Chapter Seven
Four figures sat in council around a central fire. The fire filled the tent with smoke, but none complained for it also provided warmth and as of late, the temperature had taken a chilly turn towards a harsh winter. The temperature and weather, however, were not topics for discussion amongst the four. There were much more weighty topics being discussed, for this was a council of war.
Upon their return, Gra-Tuke and Elisha had been quickly welcomed into Akara's tent, and even the fiery Kashya had joined them without a harsh glance or threatening word. Things were grim, indeed, and threatening to get worse. Kashya relayed what her scouts had reported. The graveyard that served as the final resting place for the many of the Sisters who had fallen in battle over the centuries-long history of the order had become corrupted. A powerful demon had taken hold of Blood Raven, Kashya's former mentor and friend. This demon was drawing unholy souls from the depths of hell to inhabit and animate the corpses of the graveyard.
"Blood Raven was one of our greatest archers and a truly dedicated Sister. To hear of her being corrupted so, is too terrible to contemplate. My scouts can't bring themselves to fight this abomination, for, much like me, they hope for her redemption despite the horrors and blasphemy she is committing." Kashya hung her head low, unable to meet the gaze of any of the others gathered around the fire. She was the Battle Leader of the Rogues. It was her charge to meet such evil on headlong, yet she could do nothing but beg these outlanders for help. Her shame nearly overwhelmed her, conflicting with her pride. She remained in the circle, her face stoic, revealing nothing of the inner conflict ravaging her. She began again.
"I must ask you both to travel to the graveyard and confront the demon that has arisen to take hold of our sister. I know this is a great deal to ask of you, but I am compelled to do so. This abomination must be silenced and…" She paused, clamping down on her emotions and regaining her composure. "And I dare not send any more of my Rogues, lest they join the demon. Will you undertake this task for us?"
Elisha looked at Gra-Tuke. He gazed back, his mind swirling with thought. She responded before he did.
"No." Elisha spoke firmly and with conviction. Her tone and manner took the other three by surprise, even more so than her rejection of the request. None of them were able to respond before she continued. "We will not confront this demon that you used to call friend. We will utterly destroy it. I shall hold her dark heart in my hand and burn it to ash!" An unnerving fire had taken light in the young sorceress' eyes, and neither Kashya nor Akara could hold her gaze for more than a moment. Gra-Tuke, however, met her gaze and held it. Elisha nearly broke down laughing, but held to little more than a muffled giggle.
He ignored Elisha's outburst as well as her burning eyes. He had other things on his mind and would not be dissuaded from his true task. "How will the destruction of this graveyard demon aid in the recovery of the monastery library? I sympathize with you Kashya, but nearly my entire tribe has been stricken by this corrupting plague. I cannot delay in getting them aid any longer." His tone was firm and resolute. "If this Blood Raven of yours confines herself to the graveyard, then simply stay out of the graveyard. We just don't have time for such delays!"
Both Kashya and Akara were shocked. They had expected easy assent from the pair, not open rejection from one and fanatical enthusiasm from the other. A silent look passed between the two Sisters. Kashya responded to Gra-Tuke.
"I understand your urgency, barbarian. I will make this offer to you. If you deal with Blood Raven for us, I will release one of my Rogues into your service. Having her as an escort should greatly help in reaching the monastery. She knows the paths that few others do and will help you past whatever obstacles bar your path. Is that acceptable?"
Gra-Tuke considered her offer for a moment. A guide would decidedly make it easier to traverse this wild country. His thoughts were interrupted by an enthusiastic punch in the arm.
"Come on! It'll be fun!" Elisha was nearly on her feet already, waiting for Gra-Tuke to join him. "What are you waiting for, big guy? Let's go take care of their demon problem." She tugged at his massive arm enthusiastically. He did not budge.
Akara spoke up, adding her own points to the discussion. "As near as I can discern, the increasing number of zombies and skeletons roaming these lands are all coming from the graveyard. Undoubtedly, they are the work of the demon possessing Blood Raven and if she is killed, it should make passage easier. At the very least, her death should keep passage from getting any worse with undead."
Gra-Tuke considered both what Kashya offered and what Akara had revealed about the undead hordes overrunning the land. He completely ignored Elisha's insistent tugging on his arm. All that had been said made sense to him, but something still bothered him about this request. Why is Kashya afraid to face Blood Raven? Why does she fear sending her Rogues to deal with the abomination? Despite the questions swirling in his mind, Gra-Tuke felt that he had no choice. If doing as these two asked got aid to his people faster, how could he refuse? He rose to his feet, nearly causing Elisha to tumble to the ground as she was still tugging at his arm.
