The Forsaken Hero

”Dammit,” Sorrin spat, raising his sword. ”Who are you?”

The man’s sadistic smile widened, and he threw back his cowl.

”Vithrass!” I gasped, a spike of fear stabbing through my heart.

”I told you we’d meet again, though not even I expected it to be so soon. Who’d have thought you’d be so foolish as to walk into such an obvious trap?”

I frantically looked around, my eyes darting from corner to corner, but there was nowhere to run. The only exits were trapdoors, which were now sealed with third-level spells. Given time, we would be able to break out, but time was a luxury we no longer had. The two Shadow Golems loomed over us, each nearly twenty feet tall. Their eyes smoldered with rage and destruction, their claws shining viciously in the dusty light.

”Ah, my dear Starlight,” Vithrass crooned, ”There’s no need to be afraid. I’ll take good care of you, once these vile humans are dead. The Joys call to you, and no matter how you try, they won’t be ignored.”

”No, t-that not true. I’m free!” I cried, backing away from his horrible grin.

Sorrin leveled his sword at the grinning demonkin, eyes flashing dangerously. ”Not another word, or I’ll cut your tongue from your mouth. We’ve already beaten you once, and there’s no reason we won’t do it again. This time, we won’t be so foolish as to let you escape.”

”Brave words from an unchained slave, but are you truly as strong as you appear?” Vithrass asked. His eyes slid past Sorrin, onto Tana behind him. ”Or are there... vulnerabilities?”

”Damn you, lay a finger on her, and I swear I’ll-”

The wind whistled as an arrow flew past him, burying itself in Vithrass’ shoulder. The demonkin grunted, spinning from the force of the blow.

”Are we going to talk, or kill the bastard?” Rasce asked, already stringing another arrow.

Vithrass regained his balance, glaring at the ranger. He gripped the shaft and tore it free, releasing a spurt of blood. ”Detestable human.” He threw his hand forward, and the golems and robed figures advanced. ”Kill the humans and capture the rest. Leave the girl unharmed, I’ll break her myself.”

The robed warriors were all fourth level, with Vithrass himself fifth. In terms of numbers and sheer power, we were outmatched, but the Glory Chasers would never just roll over and accept it.

Sorrin launched himself forward, engaging one of the Shadow Golems. Its titanic claws swiped through the air, trailing black wind blades in their wake. His sword flashed with magic, and the two collided, releasing a shockwave that blew back the dust. Using his smaller size to his advantage, he slipped beneath its guard and scored a long, nasty cut along its thigh, but was forced to retreat as the other attacked from behind, putting him on the defensive.

With Sorrin tied down by the two Shadow Golems, Dyson and Rasce fought hard to hold against the three robed figures. Two of them wielded swords, but the third held back, chanting spells. Dyson tried to vanish into the flickering shadows, but a wash of color flowed over him, clinging to his body. He shook himself violently, trying to brush it off with his hands, but the magic clung to his clothes and armor, depriving him of any sort of concealment.

One of the cloaked swordsmen slashed his blade in a wide arc, releasing a wave of wind that hung in the air around them. Rasce fired several shots at the two, but the wind deflected it, shielding their advance.

”They know us,” Tana muttered, looking at them gravely. ”But how?”

I peered closer at the figures. Their souls seemed dim and subdued, bound by thin threads of shadow. No, not shadow, but tiny sequences of runes. A shiver ran down my tail and my hand pressed to my breast. Hadn’t Helron, the Guild Master, had a similar phenomenon? At the time, I was overwhelmed and exhausted by the battle in the alley, and had overlooked it, but now the curses stared me fully in the face.

As one of the warriors charged through the wall of wind, his hood blew back, revealing a blonde-haired man. Tana cried out, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.

”Benri? But Helron said you guys were-”

Her words died in her throat, her eyes widening with shock as the warrior kicked off the ground, flying through the air toward us. Tana stumbled back, hands clutching at her amulet, but was too surprised to react.

The adventurer’s sword crashed against the Aegis, sending countless cracks racing through it. He struck again and the Aegis shattered, disappearing into a thousand glimmering shards.

