I have to hurry.
I have to hurry.
I have to hurry and get back to him.
Kaboom!
The ground quakes violently, but I don't slow down. My heels were discarded long ago; instead, I run barefoot. The agile paws of a spotted jackal. The same statements replay over and over in my mind.
"Mhmm"
The young human groans and rotates in my arms as I run through the streets of the Fourth Ring. Poor thing. She couldn't handle the fear of death and fainted. She reminds me of another girl I met once before… no.
I shake my head free of those thoughts. I need to focus, now more than ever. My gaze shifts to the gates as we close the distance. Only the two guards, from earlier this evening, remain. They are desperately attempting to take control over the chaos unfolding around them.
"... P-please! E-everybody st-stay calm! If y-you would j-just make your way t-to the t-t-t…"
"Kehehekekeke!"
All of the orange-haired boy's attempts to address the panicking crowd fall on deaf ears. I'm forced to use my hideous laugh, drawing everyone's attention. People gradually stop running, the ones closest to me taking two to three steps back each.
I look at the young guard and nod. His eyes double in size and look as if tears would start falling, but he hardens his expression and nods back. He seizes the brief moment of silence I afforded him.
"Everyone! Calmly, and in an orderly fashion, make your way to the Third Ring! The guards at the gate will lead you to the catacombs while we gather more information!"
"Gabe, that woman…"
The fear and urgency in the people's movements fade with the boy's words. They move slowly, making their way towards the gates of the Third Ring. The second guard, a dark elf, tugs on the boy, Gabe's, sleeve and points me out when I begin approaching.
"L-Lady Raven!" The boy loses the forced composure he had a moment prior. "T-thank you for the help! I don't know how we can repay you…"
I gently place the girl in my arms onto the ground in front of the guards as he babbles on. An utter waste of a soldier.
"Two things."
I interrupt his small talk by holding two fingers out.
"There are two things you can do to repay me. The first is to make sure the rest of these people, and specifically this girl, make it underground."
"I-is something really bad happening in the palace? We haven't been able to get through to anyone with our earpieces. A-also… Raven Renald went missing, so we don't have any information to go on."
The dark elf's eyebrows furrow together as she asks.
I sigh. Honestly, I'm not sure telling them that Goblin Sentinels are attacking the palace is really the best idea. With the number of city guards available since the rebellion, news of an attack of this scale would shatter their morale. I shake my head.
"We're still investigating the incident. For right now, get these people out of here and fall back yourselves. Regroup with the other guards in the Second Ring."
"U-understood!"
Both of the young guards stammer into a messy salute. Gabe picks the girl, who can't be much younger than himself, up carefully. The dark elf's forehead is a crinkled mess as she stares behind me. I glance back and see it for myself. A thick plume of black smoke rising from the palace.
"Rena!" Gabe shouts, already passing through the gates and into the Third Ring, "Don't make the Raven repeat herself!"
Gabe looks back over his shoulder at me, and we make eye contact. He flashes me a big, childlike grin. Rena, on the other hand, jumps at the sound of Gabe's voice. She takes a moment, then slowly turns around to follow behind her partner.
"Elven child, there's one more thing I need."
"Y-yes?!"
The girl leaps back around. Her composure is completely falling apart. I'm honestly surprised she's held it together this long, considering how young she seems to be.
"I need your sword."
I reach out my hand, motioning it towards the simple shortsword at her side.
Nobody, except for Renald and the guards, was allowed to bring weapons into the fourth ring. Fighting without our equipment puts us at a huge disadvantage. Finding a way to minimize that is my top priority.
"My… sword?"
Rena unclips the short sword from around her waist with a puzzled expression and hands it to me. As she does, she puts her head down as if ashamed.
"Why do you lower your head?"
I ask, graciously accepting her blade.
"I wish there was more that I could do. I…"
Tears fill the girl's eyes.
"...I feel powerless right now! Just like back then, when the Inner Circle…"
I place my hand on the child's shoulder. I can sympathize with wanting to grow stronger. I, too, had to train to become a Wardog. However…
"You… are still a child."
Rena's wide eyes meet mine.
"That means you have time to get stronger. Much, much stronger."
I turn my back on the dark elf. I can't waste time raising a child's spirit.
"I'll be borrowing this. When I return, you may have him back."
I loose the shortsword and, without waiting for a response, I shadow-step away.
The ballroom has been completely transformed. Multiple craters consume what was once the floor. Flames lick the walls where Liaz's barrages of flaming breath have passed over, filling the entire room with a thick black smoke. I was only gone for maybe five minutes. All this destruction in such little time…
"Gah!"
"Glimmer!"
A Sentinel's armored fist slams into Glimmer's stomach, sending him skipping across the decimated floor. Liaz jumps in between the two right as the second fist comes down.
I audibly gasp as he's sent skidding backwards. He managed to throw his arms up in time to block the strike, but they drop limply to his sides. His arms… they're broken.
Should I go help? Or… my eyes drift to Renald and Ironvine.
The second Sentinel clasps its hands together and raises them above its head. It hammers its fists into the ground, sending a cone of debris and stone tiles into the air.
"Ironvine! Now! Attack before it can lock onto us again!"
"I know! I'll attack head-on! You aim for its flank!"
Renald and Ironvine shout orders back and forth, dodging the splintering floor and flying debris.
I thought something was off with Renald's movements when he saved that human girl. Now, I know for sure. His reflexes, no, all of his movements have slowed down dramatically. Could it have something to do with him being a vampire?
Ironvine rolls into a sideways slide, narrowly avoiding a chunk of a table. Tightly gripping the Sentinel's axe with both hands, he charges. Renald takes to the skies, aiming for the creature's blind spot.
