Fan Fiction ❯ Chaos Insues ❯ CI4 ( Chapter 4 )

[Author's note: the creatures in this story are based upon a creature found in Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth books. I do not, in any way, shape or form, own the idea to them. All rights reserved to Mr. Goodkind and his publishers. I'm just borrowing them since I couldn't think of anything more ugly and menacing than them.]

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{Main Hall; the Core-Darkness POV}

A search party was formed and ready to go, as Darkness entered the hall. Py had said the night before, if Daria hadn't showed by morning; they were going out looking. They still had no idea where to look; though she doubted the others would let that stop them.

Dar was the glue that kept the team together, without her, the group would surely fall to pieces. It was Daria that had rallied them to fight against Ga'Jin and his lot after Light was killed. Daria had spoken up for their rights at the Winter Festival. She even took the brunt of the people's anger for the fire that resulted during a heated battle in the middle of town. She was there for Darkness when Ronnie was taken away. She helped Pyro when she fell ill and couldn't get out of bed. She was the one to accept them all as family even after they thought her a traitor.

Darkness glanced over at Lee; he was calm, all things considered. She, however, was in a frantic state. She thought to herself, `I'm just a worrywart, I guess.' She turned her attention to Reggie as he walked in.

"Ok, are we all here? Good. Now, there aren't too many places they could have gone. We'll break off into teams of four. Each group will have a magi with them, in case there's any trouble. The maps I'm passing out are the locations of a few enemy strongholds. The one that's highlighted is the one you'll be heading for. Are there any questions?" He glanced about and nodded when there weren't. "All right, everyone meet back here in 2 hours."

*****

We raced for the hold, the dreadhounds in hot pursuit. I spared Ronnie a look; the kid was fast, faster then me. Of course, I was probably bleeding to death; but, what the hell...

The ground became rocky and I tripped over a protruding stone. I cried out, as I fell, "Shit!" He heard my shout, and being the gentleman that he was, had turned back. "No, don't stop to help me. Run, damnit!"

He gave me a fearful look, before resuming his course to the hold. I scrambled to my feet, digging my heels into the hard earth beneath me. The sounds of the pack had increased. I had to move or I'd get eaten, for sure.

Ahead of us, I could see the men on the battlements; they had yet to spot us. Casting a minor wind spell, I called out to them, "Open those god-forsaken doors!"

Upon hearing my shout, several of them jumped to attention and proceeded to pull open the large iron gate. One of the pale dead creatures started to pass me. 'Not good...they can't get in the hold; but that doesn't mean they can't snack on Ronnie and me.'

I poured on the speed, catching up with the lead dog. I swung my staff at it, knocking the vile creature to the side, as I turned to face the pack. I knew I was no match for them; no matter, I had to buy the kid some time. 'Let's see...one, two, ten...I'm lunchmeat. Where's Greywolf when I need him?'

Grey, an earth mage, was a very good friend of mine. Of course, I haven't seen him since before I fled the Core years ago. Like most of my friends, he didn't think too highly of Rich and the others in the guild. Hell, I didn't think too highly of them either.

I was quickly surrounded with nowhere to go. 'Just a few more minutes…forget that I won't be alive in a few minutes.' I snorted at my own optimism. At least I was going down fighting; that fact truly was a ray of hope.

Things became a blur of pure instinct and adrenaline as I fought for my life. The dreadhounds gave no purchase in their attacks. I lashed out with my staff even as lightning shot from my hands; this only seemed to encourage them more. I yelped in pain as one of the hellhounds sank sharp teeth into my leg. I gave it a hard kick for its trouble. Another jumped me from behind, digging its claws into my back. Time seemed to stop as I slowly fell forward. I could smell their decaying flesh even as they converged over me. To say it was horrific would be an understatement.

I blindly lashed out at them, missing more than I hit. There were just too many of them. I was pinned down; if I didn't think of something soon, I was a goner.

The ground gave a shudder right in front of my eyes, swallowing one of the dreadful creatures. This seemed to get the rest of the packs' attention; they turned as one in the direction of the hold. Thankful for the distraction, I forced the one on my back off, and, groaning, climbed to my feet.

The earth seemed to explode, as rocks and dust raised into the air, knocking the ruby-eyed demons back. They snarled at being thwarted, dodging around the debris at a rapid speed. I grabbed one of the flying stones and studied the pack. An idea popped into my head. Calling on the wind, I gathered the stones in the air into a large tornado. The air around me started to howl loudly, raising my braid high above my head, as the funnel made its way towards the dreadhounds.

Leaning on my staff, I lifted my free arm and opened my hand. The small stone lifted and hovered an inch over my palm, as my eyes turned pitch black.

"Mother Earth, gather your power in my hand and lend me your strength. I call upon the Wind to aid me in this fight." A soft yellow glow surrounded me as I continued the spell. "Heed my command and be my weapon of destruction!"

Clouds converged overhead, huge gray thuderclouds, swirling angrily, echoing the howling of the wind. Lightning flashed, as thunder roared, drowning out the sounds of the creatures. They were dancing around the tornado, slowly making their way to where I stood. The temperature dropped as the rain started to fall. Angry sheets of water fell to the ground in a torrential downpour, turning the earth to mud.

