The Crystals of Narlkant

WIN (again... twice).

Both new chapters are good. I still think they feel a bit rushed, but not majorly so, and it doesn't really hinder the quality. Necromancer + necromanced Ghast + mini-mage (elemental mirror?) = awesome. I expect they'll be teleported somewherei n the next chapter, and then after that, we'll finally see where everyone has been teleported to.

Looking forward to more, keep it coming.

On a side note, there were three or four points in the latest chapter where you referred to Rikko as Ricko. Just thought I'd mention that.

« Last edited by Seos san Nekros on Dec 21st 2007 »

For all you patient people who waited for the next chapter, here you are! For all you impatient people who tried to hack into my computer and steal the next chapter, Failed!

Chapter 13

?Not good.?
The amulet was glowing with a harsh blue light, illuminating the area far more vividly than the pool?s light had. The glow reached to the walls of the cavern, revealing the remains of the ship in much greater detail. Even Nic gasped in shock at the name painted in black on the bow, illustrated with the tentacles of some sea monster.
?The Kraken?? Jack?s quiet voice was like a shout in the silence of the cave. ?Do you think the pirates are still around??
Nic nodded. ?Yeah, I can see something on the rigging of the ship. Looks like a body. Maybe we should get out of here??
?It be too late for that me lad. Ye be stuck down here with the rest o? us lost souls.? The skeleton of a man in a cape and hat stepped out from behind a pile of treasure. ?And don?t think that ye be getting? eternal sleep. Once ye be near this place an? the amulet, ye be stuck in an un-life. Yar, it isn?t so bad after the first twenty years. Enough o? this crap! Mates, get ?em!?
Nyle swore. ?So this place stops time. That explains why those assassins weren?t doddering old men. You two, get ready to fight. Redfang isn?t going to mess about.?
The brothers nodded, Nic getting into a combat stance, Jack drawing his knife. Forty skeletal pirates charged out of the remains of the Kraken, shouting warcrys. Redfang and another pirate walked slowly towards the group, directly for Nic.
The ghast focussed his attention on them, leaving Nyle and Jack to deal with the oncoming hoard. The pirate leapt in to attack, but was easily avoided. Nic?s fist crushed his skull into powder, but the animated skeleton wasn?t going down that easily. It swung its sword wildly in the air, unable to see its target but knowing where he was. A second punch crushed its sternum and scattered ribs all over the ground. Finally a spin-kick to the pelvis took the creature out of action and reduced it to a pile of bones.
Redfang snorted in annoyance. ?I be having to do everythin? around here. Yar, ye be fishbait.? Drawing his cutlass, the undead captain advanced.
Judging the pirates to still be a long way off, Nyle turned to Jack. ?I?m going to cast a spell on you. It won?t have any effect, but if I?m right you should be able to use it. If I?m killed, cast it on me. Got that??
The boy frowned in confusion and nodded. Nyle muttered a few words and cast the spell. Dark and healing energies surrounded Jack, but quickly dissipated, leaving him unharmed.
?Done. Hopefully you won?t have to use it, but you never know.? With a sigh, the necromancer turned to the charging hoard. Beams of darkness leapt from his fingertips towards them. The impacts shattered bone, but the damaged skeletons continued their charge. ?Damn, they?re resilient. Go help your brother, and get that amulet from him. It?s what they want, I?m sure.?
Jack nodded and ran towards Nic and Redfang. Nyle watched him for a moment, then returned to the task at hand. Summoning more energy, he shattered one of the pirates into pieces.
?Get the amulet. Could be a little bit tricky.? Jack watched his brother fighting the pirate captain, a duel of the undead. Nic was using an ornate sword which he had picked up from one of the piles of treasure, but it was mostly designed for show, and was chipped already as Redfang?s cutlass beat down on it mercilessly.
Finally it snapped. The blade cut through the air to land on the pile of treasure it had come from. Nic threw the useless handle at the skeletal captain, but Redfang batted it aside with ease. ?Now ye be unarmed, be ye wantin? to surrender??
?No.? Nic launched a lightning fast attack against the pirate?s sternum. With equally quick reflexes the pirate dodged.
?Yar, I be thinkin? as much.? The pirate stepped forwards to attack again, and Nic pulled out the amulet. Redfang stopped in his tracks, gazing at the object which held him in the world. ?Yar, ye killed the siren? It be possible that we might be able to negotiate.?
?Call off your crew. Until then, I?m not complying with anything.?
?Deal.? The captain raised his voice. ?Back off lads, they have it!? Thirty skeletons stopped in their actions as if frozen, then stood to attention. Nyle walked over to the captain.
?You want to negotiate? For what??
?Yar, if ye be giving me the siren?s amulet, I?ll be opening the way forward for ye. That dog Seymon has us under his control, but with the amulet nearby that control be lessened. If we had it we could break free entirely. Ye?d best think quickly; he?ll know what be going on.?
The necromancer frowned, and made a split second decision. ?Fine. Nic, give him the amulet. We can always come back later to see how they?re getting on and what they?re doing.?
Reluctantly, the ghast handed over the amulet. Redfang took it reverently and placed the chain around his neck. ?Yar, that be more like it. Fine, a promise be a promise. The way to the next level be this way.?
The captain led them around behind the piles of treasure and pointed to a solid wall. Picking up a gold coin, he hurled it with pinpoint accuracy at a stalactite on the ceiling. The rock formation shuddered and crashed to the ground. The cave floor gave way under the impact, revealing a hole with a ladder in it. ?Yar, there be a hidden switch to open that somewhere, but this way be faster. Down ye go.?
Surprised that the undead pirate had kept his word, Nyle began to descend the ladder. Jack followed him, and then Nic. About halfway down Redfang?s voice echoed towards them. ?One more thing. There be a guard o? some kind down there. Watch out for it. If ye get to hell before me, tell them I be waiting for the right moment!?
At the bottom of the ladder there was a small room. There was only one door out of it, and that was locked. Several seconds later it was still locked, but the lock was the only part which was still intact. Nic stepped over the broken wreckage into the larger room beyond.
The room was long and rectangular. The ceiling was covered in spikes, pointing downwards. The walls were plain, but there were holes in them. The floor was a mess. Sand, shells, small rocks and ankle deep water disguised what was going to be stepped on. The three people froze. Nyle groaned.
?I don?t believe it! I didn?t expect this kind of trap in here. If we step on even one wrong place, something kills us. After we pass a certain point, I expect that either the ceiling will start to fall or the water level will rise. Nic, you go first; at least you won?t be harmed by poison darts or spears.?
The ghast nodded and stepped forwards. A dart spat out of a hole in the wall and pierced his leg. ?Ow. Stupid trap??
Nyle turned to Jack. ?Step exactly where your brother does. You should be safe if you do that. I?ll follow you, ready to heal any injuries. Let?s go.?
Slowly but steadily, they made progress. Nic?s body looked like a pincushion by the time they were half way, but he was still going strong. Suddenly there was a click as the ghast put his foot down on a hidden switch. The clacking of ratchets echoed around the chamber as the ceiling began to lower.
?****, sorry guys. I?m going to speed up, don?t get left behind.? Nic stepped forwards, still moving steadily, but faster now. More darts shot out of the walls and into his sides.
Jack did his best to follow exactly where his brother stepped, but his legs were too short. He missed a step and a dart thudded into the flesh of his arm. He glanced around to see if Nyle had noticed, but the necromancer was preoccupied with not treading in the wrong place. The boy shrugged and pulled out the dart. It wasn?t even barbed.
?Made it, hurry up! The ceiling!?
Nic?s voice jolted the others back to reality and they rushed across the last meters of the floor bent double to avoid the ceiling.

