I was still clutching my statuette, and it glowed and pulsed in my hand as I let loose a howl of panic. My hand went numb for an instant, then there was the crackle of power as a bolt of lightning surged from it then arched between my body and the man’s, raw power yanked out of my link to Aegaeon by the weight of my terror.
He screamed and collapsed as I broke free of the bonds and his twitching fingers. My shaking legs stumbled me past him and I disappeared up the nearby stairwell.
“You people are crazy!” I screamed in panic.
I had come here to help and now their priests wanted me dead! As I ran upwards into the keep, yells for me to stop echoed behind me, and guards looked confusedly on as I passed them on the landing and ran upwards.
The keep shuddered and buckled as titanic explosions echoed outside and I could hear the clash of arms and scream of inhuman creatures even through the thick stone. The sound became louder the closer I got to the top of the keep, and I burst out onto the top floor into a scene of chaos.
A multitude of guards were pushing back at a horde of creatures trying to pour through a hole in one corner tower of the keep. I saw dark fangs and claws impaling guards and screeching off shields or armor as they fought a desperate battle. Behind me guards and white robed clerics poured from the stairwell pointing at me as I sprinted down the hallway, before I turned around, trapped between fighting guards, attackers, and my pursuers.
“Get her! She’s one of the enemy!” I saw the player cry at me gleefully as he pulled his dagger and began to cast ropes of glowing light.
“I’m not an enemy!” I screamed. The confusing distraction between the two forces created a brief opening and one of the creatures roared and smashed its way into the keep, a huge dark mace flattening a hapless guard and then it was inside and among us. The creature ignored me completely and focused on the player who had been chasing me. He gave out a shriek of fear and I saw a nimbus of white energy pulse around him. The power rippled before it snapped into place, forming a shield that shattered in one massive sweep of the mace, tossing him right at me.
I was bowled over as we were both sent sprawling in a painful jumble. I pushed the player off me and stood up focusing water, condensing it into a narrow stream of glowing power as I launched it like a spear, impaling the creature right under the neck as it lunged at the player who was still laying under me, groaning.
I was blown back off my feet, my nostrils filling with the smell of scorched iron and charred meat as the concussive blast bowled me over.
A tide of smaller creatures followed it in its wake as they exploited the hole that had momentarily opened up. Clutching my statuette in one hand and using the other to lever myself up, I gathered power and tried that thing that had worked earlier with the lightning.
A bolt of power made my arm go numb briefly as it lanced out in a blast of primal thunder and impacted a small chittering horror that seemed to be nothing but a mouth with teeth and short stubbly legs. It collapsed into a jumble of wings, talons and teeth at my feet and I kicked the stunned creature back out of the hole in the wall.
Soldiers and guards rallied around me and plugged the gap. Eventually, they began pushing me out of the way into the corner, still reserving dark, suspicious glances.
I breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to catch my breath before I felt a blinding pain as the player slashed his knife across my back, my sturdy robes turning the point and keeping it from impaling me.
We grappled, both of us tumbling to the floor as he raised his bloody knife and cackled.
“Screw you darkie! I’m going to get that boon from Apollo! Die!” He shrieked and I screamed, the razor-sharp knife biting into my palm as I struggled with it, trying to keep it from plunging down towards my chest. My arms burned with power as I channeled, but I could tell that I was no match for the other player, who was much stronger and had me on my injured back, pushing down with all of his weight.
His look of maniacal glee and his excitement at killing me increased as the point slowly began to inch closer.
Abruptly, the weight was gone and I lay there groaning in agony and sobbing within a spreading pool of blood.
A perplexed Gregor stood over me, doused in the corrupted blood of the monsters, gripping a sword in one hand and a heater shield in the other. “What’s going on here?” He bellowed as the other player struggled to his feet from where Gregor had tossed him.
“She’s working with one of the dark gods! She’s here to spy on us! Let me kill her and I’ll pay you handsomely!” He yelled and the man just stood there, confused.
“Just leave her alone for now, we have more pressing matters! I just saw her help, and as long as she’s fighting for us at the moment, that’s all I care about! Get back down to the infirmary Harold!” He bellowed.
