Star's Vigil Ch. 27

*Now including the United Kingdom Unnecessary Vowels Patche*

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Twenty-Seven

        Wolf looked over the gunwale of the Achilles at the shoreline far below them, and the mountains beyond it that shrouded the land in soft shadows as they blocked the rays of the rising sun. He turned around and called back towards the helm. "Osrik, we've almost reached land! Far as I can tell, we're still on course."
        Kiara stepped up beside him, gazing ahead at the dark shapes looming through the early-morning haze. "We are. Those mountains ahead are the ones we're looking for."
        "Good," Osrik said from the helm. "It shouldn't be long now; the Temple of Darkness is just past those mountains there."
        Alger looked up from the capstan table, where he was looking over a heavy book, comparing it to a map. "The entrance to the Temple is at the end of a box canyon, too narrow and rocky for us to set the ship down there."  He looked down at the map, then jabbed his finger at some point on the parchment. "Here.  Near the mouth of the canyon, there's a relatively smooth ravine where we can leave the ship with some degree of cover, then make our way up to the Temple on foot."
        Osrik looked at him. "Good work, I suppose, but what makes you think that you're coming with us?  Someone needs to watch the ship."
        Alger huffed. "Horse feathers. You did just fine at the last few Seals without leaving a watchdog, and this will be no different."
        Osrik's eyes narrowed. "It's going to be dangerous, Caleb.  Now isn't the time to be seeking glory." As he finished speaking, his cheeks flushed slightly.
        "Hmph. Coming from you, that's almost laughable, and you know it." Alger replied. "I know my capabilities, and I'm not helpless.  I'll admit, I haven't been through all the battles you four have fought recently, but I can still hold my own." He stood up. "If I'm in over my head, then I'll retreat if need be. You can trust me for that much."
        Osrik raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be comforting?  You'll just end up as the only one of us with an arrow in  his back," he said wryly.
        Alger smiled slightly. "That may be. But I'm coming with you."
        Osrik sighed. "As you wish.  Another blade can't hurt, and more magic certainly can't either."  He looked at the mountains ahead as they loomed closer. "If you're coming, then you should get your gear ready," he said. "That goes for you three, as well," he added to Wolf and Kiara. "Go wake up Zan."
        They nodded and headed for the stairs to do so, as Alger stood up from the table and followed them. In the hallway belowdecks, Wolf and Kiara stepped aside to let Alger pass, and then stopped outside Zan's door. The faint sound of scraping metal came from within. Kiara slowly opened the door, to reveal Zan sitting on his bed with his armor on, running a whetstone along the blade of his sword.
        He looked up at them as the door opened. "So we're almost there, then?"
        Kiara nodded. "Osrik's just bringing us around the next mountain, and then we'll be landing."
        Zan set the whetstone on his desk and stood up. "Got it." He slid his sword back into its sheath and hung his shield on his back, and then made for the stairs up to the deck.
        Wolf and Kiara then each went to their own rooms to prepare. By the time that Wolf had put his armor on and secured his swords across his back, he could feel the ship beginning a slow descent. He stepped out into the hallway to find Kiara waiting by his door. After a momentary glance at each other, they walked back up the stairs and emerged on deck.
        Zan and Alger stood next to Osrik as the ship continued to descend, and Wolf and Kiara walked up to join them.
        Below the ship, Wolf could see the canyon, a shadowy, jagged gash in the mountains. Osrik was bringing the airship downwards in a wide spiral towards the mouth of the canyon. Osrik looked at Wolf, then Zan, on either side of him, and the two young men dashed off to their places at the capstan and the mainsail.
        Wolf turned the capstan, unwinding the chain and lowering the landing struts into position. Once he was finished, he signaled to Osrik, who straightened the wheel and headed for a ravine that Alger was pointing out. The Achilles slowed, then settled to the ground in the ravine, with plenty of room to spare on each side, but still mostly hidden by the rock walls around them. To the port side of the airship, a steep but mostly smooth natural path led upwards.
