Chapter 284 - The Roar of Fire and Dragons

Hey all, sorry for the delay. This one took me LONG. I haven't struggled to figure out a chapter this much in ages. So many characters, so much that needs to happen, and it just wasn't working. I ended up entirely scrapping my first attempt at the chapter and starting again from scratch yesterday and now I'm much happier with it.

I'm going to try my best to finish Tuesday's chapter on time to release it tomorrow on schedule. Usually it takes me at least 2 days to write a chapter, so Wednesday is probably more likely. Big battles are just super complex scenes for me and take a lot of tweaking to get right.

Hump leant heavily on his staff as the cold of essence overuse lanced through him. Even after all his progress, a spell of the scale of the Rockslide he’d just done was too draining. He breathed, forcing his essence under control.

It had worked.

He gazed into the fire that raged through the cavern, lost in its radiance. Proof of its success. He’d touched the spirit of the earth, and it had come to his call. The heat hit him in a scorching wave against his face, pushing back some of the chill. He raised his left arm to shield himself from the worst of the heat, staring out through the cracks of his fingers at the magnificence of dragon breath as it engulfed the lich’s cavern, unable to look away. Protected by the battle robes given to him by Sir Isaac of Sheercliff, he barely felt the heat on the rest of his body.

“Dragon’s fire. The keepers have come,” Celaine whispered. The relief in her voice was clear. Essence steamed from her body as she resisted the heat, spiralling green light wisped away as the wind of fire essence swept through.

At first, Hump felt that same relief, yet as the fire faded and they were left once more in darkness, the muffled chant of the lich’s apprentices returned. A heavy weight pressed on his heart. This was far from over. While the murmurs of the undead had ceased, and the battle between Irila and Ashera had stopped, the dark energies of undeath reclaimed the cavern in an instant.

“It didn’t stop the spell,” Glys murmured. “How’s that possible?” The shaman leant against one of her manifested trees. The branches had twisted to protect her, Finnian, and Varesha from the heat and engulfed her in the essence of nature.

“Ashera said the barrier was powerful,” Finnian said. He stood with the tip of his greatsword leant on the ground as he rested his hands on the hilt. “It will certainly take more than this to bring an end to whatever this foul lich has planned. Nascal, can you see what’s happening?”

Ahead of them, still standing firm at the cavern entrance, Nascal released his blessing. His shield formed from a blessing faded, and he lowered his own shield too, then stepped out onto the stone ledge. He glanced down at the scene below before turning his gaze upward.

“The wizard made it through,” Nascal said in disbelief. “I can see the sky.”

“The sky’s all well and good, but where’s Keeper Yunillia? Where are our reinforcements?” Finnian strode forward, taking a look for himself.

“Any sign of Ashera?” Hump asked. The woman had never treated him well, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty about bringing the roof of the cavern down on her head.

“Not yet,” Nascal said. “No sign of the lich either, or the keepers for that matter.”

“That big flaming torrent not enough of a sign for you?” Glys asked. She turned to Hump. “Can we get some light in here?”

Hump raised his left hand and released the sands of Osidium once more. He kept it dim this time, not wanting to draw the attention of any undead that might still linger.

Nascal shrugged. “I’m not saying they’re not out there, but it would sure be nice for Yunillia to show up right about now.”

“If they’re not here something must be holding them back,” Celaine said, looking at Hump. “Can’t be anything good, can it?”

“I doubt it,” Hump said.

He joined the others gathered at the cavern entrance, leaning heavily on his staff as he fought against the chill of essence use. With his left hand, he fumbled with his potion pouch, downing another Essence Elixir. The warmth of the liquid filled him right away, reinvigorating him. That along with Glys’ shaman blessings that still flooded the tunnel would be enough to get him back to fighting strength.

Stepping out onto the stone edge, he gazed at the destruction he’d sewn. It was breathtaking. The cavern floor was covered in heaps of stone. Where before, undead had covered every inch of it, now all he saw was grey stone and dirt.

At a glance, he could almost believe they’d won… almost. While he couldn’t see the shield spell that protected the lich’s apprentices anymore, he could still sense their magic at work beneath the rubble. Above, the smaller white essence stone was gone, and a massive hole pierced to the outside of this former dungeon. Dark clouds loomed in the sky. Clearly the white stone hadn’t been what powered that magic.

“Now what?” Celaine asked. “That’s a lot of rock to search through.” She paused, squinting. “Is it just me or is it moving?”

