The Crystals of Narlkant

Wow.

That's about all I can say.

Wow.

I only had time to read chapter 12-16, but, wow... I wished I had started reading this long before. You writing skills surpass mine by ten times, and then some. That was just awesome.
I kinda got mixed up in the fight on who was who, but that's probably because I haven't read the other chapters.

Keep writing. It's awesome.

Yeah, generally you should start reading at the beginning, or you'll spoil the ending. Thanks for the review anyway though. Next chapter, coming up!

Chapter 17

Zaltan drew his sword and pointed it at the familiar?s head. ?If you?re lying to us, you?ve just destroyed the world. For everyone?s sake, I hope you?re not. Let?s go!?
Seth and Zaltan charged forwards, weapons raised. Mathew powered up another Solar Flare, and Sasha prepared to cast any healing spells necessary. Even unable to use its magic, U?Shedrill was still a formidable opponent.
Recovering from the shock of losing its magic, the daemon swept its lance across at Seth?s head height. The mercenary dropped to the ground, rolled, and came up running. Before the spear hit Zaltan, it rebounded from an invisible shield of energy which the mage had constructed around himself.
Both fighters reached U?Shedrill at the same time, and began to attack the daemon?s legs. A powerful kick sent Seth flying backwards, and a low spin kick collapsed Zaltan?s shield. The mage struck back before U?Shedrill could attack again, his sword sticking into the daemon?s leg. It merely grinned and backhanded Zaltan across the room.
?Light! Solar Flare!? The massive beam of light cannoned into the daemon?s chest, sending it crashing to the ground. In an instant, Seth was in position, slamming his Morningstar into the creature?s head with the single minded determination of a berserker. In actual fact, he was listening to Kirsty?s voice in his head, telling him exactly when and where to strike.
Zaltan joined him, pulling his sword from the daemon?s leg and laying into its torso. Immaterial strikes accompanied the sword strokes, proving that Murdock was still with them despite everything. The daemon did not bleed when hit or cut; instead, black fluid seeped from the wounds, spoiling the blue feathers.
Suddenly, U?Shedrill leapt to its feet, weapon spinning. A burst of fire graced the tip of the spear; apparently it was unaffected by the nullstone. The burning weapon set fire to Seth's tunic and hair, and he was forced to drop to the ground and roll to put out the fire.
The spear?s element changed, and it glowed green. The daemon thrust the weapon at Zaltan, hoping to impale him. It was out of luck, as the mage dodged backwards. The winds which would have ripped him apart if the attack had connected merely slashed his right cheek and knocked him backwards a few paces.
All immediate opposition out of its way, U?Shedrill leapt into the air, wingbeats causing a dust storm directly below it. It tried again to access its magic, with no success. Instead, it dodged aside from the light spell that Mathew launched at it, and aimed itself at the one who was healing Seth and Zaltan?s wounds. It screeched out a hunting cry and shot through the air towards its target.
Sasha heard the screech and looked up to see the daemon dropping towards her. There was no time to run, or to do anything except to raise one knife with her remaining hand in a futile gesture of defiance.
Something slammed into her side, sending her flying. She looked back to see Ga?Rath impaled by the elemental spear. The familiar was wielding its greatsword in one hand, and slashing at U?Shedrill?s head. The silver blade seemed to cut through the daemon?s flesh with amazing ease, hacking into it as though it wasn?t there. As Sasha watched, the familiar began to fade from view. Its greatsword fell to the floor with a clang, and Ga?Rath turned its head towards the healer.
?Sa?sha? you need? silver ? to? bind? U?Shedrill? my blade?? Suddenly the familiar?s voice returned to normal, despite its great show of dying slowly. ?I?m not sure why I told you that. Probably because this world has so many cool things in it. Like vodka. You can only get that in one other place, but it?s usually guarded by guys with funny accents.?
