"Shit!" Brynn staggered to a stop, struggling to catch her breath as her arm rippled with pain once again. Cassandra shot her a warning scowl as she took a quick survey of their surroundings.
Brynn had cooperated on the hike, and as a gesture of goodwill, she'd also managed to keep her mouth shut for twenty whole minutes. Which, given the absolute insanity of what she was still currently processing, was a minor miracle. But there were limits to her goodwill, and as of two minutes ago, it had started to rain fireballs from the sky. As intimidating as Cassandra was, she couldn't quite compete with 'molten balls of fire tumbling from the heavens'. Not for lack of trying of course.
Cassandra snarled an order for movement and gave her a shove forward when it was clear the pulsing in her hand had mostly subsided.
Brynn followed her. She'd sunk into a comfortable numb shock mentally, the remaining rational bits of her brain were spending much of their energy screaming, so there wasn't anything left to argue why they shouldn't be running toward the fireball spewing mountain. At this particular moment Cassandra was successfully leading her between the deadly debris and that was good enough reason to follow.
At least her arms were free now. After the fifth time the awkwardness of her bound limbs caused her to tumble to the ground, Cassandra had either taken pity on her, or had grown tired of stopping to haul her back to her feet again. That allowance had come with a very clear warning that any attempt to abuse her newfound "freedom" would result in a swift skewering.
Aside from the fact that her whole body was mostly just a frozen mass of bumps, bruises, and raw torn patches of flesh- there still was little incentive to attack Cassandra. For one, Brynn knew she couldn't take her. Not in a million years. Brynn was a bit sturdier than average, kneading dough at 4 am for the past three years would do that to a person. But Cassandra was built like a wall. A very deadly wall that carried a sword. Besides, assuming she did manage to slip Cassandra's watch, she had no idea where she would go. She had no idea where she was.
And so she ran for her life, hoping to evade the falling projectiles as they ran toward what Brynn assumed was probably some kind of murder pit. With how things were going, a murder pit might have actually been a blessing in disguise.
She heard a tell-tale whistle from above, signaling another rock hurtling toward them as they crossed a bridge that spanned the frozen lake below. Brynn urged her screaming muscles to speed up, fighting the urge to stop and just let the thing crush her like a bug. She glanced over her shoulder as the bus-sized missile slammed into the bridge, the impact causing her legs to buckle beneath her and she went sprawling forward. She skidded to a stop more than halfway across the bridge, but she felt more then heard a deep crack beneath her.
Groaning miserably, she pushed herself to her knees, new sharp pains making themselves known. Cassandra was down near the lake, having thrown herself into a snowbank to escape the crumbling bridge. Even if Brynn had been clever enough to try that, her body was woefully incapable of doing much more than a zombie trot. She did consider herself fortunate that she'd managed to avoid the same fate as the wooden planks of the bridge that had been shattered by the smoldering bits of mountain that seemed determined to kill her.
"Oh good," Brynn muttered, "We both made-" her snide comment fell short as the rest of the bridge gave a sharp crack and then collapsed beneath her, falling into the gaping hole like dominoes. She scrambled to get upright, hoping she might still make it to the far side, but the stonework was crumbling like an avalanche and quickly overtook her. She tumbled sideways and struck her temple hard. Her whole body went limp and she fell with the debris. Stars danced in her eyes only momentarily, because a second later, ten thousand needles pierced into her flesh and her body was flooded with adrenaline once more.
She gasped, which was entirely the wrong course of action once she realized she was submerged in the dark lake water. Her throat closed up and she began to choke, thrashing wildly trying to pull herself back to the surface.
She finally breached, coughing and gasping violently, her lungs trying to purge the water she'd foolishly tried to inhale. Her sluggish arms slapped ineffectively at the water and just barely managed to reach the solid edge of the ice. Fingers numb with cold were little more than claws, but she grasped at it desperately, dragging herself forward, and finally hoisting herself up enough so she could beach herself like a dying whale. She managed to roll away from the gap in the ice, her whole body focused on shivering so violently the world took on a blurry filter.
Cassandra called out to her, Brynn shifted her gaze to see the woman was already up on her feet, looking alarmed by Brynn's near brush with permanent cryogenics. A look of scolding passed over her features and then her eyes sharpened, focusing on something behind Brynn and she drew her sword, rushing out onto the snow-covered ice.
