Chapter 17: Angels do Exist?

Several of the group faltered at the sight of this enormous corpse charging towards them. Instincts kicked in and soon Garrick was volleying arrows in a vain attempt to halt its progress. The projectiles were failing to slow it down despite them lodging into the beast's flesh. They were clearly not causing enough damage to truly hurt the creature.

What did cause it to slow however was the almighty bang followed by a portion of the corpse's flank being blown off. Rogon had managed to fire his revolver despite his weakened state, the large enemy posing a much easier target to hit than the Shadow had been. The creature roared and clutched its injured side, giving them time to scatter in an attempt to confuse it. While Rogon's arms were heavily damaged, his legs were still in working order.

Garrick and Indira continued to fire their weapons at the corpse in an attempt to bring it down, but they were unable to even phase it. As the giant looked around itself trying to decide which foe to target, a well aimed crossbow bolt from Indira lodged itself into its left eye. It gave a feral roar, before turning its remaining eye onto the one responsible. Target decided.

Indira paled and turned to flee in an attempt to find cover. However, the speed of the corpse meant that it would reach her before she could hope of finding any. The group all yelled out warnings, desperately running towards her to try to lend aid, but they were simply too far to reach her in time. Her pseudo dragon took flight and attempted to intercept, but he was simply too small to inflict much damage.

As Indira was reaching the line of market stalls that were still intact, the corpse had caught up to her. Looking over her shoulder, she screamed as she saw it reeling its fist back in preparation of hitting her. Before it could hit however, a figure charged out from a side path and bodily tackled Indira to the side, causing the creature's fist to strike nothing but bare ground.

Before Indira could register just what had happened, she was dragged bodily to her feet once more. Looking at the source showed Alistair looking at the corpse with a determined expression. "Go! Hit it from afar!" he yelled before drawing his weapons and charging. Indira went to yell out for him to stop, but stopped herself. Instead, she jogged back to assist however she could.

Alistair sprinted forwards, intent on keeping the corpse's attention away from Indira. Indira's dragon was still harrying the beast, swooping in and out and scratching it with its claws. The beast kept swinging its fists at it in an attempt to hit it, but the dragon was simply too swift and kept dodging it. Alistair grinned, planning to take advantage of its distracted state.

When he got close, he dashed around to the back of the creature. It didn't even notice his approach, focused as it was on trying to swat the dragon from the sky. It soon noticed when Alistair proceeded to start to cling to its back through the use of his sword and dagger. Having jumped up and sunk his weapons into the creature, Alistair hung on for dear life as the corpse roared and flailed in an attempt to dislodge him.

Its size worked against it in this instance, and it was unable to reach behind its own back to grab at the source of the pain. Alistair waited till the best moment to take advantage of his position. The opportunity arose when a volley of crossbow bolts and arrows struck the creature in its already injured flank, forcing it to flinch in pain.

Alistair quickly pulled himself up to kneel on the creature's shoulders, before raising his dagger and aiming to stab it in the eye that didn't already have a crossbow bolt sticking out of it. Just before he could hit, the corpse showed surprising reflexes for something of its size, managing to move just enough so that the strike missed its eye and hit it in the cheek instead. The resulting injury still caused it to roar in pain and reach up.

Now that he was atop its head, Alistair was unable to avoid the grabbing hands that reached for him. Alistair had just enough time for his eyes to widen in fear before a fist grabbed him around the middle. The corpse then proceeded to hurl him through the air, causing him to yell as he hurtled towards one of the nearby marketplace stalls.

He hit with a crash, breaking the counter and the supports, causing the roof to collapse on top of him and cut off the sound of his scream. Both Indira and Garrick yelled "Alistair!" in panic, and started to run in his direction.

Having dealt with the nuisance that had climbed atop its head, the corpse turned its attention to the sounds of the shouts. Narrowing its gaze on one moving target, it continued to ignore the repeated attempts by the pseudo dragon to harm it and reached down to a nearby market stall.

Indira was the nearest to where Alistair had hit, and was swiftly trying to lift the slatted roof of the market stall. She could see one of his arms sticking out from underneath. "Alistair! Can you hear me? Hold on, help is coming!" she exclaimed while glancing desperately in Garrick's direction.

Garrick was sprinting across the open courtyard in an attempt to help. That impact had been severe, and they had to get Alistair free before he could suffer more injuries. Just as he was at about the halfway point, his eyes widened as his instincts screamed at him. Diving to the floor, he was just able to dodge a large chunk of wood that flew over his previous position and crashed to the floor behind him.

