The Tomb of the Dark Paladin (47 page)

He forced himself to his feet and looked for another foe to attack. A knot of hurkin fighters tried to advance across the open space and a fireball met them where they stood. There was nothing left but a patch of scorched earth. Hala's reserve surged into the flank of the company of oroks and the sound of their titanic clash of steel on steel came seemed as loud as a thunderbolt. The oroks, who had been held back behind the elite hurkin were now cut off from the main fight and battling the ground walking Jaguar Knights. Carym wondered why they hadn't sent the oroks in first, but he suspected senseless pride had something to do with it. He was pleased to see the giant cats tearing into rank upon rank of the oroks, rending them to pieces with great swipes of their claws or ripping heads from orok bodies.

He looked for Morgon but the elf vanished in a burst of flames, only to reappear across the clearing where one of the remaining two Frost Elves was hiding. The two engaged in a furious duel of magical fire and supernatural missiles of ice, but the Frost Elf was no match for Morgon of Alfheym. Just as quickly as the magical duel started, it was done and Morgon reappeared beside Carym.

"How did you do that?" Carym asked, taking advantage of a brief lull in the battle. Morgon seemed to be hurt and was holding his side.

"Another time," he said, wincing.

The shadow of a low flying wasp dragon caused Carym to duck as the creature's whipping tail shattered the boulder he was using for cover. A crack of thunder and a blast of air send the wasp dragon darting away with a pair of great raptors in pursuit. The other wasp dragons seemed to be gone. He didn't know where the enemy beasts had gone, but he was glad there appeared to be just one wasp dragon left in the fight.

The battle at the foot of the slope was furious and the hurkin soldiers kept coming. Each successive sortie garnered a little more ground for the enemy, but cost them a lot more in lives. Still, the companions found that they were being forced to fall back, uphill toward the crest. Carym and Morgon scurried farther up the hill to another rock formation that offered a good place to send fire down on the enemy. Ederick and Hala saw that the two men would help cover them and the two raced uphill beyond the Sigilists. The companions were all well placed for this fight, but Carym was overawed by the tenacity of the enemy fighters. Even the oroks fought with courage and, strangely, the Jaguar fighters would later report that none of the gutless creatures fled the battle before it was over. Even as the little heartless vermin were being eviscerated by the slashing claws of great cats or giant raptors they did not give up. 

"You are weak and you need to recover quickly," Carym said, offering the Flamestone to Morgon. He had only just now begun to feel the pain from the magical burns left by the Frost Elf's dart. "Use this for strength, if I need strength I will use the Earthstone." 

Carym looked more closely at the Crimson Elf's wound and saw a hole in his robes revealing an open wound beneath. In that wound was the shaft of an arrow that seemed to be made from pure shadow. The strangest thing was that there was no blood coming from the wound, just what appeared to be drops of light trickling out. 

Carym was about to speak but Morgon silenced him. 

"Later, you must defeat the Frost Elf!" said the weakening Morgon. "She is driving all the others!"

Carym nodded to the red-skinned elf in agreement. Suddenly there was a lull in the battle as the front lines of hurkin hunkered down. Carym turned away from the elf looking to see where his skills would be needed most. The lull allowed Carym a moment's rest and to ensure his friend was in no danger. Then, the lull was over and the hurkin tried advancing up the hill. These hurkin were skilled fighters and were moving very fast, some firing arrows or crossbows at the defenders while others advanced. Ederick and Hala tried to pick them off from a distance and succeeded in striking two, but there were too many obstacles for the hurkin to shelter behind.

Soon, there was nothing but a vast stretch of open space. A handful of powerful predatory cats appeared on the battlefield, leaping from nearby boulders and surging toward the advancing hurkin. Carym feared accidentally striking the Jaguar Knights with his spells and so he had to let them handle the band of hurkin alone. The great cats were assaulted by a volley of arrows fired from farther down the hillside, but the force of the arrows was weakened from having to fly uphill. The great cats were protected by the magical strength of their fur or feathers and the arrows simply bounced away. Then more of the Jaguars entered the fray now that the orok company had been cut down and the enemy archers fell to their mighty claws.

