#senci

(A very dialogue heavy chapter! Not used to writing like this, but I think I did a pretty good job. Here we see the monsters of Palethorn attempt to heal Tourthun.)

Alexander made his way through the camp, mind racing. So many people’s lives were at stake. Whatever happened with the dragon would...well, it would happen, and Alexander would have to deal with it. If the dragon couldn’t help, so be it. The knight would find a way. He would be strong, and brave, and stalwart. He would destroy the Blackheart, even if it meant his own demise. He couldn’t let the rest of the world turn into this.

The knight marched towards the center of the camp. Monsters of all kinds lined the tiny settlement, though no one was moving. This appeared to be one of the rare instances in between surface expeditions, when most of the people had little to occupy themselves with.

Moving past tents and shacks, Alexander reached the center. As always, dim light shone down from the surface. Tourthun was lying on his side, eyes closed. A group of kobolds were standing around the dragon, chattering. Wurie was at the edge of the crowd. Spotting Alexander, he glanced over at the knight and offered a nod.

“Hey, pretty busy day, huh?” The wolfman captain crossed his arms and smiled. Alexander shrugged.

“Good luck with the kid,” Wurie offered, a sly grin on his muzzle. Alexander grimaced. Even he was joking about this?!

Alexander immediately noticed it became much colder as he entered the dark wall of fog, but aside from that, he didn’t feel much different. He looked over his shoulder. He could still see the silhouette of the priest facing him. Doesn’t seem like this black fog teleported me anywhere...I’m still where I just was. That means I just need to walk to the city.

With no other options appealing to him, Alexander simply walked forward, and kept walking. The fog didn’t go away, and the knight could still barely see right in front of him. He ignored this, and continued forward, huffing to himself. The fog seemed to defy the laws of physics, swirling about in random directions wildly, switching direction at a moment’s notice. This is no ordinary fog...the work of demons, perhaps?

After about an hour of walking through a pitch black, empty grassland, Alexander’s mind began to wander as he continued walking forward, when suddenly a booming voice nearly made him leap out of his skin. “You!”

Alexander stopped and spun around, trying to identify the source of the voice. “I know why you’re here.” Alexander became extremely worried as he realized the voice was in his head, coming from no direction in particular.

“A telepath?! Who are you?!”

A loud, but somewhat effeminate voice replied to him. “Brave knight...I shall guide you. Turn to your right, and keep walking. You are nearly there. We can talk when you reach us.”

Alexander grimaced as he looked around, confirming this was indeed no trick. No one else was here. He was speaking with a magician. More specifically, a telepath. “Where are you in the city?”

“There are many still alive here. Seek a survivor, and they will surely direct you to our shelter.”

With those words, the voice departed. Alexander turned right, and continued walking. The knight carefully scanned his surroundings, believing this may be a trap. Not that he could scan for much in this thick fog of black.

After a good hour, Alexander realized the fog was dissipating. The further he walked, the farther he could see. As the thick, curling smoke became nothing more than thin wisps of darkness occasionally swirling through the air, Alexander’s eyes moved up as he saw the landscape ahead of him.

A huge wall of gray stone, and a large, open gate with a path made of dirt leading towards it. Large towers were on the top of either side of the walls, holding what Alexander assumed was a path on top of the walls for guards to station archers on. Behind the impressive walls stood a cobblestone road leading to several large buildings, presumably some guard houses, civil workplaces, and other city luxuries.

Alexander strained his ears. Dead silence, aside from the howling wind. The knight noticed the sky was dark as night, even though it was midday only an hour ago. Whatever this evil was that blanketed the city of Palethorn, it tainted all. The air, the sky, the soil...all looked dark and sickly.

Alexander took a deep breath and readied himself. Thinking of everyone that was counting on him, the knight stepped forward.

What he first mistook as a sprawling pile of discarded armor made Alexander freeze in place. The color drained from the knight’s face as he took in the grisly scene before him.

A massive pile of corpses lay piled up around the gateway.

A wave of adrenaline hit Alexander. He was in danger just from being here of course, but being around so many dead made him realize just how much he stood against. He had been in battlefields with less corpses, and yet here they all were, surrounding the entrance to the city.

As he made a cautious approach, Alexander got a better look at the bodies. They were most certainly human. Most of them wore the military standards. These were the contingents of soldiers that had been sent to investigate Palethorn when the fog first descended.

