Okay, here's the fight I promised everyone. Hope you like
it. The remainder of the story is now being hosted by
Sofaspud's Couch (www.sofaspud.org). If any artists out
there want to, it would be nice to have some kind of title
pic to go with the story.
Thanks go out to Mark for pre-reading.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, please don't sue.
The Warriors Path
by Andrew Wilson (templar@softcom.net)
Chapter 5: Forces Collide or "Let's Get Ready to Rumble!"
Drizzt's gut turned to ice at Ashram's words. He grabbed
Ryoga's shirt and pulled the boy's body closer. Lavender
eyes and solid black orbs locked in a stare-down.
"Speak clearly demon-knight. How can I battle Errtu, he is
banished to the Abyss."
"Ah, but you can end his banishment. If you do so, Wulfgar
will be free."
"You believe that I will set a demon such as him free for
the sake of one person?"
Ashram laughed, then pushed Drizzt away, throwing the dark
elf back several yards. "You defeated him once, in single
combat. Do you really believe that you would not be able to
do such again?"
"What do you get out of this?" Deedlit asked.
"That is not your concern. Errtu and I have a deal, that is
all you need to know."
Catti-brie snorted. "And ye believe ye'll get that? Demons
aren't very trustworthy."
"How naive." Ashram pointed to the side, towards Pirotess.
"I would not recommend casting that spell Pirotess. It
would be rather bad if I had to kill both of us in this
body."
Pirotess dropped her hands, aborting a containment spell.
"There is a shifter living several miles north of here.
I'll be waiting," Ashram grabbed Kuno, "with him." Kuno
attempted to struggle, but failed as both forms shimmered
and disappeared.
Drizzt stared at the spot where Ryoga disappeared for a long
time. His eyes were haunted, much like a condemned man.
Catti-brie shared the look. The man she was to marry, the
man Drizzt loved as a brother, Wulfgar, was alive!
"Are you just going to stand there all day?" Ranma's voice
was close to what he reserved for his father, namely full of
scorn. "There are things we need to do."
Rage burned in Drizzt's eyes as he turned to regard the
youth. "You dare?"
Ranma slapped the elf, then grabbed Drizzt's wrists before
the other could draw his scimitars. "Damn right I dare.
You've been mister high and mighty ever since we met. Now,
we are in the shit because of some enemy of yours. So what
are you going to do?"
A sword poked Ranma in the back. "Let him go," Catti-brie's
voice was a choked whisper.
Drizzt relaxed his hold on the scimitars, and Ranma relaxed
his hold on Drizzt's wrists.
"If you two are done," growled Pirotess, "we have some
planning to do."
*******
"Release me foul demon!" Being chained to a wall did nothing
to reduce how annoying Kuno was.
"You're close," Ashram said, "I'm not a demon. I'm just
working with one."
"So, like the black hearted Saotome, you consort with the
residents of the underworld."
Ashram grabbed a roll of duct tape from the mage standing
behind him and gagged Kuno. The mage was dressed in a
simple black robe...
The author apologizes, for an instant he had his genre's
mixed up.
The mage didn't look the part. He was dressed in a tan suit
and wore wire-rimmed glasses. With his brown hair and
beard, all that would be needed is a pipe to make him look
like a school professor. A black stole with dark red runes
embroidered on and a tool belt on his waist marred the
image, but it would be disturbing to anyone who was in a
western college in the twentieth century.
"Are you sure you can do it?" Ashram asked.
"Of course. It's a complex spell, but not overly so. It's
not as easy as an armor spell, but it's not a dragon
metamorphosis. I must thank your master-"
"He's not my master," Ashram shot in, annoyed, "we have a
deal, nothing more."
"Whatever you say sir. As I was saying, I must thank your
ally for providing me with such an interesting spell. The
only problem will be the amount of power required. If you
wish me to perform a summoning in a few hours, I need an
alternate source of energy."
"Take some from this body, it is rich in power."
The mage smiled. "Rather humorous, I would say."
*******
The house was somewhat large, sitting on a rise outside a
small town. A faint blue glow was visible in the entire
area. The companions sat on another hill a short distance
away.
"Building his house on a point of convergence," Cologne
shook her head, "he must be insane."
"They don't call shifters and summoners 'mad mages' for
nothing," Deedlit replied.
"If that is so," Drizzt asked, "why would the people of the
town tolerate him?"
