Chapter 110: Catacomb Redux, Part 3.

One room become two, then three, and eventually four. Talia said nothing, but I could tell she was getting anxious. I didn’t blame her. Really, I just wanted one last fight, to hopefully claim a few more coins to fatten our purse.

The further we went, the larger the catacombs became. From something normal, into what could be considered an underground city. The rooms were getting larger, and the ceiling stretched so high that it was shrouded in darkness.

A yawning emptiness stood above us, and the only source of light were the crackling blue flames and glowing crystals embedded into the stone. I half considered turning back. The mounds of bones lining the path were a worrying sight. Even Talia eyed them with worry. Likely thinking the same as I.

“Is there anyway we can check if there are skeletons inside those piles?” She asked while we walked.

“Doubtful, and well, technically the pile is made up of skeletons.”

She shot me a look I understood all too well.

“Then, is there a way you can use them? Surely you could animate them, or something. Isn’t that why you even got that thing?”

“The bones are too brittle.” I answer after a moment. “More specifically, the air is thick with magic down here. Which means that these bones and everything here are absolutely flush with magical energy. Not only does it make it hard, if not impossible, to look for the animated dead inside them, almost like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Or rather, a specific needle in a pile of needles. It also makes it impossible for me to animate them. If I try, the bones will simply crumble away.”

“So, they’re at their limits then? Well, what about just clearing them away?” She asks.

“We probably could, but I doubt that would go over well… Surely, something wouldn’t appreciate us messing with them… Plus, it would be a huge waste of time and energy if we were to take the time to empty each and every room and hallway of bones.”

Talia frowns but nods. “I suppose it would be too much to do that… It’s just that, the constant ambushes can get annoying and can be dangerous.” She gives me a glance. “Their numbers are also a problem.”

“I agree on all fronts. When we come back, we’ll have to make sure to bring plenty of support. Maybe with ore bodies, we can do something.”

She hums in acknowledgement. Silence falls over us as we approach what looks like a giant gate. Massive braziers flank the open gate, flickering with blue flames. The air surrounding them was bitingly cold. The air crackled with rime.

“Are we sure about this?” She asked, once more.

“Yeah, we’ll see what’s on the other side and call it a day.”

She didn’t question. A quick check of our group, a stock of our injuries and reserves. My knights were showing signs of wear and tear. Of cracks and wounds being healed and broken over and over. Fathom looked the worst. His deep blue body was riddled with hairline fractures. Fractures that were sealed shut with white ice.

It wasn’t damning, but the damage had definitely taken its toll. I had faith that he could persist, at least for another fight. Luna and Estrella were only slightly better off. Their shields were off-colored. Having been broken and repaired so many times, very little of the original shield remained. Shi was well fed and brimming with energy. She was by far, the one in the best condition.

I was tired, but my magic reserves were good. Riddled with wounds and cuts, yes, but the ice and Talia’s healing kept them from being an issue. Talia though, she looked exhausted. She was still in uniform, her outfit scratched here and there, cuts were all over her body. Most of them had healed, but a few still looked angry and wept blood.

We weren’t in the best of conditions, but it was good enough. Surely, whatever lies ahead wouldn’t be that dangerous… Then again, whenever I thought it wouldn’t be dangerous, or that it couldn’t get worse, it always seemed to get worse…

Maybe I’m just imagining it… Or perhaps…

Shaking my head, we pressed on through the gates. The air grew, warmer. The halls before us, were pitch-black. I pulled out a pair of flashlights, that pierced through the darkness. Stark white walls surrounded us, a vaulted ceiling above. I could hear chandeliers above creak as they swayed.

The darkness was omni-present. Pressing in. Our footsteps were muffled, dying against the darkness. There was naught a sound, beyond our own breathing, and the beating of our hearts.

“Prima… maybe we should head back?” Talia said, her voice, quiet, distant in the surrounding darkness. She looked terrified when I flashed my light over, like she was ready to bolt. Her face pale.

The air was oppressive, hot… Yet, I could almost see an opening further ahead.

“We should be close. A few more minutes at least.” I said, she didn’t argue. Though, I could feel the tension ratchet as we closed on the large opening. We stepped out of the hall onto…

Sand? No… it glittered in the light, and reaching down, grabbing some of the ‘sand’ in my gloved hand. It glittered, was white, no, this wasn’t sand… this was bone. Ground up into fine grains and scattered about.

The light of my flashlight pierced through the darkness. Walls surrounded us, above, I could see what looked like stands, and opposite of us, was… a skeleton.

No. A skeleton mage. The moment the light of my flashlight fell on their form, the entire space lit up. All around us, blazing blue flames lit on sconces set into the wall. Above, large chandeliers burst into live, chandeliers made of crystal or glass, bathing the entire space in iridescent light.

We weren’t just in any space. We were in an arena, a coliseum of sorts. The mage skeleton sat on a throne, wearing ornate robes, a simple ornament on their skull. Their bony fingers were covered in rings, from within the hollows of their eye sockets burned a fervent blue light.