There were others, though. Humans in different armor. Full plate, scalemail, chain, leathers, and some without any armor at all. Mercenaries, warriors, priests, clerics, paladins, sorcerers...all alongside the soldiers.

The wounds on the bodies varied. Some seemed to have been eviscerated by something with giant claws, armor and clothing shredded. Others were coated in soot and burn marks, while some of the bodies looked like they had been crushed to death, with shattered limbs and crumpled armor.

There were even some non-humans among the dead. A large hodge-podge of different races. Wolfmen, birdmen, reptilians, and some others. The monsters’ bodies lay further ahead, past the gateway in the city. They were all in either rags or common clothes, indicating these were civilians.

Alexander deduced two things from this. One, that the humans died trying to get inside while the monsters were killed trying to escape the city, and two, that some all-powerful, demonic beast must be guarding the entrance to the city. That or some very potent trap or magic.

After a moment of hesitation, the knight gripped his sword tightly and stepped forward. If he was dying, he wasn’t about to go without a fight.

Slowly, carefully, purposefully, Alexander put one foot in front of the other, looking to the walls for any hidden traps. At the same time, wading through the field of corpses nearly made the knight vomit. These people had been dead for quite some time, so the stench of death was especially potent.

While soldiers and knights learned to harden themselves to the sight of bodies, the horrific smell was something they never truly got used to. It overwhelmed the senses, made stomachs churn, eyes water.

Luckily for Alexander, it seemed there were truly no traps as he trudged past the bodies of the humans and began wading through the corpses of the beastmen.

The knight’s relief was short-lived as he remembered what the alternative was. If this gateway wasn’t a death trap, than some horrific monster must have killed all these people.

He very carefully looked over the plaza. Aside from some more beastmen strewn about, it seemed empty. It was deathly silent, as though he was the only living being here.

The knight moved more confidently now. Still careful, he moved his gaze from side to side as he walked further in. It really did seem like there was nothing here. Just a desolate graveyard. What was the deal here? Did whatever monster that slaughtered everyone get bored and move on?

Alexander shook his head. He had strained to hear something, anything at all. But there was nothing. Just the desolate wind. Despite feeling secure in the knowledge that nothing was lying in wait, he still felt unsafe. Something showed up, massacred the helpless, innocent citizens who were just trying to get away from whatever horror was unleashed on this city, wiped out a small army of battle-hardened soldiers, and then just left. It could be anywhere, waiting for him.

Sighing, Alexander resolved to simply check every corner he passed, and listen for potential ambushes. He had to touch base with...whoever it was that led him here.

The knight looked ahead of him. The city, once bustling with creatures of all kinds, was empty. The happy banter and laughter of the residents was replaced with howling wind. The once pristine unique buildings, homes and stores that were a mixture of human and monster engineering, were now dirty and dilapidated. Alexander stepped forward into the abandoned city, holding out hope that some of the citizens made it somewhere safe.

The knight began to wander the streets, taking in the ruined buildings. He felt especially saddened that the prosperous and culturally unique city was now just an empty ruin. He looked glumly at what appeared to be a market, a large square with many different carts and stands, full of rusted trinkets and rotting food.

Alexander looked down at his right hand. His gauntlet glistened in the twilight. He slowly clenched his fist, resolve filling the young knight.

As he turned to explore an alleyway, Alexander’s momentum stopped as he bumped into...something. Alexander jumped back and drew his sword. The creature in front of him, a small, reptilian humanoid, leaped back. What the knight now realized was a kobold was nervously backing up.

The kobold was about four feet tall, covered in brown leather and cloaks, and held a spear in one hand, and a large sack on his back. Upon looking under the lizard’s hood, Alexander could see the kobold had big, yellow eyes and green scales. The creature’s snout stuck out of the hood. Alexander lowered his sword and spoke.

“Are you a survivor? If so, I mean you no harm.”

The kobold’s eyes widened as he cracked a smile. “O-oh! You’re...a human?!” Alexander nodded, earning a toothy grin from the kobold.

“I thought you were one of the turned...I thought they would…” He shook his head. “Nevermind that. Have you been sent from Geralthin?”

“Yes, I have. I just arrived.”

The kobold tapped his spear on the ground excitedly. “I knew they hadn’t given up on us! I knew they’d help!” The creature straightened up and cleared his throat. “Well then, welcome to Palethorn, the city of monsters! It’s been a long time since we had a human guest, because of...well, you know. But! Now that you’ve eliminated the guard, we can leave!”