Sensing approaching danger, one of the hurkin turned around in time to skewer a leaping panther, but not before its great claws sliced open the hurkin's head. Carym cringed at the loss. The hurkin were ruthless fighters and the battle there amidst the boulders between great cats and fearsome hurkin was pitched. But the hurkin were badly outnumbered and there was no sign of the other Frost Elves. With growls and throaty roars of triumph the Jaguars claimed their victory over the fearsome hurkin. 

Bart reappeared on the hillside as the battle in the skies came to an end, yet Carym couldn't help feeling that something else was yet to come. He used his sight spell to scan for signs of the powerful beings but he could only sense disturbances in the Tides. The Frost Elves were naturally gifted with the Water Sigil, or Sigil of Ice as they called it, but were also adept with the Shadow Sigil; this one had likely cloaked herself in magic.

"There has to be more than that!" called Ederick from farther over to Carym's side. Apparently he and Hala had been forced to retreat farther up the hillside too. Carym hadn't seen that happen, and he hadn't seen the knight engage any fighters, but the bloody evidence was apparent on the knight's great sword and shield. "They can't have given up that easily."

Carym agreed and continued surveying the scorched and littered battlefield. None of the companions seemed hurt. Could they have wiped the enemy out so quickly?

Then he felt it.

"Carym!" called Morgon, standing up now. Carym was grateful the man had taken the Flamestone and he seemed to have regained his strength. "Something comes!" He turned back to the battlefield and saw a slender figure bearing a cloak of dark blues and blacks. The figure was female, she walked toward the base of the hill alone; Carym wondered briefly if she intended to surrender.

A shrill laugh drifted from the trees up the hill to the companions.

Fool, he thought to himself. Frost Elves do not surrender. She carried a staff that was carved with odd-looking totems and adorned with feathers and claws and, strangely enough, it appeared to be made of crystal. Carym did not miss the blue skin of the bare hands grasping the staff.

She was intimidating and darkly beautiful to behold. She was about his height and slighter of build, yet a few plates of black armor made her appear sturdier than she was. Shiny blue-black hair tumbled about her shoulders revealing streaks of bright blue. Even from a distance he could see her sapphire colored eyes. Her armor plates were jet black with blue and gold designs of deathly visages and contrasted with flowers. Although she bore a staff she also wore a pair of swords strapped to her back, the hilts of each just visible above her shoulders.

Hala drew her bow and began to fire arrows while Jaguar Knights closed in on her from two sides.

"Surrender, elf!" called Sir Ederick. "You are hopelessly outnumbered."

The elf slammed the butt of her staff into the rocky ground, saying nothing. Carym felt a shockwave surge through the ground and it seemed as if the ground itself cried out in pain and anguish from the dark magic. Then he felt the ground moaning and straining, shifting beneath his feet. The others felt it too. Suddenly a cloud of blackness came rolling over the ground from deep within the woods, not unlike an ocean wave surging onto the beach during an angry storm, but slower and more ominous.

The waves of darkness crawled up the hill, bypassing the Frost Elf as though she were an island of calm, her cloak billowing. Agonized faces screamed from within the mist and wraith-like hands reached out, flailing for purchase, as the dark cloud flowed closer.

"To the top!" called the Crimson Elf as he turned and made his way up the slope. The others followed. Hala called out to her Jaguar Knights in their own tongue, doubtless ordering them to flee from the fell cloud. Then it was upon them. The intense cold of the mist numbed all that it touched and it was only through great effort that Carym and his companions were able to clamber away from it as they moved uphill. The wave followed them. Bony hands with long nails grabbed at their feet, shredded clothing and gouged flesh with searing pain. 

Ederick fell and was overtaken by the cloud. Carym heard the sounds of the knight swinging his magical sword and bashing with his shield, all the while shouting the battle cry of his order. Hala was nowhere to be seen but Carym knew she would make it to the top of the hill where Gennevera was holding the high point. 

