Quest The Longest Night

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Erën didn't leave much chance. He brushed past the Minotaur, who he could tell was about to take point, and then on in past Sarek as well.

"I will," he announced and entered confidently into the tower. A few paces in, he turned back to beckon to them that the way was clear. And then, with the flash of lightning the view behind grew bright, and he saw the mists roil up, almost vengefully at their presence.

"Hurry!" he hollered. He'd been immersed in those fogs before, and he was not so quick to be once again.

Draedamyr Toruuk Stoneheart Sarek Valaren Farzad Oldsummer

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

Farzad was... Out of it to say the least. The large demon formed of warping flesh leaving with the body of someone who spoke about as coherently as the demon hounds. It was more the abandoning the youth to his fate that stirred him something fierce.

He only seemed to shake from his stupor from reality when light cascaded with wrath comparable to the gods, the hedge maze bore the brunt with failed determination, he could almost hear the fizzle and pop of vines and tendrils as they were warped and washed by the brilliant beam of frustration. "Right fantastic what's happening I zoned out I was imagining puppies?" He said absently, watching as the party again decided to cheat.

I wonder if, at any point we'll stop cheating.
​

His patience lead him to the arse-end of the party, even Sarek didn't bring issue nor complaint about cheating. Farzad, in the back of his mind screamed otherwise. He walked along behind them, pulling out a rather large scroll, about a foot in length and sealed with wax rather than twine, following along and looking through the sides of the maze. It honestly didn't seem to get better, though he swore he could see the hedge moving angrily, reforming and shaping at a snails pace.

Of course, once he came to the tower, he stayed at the arse end, taking in as much time as he could to circle the tower in full, admiring the work and craftsmanship made tot eh gothic tower. The arched hood's along the walls, the curel figures brandishing foul marks scorned. All in all the thing didn't get any happier the closer he got.

 

[Draedamyr]

Xyrdithas Sarek Valaren Farzad Oldsummer

The staircase rose up around them, few rooms hanging off the centre of the tower. Draedamyr looked upwards. They could see most of the way to the top from the entrance lobby.

He turned to shut the door behind them. The mists were closing in and they were not going to bring anything pleasant with them.

"At least there isn't much room for anything else to hide. If it isn't clear to anyone else, those were demons that came from pandemonium. They don't appear to have left."

 

[Sarek Valaren]

Sarek trundled along after Draedamyr. His initial gut instincts warning about the danger posed by this man only doubled while he was armed. He certainly wanted to have Draedamyr between him and any beast.

"Ah yes... Pandemonium." He spoke, putting on an air of a sophisticated scholar. In reality, it was clear to everyone present that Sarek, unsurprisingly, hadn't a single clue what the elf was referring to and simply went along with it.

He paused for a second, turning his attention to Farzad. His sunken grey eyes fixating on the mage for an unpleasant few seconds, before he chimed up. "What kind of puppies?"

Glancing around the entrance hall, Sarek summoned a sickly green will-o-wisp, to illuminate the area in that hideous purpley-green light he seemed so fond of. The think blinked and petered sporadically, but it's light held and it seemed to follow the disfigured mage mindlessly.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

"At least there isn't much room for anything else to hide. If it isn't clear to anyone else, those were demons that came from pandemonium. They don't appear to have left."

Erën's mouth twitched, and one corner dropped, "These monsters have not been seen for some time," he looked around the darkened hall with the light given from Sarek's illumination, and up along its spiraling staircase, "why would they choose now to reappear?"

It was an empty question, he knew as well as the rest of them the only way they were going to figure that out is if they climbed their way to the top of this monstrosity and discover what rests at its pinnacle. His eyes fell upon the group once more, measuring each of them. Draedamyr and he had done well to fend off the beasts and regroup with Toruuk Stoneheart, with Sarek Valaren and Farzad Oldsummer shortly after had - wait a minute?

He looked at Farzad, a look of amazement on his face. Sarek had shown up looking a little more ghastly, but Farzad...

"Are you okay?" he blankly asked, blinking.

It had been clear to him given the dwindled numbers of their party when all had been said and done that they had most certainly experienced their own trials with the demon hounds while the progressed. But Farzad looked like he'd been dealt a tremendous blow... and almost seemed a little delirious. Perhaps not - humans were strange creatures - but he thought it best to inquire.

"...can you go on?"

 

[Draedamyr]

Farzad Oldsummer Toruuk Stoneheart Xyrdithas Sarek Valaren

Clang...thud...thud..
Clsng...thud...thud..

