I rapped on the door tensely. Each strike sounded hollow, and I winced slightly.
"We've come to a decision. We'd like to speak to the Entity," I tried to contain myself - excitement, fear and anger were emotions I could not allow to slip through.
There were a few moments of silence, and then I heard a distinctly Endling-like voice, which called for a few minutes wait.
I could barely hear my own thoughts over the din of Kir's jubilance. Beyond that, I didn't pay too much mind to the bluestone. That was enough.
Just as my concept of "a few minutes" began to be tested, the door swung open, and in swept an Endling. I looked past him. It was just the two of them.
"Wait, not Bul?" Kir wondered.
This didn't stop Tyron in the slightest as he hurled himself at the creature. His powerful arms curled around the Enderman as he flew, lifting it from the floor and slamming it into the opposite wall in the hall. He raised his arm and readied to ram an ecstatic Kir into its dazed skull, but found the appendage gripped by one of its fellows. Tyron turned furiously as his quarry vanished, issuing a guttural roar at the rather bewildered remaining Endling, who immediately vanished.
Destiny ran forward and rammed a steak knife into the Endling's leg as it rematerialised. He yelped and collapsed. Destiny set about stabbing it repeatedly until it vanished, reappearing a few feet away. It was clasping its flank, and looking back in a queasy and drunken manner as it staggered up the corridor. However, it vanished again after Destiny began to pursue it. Suffice to say I was rather startled at her tenacity.
David, meanwhile, was setting about hurling one of the lamps to the floor, and Tyron was swinging furiously at his original target. I initially thought of joining him, but Tyron caught it on the temple just as I took the first step. There wasn't much more to do to the creature after that, so I went over and dragged a lantern to the floor, shattering the crystals within as it crumbled. I felt myself grow noticeably stronger.
Destiny clicked her fingers and an icicle roughly the size of a butter knife appeared, not particularly large, but sharp.
We then set about shattering additional lamps, Tyron by far proving the most efficient.
"We're almost free! Come on! We're nearly free!" Kir yelped.
At the end of the corridor, a group of men in chainmail appeared, but they were quickly scattered by several icicles hurled over Destiny's shoulder. Two more Endings appeared, claws bared.
Feeling some strength return to me, I dislocated one's ankle. It collapsed. Its colleague ran to attack me, but vanished as I threw a stone at it. The creature attempted to rally, but quickly found itself pursued by David, who was swinging his obsidian fist and blade wildly.
The mercenaries remained in their besieged position, Destiny striking down many who emerged. Then, at the other end of the hallway, Glibby stepped into the frame, flanked by three of the grey-painted Endlings. Behind him was a vaguely translucent individual that I didn't quite recognise.
"We'd best leave," I said, but the others didn't seem to respond.
The Ape began to rush, and just as I began to try to target his neck in my mind's eye, David stepped forward, gauntlet crackling with lime green streaks. He swung his arm in a wide arc over his head, a green orb of energy flying forward. It would have struck Glibby right between the eyes, if David's original target hadn't materialised before him, and taken the full brunt of the blast.
All were caught in the blast, lifted from their feat and distributed throughout the hall.
My vision cleared - he was on his knees. I tried to lift myself, but was struck in the back of the head by an endling. It readied to gut me, but some reflex in me triggered, and it collapsed after a sickening crunch from its ribcage.
I realised how dark it was growing and threw an orb of light into the air, which made everything much clearer.
David was faring the worst, badly burned across his right arm and his hair singed. Here was still swinging at the two Endlings assailing him, but notably slower and more sluggishly. He was practically wailing with each swing. He had leveled a number of lamps, and those Endlings still standing were notably scorched, but he was clearly the weak link. Glibby had also not emerged from the smoke.
Destiny was alternating between continuing her barrage of the mercenaries, who were inching towards her position, and driving off David's assailants.
Then there was Tyron, who was fighting the other two grey Endlings. I noticed very quickly that he was swinging in a manner that suggested there was at least one other in the fight. However, for the life of me, I couldn't see this third assailant. Then, as Tyron launched a very targeted assault on the invisible attacker, he became visible. However, Tyron suddenly cursed him, calling him "Freak", and looked around for him in a lost manner.
Before I could figure out what was happening, Freak ran over and scratched my face. I fell back, cursing. I conjured fire in my hand and hurled it at him. He dodged to side and slashed again. I was ready for him this time, stepping inside his guard and slugging him in the jaw.
Then Freak vanished, only for David to collapsed a few seconds later, blood dripping from a wound no one had inflicted.
Destiny recoiled in shock, only for a gash to appear across her stomach. Freak became visible to me again, only for his forearm to shatter immediately after. He yelped and ran off through a wall, showing no desire to return.
