Last time on Stones of Fate...the Horned King lives! After journeying into the Great Library and discovering the origin of the demon king and his accomplice, Balor, the God of Death. Our heroes quickly discovered that their foes had laid a trap for them. Drawing them away from Fort Ness and tipping off the Roman and Rebel armies of its importance. The Omegasevrians are in route as well. Finally, Spiros received a tip from the dying Father of the Wisps. The old man told our hero that the key to victory lies with his greatest enemy.
And now...
Chapter 11
Reckoning
"Run!" Spiros instructed as the ground sound them began to explode.
Out of the ground emerged armored skeletons, whose rib cages were split open revealing a blue fire burning in their chest cavity. Their eyes also held the eerie looking blue flame. Our heroes cut through them with relative ease, alone the skeletons were just a strong as the average foot solider. In numbers, it is possible that they could be a formidable force.
They clambered up the stairs towards the surface, when they emerged from underground the guards they had left behind were no where in sight. Spiros whistled for his Griffin who came streaking down from the sky with a fierce cry. He quickly landed in front of heroes who scrambled onto his back as Omegasevrians and skeleton warriors emerged from underground. With some difficulty, Visilis got into the air and flew away from the site as crystal bolts and spears whizzed by.
"Take us to Fort Ness!" Seona shouted.
The Griffin turned to the south and poured on the speed.
...
Fort Ness was in serious trouble. The Main gate, located in the western wall, was being attacked by Rebels. The Omegasevrians were attacking the northern and southern walls, while the Romans were striking the eastern wall from the lake. The situation was so dire that even Queen Elinor had suited up in her own armor to repel the threat.
She and her husband were standing atop the eastern wall, surveying the battle. Every now and then they would be forced to duck as a ballista bolt soared over their heads. The sky was cloudy and little flakes of snow were beginning to fall.
Elinor sighed.
"Well, this is quite a pickle isn't it."
Fergus just chuckled.
"We've been through worse."
Elinor slowly nodded.
"True, but you'd have to admit that this is pretty high up on the list."
"Definitely." Her husband replied.
Lord Dingwall walked up to the duo, clearing his throat.
"I got my men back here as soon as I heard about the attack. Wherever those kids are, I hope they're safe."
"Perhaps it is for the best they escaped, things aren't looking good for us right now." Elinor grumbled.
"Yes, perhaps." Dingwall replied.
"Oof!"
THINK
THUD
The trio turned to see where the noise had come from, they locked eyes with three heavily armored warriors. One in black armor and a bird like helmet armed with a spear. The other taller and in heavy steel armor. He was armed with a bloody mace. The third was Jon. He was wearing chain mail under a steel chest plate and armored trousers. He had no helmet and had a shield strapped to one arm and a longsword in the other.
"Now, it is you who will kneel." Jon growled.
Fergus drew his sword and Dingwall readied his twin axes.
Only Elinor was willing to reason with him.
"Lad, you don't have to do this."
"You're right, so tell me: where is my father?"
"Locked up, where he belongs." Dingwall snarled.
"My father is great man, he recognizes the tyranny of the clans and of the crown. He seeks to set free the people of your oppressive rule." Jon reasoned.
"Your father is a man who speaks of a world united under his rule and the rule of Balor, The God of Death. Such a kingdom would be a dark and evil place, filled with discord and death. No good would come from such a rule." Elinor chided.
"You're wrong, Balor told us of a world where all would be equal. There would be no kings, queens or peasants. Only man." Jon snarled.
"All are indeed equal in death, Balor has deceived you. The path you and your father would send us down. I will not allow it." Fergus replied, taking a fighting stance.
"No, it is you who is the deceiver." Jon hissed, raising his weapon.
...
Our heroes examined the battlefield from high in the sky. Fort Ness was encompassed by hostile forces. The odds didn't look good, in fact it became clear that no matter how hard they fought, the battle was lost.
"Merida, are there any other ways out of the fort?" Spiros asked.