        Osrik stood up from the helmsman's chair, and grabbed his cane saber from behind the seat. As he, Kiara, and Alger walked down to the main deck, he slid the cane through his belt as usual. "Right, then. The ship should be just fine here, and we have a bit of a walk, so let's get moving." With that, he climbed onto the boarding ladder and began to descend, followed by Alger.
        Kiara took a half-step back to allow Zan to go next, and once the guard had disappeared below the level of the gunwale, she turned towards Wolf. "This is it," she said quietly. "Here's where we find out if this was all worth it, or whether we even succeed."
        Wolf smiled reassuringly. "It'll turn out fine. Nothing has managed to stop us yet, and all of the Summon Spirits so far support our journey."
        Kiara nodded slowly. "But no plan is infallible. We've done a lot, but we still have very little idea what's coming."
        Wolf grasped her hand and squeezed it gently. "Whatever happens, we'll handle it. I'll be right there with you, every step."
        Kiara gave a small smile. "Yeah..."
        Osrik's voice floated up from the ground below. "Will we be leaving, or should I start fixing lunch while we wait?"
        Kiara moved towards the ladder, then stopped briefly and let her wings materialize. She glanced back, looking Wolf in the eye, and smiled at him, her eyes brighter than he had seen since before the Light Seal. "Thanks, Wolf."  She jumped over the gunwale, gliding down to where the others stood, and after a moment, Wolf climbed down the ladder to join them.
        Once the group had all gathered, Osrik led the way to the mouth of the main canyon. "This is the one, right, Caleb?"
        Alger looked at the map he had brought. "That's the canyon we're looking for, but I'm sure you'll agree that it would be better not to simply march up the main route."  He turned the map towards Osrik and pointed to a line he had drawn. "This side path will bring us up to the top edge of the canyon, and then wind back down as we get closer."
        Osrik nodded. "Yes, I believe subtlety is best. The higher path will give us a decent view of the terrain, too, so we can get an idea of what sort of shape the entrance to the Temple is in."
        Osrik led the others around an outcropping and up the narrow lip that formed the side path. As they made their way upwards, the group eventually rose above the level of the canyon's central crevasse, out of the darker shadows cast by the stone walls. They walked along the path, looking around as they went. On one side, the mountain rose sharply upwards, with mossy crags jutting out here and there, a few of them bearing wildflowers or birds' nests. On the other side, the ground fell steeply away into the dark canyon, down to where the main path was just visible through the gloom and through the ferns and fungi that grew along the canyon walls. After awhile, the entrance to the Temple of Darkness became visible at the  end of the canyon.  The entrance sat between several crumbling, dark stone pillars, in an area where the canyon widened somewhat, whether by force of nature or by whoever built the Temple long ago. After so many centuries, it was impossible to tell.
        Soon enough, the path turned and wound downwards into the main canyon. It reunited with the main trail, where the high sides of the canyon and the surrounding mountains meant that no wind stirred the air, and only a small amount of indirect sunlight lit their path. Thankfully, the group only had to walk a short distance before the path sloped upwards a bit and the canyon widened, shedding much of the gloom and allowing the glow of mid-morning to wash across the hardy mountain shrubs that dotted the wide open space before them.
        The group briefly exchanged glances and started up the path, their eyes fixed on the vast snow-peaked mountain range above and ahead of them.
        Upon reaching the stone pillars, Osrik stopped. Wolf, Zan, and Kiara exchanged worried glances, while Osrik gripped his saber and loosened it in its sheath.
        Zan fidgeted with his sword belt as he looked into the blackness. "This is the Temple of Darkness."
        Alger raised an eyebrow. "Is it, now?"
        Zan rolled his eyes. "Do I need to remind anyone how bright and cheery the Light Seal turned out to be?"
        "No," Kiara said. "In fact, please don't."
        Osrik turned towards Zan. "After all we've been through, do you really want to give up now?"
