IABD 64: The Battle on the Stairwell to Darkness

Matthias had no time to dwell on Ellian’s words, as much as their gravity struck him to his core: if this stairway led to the Old Abbey Roads, then going down them would mean descending into some kind of hell. Those stairs would lead to a network of ancient tunnels and ruins, home to potentially thousands upon thousands of undead. 

The miasma rising from the passage was revolting, it made his skin crawl and came close to causing his soul to shudder. 

This was not the time for any of those things. 

This was the time for carnage and steel. 

Matthias turned back to the dark passage, scores of ghouls poured up the stairs, clambering over each other. It felt like he was at the edge of the world, defending it from demonic hordes, or guarding a pass through the Gods’ Shield, battling the endless beasts of the Wolfwood. 

He raised his weapons, letting out a roar that reverberated through the very stone around him. Beside him, the other Stonebreakers echoed the sound. 

Beggahasta raised Tallis. “Cruelty?” she called, the word spreading through the darkness. 

“With greater cruelty!” her children answered. 

Then the ghouls were on them. 

The undead—once seeming reluctant to challenge Beggahasta—now threw themselves at her with abandon, even as all four Stonebreakers stood on the threshold to their den; any terrified animal would defend its home if cornered. 

 Tallis gleamed as she swung the blade in a wide arc: the enchanted steel splitting ghouls like water, knocking them down the stairs in heaps. 

The warrior’s movements were a blur, steel flickered, striking with the speed of the wind and the power of a storm. Every ghoul coming within reach of her blade was destroyed, precise cuts splitting skulls, severing heads or cleaving them in two, ensuring that they were truly dead. 

Dagma stayed at a measured distance, close enough to lash out with her sword and swing it in broad arcs: Matthias could see the foundation of their mother’s fighting style in her movements. She hadn’t yet aged into her full skills, speed or power, but she was well on her way to forging herself into a warrior like Beggahasta. 

She cleaved through the ghouls’ legs, eviscerated them and pierced their necks. When there were too many to handle, she retreated behind her mother and called upon the Gift. 

“Rise, sharpen and strike them!” she shouted. 

At first, Matthis didn’t know what she was commanding…but it soon became abundantly clear. 

Fallen ghoul bodies shuddered; bones tore free of corpses, floating high above the heads of the undead attackers, bony ends changing shape, forming spear tipped javelins that rained down on the swarming ghouls. 

Bregindoure was taking a more straightforward approach with his attack.  

The giant stepped clear of his family, swing his mace in broad, crushing arcs; the heavy weapon barreled through oncoming undead like herds of cattle through the tall grass. Screeches intensified, droves of ghoul bodies flew wide, crushed by the spiky mace or flung back down the stairs. Bregindoure’s broad shield was a wall, sturdy, unmoving: undead tried to throw themselves against it, intent on pushing the giant from the stairs or bowling him over, but he stood firm. Any ghoul pushing against his wooden shield was crushed like overripe fruit, after their kin, surging from behind, shoved them forward. 

With a howl, Bregindoure flicked the shield, the quick motion—driven by his colossal strength—flung more than a dozen ghouls back down the stairs to fall in tangled heaps on top of each other. 

Bregindoure’s laughter filled the dark stairwell as the thrill of combat danced in his eyes. 

As for Matthias, Blood Hunger was upon him as he too faced the undead hordes with an excited grin, a swinging blade, a crushing hammer and his lashing tendril. HIs sword was a blur of draw cuts, chopping the creatures down like wheat the moment they came into reach. Every ghoul that avoided his sword, met his hammer or shadow-tentacle. 

Ghouls caught by the tendril were pulled from their feet, screeching through the air when flung down the foul-smelling stairwell like sling stones, colliding with their unprepared brethren. The tentacle quickly reached for the tiger fang dagger on his belt and decapitated ghouls, ensuring they were permanently deceased. 

Soon the heap of undead in front of Matthias was piling up almost as quickly as the mound before his mother; as fast as they could mount the stairs, they were dead.  

As the Stonebreaker family destroyed their attackers, the undead horde’s enthusiasm for battle, seemed to dwindle. 

At first, the ghouls simply tried to avoid the warrior woman—targeting her children instead—but not faring much better against them. Perhaps they extended their lives by seconds, by using that tactic, but seconds were not days or years. In the end, they still died and died quickly. 

