Tales of Alterra Chapter 3

 

Chapter 3

August saw black. Everything smelled like dank weed and putrid meat. His side throbbed with pain. The wurm’s gut pulsated around him.

A single bright piece of red fire poked through the wall of flesh. Elyse’s mind merged with August’s and he saw her tear through the wurm’s body. He slopped out onto the ground in a pool of acid and blood. Coughing, he stood up.

“We good?” Elyse flicked her fire lash. “Nomostros Unkin are notoriously quick eaters.”

“Can you stop it with the terminology?” August stood back to back with Elyse.

“What?” Elyse winked. “It’s my thing.” She whipped her lash around and severed the head of a gangler. “Do you know of anyone else who can name monsters off the top of their head?”

A wurm jumped out of the ground. August slashed it clean through with his blade. The skysteel shimmered with glee. “A couple of the higher ups in my guild can.”

“You mean the greenbloods’ guild?” said Elyse. She surveyed the battlefield.

All the monsters were dead, their blood coating the dirt.

“We need to get into the village.” August held his sword in front of his chest, creeping towards the village gate. “And yes. The greenbloods.”

“You’re a rare breed.” Elyse followed close behind August. “Immortal, too, if I recall correctly.”

“At the very least I’m much older than you, missy.”

“What, how old do you think I am?”

August eyed Elyse. “Not more than twenty.”

“Nineteen, actually!” Elyse did a curtsy.

August reached the village gate. It had been battered down by some large monster. The footprints told August it was a troll.

“Nimbus Marlicans.” Elyse knelt down to the prints.

“You can read the footprints?” August leaned around the corner of the palisade and took in what he could see of the village.

“Troll, right?” Elyse stood up, brushing off her skirt. She walked straight into the village.

August held her back. “Wait.” He pulled her back out. “Do you know the first rule of dungeon crawling?”

Elyse tilted her head. “What, there are rules for that?”

“Look, you don’t live for as long as I do without caution. The first rule states that if it’s too quiet, something’s wrong.”

“Quite the specific first rule, then.” Elyse snapped her whip idly.

“You understand its importance quickly when dungeon crawling.” August knelt down and untied his boot.

“What are you doing?” Elyse frowned.

August cranked back his arm and threw the boot into the middle of the town square.

Five arrows flew out of buildings and impaled the boot.

Elyse raised an eyebrow. “Waste of a good boot.”

“Better than us dying.” August took his bow off his back and knocked it. Creeping forward, he entered the village.

Elyse strolled past him with confidence. “What are you waiting for?”

“Stop!” August held out his hand.

It was too late. A troll’s club appeared out of thin air and swept towards Elyse. She ducked, dodging the club by half an inch. The club made a shrieking sound as it whipped through the air.

“Oh, I was wrong! This isn’t a Nimbus Malicans! It’s a Nimbus Invisialis!” Elyse did a cartwheel backwards.

“Hold on!” August sprinted towards the troll. He stabbed it in the stomach.

The troll laughed, grabbing the sword by the blade. Its blue blood seeped out from between its fingers.

“I got you!” Elyse’s whip flew over August’s head and wrapped around the troll’s neck. The troll gripped the lash with its free hand and then disappeared into thin air. August twisted his blade, but it was stuck fast.

The ground a foot from August cratered, sending dust flying up.

August managed to free his blade. “Camouflage.”

“No kidding.” Elyse stationed herself behind August. “The beast could be anywhere.”

August reached into his green sense and expanded his monster vision. He caught the troll’s signature down the street. Apparently whatever damage they had dealt was enough to send it packing.

“Oh no.” August sensed at least thirty ganglers and ten alzoths coming their way. “Quick, into a building.” He pushed Elyse into he nearest doorway, which happened to be the Village Elder’s home. He closed the door and locked it.

Elyse slid down the wall and sighed. “This is not what I was expecting.”

August shook his head. He crept to the nearest window and looked out.

The thirty ganglers were dragging ten or so villagers towards the town square. A portal opened in its center, sending rays of colorful light through the atmosphere.

A chilling exercise in the uncanny valley effect walked out of the portal. The figure was almost human, but enough different to send alarm bells through August’s head.

“False person.” Elyse had crept up near August.

“Not going to call it by its technical name?” August whispered.

“Not now.” Elyse pulled away from the window. “That’s not something to take lightly.” She peeked again through the window. “What are they doing with the villagers?”

The villagers were pressed onto a cart that was pulled through the portal. The false person walked alongside the cart as it disappeared into the portal.

“What are they doing with those people?” Elyse pulled away from the window. “We have to save them.”

August held her back. “And die doing so. False people are not to be trifled with.” August caught sight of a small figure hiding in an alleyway. Penny? He thought.

“Who’s Penny?” Elyse frowned. “Oh, uh, sorry. Not used to this whole mind meld thing.”

“Neither am I.” August stood up. “It should be safe now.”

They both left the house and stepped out onto the street.

“August!” Penny darted out from the alleyway. “You came for me!”

Something about Penny was different, though. She had a certain glow to her that August could not place. It was subtle, but definite.

