Chapter 93 - Sacrifice

Hump stared in shocked silence at the pillar of dark essence rising to the sky, feeling helpless as the shades descended on the town below. He wondered how many hadn’t reached safety.

“Hump,” Bud said, a quiet anger to his voice, “we can’t stay here.”

“No, we can’t,” Hump said.

“We’d need to abandon our chance to capture a shade,” Dylan said.

“The town is under attack,” Bud snapped. “That’s not a question.”

Dylan shook his head. “I’m not saying it is. It’s still a decision we’ll have to live with. If we fail here, another attack will come and even more people will die. There are other people fighting. Abandoning our post could mean all their effort is for nothing. Or job is to find the source.”

“It won’t be for nothing,” Hump said. “We’re after the source.” He jabbed a finger in the direction of the town. “And the source is right there. This didn’t just happen, someone is behind this, and we need to stop them. Now!”

“Take a moment to think,” Dylan said. “We’re out numbered. We won’t win if we just charge in.”

Hump clenched his jaw, his own fear filling him. He wouldn’t let it get to him. He’d seen what had happened in Lakewood—the slaughter. Not again. They could handle even a large group of shades if they were smart, especially with the help of Randall’s party and others that had joined the fight in town.

“We don’t have to win, right?” Celaine said. “If we kill this caster or destroy the formation, the gateway should close on its own.”

Hump nodded. “Yes. And there must be a reason they haven’t opened a formation in town before. It can’t be easy to maintain so it may just close on its own.”

“In which case we need to find this caster fast,” she said.

“What we need most is Master Vivienne,” Dylan said.

Hump looked back at the lighthouse and the horde of shades encompassing it. “Yeah, well, she’s occupied. Even without her, between us and Randall’s party we have eight Chosen, and I count for something myself.”

Dylan glanced back at the lighthouse and let out a sigh. “I don’t see much choice.”

“Good, we’re decided,” Celaine said quickly. “I’m going to scout ahead. I’ll meet you at the edge of town when you arrive.”

“Try and find Randall,” Hump said. “Our first objective should be to join up with them. We’ll need to coordinate our efforts.”

She nodded, then set off at a sprint, her movements empowered by Spring Step.

“What’s it going to be?” Hump asked. “Are you coming with us?”

“You’ve left me no choice,” he growled. “Gods help us, I hope you’re right about this.”

Hump smiled faintly. “So do I.”

They raced after Celaine. Hump was the slowest of the lot of them, but a lifetime on the road and his recent morning runs were enough for him to cross the half mile back to town at a full sprint. Celained hopped down from the roof of one of the taller houses, joining Bud and Dylan on the road ahead of him.

“The gateway seems to be in the guardhouse,” she said. “At least, that’s where the essence is coming from.”

Hump frowned. “Could Albry be the caster?”

“Surely not,” Bud said. “He couldn’t have been here during the previous attack if he was.”

“I couldn’t get close enough to tell,” Celaine said. “Most of the shades seem to be gathered near the inn. I suspect Randall’s party is there but it’s too dangerous for me to cross the rooftops alone.”

As she finished, an explosion of frostfire filled the air beyond the town square, lighting up the town in icy blue. Even from the distance, Hump felt a cold breeze through the streets.

“That confirms it,” Celaine said.

Shades scattered up over the rooftops, their black cloaks crystalising with ice. A few were consumed by it, their forms crumpling under the weight of Kelisia’s power, yet even more were able to reform. It seemed only a direct attack was enough to finish these creatures off, and out in the open space that was difficult to accomplish.

They moved through the streets, entering the town square. It was an odd feeling walking through the empty marketplace, the essence stained sky above casting a dark shadow across the town despite the time of day. The carts were still stocked, the cook fires of food vendors still smoking. There were a couple of shades gathered where fresh fish was on sale, siphoning off what they could and leaving only dried husks in their wake. Across the square, Hump glimpsed people through the windows of Hestia’s temple.

Celaine made quick work of the idle shades, their unmoving forms posing easy targets for Power Shot. It was as they rounded the corner and stared up the road toward the in that the four of them paused. Shades filled the air before them, perhaps as many as fifty. It took Hump only a moment to realise why.

They were drawn to the Chosen at their core. Randall’s party had formed a defensive circle in the centre of the road, guards and town militia working with them to hold the attention of the shades away from the rest of the town and those sheltered inside.

Hump was surprised to feel a sudden surge of hope. He’d put on a brave face before but seeing Randall and the others hold the shades back so effectively despite their disadvantage in numbers helped to reinforce what he already knew. They had enough Chosen here to assault a dungeon. While none of them had manifested their soul yet, none could scoff at such a force.

“We’ll break through in the centre,” Hump said. “Once we’re with the others, I’ll create a shield and give us a moment to talk.”

“Keep a few steps back from me,” Bud said. “Hump, when we reach them, blast them and I’ll clear the rest out of the way.”

“Got it.”

“Wait,” Dylan said. “Reaching them isn’t going to be enough. We need more of a plan than running through town blasting things. At this rate, the moment they put up a real fight we’ll be forced into a corner and then this really will be for nothing.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Bud said. “If we take this one step at a time, we’ll manage.”

“No we won’t,” Hump said, frowning. “Dylan’s right. We need a proper plan.”

“We could try to sneak around the back and reach the gateway that way,” Celaine said.

“Without the other party this attack falls apart,” Bud said. “Group up with them, then we figure this out. How long do you think you’d be able to hold your shield?”

“Not long enough,” Hump said. He rubbed his face with his hand, thinking over any options he could. The shades were drawn to essence and life. With enough power, perhaps they could draw them away from the inn. But only Vivienne had power for that. Hump remembered the fish in the market. They weren’t just drawn to life; they were drawn to food.