It came down the stairs one at a time, using its mace as a walking aid. The golem was clearly damaged, but held together by black tendrils that wrapped around its limbs and sank into its chest.

"It's controlled by demons," Draedamyr hissed. "I've seen them do this to people but not..."

The golem opened its mouth, but no sound came out. Draedamyr was certain that it looked down at them in pain. It kept coming.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Erën turned to see the beast which Draedamyr spoke of, brandishing his sword toward it. He stepped closer to his companions for the sake of their collective defense - hesitant to lash out just yet.

It was unlike any creature he'd seen produced by these foul things. But then there was much to him that, since this tower appeared, he realized that he did not comprehend about these strange intruders.

He gauged it, perceiving its plight.

"What... happened to it?"

 

[Toruuk Stoneheart]

Some of the group members were looking a little worse for wear. The mages, of course, were hiding at the back of the group. To be expected, really. A heroic scenario such as this was a prime place for a warrior such as himself, not scholars like them.

"What... happened to it?"

"Does it matter? It's possessed now." The Minotaur announced, squeezing his way into the tower. "May as well smash it t' bits!"

Toruuk cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. A good old fashioned brawl was assuredly about to commence. He was glad that the axes he carried were the Stoneheart heirlooms that they were. Any mundane weapon would've just chipped or shattered on the golem's stone form. Hell, plenty of magic weapons would've suffered the same fate. Not Pomp and Circumstance, though.

He gripped the axes tight and sauntered to the front of the party, waiting for it to descend.
"Any o' you have a problem with me dismantling that thing?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at his diminutive allies and offering a questioning lift of an axe.

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

He seemed to pop and fizzle, eyes growing white and pale as the gears slowly rotated. "I think they were the yellow ones." He replied to Sarek, running a hand along an eye, a long smear of blood being dragged off, tossing it into the blackened stone like mucus from ones throat. He took a long stride into the tower, a hand placed against twisting and vicious architecture, sharp corners, sharp protrusions. Simply a sharp building it seemed.

As he bounded round a corner he heard Xyrdithas pipe up, Farzad hopped on a heel and spun like a weird ballerina using both feet rather than one. It crossed his legs, forming a long X as they crossed before an explosive bounce straightened them both and he simply looked, cocked head and all. "Yes a... A little absent in the mind but there is a lot going on? Have to make sure to absorb it all now rather than later." He replied, not sure exactly what Xyrdithas meant, the blood and gore that lathered his face was a side note, he was too busy in the collective energy that surrounded him. It was rather morose, but he felt he made up for that.

He pipped up to Toruuk, "Do me a single favour, can you try cutting the tendrils first? I have a theory." Farzad stated in kind, noticing the wisping motion, they seemed to be the only things manipulating it but of course there was one problem Farzad saw with everything.

Farzad, in fact. Did not have a Theory.​

 

[Sarek Valaren]

Sarek took a seat next to one of the walls. Carefully, slumped up against a pillar, he withdrew a small pouch - placing a small, greeny ball into his mouth. Crunch. Dried cricket meat from his home in the bayou. It wasn't particularly pleasant, but it filled a hole and after the whole maze experience, Sarek needed a bite to eat.

He watched, wide-eyed and amazed at the giant golem that had arisen into the centre of the room, but he did not move. His magic, one of illness and death, was about as useful as a mesh watering can in this situation, and so he resigned himself to the role of a spectator.

"If any of you are feeling peckish, I have some rations I can share." He omitted to share the fact the rations pushed the known boundaries of edible. His home was not known for its cuisine - far from it. Instead, he simply watched the cow-man, eager to witness the towering minotaur fight the curious automaton.

 

[Draedamyr]

"Any o' you have a problem with me dismantling that thing?"

Draedamyr looked down at his own sword, knowing how useless it would be against the golem. He wouldn't be able to parry a single blow. He scanned the room looking for anything that could be used and came up short. His skill was in defeating men in single combat, not felling golems.

"I'll distract it!" Draedamyr replied. He darted forwards and drew the golem into slamming its mace down, cracking a flagstone. He rushed past it, trying to afford Toruuk a clear shot.

"Do me a single favour, can you try cutting the tendrils first? I have a theory."

"Cut the tendrils?" Draedamyr asked, eyeing the golem. He could try, but would need to get closer. He did not want to get closer.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

"I'll distract it!"

