Chapter 23
“Another chamber over here!” Jaxwall called, his voice bouncing off the carved tunnels as it resonated through the air, his confirmation of what Bianca was seeing through the eyes of the—metal construct she controlled, offering damming affirmation to her growing worries…
“How many bodies?” She barked back, standing at the entrance to the chamber while entire squadrons of her forces investigated the dreary and unsettling mausoleum…
“Another fifty by our count! All laid out in neat rows like the others…”
“The wounds?”
“Slit throats.” The veteran verified, voice lightly undertoned with mild nausea…
Already, she’d ordered her men to wrap thick scarves around their faces, the air around them pungent with the weighty sickness of massed decaying bodies, the swarms of maggots and flys were like thick clouds in the air, requiring her mage-squadron to incinerate them if only to allow them all to see beyond their dark shadows. Thus far, they’d counted six hundred dead within the twelve chambers throughout the profane temple they’d broken into… Fifty bodies sacrificed upon stone alters within each, their congealed blood cacked and thick, clinging to everything from walls to floors as though they walked through a slaughterhouse for animals… It was—grotesque in a way that Bianca truly couldn't bring to words… the sheer deafening drone of buzzing insects able to be heard from halfway through the underground settlement…
It wasn't large… not so far as she’d personally seen. However, it was of a size to easily support several hundred individuals, replete with mushroom farms, deep wells and stone-carved housing that all combined to create a rather sizable community… Nevertheless, now, the town was derelict… Not a soul living within, at least, not that they’d seen… Though evidence that denizens had been surviving down here with at least some recency could be observed by the open defecation they’d crossed paths with. In was in several buildings, some streets and the occasional alley they’d entered or explored. appearing as though they’d been used as improvised latrines… Errant scraps of fouled cloth, detritus, broken furniture… all of it painted a dim picture of what might have happened down here while the survivors from the slaughter held onto any semblance of life that they could.
Bianca. of course, knew of the small massacre that had taken place near one of the many cavern’s entrances. Knew that her niece, with her step-father’s help, had aided in the butchering no fewer than three dozen of the creatures who’d been desperately trying to hunt the—wild yaks… She could only presume that they had somehow been the remnants or survivors of whatever dark sacrifice had taken place, whether through luck or cowardice towards their own faith’s demands… or any number of other alternatives that could be theorized… They had been the ones who were surviving down here and possibly squatting in their own village as supplies slowly dwindled to starvation. Some proof towards continued attempts at cultivation in the mushroom chambers was likewise visible; however, most of the harvest that might have priorly existed looked to have contracted a form of blight… The ruby-red and blue polka-dotted fungi were all wilted… Dark and vascular trails of corruption ran through the crop as though someone had desired to ensure its inability to be eaten… The food was worthless, appearing for all intents and purposes like it would be liable to give one the piles, or worse, should they dare take a bite.
There was a story down here that the centurion was slowly piecing together. And with each chamber, they unsealed along the rows of crypts that followed along the current hallway, Bianca felt her concerns rising without limit… This many dead… no, this many sacrifices… well, whatever spell was being powered… it had to be—frighteningly monumental… She’d never seen this horrific doctrine yet being applied by their foe… at least, not to such a disturbing scope... Men, women, children, it didn't matter, all had lain atop the stone beds, their lives surrendered to whatever vile entity was responsible for it all…
Ritual sacrifices were, sadly, nothing new, but this… something of this size… it went beyond the usual modus operandi that the Tricen practiced… This was no small tribute of power… It was a gathering, a vortex of souls that would be sent somewhere and to someone wherein they would power a spell of disastrous magnitude…
The more Bianca saw, the more she was convinced that something terribly nefarious was in the works for her people, though for who and where such an event would take place was—uncertain. Part of her wanted to assume that all of this was targeted at the settlement… not because she wanted her parents in danger, but given what she understood about—the mage, what was there, the structures and the like would be reasonably easy to replace. After all, it had sprung up in the span of a month! What could possibly be so integral that it couldn't be done again in a safer location? And yet, her guts knew this wasn't the case… There were hundreds of dead tricen down here, gods; it was practically a mass grave! If they’d wanted to level the settlement, they’d of been able to do so with the raw weight of numbers alone. Swarming it in the midst of a quiet night and killing anyone who didn't flee for their lives… Her parent's village hadn't been ready for combat, heck, they weren't on active duty! Sure, they might post a few scouts and still donn their weapons from time to time while hunting, but they’d been forced to relinquish their legionary decks… Trained and armed as they might be, the simple reality was that they weren't legionnaires anymore… they were, at best, a veteran militia equivalent to a small, poor township that couldn't rub together two combat cards together to save their life… Sure, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it definitely wasn't much better either… An invasion by numbers that she saw here would have routed them without question. It likely wouldn't even have been difficult as Bianca herself was well aware how the tricen's new dogma of total war had been effectively pushing the legions back, inch by inch.
As her forces continued to break into the tombs one by one, and the number of bodies neared two thousand, Bianca called a halt as she eyed the half dozen remaining doors. Her gaze glazed while the centurion's thoughts pulled themselves from sluggish concentration… That thus far prickling sense of sinister impending danger was rising to a fevered pitch… “Korvil!”
“Aye, ma’am!”
“Call the squadrons back and reassemble in the courtyard. I want the golems to finish cracking the remaining doors.”
