Valkyrie Profile:
Lenneth Novelization AU:
Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyrie Profile or any other tri-Ace properties. Please support the official release.
Chapter Thirty-Three:
Solde Catacombs I
"HURK!"
Arngrim and Lenneth grunted from the effort of pushing the catacomb door open. It grinded loudly against the floor as the gap slowly widened. Lawfer, Belenus, and Jelanda ducked low on the steps, giving Janus, who the last in line and highest up, a clear shot over everyone's heads if anything appeared to attack Lenneth and Arngrim. Nanami lunched behind the duo pushing on the stone door, quietly chanting up a spell.
When Lenneth and Arngrim finished their work having made the gap big enough for the scarred warrior to fit through, they leaned on the door, panting for breath.
"Had I known… the door would be so… heavy…" Lenneth spoke between gasps. "I'd have let you and Lawfer go first."
"Heh heh!" Arngrim actually found himself laughing at that.
On the steps, Lawfer tapped Belenus on the shoulder. The Lassen noble turned. Lawfer pointed over his shoulder at Janus.
"Let us give him room to pass," the knight said.
Belenus nodded. Then the two men and Jelanda went flat against the wall. Lawfer motioned for Janus to go through. The assassin crept past them. Nanami also stepped aside, letting the assassin come down beside her.
"Allow us, Lady Valkyrie," the shrine girl offered, gesturing to herself and Janus.
A winded Lenneth stepped aside, nodding. Nanami and Janus stepped through the opening into the chamber, stationing themselves in front of the stone door. Janus had his bows pointed in different directions as he carefully scanned the skeletal remains around them. Nanami's breath was immediately taken away by the chamber before them.
"Oh, dear… so many skeletons already," she mumbled.
"Take heart," Janus encouraged.
"We are coming in," Lenneth said.
Janus and Nanami split off to the sides as first their Valkyrie and then the rest of the einherjar filtered in, one at a time. Lenneth stood in front with her team forming a line behind her with Janus and Nanami on the ends.
The chamber was large, stretching out a good distance. Human bones littered the floor in a disorganized mess while others had been given proper stone tombs, set in rectangular niches in the walls. There were rows and rows of them, from wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling. There were also eight doors for them to explore. Three on both the left and right, and two on chamber's opposite side.
Jelanda and Belenus sighed, already feeling daunted. The others weren't exactly thrilled, either, by the task of meticulously searching eight possible routes before finding Genevieve. Arngrim, Lawfer, and Janus took deep breaths, steeling themselves while Nanami still could not help but find her eyes drawn to the hundred-strong caskets along the walls and hundreds of messily piled bone on the floor. The fact they all looked to be at about the same stage of decay troubled her deeply.
A terrible thought came to the shrine girl, "This cannot be the whole last generation of Solde's people. Surely, they just fled south to Crell Monferaigne after… whatever happened. They could not have all come down here to die. …Right?"
Lenneth stoically looked at the eight doors, and then closed her eyes to let her senses lead her. In the cloud of darkness which surrounded them, Lenneth focused on finding the most negative aura. With her eyes still closed, she reached out her hand and pointed in the direction she felt the greatest source of evil. When she opened them, she was facing the wall on the left but no particular door. The Valkyrie was still relieved this narrowed their search three possible routes.
"I cannot tell exactly where, but we head left," Lenneth said.
The mood in the room lightened considerably.
"Oh, thank goodness for that sixth sense of yours'," Lawfer said.
"Thank Odin for it," Lenneth corrected him.
Jelanda looked the three doors over and then offered, "Another job for Goldie?"
Lenneth considered it before answering.
"Yes, summon your Familiar, Jelanda, but we will all be reconnoitering," Lenneth responded.
"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," Jelanda bowed her head and began the summoning.
"All of us, Lady Valkyrie?" Belenus inquired.
"Heh! About time!" Arngrim gruffly said. "I was getting' bored just lettin' Jelanda's bird do all the work."
"Yes, Belenus. There is no telling how large this labyrinth of the dead will be," Lenneth said. "We will send Goldie down one of the passages, but we will split into two groups. Between us and Jelanda's Familiar, we can explore all three paths at once."
Then The Valkyrie pointed down.
"We will reconvene here," she said. "Only explore as far as you dare. Do not try to face the Undead witch without me. If you are reasonably certain you have located her, turn back and we will return as a full unit."
"I summon thee, Goldie," Jelanda chanted.
Then the little golden parrot appeared on Jelanda's shoulder.
"You have need of me again, Master?" Goldie chirped. Then she ducked her head low. "Oof! This is not a very nice place, Master."
"Sorry, Goldie," Jelanda scratched her mystical pet under her chin. "But we need you here."
"I understand, Master," the Familiar consented.
"Now that Goldie has joined us, 'tis time to move out," Lenneth said. "Nanami, Lawfer, you two will accompany me through the first door. Everyone else, you are to follow Arngrim's lead searching what lies beyond the second door. And finally, you, Goldie…"
Lenneth motioned at Jelanda.
"The third passage is all yours', Goldie," Jelanda said. "We're searching for a powerful Undead witch. Report back to me if you find her."
"Yes, Master," Goldie bowed.
"Everyone, into your groups," Lenneth ordered. "There is work to be done."
The Valkyrie, Arngrim, and Goldie were the first to move, each heading toward their designated door. Goldie flew across the room and then phased through the third door right away. Lenneth and Arngrim paused just outside of their respective entryways as their respective groups split off.
"Arngrim, Belenus, Jelanda, and Janus," Lenneth called out to the other group.
They stopped to listen.
The Valkyrie spoke her warning loudly and plainly, "Do not forget that you are vulnerable when manifested upon the mortal realm outside of my protection and influence. If you fall in battle, your soul might not return to me from a distance. An injured soul in this dark place may become consumed by dark energy and lose itself to the Undeads' influence, becoming corrupted. Be very careful."
"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," Jelanda and Belenus answered.
"Right," Arngrim said.
Lenneth then summoned her bow again and drew the string taut, generating an energy bow. She put her back to the wall beside the door's knob. Lawfer and Nanami stood on the other side of the doorframe. While Nanami raised her Holy Wand, the knight grabbed the knob. As soon as Lenneth nodded, Lawfer pulled the door open. Lenneth and Nanami both aimed inside, but only a short corridor leading to another room was ahead. More stone alcoves had been carved into the walls. Dried out remains had either been neatly placed in individual piles on the floor or were inside more stone caskets. Seeing nothing coming, Lawfer stepped through with his Holy Halberd held ready. Lenneth and Nanami came in, flanking him with bow and wand still primed to fire.
Belenus pulled the second door open, with Janus and Jelanda aiming around the corner. They were not attacked right away, either, so Arngrim took point, and the others followed him. Beyond their the second door was a staircase which took them down another story into a large chamber with a center column.
As she looked around, Jelanda groaned, "Oh, great."
"Perhaps Lady Valkyrie should have let us bring Goldie down here," Janus said.
"Goodness," Belenus breathed. "They certainly did not want anyone to make their way around easily."
"Eyes sharp, and stay together," Arngrim ordered. He looked at the possible routes ahead of them, and added, "And hope one of these is a dead-end."
"Carefully, carefully. We cannot let too much of the dead man's blood dribble down his cheeks. Every little bit is needed."
"Yes, Lady Beliza," the Undead servant answered.
Beliza and her servant had the unconscious Orlok sat up against the wall while they fed him the dead man's blood in small cupful's from the vat it had drained into. Many of his wounds inflicted by Genevieve had already healed over due to a combination of Beliza's own healing magic and the continuous cupfuls of blood. However, the redheaded Vampire Lord was still had badly injured, covered in lacerations. He had been heavily bandaged and most his of shredded clothes laid off to the side with the tattered remains of his coat wrapped around his waist to maintain modesty.
Beliza had Orlok's head tilted back, and his mouth gently pulled open as the pale servant dripped the last of the blood from the goblet down his throat.
"Another," Beliza instructed.
"Yes, Milady," the Undead servant answered and went back to the vat.
While the servant was momentarily distracted, Beliza gave Orlok a worried look. She shook her head.
"Oh, why do you always have to be so reckless?" she asked him. "Genevieve could have easily killed you, and her reason for sparing you troubles me as well."
Beliza palmed her face. "I'm talking to a comatose vampire."
Orlok just lied on the floor, breathing laboriously. The Undead servant returned with the refilled goblet.
"Not much left, Lady Beliza, but I think we're nearly past the point of danger for him," she said.
"Very good. Pour carefully," Beliza answered.
She tilted Orlok's head back again, gently pulling his mouth open while the servant lightly poured a small bit at a time in. They stopped every time Orlok's closed his mouth to unconsciously swallow the blood. Beliza pulled his chin down again, but loud footsteps stopped them. The Vampire Lady and the servant turned as a Lesser Vampire ran on all-fours like a cat into the meeting room. His matted brown hair had fallen over his gray face as he hooted alarmedly. He stood like up a gorilla on its hind legs, and his abnormally long arms even hung almost to the ground.
"Lady… Lady!" the Lesser Vampire grunted.
"What is it? We are quite busy?" Beliza shouted irately.
"Something… enter… underground…" was the Lesser Vampire's broken response.
"What?" Beliza cried.
"Something. Enter. Under…"
"I heard you!" Beliza shouted.
The Lesser Vampire backed up in fear.
"Alert Scarlet!" Beliza ordered. "Go, now!"