?Hurry up and die you miserable creature!? U?Shedrill?s voice cut through Ga?Rath?s ranting, and the familiar merely nodded once and exploded into a purple mist, which faded into nothing. ?Good, now, where were we??
?We were busy completely thrashing you I believe!? Seth plunged his knife into the daemon?s leg, right the way up to the hilt. The wyvern venom flowed from the blade and into the body of the creature. U?Shedrill looked down at the mercenary, and kicked him in the chest.
?Foolish mortal. Venoms cannot harm me any more than the bite of an insect. For your impudence, you will be the second to die. I choose to put your escape from my inferno down to luck. Die!? The daemon stabbed down with its spear, narrowly missing Seth as he rolled aside. The mercenary leapt to his feet, and thrust his hand towards the knife embedded in U?Shedrill?s leg. The force ring activated, slamming the blade even further into the daemon.
As the creature staggered, Zaltan took his chance. He fired a blast of energy which completely unbalanced U?Shedrill. The daemon collapsed to the ground and dropped its spear. Immediately, Seth and Zaltan charged in, only to be beaten back by their enemy?s talons. The daemon raked Seth across the chest, shredding the top half of his tunic to pieces.
As the cloth fell away, all combatants paused. The mercenary?s torso was completely covered in green scales, which faded into skin just above his elbows. He looked down at himself, and grinned. When he looked back up, his eyes narrowed, and he charged forwards again.
U?Shedrill reacted with customary speed and agility, throwing Zaltan to the floor and pulling the knife out of its own leg. Although the weapon was tiny in its clawed hand, it managed to throw it with unerring accuracy.
Seth felt the blade enter his leg, which the scales did not cover. More venom entered his bloodstream, mingling with the wyvern blood he was already infused with. He fell to the ground convulsing, and struggled to pull the blade out of his leg.
Believing the threat to have been dealt with, U?Shedrill picked up its spear and turned to face the next attack. Once again, Zaltan was kicked to the ground, Sasha following him.
Only Mathew was standing. An aura of light surrounded the wizard, getting brighter with each passing second. The daemon wondered what on earth the crazy old fool was doing, and struggled to identify the spell. Suddenly it realised what was going on, and its eyes widened.
?No.? U?Shedrill threw its spear just as Mathew released the spell. Blinding light flew from him, trapping the daemon in a cage of pure energy. The spear found its mark. It plunged through Mathew?s abdomen and out the back of his body. He grunted in pain and fell to his knees, attempting to summon the energy for one last spell. Faintly, he heard three cries of shock, but he dismissed them. This spell was vital. ?Light! Solar Flare!?
Unable to brace himself, the wizard was thrown backwards by the force of the spell. It didn?t make any difference. He was already dead.
The spell collided with the prison surrounding U?Shedrill, strengthening the seals before the daemon could break free. Zaltan and Sasha staggered to their feet. Seth lay where he had fallen, his knife lying next to his still body.
?We need silver to seal that thing, and Ga?Rath said to use its sword. That bugger had better have been telling the truth.? Zaltan ran towards the fallen blade, with the healer hard on his heals. He picked up the blade, surprised at how heavy it was. ?Sasha, see what you can do for Seth. I?ll seal the daemon.?
?But??
?I?ll be fine.? Without waiting for any further response, the mage charged towards the imprisoned daemon. He stopped at the edge of the prison, and cursed. In order to banish a daemon, he knew from his studies that he would have to strike it in the chest with the silver blade. There was no physical way for him to do that, so the mage backed off.
He was prepared to perform a magic assisted leap, followed by slamming the greatsword into the target. He had just taken the first step of his run, when a clawed hand knocked him off balance and grabbed the blade.