"Lightning!" I called as loudly as I could.

A bolt zigzagged down and struck the funnel, which was now in the heart of the pack. It hit the large, wet, spinning rocks and bounced away. It forked out into pieces, arcing out towards the dreadhounds. Several of the white hot bolts found their targets, frying the even whiter creatures, turning their hides to a shade of gray.

Their pain filled cries were music to my ears, as I continued to pelt them with lightning and hail. Hurricane-like winds whipped several of the creatures off their feet and high into the air. I brought the full force of heaven's wrath down upon them.

A voice punctuated by the booming of thunder reached my ears. "Earth pikes!"

The ground shuddered violently; large jutting rock spikes erupted skyward impaling a couple of dreadhounds. The earth surrendered more and more of its granite body, aiding in the battle. Still the creatures pressed onwards, dodging earth and lightning with single-mindedness. More voices were raised as I held my ground.

"Meteor strike!"

"Fire arrow!"

"Shield!"

Rocks the size of my head started to fall onto the battlefield; bright red arrows of pure fire flew into the fray. A bubble of air came to life around me; its soft white light greatly appreciated. I allowed myself to relax slightly; I wasn't going to die today after all.

"Girl, did you have to show us up by fighting all these puppies on your own?" a voice said from my right.

Turning towards it, I laughed, "You make it sound as if I had a choice in the matter. I can't help it if they followed me home."

Pyros chuckled as she tossed another ball of fire at the nearest creature. "Don't expect us to keep them, they're going back." She called.

Her stance became more aggressive, arms held out in front of her, as if to keep the hounds at bay. I tossed another bolt of lightning into the heart of the pack, which had quickly dwindled in number. Out of the corner of my eye, I spied Grey, of all people, his face twisted up in concentration. The ground heaved and swelled, grabbing the hellish dogs in its clutches. The earth devoured the last of the dreadhounds, their howls echoing through my head.

Releasing my hold on the unseen force coursing through my veins, the sky started to clear and the rain stopped falling. I sagged to the ground with a relieved sigh. At least now I could relax; but I knew there was still much to be done.

*****

I got hauled into the hold by the `seat of my pants'. Everyone wanted to ask questions; however, they held off until after Lycan worked his magic on me. I *was* pretty banged up from the fight with the hellish demon dogs.

In the end, I was in surprisingly good shape, only minor injuries. Hell, the worst of it were the slash marks on my back and the teeth imprints on my leg. It didn't explain what happened to my other wounds that I obtained from Nanashi or why there was so much blood for such minor scrapes.

Once rested, we all met in the receiving room. Casting a wary look around at my fellow teammates, I took a deep breath, collecting my thoughts for the coming inquisition.

"What happened after I left?" I asked in a quiet tone.

Reggie went into a very long winded account of the goings-on, how they had rounded up those still working for Nanashi and his boss and tossed them into holding cells. There had been some debate over what to do with them, whether to kill them out right or just keep them locked up. Personally, I was inclined to question first and then kill them. We don't need traitors walking among us trying to foul up our plans. I was also informed that Rich had been assassinated sometime during the fighting.

I shook my head in disbelief. "I didn't think anyone could do such a thing. It sounds like you all had as much fun as I did."

"Where have you been, Dar?" Darkness asked from her spot near the door.

"I was, getting to know our enemies a little bit better. Their leader is a guy I've never heard of, goes by the name of D Bryan. I was in his fortress, a day's flight from here to the northwest; it's cut right into the side of a mountain. The place was crawling with mages and guys with really bad tempers. I killed that bastard Nanashi; but I was lucky to get out of there in one piece." I replied, raking a hand through my dark bangs.

"And Ronnie?" she whispered.

"Found him in a tree. He was being harassed by one of them nasty mutts. If it weren't for him, I'd still be out there flying around looking for this place. I didn't have a chance to ask him what he was doing out in the woods."

Loc spoke up next, "What did they want with you?"

I glanced out the window, my mind wandering back to just before I fled. "I don't know, Loc, I don't know."

*****

"You bungling fools! How could you let her escape? Do you have any idea as to what you've done?" D Bryan roared, while he paced back and forth across the throne room. "She is the key to everything, and you just *let* her go!"

His quick, sharp steps reverberated off the walls with loud thuds. They were made even louder when Bryan's men refused to speak. He growled at their inability to guard the wind witch and his own faith in them to do their jobs. All of his plans, his life's work, ruined by one woman!

A voice came from the shadows, "You worry too much. We'll recover her, you'll see."

D Bryan scowled. He dropped down into his chair on the dais. "You had better, or you'll really be killed, my friend. I will not tolerate failure, Nanashi."

The tall slender man stepped into the torch light with a chuckle. His eyes flashed, "Oh, I will. There's no doubt in that."

"Good. Have you finished deciphering the book yet? I grow tired of waiting."

"I still have a few more passages left, I was unable to get Rich to cooperate. It's a shame really, he could have been of great use to us." Nanashi said in an off-handed tone. "We can start to collect the items now, but until I've completed the translations, they'll be useless."

