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Story Codes: Fantasy, Magic, Violence

For a list of all The God’s Passionate Love, other World of Erasthay stories, maps, and glossaryclick here

Comments are very welcome. I would like all criticism, positive and negative, so long as it’s
constructive, and feedback is very appreciated.

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Click here for Chapter 14.

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Illina

My body throbbed from the bruising impact. I kicked at kraken’s rubbery tentacles wrapped around my body. I smacked into them with my fists. It swirled me around, squirming and thrashing in the water. Sounds roared in my ears, muffled, muted.

It pulled me close to it. A beak appeared. It thrust out of the mass of writhing, black flesh. It pulled me in. I cursed, bubbles bursting from my mouth, and then I twisted my body. I planted both my feet onto the rubbery creature’s body, framing the beak. It snapped.

I braced myself, leg muscles straining as the tentacles pulled me down towards its hungry maw. The suction cups sucked at my skin. They gripped me tight. I couldn’t escape it. Had no weapons on me.

“Cernere’s black cunt!” I screamed into the water as my muscles fought against its strength. It pulled harder on me. The water thrashed around me.

It slammed me into the metal walls of the pool. Pain burst across my back. My entire body shook. My legs buckled. Knees bent. It yanked me towards it snapping beak. Terror flashed through me. I got further than my mother.

But not much further.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Barg

I dove into the water.

My legs kicked, driving me down towards the thrashing kraken. Illina’s face strained in the water. She fought against it, her feet planted on it like she was fighting against being pulled into the creature’s body.

Then it surged forward and slammed her into the wall. Bubbles exploded from her mouth. She went limp. It pulled her towards its maw. I swam faster. Fear propelled me. I reached the rubbery tentacle holding my lover and bit.

I savaged the rubbery appendage. Blood tasting of ink filled my mouth. Bitter and foul. The tentacle writhed. I tore out a chunk of flesh and spat it out. My teeth snapped down and savaged again, rippling away more of its foul, rubbery meat.

Illina’s dazed eyes met mine. She shook her head and thrashed again. Bubbles burst from her mouth. I heard her muffled shouting but couldn’t understand her words. I would rip her free. I attacked the next tentacle holding her tight. A beak snapped at me.

I kicked away while tearing out more of the foul flesh. The water boiled around me. Then a tentacle slammed into me. It drove me away. I hit the side of the pool. My lungs burned. I had to breathe. But I wasn’t about to let her die.

I kicked back at it. This thing wasn’t killing my Illina.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stefan Halian

Ahlona’s sweet pussy juices poured across my tongue. I tilted my head back, gulping down the liquid. My entire body trembled as the magic surged through me. I threw the vial to the ground and felt the reserve of power I had to burn.

The kraken thrashed through the water, tentacles breaking the surface and sending waves that sloshed around my feet. Ahlona stood by me, her sword out, looking at the water with trepidation. Only Barg had dived in after Illina.

Bubbles frothed in the water. I seized them with tendrils of air magic, shaped them into hardened blades, and slashed them down into kraken’s bulbous flesh. They pushed through the water and struck the kraken’s bulbous body. But not hard. They didn’t hit with much force, slowed down by the liquid itself. It resisted their strikes.

The water grew murky as inky blood spread from the kraken’s wounds. Barg and Illina vanished from sight. Even if the air blades were effective, they were too risky. I could kill my companions. I racked my brain for solutions.

I could sense through the water. I could feel where Barg and Illina were. They were by each other, tentacles lashing around them. The barguest savaged at the rubbery appendages, ripping and tearing while Illina, weaponless, thrashed.

The kraken’s main body lay at the heart of all the currents. A bulbous shape with a snapping beak trying to rip Illina’s body apart and feast on her. I couldn’t let that happened. I had to protect her. Save our mission. My chest rose and fell. My fingers flexed.

What to do?

