Julia Sarcos

There was no pain when she stepped into the ruined center. The shine surrounding them held back the poison. Granted immunity from the screaming sky and ruined earth. Black lightning boomed overhead and the ground rumbled. Julia felt like prey being welcomed within by a beast. An offering of a hungry promise. Even she could feel the power here was malevolent, but hopefully not sentient.

“It’s terrible,” whispered Julia as she walked to join the madman. Her sword and shield were readied. Sternly the shieldmaiden scanned the terrain, holding back the concern and confusion tumbling inside. She sighed before adding, “I guess we just follow this road?”

Beneath them was shattered stone, the remnants of a road leading to the temple ruins ahead. A boneyard of civilization left to sky burial under broken heavens. Great and small columns rose from the rumble like distended ribs. Crumbling shells told the story of a large complex, with dozens of buildings surrounding a central structure. Only the temple’s heart still stood proudly. Immaculate and wrong.

In heart of it, the chaos pulsed. A beast grinning.

Strolling forward, Harken said, “Shall we? The altar waits. Straight as an arrow, as you perceived.”

The shieldmaiden only nodded and moved to take the lead. Gazing about, watchfully.

Protected by body and soul, the only effect the hellscape had was mental. The miracle could do nothing about what she felt seeing this ruined place. Reality rippled and the cracks in the earth shifted like starving maws. The rough terrain made sure the two of them had plenty of time to observe the sickened land. Each step had the risk of turned ankle. Hateful eyes brushed against them over and over again like itches upon the skin. All of this soaked in like the spread of madness.

Julia wanted to scream. Or perhaps just cry.

It was wearying, but the priestly man walked straight-backed. Moving as if there was no burden upon his heart. A sight that was both frustrating and uplifting to see. The same pressure must be pressing him down, but he walked with what seemed to be a light heart. Unbidden and unwanted, Harken was becoming a symbol of faith to her. A reminder of strength.

She had them halt when they arrived at the border of the temple complex. Ruined earth giving way to stained rubble. Though nothing yet had attacked, Julia was determined to take guarding Harken seriously. It had been asked of her and that meant something even through the choking fear. Carefully, Julia studied the chaotic ruins. There were many places something foul could hide, but nothing at all appeared to breathe within the ruins.

The shieldmaiden leaned down to inspect the rubble. It was gray stone, like granite and there were flecks of paint stubbornly holding on. Wind worn or rubbed off by time alone. There was also a slimy growth reaching up from under the piled chucks. It was thicker the closer her eye was drawn to the central structure. Knowing what to look for, Julia realized that it was the reason for the dark countenance of this realm’s heart. The black temple was covered entirely in the substance.

“I don’t like the look of this last stretch,” whispered Julia. “Nothing should be alive here, but if something is, it isn’t going to be pleasant. I’m smelling a trap.”

“And we must walk into it,” replied Harken, whispering too. In this dead land speaking too loud felt a sin. Even the priestly man was burdened by the sensation. “At least it is known. We go into its jaws prepared.”

“I hope you can keep that confidence when we’re surrounded.”

Harken smirked. “I shall.”

She huffed with annoyance, but stepped into the ruins anyway. It was too frustrating to talk about this to the man. A shiver ran through her body and the same struck him. There was a distinct change to the air as they crossed through. There was an old failed ward still able to contain a small portion of the wrongness here. Julia could feel the pressure doubling on the miracle’s protection. There was now a ticking clock.

A shared look was all she needed to confirm the insight.

The journey got tougher. Massive columns and piles stood in their way. Unstable stone was no longer their greatest difficulty, just the standard. Picking a way through became a tedious effort. Julia added to delay when she would halt them to look around, though he did not begrudge those calls. The eyes were getting more intimate and debris shifted without their presence. Something was out there. Waiting, watching.

Over one last hill of broken stone, there was the empty courtyard. A cleared space that surrounded the blackened temple. The outer edge was a ring of shards around cracked cobbles. In the center, the stone was overly perfect. Like a picture rather than reality.

The spaces between were utterly black.

