Hells wardens, p.60
Hell's Wardens, page 60
part #14 of The Wandering Inn Series
Walt’s armor was failing. The thick steel was being cut by claws. Beza placed a hand on his back.
“[Lion’s Strength]!”
Walt’s eyes went wide. He raised his mace and brought it down with a roar. A Creler turned to paste. Yvlon felt a touch on her arm.
“[Haste].”
The [Wounded Warrior] blurred. Her sword cut two Crelers apart mid-leap. Yvlon advanced, cutting everything apart in a whirlwind of steel. Ksmvr looked around hopefully, but Beza was running past him, towards another breach. The Minotauress’ scrolls, her fortune, spilled from her pouch.
Every coin. Every moment used to buy another second. By Isceil, Ulinde was casting with both wands. She was throwing [Fireballs] as fast as she could point her wands. The [Spellslinger]’s spells halted a section of the waves of Crelers for a second. Then two. Then five. Then she faltered and the rest charged through the burning ground, over the bodies of their comrades.
But they were stopping. Ceria shouted triumphantly. She and Pisces were throwing spells as a Bone Horror held one of the gaps. The Warbear tore at the Crelers, who bit at the bones, trying to get past it.
“[Deathbolt]. Ceria, there—”
Pisces pointed. Ceria saw adventurers falling back, overwhelmed. She pointed.
“[Ice Wall]!”
She froze a group of Crelers in place, the [Ice Wall] spell engulfing the smaller ones. But the Crelers began heating up, melting through the magical ice. But it slowed them.
“Hold! Boltspitters, there! [Volley Fire]!”
Stan’s crossbows shot as his team shot around another group of adventurers. They were falling. Ceria saw another Human go down, his chest laid open. A Junior Creler raced over him. Isceil blasted it with frost. He gasped, his breath rattling in his chest. Ceria shouted.
“Just another minute! We’re holding them back! We’re—”
The half-Elf looked over her shoulder. She froze.
The door still wasn’t open. More Crelers were advancing at the group of adventurers and workers around the door. Ceria saw them fighting there. She looked around.
“The door—Erin—”
Across the ground, the adult Creler charged. It surged for the adventurers. Montressa du Valeross gaped up. She raised her staff.
“[Fivefold—”
The adult hit the layered wards with an impact that tore the air. Adventurers gazed up. They saw the magic flicker. For a second, it held. Then two.
And then the magical barriers splintered. The adult tore through the lines, breaking Ceria’s [Ice Walls]. It was headed for one figure.
Isceil. The Drake watched the adult as the lesser Crelers poured through the gaps after it. The adult Creler descended on Isceil. The Drake breathed flames once, roaring his defiance—countless limbs tore him to pieces.
“No!”
Ulinde blasted the adult with [Fireballs]. Rays of magic shot from her wands, slicing through the air. The adult turned. Scythes cut at the Selphid. It spat, and a group of Gnolls vanished.
The adventurers looked up. They saw the giant Creler turning, tearing apart the barriers protecting them. The adventurers fell back. Their formation broke.
“Horns, to me! To me!”
Yvlon ran, hearing Ceria’s voice. Scuttling shapes raced around her, biting, hounding the adventurers. The adult was turning, searching for a new target. It tore the lines of adventurers in half. Yvlon saw it fix on a new target.
A gleaming wall of ice rose. The Creler smashed through it. But more ice was rising. Ceria Springwalker stood on a bluff amid the mud and grass. She was making a fortress of ice, as the adventurers tried to hold the gaps funneling the Crelers.
“Fall back! Fall back!”
Another voice. A weak, shimmering barrier was holding back Crelers opposite the walls of ice. Montressa and the three Wistram [Mages] were protecting the other group of adventurers retreating towards the door. Crelers encircled both positions. Now, they overran both sides, advancing as the adventurers tried to hold them off another second.
And the adult watched. It was laughing. Yvlon was certain.
“You. You have to die.”
The [Wounded Warrior] whispered. She saw adventurers loosing arrows. A [Piercing Shot] from Kam’s bow shattered on the Creler’s armor. The adult was too strong. Too tough.
Even the smaller ones. Yvlon saw Walt’s team trying to batter down a junior Creler, the thick plates covering the Creler shrugging off the [Warrior]’s blows. Yvlon ran forwards. She gripped her sword, brought it up and down.
