Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

At the lake (I)

With the help of the elf and the goshawk, Gjaki and the lynx made their way through the losts that remained between them and the devastation created by Eldi. Meanwhile, he applied Basic Healing on himself, got up and put away the battered shield. It was dented and chilling to see.

He dodged the second sphere of miasma by moving aside with even Kangaroo Power to get further away. The expansive power of the explosion pushed him back and made him roll several meters, until he got up with the help of Balance.

Eldi looked uneasily at the ghastly figure, which had its face half melted. The wounds were healing, but the resulting appearance was eerie.

He raised an Earthen Wall, more to hide than to protect himself. Sure enough, the next sphere of miasma passed through it with ease, and exploded soon after. Kan Golge was throwing them continuously, and didn't care about the consumption of miasma.

This time, three consecutive explosions hit the empty ground. Eldi had opened a hole with Mole's Power, and had hidden inside.

"Damn coward! Come out so I can destroy you!" the vampire screamed beside himself.

He approached floating in the miasma, as he wanted to make sure he buried his enemy alive. Not for a moment did Kan Golge think that his prey could come out behind him.

Eldi had continued digging with Mole's Power, until he managed to get his back. Even underground, it was easy to feel the powerful concentration of miasma in the vampire.

The battle mage Charged at him, hit him with his shoulder, and took advantage to Magnetize his enemy. He wanted to execute the next phase of the plan, but Kan Golge reacted with an explosion of miasma, which pushed the high human back.

He managed to stop himself again with Balance, while a spear was shot out with Javelin. It was easily stopped by the vampire. He had opened his palm before the weapon and had expelled a dense concentration of miasma.

Nonetheless, it had managed to attract his attention. The lynx Jumped on Kan Golge, covered in fire, and dug her claws into him, since he hadn't remade the miasma shield yet. Immediately, she Jumped to the other side, to move away before he could counterattack. Then, three arrows fell on him, from above, which created a Light Trap around him.

"Aaarrgh!" he screamed in pain. He hated that power.

A new explosion of miasma neutralized the trap, but it had managed to buy time.

"He's magnetized!" Eldi shouted.

Gjaki, who arrived just after the lynx, nodded slightly, as a smile appeared in her lips. She jumped with both feet forward and Surprise Daggers in each of them.

The vampire, distracted by Eldi, the feline and the elf, wasn't able to react in time. The wound on his back was deep, and the impact pushed him forward.

However, it didn't seem to be serious. It looked like it would take a lot more than that to finish him off.

"What's this!?" he was surprised to notice the weight.

He pushed it to get rid of the strange and huge object, but it came back at him thanks to the power of Magnetize. It was one of those they had prepared with that property.

Suspicious, he wanted to push it again, this time with more force. However, an arrow hit the object, which was but one of the catapult projectiles with purifying power.

The explosion was much more terrible for him than Eldi's Ignition. After all, full of miasma as he was, the purifying power was his nemesis.

It wasn't like that for the living, though Gjaki quickly stepped aside. As much as she could resist it, she preferred not to have to check it.

"Where's he? Is it over?" Eldi wondered.

"No. I can still sense him. Over there!" the vampiress pointed.

The appearance of their enemy was even more deplorable that before. He had resisted the purifying power with all his miasma, but he hadn't been able to avoid being seriously injured. One leg had disappeared, as well as half of the other, both of his arms and part of his torso.

What remained of the miasma floated over the open flesh, sealing the wounds. He used his last strength to propel himself, flying in the direction of a corrupted lake.

Several arrows tried to reach him, but he was ready for them. Although not so much to the albino bird. She Collided against him to try to stop him, but she only managed to tear off a piece of its head. It seemed impossible that he could still be alive.

"Shit, he's gone into the water," Gjaki cursed.

"There're too many losts inside. We can't fight there," Eldi frowned.

They had some aquatic abilities or spells, but they were very limited.

"There he is!" the vampiress pointed.

In the center of the lake, a vortex was forming, and it revealed the battered figure. Soon, the miasma began to converge towards him, as it had done before the dryads' intervention.

"He's healing!" Eldi worried.

As before, Goldmi's arrows weren't able to pierce the concentration of miasma. She had succeeded at first, but several strange corrupted fish had gotten in the way. Once eliminated, the vortex had already gained too much strength.

"Ha, ha, ha! The dryads can't get here! When I absorb all the miasma, I'll kill you all little by little!" Kan Golge threatened from a distance.

The truth was that one of the roots was getting closer to the lake, but it was huge. It would take days to go around it, and they didn't have days. Besides, Goldmi could feel that he was right. Dryads had no power over water. At most, over some aquatic plants.

"What do we do now?" Gjaki asked, worried.

"Can we throw the projectiles at him?" the elf proposed.

"It's difficult to aim with the catapult, but we can try," Eldi took out one that was fully assembled. With their inventory, they didn't have to carry them in pieces.

He tensed it and placed an empty projectile. They had been given several, so they could practice or aim.

"It's going a little to the right. It's gone about two hundred meters too far," Goldmi measured, both with Goshawkeye and through her sister.

"Let's check now," he fired again, while Gjaki took out another one. Nonetherless, he didn't have time to use it.

"They're coming," reported the vampiress.

Eldi's fire attack had partially affected the lake, and wiped out all those losts in the vicinity. It had been a massacre, but there were many more left. Besides, he didn't have hours to re-accumulate the power.

"We have to hold on. The dryads are coming," the elf informed them.

Not only could she see the plants growing in her direction in the distance, but she could feel their power much closer. The problem was that they couldn't go through the water.

The kraken could certainly act there, but, being a liquid, the corruption was more intense than in the air. She had already tried to put a tentacle in, and had pulled it out quickly.