Chapter 18

All three warriors paused for the briefest moment. Then one by one, a red circle appeared before them. It was a wreath of pumping blood vessels from which blood spurted. The blood splashed in the air surrounding the wreath, then returned to other open blood vessels in an eternal cycle.

Jorge’s health dropped to 50%, Henrick’s health dropped to 50%, and only after a brief pause did Seeud’s health drop to 50% as well.

Samantah worked fast to draw out three gold orbs of healing, and then shot them forward before drawing out three more.

“Heal them,” she said, continuing to draw orbs from her Toppirius Lantern.

Antoine’s Hawk buffeted the warriors with waves of healing wind. Then the healer tossed two Pyrrhon’s potions to each warrior. I cast Zekaidean’s Anvil. The ghostly outline of a winged hammer chimed on an ethereal anvil and the chiming of angels began. Gold light blasted from each hammer strike. +2 health to all.

Jorge leapt forward, shield held aside to his left. His right hand brought his short sword down and struck the boss across an arm. As soon as he landed, another Jorge appeared where he’d previously been. The second Jorge leapt up and repeated the exact same attack, deepening the wound. Instead of landing atop the real Jorge, it entered his body as though it were a soul returning. The warrior’s power technique wasn’t over yet. A third Jorge repeated the same thing.

At nearly the same time, Henrick used his power technique as well. He took a firm stance and started floating. He floated up to the boss’s head and hovered there unmoving. However, I heard Henrick’s furious battlecries. I heard his sword slash in three strikes. Even though he didn’t move the entire time, pieces of antler fell away, having been cleanly sliced through. Henrick’s power technique ended when he floated back to where he’d been—still unmoving.

From our healing—most of which was covered by Samantah—all three warriors returned to full health. Zekaidean’s Anvil chimed its fifteenth time. Seeud’s health had just reached full when his power technique finally activated. He rushed in with his cleaver raised, but by then, the boss had staggered back to his feet and swiped Seeud’s cleaver from his hands. Both warrior and weapon were sent tumbling back.

The boss’s health was nearly down to halfway. If only Seeud wasn’t slowed down! Samantah continued her barrage of golden orbs. She worked tirelessly. The gold halo around the lantern was surely depleting. It looked like the artifact’s mana had another three rounds of this left.

With a few more of Antoine’s seemingly endless supply of potions, and two castings of Seven of Gryf, Seeud returned to full health. Since Seeud was the only one damaged, I had chosen the healing with less cost. I planned to use Zekaidean’s anvil when the warriors used their power techniques again, since the spell could heal multiple targets at once.

I had 30 points of mana left, if I counted correctly. Using Borea’s Flux, I had 3 more rounds of this left in me. After that, it was down to mana potions and Life-Steal.

“Defense!” Samantah shouted.

The warriors were engaged in battle once again. The boss’s first phase was repeated. First came the stag of fire. Then the purple stag. Jorge was still afflicted and he would randomly suffer from it, drop his shield, bend unnaturally backwards, clutch his head, and scream in pain. Every time Jorge went through this, the boss would focus on him, attacking in double time, forcing Henrick and Seeud to block and protect the suffering warrior. Samantah’s continuous stream of golden orbs kept the warriors alive.

Then the green stag, which I assumed was poison, bolted across the square. I used Fist of Wind, successfully deflecting the stag’s trajectory. The last stag to cross was the blue one, which once more passed through Seeud, who was again pinned in place by the boss’s slashing black nails.

A number 2 appeared above the trio of snowflakes and downward pointing arrow that hovered over Seeud’s health bar. Samantah cursed under her breath.

“The affliction is stacking,” she said.

Sure enough, Seeud was really starting to lag. It was as though he were drunk, or fighting through thick mud.

“The Boss’s health is nearly halfway,” Samantah said. “The blue stag was its tell! Wait for it to fall to one knee again after the obelisks dim! Then attack!”

Jorge and Henrick shouted their confirmation. Seeud’s shout came three seconds later.

