Two guards appeared around a corner, but they were at a low level and the sprinting party slammed into them like a hammer, shouldering them aside and knocking them unconscious.
“How much further?” Elania shouted, pulling the bindings on her monk robe, and discarding it. The others followed suit.
Disguise wasn’t needed anymore, and easy access to their weapons and gear was.
Plus, running in the robe was annoying. She wasn’t sure how the monks managed it while fighting.
Probably why on the journey through the Depths they had been wearing much more reasonable clothing and gear compared to the monks she’d seen in the fortress and city.
Still, that didn’t answer why the guards were wearing robes that would make fighting harder. Maybe they had grown complacent enough to think no one would dare try to fight them in the fortress?
The guide pointed to a door at the end of the hallway. “Through that and then two more hallways and we’ll be to the dungeons. They should be there.”
Elania nodded. She really hoped that was the case. She didn’t want to have to search the entire fortress for them.
The door was locked, but it wasn’t a gate, so she just kicked it open. It resisted, but a second [Power] enhanced kick sent it flying off its hinges into the next hall’s wall.
A flurry of nearby shouts inside erupted, and she stepped through right into the waiting monks’ attack. A sphere of [Power] formed around her, and the magical energy sparked and arced through the surrounding air without touching her. The rest of the group hesitated, but they weren’t needed for her reply.
She folded the sphere of energy into a flat disk, then launched it down both sides of the hallway in two deadly arcs.
There were a half dozen monks in both directions, but only one dove to the floor in time to avoid being cut in half. The rest were struck as they tried to block or dodge, and the energy blade cut through them like a scythe through wheat.
The survivor screamed at the top of his lungs, “D... demon!”
The showers of blood and viscera flooded the hallway, and even Gaston winced as the rest of the group stepped into the hallway to follow her.
A sick expression appeared on the guide’s face as he pointed in the survivor's direction. “That way.”
The man turned and scrambled away, leaving bloody footprints behind as the group followed. The next hall held another gate, with two determined monks guarding it. If the noise from the earlier fights hadn’t alerted them, the terrified screams of the survivor rushing toward them, then down a side hallway would have.
Elania didn’t want to give them time to react, so she launched a strike of [Power] at them. The first placed his staff into the ground and chanted something, and the second raised his hand, a wall of golden light forming between them and the strike.
There was a clash as her [Power] collided with the magic of the monks. Lighting sparked with a sizzle as the crackling energy arced between the strike point and the nearby stone.
The stonework began to crumble and crack, but the barrier held before the entire thing shattered into golden and red motes of light.
Elania tsked and checked her HUD.
[Power: 1356/1544]
She had gotten better at launching [Power] strikes, having spent less than two-hundred points so far, but they were still a long way away from being out of trouble. She had to be mindful of her backup mana shards and conserve her energy.
She scanned them with [Identify] immediately.
[Martial Monk - Human - Lvl 158]
[Martial Monk - Human - Lvl 163]
They were something like Taniel’s level, then. He’d hurt her in the sewers, but she’d not been prepared or at full power at the time.
Before she could launch another attack, Gaston pulled out a length of steel. At first, she thought it was an artifice musket, but two arms popped out, revealing a metal crossbow.
He slapped a bolt into the groove, the string already being locked. He aimed and fired, his target moved to block the shot with a magic shield, but the length of metal punched through the barrier without slowing down, leaving a lazy rippled through the magic behind.
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It struck the monk in the neck, sending him tumbling to the ground, the other monk’s eyes widening before he cursed. A golden bell formed in the air in front of the man, and then it shot forward, flowing through the barrier and towards her and the rest of the group.
Their monk stepped forward, raising his hands together and then launching into a prayer. A copy of the bell formed in front of them and launched itself at the other, the two magical manifestations clashing together with a resounding gong that sent the golden energy scattering in long showers.
A litany of shouts sounded from behind, adding another surge of urgency to hurry.
The guard looked accusingly at their guide. “Why, brother?”
“I only have two bolts left,” Gaston said, turning his gaze onto her. “Can you break through?”
Elania nodded, drawing out her [Vorpal Dagger], and then launching herself forward in a sprint. She moved fast enough that the hallway blurred around her, and she was almost to arm’s length before the blue protective field of the monk formed between them.
The tip of her dagger struck the barrier with a sizzle of red light as she shoved another chunk of [Power] through the blade. The energy crackled and sparked, but then the tip of the metal slid through the field ever so slightly.
That was enough, because then a piercing beam slid through the hole and plunged through the monk’s chest.
