Argades, Halius, and Mantes were escorted by several soldiers of the Order of Sydon toward the Rock of Estor along with Anora. The Rock of Estoria was a small rock that stood out in the river that ran through Estoria where animal sacrifices previously took place. There was a single wood post set in place to chain the sacrifices so that they would be fed to the basilisks. While Halius continued to try to find ways out of his imminent death, Mantes calmly accepted what was to come.
Argades turned to Anora. "Something will happen. I'm sure of it. This isn't the end of our journey."
The princess smiled and remained silent, looking away. She was concealed in a hood that covered her head. Argades thought that Anora was more quiet than usual from the first time he met her but figured that she was just emotional over her possible death. He gave her the space she needed.
As the group trudged through the river water, Mantes nearly collapsed. While Argades thought that his companion had second thoughts, he realized that his friend was in pain. He and Halius dropped down by Mantes' side and helped him back on his feet. The half-elf continued to grimace in pain and brought his hands to cover his ears.
"I can hear them!" Mantes said, fighting back tears of pain. "The cows and pigs in their final moments before they were slaughtered. I hear them all!"
"We'll make it through the night, Mantes!" Halius assured his friend. "You won't have to bear with the voices you hear for long."
Mantes laughed. "I look forward to the basilisks. They'll silence the screams."
"We keep going," Argades said. "And for what it's worth, if we are to die today, I'm glad it's with the two of you."
Halius nodded, and together, they pulled Mantes on the Rock of Estoria. Even if the basilisks didn't claim them as a sacrifice, it was going to be a long night.
As the sun started to set, groups formed to watch over the sacrifice along with the Order of Sydon. Pythor was surrounded by a dozen of his men and watched grimly as his daughter and the trio of heroes chain themselves by the leg to the pole. Duris, Cyrene, Tellek, and Kyrah stood aside from the group, keeping an eye on their enemy. On the other side of the river was the centaur warband, watching to see that Sydon's demands were satisfied. The sacrifice had also attracted three harpies that flew over the Rock of Estor, waiting for blood to be shed.
Once the Order of Sydon had ensured that the sacrifice was prepared, their leader addressed both sides of the crowd. Duris had been told by Korax what Gaius looked like but thought that there was something familiar to the man. He couldn't place what it was that had him think that he was familiar though and pushed those thoughts aside.
"The sacrifice to appease the Lord of Storms has been offered," Gaius announced. "They will remain until the sun rises, and if they step away before then, Estoria will suffer."
The centaur roared in approval while the harpies taunted the sacrifices with their songs. Duris remained stoic and noticed how Gaius was making his way toward the trio of heroes that weren't being sacrificed. Although Cyrene reached for her bow, Duris raised his hand to signal her to stop. Instead, he stepped forward to greet Gaius, wondering what kind of taunts he would have to endure from Sydon's minion.
"Commander Gaius," Duris bowed his head in greeting. "I am Duris, leader of the Fellowship of Thylea. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"Don't mind me," Gaius told Duris. "I just want to see the look on your face when your friends are devoured by the beasts of the river."
"I have faith that my friends will survive," Duris said. "The Oracle said that they had great destinies before them."
"Destinies that will be cut short with their death," Gaius shook his head. "There is no escape. There will not be anything left to bring them back to life. All that awaits your friends is their end."
"They don't appear to be dead yet," Duris commented.
"Give it a few minutes," Gaius said with a grin. "The basilisks will come."
Duris had to have faith in his companions. Phoebe had already led the rest of the group to kill the basilisks and he had to believe they succeeded. If not, then they would lose Argades, Halius, and Mantes, not to mention that if they failed, it likely meant that the others were eaten by the basilisk as well. Versi foretold that they would defeat Sydon and Lutheria. He just had to believe that his friends would survive what was to come.
Minutes went by and there was no sight of the basilisks. The centaur muttered impatiently, wondering what they were going to do next. Mantes had removed the chains from everyone so that they could have the freedom to move while Halius paced around the Rock of Estoria. Gaius' grin faded away when it became obvious that the basilisks were not coming. Duris couldn't help but smirk, seeing that his friends had dealt with the basilisks.
"Will they come?" Duris asked Gaius. "I'm still waiting."
"You had something to do with this!" Gaius accused Duris. "Do you dare interfere with the Twin Titans?!"
