Chapter 12

The Clay

There was no time to counter. There was hardly enough time to even block.

The axe came swinging at Terrill, and he had to move fast. His feet shot out, kicking first Krysta and then Floyd, pushing them away from the center of impact. His sword flew up, one hand clasping the hilt and the other pressing on the cool metal as the axe made contact. Terrill’s eyes widened, and then he found himself skidding back, cutting trails in the ground. His shoulder ached.

That’s just ridiculous, Terrill thought with a grimace. The man cleaved the air with his axe as he stalked forward silently. It was an unsettling feeling, completely unlike when he’d faced the woman a few days before. This man held no pleasure in his strength. Terrill started to give off a nervous grin.

“Stay back, both of you,” he spoke into the darkness.

“Terrill, don’t be-” Whatever Krysta had planned to say made no difference. The man was on the move again.

The axe swung over his head and Terrill ducked. He was sure that a few hairs were lost, but there were far more pressing matters as the man heaved the axe down. If only it was as heavy in his hands as it felt when Terrill dodged and the weapon split the ground. Terrill stumbled back, his breath caught.

“Tremble.” The deep, rumbling voice could have caused what happened next alone, but Terrill knew it to be coming before it did. The earth cracked and groaned, the sound emanating from the pillars and ceiling. Then tendrils of stone shot out, aiming for Terrill. He raised his blade, for all the good it would do, and slashed outwards. One of the tendrils were hit, turning brittle and crumbling to pieces. The rest were too fast.

“Terrill, you idiot! You’re not the hero here! We’re in this together!” Krysta’s shout had followed a casting of her barrier. The tendrils struck and broke away, slamming into the barrier with too much force to hold themselves. The man took notice of her. “Oh.”

“I might be an idiot, Krysta, but I wanted to keep you out of whatever this is!” The barrier dropped, and Terrill raced forward, his sword held to his side. The man prioritized him, just as expected, making a sharp swipe of his axe. Terrill dodged to the side, skidding along the floor. He flung his blade upward, but the steel was not his weapon; the earth was.

A stone spire appeared from the strange material of the floor, born of his own magic, and it impacted the man’s stomach, but did not send him flying. He grinned.

“Is that all your Earth Magic can muster, hero?”

‘Hero’…just like her… Terrill became defensive, shifting his stance so he wouldn’t be caught off-guard by any sudden moves. His sword was held across his body, but the man didn’t use his axe.

“This is Earth Magic!” The ground glowed red at his feet, and stone pillars flew out. Some were squiggly, while others were a straight shot that aimed for their targets. Terrill ducked under one, only for another to strike him in the stomach and send him flying backwards, into one of the pillars. He was afraid he’d coughed blood the second he hit, sliding down to the surface. Through his injured vision, he looked up towards Krysta. The tendrils of earth had next aimed for the mysterious construct, which she was standing near, her barrier protecting it from the blow. “You protect it?”

Krysta said nothing. Her breath was akin to a growl, both her hands on the hilt of her rapier, which shook in her hold. Terrill watched her, feeling at his chest in case anything was broken. There was a bruise, but he wasn’t out of the fight, and he clawed his way up to stand. Floyd could be seen nowhere in the darkness.

“I…” Krysta could hardly get the words out. Her eyes found Terrill, and he nodded to tell her she needn’t worry about all this. She gripped tighter, the shaking coming to a halt. “Who…what are you?”

“A…Guardian.” Terrill froze, and the man struck. His axe plunged into the ground yet again. More pillars erupted, this time like bloody red columns that walloped Krysta’s shield. One struck her, tossing her to the floor and sending her rapier from her grasp. She clenched at her stomach as another struck her, sending her far away from the magical construct.

“You’re not a Guardian!” Terrill said. He was standing again, dodging to the side as one of the columns attempted to rise from beneath him. “No Guardian would hurt others!”

Terrill swung out, finding his blow blocked by the axe. The man held a pitiless expression in the cloaked darkness, and his left hand grabbed Terrill by the face. “Not your kind of Guardian. I am watching over things, to make sure mere mortals do not interfere. Not now.”