​

Erën nodded his agreement with a grunt, and he followed close after Draedamyr. Had he not expended such energy in getting them here, he may have been able to charge his sword with magic and battle the golum with some effect. But as it was now this was not so, and he, like the elf just ahead of him, was equipped with little else.

As the golum swung its mace, he darted the opposite side as Draedamyr, weaving around its mighty slam and striking out to slide his blade along the tendrils Farzad Oldsummer had mentioned - to no avail.

With one arm the golum sweeped across to deliver a hard blow. He spun his step and ducked under the arm, his sword skidded along its chest with a spark as he dove and rolled away in a desperate escape.

He wasn't going to try that again.

Toruuk Stoneheart Sarek Valaren

​

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

He slapped his hands up and down, knocking off some old dirt and refuse. "Welp. Good try team." He stated rather absently, the gambit had failed, tendrils seemed to slither around the blades and the golem moved with autonomous apathy. He walked over to Sarek, "Yes actually I am quite hungry." He said, matching the constructs apathy with his own as he took a few, biting into the harsh carcasses, his face spurned into a pinch.

"Sarek. That was foul."
​

He said, shaking his head and slapping his face once. Time for the mages to put in some effort. He pulled out a small tattered scroll, he looked at the wax seal. He narrowed his eyes, wiped away with a twist a spattering of blood and made out the colouration. "Ah perfection. Black." He stated absently, putting a thumbnail underneath the seal and prying it up.

It didn't take long, text shone to life with colour, ancient emblems and old symbology appeared and manifested a few inches creating an intricate third dimensional shape from the second dimensional paper.

"La Dalipade Firawle"​

His words came out more like a hymn, light fizzing and popping, a small wave of black distress flew forward and crackled out, tiny leching arms that fell out from the mainstream, wavering to the sheer weight of reality like old bubbles. The golems leg was cracked upon the stream... And nothing seemed to happen. The golem still moved with unphased apathy, Farzad giving a sniffle as he put a hand out to Sarek, clearly getting an odd taste for the crickets. "Right. So. Who here knows how to use the elements?" He mused allowed to the fighting trio as he and Sarek were far less inclined. "Because now. He should absorb the elements." He stated incorrectly.

 

[Sarek Valaren]

"I never guaranteed it'd be good food. If it's edible, it's still food." He said triumphantly, crunching down audibly on some salted cricket jerky. He supposed some spices would make the meat nice, but generally, they just used random colourful plants they found growing in the toxic mire waters. Needless to say, it took a lot of accidental poisonings and throwing up to get this recipe right.

"So Farzy, did you actually have a theory... Or...?" He spoke in a whisper, nudging his new companion. Sarek had seen snippets of how the colourful mage worked and he couldn't shake the feeling he just made things up as he went along.

Carefully, he passed a few of his dried crickets over towards Farzad and smiled. He wasn't much use right now or at least hadn't been until Farzad had done his usual stumbling. But now it was his time to shine.

The pestilence mage trudged towards the Golem without a care in the world.

"Right... Stand back... and uh, cover your noses." As he finished, he inhaled a deep breath and suddenly exhaled a noxious plume of visible gas towards the golem. While he couldn't control the elements, not the traditional elements anyway, he could certainly make some very flammable corpse gas.

A tinder box came out of his pocket and, as the Golem made his way steadily towards Sarek, a spark was made.

The gas exploded and, suddenly, the flames 'whooshed' sucking into the Golem as he absorbed the fire. The intense flame, condensed within his body, caused him to drip and melt. Before collapsing into a puddle.

He shook off the light singing he received and turned towards the group.

"Shall we carry on?"

 

[Draedamyr]

"Well," said Draedamyr, slipping his sword into its sheath. "I am glad that we were able to distract it long enough."

The sarcasm in his voice was almost undetectable. Almost. He looked to the stairs. A crack of thunder made the entire tower shake. Dust hissed as it tumbled down from the old stones.

The stairs wound upwards. Draedamyr was exhausted from the maze and the golem, but he pushed through it. They ended up before a simple wooden door. Nothing to suggest this was the end of some arduous journey.

He looked to the others and reached for the handle. With a shove he threw the door open, bringing the hand back to the hilt of his sword and raising it high.

There was no one inside. In the middle of the room was a lump of dull grey rock. It was attached to a rod of metal that ran from the floor to the ceiling. On the far side of the room was a desk. Several broken quills, ink stains and empty wells but no paper. There was a large bowl of rock, smooth on the outside and full of glittering crystals on the inside. It was filled with water. The surface held an odd sheen.

