Morning rose through the tree line, the radiant sun casting brightness over the dourness of the realm, yet no one in the conjured cabin stirred. Birds chirped, squirrels skittered over tree branches, and wind rustled through the leaves, yet still, everyone in the cabin slept soundly.
Onyx lay peacefully, her paws reflexively kneading the air as Drez rested near her, a smile on his lips as he blissfully slept. The large metallic cat rolled over, her spiky fur digging into the water goblin's side, eliciting a painful cry from him.
"Sorry Onyx, I know that wasn't your fault," Drez said. Onyx licked his face, causing him to giggle. The disturbance woke the rest from their deep slumber and Ezekiel creaked his eyes open, stretching at first before he jolted up in a panic.
"It's nearly noon!"
Liarra was also stretching, her long red hair tangled all over her head. "That's impossible, we never sleep much past sunrise."
"Shit... shit, shit, shit," Ezekiel muttered as he got up and started gathering his things, shoving his grimoire and other supplies into the endless pocket in his jacket. Korlac finally woke up as well and he rolled out of bed onto the ground and started doing push-ups.
"Kay, what are you doing?" Liarra asked.
"I dunno, I just feel good."
"Stop!" Ezekiel suddenly yelled. The group all paused, looking at the moon elf anxiously. "Does anyone remember their dream?"
Anxiety turned to confusion as the team traded odd glances back and forth.
"I... I know I had a dream, and it was a good dream, I just can't remember what it was," Liarra admitted.
"Me too," Drez perked up as he crawled out of bed.
"Same," Korlac confirmed briefly.
"Crap, we were dream blessed," Ezekiel muttered as he went back to gathering his things.
"What does that mean?" Liarra asked.
"It means a lot, and it's of extreme concern," The summoner snapped.
"Zeke, slow down. What's wrong?" Korlac asked as Zeke's panic raised the hairs on the orc's forearms.
"We were dream-walked last night. By whom, we don't know because we can't remember our dreams, but the fact that we all woke up late and feeling good means someone dream-walked and blessed us."
"How do you know?" Drez asked.
"Because I didn't have a nightmare, and I always have nightmares whenever I sleep. Also, for the first time in decades, I woke up and my joints didn't hurt. You all probably feel more rested than you've felt for years, right?"
"Yes. My shoulder pain is completely gone. I feel like I could lift ox," Korlac admitted.
"Yeah, I'm actually itching to run, or swim. Like I want to do something," Drez added.
"Okay, so we all overslept and we're feeling good, what's wrong with that?" Liarra asked, still confused by Zeke's mood.
"Two things. First, we're behind on our schedule. Horses could be coming down that road any minute, so we need to get moving to enact our plan. Second, it's impossible to be dream-blessed, so I have no idea how it happened."
"Why is it impossible?" Drez asked.
"Because only one god gifted dream blessings, and she was killed one hundred and twenty-seven years ago. So, who blessed us!?" Ezekiel nearly yelled.
"What are you talking about?" Liarra asked as she stood up.
"Uphine, the goddess of the sun, life, birth, and dreams! I know about her because my best friend was her mortal avatar, Keeper of the Golden Flame. Sierra told me everything about dream-walking and being dream-blessed by Uphine."
"So, Uphine dream-blessed us?" Drez asked.
"Did you not hear me? She's dead! Uphine couldn’t have dream-blessed us because she doesn’t exist anymore!" Zeke nearly screamed.
"Ezekiel, we're just trying to understand." Korlac said as he rose to his full height. He didn't like using his size to intimidate but found it could help settle people down.
Pausing for a moment to take a few breaths to gather his thoughts, Ezekiel tried to explain once more. "Back in the war, during the Fall, a good friend of mine died. Sierra was a powerful oracle, and she dedicated her existence to protecting life. She cured the sick, healed the wounded. Hell, she even destroyed the Lich Queen, ruler of the Emerald Court."
"We have no idea who or what that is," Liarra said as she shook her head.
"Doesn't matter. Sierra was the avatar of Uphine. During the final war, when mortals and gods were under siege, Uphine was killed by her sister, Ophine, the goddess of the moon, death, undeath, and nightmares. For years she's taunted me for my failure during the fall by sending me nightmares, but last night we all were dream-blessed. But that’s not possible because Uphine was the goddess who granted dream-blessings and she’s dead…”
"Okay... Well, that at least explains things a little better. But why would a goddess kill her sister?" Liarra asked.
"We don't know. Moon elves used to worship Ophine as the goddess of the moon, but she grew cold and jealous of her sister, so our worship of her faded over the centuries. All I know is... Wait, do you hear that?" Ezekiel asked as he tilted his head towards the window.
