We ate our lunch in silence, and kept it fairly light. No need for a big lunch weighing us down before the final fight. “Nervous?” I asked as we headed up the stairs.

“Yeah. How many do you think are up there?”

“No idea. We’ll handle it as we can. Let’s start with our biggest advantage though. Take to the air.” I said, getting a nod from her before her wings erupted and we took to the skies. As we crested the rim of the temple, we saw six elves sitting there with another six soldiers behind them. Each elf had golden skin and silvery-white hair. The five males only had an ornate golden belt with a colorful loincloth, while the one female had that as well as a golden sunburst protecting her nipples from view. She also had the only jewelry, a pair of earrings and a necklace of alternating strands of colored metals. All were adults save the one on the far left. He was a child of about ten, but his eyes looked far older.

“So bold, to fly in the presence of their betters. By imperial edict, flight is forbidden.” The central male spoke.

Imperial edict in effect!

Flight is forbidden for all parties for the next thirty minutes.

Despite our wings, we started dropping to the ground. I held us aloft with a pair of antigravity spells, catching a glare from the middle one.

“Again you defy me? Guards.” He ordered, and the six bodyguards stepped in front of their charges and pulled out chakrams for each hand.

“Let me down Sean. You can’t fly for both of us. I’ll split their attention, you go for killing strikes.” I nodded, dropping her. As she was falling, she started creating her ice rampart, dropping just as a flurry of metal blades struck. I was forced to dodge as three of the guards started targeting me. They didn’t throw the original blade, instead sending replicas at us that would shatter on impact. I sent a few bullets in their direction, but a shield appeared and blocked them.

“To raise a hand against them? Your blasphemy knows no bounds.” The king said, and I saw he had pulled a staff from somewhere. “Take your foreign weapons and begone. By imperial edict, metal magic is forbidden.”

Imperial edict in effect!

Metal magic is forbidden for thirty minutes.

I grumbled under my breath as Elendria sent several blasts of ice magic toward the soldiers. Blasts that were easily absorbed by the shield. The only good thing about this new edict was that the barrage of metal discs stopped as well. Seeing this, the guards put away their chakrams and pulled out a variety of blades, stepping forward to engage Elendria. This gave me at least the inkling of an idea, and I concentrated on each of the blades. Splitting my mind, each portion only had to concentrate on three blades and imbuing them with the heat metal spell, one that went through the shield with no problems.

“Father. He found a way to strike through the shield.” One of the adults to his right said.

“Dangerous?”

“Not immediately. He is focusing on the blades of our warriors though. Hold them back.” The warriors stopped just shy of the shield, but I kept pouring on the heat. I was either going to melt them or destroy the temper, either was fine with me. Elendria was making use of the reprieve to strengthen her rampart, though we were both surprised when one of the guards threw his blade into it. The resulting steam explosion blasted off a large chunk of ice and shattered the sword. Not wanting a repeat, I ripped out the heat from the swords, cracking them and rendering them useless.

That still didn’t stop the soldiers, as they started forward and simply left all their metal weapons behind. I dropped down next to Elendria. “Thoughts?”

“We can’t breach the shield, but they seem content to watch their soldiers dispatch us. I’ll destroy them.”

“Ok. I’ll get you a distraction.” I said, smiling as I glanced upward. I let the guards get within ten feet of our icy fortress, then sent a beam of light into the crystal. The shield erupted around it, draining a bit from each of the assembled undead. Elendria capitalized beautifully, sending ice lances through the chest of each shoulder, then causing them to expand outward, destroying the bodies and freeing the souls.

“I’ve had enough of this. By imperial edict, ice magic is forbidden!” The king thundered, and our defense crumbled.

Imperial edict in effect!

Ice magic is forbidden for the next 30 minutes.

All Imperial edict effects have been used.

“Damnit.” Elendria snarled, glaring at them.

“Easy. They have no more edicts to use, and they think you powerless now.” I whispered, making sure there was a mana shield around us to prevent spying.

“The king.” She said, turning to me. “Promise me that I am the one to slay him.”

“He’s all yours.” I said, returning her glare with a ferocious grin. “Now, I want you to hang back and use your mana shields. Act like you are no threat. I have a royal family to kill.”

Dropping the shield, I sauntered forward, looking over the enemy. “So, was it really planned?” I asked.

“Planned?” One of the young adults asked.

“Planned. That you would all sit up here, epitomizing the lazy royalty trope?”

