Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Elly woke to the tremors that drummed against her back. Her eyes snapped open, vision clearing as a spike of panic stabbed at her chest. Her eyes darted from side to side, fear subsiding as she caught sight of Leaf and Jahora pushing themselves up from the ground. It soon came rushing back as the tremors beneath her grew more pronounced, snapping her head to the side as she saw the Goliath barreling towards them. Both the half elf and the gnome turned their gazes to the golem right after, and joined Elly in scrambling to their feet. She and Jahora shared one mind as they scanned the floor around them for the swords they had stockpiled before, and spat curses when they realized that the weapons had been knocked away by the shockwave and were now embedded into or bent around the surrounding pillars. A shiver ran down her spine as she briefly thought about their fate had they not softened the blow of the shockwave with a barrier. She shook the thought from her mind and started to circulate Aether into her hands as she looked back at the Goliath, dread shifting to shock as Helbram collided with the golem from the side.

The armored man arrived with a strike against the construct’s knee, carrying enough momentum behind him to disrupt the Goliath’s pace. The golem tried to bat Helbram away with a back handed strike, but the man managed to duck under the blow and swing the hammer into one of the swords that protruded from its chest. A clang echoed through the air as the attack landed, the golem’s eye flickering as the sword sank deeper into the stone. It halted its movements for only a moment, but Helbram did not stop his assault, striking the sword again with another well placed blow. The Goliath stepped back from this blow, swiping a projected sword of condensed Aether at the armored warrior. Helbram jumped back to avoid the blow, landing closer to the rest of the group.

“Look alive! I can’t handle them all!” he barked.

Elly looked around, noticing the mass of statues that approached from the sides of the room. They were in far greater numbers than before, their steps shaking the ground as much as the larger construct they supported.

Jahora and Leaf were the first to react, readying magic and bow at the oncoming horde of stone.

“Right, just keep the big one off of us,” Leaf said.

Helbram nodded and resumed his charge against the large construct, slipping past the Goliath to draw it away from them. Elly shook herself back to her senses and and moved her hands in front of her, drawing in a deep breath to focus her mind as Aether flowed between her fingers. She saw the raw power gather around the gnome that stood in front of her, and in response Elly stomped on the ground, feeling the Aether from the ground flow through her leg and up her body, shifting the white energy running through her limbs to a yellow color.  As the color of the energy shifted she felt a weight wrap around her arms. The dusk elf shifted to a lower stance as the weight fully settled, tracing a circle around her as she did so. As she completed her spin, the air grew dense and settled over her like a mantle, and the steady beat of footsteps grew more pronounced beneath her. She held her hands out to the approaching horde, and waited for Jahora to act.

Rings ablaze around the gnome’s head, the Aether that gathered at her palms shifted to a familiar emerald hue as it billowed at her robes. The small woman looked close to being carried off by the gale that washed over her, but her gaze remained fixed upon the stone soldiers that approached. The energy condensed, forming the familiar glyphs that Elly had seen once before. She was familiar with the spell, had seen its power shatter constructs and splinter stone itself, but that made it no less impressive as the shockwaves erupted from Jahora’s small hands.

The statues proved to be more resilient than the small constructs from before, forming up together to absorb the force of the bow as a larger mass. As the spell washed over them, those at the front of their formations found their stone armor cracked and fractured under the weight of the magicks that struck them, while those at the back remained untouched.  Light leaked from the statues damaged from the spell, but none stopped their advance.

“Damn it,” Jahora spat as the statues started to resume their march.

“Just get the next one ready,” Leaf said as he readied his bow.

“Leaf, wait,” Elly urged. The half elf looked back at her, broad tipped arrow half drawn.

The Weaver swept a hand over her eyes, suffusing her vision with the same Aether that wrapped around her. Hues darkened in her vision, but in turn she saw the light that flowed through each statue, lining its body like a skeleton. Those that were damaged showed much more erratic displays of energy as Aether leaked from her bodies. She pointed towards one that leaked more light than any other.

“That one,” she said, “It is most vulnerable at the breastplate.”

Leaf nodded and pulled at his bowstring, widening his stance as he drew the arrow past his chest. He loosed the arrow, the projectile striking true as it dug into the cracked chest of the statue. Stone shattered from the impact, and as light leaked from the statue’s remains Elly waved her hands over the ground and towards the crumbling remains. A small wave of yellow Aether washed over the ground and into the crumbling stone, wrapping around the larger chunks of rock. She clenched her hands as the spell completed, her fists dropping as weight pressed down upon them. Two stones the size of her head remained in the air as the rest of the statue fell to the ground, wrapped in a soft aura of yellow Aether. The Weaver snapped her fists to the side, the rocks following the movements of her hands and striking the statues next to their fallen companion. The enchanted stone shattered the already cracked constructs, and Elly continued the assault as she weaved her fists through the air, unleashing a storm of rock and dust across the front lines of the statues that approached.