”Fable!” I cried desperately.

Benri’s sword descended toward’s Tana, when he suddenly froze, his eyes widening. Fable streaked toward him, pouncing on his chest. His jaws closed around the man’s arm, and blood splashed into the air, falling in a sprinkle upon Tana’s horrified face.

Fable had yet to take his true size, but the force of his impact sent Benri flying, slamming him into the far wall. The man coughed blood and collapsed, his arm and chest mangled into fleshy ribbons.

I ran over to Tana, grabbed her arm, and helped her to her feet. She stared at me dully, mouth parted in a shallow, breathless gasp.

”The Dawn Blades...Helron said he sent them...”

”They’re cursed,” I said hurriedly, checking her for injuries. Fortunately, Fable had made it in time, and she was unharmed save for her shock. ”Please, Tana, snap out of it. Sorrin needs your help.”

The mention of her beloved brought a spark to her eyes, and she shook herself. ”Right.”

Although we’d crippled one of their numbers, the fight was going poorly. Sorrin backed against the far wall, caught between the two shadow golems. Their claws dripped with his blood, and he was panting heavily. A long cut split his armor from his hip to his chest, and every breath made him flinch in pain.

”Sorrin!” Tana cried, running toward him. She grasped her amulet and chanted a spell, launching a hailstorm of fiery darts at the monsters.

”Starlight!”

I turned as Dyson’s voice pierced the air, stiffening as a shadow loomed up behind me. Vithrass smiled cruelly and lashed out with this sword. Shadows clothed the blade, carrying the power of a fifth-circle magical technique.

I screamed, shielding my face with my hands, as the Aegis exploded. The force of the blow carried through, catching me on the shoulder. The impact was...heavy. But even as I fell to the ground, there was no fiery pain, no blood, that I’d come to associate with being cut. I felt at my shoulder, but the fabric of my cloak was whole, unmarred by even a slight wrinkle.

Uttering a silent prayer of thanks for Viriden’s gift, I rolled aside and climbed to my feet. Vithrass was looking at me, head cocked in confusion.

After a moment, he said, ”You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? To think you have an item rare enough to stop a fifth-level attack.”

I looked around for help, but the others were locked in their own battles. Fable fought against one of the shadow golems, rolling around in a storm of claws and teeth.

”Your arm, ”I said quickly, ”How did you get it back?”

”Stalling for your pet to return?” Vithrass asked, sauntering forward. He slashed his sword through the air several times, his pace slow and relaxed, as though he had all the time in the world. ”That was another one of those surprises. It’s rather small, though, compared to before. I was planning on turning it into carpeting for my office, but now I’ll have to settle for a rug.”

My grip on my staff tightened, my eyes narrowing, but he only laughed.

”My arm, you ask? My dear Starlight, even if my resources are rather limited in this backwater city, the Circle has many means, including the power to heal such a trivial wound.”

Vithrass smiled as he loomed above me. His strength was unmatched on this battlefield, and he knew it. Not even Fable could compete with the demonkin in a competition in strength. The gap between fourth and fifth was nowhere near that between fifth and sixth, but it wasn’t something that could be ignored.

My legs trembled violently, my tail twisting violently, as he began to chant. Even as the black magic circles appeared beneath me, I could feel the cold touch of steel around my neck and wrists, the fiery pain of the slave crest between my breasts. Panic gripped my thoughts, suffocating every instinct and leaving me paralyzed in fear.

As his spell finished, his hand cupped my chin, drawing me up to gaze into my terrified eyes. ”Isn’t this only natural? The weak submit to the strong, the slave to their master. You to me, Starlight.”

Dark tentacles rose out of the floor, slithering up my legs and around my torso. They wrapped around my chest and arms, one even coiling gently around my throat. I squirmed as the tentacles grew cold, caressing and fondling my body in ways that made me shriek.

Vithrass gazed at me lovingly, brushing away my tears with his thumb. ”Your friends are stronger than I anticipated. I was assured this strategy would defeat them without ease, but it seems your presence has strengthened them. Shall we see if we can break their morale?”