Alexander tilted his head quizzically. “Guard? What guard?” The kobold’s eyes widened once again.

“W-what? You jest. T-the big monster guarding the gate?” Alexander shook his head.

“What are you talking about? There’s no monster at the gates.”

The kobold took a step back. “Oh. Oh no. So you didn’t kill it. That means...follow me! We have to get away before it returns!” Knowing the little reptile probably wasn’t lying, Alexander followed him as he ran deeper into the alley.

The knight and the kobold took turn after turn, fleeing deeper into the city’s alleyways. Following the lithe, scampering creature while wearing platemail proved challenging, but the kobold was aware of this, and checked behind him and slowed down when Alexander was struggling. Eventually the two reached a dead end at the heart of the city. The alleyway they went down ended at a large stone wall.

“Here we are!”

Alexander crossed his arms, staring at the kobold, quite confused. “Erm...what?”

“Just a moment!” The lizard squatted down and pried open an old wooden trapdoor, hidden by grass and weeds. “Down here!” The kobold hopped down the trapdoor, disappearing into darkness. Not having much of a choice, Alexander followed, leaving the dirty stone alleyway behind as he slid into the hole.

Hometown tag game

(Oh boy, the first time I made one of these, wonder how this’ll work out.)

Pick a theme song for the hometown/city/etc that one of your OCs is from.

I think this song would fit the village of Lannis perfectly, where Senci and Sir Andric are from. A sleepy little village full of friendly, humble folks that live the simple life, relaxing in the rolling hills of the countryside under the bright blue skies.

Lexius sighed and wiped his forehead. The priest was panting and heaving.

“Ah...t-thank you…”

Senci smiled. “Don’t worry about it! We’ve got your back!” Leianna nodded and gave the priest a thumbs up.

Alexander turned to face Tourthun. The dragon was wiping his hand on the ground, leaving streaks of blood along the stone street. He wore a displeased grimace.

“Thank you. I wasn’t expecting that many.” Tourthun looked up at the knight and quickly cast his gaze back down.

“Ah, well, neither was I. I suppose that was my bad. I should have foreseen the market square to be an...especially populated area.” The dragon absentmindedly clawed at the ground.

“No matter. We’re all here now. What’s next?”

“Next, my friend, I shall take to the skies.” Tourthun turned to look behind him. “I flew through the city once and a demon followed me to my sanctuary. Who knows what they have planned now that I have escaped? I have to...survey. If they have some kind of trap set for me, you would surely fall to your death riding me.”

“And that is why you didn’t want to ride to the Blackheart.” Alexander said knowingly.

“Correct. At least partially so. We still do not know what we have to do to destroy that portal. I would assume it is immune to physical harm. If we went there we would be swarmed by all of Hell itself while we tried to work out what to do. We must track that sorcerer.”

“How do we know who to look for?” Senci quipped nervously.

“He’s right. What did the sorcerer look like? Any glaring traits at all?” Alexander crossed his arms, eager for some information on who they were tracking. Tourthun tapped his claws on the ground as his face scrunched up in thought.

“Hmm...well, it was definitely a sorcerer, no mistaking that. I think human. Had pale skin, no fur or scales or anything of the sort. Probably from outside the city. Purple robes with a hood.”

“You said ‘her’ before, correct?” Tourthun nodded.

“I got a brief glance at the sorcerer’s face before she teleported. It was feminine. I think. I had only a second’s glance from the skies. I apologize, but by the time I realized what was happening she was already vanishing into thin air.”

“Wow, pretty lucky you got a look at her face at all,” Leianna said, arms folded.

“Ah, well...that was because she looked at me.”

“Looked at you?” Tourthun nodded at the knight.

“Mhm, that is right. Right before she vanished she turned around and looked right at me. Her eyes, they were...well, I felt as though she was staring into my very soul.”

“Ominous,” Leianna said, frowning. The dragon merely grunted in response. He looked more than a little worried after recounting his meeting with the mysterious woman.

The dragon eventually shook his head. “Regardless, I need to check that our surroundings are safe before I can take you further into the city. I shall return in a moment.”

Alexander shrugged. “Sure, we’ll wait here. Be safe.”

“You, too.”

Tourthun launched himself into the air and took off, wings flapping. The dragon ascended higher and higher, eventually settling into place high up in the sky.

The group stared at Tourthun as he began to slowly move around, looking back and forth at the streets below. It looked like he was searching for something.