Draedamyr looked for another door. There wasn't one. If anyone cared to look into the water, something would look back. From dull red mists, many eyes would watch anyone who stood over the bowl.

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

Did I have a theory?
​

The thought rolled through his head as another harsh crunch of insect carapace became like a skull to a hammer between his teeth. He couldn't remember. He gave a large smile and repeated, "By Eleth no." It was a hearty response as he took a few steps forward, the Golem exploding into a show of rock, withering fades of black and a combustion that scorched the dark walls darker.

He took a few steps before the tower seemed to rumble in rage, his whole body half knocked over as dust was uplifted from crack and crevice, rolling down like old fog down dirty stairs. He quickly patted himself off though. This was odd. The Golem fell too easily. He had done exploring long enough to know the easiest part is getting into the dungeon, the hardest part is fighting through it. This tower, was reversed.

He followed behind Draedmyr, specifically, behind everyone. Ass end of the party was where he was and where he planned on staying. He looked to Sarek, "Hey, didn't whatever happened to that lone Ranger survivor?" He brought up rather idly as the party came to a halt at the simple door. The air seemed oppressive. No matter how hard he kept in good spirits he could feel it all waning and dragging it out. Exhaustion was kicking in, and they'd still have yet to do the return trip.

The door whizzed open and...
​

Nothing? It was rather underwhelming. He didn't see a door leading out of there either. Just a small crystal bowl with what amounted to a sprinkler on top. He, immediatly. Went to investigate. He peered into the water, his eyes matching the red orbs. What is that old saying? I stared into the void and it stared back? He mused, his head almost at a ninety degree angle as he looked at the unknowable thing. He didn't know what to do. He presented himself with two options. Either touch it, or use magic on it.

He done both.
​

"Sil, Pulae Bulgel"

​

A scroll at his leg unfurled, the wax seal breaking off on it's own and he became wrapped in a thin veil of magic. Pure magic. Potent like undiluted cordial sorta stuff. It rolled around his figure, slowly seeping and following along his hand, focusing and coalescing into a single amorphous shape of twinkling starlight. He proceeded, a hand of pure magic, to dip into the pool of water.

This, is a terrible idea. Farzad's potential last thoughts.​

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Erën breathed a sigh of relief that the wizards had managed to deal with their golem issue. He braced himself as the tower shook, and his eyes ascended the stairs, dread washing over his features. He was not looking forward to this climb. But, despite his fatigue which was no doubt shared with the others they managed their way along.

In through the door, Erën also brandished his sword. He was concerned by the lack of resistance since the golem, but was content to accept that for the moment. He took a quick look around, and drew close to peer in through the crystalline water.

What he saw startled him to his very core.

He recoiled, but betrayed little of his perturbation and instead said with some retaining of his composure, "by Nykios, what manner of demon is that."

His eyes fell to Farzad as he watched him begin his...

Oh boy...

Draedamyr Toruuk Stoneheart Sarek Valaren Farzad Oldsummer

 

[Draedamyr]

G'thallan watched back as Farzad Oldsummer reached for the pool. The vision stone allowed them to watch the small creatures as they milled about the tower. Its agent had long since departed, using a distraction to slow them down. It could not reach them, only observe.

Yet as soon as the magic touched the surface G'thallan felt a tremor of a connection. The Ascendant had long ago mastered the art of change, of twisting soul and body and magic. It reached out and twisted.

Farzad would feel a flash of heat. A spark flared from the pool to the metal pole running through the centre of the room.

Draedamyr braced, but nothing happened. Then he felt the hairs on his neck start to stand on end. Whole strands of hair that had fallen from his braids stood up.

"Wha..."

A blinding light came simultaneously with a raw of thunder. He staggered, blind and dead until he hit the wall. With each blink his vision slowly returned. The air tasted acrid, smoke rose from the rock in the middle of the room.

"Is everyone..."

But before he could finish five demons snapped into existence in the room with them. He knew the feel of that magic. It had been like a portal stone.

 

[Sarek Valaren]

Sarek chewed loudly on some more salted cricket meat. Say what you will, but it certainly was moreish however disgusting. Remembering his place, he passed around some cricket meat to everyone. It was good practice being polite.

Content to watch Farzad be Farzad, Sarek took in the majesty of the strange bowl. His mind wandered to where he would place such a pretty object within his home, a centrepiece for certain.

