in one place! But why? If we bottle up we win this siege.
There was still a balcony out the front, a stone railing too, and they had taken stones and blocks and made it into a barricade and ramparts. Reclaimed wood, thick beams from an old warehouse, made thick doors, strapped with steal and riveted together.
There was even a bubbling spring in the center of the space, and Del had carved a little cistern for it to fill up. Clear, clean, and devoid of pollution like the canals up above. And they had been gathering food and supplies for months in preparation for leaving the city, and their way out was an exit into the sewers within the palace grounds.
So why? It didn’t make any sense. More arrows clattered off of her.
She looked at how they were gathering over the rim of her sheild. They were pressed together, shoulder to shoulder, but with no shields. Unless… She glared at the enemy, it was like they were not worried about returning volleys.
Delre’s eyes went wide. They had to leave immediately.
“I’ll hold them off and follow after.” Delre shouted, looking at the narrow bridge. It would be a great choke point, and she could hold long enough for the others to get away. No, she would hold. It wasn’t a question of ability. Not now. It was a question of need.
The cultists gathered together, pressed tight to one another. As if space was a premium. Only letting the growing group of archers have enough room to fire at them.
“Go!” Del snarled as another three arrows glanced off her shield, several more sailing into the makeshift rampart above her. She couldn’t say more and not terrify the younger members of the gang.
Rose didn’t wait, she nodded and said “I’ll be back with the others.”
“No don’t-” But the other woman was already gone, the door closed behind her with a solid boom. “Tydrik…” Del grumbled, facing front again.
Some of the older members of the gang had already gotten up onto the walls, and were firing down with crossbows, to little effect. The quarrels whistled towards the cultists, but then would bounce away before getting too close, sparking as they did against something she couldn’t see.
A mage… Her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted him and smelled his magic on the air. Ozone.
“Of fucking course.”
They charged her, but because of the bridge they could only approach in pairs. So Delre set to work. Planting her feet and letting them get close, she did what she did best with her wide frame.
Take up space.
Hold the line.
She could see that the ones in front were fanatics, wild beasts that could no longer be considered human. The cheap knives of cutpurses and muggers lifted high in their greasy hands. Skin pealing away from sores and burns, or what looked like that.
They stared with wide eyes, snarling, faces twisted into bestial shapes. Their teeth pointed, either filed or changed by their cult.
They didn’t even acknowledge her ax as she gutted one, knocking another over the side of the bridge with her shield. Blood spattered and the one fell into the chasm, intestines spooling out as it did. The other managed to grab the edge of the bridge though, hissing evilly as it hauled itself up with one hand.
Del stomped forward, smashing that one’s fingers with her boots to punch the next in the throat with the rim of her shield, the cartilage there crunching. The one hanging from the bridge fell, still snarling and gnashing like a beast. Spiraling into the dark still trying to slash at her, hurling his knife ineffectually up as he fell.
“What, you send your madmen first? Cowards!” she screamed, facing the group, even as they continued to charge forward, driven by their madness.
It was a sort of brutal efficiency that was similar to what she had heard the leatherbacks used. But these were supposed to be civilized folks. They once had specialized in blackmail and espionage. Subtle things. Genteel crimes.
Now they were worse than animals.
There was a scream behind her and she looked up, paying for her distraction as a sledge smashed into the side of her helmet, staggering her.
But she had already seen.
“No!” Del snarled, furious, lopping the offending arm off and the elbow before shoving the squealing cultist back into her fellows, knocking several down into the pit in the process.
She wouldn’t lose again. This wasn’t like the rebellion!
They needed to survive! They would survive. They were hers to protect! She had planned this time.
And yet her friends were dying all around her. Again.
Protected by their mage, the Bookkeeper’s archers were firing back at the gang, and they had already picked off several.
Jax was down, as was his sister Kat. They hung over the side of the barricade together, Kat’s face twisted into a rictus of rage while Jax just looked surprised.
Mark, Cove, Jess, Ricky, and Lea were all still trying, but even as she turned back to her own fight, she knew that they too were gone, hearing Cove’s scream. Her friends, ones she had known for years now.