"Yes. Lady!" The Lesser Vampire grunted and then darted back down the hall.
"What should we do, Milady?" the servant asked.
Beliza pondered it, staring at Orlok the whole time.
"We… will finish feeding him this goblet full, and then move him into that room we set aside from slumbering," she answered. "And hope Scarlet can keep them at bay."
"Yes, Milady."
"Woe be to he who entereth our domain," the driftwood plaque hanging from the ceiling read.
"Not the most inviting thing to read," Lawfer commented.
"A bit much, isn't it?" Nanami agreed.
"Focus," Lenneth sternly said.
"Right, sorry, Milady," Nanami hastily bowed with her hands raised and together.
Lenneth said no more as she, Nanami, and Lawfer had just passed through the archway into a squarish room of the catacombs, which stretched out on their left. Lawfer was still on point, with Lenneth and Nanami supporting with bow and wand. Before them were four rows of sarcophagi built right into the floor. There were four to each line throughout the room, totaling in sixteen.
Lawfer led the three, moving along the right wall straight out from the archway. They kept the tombs in front of them. Another archway was ahead of them on the upper lefthand part of the chamber, exiting into another passage.
Nanami timidly looked each tomb over.
"Do we dare open them?" the shrine girl asked.
"No. I only sense the barest remnants of human thought still lingering upon the remains within," Lenneth said. "Unless these Undead who have mastered hiding their presence, we should be fine."
Lawfer glanced back at Lenneth.
"Shall I continue leading, Milady?" He asked.
"Yes. Move through the center. We will cover you," Lenneth answered.
Lawfer nodded back, "As you wish, Lady Valkyrie."
Then he began slowly heading through the center of the tombs. Lenneth and Nanami were still close behind Lawfer, watching for movement around them in case any of the stone coffin lids began to lift from their place. However, after a closer inspection at one of the stone caskets, Lenneth began to be less worried about that happening. The tombs were covered in dust and cobwebs and were devoid of handprints or any sign of tampering. The lids had also not been disturbed. Whatever lied inside had been in there for a very long time without coming out.
"I think we might be alright, at least in here, Lady Valkyrie," Nanami said. "It does not look like the Undead have disturbed these sarcophagi."
"Do not lower your guard," Lenneth firmly ordered. "And keep moving."
They moved past the third row of caskets.
Thud, thud, thud. Bang!
The three of them stopped as the sound of pounding footsteps echoed from wall to wall. The three looked around, but the tombs remained still. It took only a moment for them to realize they were from coming up ahead. That was when the shrieking joined the patting and pounding against stone.
"Lady Valkyrie, I think the fiends have rolled out the carpet for us," Lawfer said.
"Maintain formation," Lenneth ordered. "We will support you."
"Yes, Milady!" Lawfer said.
While he planted himself in place at the front of the line, Lenneth and Nanami moved a little more out to the sides to make sure they didn't hit him. Nanami positioned herself behind one of the stone tombs as she trained her wand on the corridor ahead of them. Lenneth hopped onto one of the tombs, pulling the bow tight and generating four energy arrows. Lawfer continued to stand his ground between the second and third caskets of the final row as the thumping and ungodly shrieking grew nearer.
As their enemy approached, the sounds became more distinct. Both Lenneth and Lawfer picked up on a series of lighter taps and scratches against stone that was getting buried beneath a much heavier pair of feet. Lawfer kept his eyes on the archway, but turned his head towards Nanami behind him on the left so she'd hear him better.
"Nanami, we have two smaller, lighter enemies and a larger foe," he said. "Hit the big one with everything you have."
"Right!" Nanami cried.
A moment later, the Lesser Vampires burst out from the archway on all fours, followed closely by a lumbering Dragon Servant dragging its massive, curved sword over the flagstones. The two vampires skidded to a stop, standing on their hands and feet, observing them like cats. Lawfer raised his halberd and howled his challenge at them. The two Lesser Vampires and the Dragon Servant howled back and rushed towards him.
Lenneth fired all four of her shots. Two flew straight at the Dragon Servant's face and chest, but it blocked both of them with its massive blade while the two vampires ducked below the two projectiles aimed at them. Lawfer recognized the opening this gave him, and sprang at the closer of the two vampires. It hissed at him, and Lawfer feigned bringing his halberd straight down, making the gray-skinned thing jump back. Then, while it was in mid-leap, Lawfer swung the blunted end of his weapon forward, instead, smashing it against the creature's jaw. The vampire yelped like an injured dog as the blow spun it completely around and made slam face-first into the floor.
The other Lesser Vampire leapt as soon as Lawfer struck its partner. The knight swung the halberd's blades up from below, slicing cleanly into the vampire's chest right before the beast flew into him and knocked him onto his back. The Lesser Vampire hissed hatefully down at the knight it had pinned as it crumbled to dust.
The Dragon Servant lunged at Lawfer as soon as he was down, raising its huge sword to slice the man in half while he was down. Nanami, finally having a clean shot, cast her spell.
"Lightning Bolt!" she cried.
The blast of electricity discharged directly into the Dragon Servant's sword and the reptilian creature let out garbled wails in agony as its body seized up under the electrocution. For a moment, the whole chamber lit in bright flashes before it ended. Smoke rose from the bipedal dragon as it fell onto its side. Lenneth zipped across the room, drawing her sword. She slashed the beast's throat as she ran past. As the dragon's blood burst out like a crimson fountain, the beast gagged and grabbed at its jugular before going limp on the floor within seconds.
Then the remaining Lesser Vampire got up, painfully pushing its jaw back into place as it turned around to face Lawfer, who had just gotten to his knees. The knight saw their last-surviving foe and put one foot firmly against the floor. The gray Undead was about to change when it heard someone clear their throat behind it. It turned again and saw Lenneth. The Lesser Vampire, even in its subhuman state, realized it was surrounded. It looked between Lawfer and Nanami in front of it still among the tombs, and Lenneth behind it beside the corridor it had just come from. It had to make a move quickly.
The vampire snarled and dropped to all fours before making one leaping bound toward Lawfer, who raised his halberd to defend. However, the Undead beast braced itself against the ground and at the last second, pushed itself into the air towards Lenneth. It flew at her with its arm outstretched. The Valkyrie zipped straight up, causing the vampire to sail face first into the wall. It bounced off the brickwork and landed on its back with a skull that had been split. It saw and felt nothing but red and pain as Lenneth came back down and drove her sword through its chest.
As Lenneth watched it turn to dust, she had to admit, "Crafty for such a lowly creature."
With all three opponents slain, Lenneth looked into the passage ahead. Nanami ran over to Lawfer and lightly grabbed him by the shoulders she looked him over.
"Does anything hurt?" she asked.
Lawfer lopsidedly smiled in amusement.
"Nay, Milady, just battered about a bit," he answered. "'Twould have been worse had you not blasted the big one."
"Oh, well," Nanami bashfully said as she brushed some of the dirt off his chest-plate. "I was just following directions."
Then she looked up and became transfixed in his piercing blue eyes.
"Are you certain you're alright?" she half-conscious asked.
"Very certain," was Lawfer's amused response.
Lenneth looked over and saw them staring into each other's eyes. Nanami was still fussing over Lawfer, and he was making only the most token attempt to stop her from brushing more dirt off his armor. The Valkyrie had to fight off an almost reflexive rolling of the eyes.
"But your armor…" Nanami said.
"We're in underground burial tunnels. We'll all be caked in dirt when we leave," Lawfer answered.
"You two. Over here at once," Lenneth ordered.
When the two einherjar rejoined, they entered the passage. It exited into another part of the catacomb at the other end, but there was also a turn to the right halfway down. The corridor was also plenty wide, but Lenneth knew it'd be foolhardy to use a bow if an enemy engaged them. The quarters were just too close, so she kept her sword out.
They veered away from the opening on the right, deciding they would rather have even a small bit of distance between them and whatever may attack them. Lenneth stopped them at the corner. Then only the Valkyrie crept forward, treading very lightly. She leaned forward, taking the quickest peek around the side, and then withdrawing. She sighed in relief. It was just a dead end chamber of bones and caskets. One less place to investigate. The Valkyrie looked again before stepping out into the open, motioning for the knight and the shrine girl to follow her and they continued to the exit at the other end. They also stopped at the end of the passage, looking around at the room beyond before entering.
"I see nothing, but I definitely detect something evil nearby. Be on your guard," Lenneth reported to them.
Then they cautiously and slowly stepped into the room. They were again entering at the right end of a long room with the exit in the corner to their left. There were no fancy tombs for people who were obviously better off financially than those who'd just laid out on the floor. Here, all had been laid out in the open, lying in semi-organized rows of skeletal remains.
"Where do you sense the evil, Lady Valkyrie?" Lawfer asked.
Lenneth looked around, but there were only bones of the deceased.
"Here, in this room. Guard yourselves, my einherjar," she cautioned.
As they began make their way around or over the long-dead bodies, Lenneth, Lawfer, and Nanami kept a vigilant watch for the presence the Valkyrie had detected.
Rattle, rattle, rattle, clunk.
All three halted when what sounded like bones began rattling around them. Then seven of the skeletons sat up. They had been spread out through the room seemingly at random. Lenneth, Lawfer, and Nanami went back-to-back as these new enemies stood and faced them. Red fire blared out from the eye sockets of the skeletal enemies. They wore faded and decayed remnants of the clothing they died in. Everything about them was old, dusty, and covered in cobwebs, except their weapons. The swords the Ghasts clutched in their hands were shiny and new.