Her adjunct glanced at her wearily, then down the hallway, his gaze shifting from the remaining slabs that had been blocking each chamber before falling upon one nearly thrice their size, one that rested at the absolute end of the passageway rather than its sides. The ominous size and radiating evil that seemed to pulse from within gave him pause for only the briefest of moments. “Are we—readying for a fight, ma’am?”
“I'm not certain… However, if you are suggesting we leave before finding sufficient answers for the questions command will ask of us, then I can assure you, the praetor will personally oversee our lashings.”
“Better to let the constructs soften any monstrosities, is it?”
“Precisely so.” Bianca nodded, not meeting the younger officers' questioning look, “Have them form up, shields ready. I don't know what's behind that big bastard of a slab, but it will not catch us with our trousers around the legs.”
“As you say, centurion! Veterans!” He bellowed a moment later, whirling to begin marching up and down the large passageway, “Get you're squadrons together and assemble outside! Squads one through six, spear and shields, seven to nine, arrows!”
Bianca listened as her forces quickly snapped into movement, men and women all jogging out of the various rooms and passing her, expressions each filled with apprehensive determination. It wasn't lost on her just how rattled her command was… not even a single instance of live combat beneath their belts, and the very first mission they were sent on saw them underground. Ignoring that subterranean fights with the tricen were well known to be the most unforgiving, they were inspecting a damned tomb of their recently deceased enemy that wasn't even supposed to be here, to begin with! All of them had heard stories of the tricens dark dealings with their abyssal god… had heard tales of their sorcerers bringing to bear powerful spells that were fueled by their own people, magics that wilted life from existence with baleful energies that consumed all it touched… Of course, the legions had still pushed the buggers all the way to the breaking point, dark god or otherwise, her people were not absent deific forbearance themselves.
Still, this was different. This was seeing those horror stories up close and firsthand. Not only had they all been exposed to a cultish grand sacrifice the likes and size of which Bianca earnestly hadn't heard of herself, but they’d actually found evidence of an underground stronghold! A stronghold that legion command had insisted couldn't exist! The mere fact that one was present so far into conquered lands believed completely safe was—devastating in its own right. The implications were clear, if it could happen here, then they could exist anywhere within legion-controlled territory. And yet, what made things truly concerning and bizarre was the lack of reason behind it all. Yes, the stronghold existed, and yes, it was well behind friendly lines… but for them to all just—kill themselves while possessing such a powerful strategic position? It made no sense… If they had potential dozens of these settlements littered across the continent, then they could embark upon a form of guerilla warfare that would all but revert the legion's success. Raids on baggage trains, subterfuge of infrastructure, attacks on unsuspecting settlements… It would be a nightmare of such immensity that would only grow with exponential speeds given their campaign leadership had been gutted… If the soldiers thought things were already looking grim, then they had no idea what truly would be in store for them.
While it was hard to tell exactly when the zealots had perished, or what their conditions had been like prior to their sacrifice, Bianca had to assume that food hadn't been an issue until someone or something had fouled their supplies… And, were she to guess, she’d likewise place the time of death at an approximate two to three weeks… An estimation that was oddly enough provided by one of the scouting drones that had evidently performed a mild autopsy, the data it supplied her on the small ear-mounted—device on her head displaying an affirmation of the process of visible decay. It would also helpfully place the enigma of it all to have taken place sometime after her aunt's mysterious wizard appeared, but before the disastrous hunt performed by the starved survivors. And, given what she’d seen of the mushroom farm, the bodies' state of deterioration, as well as the malnourished state of those who had been slaughtered above, Bianca felt she had a reasonable timeline of events together that had—too many coincidences…
The appearance of a strange traveller of a species she’d never heard of… The sudden reversal of fortune for the legion's operations, the hidden stronghold, all the sacrifices within it… There was just no way any of it was isolated as an incident… And worse, here she was, lured in by her aunt's honeyed words… hours beneath the surface after mapping out the tunnel system and, in her midst, advanced automatons of war… all theoretically under her command, it was true. Yet, would they remain that way? Despite it all, she couldn't shake the feeling that Arthur Ashfield was somehow involved in this. Yes, her disposition towards him had been—skewed due to his gifts… and yes, he, for all appearances, seemed to be aiding in whatever her aunt's plans were… However, it was just a bit too convenient… Sure, the strange mage looked harmless, and yet, everyone she spoke to assured her he was dangerous in ways beyond the obvious. She wanted to believe in him… not for the mage's benefit but for her aunt and family, who all seemed to trust him… Dianna, specifically, who appeared to unequivocally believe she could conquer the world all her own! It was an absurd fantasy under any normal circumstances, and yet, as she was, Bianca couldn't help but wonder how far the woman would get. In all truth, assuming the legions retreated and it was only the remnants of their force's campaign of genocide to deal with, she rather thought she would do quite well for herself…
The thoughts naturally didn't help her now, however. Thus, Bianca turned to watch as the last of her forces ran by, the sound of their clicking hooves filling the chamber. Only then did the centurion follow, marching smartly from the un-hallowed temple they’d desecrated to join in the ranks of her forces, slipping into her usual spot at its center, mind ready to summon her magical armaments. One of her fingers struggled to work the infuriatingly barbaric controls on the automaton domination module, the blasted thing far too small and finicky for her large fingers. Still, she managed the feat after some light grumbling, scanning the remaining side doors, one at a time and including them with her new designation for orders. Bianca wasn't sure how the machines seemed to know what it was she wanted them to do, but their reactions to her designs did not at all avail herself of concerns regarding mind magic… The automatons just seemed to inherently interpret her plans when given new orders, as though acting through some empathetic link… She didn't like it, was immensely weary of it, in fact! Even so, she’d placed her faith in Dianna, accepted the bribes offered by her and had already mentally prepared herself for the—contingency she’d be required to make. Nothing had yet been agreed to, and nothing had been forced upon her. However, the implicit understanding between herself and her aunt was that when things began to fall apart, if they did, then Bianca was to—defect. And in doing so, bring as many fellow centuries as she could to her aunt's side.
