Last time on The Stones of Fate…In a shocking turn of events, our band of heroes arrived at the town of Trotternish to find it under siege. The attackers: Omegasevrians. After a fierce and bloody battle, Wee Dingwall was killed when he went back to help his injured comrade, Spiros, buying the vanguard enough time to get across a bridge that stood between the advancing hostile army and the small band of survivors that still guarded the town. Grief stricken and demoralized, our heroes must now rally together and avenge the death of their friend.
and now...
Chapter 10
Heart of Darkness
"Shoo!" Spiros hissed, swinging his sword at the ravens who were attempting to feast on the bodies of the dead. He wore a piece cloth over his mouth and nose to keep the stench of death from entering his nostrils.
It had been a few hours since the battle had concluded. After forming a makeshift ice bridge, Seona, Spiros and a pair of city guards were burying the dead.
It was an unpleasant experience, but out respect for his fallen brothers in arms, Spiros knew that it was up to him and the others to lay these men to rest. It was late afternoon by the time they buried the last fallen solider.
Spiros sat on the edge of the shattered wooden bridge that had been destroyed earlier.
He stares uphill, at the Storr. It was only about two miles away. Two miles away from Balor, two miles away from ending this thing once and for all.
"Oi, what are yah lookin' at lad?" Aaron asked.
"That hill, we're gonna take it." The Greco said firmly.
"You do realize that's where those things have made their base camp right?" The man asked.
"Yes and that means their leader is their as well. I'm going to kill him." The Vanguard hissed.
"We'd need a large skilled force to take that hill." Aaron protested.
"No, just a determined one." The Vanguard insisted, standing up.
"What's the terrain like up there?"
"The hill gets a bit steeper as you get to the top, then it levels out. The Storr sits at the center of the plateau, behind it is a rocky ridge line where I would assume the defenders would be waiting for us." Aaron explained.
"How many guards do you have left under your command?" Spiros asked.
"About eight."
"Do you think they'd be willing to make this attack?"
"Probably, they're my best men."
"Good, tell them to get ready." Spiros instructed making his way to the Inn where his friends were resting.
He found MacGuffin crashed out on the couch, Seona was sitting on a bench with her sister, who had her arm around her shoulders. Macintosh was sitting on the front desk, sharpening one of his swords.
They looked tired and down trodden, he couldn't blame them. Watching a someone you know die took a lot out of you. They all had a small bit of fear in their eyes, like they were afraid to even look at each other out of fear that the person they glanced at would be next one to go. He knew that if they went on like this, it could be their undoing.
Spiros sighed before addressing them.
"When I was a boy, there was a man of the sea who watched over us when we went swimming in the ocean. Eddie Aikau. We could always count on him to come and help us if we got in trouble out there. No matter how rough the surf was, or how far out you had gone. He would go out and help you get back to shore. He and my Grandfather taught me everything I know about the sea. At night, he would have bonfires on the beach and tell us stories about the creatures that lived below the waves."
The Vanguard frowned before continuing.
"One day, me, my father, my Grandfather and the crew of our boat were out fishing in rough seas. We should of known better. At one point, something punched a hole in our hull. The ship was taking on water, and it was a long swim to shore. My Dad and the crew were trying to repair the damage to the ship, but by that point it was only a matter of time. Then we heard something knocking on the side of the hull. I peeked over the edge to see Eddie, asking for permission to come aboard. He had swam out to help us, and so one by one Eddie helped the crew to shore while my Dad and Grandfather salvaged what they could from below deck. They were great swimmers so Eddie must not of been too worried about them. The last person he helped was me, he ripped off a chunk of wood and told me to lay on it. The seas were getting bad, so there was no way I could of gotten to shore without help. He pushed me and that hunk of wood towards shore, and then when I got close enough to the beach he gave me one last shove that gave me enough momentum to catch a wave and ride it to shore. I turned to thank him, but he was already swimming back to the ship. Once we were all ashore, we looked around to thank Eddie, but we couldn't find him. After that day, he was never seen again but his legacy had a lasting impact. Without him, I wouldn't be here. Now whenever the odds were stacked up against me, when it seems like the seas are too rough, I tell myself:
Eddie would go.