Leaf joined her in her efforts, using the loosing arrows to finish off the statues that did not collapse from the dance of stones that trampled over them. Aether wrapped around Jahora’s palms once again, the familiar howl of wind ringing in Elly’s ears as the gnome prepared another spell. The statues continued their march, those previously undamaged by the last shockwave proving to be more resilient against the rocks that Elly slammed against them. They were more reactive than their damaged companions, deflecting the rocks with their swords or turning their bodies to better absorb the strikes against their carved armor. As one statue flicked a stone away with its blade, it picked up a weapon from its fallen companion and threw it at Jahora. Leaf pulled the gnome out of the way of the flying blade, but in the process the gnome lost control of her spell and the Aether that gathered around her washed away.

“Oh for gods- they just couldn’t stay predictable could they?” Leaf cursed.

Elly’s brow furrowed, “Adaptation… that is new.”

Jahora backpedaled towards the pillars behind them, “We need to fall back before they overwhelm us!”

Both the Weaver and archer nodded, following after the gnome as the group circled behind the pillar. Remains of statues dashed against the stone column as they circled behind it, thrown by the remaining stone soldiers that continued their undaunted march.

The half elf reached for another arrow, faltering as he noticed that he only had a few left. He grit his teeth before letting out a sigh, and the tension in his eyes released, “Smart or not, we need to keep them off of Helbram.”

Elly peeked her head from behind the pillar, peering off towards the armored man that clashed with the Goliath in the distance. The towering Golem remained on the offensive, swatting at Helbram as he weaved in and out of blows capable of shattering his bones in a single strike. He was unable to close enough distance to strike the swords again, but a steady cadence of clangs of his hammer against the Goliath’s stone hands reached her ears, for with each side step Helbram would bring the tool against the golem’s hands. She did not know if such attacks were making a difference, but the armored man showed no signs of slowing as his skirmish with the Goliath continued.

“You put a lot of faith in him…” Elly said in a faint voice.

Leaf shrugged, “He trusts us, so we trust him, “

Jahora cracked her knuckles and fluttered her fingers, “Tis as Leaf said, the only thing we can do is perform our task the best we can.”

Elly snorted, “When both of you put it like that it makes me feel silly for questioning it.”

The Weaver stood up, drawing in the Aether from the ground into her leg and the energy of the air itself to circle around her arm. 

“Let us not disappoint, shall we?”

 

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His legs dragged behind him like iron, his arms fire with each swing of his hammer, and he felt as if he took in the sky itself with each breath, only to be left wanting for more. Yet still, Helbram moved, for any delay in his steps would only lead to his bones crushed under the weight of the Goliath’s fists. Stone thundered against the ground as he slipped past each swing, and once again Helbram made for a lunge towards the construct’s chest. The golem swept at him with its free hand, and the armored man grit his teeth as he slid under it. With the brief opening that it allowed him, he landed another attack against one of the swords embedded in its chest. The golem’s eye flickered again, but Helbram did not stay to see what other effects the blow had dealt. Instead, he slipped under the Goliath’s arm and dived, leaping below the projected blade that aimed at his head. He caught himself with a roll and sprung to his feet, the rush of battle muting the dizziness that crept at his vision as he whipped around.

The Goliath did not chase after him, and instead Helbram felt panic gnaw at his chest when he saw it had lifted its fist again, suffusing it with a steady flow of Aether that surged through the grooves in its arm. Panic sparked fear, but Helbram fought down the urge to run as he charged forward. Despite the danger, there was no better time to strike.

He sprinted around the large construct and swung the hammer against the blade that had bit the deepest into its chest. The sword sank further, and the armored man could hear a crack from behind the thick layer of stone of the golem’s breastplate. The flow of Aether to its fist stopped, and the Goliath made to cover its chest with its other hand as Helbram brought the hammer back for another swing, but the warrior feinted, rolling the blow around to deliver it against the Golem’s upright fist.

A rush came over him as he felt the stone give way to the strike, sending cracks traveling through the Goliath’s fist, light bleeding through them from the Aether that had gathered at its palm. The gathered energy dispersed through the cracks, its initial deluge trickling to a faint mist that bled from the damaged stone. The construct swung its fractured hand at Helbram, forcing the armored man back. He brought the hammer down on the top of its fist before it could be retracted, spreading the cracks further.

The rush in his mind continued, a sense of comfort that he stopped with a shake of his head. The construct still stood, and a thought at the back of his mind told him that this was not all that it was capable of.

His assumption was right, for soon after it repelled the armored man away its torso started to spin. The Goliath held its arms out as the top of its body started to rotate independent of its legs, its rotations growing in speed until stone became nothing more than a blur that steadily approached Helbram as the whirling mass lumber forward on its legs.

