Before the beast could strike, Nick was there. He brought his sword down in a powerful overhand chop, with the momentum of his charge and the weight of his body behind it.
As he had expected, the weasel’s flank shifted from russet brown to grey, turning its flesh to stone in anticipation of his blow… only to lose control of the transformation a fraction of a second later, rock reverting to flesh and fur.
The reason why was simple. Before Nick’s blade completed its descent, all three mana darts hit the predator at once, coming in from three separate angles beyond its field of view. The painful attack rendered the beast unable to move or activate its ability, completely helpless for the next few seconds.
His sword struck true half a heartbeat later, carving a ragged gash all the way down the creature’s side. Nick could see the white of bone protruding through the crimson gore and knew that he had landed a critical blow.
The beast was injured but not out of the fight yet. It was already regaining control over its body, intent on taking at least one of its enemies down with it.
As the weasel reared back, a black-barbed tongue shot out from below the waterline, slamming into the side of the beast’s neck with a sickening crack. The creature fell to the ground, head twisted at an unnatural angle as its spine shattered beneath the force of the blow.
The rock weasel twitched a final time before the life faded from its eyes, as the frog’s tongue vanished in a flash of ruby light. Sophia fell in beside Nick and then sank to one knee, exhausted from the melee and using multiple abilities in succession.
“Thanks,” the man raised a hand in greeting while the women tended to their injuries. “We lowered our guard when we heard other people nearby and let those weasel bastards ambush us. I’m Ethan, and this is Elaine and Kira,” he gestured towards the swordswoman and spear-wielder in turn.
“My thanks as well.” Elaine bowed, then went back to treating her wounded companion, cleaning and binding her cuts with a brisk efficiency. “You showed up just in time.”
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“I’m Sophia, and this is Nick. Why don’t we walk the rest of the way to the meeting point together?” The injured party was glad to have them along, so everyone turned and left the marsh, making their way up the final set of hills once more.
They arrived at the base of the tower twenty minutes later. Nick and Sophia bid farewell to their new acquaintances, then stopped to take in the spectacle unfolding before their eyes.
Thousands of people were spread out along the bottom of the tower, which was so massive that the crowd covered only a fraction of its circumference. Nick raised his gaze to take in the sight of Darkstone Tower, because at long last, they had arrived before its foundation.
From up close, he could see that every inch of its surface was covered with intricate engravings. Some of the markings looked like decoration, artistic swirls and geometric shapes arranged in pleasing configurations. Other sections were covered in what appeared to be writing. The language wasn’t like anything that Nick had seen before. They weren’t the runes that the System used, so he had no idea what the markings meant.
However, the most interesting feature of the tower by far was the statues. He ran his gaze across thousands of figures emerging from the surface of the dark stone. Some were just the suggestion of faces and forms, while others were complete renderings of people, beasts, and other creatures beyond Nick’s experience.
Many reminded him of gargoyles. Winged humanoids with powerful bodies, long claws, and hooked beaks. He wondered if they were the people who had built the tower, one of the beasts that called the bog home, or had another, even stranger origin, before dismissing the mystery as one he was unlikely to ever solve.
Once he had taken his fill of the remarkable structure, Nick lowered his gaze to examine the gathering taking place below. Where far more people than he had seen since his new life began were walking, chatting, and training with one another.
To one side, there were rows of makeshift tents. On the other stood a common area where people were mingling and chatting, and a smaller grouping that appeared to be a barter-based market. From here, Nick could see a few of the closest merchants, who had spread out their wares along the ground. It seemed to be a random assortment of provisions, gear, and other, less identifiable resources.
Just as Nick was about to ask Sophia if she wanted to go check out what was being offered, she pulled on his arm to get his attention. “Nick, some people are headed our way. They’re armed and they don’t seem very friendly.”