Think I'm back on top of things now so expect the next chapter Tuesday as usual. Quite a complicated and challenging section to write and I needed to get my head around a few things, but I think it's solved now so the next chapters should be easier again. Hope you like it!
Demons came at them from all directions—a crushing mass of pale flesh, claws, and snapping jaws. They emerged from the shadows of the surrounding walls and poured down the road in a shrieking flood. Dozens, but not hundreds, and Karlac had instructed them not to kill.
The main problem was that they were surrounded.
Bud, Emilia, Dylan formed a triangle around Hump and Nishari, preparing for the encroaching wave. Celaine was elsewhere, lost beyond the bodies. Above it all, watching with a sick smile, was Karlac.
Hump tried to cast Rivers of Lava—a single cast of it and he could wipe out the whole horde—but the moment his essence gathered, Hellfire descended, forcing him to go on defence once again. He had to hold back both his essence and focus just to deal with the threat of Karlac.
The moment the demons struck, it was a desperate tangle. The three of them worked together to keep the creatures off them. It became a desperate tangle. Bud sliced of heads and limbs. Emilia danced back and forth, supporting the others with her rapier and killing those that closed in. Dylan had grown a number of vines and used them like pointed clubs, bashing back bodies or piercing them. Hump sent waves of Fire Blast into the demons where he could.
Soon, a circle had formed around them, the demons pressing in on each other to force the front line closer, but their own desire to live overriding that previous ravenous hunger. Many had died already, yet still Karlac only watched in amusement. The demons couldn’t kill, but that didn’t stop them going for their limbs.
The fighting was brutal. If Hump used his defensive spells, Karlac would intervene, destroying his shields. It forced him to rely on Parry Shield if any demons did make it through.
Outnumbered and surrounded, their options were limited. They were all taking hits. Pain seared down Hump’s back as a demon managed to get its claws on him, only for Nisha to tear it away. His breath caught and he breathed deep against the pain. His battle robes had stopped it from tearing him open, but he felt the warm flow of blood down his skin. Dylan’s blessings already went to work repairing the damage, but it was clear they couldn’t stay here. He had cuts and grazes on his arms and legs, but nothing that had pierced his robes.
Karlac was toying with them. It didn’t matter how many of his demons they killed. He could end it whenever he wanted. He just wanted to watch them dance. They couldn’t keep on like this. Caught in an unfamiliar place, and surrounded on all sides, Hump couldn’t even spot an escape path. Tall walls lined both sides of the road leading up to the main plateau with the temples, but he couldn’t even tell if they were safe.
Suddenly, a figure fell from above—Celaine. She landed in a swoop of shadow, her cloak billowing around her as she landed beside him.
“I was worried about you,” Hump said.
“I’ve found a path out,” she said. “Right side, now. Clear a way to the wall.”
Hump didn’t need more explanation than that. He levelled his staff toward the wall. The focus billowed with fire. “Scorching Ray.”
A torrent of fire erupted, wide as a cart wheel, roaring as it tore through the horde. Demons screamed as they were burned apart, bodies splitting and collapsing in charred heaps. The tide of flesh parted.
“Move!” Hump roared.
Bud went first, surging through the opening, Emilia at his side, the two of them forcing a path forward through what remained. Steel and Frostfire carved a corridor through the carnage. Dylan followed, vines crashing outward to widen the gap, holding back anything that tried to reach them.
They reached the wall, blackened from where Hump’s spell had struck it.
“Make stairs, Hump,” Celaine said, leaping to the top of the wall and launching a barrage of shadow arrows back behind her, felling a row of approaching demons. “Nisha, come!”
The dragon launched herself up with a few quick flaps of her wings, helping to secure the top of the area above and where she could be away from the worst of the danger.
The others turned, forming a brief line as demons surged again, buying a precious few seconds. Hump used them to manipulate the white stone wall, forming a rudimentary staircase up to the top of the wall.
A deep roar bellowed through the demon ranks. They separated, allowing the large, bulking captain of Karlac’s to race forward, axe overhead. Bud moved to intercept, a wall of ice forming between them but the demon simply slice straight through it, a yellow beam shooting upward along the path of his swing. Bud was forced to block with his sword, blade catching axe. His feet cracked the ground beneath them from the impact.
Dylan was above them then, spinning through the air and descending, his staff growing in size and crashed downward, forcing the demon back. The smaller demon grabbed at the air and Dylan screamed, suddenly moving away from them, caught in some telekinetic grip. He caught himself with his vines and drew himself back to the wall, landing atop it with Celaine.