Looking to the source, he watched in horror as the abomination they had been fighting was already throwing a second item, now obviously a crate of some sort. Unable to dodge due to his previous manoeuvre resulting in him being prone on the floor, Garrick had just enough time to raise his arms in an attempt to block.

The impact felt like he had been kicked by a horse, knocking him over and resulting in him lying on his back with debris scattered over him. His vision swam and he even blacked out for a moment. He could hear shouting coming from several directions, as well as a large bang followed by a roar that made his head throb. Lifting his head despite the protests of his body, he looked down upon himself to see large gashes across his body caused by the splintered wood.

A tremble in the ground caused him to turn his attention back towards the giant corpse. With his vision still hazy, he watched as a giant figure began to charge its way towards him. Another large bang and the figure stumbled slightly but did not halt in its progress. Garrick tried to move, but his injuries prevented him from even lifting his limbs. Instead, he chose to stare down his incoming attacker, refusing to show fear in the face of his imminent demise.

The creature roared and raised an enormous fist, clearly intent on finishing what it had started. Garrick vaguely heard several people shouting his name in panic, but his focus was entirely on the incoming attack. "I'm sorry...daughter of mine…" he thought. The beast struck.

Before the fist could strike him however, a figure rapidly dropped from above and Garrick's vision was obscured by bright purple light, forcing him to squint to see anything. A loud clang rang out, followed by something striking the ground near his head. There was a distinct lack of expected pain. As the light started to fade slightly, he looked up in shock at the sight in front of him.

Standing in front of him was a young woman. She wore a gown made of pure white silk with green accents and a dark blue sash around the middle. Her silver, almost white hair hung down to her waist, with intricate braids and designs woven within, all held together with a similar blue band. She stood in front of Garrick in a defensive stance. Somehow, she had managed to deflect the corpse's giant fist off to the side at the last second by using a golden metal staff, causing it to strike nothing but bare ground.

Most noticeable by far were the large glowing wings that spread out from her back. Bright purple with flowing designs upon them, they were the source of the bright light from before. They had the appearance of a dragonfly's wings, two pairs of translucent wings each tapered into a point. "That explains how she was able to drop from above…" Garrick thought through the fog that was still pervading his senses.

The figure was glaring at the creature in front of her, nothing but disdain for the abomination on her features. "Just begone!" she growled, before swinging her staff upwards and shining an even brighter light from the end of it. The beast howled in apparent pain, stumbling backwards a bit while holding its hand up in front of its eyes to shield from the light that was apparently hurting it.

While it did not retreat entirely, it did give her and Garrick some breathing room. She looked down upon the broken form of Garrick, raising a questioning eyebrow. "You gonna sit around all day?" she sassed. Garrick frowned, about to retort on the state of his injuries. Before he could however, the woman started to glow once more, and her wings spread out further.

A pulse of purple light flew out from her in a ring, travelling out and flowing over several of the group. Garrick felt immediate relief in his injuries, not enough to completely remove the pain but sufficient to allow him to move and stand once more. As the pulse passed Rogon, his withered arms gained a large amount of their mass back. He shook them around, testing their flexibility. "Now tha' what I'm talkin' 'bout!" he said while grinning. Varus too woke up, though he remained slumped on the floor, gaining his bearings.

Indira was still desperately trying to free Alistair. She had succeeded in uncovering his top half, though he was still not responding to her calls. As the pulse flew over him, his eyes shot open and he looked around him wildly. "Alistair!" Indira called in relief, halting her progress to check on him. His eyes locked onto hers, and he calmed and smiled gently. "That isn't a travel method I would recommend" he joked.

Indira chuckled in return, but their moment was interrupted by the roar of the giant corpse. It was starting to recover from its momentary blinding. Alistair gained a determined look, before starting to shove off the remaining debris. "Wait, you're still hurt!" Indira said, but Alistair just shook his head.

"So is everyone else. But if we don't stop that thing, many more will suffer. We need to deal with it now!" He then removed the final item before standing once more. He looked to Indira. "We'll do this together. You with me?" Indira reschooled her expression, and nodded. Rogon stepped up beside them at this point while reloading his revolver. "Damn right. Let's get this sonnova bitch!"

Garrick notched an arrow and stood beside the winged girl, watching as the beast calmed down and turned its attention to them once more. He raised his bow and the arrow within started to glow with a green light. "So...thanks for the assistance," he said by way of greeting. The girl huffed, "Save it for if we all make it out of this alive" she said, as the corpse gave another almighty roar and began to charge them once more. "Agreed," Garrick said, before letting his arrow fly.