Terrill felt his whole body being lifted up, finding the strength familiar. It was just like with the woman, that kind of inhuman strength that threatened to crush everything underfoot. With nary a sound, the man threw him towards one of the support pillars. He struck it with full force, sliding down with a gasp. His sword clanged upon the ground, his vision going blurry. Krysta was struggling to stand, and for the first time, Terrill could see Floyd, as well…scrambling for the exit.

That coward…

“Though, I never expected such radiance,” the man said, cutting apart Terrill’s thoughts. The man was making steps towards Krysta as she groaned with the effort of standing. “It’s pleasing to see. Most…informative. Though, not all carry such radiance.”

The man vanished, stones rising from where he once stood, as though his entire body had become nothing more than a part of the earth, itself. Terrill cast his gaze around, the rate of his breath increasing until he caught sight of Floyd dashing through the darkness. Stones were rising just in front of him. Terrill opened his mouth to yell, but it was too late.

“What the-?” Floyd couldn’t even form a sentence.

“You’re rather dull, in many forms.” The man had reformed from the earth, his axe held backwards. The swipe came backhanded as Floyd pedaled away from him. He avoided the worst of the cutting edge, but Terrill saw him fail to avoid the upswing of the real blow. The stone came flying out, hitting Floyd in his gut and sending him spiraling through the air. He flew, his body like a ragdoll’s that gagged from the pain of the hit. Bones broke and bruises formed. He hit a peak, and then Floyd began to fall towards the floor at speed.

Not this way, idiot…Terrill screamed inside. He could move his fingers, and the rest of his body was beginning to catch up at the same time. Finding it a last-ditch option, Terrill placed his hand to the foreign surface, begging it to soften, though it would not yield. Power within me…come on…

“T-Terrill!” Krysta’s shout alerted him to the danger as he attempted his fruitless action. The man was dashing at him, his brown traveler’s cloak whipping dust behind him while the axe gleamed with a murderous intent.

He couldn’t do both.

“Protect…Floyd!” Terrill yelled. His sword came up as the axe rained down upon him. Sparks spit out towards his eyes, making Terrill wince. The attacking man gave no indication of any emotion beneath the surface of his own. A light to the side showed the usual honeycombs appearing, allowing Floyd to make contact with something that wasn’t going to break every bone in his body. He coughed when he was deposited on the ground, allowing Terrill to focus on holding the man off with everything he had. Every second felt like his arms could give out against the man’s pulverizing strength, and the longer Terrill focused, the more he felt like he could see something familiar about this bearded vagabond.

Terrill’s elbow started to give, his sword moving closer and closer to his chest. The axe threatened to bite into his flesh. In his desperate hope against a foe far stronger, Terrill threw his eyes around any which way that he could. He saw Krysta up and hobbling towards Floyd, but he soon locked on the magical construct, and recalled the glowing being he’d followed here. “Help…please…”

He could see the whites of the man’s eyes by now, and a burning cut on his chest started to form as the tip of the axe was there. There was no hope of pushing the man off.

Then the pillar gave way, softening and making Terrill’s body fall. The axe was sent off-kilter, allowing Terrill enough room to roll out of the way and avoid the worst. He was bleeding, but was otherwise intact. The man was surprised, but said nothing, and could say nothing when a sudden fireball hit him from behind. Terrill looked to see Floyd standing, his hand smoking with ragged breaths.

“Hey…asshole… Next time…come at me without a sneak attack!” Floyd drew himself to his full length, Krysta right beside him as she held to his shoulder. He shakily reached behind to grab his daggers, holding them as a cross. The man had no eyes for him, gazing at Terrill as the Guardian stood.

“The voice of the earth has heard you…” The grin upon his face grew again, and he looked overjoyed. “Most auspicious! More! Show me more of your blessing, Hero!”

“What on earth are you talking about?!” Terrill rolled to the side to avoid the blow that was meant to bisect him, popping up near his two companions. The three formed ranks, staring down the grinning individual that had attacked them.

“I don’t think this guy’s a skeleton…but could he be what attacked the miners?” Floyd gasped out. It was clear how much pain he was suffering, no matter what Krysta had done to help. They had all been walloped by those earthen attacks, and Terrill wasn’t sure how much more they could keep up. “Hey! Answer us! Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The man would say nothing, keeping them on-guard. Terrill put a single step forward, grinding the dust under his feet.

