FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Where do we go first?" asked James.

"Through here," Haytham pointed south, "the limestone quarry borders with the old temple of Kiltia, built upon the Iron Maiden."

"And that is where the Dark lies?"

"Correct."

The lemming stood at the entrance to a quarry, the lights from old lamps shimmering through his hair like burning grass with an eerie glint off his armoured chest before stepping through the portal of an old iron gate. The smell of warm death greeted him with walls of tinted rock, paling beneath lanterns of natural flame as the ground formed a broken staircase of cracked uneven stone

"Careful," the spirit said behind him, "the quarry was left untended for many years and as such is in a state of disrepair."

"I can see that. Did the guardian not even bother to keep it maintained?"

"Why would he, there is nought but stone here."

"I suppose so."

The robed figure of his mentor kept a shadow behind him, his pale face an eternal grimace of sorrow with blood spots on his abdomen. Beyond the crumbling steps he walked through a large square room that was strangely damp, a sickening cloying mist that infected his lungs as he tightened his throat and marched onwards. A junction led to another stairwell with claustrophobic temptations, skeletons in the rock none of which were human to James' eyes as he saw fractured wings softly twitching in the dark breeze.

"What are these?" he pointed to the fossils.

"Wyverns," said his mentor former, "gargoyles amongst them too, once the natural predator of the Lea Mondite."

"How did such beasts fall so deep?"

"Some of them were trained by the guard, to battle against the forces of Mullenkamp before the great earth would devour them. Now they are lost from their skymother forever."

"Trapped in the depths," he muttered touching one wing, "do they still feel?"

"Hopefully not," Haytham shook his head, "the limestone appears to have some sort of warding potency that the Dark rarely travels down this way."

"That is rather strange...and yet, that would explain why it was excavated so much."

"Indeed...AH, look out!"

A stifling puddle of black flitted out from the crack beneath James' foot.

"QUICK, stop it!"

"BEGONE!"

A spark of fairy fire shot from his hand as the Dark stain shivered and curled up to a withering death.

"Well done," Haytham bowed turning to the exit, "now come, let us hope we not find more of this."

"No...let us hope not."

Curiosity however overtook him as he pulled out a small bottle and scooped up the remains quick as he could, tightly sealed and wrapped in a thick fabric in his satchel before heading onwards after his mentor.

"If this limestone can ward the Dark," James asked catching up, "why not seal the entire city?"

"The mixture required to form a seal would be complicated I presume," Haytham shrugged, "if so, then not one to be used so flippant for every monster."

"I have to admit the awoken were rather easy to face," he gripped his handles tight, "one would shudder to think if these things came to life."

"Not to life. To undeath."

Further they walked between skeletal tapestries, dancing dragons trapped in eternal anguish as other ancient beasts fled in fear frozen beneath their wicked claws. Candles sat on corners lengthening their shadows, briefly reviving their morbid grins with flapping wings soundless to the depths as James trailed the tip of his weapon against the rock. There were some monsters within, strange reptilians of half-primal gait with flicking tongues and deceptive looks that swung polearms with lively agility almost as if they had never died to begin with. Goblins roamed the depths in turn with maces dragging sharp against their heels who swung against the lemming, blocking with his umbrella-shield to deflect their strike before plunging his blade deep into their hearts' remains with a holy fire wreathing around his steel sword to burn through their insides.

Other times he cut a deep trench of water to slow the enemies down or force them away from him as he headed to the next room, crushing wolves with chunks of ice and turning his sword to a flamethrower with thick burning wroth that formed a ring to trap the monsters within. He cared not whether they survived intact, fighting them less and charging ahead through room after room with even large gaps unable to stop his path, bursting violent winds from his back to send him shooting across the abyss like a brief twister of sea-green and blue before landing on earth again.

"I must say you learned from me well," said Durai floating behind him, "your elementalist skill is the one good thing you still have."

"I learned from the best," he snarled looking back, "but then I became better."

"THAT I find debatable."

"I thought dead men told no tales." James gave a dark grin.

"You are correct." Haytham patted his head. "And no tale of you would ever be tall."

He smacked the human's head away and looked up with a piercing scowl, walking to the next room beyond the gap and taking a western path to yet another chasm, a junction that Haytham pointed him southwards to as he vaulted himself with a gusting blast up to a higher door that led to an open square room.

"Stop!" Durai halted his approach. "Beyond here lies the temple of Kiltia, but there are traps that the ancients set."

"What sort of traps?" the lemming looked at the sculpted walls.

"Magic invisible to the naked eye, enchantments upon the floor that aim to paralyse intruders."

"Do you know where they are then?"

"Allow me." The spirit took his bow. "I may not have quite the nose as Oddclaw had but my wit shall suffice."

"Hah, he is a good hunter," James sighed crossing his arms, "I hope he accepts my apology."

"For what your disappearance or almost collapsing a roof upon his head?"

"I......both."

Haytham turned towards the room and walked forth as he sensed the area with his hand outreached, grasping at threads that James could not see as he carefully sidestepped around the floor. The lemming narrowed his eyes with a tightening sneer as words dripped through his mind.

This liar reveals himself.

He slipped his sword from its seath.

He wears your master's face.

He took the first steps forward.

A bastard who lures you to perdition.

His fist clenched tighter as he charged.

Make him SUFFER for his insolence!

He swung his sword with a furious scream at Haytham's back, shining holy flame that flickered with a dark wick at its tip before fading as he saw the phantom had disappeared.

"Not bad little lad."

The human's voice came from his left as he saw a black shadow reform into his mentor.

"Suppose it's time for me to give up the ghost?"

"More than that," said the lemming swishing his blade, "you led me down a merry little path but NO MORE, BALDWIN!"

"Ohhh your path is not even done."

The face of Durai melted into a ghastly visage as his robes peeled off into burning drapes, wretched coils of dark smoke wrapped around his face which began to lengthen as his arms flexed with stiffening muscle, bursting free with a gasping howl as the bangaa revealed himself fully.

"Had you going for a while though, you enjoy your szhleep?"

"YOU BASTARD!"

He blasted a thick fireball towards Baldwin who dodged easily to one side with a full grin.

"You gotta get better at your aiming-DHHFF!"

A second fireball struck him in surprise hidden beneath the lemming's sleeve.

"Is THAT better, lizard?"

"Heh...yeah but," he brushed his arm and cracked his neck, "don't call me the L-word, you can talk szhit to me all you want but that'szh not cool."

"I decide what words I use and what actions I take, NOT some filthy husk of a corpse that paralyses me then infects my dreams!"

"I didn't infect yer dreamszh, I juszht pulled out a memory or two you already had, that'szh your problem not mine-"

"SILENCE!"

The lemming tore a chunk of earth from the ground with a thickening spiral of magic.

"I WILL NOT BE MOCKED AND NOR WILL YOU STOP ME!"

He hurled the rock towards the bangaa who dead-punched it straight with a jab, cracking the stone in pieces before James came rushing towards him with a fierce stabbing thrust. Baldwin blocked him with a sharp slam of his arm cutting downwards like a guillotine, the sorcerer striking back with a sword wrapped in flames that burned the bangaa's cheek before he shoved the lemming back.

"You really wanna take a szhot at me kid?"

"I will obtain the Dark with or without your so-called guidance!"

"Oh I waszh never gonna guide you to it, but yanno if you really wanna do thiszh-"

"FINE!" He swung his sword in a figure-of-eight. "If you dare stand in my way then I shall take your power by FORCE!"

He lunged forth with a ruthless blade, pounding his feet into the dirt with a swiping cut for the bangaa's head that Baldwin blocked with his arm, rolling it in a half-circle to deflect the blade before punching softly into James' chest and send him flying across the room. He stumbled in a hard roll, stabbing the brolly-shield's tip into the dirt to stop himself and come racing back towards the guardian who stood open and waiting. Trailing fire came from his sword in a long stream of blazing red, slashing in a triple-cut towards Baldwin's chest as he blocked two strikes before the third scarred his front with a solid black line. Sweeping a low kick he went for James' legs but the lemming jumped, bashing his shield-brolly against Baldwin's face before a thrusting plunge to the bangaa's heart that he dodged by bending himself backwards, almost snapping his spine in half as the blade scraped over his ribs.