"It would seem that we have a demon to kill." Gra-Tuke was still worried that there was something that the two women were holding back, but he had to go anyway.
Elisha cheered at his decision. "Yeah! Let's go, Let's go, Let's go!" She bounded out of the tent, sparks darting through her hair and a huge grin on her face.
Gra-Tuke, instead, headed purposely to the blacksmith's lean-to. "Charsi, I am going out into the wilds again to slay some demon in the graveyard. Do you have anything more protective than these tattered furs?"
Charsi solemnly placed a shirt of steel rings sewn together with a leather backing as well as a pair of chain boots and gloves. "These are the best I can offer since – " She trailed off, refusing to finish the thought.
Gra-Tuke sorted through his coins. At least the fiends in the countryside keep my coin purse filled. "How much will they cost me?" He hated to purchase such things, but with the voice in his head screaming doom at him, he felt it best to get as much protection as he could.
"For you, it'll cost three thousand gold worth of coins." And may it protect you from all manner of danger.
"Very well." Gra-Tuke poured out the coins, quickly giving the blacksmith the equivalent. He had much more since selling the odd staff he had found on his way to the encampment. Akara's eyes had lit up when she saw it. He still wondered if he settled on too low a price. But then again, what did he know of the value of such magics.
He donned the armor, gloves, and boots. The added protection reassured him and boosted his confidence. The armor was strong and the added weight did not seem to restrict his movement. He was satisfied. He headed for the gate and the sorceress waiting impatiently for him there.
"What took you so long to get ready?" He beat her to the punch. She glared at him briefly before smiling and practically bouncing out the gate. Too excited, that one. Her enthusiasm will get us both killed.
Gra-Tuke was calm. His warrior's heart beat slowly, following the rhythm of practiced observation. He controlled his breathing, making sure that his concentration was focused on the task at hand. He crouched behind the low stone wall outside the graveyard. Elisha crouched next to him, idly twirling her hair, sending sparks crackling into the air. He hated the distraction, but at least she wasn't charging into the graveyard spraying lightning indiscriminately.
His eye was attracted to movement within the graveyard. This was different from the hordes of skeletons and zombies roaming the grounds as if on patrol. This was a lone figure with a bow slung over her shoulder. She was inspecting an undisturbed grave. Gra-Tuke'e eyes grew wide as he watched this demon at work. He almost cringed as he heard her unearthly voice above the din of the shuffling dead.
"Rise up and join my army of the dead!" Her words echoed off of the mausoleums, crypts, and tombs scattered about the area. Even Elisha shuddered at the sound of the unholy echoes.
There was a trembling in the ground, followed by a bubbling white mist rising from the gravesite that the demon was crouched over. In a matter of moments, half a dozen zombies and skeletons burst from the formerly hallowed ground. Gra-Tuke muttered an oath under his breath. Now he knew why Kashya was afraid to come here and confront the demon. With that kind of power over the dead and such a seemingly endless supply of dead bodies, she will be impossible to reach, let alone defeat.
Elisha tapped the barbarian on the shoulder. "Hey, big guy, you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I doubt it." Gra-Tuke responded sullenly.
Elisha didn't lose a beat. "I think you should get all those undead things to chase you out here so I can shock them to pieces. And then you can go chop up the baddie into little pieces with your fancy axe there." She didn't wait for a response, instead, she leaped over the wall and bounced up and down, shouting at the undead. "Hey, shuffle over this way!"
Gra-Tuke gripped his axe tighter and leaped over the wall. Get us both killed, for sure… He readied himself for the onslaught of undead that was sure to come. He was not surprised when they came shuffling out to attack, but he was surprised by the sheer number of undead that came for them. There must have been twenty in the first group. He readied himself for action as he heard the crackling of Elisha charging the air around them both.
The first zombie shuffled into range and Gra-Tuke slashed hard at its neck. With a flash of power, the zombie's head spun into the air, leaving the body to collapse at the warrior's feet. He didn't pause, however, as there were three to take the first one's place. He ducked and slashed, rending necrotic flesh all around him. Skeletal claws rung off his armor, scrabbling for his flesh underneath. Quickly, he was surrounded and was starting to grow concerned that he wouldn't be able to handle the press of so many claws, swords, and clubs.
Elisha watched the barbarian swing into action. Can't he stick to a plan? I TOLD him that I would take care of the little ones. She watched him get surrounded, standing back, out of the reach of a stray zombie. A decaying claw came perilously close to her face and she reacted. OK, that's it! You want to fight, then we'll fight! She tapped into her power reserves and unleashed a wave of electricity. The zombie before her crumbled, smoldering. Several more zombies collapsed from the blast as well. She cackled with glee.