        "You should," came a deep voice from just inside the entrance. Four figures stepped into the light. Three were immediately recognizable as the Cruxis angels from the Wind Seal, while the fourth was a tall, muscular man with reddish-brown hair.  He stepped forward and spoke again. "I already warned you once to stop what you were doing, and as I might have expected, you did just the opposite. But no longer." He tossed his black cloak back over his shoulder, revealing a longsword in a silver-trimmed leather scabbard. The sword hung from a steel-studded belt just below a black breastplate. Steel chainmail covered his upper arms and legs, while black bracers and greaves adorned his forearms and calves. "I cannot allow you any further."
        Wolf looked at the man. "You were in our room that night in Triet. Who are you?"
        The man laid his left hand on the hilt of his sword, while he swept his bangs aside with the other.  "You really don't know?" Light blue segmented wings slowly took shape on his back. "I am Kratos Aurion. Last of the Four Seraphim, of an organization formerly known as Cruxis.  And I have come here to stop you from destroying the world."  
        After a few moments of stunned silence, Kiara stepped forward defiantly. "You're wrong. We're restoring the Mana flow, and—"
        "Hmph. You know nothing of the Mana flow."  Kratos stepped closer to Kiara. "And you're a fool to meddle with powers you do not understand."  
         Wolf drew his swords and stepped in front of Kiara. "You're a lot closer than I generally recommend."  Silas, Derek, and Tomas immediately drew their weapons, causing Zan, Alger, and Osrik to do the same and move to Kiara's side.
        Kiara summoned her shining bow. "This is our task. And not even you can stop us!"
        Kratos sighed. "Debatable." He slid his sword from its scabbard. "So be it. I am not prepared to risk the world for your lives. You have but one final chance. Put an end to this madness..." He pointed his sword at them. "...or die."
        "Stay your blade, Kratos!" Lukas strode out of the canyon, holding a sword in his hand, followed by two ranks of Starhammer soldiers.
        Kratos shifted his eyes towards Lukas. "You are in no position to be giving me orders."
        Lukas shook his head. "You haven't killed her yet. The great Kratos Aurion should be beyond striking down an innocent girl."
        Kratos raised an arm without breaking eye contact with Lukas. A bolt of lightning shot from his hand, straight at Kiara. The bolt came within a foot of her face before ricocheting off of the magical barrier stretching between Osrik and Alger's upraised hands. The lightning struck the wall beside Silas, sending small chips of stone flying.
        Zan smirked slightly as Silas reared away from the impact point, and then the guard saw a glint of steel appear at the Seal's entrance.  Wallace stood just behind Silas, holding a dagger to the angel's throat. Zan's blood ran cold for a moment as he remembered his experience in the Light Seal.
        The guard captain looked at Kratos. "Much as I hate to say it, Kratos, that stuffed-shirt son of a sheep is right. You won't be killing them." He looked at Zan. "That being said, you should listen to what Kratos has to say, lad. You've been had."
        Zan hesitated for a moment, and then turned around to face Starhammer, holding his shield at the ready. After a second, Osrik and Alger did the same, followed by Wolf and Kiara.
        Lukas scowled deeply. "Really? I was right about the Summon Spirits, but now you'll throw it away?" He sighed. "It doesn't matter. I won't let the world rot when the balance of Mana has nearly been restored!" The Starhammer soldiers readied their weapons, and on the cliffs above, several Starhammer archers nocked arrows. At a signal from Lukas, the soldiers began to run forward, as the defenders braced themselves.
        Osrik glanced at Alger while raising his saber. "Caleb, stay with Kiara and protect her!" Alger nodded briefly and stepped back towards the wall of the Temple with Kiara, as the girl loosed a glowing arrow that knocked one of the charging soldiers off of his feet. Then, the two lines clashed, and Osrik deflected a sword thrust and riposted, clashing blades with one of the soldiers.