His arrow struck the beast's knee, before sprouting numerous vines that entangled its lower half. While the creature's strength prevented it from falling over, it did stop in its tracks. Before it could respond and attempt to remove the bindings, a loud bang signalled Rogon firing his revolver. The shot hit the creature's shoulder, causing it to roar and its right arm to drop limp to its side.

Indira's Pseudo dragon swooped down and began scratching at the corpse's head. It swung its good arm, striking the dragon with a lucky blow. The dragon yelped and fell to the ground. "No!" Indira shouted, as she watched her familiar disappear into motes of light. The corpse then proceeded to reach down and rip the vines from its legs, freeing its movement once more. Garrick, Indira and Rogon continued firing, the damage upon its body slowly building.

Before the beast could charge them once more, an enormous owl suddenly swooped over them and slammed into its torso talons first. The corpse was knocked over backwards by the force, landing with a heavy slam. Shocked at first, the purple colouring of the owl revealed its true identity to the group. "Gauss!" Indira shouted in joy. Looking behind them, they saw Varus standing and notching an arrow. He looked heavily injured, but was scowling at the downed creature in anger. "Kill it while it's down!" he growled, loosing his arrow.

The creature was just starting to raise itself up on its good arm when an arrow struck it in its supporting hand. Vines sprung up once more, digging into its hand and into the ground to tether the limb down. Roaring, the beast started to try to tug at the limb, but was unable to put much strength into the effort due to its position. Gauss landed bodily on top of the corpse, her talons digging deep into its chest and causing pained roars. She screeched in its face in defiance, clenching her talons in revenge for the damage it had caused her previously.

Alistair sprinted forwards, dashing around the flailing figures in order to approach the creature's head. Far easier to reach than the last time he attacked, Alistair grasped his dagger and raised it to strike. "Dodge it this time!" he roared, bringing it down to sink into its remaining eye. The roar it produced was cut off when Alistair followed up by raising his foot and stamping on the hilt of the embedded dagger, driving the blade deeper into its head.

All was silent for a moment, the only sound was the heavy breathing from the worn out fighters. "...Is it over?" Indira tentatively asked. Alistair, still glaring down at the now still form of the corpse, gave it a strong kick in the side of the head. It did not react. "Yes, I believe it is…" he replied.

The group slumped in relief and stowed their weapons. Alistair retrieved his dagger with a grimace, wiping the blood and gore off on the sparse rags that the creature had been wearing. Gauss reverted to her smaller fox form in a puff of smoke before heading over to Varus. She hopped up into his arms, where he gently stroked her. She yipped then gave a wide yawn, before sinking into his chest once more. Varus gained a less pallid complexion as she did so.

As they all looked at each other, Garrick gave a heavy sigh. "Well, that was horrible." he muttered, though loud enough for the rest of the group to hear, causing them to nod in agreement. "What even was that thing?" Indira asked shakily. "Dunno, never seen anything like it before…" Rogon started, before he was interrupted by Alistair saying "Greg."

They all looked to him in visible confusion. He just shrugged, "What? We don't know what it is, and I'm not gonna keep calling it the "Big stinky rotten corpse thingy". So, Greg. I will call it Greg. Stupid Greg…" he said, while kicking the head once more in frustration.

The sound of many footsteps heading in their direction had them on alert once more, turning towards the source and reaching for their weapons. They relaxed once more when they saw a regiment of Astorian guards all enter the courtyard and rush to their position.

As they rushed forwards, many were giving the dead behemoth looks of both fear and awe. The man in the lead, wearing the same outfit as Captain Glenford had worn, stepped forward towards them. "Hail, travellers. Denrick warned us of the threat in the market district, though none of us were quite expecting...that" he gestured to the corpse. "Pray tell, are all the enemies dealt with?"

Garrick shrugged, and then winced at the pain caused by the movement. "As far as we know. Those Shadows are harder to tell if they are still around. Are there still threats in the city?" The Captain shook his head. "As it stands, no. The Astorian guard has dealt with the remaining undead. Thankfully, this was the only one reported of such size. The Shadows simply faded away, presumably when this one fell."

The guard then gained a sombre look "And Captain Glenford?" Na'ish gestured with his sword to the ground where he had fallen; shaking his head to indicate that he had passed. The guard sighed heavily, "Regrettable. He was a respected captain. We will ensure his family is informed. We will handle the clean up, you have earned your rest." The guard then saluted, before gesturing to the troops behind him to spread out and search for bodies.