In no time, the mass of ghouls’ advance was blocked, thinning in number as they pushed forward but were efficiently broken by the Stonebreakers’ weapons or the Gift. 

Behind them the ghoul knight watched, fanged maw twisted in rage, pointing his sword up the stairs, barking another command at the lesser ghouls. 

They redoubled their efforts, trying to overpower the intruders, wanting to make them their next meal…but as their brethren's corpses mounted high on the steps, they struggled to get by the growing mound; and even the ghoul knight’s commands could not move them further. 

Another growl of frustration escaped their leader; and he barked another order directed at the darkness to his back. 

A terrific screech rose from the blackness; six ghoul trolls appeared at his side. 

The undead giants moved forward, licking their lips and roaring, trampling their lesser brethren as they bounded up the stairs. Matthias snarled, unafraid of these monsters, eager to face them again… 

…but it was instantly made clear that his mother had different ideas. 

“Set them aflame!” she commanded between sword swings. 

Ghoul troll roars turned to anguished screams as walls near them shuddered, radiating bright light and blazing heat. Dripping fingers of lava spurted from those walls, engulfing the massive creatures, setting them ablaze wherever they touched undead flesh. 

High heat and molten stone also set lesser ghouls aflame, and the stairwell was soon filled with screams and dense acrid, smoke. 

The monsters were dragged against the flaming walls, quickly burning to charred skeletons even before they could vanish into the molten lava. 

Magma shaped like fingers stretched out, grabbing ghouls, dragging them to their doom. Smoke and fire increased, filling the passageway, forming a wall of fumes and flame between the Stonebreaker’s and the ghoul knight. 

As more ghouls burned and the tide of undead decreased, the Stonebreaker family had time to breathe. 

For a moment, they looked down at the ghoul knight, watching him through the hellish wall of burning undead corpses. The creature looked back through the hissing flames, an eye symbol clear on his scarred brow. 

Beggahasta spat down at it—spittle hissing in the flame—she pointed her sword towards its head. “Face us. Face us or I will come down there and strike down every ghoul that stands with you. I will reduce your kingdom of undead to a kingdom of nothing.” 

The ghoul knight hissed at her, face menacing, stepping back into the dark. 

“Coward!” she shouted, a sneer taking her features. “In life you might have been something of a warrior—-judging from your arms and armour—but in death you are just a spineless weakling. A gutless, weak, pathetic, mewling creature that cannot even drive me or my children from this place. You hide there, striking at little boys from a distance.” 

She laughed then. “Never mind, I would challenge you, but you are not worthy of my blade. Go on, crawl back to wherever you slithered from, slink into the shadows on your belly like the coward that you are.” 

The ghoul knight stiffened at her words, as though they were hot brands burning into its flesh. Matthias could hear the clink of armour as it trembled, likely with rage. Prismatic smoke boiled from its blade like from a wildfire. 

“Coward?” its voice cracked. “You call me coward?” 

It took a step up the stairs. “I am older than your fathers and mothers, more ancient than the generation before, and the generation before that. In life, I was feeeeeaared by peoples far and wiiide. My blade split warriors and giiiaaants alike. In life I took what I needed, and in deaaaaath, I am only stronger. I do not fear youuu intruder. I do not feeeear deeeeath. I will see you choke on your woooords as you waaatch while I feast on your spawn.” 

The ghoul knight, fully provoked, raised his shimmering sword. “Watch your children diiiiie!” 

With a screech, it swung its sword. 

Prismatic smoke poured from the weapon, forming an arc of kaleidoscopic radiance that shot up the stairs. Where the light touched burning ghouls, it split apart, separating into threads of multicoloured brilliance that pierced undead flesh, ripping the monsters to shreds, mangling their bodies while the strands of light lanced up the stairwell. 

Beggahasta stepped forward, raised Tallis and brought it down, hitting the lines of light; there came a clanging sound like a hammer striking a bell—the ring echoed through the abbey—each light exploded to nothingness. 

Hissing, the ghoul knight stalked up the stairs, swinging his sword again and again. Each swing launched another cloud of prismatic smoke, tearing through ghouls and racing for Beggahasta and her children. She met each one with Tallis, obliterating them to nothingness. 

“Cowardly and unskilled!” Beggahasta snarled down at him. 

The ghoul knight’s frustration flared, it shrieked, piercing the air so forcefully the sound set Matthias’ ears ringing.  

