Chronicles of a So-called Fire God (Abridged)

21. The Deal Is Off

The man in the shiny black armour didn't move a muscle, nor did he appear to be surprised by our arrival. The woman, on the other hand looked shocked. As did the men in brown robes. The woman, however, began to cast a spell until the man in black placed a commanding hand on her shoulder. The magic coalescing before her fizzled and popped. Her look of utter disgust was not just aimed at our party.

We slowly entered the room, wary of any attack that may come. Lestergrad, Torq and myself were at the front. Ix squeezed into the doorway next followed by Bostik, Iggy and Sneaky. The look of terror was clear on two of the men in brown.

"Are you not going to help?" said one of the cultists to the man in black.

The man in the shiny black armor remained silent and motionless.

I incanted my power word and flame engulfed my right hand. The woman in red flinched, and three of the cultists drew a weapon each.

Some of our goblin friends all charged forward. Ix struck first. He brought his club down in a high arc onto the top of the head of the cultist in front of him. The cultist fell to his knees, a gout of blood gushing from the side of his head.

Sneaky attempted to strike the man in front of him, but he dodged to the side and hit Sneaky in the leg. The scream of pain hurt my ears. Sneaky was undeterred. He swung his dagger again and struck true under the man's arm. He must have found the man's heart; his eyes glazed over and the last of his strength disappeared from his legs. Sneaky let the man fall to the floor.

Iggy had gained a weapon from parts of the chain-men we encountered and a spade head. He was swinging his weapon wildly as he charged toward another of the cultists; the cultist backed away in terror.

Bostik stood his ground and started to incant a spell. The magic appeared as a bright blue light that he then directed toward Sneaky. In turn Sneaky appeared to stand a little taller and grow in confidence. At the same time the cut on Sneaky's leg stopped bleeding.

Torq and Lestergrad both charged toward the man that appeared to be the leader of the cultists. Torq swung his axe, but his target dodged out of the way unexpectedly. Lestergrad swung his club, but that too missed as the leader stepped out of the way of the attack.

"You'll need to be better than this to defeat us," claimed the leader.

The leader then quickly fired off a spell and three quarters of the room filled with sticky webs. Ix was caught up in the web, and he would have been an easy target, if it were not for the simple fact the cultists leader was not very picky. The man Ix was fighting was also caught, mid-swing, in the web. The man's sword was now out of reach.

I let my flame flare, and I aimed it at the webs; they melted in the heat. Flames took hold in the thickest parts, and burned quickly as the web was vaporised.

The woman in red defied her master and fired a spell of her own off. This spell, aimed at Iggy, rebounded on to her and she was knocked off her feet. When she rose the man in black armour slapped her across the face with the back of his armoured gauntlet. She fell again, and this time there was a trickle of blood coming from the side of her mouth. She stood and spat some blood, being careful not to get any near her master.

What I noticed from the event is how similar the woman's magic was to mine. I've seen so-called wizards apply their craft, and I've tried to mimic their presentation methods for fear of being seen as something different. Mostly I get away with it because those that don't know how to use magic don't usually know the difference. But, to my eyes at least, this woman did not hide how she applied her magic. Either her master knows the differences or he does not care to know. She is someone I need to speak with, if I ever get the chance.

Iggy was also a curiosity to be investigated as I have witnessed previously. But that will have to wait.

The cultist leader was clearly the priority. My goblin friends were engaging the enemy well enough and Bostik was taking care of the goblins, keeping them as healthy as he could while also taking pot shots himself at the cultists. I needed to get to the leader to help out Torq and Lestergrad.

Torq swung his axe again, and this time he hit the leader. It was a devastating blow, which caused the man to stagger backwards. He steadied himself against the wall, but Torq and Lestergrad had chased him down and we're on him quickly. Torq swung again followed by a flourish from Lestergrad as he let loose a spell he'd been preparing.

Roots of an unknown plant began breaking through the stone slabs beneath the leader's feet and wrapping its tendrils around the his feet and ankles. Unable to move out of the way, Torq was able to land another significant blow. This time the man fell unconscious to the ground; blood pouring from the side of his head.

I moved over towards Ix to try and help him break free from the the web holding him in place. His rage was so intense however that he needed no help. With a roar that filled the room he wrenched himself free. Club still in his hand he swung it at the man before him still struggling to free himself and his weapon. The rusty spike on the side of Ix's club connected with the man's hip and sunk all the way in. The sound of breaking bone was drowned out by the howl of pain. Ix swung again and again. Each time he caused more damage. After the third hit, the man slumped to the ground.

Iggy and Bostik were standing before the only cultist left remaining. Despite seeing his companions fall, he was still defiantly defending himself. The cultist was concentrating only on Iggy and Bostik to notice Sneaky creep up behind him. Before he could take another step, Sneaky wrapped an arm around his head and slit his throat. The look of disbelief and disappointment on his face was clear before he fell face forward to the ground.

As one we all turned to the man in black and his companion. Our intent was clear. Iggy had his chain, Torq was tapping the blade of his axe against a free hand, Sneaky had his daggers out, dripping in blood still, Lestergrad and Bostik were preparing magic, Ix was leaning heavily against his club but wore a threatening look on his face and I had flame licking around my hands.

The man in black held out a hand. "Please, there is no threat here. You have done me a service, one I will repay with allowing you to leave unharmed. We are separate but many here under these caverns."

"You were helping these- ," I faltered over what word to use.

"Gohicksa!" said Bostik.

"Exactly," I said.

"Indeed. They were pledges to join our society," continued the man in black, "but we had not anticipated they would bring trouble directly to our doors. You are most welcome to continue your effort to remove them, they are nothing but a thorn now and one that must be plucked."

"However, once you are done you are requested to leave. I cannot vouch for others in this community; we the Deranass will not harm you unless you attempt to harm us."

"Go now. I believe your hunt continues." The man then pointed to where the leader fell. The spot was bare, the leader had escaped.