"Enough o? this crap! Mates, get ?em!?

?Yar, there be a hidden switch to open that somewhere, but this way be faster. Down ye go.?
I had to stop for a moment to laugh at both. Refang wins more than almost any other character so far.. Maybe its just my sense of humour.

Anyway, the chapter was pretty well written, with some interesting combat, and now people are being darted.
Good show.

Same as what Cat said. Excellent, good traps, good humor, short fight... Nice No typos noticed by me. Good job Looking forward to more.

This is the next chapter in my fic, and we're nearing the climax! Will I decide to be really annoying and start switching characters just as it was getting interesting? Will any of the characters survive to see the end of the chapter? Why am I writing pointless questions? Find out the answers to most of these in the next chapter. Or the one after it. Enjoy the show!

Chapter 14

Nic held the door open for them and they passed through. The room beyond was circular, and the ankle deep water was just deep enough to make moving awkward. Under the water, the floor was rough, so it at least provided good grip.
There was only one way out of the room, and that way was the way they had come in. Jack took a few steps forward and looked around. In the passage behind them, the ceiling stopped lowering and clicked into position, blocking the way out. Nic shut the door.
The room was shaped like a half sphere, and lit from some kind of glowing crystal in the ceiling. There were four statues around the walls, a pirate, a fishman, a giant crab and an octopus. They looked down on the intruders with stony gazes of disapproval.
Nyle stared at the statue of the pirate. ?That looks pretty scary, right Jack? Any ideas on how to move on from here??
The boy shook his head. The statues were life-sized, but that didn?t stop them seeming tall. Suddenly he froze, staring up at the face of the pirate.
Flakes of rock were falling to the ground, and as he watched, there was an explosion of stone dust from all over the statue. He jumped back at the same time as Nyle, both of them expecting the worst. They got it.
The pirate statue stepped down off its pedestal, no longer made of stone but flesh and blood. It carried a sword in one hand and a knife in the other. It grinned. ?I be thankin? ye for setting me free from that, but I be afraid that I be havin? to kill ye now. Master?s orders an? all. Ye be going to die, and the last name ye be hearing be?s mine! Granset!?
The pirate leapt forwards swinging both blades. Jack dived to one side, Nyle to the other. Nic evaded the weapons and jumped up onto Granset?s shoulders. The pirate bellowed in surprise and stabbed upwards, his triumphant shout when the dagger pierced Nic?s torso turning to one of pain as the ghast punched him in the head. Before a follow up punch could crack his skull, the pirate threw himself over backwards, sending Nic crashing to the ground.
Seeing his chance, Jack drew his knife and charged the downed pirate. He managed to stab the blade into Granset?s shoulder before he was also thrown to the ground. Roaring in rage, the pirate got to his feet.
?So, ye think that ye be tough do ye? Die!? A double handed vertical swing would have decapitated Jack, but before it could connect Granset was blasted off his feet by an orb of dark energy. Nyle followed up the initial attack with a barrage of low strength darkness beams to keep the pirate on the ground.
Nic picked up the fallen sword and examined it. There was a line of runes going down the centre of the blade, but they didn?t seem to be magical. He plunged the blade into Granset?s chest.
The pirate screamed in pain, and began to decay. Before long, there was nothing left but a dried up husk. The years spent imprisoned as a statue had been recovered.
Nic pulled the sword free and looked at it more closely. The blade was wider than a normal sword of its type, and thicker. It was the only part of the pirate?s equipment which hadn?t degraded along with its owner. The knife had rusted away to nothing already.
Jack got to his feet and walked over to the pedestal where the pirate had stood. There was a glowing fragment of rock lying there, pulsating slightly. Before the boy could pick it up, there was another explosion of stone dust, and the octopus statue came to life.
Nyle groaned. ?Not another one! I guess we have to beat it as well.? He fired a sphere of darkness at the creature, but the octopus simply batted it aside with one tentacle. ?Okay, not good, it?s immune to dark magic. Over to you Nic!?
The ghast nodded, hefting his new sword and trying to get used to its strange balance. He approached the octopus with it extended out in front of him. The creature lashed out with a tentacle, only to find it cut off by the sword. It screeched in pain and lurched forwards.
Another tentacle dropped lifeless to the ground and crumbled into nothingness. The octopus fired a blast of ink at Nic?s head, intent on blinding him. The ghast merely sidestepped the attack, countering by cutting off another two tentacles.
The creature recoiled, screeching. A thrust from the blade impaled its brain, and it crumbled, leaving only a small bone. Nic prodded it with his weapon. Nothing happened. He approached the pedestal to find another shard of glowing rock.