"Make the preparations, and, Nanashi, let's try not to get their attention this time," D Bryan said, glaring at his minion.

"Understood," he uttered, with a deep bow. Rising up, he turned and left the room.

*****

We interrogated everyone involved to no avail. Not even a deep mind probe seemed to work on these guys! It was as if they had no clue what they had been doing prior to their incarceration. Moreover, when informed of their actions, they were shocked and appalled.

After a day of turning the place inside out and upside down, I was still baffled as to what Nanashi was doing here and why. I rather doubted he had been interested in the hierarchy of the Core or in changing the way it did business. If it had been his only goal, he wouldn't have revealed himself to us in the first place. Suddenly my ego grew. Could it be that Nanashi was sent to kidnap me?

"What are you thinking about now, Daria?" Grey's gentle voice asked.

"I was pondering the possibility that, maybe the whole reason for the attack, was a smokescreen so that Nanashi could drag me off. If that is the case, I could be putting everyone here in danger." I glanced over at him. "What about you? The last time I saw you, you were on your way to Gra'ven, said you had some business there."

He smiled, "Heard you were neck deep in trouble and thought to myself `I could use a little adventure' and came back. Couldn't let you have all the fun."

I raised an eyebrow, amused by his words. "I think `little adventure' is your middle name. How many have you had lately? A dozen, or two?"

"I stopped counting them years ago. Unlike you, I don't keep records," he replied with a chuckle.

My retort fell short when Lee entered the room. There were just some things one doesn't say in front of an audience. He looked at me oddly; not certain what Grey and I had been discussing. His bright blue eyes shifted to the other man, a frown spreading across his face. He lowered himself into a nearby chair.

After a slight pause, he spoke up, "The guys want to know what the game plan is. What with Nanashi being dead and all, there really isn't much left for us to do here."

I sighed, "There are plenty of things left to do, Lee. If you haven't noticed, those damnable dogs are still running around the countryside. Also, some of the teams that left have yet to return. That's not even mentioning the army that D Bryan is gathering. We can't afford to just pack up and go home."

He held up his hands. "I didn't mean it like that, Dar. Honest. Just thought I'd check and see what you wanted us to do first."

I rolled my eyes at him. "And when did you all revert to childhood and need me to tell you what to do? Yeah, I'm the leader; but, I thought that, perhaps, you'd figure it out for yourselves and just do it. I have had my hands full, near death experience and all. Let them know what needs doing and then have them decide what they'll do. When you've taken care of everything, have everyone meet me in the planing room."

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered, getting up and leaving the room.

There were times when I just wanted to crawl into a hole and never come back out. This was one of those times. The world was more or less going to hell in a handbasket and making stops at every place in the book. Speaking of which, I returned my attention to the open book on the table.

I was attempting to find out just *who* this D Bryan person was. The Core kept records on just about every mage that ever lived. My gaze ran over the many entries; so far, I was coming up empty. Shoving the volume to one side, I grabbed another covering magical items and their uses. There was always some artifact that the bad guys were after. It was some unwritten rule.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on him?" Grey inquired, leaning over the desk.

I blinked at him, completely lost as to what he was talking about. "Ya mean Lee?" At his nod, I continued, "Not really. We've done enough jobs that they should know how this works. `Sides which, I'm tired of being the one they look to, for once I'd like to have someone else give ME orders."

"That's rather amusing, considering you're so good at it. You're a natural born leader, and you know it."

I gave a rueful snort. If there was one thing I disliked more then giving out orders, it was an `I told you so'. It was galling to say the least.

"Let's just get back to work shall we?"

*****

It took us a week to fix all the smaller obstacles that were caused by Nanashi's presence. What was left of the men that had been sent out could fit into a closed fist and the dreadhounds were all destroyed. The place was more like a healer's shop, with all the survivors from the towns that had been attacked, bleeding and cursing the names of the people that were helping them. Their possessions were returned to them as well as their money. Reggie, newly appointed High Magi, informed them that all the Core's available manpower would help to rebuild what had been pulverized.

D Bryan's army was growing faster than we originally thought. Those men, that the raiding parties had been able to grab, had been taken to his strong hold. From the information gathered, it looked like he's brainwashing them, ordering them to fight for him. Furthermore, he was still abducting people from the area surrounding his fortress, which was going to be a problem.

Early on the day after the villagers left, the whole group met in the planning room. I didn't want to worry them any more than they already were. If they learned what was going on, it would be utter chaos. Hell, I knew and I was in a state.

I nodded to them all, walking in, the last to arrive. Before I could speak, Ronnie rushed into the room and sat down next to his mother. I shook my head, "Sorry, Ron, you can't be here." He started to argue. "Don't even try it. I'm in no mood to try to explain why; so, let's leave it at: I'm mean, rotten, and terrible. Now, out."

He scowled, shooting me dirty looks the whole way. I knew how he felt. There were times when I wished I had been allowed to hang around for a meeting. I brought my attention back to the guys and placed my staff across my knees.

"Alright, people, let's get down to business..."

*****