NBB2 - The chaos rifts - chapter 24

"Give me your mana-core!" Scathia screamed as she banged her fists against the invisible barrier.

"No," Solus groaned.

His body was more black than grey now, and most of his hair singed or burned off. Even then, he didn't budge as he scowled at Scathia and the three black sludge skeletons behind her.

"Three!" Scathia screamed, staring at him. "That's how many rifts have opened in front of the city tonight! If we don't stop them soon, it won't matter anymore!"

"Then why don't you tell me how I can stop them, instead of demanding my core!" Solus roared, straightening his back.

Scathia pounded the barrier before sitting in one of the chairs that gave her a view of Solus. "There is no other way-"

"You lie!" Solus interrupted her, getting up and towering over the other undead before him.

"Stop hiding what you know!" Solus roared, louder than he had ever done except when attacking.

Scathia's scowled, looking at the sludge skeletons. For a moment, Solus thought she was going to give in. Then her face turned placid, and she looked at him again. Any sign of the previous rage and anger were gone as if wiped away.

"I will have your core and turn into a Lich as I was meant to be. There is nothing you, nor anybody can do to stop this."

Turning to the skeletons, she motioned them forward. "Continue. His mana-field has to be almost empty by now!"

Solus clamped his eyes shut and covered his head with his arms. A torrent of burning black drops splattered across him, but he barely felt it. Almost empty, huh? he thought with dark humor. From what he could tell, they had only drained half of his energy. His humor faded quickly because he also knew it seemed to be going faster. At this pace, he might hold out for another day or two before he would be so weak they could just enter and end him.

The torrent lasted for a long time, only lessoning when one or more of the skeletons drained mana-orbs. Scathia stayed this time, watching him intently, her eyes gleaming. Looking at her cold face, Solus felt the simmering hate grow.  Hate. He had not felt it oft, and he liked pure anger better.  Not that there wasn't any anger. It came in waves accompanied by the uncontrollable desire to rip Scathia and her city apart.

Like the other days, time blurred by until Solus noticed the torrent had stopped. Looking up, he saw Scathia stare at him. Without a word, she turned and left the room while the skeletons silently absorbed mana-orbs, dust trickling between their thin fingers.

Taking a few deep breaths, knowing he only had a short window of reprieve, Solus again scanned the room. He hoped against hope that one of the skeletons had carried a spec of dirt with him, some stone.  He didn't know what he would do with it, but perhaps he could pull it through one of the skeletons' heads?

Finding nothing, he was about to curl up again when he heard something.  There was a soft thudding, barely audible. Confused, he tried to locate it. It seemed to come from the top of the room. Focusing on the location, he couldn't see, hear or sense anything beyond the soft thudding. The bone was like an impenetrable curtain, blocking much away. Wondering what was going on, he watched and waited as the skeletons drained a dozen orbs before moving towards the barrier again.

Suddenly a minuscule crack appeared in the bone, too small to be of any consequence, his hope rose. Was someone breaking through?

The thudding halted, and as the drops flew forward again, he tried to hear if it returned. Seconds turned to minutes, and slowly he realized that whatever had been there having left.

Feeling worse than before the thudding, he crawled tighter upon himself, dully weathering the pain.

--

"It's breakable!"

Sig's boomed as part of his shape was still in the stone wall.  The others jumped up, Tatjie and Derin looking startled while Tirela began grinning.

When Sig appeared in his full form, he moved immediately. First to the baskets that held the mana-orbs, riffling through them, then back to others.

"Grab the baskets and get ready. I am going to move all of us up the top of the skull."

"Finally! Tatjie said as she moved and grabbed both baskets.

"Did you see anything else, any guards?" Derin asked with a frown.

Sig shook his head, his eyes glittering. "None."

"We might have a problem," Tirela suddenly said, and the room turned quiet as the rest turned to her.

"If Solus can't break out of there, he is either hurt, held captive by something, or weak.  What do we do if we can't break him out?"

The silence lasted until Derin cursed.

"Bile, what now?"

"Let's go see first. It might not be that bad, and if it is, we will deal with it," Sig finally said. The glittering in his eyes had dulled, and he looked worried again.

He changed to his cloud form and absorbed the others before surging away.

--

Solus lay on the ground, his eyes closed. The thudding hadn't returned, but dully he kept an eye on the spot. There wasn't anything else he could do.

