Okay, holy crap, this is a huge chapter. You guys better enjoy. BETTER. Just kidding. Enjoy its extra good longyness.
As for the story line, everything pretty much comes together in this chapter. I'm trying to make this as in character as possible. I got a little funny in the second section, just to lighten the mood a little.
Please report grammatical errors to me, it was a looong chapter, and it's hard to spot grammar mistakes when you just wrote the whole thing. You know, your brain sort of fills in the correct grammar instead of telling you "HEY, STUPID-HEAD! YOU MADE A MISTAKE RIGHT THERE." See, like I should have put a comma after the 'you' in that sentence, but just to piss my brain off, I'm leaving it the way it is! HAHAHAHAHA.
Ahhh, reviews:
kissdbyachainsaw: Glad you like it. Hope you enjoy this chappie, 'cause I burned a lot of finger calories typing it.
Aeonian Dreams: OMFG! Flying Spaghetti Monster! I want one! Do those come with a leash? Thanks for the review, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint!
Duyt: Hmm… spiffy… yeah, spiffy. I can see it now, in bright lights: "Losing Control," the spiffy story by Well-Well. Well, here's your update. It'll be a long read, so get yourself a mug o' hot chocolate and plop yourself down in front of your computer. Enjoy.
celeste9: Ahhh, procrastination. That is so my favorite activity! As Leo says later in this chapter, yes, there will be some bandit-butt-kicking. As for romance, that's Chapter 17's job ;). And thanks for pointing out the angle-angel thing, I always mess those two up. Feel free to point out anymore mistakes in this chapter, I need the help.
Annnnnd now on with the chapter. Hope I haven't made a mistake.
………
Chapter 16: Wrath of a Deathless God
Geo, or what was Geo, surveyed the world from his new perspective. He realized his huge size would make movement taxing. He was no longer Geo, but a god revived from the deepest of the five hells in the body Geo created. He watched amusedly as mortal creatures fled his presence.
A cold wind blew the smell of panic toward him, a large amount of it, and he took a step to rotate his body in the panic's direction. This panic, he decided, would be his first target. As he turned, his huge, glowing red eyes focused on a spot of orange on the horizon.
……
Borus was the first to notice the creature.
"What in Goddess's name is that?" he sputtered. Chris, reflecting his disbelief as to the enormous proportions of the being, could only shake her head. Suddenly, the beast began to move. Its movement was sluggish and seemed to be in slow motion. But it only took Chris a few seconds to realize what would happen. Acting quickly, she pulled Salome's mare to a halt.
"Borus, off, now." The two dismounted. Chris, using gentle persuasion, was able to get Salome's mare to kneel. Then she laid herself flat in the snow on her stomach. Borus watched her with only half a mind, the other half still taking in the huge monster. Her glare told him he was to do the same as what she was doing, and he first kneeled, then laid on the ground beside Chris.
"Chris, why…?" She shook her head, wide-eyed.
"Brace yourself, Borus!" He did as she was told, still watching the monster. The monster had, in this time, moved a foot through the air to a new position. As he lowered his foot, it occurred to Borus what was about to happen.
"Holy sh––" Before he could even finish his sentence, the monster's foot hit the ground. A huge shockwave erupted from where it had placed its foot. They heard the sound approaching. Then it hit. Blasts of wind stronger than any they had witnessed before battered them, throwing them backwards, the mare included. In a few seconds it was over. Chris rose to her feet, swayed, and fell back down. The mare was on her feet in a few seconds, and Borus, using the mare to steady himself, stood, helping Chris up.
Chris shook her head, bewildered. Borus watched her with a fearful gaze. "Pardon my lack of composure, milady, but we are… screwed. We have to fight that monstrous thing?" Swallowing, Chris nodded.
"We must return to camp as soon as possible. It must be stopped before it realizes its potential." She checked the mare for injuries before mounting and motioning Borus to follow.
"Wha…" Borus stammered, absently following her onto the horse. "How the hell are we supposed to stop it?" Chris shook her head.
"Calm yourself, Borus, there is a way." Despite her present situation, Chris found herself in a humorous mood.
