Crowned in Black: Chapter 12

The proud, patrician king of Vlachia was nearly unrecognizable. He'd only been in Lucien's clutches for twenty-four in-game hours, but he was... he'd been brutalized. Stripped, beaten, forced into a pair of low stocks that kept him on his knees, Ignas had been beaten to a shuddering violet pulp. His head was sunken, blood drooling from his mouth to the floor.

For a second, I was speechless. Then my training kicked in, and my mind blanked to a calm white hum as I pushed forward and scrambled to start first aid. I sounded and felt eerily calm as I lifted Ignas' face to relieve pressure on his airway. “Hey, Ignas, it’s me. It’s…”

My voice caught in my throat when I saw what they’d done. For a moment, I thought I’d throw up, until the wash of false calm flooded back in - this time, accompanied by a cold, hard draft of pure freezing rage. "Vash, they gouged his fucking eyes out. We need to get these stocks off, now. Mehkhet, guard the door."

"Burna maladik... these disgusting, void-tainted dick stains…" Vash cursed with feeling as he went to examine the lock. "Heal him some first, or I fear I'll kill him getting this off."

"Uhhnn..." Against all odds, Ignas was still semi-conscious. He peered up at me blindly. There was nothing but a ruin where his eyes had been, and as I activated my healing skills, my HUD lit up with dozens of alerts flashing red and orange. The list seemed endless: teeth broken, eye sockets burned out and poorly cauterized. He was lingering on one single HP - deliberately, I was sure. The way his health meter was flashing meant that the single point was provisional: he was functionally at zero, and even bumping him the wrong way could send him into cardiac arrest or just death from outright exhaustion.

"Shh, it's alright, sir. We've got you. We're getting you out of here." My voice seemed to ring in my ears at a distance, steady with a confidence I didn't feel as I sorted the alerts in order of priority. "I'm going to give you something to get your HP back up, okay? When I say go, I need you to start swallowing as much as you can."

Ignas wheezed something - it sounded vaguely like my name - but he couldn't sound it out. I cradled his head, keeping his neck in a more natural posture while I slowly dripped a healing draught into his mouth. It was the strongest herbal healing potion I had: Green Moss Concentrate. I only had the one, brewed especially for the event that we found Ignas like this. Green Moss-based potions only restored HP; they didn't cure anything on their own. This one was expensive to make, but it restored 500Hp over the span of a minute. I watched Ignas's HP ring as it climbed back to 2o points... then stopped. He was just too badly injured.

"Fuck. His health isn't going any higher than this until we get him out of here." I searched my inventory for something I could use as a crowbar. "He needs Blood Scour, but he's got internal damage to his stomach, and if he throws up then half his remaining blood is coming up with it. We HAVE to get him to Kalla Sahasi. Let's break him out of here: I can keep him alive while we carry him at least."

Vash dropped to one knee, raised his studded metal fist and concentrated. I saw the air ripple around his arm as he drove it down with a focusing shout. "HOO-YAH!"

The aurum knuckles hit the lock and shattered it. Ignas groaned from the impact, and his HP dipped back down to only 5 points from the vibrations alone. As he sagged into my arms, I fed him a second, much weaker [Mint Potion] - it only healed 10 points, but it was mild and would keep him going.

"Vash, Mehkhet, I'm counting on you to defend me." Carefully, I pulled Ignas up into a Fireman’s Carrry and pushed up from my heels to stand. He was taller than me, and it was awkward. I made it work anyway. "We're not going to be able to take him through the garden. We need to fight our way through the storeroom. Let me see if Karalti and Ebisa can meet us there."

Vash grunted agreement, and cracked his knuckles. As he did, a distant wailing, screaming, shouting racket filtered down to our ears from upstairs, loud enough that it seemed to shake the foundation of the palace.

[Global Alert: Eevi Aslan, Queen of Revala, has fallen.]

"Lucien just executed Eevi," I said heavily.

"Hector! Did you hear that?"Karalti's voice chimed in. "Lucien just-"

"Killed the queen, I know. Did you get Sohvi?"

"Ebisa's just untying her now. Where are you?"

"Dungeons, about to head for that storeroom entry to the tunnels. Send Ebisa ahead to take out anyone in your path and RUN. The dungeon is about to be flooded with soldiers, nobles, who the fuck knows what else. There's over thirty cells down here, and Lucien is going to want to use them."

