Inferno

Chapter 6

Damus walked behind Xelos and his Order of Valor and through a large doorway into the dark cave. Next to him was his friend of fifteen years Sutarr. Damus watched as Xelos walked in with his thin sword contrasting his larger build. He was obviously muscular and battle-hardened.

He knew Xelos' plan, and he didn't like it, but he didn't voice his opinion. His defiance would be a declaration of war to Xelos, and the ruthless tyrant would have him killed. So silently he marched, his orders were clear.

They came into a long hallway and were forced to stop by a large creature at least seven feet tall. His body was a jumbled mess of tree branches, vines, and the occasional dead leaf.  Damus didn't panic knowing that Xelos had probably faced far more powerful creatures.

The beast spoke in a coarse voice "In accordant to ancient traditions you must leave your weapons here."

Xelos turned to them and nodded his head. Each of them pulled their weapons off their belt and handed it to the monster.

"The Council of Champions is waiting. You may enter."

Xelos bowed his head and said in a rich voice "We thank you for letting us join the meeting. Will one of the Nu kings be joining us?"

"I'm afraid not. Certain events have focused their attention elsewhere. But a detachment has been asked to assist in security."

"That's a shame. I was looking forward to seeing Hingai again. I'll make sure to think of your kind in my talks."

They walked through the doorless entryway and into a large torch lite room. There were a dozen monsters off all sizes around an encirclement of square tables.

Xelos found his seat towards the center of the circle and his Order of Valor stood at the seats beside him. Damus and Sutarr stood behind them to act as guards, even though Xelos was far stronger than them both.

They waited until everyone began to sit before taking their own.

A large black dragon was the first to speak his voice rang loudly through the chamber "My name is Drovix, I am the ruler of the Shattersky Dragon Clan. Thank you for joining us Mr. Xelos."

"It's a pleasure."

"We called you here to recognize that humans are a threat. We would like to ally ourselves with them and avoid conflict."

"How are we a threat to such powerful beings, and why would you choose to talk to me?"

"Don't play dumb you pathetic human. It's well known that you hunt and kill us." Another beast growled this one was as tall as Damus. It had a human face and a beastly body. Damus concluded from his research that this was a Manticore.

"Those are some wild accusations. I assume you have proof of me doing this." Xelos responded.

Drovix spoke, "We have witnesses that managed to escape your bloodletting."

A birdman spoke next with a voice of ice "You hunt my people as a sport."

A Minotaur spoke afterward "You have killed many of my kin as well, and most suspiciously you have imprisoned even more of them."

Xelos spoke "That is a lie. I would never attempt to fight a Minotaur or a Valravn. As for the rest of the hunting, I was raised by the Sasquatch King Hingai for fifteen years, I have been taught to respect the land and its peoples."

"Then I urge you to find out who has been hunting down the beasts and convince them to stop. There are many who see that as a declaration of war, and we wish to avoid wiping out a species."

Xelos turned to Damus and spoke "Make that your top priority Damus. Once you find them send them to me and I'll deal with them."

Damus swallowed nervously and spoke "No need to worry about it, sir." He rose his finger and pointed it at the Minotaur.  He said "The holy trumpets play. None can stand in the face of their wrath."

A blue spike erupted from Damus' finger, and it pierced through the Minotaur's chest. It slumped to its knees and was paralyzed.

Chaos erupted in the room as Sutarr placed his hand on the ground "Rise and fall and reshape. Unleash the hounds of tragedy." Six dogs rose from the stone floor and charged at the table of Manticore and tackled them to the ground. Once they made contact with the floor, they melted and solidified again to trap the Manticore.

Xelos raised his hand to the dragon and spoke his spell "Darkness strikes down even the mighty. I tribute my foe to Hades."

Waves of dark energy shot at Drovix and when they hit him it pushed him back into the wall and bound him to them. The mighty dragon that once intimidated Damus was their prisoner.

The Sasquatch from the entryway came running in with other Sasquatches and Minotaur's. The Minotaur's rushed forward with clubs and hammers in hand.

Damus raised his palm and pointed it at the oncoming mob "Grow and strike. Pierce and bind. Imprison and contain in the dense forest."  Vines shot up all around Damus and grabbed the Minotaur's' legs and pinned them to the floor.

The Sasquatches were next. They kept their distance and fired bows at them. The Order of Valor spoke in unison "O' Great Lord. Protector of all. Shield our destiny." And a wall erected in front of Damus and the rest of the group causing the arrows to bounce off.

Again, they spoke in unison "Show us a world where all have been frozen. Come forth Ice Dragon for we seek perfection." A river flowed from beneath their robes and transformed into a legless dragon. As it roared a stream of water shot out and drenched the Sasquatches.

They began to slow as the water froze. Eventually, the Sasquatches came to a stop and were totally encased in ice.

Xelos walked up to Drovix with a grin. Drovix asked him "Your spells have bound us but not killed us. What is your reason for this? It won't hold, your magic will eventually fade enough for us to break out and we will defeat you."

Xelos' laughter echoed through the hall. "I don't think so, I have created a new spell. I need to keep you alive to use it." He walked over and put his hand on Drovix's leg. "The gods granted you power and granted me greed. I steal your powers to satisfy my desire."

Drovix roared in pain and fought his binds as blood poured from his body. The blood flowed onto Xelos' hand and was soaked up. He stopped fighting as his magic bonds disappeared and he fell to the floor with a loud crash.

The leading Manticore yelled out "What did you do to him?"

"I stole his powers of fire and darkness, as well as the knowledge he possessed," Xelos said as he snapped his fingers and a small flame erupted in his hand. He snapped again, and the fire was extinguished. "Don't worry Manticore King you will all see him again soon."

He walked over and put his hand on the Manticore's head.