Chapter 37: Collateral
“What’s wrong with me? Why aren’t I bleeding?” Clara asked in shock, looking down at the gash along her waist.
“Because I’m telling it not to!” Vina snapped, slapping a hand over the woman’s wound. “I already told you—none of you will bleed out while I’m here. But I need you to make the creatures bleed! I need blood to heal you! Stop burning them!” Vina’s eyes flicked over to a man stepping outside her protective circle. “Ransy, if you run off again, I’m going to let you die. I have to touch you to heal you!”
“She’s right,” Anox called out above the struggles of the other party members. “Keep formation. Kern, Fase, Ransy, burn the right side. Clara and I will cut down the left for blood.”
As the fire flared hot and bright on the right, Vina glanced at the refuge to the west. “Not far now,” she mused. She watched Anox use his twin falchions to slice through the creatures on the left. Clara soon returned to the fray with a sword Vina couldn’t identify. Sometimes she swung it with two hands, sometimes she thrust it with one. The blade wasn’t longer than a normal longsword, but its grip easily accommodated both hands. Clara wielded it with deadly efficiency, keeping creatures from getting behind them.
Vina began converting the blood on the left, pooling what she could around herself, preparing to use it to aid her allies and destroy any creature that threatened them. But the creatures on the right were roasted. The smell of their burned bodies filled the air, unsettling Vina and triggering memories of her time in the caves with her sister, searching for a solution to Langternem…
“Asharaina?” Anox said, gently pushing on her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah.” Vina agreed, dragging her eyes and whatever blood she could away from the scene. The six of them moved quickly, but carefully through the darkened streets of Termily toward the glowing barrier in the distance. Vina now recognized this was the same one she visited earlier with Jan, but now she saw it was surrounded by creatures. Within the globe, she could see several people moving about, looking for a way to escape. “Shit… Stine is up to something,” she thought to herself as she approached the refuge with her group.
“That’s a lot of creatures,” Ransy commented as he unshouldered his bow. “I could pick them off from this distance.”
Clara hesitated. “You could do it from a rooftop, but won’t they just swarm us as soon as one of them gets shot?”
Anox nodded. “We need to keep an escape route open. I don’t want to get trapped inside of a building, but if we can force them to attack us single file that would be easier. That building over there at least allows us to escape via the rooftops…” he pointed at one of the closer buildings next to the refuge. “Clara, Vina, and I will hold the door to that building while you three bombard them from above. We’ll fall back to the roof if we get overwhelmed. If we get overrun, we’ll flee. I hope your jumping skill is good.” He looked at Vina and she shrugged.
“I’ve done some rooftop running,” she reassured him.
“Those ones can climb.” Fase said as he pointed at a specific creature near the edge. “Kill them first.”
Vina squinted as she tried to read the number from this distance. “They have about 460 health. Plan for that so you don’t need to overkill.”
Suddenly all of the eyes of her group were on her, and Vina stared back at them. She held up a ball of blood as if it was a rock and pointed at it. “I control blood. Get used to it.”
Ransy held up a handful of arrows in response. “Yeah and I shoot things. Let’s do this.”
Anox gestured toward Ransy. “Listen, there was another group that was dispatched from the northern side of the town to this location. They were supposed to meet up with us, but they’re not reporting a status anymore. They might be delayed. They might be dead. Keep an eye on the north side in case we get another influx of creatures or allies.” He nodded toward Ransy. “Go up to the top and give us a minute to prepare down here. Take down the climbers first. Fase and Kern, try to give us as much blood as you can, but if it looks too bleak, burn them.”
A few minutes later, Vina heard and felt the first arrow slam into the congregation of creatures by the barrier. It exploded with enough force that she could feel the concussive wave from where she waited just outside the building. Black creatures with inky bodies went sprawling, but many others turned, looked, and raced toward their location. Anox ushered them back to the stone building’s entrance and took position with Clara.
At the entrance, Vina could feel the rising intensity of the fight, her blood boiling in anticipation. The sheer number of creatures was daunting, but she steeled herself, forming her blood into sharp projectiles to assist where she could. Clara moved in rhythm with her, sword flashing in the dim light. The way she moved was a dance of death, her blade singing through the air, each stroke ending in a spurt of blood that Vina hastily collected and admittedly tasted, once.
Despite the chaos, a rhythm began to form. Arrows from above rained down on the creatures, while at the entrance, blades flashed and blood was shed, providing Vina with a steady supply to heal her companions and defend their position.
Yet, their situation remained perilous. The creatures were numerous and relentless, and for every one they felled, more seemed ready to take their place. And despite their efforts, the refuge lay tantalizingly close, yet still surrounded by an ocean of snarling, grotesque creatures.
"All we have to do is hold out," Vina murmured, her gaze hardening as she prepared for the next push. "We've got this."
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But deep down, she knew that they were balanced on a knife's edge. One wrong move, one overlooked enemy could tip the scales and send them spiraling into disaster. As the fight wore on and their enemies showed no signs of dwindling, Vina couldn't shake off the chilling thought: Alora was in the refuge. Were they walking into a trap?
The next influx of creatures was weaker, however and hope began to grow in Vina’s chest until she heard a scream and felt a deep, dark vibrance above her. “A creature is on the roof!” Vina shouted above the sounds of battle.
Anox hesitated as he glanced over his shoulder at her. She saw the doubt in his eyes.
“I’m a combat class!” Vina reassured him.
