The Cleric Quintet: The Fallen Fortress

 

Which door? Cadderly wondered, looking around at the many possible exits from the large circular room as he crossed over the bodies of the two dead ogres. He noticed, too, the many symbols carved into the walls, tridents with small vials above each point interspersed with triangular fields holding three teardrops, the more conventional design for the evil goddess, Talona.

"We must be near the chapel," Cadderly whispered to Danica. As if in confirmation, the door across the way opened and a horribly scarred man, dressed in the ragged gray and green robes of a Talonan priest, hopped into the circular room.

Danica went into a crouch; Cadderly brought his crossbow level with the man's face.

The priest only smiled, though, and a moment later all the doors of the circular room burst open. Cadderly and Danica found themselves facing a horde of ores and goblins and evilly grinning men, including several more wearing the robes of Talonan priests. Both friends looked back to the trapped corridor, the only possible escape, but the walls were tight against each other by this point and showed no signs of opening.

For some reason, the enemy force did not immediately attack. Rather, they all stood looking from Cadderly and Danica to the first priest who had entered, apparently the leader.

"Did you think it would be so easy?" the scarred man shrieked hysterically. "Did you think to simply walk through our fortress unopposed?"

Cadderly put a hand on Danica's arm to stop her from leaping out at the foul man. She might get to him, might well kill him, but they had no chance of defeating this mob. Unless...

Cadderly heard the song playing in his thoughts, had a strange feeling that some powerful minion of his god was calling to him, instructing him, compelling him to hear the harmony of the music.

The evil priest cackled and clapped his hands and the floor in front of him heaved suddenly, rose up and took a gigantic, humanoid shape.

"Elementals," Danica breathed, drawing Cadderly's attention. Indeed, two creatures from the plane of earth had arisen to the evil priest's beckoning, and Cadderly realized that this man must be formidable indeed to command such powerful allies.

But Cadderly shook the dark thought away, fell back into the song, heard the music rising to a glorious crescendo.

"He is spellcasting!" one of the other priests cried out, and the warning sent the whole of the enemy force into wild action. The foot soldiers charged, weapons waving, lips wetted with eager drool. An archer took up his bow and fired, and the clerics went into their own spellcasting, some creating defensive energy, others calling out for magical spells to assault the intruders.

Danica yelled for her love and reflexively kicked out, barely deflecting an arrow that was soaring for Cadderly's chest She wanted to protect Cadderly, knew that they were both surely doomed, for they had no time....

A single word, if it was a word, escaped the young priest's lips. A trumpet note, it seemed, so clear and so perfect that it sent shivers of sheer joy rushing along Danica's spine, invited her into its perfect resonance and held her, trancelike, in its lingering beauty.

The note created a much different effect over Cadderly's enemies, over the evil men and monsters who could not tolerate the holy harmony of Deneir's song. Goblins and ores, and some of the men, grabbed at their bloodied ears and fell dead or unconscious to the floor, their eardrums shattered by the word. Other men swooned, their strength stolen by the bared glory of Deneirian truth, and the ele-mentals fell back into the stone of the floor, fled back to their own plane of existence.

For many moments Danica stood trembling, her eyes closed, and then, when the last lingering echoes of the perfect note died away, she realized the folly of hesitation and expected that the horde would be upon her. But when she opened her eyes, she found only three enemies standing: the first priest who had entered the room and an associate along a side wall, both holding their ears, and a third man, a soldier not a priest, standing not so far away and glancing about in absolute confusion.

Danica leaped forward and kicked the man's sword from his hand. He looked up at her, still too perplexed to react, and the monk grabbed him by the front of his tunic and threw herself backward in a roll, planting her feet into his belly as he came over her and heaving him hard against the wall beside Cadderly, where he crumbled down in pain. Danica was upon him in a moment, fingers coiled for a deadly strike.

"Do not kill him," Cadderly said to her, for the young priest realized that if this man had escaped the pains of his most holy spell, if the man could withstand the purely harmonious note, then he was probably not of an evil nature. Cadderly glanced at him only briefly, but he noticed revealing shadows atop the man's shoulder, the man's aura personified. These were not huddled, evil things, like the ones the young priest had often witnessed when viewing wicked men in similar fashion.

Danica, trusting in Cadderly's judgment, put the man in a defensive lock, and Cadderly turned his attention back to the still-standing priests.

