The chalky paste filled Connaught's mouth, eyes and nose. He rose from where he had been knocked off his feet coughing and spluttering and wiping the dust from his tearing eyes. As some of his vision returned he could see what his ears already had confirmed, the rest of his warband were similarly affected. They all stood wiping dust from their bodies.
It would be minutes before anyone could gather enough moisture in their mouths to speak. Cra Croign was the first.
"They've done it then. Eyl Hareik and his damned cronies have accomplished their goal."
"If that's true we've got to stop her," said Daerg.
"There's no "stopping" her," said Madb, "the Chronomancer unleashed is too much for any one to tackle, save the Everchosen his own self."
"Aye," said Connaught, "our best option now is to leave. If Eyl Hereik has done what Cra says they have then we cannae stop what is coming."
It had taken the old man longer than the rest to recover from the dust. He moved into the center of the conversation, dust still falling from his almost barbless feathers with each step he took.
"Mabd is right. Kar'Tcha'Razen cannot be defeated. Even if we were to gather all of the murders of Corvus Cabal in the Eight Points we could not match the power of the Chronomancer. Even if we were to bring together the other tribes and sects, we would fail. Now that she is unleashed, there is only one way to defeat her," the old man said, " and that is to prevent her."
"Prevent . . .her?" Connaught said.
He said, "You speak in riddles Cormac."
Cormac started to pull a tome from his leather satchel, "No. There is a way. We must travel to the Sonaught Tower. "
He opened the book and leafed through pages near the end. The rest of the Corvidae gathered around him.
"Here," he said finally pointing to an illustration in the text.
"It is called the Tempus Speculum and if we can get to it we can reset this day it says."
"We'll make it like this day never happened, then we'll have another chance of stopping Eyl Hereik," said Connaught.
"Beware brothers!"
The cry came from near one of the third stories aeries that housed the crows.
A dark form dropped from floor to floor and movement on the ground brought the rest of the brotherhood running. From behind the wall came a scream and soon the entire warband was standing over a monk, a spear driven through her upper thigh and into the ground. She struggled with Aif who had given the warning. The struggle was one sided as the blood gushed from the wound and the Cypher Lord was pinned to the ground. Still each combatant had a blade in their right hand and held the wrist of their opponents right hand with their left.
Daerg walked calmly up behind the wounded monk, raised his ragged edged blade and brought it down neatly severing the woman's left arm at the elbow. Aif's dagger, suddenly meeting no resistance, plunged into his opponent's breast, the tip protruding from the other side.
Cormac grabbed the mask of the dying foe and pulled it from her face. She smiled underneath it as blood frothed between her clenched teeth.
"Too . . . late . . . old one. Eyl Hereik . . ."
Wheezing and spitting blood, the smile disappeared and the wheezing stopped.
"Eyl Hereik knows what she has seen. He will be on his way to get the Tempus Speculum for himself."
"Then we must go now," said Cra Croign, "Aif, pass the message to some of the others, the rest of you with me now."
**************************************************************************************
There was a final snap as the piece of femur broke making a nice little pick. Just as the massive hand moved the tool around to scrape at the flesh stuck in his teeth he heard the sound of footsteps. He could just see a glint of a bronze helm in the first rays on the sun. Standing up from where he sat on the ruined temple, he yanked on the chain at his feet. The tug awoke the Hydra sleeping yards away between the two temples. As the creature lurched to its feet, it's heads hissing, a smile split the craggy features of the Ogroid.
They would eat well tonight.
**********************************************************************
The bare feet of Cra Croign had barely touched the cold marble as he looked around him. The others leaped down between the pillars. He saw the Spire Tyrans moving up on the gibbering spawn to his right and he saw the Ogroid stand up to his left its attention distracted by the Hestacles butchers. It was up to the Cabal to recover the artifact and prevent the Chronomancer.
The path looked clear.
Still moving furtively between the disappearing shadows the crows moved silently when the sound of stone grinding on stone brought them all to attention.
A massive marble fist knocked Cra of his feet, the white marble beneath him splattered with blood as his nose broke, a few teeth adding to the rubble of the ruins. As the crow leader jumped back to his feet another blow sent him sprawling.
His comrades jumped into the fray, their jagged weapons making only the dimmest of impressions on the stone of the collossus that strode among them, but the anger that directed their blows made more of an impression on the magic that animated the creature and as their blows struck true the monstrosity slowed.
It was then that among a pile of rubble several creatures the crows had just assumed to be stone decorations spread their wings and fell on the intruders.
The spears of the Cabal warriors attempted to keep the furies at a distances while they simultaneously fought the giant.
Cra dragged himself away from the conflict, he was barely conscious and could feel several ribs broken. He hoped that Cormac had followed them more swiftly than the old man typically did.