David finally finished off the Endlings surrounding him, slumping against the wall with slipping eyes.
Then, Glibby emerged, gauntlets large, smoke rising from them and the knuckles glowing orange. He was wincing, his skin plainly burnt - the sleeves of his jacket eaten back to his elbows. His eyes were furious, but didn't lose their more calculating quality as he sized up David and leapt at him.
Soaring through the air, Glibby raised a fist, ready to reduce David's skull to a fine paste, when a sizeable block of ice struck him in the chest. He lost balance and fell to the floor, further enraged. Destiny, icicles in hand, rushed at him, ready to plunge them into the Ape's eyes. However, she was quickly batted aside, slamming into the wall opposite David, groaning gutturally.
I saw that the remaining mercenaries were beginning to emerge from the hallway, now halfway torn to shreds by Destiny's onslaught. Simultaneously, Glibby was ready to bear down on David, who had risen and was feebly holding his gauntlet up in a fighting stance. I was torn between the two. Was I to kill Glibby and let the mercenaries (who were now numerous, and assumedly reinforced by ranged forces) swarm them, or kill the mercenaries and let Glibby kill half of the group.
Suddenly, Tyron resolved that dilemma by sending a stone wall into Glibby's flank. He fell to the side, raising his metal fist to block Kir. Tyron raised a stone wall to his side, and with an arc of his arm sent it around Glibby's guard and into his flank again. I grinned, and turned my thoughts to warmer things, and began to fell mental heat become physical. I sent a modest pillar of flame flying up the hallway, where it once again dispersed the mercenaries, roasting several. I would have felt much guiltier for this than I did, but there was a satisfaction in having my magic back that softened this significantly. However, I felt weary. I needed the remainder of my strength to fly away.
"We'd best run!" I mentally shouted to Kir, whose master was still hammering away at Glibby's unbreakable guard. "Get Tyron to grab David, I'll take Destiny."
"Can't, he's limited. any leighway and he's free."
"What?" I verbally responded, already grabbing Destiny.
"Get Destiny. Go."
"No."
"Go!"
"I'll get them to the window, follow us in."
Kir reluctantly acquiesced, and I beckoned to David, who staggered after me. He tried to offer some help in supporting Destiny, but found this fruitless and merely walked along with a hand on her fragile shoulder, offering words of encouragement. I looked at him and he was crying tears of rage.
David went into the room first and blasted open the window, mercifully saving me the energy. I got over to the edge, ready to jump with Destiny, and signalled to Kir in my mind. Then, a most unfortunate sight occurred before me.
With a horrible roar, Tyron went flying into the wall opposite the door, splintering the four posts surrounding his bed and fragmenting the wall behind it. He then fell forward, landing on the mattress. Tearing the bedding with his claws, the green creature struggled to his feet. He raised Kir and ran to the door, swinging in an overhead and wild arc, murder in his eyes. The gauntleted hand grabbed his arm, and then was a sickening pop as the other slammed into Tyron's chest.
His arm now limp, Kir fell to the floor. Glibby batted Tyron aside and picked the sword up. As Tyron ran back at him, Glibby slashed once. The blade raked across his stomach, and Tyron fell, grasping his wound and swearing wildly at his attacker. When Tyron demanded that his sword be returned to him, Glibby casually tossed it aside. Tyron grabbed his sword and slid it across the floor towards me, David and the still groaning Destiny. David picked it up and handed it to me.
He kissed Destiny on the forehead and ran forward with a great cry, but was plainly doomed. I turned away, electing to leap out of the ruined window and save a barely lucid Destiny and Kir; while there was still something to save. I readied to assert force on the ground, and slow our fall, and rushed forwards to make a jump. Destiny and Kir were both calling to me to run back, and I wanted to heed them. Then I stopped suddenly, a clawed hand gripping my neck.
"You, are not leaving."
"Freak," I snarled, fighting back tears.
"I want you alive, but I don't need you. So go ahead, break my neck. You won't live to be satisfied."
Destiny swung where the arm was, plainly blind as to Freak's true location, and it phased through. However, I felt the claws laxen slightly but immediately reassert their grip. I hesitated too long, and I felt the weight of Destiny be pulled from my back. I reluctantly let whoever was behind me take Kir. Freak released my neck and I fell to my knees, looking out into the late-morning sunlight, as it made the plains and the forest beyond it a vivid green. I saw a carriage running up an elaborate bridge to the Tower. I saw the rough slope out to this tableau, and I wanted to fall forward, for it to be over.
They were all screaming - at their captors, at their killers - for me to fight on - for me to do something. They asked why I wasn't doing something to save them? Why I hesitated so long as to only be a retriever of corpses?
Then the bag covered my head, and I probably passed out some time after.