Fight is still great, despite lasting so long. More death is obviously welcome, and I'm guessing that Seth will fall in the next chapter. If my assumptions are correct, either everyone will die and manage to kill U'Shedrill in the process, or a few of them will die and big boss will escape, only to be defeated in the next few chapters or in a sequel.
I'm assuming that I'm wrong, but I suppose any ending is acceptable, even the most typical of all endings would be worthy of a read, so keep it up.

Awesome as ever.

That thing never seems to die. The first thought in my head when I read the last sentence was, Aww, come on! No! No fair!. But I guess that's the way it goes when your are trying to kill something that is near to being indestructible.

Along with Cat, I think Seth will probably fall. And I wonder if there will be sequel... Don't tell me, of course.

« Last edited by Twilight Knight on Mar 21st 2008 »

You're both chronically wrong.

Chapter 18

?You go look after Sasha; I?ll deal with the daemon.?
?What the? Seth? Is that you? What??? The creature in front of him bore little resemblance to the mercenary whom he had fought alongside. It had a dragon-like head, with green scales coating its body. It still carried the Morningstar in one hand, but also carried the greatsword in the other, wielding it with the same ease its creator had. Its voice sounded more reptilian than human.
Zaltan nodded and hurried over to Sasha, and together they watched as Seth took on the final showdown with U?Shedrill.
He dashed forwards towards the daemon, straight through the light prison. U?Shedrill swiped its claws at him, but he dodged to the side with inhuman speed. As if in slow motion, Seth leapt up to his adversary?s face height. He seemed to hang there for a second, and then, just as he began to fall, he slammed the silver greatsword into U?Shedrill?s chest.
Instantly the prison collapsed in on itself, expelling Seth so that he landed in a heap on the ground next to it. The daemon shrank smaller and smaller, being compressed by the collapsing prison. Eventually the whole thing became a single pinprick of light, before it vanished in a supernova of magical energies, leaving the chamber to be lit only by the light of sunset in the sky above. The four crystals fell to the ground, glowing faintly.
Seth got to his feet and walked over to Zaltan and Sasha. His Morningstar dragged along the ground behind him, and his knife was back in its sheath. When he reached the others, they backed off slightly.
?So, any ideas on how the hell we get out of here?? Zaltan shook his head, still wary of what Seth had become. He didn?t understand it at all. Shade had mentioned something about a secret, but?
?First things first, what happened to you??
Seth sighed. ?All right, I suppose I?d better tell you. While I was searching for the fire crystal, I was fatally poisoned by wyvern venom. Luckily, I was healed by an apothecary who was able to replace my blood with that of the wyvern. I?ve been slowly mutating ever since, but getting stabbed by more wyvern venom seems to have sped up the process. That a good enough explanation for you?? Seth hoped it was. Sasha looked confused, but Zaltan simply nodded.
?I?ve never heard of blood replacement, but I suppose it is possible. As for getting out, I have no idea.?
?I?ve got one, but I?ll only tell you if you help me first.?
The three of them spun around at the sound of the voice. Barely illuminated by the fading light, was a figure sitting up against the wall. He looked like he was unable to move, and burns covered his entire body. Without hesitation, Sasha stepped over to him and released healing magic into his scorched flesh. As the wounds healed, the figure became more recognisable, until Seth gasped in surprise and rushed forward.
?Shade! But I thought??
?You thought I was incinerated by that fireball. I very nearly was. I only managed to escape the main blast, not the heatwave. I managed to crawl over here, but my gear? oh. None of you happen to have a spare pair of trousers do you?? The assassin would have flushed red if he had been able to; all his clothing had been burned away by the fireball.
Seth laughed, Sasha averted her eyes, and Zaltan went to see which of the Servants? robes was the least damaged. After a short while, he came back carrying Seymon?s blue robe. It was the only one which was not totally covered in blood. The mage looked a lot less happy than he had when he had gone to look for the robe.
Once Shade was covered again, the four of them followed Zaltan to where Mathew lay; U?Shedrill?s spear still sticking through his lifeless body. There was silence for a moment, before Shade dashed forwards and knelt at the old wizard?s side.
