Part 1 - The Battle
Untrusting eyes watched the scramble closely. The shadows near the entrance to the underground complex shouted at each other to ‘FIND them!’ The shudder of the nearby bushes was undetectable to all but those causing it. Four figures that caused the rustle made their way through slowly, with as much silence as possible. A lithe and fair woman with raven hair and pointed ears that protruded out led the other three away from the complex. The “Hole into Hell’ was what most called it, but none of the escaped knew the real name. The leaders’ keen eyes pierced the darkness that was both a blessing and a curse. She kept the three trailers close to her so that they, with far inferior night-vision, would make as little sound as possible on the leafy pathway she had found in the darkness. The second in the procession was a stout bearded man with a prominent nose. He was about half the size of the others, but his muscles were grotesquely prominent. He kept his beady eyes on the one leading, untrusting. With a gnarled hand on the mace he had stolen, he followed with no outward complaints. Third from the front was another woman, who appeared the same age as the leading woman, but who carried herself as someone who had never been made to work a day in her life. She was the only one who blended with the darkness nearly flawlessly. Her skin looked like untouched dark-chocolate. While the stout one ahead of her did not trust the leading female, she did not trust him. All while they made their way through the dense, dead brush, she kept her trusty bo-staff within her hand. The last one in the solemn parade was a tall and fair man. He had shaggy hair the color of straw that hung in his eyes. He had only a shield and eyed the leader with contempt as she gracefully led them away from the complex.
“Ca’ Naut bahlieve I am lettin’ a stinkin’ elf lead...” the bearded man muttered.
The elf spun around, pulling a pair of daggers from some where on her body too quick for him to follow. “Then turn yourself around and begone, Dwarf! I’ll not have to worry about having you behind me.” Her singsong voice, barely over a whisper, dripped with venom.
As the dwarf began to raise his voice the two trailing humans shushed them, the woman of them even going so far as to clamp a hand over the dwarf’s mouth. “I am seeing two babbling dolts in front ‘o me eyes, and unless you want to see a blade stickin’ through your chest, I recommend we move on!” She whispered harshly, eyeing the elf - and more importantly her bared weapons.
“Is that a threat?” the elf asked, her eyes burning with rage “Because I have no problem cutting you to pieces, human!”
“Na a threat from da three of us, but from them.” the man that was training replied, motioning towards the minions picking their way through the darkness to the bushes where they were hiding. “Now, if we could be continuin’ on, them maybe we be able to get outta here and then on and away from each other.”
The elf reluctantly sheathed her weapons and turned away to lead them through the dead bushes, after eyeing them all distrustfully in turn. The dwarf slapped the dark-skinned woman’s hand away from his face, mumbling something about scouring his beautiful beard with acid and moved along.
After a short while they were far enough away from the searching minions the elf asked, “What are your names?” Not looking back, almost seeming not to care.
“Why should we tell the one who turned with a blade pointed at our hearts so quickly? Besides. You have not told us your name either.” The night woman replied curtly.
“Am I not allowed to ask who I shall be traveling with for who knows how long?” The elf snapped back. A second later, in a softer tone, she replied “ My name is Da’Nami Shaliki, of the Amulte forrest.”
“I be Shambles Mithrilpick, from the Spine.” the dwarf interjected, a bit too loudly than the other three were comfortable with.
“Well then, Mr. Shambles, I suggest you lower your voice. I am Tabatha of the highly esteemed Durle family.” the dark-skinned human said. She swelled with pride, visibly, as she announced her family name, as if the other three should know her family name.
“ ‘Mister’ be a human title. Do na’ call me ‘mister’.” Shambles grumbled.
Ignoring the dwarf, the man trailing gave his own name, “I is Tyson Brown. Nuttin’ moor, nuttin’ less. ‘Though I is goin’ to be leadin’ us now. I is da biggest one here, and tha’ bein’ so I is the strongest.” Da’Nami narrowed her silvery green eyes and inched her hand to one of her daggers. The two eyed each other with open contempt. They stared at each other with such hate that it made even gruff Shambles nervous to be between them.
“We should keep moving..We could get caught if we just stay here.” Tabatha finally interjected, hoping to get them to stop staring at each other with such hate and move on.
They might have kept at their glaring, but for the snap and rustle of leaves that was closer than any of them would like to have guessed at. Da’Nami crouched low and motioned for Shambles to take the lead. As he passed by she drew her daggers and let the two humans pass before beginning a slow side-step to keep the side the sounds had come from in view. Tyson shoved his way to the front, foolishly believing that he truly deserved to be in the lead. Shambles bit his tongue and let Tyson pass by, realizing that he needed to keep not only himself, but also Tyson quiet until they were far enough away for him to berate the stupid man.
Not long after, Tyson realized his folly, noticing that was a great deal harder to keep his steps concealed in silence when there was no one leading him on the barely discernable path of damp leaves. Again, his pride took over and he swerved off the path, trying to lead them away from the source of the sounds, thinking himself quite smart for this little plan.
Snap!
Everyone froze. Nothing moved, while even the wind held its breath in apprehension. Shambles moved to take the lead from Tyson, while Tabatha ans Da’Nami made motions to get him to stop.
Snap!
“GO!” Da’Nami shouted as everyone watched the dark shapes rush at them. She sprinted past, grabbing Tabatha by the arm and Shambles by the beard and yanking them along towards the edge of the clearing, kicking Tyson into motion. She knew that staying in the little grove of dead trees and shrubbery would give their enemies the advantage to seclude them one-by-one.
