Valor and Violence

Calris caught glimpses of the beasts as they ran through the winding halls and tunnels of the Keep. The marines could outpace their pursuers in the switchbacks, but whenever they found themselves in a straight section, the brutes would use their knuckles to… gallop, moving almost as fast as a horse. Calris hoped the company hadn’t gone far. If the beasts chased them out of the Keep and into the open, they would run them down in moments.

As though the universe had read his mind, he heard shouts, human ones, coming from just ahead and with a sigh of relief he burst into the room where they had battled the raiders. The company was streaming in on the far side, Ferez and Erwell leading the charge, flanked by Olic, Asim and the Ninth’s sergeant.

Thank the Pantheon.

It took him a moment of searching the crowd, but eventually he found Jasmine too, lagging near the back of the pack, panting and clutching her side. Though it seemed mildly inappropriate given the situation, Calris couldn’t help but laugh. The laugh died on his lips when he heard baying at his back. The beasts were answering the roar of the marines.

“Form up! They’re right behind us!” he shouted to the company. With practiced movements they shook out into a skirmisher’s formation, prepared to engage the enemy. Calris, Ban and Gaelon quickly re-joined their squads and turned to face the beasts as they spilled into the room in a disordered horde.

Calris rolled his shoulders and started pumping himself up. The severity of his burning had subsided to an almost comfortable level, and he used it to focus his mind. He felt good; strong and fast, and he bounced on his toes in anticipation of the coming fight. He didn’t understand why he felt like this, or why he wasn’t dead, but with literal monsters screaming towards him inside a magical glass fortress, he decided the questions could wait until later.

There were far more creatures than he expected and, enthusiasm notwithstanding, he said a silent prayer of thanks to whatever gods may have been listening that the Keep didn’t have more straight tunnels.

He looked at the marines around him. They were steady. If any of them were metaphorically or literally shitting themselves at the sight of these giant monsters, they weren’t showing it, and his chest swelled with pride. The company had proven time and again they were the equal of any force of human warriors. They would prove themselves more than a match for monsters as well.

As the beasts entered the maze, the company let fly with their javelins, each squad concentrating their assault on one or two demons at a time. Resilient as the brutes were, they couldn’t handle being turned into a pincushion by a half dozen steel tipped missiles and a handful of them fell, pitiable whimpers and dying screams of rage fading to nothing as their peers trampled, undaunted, over their fallen.

The demons crashed into the company in a disordered wave of muscle and bone, but found their human opponents unwavering. While the fighters who still had javelins in hand kept the beasts distracted from a distance, their squad mates moved in on the flanks, hacking at stubby legs and bringing their foes to the ground before finishing them.

Within moments, the scattered beasts that had reached the squads were dispatched, but despite having a clear advantage in terms of tactics, teamwork, and weaponry, the monsters did still have the advantage of being seven-foot-tall bundles of muscle and teeth.

A demon crashed into Second Squad as they were reeling from their first kill, snatching a marine and ripping his arm clean off. Things got worse for the squad as a second monster joined the fray, laying about with its club and sending them into disarray. Calris took off towards them, but was jerked back by an iron grip clamping onto his shoulder. He craned his neck and found Olic holding him, but as he opened his mouth to protest, the sergeant shook his head and nodded back to the squad. Calris followed his gaze to find Ferez and Asim launching into the fight. Though the crush of bodies stopped Ferez from flinging any fireballs, he’d acquired a marine sword from somewhere and savagely attacked one beast as Asim engaged the other.

Despite his age, Ferez moved like a Tok Risim duellist, deftly avoiding frenzied swings with the instinct that comes from decades of hand-to-hand combat. As Calris watched, his jaw on the floor, the old mage ducked a horizontal swing, and spun, driving the sword into the beast’s groin. As it howled, understandably, Ferez let go of the sword and grasped either side of its head, incinerating it completely with a savage magical assault at point blank range.

The creature toppled, headless, as next to him Asim drove his foe hard against a perimeter wall with his halberd buried in its throat. Once it was pinned, Asim twisted his halberd back and forth, widening the wound until the creature’s struggles stopped and its head flopped from its shoulders, swinging from the last scrap of skin that connected it to its chest. His face was completely expressionless.

Cael, help me if I ever get on their wrong side, he thought, as a trio of foolhardy beasts charged the Sixth. He smiled and rolled out his neck; it was time for him to show off as well. He stepped forward, twirling his javelin, but was checked once again by a hand on his shoulder, this one much smaller than the last.