They stepped down into the courtyard and waited. Looking or feeling for any change. There was only the deadened silence under all the growling distortions. It took a few steps inwards to summon their stalkers. Shambling, slime-covered corpses slipped from the shadowed crevices behind them. Any humanity was robbed by the foul growth. Featureless and wet.

“And there’s the trap,” growled Julia. “At least they are slow looking.”

After observing the undead’s placement, Harken said, “I think these are the chasers.”

Looking at them again, Julia agreed with him. The rest of the courtyard was empty. There was nothing remotely close to blocking their way into the temple. The monster appeared to rush them inside. “So everyone wants us to go into the temple. That’s probably safe then.”

“No doubt kneeling at the altar will be a trying affair.”

Julia rolled her eyes. “That’s a complete surprise to me.”

“I don’t believe I’ve heard you be so sarcastic before,” noted Harken.

“Only when I’m scared or terrified. Or Clarissa deserves some sass. Or when Malachi is being silly. Or…”

“Ahh, so it isn’t a rarity then.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

They both laughed, it felt good to fill the dead ruins with a spark of life. The shambling things reared back at the sound. Shuttering in painful confusion before returning to their ineffective march.

Eventually, the dire atmosphere spoiled the cheer, so Harken spoke up, “Shall we?”

“Sure, great. Let’s now turn our attention back to the wonderful experience you’ve dragged us into. Good thing you brought muscle, huh? Um… feels odd to be the muscle in this scenario. Well, any scenario.”

“Mana makes wonders of us all.”

“Ok, I’m ready to fight the undead monstrosities now! Your relentless zen cheer has driven me to it!”

With entirely over-the-top importance, Harken replied, “It is good that you are showing such enthusiasm for our task.”

Julia rolled her eyes at his barely suppressed chuckle, and said, “Alright, alright, laugh it off. Geez, let’s get moving before those zombies prove they can go faster than a few feet an hour.”

Laughing in the face of darkness gave buoyancy to their mood again. It was enough of an encouragement for them to endure the stark silence of the courtyard. With every step more of the shambling corpses made an appearance. A thicker and thicker crowd confirmed the avenue they were being herded down. It began to look like the distortion of a red carpet event. Dead glistening eyes passively watching from three sides. The stairs up into the temple were left damningly clear.

The undead only showed their fangs when she tried going in another direction. Just a simple test. The closest undead reacted violently, throat expanding like a frog with a wet snarl, and lashed out with dripping claws. The change in temperament rippled outwards the further the shieldmaiden pushed. The corpses were on the verge of swarming when Julia retreated. Their passivity returned quickly. It took Mana to burn off the black smears tracing down the shield and staining her sword.

“Those things won't go down easy,” she grimaced. “That gunk softens the blow way too much. Rebounds quickly too.”

“Perhaps we won’t need to fight them. We are here for the altar, not their destruction.”

“Assuming that goes well, we’ll still need to break through them.”

“Hmm, yes, combat does seem unavoidable in that case.”

“Fantastic, let’s get this done. One impossible task at a time. That’s my motto… apparently.”

“It isn’t a bad motto,” commented Harken with laughter in his eyes.

“I’m not sure I like what it implies that I can’t deny that statement either. Even spooky hell dimensions are starting to seem par for the course.”

“The Pit does offer up to us an extraordinary life.”

“That’s one way to put it. Personally, right now, I’d really like to finish this and cuddle up in a real bed. Forget the world a little bit.”

“Soon enough. Do not worry, we are close now.”

Not feeling particularly comforted by that, Julia said, “Riiight… It occurs to me, beyond kneeling on this altar… what exactly needs to be done?”

“Nothing, the poem was vague beyond aiming us to the act of kneeling,” admitted the priestly man. “I imagine the whole process will become clear soon.”

Julia shook her head in frustration and began walking up the entrance stairway. Grumbling under her breath, “Follow a madman into a sealed off horror show and you shouldn’t be surprised if you die. Gruemously and in some weird way no doubt.”

“I heard that.”

“Wasn’t a lie though.”

