Runeblade

Being chased by a lizard the size of a house had a certain way of hurrying his thinking.

Bent low over his brother’s gore-splattered back, Kaius did his best to ignore the constant roars just a few strides behind him.

It was just a tad harder to put the intermittent snaps out of mind. Thank the gods the nightscale didn’t seem to have any ranged capabilities beyond the breath attack he assumed it couldn’t easily use while sprinting.

They’d successfully driven the creature into a hot enough rage that it was ignoring the Tyrant’s direction, but now what? They had a furious beast on their tail that was managing to damage just about every bloody building they ran past.

That sort of cost was acceptable, if it actually helped put the beast down. Right now, all he could think was the dozens of people who would now be without homes. Sure, that happened in war, but Kaius still wanted to prevent it if he could.

They needed a plan. One that wouldn’t end up with them pulling city guards into the meat grinder. A beast like the nightscale would tear through them like they were made of wet tissue.

A memory shot to the forefront of his mind — one of the squares they’d passed through on their way here. It wasn’t far, maybe half a dozen or so blocks.

Snapping jaws shook him from his thoughts as humid breath rolled over the back of his neck.

Kaius jolted in his seat, lunging forwards as Porkchop lurched to the side.

That was way too close! They needed some room.

Rearing back around, Kaius summoned a Stormlash to hand. The magic crackled, pale blue light illuminating the gloom that soaked through Deadacre’s streets.

The beast screamed as lightning scorched its snout. Every muscle in its body seized for a moment. With its legs locked up, it slammed to the ground.

It only took a few seconds for the nightscale to scramble back to its feet, but it was enough for them to gain some distance — and give him some room to bloody think.

The square would give them room to fight without destroying the livelihoods of an entire neighbourhood, but it had problems of its own. Even constrained, the nightscale proved a tough nut to crack. Sure, they’d fought harder, and he had no doubt that they could eventually put the beast down.

But every second he fought this thing was another that they weren’t on the walls, supporting the guard. Every second he spent here meant more deaths. It needed to go down quick, but he didn’t have his spells, nor did they have the support of their backline.

Unless… it had dropped its invisibility.

Visualising the position of the square in his head, Kaius craned his neck towards the siege tower by the eastern gate. It was a fair distance, but he knew Ianmus and Kenva could handle it.

Keeping the nightscale occupied long enough for them to line up a devastating blow sounded much more manageable. Especially if they could recruit a bit of help — the whole reason they had been sent alone in the first place was that he was the only one who could see the damned thing.

Craning his head back, Kaius confirmed the nightscale had yet to catch up with them. If there was one thing the constant destruction of every building it passed did, it was slow it down.

“I have an idea!” Kaius said.

“So do I! We pull it to that square we passed through and get Ianmus and Kenva to blow a hole in the back of its head!”

Kaius blinked, “That’s my idea!”

“Liar, you're just saying that because yours was worse!”

“Whatever, just get us to that square! I’ll see if people can help!”

Cobblestones crunched beneath Porkchop’s claws as he tore his way through the city streets. Kaius did his best to ignore the rabid hisses that were uncomfortably close behind them, focused on their goal.

The nightscale was a tough bastard, as any creature of its size and level would be. Even if the creature was now visible, Ianmus and Kenva were perched on a tower half a city away. A gods blessed shot if there ever was one, especially with how energetic their foe had proven to be.

Given time, they could do it the long way. Wear it down, pepper it with fire until it collapsed under the weight of empty resources and gaping wounds. Unfortunately, they couldn’t just tie up half of Deadacre’s elite forces dealing with one threat.

They needed to be decisive; needed help pinning it in place, so Kenva or Ianmus only had to spend seconds lining up their shots.

Ro would know what to do.

“Problems?” Ro’s voice came through the command channel breathlessly. She had to be fighting, none of them had the luxury of leading from the back.

“In a sense!” Kaius replied, before he heard a snarl behind him. Mana flooded his blade, Mystic’s Rend crackling. Spinning in his seat, he slashed at the nightscale’s snout.

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Black scales cracked as his Skill detonated. The sudden flash of noise and pain made the beast flinch — good, every longstride they could pull ahead was worth its weight in platinum.

“We’re pulling it away from the centre, and it’s dropped its invisibility. It can’t keep it up—” Kaius dropped low, Moment of Flow warning him a moment before a flashing arc of light flew over his head. The face of a building ahead crumpled, wood and glass shattering with a scream.

“—while using other skills!”

“Good, then kill it!”

“It’s taking too long! It’s bigger than the drake we killed; without my spells, we’re just leaving flesh-wounds. We’re pulling it to a square — the one with the statue of the dancing ladies. Can anyone help us pin it down long enough that Kenva can put an arrow through the back of its skull? Even if it survives, it’ll be enough of an opening for us to tear its throat out,” Kaius replied, hurrying through his words.

