Chapter 2

The Fall of Benjamina

"Here come the blasted crows. Get on top of the trenches and ready yourselves! First line!" Reaver yelled, waving his hand wildly forward. He drew his pistol and shot a few times at the mass of birds, which organized into a sharp wedge formation and flew directly at Garth.

"Quickly now! Ready...Fire!" the soldiers who'd lined up on top of the trench with Reaver, fired into the mass of crows. The birds turned quickly and reformed into a wedge, all approaching Reaver. He turned with his gun and pointed to his soldiers.

"Second line, forward!"

The forward men shuffled off the trench to reload and were replaced by other soldiers, who raised their guns and fired into the wedge. The birds broke off and seemed to retreat, but turned in the air and reformed the wedge, coming down even faster. Reaver drew his sword cane and twirled the weapon. Gaston, who Reaver forgot was next to him, raised his hammer and growled, startling the immortal.

"Ah…yes…you're still there. Anyway, soldiers, affix bayonets or draw your blades if you have them." Reaver slashed the three leading crows, breaking their formation. The birds broke from the formation and began individual battles with Reaver's men. Gaston took out three with one swing, covering Reaver in demonic feathers.

"Watch where you're aiming that thing." The immortal cried, dodging a diving bird and slashing it as it passed him.

Garth saw this from his position on the opposite side of the trenches, and turned back to the shadows, which were now pouring out soldiers and golden bird monsters. Garth raised his hands, now filled with fiery power, and thrust them forward.

"Soldiers, advance!" Garth yelled, launching his spell. Instead of a giant ball, the landscape was blanketed by a wave of fire, which opened a path for the soldiers to rush into the shadowy lines. Most of the dark soldiers were caught in the all-consuming flames, but as soon as the fires died, the shadows formed into tower like structures and the dark army continued sweeping out, meeting the Albans head on and creating a gigantic melee. Garth jumped into the fray, blasting dark soldiers with various spells of wind, ice, fire, and lightning. He summoned swords around himself constantly, the ethereal blades striking the shadow soldiers almost as soon as they formed. However, this army was lacking a key trait which Garth remembered clearly from his battles in Samarkand. Garth heard the thunderous step, and turned to see it, a tall golden monster, wielding a great sickle and with purple glowing eyes. It roared at Garth then charged toward him. The mage jumped out of way just in time to see it send several of his soldiers to the ground.

"Ah, another one of you, bringers of darkness and summoner of evil, a sentinel. Come face me!" Garth cast an ice spell, turning the burning field into a frozen landscape and sending the evil incarnate slipping and tripping to the ground. Garth rushed to finish it but it summoned a dark portal around itself and appeared behind the mage. Garth tried to stop mid charge and turn, but slipped on his own ice and fell right before the monster. It looked down at him, yelled an indecipherable but horrifying phrase, and then unsuccessfully tried to slam the mage into the ground. Garth used a fire spell to propel himself away and dodged the sickle blade several times, but the creature raced after him, melting the ice with some strange magic as it went. Garth saw several of these creatures had started attacking his troops, but this one seemed almost exclusively focused on him. Garth stood and used a force push to jump back as the sentinel summoned a hole of darkness. Crows burst from the hole and darted for Garth. The mage, unfazed, sent a cone of fire blazing from his hand, incinerating the vile birds. In the process, he also launched a magic sword through the sentinel's leg, sending the monster to the ground on one knee. Garth rushed forward and shocked the monster, then hit it with a vortex, lifting it from the ground and sending it spinning. He held his hands up and stabbed it with several more swords charged with electricity, fire and ice. The dying monster crashed into the ground, then lifted itself up weakly. It was on its knees, appearing defeated, but suddenly jumped out opening a hole on its face and launching birds. Garth, unfazed, held out his hand, and a bolt of lightning flew from the sky and destroyed the armor and the birds, releasing a howling spirit which flew back into the darkness in the distance. Garth stepped back from it the pile of armor, as if he was at a funeral instead of the middle of a battlefield. He stood like this for a moment before he was sent flying by a wild attack, which sent him crashing into Reaver.

"Dammit Garth, what are you doing? Pay attention!" The immortal grunted, shooting one shadowy soldier in the head, and then hitting a golden minion several times in its helmet. Garth simply watched the immortal, who looked like a professional soldier.

"What, do I have demonic feather in my hair or something? Blame the Francian..." Reaver was interrupted by the arrival of the Dueler. The monster towered over them, his huge, clawed hands and spider body horrifying both of the men.

"Reaver, good to see you again. It's been far too long..." The monster leaned in closely to the immortal. Reaver leaned back as far as he could.

"I'd have to disagree...in fact I'd say it's been almost too short...you can't rush these kinds of meetings." Reaver drew another pistol and shot two rounds at the Dueler, hitting it in the face. It roared in anguish, swiping with its claws and hitting the immortal back into the troops behind him. It then grabbed Garth and threw him into the army on its other side. He raced over to Reaver, killing several soldiers along the way, and tried to stab at the immortal, but the Hero of Skill was able to dodge this attack with help from Page. The entire Alban cavalry rode dramatically into the Dueler, striking several of its appendages and making it howl in pain. Reaver saw a light form on Page's arm, which made the Dueler reel back in pain. Page roared as she took Avo's Lamentation and struck the face of the monster. It cried and threw its hands over its head. When it lowered its arms, Garth could see a large scar through two of its eyes. It turned in anger and slashed at the cavalry, sending several riders flying, horses and all. After surviving the first charge, it raised itself up and summoned a wall of darkness to keep the riders out. Soon, three other walls formed around Reaver and the Dueler, and he smiled as he looked at the immortal.

