The Wandering Spire

The team gathered their weapons, Channeling tools and double-checked their armor. They were as ready as they ever could be, and they headed off toward the battle lines. Beside them, a row of soldiers from various nations formed. Jeze saw on their right the golden uniformed Legionnaires of the Empire, and on their left were the soldiers in silver breastplates and green tabards of the Ironfist Kingdom. Adventurers were dotted among the armies in their assortment of armor and weapons. A hundred meters ahead of them was the ring of poles that marked the boundary of where the Spire was expected to form.

The Frostsworn did not send an army, but they had sent their Proven, Berserker Orn, and half a dozen Carls. The large northern warriors were scattered among the armies along with the other adventurers. Jeze could hear Orn's deep rumbling war chant ripple through the air and it lit a fire in her chest.

"This is a good day for a fight!" Helga boasted.

Rolfe banged his spear against his shield in agreement. Even Mikal joined in and raised his spear.

"Aye! We have trained for this moment. Let us reap the rewards of our hard work. For Glory!" Dunar cheered.

Jeze howled to the sky like a wild wolf. The Legionnaires and Ironfist kingdom soldiers glanced at them. They were clearly nervous, but all of the adventurers were excited.

"Good luck, and don't die," Ziplocke told Jeze.

"He won't be with us?" Dunar asked.

"I strictly serve as a consultant," the Goblin hissed.

"He has to respond to my summons within fifteen minutes," Jeze said and added, "In case we need him."

Ziplocke scowled and spat, "I can't fight!"

"But you have information," Dunar responded.

"Whatever," the Goblin faded into the shadows.

There were plenty of shadows now as the sky darkened to a deep purple, and the landscape flashed from the occasional lightning. The wind picked up, and above them, a swirling mass of purple clouds billowed down to the Earth to create an enormous column that grew thicker and more substantial. The fog rolled and rumbled toward them with sparks of lightning that danced from within. For a moment, Jeze feared that the thick, dark purple mass would pass the boundary markers and engulf them. She and the Frostsworn whooped and howled with excitement. They were eager for combat.

The soldiers at their sides, however, trembled with fear. A few turned to flee, only to be forced back into line by their commanders. Jeze recalled Irvin's words and wondered how the official was doing. Adventurers were a different breed. They were the best of the best, and where others would hide from the horrors, an adventurer rushed toward it. Jeze and her team felt a blast of hot, dry air coming from the billowing fog, which rumbled to a halt at the boundary markers. The Seers had predicted correctly, Jeze thought.

"The Threshold has opened!" Ziplocke shrieked.

A cacophony of scratches could be heard coming from within the thick purple mass. It sounded like running claws along gravel. Thousands of claws. The Earth shook as if a stampede was coming toward them.

"For Glory!" Dunar boomed in a deep, rumbling voice.

"For Glory!" Jeze and her team roared back.

They stood in formation with Rolfe and Dunar holding shields and Helga prepared with her Dane axe. Jeze Summoned Earth and Shaped it into stone fists and covered the left flank while Mikal covered the right flank with his spear. The sounds grew louder, and the ground violently shook. Like the bursting of a dam, hundreds of monsters spewed forth out of the thick, billowing purple fog. The beasts loped on four legs that ended in sharp claws. They had four dark insectoid-like eyes and wicked scorpion-like mandibles.

"Bloodlings!" Dunar called out.

Each Bloodling was the size of a wolf, and they rapidly approached on their fast-pumping legs. Jeze joined the hundreds of archers and Controlled the stone fists to launch out toward the oncoming horde. Dozens of Bloodlings fell dead by the second as they were struck with arrows, crossbolts, and an assortment of magical attacks, including Jeze's Earth aspect bombardment. Ballista and catapults wreaked even greater havoc, but it did little to quell the raging swarm.

Jeze rapidly finished each glyph to strike a monster with bone-crushing impacts from her soaring stone fists. The Bloodlings neared, and Helga let loose. The warrior maiden leaped forward with a mighty swing, and she sliced a swath of death. Helga shifted her axe and hips and wound up for a second swing. With the perfect timing that could have only been developed through countless hours of training, Rolfe covered Helga's exposed flank and rammed his shield into the Bloodlings while impaling a few more with his spear. The large warrior stepped back just as Helga swung her axe again and delivered a second lethal stroke of death to a line of monsters. The ones that were able to circle past Helga's right were impaled upon Mikal's spear. Dunar bashed with his shield and stabbed with his sword on their left. All the while, Jeze kept a continuous stonefist bombardment and trimmed down the numbers of Bloodlings before they arrived.

