Chapter 260 - The Stormcaller

This is Chapter 50 of Book 4! Another longer one :)

The dim darkness of the stone passage left too much room for Hump’s imagination. He peered out into the shadows ahead and wondered what lay in them. Wisps of the lich’s power clouded his vision thanks to his Essence Sight spell. They had to be two miles from Highgaze Fort, yet her dark power penetrated even here. Once more he was reminded that they were facing an army that had challenged a goddess. Whether it was a side effect of Owalyn’s power, or simple insanity, Hump couldn’t help but be excited at that.

It was a tight fit in the tunnel. Seventeen people was hardly a small group, though considering the circumstances, it felt far from enough. He found himself in the front section of the group, Celaine at his back. The passage was so narrow it forced them to move ahead in single file, though with Yunillia on their side that was an advantage if anything. At least they wouldn’t be swarmed. The tunnel itself was formed of smooth stone which had no doubt been created with magic or blessings. Hand tools could never have achieved such an effect along.

“Why did they make it so bloody narrow?” Finnian said from the back.

“Passages like these are designed for defenders to evacuate the fort in the event of its loss,” Ado said from in front of Hump. “Being narrow means that it can be held by a single man or collapsed to prevent anyone chasing.”

“An extra foot on either side wouldn’t have killed them though, would it?” Finnian said.

“Take it up with Sulamir,” Tessa said, her voice clearly not amused. “He’s old enough he may have had a hand in its making.”

“I mean, there’s no need for that of course,” Finnian said. “I just thought I’d mention it.”

“We all appreciate it, Finn,” Leif said, getting a few laughs from the rest of the group.

“I hate to say it,” Celaine whispered in Hump’s ear, “but I’m finding myself agreeing with him. Bloody caves!”

Hump snorted.

“No further talking from here,” Yunillia cautioned. “As productive as this is.”

There was another round of chuckles followed by silence.

The faint streams of the lich’s power grew more distinct as they progressed forward. With Essence Sight activated, he could almost smell the grotesque stench of it. If only he could dismiss the smell, but he had a job to do. His task was to detect any unusual magic that might slip past Ado’s notice, though highly doubted there was anything the shaman would miss.

“Can you hear me, kid?” It was Walt’s voice.

Hump glanced nervously at his companions, worried they may have heard the spirit, but none reacted. It was only after a moment of panic that he realised the voice came from in his own head.

“Yes?” Hump thought back. “I’m not sure how though?”

“Thank the gods!” Walt said with a relieved voice. “You’ve got to get out of here. Something’s not right, kid. I can feel it to my spirit bones. There’s a terrible power ahead. Trust me. Get out while you can!”

“They can’t hear you?” Hump asked.

“No, I’m just talking to you.”

“How?”

“What do you mean how? I’m a spirit.”

“You never did this before.”

“I don’t know… I just did it. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I told you I knew my stuff!”

Hump didn’t respond immediately, considering the sudden change. The fact that it had happened the moment they entered the reach of the lich’s power didn’t help to ease his suspicions, but he had no other reasons to distrust Walt.

“Good, then you can help out,” Hump said. “I’m supposed to be detecting any magic the lich may have waiting for us. Tell me if you sense anything.”

“Did you not hear me? We need to leave!”

“We can’t leave,” Hump said. “We’re taking Highgaze fort back from Lich Queen Irila.”

“You’re doing what?” Walt shouted in his mind. “No, no, no. Kid. What did you bring me for? Gods, we’re going to die.” He groaned. “I’ve only just started life again!”

“You can sense things around you, can’t you?” Hump said. “You just said you knew your stuff, so be useful and tell me if you sense anything.”

Walt groaned. “It’s not too late. Just take Celaine and run.”

Hump frowned. “Do you know something you’re not telling me?”

“What are you trying to imply?” Walt snapped. “I’ve just got a damn-sight more sense than you and know a bad feeling when it comes along. Trust me, kid. Ever since that antler lady woke me up, it’s like I’m more myself again. I’m good ol’ Walt. We’ve got history! You trust me, right?

“Don’t need to trust you,” Hump said. “I have a bad feeling about this too. Keep your eyes—Keep whatever it is you see with open. Tell me if you spot anything.”

“I’m going to be really pissed if you leave me trapped with a lich for all eternity!”

“Then don’t miss it,” Hump said.

A hand grabbed Hump’s shoulder, directing him slightly to the left. He glanced over his shoulder to Celaine frowning at him, tilting her head inquisitively. Hump realised she’d just saved him from walking into the wall as it veered left toward the fortress.

“Careful,” she said softly.

Hump smiled to hide his embarrassment. “Thanks.”

Walt’s laugh echoed in Hump’s head.

“Shut up!” Hump thought back, pressing his lips together into a frown.

Following the sharp left turn, they were now in line with the fortress by Hump’s guess. It would be a straight path from here. The silence grew on his nerves. It wasn’t just the lack of talking, but he was surrounded by hunters that didn’t make the slightest sound. No footsteps, no accidental touches of the wall or chafing clothes, not even breathing. It was like stalking through the tunnels with a gang of ghosts.