Fire was useless. The water would absorb the heat and spread it out to everyone. Earth would run into the same problems as the air blades. What could I do with water? It had weight. Mass. An idea struck me. I could feel the heart of the kraken.

I surged my magic into it. I poured it all, using every ounce of control I had. I seized the entire reservoir. I burned through Ahlona’s pussy juices. The water level dropped. I compressed it all, squeezing it down on the kraken’s body itself. The current rushed past the tentacles, Barg, and Illina. I felt the squishy body compressing. It resisted it. I forced the water in tighter, my hand shoving into my robes.

Tentacles appeared over the shrinking water level. Barg burst out of the waves, kicking in confusion. Illina’s head appeared, red hair matted, black ink swirling about her. The kraken’s tentacles twitched. Then she was free, swimming away.

The weight crushed down further and further on it. Its gelatinous body compressed more. Tentacles tore free and floated to the surface, but it still lived. Still survived the immense pressure pushing down on it.

I popped the cork off another vial of pussy juices and downed more power, drinking it as I kept up the weight. The pool water had dropped to a quarter of its height, Barg and Illina pressed against the side where the pressure hadn’t increased. A ball of near solid water surrounded the Kraken, compressing tighter and tighter. It resisted now. It didn’t want to be compacted any longer. It was feeling strange.

The kraken’s body ruptured. In that moment, I felt it die. I released the spell. The inky water rushed back. It surged upward, thrusting Illina and Barg with it. They gasped, pushed against the sides as the pool swelled to its normal levels.

Sir Bryce glanced over at me and nodded his approval.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Illina

Monica helped pull me out of the water. I rolled over onto my side, shuddering. My ribs ached from being crushed by the tentacles. Bruises throbbed along my skin, the pain rippling through my nervous system. The leywife hugged me.

“Are you okay?” she asked, fright thick in her voice. Her wet cheek rubbing on mine.

“Fine, fine,” I said. A nervous giggle burst from me. “That was quite a surprise. Open the vault and… BAM! Tentacles!”

“Yes, yes,” Barg growled. He shifted into his human form, water dripping off his skin. “I am sure it would be exciting to some.”

I laughed harder and struggled to speak through the chortles. “Remember, that thief… she loved… the idea of tentacles… Wrapped around…”

“She was an interesting one,” admitted Barg. “Didn’t she end up finding a panthopus to fuck.”

“Yeah,” I said. My laughter trailed off. “Tentacles… Don’t get the appeal. That was slimy.” I glanced down at the inky water. I sighed. “Stefan, could you siphon out the blood and stuff. I need to see what that did. If there’s more work to do. And to find my tools.”

“Of course,” Stefan said. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

“Me, too,” I said and beamed at him. “Thanks.”

He gave an embarrassed shrug. “We were all worried about you.”

“I wanted to use my magic, but I was afraid I’d hit you,” Monica said. “It’s not very precise.”

I waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine.” I glanced over at Sir Stickinass. “Did you even draw your sword?”

“I would have been useless in the water,” he said. “I trusted Stefan and his magic to come to your aid.”

Stefan smiled, looking like a boy who had been given praise by his father. He stared down at the waters and concentrated. A column of it drew out, siphoning out the black gunk. As he worked, he glanced over at me. “I could drain it all.”

“I’m sure Cernere’s thought of that,” I said. “I don’t know what nasty thing she has planned. It’s no a hindrance at the moment.”

He nodded absently.

In a few minutes, the water grew clear enough. I dove back in. I searched along the bottom and found my tools. Then I swam to the open door. Inside was a cramped compartment and another door. There were holes in the floor. Drains. I glanced behind me. Seal the vault door and then open the main one. It had a handle on it.

How terrifying. You had to trust that it would drain fast enough or you’d drown. A shiver ran through me. Then I noticed the text on the wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ahlona

“Stefan, Barg, and Sir Brickhead are coming with me,” Illina declared when she resurfaced. “The rest, you’re staying behind.”