The Princess shut her eyes and searched her mind for the answer. Eventually, one of her mother's history lessons popped into her head. She gasped and recalled the info.
"There's a secret passage in the wine cellar that leads to a cave system under the lake." She explained.
"The main tunnel goes right across the lake to the other side, but the others branch off in different directions. We could probably fit everyone in the fort in one of the larger caverns with quite a bit of room to spare."
"Would we have access to fresh water?" Seona asked.
"Aye, a few underground caverns have large pools of water that connect to underwater tunnels that would take you up to the surface of the lake." Her sister replied.
"That might be useful later." Spiros murmured.
Young MacGuffin tapped Spiros on the shoulder, and then gestured downwards.
Spiros saw the standoff between Jon, Lord Dingwall and Fergus.
"Visilis, drop the others off on one of the walls and be careful! Seona, hammer toss!" He instructed as he sprung into action, jumping right off his griffin.
Seona jumped off as well, grabbing him by the back of his armor and using her power over air to spin around rapidly. On the third full rotation she threw him down towards the earth. While Visilis dove down and snatched her up gently with his talons.
Meanwhile, Spiros rocketed downwards. Using his powers to neutralize all air resistance. Allowing him to reach higher speeds. Once he was at a couple hundred feet above the ground, he used his powers once again. This time to slow himself down drastically. He still left a bit of a crater when landed on the wall. Before his foe had any time to react, he drew his sword and with an upward slice backed up with a strong blast of wind put Jon on his back. His two heavily armed lackeys came to his defense, attacking instantly. Spiros swatted a spear jab away with the flat of his blade and then raised his sword to block a downward mace strike. The two weapons met with a thunderous CLANG and Spiros was forced to put his free hand on his sword to strengthen his defense.
Fergus charged into battle, keeping the spear wielding knight at bay. Lord Dingwall also sprang into action, attacking the mace wielding knight, forcing him to divert his attention away from the vanguard.
This allowed our hero step back and tug at his chain a bit, feeling it tighten after such strenuous use of his powers.
"Your timing is impeccable." Queen Elinor told him.
The Greco chuckled before turning his gaze to the roman war ships firing on the fort from the lake.
"Friends of yours?" She asked.
He scowled.
"Yeah, you could say that."
There was a loud thud behind the two, Spiros turned to see his Griffin lowering his head as ballista bolt whisked by. Merida and the others weren't on his back, so he presumed they were off fighting.
"Alright bud, let's go take care of some business." He told his friend, hopping onto his back.
The duo flew off, dodging ballista bolts that were fired in an attempt to halt their approach.
They picked out the command vessel, the largest ship in the center of the formation. Carefully they landed on the deck of the vessel where they were greeted at spear-point.
The entire time, Spiros had his hands raised in surrender. Once he stepped off Visilis, he was greeted by a Roman officer armed with a gladius. He had grey hair, a squared chin, blue eyes and white and grey stubble.
The man Spiros knew as Tiberius.
"Its been a long time son." He said through clenched teeth.
"Only about four months." Our hero replied.
"Looks like you'll be meeting the Furies today." The officer said grimly.
"Well preferably not, I still have some things to take care of." The Greco grumbled.
"Like what?" One solider snapped.
"I'm here to make a deal." Spiros began.
"What in the hell makes you think I would strike a deal with a wanted fugitive?"
"Give me five minutes to explain, while we talk. Your men can go talk to the ballista crew, and order a ceasefire on the Fort."
"Why would I do that?"
"If you don't, you'll never hear my deal. Which would involve me turning myself in. Not to mention the fact that I'll be sure to light this pile of sticks up on my way out." He replied, allowing his fist to burst into flames.
Tiberius scowled.
Spiros tried to suppress a sly grin.
"What's it going to be?"
He knew Tiberius wouldn't be able to resist a deal like that, Especially after he had spent all these years hunting him. Plus the prospect of one of the Empire's largest warships burning up in the middle of a lake, should he refuse, provided extra incentive.
The officer turned to his troops.
"Do as he says."