“She must die!” The other player screamed. I tried to struggle to my feet, but my back exploded in pain and I felt sick and queasy.
I tried to concentrate, but my power was fading, and my mind spun with every heartbeat matching time with the blinding torment.
Pulling the statuette into both of my hands I murmured more pleas to Aegaeon to save me and felt a small trickle of power, that I slowly used to form into glowing water that rippled from my fingers to cover the slash in my back. The pain slowly began to fade, and I gasped in relief.
I slowly began to focus on the world around me as I felt myself being dragged to my feet and Gregor glared at me in anger. “Fight with us now or I swear I’ll kill you myself!” He snarled and pointed at the faltering line of soldiers pushing against the breach. I nodded and my head pounded as I channeled power into another lance of water, sweat from the soldiers, and muggy mist from the damp air swirled around and formed into a new lance of liquid.
I concentrated on another huge hulking creature pushing at the raised shields covering the gap. When polearms stabbed out at it causing it to rear, I struck and thrust my lance of water into its neck. Superheated black blood sprayed as it clutched at the wound and collapsed backward into a horde of creatures behind it. The feedback from the casting staggered me.
My world spun and I swayed, the lance breaking apart as I lost concentration.
The next moment I found myself on the sticky, blood and gore-soaked floor with no idea how I had ended up there. I was being dragged away by a young girl, a familiar young girl towards the stairwell. Groaning, with every muscle in my body on fire I turned over, thrusting my statuette of Aegaeon into my pocket and began to try to stand up. Behind us, there was an earsplitting roar and the scream of the dying.
I was bowled over, and the girl and I tumbled down the stairway as a wave of power from some enemy caster slammed into us, turning my blood cold and causing my entire body to burn in pain.
We righted ourselves at the next twist and I stumbled to my feet, picking the girl up from where she had fallen as guards streamed into the stairwell, pushing us back. There was a shuddering clang and a portcullis slammed down to cut off the top floor. Screams of pain and gurgles, and roars could be heard as polearms jammed through the bars of the portcullis stabbing something massive on the other side.
“Run… Run!” The girl pulled on my arm and I weakly stumbled down the stairwell with her, we rushed down to the next landing where another force of guards was getting ready, formed up in a line. Crossbowmen were stationed at the slits in the gate that stood open, waiting for us. Behind us came the survivors with Sir. Gregor bellowing orders to the waiting soldiers.
“We’ve lost the roof of the keep! Get ready to hold here, we have to buy enough time!” He pointed at me.
“Get to Gloria, tell her to get the wounded down into the tunnels before they break through!” He bellowed at me, I nodded and half stumbled, half fell down the stairwell, the little girl trying to keep me from falling over.
“C-mon missy… don’t go to sleep on me.” The little girl’s voice chided me as I tried to keep from passing out, a battle that was difficult when every step seemed to make the world spin, and my skull throb.
“Everything… wants to kill me.” I grumbled and felt completely helpless, and despair threatened to overwhelm my tired body.
Even if I survived the horde of chittering, ravenous monsters, I would be killed by that crazy player and the other clerics of another god. This was all impossible, and I was beginning to regret even trying to play this stupid game. I was tempted to use the emergency log out button and just tell stupid Gentech that I couldn’t do it anymore. I wasn’t strong enough, or resourceful enough to survive this unreasonably difficult game. I was sobbing in fear, and trembling as I tried not to think about the horror I had just endured.
“Whatcha talking about? You ok miss!?!” The little girl’s shaky voice seemed far away as we descended, and she carried me back into the infirmary, almost effortlessly. She threw me off her shoulder onto a cot. Gloria rushed over to me, before pushing away murderous looking clerics who seemed to want to go for round two on who gets to kill me.
“I don’t’ know who or what you are Nimue, but you can explain later. For now, just rest for a second.” The words seemed far away as my head pounded and the world spun. I was so tired, so very tired. “Gregor…. Gregor says to get the wounded to the tunnels; they have lost the roof.” I gasped out as I thrashed and struggled to try and sit up. Gloria gently pushed me back down onto the cot and shook her head.
“It’s too late, we already lost the ground floor, we can only use the elevator and the drop shaft now. The elevator is only big enough for more than a few people to go down into the cellar and through the tunnels.” Her voice sounded broken and hopeless.
