EPISODE 55CONFIDENCE AND CONSEQUENCECorwin was out of the door before Vash could tell him to wait. The sound of splintering furniture and breaking glass mingled with the shouts of surprise from Kurt and his companions. Vash glanced at Sera, who looked frightened but not panicked.
“Stay back here. We’ll try to get everyone out together.” Vash said, drawing his blades.
“I can help.” Sera said, a look of determination on her face. “I’m a Wayfarer, too.”
Vash hesitated, not sure what a cleric could even do in this situation. “All right, but keep back behind me and Corwin. If anything gets close, lets us know and one of us will fall back to help.”
Sera scowled. “”
Her voice took on a strange echoing quality and on her last word, there was a sound like the tolling of a bell. Sera raised her hand skyward and a sudden flash of light left Vash seeing stars. After he blinked them away, he saw Sera was holding a flanged mace, crafted from a pale green-white light. Sera lowered the weapon and nodded in satisfaction.
“Come on, we have work to do.” She said, striding into the hall with her mace held high.
Vash blinked in surprise, then dashed to follow.
The hallway was in chaos. One of the large obsidian Scalebacks kept Corwin at bay with long, powerful sweeps of its spear. In its huge hands, the spear looked like it was a child’s plaything, even though it was easily as tall as a man. The other obsidian pressed Kurt with hammering attacks from a spear that it was using like a quarterstaff.
Kurt looked delighted, his face in a mocking smile while he dodged and parried the Scaleback’s attacks. Off to his right, Valys and Ollie fought against the three normal Scalebacks. Valys struggled to keep her distance from spears and claws, attempting to land attacks on the arms and legs of her attackers. She was fighting with two short swords in a style similar to Vash’s own, and though she wasn’t taking any damage yet, she also could not get past the creatures’ defenses and do any damage. Ollie kept behind Valys, unable to do much beyond blocking the occasional spear with his staff. The Scalebacks were keeping him on the move, unable to center himself and cast a spell.
Sera skidded to a halt a few feet in front of Vash. With a wordless yell, she hurled the translucent mace with all her strength. The weapon flew, emitting a strange crystalline sound as it did. Rather than tumble end over end, the mace flew straight and true at the back of the Scaleback directly in front of Valys.
The mace struck the Scaleback between the shoulders with that same bell-like ringing. The Scaleback let out a shriek of pain and rage, stumbling forward. Valys took the gift, stepping to one side and plunging her blade into the side of the lizard-man’s neck. Black blood gushed, spattering the elf’s leathers. The Scaleback collapsed when Valys withdrew her sword. She moved to face the other two, keeping the prone, dying body between them.
In a blur of pale green light, the mace rocketed back to Sera. She caught it with practiced ease and scanned the fight for another target.
. Vash thought.
Wasting no more time, Vash charged the obsidian Scaleback fighting Corwin. With reflexive ease, he summoned , his preferred offensive Talent, and paired it with a Silent Thorn technique that focused on the big arteries in a humanoid’s inner thigh. He felt a pulse from his Core as he approached Corwin.
, Vash thought, .
Sensing Vash’s approach, Corwin pivoted to one side, pulling the Scaleback’s attention and leaving a lane of attack for the rogue. At the last instant, Vash pushed the needed mana into . His body lurched forward with a sudden burst of speed. Vash struck out with his short sword at the precise angle he needed, mana-infused muscles adding strength to the attack.
The blade struck the obsidian Scaleback’s thigh, but rather than driving deep into the meat and slicing the artery beneath, it bowed and skidded to one side. The sharp edge left a long, bloody, but shallow gouge along the Scaleback’s thigh. Letting loose a howl of pain, the obsidian swept its spear around to strike at Vash.
Following the warning pulse from his Core, Vash dove to one side, going into a forward roll and coming up onto his feet on the far side of the Scaleback.
. Vash thought.
Corwin took advantage of the Scaleback’s attack on Vash to counter with one of his own Talents. Mana surged and Corwin’s form blurred from speed and power. His sword whipped around, the motion blurring the sword into one long silver arc. Vash felt a release of mana when the sword struck the Scaleback just below the ribs. He could see the blade bite into the creature’s flesh, sending a sheet of black blood pouring down its side.