"A way?" he asked, still disorientated.
She nodded. "Yes…" then under her breath, "… just have to think of it first."
It took a moment for Borus to register what she said. "Pardon?"
Chris heeled the mare in the direction of camp. She knew it was only a matter of time before everything would fall apart.
……
The god felt the result of movement. It was incredibly strenuous on the creature's body. No, movement would not be the way that the beast would conquer. It would take far too long. On whim, the beast simply wished into being an army. He selected the form of the bandits he had absorbed as it would take the least amount of energy, recreating them again. But this time, they were no longer citizens of Harmonia, but mindless servants of the god. Nearly twenty-five thousand of them materialized around his hulking form.
Your first target is the camp of Zexen soldiers on the horizon. March toward them, and destroy everyone and everything in sight. That is my command, he willed. The massive army set out across the plains in the direction of the Zexen camp.
……
Percival was the first to spot Chris and Borus in the distance. He cantered over on his stallion to meet them. "Milady, Borus, you are well!" Chris gave him a breathless nod. Only then did she look to see the camp. The entire place was devastated. Tents were collapsed, supplies spread across the ground with horses and other livestock running loose. Some soldiers worked to catch the animals while others gathered up supplies. She realized this was only the effect of the movement of the creature's foot… I cannot imagine what would happen if the creature had even stomped she thought.
"Percival, take me to Salome." The knight nodded, and led Chris and Borus through the wrecked camp. They found Salome at its center, ordering the collection of all goods. Chris dismounted, barely noticing Louis taking Salome's horse away.
"Milady, thank the Goddess! That creature's movement has destroyed camp. I am having the men collect the supplies and place them in a ditch beyond that hill. I see no sense in rebuilding if… it… moves again."
"Brilliant, Salome, but that is not what we should worry about. Supplies are useless when we are all dead."
"Salome," Borus interjected, "what word have we from Budehuc?" Salome opened his mouth to reply, but just then Roland approached.
"Look," was all he said. He pointed to the west. The four other knights looked to where he pointed. To all of their surprise, Leo led what looked to be all of the Zexen knights on duty toward their position. Those originally posted at the now ruined Zexen camp cheered. Battalions upon battalions of Zexen troops had arrived to the scene, ready to fight the army that approached. Only once before was there a need for the entire of Zexen's army, but here they were again.
Chris shook her head in awe and sent Leo a smile. But the smile soon faded. "Even with all available reinforcements… at this time, Zexen troops only reach eight or nine thousand… That pales in comparison to this… being's army."
Percival smiled. "Ah, but milady, there is still more to come." The Knight of Gale motioned beyond the Zexen troops. Chris had to stand on her tiptoes to see, but she saw the unmistakable Karayan flag flying high. And when she squinted, she could make out the dignified sign of the Lizard Clan. Leo joined them, and following close behind were Lucia of the Karaya Clan and Dupa of the Lizard clan. Lucia smirked.
"Well," she said, gazing upon the gathered assembly. "Looks as though the gang's all here."
"Not quite." The assembly looked up, and all were surprised to see Hugo and Geddoe approach, Geddoe followed by his unit and a large number of Harmonian Southern Frontier Defense Force soldiers.
"Hugo, Geddoe," Chris greeted. Her eyes wandered to their hands, where their runes should have been. They both noticed her gaze and nodded.
Hugo spoke up, taking a place beside his mother. "We were both attacked by these bandit men, Chris, but they only took our runes. We weren't injured or anything." Geddoe nodded.
"I was lucky enough to have Viki with me… had her take me to Hugo first, then here." Chris nodded.
"Glad to see you two are alright." She paused, realizing the Flame Champion was amidst them. "Hugo, would you like to take control of the operation?" As much as she did not think it logical hand over control to Hugo, who had less experience in the matter, she knew it was only proper of her to do so. He was, after all, the Flame Champion.
But to her surprise, Hugo shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't know much of what's going on. None of us do, really." The gathered group murmured their agreements to his statement. Chris nodded in understanding.