“What!” I demanded. My wings fluttered. I glanced at my Stefan. “Why wouldn’t we all go?”

Monica nodded her head. “I know I might not be the most skilled, but…” She rubbed hands on her belly. “I have powers.”

“I’m fine with it,” Alloria said. “Just come back with my necklace.”

“You mean my favorite necklace?” Illina asked, toying with the amethysts she wore around her neck.

Alloria glared at her.

“I am going,” I insisted. “I am Stefan’s sword. I was sent to protect and guide him.”

“And I don’t need you in the Black Vault,” the thief said. “I need Barg, and Stefan’s magic will be a big help. Sir Boringmouth is paying, and I don’t think he’ll trust me in there without his supervision.”

“I still don’t see why I’m not permitted to come,” I insisted.

“Right, right, we’ll all drown if we try to take more than four.” Illina rolled her shoulders. “There’s a water lock. It won’t open if there are more than four in there. Cernere left a pretty clear warning that she’ll only permit four to burglarize her Vault.”

“Permit?” I demanded.

“We’re breaking into her Vault,” noted Stefan. “I mean, it seems she doesn’t want anyone in there.”

“Of course she does.” Illina grinned. “It’s a game. She wants to see if anyone can do it, but she knows that if you had unlimited resources, you can keep throwing bodies in there. Where’s the fun in that? We’re not allowed to brute force her traps. She’s limiting us to a good thieving crew of four. So, sorry Ahlona. You’re hot and all, but Sir Limpdick has a big enough sword, too.”

Sir Bryce just sat there and ignored the insults.

“Stefan,” I gasped, turning to him.

He placed his hands on my arms. He stroked them, staring at me with his warm eyes. He leaned in and kissed me. His goatee rasped on my lips. I closed my eyes, a shiver running through me. My wings fluttered.

“I love you, Ahlona.”

“How am I supposed to watch over you?” I whispered back, my wings drooping and halo dimming. “This is not fair.”

“It’s not.” He smiled at her. “I am sorry. I’ll have Sir Bryce, Barg, and Illina to watch my back. We’ll be in and out in no time.”

“She had a kraken waiting to ambush the person who opened the vault. What other monsters does she have down there.”

“I have your pussy juices. It’s like I’m taking you with me.”

“We have to get going,” Illina said. “My water breathing potion won’t last forever.”

“What are the rest of us supposed to do?” asked Sir Bryce.

“Well, you’re made of boring stone, so I figure breathing’s not an issue for you,” Illina said with an impish grin. “I suggest the rest of you to hold your breath.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sir Bryce Cartith

Irritation beat through me. Illina grew more and more tiresome. But her utility was coming to an end. Once I was in the Vault, once I had what I needed, I could be free of accepting her insults and snide remarks.

“Be safe,” Monica said, hugging me. She stared up at me.

“I have come too far to fail here,” I told her as she rubbed her face into my breastplate. “The Lawbreaker will be punished.”

Hatred, thick and hot, filled my veins. Illina wouldn’t fail me like her mother had.

“I know.” Monica leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed me. “I love you.”

“Love you, wife.”

She smiled up at me. “Don’t let Illina drive you to distraction. She’s just teasing you.”

“No, she’s belittling me in a vain attempt to feel like she’s in control of the situation.”

Alloria came up, her black hair falling about a face paled nearly blueless. “You better come back. I don’t want to go through life never getting a taste of your cock.” She shuddered. “What has the magic done to us.”

“Driven us mad,” I growled, a part of me aching to fuck her right now, but the Vault lay open. “When I return, once we are on the boat, I shall pound you so hard.”

“Yes!” she moaned in wanton delight and then kissed me, too. With hunger and fire. My blood ignited.

With a growl, I pushed her away and then jumped into the water.

I sank into the cool depths.

I held my breath as the others followed. I hit the bottom, the water pouring into the joints in my armor. I would have to spend a weak oiling everything once we were out of here. Bubbles rose around me, obscuring everything.

