Return to Chestme

Chapter 10: Those Condemned Things

With a battle cry, Tallik surged toward them. It was time!

His heart pounded. They whirled around, emitting a collective hiss, and their leader, a hulking brute with eyes glowed red with savagery. 

A smaller Darkling leaped from above, attempting to take him by surprise but Tallik rolled away from its pounce.

The Darklings began to coordinate their attacks; two advanced on him from different directions while another flanked him from behind. Tallik gritted his teeth and spun around in a whirlwind attack, weaving between the foes and out of danger.

One came forward. Spotting an opportunity, Tallek kicked up dust from the ground into its eyes. In that brief window of time, he made contact with the creature's chest, feeling a sickening crunch as he drove his blade in. But the beast only cackled maniacally and took flight, leaving Tallik's blade to fall. The others charged at him, their snarls echoing through the air as they bared their dripping, rancid, and razor-sharp teeth. Tallik could smell the stench of decay on their breath as he backed away, scooping up his weapon and standing beside Hilda.

In the chaos, Lisa adeptly unlocked their prison; her nimble fingers moved purposefully. She opened the stalactite door. Awakened from their trance by her touch, Samson and Mirranda's heads swayed as they battled the fog clouding their minds. Their gazes pierced the haze until they rested on their rescuer, and they recognized "Lisa!"

"Run!" Tallik shouted, his form a flurry of lethal intent as he launched himself once more into the fray.

The boy fled from the cage, moving with surprising agility despite his youth. It became apparent then, as the strands of his hair trailed behind him in ethereal wisps, that he was Saphiid. His locks drifted as though woven by the very breath of the Winds.

Mirranda unleashed her Spiderling capabilities, jumping from confinement and ascending the cavern walls with an arachnid's grace. Her fingers deftly spun gossamer threads that ensnared a cluster of the encroaching Darklings in their sticky embrace.

Samson rushed out and unleashed a barrage of blows with his fists, each strike a testament to his raw strength. Tallik swung his sword with brutal grace. Despite their valiant efforts and formidable abilities, nothing seemed to make a difference.

Eventually, the Glenoids lept up, ready to fight, and charged out to meet the others.

Hilda felt a presence encroaching upon her from behind, rough hands hungrily groping at her body. 'Calloused', She thought, gritting her teeth. 'Probably from centuries of dealing with the dead.' She fought against the hold of the Darkling, feeling its hot breath on the nape of her neck. "I will never submit! I am no hapless thrall you can harvest!"

His teeth nipped and teased, brushing against her. As he moved to suckle on her neck, heat traced the path where lips met skin. She weakly struggled against the unbreakable grip, panting heavily, writhing helplessly in its grasp, and squirming against the being's powerful force. "You would be such a delectable morsel," he whispered in her pointed ear. His laugh was a guttural rumble as he reveled in what he thought was his imminent meal. Hilda thrust an elbow back into the Darkling's abdomen with force that surprised even herself. The creature grunted but held on still.

When all hope seemed lost, Lisa exclaimed, "Release her!" and leaped into action. She struck from behind, driving a dagger deep into the Darkling's back. However, it only sneered, maintaining his relentless grip on Hilda. "Do you truly believe you can stop us, mortal?" it hissed.

The bandit's hold finally weakened, and Hilda stumbled free. Lisa lunged once more, but her weapon proved as ineffective as striking water with overcooked noodles.

The clash of blades and claws transformed into a symphony of fury. The Darklings, with their unnatural strength, rendered each strike futile. Teeth gnashed against teeth as the Glenoids refused to surrender. Their movements remained fluid and precise.

Hilda cast protective spells, creating walls of energy around themselves; however, a portion shattered like glass upon impact from a Darkling's blow. The creature's fist connected with Tallik's jaw, propelling him backward into a wall with a sickening thud.

Mirranda spun her silken trap around the Darkling responsible for Tallik's plight as Samson weaved amongst their foes with an agility that belied his size. The air filled with the smell of blood and sweat as MMuzz's fists hammered around him with relentless swiftness, striking true but scarcely slowing their monstrous adversaries. Syperion fought with equal valor but found no more success than his companion.

Mirranda's chest heaved, her heart pulsing behind her breast as she pushed her abilities to their limit. Her breath came in jagged gasps, webs cascading from her outstretched hands in a dazzling display. The Darklings, now wrapped in gossamer, shimmered like stars caught in a twilight net reflecting the glowing microbes. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she maintained her attack, gaze locked on the aggressors. With a swift flick of her wrist, she sent a luminous webbing spiraling toward another Darkling. The thread shimmered, wrapping around the creature and binding its movements. Samson lunged forward to secure the netting further, tightening knots and loops around the writhing creature.

The remnants of the enemy witnessed her display of prowess.

They dared not test the speed of the formidable Spiderling further.

With resolve, Hilda and Lisa clutched their Vidians and unleashed a torrent of energy, forcing the adversaries back with the unbreakable strength of their silver necklaces.

In perfect harmony, they advanced step by step, driving the last of the enemies against a wall of stone. The impact was so powerful that the grotto shuddered. The defeated enemies cowered, shrinking against the cold, unyielding rock. Hilda's fingers danced along the cavern's surface, her mental barricade shimmering faintly as she trapped them in place. Beside her, Lisa tightened her grip on her Vidian, her breaths measured and calm even as her heart thrummed a wild rhythm. Mirranda, with eyes as dark as obsidian pools reflecting a constellation of her own making, descended from the ceiling and stood beside Samson, whose elven valor surpassed even the bravado of Westerian hunters.

Timothy exhaled a breath he had been holding, his hair wafting gently about him like a current as he ran to meet his mother, Mirranda. MMuz and Syperion, the stalwart Glenoids, brought up the rear of the group.

Within their midst bloomed the sweetness of triumph, nourished by their certainty that they had stopped the Darkling bandits. Yet as they stood in the shadowed depths of the grotto, a prickling sense of disquiet and creeping unease overshadowed their victory.

"Where's Eddipus?" Tallik murmured.

"Yes," Hilda added, her gaze flitting from shadow to shadow. "Where's my husband."

MMuz and Syperion had never met Eddipus before. Mirranda and Samson knew him, and Timothy was too young to remember.

None of them knew where he'd gone.

Tallik turned to the Darklings entwined in Mirranda's silken ropes. "We may not know where Eddipus went," he said, voice sharp, eyes squinting. "But I wonder if they do?"

The implication of his words struck, filling the air with tension. The Darklings sensed it. What methods might he employ to extract their secrets? What might he do to get information about this mysterious Eddipus?