It was a herculean and not to-mention astoundingly traitorous task… And yet, she’d already taken the cards her aunt had given her to aid in—securing the loyalty of her brother and sister centurions. More magical armorments… though, of a decidedly lesser quality to her own, or so she’d been assured. Ten cards in total, with the guarantee that, if more were needed, she’d have them… Not to mention the promise of a new home, a new city, one with a promised portal that would charge no taxations upon its use, at least for the time being, however long such a notion would ultimately last… She didn't think she was interested in the more salacious parts of the agreement... but if her world were to truly crumble, it felt good to know she'd at least have a home to return to.
“Gods…” She whispered under her breath, softly shaking her head in the process.
Bianca was all but neck deep in plots and schemes, and none of them were even her own! She felt—frustrated that she would even be put in this position to begin with! By her parents, by her aunt, by the damned imperium for managing to muck up so bloody badly! She would likely be forced into a decision that she did not want to have to make, but one that felt nevertheless already made for her! Yes, her hope was that the legions managed to regain their foothold, but should they fail, should they be cast back to Londis Landing, what, if anything, would remain for her in the empire? Her legion would be marred for life, assuming it even survived… Ostrisized along with all the other failures of this nightmarish invasion… Marred by the tinging of the armys golden standard, its gilded wings tarred with disgrace, to be rechristened as a black legion, unfit for glory, unfit for fame… Its purpose only to remain as a reminder of those who had failed and to go where no other legions so desired.
It was—not a distinction that she hoped for. Nor was it one that any within the twenty-seventh had earned. At least, not amongst the rank and file… All knew where the true fault behind the campaign's looming implosion lay, even if they weren't willing to speak it aloud. And though she loved her country, had dreamt of returning to the capitol victorious and proudly wearing her commendations, fantasied of proving to her father’s lineage that they were worth a damn! To be invited into the Costis household, not as a cadet branch that served to suckle the hooves of the familial patriarch, but as someone deserving of their heritage! Someone who had risen above the lofty heights of even her countless cousins to prove she was worthy! And, and… Bianca—well, she knew the difference between reality and fiction… she knew that such flights of fancy would never come to pass should their forces lose this war. It would be a disaster! An impossibility! The greatest misstep in living memory of their empire, which had proven to trample nearly all opposition they met neatly into the dirt.
Yet, what could she do? Try and convince her aunt to side with the empire. Hah! That was worth a good laugh! Her father hadn't been wrong… there was nothing that the imperium could give her that she didn't stand to gain a hundredfold over on her own. Capture her husband? Maybe… But then her aunt would come looking for him… And even if they threatened his life, Bianca knew the woman better than those who would say such a tactic would work. Dianna would burn it all down to cinders and ash, regardless if her mate would live or die… Unwilling to forgive, unwilling to forget. And as powerful as she had become, her aunt had all but assured her that it had merely been the beginning of her rise to possible godhood… ridiculous as the idea was… No, even if Bianca had the means to capture the man, Dianna had already admitted that he stood no chance against her in a fight… thus, even if captured and collared, he wouldn't be able to stop his rampaging mate. Possibly by design, possibly not. Either way, it did not matter as Bianca was not under the impression she could handle the mage on her own, with or without her century at her back… At least not unless she caught him unawares.
That was why she was placing her trust in Dianna, who, in turn, had placed her faith in the alien mage. Preparing for the worst as she was, but hoping she wouldn't regret her decision.
Around her, the century waited with baited breaths, uncertain and silent, the odd rustle of armour and weapons the only sound that seemed to trumpet in her ears as the automatons glided into the room on spider-like legs that were practically silent in their passing. They weaved around her century like wraiths, filing into the previously sealed temple as each and every one of her men watched them enter, their eyes fixated upon their skin-crawling and scuttling movements… Bianca had largely kept the golems free from their eyes where she could, scouting ahead and maintaining a perimeter, aware that her men didn't understand the context behind their presence. And what could she even tell them? Thus far, none had outright asked her after their existence nor inquired what had happened following her somewhat painful defeat at the hands of what should have been a retired veteran without her cards of war.
Only Korvil had risked a—gentle inquiry as to the situation. Yet, had, thus far, accepted her brisk explanation that had been—admittedly, an order to fuck off and keep quiet. And, in all honesty, so far as such things went, that was a perfectly reasonable and, quite frankly, often expected response to receive by a superior officer. The issue would, of course, be what would happen after they returned from leave… She didn't think any of her men would betray her trust outright, however, soldiers gossiped… heck, it was said that the legions ran on three things, rations, disciplin and jabbering mouths… And, eventually, rumours would propagate to the point someone of sufficient rank who found them interesting might look into things. It was a—small chance, she knew, but one that did worry her… Gods only knew what she’d actually do if called in for questioning by a truthsayer. Run? Fight? Submit? She didn't rightly know…
Yet, these were concerns for another time, Bianca forcing her racing thoughts into a corner of her consciousness as she quickly tabbed through the various sightlines afforded to her via the mage device, looking into each room as though she herself were really there. “Same thing for the other chambers so far…” She announced, allowing the tension to break through the disturbing quiet… It was always better to try and let soldiers know what was going on, within good reason, rather than allowing their imaginations to run wild and fear to take root. Around her, the occasional joke over the tricen's poor showing in combat or the absurdity that was performing suicide in the hopes of overcoming one's enemies began to make the inevitable rounds through her forces. All good things, and she didn't order silence through the ranks so long as the conversation remained positive. Authority was a tenuous thing, something that was intrinsically tied to morale. She wasn't a fool; she knew her troops were scared. They were green, after all, young and eager perhaps, but untested and within one of the very worst environments they could be in.