"Ghasts," Lenneth identified them. "Citizens of Solde who could not find rest, it seems."
"And they've had a benefactor, looking at those blades," Lawfer added.
"Intruders," one of the Ghasts growled.
"Interlopers," another rasped.
"Graverobbers and defilers!" a third shouted.
"Graverobber?" Lenneth sniffed indignantly. "How dare you! I am The Valkyrie of this era, and you will not tarnish me with such accusations!"
"I doubt they will listen to reason," Lawfer said.
Nanami swallowed, looking around. Three of the Ghasts were eyeing her like wolves would a wounded deer. She stepped backward, pressing her back into Lawfer's. He glanced over his shoulder.
"Do not panic," he said. "Wits about you."
"R-right," Nanami whimpered, holding out her wand in a trembling hand.
The Ghasts began to circle around them, sizing them up. Lenneth and Lawfer were ready for the moment they attacked but Nanami was not. She fearfully tried to discern which one would go for them first as s shaking hand aimed her wand around frantically. Then the Ghasts stopped and roared a chorus of inhuman howls as they rushed the Valkyrie's party.
Lenneth shot forward, charging the three Ghasts who had targeted her. She belted out her own battle-cry as she held her sword forward levelly with the hilt beside her face. The Ghasts ran at her in 'V' formation. The one in front raised its sword at an angle to guard high against Lenneth's coming blow. Then Valkyrie smiled a tiny bit and then lashed out with one of her arms, firing an incasing icy blast which left the Undead creature frozen in one of her crystals.
The other two Ghasts slowed in surprise, but Lenneth sped up. She raced past the entrapped Ghast toward them. The next closest Ghast panicked and slashed across in an arc to stop her, but Lenneth dove feet first into her trademark slide, flying across the floor under its swing. Lenneth sliced at the Ghast's legs as she passed by, successfully cutting one of them out from underneath it at the knee. While the Ghast screamed as it fell, Lenneth's slid up to the third one, which sprang at her with its sword raised high and the blade pointed down at her.
The Valkyrie rolled out of the way. The Ghast stabbed the ground where she had been. Lenneth rolled onto her hands and knees and then launched herself straight at the third Ghast, slamming into it with her shoulder and sending the unholy thing sprawling across the floor, losing some of its parts in the process. Then Lenneth leapt through the air and landed on its humerus arm bones, crushing them under her metal boots. Then she swiftly brought her blade down on its skull, splitting it wide open. The Ghast went limp, and Lenneth whipped around to face the remaining two. The first Ghast had broken free of her crystal and the other hand reattached its leg, or a leg, and they were both running towards her.
Lenneth dug her heels in and parried one downward slice from above before blocking a slash through the middle.
Nanami aimed her wand at the three Ghasts charging at her.
"Wind's Breath!" she shouted.
The shrine girl's robes fluttered as her spell generated a powerful gust of wind. Nanami moved the Holy Wand around in circles as it began to generate a stronger and stronger gust. She did it one final time before pointing the wand straight ahead. A powerful wind burst from the end of her wand, blasting through the chamber, and sending the bones of the dead flying away. The Ghasts, however, dropped to the ground, either clinging to the floor by cracks or by driving their swords into the spaces between the stones. A frightened frown set into Nanami's lips when the wind died and the Ghasts had not been blown away. The Ghasts picked themselves up off the ground and began advancing on her again.
"Oh, no!" Nanami cried and began to back away.
She focused, desperately working up the magic for another spell, but the Ghasts were advancing on her too quickly.
"Lawfer!" she shrilly cried.
Lawfer blocked both the strikes the two Ghasts fighting him, angling it to catch a downward strike from above and upward one from below. He quickly looked behind and saw Nanami turn to run towards him with three Ghasts close behind. With a short few seconds to act, the knight looked at his two opponents with grim determination. He roared almost like Arngrim as he knocked their swords back and leapt at them with a powerful cross-swing. The Ghasts blocked but Lawfer managed to hit them hard enough to knock them both down
Lawfer turned and rushed to help Nanami, passing her as he charged the three Ghasts. He swung at the first of the three. It lightly jumped back, allowing the other two to come in from the sides and attack Lawfer. Their swords came down at him, and Lawfer raised her halberd to block them. The third Ghast then ran back in to stab him while he was vulnerable, but one of Lawfer's knees shot up, knocking the sword away.
Meanwhile, the two Ghasts Lawfer he had previously knocked down had climbed to their feet and beheld their new target, Nanami. The shrine girl had just finished conjuring her next spell. She heard the clacking of bone behind her and looked to see the Undead things coming at her.
Nanami turned her Holy Wand on them, and shouted, "FIRE STORM!"
The ground under the two Ghasts erupted, spewing immense heat with the fiery force of a volcano, blasting them both to bits in an instant. The shrine girl returned her attention to Lawfer facing the three remaining Ghasts alone and began working up another spell.
Lenneth unleashed a flurry of swings and jabs against the opponent in front of her, forcing the Ghast to back off. She had just about disarmed the Undead thing when its partner came in behind her. The Valkyrie flew up towards the ceiling, causing the Ghast to stab air. The creature heard her land behind him and instinctively spun around, swinging in a wide circular side arc. Lenneth fell back instead of meeting his blade with her own. She smirked at a skull on the ground at the Ghast's fee, which had fully turned around and raised its sword to slice at her again.
Frosty power shot from Lenneth's fist, incasing the skull on the floor. Instantly, a crystal grew around it, stretching straight up with its top formed into a point, and tearing through the skeletal body of the Ghast before puncturing through the skull and destroying it. That just left the other Ghast Lenneth had nearly defeated before she was interrupted. It walked around the side of the new ice crystal, gripping its sword in both hands as it bayed another challenge at her.
"Oh, do not think I forgot you," Lenneth said.
It thrust at her, and their blades clashed. Lenneth parried its stab with a powerful downward stroke. Using that momentum, Lenneth pushed the Ghast's sword around in a quick, full rotation faster it could keep up. The weapon was wrenched from the Undead's hands and sent clattering against the floor. The Ghast was stunned, and did not recover before the Valkyrie stabbed it through its grinning face. The fire in its eyes died and it fell to the floor, a harmless heap of bones.
"Now, then, to check on my einherjar," Lenneth said.
"Lawfer, duck!" Nanami shouted.
Lawfer had been backing up as the three Ghasts kept coming at him, not giving him a window. He couldn't turn away from them and didn't need to. He knew the shrine girl would only be calling for him to get down for one reason. The knight cut loose with an angled slice at his three opponents. Two of them jumped back and the third blocked. Then, instead of parrying its counterstrike, Lawfer dropped, giving Nanami the opening she needed.
"LIGHTNING BOLT!" Nanami cast.
Lawfer felt his hair stand on end and even some of the electricity lick at him as it passed. The spell obliterated the middle Ghast into tiny fragments that flew everywhere, destroyed the lower half of the second Undead warrior and sent it flying over Lawfer's head. It landed between him and Nanami. The third Ghast was knocked back.
"Whew," Nanami breathed.
As Lawfer stood back up and squared off with the last intact Ghast, Nanami smiled, feeling pretty good about how that turned out. Then she saw movement in the bottom corner of her sight. The shrine girl looked down and saw the Ghast who'd just lost its lower body stand up on its hands, clenching its sword in its teeth.
"What…?" Nanami sputtered, right before it began running at her using its hands with surprising speed.
The shrine girl yelped as she backed up. Its fingertips clicked against the floor, making "teke-teke, teke-teke" clicking noises as it went. Then as soon as it closed some of the distance, it pushed off the ground with its palms jumping towards her. It landed near her feet and reached for her ankles, but Nanami kicked one of its hands before turning and running. The Ghast took the sword from its mouth and slashed at her tendons, just missing.
The Ghast hissed when the girl got away and put its sword back between its teeth to continue the chase. It had just stood back up on its hands when it became aware of a presence beside it. The Undead looked up as Lenneth's sword thrust down. The pain it felt as its skull was destroyed was tense, but brief. The upper half of its skeleton went still on the floor.
"Huh?" Nanami uttered as she looked back.
She came to a stop when she realized the beast had been dealt with.
"Oh, Lady Valkyrie! Thank you," she cried.
Lenneth, however, was busy watching Lawfer face off against the final Ghast. The two opponents circled each other. Lawfer's eyes were narrowed and focused.
"You must have been a skilled swordsman in life, Specter," he congratulated it. "You not only survived Nanami's spell unscathed while your allies were not so lucky, but you have held out against me very well."
The Ghast did not response.
"I gather you the one who fell back from my first strike and allowed your two friends to attack me first. Then you tried to stab while I was open," the knight again pressed.
"Enough," the Ghast uttered. "Fight."
"Very well," Lawfer said.
The Ghast came at him with a flurry of strikes, and Lawfer skillfully blocked and parried every jab and swing. The Ghast brought its sword down and across, which was met by Lawfer's own swing, knocking the sword back. The Undead recovered, sliced low, aiming at Lawfer's legs. The knight responded his weapon low. The combination of his muscle and the momentum hit the Ghast's blade hard enough to knock it clean from its grip. The sword spun through the air before bouncing off the wall and clattering to the floor.
Then Lawfer jabbed the butt of his halberd into the Ghast's ribcage, breaking its diaphragm and staggering the Undead thing. Then he swung the ax blade forward, cleaving the Ghast's skull in half horizontally at the nostril holes. The force holding the Ghast to its half-life failed and it joined the others.