“We need to get—” August twisted around.

Twenty ganglers walked out of an adjacent house and caught sight of the trio.

Elyse readied her whip.

“Twenty is too many.” August backed away.

“We can take them!” Elyse flicked her lash.

Penny flicked her finger and a bolt of energy flew out of her palm, striking two ganglers and disintegrating them.

“Woah,” said Elyse.

Penny stared at her finger as if transfixed. “It was true.”

“What was true?” August continued backing away from the ganglers.

Penny shook her head.

“Is that power of yours capable of getting us out of here?”

Penny frowned, and then nodded. She flicked her palm and a blinding light appeared.

“Run!”

The three of them ran. They found the town garrison and entered, barricading themselves.

The number of ganglers had increased to forty. Plus, the invisible troll had recovered.

They began beating on the door.

“Do you know what happened to your mom?” August braced the door with his back.

Penny shook her head. “That terrifying man took her.”

“What about your powers?” Elyse crept closer to Penny. “Where did those come from? That was a lot of energy you just casually threw around.”

Penny shook her head. “I can’t tell you. I promised.”

Elyse grabbed Penny by the shoulder. “We need a way out of here.”

The door reverberated as the troll beat it with its club.

“Onto the roof.” August stood up. “If we make it there we may be saved.”

“I sense it too.” Elyse stood up and grabbed Penny, picking her up. “Let’s go!”

August’s green sense had picked up a savior, in the form of a skyship. It was heading straight for the village.

August reached the second floor and pulled open the path to the attic. Just as he did, the door burst open and ganglers flooded into the building.

August hoisted Elyse and Penny upwards, following them a second later. When they were all in the attic he pulled up the stairs and closed the hatch.

“We need a way to get onto the roof.” August looked around the room. It was dusty and filled with old weapons and armor.

Elyse kicked out the only window. She squeezed through the hole and onto the wall, where she had just enough room to reach the roof.

August leaned out and tossed Penny up to Elyse. Elyse caught Penny and pulled her onto the roof. The August followed.

Three flying alzoths targeted the trio on the roof.

Elyse tried bringing one down with her whip, but failed. They moved too fast.

August took his bow and aimed. The arrow flew straight and true, but the alzoth’s thick skin reflected the arrow. It bounced and clattered to the ground.

August and Elyse went back to back.

Penny clapped her hands together and drew a flintlock gun from out of a portal. The gun floated up towards her head and sat above her shoulder. She pulled out five more guns, which formed a circle around her torso. The guns were ornate, formed with gold filigree and ivory-white stocks.

The guns fired all at once and knocked two alzoths out of the sky. The third twirled, dodging.

A single shot from a crossbow went through its head. The skyship had arrived. Its shadow floated over the burning town. It was moving at a tremendous speed, until it tacked and sidled up to the roof of the guard house, stopping right in position.  

A ladder rolled down to the roof from the skyship’s side.

Penny grabbed the ladder first, followed by August and then Elyse. The three of them scaled the ladder until they made it onto the deck of the skyship.

Elyse collapsed against the railing. “Close. Too close.”

“Let’s get out of here!” yelled August.

“No need to tell me,” said the captain. He cupped his hand around his mouth. “Get to! Full power to the engines!”

“Heh.” Elyse looked dead tired. “Never thought my own invention would save my life quite like this.”

“Your invention—” August’s mind was interrupted by thoughts from Elyse. Prototypes. Explosions. Magic and engineering. He cradled his head and knelt onto the deck.

Sorry about that, Elyse said, in his head. A little too quick.

The skyship was now fully on its way.

August gripped the side of his head as a splitting headache ran through it. He understood that Elyse had invented a way to power up the skysteel engines of a skyship, and that this vessel was equipped with such a modification, which was the only reason why they were able to save them.

The headache faded.

Elyse sighed. “Look. I don’t know what happened, but I think I know a guy who can help us.” She did not look happy about it. Her eyes were filled with conflict.

August sat down beside Elyse. “Sure. I’ve never experienced anything like this either.”

“My guy knows everything there is to know about spirits and minds. I think he can help us. “

Penny walked up to August and Elyse. “Thank you. It’s because of you that I’m still alive.”

“What happened to your parents?” asked August.

“They were taken into the portal.” Penny turned away. “And they’re gone.”

“We don’t know that yet.” Elyse stood up. “In the meantime, I can promise you that I’ll get to the bottom of whatever is happening here.”

August remained sitting. “What about your lab, and your research?”

Elyse slapped her forehead with her palm. “No, oh no. Six months of work wasted. That lab will probably never be found.”

“I don’t think we can go back.”

“And I don’t expect to. It’s just, I thought that I was going to make a difference with my invention.”

August, through their soul bond, understood a lot of what Elyse was feeling at that moment. Sadness, frustration, and disappointment. A lot of mixed feelings.

August looked across the horizon. “So where is this guy you know?”

“In the Capitol.”

“Ah, well. That’s not too bad.”

“For me it isn’t.” Elyse frowned. “And I suppose I can tell you why, since we have the time.”