Nightmare Realm Summoner

Spark shot through the air and slammed into the Dredge before Alex or Claire could even twitch. A flash of electrical blue energy split the Mirrorlands and the Dredge let out a moan, lurching to the side. Its mask sunk into the thick sludge that made up its face for an instant before re-emerging as the monster swiped at Spark.

The Echo Wraith was forced to float back to avoid the huge hand that hurtled through the air where it had been. The Dredge stumbled after Spark, swinging repeatedly in attempt to catch him.

Meanwhile, loud screeches echoed out as Glint and the Barrow Puppeteer ripped at each other. Glint’s claws raked across the monster’s body while it twisted and screamed, trying to fling him free with its many legs.

The Blacktongue Dredge abruptly shifted targets and spun away from Spark. It leapt, transforming into a river of sludge that arced through the air and crashed down toward Alex.

Alex flung himself to the side, hitting the ground in a roll and springing to his feet. He used Mirror Image, summoning two copies of himself by his side with a flash of rift energy. Both the Blacktongue Dredge and the Barrow Puppeteer hissed in pain and surprise at the bright light — as did Claire, who let out a slew of curses.

”Sorry!” Alex called.

Claire didn’t reply. She launched herself at the Dredge and brought her sword sweeping down into its body. The blade sliced about a foot into the monster’s vicious body before grinding to a halt and going no further. She ripped the weapon out and leapt back as the monster reached for her, its fingers closing over air as she just barely managed to clear them.

”Stabbing is not particularly effective,” Claire warned Alex.

A loud crash echoed through the street. Alex’s eyes flicked over to Glint and the Barrow Puppeteer. The two monsters had fought their way over to the side of the building, where the spider was repeatedly smashing itself against the wall in an attempt to dislodge the Shardwalker from its back. Glint had ripped the monster’s body to shreds, but it was surprisingly resilient.

He couldn’t spend much attention watching his monster fight. The Dredge shifted its body mass into an arm, enlarging and extending it as the monster reached for Alex.

Spark flitted through the air and brought his fists down on the Dredge’s hand with a resounding crack of magical energy. The arm tore free with a wet squelch. It splattered to the ground, losing cohesion and pooling in a thick pile.

Claire’s katana flashed several times in rapid succession. The speed of her empowered attacks was terrifying. Alex could barely even follow the strikes as they carved across the monster’s flesh, each one sending sludge splattering to the ground. She then thrust her sword forward, straight into the Dredge’s chest.

A keening moan slipped from the sickly monster and its body quavered. It grabbed for Claire with its remaining hand.

Spark’s fists slammed down on top of its head. The monster splattered to the ground, its hand faltering before it could find its mark.

A rush of energy entered Alex. It was a respectable amount, more than any of the other monsters he’d killed thus far in the Mirrorlands. That was good. They’d made a lot of noise with the unexpected addition to their fight. Now they just needed to help Glint finish off the Barrow Puppeteer and they could relocate before anything too powerful came to check out the scene of the fight.

Alex turned toward Glint.

Then he blinked in surprise.

His Shardwalker stood above the body of the Barrow Puppeteer. The hideous monster was dead. It laid in a filleted heap upon a spreading pool of sickly liquid at Glint’s feet, its entire body ripped to shreds.

The monster’s Soul Flame floated above its body, waiting for Alex to claim it.

What? But if that’s the monster that died, then how —

Alex’s eyes widened.

”The Dredge isn’t dead!”

He and Claire leapt back. The puddles of sludge flowed together, twisting together and rising back up to reform the Blacktongue Dredge’s body. It let out a moan and stumbled forward, reaching for Alex and Claire with each of its hands.

Spark rained blows into the large monster’s body. Each strike flashed with blue energy and sent large portions of thick fluid arcing through the air, but they only slowed it. Alex dodged out of the way as a hand crashed down where he’d been, sending droplets of black fluid flying everywhere.

”Glint! Kill this thing!”

His Shardwalker burst into motion. Glint bounded across the ground and leapt, crashing into the Dredge’s body like a very sharp toddler going in for a bear hug. He proceeded to rip into the sludgy monster’s body with reckless abandon.

Every strike bit deep into the monster’s body and tore away huge chunks of its wet flesh. Claire and Spark re-joined the onslaught, unleashing everything they had into the monster. The dredge barely even seemed to notice. It swept a hand toward Claire, barely missing her and striking the wall behind her instead.

Its hand smashed through the stone like there was nothing there. Glint severed its arm with one hand, then swiped at the monster’s face with his other. The Dredge collapsed into a puddle before the strike could connect.

No sooner than it had fallen did the sludge bound to the side, flying straight over Glint’s head, and land on the ground several feet to Alex’s side with enough force to shatter the cobbled streets beneath it. The Blacktongue Dredge bubbled back up, its body reforming entirely without injury.