It felt different, from the first skeleton mage I had fought. Like comparing a pauper to a lord. The previous mage had worn tattered cloth and used a simple metal staff. This one was decked out in resplendent robes with jewelry to match. In their hands was small staff, the tip of which was covered in a dazzling pearl-like gem.

It eyed us, we eyed it.

If it was this much? A single skeleton mage? That would be easy. I wouldn’t even need to transform. Without any verbal confirmation, we began to take up positions.

With Fathom at the front, my knights on the flank, Talia and Shi by my side. We were more than ready.

As Fathom approached the center of the Colosseum, as we closed on the skeleton mage on their throne, looming over us from above. They stood. The moment they did so, their staff, which was more of a cane, snapped into the white stone below them, the sound filled the whole arena.

The ground itself, the ground bone began to shudder. We paused, as skeletons pulled themselves from below, equipped with simple weapons made of bone. Still, the shaking didn’t die down. The tip of the cane, the gemstone gleamed out, and the shaking intensified. The chandeliers above shook, shifting casting shadows here and there.

Then, it happened. A hand, no, not just a hand, came bursting out of the ground. Ground bone ran off its form as more of its body was pulled free from below. A hand, covered in long sharp claws, arms thicker than I was wide, longer than I was tall made themselves known. Followed by shoulders, head, body, and eventually it fully freed itself.

It towered. It was taller than Fathom, by at least half his height. The towering skeleton, no, it wasn’t a skeleton, but…

“Bone golem.”  I muttered. It looked like a skeleton, but the bones were more like a suit of armor. Its ribcage more like armored plates, encasing and protecting the thrumming core. A skull more like a plate helmet, from within, cold, unfeeling lights flickered taking us in. Its fingers were more like giant blades, stuck to a hand. Even its toes were curved and sharp like curved daggers.

The moment it made itself known, I understood. It was bronze rank, that wouldn’t be an issue, but… it was strong, not nearly as strong as the bronze minotaur, but it came close.

Before it could move, I gave the order. Fathom shot forward, heavy sabatons made of ice stamped into the ground bone around us, kicking up with every step. His shield held forward.

I raised my rifle and loosed, firing as fast as I could. Every shot helplessly shattered, their songs ending the moment they snapped into the golem’s formidable body.

Still, it did not move. Still, none of the surrounding skeletons stirred. Even the mage stood still watching us, a flicker amusement clear in the flicker of its eyes.

Without any obstacle in his path, Fathom crashed into the golems body. His entire bulk behind the blow. The golem, shuddered, taking a half-step back, enough for Fathom to follow up with a powerful blow, further empowered by the other two knights sending their energy over.

I expected a lot as I began to reload. Not, a dull clack, the sound of a sharpened cleaver made of ice, empowered and made heavier by magic fruitlessly crashing into the golem’s leg, doing nothing.

Fathom stirred. I could feel his confusion at not having done anything, of being completely and totally out of his depth. When the golem moved. It was swift, almost a blur. One moment Fathom was braced against them, weapon outstretched, the next they went hurtling by crashing into the ground just further back.

As the final bit of divine comedy, in that moment, a large gate crashed down from whence we came, sealing us in the arena. With no way out. I took everything in as it went to hell.

“Talia, buy me time!” I cried out, I shot back, just as the golem began to lumber forward like death itself, inexorable, inevitable.

My knights dashed forward to buy time. Whenever they got close, the golem would send out contemptuous, wide swings that would kick up dust. Each strike displaced air and could be felt from afar. A single solid blow enough to shatter my loyal knights.

Even then, Luna and Estrella were not deterred. Their nimble forms allowed them to dance between strikes, their blades slipped out, snapping forward like vipers, nipping and snapping at the golem’s form, to no real effect. Their strikes, more like the small nips or bites of gnats on a giant.

Talia let out a shout, her axe beat against her shield, and her energy spiked as she bolstered herself. The act, garnered quite a bit of attention as she leapt into the fray.

As the skeletons surged forward, Shi joined in, her spear snapped and hissed, breaking bone with relative ease as she covered Talia’s sides and rear, all the while keeping an eye on me.

I clutched at my chest. I felt for the thrum in my heart, the power buried in the depths. I felt it grow, a deep beat that expanded in grew. I could feel the ice covering me, coating me, cracking and breaking with every thump, until finally it snapped free.

It was brief, or so it felt. The moment of weightlessness, of once again drifting into the icy depths. Of being free, of being under the spotlight, moving as the crowd cheered and pressed. With a final flourish, a final flash of rime and diamond dust, my transformation was complete.

I felt the cold in my veins and being. Heavy, sure. With a thought, the surrounding rime rushed out, empowering my knights. From just behind, I heard it. The sound of cracks sealing, of a battered body pulling itself back together, of the rage buried under the depths unleashed.

With a roar, a ghastly howl, Fathom blitzed past. Hoarfrost sticking to their frame. I followed just behind, bullets slipping into my rifle’s magazine.

