Chapter 29: The Spires of el-Amara

HARRIN

Harrin Chillborne felt helpless for the first time in years. Probably not since the days he was under his father's hand. He and Kith had grown close over these past months. How could they not? Their lives depended on each other every day. A brotherhood was formed among the 7 of them, even with the shadow that clung to Renimil. A different shadow hung in Ren's eyes now. One Harrin knew all too well. Regret. Missed chances to say what one meant when you should have. Kosh held a hollowness he'd never seen in the gnome before today. He'd always played it cool. Aluuna hung back around Eris, who stopped crying shortly after leaving Kith behind. Ren had dragged her along before she smacked him in the face and told him to go to hell. Sadness played on Flig's face and even the indomitable Okami, with her all her fierceness and bravado, didn't stand a chance against the pain of losing a companion. A friend.

They were nearing their destination, and uncertainty hung so thick in the air Harrin could choke. A few days had gone by and they all barely whispered a word to one another. The death of Kith caused Harrin to think about his life and all the choices he'd made since leaving his home. He didn't pursue Aluuna because he didn't want to give his father satisfaction. His pride got in the way and he'd continue to let it. Looking to Eris, her face covered in a thin veil of dirt, he wonders if he should confess to Aluuna. Endeavor on a path with her despite the dangers they were in. Was it truly better to have loved than to never have loved? What if Aluuna lost him? What if he lost Aluuna? Fear clutches Harrin's heart. He inhales sharply and roughly blows out a puff of air. Aluuna catches up to him. Looking up at his face, she brushes the back of her hand against his. He closes his eyes for a brief moment, before looking down at her to give her a small smile.


HARRIN

The group traveled another day in barely contained grief and anger. Kosh, Renimil, and Eris avoided each other like they had a disease and spoke only when necessary.

The air is hot and dry as usual. Harrin hated the heat and was looking forward to the day when they'd be rid of this place. He longed for the vast mountains and cool springs of his homeland. Chillspire's only real saving grace now that Flig, Okami, and Aluuna were with him. No good memories that didn't include the four of them were back there. His father saw to that every damned day.

"Look," Kosh says, a subtle relief in his voice.

The adventurers were on a low-hanging, rocky perch, several spires of varying heights poked out from the sand, a distance away. Most are crumbled and bits of hard claystone surround them.

El Amara.

"Get down!" Ren whispers as he tugs on Kosh's arm. They fall to the floor. Three undead-looking sentries round one of the spires to the east closest to them. Two ghostly undead creatures come out of an unseen door to the west.

Kosh and Flig crawl forward to get a better look. The fur on Okami's back rises as she inches closer to Flig.

Ren shimmies to get a better view of the monsters below. "Those three are Ghuls," Ren says, pointing. "The other two, Edimmu."

Alumna's weapon begins to hum softly. Tiny tremors under the rocky ledge cause rubble and sand to slide down, drawing the attention of the three ghuls.

"Shit." Harrin mumbles under his breath.

Expansive heat radiates from behind him as fire whips around Eris for a moment before appearing above the Ghuls and descending with a fury.

The ghuls screech as flames catch onto their dark robes. The creatures move closer, and Harrin jumps down onto one as it gathers nearer. His Frostmaiden connects with the ghul's shoulder, slicing it entirely off. The monster crumples to the ground, its bones turn brittle, and its skin sloughs off. Its body disintegrates, and the light wind blows away any evidence of its previous existence.

A second ghul claws at Harrin, slashing his arm before he has a chance to move away. More blood than would be natural pours from his arm, and he clutches it with a hiss.

Okami jumps on top of the ghul who attacked Harrin. The creature and wolf tumble to the ground, and Okami quickly scrambles to her feet.

Thick vines wrap around the downed ghul as the other ghul slashes at Okami.

Aluuna slides down the side of the dune and runs to Harrin's side. His bloodied arm absorbs the healing spell Aluuna whispers over his wound. Color returns to his face.

Ren still stands atop the rocky dune. A flash of bright, yellow light lashes out at the incapacitated ghul.

Kosh stays topside with Ren overlooking their battleground. The other two undead seem oblivious to them. Their ghostly forms slide further from them to the opposite side of a fallen bell and its tower.