Through dimming sight he could see his crows lying battered before the living monolith. Beyond that he saw the glow of flames as the Hydra, now unleashed from its chains, breathed on the Splintered Fang warriors.
Sliding down the stairs his gaze drifted towards where the Spire Tyrants were having better luck against their opponents. He watched the gladiators herd one of the spawn into a reflecting pool where their nets further restricted the monster's motion. It flailed at its enemy, catching one and squeezing the man until blood spurted from limbs and eyes, but the fight was not going to end any other way than the creature being cut down.
Blood and filthy pus spread around the water as human warriors and the creature bled their vital fluids away.
Eventually two spear thrusts finished it off and the monster seemed to collapse in on itself as the last blow went through what approximated a stomach.
Cra heard the boom of massive amounts of stone falling and turned around to see his men victorious over the collossus but still beset by the angling furies.
The Spire Tyrants, having defeated their foe, were coming to aid their allies. As Breslau pulled Cra up his warriors chased away the remaining winged beasts and helped the wounded crows to their feet giving a final mercy for those too badly wounded to spread their wings again.
They both watched Hestacles, too far to give him aid, stand his ground against the hydra, and seeing the limp form of the Ogroid lying amid the ruins.
The creature screeched as the leader of the Splintered Fang tore into it with his poisoned trident. It was not enough though and the creatures remaining two heads bit deep into the flesh of the warrior.
Breslau ordered some of his men to move to save their ally and a dwarf and beastman ran towards the monster screaming their battle cry.
The monster, nearly blind with pain from the poison coursing through its veins, dropped Hestacles and started moving away, abandoning its master and its post.
Victory was theirs. Now it was just a matter of find the Tempus Speculum and erasing this day so they would have another chance to stop Eyl Hereik from summoning the Chronomancer.
Two of Breslau's gladiators moved towards the Sonaught Tower and were instantly immolated when they came within ten yards of it.
Cra spat blood on the white marble.
"Wards. Damn," he said.
With a puff of purple smoke, three warriors appeared, flanking the Tower. The gold masks they wore over their faces were polished to a mirror finish.
"He is aware," said Cra, barely able to stand.
"Pull them back, get away," he hissed to Breslau who then ordered his few remaining men to fall back and bring the wounded.
As they moved away they encountered Cormac and the rest of the band.
"Bring out your healing potions, old man," said Cra, "We try again tonight."
*************************************************************************************
As the sun descended Cra moved back towards the Sonaught tower. They would carry out this raid, his allies also approaching again from opposite sides.
This time they were only trying to extinguish the eldritch flames that kept the wards up around the Tower so they could get to it. Each warband was to try to extinguish the protective magics.
He could smell the guardians before he could see them. The dark green robes that hung loosely from the enemies bodies could not hide the twitching nose or the loose, hairy long fingers of the creatures. Behind the monks that sat, each gnawing on chunks they had cut away from the Ogroid's body stood two massive forms, weapons protruding from where they had been grafted onto the tortured bodies.
The green flame from the braziers cast strange dancing shadows in the failing sun light.
The Skaven all looked up at once as they heard screams and the clash of weapons. Cra hoped that he would be on the enemy before his allies launched their attacks, but the distraction was enough, he cawed loudly and his men rushed forward.
Before the rat men had much chance to react the crows were on three of the braziers and had pushed them over, scattering the cursed coals that kept the eldritch flame alive each time the green flame was extinguished.
The ward that they protected gave an almost human moan as it became momentarily visible, shimmering in the air around the tower and then collapsed.
Cra, the healing potion of Cormac still coursing through his veins, the pain of the quickly knitting ribs giving rise to his anger, moved towards the Skaven, he trailed his ragged edged blade behind him, the metal scraping ominiously against the stone.
"Stupid, stupid, rat creatures," he said before the clash of blades and pained squeaks of the Skaven drown out all other noise.
******************************************************************************
"The wards are down," said Hestacles, "tomorrow we attack in force and get the Speculum."
"Where is Breslau?" asked Cra of his ally.
"I think he went over to Eyl Hereik."
"Damn him."
Hestacles pressed down with his foot on a bound form on the ground, now more bladed metal than female. It was netted and bound. The pressure of his foot on her drew a moan that sounded more pleasured than pained.
"What do we do with her?"
"Karna?"
"Yes."
Cra squatted over the bound form. He could smell the fresh blood on her, they had pulled her mask away and he looked into the skinned face, still seeping with thin red fluid, scabs ripped off from the fighting, lidless eyes kept looked back at him as her lipless mouth grinned like a skull.
He stood up.
"Kill her. She is too dangerous to live. It will be a good example to her followers to keep them in line."
"What about the rats?"