“Samantah,” I said. “Tell Seeud to activate his power technique as soon as the Obelisks start to dim! By the time its activated, the boss will-”

“Seeud, use your power technique!” she shouted.

The obelisks dimmed. The boss fell to one knee. He panted heavily. Blood ran from a multitude of wounds. Beaks that were sewn into the boss’s robes, slurped at the dripping blood.

“Attack!” Samantah said.

All their health bars halved simultaneously. Jorge performed his echoing leap; Henrick floated up, delivering unseen strikes to the boss’s face; Seeud blinked through the boss. Then he blinked back to his starting position. Two cleaver wounds sliced through the boss’s buzzard robes. Blood arced from the cuts beneath and splashed to the ground.

We three healers worked furiously to return the warrior’s health back to full. Zekaidean’s Anvil chimed again, sending out rings of choral voices and gold light. Antoine’s Hawk Familiar buffeted our allies, and Samantah relentlessly shot out orbs.

With 5 points of mana left, I cast Seven of Gryf. Then I called upon Boera’s Flux. The hidden relief work in the banner vibrated. The image of Boera’s hands came to life. One hand lay horizontal, touching the bottom of the other hand which was vertical. Then the hands switched positions. My mana bar refilled counterclockwise, casting blue light all around me once more.

Jorge and Henrick’s health returned to full, and only three seconds later did Seeud’s, which was disconcerting.

The boss’s health had taken a severe amount of damage, dipping well below halfway. All it would take was another round of fighting to finish it off.

“Here comes the boss’s second phase! Fall back!” Samantah said.

Henrick leapt back and Jorge ran over to shield Seeud while the warrior lagged. It was a good thing too because the boss rose to his feet in a frenzy.

Its human mouth was stretched wide in a feral scream. Its eyes were no longer human. They were jewel red, as though pure anger had been wrung from eons of pent up revenge. In a flash it swung its arms in crisscrossing arcs.

Jorge’s shield protected both he and Seeud as they finally retreated to a safer distance.

“Defense!” Samantah said, and the warriors planted their feet firmly.

The boss rose to its full height and lifted both arms as though freed from some suffocating enclosure. Its muscles bulged and its buzzard hide robes began to flutter of its own volition, as though sewn wings tried to fly away. Beaks began to bite. Wrinkled throats began to caw. Though buzzard feet were sewn to the material, the talons clenched and unclenched. Wings flapped unnecessarily. Then two huge buzzards unfolded from their previously slumped form on either shoulder of the boss. What I’d thought we’re fluffs of feathers had actually been giant buzzards, waiting to be roused. Their black wrinkled necks arced as their heads bobbed. Decrepit cries assailed us from the buzzards and from the many beaks that twitched in the robes.

The boss’s voice had changed. It rattled with a false voice as it chanted, “Menegh Stegh!”

All four obelisks spilled their colored veins into the forms of stags. The stags were twice as large now. Their antlers were even bigger, the size of bushes, and they charged us simultaneously.

The boss’s buzzards dug their talons into his shoulders. As the boss went on the offensive, the buzzards pecked at Jorge’s shield. Seeud and Henrick battled massive hands and jagged black fingernails. The battle was a stalemate. Neither boss nor warrior could score a hit against the other. Seeud was struggling to keep up and only nearly avoiding damage.

The stags were there to turn the tide of battle. Samantah was preoccupied shooting gold orbs toward Seeud, preparing for the moment he would inevitably miss a parry. Antoine panicked and leapt in front of the blue stag.

I cast Fist of Wind twice in a row, aiming for both the purple and green stag. They were effectively diverted off course. Although Antoine had slowed the blue stag, it still charged through him and onward, so I sent another Fist of Wind careening forward, successfully ramming the ethereal beast off course.

Not one of us was able to stop the orange stag made of flames. Seeud was the first to be hit straight on. The flaming antlers of the stag burst upon impact, knocking the warrior off his feet. It slowly fell apart, passing over Henrick, then Jorge, igniting all of them in bands of fire. Acrid smoke rose from their leather armor, black smoke rose from their weapons and plate armor, and the stench of burnt hair filled the air.

