Chapter 26: Forward Charge
Ragnar placed the cloth that was once covering the dusty altar over Garn's body. The fallen soldier had his right arm covering what remained of his left arm, giving the elusion of both arms crossed over his chest. His serene face looked somewhat happy. Even in death, Garn seemed to be joyful. Ragnar smiled. An altar dedicated to the Zenithians was a suitable resting place for the soldier.
He walked away from the altar feeling refreshed. His soul had been cleansed of all doubt and confusion after his final talk with Garn. For perhaps the first time in his life, Ragnar felt he had a grander goal to accomplish, something profoundly meaningful to do; feeling so rejuvenated even made Ragnar forget about the bandaged wound on his forearm. He no longer felt any pain and easily strapped his shield on, his arm supporting the heavy piece of armor as if it was nothing more than made of leather.
The soldier picked up the weapon Sandor had called the Sword of Malice. It was indeed a fine blade and he was able to feel the shear power it wielded. Ragnar felt a bit uncomfortable using the sword Sandor had used to kill Denuve. However, if he was going to get out of the tower alive, he was going to have to use it to its full potential. He sheathed it in his small scabbard, a full third of the blade sticking out.
He turned back to the altar, giving Garn a final salute of respect, then picked up the body of Sandor. It was Ragnar's plan to use the body as a shield but maybe it would also be possible to fool the lilypas into thinking it was really Sandor returning. Of course, the bloody throat would be a dead give-away but he still might be able to let the lilypas' guard down enough for a quick victory over the guards.
Walking up the stairs, Ragnar held Sandor's body up. Once Sandor was in the torchlight above, Ragnar heard several clicking sounds. "It's me!" Ragnar said, trying to sound as much like Sandor as possible. "All dead down there! Victory!" The soldier then raised Sandor's right arm. He heard several excited clicks above. Now was the time to attack!
Ragnar threw Sandor's body up and rushed forward, his new sword already in his hands. The startled lilypas looked at Sandor's body flying in amazement, then saw Ragnar charging forward with fear. They realized they had been fooled and now would pay for their mistake. The Sword of Malice sliced cleanly through the first few lilypas' tunics and scaly flesh.
Ragnar quickly turned to his unprotected right and slashed twice. Three more lilypas fell instantly, the Sword of Malice amplifying Ragnar's strength threefold.
The remaining two lilypas saw Ragnar as a serious threat and decided it would be safer to escape than to try to fight. They fled down a corridor on Ragnar's left. The soldier was about to give chase but remembered how Sandor had been able to shoot flames from the sword when he held it up. Could he do the same?
Ragnar held the hilt up high and within moments a fiery feeling began to well up inside the soldier. He was momentarily caught off guard but remained still, guessing this was what the sword would do. Seconds later, the same, red aura he had seen form at the hilt before began to take shape again. Ragnar nearly brought his hand down, expecting it to be burning but was amazed to feel nothing but the light burning inside his body.
The aura grew into a ball of flame and leapt forth, chasing the fleeing lilypas. The first one was instantly engulfed in the flame and it fell to the floor, screeching and writhing in its fiery death. Ragnar was about to chase after the second when another fireball flew forward, engulfing the second lilypa just the same as the first.
A third fireball began to form but Ragnar brought the sword down. The fiery aura instantly vanished. The soldier timidly touched the hilt and blade, expecting it to be hotter than a branding iron. To his surprise, it was cool. It was as if the fireballs had never been there.
Strange, he thought but remembered that Sandor had said it was an elfish blade. Mythical creatures probably had some magical weapons, he guessed.
Still, the burning inside his body when he used the sword like that disturbed the soldier. It hadn't hurt him or anything but whatever was causing that feeling couldn't be healthy. He decided it would be best to only use the magical properties of the sword only if necessary.
"Rag-nar?" a timid, watery voice suddenly came from behind. The soldier quickly spun around, the Sword of Malice extended forward. He saw a healer that had been hiding in the shadows quickly cover its head with its tentacles. "No... hurt!" it squeaked in fear. "I..."
"Healie!" Ragnar exclaimed and lowered the blade, patting the healers head enthusiastically. The healer flinched at first but gradually accepted Ragnar's gesture of friendship.
After Ragnar retrieved his hand, he gave Healie with a stern look and asked, "What happened to you? I thought that you were captured or killed!"
"No... fol-low," Healie explained, waving its tentacles at the staircase leading to the basement excitedly. "Could... no... fol-low... scared..."
"Don't worry," Ragnar said, smiling. If the lilypas and ozwargs couldn't go down there, healers wouldn't be an exception, kind monster or not. He glanced at the staircase, muttering, "It wasn't the right one anyway."