"I will give a quick summary, but we haven't time for details. You are all familiar with the Councilors of Zexen?" She pointed to the god, who had barely moved in all this time. "That," she said, "is, or was, Councilor Geo Girth. In short time, he had assembled a large number of abducted Harmonian travelers. From them, he trained the men to make an army, and set those unable to be in the army to work creating a city, an underground city which still lies somewhere near here." She paused, waiting for the group to absorb the information. "His goal, as we were told, was to steal the True Runes and use their power to harness energy from the well of energy within this world. But I do not think we were told the truth. Or perhaps we were, and this was not supposed to happen." Again she paused, marking the disbelief on most of the assembly's faces.
"Within him he has four True Runes; that is, the True Fire, Water, Lightening and Truth Runes. I have a feeling he will soon try and absorb the remaining twenty-three True Runes. If he does, he will have full access to the well of energy that each True Rune draws its power from." Borus stepped forward.
"But milady, when the group of bandits took Louis captive, do you not remember the bandit saying that, with all the imbalances within this 'Grand Rune,' as he called it, the rune would simply burst?" Chris opened her mouth to respond, but Salome caught her eye, and she let him take over.
"It is true that, should all the runes be captured into one great one, the imbalances would cause the rune to burst apart. But, and this is only an assumption, in the story the bandit described, the 'Grand Rune' was without a container. No one held the rune within their body. Thus, the rune could not contain itself. But look yonder. That creature could surly carry twenty-seven tiny runes within his huge body. My theory is, with a container holding the runes, so long as the container is strong, the runes will not be going anywhere soon." Chris nodded.
"His army approaches us now," she said, "The only way we can beat him is by fighting him directly. But his army stands in our way. Therefore, if I may, I propose we send our armies to occupy his own, while others attack the creature directly. We should—"
"Milady! Look!" came Percival's voice. All eyes turned to the monster. It had spread its arms wide, and seemed to be frozen in that position. Then the sound of its roar reached them. Energy began to spark around it, and the sky dimmed. Torrents of wind began to batter those standing. Chris squinted to keep dirt and snow from her eyes, and watched in horror as 23 separate lights shot from all directions, in arcing beams, to collide at the monster's claws.
"It is as I feared!" Chris called to Salome above the wail of the wind. Her voice was torn from her mouth by the harsh breeze.
"We must act now!" Salome called back, his voice barely reaching her ears. The wind died down, and Chris was finally able to look around. The wind had done nothing but blow debris around, but as Chris looked upon the monster, she saw huge, rotating clouds above his head. Salome rubbed his face with a hand and repeated what he had said. "Milady, we must act now, before the creature has time to do anything more." Chris nodded, and motioned the assembly closer, who were all recovering from the sight they had seen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we run out of time. Please gather your soldiers. Organize them for attack. If possible, please have this accomplished by a lesser officer. Attacking the bandit's army is child's play compared to what must be done to defeat the monster." The group of leaders spread apart. Chris sighed. She had not realized how tired she was. Salome approached.
"What will you have me do, milady?" She paused a moment to think.
"Muster all troops capable of fighting. Divide them into twenty battalions and appoint officers for each. Also, see what you can do about medical assistance." Salome nodded and set off to do as he was commanded. Hugo still stood nearby, and Chris moved up to him. "Hugo, we may need Fubar. Is he nearby?" Hugo nodded. "Good." She paused to think. What now?
"Chris," Hugo started, getting her attention. She turned to him. "I may know how to stop that thing." She gave him a look of surprise.
"Oh? Please, go on." He looked deep in thought for a moment, scratching his head.
"You talked a lot about balance between the runes—how it doesn't work to have all the True Runes as one. Yet, given a strong container like this beast thing, they can all be held. Does that mean that a balance has been created, or that even though there's an imbalance, the beast is too strong for the runes to break apart?" Chris thought about the question carefully before answering.
"I would think that… well, the runes cannot be altered… so, there is, I believe, no way a balance could be created, even by this creature."