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“It looks bloody stupid, but gods if that isn’t effective…” Helbram muttered to himself.

The Goliath’s approach was slow, allowing Helbram to maintain a steady retreat and a moment to look back towards the others. Their shapes were obscured by the statues that swarmed them, but an explosion of dust and rock tore through the center of the horde, revealing the form of Leaf shattering a statue’s head with the pickaxe. The half elf’s quiver was empty as it hung from his waist, rattling as he weaved past a statue and wrapped the head of the pickaxe around its arm. He pulled back, forcing the statue’s arm back and exposing its torso. A rock struck its breastplate, cracking its stone exterior. Aether followed, a bolt of magic that seeped into the newly formed fracture and bursted from within the statue’s chest, shattering the construct to pieces. Leaf moved to the next statue before the rubble hit the ground, this time slipping the pickaxe around its leg as he dodged the sword swung at his head. He shifted around the statue and tripped its leg from under it. Other statues closed in to intercept the half elf before he could act further, but they were forced back as Jahora and Elly struck at them with bursts of Aether and fallen bits of statue. The half elf finished off his fallen foe by driving the pickaxe into the back of its head, scattering light and rock as the stone helmet shattered.

Leaf retreated back as the rest of the statues closed in on him, a shockwave followed, ripping through the statues with just enough force to keep them back for only a moment. The burst of magic sent two of the fallen statue’s swords sliding on the ground towards Helbram, stopping only a few feet away from his position. He looked back to the approaching Goliath, peering at the point where its spinning torso met its legs. He noticed a small gap between the two parts, and inspiration struck.

He skipped to the side, grabbing the sword on the floor while keeping his eyes fixed at his intended target. It was miniscule compared to the larger frame of stone that wrapped around it, but no uncertainty entered Helbram’s mind as he readied the blade like a spear. He reared back, reading the glint of the Goliath’s cracked fist to for the pace of its rotations. He focused Ether into his ears, allowing his enhanced hearing to further aid him with the timing. His eyebrows rose when he finally had a sense of the timing, and Helbram threw the blade towards the gap right after. It slipped past the spinning fists, but only glanced against the gap before sliding harmlessly off of the stone.

“Hells…” he cursed, but his eyes fell towards the remaining blade on the ground.

He picked it up and repeated the process, taking in a deep breath as he felt his vision narrow around his intended target. His ears, enhanced as they were, started to mute out all else aside from the sound of the fists spinning through the air, and for a moment he felt as if time started to slow. It was all he needed, for when he threw the sword it struck true. The blade dug into the gap, and the scream of metal grinding against stone pierced Helbram’s ears. The armored man winced at the sound, but readied his hammer and charged as the Goliath’s movements stopped. His momentum was short lived, for as he closed in on the construct a sickening snap replaced the screech of metal. Fire lanced through his chest as he was struck, throwing him from his feet and onto his back. The rush of combat quickly muted the worst of the pain, but shock filled Helbram’s mind as his vision cleared, revealing the broken blade that protruded from his chest.

He stopped instinct from ripping the metal from his wound, flinching as the movement of his arms sent a flare of pain lancing through his chest. A brief moment of relief followed when he did not feel warmth trailing down his chest afterwards, telling him that the wound was shallow, but the approaching Goliath, its torso newly spinning, would not allow him to treat the wound properly. He scrambled back from the construct, feeling the pain numb from his mind as it focussed back on the battle. He spared a small laugh when he noted his own appearance now mirrored his opponent’s.

“An eye for an eye I see…”

His mind raced for another option as the Goliath approached, but he could not find an alternative method to disrupt the obnoxious assault that approached him. He’d have to try again, but he needed something sturdier, stronger-

His hand fell on the sword at his waist, and a sigh parted from his lips.

“Shite…”

 

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Horror chilled Elly’s heart when Helbram fell to the ground, but she had no time to feel it further as a statue struck at her. She flicked her hand towards her front Aether wrapping around her forearm and forming a shield that intercepted the blade aimed at her neck. She rolled her arm with the blow and stepped back, deflecting the sword just enough to allow her to slip back. Her retreat was interrupted by another charging construct, but the statue was stopped after Leaf drove his pickaxe against its shoulder.

“Now!” he yelled.

Elly’s feet skated across the ground at the half elf’s signal, placing her between Leaf and the shockwave that flew towards them. She moved her arms in a wider motion, spreading the Aether suffused in her arms in a wide barrier that shrouded both her and Leaf. The shockwave washed over the magical shield, cracking its surface as Elly felt its force wrack across her body. Her barrier faltered as she fell to her knees following the impact, but the statues that surrounded them were now forced back, the majority of them now bearing cracks and leaking Aether from their make.

Leaf pulled her back onto her feet as she struggled to get up, “We’re almost there, we can rest after we’re done!”