"Damn you!" the horribly scarred leader growled in a loud voice - and the awkward volume of that response revealed to Cadderly that his holy utterance had probably deafened the man.

"Where is Aballister?" Cadderly called out, and the man regarded him curiously, then tapped his ears, confirming Cadderly's suspicions.

Both evil priests began chanting frantically, beginning new spells, and Danica slammed the soldier to the floor and started forward.

"Get back!" Cadderly warned, and the monk was truly torn. She knew the importance of getting at the spellcasters before they could complete their enchantments, but knew, too, to trust in Cadderly's warnings.

With supreme confidence, feeling invulnerable against the priests of an evil god, Cadderly fell back into the flow-, ing music and began his song. He felt waves of numbing energy as the priest to the side hurled a paralyzing spell at him, but within the protective river of Deneir's music, such a spell had no hold over Cadderly.

The scarred leader lifted his arm and hurled a gemstone, glowing with the mighty energies it contained. Danica leaped in front to block it, as she had blocked the arrow, while Cadderly pointed to it and cried out

The glow in the gemstone disappeared, and on a sudden inspiration (a silent telepathic message from Cadderly), Danica caught the stone.

Cadderly grabbed the back of Danica's tunic and pulled her behind him, singing all the while. Equations and numbers flashed through his thoughts with every note. He saw the very fabric of the area about him, the relationships and densities of the different materials. Energy flowed from the torches set into sconces on the walls, and a more static energy, the very binding force which held everything in place, was clearly revealed.

The evil priests began chanting again, stubbornly, but now it was Cadderly's turn. The young priest focused on that binding force, replayed equations and changed their factors, forcing truth into untruth.

No, not untruth, Cadderly realized. Not chaos, as was the enchantment he had forced over old Fyren. In the revealing equations, Cadderly found an alternate truth, a distortion, not a perversion, of physical law. By sheer willpower and the insights the song of Deneir had offered to him, the young priest bent the binding force, turned it in on the scarred enemy leader, making him the center of gravity.

For every unsecured item near the scarred man, the floor was no longer a resting place.

Dead and downed soldiers "fell" at their leaden they did not slide along the floor, but actually toppled and plunged, as though the floor was now a vertical slope. A desk from the room behind the surprised priest crashed against his back, all its items clinging to him as though he had become a living magnet. Two of the torches within the area of warped reality leaned toward the evil priest and slowly slid along the sides of their sconces, coming to an angled rest in a precarious perch, their flames burning out to the side away from the cursed man.

The priest who had been standing at the side of the room hung straight out, his feet toward his master, his hands clutching desperately at the doorjamb.

Danica couldn't prevent a chuckle at the ridiculous sight A ball of bodies and items had converged on the scarred leader, smashing him from every angle. The priest to the side fell last, slamming hard against a dead ore. And then everything had settled once more, everything unattached or unsupported within fifty feet of the evil priest had come to rest atop him, had pounded him and buried him.

Several groans came from within that confused pile, mostly those of the battered leader, buried somewhere far beneath the jumble.

The man's associate, lying on the outside layer of the confused pile, looked at Cadderly with sheer hatred and began again his stubborn chant

"Do not!" Cadderly warned him. The priest did stop, but not because of Cadderly's warning. Out of the same rgtom that had held the desk now fell an incredibly fat giant hitting the pile with such tremendous force that those bodies on the opposite side of the pile, near Cadderly and Danica, bounced out to the side, then fell back and settled on the pile once more. The scarred leader went quiet then for the first time, and Cadderly winced, realizing that the giant had probably crushed the man.

The giant was far from dead, though. It roared and thrashed, launching bodies far to the side, then smashing them apart as they inevitably fell back into the pile.

"How long will it last?" Danica asked. Her darting eyes revealed her fear, for their was no apparent way for her and Cadderly to get out of the area. Many of the men stricken unconscious by the holy word were awakening, and that ferocious giant had not been badly wounded.

Trepidation welled up within Cadderly, dark fears for what he must do to complete this battle. He searched his spells, listened carefully to the song, seeking something that would allow him and Danica to get through without further bloodshed. But what of his friends? he wondered. If they came out behind him, and the spell was no more, they would face a formidable force.

Again the raging priest atop the pile chanted; a soldier to the side of him hurled a dagger Cadderly's way, but it was as if he were throwing up the side of a cliff, and the knife dropped back to the jumble, sticking into the back of a dead goblin. The giant climbed through next, a look of sheer hatred on its huge face.