That's what keeps me going. When I was on that bridge and it seemed like I was done for, Dingwall ran in and helped me get back to you guys. Eddie would have done the same thing and now that we're this close to stopping our enemy, we need to go,We need to go and stop Balor once and for all. So, are you guys with me?"
The Vanguard scanned the faces of his friends, the fire in their eyes had returned. Their grief was turning into something else, something that would give them the strength to make that one last push.
Macintosh looked up from sharpening his sword.
"Im up for a rematch." He replied.
Spiros looked to MacGuffin who was beginning to sit up. The Greco took his friend's hand and pulled him onto his feet. He then turned to Seona, who was already standing up.
"God or no god, now I've got a score to settle with that snake." She snarled.
Spiros grinned.
"Get in line."
He then looked over to Merida, who now had a quiver full of arrows.
"Payback time." She told her friend.
"Alright then, let's go."
They all gave a nod of approval and went outside.
...
The plan of attack was relatively simple.
Visilis, who was back from his evac flights, would drop the remaining catapult boulders on enemy defensive positions. Meanwhile, the guards, who were bringing all the crossbow bolts they could carry, would set up a firing line just below the crest of the hill. In order to fire, they would have to pop their heads up just a few inches and squeeze of a shot. It would be relatively difficult for their foes to hit them while they were hidden. Our heroes, when the time was right, would charge The Storr and enter The Great Library. Meanwhile, Visilis and the guards would fight until they decided they couldn't hold the position. The guards would fall back, trying to lure as many Omegasevrians away from the hill as they could. Visilis would orbit the hill from a high altitude until our heroes emerged from underground. He would then swoop in and pull them from the battlefield.
The sky was just barely beginning to turn orange when they arrived at the crest of the hill. The long green grass concealed their advance, while the guards set up Spiros poked his head above the grass to get a look at enemy positions. Only to find that there was no one guarding the rock formation that was The Storr. The Vanguard scanned the ridge line...nothing.
He knew that they were here somewhere...but where?
He did notice an injured guard lying in the field just a few feet in front of them. Two of Aaron's men crept forward to assist him, when they tried to pick him up he began to struggle and push them away. Spiros realized he was trying to warn them.
"No, don't move him!" He shouted.
There was a loud CLICK noise as they rolled the injured guard onto his back.
A cylinder jumped out of the ground and exploded just in mid air. Crystal shards shot out in all directions, killing the three guards who were closest to the blast.
The ridge line exploded with activity, crystal bolts were whizzing by our heroes.
"Return fire!" Spiros shouted.
The guards began firing their own crossbows. Spiros whistled for Visilis, and seconds later the griffin came in from their right, dropping a large boulder on the enemy forces entrenched in the ridge line. Ten feet in from of them, the ground exploded and a dozen Omegasevrian soldiers emerged from the earth.
"Merida, keep firing on the ridge line! Aaron, you and your boys take out those guys!" Spiros instructed.
"The rest of you, fire on the ridge line and be ready to move!"
One of the enemy soldiers was carrying a large device, he set it down and hit switch. An air sack on the side of the machine inflated. After a minute, he pulled the trigger and hundreds of crystal shards shot from the end of the weapon, forcing our heroes to stay down. There was a loud screech as Vislilis returned to the battle, dropping another boulder on the ridge line.
Spiros cursed as he got up, a crystal shard had struck him in the shoulder. He noticed that the Omegasevrians were making adjustments to their weapon. They were pouring a bunch of crystals shards into the top of the device. Once they were done, they closed the hatch and inflated the air sack. Soon they were firing again.
The Greco knew that if that machine kept them suppressed, a small team of Omegasevrians could flank them and attack from the sides or from behind. He knew they had to move now. When the hail storm of crystal shards stopped, the vanguard surged forward. Attacking the crew of the device, he set one on fire and engaging the other with his sword. He ducked as the officer tried to decapitate him with his sword, then grunted as his foe knees him in the gut and sent him rolling backwards.
Our hero quickly got to his feet, shooting his foe with a bolt of lighting to the head. The bolt of electricity left a hole in his foes head. He then grabbed the machine that had been terrorizing them and broke it in two over his knee. Crossbow bolts and crystal shards shot passed him as he willed a wall of earth to form. He then motioned for his allies to move up.