Gone.
Again.
She screamed into the echoing dark, laying about her and holding fast to her position, but they were getting smarter. Dodging attacks now. She was cleaving into the ones that could still think now. She looked to the back of their hoard, searching for the leader.
Maybe if I cut into them and kill that one they’ll break? Then she saw the mage and stared.
The mage stared at her, and she could feel herself recoil. Covered in thick green scales, face flat, green eyes with vertical pupils. He had clawed hands that lifted and she could smell the ozone building.
She struggled to believe it was a leatherback. How could anything look so wrong?
The door behind her opened. Her eyes widened as that scaled thing screamed out the incantations.
“No! Get behind me!” She shouted, jumping back.
Please Tydrik, help me!
She relinquished the bridge, lifting her shield.
The horde charged forward, and the arcane blast rushed towards them in a roaring boiling gout, spattering in places on the bridge and setting it alight.
The insane cultists screeched as they were completely vaporized by the attack!
She ducked behind her shield, fighting the urge to watch the threat.
Fuck!
It hit her and she rocked back, forcing herself to hold firm, muscles thick from years of smithing and combat straining against the unyielding tide of aethereal death.
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She couldn’t hear anything but the billowing wind of it.
Couldn’t see anything but the eerie green light of it.
And she felt herself roasting there in her armor, trusting it.
The work of her own hands.
The runes she had carved in her armor blazed bright, the metal heating up as the spattering lance of sickly green fire sprayed against her, splattering against the stone and doors. Ignighting everything.
It hurt.
Tydrik it HURT.
But she would not let any more of her friends die to that… thing! She blocked what she could, gritting her teeth, snarling with defiance, stone boots sliding slightly across ravaged glowing stone.
“Tydrik, guide this toss!” She screamed, terrified that it wouldn’t be enough to protect the others. Accepting her own fate if it wasn’t enough to protect herself.
The gout ended, and her shield splattered onto the stones, glowing bright melting in her hand. Her armor was partially melted too, but what power was left in the runes had protected her as best it could before they also had finally given up the ghost.
The main body of the cultists charged across the smoldering bridge, feet stamping out flames.
“Run!” She screamed, ignoring the charred bones, trying not to see identifying marks. A twisted necklace here, what was left of a scarred face there, a particular pair of horns. The only ones left were Jon and Dan, and she shoved them forward, hoping more of the others had gotten out with the kids.
Regroup! Blend! Her Instinct snarled, shoving her into motion.
No! No time! She couldn’t flee now, she had to trust that the others would arrive soon. But she knew for a fact that the casting of the mage was hunting her down, racing along, killing every living creature it could find as if it had a will of its own.
The Initiate saw a pack of archers, stampeding across the clearing to join their fellows. Fight! At the last moment she veered off the side of the branch, dagger in hand. Vivex cut a vine free and swung out of the trees, straight at her new prey.
Crash!
The runeslave’s tree-club battered through another swath of the canopy. Vines snapped, limbs splintered. Debris splashing into the river to float lazily downstream.
But that wasn’t the end of her worry!
With a crackling hiss and a burning smell, the lightning raced along the tree, hit the vine!
Shit! Come on! Her stomach lurched as she went from descending to ascending again! The lighting zipped down the vine!
KZZAP!
It missed her by a scale’s width as she let go! The last possible second.
The air whistled through her ears as she soared in a long low arc, right at the archer pack. The only other thing she could hear was the rumbling of the runeslave.
“Target lost. Searching.”
With a hiss, she landed on ones shoulders, right in the middle of their pack. Momentum shoving it into the ground even as the glinting blade of her pressganged ax slammed into her prey’s skull!
Thrunch!
It sunk in up to its eye, splitting the cranium wide open, and with relish as she snapped on her black and red, rolling forward and back onto her feet. Using the motion to help rip the weapon free, painting a sanguine crescent in the air as she did.
This time the humans were the ones to scream, fear in their voices.
Not Arubra.
Vengence! Her Instinct bellowed.
