Chronicles of Espiria Season 3
Episode 30 – Attack on the Temple of the Seers
Written by the Dude
Vurk and Fritz worked tirelessly to help Numisu heal the Durri that they rescued from the Arachin. After 24 straight hours of work, she lay on the stone table, clean, breathing normally, but still unconscious.
"We have done all we can, my friend." Numisu said as he sipped from a teacup. "It is now up to her Bloody Will and how eager the ancestors are to receive her. But if she is allowed to rest, I believe she will live another day."
"At least we could save one." Fritz said.
Vurk simply smiled and nodded as he sat against the table recovering his own strength.
"How long can she stay here?" Vurk asked.
"As long as she needs to recover her strength." Numisu answered. "Once she awakens, she will be given quarters and food, but we will likely have questions for her; who she is, what happened to her, how she survived the sting of the Arachin. You are free to stay and tend to her in the meantime."
"I can't." Vurk said regretfully. "I need to catch up to the others so I can make Azmonath pay for this. Fritz, can you stay with her?"
"She'll be fine." Fritz answered. "You go save the desert."
Vurk gave Fritz a brotherly embrace, then turned to leave, escorted by Satrana.
"Your friend is right; there's no better place for those two to be than at this temple."
"I know." Was all Vurk could say.
As they exited the temple and made for the border of the temple complex, they noticed a large mass of Maulers coming their way.
"Wow, do you normally get that many pilgrims at once?" Vurk asked.
"I don't think they're pilgrims." Satrana said as she bounded off to meet them. As they drew closer, she and Vurk noticed that they were led by Gretel Hawke.
"Gretel, what's going on?" Vurk asked. "Who are all these people? That's a nice umbrella!"
"They're servants from the Steelthorn Peaks." Gretel answered. "Brutus is still trying to defend it, and he wanted me and Peter to get these people to safety."
As they led the Maulers into the temple, two Falcons landed near the entrance, carrying a wounded Skriath. More Maulers borne by Falcons were not far behind.
"Get into the temple, quickly!" Skriath shouted as he was carried inside. "Satrana, muster the Temple Warriors!"
"What happened to you?" Vurk asked as Satrana rushed to find the Temple Warriors.
"The Hypogeans are coming!" Skriath answered. "We must prepare to defend the temple!"
As Skriath was led away to have his injuries tended to, Satrana found the Temple Warriors in their Spartan quarters and repeated Skriath's message. The warriors were ready for battle in moments and ran to the temple entrance, passing Numisu on the way out.
"Numisu, I thought you'd be with Chieftain Skriath." Satrana voiced her confusion.
"Any shaman worth his mask could heal his wounds, child. I need to see what we are up against so the shamans can better do their part to defend the temple. Help me, we need to hurry."
When Satrana and Numisu arrived outside, they found the Temple Warriors lined up on the edge of the temple complex, watching as the last stragglers from the Steelthorn Peaks sought refuge and the Hypogean Hoard drew ever closer.
"Satrana, your skills will be needed with the Temple Warriors." Numisu said. "Protect them as best you can, but your first priority is to protect the temple."
"On it." she said without looking back.
Soon, more shamans came to Numisu's side, ready for battle.
"Leave attacking the invaders to the Temple Warriors; that is their purpose. Ours is to defend the temple from whatever the demons might throw at us. Take your positions, and let nothing pass!"
As the shamans surrounded the temple, the Hypogeans came to a halt just within catapult range of the temple.
"This ends here." Azmonath growled.
Azmonath and the other mages in the army began to cast curses at the temple and its warriors, but each one was caught and dissipated by what appeared to be a magic wall along the border of the temple complex, just in front of the Temple Warriors. Watching carefully, Azmonath noted that the shamans would wince and flinch whenever a curse struck the shield; clearly it was taking considerable concentration to stop his attacks. As a test, he picked up one of his orcs and threw it at the wall, watching in delight as it passed through unhindered. Moments after the orc landed, the Temple Warriors fell on it and tore it apart, but this mattered little to Azmonath; he knew now that the shamans could stop his magic, but not his troops.
"Charge!" he shouted.
The army charged across the border and broke against the line of Temple Warriors like water on the rocks. The ferocity with which they fought was unlike anything Azmonath had seen before, and he was uncertain how to counter it. Further frustrating him was the fact that while he and his mages could not penetrate the magic wall of the shamans, the Mauler archers could, and they seemed to delight in targeting his mages. If only Azmonath could move beyond the wall, but whatever incantation shielded the temple from his curses also blocked him from crossing into the temple complex.
He tried to send troops to other parts of the temple complex, but these fronts were soon guarded too, reinforced by warriors from the Steelthorn Peaks and from other parts of the desert who had sought refuge at the temple. Even Brutus, wounded as he was by his encounter with Azmonath at the Steelthorn Peaks, did his part in defense of the temple.
Though nothing in the battle seemed to be working in his favor, Azmonath was not yet defeated. His army was vast; he could afford to lose a few orcs and imps and goblins if it meant that the Mauler defenders were given no quarter. He also knew that the new Graveborn reinforcements were due to join him soon; all he had to do was outlast the Maulers.