?Damn daemon. Sorry I never thanked you properly for restoring my life back in Narlmark. I don?t know how you did it, but I want you to know that U?Shedrill has been banished. Thank you.? The assassin looked up at the others, who had gathered around him. ?There?s nothing we can do for him now. We should get out of here.?
They walked over to where the Crystals were glowing gently. Shade picked them up and handed one to each person, keeping the Water Crystal for himself. Zaltan took the Air Crystal, Sasha the Earth Crystal, and Seth the Fire Crystal.
?Here?s the plan. We all saw how the Servants were able to warp around using the power of the crystals. It stands to reason that we should be able to do the same. I?m not sure how, but it should be possible. You agree??
Zaltan spoke up. ?I agree that it is possible, but my question is this. What do we do with the Crystals once we are out of here? We can?t just keep them; that would be inviting trouble.?
?We hide them.? Everyone turned to Seth as he spoke, the Fire Crystal clenched tightly in his hand. ?We hide them in places which are infinitely harder to find than those they were hidden in before. And then we forget about them, leaving no record of where they lie. With any luck, they will never be unearthed again. If they are ever needed, then let others search for them and get past whatever traps we may place around them.?
For a moment, no one spoke. Eventually Shade voiced his thoughts. ?I remember something Mathew said. Something about the magic strength of the human race waning. He suggested that the Crystals contain much of the world?s magical energy. Perhaps if there was some way to shatter them we could reverse that??
?No.? They looked at Sasha in surprise. ?No, if we shatter them, the energy will be released all at once. If we place them in locations related to their elements though, they should release their energy naturally.?
?We?ll do that then. I?ll take the Air Crystal to a place frequented by the wind. I hope I can meet you all again some day.? The mage?s eyes locked with Sasha?s and they both smiled. Suddenly, swirling winds enveloped Zaltan, and when they had cleared he was nowhere to be seen.
?What the?? How did he do that??
?I think it was by concentrating both on the power of the crystal and also the destination he wanted to go to. Like this. See you around, I hope.? Sasha closed her eyes and breathed out. A cloud of dust appeared around the healer, leaving nothing when it cleared. Seth held the Fire Crystal and looked at it.
?Shade, Don?t forget your gear when you leave. Also? If you?re ever out of work, look for Clan Dark Claw in the forest where you first saw me chasing after Tarek. Mention my name to them, and they should accept you. You never know, I might even be there.? A burst of fire engulfed the mercenary, and he vanished.
Shade looked at the Water Crystal he held in his hand, then over at Mathew?s still form. Pocketing the crystal, the assassin walked over to his friend?s body. He pulled the daemon?s spear carefully out of the wizard?s stomach, and placed Mathew in the death pose, arms crossed across his chest. What had Sasha said? Concentrate on what you want, and draw the magic out of the crystal? Something like that. Maybe it would work with other magical objects as well?
Holding the spear over the corpse and hoping it would work, the assassin concentrated, all the time drawing the elemental energy out of the weapon through sheer force of will. He spoke as he did so to focus his mind.
?By the power of the elements, be given a tomb of stone. Silex.? The earth formed around the wizard?s body, forming into a spire of rock which towered to slightly above the crater?s rim. ?An eternal spring of clear water. Akros.? A spring bubbled into existence at the foot of the spire, flowing over the floor. ?A cleansing fire, to purge this area of evil. Infernus.? A flame ignited at the top of the spire, sending out jets of flame to incinerate all traces of the combat which had taken place. ?And a soothing wind, to calm the spirit. Zerris.? A wind sprang up, circling the crater with its refreshing embrace.
The water was rising fast. As a final tribute to Mathew, Shade placed the spear, now drained of all elemental energy, next to the grave and ran over to his pile of weapons. He shoved the knives through his belt, followed by the katanas, then pulled out the Water Crystal. He focussed his mind on the square outside The Soldier?s Arms with its broken statue and everything else he remembered so well.
?Goodbye, old friend. Thank you.?
A cloud of water vapour concealed Shade from sight, lingered for a moment, and then vanished, taking the assassin with it.

