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“We need to get to the top of the ruins and climb the tower.That’s where we’ll find Nedarya,” Dusk said, closing the doors behind him, leaving the dead men and their one lucky companion trapped inside. “We need to move faster. The moon approaches.”
“Everyone stay alert,” Tara called to the guild members, keeping her voice low enough so it wouldn’t echo. “Archers to the front, let’s make quick work of this place.”
“Keep as quiet as you can,” Diana added. “We have to move, but we can’t risk an alarm.”
The men nodded, their expressions a little more concerned than before. Dusk stepped to the front of the group with a handful of archers as they began to work their way forward. This time they stayed out in the open, moving up the walkway at a faster pace. Rooms were briefly checked, but most remained empty. Any soldiers that came their way were shot down before they had a chance to make a sound. Even when they were spotted, a quick arrow silenced their would-be revealers. Dusk felt himself switch into hunting mode, no longer seeing the soldiers as men, but as dangerous predators that needed to be taken down. It was just like fighting the Amarok or the Grimfish: he had to shoot to survive, there was nothing more to it.
A quarter of the way up the spiral they heard a long low horn blast. Each of them pressed themselves against the outer wall, fearing the worst had come true. Somehow, they’d given away their position. One by one the doors around the spiral began to open and soldiers poured out. Some were in armor while others looked to have been awakened before their due time. A few shouts echoed down the shaft, but to everyone's surprise, the soldiers didn’t come for them. Instead they began to march upward toward the top of the ruins. Everyone stood stock-still, watching as the soldiers slowly wound their way up. Whatever the horn call signaled, it wasn’t something that the soldiers needed to rush about. Each of them took their time, chatting amongst one another as they walked.
Dusk waited and watched for ten long minutes as the soldiers slowly filtered out of the ruin. Only when he could no longer see them from the broken stone railing did he motion for the others to follow him. This time they merely glanced into the empty rooms as they walked by, making sure there weren’t any stragglers left behind. Their pace quickened and the ruins began to sink away beneath their feet. Dusk found his thoughts wandering. He wondered what could have called them all to the surface in the middle of the night. Now that Nedarya had succeeded in her plans to draw down the moon, she was ready to set the next pieces in motion. It seemed the only likely course since Lyra’s arrival would have caused a much larger ruckus.
Continuing to lead the pack, Dusk let his eyes carry him forward as he focused inward, looking for the thread again. He plucked at it, reaching out to Lyra once more. It was silent for a long moment, but then he heard something so faint he wondered if he’d made it up. It was a voice, but too far away to make out. Instead of trying to decipher it, he mustered all his mental strength and shouted out for Lyra in his mind, hoping it would reach her wherever she was. Again there was no response but the faintest of whispers. He let go of the connection, his eyes focusing once more on the stone walkway in front of him. It seemed they were on their own.
It took them a further fifteen minutes to finally reach the top of the spiral without any incidents. The ropes hanging down from above became thicker and there were wooden ladders reaching from the shaft up to the platforms above. It could be an easy way out for them if the soldiers weren’t all standing in the middle of the city square. He walked over to the end of the spiral, looking for hints as to what their next move should be. Dusk found himself at the mouth of the cave where he and Lex had snuck into the goblin city so long ago. At the end of the tunnel he could hear the clamoring of more than a hundred voices. For some reason it seemed all the soldiers and Circle members were gathered underground. It might be their only chance to get topside without being found out, especially with Lyra nowhere to be seen. He knew what they needed to do, but he was going to tread ahead. Whatever was going on in the chamber had to be important and they needed all the information they could get.
“Take the rest up the ladders and to the broken tower, the way should be clear,” Dusk whispered to Diana. “I’m going to scout ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
“You aren’t going alone,” Lex replied, stepping up beside him.
“Lex, you can’t go with me. I can magic my way out if need be, but you’ll just be a sitting duck.”
“I’m not letting you go by yourself.”
“He’s not going to,” Cyrilo said, putting a hand on Lex’s shoulder. “We can both use the crystals. I’ll go with him.”