“I’ve got it,” Hump said, opening his potion pouch and pulling out a red vial. “What did I tell you, Celaine? You never know when something might come in handy.”

***

They took the most direct route, starting at a jog as they passed between shops and houses, the shades still unaware of their presence. When the first one turned, they sped into a sprint, closing the distance until there was no time left.

Hump took a stance and aimed at the core of them with his staff. He channeled fire to the focus and let loose a Fire Blast that tore the group apart, sending wounded shades scattering into the air above and clearing their path.

Bud’s aura exploded like Hump had never seen it. Frostfire spread out around him, raging around him like the hottest fire. A wave of icy wind pressed into Hump, stinging against his skin, but it was nothing compared to the shades directly before them. They curled in on themselves, their bodies collapsing under the pressure of the cold. Those beyond its direct reach retreated, the edges of their cloaks crystalising with icy blue where they were nearly caught.

And then they were through.

Hump strode to the centre of the small group and slammed the butt of his staff into the ground with both hands. He envisioned the shield around him, shaping it in his mind with his will, then he let it loose. “Shield.”

A dome rose around them. A couple of shades remained inside or got in before it had fully formed, but the others made short work of them. In seconds, they were sheltered from the attack, though already the creatures were slamming against his barrier. It would only be seconds before they attempted to siphon off his essence, and once that happened, he would need to let it fall if he didn’t want to be useless in the coming fight.

“What are you doing here?” Randall said, a sharp edge to his tone. “What about the plan?”

“Screw the plan,” Hump said. “A gateway has opened in the guardhouse. We need to shut it.”

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s too many! We can barely hold them back.”

To the side, Madeleine was organising the rest of the defence. Hump gave a quick head count—six guards and ten townsfolk, along with the rest of their party. Their weapons had a blood-red sheen to it, and their eyes were fierce with the war god’s blessing.

“Where’s Winfrey?” Bud asked.

“Gods know,” Randall said. “We’ve not seen him since before the second attack came. Skander, you catch sight of him?”

“No,” The rogue said. “He’s not near the temple at least. Bit hard to get a proper perspective on things with a bunch of soul eating spirits flying around.”

Hump gritted his teeth. A few of the shades had already figured out how to break through, sucking up his essence from its surface. It shimmered where they touched, a handful of ripples that spread throughout it, weakening it unless he reinforced it with more power.

“We need to force our way through,” Hump said. “I have something that will draw their attention for a bit. Once it does, we hit them with all we have and push for the guardhouse.”

“And leave these people to the mercy of these monsters?” Randall scoffed. “No. I don’t think so.”

“The gateway is in the guardhouse,” Hump said. “We get to that, and we can stop this.”

“I checked the guardhouse,” Skander said. “Hell of a lot of monsters between us and there. How do you intend to get us through?”

Hump held up the vial of troll blood. “This is troll blood. It stinks like nothing else, but it should get their attention. When I drop the shield, we shatter it somewhere out of the way.” Hump’s staff shone brighter as the attacks picked up further. “Either we do this now or not at all. I can’t hold out much longer.”

Randall glared at him then clenched his jaw. “Skander, take the troll blood and shatter it down the alleyway we passed through up the road. We’ll gather them up in there and kill as many as we can.”

“Got it, boss.”

Hump felt the vial snatched from his hand and then Skander vanished in a poof of smoke. A few seconds later, there was a change to the shades. Those in front of them retreated, the others following a second later like a flock of birds sent flying into the sky.

Hump let his shield fall.

Bud and Madeleine led the charge. Dylan bounded forward behind them, staff outstretched, while Celaine leaped up onto one of the nearby rooftops. They sped forward, following the black figures through the sky.

Hump smelt the rancid blood before they reached the alley, the shades swarming the ground.

“Stand aside,” Randall shouted.

“I’ll leave them to you,” Madeleine said. “We’ll go on ahead.” She practically dragged Bud and Dylan with her, and Hump glimpsed Skander above.

“Wizard, aim high,” Randall said, levelling his wand in the direction of the shades.

Frostfire gathered at the tip, and Hump realised what he’d meant. He took aim with his own staff, its focus smouldering as heat gathered. They launched their attacks together, a cone of cold bathing the lower half of the alley while fire scorched the top. A flood of icy blue and flaming red. The shades died in a screeching mass. Those that escaped flew up, their bodies chased by the fire that now blazed across the rooftops.

Yet for everyone they’d slain, another had escaped or been out of reach. They didn’t wait for the shades to refocus, chasing after the others.

When the guardhouse came into view around the corner, the others waited for them, their weapons ready. Ahead of them, two packs of flesh prowlers waited, shades floating overhead.

Behind them, the guardhouse was all but destroyed. The walls had been torn down by the gateway so that the black rift was clearly visible. It sucked in parts of the building like a tornado, essence sweeping from it and stirring up a storm. Through it all, Hump saw Albry at its core. He was on his knees, head bowed in prayer in the direction of the gateway.

There were flesh prowlers guarding the portal, bodies on the ground around them. Something had to be commanding them as the ravenous hunger they’d had before was gone. There was no discord. They were guarding the gateway.

And that’s when Hump saw it. A shadow beyond the rift.

“Something’s trying to come through,” Celaine muttered.

“Gods above,” Randall said. “That’s High Priest Albry. He’s doing this!”

Hump furrowed his brow as he took in the scene. “No he’s not.” Essence drained from Albry’s body, sucked from his chest and dragged into the runes of the formation that surrounded him. Six streams of brilliant light, not unlike the light that connected one’s brilliance to their soul when they withdrew it.

“Albry isn’t the caster,” Hump said. “He’s the sacrifice. They’re draining his soul.”