They all hesitated but with a grudging nod, went to fulfill Spiros' demands.
Tiberius then turned to face our hero.
"I'm listening." He grumbled.
"On shore, in the Fort you were just firing on, is the Royal Family and their followers. Two necromancers along with their army have attacked, alongside a rebel force led by a delusional leader who believes the necromancers doomsday will usher in a new era of prosperity." Our hero began.
"Necromancers eh? What a shame, if they hadn't repulsed our army a few years back. They might have had our protection in such a crisis. Instead, they chose to rally behind four bumbling clan leaders." The officer said with a shake of the head.
"They are a proud stubborn people." Spiros explained.
"Why are you telling me this?" Tiberius asked.
"One of those Necromancers is a god. You're going to tell me how to kill him, with this." Spiros replied, tapping his chain with his index finger.
The Roman raised an eyebrow as our hero continued
"I know you suppressed my powers with this damn thing, so my question is can it suppress immortality?"
Tiberius shrugged.
" According to legend, It is made from the same material that was used to craft the net that trapped Zeus when the other Olympians became unsatisfied with his leadership. If the material can suppress the strength of the King of the Gods, I don't see why it couldn't nullify the immortality of a lesser deity."
"Get this thing off of me then, and teach me how to use this thing as a weapon." Spiros asked.
"What do you plan on doing for me, if I were to agree to such a thing?" The Roman asked.
"Once I kill the necromancers, I'll turn myself in peacefully. You will then be able to bring me to Rome, where I will face justice. You have my word." Our hero replied.
"So you are willing accept the fact that you will be put to death?"
"As long as the necromancers don't beat you to the punch." The Greco mumbled.
"Are you willing to admit that you did kill my wife in cold blood?"
"No. Never, because I did not. I was set up, as I have told you a dozen times."
The aging military officer scowled at him.
"Give it up Spiros. I'm sick of your lies. During your trial, you even admitted you did not know who would want to kill my wife by framing you. You had few enemies in Rome. Except for Septimus, but we all know what you did to him."
Our hero scowled and looked down at the deck.
"I had no choice." He snarled.
"For a young man with so much blood on his hands, you show little remorse. It is no wonder why Lucilia never forgave you."
"Believe me, I've lost plenty of sleep over the matter." He said clenching his fists.
"Now, before I agree to your proposition, you're going to need to convince me about your innocence. Otherwise, I'll have you killed before you can even whistle for your beast." Tiberius demanded.
"When I was a boy, my home was attacked. One of the attackers was a skull faced man or more likely the spirit of the second necromancer I seek to destroy. Years later, my informant was given false information on a rogue vanguard who was planning to kill you. Most likely as revenge for sending me to hunt down Septimus. I ended up killing your wife as a result. A few days ago, I crash landed here and got wrapped up in suppressing the uprising and fighting against the necromancers. I think these events are connected, The Horned King, the skull faced man who is one of the necromancers I am fighting, has been trying to kill me for years." Spiros explained.
"Go on."
"I think he knew I would interfere with his plans at some point. So he tried to eliminate me from the equation, but in the process only guaranteed that we would meet on the field of battle some day. Today is that day."
SH-SHINK
"Spiros..." Tiberius began.
"Everything that has happened up to this point has been a result of destiny. I survived all these years, so that I could come to this land and fall in love with it's people. Specifically, their princess. I had no idea that one person could have such a great effect on another. I can't imagine my life without her, or any of the people that live here. All these years I thought I was fleeing my own home. Instead, I have only made my way to it so that I may defend it." The Greco continued.
SH-SH-SHINK
"Now I know that this is it. This is why I was made a vanguard. This is my purpose. To fight for my friends, my family, my love...my home."
SHINK-THUNK.
Spiros looked to the deck, to see a chain bundled up. It's glyphs glowing brightly before fading rapidly. The Greco brought his arm up to see that it was free. The only evidence that the chain had ever been around his arm was the twisting scar that wrapped around his arm, a result of all the times the blasted chain had seared his flesh along with many dark bruises.
