Chapter 11

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

-Andrew-

My feet carried me towards the side of the great domed building, my head turning every few moments to get a view of the horror following not far behind us. Great spikes of ice the size of our bodies flew past us, sending ripples of cold air as they sped by us. I turned my head to see how close the drider had come as a chunk of ice crashed into the ground where we had been only a moment ago. Shivers ran down my arms and spine at each attempt the drider made to slow us down. The drider sped after us with its six remaining limbs, looking as if it had crawled straight from a horror film, arms outstretched with ice magic swirling around its fingers.

“Don’t stop, James! Look for a side entrance!” I said breathlessly.

“I know I know! I think we could’ve taken it, Andy.” James said easily.

Having witnessed the ease at which is dispatched my magic, I knew better. We continued our race as the giant building grew in size, the closer we came, looking for any sign of a side entrance. We turned, following the side of the building that seemed to go on for forever. A loud crash brought my head swiveling around behind me to see the large drider crawling along the wall, dirt clouds billowing from where it had crashed into the side of the building. A sheet of ice hit the ground next to me and quickly out-paced us, spreading in front and around us. I stumbled as my feet hit the thin sheet of ice, slipping in every direction as I tried to regain traction. James stopped trying to run and seemed to be enjoying the ride as he stood motionless, sliding forward with his previous momentum alone.

“I loooove this game!” He yelled; arms raised above his head.

“James! There’s a door to your left!”

I pointed towards an intricate wooden door, small pillars hugging the sides with a hint of an overhang. James hit the un-iced cobblestone first, stumbling as he tried to regain his balance. Prepared, I jumped sloppily, tripping over my own feet. I crashed to the floor, striking my chin on the stone pathway and sending waves of nausea through me from the impact. I rolled over and came to my feet quickly, chancing a look at the approaching drider. The half spider was almost upon us, switching back to magic bullets which crashed angrily all around us. James was the first to recover, leaping towards the closed door and smiling with excitement. Red bullets smashed into the ground around James as the drider narrowed his focus, striking the small overhang just above the door. I dove for the door as James pushed it open, large chunks of stone falling all around us. The door flung open as we crashed into it, slamming into the wall with a loud bang.

I recovered quickly, pulling James further into the room and glancing at the door behind us seeing piles of large stone had filled the doorway blocking the path between the us and the drider. Loud booming noises resounded just outside the collapsed doorway, shaking the intricate wooden frame. I swung my head around, looking for anyone to help us or for a place to hide. I began to visibly shake as fear crept its way through my body as I took in the horror around is. A large open room supported by enormous statues lining the walls stood before us; bodies littering the marble floor. In the center of the room stood several men in extravagant looking robes, holding various objects in their hands. All around them lay bloodied men clad in armor, crude arrows protruding from their bodies.

The robed men in the center of the building held their hands out as numerous spells flew into a horde of green creatures, causing wave after wave to be decimated under their fierce power. I grabbed James, heading to one of the large statues holding up the ceiling on the other side of the doorway. We put the statue between us and the side entrance, keeping to the shadows as to not draw any attention from the ongoing battle. Terror gripped my heart as I knew we were trapped; stuck in this grand domed building with no escape. We watched as dozens of goblins were blown apart from the endless wave of spells, hoping the robes men would win out as a multitude of colors flashed from the center of the room.

A loud crashing sound brought our attention to the side door we had just escaped. Peeking our heads above the base of the statue gave us a view of the side entrance, completely blown apart; clouds of dust rising from what was once a doorway. The drider climbed its way through the rubble, glancing in every direction. A loud roar brought all of our attention to the center of the room where great walls of fire were erected in front of the main entrance.

“The Drow send their weak underlings and their cursed to act as cannon fodder! Despicable!” One of the men in a white robe yelled in the direction of the drider.

“While I am cursed, I am not in the same rank as this cannon fodder, fool.” The drider hissed. “Interesting that I should find you here after tracking my prey. I won’t be cursed much longer once I have the Goddesses’ artifact in my possession. Do not deny it, wizard; I can feel her power very near.”

“Lloth is a wretched Goddess. You blindly follow her even after having been cursed for nothing more than standing out. What test did you fail, my dear? Or did Lloth simply deform your body because she was jealous of your beauty? Her reasons for corrupting your kind are endless, I assure you.”

“You dare speak about things you know nothing of? You?! A filthy human and a male, no less!”

The wizard, not bothering to converse with the drider any longer, raised his staff. Waves of heat crashed over us as the staff began to emit large white flames, coalescing above the robed men. He lowered his staff towards the drider, releasing the endless stream of flames in its direction. The drider braced itself, raising both arms as a cold aura enveloped the air around it, causing icicles to form in the surrounding air. Just before the stream of flames met the drider, a large cone of ice snapped into place in front of it pointing towards the wizard. Fire met ice, causing large plumes of steam to hiss in all directions as the fire flowed around the cone in front of the drider.

The force of the inharmonious elements caused the building to rumble, shaking the ground and statues alike. Continuous streams of white fire blasted the drider’s ice cone-like shield, deflecting the heat outward and behind it. I watched in amazement as the wall behind the drider began to glow orange and red from the heat of the blast, causing the stone to look as if it were melting. The drider held fast, using the cone of ice to deflect most of the fire’s force away from it. Six spidery legs gripped the marble with such force that cracks began to web in every direction. The drider began to move its legs forward, one at a time as it forced the ice cone’s tip through the stream of fire.

