Chapter 193 - Reclaiming the Academy

I took home a border collie puppy on Friday. Never have I struggled so hard to concentrated! It's 2am but I made it :D

Moving through the streets of the Upper City was made easy by Marcela’s party. They knew the area like the back of their hands and guided them discreetly toward the academy. The dead lay everywhere. Slain in their gardens, outside their houses, near shops. Any that could not flee the spawn of the tree in time. Stray monsters still lurked here and there—goblin-like creatures whose bodies were infested by vines, sprouting from them like worms. They had no weapons, but long root-like claws grew from their fingers. Nothing Celaine and Teff couldn’t take out silently.

Dylan knelt beside one of the corpses, reaching for its body and extending his essence into it. He sighed deeply. “These are no natural beasts. Whatever these plants are, they are not of nature. If anything, they remind me of those damned trees.”

“Perhaps they’re from the same ecosystem,” Emilia said. “That rift could connect to the forest of another realm for all we know.”

Dylan frowned. “Maybe. I’m not so sure though.”

“What do you mean?” Hump asked.

“It’s like a parasite,” Dylan said. “I think these creatures were already dead, and it’s just their bodies being used.”

Hump inwardly groaned. Well, there was a sombre thought.

“Whatever mystery lies behind all this, we can figure it out once the city is safe,” Marcela said. “For now, we have no choice but to keep going."

That wasn’t exactly true; they could turn back. They could head back to the armoury, take all they could carry, and leave the city. With the sounds of battle growing louder with every step they walked, he almost humoured the idea. Almost.

They continued onward. Explosions, shrieks that could have been man or monster, the ring of steel of steel; it all came at them in a constant cacophony. Smoke rose from the Lower City, distant screams rising with it. Of the battle in the Upper City, all Hump could see were the flashes of blessings over the tops of buildings, lighting up the white walls like a pyrotechnics display. Above it all, the Tree of Damnation towered, essence pouring out of its great rift, and it flooded the area like a miasma. There were so many affinities at play, the air felt like a charged, like the moment before lightning struck. Hump felt it against his skin like needles, pricking him constantly, itching him.

They rounded the next street corner as a new monster emerged from the rift—a troll of some sort, but their flesh was covered in the same shrubs and roots as the goblin-like creatures. Thick bark formed an armoured layer over its head and shoulders. The hulking beast moved sluggishly, swaying back and for the, its eyes radiating a yellow-green glow. Roots sprouted from its teeth, running down its chin like white lines of drool.

Hump frowned at that. If Dylan was right, he had to wonder what kind of being would be capable of changes on such a scale. Some sort of corrupting, plant-based magic. Monsters continued to trickle out, adding to the chaos, and now that Hump was aware of it he noticed the same markings as on the troll and the goblin creatures.

“Gods protect us,” Marcela said quietly, her face pale.

“Something is holding them back,” Hump said. “We wouldn’t just be seeing stray monsters around us if not.”

“A containment field,” Marcela said. “It’s an artifact from our vault that seals an area. She must have sealed herself inside.”

“How long can it hold?” Nina said, fear leaking into her voice. “The enemy are within our walls. Atop our cliff! The city is as good as lost.”

“No!” Marcela denied vehemently. “It is not. It cannot be! We will find a way.”

“How?” Nina said.

Hump was wondering that too, and he could see the same question on the face of the others around him. Even with the phoenix feather, even if they gained the help of those in the academy, he didn’t know what they could do against that. It was difficult to imagine how the silver rankers would hold the line for any length of time. This trap the warlocks had set was bearing fruit, and unless something changed, he suspected Nina was right.

A flash of light drew Hump’s gaze back to the giant, parasitic troll. White light exploded from a dozen slashes across its body, carving through flesh and bone. Blood exploded into the air in fine mist as the troll fell to pieces, radiating the pale light of the moon.

“Do not forget that my mother is a Chosen of Imira,” Marcela said. “She has plans of her own that even I don’t know.”

That wasn’t much to go on, but they had their own plans. It wasn’t long until they arrived at an estate opposite the academy.

“Break this,” Len said.

Marcela frowned at him but cut through the lock on the gate. He led them inside, leading them up an outer stairway to a patioed balcony space on the roof with a view of the academy courtyard.

“I used to come here for lunch,” Len explained. “The owners don’t live in Sheercliff, so there was nobody to notice.”

“Why would you bother?” Marcela asked.

Len snorted. “Best you don’t ask, Lady Marcela.”