As sudden as the first time, a heavy thumping started. This time it was far louder than the first, the sound of the skeletons torturing him only just overpowering it.

Staring at the small crack quickly lengthening, Solus felt a spark of hope, and when some bone dust and debris fell, it grew to a burning fire. He had no idea who was breaking in, but it had to be someone who wasn't a friend of Scathia.

The cracks elongated, and a portion of the ceiling caved in. Realizing the sound would warn the skeletons, Solus groaned as loud as possible, acting as if he was close to breaking. His low rumbling voice drowned out the bone as it shattered on the ground. The three skeletons hadn't noticed anything but doubled their efforts.

Looking at the small hole, Solus saw a thick cloud ooze down and into the room. The sight started him for a moment, and then he barely kept from shouting in joy.

Sig!

The cloud landed on the ground behind the skeletons and coalesced into four shapes. Sig stood at the front and took one look at Solus. His face morphed into an uncharacterized look of fury and anger, and he leaped forward, grabbing the nearest skeletons.

"What-"

A confused voice was interrupted when Sig ripped the skeleton's skull off, crushing it in his hands as if it was mud. Beside him, Tatjie had grabbed the other two around their skulls, her fists squeezing them into powder.

"Ouch! What da-" Tatjie tossed the remains to the ground, wiping her hands on her plated leg armor with a look of confused disgust. A thin stream of smoke swirled up from her hand palms.

"Solus, are you alright?" Sig said, stepping forward and slamming his hands against the barrier.

Grinning widely, Solus rose, feeling his skin sting and grow taut.

"I am alright, but it's a good thing you didn't wait another few days!"

Putting a hand against the barrier to steady himself, he grinned.

"Think you can get me out of here?"

Sig changed into his cloud shape, flowing around the barrier until he covered it completely. A squeaking sound came, and the cloud seemed to shiver, gleaming slightly. It lasted for a few moments, and then he returned to his physical shape.

"I can't crack it..." Sig whispered, a look of disbelief and worry on his face.

Solus shrugged. He hadn't really expected the other to crack it open. He turned to the others, and his eyes widened when he saw the stone bracelets around Tirela's arms.

He pulled at the stone with his powers, and it flowed across Tirella's hands abruptly, dripping on the ground. The orange undead started and raised her arms before following the stone. It formed into a ball and rushed towards the barrier, striking it. Solus placed his hand on the other side, sensing the minuscule particles. If he could get more stone, he knew he could get out of here.

"Sig, bring me as much stone as you can," he said.

Sig nodded sharply, changed into a cloud, and rushed through the hole without waiting.

Solus looked at Tirela, his mind spinning as he realized something that had eluded him before. The orange-skinned, yellow-haired undead had a large part of his pattern, but if what Scathia said was true, that meant she was like him! Could he turn her into a world elemental? Tirela's slightly disconcerting black eyes turned to him, and he blinked when she smiled. An odd feeling made him grimace. It wasn't pain exactly, but it felt strange.

Now what…? he thought, trying to identify what was going on in his mind.

A commotion from the door snapped him out of it. Derin was there, blocking the door. It kept opening a bit before he could shove it closed again.

"Somebody wants to get in!" he hissed, shoving the door back again.

"Scathia!" Solus hissed, feeling what remained of his hair stand on end.

"Keep the door closed until Sig gets back. Whatever you do, don't let anybody open it!"

Tatjie ran towards the door and put one hand against it.

"Let me do it! They can't move me," she said as she grinned at Derin, who just raised his eyebrow before stepping back.

The bone door shuddered a few times, but it didn't budge at all. Tatjie just laughed, her arm straight and steady.

"Derin, try and find a way to open this barrier!" Solus growled.

He hoped Sig would be back soon, but he had been put in here. Perhaps there was a way to open it so he could get out? Scathia had been planning to grab his orb, so it should be possible to either open it or remove the barrier?

"Right!" Derin shouted, running towards the barrier, inspecting it. His eyes close to the surface, and his hands striking across it, he frowned then backed up. The thin lines across his torso began to glow, lighting up the entire room. Thick luminous tentacles of energy erupted from his body, slamming into the barrier that let out a high pitched whining sound.

Seeing the barrier giving the first reaction to anything so far, Solus perked up. "Keep going. Something is happening!"

A loud explosion came from the door, and cracks appeared in the bone.

