Half of them could no longer stand under their own power. Two were receiving emergency treatment just to keep their hearts beating. Injuries sustained in battle with the undead were superficial at worst, as they were always too quick to be lured into any drawn-out confrontations. The whole of their problems stemmed from the Runic Portal. They were burning out, and quickly. As he caught Pixel's eyes, he knew that there would be no more return trips. Their squad was decimated by weakness.
"So . . . it's so . . . "she started to say softly.
Kkel gently motioned her to silence. The silver-haired Tarutaru closed her eyes, sliding down against the wall and breathing heavily as she clutched Gjallarhorn. With some great effort, he managed to turn away from her as the door to the Chamber of Passage opened. Footsteps carried down to where he stood, and it was only a few moments before the figure of Razfahd appeared at the opposite end of the hall. With a dispassionate eye, the Grand Vizier surveyed the exhausted soldiers of the Sunserpent's assault team. Slowly his gaze turned to Kkel himself, and there was a pained understanding within them he had not expected to see.
"This mission is over, Solaar."
"No, wait," Kkel stumbled forward, shaking his head when his vision blurred. "I can still go on by myself. Give me just a little longer and - "
"General, do not make me repeat myself." The familiar coldness of Razfahd's voice crept back in. He sighed deeply, clasping his hands behind his back. His stern, hawk-like features softened slightly. "Kkel," his tone was placating, "you will kill yourself. You have done all you can do."
"There's no way the Lamia will keep their forces on alert if the attacks don't keep coming," he protested. "Jinxie must be practically to Arrapago by now, we'd be practically laying a trap for her! Even if she does succeed she'll only find the undead swarm waiting for her and her son when she tries to return."
Razfahd looked at him, maintaining his haughty veneer. "When I first saw you return from your last mission, I gave orders that reinforcements be sent to accompany Jinxie."
"Reinforcements?"
The Grand Vizier nodded. "Their orders are to assist her in completing her task . . . or bring her back here if the situation seems unable to be salvaged."
Kkel put a hand against the wall, watching the Runic portals pulse steadily. Clenching his fingers, he smashed a fist against the brick and mortar, letting his head hang. "I can't let her down, Razfahd," he said without looking at him. "She saved more than my life. She saved my soul. I have to repay her."
"Then do it some other time, Sunserpent," the Grand Vizier ordered, "whatever happens from here on out is entirely up to her."
The General closed his eyes, letting a breath escape slowly. Under his breath, he uttered a silent prayer to Walahra. He asked for nothing more than for Jinxie to be kept safe.
"I hate this Empire!" Jinxie screamed as she darted backwards. The Khimaira crashed down into the ground snout-first, tearing the dirt apart in its failed attempt to bite down on the blonde woman. Jerking its head free, it snorted, looking around for the fleeing meal. When its soulless white eyes fell upon her, it lunged again with a hungry snarl. Jinxie narrowly avoided its crushing jaw, breaking into a run as its fangs missed her. Diving forward, she snatched her sword from the ground and rolled up, holding the slim blade forward defensively.
The Khimaira looked at the blade, then snorted derisively, stomping its way towards her. Jinxie felt the hilt tremble in her grasp as the monster closed in on her, but she held her ground. It was still blocking the only exit, and if she had to take it apart one slice at a time to get free, she would. She wished fervently for the power to fight it with magic as she had the Hydra, but that was no longer an option. Her eyes widened when she saw a surge of electricity begin forming from its thick horns, and the bat-like wings on its back flared open. The beast was hungry, and did not feel like playing with its food.
The sparks flying from the tips of its horns abruptly died as the Khimaira roared, rearing upwards and bucking violently. Jinxie lowered her sword, confused, as the monster twisted and writhed, but then she flew backwards as it crashed its front paws down on the ground. The force tore her from her feet, sending her hurtling towards the cliff wall surrounding the area. She tensed her body, bracing her arms in front of her head as she prepared for impact. Before it could happen, there was a flash of darkness, and the next thing she knew she was settled on the ground.
