Year 942,
Viryl's white and silver ethereal armor was unrecognizable. It was dirty and caked with hundreds of layers of human and monster blood, one on top of the other. Radios's golden armor and Lyndabel's pearly armor were in the same conditions. All three were breathing heavily. On the edge of the Elkaroth desert, the heat of the midday sun was suffocating.
It was time for a last ditch effort.
The monumental palace of Arathia swayed distorted on a veil of sky. It was the fata morgana, a mirage that the three knights had come to know very well in those torrid days. Elkaroth's Herosk was barricaded inside. The three knights had put him to flight three days ago. They had chased him across the desert, and now he was with his back to the wall.
They had been sleepless days of feverish running. The elite Suljukian fighters had slowed them down with their guerrilla tactics and the three knights had struggled to come on top on more than a few occasions, but in the end all their enemies had fallen. Potions and supplies were running low.
Lyndabel had inserted her dagger into her triangular shield, in the two-handed sword conformation. She raised her weapon to the sky. “Our final battle is ahead,” she announced, “Let’s do it!”
The three knights charged toward the palace's perimeter wall, on whose façade wooden platforms manned by archers had been built. The archers attacked, but their arrows did not stop the knights' assault.
Viryl leaped and took flight, then darted across the platforms where the archers were throwing volleys of darts. The Infidels put down their bows and reached for their sabers. Viryl impaled the closest one with the spear in his right hand, but the enemy gripped the shaft tenaciously and tried to wrest it from his hand. Two more archers approached, one from the front and one from behind. The one in front moved to the side of the impaled ally and tried to help him wrest the spear away, the one from behind slashed at Viryl's back. The armor was not even scratched, but Viryl felt the blow.
Tough nuts.
Viryl charged the Cleavage Pulse spell into his left spear, and with a neat sweep he cleaved the bodies of the enemies in front of him, and regained control of his right spear. Then he turned to the enemy who had struck him from behind, who took a few steps back. Four more were surrounding him, and even more would soon gather around him.
There was no point in tackling all those small fry one by one.
Radios had just arrived under the walls. The massive entrance gate was bolted, but without even stopping his run the knight raised his arm and cast the “Withering Wind” spell in front of him, and with a resolute shove he broke through the wood corroded by magic.
Radios slipped through the newly opened hole and Lyndabel followed.
Viryl watched as the two allies disappeared beneath the platform, and dodged back a new slash from the Suljukian in front of him. The other four were now breathing down his neck.
Viryl stood up, and cast the “Rock Plasmation” spell on the pins holding the platform to the wall. The wooden planks tilted, then fell apart, crashing to the ground. The entire team of archers fell. A drop of about twenty feet, enough to kill normal humans but not Suljukian warriors.
Before reaching Radios and Lyndabel, Viryl rose a stone slab over the gap Radios had opened, so the archers couldn't rush in after them, and then flew over the walls into the palace's entrance courtyard.
From the sky, Viryl saw the entire construction in all its grandeur. More than a simple palace it was a sumptuous citadel made up of entire quarters, labyrinthine gardens, multiple buildings covered in colored marble and surmounted by towers and balconies that overlooked on gentle slopes that descended to the shores of the Kaezroth Sea. Beyond the eastern walls of the palace, the dock of a small port could be glimpsed. If the Herosk found himself in a tight spot, he could even escape by boat.
Viryl looked down at the entrance courtyard. A plethora of Ferenkelt and Suljukian soldiers were surrounding Lyndabel and Radios. Small and medium-sized monsters, of many breeds. Some were flying overhead, flapping their membranous wings. Lyndabel and Radios were on guard, ready to welcome the enemy horde.
As a pair of Black Goitered Mastiffs ran forward, Lyndabel shouted, “Close your eyes!” and cast the “Blinding Flash” spell.
Viryl obeyed, and opened them again when the light had faded. Many of the enemies were staggering. Taking advantage of the confusion, Viryl swooped into the enemy ranks, plasmating spikes of rock from the ground, which he then lifted and overturned on the enemies with his advanced telekinesis spell.
Radios took the initiative, and leaped into the shower of stone spurs. Nimbly dodging the rocks that hurtled around him, he identified the unharmed beasts, and lashed them with lightning-fast lashes from his ethereal whip. Each blow was followed by the detonation of the “Lesser Explosion” spell.
The flying Ferenkelt, mostly Screeching Bats, but also Paralyzing Moths and Pearl-Eyed Hawks, swooped down on Radios to stop him, and Radios began to turn his lashes on them as well, keeping them at bay.
Lyndabel charged the “Spear of Light” spell into her greatsword, and with a single swing she slew the winged creatures that circled Radios.
Viryl plunged down with his “Cleavage Pulse” spell on one of the soldiers, then sliced up a Black Goitered Mastiff following behind.
Despite the fierce attack of the knights, the surviving Infidels in the courtyard of the palace did not give up and continued to fight.
It took the knights about five minutes the knights to clear the place.
With the first wave of enemies defeated, Viryl turned to Lyndabel and Radios and said, “This palace is vast, and there's a harbor to the east. If he hasn't fled already, Al-Suleym may decide to do so when he realizes his men have no hope against us. And if that happens, we'll never get there in time.”