They complied and surged forward, ducking and flinching as enemy fire made the ground around them explode. A familiar screech made them turn their gaze skywards as Visilis dropped yet another boulder on the enemy ridge line positions. The Storr was now just thirty feet away.
"Alright, on three we're going to make a run for it!" Spiros told his friends.
They nodded.
"Good luck!" Aaron told them.
"Remember, when you guys can't hold this wall fall back to where we just were. Then if you can't hold that, just go!" Seona told him.
"Will do!" He said with a nod before turning to his men.
"On three, suppressing fire lads!" He shouted.
"One!"
Spiros and his friends put their weapons away so that they could run faster.
"Two!"
Merida shared a quick glance with her friend as if to say:
"Here goes nothing!"
"Three!"
"Covering fire!"
The team broke away from the guards and sprinted across the open field to the rock formation. Several of those jumping cylinders shot up and exploded, one crystal shard cut Merida just below her eye. A crystal cluster rocketed down from the ridge line and struck the ground next to Young Macintosh. He blast sent him stumbling forward but he quickly went back to sprinting.
The Storr's center rock had a gaping hole in the side of it that resembled a doorway, our heroes dove into it and were sent tumbling down a spiral staircase. When they reached the bottom, they were breathing hard and sweating like crazy but they had made it. Seona quickly sealed off the entrance that was behind them with a well controlled ceiling collapse. This would make it impossible for them to be followed, but also deprived them of their only source of light.
Spiros got to his feet and willed a ball of pure light to form in his hand, revealing the surrounding structure that they were in. Massive stone arches supported the buildings curved ceiling. Carved into these arches were various pictures, depicting the history and mythology of the Highlands. The arches had chunks knocked out of them, and moss along with glowing purple mushrooms had engulfed their bases. From the ceiling hung giant steel braziers, attached to the stone roof via chains. These braziers most likely were supposed to be used as lighting fixtures but had long since been extinguished. On either side of the room were giant stone book shelves, standing over forty feet tall. The shelves were packed with stone tablets, rolled up paintings and hundreds of books and scrolls. Some of these shelves had been knocked down, their contents spread out across the dusty floor.
"This place is massive." Seona murmured.
"Well yeah, they don't call it the Great Library for nothing." Macintosh grumbled.
Young MacGuffin mumbled something.
"What did he say?" Spiros asked.
"He said he hears something." Merida replied.
Our heroes readied their weapons, expecting the worst.
Instead, they heard the playful shouts of a Will O' the Wisp.
Several of the blue sports shot up from the ground, forming a line of blue light that led our heroes forward.
While the others followed right away, Spiros did so reluctantly. He never really got along with beings from the Plains of Ethereal. As he began walking her heard a peculiar sound, like a knife being dragged across stone. He stopped and looked around but saw nothing in the darkness he sheathed his sword and continued on.
...
Our heroes had exited the large chamber where the book shelves had been and were now following the trail wisps through a series of narrow stone corridors. These corridors were dimly lit by torches, so Spiros was able to extinguish his ball of light and give his chained arm a break, as it was beginning to grow sore.
The Vanguard turned to Seona.
"Hey, are you guys sure we can trust these things? What if they're leading us into a trap?"
"Well they can't really be persuaded to be good or evil, all they do is lead people to their fate. Whether its good or bad, it's not theirs to decide. A long time ago, they used to try to warn people if it was bad, but the Gods didn't like that. They took away their voices and their free will. Now all they can do is show us the path, but what lies at the end of the path is for us to discover." She explained.
"How was their free will taken?" Spiros asked.
"Well they used to be ghosts, and they would act as guides. Showing people the way by pointing in the general cardinal direction and giving them cryptic instructions. They would then follow that person until they reached their destination or if they went off course, they would reappear and get them going in the right direction again. When the Gods found out they were changing people's fates, they turned the ghosts into diminutive creatures called Wisps, who are very child like by nature. They cant really think for themselves, which is good for the Gods because that means they won't change people's fate." Merida told him.