A single gauntlet cuts through, dispersing the cloud in an instant. The gauntlet continues moving in the same direction, landing squarely on Ironvine's side. I see it happen in slow motion. His body flips over itself in mid-air. Twisting and turning until…
Ironvine slams into the wall next to me. The wall spiderwebs into cracks around him. Blood drips from an open gash on his forehead, painting his face crimson.
"Ha…. ha…"
Still gripping the axe, he pulls himself free from the wall and tries to stand. His knees shake before buckling, forcing him to the ground.
"...Celestria…please…"
Taking a series of deep, unstable breaths, Ironvine begins to pray.
"Ironvine! Don't move!"
I rush over to him, but he raises a hand to stop me.
"...help me…once…more."
My eyes widen. Orbs of green light begin to float off of Ironvine's body as an aura of the same color envelopes him. It's the same as when he showed up in the colosseum.
A slight grin makes its way onto his face.
"...Thank you."
The green light pours into his wounds, and they slowly begin to fade away. The only reminder of his previous injuries is the blood coating his fur.
The orbs spread around the ballroom, clinging to Liaz and Glimmer. The movement in Liaz's arms returns. He scoops up a barely conscious Glimmer and dives out of the way right as the Sentinel's fist drives another crater into the floor.
"Arghhhhhhhhh!"
"Rarrrrrrrrrr"
Shiiiiing
Renald raises a battle cry that seems to rock the entire room. His opponent, the second Sentinel, returns the challenge.
It swings wildly with both arms in a sweeping motion. Renald ducks underneath the right and vaults over the left. He flies behind the Sentinel, carving his saber along the side of its arm.
It's futile. A horrid screech from metal scraping metal is the only result. To make things worse, Ironvine's orbs are floating toward him, but none of his injuries have healed.
I put up a tough front for those guards earlier, but this… this is bad. Really bad.
"Curses. It's true, then."
Ironvine raises, slinging a Sentinel's axe over his shoulder. What's he talking about? I stare at him, puzzled by what he could mean. As if reading my thoughts, Ironvine announces the worst possible news.
"Healing magic only works on the living."
No. No. No. No. No.
Fear grips my heart. If healing magic only works on the living, then…
"...Renald will…"
"Yeah. He'll die if this keeps up. I've heard that vampires can heal their own wounds, but they need blood to do it."
My grip around the sword in my hand tightens. Ironvine takes a step towards the battle.
"Haaaaaa… We've got our work cut out for us this time."
He sighs, wiping the blood from his face. After a moment of silence, he glances over his shoulder at me.
"Help Renald, Whisperclaw."
"What about-"
Ironvine shoots me with a nasty scowl.
"I'll help the other two."
I purse my lips. Shouldn't we... work together?
"I'll be going on ahead."
Ironvine dashes away from me, towards Liaz and Glimmmer.
"Grrrah!"
Renald slips another punch and whips his saber around. Twang! It bounces off the goblin's chestplate. Renald is left completely defenseless, his sword still recoiling. The Sentinel's right fist thrusts out.
My body moves on its own.
I knock my shoulder into Renald's, shifting him just out of range. The Sentinel's fist slams into the edge of my shortsword. Crrrrrrrrk. It holds the force of the blow for merely a second before the blade snaps.
Damn…
"Noooooooo!"
The blow continues through the sword and flat into my face.
I see stars, then the ceiling, then the ground. Oh… I'm falling. Every bone in my body seems to twist as stone kicks up around me. I finally stopped moving.
"Whisper…!"
"Rahhggggg!"
My vision is fading into darkness. Why does dying have to hurt so bad? My muscles are screaming at me. I can't move. When it feels like the darkness might fully take me, a green light intervenes. Renewed strength soars through my body.
The pain that halted my movements disperses in an instant. I sit up, wiping the blood that was flowing from my once broken nose. Thanking the gods for Ironvine in my heart, I grab what remains of my shortsword and use it to stand.
"...I'll kill you!"
Twang! Clang! Twang! Shiiiing!
Renald's eyes are filled with fury. He slides, weaves, slashes, stabs, anything to land a killing blow on the monster. Roaring at the top of his lungs, he refuses to back down, going blow for blow against the Sentinel.
"You….Ba–gh!"
All it took was one mistake. The Sentinel moved faster than my eyes could track.
Taking advantage of a slight opening in Renald's attack chain, it yanks him up by the throat. Renald's saber clatters to the ground. He reaches up, scratching at the Sentinel's gauntlet. Desperately searching for a way to breathe.
"I won't let youuuu!"
I dash towards the Sentinel as fast as I can. It doesn't pay me a single bit of attention, no matter how much I slice at it. Like it's telling me to face the facts.
My sword is broken. Renald is going to die. We weren't strong enough. I… wasn't strong enough.
Fuumm!
Cold, white metal strikes my face. Pain shoots around my skull. I'm in the air again. This time, the wall breaks my descent. These things are insane. It batted me away like a fly.
The ground shakes, cracking beyond repair. Despite the pain, I manage to look up.
It... it slammed him. That damn monster slammed Renald into the floor. I hold back tears of anger, trying and failing to get back on my feet. I'm not strong enough. I can't get there in time.
"You all did well to last this long…"
A calm voice, like a slow-flowing stream, suddenly fills the room. Even the Sentinels stop their onslaught to search for its owner.
Shiiiiiiing!
The Sentinel standing over Renald suddenly twitches. It feels on its chest with its hands, like something doesn't feel right on the inside. Then it turns to look behind.
Mid-turn, the two halves of the Sentinel separate. It plops to the ground, dead. A single knight steps over the felled beast.
Long, golden locks of hair are tied into a loose bun on her head. The all white armor encasing her body causes her sea green eyes to stick out like a sore thumb. In a single, fluid sweep, she flings the blood staining her silver saber back onto the Sentinel.
"...but we will take over from here."