Eris moves to stand close to Ren and Kosh. Electricity jumps forth to bounce between the two ghuls. The vines suddenly disappear as the ghul turns to dust.

Harrin stabs the last ghul, then backs up to stand where he once stood with Aluuna.

Okami whips around to face the ghul that attacked her. She lunges and runs straight into the ghuls downward swipe. She whimpers and blood drips from her head, partly going into her mouth and mixing with saliva to fall in globs to the ground.

Energy beams out from Aluuna's outraised hand to lance the creature's skull, instantly bursting into dust.

Okami pants heavily and is unsteady on her feet.

"No breaks," Kosh calls down. "We've been spotted."

The remaining two sentries float towards the group. Just as the monsters reach them, a cloud of thick fog envelopes them. Harrin can see neither his friends nor the creatures. He raises his hands and can barely make them out.

A powerful wind smacks into him with such ferocity that he is forced to shove his sword into the ground. A thunk sounds beside him as Aluuna grunts loudly. He can faintly hear a yelp, no doubt from the already injured Okami.

The fog clears and one blasted ghost creature grips his shoulder.

Its touch chilled his skin. The other standing over Aluuna. She shivers. Blue tinging her lips and her skin begins to lose color.

Flig is backed under the slight ledge created by a large rock above where Eris, Kosh, and Ren. He shoots at the ghostly figure on top of Aluuna with a small ball of flame. Facially, the creature looks unfazed, but the light illuminating its body dims.

Momentarily, Harrin wonders when Kith would show up to rage out and make short work of these guys with him. He shakes his head with a grunt and pushes the ghost monster next to him. He retrieves his embedded sword, but he can rush to Aluuna's aid, a blade whizzes by his to impale itself in the monster looming over his woman. The blade shakes and flicks back to Kosh, who has already made his way down to them.

The weapon, now partially under Aluuna, hums and brightens. She slides upwards and kicks the ghost off her. She spills a vial on the ground next to her and whispers. The ground lights up. Magical runework encircles under her, Okami, Flig, and Harrin. The monsters writhe frantically, but no noise escapes them.

Another burst of energy streaks out to get the monster next to Harrin. Okami shakes herself off, standing. Unsteady at first and gradually getting her footing. She sneaks slowly behind the wailing monster next to Kosh and Aluuna and bites its lower half shaking and growling. She would stay latched until the moment she was jostled free or otherwise. Blood pours heavily from her head, Blood continues to drip into her eyes and she closes them, still never letting go of the monster. She pulls and pushes the creature, not understanding she can not ground the incorporeal undead monster.

"Okami." Flig commands. The red wolf lets go and bounds back in the direction of Flig's voice. Flig runs his hands over her head wound.

Kosh stabs once with his bloodletting kukri and slashes with another kukri, before deftly flipping out of reach of the ghost who'd turned to face him.

Eris lets out another burst of electricity. Both edimmu's shook for a few moments before disappearing into thin air.


ALUUNA

The adventurers rest a moment and heal before moving in closer to the ruins. Behind one of the spires, the two ghost sentries came from, is a set of stairs leading down into a sea of darkness. Lighting his torch Harrin and Kosh both descend the steps. Hieroglyphs are painted on the walls and etchings of an ancient and unknown language are carved into two pillars flanking stone and metal double doors in front of them.

"Careful," Kosh says with his hands up. He kneels to the ground and brushes his hands lightly atop a spot not as dark as the others on the ground. "Pressure plates." He brushes other areas to reveal more. "I'll go first."

They all follow Kosh's lead. Harrin carries Okami, much to her displeasure. She is a prideful wolf. Hating to show weakness of any kind. Harrin snickers. She growls baring her teeth. He nuzzles his face in hers before she leaps out of his arms once on the other side of the trapped room. She turns and growls once more at him before trotting away.

Aluuna swats him on the arm. "Why do you bother her?" she asks with a shake of her head. "Nothing better to do?"

He smiles broadly and she is yet again taken back by his sexiness.

