Chapter 43: Enclave XIII

Chapter 43: Enclave XIII

I felt the darkness call to me. Somehow, I knew, even in the addled depths of my mind, that all I had to do was breathe, and it would all be over. Just open my mouth and suck in, and I could go back to a different time. It had been so peaceful. Studying, learning magic, making new friends. The childhood I never had. The enclave was a civilized place. So different from Uskar.

Only something had happened that changed all that. Something. I couldnt quite put my finger on it. I didnt want things to change.

But. Another concept took hold, almost too abstract to cling onto.

What if I didnt come back this time. I didnt want to die. I couldnt die. There was someone I was supposed to protect. A promise I made. A resolve firmed within me.

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My head struck something hard and cold. My vision returned. I was floating immersed in water. The memories came back in a flash of panic. I dove into the water, and something exploded.

A long layer of ice had formed over the surface of the lake, covering my head. My breath burned in my chest, begging for release. Beside me, a dark shape struggled, pounding at the ice.

Blackened hands, fingers breaking

I pushed the memory away, turning inward, finding my center. It occurred to me suddenly that Id drank a potion of iron lung. I didnt need to breathe, I just wanted to. I swam over to the struggling shape beneath the water. Overhead, countless projectiles flew back and forth. The ones descending a higher elevation must be coming from the towerwhich meant the lower ones were whatever was left of Ralakoss men, firing from the shore.

I reached the struggling shape, darting backwards when they tried to cling on to me. Extending my hand out so it was clear to see, I called the flame, holding it to the ice above us. It burned a hole clean through. I widened it a bit, and guided him to itit was Relyre, I thinkthen burned another hole in the ice for myself.

Air never tasted so sweet.

I spotted another struggling dark shapeNephdosand did the same for him, and then guided him over to where Relyre was.

Slowly, carving holes as we went, we moved slowly towards the shore. We made it about half-way. Nephdos was still in a full-blown panic, clawing at the holes, trying desperately to get out when the ice cracked in a dull spiderweb of cracks and fissures.

Fuck.

The response was immediate. A spear of magma crashed into the ice, crushing Nephdos and bringing the surrounding water to an immediate boil. My face and arms stung and blistered. I kicked away, Relyre beside me. Something came up behind us in a blur and touched my back. I was propelled forward, body cresting the surface and slamming back into it as a jet of water propelled me forward, gagging and sputtering until I hit the shore, rolling up on it in a tangle of limbs.

An infernal man I didnt recognize dragged me up by the back of my armor and pulled me towards the rounded bubble Erdos and his men stood insome sort of permeable shield they cast spells through. I hacked and coughed up water. From the side, another man ran up my rescuer and tackled him to the ground, stabbing him over and over as he screamed, glowing orange particles ebbing and flowing as he tried to form a spell, his arm eventually falling slack and extending towards me.

A fireball hit maybe a yard away, catapulting me to the side. I landed badly, my elbow smashing into my ribs, and something cracked. The ringing in my ears deafened me and for a moment I panicked, spinning around, looking for Thoth amongst the carnage, before realizing how moronic that was. She wasnt here. If she were, Id already be dead.

My hands were still shaking after hours in the tunnel. I had a cracked rib, and my left hip hitched with every step, giving me a debilitating limp.

It wasnt a fast process. Relyre would focus on the stone in front of us, small fissures building until it finally cracked open. I used my flame to give him light, but without anything to set on fire the illumination was dismal at best. Relyre had some analysis method to detect parallel caverns in the earthmeaning we at least knew we were heading towards somethingbut that just meant we were being efficient. It didnt do anything to speed up our actual process. He collapsed, panting, spent once again. I reached into my satchel and fished out another stamina potion, handing it to him.

He took it, bemused. You have a whole apothecary in there?

That was the last one.

Damn me for asking, Relyre said. His face was covered in a thin film of dust he no longer bothered to wipe off. We might be close enough that it dont matter.

Might?

Might, Relyre confirmed, Its closer than it was before, but farther than Id like it to be.

I silently reminded myself that the man was saving my life, and it was incredibly improper to go on angry tirades on the subject of specificity to someone in the process of doing you that large of a favor. So instead, pressed my back against the wall as he meditated and tried to regain some mana of my own.

Finally, I couldnt take the silence anymore. Do you think Erdos is dead?

Hes a cantankerous old geezer, but Relyres face sagged. There sure were a lot of them.

Relyre stood and tore the tunnel asunder, finally leading us out of the claustrophobic tunnel into a surface cave. We were still deep in the known cave network, but it felt a damn sight safer compared to where we came from.

Guemon. I didnt share my suspicions, but it had to be him. I was honestly surprised he hadnt taken a swipe at me earlier. The bastard had bided his time well, but he made a mistake underestimating the sense of duty upheld by Ralakoss men. I started to strategize, running through the most efficient ways to run him into the ground, cursing my lack of foresight for distancing myself from infernal politics since the trial.

I was so deep in thought I ran straight into Relyres back.

Relyre? Whats

Words left me. My gut twisted, awash in nausea. The cavern mouth was elevated by around a hundred feet, providing a full view of the enclave. Above the city, the artificial sun had shifted to a vivid crimson, dyeing the city in bloody rays.

A thousand dark shapes infested the city like insects.

The enclave was overrun.