Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave tossed aside the newly acquired knife. It clattered against the floor. Some of the knives could be good loot, but he had nothing to evaluate them with.

“Give warning before you do something like that,” Anneliese rebuked Argrave, placing her hand to her heart and sighing to dispel her tension. Galamon put away his sword.

Argrave shrugged without a response, watching Durran walk past the golem while giving it a wide berth. He bent over, leaning on his glaive, and retrieved the discarded knife.

“Good gods. If I’d known your little fellas could muster warriors that could cut steel, I might’ve thrown them a snack or two, won their favor.” Durran flipped the spearhead knife through his fingers, running his fingers opposite the edge to test its sharpness.

“They eat souls,” Argrave turned to him. “Might be you have fed them, but not deliberately.”

Durran gazed at the four small creatures scamper back to Argrave, seeking refuge in his clothes once again now that their task was done. “Got a miracle pet lined up for me?”

Argrave blanked. It was a good point, certainly, but he’d been too distracted to plan for what to assign to Durran. He mulled for a moment, then recalled, “You’ll have to get to C-rank if you want any permanence in bonds. Most of the D-rank druidic spells aren’t the type that’ll keep your druidic links lingering by your side for longer than a few hours. Anneliese has the C-rank [Bond], while I use [Pack Leader].”

“And in time, I plan on learning the B-rank spell [Progenitor], to bind us in a druidic network,” Anneliese butted in.

“That spell Tirros used back at the druidic camp in Mateth?” Argrave pointed, but then realized she probably wouldn’t know as she hadn’t been there. “Never mind, I know what it is. That… will be useful,” Argrave nodded. “At that point, you’ll be able to notice what my Brumesingers notice. Between the Starsparrow and them, ambushing us is going to be impossible. And that’s a damn great thing, because we can win most fights we’re aware are coming.”

“C-rank spells, huh?” Durran clenched his fist. “Alright. Got something to focus on. Might be I come to you two for pointers.”

Argrave walked to Anneliese and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Sure. Anneliese is the best teacher you could ask for.” He took his hand off, glancing around the square. “But we’ve idled enough. It’s time to head to Essenza, the Skyburnt Fortress.”

With those words, his gaze rested on the only road remaining that headed upwards. It went along the top of the peak, heading steadily upwards. A giant drum tower was visible in the far distance, like a capstone atop the mountains. Unlike the roads before, this was one adorned with mostly fully functioning golems, their spears still intact. Few of the subterranean people cared to test themselves on golems of that sort…

And barring two, Argrave didn’t plan on it, either.

#####

Galamon raised his hands to his ears, startled by the deafeningly loud thunder booming out across the peaks. Everyone else was a step slower in reacting, but they all turned to the sky where stormy clouds whirled far above.

“Lightning on mountaintops? Forget this,” Durran shouted out. “We should call it a day, wait for conditions to improve. I like living.”

“They won’t improve,” said Argrave loudly. “This place is always misery weather-wise.”

The Skyburnt Fortress, Essenza, was the only piece of architecture atop these peaks built wholly by the subterranean mountain people. It was octagonal in shape, built around a cone mountain peak. Eight towers marked eight corners, each with a jade pavilion atop them similar to the one they’d seen within the wildlife sanctuary. The cone peak had a great drum tower built atop it, and the peak’s innards had been bored out to make stairs leading up to the tower.

As they continued to watch the stormy skies, lightning struck again. The lightning arched towards the top of the jade pavilions, where spikes of metal rose up into the sky. The metal spike and jade pavilion both sparked, glowing brilliantly even amidst the shade of the clouds. Despite the size of the apparent storm, no rain fell. Even the winds had ceased.

“You really want to go in there?” Durran asked incredulously. “Even the youngest in the tribes know not to fly a wyvern in a storm. This is no good!”

“This place isn’t natural. We’ll be fine. Just don’t step on the jade,” Argrave warned, stepping forward. “If you don’t step on the jade, you’ll be fine. If you do step on it, you might die.”

Argrave took the first step forward, and his two elven companions followed without second-guessing him. Durran hung back, turning in the road as though deliberating between waiting outside and following. Eventually, he let out a low laugh, and rushed to catch up with Argrave.

They passed beneath the great gateways of Essenza, where two golems three times the size as those on the road stood guard. Their spearheads were fashioned of greatswords. Frankly, those two gate golems were nightmarish when compared to the weapon they dropped, and Argrave was quite glad that he didn’t need to fight them.

The interior of Essenza was a barren place, but it seemed busy. That was lending to the pattern running across the floor. The place was a maze of simple, gray stone and beautifully polished jade. Whenever the clap of thunder deafened them, the jade on the floor would spark and glow, gleaming dangerously.

“The Ice of Balein…” Galamon muttered.

“What?” Argrave turned back.

Galamon said nothing, watching the jade writhe with sparks at random intervals. Then, he knelt down, staring a bit closer. “The Ice of Balein is said to conduct electricity in this manner. I thought it only myth, but the appearance, its characteristics…”

Argrave raised a brow, thinking on the matter. If he prowled his memory, the term was vaguely familiar. “You’ll have to tell me more of it later,” Argrave concluded, and Anneliese nodded in agreement.

Galamon grunted, rising to his feet.

“Give me some space,” Argrave held a hand out. “I’ll lead—I know the way. We have to walk across this. If we’re closely bunched, someone might bump into someone, cause an unfortunate accident. Whether it be the walls, the floor, the ceiling—be very mindful of what you touch. Avoid this Ice of Balein. Follow my lead.”