Wha....?

The epic battle ended in a couple of lines, with no ultimate death explosion or anything of the type! Still a great chapter though. Seth's mutation is welcome, though I'm not sure if that will do much good seeing as the fic appears to be drawing to a close. To be honest, I'm not really sure what else you can do to continue this from this point, unless you go into detail on where the stones are hidden. That... or... you forgot to write "The End."
Unlike I expected, there was less death than I had though. In fact, there was a revival, of sorts. Instead of killing off more allies, you keep them alive. Shade was supposed to be dead!
One question I do have though. How was it that simply by touching the crystals at the end, how did Zaltan know how to teleport? It just seemed strange 'tis all.

He's a mage, therefore he knows how to tap into the power of magic objects. And before you ask how Shade was able to do the whole magic thing, it's because I thought it would be cool. We can just assume that becoming the Chosen of Water was enough to allow him, m'kay?

Sorry about the abrupt ending, to be honest I'm not totally satisfied with it. There really should have been some demonic screaming or something, I'm sure...

So, any thoughts on the fic as a whole, or even thoughts on what happens to the world now?

It's interesting that he just kinda shrunk into just nothing. It did kind of end abruptly, but that could be changed easily. I didnt get to read all of it, just from chapter 12 to 17, but what I did read was just awesome. I do, however suspect there will be another chapter. Is there going to to be a sequel? Or do they hide the crystles and nobody finds them?

The crystals are searched out by one suitably evil, powerful, world destroying person who finds them, summons U'Shredrill once again, but harnesses his power and becomes something even more freakishly dangerous.
Once again, the warriors must reunite to defend the world from the power of the crystals before the very essence of nature can be drained, and the evil incarnation can end life as humanity knows it! Can they do it, who knows?

These are my thoughts on a sequel, imagined in the form of some flashy film trailer.

Ah, I'm back! I really didn't want to go on holiday, but oh well. And you're right, there's another chapter or so to go yet.



