Wizard's Tower - Arc 3 - Chapter 56

“I must say I am surprised as such a quick decision.” Crylus held a half-smile.

“Why?” I scoffed. “If the price is to forgive you for breaking your word, how is offering a second chance not worth it? I care for those below.” I answered him, the words coming from my mouth without any forethought. Yet, as soon as I said them, I drew in a sharp breath. I was admitting to Crylus as much as to myself, and I wasn’t prepared for the consequences.

“I see. Yet, that price isn’t the only one I would ask. The debt doesn’t truly equal the challenge.”

I had suspected as much. Not that I expected him to have some internal method of weighing the value of actions, but I had expected him to be less than forthright in his bargaining. “What else would you ask of me? I shall not be providing you a vial of my blood.” 

The gnome shook his head, though his hair stayed precisely in place. “No. That wouldn’t balance the scales, and I no longer desire it.” He paused as if waiting for me to rebuke his claim. I didn’t, not because I believed him, but because the battle below was growing fiercer. He continued shortly after, “If I am to act, it comes with risk. Heavy risks. I would have your oath that should my actions lead me to the Seat of Blood, that you guide my followers to ensure I am never trapped as my kin was.”

“What do you mean?” I had purposely stayed far from religion, and this conversation was a good example of why I had chosen to do so.

“Idols should be human. Scripture should show I am intelligent. Would you have me become a beast to aid your cause?”

I ran my hand through my beard. If it wasn’t the End of the Age and the Heroes weren’t in danger, then I would never have considered it. I didn’t want to traffic with the gods, and I had already done more of that in the last five years than my entire life together. I worried that I would shrink and turn green at any moment.

Yet, I saw the cracks in Leslie’s magical shield creep dangerously high, and the representation of Bi that Meathead rode shuddered and faded more. I hadn’t the time to argue the price. “I shall not be your priest or acolyte, but offering guidance I can do. Not forever, and I won’t let it consume my purpose in life.”

“Neither do I ask for that. I ask to call on you thrice to steady the path. No more than a year of work at each call.”

I withheld my grimace. Three years working with idiots who wanted to see their god as an animal rather than a person? It wasn’t the ideal way I wanted to pursue my time. Yet, I couldn’t turn my back on the gnome to join the battle without an agreement, either, or he may strike me in it. “Very well.”

“Then as it has been said, so shall it be. You should attend to your pets below. The ones in the cave more than the others.” The gnome said as he flew higher into the sky. 

I immediately went to work. Magic to reinforce Leslie’s shield came first. Not an immediate jolt of support, but rather a link from one of the dungeon core lanterns to it. The cracks filled in quickly, and I could see color return to Leslie’s face. Meathead was next, a simple spell to save him should he fall, and a ward similar to Leslie’s were all that I thought he needed at the moment. I would look again after I checked the cavern Crylus mentioned. 

Finding it was simple enough. Reaching it, though was another matter. I had to dodge the snapping heads and flapping wings of the monster in quick succession to do so. As I had flown lower to the ground between plateaus, I saw the beast was even more horrendous than I had thought from above. The rotting and bleeding wings were hiding things. 

Beneath each was the rotting head of the blood god. On one side, the head of an enormous crow was embedded in the flesh. A broken beak and dangling eye made it a macabre sight. On the other, the second head of the snake was there. This one hung low and scraped along the ground. The neck was almost entirely without flesh, just bones and organs. The head had a hole broken through the top corner as if something had eaten its way into it. 

I cast a shielding spell as soon as I entered the low cave, and was none too late as the tail of the fallen god slapped against the plateau and sent it shakings. Inside, I found Mena—what was left of her—laying on the floor. Cothram knelt over her, using his body to shield against falling rocks, some heavy enough to break bones. When the shaking stopped I heard him speak.

“Mena, I don’t know who you follow. But whether it be in the grace of Elora’s light or Bi’s pastures, I hope that you find the peace you deserve.” 

Despite his prayers, Mena wasn’t yet dead. Not that she had long. Her body was missing not only its legs, but I could see her pelvic bone clearly from where I stood. Blood and rot mingled together where her legs should have been, and the haze of unholy magic hovered over it. 

With one hand, Cothram laid Mena’s arms across her stomach, placing her sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Next, he closed her eyes. I could see his other arm suffered from the same rot that had hurt her. The skin peeled away in purple and black boils that left splatters of melted flesh on the ground. 