Nyle gathered energy in his hands, ready to destroy the next statue to come to life. Sure enough, the fishman arrived, stepping down off his podium and readying his spear. His voice was a gurgle, but still easy enough to understand.
?Hmm, who are you and what are you dong here? No don?t answer that. I can?t stand lies. No doubt you?ve come to find a mysterious cure for your sick aunt? Or you were forced to come here against your will? You know, I?m not really interested. I have to kill you anyway, so there?s no point sitting and talking about it.
A thrust of the spear pierced Nyle?s robes, missing his body by inches. Reflexively he struck out with his staff, catching the fishman on the jaw. It staggered backwards unbalanced, and bumped into the podium. ?Gah, I?ll get you for that old man!?
?I think not.? Nyle deflected a spear thrust with his staff, retaliating with an orb of darkness. The fishman shouted in surprise, barely dodging the attack with a diving roll to the side. It leapt to its feet and, consumed by fury, the fishman screamed a curse and charged forwards.
Nyle decided that the fight had gone far enough. He pointed the end of his staff at the fishman and barked out a harsh command in a strange language. A dark beam projected from the end of the staff, penetrating the fishman?s heart, and killing it instantly. A strangled gasp escaped from it as it fell and crumbled into dust.
Turning to look at the last statue, the necromancer shook his head. ?Oh no. No, I refuse to fight a giant crab.? As he spoke, the statue shook itself free from the customary cloud of stone dust and scuttled forwards, its pincers clacking menacingly.
?****. That thing has so much armour I don?t even know where to hit it!? Nic bounced his sword of the crustacean?s leg to indicate his point, causing it to bat him aside with one swipe from its claw.
Jack crept around the edge of the room, knife in hand. He was behind the crab before he knew it, looking for a weakness. There was none. Throwing caution to the winds, he jumped onto the crab?s back.
As son as he was up there, he realised his mistake. There were no handholds on the smooth shell, and he instantly slipped off the front, right into the crab?s face. The pincers snapped shut behind his back, and he realised with a start that the creature could only hit him if he tried to get away.
His knife dug into the crab?s eye, the only part of its body not covered in thick carapace armour. The creature screeched and opened its mouth. A blue light glowed within the orifice. Curious, Jack paused, his knife still in the crab?s eye. The light glowed brighter.
Suddenly it erupted in a stream of blue energy which blasted Jack across the room and into the wall. There was a sickening crunch on impact, and the boy stayed presses into the wall for a full second before falling limply to the ground. Blood remained on the wall. A lot of blood.
Nic picked himself up from the ground just in time to see the crab?s attack on his brother. His eyes widened in horror. ?No! Jack!?
Almost berserk, the ghast picked up his sword and rushed at the crab, screaming unintelligible words at it. The weapon bounced off the hard shell, but Nic kept at it, bludgeoning the crab with his sword as though it was an axe. The crab scuttled sideways, mouth open. The blue glow returned.
Nyle cried out in shock as he saw what happened to Jack. He froze for a moment before his other consciousness kicked in. The dark aura surrounded him, his eyes glowed red. In a voice which was entirely unlike his own, he cried out a challenge. ?You will burn in the fires of hell; drown in the seas of despair!?
Then the crab fired the energy beam again.
The blast took Nyle by surprise, crushing him into the wall. He fell down next to Jack, bleeding heavily, bones shattered. With a great effort, the necromancer turned his head. The boy lay face down, but seemed to be whispering something. A prayer. Or possibly a spell.
Nic staggered backwards as though hit. He looked at himself and was dismayed to find his body degrading before his eyes. Before he could contemplate the reason, the degeneration reversed. He looked around.
Striding from where they had hit the wall were Nyle and Jack. Dark auras surrounded both of them, they raised their hands simultaneously and they spoke together.
Black energy from Nyle, blue from Jack. The two beams crashed into the crab, shattering its shell and revealing the soft inside. Without wasting time, Nic plunged his sword into the creature?s body. It rotted away as the other statues had done, leaving behind fragments of shell.
The ghast stared at the two dark figures. ?What? ah, stuff it. Come on, lets see what happens if we bring these glowing rocks together.?
They brought them together in the middle of the chamber. A few seconds passed, and then a blue portal opened. Glancing at the impassive figures beside him, Nic stepped through.

I declare this chapter good.

Sharing mega beams is always a good way to defeat large attacking crustacians, and apart from that there is not much else to say, except for that I want wait for the climatic battles soon to come.

Hurry it up.

Good chapter, same things to say as Cat. Giant crab FTW.

Welcome to another annoying switch of character perspective! Sorry it's late, I have a lot of work to be doing. Regardless, enjoy section five!