“Are you really a champion? Of Aegaeon?” She looked at me sternly. I nodded.
“Well, Herold and the other clerics want your blood, but I don’t think your evil or anything. Girl, I have a good sense of people, and you don’t strike me as the bad sort.” She muttered and narrowed her eyes at me.
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“Vance already said he questioned you over truth stone, and you are not working with the enemy.” She glared at one of the nearby clerics who was gripping a scalpel with clear fell intent, hatred in her eyes as she snarled at Gloria. “Kill her! Kill the champion of Aegaeon!” She screamed, her face red with rage as Gloria held up a hand.
“What’s so bad about this Aegaeon?” She asked calmly at the cleric. The cleric shook her head and snarled. “Bringer of storms, slayer of sailors, god of the tempest!” She shrieked and glared with me in hatred.
“If I can kill her, I can get a boon from Apollo! When we respawn, I’ll be more powerful!” Harold chirped up helpfully, grinning at me, and I swear he licked his lips.
“Lay off her Harold, Like I said she’s already been questioned by truth stone!” Gloria pushed the player away and he seemed to pout. “Who cares?! She’s a stupid noob, and we will all die soon anyways! Let us at least get something out of it!” Harold whined and Gloria shook her head.
“Use your thick skull for once Harold! She’s a powerful ally, not an enemy, at least not right now. I’m sure that will change if you kill her for a quick powerup!” Gloria pointed towards the open elevator.
“We need to get her to safety, get her out of here! I know all about the champions, and we can’t afford to lose one that could help Fenwick! Don’t you remember how helpful the Pathfinder was!?” She turned and helped me to my feet, glaring at the others around me. “Load as many wounded as you can into the elevator! We can take the drop shaft! I’ll see you down below.” When Harold made no move, she glared at him.
“DO IT! Or I’ll have you kicked out on your ass! I know Roger is already tired of you as it is! you’ve been on thin ice for a while now!” She bellowed and pushed me towards the pole.
“Follow right behind me Nimue! Don’t you let go and knock me off!” She did something to the crystal and it glowed a blinking red as the compartment opened up.
“Kai! Follow behind Nimue!” She pointed at the little girl and she nodded grimly as we jumped onto the pole. My stomach dropped and I felt faint as we slid down into the darkness, all around us the keep shook and shuddered, twisted and groaned. Distant explosion and waves of heat washed over us before we descended past the floors of the keep and I finally saw light as a door opened up far below us and we landed and tumbled out into a dimly lit room.
As Kai pushed herself off me I looked up and the series of grates slam shut sealing off the tunnel we had slid down. “Hurry!” She said and pointed at another door that had opened up nearby. It was a thick portcullis. As we passed through, Gloria thumbed a crystal on the doorway and the portcullis slammed down to seal off the room. She waved her hand over other crystals. “The traps are activated now unless someone keys the crystals on the way down.” She said and the girl nodded.
“The elevator is on the other side of the guard station! Hurry!” She pointed to another set of portcullises and there was the clang of metal and a multitude of voices. The elevator was opening up and wounded were being offloaded.
Harold had taken it upon himself to hitch a ride down and was pulling wounded out of the elevator, the doors slammed shut and it went back up for another load. “Get them out of the landing room and get it ready in case the shaft is breached!” Gloria barked out orders and the cleric nodded and pointed towards a cart sitting on rails. I followed the rails and saw they disappeared into a dark tunnel at the other side of the massive cellar which was piled high with supplies and gear.
The elevator opened again, and more clerics and wounded poured out, they were moved to the cart as several of the walking wounded and a cleric moved and shifted more carts onto the rails from where they were laying upright against the wall of the cellar. “Hurry we need to get them to bottom of the ravine and to the river before the enemy breaks through!” Harold called as he sprinted back and helped move more stretchers to the cart. I was led to the lead cart and Kai laid me down as I gasped for breath. “Pray! Get your power back!” Harold screamed at me as his eyes went wide. The next group of players was covered and blood and bleeding with fresh wounds, the wide-eyed clerics were screaming and yelling as they tugged a mix of wounded and dying out of the elevator.
