Chapter 686: The Fires of Creation (2/2)

“That should be all of them within the city,” another voice said.

Lilith now stood next to them, her entire form clad in white flame, a smooth set of ash protecting her below. Bralin estimated there to be at least three layers. Her wings folded on her back, wisps of burning ashen limbs coming out from between the two extensions. Two horns grey from her head, the blue eyes barely visible between the moving flames.

Dozens of war machines had advanced again due to the lull in battle, many sections of the defenses never breached like the one they stood at. “How long is that barrier going to last?” Lilith asked.

“Not made to last. They will open up to let a few through, then close it again. Until the enemy is dealt with,” Bralin explained. “This one will be hard fought.”

“Ah well. Kind of our fault in the first place,” Lilith said.

A whistle resounded through the vicinity before she vanished.

‘ding’ ‘You have heard the call of a powerful being. Stand down’

Bralin saw bright white light flash up, the barrier shaking as a part of the spell struck it from below. More magic lit up. Heavy impacts resounded as the ground shook, the grayish barrier and flames below now shrouding visibility.

“She went past the anti teleport runes. To fight them alone?” he murmured, looking at Verena.

The woman had sat down to meditate, a few wisps of flame moving around her as she calmed her breathing. “We would only be in the way. Just keep that barrier up as long as you can.”

“Keep the barrier up!” Bralin shouted at nobody in particular.

The shout was repeated by a few others as some healers made their rounds, defenses set up and teams regrouping. The cannons were loaded and charged, aiming down into the pit with the barrier a few dozen meters further down, shimmering gray light with still spreading fires below. The entire vicinity was lit up from time to time, the impacts now less frequent.

“I didn’t know you were high ranked enough to give commands,” Verena mused, one eye open to look at him.

Bralin formed stone walls farther back, new defensive positions for war machines and mages. “I don’t. It’s all about confidence and logic. Nobody is in charge here.”

He could see the heavy suit of Maulstroem standing on a half destroyed stone house, a few other influential dwarves near him. They seemed just as happy as everyone else to leave this cursed enemy to whatever being had showed up to assist them. A grave offense with everything they could handle normally. But it seemed even the Champion of the Forged Dome would agree that the reemergence of the Soul Wardens was not something they wanted to take lightly.

Good thing that he’s more reasonable than the last few.

Bralin chuckled at the idea of them opening the barrier and storming down, only to be slaughtered in the crossfire. It would’ve been quite a glorious sight. But plenty of impressionable youth would’ve died as well. Always regrettable that, with shit leaders.

“Hey Bralin, make the cannons prepare to fire,” Lilith’s voice invaded his mind.

“Prepare to fire!” Bralin shouted with his voice a little deeper than usual. “Telepathy too?”

“Of course. Well it’s new,” she answered.

“Something coming through?” he asked, trying his hardest not to be fazed by the whole situation and the woman’s behavior. He had seen a lot in his many years, but a single flaming winged creature facing down the war machines of Khan Joggoth was not on that list. If anything he expected her to be a dragon, and yet he knew she wasn’t. The former would’ve been easier to comprehend.

Shouts went through the groups, the cannons charging up as the barrier wavered.

“I am,” Lilith answered.

Bralin heard the barrier shatter, a beam of near white flame rushing up and out of the pit. He was deafened a split second later when the cannons fired down into the burning debris. A high pitched noise remained in his ears as he walked towards the edge again. He looked down and waited for the dust to clear, all traces of fire entirely gone. A distant set of impacts resounded, but not as many as they had functional cannons. He grinned and shook his head before he walked to Verena. “No Wardens left. Come, before someone unpleasant starts asking questions.”

“I don’t have anything to hide,” the woman said.

“Yeah, but I do,” Bralin said. “And I’d rather not have them connect you lot to me.”

The woman smiled and vanished, appearing in a half destroyed stone house about twenty meters away. Bralin glanced around, wondering where the third in their group was. The telepathic connection was gone, and with it any trace of the mysterious flaming creature.

“Hail the wrath of King Valkor!” someone shouted, other cheers chiming in similar things. A few started praising one god or the other, but assigning this victory to the ancient King who had defeated Joggoth in the first place made the most sense in their euphoria of a glorious triumph.

“Quite something, that Lilith of yours,” he said after they had walked together for about half a minute.

“She’s rather ridiculous,” Verena said.

Bralin saw a war machine walk out of a nearby alley. Quite large and well made, dark steel enchanted to the very limits of the materials. He knew the owner too, or knew the name at least. Didn’t he use another model to fight? Something felt off about his movements. “Master Helm. Are you injured?”

The dwarf didn’t respond. Instead the visor opened to reveal a human woman, a confused expression on her face. “You must be mistaking me for someone else, young man.”

“You three are mad,” Bralin said and started laughing. “Make that thing vanish, I’ll help you make it unrecognizable later. You look like a noble child stuck inside a bloody war machine!”

The heavy armor vanished, a normal woman revealed and bowing.

“I must’ve missed the battle,” she said.

Verena grunted.

“She dealt with it, didn’t she,” the woman said. She giggled and slapped Bralin’s suit as she walked past. “Of course she did. See, and my financial situation looks much, much better now too for some unknown reason. First round’s on me.”

“As long as you spend your gold in our fine establishment,” Bralin said, checking behind them to see if someone had seen the spectacle. It seemed most people were either hunkering down inside of their homes or still near the pit. Celebrations would start soon but they managed to slip through.

They reached the smithy about ten minutes later, the few workers downstairs all gone.

Bralin found a black haired woman sitting at the bar upstairs. With the absence of any ash and fire, she almost didn’t look like a monster. “Grahn doesn’t like people serving themselves,” he said and walked behind the counter, doing the same.

“A special occasion,” Lilith said and raised her mug.