Yo everyone been well? I hope all of you have been well, let us go forward! Thanks everyone who comments, favs and reviews, it means a lot to me!
36. Pay the Price. The eel with shark teeth.
When the mist comes, the curses start flowing, and the undead start walking in land once again. The people had all gone far behind, away from the docks where the undead would start their trek towards them. The undead work in a simple and efficient fashion. Go move in one direction and destroy everything that is alive.
Their anger, their resentment, everything that makes them curse the living pushes them forward. There are plenty of ways to become an undead; one is through direct curses, such as the result of the Shadow Islands in the failed ritual. Some become undead through their own means, some are the result of petty resentments, and the residual magic feeds them.
The result of the Shadow Isles ritual has cursed the land and the sea, the mist brings undead and curse the living who become affected by it.
Few exceptions exists to the powers of the mists, being who have managed to retain their memories and thoughts such as Hecarim, Kalista, and Yorick.
Sometimes pure resentment and hate can make someone turn into an undead. The pure will of hatred can bring life to the body and make it move once again, giving it a new life, an existence of pure vengeance.
And such beings were now attacking the docks.
"Fire!"
The cannons firing made their presence known through booming noises and explosions that destroyed whatever that tried to come out of the mist and reach for them. The invasion was at a full pace, but the boats of Fortune and Gangplank were throwing fire at whatever tried to make its way to them.
"Keep firing at whatever moves from the mist!"
The cannons were good tools for suppressing foes, but in the end an invasion means that not even their boats could stop them all from rushing by under the water, but those who were managing to make their way out of the water and rush towards the docks were getting a surprise.
"I will swallow your souls!"
The words came from a small voice before a group of undead was immediately destroyed by a mass of magic falling over them.
Veigar had to keep control. Illaoi had been clear he could destroy all the undead he wanted, but he could not go around breaking everything around. So he focused his power as to make it sure it would destroy the undead, but no the floor under them. Executing control wasn't easy, he was used at freeing his power without limits.
His task was simple. Destroy as many undead as he could, the hunters would get rid of those who avoided his punishment. The undead might not be direct enemies to him, but they were a bother to his plans of conquering, if the undead killed the people, he wouldn't have people that fear him. So they had to disappear.
Moving his staff Veigar threw orbs of magic that ended up bypassing the enemies destroying them. When a few undead deemed him dangerous and lunged for him he summoned an area that managed to keep them stunned in place.
"Fools, you think you can stop the master of evil!"
He made a mass of power fall over them, crushing them and denting the wood. He had to keep his control. As tedious as it was to keep control over his power, he had to admit there was a weird satisfaction in obliterating his enemies. The undead was proving to be quite easy to deal with. At least so far.
The thing of the undead was that they were too many. So, in the end, it was all a battle for resistance.
If they could hold until the end everything would go well… if not… well. The fishing city and den of pirates would simply be gone from the map.
"Take this!"
The voice of the hunter resounded as a beam of light went over Veigar, fulminating the undead that was trying to sneak around him.
"I didn't need your help!"
Veigar moved away from the corpse of the headless undead as he muttered thanks. So silently, no one could hear it between the movements of the mass of undead.
Lucian simply nodded. He didn't need thanks, his job was clear, to deal with the mass of undead that tried to advance. He had to admit, Veigar was really offering them an advantage in movement, his area, or as he call it, the distortion of space, forced the undead to move to the sides to advance towards them, and when that happened Vayne and him were offered a clear shot of the undead that tried to advance forward.
Shooting without resting he aimed for the heads of the undead. His weapon wasn't like the magic of Veigar, he couldn't crush them, he had to aim and be precise. Get rid of their heads, or if they were too many, aim for the legs and steal their mobility. Keep the fight far from them, and keeping the enemy in his sight at all moments.
Illaoi was offering them protection through the tentacles of Nagakabouros, the constructs of water crushed the undead under their weight, and those who were seen as a bigger threats were kept constricted by her until they could be destroyed by his guns or Vayne silver bolts.
The plan she had made was going well.
Things were not going well.
At the rate, they were going they would be overwhelmed soon. The undead threatening to override his ship were getting with their hands clawing in the wood to reach them. He had already lost a ship before. He would not lose another one without fighting.