Everyone remained quiet as they all listened intently. Faintly, outside and further down the road, horse hooves and the general patter of riders could be heard coming down the path.
"Shit! They're here." Liarra cursed.
The group resumed their flurry of activity, packing away their supplies and prepping their gear. Korlac donned his armor with help from Drez as Liarra poured alchemical reagents that had been brewing overnight into vials.
"I'm already prepped. I'll run to the other side of the road and hopefully they won't see me. I don't think they've rounded the bend yet," Ezekiel called out from the doorway.
Liarra nodded an acknowledgement back. "We'll be ready. Once Kay has his armor on, he'll head to the road with Drez and Onyx."
Finalizing the casting of his mage's vestment spell on his clothing to protect him, Ezekiel ran out of the conjured cabin and through the trees. He could hear the horses more clearly, and he pressed himself up against a large oak tree as he peered around it. Seeing where the road curved, the calvary hadn't yet come through, but they were just out of sight.
The road was thick with shadows of trees, obscuring the pre-noon light from all sides. Seizing a brief moment before the soldiers could see around the bend, Ezekiel ran out from behind the tree and over to the other side of the road, ducking behind another oak just as the first horses rounded the bend in the road.
Korlac, Onyx, and Drez were quickly behind Ezekiel, taking their places in the road and clearly in view of the coming riders.
They made for an odd group to happen upon, big Korlac and little Drez, and Onyx's fur shining in the sparse sunlight. Korlac’s heavy armor and large sword contrasted sharply with Drez’s normal breeches, vest, and sandals.
The lead rider gave a raised fist gesture that halted the rest, stopping the entire procession in their tracks. Raising his helmet to show his face, the man addressed Korlac.
"Speak your name and loyalties, green skin, and remember whose lands you're in."
"I'm Korlac. This is Drez and Onyx." The orc said as he gestured to the others. Drez, unsure of what to do in the situation, bowed awkwardly as Onyx lazily yawned.
"Don't use your real name, Kay," Liarra hissed to herself in frustration as she quietly took her position.
The mounted soldiers in shining silver armor, wearing highlights of red and white, stirred in their stirrups, their horses nervous at the halt. The lead rider looked around at the trees, measuring the situation.
"Why did you emerge from the trees?" Asked the lead rider.
"We overslept?" Korlac explained.
"You what?"
"We were supposed to be awake hours ago, but apparently some god dream-blessed us," Drez chirped up innocently. Korlac looked down at him warily as Onyx lowered her head, hiding her face under her paw.
"So, you are heretics. This land is rife with your filth," The man declared loudly, drawing his sword in a swift and practiced fashion. The other soldiers gripped their lances and shields, ready for a signal to charge.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Ezekiel was cursing under his breath, hoping the three could stall the riders a bit longer as he worked his magic, but they had run out of time. Emerging from the large tree he hid behind, Ezekiel yelled out loudly, "Tor Rin Far!"
Suddenly, two horses and their riders fell screaming into a large pit that emerged underneath them, the sound of breaking bones and armor thudding loudly dozens of feet below. Korlac drew his sword and ran towards the lead rider as the mounted soldier on his right attempted a rally against him. Just as they were preparing for a charge, two vials were thrown from the opposite tree line, exploding on the horses and soldiers, and covering them in sticky webbing. The leader cut himself free and leapt from his horse just before it lost its balance and fell over, knocking the other horse down and pinning the lancer underneath, screaming in pain.
Drez and Onyx moved to flank the sides of the mounted combatants. There were dozens of cavaliers still left on the road, trying to figure out a way to reach their leader who was engaged in a sword fight with Korlac. Some looked to leap the pit, but decided it was too far for their horses to jump, while others tried to work around the webs, but also finding the thick line of trees difficult to move their horses through.
Onyx lunged at one of the horses behind the pit, tearing into its neck and bringing it down, causing the rider to fall out and impale himself on his drawn sword. Drez flew at a rider on the other side of the road, leaping with his knee extended to catch the soldier's exposed jaw under his helmet.
Not wanting to lose the momentum, Ezekiel quickly channeled to contact the Plane of Shadow. His pure ebony eyes shined as the veins under his bluish gray skin momentarily pulsated a sickening black, the taint of the dark realm touching him. He strained under the effects of contacting the Shadow Realm, but maintained control of the spell long enough to pull what he was looking for onto the mortal plane.
Shadows under the horses in the back grew longer, unseen by the beasts or riders. Bipedal creatures emerged from the elongated shadows, with dark scaled claws on their feet and long snouts with jagged fangs. There were three of them and they darted around quickly, moving faster than mortal eyes could track. Suddenly, screams emerged from the rear of the battalion as horses and riders went down, ripped to shreds and eaten by the creatures emerging from their own shadows.