“Healing!” Samantah called out, urging Antoine and I to act quickly.

I cast Zekaidean’s Anvil and Seven of Gryf back to back. I fumbled for Pyrrhon’s potions in my bag, then tossed a pair to each warrior. Antoine’s Hawk beat its wings, buffeting the warriors with healing.

The warriors fought on, though bands of flames still burned on their shoulders, arms, and armor. Samantah’s gold orbs were focused on Seeud. His head and an arm were clamped in the mouth of a buzzard. With every shake and chomp of beak, Seeud’s health fell by around 150 points. Since Samantah’s orbs only healed 110 points, keeping the warrior alive would be a losing battle if we didn’t save him soon.

Now that the stags had run their course, the obelisks dimmed and the boss fell to a knee. He panted in a panic, fighting for breath.

“Attack!” Samantah called out! “Killing blow! Watch out for the buzzards!”

Though the boss was recuperating, the buzzards kept active. Seeud was still stuck in the mouth of one, and all our focus was put on Seeud. Between we three healers, we kept Seeud’s health from falling below 20%.

When the buzzard on the boss’s left shoulder attacked, Jorge shoved his shield in its mouth and abandoned the item. The buzzard must have been convinced it scored a meal because it thrashed its head like the other one did.

Jorge and Henrick steadied themselves. The familiar circle of blood vessels appeared before them, and once more they activated their power techniques. Jorge leapt forward and came down slashing with his short sword. A second and third Jorge followed his exact attack. The boss’s health plummeted to near empty. Henrick floated up, still as stone, and slashes appeared along the boss’s head and shoulders. The buzzard chewing on Seeud was decapitated from the attack.

The boss’s health fell to zero. Its health bar dissolved and the giant monster fell forward, face first into the stone ground. Samantah collapsed in exhaustion. Antoine and I rushed to drag Seeud from the dead buzzard’s beak. Antoine knelt beside the coughing and sputtering warrior, handing him potion after potion to drink.

The boss began shredding apart in tufts of feathers and filaments of black robe and blood and flesh. Every piece of the boss rose like aggravated cinders and dissolved away. Where the boss had been now sat a rather large chest. It was entirely black. The wood panels were charcoal-black, and the frame was iron-black.

Now that we were safe, we were able to catch our breaths. Jorge was still affiliated with the purple brain that shivered above his health bar. Every few minutes, he’d clutch his head and scream in absolute agony. His health dropped about 50 points each time.

“I know I’ve got something for that,” Antoine said.

“Oh now you’ve got something for that!” Jorge said. “Not in the middle of battle when I would have needed it most!”

Antoine pulled out a ream of loose papers from his inventory pouch. Then he pulled out another ream. He sat himself down and started flipping through the stack of what looked like unrolled scrolls. Crudely drawn runes were mixed in there as well.

“I couldn’t have exactly sorted through this mess in the middle of battle to look for a specific spell now could I?” Antoine said. Then he started mumbling under his breath as he read the titles. He shook his head after each one and moved on to the next.

“Aha!” he said at last. “I knew the word Fissure was part of it! Ease Mind Fissure!”

I looked over his shoulder at the rune.

Title: Ease Mind Fissure. Mana cost: 40 points. Description: Single use. “They’ve sent me thousands of soldiers suffering from bone splitting pain in their minds. I removed the affliction from every one of them with this rune.” Limited to level 4 Mind Fissure afflictions.

“Before you cast that,” Samantah said, “Let’s see if we’ve got any treasure awaiting us. If a spellbook spawns, we’ll give it to you first. You can transfer the rune into a page on the book. That way you can keep reusing it.”

“That’s why we’re here,” Antoine said excitedly.

“I’ll do the honors,” Seeud said, and kicked open the chest lid. Divine light fanned out from the open chest. Then an item lifted from its depths. It hovered in mid-air and slowly turned in circles.

“The rumors were right,” Samantah said with delight.