Fathom crashed through the tide of bone, the skeletons that tried to bar his path. Only to be crushed, joining the field below as dust. The golem, took notice of Fathom’s arrival, and casually moved to meet him, unheeding of the damage he may do.

Fathom hit, with everything he had and more. The whole arena shook, I felt the chandeliers above shift. The golem moved back, nearly losing footing. I raised my newly loaded rifle and fired. It came fast, a shrill whine, right into the skull of the golem, only to helplessly shatter itself upon its brow but leaving a notable mark on its expiration.

I ejected the casing as I closed, bayonet of silver forming at the tip of my rifle as I closed. The golem began to move, Fathom did as well. The pair met, cleaver and claw. The sound beat against my eardrums. A single strike became one, then two, and then came a cacophony.

They exchanged a flurry of strikes as I closed. The ice, and Talia’s blessing bolstering me just enough to perceive the strikes. Fathom, was being pushed back still. His durable body filling with cracks, his towering form dwarfed by the golem’s own.

I slipped under a strike, just as the golem sent out a powerful blow, hurtling Fathom back into the ground. My bayonet cried out as I swung, aiming for the golem’s leg, seeking to cripple it. On impact, my bayonet cried.

Not in joy, or pleasure, but in pain. The force of the strike jarred up my shoulders, ice cracked, my entire upper body rebounded from the blow. My footing was precarious, and the golem retaliated.

A follow-up, a low swing that dug into the ground came forward, carrying with it ground bone. I kicked off the semi-frozen ground. Barely avoiding the low swing, but the golem wasn’t done. Just as my feet slammed into the ground with a crunch, it loomed over me and swung a wide strike.

I tried to move, tried to flee, but it came on too fast. I braced my rifle before me, adjusted to prep for the blow that would surely cut me down to size. A force slammed into me, not from the front, but the side. Cold, unyielding.

Luna had arrived. Using their bulk and mass, they pushed me aside as the golem’s claws came scything in. A brittle sound, ice crackled and shattered, Luna’s shield broke to pieces, their entire arm shorn away, and the force that carried through sent them to the ground. Down, but not dead. Not yet.

I moved back, the footing somewhat treacherous as it hardened and froze where I went. The golem kept coming forward with intent, my next round was loaded and so, I pulled the trigger and fired, right at their brow.

The bullet sang high, before exploding. Shattering on its brow. The force stuttered the golem’s approach, the snap of cold enough to cause chips of bone to fall. Another bullet cried out with a discordant cry. The countless shards of the bullet impacted its face, further shattering the bone along its skull.

The combo, had the golem reeling, enough to give me more space. Right into the growing horde of skeletons encircling us.

The moment I closed, their attention came to me, my silver bayonet cut and scythed through them with ease, the butt of my rifle more than capable of smashing bone and skull. I was a whirlwind as my rifle spun, as the bayonet glinted around me. I burst through the crowd and worked my way around the golem, whose focus seemed to be entirely on me. All the while, the skeleton mage continued to stand and watch over us with glee. Like we were a show. That thought alone, sent shivers down my spine. Only, this wasn’t enough. The main character here was the golem, and me? I wasn’t quite important enough to steal the spotlight, not yet.

I cycled, loosing rounds. Piercing failed to punch through hardened bone, but each hit left a notable mark. Explosive rounds made the unyielding bone brittle, and ripe for shot rounds to peel away layers. Of the knights, Luna was out of the fight, more or less. A missing arm couldn’t be so easily healed, and as for Fathom?

After a few minutes he managed to rejoin the fight. With my magic coursing through him, empowering, bolstering him, he easily met the golem blow for blow. Not that he would win, but those short exchanges left the golem covered in marks and cuts. Slowly, but surely, we were whittling it down.

Talia and Shi worked on the surrounding skeletons, keeping me and my knights free to harass and wear down the golem. Minute by minute, we fought. Wearing more at the golem by the moment.

It started small, a single crack, widened until a claw came free, or a piece of its helmet-like skull. Only to grow more urgent as the damage spread, the unyielding ribcage began signs of cracking, its legs began to wobble as we fought and focused on the limbs, seeking to cripple the golem.

All the while, the skeleton mage watched. Its amusement faded into something else, concern, and perhaps a bit of attention.

Then it finally happened. Fathom struck out. His body, now marred and riddled with new and old ice. His body remade so many times in a short span of time, he may as well have been a whole new knight. His blade, his cleaver cracked down on the golem’s joint, knee, and it crumpled under the blow. The golem fell to the ground, and for a moment, the arena stilled.

All fights paused as the scene was taken in, as the goliath was felled. For a single moment, I allowed myself a victorious grin, a mocking salute sent in the skeleton mage’s direction.

In response, the mage extended a hand, ghoulish energy was sent out in a wave, I peeled back, along with my knights. The slow, roiling cloud fully engulfed the central part of the arena, and the golem within.

And I heard it. A sound, a hissing and cracking. A pristine claw ripped out of the fog, and there stood, the golem. Now whole once more.