To their credit, they didn’t miss a beat, dropping bows, drawing their own weapons, but it was too late. The warrior was inside their reach, and she hadn’t stopped moving when she landed.
Swords hacked into the meat behind her with a fresh burst of gore. She slashed with quick viperlike motions with the matte black blade, and it slid along the hamstring of one of them, whispering through leather boots and tendon alike.
With a bit of a skip, Vivex hopped then chopped twice with the hatchet, first the throat of the one she had lamed, and then the artery in the thigh of another.
Crack!
Pain! She sprawled onto the grass, the haft of a warhammer, reversed for more speed, collided with the side of her head.
Survive!
Her Instinct filled her limbs as her forebrain tried to gather itself, yanking her into a deathroll out and away from the main pack. Scrambling on all fours and weaving slightly.
Zigzag.
She wobbled more, but was getting steadier, caroming in between the carts, dimly aware of the sound of arrows landing all around her as she picked up speed.
“Target spotted. Engaging.”
She hoped it was distracted, as she staggered up and sprinted away before she was surrounded.
Three more parasites dealt with in just as many seconds, and she was already out and away from the group, heading for one of the many carts so she could blend and hopefully circle back around through the trees. More arrows focused on her, and the soldiers tried to cut off her escape, but then they turned and ran.
HA! Fear my might! Stupid Para-
Thum!
Thum!
Thum!
It was the runeslave!
Vivex could tell the difference in the cadence of its steps. Fear filled her as sprinted through the middle of the camp, weaving around soldiers, picking off isolated individuals when she couldn’t avoid it. Hamstringing another one, lopping off the hand of his comrade, gutting a third. She didn’t have time to finish them off, lest she be surrounded.
Like the Kingbill! Flee!
She slid through the legs of one soldier, his ax missing her by inches.
Can’t be in the open! Archers!
Her Instinct grunted, relaying a plan. Her forebrain agreed.
The predator stayed amongst her foes now, remembering that there was something about smoothskins that made them leery of collateral damage. Vivex didn’t know if that was also true of the runeslave, she needed to relearn those lessons from so long ago.
If I can make it to the trees I can lose that abomination. Light glinted from the river and she forced herself to ignore it.
The barges! Got to get to the barges! Her Instinct snarled. Thinking of hoards, of theft, of punishment.
But as fast as she was, the thirteenth genera was gaining on her. She didn’t have time. She looked back at it, up into it’s hideous drooling dead-eyed aspect.
“Die, leatherback!” It roared, tree-club lifting!
She snarled, fighting down the flickers of pale fear and tried to run even faster, hampered by the occasional arrow forcing her to keep weaving.
The river! I could float away!
There was no time. She could see the barges though. Containers glinting. And a dark shape in the water?
What?
Fwu-Fwum!
The earth shook! The river bulged upward before her very eyes!
Splash!
A behemothian bellow shattered out into the trees, and birds took to the skies in fright!
A bright white spray burst from the river, carving a gruesome wound down to the algae coated bed. The liquid flesh of the flow sinking back in on itself.
Thu-thu-thu-thu-thum!
The stygian scales of Tok glinted wetly, dark and dominant. Roaring a challenge, head lifted, red neck on full display, frill extended, and his shoulder lowered.
The massive blade brilliant in his colossal clawed clutches!
CRACK!
He slammed into the beast, stepping over Vivex to knock it back and away from her. Water still spraying in a loud hiss off of him as the runeslave staggered, forced back by the Provider’s fury.
“Stay away from my Neonate!” Tok bellowed in the smoothskin tongue, spinning and slapping the other titan to one side with his powerful tail. The sword tip angled low, bifurcating several of the disorganized humans in its path. Arrows peppered her Provider, but were as flies to him. His scales too thick. His might to great!
For the second time in her short life, Vivex knew true awe.
“New target. Blackscale leatherback. Directive: Kill.” The massive electrified menace grunted, its own feet thunderous as it tried to steady itself. Earth sprayed as they carved thick channels in the soil, uncaring of the soldiers they crushed in the process.