Blinking, she looked up and saw a lithe figure wrapped in black standing above her, two katana outstretched. Gray eyes did not move from the Khimaira as the woman moved up and down on the balls of her feet, preparing for an attack.
"Vaala!" Jinxie exclaimed, scrambling to her feet.
"It would be best if you flee, provisional Major Jinxie," the Mithra told her as the Khimaira's eyes found them. "I will not be able to hold this monster back for long."
"Let me help," she lifted her sword up, leveling it at the beast. "I can't just leave you here."
Vaala did not move from where she was. "You have not used magic since we began this journey," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, "not even now, when your life was at risk." The Khimaira roared, and then began closing in on the two of them. "Am I correct in saying that there is something preventing you from doing so?"
"I - "
"Your assistance would be unwarranted. Run away while you can." Before she could argue, the monster was on them again, swiping at them with its enormous front paws. Jinxie dove to the side, avoiding a strike, but Vaala ran forward instead, planting her feet on its gargantuan limb and running up the sinewy length towards its head. Her hand flashed, and a row of shurikens suddenly blossomed on the Khimaira's muzzle. It shook, almost as if a sneeze, and they all fell to the ground. Vaala pulled away from the monster with a backflip to the ground, watching her weapons fall harmlessly, not even going in deep enough to do more than make the creature itch.
Jinxie watched as the Ninja darted back and forth, astonished. There was no wasted motion in anything the assassin did, not a single exertion more than necessary. When the Khimaira came at her with its mouth open, her hands made a rapid series of gestures and then a cloud of purple smoke erupted in front of her. The beast reared back, coughing violently as another spray of silver shuriken broke from the haze. They embedded themselves in its chest, but fell out as soon as the Khimaira's feet impacted with the ground. It spun about, searching for Vaala, but she was running swiftly behind it, just beyond its range of vision.
Her ears caught the sound of something grinding together as Vaala lanced one hand forward. A moment later, flames sprung up on the Khimaira's back, the scent of burning fur mixing with the odor of swamp water and fumes. This time the beast did roar, feeling the intense heat of Vaala's eastern chemicals eating at its skin. With an earth-shaking clamor, it toppled itself over and rolled into the thick mud around it, squelching the flames. The Ninja watched with some surprise as the still-smoking monster righted itself, shaking flecks of dirt from its thick mane.
"A smart one," she said in an even tone. "Not ideal."
As soon as it was upright again, the monster leaped towards her, black-and-red wings stretching upwards as it tracked down the Mithra. Vaala ran towards it as well, and Jinxie shouted at her in confusion as she went headlong into the towering creature. Just before the moment of impact, however, Vaala's lithe form slid down into the muck, momentum carrying her forward, beneath the Khimaira's belly. In a burst of leaves and black powder, she emerged behind it, brandishing both her katanas and a fresh batch of her flammable tools. Like Jinxie, she gave no thought to the monster's fur-topped tail.
Only when a burst of a foul green spray shot out from it, enveloping Vaala in a sickly-colored cloud, did Jinxie see the stinger concealed beneath the hair.
In a puff of acrid green smoke, the Ninja burst out from inside the cloud, but almost immediately fell to the ground. She planted her arms beneath her, struggling to rise as the Khimaira turned. Its eyes fell on Vaala's struggling form as she coughed, trembling with pain as poison began spreading through her body. Jinxie ran to her side immediately, trying to pull her up as she started going limp.
"Jinxie," Vaala breathed, her voice hoarse, "run," a fit of coughing swept over her, and her body convulsed.
"Hang on!" She shouted at the Ninja. "We'll - "
The rest of her sentence was lost as the Khimaira rammed into the both of them, sending them sprawling in different directions. Jinxie came down hard on the ground, crying out as pain shot through her leg. She rolled a distance after the impact, and when she finally stopped the world kept on spinning, leaving her completely disoriented. Trying to shake her vision clear, blurry shapes in the distance suddenly came into focus. With a gasp, she saw Vaala lying motionless beneath the Khimaira's fangs.
