Chapter 8 :: Trial of Scorching Flames
Notes: Really really long chapter here.
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"This is probably the best place for us to stay," Yuan said, showing them back to their cells, but instead of locking the cell doors, he sealed the room with an Eclipse spell. "We have enough food stored in this basement level for a week.""What's going on outside?" Mithos asked.
"A siege, I would assume," Kratos answered.
"You are correct. The soldier on the intercom said 'Altair is coming from the east to the fortress.' Yuan, you forget that the Elvish language you use is also the one of the ancient dragons," Solstice said.
"Yuan, aren't you going to join Alice?" asked Martel.
"Lord Altair's Macerdonian Paladins are the best in the army of humans. If they find you here they will most likely kill everyone but Kratos," Yuan said. "I have specific instructions from Alice not to let the crystal fall into their hands... and to keep you safe."
"Darn it, there's too many of them," Alice muttered from the wall around the fortress. Though Enigma's Ghosts were notorious for getting away in sticky situations, they built the fortress in the middle of the desert without any terrain protection. Altair had surrounded them with siege cannons and a phalanx of soldiers. "Why is it that we Desians are always on the receiving end of a siege?"
They spent the remainder of the day in the fortress basement as artillery rumbled in the floor above. At sunset, Yuan lowered the Eclipse barrier to check on the situation above. Though the walls held, Alice and her soldiers began to get exhausted. Her shadow magic had dispatched the first wave, but Altair planned to begin another attack when the cool desert night provided better opportunities.
"Even if we attempt an escape, Altair has us surrounded from all sides," Yuan said, returning to the basement and sealing it off. Dawn came and passed and still no word from the outside. At late afternoon, they heard a loud crash from above.
"Altair has likely entered the fortress," Kratos said. Instantly, a projection showing a battle scarred Alice appeared in the corner of the room while Mithos and the others ate supper.
"Yuan, I have secured a means for them to escape. Go now to the hangar," Alice said.
"All right, we're going to have to take a few risks here," Yuan told them. He dispelled the shield and motioned for them to follow. The interior of the base was totally dark, as the seige damaged the mana reactor powering the fortress. Panels had come loose from the walls and the other sliding doors within the facility remained ajar.
"Remember, Mithos. Walk silently and secretly," Kratos said. They took the path down the same corridor they had used before. Suddenly, Yuan pulled Martel back behind a collapsed column. The others followed suit, hearing footsteps approaching.
"My lord, no sign of the half-elves and the human we sighted," they heard a soldier say.
"It matters not. I have received instructions from our liege to return to the homeland. We have managed to put a huge dent into the Desians' power to resist conquest," a superior said. They passed down the hallway; however, the travelers remained unnoticed.
"Hangar's this way," Yuan pointed out. Using his dark magic, he blew open the door to the hangar which had been obstructed by falling debris.
"What is this thing?" Mithos asked.
"A hover transport that they abandoned while they penetrated the wall," Alice said, waiting for them on the ramp that led onto a floating vehicle that looked more like a hovering fishing boat than anything to be used on land.
"Alice, you're badly hurt," said Martel. She rushed over and cast a soft light on her wounds.
"Thank you," Alice said. A paladin's sword slashed her from behind during the battle for the fortress.
"Once you are aboard, head for the abandoned city of Triet in the Magma Mountain Range. The spirit of fire, Efreet, sleeps there," Yuan said. "As for us, we will try to hold out until help arrives from Lord Kepler."
"Go now, and may the stars always guide you," Alice said.
"We have to go, now!" Kratos said, jumping into the craft's back seat while Solstice, familiar with magitechnology, took the front. Martel and Mithos remained on the "deck" of the hovercraft. Silently gliding over the sands, they slipped around Altair's lines and past their elephant-like siege cannons.
"This is just like Asgard. We're running away from the battle while everyone else fights and dies," Mithos said. Altair's siege cannons gave a resounding volley into the base before passing over the horizon.
"Mithos, in the end, they fight because they believe we can make a difference in this world. We can't betray their trust by going back to them," Martel replied.
"I wish we didn't have to see any of this war," said Mithos solemnly. Their hovercraft skimmed past countless sand dunes until they arrived at the city of Triet, embedded in the mountains. The dwarves that had allied themselves with the Desians once built war machines here. Scaffolding suspended a half-finished and badly rusted Deathcarrier attached to the mountainside.
Left to weather for many generations, the entrance to the once splendid city became not nothing but a ruin. Similar to the slab of stone guarding Balacruf's burial chambers, a heavy stone door sealed off the city of Triet.
"How are we going to break through this one?" Mithos asked.
