Chapter LX: No Easy Way Out

Odessa didn’t know what to do. She could only stare at the lifeless body she held in her arms. Middlesky’s eyes gazed back up into hers.

The light had gone out of them. He lay dead on the ground.

She scarcely even noticed when Fated burst through the tunnel behind her. He sped forward like a man possessed. With the metallic clang of steel against steel, an arrow splintered against his shield. The Paladin turned with panic-stricken eyes, reaching out his hand towards Odessa. He was shouting something. Demons howled as they drew nearer, and she could not hear him. Her head turned as madness unfolded around her.

Demons were touching down from above her. They came in droves, masses of fangs and claws with horribly glowing eyes. There had to be fifty or more; perched over rocks, stomping across the ground, flying overhead. Shouts in the hideous demon language tore into her. They were closing in. Odessa shook her head, fighting for clarity. The Goblins were dead. They had killed the Goblins. If this was a trap all along, why do that? Middlesky was dead.

They hadn’t killed Middlesky or the Goblins. Odessa realized the demons had nothing to do with it. She didn’t see a bow among them.

She raised her head and looked dead in front of her. Forty paces away, a man holding a great bow stood amongst the demons.

The Hume’s auburn hair was cropped short, and mostly hidden beneath a broad-brimmed and conical hat. His body was draped in a garment of white with a blue cloak streaming down from it. It was plated with elaborate armor across the middle, a creation of intricate goldwork and exotic fabrics. There was an arrow burning black fire across its blade nocked in the bow he held, already drawn back. He stared right back at Odessa, and without hesitation, let the arrow fly.

Odessa was knocked aside as Raidom dove in the way. She heard him grunt as it pierced the thick plate surrounding his shoulder, sinking into flesh underneath. The Dark Knight’s head rose with fury in his eyes as he brandished the enormous sword he held. Feeding off of his own pain, he rose in a fog of blood-hued power rising from his body. The demons held their ground, laughing at Raidom as he brandished his great sword. Fated took up his flank, and the two stood back to back over Odessa. They were both saying something she couldn’t make out. Her eyes were locked on the archer.

He lowered his bow, raising one leather-gloved hand instead. At the snap of his fingers, twin portals of quivering darkness blossomed on either side of him. They faded to reveal two newcomers. An Elvaan with hair black as night stepped forward, covered in ornate armor of silver and gold. A sword with a golden blade was held in one of his gauntleted hands, and the other grasped a shield which he held at the ready. On the other side of the archer, a Hume had materialized. The polar opposite of the Elvaan, his hair was long and brown, and spilled out from underneath a demonic helmet as black as the night. The Hume’s armor was all dark as the helmet, covered in thick plates and wicked spikes, inlaid with a purple metal Odessa had never seen before. The construction of the breastplate gave the impression of exposed ribs. The Hume held out an enormous scythe, as black as his armor, and both he and the Elvaan stepped towards Fated and Raidom, raising their weapons menacingly.

The archer said something to them, but the howling of the demons kept Odessa from hearing. There were so many demons. The realization that she was going to die here began to sink in.

Steadily advancing, the archer’s own Paladin and Dark Knight came forward deliberately. Demons dropped down out of the sky as they did, taking up ranks behind them. Even as they did so, the Kindred around Odessa closed in their circle. They had no way out. Raidom hefted his sword, and as he did so a demon charged in ahead of the others. With a mighty cleave, Raidom swung his sword down at the monster, slicing its chest open as it got too close. It cried out in anger, deep black blood oozing from its wound. That was enough to open the floodgates. The rest of the demons poured in.

Like a shot from a Bastokan cannon, Celeres burst forth from the cave. The Monk’s body was glowing red, flames of his aura visible to the eye. He propelled himself past Raidom and Fated, and one of his clawed fists found its home in the chest of the wounded demon. A spew of black blood flew from its mouth, but before it could even topple over, Celeres ripped his hand free and turned to the next one. The Monk caught a swing from one of their jagged, hooked swords in a guard, lashing out with his other hand to leave three bone-deep lacerations across the demon’s face. Even as he did, the swarm moved in on him. Two were down, a small army remained.

