Chapter 15: Last Hope Chapter 17: Sacred Stone
Chapter 16: Darkling Woods
I woke early the next morning, immediately aware that I had slept in my armour. I had never gotten around to taking it off. I felt creased and rumpled and heavy.
I craned my neck until I could see the window, and groaned. The sky was grey, but the sun was rising behind the clouds; time to get up.
I sat up, stiffly, and stretched. Ow. Falling asleep in armour was definitely a better thing to do outside, where it was less uncomfortable than the ground. Inside, in a featherbed, was really stupid.
I sniffed my shirt. I smelled terrible, and I was still covered in gunk from fighting. Whoever had the unfortunate job of changing the bed after I left… I felt sorry for them. I reached into my pouch and left a gold coin under the pillow. It assuaged my guilty feeling a little bit.
But there would be no time to change. We needed to be ready to leave in an hour, and that meant checking supplies, fixing armour damage, and breakfast. I hopped up, grabbed my lance, and headed for the door.
I checked on Eirika, first. She’d bothered to get changed, into a frilly lace nightgown probably lent her by L’Arachel. She rubbed her eyes blearily as I charged in. “Brother? What’s the matter?”
“Nothing, just time to get up. Come on, sleepy head. Big day today! Killing the Demon King.”
“Mmph.” She rolled over. “But I haven’t slept in a real bed in…”
“Come on, princess. Kingdoms to save! Boyfriend waiting for you!”
“He’s my fiancé, and I’m tired.”
I put my hands on my hips. “Eirika.”
“I’m coming,” she muttered. “I’m just afraid.”
“And comfortable,” I teased. “Sleeping in won’t make the Demon King go away. It’s not like our history finals with Father MacGregor.”
“I said I’m coming,” she said, and waved me out.
I sauntered down to the dining hall, running into Seth himself on the way. “Eirika’s getting up. Slowly.”
“It must be nice for her to finally have accommodations befitting her,” he said absentmindedly, checking his pockets to make sure he had everything.
“She’s lazy.”
“She is not.”
“You’re infatuated.”
“I am.”
I punched him in the shoulder. “You’re going to be the best brother-in-arms ever. I mean, brother-in-law. Not much difference, is there?”
“You’re cheerful today, my lord.”
“I’m nervous. I shouldn’t be, but I am. I smell eggs.”
I entered the hall to see Myrrh tucking in to a giant plate of bacon and eggs, Saleh sitting silently beside her nursing a cup of tea. “Hello, Myrrh.”
“Ephraim.” She blinked solemnly at me.
“Not much to say today, huh?”
She shook her head and turned her attention back to her plate. I wondered if she was nervous about the coming day.
“I guess that settles that, then,” I said to no one and began to fill my own plate.
We set off a little over an hour later, with the blessing of Pontifex Mansel and the Sacred Twins of Rausten. L’Arachel gave to me the Sacred Stone of Rausten, and I packed it away where it wouldn’t get crushed accidentally.
I looked to Myrrh, and she looked back with her huge, serious crimson eyes. I nodded, and she pointed west.
“Let’s go!” I called to the army, and we headed off, west into the unknown.
“So, where exactly are we going?” I asked Myrrh at lunch break, several hours later.
She put her head on one side. “We’re going to the ancient temple where the Demon King was first defeated. I’m not sure exactly where he is in relation to it, but it’s in the same direction.”
“I wonder if he’s going for poetic irony,” I said. “To attempt to triumph where he was last defeated.” I grinned tightly. “He’s going to be in for a surprise.”
“I hope so,” Myrrh said.
“Do not lose hope, Great Dragon,” Saleh said softly from nearby. “Have faith in Valega…”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but Myrrh turned to Saleh with a smile. “I have faith. But I worry too.”
“That’s all right,” I said. “You leave the worrying to me. I’m in command here.”