"No!" she started to shout, fumbling for her sword, but the Khimaira paid her no heed.
"Hey you purple abomination," a higher, louder voice with a distinct Imperial accent shouted through the trees, "get away from them!"
A cloud of needles shot out from the trees, peppering the Khimaira's thick hide. To Jinxie's surprise, the slender form of the puppet Shoki rocketed out from the bush, its tiny hands firing a barrage of the deadly projectiles. Turning, it roared angrily at the intrusion to its meal, swiping a crushing paw at the marionette, but Shoki vaulted upwards in mid-air, as if pulled by a set of invisible strings. A moment later there was a surge of motion on either side of the monster, and a jarring impact that shook the clearing. The Khimaira's eyes rolled back in its head as on one its left side, Isset's foot was buried in its face, and on the right, Speed's great axe was thrust up against its jaw. They seemed to hang there for a moment in time before breaking free of the beast, both landing safely as it reeled.
"Jinxie!" Isset shouted. "Are you alright?"
"Vaala," she urged in response, desperately indicating the fallen Ninja, "you have to help Vaala!"
"I'm on it," the Puppetmaster declared. "Keep this thing busy, Speed!"
"What? Aw, maaaaaan . . . " the mercenary loosely hefted up his great axe as the Khimaira snorted, easily brushing off the earlier attack. It's attention fell on the dark-haired Warrior as he sighed. "This place is such a downer, man."
As Speed prepared to fend off the hulking creature, Isset and Shoki appeared by Vaala's side. "It's some kind of toxin, the Khimaira shoots it from its tail," Jinxie explained. "Do you have more of your antidote?"
"Of course," with a flick of her wrist, a compartment on Shoki's torso sprang open, revealing a row of vials within. "Is the poison resistant to magic?"
"What? I don't know, I - " she stopped as she realized what Isset was asking her. "I can't help her, Isset. I'll explain later," she spoke over the raven-haired woman's question, "we need to help Vaala now!"
A breeze suddenly blew past, and they both blinked as something large flew in between them.
Isset gave a gasp as a loud thud shook the leaves from the ground, and they both turned to see Speed collapsed against the cliff wall, sprawled head over heels. Turning back around, the Khimaira loomed over them, Speed's amood between its teeth. Growling irritably, it spit the weapon out, looking down at the two women beneath it.
"Run," Jinxie said without looking at Isset.
They broke in opposite directions, the Puppetmaster scooping Vaala up and darting away in one smooth motion. The Khimaira roared, bounding after Jinxie with growing speed. She pumped her legs as fast as she could, but in one mighty leap the creature flew over her head, spinning in the air to land directly in front of her. Thinking quickly, she dropped to her side and pushed down hard, sinking her arm into the mud and jerking her body to a stop just in front of the beast's gnashing teeth. Pushing forward with her free leg, she propelled herself in the opposite direction.
She had only made it a few steps when Isset sped past her, and she turned to see the Puppetmaster smashing her fist square into the monster's nose. Ignoring the strike, the Khimaira opened its jaws to swallow her up, but she ducked beneath its muzzle and delivered a stunning uppercut to the creature. It stared at her in annoyance.
"This isn't good," she admitted, then cartwheeled quickly aside as the beast swatted at her with its paw.
This time, however, the Khimair did not chase after her. Rumbling with anger, its horns began to spark once more. Jinxie felt her hair rising up as lightning started surging from within it. The air became thick as she turned, trying to get away from the storm which was suddenly and inevitably brewing. She heard Isset shouting towards her, but her words were overpowered by the sudden and shocking release of pent-up energy from within the monster's body.