        Zan readied his shield and Wallace drew his greatsword, and just as the Starhammer charge reached them, both guards raised their defenses and shoved back, sending the soldiers staggering. Zan seized a chance and lunged forward with his sword, catching his opponent in the thigh with the point before pressing forward shield-to-shield. Another soldier maneuvered around Zan, only to meet with Wolf, the assassin's blades moving in a blur. Wolf struck high with one sword, which the soldier blocked with his shield, and then reversed and spun around to attack with the other. His opponent managed to block somewhat clumsily with his sword before shoving Wolf back with his shield and pressing the attack. Wolf backpedaled, deflecting each of the attacks while striking back. Soon, though, he was backed against the wall of the Temple, at which point the soldier brought his sword back, and Wolf kicked off of the wall, bounded off of the top of the soldier's shield, and landed on top of the man in a pile. He quickly raised one sword and shoved it through the soldier's side without standing. Without hesitation, Wolf sat up and made to stand, but motion caught his eye near the Temple entrance, slow and deliberate instead of the frenzied motions of combat. A Starhammer soldier and a curly-haired young man in leather armor. Wolf's brow furrowed. That dirtbag, Bigem, from the Diamond Ace?
        He brought himself to his feet and raised his swords, then ran for the sneaking pair. As he drew closer to the entrance, the elven soldier turned and flung out a hand, sending a ball of fire crackling towards Wolf. The assassin sidestepped quickly, feeling the heat on one arm, and kept running.  
        The Starhammer mage then raised both hands, and shouted "Stalagmite!" as the same word rang out from two others farther across the battlefield. Three massive columns of stone shot up from the ground near the entrance, slamming upwards and sealing Bigem and the mage inside. Wolf clenched a hand around his sword, but stopped and turned back towards the battle.
        Near the front, Kratos blocked a hefty swing from one of the soldiers, a sergeant, then returned several slashes in a flurry of metal. The Starhammer sergeant blocked the last cut with his shield and swung horizontally at Kratos' waist. Kratos sprang backwards and thrust his left hand forward. "Wind Blade!" There was a hiss of air, and the soldier staggered back, gashes appearing on his exposed flesh and on his shield and armor. Kratos then lunged forward and stabbed downward through the gap between the soldier's neck and breastplate. The Seraph yanked his bloodstained sword free and turned to attack another of the soldiers.
        Near the wall of the Temple, Alger raised a magical barrier, letting a fireball splash off harmlessly. Behind him, Kiara saw the Cruxis angels flying to deal with the archers, and let her bow fade. As two soldiers headed towards her and the doctor, Kiara reached for her dagger, but then spied a Starhammer sword poking from beneath a nearby corpse. She snatched it up and turned to face their attackers as Alger blocked the first soldier's strike. Kiara ducked a swing from the second and slashed at his abdomen, but the sword only scraped across the soldier's armor. She spun with the momentum of her failed attack, gaining enough space between her and the soldier to block his counterattack. Kiara swung again, but her  adversary blocked it easily. However, Alger then sent the other soldier staggering with a gust of gale-force wind, nearly knocking over Kiara's opponent before Alger's sprang back at him. Kiara charged forward, swinging high at the soldier's helmet before he could fully regain his balance. The soldier threw his sword up to block it, but Kiara continued forward, pulling the soldier's dagger from his belt before twisting and driving the short blade into the side of the soldier's neck below the helmet.
        The soldier dropped his sword, plucking in vain at the dagger with shaking fingers as he sank to the ground. She then turned towards Alger, leaving the dagger in the twitching soldier's neck, and raised her sword to strike at Alger's opponent. The soldier deflected her cut with the war pick he wielded in his right hand, while he held a parrying dagger in his left hand.  Working together, Kiara and Alger forced the soldier back. Kiara then lunged and locked the blade of her sword with the spike of the soldier's war pick, and the soldier swung his dagger at her. A sudden burst of wind from Alger tore the dagger from the unsuspecting man's grasp, and the doctor stabbed forward, his cutlass piercing the soldier's stomach before he sliced to one side with the grim efficiency of one who was familiar with the worst sort of wounds.  The two of them moved back, Alger pressing his right hand against a dagger wound on one thigh as healing light leaked through his fingers and Kiara planting the sword in the ground and re-forming her glowing bow.