“Gods damn it, what now?” he asked, whirling and finding himself face to face with Jasmine.

“Ape, I need to get to that tower,” she said, pointing at the ledge she had occupied during the battle with the raiders. Calris scoffed and pulled his shoulder free, turning back to the charging beasts. The delay had allowed the rest of the squad to get in first, one beast dropping with a bolt in its throat, struggling feebly as Viper stalked forward to finish the job, while the other was trading blows with Badger, unaware Mouse was creeping up from its rear. The third beast had lagged behind the two leaders though, and Calris stepped up, Ban at his side, eager to flex his newfound muscle and score a kill. He was denied this, however, as its top half exploded.

“Don’t turn your back on me, Ape!” Jasmine thundered.

Calris gulped. Inexplicably stronger though he may be, he was reminded that the magelet was on another level altogether. He still had to keep up appearances, though.

“Don’t know if you noticed, Princess, but there’s a few of these beasties between us and the ledge, and the squad needs to hold the line. If our formation breaks, they’ll overwhelm the company.”

“If we don’t stop their reinforcements, then we will be overwhelmed, anyway!” she replied, gesturing to the surrounding carnage.

Calris hated to admit that she was right. The battle had started well, but the struggles of the Second Squad had been a tipping point. As the fighting dragged on, beasts were reaching the line quicker than the marines could cut them down. One monster was easy for a squad, two was a challenge but doable, but as he watched, a third monster ploughed into the Eighth and they buckled under the assault.

Captain Erwell roared a command, and the Seventh surged forward to help, but with them committed, there were no reserve forces left. The next time that happened, the line would break and the battle would devolve into a massacre.

Pit…

“Oi, Sarge!” he shouted. “The apprentice reckons she can shut down their reinforcements if we can get her to that perch,” he said, pointing at the tower. “The company’s about to crack. I think it’s our best chance. Ban and I can take point, cut a path, if Sparrow gives us cover fire.”

Olic glanced around, a scowl on his face. He didn’t deliberate long.

“Aye, you’re right. Sparrow, get them there. Everyone else, pull your fingers out of your arses and pick up the slack. Fall in around me. Hawk, be quick.”

“Aye, Sarge!” the Sixth roared as they set to their tasks.

Calris and Ban charged, Jasmine flinging Flash Bombs indiscriminately over their heads. Without having time to aim, they caused little direct damage, but the concussive blasts still disoriented the beasts.

Taking advantage, Calris rushed one, sliding under a panicked swing and slicing clean through its leg just below the knee. He was up and running before it hit the ground, two roars rising from behind him, the first from the beast, the second from a flame as Jasmine finished it.

Ahead, another beast galloped to meet him, only to meet Ban’s axes instead as the marine launched himself from the top of an adjacent wall, the force of his blow caving the beast’s skull completely and spattering him with black ichor and clumps of brain. As Calris met Ban’s eyes, he could see the adrenaline and excitement clear in his friend, his own strength and agility seemingly enhanced just like Calris. Ordinarily, this realisation would have warranted some question. But this was not an ordinary situation.

This battle was unlike any Calris had experienced before. He didn’t know whether the new enemies or his new strength were the cause, but he felt… intoxicated, euphoric! He effortlessly leapt a wall and rammed his sword through another beast’s eye, the blade sliding in as easily as a knife into a block of soft cheese. As it went slack, he palmed its face, and the blade slid free with a wet schlurp as Ban laughed. Calris joined in, and together they resumed their sprint, carving a path to the base of the tower in seconds.

“This is going pretty smoothly, wouldn’t you say, Cal?” Ban said as he casually twisted a monster’s head from its shoulders. Calris skidded to a halt, Ban continuing a few more paces before he too stopped and looked back, confused.

“Don’t jinx it arsehole, we’re nearly there!” Calris replied.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be so superstitious.”

Calris was about to swear at him for being a moron when they both heard it. A deep, guttural growl unlike any they had heard before. They looked to the tower and saw it, a beast standing a full head taller than the others, stepping out from behind the glass monolith.

It wore a crude cloak made from the same leather as the others, and the fanged skull of a giant lizard as a helmet, hateful eyes glaring out from, what Calris assumed, was the reptile’s nostrils. Instead of a bone club, it carried a very crude, but very sharp-looking, meat cleaver. The blade was as long as Calris’ arm. For a moment, the two marines simply stared at the giant in stunned silence, the sight hitting Calris like a bucket of cold water to the face. If he felt intoxicated before, he now felt very, very sober.

