Twisted Fate
Chapter 9
"So this…Rok'thor…has it then?" Molikor asked, to which Nariel nodded.
"And he's where?" Solarius asked, a confused look on his face.
"They mentioned a dungeon, which usually means down." Nariel replied. The trio scanned the room, seeing not one but two sets of stairs descending.
"Which one?" asked Solarius, glancing from the first to the second uncertainly.
"I don't know. They only mentioned where he was, not how to get there." Nariel said, adding with a hint of sarcasm "I didn't think it was a good idea to ask."
Molikor gave an amused grunt while Solarius continued to inspect their options.
"So what do we do then?" asked the Paladin.
"I think we should split up." Nariel said.
"I agree." Said Molikor.
"You two take the first set. I'll take the second." She suggested.
"I think I should go with you." Solarius replied quickly.
Nariel thought she heard a hint of worry in his voice. For some reason, it brought a small bit of happiness to her, even if she didn't think his concern was warranted.
"Aye, you two go together." Molikor said, adding "I'll take Frostbite. She's more than enough."
"We go until we figure out which path is correct, then we turn back and meet up here." Solarius said firmly.
The trio nodded in agreement before setting off, and Nariel and Solarius moved swiftly. Despite their caution, it became immediately apparent to them that at least the tunnel they were currently in was unguarded, though they couldn't tell yet if it was the right path. As they walked, the pair eased up a little, slipping into light conversation.
"Are you feeling any better today?" Solarius asked.
"Yes, thanks to you actually." Nariel replied with a smile.
"I'm glad. It's good to see you without the mask on." He said.
"It feels a little strange." She replied, adding "I've worn it so long out of habit that not having it on feels almost like I'm missing a part of my body."
"You look good without it." Solarius replied, before he thought about his words. "Er – I mean…not like that. I mean you do look good, but…you know…" He tried to correct, stuttering in embarrassment.
Nariel gave a shy smile and laughed as she shook her head. He turned away, an act she was thankful for to prevent him from seeing her blush.
"Anyways." Solarius said, clearing his throat and pointing ahead to a small light. "I think we're getting somewhere."
"Stay here." Nariel said, motioning for him to wait as she quickened her pace. Stepping forward, she peered around the corner into the room. It seemed empty, so she called quietly for Solarius to follow as she stepped inside.
In an instant she realized her mistake as a loud battle cry rang out to her side moments before a huge axe swung through the air towards her. Caught by surprise, all she could do was watch as the blade raced squarely towards her chest. As it connected however, it bounced off just as Frostbite's fangs had when the tiger had first attacked. Recognizing the shield for what it was this time, Nariel instantly rolled to the side, sweeping the legs out from beneath the stunned Orc. He gave a pained grunt as he hit the ground before rolling over and popping back up, axe in hand. With the element of surprise gone, he readied himself in a battle pose waiting for Nariel to make the next move.
Her mind went to work, analyzing the situation with the cold efficiency that five years alone in the world had taught her. The room was littered with debris and light was sparse; it was perfect conditions for her, but not so much for the Orc. Slowly she eased around deliberately forcing him to turn with her. To her side, Solarius readied his sword and stepped around behind the Orc, splitting his attention. Though he kept track of the Paladin, the Orc's attention never left Nariel. A moment later he charged her with a furious war cry, swinging his axe wildly as she dodged, unable to counterattack due to his speed.
As he rained blows down upon her, he forgot entirely about the Paladin who focused solely on protecting Nariel. When the Orc paused however, even for only a split second, Solarius struck. A pillar of light erupted from where the Orc had been standing, the creature having dodged it by a split second. He turned to Solarius, rage building and began to let out another war cry, but Nariel stepped in with her opportunity and plunged her dagger into his side before dodging away as he whirled angrily, slipping into the shadows and out of sight just as the blood began to seep down the Orc's hip.
It's just a matter of time now. She thought, eyeing her poison tipped dagger. The venom wasn't lethal, but it would make quick work of his energy and keep him knocked out until long after they had finished their business and made their escape.
The Orc's movements began to grow sluggish, and his mind turned against him, sensing the rogue in every dark corner and crevice. He struck a weak blow towards Solarius to keep him at bay before spinning wildly, slashing at the air behind him as if Nariel were there. She watched calmly from a distance, prepared to strike if Solarius were to be in any true danger but letting her poison do its work otherwise.
Finally the beast fell to his knees, dropping the axe beside him. Nariel waited a moment longer and to her surprise he let out another weak cry before rising shakily to his feet again. A burst of light erupted from the orc's head, knocking him back to the ground and stunning him; Solarius was not willing to let the fight continue. Instantly Nariel reappeared and kicked his axe away before dropping to him, her dagger at his throat.
"Where is Rok'thor?" she yelled, pressing the tip upwards. The Orc struggled momentarily but she increased the pressure until he realized his position, and eventually he stopped fighting her.
"Where?" she repeated once she was certain she had his attention.
"S-stairs" came the gruff reply, as the Orc pointed with the shaking hand that Nariel had not pinned down.
"How far?" she asked.
"Close." He gasped, adding "next room."
Satisfied, Nariel turned her dagger upwards, bringing the hilt down on his head and rendering him unconscious. She rose after checking him, noting that as she thought, he would live.
Solarius had watched the entire scene with a slight frown, and Nariel gave him a confused look.
"What?" she asked.
"You're terrifying." He said simply.
"Thanks." She replied, amused.
A loud crash came from the direction the Orc had pointed out, and Solarius took a step backwards.
"We should go find Molikor." He said, concern in his voice. "Quickly."
"Too late." Replied Nariel, taking a defensive stance as the door blew off its hinges.