"So you're saying that the beast is just containing the imbalance, keeping it under control?" He searched for more words. "He's creating a balance, but in reality, one does not exist." Chris nodded, slowly. "Then I know how we can stop it." For the first time in a long time, Chris saw hope.
"Spread the word that all leaders are to gather here in one hour. Explain your idea then." Hugo nodded. As he walked away, Chris looked back to the monster. She motioned an idle soldier over. "Bring me the status from the scouts at once."
"Aye, milady."
……
It started to rain.
Chris scanned the area to get the general idea of the army's status. She could see officers routing soldiers into one of twenty separate battalions. The Karayan army seemed to be ready to go, while the Lizard Clan looked as though it had been ready for quite a while. Dupa stood at their head, waiting. Normally, Chris knew, Dupa would take the time to comment on how inefficient Chris's army was. But under present circumstances, Dupa would hold his tongue. Salome motioned her over from where he stood.
"Milady," he said as she drew near, "The army has been prepared. We are ready to march on your command."
"Good work, Salome. Let's hope for the best." The soldier she had sent to check on the scouts' status returned.
"Milady Chris, the scouts have this to report: 'The bandit army is approximately fifteen miles from our current position, the monster about sixteen. They number between twenty and twenty-five thousand, and will be at our position, by average speed, in approximately three hours. Enemy soldiers are composed of sixty percent infantry, thirty percent cavalry, and the remaining ten percent mages.'" The soldier took a deep breath.
"Good job, soldier. Please return to your assigned battalion." With a quick salute, the soldier was gone. "Salome," Chris started, returning her gaze to the strategist, "what are our numbers?"
"Only about fifteen thousand, milady, including both Zexen, Frontier, and Grassland troops. We've archers, however, a great advantage over the enemy, and our mage group—"
"No matter, Salome," Chris said, cutting him off. "Archers or no, what's to stop the being from bringing his soldiers back to life other than laziness?" She shook her head. "No, we need more soldiers."
"Then perhaps I can be of assistance," came a familiar voice. Chris and Salome turned to see Borus escorting someone.
Borus pointed to the man. "Look who I found, milady."
"Herman!" Chris cried, greeting the tiny old man she barely knew, yet felt like she'd known for many a year. A memory came back to her… her father and Herman… having tea? She smiled down at the short old man. Salome eyed the Harmonian garb. "I hope you've good news, Herman." The old man nodded, stroking his beard. But then he looked to Borus.
"I believe young Borus here can tell you who I've brought for lunch and some tea."
"Aye, milady, Herman has with him nearly twenty thousand Harmonian troops." Borus's face was serious. Chris felt like jumping for joy. Salome let loose a smile.
"That brings our numbers to thirty-five thousand troops," he said. "Mayhap we can beat this creature." Lucia joined the group, followed by Dupa.
"It has been an hour. We are ready for combat," Dupa said.
"As are we," Lucia added.
"My unit is ready when you are," Geddoe said, approaching from behind. Percival joined, followed by Leo and Roland.
"The Zexen army is as ready as they'll ever be," Leo said gruffly, cracking his knuckles. "I say we go kick some bandit ass." Lucia rolled her eyes at Leo's comment.
"And we Harmonians are ready to follow the orders of whoever is in charge here," Herman supplied. "I assume it is you, Lady Chris?" Chris did not need to nod, for those around her nodded for her.
"Mmm, how amusing," Percival mulled quietly. Borus looked at his dear friend.
"What, may I ask, is amusing at a time like this, Percy?" Percival had the decency to wince. But he smirked. He motioned to Chris, and then the monster that still loomed in the distance.
"This should be some battle. After all, it's god versus goddess." Borus smiled. Chris scowled at Percival.
"Must you always taunt me? I am no Goddess." Lucia rolled her eyes.
"Let's face it, Chris, oh Silver Maiden of Zexen," she said, sparing no sarcasm. "You will always be a goddess to men. Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?" Chris was quite astonished by the compliment hidden within Lucia's sarcasm. Lucia let her gaze drop, and said in a voice only Chris would hear, "Do you know how many women would kill to look and be as you are?"