Illina swam by me, rapping her knuckles against the back of my helm. I growled at the echoing rap then marched after her towards the open vault. Stefan labored to kick down, tangled up by his robes. Barg swam down with ease. I marched into the room, already feeling the burning need to breathe. I fought against it, my heart screaming.

A panic tumbled on the edge of my control. I needed to breathe. To suck in air. We crowded into the room. It was tight, pressed together as Illina and Barg pulled closed the vault door. It closed with a dull boom.

Plunged us into unbreathing dark.

For a moment, terror seized me. It was all I could do not to thrash. We were trapped. Stefan shouted beside me, water muffling fear. We would die in here. Trapped. The Lawbreaker would never pay for ruining my wife. For taking her smile from me.

That look in her eyes…

My gauntlet-clad hand scrabbled to grab my amulet, but it was beneath my breastplate. I banged into it. I had to breathe. I—

A loud gurgling echoed around us. The water flowed and then it spilled off my head. I sucked in blessed air. Stefan let out a brittle laugh. Barg sucked in panting breathes. Illina hummed along with nonchalant playfulness.

The level of the water drained. It poured out of the joints of my armor. It flowed down a drain, glugging away. Then the door behind me opened inward onto more darkness. Light flickered into being. A ball of magic floating before Stefan, spilling over his waterlogged, blue robes.

He stumbled forward a few steps, water splashing across the stones. He breathed heavily. I trembled but gathered myself. We were inside the Black Vault. A heady rush washed through me.

Exulting, I stepped out of the lock. Then Illina wiggled past me. Water ran down her body, her toga squishing as she walked. She had weapons on her. She pulled out a dagger as she peered ahead at the floor.

“Brighter, Stefan,” she said as she padded forward, dripping water.

The light shone down to expose a hallway stretching before us. The walls and ceiling were made of the same metal as the vault door. Sheets held together in some means I couldn’t see. The floor was made of volcanic rock. Pumice. It was porous, the water dripping from our bodies vanishing into it.

Illina froze. “Gods! Down!”

She dove to her belly, Barg following. Instincts screamed at me. I threw myself forward, grabbing Stefan out of reflex, and hauled him down with me. I hit with a large clatter, Stefan gasping in surprise beside me. The air howled over our heads. Something slashed above us. A loud clang exploded behind us.

I pushed up and looked back to see a disc of metal had fired down the corridor. The edges gleamed sharp in the magical light. A shiver ran through me.

“Stones absorbed our water,” Illina muttered. “It triggered a mechanism. I just heard it.” She burst into giggles. “Smart. Cernere, you devious cunt!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stefan Halian

“Thank you,” I said to Sir Bryce, lying on my belly beside him.

My heart pumped icy fear through my veins. That would have cut off our heads. I glanced down at the water squeezing off my robes vanishing into the pumice tiles. There were far more of them. If there were more traps…

I sent out water magic around all of us, I drew it off, a simple way to dry clothes. Streams of water flowed from all of us. I guided it back to the water lock and poured it on down the drain where it would be safe. Hair dried, Sir Bryce’s becoming a tousled mess. Illina’s had a frizziness to it. Our clothing was rumpled and wrinkled, but in moments, we were all dry.

“I knew you’d be useful,” Illina said and pushed herself to her feet. “We need to go slow. Just because there was one type of trap doesn’t mean Cernere didn’t put any other’s. If I spot them, I’ll mark them. I don’t want anyone setting off a trap and getting me killed.”

“We’d hate that, too,” I said, chuckling to myself.

“Of course,” she said as she stood up. “I have such a great ass. It would be a crime to deny the world my cute booty.”

Sir Bryce snorted.

“Oh, feel free to get yourself killed, though,” said Illina. “Just blunder into any traps you want. Find out just how solid your head is. It’s full of bricks, so they might just bounce off.”