"Rest well this time, please," Lawfer said.
He heard footsteps and turned to see Lenneth and Nanami approaching.
"Well done, both of you," Lenneth said.
She looked ahead at the next bend.
"If these two encounters are anything to go on, the reigning presence in this place has spaced out those under its command to dog intruders at every turn," The Valkyrie said. "Caution will be key."
Belenus paused at the second door, looking back to ensure Janus and Jelanda were ready to take their shots if anything attacked them the instant he opened it. The Lassen noble glanced over at the first door, but Lenneth's group had already gone through it. He grasped the handle, and held his breath, before pulling it open. Janus and Jelanda stepped in, aiming around the corners, but nothing was waiting on the other side to attack them. Just a stairwell which would take them even further down into that resting place of the dead.
"All clear," Janus quietly reported.
Arngrim stepped forward and stood in the frame. He could see the floor of a room at the bottom, but nothing else. He also couldn't hear any movement down there, not that that meant anything. The scarred mercenary took point and stepped through. Arngrim was followed close first by Janus and Jelanda who stepped around the corners. They spread out, flanking Arngrim in case they had to open fire. Belenus brought up the rear, leaving the door open only a crack and then going down after the others.
They went at an even pace, but nothing appeared at the base of the steps to charge up and attack them. When they reached the bottom, they were in another large chamber of caskets and a thick center column. Across from them was a rusted iron gate. Beyond it was looked like natural tunnels. There were also two other possible ways to go on the left and right that were accessible.
Jelanda groaned, looking at each passage and the gate, "Oh, great."
"Perhaps Lady Valkyrie should have let us bring Goldie down here," Janus said.
"Goodness," Belenus breathed. "They certainly did not want anyone to make their way around easily."
"Eyes sharp, and stay together," Arngrim ordered. He looked at the two possible routes open for them, and added, "And hope one of these is a dead-end."
While he considered which way to go, Arngrim's eyes landed on the iron gate ahead.
"Jelanda, Janus, watch the side passages," he ordered. "I'm gonna get a closer look at that gate."
They nodded and faced one each. Janus had his crosshairs lined up and Jelanda had a spell already conjured as she faced the right passage. Neither could see far into the side passages, as they both turned corners just inside.
"That much less warning," Janus lamentingly thought.
Arngrim approached the iron gate with Belenus shadowing him. The noble kept his own sword held high and drawn close to strike quickly as he kept in pace with Arngrim.
The mercenary stopped at the gate, looking it over. Although rusted, it still seemed sturdy enough. There was also no sign of dust or cobwebs. To confirm this, Arngrim ran a finger over one of the bars. Nothing wiped off. The gate had been maintained frequently and recently. The mercenary grabbed the door handle, but it was locked.
"Thought so," Arngrim muttered.
Then he grabbed one of the bars and tried pulling on it, but it did not give way at all. He tested a couple of the others to the same results, but he had been expecting that. With that done, Arngrim leaned forward and looked past the bars into the natural tunnels they blocked. There was a final manmade room on the other side before it gave way to tunnel. He could only see so far ahead, because the path curved to the left a few yards ahead.
"Would some hoity-toity big shot vampire make her home in some old tunnels when one of the rooms here in the catacombs could be cleaned up all to be decent-like?" Arngrim found himself asking.
"Perhaps if this tunnel is a shortcut to another part of the catacombs the Undead made for themselves," Belenus suggested.
Arngrim looked back at him with a grin, "Not a bad thought, actually."
Belenus looked around.
"However, that still leaves the issue of getting through that gate," Belenus said. "This would be much simpler if Lady Valkyrie were here to phase us through."
"The gate's locked from this side. There'll be a key, and someone will have it," Arngrim said.
He looked down one side passage, and then the other.
"We just have to find which bastard to get it from," the mercenary said.
While Arngrim considered which way to investigate first, Jelanda saw something move at the corner of the passage she had been watching, but only briefly. She remained quiet to be sure as she watched. Then she saw something that might have been fingers or claws grip the corner.
"Everyone, we have company," Jelanda said.
Arngrim and Belenus both raised their swords, and Janus glanced over his shoulder while keeping his twin crossbows trained on the other passage. Then he turned halfway and aimed one of his bows down the passage Jelanda was watching. Arngrim and Belenus stepped forward, flanking Jelanda in a line.
"Stay put," Arngrim told the young mage. "Let them make the first move."
Jelanda remained still, maintaining her spell while they waited for their opponent to come out. She was feeling tense. She didn't like that they were being observed from the shadows. What if someone else was also watching them? Was it safe for them to be standing out in the open where they were?
Then something none of them could quite see peeked out at them before retreating back around the corner. Jelanda took a hurried step forward.
"I said hold it!" Arngrim sternly commanded.
Jelanda stopped and turned toward him anxiously.
"But that thing's going to come back with its friends," she cried. "We can't let it fetch a Dragontooth Warrior or whatever else is down here!"
"And fightin' 'em in there's better than out here how?" Arngrim bluntly asked.
"But…" Jelanda protested.
"Nay, Arngrim is right," Belenus calmly interjected. "That might have been a lure to draw us out."
"The last thing you ever want to do when battling Undead is to face them on their terms," Janus put in.
The assassin continued to look back and forth at both passages.
"We let them come to us," Arngrim firmly stated, and looked towards the steps leading back up. "Everyone, move towards the steps. Watch each other's asses."
"Since when are you so tactical?" Jelanda asked.
"Since Valkyrie put me in charge of your sorry asses," Arngrim answered.
Everyone quickly backed up as he said. Jelanda still watched the right path where they had seen the unknown creature and Janus was watching both ways. Arngrim and Belenus walked sideways, back-to-back, also watching the side paths. They closed the distance to the stairwell swiftly.
"Everyone stop," Arngrim ordered when they were within a few paces of the stairs. "This is a good spot. We can retreat if we have to. Now, remind me, who brought what?"
Belenus patted the left breast pocket of his jacket.
"Some Holy Water and consecrated salt," he said.
"Spell Crystals," Jelanda reported, looking down at the pouches on her belt. "Two of each kind. Flare, Lightning, Holy, Ice, and Poison."
"My bows and plenty of knives," Janus answered. "All silver lined for battling Undead."
"Sacred salt, eh?" Arngrim said to Belenus.
"Indeed," Belenus reached into his jacket and produced a small burlap bag.
Arngrim looked behind him at the steps.
"Spread that…" But Arngrim did not get to finish.
He was interrupted by the patter and banging of many footfalls and screams coming their way. The whole group knew at once they were lesser vampires. It sounded as though all manner of enemy was upon them. Arngrim grabbed Belenus by the shoulder, getting the man's attention again.
"Spread that shit in front of the bottom step, now," Arngrim ordered, pointing at the staircase. "A nice, straight line from end to end."
"R-right!" Belenus breathlessly answered.
The Lassen noble hurried ran to one of the corners of the stairs and began sprinkling it out in a thin line.
"Little one," Arngrim said to Jelanda. "Hand me one of those Flare Gems."
Jelanda reflexively reached for one of her pouches, but then stopped, looking at Arngrim in confusion.
"Flare Gems?" Jelanda asked. "But that'll only slow them down."
"That's the plan," Arngrim held out his hand.
Jelanda shrugged uncertainly and quickly found the appropriate pouch. She gave him the Flare Gem. Behind them, Belenus carefully finished pouring out a line of consecrated salt and returned to Arngrim's side.
"What now?" he asked.
Arngrim pointed at Jelanda.
"Jelanda, get behind Belenus's line of salt on the steps. Go up high enough you can cast right over our heads," he ordered.
Jelanda obediently ran up several steps before stopping.
"You two, you're with me. We're gonna draw 'em to us," Arngrim ordered Belenus and Janus.
"Right," the other two men answered.
The three of them formed a line, standing with their weapons ready. By now, the thumbing and shrieking was close enough to be a cacophony that seemed to be coming from both passages. There was also some clattering, like someone was knocking sticks together. Arngrim and Janus's brows wrinkled as they tried to identify the noise. They didn't have long, because within a moment, their enemy appeared from around both corners.
"Thought so," Arngrim muttered.
He'd suspected the halls on the sides interconnected somewhere, and that proved it. If they'd taken the bait earlier, they could have gotten surrounded in close quarters and been slaughtered. Now, their enemy was converging where he wanted them, and were playing on his terms.
In all, their enemy numbered seven Lesser Vampires which skittered into the center chamber on all fours, followed by nine Ghasts. Four of the skeletal Revenants carried broad swords and tall shields, four more carried bows, and there was something different about the nineth Ghast. He wore a dark hooded robe, and seemed to be greater than the others in some way.
While these faster, smaller units converged in front of the center pillar, The Hooded Ghast barked an order, and the Lesser Vampires crawled out in front. Behind them the four melee Ghasts lined up, forming a protective line in front of their hooded commander and the four archer Ghasts. They held out their tall, rectangular shields. Arngrim looked past the vampires and four Undead shield-bearers at The Hooded Ghast. He could tell that one was sizing up the four einherjar at the stairs.
"That one's a thinkin' man," Arngrim thought. "He's even put the other Ghasts behind the Lesser Vampires in case Janus gets trigger happy with his twin shooters."
"Arngrim," Janus leaned in and whispered. "That Hooded Ghast…"
"Yeah, I see him," Arngrim softly answered. "Keep your eye on him."
