Elegy for a Star Ch. 021-030

"Ah, yes, you would just hate for that to happen," Gwendolyn remarked.

Tess rolled her eyes, "Yes, I would if it meant you being in danger."

"Thanks, Tess," Gwendolyn said once the last piece of armor was attached. She hopped from one foot to the other, shaking out her arms and testing the feel of her equipment. "Tighten this one for me?" Gwen asked, turning around and pointing toward her waistguard, the last bit of armor before she was bare down to the tops of her thighs, except for the thin leotard.

Tess did as asked, pulling the leather strap of the fauld around tighter so that it sat snugly upon Gwendolyn's hips. "Better?" She asked, and Gwendolyn nodded her head with a big smile. Tess returned it. There was something about making Gwen smile that Tess couldn't get enough of.

"We need to get moving," Mairaela said, tightening the strap on her chest piece to fit snugly over her right breast. Tess was looking at the Fey in a new light ever since they had sex, but Mairaela seemed to be back in her serious and professional mood.

The group moved to the top floor of the belltower, dipping their heads beneath the bell itself. The rope attached to it had long since rotted away and now it would take someone with Joyona's strength to tip it enough to ring. The cityscape and the wastes beyond stretched out in their field of vision, with a bright light awaiting them in the distance.

Tess asked, "Why is this city here, by the way?"

Gwen shrugged her shoulders, but Joyona spoke up, "When the Old Gods left, they took their memories of the world with them. Those memories populated the inside of the Black Sun. This is a city from the past. I heard Philomena and others say that the inside of this Void is so ruined because when it was separated from the Black Sun, it began to crumble."

There was a very brief moment where Tess felt bad about that, as though they stole a child from the parent. That was, until she remembered that in that analogy both the child and the parent were trying to end the world.

"Look at that," Mairaela pointed out across the city. There was a dust cloud coming up from one of the buildings, but also a glow of light. It was golden, like some of the light she'd seen surrounding the others, like Joyona's armor.

Gwendolyn peered at the sight, and Tess commented, "So we avoid that, right? Dust means something disturbed it, right? Movement or something?"

The Dame replied, "Could be. Could be someone that needs help."

Tess' lips parted, eyes widening with surprise, "What? What could be in here that possibly needs saving?"

"Not everyone that goes in gets out," Mairaela said with a sorrowful tone, "The odds are not good, but it's possible that there's someone from the last exercise that's still trapped in here. Anyone know if someone from the last recruitment exercise didn't make it?"

Joyona shook her head and Gwendolyn replied, "Not sure."

Gwendolyn was resolute as she said, "Let's go see." Joyona nodded her head and Mairaela followed silently.

Tess followed along. She didn't question the logic of it, even if she wanted to, because she knew that she would want help if she was trapped here. She was glad to be in the company of like minded people.

Leaving the bell tower was a nerve wracking experience. The streets felt so exposed with the tall buildings surrounding them. It was unusual that the streets were so narrow. Wagon carts wouldn't be able to fit through these. It was rare to see any wooden buildings at all, anyway. Was the memory of this city that much older than the present day?

They moved through alleyways, trying to keep out of sight as much as possible, keeping eyes on either side, behind them, and above. There were more ambush angles than the party had eyes, which gave Tess a nervous swell in her chest, but she insisted that she was safe in the company of these gifted. As they moved, Tess practiced her constellations in the hope that she could be more useful next time. Wanting to protect others, she made the sign of the Keepers, three large pillars with a disjointed anchoring star. Nothing happened, of course, but Tess wasn't very hopeful to begin with.

"Wait here a moment," Joyona whispered, checking the next street crossing left and right.

Tess attempted the next constellation, the Branch; a mountainous range with an anchoring star buried in its foundation. She was happy with her air-drawing, moving her fingers in the proper motions, ending with the anchoring star. Something about it just felt right.

"Come," Joyona said, moving across to the next alleyway. Gwen and Mairaela followed swiftly behind. Tess was distracted, halfway through the process of drawing out one final constellation in the air: The Crown, a symbol of power.

There was a spark at the tip of Tess' finger, a small, shimmering block that existed for a mere half-second just in front of her. Tess' eyes widened. She froze, unsure of what to do. Her hands shook and for a time she was simply confused.

I did it, she thought, I really did it. Scirocca wasn't just getting her hopes up.

Her breath quickened and a smile broke across her face.

"Tess!" Mairaela hissed across the street, "Tess! Move it!"

Tess wanted to scream in joy, but she forced it down and ran across the street as quickly as she could.

"Did you just see that?!" Tess whispered excitedly to the others.

Gwendolyn turned around to ask, "See what?"

"I just-..."

"Quiet," Joyona interrupted, moving toward the exit of the alley and into the next street. The others followed closely behind. She leaned out of it and glanced to the left. The right side of her armor flashed with light, and Tess felt someone grab her shoulder. Tess was yanked from the alleyway and pulled to the side, finding herself in Mairaela's arms. The same second that occurred, a wall of flame shot from the alleyway they'd just been in. Even though she wasn't in it, the proximity caused Tess to grimace and wince.

When the flame died down, Mairaela shouted, "Hide!" The Fey dashed back into the alleyway and despite the command, Tess looked around the corner. Joyona and Gwen were nowhere to be seen, and Mairaela booked it to the right once she hit the other street. The floor of the alleyway was scorched and the walls were cracked.