Brynn debated whether to just lay there and let the cold take her. If she simply froze to death, perhaps she'd wake up out of whatever coma induced hallucination this clearly had to be. Obviously, none of this could be real, because it was too insane. But as the cold set deep into her bones, she couldn't deny that it certainly felt real enough. In the sense that she was really freezing to death.
In the end, she put a pause on the 'succumbing to death' plan, as she wasn't particularly enjoying the experience and she was curious enough to see what had grabbed Cassandra's attention so fully when she heard the ringing of metal being violently struck somewhere out of view.
Pushing up to her hands and knees, her fingers didn't feel cold so much as just general pain. She scanned the horizon and could see Cassandra in the distance, further off than she thought, but she supposed the sound carried across the lake. She was pitched in battle it seemed… with a dark unidentifiable blob. Brynn blinked a few times, considering maybe her eyeballs still needed some thawing time after the dunk, but the blob remained pretty obscure.
Behind her a strange sucking sound interrupted her investigation and she scrambled forward, terrified the hole in the ice was expanding. One trip down splash mountain had been plenty for her.
Brynn got her feet beneath her finally and turned, but the hole remained the same size. Instead, there was a dark swirling puddle on the ice. It stretched and expanded as she watched, the crease in her forehead deepening as she tried to make sense of it. It rose up until it was at least eight feet of inky blackness. Its sides started to crack, revealing burning embers within and two limbs speared out from its body. While she didn't really feel warmed by it, she could register that there was definitely heat radiating off of this thing that was at least ten feet from where she stood.
"What the-" she jumped when it started to lurch and twitch like it was alive. The cracks in its body widened and sometimes pools of bright burning red goo spilled out and dribbled down the thing's side, hissing where it touched the ice below. Her lizard brain was screaming at her that it was a lava monster- while she stood there, shaking her head, as though that could refute the evidence her eyes were providing.
Without any kind of face or eyes or ears that she could see, it sensed her presence and lurched in her direction.
"Ohfuck-" she made a strange yipping sound as she realized that she very much needed to get away from it, regardless of what she was going to call it. It didn't matter whether it was a monster or a figment of her imagination. It was definitely coming at her with a purpose and she did not intuit it was because it wanted to be her friend. Her legs were clumsy as they took one halting step back, and then another. "Wake up-" she said as she realized this thing was closing in much faster than a thing without legs should be. "Time to wake up now!" she said a little more insistently.
It opened a hole near its top, exposing more of the red churning magma and let out a harsh shriek that set her teeth on edge.
"Waking up now!" she practically screamed at herself as she forced another step back before she was quite ready. Something caught her heel and she tumbled backwards with an undignified cry. She fell hard on her ass and added another mild concussion to the list as her head bounced off the ice. She'd fallen amongst the remains of an old caravan, though weather and animals had scattered it across the frozen lake. Her heels dug into the ice, pushing her backwards inches at a time and she flopped to her stomach, refusing to watch the thing stalking closer. Even though she couldn't see it, it was much too close. She knew because all around her there was a cloud of steam billowing out from her clothes that had been soaked only moments before.
It was above her, its shadow stretching over her even with the overcast sky, its limbs lengthening into claws as it gave another scream. In a panic, she rolled to the side as one of its talons slammed into the ice where her head had been just a moment before and she grabbed at the nearest thing with some heft, swinging it wildly behind her as she staggered to her feet.
It gave a satisfying crack as she connected with its arm, black rock exploding like glass where she struck and scalding hot air burst forward from the freshly exposed bubbling interior that resembled a gaping wound.
"I'll- I'll do it again," she warned, feeling steadier on her feet. Not because she was feeling recovered, but because her body had realized if she had another stumble, she was going to end up dead.
It either failed to hear her warning, or was suitably unimpressed by it and lunged at her once more.
She ducked out of the way and reared back with the makeshift club, putting some momentum into the weapon as she smashed it into its side. The thing gave a low growl and staggered sideways, just in front of the hole where she'd been plunged into the lake.
Before it could regather itself, she jabbed the stick into what she guessed was its face, unbalancing it, but not enough to knock it over. She lifted her leg and kicked forcefully into its middle, heat rippling up through the thin sole of her shoe as it toppled backward.
