Chapter 21: A Bloody Reunion
"Get... off!" I shouted, sending a surge of lightning through the werewolf that was clawing my side. It was knocked backwards, and I fell to the ground, unable to stand. I threw a shockball at a second werewolf that got close, but wasn't sure how long I could fend them off.
Mark raised his warhammer and smashed another werewolf with ease. He had a satisfied look on his face, enjoying the battle far too much, at least, that's what I thought.
"Be careful Schimmel..." Ruby said, before sprinting toward one of the werewolves. It took a swing at her when she got close. She ducked under it's arm and brought her dagger up fast, stabbing it in the throat. Another of the werewolves took this opportunity to get behind her, but was cut down by Schimmel before it could attack.
Valen fired arrow after arrow at anything that looked tall, furry and dangerous. In other words, pretty much anything in the room. He seemed to be in a panic, not taking time to aim properly before shooting. He missed a few times, and nearly hit Mark once.
Razelus was hesitating to use his magic. Most of his spells struck a wide range, and it was a bit too crowded for spells like that. He took his time, only casting a couple spells at those that had gotten far enough away from everyone else. When he did get a shot, it wasn't wasted. It only took one or two blasts to kill them.
I managed to finish one of the two with a barrage of shockball spells. I took aim at the other, but nothing happened. I tried again, still nothing. I tried to crawl backwards, but the pain was too much. "Crap... what a time to run out of energy..." I muttered, staring at the werewolf as it approached.
I reached for my dagger just as it lunged at me. It dropped to the ground a few inches from my feet, four throwing knives stuck in it's back. I looked up at the person standing over the werewolf's corpse.
"Isn't this familiar, you acting as a decoy and me finishing off the monster." Barbarius grinned.
"Where did you come from?" I asked.
"Not even a thank you? Talk about ungrateful." Barbarius said, shaking his head. "We came from over there." he pointed to another tunnel out of the room. "That's the way out. Bryenn's guarding the exit."
"I'll just be glad to leave..." I said, wishing I had enough strength left for a healing spell.
"That's the last of them." Harvey said, pulling his spear out of a werewolf. "Everyone okay?"
"No..." Valen said, crouching over Assuni. "She's dead."
"Damn... so we were too late." Mark said, kicking one of the corpses.
"Figures they went after her first when they ambushed us..." I sighed.
"I suppose we should get back to the bridge and get out of here, Bryenn's..." Barbarius trailed off, staring down the tunnel leading to the exit. "You guys hear that?"
"It sounds like... Bryenn's in trouble!" Ruby said, dashing down the tunnel.
Everyone else began to follow her, but didn't get far before I yelled at them. "Are you forgetting about me?!" I was still on the ground, clutching the wound on my side.
"Oh... sorry Nem, I'll tend to that. Someone else better wait here in case another werewolf attacks while I'm healing him." Razelus said, walking up to me.
"I've stuck with him this long, I doubt a couple extra minutes will kill me." Mark joked.
"I'll stay behind too." Harvey said, resting his spear on his shoulder.
--
Everyone else hurried through the tunnels. They got to the bridge just as Bryenn knocked someone off the cliff and into the chasm. He sheathed his sword and turned to the bridge, just now noticing the group of people on the other side.
"I guess he was right, nothing can get by me!" Bryenn grinned. "Hurry up and get across, something tells me we're not done fighting yet!"
They began crossing the bridge, one person at a time. Everyone went at their own pace, Ruby had no trouble at all, but ended up going back to help Schimmel cross since she was worried he'd do something stupid and end up falling to his death.
"You sure that bridge can hold two people?" Barbarius asked as Ruby helped Schimmel to the other side.
"If it can hold you, it can certainly hold us." Ruby chuckled.
"I guess… hey! Don't insult me like that!" Barbarius yelled.
"Oh please, if I wanted to insult you I'd call you Barbie. Schimmel said that really pisses you off." Ruby laughed.