Chapter 1

The merciless sun beat down on the barren sands, baking everything stupid enough to be out of cover in the heat of the day. On the horizon, a dark smudge appeared, growing larger all the time. A sandstorm was approaching.
Under the meagre shelter of a large boulder, Farrow Longfield hesitated in indecision. If he stayed where he was, he would be buried under the swirling sands, but if he moved then he would be cooked by the midday sun. He made a snap decision.
Grabbing his last remaining water bottle, and pausing only to check that his short sword was still in its scabbard, he stepped out into the heat. With a little luck he would reach his goal before he expired from dehydration or was buried alive.
Within seconds, he was panting. Trickling a little water into his mouth, he pressed onwards. Eventually the day got cooler, gradually turning to night. Farrow kept moving, certain that the sandstorm was still closing in.
He spotted the ruins just as the first grains of sand hit. As the storm worsened, he frantically began hammering on the walls of the ruin, silently begging the entrance to open.
At last it did, and the man tumbled into a downward sloping passage. After pulling a torch from his pack and scrabbling for his flint and tinder, the passage was illuminated. It was cut out of the solid rock, and there was something sinister about it. After a few minutes relieved rest, Farrow moved on.
He had only gone a hundred meters when he came out into a small round room. Piled up against the wall were wooden crates. Farrow drew his sword and used the blade to lever open one of them, not really knowing what he would find, but expecting the worst. As the lid of the crate came off, his eyes widened in amazement.
It was full of broaches of an exceedingly high quality, each one inlayed with an orange metal circle. Farrow immediately stepped away from the crate and raised his sword. Surely nobody would be foolish enough to leave such valuable items undefended?
After checking the entire cave thoroughly, Farrow was forced to admit that there were no traps. He had however uncovered the way forwards, hidden behind a fake wall. Slipping three of the broaches into his pocket, he continued down the passage.
After a short while, the tunnel levelled out. A little after this, it split in two, a passage leading both left and right. Farrow paused for a moment, trying to remember if there had been anything written about the interior of this place back in the library in Narlmark. As far as he could remember, there had been nothing. Trusting to luck, he took the left fork.
Within a minute he had reached a door which blocked the passage. It was locked, but the simple bolt was no match for him. The lock broke easily and the door opened without a sound, allowing Farrow access to the cavern beyond.
It was vast, with a floor of sand and a ceiling spiked with stalactites. Something loomed in the darkness, and Farrow approached it cautiously but quickly. His torch wouldn?t last forever, and when it died, he would be in trouble. When at last he reached the object, he saw with horror that it was the dried remains of a giant sandworm. The creature had been cut almost in half by something. For the first time since departing on this quest, Farrow wondered if it really was such a good idea.
He forced himself not to think of what could have done such damage to such a huge creature, and moved swiftly on. Through a door on the other side of the chamber, along another short passage, and out into a wider area of passage. The floor was covered in small, one inch wide holes. This was obviously a trap. The man drew his sword and experimentally held the blade over one of the holes, expecting the weapon to be jarred by the impact of a rising or falling spike. The trap activated, but there was no impact. Instead, a jet of red light burst from the ground, burning a perfectly round hole in the metal.
Farrow jerked his hand back in surprise, causing the short sword?s blade to be split from about the centre to the tip by the cutting light. He cursed. The blade would still be able to cut, but it was now too weak to block effectively with. Shaking his head in despair, Farrow turned his attention back to the problem at hand.
Five minutes later he was past the trap, with only a few holes in his clothes to show for it. That had been too close. Suppressing a shudder he continued through the next door and into the chamber beyond. This room was large, and lit by torches on the walls. There were double doors at one side of the room, but they were broken and charred, as though they had been blasted aside to allow access for some monstrous creature. Farrow walked through them.
?Oh no, not another one. Please, go back.? He froze. Where had that voice come from? Cautiously, he walked down a short tunnel to a small door. Once again it was locked, and once again he broke the lock. The door opened onto a perfectly round room. Standing in the centre was a woman in the white robes of a healer. She had her hands tucked into the sleeves of her robes, and the hood covered her head.
?What are you doing here?? he asked, now thoroughly confused. ?Also, do you know where in this place I can find the legendary Earth Crystal??
The woman sighed. ?You don?t know what you?re asking for. If you leave now, then you might get out alive. If not, you?ll die.?
?What? But you?re just a healer! What could you know of this place, and the power of the object hidden here? Now tell me, where it is!? He was getting angry with the woman now, but rage was showing on her features as well.
?Just a healer. Just a healer! You insolent worm, I am far, far more than just a healer!? With a flourish, the woman pulled her hands out of her sleeves. The left hand was normal, but the right hand seemed to be made of stone. It was moving just like a normal hand, but was solid rock. ?I am Sasha, the guardian of the Earth Crystal. You are a foolish treasure hunter who sought this power for himself and for his own gains. More than that, you?re a thief; I see that you have three of my broaches in your possession. I will give you one last chance to be gone. Go!?
Farrow stood his ground. ?What, you expect me to believe that you can defeat me in combat? En guard!? Drawing his blade, the treasure hunter watched Sasha carefully. What she did next was totally unexpected.
Lifting her stone hand, she held it out towards him palm forwards. In the centre of the palm was a spherical orange gem which glowed with a strange inner light.
?The Earth Crystal! You are the guardian!?
?Yes. But it?s too late to repent now. Silex!?
Farrow leapt forwards, sword upraised. As he brought the blade down, his movements slowed. His sight dimmed, fading to black. A dull pain flooded throughout him until, finally, he was still.
Sasha lowered her hand and gazed sadly at the motionless statue before her. A tear fell from her eye. Why did it always have to end like this?