It stumbled a few steps, but it came to a stop just short of the ledge. "Fucking die already!" she screamed, hoisting the staff back like a javelin, prepared to throw it. But the ice cracked beneath the creature's weight and with a ghastly scream it hit the water. The lake frothed into a boil, shooting a massive billowing cloud of steam into the air. She launched herself backward, trying to keep her stick at the ready with the expectation that it might yet emerge from the dense mist ready to tear through her. But nothing arose from the water as the steam cleared, and with a sharp pop, the hissing stopped with an abrupt finality.
Brynn let out a shuddering breath and turned at the sound of boots running toward her. Cassandra had clearly dispatched with her own terror, and now seemed intent on threatening Brynn herself. She jabbed her sword at Brynn, and the stick, which Brynn was now using to support all of her weight.
"Sure," Brynn nodded absently, not making any attempt to try and parse out the message. Her body wasn't shaking from cold anymore, it was adrenaline and sheer terror. The rational portion of her brain had taken a quick vacation and she wasn't entirely sure it would be returning. Cassandra had gotten closer, snarling some comment when she realized Brynn hadn't even been looking at her. "No, you know-" Brynn waved her off. "You go on. I think actually I'm just gonna… wait here. You know. For the end of the world. Cause that was…" she shook her head. "That was fucked up. I don't want to do that again. I'm good."
Cassandra grumbled a bit more, but given the vacant look in Brynn's eyes, decided not to press any further. She sheathed her sword and beckoned Brynn forward. Less with the implied threat she'd been utilizing, and more with a resigned 'are you coming, or what?', which Brynn could appreciate. In fact, it was probably the nicest Cassandra had been to her during her imprisonment.
"Okay," Brynn said, deflated. Dying in the lake or at the top of murder mountain made very little difference now. "Let's go."
When they rounded the next bend in the road, they were greeted by more soldiers pitched in battle among the half-crumbled remains of a stone tower. Cassandra threw herself into the fray immediately, but Brynn had no such enthusiasm. If she'd had the energy, she might have turned around and run back the way they had come. Because not only did she doubt her ability to defeat a mosquito in her current state, there was a giant green glowing star dancing above the fight.
It hovered in the air as though suspended with wire, crackling with power and static that made the hairs on her arms stand on end. An eerie green cloud pulsed around it and Brynn raised her left hand to cover it, dismayed by the similarities she saw in the stain on her palm.
"Ah nuts," she whispered.
Cassandra's barbed tone pulled her out of her spiral briefly, it wasn't a threat, it was a warning. A dark shadow swooped above her, and she dropped to the ground at the last moment to avoid the blade-like fingers that whistled through the air where she'd just been standing.
"What in the ghostbuster loving fuck-" she watched it circle around, no legs to speak of, this particular monster was flying. Which she supposed, as she scrambled to her feet, made some kind of sense given it was a spot-on imitation for a Dementor. "Bring it Casper!" she was angry now, livid even. She'd held on to her sanity for twenty-six long years and now it was all coming completely unraveled in the span of a few hours. It was bullshit and she wasn't about to stand for it. She swung her trusty stick around like a baseball bat when it came after her again and whatever it consisted of beneath the tattered black cloak that it wore gave a satisfying crunch as she connected with it.
It wailed in a high-keening pitch and slumped sideways. She chuckled darkly and swung back to hit it again, but it grabbed the staff before she could gain momentum. There was a brief struggle between them, one Brynn was very much concerned she was about to lose to a floating sack of ghoul.
"Miserable haunted ass-" she was too focused on trying to hurt its feelings that she didn't notice it reaching for her with its free hand until it was almost too late. It had been aiming for her throat, but she'd yanked back just in time to avoid that. Instead, it grazed her neck just enough to draw blood, but the claws found purchase in her shoulder and carved a long gash down her arm.
She screamed, the claws feeling like fire as she felt what little warmth she had left oozing out from her wounds.
"Fuck you!" she shouted, spittle flying from her mouth as she decided this was the hill she was going to die on. Over a stick.
She thought it odd when the stick grew distinctly colder in her hand, as though the wood had turned to metal. It made a strange sound too, like ice fissuring in hot water- frozen shrapnel burst from the end- ripping through the air like bullets.