Porkchop lurched to the left, taking a corner at the last possible moment. Hissing in surprise, the nightscale’s momentum proved too much for it to follow swiftly — it still slashed at them with a claw as it passed.

He read the motion in an eyeblink. It was going to hit him in the side!

A glassy shimmer split the night, Hellblade Investiture and Mercurial Reversal making his blade gleam from within. Sweeping his blade up high overhead, the creature's claws met a crystalline edge with a thunderous crash. Unable to drive his parry through his hips like he was used to, the impact slammed him down.

Every bone in his body ached as he strained, desperately levering against the nightscales claws.

Black arcs slid across the edge of his sword — he held. Just.

Seeing them escaping once more, the nightscale screamed. It scrambled, tearing away cobblestones in its efforts to turn and follow.

Ro’s ragged gasp cut through the cacophony. “I’m a little busy with my own problem! Let me check with the others, if you don’t hear back in the next minute, assume you’re on your own.”

She cut the connection. Great.

A frustrating response, though not one he could blame her for — they were all stretched thin.

The plain brick and stone of the narrow terraces around them smeared. Each bore new scars — some suffering simple broken windows, while others were closer to half collapsed. The devastation was stark — a reminder that tonight would bear a cost in livelihoods as well as lives.

Kaius held his breath, hoping for a response to his plea.

Charging past a pub, he caught a glimpse of its sign. A quill sitting in a green tankard. They weren’t far from the square now — maybe a few blocks.

His communication artefact buzzed as Rieker’s gravelly and very welcome voice sounded in his ear.

“Ro tells me you need a bit of a hand? Some sort of overgrown gecko?” Rieker teased, though he paused to grunt every few words, “I’m just dealing with a breach in the north eastern section of the wall — I assume the one it entered through. One more Silver and I’ll be able to help for a few minutes.”

Kaius blinked. The wall had been breached? When in the hells had that happened? He’d assumed the nightscale had used its invisibility to scale the defenses at some point. Gods, he needed to get back — this had to be a major push. He shoved down his worry. If Rieker was willing to leave, the situation had to be under control.

Still, the faster they could finish this, the better. Holding the eastern gate was critical, and that was just that much harder without him and Porkchop there.

“Please,” he replied, “We just need to pin it down long enough for Kenva and Ianmus to take a shot. We’re just about at the square, we’ll keep it busy while you arrive.”

Hells, if Rieker was coming, they might not even need that. The man was ferocious, and at his level he’d have multiple second tier class skills at his disposal.

“I’ll be there in five minutes.” Rieker’s voice cut out.

The moment he was gone, Porkchop reached through their bond. “I’ve already reached out to Kenva and Ianmus — they can see the square. They’ve got their hands full stopping the fliers from tearing people off the wall, but they can still help — just waiting for us to create an opening.”

Kaius sighed in relief. With a Gold at their backs, and their back line ready to support them, he felt far more confident in handling the nightscale.

His growing confidence did little to blunt the itch of his anxiety. Leant low over his brother’s back, he heard the terrible scream of tortured wood and stone every few bounding steps. Another home gutted, another building sacrificed to maintain their lead.

At least it meant that whatever shadowy skill it used to become incorporeal was likely heavily draining. The nightscale would have long since caught up to them without the narrow streets hemming it in.

They burst into the square a few minutes later, pale flagstones cracking beneath the force of Porkchop’s footfalls.

It was a dead thing, but pretty in its own way. There were no trees, no planters — nothing he expected from the village squares he’d seen surrounding the Sea. They couldn’t survive, not in Deadacre.

Instead, it was littered with benches and small gazebos — places where the local community could come and mingle under the watchful eye of the twirling stone ladies at the square’s centre.

Now it was streaked with ash, and the hubbub of city life had been replaced by the roars of the beast. Most were distant, one was terribly close.

“There!” Kaius yelled, pointing towards the open ground surrounding the central statue.

They arrived a moment later, Porkchop skidding to a halt as his claws dug furrows through the stone.

Leaping free, Kaius ignored the clank of his prosthetic as he touched down — focused instead on the plume of dust that was rapidly approaching.

Rolling his shoulders, Kaius settled into his stance as he forced himself to stay light and loose. With room to maneuver, the nightscale would be even more vicious — he’d need to stay on his toes if he wanted to keep them.

Beside him, Porkchop resummoned his heavy plate.

“I’ll get in its face.”

“I’ll flank.”

“Try not to lose a leg this time.”

Kaius snorted softly, though he kept his eyes on the street the nightscale would come from.

A moment later, he spotted it, and all thoughts of making a retort fell from his mind. A six-legged streak of black, all scale and hissing fury.

The second it hit the square, it locked on to them — still frenzied by their earlier harassment. Kaius grinned, ready for the carnage. Rieker was already on his way — he’d sent word just a few blocks before they’d arrived.

He wasn’t worried. The square might give the nightscale extra room to maneuver, but they had been given that same grace. Property damage would be far less of a concern.

How long would it take the wretch to realise they hadn’t been running because they were scared?