It was enough time though. The stairs expanded from the wall, Hump and the others followed.
Above, on the plateau, there were fewer demons. A temple was not fifty paces ahead of them, a few shrines and smaller buildings between them and it. Hump saw no sign of people, but a few demons lurked, while more still clawed their way out from the shadows. There were no trees. No water fountains. Nothing that showed any sign of life. Only mute, lifeless statues and buildings that looked washed out of any colour.
Hellfire bombarded their backs. Hump caught most of it, but an ember managed to reach Dylan’s shoulder, his razorclaw armour catching. He dropped to the ground, rolling to try and put it out, but it only made it worse. With another barrier, Hump wiped it from the druid’s body and sent it flying into the air where it consumed his essence and burnt itself out.
Dylan’s shoulder was burned, but he didn’t slow, back on his feet in a heartbeat even as his essence went to work repairing the damage.
Behind them, Karlac laughed. “There’s nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.”
They sped across the ground, quickly felling those at their front while Celaine kept their flank clear. With a final push, Hump broke through the stone wall of the temple, creating a breach for them to pass through. Masonry cracked and gave way, chunks of ancient structure collapsing outward as they forced their way in.
Hump turned as he stepped inside.
Karlac was coming, but he was in no hurry. His spear was still in hand as he drifted through the air with slow, deliberate ease, his captains just behind him, leading his horde. The hulking brute leapt up from the path below, dragging its axe across the stone as it walked, while the slender one glided just beyond, eyes fixed on them
Hump felt a chill at the sight. They knew something. Something about this place that gave them confidence. He didn’t know what. Karlac seemed to know something about this place that the rest of them didn’t. At the very least, that no gods were here. But how could that be possible if they’d only just arrived.
Without taking his eyes from them, Hump waved his staff and reformed the wall behind them. The brickwork was replaced by smooth stone now that it was formed by his magic, but it would hide them from view.
“Now what?” Bud asked Celaine.
“What do you mean now what?” Celaine snapped. “I got us this far. We’re not surrounded anymore. The rest of you can figure something out now!”
Thuds sounded on the outside of the wall as demons tried to force their way inside. There was a bellowed roar, and Hump envisioned the hulking captain charging.
“Talk while we move,” Emilia said, leading them deeper into the temple.
“We set a trap,” Hump said. “Karlac is arrogant and overconfident. Celaine and I hurt him before. Together, we can kill him.”
“Trap him how?” Dylan asked.
“Not sure yet,” Hump said. “How do we kill a demon of his strength?”
“If he was alone, I think we could take him,” Celaine said.
Hump slowed for half a step, then nodded. “I think you’re right.” The idea clicked into place. “So we don’t trap Karlac. We trap everything else.”
The others looked at him, only for them all to turn back as a thundering crash echoed through the hall. Far behind them, dust and stone rose up. The demons were in. Hump raised his staff, collapsing the roof behind them with a contained use of Cataclysmic Eruption. Rubble filled the hallway at their back, and they were moving again.
“We take away his numbers,” Hump continued. “Kill his captains, break his ranks, then isolate him before he can call on more reinforcements. He probably expects us to try and target him. He wants to play with us. Drag it out and make us suffer. So we give him that. We fall back. Let him corner us. Then we wipe them all out at once.”
“What if he decides to stop playing?” Dylan asked.
“The threat of that never goes away,” Emilia said. “At least this way, we might be able to use it to our advantage.”
“There’s a bigger problem too,” Hump added. “Karlac can shut me down. I’ll need someone to distract him so that I can wipe out his army.”
“I could do it,” Celaine said. “Pretend the trap is for him. Lure them all in while I prepare to strike. I take aim at him, and when he thinks he’s beaten us, you unveil the trap.”
Hump glanced at her and frowned. But she was the obvious choice. They needed someone fast who could actually threaten him. “Sounds like as good a plan as we have time for. Emilia, find a place for us to stage it.”
She nodded and moved on ahead.
The halls were wide and imposing. He imagined it once full of worshippers, yet now it was empty. Thick carpets muffled their steps, their one-rich colours dulled by centuries of dust. The walls were painted in deep reds and blues, lined with gold-framed artwork depicting scenes of conquest, worship, and gods. They were definitely of the Pantheon. He recognised Lady Light in many of them, along with others of the Twelve, and some more unfamiliar lesser gods.
Nothing was broken, looted, or disturbed. It was as if this place had simply been abandoned.
“I see no sign of any fighting here,” Dylan said quietly. “But why would anyone abandon this place?”
“No idea.”