"Simple," Pirotess explained, "the mage protects the town
from any random monsters. In return, he gets a cut from any
trades. There's some kind of caravan called the 'Iron
Horse' that stops here often. Enough goods are going to and
from a city called Tolkien to keep this place alive."
"Enough talking, it's time to play 'Pound the Wizard.'"
Ranma's head became familiar with the flats of two swords
(well, a sword and a scimitar anyway), a coiled whip, and a
wooden cane.
"He does have a bit of a point," Deedlit said, "there's
really nothing we can do except go to them."
There was a collective sigh, and the group made their way
slowly toward the mansion of the mad mage.
*******
The door was opened before they could knock by a small
golem. Of course, small is a relative term when it comes to
automatons. This particular mystic creation was only around
eight feet tall, unlike the ten to twenty feet favored by
most wizards (intimidation factor and all that). The golem
silently (since it had no mouth) led the companions into a
small cavern below the house.
What awaited them in the cavern was a man in a tan suit (see
above, in case you have a short attention span) standing in
the center of a large pentagram carved into the stone
floor. Off to the side, Ryoga's body was slumped against
the wall, apparently asleep. Kuno stood next to the mage,
idly tossing a large ruby.
Pirotess moved toward Ryoga's form, while the others moved
to confront the mage.
"Well, boy, now do you see what kind of trouble-" For the
first time in her life, Cologne broke off in surprise.
While she was talking, Kuno had turned to regard them, but
it was not Kuno's face that they saw.
It was Ashram's.
"You're just in time," Ashram's real voice sent shivers down
Deedlit's spine. A groan indicated Ryoga regaining
consciousness as Ashram tossed the ruby to Cologne. "If you
want the idiot that used to be in this body, he's in there."
Ranma, Deedlit, and Cologne stared into the gem. Sure
enough, in it was an image of Kuno, silently ranting and
waving a spectral practice sword.
"If you don't mind," the mage said, "I would like to get
started."
"Very well," Ashram turned to Drizzt, "if you are ready."
"Release the boy's soul, and return his body."
Ashram laughed. "Would you have preferred that I kill the
boy? Besides, this is only temporary," he snatched the gem
back, "I will restore him after a suitable body is created.
Now if you would please gather round, the show is about to
begin."
Drizzt moved toward the mage. "Do it," he whispered, his
hands never straying from the hilts of his scimitars.
The mage nodded. "Everyone gather in the pentagram. The
demon will be unable to enter or harm anyone within."
Ryoga was fully awake now, but weakened. His life force had
been drained by the spell to remove Ashram's consciousness
from his mind. Everyone else was ready for the fight they
knew was coming.
The mage began his chant. The faint light from the ley
lines began to intensify. A shimmering field in the air in
front of the circle appeared. It began to take shape,
forming a twelve foot tall humanoid figure.
*******
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the main event. Let's get
ready to rumbllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeee."
"Sit down," Jade said, laughing, "and shut up, Ranger, it's
getting to the good part."
*******
It was big. Twice as tall as a man with smoking red scales,
a horned face that was a cross between a dog and an ape, and
black wings. One clawed hand held a sword made of
lightning, the other held a chain. Leashed to the chain was
a large man. He would have been close to seven feet tall if
he was not slumped in resignation. His blond hair was
singed in places due to the flames coming from the balor's
body. The dead look fled Wulfgar's eyes as he saw
Catti-brie and Drizzt.
"Greetings Drizzt Do'Urden," Errtu growled.
"Release your prisoner, Errtu," Drizzt replied, "it is me
you want."
Errtu laughed. "You are in no position to make demands. I
hold all the cards, as the humans say."
"But you cannot harm us."
"Actually," the mage said, walking out of the pentagram and
toward the door, "he can. Try not to make too much of a
mess, Errtu, or would that be too much to ask?."
The companions immediately spread out, drawing their
weapons. Errtu continued to laugh.
"You see, foolish drow? I am in control. In fact, since
the dimensional barriers are not a picky here as they are in
our home corner of the megaverse, I can do this." He stuck
his sword in the ground, and raised a hand. The blue glow
around them seemed to fade, sucked into the demon's body.
Errtu uttered a few short syllables, then gestured with his
hand.