But what? Alexander asked himself. Just what is he so afraid of?

Just as the knight started thinking of the possibilities, a thunderous explosion made him reflexively cover his ears. Looking up at the sky, Alexander’s eyes widened as a massive beam of magic tore through the skies. The beam was coming from somewhere else in the city, and was a dark grey color. From his limited knowledge on magic, it looked like it was something from the School of Death.

The beam of energy shot straight through Tourthun, clearly intended for him. The dragon roared as the beam sent him flying backwards with terrible force. The group of survivors could only watch in horror as Tourthun came barrelling towards the earth, not showing any signs of life.

The dragon flew down towards the city like a rock from a trebuchet, not resisting the descent in the slightest. Alexander’s heart almost stopped as it seemed like he was going to land right on top of him, but the dragon rocketed past him, going back towards where they came from.

A loud crash shook the very earth as Tourthun crashed to the ground.

“After him!” Alexander ran towards where the dragon had crashed, gesturing for the rest of the group to follow him, who were still staring silently, mouths agape.

The knight sprinted as quickly as his gear would let him, hearing the telltale sounds of metal clanging behind him. Good, the others were coming along.

Coming into one of the side streets, Alexander stopped short as he saw Tourthun.

The dragon was halfway through a house, having completely leveled it from slamming into it. He lay on his side, eyes closed, motionless.

What really stole the knight’s attention however, was the dragon’s stomach. A gaping hole made the giant beast’s insides easily visible. Blood was steadily pouring out of the wound, but the worst part was the wound itself. The skin and scales around the hole the magic tore open was blackened. The area just surrounding the wound looked like it was dissolving, the skin simply fading away as the blackness around the wound slowly spread.

“Oh my God!” Lexius sprinted to the dragon’s side, quickly kneeling and examining the injury.

Senci screamed in terror, nearly tripping over his own feet as he rushed over. He tried to shake the dragon’s head, tears in his eyes.

“Tourthun! Come on, wake up! Tourthun! Wake up!” The kobold was sobbing now, on his knees as Alexander came over and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Please…”

Leianna moved to help Lexius with his examination, quickly crouching beside him. Alexander pulled Senci into a hug. The kobold continued crying, but didn’t resist.

“How’s it looking back there?” Alexander glanced over his shoulder.

“Bad,” Leianna stated bluntly, “This is, bar none, the worst injury I’ve ever seen.”

“And yet he lives still,” Lexius muttered, “I’m surprised honestly. I thought he was dead on impact. This is a horrific wound.”

“See, Senci?” Alexander patted the kobold on the back. “He’s okay, we just have to patch him up.”

Lenianna grimaced. “Uhh...I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.”

“Why not?” Alexander squinted at the healers.

“Negative energy,” Lexius answered, “Magic from the School of Death. This was a necrosis beam.”

“N-Necrosis?” Senci looked up questioningly, sniffling.

“Necrosis, the skin and organs being eaten away at.” Lexius said with some trepidation. “This foul magic utilizes it to quite a frightening extent. His body is being slowly consumed by the dark magic.”

“You healed Senci’s wounds. Can you save him?” Alexander looked at the two holy warriors, resolute. Leianna bit her lip.

“This is no sword cut...” Leianna said warily.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“You have to understand, healing magic isn’t just something you can use. You must offer your-”

“Can. You. Save him?” Alexander’s voice was stern and unwavering.

Lexius looked at Leianna sorrowfully, nodding in stoic acceptance.

“It is our duty, sister.” Leianna frowned at the priest, slowly lowering her head and sighing.

“We can only try,” Leianna offered. Alexander nodded.

“Do it.”

The cleric looked at Tourthun’s chest, very slowly rising and falling. The two seemed to have reservations with saving this dragon.

“Please, Tourthun, you have to pull through. Don’t let this go to waste. Do it for us, okay?”

“What is going on?” Alexander asked, frustrated. “Why are you acting like this is some big ask?”

“Because it is.”

With those words, Lexius put his hands over the gaping hole and began chanting in prayer. Leianna quickly joined in, moving her hands over the left side of the injury.

Alexander patted Senci’s back. “See, Senci? They’re gonna help him. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“R-Really…?”

Alexander smiled. “Sure. You’ll see.”

The knight nodded. “Okay, okay...maybe I was wrong about you...but Senci! It’s time. Let’s see what you’re made of.” Senci smiled, appearing anxious.

