Jasper ran like a man possessed, Tsia's head thudding into his chest with every step he took, as he dodged between the falling boulders. A faint breeze brushed across his cheeks, coming from the left corner of the cave, and he spun toward it, praying it would lead to the exit the wind mage had detected. Ihra, still trapped in the form of a deer, bounded past him with a speed he had no hope of matching and he heard Nēs̆u’s heavy footfalls thundering close behind him.
The stalactites continued to rain down from the ceiling. He dodged as best as he could, managing to stay clear of their deadly points, but there were too many for him to escape from the showers of razor-sharp splinters that exploded from them. Most were stopped by Bramble’s Crown, which he was forced to cast again, but enough of them broke through that he was soon dripping blood from a half-dozen small wounds.
Almost there. His steps quickened, spurred on by hope, as he drew near enough to the dark corner to make out the faint outline of the tunnel Tsia had seen. Ihra had pulled far ahead, nimbly dodging through the stalactites with an almost prescient grace, but he knew they were not alone. Where the hell is that thing? Jasper glanced behind him, expecting to see the statue lurching toward him, but it wasn't there.
"Look!" Tsia tugged on his shirt, and he whipped his head around in time to see the statue step out of the wall a few feet in front of Ihra. His violet eyes shone like headlamps in the dark, casting an almost eerie glow on the pale limestone, as it turned to face them.
The deer splayed her four legs frantically, trying to come to a stop, but her hooves failed to get purchase on the slippery limestone and she slid straight toward the statue. Silently, it plunged its hand into the wall; when it pulled it out, a massive stone sword was clutched in its grip, which it swung directly toward Ihra.
Jasper dropped Tsia on the ground as he raised his hands to cast a spell, desperately trying to think of something in his repertoire that could save his friend.
Tsia beat him to it. Zaqû, she murmured as a blade of wind tore free from her hand. It instantly bridged the gulf between them and Ihra and slammed into the deer’s side. The blade cut deep into her flesh, carving a nasty gash along the entire length of her side, but the force of the blow also pushed her out of the way of the monster’s strike. The floor shook as the stone sword crashed into the ground and the blade shattered, only to reform in the being's hand a moment later.
Ihra slammed into the wall a few feet past the being. Somehow, she managed to regain her footing in time to nimbly dodge to the side as the monster lurched forward, with his sword extended in a piercing strike. He missed again, burying the sword's blade in the wall all the way up to the hilt and Ihra darted past him, back in the direction of her friends.
If the being was frustrated, it showed no signs of it. As silent as the stone it was made of, the statue withdrew the sword and turned to face them. It lifted its hand high in the air, and the shaking in the cavern stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Sweeping its sword into a high stance, the being took a step forward and then froze in place.
What the hell? Jasper shared an uneasy glance with Tsia. “Should we…attack?”
The girl's earlier bravado had been shaken, but she still nodded her head. “We're going to have to,” she observed quietly. "It's blocking off the only exit."
Jasper tore his eyes away from the statue as a cry of pain echoed behind them. His heart ticked up as he saw Ihra splayed across the floor, her transformation having run out. She clutched her side tightly with both hands, but a large pool of blood was already seeping across the limestone from the wound Tsia’s spell had inflicted.
His eyes darted back and forth between the statute and Ihra, expecting it to lurch into action and take advantage of her, but it remained frozen in place. Abandoning his caution, Jasper raced over to her. Dropping to his knees, he fumbled through his bag for a potion and held it to her lips. She guzzled it down, not removing her hands from her side until the last of the flesh had knit itself back together. “Thanks,” she rasped, her throat still phlegmy from the sweet liquid.
“Don't worry about it," he said distractedly, keeping his eyes glued to the statue. "Are you alright?”
She offered him a lop-sided grin. “Never been better. But what's up with our host over there?”
Jasper frowned. He felt certain that the creature was the same type of being as Nēs̆u's sergeant had fought, but the stop-and-start nature of its attacks was baffling. Was it just playing with them? His eyes lingered on the purple streaks that marred its otherwise pristine white flesh. Is it sick?
Screams echoed somewhere far above them, and the purple striations briefly glowed as the being snapped back into motion. The massive stone sword in its hand dissolved into dust as the statute spread its stance wide and slammed its right foot hard against the stone.
The cavern shook from the force of the blow. Ihra realized what was happening faster than him and launched herself into the air, screaming for him to jump. Jasper followed her blindly, his feet pushing off mere seconds before the floor beneath them crumbled into a yawning chasm whose floor was hidden in the darkness, but he was a mage, not a warrior.
Jasper’s momentum warred with gravity and came up short. As soon as his foot left the ground, he knew he wasn't going to make out. He stretched out his arm as far as it could reach and squirmed frantically, desperate for even an inch. He got it. His hand missed the top of the ledge, but smacked into the stone just below it and his fingers clamped down instantly, digging deep into the soft limestone. He could feel the bones cracking as the full force of his weight descended on them, groaning as his body slammed into the wall, but he refused to let go. Flinging his other hand up, he fumbled desperately for a grip, only stopping as a warm hand wrapped around his.
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"Gotchya," Ihra grunted as she tugged him up.
The whole cavern shook as the statue stomped again, and Ihra’s eyes darted to the ground behind her. Making a snap decision Ihra grabbed Jasper with both hands and launched herself into the air as the ground beneath them collapsed.