"I lack the dragon essence, so I can no longer command it to open," Solstice said.
"Over here," Kratos hollered from a distant part of the ruins. Buried beneath the sand was a piece of stone that had come loose. As he lifted it, a burst of hot air shot from the small hole.
"The fires below must still be active," suggested Martel.
"I can protect us with a barrier spell, but it will only hold for a few hours," said Solstice. Raising his right hand, he chanted a series of magic words as a blue magic circle appeared under him. "Frosta hydros defreas! Ice Barrier!"
"Whoa!" Mithos said, taken by surprise. A chilly bubble descended onto all of them and vanished, though the coolness remained.
"Shall we? Our time is limited," Kratos urged. Lighted by Martel's staff, they dropped into a tunnel inside the abandoned city. As they went deeper, they soon found out that Martel was indeed correct.
"Look at those furnaces. There must be hundreds of them," Mithos said when they entered the colossal manufacturing cavern. Blast furnaces were eerily left active as if they had been left alone only yesterday. Crude iron hooks held giant vats of molten mithril over assembly lines, dripping golden liquid from the places where they leaked.
Martel approached a stash of what appeared to be nothing but scrap metal. Instead she found an old broken open sphere with a shining red crystal inside.
"What on Aselia could this thing have been used for?" Martel asked inquisitively. She bent down to have a closer look.
"It's an elemental fusion bomb. During the first days of the Eternal War, Delthis dropped three of these and wiped out most of the northern continent of Flanoir. You had best not touch it," Solstice explained. Just to be safe, he carefully removed the crystal and cast it into a pool of liquid mithril.
"So how do you know so much about the conflict, Solstice?" said Mithos. Solstice gave a sign and stared at the center of the cavern.
"We tried to stop the war from starting and sent envoys to both nations. They looked at us as outsiders seeking to interfere with their politics. In the end, our flying city, hidden in the clouds became the only part of the planet that spared by the terrors of warfare," Solstice related.
In another chamber they found over four dozen newly crafted Rheaird fighters, relics waiting to serve their purpose but left behind by a world that could not wait to continue fighting. At last they arrived at the final room where the spirit of fire, Efreet slept. In a cavern with a single skylight to the surface, the light that shone through was one of a setting sun, bidding farewell to a land scorched by battle.
"You who disturb my sleep, why do you come here?" a loud voice boomed. Taking the form of a legendary genie, Efreet emerged in a cloud of black smoke from his seal in the floor. His muscular ruby arms and the two massive horns on his head proved that he was the exact opposite of the cute Sylphs they met earlier.
"We seek a pact with you," Mithos said.
"This time, Mithos. I'll fight alongside you," Martel promised.
"Many have tried, but only a few have succeeded. We shall see if you can endure the flames of world's volcanoes!" Efreet proudly proclaimed. "I will burn you to ashes!"
Instantly, the ground beneath them broke apart as Efreet summoned the earth's fires into flaming geysers of lava.
"Mithos, use your speed to avoid his flames," Kratos advised. The two swordsmen dashed ahead while Solstice stood by Martel and sent bursts of ice-cold water into Efreet's lava attacks.
"You underestimate my firepower," Efreet said, picking Kratos up with one hand while calling a torrent of lava from beneath to strike him. Solstice's barrier prevented him from being burned to a crisp, but Kratos was definitely out of the fight. Efreet tossed him aside before turning to Mithos.
"Master!" Mithos called out.
"Don't go near him. Efreet will burn you up faster than you can even blink," Solstice told Martel, who was about to rush over to Kratos and heal him.
"Eruption!" Efreet yelled, flexing his arms. As the ground crumbled beneath him, Mithos called his wings and leaped clear of the exploding vortex.
"Starsword magic, activate! Star Glacier!" Mithos countered. Close to his foe, Mithos' sword turned into a blade of ice, emitting a cool aura. On slashing Efreet with it, part of Efreet hardened into stone, draining him of his fire magic temporarily. Taking advantage of the lull in his attacks, Martel rushed over to mend Kratos' wounds.
"Here you go, Healing Circle!" she said, holding her staff over him. A blue light surrounded the two of them, bringing Kratos back from the brink of death.
"I shall call on the fire's power one last time. Vesuvius!"
"One last time? What's he mean by that?" Mithos wondered. Then, he realized that the sun had fallen and the temperatures in the desert would be bone chilling soon. A massive fissure, bigger than any Efreet summoned before split the chamber into two as a wave of lava ascended to cut off the adventurers from the fire spirit. Mithos, with a cunning look in his eyes, sprinted for the fissure.
"Mithos, are you crazy?" Kratos yelled.