“Your mother didn’t have a tongue like you,” muttered the knight.

Barg chuckled. It cut off when Illina glared at him.

She led the way down the hallway. She found two more pressure plates and a tripwire we had to step over. She marked them by placing a brass coin on the plates and tying a little ribbon around the tripwire to make it stick out.

“I wouldn’t want any clumsy knights to trip over it,” Illina said sweetly.

Sir Bryce weathered her tongue. I supposed once we were done here, we’d be parting ways with Illina and Barg. They had no reason to go with us. They didn’t seem to care much that the Lawbreaker plotted to murder my divine father. They were just here to break into the Black Vault.

To prove themselves great.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Barg

We entered the first room. Mirrors covered the walls. Stefan floated his ball of light into the middle of it. A bewildering kaleidoscope of reflections faced us. We appeared repeated over and over again as we moved cautiously into the room, Stefan and Sir Bryce lingering at the entrance. The floors were black bricks, each one a square the length of my foot.

My eyes scanned slowly.

I breathed in, searching for any strange scents. The air hardly stirred in here. It held a musty scent, but no dust. I hadn’t seen any. My skin prickled. Divine magics thrummed through the place. My fingers flexed.

We were truly breaking into a Goddess’s vault. Cernere had constructed several of these for different purposes. The Vault in the Saltspray Palace she’d constructed to trick Las into being imprisoned. On Grahata, she had built the Labyrinth to trap her monstrous son, the Minotaur, in its depths and keep him from escaping and rampaging across the world.

Here she stored those items she stole from the other Gods. Items of power and significance. The Chain of Stone, Gewin’s Blinding Shield, Biaute’s Virgin Pussy Juices, the Ambrosia that Sir Bryce sought, and more. This place would be rife with them.

With trifles mortals should not lay their hands upon.

My eyes flicked around the mirrors as Illina examined each of them with care. She leaned so close, her breath fogged across the glass. Then the mist faded away. Her tousled, red hair swayed as she moved down the line. My eyes flicked at the mirrors, studying them. They showed us in them. The black-brick floor, the reflections of the other mirrors, the…

My gaze shot to my right. At a tile that looked the same as the other. But in the mirror, it had a symbol on it. It was hard to discern, the angle distorting my view of it. Perhaps a dagger. I wasn’t sure. I bent down and peered at it, studying the joints.

“Illina,” I said, sliding my finger through the grout. It felt normal, but… “This stone here. Its reflection in the mirror is different.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Illina

Barg swept out the last of the grout he’d chiseled away. I thrust my crowbar into the floor while Sir Bryce and Stefan watched. I worked at the stone, prying it up. My muscles flexed. The rhythm of my heart remained steady.

With a grinding groan, the strange tile lifted away. I grinned at what I saw.

“What?” the paladin asked.

“A mechanism,” I said, staring at the collections of interlocking gears and sprockets. They connected to steel wires that led off beneath the floor in different directions. There were five levers to be turned.

“A trap,” Barg said. “If we pick wrong, I fear something calamitous will happen to us.”

Stefan took a step back into the hallway. Sir Stonebrain just watched us impassively.

“So we can’t pick wrong,” I said. “Let’s start deciphering it.”

Barg and I traced wires and levers, saw what turned which gears. It was a confusing mess. Each lever seemed to activate only one wire. Four death traps and one correct one. We had a twenty percent chance of choosing the right one. Those weren’t bad odds unless you were gambling with your life. The wires were all under tension. The levers would relax the tension. So cutting the wires would only trigger their effects.

So we couldn’t disable the death traps even if we knew which one they were.

I thrust my hand in and felt at the wires. Rough, braided steel, cool to the touch. My nervous system transmitted the sensations to my whirring brain. I caressed them one by one, feeling them. I frowned and leaned back.

“Touch them, Barg,” I said. One of them had felt different. Was it my imagination.