The bangaa kicked James in the wrist before thrusting his leg forwards to upright himself, the lemming thrown aside from the kick as he stumbled with a throbbing arm as he gritted his teeth and slammed his shield against Baldwin's head. It barely staggered him as he kept a smile on his face, letting James strike him again once he recovered his sword-grip with a whirling slash that struck high then low as Baldwin leaned back to dodge the first strike then kicked his leg against the oncoming blade to stop him in his swing. James responded with a thrust of his umbrella, jabbing Baldwin in the shoulder and forcing him back to give the lemming space for another strike. Channelling magic through his sword there came a shocking cold spire, a twisting wreath of crystalline white that lanced into a spear before thickening to the size of a mace. The weight was sudden but James used his momentum to whirl with a crushing strike that Baldwin blocked with both arms, crossing his wrists against each other before shoving back the frozen mace. The warlock spun himself upon his foot to make a savage swipe against Baldwin's side, cracking his waist with a visible crunch as he gasped with shock.

"NNNHHH! Hah, got all the elementszh down do ya?!"

"More than enough to freeze, burn and scatter your ashes to the SEVEN WINDS!"

He spun faster than before with the aid of a shrieking wind, the swollen mace of frigid ice hurtling at Baldwin's face as he ducked beneath before the lemming did a second turn rising the club over his head with a shrieking malice. The bangaa formed into a shadow, cloaking himself in darkness to drift like a phantom round the lemming as James spun round before crushing the earth and shattering the ice with a warming blade, fire bursting free like oil from the well to shed its frozen skin as Baldwin reformed from the blackest ink. The sorcerer made a jabbing thrust, swiping his burning sword with trails of crimson that Baldwin dodged twice and parried once with his fist punching it back. James slashed with his umbrella tip the moment he was countered, aiming for Baldwin's dead eyesocket and stabbing through the old wound that made him scowl offended as he punched James' chest a bit harder than before. Even with restraint it was painful to the lemming, his body hurling straight towards the wall as he turned and pressed his brolly-shield between him and the stone to cushion his blow.

"GUH, AAGH!" He fell to the floor and quickly rolled to recover. "Are you holding back?!"

"Well yeah," Baldwin snorted, "if I didn't I'd fucking kill you."

"I am NOT some fragile little imp," he swished his blade with shining tip, "NOW FIGHT ME PROPER!"

"Naaah," the bangaa raised his fists in a casual stance, "I mean no one'szh szhtopping you giving all you got but, I'm not gonna waszhte all my szhtrength on you."

"THEN YOU SHALL SUFFER FOR YOUR INSOLEEENCE!"

Tearing chunks of the earth from beneath his feet, the lemming pelted Baldwin with large rocks in a showering shotgun blast that the bangaa punched his way through before seeing James sculpt his sword into a giant pickaxe made of stone. Binding the earth to his blade he lunged forwards with a gust of wind and crunched the sharpened tip to where Baldwin once stood, the guardian strafing left to spinkick the lemming in the back of the head as he tumbled. The stone pick became his crutch as he swung himself round upon its handle to slam both his steel shoes at Baldwin's face, kicking him back slightly before landing hard to swing his stone axe with a crunching slam against Baldwin's knee. The leg almost came off entirely with a crack of the bone exposed through the skin as the bangaa hissed in reflexive pain, stumbling on his other foot to grab his leg and reset the bone with a twisting crunch before James came swinging down with his pick.

Baldwin rolled fast to avoid the hammer as the ground beneath cracked in half, splitting a small rift in the floor as James came swinging harder with furious scream, pounding his axe into the floor whilst Baldwin evaded his strikes sending more cracks to spiderweb throughout the room. On the seventh strike, Baldwin blocked him with a hard shove of his arm, slamming the tricep against the hook of the pick before he punched it hard from the side with a savage haymaker that ripped the sword-pick from James' hands and shattered the rock around his blade. The sorcerer disarmed grabbed at Baldwin's face and heated up his fingers with scorching white flame, raking his fingers down the bangaa's snout to scar him with holy lights as he snarled and slapped the lemming with a shocking strike that threw him hard to the floor with a burning cheek. Staggering into a run he went for his sword but he felt a blur of shadows past him, a cold wind that shook through his body as the bangaa stood in front of him and grabbed his throat to lift him off his feet.

"GHHRH-RRHHKH!"

"Yer a little szhit you know that?"

"H-HRRRKH!"

"Think you can juszht walk around like you own the plaszhe, dragging yer fingerszh over my faszhe?!"

"HRRRKHH!"

"THISZH iszh my home, you got that bitch?"

"NNNRRHHHH!"

The bangaa tightened his grip, softly but enough to strangle the lemming with a warning choke that made his eyes bulge and his hands struggle to tear his grip, grasping fingers trying to burn with holy flame as Baldwin snarled from the stinging pains.

"G-get...o-off!"

"Either you leave now, or you die here," warned the guardian, "now which one iszh it gonna-"

" ENOUGH!"

James' eyes suddenly turned black, startling Baldwin enough that the lemming wrenched his hand free from his throat with a sudden strength and punched hard into his chest to send him back several feet.

" THAT...is enough."

His eyes returned to burning jade as he staggered forwards with laboured breath.

"GHHH! I...am done with you, filthy lizard."

"Yeah?" Baldwin tongued at his cheek with a crick of his neck. "I'm getting tired of draggin' yer paszhty little worm-asszh around szho let'szh szhee what you got."

"Oh, you want to see 'what I got'?"

He grabbed his sword from the dirt before summoning a breeze around his shield, dropping the umbrella to watch it spin on its pointed tip as he took a book from his satchel with Ivalician title.

"Allow me to show you...what I got." He opened the book with one hand and chanted thus. "Vocant terrae! Ad caelum levare te velis adversus EUM IN CARCERE!"

Something shuddered from the depths as Baldwin looked down at his feet, sensing a rumbling force that shook his entire body with a tremendous quake. His eye blinked with shock as a great upheaval surged through the room causing the ground itself to fracture in sharp squared pillars that launched upwards with a violent thrust towards the ceiling. Both of them stared each other down amongst the new landscape that now resembled a chessboard of valleys, bones wreathed in coils around the straight perfect columns that now both of them stood upon.

"Is THAT good enough?!" shouted the lemming.

"Hoooo!" Baldwin clapped the slowest clap. "How'd you do THAT little bitch?!"

"Kinetlatives," James offered his book before putting it in his satchel, "I was the one who brought you here along with this worthless city, and while I may not control EVERYTHING inside it, I can certainly do with a few alterations of its landscape."

"Kay but you juszht made thiszh whole thing harder now if we're gonna fight on theszhe."

"No, not harder."

His hand hovered over the brolly still spinning on its point.

"Just more fun. I am already through the looking glass and I shall not leave until I have reached its end."

"And then what?" Baldwin shrugged. "You think you're gonna get back out the way you came in, you think all thiszh iszh juszht gonna go away?"

"Sentence first." He snatched the handle and thrust its tip. "Verdict afterwards."

"Heh...I like you." The guardian smacked his hands. "Not gonna misszh you though after thisszh."

"Rest assured," he pulled back his blade, "the pleasure will be entirely YOURS!"

Blasting a sudden gust of wind the lemming sorcerer went spiralling towards Baldwin in a deadly cyclone, whirling blade and shield to strike against him twice as the bangaa blocked him thusly. Landing on a column abreast of his opponent, he whirled with flames around his body to strike upon Baldwin's head who parried off his elbow, watching the sword glide over his arm with flaming tongue before punching an uppercut to James' head. The lemming blocked with his brolly-shield, then again when Baldwin struck together his fists to cause a sonic boom that ripped towards the canopy and dispelled against James' shield. Landing upon a column, the warlock pulled a chunk of the wall with binding threads of green before hurling it at Baldwin, distracting him with a volley of stone as he spun with a shining twister behind him, driving his skull into Baldwin's chest to send him falling between the pillars back to the floor as the bangaa grabbed one column with his fingers cracking into the hard rock, planting his feet to wallkick himself back up to the top and doublekick the lemming's chest, the rising scissorkick sending him flying farther to the corner of the room as James uprighted himself in mid-air with spiral breeze to land safely.