”What the bleeding hell is this thing?” Claire demanded. ”It won’t die! I can’t fight like this forever. I’m going to run out of blood.”

A low moan echoed through the street — but not from the monster they were fighting. Alex’s eyes flicked to the side.

Two more Blacktongue Dredges stood on the other end of the street, empty-eyed masks staring in their directions.

Blacktongue Dredge (Initiate 5)

Blacktongue Dredge (Initiate 5)

”And now there are three of them. I guess the Mirrorlands got offended we were having too easy of a time with things,” Alex said with a laugh. He ducked as the Dredge swept an enlarged hand at him in a diagonal strike. The strike slammed into the ground to his side and Alex stumbled from the sheer impact of the blow.

Letting out a gurgling moan, the Dredge lurched for Alex again, but Glint’s claws carved through its arm and sent it splattering to the ground.

Claire unleashed a flurry of thrusting attacks on the monster. It collapsed back into a pile of thick fluid. Spark shot forward and brought his hands down on the pile, pummeling it with all his might.

The Blacktongue Dredge flowed away, and Alex caught a glimpse of the monster’s white mask buried deep within its goopy body. There was a thin scratch along its side from one of Claire’s sword strikes. The monster rose back up near the two other Dredges approaching them. Claire’s scratch was still on its mask. It hadn’t healed.

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

”Get the mask! It’s the only part we haven’t managed to destroy yet! It must be protecting it.”

Glint shifted targets immediately. He leapt at the Dredge’s face. The Dredge immediately raised its arms to cover its face, but Claire and Spark joined in on the attack. They focused their attacks on the monster’s head, tearing through its defenses as fast as they could.

Their efforts were working — but not fast enough. The other two Dredges were almost upon them. The monsters were just too annoying to kill. Now that the Initiate 6 Dredge was focused on defending itself instead of attacking, it was even more resilient than before.

If the other two entered the fight, then it would be practically impossible to focus one of them down without getting caught by one of their slow but powerful strikes.

He gathered his power and darted forward, stepping around the Dredge and ducking under a swing, before thrusting his hands forward and using Funhouse.

Reality shattered before him. Cracks spread out like a jagged spiderweb and expanded until the patch was just over eight feet in diameter. Alex couldn’t force it any larger in the time he had left. The approaching Dredges lurched forward and swung at him.

Alex dove out of the way. The Dredges passed into the warped space and were abruptly twisted together before being spat out in two opposite directions. They stumbled and moaned, the masks sliding across their bodies to relocate Alex.

One of them leapt at him again. Its fists crashed down on Alex’s remaining Mirror Image clone, shattering it instantly. He backed up, keeping distance between himself and the two new monsters.

”Spark!” Alex called, not risking a glance back. ”Forget protecting yourself. Grab onto the Dredge’s mask and hold it still for Claire and Glint!”

With that, the other two Dredges were upon him again. Alex danced around Funhouse, keeping it between himself and the monsters as best as he could. They didn’t seem to be intelligent enough to comprehend what the magic did. Their hands and bodies passed through it, only to be spun and sent stumbling out in other directions.

Sweat rolled down Alex’s back and beaded on his forehead as thrill gripped his body. The Dredges were slow, but a single hit could kill him. He had to keep their attention until —

Magic rushed into Alex in a river of energy. One of his monsters had died.

A loud crack echoed through the air an instant later.

Alex risked a glance back.

The Initiate 6 Blacktongue Dredge stood frozen in place. Glint’s claws were buried deep into its body, having just sliced through its mask. Then the Dredge collapsed into a wet puddle. Energy gripped Alex’s chest from the kill and a Soul Flame materialized in the air above the dead monster.

Yes!

Alex strode over to the flame and plucked it from the ground, inserting it into a Spatial Mirror and turning to Claire with an excited grin.

His elation was short-lived. A shadow passed through the air overhead. Everyone — the other two Dredges included — froze and craned their necks back to look skyward.

The blood drained out of Alex’s face.

Perched upon the roof of a building was what could have only been described as a living shadow. It was easily twenty feet tall and sported blackened armor that melded together with its body. He couldn’t tell where the armor ended rippling flesh started. Its eyes were two solid chunks of crystal-blue dry ice, smoking with indiscriminate hunger. The monster’s fingers transformed into long shadows, sinking down into the actual shadow it cast along the building’s wall and onto the ground.

Forsaken Revenant (???)

The monster’s shadow stretched out along the ground and met with the foot of one of the Dredges.

There was a faint snick.

The Dredge exploded.

Its shattered mask clattered to the ground amidst raining droplets of black, vicious flesh.

The hair on the back of Alex’s neck shot straight up. A primordial sense of terror welled in his stomach, borne from the very same warning that told humans not to venture into the dark.

Freezing blue eyes turned toward the second Drudge.

Alex spun on his heel. There wasn’t a word to be said. Claire was already at his side. They poured every scrap of energy they had into doing the only thing they could.

Running.