Chương 71: The Tower Above

With his head just outside the guardhouse of the strange black city, Wretch listened. A low symphony of thuds came from deeper into the fortress, but no sound of the myriad crows that should be nesting in the city.

"I can't hear any birds. Might be more of those things around though," he said and nodded towards the shattered corpse on the floor.

"That's fine. Let's get moving, I need a drink," Elenya said, unsheathing the borrowed Blinking Blade. They moved forward with caution, Wretch in front, listening intensely and Elenya behind with the dagger. Her cleaver swung over her back, unusable now that she was missing an arm. They walked past an alleyway and he peeked inside. A part of a nearby house had collapsed, blocking the path. A shriveled corpse stood with its back towards them, digging through the stone and sand at a lethargic pace.

He gave Elenya a glance and she shrugged her shoulders. They continued upwards along the winding set of stairs. Every now and then a walking carcass shambled past in the distance, doing some menial task like carrying debris or brushing away sand with a broken broom-stick that didn't reach the floor, endlessly mimicking forgotten labor. At one point, he heard the grinding noise of something heavy being pulled and the thuds of steady feet. He steered them away from it.

maneuvering in and out ruined buildings and alleyways. After an hour, the path opened up towards the central tower.

"I hear moans, quite a few of them," Wretch called behind him. Elenya cleared her throat, her voice dry as paper.

"Let's check it out." They moved around a corner, peering onto a wide plateau of black stones, carefully cut and framed by massive pillars. At the center rose the base of the sky-piercing tower. Two massive doors of black stone were shut and a dozen shriveled corpses knelt or stood in front. Moaning and hammering weakly at the silent gate. Above the door a round glass window was partially intact, reflecting the light in a scatter of orange.

The fortress was situated on a hill, and the square offered a clear view of the crumbling rooftops and the desert beyond.

"Let's move around them," Wretch said and Elenya nodded. They skulked around the edge of the square as something else brushed against his hearing. Something that made his dry throat itch.

"I hear water, on the other side of that door. Saint almighty, it's pouring," He hissed, licking his cracked lips. He hadn't meant to raise his voice, but the eagerness had taken hold. Then came the sound of wings unfurling high above. His eyes went wide. He grabbed Elenya's wrist, dragging them both behind a pillar as a massive shadow floated over the city. He was holding Elenya towards the pillar, a hand over her mouth as they hid.

A caw came from above, and a moment later, the ground shuddered with enough force to rattle the stray sand. The Massive bird had landed on the square, out of view while they pressed themselves together behind a pillar that now felt thin. Elenya reached for the dagger in her belt but Wretch shook his head. A low caw echoed from close enough that the hair on their neck rose. Had it seen them? He could hear its movement, the rustle of feathers, the shifting of massive weight.

A wave of dread and primal fear washed over him, urging him to run. It's trying to lure us into moving! Elenya swallowed, and the creature froze. Wretch held his breath, pressing Elenya's larger frame towards the pillar. A series of rapid stomps closed in. A black hand grabbed the pillar they were hiding behind, just above Elenya's head. The hand was large enough to almost wrap around the stone structure. Each fingernail was white as milk and adorned by black figures of skeletal humans and birds.

The two hunters looked into each other's eyes as a low coo echoed from just the other side of the pillar. Wretch heard it extend its neck over his beating heart and ever so carefully, he took a step around the pillar with Elenya, holding each other as if in dance. They caught a glimpse of the feathery body. Another soft coo came from less than a meter away, just on the other side of the stone. For a moment they stood frozen in each other's arms, both fighting the urge to run.

A bead of sweat formed on Elenya's brow and her grip around his wrist tightened. The bead slid down to her chin, growing in size. Another coo came from the other side of the pillar. The bead fell, and they both watched it fall towards the ground. Then, somewhere deeper in the city, stone scraped against stone. A furious caw rattled the air, almost bursting their ear-drums. Wind and sand exploded outward as the creature hurled itself skyward, shrieking as it vanished toward the lower city.

They both slumped to the ground. After a few quick breaths, Wretch met Elenya's gaze and gestured for silence, then pointed towards the gate. They stalked forward towards the living corpses, moaning in the shade of the tower. They seemed to be of no interest to the bird at least. Six in total and Elenya pointed to the leftmost three and drew a finger across her throat. A corpse turned. Dried skin clinging tight to the white skull, black holes for eyes and slack jaws.

A Dagger pierced its cranium, and the corpse spasmed before falling to the ground. five others looked over towards Elenya with moans of anguish, unaware as Wretch crawled up behind them. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Two blades of bone pierced the skin of his forearms, slicing at an exposed neck. The head thumped against the ground.

Six seconds later, Wretch cut down the last one, catching the falling body and laying it onto the black floor so as to not make a sound. The closed gate rose upwards, and Wretch gave it a glance, vivid images carved into the stone. legions of the dead mixed with humans marched and danced over hills towards a figure with skeletal hands clutching over his face from behind. The sight of the figure made his head spin and he looked away. This damn place.