Despite Argrave’s confident command, he took a deep breath to fight his uncertainty. Everyone gave him ample space, watching him closely. He set his foot down on the first bit of stone, very mindful of how near he was to the jade.

Like this, Argrave stepped forward ever so slowly. He took a safe, if streamlined, route, heading around the central drum tower in the center towards where he knew the stairs would be. He was ever mindful of how large his feet were in this moment, and more than a bit resentful of this fact. He remained cautious with his steps and deliberated long before he touched anything for balance.

Whenever the lightning sparked, it was difficult to avoid being distracted by the brightness and the sound of it. Between focusing on the path and avoiding being distracted by the myriad distractions, it was very fitting to call this place a ‘test.’ He could not afford any focus to the people behind him.

Eventually, he looked up and saw an opening in the drum tower. He let out a light sigh of relief. Like this, he took measured steps towards it, refusing to allow his caution to drop even slightly. With his enchantments, he wasn’t sure if the lightning would kill him outright. It definitely didn’t stand to be pleasant, though, and Argrave made sure not to test that theory.

When Argrave passed the opening, things became easier. A stairway lay ahead. These stairs simply alternated—in every two steps one was made of jade, the other of stone. Considering Argrave took stairs two steps at a time normally, it didn’t prove to offer much challenge at all. Argrave got into a stable position, and then waited for his companions to get closer.

“Anyone had any shocking revelations?” Argrave called out once everyone had caught up amply.

“Listen, leader man—now is not the time,” Durran called out with a tight voice.

Argrave was too tense to laugh at that, and he turned to the stairs once he was content everyone was well. Despite the ease it offered, he moved very cautiously. The stairs were smaller than his feet, as it turned out, and so he needed to awkwardly maneuver with his feet held sideways to avoid touching the jade portions. That, coupled with the fact that he couldn’t use the walls for balance easily, made it much more difficult than he had thought.

After probably the most tiring set of stairs Argrave had ever endured, he saw the storm hovering above. He didn’t dare drop his caution at that point, very carefully making his way up to the top of the central drum tower.

The top of the drum tower was flat, marked by a large jade spiral starting from the center and moving outwards. Each branch of the spiral was thin, and easy to step over. The parapets were tall enough that even Argrave could not see over the higher portions.

At the opposite end of where they had come from, two golems stood. They were a fair bit larger than most of the ones that had decorated the walkway. They were more complete, somehow—their figures were more intricate, and they bore genuine armor. It seemed to be plate mail. Their spears, too, were different, most notably in the spearhead. The knife spearheads were blue, green crystals on their length shining brightly.

Durran emerged, carefully jumping past the last jade stairway onto the bit of stone that was safe. He held his arms out and smiled in triumph, eyes darting around. He spotted the golems, and his face fell.

“Gods be damned. You bloody bastard,” he looked at Argrave incredulously.

“Yep,” Argrave nodded.

Durran pointed his glaive. “These are the ones we’re to fight, and on this hellscape that sparks every couple seconds?”

Argrave shook his head. “No, I came up here to get a nice view for our picnic.”

“Alright. Stupid question,” Durran conceded. “Well, I guess I get to sit back while you get your little creatures to slave away.”

“Au contraire,” Argrave waved his finger. “The knives these guys have are a little too strong to be chopped very quickly. And they’re a little faster than their jerkier relatives.” Argrave took a deep breath. “The master thief I mentioned—in their folklore, he was attuned with lightning. Allegedly, those spears hold the daggers he used.” Argrave held his arms out. “Stands to reason that the test to get them won’t be easy, no?”

His gaze passed between Galamon and Durran. Galamon caught on quickly, and after a while, Durran’s face grew somber as he realized what was to be asked of him.

“We ought to plan,” Argrave clasped his hands together. “Lucky for all of us, I know how these guys fight.”

#####

As much as Argrave wished he could simply fight these golems from a safe place, no such safe place existed. Against these foes, maneuverability was a valuable thing. The area was wide, and though it had one prevailing hazard, the spirals were thin and easily sidestepped as long as one remained cautious.

Galamon stood at the forefront. Durran was near him, if slightly behind. Anneliese and Argrave stood at the back. Argrave had his Brumesingers prepared for combat, while Anneliese had moved her Starsparrow a safe distance away. It couldn’t be called a formation—there weren’t enough people. But it was definitely deliberate, and all prepared for the fight with the two golems across.

The first to make their move, as agreed, was Galamon. He got his bow and arrow ready, taking aim. Without hesitating much, it twanged out, the loosed projectile soaring through the air ordinarily. It struck the golem on their right.

At once, the whole air seemed to shift. The still black clouds above them writhed, and all electric activity within ceased. As if reaching down, the center of the cloud descended downwards a single point, heading for the golems. The storm cloud seemed to enter into their nose, their ears, their eyes. Durran clenched his glaive a bit tighter.

After a time, the electricity within the clouds sparked loudly, then rained upon the right-side golem’s spear in such large quantity as to produce a boom louder than any that had come before. Everyone flinched from the intensity of the sound even though they had all expected it.

Both of the golems stepped forward, black storm clouds billowing from their joints and their eyes. Their eyes sparked with electricity, visible even through the black mist surging from within. Their exaggeratedly angry expressions seemed genuinely terrifying in that moment.

Durran laughed maniacally. “Gods above. My heart’s skipping beats.”

The golem on the right side hefted its spear. It seemed to be holding a solid mass of electricity.

“I’ve gotta concur,” Argrave shouted back.

The golem slammed the spear down, and electricity consumed the spirals, sending pillars of lightning up into the sky in the shape of a vortex. When things settled, the lightning had passed to the golem on the left side.