Chapter 14: Forceful Confrontation

To say that the morning had been eventful would be... kinda stupid actually, after being thouroughly interrogated by Silvie I had been forced to divulge my entire family history(at least the little I recalled from Gramp's lectures and Sis's stories), and had revealed the existence of the Haze World. Lauria felt that my own assesment was prorbably correct, that somehow someone was turning their reality into my dreams. Whatt this had to do with anything though was hard to grasp, DAMN! When I had those dreams I know I KNOW I made lots of connections and figured lot's of things out...

But the moment I woke up I forgot the dreams almost entirely, nothing substantial could be recalled, even the figures within it, it was like looking into a murky swamp and trying to get a clear view of what was at the bottom. Damn this royally sucked. Anyway, having cleared the air of all that and with Luaria's suggestion in mind. We left Bastok and headed toward the mine in the Northern region. It was hard going at first because the mine and the route to it were still pretty new, hell, there wasn't even a topographical map indicating the new routes and paths that had been carved into the lanscape to make the mine functional and easier to get through.

As we approached I felt an annoying buzz in my head. It was similar to something I had felt a long while ago, hell, er I mean H not that long ago at all it was when we'd been fighting in Gustaberg. The same buzz that had soon led up to us coming on the seen of heaps of Beast Man corpses and zonked out adventurers.

"Hey, Carlin, Carlin? Geez he's spacing out again." I heard Lauria say from right next to me, but she sounded like she was at a distance.

"All I gotta say is his ass better not collapse again until we find this damn Dark Knight. This is annoying as hell already, feels like we're gettin dragged into stuff we don't wanna be dragged into." Murris gave his usual asanine observations.

"Well-taru, if he Collapsy-wapsy's why-taru dont-aru you just carry warry himmy wimmy on youry worry backy wacky?" Curru suggested nonchalantly.

"Aghhh! Will you people quit harpin on me already?" I whirled around to shout out in a huff. It had been like this since I'd told them, anytime I stopped to think or hesitated or scuffed my foot they immdiatly reacted as though I were about to pass out. "Look this is getting ridiculous you people need to- uh?" I turned suddenly, sensing something malevolent behind me. "Look sharp people, we've got company!" Everybody was suddenly on their guard... and then not...

"Uhhhhmmmm..."

"Carlin?"

"Ehhheeeee..."

"YAAAAHHH"

My instinct was confirmed when five spheres of fog settled over the ground and from them emrged night black bat winged creatures. "WHa, Wha,... DEMONS? HERE?" Lauria shouted as we we're suddenly on our guard once again.

"Haaarrrrsssss..." One of the demons pointed a black blade at us, the others all wielded sycthes. Master Valtyre's orders we'rrrreee tooo eliminate thhhhhheeem. Let none survive on pain of your liiffffe!" And with that the five demons charged at us.

"ARgh! HERE THEY COME!" I shouted as I readied my dagger to attack. "Murris! Sylvie! UP FRONT! Lauria and Curru in back! Lauria Focus on wearing them down with your spells Curru! Stay on standby until I give the word to begin healing!" I readied my own dagger and took up position behindd Sylvie and Murris but in front of Lauria and Curru. "AALRIGHT! ATTAAAAAAAAACK!" Immediatly Murris and Silvie charged forward, Murris bega to slash at the closest demon with his broadsword while Silvie began to pummel it with her fists. In the meantime me and Lauria weakened them with the Dia series of spells. Once I was nearing the end of my ability to attack I enthunderized my dagger and charged into the melee, slashing at the Demons while deftly trying to dodge their scythes, several times just barely managing to avoid being cleaved in half.

Murris, despite not being able to effectively dodge, did not need to, his armor absorbed the burunt of the scythe and sword attacks. Syvlie meanwhile managed to bring down her first demon, one of the scythe-weilders, while the sword wielding commander of the demons began to directly engage Murris, knowing that he was most likely the strongest, I decided to leave him to Murrisand moved on to the closest of the three remaining Demons, jumping over its Scythe attack and delivering a series of dagger strikes in quick succession punctuated by the highest level of Dia I could manage to soften it up in between dagger strikes. In short order my attacks combined with Lauria's brought it down leaving only three Demons.