"Keep them out of the ship! Or be sure I will be shooting your heads when you come back as undead!"
Gangplank. The legendary pirate of Bilgewater. An authority in the sea, one that had been given a heavy blow before. Now he had to protect the same city he governed before with the mantle of legend and fear. Both which had been destroyed by Sarah Fortune and the appearance of Graves and the infamous Twisted Fate.
Now, he was on board a ship cutting the heads and torsos of whatever tried to approach him.
"Stay there land lover!"
He shouted at the rhythm he shoot at the undead closest to one of the cannons. He couldn't let them destroy the cannons. He couldn't, and he wouldn't. and if they thought they could actually do, they would get a surprise in the form of a bullet or a blade in flames.
Gangplank moved without grace, no, finesse in his eyes was for those who were weak, all you needed was a strong swing to pass through flesh and bone. If that failed, you could always shoot at their heads or their legs.
Cutting through the undead that had reached the deck of the ship he kept fighting. Those cannons couldn't be put to a stop.
"Keep firing! They will not get us, raise the anchor and move the ship! We are moving to get them off!"
The crew afraid of the man they call captain followed his orders without question as others kept fighting with him.
"Curse the one that sends the mists! We only need to hold for a while longer!"
He didn't know how long they needed to hold. Illaoi had been clear when she asked for his help.
Fire away until the last of your cannon balls.
He didn't owe her anything.
Nothing at all.
But a part of him was still attached to the woman who left him for a god.
Could he blame her? Yes, yes he could. But he didn't a part of him just knew that was her role. As his was to conquer Bilgewater…
His thoughts were cut at the sound of an undead trying to get close to him. His expression didn't change as he simply stabbed the undead and cut his head from his torso. He would keep on fighting as many of them as they came.
A resounding laugh coming from land made him believe. That maybe, just maybe, a bigger horror had just managed to reach the land.
"Move us closer to the docks! They might need more firepower there!"
As the ship moved to the docks, Gangplank was sure he had heard that sadistic laugh before.
"The Chain Warden… he is an undead from the islands too…"
"Ha! This is fun isn't Lucian?! Once again we clash!"
Anger seethed through his veins, the wish for revenge allowing the dam of his emotions to break and release all his anger and fury. He wanted vengeance. He started shooting without care of the undead surrounding him. He didn't care at the screams of Illaoi as to wait.
He started shooting nonstop at the Chain Warden that moved between the undead, using them as shields as it mocked him.
"That's all you can do? Not a mystery why your wife is no longer at your side!"
The undead laughed mercilessly at the misery of the hunter. He kept shouting as he screamed n frustration, he was walking trying to reach for Thresh when suddenly all stopped.
He stopped when suddenly he found himself stunned by Veigar.
"Stop already will you! You got a job to do!"
He looked with anger at the yordle who had stopped him in place. The same yordle looked at the front and saw the Chain Warden who was spinning his chain while laughing.
"What do you find so funny?"
Veigar was in no mood for games.
"Oh, I was simply laughing at the useless effort, you won't be able to stop the march and"
He couldn't go on as he was pushed against a wall from a powerful magic attack hitting him square on his chest. The blast was so strong it not only pushed him against the wall, but it also made him pass through it. This time it was Veigar who was laughing.
"The only one who can say something is useless is me! And nothing that I do is useless Warden!"
He looked at the stunned Lucian.
"I will release you, but you must promise me you won't go around shooting everywhere just because you want to get him. Your accuracy is horrible while angry, the Night Hunter had to finish off all the undead you shot and left lying around"
A small nod was all the confirmation Veigar needed. With a simple movement of his staff he freed him.
Vayne walked close to the pair fixing the crossbow in her wrist.
"Focused?"
He nodded at her. He might not show it, but he actually felt embarrassment at his actions. He let his emotions bring the worst of him.
"Good, because he is standing again"
Vayne motioned with her hand at the wall and indeed, to the surprise of Veigar, Thresh was standing and coming from the wall he had being thrown at.
"I must admit… for a yordle you sure hit hard"
Gone was the laugh and the foolishness in his acts as he had mocked Lucian. Now he was focused and he obviously was angry.
"I was hoping to enjoy myself and see the undead march get rid of all of you… but I guess that was wishful thinking, in the end you are Champions… so allow me to get rid of all of you"
As he raised his chain and started spinning he offered a dry chuckle.