        Across the battlefield, Zan and Wallace fought together, their countless days of training evident as they each swung their respective blurs of steel. Zan blocked a rain of blows from a Starhammer captain wielding two slim sabers, then slammed the face of his shield against the dual-wielder's defenses and stabbed around the shield and through the soldier's armpit. Beside him, Wallace slammed one soldier's shield downwards, and then brought his sword around and cleaved across the soldier's torso, shearing through armor and cutting deeply. He then kicked out at another soldier before ripping his blade free of the first and driving it through the second soldier. Then, with Derek swooping down from the canyon wall to assist Kratos, the two Aiolos men moved to reinforce Osrik.
        Osrik locked his saber against the sword of one of the soldiers, and then raised his palm. Rather than casting a spell, he simply drove the heel of his hand into the soldier's nose and kept attacking while the soldier grabbed at his bloodied face with one hand and frantically held off the doctor with his sword. Two other nearby soldiers moved towards the battling two, but were intercepted by Zan and Wallace. Another skirted the two furious Equis guards and made for Osrik as the doctor managed to slash his opponent's sword arm and follow up by smashing the hilt into the man's already-damaged face. While the soldier with the broken nose fell to the ground, Osrik turned to engage the newest soldier, who wielded a battleaxe and a shield.  Osrik pointed his hand at the charging axeman and shouted "Searing Light!" causing a ray of burning sunlight to shoot towards the soldier, striking his shield instead and making its metal face glow faintly red. The doctor sidestepped as the axeman drew closer, but the soldier swung his shield, clipping Osrik on the hip with the rim. He manged to deflect one blow from the battleaxe with his saber, but the soldier brought the axe around for another heavy swing before Osrik could regain stable footing. The doctor twisted, letting himself fall to one hand, and the axe swung through the air above him, until it was knocked upwards by two consecutive strikes from Wolf's swords. Wolf then swung his swords in a lightning-fast flurry of cuts, forcing the axeman to take a step back and allowing Osrik to recover. When he had, he and Wolf advanced on the soldier, alternating blows to keep the axeman's focus divided. Wolf managed a shallow stab to the soldier's left hip when Osrik feinted a blow to the axe side. Osrik then struck high while Wolf cut at the soldier's feet, and the soldier jumped while blocking Osrik's blow with his shield. Wolf quickly leapt behind the axeman, and before the soldier could steady himself from the jump, Wolf had thrust one of his swords through some of the thinner chainmail into the soldier's ribs. As Wallace and Zan joined them, Wolf tugged on Osrik's sleeve.  
        The doctor put a hand on Wallace's bracer. "It looks like they're regrouping for another push, but hold them back for just a moment." Wallace nodded affirmatively as Osrik turned to Wolf. "I assume this is important?"
        Wolf glanced back toward the sealed entrance. "I think it is. One of the Starhammer men made it inside the Temple, with that Stephen Bigem guy we met on the way to Izoold. They walled off the doorway behind them, so they're up to something, I know it."
        Osrik nodded slowly as he turned back towards the soldiers. "Most likely. We have more immediate concerns right now, but we should let Kratos know as soon as we can." He glanced at Kratos. "Whether we can trust him or not, I would prefer—"
        He was able to say no more before a deafening groaning of stone against stone filled the air. A moment later, the ground began to quiver, and a dull, roaring rumble began welling up from beneath the ground. The stalagmites blocking the entrance fractured and crumbled, just before the entrance itself collapsed, the sound of crashing masonry barely audible over the thunderous quaking from underneath their feet. Behind his soldiers, Lukas smiled triumphantly, and then gestured to the soldiers to retreat. As they did so, Kiara and Alger joined the rest of the Achilles crew and Wallace. Kratos and the other angels took off, spiraling upwards into the sky.