Then he smelled it. He'd never formally been trained to sense magic, but he'd always had a knack for smelling it. The scent of curdled milk assailed his senses and he knew something was about to unleash.

"Farzad look ou-" He screamed before the blinding light assaulted him.

Five silhouettes petered into existence, each one revealing itself to be a terrible and cruel-looking demon. Sarek sighed, withdrew his makeshift spear-staff and subtly strode beside Draedamyr.

"Uhh... So chief... You're the expert... How do we kill these bad boys - are they magic proof too?" He spoke nervously towards the elf.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

The shockwave was well enough to lift him off his feet, and like the others he was propelled away from the bowl and he rolled across the floor into the wall. He let out a deep groan as he climbed up to his hands and knees, canting his head to look back to the desk and the bowl Farzad had provoked.

Foolish humans...

"Is everyone..."

He blinked as he drew in his breath. And then they were there. Their appearance startled him, but beholding their forms he measured them actually to be far less intimidating than the hounds. In his estimation, paired with the prowess of his kin and perhaps the usefulness of at least one of these... "wizards," he would dissect the foul abominations.

From where he was he launched himself forward, bounding for the one furthest right.

Draedamyr Sarek Valaren Farzad Oldsummer ​

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

Mistakes were made
​

He couldn't lie. He was happy that his last thought wasn't This is a terrible idea. The only downside, was he now had to live with the consequences if he made it out. The flash and caw of thunder and power forced his body with a gross jerk, his body flung over the tepid pool of water, his form hanging half upside down and braced against the wall like some frog but slid as if he couldn't manage to keep his grip.

His vision was a haze of white speckles, like the world around him hadn't properly rendered in. It reminded him of old Teleportation magic, the ones that seemed like your sense were still catching up to you when you arrived.He looked with wild abandon as the slunk form seemed to slip in and out of his blind spots, Farzad a haze of motion, dizzy and struggling as he grabbed his quarterstaff and tried to peer through the aching cough of acrid smoke that filled the biomelike cruel gas gleefully sucking the joy out of him. He gave a wild haymaker of a swing of his staff, the length cracking against skin. One small... He paused, he could feel his grip loosening, like his fingers were becoming soft. Almost like the intangible feeling of trying to grip something when you became a ghost. It slowly slid out of his hands as the white speckles slowly faded out, faltering like stars to the dawn of the sun and the new light brought horrors with it.

It was a mockery of man, like all demons. It stood with a gross and gaunt figure, like someone had stretched out a human but forgot to add more bones. It's teeth seemed to slide around it's mouth, a foul and snake like tongue lashing out as it seemed to twirl the staff around it with objective ease. His mind slowly trickled with knowledge. The gaunt shape, the skill with his staff. "Ah I get it." He mused aloud, grabbing a scroll, "You are an amalgamation of me aren't you? Copying my form and skill. I get it, this whole tower, it's a metaphor for our inner demons." He stated, there was a slight slur to his words, and even by Farzad standards, an absence of thinking things through. If words was a river and his mouth was the dam, the dam was broken and the river was coming like a riot.

"Therefore. If you are nothing more than some gaunt copy of me..." He moved into actions. He calculated where the staff was, the position of it's arm. It gave a slight twitch of the shoulder. Farzad knew what was coming. He calculated. "It should come from here!" He screamed, a decided war cry as he held a scroll in his hand.

Crack.

Bang.​

Wheeze.
​

He was wrong.
​

The arm vanished from the ground and returned to the demon as Farzad was made a firework in the air and came out with a bang as the colourful display smashed into the wall, he was cracked in the side of the ribs, old and dried blood splattered from his face as a long trail of saliva followed. The thing hit with the force of a Minotaur, and than some, his natural instincts the only thing holding his spell scroll in hand. "Ah son of a bitch this isn't a metaphor!" He screamed, the cruel and vicious figure walking with a mcking gait. The arm returned to place and rose and twisted the staff, gleeful and spindly arms raised high as his broken body was cracked into the ground, "Why couldn't I be born a halfbrain beefcake..." He mused, as the creature towered over Farzad. Welp... Here we go again...

 

[Draedamyr]

Draedamyr had no great advice for everyone. There was only one option now: to survive. There were few things that he knew about this demon kind. They could not survive outside of the mists for long, but they had plenty of time to kill the group. They enjoyed twisting and reshaping magic and flesh to their own needs. Steel and Iron were the only things they could not shape. Dependable steel.