Bianca had wanted this, of course, as there was no better way than trial by fire to grind one's nerves into the sand and deaden all doubt about the legion's might and ability to win both decisively and consistently in combat. Maybe she’d bitten off more than she bargained for with a town this large and a clear population that was several times larger than her own force, but now, they were in a choke point. No enemies behind them, and if there was something behind the massive slab, they were ready to face it.
The automatons broke through the final side doors in quick succession, working as a team while employing odd rays of murky red-orange light. The beams shone from glass-like spheres that were implanted in the center of their bodies, the strange glow that emitted from the dark burgundy lens searing whatever it touched, causing the stone to crumble into ash and dust within moments of contact. Three more rooms. Two of which were filled to the brim with flies, stench and bodies, while the third… that one was different.
Inside were rows upon rows of familiar stone alters, each lined up with near-perfect symmetry from one to the next. However, unlike all those uncovered before it, only a comparative handful of tricen could be found within. Six bodies lay sacrificed compared to the typical fifty that they had uncovered in each prior room. And of those that lay within, little remained to observe… Though these were the least—broken down thus far seen, they were still riddled with insects, their bodies squirming and shaking as though they were still alive and lost within a feverish dream… Flesh, moving as though bulbous worms burrowed beneath the surface, the maggots still in the process of devouring their hosts whole from the inside out. Bianca’s expression twisted with disgust, using the automatons to briefly look around and not see anything terribly different beyond…
She paused, one of the spider-like creatures that were crawling on the ceiling, spotting a dark and obsidian object lying at the hands of a body that wasn't quite positioned as the others. Its placement looked—haphazard… not perfect as all its kin had been, but—rushed, perhaps even sloppy, and as she got a magnification of the unknown object, she realized that it was actually a gore-crusted blade… A knife, jagged and—disgusting. It lay on the ground beside the final dead body in the row.
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“And that would be the priest…” She thought sourly, almost wishing he were still alive so they could kill him themselves. The amount of trouble those blighted abyssal cultists had caused could probably equate to the sum total of the tricens actual armed forces! Mage for mage, they weren't anything special but empowered by an adequate number of sacrifices? Well, then they could be forces to reckon with… But why was such an important member of their zealous faith dead with all the rest? Surely, had he been intending to take advantage of the power on offer, then the priest wouldn't lay where he did. Which only made the final barrier stone that much more—concerning…
Just to be safe, Bianca lined up the small force of golems she’d been provided, commanding them to mimic her own centuries' formation. A lone and singular automaton approaching the large slab rather than them all. Beginning, at her order, the slow and laborious work of burning a hole through the barrier's middle began. Just like the smaller slabs, the process took time. Entire minutes passed as, once more, conversation settled, replaced entirely with the fizzling degradation of stone that wasn't reduced to slag or melted but instead converted to ashen dust that filled the air as clumps fell to the floor. The beam burned through the massive rock with eerie precision; its sickly light moved as though mounted to a track, perfectly opening a space that the automaton itself would likely be able to fit through, the process taking markedly longer than the other slabs until—suddenly, the beam dissipated.
The plume of dust that the golem created seemed to almost—sucked into the void, the mass floating back into the air from where it had drifted or fallen, coalescing back into the gap that had been made as like some recording that she was watching in reverse… Then, the stone was repaired, looking exactly as it had before she'd given the order to destroy it, the scene leaving herself, and everyone around her quite thoroughly speechless… All except one.
“It's warded.” A voice called out from behind her, Bianca turning to eye the veteran of her mage core as the woman stared at the anomaly as though itching to go touch it, “And, possibly even enchanted… I’d bet that If I—”
“Denied.” Bianca immediately barked, her sharp reply causing the other woman to scowl at her!
“But I didn't even tell you what I wanted to do!”
“Faira, if you assure me that whatever you're plan was didn't involve touching a hostile peoples artifact of a stone slab, then by all means, explain away.”
“I… well, I could have Offar touch it?”
“M-me ma’am?” A clean-shaven and lanky bal spoke up, his clearly nervous face betraying exactly how little he appreciated being volunteered…
“Yes, you, you're sufficiently good with the stuff, and if the centurion doesn't want to risk me then—”
“Faira?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Do shut the fuck up and stop scaring my mages?”
“Twas only a joke, ma’am…”
Bianca sighed, glaring at the hawkish woman who merely shrugged her ire away. The crone was old, a career soldier, and not to mention a mage… If she was to be intimidated by something, it was not to be of a non-magical nature. Yet, the veteran was one in which she’d never want to replace. Talented, intelligent and, above all, an excellent rock for her forces to lean on.
“You're thoughts on why this slab is different from the others?”