He stumbled back, his eyes wide with shock, but that ended abruptly when she raised the weapon, cleanly bisecting his torso to his head.
The field vanished, letting the spray of blood land on her, but her anger made it sizzle and evaporate off of her in a thin cloud of ash.
“Done. Is this one locked, too?” Elania asked, ignoring the fact that she had just cut the man in half. Had cut a dozen men in half. The only thing that mattered was getting Yolani and Henri back.
The guide nodded. “It’ll be stronger this time. We’ll need--“
His words were cut off as Elania grabbed the bars and then pulled. The same angry resistance met her. This time it was like a dragon instead of a snake, roaring at her to leave.
It didn’t budge as she pulled, and then she poured [Power] into her limbs at an alarming rate. It didn’t matter; she had to get through.
When she hit half power, she tugged on her first mana shard, draining it completely to refill herself.
The gate resisted still, her strength inadequate as the metal somehow channeled her [Power] through it and away.
That would not do. She had to get through.
So much for conserving her energy.
She glanced behind her at the two guards. She ignored the looks on the faces of her party as she touched the bodies and transmuted them into [Power]. That put her well above her limit. She stopped the flow into her at 2154/1545 and instead directed it like a spike into the gate.
The enchanted metal screamed in protest before the central bars shattered. She could tell that whatever it was, it wasn’t destroyed. The gate was only a small part of it, but they had an entrance.
Puffing heavily and wiping the sweat off her forehead, she looked at the others. “Okay, it’s open. Let’s go.”
Gaston shook his head, a grim look on his face as he glanced at where the monks’ bodies had been. Now there wasn’t even a stain of blood on the floor.
Well, he could judge what she did all he wanted, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her.
Gaston halted the other guard. “You stay here and watch. Soon as you see them, come warn us. Don’t fight.”
The man nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Pushing into the dungeon section, the lighting abruptly changed to a weak, dim flicker from widely placed sconces. The air turned damp and cold, and she could feel the roar of one of Neftasu’s waterfalls rushing downward through the stone nearby.
That and the angry glare of something she couldn’t see, but she was sure it was related to the resistance of the gate. Whatever enchantment had been on it was still active and was trying to push her out.
Except she was in, and it didn’t have a means to touch her. At least, that was the feeling she had. “What kind of ward is in here? It’s trying to get rid of me.”
“I’m not sure, but my telepathy just cut out,” Gaston replied. “We knew they had something like that. That’s why I had Nevin wait back there.”
“Oh. I thought it was strange you told him to come warn us instead of just telling you...” Elania said, trailing off as she looked down the hallway. She raised her voice. “Yolani?”
There was a weak response from a few of the cells, but each one she checked as they pushed deeper was a disappointment. All the cells were empty or held some very sorry-looking prisoners.
But no Henri or Yolani.
Two cells near the end were sitting open, their doors ajar, unlike the others. A bad feeling settled into Elania’s stomach. Where were they?
“They... aren’t here,” Elania whispered.
Gaston cursed and then turned on their guide, grabbing him by the front and slamming him into the wall. “Where are they? You swore they would be here.”
The guide grabbed the lieutenant’s wrists and shook his head. “They should be! There’s no reason they wouldn’t be here at this time of day!”
Elania’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, ‘at this time of day’?”
The guide swallowed. “They’re usually brought out for questioning in the morning, and then returned in the evening.”
“Questioning... what kind of questioning?” Elania asked. “Where?”
“Upstairs in the interrogation rooms,” the guide replied. “But there will be Lightbringers there. We won’t be able to break through. Not with just the four of us.”
“Three.” A voice interrupted.
Elania, Gaston, and their guide all ripped around to face the newcomer. Elania recognized him immediately. “Joren.”
The monk tossed Nevin’s limp body to the floor, his neck broken at a sickening angle.
“Please surrender,” Joren said, his voice strained. Behind him, a dozen more monks filed into the corridor, leaving them trapped at the end of the dungeon hallway. “You can’t win in here.”
Elania took a breath and then flared her energy through her body, but the [Power] bled off and evaporated before it could fully form. Her eyes widened slightly. “What did you do?”
Gaston drew his sword, and the monks behind Joren readied their staves. There were far too many of them to fight in a melee.
Joren shook his head. “Unholy powers don’t work in here, Elania.”
He pointed his staff at her. “Surrender or be purged.”
Elania shook her head. “That’s not the choice you think it is.”
“So be it.” Joren’s staff glowed dimly, and then he pointed at them. “Take them down!”
The monks charged with an angry chorus.