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing!" Mithos said, gliding over the crevice with his wings.
"Solstice, help him," Martel insisted.
"Understood," Solstice replied. "Frostal desara hydros! Spread!"
Unlike the standard Spread spell, Solstice sent a burst of water from his side that acted as bridge over the fissure. When the lava hit, it was delayed for a under a second, but enough so that Mithos made it to the other side.
"Star Glacier!" Mithos yelled, coming down like a hammer on Efreet and giving him two devastating blows with the ice sword. Facing annihilation, Efreet dispelled all his fire attacks and backed away.
"I yield," Efreet said as a chilling wind from the desert night blew inside. "Speak the vow which binds me to you."
"I vow to use your power to end this chaotic fighting and make a better world for all of us to live in," Mithos proclaimed.
"My power is yours. Use it wisely," Efreet said, turning into a red light, which flew into a garnet stone. The stone embedded itself into Mithos' Starsword.
"That was close, Mithos, but how did you know you could make it over?" Martel asked.
"Well, I assumed that because Yuan said the desert gets cold at night, Efreet wouldn't want to stay and fight for long," Mithos said. On their way back to the little hole, Mithos paused before the manufacturing chamber.
"What are you thinking, Mithos?" Martel asked.
"He is considering destroying this abandoned city," Kratos surmised.
"Yes. These machines were meant only to cause more pain and suffering. I won't pass up this opportunity." Mithos raised his sword. "I call upon thee, holder of the world's fire! Come, Efreet, and burn these wretched machines to dust!"
Efreet, fully healed from their recent bout, gladly appeared before them in a cloud of smoke and held his arms forward.
"My flames were harnessed to make weapons of war and so my flames shall be used to return these weapons to the earth! Vesuvius!" Efreet shouted, slamming his powerful fist into the floor and sending a shockwave all around them. Fissures broke out under the giant vats of mithril and magma spewed upward, consuming them in white-hot fire. The two chambers the manufacturing cavern connected to that served as warehouses for weapons became flooded with lava, which reclaimed what rightfully belonged to the world. "I pray my fire is never used to create these monstrosities again," Efreet said to Mithos before vanishing. He left a narrow path over the collapsed floors into the main entrance of the city. Strangely, they found the slab of rock had been conveniently opened, which was fortunate since Efreet destroyed the tunnel leading to the small hole.
"Why do I get the feeling that a bunch of crazy guys are about to ambush us?" Mithos said. True to his prediction, a bunch of crazy guys in golden armor were waiting to ambush them.
"Mithos, I presume, and your companions Martel, Kratos, and Solstice," a half-elf with a mullet of brown hair said. He was mounted on a strange dog like creature and carried a long spear. "I am Lord Kepler of the Knights of Thor."
Mithos drew his sword, but Kepler put his own weapon down.
"You're not here to fight?" Solstice asked.
"I am here to tell you that the war has to be finished. If you continue to form pacts with summon spirits, it will only prolong the war," Kepler said. "Allow us to win and we'll be able to put an end to this pointless conflict once and for all."
"No. Too many innocent people will get hurt. Even if one side wins, all that will happen is mass genocide," Martel replied.
"You have my word that no such thing will happen," Kepler said.
"Still, can you speak for the other commanders?" Kratos asked. "If you cannot, how can we place our trust in your words?"
"The ironic part is that there are indeed factions within our nation that seek to wipe out human and elven populations through mass genocide as revenge. I am hoping that because I will likely lead the attack, none of that will happen," Kepler answered. A hover transport's rumbling was heard in the distance. Half of its armor was in shreds, but the hovercraft held its course all the way to the ruins. Kepler's knights put their spears down in a defensive wall, but it soon became apparent that it was unneeded.
"Then you had better hurry to the port, my lord," Yuan said. "Lady Engima would like to let you know that Lord Dusk and Lord Cornelius are both preparing an invasion by sea."
"I see. We will met again, Mithos, perhaps as enemies," Kepler warned, bidding them farewell before calling his knights to march out.
"Yuan, are you all right?" Martel said.
"For the most part. As soon as the humans heard that Lord Kepler was in the desert, they made a break for it and left behind quite a lot of weapons, none of which work now that Mithos has formed a pact with Efreet," Yuan explained. "Let's get back to Fortress Enigma... on the other hovercraft."
They arrived back at the fortress near midnight, too late for any further discussion, and Yuan took them to the same room they had been kept prisoner in. Mithos, still a child at heart, plopped down quickly in his bunk and pulled up his blanket.
"Good night everyone," he said.
"He may have the power of two summon spirits now, but he will never miss a night's sleep," Kratos said.