Ugly as the wound looked, it wasn’t deep. The Scaleback roared and whirled back to Corwin, slightly favoring its wounds, but not slowed down in the slightest.
Vash thought. His own should have sliced a hole through the obsidian’s thigh and left that leg useless. Instead, it had two mildly annoying flesh wounds.
The obsidian Scaleback’s tail struck at Vash while it made another attack on Corwin with its spear. Vash was too close to dodge and took the blow in the ribs. He felt his armor contract and stiffen, softening the blow and shielding his ribs from what was surely breaking force. The strength of the attack, however, knocked him off his feet and sent him flying back towards Sera.
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Activating , Vash boosted his agility. Rather than landing in an awkward heap on the stone floor, he twisted in the air and came down on his feet like a cat. He was about to charge back into the fight when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Vash, wait!” Sera said, frowning at the obsidian Scaleback locked in combat with Corwin. “I’m not sure what’s going on with those things, but you aren’t making much of a dent in them. I think the shadow temple changed them somehow.”
“I got that feeling, too.” Vash said, wincing as Kurt took a forceful blow with the butt end of a spear. His guard held, but Kurt wasn’t smiling anymore. “What can we do about it?”
“I think I can help. Celestial mana, the type I use, is very effective against the shadow.” Sera said. She closed her eyes and Vash felt her working with mana. Like when wizards used spells, the working didn’t feel like the mana that he and Corwin used for Talents. Sera’s mana felt bigger, like a deep rumble within the earth.
“” Sera said in an emphatic whisper.
Vash wanted to object. He never had good experiences with the gods of the Grand Temple.
Vash thought.
Mana washed over Vash in a sudden, cold wave. He repressed a shudder at the strange feeling. It slowly faded, leaving Vash wondering what exactly had happened. He was about to ask Sera when he glanced down and saw his blades now had the same pale green aura as her mace.
“Get me close to Corwin and I can give him the blessing, too.” Sera said, looking slightly drained. “I have to touch him for it to work.”
Vash nodded and charged forward again. The obsidian Scaleback spared him a quick glance, then continued to press the attack on the big warrior. As Vash got near, the Scaleback lashed out at him with its tail, intending to swat him away like a fly.
Anticipating the attack, Vash dodged as soon as he felt the warning tug of his . He slashed upwards with the short sword in his right hand. Vash felt the sonorous thrum that accompanied the use of Celestial mana, then the blade bit deeply into the Scaleback’s tail. Blood splattered the ground and the obsidian Scaleback let out an ear-splitting screech.
The Scaleback whirled, suddenly seeing Vash as a pressing threat. Corwin fell back, panting, sweat soaking his face. He had been holding his own against the Scaleback, but without being able to cause actual damage, he was being worn down.
“Get Corwin that blessing.” Vash said to Sera. “I’ll handle this.”
The Scaleback snarled and glanced at Sera as she crossed its vision. Sera brandished her glowing mace, a look of stony determination on her face. The mace glowed brighter, giving off waves of celestial power. Hissing in frustration, the Scaleback let Sera cross and turned its attention back to Vash.
“That’s right, ugly,” Vash said, lifting his weapons and holding its attention. “Let’s dance.”
The Scaleback roared, attacking with sudden fury. Vash danced back, not bothering to block the Scaleback’s spear, just avoiding each strike as it came. Stepping off to an angle when the Scaleback thrust, Vash spun and stabbed down on the creature’s elbow. The blessed weapon stabbed deep into the joint, and Vash felt bones scrape against the blade. The Scaleback roared, trying to pull back. Vash twisted the blade before yanking it free. Bones separated and tendons tore. The Scaleback’s arm went limp, dropping from the spear and hanging uselessly at its side.
Vash gave the creature a savage grin and lunged. The Scaleback darted back, avoiding Vash’s quick succession of strikes. A surge of elation ran through Vash as he forced the Scaleback back step by step. Almost against the wall, the Scaleback turned to block one of Vash’s lunges and left its right side open. Vash stepped into the block and brought his second blade through, stabbing the Scaleback in its unprotected side.