“They’ve breached the shaft! The grates won’t stop them for long!” The cleric cried and they cleared the landing room, the portcullis slamming shut. Gloria did her hand waving over the glowing crystals, and I heard the clanking of metal, then a thundering shudder.
“The shaft’s been sealed!” Lets go! She screamed at us. Herself, and other wounded began to push the carts and I felt myself rolling forward.
I concentrated on my statuette, praying for Aegaeon to once again, please let me not die. The power slowly began to trickle back into me as I pushed my hopelessness and desperation into my prayers. I felt Aegaeon’s confidence in me respond and it made me feel a bit better. At least someone here was decidedly on my side.
He trusted me, and I couldn’t let my god down. My determination solidified and I was able to calm my pounding heart slightly.
We were moving faster now and I saw the pushers had jumped aboard the rail carts and were riding with us as we began to roll down into the caves below. Ahead of us, I could hear the thunder of water growing closer and realized we were getting closer to the rushing river that was next to the keep. We entered stone rooms filled with supplies and passed through them.
The next area we entered was a massive room, it was packed full of fearful refugees, villagers and castle staff. A trio of battle-weary knights, who were caring for damaged weapons and equipment greeted us as we arrived.
“You’re the last?” One asked and they nodded.
I looked around the room and saw racks of thin canoes and, large pontoon rafts. I could feel the nearby power of the rushing river in my bones. “Hurry!” Gloria said and he nodded.
“We already sent several groups down the river, but we have been waiting until they get distracted by Fort Steadfast. The main keep is still giving them a good fight.” The knight said and she clanked over to what I had taken for a bare wall. Quickly, they doused all the lights in the room. There was a clank as a lever was pulled and the wall seemed to descend. Right below us was the dark rushing waters of the river. I could hear the clash of battle and screams of inhuman monsters above.
Canoes were grabbed off racks, and a large pontoon boat was lowered down with a winch. “I’m taking Nimue in my canoe, Kai, get in!” The little girl nodded, her eyes wide in her helmet and I was handed a paddle as people gripped the canoe to hold it steady in rushing waters. The door that had opened up partially, was a disguised cover in the cliff face. All around us canoes were launching quickly speeding down the rushing river as their occupants desperately fought for control over the tiny vessels against the torrent.
We were launched, into the dark waters and Gloria pointed up in the sky and motioned for us to stop paddling and to stay still. High overhead several airships were attacking the other fort, exchanging volley fire from their siege equipment. The walls of the keep we had just been moments ago were still not completely under enemy control with defenders still operating several of the strange machines, casting bolts of fire into the sky to support their allies at the smaller fort on the other side of the river. The keep was burning, fire rushing from its windows and entire sections were in ruins. Massive gashes along the sides showed where towers had collapsed.
Creatures swarmed over the sides of the keep, sill fighting defenders’ floor by floor, each section of the keep was cut off though and even as we sped away, I saw hordes overrun lone holdouts, as they fought to the last man.
“Stay quiet.” Gloria hissed. The fleet of canoes rushed so far past the battle, at such speed we quickly lost sight of the chaos. Ahead of my stomach sank as I saw spray kicked up by rapids.
“Steer right!” She murmured softly and all three of us maneuvered the canoe around the one side of the spray of water kicked up. There was the crunch of and a scream as one of the other canoes weren’t as lucky. Far behind us, I heard howls and snarls. Looking up I saw some of the flying creatures, massive winged lizard-like things had spotted us and were diving to snap up one of the trailing pontoon rafts.
We ignored this and pressed on. My stomach fell as we plunged down a steep cascade and into more rapids, my mind caught up in not capsizing as the world became a blur of terror and maneuvering, we rushed through a darkened forest around rapids and ducking under fallen trees that stretched across banks.
“A dam ahead!” Gloria hissed and we slammed into a pile of canoes with struggling occupants who were fording a clog of trees, debris and glut that was clogging the river at one side.
Strong hands helped us up as we picked up the canoe and quickly pulled it across the damm and there was a steady stream of refugees continuing their flight on the other side of the dam.
The delay was costly though, and just as we jumped into the water and pushed off into the current there was a scream of triumph from one of the flying creatures followed by panic and terror as it dove on the stranded.
