Life Review Ch. 03

Shawn sank low and brushed the first swipe off to the side with the back of his hand then followed up with a lightning fast jab to the skull. His fist met a momentary resistance as if the magic holding it together was acting like muscle and sinew, but the force of his strike fractured the brittle bones. His follow strikes would have debilitated most creatures, but he quickly learned the challenges of fighting undead. They don't feel pain and they don't need body parts.

Denza was having similar problems, her blades were getting suck in the assaulting arms and legs, and the metal wasn't sharp enough to cut through. Cassidy was slinging her flames in any openings she could find, it would seem that when using a focus she couldn't just lob them like grenades. Where her flames struck, the bones of the undead blackened and some even began to turn to ash. He tried to prioritize the blackened bones as they offered little resistance to his fists.

The battle soon devolved into a brawl. Shawn lashed out with fists, knees, and elbows to shatter bones and joints. Those he didn't completely dismember and destroy, came back moments later completely reformed. He was wrestling with a spear when he heard Cassidy shout his name.

"Shawn! Denza needs help!" She cried out.

He glanced over to see two skeletons had latched onto her, each of her blades caught in a tangle of bones. Cassidy rushed forward and picked up a rusted mace from off the ground and tossed it to him. He caught the heavy, blunt weapon and immediately twisted to swing the mace like a baseball bat as if he were swinging for the fences. When the strike landed, the side of one skull shattered and the second offered no more resistance than would a T-ball. The skeleton's head was sent sailing into the crowd.

With a few more swings, Shawn had turned Denza's attackers into bone shards. He tossed her the weapon and she nodded, hefting it with two hands. They waded into the sea of bone and pulverized anything in front of them. Shawn focused on disarming, sometimes literally, and giving Denza easy targets while Cassidy charred any she could reach with her hungering flames.

The tide of battle soon washed over the skeletal horde and the trio stood victorious, and out of breath. Cassidy sat on her haunches and wiped sweat from her brow. Denza was leaning against the wall and was panting from the exertion. Even Shawn was breathing heavily. His knuckles were aching and creaked as he flexed his fingers. The two of them got away with only minor scratches.

"Okay," Cassidy said once she regained her breath. "That was my bad."

"Be more careful in the future, Cassidy," Denza scolded.

"Is everyone alright?" Shawn asked, peeking behind the corners to check for any more bony attackers.

"Yeah, just need a few to recover my energy," Cassidy fanned her sweaty face.

"Feeling the difference in energy transference?" Denza grinned. "I said it would be noticeable."

Cassidy stood and stretched her arms, "It's not so bad, I just need to be more aware of my spell economy."

"How many do you think there were?" Shawn asked, looking at the piles of broken and fragmented bones.

"More than twenty, I would say," Denza cast a critical eye over their handiwork.

"Why do I have the feeling that wasn't even the hard part?" Shawn asked.

"Because we still haven't found out what killed all of them yet," Cassidy replied cheerily.

When Cassidy started to descend the stairs, Denza leaned in to Shawn and asked, "Why is she so happy?"

Shawn looked at Cassidy's retreating tawny head and said blandly, "Because this is all she ever wanted."

They made their way down the third staircase and found Cassidy holding the torch back around the curve of the wall. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be concentrating. Shawn and Denza stopped and listened. Shawn heard strange whispers that set hit teeth on edge. Maybe he hadn't been imagining those sounds when they had descended to the first level.

She looked at the two of them and held a finger to her lips and slowly moved back up the stairs. Darkness enveloped them as Cassidy returned, having stashed the torch above them. She pulled them both closer to her and she whispered no louder than a breath, "From here on out we have to be as quiet as possible. Shawn, take the lead, Denza take the rear."

Shawn took point and slowly led the rest of the way down. Shawn had worried about not being able to see, but soon the darkness gave way to a dim purple glow. Torches on the wall burned with amethyst flames that cast a dark flickering shadows upon the walls. The ambient light reminded Shawn of a nightclub he had visited with Jenny that specialized in black lights and neon paint, but there was no atmosphere of revelry or fun. The air was filled with a sinister intent that made the hairs on his neck stand on end.