A wave of thunder cascaded from its horns, striking down the area with force which caused the ground to erupt. Jinxie cried out as she was creased by a column of electric force, her red tabard burned dark black by the contact. Gritting her teeth as she fell, she struggled to make her body stop shaking and get back up. The current which had run through her was making her muscles contract, and her legs weren't listening to her commands that they move her back to her feet. She twisted her head up and found the Khimaira looming over her, and her eyes went wide when it scooped her leg up in its open mouth, fangs glistening above.
With a jarring impact, something struck it dead in the center of its face. It dropped Jinxie down as its wings went limp on its back, as for the first time it appeared genuinely stunned. The next thing she knew, she was being scooped up off the ground and watching Isset fly by again, this time with Shoki in tow. The duo rapidly attacked the monster as Jinxie looked up and found Sefadin's smiling face looking towards it. He set her down, raising up his shield.
"What a beauty!" The mercenary grinned widely. "I haven't seen a Khimaira this big since that one they fished out of Hazhalm. Of course, that one had three heads."
"Of course it did," Jinxie said flatly.The Khimaira spun around rapidly, flaring its wings with a howl. Isset leaped backwards to avoid its slashing paws, skidding to a stop on the ground as the monster turned towards Sefadin. It eyed him for a moment, tilting its head, then let out a ferocious roar. The trees shook as the ground rumbled beneath their feet, and the mercenary stood as the focal point for the violent display. His face was stoic even as his hair blew back and the mud at his feet broke apart and went flying. When its howl died down into a low grumble, the man and the monster stood face to face, Sefadin staring up at the beast towering over him.
"Oh, you're coming on to me now?" Sefadin's voice was a low, excited growl. "Well I should warn you babe, I'm a cold heartbreaker, fit to burn," with the ringing of steel, he tore his blade from its scabbard, "and I'll rip your heart in two." There was burst of chi at his feet, sending the dry leaves around him circling upwards. As he looked up at the Khimaira, a smile broke his lips. Jinxie covered her eyes as a blinding flash burst from his sword, and the beast howled as well. When she looked back, blinking spots from her vision, she was amazed to see that the weapon had taken on a golden sheen.
"Sing," the Paladin said, bringing his sword to bear, "Hauteclaire!"
Sefadin's sword burst into brilliant light, shining radiantly as he held it out towards the monster. It recoiled from the light, roaring in confusion as Sefadin brandished the golden blade. "Krista!" He shouted out. "Fight music!"
"Aye, Captain!" Jinxie spun around to see the Bard running up to join them, panting and waving, fumbling through her belongings until she produced a harp. Rapidly, her fingers strummed the strings as her voice rose, and soon a stirring march was spreading through the clearing. Krista's spellsong wrapped around Jinxie, and she felt her limbs becoming lighter, her thoughts clearer. The urge to find her sword and take it up again began drumming at the back of her brain. She had to fight down the feelings, but was surprised by the strength of Krista's song.
Sefadin, on the other hand, was reveling in it. His sword, Hauteclaire, made a distinct ringing noise everytime he swung it. What was more, depending on the way he held it, the ring would alter in pitch and duration, making it truly sound like the blade was singing. The Khimaira reared back from his repeated strikes, and she could see streams of bright red blood trickling down from where Hauteclaire's bites were succeeding in making shallow cuts. Smirking, the Paladin held the beast at bay with his strikes, moving in time to Krista's frantic tune.
"I like it," he declared over the sound of battle, "it's got a good beat, and I can dance to it."
"What is that sword?" Jinxie asked, shielding her eyes against its brilliant sheen.
"Captain Sefadin's famous golden sword, Hauteclaire," she turned to see Isset approaching her, pausing to catch her breath. "It amplifies his defense and fighting power so long as he wields it, and sings upon his command. I gave Vaala an antidote," she continued, "but this poison is strong, it's going to take her some time to get through it." She twisted the hand holding Shoki's manipulator around, and the puppet appeared at her side, holding up a familiar silver length. Jinxie blinked, drawing her rapier out of its grasp.
"You're not joining in, Jinxie," Isset said plainly. "What's happened?"