Chapter 1

Shade opened his eyes. The room was pitch black and cold. He stood up, checking that his katanas were still strapped to his back. They were, so he began to feel his way forwards.
After a few minutes of slow moving, the assassin?s foot hit something soft. He stopped and reached down. His hand touched somebody?s robe, and he knelt down to feel for a pulse. After a few seconds, he found it.
The body groaned and moved a little. A voice came from it, weak, but clear. ?Shade? Is that you??
?Mathew, hang in there.?
?Relax, I bet you were like this when you woke up. We need a little light, I think.? A dim glow formed in the air above them, revealing a little of the room they were in.
It was big, as big as the final chamber in the Temple of Earth. The walls were in shadow, but they seemed to be carved out of the living rock. The floor was carved in the same way as that in the temple.
The wizard sat up, rubbing his eyes. After letting the dizziness fade away, he got to his feet. ?Right, now all we have to do is find Dragon. Trouble is, I think that this must be Warsate?s stronghold. This means we can expect heavy resistance. If we accidentally run into Warsate himself, we?re finished. There?s no stopping him, not without backup.?
The entrance to the chamber was disguised as a wall. Shade opened it easily and they proceeded through. The passage beyond was lit by torches on the walls and smelt of earth.
After walking along the corridor for a few minutes, Shade and Mathew came across a door. It was built into the wall, not disguised, but painted the same colour as the tunnel. Cautiously, Shade opened it.
The room beyond was small, but packed with people holding a variety of weaponry. The one at the front was looking directly at the door when the assassin opened it. Realising that he had been spotted, Shade kicked the door fully open and drew his katanas. The man didn?t move.
Mathew stepped into the room, his sphere of light illuminating the space. Shade groaned aloud at his mistake. The room was full of statues, each one locked in some combat position. Several of them were charging, most were swinging weapons. One archer was taking aim with a bow so well crafted it looked real.
The assassin sheathed his swords and went over to examine the statue. The detail was exquisite. The archer was just letting go of the arrow, and the string of the bow was so thin that it looked impossible.
Shade froze. ?****, are these???
Mathew nodded unhappily. ?I would expect so. These look like the victims of Dragon?s misuse of the Earth Crystal. There?s no way to carve a moustache or beard like that, or a bowstring for that matter. Poor souls. I?m sure they?re dead rather than trapped, and besides, we?d need the Crystal itself to revive them even if they were.?
The assassin sighed. ?Come on. If there?s nothing we can do here, we?d be better off elsewhere.? Mathew nodded, and they left the room with its grim occupants.
After a lot more walking, a side tunnel split off the main passage. The torchlight didn?t reach that far, so Mathew set a light down it. The illumination showed that it was a cellblock. Shade took a few hesitant steps towards the prison, then thought better of it. There was a chance that there were innocent people in there, but there would be guards if that was the case.
Mathew looked quizzically at him. ?Are you going to go and look or not? We don?t have forever you know.? The assassin nodded. If there were innocent people in there, they would be better off free where they could at least run.
The cells were all empty save one. The last cell held the half rotten corpse of a girl, evidently just thrown in there to die of starvation. The smell was almost unbearable. Shade backed off quickly, not wanting to remain in the presence of the dead girl.
He explained to Mathew what he had seen, and shook his head. ?I don?t know who she was or what she did, but that girl was obviously a threat. Either Dragon or Warsate threw her in there, but it doesn?t matter because I?m going to kill Dragon anyway, and Warsate will feel the edge of my blades at least once before I die.? He paused. ?Ready to move on??
Mathew nodded and led the way along the passage, past skeletons clothed in the remains of armour and weaponry, evidently those who had tried to stop the great wizards from creating the four Crystals.
Suddenly the passage opened out into a circular room. The passage continued on the other side. Standing in the middle was Dragon. As they entered, the servant looked up in surprise.
?What! How did you survive the temple? You know, I?ve had enough of you. This ends now. Silex!? The ground shook, and a stony hand burst out of the ground, followed by another. The creature pulled itself fully out of the ground and bellowed at them. ?Let?s see how well you deal with an Earth Golem when you can?t drop a building on it! So long!?
Dragon turned and walked quickly out of the chamber. As soon as he left, a stone door slammed down over both entrances, sealing the room. Mathew readied his staff, and Shade drew his katanas. He remembered vividly that last time he had wrecked his weapons by attacking the creature, so he decided to come up with a different strategy.
?Mathew, can you damage it??
?I?m not sure. Hang on.? The wizard focussed for a second, then released a beam of pure white light at the golem. There was no effect, and the creature stomped forwards again. With a stab of concentration, Mathew changed his attack to the thin beams of red light with which he had destroyed the sandworm.
The golem seemed unaffected but began to glow with heat at the point where the beam touched it. Shade moved in to attack, blades at the ready. The Earth Golem tracked his movements, advancing all the time. Eventually it was close enough to attack, and it punched at the assassin with one slow fist.
Timing it exactly right, Shade rolled to the side. The fist missed him and slammed into the ground, sending tremors through it. While the golem was distracted the assassin dodged between its legs and sprinted across the room towards Mathew.
?Now, take it out!?
The wizard nodded and stopped his attack. He closed his eyes and muttered something incomprehensible. Finally he opened his eyes and cast his most destructive spell. ?Light! Solar Flare!?
The golem was blasted backwards, crashing into the door through which Dragon had left. The door shattered, and the golem collapsed in a pile of rubble. Mathew rubbed his temples. ?That was easier than the last time. I never had to use it before I met you, you know.?
Shade laughed and crossed over to the broken door. After picking their way across the rubble, the assassin and the wizard reached the foot of a staircase. They climbed it.
The stairway was long and steep. After three minutes of solid climbing they reached the top. The room was pentagonal, with another staircase leading off upwards on one side, passages on two sides and another staircase leading down on the fifth side. Mathew nodded.
?One passage for each element, and one leading to the ritual chamber. We have to go up.? He took a step forward, but Shade stopped him.
?Wait. I can see somebody in that passage over there.? He gestured to the other downward staircase. ?I?ll go see who it is.?
Creeping about in the dimly lit room was no trouble at all for the assassin. He crept up on the figure, swords drawn. Then he put one of the blades to the person?s throat. ?Who are you, and do you want to die??