The Scaleback made a choked hissing sound when Vash buried his long dagger deep in its belly. For the first time, Vash saw fear in the creature’s eyes.
. Vash thought.
He summoned and felt the Talent lock into place. Vash aimed for the creature’s heart and stabbed with all his might.
The point struck true, and Vash felt the sudden burst of mana. But the sword only punched a finger’s width into the Scaleback’s flesh before turning and scraping to one side. carved a chunk out of the Scaleback’s chest, but the wound wasn’t deep.
Vash looked down at his weapons. The pale green of the blessing flickered and vanished. He looked up at Sera, confused.
The cleric stood a few paces away, looking apologetic. “It only lasts for a few strikes. Sorry, I forgot to tell you.”
Vash cursed and pulled back, but his knife was stuck in the Scaleback’s stomach. The lizard-man growled as Vash pulled against the weapon. They locked eyes for a moment. Vash was just about to let go of the dagger, but the Scaleback dropped its spear and seized him by the throat. Inch-long claws pricked the skin around Vash’s neck and inhuman strength lifted him until his feet dangled above the floor.
The Scaleback opened its jaws, exposing rows of razor-sharp teeth jutting crookedly from mottled pink gums.
The thought flickered through Vash’s head.
A powerful thrum of mana was the only warning before Corwin’s sword, glowing with a pale green light, sliced through the Scaleback’s thick neck like a hot knife through butter.
The head flew off, landing somewhere a few feet away with a hollow . A geyser of black blood fountained into the air in front of Vash. The splash covered Vash’s face and left his chest and shoulders soaked.
For a moment, the Scaleback stood motionless. Then its fingers slackened, it dropped Vash just before the rest of the body crumpled to the ground.
Corwin stood behind the Scaleback, looking tired, but otherwise unharmed. “Sorry that took so long. I didn’t want to waste the blessing hacking that thing up.”
“” Came Ollie’s voice from somewhere behind Corwin. There was a flash of yellow-red light and the sudden smell of burning meat.
Vash looked beyond Corwin and saw that the apprentice mage had finally gotten himself into position to be effective. Ollie held his staff in one hand and had his other in an odd gesture, pointed towards one of the normal Scalebacks. Smoke and a few flames rose from a blackened hole in the creature’s shoulder. The fire bolt had knocked it back a few paces and gave Valys a moment to breathe. She had been fighting two Scalebacks on her own while trying to keep Ollie safe and get him into a position to be effective.
Closer to them, Vash saw Kurt still fighting the other obsidian Scaleback. Kurt bled from a dozen different cuts, none of them serious, but they were wearing on him. He was red faced and breathing hard. The cocky smirk was gone. The obsidian Scaleback had several cuts, but none were deep. It circled slowly, looking for an opening.
“I’ll take the normal Scalebacks.” Vash said. “Corwin, you and Sera help Kurt. Let’s see if we can finish this quickly.”
“Keep your distance!” Kurt snarled. “This one is kill and I’m not letting you road-trash get in my way!”
“Kurt, don’t be an idiot!” Valys said, grunting as she blocked another Scaleback attack. “You’re running low on mana, and you’ve barely scratched that thing!”
“I have it under control—” Kurt began, but he cut off when the obsidian struck. It slashed with its claws at Kurt’s face, then when he dodged, the obsidian stabbed out with its spear. The rough, blackened steel sliced through the links of Kurt’s chainmail and plunged deep into Kurt’s chest beneath his arm.
Kurt looked shocked, then went pale.
The obsidian made a short huffing noise, like a laugh, then yanked the spear free. Crimson blood streamed down Kurt’s side and he wavered on his feet. Roaring with triumph, the obsidian raised its spear and aimed for Kurt’s throat.
Kurt’s eyes went wide in terror and his sword dropped from suddenly nerveless hands.
“Dammit!” Vash cursed.
He drew on his mana, readied his blades, and charged.