"Lucia…" Chris was at a loss for words. She said this, even with Chris's hair as it was, something Chris figured was an easy target. This woman who had only a short while ago hated Chris's guts was now telling her something that was a submission to their unofficial rivalry. Chris could say nothing. Herman cleared his throat.
"This can wait, can it not? We have a battle to fight, a war to win, a monster to slay. There's no time to waste until after it's dead." The group as a whole nodded. There was business to be done.
Chris shook herself from Lucia's comment. "Hugo told me earlier that he had thought of a way to destroy the beast. Hugo?" All eyes turned expectantly on the young Karayan boy. He squirmed slightly under the group's intense gaze.
"Well. We've established that there is an imbalance within the runes the creature holds. The creature is strong enough to create a temporary balance, or rather, contain the imbalances within the runes by adding his own influence to keep everything stable. Defeating it should be pretty simple then." He took a deep breath. "All we should have to do is create an imbalance so powerful that the other runes must react. Without its true runes, that thing wouldn't exist."
Leo put a hand to his chin. "So we know we need to cause an imbalance. But how?"
"I know how," Chris said. She thought for a moment. "The bandit who took Louis captive… he spoke of harnessing the power well within the earth and filling empty runes with them. If we can get an empty rune of any type into the beast, it will divert the power of the main rune, and cause a definite imbalance." The confused looks on everyone's face told her to give an example. "If we can find an empty water rune, for instance, and get the beast to absorb it, it will react within the beast like positive and negative charges. Call the True Water Rune the positive, and the empty water rune a negative. Because they are both within the same container, power between them will be shared. The negative rune will suck power from the positive rune to balance the two out. If we place the negative rune strategically, we can cause a huge imbalance within the balance the creature created—"
"—Resulting in the extraction of the rune!" Hugo finished for her. "And then, without the True Water Rune, the beast's inner balance will be lost. It won't have enough time to re-balance, so to speak, before opposites attack opposites, and the runes will go their separate ways." There was a pause in conversation.
"Wow," Herman offered. The old man chuckled. "Wait till my wife hears about this."
"But there is still one problem," Lucia started, ignoring Herman's comment. "How do we get the beast to absorb the empty rune?" Another pause.
Salome's eyes lit. "The creature is huge. If someone with a Blinking rune were to get close enough, they should be able to teleport a rune directly into the being. Does anyone here have a Blinking rune?"
Geddoe cleared his throat. "I would suggest Viki, but she disappeared…"
"My mages never have Blinking Runes equipped," Herman said. "But we always bring spares, should we need them. We can also have a handy rune sage who can make an empty water rune." He motioned a page over from his army, whispered in the man's ear, and sent him off. "My page will return shortly with both."
Dupa spoke, "But who will hold the rune? No common soldier will be given the task. It must be one of us."
"Also," Geddoe added in his quiet manner, "it can't be one of the True Rune bearers… theoretically, the runes should return to us once they leave the creature."
Chris sighed. "Nor can it be someone with a rune equipped now. We've no time to remove runes, let alone affix them." There was a long silence.
Borus studied his right hand. He was fairly certain both Percival and Leo, and even Roland had runes equipped. Dupa surely had one, as most lizard clan leaders did… Chris could not hold it, neither could Geddoe or Hugo. Herman had already demonstrated his rune's skills with his disappearing act from the Zexen camp a couple days earlier… which left Salome. But Salome was a valued strategist, and could not be risked. Borus steeled himself.
"I will hold the rune," he said in almost a whisper. Then louder, "I will transport the empty rune into that… thing." Time froze for Chris. A feeling passed over her, one she dreaded. The others of the group gave him words of confidence and poise, a pat on the back from Leo, a word of luck from Salome. But their smiles and confidence were just show, Chris knew. It was not likely Borus would return alive.
She wanted to reach out, to protest, to ask that someone else do it. But as she thought, she realized he was the only one. She sighed. Dupa stepped forward.
"Allies, it must be known that some may die this day. Let honor carry us through battle. Let no enemy stand. Let victory be to those who fly with it." Lucia nodded.