The wisps suddenly vanished as our heroes entered another large room. In the center of the room was a man in blue robes, long white hair and a white beard. He was sitting cross legged on a silver platform that was raised slightly off the ground. In front of him was wooden staff and a long sword. His hands were on his knees and above him, hundreds of wisps flew around him.
"That is correct my dear, and like all children. They needed a father." He said from across the room.
"Murchadh." Merida said in a small voice.
She clumsily curtsied, and her sister followed suit. Macintosh and MacGuffin bowed while Spiros drew his sword and drove it into the ground as he dropped to one knee.
Merida exchanged a worried look with Seona. She didn't know if that was normal for someone to bow like that, but the calm look in her sisters eyes assured her that it was alright.
"No need for formalities, I'm not as stuck up as they are." The old man said looking skyward.
Our heroes walked towards the man, as they got closer they noticed that he was sweating a great deal. His eyes were blood shot and he was quite pale.
"Sir, what are you doing here? Aren't your chambers in the center of the library?" Merida asked.
"Aye, they were. Before Balor showed up with his demons. Shadow Shifters he calls them. He laid siege to my home and turned my assistant against me. Then he went into the inner sections of the library, located through the doors behind me. He's holed up in there with The Librarian and a handful of Shadow Shifters guarding him." The old man explained.
"We need to get in there, the fate of the Highlands depends on it." Macintosh told him.
"I am well aware, but I must let you know that you will have to pay a price for me to open this door." The man explained.
"What would that be?" Seona asked.
"The Wisps receive their instructions from me and only me. Out of instinct, should I die, they will gravitate to the most powerful sorcerer and obey him without question." He told them.
"There aren't many sorcerers around the kingdom, sir." Merida replied.
"Well there will be one more soon enough. That is why Balor is here, he is using all of his power to awaken his old master. The Horned King, who was in fact, one of the most powerful necromancers who ever lived." The old man extended an arm towards our heroes.
The world around them became distorted, when it came back into focus. They were in a different time.
...
"The Horned King's true name has been lost to time, but his deeds are still well known. When he was young, he lost his first and only love during a war that amongst the clans of the Highlands. It would be the key to his undoing."
Spiros saw a solitary man dressed in a black cloak standing over a grave that was atop a hill. The sky was black and rain was just beginning to fall.
"In the meantime, he grew angry with the clans, who were fighting for power, and left to live a solitary life in the mountains. It was there that he began worshiping Balor, who was a mere disciple of the Gods. Balor was learning the dark art of Necromancy, and passed his knowledge on to his new found companion."
The next scene our hero saw were two men, sitting in a damp dark cave reading ancient scrolls and texts.
"It didn't take long for a role reversal to occur. The Horned King tapped into his darker side and accelerated his ascent to power. Despite this, the Gods favored Balor to become the God of Death. This was because, at the time, Balor believed that in order for the world to be in balance, there had to be Masters of the Light, as well as the Shadows. Balor knew that his friend was stronger then him, and enlisted him as his right hand man. To be his eyes and ears in the mortal world."
The scene shifted once again, showing Balor sitting in a throne made of obsidian. He was pointing forward, and the cloaked man was heading in that direction, drawing his sword.
"As he skulked through the world, he informed the people of the Highlands of the rise of the God of Death. They began to recognize Balor as a God, but continued their bloody turf war. In disgust, The Horned King told his friend of the pain the quarreling clans had caused him and how they needed to be punished. After all, too much death created an imbalance."
The next scene showed the cloaked man kneeling before Balor, who was listening to his friend with great interest.
"Balor saw this opportunity to show that he was not a force of chaos, but a force of balance. He sent monsters and demons into the homes of the clans, forcing them all to come together to combat a greater threat. Meanwhile, The Horned King began spending much of his time here in the Great Library. Reading forbidden texts, and increasing his ability to manipulate the dead."
Once again, the scene changed. The cloaked man was hunched over a black book, reading in dim candlelight.
"One day, he was caught reading these texts and, despite Balor's pleas, was punished harshly by the Gods. His face was burned to the bone with sun-fire and branded with the glyph of shame. In an attempt to repair his disfigured face, he and Balor scoured the Great Library to find a solution. During this time, they discovered a book written by an ancient sorcerer named Arawn. They opened the book, hoping that answers were written on its pages. Instead, the book corrupted them. For there was an evil power in those pages. After that they were never the same."