“Are you with her? The Veiled Woman?” There was a subtle shift in the way the man held his axe, making Terrill wonder if he had, indeed, hit closer to the mark than intended. “She mentioned stuff about heroes, too. Are you two planning the same thing?”

“I am here to ensure the Lifeblood is not sullied by man’s mortal hands,” he said in response. The grip on his axe relaxed, but Terrill knew he was a coiled snake, ready to spring forth whenever a single one of them made their move. He was certain Floyd would be the first with how antsy his body movements were becoming. “But you…heh… And if I am working with this woman?”

“What does Luster Mines have to do with your plan to start a war?”

“What? That one between Serotin and pirates?” Floyd asked. Terrill moved his other foot in an effort to prevent Floyd from rushing straight on.

“She said it was between heroes and fiends, by which she probably meant the pirates.”

“Is that what she said?” Krysta gasped out. Her shock was palpable, but no more felt than by the man laughing raucously. It echoed, creating a chorus of laughter that assailed their ears. He was tightening his grip once more.

“What’s so funny?” Floyd asked, attempting to charge forward, but finding himself blocked. Terrill knew it would only end the same way as last time if he tried to attack now.

“Humans are ever so predictable. They seek greater power.” The man swung his axe around, again planting it into the ground. This attack wasn’t aimed for them, but for the construct which was enveloped in a cocoon of earth. “Take the miners. How deep they dug for better gems, better minerals. Think what they would do if they found the Lifeblood and harnessed it. Already you can see the ramifications, but I will not allow it. Not for normal men.”

“The hell are you on about?” Terrill shouted. He was hoping to keep the man talking long enough to wrap his brain around what could be done. “You’re just a man, yourself. You’re both humans! What are you planning?”

His final question went ignored in favor of more laughter. Beneath the cocoon of rock, the structure, the “Lifeblood” Terrill supposed, pulsed. “But I’m not human. I’m a Fiend, Hero!”

“That’s impossible!” Krysta screamed.

Impossible or not, whatever it all meant, the man was very real to Terrill, and charging at them once again. Despite her state of shock, Krysta acted, throwing a barrier up that the man slammed into and then sending a shard of light at him. He deflected it, and with a mighty heave of his axe, came smashing through the shield towards Terrill. This time, he found better footing and managed to block the blow, tossing it off. The man backed away, and pivoted as Floyd came roaring towards him, his foot lit on fire as he sent it careening into the man’s midsection.

“Hey, Krysta, what’s all this mumbo-jumbo about Fiends?”

Terrill was curious, himself, but with the man grabbing Floyd by the foot and throwing him, Terrill focused his priorities. He dashed, head down to gain speed and intercept Floyd’s body with his own. The boy grinned at him as they fell to the ground, but helped each other up.

“It’s…they’re the stuff out of legends, fairy tales and all that,” Krysta said, her voice trembling up an octave. The man held no care for her story and cleaved the earth with a single blow, sending a rain of red-tinged spikes from below, racing towards Terrill and Floyd. “Creatures that walk the world, looking like humans, but not humans. Prisoners of fate who do naught but wreak havoc for some unknown goal.”

“Prisoners of fate? How utterly ironic.”

The man had switched targets, while Terrill dealt with his own. He felt time slow around him, the racing spikes decelerating as Floyd leaned on him. The solution became clear, and Terrill acted. He slapped his hand down, focusing as he, too, created spikes. The pairs raced towards each other and met, exploding in a shower of stone splinters. The man was upon Krysta and she ducked, weaving around him to stab with her glinting rapier. He made little move to stop it as the blade impaled his side, and shot out with brilliant light that illuminated the cavern. With alacrity, the man took his impalement as a chance to backhand Krysta across the face, sending her rolling down.

With another show of strength, he ripped the rapier out, and tossed it aside. It scattered on the ground, to where Terrill and Floyd were huffing, holding each other up.

“Humans are the prisoners. They know not the masters that pull at their strings, yet ride into war all the same. They follow the breadcrumbs, sully the earth, and allow good men to become monsters!” Terrill and Floyd split as the latest earthen vine tried to impale them, crashing into the wall beyond. Terrill swept Krysta’s rapier from the floor, his mind working lightning fast to put together a plan to stop this person, or Fiend, or whatever, from killing them. “They dig deep, all for their own selfish needs. I will not let those unpurified souls intervene.”