"They are destroying the door!" Tatjie roared, quickly placing her other hand on another portion of the door, trying to keep the fractured parts together.

Looking through the cracks, Solus saw movement, a lot of movement.

"Scathia can somehow stop someone from moving or using any ability! As soon as you see her, everyone attack!" Solus projected to the others in the hopes those outside the door wouldn't hear.

A bright, glowing crack appeared in the forcefield, shimmering in bursts and leaving bright spots in Solus vision.

"Break it, Derin!" He roared as loud as he could. His voice blasted outward, doing nothing to the forcefield or anything beyond.

The energy tendrils moved faster.

A heavy slam sounded from the other side of the room, and Solus snapped his head up. Large pieces of broken stone and rock lay scattered below the hole in the roof. Sig stood beside it, bent against the wall and sucking in deep breaths. When he tried to push himself upright, his legs buckled, and he fell on his knees.

"Rest!" Solus projected to him, grimacing at the small amount of stone. He didn't know what he had expected, but this was barely enough for what he had planned.

Taking another look at Sig, he shook his head. He wouldn't be able to bring anymore. With his full concentration on it, the stone shrunk rapidly before changing into a round shape that rolled towards him. As he was shaping it, he felt something odd, unlike anything he had felt before.

What's that? he thought as he scanned a portion of the stone again.

Inside the stone block, which was now half as big as he was, sat something that resisted his shaping. It looked like a clump of deep green fibers that seemed woven together into a complete whole. It was as long as his arm and thicker. Completely different from the chaotic little particles that made up the rest of the rock, it gave him a sense of calm and unity. Poking it with his power, he felt it dent ever so slightly, almost entirely resisting his influence.

"Solus!" a familiar voice screamed from the door.

All interest in the green material evaporated as he saw Scathia through a large hole in the door. Her sharp eyes were on him, then moved towards Derin, who was striking the barrier.

A fist crashed through the bone door, and it shattered. Tatjie jumped back, bone clattering against her skin.

Through the opening, three gleaming green undead, entirely covered in dull yellow plates, became visible. Two flanked Scathia, while the last stepped away from the door entrance. They looked like Yellowplates but then bigger and with far more plates. Behind them stood a group of five black skeletons with long barbs across their bones. Solus recognized them immediately.

Kaots! he thought, confused and worried.

They resembled the first Kaot he had fought, and that one had been dangerous. Seeing the cracks in the barrier, he hurriedly jumped forward and slammed his puckered and blackened fists against one of them. A shiver ran through the barrier.

"Stop them! He must not escape!" Scathia screamed. The chaos-undead and the bigger Yellow-plates rushed forward.

Solus pummeled the barrier with all he had left while Derin's tendrils worked the outside. Tatjie and Tirela jumped in between the incoming undead and the barrier.

"Finally, something to hit!" Tatjie roared as she ran at the first thing to rush into the room, the Kaots. Grabbing at one, it effortlessly dodged around her.

"I'll hold them. Stop the others!" Tirela yelled.

With a confirming shout, Tatjie continued forward and intercepted the three massive Yellowplates. They proved a lot less agile. Spreading her arms wide, she collided with two of them in the middle of the room. Like loose pebbles, the two flew back through the room and the remains of the door.

A soft groan came from Tatjie as she stopped and stumped to her knees. A green liquid streamed from her mouth, and she groaned again. "Wa da…" she muttered before following over and remaining motionless on the ground.

Behind her, the Kaots had reached Tirela and tried to dodge around her. Tirela jumped sideways, grabbing one but missing the others.

Tirella's hair rose, and her black eyes gleamed as she struggled with the barbed Kaot. It tried resting, but with apparent ease, she ripped parts of it off, bones flying around. Making a cracking noise, the Kaot shot dozens of long barbs shot at her that caused screeching noises as they scraped her orange skin. Long scratches stayed behind from which a little purple liquid oozed.

Everyone froze for a moment when the sound of something shattering filled the air. Then, a victorious roar blasted loose dust and debris against the walls while pushing everyone still standing back.

--

Solus roared again as he stepped forward and away from the pattern. He wanted nothing more than to charge and decimate everything in his path until he got to Scathia. Instead, he grabbed a handful of mana-orbs from the ground. The pile that the sludge throwers had used was still there, partially scattered across the floor. They were all normal orbs, and a stream of dust poured from his hands as any orb he touched disintegrated.

