Chapter 14
Nicholas let out a cruel laugh. You will meet him eventually. Well, at least parts of you will!
I groaned and looked at Friar Brown. Are all cultists so melodramatic?
Apparently, he grumbled.
The hulking boss beside Nicholas stood, its muscular frame covered in dark red skin that seemed to be stretched too tight. It had a snarling face, with long, vicious black teeth and tusks made out of black bone. Probably best to avoid those if at all possible.
Nicholas climbed into a saddle onto its back, pulling out a halberd from the other side of his mount. Not saying another word, he charged down the hall straight for us.
Friar Brown dashed to the side and took cover in the pillars. There was no way I could face the charge head on, the hulking creature was bigger than a bull and moving surprisingly fast for its bulk.
Reshaping Mercy into a long, curved blade, I sidestepped Nicholass charge, his halberd crashing down too close to dodge. At the last moment, I deflected part of the blow with the shaft of Mercy, but the heavy blade still slammed into my leg. The bone cracked, proving I couldnt take another blow like that. The only thing that kept me going was the resistance my skeletal body had to bladed weapons.
As Nicholas rushed past me, I slashed at the hindquarters of his mount, scoring a deep cut. The wound didnt even appear to slow the powerful creature. But thankfully the warmth of Friar Browns magic suffused to my weapon.
I lowered into a defensive position as Nicholas rounded the corner and came charging back. When I dashed to the side again, the creature snagged me with one of its tusks. The sharp bone punched through my robes, and while it tore free, the tug was enough to throw me off-balance. This wasnt just a mindless beast thenit had anticipated my move.
Within those precious seconds, Nicholas also landed a blow, flaring pain across my shoulder. Before I could recover, he sped past me out of range. I was pretty sure his attack to my shoulder had nearly broken the bone. Again, I was saved by my resistance to bladed weapons. Except Nicholas blows were heavy, and I got the sense he was a much higher level than I was.
The third charge was when things started to change. Friar Brown was busy preparing a spellNicholas having clearly forgotten about him. Right as Nicholas was about to reach me, a bolt of light slammed into the monstrous mount.
The monster staggered, jostling Nicholas and giving me the opening I needed. Stepping to the side, I plunged Mercy deep into the side of the mount. Its own momentum and my staffs incredibly sharp blade resulted in a deep gash running along the left side of the beast, from its chest clear out past its hip.
The creature let out a cry of pain, and when it turned, it moved much more slowly. This angered Nicholas. He yelled and beat the beast with the shaft of his weapon to urge it into another charge.
Friar Brown and I repeated the attack, though the beast was a bit more aware of the tactic, again showing it was much smarter than it seemed. As Mercy opened up its right side, it struck out with its right rear leg, hitting me in the chest and sending me sprawling backward before I could maim its rear leg.
Nicholas wasnt nearly as adaptive as the beast he rode, unable to strike with his halberd after being staggered by Friar Browns attack. However, he did seem to realize the damage his mount had taken and did not charge again so recklessly. Instead, red magic flared from his halberd; a gem set in the head of the weapon glowing brightly.
Magic flowed from the weapon into Nicholas and his mount, healing some of the wounds wed inflicted. And because his mount was not like a horseit had forearms that could be used to strike out against foeshe changed his strategy.
This wasnt a fight I could easily handle. I tried to fall back, but the mount was faster. They caught me before I could get fully behind a pillar, pressing me hard.
Mercy really showed its value in situations like this. As a rule, a quarter staff was a powerful defensive weapon that lacked offensive capabilities. Mercys ability to be reshaped to fit the situation alleviated much of that weakness. As I had fallen back, Id shortened the blade and lengthened the staff. This gave me more flexibility to defend myself. Deflecting blows from Nicholas above on his mount and strikes from the powerful limbs of the mount below tested my abilities.
Nicholass attacks werent nearly as powerful as his mounts, but they were still more than I could block directly. I was forced to redirect blows before they could land. I was only partially successful. His mounts attacks were all but unstoppable. My only hope was to dodge, which often left me in vulnerable positions for attacks from Nicholas.
I took several glancing blows, and even without a health bar, I knew I was in trouble. This dungeon was meant for people much stronger than I was.
When a beam blasted out from the other side of the room and slammed into the rear of Nicholas and his mount, the fight changed momentum. Friar Brown had worked his way around and built quite the powerful spell.
They both staggered under the attack, giving me an opening. Mercy had a short, fat blade meant for hacking. I spun from a kneeling position, extending Mercy and slamming it into the mounts left knee. The attack was powerful, but not powerful enough to cut through. Instead, my blade became wedged halfway through the joint, and as the pair surged away, trying to escape the beam, Mercy was yanked out of my hand.
I knew better than to keep hold of it. Chances were that Id just get pulled along with the weapon. Nicholas retreated to the far end of the room and Friar Brown rushed over to me. Magic surrounded him and he cast his restoration spell on me, my fractured and broken bones knitting back together. I gave him a thankful nod.
Nicholass mount grabbed my blade and ripped it out of its leg. This, as it turns out, was a mistake. While the blade had been stuck in the joint and was no doubt painful, it also served to hold the joint together.
As the mount took its first tentative step on its injured knee, it buckled, the supporting tendons and cartilage unable to withstand the weight. There was a crack as the leg gave way, and the mount attempted to catch itself. Due to the previous extensive damage to its back left leg, it staggered and collapsed to the side, sending Nicholas tumbling.
Friar Brown and I both chargedour opportunity to finish this couldnt have been better. I led the way and scooped up Mercy as I rushed past it. Nicholas waved his halberd, red light beginning to glow.
Friar Brown muttered, Oh no you dont.
He cast the spell far quicker than I realized he could, and a bolt of gray light slammed into Nicholas, sending him tumbling and his halberd flying out of his hand. I reformed Mercy from the thick blade and to a slender, almost needlelike blade. As I approached the lame mount, I leapt into the air, its hate-filled eyes following me as it tried to block with its one remaining front arm.
Trusting in Mercy, I didnt even try to avoid its arm and plunged the tip through the forearm. With my weight behind it, the tip burst through and drove straight into the wounded beast. Thankfully, Id caught the forearm in a position where it didnt have much strength. I released Mercy, leaving it impaled where the tip dug deep, nearly out the back of the beast. It didnt have the leverage to pull the weapon straight out, and whenever it moved its arm, the tip slashed back and forth inside its body.
Even though I was now weaponless, Nicholas ignored me. He dropped his halberd, backpedaling away from the friar.
P-please, Nicholas babbled as Friar Brown closed in on him. I didnt mean it.
I went for the cultists halberd and moved to the side of the maimed and disabled beast. Just then, Nicholas began to scream. Using the halberd like an ax, I lopped the head off the mount with several heavy blows, and by the time I was done, all that was left of Nicholas was a pile of ash.
The hulking mounts headless form spewed blood, and a large pool quickly formed under it. I pulled Mercy out of the beast, then gestured to the halberd. You want that? I asked Friar Brown. I really have no need for it.
We can retrieve it on our way out. I shall take it to the temple to have it destroyed.
Behind the seat Nicholas had been sitting on was a door that led to a spiraling staircase of large, stone slabs jutting out of the wall. This was the first staircase wed come across since entering the dungeon itself. Before this, wed been walking down what felt like a large spiral path, with a constant downward angle through every room and hall.
Peering down the center of this spiral staircase, I could see a bright red glow, brighter than the room we fought Nicholas in, emanating from the bottom.
This feels like were descending into hell, I said.
Considering what we will find down there, in a way, we are, Friar Brown said.
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