I waited as Barg did the same examination. This wasn’t the time to play games. To take risks. I had to be sure. He stroked them all, his brow furrowing. Then he tapped the one that had felt differently to me.

“This one is made of a different material. It has a smoother texture. It’s subtle, but I felt it.”

“That’s what I thought,” I said and then grabbed a lever. “Wouldn’t it be insane that only one is a death trap and four are fine?”

“Not even Cernere is that devious,” Barg said. “It’s too subtle. If it were more obvious…”

“Right,” I said and turned.

I tensed for death to come crashing down on us. Instead, the mirrors slid up into the ceiling. Behind one was a door that then clicked and then swung open on greased hinges. A dark corridor lay beyond.

“Could we not have shattered the mirrors?” asked Sir Bryce as he marched into the room.

“Cernere would have planned for that,” Barg said. “If we could have even broken them, it’s possible it would have set off one of the death traps.”

I nodded. “Put wires behind the mirror that could be snapped if you broke it and… BAM!” I glanced up at the ceiling. “Cernere wanted this vault solved, not broken.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stefan Halian

The corridor had a curve to it that spiraled us deeper beneath the island. The floor was the same brick tiles, ceiling and walls made of the metal. My ball of magical light ghosted down it. It grew cooler the deeper we went.

Then it opened onto a large room. Something reflected my light in the center. A mound of crystals. Illina paused at the entrance and then groaned. “You’re up, Sir Thickskull.”

She stepped into the room and the crystals moved. They stood up and unfolded into a golem that towered to the height of the room. The bluish crystals gleamed in my reflected light as the hulk marched forward. The ground shook from the impact.

Sir Bryce unslung his kite shield from his back, drew his sword, and advanced. The golem made a delicate, tinkling sound as it moved, at odds with its behemoth size. It had no head, just a glittering chest, arms, and legs. A fist made of a large gem cut into a dodecahedron, slammed forward and crashed into the paladin’s shield.

Metal rang.

The knight grunted. Lagu, Goddess of Law, make unto me an avatar of Justice,” he prayed. “Let me enact punishment on the guilty.”

He swung his sword. A hard blow that struck the crystal golem. It rang like a tuning fork. No damage apparent. Its fists swung hard. Two battering blows that Sir Bryce weathered on his shield. Metal dented. Then a kick struck the paladin in the shin. His feet swept out from beneath him. He fell to the ground.

I seized my magic and thrust a powerful wind of compressed air at the golem to throw it back. It struck the creature and then spilled off of him. The wind didn’t touch the golem. It swept past it and then crashed into the back wall. The wind burst through the room, gusting over me.

“Las’s cock,” I groaned. “My magic didn’t touch it.”

“What?” Illina asked, backing against the wall.

The golem kicked again. Sir Bryce’s armor rang as he rolled along the floor. A crease dented his armor, breaking the seam where the back and breastplate joined, exposing his body. He struggled to stand as the golem advanced.

I sent tendrils of earth magic at it. They struck the golem and then dissolved. Instead of seizing control of it or ripping the crystals from it, my magic fizzled. I groaned as it ignored me, stomping towards the knight struggling to stand.

“It’s made of an anarcane material,” I groaned

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sir Bryce

Lagu’s blessing kept me from feeling the pain of bruised ribs. The golem advanced on me, almost atop me.

“Lagu, flood my body with the strength of the righteous law!” I prayed to the Goddess to whom I’d bargained. She’d given me her word. She had only ever broken it once. Her word was law.

Her power flooded into me. With a snarl, I swung my sword and struck the golem in the shin. A mighty ring burst through the room, assaulting my ears. The golem stumbled and then pitched forward, its leg knocked to the side from the strength of my blow.

I rolled to the side, clearing its bulk. It slammed into the ground. I struggled to stand. My armor slowed me, but I had fueled myself with strength. I had the power of five men. I raised my dented shield as the golem pushed to its feet without making a word.