Dind't notice the updated fic at first.

Hooray for the story finally drawing nearer to the climax. It did seem a little rrushed but meh, it was a good read. Another Stone Golem means win, and I'm presuming the character just found at the end could be someone else we've seen before.

Anyway, I can't comment much, but I will once this finally reaches the point of epicness.

All of the above is true. Good chapter, no typos... I'm expecting it to be... I dunno... Next chapter is hopefully epic.

I'm late again, I know. Hope you like the chapter anyway!

Chapter 2

Zaltan and Sasha materialised in a round chamber, dimly lit by the fading light of the magic circle. The walls were hidden in darkness, but the way on was revealed by the flickering of a torch in the tunnel beyond.
A minute passed. Eventually, Zaltan decided that they had delayed long enough. ?Come on, we won?t catch up to Adzed just by waiting here. The longer we delay, the more chance there is of him giving the crystal to his boss.?
Sasha nodded. ?Yes. He?s going to pay for all the suffering he?s caused.? With a few light steps, the healer was across the room and waiting by the tunnel. ?Hurry up, we haven?t got all day!?
Zaltan grinned and started walking. It had been a long road, but he was finally nearing his destination. In a short time, the final battle would begin. Then they would truly see who was the better swordsman, him or Adzed.
They walked down the tunnel for a while, all the time wary of traps or ambushes. None came. Finally they reached a small room with three doors coming off it. The door directly in front of them was protected by a forcefield of green energy.
?We ought to find out what?s behind those other doors before we try to break the barrier on that one, right?? Zaltan stepped towards the door on the left and turned the handle.
?Oh bugger.?
?Hey, it?s dat git wot da boss sed about! Get ?im!? Two ogres leapt to their feet, picking up clubs almost as tall as a man.
?Sasha! Stay back!? The mage dodged between the two brutes, causing one of them to hit the other in the head with his club. As the dazed creature staggered backwards, Zaltan shouted out a command, causing the ogre to be propelled into the wall as though hit by an unseen explosion.
The other creature looked guilty for a second, then rounded on the intruder. It swung its club in a sweeping arc which would have removed Zaltan?s head if he hadn?t dropped to the ground just in time.
Carried around by the momentum of its attack, the ogre spun around, leaving itself undefended. The mage took advantage of the situation to fire a bolt of force at the thing?s back. With a cry of surprise, the ogre fell to the ground next to its friend.
Zaltan picked himself up. ?There has got to be a better way to fight those things?? He stopped speaking as one of the ogres got to its feet. It bellowed in rage and charged at him, apparently unharmed.
With a magic assisted leap, Zaltan jumped right over the maddened creature, drawing his sword in midair. He landed facing away from his target and swiftly spun around to deal a blow to the ogre?s back.
The blade impacted with flesh and cut into it. The ogre spun around, roaring in pain. It raised one huge fist to attack.
Something hit it in the face. Then another. It was as though it was being punched by something invisible. Zaltan looked around to locate the source of the energy, and saw nothing. There was a thud as the ogre fell to the floor, face caved in by the relentless attack.
Sasha looked around the door. Seeing the carnage, she swiftly closed her eyes and pulled back. Zaltan stepped out of the room, wiping his bloody sword on one of the corpses. The healer looked at him critically.
?So, two ogres in two minutes sixteen seconds. That?s not bad, but I think you had help on that second one. You looked confused as to where that attack was coming from. Anyway, was there anything interesting in there??
Zaltan shook his head. ?No, just the ogres. Ready to try the second room now?? Before she could answer, the mage opened the second door.
Behind it was a shallowly sloping tunnel, going up. Something at the end was glowing. Sasha stepped into the tunnel. ?You got to do the last one, this one?s mine.?
?But??
?No protests, I want to have some fun as well.? Before Zaltan could argue more, the healer started up the passage. He sighed. How was he supposed to protect her if she insisted in doing things like that?
Sasha smiled to herself. Annoying Zaltan was kind of fun, she had to admit. There was a faint cracking sound, and the floor in front of her shuddered. She stopped dead.
There was a few seconds pause, then the floor collapsed. All that was left was a seemingly bottomless pit with a series of narrow pillars which at least looked steady. Sasha took a deep breath. ?Okay? I can do this. Nothing to it.? With a short run, the healer jumped towards the first platform. She landed on it easily, and prepared to jump to the next.
Ultimately she reached the other side of the pit, and proceeded towards the glowing light. She passed under a hole in the roof through which cold air blew, and approached the object.
It was a small hemisphere of a similar design to the one in the Shrine of Air, and it was emitting a continuous gust of wind. Sasha reached under her robes and pulled out a dagger. With great precision, she inserted the blade into a slit in the device and twisted.
A blast of air threw her off her feet as the hemisphere exploded. The light dimmed to nothing, leaving her in pitch darkness. ?****.? Before she could contemplate how to get more light, the door at the far end of the tunnel opened and Zaltan looked in.
?Hey, the barrier just shut off in here. Good work, now hurry up and get out of there!? He left the door open, providing just enough light for her to see by. Without wasting time, the healer started back down the tunnel.
There was an almighty crash behind her. She turned around, and saw a giant boulder rolling down the tunnel, having just dropped from the hole in the roof.
Panicking, Sasha ran towards the light, remembering at the last second to jump onto the platform in the pit. The boulder rolled harmlessly over the edge, and smashed into the base of the pillar. The pillar toppled slowly over, and Sasha jumped to the next one.
The next pillar was hit by the first, and began to fall as well. Desperately, the healer jumped from platform to platform, avoiding falling into the depths of the pit by a fraction of a second each time.
Finally she reached the end of the pit, and escaped through the door to the sounds of collapsing rock. Zaltan looked worried. She was pleased about that for some reason.
?What happened??
?It was trapped, very well. Luckily I was able to avoid them all, and the door?s not blocked anymore as you can see. Let?s go!? She opened the door which had previously been blocked, and they walked into the next chamber.
As soon as they entered, Adzed noticed them. ?Oh for? Ga?Rath! Come here!? The familiar appeared in a puff of purple smoke. He was holding a glass with a miniature umbrella in it and was wearing sunglasses.
?Oh man, I thought you?d forgotten about me! When do I get time off??
Adzed knocked him flying with a blow of his fist. ?Deal with those two you idiot! Then report to me immediately.?
Ga?Rath hung his head, the very image of servile. Adzed turned and ran out of the room through a door opposite where Sasha and Zaltan had entered. As soon as his master?s back was turned, the familiar became its usual self. It pulled out a pack of cards and began to divide them into three piles. When it had finished it looked up. ?There, I?ve dealt with you. You each get one pile of cards. Gotta go now, bye!?
As the creature vanished, Zaltan frowned. ?Dealt with? Oh, I get it. Typical Ga?Rath, twisting everything.? They followed the route which Adzed had taken, until they reached a large chamber.
In the middle were two people. They were fighting. Zaltan unsheathed his sword. ?Wait here.?
Without waiting for a reply, the mage charged into the combat.