Elly nodded and gathered Aether around her once again, its energy far thinner than when she began the battle. Darkness crept at her vision, and her limbs felt as if they were made of the same stones that they struck against. She knew Leaf was feeling the same, but it was more from the desperation at which the half elf moved. Gone was any semblance of form as he bored down upon the collapsed statues, driving pickaxe into fractured stone with reckless abandon. Elly could not help but follow as she gripped two pieces of broken rock with her spell, bringing the enchanted stone down upon the fallen constructs as she hammered her fists through the air.

Bolts of Aether joined her combined assault with Leaf, fired from Jahora who stood back towards the pillars. They managed to destroy most of the constructs before they got to their feet, and those that did were promptly destroyed as Elly threw the stones against them. She fell back to her knees with the collapse of the final statue, sweat dripping from her chin as her chest heaved. The Aether rings around her wrist and ankle faded, and the seamless connection that she felt with the energy around her vanished, leaving a hollow feeling in both her head and chest. From the sunken look that Jahora possessed as the gnome stumbled towards her, she knew the Mage was in a similar position as her.

“I request that you never make me do that again,” she said in a labored voice,  “My heart nearly leapt out of my chest when I saw your barrier crack.”

“You did your part perfectly,” Elly said, “Twas I who faltered at the last moment. But we’ll leave the discussion for later, Helbram needs our help.”

Elly scrambled to her feet, only to be stopped by Leaf who thrust a hand in front of her.

“I’m afraid we won’t be able to do that,” he said in a solemn tone.

Elly looked at him in confusion, but dread soon followed as her eyes fell beyond the half elf and upon the newly formed horde of statues that approached. Stone bled through the pillars, and defeat settled further in her chest with every step they took forward. Her hands refused to obey her, and fatigue sank deeper into her limbs as her mind could not find a solution to their problem.  Jahora and Leaf pulled her back, the gnome spitting a curse as Aether refused to gather at her hands. The half elf stood between them and the oncoming statues, readying his pickaxe in front of him, but remaining silent.

“What can we even do?” Elly said, dread hanging in her voice.

Leaf stared beyond the statues, “We trust.”

Elly followed his gaze, eyes falling upon the form of Helbram back on his feet. The armored man was hunched over, hammer hanging at his side as a broken blade protruded from his chest. The Goliath approached, its torso and arms spinning in a blur as it crept towards the armored man. Everything told her that he stood no chance against the construct; his weakened posture, the defense that the Goliath possessed. He would not win, he could not win. Yet still he stood, sword sliding from its sheath as he weakly pulled it from his side. Her eyes fell back towards the statues that steadily closed in on them, but rather than  focusing on the dread that such a sight brought to her heart she instead looked towards the ceiling and took in a deep breath.

Fine then, she would trust.

Her eyes fell back down, looking past the stone soldiers and towards the armored man who readied his sword like a spear. Gone was the weariness from his frame, replaced by nothing more than pure determination that radiated past the helmet that covered his face. The Goliath closed in on the armored man, yet still Helbram did not move. One more step, and the warrior would be broken by the golem’s rotating hands, but it was in this moment that Helbram threw his sword. The blade sank into the Goliath’s waist and the construct’s spin halted, the change in momentum so abrupt that it stumbled from the shift. Helbram followed the blade, hammer already swinging towards the construct’s torso. The clang that followed drowned out all else as his blow struck true, forcing the Goliath back as Aether started to bleed from its newly cracked chest. The warrior followed, hammer swinging wildly as he abandoned all semblance of form.

One strike, two strikes… three strikes.

The statues were upon them now, but still Elly’s vision remained fixed on Helbram as he delivered his fourth and final blow. It landed upon the blade that was already hilt deep in the golems chest, the resulting clang drowned by the echo of stone that cracked open. The Goliath’s stone armor split, and the light it protected surged forth from its chest as the blade fully pierced through the crystal core at its center. Helbram stumbled forward as the core started to flicker, and his back struck the ground by the time the light of the crystal died out completely. The Goliath’s form remained standing, but its eye faded away and its body slumped over, unmoving.

Her attention snapped back to the statues in front of them, panic stabbing at her heart momentarily as she saw their swords were raised, but the blades never descended, for the constructs remained unmoving now that the Goliath was still. Elly fell to the ground, relief flooding her in a wave that threatened to pull her from consciousness entirely. Jahora joined her, and the gnome started to laugh.

They were safe.

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Author's Note: Apologies for the late release everyone! Been trying to finish out the arc (which you can find on Patreon :p) on a good note and that took a bit. For this chapter, I tried experimenting with using multiple perspectives during a fight here. I think its a really effective tool to use when its done right so let me know if it enhanced the fighting or made it hard to follow. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and wish all of you a wonderful day :)

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