“Watch out!” I yelled as the creature dove on us, black talons outstretched. Gloria pulled a small round object out of a bag at her waist and nearly capsized us when she turned and pitched it at the beast. It exploded in a gout of flame and the creature hissed with rage as I saw figures on it’s back trying to guide it to one shoreline. It dove its head into the water to douse the flames as it went, and the riders on it’s back were trying to put out flames that had climbed up into a harness they were on.
“Go! Faster!” Gloria urged us on and we paddled furiously, acceleration rocketing us towards rapids. The forest around us got so dark we could no longer see and the canoe bounced and ricocheted off rocks. Inevitably, there was a loud crunch and we were suddenly airborne for a moment before icy cold water slammed into us as we crashed into the river, our canoe smashed against something, breaking apart. I lost sight of Gloria as I struggled to stay afloat, seeing no sign of the girl that was with us, barely able to make anything out in the gloom.
Suddenly, I felt little hands grab me by the hair and the terrified face of Kai was in front of me as she dragged her hands around me in a panic. We gripped one another as we tumbled down the river, and my eyes went wide as I heard the roaring approach of more rapids.
I had to get to shore! With the girl gripping me, I gave powerful strokes of my arms and my feet with shoes that had converted into flippers until we slammed massive roots along the shore, my fingers struggling to find ones to grip before I latched onto them and held.
We were suspended for a second, the current trying to tug us free before I heaved us up onto the bank and the girl let go, rolling into the mud next to me gasping. Her missing helmet evident as she tried to push sodden hair out of her face.
“Sorry… can’t swim.” The girl sobbed and I put my hand over her mouth to muffle her as I held a finger over mine, pointing back out at the river.
In the gloom of the dark, something massive streaked past following the current and searching. Kai nodded and we looked around for Gloria. I assumed she had also swum for one of the banks, but with the current so strong she could be far downriver from us.
The girl was despondent, shivering in the night air unable to move, so I dragged her behind me as we struggled up the steep bank, using gnarled roots to help us climb. In the depths of the forest, I couldn’t really see much of anything, and it was disorienting as we ran along the top of the bank, I looked at the shimmering water below us looking for Gloria.
I fell when my foot caught on a root and Kai tumbled into a heap next to me just as there was the sound of a roar and a scream. Rolling over the edge of the riverbank I saw a woman running along it. She stopped, and there was a flash of flame and an explosion as she tossed another familiar looking round ball at the monster pursuing her. Gloria didn’t make it. She was scooped up off the bank in the talons of the monster and her scream of terror was cut off suddenly into a gurgle.
Kai gave a squeak of dismay next to me and we saw the monster land farther downriver, and peer into the gloom, in our direction as it ripped into the thrashing body of Gloria. Suddenly, it launched in the air high over the river and disappeared over the forest canopy. Breathing a sigh of relief, I sagged down and tried to calm my breathing and thundering heart. Tears dripped down my own face as I sniffled and tried to focus on what to do. Stumbling around in the dark forest, didn’t seem like a good idea to me.
“Where does the river go?” I asked Kai and she shook her head at me and I could barely make out her shaking her head at me as she replied as if I was an idiot.
“Goes to the sea of course, west through the lowlands, then south towards the sea.” I nodded and sagged. I felt trapped, but somehow, I didn’t feel like things were completely hopeless. I was still alive, that was important.
“What’s at the end of the river, a city?” I asked, knowing that many rivers that joined the sea were often home to seaports. She nodded.
“Yes!” Her teeth chattered as she spoke and I frowned. It was cold out, but somehow, I didn’t feel like I was cold. I patted my clothes and found them somehow dry and warm. My breath came with condensation, but I didn’t feel cold at all.
“It will be dawn soon, so probably best to wait until then before we try to do any traveling.” I pointed to where there was a set of two fallen and decayed trees with spans of hundreds of feet. They formed a dark overhang that we scooted under and leaned into the girl who was silently shuddering with sobs and a bit of the pre-dawn chill of the night as it faded around us.
I hugged her to me as she began to sob, and my own vision began to swim with fatigue as all of the events of the night caught up to me. I passed out next to her, into a dreamless sleep.