“Err, alright. I suppose it couldn’t hurt…”

The two quickly grabbed the dull swords from Greenbranch and moved back from each other, the rest of the denizens of the Citadel backing away to form a large circle around the two. Alexander noted the previously snoozing Tourthun was watching with rapped interest.

Senci looked visibly nervous as he got into a fighting stance. “Sir Alexander, I don’t think I’ll be able to offer you an even fight.”

Alexander shrugged. “I never said I wanted one. This is only a test. Just do your best, and everything will be fine.”

The knight pointed his sword at Senci, lips curling into a knowing smile. “Now...let’s see if this paladin is any good at teaching. Show me what you’ve got, Senci!”

Alexander quickly charged the kobold, who threw himself to the side just as the knight slammed his sword into the ground. He quickly raised his weapon and parried a swing Senci made with his sword.

Backing up, Alexander waited for an attack, not wanting to overwhelm the poor lizard so quickly. Senci seemed hesitant, wanting to stay on the defensive.

The knight smirked and beckoned Senci over. “Can’t let your enemies control the momentum, Senci! Come on!”

The kobold took a deep breath and charged, closing the distance shockingly quickly. Alexander just barely had enough time to raise his sword and block his attack. Senci, apparently taking the knight’s words to heart, proceeded to relentlessly strike at Alexander, the knight struggling to block each attack.

Alexander was hard pressed to defend against such a rapid, unending assault. Senci eventually swung lower than Alexander had anticipated, slicing the knight’s foot and earning a sharp intake of breath from his opponent.

Alexander lowered his guard in response to the pain. Senci suddenly stopped attacking, looking concerned. Alexander shook his head. “Not yet, keep fighting!” Senci’s eyes widened as Alexander stabbed at the kobold, grazing his arm.

“Yow! Hey, how was I supposed to know we were still fighting?!”

Alexander’s voice rang out as he continued attacking, Senci dodging and parrying furiously. “We stop fighting when I say so! Don’t let your guard down!”’

The two continued their swordfight, occasionally landing grazes and minor cuts on each other. The rest of the Citadel watched quietly, the silence broken only by the clanging of steel. No cheering, yelling, not even a single taunt or encouragement, from the crowd or the fighters.

It slowly became apparent that Alexander was gaining the advantage. While the knight was quite reserved and purposeful in his attacks, Senci was putting his all into the fight. It allowed him to overwhelm Alexander’s defense and hit him a few times, but he was also starting to pant from exhaustion. It would be easy for Alexander to force his way through his opponent’s defenses soon enough.

After a few minutes of deflecting Senci’s attacks, Alexander parried yet another sloppy swing. This time however, he decided it was time to end it. Instead of staying on the defensive, Alexander threw himself at the kobold with an onslaught of wild sword swings.

Senci hurriedly moved to block as many attacks as he could, but he couldn’t keep up anymore. Alexander sliced across his stomach, sending the kobold collapsing to the ground, hand grasping the wound.

The knight spun his sword before sliding it back into its sheath. “And that...is the end of it.”

Senci looked up at Alexander, pain and shame both apparent in his eyes. “Aah...I failed…” Alexander sighed and shook his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“Failed? Senci...that was fantastic!”

Senci tilted his head. “W-What…?”

“What did I tell you, Senci? I said I wanted to test you. You held out against me for a very long time, much longer then I had anticipated. You even gave me some cuts and bruises!”

“That really was a spirited show, little one. You show much promise.”

Senci smiled. “Tourthun…”

“The dragon is correct!” Greenbranch interjected, “You are an excellent warrior!”

Alexander nodded. “You’re not bad at all, Senci. You don’t have to be the best. There will always be someone stronger than you. Don’t let that fact take away from your prowess.”

Senci laughed nervously. “Wow...thank you all. I suppose...I suppose I undersold myself...I guess.”

Alexander shrugged, the knight appearing quite happy. “You’re good. You weren’t lying about your mentor...that paladin knows his stuff!”

The kobold nodded excitedly. “He sure does! Master is wise and skilled indeed!” His praises were cut short as he attempted to climb back to his feet.

“A-Aaaah! Oh goodness!”

Alexander grabbed Senci’s arm and pulled the warrior to his feet. “Easy, Senci. Just take it easy.” Alexander waved to the humans in the crowd. “Hey, Leianna! Lexius!” The two quickly hurried over.

“You two know any healing?”

Lexius nodded.

“Yup!” Leianna said, smiling.

