Chapter 36: Chapter 33

“You've got stronger, but I'm still better than you. This is it. This is the last battle between us.”

The cultist's blade met Rinaldo's sword. He pushed his sword in between Rinaldo's sword and his body. Rinaldo pushed his sword against the cultist. The cultist backed away from Rinaldo, pulling his sword out of Rinaldo's hand.

Ricardo slashed at Rinaldo. Rinaldo dodged and pushed the cultist away, and ran past him. The cultist jumped to the side and kicked Rinaldo's head, sending him tumbling. The cultist lunged at Rinaldo with his sword. He stabbed Rinaldo's side, but Rinaldo kicked him in the groin.

The cultist fell to the ground. He got up, groaning in pain. “I won't let you get away with that.”

Rinaldo responded by swinging his sword at the cultist's head, but the cultist avoided it. He jumped to his feet and swung his sword at Rinaldo. Rinaldo moved out of the way and stabbed the cultist in the back. The cultist stumbled to the side.

He looked over his shoulder and saw Olivia approaching. Rinaldo turned around, and saw that the cultist was still standing. The cultist rushed Rinaldo, pushing him to the ground. Rinaldo grabbed the cultist's leg and flipped him over.

“Time for the final act.” Rinaldo looked at Ricardo. “I had been waiting for this for years. It's a pleasure meeting you.”

Ricardo smiled. “Now that's a fight I will remember for a long time.”

Ricardo slashed his sword at Rinaldo. Rinaldo blocked the blow and stabbed his sword into Ricardo's stomach. Ricardo screamed in agony. He brought his sword up, blocking the blade of Rinaldo's sword and pushing him away.

“I told you I wouldn't let you get away with this!” Ricardo swung his sword at Rinaldo.

Rinaldo sidestepped, and Ricardo's sword hit the tree behind him. Rinaldo kicked the cultist. He fell to the ground and tried to get up. Rinaldo pushed him to the ground again, this time at his feet. Ricardo groaned, but kept coming at Rinaldo with his sword.

Rinaldo kicked him in the ribs. The cultist fell over and hit the ground. “You don't know when to stop.”

Ricardo kept coming at him. He threw his sword at Rinaldo. Rinaldo raised his arm and blocked the blade. Ricardo pushed Rinaldo over and slashed at him. Rinaldo rolled away and back up. He stabbed Ricardo's leg. Ricardo fell back, still looking angry. He kicked Rinaldo in the stomach.

Rinaldo tried to get up. There was a stab on his side. He looked down at it. He saw blood dripping down his shirt. “Oh, man. I hope you know what you're doing. You're going to kill me for sure.”

“I've got you.” Ricardo raised his sword at Rinaldo, ready to end this fight.

“What did you just say?” Rinaldo took out his dagger and stabbed it into Ricardo's shoulder.

Ricardo screamed in pain. He let go of his sword, and he held his shoulder. He fell to the ground and looked at Rinaldo, his eyes shining with rage. “You will pay for that.”

“You don't scare me, Ricardo.” Rinaldo pulled out his daggers, and stabbed Ricardo again. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have already.”

Ricardo tried to get up. He was still in pain. “Don't go making jokes.”

“I'm not joking.” Rinaldo stabbed him again. “I only needed that one to hurt you.”

Ricardo held his shoulder, and Rinaldo jumped away, avoiding Ricardo's sword. He stabbed Ricardo in the back. Ricardo fell over and kept coming at him with his dagger. Rinaldo jumped to his right side, and stabbed him in the thigh.

“That's it. You're already dead.” Rinaldo pulled his dagger out of Ricardo's leg and took his sword.

Ricardo rolled over. Rinaldo tried to stab him again, but Ricardo jumped away and grabbed Rinaldo's dagger. He swung it at Rinaldo. Rinaldo jumped to the side and brought his sword down on the back of Ricardo's head.

What happened next didn't surprise Rinaldo. People would die if killed, but the cultists weren't actual people. Most of them were clones that would melt into a puddle of goo when they died. Ricardo did just that, proving that he was a clone. The original one should be nearby.

Olivia approached him. She pointed towards a thick cluster of trees. “This way. Let's go.”

Rinaldo and Olivia pressed forward, running deeper into the valley. The undergrowth was so thick they could barely see the grass. Olivia suddenly froze and put her finger up to her mouth. She motioned Rinaldo to be quiet.

They were near the valley's centre, about halfway down from the mountain range, and still a considerable distance away from the fortress. Rinaldo was getting nervous. He kept his eyes on the forest, watching for anything that might be an enemy.

The forest was quiet. The only noise was the sound of nature; birds chirping and something larger made a loud noise that sounded like crashing. Rinaldo looked at the surrounding woods. He tried to listen for any sound that would show an enemy.

It was clear, however, that the noises were simply the movement of the forest. The trees made a noise as the wind shook them. Rinaldo stood there for a moment, waiting to hear anything showing danger.

“Don't worry. We'll make it out of here.” Rinaldo looked back at Olivia. She was looking at him with concern. “We'll stop the ritual. You'll see. It's going to be all right.”

She nodded and stepped out of the bushes. They moved deeper into the valley, and the forest looked so similar to the other parts of the valley. The sound of the birds and the forest's noise was so loud it made it almost impossible to move.

They were halfway to their goal. The two were so close. Rinaldo wanted to see the mountain peaks. The fortress was nearby, but the surrounding woods were still thick. He tried to make as little noise as possible, but he still made some noise.