"Isset, I . . . " she looked at her friend, her eyes pleading. "I have to find my son. There's no way they'd let me come along if they knew."
Isset's gaze was imperceptible, and there was a long moment gone before she spoke again.
"Speed!" She shouted, turning her head towards the Warrior.
"Lemme alone Issy," he mumbled, still in the position he had been when the Khimaira swatted him away. "I'm unconscious."
Marching over to him, she kicked him in the side, causing him to topple over into a sitting up position.
"Get your axe and get back in there, this thing isn't dead yet."
"Man," he muttered, pushing himself up off the ground, "such a buzzkill."
As Speed retrieved his weapon, Sefadin went screeching past Jinxie, his shield held up as he was propelled backwards through the mud. Halting himself with a burst of chi, he immediately ran forward again, colliding with the monster and holding off one of its paws with his shield and fending off a second set of claws with Hauteclaire. Releasing the parry with a backstep, he avoided the Khimaira's fangs and then stretched out his sword, which emitted a fierce shine towards his foe.
"Hauteclaire," he ordered, "Sentinel!"
The sword flashed, and the air around the Paladin grew thick. Just as it did, however, the Khimaira reared back with one paw, roaring as it took a fearsome swipe. Jinxie gasped as it struck Sefadin full on. Krista's song stopped as the Bard shrieked, and Isset and Speed froze in their rush to assist the Captain.
As for Sefadin himself, he turned his head back towards the monster, grin still splitting his face. "What," he asked, the air gleaming around him, "is that all you got?"
A fresh wave of chi burst from him as he slashed with fresh vigor at the beast. Krista immediately fumbled with the strings of her harp, but managed to grasp it and strike up her tune again. Isset nodded to Speed, and the Warrior gave a sigh, hefting his crescent-bladed axe. As Sefadin drew the monster's attention, the two of them launched a fresh assault. Speed's weapon dug into its side as Isset's bone-crunching blows hammered its ribs. Shoki flew up from atop the Puppetmaster's shoulders, hands pumping out a series of white-hot balls of flame. It flared its wings up, but Sefadin bashed it in the face with his shield, stunning it, and they immediately drooped back down.
The beast reeled, and Sefadin drew back as well. "Soldiers, form up!" he shouted, and the other two pulled back their attacks. "Let's finish this bad girl off," he ordered, and immediately the level of spiritual energy he was pouring out flared even higher. Isset and Speed followed suit, and Jinxie could feel the intense pressure coming from them as they prepared to launch a final assault.
"Now then," Sefadin yelled, Hauteclaire near blinding with divine light, "on my mark." The Khimaira had recovered, and was roaring with fury at the pain it had been caused. "Over here, sweet thing," he yelled. "I'm back, and I'm coming your way!" He exploded from where he was, blade forward, heading right for the creature's head as Isset and Speed closed in on it from the sides. "Well now I'm supercharged," he leaped into the air, preparing to cleave downwards, Hauteclaire's song filling the air, "and I might just - "
An ephemeral mist burst from the Khimaira's skin, and all at once all the chi Jinxie had been feeling vanished. Hauteclaire's song died in the air and the sword's shine vanished as Sefadin dropped like a stone to the ground. Isset stumbled in her charge, and Speed's axe scraped ineffectually off of the monster's side. All traces of their power dispersed, just as the beast's mist did. Krista's song abruptly stopped as she and Jinxie gaped at the scene.
"What - " Sefadin started to say.
"Captain!" The Bard screamed. "Look out!"
Sefadin did not have time to raise his shield before the beast's enormous head struck him, horns carrying him off the ground and into the air. With incredible agility, it spun around, striking at Isset. The Puppetmaster skipped backwards a step too slow, and its claws left a deep rend in the front of her garment straight down to the skin. She gasped at how close it had been to disembowling her. Speed was already making his way away from it, and the stinger on its tail shot out bursts of poison which narrowly missed the Warrior as he fled.
"Augh, dammit," Sefadin sputtered, scraping mud off his face, "what the hell was that?"