"Ay," Janus answered.
"You think he casts magic?" Belenus asked.
"I wouldn't bet against it," Arngrim muttered.
The thumping continuing from the rear. Something else was still on the way. The Lesser Vampires lowered themselves to the ground in preparation to attack, but The Hooded Ghast shouted a command which made the bestial Undeads stand down. So, they stayed put at the front of the enemy formation. Janus's fingers remained on the triggers of his crossbows, but he withheld from shooting, not wanting to provoke a wave they were not yet ready for.
Arngrim and The Hooded Ghast exchanged looks from across the battlefield, identifying each other as the enemy leaders.
"I'll bet he has the key," Arngrim thought.
"Without him, the rest will fall," The Hooded Ghast thought of the scarred mercenary.
Arngrim held up his arm, signaling Jelanda.
"Not yet," he said.
"Yes," she answered.
Belenus let out a silent, tense breath as he shuffled uncomfortably looking at all those enemies and knowing that at least two more were coming.
"Steady," Janus whispered to him from the other side of Arngrim.
"What are they waiting for?" Belenus asked.
His answer came when a pair of Dragon Servants lumbered around the right corner.
"That," Janus answered.
The Hooded Ghast regarded the large reptilian beasts and then the four einherjar with a smile which somehow seemed to broaden despite his skull face being frozen.
"Vampires, attack!" he shouted.
The bestial vampires jumped forward like howling guard dogs before charging headlong towards Arngrim's team. The other Ghasts also began to follow.
"Halt!" The Hood Ghast shouted.
They stopped but gave him looks with agitated sparks in their fiery eyes.
"You always let the pawns go first," The Hooded Ghast said.
Arngrim, Belenus, and Janus stood their ground as the Lesser Vampires ran at them.
"Steady," Arngrim commanded.
All three men broadened their stances, digging their boots into the stones. The Lesser Vampires let out more barks and growls amid their shrieks as they neared.
"Steady," Arngrim's voice had taken on an additional edge.
The vampires were within four yards now. Arngrim allowed them to scurry forward a little bit more, and then he shouted,
"Back!"
In unison, the three men all jumped back onto the steps, and the first four Lesser Vampires leapt into the air to tear them apart. Instead, they slammed headfirst into an invisible wall, either bouncing off and falling into crumpled piles of tangled limbs or stumbling back in a daze while the ones further back dug their fingers and heels in to stop before they also collided with it.
From across the field of battle, The Hooded Ghast murmured, "I see…"
"Jelanda!" Arngrim shouted.
The ground under Jelanda exploded with light as she unleashed her spell.
"Mystic Cross!" she chanted.
Multiple glowing cross-shaped projectiles shot from the Elemental Scepter, raining purifying energy down on the four downed Lesser Vampires, two of which crumbled to dust right away. Arngrim, Belenus, and Janus jumped past the threshold of salt to finish the job. The mercenary and nobleman quickly stabbed the other two wounded beasts through the heart while Janus aimed his twin bows at the remaining three bestial Undeads.
The trio of vampires hissed, and two of them jumped up onto the walls while the third remained on the ground. Janus split his aim between the two on the walls while Arngrim and Belenus focused on one on the floor. It crouched lower as though to pounce. To provoke something into happening, Arngrim slid one of his booted feet forward.
In response, the trio of beastly vampires shrieked before all jumping up to the ceiling. Janus sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, narrowly stopping himself from wasting any of his shots while Arngrim and Belenus's stabbed where the third vampire had been. Then the trio of creatures leapt down toward them. Janus fell back behind the salt barrier, causing the vampire that had jumped toward him to collide with it, headfirst before it fell to the floor. The assassin fired a single energy bolt through its back, killing it instantly.
Meanwhile, Belenus only accidentally killed his when it jumped onto his blade. The noble was born to the ground by the weight of his attacker, who quickly turned to dust. Arngrim swung Dáinsleif at his attacker hard enough to bat his attacker away. The Lesser Vampire rolled back onto its hands and knees and skuttled low towards Arngrim to grab his feet. Dáinsleif came down, blade-first, but the creature jumped to the side and tried to jump on Belenus, instead. In mid-leap, Janus shot it right through the chest. The assassin watched it fall to dust in the air, and then aimed his two remaining shots on the Ghasts.
Arngrim grinned widely as helped Belenus to his feet. Behind them, on the steps, Janus had handed off his spent crossbow to Jelanda, who reset the strings so he could keep his eye on the Ghasts and Dragon Servants. Jelanda quickly returned the bow and Janus had four shots again.
"The real fun begins now, boys," Arngrim said with a dark gleefulness.
Janus eyed The Hooded Ghast warily.
"I see death has not changed your idea of fun at all, Arngrim," he said, and then chuckled without humor.
"Damn right it didn't," Arngrim grinned.
"At any rate, I think the hooded one was testing our ability," Janus said. "He will make his next move based on what he observed just now."
Arngrim's grin grew wider. "That just makes it all the more fun."
The Hooded Ghast barked an order, and four shield-bearing Ghasts spread, letting the archer Ghasts aim between them.
"JANUS!" Arngrim shouted.
"Right!" Janus fired his four shots almost as soon as Arngrim had spoken.
The energy bolts flew towards their targets, but the shield-bearers had been quick to close ranks. Janus's energy arrows hit their shields, causing them to fall back a step.
"Blast!" Janus cursed.
He holstered one of his twin bows and quickly pulled back their strings. The Ghasts were faster, though, and the shield-bearers opened rank again, letting the archer Ghasts aim taut bows at the einherjar.
"Behind the barrier!" Arngrim shouted to Belenus and Janus.
The other two men jumped back onto the steps while Arngrim stayed out in front held up his sword out in front, facing its broadside to them, in case their arrows could get past the holy barrier.
"Arngrim, what are you…?" Jelanda shouted.
"Jelanda, get down!" the scarred mercenary ordered.
The four Ghast archers fired. Two aimed at Arngrim and two at Jelanda.
"Huh… AH!" Jelanda cried as Belenus and Janus suddenly grabbed her by the arms and yanked her down behind Arngrim.
The first of the arrows bounced off Dáinsleif. The second arrow grazed the pauldron protecting Arngrim's right shoulder, which caused it to ricochet into the wall beside him. And the last two arrows flew past the Belenus's salt barrier and struck the steps where Jelanda had just been.
The einherjar looked up and watched the arrows bounce down the steps. All four had the same realization: the arrows were just ordinary wood and stone. They wouldn't be stopped by a holy barrier no matter how consecrated the salt generating it was.
Arngrim turned around, and shouted to the others, "Behind me, now!"
Across the way, The Hooded Ghast's flaming eyes sparked with anticipation. The Dragon Servants hissed and stamped their feet impatiently, but their master stopped them with a simple command. They complied, however unhappily.
"Archers! Prepare to fire again!" the Undead leader ordered.
The shield-bearers closed rank as the archers prepared readied their next shots. From the stairs, Janus came up beside Arngrim, taking aim with his twin crossbows.
"Not this time," he muttered.
He saw his shot, took aim, and fired. The glowing bolt flew across the room. The shield-bearing Ghasts raised their protective wall, something which turned out to be a grave mistake, because Janus's shot did not fly high. It flew low, impaling one of the shield Ghasts through their ankle and exploded. The Undead's shriek rang out as it fell from suddenly only having one foot, leaving the archer behind exposed. Before any of its comrades could react, Janus had already fired twice more. His shots hit both the fallen warrior Ghast and the archer it was protecting in their skulls, shattering both.
The Hooded Ghast glowered at his two fallen underlings, and then at the Aesir's attack dogs on the stairwell.
"Open fire!" he angrily barked.
The three remaining shield-bearers opened rank, and the archers took aim. In almost the same instant they loosed their arrows, Jelanda's voice rang out from behind Arngrim.
"Stone Barrier!"
A rectangular section of floor in front of the stairs lifted up to about chest height, and the Ghasts' arrows bounced harmlessly off of it. Arngrim grinned and pointed forwards with Dáinsleif.
"Go, now!" he shouted.
The Hooded Ghast growled as the four einherjar left the stairs and hunkered behind their new cover. As Arngrim crouched behind the short wall, he took out the Flare Gem Jelanda had given him from his pocket as he prepared to use it. They were closer and he had a better angle to throw it from now. Before Arngrim did that, he smiled at Jelanda and gave her the thumbs up.
"Nicely done," Arngrim congratulated.
Jelanda smirked back.
The Hooded Ghast held out one of his hands, gathering dark magic which manifested as black flame around his bony fingers. His underlings, even the Dragon Servants, looked among themselves in fear. Belenus peered over the short wall's top and then ducked back down.
"You were right, the hooded one is a sorcerer," he reported to the others. "He's casting dark magic as we speak."
Janus held up his crossbows, but Arngrim stopped him.
"Wait, I wanna see he can do," the mercenary said.
Janus and Jelanda stared back doubtfully, but neither argued.
"Part ranks," The Hooded Ghast ordered.
When the shield-bearers side-stepped, he cut loose with,
"Flame of Black Death!"
Tendrils of black flame spread out like Fire Lance, flying toward Jelanda's stone barricade, pelting it from multiple angles. The einherjar covered their heads as bits of rock flew everywhere and dust filled the chamber. However, the stone barrier held. When Arngrim lifted his head again, their protection had been cracked.
"We gotta get offensive before we're pushed back to the steps," he realized.