"What?" Healie said, not hearing Ragnar.
"Nothing," the soldier replied, shaking his head. He turned back to his companion and asked, "Ready to move on?"
"Yes," the healer replied.
"Good," Ragnar said, nodding once. He turned towards the corridor where the burnt lilypas were still smoldering. If they were fleeing in that direction, then someone with authority to organize a resistance would have to be down there; it would not make sense to flee into a dead end. "We're heading down that corridor," he said, pointing his sword at the corridor. "Same battle tactic as before. Understand?"
"Yes," Healie said, waving its tentacles back and forth.
Ragnar nodded and began walking down the corridor. Healie, floating just behind him, made a startled, gurgling sound and Ragnar quickly turned to see what was wrong. He saw Healie floating just above Sandor's corpse, moving its tentacles gingerly across the dead soldier's chest. Healie looked up at Ragnar and asked, "One... of... your... kin?"
Ragnar looked at Sandor for long moments, no trace of emotion in his face. Finally, he muttered, "No." He then turned back to the corridor, quickening his pace.
"How many?" Ragnar whispered as Healie floated towards the soldier's hiding place in the shadows.
"Ten... and... three..." the healer replied, its voice sounding cracked as Healie tried to imitate Ragnar's whispering. The soldier could not help but chuckle. It seemed Healie was becoming more human every minute.
"Three ozwargs, huh," he mumbled, rubbing his mustache. Ragnar was not overly worried about the lilypas. The Sword of Malice could probably take them out easily. The ozwargs were a problem, however. They were at least fifty feet away around the corner that led to the second basement of the tower; plenty of time to cast the icicle spell he had painfully experienced earlier. Even if he used the Sword of Malice's magical fireballs on them, the soldier was pretty sure the ozwargs would make sure the lilypas shielded them.
"Get behind my shield," he eventually said, holding the large, iron shield in front of him. "I'm going to charge forward and will probably take some bad hits along the way. I want you to try to heal whatever damage I take as quickly as possible. The shield should protect you from any projectiles."
Healie waved its tentacles back and forth and floated behind the shield. However, it stopped just short and looked up at the soldier. "Rag-nar," it said, its voice timid. "Oth-er... hea-ler... there... with... li-ly-pa... and... oz-warg..."
"Don't worry," Ragnar said, smiling. "I remember my promise." Healie's tentacles waved excitedly and it faced back to the shield.
"Alright then," he said, gripping the Sword of Malice tighter. "Here we go!" He leapt out from the shadows and charged forward, roaring like a madman. Might as well let the elves know he was coming.
He rounded the corner and saw the lilypas already in formation, scrambling to get their arrows nocked to try and stop the charging soldier. Just as he suspected, the ozwargs were behind the lilypas, using the reptilian monsters as shields. They already had their wands out and were preparing their spells. Ragnar had to act fast!
The soldier raised the Sword of Malice and, within seconds, a fireball leapt forth, engulfing the closest lilypa. Ragnar managed to let another fireball loose when he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his raised arm. He quickly brought it down and noticed a single arrow embedded in his bicep.
He was about to yank the shaft out of his bicep when he heard several clangs on his shield. Arrows were starting to fly at him repeatedly, most of them either hitting the shield or sailing too high. Ragnar stopped in his tracks and Healie looked up at the soldier, a confused sort of look in a face where expression was impossible. "Don't worry," he said, "I know what I'm doing."
Of course, Ragnar had lied to the healer. He had no idea what he was doing. Crouching behind the shield that easily covered his body, the soldier was getting bombarded with arrows while the ozwargs were getting their spells ready. Ragnar had no idea how he would be able to stand up to the spells. An arrow grazed the plume off the top of his helmet; a few inches lower and it could have pieced the middle of his eyes. He was a sitting duck crouching here!
He peeked over his shield and saw that the ozwargs had already formed their icicles and were taking aim. "Brace yourself!" he warned Healie and the soldier ducked behind his shield. An icicle shattered on his shield, the force of the impact knocking him back. Ragnar managed to get up in time to get his shield in front of him and Healie just as the second icicle flew forth. Violent vibrations flew through Ragnar's body but he managed to stand his ground this time, more prepared for the impact than before. The third and final icicle flew wide, Ragnar's wild movements throwing the ozwarg's aim off.