Hump wasn’t really listening. His eyes were drawn to the battle by the Shrine of Osidium. It was far to the left from them here, just past the carriageway, or at least what was left of it. The tree itself wasn’t what caught his attention though. From here, he could just about make out the containment field over the area.

It rose from the ground like heat waves in the air, wisps of blue magic that were so faint they were nearly invisible. The warlocks needed access to the Shrine of Osidium, so Countess Daston had used it to her advantage. That was where she’d set up her defence, and by keeping them there, she’d staved off damage to the rest of the Upper City. Monsters fought like mindless thralls while warlocks hung back, fighting where the Sheercliff forces were weakest, but for the most part, they were stuck there.

Hump couldn’t imagine what kind of artifact she’d wielded for that, nor the cost. It took the strength of a dungeon to maintain the barrier the warlocks had used to trap them in the Opera House. Whatever it was, he didn’t think it could last long.

One thing at a time, he told himself. The academy was simpler than the Opera House formation. The Tree of Damnation was smaller, barely protruding from the roof of the main building. Hump’s eyes glazed over the courtyard, drawn to the many bodies strewn over the grounds. Students, adventurers, and monsters. The fighting had stopped, but more than a hundred people remained trapped within the courtyard, a red dome locking them inside and cutting off their access to other areas on the grounds.

At the doors to the main building, Corvin shone like a beacon, striking out at the barrier and trying to gain access to the tree. Beside him, Hump recognised Arthur, wielding his frostfire blessings much like Bud. Nearby, Randall’s party was idle, appearing to have given up. They sat on the ground, watching the distant fight over Osidium’s Shrine.

“What now?” Emilia asked.

“We break through,” Bud said, resolution in his voice. “Once we’re in the courtyard we can help to destroy the tree.”

“It will take too long,” Marecela said. “Even Ricard needed time to shatter the formation, and Corvin seems to have been working on it for a while. Our only option would be the phoenix feather, and I’m not willing to use it here. What about we circle around the back?”

“The barrier extends to the cliff’s edge,” Celaine said. “Maybe if we risked climbing across the cliff face, but I’m not keen on that idea.”

“Seconded,” Teff said. “We’ve seen what the trees can do. It wouldn’t surprise me if this one cooked up some strategy to shove us off.”

Hump’s eyes were drawn to the base of the dome. He’d presumed it to be the same formation the warlocks and Anthony had used to trap them in the Opera House, but there was a difference. This one wasn’t designed to hold in silver rankers. Where the barrier touched the ground, runes glimmered faintly—the red light of dungeon essence. They were engraved in the stone on the ground around the walls.

“We could destroy the runes,” Hump said. “If we disrupt the earth around the base of the barrier, we can disturb the runes inside without actually breaking it. We dealt with a formation in our quest at Fishers Lake the same way.”

“How?” Marcela asked.

“Earth magic,” Hump said. “We come at it from below, and force up the ground. Varris, would you be able to do so?”

The man nodded. “In theory. I don’t know if I have the strength to go deep enough. It depends on how far underground the barrier projects.”

“It’s worth a try,” Marcela said. “Anything to save us a few minutes. We’ll split up. My party will take the left side of the gates, you the right. Don’t go out of sight. The moment the barrier is down, we all breach the courtyard. If any resistance shows up, Hump and Varris stay on task. The rest of us will handle it.”

“Got it,” Humps said.

They dropped from the roof and hurried across the street. Hump crouched beside the barrier to look at the runes from close up. They reminded him of those found in the first warlock base.

There was one difference this time that he’d failed to mention to Marcela. The ground wasn’t made of solid rock when he’d done this in Fishers Lake. Though he’d also not had his spellbook’s Compact Formations ability.

He stood back, pages flying open to the appropriate page. He threw essence into the formation and bronze light radiated from the runes. Looking left, he waited for Varris to give him a nod, and then they began to work.

“Transform Earth.”

Tendrils of bronze light lashed at the ground, piercing deeply. He commanded the stone to stir, shifting it, changing it to sand. He worked his essence in deeper, willing his power past the barriers end and continuing on, throwing more and more essence into the formation. A soft, churning sound filled the air as he willed the sand to rise like water, pressing it against the stone on the other side. A small crack formed, and that was all he needed. Sand poured from the crack, splitting it wider, pouring over the rune. Still imbued with his essence, he kept the sand moving, directing it to the other runes beside the one he’d targeted, moving down the barrier.

With each failed rune, the barrier flicked, the wall becoming a deeper, more solid red as the tree attempted to make up for the loss of the runes with more essence. Its efforts to repair the damage were far from enough. To the left, Varris was through, spikes of stone piercing the runes line stakes out the ground.