“There’s a scent,” Barg said as he and Illina poked around in the room.

I faced the golem, not counting on the thieves. The barguest shifted into his hound form, his body flowing. Then the golem was on me. It swung fists hard and fast. I caught them on my shield, feet braced. The top bent over, my arm throbbing from the bruising impact.

With a shout, I swung. Hammering strikes on the shoulder. Chest. My sword battered into the hard enemy. It skittered over the slick crystal. I did no damage. Not even a scratch. I slammed a third time, striking it into the side.

The barguest sniffed around the wall like a cur wandering the streets.

Fury swelled through me. I wouldn’t die here. I slammed my blade hard into the enemy, struggling to drive it back. Sparks flared. Fists slammed into my shield. My left arm throbbed. The first blessing on me absorbed any real pain.

CLANG!

My sword struck true and bent. The edge battered, flattened in a spot. The steel couldn’t withstand my enhanced strength and the golem’s impossibly hard exterior. I snarled as it kicked at me. I blocked the blow with my arm. My vambrace crumpled, squeezing about my limb. I shield bashed it, struggling to knock it back.

It was immovable. I couldn’t harm it.

“Here,” Barg snarled.

The golem slammed a fist that caught me in the shoulder. It spun me around. I crashed on my stomach. The ground shook. I pushed up, catching a glimpse of Illina kneeling down at a section of the wall, prying at it.

The golem kicked me. It struck my breastplate. It dented worse. The straps groaned. The blow drove me into the wall where the foot then pinned me in place. I snarled, refusing to die here. I threw my bent sword at it, striking it hard in the chest. Nothing.

I raised my bent and twisted shield as it drew back its foot and caught the next kick. Then I grabbed the foot with my right hand. I gripped tight and yanked hard to pull it off-balance. It shifted and then slammed the foot I held at me.

I fought against it crushing down on my chest.

“Yes, yes, this is it!” Illina shouted.

The golem yanked his foot from my grip and then swung a fist down at my head. I shoved my shield up to block it.

The blow never landed.

I panted, sweat pouring down my face. I felt the distant injuries being swallowed by my blessings. I peered over my shield to see the golem’s fist frozen. Then it straightened, turned, and marched towards the far side of the wall. It planted its hands against it and pushed.

Stone ground on stone. I sat up and watched it push back a huge section of the wall. A massive block of granite that must have immense weight. It pushed it back and back, revealing that the surrounding wall was thick as I was tall. An opening appeared. It pushed the block into another room and then went still.

“You’re alive,” Illina said to me.

“You don’t sound nearly disappointed enough,” I grunted and stood up.

“Well, I might need you to be a distraction again,” she said with a bright smile. “You did good.”

“Sorry I couldn’t help,” Stefan said, sliding in. “My magic spilled off of it.”

“Cernere wasn’t going to let some mage ruin her fun,” the rogue said. “Shall we. Let’s find out what’s through the door. I’m so curious.”

“As am I,” I growled, eager.

My armor squeezed about me. I snarled and grabbed my sword, muttering a prayer. It straightened and grew sharp again. Then I said it to my shield. It straightened out. I panted, a weariness sweeping over me. The magic came from Lagu, but it fed off my own will power. A headache throbbed across my temple.

My armor was dented but wearable. I staggered forward. “Let’s find the Vault.”

Excitement wreathed through me. Almost there. Finally, after all these years, I would punish him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Illina

The next room had nothing in it, just a place to give us space to go around the plug. The block of stone was massive. I shook my head in awe at this construction. Cernere did not use half-measures. How had she done this? I guess being a Goddess had advantages.

We came to another corridor. The pressure plates were back, of course. I marked them with brass coins. They were slightly raised above the other tiles. Once you knew what to look for, they were obvious. Too obvious.

That was worrying.