"Don't worry though, when you die, all of you will be together inside the lantern"
Lucian and Vayne got into position. Veigar decided he would let the fight of the Warden to them. He had to focus on his own task.
"Think you can manage him?"
Lucian nodded.
"I will do it this time"
Veigar pointed to Vayne.
"I was asking her"
Lucian let out a sigh, it seemed Veigar didn't trust him. Vayne nodded as she readied her larger crossbow from her back.
"I can manage him, go stop the others"
With a nod Veigar left walking as he blasted any undead foolish enough to cross his path. The hunters and the warden were getting ready. A fight was about to start.
Moreover, it started the moment Thresh threw the chain in front of him. Failing to catch Vayne who rolled to the side and Lucian who simply dashed to the other. Lucian readied his guns, feeling the energy flowing in them and releasing it in one go as a ray of light. The blast hit Thresh but didn't manage to make much damage as he took his lantern to release a shield for him when the lantern shone.
"That's the best you have?"
He taunted before he felt a huge bolt getting against his side, he saw the figure of the Night Hunter. Her huge crossbow, preparing another shoot and this time aiming at where his eyes would be had he still had eyeballs.
"Gah!"
The feeling of the silver bolt burned against him, he had felt them before in the Institute. But it seemed without the suppressing runes that avoided serious injury, the bolts seemed to do more damage. But that could be said for both sides. Without the suppressing runes he could fight more freely.
"Get in here you two!"
He raised his arms and walls raised around them. Vayne and Lucian knew better than to touch the walls. Nevertheless, this had essentially stole their mobility.
"Now that we are so close, let's keep this up shall we?!"
With a roar of fury, he removed the silver bolt of his face, and threw his chain at Vayne. She rolled to the side, but as she rolled, the chain hooked itself against the floor. Allowing him to pull himself to her and with a swift motion, he threw his chain in a waving motion to push her and cleave the floor.
The effect was the desired one, not only was she hit, she got a clean hit against the wall. The wall broke in contact as Vayne released a grunt of pain. The feeling of the magic wall hurt and numbed her senses. She had to recover fast.
Thresh was about to let his chain end the job when he felt a barrage of shots at him. All aimed to his spectral joints. All of which hurt at being targeted. He decided it was time to cut their relation with his chain. As he threw the chain at Lucian, the hunter ducked and rolled imitating Vayne. When he got close to Thresh under the chain he smiled.
"Surely this one will hurt"
The guns in his hand charged and lit with energy flowing over them. A second later. A beam of light was releasing burning Thresh and throwing him away from him and Vayne.
"Get up, didn't you say you could manage him?"
The words seemed to snap Vayne out of her daze. She got her crossbow readied again, this time not placing a normal silver bolt, but rather a larger projectile in it.
"Distract him, we don't need to finish him, we only need to get him away from here so we can focus on the rest of the undead. Even Veigar will get tired"
As Lucian nodded, he ran to the direction he had thrown Thresh with his shot. He heard the way cry of the warden as he threw his chain at him. Essentially trapping him and pulling him close to him.
"You are honestly a huge bother, I wonder why the Institute even want us working together, and they seem to often ignore how little I care for you"
He pulled him closer and once he got him close enough and the chains released him, he stood with leg over him crushing his body with his weight.
"Be ready, because be sure I will enjoy this, is a shame your wife can't see your suffering"
As he readied his scythe, Lucian gritted his teeth, preparing for the slash.
A slash that never came to be as he heard the sound of Vayne huge crossbow firing.
"Gah!"
Lucian saw how Thresh was now impaled up in a wall, a large silver bolt keeping him up and suffering. He heard the voice of Vayne as she was putting the crossbow in her back.
"That will surely keep him from causing problems until this whole thing ends, let us go Lucian. They will need our help"
Vayne would normally finish someone as Thresh. But right now she was focused on making sure the people were safe.
Her recent experiences had made her see the bigger picture. She had to focus on what was important, not all, about what she wanted. Doing the right thing wasn't easy at all, she doubted she would have such a clean chance to finish Thresh again. However, she had a job to do.