Their attempt to bicker into levity died cold when they walked through the entrance. Before them was the heart of ruin. The shadows reached out for them, grasping from shifting lines. Reality had become soft within these blackened walls. Trying to decide its dimensions was worse than looking through a fishbowl. Nothing stayed straight or held in place.

Around the center mass, everything curled.

A foul stench teased their noses and each step threw up a chalky black grime where there wasn’t a squelch of ooze. Rooms off the sides were black, wet growths disgorging through entryways. The only steady sight was the altar. Solidity floating upon a realm of disorder. It was a beacon that the two of them used to move forward. Their goal and guiding star.

The altar didn’t fit the surroundings. Not just in its stability, but also in the construction. Julia, happy to distract herself from what hovered beyond, noted the stone itself was a different material. Dark gray stone with thick veins of metal running in a uniform design. The carvings of the building were stark and utilitarian, without much decoration. In contrast, the altar was carved with precise, clean lines with adornments of gems surgically placed. Elegant candles lined the top, the half-burnt wicks somehow still preserved. It was a work of art.

Beauty illuminated by a backdrop of madness.

She couldn’t admire the design too close without noticing the infected wound in the air. Her being slowly pulled upwards and reluctantly saw. They stood in its malevolent glow. A quivering mass that appeared to simultaneously retched out pollution and gnawed the world inwards. To Julia, it was clear that this was the source of the veiny sludge. Every inanimate breath added more ooze to a vertical pool upon the ceiling. From there the infection spread, covering the entire temple and reaching outwards. The substance seemed to hold the structure together.

Harken broke eye contact with the wound first and moved to the altar. Reacting to her charge, Julia freed herself to look behind. The shambling ooze-covered bodies huddled in the doorway. A reverent cooing coming from their rocking forms. None yet dared to pass the threshold. That was nice, but it bothered her as well. Too strange.

“They aren’t coming in,” voiced Julia. She backed up to the priestly man, her head on a swivel. “Why aren’t they coming in? Is there something bigger in here?”

“I think we are just where they want us to be,” answered Harken absently. His attention was currently on the altar, touching the gems like knobs on a control panel. “Sacrifices for the hole to get bigger no doubt.”

The shieldmaiden turned sharply to the wound, eyeing it suspiciously. “Is it going to send out tentacles or something to pull us inside?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully not, but let’s not test that theory in any case. Stay on this side of the altar and we should be safe. From the hole at least.”

“Ok… what aren’t we going to be safe from?”

“I think we both have played enough video games to know what happens when I kneel down on that altar.”

“They’re going to rush in, aren’t they?”

“To pull me off, no doubt.”

“Ugh, zone defending is so stressful… Can’t you put a barrier up or something?”

Harken tilted his head thoughtfully, silent for a few terrible moments. She could hear the wet shifting from the bodies at the door. “At least at first, but I may need the Mana for the altar. We’re going to be giving it some fuel for a boost.”

“I’ll take it. Should be enough time for me to find the rhythm to these guys. Also, buff us too. And then take the Mana potion Allen figured out how to make.”

“Ahh, yes I forgot about those,” admitted Harken, his expression pleasantly surprised. He took one out of his bag. A plain jar with a gatorade blue liquid inside, it shifted thickly.

After a few spells, Julia’s armor gleamed with golden sparks and the impression of an invisible layer coating the metal. A domed barrier appeared around Harken and the altar. Sized small enough for one person to keep the cost of maintenance low. They shared a look through the protective sheen. No words were needed to start. Each turned away to focus on the task.

The priestly man kneeled and closed his eyes. White light emanated from him, a whisper slowly flowing into the altar. Julia felt the battle coldness flow over her. The panic was pushed down, crushed under the glacier of necessity. She released a breath as time slowed down. Quick snapshots of her surroundings to take in every avenue. There were only enemies ahead, but her paranoia didn’t miss the shadowed halls on either side of the temple. Blocked by the black growth didn’t mean blocked for the shambling things made of it.

Behind her, the sound of the candles lighting was loud and sudden. A foretelling of the invading light that shone brighter and brighter as Harken began to whisper a wordless prayer. The corpses howled, then showed their speed. Julia raised her armaments and burst forward.