“I’ll show you lazy!” The youth cried, launching himself from his seat. He immediately coated himself in an armor of darkness while a blade reminiscent of a kriegsmesser. It was easy to tell by his dash that he fully expected his attack to cut me in half. I let him get close, then caused a small explosion beneath his planting foot as he started to swing. With no balance, he stumbled forward as I sidestepped and conjured a plasma blade and sliced through his neck with a backswing. I watched the queen’s eyes flare with rage as the headless body of her son toppled to the ground.

“Now, now.” I chided, shaking my head as my sword dissipated. “Didn’t your parents teach you not to lose your head at every little thing?” I asked, smiling at the queen.

“You make puns at the death of my son?” She asked, arms trembling with rage.

“I do. Not sure what’s wrong though, my comedy usually kills it. I guess the crowd here is just dead.” I continued.

“Easy mother.” The older boy said, standing and nudging his brother. “We shall take care of this. Tourac will return to you with the rising of the sun.” The one speaking drew a black blade of some unknown metal, while his brother pulled out a staff shaped like a cobra with the hood extended.

“You’ll not penetrate my brother’s shields, and my swordplay is unmatched. Yield now, and I shall give you a quick death.” As he was speaking, I saw the magic being emitted from the staff of his brother, and like the facsimile of the snake that his staff was, his magic started working its way toward me.

“Dispell.” I said, sending a blast of magic through the snake and scattering it. As I expected, the swordsman lunged forward. I wasn’t expecting him to dodge my stone spike, spinning around it and continuing his charge like nothing had happened. Now, letting random royalty slash you with a mysterious blade is high up there on the things not to do list, so I immediately followed it with a crushing gravity spell as I took to the skies. As the swordsman stumbled and fell on his stomach, I flew up about ten feet in the air before flipping and letting gravity drag me down at an increased rate, my mana armored feet smashing into his unprotected spine.

“And he sticks the landing!” I called out gleefully as a blob of green acid splashed against my shield. I pulled the mana away, letting it drop. “Poison specialty?” I asked, looking at the kid who had a bit of tears forming at the edge of his eyes.

“You will have to come back as incorporeal, as will your woman. I’m going to dissolve your bodies.” He promised, getting a nod from me.

“Good resolve. I really am sorry I had to kill your brother, but you must realize that this can’t go on forever.”

“I see no reason why we have to stop. We are descended from the sun! We deserve whatever we can take from those beneath us. They dare to claim they are our cousins? Don’t make me laugh.” He sneered, making the decision to kill him that much easier. I did the same to him as I had to several others, picking him up with a bit of gravity magic and locking him inside a sphere of plasma.

“You think you come from the sun? Let me show you what the sun is truly like.” I said as I conjured the plasma, holding up a hand with a mana shield to block the blob of darkness the queen had just thrown at me.

“Release my son.” She ordered, striding towards me.

“And if I don’t?” I asked, turning up the heat. “You had best hurry, his shields are weakening.”

“Yaaaah!” She screeched, sending a stream of darkness towards Elendria. One she dodged, though a bit did strike her mana shield. In retaliation, I sent a lance of light in her direction, one she blocked with a one handed shield of her own.

“Husband.” She said, glancing at him.

“But I love watching you slaughter dear. Ah very well.” He said, slowly rising from his chair and facing me. “Shall we break this one together?” As they started to cast their spells, I brought their son in between us.

“Here, if you want him so badly.” I said, having felt his shields flicker and die out seconds ago. I opened a small hole in the back of the shield, and sent a jet of superheated plasma in their direction. While they were defending against the flames, I jogged over to the youngest one. As I neared, his eyes simply looked sad.

“You won’t make it hurt, will you?” He asked, surprising me.

“You aren’t forced to fight me?” I asked, confused.

“No. The curse was designed to give me all the karma in the land, that my next life will be one of luxury, should I not ascend to godhood. As such, I am free of its more nefarious aspects. I wish I could say the same of my parents.”

“I wish so too. Do you happen to know how to break the curse?” I asked, hoping against hope.

“No. I didn’t even before it was warped.”

“STAY AWAY FROM MY MORTHIL!” I heard the queen screech, turning to see that they had weathered the flames fairly well, though they were smoking a bit. A few of the bars of her necklace had blackened and shattered as well.

“Very well. Thank you, Morthil. May the gods have mercy on you for what you were forced to participate in.” I said, conjuring a blade of obsidian. I shoved it through his heart, turning to see rage and shock crossing the faces of the king and queen. “Another one bites the dust, your majesties. Now, tell me how to destroy the curse, and accept your fate.”

