A Cursed Rage

Chapter 9

After a brief shopping spree, Echo, Tango and Sai found themselves ordering rounds at a tavern that bustled with travellers of all shapes and sizes. In a booth on the other end of the room, some elves were sipping daintily from glasses, while some dwarves at a central table had started a drinking competition, encouraging a few tables around them to join in. This kept the bar-hands busy, darting between tables with an adrenalin fueled smile on their faces.

Tango was admiring a hand-crafted flute she had recently purchased, her canines peaking through as she smiled at each new detail she saw in the swirling design engraved into the wood. Sai looked longingly over at the drinking competition that they had just missed out on joining as a dwarf and a half-orc started a new round.

Echo sat up in their seat suddenly alert, straining to listen for something. Then the din in the tavern lowered to a murmur as everyone started to hear shouts echoing from down the street. The cries continued to get louder as they approached, interrupted by the front door swinging open, hitting the wall with a bang. A small halfling stood there, trying to catch their breath.

"We need help!" They finally managed to say. "There's a fire!"

"Where?!" An unseen patron called out.

"The Temple of Creation!" Without another word, they let the door swing closed as they began to run down the street, knocking on more doors.

Echo , Tango and Sai only needed to share a single look before the three of them leapt up from their seats, starting their own race towards the spire, which was already visibly ablaze.

With Echo being the fastest of the trio, they reached the plaza first. People were still filtering out of the building at a slower rate than the smoke that billowed above.

The crowd continued to grow. Some just stood to watch. Some were ferrying buckets of water towards the building in an attempt to extinguish what flames they could. Some were resting after escaping, heavily outnumbering the available healers. In particular, an elderly gnomish female, dressed in the white vestiges of the healers, darted between people, checking on each person sitting on the ground. While looking around for any patients she had missed, she spotted Tango and the lute slung across her back. With a skip in her step, she rushed over towards the tiefling.

"Ah, a bard!" The elderly gnome exclaimed. "We need you over here to help with healing, if you would be so kind?"

"I-Oh, ok." Tango stuttered, beginning to follow them.

"Could you wait for a moment please?" Sai called out. The gnome turned, ready to listen. "Have you seen a half-elf woman around, wearing a deep blue cloak?"

"No face escapes my memory" She tapped the side of her head "and I know that I haven't seen her outside." Sai winced, clenching and releasing their fists, averting their gaze to scan the crowd again. The gnome looked at the ground for a moment, then in a eureka moment, she raised her glistening eyes to look at Sai. She stepped towards them and took their hand in her own. "However, before the fire, I did see her go up the floors. I think she was heading to the top. Good luck." She patted Sai's hand and turned, beginning to escort Tango towards the patients.

Sai stared up at the sky, craning their neck to even begin to glimpse the peak of the spire. They clenched and unclenched their fists, weighing the options as they swayed between their feet. In the end, they only saw one. For a brief moment, they looked back at Echo, the whites of their eyes clear to see. They still scanned the crowd but eventually they saw their friend's expression.

"Sai-" Echo started. Without another word, Sai darted off towards the entrance, bringing the collar of their shirt up to cover their mouth as they plunged into the smoke.

The walls were on fire. No. It was tapestries. Furniture fell to pieces in every level Sai ascended. With each new crackle and collapse, they flinched for a single moment before pushing themselves higher, calling out for Cara at each floor.

Round and round. Higher and higher. The roaring flames grew louder, the heat was almost unbearable. Almost but not quite enough to stop Sai in their tracks. With one goal, they climbed onwards.

"Cara! Where are you?" Sai called out for what felt like the hundredth time. A figure stumbled out amidst the smoke. Sai rushed forward to meet them only to have an elderly human man stumble into their arms. "Have you seen a female half-elf in here? Blue cloak?" His face turned pale as he raised a shaky finger towards where they had come from. Sai helped them to stand up. "Can you get outside safely?" They asked. The man nodded and began to shuffle his way down the slope. Leaving him behind, Sai charged deeper into the smoke.

"Cara!" Sai stumbled into a round chamber with a large burning tapestry. A feminine figure stood in the centre of a circle of roaring flames, a dark blue cloak discarded on the floor next to her, embers beginning to crawl up the length. "Cara?"

Cara turned to face Sai. For a single moment, her face was expressionless. Then a sickeningly familiar grin formed as her eyes flashed onyx. A deep chuckle began to rise out of her throat. Sai didn't dare remove eye contact as they took a single step towards her, reaching out a trembling hand.

"Please. Lets go." Sai begged past their shirt collar and over the crackling flames. She didn't respond. A crack. Before either of them could react, a supporting beam from above them snapped in half, showering them with embers. A chunk of marble crashed down in front of Sai. A sickening crunch pierced through the roaring of the flames. Eyes already tearing up from the smoke, Sai strained to see a path around the wreckage but the room was too cluttered amidst the growing flames and walls of debris. In desperation, Sai prepared to attempt to lift the marble. As they began to strain, a hand appeared on their shoulder. Echo stood over them, a dark kerchief on their face.

"Sai. We need to get out of here." They said calmly.

"She's right there! I just need to-"

"You already tried!" Echo screamed. With what air they could, they breathed to compose themself. "We need to leave. You're either walking out, or I'm dragging you out." Sai glanced back at the marble. Staying low to the ground, they let out a deep shuddering breath before rising to join Echo, sprinting down the smoke-filled corridors.

The tapestries and structure continued to burn around them until they reached the light of day. Tango rushed to meet them, speaking a spell of healing as she walked Sai away from the flames. An even larger crowd had now gathered in the plaza. The number dedicated to ferrying water to the flames had decreased as the last of them were extinguished, leaving the residue smoke to escape. A resounding crack filled the air as the peak of the spire collapsed in on itself, resulting in a shocked cry from the crowd. The destruction at each level was easily visible as it crashed through each floor, ending at the ground with a wave of heat shooting out in all directions.

Sai could only look on in horror, waiting for Cara to appear. But as they continued to watch, she never came.