Chapter 23

Seven dropped down to all fours. The bright red glow around him pulsed as his claws dug into the floor of the hut. The tension in the room was on a knife’s edge. Riakon casted his Thundering Smite spell over his hammer with a wave of his hand. Errrkkkk stood stoic, his eyes closed, the air around him crackled and sparked with golden chi energy.

Roden itched to blast this monster with his Conflagration ,but the cramped space had him incredibly concerned about blowback. With his golden blade floating at his shoulder Roden cast his hand to his side. Flames erupted in his palm and stretched out forming into his Flame Blade. Riakon cut through the tension,

“Okay boys, we go all at once. I’ll go for the head.”

“I’ll go high, cacaw.”

“I guess, I’m going low.”

Seven rocked back on his haunches, and opened his boney maw exposing a building red glow from within.

“Guys, I think something is coming!” Roden shifted his stance to be lighter on his feet, anticipating the incoming attack.

Errrkkkk shifted back and began charging up an energy attack of his own,

“Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”

In a flash, Seven released the gathered energy in a condensed ball of pure arcane energy.

“Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!”

The two energies collided in an eruption. The resulting explosion sent stray arcs of energy tearing through the building. The roof of the structure took the brunt of the blast. When the blast dissipated, Roden could see the night sky through the gaping hole left in its wake.

Seven launched himself from his crouched position. The massive creature hurled through the air towards Errrkkkk, his jaw wide ready to clamp down on his target. Errrkkkk flapped his powerful wings and shot into the sky as wicked teeth snapped in his previous location.

Riakon saw his opportunity and slammed his hammer into Seven’s armored ribs. The sound of bones cracking and snapping could be heard as the beast was lifted from his feet and sent flying. Roden saw Riakon’s strike and knew it would result in Seven coming towards him. In response he activated Pilgrim’s Rebuke, crushing Seven between the two shockwaves.

Roden had to admit things weren’t going too bad, but they had already strayed from the original fight. He couldn’t rely on his memories. He knew that bone armor was a problem for Errrkkkk. If he couldn’t land solid strikes on Seven things weren’t going to go their way.

The boney form before them spun and lashed out at Roden. His two blade spells granted him some combat instincts and he danced backwards in a couple hops until his back was against the wall of the hut. His foot caught on something nearly causing him to stumble.

It was then he noticed Mu’tumbo was at his feet unconscious. Seven was bearing down on him. Panic coursed through him, if Mu’tumbo died here it could change everything. Riakon was too far away to make a difference and he couldn’t see Errrkkkk. Roden braced himself and prayed to Era Seven’s attacks weren’t going to hurt too bad.

He was wrong, they hurt a lot. More than anything he had ever experienced. His armor was mangled as he was battered back and forth before he was sent careening through the wall by a brutal strike from a bone-covered fist. Roden’s head swam as he tried to sit up. At his second attempt he lost consciousness.

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Riakon watched on in horror as Roden was cast out of the hut in a brutal assault by Seven. In desperation, he called up his breath weapon in the hopes it would have some effect even if just a distraction. A gout of holy water escaped his mouth, showering the beast in divine magic. Seven’s connection to the bones must have done something as the holy water sizzled and he howled in pain. In an instant a barrage of golden beams slammed into a reeling Seven.

“Let’s go brother!” Riakon charged and brought his hammer around in a sweeping strike.

Errrkkkk swooped in continuing the barrage with fists and feet. The two men stood and traded blows with the werewolf. Riakon and Errrkkkk worked in unison to take down the larger foe. Neither could spare a moment to check on Roden, but they figured he still had his ability to keep him from dying. The two fought the werewolf to a standstill until Riakon managed to shatter some bones around Seven’s torso.

Errrkkkk took the opportunity to drive a fist through the gap and into Seven, activating a technique he had been working towards for a long time. Through his punch Errrkkkk could feel the roiling chi circulating in Seven’s body. With a twist Errrkkkk latched onto that energy and sent a shockwave through it.

The injection of his own chi caused Seven’s meridians to shut down, cutting him off from the magic coursing through him. Seven was left shuddering, without his magic to bolster his strength. With their target unable to attack or defend himself Riakon and Errrkkkk poured everything they had into their attacks.