“I’m not sure that’s somethin’ I’m alright with,” Ciaran growled, crossing his arms. “Why should ya go and risk your life like that? We already know the heart isn’t here.”
“There’s something important going on in there,” Dusk said. “We still don’t know how Nedarya will proceed with this plan of hers. I know we need to get to the heart, but if there’s any chance of us buying time to wait for Lyra, I want to take it.”
Cyrilo shot a sideways look at Ciaran. “Besides, I don’t think I asked your permission.” He walked over and planted a kiss on Ciaran’s nose. “But I appreciate you wanting to protect me.”
“Ciaran and I will wait here,” Lex said with finality. “We’ll escort you topside when you get back.”
“Fair enough,” Cyrilo nodded, turning to Dusk.
“Alright, but stay out of sight and if you hear fighting, run.”
“No promises,” Lex said flatly.
Dusk nodded, it was the best he was going to get. He looked to Cyrilo and both of them turned away from the group that was heading up the ladders. The tunnel in front of them was similar to what Dusk remembered, but all the debris had been cleared away. The trench in the center that once carried the stench of goblin piss was now clean and dry. Sconces were spaced wide on the walls, glowing softly with the flicker of torches. Only about half of them were lit, but it was just enough light to make their way down the long corridor without tripping themselves up.
It was a short walk, but at the mouth of the chamber Dusk stopped short, nearly causing Cyrilo to run into him. The space opened up before them, a hundred or more soldiers with their faces turned toward the dais in the center of the room. All the goblin huts had been cleared away and the chamber cleansed of any hint of their once being there. Against the walls were stacks of supply crates and barrels to feed the soldiers with. In the center the white dragon statues still flanked the raised stone platform, but the blood-stained copper bowl that had held Torbin’s blood when he was sacrificed and eaten was gone. It had been chiseled away, leaving the perfect stage for someone to address them all.
And there she was. Dressed in bright shining white from head to toe, Nedarya looked out over the crowd. Over top of her white visage was bright glowing armor that looked to be made of stone. Dusk squinted and realized it was the crystalline remains of Tephyss, reforged through magic into plated armor. Atop her head were the three crowns of the Alamondian kings. Each had locked together to create one dense crown studded with rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, all of them glowing softly in the dimly lit chamber. A long thin blade was at her side, although Dusk doubted she would need it as the moon drew closer. All the soldiers stared up at her, some in awe, others in reverence. It wasn’t hard to tell where their loyalty lay.
His blood boiled at the sight of Nedarya wearing Tephyss’s corpse like a trophy, but shook it away. Dusk nudged Cyrilo to the side and they snuck their way against the wall until they were concealed behind a few crates. Just as they poked up over the edge Nedarya raised her hands and the entire chamber went silent in an instant.
“The time we’ve all been fighting for is at hand,” she began, raising her voice so all could hear her. “Thanks to your hard work and dedication, the plans of our beloved King Arius will finally come to fruition. Our great weapon has been summoned and even as we speak, it’s on it’s way to claim all of Calendia and obliterate the Inahandrian throne. With no one left to guide them, Ditania will quickly overtake Inahan and finally have control of the entire continent. All this for your magnanimous king who sent me to lead you. This will be the last battle in the final war the great empire of Ditania will ever see. Soon the everlasting peace will come for you all.
“And so, in celebration of this momentous occasion, I ask you all to join me outside as we welcome down the great weapon of the gods that will bring about the dawn of a new age. The crystal moon will guide us into the calm that will sweep across the world and everyone on it.”
The soldiers began to cheer and clap, roused by her speech. Dusk, however, felt the pit of his stomach go cold. He knew what Nedarya actually meant and it surprised him that no one saw the malice in her words. At first it seemed like she meant to crash the moon into Calendia, but when she said they would welcome it down together, he had no idea what she could be planning. Did she intend to bring the moon into the ruins and use its power to exact her revenge? It still wasn’t clear, but he knew she wouldn’t be telling her followers. Judging by the amount of people carrying small pouches of dust, they posed a threat if united against her, so she kept them assuaged and misdirected.