They walked a few more metres and finally saw the forest's edge. The valley was ending, and they could see the mountain range behind it. The trees here were less dense than the rest. Rinaldo glanced back at the fortress. He could see the cultists engaging the army back-to-back.

It was a good thing the army wasn't very close to the forest. Otherwise, the situation would be dire. The army's soldiers seemed to have recovered from their earlier setbacks, pushing the cultists back.

The two stood by the forest's edge, and Rinaldo stared at the fortress. It was on their side of the valley, but was so large and intimidating. There were cultists everywhere. He couldn't make sense of how many there were.

Olivia put her hand on his shoulder. “Let's go.”

Rinaldo nodded and smiled at Olivia. They were now at the forest's edge, and the trees formed a clearing. The two had reached the place where the forest seemed to end. They were about half a kilometre from the fortress, and the woods no longer protected it.

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They walked farther into the clearing and could now see the mountains. They were on the side that was next to the forest. The mountain range comprised several tall peaks. The fortress was on one mountain, and they could see the sky above the fortress. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

Rinaldo watched as the fortress filled his sight, the sheer height of it. He held Olivia's hand as they moved forward. The two walked on through the clearing, into the distance. They still had a long walk ahead of them.

The two still needed to get to the fortress. They would need to reach the ritual chamber before the ritual could begin. Getting into a fight now would be unproductive. The mission parameter required them to destroy the fungal root on time.

As the two stood there, a man wearing the armour of a paladin came up to them. “Are you in need of assistance?”

Rinaldo stared at the man. He wore finely decorated silver armour, with symbols etched into it. The armour had a look of elegance about it, and the man was no stranger to battle. The paladin didn't seem hostile, and Rinaldo knew it would be unwise to provoke him.

Rinaldo couldn't get a good look at the paladin's face. He was wearing full plate armour, and Rinaldo could not see his face. “Yes, we would be in need of assistance. Could you help us get inside the fortress?”

“That's very simple. Follow me.” The paladin turned around and began the journey to the fortress.

As soon as the man was out of earshot, Olivia looked at Rinaldo. “Was that a paladin?”

Rinaldo shrugged. “Who knows?”

The paladins of the Northern Church were known for their martial prowess and violent tendencies. They were renowned fighters for the Northern Church, and their military presence was one pillar of the Northern Church's hold on power.

Not only could they wield powerful weapons, but they were also fast on their feet, and extremely reliable. Of all the orders in the Five Churches, they were the most feared. Rinaldo and Olivia were lucky to have a paladin escort them.

“The Northern Church is finally doing something useful for once.” Olivia laughed.

“Maybe.” Rinaldo shook his head. “Either way, we need to be sure not to mess this up.”

The two followed behind the paladin as they moved towards the fortress. Rinaldo could sense that the cultists were watching them, and his first concern was whether they would notice the two. The paladin was an excellent distraction, which Rinaldo hoped would be enough.

As they closed in, Rinaldo felt a mixture of excitement and uncertainty. He never expected to actually go through with this. However, he couldn't just back out now. “Let's keep moving.”

Just as Rinaldo had thought, the cultists didn't seem to notice them. There were so many cultists there, that they could barely be seen. The large, imposing fortress was built of stone, and it seemed to be impenetrable.

Rinaldo turned to the paladin. “How many men are there?”

The paladin turned around. “A lot. There are far too many to count.”

“How did they get so many?” Olivia looked confused.

“I have no idea.” The paladin shrugged. “Let's just get to the ritual chamber before the ritual started. We can kill the cultists then.”

Rinaldo looked out at the cultists, wondering how dangerous they were. It was hard to tell. “Maybe they recruited a bunch of new men and sent them out to recruit others.”

The two followed behind the paladin, and entered the fortress. It was quiet inside, except for a gentle whooshing sound. Rinaldo looked around, and saw a long hallway that stretched up to a large pair of double doors at the end. They were closed, however.

Rinaldo walked up the hallway, and reached for the doors. “How are we going to open these doors?”

The paladin drew his weapon. He ran to one of the double doors and slammed his axe into the wood. With a loud crack, the doors cracked open, and the noise was more apparent. “With this.”

Rinaldo's eyes widened as he realised the noise he made would lead the cultists' attention toward them. “What? Are you insane?”

The paladin laughed. “Only time will tell if this plan works. Get ready.”

Rinaldo nodded, and they stepped through the doors, and immediately heard loud yelling and screams. The two turned and ran down the hallway. They could hear footsteps and saw other cultists coming out of other rooms.

They kept running for a bit, but the walls got lower, and eventually, the hallway led to a room with a large wooden door. Rinaldo ran up to the door and stopped. He turned to the paladin. “Is this what you meant by plan?”

The paladin shrugged. “No plans survived contact with the enemy.”

Rinaldo shook his head. “How are you going to get inside? The door is way too heavy.”

The paladin opened up the large pouch at his side and pulled out a long sword. He walked up to the door, and drew out a grappling hook and a set of spikes that looked like they had a sharp point. “Then I'll open it.”

Rinaldo watched in awe as the paladin picked up his grappling hook and threw it. A moment later, the hook pierced into the door, and he used the other spike to hammer it into it. He did this a few more times, and the door swung open.

The paladin ran up to the door and entered. “It's done. You can come in.”

The inside of the fortress was completely dark. It felt like they had walked into an unknown chamber, and nothing was familiar about the room. They walked to a hallway with a light shining in the darkness, and heard chanting.

“That's our cue. Come on.”