It was perhaps thirty minutes when that silence was finally broken. Echoes of what sounded like footsteps reached them, though they were so distant that the sound became distorted enough that it could be anything.

After that, it was only minutes until they found the end of the passage. Here, it widened slightly, opening into a spiralling staircase. They were close. The earlier briefing explained that the passage opened into the cellar of the central keep. If things went wrong, it would be here. This was when they’d be most vulnerable.

Yunillia paused atop the first two steps and turned back to face them all. She clasped her hands together and shook them—a Drakalyn gesture for good luck—then she turned and climbed the remaining steps. Ado followed close behind her, followed by Leif, Quin, and then Hump. He kept his eyes peeled for any traps that might await them through the walls, but the density of the lich’s power obscured his vision.

Ado turned, looking past Leif and Quin to Hump. He formed an O with his thumb and forefinger, communicating that the route ahead seemed clear to him. Hump returned the gesture. Ado tapped Yunillia on the shoulder and that was it. There was the faintest of clicks ahead of him, and then Yunillia pushed the door open.

She entered the chamber slowly, her footsteps silent. After a quick search, she gestured for Ado to follow, then Leif and Quin, leaving Hump standing on the doorstep. He watched as the four of them scanned the room for any threats before ushering him out. Cold, musty air blew against his face, echoing down into the deeps behind him.

The secret passage exited from a small stone wall beneath the staircase. Smooth, red stone tiles spread over the floor, coated in dust. There were old boxes, barrels, and various tools spread throughout the room that didn’t appear to have been touched in decades.

Yunillia looked at Hump and nodded toward the room.

Right. Now it’s my part.

He stepped forward, heart hammering, Ado walking at his side. A mistake here could mean his end. He studied the room with Essence Sight, though it was so thick with essence that it muddied his vision. He was about to give the all-clear when Walt shouted in his mind.

“Stop!”

Immediately, Hump gripped Ado’s shoulder, holding him in place. The shaman gave him an inquisitive look.

“On the roof, kid,” Walt said. “Above the stairs. Don’t know what it is, but that can’t be right, can it?”

Hump looked upward, squinting to peer through the thick layers of undeath that permeated every inch of the room. And there, hidden beneath a layer of wooden boarding, was a gleaming patch of essence. Hump pointed toward it.

Ado stared at it, searching, then gave a nod. He led Hump back to Yunillia’s side.

“One ward on the staircase,” Ado whispered. “Other than that, it’s clear. Get everyone inside and have them hold their positions.”

“Can you disarm it?” Yunillia asked.

“I can’t,” Ado said. “Higri may be able to contain it.”

She nodded, then used hand signals to direct her force inward. They spread out throughout the chamber, while Higri approached the staircase.

“Show me,” he said. “My eye for these things is poor. Detecting magic is a skill that eludes me.”

Hump led him up the first two steps then pointed upward. Raising his hand, he could sense the strength of the rune before him. It tingled against his hand, tickling his fingertips like static.

“It’s here.”

Higri took a large metal coin from a pouch in his belt. There was an essence stone at its centre surrounded by runes. He whispered to it, and the runes came alight with blue. Immediately, Hump sensed the power of the ward vanish. The distorted world created by the lich’s essence was suddenly clear, as if a bubble of nothinness formed around them.

“What is that?” Hump asked.

Higri placed the coin on the third step. “The artifact disrupts the intent of essence that passes through it, turning it back into its basic form. If the ward were more powerful, it wouldn’t have worked, but it seems even the lich’s resources are limited.”

“Is the route clear?” Yunillia asked.

Hump looked it over. While he didn’t understand it, he couldn’t deny the effect. “I think so.”

“Good work,” Yunillia said. “Both of you. At least for now we still have the element of surprise.”

Cautiously, Yunillia made her way up the basement to the next level, where an iron door blocked their passage. She pushed it slightly, causing a sharp creak from the hinges.

“Zenith,” she whispered.

The keeper stepped forward, searching through a bag of supplies. He was only a little taller than Hump, which was odd for someone from Drakalyn, though he was much stockier, with white hair that made him look older than his face let on. Hump glimpsed what appeared to be potions in the man’s pouch.

Zenith carefully lifted a bottle from inside. The vial was tinted black, with a lock, thin neck that had a narrow metal pourer on the end. He poured it onto the four hinges of the door. The substance was some sort of oil by Hump’s best guess, and the smell strangely reminded Hump of a baked vanilla tart.

Once he was done, he slowly pushed open the door, this time without the creak. It opened into a small stone corridor. Yunillia led the way out, organising her hunters around the corridor. The hum of magic was so strong that it was distracting. Hump could sense the many powerful essence stones spread out throughout the fort, likely powering the shield spell.

He approached an arrow slit, peering out to see shadows flowing along the walls—the dim shapes of undead and monsters. Their marching was a constant drum as they patrolled their positions. Hump’s eyes widened as he looked down at the courtyard to see at least thirty undead giants standing guard, each wielding a bow that was almost as tall as the walls.

So this was Lich Queen Irila’s answer to Drakalyn’s dragons. They could not bring in their greatest advantage until they were dealt with.