The cleric moved her hand over the kobold’s bloodied stomach as Lexius put his hand on Senci’s shoulder. Leianna began murmuring some sort of prayer to herself, a common occurrence when someone was channeling holy magic.

Suddenly, a bright flash erupted from Leianna’s hand. Senci’s wounds began closing seemingly on their own. The young warrior’s eyes widened as he clenched his fists.

“W-Whoooa!”

“Everything alright?” Lexius appeared puzzled.

Senci nodded at the priest. “Better than alright! I feel...amazing!”

“Well,” Leianna stopped her chant and stood back up. “That oughta do it.”

“Thank you, madam! I feel great!”

Leianna laughed. “Not a problem, lizard. Healing tends to make you feel good. Energetic, too.

Alexander crossed his arms. “Now a paladin raised you, correct? You of all people should be used to healing magic.” Senci shrugged.

“Master taught me the value of willpower. I didn’t get hurt much, but when I did he said holy magic is too important to waste on little things like cuts and stubbed toes. He said I needed to be able to endure pain if I ever hoped to become a great warrior one day.”

“A fair point,” Alexander replied, “I can see reliance on avoiding pain making you soft...speaking of which…” The knight clasped his hand on the Senci’s shoulder. “Welcome to the crew. You’ve proven yourself capable.” The kobold’s eyes lit up as he broke into a jubilant smile.

“Oh, thank you, Sir Alexander! I won’t let you down!”

Lexius smiled. “Your mentor may have taught you austerity, but don’t hesitate to come to me or Lady Leianna for help. We need to look out for each other on the streets above.” Senci nodded excitedly.

“Yes, of course! Thank you!”

Alexander sighed and sat down. “Let’s just rest for a moment...it’s never a good idea to go into battle winded. Just for a moment, and then we’ll be off.” Senci nodded and sat down next to the knight.

Tourthun smiled at Alexander. “Perhaps there is hope for Palethorn. Together, I am certain we can strike down those demons once and for all!”

“Here here!” Leianna cried.

Alexander laughed. “It’s great to see everyone in high spirits, despite the situation. Yes indeed, hope never dies…”

“We have to go,” Alexander looked down at the dragon, “Can you move?”

Tourthun looked confused. “Go where? Like this? I cannot even see!”

“It’s very important, trust me. Can you get up?”

Tourthun’s face contorted into one of fear and confusion as his body writhed. He gasped, eyes wide.

“I...cannot feel anything! Father, what is happening to me?”

Alexander grimaced. “Medicine is fast acting, I suppose.” The knight turned to Senci, who was watching with wide eyes, rapt. “We have to go, but Tourthun is in no condition to move! Do you have any ideas, Senci?”

“Huh? Did you bring friends over, father? You want to go somewhere with them? Please, I do not wish to be a burden. Go without me. I will just be here, resting. I will be okay, do not worry yourself about me...”

Senci shrugged. “I-I don’t know, sir knight! We can’t just carry everyone else! You’re the smart one, not me!” He looked guilty and embarrassed, like he had let everyone down by not knowing what to do.

“Here.” The raspy whisper of Leianna caught Alexander’s attention. He walked over to find the cleric holding up a scroll of paper. Picking it up, the knight found it was a magic scroll. It had runes on it, which would activate the spell if said out loud. He looked down at Leianna questioningly.

“Teleportation...reader...and anyone connected...linked it to the Citadel.”

Alexander felt like the weight of the world had just been lifted from his shoulders. He had seen these in use a few times. The reader and anyone touching them would be teleported to the “set” destination. This included anyone touching people that were touching the reader. In theory, you could move entire armies like this.

“This is perfect. Senci! Hold on to me and Tourthun.” The kobold nodded, Touching the dragon with one hand while clinging to Alexander’s leg with the other.

“Okay, Leianna, me and Lexius.” The cleric fumbled for Lexius before grabbing the unconscious priest’s hand, while holding her other hand out for Alexander.

The knight quickly grabbed her hand and raised the scroll to eye level.

“Alright, everyone’s connected. Now…” Alexander cleared his throat. “...Valiance...Wisdom...Foresight...Protection!”

Reality distorted as a magical aura filled the air. The city faded away, surroundings turning into nothingness. After a few moments in what could only be described as a magical whirlwind, the world slowly returned. Tents and monsters came into being, as Alexander found himself back in the Citadel. Suddenly, alarmed shouts and cries. Monsters around him panicking.