Gra-Tuke saw the flash of energy and felt the press of undead lessen behind him, He took a quick few steps backward and charged forward again, axe raised far over his head. As he moved forward, he swung in a great arc, severing undead limbs as they reached out for him. His axe sliced through the outermost skeleton in the group and he was in the open again. Behind, he could hear the sound of Elisha giggling as she shocked the undead into oblivion.
His attention tuned to the graveyard inside of the iron fence. His heart dropped as he saw the sheer volume of undead swarming through the area. He could see the demon, Blood Raven, drawing yet more corpses out of the ground and bending them to her will. He decided that he needed another approach. He'd never be able to fight his way through all of the undead and reach the demon with enough energy left to fight. He paused, looking for another direction to approach from. His thoughts were interrupted.
The arrow struck him in the thigh, missing the artery by less than an inch. The pain shocked his awareness. Quickly, he moved to the side, narrowly avoiding a second arrow. As he moved, he saw the demon tracking his movements with her drawn bow. She smiled at him and fired again. He dove and rolled behind a tombstone, snapping the arrow off in the roll. He drank a potion of healing as he crouched behind the stone. He could hear the shuffling of undead feet moving towards him. Sitting still was not an option. He sprinted further down the fence and through an opening. He was in the graveyard, but arrows continued to fly in his direction and the undead were beginning to cut off his running room.
He chopped a zombie in half and received an arrow in the chest for his efforts. Thankfully, his new armor prevented the arrow from penetrating, but the ring it had struck lost its binding and slid down the shaft of the arrow. He spun under the clumsy swing of a skeleton's sword, crushing the skeletons leg with a backhanded blow of his axe. He rolled past a zombie with a staff and sprinted to a clear spot.
He knew he was losing. For every undead creature he killed, Blood Raven drew two more from the ground. He found himself restricted more and more by the undead pressing in on him. To make it worse, the rain of arrows continued to stream at him. Every time he stopped moving, he was struck by one. Most hit his armor, but many had found their mark. He was bleeding from numerous wounds and cuts. He drank another potion and ran into the corner, behind a stone structure. At least here, I have some cover from the arrows. The undead pressed closer, moving to within a step of the barbarian. He slashed desperately at them, barely able to keep them at arms length. He spun and slashed, but closer still they came. He was out of running room.
Elisha was having a grand time frying undead flesh with her elemental powers. They fell before her might by twos and threes. It was great sport. I can't believe the Rogues were afraid of this. This is too easy. She shocked another pair of skeletons and began to casually walk around the perimeter of the graveyard. So few of the undead were coming after her that she barely had to use any of the potions she was carrying.
She decided to head in the gate since the undead were not coming out to get her. She hopped over a crumbling, fallen pillar and moved in. It was then that she saw the great horde of undead swarming towards the corner. She could hardly contain herself. Bubbling with glee, she ran over to the horde, charging the air around herself. As she got close, she unleashed wave after wave of electricity at the massed skeletons and zombies. With sickly moans and odd crunching noises as bones exploded, the undead fell to pieces.
Elisha was having so much fun, she just kept pouring energy into the horde, giggling as yet more fell before her. Even as they turned to face this threat, they fell. She downed potion after potion as she sent wave after wave of charged air at the undead. With all of the roar and crackle of her magics, she did not notice the half-dozen zombies creeping up behind her. Her first indication that they were there was when one slammed a decaying fist into her back, sending her stumbling forward. She spun around to face these new zombies only to be greeted by an arrow slamming into her left shoulder. She cried out in pain, pouring out an expanding circle of uncontrolled energy.
Gra-Tuke had lost all sense of time—all sense of consciousness. All that existed was his axe and the undead clawing at him. He swung left and right, tearing and slicing the undead flesh before him. Deep inside of him, a tiny spark of his former consciousness remembered to swipe at the claws that had gotten behind him. He did so without thought. He fought through instinct and training, muscles strained and fatigued beyond anything he had ever experienced before. He did not notice when the press of undead flesh lightened and he was able to pause long enough to drink the last of his potions before chopping another zombie down and kicking a disembodied and quivering claw from his leg.