"Gotcha. We're right behind you. Sohvi says there's a back passage to the kitchens. And... did you find...?"

"We've got Ignas," I replied.

"You feel like... never mind. We'll talk later. Hurry and be careful."

Vash jogged ahead of me as I swept out with Ignas, Mehkhet billowing behind. Every nerve in my body was telling me to run, but the best I could manage with the Volod over my shoulders was a quick walk. I struggled not to think about the ruined sockets of Ignas' eyes as we pushed back through the dungeon to the cellars, then hung a sharp right toward the storeroom that connected to the secret passage. This door was locked - it opened with the guard's key, and Vash kicked it in to the surprised faces of two NPC [Elite Ilian Soldiers], and one of my Top Five Least Favorite People in Archemi.

"Holy shit." Casper's eyes went wide. The brawny archer leaped to his feet, scrambling for his bow. “Hector? You’re HERE?”

“So are you.” I stared him down. “Guys, take him out.”

"Wait! Wait, stand down!" Casper was a big guy, six and a half feet of brawn, but his voice was high with panic as Vash burst into the room. "I can explain!"

Everyone hesitated – except me. One of two things was going to happen: either Casper was going to cringe and let us pass, then tell Lucien why he couldn't stop us. Or, he was already in PM with Lucien, and reinforcements would be running down the stairs to gank us any second now. By the way his eyes discreetly flicked to the side, I figured it was the latter. "Vash! Mehkhet! NOW!”

Casper knew the game was up the second I raised my voice. He brought his bow up with a silent snarl as the Elites sighted down their rifles. Vash grabbed the barrel of one, yanking it past his head and kneeing the soldier in the groin with crippling force as Casper's bow flashed with brilliant blue flames. His arrow turned a molten, blazing white as it left the weapon, streaking toward Mehkhet. It blew through the wraith's body like a shockwave, opening a hole, and continued toward me.

[Mehkhet takes 341 reduced damage.]

"Shit!" I ducked around the edge of the door with Ignas, chunks of stone blowing out past me. My heart was pounding: I searched for somewhere safe to lay the Volod down, but there wasn’t any place safe enough. The Volod's flashing HP ring seemed to fill my vision. His breath was rattling in his throat, head drooping limply, feet pale white. His HP had sunk down to 5 points, and I had an awful sinking feeling that if I went to fight, he'd go straight to zero.

"Protect His Majesty!" Vash cried from inside the room.

Cursing, I dropped down to shield Ignas with my body and pulled another potion, supporting his head to slowly tip it down his throat. He was beyond swallowing, and airway obstruction was a thing in Archemi, so I had to steel myself and drip it in as the sounds of combat rang out behind me. Sweat crawled down the back of my neck as the alerts stacked up:

[Casper uses Sureshot! Vash takes 660 damage! HP: 5003/5663]

[Mehkhet deals 572 damage!]

[Ilian Elite deals 329 damage!]

[Warning: Ignas Corvinus is in critical condition! Max HP: 20/3201]

With the potion timer ticking away, Ignas still passively lost one point of health every three seconds or so. I tried Bonefuse to repair some of the internal damage, but when I tried to administer it, I got a flashing alert signaling that he had to have surgery before anything other than HP potions could be administered.

[Casper uses Heartpiercer! Critical Hit! Vash takes 1997 damage!]

Jesus: that was almost half of Vash’s total health. Three against two, one of them Starborn with critical hit and mortal blow abilities: we were losing. I grit my teeth as I boosted Ignas's HP back to its maximum again, turned back to the door, and was about to call the Spear to my hand when a blur of grey motion darted in past me. Ebisa, flickering in and out of sight as she darted into the storeroom.

Our odds suddenly got a lot better.

There was a piercing, gargling scream from inside. I looked wildly to the other end of the hall, and sure enough, Karalti tore around the edge of the hall, the Princess in her arms. Sohvi was bruised, beaten and tear-streaked, but fully conscious, slim arms wrapped around Karalti's shoulders like a vice.

[Ebisa has killed Ilian Elite!]

[Vash has killed Ilian Elite!]

"Arrrgh!" Casper barreled out of the room, knocking someone aside before charging out into the hall, and almost straight into Karalti. Before I'd even thought about it, I swept my leg out - he went right over it, sprawling to the ground jaw-first.