"I would do no such thing," Duris placed a hand over his heart. "I've been in Estoria trying to come up with a way to end this sacrifice but was unable to do much."
"And of the rest of your group?" Gaius asked. "Where are they?"
"They couldn't bear to see our friends killed," Duris answered.
The harpies screeched and started to fly down toward the Rock of Estoria, brandishing their talons. Duris frowned when it became clear they meant to tear Argades and the others apart but he had expected such treachery from his enemy.
"It matters little," Gaius laughed. "Lutheria has seen fit to have her harpies bring the sacrifices to her realm."
"Is that so?" Duris asked and tapped his chin in thought. "Kyrah, are the harpies typically part of a sacrifice in Estoria?"
"They're not," Kyrah told Duris with a smirk.
"Then I think that they are not protected from the rules," Duris said.
Gaius' laughter stopped as he realized what Duris meant. "You wouldn't."
"I wouldn't but I can't speak for my companions," Duris looked over his shoulder. "Cyrene, Tellek, now!"
Cyrene and Tellek took out their bows and took aim at the sky. Duris reached for his own crossbow as they let loose their attacks, anticipating that he would need to help in the battle that started.
"The harpies are diving toward us!" Halius called out. "I thought that we would be killed by basilisks, not harpies!"
"I don't think it makes a difference what kills us," Mantes said with a sigh. "Death comes for us all the same."
Argades saw an arrow and a crossbow bolt strike one of the harpies and he grinned. "It does make a difference! We can fight the harpies!"
"We can?!" Halius gasped.
"Weapons out!" Argades called out. "Let's make this sacrifice exciting!"
Anora pointed her hand towards the harpies and fired a ray of frost toward the injured harpy and landed a glancing blow against her wings. Argades was about to question where the princess learned her magic when the harpies finally descended on the group. The injured harpy tried to attack Anora but she backed away in time to avoid her claws. Mantes stabbed the second one in the side with his xiphos while Argades and Halius confronted the third harpy that flew over the river and started to sing.
Argades tried to cover his ears but stopped himself, questioning why he would stop himself from listening to such a beautiful song. He stepped forward toward the edge of the Rock of Estor. It would be better to be close to the singing harpy so that he could hear better. He was even willing to swim toward her to listen to her beautiful song.
A crossbow bolt struck Argades in the leg and he screamed out in pain. He turned to glare at Duris, who had his crossbow aimed at the half-orc. Duris muttered a command to Tellek, who quickly reloaded his crossbow and fired at Halius, striking him through the leg as well. The young warrior screamed in pain but seemed to back away from the edge of the Rock of Estor. It was only then that Argades realized Duris saved him. The harpy meant to lure him off the Rock of Estor, which would not only likely have him drown but also spell destruction for Estoria.
"Grah!" Halius grimaced in pain. "Why did they shoot us?!"
"The harpies are trying to lure us off so that the sacrifice is ruined!" Argades told Halius. "Stop anyone else who has fallen for the harpies! I'll use my magic to fell these monsters!"
Halius nodded and ran forward to tackle Mantes, who was entranced by the singing harpy. Only two of Lutheria's minions remained with the one most injured having been struck down by Cyrene from afar. Anora conjured a magical barrier to keep away the harpy that Mantes stabbed but was on the defense. Argades quickly moved forward to aid the princess and grabbed the monster by her wings. He channeled electricity through his grip and the harpy screeched in pain.
The third harpy's song fell silent as arrows from Duris, Tellek, and Cyrene struck it down. Halius released Mantes, who was no longer enthralled, and everyone turned to the final harpy. The harpy broke free from Argades' grip, and although she took another ray of cold energy fired by Anora, the monster struck Argades with her talons. The half-orc grimaced in pain as his enemy's talons raked through his skin but he remained ready to strike the creature down. Mantes stabbed the harpy from behind, Argades slammed his club down on her head, and Halius finished her off by impaling her on his dory.
Argades and Halius kicked the corpses of the two harpies into the river where they would join their fallen sister. Mantes fell back against the wooden post, trying to fight back against the voices he heard. While Halius cheered and taunted the fallen harpies, Argades walked forward to see Anora. He was glad to see that she was uninjured and that she was able to help.
"You never told me that you knew magic," Argades commented.
"That's a long story," Anora said, although her voice was nothing like what she sounded like in her cell.
In fact, Argades realized exactly who she sounded like. "Thella?!"