Liarra was ready to throw her bombs when she heard the screams and looked back in horror at the carnage from the creatures Ezekiel had summoned. A panic had broken through the soldiers and the horses collided and trampled each other to escape. More fell into the pit while others stomped on the webbed soldiers, crushing them under their hooves.
Her distraction blinded her to a vial being thrown at her by one of the riders. The contents exploded all over her, coating the alchemist in bright flames. She flinched, throwing her hands up, as she stood untouched in the fire, the flames dancing wildly in her eyes. Her hair waved in tandem with the fire, though it failed to affect her or her belongings. The alchemist and the summoner traded looks, both in shock and awe at each other's appearance.
"Liarra! Throw them!" Korlac called out as he was still engaged in combat with the leader. They traded glancing strikes, feeling out their respective skill. The heavily armored man proved well versed in swordplay as he matched Korlac's heavy swings with quick parries of his shield.
Snapping back to the fight, Liarra threw a firebomb at the crowd, trying to aim at the thickest part of the pile up. Her vial flew through the air, but one of the soldiers blocked it with his shield. It exploded, erupting in fire that was then inhaled by the shield itself, the flames sucked into the metal.
"Crap, their shields have some kind of flame absorption!" Liarra shouted as the fires around her died down.
"Try the experimental one!" Ezekiel shouted, still straining to recover from contacting the Shadow Realm. His mind raced for anything else that could turn the tide in their favor. He briefly considered using his biggest clutch ability, something he didn't like to reveal to others. He could maintain two active summoning spells at once despite people assuming that he was done after his first. However, calling the shadow raptors had taken too much out of him to summon again so quickly.
"Crap!" Liarra snapped at herself as she grabbed a fresh vial that had a pre-mixed solution of reagents. Reaching into her leather satchel, she flipped open a pouch with a smooth lining. Tendrils of evaporated air slithered out as she reached in to grab a pellet of dry ice, dropping it in the vial as she recapped the lid and shook it violently.
Turning back to the battle, she saw that Drez had overextended himself, leaping too far into the thick of the soldiers. Many had dismounted, giving up on their horses as the shadow raptors tore through the animals. They drew their swords and readied their shields, four of them surrounding the water goblin in practiced formation. He expertly dodged each attack, but all his focus was on defense and there was little opportunity for retaliation.
One of the soldiers took advantage of Drez's distracted attention and swung down hard from his flank. The aim was true, and his arm was strong, but just as he was on the downstroke, a blue vial flew from the shaded tree line and exploded on his armor. In an instant, the man's body was consumed in freezing tendrils, his flesh turned solid in the blink of an eye. The momentum of his swing carried him forward and he fell to the ground, shattering in dozens of frozen fleshy chunks.
Shocked gasps seized the soldiers, and Drez used the momentary pause to leap up, elbowing him in the face, breaking the man's nose while knocking him unconscious. Suddenly the fight was two versus one, giving him a lot more breathing room.
From the other side of the road Ezekiel was trying to catch his breath as his recovered, blackened veins refused to disperse. He disliked touching the Shadow Realm for this very reason, but the effectiveness of the summons couldn't be argued with as they had torn through all the horses and were now ripping apart the armored men to the rear.
Returning his attention to the front of the battle, their plan had worked and created a choke point. Drez was attacking the right side near Liarra while Onyx was handling her own on the left, close to Ezekiel, leaving Korlac to hold the front. Unfortunately, multiple men poured through a small opening between the pit and webbing and were surrounding Korlac who was still engaged with the commander, unable to match his superior skill despite being bigger and stronger.
Ezekiel's eyes darted around the three, making best guess estimates as he chanted ancient words, "Yorfal Tormon Hilute!”
A sharp wind danced first through Onyx, then Korlac, before turning and reaching Drez. All three felt a familiar tingle in their muscles as time slowed for them. The soldier's attacks seemed laborious, as if they were slicing through gravy.
Finishing the spell, Ezekiel heard the attack just before an unseen blade sliced at his head. Years of war-hardened reflexes forced him to duck without thinking, and the blade to cut into the tree he'd used for cover. The armored knight, with shield and sword at the ready, had obviously slipped past Onyx to pursue Zeke through the trees.
"What manner of demon are you?" The knight yelled, half threateningly and half in terror at Ezekiel's appearance, the shadow taint still holding strong on the summoner.
Raising his sword again, the knight brought it down hard at Zeke, screaming with righteous fury.
"Syan Kwin!" Ezekiel yelled, conjuring a shield just in time to block the attack. The blade cut into the shield, splintering it as it absorbed the blow. Zeke's arm went numb from the shock.