Around the loose circle the companions formed, four vortex's
formed. Once they were fully formed, scores of creatures
poured out. Each had a distinctive shape. There were
almost-human creatures oozing fluids, strange meldings of
several animal and insect forms, and others too horrible to
describe. The companions were surrounded when the portals
closed. The final demon to step out, a six-armed woman with
the lower body of a snake, moved over to Errtu.
"BUGs," Pirotess spat.
"What?" was the unanimous reply.
"BUGs, a little term I learned from a soilder in another
dimension. Stands for Big, Ugly Guys, their term for
generic demon soldiers, like these."
A silence descended, broken only by the hisses and growls
coming from the demon hoard.
"I offer you a deal," Errtu continued to chuckle,
"surrender, and I will let your friends go." He held up a
thin dagger. "I had to pay a great price to find this, but
it was worth it. It is a soulless rune weapon. One stab,
and your soul becomes the energy source for this weapon,
forever."
"Never."
"Really. One life for seven. Any honorable person would
accept it."
Drizzt shrugged. "I prefer to lead a moral life rather than
an honorable one." He lashed out, dicing a mantis-headed
monster. "Honor gets in the way."(1) With that he charged
the hoard, a reckless smile on his face.
That was the cue for both sides to fight. They were
outnumbered, and their foes possessed otherworldly strength,
but that did not stop them.
Drizzt waded through the hoard. His twin scimitars brought
death to any that stood in his way. With the enchanted
bracers on his feet, he was also able to dart out of the way
of oncoming blows.
Those that thought the human woman would be an easy target
were soon proven wrong. One swipe of the red-glowing sword
was enough to bisect any demon, no matter how thick it's
skin.
Cologne leaped around the room, the height she had gained
from her regeneration allowing her to use her staff more
effectively. Her blows were not as powerful as her
companions, but they did not need to be. Each hit from her
staff burned a demon like fire and acid burned a human. She
always thought there was something odd about the huge tree
near her village, it seems the branch that had dropped into
her lap two centuries ago had a power to it as well.(2)
Deedlit renewed the shield around her for the third time in
less than a minute. The lightning bolts she sent into the
crowd surrounding her had done nothing to dissipate it, or
ease up on the claws slashing at her. She could keep this
up for a long time, but so could the demons.
Pirotess disemboweled another demon with her sword. Every
now and then, she sent a shimmering bolt of energy into the
mass of fiends around her. Sparing a look over her
shoulder, she saw that Ryoga was still gathering his
strength. The spell that Ashram used to remove his
consciousness from Ryoga's mind was a powerful one.
Apparently, the mage had used Ryoga's own life energy to
fuel it. He was gathering his strength from the massive
energy drain of the spell, but would be of no good if the
beasts destroyed him before he could fight.
Ranma was making sure that didn't happen. Anything that
came within three yards of Ryoga was quickly thrown into the
path of one of Deedlit's lightning bolts. Those that
avoided the initial attack were hit with hundreds of blows
before they could even block.
The companions had managed to keep the demon hoard at bay,
none receiving any major injuries. On the other hand, there
were too many enemies for them to contend with for long.
They were being pushed, the circle growing smaller.
But by then Ryoga had recovered enough to join the fight.
Ranma and Ryoga cut a path through the demons, moving ever
closer to Errtu. They were a perfect match. Ryoga could
fell one of the monsters with a single blow, and did more
often than not. Ranma followed just behind, Using his speed
to keep enemies off Ryoga's back and to finish off any that
survived the lost boys punches.
Suddenly Ranma was face to face with the six-armed woman.
The marilith charged in, each hand wielding a different
weapon, though all were very sharp. Ranma was barely able
to dodge all the blows, much less find an opening to strike.
Through it all, Errtu laughed, giving the occasional tug on
the chain holding Wulfgar.
Wulfgar called out with his mind, like he had called every
day for the past year. Now was different. Now his call was
heard. Through the amulet Cattie-brie wore, his call
traveled across the dimensional barriers.
*******
<Toril>
In the tunnels of Mithril hall, a red-bearded dwarf stood in
a small museum of weapons, head bowed in prayer. Bruenor
looked up to see Aegis-fang, his only remembrance of the
human boy who he loved as a son, glowing. It faded from
view, and a cry echoed across the dimensions to Bruenor's
ears.
"Tempus!"
Tears filled the old dwarf's eyes as he heard the cry.
"Me boy," was all he said.
