NOVEL SIMPLE Book 1 – Lesson 59: “Pride has no place in the face of the enemy.”
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At the center of the Jadewalker’s Earth Shrine
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“AAAARRRRUUUG!”
Artemis roared nearly as loudly as the large, upper [Golden Spirit] Earth Elemental as her weapon made contact with the behemoth’s wide fist. The odd weapon cut cleanly through the hard stone appendage. And a sizeable chunk of the creature itself.
At first, Zolzaya didn’t know what to call the weapon, until her father identified it as a ‘Monk’s Spade.’ Using a spade as a weapon has seemed… strange to her, but apparently, it was a common weapon among the priesthood. At least for those in the Earth Temple, as funeral rites were an important part of their duties.
The Earth Elemental froze, then crumbled to pieces, its core having been smashed. But the creature was soon replaced with another as it barreled through the ruins of a small house to the side of the courtyard. All around them, Guardians battled with various Earth Elementals while Yutu and the several senior priests worked to unlock the seal on the large building behind them.
Their trip through the newly revealed city had been quiet at first. The group had moved silently enough, and the elementals had been deep enough in the city that they’d attracted little attention. That had changed as they drew closer to the open square near the obelisk. Like a switch had been flipped, the lesser elementals had swarmed them through the alleys and surrounding streets.
What had been a sedate trek through an abandoned city became a slugfest as they had to fight for every inch of ground. Thankfully, the relative power of the group meant they made steady, if slow, progress with no actual damage.
Of course, life is never that simple.
Once the group had made it to the open plaza, they’d made a beeline for the main building at the obelisk’s base, only to find it sealed shut. The assault never stopped, of course, and they’d been forced to bunker down in front of the building and fend off the horde while others worked to crack the seal.
It was about that time that the more dangerous elementals had showed up.
Giant, lumbering things, they’d crashed through the buildings, rampaging through their own allies to get at the humans. Most were only [Silver Spirit], but their sheer size and mass meant that multiple Guardians had to contend with each. What’s more, a stronger elemental would show up from time to time. These could only be handled by Artemis, maybe two or three of her elites or the scions working together if she was busy with another.
These attacks became more frequent with time, and even Artemis showed signs of tiring. If they didn’t get inside quickly, there might not be an option for much longer.
Zolzaya was doing her part as well. She couldn’t fight. Not against this enemy. But she was working double time transporting and stabilizing the wounded. Very few had any serious injuries, at least nothing that couldn’t be field-dressed and quickly patched. The worst so far had been a broken arm when Munkh had blocked the blow of a [Golden Spirit] elemental that had slipped by.
That she walked away with only a broken bone testified to the defensive expert’s skill. After Zolzaya had splinted her arm, the typically shy woman had switched her now slightly bent shield to the other arm and charged back into the fray.
Something had been bugging Zolzaya for some time, though. Something she couldn’t quite place. Ever since more powerful elementals had shown up, something tickled her brain. During one lull in the fight with no strong elementals present, Zolzaya sat down and focused on the feeling.
Her gift bloomed outward, and the emotional currents surrounding her became less of a general feeling and more of a real, tangible thing. It was like the difference between hearing a song on a recording crystal versus hearing it live and in person.
She was almost overwhelmed by the raw spectrum surrounding her. Fear, anger, frustration, pain; the Guardians might have been powerful, but they were still people at the end of the day. The fight was grinding them down. Yet, pushing all of that into the background was the feeling of sheer determination and steadfast resolve to do what they had to do.
Zolzaya clung to that feeling like a steady, unmoving rock in a stormy emotional sea. More centered, Zolzaya focused on the strange feeling she’d had before, trying to pinpoint it. At first, she couldn’t feel anything. It was like trying to grasp a shadow; it just kept slipping away from her. Then, finally, she grabbed hold of it. It was faint and flickering, like it was struggling against her gift, but she should still see it.
There, in the city, a tiny, flickering spark of dark.
Of malice. Hatred and anger, cold and black, unlike the burning flames of the Guardians.
Suddenly, the black spark turned in their direction. Had it sensed her? No, that shouldn’t be possible. What then?
As if in answer, the sound of crashing buildings could be heard from the same direction. The Guardians lined up and readied themselves. But the black spark flickered and disappeared just before it entered the courtyard, reappearing off to the side. However, the crashing never stopped, and another [Golden Spirit] elemental soon crashed into the plaza. Artemis lept through the air, stepping over the heads of lesser elementals as she made her way to the giant.