He was broken out of his combat meditation by a single human scream, cut short. It chilled him and sparked him to even greater action. With a great heave, he shoved several zombies backwards, giving him a scant three steps of room. He hoped it would be enough. He charged forward, axe raised high, but this time instead of bringing it down upon them, he leapt into the air, well over their heads and out of their reach. He landed atop a stone mausoleum, affording him a view of the entire graveyard. He easily spotted the source of the scream. It was Elisha. She was hanging in the air, supported solely by the hand of the demon they had come to slay. Blood Raven's other hand clutched a cruelly serrated dagger that dripped with terrible green ichors. It was raised high, and in line with Elisha's chest. Time slowed as the dagger began its descent.
Gra-Tuke bunched his legs under him and leapt faster than he ever had before. He rocketed into the air towards Blood Raven, but even with the tremendous speed he flew at her, he knew he was too late. He brought his axe down with all the might of his tribe, but already the dagger had sunk to the hilt in Elisha's chest. He came down on Blood Raven with his axe. There was a tremendous flash as the hidden powers of his axe manifested themselves, feasting on the demon's flesh. The hand that held the dagger trembled and released even as the arm supporting the dying sorceress released her.
Blood Raven backed away from the enraged and frenzied attacks of the barbarian. She brought her bow to bear, but it was ripped from her hand by the crackling axe of this strange opponent. She called upon her army of the dead to assist her, but they were too slow to keep up. She was fast, but he moved faster, matching her step for step and always slashing at her with that terrible axe. She felt dismay as she felt her hold on the mortal flesh of this Rogue slip, and finally release as the body collapsed.
Gra-Tuke was surrounded by flashes of pure white light. He did not understand what caused them, but the accompanying lightning that struck down the undead around him reminded him of his fallen comrade. He ignored the light and ran to her side. He picked her up, but already her flesh was taking on the pallor of death. Frantically, he tore into his pack for the blue-wrapped scroll Akara had given him. Finding it, he scrambled to activate it as she had shown him. In an instant, a glowing blue oval had opened in the air before him. Clutching Elisha to his chest, he leapt through the portal.
Emerging in the Rogue's camp, he ignored the stares and startled expressions of the camp's inhabitants. He charged into Akara's tent, paying no heed to the bows raised in his direction.
He burst into her tent and gingerly laid Elisha's body upon the bed. "Akara, you are a healer, so heal her!"
Akara saw the intensity in the barbarian's eyes and knew better than to argue or to ask questions. She immediately set to healing the fallen sorceress, starting by removing the dripping dagger from her chest. She poured her healing magics into the wound, calling on knowledge she had not used in years, beckoning the woman's soul to abandon its trip to the spirit world and return to the body before her. She called out to it with all of her might and felt the tugging response she had hoped for. She anchored herself and pulled with all of her might on the departing soul. It slowly responded, coming back faster and faster until with a gasp, Elisha began to breathe again. The rest of the process was easy for Akara, which was good as the calling had nearly exhausted her. In a matter of minutes, Elisha swung her legs off of the bed and stood, staring at everything around her.
Wordlessly, she fell into Gra-Tuke's arms and clutched him. He held her silently, the rage fading from his eyes. He thanked Akara with his eyes, not daring to speak lest he lose all composure. Akara nodded back to him, knowing that words were inappropriate at this time. She sat down in her chair heavily, unable to support her own weight anymore as the two companions silently left the tent.
Kashya immediately ran up to the pair. "Did you kill Blood Raven? Is it—" She did not complete her question, cowed into silence by the deadly stares of both companions. She stepped back, granting them a measure of respect. She had her answer in those stares. The terror and horror of the experience was imprinted on those two pairs of eyes. The deed was done. She immediately set about to fulfill her part of the bargain, but the pair had wandered off before she could summon the Rogue she had selected. Very well, let them choose the time. They have destroyed that which I could not. I am indebted to them and will afford them the respect that is due.
Elisha was the first to speak. Her voice was dry and devoid of the joy and exuberance that had previously been her hallmark. "Did you grab my staff?"
Gra-Tuke noted the change in her voice and silently prayed that the woman could return to the cheerful state that she previously exuded. "No, I left everything back there. You were in urgent need of aid and I could not delay by searching for such things."
"Oh, OK, well, I guess we have to go back and get everything we left behind then." She walked towards the glowing blue portal, gesturing for the barbarian to join her.
He did follow and they emerged in the graveyard. Things were much different from when they had been there previously. The gravestones had returned to their previous positions, as had the bodies of the undead soldiers. The ground, however, was strewn with all manner of things from scattered gold coins, to small, chipped gems, to weapons and armor. The pair collected everything they could carry and began to sort through it all before returning to the Rogue's Camp to re-supply and speak with Kashya about their guide.