When Seven finally regained control the mid to lower portions of his exoskeleton was in ruins at his feet. His first movement caught his opponents off guard as he dodged a strike from Errrkkkk by dropping to all fours, focused on Riakon. The blast left his maw quicker than before and caught the dragonkin squarely in the chest. The raw arcane energy ripped through his scales and hide.

Errrkkkk raged at the scene unfolding before him. He unleashed his aura with an avian screech full of anguish. The golden glow emanating off Errrkkkk lit the room as if it was day. Seven turned around to face the Birdfolk and was met by a torrent of chi energy. Errrkkkk could feel the energy racing through him. He needed to open the flood gates. This beast needed to pay for what it had done to his friends.

Seven charged Errrkkkk swinging wildly. It was a fight between Errrkkkk’s speed and Seven’s power. When Seven would connect Errrkkkk was able to slide with the blows lessening their impact. When on the offensive, Errrkkkk’s strike connected, but Seven was sturdy and absorbed his shots. In the midst of claws and teeth, Errrkkkk caught sight of Riakon. He was bloodied and had a wound across his chest, but was sitting up.

A glow radiated from his hand as he clutched the gash on his chest, his wound closing rapidly as a result. When Errrkkkk dared a glance over to where Roden had crashed through the wall, he saw the silhouette of a man standing in the dark with a small flame in his hand. Errrkkkk wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing, but fire was fire and he needed to get the hell out of the way.

“Conflagration!”

Roden’s ability had finally kicked in by the time he saw Errrkkkk in his golden form. The fight had taken an unfortunate turn after he was taken out. His sacrifice served his purpose though and Mu’tumbo was still lying on the ground untouched. Roden stood and peered through the opening of the hut he had created with his body and saw the fight taking place. He had summoned up the flame of his Conflagration spell and was waiting for his moment when he caught Errrkkkk’s eye. Roden knew this was his chance. He shouted his incantation and threw his fireball.

Instead of fleeing, Errrkkkk stood his ground and delivered a powerful strike to Seven’s core. He once again sent a ripple through his chi and shut down the massive wolf. Errrkkkk dropped down and covered Mu’tumbo with his body and wings as the flames enveloped its immobile target and blasted outward scorching the ground and the remains of the room.

At the epicenter of the blast, amidst the dust was Seven. He stood, his fur torched black, smoldering. It was the red glowing eyes in the cloud that told everyone he wasn’t done just yet. The burnt wolf slowly began to regain control over his body when Riakon tore through the smoke, his hammer raised up high. He brought it down like a meteor. The silvered spike on the end glowing a bright yellow crashed through the skull and pierced straight into Seven’s forehead. The massive skull fell to pieces around Seven’s lifeless body as he fell to the ground.

The werewolf form slowly shifted and writhed as it withdrew and shrunk. In seconds, Seven the werewolf was gone. The body was replaced by that of a young human boy, who to Riakon looked no older than sixteen or seventeen. The fight over, Errrkkkk’s golden aura faded, his eyes rolled back and he dropped into a heap of feathers. Roden rushed over and immediately cast Triage on the unconscious birdman, rousing him back to bleary eyed wakefulness.

In the aftermath of the gathering the village was in shambles. Before Seven assaulted the home of the ancestors, he ripped through the camp. The barrier prevented the villagers from transforming under the moon, but did not prevent them from doing so voluntarily.

Many of the men threw themselves at Seven and were injured, maimed, or killed. Roden and Errrkkkk walked through the camp dejected. The gravity of the situation was crushing after such a brutal and violent fight. Roden had tended to Mu’tumbo, who thanked them for saving him, but rushed off quickly to tend to his people.

Riakon, however, was not well. Once Seven was dealt with and Errrkkkk was on his feet. Riakon ran off into the woods, his shouts of anguish could be heard throughout the village. Roden and Errrkkkk could hear their friend, but both knew it was best for Riakon to get it out before they could do anything to help him deal with a revelation so shattering.

Errrkkkk and Roden had to hold back Grok as he mewled in his attempts to leave the treehouse to find his friend and handler. Roden’s heart broke as he witnessed the scene unfold before him. He knew there was nothing he could do. He also knew there was no lie in Tiamat’s words. Riakon was her son, and was far more important to her plans than he realized.