Varesha stepped forward, the archer following Celaine’s eyes. “It’s definitely moving.”

Hump swallowed. Was that the darkness he was sensing? What magic was it this time? But they were right, the stone was definitely shifting, but some magic was at work. He activated his Spirit Sight only to witness a spiralling power of undeath building beneath the layers of stone. His stomach heaved at the sight, a feeling of wrongness crawling over his body. Every instinct screamed out at the danger before him.

“Everyone back!” Hump shouted. “Nascal, raise your strongest shield. Glys, focus all of your support blessings on me and Nascal. The rest of you, get behind us.”

“What makes you think you’re in command?” Finnian snapped. “Ignore him you—”

“Do you want to die?” Hump interrupted. “If not, keep your mouth shut and get behind me. I sense power building down there, and there’s only one way out. Nascal, my magic might not be enough alone.”

“You must be mad to speak to me that way,” Finnian snarled.

There was a huff from Aurora behind Hump.

He didn’t answer, and he paid no notice to the agitated dragon at his back. There was nothing more he could say. Finnian had lost track of sense and given into emotions—a mistake that could cost them dearly, but Hump didn’t have time to argue.

Fortunately, Celaine was there for him. “Stand there if you like, Finn, but you’re going to be on the wrong side of the magic if you’re not careful.”

She led Varesha back into the tunnel, Glys soon following, then Finnian begrudgingly going with them too.

Hump took a couple of steps back and pulled out his spellbook. He ignored the glowing new entries within for now in favour of one of his most trusted spells. He envisioned a grand Shield before him, shaping it to form a domed barrier over the entrance. Letting out a breath, he said, “Shield.”

Essence surged through his spellbook, lighting up the runes of the spell and forming a trail to his staff. It erupted in wisps of blue, forming before him just as he’d envisioned, spreading until the it filled the entrance. Fully formed, he weaved a thick net of channels throughout it, reinforcing the first barrier. Compared to the power below, however, it felt like nothing—a kite before a storm. He added more layers to it, weaving more nets of channels across each of them. By three, he could feel his mind begin to strain—he was reaching the limits of his mental fortitude.

Nascal glanced at Finnian, then joined Hump, adding his own blessing to the outside of his spell. A moment later, Gly’ power imbued them both. With her strength, Hump added another layer to his spell.

“It’s coming,” Hump said through gritted teeth. He braced himself on his staff, heart hammering.

The lich’s power thickened, becoming as thick as a cloud until it obscured the entire layer of fallen stone. Purple light wove between the cracks in the rock, steaming out from within like miasma. A terrible dread rose with it. There was something about this that didn’t sit right. Still the power built. The ground rumbled, earth shaking, a roaring rising from below.

And then it erupted.

A vortex of death and stone whirled into the sky, heaving the weight of the collapsed cavern upward. Rock and undeath bombarded the tunnel entrance as if searching for life. Hump grunted at the sudden weight against his shield. At his side, Nascal roared as he took the brunt of the impact. A crack formed in his shield blessing. Ethereal warriors appeared at his back and pressed their hands against him, holding him in place, only for the warrior to be blasted back as his blessing failed.

When the impact hit Hump, he gasped, the breath suddenly gone from him. He threw his will and essence into his Shield. The first layer fell quickly, but the next held firm. The storm obscured everything, exploding to the sky to the city beyond.

Before the grand spell concluded, lightning flashed, bright and blue. Through the vortex of purple and grey, Hump glimpsed Yunillia atop her dragon, Itris, as they pierced straight through its centre. Booming thunder followed them.

There was another flash of light below, and the lich’s spell ended. Rock crashed back to the ground, but it was far less than before.

And then came Yunillia’s voice. “Keepers! Dragons! Come to me! Ride on wind and fire!”

Thunder boomed, and then dragons roared. The keepers swept into the cavern atop their wolf dragons, diving toward the ground level, their wings folded back as they moved with speed.

Hump let his Shield fall, reabsorbing as much of his leftover essence as he could before rushing to the edge of the stone ledge to watch as the dragon keepers descended on what remained of the undead force below.

Lightning flashed again from below. Yunilia was already engaged with Irila on the cavern floor. Much of the fallen stone was cleared from the blast, but rubble still littered the cavern everywhere. Piles of bodies and skeletons lay broken beneath them, but around them, undead rose up.