Clutching his chest with a gasping heave, the sorcerer scribe threw his brolly shield with the tempest behind it, a howling shriek of gales turning it into a razor fan that boomeranged towards Baldwin who ducked the first sweep then blocked the second with a punch whilst James hopped over the pillars from the other side towards him. Thrusting forwards he stabbed into the bangaa's side who melted into the ground for a brief second to dodge both sword and shield.

"COWARD!" James landed with burning blade whilst catching his brolly. "FACE ME IN THE FLESH YOU DEGENERATE!"

"Nah." The bangaa reformed from the shadow of another pillar. "Faszhe it buddy, yer not getting the Dark and you can't beat me."

"SHUT UP!" he shrieked. "I WILL BECOME THE SAVIOUR, WITH OR WITHOUT YOU!"

"Not gonna happen buddy, now take your szhit and get outta here."

"I AM NOT A CHILD!"

"Never szhaid you were, do YOU think you are?"

" SIIIIILEEEENCE!"

Screaming with absolute fury James slammed his sword into the column before a bursting ring of fire exploded from his feet, spreading across the pillars as Baldwin leapt over the wave before James hurled shards of ice towards him from his shield, spinning fast like a gatling gun as he punched every frozen spear out of the sky before landing.once more to launch his foot straight into the lemming's face and kick him off the pillar. James swung his umbrella underneath before summoning a tornado to spin him back to the top, almost carrying him aloft as he struck Baldwin's head with a cleaving strike of fairy flames, gouging a black groove down his skull as Baldwin sneered from the sharp burn and countered with a jab that James deflected with his blade upon landing.

Slashing and cutting with frenzied rage the scribe made a vicious assault of severing strikes that went snickersnack across Baldwin's chest, the bangaa parrying with his fingers in a blur of seventeen cuts as the lemming's screams intensified, sword and hand fading to a flurry of flesh and steel before Baldwin grabbed the sword and punched with his other hand that James deflected with his shield. With a burst of sorcerous strength, the lemming charged through the bangaa in a hard slam as an icy hurricane fumed around his body, diving towards the exit as Baldwin teleported through shadowed flames to stand in front of him with a blocking shove. Tightening both of his fists, the bangaa burned with dark fire from his back as the Blood-Sin thickened to a sharp crimson before he slammed both his fists into the floor with an earth-shattering roar.

James staggered as he fell from the vibrations that shook the entire room, the roaring beast before him almost a jet-black as shadows loomed above him with fearsome faces he had only seen in his nightmares. The columns around them began to crumble, crackling and falling like dominoes around James who was frozen to the spot by the tectonic fury of the guardian. The pillars fell in droves as he clutched his head, shielding himself with his umbrella as he shot a fierce cyclone to defend himself against the falling boulders. But he felt none of them land, only the cloud of dust that remained as he saw great tentacled hands of shadow-black hold the rocks aloft above his head, then suddenly slam them into both exits of the room with such force that the doorways buckled to form a small cave-in, trapping the lemming completely inside the room.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Puttin' you in jail," Baldwin pulled his shadows back, "juszht szho you don't get into trouble."

"But you are trapped with me!"

"Nah-uh."

He stepped back towards the exit as his body melted through, seeping shadows through the cracks as James rushed forwards to try and stop him.

"LET ME OUT OF THIS!"

"Nope," the voice of Baldwin called from the other side, "yer szhtaying in there until I szhay you're good to go."

"I WILL NOT BE YOUR PRISONER!"

The mage bashed his sword against the rocks, summoning stone into a pickaxe shape that he hammered hard into the stone with increasing fury, ranting and pounding much to Baldwin's snickering from beyond.

"Take yer time, thiszh szhit iszh bedrock you pulled up szho it'szh gonna take ya a while!"

"YOU, ARROGANT PRICK!"

"Takeszh one to know one! Anywayszh you have fun I'm gonna go check on the temple, later nerd!"

"COME, BACK HERE, AAAAAAAARGH!"

The sounds of his screaming rang with the clang and crunch of stone against stone, the lemming's pickaxe chipping barely against the collapsed doorway as he stopped a few minutes after with ragged arms and bated breath. Exhaustion sunk in as he sat back on the floor with a thick gasp, digging into his satchel with the food and drink he had taken with him.

"F-filthy...bastard." He swigged a bottle of juice and took a deep breath. "I am so close, I can almost TASTE the darkness near."

Do not lose hope.

"I am NOT losing hope, I just need a moment to think!"

The Dark will respect your strength, do NOT falter now.

"I AM NOT FALTERING JUST LET ME THINK!"

"Do NOT speak back to me little whelp!"

"...wh-what?"

James looked to his side and almost choked on his food. The shadow of an anthro raptor stood with a twisted snarl as his heart almost stopped.

"I will not have you fail me, NOT when we are so close."

"I-i-i...I...i-is this-"

"Shut up." The phantom walked forwards. "No I am not that lizard to trick you, you are going to obtain the Dark, you WILL become the saviour and you will stop snivelling like a pathetic brat!"

"B-but...this is not a dream, is it?" James gulped standing up. "Am I going mad, that I'm seeing you so fully?"

"We're all mad here, aren't we?" The raptor grinned with a demon's smile. "Now, look around you, consider a new strength."

"Yes...right." He turned his head towards the pile of rubble. "That was impressive what I managed to do."

"Save your sycophantic bowing what do you see?"

"Well, with my kinetlatives I can surely make a new exit for myself."

"It is not just stone that lies within."

"What...what do you...hmm."

He looked to the crumpled pile of columns as white shards glinted from within. His eyes glimmered with a growing smile back towards the raptor.

"Prove your mastery."

"Yes. Of course."

"Find a thread of darkness and tie it anew."

"I just need to find one...yes."

"He will bow to you," the phantom placed his hand upon James' head, "a master requires servants, a saviour needs followers especially to protect thee."

"Yes...followers."

He walked towards the rubble after finishing his food, smacking his fingers as he grabbed the first splinter of bone from the pile.

"Not gonna lie," Radium shook his head, "this oasis is kind of perfect, you got clean water, lots of spaces to expand and the lands nearby to hunt."

"I don't like being in the dark," said the crimson raptor guarding, "I'm glad we put in the torches."

"I never had problems with the dark, helps to have basically a radar in my head."

"How does that work anyway, why can't any of us do it?"

"Mutations kid," the green-and-black raptor walked past him, "the humans really wanted to screw with our genes, but I got lucky with the ol' clicker."

"I can't imagine what they did," the guard shook his head, "I was born here, all I've ever known was the sea and the mountains."

"You're lucky, this is a beautiful place and we should do our best to not only keep it safe but to forge a new home for ourselves."

"So why are we out in this cave and not back on Scar Island?"

"Riptor wants an outpost, we have to make sure the humans aren't up to anything devious."

"You think they are?" The red raptor peeked towards the eastern forest. "I mean we saw a couple of them walking around to there and the swamps to the north but that was it."

"Well keep me posted," the ultraraptor stretched his steel tail, "I'll scout around the feather-raptor territory and see if anyone's biting."

"Not like, literally I hope."

"Riptor also wants me to check on this Oddclaw? Where is he at?"

"Far towards the east, through a tunnel next to the mountain but stay away from the cliffs by the ocean, they got those undead things-"

"I know, don't worry kid. I'll be back in two days, maybe three."

From the entrance of the Greatbeast's Spine, Radium travelled towards the east skirting around the forest whilst clicking his tongue cautiously. In his world everything came to life with a single click, every tree, every rock, every blade of grass and every buzzing wing that flew past like traces of silver in his vision. The raptor blended into the grass with his toxic-green stripes over black-scaled skin, the rising Skylands to the north intriguing him as he gasped from the sight of its towering peak where the clouds formed a halo. The tunnel at the base of the mountain led him through the gasping winds of the cold seafront from the other side, emerging a while later to find just as the guard had said a small roaming herd of undead crocs and long-necks shuddering with confused malice over their existence.

Taking a journey southeast over the next few hours, the raptor of bio-steel cut through the plains whilst evading herbivores that roamed the lengths of the tall grass, keeping downwind of every beast he encountered as he found the cliffs to the southern ocean. A scent caught him unawares from the east, his eyes sharpening with gentle clicks before he snuck into the undergrowth, the sun reaching high towards the zenith as clouds conspired to blot out its light with temptations of rain.