The shield hit first, dark blue Mana exploding all of her kinetic force into the mass of monsters. They slammed into each other, tangled, and collapsed through the doorway. A few splattered to either side and these the shieldmaiden set upon. Her sword slashing not to kill, but to handicap. Bone hidden under the black goo’s leg snapped audibly. She spun to the other side of the doorway, checking on Harken before shield-bashing two creatures into a knot. A charged stomp created a clatter of shattered bone.

She spun again to intercept the limping corpse. It was hopping past her for the altar, a swing of the shield sent the thing back into the wall. One stomp to the chest caved in the supporting structure and rendered the monster immobile. The tangled crowd was losing numbers, all of them lurching for the doorway. A scattering of broken bones and intertwined ooze slowed them enough to give Julia time to look back again.

No movement from the halls. Not yet. There was a shivering coming from the rotten maw and the black growth pulsed. In the heart of light, Harken was but faint lines of detail.

To the fight, the shieldmaiden forced herself to return.

Though there was no sign of why, a ticking clock began in Julia’s head. It sped her to movement. She felt the urgency to slay or disable the corpses filling the entrance. Tick, tick, tick the clock ran down to an unknown time. In her heart were the visions of slimy monstrosities rushing from the darkness to smother Harken. The clock ticked and the shieldmaiden grew vicious in her hurry.

Mana radiated from her as she charged the gooey corpses crossing into the temple. Shield first and then Julia dug in. Bashing away grasping their arms and then bringing down the flat of her blade to destroy more bone. She beat down the monsters to be crushed under her foot. The assault was slowly pushing outside the building and her perception bubble saw the trail of lumpy slime left in the wake. It was time to retreat when the distance from Harken set off an alarm of concern.

Back inside, the shieldmaiden scanned the temple again. Seeking danger, feeling the ticking beating down on her. The wounded air quivered and hissed as the light seared wet growth. Some shadows may have shifted. Julia frowned and looked again. Nothing was certain as darkness and light assailed each other.

A weight fell upon her boot and began to slip around the ankle. Mana ruptured on instinct, Julia stepped back. On the ground, the broken corpses slipped forward like a spill. Flowing forward or flailing with any workable limbs. The corpses were maimed, but not subdued.

Julia frowned, I need to finish them off somehow. My blows can only slow these slimy things. I need fire or… She looked at the light burning around Harken. Wishing, a hope whispered and then it was time to get back to work. With empowered stomps, the floppy monsters were tossed back. Pushed or forced to the wall to buy more time.

That’s the goal, in the end, the shieldmaiden reminded herself. Hold the line, protect Harken until… whatever he’s doing is done. I don’t necessarily need to kill anything.

Despite the certainty of the words, she felt not a bit of comfort from them. More oozy corpses appeared in the doorway.

Once more the shieldmaiden charged. Shattering bone and leaving grotesque wreckage behind. The monster tangled in each other, groping together as a single mass. She intensively charged a shield beach to force the wave of limbed sludge back. It splashed back, some forced outside, but too much simply only hit before oozing forward. Julia snarled in frustration.

Turning to survey again, the ticking ended with the chiming of hour’s ruin. There wasn’t any confusion or mistake this time. Forms shifted out of the shadows all around Harken. Misshapen things hastily made from an assortment of bones. She abandoned the doorway, rushing to defend the altar. Pouncing on one side before bombarding another side. Repeatedly broke the hideous creations into piles of slime. She whirled around the praying Harken, the abominable soup growing thicker and the clear space shrinking.

Her breath came sharply, but Julia couldn’t slow. Around and around to keep pushing back. It was like battling back high tide. Another itch was taken no matter what you did. Harken’s sandcastle on the precipice of drowning.

I need something more, yearned the shieldmaiden. The powers of the Sixty spun through her head. All the mighty acts that made her brawn pale before them, from flames to arcane might. The need was real as the surrounding ooze piled up into walls. Into growing waves. In time it would roll forward, unstoppable. Even Harken’s cleansing light would be overwhelmed, what little protection the barrier could offer would be smothered in a surge of mass.