"Janus, now!" he ordered.
Janus popped up over the barricade's top and fired more shots, which were blocked by the shields. Janus, however, only opened fire to make the archers take cover behind the shield-bearers, grouping them together. Then Arngrim stood and pitched the Flare Gem across the chamber, where it broke against the floor at the shield-bearers' feet and unleashed the explosive wrath of Fire Storm, which sent the shield-bearers and archers flying in all directions, in pieces, leaving The Hooded Ghast exposed.
The Undead sorcerer backed up as Jelanda stood up, holding up a specter which glowed with power she had conjured.
"Sacred Javelin!" she shouted.
Around a half-dozen phantasmal spears appeared around the girl and shot forward towards The Hooded Ghast. The Undead sorcerer retreated several backwards steps, holding out both his hands to the sides. Pulsing violet energy streamed from his hands, forming a wave of indistinct power. The holy javelins pounded against the makeshift protection, sending the hooded revenant flying back into the iron gate.
The Hooded Ghast grunted in pain before he fell to the floor.
Arngrim grinned, and shouted, "MOVE OUT, AND ATTACK!"
All at once, he, Belenus, and Janus leapt over Jelanda's wall and charged their enemy. Janus allowed the two swordsmen to take the lead as he hung back, lining up his shots. Jelanda remained where she was and began casting again. The Hooded Ghast sat up against the gate, coming back to his senses in time to see them coming. When he noticed his Dragon Servants still standing by, instead of retaliating, he grew agitated at their lack of intelligence and self-reliance.
The Hood Ghast pointed at the oncoming einherjar, shouting, "Attack, you stupid lizards!"
The Dragon Servants howled their challenges at Arngrim's team and drew back their massive, curved swords as they began charging as well. Arngrim broke off from Belenus and Janus, heading straight for the draconian on the right.
"This one's mine!" he declared.
Then Arngrim pulled ahead, roaring like a beast at his chosen opponent. Belenus and Janus just sighed and focused on the other Dragon Servant, which hissed at them.
Arngrim and the first Dragon servant drew their blades back for trading blows. The draconian creature was much taller than Arngrim. As its stroke came down on him, Arngrim blocked with an arcing overhead slice. As soon as their blades met, the reptilian beast confidently applied pressure to push Arngrim down, thinking his strength would give out. However, when Arngrim's blade did not budge an inch, the creature was at first confused, and then angry when it noticed Arngrim's bestial smile. The dragon snarled and pushed down harder, but only managed to make Arngrim sink just a tiny bit lower.
"What's the matter?" Arngrim asked cockily. "Don't often run into many humans who can stand up to you?"
The Dragon Servant roared, and its head jerked forward in attempt to bite Arngrim's face. The mercenary jumped back. Arngrim landed with his boots dug into the floor and instantly jumped forward again while the Dragon Servant's head was lowered. The creature pulled back a step and narrowly managed to block Arngrim's next swing. The dragon was bewildered by the man's speed and strength, and even a bit afraid now.
They withdrew their blades for the next attack. The Dragon Servant put all its weight behind its next forward swing, but Arngrim blocked holding Dáinsleif upright with one of his hands braced against the blade. The large warrior was sent sliding backwards several paces' worth, but he maintained balance. With the breathing room given, the Dragon Servant bellowed and charged him. Instead of trying to evade, Arngrim also charged. The dragon's sword came down angled. When their blades crossed, Arngrim parried the Dragon Servant's sword away from himself and then down.
The dragon was almost too stunned to react when Arngrim followed up with an angled upward swing, which would have slashed its throat wide open if it hadn't backpedaled quickly. Arngrim then crouched and pushed forward with his legs, throwing himself into a full sprint with the first few steps. The Dragon Servant did the only thing it could think of. It sucked in a quick breath and shot a fireball at Arngrim.
The scarred warrior veered right without slowing down, avoiding the blast. Now with just a few paces to go before he could strike, Arngrim tensed up and cut loose with a thunderous battle-cry. The Dragon Servant swung with desperate effort to save itself, but the creature's curved blade went spinning through the air as it was knocked from its master's hands. With his opponent disarmed and stunned, Arngrim struck the creature across the hip, causing its leg muscles to spasm, making it fall onto all fours with a pained cry as he looped Dáinsleif up and over his head. The last thing the draconian beast saw before being decapitated was Arngrim bringing his sword down.
With the dragon beast dead, Arngrim looked up and met the fiery gaze of The Hooded Ghast.
Belenus and Janus veered right, away from Arngrim, as they charged their apparent designated opponent. Belenus took the lead, but stayed to the side to give Janus room to fire when he had the chance. The assassin aimed both crossbows at the second Dragon Servant as it ran at them. He didn't have a clear shot with its wide blade held up defensively.
As the beast came almost within striking distance, Belenus had no idea what he was going to do.
"I've not the strength to withstand even one blow from that massive chunk of metal it calls a sword," he thought as he looked over his enemy, urgently trying to find a weakness.
It was only as the Dragon Servant began winding up for its attack that desperation spurred Belenus into action he didn't know would work, but he had nothing else. He feigned a forward thrust. The Dragon Servant prematurely cleaved its curved blade across the front even as Belenus dug his heels in, stopping just short of the creature's range. As soon as the dragon's sword had passed, Belenus jumped in, aiming to slash the creature across its sizable belly.
At the same time Belenus leapt forward, the dragon's tail snapped forward, smacking him across the chest and knocking him back. Belenus let out a grunt as he was painfully slammed into the stone floor. The dragon was on him in a second. Its head snapped down, maw open and ready to take a bite out of the nobleman.
Twang! One of Janus's bolts struck the beast at the end of its snout, making the draconian thing yelp and retreat a step while it swung again just to keep Belenus away.
"Thank you much!" Belenus called as he shakily got up.
"Don't thank me yet!" Janus answered. "Watch out!"
The Dragon Servant turned in a full rotation, lashing out again with its tail, forcing Belenus to duck and Janus to back up. Then it swung its sword across as it finished its rotation, forcing Belenus back as well this time. The noble clenched his teeth, looking for an opening.
"A frontal assault is useless if you're not Arngrim or Lady Valkyrie. I need to strike from behind or from the side," he thought. "I need an opening."
Janus aimed and fired his next shot at the dragon's face. The beast again blocked with its sword.
"Blast!" Janus cursed, knowing he only had one shot left before he's have to reload.
Belenus saw his chance and ran for it, keeping low. The Dragon Servant raised its sword to bring it down on him. Belenus dove for it, managing to get beside the creature. As he rolled past, he thrust into the dragon's side. The draconian beast howled and kicked him away.
"Ulf!" Belenus bounced against the ground roughly before coming to rest a short distance away.
The enraged draconian raised its foot to stomp him, but forgot about Janus. The assassin fired his fourth and final energy bolt into one of the creature's eyes while it was distracted. The dragon's head snapped back as it belt out one final bellow of pain and malice before it fell backwards, landing splayed out.
With their foe defeated, Belenus stood up, using his sword to push himself up like a cane while Janus reset the swings of his bows. Then they both turned and faced their last enemy, The Hooded Ghast. Belenus held up his sword in a front upper guard position while Janus came up beside him, holding out both rest crossbows. About ten feet to their right, Arngrim raised Dáinsleif and faced their enemy as well.
The Hooded Ghast looked around as they began to approach him. Jelanda had remained back behind her stone barrier, obviously having a spell already prepared, but that did not concern the Undead sorcerer one bit. He was ready for her this time. He was ready for all of them.
Then, much to the surprise of Arngrim, Belenus, and Janus, instead of showing even a hint of fear, The hooded Ghast began slowly clapping mockingly.
"Well done," the sarcasm practically poured from Ghast's voice. "You have all made it about as far as… most mortals who dare intrude on our sanctuary."
Arngrim's eyes just narrowed, already knowing this Undead bastard had something up his long, loose-fitting sleeve.
"Janus, Jelanda, kill this joker!" he ordered.
Janus pulled both triggers of his crossbows, and the energy bots shattered against a protective shield their enemy had conjured, causing violet ripples to stretch over the dome of protection. The Undead sorcerer threw back his head and laughed at them.
"FIRE LANCE!" Jelanda chanted.
She unleashed several fireballs from her Elemental Scepter, which flew towards the Ghast, and pounded against his magical shield to no effect. Arngrim cut loose with another battle-cry, and then he and Belenus took their turn, charging their enemy.
Before they even reached him, The Hooded Ghast spoke again, invoking a spell,
"Weight of the Heavens!"
Then a crushing pressure struck the three men all at once.
"URK!" Belenus and Janus were bore to their hands and knees, and then to their stomachs.
Arngrim managed to resist by supporting himself with Dáinsleif, which he stabbed into the floor. He clung to the hilt of his sword, and he used it as an old man would a walking stick, and even hobbled forward like one. The Hooded Ghast locked eyes with the sneering face of Arngrim again as the mercenary inched his way forward, fighting against the crushing weight of the dark spell to kill his enemy. Each step became more labored as even the large warrior's strength began to give out. Sweat dripped down Arngrim's face as he was finally forced to stop.
Belenus and Janus tried to lift their heads to watch, to speak, but the tremendous force keeping them down prevented them from doing anything but except looking through their peripheral vision. Their voices would just not come. From the back, behind her barricade, only Jelanda still stood, having been beyond the spell's range. She began to panic as she watched the three men struggling, realizing for all intents and purposes, she was alone against this enemy. She tried to gulp down the lump in her throat as she watched Arngrim slowly working his way towards The Hood Ghast, and did the only thing she could. She bowed her head as she focused and began to build up a well of magic to cast from.