“I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about,” Terrill shouted, dashing away from Floyd and finding a midpoint between him and Krysta. It put the attention fully on him. “Or why you’re attacking us. But if you’re the one who hurt the miners and mercenaries, then I have a bone to pick with you.”

Something changed in the way the man looked, his grin falling. Terrill couldn’t be sure what expression he wore upon his face. So, he didn’t dwell on it, and chose to act. With a heave, he torqued his body and threw Krysta’s rapier at her with all the strength he could. It spun, and she stood enough to make a nimble catch by its hilt. The man saw it, his beard quivering as he shook his head. “So that’s why…”

“Krysta! Light, now!” Terrill’s request was deftly handled. His companion raised her hand towards the ceiling, calling forth an orb of light that shined brightly. It eclipsed the space of the cavern, blinding all who weren’t ready for it. In that case, that was relegated solely to the man, who covered his eyes while Terrill ran at him. “Floyd, back me up!”

“Yeah, all right.” Floyd’s irksome reply was noted, but he worked his magic all the same. The man appeared to slow, allowing Terrill to rush in, sword held to bear. The axe wasn’t raised quick enough, and this time Terrill was able to slice along the side, in the same place Krysta had wounded him before. The man stumbled.

“Get him, now!” The light vanished, and on the opposite side a crimson one formed. Both Krysta and Floyd struck, hurling their magical attacks in the man’s direction. He sharply recovered, and with a stomp of his foot, pillars appeared to block the strike.

It didn’t stop Terrill from charging at his front.

“Time to get out, Fiend!” Terrill slashed down, striking across the man’s chest. At the sides, Krysta and Floyd both lit up their next volley of magical attacks, illuminating the entire space. Once his attack was complete, Terrill backed off in fear of a counterattack from the wounded man.

Except, when the dust cleared, he wasn’t wounded at all.

“Maybe he really is some kind of skeletal beast or something,” Floyd remarked. He was shaking, his legs turning to jelly and just about ready to give out. Terrill’s own breath was shaky, but he wasn’t ready to quit. The man pulled his cloak tighter, his sandy beard jiggling.

“I’ve been called many things: beast, Fiend, Hero, Chosen One,” the man said. Terrill controlled his gasp, as well as his sudden urge to beat the man to a pulp for using such names alongside such madness. “I am flexible, like clay molded in a kiln. Yet for you, one could best call me a distraction. An amusing, and informative, diversion.”

“Go to hell, monster!” Terrill was done with the lies. His mind snapped, creating a small step of earth underneath his feet that jettisoned him a foot or two into the air, his sword flashing out to draw the man’s blood. His companions shouted for him, but he couldn’t hear. The man, the “Clay”, lifted his axe with but a single hand, and the two weapons met. “I don’t give a damn what you are, but if you’re talking about heroes and Fiends and nonsense while hurting people for no reason, then it means you’re with her. So, what is she planning?”

“To defy fate.” The simple response took Terrill off his game, but he continued to push forward. The earth cracked and groaned, as if they were both vying for dominance over the element. “To create a war that will send us off course, just as it did fifteen years ago. You would know all about that, O’ Blessed One.”

“Terrill, back off!” Floyd’s shout surprised him, and the attack was already fired. With a kick that made Clay grunt, Terrill backed away for the fire to burst on the man’s face. It burned bright, smoldering in the darkness as Krysta came near with her light, glancing back at the crystal behind them. “There’s no war that’s going to happen in Serotin, so get the hell away.”

“Are you sure? As Miss Radiant over here said, we’ve fomented much in the shadows. That’s all this has been: a chance to get you off the playing field,” Clay’s body crackled, magical energy coming off his body in waves. “Because there will be a war. We intend it. Just as the pirates and the soldiers of Serotin will intend it when the heads of the mayor and his progeny roll.”

“You bastard! Don’t you dare bring her into it!”

“Floyd, stop!”

Terrill wasn’t surprised that he didn’t listen, and he already moved to intercept. Light began to pour in the cavern, crackling and sparking as Krysta looked behind. Floyd was nearly at Clay, but Terrill got there first, aiming a kick that sent Floyd sprawling backwards. He was lucky he did as a stalagmite formed, almost impaling the impulsive boy. Terrill sent his sword slashing out, locking with the axe as he and Clay came face-to-face.