"Find what you have lost, and become what you were once again." Spiros muttered.
"It appears you have found your way again." Tiberius said grudgingly.
Our hero felt his eyes sting, it felt like a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders. The guilt, the regret , the cloud of hopelessness and despair had lifted. A wave of relief rolled across his body, he took a deep breath and felt his confidence and strength return to him.
"Tiberius..." He began, but the Roman shushed him.
"When I attached that chain to your arm, I did it because I believe you had fallen to the forces of darkness. It is clear to me now that it was I who allowed the darkness to poison me. I attached that chain to you out of anger. I blamed you for my wife's death. A blame you accepted, because of your self doubt which allowed the chain to take hold. You knew as little as I did about where the blame should fall. As a result, you exiled yourself as we pursued you and lost sight of what makes the world beautiful. Family, friends, belonging, love."
Spiros nodded in understanding.
"Now, You have forgiven yourself and you have moved on from the mistakes and the sorrows of the past...and so shall I by forgiving you." The man said.
"How touching." A voice hissed as a steel blade shot out from Tiberius chest.
Spiros was in shock, as was the Roman officer who turned to see his own daughter with her sword lodged in his back.
"Aeliana...why?" He groaned.
'It is a shame I already have a Queen.'
"Your with Balor." Spiros snarled , remembering what his foe had said a few nights ago as he allowed his fists to become engulfed in fire as he took a fighting stance.
"It's about time you figured it out. I set you up in Rome. Me! Balor and the Horned King saw great potential in me. They told me how my father's futile attempts to take over the mainland would end in the destruction of the Roman Empire. In turn for my loyalty, I was offered as position as the first Empress of New Rome. They showed me the glory my brother would attain in his later years. He is weak father, like you and mother were, and as you said: the weak will not weather the storm. So I will kill him as well...when the time is right."
"All you want is power." Spiros reasoned.
"Of course, I was born with a superior intellect. I excel at defeating my foes on the battlefield and I have made alliances with two powerful men. It is only common sense that I become the ruler of the New Rome, which will rise from he ashes of the old world like a mighty Phoenix." She said a almost happy sigh.
"You'll never get away with this." Our hero snarled.
"I already have once, with the 'death! of my mother." She replied, yanking the sword out of her father's back and throwing it at Spiros like it was a spear. He rolled out of the way as the blade impaled itself into the deck. In response he shot a blast of fire at her face, which went up in flames.
This must not have been in her plans, because she screamed out in pain and collapsed onto the deck.
"HELP! GUARDS! ANYONE!" She wailed.
Soilders stormed the deck, armed with bows, spears and swords. Even Aeliana's brother, Caelius, came to the rescue. He was armed with a new trident. He yelled in anger and charged Spiros who noticed the archers were taking aim at Visilis.
"Go! Fly back to the fort!" Our hero told his friend who complied.
The Greco turned and shot an air blast at everyone on deck, knocking them onto their butts and stunning them . He grabbed the chain and prepared to leap off the side of the boat when a crumpled up piece of paper hit his head.
Realizing Tiberius had thrown it, he grabbed the ball of paper and jumped into the water. Putting an air pocket around himself as he swam below the surface in order to stay submerged without needing to surface for air and so that he wouldn't be shot by an arrow while fleeing the scene.
When our hero arrived on shore, he set his sights on a familiar gargoyle. Who had a piece of green and brown plaid cloth tied around the shaft of his halberd. At first Spiros mistook it for a banner or flag but quickly realized it was the shredded kilt of the deceased Wee Dingwall.
The creature was advancing on the Fort, it could easily jump over the wall and land in the center, wreaking havoc on the defenders inside. Our hero would not allow that, he broke into a sprint. Focusing his powers so that green crystals shot up from the ground and formed a armor like suit over him, leaving a V shaped viewport. He then willed a large sword shaped crystal to shoot up from the ground. He caught the makeshift weapon with both hands and electrified it.
As he got closer to the Gargoyle, it noticed him and roared.