Julia thought of the miracle that allowed them to be there. Reflected on Harken's acquisition via prayer. Heard again his insistence to have faith. Those further encouragements that there was every reason to.

That she just needed to believe in herself. Harken did.

So hokey… and yet, isn’t it good to hear? The shieldmaiden smiled. Validation always does. He isn’t the only one either. Malachi. Clarissa. Vincent. Honestly, everyone else too. They believe. So can’t I? I should. Maybe, I mean, aren’t I worth it? I am. I am worth it.

A throb passed through Julia’s body as hesitation became acceptance. Her life had been a series of easy choices and inaction. More a product of momentum than an active effort. The Pit for all its torments and struggles had forged something out of her. She was someone. It wasn’t enough anymore to accept her place here. Now, the shieldmaiden would believe herself worthy of it.

Dark blue Mana spread outward as unrelenting light, searing and clean.

I am enough for this, no one else is necessary, Julia confirmed. She gathered power to her sword and with a thought, the blade became a torch. The encroaching mounds sizzled in her wake. A losing battle reversed. What was wrong was cleansed with every slash and stomp. Her shield became a beacon, a wall of furious glare whichever way it faced. The accumulated growth retreated before her emblazon storm. Silme fried and charred with a high hissing scream. Dusty grime marked the lost territory.

The temple shook and a hollow horn from the maw fouled the air. Black foulness undulated, dripping from the ceiling and ballooned from every entrance. The unnatural gloom outside was blocked completely. There were only two sources of light left. One prayed and another fought as dark sludge howled forward again.

Harken’s sphere of light was hard against her back. A wall and line she could not retreat past. Time began to narrow as Julia fought on that battle line. Circling desperately to hold back the fleshy darkness. Her defense began coldly and sure. Counting to time her position, a way to limit the seconds spent on one side. As the world narrowed and evil encroached, the fighting became fierce. Wild swings of sword and shield to spread the light around. Hissing filled the air as the shieldmaiden bought every second anew. Circling to keep them both from being swallowed up.

Until there was no space to move, not a step or a slash. The wet darkness moaned above her as it began to pour from atop. Angry blue light ate at what pressed Julia, but not enough. Not quick enough There was too much of the living slime. It's mass pressing against her was enough to ensure consummation. Julia took in a deep breath and prepared to burn herself out. Mana roared in her veins.

Behind her, the light changed and she fell through into Harken’s kneeling form. The black growth fell upon the sphere on all sides. It was silent and calm within. But only for a few seconds. This light would be devoured too.

Power still pulsed in her veins. Holding on until the coming doom. Julia turned to Harken. He was picking himself off the floor.

She asked, “Was it enough?”

He smiled at her resignation. “More than enough.”

“What?”

“Get ready to run, we’ll have only a moment.”

“We did it?”

“Indeed. The Gate should be unlocked. Soon as the reaction happens.”

“Reaction? Wha…”

Everything went white.

A hand slammed into her back and then gripped her shoulder. Blind and shocked, Julia ran with the urgings of the hand. She flinched at the remembered border. Horror and revulsion at the idea running headlong into that black growth beyond. There was just air. They ran through the temple and passed through the doorway before the light dimmed enough to see. Neither of them stopped until they had left the temple complex behind.

Julia skidded to a stop and turned around. A pillar of light sprang into the sky. Whether it crossed through the dome, she couldn’t say. The realm within seemed to be endless. It shined brightly for a time and then slowly dimmed before disappearing. The ruined earth was unchanged.

“I thought we would fix it,” frowned Julia.

Harken shook his head. “No, we just gave the cleansing a push. A little fuel to clean faster for a time. The dome, this haunted realm, they wax and wane in size, but slowly the purification wins. This hurt will be standing for several more lifetimes.”

“So what was the whole point of that?”

“Beyond enduring a trial of The Pit? We showed our faith and cleared the way forward.”

The shieldmaiden gave a small smile, thinking of the light waiting within her. “I guess that’ll do.”