"We are no longer fighting for our own separate kinsmen and family… We fight for all, for our continued existence, our world. May the spirits be with you all."
Chris braced herself. "May the Goddess grant us safe return from battle. Now, let us make haste. Salome, give the order. We move out now."
……
The massive wave of thirty-five thousand soldiers marched head on toward the enemy. There was no room for strategy when it came to army battles, as Lucia pointed out. This was the Grassland. No place to run to, no place to hide, no place to surprise the enemy. Chris rode at the head of the 20th Zexen battalion. Her battalion's goal was simple, yet the most crucial. She would get Borus and Hugo to where they needed to be. Once they were close enough to the monster, Hugo, on Fubar, would fly Borus up to the beast's left claw, where Borus would proceed with the plan. But her battalion did nothing until the path to the beast was clear. They were to allow the rest of the army, Grasslanders and Harmonians included, to march ahead.
Chris, atop her healed mare, felt restless as the rain fell. They were to wait half an hour before moving out. Hugo would return with their signal. Borus, on his own horse, rode up to her. Neither spoke. Chris studied the horizon; Borus studied his hand, wherein a rune sage had just affixed a Blinking Rune. Finally, he looked to Chris.
"I am sorry," he whispered. Chris said nothing. He continued. "I had no choice. Please understand." He stopped.
"Why are you telling me this?" Chris finally whispered back. She looked down at her own hand. "Risking your life for so many people you do not know, people you have never seen… people out of your class, even, commoners… this is not like you." Borus chuckled.
"You did not hear of Percival's lecture so many months ago?" His chuckle died, and he looked back down at his hand. "I have long ago let go my… chauvinism toward those of lower classes than I." There was a small pause.
"You have changed, Borus." The comment surprised him. He opened his mouth to question, but she continued. "You are no longer the man you were before the Second Fire Bringer War."
"Do you like me better this way?" he asked, cutting her off. She scoffed.
"What does that matter?"
"It matters most." She was surprised to silence. Finally, she sighed, and let her eyelids droop.
"Why do you taunt me so?"
"I taunt you not," he replied quickly. "I did not accept this responsibility for people I do not know, Chris. The task becomes much simpler when you focus on only a few people." He looked toward the horizon, where the monster still loomed, having barely moved for the past hour. "Telling me I am saving the whole world… makes this seem so much more complicated than it needs to be." Chris looked at Borus anew, not as the haughty, headstrong knight who would do anything in fury's name, but as a man who appreciated the better things in life, one who thought much more than she had first realized.
"A year ago," she said almost absently, "you never would have done this." Borus laughed quietly.
"Percival had a little talk with me before he left with his battalion. He too said I have changed. Is it really so much this past year? I think not. I think it has been these past few weeks that have changed me." Now it was Chris's turn to laugh.
"Tell me, Borus, what has changed you in these past few weeks." His face grew serious.
"Once… twice… three times… Six times, Chris, I have almost lost you six times in the past few weeks. Once in 'del Zexay, once when we first entered the Grasslands, once when Louis was taken hostage, once when you were tortured instead of I, once when Geo attacked us… once when I almost lost myself…" Chris was suddenly choked with tears, looking down at her hand. "But each time, you returned. I am thankful for that."
"Borus…" she whispered. He moved his horse closer to hers, and lifted her chin with a gloved hand. Again, as he did what seemed like forever ago, he looked into her eyes. Again he saw her happiness, anger, pain, and sorrow. But as he looked further into her eyes, he saw what had been hidden only weeks ago, as they sat on the beach… the feeling that was so much larger then the rest. He saw love; love for her friends and family, love for her country, love for her world, love for little things like warm baths and long horse rides. And then he saw himself. He blinked.
Chris let loose a shaky sigh, removing his hand from her chin and holding it in her own. "Come back, okay?" she said, looking away. "I swear by the Goddess, Borus, if you do not return alive, I… I will pour your wine collection to the pigs." Borus gasped.
"Milady, you wouldn't!"
"I would," she said, her face serious, but eyes teasing. A loud squawk interrupted their conversation. Hugo had returned on Fubar from the battlefront. The duo landed a few feet from where their horses stood.