Where the door had stood moments earlier was a gigantic red Orc. His robes had streams of each element flowing over them and his eyes glowed blood red. His expression was one of joyful anticipation making Nariel think he seemed…insane. His facial expression was augmented by three deep scars – Claw marks Nariel realized – that ran diagonally across his face, cutting through his left eye and the middle of his nose. But the most interesting thing of all to her was in his hand - a large wooden totem bearing the glowing orange markings of a fire elemental.
"I thought I heard vermin out here." He said deviously, taking a few slow steps into the room. "Tell me, who has come to die today?"
Nariel crouched down low, sizing him up. "No one, if you hand over that totem." She said.
"Ha!" laughed the Orc, returning her penetrating gaze with his own fierce eyes.
"No?" Nariel pressed. "We would hate to cause you any trouble." She said, mocking the Orc.
"I welcome the challenge." Growled Rok'thor, as a ball of fire formed in his hand.
With that the elves charged, dodging the myriad of elements thrown at them with ease at first. Solarius reached Rok'thor before Nariel, but as he readied his sword to strike, the Shaman gave a loud roar, and the ground shook beneath him, opening up as a large earthquake split the floor. Solarius shifted to the defensive, avoiding the chasm that had opened up but as he focused on dodging the ground, Rok'thor called forth a blast of air which hit him squarely in the chest, sending him flying backwards. He crashed into the rear wall with a sickening crunch and Nariel looked over to see only a small cloud of dust and a few stones clattering to the ground on top of him. To her relief, she saw him move, even if only to writhe in pain.
"Come then, let's see if you can do any better." He said, turning to Nariel.
The rogue, on guard now for his tricks decided to use a few of her own. She raced towards him in a straight line, causing a large grin to spread across the orcs face – too easy he thought. As she grew near he summoned forth another burst of wind, but as it struck, she shadow stepped – a complex move that few rogues had mastered, and she could barely pull off – reappearing behind him.
"What?!" cried the Orc in surprise.
Caught off guard, Rok'thor twisted wildly looking for the rogue but could not see her. He didn't know where she was until a moment later when her dagger pierced his shoulder, coming out cleanly on the other side.
"Arrrggghhhhh!" he screamed, swinging around behind him wildly with his uninjured arm.
To his pleasure, he heard a surprised cry as it connected with the unsuspecting rogue. Instantly he felt her vanish, shadow stepping back across the room and reappearing some distance away clutching her side. The Orc grinned maliciously at the sight, blood leaking down his own arm.
"It's been awhile since I had a good battle." He said, licking his lips before adding "The whelps left around here are too weak to put up a good fight."
Nariel held her side gingerly as she watched for her poison to take effect. To her surprise, she Shaman called for a restorative spell, cleansing himself of the venom instantly.
We'll have to do this the hard way then. She thought.
As he took a few steps towards her, his path was cut off by Solarius who, having recovered, stood between the pair now, his shield raised.
"My turn." He said.
His voice sounded confident but Nariel saw he was favoring his left side. His sword was lower than normal where his right arm could barely hold it up, and his foot rested at an odd angle where he tried to shift the weight off of it.
"You had your chance." Rok'thor said a ball of fire forming in his uninjured hand, shouting "Now get out of the way!" as he unleashed it.
"I don't think so." Said Solarius, taking a defensive posture. The fireball struck Solarius' shield dead on in an explosion that rocked the walls around them. Nariel gave a worried cry, but to the surprise of both her and the shaman, Solarius stood unharmed, save a few burn marks on his shield. At the sight of his defiance, the shaman began to grow irritated.
"I tire of this." He said angrily. "Amusing as this distraction is, I have more important things to do."
Twisting his hands above him the room began to fill with wind. All around the Shaman, a cyclone of elements formed, mixing air, fire, earth, and water together in a devastating combination.
"Die!" shouted the Orc, throwing his hands forward as the tornado sped towards the pair.
Solarius shot sideways, barely dodging it and Nariel managed to scramble aside just in time as well, but it was a split second before the shaman sent another towards them, and then another. The pair were fully on the defensive now, and it was all they could do to keep from being caught up in the elemental storm when a white blur caught Nariel's eye. The shaman had just raised his arms for another cast when a single arrow flew through the air, and it wasn't even a second after it struck the Orc directly in the chest that the blur materialized into Frostbite, who sank her teeth deep into Rok'thor's neck. The shaman let out a cry that was silenced mid scream, and before he had time to understand the turn of events his life had ended.
Solarius limped over to help Nariel to her feet before turning to his friend. "About damn time you got here!" he shouted.
"Me?! What happened to 'let's regroup when we figure out where we're going'?" Molikor replied defensively.
"He blew off the door, that's what happened!" said the Paladin.
"Here we were getting killed and you were off lounging around, waiting for everyone to regroup." Solarius said, waving his arms as he spoke.
"What if we had died? You would have to find a new Paladin to follow around." He said.
"Hah! As if I could get rid of you so easily." Molikor said with a grin. "I'm more worried about her." He said, pointing to Nariel. "She might disappear again if you let anything happen to her."
Solarius laughed. "Oh, I don't think we need to worry about her" he said before motioning to the incapacitated Orc.
"Eh?" Molikor asked, glanced from the Orc to Nariel and then gave an approving nod, adding "Nice."
Stepping over to the fallen shaman, Nariel knelt down. "I believe this is what we're looking for." She said, pointing to the totem.
Molikor glanced over just as she reached out for it. The last thing she heard before the totem exploded at her touch was Molikor's alarmed cry.
"Nariel No!" he shouted, scrambling towards her.
And then there was only darkness.