The Creler’s armor cracked. The junior Creler collapsed under the weight of the blow. Yvlon’s enchanted sword shone as Walt’s team attacked the spot where she’d broken the Creler’s armor. Yvlon whirled. Her sword cleaved through one of the smaller Crelers. She stared at it.
At the adult. Yvlon began to run. She didn’t hear Walt screaming at her to get back. She didn’t see Ksmvr running after her, leaping into a wall of Crelers, slashing.
Someone had to kill it. The adult was gloating, confident in its armor. It noticed Yvlon as she surged through the Crelers.
“Cover her!”
Ceria screamed. Stan pointed and his team loosed their crossbows. On the other side, Ulinde threw spells from her one remaining wand. Pisces pointed.
“[Deathbolt].”
The magic struck the adult Creler as it aimed its jaws at Ceria, lazily. The Creler jerked. It aimed up and Ceria and Pisces dove. The top of the ice fortress vanished as the projectiles tore it apart. And Yvlon reached the Creler’s head.
It looked down at her. Sunken eyes—dozens of them—gleamed at her. The entire thing was armor. It had no weak underbelly, no gaps. But it had a head. The [Wounded Warrior] shouted as she ducked under one of the adult’s limbs, slashing at her.
There. She aimed for a smooth section just past the eye. The head. Her Sword of Weight cut the air. Yvlon swung her blade with all her strength.
It could do it. It was a weapon worthy of a Gold-rank adventurer. The blade struck the thick armor across the Creler’s head.
And rebounded.
Yvlon felt the ringing impact. She stared down at the blade as it shivered and bounced off the Creler’s head. The adult turned. Long limbs stretched out, thin, sharper than steel.
Yvlon Byres swung again. Harder. Her reinforced arms brought the blade up. Slashing down. It struck.
Cut away a sliver! Crack! Yvlon screamed. But the blade just rebounded. Yvlon stared down at it.
An enchanted weapon. A powerful artifact taken from Albez.
Magic, nonetheless. It failed to break the adult’s carapace on the second swing. Then the third.
“Yvlon, move!”
Ceria screamed, but the [Wounded Warrior] was transfixed. She swung her sword, hitting the same spot. And the adult looked down at her. Yvlon stared up as the creature moved, hundreds of segments shifting, sunken eyes staring. Laughing with hideous glee.
She swung again. And she saw a flash of movement. A cutting limb. She twisted. Felt something touch—her—
Yvlon looked down. Her right arm was gone. Ceria screamed as the [Wounded Warrior] staggered backwards. Another slashing limb came for her face—Ksmvr leapt and blocked it with his shield. It threw him through the air.
“My arm.”
Yvlon searched around for it. She laughed as she saw the perfect cut just below her shoulder. The cut had gone through her arm into her enchanted breastplate. Just like that. She giggled helplessly.
“That was so easy. Why didn’t someone do it earlier?”
She sank to her knees as the Crelers laughed and swarmed around her. Looking around vaguely for her sword. Crelers bit at her. Blood ran from her shoulder. And the adult laughed. Yvlon wanted to laugh too. At the bitterness, the helplessness, the unfair nature of it all. And her arm—she saw it on the ground, still holding the hilt of her sword. She looked down at the blood covering her armor.
Funny. It was so terribly funny. Even now, she didn’t feel a thing.
——
“They will not bring it down.”
Az’kerash, the Necromancer, spoke coldly. He watched the battle through the scrying spell through Ijvani’s eyes. He watched as Pisces whirled, blasting another Creler with a [Deathbolt] spell. The [Necromancer] frantically pointed, and the Bone Horror rose again, snapping, the bear heads biting.
But it was the third time the Bone Horror had been animated. And the Crelers swarmed over it, biting through bone.
And the door was still not open. Now, the workers and adventurers were fighting Crelers too. Az’kerash watched. It had been eight minutes.
Eight minutes and the adult Creler had torn the adventurers apart. Lazily, it surged forwards, ramming into the ice barriers Ceria had conjured. The ice fortress held as adventurers fought the smaller Crelers. But the adult—it turned, shot more projectiles. Montressa’s barrier held again.