        "Come on," Alger said quickly. "We need to leave!"
        Osrik and Wallace nodded, and the group of five followed Alger as he led the way up a steep path by the side of the canyon, up to one of the ledges that in turn led to the trail they had used to approach. With the shuddering of the ground beneath them growing in intensity, the men all sprinted along the path while Kiara flew alongside them. Boulders of various sizes occasionally rolled across their path, some of the nearest ones deflected by a burst of magic from Osrik or Alger while Zan blocked a few of the smaller ones with his shield. In just a few minutes, the group reached the end of the path, and the rumbling had peaked in volume and the shaking in violence. By now, one side of the ravine holding the airship had buckled and sunken inward, leaving rocks strewn across the bottom. The group then all boarded the ship, with Kiara flying up to the deck while the men all climbed the boarding ladder. Osrik ran for the helmsman's chair, pulling the landing knob outward and yanking back on the altitude lever, making the airship rise into the sky and accelerate away.  
        As they rose, a tremendous explosion rang out from behind them, accompanied by a shockwave that rocked the airship. Behind them, the Temple blew apart, sending dust and shattered stone arcing through the air. The mountain above the Temple buckled from the lack of support, and collapsed into the canyon in a cascade of dirt and huge boulders. Soon, however, the quaking was beginning to wane, and a cloud of dust hovered over the mountains. With the airship above ground, the last of the shaking was no longer felt, and it was strangely silent. That silence was quickly broken, however, by the sound of boots hitting the deck near the bow. To the starboard of the Achilles, a smaller airship came gliding into view alongside them, with Tomas at the helm.
        Wolf looked towards the sound to see Kratos striding towards them from the starboard bow, wings fully extended and  eyes dark.
        The Seraph stopped before them, eyes blazing. "Do you have any idea what just happened?"
        Wolf looked back at Kratos. "We made it out alive."
        Kratos' brow lowered. "But at what cost?"
        Kiara stepped forward, wings in full view and tears threatening the corners of her eyes. "We were deceived," she said distantly.
        Wallace's face softened with sympathy, and he turned to Kratos. "You mustn't be too hard on them.  Anyone can be fooled into doing the wrong thing, especially for the right reasons." He looked Kratos pointedly in the eye. "Anyone."
        Kratos looked away and gazed at Kiara for a moment, and his hard gaze faltered. "I suppose so." He then sighed, letting his wings dissipate. "As I said, I warned you, but it seems that Lukas was more convincing."
        Wolf scowled. "You could have done a better job."
        Kratos brushed his bangs back, and then glanced across everyone on deck. "I see that all of this is a shock to you. I still have much to tell you, but it can wait. Go ahead and take awhile to rest. We can discuss this further tonight. For now, I can keep the ship on course."
        Osrik raised an eyebrow as he stood from the helm. "Can you fly it?"
        "Are you serious?" Kratos countered. He sat down, noticing a brown rectangular shape wedged in the steering column. "Rise Like the Falcon; Irving's Guide To Blade Mastery? Have you been reading it, or just using it in place of the steering lock?"
        Osrik's eyes widened in surprise. "Steering lock?"
        Kratos sighed heavily and pointed to a lever under the seat. "Yes."
        Wolf shrugged. "Well, I actually read it."
        "Good. Read it again," Kratos said, tossing the book to Wolf, who caught it. "You were sloppy."
        The young assassin gazed down at the book's title before looking back at Kratos, nodding.
        The younger three went about their duties on deck, raising the landing struts and trimming the sail, before they began to head for the stairs.
        Before entering his quarters, Osrik turned back to Kratos momentarily. "Wait. What course will you be keeping us to?"
        At this, the younger three turned around curiously.
        Kratos sat down in the helmsman's chair and faced Osrik. "We're going to Iselia."