As he slowly stood back up, Ragnar remembered that the ozwargs he encountered before were tired after they cast the icicle spell. Taking a quick peek over the rim of his shield confirmed his thoughts. The ozwargs in front of him appeared weakened as well, already slowly retreating further back. The lilypas were still firing their arrows but, so long as he kept his vital organs out of harm's way, they were no more a nuisance than buzzing summer misquotes. Now was as good of any time to swat these insects.
Putting his head behind the shield, Ragnar yelled out again, shocking Healie. "Here I come!" he roared and started his charge again. He felt a few stings in his legs and his sword arm but pumping adrenaline pushed the pain aside. Within moments, Ragnar felt his shield connect solidly with other bodies and began trampling fallen lilypas underneath his booted feet. He was past the front lines! Now he could easily cut down the rest.
He popped back up from behind his shield and quickly slashed the Sword of Malice left and right, cutting lilypas as if they were no more than slimes. A few managed to flee down the opposite way. Ragnar let them go, knowing that the main threat was ahead.
The ozwargs were now running towards the end of the hall where a staircase was illuminated by a pair of torches. Knowing he wouldn't be able to reach the monsters in time, Ragnar raised the Sword of Malice, letting the deadly blade do his work for him. Flames leapt from the sword and caught the ozwargs. Being too small, they didn't engulf the monsters at first but it was enough to have the ozwargs start to panic and roll on the ground, halting their escape.
Ragnar quickly looked around, making sure there were no other lilypas or ozwargs. Satisfied the seven lilypa bodies - some dead but most just severally wounded - at his feet and three burning ozwargs were all that remained, the soldier headed over to the burning monsters, intent on finishing his grim task.
Just as he started moving, the shadows around the hallway started to move with life. Ragnar stopped and took up a defensive position, ready to attack whatever emerged from the shadows. Several, small blue forms with tentacles waving in rhythmic fashion appeared. Ragnar then remembered that Healie had mentioned there were healers among the guards as well. They hadn't made any threatening moves yet but Ragnar kept his guard up all the same.
"Healie," Ragnar whispered, hardly moving his mouth so he wouldn't attract attention, "what are they doing?"
"Heal-ing," Healie replied. Indeed, some of the lilypas that had only been severally wounded had healers floating just above them. The wounds seemed to be slowly closing up. Ragnar could rush over to deliver a mortal blow to the recovering lilypas but such an action could cause the healers to rise up against him as well. There were far too many of the monsters for Ragnar to go against all at once.
"Can you get them to stop?" he quietly asked.
"How?"
"I don't know. Just get them to stop somehow! And hurry!"
Healie looked up at Ragnar for a moment, and then floated out from behind the shield. The healer approached the closest group of healers, tentacles raised. At first, Ragnar suspected Healie was going to try to attack the larger group and thought about risking moving to help his comrade. However, the other healers didn't make any threatening moves and slowly allowed Healie to approach, raising their tentacles as well. Healie rubbed its tentacles along the body of one of the healers, making long, elegant slides along the bulbous head. The strange action went on for several moments before Healie floated back over to Ragnar. The healer Healie had been communicating with turned to the other healers and they formed a tight circle around the first.
Ragnar looked at Healie as his companion slowly floated back, a bewildered look covering his face. "Is it safe to move?" he quietly asked.
"Yes," Healie replied, waving its tentacles back and forth.
Ragnar relaxed his posture but still kept his guard up. Despite what he had learned of healers while in the secret playground, Ragnar still didn't trust the monsters that were reputed to be casual killers, especially ones in league with other monsters.
He glanced around the wide hallway, noticing several groups of six healers begin to form and were floating to the corpses and severely wounded lilypas. Another group floated towards the smoldering remains of the ozwargs near the staircase leading to the second basement. "What did you tell them?" Ragnar asked.
"Eat... and... be... free..." Healie replied, a strange coldness in its otherwise emotionless voice.
"What's that...?" Ragnar started to ask but suddenly realized what Healie meant when he saw the healers slowly descend on the lilypas and ozwargs, their tentacles gingerly rubbing over the bodies. Ragnar had a brief vision, remembering Healie acting in the same manner when it was about to feast on the corpse of the elf he had killed.
"Healie!" he exclaimed. "Some of them are still alive!"
Healie stopped just a few feet away from Ragnar. It remained still, its tentacles hardly even twitching. Finally, without even looking up, Healie muttered, "I... know..." It then floated on, moving to the lighted staircase.
Ragnar looked at his companion as it floated by, amazement in his eyes. It could have been a trick from the adrenaline pumping in his body but Healie had sounded mournful, almost regretting its course of action.
Shrugging off his bewilderment, Ragnar quickened his steps to catch up, grimacing just once as he heard a sickening, sucking sound echo throughout the hallway.