It took but moments for all orbs within reach to disappear, all the while Solus kept looking at Scathia, who scowled back at him. When would she use her ability again? He didn't know, but he knew if he ran towards her, she probably would, so he waited.

The Kaots had hesitated after he broke free and roared. They moved slower now, hands poised at the ready as they circled him. With barely a thought, Solus shaped the rock into a dense hammer. He made the stone at the top denser than the rest, adding more and more, the balance in his hand shifting until the massive mallet hung down. In a single fluid motion, he moved it around in a half arc. All but one of the Kaots dodged back, and the hammer collided with the straggler with a sickening crunch.

The Kaot's shoulder shattered, black bone splinters flying around as it flung sideways. Long thorns shot from its feet and legs, penetrating the bone and dragging long marks in the floor until it halted mid-air.

Weaker than the other one, Solus knew immediately. He focused, and the remaining rock behind him changed into long tendrils, and they shot across his shoulders at the first skeleton to approach him.

A violent roar from the center of the room caused him to blink, and for some reason, he couldn't stop himself from looking. As his head turned, he saw everyone else was also turning to look, as if compelled by an outside force.

Tirela stood beside Tatjie, and she was pinning one of the Yellowplates, a slab of stone surrounding its plated head. The stone compressed the undead's head, and as Solus watched, he saw the stone band shrink in circumference in shocking bursts. Another roar came from the undead as his head got squeezed to half its normal size. Purple goo spurted from his mouth, and he sagged on the ground, motionless. Tirela stood up, smiling wickedly at Scathia.

Still, in the open doorway, the Lich stared back at the orange undead. Her eyes wide open and eyebrows raised, a smile came to her lips.

"So that's why you were surprised," she said, turning her gaze to Solus. "You knew there was another one like you!"

Bile, Solus thought, as he heard her words and a sudden worry encroached on his mind.

"Cherocs, leave him and grab the orange one!" Scathia yelled before turning her eyes to Solus. "I'll keep you out of it." Her eyes gleamed for a moment, then she froze.

Solus felt the horrid sensation again as he stood halfway in the room with his hammer in his hand, unable to move. He barely registered that Scathia had called the things Cherocs, not Kaots.

"Attack her!" he projected at Sig and Derin, who were both tottering, the one looking wearier than the other.

"One of you grab her. The others hold down those fools!" Scathia screamed almost in tandem with Solus.

Groaning, Solus pushed back against the mind power, trying to resist its hold on him. But just like the first time, he was incapable of doing anything. Still, he knew that Scathia couldn't keep this up for long, and he hoped if he pushed harder, she would tire faster. So, he kept pressing, slamming his mental power against another barrier, the second to keep him imprisoned this day.

A surge of motion came from the corner of his vision as Derin rushed forward. Although his face looked haggard, and a small stream of fluid leaked from his mouth, his eyes were burning. A host of translucent energy tentacles shot from him at the Cherocs.

"Get Scathia. I'll deal with this!" Derin said as he motioned his hand at Sig, who was struggling to walk through the room.

Although tottering, Derin didn't seem at all worried. His tentacles shot forward at blinding speed, binding the Cheroc before they could dodge. The Cherocs began bucking and shivering upon touch, their arms and legs making uncontrolled motions while their lower jaws hung slack. Only a single one made it past him, and it ran to Tirela.

Realizing Derin would be fine, Solus watched as Sig strumbled. "There are mana orbs on the ground here. Grab some!" he projected, knowing he should have thrown some to the other when he could still move.

Sig nodded and looked around slowly. When he spotted the orbs, he began moving there, every pace drawn out and measured.

At that moment, the last Cheroc reached Tirela, who was calmly waiting for it. Two long interlocked chains of bone split from the Cheroc back and rushed forward. They had black barbs all across their length that seemed to elongate as they swished through the air.

Tirela's hands moved like lightning, snatching both chains out of the air and yanking the skeleton towards her.

The Kaot shot a host of barbs from its body that flew straight at Tirela.

Before the barbs reached her, Tirela's yellow hair stood on end, unbending like bone, and the barbs ricochet from her skin. She slammed her fist into the middle of the Cheroc, and the stone bracelet on her arm extended upward like a spike. It struck the bottom of the skeleton's skull with immense force, lifting it off its feet. The stone splintered, and the Cheroc reached out to grab Tirela.