Tess' chest rattled and her ears rang as she heard the sound of a dozen beasts roaring in chorus.

Chapter 30 - The Huvudorm

A wolf's body, hairless, with twelve snake-like heads, each with a flared hood and venom dripping from their fangs. The backside included four pointed, reptilian tails. It rose out of its prowling stance and began to charge toward the three of them. Gwendolyn drew her sword and hefted her shield, taking a swift breath in and a firm breath out. Her blood quickened, her eyes focused. She was ready, and the three of them charged in return.

The beast fired a barrage of flame at the three of them. Joyona simply barged through it, stubbornly resisting the force of the blast with each step. Gwendolyn had to bring her sword up, splitting the flame in half. In the real world, she knew she would be cooked to cinders, but somehow, here, her gift allowed her to parry just about anything.

With flame coming toward her, Mairaela fired an arrow at the ground, exploding in a burst of light that propelled the archer high into the air. Three arrows were fired midair, slamming into the Huvudorm's flank just before Mairaela landed upon the rooftops. The explosion that she dodged pushed Gwendolyn sideways, but she managed to maintain her balance and stride.

Joyona met the creature first. Plates of armor on her flank detached and collided with the building beside her, somehow transferring the force and launching the juggernaut sideways. The giantess' feet slid across the cobblestone floors while her axe hooked into one of the beast's necks and pulled it to the side. The Huvudorm nearly fell, but Joyona's slide was cut short by a triplet of jabs from the monster's tail. They seemed to puncture armor, and Joyona's axe came free. The warrior fell and rolled to a rest upon the street, bleeding upon the stones.

"Joyona!" Mairaela shouted from the rooftops, but Gwendolyn kept her focus on the threat ahead of her.

Gwendolyn found herself face to face with the monster, steel drawn and ready. One of its mouths launched toward her, and Gwendolyn brought up her shield. The beast's teeth were about as large as the swordswoman's shield and clamped down upon it, holding her in place. At the same time a light built in the throat of another head, and Gwendolyn could see the haze of flame forming in its throat.

She turned and slashed upward, cleaving the side of the head attached to her shield. Her cut only went a quarter of the neck deep, and the creature still seemed able to use it. In the same moment, she urged her soul through her blade and saw three phantom afterimages of her strike, each one causing very real harm to the Huvudorm's neck, until it separated from the body entirely. Blood poured from the wound, splattering Gwendolyn's armor with red spray. Just as Gwen twisted to avoid fiery harm, a third head bit down onto her leg, trapping her once more. She looked up to see flame building in the other neck. Just as it was released, a volley of arrows, eight in all, struck one at a time into the side of that same head. Each arrow dug into the same spot, splitting the arrow that came before it and digging deeper into the same wound.

Mairaela's archery would never be less than fascinating, Gwen thought just as the flame jetted from the Huvudorm's maw and hit the ground beside her. The snake's fangs came loose from Gwendolyn's armor and she was thrown to the side from the force of the fiery blast. Rolling across the stones, Gwen finally got her feet under her and slid on her boots the rest of the way. She dragged one hand in front of her for balance before dashing forward once more.

Another head lunged at her and Gwen caught the corners of its mouth in her blade, digging into it before ripping the sword free and splitting its head in half. "Fucker!" Gwendolyn spat as she saw another head lunging at her. Joyona must've been up and moving, because the juggernaut leapt into the air and tackled the reaching head to the ground, keeping it pinned while readying her axe once more. Gwendolyn felt a punch in her ribs, turning to see one of the Huvudorm's tails buried in her side. She twisted, flipping her sword to a backward grip and--with adrenaline numbing the pain--she split the tip of the tail with a pull of her blade.

Three more stabs were coming her way and one at a time she parried each. Every snap of the creature's tail that struck her sword caused it to glow with a golden light, brighter and brighter. Gwen tossed her sword into the air and caught it in a normal grip, completing the fall of her sword by slamming it to the ground and unleashing a wave of golden light that sliced through the cobblestones in its path and split the Huvudorm's side until its guts spilled out across the street.

Its remaining heads struck at Joyona, but the armor that she wore built spikes off of her back that dug into the ground and kept her from losing her footing. Her axe dropped to the ground, forearms bracing in front of her. Metal grew from the sides of her forearms and shifted into a shield the size of a horse. Each head was rebuked by the barricade before Joyona threw the shield forward. The massive wall detached from her armor and slammed into several of the Huvudorm's heads. She leapt into the air, the massive shield flying toward her and forming a gigantic axe that soared into Joyona's hands and came down upon the Huvudorm with tremendous, disastrous force.

The beast split in half, the street was cratered, and the closest building began to crumble down with its foundation so ruined.

Joyona was panting, letting the axe go, only for it to reform into plates of armor that reattached to her body. The building crumbled in the backdrop of Gwen's vision as she looked at Joyona, then at Mairaela. Pride welled in Gwendolyn's chest, and as she heard Tess' running behind her, she turned to greet the woman with a bright smile. Tess looked concerned, but seeing Tess' expression, she must've known that all was well. Her barely restrained joy distracted her from the pain in her ribs, and the warmth of blood running down her side.

The group remained in silence for a time, Mairaela dropping from the rooftop and joining the others. The four of them looked around at one another, beaming smiles except for the taciturn giant, whose smirk betrayed the same level of excitement. Finally, Joyona gave a nod of her head, and Tess, Gwendolyn and Mairaela all gave a victorious scream of joy.