Carym drew his fighting sticks and struck out in the inky cloud with his fiery weapons, smashing bones and breaking claws. Hideous shrieking from beside him and all around him threatened his sanity as he fought his way uphill. He tried to call out to Morgon, but when he breathed it felt like the misty air was clogging up his lungs. He fought back the urge to cough and tried to calm his mind as he fended off one specter after another. Finally, he reached the top of the hill ahead of the mist. He thought he saw a flash of Genn's cloak not far away amongst the boulders and he assumed she had moved to better cover. 

Carym harnessed the Tides and created a shield of magic over the hillcrest and held it in place as Ederick and Hala arrived. Bart freed himself from the mist and joined the others in Carym's protective shield but Morgon was missing. The sound of fireball spells could be heard within the dark mist below them and Carym knew where Morgon fought. The flames that trailed the great ball of flames seemed to have the effect of helping to dissipate the black cloud.

And that gave Carym and idea.

He 
enflamed
 the weapons of the other companions and let go of the magical shield. As the black mist overtook the companions, so too did the skeletal warriors that seemed to dwell there. Bart's own magic coursed through his twin blades, and each time he connected with a skeletal warrior the thing exploded into fragments of dust and bone with an ensuing clap of thunder. Morgon sent a barrage of 
firebolts
 and 
fireballs
 at the undead creatures. Yet for each one that the companions destroyed, three more clawed their way free. Soon even the hurkin and oroks who had fallen in battle only minutes earlier rose to shambling feet and made their way up the hill toward the companions.

The remaining Jaguar Knights returned to the fray, easily destroying the skeletons from above and below, but nothing stopped them from re-forming. He couldn't take his mind away from the fight long enough to come up with some way to counter the powerful elf's magic. Eventually the living warriors would falter, and the innumerable enemy would prevail.

Carym engaged a shambling skeletal warrior. The creature reeked of death and patches of rotted flesh still hung from it in places. Flies buzzed around them, seeking food. Even vultures had begun their lazy circles, smelling death. Quickly he struck the thing, severing one arm from its body; yet the damned creature fought on. Another arm severed, but still it fought, kicking at him with clawed toes and lunging at him as if to bite. Again and again, Carym hacked at the creature cutting it into smaller and smaller pieces. Finally, with a sickening hissing sound emanating from its mouth, the creature ceased to fight him. Curiously, the dismembered and shattered pieces of its body were slowly being drawn back to each other.

 Then another of the shambling creatures assaulted him, hissing at him and spitting bone fragments and rotted teeth at him. More than once, Carym felt the icy sting of skeletal pieces piercing the flesh of his hands and face. The wounds left by the undead creatures were excruciatingly painful; Carym became distracted. Another monster approached and Carym beat it severely, breaking bones and shattering limbs with batons of flame. Then there were no more shambling skeletons to fight near him. 

He quickly surveyed the battlefield but could see little in the inky haze, though he could hear the sound of Ederick's shouts. There were other sounds too, of thunderclaps accompanied by flashes of light that told Carym Bart was, at least for the moment, alive. Unable to see properly, Carym decided to climb higher up the hill. When he emerged from the black mist he saw Hala, alone, at the highest point. The inky mist surrounded the hilltop but did not pass beyond the perimeter of it, as though some unseen barrier prevented it.   

Carym reached the perimeter of the hilltop and desperately looked for a way to help his friends, but his sight could not penetrate the mist. Having no other choice, Carym pulled the silvery stone from his pocket and gripped it tightly. The power that the Spiritstone could channel was mysterious and ancient and he knew very little of it. Still, he had been able to disrupt the Shadow's spells that commanded death using the mysterious Spiritstone before and he hoped it would work now. 

He and his friends were running out of time.

Carym knelt on the ground and opened himself up to the power of the Spirit and of the Earth, letting those Tides flow powerfully into his body. When he knew he could handle no more of the Tidal forces within him, he used the language of the Sigils and blended the two forces together into a roiling wave. Then he slammed his bare fist on the ground and released the pent up well of energy. The Tidal power flowed out from his body with silvery light, like a tidal wave bursting through a dam. As those waves of power surged down the hillside they spread wider and wider until, stretching the length and breadth of the entire battlefield, they overpowered the cloud of darkness with bright light. Soon the cloud was gone, there was nothing left of the skeletal warriors but bones.