Spiros saw the cloaked man and Balor walking away from The Storr with hunger in their eyes.
"They began to believe that the world was so out of balance, there was only one solution. Wipe the slate clean and start anew. So they began to plan, they set a plague on the clans that has only recently ceased to be a problem. Their ruthless assault on the clans made them cease their worshiping of the other Gods, who required the reading of the sacred scrolls that the mortals used for worship to maintain their power and immortality. Soon they had grown weak, so weak that they retreated from their fortress in the Highlands and into the heavens. Meanwhile Balor and his ally waged war on the clans. In a bold move, the duo single handedly attacked the castle in which the Bear Prince and his family called home. During the battle, a book fell from the travel sack of Balor."
The scene our heroes saw depicted Mor'du picking up a black leather book off the stone floor of his home.
"Mor'du skimmed its pages and became corrupted by its dark insight just like his adversary's had. He wanted revenge on them and he went to The Witch of DunBroch for help. She gave him the strength of ten men in exchange for the book that had poisoned his mind. Thankfully, she hasn't had the opportunity to read that blasted collection of parchments. Mor'du then became a force to reckon with, he waged war on everyone who had ever wronged him. It wasn't long before he had managed to track down Balor and defeat him. After that, the once noble prince became a beast for good. Meanwhile, The Horned King decided to go into a hibernation of sorts. He knew that he would have to conserve his life force so that when the time was right, he could join his ally in ushering in the new era."
The last scene showed the cloaked man clambering into a coffin while Balor looked on from a distance. Then the world shifted once more and when the disorientation wore off they were back in the front of the old man.
...
"Behind these doors is the entrance to the Ancient Garrison, the place where the Horned King has been lying in wait for his chance to destroy all life in this world. In order to stop the Omegasevrians and him from emerging I sealed these doors and tied them to my life force. They will only open when I am dead." He explained.
"Well cant you just sever the tie?" Seona asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. A spell like this requires full commitment of the caster. Not even the Gods can undo this spell without killing me. I have foreseen your arrival and have taken the proper preparations. I have been eating nightshade berries for the past few days now. It just a few minutes I will depart from this world, as I can already feel my strength leaving me." He continued.
"If you die and if Balor revives the Horned King, then the Wisps will gravitate to him. He will have control over them! Who knows what he will do with them." Merida exclaimed.
"Aye that is correct lass. More then likely, he will use them to begin creating his army. He will twist them with dark magic and turn them into spirits of chaos and death. In addition to this, the opening of these doors will allow the remaining Omegasevrians to emerge. You thought fate brought you here to stop a war, but instead you will only bear witness to its beginning. " The Old man concluded before groaning and falling to the floor.
"Murchadh!" Merida shouted running to his aid.
She helped the dying man sit up, he was clearly in a great deal of agony.
"Vanguard Spiros, come here child." He pleaded.
The Greco took a knee in front of the dying man.
"The key to defeating Balor lies with your greatest enemy. Go to him and he will show you how to turn your burden into a weapon."
Spiros nodded.
"I understand."
"Good, stay strong children. Take care of each other. The gravity of this situation may seem to big to grasp but know that...your destiny lies with..."
The man exhaled heavily and expired.
The hundreds of Wisps who had been flying around playing games with one another had since encircled their dying father and just like children, they wept for him before dispersing.
With a heavy groan, the stone doors opened revealing nothing but collapsed stone arches, which lie in pieces across the floor and toppled book shelves. Spiros honestly didn't feel like continuing.
They had come all this way, lost a friend, watched a village be destroyed and had a group of men face certain death. Only for an old geezer to tell them that they were too late, they were only here to watch the beginning of the end. This raised the question, why did the old man eat those berries. If the spell he had cast on the door was so strong as well as being tied to your life force, why open them by allowing yourself to die?
Then he realized, that old man had been mortal and looked pretty old when they had found him. Eventually, he would of died. The doors would of been opened, and the Horned King and his small army of Omegasevrians would have made their way into the Highlands anyways. For better or worse, this was how things were meant to play out.