Taking a step back, the knight adjusted his stance as Zeke kept the conjured shield raised in both hands.
"You wield blasphemous power in defiance of the Church!"
"I don't recognize the authority of cults," Zeke snapped back. Fighting undead was one thing, but he knew summoning his rapier would do little good against a well-trained knight in full armor. 'If only I had Zeldren's knack for swordplay,' he idly thought as he kept the shield raised in both hands before him.
"With Tal'Dar's blessing, I will strike you down, heathen!" The knight yelled as he thrust his sword in a firm and steady grip.
Raising his shield once more, knowing it wouldn't be enough, Zeke prepared for the worst just as Onyx burst through the tree line. Her fangs clamped down on the sword, ripping it out of the knight's hand as she landed a few feet from them. Looking at the soldier, Onyx bit down and shattered the sword in her maw, metal shards sprinkling the forest floor.
"By the God King!" the soldier muttered, his mouth agape.
"Help Korlac, he's in trouble!" Ezekiel ordered. Onyx glared at him, not moving from her position between him and the knight.
"I'll be fine, but Korlac is in trouble. Go!"
Snarling, Onyx pounced off and lunged at one of the men surrounding the large orc, taking him down with ferocity as the man screamed in terror.
The man before Ezekiel reached for a dagger on his belt, but the moon elf conjured a glob of sticky glue, trapping the soldier's hand to his waist in an awkward position.
"Impossible! The Church's wrath cannot be contained! I will..." The rant was cut short and turned to screaming as a pit was conjured directly under the indignant soldier. His fall was followed by the loud crunching sound of bone and metal collapsing together.
"No one wants to hear it," Zeke said dismissively as he limped towards the road to see how the battle was going. The tide had definitely turned in their favor. Most of the horses were dead, and many of the knights were either incapacitated, trapped under the bodies of their horses, or frozen to death. The raptors had done their job in the back, while Onyx and Drez had dealt with those in the middle. The few soldiers left had circled up in a defensive position in front of Korlac, their shield's raised and swords held ready.
The orc was breathing heavily, bleeding from several wounds dealt by the knight commander who was leading the front of the formation. It was the last of the battalion, and while their circular formation was tight, they were surrounded by Onyx, Drez, and Korlac. Ezekiel and Liarra walked out from behind their hidden positions on either side of the road.
"Korlac, are you okay?" Liarra asked, her tone laced with worry for her friend. She handed him a healing elixir which he downed with one hand as the other held his large falchion pointing in the direction of the last few soldiers.
Looking at Ezekiel, Liarra couldn't help but see the black veins writhing around his body, his black eyes looking like empty, endless voids.
"What happened to you?"
"Touching the Shadow Realm. It's not usually this intense. I'll explain more later. For now, let's handle this," Ezekiel said as he stepped forward to address the knights.
"Hold your tongue, heretic! We have no interest in what you have to say!" The knight commander yelled without moving from his position.
Feeling old and tired, Ezekiel sighed heavily as he took a few breaths. "Here's the deal, the first one to talk gets to live."
Murmuring spread through the knights, but a quick bark from the summoner quieted all of them.
"I think you fail to understand the dire situation you are all in. For the last day we've seen the results of your 'cleansing.' Dispersed families left homeless. Children crying after watching their parents slaughtered, all because of you. So, I'm happy to let you all die, but the fact remains that we need some information, something you can provide to us. Now the shadow raptors are making their way here from the rear, and their hunger is endless. I'll dismiss them, just as soon as they're done ripping you all to shreds. So, I'll repeat my offer. The first one who volunteers to talk gets to live. Everyone else dies..."
Fear spread through the faces of the soldiers as they looked back and forth at each other. Their gazes drifted to their enemies, but only determined glares were returned. Korlac spit on the ground in disgust and Drez did the same, though less dramatically. Even Liarra wanted to see the ones responsible for all the hurt they'd witnessed on the road to suffer.
Loud, sharp snarling grew from the rear over the muffled screams of the dying, growing closer and closer.
"Final offer, and for clarification, if none of you volunteer, I'm fine with that. We'll just make do with what we have."
The soldiers looked around nervously, their resolve dwindling as the shadow raptors closed in. Suddenly, the formation broke as one of the knights was dragged away screaming from a raptor that pounced out from a shadow. Others turned to see what was happening, leaving an opening for Korlac, Drez, and Onyx to press the initiative, flanking the soldiers from the other side.
Suddenly, the knight commander stepped forward and threw his sword down while dropping to his knees, as the soldiers around him were dispatched by claws, swords, and fangs.
"I surrender!" He spat curtly.