Zolzaya stared in confusion. What was going on? Elementals didn’t register in her gift. Unlike people or animals, elementals were more forces of nature than living things. Only the truly powerful had anything close to what could be called “emotion.”
Only as she felt the black spark move back deeper into the city, did it finally click.
Zolzaya withdrew her gift and stood. She had to tell someone, but who? It would take some time for Artemis to finish off this one. Kallik was with Yutu and couldn’t be distracted, while her father and Ulagan were both in their own battles.
She desperately searched the area, looking for anyone at all she could pass this info to. That’s when she spotted him… she just really wished she hadn’t.
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Mönkhkhan Eastgate paced as the Guardian pounded out the large dent in his armor. “Hurry, you fool! Get that repaired before more of them show up, or so help me…”.
Field repairs like this weren’t something he’d normally bother with, but against an enemy like this, there was no way he was going out there without proper armor. It didn’t help that his specialization in blunt weaponry made him especially effective against their stony foes, meaning he was expected to fight the stronger [Silver Spirits] that had been showing up.
How did he get himself wrapped up in this?! They were told this would be a quick trip through the shrine to escort priests to the obelisk. It was a job his squad had done several times before.
Then, a bloody city had appeared from nowhere, and now they were fighting a war of attrition. Between a rock and a hard place. Literally! His only compensation was that the other Scions had it just as bad, if not worse. After all, a sword, spear, and bow weren’t nearly as effective against this particular foe.
As his nerves and temper rose, a voice called him out.
“Eastgate!”
Mönkhkhan’s heart palpated briefly, but a simmering rage soon replaced the feeling. He barely suppressed it as he turned around to look at the harlot who’d caused him so much embarrassment recently. Scion Northgate still wouldn’t shut up about the story, and he was sure it had already spread throughout the city. He didn’t have proof she was actually involved, of course, but he knew she was… somehow.
Zolzaya stared up at him with a scowl that matched his own. “What is it, girl? Some of us actually have enemies to kill instead of running around playing nurse. Or are you here to complain to me like you whined to your father? What, the ‘adventure’ not what you thought it would be?” Mönkhkhan smirked and asked.
He could see the anger flash through her eyes, and seeing her squirm at the barb gave him a dark pleasure. But to his surprise, no snarky, biting retort came. Instead, Zolzaya took a deep breath and said, “I’m here to report a new discovery.”
Mönkhkhan narrowed his eyes and frowned. “Oh? And what information could you possibly have?”
Zolzaya stared him in the eye and said, “Someone is leading the larger elementals to us.”
Mönkhkhan laughed. “That’s a good one, girl. We’re the only ones in the city. Who? Why? Where did you even get this information?!”
Zolzaya looked away. “That’s… confidential. You just have to trust me.”
Mönkhkhan threw his arms out, “Stop playing games, girl! This is war! You expect me to believe some outlandish theory, and what? Pull men away from the defensive line to chase some phantom that may or may not even be there?!”
That finally got a reaction. Just… not the one he’d been expecting. Zolzaya’s eyes snapped back to him, her face red. “This isn’t a game, Mönkhkhan. We don’t have time for me to explain why I know, but for the love of all the lives here, I’m asking you to trust me at least this once.”
Mönkhkhan frowned and stared down at her. This wasn’t like the country bumpkin who’d claw and spit venom when you poked her enough. No, her words held more… force than he would have expected, and her eyes held genuine… fear.
Mönkhkhan narrowed his eyes and asked, “How certain are you of this mysterious ‘source’ of yours?”
Zolzaya stared back and said firmly, “Enough to stake my life on it.”
Mönkhkhan’s frown deepened, and he snapped his fingers. The shadows bubbled, and a young woman dressed in light, black-dyed armor appeared beside him. Zolzaya lifted an eyebrow, maybe recognizing the woman from their previous encounter.
Without taking his eyes off Zolzaya, Mönkhkhan spoke to the new woman beside him. “Lieutenant, take half the scouts and spread out along the perimeter. Report anything out of the ordinary immediately.”
The black-leathered lieutenant turned and asked, “Is that wise? With how hard the elementals are pushing, if she’s wrong, we—”
Mönkhkhan turned to look at her and cut her off. “Just do it.”
The lieutenant bowed and vanished into his shadow.
The man turned to look at Zolzaya and said, “You better be right about this.”