Tok didn’t stop spinning, stepping into it. His massive sword blazed in the sun, big even in his hands as it lifted up and away from the eighths, and swung at the twisted Vestimhae. The air whined as it sliced towards the Giant’s esophogus.
“Reavaluating skill.” It said, then in a very different voice, one much more alive, “Impressive”
THOCK!
The blade stuck, and chips of wood sailed from the club! Whistling though the air. He pulled on it, trying to free it.
“Most impressive!” The monstrosity’s fist curled, rushing towards her Provider!
BANG!
A tooth shot free from Tok’s mouth and he staggered, still up, but startled. The tooth bounced off the mage’s bubble, which flashed, reflecting it. It stabbed into the thigh of one of the running soldiers, and he screamed going down.
Almost loud enough to hide the Truescales counterattack.
Twang! T-T-Twang!
Dozens of bows rang out, arrows peppering the smoothskin soldiers, forcing them to bunch up and lift their shields, high castes amongst them shouting orders as they formed a line.
One pointed at her, and she scrambled away as some of the stragglers came after her instead of joining their fellows.
Crack!
Loud as a tubeweapon, Shashk’s tail snapped as she sprung out of cover, mud and paint turning her red coloring into surprisingly good camouflage. Vivex ducked instinctively, as did the humans. She recovered first though, and was quickly away and back in amongst the carts.
Shashk had a full complement of other members of her brood, and had leapt into the back of one of the smoothskin formations. Vivex watched, fully blended, looking around one of the wheels, trying to see where she could go.
Need to find a way to join her. But she was on the wrong side of the battle!
One of the humans close to the edge of the foliage screamed and fell to the ground, and Vivex could see his eye still sailing through the air. Whipped out of his head by the ambassador even as her jaws snapped through the throat of the soldier next to him. Another Redscale at her side stabbed into the screaming human with a spear, staying close to her, watching her back.
It was pandemonium, and she scrambled to get out of the way.
Apex! Her Instinct snarled, yanking at her eyes, pulling her to the mage.
The Greenscale looked in that direction, and saw him lifting his hands, glaring at Tok. The air rippled.
No! She couldn’t let that happen! She needed to get the attention of the others!
Leaping on top of the cart she bellowed, drawing out her bow once more. She lifted, taking aim, arrow to cheek, lungs filling.
“Mage!” she screamed, swapping the black and red in her pattern rapidly to draw the other Truescales attention, feeling the eyes of some of the humans joining theirs. She loosed her arrow at the mage all the same.
Twang!
The mage’s eyes jerked to her, free hand moving in a circle!
Clack!
The bubble bounced back up, blocking the one arrow, sliding back down as the lightning started to spark around the mages fingers.
There was an agonizing split second, and then!
T-t-t-t-t-t-wang!
A positive barrage of missiles shot towards the mage! He snarled louder, glaring at her, forced to be within his protection or be riddled with arrows. The dome was also thicker, his consumption of the Aether clearly making him more powerful.
His glowing eyes burned with hate, staring at Vivex.
“Kill that runt!” He snarled, pointing.
Vivex stared, then roared. She had remembered the meaning of one of those words. Remembered the entire brood on the island calling her that when they had studied the smoothskin language. Thinking it was all so funny.
She would not take such talk from any smoothskin. She couldn’t. Not infront of the others.
“I will kill you!” she bellowed, not a threat, not a boast. A promise. One she didn’t know how she could possibly keep.
More arrows, human archers taking aim, one glanced off her thigh. Several more wizzed by her head.
Doesn’t matter! Create his end! Move!
She rushed towards the mage, his shield up still because of the constant stream of arrows from the Greenscales in the trees. Trying to break the shield. Vivex could see them blending up there. Fury propelled her faster than any steed the human’s could name. He would die if she had to pound that bubble with stones!
Movement caught her eye and she glanced, distracted.
The arrows were pinning the mage down, but that left Shashk and the others exposed, not having enough cover. They were getting pushed back. Brood members dying. She didn’t care, let them fend for themsel-
BONG-DA-GONG-BONG! Something huge and made of earthbone rang as it hit the ground.