Its blade lowered, and it charged at Beggahasta, passing through fire and smoke, racing up the stairs toward the warrior mocking him. 

She took a step back. “I’ve provoked it! This opponent is yours, my children!” 

At last, Matthias realised what his mother had been after; she hadn’t wanted to face the ghoul knight, she’d wanted to make him fully commit to fighting them…to be a training lesson for her sons and daughter. 

In part, Matthias shuddered, yet he also craved the fight. 

He growled. “Dagma! Breg! Let’s go!” 

Together the Stonebreaker siblings charged down the stairs even as their mother held back. 

The ghoul’s snarl twisted to a grin. “Yeeessss…send your kin to die!” 

Its sword’s radiance flared. 

And so did the Rune of Sprinting on Bregindoure’s back. 

He crossed the distance in an instant, swinging his mace down. 

The ghoul froze in surprise, barely managing to leap away from the giant suddenly right on top of him. 

“Strike!” Dagma howled. 

Bone spears launched at the ghoul knight from all sides, seeking to spear him from every direction. The creature swung his sword, and radiance boiled off the blade, splitting apart, tearing the bone spears to bits before they could strike him. 

That momentary shift in attention let Matthias close in. 

It fixed him with the eye carved in its ruined forehead, sending a chill through him; the monster’s vision seemed to look right through him as though reading his every movement, taking the measure of his life, and soul. 

Another chill ran down his spine, he froze as it did.  

“Matthie!” Bregindoure shouted. 

He snapped out of it in time to see the sword slicing at his skull. 

Swearing, he reached up, blocking the blade with his own, the prismatic radiance sprayed from the ghoul knight’s sword like sparks from a rod of flame red iron. Matthias pushed against the weapon, trying to bind it, but the ghoul was already twisting his blade in a dizzying arc. 

Leverage went against the young greatfolk and—to his shock—his sword was twisted from his grip, clattering to the stairs at his feet. The ghoul knight moved quickly, unleashing a flurry of cuts with shocking speed, driving Matthias back up the stairs. 

He desperately tried to parry with his hammer, but his opponent was faster and—more importantly—seemed to know exactly what he was going to do before he did it. 

Every strike from his hammer was parried with ease, and every return strike came from angles the young greatfolk could barely defend against. Soon, Matthias bore several narrow cuts, finding himself desperately using his cloak to protect against the ghoul’s vicious blade. 

He tried to strike at the monster with his shadow-tendril, but it parried the tiger fang dagger, and the prismatic smoke boiled from the undead knight’s sword like clouds, breaking apart and forming those deadly strings that raced toward him. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Bregindoure charged the ghoul from the left. 

“Eat steel!” Dagma charged it from the right. 

The knight’s attention shifted from Matthias, its strings of light crumpling. It fought its attackers, trying to dodge Bregindoure’s attacks while Dagma struck at its flanks. 

Matthias grabbed his sword, leaping back down the stairs, joining his siblings in flanking the monster. From all sides, the Stonebreakers attacked, but the ghoul was far more experienced, too skilled and quick for them to strike any meaningful blows. 

It caught Dagma’s sword strikes on its armour. 

It dodged Bregindoure’s powerful swings. 

It parried and returned Matthias’ strikes. 

Each time it fixed one of the siblings with that carved eye mark, it seemed to gain foresight into every move they were going to make, countering their blows before they had even struck them. 

All the while, the prismatic mist was growing thicker around its blade. 

It dodged another of Bregindoure’s mace swings, kicked Matthias back, then swung his sword at Dagma. Another wave of multicoloured radiance bled from the blade, reaching for the young girl. 

Matthias’ heart leapt and, without thinking, he threw his tendril between her and the prismatic wave. 

The light passed through the tiger fang dagger as though it wasn’t there… 

…colliding with his shadow. 

There came a sucking sound. 

His shadow tendril rippled. 

Lights flared. 

The ghoul’s face twisted in an expression of surprise. 

“What?” Matthias cried. “What’s happeni—” 

Agony ripped through him. 

###

Author's Note

So this was fun.

Nice to show some progress with our group. And we got to see one of the ghoul knights in action, too.

One of the inspirations for the ghoul knights were abyssal ghouls from 3.5 which are actually blind but have blind sight. There's more to the eye symbols than that, but that's one of the inspirations.

Cya Monday!