With shaky hands, Arngrim tried to dislodge Dáinsleif from the floor and lift it, but the unyielding pressure working against him was too much and the scarred mercenary sunk to his knees, unable to go any further. He could feel The Hooded Ghast's malicious smile more than he could see it when he heard his enemy begin to speak again,
"Away with you."
"Argh!" Arngrim was hit with a bombardment of force he could not define and was launched backwards through the air. He landed beside Belenus and Janus, flat on his back and unable to move.
"Yes… Yes," The Hooded Ghast triumphantly said. "Even the gods' proud attack dogs cannot stand against us."
His teeth chattered as he belted out another gleeful laugh as he began to approach his three downed foes. He held up both hands as though carrying something between them, and he conjured a ball of black energy. He stopped, standing over Arngrim.
"For resisting the Weight of the Heavens so valiantly, you get the honor of dying your second death to me first," The Hooded Ghast gloated.
Arngrim tried to speak, but like Belenus and Janus, he could not. So, he made do with a teeth-clenched snarl up at his enemy.
"Farewell, Warrior," The Hooded Ghast said as he held out his hands, about to cast the killing spell against the mercenary.
"H-hold right there, f-fiend!" a high-pitched voice shouted.
The Hooded Ghast looked up, noticing Jelanda had come out from behind her barricade. She had her next spell prepared. He could tell it was lightning from the magical circle which had formed under her feet. Her body began to glow with power, but he was not intimidated. His protective shielding was still in place and the look of fear in her eyes betrayed her lack of confidence.
"Lightning Bolt!" Jelanda lashed out with Thor's fury.
For an instant, the Ghast's dome was entirely encircled by lightning, which crackled and split, licking at the walls, ceiling, and floor of the chamber. Arngrim, Belenus, and Janus all grunted in pain as they each received electric shocks. Jelanda saw the lightning branch out and strike them. She gasped and cut off the flow of the spell before it could harm them anymore.
Then, she saw The Hood Ghast was still there, unharmed. He laughed at her again and waggled her finger at her as though chiding a misbehaving child.
"Naughty little girls should not play with the power of the gods," he said. "'Tis like playing with fire. All good fun until someone is burned."
Then he looked over at Arngrim, who twitched as smoke rose from his pained body. Jelanda also saw how she had harmed the three and backed into the stone barrier. She looked away remorsefully until she heard the Ghast's footsteps approaching her.
As he slowly walked towards her, The Hooded Ghast pointed back at the three with his thumb, "In this case, your own comrades were the ones burned."
Jelanda, in fear, climbed back over the stone barrier.
"Nothing can save you now," The Ghast said.
He held out one of his hands, which began to give off a sickly green mist. An orb of it formed in his palm. Jelanda gave the stairs a sideways look, and considered just retreating behind the safety of Belenus's sacred salt barrier, but to do that…
Jelanda looked past The Hooded Ghast, who was almost to her stone barrier now, at the three fallen warriors. Even at that distance, she could see Arngrim eyeing her frantically and doing his best to motion her behind the salt line. Belenus was struggling to speak, repeating a one syllable word she guessed was "Run", and Janus was trying to aim one of his crossbows at the Ghast's back.
"I could run. I could fetch Lady Valkyrie, but…" the former princess stopped herself as she remembered Lenneth's warning.
"Do not forget that you are vulnerable when manifested upon the mortal realm outside of my protection and influence. If you fall in battle, your soul might not return to me from a distance. An injured soul in this dark place may become consumed by dark energy and lose itself to the Undeads' influence, becoming corrupted. Be very careful."
"If I leave them, I'll be damning them," the realization halted Jelanda's retreat.
It was not a moment too soon as The Hooded Ghast stepped over the stone barricade.
"Finally facing me like a true 'worthy chosen'?" he asked.
Jelanda looked down at her scepter. It still had a charge of magic left. The energy had already been conjured, and it could be built on further for something far more powerful than just another Lightning Bolt. Keeping her words under her breath, the Artolian princess began chanting up a spell she had never tried to cast yet.
"Oh, gods, please let this work. Please let the conditions be right," she silently prayed.
The Hooded Ghast snorted when he realized what she was doing and aimed his own spell at her. She was welling up a considerable amount of additional magic on top of the remaining energy stored up in her Elemental Scepter.
"Really, now?" he derided her. "Do you truly intend to embarrass yourself again? Let me make this easy for y…"
He stopped when a spiral of electricity suddenly arced around Jelanda, startling him. He backed up this time.
"Wha…?" he cried as he felt an enormous amount of magic energy. "No, this is… Ack!"
He was stopped by Jelanda's stone barrier, nearly misfiring his own dark magic in the process.
Jelanda's voice rang out amid the crackling of the lightning around her, "As the harmoniums of Asgard sound, their very melody stirs the ancient lightning to wake!"
"No!" The Hooded Ghast leapt to his feet, aiming his spell at her. "Nauseous…!"
"DRAGON BOLT!" at Jelanda's word, the Great Magic was unleashed.
The Hooded Ghast's vision was filled with white, crackling light which pounded his dark energy shield. He vaguely saw a massive pair of jaws clamp around the dome before it was broken, and he was engulfed. The three warrior einherjar also watched with equal awe as the biggest arc of lightning they had ever witnessed barreled through the sorcerous Undead and then the room before blasting the iron gate off its hinges, shocking them all again in the process. Then the magic dispersed, and the pressure holding Arngrim, Belenus, and Janus down instantly vanished.
Arngrim gasped, sucking in a big breath as he jolted up into sitting position. Beside him, Belenus and Janus were more sluggishly picking themselves up, favoring their sore sides which had been crushed into the hard stone floor and zapped. The scarred warrior turned his attention to Jelanda, who stood mystified at being able to cast Great Magic. Then, she fell onto the bottom step of the stairwell and sat there as the inertia hit her. Jelanda blinked several times as she soaked in the scene before her. The stone barricade had also been destroyed.
"Wow," was Jelanda's one stunned thought.
She looked down at her scepter, mentally retracing her footsteps.
"I stopped Lightning Bolt before I used the full spell, and held onto some of the energy," she began to grasp it. "That was the boost I needed to cast some Great Magic."
She ran her hands over the surface of her casting tool.
"I wonder if that will work for other Great Magic spells," she thought. "Well, I can figure that out later. I'll just grab the keys off that Ghast's remains and…"
She looked up and realized there were no discernible traces of The Hooded Ghast to be seen anywhere. Jelanda knew what that meant right away.
"Oh, no," she gasped, jumping to her feet, eyes wide.
"Huh?" Arngrim looked up in response.
He had gotten to his feet, but was doubled over trying to catch his breath with his hands resting on his knees. He stared with a curious and perplexed look. Janus was helping Belenus get up.
"What's wrong, Little One?" Arngrim gasped.
"Oh, I completely obliterated that Ghast! He had the keys to that… gate…" Jelanda trailed as she looked where the gate had been previously.
She blinked several more times, noticing what all her spell had done for the first time. The gaping maw of the corridor stood open to them, and the iron gate was a mangled mess half driven into the natural tunnel wall beyond.
"Whoa," Jelanda uttered.
She then ran over to the three men, coming to a stop among as she gawked at her own handiwork.
"I did that?" Jelanda cried.
"Impressed?" Belenus breathlessly answered.
Arngrim chuckled and then winced as the movement made his side hurt. He looked down at Jelanda and placed a hand on her shoulder. She met his gaze.
"You did good," he congratulated her. "Really saved our asses back there. Sorry we went and put ya in that spot. I shoulda known that guy had something like that up his sleeve."
"In fairness…" Janus spoke, straining under pain. "You did try to prevent his next move."
Jelanda caught the pain in the assassin's voice and looked at him, noticing he was still clutching his side and was still singed from the first lightning blast. She looked at Arngrim and Belenus, too, and winged guiltily. Arngrim seemed mostly unaffected, but Belenus was visibly tender and almost wobbling on his feet.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Here," Jelanda said.
The princess focused and within a moment, she cast, "First Aid!"
She split the healing magic in three and sent the portions into them. The warrior einherjar almost immediately felt better.
"Thank you kindly," Belenus said to Jelanda.
The ex-princess beamed under their thanks.
Then the four of them turned to the open gate before them. Arngrim picked up Dáinsleif from the floor.
"Belenus, with me. Jelanda, Janus, follow," he ordered.
"Wait," Jelanda said.
She pointed to the two side passages. "What about down there, and there?"
Arngrim considered it for a moment, but then shook his head, uttering, "Nah."
He pointed at the opened gate.
"This way was shut to us," he said. "If there's any way forward, it'll be through here."
"Besides," Janus added. "The creatures came out of both passages. They likely converge somewhere, and may not even go anywhere except their nests. Our best bet is through the gate if we seek Genevieve's location."
"Hmm…" Jelanda hesitantly muttered. "Alright, then."
Then, Arngrim and Belenus took the lead as they headed through the gate into the natural tunnel, uncertain of what they would find once inside. They knew one thing for certain, though: someone must have heard the Great Magic Jelanda cast.
"They'll be on us again in no time," Arngrim predicted.