Arrogance. The Creler was just toying with the adventurers. It feasted on their suffering, letting the offspring do the killing. Az’kerash stared down at the adult. If it had one flaw, it was that. The arrogance of power. Intelligence beyond savage hunger.
And yet—the Necromancer spoke curtly.
“They cannot defeat it with magic alone. Adult Crelers are the death of everything. And yet it can be done. If they had warhammers, if they surrounded it. But there are too many larval-stage Crelers and juvenile-stage ones.”
“Master? What should I do?”
Ijvani’s voice came through his mental link with his Chosen. The skeleton was nervous. This had not been planned. But her master was calm. He ignored Ijvani, appraising the battle. His eyes fell on Yvlon.
She was grabbing at her sword, lost. Shell-shocked. He saw her blood running onto the ground. The adult had ignored Yvlon after cutting her arm off. And baby Crelers were swarming around her. They would have killed the blonde-haired warrior. But a shape danced around her.
Ksmvr. The [Skirmisher] slashed, his shield raised. His shortsword ran through Crelers, his dagger set others on fire. They covered him, biting, tearing at the Antinium. But his carapace was thick. His Ring of Barkskin made his body stronger.
But they were eating him. And yet, the Antinium never stopped. He tore Crelers off his body as he protected Yvlon. Az’kerash watched.
“Antinium. A Prognugator? None of his artifacts can hurt the adult. But that sword—no. The [Warrior] has lost her arm. The adult is too powerful. Too cunning. It will let nothing break its armor. These adventurers cannot stop it. The only logical choice is to flee.”
He looked back at Pisces. The younger [Necromancer] was gasping. His [Deathbolt] spells were killing Crelers, but there were hundreds for every one Pisces brought down. His head was turning. Az’kerash nodded.
“Ijvani, wait for Pisces to retreat.”
“Master?”
“The adventurers are breaking.”
The Necromancer’s voice was blank. He looked down, watching the adult pause. Contempt. It ran through both beings, Necromancer and Creler. And he had it for all he beheld. But his eyes flicked back to Pisces. Then to Montressa and the remaining Wistram [Mages] slowly retreating away from the bastion made of ice. His lip curled into a sneer.
“They are just adventurers. They will flee. So will Wistram’s [Mages]. Those not blinded by pride. You will unleash your magic then, to cover Pisces’ retreat. Raise physical barrier spells such as [Wall of Stone] to impede the adult. Do not use [Blackfire Fireball] on the adult directly; it will negate the majority of the spell. Prepare personal protective wards to cast on the young [Necromancer].”
“Yes, Master.”
The Necromancer turned. He shook his head, watching as some of the adventurers began to run, fleeing towards the door. It was still not open.
“They will run. And betray each other, before the end. It is what they do.”
“Who, Master?”
Az’kerash sighed. He closed his eyes, bitter.
“Everyone.”
——
Isceil was dead. Just like that. In a moment. The thing had seized him up, broken her barriers. Broken magic, all her years of craft in a second.
It wasn’t fair. Montressa was sobbing. Tears ran from her eyes as she raised more magical wards. [Forcewalls], [Barriers of Air], [Stone Spires]—anything to keep the Crelers back.
But the adult just spat and tore, and her protections broke. The [Aegiscaster] screamed as they tore, taking parts of her with it. The backlash hit her. She felt the mana in her veins revolt—
“Montressa! You have to keep the spells up!”
Palt shouted at her. The Centaur put a hand on her shoulder, and stabilized her through their link. Magic rushed through Montressa. She planted her staff and another layer of gold magic appeared. Montressa aimed at the adult and screamed.
“[Lightning Bolt]!”
The brass orb flashed, discharging its battery of power. The adult paused as lightning struck its body, deflecting. Dissipating.
“Stop aiming at it!”
The Centaur turned, pointing his fingers. A rain of arrows made of light struck Crelers advancing from the left. Montressa saw Ulinde, fighting alongside Beza. The Selphid had lost her left shoulder and arm. Crelers had eaten part of her face, but the [Spellslinger] was still fighting. Beza was crushing Crelers, tearing them off her, the last of her scrolls flashing as she used them.
“[Stone Spear]! [Acid Orb]!”