They crept forward, trying to make as little sound as possible. They were met with curved path leading to either side. Shawn motioned for Cassidy to stay put while he and Denza moved forward to investigate. The hall lead to a series of labs that were connected and all led into a central room. Shawn noticed three iron cages that held the remains of large, horned creatures that had long since perished. In the center where all the labs converged stood a hooded figure with outstretched skeletal hands.

Purple light coiled and undulated out from the figure and into several skeletons on the ground. As the light touch each one, the bones shuddered and connected to each other like magnets, assembling into upright positions. The empty sockets of the skulls flared to life with more purple energy.

They crept further along, dodging from wall to wall as they made their way around semi-circle of open concept labs. Denza darted out from cover and was stealthily moving to the next wall when they heard Cassidy let out an echoing yelp of surprise. The robed figure jerked around towards the source of the noise, then noticed Denza out in the open. A hiss emanated from depths of the hood as purple flames erupted to reveal an emaciated gaunt face. Gray skin was stretched tightly over the skull, with cracked lips curled over rotted teeth.

The group of skeletons rushed towards Denza. She back pedaled quickly into the lab behind her and moved out of sight, "Go help Cassidy, I'll hold them off. Just be quick."

The robed figure in the center of the room lifted its hands once more and arcs of purple energy blasted out of its fingers and into the three iron cages. Amethyst lightning illuminated the insides of the cages as three massive humanoid forms rose up and burst out from their prisons. Shawns eyes widened as he recognized the skeletal forms of three minotaur, each stood over eight feet tall and had their boney fingers wrapped around wood clubs that dragged behind them as they stumbled forward. Two moved to guard the mage, the third barreled off around the other side towards the sound of explosions and metal on stone.

Shawn broke into a run, fear for Cassidy's safety coursed through his body along with the surging adrenaline. He arrived at the same time as the skeletal minotaur and without slowing down he leapt up the curve of the wall and pushed off in a feat of acrobatics he never possessed before. He twisted in the air and brought his foot down in a arcing kick onto the top of creature's horned head.

The impact of the heel of his foot on bone sent a resounding crack reverberating down the halls, the figure's head was forced down at an awkward angle as it slammed into the ground. Shawn rolled once he landed and settled into a crouch. He glanced back to see Cassidy with her staff out and a pile of charred bones in front of her, looking none the worse for wear. He felt a surge of relief that was short lived.

"What the hell is that?" Cassidy balked as the skeletal minotaur rose to its full height, only a small crack in one eye socket to show for Shawn's attack.

"Exactly what it looks like," Shawn said tightly. "We need to end this quickly, Denza is holding off a bunch of undead and there are two more of these things and a mage of some kind."

"Aw, yeah!" Cassidy whooped. "Let's show beef bones who's boss."

Shawn shook his head and launched himself forward. Cassidy twirled her staff and swung it around like a baton, the resulting fireball that arced out from its tip sped forward with the added momentum of the swing.

The minotaur was rocked back with the detonation of flames just as Shawn slid between its legs and struck at its joints. The bones of the minotaur were considerably denser that those of a humans, so Shawn's strikes did little damage. Cassidy's fireballs seemed to be doing damage, but not enough to actually take it out of action. Shawn thought back to his fight with Cadder and the punched he had infused with the Fireblast spell.

He reached for the ember of power inside him and felt his fist begin to heat up and finally burst into flame. The minotaur was winding up to crush him against the floor with its massive cudgel. Shawn leapt to the side when the massive weapon came crashing down onto the floor, cracking the stone flagstones.

Cassidy blasted the skeletal beast with a fireball once more, and Shawn followed up with a flaming strike of his own. His fist connected with the flexible ribs of the minotaur and he felt a surge of energy pulled from him as his fist blazed with blistering heat and a muffled detonation of air that charred and blasted the bones apart. Shawn quickly capitalized on this new advantage and struck at the knee joints once more as the creature opened its mouth wide, as it let out a silent bellow before it tried to gore him with its horns.

Shawn's fists blasted through the tough bones of the minotaur's knees and coupled with the violent movement of its head slashing down towards him, caused the creature to overbalance and crash to the ground. Shawn and Cassidy worked in tandem to finally dispatched the stubborn construct until only a heap of smoldering bone shards remained.