“Go!” He ordered, and Vina turned to run up the stairs as quickly as she could.
At the top she looked around quickly, taking the scene in. Fase and Kern had their bows still out and were shooting down at creatures that tried to scale the walls. When one managed to get a claw onto the edge of the stone roof, they scorched it with flames until it fell. At the far edge, however, knelt Ransy.
A giant winged creature clutched at his shoulders with two long spear-like arms that bent at a single elbow. Two more legs wrapped around his chest as its long bony dragonfly-like body draped off the edge. Vina spotted a long spiked tail whip held up and over its wide leathery wings. Six eyes stared at her from its rounded head. A wide mouth opened to speak, revealing small needle teeth lining the inside of its throat. To her ears, it made only grinding noises as it spoke. Its six arms ended in hooks, initially holding his shoulders and chest. After spotting Vina, two of the arms moved to hover before his eyes and those around his chest tightened slowly, appearing to start to pull his ribcage apart. Ransy screamed, “Please! It said stop!”
“Stine! Don’t hurt him!” Vina screamed, then had an idea. “Ransy, tell it my words!”
The winged creature ground out more sounds before Ransy could obey. “Thief!” Ransy said, interpreting. “Oathbreaker. Liar.”
She felt Fase and Kern pause their slaughter as soon as she had spoken to Stine. Moments later, Anox climbed up the stairs behind her.
“As if you’re any better, Stine,” Vina retorted. “Give me what I want, and I’ll return it.”
As Ransy’s mouth moved, Anox stepped beside her. “Stine? All I hear is The Darkness speaking.”
“Yeah, we’re on a first name basis now. Tacey shut down our ability to communicate, so it can’t understand me. That creature has thirteen hundred life. Got anything that can one-shot it?”
Anox shook his head. The creature ground out more words. “The lies I tell serve a greater purpose. Yours are self-serving. For this one… Oh Trina, no please!” Ransy cried out, unable to finish Stine’s words. The creature’s arms tightened around his face.
“For this one, I could give sight by taking sight,” Anox finished for him.
“Stop hurting him!” Vina said quickly and Anox spoke for her. “You know what I want. Give it to me, and we will complete our deal.”
The creature’s mouth moved, and through the grindings, Anox interpreted now. “I’ve kept your answer safe inside Trina’s Refuge. Go now in peace and retrieve it, then return to me what you’ve kept for your own.”
Vina’s heart jumped. “Alora?” she asked, hope in her voice.
“Amets,” Anox spoke back, then looked at her in surprise. “Is one of the twelve inside?”
Vina glared at the creature, “You said the twelve…” she started, but the creature lifted off with a grinding screech. The force of the wind created by its wings momentarily caused Vina to brace herself. Through arms held to protect her face, she saw the creature hold Ransy tightly to its skeletal body. His screams faded away as the creature quickly gained altitude.
“... lacked their Amets,” Vina finished softly amid the cries of despair of her group. She could only stare at the flying creature in the distance as it was soon hidden by the darkness and falling shadows. After a moment she turned back to the stairs and began her descent.
Anox caught up with her. “Vina!”
She looked up at him, seeing the stress on his face. Haco’s words flashed through her mind and guilt rose within her at seeing Haco might have been right. “Stine is angry with me, and it’s taking it out on people around me. If you stay, you’ll get caught up in it like Ransy. You should go. I’ll save the people inside.”
She turned and raced out of the building with her lantern. She had to push past the mound of creature corpses, beyond finding the creatures awaiting outside quite placid now. She pulled at the excess blood and pressed it into several crystals which moved into position around her. Her lantern illuminated the surrounding area.
She let a little bit of blood tease onto her finger before bringing it to her lips. “Hopefully this has a good benefit.” she muttered. She felt the boost to her attributes immediately, and smiled in relief when she saw her dexterity increase to eight-two, just enough to wield Selenia. She quickly checked her experience again.
You have gained 12,680 experience points from assisting in killing various creatures of different levels. Experience divided six ways.
“Not enough for a level,” she muttered disappointedly as she began her approach.
A minute later she heard boots approaching her and then blood sense warned her of the approach of her group. She turned and gave them a disapproving look. “Stine is going to kill you all,” she warned them when they got close enough. “Just like Ransy. You need to leave.”
“It’s going to kill you too.” Anox said.
Vina shook her head and she continued walking. “No. It won’t. We have unfinished business. Once it is completed, then it might kill me, but not before.”
“Why aren’t they attacking us?” Fase asked, looking out at all of the creatures around them.
Vina groaned. “I don’t have time for this. The portal ring is running out of blood.”
She walked up the barrier, careful to keep her group within the range of the glow of her lantern. Once they passed into the refuge’s barrier, however, she felt the group’s relief.
Refuge Recall Location Added
She did not share their relief though. Outside the creatures once again moved into position, clustering around the boundary of light and darkness. Vina felt anxiety rising within her at memories of being stuck with Trina, and she struggled to control it. “You can recall yourself to directly to Halos or Valanire to get Langternem anytime you want.” Vina reassured herself.
“An Asharaina?” Solyn asked in surprise.
“Where’s Amets?” Vina asked pointedly at Solyn.
The man hesitated, seeing the intensity in Vina’s posture. “I assure you, there is no one here by that name, Asharaina. I promise to Trina, if I knew I would tell you.”
It was Vina’s turn to hesitate. “Where’s Alora?”