Odessa could hear the strikes of weapon upon weapon as Fated and Raidom stood poised over her, defending her at risk of their own lives. She felt magic welling up nearby, and turned to see the Dark Knight the archer had summoned raising one of his hands. Fire bloomed in his grasp, and he shot the incendiary spell towards Raidom with deadly accuracy. Even as the Lieutenant drove back a demon with his sword, he lashed out with a burst of his own fire. The two bolts collided in midair, sending a shower of arcane sparks across the battlefield. The sensation of magic being called grew ten times over in Odessa’s head. Not all of the demons were warriors, she realized.

Fire and ice rained down upon them. Celeres was blasted aside by a bolt of lightning. Raidom was struck three times at once, his armor splintering under the force of the spells called down on him. Fated burst into flames, then froze simultaneously. The Paladin fell to the ground, and then released his own magic. Curative force washed over him, illuminating his being. The mage demons were standing well behind the advancing throng, Odessa could see now, grasping their gnarled staves in preparation for another barrage.

Their chance to strike again was taken away as suddenly a song swept across them. Eig had made her way silently towards the mage line, and all at once released the power of her spellsong. The light in the demons eyes dimmed visibly, and all at once the group of casters toppled over in a haze of magic-induced sleep. Almost instantly, Eig shrieked as a demon wielding a broad axe leaped towards her, with intent to cut the Bard in two. Celeres, however, tackled her, and both went tumbling across the ground towards where Odessa still sat perched over Middlesky’s body.

A demon slashed Raidom across the face, blood spilling out on the green grass beneath him. The Dark Knight countered with a strike of his own, slicing open the monster’s gut all the way to its spine. Two more appeared where it fell. Behind her, Fated was being battered relentlessly by a tide he could not possibly hold back.

Three of the demons were dead. Some eight or ten were asleep in the power of Eig’s spellsong. Close to forty were still on their feet and closing in. The archer stood stock still as he watched the situation unfold, his two surrogates coming closer with every second.

“Odessa!” a voice reached her ears. She turned to see Eig, the Mithra shouting at her despite being only a few feet away. “Get us out of here, Odessa! A spell! A spell!”

She stared at her, and then cast a desperate look at Middlesky’s body. The dead could not travel the way Eig was suggesting.

“We have to save the living, Odessa!” Eig screamed. “Teleport us out!”

The words struck her like a slap to the face. As a White Mage, the greatest failure she could suffer was letting someone in her care die. She had saved Raidom when they found him lying near death in the mountains. She kept Betrayil alive when Tzee Xicu had nearly killed him. She rescued Rykoshet when the Roc had torn him to pieces. Now Middlesky was dead, and she had never even been given the chance to save him.

She looked up from the body, and saw Fated buckle down to one knee. He held his shield firm as the demons pounded down over him. A shell of his chi crackled forth, hardening the very air around them as he used his reserves of energy to defend the others. Raidom grunted as a demon struck his arm, almost causing him to drop his weapon. All at once, however, a cascade of dark energy swirled over him as the Dark Knight called upon the power of his Souleater. Standing his ground to defend Odessa was worth the cost of his own life. Celeres hacked with his steel-bladed claws, each strike losing momentum as he simply ran out of strength. They would be dead in seconds.

The Paladin and the Dark Knight across the field from them halted. The archer had given them some sort of command.

Odessa knew Eig was right. She could not fail again.

White magic swelled within her being, reaching out into the void. Searching, seeking a point to hone in on. She knew what she was looking for. She only needed to maintain her concentration long enough to find it. Redoubling her effort, a haze of white light began surging around her. The image of her teammates held fast in her mind, she zeroed in on what she wanted. She sought a point of power, a node of the eldritch force which held Vana’diel together. Her thoughts swept across the continent, across Sauromugue, over the Meriphataud Mountains, and finally into what she sought. The image of a great crystal came to life in her mind.