So... they have to stay and protect the crystals mercilessly now? Life must be rather crap for them.

I'm expecting everyone else to be protecting the crystal they took, as I said, so I'm supposing that the next chapters will simply be attempts of others to steal them. What I don't understand, however, is how this has anything to do with Light. All I can come up with is that either there is some fifth crystal nobody knows about, or the four can be merged together to form another. Either way, I expect that there's still more than a little bit of fic to go, with one final twist maybe coming up.

Wrong?

What he said.

I just have one question. Is Farrow in any other chapters? I don't have the time to read all of them, so...

Good chapter. It's short compared to the last ones, and not too much action, but still interesting.

Oh, another question, what was the broaches about? I didn't quite get the purpose of them.

No, Farrow eisted solely to be fossilised by Sasha. The broaches were pointless, I agree. I'm not sure why they're there.

Chapter 2

High atop Mount Stormbolt, a solitary figure stood in the swirling snow, gazing south. His right hand was clenched around the hilt of his sword, while his left held a spherical green gem. A tattered cloak flapped around his shoulders, the only movement in his whole body.
?Curse you, fates. Why did you do this to me? Why must I remain here, while everything else moves on without me?? The man stopped talking as he caught the glint of sunlight on armour. Slowly, a mirthless smile spread across his face. Four figures were approaching the entrance to the Shrine of Air, all of them armed and armoured.
Moving over to another part of the summit, the man focussed his mind on the ground. After a few seconds, a hole appeared and revealed a spiral staircase. The man walked down quickly, feeling the hole closing above him.
At the base of the stair, the man paused. He swung his sword experimentally a few times, then clipped the green gem into a specially made hollow in the hilt of the weapon. The next swing sent a green tornado spiralling across the floor. The man grinned; this would be the first distraction he had had all year. He watched the door.
Sure enough, it soon burst open. Literally. Apparently one of the interlopers was a strike mage. Four men strode confidently into the room. All of them wore full plate armour and carried a sword and shield. From appearances, there was no way to identify which of them was the mage.
?Stop right there.? The four men stopped, surprised to see a man in this place. One of them drew his sword, and the others followed.
?I don?t know who you are or why you?re here, but you?re in our way. We only want the Air Crystal, but if you don?t stand aside, we?ll have to kill you.?
?You would kill me, Zaltan, knight of Aaldramech??
?Knight of where? Isn?t Aaldramech that old ruined castle where the ruling family went mad and killed everyone?? Zaltan?s hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. ?We?re wasting time. Stand aside, knight.?
Obediently, Zaltan stepped aside, allowing the four men access to the staircase behind him. They ascended without even glancing at him. Ignorant fools. They didn?t know what they were looking for.
He gave the men five minutes head start. That would allow them to realise that there was nothing on the summit, and also to realise that there was no way down without magic. And even then it was hard to know where to look. They would have been up there for some time, but Zaltan wanted some fun.
He climbed the stairs two at a time, eager to begin. When he finally emerged onto the summit, the four men were in a bad mood. As soon as they spotted him, they rushed forwards.
Zaltan stopped them with a wave of energy which tripped them to the ground. As they picked themselves up, one of them gestured in the air, and force slammed into Zaltan?s side, knocking him to the ground.
Form his low position, Zaltan thrust his hand at the man who had gestured, dragging him forwards. When the man was in range, he stabbed his sword straight through the steel breastplate of his armour and into his heart. The man gurgled, and coughed up blood. He made a move as though to strike Zaltan, and then fell to the ground.
Zaltan picked himself up and looked at the other men. A wave of his hand sent one of them sailing away over the precipice which marked the edge of the summit. The man?s screams faded, and the mage began to speak.
?I am Zaltan Aaldramech, guardian of the Air Crystal. You are a band of fools who only wanted the Crystal for your own gains. I can see that from the looks on your faces. Now, I could be merciful and let you go? what do you think? Give me one good reason not to kill you.?
The two men were silent for a second, then one began to speak quickly. ?Please don?t kill me I only came along because he made me oh gods I?m going to die don?t kill me please don?t kill me!? He fell to his knees, grovelling with all his might. Zaltan looked at him in disgust.
?If there?s one thing I can?t stand, it?s disloyalty. Disloyalty and cowardice. The two things I can?t stand are disloyalty and cowardice and people blaming others; three, the three things I can?t stand are disloyalty, cowardice, people blaming others, and giant daemon birdmen. You know what, forget it. Zerris!? Blades of wind burst from the mage?s sword and surrounded the unfortunate man, entering his armour to slash at the vulnerable flesh within. Around him, the snow turned red. Eventually he fell to the ground, convulsing.
The one remaining man took a step away from the bloody mess which had once been his ally. Zaltan sent a bolt of force towards him, only to see it absorbed by a nullstone built into the man?s armour. Both men smiled. This would be a true test of who was the better swordsman.
?You?ve killed my friends through trickery and magic. That won?t work on me. Let?s see if you can actually use that sword.?
?You?re on.? Zaltan parried his opponent?s first slash, and countered with a strike to the head. The swordsman ducked under the blow with surprising agility considering the bulkiness of his armour and swept his sword at the mage?s legs.
Zaltan thrust the point of his blade into the ground in time to block the attack, and gritted his teeth as the force of it jarred his arm. Instinctively, he threw a focussed ball of energy at his opponent, only to see it absorbed into the nullstone once again.
Suddenly the Mage was on the defensive, blocking with all his ability, yet being forced slowly backwards towards the edge of the cliff. This man was better than any foe he had ever faced, perhaps even better than him?
?No?? Zaltan took another step backwards under the never ending blows. He was right at the edge of the cliff, frowning in concentration. The swordsman pressed his advantage, striking the mage on the arm and drawing blood. Zaltan stepped backwards in shock, right over the edge of the cliff. There was no sound as he fell.
The swordsman stepped up to the edge and peered over. There was no sign of anything in the swirling snows below. He grinned with exhilaration.
?What?re you looking for?? the swordsman span around, eyes wide with shock. ?What? You look surprised to see me.? Zaltan took one step forwards, raised his foot, and kicked the man in the chest. The armoured figure fell from the cliff with a despairing cry, as Zaltan turned away in disgust. Now he would have to wait until the next band to greedy treasure hunters came along. In his mind, he hoped it wouldn?t take to long.

