Chapter 42: Enclave XII
After fending off their nonstop stream of advice and warnings, I said my goodbyes and headed to Ralakoss estate. Erdos saw me coming and rolled his eyes, making it clear how he felt about my participation in this venture. He passed me by, leaning over to mutter. Just dont get in the way. Stay in the back with the rest of the support group if theres any altercation. And for the lord belows sake, dont cast anything. You set any of my men on fire and theyll never find your body. Now get in line.
It was clear Erdos was unhappy, but at this point there was nothing he could do about it. Hed made his play with Ralakos and lost. Still, there was something to be said for winning with grace, and I had no reason to go out of my way to annoy him. I gave him a cheeky salute, and he scowled, striding away. Trying to make eye contact with as many of the men as I could as I walked towards the back, I settled in behind them. There were about fifteen in all.
A strange uneasiness settled in my stomach: it felt like something was wrong, like I was missing something. I shook my head. The paranoia had really started getting the better of me.
Erdos began to brief us on the situation, going into additional detail in a borderline sarcastic voice as if to spite me. The azmodials were known for being a particularly violent legion, but there were huge gaps of power between their lesser demons and their greater. The demons seemed uncharacteristically hesitant to escalate matters as of late, only retaliating when one of their bases of power were struck. Our goal was not to escalate. We were looking for traces of their main force deep within the the twilight chambers; a series of elven ruins linked by water, several miles past the farthest point of the surface caves.
That point stuck out to me immediately. I had no idea the elves had ever coexisted with the infernals within the enclave. Obviously, it hadnt worked out, but there had to be quite a story there.
Erdos finished his briefing, and we set out at a half-jog. He snapped off a command in demonic I wasnt able to parse, and the men picked up the pace. I did my best to stay in line. My gear was light for armor, but it was still armor, and by the time we reached the two longboats at the edge of the surface caverns, I was short of breath. Nowhere near as bad as it would have been only a few months earlier, but still more winded than I would have liked.
The man beside me bumped my shoulder. Sure are recruiting them short these days. A few infernals nearby chuckled.Updated from novelbIn.(c)om
I blinked up at him. He was massive, pushing seven feet tall, if not cresting it entirely. His helmetthough clearly modified for himwas still a bit too small, given his nose a flattened look. I imagine everyones short to you, giant-kin. What the hells do they even feed you?
More mirth amongst the men. Well, that was a good sign. Thaddeus told me once to never trust a group of soldiers on the eve of battle unwilling to laugh at a joke. They were likely holding themselves back out of dislike or treachery. Or alternatively, you just werent very funny. It seemed like Erdoss dislike for me wasnt uniform amongst his troops.
The tall infernal laughed heartily and offered me a blue hand that absolutely swallowed my own. Theros.
Cairn.
The strongest fighters and casters entered the first boat, while the rest of us piled into the second. I was genuinely surprised when Theros awkwardly crawled into the second boat, taking a seat beside me. For a moment, the entire boat shifted in his direction, threatening to topple us, before the rest of the men shifted in the other direction and balanced things out.
Youre on the support team? I asked.
The man in front of me scoffed and turned around. Theros isnt on the support team, he is the support team.
The ruins came into crept into view like blackened fingers, massive broken arches and crumbling towers that looped and swayed. Id seen elven architecture before in books, but nothing compared to the real thing. It was always cast in light, rather than this strange, shadowy gloom.
In the center of the lake was a huge tower, sandwiched between two broken battlements, towering upwards, slatted with a dozen windows. The light from Theross lantern bounced off the water, illuminating one of the windows near the top where a twisted face
A cold hand clawed at my spine, frigid tendrils working their way down my back. The window was empty, but the image was imprinted on my mind. Something looking down on us. Had it been there, really, or was I imagining it?
Theros, I whispered, Can you move the light over towards the tower? Or focus it that way?
What was it? He whispered to me.
I shook my head. I didnt know.
Theross eyes flitted to the battlements and towers, the light pointed emitting in that direction becoming more focused, dimming the rest of the beam. A high-pitched stuttering echo bounced off the water, so warped and refracted it was impossible to tell what it had once been.
Up ahead, Erdos held up a fist, and the boats came to a slow stop, drifting dead in the water. It was so quiet I could hear my pulse in my ears. There was an embankment on the other side, but it was a long swim. My paranoia whispered to me. Slowly, I reached into my pack and removed a potion, eased the cork off, and raised it to my lips, swallowing it in a single gulp. The briny taste went down with a shudder and I felt my heartbeat slow.
Thump Thump. Thump Thump.
Thump Thump.
Thump.
A half dozen white-hot beams of flame shrieked through the darkness. Theross head disappeared with a sizzle, neck charred and instantly cauterized by the beam. His floating light immediately dissipated, bathing the cavern in darkness save for the dozens of multi-colored spells flinging through the air, reflecting off the water. Theross body tipped over into the water with a large splash. Aron starting screaming, his once deep voice crescendoing in manic terror.
The first boat had been hit as well, and began to sink. Erdos shouted, voice barely audible over the shrieking of spells and cries of dying men. Get to the shore! A magma orange light as large and round as a boulder arced downwards, faster than anything affected by gravity, slamming into the center of the first ship, capsizing it in a spray of gore. A second light, blue, arced towards our boat.
The infernals around me jumped into the water in a mess of flying limbs and splashes. I prepared to follow. The last I saw of Aron, he was staring at the incoming projectile like a man entranced by a comet.
I dove into the frigid water. The explosion came seconds later, rattling my teeth, and turning my vision black.
