The Wandering Spire

Jeze heard sounds ahead, and she waved her team to stay put as she crept forward. The Proven were in a sandstone-colored corridor wide enough for three people to be shoulder to shoulder and high enough for Rolfe to stand straight and hold his spear upright. The same silver lines illuminated the passageway for them as it went ahead and curved to the left out of sight. The noise came from just around the corner. It was a faint sound, barely above a whisper, but Jeze's sharp ears caught it in time.

"Be careful, or your shadows will alert others of your presence," Ziplocke whispered in her ear like an annoying teacher.

"I know!" She hissed back.

Jeze crept forward and tapped her Onyx ring to gently Summon Shadows to cover her approach. This prevented her own shadow from appearing on the far wall as she neared the corner. It was a subtle trick that Ziplocke had instructed her on. The Darkness aspect was not direct but a form of casual trickery. Raynor, the Old Hunter, had taught Jeze to be patient like the wolf, and so she crept forward and waited. Jeze dared not peek around the corner but sat at the edge and listened.

"I hear nothing," Ziplocke whispered.

"Be patient," Jeze replied.

The Goblin sulked on her shoulder and the two waited. The faint sounds she heard earlier had stopped and instead she only heard the jingle of the Proven's armor. In the absolute silence the slightest movement made by Dunar and the others rang across the corridor like a ringing bell. Jeze sighed. There was no use in trying to be subtle with them, but she continued to wait and listen.

She heard nothing and decided to take a chance. Jeze Summoned shadows and wrapped them around her like a cloak, and she slid forward to blend in with the natural gloom of the corridor. Jeze had to suppress a gasp of surprise. In front of her were a dozen hooded figures in dark robes armed with bows and curved blades. Their sharp eyes spotted her easily, and Jeze quickly ran back as a hail of arrows snapped against the stone walls. She heard their light footsteps as they chased her.

"Proven! Form up!" Dunar barked as he recognized the situation Jeze had gotten herself in.

He, Helga, and Rolfe brought their shields forth as Jeze slid behind them. She was followed by a storm of arrows that thudded into the shields and snapped against the floor and walls around them. One arrow bounced off Rolfe's helmeted head.

"How many?" Dunar asked.

"A dozen or more," Jeze answered.

The Leader glanced behind them. The corridor they traveled through was long.

"We can't retreat. It will be to their advantage," Mikal pointed out.

Dunar agreed with the Healer. The robed cultists were armed with bows, and they fired them with speed and skill. A near-constant stream of arrows rained around them. Not all the arrows were blocked by the Proven's large round shields. An occasional arrow snuck past the defenses and bounced painfully off their heavy armor. But a few would land shallow wounds, which in time would accumulate. To make matters worse, the Cultists were Rune casters. Red orbs of Affliction energy launched out along with the arrows to strike the Proven.

"Pain spells," Jeze said, gritted teeth as an orb struck her.

"Hah! That will not work on us. Pain is a part of life for us, Frostsworn," Helga boasted.

"Speak for yourself," Mikal muttered. The dark-haired Healer looked paler than usual as he struggled with the Affliction spells.

"Proven, attack!" Dunar ordered.

"For Glory!" Rolfe roared and hurled his spear.

The Helldrake weapon slammed into a Cultist and knocked the hapless victim off their feet with terrifying power. This had the added effect of causing the remaining Cultist to pause with concern.

"Hurrah!" The rest of the Proven shouted, and the team charged down the corridor.

The walls and stone floors reverberated with the heavy boots of the large Frostsworn warriors. Rolfe equipped his sword as Jeze launched stone fists to pepper their opponents. A gout of Flame erupted from the Cultist and threatened to engulf the Proven. What Fire spell was that? Jeze wondered as the intense heat burned her and her team painfully for a moment before Mikal's Frost spell negated the attack. The heat dissipated just as quickly as it had appeared. The Cultists wore dark robes over blackened studded leather armor, and they dropped their bows to produce wicked curved swords and knives. They didn't stand a chance as the more heavily armed and armored Proven barreled into them like a fierce winter storm. Rolfe retrieved his spear as the team turned the corner, where they were met with another hail of arrows and flame spells. At this point, the Proven were injured and hurt, and Mikal worked desperately to keep them alive with his Life aspect magic.

"Press forward! Let's crush our enemies' bones and find Glory in their deaths!" Dunar roared.