Brynn blinked; the creature too seemed startled as some of the ice had sank itself deep in the creature's chest. Brynn recovered faster, fueled by the throbbing pain that pulsed out from her shoulder. She yanked the staff from the monster victoriously and with a hatchet swing that would have brought a tear to Paul Bunyan's eye she slammed it down over the thing's head.
There was a sick crunch and something warm and wet sprayed across her face and chest, the cloak finally crumpling to the ground in a heap.
Brynn took a moment to breathe, and then immediately regretted it. The smell of whatever had exploded from it was putrid and clung to her tongue and nostrils even as she tried to scrub it off her face with her shoulder. "Jesus-"
"Oi!" a gruff voice caught her attention from the far side of the ruins. A short stocky man with a crossbow nearly as tall as he was himself was scowling at her. He jutted his over-sized chin at an ice shard the size of his fist that had embedded itself into the wall mere inches above his head. He raised his arms and shook his head incredulously in what appeared to be the universal gesture for "Dude, what the fuck?"
"Uh," she stared at the length of wood in her hand suspiciously. "S-sorry. I'm not-" but the man had already moved on, busy plugging a lanky green stick bug of a monster full of arrows. She supposed if there were lava monsters, and stick bug monsters, and monsters of Christmas past, it made just as much sense that there were sticks that also coincidently shot weaponized ice. She just wished there would have been a trigger or a button. Something to indicate how it worked. She would have been sorry to have skewered the crossbow man with ice, but would have been even sorrier to have struck herself.
While she was trying to confirm which side of the stick was the dangerous one, someone else grabbed her wrist- causing her to cry out in pain as it reignited the ache in her arm. She was ready to start swinging her club again, but it wasn't another monster. It was some bald Billy Zane looking dude who's grip on her wrist was much stronger than his lithe form seemed to suggest. He was clearly trying to speak to her, possibly asking her a question- but it was once again unrecognizable.
"I don't know what the fuck you're all going on about!" she shouted to subdue the pathetic wail that was threatening to bubble up as he dragged her toward the green cloud. He raised her hand up toward the light above and she was about to snatch it back when she felt something pulling through her. The light in her palm began to pulse in time with the green star. A twisting glowing bolt burst from the center of the cloud and struck her hand as though it were a lightning rod.
The light danced across her palm, never quite escaping, but refusing to hold still. She could see something of substance within the light but couldn't focus long enough to determine what it was. Her fingers closed reflexively, trying to grasp at the rope of light. What astonished her was that it did seem to have a physical presence and her clenched fist stabilized the beam. The light still trembled, but she could see into it now, through it really, because it looked like a lens.
There were no mountains or snow seen through the green. There was a barren landscape, devoid of anything living or dead. She peered closer and a pair of large green eyes suddenly popped into view. And teeth. Lots and lots of teeth.
It was pulling her closer, tugging from her chest, dragging her into the light.
"Nope!" she shouted, mostly to steady herself. "This is not happening!" She couldn't quite let go of the light, but she yanked herself away from the horrors of the teeth and the eyes. The action so violent the green bolt snapped like a piano wire. Her ears popped with a sudden change of air pressure and the green cluster vanished as though it had never been.
"You-" she stared accusingly at Billy Zane, and then Cassandra whose blade dripped with gore from the last beast she had slain. Now they were all staring at her, as though she were another of the horrible creatures they would have to fight. "This is all really fucked up guys. What the hell was that?"
Even for such a bizarre and increasingly frightening nightmare, this had gone well beyond the line. She stared at her hand with the thinnest of hopes that perhaps it was gone, but it still ebbed with her pulse, marking her as a freak even in this place.
"I believe-" her pity party came to a screeching halt as she realized she recognized some of the words, however broken they sounded. "She speaks some dialect of Ancient Alamarri." It was the one who had linked her to the green cloud- not who she would have chosen for her rescuer, but bleeding and on the verge of a full and total meltdown she wasn't feeling especially choosy.
"Oh thank god," she said, her voice catching in her throat. She was sure the smile that split her lips had a demented quality to it, but she was beyond caring. "Mr. Zane, Please tell me you have a cell phone."