"Is that...no...no it's almost like," he sniffed through the rush, "can't be Sunscreech but it smells so...wait."

At last he came upon the Hunters' Nest, seeing guards at the territory reach as he crept towards a rocky outcropping near the sea. The scent was much stronger now as he scanned the nestful of raptors to pinpoint the scent's origin. His eyes pinpointed towards Oddclaw, markedly unique amongst the rest by both sight and scent alone even without the human and strange reptiles around him, along with a feral family all curled up in the nest.

"You want me to come with you?" the anthro asked.

"Your fire would be a great boon to uszh," said Fayne bowing, "the more weaponszh we have againszht the Dark, the better."

"Can the hairless not fight it?" Moonclaw snorted.

"Our weapons can do some damage," Jane crossed her arms, "but only on the weaker ones that barely have any Dark."

"Plus," Kruz raised a finger, "too many soldiers down there will be more problems than answers."

"I underthtand," Oddtooth nodded, "hunt with too many, you have too little meat after the kill."

"Uhhhh...right," the kremling grimaced, "that's kinda it yeah."

"Do you HAVE to go father?" Skyfang whimpered nuzzling his leg.

"I want to help." He walked over to his mate and nuzzled her grey neck. "But, I have only just returned to my family for a day after journeying to find our new friends, it is not fair to them."

"I know," Chanoch bowed, "I am sorry. It hurts me to even ask you this, but...I am worried about James."

"I know, I am too."

"I am sorry," Moonclaw rasped, "but surely the three of you can find him and face those deadbeasts without bringing my mate into it."

"I believe we could," the bangaa nodded, "however Oddclaw'szh fire will prove invaluable an asszhet."

"I just want James back," Chanoch clutched his stomach, "he, is down there, and I do not know wh-what, temptations lure him a-and..."

He sat within the nest taking a deep breath as his heart trembled thick. He felt Seaclaw's hand upon his cheek as he looked up towards his parents.

"I think...father should help his friend."

"Seaclaw no-"

"But father wants to help too!"

"I do," Oddclaw nodded, "but I must also be your father, I cannot keep leaving you."

"He is right," said Moonclaw, "sometimes we must protect our own before others."

"BUT, b-but we're not in danger!" he stomped his foot. "If...i-if Stonetree was gone, I would help find him cuz he's my friend!"

"Thank you Seaclaw," the lizardman patted his head, "but, it is fine."

"NO, y-you should help him!"

"Seaclaw!" his mother snapped. "You do not decide for us."

"I think he ith right," Oddtooth stepped up beside him, "a hunter never hunthh alone."

"They will not be alone there are three of them!"

"But they're not father, riiiiight?" said Skyfang with a swagger. "Father's a great hunter, his fire can kill anything!"

"ENOUGH ALL OF YOU!" Her shriek bade them silent. "...I hate this."

She shook her head with a foetid sigh and turned to her husband.

"I hate that everyone relies on you to be some great hunter, just because you know how to use fire. I just want you to be here and to raise my family, and if something happened to you because others BEGGED you, I would never forgive them, but worst of all I would never forgive myself for letting you leave!"

"I know Moonie." He kissed her cheek. "I struggle thinking that every time I leave to help them."

"I promise," Kruz put a hand to his heart, "we would never let anything happen to Oddclaw."

"YOU CANNOT PROMISE THAT!" She screeched at him. "None of you can, when we are out hunting in the grass, they are beasts that we know how to fight, not stonebeasts or starbeasts or deadbeasts, none of these THINGS that should not be here!"

She huddled up beside him with whimpering gasps, gently sobbing against his chest with frustration as he patted her head. The children looked up towards them, their faces looking more resentful with each passing minute as Oddclaw sighed.

"Do you believe truly I should go help them?"

"Mmhmm," they all barked.

"I don't want father to leave either," said Skyfang, "but we're hunters, we have to hunt!"

"I...I just..." Moonclaw sighed and shook her head, "I know I am being selfish. After what happened to us a few cycles ago when Seaclaw was taken I am just...I miss you when you are away. I always miss you and a part of me is always frightened that you might not come back, because it is different from a hunt. It is not survival, it is something else."

"I understand." Jane sat down beside her. "You're just trying to keep your family together, that's a perfectly reasonable thing to ask. But, much as we want, we can't force those we love to stay in our homes just because we're frightened."

"It's not just James." Kruz knelt beside the nest. "It's the fact that this city, this underworld if it's left out here, will cause more problems for everyone, you, your family, everything could get infected by the Dark."

"I want to help them," Oddclaw stroked his mate, "please...I do not want to leave you either but they need my help to keep our home safe."

"...I know I am selfish to want this," she snarled shaking her head, "and I know you are strong and clever...but I still hate it, and I still have my right to. But...I cannot stop you."

She sighed slumping against the side of the nest looking up to him.

"Promise me you will be careful. Do not do anything foolish."

"I will not." He kissed her twice. "I will return soon, I promise."

"...thank you. But...can you at least wait until tomorrow? Just another day."

"Alright." He looked to the visitors. "Is that alright with you?"

"Yes." Chanoch tightened his throat. "Tomorrow we shall leave."

"I think it's fair since we're asking a lot," Jane nodded, "even though I know it's difficult all round."

"Let's just call it another day to prep," said the kremling rubbing his neck, "besides I haven't had a chance to properly meet your family!"

"You look like a waterjaw!" Skyfang poked her tongue at him. "Why do YOU need to wear stone too?!"

"Because I like to look shiny." He waggled his golden fingers. "Me an' miss Jane here even got a matching pair."

"Oh stop it really," she waved him off, "I don't like to bring attention to that."

"Why not your gauntlet's awesome, it can shoot fire and shit, that's great, up top!"

He raised his gauntlet that she slapped with her own to make a steel clank that confused the raptors. The bangaa bishop sat in silence, contemplating with his staff across his legs as the sky turned darker above.

"Rain iszh coming then."

"You should go under the trees," Seaclaw pointed to the woods, "it's nice an' dry in there!"

"Thank you child," he bowed, "may I aszhk how old are you?"

"Mmmmm, I wuz born twelve cycles before."

"Ahh, you are growing well, I hear tell you are szhkilled with a blade."

"YAH, I playfight good with a longstone! How old are you?"

"I myszhelf am eighty-szheven, which to a bangaa iszh but a middle age."

"That thhound quite old," Oddtooth sat beside the bangaa, "how long doeth your tribe live for?"

"Ohhh, a hundred-and-forty yearszh."

"Aw Fayne don't talk about age," Kruz sighed.

"The children were aszhking me!"

"Ahhhh I know but, aaaagh-"

"Do not mind him," Fayne leaned towards the boys, "now tell me, what do you do in your dayszh together?"

"We hunt for food!" Skyfang shouted. "I climb up trees and do BIG jumps!"

"I plan all the hunting," Oddtooth sniffed at the bangaa's beard, "thomeone hath to, or we would never catch anything."

"I-i like to playfight with my longstone," Seaclaw repeated, "and uh, I have this friend, her name's Highwave an' we go swimming!"

"Well that iszh lovely," he patted their heads, "I promiszhe you I will protect your father with all I have."

"How can ya do that?!" the daughter poked his chest with her snout. "You got nothing but a stick!"

"Ahhhh but my szhtick be enchanted. Obszherve!"

He noticed a bloody scratch on Skyfang's leg as he touched the staff upon it. A soft light covered the wound with a soothing warmth, nursing the skin and stitching it back together much to their shock.

"Whhhhaaaaaaa?! You, y-you healed it!"

"I can heal many woundszh," the bangaa nodded, "if your father iszh hurt, I can heal him there and then."

"Really?!" Moonclaw shifted over to her daughter and sniffed the healed wound. "That...it is like it was never there!"

"If the wound be freszh and in the moment, I can heal it thuszh."

"Tho, you cannot heal my eye?" Oddtooth blinked with his remaining.

"Unfortunately no, the wound be too old."

"Oh, but that ith thtill amathhing, that meanth father will be abtholutely thafe!"

"Hmmm...that does make me feel better," Moonclaw sighed, "please then, never leave my mate's side."