Spiros let out his own battle cry.
"RAGHHH!"
The Gargoyle lunged forward to snap at our hero with his jaws, Spiros grunted as he heaved the sword over his shoulder and swung downward at the monster's head. The blade broke on impact, becoming lodged in the creature's stone head.
It hissed and snarled, leaping back a few feet in order to recover. It roared at Spiros and shot a torrent of flame at our hero via the hole in its chest. Spiros willed a wall of earth to rise and shield him from the blast as he punched away at the earth, burrowing into the ground.
The Gargoyle howled and used his halberd to smash the wall of earth to pieces. Only to find that his foe was gone. Spiros shot up from the ground, delivering an uppercut to the monster who yelped in surprise. It whipped around and smacked Spiros aside with his tail. When the Vanguard stopped rolling, large chunks of his crystal armor was missing. Including his 'helmet'.
The monster leaped forward, looking to cut Spiros in two with his halberd. The blade of the giant weapon slammed into earth where our hero had been standing seconds before. Dirt and dust flew up into the air, using this as concealment Spiros closed the distance a delivered a strong fiery left hook to the monster who hissed and roared as its head burst into flames.
It began to swing its halberd around wildly, clearly in a panic.
Spiros moved in for the kill.
He charged the beast, drawing his sword and shield.
The Gargoyle roared as he approached, stabbing at him with its halberd. The Greco dodged the attack by dropping onto his side and sliding under and past the blade just before it hit the ground. He slid a little further as he willed flames to superheat his sword. Which was soon glowing red. He slid in between the monster's legs and slashed at one of them with his sword. The hot blade cut right through the creature's leg and crippled it.
Spiros' slide came to a halt, he spun around and used a burst of air to hop onto his opponent's back. He raised his sword to strike but the Gargoyle shot into the air with a few flaps with its wings. It spun around and punched Spiros, which sent our hero crashing into the ground. The Vanguard quickly got to his feet as his foe landed. He snarled and used a burst of air to propel himself forward at high speeds, shoulder checking the monster in the gut. The attack left the creature stunned, Spiros took this opportunity to back off and catch his breath.
He hadn't used his powers this extensively in years. The chain had once been his limitation, now it was his own physical and mental stamina. Which weren't what they used to be. It would take some time and a bit of training to get back to peak condition.
The Gargoyle must of noticed he was tired because it unleashed another streak of flames from its chest. Spiros quickly raised his sheild, dropped to a crouch rested his sword on the top edge of his shield. As the flames past harmlessly around him, like they had when he had faced the Lindworm, he prepared his counter attack.
His sword hummed as it began to glow with a heavenly light. Like a miniature sun was forming around the blade. When the flames let up, Spiros let a bolt of iridescent light to shoot from his blade. The bolt of energy struck the monster in the chest with a loud WHUMP noise.
The creature staggered back, clearly in pain.
"This is for Eoghan!" Spiros shouted.
He then dropped his shield, realizing it would throw off his aim and willed ice to form on his blade. With a yell he threw the sword like a spear into the Gargoyle's head. The creature roared in agony as it thrashed its head around trying to dislodge the weapon.
Slowly but surely, ice began to form on the beast's body. It struggled against the inevitable in an effort to survive, but it was only delaying it's demise. Spiros ran forward just as the ice began to overcome the Gargoyle's halberd. He jumped up and ripped Wee Dingwall's kilt down from the halberd as it to was engulfed in ice. As he landed behind the Gargoyle, which was now frozen solid, he whistled for Visilis.
The Griffin came from the fort at high speeds, crashing into the frozen monster and sending chunks of ice flying through the air without breaking speed. He then pulled up and shot back up into the heavens. Spiros' sword landed right in front of him. It's handle and blade still covered in frost.
As the snowfall increased, he took the weapon in his hand, tied the shredded kilt around the handle and ran back towards the fort.
...
Duncan had escaped from his cell, thanks to Jon. Who snuck down into the dungeon while Spiros, Fergus, Lord Dingwall and the other defenders were preoccupied with repulsing the siege.