“Because there’s something important behind it.” Faira supplied, tone as dry as could be.
“Thank you Faira, for the obvious, now please, a professional opinion, shall we?”
“Not much beyond what I’ve already said… The stone's larger size could either allude to a necessity of surface area in which the network was applied, likely on the opposite side of what we see. Alternatively, it was the mass they desired to keep something from getting out, in addition to the enchantment. Either way, something important is behind that barrier, and if you desire to find out what, then we would need to overload the enchantment with sufficient damage or dispel it.”
Bianca nodded, not needing to have the specifics explained to her, and indeed allowing Faira to share her thoughts to allow the others nearby to listen in. Things were starting to take a life of their own as they were all teased with the prospect of discovering something truly monumental as it was dangled before their eyes. To back away now would be—mindfully prudent from certain perspectives but unquestionably craven and reprehensible towards their duty. If there was something behind that slab that would help subtract from the tricen’s recent success, then they did not just owe the imperium the posed risk, but each and every one of their fellow soldiers. To walk away would be to allow others to claim potential glory, and for themselves to be branded as too timid to properly serve. To do what was required of them. No, the answer was clear. They needed to get into that room to see what the tricen were up to, and with any luck, the information gathered might help to turn the tides of war back in their favour.
“So then we overload the enchantment.” Bianca proclaimed, returning her attention to the slab as she, this time, ordered all of the automatons beneath her control to assault the stone.
Within moments, the corridor bloomed to life with radiant light as the combined intensity of fifteen golems glared at the barrier with their blazing rays, dust and ash exploding through the chamber as Faira, her mage core in tow, moved to begin displacing as much as they were able. The dust filled the room in its entirety, even as her mages sucked it from the hall, sending it shooting deeper into the village at their backs, siphoning away the visual residue from the automaton's work, even as it struggled to sweep back towards the stone. And on the struggle went, her forces and the golems working in tandem to try and overwhelm the barrier. Burning away the stone and floating the remnant ash as far away as they dared. Great swaths of it being relocated en-masse, only for it all to start creeping back in, moving with the eerie glide of a snake. It streamed back towards the barrier as fast as Faira and her mages could send it away… Coiling ropes of ash and dust writhing all the way back to the temple as her force of automatons gradually made headway, the beams grinding the stone slab down slowly but assuredly, making their way from top to bottom, battling against its regeneration.
And through all of it, Bianca and her century, not including her mage core, waited. They watched as the barrier began reforming right from the top, the stone seeming to reappear behind the glaring beams as though existing as some strange magical echo. The process was first slow when compared to the deceptively dangerous golems, and then, evening out to the point, progress moved just beyond what she’d named stalled. At least eight of the—drones, as the mage had called them, redirected their attention back to the previously destroyed enchantment, fending off its attempts at repair by continuously pressing back against its restoration. It was—mind-numbingly slow to watch as progress utterly halved in an instant… and yet, the small automatons were winning. With the approximate half holding the magic at bay while the others continued to dismantle the barrier, her own heart began beating faster and faster with anticipation. First, when the sickly orange beams had sheered the slab down to the halfway point, then, picking up in tempo as it was whittled away to a third, then a quarter, an eighth… When the stone appeared to be losing its final remnants, the paradigm shifted again! The enchantment was seemingly no longer interested in playing nicely as the barrier began reforming anywhere that it could! The slab all but regrowing from the walls themselves as the inky dark chamber beyond lay impenetrable to all visual acuity. Again, the beams shifted, working to chase the immensely frustrating stone, even as disaster struck… Almost as one, the beams of the automatons winked out, all the desperate progress they’d made being undone in what felt like heartbeats! Bianca cursed aloud as she glared at the small golems with a rising outrage that was not easy to stamp down…
“Well, that’s unfortunate…” She heard Faira murmur, the veteran's own efforts beginning to dwindle as, with no residue to transfer from the room, her purpose within their attempts to bypass the barrier vanished…
“How much power would need to be stored to keep that sort of thing up?” The centurion demanded, rounding on her lead mage, who was, in turn, staring at the slab while chewing at her lip.
“More than I’d say is safe to be messing with…”
“They wouldn't have sacrificed so many of their own just to make sure a fucking door can't be broken through!”
“Not,” Korvil murmured, fingers brushing against his chin, “unless there was something extremely significant back there…”
“I’ve seen spells cast by tricen priests with less magic behind them that have successfully wiped out entire centuries,” Faira complained, now looking more than just a little unnerved by it all. “Centurion, this isn't some half-assed hedge-wizard nonsense! We are dealing with a spell potentially powered by nearly two thousand souls… I hate to say it, but if they used all that potential to make sure the door wasn't being broken down, then we're not getting in there…”
Bianca ground her teeth, taking in a deep and meditative breath as her eye flickered to the odd blinking light in her vision. It was some sort of—alert; something meant to catch her attention, red and flashing, its insistent ploy for her gaze attached to an oddly filling bar. Currently, the thing was at around a quarter filled, but it was rising at a steady pace; a further inspection showed her that each of the automatons under her command seemed to possess a similar indicator that were all, just as the largest one, refilling. She took a generous assumption, knowing what she did of magic, that the golems were simply depleted and currently refilling their reserves. Many magical constructs could move nigh indefinitely, should their workload be of a sufficiently negligible effort. However, when put under intense strain, they could and eventually would deactivate for a time, or else, if created differently, enter into a form of lethargy while their bodies reabsorbed the necessary magic to continue operations. If the—bar represented how full that reserve actually was, a useful if not a touch gimmicky bit of sorcery, then she’d have—hmm… at the rate it was moving… fifteen or so minutes before they were at half?
