XXIV

A chill ran up Dantera’s back as she heard Yoreno shout, “En harde! For the end of Darkness—and the Age of Readventure!”

“Your friends are dead!” Lord Shane snapped.

Dantera snarled, redoubling her efforts. Her blade flashed as Lord Shane retreated, his own sword much larger than hers, making it difficult to defend against her assault when she was so close.

This man—this Black Guard—was no opponent to toy with. Lord Shane’s feet moved expertly, every step perfectly placed as Dantera pushed him further and further.

If it came down to comparison, his footwork might have been even better than hers. Gritting her teeth, she screamed, her sword flashing before her, the razor sharp point darting in and out as she attempted to get wounding cuts.

She didn’t need to kill him by running him through with her blade. All Dantera needed was to score a small cut. And then another. He would slow, and eventually the fight would be over.

If he didn’t force her to kill him!

Shane jumped back, the dusty rocks and soil under his feet kicking up before he arched his blade in a powerful strike.

Dantera was forced to dodge the counter attack and put more distance between herself and him. This only gave Lord Shane more space to maneuver.

She needed to press the attack, but now she was the one on defense, backing away while he advanced. In a prolonged sword duel among two high-tier types, a duel often had an ebb and flow, until one combatant faltered.

But would it be her, or him?

He came in with an overhanded strike so fast Dantera was forced to block the blow, her elbow jerking outward as the force of his strike cause her sword to come down. Her own blade would have gotten buried in her skull, but Dantera put her right leg out while bending her left knee low to the ground. Ito Farralia chinked against the rocks as she kicked outward with her extended leg.

Lord Shane lifted his boot, but his defense against her strike gave her the time she needed to jump back and roll backward onto her feet. She swung her rapier in several short arcs to keep him from advancing on her too quickly.

Behind on the other side of the chamber, Yoreno growled and snarled, but she heard no evidence of swordplay—or his blade striking his foe. If she turned to check on him, Lord Shane would run her through, or cut her down like a stock of reeds in the river.

With a larger weapon, his strikes had more force behind them. Not only that, but he was strong—stronger than Dantera. Where she failed in that regard she made up for in speed.

But Lord Shane’s speed was also very impressive in its own right. Often larger—and especially armored foes—moved slower as a natural consequence, but as a top-tier adventurer, or just shy of such, Lord Shane’s ability to move swiftly was clearly one of his strengths.

With a lunge, he struck at her. Instead of blocking the blow, Dantera jumped forward and put her left hand out, landing and rolling across her back as her opponent missed his horizontal strike.

Shane came back around to strike her from behind. She cut him off, lashing out with a quick flick of her blade, but Shane lifted his vambrace and blocked her strike. Ito Farralia merely scratching against it.

In response, Shane slashed down with his blade, but he missed Dantera by inches, his sword clanging across the rocky floor.

She jumped back, aware of the movement of Yoreno and Xanderial in her peripheral vision, but unable to take her eyes off of Lord Shane of even an instant!

The spiderling looked at them from the rocky ceiling. As what were once the man’s legs dangled like puppetry, the abdomen became visible.

“Watch yourself!” Yoreno called.

“What in the name of the gods is—“ Xanderial croaked, but was cut off when the the spinnerets—two small dangling bits—moved and quivered.

“Jump!” Yoreno shouted.

He did as Yoreno commanded as a lumpy mass of webbing shot toward him, missing by a mere hand span. As he recovered, glancing between Yoreno and the spidlerling, he cried out viciously and in horror without words.

Lak’temora laughed. “Are we having fun?”

“To the hells with you!” Xanderial bellowed.

“You first,” the sorcerer returned, and waved his scepter, the stone therein shining with brilliant light.

The spiderling moved, scurrying about the ceiling as it angled for another projectile attack.Yoreno had already had enough. He lifted his dagger out of its scabbard and threw it at the monster, but it lunged to the side, the blade hitting the rocks harmlessly where it fell back to the ground near his feet.

Suddenly the spiderling moved, scurrying directly over Yoreno. He moved, sprinting out of its path as it moved about, trying to stay atop him.

“Yoreno!” Xanderial called, but he couldn’t glance in the other man’s direction, not while this eight legged—no ten legged—monstrosity chased him about.

Something scrapped across the rocky floor.

Canderial grunted as Yoreno turned to see him throw the blade. The knife whirled overhead and hit the spider, chinking off of its blue armor. What was once the man portion looked to Yoreno to have been a knight of the Blue Dragon once?

But had he been a cultist who had endured such a horrific transformation, or had he been forced into it—made to be a slave of Lak’temora’s bidding?

With shiver, he decided he didn’t care.

Either way, he was going to kill this beast. Whether that freed the slave within or ended a vile monster, he would be satisfied.

Dantera cried out and Yoreno glanced in her direction as Lord Shane pressed her with an attack. He could see from the way she fought, that it was all she could do not to be cut down.

“We need to—“

The spiderling howled, its fangs clacking audibly. Something scratched the rocks above, and then suddenly the monster fell.

Yoreno jumped, his heart forcing its way into his throat. Landing heavily, he rolled to the side and glanced up, only to watch as the spiderling’s human anatomy moved, its hand reaching behind its back.

There was a metallic hiss and a blade appeared.

“No you don’t!” Xanderial cried, and struck at the spiderling. But it whirled on him, blocked the attack and shunted his blade down before backhanding him in the face.

With a grunt, he flew to the ground as Yoreno wasted no time in getting back up to battle this abomination of the Age of Darkness.

Yoreno lashed out, but the spiderling was too fast. It whirled back around to face him, dodging his sword strike with its vambrace, the force of his blade’s impact shunting the creature’s forearm violently.

But it was enough to stall Yoreno.

The spiderling reached out and grasped his blade. Yoreno angled his hilt down to slice the spiderling’s fingers off, but the monster’s gloves were of high quality knightly armor, its human hands protected from the blade.

Gritting his teeth, Yoreno fought for his sword when the blade snapped, bits of metal splinters tinkling onto the rocks at Yoreno’s feet.

His eyes widened.

“Yes!” Lak’temora said excitedly. “Now finish him!”

Distracted, Yoreno’s eyes flicked up to the movement behind the spiderling. “Watch out!” Lak’temora called.

The spider moved, but wasn’t fast enough as Xanderial slashed downward with his sword, his blade passing through one of the legs jutting out of the spiderling’s back.

The leg fell and a gout of viscous-yellow liquid trickled onto the rocks along with it. The spiderling lunged out of the way and howled in pain, its other spider legs writhing violently upon its back.

Lak’temora snarled his displeasure that they had wounded his pet.

Yoreno swallowed, his heart hammering inside his chest.

Then he snarled.