Chapter XXXVIII: Shadows (Cont.)

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Thyrus was the last through the gateway, crashing through the other side and rolling several feet across the worn and moss-covered stones of the inner temple. It was intensely dark in here and he could feel the walls and floor crawling, though he knew not to be afraid. The shadows and souls could smell he was a wizard, but they were baffled by the fact that they couldn’t seem to set hands upon him. He rose to his feet as he heard the hissing scream. He bolted through the open doorway leading into another room of the temple.

West stood swinging his sword, beheading shadow creatures which fell away, rising after a moment and slowly regenerating. They were swarming around Adelia, who was slowly breaking free with the help of Gobudo. The sheer strength of the Vasu along with his resolve that magic was just a hoax helped weaken the shadow creature’s power and thus he could break them with ease. Finally, West and Gobudo were able to pull Adelia away from the wall and into the center of the room.

“Keep her in the center,” Thyrus commanded. “They cling mostly to the walls and the darkness. If you stay where there is torchlight, they can’t reach her and become corporate entities. West, light a match.” Thyrus rushed over to the wall and wrenched a dead torch off the wall, hurling it over to West, who lit it quickly and held it out to Adelia, who took it and held it close to her, ignoring the searing heat.

“Which way to the third piece of the key?” West glanced about, loading his pistol and examining the rooms that were filled to the brim with gold coins. “Amazing! This place hasn’t been looted?”

Thyrus examined the room, “Illusions.”

West sighed, “Damn. Thought I might finally be getting to a portion of this quest where things pay off.” West turned and watched as several gremlins skittered into the room, he leapt back a few feet, aiming his gun at them. “What the hell are those?”

Thyrus stepped right past the rushing stream of gremlins, “They’re gremlins, West.”

West glanced over at Gobudo who smirked, something that would have been infuriating if it wasn’t for the way that Gobudo’s teeth were crooked, jagged, and more disturbing looking than anything else.”Oh.” West stepped through the rushing gremlins and moved on, examining the walls that creeped with the shadowy faces of tormented souls. “God, don’t let me die here,” West said under his breath.

A crash echoed from up ahead and the four stopped. There was a brilliant amount of torchlight flickering in the next large chamber. Something was moving within it, and all four knew that the creatures weren’t gremlins. West quickly took charge, waving silently for Thyrus and Gobudo to prepare to leap at the door as West neared the wall and slowly slid along it, trying to ignore the whispers and odd feeling of things crawling over his back. With silence, he peered into the room to see the torches flaring with immense amounts of flames. The shadows on the wall were withered and some were frozen to the wall, as if melted into the wall. West slowly slid into the room, waving for the three to follow. Everyone kept their eyes fixed ahead, not noticing the way Adelia stared on and followed almost robotically.

West’s eyes fell upon a door where a shadow was dancing across the floor. West moved with silent speed towards the door and slid slowly into the doorway. Within, the room there was no gold, there was nothing more than a welling swell of shadows that were slowly spreading out across the room and stretching to infinite thinness. West could make out, within the center of the spreading shadow, Baen Fior. He brought his gun up slowly, trying his best to keep his aim steady.

“NO!” West was tackled as Adelia crashed down atop him, bringing her sword out and raising it over her head. The torch she had had in her hand clattered to the ground and the shadows had begun to gather around West and Adelia again. West glanced over to see Baen rise up with sudden shock and turn, hurling several of the shadows off him and watching them crash into the wall and fade from existence.

“The shadows are attacking Baen as well!” West yelled to Thyrus as he grabbed Adelia and hurled her off of him, sending her sword bouncing away and shattering on the wall. West climbed to his feet and leapt as purple fire rolled from the doorway and incinerated the floor, leaving it a bubbling mess.

Thyrus brought his staff out and fired, catching a shadow that was materializing next to him. “Baen’s fire has allowed enough magic to make them all corporate!” Thyrus turned and swung, catching another shadow creature in the neck and taking its head clean off.

Gobudo had pressed in with the other two, resorting to his fists and bashing the tar out of the black-clawed creatures that did not look as tangible as they were. West fired his pistol, blowing the head off another, which faded from being. “Why aren’t they regenerating like the other ones?”

Thyrus ducked one of the creature’s swings, launching a pike through its gut and watching it sail away, “Baen’s powers are destructive…the magic allows them tangibility but allows them to be completely destroyed! That’s just a theory!” He ducked another creature’s swing as West turned and shot down the attacking creature. “Where’s Adelia?!”

West and Gobudo looked around, she was no where in sight. “I don’t know!?” All three caught on at once. “BAEN!” The group broke into an attack of the shadows that were beginning to swirl around the doorway. Finally, they broke through to see Adelia standing next to Baen, who was choking the life out of the last of the attacking shadows, hurling it aside. The watcher’s eyes settled on the three standing in the doorway; he smirked with victory, his other hand holding the third piece of the key.