Alexander glanced to his sides. Lexius and Leianna were sprawled out on the ground. Senci was next to him, looking around in confusion. Tourthun was lying behind him.

Good. Everyone made it.

“H-Huh? Father, where are we?” Tourthun looked bewildered. Alexander placed a hand on his snout.

“It’s okay, everything’s okay. Just rest. You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

The dragon squinted, as if he was realized something was wrong. After a moment of staring blankly, his eyes shut. He had given up on working out why this wasn’t right.

“Well...okay. If you say so.” Tourthun’s head lowered to the ground as his breathing slowed, trying to relax.

“Alexander!” The knight turned to see a familiar wolfman in armor, looking as shocked as usually did when the knight returned. Alexander laughed to himself.

“We’ve really gotta stop meeting like this.”

A few minutes later, and things were improving. Alexander had caught the captain up to speed on what had happened. Leianna and Lexius were both unarmored and resting in a medical tent. Senci was still as energetic as ever, running back and forth between Alexander and the others to see if there was anything he could do to help.

It had turned out that Lexius and Leianna were okay. Holy magic draws on the body, and thus overusing it could lead to exhaustion. This is normally not a problem, as a skilled healer only needs a bit of energy to heal injuries. The massive, gaping hole larger than a person, and covered in dark energy eating away at the flesh however, was another story.

Lexius and Leianna had given all the energy they had to heal Tourthun’s mutilated body. Lexius had nearly died of exhaustion, his body weak and feeble after using every last bit of his reserves. Leianna was slightly better off, having worked herself into extreme fatigue.

Even so, all that energy still wasn’t enough to completely heal the massive, magical wound. They had stabilized the dragon, but his body still had some healing of its own to do. Tourthun, Lexius, and Leianna would be out of commission for a while, but they would recover, in time. In addition, it seemed the dragon had come down with a fever at some point during the chaos, which was likely why he was acting so delirious.

“What a fix…” Wurie shook his head, the captain looking forlorn. “I can’t believe our luck.”

“That’s just how it is,” Alexander said, shrugging, “We’ll have to find some other way.”

The captain sat down on a large crate and put a hand on his forehead. The wolf let out a nervous laugh. “Ohohoho...what a damned mess. They can kill dragons. In a single blow. We, my friend, have had it.”

Alexander walked up and patted Wurie on the shoulder, smiling. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Everyone’s safe, and I’m not stopping. I’ll walk all the way to the Blackheart myself, if I have to.”

Wurie looked up. His frown slowly curled into a grin. “You’re something else, you know that? The moment the demons struck down a dragon without effort, most would walk away...and yet you persist. You saved him, brought him to safety, and you STILL haven’t stopped and thought ‘you know, I think I’ve done enough for now’. What drives you, Sir Alexander?”

The knight frowned. “The fog is spreading. If we don’t close the Blackheart...this will be all we have left. Alcoves of survivors hiding away, and death, corruption and terror above. All across the world. I can’t let that happen.”

Wurie’s eyes widened. “It spreads?! Oh dear God, by the saints, I did not know…” Alexander nodded. “Oh dear...I understand your resolve, sir knight. God bless you.” The wolf bowed his head.

Alexander smiled. He wasn’t feeling too worried. Sure, the magic that struck Tourthun down could probably vaporize him, but he had the creeping suspicion that it took a lot of time and effort to set that spell up.

From the discussion he had with the monsters earlier, it seems no one had ever heard of or seen that spell before. Just as Leianna and Lexius had to recover from using their magic, Alexander assumed whichever demon responsible for that spell needed time to prepare such a terrifying amount of power again.

The knight held his hand out to Wurie. The wolf took it, and the two shook.

“May God bless you too, my friend.”

Alexander found he had to lie down get his head into the room he now found himself in. On all fours, the knight noisily scooted past the still standing kobold as he reached up and fastened the wooden trapdoor back into place. “Sorry about the squeeze, yes? Only way to make sure those big monsters don’t follow us.”

“Us?” Alexander asked. “Do you mean me and you? Or are there others?”

The kobold smiled. “Of course there are others! I’m leading you to The Citadel, friend!”

“The...Citadel?”

The kobold chuckled softly. “Okay, so it’s not actually any kind of military fort or anything. Just what we like to call it. It’s...an underground camp, of sorts. Our new home.”

“So you’re with the other survivors, huh? The ones that escaped the...invaders?”