Lenneth's group turned another corner. Nanami still bought up the rear behind the Valkyrie and Lawfer. As she followed them, the shrine girl again felt her eyes drawn to the corpses. These were not laid out in dignified manner or put inside stone tombs in this hall. It seemed as though the people just climbed up and lied down to die. Nanami's pace slowed as she did a quick visual sweep of the dried up, skeletal husks. Lenneth and Lawfer noticed right away and stopped.
"Nanami, do not linger. Danger lurks around every corner of this place, as you have already experienced," Lenneth scolded. "Keep up the pace."
"Forgive me, Lady Valkyrie," Nanami said with a horrified eye still on the bodies.
Lenneth also glanced at them, but saw nothing to be so alarmed about. The catacombs was filled with them, so it puzzled her that the shrine girl was so enraptured with them.
"Something bothers you?" Lawfer asked.
"Yes…" Nanami looked down at her twiddling thumbs. "I just… I cannot help but notice that all the bodies in this seem to come from about the same period. I'd say they've all been dead for three or four hundred years."
Lenneth just looked on, still not understanding what the girl was on about.
"I am afraid I do not follow," she said.
Lawfer looked around at the bodies.
"How can you even begin to tell how long they've been dead?" he asked curiously.
"Oh," Nanami mumbled uncomfortably. She took a breath before speaking up, "I'm a Miko. I've been to the catacombs under Hai-Lan's capital for the burials of nobles and to cleanse those dark halls when evil energies begin to gather down there. I'm very familiar with it, and even how each section is organized."
She cast a wary side-eye upon the skeletons beside.
"You begin to get a feel for how… 'fresh' the bodies are," the shrine girl finished.
Lawfer made a sympathetic sound with his throat before also looking at the dusty bodies.
"And you say all these corpses have been dead for about the same length of time?" he asked.
"Yes," Nanami quietly answered.
"Yes, you are quite correct," Lenneth spoke up.
She stepped closer to one of the alcoves in the walls, giving the skeletal remains a once-over.
"These people did expire around the same period, give or take maybe a decade or two," she said.
"Do you know what happened to them?" Nanami asked.
"Yes, I do know the answer to that one," Lenneth answered, crossing her arms. "Solde declined when Dipan fell. All the able-bodied inhabitants left, and the weaker survivors built this catacombs as a final resting place for themselves. Over the next few decades after Dipan's fall, the weak and old died off, each coming down here to take their place among the rest."
"That's awful!" Nanami cried.
"It is," Lenneth said softly. "They were but victims of circumstance. The same cannot be said for Dipan. That arrogant kingdom was destroyed by the gods for their blasphemous pursuit to supplant the Aesir as the rulers of The Nine Realms. Their fall affected many across Midgard, and still does, but they had not thought about that before they acted."
Lawfer and Nanami both looked at her, utterly shocked.
"That's what that was all about?" Lawfer asked.
He had known the kingdom of Dipan had partaken in some questionable actions before the end, but he had never imagined something on that scope.
"How did they propose to even accomplish that, and why?" Nanami blurted out.
"To meet these selfish ends, King Barbarossa and his chief advisors, the Three Great Mages, indulged in all manner of unethical experiments and dark, profane magics," Lenneth responded. "The king's daughter even participated, becoming an unholy witch. She made a pact with a devil that possessed her and gave her unearthly power."
Lawfer had to think a moment.
"Yes… Princess… Alice, no, Alicia. Alicia fon Dipan," he said. "She was also the last princess of Dipan, no less."
"Yes. That accursed girl even fell in with crooks and bandits during one of her more audacious pursuits, according to Lady Freya," Lenneth said.
The Valkyrie had to fight to prevent a sneer from forming on her hips as the mention of Alicia's allies.
"That was when she allied herself with one ruffian in particular," Lenneth paused, and then practically spat the man's name. "Rufus Half-Elven."
Her einherjar were taken back by the sheer amount of spite she seemed to have for Alicia and Rufus.
"That horrible witch and her brigands had the unmitigated gall to seek the Dragon Orb to use it as a weapon against the gods," Lenneth curtly spoke. "They violated nearly every Divine law there is, and even murdered Lord Baldur when he tried to stop them."
Lenneth shook her head at the selfishness of the whole thing.
"I will never know how they discovered that Mistletoe was his one weakness," she voice was nearly a whisper. "Only those closest to Lord Odin should have known, but Alicia and Rufus somehow came upon this forbidden knowledge. Thankfully, Lord Loki was on-hand to prevent them from desecrating his body in ways I have not the heart to imagine."
Lawfer regarded their Valkyrie and then cautiously decided to venture a response,
"You were fond of Lord Baldur?"
Lenneth turned her eyes away, wearing a grave look.
"We all were," she slowly replied. "More than being one of the mightiest gods and a great peacemaker, he was kind."
Lenneth then mentally added, "He also kept us honest."
Then the Valkyrie swept her arm around, motioning at place of death around them.
"Back to the topic at hand," Lenneth quickly diverted. "As for Solde. It was only this lone city state. It existed to trade with Dipan. It was protected from raiders, rivals from other kingdoms, and pirates by Dipan, itself. Once Lord Odin sent my sister to bring down his judgment on Dipan, though, this city could no longer sustain itself, and its people began slowly leaving."
"So, that explains all the ships just abandoned in the harbor," Nanami deduced.
Lawfer looked intently at Lenneth. "Dipan really tried to usurp the throne of Asgard, Lady Valkyrie?"
"Yes," Lenneth answered. "I know not why, though. They were the cradle of humanity before their fall. I supposed 'twas their arrogance and greed which made them overstep their bounds so profanely."
"Good ol' greed," Lawfer said with a sigh. "That's a classic chestnut I'm familiar with."
"Yes, greed," Lenneth answered. She looked up at the ceiling with a cold passiveness. "'Tis like a nasty little pet. The more you feed it, the hungrier it will get. Yet, you cannot blame greed alone. It must worm its way inside. Ever hungry, never satisfied. The more it is sought, the more it likes to hide, a half-seen shape in the mist, calling to those who seek it."
Lenneth let that final statement sit a moment.
"A self-destructive cycle," Lawfer agreed.
"Indeed," Lenneth said, and motioned forward down the next hall. "Now, we have wasted enough time. We must press on."
"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," the knight and shrine girl bother said.
They reached the end and took a right into another long hallway. Just a few steps through, and Lenneth briskly stopped, staring stiffly up at the ceiling with a displeased look.
"What is it, Lady Valkyrie?" Lawfer asked as he followed her gaze.
Lenneth pointed at a torch holder high on the wall. When Lawfer and Nanami looked, both saw a small golden parrot perched on it.
"Goldie?" Nanami asked.
The little parrot Familiar responded with a series of chirps before descending towards them. Lenneth held out her finger for Jelanda's Familiar. Goldie landed, looking crestfallen, at least as far as the Valkyrie and two einherjar could tell.
"Do not tell me… this path just loops around to the one you took?" Lenneth reluctantly asked.
Goldie nodded with another an unhappy chirp. Lawfer groaned and Nanami hung her head, letting out a tired sigh. Lenneth just looked on ahead, laser-focused on her task despite this setback.
"This means Arngrim's group took the correct path. Come, we will return to the entry chamber and follow after them," the Valkyrie said.
Lenneth directed them back the way they had come.
"We're heading back, Lady Valkyrie?" Nanami asked.
"Yes. We are less likely to have another Undead entanglement if we just about-face," she ordered.
"Seems logical. We killed everything in our path getting here," Lawfer said.
"Aw, hell," Arngrim muttered.
Before them was a round room with the entrances to many corridors from end to end.
"This does not look like something you would see in a normal catacombs," Belenus muttered.
Janus ran his hand over the brickwork of the walls, giving it a closer examination.
"This stonework is newer than anything else we've seen down here," Janus observed. "It would seem the Undead have made themselves more at home than we thought."
"But where do we go?" Jelanda asked.
She looked at each archway, seeing nothing but darkness down each one. A look of unease adorned Belenus's features, and he turned to Arngrim.
"Perhaps we should call on the others before we explore any further," he suggested. "If nothing else, Lady Valkyrie's intuition will point us in the right direction, and with the gate mangled and off its hinges, 'tis not as though they could bar the way for us again."
"Hmm. You gotta a point about that," Arngrim admitted. He gave the circular room of many doors one more look before deciding. "I gotta a feeling Valkyrie would catch up to us before we found the witch, anyway. Come on. Let's head back. Belenus is right, Valkyrie's sixth sense will sniff the witch out."
"If only it were that easy."
Everyone froze at the sound of the unfamiliar woman's voice, and instinctively took up formation to cover each others' backs as they slowly walked around in a full rotation scanning the different passages. Arngrim loosened Dáinsleif from its sheath as he looked around, growling challengingly. Jelanda nervously held up her scepter, quietly welling up magical energy.
"See anything?" Belenus asked as his eyes moved from one passage to the next.
"Nothing," Janus answered.
"Up here, boys and child."
"Hey!" Jelanda offendedly cried as they looked up.
Above them, the transparent image of a woman with red curly in a brown robes hair appeared, smiling predatorily down at them.
"You are not Genevieve," Janus muttered.
"Very astute," she answered sarcastically. "Welcome to my parlor, said Scarlet to the einherjar. Not prepare for oblivion!"
Then dark power crackled in her hands. Jelanda was the first to notice and pointed the Elemental Scepter at their attacker.
"Dark Spear!" Scarlet chanted.
"Sacred Javelin!" Jelanda shouted.