The group all looked to each other and gathered up, various bruises and cuts becoming more noticeable now that the adrenaline was wearing off. "Well, I feel like shit" Rogon groaned while stretching. "You look better than you did. Your arms looked awful before" Indira muttered, looking at them as if to convince herself that his limbs were better.

"I think we all have a lot to thank that girl with the wings for." Alistair said, while looking around. "Say...where exactly is she?" The rest of the group turned around. Indeed, the winged woman had apparently disappeared without saying a word. "Damn. Had hoped to ask her some questions myself" Garrick muttered. Varus looked to where she had been standing previously, before snorting and turning to stride towards the direction of the tavern.

The others all exchanged glances. "Tavern?" Garrick asked. "Tavern" they all agreed, starting to make their way slowly towards the Mermaid Inn, hoping that they still had rooms to go back to. Thankfully, the only real damage sustained to the bar was the smashed bay window, with the fires of the street already being put out by members of the guard. It was with relief that they each slumped into their beds once more.


Morning came and Alistair yawned as he walked down the stairs of the inn with Indira in tow. She was a little melancholic, but after last night Alistair couldn't really blame her. Still, he would be there to listen if she wanted to talk.

As they reached the bottom, they looked around the seating area. Even this early, there were a few patrons with drinks scattered about. A barmaid was currently in the process of sweeping up some remaining glass from the shattered window, with the gap creating a cool breeze in the building. At the bar, Rogon, Garrick and Na'ish were sitting, though Garrick had seemingly made a point of sitting at the opposite end of it to Rogon. Both had a steaming cup of tea in front of them.

Shrugging, Alistair headed to the space between them. As he and Indira sat down, Karasumaru dropped down from Garrick's shoulder and cawed at them, prompting Indira to smile and reach out to pet him, much to his apparent pleasure. As she was doing so, the bartender approached them. "Ah, good to see you all up. Your friend was enquiring about you." Alistair raised an eyebrow, "Varus?" The bartender shrugged. "I don't know the person's name. Why don't you ask them yourself?" He then nodded his head towards one of the tables at the back.

Turning to look, they saw a cloaked figure with their face obscured by their hood. There was no way that this could have been Varus, however, as they were far to slight in stature. Exchanging curious looks, they thanked the bartender before cautiously approaching.

When they got near, Indira immediately sat down opposite, followed by Alistair and Rogon. Garrick and Na'ish chose to remain standing, clearly not trusting this individual. "Hello, I understand you were looking for us. Not to be rude but…" Garrick started, before he was cut off by Rogon. "Wha' you want with us, eh?" he scowled, ignoring the frown Garrick gave him for interrupting him.

"Is that any way to thank the person who saved your collective butts?" came a familiar voice from within the hood, causing them all to widen their eyes in shock. The figure reached up and lowered her hood, revealing the face of the winged lady who had saved them during the fight the night before. Now they could get a clearer view of her, it was apparent that she had blue eyes with pale skin that almost seemed to glow. Getting over his shock first, Garrick coughed into his fist. "Er...apologies. We are merely on edge after everything that happened Miss…?"

She waved her hand dismissively, "No Miss needed, names Melandra." The group nodded, before Alistair gained a confused look. "Thanks for last night. Though I'm certainly not complaining, I have got to ask. Why?" Melandra shrugged "Didn't sit right to just watch it squash you. Far too messy. Plus, had you died, it probably would have rampaged and I couldn't take it on my own. Probably."

Before anyone could reply with an affronted comment, Indira bowed in her direction "We thank you, especially for healing our wounded." Mel scoffed and took a sip of her drink. "No thanks needed. Besides, you seem an interesting bunch. Following you might provide me with entertainment."

Garrick frowned once more. "Sorry to say, but we will hardly be much "entertainment", as you say, for the foreseeable future. We wish to have an audience with the Duke, and as I understand it that might take a while. It might be best if you do not "follow" us" he commented, clearly not pleased to have anyone follow him, regardless of whether they helped him or not.

Before Melandra could reply, a cough sounded from behind them. "Perhaps I can assist with that." Turning, they saw the figure of Denrick. He was bruised, had numerous bandages but was very much alive. He smiled at the group.

"If you would follow me. The Duke would like to have a word with you all."


Enemy Profile:

Name: Undead Behemoth, or "Greg"

An undead many times larger than your average corpse, it appears to be an amalgamation of flesh stitched together to make one giant, fearsome foe. Clearly a construct of foul magic, it also displays unnatural strength and endurance, if lacking in intelligence. Never before seen by the group, it was dubbed as "Greg" by Alistair.