At that moment, another translucent tentacle wrapped around the Cheroc, ripping it away.

"Take care of her?" Derin said, his face warped in concentration as he motioned to the door.

They are doing good, Solus thought in surprise. He had expected them to have more trouble, but as he watched Tirela run towards Scathia, he wondered what would happen. His body suddenly came back under his control, and at the same time, Scathia turned around.

"You won't get out of this city! I will get your mana-cores," she screamed.

Before Tirela could reach the door, Scathia reached the tunnel entrance and rushed down. With a screeching sound, the bone of the tunnel closed behind her, and the whole room shook and swayed.

Solus looked around, confused when the room swayed even more, and everything began sliding towards the one side of the room.

"She is bringing the tower down!" Derin shouted, his voice sounding strained.

The block of green mineral slid past Solus as he tried to keep his balance, and instinctively he grabbed it. Then he jumped forward, picking up Tatjie's unmoving shape with his other hand. She was surprisingly heavy, and he grunted. Feeling his feet slip, Solus turned in the direction the building swayed to and let himself slide to the wall.

"Get ready. I am creating a hole! Sig, can you get us out of here?" Solus roared.

A weak groan came, and looking over, he saw that Sig had collapsed before he could reach the manaorbs. Cursing, Solus looked at Tirela.

"Grab Sig and get ready. I'll try and create a ramp. When you reach it, take over!"

Tirela, who was holding on to one of the benches, nodded. She jumped with a jerky motion and intercepted Sig, capturing him as he slid past her. The room was tilting at an even sharper angle, and Solus reached the wall.

Pulling back, he punched the bone with the green stone in his hand. The bone cracked but held.

"Get out of my way," he roared, striking again. Long thin cracks spread from the point of impact, and on the fourth strike, the side of the wall shattered into a gaping hole.

"Let's go!" He roared, as he fell forward, towards the city below. It was dark outside, a multitude of red lights shimmering below, resembling the stars above.

Straining, he stretched his bone-sense down. Mid fall, he connected with the stone below the city and in the mountain and growled as he struggled with what he wanted to do.

A small section of the city began heaving, buildings rippling up and down. One erupted outwards,  as a pillar of stone pierced it and grew up. Solus felt his energy plummet, quickly realizing he had far less left than he had initially thought. When the stone was below him, he stopped looking down at the immense, slightly tilted pillar. His mana-field was almost dried out, and he needed a bit for what was to come.

"That's all I can do! Tirela, ready?"

"Yes!" Came a shouted reply from somewhere behind him.

Plummeting down and picking up more speed, he winced when he slammed into the tower. A loud crack came, and a portion of the pillar snapped where he landed. Scrambling with his leftover mana, he barely managed to hold part of it together long enough for him to slide down past the crack.

Knowing he had to stop before his energy got too low, he also knew if the tower felt it might not matter.  Suddenly a soft, soothing wave of energy flowed through the rock. It knit the pillar, holding it together long enough for them to slide further down.

That's Tirela, he thought, marveling at how the rock moved as she manipulated it. He had never seen anyone else mold the stone, and from an outside perspective, it looked incredibly complex. The mana was swirling around, weaving patterns as it manipulated the stone.

Seeing the wreckage of the building and the hole in the middle get closer, he had an idea.

"Make a tunnel down as deep as you can!" He roared.

There was no response, but the stone around the hole changed, flattening before a hole appeared just moments before he reached it. As he slid inside, the world lit up in a green radiance of stone. The tunnel below became narrower in the distance.

"I can't do it this fast!"

Tirela's groaned voice came from close behind him.

"Just make it as deep as you can, then slope it off away from the city until it becomes level!" Solus shouted.

"You think?" Tirela shot back, her voice coming from almost right behind him.

They slid down, the tunnel becoming so narrow Solus felt his shoulders scrape the sides. He didn't say anything, though, hearing Tirela gasp behind him. He could sense the control she had over the stone fluctuate. After a while, the tunnel began leveling off, and it didn't take long for them to come to a stop.

Getting up, Solus focused and carefully enlarged the room. He didn't want to spend any more energy than he needed and risk what had happened below the lava.

Turning to the tunnel, he closed part of it before turning to the others. Tirela lay on her back, Sig lying partially across her stomach, unmoving and probably unconscious. Tatjie was still under his arm. They had made it! He sighed in relief when it hit him.

"Where is Derin?"