Cadderly looked to Danica, to the gemstone, a hunk of amber, that she held. Of all the trials the young priest would ever face, none would be so agonizing as this trial of conscience. He could not fail now, though, could not allow his own weakness to threaten his mission, to threaten all the goodly peoples of the region. He waved his hand over the gemstone, uttered a few words, and it began to glow again, teeming with magical energy.

"Toss it," he instructed.

"At them?"

Cadderly thought about it and shrugged as though it did not matter. To the side," he said, pointing to the doorjamb where the priest had been hanging.

Danica still seemed not to understand, but she tossed the enchanted stone. It followed a normal, expected course for a few feet, then crossed into the area warped by Cadderly's spell and fell in an arcing, unerring curve to strike at the pile.

With a blinding flash, all the jumble was aflame. Men cried out for a moment, then fell silent The giant thrashed wildly, but had nowhere to run, could find nothing to roll in that was not also burning. It went on for what seemed a long and agonizing time, but was in reality merely minutes, then the only sound was the crackle of hungry flames.

*****

Pikel plowed through another angled doorway and fell fifteen feet to hit the corridor floor with a resounding "Oof!"

Dazed, and unable to find his balance, the dwarf turned his gaze to the side and saw Vander - Vander's furred boots, at least - stumbling about the bodies of several dead ogres. Even larger boots moved to keep up with the dancing firbolg, a hill giant, probably, along with the dirty, naked feet of yet another ogre.

Pikel knew that Vander needed him, so he gave a determined grunt and started to pull himself off the floor.

The plummeting Ivan hit him squarely in the back. The yellow-bearded dwarf bounced up from his cushioned landing and rushed ahead, recognizing Vander's desperate situation. The hill giant had Vander wrapped in its huge arms, and the ogre, wielding a huge spiked club, was circling about them, looking for an opening.

Traitor!" the hill giant bellowed once more.

Vander butted with his forehead, splattering the giant's nose. With a roar, the giant swung about and launched Vaft-der into the wall with such force that it shook the whole corridor. Vander bounced back a step, trying to get his sword up, but the ogre rushed in at his side and hit him with a roundhouse that drove a spike right into the side of his head.

Down on his knees, the dying firbolg noticed Ivan rushing in and with heroic effort heaved his sword forward as though it were a spear. The blade slashed into the hill giant's shoulder, knocking the monster back, slumping, against the opposite wall, its huge hands trying to find some hold that it might pull the thing out

The ogre's great club smashed in again, and Vander saw no more.

Tears welled in Ivan's dark eyes as he pounded down the corridor. He leaped atop the wounded giant and crunched his axe into the monster's thick skull. The ogre roared at the sight of the dwarf and rushed back across the corridor, swinging wildly.

Ivan hopped away, and the ogre's spiked club drew bloody creases down the giant's face and sent the behemoth sprawling to the floor.

"Dun," the ogre groaned stupidly, and then it jerked to the side as Ivan's axe chopped it on the leg. Like a lumberjack, the sturdy dwarf went to work, hacking with abandon, and four blows later, the ogre toppled to the floor.

Behind Ivan, the giant groaned and tried to rise. The cry of "Ooooooo!" followed by the resounding smack of a tree-trunk club against flesh brought a grim smile to the yellow-bearded dwarf.

Pikel hit the stunned giant again and moved for a third strike. But the stubborn behemoth, far from finished, caught the club and pulled it aside.

Pikel let go with one hand and pointed it straight out at the giant, who seemed not to understand - not until something snapped out of Pikel's loose-fitting sleeve, snapped out with venom-dripping fangs into the surprised giant's face.

The giant let go of the club and fell back, clawing at the stinging wound, horrified.

It heard Pikel's "Ooooooo!" as the dwarf, club in hand, wound up, but it never saw the killing blow coming.

Without its weapon, the ogre across the hall raised its arms defensively and called out a surrender.

But those arras, however thick, were no match for Ivan's blind fury. Vander lay dead behind him, and the dwarf was hardly in the mood to listen to anything the desperate monster might have to say. The dwarf's axe chopped down repeatedly, smashing through flesh and bone, and by the time Shayleigh joined Ivan and put a hand on his shoulder to calm him, the ogre's cries were forever silenced.

A Call on the Wind

The man at the base of the wall groaned, and Danica was on him in an instant, roughly pulling his arms behind his back and pushing him facedown against the hard stone."How long will your enchantment block our way?" she snapped at Cadderly.