“If we leave,” Bianca ground out—
“Im not saying we piss off back to high comand ma’am, but, given the—extent of what is preventing us from doing our duty, wouldn't it be prudent to try and—assertain the willingness of hmmm, local assets that might be more poised to aid us? Apologies, centurion, but our magical abilities just don't have the punch we’d need for—” Faira paused, gesturing to the now fully reformed slab with a wing, “all of that… gods, it's not even just protecting the stone, we couldn't even see through the enchantment which tells me that the complexity behind that monstrosity could have been the life's work of a mage talented in the art without the reliance of cards. I would need another thirty legion magi to overwhelm it, based on what I saw, and imperium only knows how long it would take to actually crack the damned thing…”
“So what about dispelling it?”
“Easy!” The veteran chirped with a merry smile, “Just supply me with another three or four mages with experience simular to my own and give us—hmmmm, a week to a month.”
“You think jokes are appropriate?”
“Always! But I'm neither joking nor trying to exaggerate.”
Bianca just growled deeply in her throat, the sound coming out as genuine frustration. She wanted into that room. Not just because duty demanded it, but if there was something back there her people could use, it would save the lives of countless of her fellow soldiers. It didn't even need to be said that she was all but convinced of the importance of the temple. This enchantment was all the proof needed. But how was she to overwhelm it? For a time, she chewed on her lip, considering the issue for what it was. The stone's regenerative properties were the big issue she could see. With the thing capable of just reforming itself, it felt as though any efforts were frankly futile. Yet, she wasn't sure if they were out of options…
“Can you and you're team burry the slab's dust rather than just push it away?”
Faira seemed to consider this for a moment, her head tilting slightly as her gaze drifted away from the enchanted barrier and towards the youths in her mage core with a considering look. While all legion accredited in their studies, the mages, much like her normal soldiers, weren't bloodied, but that didn't mean they weren't talented. After a few lingering moments, the veteran curtly nodded her head, voice sharp as a lash. “Start opening the stone down the steps but away from our path of retreat! I want separate chambers!” She specified, already corraling those under her command as the woman's contingent moved to her designs. “Beckie! You're on sealing duty! When we fill a chamber and hold enough debris within, you close it!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
As her mages worked, Bianca eyed the indicator of the golem's magic, noting it was getting close to full by the time they had created several pits just outside the temple, sweat beading at many of their brows.
“We begin again!” Bianca called, her weary mage core nodding to her demands, Faira standing straight amidst them all, a manic gleam of interest in her dark eyes.
Again, the machines began pulverizing the stone, the same as before. All of them starting off at the top and work their way down. Interestingly, the stone did not react as it had previously, the enchantment’s regeneration starting off slow and at a meandering pace meandering.
“It’s a way for it to preserve its integrity!” Faira announced, seeming to be overtly fascinated by the barrier, even as she began collecting the dust and sending it off to her forces. “The more it's damaged, the more it draws on its power source! Ensure we have what we are able to secure properly sealed before it is halfway destroyed, that is when it began fighting our efforts in earnest!”
There was a chorus of acknowledging calls from those working near the pits. Bianca simply allowed her veteran to do as her job entailed. Instead, she herself moved to start marching along the length of her soldiers, barking as though they faced down a visible foe that was slowly emerging from the treeline. “Ready yourselves! Shields locked! I don't want a step surrendered! Whatever shows face, it will grind itself against our wall! You'll come back as heroes for this, lads! Mark my words, if we discover something here, there will be glory for all!” Bianca smiled at the anticipatory cheer that rose up through her ranks, the centurion exuding a sense of confidence that whatever they might find would stand as little more than a bump in the road for her forces and made sure her soldiers knew that.
The sound of shifting rock heralded the first of the pits being filled. Bianca watched as the automatons burned near to the middle of the barrier and then passed it, gasps and grunts emerging from her mages who, suddenly, found the dust they were trying to seal away grow much livelier than it had previously been! Still, while beams were dispatched to keep the upper portions of the enchantment worn down, only a comparative few were needed while the rest could maintain their brutal and efficient siege.
“It's working!” Faira announced, the glee in her voice clear for all to hear! “Don't you dare fail you're legion and empire! If I catch even a single man or woman taking a break, you'll be on equipment duty for a month!”
Bianca's heart began to quicken once more as the barrier was reduced to but a quarter of its size, the stone slab shrinking further and further! Disappearing as its physical existence was stolen away and buried! The golems' gleaming beams, again, started to sputter as, one by one, the automatons seemed to start taking turns while preserving their magic. The process again seemed to half in speed, Faira’s mages all but panting at her back as they truly struggled to wrangle what small bundles of forcefully compacted dust there were…
“The fucking thing is a hell of a fighter…” Korvil murmured, much to the agreement of those around him…
Yet, despite how desperately it battled against them, the final remnants of the slab were successfully sealed away, the last beam from her borrowed golems winking out as the inky darkness that was hidden behind the rock simply—waited with ominous intensity… The darkness practically seemed to scream at them in fury and rage! Hateful as much as it was infuriated and malicious.
“You're thoughts?” Bianca asked, not needing to look to the veteran mage that moved to stand beside her as they both stared into the darkness together...