Vurk saw the battle unfold and knew he had to do something, but as he unshouldered his crossbow, he received a summons from Skriath. He found the Grand Chieftain in the same room as the Durri he rescued, being tended to by a shaman and by his Durri servant, Dral.
"Vurk, I have a mission for you. The Temple Warriors will hold the demons at bay for a time, but we are too few to stop them indefinitely. We need reinforcements if we are to survive. Vurk, I want you and Saveas to slip away from the temple and find those reinforcements. Will you do this?"
"Is Numisu coming?" Vurk asked, eager to have the Dragonslayers reunited.
"Alas, I doubt he is able to make the journey you must make. Besides, he is already leading the shamans in defense of the temple. You must complete this mission on your own. We hang our hope on you, Vurk; you must succeed."
"No pressure, huh?" Vurk said. Though the consequences of failure were cataclysmic, he was certain that he could succeed. "When do we leave."
"As soon as Saveas arrives." Skriath answered. "I have summoned him as well, but he seems to be delayed."
"Grand Chieftain."
Saveas strode up to Vurk and Skriath with blood stained robes, most of the blood not his own.
"I heard what you said to Vurk. I am glad to accept this mission, and am ready to start immediately."
"Good." Skriath said. "May the ancestors go with you."
Vurk took the lead, heading out a side entrance to the temple in the hopes of avoiding the bulk of the Hypogean army. He was discouraged to find the fighting fierce even on this side of the temple.
"We need to either fight our way through or find a distraction for them." Vurk mused.
They didn't need to wait long for a distraction. Antandra, still barred from entering the temple complex, ambushed the Hypogeans from behind. Suddenly fighting Temple Warriors on two fronts, the Hypogeans could not have noticed the two Maulers silently slip through a weak point in their defenses. They likely would've slipped away without incident if Vurk had not glanced back at the battle and noticed three orcs wearing pieces of Arachin exoskeletons as armor. This reminder of Safiya's betrayal reawakened his fury at the Hypogeans and the Sphinx, and he could not stop himself from firing crossbow bolts into the skulls of the three Hypogeans. This drew the attention of nearby Hypogeans and alerted them to the presence of the retreating Dragonslayers.
"Vurk..." Saveas began angrily.
"Talk later! Run!"
As the two of them fled from the Hypogeans, Vurk used up most of his crossbow bolts to thin the numbers of his pursuers, while Saveas lost his spear when he threw it and killed three orcs. With the battle left far behind, the Dragonslayers ducked into a cave and hid in the shadows as the Hypogeans cautiously followed them.
"We can strike when they draw near. I believe we will have the element of surprise." Saveas whispered.
"What we won't have is weapons." Vurk countered. "I'm almost out of ammo, and you lost your spear. I could throw my Arachin venom at them, but it won't get them all."
Saveas felt around in the dark for anything he could use as a weapon, until his hand came to rest on a curious club made from metal. It was heavier than he was used to, but it was well balanced like a sword, allowing for crushing blows with minimal effort. In the hands of one trained in its use, this would be a formidable weapon.
"This will do." Saveas whispered as he prepared to strike at the Hypogeans.
An angry growl from behind him drew his and Vurk's attention, as well as that of the Hypogeans. Without warning, Saveas felt the weapon snatched from his hand; a moment later, a lioness Mauler emerged from the shadows, brandishing the club like a sword and daring the Hypogeans to attack. Intimidated by the Mauler's demeanor, they hesitated to attack until she let out a deafening roar that reverberated through the cave and charged at them. Most of the Hypogeans found themselves broken beyond repair against the walls of the cave, the rest crushed under the lioness' club or her feet. Her enemies defeated, she turned her attention back to the Dragonslayers.
"Do you come to fight me or to bring me news?"
Of the two options, Vurk preferred the latter. "The Temple of the Seers is under attack."
"And you dare run from battle?!" the lioness growled.
"By order of Chieftain Skriath." Saveas answered. "We are meant to find help, for he does not know if the warriors can hold out long."
"You're good in a fight." Vurk noted. "They could use your help."
The lioness fell silent as she considered the suggestion. "My aid would be...unwelcome." she finally said as she kicked the body of an orc aside and sat on the rock it had died on. "Your mission is important; I will not keep you from it. But before you go, can you tell me of Brutus? How does he fare?"
"The Paragon fights at the temple, even though he is wounded." Saveas answered.
A small smile crossed the lioness' lips. "He is the Blood Claw; there is no other way for him. He will triumph or he will die. While he leads the defense, the temple will stand against the Hoard. But you must hurry on your mission before the Hypogeans find some new trickery to use against them."
The Dragonslayers started toward the entrance to the cave, but were blocked at the last moment by the lioness.
"Durri, all Maulers grow angry with their enemies. But a true warrior controls that anger and harnesses it into strength. Remember that on the road forward."
Turning her attention to Saveas, she continued. "Do not let your lack of weapons deter you, for you are Maulers; your claws, your teeth, your antlers, these were our weapons long before we learned the human arts of metalcraft. Weapons do not make us strong; they only make us stronger."
How she knew what to say to them was beyond them, but they still had much to think about as they continued on their quest. The lioness watched them leave, then turned her attention to the Temple of the Seers in the distance.
"Well done, my apprentice; you continue to prove yourself worthy of the title of Blood Claw. May you one day convince yourself as much."