Lucian was having similar thoughts, as he picked his guns from the floor. He saw the figure of Thresh suffering up in the wall as the silver bolt burned him and retained him, but didn't kill him. Sure, he wanted vengeance, but he had to admit it felt good seeing his enemy suffer. He left behind Vayne enjoying the screams of Thresh who demanded to be released.
He could tell Thresh one thing. He was surely going to enjoy his suffering with that silver bolt.
Illao, and Veigar had managed to keep the undead at bay, Ahri had come to their help as her orb passed through the undead making them wither, but when the hunters came back she felt they were steadily pushing them back. Still Nagakabouros had been clear. An eel with shark teeth was coming for them… so who was left? According to Veigar the hunters had been fighting the Chain Warden.
However, the eel with shark teeth was nowhere close…
"Illaoi, is Cid still with Sarah?"
Illaoi placed her idol over her shoulder, so far the undead were being pushed back. Gangplank and Sarah Fortune had done their job… but Nagakabouros was never wrong… so that left only one option.
"We need to reach the docks, I am afraid maybe the eel is with your partner Ahri"
Ahri face turned from worrisome to anger in a second, with a burst of speed she started moving through the undead while her power released small fox fires that damaged anyone who was in her road.
Illaoi could only chuckle at seeing Ahri rushing forward.
"We are the motion aren't we?"
She said as she looked at the Eye of God that seemed to shine for a moment, as if agreeing with her. With a powerful jump she readied her idol as she hit the floor with it, summoning more tentacles to keep the undead back.
"Let us get rid of them!"
In the ship of Sarah Fortune a chaos was being raised as many members of her crew were being flung all over after being stabbed by what looked like a harpoon made out of bone. He laughed maniacally as he approached the direction in which Sarah and Cid were standing.
A while ago as they kept shooting one of the members of the crew said, he was seeing something swimming in their direction, to their surprise it was a man. A man that swam like an eel. That poor crew member was the first victim of the harpoon. The man was an undead, one different from the many others, as this one spoke and acted on more than instinct. He was conscious. And he was angry.
"Your name is on my list! Sarah Fortune! You will pay for what you did to me!"
Cid took notice of the piece of parchment. It had nothing written on it, and the moment he saw the eyes of the undead he understood.
Those were the eyes of a lunatic. He wasn't really hunting for her, the same way he was hunting for her, he could have said he was hunting for him. He simply was a man with a wish for blood. And considering he was an undead from Bilgewater, it wasn't hard he recognized Sarah.
"Vengeance will be mine!"
He threw the harpoon at her and the chaos started.
Now only three people were at the deck. Pyke, Sarah and Cid. The latter focusing on trying to understand the mind of the undead in front of them. He seemed to be the one guiding the undead as he was alone and none of the undead seemed to try to get in the ship.
"I hope you are good at running… because you don't seem much of a fighter"
Cid nodded and without warning she shot her guns at the air, and with a precision Cid didn't expect he saw the small rain of bullets falling over him, the rain of iron bullets forced him to dash away, earning them the chance to move. Both of them ended up running away to her cabin while they thought of a plan.
"We need to seal his movement!"
She had seen what he had done to her crew, and she knew she would need to seal his movements, so she quickly kept the rain of bullets going. Her cannons could keep it up. The problem was she knew it would make little to no damage. If she wanted to hurt him, she would need a straight shot. Something powerful enough as to get rid of his leg…
She had a plan. A stupid, and dangerous plan.
"Hey remember you said you would pay any price?"
Her voice was full of confidence. Moreover, Cid found himself nodding at her.
"Good, because I will need you to play the role of bait"
Cid wanted to discuss. Also, he had said he would accept whatever she asked for. And if she asked for him to play bait. Surely, she had a plan to get rid of the undead with the harpoon.
With a nod and a face full of seriousness, he accepted. She smiled.
"Keep him distracted, don't move. That's all I am asking, when you hear me firing, don't move either, I am asking you to trust me fully, otherwise this won't work"
Cid sighed.
"I think I can manage that"
With a sprint he went back to the deck. And there it was the undead looking everywhere at signs of anyone moving. When he saw him his eyes full of anger focused on him.
"Who are you?! Where is Fortune?!"
Cid proceeded to walk slowly at him. Keeping his focus on the harpoon.