"Not long," the young priest replied, surprised by Dan-ica's harsh tone.

"And what are we to do with him?" Danica gave a rough tug on the captured soldier's arms as she asked the question, drawing another groan from the battered man.

"Be easy with him," Cadderly said.

"As you were with them?" Danica asked sarcastically, waving a hand out to the smoldering pile.

Now Cadderly understood Danica's ire. The battle had been rough, as the rising stench of burning flesh reminded them.

"Why didn't you tell me what that orb would do?"

Danica's question sounded as a desperate piea.

Cadderiy had a hard time sorting through this seeming reversal of roles. Usually he was the one who was too softhearted, who got them into trouble by not fighting hard enough against the declared enemies. He had spared Dori-gen in Shilmista Forest, had let her live when he had her heipless on the ground before him, though Danica had instructed him to finish her. And now, Cadderiy had been merciless, had done as the situation demanded against his own peaceful instincts. Cadderiy held little remorse - he knew that all those humans in the fiery jumble were evil-hearted men - but he was more than a little surprised by Danica's cold reaction.

She gave another tug on the prisoner's arms, as if she was using the man's pain to torment Cadderiy, lashing out at the young priest by going against what he obviously desired.

"He is not an evil man," Cadderiy said calmly.

Danica hesitated, her exotic eyes searching out the sincerity within Cadderly's gray orbs. She had always been able to read the young priest's thoughts and believed now that he was sneaking truthfully (though where he had garnered that piece of information, Danica had no idea).

"And they were?" Danica asked somewhat sharply, again indicating the pile.

"Yes," Cadderiy answered. "When I uttered the holy word, ho%v did you feel?"

The simple memory of that wondrous moment eased much of the tension from Danica's fair face. How did she feel? She felt in love, at ease with all the world, as if nothing ugly could come near her.

"You saw how it affected them," Cadderiy went on, finding his answers in Danica's serene expression.

Following the logic, Danica lessened her grip. "But it did not adversely affect this one," she said.

"He is not an evil man," Cadderiy reiterated.

Danica nodded and lessened her grip. She looked back at Cadderiy, though, and her expression was cold once more, a look more of disappointment than of anger.

Cadderiy understood, but had no answers for his Sove. There had been human beings among the evil monsters in this group, men among the goblins. Danica was disappointed because Cadderiy had done what was necessary, had given in to the fighting fully. She had been angry with Cadderiy when he had spared Dorigen, but it was an anger founded in her fear of the wizard. In truth, Danica had loved Cadderiy all the more because of his conscience, because he had tried to avoid the horrors of battle at all costs.

Cadderiy looked back to the pile of corpses. He had given in, joined the fighting with all his heart

It had to be that way, Cadderiy knew. He was as horrified as Danica over what he had just done, but he would not take back the action even if he could. The friends were in desperate straights - all the region was in desperate straights - and that danger was being precipitated by the minions of this fortress. Castle Trinity, and not Cadderiy, would have to take responsibility for the lives that would be lost this day.

But while that argument held solid on a logical basis, Cadderiy could not deny the pain in his chest when he looked upon the pile of dead men, or the sting in his heart when he viewed Danica's disappointment

"We must go!" Shayleigh said to Ivan, tugging on the dwarfs arm and looking back to the corridor behind them, where the steps of many boots could be heard.

Ivan sighed as he regarded Vander, the firbolg's head crushed and misshapen. A similar sigh behind him turned Ivan about to regard Pikel. He eyed his brother curiously, for something seemed out of place along the length of Pikel's tunic and undershirt

"How'd ye get away from the snake?" Ivan asked, suddenly remembering their past predicament

Pikel gave a short whistle, and on cue, the serpent's head streamed up from his collar and hovered in the air right beside his green-bearded cheek.

Shayleigh and Ivan fell back in shock, Ivan's axe coming up defensively between himself and his surprising brother.

"Doo-dad!" Pikel announced happily, petting the snake, which seemed to enjoy the treatment. Pikel nodded to the side, then, indicating that they should be on their way.

"Doo-dad?" Shayleigh inquired of Ivan as Pikel hopped off.

"Wants to be a druid," Ivan explained, moving to follow his brother. "He don't know that dwarves can't be druids."

Shayleigh considered the words for a long moment "Neither does the snake," she decided, and with a final, helpless look at the dead Vander, she rushed off after her companions.