Though she was shaking in rage, she masterfully regained control of her emotions. In an icy voice that sent shivers down my spine, she spoke, “I shall toy with your soul for eternity. I shall make use of the darkest of arts, stitching your soul back together as it is shredded. You will suffer for this, as I train my resurrected children in my arts. And after you have spent centuries begging for release, I shall grant it. I will take the last vestiges of your soul, slicing it to ribbons and feeding it to the hungriest abominations I can summon from the void!”

She had drifted away from her husband, and I saw Elendria had used the distraction to sneak around. Clever girl. Time to play my part. “Ooooh, spooky!” I said, laughing. “You know, that was a right proper villainous speech. Simple, to the point, and oh so scary. But I doubt you will be able to do it.”

“Fine. Doubt what you will. Soul extraction.” She said calmly, sending a stream of energy that streaked across the divide, striking me in the chest but going deeper. Imagine her surprise when I looked up and smiled at her.

“Mistake.” I said, and Elendria struck at the same time I did. Using the cord as a medium, I sent a streak of divine lightning back along it to strike at the queen’s soul. As she shrieked in pain, Elendria stuck a spectral hand into the king’s back.

“The blackest of karma’s taint your soul. You have compounded your sins, attempting to drain your subjects of their own karma and extend your life through undeath. For those who attempt to cheat their fate, the Narakas send an Arbiter. My job is to bring your soul to the rewards it has reaped within its life. Repent your sins and reflect on your life, for Mahapadma awaits. Frozen Judgement.”

As Elendria spoke, the king’s body locked up in agony. “AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” He screamed, distracting the queen. A white light surrounded them, causing the queen to shield her eyes. I used her distraction, closing the distance and sending an obsidian knife through her heart.

As she stood there, clutching me as her undead body died, she whispered, “We just. Wanted. The best. For our boys.”

“And you went about it in the wrong way.” I said, twisting the knife to speed things along. “Do better with your next life. Whenever it may be.” Dropping the body, I turned to look at Elendria and the king, only to see something disturbing. The light surrounding them was fighting a tendril of darkness from the phylactery.

“SEAN!” Elendria cried, and I knew we were running out of time. I had to shatter the phylactery, or at least destroy the tether. The first thing I tried was a blade of divine light, slashing at the darkness. It rebounded, the backlash sending pain spiking through my body. I shrugged it off the best that I could, rolling to my feet and pulling the scale of Apophis from my inventory. If the curse was caused by our gods, then maybe their enemy’s energy could break it. Forming a blade of dark divine energy, I again slashed at the cord. It recoiled, but I managed to do a bit of damage. Pouring in as much spirit as I could, I unleashed one last slash.

“Kyaaaaaa!” I cried, managing to finally slash through and cutting deep into the stone below it. The cord of shadow recoiled, part of it cutting a line across my chest before it slammed back into the crystal, cracking it slightly. The light surrounding Elendria and the king finally faded, dropping the king’s body to the ground and sending a drained Elendria to her knees.

Alert!

The death of the king and his heirs has negated the Imperial edicts! All magic is now available.

“Elendria.” I said, pulling her into my lap and running my hand through her hair. “Talk to me. Let me know you’re ok.” I said, over and over. It took a few minutes, but eventually her eyes opened.

“I’ll be ok.” She said with a smile. “Though I feel a bit tired.”

“Yeah? Well, we still have to finish the quest. Got any idea how to break the phylactery?” I asked.

“I do.” She said, pointing to the throne. “His last words. In the base of the stone lies a crown. It has a shard of the crystal within, and was used as a focus when they warped the spell. Take it outside of the curse area, and flood the crystal with divine light while melting the crown with divine flame. The loss of the crystal will destabilize the magics, and the loss of the symbol of authority will free the souls and make the phylactery inert.”

“Alright then.” I said, standing up. “Let’s finish this.” I conjured a hammer, and smashed the throne to bits.

“There was a catch in the back.” Elendria said, shaking her head as I picked through the pieces of the throne.

“Yeah? I got impatient.” I said, thinking back to the last hidden cache in a throne. “Reminds me of that time with Bribis and the vampires. Besides, you never know if he left a trap or two behind.”

“Actually I do.” She said with a grin, finally strong enough to stand and walk over to look at the crown with me. “There is zero chance that a soul within my grasp can lie to me.”

“Fair enough.” I said, taking one last look around. “Let’s go ahead and head out of here, then we can finish off the quest. Sound good?”

“Sounds very good.” She said, taking flight and heading to our last shelter. I followed behind her, relaxing enough to enjoy the view for a change.