“What ARE those things?! They can’t be human!” Tabatha yelped as Da’Nami shoved her ahead, forcing her to run.
“Quit Babblin’ and run, ye scatter brain!” Shambles roared at her.
They cleared the last few brushes and ran on. Tabatha swiped her bo at a minion that had strayed too close. It had appeared to be made up entirely of the shadows from which they broke away from, with their edges being blended with those of the shadows of the trees and dead brush.
There was a laugh that made all of them pick up their pace. A chill raced up their spines and clawed its icy fingers into their frantic brains.
“Found you...” a voice like low-burning fire cackled. “Master will be so joyous.” Da’Nami threw a rock at the voice in response. Tabatha looked over her shoulder to see what this new, sinister, pursuer looked like. She tripped, choked on a scream and ran on, out distancing even Tyson.
The fire-voice was like a human or an elf, except that it had skin the color of coal, while it’s eyes were a lifeless polished onyx with milky-white pupils. Wings like that of a burnt moth protruded awkwardly from its waist. It grinned, showing its eight crimson teeth and raised its bark covered hand. As it pointed at them, its grin turned into a demonic shriek, wings fluttering wildly. Out of the shadows melted abominations like those that Tabatha had hit with her bo-staff. With abnormally large eyes and lizard-like tails, the only thing they shared with the summoning demon was the awkward moth wings at their waist. They responded to the shriek in unison, batting their wings and taking off in pursuit of the four companions.
Da’Nami had out-distanced the others when the demons took up their cry, and she went down in a heap upon hearing it, covering her sensitive ears. Tabatha was the first to come up on her after she fell, yelling at her to get up and run. She grabbed Da’Nami’s arm and tried to pull her along, to no avail.
“Come ON!” Tabatha Screamed “We got out of the damned door! Now lets get out of the damned lands!”
Tabatha continued to tug on Da’Nami until Tyson and Shambles scooped her up in their wake. Despite the three of them pulling her slender form along, her bulk was significantly slowing them down. Tabatha let her go and leaned in and released a scream in Da’Nami’s ear filled with her own sorrow and anger. Da’Nami responded to the scream by pushing her away and pushing herself up to continue on.
“Yer Welcome...” Shambles mumbled, but didn’t complain as they all continued on their desperate flight.
Da’Nami was the fastest by far, with Tabatha and Tyson close behind. Shambles, with his short legs, was losing very little ground between them, but was losing ground none the less. The flying demons were gaining quickly, and Shambles was quicker to realize that he would be the first to go down if he made no stand.
He spun around when he felt his instincts (and a bit of luck) tell him that the demons were close. He drew his mace when he started his spin and swung at a demon in the midst of swooping sown on him. There was a muffled THUNK! Like he had hit wood under a blanket and the demon faded into a black mist quicker than Shambles could blink to. More swooped down on him. Shambles, sure that this was his last battle, swung his mace wildly, determined to take down as many of the demons as he could and allow his allies to escape, no matter how little he thought of them for abandoning him.
A wickedly clawed hand came in at his chest as he swung the opposite direction and he roared his defiance. A second before the claw ripped into his flesh, it flew away with a jerk. Tyson had come back and slammed his shield into the attacking demon’s face. Shambles, ever the gruff one, snorted at him.
“Tha’s the cowards way of it!” He blustered after crushing another demons’ skull.
“Well I has no sword, so how am I tah fight the way you wants me to?” Tyson replied coldly, bashing another in the face.
They had fought together for a short while, testing each other to learn how to be beneficial within the battle with each other when a demon crashed into Tyson, carrying him far enough away that it had Shambles at the hordes mercy again.
The lead demon, watching with evident gleeful malice, began to twitch strangely. Its edges seemed to blur with the speed of Its jerking. The other demons cleared a path for it to Shambles. Shambles watched the out-of-focus demon with a growing sense of dread. It snarled at him before it dashed wildly at him. Tyson wrestled with the demon that had tackled him originally, trying to take the stand with Shambles. The demon leapt at Shambles when it was half way to him, flying at him at great speeds. Shambles widened his stance and brought his mace back like a bat.
As Shambles began his swing a dagger lodged into the demon’s forehead, slowing it down in midair. Shambles’ mace struck home on the dagger and forced it through the demons’ thick skull. The impact, although the demon went slower, numbed Shambles’ arms. Landing in a writhing pile four feet away, coming back into focus. The demons in the air shrieked once more before puffing back into mist and disappearing, while the lead demon began to fade slower than the little ones had.
It turned a wrathful onyx eye on Shambles, “HAS ABDUUL GRAKAKTE!” The foreign language echoed within all four companion’s minds and had them shrink away from the wrathful demon. Finally, it faded out of this dimension completely. The only thing left was Da’Nami’s thrown dagger stuck in the ground and covered in a dark ichor. Da’Nami walked to it and pulled it from the dead ground, looking at it in disgust before sheathing it.
Shingles and Da’Nami eyed each other in silence. Shingles snorted and turned to follow the humans, who had started off after the battle and Tyson showing nary a scratch from his scuffle with the demon on the ground. Da’Nami turned to the distant entryway, wondering who had watched the struggle between the demons and her companions.
She continued to watch the entrance, lost in thought, until a rock flew past her that she was sure would have taken her head off her shoulders had it been aimed to do so. She turned.
“Come on ye stinkin’ elf! We’re not tah be lettin’ you get us caught ‘cuz you wanna stand out in the open like a blasted idiot!” Da’Nami Smirked and turned to follow the others with a resigned sigh, wondering how she would stay sane until they had escaped the lands.