"I will never, good madame," Fayne bowed to the raptor, "your huszhband be in my care the moment we szhet off."

The day would pass as the newcomers settled in, watching the raptors play and eat with a mixed fascination. Fayne picked at the flowers prehistoric to investigate their potent healing, whilst Kruz and Chanoch played swordfights with Seaclaw until he tired out for the day, back and forth with the wooden swords he kept as they squared off against each other, the loser taking on the winner in consecutive rounds each with a different style. The sun began to sink over the rest of the day, turning the sky from cyan to magenta reflected in the lake. Radium kept watch throughout all of this, never taking his eyes off for more than a few moments until hunger sunk in too deep and he was forced to go hunt, taking care to hide the remains and any trace of his existence. Oddclaw spent the night with his family, curled up amongst them as feral raptors laid on top of his body in a smothering heat, licking softly at each other's faces.

Morning came as he packed his gun with a few supplies of food and water before he kissed his mate goodbye and his children in turn. The rain had come and gone for a brief spell, leaving the ground glistening wet and the lake polished to a sheen like rich sapphire. Jane bade him good luck as Kruz, Fayne and Chanoch joined him on their travel towards the cave beneath the Skylands.

"You have a moszht wonderful family."

"Thank you," said the raptor, "they are the best family I could have."

"I promise," the kremling put a hand on his shoulder, "I will bring you back safe and sound, I don't wanna piss off your wife."

"I know you will, you fought that un-dead beast well!"

"Says the guy who shot both of its eyes like POP-POP, that was sick!"

"Hahah, but you stabbed its heart!"

"Well I've always been a heartbreaker, haha."

"How will you get inside with the barrier?" Jarogniew stepped beside them.

"We have the key," Fayne tapped his staff, "Baldwin gave uszh that szhould he ever need to contain himszhelf."

"Once we're inside you let us lead," Kruz said walking ahead, "we know the layout better than you."

"I think Chanoch and you szhould keep the lead, hiszh weapon already enchanted will clear the path."

"And Oddclaw sticks to the back cuz he's got the gun."

"Good," the lizardman nodded, "do you agree Oddclaw?"

"Yes," said the raptor, "but be careful please, there are many of them beneath."

"I will not be foolish. I cannot lose this."

His knuckles creaked with a clench of his fists, the sky darkening still with clouds and the threat of rain returning, a cold damp brimming in the raptor's nostrils as they approached the cliff by the mountain. Monsters lurked with bleeding black lungs and ragged teeth twisting from their jaws, rasping with shrieks of the damned towards the intruders as the lizardman went first. His sword cleaved through the skull of an old kaprosuchus, the blade ripping through its spine and tearing the darkness to cinders with its holy gleam before turning to strike a halisaurus from the left, the serpentine seal writhing with anguish from the fearsome sword that shimmered in its presence. The more he chopped and hacked the more fierce he became, hulking shoulders with the three behind him picking off stragglers as he fought his way down into the depths of the storage bay.

Through the small horde of sea-creatures they traversed, the swordsmen taking the lead as they left bones scattered behind them, lifeless once more in eternal peace as the ocean reclaimed their bodies. Past the old containment units and cargo crates they reached the boundary to Lea Monde where the barrier stood with burning cerise. Fayne brought out a key from his satchel, a long thin purple flower embossed upon its handle that he put into the lock against the wall.

"Monkszh-hood," the bangaa noted as he turned the key, "fair warning."

"Yeah," the kremling nodded, "and here I thought we'd be getting time off."

The barrier soon faded as the key turned to dust, lock included as they fell to the floor and turned to a pile of ash with the forcefield flickering out of existence.

"Watch your back," Kruz stepped forwards, "don't touch anything that looks dead, no matter how rotten it looks."

"Right," Oddclaw gripped his gun with a gentle click, "lead on Kruz, I am behind you."

"Heh, gods I wish."

"Kruzh," Fayne snarled, "behave yourszhelf."

"Yes, dad, hmhmhahaha-"

"H-how dare you I am not that old!"

"Really you sure act like it."

"At leaszht I act my age unlike SZHOME paladinszh do."

He clipped the kremling's head as he cackled, walking into the depths of darkness as they passed through the wine cellar where the smell of vinegar clouded them. Monsters shambled in the dark, few and foetid between of old broken soldiers and long-forgotten citizens of familiar faces, human, bangaa, nu-mou and moogle all struggling to stand upright with crippled legs and twisted limbs, necks broken and eyes melted to drool over their faces. For the most part they were easily dealt with, Chanoch dealing with most of them by his sword sweeping fast with long blessed strikes and carving sweeps whilst Oddclaw picked off stragglers in armour with tremendous shots that rang powerful echoes throughout the abyss.

The catacombs went beyond as Fayne pointed out the swiftest route, joined by Kruz who held up his shield wrapped tightly by his gauntlet against his body to ward off the fiendish Dark, lurking shadows that hid within the depths and threatened to jump out with hissing shrieks in their lust to infect. Some would launch themselves upon him, the kremling bashing them back with his shield before Fayne would send a spell of purest light to erase the darkness from their being, their vile screams of salvation before the release of their tortured bodies left to crumple in the dirt. Through the masses of the dead they soon reached a place of safety, the workshop at the sanctum's entrance where a flame roasted in the furnace and a few chairs still sat.

"Rest here for a bit," Kruz flumped into a seat, "Hyuh-AAAAH might as well pace ourselves."

"Is this room safe?" Jarogniew asked.

"Yeah these old workshops got symbols that keep the Dark out, Baldwin checks them all so wherever he goes he leaves a fire on always for people that get lost."

"That is good." He took one of the seats, "this place is filled with evil."

"Not evil," Fayne went to the fire to warm his hands, "the Dark iszh not inherently evil, it iszh merely a corrupting forszhe of natural hue."

"Nothing is natural about the undead."

"Wow rude," Kruz looked up, "that's my brother-in-law you're talking about."

"What? Is he-"

"Yes," Oddclaw sat down beside them, "Baldwin is undead too, but he is very nice, he helped us."

"Ah, forgive me then."

"Aw it's fine no worries," the kremling patted his wrist, "anything Baldwin left for us?"

"Szhadly nought but a letter," the bishop waved a note, "he tellszh uszh of a curiouszh new friend he made called Jameszh-"

"Is he alright?!" Chanoch gripped his seat.

"Apparently yeszh and uhh, he iszh waiting for uszh at the quarry!"

"What?! We know where he is?!"

"Appearszh szho," the bangaa grinned, "Baldwin brought him there for uszh to collect him, but my brother will not be there due to hiszh duty."

"Where is this quarry?" asked Oddclaw. "Is that a nest or a base?"

"It's an old mine," said Kruz rubbing his scalp, "one of many they dug round here, limestone's pretty important for building foundations."

"How big is this city?" asked Chanoch.

"I have a map."

The bishop brought from his satchel a four-folded map, detailing the length of the underground as it filled out the table in front of them.

"Here iszh where we be, the catacombszh. The szhanctum iszh beyond and there we would find the route to the town szhenter."

"But of course that's not happening," said Kruz trailing his finger, "so we got a backup route down this way through the mines in this room full of statues-"

"I know that room!" Oddclaw pointed. "The Blood-Beast went through there, Baldwin took us through the mines to the city."

"I thought the city was above?" Chanoch raised a finger.

"This is the old city," Kruz spread his hand, "the first version of it when Lea Monde was founded, we built over on top of it."

"The further we venture the greater the power of the Dark," Fayne warned the group, "if Jameszh iszh intending to harbour it, he would travel through the limeszhtone quarry to the old temple of Kiltia, and laszhtly to the Iron Maiden where the szhentre of the Dark liveszh."

"Why is he there?!" the lizardman jabbed the quarry. "He should be kept away!"

"Preszhumably your lover iszh very cunning, he would know if he waszh being led off the trail."

"But is he safe?" asked Oddclaw.

"Definitely, my brother szhall keep him szhafe, I asszhure you."

"Good."

The raptor smiled at Chanoch who grinned back with some relief, taking a few moments to rest. Kruz gave a bigger smile towards Fayne and started humming a small ditty that he shook his head frantically against.

"Kruzh, no."

"ARRRRH!"