*******
<Earth>
With a cry to Tempus, god of battle, Wulfgar swung
Aegis-fang at his tormenter. Errtu staggered under the
hammer's sting, but quickly recovered and caught the weapon
before it could strike again.
Ryoga looked up in time to see Errtu drive the slender blade
into Wulfgar's stomach. The noble barbarian screamed, in
pain and in grief. Wulfgar looked up, and Ryoga could feel
the blue eyes drilling to his very soul. *You have the
strength,* Wulfgar's voice said in his mind, *you are
worthy.*
Wulfgar raised his head higher. With another cry to his
god, he lifted the hammer, poised for one final strike. But
the blow never fell. The magic was all but complete, and
his body was failing. His skin darkened until it was a gray
as stone. The hammer fell to the ground as Wulfgar's hands
dissolved into dust, followed by the rest of his body, until
only the dagger remained.
Errtu picked up the dagger, and laughed. A wave of anger
rushed over Ryoga, prompting him to charge the demon. As he
ran, a name came to the forefront of his thoughts,
unfamiliar, yet begging to be said.
"Aegis-fang!" His cry stopped the battle around him, as even
the demons looked up to see the mighty hammer appear in
Ryoga's hands. He swung his new weapon, and blasting Errtu
to the ground. His follow-up was parried by the dagger, but
such a small weapon could not stop Aegis-fang, not with the
lost boy's strength behind it. The demon roared in pain,
and quickly teleported away before Ryoga could strike a
third time.
The marilith was distracted, and Ranma found his opening.
He quickly pummeled the snake-woman, causing her to stagger
back. Unfortunately, she also teleported away before Ranma
could strike the final blow.
With the two generals gone, victory was assured. It was a
simple matter to clean up the remaining BUGs. Ryoga
staggered over to his friend. Both looked to where the
demoness had been.
"I though you didn't hit women?" Ryoga asked.
"Where'd you hear that?"(3)
"I'm not sure, forget I said anything. Where's Ashram?"
"He disappeared during the fight," Cologne said. Since
morning her appearance had decreased in age another ten
years. "Now there are two souls held prisoner by those
two. I fear the fight has just begun."
"Do we have to rescue Kuno?" Ranma saw Cologne and Ryoga
raise their weapons, ready to bop him on the head again.
"Okay, okay, we'll save him. By the way, Ryoga, where did
you get that hammer?"
Ryoga looked at the weapon in his hand. "I don't know. We
were fighting, and then the man chained up got stabbed. I
heard a voice say that I was worthy, and a name came into my
head."
"What name?"
"The weapons name," Drizzt said, walking over, "Aegis-fang."
"Right. I called the name, and it appeared in my hand."
"There's only one person who could do that, it seams he
passed the weapon on to you."
"Never!" Catti-brie shouted, ending her vigil by the pile of
dust that had been Wulfgar. "It don't matter to me who says
so, that hammer belongs to Wulfgar. A boy like yerself has
no right to it. Ye can't.." She collapsed into Drizzt's
arms, sobbing.
Drizzt led Catti-brie away, while Pirotess came up behind
Ryoga. "How would you like to help me with something?"
"What?"
"The wizard is still there. He and I need to have a little
talk. I might need some help, just in case he has that
golem active."
Ryoga smiled bitterly. "Lead the way."
Ranma moved to follow, but Deedlit held him back. "Trust
me," she said, "you don't want to know what she does when
she 'talks' to people."
End Chapter 5.
Notes:
1: This comes from one of my belief's (also phrased as
"Honor means you don't snipe the bad guys, moral means you
make sure that you have a clear shot at the bad guys before
pulling the trigger."), and I connected it to Drizzt with a
line from The Crystal Shard: "Where in the Nine Hells did
you get the idea that I would fight fair?" (he was fighting
a giant, the giant said something to the effect of "hold
still, and let's see how you do in a fair fight" Drizzt
promptly skewered him and uttered that line)
2: Yes, before you ask, it is a branch off the Millennium
tree.
3: Where do people get this idea? He knocked Shampoo out
with one kick, and fights Kodachia and Azuza just fine. He
only hesitates when the girl in question is either a)
supposed to marry him (Akane, Ukyo) or b) trying to get in
his pants (Shampoo, Kodachi). Never have I see him say
(outside of fanfics) that he doesn't fight girls. Well, a
demoness doesn't really count, but it's close enough.