A demon swooped down from above and took Fated by surprise. The Paladin’s armor cracked as his shield was knocked from his hands. He collapsed to the ground, and the demon raised his sword to strike Odessa down. Celeres tackled the fiend, rushing into it with his shoulder and propelling both of them into the clutch of demons surrounding them. Raidom released his devastating energy, slicing through one of the monsters with such ferocity that his swing ripped it completely in half. No sooner had he done so, however, then a demon’s axe fell on his arm, breaking his gauntlets and perhaps his bones. His sword fell to the ground as he gave a cry of agony. The two Humes and the Elvaan watching the fight observed dispassionately.

The archer’s eyes fell on Odessa. Without changing expression, he pulled back another arrow.

The magic welled up inside Odessa finally reached its peak. She threw one arm towards the sky, with the image of the Crag of Mea fixed in her mind’s eye. Around her, the terrain began to shift. Sweeping vistas of green grass and verdant fields melted away to broad chasms and endless rock. The scent of rolanberries was replaced by stale dust. Odessa’s magic reached out for the power of the crystal, and pulled her and those around her away from where they stood. Latching on to it, she let the crystal take her in, take them all to safety. Away from the demons, away from the death.

The archer’s arrow struck her just below the shoulder, sliding under her clavicle and piercing through her back. Blood immediately began staining both sides of her snowy white robes. She released her spell in the same instant, but shock and pain overcame her. Something twisted inside of her, and she knew something had gone terribly wrong. The faces of the others swirled around her. She could see Fated raising his head. Raidom was valiantly standing his ground, though he could not lift his arms. Celeres ran towards her, his fists bloodied as he shouted something which was lost in the embrace of her spell.

There was a surge of white magic which shook the ground as Odessa’s concentration splintered at the moment of completion. In the next moment, they were gone.

The spell was complete. They were safe.

Celeres stared out from the Crag of Mea. One of several points of such concentrated energy that one with enough skill could actually focus in on it and teleport there. Tahrongi Canyon stretched out around them. A day or two marching north and they would be back in Oztroja. It appeared Antiqix would be spared.

Fated lay on his back, trying to rise. Raidom was barely holding on to consciousness. Odessa turned and saw the arrow sticking out of her shoulder, and was taken aback by the amount of blood staining her robes.

That was not their greatest problem at all, in her mind.

Her spell had been interrupted at the exact moment of release. Celeres, Raidom, and Fated had all come with her, appearing where she intended. In that split second of having her concentration shattered, however, her spell had been altered, splintered as her concentration.

Eig was not with them. And Odessa had no idea where the Bard had been sent.

She sat on her knees, looking up at the sky as night crept over them. They had all been wounded. Eig was gone. Middlesky was dead.

Silently, Odessa prayed to Altana, not having the strength to fight the tears which came streaming down.


The archer stepped forward towards the scorched grass. The demons howled their frustration all around him, but he did not bother to call for silence. On the ground, the body of the Red Mage he had shot lay still. Two Goblins were not far off, each as dead as the mage.

“The Goblins are in the nest, like we thought,” he told the two at his side. They shared a look, and then awaited further orders. The archer himself was thinking about what his next move should be.

“Forget about them,” he ordered finally, standing and turning away. A few Goblins were hardly worth the effort compared to what they had just discovered. “Lahhan,” he ordered the Paladin, “go back to Doshu. Tell him what we saw. MacBeth, you’re with me.” The Dark Knight nodded in acquiescence, holstering his scythe in place at his back.

“What should I say to Doshu, Eudon?” the Paladin asked.

The archer stared at the scorch marks in the ground.

“Tell him we know where the survivors are hiding.”