Merida's voice snapped him out of his trance.
"Hey, are you ok?" She asked.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Let's get moving." He replied quickly.
They then advanced into the darkness.
...
With the ball of light in Spiros' hand being their only light source, our heroes began to grow uneasy. Every now and then they heard a small hiss. The smell of rotting flesh or the feeling that they were being stalked. The way through this chamber was not straight forward, the collapsed arches and book shelves created a zig zagging path that our heroes had to follow. Every now and then, someone would step on a scroll or slip on a book. Needless to say, everyone was on edge.
As they neared the end of the twisted path, Vailean began to hear two distinct noises. One was the sound of someone, probably Balor, chanting in Gaelic. The second was the sound of footsteps...coming from above them.
Seona must have heard it too, because she turned around and fired a ball of fire at the ceiling. The glow of the flames revealed the creatures who had been stalking them.
They had no eyes only gill like slits. They had reptilian heads with large poisonous spines on top of their heads and that ran down their backs, at the tail was a 1ft long half crescent steel blade was integrated into their skin. They had four lizard-like arms with long thin claws that resembled hypodermic needles. The arms and legs were muscular but thin and their bodies were thin and covered in scars their ribcages were easily visible, like famine victims. Their skin was jet black and covered in scars. Disgusting green saliva dripped from their mouths, which made a sizzling sound went it hit the ground.
The lead creature snarled at Merida who was slowly notching an arrow in her bow. As its mouth opened she saw hundreds of razor sharp serrated teeth with four massive 10 inch long fangs at the front of its mouth. Their forms shimmered as if they were made of mist. The creatures used their snake like tongues to establish their position. They hissed and growled at our heroes as they got closer it seemed as if the temperature had dropped by 20 degrees. The creatures seemed to radiate death.
"Spiros, Merida. Go on ahead. We'll take care of those things and watch your back." Seona instructed.
"Are you sure?" Merida asked.
"We got this, go." Young MacGuffin replied.
The look on Spiros' face would have been hilarious had they not been in mortal danger.
"Did he just-"
Before the vanguard could finish, one of the beasts jumped down from the ceiling and landed on a chunk of stone and roared.
"Go!" Macintosh ordered.
The duo set off towards the exit as one of the creatures jumped onto Seona.
...
Merida and Spiros crept down a massive stone stair case. When they reached the bottom, they were in a large circular room. In the center of the room was Balor. He was surrounded by coffins and a small group of Omegasevrian Officers. The God of Death was chanting in such an ancient dialect of Gaelic that even Merida couldn't understand him.
Spiros turned to her as he sheathed his weapons.
"Stay here, I'm going to try and get a vantage point. If I'm lucky I can attack the Horned King while he still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes." He told her.
"Ok, be careful." She replied, clearly not liking the idea of staying put. Yet she still gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"That was for luck, because Gods know you'll need a lot of it." She mumbled.
"Glad to see your confident I'm my abilities." He replied before turning into a cloud of black mist and shooting away.
He rematerialized in the shadows on the far side of the room, black crystals encased one arm which were driven into the stone wall which helped him hang from the wall without much effort. Below, Balor finished his incantation and the marble coffin lids began to move. Soon figures were emerging from them.
The first figure was a man dressed from head to toe in heavy scratched and battered steel armor. His helmet had six slits on each side of his face that probably acted as a view port. On his shoulders, along with the rest of his armor were tiny glyphs glowing with a strange black light. On both of his arms were black right triangle shaped armor plates. Perhaps they were some sort of close ranged stabbing weapon. He stood at least 6'5 and had a heavy build. In his right hand was a large spiked mace. The spikes were bronze and covered with bloodstains, while the handle was black. The rest of the weapon was made of steel.
The second figure was clad in a tattered dark blue cape, along dark grey armor that looked like it had been burned by a Wyvern. The armor had silver designs etched into it, designs that took the shapes of glyphs on the chest, shoulders and knees. His helmet had a V shaped view port and was the only piece of his armor that didn't have silver designs on it. On one arm, he wore a dark blue kite shield with scorch marks on it. The shield had a reversed tear drop shape and on its center there was the image of a fighting golden lion. In his other hand was a black large sword that was about eight or nine feet long. The figure rested the weight of the blade on his shoulder as it would be impractical to try and put it in a sheath.