The barrier didn’t shatter, it didn’t collapse in a great spectacle. It just faded, the walls of the barrier slowly sinking to the ground like water over a glass pane.

They were in.

Marcela led the charge into the courtyard. Those within were immediately on their feet and alert at the sudden change. Various party leaders shouted orders, trying to gather everyone together, but they were disorganised, forming mottled groups of confused adventurers and students, their weapons ready. Murmurs went through the crowd as they noticed Marcela, and they lowered their weapons.

“Marcela!” Randall called. “What in the hells is going on?”

“The city is under attack,” she said. “Those of you that can still fight, come with me. We must destroy the tree and rip out its core before the barrier reforms.”

Corvin didn’t ask questions, immediately falling in line with Marcela as they headed for the entrance to the main building.

“Good to see you here,” he said. “I feared you were dead. I’m sorry I didn’t make it when Ricard called us earlier.”

She shook her head. “Nothing to apologise for. The warlocks caught us completely unaware. I’ll explain more later, for now…” she pushed open the doors to the main building and set her sights ahead. “For now we destroy this monstrosity.”

Hump took stock of the courtyard. While the members of the academy fell in line, others that were less familiar stood aside cautiously. His heart leapt as he spied Luna amongst a group of priestesses tending to the wounded. She smiled at him, but didn’t approach, and he nodded back. She was safe. The relief he felt at that surprised him.

In the end, they were a unit fifty people strong, with Arthur, Randall, Skander, and Madeleine amongst them. They pushed deep into the halls, and soon they turned brown and became muddled with roots. It wasn’t hard to find the Tree of Damnation from there.

Bud was the first into the fray, charging forward with Frostfire Surge, blue flame trailing him and filling the room with an icy cold. He’d aimed for the trunk, but branches swayed and cracked, lashing out at him like whips. The eyes and mouths of the faces on the trunk bulged as more essence poured into the tree from its roots. The dungeon core shone brightly with power. Bud tore through the branches, others fighting at his side. Down the middle, Marcela slipped in, rushing for the dungeon core where she carved out a box in the trunk around it.

She stepped closer, pressing her palm to it, water swelling and wrapping around the crystal core, sinking deeply into the tree. Then she yanked it, pulling free the core. The tree went still. Essence poured out from the gaping wound in its trunks as what remained in the roots escaped before that too faded.

Hump watched it closely, waiting for another sign of a fight, half expecting a monster to emerge. Slowly, the people around him relaxed.

“What’s going on?” Randall asked.

“You tell me,” Marcela said. “Why were you all in the courtyard?”

When Randall didn’t answer, she turned to Corvin.

“We were ordered here,” he said. “Before we knew it, the tree emerged from the building and the barrier surrounded us, trapping us inside. We’ve been trying to break out ever since.”

Hump frowned. “Who ordered you?”

“The command came from Lord Ferrand,” Corvin said. “But he never arrived.”

“Ferrand?” Hump murmured, eyes falling on Randall. All eyes did. “Why would your father lure you into this trap?”

“Watch your words, wizard.” Randall scowled. “It’s impossible. He wouldn’t betray Sheercliff. He couldn’t betray Ordana!”

“Traitor!” Calls came throughout the crowd.

“Heretic!”

“It’s not true,” Randall shouted. “It couldn’t be.”

“Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter,” Marcela called over the noise. “Sheercliff will fall if we do nothing. The warlocks are attempting to breach the Shrine of Osidium. There are no reinforcements coming but us. They will know we’ve destroyed their formation. We must leave, and we must leave now!”

“And do what?” Randall asked. “Most here aren’t even bronze rankers. I’ve been watching the creatures from that rift and believe me; they’ll squash them like bugs.”

“We’ll die anyway if we remain here,” Corvin shouted. Then he turned to Marcela. “We are with you. For Sheercliff.”

“As are we,” Bud said.

“You have my knights,” Arthur said, his gaze fixed on Bud.

Others around them joined in, adding their voices. In the end, even Randall agreed to help. And they were all looking to Marcela for leadership.

Marcela glanced at Hump, biting her lip. Hump could read her thoughts just from the look. If there were traitors amongst them, they had to keep the plan secret.

“Lead them,” Hump said. “We will take care of the rest.”

“Lady Marcela, what are your orders?” Corvin asked.

She hesitated a moment, looking over the faces that stared at her. Her eyes glanced at the bodies nearby.

“Those that are willing, ready for battle,” she called. “We march to war.”