The one behind the one I'd just defeated came forward with great quickness, slashing down so fast that I could not dodge, but only just barely parry the blow, deflecting it down and away while jumping out of the ay of his realtiatory strike, I slammed it with several strikes of Dia and jabbed at it with my dagger. Sensing that my luck ith dodging attacks was running out I decided to dart away from my oppenent for a fractal moment and buttress myself with the spells Phalanx and Stoneskin. To enehance the effect even further I cast Blink.

The Demon came at me with renewed passion striking with geat aglilty, deciding that I didn't like this Demons speed advatnage, I repeled it with a few dagger stirkes and struck it with Slow, and Gravity. When I was satisfied that I'd sowed it enough I charged in and finished it off with a flurry of blows from my dagger. It fell to the ground and evaporated into a hazy black vapor like the two before it.

Meanwhile Murris manged to weaken the Demon commander signifigantly, who seemed determined beyond reason to continue a fight his side was clearly losing. It was just when Slyvie finished the last of the Scythe Wielders that the Commander seemed to change his tune. He lapt back from Murris Just as he was about to deliver a fatal blow and landed in a crouched position with his face near the ground.

"HARAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSS, ARRRRRRRRISSSSEEEEEEEEESsssssssss..." He lifted his arm from the ground to the air producing what looked like black electricity, a puddle of dark sludge seemed to form beneathe him and expand. I ordered a reatreat from the puddle until it stopped and in place of the three scythe weilders that had fallen rose four new demons to take their place.

"AGH, NO WAY! DAMMMIT!" There was no way we had the energy to take them on again. Not that many, and the commander seemed to have healed himself in the same moment in which he sumoned the new batch of demons.

"HAARRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA! There is no escape! Surrender to your FATE!" I shook my head angrily and dismissed his words in haze of rage.

"CURRU! DO IT! NOW!" At once Curru unleashed the Curaga spell stopping only when we had been fully healed. I knew it wasn't enough, if this Demon was able to summon others to his call then there was no telling how many imes he could do it. It was a mircale we had been able to take down the first four anyway, by any standard we shouldn't have been able to at our 'level' of combat ability.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAsssssssssss, you cannot maintain such intesnity forever hume! cease this resistance and your death ssshhhhhalll be quick and agonizing!" I manage dto rise to my feet and hold my dagger in a combat stance, as I did so the others did as well.

"NOT A CHANCE! THE RED WINGS HAVE ONLY JUST BEGUN TO FLY! OUR WINGS AREN'T ABOUT TO FAIL US JUST YET!" I shouted in defiance, feeling my weariness disappear with it. "No matter, what it takes, we'll get past you, whoever the hell you are,m and we'll move on! YOU'R NOTHING!" Before I could ct on those words however, another voice spoke up.

"HAHAHAAAA, well, said Carlin veThe Red! I knew you had promise." Wha? who? Where? Suddenly, out of nowhere, a massive bust of brliiant white light decended on the Demons from above.

"HARRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!" The Demon Commander dodged the attack and leapt away while his Demon consorts were not so lucky. "HRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAA... YOUUUUU AGAAIIIIN! DAMN YOUUU ETHHHIIIIISSSSS!" I turned to see that it was indeed Ethis, charging up from behind with a sword in each hand. He leapt over our entire group and landed infront of the Demon Commander.

"Miss Me?" And with that he unleashed a dual slash upon the Demon Commander with one strike going horizontally across near its shoulders and the other going down from head to toe. In that moment the demon split in four and evaporated with a loud defeated hissing wail of anger. In seconds the scene was normal once more. Ethis stood up and turned toward us, a smug smile plastered over his face. "Howwsat for a happy reunion?"