This pattern went on for many minutes as the horde of beasts seemed endless. Shield bash, sword stab, spear thrust, Rune magic attack, and axe swing. The ground soon became littered with the bodies of dead and dying Bloodlings. But the monsters kept coming. Jeze was starting to feel the strain on her Will as she continued to Summon, Shape, and Control the Earth aspect spell. But, she and the Frostsworn kept fighting at a consistent pace like a fire through a field of kindling.

Then, the soldiers began to fall, and the battle line started to crumble. From the corner of Jeze's eye she saw a hapless soldier get dragged off his feet and disappeared under the bloody claws and mandibles of the Bloodlings. The gurgling death cries unnerved Jeze, and her Will faltered.

"Crush our enemies!" Dunar cried, his voice deep like rumbling thunder.

"For Glory!" Jeze and the others roared back.

This inspired her, and her Will snapped back into a strong resolve. The magic flowed through Jeze as free as a spring stream. She Summoned, Shaped, and Controlled the Earth aspect with ease. Her aim and mastery of the Runic arts improved as she entered a flow state. The same was true for her teammates. They moved with a rhythm and delivered fatal blows with each swing. Rolfe and Dunar blocked and bashed with their shields in fluid motions. Mikal switched between spear thrusts to Summoning, Shaping, and Controlling the Water aspect to freeze and slow down the horde of onrushing Bloodlings. The soldiers to Jeze's left were not doing well, and the line faltered from the continued assault, and soon they would break.

"Jeze, aid them!" Dunar commanded.

The teenager tapped her Earth aspect bracelet and completed the gestures that Summoned a wall of Earth that was two meters high and several meters long. Tapping her bracelet a second time, she completed a different set of glyphs and Shaped the Earth wall into stone. The Bloodlings were able to scale the wall, and a few did, but most changed direction and rushed toward Jeze and her team. Let them come! Jeze thought as she stopped her Runic casting and drew forth her battleaxe and long knife.

A Bloodling leaped with vicious claws extended. Jeze stepped back and planted her axe in its skull. She dodged a second monster and sliced it across its throat with her long knife. A third slashed a glancing blow on her armored shoulder. Jeze stumbled and severed the Bloodlings spine with her battleaxe. She was off balance when the fourth attacked but was slammed by Dunar's shield. Jeze stabbed the dazed monster in between its pitch-black eyes. In moments, the team was surrounded, and they maintained their formation through Dunar's deep voice.

"Regroup!" The team leader roared.

"For Glory!" They responded as one.

They remained close through the sound of their voices as a sea of claws and monsters blurred their vision.

"Crush our enemies!" Dunar shouted.

"For Glory!" They roared back.

And so they fought. Each one was bloodied from numerous gashes from claws and mandibles, but they continued on. Each in their own flow state. Attack, parry, block, dodge, and attack. Jeze felt the warmth of Mikal's Life aspect magic flow through her and her bleeding stopped while her vitality remained. Jeze lost track of time, and the stream of monsters stopped. To her, it felt like waking up from a deep sleep as peace settled around them.

The soldiers to their left and right fell to their knees, trembling from the horrors they just experienced. Jeze and the Frostsworn had a different feeling. They were elated. They were victorious!

"For Glory!" Jeze howled like a wolf to the full moon.

"For Glory!" Her teammates responded.

"I'm ready for more!" Helga shouted.

"Aye, we shall crush our enemies and grind their bones to dust!" Rolfe cried.

Mikal raised his spear and whooped. They had changed the tide of battle and allowed the armies to their sides to regroup. Dunar's Communication Scroll pinged, and the leader unrolled and read it.

"What does it say?" Jeze asked.

Dunar scanned the valley of war with his dark eyes. Somewhere, a Guild official was monitoring the battlefield and giving orders to the teams. Jeze wondered if it was Irvin.

"This area is secure for now. We are needed to the east," Dunar answered and pointed.

They could see hundreds of Bloodlings clash against the faltering lines of soldiers.

"Form up!" Dunar barked.

Jeze and the others moved quickly into formation, and as one, they charged again into battle.