The dragon keepers fought amongst them. They landed close together, working together in a cluster to protect each other’s back and to use the mass of the dragons to create an area of control on the ground. Yunillia’s second in command, Leif, was at the head of the group atop Brutus. Their target seemed to be the giant shield spell protecting the lich’s apprentices.

The great dragon, Brutus, was a lumbering giant compared to the other wolf dragons, tearing through the enemy lines with ease. Tessa’s squad and the other squad led by Runan each covered the flanks. In all, there were fourteen dragon keepers—a number less than Hump expected.

Even as Hump watched, he saw hundreds of undead stagger out from the shadows to attack them. More appeared from what remained of the rubble behind them, letting out howling screeches as they rushed the keepers.

“Aurora and I are joining them,” Finnian said. “The rest of you, work your way down to the ground level on foot and join the fight.”

“Wait,” Celaine said, pointing upward. “Is that Ado?”

Hump looked up at the sky to see a figure descending toward them. As it drew closer, he recognised Ado in his eagle form, flying swiftly in their direction. He landed beside them on the stone ledge, shifting into his human form with the sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh. Essence radiated from all around him, gathering to his eagle tattoo once more.

He smiled at them. “Good to see you’re alright.”

“Packleader,” the Chosen greeted him.

“Not all of us,” Finnian replied. “Lia died above, and we have yet to see Ashera since Hump brought the roof of the cavern down.”

Ado turned to Hump. “You did that?”

Hump nodded. “On Ashera’s command. The Winds of Essence came to me when I called, just as we practiced.”

“That old lady wouldn’t die so easy, I’m sure of it,” Ado said. “You did well, Hump. When we saw Yunillia fighting, we joined her in battle. We were readying to follow you down here when the explosion drew our attention.”

“You sensed my pendant?” Hump asked.

“Yes. And a second.”

“That was mine,” Celaine said. “I’m glad you made it here.”

An explosion of power erupted from below, the purple essence of undeath flooding the cavern. Flashing lightning erupted in a storm alongside it, and the crash of their spells echoed through the cavern.

Ado glanced at the battle.

“We must help them!” Finnian said.

“No,” Ado said quickly. “The phylactery is our objective. One more will be little help to Yunillia against the lich. Focus on the mission. Do any of you have any idea where the phylactery is?"

"I think it might be her crown," Hump said, “but the odds seem low. She wouldn’t wear it on her head, would she?”

“No, chances are it’s elsewhere.”

Hump had a thought “Walt, are you there?”

“I’m here, Hump,” Walt said.

There it was again… his name. And the bravado in his voice was gone. “Any ideas where we can find the phylactery? Can you sense anything?”

There was a long pause, and once more Hump wondered what might be wrong with the spirit. It crossed his mind that he’d brought what was theoretically an undead creature into the lich’s cavern, but he sensed no malice from Walt.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it, Hump? You can sense it can’t you? Down there.”

Hump stared down at the battle below, the essence of war disrupting his Spirit Sight.

“Can you be more specific?” Hump asked.

“I don’t know, Hump. You’ve got a bad habit of taking me to dangerous places. I like being alive… well… not fully dead. What’s in it for your good buddy, Walt?”

Hump frowned at that. “How about you don’t get eaten by a lich after we’re defeated and dead?”

“Hmmph… Fine, we’ll say you owe me one, which is lucky because I have something in mind already.”

“You do, do you?”

“Oh yeah, but that can wait. It’s the throne. Or at least, that’s where I sense something dangerous. Don’t know what it is but it’s baaad news. I’d highly recommend you leave it alone.”

For a long moment, Hump didn’t know what he meant, and then the area of shadow returned to Hump’s sight. The ruined steps leading up to the lich’s throne. Somehow… he’d forgotten.

“I know that look,” Celaine said. “Do you have an idea?”

Hump smiled at Celaine, then turned to Ado. “There’s an illusionary spell over her throne.” He pointed to the area hidden in shadow behind the large shield spell. “There. Can you see it?”

Ado narrowed his eyes and stared. After a few seconds, they widened. “I missed that. A powerful spell indeed, to draw your attention away from it.”

“If there’s anywhere to look first, it’s there,” Hump said.

Ado sighed. “Then it seems we have our target. Are you all well enough to fight?”

There were affirmations all around. “Then follow me. We shall leave the keepers to handle the fighting. If we destroy Irila’s phylactery, then we end all of this.”

Hump clenched his fist around his staff. It sounded great in theory, but watching the flashes of battle erupting from Irila and Yunillia, he couldn’t help but think that this might not go so simply.