“Bring the ale and best food,” she called above the cheers. “Toast to our success and for the new world that is almost upon us. Your wonderful King Arius demands you celebrate!”
The soldiers cheered louder and began to move towards the crates stacked against the walls. Dusk watched as Nedarya’s eyes flicked in his direction, catching his own. She smiled fiendishly and stepped off the dais, heading for the exit out of the cavern. He and Cyrilo pretended to be helping with the crates, the soldiers too excited to party and paying them no mind. They managed to turn back to the mouth of the tunnel to catch up with the others. They were no more than a few feet down when Dusk heard a familiar voice inside his head.
“I know you’re here,” Nedarya hissed through his brain. “The moon has already been called. You’re too late. Nobody can stop it now.” He heard a deep chuckle reverberate between his ears as he reached for the wall to steady himself. “Come join the celebration. I’d be remiss if you didn’t see what all my hard work was for. Let us all step into death as one. It’s sure to be a blast.”
“Are you alright?” Cyrilo asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s Nedarya. She knows we’re here,” he replied, rubbing his temples. He looked at Cyrilo, the fear plain in his eyes. “We need to move fast. There’s not much time left.”
They jogged down the rest of the tunnel, finding Ciaran and Lex waiting for them.
“She knows!” Dusk called, running past them.
Without a word the both of them turned and ran after. The four scrambled up the ladders to the platforms, then finally to the surface. They found themselves between the two large towers, flanked by soldiers on all sides as they streamed through the brightly lit open space with crates and barrels. The soldiers barely seemed to notice their presence and most of the guild members were standing out in the open with not even a glance in their direction. Dusk was surprised that no one suspected they didn’t belong there, but then again, Nedarya wasn’t known for keeping a consistent group. If their informant was to be believed, quite a few of the soldiers were fresh faces in the ruins. The only people who seemed to give them a second glance were the cloaked Circle members, but even they were too busy readying for the celebration their leader had promised.
Trying not to look conspicuous, Dusk motioned for the others to follow him. They crossed a small portion of the city center quickly, heading straight for the ruined tower. Arching his neck back, Dusk could just make out a white glow from the top of the vine covered ruin and knew the heart must be there. Jogging up the few stairs, he grabbed at the door handle to the tower, giving it a pull. It didn’t budge. Leaning back and digging in his heels, he pulled harder, but it wouldn’t move. He called Tara and Ciaran over to help him, but it didn’t matter what direction they tried, the door was locked in place. They were just about to go back around the tower to find another way in when Dusk heard the square go quiet.
“You can all see the crystal moon,” Nedarya said, pointing up to the sky at the ball of fire that was growing larger by the hour. “Wreathed in flame, it will be the spark that ignites change across our world. It’s almost here and soon everything will be as it should.” She paused, looking out over them all. “But, I have one last task before we begin to celebrate this victory.” Lifting a finger, she pointed towards Dusk and his group who were removed from the rest of the soldiers at the base of the tower. More than a hundred faces turned to look all at once. “Those people have come here to stop us. To stop our great work of peace from taking place and murder your most prestigious king. As your general I give you this last order: destroy them.”
Dusk watched in horror as every hand moved toward a weapon. Bows, axes, swords, daggers, and spears all pointed in their direction in a moment. Cloaked figures held powder coated fingers in the air, glowing and ready to draw the runes they needed to summon fire and rain death upon them. Once again, Nedarya had been a step ahead and this time it looked like there was no way out. He knew they would stand and fight. There was nowhere to run. Glancing to Lex he reached over and took his hand for a brief moment, then pulled an arrow from his quiver. Nocking it, he raised the bow and pointed it in Nedarya’s direction, already drawing power from the crystal under his armor.
An arrogant smirk played across her lips. “Kill them,” she commanded.
Every soldier took a step forward and immediately stopped as a rhythmic reverberation filled the air followed by a piercing roar. Everyone looked up at once as a gout of flame drove a hard line through the center of the soldiers, setting them ablaze in a flash of white-hot heat. Even through the flames Dusk could see Nedarya’s smirk fall to a grimace. Lyra had kept her promise.