Emilia led them through a set of towering doors into a vast chamber beyond and stopped. There were feasting tables, laden with golden plates that were filled with what looked like fresh food. Fine glasses, fountains of wine and other drinks, spread out along them. A feasting hall somehow preserved in time. At the far end, beyond a grand altar, a statue loomed, almost as tall as the ceiling itself. The figure held a goblet in one hand and a haunch of meat in the other. An expression of indulgence on its face.
Hump frowned. He didn’t recognise the figure.
“Is this not a temple of the Pantheon?” Hump asked.
“Uvdar,” Bud said quietly.
Hump looked again. Now he saw it. Not the monstrous depictions he grew up with, but some of the traits were there. He was always depicted like a villain. A bloated body, ravenous eyes, an insatiable hunger. That hunger was there even now.
“This must have been from before he fell,” Hump said.
“Will it work for the trap?” Emilia asked. “The demons will need to funnel in through these doors. Celaine can position herself on top of the statue and target Karlac, while the rest of us will flee out that.” She pointed at some doors at the back. “Those doors lead outside. It’ll force them into a tight group.”
A dull impact echoed from somewhere deeper in the temple.
Then another.
Closer.
They were coming.
“What if they come in from another angle?” Celaine asked.
“I checked. The demons chose going through the wall rather than around it. Worst case scenario, if they do find the way in, we can go back the way we came and break out through the wall again. We’ll need to reassess then.”
Another crash. The doors on the other side of the chamber shuddered. Dust fell from the ceiling.
“We don’t have time to perfect this,” Hump said. “Can you make it work?”
“I’ll find a way,” Celaine said. “Go.”
She vanished into the shadows, disappearing atop the statue. Hump and the others raced for the great doors at the back of the room just as the doors slammed open, demons chasing after them.
Hump watched her go for half a heartbeat, then turned and ran across the chamber toward the doors leading outside. Behind them, the side doors exploded inward, splintering as demons poured through—screaming, clawing, flooding into the sanctum.
Emilia was first to push through the doors. She held them open as they passed through, only for Bud to slam them shut, bracing himself against it, armour grinding as he held the doors closed with sheer strength. Ice formed around his feet, anchoring him in place. It crystalised over the door in thick layers, reinforcing and holding it shut.
It wouldn’t last forever. Cracks were already forming.
Hump prepared himself, spellbook in one hand, staff in the other. Essence churned in his focus, and he held it tight, careful not to let the power inside slip out. It had to be kept condensed. So much so that nothing leaked out, but that he could still unleash his spell at a moment’s notice.
Prepared, he gave a nod to Bud. The knight stepped back, his door of ice shattering. The door broke into pieces, and the demons scrambled to get through the gaps first, driven by frenzied hunger. Bud and Dylan held them back with Frostfire and Grasping Vines.
Beyond, floating at the centre of Uvdar’s holy sanctum, was Karlac. He seemed to be appreciating the beauty of it all, his gaze slowly turning toward Hump.
“Enough of that,” Karlac said, taking aim with his spear, Hellfire manifesting at its point. “I—”
An arrow hit him in the back.
He seemed shocked. A flash of blinding light filled the entire chamber as Celaine’s shot struck true, the impact bursting against him in a surge of silver and darkness. An explosion shook the whole room, and Karlac went flying, crashing into the stone.
Hump couldn’t help but smile. They had come far since the Infernal Halls, and now Karlac would come to regret his arrogance.
For a fraction of a second, there was stillness, even the demons caught in shock.
Then Hump unleashed his essence. “Rivers of Lava.”
The stone floor split with a deafening crack, lines of molten light racing outward in jagged veins before the entire chamber gave way. The ground heaved like a living thing, and then the world broke. Pillars of lava tore upward in roaring columns, vast and furious, flooding the sanctum in blazing ruin.
Demons were caught mid-charge, their shrieks cut short as they were swallowed by the rising tide. Some were dragged under, limbs clawing uselessly at the molten surge, while others desperately fled to escape the chamber. The press of the horde collapsed in an instant, reduced to burning shapes and ash as the chamber became a furnace.
Celaine dropped from the statue, landing on a table before launching herself from the room with Spring Step.
Behind her, something moved in the fire.
The lava surged and split.
A shockwave tore through the chamber, blasting molten rock outward as a shape forced its way through the inferno. Heat bent around him, flames recoiling as if driven back by sheer will. Karlac stepped forward from the heart of the eruption, wreathed in fire, his armour glowing like a forge and his ruined eye burning brighter than the flames themselves. Celaine’s arrow was till in his shoulder.
His smile was gone now.