"Oh ETHHhhIIIIIIIIIIIIS!" Shouted Silvie(what? don't tell me you expected me to greet him like that... you didn't... did you?). Sh threw her arms around his neck an hugged him tight, and for some odd reason, the entire area from the bse of my neck to the top of my head suddenly felt as though it had been dipped in boiling lava. The inexplicable sensatiopn left me without the ability for speech, giving the other members of my party an opening to step forward and greet the Paladin whom I'd thought we'd never see again.

"Greetings, thank you for you'r help. It was greatly appreciated, honestly we are in you'r debt. I don' know what we'd've done if you hadn't showed up." Lauria spoke sweetly, with not so suble hints of flirtation hidden beneathe the surface, and suddenly my face got inexplicable hotter, which didn't do much to help the sweat situation goin on up there.

"Aww heck, i- agh, it agh... Heey Silvie, mind loosijin the noose there a lil'." Silvie suddenly leapt off him embarrssedly and I saw her blush profusely.

"Oh oh oh... s-sorrry..." She said meekly.

"Hmph, so what's your business here anyway? You been followin us?" That was Murris of course, pouty and ego blown and pissy as ever.

"Oh, err, no reason really, I'm looking for members of my team and I remembered that my second in command had a thing for high places so I thought I'd check out these mountains since they we're close by, speaking of team members, I could have sworn I'd found two of them earlier, where the heck could they have-Oh! There they are! Hey Hey! Over here you guys! I'm right here!" Ethis waved his arm apparently to a party that was some way behind us. I turned to see two tiny figures running toward us.

"ETTTTTTTHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIISSSS YOU BIGGY-WIGGY MEANY-WEANY!" Said one of them, presumably a female(hard to tell really).

"Why-taru you runny-wunny so faSTY-WASTY we barlywarely kept uppy wuppy!" said the other, presumably a male(again ahrd to tell) who looked decidedly more worn out then the other.

"Hheeheheh!" I turned back around to se Ethis rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry bout that, got kinda caught up in the moment. I fugred since you chained the Holy spell with me you were close enough to keep up. Then again I was goin pretty fast so uh...maybe not-heh." he finsihed rathr lamely, bringing his arms to his side. the two Tarutarus took the time then to walk up to him and then turn toward the group, as though only noticing them(us) just now.

"So who-woo are thesy-weasy people-weople?" said the femlae one(I think).

"Oh uh, well, the Hume guy and the Mithra girl(redundant In know shut up!) I met a while back. The other two I uhhh."

"WAIT ONE COTTON PICKIN MINUTE!" Lauria shouted with uncharacetristic extremeness. "ARE-YOU TELLING-ME, HAT YOU DO NOT REMEMBER WHO I AM AT ALL?" what the he er uh, H was she on about? Did she really expect him to remember her after only seeing her briefly as a waitress and customer? Ethis seemed not at all affected by her anger, well maybe somewhat..

"Eruhmmm... Should I? OWWW HEY THAT HURT! OWWW OWWW OWWW HEY WHAT THE H IS WRONG WITH YOU OWW OWW OWWW OWWW OWWW!" Lauria assailed him with a barrage of stone spells such as I had nver seen her unleash before, even in her dealings with Murris.

"ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE INESTIMABLY BEAUTY LAURIA FAILED TO ENSARE THE DEEEST AND WILDEST INHIBITIONS OF YOUR SENSES, HAS SHE NT HAUNTED YOUR DEEPEST SECRET DREAMS EVEN A TINY BIT?" She demanded as though the offense were one worthy of the highest form of capital punishment.

"Uhmmmm... no? OWW AGGH I MEAN- YES! OWWW HEY CUMMON OWW OWWW OWWW OWWW OWWWWWWWWWW!" Ethis shouted in pain, as he was assailed again with a barrage of stones.

"PATRONIZER!" Lauria shouted as she continued to assault him. Sighing I moved forward, brushing a feew jet black strands of hair out of my sky blue eyes to try and remedy the situation. Only to become...

"Hey Lauria cummon that's enough now OWW! Hey I SAI THATS OWWW OWWW OWWW OWW OWWWWWWWWW!"

end chptr 14