Helga swapped out her shield for her two-handed Dane ax, and she launched forward like a goddess of carnage. Every swing of her ax brought death and destruction as the Cultist desperately shot her full of arrows. Her lamellar armor absorbed most of the impact, and the arrows left mainly shallow wounds to her body, but they gave her a fearsome appearance. Jeze took out the Rune casters in the back with Stone fists as Rolfe and Dunar pushed forward to cover Helga's flanks. Mikal followed close behind and weaved Healing spell after Healing spell.

The Proven forced the remaining Cultist to flee and the team pursued them with the fury that Frostsworn warriors were known for. They came upon a circular chamber where in the center was a shimmering red Monster Portal. The handful of remaining Cultists formed a last line of defense in front of the Portal and a lone figure.

"Val!" Jeze growled. She vowed to herself that she would avenge Seb and Jonah's deaths today.

Without preamble or warning, Jeze launched a boulder at the blonde hair cult leader. Val sliced her arm downwards and a tear in reality appeared before her that split the boulder in half. The purple blazing energy appeared like a portal but it was thin and gave off a chill.

"The Rift aspect!" Ziplocke gasped.

"What?" Jeze asked.

But there was no time for an answer as the remaining Cultists were reinvigorated by the dark power of their Leader and they rushed forward. Undeterred, the Proven chopped them down as easy as they had their colleagues in the corridor and all that remained was Val and the strange shimmering Rift she created.

"Quick, ask her how she learned the Rift aspect before the fighting starts!" Ziplocke cried in a shrill voice into Jeze's ear from her shoulder.

Jeze flinched and asked, "What?"

"The villain always gives a monologue, and this is definitely the moment."

Jeze sensed that her team was about to attack, and she shouted, "Where did you learn the Rift aspect?"

Val sneered. She had dark lines under her eyes, and she looked a little different from before. To Jeze, Val still had a prideful arrogance about her, but now she had something sinister as well. If Jeze were to be honest with herself, she also felt a little afraid about the dangerous aura that surrounded her former Runic Research Division colleague.

"Your puny mind wouldn't begin to comprehend the knowledge we have discovered!" Val snapped in a voice that dripped with arrogance.

"Less talk and more fighting," Helga replied.

Her, Dunar, and Rolfe pushed forward but stopped when Val pushed both her hands outwards. The purple Rift before her opened in synch to her movements and the massive head of a Goreraptor emerged. It's baleful eyes fell over the Proven.

"Behold my power and your deaths!" Val cried.

Rolfe and Helga's eyes went wide as they looked up at the behemoth that lumbered out of the blazing purple Rift. The Goreraptor let loose a terrifying roar that echoed off the chamber walls. Val had a smug look on her face.

"Yes!" Helga cheered.

Val's smug look faded away and was replaced with confusion.

"We can now see how much we have improved!" Rolfe cried.

"Fools! Do not underestimate me!" The Cult leader shouted.

Dunar ignored her and turned to his team. "Proven! Titan formation! Mikal and Jeze take care of the Rune caster," Dunar barked.

"With pleasure," Jeze growled. She Summoned piles of dirt throughout the chamber.

The Goreraptor attacked, and Rolfe stepped forward and intercepted the charge with his shield. The blow caused the large Protector to slide backward, but he held steady. Helga had switched to her two-handed mace, and she struck the side of the Goreraptor's head, which caused the monstrous-sized beast to stumble. The creature swung its tail, but the blow was intercepted by Dunar's shield as Helga pressed forward with more mighty swings of her heavy maul. This time, the warrior maiden buckled the monster's knees with her powerful blows.

Jeze and Mikal struck Val with ice spears and stone fists. The cult leader's robe was etched with Runic protections, and they flared to life when struck, but the force still caused her to stumble to one knee. Val glared at Mikal and Jeze but ignored their assault and focused her Will on the Rift.

"Don't ignore us!" Jeze cried and hurled a boulder that shattered Val's magical shimmering shield.

Val looked up at them with blood trailing from her mouth, and she sneered. "You will have my attention soon enough."

Dunar, Rolfe, and Helga had the Goreraptor down on its side. The monster was trashing as it struggled back to its feet, but the three Frostsworn bashed, hacked, and stabbed it with relentless brutality. Roars erupted as two more Goreraptors entered through the Portal. Dunar ordered Helga and Rolfe to form up so that they could face the new threat. Doubt clawed its way up into Jeze's mind. Two Goreraptors? What power did Val discover? Jeze was not sure they could win this fight.

"Now, where were we?" Val said with an evil grin as she shaped elegant glyphs with her hands and Summoned balls of Flame to float around her.