"KRUZH thiszh iszh not the time!"

"FEAST YOUR EYES!" He leapt up. "Look into the mirror, arrh, it never lies!"

"SZHTOP!"

"You're a pirate!" He spun en jambe. "Can't you see that this is no disguise? You live to loot and pillage, maim and terrorize!"

"What are you doing?" Chanoch shook his head.

"Your reflection tells the story of a pirate's life of glory, trust your eyes! ARRH! The mirror never lies!"

"Ignore him," Fayne rolled his eyes.

"Oh Fayne come oooon," the kremling slumped back in his chair, "just trying to lighten the mood a little with a song!"

"We are not on a camping trip!"

"So what, music is free to play anywhere you want, a song in your heart keeps your spirits up, it worked for me!"

"I liked your singing," Oddclaw smiled patting him, "you have a good voice."

"Thaaaank you my handsome friend," he leaned over to smooch him on the lips, "glad to know someone appreciates my tongue."

"KRUZH!"

"What?!" He smirked with a daring glint. "What, what did I say wrong?"

"N-...nothing, juszht pleaszhe remember our objective."

"I can do that and also sing."

"I like music too," Chanoch nodded, "but I agree with Fayne that this is not the time."

"Oh yeah, do you sing Chanoch?"

"No, I play the lute."

"Wow, really?"

"He is very good!" Oddclaw piped up. "He plays it very well!"

"Damn I'd love to hear it when we get back." Kruz patted the soldier's arm. "Maybe you give me some backing and I sing something good?"

"Yes." The lizardman smiled. "After we rescue James."

"Promise."

They shook hands in gentlemen's agreement, heading back to the depths a few minutes after to enter the sanctum. Dust scattered from the arches above their heads as they crept past the old and the dead, bones of waxen yellow shone beneath the flickering torches as they took the winding path towards the gaping hole in the statue room and went straight into the mines on the long downwards slope. Bats, goblins and pools of slime all harboured a deepening malice, the long-forsaken now full of seething envy for their lives untainted by the darkness. Through the caverns they wandered, keeping close as two swords and a shotgun cleared the path with sparks of magic lighting up the air around them in a warding cast of holy influence. Those who were caught by it reeled back with frightful shrieks, whilst those who managed to evade cowered beneath its shine as they hurried onwards.

The undercity remained as a theatre of the cursed. Pale blue lights became will-o-wisps flickering in the abyss, the cavernous sky become a false night as the warriors traversed the streets. Cobblestones sunk beneath their feet, the softness of gravedirt, cold and comforting as windows howled with broken mouths, the fragile screams of phantoms trapped in their beds of cold torn sheets. Every door was barred from outside. Every shard of glass laid on the street beneath their homes.

"Here," Fayne pointed past a four-way street, "the quarry be szhouth of here."

"They got nasty folk down there," Kruz clicked his fingers, "be on your A-game."

"This is not a game," Chanoch snarled gripping his blade.

"I know."

The knight stared up to his other, walking together with swords unsheathed as they stepped into the world beneah. The limestone quarry carried a scent that disturbed the raptor, a warm death rippling through the winds of the cavernous depths. Arched wooden beams held the world above their heads, the creaking of iron struts like opening tombs from the crypt as wretched fiends approached them in the murk. Strange reptilian beasts with ragged limbs accompanied goblins with swords, clubs and shields that the warriors carved through with ruthless abandon. Soon they came upon a great crevasse too wide to jump over as they spotted several metallic cubes with blue lines through them.

"What is that?" Oddclaw pointed to them.

"Some strange-ass blocks that's for sure," Kruz rubbed his head.

"Ahh, I think I know what they are." Fayne pointed with his staff. "Oddclaw could you leap over and szhtack them upon each other?"

"Alright."

Taking a straight jump the raptor landed on the small ridge and put one cube on the other. Much to his surprise the cube floated on top of the other with a gentle hum.

"AH, it is flying!"

"Magnets," Chanoch rubbed his chin, "they stack like crates, but their opposing force keeps them apart."

"Ahh you are a szhientiszht?" Fayne asked.

"I studied in my former army."

"Well we got a ways across," Kruz waved to the raptor, "Oddclaw can you put down two and then another two on top like a platform?"

"Yes of course!"

Making a safe larger platform for them to leap to, the raptor climbed up onto the magnet crates then jumped to the other side as Kruz followed after, striding with grace with Fayne helping Chanoch across the gap using Aero spells to leap from stone to metal and stone again. More goblins delayed them, striking from above with fierce clubbing swings that Kruz deflected with his shield before thrusting through their hearts and splitting them in half with a tearing sweep. Chanoch cut their entire bodies in half with Oddclaw shooting them out the air as they lied in crumpled heaps of smoking flesh. Another three-point chasm with metallic cubes they soon reached, but before they could decide which way to travel, they heard the sounds of grunting gasps from the south towards a high-ledged door.

"Someone's there," Kruz pointed.

"Doeszh not szhound like Baldwin," Fayne twisted his beard looking down.

"Maybe it is James!" Oddclaw gasped.

Chanoch waited for Oddclaw and Kruz to go first, the raptor climbing over the walls and swinging from the beams to launch himself up whilst Kruz stacked up the metal crates to hover a new platform for the rest of the group. Reaching the southern door they found it to be blocked by a crumbling landslide where the voice could be heard from beyond it.

"Someone is trapped," Oddclaw tapped the rock, "can we break it?"

"Let me."

Stepping forwards Jarogniew grabbed the first stone he could and wrenched it from the debris with a snarling roar, tensing his muscles as he tossed the small boulder behind him into the abyss. His claws dug further in as he tore and ripped the rock from its standing as the voice came more clear through the gaps.

"Yes, YES, that is James!" Oddclaw cried.

"JAMES!" Chanoch barked with heaving grunts. "JAMES, I AM HERE, HOLD ON!"

"WHA-Ch-chanoch?!"

"I AM COMING JAMES!"

The crumbling boulders started to give, settling around their feet as he pulled out the last of the rocks and opened the passage. Barging through they found a square room filled with rubble, the rocks scattered across the earth like a stone-pebble beach where standing amongst the ruin was James himself, filthy and bedraggled as his eyes widened from the approaching newcomers.

"It...hoh talisman!"

"James!" Chanoch started to rush towards him.

"STAY BACK, BACK!"

He shot a blasting fire near the lizardman to stop his tracks.

"Wha, what are you doing?!" he cried.

"You are NOT supposed to be here WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

"We came to save you!" Oddclaw shouted. "Are you alright?!"

"I am FINE I did not need rescue!"

"Really?" Kruz thumbed the way back. "Cuz it looked like you were trapped in this room."

"I was simply biding my time," he crossed his sleeves, "now do not come closer this place is fraught with danger."

"We are from Lea Monde," said Fayne stepping forth, "we know that fact intimately."

"Really now?" The lemming looked to his left at the wall. "So I see."

"Uhhh," Kruz looked following his gaze, "yeaaaah, so we can handle whatever's down here fine."

"James, please." The soldier walked towards him with fretful hands. "Come back with me. I am frightened, I need you back."

"Chanoch, I am sorry," James swept his arms, "but I have to do this-"

"This place is dangerous! There is darkness everywhere, monsters possessed I do not want you to become one of them!"

"Do you think I'm WEAK?!"

"NO!" he stomped his foot. "I AM AFRAID OF LOSING YOU, PLEASE STOP THIS!"

"We want to help you James!" Oddclaw stepped up beside him. "If something is wrong please tell us and we can hel-"

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!"

He tore a vicious swathe of flame across the room that forced them back. His face twisted into a wretched gasp, his hair turning stiff as a glimmering black briefly caught his eye.

"I...HAVE to do this." He raised his sword. "None of you understand, that I must do this to protect my people."

"This cannot be the only way," Chanoch shook his head.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME OTHERWISE CHANOCH! YOU gave yourself to an army of demons to save your family, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO STOP ME FROM THIS!"

"I-i...I know, I had no choice then, but-"

"BUT WHAT?!"

"That does not mean you have to do the same!"

"WHY?!"

"Because you have friends!" Oddclaw walked closer with Jarogniew in hand. "We are your friends James, we can do this together, you are not alone!"