They had no time to savor their victory. The sounds of combat that echoed towards them served as a reminder that Denza was fighting on her own. They rushed to her aid to find her slowly retreating towards them, having already crushed half of the human sized skeletons. Cassidy blasted apart the stragglers while Shawn ripped into the front line.

The remaining skeletons fell quickly, between the three of them. They were all breathing heavily and still had one more monumental task. They turned to face the mage and its two guards. One skeletal minotaur had been bad enough, but now they had to fight two with support.

"You two deal with the mage, I'll hold off the brutes. Hopefully once the caster is brought down, its creations will crumble as well," Shawn panted. The girls nodded.

Shawn stepped into the central room, the attention of the three undead immediately snapped to him. Her wearily circled around to one side while Cassidy and Denza moved into their position on the opposite him.

"It's now or never," Shawn steadied himself before sprinting towards the group. As expected, the two minotaur closed ranks to cut off his access the mage.

He heard Denza's bow twang and a series of impacts and the explosion of a fireball. He didn't have time to check their progress. The massive skeletal beasts bore down on him and were trying their hardest to turn him into red jelly. He dodged, weaved, and tried to parry the massive blows but a throbbing shoulder taught him to avoid doing so as it was almost wrenched from its socket.

Shawn steadily retreated and glanced over to see the mage slinging amethyst fire at Cassidy who was meeting him spell for spell in a magical fireworks display that dazzled the eyes. Denza was slamming her rusted mace against a blue barrier that had materialized in place around the mage. Shawn skipped out of range of an overhead swing and cursed himself for getting distracted when the second minotaur had moved to flank him and swiped at him with a clawed hand.

He was forced to twist awkwardly to avoid both attacks and fell to the ground as he lost his balance. Both constructs lifted their weapons to smash him into oblivion when a streak of silver slammed into the one of the skeletal beasts. Denza tackled the minotaur and slammed her mace into its head repeatedly as it fell into its cohort. The three fell into a jumbled pile and struggled to separate.

Shawn shot her a worried glance, but the two massive skeletons were having difficulty extricating themselves from each other. He turned and saw Cassidy starting to flag, sweat was dripping from her face. Her spells were starting to fall behind and amethyst flames were pushing her back and striking the walls behind her. Shawn had to act quickly. He pushed as much energy into his fist as he could stand, his hand began to shake and felt like he was holding a hot coal between his fingers. He drew back and swung his fist as hard as he could into the blue barrier.

His strike met a resistance that felt like gel-coated metal. The barrier rippled as it absorbed the impact, showing no signs of damage. He struck again, willing the fire in his hand to release when his blow landed. When his fist connected a second time, he felt another rush of energy leave him and a flash of red light and a cacophonous blast left him disoriented. When he could see again, the mage's attention was on him and the large spidering crack had appeared in the shield.

Cassidy dug in her heels and dropped her staff, summoning up two basketball sized orbs of riotous flame. While the mage's attention was focused on him momentarily, she launched her magical blitzkrieg. Shawn dove backwards as the first explosion shook the room. The blue barrier buckled under the strain and dissipated into motes of fading blue dust. The second seemed to strike the mage in slow motion, consuming it in bright white light before detonating into an angry red and orange nova of flames. Cassidy sagged to her knees, panting heavily and gave him a thumbs up.

A strangle scream ripped through the air behind him. He whirled around to see Denza caught up in a bear hug by one of the Minotaur intent of crushing the life from her body. Shawn felt pain and panic flare down the bond and ice flooded his veins. He let out a wordless howl of fear and anger as he rushed forwards. His fists felt like they had been dipped in napalm and set ablaze. He barely registered the soft ping in his mind as he rained down blows on Denza's captor.

When Shawn's fist finally shattered the restraining forearm, Denza wiggled free and rolled away, holding her ribs gingerly. He was forced to skip back as the second minotaur swung his club at the space he had previous occupied.

"Cassidy, you destroyed the mage, didn't you?" Shawn yelled.

"Yeah," Cassidy groaned as she pushed herself to her feet. She looked exhausted. "It seems something is keeping the spell going. I can still sense the same kind of energy permeating the room."

"Perfect," Shawn gritted his teeth. His knuckles were bloody from repeatedly punching solid bone and barriers. This monk shit was getting old, real quick.

"Distract them, I'll try to take them out from behind," Denza wheezed.

