Chapter 66: Severance (1/2)
”Fall back! Fall back!” Morris yelled at the bedraggled remains of the force he'd salvaged from the chaos.
They were a disparate group pulled from several different gangs, some of which were known enemies. Now they were working together to survive.
At the start of the retreat they had numbered close to 300, but now, less than a third of them remained.
What had started as a underworld gang war had evolved into a full on battle, and their demon enemies were sparing no one.
Initially, the allied Dark Guilds had been able to hold their territories, although at great cost. The Kal class demons were horrifying and numerous, but they weren't a serious threat so long as the thugs maintained their formations. However, that changed as soon as higher classes of demons arrived.
Suddenly, they were taking heavy casualties from all fronts. Entire gangs were overrun in short order. A few if the more prosaic leaders began to pull their men out, but it was too late. More demons poured in from other portions of the city, cutting off their retreat.
Morris managed to rally a small number of the combatants, and led them to the northeast, picking up other survivors as they went. So far they had managed to avoid annihilation, but it had been a close thing.
Adrian and Lorik had disappeared in the confusion, and he hadn't seen Julia since she'd left to spread the word if the attack. He hoped that they were alright, but it was a slight hope.
As he watched, another of his men fell beneath the press of demons, a gaunt, skeletal figure clad in nothing but mottled grey-green skin casually reaching down and easily tearing off the thug's head.
Morris gritted his teeth, hacking at the hollow faced creature with his sword. It recoiled with a hiss, but suffered little in the way of injuries.
”Morris! There's some kind of castle up ahead!” One of the things called
He glanced up, seeing the battlements of a fort.
[What the hells? Why is there a castle in the middle of a residential district?]
A moment later his mind caught up. [The Order if the Shield!]
”Head to the fort! Take shelter there!”
Hopefully, the Order was not yet overrun.
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James walked over, smiling, and clapped Mike on the back. ”Well done, lad. I've known a few mages in my day, and I can say with certainty that I've only known a handful that could display that kind of raw power.”
”Thanks, but it was a team effort.” Mike turned to look at Tal and Brenden. They had definitely been a great help throughout the fight.
Sera, the odd, silver-haired woman was standing a little ways from them, an urgent look on her face.
”Can I speak with you...alone?” She asked plaintively.
Mike shrugged, ”Can it wait? We're still in the middle of a battle.”
”Its important, and I'm not sure how much longer it can wait.”
He sighed, ”Alright, so long as we don't go too far.”
After traveling a little ways down the road, Mike turned to her.
”That should be far enough. So what did you want to talk about?”
”There are things I need to tell you, things that I don't think you'll believe at first.” She was twisting her hands, clearly uncomfortable.
”Go on.”
She paused, as if trying to find the right words. ”I'm what's known as an Oracle. We carry an ancient bloodline that connects us on a fundamental level with Destiny.”
Mike used appraise to verify her statements.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Seraphina Aquilus
Race: Human (Oracle)
Age: 15
Class: Oracle
Tier: 1
Title: First Born of the Aquiline
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[I'm going to have to start using this skill more often. It doesn't give a lot of information, but every bit helps.]
With a grimace, she looked down at her hands, and forced them to remain still. ”It lets us see the future to a certain extent, and influence it. I've heard stories of skilled Oracles who could peer through hundreds of possible futures to find the most favorable outcome, but I am much more limited.”