"Why are you always in my way, motherfucker!" Casper growled, lashing out blindly with his bow. Karalti kicked it out of his hand as the princess squealed in terror.

"I dunno: why the fuck are you helping a psychopathic pedophile?" I mantled protectively over Ignas, baring my teeth at him.

"Because we're all gonna die, and him and Baldr are the only ones who'll do what needs doing!" He spat back - just before Ebisa leaped onto his back like a raptor. He cried out in alarm, trying and failing to get her off, only to find both her daggers in his eyes. He screamed: a raw, wailing screech of agony, but it was a mortal blow. Within seconds, his fists faltered, and Ebisa twisted the knives until the screaming stopped.

"That was for Ignas," the assassin grated, pulling one of the knives free - and driving it into the dead man's belly. "And that was for Eevi."

I was about to reply when my ears twitched: shouts and stomping upstairs, getting closer. "I knew that motherfucker was calling for help. Time to go!"

"Ebisa!" Vash called to her, and threw her a ring of keys. The Mercurion snatched them out of the air, sprinting to the locked and barred entry to the tunnels. Karalti carried Sohvi over as the assassin worked the door open. "Here, you need to stand. Can you run?"

"I d-don't know." Sohvi, her teeth chattering, wrapped her flimsy gown around herself and leaned against the wall. Her wrists were rope-burned. "I'm s-s sorry..."

"It's okay! If you can’t, I’ll carry you. But it’ll be bumpy."

As Ebisa reached to insert a key, a circle of yellow light inset with arcane sigils flared to life. She hissed, and snatched her hand back.

"Allow me." Mehkhet drifted over to it, arm raised. "Now I am on the correct side of this circle, I SHOULD be able to dispel it..."

"You'd better hurry." The thundering was growing louder. I gently scooped Ignas into my arms and got to my feet, went over to Casper's body, and looted everything he owned without looking to see what was there. He kept a light inventory; I barely noticed the difference as his stuff reappeared in mine.

"Colum so'dor, mathras, olori!" Mehkhet's voice grew in intensity. As it did, I felt him draw *something* from me... energy, that discharged with a *whoomph* from him into the ward on the door.

[Mehkhet casts Dispel Static Rote!]

The magic circle flared a bright, lightning white, then discharged with a crack and died. Ebisa wasted no time: she unlocked the entry to the tunnels and threw it open into a narrow, web-and-dust choked shaft. "Here! I'll take point. Hector, stay behind me with His Majesty.”

"That gods-damned leaking ass pucker of a Starborn-!" Vash cursed as he staggered up beside me. He had an arrow stuck through his thigh, pouring blood.

“Here. Hold Ignas.” I passed him to Vash, knelt down, and mechanically snapped the arrow off at the skin before pulling it through. Vash locked his jaws as I worked, sweat beading my face as I ran through the healing minigame at high speed: staunching the bleeding, bandaging, then rising with my last Moss Concentrate. I pulled the cork, shoved the bottle in Vash’s mouth, and took the Volod back. Vash, still drinking, waited until we were ahead. Then he followed up and slammed the tunnel door behind him.

We had to run: I was hyperconscious of how Ignas's head jolted up and down as we fled back toward the cathedral, eyes glued to his HP ring as it slowly descended back down toward one point of health. When he hit 5HP, I topped him up again - but he'd now taken so many of the potions so quickly that they were starting to cause problems of their own.

[Toxicity: You have administered too much of the same type of herb within too short a span. Ignas Corvinus's max HP reduced by 15%.]

"Dammit, I shouldn't have given him the fucking concentrate." I clutched his lanky body to my chest as we passed through the draugr trap chamber. "I don't know if he's going to make it."

"He must." Ebisa jumped up to pull the portcullis down, another barrier between us and the soldiers who were audibly kicking the doors down from the other end. "Keep him going."

"Sohvi, listen to me,"Karalti said, broadcasting to me and the princess both. "If we get to the end of this tunnel and there's bad guys outside, you need to take Ignas from Hector and do everything he says, okay?"

"I can't... I can't..." Sohvi's voice was high and breathy with terror.

"You CAN and you must,"Karalti told her. "Don't think; just do."

We burst out into the first chamber, the one behind the door leading up to the church, and collectively paused as vibrations rolled through the floor: the stomp and crunch of giant metal feet smashing tile.

"They've flanked us," Ebisa said grimly.

"Only way is forward," I replied. "Open the door, and let's finish this."