“We won’t let him,” Lyndabel replied quickly. “We’ll split up. I’ll go straight to the docks and back, and you’ll search every building around here. We’ll lock the bastard in a stranglehold he can’t escape from.”
“I’m faster than you, Lyndabel. I should be the one to go to the docks,” Radios objected. His silver Exoplion had the spell “Lightning Step” recorded on it, and for short distances he could move even faster than Viryl.
"Well, I can fly. From above I can better monitor enemy movements," Viryl countered.
Lyndabel glared at them both. “Don’t forget, Ashlem al-Sulyem must fall by my hand. Just lure him out and send him in my direction.”
Radios and Viryl fell silent. Lyndabel passed them both without another word and then leaped away, past a long marble mausoleum that surroundedthe eastern side of the courtyard. After a few moments she reappeared above the line of buildings, heading even farther away. Then even farther. In the end they could no longer see her.
“Well, she’s gone” Viryl said, “Do you prefer going right or left?”
“It doesn’t really make a difference to me. Maybe right?” Radios replied. To the right of the courtyard was a hedge that bordered a vast garden, deep within which lay an Ashalmazite temple and a small residence. At least that was what Viryl had seen from his brief aerial reconnaissance.
“Then I'll go left. I saw a group of buildings there, maybe the servants' quarters,” Viryl speculated.
Radios moved toward an opening in the hedge and waved. “See you later, then.”
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*****
The garden Radios had chosen to explore was crawling with Ferenkelt. Small, not particularly dangerous beasts, mostly worms and insectoids. As soon as the things crawled a yard too close, Radios would whip them open with a swift swipe, breaking their chitinous exoskeletons and soft bodies.
Steeping carefully through the tall bushes, facing the horde of insects, Radios did not allow himself to be confused by the labyrinthine structure of the garden. He always proceeded in the same direction, and when vegetation blocked his path he withered it with his wilting spell, then moved on.
After a few minutes of walking, Radios found himself facing the southern wall of the palace. He scratched the top of his helmet. His advance had gotten him nowhere. He turned about thirty degrees to the left and continued walking.
These plants are so lush that I can't believe I'm standing on the edge of a desert , Radios thought fleetingly as he looked around. They did indeed need to be watered somehow. Looking down into the turf, Radios spotted a small channel with a trickle of water running through it. He decided to follow it.
As the knight was walking along the path of the duct, a pair of giant earthworms came towards him, and with a double snap of his whip he decapitated them. He passed absentmindedly between the long bodies that writhed and curled up on themselves.
The ditch continued under a wall of bushes. Radios opened it with his withering spell and stepped through. A new wall of bushes blocked his path. Radios repeated the process and moved on. In the corridor beyond the bush were two large bugs. Radios blew them up. The corridor turned at a right angle and then sloped down a slight incline, and the ditch followed its course.
Radios continued along the marked path. After a few seconds he realized he had found the exit from the maze. The corridor opened onto a gigantic orchard. Enormous date palms towered over citrus, fig, and almond trees, and the entire plantation was arranged around a hollow that sloped down to a clear lake flanked by two buildings. One of the two buildings was topped by a minaret and looked like a temple, the other had a large courtyard overlooking the lake: it was probably a residence.
It was not very likely that these were the Herosk's private rooms, but now there was nothing left to do but go down to the lake and explore the two buildings. On his descent Radios noticed that the swarm of insects had stopped chasing him, as if those creatures were not allowed access to that part of the palace.
Beyond the last line of trees was a large, ring-shaped clearing. As Radios began to cross it, a man emerged from the temple and approached him. From his clothing, he looked like an elite Suljukian warrior. His skin was brown and he was dressed in white, with two long scimitars at his sides. The Suljukian brandished his weapons, and Radios drew back his whip, preparing for the coming fight.
As Radios was about to charge, the surface of the lake rippled and then splashes of white foam exploded into the sky. A gigantic being emerged from the depths of the water. An Amphibious Scorpion. A gray arachnid with bluish hues, with a cephalic portion covered in eyes the same color as its armor. Its claws were large enough to crush an adult bovine, its tail was divided and ended in two hollow cusps.
The beast immediately attacked, thrusting one of its claws forward. The protrusion sank into the earth about ten yards from Radios, sending up a wave of dirt.
With lightning-fast stride Radios leaped over the landslide and landed on the beast's claw, then ran along its limb, leaped onto the Suljukian warrior, and lashed out. The Suljukian crossed blades over his head and slammed the end of the whip away. There was an explosion on impact, but the Suljukian didn't even falter.
The scorpion swung a hook with its other claw, and the Suljukian leaped onto it as soon as he was behind it. Radios dodged sideways, away from the scorpion.
Before Radios could catch his breath, the Suljukian leapt at him with a double vertical slash. Radios responded with a whip swipe and a leap back. The Suljukian's attack missed, but the warrior did not stop: after landing on the ground, he bounced and kicked his enemy in the chest. Radios was knocked back, and the scorpion took advantage of this by bringing down one of its two tails on him. Radios managed to stabilize himself and take another step back, and the monster's spike stuck in the ground.