One great chapter there. We had ogre battles (again), Indiana Jones bouldering, and more Ga-Rath, the secondary character that should have a bigger role. He rocks! (This is not my normal manner of speaking)

Oh, and why did you have to stop before the fight? You know that we're all going to carry on reading, so why be so annoying?

It's called "Dramatic Tension", but don't worry. All will be revealed eventually. *Insert sinister effect of your choice here*

Dramatic tension indeed. Yay for twisting instructions! Those books are awesome Now, no typos, good chapter, good traps, and another ogre fight. Also, bump!

Yay bump!

Chapter 3

A burst of light illuminated the room for a split second, and then all was dark again. Seth clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms. There was no justice in the world. He had been reunited with his friend for all of a few days, and now she was dead. His mission was no longer to prevent the destruction of the world by fire. It was to orchestrate the destruction of the wizard who called himself Tarek.
As his eyes adjusted, the mercenary noticed a hole in the wall of the room. Without pausing for thought, he ran towards it. Beyond the hole was a passageway hewn out of solid rock. He charged along it.
Suddenly a man stepped out of the shadows, causing him to skid to a halt. The man grinned. ?Well, well, well. Master Tarek said you?d be along, and he wasn?t wrong. He also said I?d get a bonus for killing you. Nothing personal of course, but you knows how it is.?
Seth did know. There were some people who hired mercenaries to do their dirty work for them, and then expected them to carry out orders without objection, even when those orders went against all logic and morals. Of course, there were always mercenaries willing to do these jobs. He pulled out his Morningstar.
The man?s eyes widened. He drew a short sword and produced a buckler from behind his back, and got into a combat stance. ?So, you?re actually going to fight me. Prepare to lose, that?s all the advice I can give you.?
Seth snarled and smashed his Morningstar into his opponent?s shield. The buckler held together, but only just. Before the man could counter, Seth attacked again, this time aiming higher. The man brought his shield up to block again, but was too slow. The chain of the Morningstar hit the edge of the buckler.
The momentum caused the spiked ball to loop over and hit the man?s arm with enough force to break it. As the man cried out in pain, Seth swung his weapon around in a vicious attack to the man?s skull.
The Morningstar wrapped around the short sword, and the man pulled it out of Seth's grasp. He gave an evil grin. ?Now you?re in trouble, brat. You?ll pay for breaking my arm!? He drew back his sword for the killing blow.
Faster than his opponent?s eyes could follow, Seth pulled out his dagger. The poison dripping from it and the mere fact that it was made from a wyvern?s tail made it ooze with malicious intent. Before the man could even register this however, the blade had been punched through his leather armour and into his heart. Even if the knife had not been poisoned the wound would have killed the man outright. Which is what it did.
He collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood. Seth bent down and retrieved his weapons, then continued along the passage. He was thinking. Beneath the surface thoughts of vengeance came more subtle hints from his consciousness about possible traps which may have been set and places for ambushes.
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he ran into the man who dropped from the ceiling. The ambusher hit his head on the stony floor and passed out instantly. Seth picked himself up and looked around. He was in a small chamber which was stacked with crates and barrels. There was a door at the opposite side of the room. Prising the lid off one of the barrels, he was surprised to find it full of a strange, black powder. He sniffed it. It smelled like nothing he?d ever smelled before. He picked up some on his finger and licked it. It tasted disgusting, and he spat it out again.
?Yuk, what is this stuff?? He swore. Kirsty would have known he was sure; she?d always been good at that sort of thing. Damn Tarek! He was going to pay for this. Angrily, Seth kicked the barrel over. Black powder spilt all over the floor.
With a swing of his Morningstar, the mercenary knocked a torch off the wall. It landed next to the spilt powder. He grinned maliciously. If it was stored here rather than at the volcano it must be important. Well, hopefully it would be less useful when it had been incinerated. He turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
