Chapter 713 (2/2)

Opposite her, Ryal seemed to snap out of his delighted daze listing to the prattling of the priest to meet her gaze and smile warmly.

It certainly is a strange feeling. To be loved, that is, Alta thought to herself. Sure, Creta had always been devoted to her, but it wasn’t the same. Creta was bound by duty and deep loyalty. This lovely man road the waves of passion to this strange shore.

And I certainly know how to pick ‘em… Alta mused, her eyes tracing the chiseled line of Ryal’s jaw. She had engaged in sexual arrangements with many men over the years, most of them of seedier origins than Ryal. But of them all, Alta couldn’t deny that her fiance was the most handsome of them all. Had she had girlfriends to gossip with, they would have gushed over him, Alta didn’t doubt.

But she didn’t really have female friends. She didn’t really have male friends.

That wasn’t the life she picked. She had Creta. And she had a mission.

“..to hold in the shadow of the Progenitor, even as the World Tree withers?” The priest asked.

Ryal’s smile was brilliant. “I do.”

“And you, Alta Bounty, do you…”

BOOOOOOM.

The door to the chapel was blasted open in a spray of splintered wood and stone dust. Several bulky figures that were obviously Earth Golems burst in, waving machine crossbows. A figure tall even by Earth Golem standards, quite a bit over two meters in height, strode in behind his subordinates.

“For the glory of Cailm, we will have our vengeance!” He bellowed. Immediately, the machine crossbows began spewing their deadly ammunition among the watchers of the wedding. Immediately, everyone was moving back and forth, struggling to figure out what was going on.

Some of the influential figures from Ryal’s family had bodyguards, who protected their clients and moved to meet the shooters in the back, but the windows in the chapel burst in and more figures crawled in with raised weapons.

These, Alta couldn’t help but notice, were not Earth Golems. Her lips pressed into a deep frown. Opposite her, Ryal was watching slack-jawed as his distant family members were slaughtered by the tall Earth Golem.

“Done,” Alta’s maid of honor hissed in her ear, and Alta looked down to find that the bottom portion of her wedding dress had been hacked off, turning the white and lacy garment into a skirt. Alta’s eyebrows rose. The skirt stopped just about mid-thigh.

She turned and mouthed ‘a lot of leg’ to her bridesmaid, who rolled her eyes. Then, without missing a beat, the bridesmaid’s hand shot forward and pulled Alta back by the left shoulder. A crossbow bolt zipped past and knocked the little Spriggit preacher off his feet.

“Alta!” Ryal said, finally coming to himself. Alta’s bridesmaids took turns screaming and pulling Alta back away to the door in the back of the chapel.

“We have to run!” Ryal’s groomsman said with a pale face. Alta couldn’t help but notice his leg had been nipped by a bolt. Her respect for him rose several notches.

Masked warriors were cutting into the family and friends of the couple, even as their hired guards struggled into action. But they had been taken by surprise and quickly overwhelmed. Very soon, the machine crossbows were aimed at the fleeing wedding party as they ran deeper into the chapel.

Inside the chapel, the bridesmaids were already fleeing hysterically, seeming to proceed without even looking where they are going. The groomsmen bellowed for them to stop, but ultimately they gritted their teeth and followed when the women were so overwhelmed by fear that they didn’t hear.

The chapel was built into the mountain, so as they proceeded deeper, the hallways turned smaller and darker.

Two minutes of hard running had everyone out of breath and panting, tucked into a small antechamber. Deep in the tunneling series of rooms and connections, their voices seemed to echo very far. But no matter how Alta strained to hear, she couldn’t detect any signs of pursuit.

“Alta,” Ryal said raggedly, standing up next to her. He gripped her shoulder. “We didn’t finish the vows. No matter what happens… I want to be married to you. If we are together…. I would meet any sort of fate that awaits me with a smile.”

“Ryal… You always know just what to say.” Alta said, raising her hand and touching his cheek. And it was true. Ryal was one of the few people who stirred Alta’s heart. What had once been burning with hatred and fury had shifted to something much calmer once he came into her life.

“Heh, I’m sorry, but the celebration is over,” A deep voice rumbled. From the shadow of a nearby doorway, a huge hand reached forward and gripped Ryal by the neck. Like an adult plucking up a pet, the large Earth Golem man picked him up off the ground. “If you want your husband to live, Alta Bounty, you are going to surrender to me right now.”