As the scorpion tried to free its stinger, Radios charged the “Cleavage Pulse” spell into his whip and with a single lash severed the monster's tail.
The scorpion backed away with a low vibration, and the Suljukian warrior bypassed the monstrous appendage embedded in the ground and unleashed a flurry of slashes on Radios. Radios barely managed to raise an arm and cast the “Greater Shield of Force” spell. Although the Suljukian’s blades did not break the shield, the numerous impacts fractured the bones of Radios’ forearm. But the knight endured the pain without even a groan, released his whip, and in his right hand prepared the “Fireball” spell. As soon as the Suljukian had exhausted the momentum of his attack, Radios brought forward his right hand and blasted the flaming sphere on him.
The Suljukian screamed, and as the fire engulfed his white robes and charred his skin, he stepped forward to deliver a final, desperate slash with his two scimitars. Radios blocked them by raising his knee. The metal of his greaves sank, but he endured the pain and rematerialized his ethereal whip, then slashed the Suljukian full in the face. This time the enemy was unable to protect himself from the explosion that followed, and his head was torn apart and cauterized. Radios did not end his attack there, and after charging another “Lesser Explosion” spell into his gauntlet, he punched the infidel in the face again. This time the explosion severed the head from the enemy's burning body.
Even before the scorpion could be certain that its master was dead, it closed its claws around Radios. The knight predicted the attack and leaped landing on one claw, then ran with lightning pace up to the head of the enemy. The beast tried to shake him off, lowered its second tail onto its back and sprayed a jet of necrotizing toxin. Radios protected his back from the liquid with his “Greater Shield of Force” spell, then enchanted his whip with “Harden.” The weapon transformed into a ten-foot-long stiletto, and with a leap Radios drove most of it into the scorpion’s head. He then charged the weapon with “Cleavage Pulse” and ran forward, dragging it with him, then leapt down between the claws. The scorpion’s snout split in two, and Radios was showered with a jet of brownish jelly. After a few moments the Ferenkelt collapsed to the ground, its legs flattening motionless.
Radios breathed a sigh of relief. The last few months had been tough indeed, but he had never faced a monster this big during the crusade. I hope there aren't any more like this one around , he hoped.
Radios walked between the scorpion's lifeless claws, past the decapitated and still-smoking corpse of the Suljukian warrior, and into the residence.
From a first glance the knight realized that it was uninhabited. He decided to explore it anyway. The temperature inside was cool. The furniture was luxurious, and in every corner there were low sofas of excellent workmanship, tapestries and carpets with intricate patterns. Inside he found nothing particularly interesting, except a small library. A black tome with gold inscriptions caught Radios' attention, and he took it and leafed through it. Inside he found very detailed drawings of Ferenkelts and many pages written in the alphabet of the infidels. He couldn’t make out a single word. Was it a Suljukian bestiary? Probably whoever lived there was an erudite on the topic of Ferernkelts.
Irrelevant .
Radios casually threw the tome away and left the residence. He didn't even go to check what was in the temple. He was sure that the Herosk was somewhere else.
Thirty-one years later, third day of Neviticus, 11:21 am, Morgraal Abbey, Cardinal's private study,
“Your man came by a few minutes ago to report, dear cousin. The good news is that it looks like he finally managed to complete our plan for the cover-up.”
«Good. It took him a long time.»
«What's the bad news then, Your Excellency?»
“Oh, dear, straight to the point as always, huh? It seems that two of the five branches of his organization were destroyed by our late fugitive and that one has rebelled. Besides, the dragon hatchlings will probably die, because the greenhouse was destroyed in the fighting.”
«What?! This is the best he could do with our five hundred gold ducats? That was enough money to rain fire and brimstone on the poor old bastard! He didn't even have his Exoplion!»
«Be careful, you're implicitly saying that you're old too. And then, his corpse must be easily recognizable, he could not exaggerate.»
«Umpf… are we at least sure he’s dead?»
“He says so. Apparently he threw his body into the Varanaches peaks with only his armor on, after removing every single piece of equipment from his pockets. He believes he will die of cold, or starvation, or both. Bah.”
«Fuck… and what about the newbie?»
“He captured him and took him to the madman you allowed to set up his laboratory on my lands. He says they will try to use him as a receptacle for that filthy, blasphemous abomination they call 'God'.”
«Fuck!»
«Yeah, you can say it: fuck. I've been telling you for years that that peasant is a damned incompetent, but you kept trusting him.»
«You know what’s going to happen now, right?»
«Is that a rhetorical question? Of course I know.»
«How much time do you think we have?»
«It depends. If the novice has Radios’ 'holographic eye' on him, we're in trouble. If he doesn't, it all depends on what that troublemaker plans to do. If he decides to investigate himself, we have a month, a month and a half at most.»
«How far along are you with your research, cousin?»
“I’m about halfway through. I have a month or two left.”
«Well, then go to the jail and make sure the novice doesn't have a 'holographic eye' on him. If he does, I'm afraid we'll have to intervene directly."
«If our intervention is not necessary, I will take care of resolving the matter more discreetly. I think I have just the right people for this mission.»