He found himself in a circular cavern with a sandy floor and a door at the opposite side. Standing in the middle of the floor was a man in a red robe. Seth?s eyes lit up with a wild fury.
?Tarek!?
The servant of Fire looked up and smiled. ?Ah, Seth. I hope you?re ready to die. You?ll be able to see that pathetic girlfriend of yours again you know. Not that I can see why you?d want to.?
Seth snapped. All dredges of sanity fled from his mind, and he flew into a berserk rage. The Morningstar in one hand, wyvern-tail dagger in the other, he launched a furious assault on the dark wizard.
Tarek merely drew Flametongue and blocked the attacks, the sword guiding his hands. Eventually he grew bored and caused an explosion of dark energy which threw Seth to the other side of the room. He laughed. ?Rage will never allow you to win against anyone competent, least of all me!?
Seth got groggily to his feet, the anger beaten out of him. He sheathed his dagger and readied his Morningstar. Evidently Tarek was good enough to warrant at least a little respect.
He charged back into combat, weapon swinging. The Flametongue parried the attack with ease, and Seth only just dodged a lightning fast counter attack from the burning blade. The battle continued, a mess of parries and counters that both combatants found it hard to follow.
?Infernus!? Fireballs surrounded Tarek, circling him at high speeds. Seth backed off, and the wizard stepped forwards to press the advantage. With a gesture, he sent one of the fireballs at the mercenary. A roll to the side caused the projectile to extinguish itself harmlessly on the sand.
?Give up Tarek, we both know that I?m going to win this.? Seth got to his feet and pointed his force ring in the direction of the wizard. The energy knocked Tarek out of his shield of fireballs.
?If you really think you can win you?re more deluded than I thought. Nobody can defeat me!? The wizard picked himself up and fired a dark sphere of energy at his opponent.
?You?re the one who?s deluded. Can?t you see that there?s no way that you?ll be allowed the power you were promised? Your master needs the Crystal for his own gains, and cares nothing for your life.? A massive explosion detonated the wall where Seth had come in, raining debris down the combatants. A small piece hit the mercenary on the head, stunning him temporarily.
Tarek took advantage of the situation to escape. Sheathing his weapon, the wizard ran out of the one remaining door, bolting it behind him. Through hazy vision, Seth saw him. He waited for his head to clear, and then followed.
The door caved in with a couple of blows, leaving him free to continue after his enemy. In his haste he tripped over the skeleton of a man in armour. He picked himself up, cursing. That wouldn?t help him catch Tarek at all.
After running up a flight of stairs he came to an enormous chamber. He stopped, debating which of the passages the wizard was most likely to have taken. Eventually he decided that the most probable option was the large staircase leading upwards to ornate double doors.
Cold steel pressed against his neck and a voice hissed in his ear. ?Who are you, and do you want to die?? The mercenary drew in a sharp breath. Damn! He had assumed the chamber to be empty, but evidently that was incorrect. He tried to turn his head, but his captor was having none of it. ?Just answer the question.?
?No, I don?t think I will.? The force ring?s remaining charge released throwing the man backwards. As fast as he could, Seth unclipped his Morningstar from his belt and turned to face his opponent.
?What the??? The man had vanished. Something tapped Seth on the shoulder and he whirled around just in time to get a fist to the face. His assailant backed off, drawing two katanas from sheaths on his back. Seth wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. The man looked familiar, but the dimness of the room obscured all his features. Raising his weapon, Seth attacked.

Seth vs Shade ftw! Wyvren dagger is also awesome. A muffin says that Zaltan, Nic, Nyle, Jack, Sasha and Mathew get involved in this fight, thus convoluting it even more. No typos, good chapter, and why do the evil mage people always run? Dragon, Adzed, Tarek and the water one... Forget his name.

Yes, there shall be a mega fight between them all, and only the strongest will survive to face off against the hidden unver villain.

"He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he ran into the man who dropped from the ceiling. The ambusher hit his head on the stony floor and passed out instantly." Great fight that was. Simply stunning.

Very sterotypical fight there, with a lot of "I am invincible," and "You cannot defeat me," stuff. No problem though, because I;m sure it will all lead up to something incredible. It better!

I'm on time with the chapter! It's a miracle!