"Not so loud!" Thella, who looked exactly like Anora, told Argades. "I've used magic to disguise myself. We thought that someone would try to interrupt the sacrifice which was why I agreed to take Anora's place."
"But wouldn't the Order of Sydon take issue with this?" Argades pointed out.
"Only if they see me," Thella answered. "The spell will only last another hour so I'll need you to shield me from their sight. With darkness approaching, that should be an easy enough task."
Argades nodded in agreement. Although he was disappointed that Anora didn't see him fight, he was glad that she was safe. He looked around, glaring towards the centaurs and the Order of Sydon. It would take more than a few harpies to stop him from facing Sydon.
"Do you think you're so clever?!" Gaius said with a snarl. "My men will execute those fools ourselves."
"And what would the centaur think when they see that Sydon's own men ruin the sacrifice?" Duris asked. "There will be no bloodshed. I advise you to leave Estoria before it's too late."
"This isn't over," Gaius said but backed away. "You cannot hope to face the Lord of Storms and live to tell the tale."
"I've already faced Sydon and his minions once before," Duris muttered under his breath. "I'm not afraid to do so again."
Gaius went back to the men under his command and issued orders. Two minutes later, they departed back to the city to make arrangements for their departure. The centaur warband dispersed as well, leaving a trio of warriors to watch the Rock of Estor in case someone left and made the deal of the sacrifice null. Pythor, content to see that his city wouldn't fall, called for his own men to leave to the palace. Duris could tell that the king was relieved to see that the plan they had come up with worked.
Duris wasn't ready to leave Argades and the others so soon. He holstered his crossbow and made plans with Cyrene and Tellek about who will watch them throughout the night. The centaur were unwilling to strike but there was no telling what other minions Lutheria could send. Duris would rest a little easier knowing that someone was ready to help the heroes on the Rock of Estor if trouble broke out.
As their final plans for a watch order came to an end, Duris took notice of Yesleth and Ranri approaching them. Although he smiled to see their approach, he realized that the dwarf frowned heavily and Yesleth's eyes were soft and red. The others had defeated the basilisks but it was clear that it came as a cost. Duris pointed out the two lokhagos for Cyrene and Tellek and the three of them greeted the pair.
"I take it that the basilisks were defeated," Duris said without emotion.
"Aye, they were," Ranri nodded. "They turned Semestra into stone though."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Tellek said. "Is she still intact?"
"Aye."
"Then as long as I can get to one of the basilisks' corpses, I should be able to dissect it," Tellek commented. "Basilisks turn their prey into stone, but when they eat the statues, one of their organs helps turn the stone back to flesh for digestion. I should be able to use that to restore Semestra."
"Then it sounds like we have no problems," Duris said, although Ranri and Semestra remained still.
"There were more basilisks than we expected," Ranri admitted. "We fought as hard as we could but we took injuries."
"I'm sorry," Yesleth looked toward Cyrene. "I truly am."
"Sorry?" Cyrene asked. "What happened?"
"He fought as hard as he could but the basilisk he faced overwhelmed him before we could help him," Yesleth admitted. "Korax is dead."
"What?" Duris gasped.
"This isn't good," Tellek whispered softly.
"Korax can't be dead," Cyrene said in disbelief. "He's a great warrior that knows better than to underestimate his enemy. Something as simple as a basilisk wouldn't be enough to bring him down."
Cyrene continued to look at Yesleth and Ranri, waiting for one of them to speak. The two were silent, unsure of what else to say, but the ranger was already starting to tear up when she accepted the truth. Duris knew that Korax and Cyrene had been friends before the Fellowship of Thylea formed and that they had fought together for some time. They were close and Korax's death was something she struggled to accept. Finally, when Yesleth opened her arms, Cyrene embraced her friend and cried into her shoulder.
Although Duris shed no tears, he was saddened to hear of Korax's death. He had only known the man for days but came to respect him as both a warrior and a friend. The fallen lokhagos offered few words and chose to lead by example, but when he spoke, his advice and orders were drawn from his personal experiences on the battlefield. The Fellowship of Thylea would suffer without the skills and knowledge Korax had and the heroes would mourn his loss greatly.
A/N: The Great Labors continues. Next time will cover the aftermath of the Fellowship of Thylea's plan revolving around the sacrifice they stopped and how they recover. It'll be a few more chapters away but we're getting closer to the first labor, which I am very much excited for.
Until next time.