"Don't call me that!" Barbarius yelled again.
Valen was the last one going across when the four of us caught up to them.
"Don't trip, Val!" Razelus shouted at his brother. Valen wasn't expecting someone to yell, and stumbled over his own feet. "What did I just tell you?" Razelus laughed.
"Don't scare me like that! You know I can't stand heights, what would you do if I fell?!" Valen yelled.
"I don't know, find a new brother?" Razelus joked.
"You're a riot, Raz..." Valen grumbled sarcastically, quickly crossing the last foot of the bridge.
Razelus walked across without hesitation, either he wasn't afraid of heights or knew a levitation spell. I knew that would certainly help me, I felt sick just standing a few feet from the edge. I grabbed the ropes, slowly walking across the bridge. When I was halfway across I heard someone behind me cry out in pain.
I looked back and saw Mark on his knees with a spear sticking through his chest. Harvey was standing behind him, an emotionless expression on his face. He pulled his spear out of Mark, who slumped onto his side and fell over the cliff.
"What the hell?!" Barbarius shouted.
"Traitor!" Valen yelled.
"I'll kill him before he can take another step!" Ruby said, taking a throwing knife from her pocket.
"Wait! Don't kill him!" I shouted, taking a couple uneasy steps toward the other side of the gorge. "He's not thinking clearly, look at him!"
"What do you mean?" Schimmel asked.
"He just murdered Mark, and you don't want us to take him down? Are you on their side too!?" Valen demanded, aiming his bow at me.
"Don't be an idiot Valen!" I shouted at him. "Look at his eyes. Razelus, you know what I'm talking about right?"
Razelus stared at Harvey, who was now walking slowly across the bridge. "I see what you mean, put down the bow Val, Harvey is being controlled."
"What? How is that possible?" Bryenn asked.
"It's a spell, a rather difficult one for most people. I know one that can cancel it out though, get over here Nem, I need to get close to use it." Razelus said, stepping onto the bridge, grabbing my arm and pulling me the rest of the way.
"Razelus, wait! How are you planning on getting close enough to hit him with it?" Valen asked.
"I've no idea, but I'll help him out, one way or another." Razelus grinned, walking toward Harvey.
Harvey charged at Razelus when he got close, shaking the bridge. Razelus somehow evaded the first attack, but wasn't expecting someone being controlled to be smart enough to swing sideways after a thrust. He was struck by the side of the spear and knocked off balance. Another strike made him stumble and fall backwards, right over the side of the bridge and vanishing into the darkness below.
Harvey turned his spear back to us, but before he could take a step something flew from the chasm, landing on the bridge behind him.
"Did I mention that my skill with destruction magicka is second only to my powers of alteration?" Razelus grinned, grabbing Harvey by the shoulders. "Mysticism may not be my best skill, but it's good enough to stop this." A bright light flashed from Razelus's hands, and Harvey fell to his knees, dropping his spear.
"That's my brother... always showing off his levitation spell." Valen sighed, shaking his head.
"That was... amazing." I said, making a mental note to ask Razelus for some alteration lessons later.
"Harvey... you back to normal now?" Razelus asked, shaking him a bit.
"What... what happened to me?" Harvey muttered, staring down at his bloody spear. "I... I killed... Mark? Why did... what the hell happened to me?!" he shouted, trembling.
"It was a command spell, conjuration experts use it to control people. People like that are too scared to fight themselves, always using command or summoning spells. I can't stand people like that." Razelus said, helping Harvey stand up.
"Someone... made me do it?" Harvey said, picking up his spear. "How dare they... I'll kill whatever bas... Raz, watch out!" he said suddenly, spinning around and pushing Razelus backwards off the bridge and onto the other side of the gorge. There was a fiery blast where Harvey was standing that almost knocked the rest of us over as well. When the smoke cleared, most of the bridge had been destroyed, and Harvey was gone.