"DON'T stand in my way!" the lemming shrieked. "I cannot leave now, not like this, not after everything I have done, the blood I spilt to reach this far!"

"What blood? Wh-what do you mean?"

"NOTHING BE QUIET, DO NOT STAND IN MY WAY OR I WILL BE FORCED TO DEAL WITH YOU!"

"HEY-EY calm, DOWN." Kruz raised his sword with glimmering sheen across the stones. "You're out of your league, this is our jurisdiction and I can tell you that if you keep walking in, you might not make it out alive."

"Do not purszhue the Dark," Fayne reached out with his staff, "I tell thee now, it iszh a great and terrible weight by which one szhall become szhackled to thiszh land and find no szhalvaszhion from until the purging of light upon thee."

"Do you know what it means to be a hero?"

James swished his thin blade to the ground scraping against the crumpled rock.

"To be born within the shadow of a saviour whose very name shackles you since BIRTH!? All I wanted was to unlock the secrets of the heavens. And instead I am forced to walk through the depths of hell like my ancestors did before me, so that no one...no beast shall ever commit a pogrom on my people ever again. So I ask you again...do you stand aside...or shall I erase you like the thousands that I never knew?"

"...I un-derstand."

Oddclaw walked out the closest to him.

"I know, what it is like, to have your name be the only thing anyone thinks of you. When I was young, all anyone thought of me was that I was my father's son, nothing more."

"And you never wondered why?" James sneered with a bitter grin. "Do you think the great saviour had the patience nor the time to waste upon your backwards realm?!"

"Wh-...what?"

"I inherited his name, YOU inherited his body! Whereas your body shall rot and decay, MY name will live on forever just as that of James Campbell, the TRUE saviour that I have become an arbiter of!"

"Wh-WHAT?!" Fayne gasped. "J-jameszh, Campbell are you szhertain-"

"He has spoken to me in my dreams for years, whispering songs of greatness even now as we stand here!"

"But, how, how are you-"

"I AM THE SAVIOUR OF THE LEMMING TRIBES, NO MORE SHALL WE SUFFER UNDER DARKNESS AND IF YOU DARE FIGHT ME, THEN _I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL, IN THE NAME OF JAMES CAMPBELL! _"

"SHUT, THE FUCK UP!"

Kruz suddenly charged across the stones with his sword sheathed and his shield out front as James tried to strike him, the kremling bashing him down onto his back and grabbing him hard by the chest.

"I'm getting real sick of your attitude and especially the shit you say, either you come back now, or I'm dragging you feet first over every damn stone in this godsforsaken place!"

"Hmph...is that so?"

James pulled out a closed bottle containing a black and dreadful ink at the bottom.

"The Dark is quite interesting isn't it? I learned two things about it whilst I was venturing the depths. First, you can actually carry it inside a vial or two, strange how nobody mentioned that. Second."

He hurled it into the stones where it shattered to drip beneath. Something shuddered below their feet as they quickly backed off, Kruz trying to pull James but the lemming grabbed his wrist and shoved him off before racing to the southern exit that was still partly-covered by bedrock. Something lurched as the mountain of rubble began to quake, a surging roar from the depths with the cracking boom of wings unfurled like thunder in the sea. Rising from the tomb was a dragon's corpse, a wyvern ten feet high whose neck reared above them like a viper ready to strike, flesh hanging off its sides like a grim necklace draped over the half-eaten remains of its torso as it stretched its leather wings with a heaving rasp wide enough to smother three of the intruders. Then came the second. Then the third looming above with grand wings that could blot out the sun.

"Oh, no," gasped the bishop.

"Dragons." Chanoch readied his blade. "Why did it have to be dragons?"

"JAMES!"

Oddclaw cried to the lemming who blasted through the last vestige of the exit, summoning his book with a chant to punch the rock away and head straight for the depths without looking back.

"HE'S ESCAPING!"

"YEAH I SEE THAT!" Kruz shouted. "But these guys are a bigger problem right now!"

"Why in Faram'szh name would he revive them?!" cried Fayne.

"I dunno but this little guy's pissing me off!" The kremling unsheathed his blade and braced with his shield. "COME ON YOU BASTARDS, IN THE NAME OF LEA MONDE I'LL SEND YOU BACK TO HELL!"

The wyverns lunged for the fighters as Oddclaw turned and fired the first one who dove towards them, crippling its head with a cracking shot that burst pieces of its skull and sent it rolling against the floor where Kruz swung at its throat. The beast lurched with a bite against the kremling's sword in its teeth, wrenching in a tug of war before he bashed his shield against its head and pulled back with another cleave. The raptor tried to stop the wyvern from taking flight by stomping on its wing, but its strength was immense as it pulled the leathery carpet from underneath Oddclaw who ended up grabbing onto its back as it flapped to the air above to come diving upon Kruz. The paladin blocked with his shield to bash its head away, jaws reaching for his face that crunched on his armed gauntlet before he punched with the hilt of his blade and pulled back to swing his sword twice in a double-strike before it slammed through his cuts and threw the kremling back with a crushing headbutt against his chest.

During this Chanoch and Fayne stared down the other two wyverns, the bangaa shining his staff of holy to stun one of them from attacking whilst the other came roaring down upon the lizardman who swung his sword in an upwards strike to carve through its neck. Splitting the bone with purest blade the song of light from its steel made the creature hiss with instinctive pain as it snapped its wicked jaws towards him, spinning its body with a huge sweep of its wings to knock the soldier down before rearing its head back to crunch down on him. Fayne shot a ball of white at its head to stagger it back with a screeching howl, Chanoch pushing himself and joiining his side as the bangaa summoned a forcefield of shimmering blue around them.

"Thank you," he patted Fayne.

"Keep fighting that one," said the bishop, "I will keep the other diszhtracted but not for long."

"Can you recharge your magic?"

"I have etherszh but you will have to protect me then."

"Alright, tell me when."

The two wyverns lunged almost simultaneous as Chanoch made two strikes, cutting through one of their eyesockets and ripping at another's jaw that he twisted the blade through. The monster shrieked as he cracked off the jaw fully to expose its upper teeth, lunging with hard biting motions to rake its fangs down the lizardman's armoured chest as he punched it back in a counter. Then he was attacked by the third wyvern who smacked Fayne down with its wing in passing to crunch its jaws against his shoulder.

"AAAAARGH!"

"CHANOCH!"

The screech of a raptor came from his side before the cracking boom of a shotgun, followed by a second once the wyvern released its grip and was blasted even harder to fall on its side with Oddclaw joining him.

"Are you alright?!" he asked.

"I am fine," Chanoch gasped, "help Fayne!"

Leaping to the bangaa's side he picked up the bishop to check on him, pulling him sharply back from the lunging teeth of the second wyvern who fought them instead. Jaws of dreaded Dark slathered upon him as Oddclaw bashed it aside, snarling with its wings rearing back for a punching strike that slammed both of them down to the floor before it lurched over the bangaa. Its head came close with a drooling bite as Fayne reached into his robe and thrust something hard into its eyesocket.

"BEGONE YOU ACCURSZHED BASZHTARD!"

A vile shriek came from the fiend as it reeled back in pain, the bangaa holding a small dagger in his hand of shimmering blue like the crystalline sea.

"Can you still fight?" Oddclaw pulled him up.

"Perfectly!" He sheathed his dagger back in his robe. "I will need to recharge my magic, protect me pleaszhe!"

As Chanoch took on the third beast, Oddclaw fought the second who reared back with a snarling shriek from the burning purification, white slivers of enchanted smoke wrapping around its skull as it tried to rake its savage teeth upon the raptor. Oddclaw blocked with his shotgun in a pistol-whip strike, knocking it back whilst Fayne pulled a green bottle to drink and recover his strength, the raptor diving underneath its chest and wrenching at the wings to tear and bite whatever flesh had yet to be corrupted by the Dark.

Kruz stood against the first wyvern that snapped left and right, parried by the kremling who used his shield to guard and spin fast with the momentum of the attack to make a whirling blade strike upon the monster's neck, cutting the skull completely off its root before kicking it hard across the room.

"WHOOPS you lost yer head, shouldn't have had that third beer bud-WHOA!"