I looked to the walls. Ceilings. I studied them for any places where stepping on a tile would cause a problem. The light shed by Stefan’s magic was bright and steady. It was perfect for this. I smiled and then threw a brass coin on an innocuous-looking stone. Maybe it wasn’t a trap. Or maybe it was.

Barg threw a coin on one to the left. I nodded and we kept moving down the corridor, marking the bad spots even if they were only hunches. A tension rippled down my spine as we moved deeper into the complex a large door awaited at the end. It had a grand wheel set in the middle. It looked to be turned.

It was different from anything else I’d seen.

After a few more minutes of slow going with battered Sir Distraction and Stefan in our wake. Neither complained about how long it was taking. Well, Sir Mustyballs didn’t complain about anything. You could shove a sword in his guts and he’d just shrug it off.

We reached the door. It had no lock, just that wheel. A careful examination followed. Traps. Locks. Anything that might kill us. I spotted nothing. I glanced at Barg. He gave a slight shrug. I nodded and he grasped the wheel.

I stepped back as he turned.

The mechanism behind the door clanged. Clattered. Then the wheel would turn no more. He pulled it back and the door swung open. A bright light flooded through the widening gap. It spilled across my feet and stabbed into my eyes. It was sunlight. Somehow we had found the outside.

Or that was how it felt.

As my eyes adjusted, I saw a vast room made of white stone that glittered. A quartz of some sort embedded with gems. I swallowed as I stepped into the room and stared in awe at the plinths. Each held a different treasure.

I had heard the legends of this place. A phial holding the Virgin Juices of Biaute that could heal any injury. Beside it lay Saphique’s Ivory Dildo, a massive schlong that could make any woman cum at the whim of the wielder. The Cloak of Living Night draped over another plinth, rippling and wavering darkness that could conceal you like nothing else.

I salivated over that.

“Gewin’s Blinding Shield,” Barg muttered as he moved around a plinth. It was a kite shield made of a polished mirror. It caught the light with dazzling brilliance. “And here… Dauthaz’s Spectral Dagger.”

I whistled at the sight of the insubstantial blade, as wispy as smoke. One nick was said to kill any mortal creature.

“The Gem of Reflected Greed,” I gasped and averted my gaze from the large diamond, bigger than my head, sitting on another stand. It was said to drive you mad gazing into it as it showed you more and more wealth. Impossible sums that would bewilder you.

“And so many bars of gold,” Barg groaned. “Look, they have Krab’s maker stamp on them. God-forged gold. The value of this… It’s outstanding.”

“And the original Ambrosia,” groaned Sir Turdbucket. He clattered towards it, passing Biaute’s Virgin Juices to a vial holding a golden liquid. It looked as thick as honey, but not as amber. More like the shade of wheat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sir Bryce

I picked it up with reverence. What I would need to empower me in the Black Spire. I closed my eyes, a shiver running through my heart. This was what I needed. Craved. I kissed the glass. Emotion almost overwhelmed me.

“So,” Illina said, sauntering up to me. “What are you going to do if I grab anything else? Going to get mad at me, Sir Moldydick?”

I closed my eyes. With care, I slipped the vial into the pouch I wore on my sword belt. Then I turned to Illina. She gave me such an impudent grin. Full of mocking contempt. I had stomached her insults long enough.

My eyes flicked around the room. Stefan gazed at a large gem, not paying attention. Barg had his back to us. It was time. Her usefulness had come to an end.

My sword flashed from its scabbard and slashed down at Illina. She screamed and jumped back, narrowly dodging my sword strike. As she did, my left hand shot out and seized her right arm in a vice grip.

I drew back my blade for the killing blow.

“What are you doing?” she gasped in shock.

“You are a lawbreaker, too, Illina,” I growled. “A thief. And there is only one punishment for those who transgress.

I stabbed my sword at her heart.

To be continued…

Click here for Chapter 16.

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I have released a part 41 of the revamped Devil’s Pact on Smashwords. Read this post for more information if you’re interested!