Young Macintosh was determined not to let Duncan escape.
He leaped down from the battlements, longsword pointed down to strike at the rebel leader. Who noticed his shadow and rolled forward, evading the attack.
Jon passed his father a sword from a slain Fort Guard.
"Shall we?" Duncan asked, eager to fight.
Macintosh scowled and pulled his blade from the ground.
The two locked blades, while Jon fended off guards who were attempting to come to Vailean's aid.
As the two battled it out, Merida and her sister were giving instructions to the underground passages. They only told a handful of guards, who were sending the biggest families down first. By sending everyone down gradually and selectively they would effectively empty the fort while avoiding the possibility of a mass panic. Which would result in everyone trying to flee at once, which would slow the evacuation dramatically.
The Roman's were now sending soldiers packed into small boats to land on shore and scale the fort's walls. Merida had sent a small group of archers to try and hold them off. It was too bad they couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Although, the harsh wind may to be blame, another factor may have been that Highlander's didn't used bows all that much.
Most of the clan's warriors preferred to get up close and personal with their foe.
As she rushed to help the archers, she encountered a young boy calling for help and trying to looking around crying for his mother and father. Merida felt her stomach churn as she saw why. A hammer headed ballista bolt, designed for destroying walls or crushing infantry, had landed amongst a group of people who were probably heading for the tunnels.
The although battered and bruised, the boy was the sole survivor of the attack. One problem was that his leg was pinned under the bolt's iron hammer shaped tip. Made out of iron and at least weighing a few hundred pounds, Merida knew she wouldn't be able to move it all by herself. Regardless she rushed over to help however she could.
"Princess!" The boy said as she ran to his aid.
"I'm going to get you help." She assured him.
"You're going to need the entire Macintosh Clan just to make it budge." He winced.
"Nah, I just need a friend." She replied, turning her gaze skyward.
She whistled sharply.
"Visilis!"
The thunderous cry of an eagle drowned out the sounds of the raging battle. The Griffin swooped down before beginning to rapidly flap his wings in order to hover just above the duo.
Merida pointed to the ballista bolt and the Griffin bobbed his head. He grasped the bolt with his talons and lifted it skyward with ease. Merida quickly pulled the boy away from the crater as Visilis flew further into the sky, the Griffin slowly spun around like a top and on the second full rotation, threw the bolt back at one of the ship's in the Roman fleet. The hammer headed tip punched a hole straight through the deck and went straight through the rest of the ship, which sank rapidly as a result.
Back on the ground, Merida flagged down Young MacGuffin who slung the injured boy over his shoulder and rushed him to safety.
"Incoming!" A guard shouted.
Merida turned to see a salvo of ballista bolts flying in from the lake. One of them was seconds away from skewering her. She knew there was little time for her to flee, but luckily she wouldn't need to.
Seona rolled in from the side, superheating her blades as she did so. She put herself between her sister and the projectile. She raised her double bladed sword and faced its edges to the oncoming threat. Before even making contact with her weapon, the balista's tip began to glow orange. When it hit Seona's sword, it split apart like a banana peel. The two halves impaled themselves in the ground on opposite sides of the girls before bursting into flames.
"Nice one sis." Merida told her sibling.
"Thanks." She replied.
The mild snow fall had now turned into a blizzard.
The two sisters felt the ground shake and rumble , guards were now shouting for them at the top of the eastern wall. The duo rushed up the stairs to see the a terrifying sight.
Rising out of the lake, covered in molten lava and chunks of bedrock which were sliding off the hull, was an Omegasevrian Airship. The vessel was a least a mile long, its hull was shaped like hexagon. Colossal ballista turrets jutted out from the smooth hull like quills on a porcupine with a range of rotation of about 180 degrees. Along the undersides of the ship were four massive spinning blades that resembled windmills. They pointing diagonally, towards the ground. The rear two angled back just a bit, in order to give the massive ship thrust. The bridge was a glass enclosure set atop a tall spire positioned at the ship's aft. A pair seccondary bridges could be seen, protruding from midship like red blemishes. At the front to the ship was a large tip that resembled the upper part of a bird's beak. Thick red lines of paint, scratched and scorched ran along the sides of the vessel.