"My dear Reaver, you would be quite a catch. Imagine if I controlled you, as my servant. Come...let the darkness consume you." However, the Dueler forgot one important angle and was hit with a bolt of lightning from above.

"Get away from him you Skorm damned beast!" Garth yelled over the wall. He summoned a gigantic fireball and burned through one of the walls of darkness then rushed the monster, his Will lines glowing like a beacon in the dark. It tried to recover from the lighting and threw its arm out, grabbing Garth and throwing him into the wall to its left. Reaver jumped forward with his sword cane and slashed the legs of the monster, causing it to fall. He twirled the weapon, then stabbed it in the head, making it yell out in pain. Immediately the walls fell, and the Dueler struggled to run, but Garth drew it back with a force push. It turned to the two, its dark form leaking viscous black ooze, its face marked by a long ugly scar, its pure black eyes seeming to drive deep into each of their hearts.

"You will be mine!" It cried in a last desperate yell. Darkness struck both Garth and Reaver, making them immobile as the monster raced forward. Ben and Page tried to cut the beast off, but both were knocked aside by sentinels. As the Dueler charged, it suddenly fell, and on top of it stood King Louis, wielding his two swords, one Alban, the other Francian. He drew his swords up and stabbed the creature in its arachnid abdomen. His champion, Gaston, struck the monster in its scar with his hammer, making it cry loudly in pain. Page, using a full flourish, broke the sentinel attacking her in half, and Ben Finn hit his opponent with gunshots into both of its eyes, making it fall and collapse in defeat. The Dueler, like a wounded spider, crawled and squirmed away from the King and Gaston, and Garth and Reaver were released from its dark spells. Now the Dueler was surrounded, Gaston, King Louis, Reaver, Garth, Page, and Ben all held their weapons to the monster. The battle raged behind them, and the Alban army seemed to actually be making progress against the darkness, forcing it to fall back.

"You cannot win, this is but a false victory." Dueler yelled, struggling. It squirmed and worked itself away from the heroes, but was much too far from the darkness to reach it.

"I disagree. The only one who is gaining false victories is you. Try and try as you might, your victories are always hollow; your successes are always meaningless. You cannot conquer our kingdoms, Albion, Francia, Samarkand, we will not be defeated. We will not fall!" Garth said. He, matching the Dueler's spells, summoned a wall of light, which the Dueler turned from and looked back to the heroes.

"Indeed, you tried to kill us, Hammer and I, I mean." Reaver added, "when we were embattled with Castilians during the war. And yet, not only did we both survive; we won the battle in the end, and destroyed your darkness! Castile is our province, and Albion is still strong!" Reaver said somewhat proudly, turning all eyes toward him.

"I've never even heard you claim Albion as home before just now, or even talk of it so heroically before," Page said in confusion. Reaver waved her away.

"Well I am, don't let it go to your heads."

"I agree, don't underestimate his treachery, he doesn't care for you. In fact, he'd turn on you in just a heartbeat. Why do you think Oakvale is nothing but a well of banshees and hollow men?" The Dueler lunged out and knocked the most of the heroes away. He rushed at Reaver then fell, falling from a crushing blow from Gaston, the only one left standing.

"Who are you? Some tradesman's son who won some contest and now acts as a member of a dead order of warriors?" Gaston momentarily froze in shock, then regained his composure and held his hammer out.

"Your dark influence cannot corrupt me demon."

"Hmm…then how about I seize your form. You'd be a good tool until I gain Reaver." The Dueler rushed the man, who dodged masterfully and twisted in a beautiful move and knocked the Dueler's two right legs from under it. The monster collapsed onto one side, but it threw its last leg out and kicked Gaston to the ground. The monster turned, roaring, and a stinger appeared from its abdomen. The thing dripped a sickly fluid, and the Dueler stabbed it at Gaston. Though the champion rolled as best he could out of the way, it finally found its mark, and drove deep into the man's back. As he drew the stinger out, Gaston lifted himself quickly and hit the monster's face again. However, as he turned to make another move, he suddenly fell to his knees, a small bit of foam dripping from his mouth.

"Pu…poi…"

"Poison, fool." The Dueler uttered darkly as he knocked the man aside. He turned and saw his true target, Reaver, was now standing, with his pistol aimed at the monster.

"Come on then!" Reaver yelled, cocking the weapon, his eyes glowing yellow.

"Alright! Let's see who's quicker!" Reaver saw something moving in his peripheral vision but could only glance away for a moment before the Dueler jumped forward and shifted into a black mist. However, just as he refocused on the incoming monster, a woman, wearing a long red dress and with tight red buns jumped out.

"Reaver, no!" Benjamina screamed as she was hit by the Dueler, its misty form sliding into her mouth and nose and ears. Reaver, still in the motion of reacting to the Dueler's attack, fired his pistol and hit Benjamina in the back of the head, the lead ball causing brain matter and blood to burst from her skull and send her to the ground.

"Rea...ver," she uttered, then was still.