"Chris, Borus," Hugo greeted. "Our troops have engaged in battle. It's time for us to move out." Chris nodded, and with a sad, sidelong look at Borus, moved her horse off toward where her battalion stood waiting.
"Soldiers of Zexen!" she called. All turned and stood at attention. "Get ready. We march now."
……
The rain poured down. After only forty-five minutes of traveling, Chris's battalion came upon the battle. What she saw both amazed and frightened her. The United Army of thirty-five thousand soldiers was going all out on the bandit troops. Arrows flew, balls of flame and columns of water shot across the battlefield at every moment. Already, she saw dead soldiers, both of Chris's kin and bandit, littering the ground. The injured were being carried off to a makeshift hospital manned by Harmonian and Zexen doctors.
But what shocked her even more was the sheer size of the god that towered above them all. The beast fought with its tail. With swift swipes of the extensive appendage, hundreds of soldiers were sent flying. Where it flew by, torrents of wind were sent out, battering all who fought on the battlefield.
Her battalion skimmed the edges of the battlefield, avoiding as much enemy contact as possible. Any enemy that did get close was curtly shot down by the short row of archers within the battalion. But as they slowly made their way closer to the monster, it became apparent that conflict could no longer be avoided. When they came upon a small group of twenty bandit soldiers, Chris nodded to those around her and launched herself at them.
Adrenaline pumped through her veins as she cut her first bandit down. A sword came at her from the left, but her swiftness saved her as she signaled for her mare to sidestep and brought her sword up for the parry. She immediately swung around her opponent's weapon and caught the bandit in the shoulder. Looking around, she saw that the other bandits had already been taken care of by others within the battalion, and no one was injured.
With a signal from Chris, the battalion was back in formation, and again they moved toward the god. When they came within one mile of the beast's great feet, a large group of bandits were waiting for them. But as Chris moved into battle position, they held their hands up.
"Lady Chris," one called, "we are part of the bandit resistance. We're here to help." Out of nowhere, the three Deserters from the infiltration mission into the underground city galloped over, followed by Khith. One of the Deserters moved toward Chris.
"Chris, this man," he started, motioning to a bandit with a brown armband who seemed to be the leader of the resistance, "is Krick. He was the one who organized the resistance, and also knows the most about what's going on." Krick removed his mask as he approached.
But when he got close, Borus grew alarmed. "You!" he growled. "You were the one at camp that night, the night you killed Sir Marrot." Chris shot Borus a questioning look. "The night I was hit in the shoulder by a crossbow dart! It was you." Chris turned to look at Krick. Slung on the man's back was a double-bolt custom crossbow.
The bandit shook his head. "I did what I had to do to earn Geo's trust. If I hadn't done that, many more of your soldiers would be dead. You know by now Geo had the True Rune of Truth… any mistake in my thoughts and the resistance would have been discovered."
"I will vouch for Krick," Khith offered. The other Deserters nodded their assent.
"He helped all of us escape before Geo changed into that thing!" someone from the mass of the resistance called. Others shouted similar things. Borus eyed Krick cautiously.
Chris just shook her head. "For now, let bygones be bygones, we've no time for this."
"Indeed," Krick said. "Sir Borus, you can take my head when he is gone," he said, jabbing a hand toward the god. "Now, your plan is to stop that thing with an empty rune?" Hugo had joined the group, and upon hearing the question, nodded. "Then you need to know where to teleport it. I've worked with Geo on this for the past few months. If anyone knows the ins and outs of that thing, it would be me." The man's statement confirmed that Geo had been expecting this, and that what the bandit who abducted Louis told her was a lie given to him by Geo. The bandit picked up a small stick from the ground and drew a rough picture of the beast. He placed an 'X' on the beast's right hand. "This is where the True Water Rune is. You guys were probably thinking to put the empty rune in the left hand, correct?"
Chris nodded. "Would that not be the place where it would create the greatest imbalance?" Krick shook his head.