"What is that?" Vailean shouted as he saw the ship slowly positioning itself over the shoreline.
"The herald of a new era!" Duncan replied, realizing his opponent was distracted by the spectacle. He punched Young Macintosh in the gut and quickly disarmed him while was was stunned.
Jon dispatched the last guard and passed his father a crossbow, who then looked down at his defeated foe.
"Are we taking prisoners father?" Jon asked.
"No, we're not." Duncan replied, shooting Young Macintosh in the chest.
Merida choked back a sob as her friend cried out in agony before falling silent.
Thunder boomed, lighting shot down from the sky. It appears normal at first, but it arced as it neared the ground. Connecting with the Spiros' blade as he leaped down into the fray from the battlements. Duncan jumped back as the vanguard's blade struck the earth as he landed in a crouch, electrifying the air and making his hair stand on end.
Spiros quickly spun around and swept Duncan's legs out from under him. As he fell, the vanguard super heated his blade and brought it down on his foe's leg. Cutting it in two at the thigh.
Two rebel fighters rushed Spiros, but Merida shot one of them with her bow and took aim at the second when Jon crossed into her line of fire. She quickly lowered her bow.
Jon turned to the solider.
"Get my father to safety, the vanguard is mine."
The solider complied and carried Duncan off.
"Well here we are Spiros, tell me how frustrating it is to know that everyone close to you is destined to die." Jon sneered.
"We'll Jon, you I never really considered us close. Yet, I'll send you to the River Styx anyway. I hope you've got a few coins on you. The old ferry men isn't one for charity." Our hero replied.
Jon lashed out with his sword, Spiros ducked and swung his sword vertically. The tip of his weapon left a bloody gash on his adversary's face. Jon countered by kicking the Greco in the chest, which send Spiros staggering backwards. His foe began swinging at him wildly as he tried to recover. Our hero responded by shooting a blast of wind that sent his foe flying back into the nearby wall.
As Jon crumpled to the ground, Spiros rushed him. Sword held back, ready to strike. Jon rolled forward as his opponent drove his sword into the piece of wall that he had been in front of seconds before. He then sprang up and slashed Spiros horizontally across his back.
As the the two fought on, Seona and Merida rushed to Young Macintosh who hadn't moved since he'd been shot. He was still breathing but just barely. Merida instantly reached for the bolt but her sister swatted her hand away.
"That's worst thing we could do, it'll speed up the bleeding." She chided.
"What are we supposed to do, just leave it in him?" She shouted.
"For now." Her sister replied grimly.
A dark shadow loomed overhead, drawing their gaze skyward.
The airship was directly overhead, but its center had a gaping hole in it. Upon closer inspection, Merida realized it was glass. A circular glass lens that filled a gap in the center of the ship. She looked around and noticed that the weather was clearing up. Instantly she and her sister exchanged looks. The memories came flooding back, memories of using their mother's reading spectacles to burn ants on sunny days.
Now it was different.
They were the ants.
A.N- Well this is it folks, next update will be the finale! (Might upload it as two chapters maybe even three, but at the same time) I'm so excited! Sorry these updates are taking longer once again. School is very time consuming, but never fear! Summer is coming my friends! Next time, it all boils down to the epic final battle! What will become of the Romans? Will Young Macintosh live or die? What will become of Balor, Jon, The Horned King, Duncan, Merida, Spiros and all the others? How will the Triplets contribute to the final battle ( and they will, its all hands on deck people!). More importantly, how will our heroes topple the Omegasevrian army and their airship?! We'll find out soon enough!
I look forward to answering any questions and reading your reviews!
Until then, polish your armor, sharpen your swords, pound on your shields and PREPARE FOR BATTLE!
Are you pumped, cuz I am!
Wolf out!