The creature thrust its neck like a crooked blade as Kruz dodged fast, scarring bone against his waist making him shiver slightly as his armour cracked.

"Alright...alright, see this is why I'm the designated flyer, so it's time I clip your wings."

He struck against the neck with his shield to briefly stun it, pounding the edge of it from above like an axe to crush its spine into the dirt and run over its back with dragging sword to slice one of the wings completely off, flensing the old leathery skin from the rotting bone as the creature staggered with stumbling urge to try and fly with one single limb. The monster flapped and crumpled in a spin, not out yet as it slammed the kremling against the wall before thrusting its entire body forwards to crush him with the embrace of darkness, thick pustules of black oozing and grasping from its foul rancorous heart. The paladin leapt against the stone and kicked off the wall with a spinning sword, carving through the other wing that swooped straight past him in its lumbering charge where it crunched against the rock.

"FAYNE!" Kruz shouted landing behind it. "NEED AN ENCHANTMENT HERE!"

"SZHANCTUSZH!"

Raising his sword high he felt a blessed virtue overcome him, a showering of light soft as angels as his blade shone with the heavens above. Bracing his soles as he arched his feet, the kremling held his blade low to the ground as sparks of holy shot out across the stone, swinging upwards with a furious cry as he ripped through the creature's back

"_KREM HAZZAAAAARD! _"

Launching himself high Kruz severed its entire body, a golden guillotine his sword became as he rose up to above with the first cut, then came down with the second as a curtain of light followed his blade. The first of the wyverns died once again, split in half with a monstrous shriek as the banishing darkness faded into the mists of time, swallowed by the motes of light emitting from the paladin's blade as the bones fell to dust.

"One down, two more."

Said two more were flying around the room targeting the other three warriors, Oddclaw rolling fast beneath the swooping talons of one wyvern whilst Chanoch guarded Fayne with his larger sword blocking the vicious claws of the undead beasts. Black necrotic essence poured from above as they dodged the dripping Dark, Fayne putting up a shield of magic for the close calls that almost dabbed their heads with the curse. The raptor tried to leap against the wall and climb the harsh stone to jump upon its back, the jawless wyvern snarling with a rasping drool of its mouth, his claws gouging into the wings trying to disable them until the beast spun mid-flight and circled fast towards the wall crushing Oddclaw against it. The raptor was forced to grind against it, scarring chips of jagged stone across his scales as his back tore up with flecks of red in his struggle to hang on.

Grabbing the edge of the wing he swung himself downwards to force it away, but the monster was much stronger and flapped even harder to almost rise to the ceiling as the raptor swung across to its talons and quickly grabbed onto the twisting bony tail. His weight did nothing to impede the beast, the dragon kiting around the room with wings that cracked like lightning as Oddclaw climbed up to its back once more and grabbed a piece of its winged flesh, ripping hard with both hands in a screeching tear that threw him back off the wyvern to hang by its skin, draping off its bone like a banner as it tried to swing left and right to dislodge him. Hanging below the creaking wing he had the perfect shot towards its heart as he took aim with both barrels.

"SZHANCTUSZH!"

The voice of Fayne called out to the raptor as he saw a spell being cast, starlight rippling around his gun in spirals of beauty as his weapon glowed whiter than the sun itself, almost blinding him as he squinted his eyes and took the shot. Two shots fired in succession, the sound of heaven's gate closing shut with cacophonic roar as flames of red became a solar fury. The wyvern exploded into fragments, pieces from the sky falling in a rain of shrapnel as the darkness burned up within seconds, before Oddclaw could even blink as he found himself falling towards the earth. Grabbing two wingbones he slammed them into the rock face, screeching down the wall with a crunching grind and a trail of two above him as he slowed his descent enough to leap safely onto the floor, joining Fayne who covered his head amidst the downpour.

"Well done!" he cried. "That was perfect!"

"No harm in szhtrengthening the fire on a cold night," Fayne patted his shoulder, "now, let me heal you firszht, Cura!"

Touching his staff upon Oddclaw's chest he enveloped him briefly in a cool bathing light, the soft waters of the lake by his home coming to his memory as he felt his wounds stitching up and the red scars fading from his back.

"Thank you!" he smiled hugging the bishop. "One more left, then we find James!"

The last of the wyverns was met by Chanoch, who struck against the head when the monster charged in a death spiral, leathery muscles taut and stiffening from membranous bone that scooped him up into its deathly cradle as he grabbed the side of the wing and pulled his entire weight down against. Not enough to crack the bone, he leapt off with a hard crunching roll to the ground and gasped with a twinging spasm that tore through his leg. The wyvern saw its chance, jaws open wide as it barrelled towards him with swooping wings fanning out behind as Chanoch summoned strength from within his lungs.

" DIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!

His voice became an apocalypse, burning cold ripped at the wyvern's teeth and punched its wings hard with a force of nature causing it to stutter and flap clumsily to the ground without its momentum. The wind out of its sails left it open to Chanoch's advance, sword raised high in a mighty cleave as it dodged its head to the right and butted him in the gut, stunning him quickly for a biting crunch on his armour as he roared and turned to wrench himself free before whirling his blade in a cyclone strike to the base of the neck. The light of his inscripted blade came too close to the barren chest as Dark-infected bones reeled with fright from his advancing light, as he pulled back to brandish his sword and thrust towards its head. The dragon dodged and made a surprising spin with its tail thwacking against the soldier's head, but he took the hit with a hard stance and a burning cheek before charging in with a roar and three strikes to the head. One would miss, but the second tore through the top of its skull and fully scalped where the brain had once lived, now a festering grail of unholy matter that rolled and sluiced within the pan of its cranium.

The third strike was blocked by its teeth, the monster resisting the dreaded light of his holy blade as it tried to wrench the sword from his grasp and clout him with its wings, punching his head into the floor so as to bodyslam its chest on top and infect him with the Dark. Rolling fast he pushed himself up on his better foot and swung his sword in a half-moon strike, severing two of the wingfingers in his escape before the creature turned with howling rasp. The moment it lunged forth with straightened neck Chanoch plunged his sword straight through its jaw and cracked the entire neck in half with a splitting thrust, crackling bone shards around his face as the body stuttered with symptoms of pain.

"HEY BIG GUY!"

Kruz leapt forth beside him as Fayne and Oddclaw joined him.

"Let's finish this bastard off, FAYNE gimme a boost!"

"Gladly, SZHANCTUSZH!"

With his blade tempered by the light of ages, Kruz raised his weapon as Chanoch did the same and they crossed swords together, forming a ring of purest white that burned into the creature's eyes in its staggering gait.

"BY THE LIGHT OF KILTIA!"

"IN FATHER'S NAME!"

"YOU SHALL PERISH THIS DAY!"

Trailing lights followed their blades to form a single X, the heart of the dragon severing into four as the knights cleaved through its waist. The remnants of its soul screeched with anguish as it sputtered and burst, darkened pools turning to smoke that drifted in the breeze of the cavern as bones fell one after the other, crumbling to a pile of dust as the darkness burst into flames of white that devoured its remains as the room fell to silence.

"I hope you find peace...back to the Mother of All." The kremling sheathed his blade. "Haaaah...alright, good!"

He clapped his hands before giving a thumbs up.

"NICE work there big dude!"

"Thank you," Chanoch sheathed his blade in turn. "Your skill is exceptional."

"I mean I'd hope so I been training the past twenty years!"

"You are still training?"

"Ehhh," he waved his hand, "more like intermediate but I think I'm doing alright SO!"

They turned towards the exit as Kruz stretched his legs.

"Now to find that little wizard and that'll be that."

"Yes." Chanoch rubbed his fingers. "I...I am sorry, for what he did-"

"No." Fayne put a hand on his with healing spell encircling him. "You are not to blame for what he hath done, your lover he may be but he muszht take account for hiszh own deed."

"Come on!" Oddclaw rushed ahead. "We have to find him before it is too late!"

"Knowing our luck it's always too late," the kremling shrugged, "but it couldn't hurt to try so come on big guy!"

"Right." Jarogniew sighed gripping his fists. "I have to...I have to stop him."

They walked into the abyss together with the bones of the wyverns left to rest beneath their feet. The depths of the quarry whispered temptations, sobbing gasps of regret towards the temple at the very heart of the old city.