“It should run out of magic soon.” The woman breathed, voice laced with moderate exhaustion herself. “No enchantment that strong has an infinite supply of magic. It's why it regenerated in the first place! Without those automatons all but disintegrating it, I dare say anyone else would have had a damned hard time getting through it.”
So saying, the darkness almost seemed to intensify for a brief moment, the gloom pulsing with energy, the shadows creeping outwards, as though trying to physically search for the stone and drag it back, a sound nearing a whining hiss filling the air before a crack like thunder erupted! And, just like that, the darkness appeared to shatter like glass. So many of its inky and shard-like pieces clattered to the floor in a shower of noise that caused one's spine to squirm with dismay! Bianca felt her breath hitch as the room beyond the veil was revealed to her, every muscle in her body tensing as if to prepare for—something.
The room beyond the stone was—small. Its width and height were no greater than the slab itself, and in its depths was a single floating orb of roiling and pale light. It almost seemed to—buck and leap with ever-increasing fervour, the shading of its surface slowly darkening as Bianca felt a sudden surge of premonitory fear! The orb transitioning to a near cloudy and stormy grey, then—black…
“Brace yourselves!” She roared, summoning her armament and raising the shield to cover herself, but a heartbeat before a delicate chink and crunch filled the air, the orb bursting and filling the world with shadow!
Darkness consumed Bianca as it flooded into the corridor and beyond, passing over and around her person as a tangible beat of something beyond her understanding seemed to stir through existence itself! The crawling dark spread across every observable surface of stone around them, her legionnaires crying out in dismay and confusion, their nerves all but broken. Yet, as the moments lingered and—nothing seemed to happen, Bianca found herself—perplexed. Slowly, she lowered her shield, glancing around to see the world starting to revert to normal, the queer and ominous shade that had seemed to dim existence slowly vanishing to the ether…
She found herself blinking in mild confusion, looking behind herself to see if there was anything noteworthy that had changed… anything at all… And yet… for all she could see, not a thing was amiss! The centurion half wondering what had even happened until the moment her ears twitched, picking up the sound of slight shifting emanating from the room on her left. Jerking, Bianca’s eyes fixated on sight, her gaze locking onto one of the multitudes of the dead as it abruptly lurched upright, eyes dark as the void itself, crackling veins of pulsating abyssal hue continuing to snake theyre way about the body faster and faster as she stared!
“Seal the chamber!” Bianca roared as she backed into her place at their formation, her mages rushing to either side to begin sealing the temple entry!
Hateful glee seemed to laugh from every crevice where shadows danced as if delighted and alive! The screeching tenor of howling abominations echoed throughout the hall!. Bianca, her heart hammering against her ribs, retreated with her legionnaires, the automatons forming a vanguard of steel and light against the tide of nightmares that began hurling themselves into the hallway with primitive abandon! The air crackled with the raw power of Faira’s magic as the stone wall rose with agonizing slowness, each inch seeming to move at the speed of as if to spite their attempts to form the stone!
“Somethings interfering with my magic!” The mage warned, her voice calm but laced with an undertone of dread and noteworthy despair! “It's not moving like I want it!”
Just seal the fucking door!” Bianca shouted again, snarling as she barked at her soldiers. “And hold the fucking line! Nothing gets through until the mages are done!”
The creatures that surged from the chambers to the dogpile. The handful of golems that remained within were unlike any Bianca had ever witnessed. They moved with unnatural speed and ferocity, their bodies twisted and contorted, faces locked in grotesque parodies of agony and rage. Some crawled on all fours, limbs elongated and tipped with fiendish claws. Others shambled upright, screeching as they shuffled forwards, their flesh sloughing off in strips of liquid darkness that pooled around them, summoning more creatures that rose from the stone itself to join the chaotic mele that exploded into motion as the hall filled with bodies! And the eyes, oh, the eyes… Bianca felt her guts twist at the empty, soulless pits of absolute darkness that seemed to drink in the light, glossy like pitch black marbles of fathomless depths…
One such creature, its jaw unhinged and dripping with viscous shadow, lunged at Bianca through the entry, its scream a symphony of shattered sanity and mindlessness! Bianca slammed her shield into its chest with a resonating hum that rang through the room, the impact reverberating through her bones! The creature was sent hurtling back into the mosh, disappearing, but only for a seeming moment before an identical nightmare lunged in its place! Its claws raked across the polished metal of her shield, leaving behind hissing trails of black ichor that dripped and began bubbling at her feet!
“Fuck! Kill them before they spawn! Keep ranks! Hold the fucking line!"
Her legionnaires, their discipline ingrained through countless battles, obeyed without question. Their tight defensive wall smashed out against any creature that escaped through the gap. Blue flashes of magical force, sent the nightmares flying into the senseless melee that saw the automatons spinning like glowing tops of death! Shields interlocked, spears were thrust forward, the rhythmic grunting and heaving filling the air as more and more creatures dove at their line! Pounding at the presented wall without a single thought within their minds beyond a searing hatred for all life before them!
But even with their unwavering discipline, they were losing ground. The sheer volume of bodies throwing themselves through the closing hole, their relentless assault, it was quickly overwhelming them! For every one that fell, two more seemed to take its place, clawing and biting with frenzied hunger! The air grew thick with the stench of decay and the acrid bite of ozone as mana burned and was converted to Faira’s will!