She smiled again, and I wondered how it looked, a young human, probably no more than an infant by her terms, telling her that he had things under control. I wondered if it was true.
Lyon we could handle, it seemed, even with the Demon King behind him. But the forces in Darkling Woods were likely to be his last powerful reserves, and he himself… I didn’t want to find out what he was planning.
We marched for the rest of the day, reaching the edge of the forest shortly after sunset. It was dark under the trees; I posted watches of three-man groups, and patrols of five-man groups. The campfires were not built large.
I slept lightly, and poorly. When I woke in the morning, I was drenched in sweat, though I could not remember what I’d been dreaming about.
We marched again, and the ground began to turn soft. It was different either than the black forest we had been through a few days before, or the area around Mount Neleras. Darkling Woods was much larger than I’d realized.
Sometime around midday, the first scout saw a skeleton. Just one, by itself. It was quickly taken care of, but it wasn’t the last. They were creeping up on us by ones and twos for the next couple hours, keeping us all jumpy.
After those hours, Myrrh turned to me. “We’re almost there. He is there.”
“Be ready for assault,” I said, but even as I said that, we came out of the trees into a large swampy clearing, and the monsters attacked.
There was the temple Myrrh had spoken of, smaller than I’d expected, but still imposing. I guessed that most of it would be underground, though how they built it underground in a swamp, I could not guess. But my mind was more occupied by the fact that a giant zombie dragon guarded its entrance. It roared at us. This would be difficult.
Even more immediate was the fact that we were surrounded by vast numbers of skeletons, wading towards us with deadly concentration.
I gathered the troops into a ring away from most of the trees. We could use the trees as cover, but so could the skeletons. I urged Lila back and forth down my side of the ring, encouraging my soldiers, lending my lance here and there.
The skeletons hit our line, and my soldiers had to take a step or two back, but that was all. I ordered and led a cavalry charge, which cleared out a few, and advanced a few more steps towards the temple. We couldn’t get too close to the dragon, but further away from the forest behind us would be good too.
An arrow whizzed past my head; the skeletons were getting bolder. Here came Glen’s brother from behind to take them out; they never knew what landed on them.
Then Myrrh decided to take a hand. I heard a ‘whoosh’ from beside me, and suddenly there was a dragon in our midst, and the skeletons hesitated. Apparently they had enough intelligence to realize they needed cover, but their drive to fight prevented them from going far. Whatever the case, it was very good for us. Myrrh flamed a few dozen with her first breath alone.
I saw movement in the trees, and identified it as belonging to the three-headed Gwyllgi, skulking around. They seemed far more unwilling to approach Myrrh. I guess, being actual living creatures, they had more of a sense of self-preservation. I directed the archers to target them anyway.
As soon as Myrrh paused to take breath, they charged our lines.
“Brace yourselves!” I ordered, and not a moment too soon. Those with shields were lucky. The hellhounds leaped clean over the heads of the shorter army members.
“Lady Myrrh, stay back!” Saleh cried, and there was an explosion of light magic, searing the animals before they could chew on too many of my soldiers. Lila and I darted forward and speared one, but another sprang on us from behind. I twisted with my lance, and the haft hit the thing in one of its heads. That didn’t shake it loose…
Eirika shot by me, and it fell from my horse, two of its skulls pierced by her sword. Lila took a step backwards and crushed the last skull before it could think of getting up again.
I looked around for a moment. Deussel was having similar problems, although Innes was assisting him. But his soldiers were retreating towards the centre in disarray. The pegasus knights turned to dive on the enemy, but the enemy was getting inside our lines, towards the more vulnerable army members.
I heard terrified screaming, and looked around to see the pink-haired archer girl frozen in place as a Gwyllgi charged her. Then suddenly Eirika was in front of her, screaming in anger and defiance, and as it leaped at her with its own snarl, she skilfully lopped off its heads.
I grinned. “Nice one.”