“Cal…”

“I don’t want to hear it, Ban.”

“I am so, so sorry.”

“Fuck you, Ban. Just. Fuck you.”

The beast charged, its roar dwarfing those of its comrades like a lion would a kitten, and the marines dived, scrambling to get out of the way. Whether it was because he was taller than Ban, or just unlucky, the beast zeroed in on Calris. He swore as he scrambled back on his hands, an overhand swing narrowly missing him and lodging deep in the glass floor. The beast didn’t even pause before effortlessly ripping it free, showering Calris with shards of glass as it came on for a second attack. Calris raised his sword to parry the blow, but, to his horror, his enhanced strength and speed chose this exact moment to abandon him.

Time seemed to slow as his eyes fixed on the jagged, glinting edge hurtling towards him, his own blade woefully short of where he really needed it to be. He grit his teeth as his entire body seized up, ready for the blow to cave him in…

And the giant rocked back, a ball of flame exploding across its chest, the force flattening Calris where he lay and sending his sword skidding across the glass.

“Over here, wretch!” Jasmine shouted.

Ears ringing and head reeling, Calris rolled to his feet as the apprentice followed up with another attack. As his vision settled and the two blurry Jasmines in his vision resolved into one, Calris gave her a nod and a smile, receiving an unexpected snarl in return.

“Rude,” he muttered, shaking his head.

“Oh, for the love of… Focus, Ape!”

From behind him, the giant roared again.

No fucking way.

He spun, hoping to the gods the roar had been a final act of defiance from a dying beast and not the roar of a mildly inconvenienced and pissed off monster. As had become a recent trend, he was disappointed. The same spell that sent Calris flying a few days ago had done little more than worsen its mood and gain its attention. Identifying Jasmine as the greatest threat, it reoriented and charged.

“Jasmine, get back!” Calris shouted as he threw himself at the giant. He may as well have run headfirst into a stone wall, knocking the air out of his own lungs and bringing his double vision back while the beast barely budged. It grunted and looked down at him, with what Calris swore was amusement. Though the look delayed it more than Calris’ charge, it was enough for Jasmine to loose another attack.

The blast rocked the beast and Calris felt the heat and percussion wash over him, singeing the hair on the back of his head. He groaned, ignoring the pain, and set his feet, straining with everything he had and driving with the force of Jasmine’s blow.

He slammed it to the ground with enough force to snap a man in half. Sensing an opportunity, he clambered up its body, fist raised and ready to fall, only to find his head in the grip of a massive, furred hand. Calris screamed as the beast squeezed, stars bursting behind his eyes, the pressure in his head unbearable. He scrabbled helplessly at the hand as the monster climbed to its feet, holding Calris like a shield between itself and Jasmine. Through his mounting panic, Calris could hear her cursing, unable to get a shot, and beyond that, another voice.

Ban!

Just as his skull felt like it was about to crack, he heard a dull thwump and found himself on the floor, his head released from the vice. He looked up to find the monster’s severed forearm laying where it fell, next to the axe that severed it. The beast recoiled, clutching its bleeding stump as Ban charged, burying his remaining axe deep into its side, dropping his shoulder and driving it away from Calris.

“Ban! Get away from it!” Calris shouted as he climbed to his feet, swaying towards them.

Even an arm down the giant was formidable, and after giving ground in its initial shock, it set its feet and drove its fist into Ban’s chest. The short marine sailed clear through the air and crumpled as he landed. The monster stalked towards him, and with a cry, Calris attacked.

He had learned from his earlier attempt at waylaying the beast, and didn’t waste his strength trying to knock it over. Instead, he jumped on it, which he thought was a much better idea, and started driving his fist over and over into its helmeted face. The bone buckled and splintered beneath the onslaught, but beneath the mask, the creature actually laughed.

“You think this is funny, you piece of shit?” Calris shouted, changing tack and driving his boot into the monster’s groin.

That got a reaction. Under the helmet, the beast’s eyes bulged. Calris’ satisfaction at its pain was short-lived, however, as it grabbed him again, this time by the throat. It pulled him close and snarled in his face, its breath smelling of rancid meat and alcohol.

“Ever… heard of a toothbrush… arsehole?” Calris choked out, mentally congratulating himself on his witticism in the face of impending death. In response, the creature opened its mouth and Calris realised it meant to kill him with its jaws. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ban trying to force his way past another brute and heard Jasmine’s panicked cry from too far away to reach him in time.

He desperately wracked his brains for ideas, trying to fight off the rising panic, but only one word came to mind.

Shit!