A legionnaire at her side screamed as a creature slashed her on the hand! Her fellows yanked her from the front as she howled with unreasonable agony for the comparative wound she’d received, but Bianca hadn't the time to focus on others. Her spear swept through the ranks of things that were assailing them, their bodies flesh but immune to pain and ignorant of injury besides! Yet, the blows of her strongest legionnaires sent the foe scattering back towards the temple as enchanted spears blew creatures backwards, splattering them, bisecting them and destroying their bodies in violent eruptions of rotting gore that pasted the temple walls! Yet, with each decayed body felled, shades rose to take their place, howling like banshees as they flew back towards the line of legionnaires like the vengeful dead!
“Explosive arrows only! Suppress the opening!” Fendal screamed, Bianca, breathing a momentary sigh of relief as the onslaught and press of bodies immediately lessened, a staccato of thrumming bows creating an unending stream of enchanted arrows that violently exploded within the small chamber just beyond the rising slab!
“Keep at it, lads! We're winning this!” She bellowed, grinning, even as her magical armaments failed, vanishing to the void, her normal weapons appearing in her hands with a flash of darkness, a ragged cheer erupted from her forces as morale firmed and the stream of—things stemmed to a slow trickle.
The momentary reprieve granted by the explosive arrows was a blessing, but Bianca knew this wasn't done... The stench of decay was palatable on her tongue, the air heavy with the miasma of death. It clung to the back of her throat, a taste like rancid meat and shit...
"The wall! How much longer?" She demanded over the din, glancing sidelong at the mages, their faces illuminated by the flickering light of their weaving magic.
"Almost there, Centurion!" Faira grunted, voice rasping and exhausted, strained further than she’d ever heard it with exertion.
But even as she spoke, the ground trembled, a low, guttural moan, unlike the likes of shrieking hatred that wailed as endless cries, splitting the air with a terrible rumble that shifted stone and caused fragments of the ceiling to fall from above! The creatures, as if sensing a change, redoubled their efforts, their attacks becoming more frenzied, more desperate. The undead abominations that the tircen had transformed their own flesh into seeming to almost plug the breech like they were attempting to stifle Faira’s progress! Inky shadow began to leak en mass from the ever-shrinking gap, beginning to pool at the entrance in a swirling vortex of darkness that began taking the shape of an enormous monstrosity that rose on two legs!
“You…” It whispered, voice crawling with the scratch and hiss of ten thousand centipedes crawling in the back of her mind! “Too soon! You’ll ruin it; you'll ruin everything!”
Suddenly, the form solidified into the shape of a distorted thing with too many tendrils and abstract faces, eyes seeming to glow with eldrich energy! Bianca’s forces screamed as they dropped to their knees and fell from the sky! Blood pouring from their eyes and ears! As the entity swept the room before itself with a single gaze!
Bianca felt the immense weight of the creature's stare nearly drive her to madness! The whispers scratching at her every thought! Gnawing on them! Hissing and shouting until they flooded her brain to the point she couldn't even speak! The assault sending her staggering! The world spun! Existence tilted on its side as she fought to push back the mental intrusion in her mind!
“Don't despair, child of our greatest foe! You shall join us! Rejoice! The abyss calls, and it is glorious!”
Her heart pounding against her ribs, Bianca—shrieked, Crawling backwards on hands and hooves, eyes wide and bloodshot as the entity laughed and cackled with hissing delight! The darkness in the corner of her vision swallowed everything around her to the beating pulse of her racing heart! Her mind was right upon the cusp of eternity itself before hands grabbed at her armour and heaved her away! Korvil and one of his archers hauling their centurion from the front lines where those that had stood with her writhed in silent distress, no longer possessing the air for their desperate wails!
“Retreat!” Korvil boomed, “Retreat to the tunnels! Fly, you fuckers! For you're lives!”
All around them, survivors from the contact with the strange creature took to the sky, a mere half of those only moments before fighting the undead hoard, mages, archers, the rearmost ranks of the shield wall… All flapped their wings in practiced formation, appearing to almost leap backwards, reforming into a new wall, even as those with bows slung them for their spears.
“Faira! What’s wrong with the Centurion?”
“I—I don't know!” The mage stammered, landing beside the centuries second as she immediately took to examining her. “Give me time; I need time!”
“We don't have time…” The man growled, his voice rising a moment later with cold steel. “Fighting retreat! Back up the fucking tunnel! You break ranks, you die! Hold the line; you live! It's simple imperial doctrine, legionnaires! Now, march!”
“Aye, sir!” Came the ragged cry of those who remained, fear tinging each and every one of their voices, bodies remembering better than minds how to hold themselves as the procession rapidly advanced—in a backward direction. The clamour and shift of their armour drowning out the distant dead that pounded at the barrier of stone.
A voice, less a sound and more a violation of the soul, wormed its way into their minds as the legionnaires fell back, arms shivering at the chaotic howls that followed them. And yet, the words were calm, soft even, each one spoken as though rasping in the ear of each person who heard it like a sibilant whisper that promised oblivion… "Hmhmhmhmh… Flee, little rats," it hissed, a triumphant grin bleeding through its hateful amusement. "Scurry and scuttle in the dark. It makes no difference… The abyss sees all, consumes all… This world is not yours. It is ours, by right of blood and bone! And you shall not have it while we still stand! Prepare yourselves if you can… our lord stirs, and he hungers for those who have wronged us… Now, Rise… Rise my brothers and sisters in death! Rise from your forgotten graves! Serve again! Seek your vengeance; and cleanse this world in you're fury!”