Still, Mena breathed, and that meant something to me. “Stand back.”

Cothram jumped in surprised, and gave me a shocked look, before following my order. I stretched my focus to the limit to cast three spells. The sleep spell was first, and easiest. I couldn’t tell if it truly took effect, with the pain she must be in, but I could hope. Next, I cast two spells simultaneously. [Petrify] took effect quickly, though its cost in mana was high. [Eart Manipulation] was less costly, though compacting the stone in the cavern so that no rock would shatter her petrified form took much more focus. I wasn’t used to trying to change stone that was already moving and shaking. 

I followed it up with a dense magical shield to protect her stone body should it need it. I hoped it didn’t, but I wouldn’t risk it. Petrified as she was, there was still a chance to save her if I could find the correct spells to heal her wounds. It wasn’t much of a chance—a large part of me doubted I would succeed. Yet, I couldn’t stop myself from trying. 

When I was done, I turned to Cothram. For once, he bowed solemnly and seriously.

“I can do nothing against this foe. None of my skills or weapons even scratch its scales. Pulling Mena here is all I could do.” The look in his eye was painful for me to see. It felt like a confession of failure. 

Why he told me, I wasn’t certain. Still, if he had pulled Mena here, then he had done a more important duty than I have for the battle so far. I couldn’t help but to appreciate that. I clapped him on the shoulder and, with Crylus’s recent conversation, answered his plea. 

“Then you did right. Consider any debt you owe me to be absolved, and carry on doing all that you can.” I watched as his eyes changed from self-pity to determination, and he nodded his head once. Together, we turned and walked towards the barrier I had placed at the entrance of the cave and gazed up at the monster. 

“I will alter this ward so that you and others may enter, but not the—” I stopped as I realized I wasn’t certain what to call the enemy. I hadn’t even used [Analyze] on it. Regardless, my words shared my intent, and with a wave of my hand, the ward was altered. 

We waited together for just a moment or two, but when I saw the timing was right—and the monster was far enough away from the entrance—I took off in a flight up the canyon wall. Just in time to be hit with a field of necromantic energy stronger than I had ever felt before. My wards held; it wasn’t aimed at me. 

It did slow my flight, though, and I witnessed the effects far closer than I would have ever wanted to. The great monster squirmed like a dying worm, writhing in pain. Squelching and popping noises combine with loud hisses echoed through the canyons. The odor of death grew until it was all I could smell. Ethereal chains fell from the sky, piercing into the two dead heads on the sides of the beast. 

Slowly, ever so slowly, the chains tightened and pulled at them, tearing them from the monsters. I continued to fly up, no longer conscious of my path but fixated solely on what was happening. The broken and featherless wings of the beast beat against the canyon walls with abandon, and the smaller heads futilely snapped at the chains.

I found myself floating a few steps above the top of the nearest plateau, with Crylus in my sight when it happened. His spell had the two heads half the distance between him and it, and the field of necromantic energy shattered. Holy energy flooded the canyons as a great bird made of light appeared over the Heroes. Shaelra had finished her spell.

Crylus fled, faster even than when he chased me. The chained heads followed, bouncing off the cliffs until they got over them. I couldn’t imagine what the backlash of a spell like that would be, but I was surprised he survived it. 

The hydra, though it still squirmed in pain, looked up at the new arrival with an angry hiss. I wasn’t certain if this was an avatar of Elora, or summoning a part of her, but it was stronger than the bull the Meathead rode. Perhaps, the bull had been stronger before I arrived, but I had no way of knowing. 

The two creatures crashed together in a flurry of claws and teeth; combat that seemed as feral as any I had witnessed before. Meathead’s bull still attacked, occasionally, but it was clear that whatever skill he used to summon it had reached its limit. 

I wasn’t one to stand by and watch, either. I flung fire and lightning at every opportunity. I could see the spells hurt it, but not nearly as much as either of the godly beings. Those spells weren’t my focus, though. I was waiting for Meathead to be far enough away that my greater spells wouldn’t hurt him. 

Mena’s statue was safe behind two wards, and the other heroes were safe behind the shielding spell tied to my artifact. I was at the appropriate distance above and away to call it down—a distance I had measured thoughtfully after striking down Loralie’s assassin. 

I was ready, almost eager to put the monster down. A vicious sneer on my lips, and a major spell at my fingertips. That was when the first gate opened.