"You're in no shape to fight, Denza," Shawn growled, dodging away from another series of strikes.

"Now you want to be a man? Cut the bravado and just do it, Shawn," Denza struggled to her feet and gripped her mace in two hands.

Shawn's lip curled in anger. He stepped inside the next swing and forced energy into his fist again before driving it into the large humorous. The resulting detonation tore apart the arm joint and sent the weapon spinning into one of the labs accompanied by the sound of shattering glass.

"You stubborn," Shawn sidestepped a clumsy swipe and punched downwards at an exposed knee. "Reckless," He swept aside a second strike, skipping away from an overhead slam, then blasted out the hip of the one armed construct, causing it to collapse. "Irritating Elf!" Shawn hopped up to the fallen Minotaur's head and grabbed it by one of its three foot horns. With all of his strength he stamped his foot through the spinal column at the base of the skull, shattering the atlas. The purple fires in the skull guttered and died. He swung the skull by its horn like a makeshift mace and battered aside the club that was rushing towards him.

Denza launched herself forward and smashed her own weapon into the remaining construct, "You aren't any better!" She retorted.

The last skeletal Minotaur was made short work of, between Shawn beating it with its comrades skull and Denza wailing on it from the opposite direction. He and Denza ended up face to face, breathing hard and glaring at each other. He could see the wild excitement in her eyes and a predatory smile gleamed in the purple light. Shawn felt a strange nervous energy burn in him, that fluttered in his stomach like butterflies as he watched a bead of sweat run down her angular cheeks and down her long elegant neck.

"Holy shit, just kiss already!" Cassidy jeered at them.

They both suddenly realized how close they were standing and quickly backed up, looking away in embarrassment. What had gotten into them?

"Seriously though, that was pretty badass, Shawn," Cassidy said appreciatively. "You made that look easy, just taking them apart like that."

Shawn rubbed his neck uncomfortably, "I'm not sure where that came from. I wasn't even thinking about it, I just sorta did it."

"Keep on doing that, Shawn," Denza smiled. "You'll make the rest of this easier on the rest of us if you fight like that from now on. That was the warrior that beat me."

Shawn felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He sat down and took a moment to let his heart settle. He closed his eyes and focused on calming himself, getting his ragged breathing under control. He heard the girls rummaging around in the various labs. Cassidy was oohing and aahing before he sensed Denza crouch down next to him. He opened his eyes to see her offering him a small vial of opaque magenta liquid that looked a little like wine. He gave her a questioning look.

"It's a rejuvenation potion," Denza explained. "We are lucky to have found some. It seems that no one managed to get this far down. After the fight we just hand, it's no surprise."

Shawn put the vial to his lips and threw his head back. The liquid had the consistency of thin syrup with a taste similar to unripe bananas mixed with raw potatoes. Once the liquid reached his stomach he felt a familiar warmth radiate from his core as if he had just taken a shot of liquor. His aches and pains slowly began to fade away.

"That wasn't too bad," Shawn said.

"It will help your body recover faster. It's recipe is designed to speed up the metabolism and stimulate your body's natural healing processes and energy production." Denza drank her own vial before taking them both and putting them away.

"It's chock full of vitamins and minerals to make you grow big and strong," Cassidy giggled.

"Hush you," Shawn chided. "What was with those last two fireballs? They were massive!"

Cassidy tapped her chin, "Well, I wasn't getting anywhere with the smaller ones, and the staff and wand could only handle so much energy being channeled through it at one time, so I went back to using my hands. I know it's less efficient, but I was able to ramp up the spell potency."

Shawn nodded, "I did something similar, wait. Hold up. I think I figured something out." He closed his eyes and brought his menu to the forefront. He looked up at the notification that had appeared and it said he had unlocked an ability called 'Elemental Fist'. He followed it to the 'Skills and Spells' tab and found it under a divider for his monk vocation.

He opened his eyes, "It seems we can pick up new things on our own." He lifted his hand and felt for the burning sensation again while not reaching for the ember of power. He felt a steady draw of energy flow into his hand and red light eddied under his skin. When he clenched his fist, it was like he was squeezing the air around him together. The pressure was there waiting, causing the air to shimmer with unspent kinetic potential and heat. When he opened his hand the pressure dissipated along with the heat.