The kobold frowned. “Yes. Despite our numbers, we’re very small for all that’s left of this once great city. A-and those beasts...are demons!”

“So the church’s suspicions were true then…” The kobold nodded. “Damn. So are there any other humans around here that…made it? Only one escaped.”

The kobold smiled. “A few, yes! Very kind friends! They should be at The Citadel, actually! There’s priests, clerics, and others!”

Alexander sighed in relief. “Having holy men in our ranks when the minions of hell are upon us is reassuring.”

“Indeed!”

Alexander paused as he watched the kobold take a sharp turn, and crawled after him. From the looks of it, they were in a sewer system. Alexander made a mental note to avoid any water. For some reason, however, it took him this long to notice it looked like they were crawling through a sewer. There was no foul smell that he would associate with sewers. Perhaps they were in the midst of construction when the fog came?

“Say...we never properly introduced ourselves!” The kobold called over his shoulder as he scampered forward, Alexander quickly crawling in an attempt to keep up.

“Err, Alexander, knight of Geralthin.”

“Glad to meet you, Sir Knight! I’m sorry we didn’t have time for a formal introduction, but...the horrors above, you understand. I’m Senci! So glad to have another friend among us!”

Alexander arched his eyebrow. “Senci, huh? You uh...speak the language of man quite fluently. I thought many of you had no knowledge of our tongue. Uh, no offense.”

“Ah, I had a very good teacher, very good! Master Andric, my friend and mentor! A righteous paladin that showed me mercy in my earlier years! Back in the kingdom of the humans!”

Alexander raised a brow. “You were in the tutelage of a paladin? How in the world did you manage that?”

“He showed up to clear out a cave of our tribe, we had been pestering the peasants of a small keep, taking people hostage for coin, you see. Since I was but a child, he showed me mercy, and took me back to his people, to teach me how to live a normal life. Though, we non-humans were evicted some time after. He was my master...and...like a father to me. I wish to see him once more. That’s why I’m still fighting against the darkness, still trying to break the accursed fog.”

Alexander nodded, impressed. “Wow. Quite a...storied history you have, don’t you?”

Senci chuckled. “Well, you know how it is. We were making a nuisance of ourselves, we attracted the wrath of the barons, and it was but a matter of time until one of us felt for our adversaries. That’s why he spared me, instead of...like the others…” Senci grew quiet.

“Don’t feel bad, Senci. There was nothing you could have done. I’m glad it turned out as well as it has.” Senci smiled over his shoulder and slowed down.

“You know, that means a lot to me. Thank you. I’m glad I left. I like you all, too!”

Senci turned forward, stopped, and pulled open a heavy looking sewer grate, looking excited as he did so. “This is it! Welcome...to The Citadel!” Alexander scurried out of the sewer after Senci, glad to finally be on his feet again. What he saw in front of himself as he stretched made him pause.

The grate led to a large, circular platform that descended down several feet, like a slide until stopping at a large ground made of grey stone. On the ground were several big tents, carts, lamps, and other things that made the place look like a camp or caravan stop. The tents and carts were accompanied by many trinkets and weapons for those heading to the surface, Alexander assumed.

Far, far above them was a large hole that sent light shimmering down into the makeshift town. The sight of the strange mix between a cave camp and a town filled struck a chord with Alexander. This was a new beginning. The place these creatures came to know after losing their home.

“Not bad, is it?” Alexander noticed pride flush over the kobold.

“It is...amazing, considering the location. And the open sky! For the sewers, this is luxurious.”

Senci nodded. “It took a lot of hard work to start up a settlement like this, but we’re in the heart of the city! None of those beasts have EVER even gotten close to our new home.”

“I see...I would like to look around, if that were okay.”

Senci smiled. “Of course, of course! Feel free to greet the settlers. They should be very happy we have another human. Speaking of which,” Senci pointed toward the back of the town, “There ARE humans back there...a priest, a cleric, and a hunter, I think. They should prove great allies if your goals are aligned, which they must be, in this situation.” Alexander nodded, and held out his hand.

“Of course. Thank you, Senci, for everything. I’m glad you guided me to this safe haven.” The kobold took his hand and shook enthusiastically, shaking the knight’s gauntlet in quick, jerky motions.

“Thank you for coming! I’m so glad to have such a kind guest! I’m going to speak with the quartermaster about my findings on the surface. Feel free to speak with everyone...of course! I’ll see you soon, I hope!”