Dragged down by the extra weight of another, much heavier person, her hand missed the ledge and the two plunged toward the bottom of the chasm. But Jasper had already begun to cast his spell - their descent was unceremoniously halted as a pair of shadowy black wings erupted from Jasper’s back. Grabbing hold of her, he soared back toward the cavern above. His essence surged into her, casting Spectral Wings a second time, and he released her as another pair of black shadows emerged. Together, the two crested the edge of the pit, and Jasper’s lip turned down in a bloodthirsty grin. Our turn.
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Tsia could feel the blood pooling on her lip as she stared at the creature attacking her. Her arms ached with the heavy load she was carrying – she had barely managed to snatch Nēs̆u up in a bear hug before the floor dropped out from under them again, taking Jasper and Ihra with it. She wasn't worried about them though - he had that wing spell after all. No, she was in the trouble.
Her skill at flying was lacking at best and, weighed down by her bodyguard, she was doing good to move at all. Worse, the statue’s attention was now wholly fixed on her. It pivoted rather slowly and stared at her, its face utterly expressionless. Its hand raised, and Tsia frowned as nothing visible happened. What is it doing?
She was flung head over heels as a boulder smashed into her from behind. Her arms slackened, releasing Nēs̆u as she was sent spinning through the air, with waves of pain washing up and down her back. The warrior latched onto her leg and, trusting in him to hold on, she dedicated her attention to stopping the fall.
The winds answered her quickly, slowing her descent, but the creature gave her no time to rest. It raised its hand again, and Tsia craned her head frantically. She saw the boulder coming this time and dodged to the right, while with her free hand, she cast a wind blade at the being. It slammed into the statue with enough force to send a crack through its torso, but as soon as it appeared it was gone, filled in by a surge of stone from the ground.
The violet eyes fixated on her again. As expressionless as ever, the being raised both hands and two enormous boulders tore free from the cavern walls. With a flick of its hands, it flung both of them toward her - one on either side. The stone blocks were as long and wide as the barges that plied up and down the river in her father’s capital, and Tsia realized immediately she wouldn't be able to dodge both.
Committing herself to the left, out of the path of one, Tsia channeled every ounce of strength into a single spell - one she'd learned from Imḫullu.
Lemmuḫḫu.
What erupted from her hands could barely be called a spell. It was a wild, unconstrained burst of wind and electricity that blinded her vision. She flinched as an earshattering boom shook the cavern, and raised her shield just in time to deflect the shower of rubble that came her way. With her ears ringing and her vision swimming, Tsia was blind to the world around her. All she could do was pump essence into her shield and pray that Jasper would intervene.
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His ears were still ringing from the thunderclap as Jasper reached the statue. Circling in a steep dive above the monster’s head, he bombarded it with chained casts of Shooting Star. Light bombarded the dark cavern as dozens of small fireballs exploded on the creature’s body, and a plume of smoke rose around it. But through the smoke, Jasper was relieved to see the statue's formerly pristine skin was covered in scorch marks and fractures. So we can hurt it. He pressed his advantage, sending another wave of fire against his foe, but it was a waste of essence.
The purple light in the creature’s eyes brightened and it stomped its foot again. Rather than summoning a boulder, a tidal wave of stone tore from the ground and washed over the creature's body, healing all of its wounds in an instant.
Damn. Jasper abandoned the spell he'd been preparing and soared up in the air. He skirted around a boulder the statue hurled at him and cast Purge. Hope surged in his heart as the being clutched at its throat, and he cast it again, just to be sure. Please work, please work, please work.
It bent over, clutching at its throat, and he started to believe - right up to the point that began to laugh.
Like the bellow of a war drum, its laughter echoed off the cavern walls. Anger seized his mind as he circled the hateful being mocking him. I just want to pick it up and smash it into the ground. And then it hit him. Wait a minute, that's exactly what I should do.
Acting on impulse, Jasper dove toward the creature. Tucking his wings tight behind him he screamed for Ihra to follow. The statue was still bent over in laughter when the two latched onto its arms and it didn't realize what was happening until the two of them pulled.
The living statue was unfathomably heavy. His muscles begged and cried for mercy, his arms shook like he had palsy, but Jasper refused to let go. His teeth ground together as every fiber of his being willed him higher into the air. Suddenly realizing their plan, the statue thrashed frantically in their arms, but the two held on doggedly as they slowly but surely rose into the air.
From behind them, Tsia summoned an endless flurry of attacks, wild, blustering gusts of air that she barely took the time to form. Many missed their mark; slicing into Jasper and Ihra they tore jagged wounds into their flesh, but the creature sustained the brunt of the blows. Suspended in the air, unable to free itself from their grasp and unable to summon the earth to heal, the previously almost invincible being was rendered all but helpless.
Cracks spread across its surface, quickly deepening into gaping fractures. The statue's struggles weakened but Tsia didn't let up. Wave upon wave of wind smashed into it until the tipping point was passed - the cracks widened too large to support its weight, and the thing collapsed on itself. In a shower of dust and dirt, it fell into the void it had created.
Relief flooded through his veins as the creature's unbearable weight dissolved, and Jasper shot Ihra a weary smile. “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m really starting to miss that cubicle.”