As they approached the end of the promenade, Kieran saw a small fence with a huge arch in the middle.
“Welcome to my home and hideout, Kieran,” Rah’Na announced. “Eon’s Vault, and the town that surrounds it.”
Kieran closed the distance to the arch quickly and paused, taking in the sights beyond. To his left, he saw beautiful buildings carved into the mountainside. The stonework was full of intricate details, depicting what Kieran could only assume were legends and heroes from Eon’s history.
On Kieran’s right stood a single massive building. Unlike the rest of the town, its architecture was rather plain. The only striking features were the columns, which were sculptures of more heroic figures. Attached to this building was a fence, marking off a yard full of practice dummies.
One of the buildings on the left caught Kieran’s attention, as it had clearly been used more recently than the rest. Cloth sheets were draped over wooden stakes in front of the door to form a makeshift awning. Beneath the awning, simple wooden furniture sat slightly to the side of the door.
Kieran was about to pass under the arch when Rah’Na suddenly held up a hand. Leaning down, she inspected the base of the arch closely before grunting with frustration.
“Ready your weapons, Kieran. Someone desecrated the protective wards.”
Kieran trusted Rah’Na enough to take her warnings seriously. He immediately drew Last Breath, calling on Death’s Arm to extend the dagger’s blade.
“I’m going to assume that means this place isn’t safe,” Kieran said quietly, eyes scanning the nearby buildings for any signs of movement. None of them had glass in the window frames, but the sun’s position still made it difficult to see inside.
“Precisely. Keep your eyes and ears open.” Rah’Na stood to her full height, switching the grip on her spear. She had used it as a walking stick on their hike up the mountain. But as soon as she readied for combat, Kieran was reminded of how deadly the old wolf was.
Rah’Na gestured for Kieran to move, and the pair began walking slowly into the abandoned settlement. They moved as quietly as they could, but every step seemed to echo in Kieran’s ears. To add to the already tense atmosphere, the wind picked up strength, sending tiny dust devils dancing through the streets.
Deep memories from army life surfaced in Kieran’s mind. Almost automatically, he found himself leaning close and tapping Rah’Na on the shoulder to draw her attention.
“Watch my back,” he whispered. “I’ll check the windows.”
Kieran crept up to the nearest building. Taking an advantageous angle, he peeked into every window on the ground floor, scanning each room fully before moving to the next.
He was on his third building when Rah’Na suddenly shouted.
“MOVE!”
Reacting purely on instinct, Kieran channeled Form of Death and appeared swiftly at the wolf’s side. When he refocused, he saw a massive spike of ice sticking out of the rock behind where his head had just been.
Kieran tore his eyes from the spike to follow Rah’Na’s gaze. There, he spotted a rather strange figure. Standing seven feet tall, it was covered in silky, off-white hooded robes, tattered around the arms and legs. The visible limbs were deathly thin, practically just skin pulled over bone. The light of two pale blue eyes burned under the robe’s hood.
This figure’s hand was still outstretched towards Kieran’s previous position, but it had already turned to look at him. Kieran felt a pang of excitement run down his spine.
Well, aren’t you a fascinating creature…
“Specter. Watch your feet: they can phase through the ground in short bursts,” Rah’Na warned as she grabbed her spear with both hands. “If it goes underground, stand back-to-back.”
Kieran kept his eyes glued to their foe as he nodded. “Understood.”
The specter began to move, headed directly towards the pair. Its ragged robes swayed gently as if they were underwater. The sight was confusing to Kieran. It almost looked like there were two of the creatures and not just one.
Rah’Na began circling the enemy, and Kieran followed suit, taking the opposite direction. The specter’s eyes stayed on Kieran, but it made no move to attack again. It almost seemed to be waiting…
The brief standstill was interrupted by a distant, otherworldly shriek.
Rah’Na cursed under her breath. “There are more. I must repair the wards before they swarm us. Keep it busy.”
Kieran didn’t respond. Instead, he stepped between the specter and Rah’Na as the old wolf backed away towards the arch. The specter completely ignored Rah’Na. It kept its pale blue eyes locked with Kieran’s.
Why do I get the feeling this thing is here for me? Kieran mused, tightening his grip on Last Breath.
As soon as Rah’Na’s footsteps grew faint, the specter made its move. It dashed towards Kieran with its arm raised. Moments before it reached him, the arm twisted into itself, forming into a bony spear poised to strike.
Kieran stepped to the side, dodging the specter’s attack by inches. Then he swung his own blade in an upwards arc in an attempt to sever the thing’s bony limb.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Last Breath collided with the specter’s arm. Kieran felt the creature’s seemingly frail bones crack. Time seemed to slow down as he focused his whole attention on the effects of his dagger’s new ability.
He watched as ice formed around the point where the blade first made contact with desiccated flesh. The bone beneath splintered instantly, tiny pieces flying off from the initial point of impact. These pieces of bone vanished as soon as they hit the ground, like snow falling in early autumn.
The creature let out a pained shriek that echoed in Kieran’s mind like tinnitus after a flash bang. It was a sensation he wasn’t fond of remembering, and one that left him stunned for a moment.
While struggling to recover, he watched the specter’s limb reform into its original shape without any visible damage from the attack it had taken.
Presumably undead. Makes sense that it can put itself back together in seconds. Kieran grimaced. How annoying.
He shook his head, forcing his mind to clear as he stared at the regrown limb.
I wonder if its regeneration has limits. Or if it experiences any backlash, like I do with Chilling Touch…
It was then that Kieran remembered the added capability of his Maim skill: ‘Channeling the ability increases the potency of its effect.’