What they were guarding became clear quickly. Large runestones created a circle at the base of the walls. They were about waist height, their grey surfaces rugged and uneven, as if hewn from giant boulders. Intricate runes were carved deeply into their surfaces, glowing with rich, blue essence. And at their centre was an essence stone that could rival the largest Hump had seen in Drakalyn. Essence rose from the stones in great streams, spreading in the air to form the barrier that surrounded the fortress.

“What are those?” Walt said in wonderment.

“What we’re here for,” Hump thought back.

“That’s the shield, huh?” Celaine said, peering out beside him. “How do we destroy it?”

“Same way you destroy anything,” Hump said. “Smashing it really hard should do the trick.”

Celaine scoffed. “I didn’t mean that. How do we reach it?”

Along the wall, Yunillia peered out into the courtyard too. “There’s no sneaky way about this. Is everyone ready for a fight?”

“The drums of the hunt are beating for a reason,” Leif said. “It would be a shame to waste them.”

Yunillia grinned, a wild and terrifying smile. One that Hump couldn’t help but see the resemblance to Owalyn.

“Tessa, take your party to the end of this hall. Once I engage, I want the three of you to attack from the rear. Your job is to destroy the heartstones.”

“Understood,” Tessa said.

She turned to Ado. “Feel like securing the left wall, Packmaster?”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll make it happen.”

She nodded. “Take Hump, Celaine, Adrell, Zenith, Thea, and Eadric with you,” she said. “Once the wall is secure, provide ranged support. Try to take out any of the lich’s magic users.”

“Got it,” Ado said.

Yunillia looked over the remaining seven members of her team. All of them Chosen, and all of them powerful. “The rest of you, with me.”

***

Each of the hunters assigned to Ado were ranged specialists, most of which being archers. Only Thea, a stout woman that appeared to be in her fifties, wielded a spear, though it was shorter than the typical weapon and laden with runes and charms.

The six of them were positioned by an iron door at the end of the hallway, while Celaine remained further back, watching Yunillia and Tessa’s squads move into position.

Ado stood before an iron door at the end of the hallway. Beyond, Hump heard the click of skeletal footsteps. Celaine stood further back, watching Yunillia and the rest of their squad move into position.

The drums really were beating hard in Hump’s ears, the thump of Owalyn’s power urging him to let loose. That same anticipation he always had before a fight was only enhanced. There was a fire in him, and he wanted to set it free. He focused on his breathing. Beyond the door, the click of skeletal footsteps reached him, marching to a constant, inhuman beat. Distantly, he could sense Nisha’s anxiety. All he could do was try to project a sense of calmness, but she was a clever girl. She knew something was wrong, and no amount of trying would trick her into believing anything else.

Celaine came to stand with them. “Everyone’s in position.”

Ado grinned wolfishly. “Stand back.”

Essence rose from him as he stood before the door. Bones snapped as his body shifted, the tattoo of a deer appeared beneath his tunic, radiating green essence as he grew taller and more toned. Antlers sprouted from his head, growing outward before curling back upward, forming into four, bony spikes. His skin became brown like leather, and white spots appeared on his thighs and arms. Ado stamped a foot—no, a hoof. It hit the ground with a bang so loud Hump winced, and then he was charging forward.

A swirling mixture of leaves and ethereal light manifested before him. Then he struck the iron door. He smashed it from its hinges, blasting it out onto the battlement. It swept through a line of skeleton warriors, shattering bones and sending them flying from the wall.

Ado charged out after it, scattering the skeletons that remained in the immediate vicinity, before taking up a position before the tower staircase, preventing reinforcements from getting out.

“Attackers!” someone shouted on the far side of the wall.

Hump spotted a figure in a battlerobe that wielded a wizard staff.

There were humans in their ranks.

Before he could even think, one of the hunters had landed an arrow through her chest, sending her to the ground. Hump levelled his staff, launching Focused Blasts into the skeleton archers taking aim in their direction.

“Watch the courtyard!” Celaine shouted.

Hump turned to see her pierce a giant through the eye, as more took aim with their great bows.

“Oh, that’s an ugly bastard right there, wouldn’t you say?” Walt said. “Take it out, kid. Just as I’d do it, you know?”

“Fire Blast,” Hump shouted, sending a wave of fire through their ranks. He didn’t expect it to kill them, but it disrupted their attacks and bought them some time. Time for Yunillia and her own squad to make their entrance.

“Nicely done!” Walt said.

“Please stop talking…”

Even though he knew it was coming, he was stunned as he watched Yunillia leap from the battlements across the courtyard from them and land amidst the giants. She was a mouse amongst them, yet she didn’t even appear concerned.

Alarms sounded, and Hump sensed magic forming. Yet that was not what struck fear in him.

Thunder boomed, and as Yunillia raised her spear, lighting struck it. The spear was no more. Instead, in her hand, she held a raging bolt of lightning that had taken the form of a spear.

The world seemed to change. Clouds formed over the courtyard and thunder boomed once more, closer this time. To Hump, it wasn’t painful, but the giants fell to their knees, howling in agony as they shielded their ears.

This was the power of a seventh circle Chosen. This was the power of Yunillia the Stormcaller.