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Kallik frowned as she watched the fight between the Guardians and the elementals progress.
It was going well for now, but they couldn’t keep this up for long. All it would take was one mistake, and their position would be overrun. She turned back to the shrine door and stared at the arguing priests. They’d not been much help either.
According to them, they had never seen this seal on the Earth Shrine, and it was taking far longer than they’d expected to open it. Apparently, the thing was closer to an array than a magic seal, and it wasn’t responding to any they normally would do.
Thankfully, Yutu and one of the senior priests had experience in arrays, and the two of them were working together to crack it. The question on everyone’s mind was whether they would make it in time.
A sudden commotion drew Kalli’s attention, and her heart sank. From the city, six giant figures rose. The blood drained from her, and she yelled at Yutu, “Get that door open, NOW!”
“We’re trying! We’re trying!” was the panicked response.
Kallik turned her attention back to the battle as the six mid-ranked [Golden-Spirit] elementals lumbered into the fray. This wasn’t good. Artemis could deal with two, maybe three, of them if she pushed herself, while the Scions and elites took care of another. But one would inevitably slip through and wreak havoc on their front line. If they didn’t open those doors soon, they would lose people.
Suddenly, one of the giant elementals turned away from battle and swung its fist at something hidden by the buildings. Kallik frowned; great, what now?!
Kallik’s unspoken question was soon answered as one of the scions, accompanied by several scouts, appeared from the dust, chasing three black-veiled figures.
Cultists?! Were they the ones responsible for luring the elementals into them? She’d known the Guardians had been dealing with cultist attacks ever since the undead showed up, but how had they gotten into the shrine?!
The scion and cultists dodged and weaved through the elemental’s attacks, but eventually, the scion and his scouts cornered them. Two were peppered with arrows, while the third took a heavy blow from the scion’s two-handed war mace. The cultist went flying and slammed into the hard stone wall of a nearby building. They’d only stood up on shaking legs when the giant elemental’s foot mooted the effort. The scion and the scouts took one look at the elemental, whose attention was now fully on them, before making a hasty retreat.
The death of the cultist was a trigger, however, as a dozen more black-clad figures appeared from the city. Individually, they weren’t the strongest, ranging from mid to high-rank [Silver Spirit], but they were intelligent and focused on harassing the stronger members of the Guardians while the [Golden-Spirit] elementals slowly approached.
“It’s open!” Yutu yelled.
Kallik’s eyes snapped to Yutu just in time to see the large stone doors slowly slide open with a rumble. She turned back to the battlefield and yelled out with a Spirit-enhanced voice, “Retreat! Retreat to the shrine!”
The order was repeated a few times, and slowly, the frontline shrunk backward, and the Guardians made their way to the open door. Kallik turned and rushed inside. The grand hall was elegantly crafted, if simple, but no one had time to admire it. The group rushed through the long hallway and arrived at an open courtyard.
There, at the base of the obelisk, was a large stone platform that looked like it could easily fit two or three hundred people. Yutu pointed at the platform and yelled, “There!”
The group rushed to the platform, and a quick headcount showed everyone was present. They’d not lost anyone… yet. Further down the hall, the elemental swarm pushed toward them. The doorway prevented any of the larger ones from entering, but she Kallik was sure the giant elementals could just knock the walls down if they so wished.
On top of the courtyard wall roofs, the surviving cultists appeared in puffs of black smoke.
“Yutu! get this thing running, now!” Artemis yelled.
“I am! Just give me a… there!” Yutu’s eyes lit up with a bright white light, and the platform shook. The cultists drew twisted-looking bows and fired at them, but a blue energy shield popped into existence at the edge of the platform, blocking the arrows. A dozen runed rings slowly rose from the platform, circling and spinning in all directions. They sped up, faster and faster, as a heavy static filled the air.
The last thing Kallik saw before the world flashed white as the courtyard walls collapsed and several giant elementals plowed through.
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When Kallik could see again, the courtyard was empty, as if the elementals had been whisked away.
No… it was they that had been. While the courtyard appeared nearly identical to the one they’d just left, there were differences if you paid attention. Things looked less… new. Like the walls had been exposed to the elements for countless years. The damage was different in places, and the obelisk behind them was much smaller, only a dozen meters tall.
The group piled off the platform, a few people collapsing in exhaustion.
All Kallik could do was stare through the large hole in one of the collapsed walls at the burning city beyond.
Had they really escaped?
Or had they jumped from the pot into the fire?