He had chosen to ignore it in his previous fights, opting not to waste energy on overkilling goblins. The battle with Broken Tusk had been too brutal and important for experimentation. This encounter, though, seemed like the perfect opportunity to test the channeled effect.
But first, he would need to make an opening.
Kieran faked a stumble backwards. The specter seemed to fall for this move hook, line, and sinker. It rushed towards Kieran, transforming its hand into a weapon once again.
Readjusting his footing, Kieran focused on Maim. Cold energy rushed through his body and gathered at his fingertips. He held it there and continued to focus on the spell, his heart beating strangely fast in anticipation.
The sensation of pent-up power was intense. Before, while simply casting the spell, he had summoned the energy and released it into his foe in the same moment. Now he hoarded it, forcing it to pool and build upon itself. Frost started to form over his hands.
When his opponent’s strike was just about to meet his flesh, Kieran dove forwards. Ducking under the attack, he placed his hand against the specter’s chest.
His fingers met a bony ribcage. Instantly, all of the collected energy surged outwards and into the thing’s body.
Watching with great interest, Kieran noticed cuts forming along the specter’s desiccated flesh. The first few moments looked like all the previous times he had used Maim. Soon, though, the cuts expanded drastically. Incisions the size of sword blades appeared all over the specter’s body.
In a matter of moments, the creature was cut through. Its limbs had been split into a dozen fragments each. The torso was cleaved in half. Scraps of the figure’s ragged robe were scattered to the wind.
With only a whimper, the specter fell apart. Its body, now devoid of any ‘unlife’ it had held, melted away as soon as it hit the ground.
Kieran staggered on his feet. The backlash from channeling Maim wasn’t as taxing as Chilling Touch, but the drain was still noticeable.
A good way to end a fight, he noted. But tricky if there are still enemies around.
He dispelled Death’s Arm and inspected Last Breath, somewhat disappointed. All of his previous enemies had at least managed to land a single strike on him during their first encounter.
A sign of my own progress, I suppose?
“KIERAN, WATCH OUT!”
Rah’Na’s shout snapped Kieran out of his musings. Immediately, his eyes snapped back to the fragments of his defeated enemy.
The fading remnants of the specter had taken on a sinister, pale blue glow.
The next moment, the specter rose from the ground, the pieces of its body swiftly coming together. Kieran wasted no time. He swung Last Breath at the enemy while the creature was still reforming.
But before the blade could make contact, a ghostly arm formed out of thin air to block Kieran’s attack.
The sound of bones snapping echoed in Kieran’s ears as the specter’s form extended and twisted. Kieran took a few careful steps back. He had a very bad feeling about this foe, and his gut was rarely wrong.
The specter continued to recreate itself, transforming into something altogether different and far more terrifying. Jagged spikes burst out of its limbs. Its spine extended and contorted into a crooked shape, forcing it to lean on its arms for stability.
Kieran felt no fear, but the warning in his gut told him it was time for a new strategy.
“Rah’Na, what is this thing?” he called, his eyes fixed on the foe as he continued moving backwards.
The wolf’s voice was strained. “It has been twisted by a Pale Watcher. Keep it busy, Kieran. I’m almost done.”
Finally, the transformation seemed almost complete. The specter’s head took on the form of a cracked canine skull, two horns sprouting from the back of its head.
For a moment, just as the horns finished forming, Kieran caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure floating above the twisted specter. The figure was legless, with six arms sprouting from an impossibly long torso. Its head contained no features save for two pale blue spots Kieran assumed were eyes.
The specter reared up on its legs, releasing a bloodcurdling scream and slamming its twisted legs onto the ground. The shadowy figure above it vanished, leaving Kieran alone with his new foe.
Before Kieran could process the brief appearance of the eerie figure, the specter launched its assault. It jumped towards Kieran, both hook-like, spiked limbs poised to strike at his chest.
Turning on his heel, Kieran pirouetted out of the way, successfully dodging both strikes. He wasn’t certain if he could even harm the newly transformed foe, so he decided to err on the side of caution.
Just need to keep it busy… keep dodging.
The specter adjusted itself and sent a backhanded hook towards Kieran. Dropping low, Kieran just barely avoided the strike. That meant he failed to see the second hook coming towards him until the last minute.
Instinctually calling on Form of Death, he moved to the other side of the creature. Still, even while he was made of fog, he felt the hook cut through his form. He looked down to see himself split into two fog clouds, mercifully joining back together before his feet touched the ground.
Realization clicked coolly into place in his mind.
One strike from that thing will be lethal. No holds barred, then.
As he reformed, a spiked leg was already moving in his direction. The spikes tore through the specter’s flesh with a disgusting sound of ripping skin and muscle tissue, reorienting themselves to be pointed towards Kieran.
He raised Last Breath and braced against the blade with both arms, but he wasn’t ready for the sheer force of the blow. The specter’s limb sent him flying backwards. Holding onto his weapon with a mad man's grip, Kieran did his best to roll with the movement, landing roughly on his knees.
Before he had time to prepare himself, the specter was leaping towards him again, spikes raised for a killing blow. Kieran called on Form of Death again, his body falling into mist milliseconds before he was impaled and torn apart by his foe.
Landing behind his enemy once again, Kieran suddenly caught a glimpse of golden light in his periphery. A wave of energy crashed across the landscape and collided with the specter.
With a shrill, ear-piercing shriek, the specter scattered into ashes.
“Finished. We should be safe now.” Rah’Na walked slowly towards Kieran, a broad grin on her wolfish features. “Well done.”