The ruins were a maze of twists, turns, and mostly fallen pillars. Many of the rooms had caved in on themselves. Others held no bodies but the walls and ground are bloodstained. Dried and darkened with time.

They enter an open great hall with a large step-down rectangular area. The roof above it is open and one could guess that it was once a garden or the like. Now it was just sand and small rocks from a short wall that was partly lined around it. Tables and chairs are placed off to the right side of the room. Two of them are on their side, the chairs smashed and only shards remain. The other three have plates on them and when Aluuna runs her fingers across their cool surface, they break, crumbling into thousands of pieces. Light spills into the great hall from another room on the other side.

Approaching, the party can see fresh blood smears across the floor the closer they get to the door. Harrin shines his torch in front of him and unsheathes his sword. Aluuna's sword hums again. Harrin and Kosh enter the room, a massive hole in the wall allows wind to blow through. Swaths of sand hit them as a desert storm breezes through. A small stream starts from underground beneath the ruined wall and proceeds further into the room and down a long, narrow hallway. The blood from earlier spills into it, tainting the clear water, muddying it to a blurry red.

They had to enter the water to walk down the hallway. Aluuna gasps as she places down her foot. To her surprise, it was cold. Uncomfortably so. She heard mumbling ahead and Kosh dips low and flattens against the wall. Shimmying quickly towards the noise, he peeks around the corner. He turns back signaling to his companions that two people are on the ground. He could see no one else other from his location. Kosh approaches the bodies slowly.

"This one is dead," Kosh whispers. He takes two steps to the other one. The tanned skin man mutters and when Kosh comes into his view, he smiles wickedly.

Click.

Volleys of arrows shoot out all around them. Two catch Ren in the arm as he races to the other side. One impales itself into Aluuna's thigh. The others thankfully get to the other side, Four ghuls round the corner, no doubt attracted to the noise. Distantly, Aluuna can hear grunting and metal on metal clashing. These ghuls look different than the ones outside. They have more meat on them and look buffer.

Aluuna swallows hard. She knew what certain poisons felt like, much to her chagrin. She knew those arrows weren't meant to just scare people off. Ren lurches forward and hurls violently before crashing to the ground with that thought. Flig and Okami race over to him. Okami stands guard as Flig begins treating him. She looks over to Ren, who is sickened by the poison. Flig pulls two arrows from him. Bright green and red liquid mix to create a sickly brown color. It runs down his arm and he motions for his pack. Kosh must have known what he wanted since he reaches into the bag to grab a vial, and scoops up some of the liquid. Harrin, Eris, and Okami clash with the four ghul. Aluuna shoots more beams and sanctifies the ground. A ward of protection surrounds Ren. They only rested for as long as it took to heal. So they wouldn't be out of so much magic and stamina. She is already feeling drained, more so from the poison she thought. Gratefully, every time she fought and killed one of these monsters, she received a small burst of energy. She remembered reading about this place. What Sarenrae's followers did to these fiends.

Kosh runs and stabs the ghul who was getting too close to Ren and the others. Okami and Harrin were too busy dealing with their ghul. Eris backs up to stand in front of Ren, on his other side.

Aluuna would have commented on their teamwork if she could have afforded it. They were so angry at Ren, but they couldn't let him get hurt even then. She's seen Kosh's hateful gazes at Ren every time he even so much as budged. Eris was apprehensive toward Kosh and bitter towards Ren. But underneath all of that, there was something else. Whatever it was, was enough to keep wanting to protect each other.

"Hurry up, you bastard!" Kosh says, over his shoulder at Renimil.

Ren smiles warily and pushes to a crouch.

Eris shrouds herself in flames as a ghul grabs for her. Each time, its hands burn until it withers to the ground dissolving.

Turning, Eris holds her hand out, and he takes it, standing to his feet.

With a blast of light, Aluuna casts down her ghul. Harrin's and Okami's strike down theirs. All are breathing heavily and sweating. Parts of her clothes sticking to her skin and other areas Aluuna didn't want to bother thinking too much about. The closer they got to the other side of the hall, the more grunting and clashing they heard. It sounded familiar. Very Familiar.

"Arix," Ren said in a seething whisper. "It's time to kill that bloody arsehole."