"Tenebrous Mist, sir!" Krista leaned over him, trying to help him get back on his feet. "It disperses any spiritual energy immediately around the Khimaira's body. Very few of them are able to use it."
"Well, I hate it," he spat, clenching his sword in his hand. "Sergeant! Private!" He barked. "Get over here!"
"Busy!" Speed shouted back, the Khimaira now putting its attention on tracking down the fleeing mercenary, like a cat stalking a mouse.
"Shoki!" Isset's puppet snapped to attention, saluting the Puppetmaster. "Distract it!" Shoki nodded, then took off into the air. With one incredible burst, it fired a shockingly large burst of flame spread over the monster's skin. The scent of burning Khimaira washed over them as the creature howled, searching for the source of the fresh assault. Speed wasted no time in darting away from it, making his way over to join Sefadin and Isset.
"It's hurt, too," the mercenary Captain told them, "we can still do this. Let's finish what we started and get out of here, alright?"
"Right!" Isset confirmed. Speed shook his head wearily, drawing his great axe out again.
"This sucks, dude," he complained.
"Dude, I know," Sefadin said sourly, "but you gots to get paid."
"Word," Speed confirmed, and leveled his axe into position.
A moment later, the Khimaira finally laid eyes on Shoki. With a single whip of its tail, the puppet was blasted from the sky, skittering into the mud and out of sight. The Khimaira's attention remained on it just a second too long, and off of the trio of those attacking it.
"Now!" Sefadin commanded.
All at once, Sefadin, Isset, and Speed rushed forward, weapons drawn, closing in on the wounded Khimaira.
In the very next moment, the monstrous beast's howl tore through the surroundings, even as the energy it released did to the trio of attackers.
A dome of pure force erupted from the core of the Khimaira, bursting the ground apart in a violent upheaval. The dread storm of energy crashed into the mercenaries, sending them hurtling backwards through the air, tearing their bodies apart with sheer crushing force.
Sefadin bore the brunt of it, throwing himself forward, shield raised. His feet sank into the mud as he tried to resist the pressure, but within moments he was completely bowled over. Isset was like a leaf in the wind, the energy wave battering her form into the ground and then back towards the cliff wall surrounding them. Speed was picked up completely into the air, coming down so hard he sank into the ground, his axe landing several feet away from his unmoving form. Krista and Jinxie were swept up in it as well, both women torn from where they stood and buffeted through the clearing. Darkness washed over Jinxie as her body hit the ground, and a wave of dizziness turned her stomach.
The energy storm died down, but then a second impact shook the area. Jinxie was thrown into the air, landing hard on her back as the vibration tossed her up and then let her fall. Shaking off the surprise, she opened her eyes to see what had just landed.
Jinxie screamed, covering her head as the Khimaira's fangs wrapped around her.
A blast of hot, fetid breath washed over her, and she could feel the vibrations from the Khimaira's growl shaking her bones. She tensed her body, waiting for the sensation of the monster's fangs piercing her flesh.
It never came.
Her eyes flashed open as she realized she had not been eaten, and a gasp escaped her lips. The Khimaira was being held back, a sword in between its teeth, and a single man in armor bracing against the entire thrust of the beast's weight. With a slicing motion, he tore his blade free, and the monster recoiled with a howl. Gripping it between his armored hands, the swordsman brought his weapon into an attacking posture, the two curved blades rising from the single hilt confirming his identity even before he turned an eye towards Jinxie.
"Sorry we're late, Major," General Rughadjeen told her, and with a start, she realized she was surrounded. The enormous General Zazarg and wiry Gadalar were at her side. The archer Najelith took position behind her, and next to Rughadjeen was the club-wielding Mithra, Mihli Aliapoh. The Five Serpent Generals. the strongest warriors in Aht Urghan, now stood ready for battle with the Khimaira. Bracing his sword, Algol, the Skyserpent rushed forward.
"We'll take it from here!"
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