Chapter 4

Nic stepped out of the portal and into a dark room. With a glance backwards into the glowing light, he walked up to the wall. Solid. He began to walk around the chamber, running his hand along the walls, always watching the portal for the emergence of Nyle or Jack. There was no sign that they had even considered following him.
His hand passed through the wall. He smiled to himself. Another illusion, as expected. He stuck his head through the gap and saw a passageway illuminated by torches. With a last regretful glance at the portal, the ghast started along the tunnel.
Why did it have to come to this? Nyle had revived him to defend people, infused him with dark energy and transformed him into one of the most powerful types of undead; a ghast. He didn?t even know whether his brother and the necromancer were still alive. They probably were, because he would have crumbled if Nyle was dead, but still?
A man stepped out of an alcove in the wall in front of him, a sword grasped in one hand and a shield in the other. He wore thick studded leather armour and a belt of knives strapped across his chest.
?Sorry about this.?
The sword pierced Nic?s chest and burst out of his back. He looked down. Then he looked back up at the man, who was now shaking in fear. ?Why do people always have to put holes in my clothes? These were new a couple of days ago, and now look at them! And me! Why do people always have to put holes in me!? He reached out and snapped the man?s neck. The lifeless body fell to the ground with a thud. Nic looked down at it.
Several minutes later, the ghast set off again. He was now wearing the man?s armour and knife belt. They were a surprisingly good fit. There were no more inept attempts at ambushes, so he was free to proceed.
Eventually he found himself at a fork in the passage. Randomly he chose right and began to walk down it. After fifty meters he reached a portcullis blocking the way. It was reinforced, and despite his strength, he was unable to break it.
Frustrated, Nic backtracked to the fork and took the other passage. At the end there was a store room, filled with boxes and crates. Behind these was a lever in the floor. After a brief consideration, the ghast pulled the handle across to the other side. There was a grinding noise, and then silence. Nothing about the room had changed in the slightest.
Back in the other passage, Nic found that the portcullis had been raised up into the ceiling, probably the result of pulling the lever. He shrugged. You couldn?t get everything right first time. Behind the portcullis was a door. Through the door was a chamber with a pool of water instead of a floor.
Standing on a stone platform in the middle of the pool was Seymon Levka. He looked up as Nic entered, a look of outraged surprise on his face. ?You? How did you get in here? There?s no way you could?ve got past the guardians in the portal room! Still, it matters little. Akros!?
The pool of water solidified and froze over between the island and the exit, allowing Levka to walk slowly over to the door without getting wet. Nic leapt into the pool and swam for all he was worth, reaching the island as the door closed and the ice melted.
?Seymon! Damn you, come back and fight!? The ghast was about to leap into the pool to chase after the wizard, when a jet of water hit him full in the face. A tentacle composed entirely from the substance of the pool wrapped itself around his leg. Swiftly he cut through it, and it collapsed into a puddle.
A glowing blue orb floated out of the water, magical energies crackling over its surface. Water shot up from the pool and formed a large sphere around it, before bursting into hundreds of tentacles. The writhing mass looked like nothing Nic had ever seen before. Slowly, it floated towards him.
Two of the tentacles lashed out, and he severed them with one stroke of his sword. Another two followed, then two more. They kept coming, and every time one of them was removed, more water trickled up from the pool to renew the supply around the sphere.
This wasn?t working. Nic decided to try a different tactic, something he would never have even considered if he hadn?t been desperate. Taking his sword in both hands he charged across the platform and jumped at the creature. When he was almost at it he swung the weapon down with all his considerable strength. The effect was surprising.
Instead of passing through the sphere, the blade knocked it down into the water. It passed through the water as though it was air, and bounced off the bottom of the pool, then flying up to ricochet off the ceiling. Nic landed in the water with a splash.
The orb hovered over the centre of the platform, still pulsating with energy. It began to absorb water again, producing tentacles as it did so. When it was fully formed, it floated towards its hapless victim, tentacles waving.
Suddenly, two beams of darkness smashed it into the side of the chamber. Nic pulled himself up onto the platform and looked for the source of the attack. Two dark figures were standing in the doorway, eyes glowing red, robes billowing in an unfelt breeze.
?Jack? Nyle? I?m glad you?re here. Thanks.? The figures walked across the surface of the pool, ignoring Nic as they passed him. Nyle raised his hand and destroyed the door with a bolt of energy. The two figures walked through the doorway without looking back.
The ghast stared at them in confusion as they passed out of sight. ?Nyle, what have you done?? Before they could get too far ahead, he dived into the water and swam to the doorway. There was no sign of them.
Quickly getting out of the water, he checked that he still had all his things and set off in pursuit. The passage had smooth walls which looked like they had been carved by rushing water. It twisted and turned, following natural patterns of the rock.
Nic passed a large puddle of water, already evaporating. It was probably the remains of a water spirit that was foolish enough to get in the way of? whatever Nyle and Jack were now.
That was a good point, he thought. What were they? Thinking back, it was evident that they were the final level of the arcane class, the Lich, or one of the greater undead. He shuddered. From what he knew, they were probably Lich. Undead spell casters. That was a scary thought.
He paused to catch his breath. Then he remembered that he didn?t need to. Being one of the undead himself, he couldn?t really be expected to need to breathe at all. ?Damn.?
Several minutes later, Nic heard the sound of clashing steel and the noise of combat. Quickly, the noise was disrupted by the sound of magic. Dark magic. He increased his speed.
Suddenly he burst out of the tunnel and into a large, dimly lit chamber. There was a group of people in the centre, fighting amongst themselves. The light was too dim to see much detail, but he thought he could make out the figures of Nyle and Jack in the middle of the combat.
Annoyed with his lack of options, Nic walked around the perimeter of the room. As he passed one of the other passages, he saw a flash of white as a figure pressed itself against the wall. He stopped.
?Who are you??
Silence.
?Do you serve the one who seeks the crystals, or fight him?
Silence.
?Okay, fine. I?ll stop being dramatic. Can you help me stop that lot from fighting? There?s no advantage to it, and they can?t even see their opponents properly.?
??What?? A figure stepped away from the wall where her white robe had been surprisingly well hidden. ?What kind of minion are you??
?One who knows that we need to work together. You don?t look like one of Lekva?s goons, so you should help me stop this lot from wasting time here.?

Oh, so there is going to be an epic battle. Exciting indeed this is.
Either many will die, or the villain will show up and interrupt everything. Both options sound interesting enough so I'm not botherd which. Unless something else even better has been planned. If that is the case, then huzzah.
It also seems like you're going to kill of Nyle, no reason, but that's what I think will happen. I never really liked him as a character, but he was still pwnsome. Still waiting for the incredible plot twist though.

The first half of the chapter kinda seemed like a video game. Awesome chapter, Jack and Nyle are... Well, I wanna see what they are now. Epic battle approaching, and I'm thinking Seymon, Dragon, Adzed and Tarek will show up and there'll be a massive fight like that. Waiting for next chapter.