"I am Cid, I don't think I am on your list…?"
The undead saw the parchment.
"No… you are not… but if you know where is Fortune hiding and don't tell me, I can always write your name!"
Cid felt a shiver on his spine. He was serious.
"And… who are you?"
The undead chuckled.
"Isn't that obvious? I am Pyke!"
Cid felt something weird… Pyke wasn't like the others undead. No, he wasn't like them, nor was he like those who were affected by the mist…
"What are you? Who are you?"
He chuckled.
"I am what comes from the Jaull-fish! I was the best harpooner from the slaughter docks; I am not like these things from the mist… I can move whatever way I want, I do not need the mist to move around… now, move! I need to get Sarah Fortune before I go for Gangplank, they all will pay!"
His voice carried anger and yet a cold intellect. It was obvious he wasn't as single minded as they thought before, what's more, Cid noticed in his body language as weird as it was, that he wasn't lying, he wasn't fabricating the story… he was speaking the truth.. With an unnatural burst of speed that made him become ethereal, he was right in front of Cid with his harpoon aiming at his neck.
"Now, where is Sarah Fortune!?"
Cid smiled, if his end came from a harpoon it would be fast. But the reason he smiled was because Pyke was focused on him. Meaning Sarah would shoot.
And indeed. The sound of a shooting gun came, but he was unable to keep his promise of not moving. His prosthetic leg had gotten blown to pieces as a cannon ball passed through it, ricocheting in a way he never thought of, the ricochet ended up going forwards, aiming at the stomach pit of Pyke.
The result was Cid falling down and Pyke being thrown forwards.
In his dazed state Pyke was unable to become mist and water. So he ended up receiving another shot of the cannons of Sarah Fortune. She kept firing away until he ended up being pushed out of the deck falling to the sea.
No trace of him that could be seen quickly.
Without a second to lose she went ahead to make the ship move towards the docks. It wouldn't take them long to reach them. With the direction set she went to look for her partner who had offered his leg in exchange for a chance to survive.
"Cid, are you okay?"
She had expertly aimed at his leg, a shot she had done more than a few times in matches in the Institute. She loved that shot. Her enemies thought they were safe hiding behind the minions, only to get a bullet through a ricocheting shot, the impact was bigger when she managed to destroy the first target.
She got him from the shoulder as he nodded.
"Yeah, you only took my prosthetic leg, you didn't really hurt me"
He smiled as she helped him stand, she took him to a barrel and had him sit.
"So… Pyke?"
She asked, and he nodded at her. She had heard their conversation it seemed. Not that he had been silent.
"He is not an undead from the mist… he says he came from a Jaull-fish… Sarah, believe it or not he didn't seem to be lying… the only part of his story that doesn't fit is that list he carries with him"
He remembered the parchment that seemed empty yet Pyke was sure something was in it. Maybe… something only he could see as… whatever he had come back as.
"Whatever he is… the Institute will surely come and get him later. If he is not already on their sight"
She sighed as she took to see the approaching docks. In there she saw the group of champions waiting for them.
"Is a shame, I lost my chance to use that payment of yours properly"
She took her hat from the floor. It had fallen during the whole deal.
Cid chuckled, curious of what she would have asked. Good news is, the undead seem to be gone as he saw the champions standing in the docks. He took notice of Gangplank speaking with Illaoi. Ahri waved at him excitedly, relief obvious across her features. Lucian and Vayne were simply sitting in a couple of barrels seemingly waiting for anything to happen. And Veigar simply looked bored.
When Cid got down of the ship with the help of Miss Fortune, who was supporting him, the first thing to happen was he felt the hug of Ahri as she took him tightly.
"Next time I follow you wherever you go, okay?"
She sounded relieved, but it was obvious she had been worried.
"Okay"
He returned the hug.
"I will not ask what happened with your leg… it breaks to much"
He chuckled. He took notice of how Veigar seemed to poke his staff at the empty space where his leg should be, seemingly finding it funny.
Vayne and Lucian looked at him and simply nodded.
"Is good to see you are all well, Taric had an easy time I take it?"
On queue, Taric came to them carrying an undead from the neck and throwing it at the sea.
"I had a bit of fun myself… not too many, so I guess everything went according to plan?"
Illaoi nodded with a smile.