The wizard’s face darkened as he leaned forward, placing his second hand on the staff and emitting an even larger blast of fire from it. Worry crept into my chest as the Wizards arms began to droop, his mouth open as he panted for air. The drider stopped its advance, forcing its spider legs to dig into the marble as it braced itself against the wave of heat. The doorway behind it had completely melted, rubble now flying into the open side street. I began to realize that the wizard would not hold out much longer as the stream of fire began to diminish slowly, allowing the melting cone of ice to grow in size once more. I looked to the center of the room to see one of the three remaining mages collapse from exhaustion while the other two took up the strain of holding the fire walls in place against the onslaught of goblins at the front entrance.

My limbs began to tingle in anticipation as I knew we did not have long before the wizard tired, allowing the drider kill them all. I knew I had to do something to help, but the enormous amount of magic being thrown around made my strength pale in comparison. I stared at the back of the drider’s bulbous body as it easily held its ground against the wizard’s fire. A thought crept into my head, bringing terror along with it. I slowly stood up, letting go of James’s hand as I steeled all of the courage I had in me. My appearance from behind the statue caught the attention of the wizard, who’s eyes widened in horror. I raised my arms, willing my stun magic to build up in my hands. The force of the growing magic was quickly becoming too much for me to bare causing my arms to shake with effort. Small red lightning-like magic danced around my arms and hands, begging to be freed. I glanced to the wizard who quickly understood that I wanted to help, even if only a miniscule amount.

“Stuuuuun!” I yelled, releasing the pent-up magic towards the drider’s back.

The drider’s head swung around menacingly, eyes wide in shock.

“YOU!!” The drider managed to scream as the red lightning-like stun magic flew into its back.

The drider immediately spasmed, losing control of its magic as its legs curled inward. Flames quickly overtook the cone of ice, smashing into the drider’s body with such force that it caused the drider to fly through the now open wall behind it in a matter of seconds. Relief flooded through me as the roaring flames died down, causing the only source of noise to come from the front entrance. A cold aura welled up around me and my fear rose once more, but was quickly subdued by seeing the ice magic coming from the wizard.

“Ice wall.” He said, wearily.

Ice crept up the side of the wall where the side door once stood, freezing over the empty space in a thick block of ice. I returned my attention to the wizard as he placed a finger to his mouth, motioning for me to hide once more. I ducked back beneath the statue as the wizard regained his composure, turning his attention back to the entrance where the mages were quickly losing their focus. I looked to James to see his head peeking just above the base of the statue, eyes focused on the robed men in the center.

A loud continuous stream of noises brought my attention back to the front entrance as large red magic bullets screamed their arrival through the fire wall. Red bullets flew sporadically at first, arcing in every direction once through the fire wall; crashing into walls and statues alike. Several red bullets struck one of the robed men holding the fire wall and he collapsed, lessening the wall of flames as he did so. The white-robed wizard stood his ground, clearly still tired from his previous fight with the drider. As more magic bullets reigned down upon the robed men, the wizard activated a white domed shield, allowing them some respite from the bombardment of red magic. As the shield snapped into place, the second robed man finally gave into exhaustion, falling to his knees as he swayed back and forth.

Flames died down to a smolder in the entrance allowing the horde of goblins and other large gray creatures to finally gain admittance into the building. The crowd of ugly creatures quickly surrounded the two robed men, testing the shield with weapons and arrows as they enveloped the room. Shouts rose up every time the shield flared as the endless number of weapons and arrows smashed into it, causing cracks along the surface.

“Cease!” A firm female voice called out across the room, echoing despite the large number of bodies currently inhabiting the space.

The noise died down almost immediately as a path was cleared from the entrance; goblins and large gray giants pushing to clear the way. At the entrance to the giant room entered a beautiful woman covered in intricate silver armor that shined as if covered in oil. Dark skin protruded from her arms, neck, and face where the armor did not cover her. White hair that wasn’t neatly tied in the back flowed gracefully. A black cape billowed smoothly behind her, the end of which floated just above the ground. Her entourage included four equally beautiful women who stood behind and to the side of her, glaring with disgust at the mixed army around them.

“You were a fool to steal our artifact, old man.” The mysterious woman said calmly.

“Steal? Why, I took this as the spoils of war; fair and square!” The wizard chuckled tiredly. “If your mistress had not had this in her possession when she fell in battle, I would not have it now!”

“My mistress? She is no one’s mistress. She was weak enough for a group of a wizard and his mages to destroy her and her company. Her name has already been forgotten.”

“Your people are ruthless, I’ll give you that. I never expected you to stoop so low as to use other races to fight your wars for you. Aren’t you a proud people, never relying on anything but your own strength?”

“You’re stalling for time old man, but it will not save you. I do not deign to explain our reasons for using this trash to the likes of you. The artifact, where is it?”

“Looks like you can see right through me.” The wizard chuckled, patting his robe pocket. “She’s right here, little drow. Come and take it, if you dare.”

The drow smirked, raising her hand as black magic swirled around it. The room’s light seemed to draw towards the drow, dimming considerably as the black magic slowly turned into a black fire in the palm of her hand. As the black fire grew, the horde of goblins and gray giants pushed further from the group of drow, forcing fights to break out as they pushed and shoved each other. I held my breath in anticipation, eyes glued to the dark-skinned woman's hand. The drow woman paid them no attention, turning a smiling face towards the wizard and now unconscious mage.