Elenya grabbed on to the stone handle, the size of a carriage-wheel. Shades of red danced on her exposed skin and the stone groaned, a trickle of sand falling from the seams of the door. Ancient stone joints screeched and they both froze. It was quiet for a moment.

"Its fine," Wretch whispered. A piercing shriek echoed over the rooftops.

"Its not fine!" she said through gritted teeth. Two massive dark arms plunged out of Wretch's back. One digging its claws into the stone of the plaza and the other, clutched its malformed fingers around the handle.

"Pull!" Wretch said as the sound of beating wings grew louder. Muscles flexed and joints ached as the massive door moved with a screech, inch by inch under their collected strength. A primal fear washed over them. It's close!

"That's enough!" Elenya shouted. Wretch let the arms grow back, slithering into his skin. Elenya pressed herself against the narrow gap. It wasn't wide enough.

"I am stuck!" She let out as something whistled through the air towards them. Wretch slammed his weight against her and they both tumbled through the narrow slit. The ground shook and the gate slammed shut behind them with an ear piercing clang. Wretch locked at the back of the gate, Two rings-like handles just like the outside adorned it.

"The cleaver!" Elenya, having carried it for miles, swung it from shoulder with her only hand. They pushed it through the rings as a beak swung the gate inwards with a screech. The rings grew taught over the clever and the doors stopped, leaving only a few centimeter wide gap. The entrance, barred by the weapon. Elenya and Wretch threw themselves away as the beak and black fingers tried to press through the gap.

But the Blessed steel was strong, and though the hulking clever held many disadvantages, brittleness wasn't one of them.

"That was close," Elenya said. The beak drew back and an eye as large as a plate peeked through the gap, the iris focusing in on them. With a screech the gigantic bird drew back and the gate shook again. The Blessed cleaver did not give way. Another series of slams before finally, a furious caw came from the other side, and with a gust of wind the creature disappeared. They both breathed out and turned to the rest of the interior.

It was dark inside but they could both hear the sound of running water, splashing from somewhere close. Stairs led upwards to a platform while two others spiraled downwards into darkness. The glass that could be seen from outside the gate shined through from above, streaking light towards the platform. The tower was empty, void of any floors except this one and one at the top. Leaving a structure much like an empty tube. The surface was filled with symbols etched into the black rock, reflecting some of the light.

Occasionally there was an opening along the inside of the tower, barrel-sized holes in the black stone letting the scorching light of the suns through.

"Wow," Wretch said as he looked upwards.

"After we drink," Elenya answered.

"Those things outside were humans, or at least they used to be. This place used to belong to us, Elenya," he said, still looking upwards. She didn't respond, stepping up the stairs towards the platform and the sound of running water. He took a few quick steps to walk beside her.

"Astrid would have loved this!" he said while still looking around.

"Please, stop yapping," Elenya responded with a sigh. They scaled the stair, quickly coming up to a platform only held up by the stairs from either side. The glass from above the gate let the suns shine through, perfectly illuminating the round platform. The stone of the floor here was stark white, contrasting the black rock of the rest of the city and engravings spiraled across the surface.

"There it is," Elenya said with palpable greed. In the middle of the platform stood a structure of the chiseled white rock, at least two meters wide and with rounded edges. It was overflowing with water that fell like a veil down to the platform, running along groves in the stone. A figure leaned on the massive chalice, Dressed in rags and heavy plate armor, the metal discolored green and blue by the passage of time. The figure was kneeling, but was still taller than Wretch.

In its hand was a black cross, made of dark metal and intricate filigree depicting bones and skeletons, each of the four arms of the cross ending in a polished spike. They gave each other a look. Stay dead, please, Wretch pleaded in his mind. They both took a step forwards from the edge of the stairs to the white stone platform. Elenya in her boots and Wretch on his naked feet. Rusty metal groaned, bones cracked and leathery skin stretched beneath steel as the figure moved.

A layer of dust and broken rust sailing out from the armor.

"Damn, " Wretch said. The figure straightened. It was taller than Elenya, almost three meters by his rough estimate. It turned around as fire played along the black metal cross. It grew in length and thickness, extending to the size of a one handed warhammer. A blessed weapon. The figure turned to meet them. Across its armored chest hung a chained metal casket and cylinders in a rusty chain. The details of the armor itself depicted skeletal remains.

The helmet was the most striking piece, metal bent and hammered to look like skeletal hands reaching over a human face, a tiny slit between two of the fingers. Armor made in the likeness of the man portrayed in the glass, whoever he was. From the dark within, two fiery pupils lit. A dark pulse shot out of the figure, sending the dust twirling off the platform. Whispers moaned and chattered from the walls as the temperature dropped. Elenya gritted her teeth and took a step forward.

"It's do or die, we need that water." Wretch cracked his neck and stretched the clawed fingers.

"Agreed," he said as moans and whispers sounded in his ears. The three Blessed circled the white stone, exchanging names with flaming visages, Elenya Butcher of Hordes with red shades dancing on her exposed skin. Wretch, Collector of Wounds, with squirming flesh and exposed claws Denmira, Last custodian of Quarafa, emanating whispers of death and decay.