The third figure was dressed in light weight black armor. A chain mail skirt covered his armored legs. On the chest plate was a golden raven with its wings spread. His helmet resembled a plague mask. Glass eyes that acted as the view ports and an elongated beak that made the wearer resemble a raven. On his back was a scimitar, but in his hand was a spear with a golden spear point. The rest of the weapon, like the shaft of the spear was made of petrified wood. On his other hand was a small circle shield made of scorched steel.
The final figure was a skull faced man, who's eyes were red. Not because they were supernatural but because the whites of his eyes had been burned off. Leaving only what was underneath. The flesh on his bony hands was green, for time had ravaged his entire body. He was dressed in dark red robes and, sprouting from his head was a fungal growth that strongly resembled the horns of a demon. He had no visible weapons on his person.
"At long last, welcome back my friend." Balor said with a grin.
The Horned King inhaled sharply, taking in the damp underground air.
Spiros drew his sword. Now was the time to strike.
He jumped down onto his unsuspecting foes, much to his shock the Horned King caught the vanguard mid flight and threw him into the ground.
The Vanguard scrambled to get to his feet, but Balor kneed him in the gut. Forcing him down onto his hands and knees.
"Grovel before your new king." The Villain hissed.
Then he kicked our hero again, sending him tumbling onto his side.
"You know lad. You were a fool for coming here. You should of turned back when you met those Romans. After all it was only a matter of time until they found Fort Ness." He chided.
"I don't know what your talking about." The Greco groaned.
"Well let me refresh your memory. That little fort you 'snuck' out of is now under siege by the Romans who believe that you are inside. They got this idea after receiving an 'anonymous' tip from yours truly. After sometime the rebel army led by dear Jonathan, who is desperately searching for his father, caught wind of the siege and decided to join in. After all, he knows that his father was indeed captured by you and your friends. Sadly, both the Romans and the Rebels will turn that entire castle upside down and kill everyone inside only to find that who they're looking for isn't there." The God of Death told him.
"You wanted us to come here. To get us away from the fort." Spiros realized.
"Aye, so that some of its best defenders wouldn't be defending it." The fiend replied.
Spiros got to his feet and took his sheild off his back. Then Merida dive-rolled into the center of the room. She ended up at Spiros' side by the end of the maneuver.
"We need to get back to Fort Ness." He told her.
"So I've heard." She replied.
"Silly children, a place that you thought would hold the key to your salvation will instead be your tomb." Balor chuckled as he walked through the wall of magma that had formed on the far side of the chamber. The Horned King and the three armored warriors followed suit.
Spiros and Merida went back to back. They were surrounded by a handful Omegasevrians.
"These poor fools have us surrounded. I feel bad for them." Merida murmured.
"Why?" Her friend asked.
"This won't even be a fair fight." She explained with a grin.
He readied his sword and raised his shield.
She notched three arrows and took aim.
"You with me?" He asked her.
"I'm with you." She replied.
The duo attacked.
...
Seona held the snapping jaws of the Shadow Shifter back with one hand, wiggling her head around to avoid the creature's acidic saliva. She then grabbed onto its snout and shocked it to death. She got up to see Vailean slice one in two at the waist as it jumped at him.
Spiros and Merida ran up to them from behind, clearly worried.
"We need to get to the surface now." They said simultaneously.
...
AN- *que dramatic action music* Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I loved writing it and it's probably my favorite chapter that I've written so far. The end is neigh people, like REALLY neigh. Anyways, two interesting questions from Superfan44 that I wanted to share with you.
1.) Who do you think should be the voice for Spiros if he was ever put into any Brave film.
2.) What song do you think would fit this story best as a theme song? Superfan44 suggested 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons just now, while I'm thinking about The Silent Comedy- Bartholomew.
Answer in your reviews if you wish, and also, there is a poll on my profile. Check it out if you want to and voice your opinion about the future of Merida, Spiros, Seona and the others beyond the Horned King's Challenge crossover. Finally, this chapter will be replacing the finale preview. If you want to read it, PM me and I will send it to you.
Until next time,
Wolf out!