"This calls for a celebration! Come on everyone, if Bilgewater has something to offer to us is drinks, so let us go"
Normally everyone would have refused through their own mediums, but Illaoi had made clear she was serious on them celebrating.
Seemed all that was left was to enjoy relaxation.
Cid ended up having to depend totally on Ahri to support himself to move. But the nine tailed fox didn't mind at all, she was making the best out of it to keep hugging him as everyone got into a tavern to drink as much as they wanted. Illaoi would be paying.
As Gangplank took a sit far from them Illaoi approached both Cid and Ahri.
"Cid, Sarah told me about what happened… so you ended up seeing the eel with shark teeth?"
He nodded. Ahri hadn't heard anything about it because he had not spoken of it.
"Yeah, he said his name was Pyke… you know him?"
Illaoi shrugged.
"It doesn't strike any bells, but he didn't came as a result of the mist… he came due to a different source, still Nagakabouros sensed him… did Sarah kill it?"
He denied mentioning he fell and they didn't see any corpse.
"I feared something like that… he will surely come back, but at least not today, so I guess is in the end still a victory for us and Nagakabouros"
She smiled tiredly and sighed while she pointed to Miss Fortune who was drinking alone by the bar of the tavern.
"She seems to be down, any idea why?"
Cid shrugged and Ahri did the same. None had any idea of why she seemed down. To be honest, she seemed to be the only one not enjoying the small celebration was Gangplank who kept drinking nonstop while eating an orange occasionally. Taric and Veigar who simply seemed to be entertained between themselves. Lucian and Vayne looked pensive but not in any way that denoted they were uncomfortable at being in the tavern drinking.
Only Miss Fortune looked down.
Cid lightly nudged Ahri to help him stand. She nodded, already knowing what he was thinking.
"I will look into it Illaoi, enjoy your drink"
She raised a mug at him as Ahri helped him get to the stool of the bar. Once she managed to balance him in it carefully she made her way towards Illaoi.
Illaoi looked over the rim of her mug at Ahri who sat next to her.
"So, I am guessing by how you helped him that this is not weird at all"
She motioned to the therapist who was making small talk with Miss Fortune. She nodded at her with a smile in her face and a happy expression in her face.
"I fell for him exactly because he is like that… he just loves to help, he sometimes forgets he needs to trust others, but he is getting there already"
Illaoi nodded. Before raising her mug.
"For my fellow man who follows the will of Nagakabouros"
She drank the whole mug in one go before reaching for a mango. She broke it in half offering a part to Ahri who accepted it.
"So, you and Gangplank were really something before?"
Ahri asked with a smile and her ears perking up. She was curious about it. Moreover, she would be lying if she said she didn't want to know about it.
Illaoi just chuckled before nodding.
"Indeed, we were going to be close… but I had a role to fulfill, on so does he, but I like to believe, that the man whom I fell for still is in there, under the man who is too obsessed to understand his own role"
She bit the mango and spit out the pulp as she was in thought. Ahri simply went ahead and asked what was on her mind.
"Have you ever considered throwing all away to be with the one you love?"
Illaoi found herself laughing.
"I am already living my life doing what I love, and following whom I love"
Her faith in Nagakabouros was bigger than her already impressive strength. And she wasn't ashamed of sharing it with others. Ahri simply nodded. She was happy seeing Illaoi being so happy, and she felt she could share her feelings. She felt happy too with the way things had been going recently.
Illaoi and Ahri chatted of nothing serious, small talk as Illaoi motioned for them to look to the bar. Ahri was surprised at seeing Sarah Fortune laughing openly.
She didn't know what could possibly get her to laugh so openly, but she was glad to see her happy. Cid too was smiling and nodding at her.
It seemed that her partner was able to make people happy without much problems.
A small celebration between a group that shared nothing.
Hunters of the night that wished revenge, a mage with impressive powers who could destroy pretty much anything, captains of pirate ships who fought between each other, the priestess of the kraken, the nine-tailed fox, the aspect of the protector, and a therapist with no powers.
A small group.
That simply proved cooperation was possible.
And that was good, because an age was coming to an end. And when it came to an end, everyone would be on their own…
Cut!
Well, this one was fun for me, and it got me really pumped for the next chapter.
Chapter 37. The end of an age.