Cra regarded them too. After their defeat they had more to fear from the Chronomancer than they did from the Crows and Splintered Fang.
"I think we can trust them for this."
"Then we attack at dawn," Hestacles said and then to his gathered men, "get some sleep if you can."
And as the night darkened the wind picked up and began to howl through the ruined city. If Karna made a sound as Heracles blade sank into her lungs it could not be heard over the gale.
******************************************************************************
Eyl Hereik carefully lifted the item from its cradle at the top of the Sonaught Tower before climbing down. Many of Breslau's men were with him and he gave the device to one of them. With the promises that he had made on behalf of the Chronomancer Eyl Hereik trusted Breslau's men more than his own. They had turned their coat once now and for good reason. The Tyrants and the Crows had ever been mistrustful of one another.
Still he would have to be crafty. They could not risk a static defense. With the Skaven and Unmade gone he could only assume that they had sided with the Crows. That would mean that he would be facing a foe with twice his numbers.
A flash of light drew Ely Hareik's attention. He looked up to see one of his mirrorblades was signing to him. The enemy was coming.
****************************************************************************************
They ran towards the tower. It was impossible for Cra to know who had the speculum. He only knew that the Cypher Lord had not removed it from the Temple District yet. His spies told him as much as that and nothing more.
All hint of stealth was gone from their movement now. Success would rely on speed and naked brutality. The crows had both in spades.
He caught site of one group of the enemy moving towards the tower and took his group towards them. The massive rat-creatures that loped behind him disquieted him at first, but now that conflict was at hand he was glad to have them on his side.
*******************************************************************************************
The dwarf's ax slipped from his hand, wet with blood both his own and that of many a foe, his weakening grip could not keep hold of the haft.
His other hand rose to try to parry the next blow but the poison in his system slowed him and the dagger went through his middle finger driving the other ax from his grip. The blade continued through impaling his hand. The dwarf made desperate grasps at the ax on the ground but was pulled away and upright by the daggar that was slowly tearing itself through his hand. It would not cut through completely however as a sword thrust caught the dwarf in the belly and spilled his entrails on the blood slick ground.
As the enemy closed from all sides the remaining Spire Tyrant gladiators backed up, making their circle smaller to fix the gap that the death of the dwarf made in their line.
The mirrorblade had taken the Tempus Speculum from Garhard and climbed to the ruined arcanum behind them.
The Splintered fang and Unmade advanced on the defensive circle putting the gladiator's backs to the wall. Their numerical advantage had been severely depleted by the skillful defenders. Still not one among the defenders was unwounded. Blood dripped or gushed from cuts on each of them, their armour dented or discarded as it became too damaged to wear.
Then the Crows arrived. Cra and his men leaped over the backs of the Unmade and Splintered Fang warriors. The ferocity of their assault took everyone by surprised and soon what had been a disciplined defense by men trained for just such combat degenerated into a sprawling melee where thumbs were hooked into eyes and daggers were plunged into breasts of men held down by others.
The mirrorblade tried to defend herself from her perch, her blade spinning and cutting in all directions at once, blooding any fingers that tried to find purchase on the platform she stood upon.
She breathed heavily beneath her mask, scanning all around for any assailant before noticing how quiet the battlefield had become. The howling wind had momentarily died. The wheezing of the enemy was audible beneath her along with the moans of the wounded. They all stood back now, away from the remains of the arcanum. Then another sound was audible, foot steps, big slapping foot steps. She brought up her blade in the direction of whatever the new threat was.
It would do her no good. A massive, lumbering Stormvermin moved around the ruined front wall of the arcanum. Multiple barreled weapons protruded from its body. The fire that erupted from those barrels was the last thing she saw.
*****************************************************************************************************************
Cra caught the remains of the body as it fell from the second story. The once lithe form barely looked human anymore as he lowered it to the ground. The leather pouch barely remained attached to the body, its strap hung on by a stitch.
He fished around in it for only a moment before producing a thin metal rod covered in black velvet.
"The Speculum," he whispered.
Cormac had followed them to the battlefield.
"What do I need to do?" he asked the old man as the rest of the four warbands looked on.
"Just uncover it."
He did so.
Cra crouched and looked down on the Cypher Lord leader as he ran down the street. The sounds of battle between the two warbands faded from his mind as he concentrated on his task. He saw the single eye of the sorcerer gleaming as the creature beheld nothing between him and the man bringing him the last ingredient he would need to bring the Lord of Change to this realm in a stable form.
As he readied to leap down on the foe as he was coming past Cra picked up his blade. He was careful not to give his enemy any warning of his presence by letting the blade scrape against the stone of his perch this time.
Welcome, Guest. Please 
April 29, 2024, 02:45:32 PM