Interesting. I saw some grammatical mistakes, whether there on purpose or not.

?Please don?t kill me I only came along because he made me oh gods I?m going to die don?t kill me please don?t kill me!?

That's where the guy was a coward and asked not to be killed. It you will notice, there is not punctuation except at the end.

To me, the chapter seemed kinda rushed. Is that just me?

It was extremely short, yes, but had four deaths in it, making it good.

I don't really know what else to say, seeing as this has no story to it anymore. Though I do have a question. Have the four protectors been bound to the shrines forever, or do they just choose to protect the crystals?

TK: He's babbling, and the words are just coming out in a rush. The lack of punctuation was deliberate.

Cat: They're bound to the shrines. Don't worry about the apparent lack of story, this is just to explain what happens to them all after the final battle, and because I felt like rounding each character off individually. I did have an alternate ending, but it became a cheesy reunion between the four of them and I scrapped it.

I declare this a jolly good bump.

Indeed, 'tis very bumpy. Incidentally, you should like this chapter due to it's awsomeness, and the fact that Seth's in it.

Chapter 3

Seth sat on the platform, suspended high above the crater of the active volcano. He was thinking. As usual, Kirsty was sharing his thoughts.
Look you idiot, for the nine hundred and twelfth time, there was nothing you could have done. The crystal sought out this place itself. I know you were focussing on the village; it?s what I would have done as well. In fact I did.
?That may be so, but why didn?t it let me leave?? Seth looked down at his chest, covered by a breastplate made from inch thick steel. Built into the inside, in contact with the scales which covered his entire body, was the Fire Crystal. When he had tried to leave the Alter of Fire, a strange force had prevented him from taking more than a few steps past the main entrance.
Possibly because it needed you to defend it? You know that the defences of this place are sorely lacking. I mean, we got in really easily, remember?
?Yeah, I remember. You think I should build some traps? There?s still plenty of metal in the forge. I wonder if I could make a kind of bear trap mounted on the ceiling which would activate when somebody walks underneath it??
Typical. No, I think you should try to devise some way of dropping people into the lava ? there?s less to clean up afterwards. In fact? what was that?
?Sounded like a horn?? Seth rose to his feet and walked towards the forge. In the five years since he had been infected with the wyvern venom, his body had mutated beyond recognition. He was taller now, and the scales covered his entire body. His head was now even more reptilian than it had been after the fight with the daemon. He also had wings.
That had come as a surprise, but was also a blessing. Although he couldn?t fly out of the crater of the volcano, they helped him to get around faster.
The forge was as hot as ever. The heat didn?t bother the guardian, but the open door did. He could see the chamber beyond, and the soldiers it contained. ?What??
Twenty men in gleaming silver uniforms stared back at him impassively. That was disconcerting. The few people who had come before had been terrified of his appearance. Still, these troops didn?t look like they were here for a party. Seth snatched a flail from a pile of weapons. The meter long metal pole ended in three chains, each ending in a large spiked ball. He emitted a hiss of satisfaction.
His old Morningstar was now too small for him to use efficiently in combat. It hung on the wall of the forge, draped over two iron spikes. The chained flail, however, had the same fee that the old weapon had had when he had first used it; a kind of unstoppable power.
?Charge!?
As one, the soldiers lowered their spears and rushed forwards, moving through the narrow doorway before Seth could move to defend it. In a heartbeat, the first of their number had reached him. Instinctively, Seth swung the flail, crushing the man?s armour into his body and sending his remains flying into the wall of the forge. The other soldiers didn?t falter in their charge, but the guardian could see the fearful looks on their faces. That was something at least.
With a horizontal sweep of his weapon, Seth obliterated the next three soldiers to come within range. Their bodies made an interesting pattern as they hit the wall. He grabbed the spear of the next soldier, and thrust it back at him, impaling the man straight through his armour. With the blunt end.
Seth, behind you!
The guardian spun in a complete circle, weapon outstretched, sending another two soldiers flying to their doom. Sneaking up behind him had not been a smart move.
Great sweeps of the flail decimated more of the soldiers, reducing their numbers to a mere five. Before he could step forward to finish them off as well, another figure stepped into the room. This one was wearing more ornate armour than the others, and carried a sword and shield rather than a spear.
?Well, well, well. It would appear that I have underestimated you. I admit that I was sceptical about the rumours I had heard from those who fled this place while you killed their companions. So tell me, do you think that you can best me as well??
Seth snarled in defiance at the man?s words. Another treasure hunter who believed himself invincible. Great.
?Infernus!? Instead of incinerating the man where he stood, the guardian summoned fireballs around the spikes of his chained flail. Without letting the men to react, he brought the weapon down on the head of one of the soldiers, reducing him to paste.
Another swing saw the deaths of another three. The remaining soldier and his commander took a step backwards. Seth gestured slightly with his flail, and the fireballs which graced it flew to the enemy grunt. His armour heated to glowing point in seconds, but by that time the man inside was just so much ash.
?So, you think that you can beat me? Come on. Try.? Without his men between him and the guardian, the commander looked much less confident than he had done previously. Despite this, he took up the stance of a seasoned fighter, sword and shield ready.
Seth looked critically at him. The man would have been hard for any normal human to defeat, but he had obviously never faced anything stronger than himself, and was about to learn a valuable lesson about strategy: when one on one with a creature wielding a weapon which weighs as much as you do, don?t try to block.
His first blow hit the shield full on. The force of it ripped the commander?s arm clean off, sending it flying across the room to land in a pile of other body parts. The man looked down at the jagged stump, mouth open. Then he looked back up at Seth. There was no mercy in the guardian?s eyes.
Kill him quickly. Don?t let him suffer.
Seth nodded and pointed his empty hand at the man.
?Better luck next life. Infernus!?

Oh... large battles are interesting. Especially when mutilation and blood splatter is involved.
Seth's transfomration is also interesting. He seems much more pwnsome now and would make an extremely decent character in and Rp, or perhaps as a villain in a sequel. It's a shame it happened so late really.

Besides the action, the way the crystals seem to work was... also interesting. I suspected that they were defending them out of choice, not by force.
I still have no idea what this has to do with Light, but I'm guessing that I'll find out soon. That, or there will be some sort of epic twist in the final chapter(s).

I tried not to use epic, you see.

You did. Lol

Yet another good chapter. Interesting fight scene. I can imagine the thoughts of the soldiers. They say there's a giant bird-creature living there. I don't believe the story's however. And then after they see Seth, Oh, god. It's real. It must be a terrible man-eating monster. Lol.

« Last edited by Twilight Knight on Apr 9th 2008 »