"You've forgotten one thing." To his picture, he added a long, windy structure. "The tail. The True Runes are spread everywhere in his body, since either of his hands can only hold one rune. To achieve the greatest imbalance, you should place the empty rune here." He marked an 'O' at the very tip of the tail." Hugo groaned.
"That's gonna be much harder to reach than a hand."
Krick nodded. "The resistance has prepared for this day. We will do our part in trying to keep his tail still. Special pressure points and such, ah… like acupuncture," he added, as a quick explanation. "We'll leave getting the empty rune into his tail to you." Chris, Hugo, and Borus nodded.
"Can my battalion be of any assistance?" Chris asked, motioning to the restless soldiers gathered behind her. Krick scanned them then nodded.
"We could use your archers. The rest of your soldiers should be sent to help with them," he said, pointing toward the mass of Zexen, Harmonian and Grassland soldiers. Chris nodded, turning to her battalion.
"You heard the man. All archers stand by. The rest of you, return to Salome to be assigned new positions. Thank you for your services." The soldiers saluted, a fist to their chest, and went their separate ways. Chris took a deep breath. The ground rumbled as the tail flew by a mile away.
She turned to Borus. He turned to her. They said nothing to each other. Finally, Borus nodded, and said "A pleasure working under you, milady. Till next we meet." He left her no time to respond, for he immediately turned to Hugo. Hugo was on Fubar in an instant, and as soon as Fubar was in the air, the griffon grabbed Borus around the chest with one great claw, and with a great thrust of wings, flew off toward the beast's great flailing tail.
Borus turned his head and watched Chris's figure grow smaller and smaller through the murky rain. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind buffeted him, throwing debris and water into his face. He turned his head to see Fubar narrowly avoid the monster's huge tail.
"We've been seen!" he heard Hugo cry over the roar of the wind. Fubar did his best to fly through the air current. Finally, the whole of the tail had gone by. Below, the bandit resistance was beginning to move. Archers shot for special points on the beast's legs. Others literally began to scale the creature, and upon reaching certain points, they would ram swords, long swords, deep into the creature's flesh. The tail flew by again, and Fubar swerved to avoid collision. But the resistance's efforts were beginning to take effect. Like magic, the tail began to slow movement. Hugo recognized his chance. With quick direction to Fubar, the griffon swung down for the tail.
Borus absently grasped the pouch attached to his belt carrying the empty water rune. This is it, he thought to himself. He closed his eyes, and began the chant of teleportation. Wind tousled his hair as Fubar increased his dive. The chant was complete. Borus felt the hum of energy going through his hand. He focused it on the empty rune, and waited. Time seemed to slow down as Fubar approached the tip of the god's tail, twenty feet thick at least. He thought about a lot of things. He thought about evening drinks with Percival. He thought about a walk through Vinay del Zexay's market. He thought about the smell of the ocean. He thought about legacies, and wondered, if he died, would he be remembered? Last, he thought about Chris. Time sped up again. Suddenly, Fubar released him. As planned, he drew his sword, and upon impact, smashed his sword into the beast's tail as far as it would go. The breath shot out of his lungs.
Without pausing, he drew a small dagger and rammed it in as well. It was his sword and dagger he held onto to keep himself from falling off. The monster, so far away yet so close, roared. It had finally figured out what was planned, and it had also realized, it would work. Borus, the energy from the chant focused on the empty rune, released the spell. The pouch at his belt glowed before becoming empty. The monster's roar was deafening. The rain came down in buckets, and Borus could not see.
But the monster was not defeated yet. Kill you… Borus heard it say. I'll kill the one who ended this. Suddenly, the god's tail started moving violently. Down below, where the resistance was at work, calls of alarm shot out. The monster's tail would no longer stay still. It thrashed, smashing into the ground, then back straight into the air, sideways, curling then straightening, back to smash into the ground again.
The last thing Borus heard was the monster, shouting, I'll kill you all! And the last thing he saw was a huge shockwave erupting from the monster… twenty-seven bright lights shooting out… one light following him… and then all was dark.
He had a dream… he was flying…
………
Concluded in chapter 17. As always, feedback is appreciated. Till next time, guys.