A demon launched itself at Draedamyr before he could utter a warning or word of encouragement. He dropped to the floor, still struggling to see.

He lashed out with his sword on instinct, feeling it connect with something. He also felt a great streak of pain as something connected back.

"Just don't use magic on them directly!" he hissed. He found his feet and staggered back, feeling his own blood soaking his tunic. The demon struck the wall and turned around, bleeding black ichor from its own wound.

 

[Sarek Valaren]

Sarek shuddered to himself. His magic levels had diminished significantly since they first started, but not enough to render him a deadweight in combat. That said, the fact these beasts were resistance to magic, did render him a deadweight.

He sighed, flourishing his makeshift spear and slowly a sickly green light enveloped his body and weapon. He wasn't foolhardy enough to try and charge these beasties, but he could at least prepare himself for what was to come.

Sarek breathed. He was going to have to charge one with reckless abandon. He could see his pal Farzad in trouble and so, without thinking himself out of it, Sarek ran as fast as his lame legs could take him.

It felt like running into a brick wall, the creature easily turned his spear away and knocked Sarek into one of the far walls with an easy swipe of his arm.

Thankfully, at least for Farzad, the demon now found its attention shifting towards Sarek.

Unfortunately, for Sarek, the beast was now turning its attention to him.

"Uh, Farzy ol' pal... I don't suppose you have any 'in case of demons, unfurl here' scrolls in your pouch."

 

[Farzad Oldsummer]

The tip of the staff cracked into his body with gruesome force, the figure of rusted red slipped higher and higher like every pounding of his heart gave it the right to grow. Farzad was pressed against the wall, and the scroll he grabbed wasn't suited for this predicament. Shit... Do I use regular magic? He thought to himself, he could feel a tiny fractal of magic pulsate in his hand, he could concentrate it. Fuel it. Control it... He thought to himself, his attention focused on the demon as it cracked at his side again with a mockery of his staff.

It slipped a few inches taller, took a step forward and pressed it's leg down on Farzad's leg, a snarl of miasma fueled and stemmed from it's mouth as Farzad looked at what could only be described as a broken mirror. He cried in pain as the demon lurched over, he was outmatched. And worse yet, he was unarmed. He curled his fingertips with the scroll, magic pulsated and cried to be let free. To unfurl. To show him what it could do. he took in a deep breath, the little streams of pure magic still slathered his hand. He had forgotten about it, but it was almost like fuel to the fire. He could feel his magic starting to pop and crackle in his hand. He gripped tightly to his scroll. He looked at his hand, than at the demon.

No... No... He screamed internally, verbally letting out a wail of pain as the demon twisted it's foot and Farzad's leg with it, Farzad raised the scroll up, his eyes cindered and burnt as his internal magic tried to burst out, become free, it crackled in his hand and erupted into flame, the parchement scroll caught in the wildfire as the magic refused to be denied like some petulant child. But it didn't matter. Not by much.

"Bel Firwale Delidore"
​

He erupted in fire. An explosion consumed his body and split into the rock and face of the tower, the Demon was injured, but not justifiably so as, but far less so than the tower. The light from the outside sizzled in through dust, debris and damage. Cracks in the stone slipped in light as Farzad had vanished, his body flung and consumed in the fire and blast.

There was nothing left. Except Farzad's words lost on trailing winds.​

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Erën moved swiftly, his aim set. His body cried from the pain of the blast, but with the aid of the collective consciousness he stifled the agony and carried forward with light, diligent steps. The creatures moved to attack.

Erën's foot slammed hard, and he whirled around to the demon's side as it lunged at him. He struck at it, but it evaded his swing and plowed the side of its arm into him. It lifted him, but as he was shoved back he twisted around snd plunged the sword into its neck, ravaging it grievously before the force shoved him away. He hopped on his foot, and his back slammed into the wall.

A second demon was upon him, and its razor limb shot out at him. He moved, the blade finding purchase just below his armpit.

He roared, a sound almost more akin to some barbarian's battle-cry. He placed his free hand against the beast and shoved. A kick to its leg as it stumbled back, and in a blur he spun around twice and the demon fell into three sizeable chunks.

He lunged to attack another - engaged with Draedamyr, bur he was intercepted by the monster that had been charred by Farzad. It slammed into him, breaking his balance and causing him to fall into a roll - and the creature bore down on him.