“Kill him, Terrill, before he gets to Torry!”

“Shut the hell up, Floyd. There’re more important things than your girlfriend, and if he’s working with the woman, getting rid of him won’t matter.”

“An astute observation. I can see why you’re the candidate…but we have many more irons in the fire, and you’re stuck here,” Clay said. Little mirth escaped his lips, and Terrill realized he wasn’t taunting, but informing. His eyes held no lie. Behind the clashing pair, Floyd failed to stand, while Krysta had run to the cracking cocoon around the crystal.

“Please, you have to help!” she called in fruitless effort.

Terrill stared into Clay’s eyes, taking in the fuller picture of his face. The more he looked, the more familiar he seemed. “Who are you?”

“For now, just consider me a Fiend, meant to keep you down here while she moves.”

“You caused the cave-in?”

“Perhaps.” His lips were sealed, and Terrill pushed harder, trying to use the earth to support his body in pressing forward. Clay didn’t budge.

It was rendered moot seconds later.

The light that was cracking through burst throughout the cavern, spiraling about. The cocoon shattered, its crystalline form free as it sent a blaze of brown light straight through the cavern. Clay chuckled while Terrill felt a warming sensation stir inside him, calming him. His arms lowered while Clay was pushed back.

“So, it would seem there is fight in you left. Good. Good! Find her, Blessed One! Become our Hero! Fight our war! It begins here at Silicias!”

They were the last words Clay spoke. Whether he was obliterated by the blast of light, or perhaps had teleported away like he already had multiple times, Terrill had no idea. But when the light receded, the man and his giant axe were gone. The light hung in the hall, keeping things bright, but there was no sign of him. Terrill’s legs gave out, causing him to slump with the others on the floor.

“So that was the plan… They want to kidnap the mayor…start a war…”

“Who the hell are ‘they’?” Floyd shouted, slamming his hand against one of the nearby pillars. Krysta pulled herself up, resting her hands on her knees as she ignored Floyd’s question to look at Terrill.

“Like fifteen years ago. Like in the legends.” She sighed with heaviness. “Do you think they’ve started?”

“I couldn’t say. We haven’t been down here too long, and there were no ships on the horizon. I’d like to think we have the chance to warn the mayor.”

“Then let’s get the hell out of here!”

“And how do you propose that, Floyd? In case you forgot, he caused a cave-in.”

“Then I’ll dig my way out. Nothing’s happening to Torry on my watch!”

“Calm down, we’ll make sure nothing happens to either,” Krysta assured him. She was regaining her breath, as was Terrill. “They left us alive, so they might leave him alive. Another war can’t happen. It can’t.”

“I agree,” Terrill said. He fell back, leaning on his hands with an expulsion of breath. Soon, laughter came pouring out of him, prompting concerned looks from his friends. “Unbelievable. I thought I was crazy when you talked about Golbrucht being a fairy tale, but now I feel like I’ve slipped into some alternate world. That man, Clay, looked so familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve seen him. The woman, too. Then there’s all this business of Heroes and Fiends, and I’m no closer to getting answers for what any of it is! Now we don’t even know how to get topside!”

None of them could provide the answers he sought, and nor did they try, preferring to nurse their wounds.

There was no need to provide answers, either.

“Fear not, Terrill Jacobs, there are yet many questions which need answers. Some of them you need only ask, and I will provide. Others, however, will require a greater search.” The voice from earlier, the one he’d heard inside his head, made him spring up, like his wounds had been forgotten. This time, he wasn’t alone, as Floyd looked around wildly, too, and Krysta looked down with closed eyes. It was a clear reaction to the ringing voice. “For now, though, I will provide what answers I can until I must rest. Ask.”

It had manifested before them, shimmering with a golden hue. It took the shape of a woman, dressed in white, with a bob cut for her hair and hands clasped as though praying to the goddess. Floyd scrambled back, hitting a pillar at the sight of this woman, but Terrill held his ground. Smoky tendrils surrounded her, threatening to choke her, but she remained still, brown connections of earth tying her to the crystalline structure behind her as the cavern remained brightly lit.

After seeing all of this, Terrill had just one question.

“Who…” he began with a gulp, “who are you?”

“The Lifeblood of Earth, and one who blessed you fifteen long years ago.”