Spells flashed around the [Mages]. Adventurers were fighting, still. But the adult was unharmed. It opened its jaws and—Montressa saw her barrier break. A man looked down at the jagged spike impaling his stomach and began screaming. White-faced, Montressa raised her staff. Palt shouted at her.
“Another barrier—Montressa!”
It wasn’t fair. Why could something like this exist? Montressa stared at the walls of ice still rising. She saw Ceria pointing her wand. Adventurers fought at her position, holding back Crelers swarming around the base of the walls of ice, climbing, being thrown back.
Their forces were cut in two. Half were nearer to the door and the fighting around it. The other half was protected by Ceria’s ice walls, fighting in the center of the Creler mass. Montressa looked over her shoulder.
“The door! Why isn’t it open?”
“Montressa, we’ll give you our mana! Keep up your barriers!”
Palt gripped Montressa, bringing her back into reality. Her wards were the only thing keeping the Crelers back from their position. She tried again. But then, Montressa saw a flicker of white. She turned.
A Bone Horror was tearing left, towards her position. It was throwing Crelers off it, but the burning eyes were looking towards her. Right at her.
Montressa froze.
“No, no, no—”
She jerked. Palt looked around.
“Montressa, what—it’s just an undead! No! Montressa!”
The magical walls protecting them disappeared. Montressa’s focus vanished. Ulinde screamed as Crelers covered her, passing through the vanishing walls of magic. Beza grabbed for her, and a juvenile Creler knocked her off her feet. The Minotauress screamed.
“No!”
The undead filled Montressa’s sight. Palt cursed at Montressa. But the young woman was panicking. She let go of her staff. Tried to run.
“Montressa!”
The Centaur fanned his fingers, pointed. Smoke and mist covered the adventurers and [Mages] and the Crelers lost track of them for a second. But the illusion lasted only a moment. There were too many, and they were too—foreign—the Centaur gasped.
“Montressa, come back—”
She was fleeing from the Bone Horror. Crying like a child again. Even now. Palt swore at her then. He cursed her as Crelers raced at him, looking for Ulinde and Beza.
“Damn you.”
He tried to reach her. But Montressa had stumbled towards the Crelers, mindless. She saw them too late and flung up her arms. She screamed as they bit—
A rapier stabbed one of the Crelers into the ground. Pisces let go of it, pointing.
“[Deathbolt]. [Deathbolt].”
The death magic struck two Crelers, sending them backwards, limbs curling upwards. Pisces grabbed Montressa, flickered—he reappeared behind Palt.
[Flash Step]. The Centaur jerked. He saw an adventurer throw three Tripvine Bags. Another swung his axe.
“[Whirlwind Cleave]!”
For a moment, the Crelers fell back. Montressa was still screaming, crying. Pisces looked down as she flailed at him. He shook her as Palt grabbed the fallen staff. The Bone Horror rose behind him, holding the Crelers back, and Montressa froze.
“Montressa! Mons!”
“No! Monster! Monster!”
Montressa was incoherent. Pisces shook her harder. The [Necromancer] hesitated. Palt was raising a hand to slap Montressa. He saw Pisces reach out. And he took Montressa’s hand.
It was the first time they’d touched since Wistram. Montressa jerked, filled with panic. Then she looked up at Pisces. The fear filling her vanished. Palt whispered a [Calm] spell, but it was Pisces who held Montressa’s hand. With the other, he pointed. The second Bone Horror rose, whip-like arms slashing at the Crelers. Pisces looked at Montressa.
“You fool. There are worse monsters than me.”
They studied each other. Then Montressa grabbed her staff. She raised it, and the magical shields appeared again. Just in time.
Too late. Palt galloped towards Ulinde. The Selphid’s body was jerking, but the Crelers had eaten her face, parts of her legs and torso—Beza tore a Creler loose from her arm. She reached for a potion and drank it. She stared down at the holes in her body.
“Poison.”
Despair filled her tone. She sank as Pisces covered them. Palt dragged his friends back. He turned his head.
“We can’t hold out any longer. The poison—”
The Creler’s poison was eating away at the adventurers. They were drinking stamina potions and healing potions, but both were failing as the poison worked its way into their blood. Only a few were unharmed. The rest couldn’t heal.
“We’re going to die.”