And then she heard it. A sound she didn’t think she’d ever hear. She looked towards it in horror.
Tok bellowed in agony as the earthbone teeth of the runeslave sunk deep into his shoulder.
The Blackscale was being pushed into the water, the giant’s hand pressing into his face, trying to push him down under the water.
NO! He needed help!
Her vengeance called to her, sweet and seductive.
Fight! Now! Her Instinct screamed with red tinged thoughts.
Tok! Her Provider was in trouble! The Provider needs help!
Her Instinct… shook itself. Fight! It was now aimed at the colossus, sliding her bow about her shoulders and pulling out ax and blade.
She veered off course, barely slowing down as she leaped onto the back of one of the humans, ripping into his lungs from behind with a quick stab from the black blade. She sprung off of his shoulders before he fell, the force of her leap slamming the corpse into the dirt.
Two more arrows slid past her, one cutting a thin line along her hip, the other whistling though her fingers.
She sailed through the air, bellowing her hate at the thing hurting the only being she respected besides herself. Her toeclaws dug into the top of the things calf, and she slammed her matte black blade and her ax into the back of the abomination’s knee.
Splurrrk!
Stinking honey thick black blood poured out of the wounds, and the muscles spasmed around the knife, rippling like the thick hide was full of worms. Jerking her arm up and down as they did.
She didn’t care. She held on.
Kill!
Snarling she pulled herself up higher and higher climbing, uncaring of the arrows that came close to hitting her. She needed to help Tok! Her Provider!
Snarling she scaled the beast, and now it thrashed, screaming around a mouthful of Tok’s neck, kicking wildly, as if the leg had gone limp below the knee. More arrows shot up at her, one piercing her shoulder, close to her head, and she snarled with pain.
One had gone through! Pinning her to the beast.
But she had gotten close enough. Vivex lifted her matte black blade, and started to saw at the ropes used to stitch the beast up.
Another arrow hit her, though this time it glanced off of her, only slicing a few scales before sinking into the beast.
Bastards!
She could hear the others below, snarling, rallying, the pressure taken off of them and letting them push out.
Snap!
The first loop came loose, and she grabbed it, letting the tension pull the arrowhead free of the runeslave and pull her higher still. She landed above the buttocks, and started sawing once more. Sped on by her previous success.
Snap!
The second!
Snap! Pop!
The third, followed quickly by the forth.
Reeking black blood was already pouring out of the beast, and Tok roared, slamming his thick skull up into the giant’s face, staggering it and knocking it off of him. It reached around, trying to swat at her. Tok’s sanguine eyes slid to see her there and he snarled. His hand shot out, broad claws sinking deep into the Vestimhae’s wrist.
Vivex heard the pair of bones there grinding as the muscles of her Provider bulged with effort.
“I said,” He roared, yanking hard on the thing and pulling it off balance, his other hand swinging back, fingers curling, “Stay away from my neonate!”
BANG!
The runeslave staggered as the Blackscale smashed a fist square into its jaw, and this time it was a gleaming earthbone tooth that sailed through the air, smashing into one of the barges and punching a hole through it to the river.
The Provider wasn’t done! He grabbed its shoulders, claws again sinking in deep, roaring as his head swung back.
CRACK! BWZZZZZWZZZWZZZRK!
With a roar he slammed his forehead against the beasts, the metal plates crackling loudly with their evil lightning as they bent completely out of alignment.
“Con-con-con-fufufufufufu-shhhhhhhhhhhion…” The runeslave bellowed, staggering back.
Vivex dangled on the runeslaves back, hissing as she was tossed from one side to the other. She had to hang on until she got close enough to the trees to jump off. She swung back towards them!
Now!
She pulled her weapons free and jumped towards the canopy. The runeslave’s elbow bumped into her. Not enough to hurt, it still sent her completely off course! Spinning wildly as the ground raced up to meet her!
PATREON! It is at least 15 chapters ahead, and I am working hard to get it permanently up to 20, with plans to add even more! All money there goes right back into making the series as good as I can, and every cent of it is appreciated more than I can say.