Forde yelled for my attention, and I turned and charged the skeletons clawing at him as he ineffectually beat at them with his sword. “Forde, get it together!”
“Yes, Prince Ephraim…”
“After all this time, you can’t get dragged down by some already-dead people. You’re better than that.”
“Yes, Prince Ephraim!”
Screams from the other side of the ring. Innes was down. Blast.
Oh, no, he was up again. That was good.
“Prince Ephraim!” Seth called. “The Gwyllgi have been neutralized.” He ducked a spear thrown in his direction, and smacked a skeleton with the haft of his lance; the blow was heavy enough to shatter the skull.
“Thanks, Seth.”
The ring was holding. We’d outlast the skeletons…
The cries of injured rang from the centre of the ring, and there were skeletons rising from the very swamp we stood on. There was the blonde cleric, Natasha, grappling desperately with a skeleton a foot taller than her, but another was moving up behind her. Her lover, Joshua, was running to her defense from his place in the front lines, but he wouldn’t make it in time…
One of Neimi’s arrows pierced one skeleton, and the young ax-man Ross got the other. In fact, the younger soldiers were doing quite well for themselves. I gave them a nod as they cleaned up the ambush.
“Joshua!” I barked. “Hold the line! Trust your comrades.” He gave me a look that said he would do no such thing, not where Natasha was involved, but he returned to the front line, in time to assist Kyle with a particularly stubborn skeleton armed with a Zanbato.
Then, suddenly, our path was clear to the temple.
I pointed with my lance. “Advance!” And I was at the head of the charge.
Well, it wasn’t a charge. We did not know what the zombie dragon could do. Even at this distance, I could smell it, which wasn’t a good sign.
“What are we waiting for?” asked the child-mage, Ewan. “It’s just a big stinky dragon…”
“It’s… poison,” Myrrh said. “Don’t get to close, Ephraim.”
“How do we fight… our magic users are still out of range!”
“Leave it to me,” she said firmly, and touched her dragonstone.
I had always thought of Myrrh’s dragon form as being huge, and as showing perhaps her true maturity, but she looked small compared to that rotting pile of bones. It shrieked at her, rattling its skull, pawing the ground.
Determinedly, she made her way closer, then suddenly made a jump forward, pulled her head back, and roared at it. Flames engulfed it, but I could see that it wasn’t going to just fall over. It roared back, spitting purple miasma at her.
I grabbed the end of my cloak, tore it off, and dumped my waterbottle on it. Then I tied it over my face. “Mages, archers, let’s get a little closer and assist Myrrh. Yes, Saleh, you can go in closer. Have healing staves ready, and try not to breath the poison!”
I charged, Sigmund at the ready. I heard other hooves and saw Eirika beside me, her face also wrapped in her cloak.
“Eirika!”
“Shut up, I’m fighting too!”
I spared her a glare, and then we were in among its talons. Sigmund sparked as it chipped the massive bones. A white glowing arrow flicked by and knocked a rib loose, and I grinned approvingly. I saw other sparks from above, and saw Joshua had joined the party with Adhulma the Ice Blade. Did no one know how to follow orders? He was going to get killed…
Healing glows lit up around us, protecting us. As I came around, I saw not all the skeletons had been dealt with. Well, the other generals would have to deal with it. I was dealing with the dragon. Wait, was Innes, no, it was Syrene who was down. Crap.
The zombie dragon swatted at Joshua, who almost lost his footing, but jumped to the relative safety of the temple stone. Then it looked at me. I glared back defiantly, and then it hissed at me.
Lila was knocked off his feet by the sheer intensity of its poisoned breath. I tumbled head over heels for several feet. I don’t think I broke anything… The Sacred Stone! Was it all right?
Myrrh roared in anger, and golden flames swept across the corpse. It withered, lurched, and fell onto its side, releasing one last wave of noxious air.
Lila was struggling to his feet, coughing desperately. Saleh was at his side, healing him, and then turned to me. My lungs hadn’t been affected like Lila’s, but I hadn’t escaped unscathed, either. As I stood, I noticed blood pouring from my arm. There must have been something sharp underneath the surface of the swamp. It didn’t even hurt.
Even as he tried to inspect my arm, I checked on the Sacred Stone. It was all right. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and as I brought it out, my arm healed. Saleh blinked.
Eirika came quickly to me. “Brother! Are you all right?”
“Everything seems to be all right… Uh-oh, what happened to Syrene?”
Innes was carrying Syrene, calling for a healer. Eirika turned with a flick of Aureola’s tail and headed over.
I turned back to the temple and waded over to Myrrh. “Hello, Myrrh.”
“Ephraim.” She seemed tired.
“Thanks for saving us. That was really something.”
She looked up at me. “Thank you. It was nothing.”
I knelt down to her level. “Really?” I asked gently. “What’s wrong?”
Her face was set like stone, a strange look on such a child-like face. “It’s nothing, Ephraim.”
“All right, I’ll let you be,” I said, standing and turning to find Seth and Deussel.
But I felt a tug on my sleeve, and turned back to her. Her self-control was crumbling. “I… I knew that dragon.”
“Oh. Oh. I’m sorry.” I hesitantly reached out, and she flung her arms around me, small body shuddering, but not weeping.
“Once, he was my father.”
Well, blast. I held her tighter. “He’s at rest now, Myrrh.”
She drew a deep breath. “I know. He is free of the Demon King’s tyranny.”
“He is.”
She drew back from me, her implacable calm returning.
“Myrrh. I’m part of your family now. Saleh, Eirika, me, we’re all your family now.”
One side of her mouth turned up almost imperceptibly. “I know. Thank you, Ephraim. I will go let Saleh know I am all right.”
“All right.”
I stood and watched her flit across the battlefield to Saleh’s side. Concern was writ large across the face of the reclusive scholar.
“Prince Ephraim,” I heard, and turned to see Seth and Deussel standing beside me, their horses waiting patiently behind them.
“Gentlemen! Just the people I wanted to see. What is the situation?”
Deussel cracked a broad smile. “While there are some with serious injuries, including General Syrene, most of the army is still in fighting condition and ready to press on whenever you feel ready, my Prince.”
Seth had a slight smile of his own. “The enemy has been entirely neutralized out here, it seems. We should leave a guard for the injured when we descend into this… temple, but it appears that we have exhausted his skeleton army.”
“Good work, gentlemen. Excuse me while I address the troops.”
They saluted, and I turned to the temple. Should I climb partway up the outside? No, too much work. I would just… I called Lila, mounted, and positioned myself so I was framed in front of the entrance. I could see Eirika looking amused in my direction. She knew exactly what I was doing.
I took a deep breath. “Soldiers and warriors! Men and women of Magvel! We have come to the last stand. Within this temple, the Demon King has fled like a rat to his hole. We have him. Now Eirika and I will descend to deal with him. Who’s with us?” About half the army whooped, the other half too exhausted to cheer. But I saw broad grins on most of the faces, and figured it was as good as I was going to get. “Only those willing to come may come. We may not return alive. But even if we do no, our sacrifice will ensure peace for the world of tomorrow.” Instinctively, I checked the sky. It was still late afternoon. We’d head underground with the blessing of the sun, at least. “But know this: we cannot fail. Not while we still have this!” I raised the pouch with the Sacred Stone in it, and the army cheered. I didn’t dare take the Stone out of the pouch. Who knew what assassin might sneak up at the last second and destroy our last hope? Better not to tempt fate.
“Those who are coming,” I cried, “gather with Eirika. The rest of you, set up camp to take care of the wounded for transport. As soon as they are ready, you must begin your journey back to Rausten. There’s no sense hanging around a swamp!”
I turned and peered into the darkness as the excited chatter of the army rose behind me.